Chapter 5- Rendezvous with Gilbert
"Hey my little run-away. How've ya been?"
"Oh my god, Gil what are you doing here!?" In shock and excitement, Mizuki jumped into Gil's open arms for a big hug.
"Didn't you get my letter? I wrote to you saying that I was coming."
Mizuki let go, and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I received your letter, but I've been busy with school and track, so I kind of forgot to read it…"
"I see how it is. I save your life, and in return you ignore your old pal Gil." Gil dramatically held his hand over his heart to feign hurt. Unfortunately for him, he forgot that Mizuki didn't quite understand sarcasm, and he watched her face drop and then become nervous.
Bowing, Mizuki started stuttering apologies. "I'm so sorry Gil! It wasn't intentional at all! I was going to read your letter, I swear! Please don't be mad!"
Gil felt bad for putting Mizuki into a frantic state and started laughing. "It's ok. I was just messing with you! Hey I'm starving. Want to take me somewhere to get some food? I'm just dying to taste authentic Japanese food." Gil grabbed Mizuki by the arm, but she halted before they could go any further.
"Wait Gil, I have class, and I'm going to be late if I don't hurry!" Mizuki struggled to free from Gil's grip, but he was too strong for her. She turned to find Gil locking eyes with her, almost pleading for something, but pleading for what, Mizuki did not know.
"Take me with you." Gil said with determination. Mizuki tilted her head, never hearing Gil speak to her that way before. "You want to sit in a classroom with a bunch of guys who all speak a language you don't understand? Won't you be bored? We can always hang out after class if you want to explore the area until I finish."
"I don't mind. As long as I'm with you, I won't be bored." Gil gave a cheeky smile and thumbs up to prove to Mizuki that he would be ok.
Giving up, Mizuki grabbed her bag and headed for the door. "Fine, but you need to behave and let me do my work. I'm not getting in trouble because you turned down my option to meet you later."
"Bored is the last thing I expect." "Especially if Sano is in the same class." Gil closed the door behind him and followed Mizuki to her next class.
Classroom
"Where is she? She's going to be late if she doesn't hurry! I swear I should've just taken her with me when I left. But we were fighting, so I guess it was good that I left first. Still, what could be taking her so long!?" Sano kept looking at the door to see if his roommate was walking in. Just as the bell rang, the girl that has been flooding his thoughts ran to her seat, with…Gil right behind her!?
Bowing to her teacher Mizuki took a moment to catch her breath, "Gomen'nasai! My friend from America just got here, and he wants to experience a Japanese class. Will it be ok if he stays for this one class?"
With a nod from her teacher, Mizuki pulled up an extra chair next to her desk for Gil to use, and pulled out her materials for class.
"Hey Sano, isn't that that Gil guy that we met when we were at Mizuki's house?" Nakatsu poked Sano to get his attention, but Sano ignored him and continued to glare at his love rival. Gil sensed someone watching him and turned to give Sano his famous smirk. He knew that would piss off the high jumper that his Mizuki fawned over. He also knew that Mizuki wouldn't leave him since he didn't know anyone else, and Shizuki wasn't scheduled to fly in for another week. "Heh, bring it on Sano." Gil turned back when Mizuki tried to show him what they were working on. He was quite bored with the class, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "I'm not going to let you take her away from me. You may think you have the advantage now, but once school is done, she's going to fly back home to me." The rest of the class noticed a change in the air, but only Kayashima was able to pick up what was really going on. "Hm, so this American likes Mizuki too. She looks comfortable with him, but I wonder if she knows his true intentions. Probably not; she's dense like that." Kayashima continued to watch their interactions throughout class. "It's not my place to say. She'll figure it out eventually. For now I'll watch out for her." A jolt of electricity ran through Kayashima's body at the thought of Mizuki hugging him earlier, but he passed it off as caring for a friend. Little did he know that he was about to join this tangled triangle for Mizuki's affection.
After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang signaling the end of class as well as the end of the day. Mizuki stretched before putting her belongings into her bag. "Ready for dinner Gil? We all usually meet in the cafeteria, and I'd love to introduce you to the other guys." Mizuki beamed up as Gil, hoping that he would say yes. Looking over at a scowling Sano, Gil turned back and happily agreed. "Sure, let's go Mizu-chan." That was the final straw that put Sano over the edge. "Sorry Gil, the cafeteria is for students only. Unfortunately without a student ID badge, you cannot enter. You shouldn't even be walking around the campus without a visitor's badge. How did you even get in without getting caught? I'm sure there aren't many blonde students walking around, so the faculty must know that you don't go to this school."
"Sano stop. I know you're not very happy with me right now, but you shouldn't take that out on Gil. He's just visiting today, so what's the big deal? Teacher didn't seem to mind when I explained the situation. Come on Gil, let's go before the special is gone. Ton katsu is my favorite!" Mizuki took Gil's hand and pulled him down the hall.
"I don't like his aura." Kayashima stood behind Sano, also watching Mizuki take the foreigner to meet the rest of their group. Sano sighed and gathered his belongings as well. "Let's get this over with." They both walked in silence, thinking about the same girl who opened their worlds.
Cafeteria
"Wow, this food is amazing! Had I known it was going to be this good, I would've come to visit you sooner!" Gil was happily stuffing his face when the others showed up. Mizuki stood up to introduce her friend. "Hey everyone, I want you to meet Gil. He is visiting from America, and is a dear friend of mine, so please be kind to him! Gil this is Shinji Noe, Kyogo Sekime, Senri Nakao, Taiki Kayashima, and of course you remember Shuichi Nakatsu and Izumi Sano." Everyone nodded their heads as Mizuki called their names and gave a quick wave before starting their meals.
"So Gil, how did you and Mizuki meet? You look older than us, so was it at school? Was he always this cute? Was he the idol at your old school too? He tries to take my title here, but there's no way that anyone can be as cute as me." Nakao piped in before taking a bite of his food and flipping his hair out of his face nonchalantly.
Gil tried to stifle his laugh, but a giggle managed to escape. Nakao caught it and huffed. He did not like being made fun of. If he had to be Osaka Gakuen's Princess, then he was going to own it and be the only one who could have that title. "I didn't mean to laugh, but to answer your questions, no we did not meet at school, in America there aren't any titles like that in our schools, but Mizuki has always been cute. At least he has been ever since I met him when he tried to run away from home." Everyone's eyes got wide except for Sano and Nakatsu's since they heard the story the last time. Mizuki glared at her friend while he told the story about how the met, and she held her breath every time he used a pronoun. One of her Osaka friends already knew her secret; she didn't need to add more to that list. Kayashima, who was sitting on her other side, caught each held breath and slid his hand under the table to squeeze Mizuki's trembling hand in support and comfort. Her breathing became more even and there was a slight grip sent back as if saying thank you. No one seemed to notice the interaction between the two, and they planned on keeping it that way.
Gil finished his story, and everyone was full and ready to either go to practice or to their rooms for the evening. "Alright guys, let's get ready for practice. I know coach has a lot planned for us today!" Nakatsu jumped up, all fired up to show Mizuki a new trick he's been working on. "Gil, did you want to watch them practice? I go to support Sano, but it might be boring for you." Everyone had already started walking to the field, except Kayashima, who was heading back to his room. Just as Gil was about to answer, his phone started buzzing. After reading the message, he slid his phone back in his pocket and sighed. "I'd love to, but my ride is here." Gil took a piece of paper and a pen out of Mizuki's bag and wrote down an address. "Here's the address to my hotel. Maybe if you're free tomorrow we can go out and you can show me around? My number's here too so you can call me when you arrive." Mizuki smiled, nodded, and walked Gil to the front. "I'll see you tomorrow then!" Mizuki was about to walk back when Gil spun her around and wrapped his arms around her. "Until tomorrow." He whispers into her ear before letting go.
Mizuki was stunned, but managed to turn around and walk back towards her room, still in a daze from what just transpired between her and Gil. Not paying attention, she bumped into someone and started to apologize when she looked up and saw that it was Kayashima. "Sorry I should've been watching where I was going!" Kayashima continued to stare at her. "Are you ok? Your colors are off." Mizuki stopped apologizing and lowered her shoulders. "Honestly I don't know. Today has been so weird; I don't know what to make of it all." Kayashima felt that electricity through his body once more, and he impulsively grabbed Mizuki's hand and started walking her to his room. "Kayashima, where are we going?" "To my room. We need to talk and Nakatsu won't be back for a few hours."
Kayashima opened the door to his room and let Mizuki enter first. She had been in his room before, but now it felt different. Different because now she knows that Kayashima knows that she's a girl. Mizuki nervously sat on Kayashima's bed, waiting to hear what aura reader had to say. Kayashima took his time preparing tea for his guest and in doing so adding a few calming elements. Handing her the cup, Mizuki nodded in thanks and took a sip from the hot mug. Minutes of silence felt like hours, and Kayashima started to speak. "What is worrying you? I sense scrambled emotions, and it's getting to be too much for you to handle on your own. You can talk to me. I'm here to listen."
Taking another sip of tea, Mizuki compiled her thoughts before responding. "A lot has happened, and I'm just trying to take it all in. This morning with you, the fight with Sano, Gil showing up; I just haven't processed it all, and it's starting to affect me. I-I just don't know what to do…" Kayashima took the now empty mug from Mizuki and sat beside her. Placing his hand on top of her, he turned to face her, ready to tell her what she needed to hear. "Ashiya you are a dear friend to me, and I never want to lose that between us, but there is something that I need to tell you." Pausing to make sure that he had her full attention, Kayashima continued with his thoughts, "I'm not telling you to hurt you or make you upset, but I've learned over the years that I have a certain responsibility with these abilities. And part of that responsibility is informing you of my readings on your friend." Mizuki's full attention was now on what Kayashima was about to tell her. "They weren't good. The colors were muddy and dark, confused almost. I'm not telling you to stop being friends with him, I'm just telling you to be careful because I care about you, and I don't want to see you hurt. Ashiya? Ashiya? Are you ok?" Mizuki continued to stare blankly. Kayashima looked at her worriedly, hoping that she would say something soon. Letting go of her hand, Kayashima wrapped his arm around her fragile body and pulled her close to him.
What seemed like hours, Kayashima looked down to see a sleeping Mizuki. "She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping. How could anyone want to hurt this beautiful person? If I could, I'd make sure she never gets hurt like this again. Wait, where did these feelings come from? Ashiya is just a friend, one of the guys…but is she really? Was this the push my heart needed for these feelings to come out of me? Have I finally found the person who can accept me, abilities and all? But she likes Sano. Why would she ever give me a chance, when she has the great Izumi Sano? He's the reason she came to this school in the first place…" Kayashima's thoughts were interrupted by Mizuki who was starting to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked around the semi familiar room. It took her a minute to notice that she not in her room and the memories started coming back. "How long was I out?" Her questioning eyes bore into Kayashima's as he tried to recover from his previous thoughts. "An hour maybe? Are you feeling any better?" Mizuki nodded, still curled into Kayashima's arms with no intention of moving. "I know I'm oblivious to a lot of things, so thank you for telling me about what you sensed. Most people don't bother telling me anything, and I have to wait to find these things out. It's been like that all my life, so again, thank you. You are a true friend." Mizuki rolled so that she was looking at Kayashima during her speech of gratitude and was beaming. Kayashima had never seen her eyes shine like that before, so honest and loving. Somehow their bodies started gravitating towards each other. Closer and closer until their lips were mere inches from each other. "Oh god, is this really happening?" they both thought with no intention of stopping. The moment where their friendship went to the next level was so close that they could taste it. Just a little closer and –
*SLAM*
"Kayashima, my sweet Mizuki has gone missing! You need to help me find him!" Nakatsu halted when he saw his love interest in the arms of his roommate. "What the hell is going on here!?" Mizuki hides her crimson face in her hands, mortified that she was caught in the act. "What is wrong with me? I like Sano, Izumi Sano. So then why was I just caught almost kissing Kayashima!? Where did these feelings even come from? Could it be that I have a crush on both Sano AND Kayashima? Oh Kami, what am I going to do!?"
"Calm down Nakatsu, you're overreacting."
"ME overreacting!? Since when are you even gay!? So all this time when I've been telling you my feelings about Mizuki, you've been going behind my back!?" Nakatsu walked further into the room, directing his anger at his roommate.
"It's not like that at all. I haven't been sneaking behind your back, and Ashiya and I weren't doing anything. He needed a friend to talk to, and I was the only one not at practice."
"Oh, so it's my fault because I play soccer, is that it? And you two looked awfully close for only talking. Had I not come in when I did, who knows what state I would find you both in."
Mizuki was getting irritated with Nakatsu's accusations. "Nakatsu stop. You know you're over exaggerating now. Like Kayashima said, I needed to talk to a friend, and he was there for me. Thank you for listening, but I should go back to my room. I'll see you tomorrow." Mizuki got up, but not without squeezing Kayashima's hand first. He took this as a positive sign and watched his new found crush walk out of his room.
"Bye Mizukiiiii…" Nakatsu cried as she passed him silently.
Mizuki walked into her room to find Sano just getting out of the shower. "Hey, where have you been? I didn't see you at practice. Were you hanging out with him?" Already irritated by Nakatsu, Sano was only making it worse, and Mizuki was done with all of the drama. "Gil left hours ago. I wasn't at your practice because I was talking to Kayashima. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to take my shower and go to bed. If you still want to talk we can do so tomorrow morning. Goodnight." And with that Mizuki washed off the horrible stench from her horrible day, mind still thinking about the boy she almost kissed today.
A/N – Since I started the rewriting phase, I've realized the slightly different direction that I'm taking with this story. Same love triangle, same outcome, different main plot. Enjoy!
XOiHeaRTMiLoOX