Well, this is embarrassing. I didn't mean to be gone for a month, but I took a long metaphorical vacation. That and there were some story snags I couldn't untangle until Music Chick came in and saved the day. She deserves all the credit for this chapter. I promise I'm back, guys. Thanks for all your support and words of encouragement. This is a nice and long chapter to make up for my absence.
Enjoy.
"Naomi!" yelled Shiro, upset as he rushed inside the Izumi home.
He hopped on one foot in a rush to take a shoe off while in the genkan area, threw it to the side, and repeated the process with the other shoe.
"Naomi!" He insisted as his frustration rose, struggling with the last shoe. "Get out here! I know -"
The shoe popped off. The surprise of it caused him to fall down. Luckily, he managed to avoid hitting his head on the step. Frustrated, Shiro threw the remaining shoe aside. Before he could stand, someone called out to him.
"You okay?"
Shiro looked over to find Shun sitting on the living room couch, his brown eyes looking him over with concern from behind his glasses. Both boys stared at each other for a few seconds in silence, Shiro more so from not expecting him there.
"Shun?" Shiro said, confused while finding his voice again. "Why are you here?"
"I'm waiting for Nomi so we can watch a movie." Shun stood and took a step towards the younger red-haired boy. "Do you need hel-"
Shiro stood with a click of his tongue and rushed toward his sister's room. He didn't have time for chit-chat. He needed answers from his sister right this minute. Without a moment's notice, he swung the door open.
"Nomi! Someone told me you're dating -"
Shiro was met with a shriek. He immediately ducked, covered his ears, and closed his eyes.
"Close the door!" yelled Naomi in a panic. "I'm changing clothes! Don't you knock anymore?"
Shiro could feel his ears and cheeks burning from embarrassment as he covered his eyes. He felt for the doorknob and slammed her bedroom door shut.
"I didn't see anything! I swear!" the younger Izumi insisted.
"You better not have!" she chastised from inside her bedroom. "I've got enough to deal with in school."
Shiro rolled his eyes. Whatever remorse he had for his blunder flew out the window.
Shiro could hear Shun walking towards him as he spoke in a nervous tone.
"I could've told you that. What's got you so worked up?"
The red-headed boy walked to his room to throw his school bag on his bed.
"Don't worry about it. I can handle this."
Shun attempted to say something, but Shiro bolted straight past him and returned to standing outside Naomi's door.
"Funny you said that," Shiro replied to his sister's earlier comment. "I heard a rumor from a friend, who heard from their sister that goes to your school, that you have a boyfriend and you're doing some dirty stuff with him for everyone to see."
His sister's bedroom door swung open to reveal herself in a pink tank top and green shorts wearing a high ponytail. An eyebrow was raised as she crossed her arms at her chest.
"Dirty stuff? What does that even mean?" Naomi asked, wearing a confused expression.
Shiro pulled at his hair. He was at his limit with patience. "Yuki? Are you kidding me?" He ignored her reaction of clicking her tongue and rolling her eyes. "Out of anyone else you could be dating, it's Yuki?"
"Shiro -"
"Do I have to spell things out? That guy is no good for you."
"We're not -"
"What am I thinking?" He threw his hands in the air exasperated. "All you do is follow your emotions. Yuki played you like a fiddle, said the right romantic words, and -"
Shun groaned, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand. "Shiro. Just hear her out."
"Yeah! How about asking why we're fake dating instead of reminding me why you hate one of my best friends for no good reason, jerk!" Naomi yelled at her brother.
Shiro took a step back, offended and hurt by his sister's words. "Jerk?" He pointed to his chest. "I'm the jerk? All I do is protect you because you're too busy chasing after every feeling, and I'm the jerk?"
She stomped a foot and wrinkled her nose. "Yuki and I are fake dating because of how obsessed you are about protecting me!"
He paused. There was too much to process with that last sentence.
His sister always complained about him supposedly being overprotective. Something he strongly disagreed with. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. It was more like there were times where she needed guidance and he was more than willing to step in. That was his duty as her younger brother, and he intended to see it through. Why she couldn't see that was beyond him.
"Let me get this straight," said Shiro with an uneasy chuckle. "You. Yuki. Fake dating?"
"Yep," Naomi confirmed with a nod and frown.
Shiro looked between his sister and her best friend, Shun. What was he missing? Why did Shun look okay with this?
He turned to Shun and asked with an accusatory look, "You knew about this and didn't tell me?"
The older boy raised his hands to chest level, signaling surrender. "Know what? I'm not getting involved with this."
Shiro sighed with frustration. "Fine. I don't have time for you either."
He then responded to his sister. "How is this somehow my fault?" He shook his head in confusion. "Nomi, what the heck is fake dating? You're either dating or not."
His older sister let out a frustrated grunt and stomped her foot once more. "See? That's how much of a jerk you are! Anything about Yuki and you're zoned in to only him, ready to rip him apart. Can we come back to me?"
"As soon as you say what fake dating is, because I bet he's using that to get away with dating you in his own weird way."
"Forget it!" she yelled. "From the moment you came home, all you wanted to know about was the dating part. You could care less about the rumor! If you cared so much about protecting me, how about asking why the rumor was started because of you?"
Before Shiro could reply, she burst into tears and rushed into her room, slamming the door shut.
Shiro turned and kicked the baseboard from frustration. Whenever they argued, the formula usually went yell, yell some more, tell each other off in Mandarin and Spanish interchangeably – their father taught them after learning the languages to help with business deals – before eventually coming to a truce.
This was the part where he was about to use the foreign languages to get it through her thick skull that he was one-hundred percent right in this situation.
The younger Izumi barged into his sister's room and exclaimed in Mandarin, "How can a rumor start about me when I don't go to your school? Dummy! Someone lied to you and -"
She responded in the same language with just as much force wiping her tears. "How about shut up for once to hear the whole stupid story instead of nitpicking what you want to hear?"
"I'm not nitpicking!"
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are! Get out of my room, jerk!" Naomi started to crumble in tears again. "I keep forgetting you're only ten years old. You don't get any of this."
Now she was pushing him away? That set a fire in his belly. He switched to Spanish.
"My intelligence is far superior than the average ten year old. Don't think using my age is going to get you off the hook! You're going to tell me what fake dating means and why with Yuki right now! And I bet after that I can prove why it was unnecessary because all you needed to do was get me to fix it and I would've stopped the person that spread that rumor."
That was when he realized his fatal mistake. Naomi was always what one would say, "a lover, not a fighter." But there were those rare times where he would accidentally push the wrong buttons, causing her to only see red. Shiro barely had time to defend himself as she grabbed her pillow and attacked him nonstop. He had to drop to the floor, curl into a fetal position, and cover his head as his sister rained blows down on him with her pillow. He could hear Shun trying to talk sense into his sister without success.
This had something to do with that one statement she said earlier, didn't it? The one he had a hard time processing.
What did she mean about obsessed? Why would she think his protection was obsessive?
He couldn't be with her all the time. If only he could. At least there was Kazuma and Shun, Naomi's other two best friends, that were there to help pick up the slack – the only two out of the three that had her best interest in mind as far as he was concerned. Why didn't she call them obsessive? Why only him?
How did a rumor about him start at her school and affect her so much that she would go as far as choosing Yuki to be in a fake relationship with?
Most importantly, how was it his fault in the first place? The only thing he remotely had anything to do with her school was sometimes he'd wait by the entrance if neither Kazu or Yuki could walk Naomi home. The last time that happened was a month ago.
That's right. A month ago. It's coming back.
When he got to the front of the school he saw a boy flirting with his sister and she, as usual, ate up the attention like there was no tomorrow. The impression that boy gave off to Shiro was not good. So he jumped in between them and scared him off.
Oh no. That's probably how it started.
"Time out!" Shiro yelled above his sister's obscenities in Japanese while making the hand signal. His eyes were still shut.
Shiro squinted when the pounding stopped to find his sister gripping the pillow, but trying to calm and control herself. Knowing Naomi in this state, he had a short window to call a truce before she went at it again.
"Tell me what happened."
"What's the point! You'll keep twisting everything!" she answered in Spanish by raising the pillow again.
"Not this time!" He insisted, still speaking in Japanese. "I'll listen, okay?"
Naomi paused. He could feel her giving in. There was the usual sigh. The pillow dropped to the floor, followed by his sister sitting next to him.
The truce was accepted.
Shiro sat up and side-hugged her, waiting for his sister to explain. Shun had taken a seat on the floor on the opposite wall observing.
"Shiro," Naomi said, returning to Japanese, pressing her palms to her eyes frustrated. She shook her head, then stayed quiet.
He took it as she was at a loss on how to begin. Before he could help coax it out of her, his sister emotionally vomited the information in one long run-on sentence.
"The last time you came to get me in school, you cockblocked Saito from asking me out and me and Dad told you how many times to stop doing that because I'm old enough to take care of myself and I think he's the one that started the rumor that you like me and -"
Shiro pulled away in a panic. "Ewww! You're my sister!"
A defeated sigh left her lips with a nod. "I know."
"So why didn't you tell him that?"
"I did," she insisted. "But the more I did, the more everyone didn't believe me and kept saying we kept it in the family."
Shiro groaned in disgust. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." He rubbed his face trying to digest everything. "I'm guessing you thought fake dating would solve this?"
Naomi closed her eyes, her lips went tight, her body tensed for a few seconds only to relax again, and then answered as if she was finally being heard. "Exactly. Now do you get it?"
Yeah. Unfortunately, he got it. He stared at her wanting to ask why Yuki of all people, but that was risking another pillow fight. Luckily for him, she answered his thought.
"Yuki…he wasn't my first choice," Naomi said, looking away uneasy. "I wasn't sure if Yuki could pull it off, but so far his acting skills have actually been good. He's pulling it off great."
Shiro grimaced. "Nomi, I know you don't want me to keep saying it, but he's not acting. He really does like you."
"No, he doesn't," she said exasperated.
He hesitated, glancing over at Shun to silently ask for help. The blue-haired boy quickly shook his head, silently reiterating that he was staying out of it.
A frustrated grunt was released. Great. If anyone could talk sense to his sister, it would be Shun. Not so reliable like his sister always claimed he was after all. The apple in this case fell pretty far from the tree.
"Nomi."
"Kami, Shiro. What do you have against him?"
Shiro then pouted. "I'll tell you why if you tell me why Yuki instead of, I don't know, Kazu or Shun since we're going with best friends." He rejected the idea immediately. "Actually, it would've been better to tell Mom and Dad. They would've gone to the school and helped fix it."
She softly chuckled to herself. "Kazu basically told me the same thing."
What was that look about? That was new. He tried fishing for more information.
"Yeah? Why didn't you do what he said?" he asked.
She blushed. Why was she blushing? No way. Did she like Kazu?
"Yuki wasn't the one you wanted to ask because you wanted to ask Kazu?"
Naomi didn't answer. Instead, she winced when she bit her bottom lip.
"Asking Kazu would eventually give you the courage to ask him out. It would also serve to see if he felt the same way," theorized Shun while cleaning his glasses.
"Well, I got my answer. I asked and he turned me down," she said with a sad smile and her eyes downcast.
"You should have asked him again," Shiro shrugged as if his sister should've known the solution the whole time.
Naomi's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"
"Say that again?" Shun said, also shocked.
"What?" Shiro sincerely asked.
Naomi glanced at her best friend with disbelief before speaking to her brother. "Are you serious? You're telling me to go for it instead of trying to stop me? I don't get it. I can't even get that cute guy's number from the ice cream shop, but for some reason Kazu is okay?"
He shrugged. "Hey, look. You're my sister and I'm always going to look out for you. Okay, sure, I don't trust people easily, but I actually like the idea of you and Kazu together." He paused to reconsider, sizing up Shun. "Hey, I'm even okay if you wanted to go out with Shun."
The bespectacled teenager's face turned five shades of pink, as did Naomi's.
"Me?" Shun squeaked. "Nomi is like the sister I never had. Come on, Shiro. You know that."
A sheepish grin rose from Naomi. "Shiro, friends keep saying that Shun and I should date, but no way. He's like my brother."
"Hmm. Okay, but either way I think you both would work out."
Both Naomi and Shun rolled their eyes and shook their heads at the same time. Shiro knew they heard this countless times from their friends, but so what? This was the first time he himself actually thought about it and it made sense. They were always in sync no matter the situation.
"Yuki? No way," Shiro emphasized.
"Why?" she asked with suspicion.
He frowned. "I think you know why, but don't want to admit it."
"Humor me."
Shiro groaned, not wanting to get into it but a promise was a promise.
"Since you're saying Shun is out of the picture: Kazu keeps you level-headed and happy; Yuki takes you from level 5 happy to level infinity hyper, then the party doesn't stop until Mom or Dad have to step in to tell you to take it down a notch. Kazu tells you to stop and think things over; Yuki is your 'yes man' no matter the consequences. When Kazu and you are in the same room, the air is calm, natural and inviting; Yuki? Forget it. He fights to hog all your attention and sometimes I can see you suffocating. Look. I actually think Yuki is cool, but not when he's all over you."
She sighed. "He's not all over me and he doesn't like me. Can we move past that?"
"Don't you trust me?" he pouted.
Naomi did a double take. "Yeah. Always."
"Then stop making me repeat myself. Yuki likes you, and he's hoping that this fake dating will work out to where you'll date him for real. As much as I don't like this solution, can you at least be careful?"
"Careful of what? Dirty stuff?" she laughed.
"Yeah. What kind of dirty stuff was my friend's sister talking about anyway?" he asked, bracing to hear the worst.
A nervous laugh escaped as she pressed her pointer fingers together at the tip rapidly a few times.
"Nomi?" he raised an eyebrow.
Shun came and sat next to them, most likely from curiosity as Naomi delayed answering the question. He too had an eyebrow raised.
"Want me to bake some brownies?"
"Don't try changing the subject!" he chastised until he reconsidered. "Make some whipped cream too?"
"Of course! Can't have gooey brownies without whipped cream," she declared.
"Awesome - Hey, wait a minute," Shiro said, seeing through her distraction tactic. "We're not done here. What dirty stuff?"
His sister fidgeted in her seat. "It's not dirty. We just hug." Then mumbled. "And kiss."
He nearly fell on his back from disgust. "Dirty kissing?"
Naomi tried to hold back her laughter. "What is it with calling everything dirty? People kiss when they like each other, little brother. That has to happen with fake dating, otherwise no one will believe it."
He pouted and looked away. That wasn't an answer he liked to hear.
Naomi pulled her brother next to her and kept him in a side hug.
"I think it would help if I told you how I feel about Yuki, so here goes. Yuki is my best friend because he gets it when I need to get all this excitement out. The world doesn't feel right if we don't hug and talk at least once a day.
"Him helping me out with this rumor was huge, and it means the world to me. But I've never seen Yuki as anything more than my best friend."
Shiro stared his sister down while also wrapping an arm around her waist. He gave it a little squeeze.
"Nomi, you can't stand it when someone lies to you, right? You even say all the time it's like your superpower being able to tell when someone is lying. I don't need a superpower to know that's not true."
She huffed. "It's…half the truth. I really don't like him that way, but ever since this fake dating started and having to kiss, it's gotten a little confusing."
Shiro gagged. It was his worst nightmare come true.
"Well, there you go. That's easy," said Shun. "You're confused because this fake dating is like one of your favorite romance movies."
The younger Izumi didn't know where Shun was going with this, but if it somehow meant that his sister didn't actually like Yuki, he was all ears.
"You know how you're always telling me you wished you could go through something similar because it looked romantic? You're kinda living it with Yuki. So the confusing part about the kissing isn't real."
It was like Shiro watched a lightbulb turn on behind his sister's eyes. It looked like her best friend got through to her.
"Ooohhh! No wonder."
Before he could chastise her, Shiro found himself pulled into a tight hug onto her lap.
"You're the best little brother in the whole wide world!"
He tried to push away, especially when she added multiple, quick kisses all over the top of his head to add to the tease.
"Okay, okay," Shiro laughed.
"And you," Naomi laughed, pulling Shun over by his waist for a hug. "Sometimes I think you should've been a girl with all that insight you have," she teased.
Shun laughed and playfully nudged her shoulder. "Oh, stop it. It was just obvious after you opened up. Can you at least promise me one thing?"
"Sure."
"When this is all over, since you really like Kazu, go tell him." He hurried to speak over her protest. "What would it hurt? Let's call it a gut feeling that he likes you too, but he said no in helping because it was a weird situation for him."
Why was his sister staring her best friend down? Why did it look like excitement was growing by the second?
"How would you know that?"
"Just tell him."
"You talked to him, didn't you?"
Shun hesitated as if he outed himself. "Nomi, talk to him."
Shiro added with conviction. "And if he turns you down again, he's an idiot and I'll get Masato to beat his butt good."
She rolled her eyes. "It's not that serious."
"If it's about my sister, it's always serious because I love you. Trust me when I say I'm just trying to protect you "
Happy tears formed in Naomi's eyes. "I love you too, little brother. Even when you're a pain in my butt, I really do trust you."
Shiro couldn't help it when he hugged her tight. It was the words he didn't know he needed to hear from his big sister.
"I love you too. I don't care if people are too stupid or insecure that they have to make up lies that you and I are together. I'm always going to make sure you're safe."
Naomi chuckled. "Thanks. I'll always look out for you too – in a less…intense way," she added with a sheepish grin.
"I'm not obsessive or overprotective," he shot back, giving a tense side glance.
"Mmm, sometimes you are," she objected with a laugh. "Daddy already talked to you about that."
"I have to side with Nomi on this one, Shiro," Shun agreed.
Shiro huffed. "Nomi, how am I the overprotective one," he then pointed to Shun, "but he isn't?"
She sighed. "Shiro."
Shun grinned. "Was I the one that tripped over myself while taking my shoes off because I was desperate for an answer? Did I run into his sister's room without knocking? Do I always hound my sister about what guys she talks to?"
Shiro glared at him. "What are you? My mom?"
"What are you?" Shun laughed. "A thirty-year-old man concerned about a twelve-year-old's dating -"
"Fake dating," Naomi interjected with a chuckle.
"Ah. Thanks," Shun said to his best friend, in sync with the antic.
She winked.
Shun continued teasing Shiro. "A thirty-year-old man concerned about a twelve-year-old's fake dating life with one of her best friends? What happened to being ten and building software programs for fun, or video games?"
Shiro glared at him, peeved. If it wasn't for his own father speaking to him prior about needing to give Naomi space when it came to things like this, he would've given Shun a piece of his mind.
"Whatever." He stood with a frown. He was over this subject and didn't necessarily agree with the obsessive part. "Hurry up with those brownies. And make the whipped cream stiff. You keep forgetting Dad likes his more loose, but not me. You can't have soft whipped cream with brownies."
She raised an eyebrow and laughed again. "I'm not sure what you mean about the whipped cream, but how about supervising how it's made so that you're happy?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Shiro practically jumped with joy.
In the corner of his room, Ryuji Ichijouji laid on the floor, hugging his knees with his bed comforter shielding him from the world. It happened again even after his father, Ken Ichijouji, had gone to his school last week to speak with his teacher and the principal.
Everyone was mean. No one at school understood. They said he was stupid and weird.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
No. They're mean and stupid.
It's not his fault his dad was The Chosen One and couldn't solve the riddle. And it wasn't fair that Homeostasis took everyone's powers away. How could the team back then defeat King Drasil if they couldn't do their job?
And it's not his fault that he was different from everyone. His teacher never seemed to get it either, so he didn't have anyone to help him out. It was true – no one at school understood him. He was all alone in the universe.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Yikes! What touched him? Why is the light bright? Where's his bed comforter? Was that Mom?
No! Stop touching! Get away! Too much!
"I'm sorry, sweetie," Yolei Ichijouji said as Ryuji felt her place the bed comforter back on him.
Serenity returned. The outside world could no longer make fun of him or ridicule him. With the comforter safely over his head, Ryuji felt safe in his own little world.
In this world, no one tried to hurt him or call him stupid. In this world, he was safe and secure. Life would be so much better if he could exist in this world forever. If only he never had to go to school again. That would be the best.
"Ryuji?"
He thrashed to get his mother's hands off of him. Still too much! Why couldn't she see that?
To his relief, the sensation of being touched went away, and peace returned. Ryuji curled the comforter tighter around him as he withdrew back into his cocoon.
"Baby, talk to me," he heard his mother plead. "I want to help you."
He didn't budge. Nothing his mother did was going to make anything better. Nothing his mother did was going to make the kids at school stop making fun of him or treating him like an outcast. Nothing was going to make his teacher care about him and do anything about it.
Because they're stupid.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Who's singing? That was his favorite song. It was Miya! Where was she? Ryuji wanted to poke his head out to see, but just the idea was too scary.
"Ryu-Ryu," Ryuji heard his sister call out to him in a calm, sweet voice. "Did you have a bad day?"
Yeah. He had a hard day.
"Do you need time by yourself?"
Yeah. Go away.
No! Wait! Come back!
Ryuji exposed only his arm and reached out for his sister. Where was she? Miya? Please don't leave.
He felt his sister hold his hand, and so gripped her hand tight.
"Hiya, Ryu-Ryu. I love you."
He loved her too. She wasn't like the other stupid people. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stu-
"Can I hug you? I think you could use one."
A hug? Yes. He wanted a hug only from his sister. He hugged her close to his side. He loved her hugs. They felt like a warm sunshine and always grounded him.
"Can I take the comforter off too?"
"No!" Ryuji shouted and pushed her away.
Betrayal! She knew better. Why? Why? Why?
"Okay," he heard her say, still calm as ever. "That's why I asked first. I still want to hug. Can we hug again?"
Ryuji hummed the song his sister always sang whenever he was upset. He really wanted to hear it again. Reaching out to Miya, he pulled her close once more and hid his arm back under the safety of his cocoon. He felt her hug him and rest her head on top of his while she softly sang.
That song was the best song ever. He loved hearing his sister sing it.
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are gray
You'll never know, dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
Before he knew it, he started to cry as Miya repeated the song gently swaying them. Miya was his sunshine wherever he had to be with stupid people. After the third repeat, he found himself singing with her. It was feeling safe to poke his head out again.
"There you are," Miya chuckled. "I wondered where you went."
A shy smile graced his lips. He really did love his sister. She was the only one who understood him.
"Feel better?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Where's Mom?" Ryuji asked, looking around the room.
"Mom is making us snacks. Would you like a snack?"
A snack? Yummy. Yes, he wanted a snack. Ryuji looked at his sister hoping she understood.
She chuckled. "I'm going to take a guess and say you want that snack."
He nodded.
"I think it's almost done," she reassured. She readjusted the comforter to encircle her brother around his waist. "Ready to say what happened today?"
He looked away and thought if he wanted to. His sister wasn't stupid and she always understood. That was one of many reasons why he loved her.
"Yes," he answered.
"I'm all ears."
"People are stupid."
"Yeah?"
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."
Ryuji found himself stuck in a loop and hitting his thigh. He couldn't stop saying it. What stopped his hand? Miya?
"Hey," she caressed his hand. "Okay. The kids are acting stupid. I think I understand. What else?"
"My teacher lies. She said she would help stop them, but she thinks I don't see her ignoring them. I'm not stupid. They're stupid. Stu-"
Miya held his hand again, stopping the behavior. "We have to tell Mom and Dad again. They can't fix it if they don't know."
"Miya?" Ryuji asked, trying to hold back tears. "Why do I have to go to school?"
A sad smile formed as she played with his hair.
"Can you keep a secret?"
A secret? Yes. For Miya, he'd do anything. He waited in anticipation to hear with widened eyes.
"I heard Mom and Dad talking last night. They're trying to find a school that also has a program for kids on the spectrum like you. So far, they don't like any of them. Mom and Dad are trying their best to move you somewhere that doesn't have stupid people. Know why?"
No. He didn't know why. There were too many reasons to pick from. Miya should've known that. Silly sister. He still loved her. A slip up didn't make her stupid like everyone else in the school.
"Because they love you," Miya continued laughing and tickled under his arm.
Ryuji laughed in response.
"Can we sit up?" she asked. "The floor is cold."
Oh, that's right. They were still on the floor. The floor really was cold and uninviting after all. Yuck. He sat up with his sister and scooted nearby, his only warm sunshine, closed his eyes, and smiled while humming his favorite song again.
"Ryu-Ryu? Let's think of nice things. What are things you love?"
He stopped humming. Things he loved?
"I don't know," he said.
"Sure you know," she grinned. "Here. I'll tell you stuff I love so you can see what I mean. I love the smell of rain."
The rain smelled? He never noticed. Next time it rained he decided he'd go outside and smell it.
"I love glazed donuts and getting in bed after a hot shower."
Yuck. Most kids liked sweets. Not him. He liked salty foods. A shower? Nah. He didn't like taking showers.
"I love holding your hand," Miya said.
She took one of his hands and held it against her cheek. That was nice. His sister was nice.
"I love your smiles."
She loved his smiles? That was nice too.
"I love that you're the sweetest person that cares so much about me and Mom and Dad."
He did care. He cared a lot. That's why Miya was his favorite person. She always saw him for who he was.
"I love your hugs. They're the best in the whole wide world. If I'm ever feeling sad, your hugs always make me feel better."
They did? Why didn't she say that before? Hold on. She loved holding his hand, his smiles, that he's sweet, and his hugs?
"But most of all," Miya finished, "I love you and I always want to be with you."
That's what Mom tells Dad all the time. But they're married. Mom is supposed to tell Dad that. Why would his sister say that to him?
Her forehead wrinkled. "Ryu-Ryu? Why are you spaced out? Did you hear me?"
Why was his sister holding his cheeks? Ooh. She kissed his forehead. That was…nice. He liked his sister. She was nice.
"I said I love you, Ryu-Ryu," she repeated.
That was a nice thing to say. Yes. Nice. He loved potato chips and peanuts and his comforter and miso soup. Mom and Dad. Miya.
He loved Miya. He loved her. Loved. Like Mom and Dad. Love.
Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love.
"It's you and me forever," she smiled, caressing his cheek. "I'll always be here for you."
Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love.
Ryuji did the same as Miya by holding her cheeks and kissing her forehead. That's what Dad did to Mom all the time. Dad loved Mom. Miya loved him. So he loved Miya. Why hadn't he seen that before?
"Miya? Do you have a boyfriend?"
There was a pause from his sister before she laughed. How was that funny? He didn't tell a joke.
"No," she eventually found her voice to answer in between the laughter. "No one I know is interesting. Why?" She asked in a teasing manner. "Do you know someone that's cute?"
"I love you," Ryuji said in a matter-of-fact tone.
She hugged him tight.
"I love you too," she said with a chuckle.
He couldn't understand what was so funny.
"Now, come on. Uncle Cody's got his hands full with Kenji. Let's help him out a little," Miya added, pulling Ryuji towards the door. "Mom's gotta have that snack done too."
His sister asked what were the things he loved.
Miya.
Not peanuts. Not miso soup. Not potato chips. Not his comforter.
Miya.
He loved Miya. Miya was his sunshine when he had bad days. The world was brighter and warmer when he stood next to her. He actually wasn't alone in the world when she was around.
Ryuji found himself humming 'You Are My Sunshine' once more as their mother handed them a snack while Miya talked with Uncle Cody about her school day. The whole time, Miya made sure to hold his hand. Secure. Safe.
Love. Love. Love. Love.
Miya didn't have a boyfriend.
"I love Miya," he softly said to himself as a smile grew on his lips.
Kazuma Ishida headed to the school courtyard where he, Naomi, and Yuki usually ate lunch together every day. Usually he couldn't wait to get there, but lately he dreaded it.
In fact, it was sickening.
Today was Monday, marking the beginning of the second week of Yuki and Naomi pretending to date to stop the rumors. As grateful as he was that her plan worked, ever since his talk with Shun, Kazu watched for every possible way to pull Naomi aside to confess and ask her out.
Unfortunately, every time he tried it was like Yuki was on high alert and distracted her. Even after every time Kazu tried to see when she was free after school, Naomi somehow already had plans with Yuki. If he texted her, it would be Yuki who answered the text on her phone.
That damn Yuki Kamiya.
Part of Kazu wondered if she was allowing Yuki to take up all her free time to avoid him. Not that he could blame her. Kazu had the opportunity to be her fake boyfriend, but declined in the attempt to get her to do the right thing by getting her parents involved. Now he wished for once he was selfish and said yes.
If he had known that his best friend for sure had feelings for him as well, their story would have ended differently.
Irritated, he closed his eyes and sat at their usual spot under a cherry blossom tree. Last week, Kazu was the first to get there. It was part of the plan for Yuki and Naomi to head out to the courtyard together and make a big show of their "love" before joining him for lunch. The scene every day is what made it sickening.
Kazu watched disgruntled as he opened his bento box while Naomi ran into Yuki's arms, jumped into the air, and wrapped her legs around his waist while kissing him. Naomi's acting skills were perfection. Yuki's, well, if he didn't know any better, he'd say Yuki was eating it up and hoping she'd fall for him.
He turned his eyes from the disgusting make out fest. There was only so much he could handle. Shun's words were haunting him; he couldn't find a moment and it was passing him by.
Kazu made himself close his eyes, take a deep breath in, and center himself. He was sabotaging himself by panicking. That wasn't going to help the current situation. There needed to be a plan to get past Yuki's defense so Naomi and he could talk.
Taking a bite of rice he thought hard on how it could happen. Not after school today. He had to rush to band practice because one of the members' parents had plans and couldn't get out of them. Tomorrow? That could work. He'd need to wait for a split second after the three of them walked home from school to get her to do something with him. Something that was only their thing.
She was a sucker for french fries.
He still needed to test the waters to see if Naomi was ready to talk yet.
He snapped out of his thoughts hearing Naomi's laughter approaching. Right as he motioned for Naomi to sit next to him, Yuki stopped her from doing so and sat in the same spot. Both males stared each other down. There was no way he was letting Yuki win today.
"I have another free spot," Kazu patted the ground on his other side, smiling at Naomi.
She hesitated. Why was she hesitating? How could he win her over?
"She has to sit next to me, idiot," Yuki remarked with a glare.
"Look around us, idiot," Kazu mocked Yuki. "Everyone is so sick of the show that they're not paying attention anymore. That is," Kazu hurried to explain himself to Naomi, "I'm not calling you an idiot, Nomi. I think you're stressing out to make a point and it's making you have tunnel vision. Everyone's moved on. I think it'll be okay if you sit next to me."
Naomi's forehead wrinkled and searched her surroundings. She turned to Kazu and Yuki with a relaxed smile; something he hadn't seen in a week or so since the drama started.
It was beautiful.
He watched as she sat in front of both him and Yuki to form a triangle and opened her bento box.
"Maybe it's time we broke up," she whispered to Yuki with a playful wink.
Kazu watched Yuki's face pale.
"Don't listen to him, Nomi," Yuki begged. "It'll be too quick and suspicious if we broke up after a week. We have to finish the week."
She paused from grabbing her chopsticks to consider Yuki's statement. Kazu couldn't let Yuki win this one.
"Says who?" Kazu countered. "Someone will always talk. The point was to prove she wasn't dating Shiro. It's time to go back to normal."
Yuki eyed Kazu and spoke slowly with force. "It's time when Nomi says it's time. And clearly," he made eye contact with Naomi to drive his point home, "it's better to be safe than sorry. What if we break up too soon and the rumors happen again on top of another saying we were fake dating? You're going to fake date this bozo?" Yuki pointed to Kazu with a thumb clearly ignoring Kazu's angry expression. "You can't. They'll see right through it."
Kazu watched Naomi lower her head and chopsticks with a sadden expression. Without thinking he turned and slapped the back of Yuki's head. Yuki yelped and held the sore area.
"What's wrong with you!" the blonde chastised. "In this situation everything you just said was wrong. How can you say that and watch Nomi stress out more?"
"I'm not stressing her out. I'm helping her," Yuki defended his actions. "Something you didn't want to do when she gave you the chance."
How Kazu wanted to strangle him the second that idiot brought it up. Before he could bite back, Naomi had gathered her things and now stood on her feet.
"Whoa! Wait a minute," both Yuki and Kazu called out to her.
She waved to signal for both boys to calm while sitting next to Kazu. His heart skipped a beat. She wasn't avoiding him anymore - or at least Yuki didn't have time to intervene.
"Both of you have a point," she said calmly, opening her bento box again. "Kazu is right. Yeah, I didn't realize I had tunnel vision while trying to fix the rumor. I also think it'll be safer if we finish the week out. And," she added in a quiet voice while leaning towards Kazu and used her shoulder to lightly bump his arm. "I've really missed you."
Kazu could see Yuki's eyes widened and body tense, on guard, from his peripheral vision. He chose to answer Nomi rather than provoke Yuki.
"I've missed you too," whispered Kazu. "When can we get fries? Just the two of us?"
For a moment her eyes sparkled at the idea.
"She can't," Yuki answered for her.
"Sure she can," Kazu said, keeping his eyes on Naomi.
"I thought you wouldn't want to," she said unsure.
"Why wouldn't I?" Kazu asked, taken aback. "Are you saying that because I said to get your parents involved?"
He watched as Naomi looked away with an uncomfortable look. Now was his time.
"I was wrong to a point," he admitted. "I still stand by what I said about getting them involved." He blushed as he was about to finish his sentence. He had to break this awkwardness between them. "But, I was wrong about turning you down. I should've said yes."
A whine escaped his female best friend, and before he knew it she held him in a hug.
"Yeah, you big jerk!" she said, tightening the hug. "You should have, because you know why? If it happened to you, I'd have volunteered in a heartbeat."
"Okay, break it up," Yuki attempted to separate them from the hug. "You're supposed to be hugging me, not him."
Kazu watched anger flash before her eyes and for a split second, he felt chills go down his back. She must have been at her limit with his obsessiveness.
"Yuki, you're one of my best friends and I'll always love you, but you're going to give me space right now. Just because I'm your fake girlfriend, it doesn't mean that I have to constantly be all over you. Plenty of people dating hug their friends."
A nervous chuckle escaped Yuki. "I'm just trying to help -"
"I get it, and trust me when I say that I'm grateful for what you're doing for me, but you're not pulling me away from hugging Kazu."
Happiness swelled in Kazu's heart. He returned the hug. It was a small victory, but there was a small part of him that wanted to poke fun at Yuki.
He chuckled, telling Naomi, "If I was in this predicament, and had swung both ways, I would've chosen you."
That sent Naomi into a laughing fit and Yuki telling him off.
"Can we get fries today?" she asked, that sparkle returning in her eyes.
"Sure!" He answered too quickly. "Wait. Shoot," Kazu sighed. "I'm sorry. I have band practice today."
"Don't worry, lover boy," Yuki glared at Kazu. "I'm free later tonight. Why not have fries with me?"
Kazu grinned. "No thanks. I'm only into girls."
Naomi went into a laughing fit, while Yuki once more told him off.
"Then how about tomorrow?" she asked. "I'll come to you a little later."
The school bell rang, signaling ten minutes for students to return to their classrooms. Before Kazu could give an answer, Yuki held Naomi's hand, intertwined his fingers, and tried to pull her to class.
"Oops! It's showtime!" Yuki attempted with an innocent smile.
"Argh!" Naomi pulled her hand away and pointed to Yuki. "Give me one minute, Yuki. Geez! The world isn't going to fall apart if we don't follow the plan exactly."
Kazu couldn't help but grin watching Yuki kick the dirt like a tantruming toddler as she hugged him once more. He leaned down a bit when he noticed Naomi tried to reach his ear to speak.
She whispered, "If I was given a chance to rewind time, I still would have chosen you to help me. I'll always choose you."
The world melted away hearing those words. One kiss was all it took to tell her how he felt. It was hard staring into her eyes to control himself.
He wasn't going to let this opportunity pass by. Tomorrow was when he was going to ask her out. No matter what.
Or now. Now was good. Screw this fake dating plan.
He slowly leaned in and closed his eyes. This was it. He was finally going to know what it was like to kiss Naomi Izumi.
There was a yelp, and before he could open his eyes, he was met with a wet, sloppy kiss. Kazu pushed away from disgust to find Yuki wiping his mouth with the back of his arm, glaring daggers at him while Naomi yelled at Yuki for interfering.
No way. Did Yuki just -
"What the fu-"
"Don't kiss my girlfriend," Yuki yelled loud enough for a few students to look their way, "because I don't care who I have to kiss to keep her next to me!"
Kazu watched Naomi stomp off to class, upset and embarrassed. He couldn't control himself anymore. This idiot had it coming to him. He grabbed Yuki's shirt with both his fists and slammed his back to the trunk of the same cherry blossom tree.
"Drop the act," snarled Kazu. "You're suffocating her. She already told you to back off. Don't forget I meant it when I said I wasn't backing down without a fight."
Yuki bit right back. "But you did give up. She gave you an opening so wide a blind person couldn't miss it and you practically handed her to me. By the end of this week, mark my words, I will have changed her mind and we'll start dating."
"Not if I have anything to do with it tomorrow."
Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Don't act like I'm the bad guy here. Look yourself in the mirror, blondie. You almost screwed things up for her. If it wasn't for me breaking up that beautiful moment you two almost shared, the only person's reputation that would have been ruined was hers. Control yourself."
Yuki then pushed Kazu off and readjusted his school uniform jacket.
"Now excuse me," he bitterly bit back. "I have to go back and do my job by comforting my fake girlfriend."
As much as Kazu wanted to retort, all he could do was growl in response. He hated to admit it, but for once Yuki was right. He looked up to see the orange-haired boy still standing there, scratching his neck.
"What do you want? You've already made your point," growled Kazu.
"Hey, uh, you're still coming to my game, right? We're not going to let this get between us?"
Kazu shook his head with a sigh. He patted Yuki on the back and the both of them headed towards class.
"I don't know," Kazu found himself not being able to stop from teasing his friend. As much as he wanted to keep arguing, there was no point. "That kiss of yours kind of turned me on. Maybe I'll switch sides and steal you away from the game."
Yuki pushed Kazu with a laugh. "Forget you."
"No, but really," Kazu said with a sheepish look. "I'll try to be there if you never kiss me again."
"Trust me," Yuki reassured. "It wasn't nice for me either."
What happens next in this love triangle? Find out next time on Destined Jedi: Next Generation.
Hope you guys enjoyed that, and that the chapter was worth the long-ass wait. Again, all the credit goes to Music Chick for pulling me out of this abyss I had fallen into.
What was originally supposed to be chapter 9 is now chapter 10, so that should be up right on schedule. I promise. I know I've broken a lot of promises lately, but I'm going to make it up to you guys.
Until then, leave a review and subscribe like always. Have a nice weekend, everybody.
Tootles.