Chapter 15
Kaori bit her lip, shifting from one foot to the other. She was standing just inside the University gates, biting her lip. "Yeah, Sousuke-kun promised to pick me up. Yes, I'll be fine, Dad, don't worry so much. Sousuke knows Tokyo, he used to live here. Yes. I'll call you once he gets here. Bye."
Kaori sighed and hung up her phone, glancing around at the huge numbers of students who were filing out of the University campus. Her father had called her just as she came out, apologetic because he'd gotten stuck in a work meeting and wasn't able to come pick her up right after her exam. Instead, he'd called Sousuke and asked him to meet Kaori outside her campus so that she wouldn't be alone. But Sousuke wasn't here yet. Kaori felt tense.
"Kaori!" Sousuke called out. He was waving his left hand in the air and Kaori's eyes widened as she hurried over to him. He was looking down at her expectantly, trying to read the expression on her face. But he couldn't tell whether she was relieved or upset. "Well? How was it?" he demanded.
Kaori flushed and glanced down. She was still clutching the question paper in her hands although it was a little crumpled now. "I… I mean, I don't know. It wasn't bad, I guess. The History questions were a little tough, but I answered all the English ones and the Legal Analysis section was almost just as I expected it to be." She glanced up and noticed Sousuke blinking down at her. Kaori let out a nervous giggle. "Sorry. This isn't swimming. You don't get your results immediately. And you can never be quite sure how you did."
Sousuke sighed and looked down at her. "You did your best, didn't you?"
Kaori nodded. "I did. I guess we'll find out in about a month whether or not my best was good enough."
"I'm sure it was." He pulled her into his side gently, and placed a kiss on her head. "Sorry I took so long to come. Your father only called me half an hour ago, and I was watching Rin's race. He was pretty amazing, got third place."
Kaori's eyes widened. "Wow! And the relay's tomorrow, right? Are you nervous?"
Sousuke bit his lip. He didn't know how to tell Kaori that he wouldn't be swimming the relay. Rin couldn't afford to rely on him and his injured shoulder, especially not at nationals. He took a deep breath. Sousuke had run out of any and all excuses to not tell Kaori about his injury. He gently put an arm around her waist. "Come on. Let's get going. We'll miss the bus back to the stadium."
Kaori nodded and allowed Sousuke to lead her out of the University campus. As they neared the bus stop, however, Kaori slowed down and took a deep breath. "Sousuke."
"Hmm?"
"Is there any reason we have to go back to the stadium? I mean, all of Samezuka's races are for today are over, right? And you're not swimming until tomorrow," Kaori pointed out slowly.
Sousuke blinked. "I guess that's true. Okay, so where do you want to go?"
Kaori smiled lightly. "Maybe we can just explore Tokyo? You can show me around?"
Sousuke paused for a moment. He felt a sudden surge of guilt and he turned to look at her. It was possibly the first and the last time they would both be in Tokyo together. But Kaori didn't know that. Or did she? Was she merely excited to see the city she might soon be living in? He looked down at her purple eyes, but he couldn't read the expression in them. Sousuke forced a smile. "What about your Dad?"
Kaori smiled. "He says that he will wrap up his meetings by 7 pm, but he never keeps his word when it comes to work. So I'll call him and tell him that I want to stay here with you until nationals are over. I'll even get to watch your race!"
Sousuke raised an eyebrow. "You'll tell your Dad that you plan to stay here with me?"
Kaori flushed. "Of course not. I'll call Gou-chan and we'll tell him that I'm staying with the Iwatobi Swim Club. He'll believe it if she speaks to him too. You guys are staying in the same hotel anyway, right?"
Sousuke blinked at her and then smiled weakly. "Sure. If you think you can pull it off. So where do you want to go first?"
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"I came to this shrine a lot when I was studying in Tokitsu," Sousuke explained quietly. Kaori looked up at him and smiled, gently taking his hand. Sousuke seemed a little quieter. Kaori got the feeling that even though he'd brought her here, this place didn't hold very good memories for him. He was staring quietly at the shrine building, his hand in his pocket. "I used to come pray here almost every weekend."
"What were you praying for?" Kaori asked quietly.
Sousuke smiled down at her sadly and shook his head. "A lot of things."
"Did you pray that you would get to see me again?" Kaori teased, trying to get him to smile. To her surprise, Sousuke turned and looked at her, his blue-green eyes filled with emotion. The smile dropped from her face as she watched his eyes shine slightly.
"Every time," he said quietly. Kaori bit her lip and pressed closer into his side. She had been the one that suggested they visit one of the famous shrines, but she hadn't thought that it would upset Sousuke. Her heartbeat was thudding lightly. What had happened in Tokitsu that he felt the need to come pray at the shrine every week? Kaori blinked lightly, and was surprised when Sousuke gently tugged her arm. "Come on. Do you want to draw a fortune?"
"Okay," Kaori mumbled. She followed him over to where the omikuji were; small strips of paper randomly drawn, that would contain a fortune. Sousuke drew one quickly and then gestured for Kaori to take her turn. She unrolled the strip, glancing down at it eagerly. She had never taken these fortunes too seriously, but having just written a major exam, she was a little nervous.
"Middle luck," she mused, looking down at the paper. She bit her lip as she read it out loud. "Hey, not bad! It says my studies will reflect the amount of work I put into them. And I did work pretty hard, didn't I? Let's see, what else… ooh, love! Make the most of your time." Kaori blinked down at the paper and sudden, ominous feeling came over her. She moved over to the tree where people were tying their fortunes.
Sousuke frowned and followed her. "Oye. You got a good fortune. You're only supposed to tie the bad ones there," he told her.
"I don't want it," Kaori said quietly, as she swiftly tied it there. Then she took a deep breath and glanced at Sousuke. "How was yours?"
He glanced down at the slip of paper. "Mine was bad," he mumbled, reaching out to tie it beside Kaori's and then gently took her hand. "Come on. Let's go somewhere else. We might be able to make it to the gardens before they close. They're really pretty. You'd love them."
Kaori nodded and followed him quietly.
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"Wow, it's so beautiful!" Kaori cried, pressing her face to the window. It was dark outside; they'd visited the gardens first, then they'd gone shopping and had dinner at a beautiful restaurant. Yet, despite the fact that they'd been having fun, Kaori was almost relieved that they were heading back to the hotel. That heavy, ominous air had been following them since the shrine. Kaori couldn't help but feel that something terrible was awaiting her.
Sousuke chuckled. "I thought you'd like it. That's why I suggested we take the long way."
Kaori nodded. They were sitting in a train, as it went over Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge. It was beautiful; the colors really shone in the night sky and Kaori sighed as she pressed her head against the clear glass window, feeling the exhaustion overcome her. Sousuke reached for her hand. "Are you okay?" he asked her gently.
"Do you feel it too?" Kaori asked suddenly.
"Feel what?"
"This… this heavy… I don't know," she muttered. "Just this bad feeling. Like something's wrong."
"What? Did you eat something bad at the restaurant?" Sousuke asked doubtfully.
Kaori turned and looked at him. His blue-green eyes were calm, but there was something in them that made her stomach turn. She'd seen it the night they'd watched the fireworks back in Iwatobi. The feeling that walls were closing in on them, or that some time-bomb was ticking. Kaori shook her head and forced a smile on her face, turning back to look at the bridge. "Nothing. Never mind. I'm fine. How many more stops? I'm exhausted."
Sousuke nodded quietly. "Just a little longer. Don't worry."
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"Kaori-senpai! Sousuke-kun!" Gou greeted them in the hotel lobby. She beamed when she saw the bags that she and Sousuke were carrying. "Wow, did you both go shopping? That's so cool! You must have had so much fun! Oh, and your Dad called again, Kaori-senpai! I told him you were taking a shower and would call him later."
Kaori flinched and pulled out her phone. She saw a couple of missed calls from her Dad. "Shit. I completely forgot to call him again. Thanks so much for covering for me, Gou-chan! I really owe you!"
Gou smiled and shot Sousuke a glance. "That's okay. It wasn't much trouble. Come on, I'll show you to our hotel room! I'm actually staying with Ama-chan sensei, so it might be a bit of a squeeze with three of us in there, but we can ask for an extra bed and…" she paused for a moment, noticing the hesitant expression on Kaori's face. "Were you not planning on staying with us?"
"Well, I mean… I just wanted my Dad to think that I was staying with you so he wouldn't worry," Kaori explained hesitantly. Although to be honest, she hadn't exactly discussed what she was really planning with Sousuke.
"Oh. Oh!" Gou glanced in between Sousuke and Kaori and her face flushed a little red. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Never mind! I should get going, I'll see you in the morning when we leave for the stadium!" Gou insisted, hurrying away. Sousuke watched in confusion as she left for the elevators quickly. Kaori picked up her bags and headed to the reception, asking the receptionist about available rooms.
"We do have some rooms available," the receptionist explained, glancing at Kaori. "How many people will be staying in the room? One or two?" she asked, glancing at Kaori and Sousuke.
Kaori took a deep breath. She shifted her upper body so that she was looking at Sousuke, who was looking at her with wide eyes. Kaori bit her lip and looked at him teasingly. She grabbed Sousuke's hand and squeezed it. "One or two?" Kaori asked him lightly.
Sousuke looked a little embarrassed. "W-what? I have a room, I'm sharing with Rin."
Kaori sighed and bit her lip. Did she really have to explain this to him? Didn't he realize that her heartbeat was thudding and she was even more nervous than he was? She took another deep breath and looked up at him, her purple eyes piercing into his. Maybe he would understand if she said it a little more meaningfully and slowly. "How many people, Sousuke? One or two?"
There was a long awkward silence as Sousuke gaped at her, and Kaori felt a sudden disappointment. The receptionist glanced between them awkwardly. "I'll give you a double just to be safe," she said with a small smile.
Kaori forced a smile in return and nodded. "Thank you."
Sousuke watched in silence as she filled out the formalities and then gratefully took the room keys from the receptionist. Kaori picked up her shopping bags and walked towards the elevator, following the hotel staff member who was showing her the room. Sousuke sighed and followed her. Was she angry? He couldn't tell. He quietly got into the lift behind the bellman and glanced at Kaori.
"Did you really have to put me on the spot there?" Sousuke mumbled. He noticed that Kaori's cheeks were flushed red as well. "I didn't know what to say…"
"I'm sorry," Kaori replied quietly. She was avoiding his gaze.
Sousuke shook his head and grabbed her hand. The lift doors had opened and the bellman had started walking out. He bit his lip and glanced at Kaori. There was a tight feeling in his chest. "Hey. Don't do that. Look at me, please. Kaori. Did you really want to…?"
Kaori flushed and shook her head. "Never mind. It was stupid of me. I should have remembered that you have to swim in a tournament tomorrow, so you need to get rest. You should go to your room and sleep, I'll be fine."
Sousuke frowned. "I don't want to leave you alone."
"Then stay."
He stared at her for a moment, and saw the earnest plea in her big eyes. The bellman opened the door and led them into the hotel room. Sousuke folded his arms and stood silently near the doorway, while Kaori let the bellman put her shopping bags on a table and thanked him. The man left, and she turned to glance at Sousuke. "For god's sake, you can come in, I'm not going to attack you," she mumbled.
Sousuke nodded. He didn't know why he was feeling so uncomfortable and so afraid. His heartbeat was thudding. He'd been making excuses all evening because Kaori had been so happy and cheerful. But how much longer could he put off telling her the truth? He opened his mouth, but Kaori started speaking.
"Hey- can we watch a movie in our pajamas?" she asked, smiling lightly at him. "It won't stress you out before the tournament and we've never done that sort of thing before, I kind of want to! Unless you think it's stupid…" she trailed off uncertainly.
Sousuke blinked. "What? Oh, um, yeah… sure."
"Great! I'm going to take a bath. You go to your room and get your pajamas, okay?" Kaori replied. She came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before giving his chest a light push. "Are you okay? Why are you standing there like an idiot and staring at me? Go on." She added, her purple eyes looking at him in a concerned manner.
"Right. Okay," he mumbled, hurrying out of the hotel room. He heard her shut the door after him and stopped in the corridor, taking a deep breath. He could feel himself shaking. Get it together. Once she comes out of the bath, you have to tell her. Tonight. Otherwise it'll be too late and she'll find out some other way.
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A/N – Thanks so much for reviewing and reading, guys! It means a lot! I hope you enjoyed this one.
Lovelydasom- Wow, I'm so embarrassed. You're absolutely right, I messed up on the ojisan thing. I got it a little confused with another story I was writing. :P I've changed it now, though! Thanks! :D
TheLunaGodess- I think I understand what you're saying about the chapters. The truth is that I tend to just keep writing in a continuous manner and then break it into chapters just before I upload. So I can see how the chapters would seem broke and incomplete. Thanks for bringing it to my notice, I will definitely work on that!
Thanks for the appreciation, Kaminari and Pookie Boo!
Hope you enjoyed! The next one will be up soon, expect drama!
