AquaianGoddess: I didn't kill Watari! For one he's already dead!! O.o Err… Anyway… XD I want a shirt like that!! XD XD
Misura: Thanks. I was worried about the mission. Glad you found it satisfying.
annakas: Oh no prob at all on the post run. I was actually amused by the 30 or so reviews I had in my inbox that all came from you. ^^ I like reviews (what author doesn't?) so there's no way I'm mad at you.
Though some of you might not like it… I present a break from Omi/Kasumi… This chapter's more about Yohji and the other two girls, though they do get mentioned for quite a bit. I will give you more Ken and Kasumi in the next chapter. Hopefully.
Chapter 8
It was a different sort of day, Yohji later decided, especially since the shop was quieter than usual. Or as quiet as it could be with the (now official) Miyo Kasumi fanclub hanging around every day. Though there were other reasons he had in mind.
There were many disappointed boys that came into the shop. Yohji had to admit that though it was amusing at first, it was now getting pretty annoying.
Kasumi herself, or Omi rather, was downstairs in the basement. The data that she had retrieved from the mission the previous night turned out to be encrypted, and she planned to break the code to learn what they had found as soon as possible.
Apparently, it was quite tough. She had been there since breakfast and hinted to the others that she probably wouldn't come out for the rest of the day. Yohji had just gone down there half an hour earlier to deliver her some sort of lunch. Actually, he had initially sent Ken down, but for an odd reason, Omi had chased the brunette back out, screaming in near-profanities.
Ken vowed that he wasn't going to go back down there, so Yohji took the hint and brought the food down himself.
After that, Yohji went back up to meet with the other two females of their household, Aya-chan and Sakura-chan. Sakura had always been treated as family. It had always been so, even after she and Ran had broken it off months ago since she knew them as well as Aya did. There was no need to hide anything from her. In fact, all of them, Ran himself included, treated her like another little sister.
Which was why Yohji frowned deeply when he arrived in the shop and found Sakura sitting at the table, sighing deeply. She seemed quite glum, and even Aya beside her was looking concerned, though shooting angry glances in the direction of what seemed to be another all-male group.
"What's this? What's this?" Yohji raised an eyebrow as he came over. "Sakura-chan! Why the forlorn face?"
It was Aya who had spoken up for her. "That idiot Kamimori Tatsuya. Cute guy. On the track team, like Sakura-chan was."
"A boy?" Yohji raised an eyebrow. That was right. Sakura started dating again some time after the big break up.
Aya nodded, her eyes narrowed. "Yep. An idiot boy. He and Sakura-chan were supposed to go out to a movie today, but he cancelled five minutes ago. Guess why?"
"Five minutes ago? Through phone?"
"No. Here."
"… Okay I'm stumped. Why?"
"You could've figured it out after we told you where."
Sakura finally mumbled, still looking a little depressed. "He wants to stay here to look out for Kasumi."
"Ah." Yohji understood why she was so miserable now. Being dumped for another girl, one that she knew personally at that… Though in this case it was actually a guy, but Tatsuya didn't know that.
"Well, Sakura-chan, I agree with Aya-chan. He's an idiot. And don't blame O-……" he glanced up at a pair of boys nearby. "……Kasumi, either. I'm sure h-she doesn't know about this. And even if she did, she's too preoccupied with other things to even notice him. Or anyone for that matter."
"Actually, Sakura-chan dumped him."
"She did, now, did she?"
Sakura nodded, a little poutily and glumly.
"Well then, why look so blue?" Yohji clapped his hands as if summoning a feast. "This calls for some celebration, Sakura had gotten rid of a being unworthy of her affections!"
Aya blinked. "What?"
Yohji paused for a moment, "It was a movie, wasn't it?" Then a grin spread across his face. "I know! You hear about that sappy flick premiering tonight? We can go out for a nice dinner, my treat, then head out for an hour and a half of fluffy romance on screen, how 'bout that?"
"Really Yohji-nii??" Aya's eyes suddenly sparkled.
Even Sakura seemed to smile more, "You'd do that, Yohji-san?"s
"Of course! Anything for you two lovely ladies." What the hell, he was feeling generous today.
Sakura giggled while Aya hugged his arm. "Thanks, Yohji-nii!!"
"Mhmm, mhmm, you gotta ask your brother first, though. I don't want him charging into the movie house with katana on hand if he thought I'm just being a dirty old man."
Sakura pouted. "You wouldn't dare prove him right."
"You tell him that."
Aya laughed and gave a naughty little smirk, sticking her tongue out. "Don't worry, Niichan won't say no if it's for Sakura-chan and me."
Yohji winked, "Alright. You take care of that minor detail. You too, Sakura-chan, and be sure to be ready by six later. Aya-chan and I will pick you up."
Sakura stood up and did a mock salute, "Hai! I shall go and tell my parents and ask for permission so Yohji-san doesn't get arrested in the middle of our 'date'."
Yohji tossed her a sprig in retaliation, "Very funny."
-----*--
Yohji brushed back his unruly blond hair and tied it. He did a final check on everything. Footwear, check. Clothes that fitted perfectly on his exquisite frame, oh yes. Colors that accentuated his eyes, definitely. The award-winning smile, always there. Then he sauntered in front of his full-length mirror and struck a pose. Damn, but he looked good.
He exited the apartment and headed up the stairs to get Aya. He didn't need to knock though, since she was just on her way out when he arrived.
Aya stared and raised an eyebrow. "Yohji-nii? Are you feeling okay?"
Yohji crossed his arms and glared at her. "What?! I don't see anything wrong." He HAD dressed for the occasion right, didn't he?
Aya walked over to him and tugged on the edge of the shirt he was wearing. "Slacks? Shirtsleeves?" She looked down, "White rubber shoes... I never thought you owned a pair – or was ever IN one, for that matter."
She looked up again, reached and tapped his nose, "And.... wire-frame glasses. WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOHJI-NII?"
Yohji scowled, "I know how to dress like a 'decent' person, thank you."
"You look like an accountant version of yourself, Yohji-nii."
"I was trying for the 'nice, big, older brother look', Aya-CHAN."
"Nii-chan doesn't dress like that."
"He wears an orange sweater, he uses your name, and he throws katanas at helicopters. He's not a normal big brother."
"....I hate you." She glared at him for making fun of her beloved brother.
Yohji cracked his patented smile. "You can't hate me, I'm treating you out tonight." Aya glared at him nonetheless, and Yohji thanked the gods she wasn't an assassin like her psychotic brother. Okay, so maybe he went out of his way to dress differently tonight, but that doesn't mean he was abducted by aliens and was mind-warped.
He sighed and tried to explain himself. "Let's just say I did my best not to look like a pimp, ok?" It was a big no-no when going out with more than one girl, and that meant no necklaces , no extra skin, no leather, no wild hairstyle, no shades, scruffy shoes, no rings and no make-up. He can't even flash his damned tattoo either.
"But why are you wearing glasses?"
Yohji fingered the glasses. Damn, now the secret's out. "The....uh.... Look, the sunglasses were prescription, and since I can't wear them, I dusted off my old glasses so I can at least see where I'm going."
Aya gaped, "You used to wear those? All the time?"
"Yeah, I'll walk into posts without them." He looked at her pointedly and hoped that she got the hint to change the subject.
"You look so.... different." Yohji glanced at his watch and decided to end the interrogation.
"If I tell you more, we'd be late." He grinned, "You wanna eat at the cute Hello Kitty Cafe first, right?"
Aya squealed and attached herself to his arm. "Really? It's so nice there and I heard the desserts were good!" Yup, Yohji picked the right place. Granted that it would be a little.. expensive, it was perfect for girls in post-break-up depressions. He let Aya hug his arm for a while, and glanced back inside at Ran, who was reading on the bed. Yohji called out to him.
"Hey! Aya! We're going! We're gonna pick up Sakura-chan now."
Ran looked up from his book and nodded. "Aa." Was it him, or did Yohji look very weird right now?
Aya rolled her eyes and sighed. She recovered, waving her hand. "We'll see you later then, Niichan."
She was about to turn away when Yohji stopped her. "Hold on, Aya-chan. I just thought of something." He rubbed his chin, smiling thoughtfully, "Say, Aya. What do you say you come with us?"
Ran paused again to glance up at them.
Aya grinned widely. "That's a great idea, Yohji-nii!!" She bounced toward her brother and took his hands. "Niichan! Why don't you come with Yohji-nii, Sakura-chan and me to the movie? It'll be great!"
"Yeah. It would be nice to spend some quality time with your sister and Sakura, nee?" Yohji agreed, stepping into the room a little.
Ran stared at them with a blank look.
"Oh don't give me that, Niichan! Please?"
"Aya, I…"
"Please?"
Ran appeared to be going through a sort of mental debate. A night out with the girls? Or just relish the quiet night he was going to get right now?
"Yeah, you could think of it as a double date!"
Ran flinched. Aya stared Yohji in distress. But the blond continued anyway. "You can take out Sakura-chan tonight, like you used to, and I'll be taking Aya-chan."
Aya bit her lip, looking up at Yohji imploringly, shaking her head. But violet eyes narrowed dangerously. There was a soft growl, "You're not dating my sister."
Yohji mentally hit himself, realizing that that was probably not a good way to phrase that. Determined, though, he corrected himself. "Well, if you don't like it that way, then we can have it the other way around! It'll be like I'm taking Sakura-chan out, and you'll be taking Aya-chan!"
Ran's eyes narrowed further.
Yohji wondered why until he realized the implications of what he had just said. "Geez, Aya! Do you have to take everything so literally? Well there is one last option."
Aya was already looking at Yohji in horror, trying to send him a mental message to not say it. But she wasn't telepathic, and neither was Yohji. That privilege belonged to one of their enemies. So, Yohji opened his mouth and spoke.
"We can also have it this way. The two girls, Aya and Sakura, can go with each other," Yohji smirked. "And that leaves you as my d-…"
"Kudou…" Ran snarled.
Yohji immediately backed off, realizing that Ran looked very much like he was going to summon the katana out of nowhere and throw it at Yohji's head. Aya was already tugging at Yohji's arm, hissing. "Let's go, Yohji-nii! Before you make things worse! I'm not paying for any of your hospital fees!"
"But what if Aya...."
Ran turned back to his book. "I'm not going." Not to some sappy teen movie.
Yohji huffed in disappointment and raised his hands in defeat, "OK, I'm sorry, I was just asking."
Aya sighed and shook her head.
-----*-----
"You know, Yohji-nii. It's all your fault." Aya muttered as they waited for Sakura to emerge.
"My fault?" Yohji pretended to look hurt. "It's my fault?"
"Of course it is!" Aya stuck her tongue out. "If you hadn't opened your mouth and let me smooth talk him into it, then he'd be walking with us now. You know Niichan can't resist my pout."
"Aya-chan, hardly anyone can resist your pout. In fact, you are second only to the master himself, Tsukiyono Omi."
Aya frowned deeply. "There's something wrong when a boy dares to beat the Fujimiya Aya pout. It's… It's… unheard of!"
"Sorry, Aya-chan, but Omi's got all of us wrapped around his finger. The boy's a manipulative little brat when he wants to be. All he has to do is throw those big baby blues at us with that beaten puppy look and we're all goners. "
"And it's a lot harder to beat him now when he's a girl!!" Aya pouted even more. "But no matter! I must practice my hardest and one day, I will beat him! Or her… Or whatever he is when I beat Omi-nii!"
"What are you talking about?"
The two of them jumped a little. Aya scowled. "Sakura-chan! You scared us!"
Sakura giggled a bit. "You were being secretive! So what's this about Omi-kun's famous pout?"
"Not really Omi-nii's pout, but mine, actually."
"Hm?"
"We asked if Aya'd like to come along."
Sakura brightened a little, "Really? He's co-…"
"But he wouldn't," Yohji sighed.
"Mmhmm," Aya agreed. "Well, I'm sure he would rather die than watch something fluffy."
"Oh," Sakura seemed just a little disappointed. Then she brightened again. "You think that maybe Ken-san or Omi-kun...?"
Yohji shook his head. "Ken called a while ago to say that his kids won their game and that they're celebrating with dinner. And I just gave Omi dinner before we left… He seemed almost done, but I think he's ready to pass out." He paused for a moment, then corrected himself. "She… And anyway, if they could come along we can't go back anymore, or we'll have to hurry dinner to be in time for the movie."
"Oh," Sakura looked sad again, but Aya nudged her.
"That's all right, Sakura-chan! We can go by ourselves! That was the original plan, wasn't it?"
Sakura thought for a while, then smiled and nodded, "Hai!"
"Yeah," Yohji smirked. "Besides… If Ken and Omi decide to watch a movie, I'm sure they'd be better off on their own, right?"
At that, both Aya and Sakura grinned. "Oh, I'd definitely not want to be with them in that case," Aya agreed wholeheartedly. "And who knows? What if they decide to go off and be alone to have s-…"
"Aya-chan!" Sakura cried in protest, though she was still giggling madly.
"Why, Aya-chan! I never knew…"
"What?" Aya said innocently. "I was just gonna say that they might want to go have some ice cream, or take a walk in the park alone, or watch the stars together or something sweet like that. Really, Sakura-chan… Yohji-nii… What were you thinking?"
Yohji's eyes widened, then he shook his head and chuckled. "Aya-chan. You're a girl after my own heart."
Aya looked aghast before turning to Sakura with pleading eyes. "Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?"
Her best friend didn't hesitate at all when she replied, "Oh, an insult definitely."
"HEY!"
-----*-----
They were seated in the cafe, furnished predominantly in pink and baby blue. Yohji picked at the pastry in front of him and decided that the desserts were actually good. However, the fact that they were more expensive just because they came in Hello Kitty plates was a crime. A very good marketing ploy, anyway. They had bought the tickets for the later show, and were eating beforehand. Sakura seemed to have completely forgotten her depression.
"So you're saying that you two bet on when Ken and Omi are hooking up?"
Both girls nodded, Aya with a smirk and Sakura with a giggle.
"Well, aren't they obvious?"
Yohji snorted, and took another piece to chew, just wiggling his eyebrows in agreement. Those two were completely in denial, it seems. "Maybe if we helped them along…" he started.
"No!" Sakura cried at the same time Aya said, "Yes!"
Yohji raised an eyebrow of them. Aya wrinkled her nose at her best friend, "I've only got two and a half weeks left! I'm not helping you make me lose!"
Sakura smiled smugly. "Ken-san and Omi-kun are too clueless. But they are so cute, aren't they?"
Aya immediately nodded. "Almost as sweet as this cake!"
"No, sweeter!"
Yohji laughed, shaking his head at them. He would never have thought that both Sakura and Ran's little sister would both be so interested in those two. A small notion occurred to him, and this he voiced out as he thoughtfully spooned in another bite. "Aren't you forgetting that Omi's not really a girl?"
Both Sakura and Aya looked at him blankly as they chorused, "So?"
Yohji almost choked. He stared at the two girls in shock. Aya rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that, Yohji-nii!"
"First of all," Sakura chimed in "We're not sure if Omi-kun'll turn back or not. Second…"
"We'd always thought Ken-nii and Omi-nii would be so cute together." Aya waved her fork at him. "We just never thought of it seriously until Omi-nii became a girl."
"Yes, it works so much better now." Sakura nodded. "Since they're a girl and a guy now."
Yohji continued to have an incredulous look on his face. "I didn't think you girls were into that kind of thing." He shook his head in disapproval at Aya. "If your brother knew…"
"Oh he wouldn't do anything about it."
"Sure. If he knew-…"
"Really, Yohji-san," Sakura rolled her eyes. "You should know him by now."
"So that's it? Aya-chan's just going to manipulate him again?"
Sakura and Aya looked at each other. They shook their heads and continued eating.
There was silence as they finished their desserts. As soon as Aya was done, she looked up thoughtfully. "You know, on the subject of relationships, we never did tell you or the others."
"Tell me what?"
Sakura ate the last bit of her cake, "Why Ran-kun and I broke it off."
Yohji lowered his fork, immediately interested. "Yes, I was wondering. You know, Sakura. If it wasn't for the fact that you look a little like Aya-chan here, I really thought you two would hit it off."
She shrugged. "It's all right. We're still friends. I don't like him that way anymore, but I'm glad I can still be around. He says he likes having me there, along with Aya-chan."
"Hai, he does like you a lot, Sakura-chan. So, really. Why did you stop dating?"
Sakura was deep in thought for a while. She turned to Aya. "Are you sure we can tell him?"
"I guess we can," Aya nodded.
"You tell or me?"
"Well, He's your ex-boyfriend."
"But, he's your brother!"
"Uh, girls?" Yohji interrupted. He was smiling and shaking his head in amusement, but they needed to hurry if they wanted to get to that movie. He glanced at Sakura. "It's your relationship, so I guess that you should tell me the reason."
Sakura bit her lip, then sighed and leaned forward to tell him.
-----*-----
Walking into the movie house with two girls impatiently tugging at him was what Yohji had been waiting for all night. They squealed and cajoled and tried to get him to walk faster, but they couldn't budge him since he was taller.
"Yohji-saaaaaaaaaaaaaan, it's going to START soon." Now even Sakura was whining.
Yohji just grinned and kept his pace, "Look, there's still fifteen minutes ok? We don't need to run into the movie house." Then he glanced around and spotted what he was looking for.
Just as he'd thought, despite the movie being a romance flick, there would be older women in line to watch. Twenty-ish all the way to almost thirty. And naturally, they'd come with their groups of friends, all women, like some sort of bonding ritual.
Yohji, having the ruckus of two young girls dragging him along, attracted attention to himself. Most of the women in line were watching them, and when he glanced up, they all gave him warm appreciative smiles. What kind of brother would be SO nice to take out his little sisters to see a movie together?
Yes, ladies. He smiled back widely, taking care to just look a little battered but having fun, bearing great patience with kids. I can be a great daddy someday. They all smiled brighter and Yohji took his moment basking in warm female appreciation. Not the usual screaming, hormones-in-puberty type he meets in the shop everyday. The nice, friendly charm of young office ladies and college girls. He resisted the urge to wave goodbye to all of them as they softly laughed when Sakura and Aya finally pulled him into the darkness of the movie house.
----*-----
When the movie was over, the girls both happily yawned, and thanked Yohji for the nice treat. Yohji decided he was high from the usual mush, when everything seemed to be decorated in pink sparkles and bubbles. The two chatted with each other while he drove to Sakura-chan's house to drop her off. They waved goodbye, and Yohji earned a fast peck on the cheek.
Aya-chan yawned again, while they drove home.
"Nee, Yohji-nii…? I was just wondering. How come you'd stopped dating all those girls that came to the shop?"
Yohji paused. "Hmmm? Stopped?" He was feeling a little sleepy too.
"You know. Omi-nii and Ken-nii told me that you used to bring a girl home almost every night, and if you didn't, you'd come home drunk. Or both."
"Oh."
"But you don't. Or at least, ever since I woke up, I NEVER saw you do that. Sometimes, they said, you don't come home at all, and just show up in the morning."
Yohji blinked and tried to think of something to say. He thought nobody noticed, but apparently he was wrong.
"Well, it wouldn't be proper, I guess."
"What do you mean, Yohji-nii?"
He laughed softly, "I thought that it wouldn't be nice to set such a bad example. I mean, before you woke up, we were all guys in the house and we just didn't care, and even if Omi IS a teenager, he's like us too, so it didn't matter. But having a young girl… if I ever woke you up with… the noise I make with my dates, it's not right."
Aya pouted. "I'm already 18. I'd know what that's about, And I wouldn't mind."
Yohji sniffed, "You're just 16. You were asleep for two years. And besides, Your brother would kill me first."
She crossed her arms, "So you're just being nice to me?"
Yohji shook his head. "I wasn't a big thing to me anyway, just another distraction from the job. And besides, it's worth much more to us now that we have someone to come home to. Stopping to be a ... slut, if you'd pardon my words, was really fine with me, now that we all have an adopted little sister."
"But you're—"
"Hey, we're home." Yohji pointed and there was Ran, patiently waiting in front of the garage, for them to come home. Aya forgot about the question as Ran immediately walked over and asked about their night out.
Aya started to chatter as she walked upstairs talking to Ran while Yohji closed down the garage on Seven. He felt relieved that he didn't need to completely answer that question. Once Ran was in the picture, they completely ignored him. Sounded familiar.
Yohji chuckled to himself at how adorable the siblings were as he treaded back to his room. Aya laughed a little about something that had happened in the movie. Ran didn't respond, though he had a small hint of a smile on his face.
He turned at the second floor landing as the two continued up. He was thinking over the day's events, the movie, the dinner, the talks. His mind settled for a moment on a certain segment of the conversation and he smiled.
Yes. It was a different sort of day, indeed.
-----*-----
The next chapter can be up by next week. Look out for it!
Meanwhile, Happy Birthday to Ken. And Advanced Merry Christmas to all. Copy paste to see my present to you all.
suplada.org/~riisha/presents/readers.jpg
omiclones@hotmail.com
