The telephone suddenly rang.
"I'll get it, dad!" the blond-haired boy's voice yelled through the apartment as his hand dove for the ringing phone. "Hello?" he cautiously brought the receiver to his ear, anticipating the sound of an angel sighing.
"Hi, Takeru!" the caller cheerfully exclaimed.
Only one word could escape from the tortured boy's lips. "Hikari..."
"Yes, it's me!" the caller's sweet voice confirmed. "So what's happening?"
"Not much," Takeru droned as he sat back down on the couch.
"Sounds like fun," Hikari joked as she giggled.
"Tons," Takeru mumbled sarcastically.
Hikari laughed again. "Well, if you can take time out of your busy schedule, I was wondering if you wanted to go see that new movie?"
Though Hikari couldn't see it, Takeru's eyes lit up in delight. "A movie?"
"Yeah, that new one at the ciniplex," Hikari verified.
"So...it'll just be you and me?" Takeru dared to ask.
"You, me, and Daisuke," Hikari explained.
The devil's minion: Daisuke. Every time that name was spoken, a shiver went up Takeru's spine. Oh, how he hated that boy's flirtatious behavior. Of course Daisuke was one of his close buddies, but because that damned boy was also vying for Hikari, Takeru did not really like him. Daisuke wanted Hikari and Takeru knew it. Hell, his flirting was obvious enough. And what pissed Takeru the most was the fact that Hikari tolerated Daisuke's efforts for romance--she actually warmed to him! Takeru feared that Hikari was contemplating a relationship between herself and Daisuke. And even though there was nothing to prove that that had happened yet, Takeru was slowly dying already. If only Hikari realized that Takeru loved her so, then perhaps she wouldn't warm to Daisuke; perhaps she'd take into consideration her friendship with Takeru becoming a romantic relationship.
"Takeru? You still there?" Hikari was concerned: Takeru hadn't responded.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm still here," Takeru confirmed.
"So, did you want to come see the movie with us?" her cheerful tone returned as she repeated her question.
Takeru pondered silently for a moment. If he didn't go to the movies with Hikari and Daisuke, then Daisuke would probably make a move for Hikari. However, if he did go with them, he could prevent Daisuke from flirting, but might possibly reveal to Hikari how he felt, and he wasn't ready for that yet. Takeru took a deep breath, making an important, but terrible decision. "Oh, I'm sorry Hikari," Takeru said clearly without showing any signs of reluctance, "but it seems that I've already got plans. I can't go with you after all." Takeru choked down his sadness at his final choice.
"Oh," Hikari responded bluntly, "that's too bad."
"Yeah," Takeru murmured in agreement.
"Okay, well, I have to go, Daisuke is waiting in the driveway," Hikari explained.
"Bye," Takeru said.
"Bye," Hikari hung up.
Takeru slowly hung up the phone, wrestling with his mind over the decision he had just made. "I've just given Daisuke an opportunity to make a move for her!" Takeru cursed as he buried his face in his hands. "But if I had agreed to go, I would probably somehow reveal to her how I feel, then she would hate me..." Takeru's faith in Hikari's adoration was shaky. Many boys his age were looking to Hikari, hoping that they could somehow hook up with her. But they weren't a threat: Takeru had established that Hikari would only choose someone she was close to. And there were only two possibilities for that outcome: Daisuke, and himself. And now Daisuke would relish in the time he had alone with Hikari, possibly make a move, then Hikari would accept him. But something told Takeru that that wouldn't happen, that Hikari wouldn't choose this soon. So even though Takeru was afraid because he had left them alone, he somehow knew that nothing incriminating would occur between them. It was an odd feeling, trusting that theory--that Hikari still wouldn't choose yet--but Takeru put his faith in it.
"Hey, Takeru!" the voice of Mr. Ishida called from the kitchen.
"Coming dad!" Takeru leaped up from the couch and dashed for the kitchen.
Mr. Ishida was hunched over the counter top, cutting up carrots for lunch, as Takeru entered.
"You wanted to see me, dad?" Takeru asked.
"Yes," Mr. Ishida agreed as he stopped his work and turned to face his son. "As you know, we've been finding some mighty big cockroaches crawling around the apartment building," Mr. Ishida pointed towards the bug trap sitting in the corner on the floor.
"It's disgusting," Takeru shuddered as he agreed, mentally counting how many cockroaches he had found and killed in his room over the past week.
Mr. Ishida nodded. "Well, other apartments have also been complaining about the bugs, so exterminators have been called in to spray the entire apartment building. They start tomorrow, and it will take a couple weeks for them to get the job done."
"Yeah, and?" Takeru raised an eyebrow, anticipating more.
Mr. Ishida sighed, knowing that his son would not like what he had to say next. he turned back to cutting the carrots. "Since the exterminators use a dangerous poison against the insects, I want you to go and live with your brother during the couple of weeks they're working. I don't want the toxin fumes to irritate you; plus, Yamato's apartment is closer to your high school, so you can walk to school in the mornings instead."
"What!?" Takeru gasped. "You want me to stay with Yamato? He won't want me there," he crossed his arms.
Mr. Ishida laughed. "That's true, but there's nothing he can do about it. I already called Sora, and she says its all right if you stay with her and Yamato for a couple of weeks. So go pack a few clothes and things you'll need while you're there, and I'll drive you there tonight."
"Hmph," Takeru huffed and stamped his foot. Though there was brotherly love between he and Yamato, sibling rivalry always interfered with the good times. Yamato used to be overprotective of Takeru when they were younger, but now that they were older--Takeru a 16 year old teenager and Yamato turning 19 soon--arguments were in abundance between them. However, when Sora appeared, she was able to calm most of the disputes. It had been 3 years since Yamato and Sora got together as boyfriend and girlfriend, and now they were living together in an apartment. Takeru tried to keep his mind from assuming what his brother and his girlfriend did at night--the noise of them in the night would be intolerable, he knew.
"Go get packed up now," Mr. Ishida prompted Takeru, "I'll take you as soon as we eat lunch."
"Right dad," Takeru agreed, and trudged down the hall to his bedroom.
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The elevator door opened and Takeru stepped out into the corridor, dragging with him a suitcase full of clothes and other necessities of his that he would need while he was staying with his brother.
".......number 1205......." Takeru muttered as he walked down the corridor, scanning the doors he passed for the number he voiced: the number of his brother's apartment. He finally spotted the digits, in bold script engraved in a metal plate hanging on the door at the end of the corridor. The door was slightly open, and blaring music and singing and a vacuum could be heard from within. Curiously Takeru pushed open the door wider.
"Hello?" Takeru called out as he stepped into the apartment. A stereo system in the corner was blasting the tune to the latest song on the airwaves, and a feminine voice in one of the rooms at the back of the apartment down the hall was singing along.
Takeru set his suitcase down and kicked off his shoes, glancing around the living room in search of the apartment's owners. He followed the source of the singing, walking down the hall towards the bedroom. The door was wide open, and the sound of the vacuum cleaner and the singer grew louder as Takeru approached. He peered inside, and saw Sora vacuuming the carpet floor, her back turned to the door, and she was singing and dancing to the music.
Chuckling to himself, Takeru reached down to the outlet in the wall, unplugging the vacuum. Sora, surprised, stopped dancing and singing and turned to see what happened to the vacuum, suspecting that she had accidentally pressed the button to turn it off.
"Damn appliance!" Sora mumbled as she flicked the vacuum's switch on and off, but it wouldn't turn on again.
Here Takeru loudly cleared his voice to catch Sora's attention.
Startled, Sora whirled around, her eyes brightening as she saw the figure of the blond teenager standing in the doorway. "Hi, Takeru!" she cheerfully exclaimed.
Takeru bent down and picked up the vacuum's plug, twirling it in his hand. "It's Friday, shouldn't you be at work or something?"
Sora laughed and approached Takeru, taking the swinging vacuum cord from his hand. "They're doing an inventory at the store today, and they didn't need my help. So I got the day off, and I decided to do a little spring cleaning."
Takeru grinned. "You should leave some cleaning for Yamato to do. He lives here too."
Sora shrugged. "He can clean the bathroom when he gets home."
Takeru nodded his head in agreement. "Are you sure that it'll be okay if I stay here while the exterminators are working on my apartment? Yamato probably isn't going to like mine being here."
Sora smiled. "Well, you are probably right about Yamato not liking you here, but there's nothing he can do about it. I invited you to stay here, so he can't kick you out. Now come with me, I'll have to get a blanket for the couch," she stepped around Takeru and headed out into the hallway.
"The couch?" Takeru was confused, but followed Sora.
"Where else do you expect to sleep? The floor?" Sora chuckled as she reached the linen closet in the hallway, opening it and pulling out a fleece blanket, then handing the bundle to Takeru.
"So there's cockroaches at your father's place?" Sora led Takeru to the living room.
"Yeah," Takeru agreed as he stumbled into the living room, struggling to see over the big blanket in his arms, "they're huge. I killed at least a dozen of them over the past few days. The stupid bugs are all over the apartment building. Dad says that the exterminators are going to be working on the building for a couple of weeks. So I hope that's not an inconvenience for you..."
"Of course not!" Sora smiled as she took the blanket from Takeru, then laid it out over the couch. "Even if there weren't those critters there I'd still want you to come visit us!" she grabbed some pillows from off of the armchairs in the room and threw them on the couch for Takeru to use.
"Thanks," Takeru smiled appreciatively.
"No problem," Sora shook her head. "So, you want pizza or fried chicken for supper?"
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"Oooo, can't eat any more pizza..." Takeru mumbled as he laid back on the couch and threw the pizza slice he had been eating back into the take-out box on the table beside him. He turned his attention back to the television, grasping the remote in his hand and idly flipping channels, searching for something entertaining.
Meanwhile, Sora was struggling to stay awake in order to finish a book she was reading. Finally she gave up: she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. So she changed into her night clothes--basically just an old T-shirt of Yamato's--and prepared to get into bed. But Takeru had the volume on the television on too loud.
Sora grumbled, and wandered down the hall towards the living room.
"Hey Takeru," Sora mumbled while leaning in the doorway. "Could you please turn down the sound? I'm going to go to bed."
"Oh, sorry Sora," Takeru agreed and turned down the volume.
"Thanks," Sora nodded as she turned and sauntered back down the hall. "Goodnight Takeru," she yelled.
"Goodnight Sora," Takeru shouted back, then heard the bedroom door shut.
Channel surfing was one of Takeru's late-night hobbies, but this time he found nothing worth watching. He glanced at the clock on the wall, muttering wearily to himself when he realized that its time read after 11:00.
"Might as well just get some sleep," Takeru reasoned and turned off the TV, pulling the blanket on the couch up around him and cuddling up his head against the pillows. In only a few minutes, Takeru was soundly sleeping, and no doubt dreaming of Hikari.
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Yamato yawned. "Late night...I hope Sora's not upset," he stepped out of the elevator and started walking down the hall, reaching the end of it and turning to face the door of apartment 1205.
He glanced at the watch on his left wrist as his right hand fumbled in his pocket for his keys. "Oh, almost midnight...latest I've been..." he found his keys and unlocked the door, entering his apartment.
Yamato took off his jacket and kicked off his shoes. He glanced around him, seeing that all the lights were off, so he assumed that Sora had already gone to bed.
As he ventured down the hallway, heading towards the bedroom, Yamato passed the living room. He peered inside, but since all was dark, he didn't notice that his guest was sleeping quietly on the couch.
Yamato continued down the hall, finally stopping by the bedroom door. The door was slightly open a bit, and Yamato gently pushed it to open it further. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he saw that Sora was the sleeping beauty who was lying on the bed. She was only wearing one of his old T-shirts, and she hadn't bothered to get under the covers--she was just laying on top of all the blankets on the bed.
Involuntarily, Yamato grinned. Sora looked so...appealing...hell, I'll just say it, she looked sexy. The T-shirt she wore was large, it stopped at mid-thigh, and entirely exposed her bare, smooth legs. And though the shirt was big, it appeared tight across her chest...which really got Yamato aroused. But her angelic face...soft ivory skin and rosy cheeks, strawberry-blond shoulder-length hair framed her gentle features, and pouted crimson lips...was something that begged to be kissed.
Yamato chuckled slyly to himself and strode towards the bed. Cautiously he sat on the edge of the bed, so as not to wake the sleeping beauty. He sighed as he gazed at her, reaching his hand up to tuck a strand of her red hair behind her ear. As he did so, Sora stirred and woke up.
"Hey Yamato," Sora smiled sweetly as she rubbed her eyes and sat up.
"Sorry I'm late getting back," Yamato apologized. "They wanted me to re-organize the management files."
"That's all right," Sora smiled as she wrapped her arms around Yamato's shoulders, reaching in and kissing him on his lips. "As long as you got all the work done."
"Yeah..." Yamato trailed off, not really paying attention as his senses were focused upon Sora's buxom form.
Sora giggled as she noticed that Yamato's eyes were steadfastly fixed upon her chesty figure. "Couldn't stand the wait, could you?" she asked him as she drew him closer to her, her hands sliding over his shirt, her fingers beginning to lightly pluck at the buttons of his shirt.
Yamato snapped out of his trance with Sora's persistent question. "Oh, of course not," he agreed while his own hands slid up her bare legs.
Sora let out a low moan. "Mmmmmmm...you don't have to work again tomorrow, do you?"
"Nope," Yamato instantly answered, but then drowned out her possible response by suddenly leaning her back, kissing her deeply.
"Mmmmmmm...good..." Sora murmured beneath his lips as she felt his hands gently going beneath her shirt. His fingers wrapped around the waist elastic of her panties, and began pulling them down.