That’s what Friends Do

“Minato, I-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- would. Love. To.”

I’m baffled.

“Really?!” Minato appears to be happy.

My heart is about to explode.

“Yes."

A swift response with the intent to prove my confidence, then yet it is just barely masking my cold sweat. Just enough to distract from my bug eyed expression.

“Oh, wow, I-I’ll see you tomorrow, so we can talk more about it!” He then jogged off into the sunset.

◑ ◒ ◓ ◐

Another incoherent walk home. This is just perfect, in the right way and in the wrong way! It’s perfect that I’ll be having my first d-date! With someone I like, but it's perfect that it feels too soon! So much for taking things slow! No wonder he was so quiet during lunch, we’ve had long conversations before, so he was probably thinking of asking me for a few days now!

I just have to figure out how to properly process this. Talking about it with my parents seems the best way, but there is still the darn secret that I have! How should I go about it? Do I tell Minato that I’m a boy, or just be who I want to be? Not caring if he knows or not, like Kiyoshi said…

“Ah! That’s it! I’ll go ask Kiyoshi’s opinion. He'll have something to say about it! We’re friends after all. Right?” I declared to myself.

Right! This makes sense. I’ll just quickly stop by and ask for some quick advice. Again, friends help one another. I shouldn’t expect my semi issue will be solved with one visit. In fact, what do I even ask him? I doubt he’s been on a date yet.

Ya know what! I’ll figure it out when I get there! This just feels like the right move…

“Oh, I probably should let him know that I’m coming over…”

Knock-Knock

Okay, I’m actually doing this. Ohhh-jeez, I’m a little nervous right now. This definitely was a bit of an impulse.

“Hell- W-what are you doing here?” Kiyoshi answered with confusion, with his ill-mannered face.

“Didn’t you get my text?” I remarked.

“You sent it like 2 minutes ago!” Kiyoshi shouted in annoyance after he quickly looked at his phone.

“Ahhh!” I whined as he lightly pinched my cheek.

“Hah… Is there something you need?” He then asked as I rubbed my cheek.

“Yeah, I guess I need some advice, hehe.” I slowly expelled with an awkward smile.

“Okay, then Come in…” He reluctantly accepted with a gesture allowing me to come in.

I went in and quickly took my shoes off, I couldn’t help but look around to see if anything changed or something strange. Strange like Kiyoshi.

“Oh, hello, is this a friend of yours, Kiyoshi?” A elderly woman popped out from the kitchen to see who was at the door.

“Yeah, O-bāchan. This is Hiromi, we go to school together.” Kiyoshi explained to his grandmother.

“Nice to meet you.” She slowly yet politely bowed.

“Yes, you too.” I smiled and returned with my own bow.

“You know, I was starting to think that my Kiyoshi didn’t know how to make friends there for a while, she’s always been so quiet, hmmhmm.” She giggled.

“Hehe, yeah, we just became friends.” I grinned.

“Okay, O-bāchan, I’ll talk to you later.” Kiyoshi quickly ended the small talk.

“She’s nice.” I mentioned as we walked up the stairs.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great…” Kiyoshi muttered.

We got to his room and I quickly sat on the floor. This just felt like the most comfortable spot for me to sit. This way, Kiyoshi will think that this is like a teacher and student kinda situation. So he can provide me with all of his mental prowess.

“So, to get straight to the point, Minato asked me out on a date.” I slowly explained, pressing my fingertips together.

“Yeah, I heard about that.” He remarked as he sat in his computer chair.

“Wha-How? He asked me, like an hour ago!” I yelled in confusion.

“‘Detective Conan’ remember? I also know that you’ll be accepted in the Kado Club.” He remarked with a mocking tone.

“Ah-wha-Hh… Rrr, whatever. I guess I should just assume you know everything!” Confused and baffled, stuttered then growled at the fact that he knew about something that I was going to find out about tomorrow.

“I’m guessing you aren’t sure if you should tell Minato your ‘secret’, right?” He prompted the supposed question.

“Uhh, yeah, I suppose. He’s just really nice and I don’t want to upset him.” I slowly explained.

“Tell him, or don’t tell him… I really don’t think it is necessary to be stressed out over something that he’ll never know about, unless… you plan on-” He rambled before I cut him off.

“NO! That hasn't even crossed my mind yet! And, that’s not the point… ‘What if he finds out’ is what I’m saying, because you figured it out in like two days! Ya know!” I shouted, cheeks red with embarrassment.

“If you haven’t noticed already, I’m a genius.” He calmly explained.

“Oh yeah! ‘Genius’! I bet you didn’t know that Aoi and Hinata have been secretly kissing in the Student Council room!” I blurted with spite, and quickly covered my mouth in regret.

“Hmm, I’ve had my suspicions that one of them was hiding something, but... This is really good information.” He pondered.

“Ah-ah, forget what I just said, I just made that up to feel, ah, smarter.” I attempted to recover my spiteful words.

“Hmm… The fact that you are trying to redact your statement. Further solidifies my hypothesis… You saw something.” He explained with intrigue.

“I’m not saying another word.” I pouted.

“No need.” He quickly remarked with his hand over his chin.

We were quiet for several seconds, I felt a little overwhelmed, again. Talking to Kiyoshi can be very exhausting. It is like every conversation has to be a battle of wits. As if we’re in some dramatic play.

“I must ask… Why do you want to discuss this with me, of all people? To my understanding, your parents seem to be quite intelligent.” He spoke with curiosity.

“Well, as hard as it is to believe, I feel that you are the best person to talk to that can understand my situation… Any advice will be helpful for me, I guess.” I wiggled my body with slight unease.

“Very true, I’d say the most helpful advice I can provide is if he has a problem with your ‘secret’ you’ve formed, then don’t concern yourself with him.” He quickly resolved, crossing one leg over the other.

“Huh…”

I’ve never thought of that… I guess I’ve been somewhat occupied with the idea that I must be liked by everyone, in one way or the other. As well as to cause as little trouble as possible. I never considered that I need to like everyone or that people need to like me…

“Yeah, but… I don’t want anyone to hate me…”

What a somber statement… I recoiled into myself.

“WAH!” I shouted!

Kiyoshi quickly leaped from his chair to place both of his hands on the sides of my head to point it directly face-to-face.

“Listen to me Hiromi! You're here on this big crazy planet to be yourself! Not someone else. And if someone has a problem with that! Either me or someone that truly cares for you will be by your side to carry out justice!” Kiyoshi declared with love and courage.

He sat back in his chair and flipped his flawless hair back into place. I then blinked rapidly, as my eyes started to water. I started to gain a little smile. I’ve never felt this type of passion from anyone, except my parents.

“Ahem, sorry…” Kiyoshi apologized, averting his eyes from my teary face.

“No, no, it’s fine really… I think that was something I really needed to hear, and didn’t even know it, heh.” I wiped my small tears and giggled with glee.

The two of us were quiet for a moment. I think Kiyoshi wanted to provide some time for me to saddle down. Since I can get a little bit emotional. Regardless, the gesture is appreciated and his passion is perfect. I also had to wipe my face from the tears I made. Luckily, I have a handkerchief designed for sensitive faces and skin.

“So, uh, did I really get accepted into the Kado Club?” I sniffled.

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but it seems very likely. Orihime is somewhat of an acquaintance of mine.” He explained.

“I’m sure you already know this… But you really are amazing… And, I do consider you a friend. Despite how strange it was from the start.” I smiled, looking at the floor.

He didn’t say anything, but I’m sure he was thinking of something grandiose and epic to declare. I'm pretty sure I caught another slight shade of red in his cheeks, too.

Bzzz-bzzz

Bzzz-bzzz

“Oh, excuse me. It’s my Motoko.” I pulled out my phone to talk to Motoko.

“Moshi, moshi… No, at a friend's house… Yeah if you could… Okay, see you then.” I spoke with pauses as I conversed with Motoko.

“That was my Motoko, she’s going to pick me up here in a few minutes.” I explained to Kiyoshi, also typing in my phone.

“Oh, okay, I’ll uh, walk you out.” Kiyoshi remarked.

The two of us walked down stairs to the front door.

“Hey, um, can I uh, have a hug?” I asked as soon as I put my shoes on, and my hand close to my chest.

Kiyoshi lifted both of his arms ever so slightly, I think he wanted to engage in the hug, but then he put his right arm forward.

“How about a handshake?” He suggested.

“Hehe, okay!” I giggled then quickly grabbed his hand with both of mine, squeezing as hard as I could, shaking his up and down with glee.

“Oh, that must be her… Good night, see you tomorrow!” I heard a car drive up to the house then opened the door to happily wave at Kiyoshi.

“Yeah… It was, uh, good hanging out with you…” Kiyoshi remarked with a slight bit of shyness.

I gave him one more large glimmering smile then ran to Motoko’s car.

Another wonderfully crazy day! Still looking forward to the next one!