Hi, Norasakka here.It's weird looking back and reading past chapters and catching typos I missed... And being too lazy to fix them. Eheheh... But, still, enjoy the story.

WORLD OF SUITS

~ Michi ~

I stared at myself in the mirror as I held up my remaining pigtail and held up a pair of scissors to it.

"For some reason, this is very suspenseful…" Musca was watching me, eyes wide.

"Shut it." I squeezed my eyes shut and snipped it off, then let my hair down. It fell a few inches past my shoulders now, whereas it had been to my waist before. I exited the bathroom and nearly had a heart attack when I saw Shin sitting on the floor in the main room, even though I'd known perfectly well he would be there. "Is it even?" I stood with my back to him.

"Not even close."

"Oh man…" Now I'd have to go and pay to have my hair cut. That sucked. I didn't wanna. Too much effort.

"Want me to fix it? I can try, at least."

"Sure, give it a shot. Not like it can get much worse." I passed over the scissors and grabbed the trash can so I wouldn't have to sweep up after. He stood behind me, and I stiffened. When he touched my hair, I caught my breath. Come on, I had to get over it…

"He's doing a good job," Musca commented so I'd know what was going on. "I think you can avoid the barber."

I inwardly cheered, and started breathing again when Shin backed away. "I think it's fine now," he said.

I ran my hands through it for show, already knowing how it looked from Musca. "Feels good. Thanks." I shook my head, whipping my hair around. "My head feels lighter. It's different."

"Looks good, though."

I blushed. "Look… Maintain distance from me while you're here, okay? And don't say anything too nice."

"Why? Or else you might surprise attack me again?"

"Shut up. But, yes." I nodded and his eyes widened, my bluntness having been a bit unexpected.

He coughed a little. "Yeah, about earlier…"

"We don't have to talk about it. Really."

"No, listen. You said you were taking your first kiss back. But I wasn't your first kiss, Michi."

"Wait, what?" I tilted my head, confused.

"Did you forget that?" He frowned.

"I… I guess so."

"Huh." He put the scissors away before sitting back down on the floor.

"Well, tell me who it was!" I demanded, sitting across from him and leaning forward with anticipation.

"Toma."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You two dated for a little while in middle school." Shin was looking at me oddly, as if he was considering something.

"Middle school? Geez… Puppy love." There seemed to be a lot of that in my past.

"Michi, I've been thinking about this, but I kept pushing it to the back of my mind. You've been acting differently towards everyone ever since you sort of came back into our lives. I've talked to Toma and Sawa about it a little bit, and, well… I think it's more than you just being absentminded. What I'm trying to say is that…" He frowned, searching for words.

"Amnesia." I finished for him. "Is that what you're thinking?"

He met my eyes, serious. "Yeah. So, is that it?"

"Michi, what are you doing?" Musca gripped my arm hard.

If he's suspicious, I can't just ignore it or try to pretend. He'll see right through me and it'll be worse. I mentally explained it to her. I took a breath, hoping I wasn't making a mistake. "Yeah. I've got amnesia. But things are coming back quickly since I've started being around everyone again."

"How did this happen?"

Shit. I had nothing. No excuse. But the truth was too much for anyone. The only person who could possibly understand was Ikki, and even then… There was no guarantee. "I, er…" I almost decided to say nothing, but forced words out. "Sorry. I don't understand it myself. But please just trust me when I say that everything is okay."

"… I'll trust you. But you'll have to promise me a few things first."

"What?" I frowned.

"Come to me whenever you're having doubts about anything. We can talk through it and try to figure things out."

"I will. But really, I'm doing fine on my own."

"Where are your blank spots, then?"

"Well… I don't remember much about my mother. Then, recently I remembered that Ikki and I were childhood friends, and I'd forgotten that before. I remember some stuff about Toma, but I don't have a lot of specifics of what it was like with him before I met you. Then, Kent just completely slipped my mind. You had too for a little while, but the more time we spent together the more things came back."

"Is that why you're trying to keep spending time with Ikki then?"

"Basically."

"Well… You should spend time with Toma too. He missed you."

"Yeah, I know. I just have to balance things out." Three more pathways left… "I'm meeting up with Ikki soon, but maybe then Toma and I can hang out…"

"Is Ikki the one you scheduled with at the same time you did me?"

"Yeah…" I laughed awkwardly. "Yep. Sorry about that. My bad."

"It's fine." He paused. "Are the two of you…?"

"I know what you're saying, and no. Just no. I don't really want to talk about my love life with you anyways. Ever." I shook my head when it came out harsher than I had intended. "Sorry. But, you know it's awkward for me."

"I get it. I figured that that's what friends would talk about, but it's stupid to think it's that easy."

"A bit." I smiled. "We do look stupid, being all awkward." Shin just smiled back and shrugged. "Anyways. I was thinking of going to Myouga University next fall. What do you think?"

"Well… You should do what you want."

"And?" I could tell he had more to say than that.

"I was just thinking about how I got accepted into a college across the country. I didn't think I would, but I got a scholarship, and it would be nice to get way from here. Change sounds great, honestly. But I'd miss a few things." He was avoiding looking at me. "What would you do?"

"I'd tell you to do what you want… Which is what you just said to me." I sighed. "Just go out and find happiness for yourself. That's the best advice I have, I'm afraid."

"It's good advice. And you've already given me happiness. So, thanks." He smiled warmly.

I looked away. "No sappy stuff. It's not allowed here. Okay?" We laughed, but my mind had started spinning. The world was bigger than just this small place. Once my duty to the pathways was done, I wouldn't have limits. I hadn't considered it before, but… This was my life. I could go as far away as I wanted, far away from these people I was starting to know again. There was so much possibility here. But, for now... "I'd miss you," I murmured.

Shin frowned. "Me, too."

"Don't say it like that. It makes it sound like you're saying you'd miss yourself."

"Fine. I would miss you if I went far away."

I couldn't help it. I giggled, like a fangirl. Ugh…

Shin raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"Nothing. Just let me have this. I'm getting ice cream, you want any?" We'd both brushed our teeth already, but… No harm in a late night snack.

"Sure." He stood to come with me into the small kitchen. I worked to maintain distance between us and tried not to care that I got about twice as much as he did. Well, screw that. I was hungry. "By the way, what's the mannequin in the corner for?" He motioned to the space next to the front door.

"Oh, that." I chewed some cookie dough before answering. "I make my own clothes sometimes."

"Really? That's impressive."

"Not really." I shrugged. "I did want to major in fashion, though. Become a fashion designer, but not make any crazy unwearable stuff, like that avant garde style. Just make clothes someone like me could afford and like, you know?"

Shin thought for a few seconds. "I thought Myouga didn't have a fashion major."

"It doesn't. But I didn't want to leave my dad before. Even now, I'm not sure I could leave this town. At least I have support here. Friends who mean a lot to me."

"I don't know what to tell you. It's easy to just say you shouldn't give up on something you want because of that. But I'm not you."

"Yeah. But you've always dreamed bigger and worked harder than Toma or me. If anyone can handle going far away, it's you."

He smiled, just a little. "Thanks."

"Okay… One thing." I narrowed my eyes, turning serious.

"What?"

"Sleeping arrangements."

"Oh. Just that. You had me getting concerned with that expression."

"Well." There were two beds, but the linens on my dad's bed hadn't been washed in a while and besides… That was a dead man's bed. Neither one of us wanted to sleep there. "I'll take the floor, and you take my bed."

"No. Other way around. It's your place anyways, and I invited myself. The floor works fine for me."

"No. You're still the guest."

"You're the girl here."

"Fine." I tore the blankets and pillows off my bed and found some more spare blankets in the bathroom closet. "We both sleep on the floor. Compromise."

"It's not really compromise if you make the decision yourself."

I gave him a withering glare. "I could still kick you out onto the street. It's not too late. You're not even in your pajamas yet."

"Okay, fine. I accept your terms." He held his hands up in mock surrender.

"… On that note. I'll change in the bathroom. You change out here… And tell me when you're done so I don't come out too soon." My face turned red. "O-okay?"

"Sure." He was smirking, the jerk.

"Why are you smiling? What's funny?" I demanded.

"No reason."

"Well, stop it." I hid in the bathroom again, changing into grey sweatpants and a baggy pink shirt. "Why… The smirk… What was it for?"

"Best not to think too hard on it. Your head will explode," Musca warned. "But this is a nice little sleepover, hm?" She laughed.

"Shut up. It doesn't mean anything."

"Hey… Your phone's ringing." Musca heard the vibrations from the pocket of my discarded dress before I did.

"Huh?" I grabbed it from the floor, fished in the pockets and blinked at the name flashing on the screen. "Ikki…?" What could he possibly want?