Yokozawa Takafumi's Mistakes (Sekai ichi Hatsukoi fanfic)

Mistake #22

                   Arms full of shopping bags, Yokozawa looked down at the still energetic fifteen years old girl. A beaming smile stretched across her face as she scanned the mall for her next target. The teens light brown hair had been carefully put in a pony tail using the worn out pink scrunchie that Yokozawa gave her shortly after they first met. When Yokozawa suggested to Hiyori that the scrunchie  has fulfilled its role as a hair accessory and should be thrown out, Hiyori determinedly held the scrunchie out to him.
                   "I'll take that as a no," Yokozawa had said taking the scrunchie out of the teen's hand.
                Nodding her head in confirmation, Hiyori had turned around so Yokozawa could fix her hair. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feel of the his gentle fingers moving with utmost care to make sure that he didn't hurt her. While Hiyori typically said all that was on her mind, she held back from telling Yokozawa that she imagined this is what it would be like if he mother was still around.
                A lot of what Yokozawa did made her feel as if she had a mother around. Yokozawa had that certain nurturing personality that she associated with mothers. He put in extra effort into helping Hiyori with everything she asked of him which reminded her of how her friends' mothers acted. In addition, her father had continued to teasingly address the salesman as a mother never failing to elicit a blush from Yokozawa.
              She found it secretly adorable how Yokozawa got all flustered. Though Hiyori made sure to defend Yokozawa when her father started going to far. This interaction brought amusement to her as it showed how close a relationship the two men had. Lately, something had changed.  Hiyori didn't know when it started, but watching this common display had left a strange ache in her heart. However, she couldn't quite place what exactly the cause of it was.
             Ignoring the mysterious ache, Hiyori focused back on listening to the multiple apologies and the repeated asking of if she was alright whenever the dark haired man assumed he had been to rough. She smiled at this cute side of the man that people missed out on due to being thrown off by his intimidating mien.
                Hiyori made sure to deny being hurt each time. She could her relief in his voice each time he said to make she spoke up if he did or told her okay just making sure. It didn't take long for him to complete the task as the salesman had plenty of experience.
               "All done," Yokozawa had announced when Hiyori had not moved for five minutes after he finished styling her hair.
             "Okay," Hiyori responded, spinning around to check how it looked in the hand mirror Yokozawa was holding.
            "All good?" Yokozawa had asked, prepared to do it all over if she wasn't satisfied with how her hair turned out.
             "Yep it's great. Thank you, Onii-chan," Hiyori said throwing her arms around him in a hug.
               To his credit, Yokozawa only slightly flinched at the action. He would never fully get used to how affectionate the Kirishimas were. Pulling away, the brown haired teen reached up the run her fingers over the pink scrunchie. This simple hair accessory had been around for a lot of events of her life. More importantly, it had been given to her by someone who irreplaceably important to her.
           In someway this scrunchie became a symbol of their friendship and a connection between the two in Hiyori's eyes. Getting rid of it almost felt like breaking an unspoken promise that they would continue to be a part of each other's life. It is an extremely childish way to view it, she knew, but when she placed that significance to it there was no way she could toss it out.
              "I'm sorry if I upset you," Yokozawa had apologized sincerely.
                   "No, it's okay. You are right. This scrunchie should have been tossed in  the trash a long time ago," Hiyori said dismissing his apology. "It's probably stupid to keep it at this point, but it's special to me."
                 Ruffling her hair gently, Yokozawa smiled softly as he was able to relate to wanting to hold on to the important things in life. "In that case, I look forward using this scrunchie in the future."
                  Spacing out, Yokozawa heard his name being called. Glancing around the mall, he noticed Hiyori standing there concern shining in her brown eyes. He must have been distracted for longer than he thought.  The teen stood there examining him worried that she might have missed signs that he needed a break. From previous experiences, she knew Yokozawa would follow her lead even if he got overly exhausted.
             "Do you want to go rest for a little?" Hiyori asks, guilty that she had let the thrill of going to the mall with Yokozawa make her ignorant to the state of her companion.
               "I'm fine," Yokozawa responds dismissing her offer. "Where to next?"
                Observing Yokozawa for a few seconds, Hiyori decides to believe him. Although she made a note in the back of her mind to pay more attention to him. She wanted to both of them to enjoy the time spent together. Even though she is sure that Yokozawa has grown to hate going to anywhere that Hiyori could buy clothes from. Hiyori liked to look cute, so she could easily spend hours finding all the items required to make coordinated outfits.
            Yokozawa is too polite to actually tell her this. It's one of the things that she both loved about him and caused her to worry. People could easily take advantage of this trait of his. Of course, Hiyori had no intention of this happening as Yokozawa didn't deserve to have people trample over him and his nurturing personality. She took pride in her self assigned role of being his protector.
                Amused at the thought of how flustered Yokozawa would be if he found out about this, Hiyori held back laughter as she replies, "You choose where we go next."
                "Me? This trip is a way to for me to spoil you. I don't have anywhere...," Yokozawa said, until he saw the sweet girl's lips form a pout as her face displayed the tell tale signs of disappointment.
                "At least pick one shop to go to. For me," Hiyori pleaded, while Yokozawa instantly recognized this behavior as being similar to what he would expect from her father.
               Yokozawa felt conflicted between being impressed that she had learned an efficient way to get her way and wanting to yell at Kirishima for corrupting their innocent daughter. Silently, Yokozawa prepared a lecture to give his lover for teaching Hiyori to be manipulative. Of course, this little assault tactic wasn't any less effective when Hiyori did it than when Kirishima did.
               Giving in, Yokozawa scanned the area. Also, he searched his brain for anything he might need. Nothing came to mind. There was honestly nowhere he wanted to go. It occurred to him that to do something immature like to close his eyes and randomly point to a store. If not for Hiyori watching him, Yokozawa might have actually performed that action.
              Suddenly, an idea come to him. It had been inspired by looking at Hiyori and recalling his conversation while helping put Hiyori's hair up earlier today. Going over to a map, Yokozawa searched under the section of stores relating to beauty and hair supplies. Sliding his finger down the list, he stopped as one store stood out. Walking back towards Hiyori, Yokozawa bowed respectfully as one might expect a servant of royalty to do.
                  Offering an arm, Yokozawa requests, "Would you do me the honor of allowing me to guide you to our next destination, princess?"
              Giggling, Hiyori composed herself  and did her best to imitate the princesses she has seen in movies or read about in books. Placing her hand on his arm, Hiyori replies, "I grant you permission to do so."
             Both of them laugh unable to hold a straight face. Moments like these made hanging out with Yokozawa so fun. She always looked forward to their next adventure. Hiyori wondered when it was that she had started expecting Yokozawa to be there by her side no matter what. And when it was that saying goodbye when chose to go back to his apartment for the night had become so painful.
                Yokozawa had fit into their home like the missing puzzle piece required to bring the color and sound into their world they didn't know they had lost. At this point Hiyori couldn't imagine not having him in her life. Yet, there was always that thought that someone could catch Yokozawa's interest. That someone would cause the salesman to fall in love. That someone would steal Yokozawa from them.
                Frowning at this, Hiyori couldn't distinguish what the different unpleasant feelings that bubbled up inside her were. What Hiyori was sure of is that she didn't want to share Yokozawa with anyone. She rejected the idea of Yokozawa showing his special smile to anyone else, of Yokozawa cooking with anyone else, and most importantly of Yokozawa giving his attention to anyone else.
             It was selfish and maybe even cruel to desire that Yokozawa only focus on her father and herself. Yet, Hiyori believed that they understood the salesman better than anyone else. That they could make him happy. That Yokozawa was the only one that would ever fill the hole that would be created
if he left them for somebody else. The three of them were a family. And she would never give that up without a fight.
                Shaking her head, Hiyori tightens her grip on Yokozawa's arm. Yokozawa who had been walking along, stopped worried at the tension in the girl's face. It confused Yokozawa that her mood had shifted so unexpectedly. The care taker side of him brought up that she might not be feeling well. Yokozawa was well aware of how reluctant she could be to speak up when she assumed it would ruin the good time they were having.
               Placing a hand on her forehead, Yokozawa found that she didn't have the signature warmth that came with running a fever. The teen jolted at his touch and gazed at him. She forced herself to stay near him, even though she was ashamed the thoughts that had crossed her mind.
               "Are you okay?" Yokozawa inquires worriedly his eyes meeting hers.
               Forcing a smile, Hiyori nods. "I'm great! I have been spending the day with you. How could I not be okay?"
                Yokozawa could tell that something was off, but he didn't press her for further details. He trusted that Hiyori would confess what was bothering her when it was necessary. Returning a smile, Yokozawa continued on to the shop.
              Arriving in front of the shop, Hiyori quirked an eyebrow at the beauty shop. Admittedly, this hadn't even made the list of possible places Yokozawa would choose. At first Hiyori had thought he made a mistake, however the salesman made no move to leave or gave any indication that this shop wasn't the right place.
              "I told you to pick somewhere you wanted to go, not somewhere you think I would want to go," Hiyori complained sounding annoyed, once again showing the familiar resemblance to her father.
              "And I did. I have a special reason for picking this store. You will see," Yokozawa vaguely explains heading inside.
        Intrigued, Hiyori followed Yokozawa as he made his way over to the area that had all the hair products a person would ever need for exploring what style hair they want. Specifically, Yokozawa made his way over to the area that displayed an army of colorful hair ties, bandanas, and hair scrunchies. Her eyes were drawn to row of scrunchies in particular.
              "You see something that you recognize?" Yokozawa asked, as the teen  took a closer look. "This is the store I got your pink scrunchie from."
               "Really?" Hiyori chuckled, her cheerful nature coming back. "Most people aren't able to remember where a gift comes from."
                 "I probably wouldn't have if you hadn't taken such a liking to the scrunchie. However, when you started treating it as a precious item and using it nonstop for years, I figured that it would be important to know where the scrunchie came from, so I could get you a new one when it wore out," Yokozawa explained, an amused smile on his face that turned a bit sheepish as he spoke further. "It's late, but I hoped that it would be okay for me to get a new one."
               Yokozawa finished speaking relishing in the beaming, sweet smile that was turned his way. Honestly, he was a bit nervous that Hiyori might get mad at him for doing this. Her reaction said she felt the opposite which was a relief. She searched the countless scrunchies for less than a minute. Looking over her shoulder, she grinned at him.
                 "You have to be the one to pick one out," Hiyori ordered, grabbing his arm to usher him forward.
               "Huh? Wouldn't it be better for you to get one that would match one of you outfits or something?" Yokozawa asks caught off guard. He was hyper aware of his lack distinction and knowledge when it came to what was fashionable or "in" trend wise when it came to clothes or accessories.
               "No it has to be the one you choose," Hiyori said, a blush on her face as she continues. "That's what made this scrunchie so meaningful."
                Tenderly smiling at the endearing girl, Yokozawa felt loved and flattered when he heard the reasoning behind her holding onto the scrunchie. Searching thoroughly along the row of scrunchies, Yokozawa picked up a light blue one, a pink one, a red one with white polka dots, and a black one with white stripes.
              "Are you planning to get all of those?" Hiyori asks looking at the small handful of scrunchies Yokozawa had.
               "I am. This way you can switch them up and they will last longer," Yokozawa reasoned and then grinned at her. "Also, I mentioned earlier didn't I about how I planned to spoil you today."
              "Thank you," Hiyori replies with bright eyes, enjoying the special treatment.
             Yokozawa ruffles her hair. Hiyori blushes and pushes the hand away. She does her best to give him a displeased look at his action with her cheeks puffed out. Yokozawa found this to be cute as they both knew that Hiyori actually liked when he ruffles her hair. In her opinion, it seemed like something you did to show affection to a younger child, so Hiyori was embarrassed to admit that it was comforting to her.
             "You two make such a charming father and daughter pair. I hope I can achieve that strong of a relationship with my daughter when she gets older," a man comments holding a baby in his arms.
                  A silence ensues as Hiyori doesn't meet Yokozawa's eyes or release her normal giggle as is typical when they receive this type of commentary. The reason being that this time the words finally sunk into the brown haired girl's mind. It had been a slap in the face as things finally fell into place. She finally understood why she had an ache in her heart. The fog that had prevented her from truly putting together what she desired had lifted.
               It all made sense. The reason why she had felt an ache when comparing how Yokozawa acted to a mother's, why she panicked when people mentioned how she should get a new mother, why she disliked Yokozawa leaving to go to his apartment instead of staying the night and why she couldn't stand the thought of Yokozawa treating someone else the way her father and herself were treated. The answer was so simple, yet it took four years for her to acknowledge this.
             Hiyori didn't want a new mother, she wanted a new father. She wanted Yokozawa to fill the role of being her dad. She wanted her father and Yokozawa be in love with each other. She wanted Yokozawa to step into the spot that had been left vacant after her mother had passed away. She wanted Yokozawa to be truly accepted and acknowledged as their family, as belonging to and with her father and herself.
             Now the tricky part was how did she go about telling her father and Yokozawa about this. If she wasn't careful she could end up destroying the perfectly stable and comfortable relationship they have developed. She wasn't sure the best way to bring up the situation, but she did know that she was going to bring it up tonight. All Hiyori could do is hope everything worked out.
            Blinking, Hiyori realized that Yokozawa had been staring at her. Nervous about what she had planned, Hiyori avoided looking Yokozawa in the eyes. Yokozawa frowned, for the second time that day Hiyori had been acting strange. Wariness made Yokozawa start to question whether it was the best idea to  ignore these signs of something being wrong for much longer.
            "Hey, I'm feeling tired. Can we go home?" Hiyori inquires in a soft voice.
            Surprise flashed in Yokozawa's eyes as she had been bursting with energy a short bit ago. Frowning, Yokozawa felt his anxiety and worry increase. The teen continued to evade his gaze as she shifted from foot to foot. While Yokozawa was originally going to wait for Hiyori to open up to him when she was ready, this he had definitely changed his mind. Her behavior concerned him and that warranted him questioning her when they got home.
           "Okay. I will pay for these and then we can head back," Yokozawa said, heading to the register.
          As soon as he paid for the scrunchies, Yokozawa handed the bag to Hiyori. The teenage girl clutched the bag to her chest  before walking ahead of him.