(Complete) Taking Her Place (Saiouma/Oumasai)

You Can Join Me

Chapter 15: you can join me

Kokichi's POV

Out of nowhere, Kyoko burst through the door as if she had a key and yelled. This is becoming a bit of a regular thing.
"What are you still doing here? You have 15 minutes to get ready before I drag you to the top deck."
"Huh?" I looked at her.
"Come on! Up! Go shower!" Kyoko pulled me off the bed and pushed me into the bathroom.
"Kyoko, Shuichi is in the shower right now-"
"I don't care, we have a time limit!"

Kyoko pushed me into the bathroom and put her back on the door. I'm not sure what she's up to but this can't possibly be good.
"Kyoko! Let me out!" I banged on the door. I heard the shower curtain move as Shuichi poked his head out to see what was going on.
"Hello, fancy meeting you here." Shuichi laughed.
"I'm sorry." I didn't want to look at him so I just continued to try and open the door.
"The sooner you're done the sooner I'll let you out, you have 13 minutes now." Kyoko yelled through the door.

"Can I ask what's going on?" Shuichi asked, "you can turn around you know."
"Well to be honest I'm not sure." I hit the door with my back and slid onto the floor.
"Why'd she push you in here?" Shuichi shut the curtain and continued to shower.

"She told me to shower and get ready but I tried to tell her you were already in here." I yelled, hoping Kyoko would hear me.
"Huh, weird. Was the 13 minutes how long you have before she forces you to get ready or until she drags you out to whatever she wants anyways?"
"It's 11 minutes now! Better get ready!" Kyoko yelled.

"Be quiet old lady!" I yelled back, "it's until she drags me away I think."
"I'm requiring both if you come so Shuichi better be ready as well!" Kyoko yelled.
"Oh great. Good to know I'm being dragged into this as well." Shuichi replied.
"She won't drag you out of the shower so I think you're good."
"Don't underestimate me!" She yelled back. Shuichi laughed in response.

"Well if you don't want her to be mad at you then come shower."
"Shuichi, if I wasn't trying to play dumb then I would tell you how much it sounds like you're flirting with me." I felt the butterflies again, what is this the 100th time now.
"I am."
"Well that was straightforward. No." I replied. I really didn't think, or want, my night to begin with me showering with Shuichi.
"You make it so hard to be flirty, Kokichi." Shuichi laughed.
"Am I supposed to make it easy?" I laughed back.

"Easier than this. I was being serious you know, when I said you can join me."
"I was being serious as well, no. I think I've expressed that I don't want want to take you away from your girlfriend."
"In that case I think I've also expressed that I told her I might not come back which means I'm single."
"I still feel bad." I crossed my arms, not that he could see me anyways.

"Don't feel bad. I told you I liked another person already anyways." He replied.
"Which you still refuse to tell me who it is."
"I think it's pretty obvious at this point."
"Are you saying-" I started.
"I'm not going to answer that, you have to figure it out. If you figure it out then you'll have to tell me who you like as well."
"You're awfully confident today Shuichi."
"Thank you." Shuichi peaked his head out and smiled. I rolled my eyes.

"9 minutes!" Kyoko yelled.
"I wonder what she wants us to do." I questioned.
"Not sure. But I think it's funny what she's doing." Shuichi responded.
"What's funny?! None of this is funny!" I crossed my arms again.
"I think it's funny."
"Well you're wrong."
"I think this is more of an opinion-"
"Nope you're wrong." I cut him off.

"Do you think we missed something? Like is something happening today?" Shuichi asked.
"Not sure, and she won't tell us." I elbowed the door behind me.
"Hey! Not my fault you don't know what I'm talking about!" Kyoko responded.
"Well I'm done." Shuichi shut off the water and grabbed his towel.
"Listen, I'd love to leave. I really would, I don't think it's my place to be here right now, but someone is physically keeping me in here so I'll just turn around in this corner-" I started.
"Ok." Shuichi responded before I could finish.

It seemed like he genuinely didn't care. Part of me felt like there wasn't anything Kyoko wanted and she simply wanted to mess with me. But how would she have known that Shuichi was in the shower? I guess she was right next door. I don't know, we'll find out soon.
"Ok, you can turn around." Shuichi stated. I assumed that mean he was completely dressed and I would get to leave soon but that is not what he meant.

I stood up and turned around to see Shuichi shirtless. I guess it shouldn't have mattered since we went swimming the other day, I should think of this as a swim suit. But my brain did not agree. Here come the butterflies again.

"Sorry!" I covered my eyes and fell back into the corner, "I thought you meant I could stand up right away!"
"I did. Quit making things weird you weirdo." Shuichi grabbed my hand and pulled me back up to my feet.
"Jeez you two are awkward." Kyoko said through the door.

"You're not helping." Shuichi responded.
I jumped up and sat on the counter, looking away from Shuichi.
"How much longer?" I asked Kyoko.
"5 minutes."
I let my back hit the mirror behind me as I rolled my eyes, "this is stupid."
"Yeah a little." Shuichi grabbed his shirt and sat on the counter next to me.

"Only 5 more minutes." I said under my breath.
"Why do you want to leave so bad? We've spent all day together, what's different now?"
"This is completely different, you were standing maybe 5 feet away from me, completely naked, with only a shower curtain between us. Not to mention that I'm being forced to be here, things are always less enjoyable when you're forced to do it."

"I guess, I don't mind you being here. So I see things differently."
"You've made it pretty clear already that you don't mind me being in here, if telling me I could join you in the shower wasn't enough you then told me I could turn around when you didn't have a shirt on."
"I guess," he laughed, "I think we're both men, it's socially acceptable for men to be seen without a shirt."
"I mean technically, but not when there's awkward one sided flirting and one of them is gay."
"I guess. Do you see it as one sided?"
"See the flirting? Yeah that, I've told you already I'm not interested in taking you-"

"I know I know. I just felt like I had seen through that and you didn't mean it."
"I was serious... for once. I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted-" I apologized.
"Do you know what I want?"
"Technically no, you haven't outright said that you want this to go further than-"
"So what you're saying is, you want me to say exactly what I want? I can do that-" He hurried.
"No Shuichi, I'm saying even though you haven't outright said what you want, I can still imagine and that's not what I want to do. I don't believe it's my place to be here right now let alone be in the situation I'm in right now."

"Well I think we'd need to talk about this eventually. It's seems like you've figured out who I like, we made an agreement earlier you know." He looked longingly towards me.
"Hmpf, I know-" I was cut off.
"Times up!" Kyoko opened the door and grabbed both of our arms dragging us out of the room.

By now it was dark out but not midnight yet. Kyoko dragged us to the top deck, there was a lot of people there as well all in a big crowd.
"Finally you're all here, it took long enough." Makoto laughed.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Fireworks! They start at 9:30." Makoto smiled.
"Oh, I should've known that." Shuichi laughed a bit.

"What we're you three doing that took so long?" Makoto asked. Instead of responding we all just looked at him, too tired to answer.