Mio
It was the day before the field trip. We were dismissed earlier than usual from school so we could have the extra time needed to finalize (or for some us, begin) our preparations for our stay at Kyoto. Having already completed my own preparations, I decided to check on a certain someone who had very likely initiated a luggage-packing frenzy the moment they got home.
After all, not even the potential exposure of her biggest secret is enough to keep Tainaka Ritsu from procrastinating.
Bracing myself for the barrage of excuses, complaints and begging that, more often than not, accompanied Ritsu's rushing, I took a deep breath and readied to push the doorbell of their residence. I had barely lifted my hand from my side when their front door suddenly slid wide open, revealing a tall figure that looked down at me with indignant eyes.
"What took you? I was just about to get you, you know!" sounded the deep voice of Ritsu. In boy mode.
"W-what?" was the best response I could come back with. I tried to inject as much of my own indignation for the less-than-polite welcome, but instead my reply came out as a nervous stammer. I couldn't help it. I was caught off-guard. The last time I saw Ritsu in this form was weeks ago, when Yui had come to visit us with Mugi's cake. I cursed myself inwardly when my eyes automatically landed on his torso. He was wearing a rather form-fitting shirt that drew attention to the muscles on his chest, arms and abdomen. They looked firmer and more defined than before. Not that I had paid more attention than was necessary to those particular body parts last time. Don't get the wrong idea.
"You were supposed to be here hours ago, remember?" Ritsu continued, oblivious to the strange fascination I had shown his body the moment he appeared on the opposite side of the door. I quickly pulled myself together and did my best to stop reflecting on what it felt like to run my hands across those muscles. I should be mad at him for being so demanding, not feeling anything even remotely close to attraction towards him. I am in serious need of self-evaluation.
"No, I don't. Remind me again why I should be here," I said, this time succeeding in expressing some annoyance. I folded my arms across my chest and looked Ritsu straight in the eye, which is easier said than done due to the significant height difference. He held my gaze, defiantly at first, and for the next minute we just stood there staring at each other.
Before long, I wanted to turn away and hide the blush that was sure to come. But there was always this more stubborn, unyielding side of me that only Ritsu could bring out, especially when she challenged me. So why should I give in to him now? I hardened my gaze even more.
Finally, Ritsu's eyes softened and he looked away.
"Fine. You win this round."
I smirked with satisfaction and made my way through him. With my back turned against him, I quietly let out a sigh of relief as I rested a palm on my chest. Weird. It turned out my heart had started pounding during our staring contest. I tried not to think of it anymore as I arranged my shoes along with all the other footwear in the shoe shelf. Only when I stepped into the entrance hall did I realize that Ritsu and I weren't alone.
"For a second there, I thought you two were going to kiss," said the woman in the entrance hall casually, despite the apparent interest she observed us with.
"Oh, good afternoon, Shizuka-san!" I said, bowing rather deeply to acknowledge Ritsu's mother. I hadn't seen her for a long time, and was quite unsure of how to approach her, so I settled for formality. But before I could even straighten myself up, I felt gentle arms envelope me into a warm hug.
"No need for such stiffness, Mio-chan," Shizuka-san said kindly, making my heart swell with joy for the affectionate gesture. I returned the hug with just as much sincerity as it was given.
"We were so not going to kiss," Ritsu mumbled over at the side. "Jeez, Mom, the ideas you get into your head…"
Wordlessly, Shizuka-san reached out with her free arm, gave Ritsu his share of a loving squeeze before planting a kiss to each of our foreheads.
"There. Maybe someday I could kiss your children like this, too," she said, releasing us with a hopeful smile on her face.
Ritsu immediately took a step away from his mother, his stance defensive. "Mom! Mio and I aren't giving you grandkids!"
"I never mentioned you doing so, dear."
"But you -! You said-! Ugh! Forget it!"
And with that, Ritsu stomped off to his room without sparing another glance in our direction. And with that, I realized that my heart had again doubled its effort to pump 25% of my blood to various parts of my body, and the remaining 75% to my face. To have other people tease the both of us is one thing, to have family do the same is another…
Wait, did I just refer to Shizuka-san as family?
But I only see her as family because she treats me like a daughter too, right?
It definitely has nothing to do with our grandchildren.
Our grandchildren?!
"Mio-chan." Shizuka-san put a hand on my shoulder. I somehow managed to regain a little composure. "Thank you for being a true friend to Ritsu and for being there when she needed you the most. Thank you for understanding. I really hope that the bond you both share as friends only becomes stronger."
I smiled and placed my hand on top of the one that was still on my shoulder. Shizuka-san truly is like a second mother to me. She never fails to show her affection and gratitude through words and actions. She used to joke around and say that she treated me like a daughter of her own because her real daughter was bound to be manlier than all the other kids in the neighborhood. I guess there was some truth to the idea, after all.
"Well, I believe it's best that you scurry along before he starts another riot," Shizuka-san said, her eyes reflecting the same golden hue her children inherited from her as they twinkled with delight. "It was nice seeing you again, Mio-chan."
"The feeling's mutual, Shizuka -san," I said happily before giving her another hug. "Don't worry; I'll keep a close eye on him. I'll make sure he gets everything packed."
As I headed for the stairway, I heard Shizuka-chan mumble behind me, "Oh, Mio-chan, what am I going to do without you?"
"Ugh, Ritsu, what am I suppose to do with you?"
I sighed as I massaged my throbbing temples. Just one look around Ritsu's room, and already a headache was underway. From the bed, to the floor, to the table in the middle of his room lay the wide assortment of objects I could only hope he wasn't planning on bringing.
"Please tell me you're not planning to bring all of these…"
"Course not!" Ritsu was quick to reply. He snatched two of the garments that lay on his bed and held them up for me to see. "I'm just having some trouble deciding on which to bring."
"Wait…are those raincoats?" I said once I recognized what he was holding. I motioned to the pile of clothing next to the table. "Those look like raincoats, too. What's with the sudden interest?"
Ritsu only grinned at me sheepishly.
"Not another random collection. Spare me from any more of your random collections…"
"That's not it, Mio."
Without warning, Ritsu whipped an umbrella seemingly out of nowhere. He opened it and gave it a little twirl.
"I've decided to invest in rain gear. Best precaution I could think of."
It was true. The investing part, not the part about rain gear being the best precaution. After eyeing his room again carefully (despite the apparent health hazard for doing so), I noticed various kinds of umbrellas, raincoats, more than a pair of elastic boots, and even some goggles scattered about. And somewhere near the corner of his room was a pile of something that suspiciously looked like teru teru bozu.
Unlike Ritsu, I don't take particular enjoyment in watching my best friend get flustered or in poking fun at their fears and anxieties. However, there are times when the actions that result from Ritsu's worrying and agitation can be so overwhelmingly silly and, I admit, even adorable that I couldn't prevent any physical manifestations of my amusement from showing.
So I started giggling.
"Great," Ritsu grumbled, umbrella still in hand. He waved it towards me. "As if keeping the curse a secret isn't hard enough, now I've gotta deal with a crazy Mio, too."
Maybe it was my exhaustion, maybe it was the anxiety I felt for Ritsu, maybe it was the silliness of his actions or maybe, just as he had mentioned, I was going crazy. But for some reason, I couldn't stop the waves of laughter that washed over my body.
At first, Ritsu just rolled his eyes at me. When I still hadn't stopped, he shook his head a little. Then, a smile slowly crept across his face. And finally, just like many times before, he joined me in uncontrolled laughter that was so senseless that it actually made sense to us.
By the time our laughter died out, I was already sitting next to Ritsu on his bed, folding his clothes and stacking them in neat piles while he lay stretched out behind me on his back. Although I still felt a bit self-conscious being so close to a boy, I was rather comfortable with our position and was more relaxed than I had been earlier. Seems that all we needed to do was let go of some control in order to gain the sort of control we needed over ourselves.
"Mio," Ritsu called out, cutting the brief silence that stretched between us.
I turned to look at him. "Yeah?"
"Teru teru bozu!" he exclaimed, holding the said teru teru bozu right in front of my face while wearing a ridiculously serious expression on his own.
He paused, waiting for my reaction.
I simply raised an eyebrow.
"Teru! Teru! BO-ZUUU!" he repeated, this time with exaggerated gestures for emphasis.
Behold: Tainaka Ritsu, Champion of the Mundane.
"No rain gear for Kyoto, Ritsu," I replied calmly as I turned my back against him.
From behind me, Ritsu let out a groan and I smiled at the sound, realizing that I had already developed a liking to his deep voice. Of course (although I'll never admit it out loud), I will always hold a special kind of fondness for his feminine voice, annoying as it can be at times. It was actually one of the things I missed the most about him during his stay in China. Still, I wish he'd stop worrying so much about the changes brought about by the curse. They never really even bothered me in the least. I've already began to embrace the changes, and I've even started to appreciate some of them. Just like…
The earlier image of well-built and finely honed muscles flashed through my mind.
I quickly shook my head to clear the treacherous thought, and as I looked down to focus on the garment I was folding, I noticed that I was actually holding –
"So sorry, Mio!" Ritsu muttered, hastily grabbing the striped boxers from my hands.
And for the first time that day, Ritsu was actually redder than I was.
And for the first time for what was going to be a long time, I realized that the curse could bring bigger changes than we originally thought.
A/N: Teru teru bozu - A small, ghost-like doll that is traditionally used by Japanese people to prevent rain. The name literally means "shiny shiny Buddist monk" and it was originally designed to somewhat look like one - it very vaguely resembles a bald man. Children traditionally hang these in a window frame when they wanted the next day to have good weather.
Aaanyway, is this chapter even necessary? Or am I just stalling? I'm not so sure. I hope you like it anyway.
Next chapter is definitely happening in Kyoto, though.
I hope I'll have your continued support.
Oh, and thanks for reading!