Chapter 54: True Feelings Arc - Chasing Kites
Enjoy this long Kaiya chapter. It will also give you a slightly closer look at both Daichi and Hideki Himura, and possibly their personalities, if you squint. And I'll just say in advance that this is probably an arc that many of you have waited for...if you know what I mean. Anyway, no more spoilers. On with the story.
Disclaimer: Reread the ones on the previous chapters. Nevertheless, I don't own Naruto or anything canonical.
Kaiya's POV
"Hey, Yahiko," I asked the orange-haired boy that I hadn't seen for quite a while. "Out of curiosity, do you know how to read palms?"
At that strange comment, he shot me a sideways glance, adjusting his position on the floor of his treehouse. "Kind of, but why would you ask me that? Konan is a better palm reader than me, to be honest. Actually, why do you even need me to read your palm in the first place? Is it because of your day with Daichi today?"
I swiftly nodded, not wanting my cheeks to turn pink again. Surprisingly, they didn't at all, but I just shook it off as the result of being in a dream. "Maybe. I just don't want anything to go horribly wrong, since this is the first time that I've gotten to hang around him for a while. For the past few months, it's been solely the Akatsuki and my siblings, including you."
Yahiko held out his palm politely, almost in a gentleman-like manner. "May I?"
In response, I let him touch my hand, and silently, he rubbed his fingers against mine gently. At first, I shivered, feeling somewhat jittery at the fact that a ghost of all things was touching me. For some reason, Yahiko and I could touch each other, though he had explicitly stated before that it wasn't supposed to happen. Maybe it was simply because I had believed in ghosts and the afterlife for a long time.
He scrunched his eyebrows down in concentration as he traced over the various lines on my palm, his amber eyes fluttering shut for a few seconds at a time every now and then. My own eyes were concentrated on the patterns his fingers were completing, though I was also trying not to stiffen at his touch.
"Do you see anything?" I asked curiously, being new to the art of fortune-telling and all.
"Patience," he mused, grabbing my hand and gently prodding the tips of my fingers. "It's been quite a while since I've last done this, so it may take a while."
Nodding, I allowed him to do his work, trying to replace the image of him with that of one of my siblings. Naoki would have gladly done this if he knew how to do it, though Yukio might handle my palm way too roughly to properly read it. Kagami...well, that's a different story.
"Do you want me to tell you a secret?" he suddenly whispered, even though nobody else was around me at the time. Curiously, I nodded once more, leaning in slightly so that he could whisper the secret into my ear.
"I actually can't read palms."
Instantaneously, I jerked away, slapping his hand in the process as I retracted my hand. "Idiot," I grumbled, but giggled slightly due to his childish antics. It was almost as if the more time I spent with him doing such childish things, the less he appeared to be his actual age in my eyes. The thirty-five-year-old hadn't kept just his looks from his adolescence when he had ascended up to the Pure Land, but personality as well.
He snickered nervously, placing a hand on his temple. "Well, I just wanted to see if it would work. For a moment, I thought that I had received a vision of something, but it was just me blinking as I traced your palm. Plus, you looked like you needed some cheering up, especially since you have a big day."
That statement made me smile at him. "Aww, that's so sweet of you. Still, I guess I shouldn't be so nervous about it. I've hung out with Daichi-kun most of my life, so there's no reason for this situation to be any different. I'll just have to imagine that I'm around Deidara or something."
"Really?" he teased, a smirk playing at his lips. "Perhaps you're secretly wishing that it would be Deidara instead?"
I flushed red in embarrassment, something he definitely found to be somewhat amusing. "No way! Maybe that was a bad example...I'm assuming that you saw our physical squabble in the closet last week?"
"That was really entertaining," he mused, snickering to himself even more as the shade of my blush darkened, challenging the color of Sasori's hair. "You should tell him how you feel before it's too late…" Suddenly, he stopped, his smile fading off into a frown. It didn't take me long to realize that he had wandered back to his regret regarding how he had never told Konan how he had felt toward her.
"Maybe I should," I mumbled, "but I'm feeling really torn right now, that's all. The thing is, I don't know if my feelings for Deidara actually exist or is just my mind playing a dirty trick on me. Now that I think about it, my crush on Daichi-kun might have been affected a little. I don't know, Yahiko. I don't know!"
Yahiko just placed a hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner. "Calm down, alright? I'm sorry that I dampened the mood a bit, but I guess it's just natural for me to bring up the thought of Konan and Nagato."
"Oh, yeah," I muttered, a sudden realization washing over me. "How have your cranes been going?"
"Nine hundred and fifty," he responded cheerfully. "I'm so close to a thousand, but you guys keep on distracting me. I guess it's just a thing for us to watch you on a daily basis, but unfortunately, it gives other spirits a chance to snatch away some of my cranes."
"Oh," I said sheepishly, waving my hands in apology. "Sorry about that."
He shrugged. "It's fine, since you're all trying your best to have fun. I'm sure Konan was having a swell time launching fireworks and fireflies with Nagato that evening, though she still hasn't cracked a smile."
"Well, at least you've been making some progress," I mumbled, my gaze shifting toward the pile of cranes that laid in the corner of the treehouse. "I have no idea where my feelings are going, especially since I don't know who they're truly directed to."
Yahiko quickly grabbed a sheet of origami paper from the corner and began creasing it. "I'm sure that you'll eventually find out who you truly like. After all, love is a thing that takes a significant amount of time to work its magic. People don't just fall in love right away; that's infatuation and possibly lust. You've got to know the person really well before you start thinking that you love them."
"Actually," I stammered slightly, pressing my fingers together, "I don't think I could call either of them 'love' yet. I haven't really been acting on my feelings for Daichi-kun, nor have I been really trying to comprehend how I really feel about Deidara. Maybe I'm just being too lazy about it."
"Well," he replied sternly, "you've got your day with Daichi today, so make the most of that. And as for Deidara, try not to to yell at him all the time and actually have some fun together. Romance doesn't always come to you; sometimes, it's you that has to come to romance."
As soon as he had said that, the darkness came rolling overhead once again, signaling that my time in the Pure Land was up. We looked up together, spotting the shadows weaving their way toward the treehouse.
"Looks like it's time for me to go," I deadpanned, slightly disappointed that I wouldn't receive more time to clear my head in my dream. "Good luck on folding the other fifty cranes, Yahiko."
"Yeah," he said, nodding happily. "And good luck on your date, too. Just remember to try and have fun."
That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out completely, the darkness swallowing me. A minute later, I was back on my bed, arms splayed out like I was trying to make a snow angel on nonexistent snow.
My alarm clock was pinging, displaying 9:30 A.M. in bright red characters. Sighing, I slapped a hand down on it, snoozing the digital demon, and stretched my sore limbs out. Yawning, I padded over to my dresser groggily and grabbed a handful of clothes to change into for the day.
This time, I decided not to wear the pink kimono that I had always enjoyed wearing. Instead, for the first time in a while, I picked out a pair of jeans and a sky blue t-shirt, each as plain as the other. Nevertheless, it satisfied me quite enough, as it was a style that I had used to wear all of the time before I became interested in traditional Japanese clothing.
Stepping off into the bathroom across from my room, I quickly changed into my garb for the day and tied my hair into a high, tight ponytail. "You'll do just fine," I reassured myself, attempting to calm myself down by staring at my reflection in the mirror.
Suddenly, a loud banging came from the door, distracting me from my attempt to alleviate my nervation.
"Onee-chan!" came the muffled voice of Yukio. "How much longer are you going to hog the bathroom? I really need to—"
"Alright!" I groaned, bursting the door open and running outside as fast as I could. "Don't give me the details, otouto! I'm out!"
Yukio snickered before stepping inside the bathroom and locking the door. I sighed, shaking my head at his childish antics before making my way back to my room in order to pick up my handbag.
It was a medium-sized, rectangular yellow purse that wasn't too expensive, but not too flashy either. Carefully, I placed my phone and a few snacks inside of it, as well as a small sum of cash and a bottle of lavender perfume, just in case something went terribly wrong. At the last second, I removed my driver's license, remembering that I could simply walk to Daichi's house, as it was only seven minutes away.
Before I was able to step out of the door, however, Deidara came up behind me, Akane on his shoulder. The clay phoenix immediately jumped onto my head, causing me to flinch slightly.
"Sorry, Akane," I apologized, cupping her in my hands and handing her back to Deidara. "I can't play with you today. I'm spending time with Daichi-kun today, since I haven't done that in a while."
"That's not it," Deidara corrected, pushing the bird back to me. "Take Akane with you as your personal familiar, just to stay safe, un. If Daichi questions her appearance, just say that she's a parakeet."
I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure? I don't know if this is a good idea, especially since she might get lost or hurt."
"Kaa!" cried Akane in protest, fluttering back onto my head. Her tail flickered in slight irritation, as if she didn't take to being called weak lightly.
"Very well," I reluctantly mumbled, slinging my handbag over my shoulder and beginning to walk out the door. "I'll take her with me. See you."
"Wait!" he shouted suddenly, causing me to whip back around to face him. For a while, we just stared at one another in bewilderment, patiently waiting for the other person to make a move. Finally, Deidara couldn't take the awkward silence any longer, turning his head away while crossing his arms. "Just...just be safe and have fun, alright? It's not like I care or anything, un…"
"Geez," I mumbled, though my inner was laughing at the moment. "Of course I'll take care of myself. What kind of big sister would I be for my family if I couldn't? Anyway, I have to go now, before Daichi-kun gets worried. Take care."
And with that, Akane and I left, gently closing the door behind us. Carefully crossing the street, we took a small turn to the left, heading to where my best friend lived...if I could still refer to him as such after not spending much time with him.
That brought up that recurring question again: which boy did I truly have feelings for? I didn't want to tell either of them how I felt, not because I feared rejection but because I was uncertain at the time. There was absolutely no point in trying to initiate something as serious and delicate as romance if it was merely a mind trick, so I needed to be a hundred percent sure about my feelings. Unfortunately, my brain simply refused to cooperate on my quest to find out what my heart wanted.
"Kaa?" chirped Akane, prodding my cheek with her beak gently. Sighing, I pet her head gently, still wishing that I could comprehend my own thoughts.
"You are such a lucky little fellow," I muttered enviously, scratching under her wing. "You've never had to feel torn throughout your entire life about something as seemingly stupid as romantic feelings. There are days like this one when I wish that I can sink into a state of blissful oblivion like you, Akane. Without a care in the world and a total free-spirit...if I could spend just one day like that, I would be satisfied and at ease."
The clay phoenix just tilted its head curiously, understanding not a single word that I had just said. Instinctively, she nipped at some stray hair strands near my ponytail, grabbing them with her beak and tucking it behind my ear.
"Thanks," I mumbled, stroking her head in gratitude. "I guess I should focus on the present for now, right? If I start worrying in the middle of our day, he'll definitely think that something's up with me. And that's saying a lot, since Daichi-kun is one of the most oblivious boys that I know. He's very easygoing and likes to have fun, and he is quite good-humored and loyal. I just wish I can resolve these emotions inside of my heart...nah, I shouldn't be thinking that way. I've got to look beyond the storm to find the rainbow, after all."
Chatting with Akane was rather time-consuming, proven further when I ended up arriving at Daichi's neighborhood sooner than I had expected. It was a pity that the only word that Akane could say was "Ba-caw", or baka. Otherwise, it would have been much easier for us to sympathize each other. But either way, Akane didn't need my sympathy, aside from the time on the ski lift.
Racking my brain for the house number, I finally found the correct home, which had a mahogany-colored door that stood out from all of the others like a sore thumb. Gulping slightly, I adjusted my ponytail before knocking three times on the wooden surface. Akane, on impulse, flew up to the top of my head and immersed herself in my hair.
Three seconds later, the door swung open, revealing not Daichi but his younger brother, Hideki Himura. The fourteen-year-old stood there with a firm expression, his dark brown hair covered by a large medieval cap with a feather protruding from it. His similarly colored eyes met mine, and all at once, his lips were painted with a charming smile, complimenting his — although I wasn't sure why he was wearing it — suit and bow tie.
"Bonjour, belle mademoiselle," greeted Hideki in a smooth French accent, bowing to me like a gentleman. "Good morning, beautiful lady. A pleasure to see you on zis fine morning."
Before I could reply, he suddenly took my hand and planted a small kiss on the back of it. I stifled a yelp as my cheeks flared up, pulling my hand back just as Daichi came sprinting out the door. However, the look on his face definitely displayed that he had selected the wrong time to come running out of his house.
"O-otouto!" he scolded his brother, realizing what Hideki had done. "D-don't try to scare Kaiya-chan like that again!"
"But ze très bien moi is not!" he argued, crossing his arms and flicking the feather on his hat. "I'm just greeting 'er like a proper gentleman, zat's all! Seriously, why don't you watch 'etalia to see what I'm talking about? It's absolutely ze most magnifique show in ze world!"
"You can drop the French accent!" Daichi stammered, while I giggled at their playful interaction. "This is really embarrassing...I'm sorry, Kaiya-chan!"
I shook my head in reassurance. "Nah, it's fine. Your brother just likes imitating other cultures, as usual. Besides, French is rather pretty, though not many people speak it around here. It's great that you're learning parts of different languages, Hideki."
He grinned in response, placing his hands on his hips in a dignified manner. "It's always my pleasure!" he boasted, finally dropping the accent. "After all, if I'm to travel the world someday, I've got to know how everything works and speaks!"
Daichi sighed in relief. "Would you like to come inside for a little while, Kaiya-chan? We can leave for the park whenever you like, but we were in the middle of playing a game of Slapjack."
"May I join?" I asked, fiddling with my handbag. "I hope that you don't mind if I do."
"Of course not!" Daichi answered, opening the door completely. "Make yourself at home, and we'll restart…" Suddenly, he trailed off, his eyes darting towards my face...or at least, what I had assumed to be my face.
"Is something the matter?" I inquired, cocking a brow at him. He continued to stare at me in bewilderment before pointing a curious finger at my hair.
"What's that in your hair?" he questioned, and my eyes shot wide open. Shaking my head slightly in mirth, I cupped the mischievous bird in my hands and revealed her to the two boys. Akane squawked in protest at being removed from the nest she had turned my hair into, but quickly calmed down when I began stroking her back with my finger.
"This is my parakeet," I explained to him, making sure not to tell him that she was actually a phoenix made out of clay. "She didn't want to be left alone for today. Akane, please say hello to my friend Daichi-kun and his brother, Hideki."
Akane bowed politely, curtsying with her wings and feathers. "Cheep, cheep!" she greeted, folding her wings back again.
The two were definitely impressed with the docile bird's obedience. "Where did you find a bird like her?" Hideki inquired, putting his finger out for Akane to perch on. Curiously, she pecked at it for a while, but finally obliged and sat atop of his hand, chirping merrily.
"She was lying on my front yard with an injured wing," I lied, hoping that Hideki didn't notice that Akane was actually made out of clay. She usually felt like a real bird, but whenever I scratched under her wings — her favorite spot — I could easily tell that it was hardened clay. I just had to make sure that they did not attempt such a thing.
"Poor thing," muttered Daichi, pity lacing his voice as he stroked the cooing phoenix. "But are you sure that your cats aren't going to attack her? I mean, you know what a cat usually does when it spots one, right?"
"My kittens are really nice to her," I told him, alleviating his doubts slightly. "They do bat at her wings on occasion, but never do it with their claws unsheathed. She doesn't mind, though she does attack them from time to time when they irritate her."
At that, Akane grimaced, the very comment literally ruffling her feathers. "Ba-caw."
Hideki's face instantly lit up at that. "No way! Did she just say 'baka'?"
I nodded, snickering to myself. "That's the only word she knows how to say, oddly enough. She hasn't said it for a while, since our cats have been quite docile lately. But yeah, she does use it against the kittens."
They both burst into laughter, as if they were imagining the little bird pecking at our kittens and calling them idiots in Japanese. "You need to send me a video of that someday!" Hideki chuckled, nearly dropping Akane because he was laughing so hard. "You are so lucky to have pets like that! On the other hand, fratello here won't get me a Scottish Fold!"
Daichi sighed, facepalming and shaking his head as it was my turn to laugh. "You are definitely not responsible enough to take care of a pet, otouto. Even I don't have enough time nowadays because I'm preparing for my SATs and trying to get into a good college. But perhaps, in a little while, I'll get that Scottish Fold for you."
"Yes!" cheered Hideki, pumping a fist in the air in victory. "Can we name him Iggy?"
"You really need to stop watching that show, otouto…" Daichi deadpanned, crossing his arms as he shook his head once again at his grinning younger brother.
Hideki stuck his tongue out at him, contradicting the image of the gentleman that I had seen in him just a few minutes ago. "Too bad! It's taught me more about world history than any of those lame classes at Kestrel Heights! I don't care if the characters are personified versions of our countries portrayed in the most stereotypical ways possible, since it's a nice source of education without worrying about homework!"
"Um…" I started, watching the two argue with each other, "can we go inside and play cards? The day might not last forever."
"Oh, sorry!" Daichi said rapidly, apologizing profusely. "I completely forgot about that when I saw Akane sitting on your head. And then, after a game of Slapjack, would you like to head to the neighborhood park and have a picnic?"
"Of course," I replied almost immediately. "And don't apologize...really, it's all part of being the oldest sibling. On another note, where's your mother? Is she on another business trip or something?"
Daichi's parents had split when he was ten years old because his father had been too busy with work to take care of his family. He and his younger brother had lived with their mother, but she too, occasionally had to head out on her own business trips. So when he replied to my question with the affirmative, I wasn't too surprised at all.
"I wish that she would take me with her on her trips," Hideki mumbled sadly as we entered the house. "She has to head to Europe for this one...more specifically, Yorkshire, England. There's nothing wrong with wanting to explore the world and find undiscovered lands someday, is there?"
"Absolutely not," I thought, his remark reminding me a bit of Yukio's wish to be a popular teenage delinquent. "Dream on, and maybe you'll get what you wish for someday, Hideki. Yukio-chan and Naoki-chan are doing the same, but for different goals. Yukio-chan wants to be a teenage gangster that is respected and recognized by everybody, and your best friend wants to be a film director or something like that. I'm half-expecting him to end up becoming a manga artist someday, though I rarely see him draw."
We all headed into the house, with Daichi closing the door behind me. Taking off my shoes, I sat down on the carpet in the middle of the living room as Hideki reshuffled the deck of cards that had already been lying there. Akane, who had flown back up into my hair as I had been talking to the boys, peered up at Hideki, curious why he was moving his hands so quickly.
Eventually, the boy finished shuffling the deck of cards, carefully passing out seventeen cards to each of us. Taking the remaining card, he placed it in the middle and flipped it over, revealing a two of hearts.
"I'll go first," Hideki announced, placing his card down, showing a nine of spades. "We can go counterclockwise from here, so go next, Kaiya-san."
Nodding, I put down the card on top of my deck down, which happened to be a jack. Instinctively, all three of us slammed our hands down on the pile, wanting to claim the cards it contained as our own. However, Hideki grinned in triumph, his hand being crushed underneath the force of mine and Daichi's.
Oh, the irony.
"Ha!" he boasted, quickly swiping all of the cards before placing down an ace of diamonds. "Too slow!"
It had been a while since I had played games with both Hideki and Daichi instead of just Daichi, but as I recalled, Hideki often let his competitive side roam free while playing against others. To him, everybody, including his own brother, was a major adversary during a game of cards.
However, on another note, that had been the first time that I had played cards with them since last year. Back then, I wouldn't have minded if I let Daichi's hand slam right on top of mine. But now…
"Um, your turn, Kaiya-chan," Daichi stammered, pink tinting his cheeks for whatever reason. Perhaps he was simply acting like that because we hadn't touched hands for Kami-knows-how-long, and a small amount of blood rushed to my cheeks as well. Shaking it off mentally, I wordlessly placed down another card.
The game went on for a while, with the coveted double and jack appearing on the pile rather frequently. Hideki had won most of the cards, while Daichi and I had shot worried glances at the diminishing decks in our hands. And yes, we still had touched hands whenever one of those doubles of jacks came up, making me fear seeing either one of them slightly. Somehow, I had managed to maintain my cool every time such a thing happened, and just like that, every single turn had passed by rather quickly.
After playing for about ten minutes, both Daichi and I ran out of cards, while Hideki triumphantly flashed all fifty-two cards in his hands. "Alright! I won!"
Daichi facepalmed, sighing and shaking his head. Akane, who had pretty much been silent for most of the game, suddenly leaped up and mumbled a blunt "Ba-caw" while narrowing her eyes at Hideki.
Of course, this did not go unnoticed by the boy. After hearing that, he stopped cheering for himself, while his smile quickly ran away from his lips.
"Oi," he growled at Akane, glaring right back at her, "what did you just call me, Akane?"
It was pretty obvious that Hideki had already forgotten about Akane knowing only that word, so it wasn't a surprise when the clay phoenix repeated it, her feathers beginning to bristle. "Ba-caw."
Hideki picked the bird up in his hands, the latter letting out a squawk of protest at that unwanted action. "I dare you to say that one more time, you imbecíle!"
"Ba-caw!" Akane spat, almost as if she was trying to stick a tongue out at him in disgust. But of course, she didn't have one, not that it would have even mattered. After all, birds couldn't blow raspberries to start with.
The argument went on for a while, with Akane and Hideki yelling at each other, almost mirroring the image of one of Yukio and Hidan's squabbles. Oddly enough, it also reminded me about the ones that I had with Deidara, but over even more childish topics, such as simple touching. It wasn't even inappropriate touching, but it had already turned into a sarcastic habit.
Finally, Daichi decided to take matters into his own hands, and slowly approached his brother. He bent down to whisper in Hideki's ear, but I could hear every single word that he said. "Feel free to go upstairs and binge-watch Hetalia for the next couple of hours if you want."
Hideki's brown eyes flew wide open with surprise before he charge-tackled his brother, forgetting all about Akane. "Thank you, fratello! Thank you! Thank you!"
And just like that, he set Akane down on the carpet and bolted up the stairs, not bothering to look back once. As soon as his little brother disappeared into the upstairs hallway, he turned to me, bowing apologetically.
"Please forgive my otouto for his...er, queer behavior," he sighed, tumbling over his own words. "He's crawled back into his Hetalia phase again recently, and once something like this starts, I can't stop it from happening. I hope that you didn't mind his attitude too much."
"Of course I didn't," I answered him truthfully. "Naoki-chan loves anime and cartoons as well, though he isn't too fond of that particular show. He hasn't finished it yet, since he doesn't consider it one of his top priorities."
He smiled in gratitude, before bounding off to one of the far corners of the room. Stopping in front of a large cardboard box, he suddenly bent down and rummaged through its contents carefully. Seconds later, he pulled back up, holding two very familiar objects in his hands.
"Kites?" I questioned him, my eyes scanning over their colors and shapes: a mint-colored butterfly with indigo spots, and a red and yellow bird-shaped kite. My eyes instantly widened, recalling a half-decade-old memory. "Wait, are these—"
"Yeah," he nodded, holding out the butterfly kite to me, attached to a slightly tangled spool of thread. "Remember these from middle school, Kaiya-chan? I kept them for a while, in case you wanted to fly them with me again one day. But eventually, I gave up on the idea, since we were quickly maturing into teens. Also, we had so much homework at that time, so it was really hard to keep up with."
As I untangled the strings of the kite, I looked into Daichi's eyes, which were locked with mine. Almost immediately, both of us seemed to receive the same idea as we shared a knowing grin with one another. Nodding wordlessly, we began running outside as fast as we could, Akane flying out after us.
Daichi swiftly locked the door, and together, we raced towards the direction of Daichi's neighborhood park. While en route to the large field of grass, I glanced up towards the trees, which were beginning to sway harder with the increasing amount of wind. Perfect, I thought to myself, knowing that strong winds were required to be able fly kites.
Before we were even at the park, both of our kites were already airborne, trailing out behind us with their long strings. Noticing this, I released some more thread, twisting the spool lightly as I picked up the pace. Daichi ran after me, laughing like old times as his kite began to fly higher.
However, even though we were feeling rather carefree, both of us still kept on the lookout for nearby trees, should one of our kites blunder into one of them. Luckily, they didn't, but they still flapped behind us dangerously, swerving side by side with one another. Akane had taken to the skies, attempting to imitate the kite that resembled her appearance. Whenever Daichi's kite plummeted and did a somersault, she would copy the action perfectly, chirping with glee as she did so.
But of course, we should have known what would happen if we proceeded to fly large kites so haphazardly like that. Eventually, the mint butterfly decided to take a sharp turn around Akane's lookalike, wrapping itself around the latter's strings a couple of times. This action caused both of them to stop flying, and both kites fell to the ground in a tangled mess.
"Oops!" I cried, impulsively reaching for the strings of my kite and trying to remove them from Daichi's kite. "My bad! I didn't mean for the kite to do that!"
He seemed to take this well, just laughing heartily at the situation, like he usually did. If anything, he was quicker to forgive others than me, even though my name was the one that meant forgiveness. "It's alright, Kaiya-chan. Accidents like this happen. Besides, with all of that running, we've arrived in the center of the field!"
"Really?" I asked, surprised. Silently, I scanned my surroundings with my eyes, and sure enough, my feet were crushing the park's grass. Somehow, we had ended up at Daichi's neighborhood park without me even realizing it, probably because I was paying too much attention to the kites and Akane.
He nodded, fully untangling his kite and holding it up. "I guess our kites aren't the only things that are flying here, are they?"
I doubled over in laughter, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Oh geez, yes! Man, this brings back so many old memories, too…"
My gaze fell upon the sky as I stared up at it nostalgically, forgetting all about the kite for a moment. Just seeing our kites get tangled together like that reminded me so much of our previous childhood memories, before I had developed what I now assumed to be a crush on Daichi. Of course, those days were incredibly innocent, both of us enjoying life without a care in the world. Now, we had bigger, more grown-up problems to deal with, such as adolescence, feelings, homework, careers, college, and family.
Still, it just felt so...peaceful to relax and fly kites with him for once. Just watching how the kites were following us as we had run to the park evoked that sense within me, as if the kites were the childhood days that were now behind us.
And from the way we were gripping those spools and letting out a little amount of thread at a time, it looked as if neither one of us had wanted to fully let it go.
"Kaiya-chan?" Daichi suddenly said, waving a hand in front of my face. "Earth to Kaiya-chan? Are you alright?"
"Wha—" I started, realizing that I had drifted off into deep thought out of nowhere. "Oh, sorry about that. It's just that...these kites really remind me of how young we used to be, before we had to worry about high school and taking care of our siblings so much."
His gaze instantly softened upon hearing that, his soft smile returning as he ran a hand through his hair. "I understand. You know, I miss those days as well, when we got to spend more time together and enjoy life more. It's so hard now, since everybody has to face the reality that life isn't always as it seems."
Akane sat on my shoulder, not willing to fly if her lookalike kite wasn't flying as well. "Kaa…" she murmured, sensing my sorrow and stroking my cheek. I petted her gently, trying to reassure her that this was not supposed to be a time to feel dejected.
"But even so," he continued, "I really enjoy these moments that we still have together, even if it's only for one day like this. Even if they may not be as carefree as when we were still young children, at least I got to spend them with you."
Instantly, I felt my cheeks flare up, but gently shook it off to avoid sounding like a fool. "Oh...thanks, Daichi-kun. I'm glad to hear that, because I feel the same way. I miss the old days, when our brothers smiled more and both of our families were still happy."
His smile faded, and to my horror, I noticed his eyes beginning to cloud with grief. Immediately, I waved my hands frantically, saying, "Oh no! I didn't mean it in that way! I'm so sorry!"
"It's alright," he responded in that forgiving voice of his, though I could still tell that my words had triggered something inside of him. "I was pretty shocked when my okaa-san and otou-san suddenly announced that they were getting a divorce. But since my otouto and I had no say in it, it came as quite a hard blow to us. Plus, I haven't seen otou-san in years, ever since that day when they had officially broken up. I don't even know if he's still alive, since okaa-san never says anything about him anymore."
My eyes widened in shock and realization, his voice sounding more depressed with each word he spoke. For all of the times that I had spent with Daichi, I had never seen the boy so unhappy about something before. He was always so cheerful, a smile always gracing his lips unless he grew suspicious at something. A pang of guilt stabbed my heart just then, wondering how we had been friends for so many years, yet I had never known about the true feelings that he had harbored that day.
It somewhat mirrored my still-standing guilt about the deaths of my parents, only his parents weren't dead. I had gotten a little more used to driving again, but it was only thanks to Deidara and my family that I could. Otherwise, I would have still been incredibly terrified of driving.
Deidara.
That was the first time his name had popped into my head that day, and for some reason, it made me light up slightly. For just a couple of seconds, the guilt had been blocked away from me, instead filling up my mind with happy thoughts. But once I was able to snap back into my senses, I realized that he had been standing there in silence for a while, kites in our hands.
I decided to interrupt and change the subject before it got too awkward. "Just out of curiosity, what kind of food did you make for the picnic?"
At that, his face turned bright red, and he facepalmed yet again. "Aiya! I've completely forgotten about the picnic! I didn't prepare any food!"
Giggling, I reassured him by lifting my kite higher, preparing to throw it into the air. "That's alright, Daichi-kun. We can just eat instant ramen back at the house, and maybe watch movies for a while."
"That's a good idea," he agreed, lifting his kite higher as Akane began cawing in excitement. "I know that you used to be a fan of mystery movies, so I tried to get one for you. Unfortunately, all I managed to grab was a copy of My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away—"
"Actually," I cut in, my eyes lighting up, "I like those very much. Don't worry about them not being detective movies, since I'm still a little out of that phase right now. How about we fly our kites for a while, and then we can head back inside and eat lunch while watching those movies?"
"Sounds like a plan!"
After that, we sent our kites flying by tossing them in the air and running around, being careful not to let the bird and the butterfly stray too close to one another again. Of course Akane was thrilled, following her lookalike while spinning around with it playfully as both of us laughed uncontrollably like children.
I was sure that we had planned to stay out there for only a short period of time, but before we knew it, minutes turned to hours as we continuously raced around, watching our kites slash through the air. Every so often, we had stopped to take a breather, only to carry on flying those two kites. The kites persistently chased us through the air, pushed around by the wind.
Neither one of us realized how much time had passed by until my stomach growled, evoking a bout of laughter from Daichi. "Come on," he said, beckoning me to follow him, "let's head back. We've been out here for quite some time, and I can't leave my otouto alone forever. However, I doubt that he got bored of Hetalia."
Following him back to the house, I began wrapping the kite string back around the spool, not wanting the wind the mint butterfly was currently catching to hold me back. Daichi did the same, but simply twisted the spool in the opposite direction instead of manually putting the string away.
By the time that we had returned back to the house, Hideki had somehow managed to spot us walking back, our kites in our arms. Grinning, the boy opened the door for us, and we silently walked in.
"Did you two do something out there?" he questioned mockingly, cocking an eyebrow at both of us. "You were gone for about two hours! I don't think I've ever remembered anybody flying kites for that long!"
Daichi immediately shook his head. "N-no! Sure, we were out there for a while, but that was because we actually enjoyed flying those kites!"
"He's right," I clarified, before eying the copies of the movies that Daichi had bought, which were lying on the television. "Anyway, you don't mind if I start boiling water, right? I'm kind of hungry after running around in the sun for so long."
"Of course not," answered Daichi, before turning towards Akane. "On another note, do you need me to get some fruit or find some seeds for your bird?"
Before I let the clay phoenix answer, I turned down his offer immediately, remembering that Akane couldn't eat food. "I mean, I fed her a whole lot before we left the house this morning. Are you alright with not eating, Akane?"
The bird looked at me confusedly before taking the hint and nodding. "Cheep cheep!"
"Very well," piped up Hideki, slipping the disc for Spirited Away into the drive and powering on the television. "Anyway, can I have instant ramen for lunch?"
"Yes," answered Daichi, already boiling water for the three of us. "Just give me a couple minutes to prepare both the noodles and the water, alright? Then we can start watching the movies."
At once, the kettle began screaming, steam quickly rising from its spout and into the air. Immediately, Daichi turned the heat off, then carefully opened the lids of the three ramen cups that he had already set aside. Gently, he placed his fingers to the handle, but in the process, he accidentally touched the wrong part of it: the burning metal part.
"Ow!" he yelped, waving his hand frantically. "Hot! Hot!"
Instantaneously, I shot into action, grabbing a random plastic cup and running over to the kitchen sink. Swiftly, I turned on the faucet, gathering just enough cold water before switching it back off and handing the cup to Daichi.
"Immerse your fingers in the water," I rapidly instructed. Wordlessly, Daichi plunged his burning hand into the water and stopped yelling.
"Ah," he sighed in relief, "Thank you, Kaiya-chan. That was really smooth of me to grab the metal of a boiling kettle."
I giggled, even though it was a somewhat serious situation. "I've done worse, so you're good. Don't you remember the bird that I tried to catch in fourth grade, but ended up dropping one of its bombs on my head?"
Daichi burst into laughter, slapping his leg with his free hand. "Oh my Kami, I remember that day like it was yesterday! I knew that I shouldn't have laughed at you, but your expression when you realized what happened...hahaha!"
At that point, I decided that I had no choice but to laugh along, even though that it definitely was quite an embarrassing memory. From the table, Akane glared at us, seemingly annoyed that we had just mentioned her kind doing such an intolerable act. Her face was contorted with disgust, if a clay phoenix could do that.
"Anyway," I continued, walking over to where he had left the kettle, "I'll pour in the hot water. I don't wish for you to injure yourself again."
Carefully grabbing the non-metal part of the handle, I lifted each lid of the ramen cups up, gently pouring in a sufficient amount of water in each. Sealing them subsequently with a large paper plate, I set the kettle back on the stove before deciding to wander around the kitchen that I hadn't stepped into for almost a year.
Not much had changed: the pictures of Daichi, Hideki, and their mother were still up, the tiles were still the same, and even the lights were the same color. Even the tiny potted plants that Daichi had likely raised for a while were still present, making me giggle slightly at how responsible he had been with them.
This giggling, however, ceased instantly as soon as my eyes fell upon a new plant lying on the kitchen windowsill, sitting in a plastic cup full of water. I felt my eyes widen and widen as I stared continuously at it, curious as to why he had kept such a thing for a few months.
It was a rose, basking elegantly in the high sunlight. And not just any rose, either: this was the exact same rose Kisame had goaded me to give him when I had first tried to confess how I had felt in the park near our school.
But...why? I thought, my face turning slightly pink. My thoughts, however, were interrupted yet again as music from the television began to blare, causing me to jolt back into reality in surprise. Remembering why I had been in the kitchen in the first place, I bounded back over to the stove and grabbed the two of the three ramen cups from the counter beside it.
In time, both of the boys arrived to grab their ramen cups, while thanking me and leaving me empty-handed. Retrieving my own cup of ramen, we all took our seats on the couch as the movie began to play, colors lighting up the once-blank screen.
Before I realized it, I had finished my lunch about halfway into Spirited Away, though I'll admit that the movie also flew by quickly, just like the time when we had flown kites. Surprisingly, we were all silent throughout the movie, though Daichi had some sort of distant gaze in his eyes, as if he was reminiscing on our childhood again. Occasionally, he even turned to look at me for some reason, though every time he did so, I would catch myself returning his gaze before swiftly turning back to the television.
He continued to flash that look in his eyes throughout the next movie as well, even during the more dramatic and touching moments. It was as if he wasn't paying attention to the movies at all, despite being the one that went through all the trouble of buying them.
After My Neighbor Totoro ended, I decided to confront him about it, even though I had to be heading home soon. After all, I had school on Monday, and so did he and Hideki. Both of us needed time to prepare for the day, especially since high school was beginning to enter its stressful phase.
But just before I was about to leave with Akane, Daichi suddenly tapped my shoulder and spun me around. Before I could react or yelp in protest, he released his grip and sent me a genuine smile.
"Before you leave," he mumbled, almost tripping over his words, "I...I just want to thank you for coming over today. I really had a fun time."
"Anytime," I responded, dipping my head slightly. "You're my friend, after all. And that's what friends do for each other."
"Yeah, but still," he continued, running a somewhat nervous hand through his hair. "I really love spending time with you, Kaiya-chan. Being around you makes me feel blessed that I have such a wonderful friend like you."
My face immediately turned light pink as he said that. Furthermore, my brain felt like it was on fire, but if Daichi saw this, he thankfully didn't point it out. I had never been one to freely accept blatant comments like that, but from Daichi's tone, I knew that he was speaking honestly. And that just made it all the more flattering.
Somehow, my cool did not deter at that. "Thank you," I answered simply, but in a cheery tone. "I really like being around you, too. Maybe we can do this again someday?"
He nodded, giving me a thumbs-up. "Sounds like a plan!"
Reluctantly, he leaned forward and gave me a one-armed hug that lasted for only about a second. At first, I froze, but quickly regained my composure and hugged him just slightly before pulling away as fast as he did.
"Well then," I said, opening the door and slinging my purse over my shoulder, Akane flying outside already. "I'll be seeing you at school tomorrow. Have a wonderful rest of your day, and tell Hideki that too, once he wakes up."
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the boy had somehow fallen asleep in the middle of My Neighbor Totoro. I had been compelled to wake him up, but his older brother had stopped me, not wanting to disturb him.
It had made my heart thrilled to see how much Daichi cared for his family, just like I did for mine.
Waving goodbye, I walked out the door, but as soon as I heard it close again, I picked up the pace and ran back towards my neighborhood, wanting to get rid of the pink rings on my cheeks as fast as I could.
As soon as I got home, I rushed into the house, still feeling rather happy that Daichi had said those words to me. A couple of the Akatsuki members shot me nervous glances as I walked in, possibly out of curiosity, but I continued walking upstairs.
However, when I passed by Deidara, my feet suddenly felt glued to the ground. He too, seemed to have that sensation, an for a while, we both stared at one another curiously. Akane flew to her creator's shoulder, but he made no move to caress her like he usually did. Instead, the awkward silence remained, almost for a full minute. But of course, he eventually broke it, much to my relief.
"How was it, un?" he inquired, no hint of malice or negative emotion in his voice. Just plain old Deidara, when he wasn't being bothered by something childish or feeling impatient.
"We had a wonderful time," I told him absentmindedly. "We flew kites for two hours, then spent the next few watching movies with Hideki and Akane while eating instant ramen. Also, I noticed that he still had the rose that I gave him a few months ago."
Suddenly, his face contorted, though I could not determine why. I took a couple steps back in case he suddenly snapped at me, but to my surprise, he simply shook his head and returned to how he was when he had greeted me.
"That's...nice," he stated bluntly, crossing his arms. "You should go get some rest now, then. It must have been tiring for you to fly kites for so long, as well as staring at the television."
"Don't worry," I reassured him, "I don't feel tired at all. I couldn't feel tired when I'm around my childhood friend, could I? Besides, this is our first official playdate since last year. It made me feel rather nostalgic instead."
His gaze seemed to lighten slightly at that statement, but he shook his head again, as if he was trying to dismiss both positive and negative emotions. "Then I'm happy for you. Still, get some rest. You're starting your job at that sushi restaurant tomorrow, right?"
"Oh...right," I answered, mentally slapping myself in the face. "I totally forgot. I guess I'll just take a nap for a while, then. See you."
And with that, I left, strolling back towards the bathroom. Swiftly, I walked inside, closing the door behind me before proceeding to untie my hair.
All of a sudden, my mind noted something that had been completely nonexistent throughout the time that I had spent with my best friend that day. My eyes widened, and my fingers stopped trying to remove the ponytail from my hair as I subconsciously stared at my reflection once again.
The entire time during the playdate with Daichi, I hadn't stuttered at all, despite seeing that rose, hearing that flattering compliment from him at the end of the playdate, and receiving a hug. Not even once.
A/N: Gosh, I don't know how to write torn feelings...but then again, I didn't really know how to write sibling relationships, either. I sometimes dislike being the only child, but if I had to have a sibling, then it would be a twin brother.
Question: Favorite movie/movie you've watched most recently?
Toodles, everybody. See you...possibly next week. Yeah, I think I'll try and update weekly from now on.
— Tenshi —
