Promise to Sirius (An Utapri / Uta no Prince-sama Fanfiction)

Chapter 5: Your Words

Ai Mikaze

Ai gazed out of the glass window, staring at the clear autumn blue sky. He was the only passenger on Quartet Night's white van, on the way to Reiji's apartment, which, according to his calculations, he would arrive in front of in approximately 6-7 minutes. The occasional swaying of the van reminded Ai of mood swings, of how the emotions of human beings could be extremely unpredictable and had the ability to flicker and switch from one to another, like a pendulum.

Unpredictable, Ai thought, the word ringing inside his head. Like Natsuki and Reiji.

Ai looked down at his empty chest.

And the 2nd most unreadable Starish member... Masato Hijirikawa.

"So here are Shinomiya's duffel and luggage bags packed by Ittoki, Kurusu and myself, all filled with his personal belongings."

Masato handed the bags to Ai, who lifted the luggage bag with his left hand and slung the duffel bag over his right shoulder. They were in front of the towering black gates to Shining Academy. Camus and Ranmaru were having dance practice in the dance studio, while Ai had stopped by Shining Academy to pick up Natsuki's belongings. Ai nodded briefly and thanked Masato and stepped up onto the white van with Natsuki's belongings in his possession.

"Mikaze-senpai."

Ai turned to Masato. "Yes?"

Masato gave him a small smile. "Thank you for helping Shinomiya last night."

Ai shook his head. "That was mostly Reiji."

"But Kurosaki-san told me that all of you got out of the van and were concerned about Shinomiya, and I am grateful for that."

Masato smiled lightly.

"So thank you, Mikaze-senpai, for being there for him."

"Being there for him"...

Ai replayed the 4 words inside his head and lowered his eyes. That particular action was also meant to involve emotions and Masato had stated that Ai, who did not have the human heart necessary to contain any true emotion, had been there for Natsuki last night along with the rest of Quartet Night. Ai remembered simply nodding and saying bye to the Starish member afterwards, before taking a seat in the van and leaving Shining Academy. Masato could be the most seemingly-calm and stoic person in one moment and say kind, sincere words that warmed others' hearts in another. Knowing that he was the only passenger in the van and the driver was busy, Ai placed a hand over his empty chest, in which he had detected a strange tinge of something that he could not seem to describe while thinking about Masato's words, when one particular word that he could not comprehend appeared inside his head.

Warm...

"We're almost there, Mikaze-san."

"Okay."

Ai nodded and looked out the front window. Less than 1 minute left until their arrival at the destination. But Ai was not as interested in the calculations or the time nearly as much as he was in what he had failed to comprehend from time to time: the fact that his chest, which was supposed to be hollow, had been having certain things that could have easily been classified as emotions, if not for Ai's status as a non-human being. Pain. Strangeness. Sorrow. Especially pain. And the events of last night had only made the unexplained occurrences even more frequent, and Natsuki and Reiji had been especially involved in doing just that. As the van pulled over to a stop in front of Reiji's apartment, Ai got up, took Natsuki's bags, and walked down the aisle, images of the two boys pulsating in his head like the heartbeat that he could never own, that he was never meant to have. Although Ai could not exactly call those two "friends" or say for certain that he cared about either of them despite Shining Saotome's words, he did find himself hoping deep inside of him that they were doing fine.