When You Ask a Yankee To…

“So tell me, how does it feel to be labeled a ‘rebel’?” Kitsune asked, munching on a slice of pizza.

Akio absentmindedly stabbed at his own slice with a fork, much to the annoyance of his nosy journalist associate. He shifted all the pepperoni into one stack before lifting it into his mouth. The dingy fast-food joint only had two tables by the front counter. The other half of the dining space was taken up by a giant wall of mystery soda and a cartoonish man in a toga. What bothered Akio was that the thin stack of carbs, tomato sauce, and cheese looked far more enticing in pictures than reality.

It was apparently a popular pizza chain overseas, but Akio would rather have rice any day. Rather than answer the question, he countered with a different one.

“Why did you take me here? You said it was your favorite place for grub, so I expected better.”

“I hard disagree. Pizza is where it’s at when it comes to sharable food. You bring a box anywhere, and it becomes a party! You don’t happen to like karaoke, do you? If this is too public for the deets, we can find a private room for your interview.

“Interview, my ass! You just want more juicy tidbits to romanticize my relationship with Haibara-san. I saw your recent headline.” Akio held the snippet up to Kitsune’s face. “Wada Champ – local boy charms yankee legend with a batting beatdown!”

Kitsune pushed it aside with a smirk, looking smug and innocent. Somehow, he had been at the scene, snapping photos of the encounter on his phone. It irked Akio to think that he had been tailed even during his private time.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be a sour puss. You’ve been having a tough time with your school rep, haven’t you? I just figure that I’d put you in a good light after all the crap you had to deal with. It’s like that one shounen manga hero – take advantage of that slanderous nickname and turn it into a positive thing instead.”

“And take full advantage of my situation to get all our stories. I see how you operate.”

“What can I say? I see you and think, Wada scoop!” Kitsune grinned, completely shameless with his exploitation.

Akio flicked a pepperoni at Kitsune, who promptly caught it in his mouth, much to Akio’s spite. He couldn’t win at life. His bad luck made it too much of a challenge. Instead, he sighed and wondered how he could mitigate the potential issues.

“So, tell me. Oh great person who controls the masses through the media. How am I supposed to live a normal life?”

Kitsune looked at him like it was the dumbest question in the world.

“Simply, you don’t. Who would want something boring like that? That’s like asking for no bitches when they come onto you. People hate that kind of person, an unappreciative bastard.”

Kitsune polished off the rest of his pizza and dusted his hands of the crumbs. He stuck a finger right up to Akio’s face like he had thought of something.

“I think the real question is how can normies like us hope to survive hanging around a legend while benefiting from them kicking all the dangers away for us. Isn’t it?”

Akio couldn’t deny that Misaki had saved him from all his issues up until now. Even if he hadn’t been exactly thrilled by the methods she used, the fact remained that her backing allowed him to face them head-on.

Kitsune smiled, seeing the gears in Akio’s head spin towards the right conclusion as well. He slapped him on the shoulder with a jolly energy.

“Here’s where I think your problem lies, Wada, my boi. You gotta act first before she throws you into an unfamiliar situation where you’re fighting to even grasp what to do next. Lead from the get-go and make sure she follows you instead of you following her.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Akio scoffed, his arms folded. That was simple to say, but he knew full well that it was Misaki’s way or no way.

“Take her on a date, man. Time, place – your decision. Don’t even give her a choice. The way I see it, she’s itching to learn more about you. Use that opportunity to draw your boundaries. If she’s that smitten with you, chances are she’ll toe inside that line as well.”

“That simple, eh?” Akio sighed, putting a palm to his face. He didn’t want Kitsune to see the conflicted expression that he rubbed away with his hand. He was skeptical about it all, but then again, there were so few that would even lend him a speck of advice. It encouraged him to try it, no matter how hesitant he felt.

“Tell you what. If I’m wrong, you can take me to the guiltiest pleasure favorite joint of your choosing next time. I’ll wolf down the craziest thing the place has to offer, no complaints.”

“You know, that’s not exactly a punishment unless I know what you absolutely hate.”

“Mayonnaise.”

“Dare I ask why?”

“Cause when it comes out a squirt bottle, it… never mind.”

v

The chime rang for the end of classes on Friday. Akio knew it was his time to strike. Misaki had been sore about him not asking her on a date the week before, so he had to make sure to get it done this time.

He marched himself straight to her classroom. Knowing that she wasn’t the type to hurry herself anywhere without reason, he expected to see her still sitting at her desk, a vacant look in her eyes.

Nearly flinging the sliding door open, the students inside all stared at his bombastic entrance.

“Hey, Wada boy. Haibara just left to find you. Hope you didn’t do something to piss her off.”

One guy patted him on the back, whispering his condolences.

“Rough time against the street thugs, eh? You don’t come off the violent type, so I feel you. We’re all scared of her.”

Apparently, the student body wasn’t afraid enough of him to skip out on the nicknames, not when Misaki was absent. Perhaps, there was even a bit of pity in their eyes toward Akio for having to deal with their fellow classroom terror.

While he had certainly gone through his fair share of problems, they weren’t all due to Misaki. He had to admit that his own boneheaded actions got him into just as many sticky situations that Misaki had saved him from.

“Tell me. What has she done to you?”

The guy from before shrunk back at his words, his face having gone pale. He shook his head as if for Akio to ignore his statements from before. Akio was about to push forcefully ahead until he noticed the entire room backing up before his eyes.

He whipped around to see Misaki standing there, a menacing aura around her. Nothing needed to be asked if he looked at her eyes, the crimson reflecting a rage that he had grown used to seeing when it came to ‘him’ as a topic.

She looked ready to pounce on the nearest person, holding the thought that they had somehow started messing with him. Akio reach up and did the only thing he could think of to redirect her attention – a forehead flick.

Of course, Akio reaching up to the taller Misaki to do such an action was clearly seen by the entire room, who gasped at the act of any such violence toward the famous yankee. However, Misaki simply blinked. By the time her eyelids opened again, she stared down with hearts in her eyes.

“Yes, Akio-kun?”

“Come with me,” he replied, taking her by the hand. He didn’t give her the chance to reject. Right now, he needed to take the lead, before he could get wrapped up in another one of her situations. Above all, he needed to get something off his chest.

Literally pulling her along as the rest of the student body watched in wonder, he eyed an alcove next to the ground floor stairs and did a sharp turn into it. Such a detour screamed for others not to enter or else, giving them a moment of privacy.

He stopped right before he hit the wall, but as he turned around, the momentum of the bigger Misaki threatened to collide right into him. Instinctively, he strafed to the side, causing her to walk into it instead. Since he was still holding on, he had somehow looped her hand behind her back, making it look like Akio had her pinned to the wall.

“Ooo, Akio-kun has learned to get a little feisty! I don’t think I mind this side of you.” Misaki turned back with a devilish grin. Given that it hadn’t been Akio’s intention one bit, he let go of her instantly, arms up to show innocence. That seemed to disappoint her a little.

“Hey, Misaki. What’s going on with your class? Just what did you do to them?”

Akio felt like kicking himself for asking, but he was rather sensitive to such things, being on the receiving end of bullying himself. And right now, it seemed like Misaki was being mistreated. He couldn’t call himself her boyfriend and keep a blind eye to it.

“Nothing. They leave me alone, and I do the same.” She crossed her arms, a sign that she wasn’t going to budge.

It was a rather dodgy answer, but one that fit what he knew of her. It also told him that she likely had done something in the past that had lasting effects. Sending one or two mean people to the nurse’s office wouldn’t have that kind of impact. As he had just moved to Yokohama for high school, he had only heard tidbits of her story. Akio zipped his lips before he could dig himself into a bigger hole on that front. Rather, he slapped the side of his head to reset.

“We’re going on a date this weekend, Misaki. Sorry that I didn’t get around to asking you out last week.”

Misaki’s turned to him with a look of momentary surprise, but then, she put on a mischievous grin.

“I take it that you want to smash again.”

“Haha, no.” Akio made sure his tone was firm. He had fallen into the trap once already. Trusting Misaki’s lead was a decision that he was trying to avoid. Instead, he pulled out a pair of tickets and shoved it right up to her face.

“I want a normal date. Amusement park. A simple time to figure out just who the hell you are. If we keep putting ourselves in such weird situations, it’ll be impossible to tell what kind of things make us click.”

Misaki giggled. “You don’t find our time together exciting?”

“Exciting, yes. Sustainable, not for my normie heart. I’m not legendary or superhuman like you.”

A sharp gaze appeared on Misaki’s face. In a flash, Akio found himself flipped around. Now, he was pressed up to the wall with Misaki holding him up with one arm.

“What if I refuse?”

Akio stared into Misaki’s eyes. To anyone else, her glare was enough to invoke a fear to give up whatever they were asking of her. However, Akio had no such reservations. His stupidly honest blabbermouth leapt ahead of any such fears. A simple refusal was nothing compared to a death threat from her.

“Then, I guess I’ll just have to enjoy the amusement park alone. You’ll know where to find me.”

Misaki’s expression looked frozen. It was neither a rejection of her refusal nor caving into her demands. Akio was going to do what he wanted, just like how Misaki operated.

Slowly, his body lowered until his feet touched the ground. He looked down to confirm that he had solid footing before looking back up to see Misaki’s shifting gaze, slightly embarrassed. Perhaps, a little bit tsundere as well.

“Fine, if you’re set on going, I don’t have a choice.”

“If you’re not having any fun, then I dunno, my dumb ass will likely trip into the path of some asshole, and we can get physical together at that time.”

Misaki snorted trying to hold back an unintended laugh. She turned away and waved him off.

“Fine, fine. You do what you want. And I’ll do the same. Prepare yourself for it.”

Akio didn’t like the sound of that at all, but she didn’t give him the time for any follow-up as she escaped back into the school hallway. The sound of students chatting drowned out any attempts to call out to her. But she knew he was reaching out. She just chose to ignore it anyway. It would be saved for the date instead.

Akio let out a sigh. He couldn’t do anything about that now. However, there was one way he could plan ahead. He pulled out his phone and messaged Kitsune. After all, what journalist didn’t have all the dirt on a legendary figure such as Misaki?

“Ugh, I hope he picks a different place to torture my tongue this time.”

He patted the bottle of antacids in his breast pocket, his stomach a bit queasy just thinking about it.