Her Otherworldly Smile (Kyo⨯OC; Yuki⨯OC)

「Chapter 18」

He looks back at Skylar with an innocent gaze, tilting his head. "Did you say something, my dear?"

She smiles warmly. "Nope~" she chimes. "I need to get ready too, though~"

"Make sure to pick something out that'll make Natsuhiko look at you," Shigure says. "If you need help, don't be afraid to ask~"

Her response is a soft snort as she heads up the stairs, making him smile.

—x—

"Kyo~" Kagura sings. "I was so excited about today, I couldn't sleep!"

"Oh, you must be tired. Better go home and take a nap," Kyo says, looking like he might vomit as Kagura gives him a hug.

Yuki sighs, shaking his head, and looks over at Aly. She's not focusing on the cat and boar, though, lost in thought.

"Are you worrying about Skylar?" he guesses.

She laughs uneasily, guilty. "A little," she admits. "She's been pretty tense lately, but she hasn't said anything—just keeps telling me that she's okay, and there's nothing to worry about, which, of course, has me more worried than if she'd just talk to me."

Yuki nods, understanding. "Shigure said something about her getting angry with him yesterday," he mentions, looking at her as the cat and boar continue their back and forth. "Does it have something to do with that?"

Oh, it definitely does. Even if it seems like she and Shigure have come to some sort of understanding about her outburst last night, Aly knows how Shigure is, so she knows how hard it is to hide things from him, especially after Skylar dropped something like that on him. He's observant as it is, but throw something at him he doesn't expect and his observations go up ten fold.

"Maybe," Aly says, not entirely willing to give away how Skylar is just yet. Instead, she sighs again. "I think Skylar's just worried she hurt Shigure's feelings, but he's always smiling, so she doesn't know how to bring it up."

Yuki sighs, looking up at the ceiling of the station. "Someone once told me that Shigure is a lot like the tide: it may touch your feet, but once you reach down to feel it, it's already gone."

Aly keeps her face neutral even though she wants to nod vigorously—it's a perfect comparison.

But, if Shigure's the tide, she thinks, then Skylar's the shore, daring the tide to take her on.

"To me, that's too poetic," Yuki says, rolling his eyes. "He's more like a jellyfish floating in the tide."

Aly laughs.

"Aly~ Yuki~ If we don't leave soon, we'll miss the beginning of the movie," Kagura hollers after them, Kyo still looking like he's dying.

"Oh, right," Aly says, catching up with them.

—x—

"Here, Ha'ri~" Shigure sings, smiling widely at his friend. "Some Valentine's chocolate from me~"

Hatori, in turn, quickly slams the door shut.

Defeated, Shigure slides it open, comical tears running down his face. "Okay, I lied—they're from the girls."

Hatori's eyebrow twitches. Idiot.

"If I say I'm sorry, can I come in?" Shigure continues whining.