What Rules Cannot Hold (A Naekusaba story)

Chapter 20

''I knew it!" An excited voice sounded before Makoto fully entered his dorm. 

''Yeah, Macocoa! I knew this would happen from the very beginning!'' 

A large group of his friends crammed themselves into his dorm. Gonta was sitting at the back, greeting him happily. This scene didn't surprise him, but he was worried that they heard the conversation he had with Mukuro outside. Next time he'd even have to be wary of his room. 

''Hehe...what's up, guys? Why are you all here?'' He asked, embarrassed as he couldn't decide whether he should continue standing where he was right now, or sit on the floor since the beds and chairs were taken. Somehow, he felt more awkward here than when Mukuro was lying on him, although the strangeness of that situation was much less apparent because of the persisting torrent of emotions it carried forth. 

''Man's tryin' to hide it,'' Leon said and cackled. 

''Hide...what?''

''Seriously, Makoto, you're either incredibly bad at playing dumb or you're completely oblivious to everything that's going on around you.'' Kazuichi's words were harsh, but they were true. Makoto was quite careless in concealing the budding bond between him and Mukuro, which could hardly coexist with his tendency to oppose people's claims about it without arousing suspicion. 

''You're not wrong, Kazuichi...but you may be looking at this from the wrong angle...'' 

''Aw, Makoto, c'mon. If you need help with getting a girl, then you should've just asked us!" Kaito said.

''And why would he rest his assurance in any of you? There's no way you could advise him concerning any of this, since the topic at hand might in fact be more unfamiliar to you than it is to him. Kehehe...Is this the deja vu I so frequently hear about?'' 

Korekiyo's remark carried a weight that Makoto couldn't dismiss; his friends' insistence was welcoming - but did they really know how to deal with this?

''You see what you did, Kiyo? Now Makoto doesn't know what to do.''

''Perhaps that's for the best. No offence, Makoto, but the perils caused by a mistaken advice can exceed everything else.''

''No...I understand.'' 

''You agree with him?!'' Kazuichi shouted and threw his arms in the air as if his anger induced a sudden outburst of piety. 

''N-No, no. I just want you guys to give me some time. I still don't know Mukuro very well and think it'd be unwise to rush this if I myself am not convinced about it, you know?'' Even now, he understated how much he knew her. He understood that she was lost and lacked conviction in herself because of Junko's influence and expected this to have been resolved after she stopped imitating her sister, but the issue was not gone. Something else disturbed her inwardly. One day she'd act as shy as the first time when he met her, then on the next day, she'd put on a contrary persona. From the beginning of their friendship, Makoto sought to understand why she persisted in this state, but always failed, and to claim that he loved her when her real self wasn't known he felt was wrong.