Just finished watching All of Us are Dead on Netflix and it's so good! Haha. New update. Thanks for the comment and votes everyone!
Warning: Cussing. Fluff. Long Chapter.
AKARI WAS pouting like a little kid.
She was puffing her cheeks and her eyebrows drew together as she glared at the tanned-skin boy who was sitting next to her on a swing set. They were hanging out in a play park not far from her apartment right after he fetched her from school with his motorbike. They were the only ones left at the park since it was already getting dark. "I told you not to come to my school, didn't I? You didn't listen!"
"And yet, here you are with me," Izana only said coolly and chugged on the cola that he bought from a nearby vending machine. He was again in his casual wear of plain black shirt, denim jeans, and a pair of sandals.
Akari held on to the rusty-looking chains connected to the wooden swing and scoffed at him. "That's because you bribe me with a taiyaki!" she retorted in disbelief. She had already eaten the three pieces of taiyaki he gave to her earlier. "You're not playing fair, Iza-san!"
Izana pursed his lips into a mischievous smirk. "Ho? How so? Isn't taiyaki your favorite food? You're always asking me for those whenever we met."
She pouted again. "W-well, yeah. It is! Still, I had a feeling you're doing this on purpose!" she vouched. This jerk. He was now turning the tables on her.
He arched an eyebrow. "What makes you think of that?" he asked, acting innocent.
She narrowed her cerulean-blue eyes on him skeptically. "I don't know. Maybe to annoy me more?"
He only snorted a laugh at her reasoning. "If I wanted to annoy you, I have a lot of ways to do it, little shrimp."
Her eyebrow twitched. A vein popped on her temple. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me a shrimp! I'm not a shrimp!" she snapped irritatingly, kissing her teeth. God knows how very short her temper was when it comes to him. They've known each other for over a year now and he still acted so mean to her! Akari can't fully understand his behavior. One time he was nice, then second he became a certified jerk. Cursed his annoying duality! But it's not like she wasn't used to him now. She hated him for always making fun of her, calling her names, and mocking her cute height. Like hey, it wasn't her fault for not being blessed with so much growth spurt! Blame it on her genes! Even drinking cartons of milk every day or praying at the shrine wasn't that very helpful in making her grow taller. She was a late bloomer, alright?
"But that's what you really are," Izana countered mockingly at her. "Your height doesn't even reach my shoulder."
She scrunched her face. Seriously. This guy was a perfect definition of a bonafide 'asshole'. She just pinched her nose, trying to calm her nerves down. This bickering needed an immediate ceasefire or else it will be endless, knowing this egoistic brute. He won't accept defeat that easily. "Why did you come to my school again anyway?" she just questioned, going back to their original topic. Fortunately, there were only a few students at the school gate when he came. Otherwise, they will become the center of attraction again. And it will not be very pleasant.
"Is it now against the law to hang out with you?"
Akari silently rolled her eyes. She forgot how sarcastic his ass was. "What about Kaku-san? Isn't he always with you?"
His answer was short, "he's busy."
Again? "What's he been busy at?" she began to ask with curiosity.
That made Izana snap his eyebrows together and glowered. His mood changed pretty quickly. "Why are you always asking for him?" he only queried back, now annoyed.
Her forehead furrowed in confusion. Why the heck was he getting angry all of a sudden? Was there something wrong with her question? Did Kakucho do something to offend him? "Well, I haven't seen him for a while," she stated in simpleton, trying to lighten this dude's mood swing. "Is it related to your gang business?"
Akari knew Izana was a leader of some gang she didn't recall of and that Kakucho was his trusted right-handed man or 'servant' or whatever shit that was. She too had met some of his subordinates like the Haitani brothers and that muscle gorilla, Mochizuki, whom she just called 'Mocchi-san'. They were kind of nice to her in a way, especially Mochizuki who always gives her candies.
She also saw first-hand how brutal Izana was every time he fought off his enemies. He looked like a merciless maniac, beating their asses until they're at death's door, and that made her scared shitless of him sometimes. She could imagine him as an abusive boyfriend if he ever decided to have a girlfriend. She can only sympathize with the poor girl.
It was just her speculation though. Not that she minded his business.
"Sort of," Izana mouthed his answer to her plainly. He rocked the swing back and forth before jumping off and throwing his empty can to the nearest trash bin. Afterwards, he sauntered over to the jungle gym and started to climb through the metal bars effortlessly until he reached the peak and took a seat there.
Akari only watched him from her swing set. "What are you doing up there?" she asked.
"The view here is great," Izana answered her differently, his feet dangling from the bar. "Wanna come here?"
She stared at the jungle gym for a moment and bit her lower lip. She was a little bit hesitant. She wanted to join him up there yet she can't. She had always tried climbing a jungle gym when she was a little kid only to fall on her butt due to some height issues. Even hanging on monkey bars was very tough for her.
Izana was quick to notice her dilemma. He patted the metal bar and even tried to shake it off, showing her how steady and rigid its build was. "Don't worry. Look, it's safe."
Dude, the stability isn't the real problem here.
She gulped nervously. "Ah, what if I fall?" she questioned nevertheless.
He shook his head. "You won't. Trust me. Now c'mere. I'll help you up," he said, reassuring her. "Just don't look down."
"O-okay. If you say so."
Akari then went to the jungle gym and climbed through the metal bars, trying to imitate what Izana did earlier. As expected, she find it difficult at first thanks to her petite stature but then she started to get the hang of it. She was near the top when her foot slipped from the bar and lost her balance. Good thing, Izana was able to grab hold of her hand or she would've fallen to the ground and injured herself. He pulled her up towards him and didn't let go of her hand quite immediately until she was able to sit safely on the bar next to him. "See, what did I tell you?"
"T-thank you," was the only words that fell from her mouth. Akari subconsciously looked down below and soon regretted her stupid action. She sucked a breath and almost freaked out at how high they were from the ground. She hastily clung to Izana's arm for support. She tightly shut her eyes closed and hid her head on his shoulder. "I-it's too high!" she squeaked shakily.
She heard Izana chuckle. "You just noticed it now? I told you not to look down," he said to her. "Is this your first time up here?"
She only nodded in response.
"You'll get used to it. It's not really that high. Now, let go of my arm and open your eyes, Akari."
She violently shook her head. "No."
He clicked his tongue off. "If you don't do as I say, I might as well push you down," he warned. "You know I'm not as kind as Kakucho is. I have very little patience. And aren't you already big enough to be still afraid of heights?"
She tightened her grip on his arm, ignoring his last question. "Y-you dare try to push me and I'll seriously kick your butt, Iza-san!" she swore. "Let me adjust for at least three minutes, no, make it five, then I'll let go."
"No. Do it on the count of three, you stubborn brat. Or I'll make sure you'll regret it." He started counting, "three..."
She started to panic. "W-wait, Iza-san...!"
"...two..."
"Iza-san...!"
"...one... Time's up, Akari."
Akari had no choice but to reluctantly released his arm and opened her eyes slowly. She bit again her lower lip and tried her best not to gaze down while carefully adjusting her position. She barely moved an inch and her body became rock-solid stiff like a damn fossil as soon as she was done fixing her posture.
Izana was only watching her in amusement and stifled a laugh. "What the fuck are you doing? You looked so stupid."
She shot him a glare. "I-I'm trying my best not to fall here," she hissed.
"You're only making it hard for yourself. You're doing it the wrong way."
"You don't want me to cling to you. What do you think am I supposed to do?"
"Tch. You're so fucking hopeless, you know that?" It was then she felt his arm encircled around her waist and pulled her closer to his body. "There, satisfied?"
Eh?
Akari became flustered at the contact and a flush crept up to her cheeks. "W-what on earth are you doing, Iza-san?!" she exclaimed, her eyes round as she gaped at him. He was close, way too close for her comfort that even her nose was inhaling his manly scent. It was far different from when she clung to his arm earlier. Was it because her fear of heights overtook her system a while ago that's why it was nothing to her?
Akari could feel her heart was beating so fast like there were hundreds of horses racing inside her ribcage due to their closeness. She felt butterflies flying crazily around her stomach. She was left confused. Why was her body acting like this?!? It was just Izana holding her. Something was seriously wrong with her. She thought she might need to see a doctor.
She tried to break free from his grasp because the sensation made her feel extremely uncomfortable, yet Izana only tightened his hold on her waist to stop her from moving.
"Stop squirming, you idiot! Or you rather wanted us both to end up on the ground with broken bones. I'm trying to help you relax here."
But on the contrary, it wasn't helping her at all! It only became worse. God, this guy will be the death of her someday, really!
"Akari, look up," Izana called her attention soon after. He was staring up at the now dark sky since nightfall already descended a few minutes ago.
Akari followed his gaze. There were a bountiful of stars shining brightly across the night sky but something else caught her eye. "Wow! A shooting star!" she blurted out. She immediately clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
"What are you doing?" asked Izana.
"Making a wish," she whispered. "You should also do the same."
"It's only a make-believe."
"Just do it! It doesn't hurt to make a wish, you know," she insisted.
There was silence.
Akari opened an eye to see him mimicking her actions before closing it again and smiling to herself.
"It wasn't like this yesterday with the fireworks show," she began once they finished making their wishes to the fallen star. She was again staring at the beautiful clear night sky. It was a nice view.
"Because it had been cloudy all day," Izana told her in a matter-of-fact tone. "And it rained."
She giggled. "You're right." She cast her head down and was fiddling with her fingers on her lap. The smile on her face faltered. "I hope my wish will be heard somehow."
"What did you wish for?"
She glanced at him. "I can't tell you or it will not come true," she spoke. Then she shifted her blue eyes towards the empty road outside the play park wherein a few streetlights brightened the surrounding pathway. "Or that's what my sister told me."
"You have a sister?"
She nodded, a small smile curled her lips as she reminisced her past. "Her name's Misaki and she's a few years older than me."
"And your parents?"
She shook her head. "They died before I turned four and barely remembered them. I only saw their faces through photographs and hear their stories from my sister. Onee-chan was actually the one who brought me up. She managed a little cafe shop our parents previously owned back in Shibuya."
Izana was only quiet while listening to her story.
She continued, "almost everyone in school bullied me at that time since I'm an orphan. I always went home ended up all bruised and Onee-chan will usually scold me for not defending myself. So she trained me some basic skills in fighting for self-defense."
"I don't think what you did to that shitty bastard Ikeda was just 'basic self-defense'," Izana pointed out. He was pertaining to that particular day when she met him and Kakucho for the first time.
She chuckled lightly. "Oh, you think so?" She breathed a sigh. "Anyway, my sister died as well when I was 10. She's the only one I had and yet she also left me. I... never felt so alone... That's why my dad's younger brother decided to take me in since none of our other relatives would like to have another burden like me. They're like my family now."
"I see..."
She frantically waved her hands at him upon realizing she was talking too much. "Oh, I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have told you about my sad biography. Hehe." She rubbed her nape sheepishly. "I'm just ruining the mood."
"No, it's alright. I also have no one. I grew up in an orphanage together with Kakucho."
She blinked at him. "What? Really?" She didn't know about that. Of course, Izana wasn't the type of person who would blabber his life story to anyone.
His expression was blank. "Yeah. My mother abandoned me. She told me I was adopted and only took care of me because of my dead father who I never knew."
That made her heart clench and felt sorry for him. "But you have an older brother, right? You even introduced me to him when we were still back in Shibuya the previous year." She remembered his name was Shinichiro, the guy who loves to smoke and the owner of a motorbike shop.
She noticed Izana's jaw tightened and averted his gaze from her. "I thought he was. But it turned out he wasn't. He lied to me. I felt betrayed."
Akari saw the anger and pain in his orchid orbs. "Iza-san..." She wanted to console him but she doesn't know how. She can't find the right words to say to him. She was about to open her mouth when something unexpected happened.
GRRRRROOOOWWWWLLLLLL~
Both of them froze.
Holy shit.
Akari wanted to vanish into thin air. Her whole face became red as a damn tomato. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. That was the sound of her stomach rumbling. For crying out loud, why the heck now?!?
"Pffffttt...! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Izana burst out laughing. "What the fuck, Akari?!"
"S-shut up!" she spat and hid her reddened face with her hands. She thought of digging a hole on the ground right now and burying herself six feet under. THIS WAS SO FUCKING HUMILIATING!!!
The bleach-blonde teen continued to laugh so hard like it was the end of the world. His laughter filled the entire play park. "You've already eaten three taiyakis and you're still this hungry?" he said in between laughs. "Damn, that was really hilarious. How much of a glutton are you?"
Akari never felt so ashamed in her entire life. She lifted her head and scowled at him. "S-stop laughing already, you jerk! I'm now dying of embarrassment here!"
"Sure is. Your dumbass is funny." His laughter piped down when he saw her on the verge of tears. "Fine, I won't laugh anymore. You looked as if you're about to cry." He released his hold from her waist and took her hand instead. "Let's go jump down and grab something to eat downtown."
Her brain was loading. Wait, what?
Before she could say anything, Izana hop down from the bar without a warning while pulling her along with him, making her yelp in surprise.
Thoughts? It's actually rare for Izana to call Akari by her name :)