Sukisho Fan Fiction ❯ 10 years ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

10 years

 

By Sapadu

 

A/N: Again, I thank everyone who has reviewed so far- I think I know what I'm going to do, now, so please don't worry. In this chapter- matchmaking occurs... sorta...

 

If I owned even a small portion of credit for this series- animator, voice actor, director, editor, anything at all- I would not be writing fanfiction.

 

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"So, Matsuri-chan, what is it you had in mind?" Nakou asked over her coffee. Matsuri was grinning madly on their topic of 'Operation Re-Matchmake Sora and Nao-kun'.

 

"Jistu wa... I don't think the challenge is causing Sora and Nao-kun to fall in love again..." Matsuri said, in a tone so serious, it didn't match his face, "Even at graduation, when they told me they were no longer together... they looked at each other in ways that... they never really did stop..."

 

"Matsuri-chan... those two are important to you more than you'll say..." Nakou mused, smiling kindly. Matsuri smiled in a somewhat embarrassed way.

 

"In any case... The real challenge here is getting them to admit it." Matsuri explained his idea, while Nakou thought it over.

 

"It sounds good enough... but it needs something a little more..." She noted, before snapping her fingers and making a suggestion. Matsuri stood up, dramatically.

 

"Toyuu wakede! We shall then go to see the experts about this!" He proposed, while Nakou stood up with her own cheer, before the duo marched off to their destination.

 

Nanami was the one to open the door.

 

"Honjou-kun... shashiburi da ne?" He smiled. Matsuri smiled and bowed, before offering introductions.

"Ah, Nakou-chan, this is Nanami-sensei. He's kind of like Sora and Nao-kun's surrogate mother and is a nurse at our old high school." Matsuri pushed Nakou forward a bit, "Nanami-sensei, this is Nakou-chan- she's Nao-kun's fiancé." Nanami's face wore a look of honest surprise.

 

"Fujimori-kun... is engaged...?" He asked, and Nakou nodded a bit.

 

"De wa... that's something Matsuri-chan and I are trying to fix, actually." She reassured him. Nanami blinked, before finally letting them in, with Shinichirou watching from the sidelines.

 

Nanami made tea and brought it to the table. Matsuri and Nakou sat on one side as Nanami sat next to Shinichirou. After a moment of explanation, Shinichirou grinned as he lay his arms on the back of the sofa, one curling around Nanami's shoulders.

 

"...We haven't done something like that in a while... Have we, Nanami?" He asked, leaning close enough to whisper in his lover's ear. It was more that that action that made Nanami blush than anything, before Matsuri grinned.

 

"So, then- we'll contact you when this needs to happen, okay?" Nakou stood up and thanked Nanami for the tea before the Masturi-duo took their leave.

 

In their wake, Shinichirou wrapped his arms around Nanami's waist from behind, bringing a heavy blush to the nurse's cheeks.

 

"Am I going to have to 'Force' you again, like I did last time, Kaitou Nana Nana Mi?" He purred into Nanami's ear.

 

"Shinichirou..." Nanami protested faintly.

 

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A/N: For those of you who are wondering, the answer is yes.

 

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"Nao-kun... you look horrible- has something been happening?" Nakou mentioned, sitting down next to Sunao as they met on his lunch break- Nakou was one of the few people allowed on the private grounds of the research facility because she was the fiancé of one of their most important researchers. It as usually for this reason that she also often brought bento for the both of them, though Sunao was unspeakably grateful that she didn't do one of those ridiculous heart-shapes in the furikake or some other weird 'Love-Wife Bento' as Matsuri would have called it.

 

And, indeed, Sunao knew that he was off color, with circles under his eyes, and a few more wrinkles than was appropriate for a man his age. But, he reflected, at least he didn't look too shabby- he still remembered to shave every morning.

 

"I just haven't been sleeping well, Nakou-chan..." He managed, closing his eyes and leaning backwards, enjoying the warm sun. He felt something like sushi poke at his lips and obediently opened his mouth so Nakou could feed him. Sunao had learned that Nakou was just fond of feeding people, regardless of their gender or relation to her.

 

"Aw? Why's that, Nao-kun?" She asked.

 

Sunao sighed for a moment, then considered.

 

"Nakou-chan... did I tell you about Ran and Yoru, ever?" He asked.

 

"Eh?" Nakou asked, tilting her head to the side.

 

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"So... there used to be another person inside of you?"

 

"Aah..."

 

"Who was called Yoru?"

 

"Aah..."

 

"And there's still another person inside of Nao-kun?"

 

"Aah..."

 

"Who's called Ran?"

 

"Aah..."

 

"And Ran's been coming in to see you every night?"

 

"Aah..."

 

"Because he says he misses Yoru?"

 

"Aah..."

 

"And because he says Nao-kun is lonely?"

 

"Aah.."

 

"And that's why you haven't been sleeping?"

 

"...Matsuri..."

 

"Nani?"

 

"IF YOU KNEW THIS ALREADY, WHY WON'T YOU LET ME SLEEP NOW?!" Sora shouted, his tiredness adding to his foul mood.

 

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"Well... that makes things significantly easier for all of us... Now, it's just the costumes!" Nakou concluded, as she and Matsuri finished collaborating.

 

"Don't worry about most of them- I've got those leftover from when we used them in high school... and they should still fit..." Matsuri assured her, before Nanami interrupted.

 

"Demo... Michiya-chan, your role requires a costume which we don't have... that will be something difficult..." He interjected, but Nakou shook off the concern. Or, rather, Shinichirou did, and saved Nakou her breath.

 

"The Michiya family owns a fashion corporation, and I believe that Nakou is one of their fitters. She can take care of herself."

 

All eyes turned to Shinichirou before he reminded them, indignantly, that he WAS a detective.

 

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Sunao always came home later than Sora, even with Sora's regular dinners with Shinichirou and Nanami, and thus he avoided seeing his former roommate quite nicely. However, it couldn't be avoided that taped to his door was what looked like a note.

 

Upon taking it inside, Sunao found that it was a card with the number 318 on the back, and a message on the front, printed in a fancy calligraphy that he'd never seen before.

 

'Dearest Fujimori,

 

If you go down the rabbit hole, you will find what is most precious to you.

 

Find it before it is stolen forever.

 

Masked Kaitou 318'

 

Sunao froze for a moment, before shouting through the wall, where he knew the other could hear him,

 

"HASHIBA!"

 

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"I had nothing to do with it. Hountou daiyo..." Sora pouted, looking crabby at being woken up. Sunao wrinkled his nose with both distaste and disbelief.

 

"In that case, I'll be coming to see you tonight- not Ran! And I'll tie you down to your own bed to keep you from going out dressed up like this 'Masked Kaitou 318' if I have to!" Sunao replied, flinging the card at Sora's head, where it stuck before stomping back to his own apartment.

 

Indeed, around midnight, Sunao was still up and he crawled out through his balcony onto the neighboring balcony of Hashiba Sora. The window was already wide open, which didn't make him feel any more trusting of the blue-haired idiot that he had already, but the scene which met his eyes as he entered was something very startling.

 

There WAS a Masked Kaitou in the room, but it wasn't Hashiba- if anything, Sora seemed to be a hostage, albeit in a white rabbit costume. The Kaitou wore a large green hat and a blue mask that covered half his face, while he was dressed in a medieval woodsman costume of grays, browns, and greens, neck down.

 

"K-Kaitou 318..." Sunao stammered. The Kaitou smirked, and then took off through the door with Sora being dragged behind him, crying for help.

 

"FUJIMORI! DASKETE-E!" Sora shouted, while the Kaitou mounted a motorbike waiting below and took off with Sora on the back.

 

"HASHIBA!" Sunao called back, chasing after the bike- funny, but the Kaitou was going slow enough that Sunao could see quite plainly where they were going... just not slow enough that he could catch them.

 

Sunao stopped to catch his breath as the Kaitou reached their old high school and disappeared inside with Hashiba in tow. Panting, Sunao threw open the doors, but didn't know where to go first.

 

"Nao-kun... are you lost?" Asked a familiar voice. Sunao looked up and, somehow, sitting above the doorway was Matsuri... but... it wasn't...

 

Matsuri was wearing that old kitty outfit- the pink one with purple stripes, and he had a sleeveless kimono shirt with bold stripes of yellow and purple over it, tied with a pink obi, and a purple mask and wide smile over his face.

 

"Matsuri-chan... nande..." Sunao gasped, speechless, but Matsuri waved a finger at him.

 

"Tut tut, Nao-kun..." He scolded, "I'M Masked Kaitou 322- the Cheshire Cat!" Sunao blinked for a moment, then it all clicked together.

 

"... 'Go down the rabbit hole...' so... Hashiba was the white rabbit... de?" He muttered, mostly to himself. Matsuri was chuckling, and finally, Sunao turned to him.

 

"Matsuri-chan... Iiya... Masked Kaitou 322... tell me which way I need to go." Sunao demanded. The Cheshire Cat Matsuri was still grinning like only a Cheshire Cat could.

 

"That depends, Nao-kun..." The Cheshire Cat said, "On where you want to get to." Matsuri's costumed hindquarters raised up in the air and mimicked the gesture of a shrug, as though his legs were arms. Sunao felt his eye twitch.

 

"I want to find Hashiba." He said, impatiently. The Cheshire Cat tilted his head to the side.

 

"Why do you want to find Sora so badly, Nao-kun?" He asked, with the same mad grin. Sunao growled in the back of his throat.

 

"I want to find Hashiba so we can get out of here as fast as possible- I don't know what weird things you cosplaying bandits will do to him!" Sunao shouted, in a way that sounded a lot like how Sora had defended Toushizou when Kaitou 416 had struck in high school.

 

"Nao-kun, that's a mean thing to say..." Matsuri said in a mock-hurt voice, though he was still grinning. Sunao bristled, but demanded an answer.

 

"DE WA... Nao-kun... what room is the best place to hold a tea party?" The Cheshire Cat finally answered. Sunao blinked, before gasping and taking off at a run. He didn't see the Cheshire Cat Matsuri climb down and come trotting after him.

 

Sunao skidded to a halt in front of the infirmary doors, throwing them open to find that the infirmary had been completely changed. Instead of a desk, there was a small table in the middle of the room, with a tea party all set up. The walls were covered with drapery cloth and pink ribbons and the whole room was lighted up. And sitting right behind the table with the tea and a bound and gagged Sora in captivity were Nanami and Shinichirou, both in their Masked Kaitou outfits.

 

"Hashiba..." Sunao cried, stepping into the room, as both the older men spoke.

 

"NO ROOM!" Sunao stopped for a moment, before frowning.

 

"I'm not here for the tea party- I'm just here to get Hashiba out." He snapped. Sora looked about as grateful as was humanly possible with the gag still in his mouth, but Nanami and Shinichirou continued.

 

"Nobody can leave until the tea party's over. And you can't join because there's no more room." The fact that they were speaking in unison was even more disturbing than it should have been.

 

"Oniichan, Nanami-sensei... onegai-shimasu..." Sunao sighed, exasperated, before he was interrupted again.

 

"Ara ara- I'M Masked Kaitou 773- the March Hare!" Nanami corrected, with a similar gesture as what Matsuri had done earlier.

 

"Soushite... Ore wa Masked Kaitou 416- the Mad Hatter." Shinichirou reminded Sunao, with a coy tone. Sunao grit his teeth and felt himself shaking, as Matsuri entered and shut the door.

 

"And anyway- none of us can leave until we've seen the Queen!" He announced, flopping into a chair while his Cheshire Cat tail waved, impossibly. Sunao turned a questioning gaze on him.

 

"Queen...?" He asked, before it struck him, "Ma-Masaka..."

 

The doors opened again and, slowly, somewhat terrified of what he might see, Sunao turned around.

 

It was Nakou, just as he'd thought. However, she was in a pale yellow dress which brushed the floor, pale green trim at the bottom of the skirt and on the ruffled cuffs of her sleeves, and, in a bright pink which contrasted quite horribly with the green, hearts were patterned all over her skirt, as well as a large one stitched onto her bodice, and on the top of the crown on her head and the scepter in her hand. And she was, of course, also wearing a mask.

 

"Masked Kaitou 318- The Queen of Hearts- has arrived!" She announced. Sunao reeled backwards, falling over in shock as Nakou closed the doors, then raised her scepter.

 

"De wa..." The Queen paused for dramatic effect, "Let the trial begin!" She declared, while her fellow Masked Kaitous raised their hands in salute.

 

"....S-S-S-Saiban...?" Sunao stammered, and before he got his answer, the Queen raised her scepter again.

 

"Is the accused present?" Nakou demanded, and Matsuri leapt to his feet, sliding behind Sunao and forcing his arm up into the air.

 

"Hai- here he his, Joou-heika!" The Cheshire Cat volunteered. Sunao froze, being completely caught off guard and still in shock that he didn't even try to fight Matsuri off.

 

"Sou ka... In that case, let the trial proceed!" The Queen decreed, before Sunao suddenly realized what was going on, "Fujimori Sunao- you are accused of breaking matrimonial vows!"

 

"Ch-Chotto matte! That's between Ran and Hashiba- I have nothing to do with it!" Sunao shouted, not realizing that he probably shouldn't be mouthing off to Nakou when she was portraying the role of a character whose trademark line was 'Off with his head'.

 

Nanami and Shinichirou put in from the sidelines.

 

"This isn't about that, Fujimori-kun!"

 

"Sou da- you're not married yet, so it doesn't count."

 

"Demo... Nao-kun, you've broken your vow to Sora... meiki na?" The Cheshire Cat Matsuri reminded him, and Sunao felt a shiver go up his back as he hung his head.

 

"...Hashiba to ore wa... we weren't... it wasn't..." He started, until Nakou tipped his chin up with her scepter.

 

"Vows of true love are just as important as vows made before an altar, Nao-kun." She scolded. Sunao blinked for a moment, before the Queen regained her stance.

 

"DE WA..." She began again, "Anata, Fujimori Sunao, you shall redeem yourself- OR OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

 

There was a very heavy silence, before Sora was tossed forward and landed next to Sunao's feet. Sunao looked down at his former roommate (and lover) and contemplated for a moment, before kneeling to remove the gag.

 

"...Hashiba... I owe you an apology..." Sunao mumbled, his bangs falling over his face so that his eyes and blush were hidden. Sora looked away, feeling just as awkward.

 

"...It's okay, Fujimori... we both agreed on that... and it's been ten years..." Sora mumbled, but Sunao shook his head.

 

"I mean... how I didn't try to contact you... all this time... I knew where Nanami-sensei and Onii-chan were... I could have asked them... dakedo..." Sunao gulped. There was a long silence, before Sora spoke again.

 

"...Fujimori... when we met again... the first time... all you did was insist that you hated me. Almost everything I said or did... and you punched me and shouted something about me that you hated..." Sora mumbled, his voice echoing off the tiles, "Demo... when we met this time... you didn't do any of that... so, I guess... that at least means we're still friends, ne?" Sunao looked up and into Sora's face, which bore a hopeful smile, before he glanced back down, ashamed.

 

"Omae mo... Hashiba..." Sunao said, quietly, "Because I treated you so harshly... Hashiba, you always were calling me things... like a punk... a jerk... how did you put it? 'Kawaii kume'... And now... now you don't, so... Hashiba, you are... my friend too... now..."

 

Everyone in the room was smiling as Sunao knelt forward and spoke into Sora's ear as he undid the ropes that bound him.

 

"Hashiba... even if we're fighting because of Ran now... I'm willing to call a temporary truce so that we may work together to alter the bone structure of these four in a less than surgical manner."

 

It was loud enough that the four cosplay bandits heard quite clearly.

 

"...A-Ano... Nao-kun..." Matsuri stammered.

 

"...Ai no... kokuhaku..." Nakou trailed off.

 

"That sounds like a good idea to me." Sora replied, giving them all a very sour look.

 

"...Sh-Shinichirou..." Nanami said, more out of shock that the two would think up something so vicious than actual fear for his life.

 

"...I think we can take them..." Shinichirou muttered, cracking each of his knuckles individually.

 

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"Nakou-chan... yamete de kudasai..." Sunao leaned his forehead against his door as he sighed. Nakou was right behind him, this time in a much more simple, less flamboyant dress.

 

"Nao-kun... you might not realize it, but it's not just you we're worried about." Nakou said, gently. Sunao turned around to give his fiancé a calculating look, and was surprised to see that she was serious.

 

"Did you ever think... how this affects Sora... when you push him away like this, Nao-kun?" She asked, but somehow managing to still be kind, and Sunao's hand twitched as it rested on the doorknob and he looked away again, "Sora might not say it... demo... I feel certain that he hurts every time he has to remember that you two aren't together anymore."

 

Sunao interrupted her.

 

"Nakou-chan... you heard him just now... Hashiba, he... he understands... that we're just friends... and he was okay with that." Sunao mumbled, and Nakou was somewhat pleased to hear the obvious sadness in his voice.

 

"...Then... what about the rest of us?" She asked, and Sunao snapped around again, "...Futari tomo... Shinichirou-san... Nanami-sensei... Matsuri-chan... and myself... we all are very concerned for you two... and it makes us worry to know that you both aren't happy where you are now."

 

"Ore mou..." Sunao said, turning his back on Nakou, "I also... feel worried about everyone... especially Hashiba... to think that one of you isn't where you want to be... so, can't you let me try to help the best I can on my own?" Nakou stopped speaking and seriously stared at Sunao's back.

 

"...Even if... even if Hashiba wants something more... if he's not comfortable saying it, then I don't want to... I don't want to make him do something he'll regret... Soushite... Nakou-chan... you're my fiancé. That's... that's something... that can't be changed now..." Sunao entered his apartment and then locked it, leaving Nakou out in the hallway.

 

She descended the stairwell to find Matsuri waiting for her.

 

"Matsuri-chan?" She asked, surprised, before Matsuri smiled.

 

"Ohime-sama needs to be escorted home, ne?" He offered, smiling a sincere smile, this time. Nakou smiled back, softly, before teasing.

 

"I thought that I was 'Joou-heika'..." Matsuri shared a chuckle before his smile faded.

 

"It didn't work as well as I thought it would..." He said, somewhat disappointed. Nakou shook her head.

 

"Iie... It did more good than we expected..." She replied, "Nao-kun and Sora... both of them at least recognize that they miss each other. Demo..." Nakou looked up at the sky as they continued to walk, "Nao-kun still isn't saying something which we need to know..."

 

Matsuri didn't say much after that, but they continued to talk about other things as they walked towards Nakou's home.

 

The next day, both of the Matsuri-duo were met with very cold shoulders from their respective project.

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A/N: Nakou-chan's name 'Michiya' is just like Shinichirou and Nanami, in that it's made of numbers- Mi= 3, Ichi= 1, Ya= 8. You have no idea how long it took me to compose her name in the first chapter she appeared in, specifically for this purpose.

 

The part where Shinichirou asks if Nanami will need to be 'forced into it again' is something of a personal joke- at the end of episode four, when they confront Shinichirou about what happened with Toushizou, Sunao says to Nanami 'It probably wasn't your fault- I'm sure Oniichan forced you to do this' and Nanami just has this weird smile on his face... guess what my brain automatically thought of.

 

Translations:

 

Jitsu wa...- The truth is...

 

Toyuu wakede!- So, there you have it! (Something which Matsuri says a lot during Jack-of-All-Trades work)

 

Sashiburi da ne?- It's been a while, hasn't it?

 

Kaitou- Thief, Bandit

 

furikake- the colored flavoring that is put on the top of rice in bentos. Sometimes, wives will fix their husband's bentos with pink furikake in the shape of a heart, and that's what is meant by 'Love Wife bento'.

 

Hountou daiyo- I mean it, or some other expression which conveys sincerity and honesty.

 

Daskete!- Help me!

 

Nande?- Why?

 

Iya- No (in this case 'No, wait' or 'No, I mean')

 

Onegai-shimasu- Please, I'm begging you.

 

Ara ara- Again, just a noise... but you really should know that by now...

 

Soushite... Ore wa...- And... I am...

 

Masaka!- It can't be!

 

Saiban- Trial

 

Joou-heika- Joou is the word for queen, and heika the honorific meaning 'your majesty'. Similarly, (and much to my personal amusement) geika means 'your highness', and seika means 'your holiness' (in other words, for the Pope only) so they all make up a nice little rhyme.

 

Sou ka...- ...Please don't make me translate this...

 

Chotto matte!- See above.

 

Meiki na?- Remember?

 

Hashiba to ore wa...- Hashiba and I were...

 

Kawaii kume- Again, spelling issues, but this is Sora's usual complaint of Sunao in the series whenever he's being a brat, and roughly translates to 'So not cute'.

 

Ai no kokuhaku- Confessions of love. It might be butchered, as I did my own grammar and translations on this one...

 

Yamete- Any yaoi fangirl worth her salt should know THIS one.

 

Futari tomo- All of us.

 

Ohime-sama- A pet name for a girl, usually meaning 'Princess', 'Lady', or 'Maiden' and intended to be affectionate, as opposed to condescending.