Sinner and a Savior

Ch. 11 - A Father's Stoicism

The weekend arrived quicker than you had liked. You were excited to see Tsumiki, but you kept double thinking your plot of having a fake boyfriend. But at the same time, you wanted that revenge. You wanted to put your husband through the same pain that you had felt, and that emotion was much more powerful than your morals, at least for the time being.

As soon as you met eyes with Toji at the train station, there was no turning back. You swallowed hard, gave yourself a few positive thoughts, and completed your approach.

"Hello, girlfriend," Toji teased, his hands casually in the pockets of his white, cotton pants. He had the best shit-eating grin you'd ever seen. It nearly made you giggle.

"Hello, boyfriend," you greeted back with a cute grin, blushing at his teasing. Again, you were dressed casually considering the outing, keeping things light with yet another t-shirt/shorts combo. You were always thankful to get out of those tight-fitting yukatas that were mandatory at the Zenin's. "Thanks again for doing this. I'm hoping I can scare him straight or...something."

"Scaring him will definitely be achieved," Toji nodded. "But the 'or something,' I don't think it's going to stop him from sleeping with that bimbo."

"Right, our relationship is deader than dead," you sighed and looked down, again feeling bad about your deception.

"But, the scaring him part will definitely be worth it," he retracted. He then placed a heavy hand on your shoulder for motivation. "We're still doing this, right?" He raised an eyebrow in your direction, a light smile on his scarred face. You gave a single nod in confirmation as the train pulled into the station.

It was a quiet ride back to your hometown, but before you knew it you were walking off of the platform with Toji.
The day was bright and welcoming, just as you had remembered your old town before things started going south with Masaru.

"Ah, yes, the sticks," Toji commented as he walked away from the station with you. He took a deep breath of the fresh country air. "Nothing quite like it."

"Is that an insult?" You chuckled and looked back at him as he followed you across the street.

"Definitely not," he confirmed with a chuckle, stretching his arms wide after being on the cramped train for far too long.

The pair of you continued walking until you made it to the front door of your building, a small apartment complex that could house four small families.
This time you had told Masaru that you'd be coming, so you were hoping that the woman you saw before wouldn't be there. Luckily, you were correct.

"H-hello," Masaru answered the door, at first confident, but that quickly faded away after he saw the tall, dark figure behind you. "Who is this?"

"This is..." you had to suddenly think of a name, "Matteo Russo, my boyfriend," you lied, quickly coming up with the worst name possible without thinking. Matteo Russo was the main character from one of your American romance novels that you were currently reading, it was the first thing on your mind when asked for a name. Toji even blinked hard a few times to make sure he heard you correctly.

"M-Matteo Russo?" Masaru double checked. "But he's...Japanese, right?"

"Yes, sir," Toji quickly answered for you, "but raised in southern Italy by foreigners, and moved here for family." Toji suddenly stepped in front of you and entered the apartment without being welcomed. Genius, you thought. Toji had honestly saved your ass there, even though the situation still seemed highly fabricated.

"I see...your Japanese is...impeccable," Masaru quietly noted, the statement being ignored by Toji.

You followed Toji close behind and found Tsumiki happily playing on the living room floor with her favorite cartoon on the television.
Masaru allowed you and Toji to get settled. You chose to play with Tsumiki on the floor with Toji coolly watching you while seated on one of the sofas, paying close attention to how some of your features matched Tsumiki's. Quietly, he recognized a feeling in his chest and quickly quieted it, ignoring its presence.