───── ❝ coming so close ❞ ─────
『 emei chiba 』
So crowded...
Emei thought she'd let go of Karma's hand once they made it out of the train station, but when she noticed how densely packed the festival was, she ended up sticking close to her redheaded companion.
The festival was wonderful.
A warm wind circled all around the festival street as colorful lanterns and fairy lights twinkled in the sunlight.
Smells of festival fried foods waft into the air. Kites of all shapes and colors traveled across the cloudless sky as the chants of joyful children played.
All of these good vibes didn't fail to brighten Emei's poor mood as she took another sip of her honey lemon tea. She held the bamboo cup in one hand, and Karma's in the other.
Her normally bored and tired expression seemed to change when she spotted a game stall with large stuffed animals hanging above as prizes.
"Karma-kun." She stopped, squeezing his hand with a small blush.
The raven-haired girl pointed a finger toward the game stall and suggested they go play after she finished her drink.
"Shurrs. We ghou der affer," Karma said through a full mouth of yakitori.
"Woaaa~" The excitement on Emei's face was undoubtedly subtle, but it was enough to give Karma the hint that she wanted to win the giant bunny from the shooting range game.
She hopped on either foot, excited to play.
Karma lazily dragged himself and dug in his pocket for his wallet.
"Here. If you can win the bunny in one try I'll carry you home~" He smirked, gripping onto the money when Emei tried to take it.
Unamused, the listless girl yanked the cash and handed it to the stall owner, determined to beat the (usually rigged) game.
"Only if my feet hurt by then."
Emei picked up the toy gun━a nice replica of the rifles she handled during school━and got into a decent stance, aiming it towards the metal cans about 4 meters away.
Karma paid for 10 shots, so if she was able to knock down 7 cans, she could win any prize she wanted.
The girl squinted one eye, focusing on the blue can in the middle, and pulled the trigger.
Clonk!
A wooden pallet launched out of the gun's mouth and hit the rim of the can, sending it down.
"I did it." She exclaimed dully, turning to look at Karma, who gave her an approving nod.
"Do it seven more times, short stack."
Emei yawned into her hand and aimed once more, pulling the trigger. This time, she missed by an inch.
Shock.
The girl pouted, the color drained from her face as she dropped the gun, trudging to the taller boy beside her.
She bumped her head into his chest, mumbling sadly.
"Can you do it? Please..."
Karma snickered, pushing her back, and dropped the rifle in her hands again.
"I'll help you. These guns suck anyway." He sent the nervous stall owner a cocky smile━having noticed how surprised he was that Emei was able to land her first shot.
"I noticed that the recoil of this gun is early. It moves the barrel slightly upwards before the bullet can come out. So let's change your stance."
Karma moved behind Emei slowly, coming so close his chest and her back were touching. His hands snaked up Emei's arms, hovering over her finger and the trigger. His other hand held her shoulder, helping her relax and lower herself.
When Karma was satisfied with her posture, he whispered in her ear quietly; his breath brushed against Emei's ear causing her to squirm for a second.
"Fire."
Clank!
A red can from the bottom shelf fell from its spot.
"G-Good job!" The stall owner clapped awkwardly. A sweatbead ran down his cheek.
Karma took the rifle from Emei, guiding her aside, and held it out with one hand. He balanced the back of the rifle on his forearm and aimed at the top shelf.
Clank!
Clank!
Clank!
Five cans down. Two more to go and they can win the prize. He spun the rather light weapon in his hand skillfully, aiming again.
"You're so cool..." Emei whispered.
Unbeknownst to her, it was the motivation Karma needed to land the last two cans with ease, two bullets to spare.
"Alright!" He smirked. "Give me that one, sir."
The astonished stall owner snapped out of his frozen trance and climbed his step ladder to retrieve the prize.
He tossed a giant pink bunny to Karma and congratulated him for winning.
"Here you go, m'lady." Karma presented the plushie, sparkles filling his background.
Emei hugged the stuffed animal with a giddy hum. Thanking Karma for winning it for her.
"So...Are you still mad at me?" He asked, peeking over the bunny.
Emei's childish eyes narrowed at him. "Yes."
"Ouch..." He sighed, feeling an arrow pierce his chest. "I guess I'll have to win you more prizes huh?"
Emei paused, trying to hide her excitement for more plushies by looking down. She scanned the area until another stuffed animal caught her interest.
She grabbed Karma's hand and pointed at a blue penguin in the distance. It belonged to a softball throwing game. "I want that one."
Karma's lips formed a confident line, taking the first step to the stall. "Of course, anything for your forgiveness."
Emei took a crunchy bite of her candied apple, admiring Karma in awe as he flipped a royal flush in a small game of poker, dumbfounding the stall owner into giving him a limited edition sonic ninja figurine.
"Thanks, old man!" He cackled, grabbing Emei's hand and their wagon of prizes to dash away before the stall owner could bet anymore.
The young friends kept themselves entertained. With a zigzag pattern in an anime-style timelapse, they were winning prizes left and right, each time leaving the festival stall owners to weep. Their faces were painted with laughter and conversation, signs of a healing bond.
Emei held onto Karma's hand comfortably, having grown adjusted to it in the past hour. While she didn't want to admit it, she thought they were meant to fit this perfectly.
Karma couldn't disagree if he read her mind. He was undoubtedly enjoying himself, knowing he was slowly winning her back━for real this time. He couldn't even care for a second that the money in his pocket was being drained like tap water.
He had more on his debit card (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞
"Where'd you learn to play poker?" Emei took a final bite of her sweet treat, tossing it into a bin.
"Ritsu taught me." Karma cracked his knuckles while shrugging.
"you're so impressive..." Emei mumbled.
A finger touched her chin, guiding it up to peer into Karma's mercury gaze. A boyish grin formed on his face. "You think so?"
Normally, with other people, he'd reply with something cocky like "tell me something I don't know," but with her it was different. Every compliment made him flutter on the inside.
She flinched, heat rose to her cheeks, but her expression remained indifferent. "Mhm."
Before Karma could wallow in her praise, a familiar feminine voice called out to them.
"Hey, you two!"
Two heads whipped around to see, in the distance, a head of green and strawberry blonde jogging closer.
"Rinka. Ryu-chan." Emei met her cousin and friend in the middle. "You two on a date?"
Hayami raised both her hands shaking in embarrassment. "N-No! I mean...Something like that..? Haha?"
Ryunosuke stayed quiet.
Chiba really tried to have a fun time with Hayami. He tried. He really did.
But he couldn't match her ecstatic energy when he glanced over and saw Emei and Karma a few stalls down.
Karma was sharing his takoyaki with her and even going as far as blowing on the doughy ball and feeding it to her. She was smiling, happy, and definitely ready to forgive him.
And once again when they happened to be in the same area. He saw him guide her face with so much ease.
He couldn't bring himself to forget about how she cried that night on their vacation. Not as fast as Hayami forgot about it.
Of course, he insisted that she talk to Karma and make things up with him, but in reality. He was anxious.
Chiba never trusted Karma. Sure, he noticed how he was a changed boy the more time he spent with Emei. But all of that was reset to square one when Emei cried and confessed that she was ghosted.
The memories of her old friend flashed in his mind.
He didn't want to seem like he was being an overbearing, overprotective sibling. That wasn't his job. But growing up, she was technically his only friend, she technically only came to him for company.
So he sometimes felt left out when Karma practically showed up and wisped her away.
Chiba thought Emei was a little naive for letting herself be comfortable around the redhead so quickly. He knew Karma was trying to apologize, but how much of that apology was genuine?
"Hello? Ryunosuke." Hayami's voice snapped him out of his staring.
"Sorry." He sighed.
Hayami glanced past his shoulder and understood why he suddenly became quiet.
She leaned in and pecked his cheek, causing the boy to take steps back, his face a 50 shades of red mess.
"W-what was that for??" He held his face nervously.
Hayami beamed and took his hand. "Stop worrying. I know you don't trust him, but you were the one who encouraged her to talk to him. So let things play out naturally. If he's truly a good guy, we'll get a good report from Em soon. Okay?"
"I'm just a little worried. Y'know she was my only friend growing up." Chiba rubbed the nape of his neck. "It's kinda hard to see her be so close to someone else."
Hayami nodded calmly. "I know. But it isn't right to stop her from making new friends...and maybe even dating. She was already isolated after the divorce.
And besides, Karma really changed her. She's much more extroverted! Even if he's a dick to everyone else and feigns a troublemaker, I can see the good in him. I bet Emei can see it more.
So give them a chance. Don't be mad."
Chiba sighed, still feeling a bit apprehensive. But he nodded curtly, thanking her for reassuring him.
"Well, anyway! let's go say hi!" Hayami abruptly began dragging the boy towards the other couple, much to Chiba's defiance.
"Hey! Wait!"
He wasn't ready to face Karma again after lecturing him in the hotel.
Rinka and Emei left to use the restroom together, leaving Chiba and Karma to watch as they disappeared into the crowd dejectedly. With their possible girlfriends gone, the tension was unbearably thick.
Chiba narrowed his eyes at Karma; the redhead returned the same look, leaning on the stuffed wagon of plushies. They simply waited in stillness, hoping the girls would return from their bathroom break quickly.
That concept was great in theory, but with how tight the crowd was, it wasn't reality.
"I see you two made up," Ryu said, albeit a little awkwardly. "Can't believe her dad let you take her out."
Karma didn't fail to notice the bitterness in Chiba's tone.
"Why wouldn't he? It's about time she had some new interesting people to be around." Karma said in a much less civil voice. He wasn't afraid to be passive-aggressive, especially towards people he wasn't fond of.
Not saying he isn't fond of Chiba. He just didn't like how he was accused of getting Emei sick. Plus, he hated being lectured. So that's just a double-whammy.
"She was mad. You were right." Karma declared bluntly.
Chiba almost scoffed at Karma's arrogance. It was like he didn't want to admit that he was wrong, but decided to anyway just to annoy him.
"No shit." He spat.
"Why are you mad, huh?"
Chiba cocked a brow. "Excuse me?"
"This is none of your business. You don't own her life. Why are you so bent out of shape because I'm taking her out?"
"Sorry," all he could do was shrug. "Who wouldn't be mad if some jackass decided to ghost his cousin after she developed an attachment to him?"
For a second, Karma thought logically. He wasn't ashamed to admit that ignoring Emei was a 100% dick move. He would get snappy with Chiba, if making this day perfect for Emei wasn't at the top of his agenda.
He couldn't let his pride and anger get the better of him.
The pair became quiet again. The only sound was the voices of children and adults in the background, conversing, laughing, and having a blast. Joyous sounds people make during a summer festival.
"Y'know, that's a pretty half-ass apology. Kinda ironic for someone who lectured me about saying 'sorry'" Karma outright began to glare at Chiba.
And the apology you told her a few days ago was any better?? Chiba scowled mentally.
"I'm not mad. I'm just worried." Chiba said back.
"About what━?"
"Hey guys! We're back!" Hayami's voice rang in their ears.
Chiba was slightly relieved, but Karma didn't let the girls' presence stop him from interrogating Chiba more.
"What the fuck are you worried about? That I'm gonna treat her like shit again?" His voice was cold and calm. Too calm.
Karma and Chiba weren't close, but it was the familial connection that made Karma...desperate... desperate for Emei's relative's approval of him.
There was this need. This need to prove that he wasn't just gonna make this apology short-term. Karma was capable of having genuine feelings for someone, and he was capable of showing that he cared about Emei.
He knew he fucked up, and he's gonna fucking change. So why wouldn't Chiba believe him?
"Yeah. I don't trust you. I never did. Especially after that."
"Um...Guys. Let's calm down. We're here to enjoy a festival!" Hayami got in between Chiba and Karma, anxious that a fight might break out.
Emei watched her best friend and her cousin's death glare at each other, not knowing what to do. She clutched the fabric of her kimono tightly, waiting for Karma to respond, hoping he could stay civil.
Karma sighed heavily. "It doesn't matter if you can trust me or not. I'm not tryna prove shit to you."
"I know that!" Chiba's pink iresis, filled with guilt and frustration, were finally showing through his voice. "But you don't understand. Emei might be gullible enough to forgive you easily, but I'm not."
Emei gaped at his harsh words. She felt a pang of hurt knowing her cousin, who was normally unbothered and trusting, thought of her as gullible.
"You don't understand how spending time with someone for so long, then suddenly stripping them of that precious time can hurt. You don't know what it's like to watch my best friend be hurt.
You don't know what it feels like to spend every waking second trying to heal her, just for someone like you to drag her away and change her into a completely different person. Then you leave her for so long and come crawling back like you didn't do shit.
Do you think one day is gonna solve anything!? You think buying her gifts and giving her a few touches is gonna fix anything!?"
Chiba was practically shouting at this point. People were beginning to turn their heads at the commotion.
Karma clenched his fist, his frustration growing by the second. He wasn't close with Chiba. He barely even looked in his direction. So why were his words affecting him like this? Why does Karma even care that he thought so little of him anyway!?
He never cared about what other people thought of him. So why? Was it because this was about Emei?
"If you think I only plan to take her out, earn her trust back, then neglect her, then you're seriously mental. Get a fucking therapist for your issues. Or are you having a hard time realizing you aren't the only person who can care about her? Are you trying to gatekeep her? I bet you want me to hurt her again so you can swoop in and play hero, huh?" Karma huffed.
"No!" Chiba blurted.
"I'm not gonna hurt her again. I'm not gonna leave her like that little bitch Bird," Karma's shoulders were tensed now. He was about to move closer to Chiba, feeling that violence might be the only way to convey his message. Hayami's discouraging simply drowned out in his ear.
"You━"
Chiba felt a small figure embrace him tightly. A familiar scent and a familiar head of black filled his vision.
Emei was hugging him. She never hugged him in years.
She never showed any kind of affection towards him, even though he stuck with her throughout all the hurdles life threw at her.
Chiba wanted to be happy for Emei and let her go, but he just couldn't. He was being selfish and jealous that she showed more affection to Karma in a few months than she ever did for him in his whole life.
"I'm sorry, Ryunosuke," Emei squeezed his torso tighter. "I'm sorry for never showing appreciation for you and all the times you were there for me."
Everyone stopped talking.
It even felt like the strangers around them stopped.
The evening sun sank below the trees, casting streaks of dark orange and red across the sky. Has time slipped by so quickly? How long have they been here?
When eerie silence mellowed down to serenity and calm, Emei felt Chiba wrap his arms around her. He was trembling━barely.
"I'm sorry, Ryu-chan."
"Emei..." Chiba couldn't find any words. His eyes darted at Hayami and Karma. His friend had her arm cast out firmly to keep a distance between the irritated redhead and himself.
Her green eyes told him her disappointment and wished that he had listened to her before she dragged him over here. Then the next second, her expression was disappointed in herself for forcing him into Karma's proximity.
Karma pushed past Hayami, much to her annoyance. Emei let go and was moved aside when Karma's hand nudged her shoulder away. His steps were purposeful and determined.
Karma firmly stopped a foot away from the forest-haired boy.
"I'm not going to hurt her." He said as a matter of fact. "And if you can't believe me now...Then wait. Wait years if that's what it takes for you to finally trust me."
Chiba's breathing slowed. He meekly gulped, feeling his intense aura. But it seemed as if Karma's words did hold a genuineness and value. Either way, it was enough for him to calm his demeanor.
The lanky boy whirled around and left, his strawberry-blonde friend following behind with a soft smile, waving at the pair. Hayami mouthed 'bye' to Emei.
"Fine."