Chapter 8

After the fireworks, Yuto was exhausted. His plans were turning from bad to worse. Yet, surprisingly, he wasn’t nearly as frustrated as he should’ve been. Was this the impact of a good massage chair?

Yuto grabbed his yukata and headed to get washed. The steam of the bath eased away his stress. Even being stuck with Rin didn’t bother him. To his surprise, he was actually having a good time. Besides, what could possibly happen between now and tomorrow when Mr Yamamoto arrives?

Yuto returned to the room to see Rin staring out the window.

“You alright?”

“Mhm,” she mumbled, not turning to look at him. He was certain she’d be clinging to him, commenting on how sexy he looked in his yukata. Did he perhaps overestimate his own sex appeal?

“You really sure you are fine?” Yuto asked as he took a step towards her.

Rin spun around quickly. Her eyes were closed, and her face was bright red.

“I didn’t place them that way! It was the clerks! I promise!” she shouted with her eyes still closed. She took several steps before slamming her shin into the kotatsu.

Huh?

Yuto stared blankly at Rin as she writhed around on the ground.

What nonsense was she spouting?

Yuto considered leaving and coming back later, when she would be easier to deal with. But she slowly got up, brushing off her clothes. It was only then that she noticed Yuto’s appearance for the first time.

Blood trickled from her nose, and she began to wobble on her feet before falling backwards. Yuto rushed forward, reaching out his hand, catching hers and pulling her into an accidental embrace.

To an outsider, this would have looked extremely romantic. Yuto simply worried she was going to fall backwards and damage the massage chair. He couldn’t live with himself if it was damaged.

Rin's mouth quivered nervously as she avoided looking directly at Yuto.

“You should be more careful,” Yuto replied, not thinking about how his words would sound to Rin. He glanced at the massage chair, intending for his words to reach it. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

This was the moment Rin couldn’t take it anymore. Her heart rate already exceeded a healthy level. Hearing such words uttered from Yuto’s mouth pushed her to the breaking point.

She fell to the ground and curled up into a ball.

Yuto could have embraced her in a warm hug and asked if she was alright. But that was something he absolutely didn’t want to do. He nudged her with his foot.

“Rin, are you ok?”

She nodded her head.

Welp, not my problem, Yuto thought, as he went to take a step away. Rin’s hand shot out, gripping the bottom of his yukata.

“Don’t go!” she mumbled.

Yuto resisted the urge to sigh with every fibre of his body.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Yuto replied.

She looked up, her eyes were watery, but her smile was larger than he had ever seen. “Thank you for giving me the best trip ever.”

Yuto placed his hand on her head.

“No problem. Now what were you trying to say before?” Yuto asked.

Rin managed to compose herself slightly and pointed over to the futons that had been set up.

“They put our futons together,” she nervously mumbled.

Yuto glanced over. Rin's antics meant he hadn’t had time to notice the sleeping arrangements. Seeing them side by side made him panic. What would happen if the other students saw this? What would they say?

Yuto wanted to part them, but he knew that would invite all sorts of questions from Rin. The only way to separate the futons was if Rin did it of her own volition.

Yuto didn’t see the ironic parallels to his own breakup plans.

“What should we do about that?” Yuto asked, hoping Rin would take the hint.

“Well, umm…” she trailed off, shuffling about nervously. “I don’t have a problem with it if you don’t have a problem with it.”

What the hell? Yuto thought. Why the hell are you putting it back on me?

“Well, I obviously don’t have a problem,” he lied. “But I do wonder what our classmates will think about it.” Yuto hoped Rin would notice how irrational it was for them to sleep next to each other.

Rin covered her mouth with her index finger.

“I guess we will have to keep it a secret then,” she replied with a wink.

Yuto lowered his head. He knew the only way out of this situation was to forcefully move the futons. But that would cause all sorts of drama. Drama that a good massage chair could never fully remove. So he resigned himself to his fate.

They flicked the lights. Yuto climbed into one side, and Rin cautiously slid into the other side. Rin was so close that he could hear her beating heart. Smell her sweet scent. All things that were distracting him from falling asleep.

Yuto felt some movement under the covers as Rin locked her hand around his. He knew she was doing this as a romantic gesture, so he responded by starting a finger war with her. She quickly picked up on what he was doing. But rather than breaking it off, she committed to fighting back.

After she trounced him, she burst out laughing.

“Thank you for filling each of my days with joy. I love you.”

“Kay, thanks,” Yuto replied, not reciprocating her feelings in the slightest.

Mr Yamamoto arrived in the late afternoon the following day. Yuto knew for a fact he could have arrived earlier, but must have deliberately delayed his arrival to allow them to spend more time together. Much to Yuto’s dismay.

“I heard that you had to share a room,” Mr Yamamoto commented, raising his eyebrow, as if taunting them.

“T-there was only one room,” Rin stuttered in her attempt to justify their action. Her cheeks were flushed.

Mr Yamamoto glanced at Yuto and Rin, not saying anything. He smiled as if to say he believed some hanky-panky had occurred.

“I understand, I trust the two of you. Although it would be best not to mention any of this at school.” He winked, and Yuto just rolled his eyes.

“That’s just fine with me,” Yuto replied.

“I won’t tell a soul,” Rin added, avoiding direct eye contact with him.

Given that they had already missed out on two days of the Kyoto trip, it was decided that the best course of action was to head straight home. Yuto was fine with this. This trip had already taken years off his life. He was ready to collapse.

Mr Yamamoto had already prebooked tickets back to Tokyo, and an hour later, the three of them made their journey home.

Once they arrived at the station, they parted ways. Yuto unlocked his front door and began to take off his shoes. All he wanted to do was pull his blankets over him and sleep for an entire day.

A noise caused him to glance up. Two curious girls were peeking their heads around the corner of the living room doorframe.

“I think he sees us,” Rei whispered.

“Very observant,” Noa added.

“If you have something to say to me, just come out and say it,” Yuto scolded them. He was way too tired to deal with their antics.

“Alright then…” Rei stepped out, her lips curled into a disgusting smile. “How was ya trip with Rin?”

“It was fine,” Yuto responded, wanting to downplay the entire situation as quickly as possible so they wouldn’t get the wrong ideas.

“Did ya get up to a buncha lovey-dovey things?” Rei asked without a hint of reservation about her brother’s modesty.

Yuto’s mind instantly thought back to the massage chair. The bliss he experienced. He felt his cheek warm up, and instinctively, he shifted his gaze away from his older sister.

“Oh my, our brother is far more mature than we thought,” Rei commented, walking over and slapping him on the back.

“Brother, good job,” Noa gave him a thumbs up, finally emerging from beyond the doorframe.

“It’s not like that!” Yuto tried to protest his innocence. But it fell on deaf ears.

“Noa will be a good aunt,” Noa nodded her head.

God damn it! Yuto thought, but then an image floated into his mind, and he felt the corners of his lips curl into a smile. All he could think about was the love of his life.

That godly massage chair. With that in his life, he could forgive anything.

❤︎ --- ୨୧ --- ❤︎

End of Chapter 8