She didn’t want to disappoint him, and she felt bad about it. “I’m sorry,” she said. But she was trying to do what was best for her.
Maybe he knew that. Because he shook his head. “No. It’s alright.”
“Really?”
“Certainly. You’re keeping the beast in check.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Akabori-san,” he replied. “He’s been calmer since the beginning of the year. I’m certain you had something to do with that.”
Had Tatsuo really changed that much? She hadn’t noticed anything. “I’m sure I didn’t do too much.”
“You’ve done more than you think,” he assured her. “You’ve really helped me.”
“I suppose Akabori-san has become less of a thug with your influence,” the Chinese warrior mused quietly.
Aoi hadn’t meant to change him. She’d just been happy to make friends. “Well, if you wanted to get to know him better, we and a few other friends—”
Touya cut her off. “Oh no, Arisawa-san. I couldn’t be seen with the likes of him. No offense to you, of course, but you understand why someone of my position couldn’t risk spending time with yankii like yourselves. I mean, why else do you think we meet in this empty, private room?”
Aoi was stunned. The shock was quickly replaced with anger, and she stood abruptly, gathering her things. “The likes of us? You think I’m a . . . that all yankii are bad?”
She couldn’t speak. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she didn’t trust herself to say anymore because she might start crying. Touya only sat there, his hands calmly laced across the table. His face looked sad, but he didn’t try to stop her as she stormed out the door.
Touya pursued Aoi for the next several days, asking her to have lunch with him. He didn’t bring up the yankii thing again, but Aoi hadn’t forgotten his harsh words. She spent the lunches mostly in silence, listening to his stories and answering his questions. Whenever he’d invite her to join student council, she’d refuse. Aoi didn’t mention the other Linked, or Tatsuo, or anything about her social life. If he didn’t want to associate with the likes of her, then she wouldn’t share any part of it.
When Tatsuo found out she was eating lunches with Touya regularly, instead of his gang, he started showing up to school more often, and he would walk her home after school every day. As the week wore on, he grew more and more irate. Today was no exception.
“You weren’t at lunch again today,” he said as they left the school.
“I ate with Midorikawa-san.”
He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Of course you did.”
“Senpai?”
He hurried on, not even looking back at her. She wasn’t sure what she’d done wrong this time, but she knew he was upset.
“Senpai!” she called again. She ran as fast her legs would carry her. She had to catch up somehow.
But he just ignored her and kept on going. He wasn’t even walking towards her home anymore. He was heading to the ugly side of the housing district.
“Please wait!”
Her words yet again fell on deaf ears. He kept walking, and she kept following. She’d really done it this time.
“Aoi-san, you did nothing wrong,” Mulan insisted.
Doesn’t feel like it. She was always messing up. She constantly made Asagi and Tatsuo angry. Not to mention she’d made Momoka feel left out. And now she’d given Touya the idea that she was some “bad yankii”. Aoi really was a screw up.
But she wasn’t a quitter. She kept on Tatsuo’s heels, following him into the rundown streets of downtown Irokara.
Being in this part of down sent shivers down her spine. She hadn’t forgotten the first time she came here. She never could forget. Tatsuo risked his life to save her. He got hurt to save her. And she’d been helpless. All she could do was cry over his limp body. She couldn’t save him. She couldn’t even save herself.
She hated remembering it, but she hated herself more for letting that happen.“Aoi-san, please,” Mulan tried harder to reassure her. “Please don’t blame yourself. You are not at fault.”
Aoi just sighed heavily. “I’m sorry,” she said to both Mulan and Tatsuo.
They entered a small, dirty apartment complex nestled within a larger block of other dirty complexes. This one had houses that were dingy and ugly. Some windows were cracked, others shattered. The grass was dead. Aoi wanted to be out of here soon. Where were they?
Tatsuo paused. He stayed still long enough for her to catch up with him. But he didn’t say a word.
That just meant Aoi say more. She had to explain herself. “Senpai, I just . . .” She was no good at all in situations like this. She got nervous and shaky. Tears began to well up in her eyes. But she couldn’t quit. “Midorikawa-senpai keeps inviting me and I can’t say no. I think he’s just lonely. He needs someone to talk to.”
“Or shove his ideals upon,” Tatsuo scoffed.
Of course that’s how he’d see it. And maybe that was right. She thought of Touya’s earlier offer and wondered if she should mention it. Before now, they hadn’t discussed anything that had gone on in her lunches with Touya—especially the part about calling her a yankii. Having Tatsuo chase down the student body president was the last thing she needed.
“He wanted me to join the student council.”
He tensed up. “Yeah? What did you tell him?”
“I said no. I’ve been telling him no for a while now.”
“You . . .” He paused and his brows furrowed. His mind was trying to put the pieces together with little work. “You did what?”
“I said no,” Aoi repeated.
Tatsuo’s shoulders relaxed as her words sunk in, but he still looked confused. His brows didn’t unfurrow. “Why’d ya do that? It woulda looked good on your transcript.”
Now Aoi was confused. Wasn’t Tatsuo angry she was spending so much time with Touya? Why did he suddenly want her to spend more time with him now?
But she knew why she did what she did. “I wouldn’t have had any time left for you.”
He grinned. “Only me, huh?”
She was quick to correct herself. “And the others. I’d be so busy, I wouldn’t have any free time at all.”
Tatsuo laughed a deep laugh from his gut. “You know I’m just kidding, right?” he asked.
Heat rose into her cheeks. “Of course I know that.” She hesitated. “Are you still mad at me?”
“Nah. Not really.” He gave a small shrug. That was good. But then he continued, “Just a little jealous, I guess.”
Aoi thought she must have heard him wrong. “Jealous?” she repeated.
“Maybe not jealous-jealous.” Tatsuo sighed and shook his head. He realized his words weren’t coming out the way he wanted them to. “I guess I just miss you hanging around.”
He made his way up a building’s flight of stairs. Aoi didn’t know where they were going, but she trusted Tatsuo. She followed him up.
“You miss me?” she asked. “But you walk me home almost every day.”
“Yeah. Lunch gets all rough and rowdy without you.”
“Don’t you like that?”
“I do,” he said with a nod. “But we all like it better with you around.”
“All of you?”
He nodded again. “Yeah. All of us,” he said. “The guys keep asking if we had a fight. They tell me to apologize.”
“But you haven’t done anything wrong.”
He dug his keys out of his pocket. “That’s what I tell ’em, but they keep telling me, the leader of their gang, that I’m too hard-headed.” He shook his head and shoved a key into the lock.
Aoi knew where they were now. “Senpai, this is your apartment, isn’t it?”
He turned to her with a half-smile. “Guess you ain’t been here before.”
“Nope. You’ve never invited me.”
“I haven’t?” Tatsuo stared at the ceiling and thought for a moment. “Guess not. Wow. I’
m sorry.”
Aoi shook her head. “No. It’s okay.”
“No, it ain’t,” he insisted. “You’re always inviting me to your place. And look at me. I don’t even invite you over once.”
Aoi didn’t know what to say. Tatsuo may have had a point, but she didn’t blame him. She hadn’t even thought about this until now. This was how it had been with Hana, Kimi, and Yukiko. They only invited her over on the most special of occasions. This was normal.
He rubbed the back of his neck and hesitated. “Would you like to come in?”
She smiled. “I’d love to.”
Tatsuo held the door open for Aoi, then headed in himself.
“Nice house.” She hoped she sounded genuine. She wished she was. But at least she was being polite.
The truth was much harsher. The floor was littered with clothes, empty containers, dishes, and garbage. It was like a train wreck, but Aoi couldn’t look away.
“It’s a dump,” Mulan said with disgust from inside the gem. Aoi hoped Tatsuo couldn’t hear.
Tatsuo’s beaming smile vanished as he stepped inside. Then he swore under his breath. “Shoulda made sure the place was clean before I let you in,” he muttered.
“It’s okay. I’ll help you clean up.” She was here already. She might as well. She threw some empty cartons into the trash.
“Yeah, I see that,” he said with a grin. He started gathering dirty clothes in a hamper. In a few minutes, he had a small mountain ready to take to the machines.
“You okay if I step out for a sec?” he asked.
Aoi was scrubbing at a mysterious, sticky, purple something that covered part of the kitchen counter. She waved him off and continued her cleaning. He closed the door behind him with a soft click.
Once the stain was removed, Aoi filled trash bags with trash and spoiled food, before cleaning and putting away Tatsuo’s dishes and silverware. Soon, they were placed nice and neat in drawers and cabinets. Mulan took it upon herself to lounge on Tatsuo’s couch, watching Aoi with mild amusement. When Aoi had finished the kitchen, she moved on to the rest of the apartment. Might as well make sure the rest of the place was clean while she was at it.
Before she knew it, it all came to an end. By then, Aoi’s sleeves were rolled up and her forehead was damp with sweat. She curled up under Tatsuo’s kotatsu with a sigh. “All done,” she mumbled. This was not how she’d expected to spend her day.
At least the place looked better now. There was a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom—all simple, all clean. The most advanced thing in the tiny apartment was a faded red desktop computer, plugged in and sitting on the kitchen counter.
This was Tatsuo’s home, and it looked so much better clean.
“At least you’re done now,” Mulan said.
“At least.”
“I must admit, though, it was rather rude of him to leave the cleaning to you.”
Aoi shook her head. “It’s okay. He’s taking care of the laundry.”
“But he’s been gone for quite a while now. Are you sure he hasn’t simply ditched you?”
“I am. Laundry takes a while.” How could Mulan even think something like that? Tatsuo wasn’t like that. He was a nice person.
As if on cue to reinforce Aoi’s words, there was a knock on the door. Aoi had to get on her toes to look out the peep hole, but it was definitely Tatsuo outside.
“Welcome back, Senpai,” she greeted him with a smile.
“Glad to be back.” Under each arm was a basket of laundry, no doubt containing all of the clothes he owned. His overshirt was off—no doubt washed somewhere in one of the baskets—leaving him only in his undershirt. The red gem in his dragon tattoo glittered in the afternoon light.
She stepped out of his way so he could see her work. His eyes widened, either in awe or shock. Maybe both. “You took care of the place real quick,” he said, looking around. “It’s almost like I got a little housewife.”
Aoi’s cheeks burned at the comparison.
Tatsuo froze as a blush crept across his cheeks. “Hey. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like nothing.”
Mulan giggled like a schoolgirl. It was an unwelcome surprise. “My dear Aoi-san, like a little housewife!” Mulan cackled. “I can hear the wedding bells already!”
“Hey! Shut your trap, ghost!” Tatsuo snapped.
Mulan covered her mouth and vanished, but her giggles continued. Aoi wasn’t sure what she found so funny.
“Geez,” Tatsuo grumbled and rubbed the back of his neck. “What a pain. But . . .” He smiled at her. “Thanks for picking the place up, Arisawa.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. “Just keep it clean.”
“I’ll do my best, but no promises.” He turned back to his apartment. “I just feel kinda bad for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was gonna walk you home, but I got angry and led you here instead.”
Aoi shrugged. “It’s okay to be angry.”
“And then you go and clean my place up for me.”
She still didn’t see what the problem was. “But you still did something.”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
Why couldn’t he just be happy the place was clean? They’d worked together. “Senpai . . .” she huffed.
“Sorry, sorry.” He gave a small laugh. “I guess I did help a little. I just wish I coulda done more.”
She shook her head. “It’s not that bad. Nothing I don’t do at home.” Just more of it.
“That’s not it,” he insisted. He ran a finger along the blue ribbon she wore in her hair. The touch was unexpected, but not unwelcome. “We coulda spent lots of time together, and instead you spent your afternoon cleaning.”
But Aoi just smiled at him. She wasn’t upset at all. She didn’t mind. “We can always hang out together,” she reassured him.
“I guess . . .”
“Really.” She took his hands in hers. Blue eyes met maroon hues. “We can hang out this weekend if you want.”
Finally, he cracked a smile. “Sounds good. Where should we go?”
“How about the arcade? We haven’t gone there in a while.”
Tatsuo smiled. “Yeah, sounds great.”
Tatsuo opened his front door and held it open. “C’mon. Let’s get you home before it gets too late. Those punks have been getting worse lately. They even tried breaking into my apartment a few times. Had to double up on the locks.”
Chapter 21
Aoi had never been more excited for the weekend. She liked school fine, but it’d been so long since she’d been to the arcade with friends, especially Tatsuo. A day without training or studying would be just the break she needed.
The following Sunday, Aoi walked down the shady downtown streets with Tatsuo by her side, just like her own personal bodyguard. She felt safe with him there. No one would dare attack her with a strong guy like him looking out for her. He was his usual quiet self as they walked, but his hands fidgeted from his sides to his pockets, like he was nervous. Did he really think the gang situation had gotten that bad down here?
When the arcade came into view, Tatsuo relaxed visibly.
“You look cheerful today.” He gave her small smile.
“Of course I am,” she said. “This is gonna be fun.”
“Yeah. Definitely.” Tatsuo held the door open for her, and Aoi headed inside.
“I hope they’re already here.”
“They?” Tatsuo repeated.
“Yeah.” She turned back to him. “I invited everyone so we could all hang out.”
His tension returned. “What do you mean everyone?” he asked through grit teeth.
“You know,” she replied hesitantly. “Your gang, Nishihara-chan, Tachibana-chan, and Namakabe-kun. We’ve never had the whole group together before. I thought it’d be nice.”
He didn’t say anything. Aoi could feel his seething anger wafting off of him. He stopped nea
r the door as it slammed shut behind him.
Aoi froze by his side as realization set in. Then her head sunk low. “I really messed up, didn’t I, Senpai?”
“No, you didn’t. I just . . .” His brows knit together as his voice trailed off. Tatsuo ran his fingers through his hair, careful not to mess up his signature pompadour.
Aoi chewed at her lip. “You wanted it to be just us.”
He sighed. “I did.”
She wished he would have just said that, if that’s what he’d wanted. She wasn’t a mind reader. She couldn’t know things unless he told her. Too late to correct her error now though. “I really screwed up.” Tears began to blur her vision. “I’m sorry.”
He hesitated, then put his hand on her shoulder. “Arisawa, I should’ve been more specific. I’m sorry.”
She wiped away a few of her tears. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
That was enough for Tatsuo to envelop Aoi in his arms. “Hey,” he said softly. “You’re just fine. I promise.”
Aoi nodded and settled in his embrace. Just as her tears began to die down, the calm was interrupted. She felt eyes on them. Her eyes finally adjusted to the dark, neon-speckled arcade, Aoi raised her head from Tatsuo’s chest to see that there were in fact eyes on them.
Two tables toward the middle of the arcade were full of familiar faces; one with Tatsuo’s gang, the other with their middle school friends and Pocahontas, though only the Linked could see her. For two very different groups of people, they all wore similar expressions: sly smiles, exchanged knowing glances, and one very excited Momoka.
Here they go again. Aoi knew what this looked like. And while she understood why they thought she and Tatsuo were a thing, all things considered, they were still dead wrong. He was just comforting her.
. . . Even if he had wanted this to be a date.
Wait. Did Tatsuo like her like that? She half-turned to him to ask that very question, but remembered their friends were watching and stopped, flushing. She could ask that later, if she found the courage to.
“Hey, guys,” Aoi said hesitantly. “How are you?”
As she spoke, Tatsuo withdrew his arms and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“We’re doing just fine.” Momoka giggled. “We were just wondering when you’d get here.”
Linked: The War of the Gems - Book 1 Page 19