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Chapter 3

The Seventh Day

:-:

Sousuke tugs the collar of Makoto's red plaid shirt (which is Sousuke's, literally), gazing sharply across the brunet's entire body. The shirt is pretty old itself and no longer fitting Sousuke's huge body. On Makoto, it's almost a perfect fit, and seems pretty decent. "Just a little more," Sousuke scrubs his chin before pulling and folding Makoto's sleeves up until they reach his elbows, "Makoto, release the buttons."

The brunet blinks at him, digging his brain to find out the meaning of the words. When his brain does its job, his face brightens and Makoto begins to carefully unbutton his shirt. It reveals a v-neck black shirt under it. Sousuke drags the red plaid shirt away until it exposes more of the black shirt. Giving a final look at Makoto's trousers and his entire appearance, Sousuke nods in satisfaction.

"There. You look pretty good."

Makoto raises his thumb up, eyes fix against Sousuke's, trying to find reassurance. Sousuke lets out a small smile.

"Yeah, you look good."

"Okay." A cheerful smile breaks across Makoto's face. "Sousuke, thank you!"

"You're welcome, Makoto." Sousuke can't suppress a wider smile on his lips and he finally gives in. "You learn quickly. I must say I'm impressed. We'll stop by the bookstore later, alright? Maybe we can find something easier for you to learn, probably a pocket dictionary for you to carry around."

"Uh..." Makoto's smile turns sheepish as he shakes his head, "I don't understand you fully, but are you telling me that maybe we will search for more books and dictionaries for me to learn?"

Sousuke's eyes widen a little in surprise. "You're making great progress." He praises. "Do think about the whole meanings of my words, though. Let's go." Sousuke walks toward the front door and opens it up. Makoto makes his way outside, looking around in much interest and sucking every sight his eyes manage to take. Sousuke follows after, closing the door of his house and locking it.

It's finally weekend. Today is the seventh day since Makoto's arrival at his house. After the fire incident, Sousuke dealt with his insurance company, receiving a cover for replacement, repair and renovation. What he currently needs to do is finding a new stove, a new laptop, and bucket of paint.

While he was busy with work and handling the kitchen, he let Makoto learn. The brunet is extremely diligent, to the point where he never slept properly. He always fell asleep with dictionaries and books scattered around him. Sometimes Sousuke would carry him to the bedroom, draping blanket over his body and leave quietly. In the morning, Makoto would wake up with a new hunger for more words. In his leisure times, Sousuke taught him about colors and conversational sentences.

Ever since the fire incident, to Rin's demanding questions, Sousuke reluctantly explained about Makoto's presence in his house. The maroon-haired man didn't seem impressed. Sousuke hadn't yet told him about Makoto having an unusual voice by the sea that hummed to him every night.

Sousuke had tried, almost every night, to visit his usual spot near the seashore to listen to the humming of the sea. Just like he'd expected, he could no longer hear the humming. It has stopped since the day of Makoto's arrival. Such fact proved that Makoto is indeed the source of that voice.

"Meet me in front of our usual coffee kiosk at nine. Bring this Makoto along with you. I'm going to see him myself." Rin had said. Sousuke agreed, feeling quite positive that his angel is going to win Rin's approval.

"Makoto." Sousuke turns. Makoto is patiently waiting for him, smiling brightly at Sousuke. His smile is as warm as the morning sunshine drenching their bodies. Sousuke smiles gently at the sight, feeling warmth emanating within his stomach.

As they leave the house, they stroll together, side by side. Sousuke feels his fingers itching to thread through Makoto's. He's sure Makoto won't pull his hand, nor will he mind in the slightest. Yet, in his nature, Sousuke can't take that advantage. Not yet, at least. He pays a glance at Makoto. The brunet is watching the stretching sky—blue with white puffy clouds swimming beside each other.

"Sky." Sousuke says, pulling Makoto's attention like a strong magnet. Now, Makoto is watching him, eyes brighten in anticipation. "Sky," Sousuke repeats, pointing toward the sky above. Makoto's eyes immediately follow. "Blue sky. White clouds. Shining sun."

"Oh, I understand." Makoto turns toward Sousuke, eyes closed up as his lips stretch a happy smile—as happy as the smiling sun in children's books. Sousuke nods in contentment. Now that Makoto can differentiate colors, it's easier for him to extend his vocabularies.

As they stroll around the streets and shopping district, Sousuke patiently answers Makoto's incessant questions about the name of the things he's curious about. Pretty much everything around them catches Makoto's interest, but it seems like the brunet knows how to hold back and bury his thirst for knowledge at a certain limit.

Sousuke pulls Makoto to an ice cream shop, hand gesturing to a set of menu for Makoto to choose. "You should try this. Maybe you'll like it." Sousuke says, "What about chocolate?"

"What is this...?" Makoto asks in genuine curiosity.

"Ice cream. It has many flavors for you to choose."

Makoto points to an orange-flavored ice cream. "I like this color."

"Well, if you say so. I want this one." Sousuke's finger lands on a picture of chocolate ice cream. "Tell her, Makoto."

"One orange and one brown—"

"Chocolate." Sousuke interrupts.

"One orange and one chocolate, please." Makoto promptly corrects himself, blushing a little in embarrassment.

"No need to be shy. You're doing great." Before Sousuke can stop himself, he briefly ruffles Makoto's silky olive-brown hair. Makoto flashes a smile as his blushes deepen. Feeling rapid heartbeats against his ribcage, Sousuke pulls his hand and looks away. Yet, his teal eyes spot a dazed ice cream seller—a young woman who seems to be near their age—completely stunned at Makoto's angelic smile and sweet voice.

With a stupid grin, the seller begins to prepare their orders. Sousuke's brows scrunch up. Perhaps bringing Makoto around the town isn't a really good idea. He shakes his head, realizing he has thought about ridiculous things. Makoto deserves an exploration around town, of course. Sousuke's possessiveness shouldn't prevent Makoto from doing anything he wants.

"Here you go." The seller exclaims, her voice an octave higher. She hands Makoto two cones of ice creams. When Makoto replies with the sweetest thank you, the young seller blushes. "I've never seen you around town. Are you a tourist? Or did you just move here?"

"What's a tour—"

"He's my friend from another town." Sousuke says, pulling Makoto closer to him as he slams his cash on the counter. "Keep the change. Let's go, Makoto."

After giving the chocolate ice cream to Sousuke, Makoto obediently follows him, waving good bye at the enthusiastic seller. When Makoto happily smiles at him and walks closer to his side, Sousuke feels a bit embarrassed at his own jealousy.

"Mmm..."

Sousuke's head turns, looking at Makoto with interest. The brunet gently licks the orange ice cream in his hand, burying his soft lips against the cream. "Cold, and sweet, a little bit sour."

"You really did your homework well, Makoto." Sousuke grins at him, feeling proud every time Makoto can accurately remember and choose the right words. "Do you like it?"

Makoto nods, sucking a large portion of ice cream with his mouth. He cringes at the cold against his teeth. Yet, when he swallows, soon a smile follows. "It's delicious."

"Here." Sousuke offers his ice cream, "Mine's chocolate. Have a taste."

"Have a taste?" The brunet echoes as he leans closer, licking a bit of Sousuke's ice cream. His sea-green eyes widen as the soft ice cream quickly dissolves on his tongue. After a gulp, Makoto chimes. "It's so delicious. Uh, better than mine."

"Oh, so you like chocolate? If you want, just take mine." Sousuke doesn't really like to share, but it seems like his heart has turned all fluffy for Makoto. His angel gazes at the chocolate ice cream, tongue sneaks out a little to lick the side of his upper lip. Then, he shakes his head.

"No." He replies, flashing a wide smile to Sousuke, "I don't want it."

Sousuke glowers at him. "Why?"

"It's Sousuke's," Makoto tilts his head, seemingly unaffected by Sousuke's intimidating demeanor, "I want a happy Sousuke."

The teal-eyed man feels his breath suspends in his throat. Blushes creep on his face, glowing pink on Sousuke's gruff face. "O-oh..." His stammers, failing to produce another word.

"Yo, Sousuke!" Rin's voice snaps him out of his brief trance. Sousuke quickly looks up, trying to distract himself from this unexpected butterflies swarming in his stomach.

"Rin." He isn't aware that they've finally arrived in front of the coffee kiosk. Their little stroll feels too short.

Rin strides toward them, showing his row of shark teeth in between his smirking lips. He immediately sets his eyes to Makoto, scanning him over from the very top of his olive-brown hair to his toes. Makoto blinks as a reaction, staring at Rin with new interest. His curious eyes fix on Rin's sharp teeth.

"So you're Makoto, huh? I'm Matsuoka Rin." The maroon-haired man introduces, extending a hand toward Makoto.

"I am. Such a great pleasure to meet you, Matsuoka Rin." Makoto takes Rin's hand for a polite handshake, with the brightest smile possible adorning his sweet face and a tilt of head. The sight gives freshness and sunshine that bloom the invisible flowers planted in Rin's heart.

"O-ooh..." Rin gawks, flabbergasted and utterly charmed. "S-Sousuke..."

"What?"

"Marry him."

"The hell are you talking about?" Scarlet shade of red streaks across Sousuke's face.

"What's 'marry'?" Makoto asks, his smile hasn't faded.

Sousuke grunts. "No, it's nothing—"

Rin interrupts. "'Marry' means you promise to love each other for a lifetime and you'll be together forever. Just the two of you, as partners in life, till death do you apart."

"I don't understand." The brunet smiles apologetically.

"Really?" Rin starts to smirk, his red irises sharpen. "Hey, Sousuke. Buy some coffee for us. I need to talk to your Makoto for a while." He pulls out his wallet and hands Sousuke his cash.

Sousuke sighs, taking the cash from Rin. He doesn't know exactly what Rin is going to talk about with Makoto, but he puts his trust in Rin. "I'll be back." Sousuke says, leaving them alone to stay in line of queue of the coffee kiosk.

"So, Makoto." Rin's smile vanishes and he suddenly turns serious, "If you think you can fool Sousuke, you're wrong. Sooner or later Sousuke will discover all those bullshits coming out from you. I don't care if you have those ridiculous fake smile and voice. I don't trust you, and I know you're acting everything out. We know a liar when we see one. What I'm trying to say is, stay away from Sousuke, for your own good." Rin glares at him, "You will be done for once he finds out how fake you are."

Makoto stares blankly at him, completely clueless. "I'm sorry...? I don't understand—"

"Stop with that bullshit."

"What's a bull—"

Rin pushes Makoto toward a brick wall, trapping his bigger body with Rin's palms slammed over the wall. "I don't know what you're targeting in him, but you chose the wrong target, Makoto—if that even your real name."

"Name...?" Complete bewilderment lightens on his face. It's one of the few words Makoto can register to his brain, "what's with my name...?"

Rin glares at him with knife-sharp eyes, before his gaze softens and he slowly releases Makoto. "I'm impressed," he comments, "either you're the best actor I've ever seen, or you're just purely genuine."

"Excuse me...? Um, Rin," Makoto smiles amiably, "I will learn more so I can talk better with you, okay?"

"Sousuke taught you those sentences, didn't he?" Rin finally grins, "You're intriguing, Makoto. Are you even human? You have a different aura."

"I hope I can understand you, Rin. Thank you for trying." Makoto smiles innocently at him, "Oh, Sousuke." His attention slides away to Sousuke, who's making his way toward them. The moment Makoto looks at Sousuke, Rin catches a glimpse of pure emotion in his sea-green eyes—an emotion very similar to the definition of 'love' in Rin's personal dictionary.

"Shit..." Rin curses under his breath.

Sousuke glances at Rin before pulling up a small smile. "What were you guys talking about?"

"I couldn't understand what Rin said. I'm sorry." Makoto presents a shy smile.

"It's okay. Right, Rin?" Sousuke smirks at him. Rin sighs, stepping closer to Sousuke.

"He's pure." Rin informs him, adjusting his volume low enough only for Sousuke to hear, "Or he's the best actor ever. Though I must say, he doesn't seem human to me. He feels a bit bizarre."

"That's what I thought." Sousuke finally releases a gentler smile, "Well, I guess for now I'll trust my own judgment. Although I don't believe it if he isn't human. It's you who's still believing in mythical creatures."

"I don't." Rin snarls, "Anyway, remember that we don't know who he is or his background. Don't get lovestruck."

"Huh. I won't. Thanks for the reminder, Rin." As their gazes break, Sousuke's teal eyes shift to find Makoto. Creases form up between his brows when he fails to find the brunet. "Where's Makoto...?" He looks around, a surge of panic rises up in his chest.

"Calm down, Sousuke. Your angel's there." Rin breathes a sigh of relief, pointing toward a pet store. Makoto is lingering in front of the glass shop window, eyes boring on one particular kitten staring back at him from behind the glass.

Sousuke approaches him, resting his palm over Makoto's shoulder and gives a little squeeze. "You like kittens?" He asks, offering a glass of chocolate drink he has bought from the coffee kiosk. Makoto receives the drink with a lovely smile and a mildly spoken thank you.

"So this is called 'kitten'?" Makoto crouches down in front of the glass, his fingers press against the glass window. "I like it."

Despite his words, Makoto's attention is no longer set on the kitten, but on something behind the cage. Sousuke bends his body, trying to find what has captured Makoto's gaze. He sees a glimpse of saltwater aquarium inside the store, standing several meters behind the kitten cage. "Oh, are you looking at the fish? Do you like them?"

When Makoto doesn't reply, Sousuke turns to the brunet. The usual shine on Makoto's eyes has gone. There are darker shades coloring his green eyes. Makoto seems distant, like he's completely in trance, trapped in his own realm of thoughts—a mysterious realm that Sousuke can't reach.

"Makoto?" Sousuke calls in concern. Makoto doesn't even move a single inch, nor does he bat an eye. "Makoto? Hey... you alright?" Sousuke shakes Makoto's shoulder, trying to gain his attention. Makoto is as still as a doll—like he's hypnotized. Bewilderment and worry start to place weight on Sousuke's chest.

"Oi, Makoto!" Rin calls loudly, stepping beside Sousuke.

Finally, Makoto bats his eyes, his body going rigid as if he's been washed out of a sudden with ice cold water. Makoto quickly jerks his head to them with overwhelming fear characterized on his face. It lasts for a second before Makoto calms down and smiles in relief. "What is it?" He asks, slowly standing up.

"Are you alright? You looked like you're in trance." Rin asks, actually worried over Makoto.

"Excuse me, but what is 'trance'?"

"You looked scared," Sousuke changes the word to one he's sure Makoto will understand. Sousuke is indeed more concern about the brief yet intense fear he's just witnessed on Makoto.

"Oh, I..." Makoto trails off, looking away at nothing in the distance, "I think I remember..."

Both Sousuke and Rin can't take their eyes off Makoto. Curiosity has taken over, both of them eager to receive further explanation. Anxiety has unexpectedly crept inside Sousuke's tightening chest. He isn't sure if he wants Makoto to overcome his amnesia, or not. At one side, he's curious about Makoto's past, but on the other, he's afraid Makoto's returning memory will slowly but surely drag Makoto away from his grasp.

"I remember feeling scared at..." Makoto stops, helplessly looking at them, "I don't know the words. I can't talk."

"Yeah? Maybe you can tell us with a picture or an object?" Rin suggests.

"Picture...?" Makoto tries to remember the word. Then, he points toward the pet shop window, eyes focusing on the saltwater aquarium visible from it.

"And what do you mean by that? You remember seeing an aquarium? That's it?" Rin frowns.

"Um..." Makoto looks at loss for words and shakes his head. "I'm so sorry..."

"No, it's okay. Rin, he can't explain yet." Sousuke flashes a glare to his best friend, "Just let him be for a while. Makoto," he turns to Makoto, smiling a little, "explain later. Shall we go?" He extends a hand. When Makoto takes it, Sousuke feels the comfortable warmth and the softness of Makoto's skin, caressed against his.

Mine, Sousuke thinks, his past shouldn't matter. He's mine now.

Later that night, Sousuke rests his bones on a new futon he has chosen together with Makoto and Rin. He's lucky enough to get a comfy futon with convenient price. It feels much better than sleeping on the sofa for almost a week straight. He's relaxing in his room, with Makoto sitting by his study desk, engrossed in a new children's book Sousuke has purchased for him. Children's books have pictures and simplified words, not to forget quite interesting stories, thus it's almost a perfect media for Makoto to learn.

After reading halfway, Makoto gently closes the book, treating it with such care like it's his personal treasure. He stands up and turns toward the futon. "Sousuke," he calls, crouching down beside Sousuke, "you should stay up."

"Stay up...?" Sousuke grunts in his sleepiness.

Makoto points to his comfy bed beside the futon, "Up. Um... above? You should be above."

"Nah. It's okay. Here's fine." Sousuke shuts his eyes, ready to welcome his dreamland.

"But Sousuke should be above," Makoto insists, shaking Sousuke's body awake, "Because it's better and Sousuke will be happy."

"Look at me, Makoto." Sousuke says, gaining Makoto's eyes to fix against his, "I'm happy below, too." He forces an awkward, flat-toned laughter. It does nothing to impress Makoto. The brunet stares blankly at him before he pulls Sousuke's blanket and slides his own body beside Sousuke, forcing the taller man to give more space. Half of Sousuke's body is pushed out of his futon. When he's about to protest, Makoto snuggles near him, pressing his body against Sousuke to share the warmth.

"No, Makoto." Fighting the urge to give in and embrace the brunet beside him, Sousuke says with new determination, "Go away. Sleep on the bed."

Makoto's face flushes in embarrassment. He pulls away, forcing his body to stand on his knees beside Sousuke. His green eyes delivers a silent plea to Sousuke. Plea for what, the teal-eyed man doesn't know. "I just want Sousuke to be happy." Makoto whispers. His hushed voice makes Sousuke shudders in pleasure. He will definitely enjoy those hushes near his ear.

"If you want me to be happy," Sousuke replies weakly, trying not to be dazzled, "go sleep on the bed."

Makoto finally stands up and climbs on Sousuke's bed. Sousuke knows that Makoto is just being obedient, if not believing Sousuke's words that he's happier on thinner sheets.

"Good night, Makoto." Sousuke watches the brunet pulling his blanket over his body as he lies down.

"Good night, Sousuke." Makoto replies, with a sweeter voice than what he has heard on daytime. Is it just him, or Makoto's voice is always particularly sweeter and much more alluring on night time?

As he closes his eyes, he wonders about what piece of memory that has come back to Makoto when he watched the aquarium. He wonders about the '28 Days' carving on Makoto's seashell. He wonders if it's some sort of a countdown, if he has only twenty eight days to spend with Makoto.

Yet, he also wonders if it's possible for him to keep Makoto forever, if Makoto is indeed his, and his alone. No one will come and take Makoto away from him, won't it?

Much later in the night—probably midnight—Sousuke cracks open an eye. His ears catch a humming. It flows in the air with melodious, sweetest voice he's ever heard in his entire life. It's exactly like the one he'd heard every night before Makoto arrived at his front door, if not better. The humming is as clear as bell, now that Makoto is so close to him.

The brunet is sitting on the bed, head lifted toward the silver moon hanging low on the sky. Moonlight drenches over his body, penetrating through the glass window. Its curtain has been slid apart. Makoto's sea-green eyes are closed as melody escapes from his vocal cords, sweet and rich as honey, almost dangerously alluring that Sousuke can no longer think clearly.

"Who are you...?" Sousuke whispers, voice low enough that Makoto is oblivious to it. "If you leave, please take me with you, Makoto..."

To wherever it is.

Notes:

For kanamexzero fan: thank you! He is indeed cute for me, and in Sousuke's eyes, of course. Thank you for you too, dear reader. Makoto is a merman in here, as I've mentioned in the notes of chapter 1, but other than that, there's no more information yet about who he actually is. Thank you to you too, dear reader. ^^

For Guest: Wow, thank you and hope you'll also like this chapter!

For Eri: Thank you! I'm still learning to write fluffs but I hope this will be quite satisfying for now. Oh, yes. Now that you mentioned it, it looked like one. XD Thanks again and hope you'll enjoy this one, as well.