Dash and Dine
“Hey! What’s with the outfit? Preeeetty sure you told me you couldn’t run today.” Emi raises an eyebrow at Hisao as he steps onto the bleachers. She hadn’t even heard him approach until now. How long had he been standing in the grass in silence?
Emi was also certain Hisao told her to go on the run without him. In fact, there are even receipts since the conversation was over text – yet here Hisao is in running gear and… carrying a bag?
Hisao shrugs, then sets the suspiciously full backpack down on the bench, which groans against its weight only adding to Emi’s curiosity. Is it stuff for a picnic? It has been a little bit since the two went on a date in a park, but Emi’s thoughts are interrupted as Hisao draws her attention back to him. “Technically I think I just said I wasn’t gonna make it.”
“Yet here you are.” Emi’s second leg squeezes into place finally. Normally she wouldn’t bother changing prosthetics until she got back to the dorms, but Hisao had plans and told her it’d be ‘immediately’ after ‘their’ run.
Hisao wastes no time cornering Emi on the bench, not even allowing her the chance to stand up or reposition. “Here I am.” He smiles, holding his face just a few inches short of Emi’s. Of course he was cooking up something; Emi knew the moment he canceled his half of running at the last second but insisted that the nights’ plans were still good.
“Back off! I’m sticky and gross right now.” Emi leans away and escape Hisao’s unexpected trap, but he chases, grabs her shoulders, and they quickly find themselves struggling against each other.
Immediately Hisao pushes her down against the bench and Emi’s already slim chances of escape shrink.
“I’m used to that!” Hisao laughs in between attempts to pin down Emi's arms. He’s been growing more bold recently, and Emi would be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t enjoying it.
“Ew! That’s not what I meant.”
“Doubt it.”
“Awww, are you thinking something dirty?”
Instead of getting flustered – even for just a moment – like Emi was hoping, Hisao instead gets really close and whispers, “And if I am?”
Oookay… That sent shivers down the spine.
Hisao takes advantage of Emi’s momentary slip-up to snag her right hand and lock his fingers between hers. Realizing her mistake, Emi twists her body in a last ditch effort to escape but rolls a little too far and the two suddenly feel their balance shift over the seat’s edge.
They simultaneously react and launch their intertwined hands towards the row below them, catching themselves with a loud, hollow slam. The metallic boom fades leaving behind just their heavy breathing, and once they know they’re stable they lock eyes and can’t help but giggle.
“Ow.” Emi’s hand didn’t really hurt, probably thanks to the adrenaline, but she knew her knuckles definitely hit the bench there and she wants to make Hisao feel bad. More pressing than that though, her thigh does not like the position Hisao has her pinned in and she wants out. “Okay, okay, you win. Now seriously get off of me!”
“You’re cute when you’re a sore loser.”
Not working a second time. “Off. Now.”
“Fine, fine.” Hisao’s grip loosens and he leans in to kiss Emi, then stands up and dusts himself off. Emi sits up and does the same, then hears a zipper being opened. Hisao’s digging into the mystery bag and her earlier curiosity comes back. “Whatchya got there?”
After another second of silent digging, Hisao pulls out a piece of paper. “A map.” He hands the paper to Emi and closes the bag back up, then heaves it over his shoulder and looks at his watch.
Emi glances over the map and finds it to be a rough layout of the surrounding town, including the school. Yamaku is circled in red ink with the word “Start” written next to it. There’s an arrow from the school directly to a location in the town below with another circle on a restaurant labeled “Finish.”
“It’s a race!” Hisao proudly proclaims.
“This is so unfair, Hisao. I just took my blades off!”
“Which is why I’m going to stretch for five minutes, then it begins.”
Emi scrambles to open her gym bag back up. She may have lost the wrestling match, but there was no way Hisao was going to beat her in a race with some cheap trick like this. “Pretty sure we can’t run through buildings.”
“It’s a good thing you know these streets then, huh?” How long had Hisao been planning this? A week? A month? Knowing Hisao, he probably even spent a couple days walking the streets to get an idea of which path would be quickest.
He wasn’t wrong though, all it took was one look at the map for Emi to know the quickest route. The question was whether or not Hisao managed to find the same one or not.
Emi undoes her first walking leg in record time, but two minutes have already come and gone and by the time the second comes off she was sure the four minute mark was just about to pass.
Emi wasn’t losing hope just yet though. Hisao’s gotten faster, but his stamina – on the track – still needs some work. He’s going to have to pace himself. She just might have the advantage still, despite his tricks, but if she could inch it back in her favor just a little… “What’s next? Gonna throw some banana peels on the road behind you?”
“Not really my style, but I’ve got a few green shells ready to go.” Hisao isn’t even stretching his legs. He’s stretching his arms and Emi wonders if he already stretched before coming down to her too.
“Aren’t those the ones that track you?”
“That’s the red shells.”
“Wait, so which ones attack first place?”
“That’d be the blue shell.”
Emi pulls out both of her blades and replaces them with the other pair. “Then I’ll use that to stop you.”
“I don’t think you can get one of those in second place.” Hisao grins and Emi’s desire to wipe that cocky smile of his off grows stronger by the second.
“Then I’ll use the lightning attack.”
“Same thing.”
“The giant bullet thing.”
“Nope.”
“I’ll use it anyways…”
Emi keeps him talking, using the game Hisao’s gotten everyone playing as a distraction and her plan works. Hisao realizes all too late. The six minute mark comes up meaning his advantage is vanishing. He glances at his watch. “You little-”
“You played dirty first!” Emi smiles proudly.
“Fair play, but I’ll be seeing you at the finish line!” Hisao takes off as Emi finishes putting on the first blade. Why’d she have to disassemble them early today?
“I’ll be the one waiting!” She shouts as he jogs away. The bag bounces on his back, clearly not fitted for running. One more point in Emi’s favor, she thinks. And one point back to him unless she plans to leave her stuff here for gods know how long. Difference is she’s kind of used to running with her gym bag.
Emi steels herself and hastens putting the second blade on. Hisao’s playing a dirty game and she isn’t about to let him get away with it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Today… was supposed… to be… a REST DAY!” Emi shouts back as she paces back and forth while catching her breath. Her thighs burn a lot more than she had hoped they would. Likely due to a combination of the bag, uneven terrain, and the fact she was just coming off of another run right before this - even though it was a light one.
Hisao finally catches up to her and collapses into the grass. “You could’ve… just let… me win in that case.”
“Not a chance.” Emi’s mouth fills with thick saliva. Water. She needs water and emptied her bottle on the track earlier. She takes a few deep breaths, then asks, “Got anything to drink?”
“Give me… a sec.” Hisao isn’t recovering nearly as fast as Emi.
A flash of their first race crosses Emi’s mind. She knows Hisao has gotten in a lot better shape these past few months - and more importantly he has a much better understanding of his limits - but he’s not immune to making mistakes, and he really pushed it at the end there. “Are you okay? Your heart, I mean.”
Hisao holds a thumb in the air, but his wheezing breaths don’t help his case.
Emi drops her bag and walks over to him. She can’t hide the concern in her voice as she says, “You’re sure?”
Hisao opens his eyes and the worry in Emi’s is enough to encourage him to sit up and take a few deep, slow breaths and monitor his heartbeat. “I’m good, honestly. Probably shouldn’t have tried pushing so hard at the end though. I’ll admit that that might have been a bit risky.” He scratches the back of his head and tries to laugh it off.
“That’s what got you the first time!” Emi glares down at him, the worry now being replaced with growing annoyance and anger. He seriously could’ve hurt himself by doing that!
“But I was soooo close to winning!”
“Wouldn’t have mattered if we had to go to the emergency room!”
Hisao pulls a bottle of water from his backpack and offers it to Emi. “Truce?”
She crosses her arms. “I’m not kidding, Hisao. That was dangerous.”
“I don’t plan on going anywhere. If I felt anything – like, at all – I would’ve stopped immediately. I’ve been paying close attention recently and short sprints at the end of a run like that aren’t as bad for me anymore.”
“Meaning they’re still bad for you.”
“Bad, but not dangerous.”
As mad as she was, even Emi couldn’t deny that Hisao was clearly recovering much more smoothly than he had all that time ago. No collapsing, or shaking arms, or even slurred speech. Hisao hadn’t had another close call since that very first scare, but he also hadn’t sincerely tried to race her since then either.
Damn him and his logic.
Emi snatches the bottle from his hands and gulps it down with as much attitude as she can present. After inhaling the water, she pulls out the crumpled map from her pocket and flings it into Hisao’s lap. He almost chokes on his own drink after flinching. Deserved.
“So, what are we doing here?” She was still mad at him, but she’s sure he got the message by now.
Hisao stuffs the crumpled paper into the bag and hoists himself off the ground. “A dinner date!”
But… “There’s no park nearby?” Emi knows Hisao knows where all the parks in the area are, considering they’ve been to more than a few for picnic dates in the past, and there definitely wasn’t one here.
“Not a picnic date, a dinner date.” Hisao reaffirms. “Here.” He points to the restaurant they’ve stopped across the street from. It’s not necessarily a ‘grand’ building, but Emi thought it was probably a place Lilly could be found at.
Definitely not somewhere for a sweaty, gym-uniform clad couple to just waltz on in to. Emi crosses her arms and says, “Very funny, Hisao.”
“No, really.”
“I am not going into a place like that looking like this.”
Hisao grins. “What do you think the bag’s for?”
“Picnic supplies?”
“Not quite. Follow me, there’s an Onsen right over here.”
Emi raises her eyebrows a little. How long has Hisao been planning this for? And what’s the occasion? When they get to the Onsen Emi realizes that it has private baths. “Wow. You even booked us a room.” She leans in to kiss Hisao. “How romantic of you!” It’s been a long week of exam prep and other stresses, so this type of wind-down is exactly what she needed.
Hisao scratches the back of his head. “Well… technically I booked you a room. After making the reservation I checked in with Nurse about my plans and it turns out Onsens are a no-go for me.” He taps his chest to emphasize why. “Glad I talked to him, but it was too late to cancel.”
“Awww, that’s kind of lame… But, uh, you’re wanting me to go in alone?” Emi glances down at her legs. It’s not like she can’t bathe herself, but there’s a good reason she doesn’t go to Onsens alone often – or at all.
“I’ll still come in to shower, change, and I can help you in, but I shouldn’t stay too long.”
He says that, but Emi latches onto the fact that he’s banned from Onsens and can vaguely remember reading those warning posters that are usually posted. “Is that safe?”
“Nurse said I should be fine as long as I don’t get in the springs themselves. Since it’s been stable otherwise, I just gotta ‘monitor my condition’ and play it by ear.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Yep. I’ll still get to enjoy the atmosphere, shower, steam, and to top it all off…” Hisao wraps his arms behind Emi and draws her into a hug, kisses her forehead, then whispers in her ear, “… I’ll still get quite the view.”
Emi rests her arms over Hisao’s shoulders and pulls him into a kiss of her own. A comment like that definitely deserves praise. She backs off just enough to say, “Still mad at you – and not just for that sprint.”
“Give me the chance to make it up to you?” Hisao smiles that damn cute and awkward way he always does when trying to get Emi to do something.
And it works every time. How can she say no to that? “You’re sure it’s fine?”
“Promise.”
“’Kay! Let’s go get cleaned up then.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Her mother’s help was definitely felt when Emi saw what Hisao had in the bag. While preparing to shower she skimmed through and it seems like everything she needs to clean herself and prepare for an actual date are present, and there’s no way Hisao would’ve known what make-up, outfit, and accessories Emi would’ve liked.
Her mom chose a really sharp looking gray dress suit and blue top. Looks perfect for the place they’re headed to after this. She doesn’t linger on it too long since they only have an hour booked at the Onsen.
Apparently Emi’s outfit for the date will even be a surprise to Hisao. According to him, he asked her mother to pack her supplies separate from him so he wouldn’t ‘have it spoiled.’ After ensuring it’s all wrapped back up, Emi taps on the divider to invite Hisao in.
“Everything sorted?” Hisao redundantly asks.
“Yep! You’re turn to strip!”
“Geez, do you have to be so-” He rounds the corner and stutters, “-vulgar…” There’s a hint of disappointment in his voice when he sees Emi wrapped in a towel.
She giggles and stands up. “They say good things come to those who wait.”
“Rich, coming from you.” Hisao slips his hand behind Emi’s back rests his forehead on hers. “But it’s a prize worth waiting for.”
“Nah, you’ve gotta work for me!”
“Then I’ll just have to work harder.” Hisao’s hands drift lower down Emi’s back… and lower… and…
“Mmm… Pervert.” She leans into him, even through the towel his touch sends shivers throughout her body.
“Learned from the best.”
Emi backs out of his embrace and claps his shoulders. “Now hurry up and wash yourself! We don’t wanna miss our reservations!”
Hisao sighs and reluctantly backs off, letting his hands fall from her thighs. “As you wish.” He steps towards the shower and Emi takes a seat behind him. Hisao puts his hands on his hips and says, “Oh so you get a show but I don’t?”
“Hey now, I want a prize for winning that race!”
Hisao blushes. “Surely there’s better rewards.”
“Nope! This is what I want.” Emi lifts her arms to the side and claps her hands twice, then in a mock-posh voice says, “Now chop, chop lover-boy! I’m here for a show, not a debate.”
Hisao shrugs. Then reaches down and grabs the hem of his shirt. “You know, it really isn’t-”
“On with it!”
“Alright. Geez.” He hesitates for another moment, then unceremoniously takes his shirt off. “Want me to twirl-” Hisao doesn’t wait for a response and spins mid-sentence “-after each piece?” He finishes off with a flamboyant pose.
Emi laughs. “While I’d definitely love that, we don’t have time. Plus I’m getting cold.”
“I can tell.” Hisao’s eyes wander.
Emi looks down and realizes the combination of how tightly she wrapped herself and how thin the complementary towels are means not much is left to the imagination. She covers her chest and pouts. “Hey! That’s not fair – cheater!”
“They were staring at me first!”
“You’re an idiot.”
“And you’re the one that chose me.”
“I did. Now seriously, we don’t have all day.”
“Right, right.” Hisao steps towards the shower. As he turns away Emi admires the growing definition across his body. He wasn’t really out of shape before, but there’s a difference between being healthy and being toned. Hisao’s moving in the right direction, much to Emi’s delight.
Then she realizes she didn’t even notice his scar until the last second. Has it begun to fade? Or is she just more used to it now? Either way, she’s happy that she’s not lingering on it anymore, just like Hisao doesn’t stare at her legs nearly at all these days.
After his clothes are completely taken care of, Hisao is careful to keep his back to Emi. She huffs. “Boo!”
Hisao looks over his shoulder and grabs a sponge. “Thought you said you wanted me to hurry up.”
“You’re being lame!”
“The teasing’s the best part – your words, not mine.”
Emi sticks her tongue at him. He chuckles and starts scrubbing himself down. While Hisao gets to work on himself, Emi starts undoing her prosthetics. Even though her mother packed her spare – or rather, her old set to use in the shower, it was still a lot easier for Emi to avoid submerging any of her prosthetics in water lest she have to completely disassemble them afterwards.
The second leg comes off and she stuffs it into the bag alongside the other set and her blades. She zips it back up and hears Hisao washing himself off.
Taking advantage of the noise, Emi ditches the towel. The steam from the shower had warmed up the room just enough to be comfortable by this point, and they’re just about to head to the spring anyways.
Water flows over Hisao’s skin giving it a nice shine. Emi wonders why it’s not quite as attractive to her as when it’s shining from sweat. Is it the environment, or the context, or is there a different vibe coming from him, or is it just the adrenaline? She doesn’t know, but it’s curious all the same. Besides, it’s not like he isn’t hot right now. It’s just… different. He is completely naked after all.
Hisao pours a bucket of water over himself one last time and dries himself off a little. “Alright, you ready to-” He turns and Emi can almost make out his eyes dilating. Funnier to imagine them popping out of his head though.
“Ready!” Emi rocks on the bench excitedly.
“Yeah, I can see that.”
Emi waves Hisao over. “Let’s go before it gets cold again!” Hisao reaches for a towel and Emi stops him. “Don’t waste your time with that. Let’s go already.”
Hisao’s cheek flush just a bit, then he nods and stands up. He turns around and Emi can’t help herself. She whistles. “The runs are really startin’ to pay off, huh?”
“Thanks.” Hisao’s cheeks grow a few shades darker, but he’s not blushing from the comment.
When he gets closer and crouches down, Emi lifts her arms. “I mean it!” She ties her hands behind Hisao’s neck and helps pull herself into his hold.
With one arm under her knees and the other around her back, Hisao lifts Emi into a princess carry. “I know. It’s because of you I’m actually finally getting into shape.”
Of course it’s thanks to me, Emi thinks as she grins and kisses him. “No more pudgy arms or belly even!”
“Hey now! They weren’t that bad.”
“Oh don’t worry. It was cute!”
“That’s demeaning.” Hisao sighs and starts walking towards the pool, careful not to bump Emi into any walls and especially not to slip.
While he’s focused on walking, Emi smirks. She lowers her volume and in a sultry voice says, “Oh and Hisao…”
“Yes?”
“You do know we’re not having sex in an Onsen, right?”
“O-Obviously.” Hisao blushes even more, just as Emi was hoping for. How could she not take advantage of catching him trying so hard and fail to keep it under control?
Satisfied with herself, she lays into his neck and closes her eyes. “Good. Just make sure he knows that too.”
“It’s your fault, you know.”
All Hisao gets in response is a cheery giggle and kiss on the neck.
Whether it was by design or not the pool itself is fairly accessible and easy to work with for Emi and Hisao. Hisao’s able to set Emi down on the ledge and she’s able to work her way in without issue. Unfortunately there’s no ‘getting used’ to the heat as Emi has to fully commit. It’s a shock at first, but she adapts quickly. In the meantime Hisao decides he still needs a towel to set up somewhere to sit. He returns to the other room to retrieve it, leaving Emi to get a good look at the surroundings.
It’s a pretty rare find, she thinks; an Onsen with private pools that aren’t terribly difficult to work with for a couple in their unique situation. She wonders if it was pure luck or if it was something else Hisao had spent time looking into. Had he even gone so far as to talk with her mom about it? Possibly. The only thing that’d make it better was if it were an open-air Onsen, though that’s definitely asking too much. Especially this close to their school.
The door swings back open and Hisao splays the towel out on the ground, allowing him to lay down next to the pool and talk. Emi turns and rests her arms on the ledge as a pillow. “So, what got you in the mood to be so romantic today?”
“You didn’t realize?” He lays on his side to face the pool. While talking he reaches an arm out and runs his fingers through Emi’s hair. “It was six months ago today that we started dating.”
Six months ago… It doesn’t take long for Emi to connect the date to an event. “Wasn’t that the day of the festival?”
“Well, yes, but you know as well as I do that that was pretty much the start of it.”
“You didn’t kiss me for another two weeks!”
“Sure, but in two weeks I’ll be home for winter break and you’ll still be here for another week. So by moving it to today we can have this celebration!”
“Okay, fine, but you better have the real date pinned down by the time our actual one year anniversary rolls around!” Emi grins and Hisao’s confused face almost makes her burst out laughing.
“But,” he scrunches his eyebrows, “… isn’t that what I just did?”
“Well, is that really the date of the start of our relationship?” Emi stares smugly at Hisao. He’s definitely trapped himself this time! Just try to worm your way out of this one.
Hisao thinks for another few seconds, then shakes his head and declares, “Well that’s the day I think I fell in love with you so it’s the date I’m rolling with.”
“Awww. Damn you and your logic.” Emi pouts, crosses her arms, and turns away. Only after she turns away does she realize that she could’ve played it off as if she were talking about an earlier date rather than a later one. Damn, missed opportunity.
As soon as he’s sure Emi’s guard is down, Hisao runs a finger up the back of her neck and Emi nearly ejects herself from her skin.
“Gya-ahaha-haaa. I will bite you.”
Hisao hugs his stomach as he laughs. “Sorry, sorry. Couldn’t resist.”
“I know where you sleep!” Emi sinks back into the water.
“Don’t you mean the ‘places’ I sleep?”
“Don’t get clever with me.”
Hisao smiles. Then he sits up and wavers for a moment. Emi frowns. “You doing okay?”
He told her Nurse said he’d be fine outside of the pool, but what if they were wrong? Hisao puts a hand to his head, which is distinctly not his chest, and Emi calms down just a little.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Might need to slip out and grab a drink. Maybe it’s a little too steamy in here.” He winks and Emi rolls her eyes.
She waves him off. “Or you’re just too worked up.”
“Perhaps.” Hisao shrugs.
“Hisao?”
“Yeah?”
“I…” Emi takes a deep breath. “Well, I had a nightmare the other night.”
Hisao turns his body to get closer to Emi. “The same one - with your dad and all of that?”
“That’s the thing: no, it was different this time. But what worries me more is that I haven’t really had nightmares outside of those couple months of the year in a really, really long time.” Emi shies away from his gaze. Some small part of her is screaming at her to shut up, but it’s getting easier to ignore that voice.
Hisao runs a hand down her cheek. “You could’ve called me, you know.”
“It was three in the morning and you’ve had issues with sleep this week.”
“Still. I wouldn’t have cared.”
“Hisao, I know you mean well but I care about your well being too. Sleep is important, and I can handle a bad dream.”
“That’s not my point. I’m telling you I can deal with sleep problems, and I know you can handle yourself, but I want to be there for you. It doesn’t happen often, so I really don’t mind. And I promise it’s not an issue.”
“Okay… Fine, I’ll call you next time.”
“That’s all I want.” Hisao runs his hands through Emi’s hair again, lightly twisting stray strands around his finger before letting them fall back to her sides. “Any idea why you had one?”
“Not really.”
“Could it be because graduation is coming up and they’ve been talking about it in class a lot?”
“Maybe. Probably. Dad was supposed to be here to see this.” She frowns and fights back a tear.
Hisao kisses her forehead. “He’ll be watching. I’m sure of it.”
Emi takes a few more deep breaths and calms herself down. “Thanks.”
“Always.” Hisao strokes her head for another minute, then stands up. “Need anything to drink?”
“Milk tea!”
“Flavor?”
“Dealer’s choice.” Emi grins and turns back around to relax in the pool while Hisao walks out.
He decides to spend some time cooling off outside of the steam before eventually returning. For the remainder of their booking Emi relaxes in the springs and intermittently talks with Hisao. Their time draws closer to an end and, after some convincing, Hisao drags Emi out of the pool and back to the bench.
Hisao’s the first to get dressed. Emi’s happy to see the outfit come together while putting on her prosthetics. A sharp black jacket, gray shirt, and jeans. Simple, but effective. Throw a few chains, jewelry, and a slightly darker palette and Emi can almost see Hisao participating in the delinquent activities he claims to have in the past. Almost.
He finishes dressing himself and straightening his clothes, then looks at his watch. “Crap, I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Didn’t you say we had another twenty minutes until we had to be there?”
“It’s not that. You’ll see.” He throws his bag over his shoulder and rushes out the door, leaving Emi to her own devices. On the bright side this is the perfect excuse for her to get dressed in private and surprise him in full.
Going through the whole bag again revealed that her mother left a few different options for the details of the outfit – different colored hair ties, necklaces, different set of make-up, sock types and colors, and even a long circle skirt compared to the pants she saw earlier.
Though neither option is particularly what Emi would’ve opted to pack. On one hand the skirt would be easier to put on, especially since she already has her prosthetics on, but the pants are more her style. They’re both a pain in the ass and her mom knows that. Then she discovers a third option in the bag, purposefully tucked away so it would be harder to find. A sleek pair of long, tan cargo shorts. Her mother earns forgiveness, this time.
Emi quickly ditches the pants and skirt then throws on the shorts alongside a pair of blue hair ties, a necklace, and the same tops from earlier. After that she puts on a light coat of moisturizer, primer, blush, and lip gloss.
Taking one last look around the room to make sure neither of them forgot anything, Emi leaves. She nods to the receptionist who informs her that Hisao already took care of things there and then leaves the Onsen. Once outside, she sees Hisao next to her mother’s car. He’s leaning on the window talking to whom Emi can only assume is her mother.
They are too far away for Emi to make out the conversation, but Hisao notices her and rushes to her side. “And I’ll be taking this.” He snatches Emi’s gym bag from her shoulder and nearly drops it. “Oof!”
“Yeah, it’s got my gym supplies in it plus all the stuff you brought. Gonna be a little heavy!” She stretches her arms out in relief.
“No kidding.” Hisao readjusts quickly, then leads Emi towards the car. “You look stunning, by the way. Blue looks great on you.”
“Hehee, thanks!” Emi’s cheeks warms and she feels her stomach go light. She isn’t giving Hisao a free win like that though and hides it behind a wide grin. “I was wondering what your plan was for all of our stuff.”
Hisao opens the trunk of her mom’s car and deposits the bag. “I mean, we could carry them around all day if you prefer.”
“Tempting, but I think I’ll pass. I told you today was meant to be a rest day, and somebody-” Emi jabs her finger into Hisao’s shoulder, “-screwed that up already. Don’t need to make it any worse.” Despite knowing she pushed herself with that run, Emi’s limbs feel fairly relaxed thanks to the Onsen. It’s like she skipped over the part where they’re tired and in pain and went straight to the ‘don’t stretch your muscles’ stage. A nap would definitely not be refused though.
Her mother’s voice calls through the passenger window. “Is that everything?”.
“Looks like it.” Hisao bows his head. “Thanks again for picking this all up for us Mrs. Ibarazaki.”
“Hisao dear, I’m certain I’ve told you half a dozen times now that you can call me Meiko.”
“No can do. Still a city-boy through and through after all.”
Emi throws an arm around his neck and says, “We haven’t gotten him yet, but it’s only a matter of time!”
Meiko chuckles. “In that case, why don’t you go help your boyfriend loosen up.” She pulls a wallet out then hands it to Emi. Emi takes the wallet and Meiko winks, then says, “Enjoy your date you two!”
As the car pulls away Emi looks at the wallet. Hisao hugs her from the side and starts rubbing her back a little. “Think she’s pulling a stunt?”
“I know she is. Not even going to look!” Emi says, but it’s a lie. She stuffs the wallet in her shorts and steals a glance inside the main pocket to see a colored foil packet with cut off text reading ‘flavored’ on it.
She shakes her head, then turns to Hisao and kisses him. “So, you ready to go?” Hisao smiles, then takes her hand and leads her to the restaurant.
Once inside, Emi thinks that the place looks just as fancy on the inside as it does on the outside. Maybe even more so. Had Hisao under-dressed them for this place? For that matter, how did he afford a place like this? “Wow, this is…”
Hisao’s just as awestruck as Emi. “Yeah.”
“What made you pick this place?”
“Recommendation from a friend.” Hisao walks over the an empty podium and rings a small bell on the edge of it. Despite there being a lot of questions, Emi’s minds gets stuck on the fact that there is actually a podium at the entrance. She thought those were just movie-magic playing fancy places up for the screen.
Hisao returns to her side with a shrug. Meanwhile Emi’s eyes wander the parts of the room that she can see. Most of the tables are filled with people, with a few waiters and waitresses navigating the space between everyone. Just over the conversational buzz she can hear classical music playing over some speakers. “How?” Emi almost whispers.
“How? You mean how could I afford this or how did I get the reservation?”
“Yes.”
“Got a forward on my allowance, and as for the reservation, this place is actually pretty new. Popular, but new, which meant I snuck in a reservation before it was booked out. Got pretty lucky on that front.” Hisao looks proud of himself, as he should be, Emi agrees.
“So,” Hisao lifts a hand to scratch at his chest, “what do you think?”
“Well,” Emi takes one last look around. After comparing their outfits to the other guests they might not actually stand out too much, but that could change if this place stays open long and gathers the right audience. “It’s not exactly our usual scene,” as expected for this town half of the people in the store are older looking couples while the remaining are a mix of kids their age, families, and friend groups. “Buuut, it’s kind of nice. A change of pace!”
Hisao looks visibly relieved. Then a male voice calls out to them from the podium. “I apologize for the wa- Ah! Hisao.”
“Akio?”
“Thought that was you on the list.”
“I didn’t know you worked somewhere so… ornate.”
“Just a waiter. Turns out it’s a cake-walk getting hired at a place that opens before the staffing positions are filled.”
The door opens behind them and Emi hears what sounds like a couple approaching. Hisao’s less subtle at turns to look at them. “Ken?”
“Hisao?”
Emi accepts this exchange as an invite to turn around as well. Turns out she was right and it is a couple. The voice she just heard came from the guy, and with him is someone whose stark white hair and red eyes would stand out anywhere. “Rika?” Emi says as a reaction.
“Emi?”
“Akio!” Akio says. Everyone turns to him. “What? I was feeling left out.”
Emi pokes at Hisao's side and points to the guy next to Rika. He’s wearing a slightly more appropriate long-sleeved v-neck with a white under-shirt and dress pants. “You two know each other?”
“Yeah, a lot of the guys know each other from around the dorms. We’ve talked a few times.”
The guy extends his right arm in front of him for a slight bow and Emi realizes the end of the shirt is knit shut halfway down the forearm. “Kenzo Mizushima. Your boyfriend talks about you a lot.” As he straightens himself back up Emi also realizes his left leg is a prosthetic, mainly because he’s not hiding it at all. That said, it’d be hard to hide the scars on the left side of his face anyways, so maybe that’s why. His ear… is that a prosthetic too?
“Emi Ibarazaki, though I guess you already know that, haha!”
Kenzo laughs, “How could I not know the guy I always destroy in Mario Kart’s girlfriend’s name?”
Hisao scoffs. “You just get lucky.”
“Lucky I play the game better?”
Akio flips through what’s probably the reservation book, which Emi is almost not surprised to see at this point, then squints at the pages. “Shit…” he whispers just quietly enough for Emi to almost miss it. The others turn to him as well. “I’ll… be right back. Hold up you four!” He scurries off around the corner, book in hand, and disappears through a door.
Kenzo takes Rika’s hand and asks, “So you two know each other as well?” Rika nods, then passes the metaphorical stick to Emi with a look.
“Nurse set us up together, but it didn’t work out.”
Kenzo raises an eyebrow at Rika, “Oh! I didn’t know you two had-”
Rika punches his arm. “Exercise! For exercising, you jerk.”
“That’s what I was going to say!”
“No it’s not. You were thinking something dirty.” Rika pouts.
Kenzo rubs his arm. “Seriously! I was going to say: ‘I didn’t know you two had a history of exercising together!’”
Rika crosses her arms and turns to him. “I seriously doubt that. One hundred percent doubt.”
Hisao laughs, “She’s probably right.”
“Not you too senpai! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Kenzo reaches an arm out to Hisao in despair, to which he just raises his own defensively and takes a step back.
Emi nudges Rika with her elbow. “He’s just worried about competition.” She winks, and Rika’s eye’s widen and she blushes.
“Woah, woah, woah, “Hisao steps between Emi and Rika, then points at Rika, “Don’t go getting any ideas. Emi’s mine and I will fight you!”
Emi laughs, “Aww, you getting jealous now too, Hisao?”
“Uhh, yeah? Guys I can handle. But what chance do I have if a girl tries to win you over?”
Emi puts a hand on his shoulder and says, “Oh I could think of at least one thing you’d have an advantage with…” Then she looks him in the eyes suggestively.
“Just one?” Hisao matches her energy.
“I could come up with a few more.”
Hisao and Emi glance at their audience and both of them are too stunned to move or speak, and Emi thinks their faces are a deeper shade of red than fresh strawberries.
Hisao immediately snorts before catching himself. Then he turns to meet Emi’s eyes and both of them break, doubling over in fits of barely contained laughter. They manage to stay just quiet enough to avoid drawing attention from the rest of the room.
Akio comes back out while Hisao and Emi are still recovering. “So uhh,” He clears his throat. “There’s been a miscommunication and we want to offer our sincerest apologies.” Akio’s clearly reciting some sort of line.
Hisao immediately calms down completely and straightens himself out. “What’s up?”
“It looks like both of your reservations were booked under the same table, and we only have the one available right now. We can offer a full refund and high priority booking free of charge to either party, but the next available table is in four hours.” Akio bows stiffly. Emi’s not seen much of him, but this already feels very out of character.
Hisao doesn’t look any more comfortable with the situation. He turns to Emi hoping for an opinion. The answer is obvious though. “Is the table big enough for four people?”
Akio stands back up, “I mean, yeah but…” He looks back towards the door he came from.
Emi turns to Rika and Kenzo, “You down for a double-date?”
Rika holds her hands out, “Oh no, we couldn’t intrude on you guys!”
“Nah.” Emi turns to Hisao, “You cool with that?”
Hisao shrugs, “I don’t mind.”
“But-” Kenzo almost mirrors Rika’s reaction, “it wouldn’t be right for us to interrupt your date!”
Emi rolls her eyes. “We’re offering, dude. Besides, if you were to back out, your date would be ruined and it’d make me feel bad.”
Rika tries to stutter out another rebuttal, but Emi stops her, “Just say yes! Come ooon, it’ll be fun!”
Eventually Rika and Kenzo give in. Akio goes to see if it’s okay with his boss and when he gets the approval he leads the four to their table. It’s a round table near a window with two seats, but Akio’s carrying another pair and sets them up. “Right, if you’re okay with that I’ll fetch another set of menus.”
“Yeah, this’ll work. Thanks Akio.” Hisao nods to him.
“Hey man, just the waiter here, thank the boss-man. Or blame him for the mix-up in the first place. We really need to update our systems and this place was just opened,” Then he leaves.
Hisao gestures at the table, “So, how we doing this?”
Emi jumps forward, “Ooh, Hisao you sit there and I’ll sit here.” She points to the original set of chairs, opposite of each other. “Then Rika and Kenzo will take the other seats!”
“Why this way?” Rika asks.
“So we can look at our dates!” Emi smiles proudly.
No one disagrees so they all sit down. Akio swings by to drop off a new pair of menus, then takes their orders for some drinks. Emi sees a special called “Dark Strawberry” and it’s no decision for her at all. Hisao gets some sort of mango tea while Rika and Kenzo both order hot chocolates.
Image put together by Sharp-O! Thanks a million for your amazing edits. Check out his works!
“So,” Emi starts after Akio drops off their drinks, “how long you two been together?”
“We’re coming up on one year here soon.” Rika’s calmed down and finally seems to be relaxing.
Kenzo leans on the table. “That’s actually what we’re here for, since we probably won't be able to find time for ourselves over break.”
Hisao sips some of his tea, then nods in approval. “Going somewhere?”
“We’re visiting my family down in Tokyo. Probably gonna be too wrapped up in festivities to go on a date, so we decided to have one now instead.”
“Great minds think alike then.” Hisao pats Kenzo’s shoulder, though Emi thinks he may as well be patting his own back with that comment. “We’re here for six months - and similar reasons. Though it’ll only be me heading that way at first.”
“You’re family’s in Tokyo too?”
“Saitama prefecture. And you?”
“Chiba, though it’s mainly because that’s where the rest of the family lives. My parents’ home is in downtown Sendai.”
Emi cuts in, “So you’re locals too?”
“Not quite. Just ended up here about ten years ago.”
“So you’re locals!”
“I mean, if that’s what counts then yeah.”
“We moved here about twelve years ago, so I think it counts. Where’s your family from Rika?”
“Oh… Uh, we’ve moved around a few times. Before here it was Nagoya, before that it was near central Tokyo in Taito, and then Sapporo before that. I can’t remember before that.”
“Wow, you guys get around a lot. Do your parents travel for work or something?”
“Nah, nothing like that.” Rika rubs her arm a bit. “It’s because the hospitals nearby were better for me, or because Yamaku this time around.” There’s a flicker of sadness in her eyes and Emi feels bad for asking the question.
It looks like Hisao’s about to say something, then he catches himself. Not quick enough though, because Rika notices. “It was for surgeries and other stuff like that.” She taps her chest. “Hypoplastic Left-Heart Syndrome. It takes a lot of work.”
“So, uhh… You’re kind of like me.” Hisao says. Emi wasn’t going to say so, but she thought the same thing. “Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with subsequent LongQT Arrhythmia. Had a heart attack; it’s how we found out, and how I ended up here - or, well, at Yamaku.”
Emi smiles a little as he talks. She isn’t quite as familiar with the terms the two are saying, and is even more lost when they start comparing medicines and side-effects, but the fact Hisao’s able to openly talk about it means he’s doing leagues better than when they first met.
Then she glances at Kenzo and giggles. He catches her and asks, “What? Oh no, do I have something in my teeth again?”
“No, no it’s not that. I was just thinking it’s funny that we’re kinda like mirrored couples.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, I have my legs and Hisao has his heart. Then Rika also has her heart and-”
“Aaand I have my limbs! I get it now, that is funny!” He laughs, then looks at his arm. “We’re even missing the same count!”
“I know right! Well, you do have the ear up on me.”
“Shit, you’re right. Well, I’m sure it balances out somehow.” Kenzo chuckles again. Soon after, Akio shows up to take their orders. Emi has to scramble to decide on something after not having had time to look at anything, but manages to find an order she’s happy with by the time the other place theirs.
“So, I’ve gotta ask, “Kenzo returns to talking to Emi, “which is worse: the joint pain, or phantom limb?”
Emi doesn’t hesitate. “Joints, easily.”
“Really? It’s the opposite for me. When it’s my joints acting up it’s pretty easy to ignore, even if it lasts all day. I mean, yeah, it’s annoying, but PLP is impossible to ignore. It just takes over completely.”
“See and that’s why I’d prefer that over my joints giving me issues all day. Do you know how hard it is to go on a run when even just standing is painful? Phantom limb pains are one and done and I can move on with my day.”
“Oh, really?” Kenzo looks at the end of his arm. “It doesn’t last for hours on end for you?”
“Nope. It’s usually over in five to ten minutes or less.”
“Huh… Is it bad to say I’m kinda jealous?”
“Haha, nah.” Emi kicks her legs under the table, but one of them taps the leg of her chair and makes a slightly too loud twang, so she stops. “I’m jealous right back, I mean you could have an actual hook hand!”
Kenzo bounces back in confusion, “Like... a pirate?”
“Yeah! Exactly.”
“I don’t…”
Hisao chuckles, then puts a hand on Kenzo's shoulder. “Don’t think about it too hard. Long running in-joke.” His and Rika’s conversation came to its own conclusion. Emi thinks it must not have been long ago because it must’ve been just a minute or two ago she heard Hisao mentioning something or another about insomnia and night sweats.
“Ah, I see.” Kenzo shakes his head. “Well, I guess we’re more different than we give ourselves credit for.”
Emi shrugs. “Close enough.”
“I’m on Emi’s side here!” Rika takes a sip of her drink, but Kenzo clearly wants an explanation. “What? No, but think about it. At its core there’s not much of a difference.” She points to herself, then Kenzo. “Heart problem, limb problem.” Then she points to Hisao and Emi respectively. “Heart problem, limb problem.”
Kenzo remains unconvinced. “That’s pretty reductive.”
“Well doi!” Rika reaches across the table and jabs Kenzo’s forehead. “You’re thinking about it too much, dummy.”
Emi turns to Hisao, “And what do you think?”
He rubs his chin, then says, “I think it’s fair. We’re kind of like.. a mirror match. Right?”
“You get it!” Emi gestures wildly towards Hisao while looking at Kenzo, as if to yell ‘see?’ at him.
“Alright I can tell when I’m outnumbered! I give. Evenifthedetailsdomatter.” Kenzo quickly pulls his cup to his mouth.
Rika squints at him. “What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“Sure sounded like something.”
Kenzo whistles conspicuously inconspicuously, to which Rika raises an eyebrow. “losersayswhat?”
“What? Ah sh-”
“Hah!” Rika pumps her fist victoriously, then turns to Emi before Kenzo can try to get another word in. “So, how’d you two meet?”
“Same deal as us: Nurse set us up, Hisao needed to get his ass off his bed, yadda yadda yadda.”
“Woah, woah, woah now.” Hisao cuts in. “I was planning on doing some sort of exercise. I had just gotten here though!”
“Mmmhmm. Just like you were totally being careful around your heart when you tried to race me on the track?”
Hisao shrivels in his seat, and Rika nearly does a spit take. “Hold up! You let him try to race you?”
“I didn’t know he had a bad heart yet!”
Rika’s shocked, accusatory glare switches over to Hisao instantly. “You never told her?”
“Well, I did afterwards…” Hisao tries to shrug it off like an everyday mistake.
Emi’s not letting him live that one down though. “You mean after you nearly fainted?
“I was still new to this whole thing! Still am.”
Rika leans back in her chair. “Well, pro tip going forward: tell your coach about your heart before it’s an issue.”
“Yeah, I kind of got that.”
Emi thinks that sufficient berating for that mistake again, for today. She looks back to Rika and gestures towards Kenzo. “What about you two?”
“Same class, seat neighbors, and…” Rika glances over to Kenzo, “I thought he was cute.”
Kenzo grins and scratches the back of his head. “Never thought I had a chance until she knocked on my door.”
Now it was Emi’s turn to be taken aback in surprise. “Wait, you went to his room to confess? Like, in the boys’ dorms?”
“Haha, yeah. He thought I was that crazy guy with the scarf and glasses until he opened the door.”
Emi sees a chill run down Hisao’s spine from the corner of her eye, but she has more questions for Rika. Like… “But you saw him everyday. Why go all the way over there?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to ask him in the middle of the classroom!”
“Why not invite him to lunch or something?”
“Cause I didn’t think of that! I was eager to get an answer, alright?”
Emi and Kenzo laugh at Rika’s expense. Then Akio shows up with their meals and they continue to converse in between bites for the duration of the stay. Sure enough, any time a table would clear out, it would quickly be filled in by another set of guests who had walked in the door a few minutes later, until it was eventually their table’s turn to leave. Outside the restaurant Kenzo and Rika split off to do some more walking through some parks as the moon comes out. Meanwhile Emi and Hisao decide to head back to campus.
They walk through the front gates with the only sounds on campus being their footsteps and the cicadas. Emi leans onto Hisao’s side. “Today was really nice. Thanks for that!”
“It was. Didn’t expect to be going on a double-date though.” Hisao rubs Emi’s far shoulder as they slowly walk into the school grounds. The sun had already completely set before they even got halfway back, and since it was a new moon that meant that the only light around was coming from street-lamps and the lanterns around the pathways. Emi always loved how well lit the campus was since it made going for a night-time jog really easy.
“It was nice though. Kenzo has a good sense of humor!” She chuckles remembering some of the darker jokes they made as the night went on. Emi had a feeling they’d be kindred spirits in the regard after that initial meeting.
Hisao smiles as well. “You can probably just call him Ken. All the guys do.”
“Not a guy, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“Oh I’ve noticed. Plenty of times actually.”
“Pervert.”
“You’re the pot calling kettle black every time you say that, I hope you know.”
“Maybe!” Emi giggles. At a time like this she’d normally run away a bit to get Hisao to chase her, but her legs are killing her and taking it slow like this is kind of nice every so often.
They reach the turn for the boys’ dorms and Emi doesn’t miss a beat in directing themselves towards the building. With any luck they’d avoid running into any night-guards, though Emi’s sure she could convince them to turn a blind eye. She’s seen plenty of others do as much.
“Damn,” Hisao sighs, “It always feels like days like today end so quickly.”
“Right?! It’s like it’s here, then it’s gone. Just like that. Time needs to slow down sometimes.”
“You? Telling anything to slow down? That’s new.”
“Time’s different. Things become distant memories too quickly.”She pulls Hisao a little closer. She knows it’s usually been her fault that things are pushed away so quickly – she almost did the same thing to Hisao. Luckily he was just the right mix of stubborn and dense to get through to her.
And she is just the right mix of everything else to keep him honest and healthy. Hisao kisses the top of her head, then stares off into the sky. “I know what you mean. Wish I appreciated the nights out with my friends back home more before… well, everything.”
“I’m telling you, I think there is still a chance for you all to make up for everything.”
“Maybe. But even then it wouldn’t be the same.”
“I get that. But it’s still worth a shot.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Of course I am!” Emi chuckles, but pulls Hisao a little closer. “This might be your last chance though. Winter break, I mean. You should really give it a shot.”
Hisao thinks for another dozen steps. “If you think it still might work out, I’ll give it a shot.”
“Good!” They doors to the dorm approach, and Emi pulls out her wallet. She looks inside and grins. “And I hope you know tonight is far from over.”
Hisao smirks. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“How do you feel about citrus?”
“What type?”
“Wanna find out?”
Hisao opens the doors, then lets Emi through first. “Let’s.”
Originally this piece was meant to just be a writing exercise to help me get used to some of these characters and explore scenarios I might not be able to include in my main story, but it turned into a full short soon enough and after deciding I wanted to make something on the lighter side. Plus it seems like people could use some cheering up, so "fluff week" was born and immediately the name doesn't matter because fluff "week" is more so about the vibe than the time frame. If you want to make a fluff week piece, go for it!
This was fun to write, and I hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully I'll get back to posting more Uncertainty after the holidays, but that's a later worry. I'm wishing you all the best this holiday season and hope your days are going well!
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