Astrophile

043

You stood eerily still, carful not to move a single muscle as you felt Mitsuya's skill full hands glide over your shoulder blades, "No need to be this rigid, [Male Name]..." Mitsuya teased with a small smirk, making you let out a yelp.

"I just don't want to bother you more than we already have..." Your words trailed off with you realising just how much pressure Mitsuya had on himself. He not only had to take care of his two sisters, manage his housework, manage his studies but now also make your gang uniforms?

He lifted his head to cast you a playful glance, rolling his eyes at your humbleness, "Why are you apologising? I've been wanting to sew something for you, but that damn Mikey nags me every time!! If anything, that shrimp better apologise to me instead!!" He fumed at the end of his sentence which made you giggle, but quieted down the minute you realised that he was still measuring you.

"It's fine if you move a little!! After working with Luna and Draken as my model, I've gotten used to fidgety people. That dude can't keep himself still for a second, even Luna's better at this than him!!" He whined to you with annoyance lacing his tone, making a small smile form on your lips as you began collecting your thoughts.

Shinichirō-niisan's death wasn't more than a few months farther away. It happened on August 18th, so obviously something happens by that time.

Did Kazutora and Shinichirō have some sort of fight?!

Did Kazutora steal something from Shinichirō?!

Or did Shinichirō catch Kazutora stealing something and ended up calling the cops on him, which resulted in a dispute?"

Your mind raked with theories upon theories as to why Kazutora murdered Shinichirō because the clues weren't enough. The memories you had seen were not of the actual murder.

But rather of after Shinichirō's death. All you saw was Kazutora being taken away, with someone else already in the car as the yellow eyed boy kept on muttering something about all of it being Manjirō's fault.

Wait...

Did Manjirō and Kazutora have a fight, where Kazutora killed Shinichirō in revenge?!

That made sense, but at the same time, made no sense at all. You knew Kazutora since he was a kid, you knew that despite how shady or harsh he could get, he wasn't one who would murder a loved one.

After racking through all your theories, only one made absolute sense; it was an accident. It would explain why even Shinichirō didn't defend himself or call an ally. Moreover, Kazutora in your memories seemed traumtised.

You were so into it that you didn't even realise that Manjirō and Ken had come over for their measurements, leaving you alone in a room standing like an idiot.

You looked down at your clothes and saw them resemble a yukata, with how it was open on the front and so long that it touched the ground. Mitsuya had yet to sew anything and and had barely formed the neckline.

You waddled out the room in search of Mitsuya, only to find him measuring Ken as he sat down on the floor with a manga in his hand. Manjirō was donning the same outfit as you, and turned over as they heard the door creak.

"Mitsuya-kun..." You shyly muttered when you realised that you probably looked like a child searching for their mother, "Ah, [Male Name]!! Sorry I left you in that room, you were in another trance..." Ah yes, How could you forget? There were frequent moments when you'd be planning for Shinichirō's protection and you'd just enter a trance.

In the beginning, your friends would get scared shitless and run around in fear of something happening to you. But after a year or two, they kind of got used to it and would just leave you to your own devices since you'd freak out if anyone tried to get physical with you.

Maybe you were just shaken up from the entire planning to save Shinichirō, but you were sure that you needed a break immediately after this whole ordeal. Maybe a sleepover at the Sanos, with Emma giving all of you facemasks and stuff?

You just wanted some rest...

"It's fine... are you sure this is how it's supposed to look though?" You turned to question Mitsuya, who immediately stifled his laughter the minute he saw you. Next one was Ken and lastly Manjirō as you stood there confused.

"What's so funny?" You tilted your head as Mitsuya was also the first one to calm down, "N-Nothing... You just looked like a child with that on..." He pointed to the article of clothing that was hanging off your shoulders with a shaky finger, making Manjirō run over to you and cling onto you like a koala.

Ken, however, walked over normally and draped his arm around your shoulder, "Black suits you, [Male Name]!!" Ken complimented as Manjirō nodded his head at your side before burying it in your back. You could only shoot them a shaky grin before Mitsuya pushed them away.

"Alright, that's enough!! I still need to measure you two..." He ushered them to the room and took your cloak with him, "Sorry I bothered you with it, I'll finish it up for you first so you can try it out!!" He gushed at you as you tried shake him off, "No, no!! You don't have to rush yourself, take your time!!"

You placed your hands on his shoulders and shot him a gentle smile, making him smile back giddily, "I'll definitely finish it out of seeing you in it!! You hardly dress up!!" Another smile made way on your lips as you ruffled his hair.

You had a habit of ruffling people's hair. Maybe you got it from Shinichirō, but your friends seemed to enjoy it a lot. Most of the times, they would ask you to ruffle their hair, and the times you would do it voluntarily, they wouldn't stop grinning like they won a trophy.

Even this time, Mitsuya grinned brightly at you, his eyes shining in happiness, "Have a safe way home!!" He yelled at the door, waving you off like a wife sending her husband to work.

You giggled at the thought before continuing your way home. You smiled softly at the nice weather and decided to make further plans about August 18th at home. You were just minding your own business when you heard a sound.

A small whimper.

It was so small that you had to wait and stand for a minute, thinking that maybe you were being paranoid. But then you heard it again; that same whimper.

You slowly pulled out your little knife you had hidden under your long sleeves, carefully taking small steps to the source of the sound.

Slowly but surely...

Your eyes widened when you saw a small cardboard box with small holes at the side. It kept on rattling around and you carefully placed an index finger behind the blade of your knife and positioning it so you could cut the tape coiled around the box.

You carefully sliced it up and waited for a second, unsure of what to expect as the rattling stopped. You slid the blade under one of the flaps and raised it slightly, only to hear that whimper again.

An animal.. More specifically a [Favourite Pet]...

It was wet with the small puddle forming near the box thanks to the pipe from the building above. It's beady eyes shined in fear when it caught sight of you and shuffled back to make itself smaller. Poor thing...

You raised your free hand and pressed it forward, slowly in order to show that you meant that no harm. It glared at your hand, eyes darting back and forth between you and your hand to see your intentions, but you lowered your hand to it's level.

It kept on staring at your empty hand as you fished out your phone and called the familiar number of Baji. If there was anyone who could help you with a scared animal, it was this guy.

You waited a few more for him to pick up, and immediately whispered to him in response.

"Baji, I need help..."