A/N: Wow, I'm really on a roll here. Cheers to PreaseatheKitsune and lil-creator for their great feedback on the last chapter. I had the idea for this one a few months back and had actually written it out half-way, but it took me a while to figure out how to conclude it. It's almost as long as the second chapter, which I'm quite pleased about.
Title: Easy Breezy (by Utada Hikaru)
Summary: Junpei's perverted mind wanders. Meanwhile, Akihiko gives Mitsuru a lecture on trust in the most unexpected place… (Spoilers for October full moon.)
"Hey, let's go to Tartarus tonight!" Junpei announced as he came bounding down the stairs into the dining room. Yukari looked up from her cellphone, her forehead furrowed slightly. "I think Mitsuru-senpai's gonna be out late tonight. She said so this afternoon, didn't she, Fuuka?" The brunette looked over to the lounge, where Fuuka was with her laptop.
"Yes," the other junior answered. "We can still go, though; Akihiko-senpai will be around."
"Uh…" Minato, who was sitting in the lounge as well, suddenly voiced out. "He sent me a text message a couple of hours ago. He said he'd be back late tonight, too. Sorry, Junpei. We'll have to go tomorrow night."
"Aw, man, I was in the mood for some ass-kickin'…" sighed Junpei, slumping down on one of the dining room chairs with a face. Nearby, Ken seemed to share his disappointment as well.
"Would the two of them be safe so late at night? I have heard many humans talk about the dangers after dark," Aigis pointed out, looking up from Koromaru to Minato. The blue-head was just about to reply when Junpei, who had been looking a little grumpy, suddenly brightened up and said in a strange, sneaky sort of voice, "Hey, you guys…"
His tone immediately sent Yukari and Minato's 'Junpei-senses' tingling. They eyed him sharply, but the other three simply looked at him, expectant.
"… So both Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai aren't here, huh? Heh heh… heh heh heh…"
"What's with that creepy laugh, Stupei?" demanded Yukari, her gaze narrowing.
"Nothing..." He shrugged again. "Just wondering where they both are. Don't you ever think about that?"
They all blinked at him. "Not really," Minato shrugged.
"Come on, man! This isn't the first time! They usually get home after midnight. Don't you ever wonder what they do during the dark hour? One hour… with nobody else but coffins around them…"
"Wait a minute." Yukari shook her head and frowned. "How do you even know they're together? They might be hanging out with their own friends—separately."
"Maybe…" Junpei snickered and then paused slyly. "… Or maybe they're hanging out at Shirakawa Boulevard…"
Yukari gasped in shock. "Junpei!" she almost screamed, evoking a helpless chortle from the playful junior. Both Minato and Fuuka went a little red, their expressions stunned and uncomfortable. Aigis was as expressionless as always. Only Ken cocked his head to the side, a puzzled look on his face.
"What's at Shirakawa Boulevard?"
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Akihiko muttered sourly, a hand tugging at the suffocating knot of the tie just below his neck. He looked at the well-dressed people around him, and even though he had donned a neat, black suit, he felt out of place. Beside him, Mitsuru closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "… I seem to recall you saying you'd be happy to do me a favour, Akihiko," she pointed out bluntly.
"I know, but when you were asking the other day, I thought you wanted me to clean your bike or something," he countered in a weary tone. "Even running an errand for the Student Council would have been okay, but keeping you company at a dance party?" Akihiko resisted the urge to smack his forehead. Shinji must be laughing his ass off up there…
"I'm not very fond of these things either, but you must understand the Kirijo family has to keep up with appearances," Mitsuru said.
I'm not a Kirijo, Akihiko inwardly retorted, almost pulling his tie loose. Mitsuru waved his hand away and proceeded to correct it with a few firm tugs, thankfully giving him just enough space to breathe. He couldn't help blushing a little when she smoothed his coat down—just across the chest—the way a mother would a child.
"On a completely unrelated note, you're looking very handsome in that suit. A wise choice," she graciously complimented. Before the party, she had her chauffeur bring him to one of the finest boutiques in Iwatodai. His blush deepened and he immediately brought his hands together, rubbing them uneasily. "Uh, well…" he started. "You, uh… you look nice too…" Mitsuru had her hair up and had donned an elegant-looking dress that complemented both her figure and her crimson hair—he really wasn't used to seeing her like that, and that made him a tad uncomfortable. For close to the millionth time that evening, he fervently wished the night was over.
She smiled warmly at his words and was just about to respond when something caught her eye. "Here comes my father," she murmured, edging closer to him; close enough for him to smell her lavender perfume and close enough to make him even more uncomfortable. He felt a hand touch his arm and he instinctively stiffened, his eyes growing wider. What is she doing? He wanted to ask her why she felt the need to stand so close to him, but she merely called out politely to Takeharu Kirijo, who was approaching them with a foreign couple in tow, "Good evening, father."
"H-hello, sir." Akihiko forced a smile. The tall, one-eyed man gave a grunt of acknowledgement and turned to the man and woman behind him while gesturing towards Mitsuru. "This is my daughter, Mitsuru," he introduced. "Mitsuru, meet Mr. and Mrs. Claude from the States. They are planning on sending their son as an exchange student to Gekkoukan High next year."
"It's nice to meet you." The red-haired senior politely bowed at the smiling couple, reaching out to shake their hands. Her next words gave Akihiko—whom she was still holding on to—a tremendous shock. "This is my date, Akihiko Sanada," Mitsuru casually said. "We both attend Gekkoukan High. He's the captain of the boxing team."
Akihiko's eyes bulged in amazement and for a moment, he appeared to have forgotten how to blink or even breathe. He merely stared at Mitsuru, completely oblivious to the slightly surprised expression on Takeharu's face.
"A pleasure to meet you, young man," Mr. Claude greeted, interrupting the wild thoughts in Akihiko's head. The boxer spontaneously took the large hand before him and shook it rather weakly. "Uh… you too, sir," he managed to squeak. The next few minutes consisted of idle banter and small talk. Akihiko looked blank, only answering questions from the two guests and not saying anymore. Instead, he stared at Mitsuru most of the time, watching her seemingly normal face. She didn't look at him, and instead acted as if everything she had said before was completely true. He frowned a little as suspicion and curiosity began to gnaw at his guts.
It wasn't until a moment later, when Takeharu brought the American couple to meet some other guests, that Mitsuru released a heavy sigh of relief. Akihiko took this opportunity to ask her in a low hiss, "Okay… what the hell is going on?" He noticed her hands were still on his forearm—he really wasn't comfortable with that, but a tiny part of him didn't seem to actually mind.
He was expecting an answer from her, but instead she took his hand and started to pull him away. "Not here. My father's watching us," she whispered just before she turned. He couldn't help taking a quick glance around and true enough, Takeharu was standing nearby, studying them like a hawk. To say Akihiko was bewildered would be an understatement, but confusion slowly melted away to horror and consternation when he realised she was dragging him to the dance floor. What the hell is going on here? The question he had asked her before constantly hammered at his head. As she brought him to the middle of the floor, among the many other swaying couples, instinct made him pull back a little.
"What are you doing?" he stupidly asked in a low, alarmed tone. Is she out of her mind?
"Just play along," she replied, taking his right hand and placing it on her slender waist while still holding on to his other hand. He froze at once, his heart pumping almost painfully in his chest, a panicked beat in his head as if a sledgehammer was repeatedly slamming onto his brain. He wondered why she allowed him to hold her like that; the only other time she ever let him touch her waist was when he was riding in the backseat of her motorcycle.
"Follow my lead," she added. He continued to simply stare at her as she fluidly adapted to the tempo of the moderately-paced music, but at the slightest narrowing of her eyes, he hesitantly began to take a few steps. His body awkwardly swayed with her—he tried his best to match his movements with hers but they still came out stiff and clumsy. He tried to remember those slow-dancing scenes the movies on TV usually had, and then recalled, to his chagrin, that he had always just switched the channel.
"You know, guys are usually the ones who lead," Mitsuru pointed out, her breath hot against his throat. He had been concentrating so hard on his steps that he hadn't noticed how close she was to him. The nagging feeling of danger at the back of his neck arose and he unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand. "I'm a boxer, Mitsuru, not a dancer." His blunt rejoinder was one of annoyance, but she made no response to that. "I believe you owe me an explanation…?" he continued.
She sighed again, this time guiltily. "I apologize for my behaviour just now," she softly said. "And… well, I wasn't entirely honest when I asked you to accompany me here tonight…"
"… What do you mean?" He blinked.
"Well, I told you it was just because I didn't want to be alone, but…" she trailed off, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed. This is why you shouldn't lie, a dry voice at the back of her mind reminded her. "… I actually had an ulterior motive," she admitted.
His eyes never left hers, curious but staunch. "Ulterior motive, huh?" he repeated hotly. "Let me guess… you wanted me to pretend we're a couple?"
The blush and rare, guilty expression on her face was enough of an answer for him. Once more, he had the urge to smack himself—hard. What had he got himself into now? "Oh shit…" he muttered, not even caring that she usually disliked profanities like that. "But why do you want people—and your father—to think that you have a boyfriend? Is there some sort of weird competition going on around here? With your father's colleagues' kids or something?"
"Of course not. Don't be silly," she chided.
So I'm the one being silly now? He resisted the desire to bark back. She turned to scan the many people around them before stopping to look at someone who was near the buffet. "Do you see that man there?" She leaned closer to him, nodding the direction. "The one in blue, holding that empty glass?"
"… Yeah?"
"He's Tetsu Kagaya—the only son of the President of Kagaya Industries. I'm sure you've heard of it?"
Akihiko hadn't, but he said nothing and just eyed the man in question. He was tall, black-haired and appeared to be in his early thirties, or perhaps late twenties. He was smiling and talking to another much older woman. "… He looks nice."
"He is, actually. Now look at the other guy to your left—the one in that dark red suit. Daisuke Ryu—he's the youngest son of Hideo Ryu, who co-owns Tamaya Electronics with his cousin, Suneo Ryu."
When Akihiko saw the lanky, sullen-looking man, he couldn't help repeating what Junpei had said once about Yukari, "… He looks like someone just ate his last bon-bon."
Mitsuru chuckled at his words. She spent the next few moments pointing out some other men, most of them in their thirties and pretty much all of them either presidents of companies or sons or nephews of some tycoon. None of them seemed particularly interesting to him, but Akihiko was most impressed by her deep knowledge of them.
"Uh, why are you telling me all this?" he asked at the end of it all.
"The reason I know so much about them is because they're always coming up to me and telling me all about themselves," she explained. "Sometimes it can really be a bore, but that's not the thing that annoys me to no end."
He raised his eyebrows expectantly at her.
"It's their proposals," she said simply.
"Their what?" His eyes widened even more.
"Proposals," she repeated in the type of tone that sounded as if she was talking about something as common as… cookies or chocolate or something…
Akihiko suddenly found himself a little dazed. It appeared that Mitsuru was not only popular in school, but also in the corporate world! He had no idea other people would be approaching her with the intention of marrying her one day. She was already eighteen—one year short of being an adult—but still…!
"They've been talking to my father as well, and though he always shrugs them off, he has spoken to me about one or two of them," Mitsuru sighed. "I think he particularly likes Tetsu Kagaya."
The guy who's easily fifteen years older than you? He had to stop himself from voicing his thoughts. His right hand left hers to once again pull at the knot of his tie and he mumbled, "Oh man… I need a drink."
She gave him a rather sympathetic look as she stopped their dance and led him to one of the more secluded corners of the hall. He grabbed a glass of punch from a waiter and gulped it down in one shot. "… So you thought if you brought along a date that they'd all leave you alone for once?" He turned to her inquiringly. A troubled expression clouded her countenance and she nodded silently.
"Well, it seems to be working. Not one of them has come up to you this evening, right?"
"I'm sorry, Akihiko," she murmured, pushing away a red lock from her vision. "I didn't mean to deceive you. I wanted to tell you when I asked you to come along the other day, but… well, I was sort of embarrassed… It's not exactly a problem any normal girl would have."
When he did not respond, she reached out to touch his arm. He shifted his attention from the dance floor to her. "Are you angry?" she asked softly, in a voice that was almost timid, which, coming from her, was rather odd.
He shook his head. "No… I just wish you'd trust me enough to tell me your problems, Mitsuru. I mean, I had no idea things were so tough on you. I would have been glad to help—you know I'd do anything for you," he said sincerely. "Remember back in Yakushima, when you told me what your father said to you? I think he was right. You shouldn't carry all your burdens by yourself and think you can handle everything on your own. You should trust more in the people around you. That's what friends are for, aren't they? That's what I'm here for, right?"
She studied him with an expressionless face, but one look in her eyes told him she was considering his words very carefully. "… You know I don't like showing any weakness," she finally said, turning away but on impulse, he reached out for her shoulders and forced her to face him once more. She didn't resist, but just stared back, mahogany orbs burning into his soul.
"It's not a weakness," he asserted. "You can't possibly think you can do everything on your own, do you? Isn't that why SEES was established in the first place? Because there's just no way you can fight Shadows all by yourself? 'Nobody's perfect'; you've said so thousands of times. Regardless of how trivial the problem, it's not wrong to ask someone else for help, Mitsuru. Don't ever think otherwise."
He paused, waiting for a response from her, but when he got none, he sighed. "Maybe you can't tell me everything, but I just want you to remember that I'm here for you, okay?" he said almost under his breath.
Mitsuru's gaze softened. She appeared as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just nodded instead, uncharacteristically submissive.
"Oh my, I'm not interrupting, am I?" a melodious, female voice called out. Both of them turned at once just in time to see a plump, beaming lady approaching them. Mitsuru straightened up and smoothed down her dress, giving her a warm smile.
"Good evening, Mrs. Miyagi," she greeted in a cordial tone, as if the previous conversation with Akihiko never happened. "It's good to see you again."
"You're looking very well, Mitsuru dear. Oh, who's this handsome young man?" the lady raised her eyebrows at Akihiko. He exchanged a quick glance with his red-headed companion before giving the lady a gracious bow and sticking out his hand politely.
"It's nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm Akihiko Sanada…" he said with a brilliant grin. "… Mitsuru's boyfriend."
A/N: I've already finished what I hope will be the final chapter in this collection, but I might still need to do some changes to it. As it stands now, the next chapter will probably be the last, but I'm still not sure yet...