Naegami - Responsible

Two: Out

Unless you counted his short-lived fling with Sayaka, Makoto didn't have any experience with romantic relationships. It was only natural that he would have some questions. It wasn't so natural that he would pull out a notepad and start writing down important points as they came to mind.

Byakuya looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing, you imbecile?"

"If we're doing this, we're doing this right," Makoto said firmly, scribbling away as he talked. "This can't fall through. I can't have that note go out, so we have to be as convincing as possible."

Byakuya sighed. It was good that he was taking this seriously, but the notepad was a little much. "Relationships really aren't so complicated. All you have to do is build up a feeling of intimacy. Or, in this case, portray an artificial feeling of intimacy."

"Wait." Makoto's pencil came to a stop. "Are we going to have to kiss or something?"

"What the hell did you think being in a fake relationship meant?"

"It's just..." Makoto swallowed. "I don't... know if I'm comfortable with that. I've never kissed anyone before, not even Sayaka, and I want my first kiss to be real."

"Well then, you probably shouldn't have driven her to suicide."

"Hey!" Tears were brimming in Makoto's eyes. "I didn't... I didn't mean to..."

The other boy was getting more annoyed by the minute. "Save your whining. You agreed to this, didn't you? It's your own fault if you can't handle what it entails."

He was right. Makoto knew he was right, but... it still felt wrong. He'd always imagined what his first kiss would be like, with the perfect girl in the perfect setting. Now it was going to be with a strange boy who hated his guts, and Makoto didn't think he was ready for the sudden change.

"Oh, relax, will you?" Byakuya's scathing voice pulled Makoto out of his thoughts. "I won't make you kiss me right away. Frankly, I find the idea repulsive. We can start by... I don't know... holding hands in the hallway or something."

Makoto relaxed a bit. "Okay. That's a good start."

"But first," Byakuya said, heading for the door, "there's something else we need to do. We need to let Toko know. That is the whole point, after all."

"Wait," Makoto said, cutting him off. "If that's it, then... can't we just pretend to break up right away? Once she has proof you're gay, won't that make her back off?"

"I don't know," Byakuya said grimly. "And even if she buys it... I hate to admit it, but that filthy pig is smart. If we break up immediately, she might realize that we're deceiving her."

Things were starting to make sense to Makoto now. "Okay... so we'll just pretend to date for a few weeks, and then we can 'break up' and everything will go back to normal."

"Finally you understand. I was afraid I would have to draw you a diagram. Now come on. Let's get this over with already."

Byakuya opened the door to see Toko Fukawa standing inches away from him. "W-why were you in Makoto's room?" she asked, sounding almost panicked. "What, are you two p-plotting something? Did Makoto tell you how u-ugly and disgusting I am and that you should never date me?"

"I didn't need him to tell me that," Byakuya said dismissively. Before Toko could start reveling in the insults, Byakuya put his hand on her shoulder, making her gasp. "Listen. There's something I have to tell you."

"Yes!" Toko whimpered. "The day has come that Master finally decides to go out with me! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you –"

Makoto poked Byakuya, making him turn around. "What?" he snapped.

"It's just..." Makoto whispered, fidgeting. "I feel kind of bad for her. I mean, obviously she's got some kind of problem, but... I mean, just look at her. You can't break her heart like this."

"Watch me." Byakuya turned back around to see Toko watching them suspiciously. "Toko, why would I ever go out with you? You're ugly, you smell, you're disgusting, the sight of you makes me sick. No, I wanted to tell you that I'm going out with him." He pointed to Makoto, who turned red and tried to hide inside his hoodie.

Every emotion that it was possible for a human to experience made its way across Toko's face. Eventually it landed on betrayal. "Makoto..." she whispered. "How could you? D-do you really hate me that much, to turn Master gay?"

"...hi," Makoto whispered back, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh, for the love of God." Byakuya grabbed Toko by the shoulders and pulled her in close. "Nobody turned me gay, and you should know that's not possible, you ignorant, selfish, stupid woman. This is why no one will ever love you."

Makoto braced himself, expecting some kind of psychotic outburst. Instead, Toko just looked... sad, and alone. "Oh," she said quietly. "I... I'm sorry. Well... I guess if you're gay, there's no way you could ever love me, so... goodbye, Master." Head hung, she walked down the hallway back to her own room.

Byakuya shook his head. "Such a simple woman," he muttered. He turned to Makoto, who was looking on in confusion and guilt. "Oh, relax. The worst of it is over. Now all we have to do is fake a relationship for a few weeks." He smiled. "This turned out better than I could've imagined."

"See, I feel bad," Makoto said defensively. "You just destroyed that poor girl, for what? For liking you? You're pretty mean, Byakuya."

Byakuya laughed. "And when have I ever claimed to be otherwise? Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some business matters to take care of." He walked out of the room, but paused before closing the door.

"I suppose it's nice that you're so caring. I truly wonder what it would be like to have that luxury. Still, it makes you incredibly easy to manipulate. If I were you, I would banish your kindness as soon as possible.

With that somewhat backhanded compliment, he closed the door, leaving Makoto alone, upset and overwhelmed.

They thought that would be the end of it. They should've known better. Toko would get over it, would find someone else to love and obsess over. They had forgotten that there was another person who would be none too pleased about these developments. Someone with an inclination towards murder.