WORLD OF SUITS

~ Michi ~

Ikki was calling me, but what reason could he have? Especially this late… "Hello?" I answered it with trepidation. Hopefully nothing was wrong…

"Michi, hello."

"Ikki. What is it? It's like, eleven o-clock." I absentmindedly left the bathroom, my focus having been shifted by Ikki's call.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But I have something to give you, and I just can't wait anymore."

"Uh… So, what exactly do you want me to do?" I frowned. Was he crazy, this late at night?

"What's wrong?" Shin whispered, noticing my expression.

"Nothing…" I trailed off as I looked at him. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?!" I yelled.

"You asked me to tell you when I was done changing. I wasn't done, but you came out anyways. So. I wonder whose fault this is?"

"Sh-shut up and put a shirt on!" I turned around. "Sorry, Ikki."

"Is everything alright?" He sounded concerned.

"It's fine. Anyways… What is it again?" I cleared my throat, trying to get my concentration back.

"Well… The thing is. I'm outside your apartment."

"What?!" I ran outside and slammed the door shut behind me, looking around. Sure enough… "Ikki!" I ran over to him where he was standing across the street, waving. "Are you insane?"

"No, just a little bit drunk."

"You know what, that explains a lot."

He laughed. "Come on, only a little. Anyways… For you." He held something out in both hands.

"Is that…?" I recognized the artificial flowers I had picked out, but they had been cut apart and artfully arranged onto a hair clip, more beautiful than anything I had ever seen in a store. "Did you make this?"

"Yes. I'm good with my hands, you know." He actually winked. Why did I find that smooth whatsoever?

"It's… Amazing. Is it really for me?"

"Of course." He tucked hair behind my ear and I jumped a bit, surprised. "You cut your hair."

"Y-yeah." I stiffened. No, I shouldn't tell him that it was his fangirls who did it. It'd only make him worry. "I just felt like it."

He smiled. "It looks lovely."

"Come on… Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"With the… The suave stuff."

"So that's how you see me?" His eyes were dancing.

"Shut up."

"May I put this on you?"

"W-what?" I stammered, caught off guard by the sudden shift in the conversation.

"May I?" He repeated, gazing at me openly and evenly.

"Sure…" I squeezed my eyes shut as he took some hair away from my face, and then I felt the clip lightly brush against my scalp before it was gently in place. "Well? How does it look?"

"Perfect."

"W-well… Thank you very much. It's…" I tried to get over the strange shyness I had and be honest with my feelings. "It's an incredibly sweet gift, and I'm touched."

"I'm so glad you like it." His smile faded, and he lapsed into a seriousness that was strange on him compared to his usual self. "That flower I gave you when we were kids was a representation of childish feelings. But my feelings aren't childish anymore."

"Oh?" I didn't understand what he was getting at. "Hey –" I began when he leaned forward and down, but his lips were on mine before I could gain the coherence to say anything else. He kissed like someone with experience, making it deeper smoothly even though I was too dumbfounded to respond in any way. A strange sound came up from the back of my throat when he slipped his tongue into my mouth effortlessly, pulling me closer at the same time with his hands on my shoulders.

The shock of it made my mind click back into functioning order. I backed up with a gasp, the wet sound made when we detached seeming to ring. "Hey. Hey. Um… Er…" I shook my head. "What was that?"

"I'd like to know too…" Musca, who had been silently observing, broke in as she stared openmouthed at Ikki. "He's certainly… Forward. But this level of aggression…" She blushed. "Oh my…"

"I was showing you how I felt." His smile was disarming, and it was hard to get mad at him even though I was trying to. "Michi. Would you consider being my girlfriend?"

What. What? WHAT? I couldn't process it. "Me. Date… You. That's what you want?"

"Yes."

"… Is this because I'm the only one who can resist your eyes?" I asked, doubtful as to whether his feelings were even real.

"That's why I became interested in the first place, yes, but there's more to it. I want more and more of you. Your personality. The way you lift people up. The way you glow when you laugh."

"Er…" He was making it harder and harder to say no… And I didn't dislike the idea. The kiss certainly hadn't been bad… "P-please… Give me time? This is really sudden, and… You came on really strong. Let me think about it while I'm not caught up in the moment."

He looked a bit disappointed, but he nodded. "That's fair. And… I'm sorry if I scared you."

"I wasn't scared." I scowled at him. But he had made it clear there was a difference between us. He was certainly more… Adult. "We… We have plans to get together on our next day off, so… I'll answer you then." It was the day after tomorrow. But was that enough time to decide what to do?

"I'll look forward to it. And Michi…" He hesitated. "There's no pressure here. Don't worry about my feelings. Only say yes if it's what you want."

"Okay. I'll… See you later." I headed back inside, feeling strange. I had never thought to myself that I'd had romantic feelings for Ikki. But I was still considering this.

"Are you okay?" Shin frowned. "I didn't follow you because I thought you wanted privacy while you were on the phone, but you look like something's up."

"Well…" I removed the hair pin to look at it again. It made my heart squeeze a bit to think of the thought behind it. "Ikki came by just now, and… Stuff."

"Stuff?" Shin echoed me skeptically.

I'd just said that I didn't want to discuss my love life with him, and I didn't really think he'd give me advice from an unbiased place, so… "Yes. Stuff." I nodded and curled up in the pile of blankets and pillows I'd tossed on the floor. It wasn't great, but it could have been less comfortable. Having Shin next to me made it feel warm and nice.

"Stuff," he repeated again as he folded his hands under his head. He closed his eyes, starting to relax, although I didn't understand how he could in this position. I certainly couldn't.

I couldn't just say nothing. I was freaking out about it too much. "He asked me to date him."

"Oh." There was a long pause. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him I'd think about it."

"So, you actually do like him?"

"I don't know. I think he'd certainly sweep me off my feet." I laughed. "But…" We both ended up rolling over on our sides to face each other. "The idea of it. I don't hate it."

"Then…" He frowned. "Sorry. I shouldn't say anything else."

"Oh, okay." I paused. "Why?"

"If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. My mom used to tell me that."

"Ah." I decided not to think about what that meant concerning Ikki. "Where is your mom now?"

"She left. Couldn't take it, after what my dad ended up doing. What it did to the way he acted."

"I'm sorry," I murmured, putting a consoling hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine. We still keep in touch."

"That's good."

"You said you didn't remember your mother?"

"Yeah… I'm trying to think of her now, but… Nothing." There was just a big blank space.

"All I know is that you never talked about her. You made a point of it. If it ever got brought it up you got cold, fast."

"Huh… I don't know why." My mom… I remembered my dad saying it was a bad idea for me to stay with her after they divorced, and I hadn't understood at the time. Why had they parted in the first place? I wanted to know. It felt like I was missing something big. Then… "Shit!" I couldn't contain a curse as the head pain hit me again.

"Michi?" Shin leaned up on his elbow, looking concerned.

"Listen…" I spoke through gritted teeth. Had the pain ever been this bad? It was awful. It was ripping, tearing my head apart. "The headaches and passing out… That happens when I get memories back. Don't take me to the hospital again, okay? There's nothing I can do but wait it out." Especially now, I was glad I'd told him the truth. It was good to know I had more support.

"Michi, is it because you were thinking about your mom?" Musca asked. "Is that it?"

I just nodded. I wanted to scream, the pain was so bad. It was sweet relief when the memories flooded in.

I was a child again, same as I had been in my memories with Ikki. "Mom?" I pulled on the hem of her pale blue dress. "What are you doing?'

"Hush. You're in the way, darling. Mommy will be with you in a while."

"But…" I faltered. She'd said that an hour ago too. She was on the front lawn in the pouring rain, dancing and humming to herself.

"The other dancers will trip over you, dear. You need to move out of the way." She paused. "Yes, she is a cute girl, isn't she? Takes after me more than her father."

I stomped my feet, a little girl tired of having her mother ignore her. "No! Come inside now!" I tugged on her as hard as I could, and before I knew it her palm had connected with my cheek. I registered how it stung, what it meant to have my own mother hit me.

My dad came home from work that day and found me crying. I poured out all of my feelings about how my mother was always dancing by herself but talking about others being with her. How her slapping me had broken the tight lid I had put on my concerns. They divorced soon after, and I had actually wanted to stay with my mom out of guilt. I felt so bad for wrecking the marriage, and I wanted to cling to Ikki, my only friend, the one who could comfort me through this. But no father in his right mind would have left me there with my mother who saw and heard things no one else did.

"Michi?" When I came to I was in Shin's arms. He raised his hands and wiped at the tears that had started running down my face at some point. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I gingerly held on to his shirt. "Just… Let me stay like this for a while."