Destined

Cautious

Yuzuru's POV

Koharu's supposed to come over for dinner, and I sneak a look at the wall clock as I bring out the ceramic plates.

I helped Mother cook today, and we made some sushi as well. Good quality sashimi was hard to get here, but occasionally we would buy some fish (overpriced, may I add,) from the supermarket.

It gave us this tiny memory of home, laughing with Saya as we tried to add more and more wasabi (and I wasn't a fan of spicy food) so I would tear up and laugh, with tears streaming down my cheeks. Those were the days.

The ring of the doorbell alerted me, and I dropped the cutlery in a hurry, racing to the door excitedly.

She always got me all nervous and fluttery.

I quickly ran my fingers through my hair, hopefully taming it. I wasn't the best looking, but at least I put in the effort to look my best.

She was in casual clothes, her hair let down around her shoulders, her medical textbooks held in her arm, more of them stuffed in her bag, nearly bursting the seams.

Still beautiful.

I greeted her, grinning like a little boy on Christmas Day, taking her textbooks from her arms, welcoming her in.

"Hey, you did that again," she pouts, taking off her sneakers.

"Did what?" I ask, wide eyed.

She leans in, and I get all flushed, as if everything was going in slow motion.

Koharu ruffles my hair.

"Huh?" I stammer.

"You always like to tame your hair whenever I meet you. I like it messy," she smiles, pecking me on the cheek.

I blush, as she walks past me, into the dining room, greeting my Mother.

"Um, you like it messy? Um yah yeah um okay!" I stumble over my words, following her, and quickly bending down and shaking my head and ruffling my hair all over.

Messy, she said.

She turns around just as I stand up straight, and bursts out laughing.

"Not that messy! God, Yuzuru, moderation, my dear Pooh-San," she giggles, patting my hair.

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"Thank you for the food," we all chant, digging in. It's a Japanese thing, we emphasise gratitude a hell lot in our traditions.

"I made these, it's nice, right?" I playfully boast, pointing to the row of sushi in a cerulean blue plate.

Ko raises an eyebrow and smirks, trying one.

"Hey, no wasabi? And the fish, the fishhhhhhh" she laughs.

"I don't eat wasabi, and it's not my fault that Toronto has bad tuna!" I defend, taking one for myself.

"Alright kids, let's be more civilised," Mother jokes.

We finish dinner, cracking jokes now and then, and it feels like having dinner with Saya and Father, like a complete family. But the affection I feel for her is very much different from the affection I feel for Saya. Between Saya and I, it's plainly platonic. Between Koharu and I, I just want to kiss her.

Yeah, that kind of affection.

After dinner, we help with washing up, and Mother leaves "the kids" to do the chores.

"I have a soapy beard," she says in a deep voice as she shapes some soap on her chin.

"I have a handsome goatee," I boast, smearing the foam on my own chin as well.

We burst out laughing, until I see a small purple bracelet on her wrist.

"What's that? It looks quite pretty," I point. It's a Japanese bead bracelet, to wish loved ones health and happiness.

There's a small silver tag on the side, it usually has the message for the receiver.

My Father gave me one when I left for Toronto, and it said Son, best of luck. I love you.

"Oh, that. Tadashi-kun gave it to me, he said it was a souvenir for me," she said, showing it to me.

"Why would he give you such a thing?" I question. I feel a little annoyed by Nakamura's gesture. What's he trying to do?

"Yuzu Pooh, it's nothing much, it's just a bracelet, you know," she reassures me, putting her hand on mine, and very gracefully smearing a dollop of soapy foam on my nose.

I laugh and wipe it off, dabbing some on her nose as well.

"You're Japanese too, you know we don't usually give bracelets -especially this kind- to acquaintances," I explain, drying the white bowl with a cloth.

"Ohhh. Is somebody jealous?" Koharu teases, drying off her cup.

"Am not," I say indignantly.

She gives a knowing smirk, and quietly finishes up the remaining of the dishes.

Just as she leaves for the night, I grab her arm and pull her in for a hug on her doorstep.

"I know he's just a teammate, but he doesn't seem very nice, just be careful, alright?" I whisper in her ear.

"Afraid that your girl will leave you, Hanyu?" She laughs, running her fingers through my hair.

"Hey, I'm serious," I sigh.

"Yeah, I know. Goodnight, my dear Pooh," she pecks me on the cheek and shuts the door quietly.

The walk back home is very short, seeing as how we're neighbours.

But I can't shake off the uneasy feeling running through my body.

As if somebody was watching me.

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