Warning: Not R18, but it does have suggestive content.
After lunch, Jiro invites me outside to get some fresh air. The outside looks even more beautiful than the inside of the house. The pathways are made of large river stones, and the path is lined with tall grass and flowers. I'm only used to seeing such things in parks or gardens.
Jiro lightly guides me down the path with his fingers interlocked with mine. His hands are strangely soft. For being a delinquent, I expected him to have more beat-up hands.
"This is one of my favorite places in this shithole." He picks up his pace, pulling my arm farther away from me.
"I didn't strike you as the type to like flowers."
He shrugs at me. "Yeah, I want to specialize in powders and potions, so being one with nature is important."
He leads me over a small bridge and onto a small island in the middle of a pond. On the island is a massive cherry blossom tree. Because it's fall, the tree is full of a mixture of bright red and gold leaves. Some of them have fallen from the tree and cover the ground beneath.
Jiro falls to the ground, pulling me with him.
"Ow. Why didn't you let go of me before you fell?"
His face lights up. "You need better reflexes. Do you even know how to throw a punch correctly?"
"I punched you twice in the kitchen, so I wouldn't be so quick to judge. Also, why would I need to learn to fight with fists when I have magic?"
He straightens me out and pats some of the leaves and dirt from my jacket. "Those 'punches' don't count." He dramatically uses air quotes against me. "Also, someone could disarm you, use a potion on you to temporarily take away your magic, or you could be drained of your energy and not cast a spell."
He makes some good points, but I still don't have the guts to punch someone on purpose. Jiro grabs my hands and squeezes them into a fist.
"First, hold your hands like this." He pulls his hands into a fist and keeps them close to his body. I do the same and mirror him. "Good, good. Now I want you to swing at me."
I put my hands down. "What? No, I can't do that."
He guides my hands back to their position. "It's just one punch. I promise you're not going to hurt me. Plus, I was fine when you 'punched' me earlier today." He points to the left side of his chest. "Aim for right here."
Maybe if I don't think about it, I'll be able to do it better. I close my eyes and wind up for the punch. I push my fist into his chest with a quick motion, landing the punch cleaner than I expected.
"Augh." Jiro makes a weird noise, and I swiftly open my eyes. Laying on the ground is Jiro.
"Jiro?" I hover above him. "Jiro, are you okay?" No response. I grab him by his shoulders and pull him up closer to me. "I know I didn't knock you out with that punch. Now stop joking around."
I say that, but I have heard that some people can use some of their magic energy to charge their punches or kicks. Maybe I did that on accident.
"Jiro, please wake up. This isn't funny." I set him back down on the ground. I press my head against his heart, checking for a pulse.
"How's my heart rate, Dr. Maki?"
I jerk my head up only to see him grinning from ear to ear. "That's not funny!"
He lifts himself up, bringing himself closer to me. "It was a little funny, but I wish I could have seen the look on your face."
"I was actually worried, you know."
He pulls a leaf out of my hair. "That's what I like about you. You care about someone worthless like me."
"You can't say you're worthless when you're part of one of the most powerful families in the country."
Jiro leans his head against my chest. "You would be surprised."
Seeing his head pressed against me, I realize that I'm sitting on top of him like couples do with each other. My face instantly goes hot. He doesn't seem to notice. I shouldn't make things awkward, so I say nothing to him.
"How come you like me now. Before, you didn't even talk with me." I ask him, trying my best not to focus on our proximity to each other.
"You seemed like a prick."
His answer hits me like a brick. "You're so harsh." I say saracistically.
"Ha ha. In actuality, it's just that I have met so many people like you. Either they're scared of me or get talking to me and don't like me." His voice goes silent. " You also remind me of my sister. She had a lot of magical energy like you" He pauses and smiles. "You're both extremely kind too. She would have liked you."
The tips of his hair tickles my nose. Using my hand, I stroke my fingers through it to get out of the way. "You don't talk about her a lot."
His hands clench on my jacket. "Yeah, she… She left a while ago. I don't like to talk about it."
"It's okay. You don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable." I'm glad that he even mentioned her at all.
We sit in silence for a moment before Jiro looks up at me. "I just pieced together why you're blushing." He grabs my hips and pulls me closer.
I push myself up slightly. "What are you doing?" I go to get up, but he pulls me back down.
"I wondered why when I looked at you, your face was so red. You really are adorable."
I try to push his hands off my hips, but I miss judged how strong he is. "It didn't feel like the appropriate time to tell you."
"Mmm, I see." he takes off my school jacket, throwing it to the side.
"Wah- what are you doing?" I can feel my heart racing each time his hands travel across my body.
"I'm just making sure that my brother didn't do anything weird to you." His face screams that he's enjoying every moment of this.
"Takeshi didn't do anything to me. You're being the weird one."
He gasps. "How can I trust what you say when you are on a first name basis with him?"
My head feels light. Everywhere he's touching feels as though it's melting. "I'm on a first name basis with you too."
"That's different. I don't want you to call him Takeshi."
I must be dreaming. Jiro doesn't like me like this. I know that he doesn't like me like this. Just three days ago, he refused to talk to me.
"What do you want me to call him then?"
His hands move up to the base of my neck. It only stays there for a second before he moves them to my cheeks. Then, his hands move my head to look at him.
"Look at me." I do what he says. "I don't want you to call him anything."
"How am I supposed to address him?" I pull my head close to his. I can feel him do the same.
"Don't talk to him. Only talk to me."
His lips are inches away from mine. I can feel his breath interlacing with mine. I have to be dreaming. However, I don't care. I don't want to wake up from this.
"Can I kiss you?" He looks at me eagerly, waiting for me to respond.
"Please." The words barely escape from my mouth.
He gently pulls me into him. His lips press onto mine. They're warm and soft. I don't want him to pull away, so I go in for more. His hands fall from my face and begin to unbutton my shirt.
He slowly pulls away from me and goes for my neck. His lips make my body feel hotter than it already is.
"Jiro, why are you doing this?" He continues to kiss my neck while using his hands to play with my chest. "Are you ignoring me?"
He stops for a second and makes eye contact with me. "If I tell you I don't know why, will that be okay?" He doesn't wait for my answer and instead pushes me down onto the leave-ridden ground.
His hands glide around the base of my unbuttoned shirt, and before I realize it, my shirt is off my body.
"Wait, we can't go that far."
He stops immediately and looks me in the eye sadly. "Why not?"
"We're outside, that's why."
He rolls his eyes at me and takes off his shirt. "Nobody comes out here. It'll be fine." His head dives down to my stomach, and his arms find themselves lifting the bottom half of me upwards.
"Mako!" Takeshi's voice rings out.
I jut my head towards the house before violently pushing myself off of Jiro. "No one comes out here, my ass."
He annoyingly sighs. "They don't. Takeshit just has a sixth sense for ruining things."
My hands rush to grab my crumpled shirt. "Don't call him that."
Jiro mumbles something under his breath. I throw Jiro's shirt at him, but he only sits there, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
"Put your shirt on so he doesn't suspect anything."
He rolls his eyes but reluctantly puts the shirt on. " Maybe I want him to think that so he stays away from you."
"Mako, are you out here?" I can hear his voice slowly getting close to us. We're not that far from the house, but the island is more secluded than it seems.
I quickly slide on my jacket and fix my glasses. "Jiro, who do I look?"
"Better with your clothes off."
I sigh and walk over to the water to get a better look at myself.
"Mako, there you are!" I turn around and act surprised to see Takeshi.
"Mr. Sasaki, what are you doing here?"
Before he can answer, Jiro burst out laughing.
"Oh, Jiro. I didn't expect to see you here." Takeshi remarks in annoyance.
Jiro gets up from the ground, the happiness from his face drained. "Yeah, I was showing Mako around, but I have some things to do, so I'm out." Jiro looks at me. However, his face goes much softer. "I'll see you later tonight, Maki."
I nod my head even though I have no clue what he's referring to. He swiftly walks away from Takeshi and me.
Takeshi lightly grabs the sides of my arms and looks at my disheveled state. "Goodness, Mako. What happened to you?"
"I, uh… tripped on one of the river stones and fell into the plants." Hopefully, he accepts the terrible lie and lets it go.
"Oh, I hope you're okay."
I shrug my shoulders. "I'm fine, but what did you need me for?"
His hands fall back down to his side, and he steps back. He looks lost in thought.
"Shoot. I can't remember what I wanted to talk to you about." He smiles at me. "I guess it wasn't that important."
I give him a weak laugh. "I guess it wasn't. I should probably get back inside now. I'm sure you're too busy to be talking to me."
"I would clear my whole schedule for you if it was needed, but I won't keep you here."
My legs go to leave, but Takeshi stops me before I get too far. "Mako, before you go, I want you to know something." I wait for him to continue. "I know you enjoy my brother's presence, but I ask you to be wary of him. I have lived with him long enough to know that he enjoys playing with people as if they're toys." he stops. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Mako."
His voice sounds genuine, but I know that Jiro wouldn't do something like that to me. "Thank you for the advice, Mr. Sasaki."
He chuckles. "There you go again with the honorifics. I'll see you tomorrow Mako."
I nod my head and leave quickly.