WORLD OF SUITS

~ Michi ~

"Ugh… Ikki's going to be at work again today. This sucks," I groaned. I'd tried to forget it, but I had to face reality sometime.

"He is one of the four pathways, Michi. You'll have to help him," Musca reminded me.

"Yeah, maybe, but I don't have to like him," I muttered, tying the last bow on my uniform as I secured the apron.

"Come on. You were wary of Shin at first too, and just look what happened." Musca came closer as my shoulders slumped. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

"I'm just annoyed, is all…"

"And why is that?" Ikki suddenly appeared, looping his arms around my neck from behind.

"Wah!" I jumped. "Don't sneak up on me like that! You're the reason I'm annoyed!"

"What did I do?"

"Don't try to play innocent with me." I turned away. "Who else is working today?"

"Well, it was supposed to be Toma, but…" Ikki was peering at the back door, as we had both heard it open and shut. "Shin? I thought you were off today."

"Toma had to call out. I agreed to come in last minute."

This was just perfect… The same awkward feeling from the day before was already setting in. "Hold on… If I'm the only girl here, then… Crap. Crap! Oh man, I don't know how to deal with this…" I would have to mainly work the front if I was the only girl available. That meant… The dreaded maid act.

"Look on the bright side. You'll make better tips." Ikki laughed. "Do you need to practice on me?"

I scowled at his obvious amusement. "Definitely not with you. I will never call you master."

"You said you would never apologize to me, but you did that too."

"Don't remind me," I mumbled.

"You two are awfully chummy," Shin muttered.

"What?" I blinked at him.

"We need to get changed." He ignored me, speaking to Ikki instead.

"I know. Want to join me, Michi?"

"Never." I walked away to start setting the tables.

"What was that about?" Musca asked. "Shin seemed strange."

"I have no idea… H-hey, Musca?"

"What?"

"You said that you were watching Shin when I was practicing the maid act with him and Toma. Um… So, how… How did he look?"

"Oh." She smiled. "He was blushing. His whole face had turned red."

"Oh… Damn, I shouldn't have asked. It'll make me all pathetic, giving me false hope." Maybe it was a good thing that the pathways had merged. It would give me other things to focus on.

"I'd love to be supportive, but I don't know what to tell you or what will happen, Michi. What will be will be." Musca squeezed my shoulders gently.

"You're right." Work was interesting that day, definitely. Each time I had to call another stranger master I felt like I was dying a little inside, but the tips I got brought me back to life. "Ugh…" I plopped down in the break room once I was able to grab a few minutes, resting my cheek on the table. "I thought I was going to punch someone in the face, but I didn't… Hooray…"

"That in itself is an accomplishment." Musca nodded. "Good job, Michi. Oh!" She shook me. "Shin is here."

"What?" I sat up quickly just as Shin placed a glass of water in front of me.

"I didn't say anything." He frowned.

"Y-yeah, but… I heard you come in."

"Did you drink water this morning?"

"Oh. Yeah… Yeah, sure."

"So, you didn't." He pushed the glass closer. "Drink that." He sat across from me and crossed his arms.

"You're going to watch me?"

"Someone needs to make sure you take care of yourself."

"Ugh… So pushy." I tipped my head back and downed the water. "Happy?"

"I'm satisfied." He took the glass as he stood.

"Um." I began awkwardly. "Thank you."

"Yeah." He nodded as he left.

"Oh man…" I sighed. "I feel like he keeps wanting to say something but he doesn't."

"So call him out on it. I see no use in leaving things as they are," Musca suggested.

"You're right. I'll try to find a good time whenever I can."

"Michi." The manager poked his head into the room. "You're doing well. Keep it up." He whisked away after that, like a ghost.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's good I didn't call out." I hopped up and went back to work, renewed by a bit of encouragement. Still, by the end of the shift I was ready to go home.

"Happy to be done? You look relieved," Ikki commented after we had all changed and were preparing to leave.

"I guess so." I counted my tips. Yeah, there was definitely a difference. I would have to work the front more often, if my dignity could survive it. "Oh yeah, Shin. Was your dad angry when I didn't show up yesterday?"

"No. He was happy about it, actually. I don't think he was really ready yet."

"Like you said, everything worked out."

"Yeah." He kept doing this thing where he studied me for a while and seemed like he was going to say something, but then just turning away. He was in the middle of it now, fixing me in his gaze.

"Look, if you have something to say, please just say it. You're putting me on pins and needles here."

"If I had something to say, I would say it. There's nothing, Michi."

"Come on, don't give me that. You've been acting weird since yesterday."

"You're imagining things."

"I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were."

This was taking a wrong turn. I definitely didn't want to start a fight. "Just talk to me, please?"

"Look… Whatever you're thinking, it's wrong." We both knew I thought he was jealous, but we also both refused to acknowledge it outright. "I already told you how it was, so will you please just drop it?"

I didn't trust myself to speak after that, so I just nodded as he left.

"Michi, are you okay?"

"Shit, I'm being ridiculous." I felt like crying, but this was no reason to cry.

"Michi?" And even worse, Ikki had been here watching the whole exchange. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright! Because of you, Shin thinks…" I took a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm sorry… It's not your fault. It's my fault for taking things too seriously. Sorry, Ikki."

"Hey… Let me walk you home."

"What about your fangirls?"

"You're obviously upset, so you're more important right now."

"Fine, do what you want."

His girls were waiting when we got outside. The sight of them made me feel tired. Maybe walking home with this guy wasn't the best idea…

"Sorry, I have another engagement today. But I promise to make it up to all of you." Ikki had to placate them before we could move on. The only one who didn't seem satisfied by this was Rika, who kept on glaring at me. Geez, she had issues… I flicked her off behind Ikki's back, acting on my already bad mood that she hadn't helped.

"You degenerate!" She snapped.

"Whatever you're doing, Michi, cut it out." Ikki turned back to me and sighed.

"She started it," I muttered.

"Come on."

I didn't relax until we were out of sight from the fangirls. "Man… They really get me riled up."

"You act like a child when you're angry, you know that?"

"So what?"

"Nothing. It's actually a bit charming."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere with me, you know. I'm not like those girls."

"Exactly. That's why I'd like to be around you more."

"Oh." I hadn't expected him to be so candid. But then again, he had a more aggressive personality than Shin did.

"At least that's not a no." He chuckled.

"Whatever." I couldn't tell him to go away if he was one of the people I had come here to help.

"So. You like Shin."

"… That wasn't even a question. Is it that obvious?"

"It is. For what it's worth, I still think he's jealous simply because of misunderstanding what he saw at the hospital. This is my fault, so would you like me to say something to him?"

"Thanks for the offer, but no. I don't think he wants to hear any more on the general subject of him and me and whatever we are. Besides, I prefer to solve my own problems."

"Alright, but tell me if you change your mind."

"Sure, sure." I paused. "You're a nice guy when you want to be, you know that?"

"Try not to fall in love with me," he teased.

"Don't push it," I laughed, punching his arm playfully.

"I'll try my best."

"See, Michi? I told you to get to know him before judging." Musca smiled triumphantly.

Yeah, yeah, you were right. No need to gloat. But he really wasn't that bad. I was actually feeling kind of happy right now.

"It wouldn't be such a bad thing if you fell for me though. Or remembered me, at the very least."

"Er…" I actually wanted to remember, just to sort out the confusion, but the memories wouldn't surface. "Look, Ikki… Well… Did we, by any chance, go to the same middle school? For a while at least. I moved when I was first starting, but…"

"Yes. The same elementary school, too."

"Oh." Why hadn't I remembered that? This was beyond frustrating. It sounded right, but the images wouldn't come to my head. "Will you tell me more?"

"I'd like to. Another time, though, since we're here."

"Huh? Oh." I hadn't even noticed our arrival at my apartment.

"Want to trade phone numbers? That way I can text you and we can figure out a time to get together and talk."

"Oh, sure." We entered our numbers into each other's phones. "Hey, thanks again. But you won't always get to swoop in when I'm all emotional, okay?'

"That's fine with me. I'll be there at any time, no matter how you're feeling."

"He's pretty slick, huh?" Musca commented.

Unfortunately.

"Have a good night, Michi."

"You too." I collapsed into bed once I was inside my apartment. And there were two more people after this… It was best to take things slow.

"Hey, Michi, I was thinking about something." Musca floated above me.

"What? That's good. My brain feels fried, so maybe you should do the thinking for a while."

"I'm being serious here. Your memories seem blocked, right?"

"Yeah. It sucks."

"Maybe it's because there's a part of you that doesn't want to remember."

"What?'

"Your memories of Shin led you to fall for him. Maybe there's a part of you that's scared your memories of Ikki will do the same thing. I think you're the one blocking your own memories because you don't want to end up betraying your feelings for Shin."

"That's…" Crap, she was probably right…