Free Web NovelChapter 68: Sorry
"Kai."
"Hm."
"I’m sorry I waited."
He understood immediately.
The stairwell.
The Umbral.
"The twins were there," she said quietly. "If I entered too early they would’ve stopped trying to save the possessed humans and focused on sealing me instead."
Her voice tightened again.
"But you kept getting hurt."
Kaito leaned his head back lightly against hers.
"The timing worked."
"It didn’t."
"It did."
She shook her head immediately against his shoulder.
"The right timing would’ve been before the Umbral hit you."
"The chains needed to happen first."
Shizuka went quiet.
"If you came in before I restrained the possessed bodies, Hiro and Natsume would’ve had no opening for the extractions."
Silence settled between them again.
He could feel her thinking through it.
Could feel the frustration still sitting inside her anyway.
"The timing was right," he said again.
This time she didn’t argue.
A few seconds later she leaned up and kissed carefully beside the place where the bandage had been on his head.
Gentle enough that he barely felt it.
That unsettled him more than the panic had.
Kaito closed his eyes briefly.
He realized suddenly that she was still trembling.
Very slightly.
Almost hidden underneath the tightness of her grip.
He stood there in the entryway and let her hold him.
Minutes passed.
At some point the way she touched him changed.
The panic faded slowly out of her movements. Her hands stopped checking him over and over. The grip around his chest loosened just enough that he could breathe normally again.
She was still holding him tightly.
Just differently now.
Like she was making sure he stayed there.
"You scared me," she said quietly.
Kaito looked down at her hands resting against his chest.
"You’ve said that already."
"I mean it more now."
He almost smiled.
Shizuka noticed.
He could tell from the way her breathing changed against his neck.
He turned slightly so he could see her properly.
Her red eyes were closed.
No smug expression. No teasing smile. Nothing playful anywhere in her face.
Silver hair falling messily around her shoulders from where she’d thrown herself into him at the door.
One sleeve of her black outfit was still torn near the wrist. There was dried dust along one side of her clothes from the hospital exterior.
He looked away first.
Several more quiet minutes passed.
Then eventually he gathered spiritual energy into one leg and kicked backward.
Shizuka made a small startled sound as she lost balance and rolled sideways across the entryway floor with silver hair immediately exploding everywhere around her.
She sat there staring up at him.
Kaito looked down at her.
"...Thank you."
She blinked once.
"For the Umbral."
Something in her expression softened immediately.
Tiny change.
But real.
"You don’t have to thank me for protecting you."
"I know."
She pushed hair back behind one ear slowly.
"It escaped."
"The Umbral?"
She nodded.
"I damaged it badly when I took it through the wall."
There was irritation in her voice now. freёwebnoѵel.com
At herself.
"But it recovered faster than I expected."
Her fingers picked absently at a loose thread near her sleeve.
"It ran before I could absorb it."
Kaito stayed quiet.
Shizuka lowered her eyes slightly.
"If I’d taken it properly..." she said softly, "I would’ve been stronger after."
The thread pulled loose in her fingers.
"I would’ve been able to protect you better."
Kaito looked at her sitting on the floor in his entryway.
Silver hair messy.
Red eyes lowered.
Still shaken enough that she wasn’t even pretending otherwise anymore.
"You were already strong enough."
Her gaze lifted back toward him slowly.
"I need you alive more than I need you stronger."
The loose thread slipped from her fingers.
For a second she just stared at him.
Completely still.
Then very quietly:
"...Okay."
The room stayed silent around them.
Outside somewhere down the street, a dog barked once.
Kaito looked at her spread across his floor.
"You should get up."
"You kicked me down here."
"You were attached to me for half an hour."
"I can do longer."
"I know."
She stood slowly and stepped closer again.
Carefully this time.
Her hands rested lightly against the front of his shirt.
Not gripping.
Just there.
Feeling his heartbeat again.
Her eyes stayed fixed on his face.
"Don’t get hurt again," she said quietly.
Kaito looked at her for a long moment.
Silver hair loose around her shoulders.
Red eyes still carrying the remains of fear underneath them.
The strongest thing he had ever seen asking him that in a voice barely above a whisper.
"I’ll try," he said.
Shizuka leaned forward slowly. freewebnøvel.coɱ
Pressed one more kiss against the side of his jaw.
Then rested her forehead lightly against his chest and closed her eyes.
.
.
A week passed.
University. Cafeteria lunches. The walk to Metro with all five of them spread across the pavement wide enough that people had to move around them instead.
Small routines settling into place without anybody discussing them.
On Tuesday Daiki became convinced the cafeteria fish was coming from a different supplier and spent most of lunch constructing an increasingly detailed argument for it.
He pointed at the texture. The smell. The colour of the batter. Riku listened for almost twenty minutes before saying,
"You just got a piece with less oil on it."
Daiki stared at him.
"...You’re a deeply negative person."
On Thursday Ayame leaned over during Communication and Media, looked at Kaito’s notebook for several seconds, then looked at him.
"You only write the date."
"Yes."
She nodded once.
Then went back to her own notes like that answered everything correctly.
On Friday Riku arrived carrying a different book than usual.
Dark cover this time instead of plain white. He set it on the table without saying anything and spent the next ten minutes very obviously waiting for somebody to ask about it.
Nobody did.
By the end of lunch he looked almost offended.
Mei had stopped flinching every time their hands touched.
Kaito noticed it around the third day.
Before that, even casual contact had carried this tiny hesitation afterward, like some part of her still expected it to disappear if she relaxed too much.
Now her fingers stayed comfortably linked with his when they walked.
She still tightened her grip sometimes in crowded places when people brushed past too close, but she no longer looked surprised afterward.
He had stopped thinking of it as nervousness.
It was just Mei.
They kissed more now.
Not constantly.
Just without the awkward pause beforehand anymore.
Kaito had learned that Mei kissed the same way she approached most things — carefully, seriously, with all of her attention focused on exactly what she was doing.
She still turned red afterward every single time no matter how often it happened.
Each kiss seemed to reset her completely back to the beginning.
Today’s happened outside the station entrance before they split toward different platforms.
Evening commuters moved around them in steady waves toward the gates.
Train announcements echoed overhead. Somebody nearby was arguing loudly on the phone.
Kaito leaned down slightly.
Mei kissed him back immediately.
Soft.
Warm.
Then the moment ended and she pulled away, pressed two fingers against her mouth, and stared firmly at the pavement while colour climbed rapidly across her face and into the tips of her ears.
Kaito watched her for a few seconds.
"It keeps happening."
"What does," Mei asked the ground quietly.
"Your face."
"My face is fine."
"Your face is bright red."
She covered it with both hands immediately.
Kaito laughed.
Just because of how predictable it had become. Every single time. Same expression. Same panic afterward.
"Stop laughing," she said through her hands.
He stopped.
Mostly.
After a few seconds she lowered her hands enough to look at him properly.
Her eyes behind the thick black frames looked bright and accusing. Wind had loosened part of one braid near her shoulder.
Kaito looked at her.
Then leaned forward and kissed her again.
Mei made a small startled sound against his mouth.
Her fingers caught lightly against the front of his shirt this time before she seemed to realize she was doing it.
When he pulled back she stayed close instead of stepping away immediately.
Kaito could feel her breathing against his chin.
Mei looked down again quickly, still holding his shirt without noticing.
People kept walking around them toward the station entrance.
Neither of them moved.
Kaito reached up and brushed the loose strands near her braid back behind her ear.
Mei’s grip tightened immediately.
He watched her eyes close for a second behind the glasses.
"You stopped flinching," he said.
Mei looked back up at him slowly.
"When you touch me?"
He nodded.
She thought about it seriously.
Then said, very quietly.
"I think my body got used to being happy."
Kaito went still for half a second.
Mei realized what she had just said immediately afterward.
The colour in her face deepened so fast it almost looked painful.
"I didn’t mean— I mean I did mean it, but not—I said it weird—"
Kaito kissed her forehead before she could continue spiraling.
She stopped talking instantly.
Her forehead rested lightly against his chest after that.
Just for a few seconds.
He could feel how warm her face was even through his shirt.
People flowed around them toward the station gates without paying attention.
Eventually Mei stepped back first.
Barely.
Her fingers slid slowly loose from the front of his shirt.
"I have to go before I miss my metro," she mumbled.
"You probably already missed it."
"...Oh."
Neither of them moved.
Then another station announcement echoed overhead and Mei blinked hard like she had only just remembered where she was.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh no."
Kaito laughed again.
Mei looked at him one last time, then turned sharply and hurried toward her platform with one hand still covering part of her face.
Kaito watched her disappear into the station crowd.
He touched his mouth absentmindedly.
Then looked toward the platform Mei had disappeared into.
He was still smiling slightly when he passed through his own gate.
