outburst
Satoshi's first instinct when Nene says, 'mama,' is to flinch.
"Are you all right?" Nene asks tentatively, eyeing the way Satoshi blinks his eyes in fast beats, the way his fingers twitch, and the way his whole face drops for a millisecond before picking itself back up. He doesn't speak for a moment, so Nene prompts again, "Isshiki?"
"I'm fine," he assures. He fixes his posture and suddenly he's not so nervous, he's quiet, calculating, and there's hardness in eyes. His cerulean eyes find its way to her as he asks, "What are we going to do?"
"Well," she starts, "I was thinking that maybe you can rent a hotel for the night."
Satoshi frowns, conflict resting in his eyes, and Nene feels she's disappointed him somehow. However, he nods quickly right after and agrees, "All right."
Nene feels she should add that, "I'll pay for it."
Satoshi shakes his head and says, "No, you don't have to do that. I can crash at my co-worker's place."
Even if he says it as a fact, so casually and so coolly, Nene cannot help but hear a twinge of sadness in his tone, in his eyes, in the way he drums his fingers on his knees. He looks contemplative, serious, and it's nerve-racking for Nene (or for anyone, really) to see someone who's always been smiling turn their mouth upside down. Maybe it is this reason why she feels suddenly nervous.
"Well, uh, okay," she stammers out. It's so unlike her, and it's so unlike him. She's serious and contemplative, he's aloof and emotional; but they've suddenly switched places and she feels so out of place.
"It'll be all right, Kinokuni-kun," he assures, a grin solidifying on his face. It feels real, but Nene can tell that it's forced. She hates and yet is glad that she can read him like that.
Nene nods; she can't trust herself enough to speak in that moment.
"So, I suppose I should hide my stuff in your room?" he prompts, closing his eyes once more.
Her mother, her aunt, and her cousins arrive at noon. Their smiles are wide and cheery as they survey the whole apartment with judging eyes. It's most prominent with her aunt, whose beady dark eyes shrink at the lack of tatami mats and of shrines or even shouji. Her cousins, like her, have been raised in wooden floors and high ceilings, so their reactions are more uncomfortable than criticizing. Her mother's gaze is the one who strikes a nerve in her; they're filled with disappointment.
"Oh, Nene, I missed you so much!" her mother wails, hugging and kissing and clutching her only daughter. Nene feels contempt and heaviness in the hug rather than love and affection. It seems her mother may not as be as supportive in her decision to move as she thought.
"I missed you too, mother," Nene replies as warm as she can. As she leans over to her mother's neck, she sniffs flour, garlic, and the steaming broth of the soba noodles. She smells familiarity, her legacy as a Kinokuni and her eventual position in the family. These notions do not scare her as much as it had before. It's already cemented, there's no use denying it.
"Well, isn't this a nice surprise?" her aunt comments from the corner. "I didn't know you liked plants so much Nene; it's like a forest in here!"
Her mother giggles as well as she pushes herself from her daughter. She's laughing heartily as she agrees, "I never realized you'd have another hobby besides soba!"
Nene gazes at the greenery in her apartment. She feels somewhat sick: is it such a laughing matter that a person likes to tend to plants? Is it such an abnormal thing to have more than three plants in an apartment? She wants to scowl at them, but—why exactly does she want to?
"I just picked it up from a friend of mine," Nene explains.
"Well, as much as I love plants; gardening was never really our family's thing," her mother admits. "I'm glad you picked up a new skill."
Nene nods since her throat closed up. While she did learn plenty from Satoshi's endless babbles, she never truly understood what he was saying. It's partly because she's simply amazed at how his eyes lit up whenever he talks about his plants. She finds herself swooning, leeching off at the passion that he oozes, and wondering how his lips are still so plump and wet even after hours of talking—
"Anyway, darling, won't you treat us to a cup of tea?" her aunt asks.
She does. Her cousins help her, but the task is not enough for her cheeks to die down from its reddish glow.
"Oh! And she gave her four dumplings! What a misfortune," her aunt continues on with her story. Nene has always admired her aunt because of her expressiveness. Wide eyes and jaw agape, her hands rising and falling as they match the vivid intensity of their owner's tales, it's all somewhat reminiscing of a show.
"That's a distress," her mother quips as she pours another batch of tea for herself. "And right before the wedding day itself. Everyone seems to have such unlucky marriages recently."
Nene avoids eye contact, focusing instead on the crumbling biscuits inside her tea cup.
"Speaking of weddings," her aunt pipes up once again, the rollercoaster of emotions ready to drop from her face, "I heard that the eldest of the Isshiki clan is getting married."
Nene can feel something click inside her mother.
"Oh," it comes out strained and forced. The way her mother's eyes flash briefly towards her daughter suffocates Nene more than it should. "Is that so?"
"He's from the Hojo Clan, I believe," her aunt explains. "I hope that this wedding goes without a snitch this time."
"Well, the Isshiki are known for breaking promises," her mother shrugs while Nene tenses. "But I suppose I'm just glad they're done with that boy."
Nene freezes.
"Y-you knew that Isshiki was abandoned by his family, mother?" Nene sputters out in disbelief. Her ruby eyes flame dangerously as they dart from the two older ladies. Both her mother and aunt stare back at her with questioning looks, but Nene thinks that they're not supposed to look so surprised.
"Well, yes," her mother replies with a frown. "Why are you so disturbed?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Nene asks.
It's her aunt who answers this time, eyebrows raised and nose twitching perpetually, "We didn't think you'd care. He did leave you at the altar, for goodness' sake!"
Nene hisses. There's a surge of protectiveness in her heart as she thinks about Satoshi who's been through so much. She hates that every time she blinks, she sees him travelling aimlessly without the support of his family, transferring from place to place with threats to his employment, all because he refused to be forced into a loveless marriage. She finally fixes that scowl on her face and adamantly exclaims, "That doesn't matter! He was abandoned by his own family! Do you even know how much that hurts?"
"Nene, what has gotten into you?" her mother barks. "You shouldn't be defending such a cowardly person! He left you."
That doesn't matter anymore; Nene desperately mewls in her thoughts. It doesn't matter that he left her because he came back anyway.
"He's not a coward," she mumbles out.
She's not sure who speaks, but she has a vague feeling that it's her aunt, "Oh, Nene, please mull it over. That man is barely a man for not following through his promise. It's not a surprise that he's been dropped from the prestigious Isshiki Clan."
"Satoshi's not a coward!" Nene exclaims hotly.
They sit for a few moments in stunned silence.
"I'm sorry, mother," she finally mutters, fists shaking uncontrollably. There's a sniffle that's threatening to burst out, but she's never cried since last year and she's not about to stop now. "I really need to go."
She arrives at the address Satoshi gives her.
She barely manages to rap at the door when it swings open, an astonished Satoshi appearing from the inside.
"I'm so sorry, Satoshi," Nene cries out, eyes tearing at the sides. The next are a series of incomprehensible sniffles, "So sorry… you're…family."
Satoshi doesn't hesitate wrapping his arms around her. He whispers into her hair, "You have nothing to be sorry for, Nene."
And they stayed like that. Nene thinks it's the safest she's ever felt.
a/n: im so sorry that you had to wait for so long for such a short chapter. this story should be nearing it's ending soon so keep a lookout for that!