The big 1-0! I'm so happy that this fan-fiction has finally hit a milestone! Let's aim for another 10! (By the way, Lovelies, the song mentioned in here is an original one I wrote. I do indeed write songs, though I don't publish them. Enjoy!)
Chapter 10
I'm feeling nervous the morning of the trip, taking about an hour to get ready for it. I'm standing in front of the mirror, brushing my hair when there are three familiar knocks at the door. "Come in," I say without looking away from my reflection.
Toge pushes in with a tray of food, stopping when he sees me already dressed. I have on a light-blue, baggy sweater and a dark-blue skirt with black leggings underneath to keep the cold away when we head out. Amusement – and something else – lights up his eyes as he steps in. "Tuna?" He taps his hair.
I nod. "I took a shower," I explain.
He sets the tray of food on the nightstand, his eyes catching on the rose that's still alive, but different. I had planted it into a pot of dirt, where a green sprout can already be seen. "I like gardening," I say, and the randomness of it catches both of us off-guard. "It's…it's the only thing that I know I like." Maybe that had been why I had clung to it so desperately back then.
It was the only piece of myself that they hadn't taken.
And Takoyaki, he types into his phone, closing the distance between us. For once, I don't panic about it. I feel my lips tug up almost imperceptibly. "And Takoyaki," I agree.
He pockets his phone and holds out his hand. It takes me a moment to realize that he wants the brush. I blink. "You want to…brush my hair?" I ask, then scan him over. "There's a bit of a height difference between us."
His eyes seem to…laugh at that, like living a life behind a mask had taught him to push emotions into them. I hadn't even realized what I said was a joke. I just…said it.
He points at the highchair Ms. Ieri had forgotten to retrieve, and the image of him sitting in it, towering over me, just to brush my hair, has something bubbling out of my mouth.
It's not like last time. It's not soft or muffled. It makes my shoulders shake, my breathing uneven, and my eyes water, but all in a good way.
I'm laughing. Fully.
(Satoru's P.O.V.)
I'm showing the new student, Toneri Hiroko, the girls' dorms when the sound of laughter stops me dead in my tracks. I look to my right, to where Yuna's door is cracked open enough to give a view of Toge, who's eyes are wide as they fix on Yuna. Yuna brings a fist to her mouth to try and contain the sound I've…never heard from her.
Ever.
"What is it?" Hiroko asks. She has orange hair that fades deeper into a deep shade that could almost be brown, with yellow streaks at the roots. The locks curve around the tops of her ears and free fall to the top half of her neck, stopping there. Her eyes are deep orange as well, so dark they look red from a distance. She's shorter than Yuna, but taller than Toge. Honestly, everybody is taller than Toge.
It's kind of sad.
"Just…" I shake my head in disbelief, wishing I could capture this moment forever. Not even a picture or a video would do this moment justice, though. "A miracle," is all I can think of to describe it.
I nod towards the laughing girl of despair in the room, now a slowly glowing bundle of second chances. "That, right there, is a miracle."
Hiroko narrows her eyes at me, then looks over at the girl. She doesn't seem to care in the least.
(Yuna's P.O.V.)
When I master myself enough to stop laughing and look at Inumaki, I realize that he's staring at me in disbelief. "What?" I ask, though the answer comes to me a heartbeat later.
I laughed.
I laughed.
I laughed.
Inumaki's eyes soften considerably, and he merely walks past me to the highchair, intending to drag it over to the mirror. I raise a hand before he can make me laugh again. "Wait," I request, and he does. "How about I sit on the floor, and you can brush it that way?"
I do as I say, folding my legs under me on the floor and looking up at him expectantly. His eyes widen slightly, his cheeks tinging with pink, like I just did something flustering.
…did I?
Still, I take slight satisfaction in knowing that I made Inumaki, of all people, blush.
I should get an award or something.
Was that humor?
Inumaki sinks to his knees behind me and takes the wooden brush from my hand with care. He lifts a hand to steady my head but hesitates.
"It's fine," I tell him. When I can see him in the m9irror like this…it's easier. I'm letting him do this. I'm giving him permission to do this. This power…it's mine. I acknowledge this, and it makes me feel better.
Inumaki's cool fingers touch my cheek so gently that I almost lean into them. They graze over my temple, rising until they settle onto my head. It was a touch of reassurance, a thank you that has me picking up the broken pieces of my heart and wondering for the first time in my life if I can put them back together, if only so my heart can flutter at the action.
I tilt my head back, and that's when he brings the brush to my head. The bristles of it sink into my hair, grazing my scalp, then carefully glide down in a soothing stroke, much like how my mother used to brush my hair. My eyes close on the second pass, and I find myself asking, "Can you sing me something?"
The brush pauses. I open my eyes and look up to see him staring down at me. "Why'd you stop?" I ask, almost disappointed.
He flounders for a minute, then eventually just taps his scarf.
"I know," I tell him. "Just…sing me something in your…food language, then." It doesn't have to be anything special. I just need music, like how my mother used to sing or hum when she brushed my hair.
He looks unsure, so I reach up and slip my fingers over the top of his scarf, his eyes fixing on me as they do. Our eyes lock, and I pause. For a moment, we just stare at each other. He's not objecting or slapping my hand away, but I ask anyway, "Can I take this off?"
He gives a small nod, his eyes never leaving mine, and I carefully tug the scarf down, feeling my fingers brush against the softness of his lips as they pass, until his scarf hangs from his neck.
I don't pull my hand back. I barely even register the fact that I'm leaning into him, the back of my head pressing into his torso. All I see are amethyst eyes, and all I feel is his hand moving from the side of my head to my elbow, then gliding up to my forearm, until his feather-light touch reaches my wrist. He loosely wraps his hand around the back of mine, as if he's afraid I'll pull away at the slightest hint of pressure.
Someone is touching me, and I don't feel…disgusted by it.
I feel…safe. Like this could be home.
Jujutsu Tech is starting to feel like home, and I'm starting to realize why Satoru loves it so much.
It's not the place.
It's the people.
People like Inumaki, people like Maki, and people like Ms. Ieri.
They are home.
"Inumaki-san…" I trail off when he raises a brow at the honorific. Once again, I can practically see the words in his eyes. Do friends do that?
I don't know. Should I, as his "friend," want to kiss him right now?
Probably not.
I think I'm getting the hang of this sarcasm thing.
Still, I try again. "T-toge-"
"Before this gets immensely R-rated, I just want to remind you that we're leaving in 15 minutes," a voice from the doorway interrupts.
My eyes flick to her. She's a girl I've never seen before, but her color scheme…
The next one.
Inu…Toge's hand tightens around mine as he gazes over at the girl, probably sensing my discomfort. He looks unfazed, however, about us being caught doing…whatever that was.
"Sorry?" I blurt out, because I don't know who she is. Her hair is like fire, her eyes like embers. She leans against the doorway, a hand braced on her hip.
"You're forgiven," she says, and Toge's eyes narrow at her blatant disrespect until a hand clasps down on the girl's shoulder, and Satoru peeks in behind her.
"What she meant was, 'You should get ready to go and kiss later,'" he amends for her, and the girl bristles. She glares at Satoru, but he pays her no mind. "Yu-chi, Toge, meet Toneri Hiroko, a new student here. She's your age, but just a bit younger."
Both Toge and I are at a loss for words. That girl is going here, now? And she's coming with us to…wherever we're going? But she seems so…angry. In a cold way.
Toneri brushes Satoru's hand away from her shoulder. "I don't need you talking for me," she states matter-of-factly. There's no emotion in her voice at all. She looks at Toge and I, and that's when I notice the unique, cat-like shape of her pupils. They make her even more intimidating, appearance-wise. "I'm just a student here," she tells us. "That's all you need to know."
"Hiroko, this isn't the Guild," Satoru says gently.
The Guild?
Toneri's sharp eyes snap to him. They narrow, then she walks away without saying another word. Both Toge and I stare, dumbfounded. His forearm is resting on my shoulder now, his hand still gently wrapped around mine. Satoru notices, but he doesn't comment on it. I'm grateful, because being told that I should or shouldn't do something isn't what I need right now.
I'm throwing that lifestyle away.
"Sorry about her," Satoru apologizes, slipping his hands into he pockets of his pants. His white hair is down today, overshadowing his shades. "I just picked her up from where we're going. From the looks of it, though, she's all too ready to head back."
I angle my head. "Where are we going?" They still haven't told me.
Satoru and Toge both trade looks. The former gives me a smirk. "You'll see."
Annoying.
He salutes with two fingers. "15 minutes," he reminds us. "Ijichi is driving." Then he's gone.
He also closed the door.
Should I be worried?
I voice the thought, and Toge smiles gently at me in response. No. His thumb rubs over the back of my hand.
I return his smile with a bit more venom. "You have to sing for me," I remind him, and instantly, he gives me the driest look I have ever received from anyone. It makes me laugh a little again.
He sighs, relenting, and parts his lips, but I put a finger to them. "While you brush," I amend. "You have to do it while you brush."
I can read the words, Does it matter? in his expression, but he picks the brush back up anyway and gently lets go of my hand to hold my head in place once more.
He runs the brush through my hair. Once. Twice. Then he starts singing.
I'm dying on the inside in a very good, rejuvenating way, but it goes like this:
Tuna mayo
Bonito Flakes
Tuna mayo
Bonito Flakes
Pollack Roe
Salmon, salmon
Tuna Mayo
Bonito Flakes
"Okay, okay, stop," I say quickly, unable to stop my laughter. I'm laughing so hard that I'm crying, and my stomach hurts. "Just…hum instead."
His eyes sparkle, and he gently pokes my cheek. You.
I wipe away my remaining tears. "Me?"
He nods and holds out the brush, shaking his head so his hair ruffles. He wants me to brush while I sing, too, so we're even.
I take the brush, gazing down at the only thing I have left of my mother.
You are allowed to live as who you are. I think that is the cause your parents died for.
I smile a little and turn, shifting back until I'm sitting against the wall to the mirror's right. Toge watches me as I hold out my arms. "She used to do it like this," I say softly. "My mother, I mean." I beckon for him to come over.
As if in a trance, he follows and doesn't hesitate to curl right up in my arms, his back pressing against my chest. My legs outline his. "This is going to straighten your hair," I caution. He nods, a sign that he's fine with it.
I lift a hand but hesitate. Then I gently run my fingers through the locks of white, marveling at how soft his hair is. He settles deeper into my embrace. "My mother used to hold me like this," I tell him, "whenever I got scared. When I panicked because of my cursed-technique, afraid it would go off and kill someone, she would trap me in her arms like this so I couldn't hurt anyone. She…was always ready to go first. For anyone. For me. Sometimes I wonder if she was ever scared of me as well. If she felt disappointed with the outcome."
He gently holds my wrist again and looks up at me with a scolding look. We've been down this road before. It's time for you to let it go.
"You think I'm not?" I ask. He shakes his head. I reach out and brush a finger against his cheek, but he doesn't look away from me. "I won't ever know what she felt in her final moments," I murmur. "But I hope it was peaceful enough, at least." As peaceful as it could get when you have your head chopped off.
I sigh and stroke down his hair before lifting the brush and running it through. I start singing like he requested.
Take me away
To a place
Where nobody knows me
Where nobody knows me
Take me away
Relieve the pain
'Cause they all know me
It's all just a dream
When I'm done, his hair spills over his head like a white waterfall, with not a strand out of place. It's beautiful enough that I run a hand down the locks of it. "I like it like this," I admit. When he doesn't answer, or even move, I look down to view his face.
Only to find him asleep.
He's asleep. Against me.
I stare at him in surprise. Had my singing been that soothing? I pick his phone up and check the time. We were supposed to be at the car two minutes ago, but…
I look back down at Toge, at the peaceful state he's in. The boy who's been by my side since I hit my bottom, who's brought me food every morning, stayed with me in the lonely hours of the night, here. With me.
I slowly smile and wrap myself around him. I rest my chin on his shoulder.
I guess a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.
I figured that it was about time the love interest and the main character, my O.C., made a move on each other. Hope you like this cute little bit.
On a different note, welcome in the new character, also my O.C, Toneri Hiroko! There is so much more to this wonderful girl, Lovelies, so don't kick her out of the running yet! I promise, she has her reasons, and she has her own story that may or may not be after this one ends. We'll see. All I'm saying is that she may or may not be the love interest for a certain king in the future. Shh...
Here's a question: Do you guys like it when I write characters' names in Japanese order, or English order? I would like to know, because in a different fanfiction of Kuroko no Basket, I do it in English order, because I'm really not sure which one would be best.
Ex.
Gojo Satoru (Japanese)
Satoru Gojo (English)
Please let me know which you would prefer! Most votes on either one will be the one I listen to!
Thank you for reading!