Stepping out of the bathroom, I handed the wet towel to Tsurayuki. 'Here!'
'Thanks,' he said, as he began cleaning his face and his neck with it.
'I should be the one thanking you.'
'No, I didn't mean only for the towel. Thank you for not having told Master Kagami anything about Yanagi's involvement in your accident.'
My eyes widened at him.
'I've heard your whole conversation.'
I looked down at the floor.
'You know, I think that it would have made her suffer to be frowned upon by the master,' he asserted, before asking me, 'Do you know how Yanagi joined the organization?'
Looking at his face again, I shook my head in reply.
'Her parents mastered the art of spells, seals and invocations in their living; they died when Yanagi was still a child, and she grew up with the stigma of being a witch. It was her mother's sister who became responsible of her after her parents' death, and due to the stigma attached to her, Yanagi has known much persecution and abuse, not only on the part of her aunt, but also, she became a pariah at school.'
'She would be blamed for any mishaps that would happen and was often accused of laying curses onto people and bringing them misfortune.'
'One day, when she was in lower high school, one of her teachers fell down in the staircase after having insulted her in front of the class. This has caused the principal to end up contacting Master Kagami to investigate on her for the practice of sorcery.'
'Of course, all the rumors on Yanagi weren't founded. The master has helped her see her supernatural heritage differently. In a certain way, he has saved her. She has got a lot of esteem for him, you understand?'
'Yes,' I replied, thoughtfully. 'I understand.'
'But you must be wondering why it's me who's thanking you,' he said, letting out a small chuckle. And then, staring at me in the eyes, he confided, 'The thing is that, I'm in love with Yanagi.'
My breath caught, a blush finding its way to my cheeks.
He's secretly in love with the girl!
'But you keep it for yourself, okay?' he told me, with a smile. 'You're the only one to know.'
I bobbed my head up and down, assuring him, 'Yes. Of course. Your secret will be well-kept.'
Scrutinizing his sticky wet clothes, he declared, then, 'I think I'm going to have to remove my T-shirt and put it under running water.'
On this note, he disappeared into the bathroom.
I moved away to join the others.
'Shun, there you are!' exclaimed Hatsu as I entered the living room. Heihachi and he were standing in a corner, eating a piece of cake each.
'Did you have some cake yet?'
'No, not yet. And Tsunan?'
I took a glance at the doctor who was standing a few feet away, talking to Shiragiku, with his back turned into our direction.
'Ask him if he wants some!' Hatsu told me with a cocky grin, and I took another glance at Tsunan; Shiragiku was moving away.
'Tsunan!' I called, softly.
Just as I took a step towards him, unexpectedly, Hatsu made me trip with his foot.
At the same time, Tsunan was turning around to face me.
Stumbling forward, I bumped into the doctor and we both lost our balance, getting knocked down on the floor.
Opening my eyes, I flushed tomato red as I realized that I had ended up on top of Tsunan in the fall.
The latter's face was only inches away from mine and I wasn't the only one to be affected by our closeness; a flush of color adorned his cheeks.
'I- I'm s-sorry,' I stammered, pulling away instantly; flushing deeper, if that was even possible.
I stared at Hatsu- who was giggling to himself- in puzzlement, wondering why he had made me trip.
***
On the other side...
'Oi, Yanagi!' called Cho Kururugi. 'Wait up!'
Jerking to a stop, the Gothic-Lolita swung around to face her two friends, demanding at them with angst, 'What's wrong with you, girls?! The others and you seem to have forgotten that Shun Shutsuki is a murderer!'
Cho and Agasa lowered their heads.
'Well, we're not really that sure of ourselves anymore that she's the degenerate that she's believed to be,' mumbled Agasa, uncertainly.
Yanagi stared at them in shock.
'What?! You're not going to tell me that you believe her possession story?!'
'You have to admit that her behavior is quite disconcerting,' pointed out Cho. 'Also, the boys told us something about her; about a demon named Tadashi whom they've seen persecuting her more than once.'
The two girls began recounting to the Gothic-Lolita about the incidents during the two times Shun had been kidnapped and her near-accident with Shuda's motorcycle.
'What does this mean?' pondered Yanagi.
'We don't know. We're not sure.'
***
A hand shot out of the darkness to grip Hatsu by his tie and pull him into the corner as he was walking by in the corridor.
The blond male could read the mischievous glint in his boyfriend's eyes.
'Do you know that I find you sexier than ever when you play matchmaker?!' asked Heihachi with a grin, and pulling the older and slight taller male by his tie, he sealed their lips in a kiss.
***
After her conversation with the two girls had ended, Yanagi began searching for Tsurayuki to apologize to him for having ruined his clothes.
She went directly for the spot in the corridor where she had last seen him. But the dark-haired boy wasn't there.
In the bathroom?
Cracking the door, she took a peek inside of the bathroom and flushed bright red when her eyes fell on the dark-haired male; the latter was leaning against the edge of the lavabo, his chest bare, his T-shirt hanging by the open window for drying.
As he looked at her, she averted her eyes in embarrassment.
'I'm sorry. I should have knocked before entering.'
'It's alright,' he said, grabbing for his T-shirt immediately and putting it on.
'Well, in fact, I wanted to apologize to you for what happened.'
'It's okay. It's not like it was intended for me.'
She exhaled sharply as her mind drifted to Shun Shutsuki upon his words.
'My! Doesn't that girl ever get angry?!'
She had never seen the red-haired girl angry even once and she couldn't help but wonder how she looked like when she was. An image of the Gorgon with Shun Shutsuki's face popped up in the Gothic-Lolita's mind abruptly, causing her to flinch.
The Gothic-Lolita decided that it was better to avoid thinking of the red-haired girl.
'Say, Tsurayuki, now that the Shindō Organization has been revamped, you're not going to leave us, are you?'
Surprised by her question, he looked at her and read concern on her face.
He knew that the nature of the girl's feelings for him was different from the nature of his feelings for her. Nevertheless, the senpai-kohai relationship between them back to their school days made it that they shared a special bond with each other.
'I'm not going anywhere.'
***
The rest of the evening went by without any incident.
We ate plenty of cake and the atmosphere was full of cheers.
At the end of the party, we all said our goodbyes to Master Kagami and Yama-san, and we came out onto the street.
Little did I know what was expecting me there, at that moment.
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Senpai - senior
Kohai - junior