Stealing You

Connect

I was dumbfounded!! No way in hell could a guy this kind be THE ITOSHI SAE! The evil, malicious, cruel elder brother who bullied his kid bro...But in that moment, I hated him to the bone. He had bullied Rin and he was not to be forgiven. 

I wanted to snap his hand away. But Rin would not approve of it if he got to know the same. So I grasped it, with an upset smile. 

"You hate me." 
It was not a question, nor a statement made out of malice or sorrow. It was simply a remark. An amused...remark. 

"I do!" I confirmed. No point in hiding it, was there? I hated him because Rin hated him. And if Rin hated him then this guy was undeniably evil! 

"Do you now? I wonder what I can do about that." He had moved closer. There was no anger in his voice which continued to be flirty, and somehow, it made the pace of my heart...calm down. I was not worried of his looming presence over me. I loved it. I wanted it more. I wanted to act on an impulse, pull him down and hug him tight. I wanted to break down and complain about how much Rin was hurting me! 

I wanted to do all of that. But the practical part of me kept nagging. 
'Have you forgotten? This is Itoshi Sae! THE villain of our story. He does not deserve our smiles or hugs. He is an annoying, evil, arrogant bully!' 

So I pushed him off. I wanted to cry out loud when I did that. But I still pushed him off. I could not cheat on Rin! He needed me...

"You...cannot do anything about that!" I was a muddle of emotions. I was mad, angry, sad, hurt and in immense physical pain because of my heels. 

"But may I be bold enough to know, madam...what have I done to upset you?" 

"Don't act as if you don't know! You, Mr., are a bully." And I poked my hand at his chest. I was going to tell him EVERYTHING this time! Make this guy realize how wrong he was!!!! 
"You bullied your younger brother since such a tender age! You made him doubt his own decisions. Challenge himself mentally, suffer in self-doubt, till he was the best striker in the world. And after all that he's been through, you fail to acknowledge him. You have done NOTHING to support him, and now, you waltz into his life as if nothing went wrong. How crap of a brother must you be?!!! You are a disgrace to Rin. He is...fighting so, so hard...to...to..." The dam had positively burst by now. 

Before I knew it, a few stray tears fell on the ground, and I looked down in shame. What the hell had I said? What if Rin got to know? He's been bearing me for a long, long time now!! He will 100% break up with me...

I looked up, panicking. I had to apologize this instant!! My heart sunk even low to see a frowning Itoshi Sae. And in a tenth of a second, he had picked me up, bridal style. Now, I was blushing beet root red. But, there it was again...that feeling of safety!

Why, did I feel this way around him?! Why did his presence made me feel like nothing could ever hurt me?! Just who was this Itoshi Sae?! 

He led me carefully to the nearest slow-swing, and sat me down on it, before moving behind and slightly swinging it. All the while, I kept on looking at him, as he continued to provide me with those comforting whooshes of winds. 

None of us, uttered a single word. But I somehow felt that he was not mad at me, and I hoped that my eye could convey my apology to him. Yes, I hated him. But calling him a jerk and disgrace was going too far. He must have had his reasons as well, right? From far off, every household except ours seems gold. Deep within, it's just rusting iron! 

Maybe...this was also Itoshi Sae. I wanted to understand him once again, before blaming him. I wanted to know for myself.

But...Rin...would not approve of it!

"(y/n)! (y/n)!" I was pulled out of my trance. "Do you really...want me and Rin that badly to conceal our differences?" 

"Itoshi--San... I do want you and Rin to get together. But because the both of you understand each other, and not because you have been forced to...I don't want you two broken pieces to be joined forcefully and temporarily by a glue stick. I  want you to be naturally joint, as one." 

All the while, I could feel his sincere, serene gaze on me. And for a second, I felt as if I saw tears pricking at his eyes. I wanted to rush to him, hold him in my arms and say It'll be fine. But I held myself back, as I continued to stare back at him.  A few moments, later, they were gone. 

But they did leave behind those lingering memories. Had I and Itoshi Sae, perhaps, even if slightly, managed to connect?