Chapter 17: Episode 16
Yuki pushed Uryuu off of her and hurried out the room, ignoring the woman's irate squawk, just before she would lose Akise and Nishijima to the many corridors of the hospital. She pinched the short-sleeve of Akise's shirt and hissed, "I need to talk to you."
Akise glanced at Nishijima, who nodded in consent and continued his way down the hall. The boy gestured for her to follow him and they took another hall that was out of hearing distance from the room that Uryuu was occupying.
"Is there something that I can help you with, Yukiyori-san?" Akise inquired, looking down at her with a raised brow.
"You weren't there," she blurted. Yuki stopped short and blushed, humiliated by how her lips started working against her will. The boy's brow just seemed to arch higher in question. Forcing herself to gain her bearings since she just lost the chance to lay down the truth subtly (as if she could do subtle), she cleared her throat and continued, "But Yuto was. He was the one who protected me—" or tried to "—against the Sevenths."
"And what point are you trying to make across?"
Yuki opened her mouth for a prompt answer, but nothing came. Her teeth clicked together when she decided that her brain was being stupid again, and she avoided meeting Akise's probing eyes by staring at some random corner behind him. Embarrassment won this round.
Her returning blush intensified when she heard him sigh. "After having Gasai-kun protect you for so long…" he trailed off, but sighed again. "Did you expect me to accomplish the same feats as him when I extended my help to you? Be his replacement?"
Her gaze was lifted in a flash as she gapped. What she didn't expect was to hear Akise speak to her that way. After all the magnanimity and consideration that he usually showered her with, this sort of response was a sucker-punch to the gut. Was he insinuating that she—?
"W-well, what was I supposed to think?" Yuki sputtered defensively, feeling a rise of unfamiliar petulance. "You may have laid down your clever plans to go against the diary owners, but you still didn't see Yuto ruin them. Nor did you see that the supposed apprentice owners were actually the Sevenths."
"All plans have holes in them, Yukiyori-san," he said grimly. Not that he was upset by the fact that his carefully pieced strategy had utterly failed—oh no. He definitely was fine in admitting earlier that the arrival of Yuto and the Sevenths had thrown him off the loop. Yuki wasn't exceptionally observant nor did she know Akise well, but, even with that schooled expression of his, she could read his eyes; they flickered the same way her father did whenever her mother started yelling at him. He didn't like where this conversation was going; neither did Yuki, but she couldn't prevent the ball from rolling.
"Then you should have noticed that involving Uryuu Minene—AKA, the Ninth diary owner of the survival game—would have more holes than a store chockfull of colanders! What bargain did you make with her?" Yuki said incredulously.
"She is essential to the plan that Nishijima-san and I had worked on. I know that my previous plan failed, but nothing comes to fruition without learning from your mistakes. Trust me on this."
"I—I don't know, Akise-kun. I mean, I definitely did at first, but with what happened before…and now you making deals with Ninth, I'm not sure that you're really up for it," she muttered wearily, rubbing her eyes with both hands. "Yuto—I've always relied on him, you know that, but after promising myself that I would have nothing to do with him…and then needing him to protect me again…"
He held out a hand, stopping her at mid-sentence. "Look, I'll be honest with you, Yukiyori-san. Gasai Yuto is strong—much stronger than I am. Where he compensates for being unhinged and one-track minded are his physical prowess, agility, and cunning. I can't predict his movements, and perhaps no one can, which certainly gives him the advantage in anyone's game. But at least I'm trying."
"Then where were you when I was running for my life inside a burning mansion? When Hinata and Mao-chan were incapacitated by the knives thrown at them?"
She didn't mean to sound accusing (or to even accuse at all), but it did convey what she had felt back then. Where was he? Where was Akise-kun? Those thoughts had run rampant in her head until the conflagration engulfed the mansion. Yuki knew that Akise was struggling to make an effort, but she couldn't bring herself to care, to put herself in a rational state of mind. Because if he didn't uphold his promise and she didn't want Yuto to be near her by at least ten feet, then who else was she going to turn to?
That sounded justifiable to her, justifying her reason to raise her hackles. But Akise shot that down when he said, "I am just one person. I don't know how Gasai-kun gets by, but please don't compare me to him. My strengths lie elsewhere. I'm not impressively strong so that I could be your bodyguard 24/7. What I can do, however, is see to it that you're safe in other ways that I can and will provide. You can trust me, Yukiyori-san. And while I'm well-aware that it is your life on the line, please do have regard for those who are working hard for your sake."
At that last sentence, Yuki couldn't help but ashamedly duck her head, registering how selfish and unfair she must have sounded.
"I…may not be prepared to deal with this—you might be correct on that aspect," he spoke in a quiet voice. "But know this." A finger slipped under her chin and gently brought her face back up so that her eyes were meeting with Akise's. His gaze was dark and intense with conviction. Yuki felt her throat go dry and her heart throbbed peculiarly. "I would never want to see you hurt, Yukiyori-san, and I will do whatever I can to protect you, to see to it that you'll make it out alive."
And then he breathed out, "So trust me."
Her lips thinned out into a line. It would be so easy—so tempting—to just give him her affirmation. To say "yes" because the clear strength in his words and the way his eyes were fixated on her face and her face only. It warmed her insides and she might as well have a pair of buckling knees and melt into a puddle. Except she had felt this way before when she actually—genuinely—seriously—truly—finally returned Yuto's…love.
Yes, she was admitting it to herself now. She couldn't runaway into the arms of denial anymore.
And the fact that Akise was now making her feel this way—the same way that Yuto would make her feel—delivered a wave of nervousness. Not that Akise was anything like Yuto. Certainly not—he was grounded and sensible; he was cool and well-calculated; he was modest and a total gentleman. He was nothing like Yuto. But Yuki was confused and unsure and a little bit scared.
So she replied, "I don't know."
"I understand," Akise murmured. "You've been through so much, like with the Sixth and Fourth and Gasai-kun. You have trust issues."
No. It wasn't that.
"I understand that having Ninth is unsettling for you." Akise took a step back and gave her a contrite smile. Yuki vaguely noticed that it was kind of smile he could usually wear—not the one meant for apologies, but a mask. Akise was…real just five seconds ago. "Please forgive me."
"I want nothing to do with him," Yuki said. "I want nothing to do with Yuto. Please."
"I can't promise you the world, but damn it all if I wasn't trying," he chuckled, as though sharing an inside joke. He exhaled, his shoulders marginally slumping forward. "I'll take you back to your room."
The walk back could have taken hours (even though it took a few minutes) given the stifling silence. Yuki painstakingly observed that they were more than a foot apart from one another (when there usually were a few inches distancing them when they were side-by-side). Yuki didn't know how to remedy this; she was no expert in diffusing tense atmospheres—that spot was reserved for Kosaka, and never did the girl wish for the loudmouth's presence more than ever.
Once they reached her door, Yuki would have released a sigh of relief if it wasn't for the incriminating sight before her.
"Dad?" she exclaimed, bewildered.
"O-oh, hi, Yuki-chan," her father greeted her, wearing a weak grin. "Don't mind us—this fine-looking nurse here is helping me workout!"
Workout? The man was sprawled across the floor, and perched on his back was Ninth, who turned her head to face the teens.
Uryuu's grin was as sharp as a shark's. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to return."
"Yukiyori, I'm going to tell you what one of your handicaps are since I'm your coach for the day. You're too quick to give into your weaknesses. If you don't have the strength, then trade it for tenacity and you'll see the result as your achievement. It's a principal that we terrorists follow by. Remember that."
"Yuki, who are you going to believe?" Yuto said, his eyes flashing angrily. "Me, your father, or him?"