Chapter Four
looked up at him and felt her cheeks heat up. She didn’t know why she felt like a young girl who just had her first kiss. Yagyuu had kissed her rather gently, but at one time, it was deep. However, he never gave her a time for response. All he did was kiss her and she kept leaning into the bed. He finally let go of her, which made her fall with a 'plop' on the bed.
"Could I have my glasses now?" He asked, looking at the object in her hand.
didn’t say anything. She looked down at the glasses in her hand that now had her fingerprints on the lenses, then back to Yagyuu who was leaning on her. She knew she had a knack for initiating ridiculous things sometimes, but this had to be the most ridiculous. The only thing different this time was that she wanted more. She hesitated as she sat up a bit; not fully sitting up, but enough to be on face level with him again.
"What is it?" He asked.
She moved her hand and placed his glasses on top of his head. From there, her finger moved to his jaw and outlined it. She knew she was crossing the borders but she felt at a loss because he didn’t give her a chance to respond. "You didn’t let me kiss you back.”
He let out a sigh and put the palm of his hands on either side of her face after pushing her back onto her bed. He leaned down and just placed his lips on hers, waiting for her to do the rest. "That's not fair," she said, moving her lips away. "This is not a one way show."
To her surprise, he actually smirked and kissed her properly, and this time she didn’t hesitate in returning it. It was slow, nothing too passionate about it. It wasn’t like in cliché romance novels where they felt electricity run through them at the moment of contact or anything like that either. However, she couldn’t deny that Yagyuu Hiroshi was one hell of a kisser.
Yagyuu wasn’t too sure what he felt at the moment. He was kissing a woman that he did not like, voluntarily, at that. But a tiny part of him actually liked the feel of her lips against his. Then again, he could blame that it had been a while since he had kissed another woman.
The two had prolonged it more than they had wanted to. Before they even realized it, they became so absorbed into the kiss that they hadn’t noticed their arms moving on their own accord. 's fingers had tangled themselves in his hair, while his own hands were behind her back and holding her close to him. It wasn’t a kiss shared between two people that hated each other, but a kiss between a man and a woman who have been alone for a long time.
They two of them only came back to their senses when a cell phone rang, interrupting their moment. pulled her lips away and moved her head to the side while he stopped moving.
[RING]
[RING]
[RING]
The insistent ringing was the only noise that filled the suddenly silent room. didn’t say anything, reaching for her cell phone that was in her pocket and pulled it out, still in that position. "Hello?" she said in a shaky voice.
Yagyuu remained silent. He wasn’t sure what to do. He cursed softly for his action. He was supposed to be the sensible one out of the both of them. He heard her speak for a few minutes and then she hung up. She finally turned her head and faced him. "That was stupid," she said quietly.
"Yes," he agreed.
"Now get off."
The sound of the rustling of bed sheets from their moving was heard next. got off the bed after he did and just stood up. "Well, for what it's worth, you're not a bad kisser." She looked at him with a sly smile.
He shrugged the compliment off. "I'm leaving," he said, walking to the door.
stopped him. "Yagyuu-san. Thanks…"
Yagyuu didn’t say anything again. He just nodded and left. When he reached home, he trudged to his room, lying down on his bed. His mind drifted to what had happened the past few hours. A questioning look came upon his face at what she had said to him before he left. What did she thank him for? Apologizing? Or was it for the kiss?
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grumbled as she looked around the airport terminal. She never did like airports. They were noisy, always crowded with people pushing their way to either catch their flight or going to pick up their luggage. Currently she was waiting for a certain European man.
“I’m never coming to pick him up again,” she muttered, her eyes darting around the area.
“How cruel of you.”
spun around at that familiar voice. There stood , usual smirk on his face, amidst the crowd of Japanese people, making him stand out all the more. She walked up to him, glare on her face. “Took you long enough.”
“Is that all you can say to me after not seeing me for a week?” asked in amusement. He knew she wasn’t seriously angry with him. But it was so much fun annoying her.
“Whatever. Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to,” replied, already making her way to leave with or without .
The European easily caught up to her. “Hey, what’s eating you? You’re more irritable than usual.”
“I’m not going to be discussing anything here of all places,” said, quickening her pace to leave the busy place.
It didn’t take long for them to find a coffee shop and settle down in the far corner away from prying eyes. It wasn’t until they had their orders did the silence between them break.
“So do you want to tell me now?” urged as he cradled his cup of caffeine in his hands.
paused for a second, considering whether to tell her friend everything that had happened while he was away. However, she brushed aside her hesitation, remembering that this person was her good friend. She told him what had happened from the time of his phone call to present, leaving out minor the details.
By the end of the tale, ’s jaw looked like it would be permanently dislodged from his head. He could not believe what she had just told him. “You kissed Yagyuu Hiroshi?” A minute later that disbelief turned into a full-blown grin. “How was it?”
“!”
“What? You can’t honestly say you didn’t anticipate me asking that,” said, amusement shining in his eyes.
just rolled her eyes. She wouldn’t have expected anything less from the man. “You better watch it or else a certain half Brazilian and I will be having a little chat soon.”
“You wouldn’t!” nearly yelled in mock surprise. The smile on his face gave away that he knew she was kidding and just played along.
“Oh I don’t know. Jackal and I have become rather good friends while you were away,” mused with an innocent grin.
“I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” muttered. “Hey wait a minute! We’re supposed to be talking about you here.”
“Are we? I thought we finished,” replied off handedly. She drank the last bit of her coffee, setting the cup on the table.
“You still haven’t told me how the kiss was,” pointed out. He was definitely not going to let that go. He wanted details. “At least tell me if he’s a good kisser or not.”
swore in her head. Now she wished she hadn’t finished off her drink so she could at least prolong answering that particular question. However, she knew that she couldn’t avoid it forever. would hound her for the answer. She fiddled with her empty cup for a second longer before nodding her head.
“Is that a yes he is a good kisser or no he isn’t?” pried, wanting a clear-cut answer from her.
nearly growled in frustration. “Yes, he is a damn good kisser all right?! Satisfied?”
“Immensely,” replied cheekily. “So, what now? You two together or what?”
“Not at all. I still don’t like him,” stated with a shrug of her shoulders. She looked at him and noticed his confused expression. She released a sigh. “Just because we kissed that doesn’t mean we’re a couple.”
raised an eyebrow. "Then what the hell happened, ?"
She let out a sigh. "I don't know," she mumbled. "I guess I provoked him again," she admitted, standing up. "I really missed you." She hugged him, changing the subject. "You and Seiichi both decided to ditch me when I was feeling lonely."
He returned the hug and they both started walking.
paused for a second. "?"
"Yes."
She hesitated, but turned to look at him. "I gave in my resignation papers yesterday."
looked at her with a somewhat shocked look. It was a complete surprise. "How did she take it?" He asked, referring to the headmistress.
"That crazy bitch didn’t even ask me to stay. She signed my papers and told me that I'm free and I don’t need to even give a leave's notice." let out a sigh, continuing to walk.
"You love kids."
"I do. I do," she agreed, moving her hair back that had invaded her eyes from the breeze. "I just don’t want to be there anymore," she admitted. "I want to start somewhere new. Also, I'm apartment hunting. I need a bigger and cleaner place. At lease, a place in a better environment."
whistled. "Wow," he whispered. "You decided all this while I was away."
nodded. “Actually I'm glad your flight wasn’t delayed. I have to check one apartment today and its price is reasonable. Want to come with me?"
He nodded.
An hour later, they both walked into an apartment. The first thing that hit them was the light that came in from the massive window. was in love. It was spacious, it had three bedrooms and a beautiful and cozy living room linked to the kitchen.
nodded in approval, but he frowned at one thing. ", it's rather huge. What would you need three bedrooms for?" he asked, rubbing his jaw in a contemplative manner.
"One of them is yours."
smiled. "You want me to move in with you?'
laughed out loud, surprising him. "As much as I love you, no. I would get nightmares for years if I ever walk in on you and Jackal," she said slyly making him glare at her. "One room is yours when your family visits and you want to run away."
"And the other?"
She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. "I'm not sure yet, but having another spare room isn’t bad."
"So you're taking it?" he asked.
"I'm not sure yet."
watched her and asked another question. "Is it the money?"
She looked at him and walked to the door. "No, it's actually almost the same as the place I’m staying at right now. I still don’t know why its rate is good, but I'm not complaining."
crossed his arms and leaned against the door. "Go for it then. The neighborhood is nice, the price is right and it's much better than a studio," he encouraged her. He looked around. "Do you know who your neighbors are?"
shook her head. "The landlord said that it was mostly families living here."
thought for a second and then nodded. "Then this is a good opportunity for you as well. You can baby-sit in the comfort of your own home to earn money until you find a decent job."
actually liked the idea. "We will see," she said, walking to the hallway. "You know, I actually might like--"
was still in the apartment. "Actually might like what, ?" He asked, following her out, but he stopped when he saw her frozen. He knew life was full of surprises, but this had to be the biggest one in 's life.
Yukimura Seiichi and Yagyuu Hiroshi had just both come out of the opposite apartment followed by a little Sumi-chan.
“Seiichi?”
“Well, it’s been a while ,” Yukimura greeted with his usual smile.
“-sensei!”
The next second, was nearly tackled to the ground by the little girl. Once she got her bearings, she looked down at the brown haired girl, patting her on her head. “Sumi-chan, it’s nice to see you too.”
“Sumi missed you during the break, -sensei,” Sumi stated, a bright smile on her face as she looked up at the older female.
gave a slightly nervous laugh. “I did too, Sumi-chan.”
“Sumi-chan, you didn’t miss me?” asked with a mock hurt expression on his face. He pretended to sulk with a sad pout for emphasis. This little act effectively got the little girl’s attention in trying to placate her depressed teacher.
With Sumi occupied with that left with the two males who had been silent the whole while. She turned her attention to them. Yukimura still had his usual smile on his face while Yagyuu looked like he was about slam his head against the wall.
"Are you or moving in, ?" Yukimura asked. Somehow the sick smile that he had plastered on his face would not leave and wanted to wipe it off.
“I don’t think so," she automatically answered.
heard that. ", you said you’d think about moving in here. Plus, you liked it."
"I liked it – past tense," she said, not looking at anyone.
looked at and then at Yukimura. "Don't tell me you just changed your mind because of him?" He pointed at Yagyuu.
"Excuse me?" Yagyuu said, rubbing his eyes.
stood next to . "It has nothing to do with him," she said quietly. "I just changed my mind. I don’t want to live here anymore."
looked sharply at her. ", you cannot afford a better place. Especially, since you're unemployed at the moment. The other apartments sucked. There were prostitutes living across from you. I'm more comfortable with you living across two homos than prostitutes."
"Homos?" Yukimura asked, looking at them.
"Papa, what's a homo?" Sumi asked, tugging at her father's shirt.
Yagyuu looked down at his daughter and rubbed his jaw. "Will everybody please be quiet?!" He snapped, picking Sumi up with one arm. He looked at his daughter sharply. "Sumi, never ever repeat that word again," he told her, after everybody went silent.
"But, what is…"
"Sumi!"
Sumi's eyes widened and she pouted. She kicked him slightly, scampering out of his arm and ran to Yukimura and hugged his leg. "Papa, meanie!"
let out sigh, realizing this is all her fault. "Sumi-chan!” She said in an authoritative voice. "Is that what we taught you in class? Your papa only wants the best for his princess. Apologize to him."
Yagyuu, Yukimura, and paused.
Sumi didn’t move.
"Sumi, even if you're angry with your father, you're not supposed to show it in front of everyone." leaned down. "Come here and apologize," she ordered.
The little girl looked embarrassed, but she did as she was told.
Finally when things were settled, Yukimura turned to . "Unemployed?”
looked away. "It doesn’t matter," she said, walking to the elevator. "I'm sorry for the entire ruckus."
"." Yukimura stopped her. "I don’t know about him," he said, pointing at Yagyuu. "But, I know that Sumi and I would love to have you as neighbors, so please reconsider."
She didn’t say anything as she waited for the elevator to open. Once it did, she looked at him. "I'll think about it." She walked in. ", I'll wait for you downstairs," she shouted, leaving before him.
looked at Yagyuu. "Bad guy again?”
"This has nothing to do with me. You're both her friends so it's natural that you'll side with her."
crossed his arms. “What about you Yagyuu-san?" He asked quietly. "Shouldn't you be a friend now as well, after that?" He raised an eyebrow.
Yagyuu's glasses almost broke from his hard glare. However, he wisely chose not to say anything. "I'm taking Sumi out," he said flatly, taking her hand.
Once he was gone, Yukimura turned to . "Something tells me you're about to share something interesting with me."
smirked.
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wiped the sweat off her brow and plopped onto her sofa. After two weeks of fighting with herself and 's constant nagging, she had finally moved into the apartment opposite of Yagyuu and Yukimura's.
After two days of moving in, she had also finally finished cleaning. Now, she needed a job. When she moved, she had discarded half of her skimpy outfits and now she needed to shop.
questioned her move, but she said that she's been thinking of it for some time now. He asked if someone was involved in her decision, but she said no. This was her personal decision. She simply wanted to be treated better and respected. She definitely needed to do that if she was going to baby-sit for families in this building.
“Well, first things first: Got to tell the people in this building that I’m up for baby-sitting their kids,” said to herself. “Good thing that I was an assistant teacher for a kindergarten class. The only problem is how to let them know...” Just as she finished that thought, her cell phone rang. She rolled her eyes at recognizing the number. “Yes?”
“How cold of you. And here I was going to offer my congratulations on getting a new place by treating you to lunch,” Jackal said in a mock hurt voice. was able to pick up the amusement in his tone though.
“The only reason you know is because told you,” pointed out.
Jackal gave a light chuckle. “You got me there. So how about it? We never really got to eat the last time.”
“You sure it’s all right? Don’t you have work?” asked, wanting to make sure.
“I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t,” Jackal assured. “So are you up for it or not?”
“You know I can’t deny you. would have my head,” said, a grin playing on her face.
Once the two of them settled on a place and time, they ended the phone call to get ready. An hour later, found herself walking among the crowds in one of the busier parts of Shibuya. She would have taken the train but she figured walking would be good for her. Plus, it was a nice day out.
It wasn’t long before she made it to the designated restaurant. Waiting outside for her was the half Brazilian who was casually leaning against the wall. He straightened when she approached him.
“Right on time,” Jackal said with a smile. He gave her a gentle hug in greeting, which she returned. “Shall we head in?”
“Sure.” took the offered arm and together they walked into the restaurant. They didn’t say anything more until they were seated and their orders were taken. Jackal was the one who spoke first.
“So a little bird told me that you are living across from Seiichi and Hiroshi,” Jackal casually stated, taking a sip from his glass.
“More like a big blabber mouth,” muttered. “ doesn’t keep anything from you, does he?”
Jackal laughed at that. “He doesn’t tell me everything. He has his secrets and I have mine,” he said simply. “So how do you like your new place?”
“It’s a lot better than my old one I can tell you that,” replied in an appreciative voice. “Although since it’s bigger than my old place, I don’t have very many things in it.”
"I see," he said, thanking the waiter who placed their orders on the table. He unfolded his napkin and placed it on his lap as did the same. “So, any luck finding a job?"
ate her salad lightly and shook her head. "I haven’t worked on my resumé yet," she admitted. "First, I'm going to try and get the babysitting going. I'm going to try and create a poster so that I can hang it in the building."
"Oh," Jackal said. "Are you good at using Photoshop?"
"Nope," she muttered.
Jackal laughed. "At least you're honest." He sipped his drink. "Say, why don't you ask Hiroshi? He knows how to use it."
continued eating without making an expression. She finally looked at Jackal. "I'll work something out," she said, not even answering him.
Jackal let out a sigh. " was right. You two have issues."
almost stabbed her lettuce, but kept a civil face. "It's nothing," she said. "Now, let's talk about something more pleasant." She changed the subject.
He cut his steak and looked at her. "How is the dating scene?"
"Zero." She sipped her drink. She had sworn off alcoholic drinks for now, since that night. "I don’t have time, money, or tolerance."
Jackal smiled at that. "But, you're lonely."
continued sipping her drink and nodded. She smiled at him. "It would be nice to have someone who loves me just for me and not my family name, but I'm not that shallow. I can survive on my own."
Jackal smiled. He loved her honesty and how she admitted her feelings. He could imagine that a woman her age no matter how strong could get lonely at some nights.
They kept each other company for another two hours. Finally, he walked her home and she thanked him. went in and decided to see if she could work on her poster after changing into her pajamas. She looked around the empty apartment and felt… empty. It was times like this that she felt somehow not like herself.
She was alone in an apartment; all alone with no family, friends or roommates. She let out a sigh and stood up. She decided to pick up a shawl and walked out into the hallway and headed towards the open balcony that the floors shared. She needed some time to think.
She stepped out and smiled when she noticed that no one was there. However, she missed a corner where she noticed a gentleman crouched on the floor, smoking, leaning against the wall. She narrowed her eyes when she realized who it was, but decided to ignore him for now. She headed to the opposite side and watched her surroundings.
She didn’t know how long she stayed there, but she felt rather weird because the weather was warmer. Shouldn’t it be chilly now? She thought, looking around.
[plop]
crinkled her nose when she felt the drop of water on her nose. She looked up and noticed that that single drop had turned into numerous ones. It was so sudden that she couldn’t even move, the sudden wind, rain, and thunder astounding. She turned to take shelter when a loud [bam] stopped her. She stopped right in front of the balcony door and realized that…
"You locked us out," she heard Yagyuu say, who came up behind her.
held the shawl above her head as it poured on top of her. "I didn’t touch it, the wind did."
Yagyuu let out a sigh as the rain came down hard on him. He tried knocking several times, but he knew it was useless since the rainstorm was so loud that he doubted anyone could hear him. He felt the rain's drops fall lighter on him and he realized that it was holding the shawl above them, preventing them from getting him even wetter.
looked at him. "What could we do?"
He looked at her and took the shawl out of her hands. He held it above both of them and led her to a small corner on the side. The balcony was huge and a person can easily hide in its corner. It was a sheltered corner and he knew they could take cover for now. "Wait," he said, going in first. He looked to see if there was anything on the floor and then finally sat down. "Come here."
She hesitated, but followed. She had to lower her head a bit, but she finally got in and felt relieved when the rain stopped drenching her. She sat down and leaned against the wall.
All that could be heard was the sound of the rain and the occasional thunder.
hugged her knees and tried to stop shivering. She glanced at Yagyuu and found him with his eyes closed. "You and I," she said quietly, making him open his eyes. "We always wind up in a weird situation."
“It’s not like we’re purposely trying to end up in these types of so situations,” Yagyuu muttered, closing his eyes once more. He basked in the loud pattering of the raindrops. He always found listening to the rainfall relaxing. However, that peace didn’t last very long.
“So what are you doing here at night? It's late, don't you have work tomorrow?” asked innocently, making small talk to fill the silence with something other than the rain and rumbling thunder.
“Tonight’s one of those rare nights when I decide to ditch work the next day,” Yagyuu replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
Though he tried to be nonchalant about it, there was a hint of that tiredness that had so often heard from his voice when he went to pick up his daughter. It seems the stress was returning now that he had to return to work and care for Sumi at the same time. “So this is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon things that you do, huh? Didn’t think you would do that,” she mused, a smile playing on her lips.
“Everyone has them. I’m no different,” Yagyuu stated, opening his eyes and glancing at the pouring sky. “And you?” He asked, not even sure why he wanted this conversation to continue.
turned her head to him. “Me? What about me?”
Yagyuu released a small sigh. “Sumi has been telling me that you have not been showing up at school. Is that what was meant when said you are unemployed?”
“Oh yeah. I resigned from my position a few weeks ago,” reaffirmed. “Starting anew.”
“I see,” Yagyuu mumbled. “What will you do about money?” He asked, knowing that she needed it.
“Since this building has a lot of families living here, I’m going to try to start baby-sitting for their kids,” replied, hugging her knees tighter. “I’m sure that’ll tide me over until I find a job that would interest me.”
“A rather interesting proposition.”
looked over to the man next to her. “You’re not an exception either.” When she received a questioning look from him, she elaborated. “Just because we don’t get along all that well doesn’t mean that I’ll exclude you out of it. If you need someone to take care of Sumi-chan, all you have to do is ask.”
Yagyuu stared at her for a second longer before closing his eyes again. “I’ll hold you to that then.”
gave a soft smile at that. She rested her head on top of her knees. She was still trying to stop her shivering but to no avail. Yagyuu must have noticed her shaking form because a minute later he scooted closer, his side shoulders touching hers. Although he was just sitting next to her, she was already feeling a tad bit warmer, knowing that he cared even if it was just a little bit.
With the exception of the rain, silence reigned over them. However, it was a comfortable silence, the first that they ever had. In fact, it was probably the first time they were so civil towards each other.
let her eyes gaze around their surroundings, watching drops of water that continuously fell down. She would have kept on gazing if it weren’t for the sudden weight that made itself known on her shoulder. Glancing over, she was greeted by a head of brown hair. “Yagyuu-san?”
“Let me rest here for a bit,” Yagyuu mumbled quietly.
Although the rain and thunder were louder than his voice, was able to hear him clearly. “But you’ll get sick if you sleep now,” she pointed out, knowing from experience. Expecting some kind of retort, she was slightly surprised to hear light snoring instead. “Better not blame me when you’re stuck in bed.”
did her best to get comfortable without disturbing him. Once she was able to settle, she continued her dazing off, occasionally looking at the man resting next to her. Eventually her eyes remained on his sleeping form. She gently removed the hair that had plastered itself on his forehead from the rain. It was times like these that she wondered what they were. Acquaintances? Friends? Or were they categorized in something else all together?
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Yagyuu cursed his luck. After sleeping outside in the rain, he had caught a slight cold the next day. It also didn’t help that Yukimura had found the both of them together. He knew the blue-haired man would never let him live it down. However, he was grateful that he didn’t say anything.
He had spent most of the day inside when Yukimura finally joined him for lunch. "Here," he said, handing him a brochure.
Yagyuu looked at it curiously. "LASIK?" he read out.
Yukimura snatched the brochure back. "LASIK, an acronym for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, is a form of refractive laser eye surgery procedure performed by ophthalmologists intended for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The procedure is usually a preferred alternative to photorefractive keratectomy, PRK, as it requires less time for full recovery, and the patient experiences less pain overall. Many patients choose LASIK as an alternative to wearing corrective glasses or contact lenses." (1)
Yagyuu took it back. "I can read," he mumbled, looking at it.
Yukimura crossed his arms. "You've been prolonging it for too long, so I think its time you go for it," he said, looking at his housemate. "Plus, with the constant eye rubbing, I'm surprised you’re not blind yet. It's apparent that your eyes can't handle lenses that well."
"I see."
Yukimura smiled. "That's settled then. I've booked your appointment for three weeks from today. You can’t wear lenses for ten to fourteen days." He walked to the living room and picked out a file. "I already showed the doctor your history and files."
"So that stupid checkup we went to two weeks ago was a setup?" He recalled, because he had thought it odd that Yukimura suddenly wanted to have his eyes checked, but he didn’t know why he was dragged into it as well.
"Yup." He smiled innocently. "I wanted them to check your eyes and see if it was appropriate for the procedure."
Yagyuu didn’t say anything.