ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
═══ MATSUNO CHIFUYU ═══
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
BEING ENGULFED IN THE WARMTH of Chifuyu's apartment felt heavenly. Once the adrenaline had worn off, Akiko had begun to shiver from the cold of the night. Almost instantly after they had stepped inside, Chifuyu had pushed her toward the sofa in the living room and handed her a fluffy blanket to warm herself up. Then, he had disappeared into the kitchen, seconds later the kettle could be heard.
Whilst the boy was preparing a cup of tea for her, Akiko took the time to look around. She felt like an intruder in someone else's house. No one could blame her. She was a stranger inside another stranger's home. Yet the pictures hung up on the walls drew in her attention. Some of them showed Chifuyu as a little boy, some with his family, others with a group of boys — one of those boys happened to be Baji, the ravenette who had taken on Hanma.
Suddenly, Akiko felt guilty. Had she gone straight home, none of them would be in this situation. She was nothing but a bother to these people. All she had done was cause them more trouble. Chewing on her lip, Akiko averted her eyes to the floor.
That was when something petite and furry jumped onto her lap, startling her.
"Huh?"
"Meww"
It was a small black cat. He had climbed onto Akiko's lap, where he now curled up and comfortably licked his paws. Just like that, her thoughts came to a stop and she smiled.
"Hello there," she whispered sweetly. "Who are you?"
At first hesitant, Akiko gently ran her fingers through the cat's fur and once it became apparent that the cat enjoyed it, she didn't hold back.
"Aren't you a real cutie? Yes, you are." A giggle escaped her lips as the cat chewed on her finger.
"I see you've met Peke J." Chifuyu returned with the promised cup of tea. He sat it down on the coffee table before he gave Peke J some cuddles as well. "I'm sorry if he's bothering you."
"Not at all. I'm more surprised that he approached me in the first place," Akiko admitted. "I always felt like animals don't like me very much."
"Well, Peke J has already taken a liking to you," Chifuyu chuckled in response when Peke J jumped out of his arms and settled back down in Akiko's lap.
Warm liquid running down her throat, warming her up from the inside, Akiko let out a sigh of relief. The tea's aroma soothed her senses after the initial shock from before had worn off.
"Hey, uhm ... thank you. For helping me back there. And I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
Standing up from where he had kneeled down to Peke J, Chifuyu smiled softly and shook his head. "You didn't trouble anyone. We would have clashed with Moebius sooner or later. And Hanma loves to play games. He saw an opportunity in you to distract us and he took it."
"Still. I owe you," Akiko retorted stubbornly.
A rosy tint appeared on Chifuyu's cheeks. He seemed to be searching for a response, when his sight fell on your knees and took in the dried blood.
"I'll go grab the first aid kit. You wait here and drink your tea," he instructed, then hurried down the hallway, presumably to the bathroom.
Akiko finished her tea. She focused all her attention on Peke J, playing with the kitten, finding comfort in his presence. Since she was a little girl, Akiko had always wanted a puppy, but her father had always declined it.
'If you want something, you have to work for it. Earn it.'
While he hadn't been wrong, Akiko hated him for it. It was his standard response, almost automated, whenever she would ask for something, until one day she had stopped asking altogether. At some point she had become fed up with constantly being conditioned and compared to her siblings. For the better part of the last year, Akiko had distanced herself from everyone in her family, including her mother, and had learned to depend on herself. Even though she still had Hinata to rely on, she never wanted to be a burden to her best friend. Hence, she barely told anyone about her home life.
Chifuyu returned with the first aid kit. Akiko was about to protest when he kneeled down in front of her, but one look from Chifuyu shut her up instantly.
'He looks cute when he's determined.'
Soon as the thought invaded her mind, Akiko's face heated up. Blushing. She was blushing. And she caught herself staring at Chifuyu's face as he tended to her scraped open knees.
"Ow!" She hissed in pain the second Chifuyu put the disinfectant on.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I should have warned you."
"No. It's alright. It's... it's nice to have someone taking care of me like that," she said hesitantly, shyly.
And mumbling to herself, she scoffed, "Though it's sad that a stranger shows more concern for me than my own family."
If he heard her, he was good at hiding his reaction. Chifuyu appeared unfazed by her words. For a moment, Akiko exhaled in relief, not wanting to explain herself. But at the same time, she felt disappointed when Chifuyu didn't ask about it. Maybe she ought to talk to someone. Not even Hinata knew how terrible she really felt.
"So ... is there anyone you can call to pick you up?"
The question unexpectedly pierced her heart like a dagger.
"My father would kill me if I came home looking like this. And I'm not really in the mood to be yelled at. So no, there's no one I can call."
"Well, if that's the case ..." Chifuyu trailed off, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "I could ask my mum to let you spend the night?"
Akiko's eyes widened. "You would do that for me? But ... I'm a total stranger. Aren't you worried I could, I don't know, steal something or kill you in your sleep?"
"Peke J already ruled out that possibility."
"Eh?"
Chifuyu laughed awkwardly. "You see, Peke J doesn't approach people easily. He's picky about who can pat him. He usually has a sixth sense about people."
"Oh" Akiko glance down at the cat sleeping soundly in her lap. She smiled. "That's nice."
"But I really don't want to overstay my welcome," she added hastily.
In that moment, the front door opened and a middle-aged woman with dark hair and green eyes stepped into the apartment. Her gaze fell upon her son, smiling, but when it drifted toward Akiko she appeared surprised.
"Chifuyu, why didn't you tell me we were going to have a visitor?" Hands placed on her hips, the woman gave Chifuyu a pointed look.
Akiko hurriedly placed Peke J on the sofa and stood up. "It's my fault. I got myself into trouble and your son helped me. Please, forgive me should I cause you any inconvenience." And she bowed.
"It's quite alright. I'm rather happy to hear that my son is a gentleman."
"Mum!" Chifuyu blushed heavily.
"What's your name?"
Akiko stood straight. "Hoshino Akiko. It's a pleasure to meet you, obasan."
"Are you going to stay for dinner?"
Chifuyu cleared his throat. "Actually, I was going to ask if she could sleep over?"
His mother looked surprised. "Are you two involved with each other?"
"No!"
"Mum!"
The woman laughed at the teens' shocked faces.
"My parents wouldn't like seeing me this way," Akiko said. "Chifuyu only wanted to help."
"Well, if that's all there is to it, you can stay the night. But be sure to notify your parents."
Immediately, Akiko bowed again. "Thank you, obasan!"
"Chifuyu, give your friend some comfy clothes to change into. Then I can wash her uniform. And you better change out of that gang uniform before I burn it. I still don't like you being part of this group." Shaking her head, Chifuyu's mother walked into the kitchen.
To escape further embarrassment, Chifuyu grabbed Akiko's hand and hastily pulled her away. Akiko blushed at the sudden skin on skin contact, though Chifuyu was too caught up in his own thoughts to notice her flustered state.
Same as before, Akiko looked around his room curiously, her eyes immediately drawn to the collection of manga on a shelf.
"I didn't peg you for the manga-reading type," she commented, attempting to strike up a conversation. She walked over to the shelf, fingers running across the spine of each manga.
"Eh? Oh, yeah. I like to read those."
"My father would never let me buy any book that had more pictures than words in them," she responded sadly. "Much less a work of fiction. Facts were the only thing he ever cared about. Dreams and fantasies don't have a place in our family."
Momentarily, Chifuyu stopped rummaging through his drawers and glanced at Akiko, noting the melancholy look on her face. "But you're different, aren't you?"
"They certainly don't view me as an equal," Akiko answered. "But enough about me. I don't even know your full name." She turned to him, forcing her lips into a smile.
Resuming the search for a fitting shirt, Chifuyu answered. "It's Matsuno Chifuyu. And you're a Hoshino? Isn't your father a business man?"
"Mhm."
"Sorry," Chifuyu apologized. "I shouldn't have asked."
To that, Akiko didn't respond. Instead, she change the subject of their conversation. "So, that Baji boy. He's your friend, right?"
Pulling out a black t-shirt, examining it, then nodding to himself, Chifuyu placed the item on his bed and went through another drawer for some pants.
"He is. We're also in the same gang. He's my captain."
"You seem to trust each other a lot," Akiko said, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, eyes following Chifuyu's movements. "You followed his order without question. And you left him there to fight Hanma."
At that, Chifuyu looked up and smiled. "I trust Baji-san with my life. He's the strongest person I know. Not even a giant like Hanma could take him down."
"I hope so." She chewed on her lip. "I would hate if he got injured because of me."
"None of it was your fault," assured Chifuyu some seconds later, and he pulled out a pair of light grey sweatpants. "If you want to blame someone, blame Hanma. He's with Moebius. These guys really love wreaking havoc. They don't care about innocent bystanders."
Feeling her heart sink, Akiko said, "So, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, huh?"
"More or less."
With a reassuring smile, Chifuyu handed her the fresh change of clothes and added, "Don't worry about it! They won't bother you again."
'How much I would love to believe that. But luck hasn't been on my side lately.'
"Thank you."
After Chifuyu had showed her to the bathroom to take a shower, he joined his mother in the kitchen to help with cooking dinner. Akiko leaned on the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror, at her somewhat messy mop of hair, her tired amber eyes, and took notice of the bruise forming on her right arm where Hanma had grabbed her. She felt violated and disgusted.
She wasted no more time stripping out of her uniform and hopped in the shower. The hot water scorched her skin, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to wash the night away.
Afterwards, she slipped on Chifuyu's clothes, unable to resist smelling them. They were a little too big on her, although the boy was barely taller than her. It felt odd to wear clothes from a stranger, while at the same time she felt oddly comfortable with it.
Leaving her uniform in the bathroom since Mrs. Matsuno would wash it anyways, Akiko inhaled deeply before she left the bathroom and stepped back into the living room. There she fished her phone out of her backpack and sent her mother a quick message.
Spending the night at Hinata's. Will be back home tomorrow after school.
- Akiko
Spontaneity was something Mr. Hoshino disliked strongly. He had a set plan for everything that was going to happen in his life — and the lives of his children. In any way, Akiko was in for one hell of a lecture when she would come home the next day.