Seven Weeks: A Seven Days Fanfiction

WEEK ONE: Friday (Touji)

The smell of coffee and toast beckoned me downstairs on Friday morning, but when I got there I found an unwelcome visitor in our dining room. Shino stood up behind a table spread with a magnificent breakfast, her smile sleek as a nine-tailed fox. She was wearing a white satin blouse that shimmered in the morning light streaming in through the windows. I clenched my jaw and turned to walk out, but she called after me, sweetly.

"Touji, come eat. I had Umeki-san prepare this especially for you."

I bristled and turned in spite of myself. "You had no right."

Umeki was our family's housekeeper. She'd taken care of me and my brother for as long as we could remember, and to me she was like a second mother... in some ways, actually, she was closer to me than my real mother. I glanced at the table, which held an impressive array of dishes from grilled fish and miso soup to poached eggs and green salad, all fresh and undoubtedly delicious. God, Umeki must have spent forever on this, and I was willing to bet Shino had summoned her here early this morning just to use her in whatever scheme this was to harass me.

Shino just smiled wider. "Oh, Touji, don't be like that. She was happy to do it, you know."

Yeah, I did know. Umeki was too kind for her own good, and let Shino boss her around even though I'd told her a thousand times to say no. Shino was the most manipulative person I'd ever met, and she specialized in using a person's affections to get what she wanted.

I stomped over to the table and sat. No matter how much I despised Shino's trickery I couldn't put Umeki's hard work to waste. I grabbed a bowl of rice, slapped a piece of fish and an egg on top of it, and started chewing aggressively.

Shino came to stand next to me, beaming in triumph, and poured a cup of coffee with practiced elegance. She'd been in the tea ceremony club during her years at Houka, and it showed. She set the china cup in front of me, rotating it with fingers that barely seemed to make contact with the delicate porcelain. Then she pulled out the chair next to me, poured herself a cup, and watched me eat with her chin in her hand like I was the most fascinating thing she could imagine. I tried to pretend like she wasn't there, but after a few minutes I was too irritated.

"Aren't you going to eat some of this?"

"Oh, goodness, no. I'm watching my weight."

I wanted to strangle her. Instead I just pulled a bowl of soup over and drank it down in a few gulps. I knew I should have gotten up earlier. It had been a while since she'd managed to ambush me like this. I put a bite of salad in my mouth and nearly choked when Shino's hand slid over my thigh. I had to swallow before I could protest, and in the time it took me to do that her mouth was tracing my ear.

"Mm. I miss you."

"Get off," I growled, slapping her hand away before it could wander any higher. She only laughed.

"My, you really are being stubborn, aren't you?"

I stood up from the table so fast the chair fell over backward. "I told you, I'm not doing this. Patch things up with Natsuki or dump him, I don't care which. But leave me alone."

Her face darkened. "I don't give a damn about that jerk. He's done nothing but hurt me. Oh, Touji," her eyes started glimmering, "I've made such a terrible mistake. I never should have broken up with you. You're the one who's always been good to me. You're the one who takes care of me. I'm so sorry, Touji, really. Please—I want to be with you again. I love you."

I backed away from her, shaking my head. As if she hadn't said those exact same things a dozen times before. But even if it was true—we both knew it wasn't, but whatever—it wouldn't make a difference. Meeting Yuzuru had changed everything. I knew what my heart wanted now, and it most definitely wasn't my brother's pretty, conniving, on-again off-again girlfriend.