Take Me By The Hand - Oumasai/Saiouma !!Discontinued!!

Chapter Five

The bright sunlight shone through the blinds, forcing Shuichi to wake up. He sat up in bed with a lot less enthusiasm as the first few days.

At first, he hadn't minded it, being alone in paradise, but now he wanted company more than ever. At this point, he didn't care who. Hell, even Miu or Kokichi would be fine with him.

Mentally preparing himself for the day, Shuichi crawled out of bed. He got dressed into his usual attire before heading off to breakfast, getting his usual meal.

Now came the most difficult decision he really had to face here, that being whether he wanted to sit at the beach or the pool today. In the end, the pool won out.

Today he was in the water a lot more, spending most of his time at the bar. Today he went with a blueberry mojito. 

A few couples were seated around him, all loudly talking among themselves. Every now and then, someone would glance at him. Whether their gaze held pity or apathy remained a mystery to him. 

With nothing left to do at the bar, Shuichi returned to his chair, his towel draped over his shoulders like a cape. He pulled out his sketchbook and a pencil, turning to a blank page.

He started off with a large circle, not really knowing what he was even drawing yet. As time wore on, the circle turned into a face, the features roughly sketched out.

The pencil danced across the page, each stroke once step closer to a finished project. Shuichi mindlessly mumbled under his breath as he sketched, not paying any attention to any of the passing tourists.

Eventually, Shuichi packed up his stuff, heading in the opposite direction of his hotel. He made it his goal to take as many pictures as possible, if not for him then for Kaede.

Shuichi walked further along the winding paths, no idea where he was going. Whenever he saw something remotely cool, he took a picture. It didn't matter what it was, whether it was a lizard or a leaf.

By the end of the day, he'd ended up with pictures of hawks, iguanas, and flowers. It wasn't much, but he planned on getting more eventually. 

The blue-haired boy began to make his way back to his room, not bothering to change into nice clothes. In fact, he wasn't in the mood for going out at all. 

Instead, he just called room-service. He spent the whole night inside, watching movies and eating chicken tenders and cake. 

Once he'd finished his food, he fished out his phone and searched for one contact.

Within seconds, she answered, Kaede's face appearing on the small screen with a smile. 

"Hey Shu!" She greeted, her voice high with enthusiasm.

"Hey Kaede," Shuichi responded, smiling back at her with a smaller smile.

"So how's Mexico? Meet any cute boys?" she asked, her voice taking on a different tone. Shuichi blushed, his eyes widening at the sudden question.

Kaede was the only person in existence that he'd ever told about his sexuality, and he planned to keep it that way. However, she often brought it up with him, leaving him flustered.

"Gah- Kaede! Don't just ask questions like that!" 

Kaede laughed for a few moments before quieting down, taking on a more calming demeanor.

"Seriously though, you need to get out there and meet new people. I can't stand to watch you mope around forever."

Shuichi sighed, walking out to the balcony. "What's the point, though? I mean, in the end, they're just gonna leave me."

Kaede let out a mocking sigh, rolling over on her bed. "Yeah but still, you have to live in the moment, not the future. And who knows, maybe you'll meet the right person."

"Well, you're one to talk. Last I checked you've never been in a relationship," Shuichi muttered, gazing down at the lights below.

Kaede giggled before responding. "Hey, don't turn this around on me! This is about you!"

Shuichi chuckled, feeling slightly better. At least he could always talk to Kaede. 

"Agh, sorry, I gotta get to bed, but I'll text ya tomorrow, okay?" 

Or at least sometimes.

"Okay, talk to ya tomorrow. Goodnight." With that, Shuichi headed back inside, feeling sleep tug at him. For the past few days he'd been wandering around for most of the night, and his exhaustion was finally catching up to him.