Misconceptions

~*~

Koushirou had never run so hard in his life.

Why would Ishida-san do that to Sora-chan? How could he? I don't understand.

He burst through the door and fell onto his knees, panting, feeling the confused looks turn towards him.

"Kouko-chan!" Mimi exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"I…" Koushirou tried to catch his breath. "I saw…"

"You saw what, Kouko-chan?" Miyako asked, extremely curious.

He caught his breath, but something was preventing him from replying. He just looked up, seeing everyone's puzzled – and perhaps slightly concerned – expressions. He looked at Sora, who was sitting so calmly, poised as usual, her hands gently folded in her lap. And he felt his stomach lurch.

He didn't want to tell her, to distress her; how could he disturb such grace? But he knew she had to know, he reassured himself during his hesitation, and he forced his mouth to form the words.

"Sora-chan… Ishida-san…"

She flinched as she heard his name. "Yamato-kun? Oh, Kami-sama, is something wrong?"

"He…" A pause. "I saw him…with…with Hikari-san." The last words were a whisper.

There was no sound – only shock. Everyone stared at Koushirou again with wide eyes, unable to believe what he had just reported.

"No…" Sora whispered, staring at her hands, petrified. "How could…? I don't… I don't understand…"

"Neither do I, Sora-chan," Koushirou concurred, feeling miserable. "I…I'm sorry."

"When you say 'with'," Miyako began slowly, "do you mean…?"

"No," Koushirou answered swiftly. "They were embracing…and I heard Hikari-san tell him that she loves him."

Again, there was only silence to meet those words.

"I just can't believe…Hikari-san…" Sora was shaking her head, tears forming in her eyes. Miyako and Mimi immediately rushed over to hug and console her.

"Did…did you catch any wind of this, Jou-san?" Mimi asked.

Jou shook his head, dumbfounded. "No. I mean, Hikari-san likes to give advice about love, so I suppose this is related, but… She never hinted that it was Ishida-san."

"Well, I think we ought to teach the guy a lesson!" Miyako suddenly cried, standing up defiantly.

"And how do you expect to go about that?" Mimi asked, skeptical.

"No." Sora's voice came sharply from behind her, and Miayko turned around. "I don't want that. I… I will talk to him myself."

Miyako sat back down without a word, looking kind of disappointed.

They sat there, the silence undisturbed for a short while, when suddenly they heard the sound of the door slide open.

Iori blinked a few times as he stared at the downcast looks in the room.

"Um…why is it so quiet?" he asked, a little confused. "It's never this quiet in here."

"Oh, hi, Iori-kun," greeted Miyako. "We just…got some bad news."

"Oh?" Iori inquired. "What would that be?"

"Um…is it okay if I tell him?" Miyako asked Sora, turning around to her once more.

"I trust Iori-kun," Sora replied. It was obvious that she was trying hard not to cry.

Miyako nodded and turned back to Iori. "Kouko-chan saw Ishida-san and Hikari-san embracing, and Hikari-san told him that she loves him."

Iori's eyes went wide immediately. "Ishida-san? What?" He started shaking his head in confusion. "That…that doesn't make any sense… Are you sure, Kouko-san?"

"Well, yes," Koushirou replied, looking towards him. "I mean, I didn't get a great look at him, but who else has blond hair like that?"

And suddenly, Iori's eyes softened, but they almost grew…mournful, in a way. He shrunk back and looked away, a mixture of sadness and even bitterness entering his face. "That…wasn't Ishida-san…"

"What?" everyone exclaimed at the same time. Sora looked up, her eyes glossy.

"That was Ishida-san's younger brother, Takaishi-san," he said simply. "He and Hikari-san have had private relations for quite sometime."

"Thank Kami-sama!" Miyako exclaimed. "Did you hear that, Sora-chan? Ishida-san is faithful to you!"

The tears were pouring down Sora's cheeks, but they were tears of joy. "I knew… I knew it couldn't have been true…"

"Takaishi?" Jou blinked a few times. "The scribe? Wow…I never would've guessed that," he mused out loud, shaking his head in disbelief. "They've been awfully good at hiding it."

"Easy for you to say," Iori practically snarled. "You're not the one who's walked in on them making out several times!"

"Ah, okay, okay!" Jou held up his hands in defense.

"I just can't believe Yamato-kun never told me he had a brother." Sora frowned. "Why wouldn't he? A scribe isn't so low to be embarrassed about it."

Iori hesitated. "Well actually… It's a rather strange story."

They all looked back at him. "Now that I think about it, it must be," Miyako commented. "Why don't they have the same last names?"

Iori took a deep breath and exhaled. Just as he was about to begin: "Oh! I brought your lunch, if you haven't noticed. Here." He quickly passed everything out, and once everyone had started eating, he began to tell the story.

"Ishida-san's father was a great warrior many years ago," he explained. "He often would be away from home and would leave his wife alone to take care of Ishida-san while he was in battle. But when his wife got pregnant with Takaishi-san, she decided to temporarily live with an aunt a few villages away so she could assist her if needed. But a few days after Takaishi-san was born, the village was attacked, robbed, and set on fire by bandits. Their mother was killed, and Ishida-san assumed that Takaishi-san was lost as well. So he escaped and made his way all the way back to his home village. And he and his father lived believing that Takaishi-san was lost."

He paused.

"But a family who escaped the fire discovered Takaishi-san when they came back to gather any belongings that may have been left behind or spared from the fire. He apparently immediately enticed them, plus they were having trouble having kids of their own, so they raised him. By a stroke of luck, Takaishi-san studied hard enough to become a scribe for Lord Taichi. And apparently, Ishida-san realized how much he resembled him when he came here. After he approached him and they talked, they realized they were brothers."

Then suddenly, he got very quiet.

"Takeru-um-Takaishi-san really helped me cope with everything when I first came here. He…he's my best friend here. And that's why I get so mad when Ishida-san doesn't recognize him to be his brother or doesn't mention him. I think I'm the only person who's known about it, although maybe Hikari-san and Lord Taichi do, too. Takaishi-san thinks it's because he feels guilty for having left him behind in the village, but Takaishi-san has long acknowledged that it wasn't his fault. I always try to comfort him about it, though…" He trailed off, seemingly lost in his thoughts and feelings.

There was silence for a moment, and then:

"You love him," Sora said simply.

Iori's eyes grew wide as he almost jumped back in fear and frantically started protesting.

"I do not! I have no romantic feelings for him! I have no idea what you're talking about! I…!"

But Mimi and Miyako were already giggling, and Koushirou and Jou couldn't help but look at him suspiciously.

"Iori-kun, you're bright red!" Miyako cried, pointing and giggling uncontrollably.

"I…uh…I…!" Iori touched his face to find out that it was hot. "Um…enjoy your lunch!" And he quickly bowed, snatched the tray, and slipped out the door.

That's when Miyako and Mimi held each other as they burst out laughing.

"I never thought I'd see the day that Iori would fall in love!" Miyako exclaimed.

"But it's so cute, though!" Mimi laughed. "Poor Iori-kun!"

Koushirou only smiled as he watched the two, shaking his head. Someone else who is like me…

"Hmm…"

"Huh?" Koushirou turned to Jou. "What is it, Jou-san?"

"This explains that…" Jou was musing out loud.

"Explains what?"

Jou looked up at Koushirou. "The one day Mimi-chan accidentally walked into Hikari's study room, Iori was in there cleaning at the same time. And I noticed that he seemed to be glaring at something…or someone." He paused. "It must've been towards Hikari-san."

"Oh…" Koushirou felt a pang of pity. "He must be incredibly jealous of her…"

Jou nodded again. "I feel bad for him, especially when it's clear that their bond is strong."

"But from what I remember of seeing Hikari-san and Takaishi-san, they probably have very strong feelings for one another," Koushirou commented somewhat sadly.

"Unrequited love…" Jou sighed heavily and mournfully as he looked towards Mimi. "It's the worst kind…"

"Yes…" Koushirou stared at his hands and suddenly remembered his own dilemma, feeling knots form in his stomach. He had his own problems to face.

If Taichi-san didn't love me in return…I don't know what I'd do.