Chapter 14: You don’t need my permission for that, dummy!

POV Katsura

"You have a really nice voice Hori-san" I say.

We are out shopping. It's mostly her shopping for daily groceries and me tagging along behind, carrying the stuff. I don't complain. I like it actually. I like this part of my day. Helping her out.

We were passing by this DVD rental place which was marketing an anime song from a popular anime, and Hori san was humming along the tune.

"Huh… I was singing out loud… how embarrassing" Hori san says, blushing.

"No. No, you are actually pretty good. Do you love anime songs?" I ask

"It's Souta's fault. He plays anime music out loud, it seems I picked them up without knowing" she explains.

"I see….. so what sort of music do you like?" I ask again.

There was a long pause, I could see her thinking, visibly. Should it take this long to choose your favourite genre? My only understanding of music was theoretical, I have started getting into it lately, but I mostly like soft sweet songs or melodies, even some anime songs too. Thinking about it, I probably like what I like, there is no classified genre over it.

"Ehh… I cant seem to think about anything in particular…. Thinking about it, I can't even remember the last time I heard something apart from the anime songs Souta plays all day long" she says, astonished at herself "I guess, I will say I like what young people like nowadays"

"Anime songs are cool too, you shouldn't be embarrassed about liking it" I protest.

"You like anime Zura?" she asks me

"Well, I never watched anything like it before, so I like it." I say thinking about it. "Actually I like all sorts of anime and Western cartoons too" I add. It was true. When I am home alone, I tend to play some anime or something like that while dinner or when I am not studying. Sometimes just to have some sound to not feel lonely. It seems I have discovered a new feeling. Loneliness.

"Wow. I never took you for an anime watcher" she says.

"Why is that? Did I do anything wrong?" I ask

"No, no. It's just that, a guy as practical as you, I could literally picture you as an adult watching the news or a documentary with deep concentration." She explains.

I am that boring. Huh. I guess that's fair. Sometimes I do get a bit dense but….

"Well, I for one think watching news is overrated. Coming from my world, the news is just putting on a civil front to all the darkness in the world, its always changing, complaining, and distressing, the last thing I need in my life is more negativity. I guess it may sound stupid, but I think watching a movie or something fictional or whatever gives you joy, is more important" I explain.

Hori san comprehends my answer for a while and stares at me.

"You know Zura, you just gave an extremely thoughtful answer to a silly question. It's just that you are always so deep in thoughts, your answer makes sense in every way but I still find it conflicting to believe that a guy like you likes anime over news." She says.

"Well, I will try to loosen up a bit" I say trying to force a smile.

She smiles back at me.

"So, we got the eggs, the vegetables, and the rice, and…" Hori san tries to remember her grocery list.

I already know it by heart, buy I don't want to point that she didn't miss anything, an abnormal skill shouldn't be brought to light in perfectly normal moments like this.

"Zura, you need anything?" she asks me

"No, I still got canned food and stuff back home, since I do dinner at your place nowadays, my shopping list it always blank" I say

"You should give me a few of the bags, all of those must be heavy for you" she says, making an attempt at grabbing a bag from my hand.

"No, no, I don't feel a thing, carrying these is the least I could do, for all meals I have at your place" I say, while moving out of her reach.

"Well if you put it that way….." Hori san says

"Hey, you wanna go for ice cream?" I say trying to change the subject.

"Huh.. sure, I guess, but why now?" she asks

"Well, I kinda treated Souta and Yuuna to ice cream while you were sick and I promised Souta that I will treat you too when you got better, and since we are already out, I thought….." I trail off

She looks at me for a moment, her eyes wide. I cant feel what she is thinking.

"It's almost like a date" she says

"Sorry?" I ask

"Today I mean. You coming outside with me, you rarely come here, now you are taking me for ice cream" she explains

"Do you not like it? I am sorry if I offended you" I say.

Truth be told, I don't know a thing about dating. As a young boy, my missions in espionage were related to action only, all the romantic stuff was never on the table for me, it was not like the movies. So I was on uncharted territory. Did I say it the wrong way?

"No, dummy I love the idea. Yeesh, you always get scared so easily" Hori san smiles, putting me at ease.

We go to the same place I took Souta and Yuuna. I have never been out to places like this before. Coffee shops, ice cream parlours were foreign concepts to me, but now I was visiting the same place again. I guess I like this place too.

"Zura is that you?" I hear a familiar voice behind my back.

"Miyamura kun! Nice running into you here" I say turning back.

Miyamura was with an orange haired boy, he looked handsome, a few inches shorter than me.

"Miyamura kun, is he your friend?" I ask pointing to the guy behind him.

"This is Shindo" he says mechanically, almost like a robot, he looked funny. It was almost as if he was embarrassed to introduce him to us.

"Miyamura kun, nice running into you here, do you come here regularly" Hori san asks

"Yeah, I sometimes come here, when I want to be ALONE" he emphasized on the last word while glaring daggers at the guy named Shindo.

He didn't even introduce us to him.

"Umm.. Miyamura, is he your friend?" I ask

"I don't know him" he says in that same comedic robotic tone.

But you introduced him to us. I think in my mind

"Hey Miyamura! Come on man! Introduce your friends to me" Shindo says from behind him. He feigned a hurt voice.

"Zura, Hori san, Shindo, Shindo, Zura Hori san" he repeats in the same robotic tone.

I can't stifle out my laughter any more and I let out a little. Hori san stands beside me dumbstruck at the duo. She doesn't know whether to cry or laugh at them.

"You guys are an excellent pair" I say smiling

"No" Miyamura says rigidly

"You think so?" Shindo asks hopefully.

I laugh again.

"Lets not stand here hogging the door, the others are staring at us" Hori san points out.

I see it too; people were staring at us.

We pick a four-seater table and sit.

"Order whatever you guys want, my treat" I say

"You didn't have to do that" Miyamura says

"Your friend is so nice" Shindo says.

Miyamura glares at him

"Don't worry guys, I am loaded at the moment, you guys can pick anything" I say

"Well I will have a parfait then" Miyamura says

"Me too" Shindo says excitedly

"Well, now I don't feel like having one" Miyamura says

"Come on man!" Shindo groans.

I don't know why I am finding this funny, but the dynamic between these two seemed hilarious. Miyamura seemed like a pretty calm guy, shy, seeing him act like this out of his character, it seemed nice.

"What will you have?" I ask Hori san

She was looking at the menu, I could almost see Souta's face like hers. He was also concentrating like this over the menu, the siblings really shared this trait.

"If you want, I could get everything on the menu" I say jokingly to her. I could actually

"As if…" she cries

"What, I am not joking" I say

Now, Miyamura and Shindo were looking at us, smile on their face.

"Zura, are you dating Hori san?" Miyamura asks, with a straight smile on his face. He can be so blunt sometimes.

I don't know what to reply. We were official with each other, but did she want me to tell others that. I fidget uncomfortably "Well… I… we…"

"Yeah, we are" Hori san says out loud and clear.

I look at her face, she was not embarrassed, she said it merely in a matter of fact way.

"Good. You two form a nice couple" Miyamura says.

I believe him. His answer is somehow candid. Its not just a hollow response, but it was the truth from him.

"Well Hori san, you can have this sundae" I say, to change the topic.

My heart was beating faster suddenly, did the all the ACs stop working in here?! Why is it to hot?! I quickly get up "I am going to place the order" I say before rushing off. Why am I so flustered all of a sudden?

After a few minutes I return with the order. The others were already engrossed in some conversation. Shindo was telling something embarrassing and Miyamura was protesting. I quietly place the tray and slip into my seat.

"So, he then pushed him into the pool" Shindo goes on with his story, with constant grunts of annoyances from Miyamura.

I don't say anything. I want this moment to last forever. I look at their smiling faces, engrossed in their moment of laughter and happiness. This wasn't a life changing scenario, some people would even call it a mundane thing, common everywhere, but for me this 'mundane' was beautiful. I cant help but smile myself, as I stare at them, almost hungrily, as I never had this before. Hanging out with 'friends' was an alien concept to me, but I understand why people cherished it so much.

"The ice cream's melting" I point out

The others quickly shift their focus on their respective plates, but the flow of conversation goes on.

Shindo was Miyamura's friend from way back since junior high. I actually liked him. He was a polar opposite to Miyamura, lively extroverted, centre of focus, but their personalities complimented each other perfectly.

I can't even fathom how fast the time passed, and the 'ice cream time' was over.

"Thanks for the treat Katsura kun" Shindo says

"You can just call me Zura, no need to be formal" I say.

"Well…. Thank you Zura" he says again

"Yeah thanks man" Miyamura adds.

"Don't mention it, this is a money well spent" I say

We part ways. Hori san and I on our way back to her house and Miyamura and Shindo back to my apartment building at Miyamura's place.

"Why did you become so flustered, when Miyamura asked about us dating?" Hori san asks me, all of a sudden.

"Well… I… I. didn't want to make you uncomfortable in any way, I didn't know whether you would like me telling others about this" I say.

Hori san looks at me surprised and horrified. She then sighs "You don't need to ask me for permission, dummy. Seriously Zura, lighten up a bit, I love you just as much as you love me, you don't need to feel scared about making me uncomfortable, I know what I am doing"

"Seriously?" I ask

"Seriously" she replies.

I look at her face, she gives an approving smile at me. I don't know what to say.

She pats my back "Come on hurry up, we are almost there" she pushes me, increasing my walking speed. 

We reach her house. Souta was out playing; her mother was out working. She opens the door and we walk inside. "We're back" she announces. To no one in particular.

We step inside chatting, but I feel something was off. "Hori san didn't you lock the door?" I ask worried.

"Yes, I clearly remember doing so" she replies

"But, right now the door was unlocked" I say

I see a wave of surprise hit her face.

"Maybe Mom's home earl-"

"Ah Kyoko, you are back" I hear a man's voice from inside the house. Then I see the same man step outside. He has long messy grey hair, so long that even his eyes were covered. He is tall, tall as me, he doesn't look like a homeless person, but I sense an air of shabbiness around him. He didn't look old, almost like a senior year college student. Just who the hell was this guy?!

I weigh out my options in that split second, I can't just hit first and as questions later, so I decide to take the more reasonable approach. I wait for a hint of more explanation.

"Kyoske, what are you doing here?!" Hori san exclaims.

It was definitely not a joyful exclaim. More of an annoyance.

So, Hori san knew him. I lower my guard. But it still doesn't answer my question. Who the hell is this guy?