_Chapter 60~ Rejected_

       "Are you feeling any better?"

        "Not really," Satoru bluntly responded, fiddling with the bandages encasing his fingers, and even arms.

I lightly frowned as I flopped down onto his bed beside him. After finishing up with that whole game, we decided to head over to his house where I'd helped him with wrapping his injuries.

Ignoring the awkwardness that came with it, I gingerly scooped up his hand, bringing it upwards. Satoru allowed me and I ran my thumb overtop of it.

"You have to be more careful next time," I said, studying it. His hands really were much bigger than mine. And yet I loved just how perfectly they fit into mine.

"Can you be saying that when you're the one that's worried me countless times in the past?" Satoru responded.

I was unable to refute to that. Regardless, a wry smile danced upon my lips. "Yeah... thank you for looking out for me all the time, Satoru. I owe you a lot." Bringing the back of his hand to my lips I gently kissed his fingers. "So feel better soon, okay?"

Satoru was wide-eyed as I withdrew. Timid, I casted my gaze to the ground but soon gathered the courage to meet his gaze.

"So nowhere else is hurting you?"

"W-well, now that you mention it... my cheek really hurts too," he mused, blinking almost pleadingly. Skeptical, I rose an eyebrow. He faintly added, "Ouch?"

A snort ripped through me. Rolling my eyes, I gave in and leaned over to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Ow, ow. My lips."

I squinted my eyes a bit as I inched away. An amused smile upturned my lips. "Seriously?"

Satoru nodded rather eagerly. "Yes— ow. It hurts even to talk. Ouch."

I laughed at his childishness.

"Then maybe I should..." As I leaned closer, Satoru shut his eyes right away. I further tittered as a result. A smirk took its place on my face as I grabbed hold of the bag of ice on his nightstand and instead of doing what he wanted, I thrust that towards his lips.

Satoru recoiled, lurching backwards. He was pleasantly surprised that I hadn't followed through with his ideal—his rapid blinking and high eyelids was proof of that—and I couldn't stop the rain of snickers from leaving me.

"Feeling better now?"

Satoru frowned a bit, touching his mouth and gazing at me sourly. "You could've played along."

"I have no obligation to," I replied. "Do your lips even hurt?"

"A bit now that you smacked me with that bag of ice...."

"Hey, I was trying to help," I defended with a laugh.

       "And how is hitting somebody who's injured supposed to 'help' them?"

       "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." I again rolled my eyes as I poked up head out to face his. "C'mon, don't hold this against me."

        "Hmm," he hummed, avoiding my gaze. "Maybe if you follow through with it I'll forgive you."

        "What? But that's... Don't be a cheapskate! Why do I have to...."

        Seeing how Satoru's spirits dropped like a downhearted puppy, my heart clenched. "No, I get it," he went on to mumble. "You agree with your brother about me being bad news and that I shouldn't be allowed to kiss you. That's why you don't want to concern yourself with some orange-haired hooligan like me...."

        "Oh, c'mon, Satoru! Stop guilt tripping me with a face like that. It's not fair," I breathed. "I already told you that wasn't it. He needlessly exaggerated."

      Satoru lifted his head a fraction. "So it is fine we're together?"

       "Perfectly!" I responded. Drumming my fingers against my lap, I bit the inside of my cheek. "Don't tell me this why you want to dye your hair?"

       Satoru hurriedly shook his head. "No, I've wanted to dye it for awhile," he refuted. "I've spent enough of my life being an orange and decided it's about time I move on."

       My lips quirked upwards as I studied his hair, and the visible black strands poking out from his roots. I heaved a sigh, "This'll be very disappointing."

       "I've already made up my mind," Satoru enunciated. "No matter what you say I'm dying it."

      "Even if I add in a please?"

      "Even if you do," Satoru went along.

      "Aww."

       Satoru cocked a brow, stifling a smile. "I thought you for one would be happy about this. Haven't you always been intimidated by the colour?"

       "But I've always known you with orange hair," I reasoned. "I don't think I'm ready to move on."

       "Funny."

      My grin matched his. Satoru chuckled. Kind of cutely, actually. Snaking his hand behind my neck, he pulled me close to him without hesitation. Before our lips could meet, he halted.

      "What?" I murmured.

      "You don't... mind, right?"

      Staring into his eyes, my eyebrows knitted together. "You have to ask?"

      "I don't want to force you, especially considering last time," he confessed, gaze skimming our proximity. "...But I do want to kiss you."

       My heart melted a bit at his cuteness. "You're thinking too much," I told him. "I don't care what my brother has to say about anything concerning us. You can kiss me whenever."

       "And I... can hold your hand too?"

      Fighting back an eye roll, for emphasis I slipped my hand through his uninjured one. "Yes."

      A small smile curved his lips. "Sorry," he said, caressing his thumb over the back of my hand. "I'm still new to all this. I don't know what I should do most of the time."

      "And you think I know?"

      "The 'All-Knowing' Reina doesn't?" he asked in feigned shock.

      "Surprisingly," I played along. "So are we going to kiss or not? I think we only have about five minutes before I have to go meet with Aki."

      Satoru's face dimmed. "Until recently I wouldn't have approved of that."

      "Yeah because you're surprisingly possessive."

      "Because I care about you," Satoru said, connecting our foreheads. "But I just have a bad feeling. He's been acting strangely."

      I blinked. Wait, Satoru noticed too?

      "I mean, I am grateful," he went on. "Instead of wandering around like before he's been coming home more often this past week or so. Granted, he does shut himself up in his room, but he's even warmed up a bit to our step-mom."

      As he spoke, it was obvious he was content. Seeing that made me happy as well. "Aki's a good person," I said after a pause.

      Satoru sucked in a tentative breath. "Well...."

      "You're his brother. What do you mean 'well....'"

Satoru chuckled. "I know he is 'good.' Great, even. But he's always found it hard to open up and get close to people, and it's the reason he may come off the way he does. But, I'm glad things are changing."

I bobbed my head, understanding that aspect a lot now. Looking back, I had been so terrified of him in the beginning but it turned out he was truly misspoken after all. Like Satoru. "You guys really are brothers."

"I was under the impression you were aware of that already," Satoru responded in confusion.

"But now it's hit me in a different light. You two are eerily similar."

"No we're not. I'm better and you know it."

Feigning disgust, I backed away from him. Satoru laughed once more, but kept me entrapped so that I couldn't escape him. He quickly kissed me, as gently as always—as if I were delicate. My heart felt all fluttery for some reason and the tingly sensation in my stomach wasn't helping as he only continued overlapping our lips.

"Senpai, it's almost our turn to hang out...."

Both Satoru and I parted to find Aki standing by the doors, jaw dropped in utter shock.

"Wh-wh-wha..." He couldn't form the words. "Ew!"

Satoru's head dropped in disappointment. "Interrupted again?"

I could only smile to fight back the reddening of my cheeks.

"You're supposed to be injured, Aniki! What the hell are you doing to Senpai?" Aki demanded. He stomped up to us, grasping me by the arm and yanking me to my feet. I was behind him before I could realize what was happening. "You can leave first, Senpai. I'll handle this idiot!"

Satoru reached out and secured his hand around mine. "Aki, you have no right to interfere! I still have a few more minutes with her!"

"I don't care," Aki snapped. "I for one wouldn't make out with her out of nowhere!"

"I made sure to ask for her permission!" Satoru defended rather cutely.

Aki didn't look convinced, nor happy. Reaching into his pocket, he whipped out his cell phone which displayed the time. "Eight o'clock. Officially my turn," he declared, unlatching Satoru's fingers around my hand and leading me out the doorway.

      I didn't have the opportunity to say anything before the door to Satoru's bedroom door slammed shut behind me.

*            *          *

      Aki tapped his fingers against the mug of hot cocoa he held—identical to the one he had made for me—kicking his legs out on the balcony we were on. He had taken me to his bedroom which surprisingly had a compartment like this leading out from his window. The entire platform was scattered with cool contraptions and his prank-related stuff but disregarding the wintry breeze, it was a nice night to be out like this.

      I turned up my head, staring at the few stars already exposed in the sky. Even ten minutes of sitting here the quiet was hard to speak through considering I didn't have any idea of what to say. He'd been surprisingly angry after walking in on us and hadn't said a word since. Should I apologize then? For what? Satoru was my boyfriend. Why should I feel guilty about kissing him?

My mind was swimming for a way to break the silence. Another zephyr of the cold air surged through and it took no time at all for me to shiver. Goosebumps arose on my arms. I had taken off my coat earlier when I came and left it in Satoru's room. Great, I should've brought it...

As I rubbed my arm in a way to create heat, Aki finally shifted his attention towards me. He frowned straightaway.

"Sorry, it's a little chilly out, huh?" Aki spoke up. Reaching over, he scooped up his coat he'd grabbed from his room before coming out here and extending it towards me.

I tensed up and waved my hand. "Oh no, I'm fine."

"Just put it on."

I timidly held his smouldering gaze, pressing my lips together. We stared like that for a bit before I concurred in defeat. Taking his coat, I threw it over my shoulders and gave him a look afterwards. Aki, content, finally made the action of moving. He rose his mug towards his lips and took a sip.

As soon as another silence flitted into the air, I pushed down all awkwardness and started, "Aki—"

"Aniki really is lucky," he said, drawing the mug away from his mouth. "Being able to kiss you like that...."

Instantly, my cheeks burned in embarrassment. His eyes moved to lock with mine, only making me recoil. In an act to distract myself, I attempted gulping down my hot cocoa. Though, it shouldn't have even come as a surprise when I automatically burnt my tongue. Hissing in pain, I drew back and unappealingly fanned my tongue.

Aki broke out into a laugh at my situation, succeeding in flustering me more. With honest amusement, he scooted closer to me and leaned over my mug, blowing at it to cool it down. "You need to start using common sense, Senpai."

"Sorry," I apologized, bashfully closing my mouth. I took over and blew on it myself. "I know it's in there somewhere, but...."

Chuckling, Aki lightly brushed my shoulder with his arm. "Seriously, you're always off in your own world, and I can never figure out what you're thinking. It worries me a lot y'know."

I shifted my gaze towards a smiling Aki but his smile right now was different from all his others. His eyes were basically twinkling—radiating small traces of joy, and yet regret.

It was exactly how it was before we left the park. "Aki...?" I carefully asked.

Without paying my confusion much heed, Aki's fingers glided and brushed aside my hair from my eyes. My body went stiff, especially when his lighthearted expression altered to a more solemn one.

"If... I had been born two years earlier, maybe I'd have a shot, huh?" His voice had barely surpassed a whisper. He fingers dropped from my hair and found its way to my face, cupping my cheek. "And instead of treating Aniki like he's your world, you'd be transfixed on me... How cute would that be? Just imagining it makes me so happy...."

His eyes dropped down to meet mine. They speedily shrunk back as if in sudden realization. With much haste, Aki grabbed the hood of his large coat I was wearing and flung it over my eyes. I nearly dropped my drink as a result and I grasped for it with my free hand to pull it back.

"Hey, what's the big idea—"

Aki's hand fastened over mine, keeping it still and over my eyelids. "No, don't," his voice pleaded. He grunted in disbelief. "Great, this is bad; I'm starting to have fantasies with my brother's girl...!"

Fantasies...? Peeking through the crack of his hood, I saw a red-eared Aki with his face implanted in his free hand. My eyelids shot up in astonishment when I realized he was blushing. But... why? Fantasies? With... me?

It was as if I were struck by lightning, how it hit me. My heartbeat heightened in my ears, my hand falling by my side. Sure the idea that had formed in my head seemed ridiculous, but it also was the most plausible. His odd words and behaviour—all of it—had pointed towards this. And I didn't even realize it.

"Do you..." My lips parted and closed, suddenly unable to find the words. You're going crazy, I tried to tell myself. This was Aki I was talking about. The second in command to the most feared delinquent! To somebody like me...there was no way he felt....

"Yes, I like you," Aki confessed, shooting right at the bullseye. He compressed his face further in his hands. "I like you a lot, Senpai. So damn much. It's ridiculous how much, dammit."

Though Aki typically joked around about stuff like this, for some reason I was stunned into silence. It seemed so true. No, it made sense for it to be. Aki really....

"I thought these feelings were easy to hide and get rid of if you were knowledgeable enough, but all the books I've read aren't working. You're seriously all I think about, my heart races incredibly fast to the point where I can't think straight when you're near... And the more I learn about you, the more I end up finding you endearing... Why? This is all so weird." Aki peeked a glance my way and gasped once he saw I had raised the hood. He flushed as red as his hair in embarrassment, flinging out his arms and covering my eyes yet again. "Agh, don't look at me yet! This is embarrassing as heck admitting this! Why am I even saying this? See what you do to me!"

He began fanning himself with the collar of his shirt. My heart sensed as if it weighed a ton in my chest. Carefully, my lips clamped together. "Aki," I began.

"I know," Aki cut me off, pausing as he stared up at the starry night sky. "I came to understand very damn well. That even though I'm saying all this, it's impossible. Still... my heart hurts when I see you two together. I'm happy for my brother, don't get me wrong. He's got the best girl head over heels for him. But I just—I wish it were me... I'm a despicable human being for thinking such a thing, huh? But I can't help it. I did approach you at first because I wanted to get Aniki mad but I only ended up understanding why he was so fond of you.

"Although everyone told you to stay away from me, you stayed, and you worried about me a lot, too. More than anyone else. If I wasn't wearing a smile, you'd make me smile. You'd want me to be happy. I love that caring side of yours, Senpai.

"After my dick of a dad and my step-mom got married, I buried myself away and stayed away from home because everything had felt so suffocating. I began reading a lot because it was my escape. Memorizing information about people came afterwards, but even as I grew up people only viewed me as a freak for being so damn smart. And they constantly wanted to manipulate me; help them cheat on tests and get off scratch free, ruin other peoples' lives for revenge, give them advantages to win fights... I remember almost being tricked into doing illegal hacking in elementary because I was a gullible idiot who continuously fell for my classmates lies. They had told me they admired me as a person and wanted to be my friend... I'm such an idiot for falling for that rubbish, huh?"

I was fixed on the linings of the thick slots of the balcony my legs passed and hung from. In five short minutes, every fibre in my body felt needlessly heavy, as if a weight had dropped in my gut.

Cracking a wry smile, Aki leaned back on his palms. "The reason... why I follow Raidon is because he beat up those very guys when I got caught and suspended. Pretty stupid of me, huh? But...it meant a lot. Back then everything was so dark and hopeless, and Raidon's gesture seemed to tell me that even if we were both freaks and outcasts to the world, I could still belong. Plus, when I enrolled at his middle school, I had a bunch of crazy fun with him, Aniki and Koshiro... But even that ended up falling through my fingers—all because of me." Aki produced a choked laugh, facing me with a strained grin. "I don't know why I'm suddenly rambling, ha ha. You must not care, right? Why would you? This is me, the freak of a troublemaker who's needlessly pestered and annoyed you time and time again."

Tracing circles on the mug in my hands, I frowned to myself, contemplating my words. Bringing my lips together, I shook away all my hesitation and swivelled to him. "I'm seriously glad I met you, Aki!"

Aki's stiffened, clearly not expecting my shout. I advanced forward, not faltering. With almost bug-eyes, Aki's tense shoulders due to our proximity had shown he was left speechless for once.

"Like I already told you earlier today, I think you're amazing, and I can't thank you enough for constantly helping me out!" I went on. Frowning, I swallowed hard. "I do admit in the beginning I was scared of you—the third most feared delinquent in the city was approaching me after all—but now is different. I know you better now. Even if you classify as a troublemaker, you're unbelievably thoughtful and caring... I had the wrong conception about you this entire time.

"Even if... other people may try to exploit you based on your talents in the future and you may feel alone again, you can trust me okay? I mean every word I said! If it made you happy that I wanted to make you smile and stayed with you, and also that I worried about you... I'll always be sure to do it! Okay?"

After gawking for a good amount of time, Aki's eyelids fluttered rapidly. I breathed in and out, hit with insurmountable embarrassment for screaming something like that at him, but I had meant every word. And I wanted to repay him. This entire occurrence—I couldn't look at it only through the eyes of Satoru, or even Miyabi. Aki also did everything he did for a reason, and regretted things just the same.

All this time, maybe he just couldn't feel a place of belonging and hated the idea of being left behind.

Without warning, a unwarranted snort erupted from Aki. He broke out into a sudden laugh, seeming slightly hysteric.

My mouth fell, heat crossing my cheeks. "What's so funny...?"

"No, it's not it's not that it's funny," Aki replied, stifling back his chuckles. Smiling a genuine smile, Aki stared down at me, almost adoringly. "Thank you, Senpai."

My body froze. It had been the second time Aki had ever smiled in such a manner. I was used to seeing his smirk but with this, I was assured: his wholesome smile right now suited him so much more.

It caught me off guard when Aki took advantage of our distance. My eyebrows elevated on my face as he once again angled his face down towards me.

His eyes were already pooled with tears. "Damn," Aki cursed, "it hurts so much right now. You're wasting a space in your heart already caring for me and yet here I am wishing I could have all of it for myself. Should I try to sweep you off your feet? But my brother deserves you more...."

The lump in my throat made it hard for me to speak. I couldn't meet his eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

Aki didn't seem too dejected by my response. Sighing heavily, he backed away and breathed out, "At least tell me I have a shot...." He shook his head, ridding the idea. Turning up his head, he once again eyeballed the beautiful sky. "Treat my brother well, okay? He really does love you; trust me, I've never seen the guy so happy before. Ever since we were babies he was always sacrificing and acting tough for me, even if it was paining him more than anyone else. He does deserve you more than I do so please never hurt him; he's been hurt enough already. Okay?"

"I planned on that anyway," I informed him, keeping my smile. "I have unintentionally hurt him in the past, and I still regret the things I've said and done to him. Still, I owe Satoru so much. And after everything he's done and continues to do for me, there's no way I can think of repeating it. I never want to hurt him again."

"Satoru, huh?" Aki drawled as he rocked back and forth on his palms. "Wow, he's seriously tough. I don't know if I'm capable of accepting my birth name again... but I guess the reason he was able to is you. You work miracles, Senpai, I tell you."

I timidly tittered. Aki rotated to face me.

"But, Senpai... I have one last request since you rejected me," he declared. He slanted his body the slightest, meeting my eyes. "Can I no longer... be your kouhai?"

My eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"I-I..." Aki fumbled for words, and shook his head. "I've always wanted to call you 'Reina.' Can I...?"

Staring into his eyes, countless emotions enveloped me. Considering how measly this request was in contrast to how much I actually wanted to give him but couldn't, a warm smile couldn't help but plaster upon my face. The first time we met he went ahead and called me that without permission, too. He really has changed from then.

Gently flicking his forehead, I ascended to my feet. "Knock yourself out."

Aki's countenance brightened considerably, dismissively touching the spot. "Reina," he called out.

My body went rigid.

"Reina," he repeated again, practically beaming. "Reina... Reina, Reina!"

"Stop repeating it! I'll take back what I said!"

Aki merely laughed at my shyness. I breathed out loudly in response, whipping my head left and right.

Seriously... These brothers would be the death of me.

The vibration of my phone against my thigh snatched my focus. Blinking, I reached into my pocket and fished it out. What was waiting to greet me was a message, and as soon as I saw who the sender was, my breath had been successfully knocked out of me. Rattled, I gaped at the notification, and my phone nearly slipped through my fingers.

Ignoring the shakiness of my limbs, I gulped hard. Why was he messaging me? Why now? What did he want from me?

Before I came to terms with what I was doing, my curiosity had consumed too much of me I was clicking upon the notification to see what it had written.

From: Daichi 👓

>>> Hey, I was hoping we could talk. I have something important to tell you. I'll be waiting for you at the local park until midnight. See you there?

__________________________

Oh no... What will Reina do? :o

Anyway, I know, I know—poor Aki! :( Hopefully I made it obvious Aki had a crush on her in the previous chapters haha. Well, since these past couple chapters had endless cheese I needed to somehow balance it out, so what more than finding means of some closure for Aki's unrequited love and the addition of some spicy drama?

What do you think Reina will do next chapter? Will she go see him? And what in the world does Daichi want to tell her?

-Misty