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“Have you heard this rumor? The statue in the school courtyard will come alive, falling into your arms like a princess, if you touch its hand-that is, if you're his soulmate, and if you are, he will grant as many wishes as you desire. If you aren’t? Well, you might up the next statue.” Number 3, Kou of the Courtyard.
Mitsuba walked into the toilets to see Nene being worked to the bone by Hanako, as per usual. Hanako sits on a sink, yelling at her.
“C’mon Yashiro~chan!! Go faster! Oi, Mitsuba, nice to see you here.” Hanako says, with the fakest smile Mitsuba has ever seen that wasn’t on himself. Mitsuba rolls his eyes while Yashiro turns around.
“Mitsuba! I should go see the statue in the courtyard!! Maybe he’d treat me better than this jerk!!” Mitsuba laughs, taking the mop out of her hand and dropping it on the floor.
“I think anyone would treat you better, Yashiro. But what statue?” Hanako is quietly giggling to himself while Yashiro explains.
“They say there's a statue in the courtyard that will grant you tons of wishes and also love you!! He’s also a handsome boy!” Mitsuba flicks Yashiro’s forehead.
“Falling in love with statues now, aren’t ya?” She frowns, scrunching her forehead.
“Y’know, lots of girls have gone missing out there… Maybe, we should go and see.” Hanako murmurs, doing his signature creepy smile. Yashiro gasps, and then beams at Hanako.
“I wanna see him! Maybe we’ll fall in love!” Hanako grabs her head in his hands and says,
“No! Yashiro~chan, you’re my assistant, you can’t go off with other men! Therefore, you need to do it!” Mitsuba falls on the other end of Hanako’s finger.
“Ew, no way. The statue isn’t even my type.”
“That’s the point! You’re a boy, there's no way you're the statue’s soulmate, you're just bait!” Mitsuba’s mouth automatically opens in disgust.
“Who says the statue isn’t into cute boys like me?! The myth never says it has to be a girl. Anyone would fall in love with me, anyway.” Mitsuba folds his arms and glares at Hanako. Finally letting go of a now red Yashiro, Hanako claps his hands together.
“Ok Mitsuba~chan! Let’s go and find Kou of Courtyard!” Hanako grips Mitsuba’s wrist and gently holds Yashiro’s hand, hauling them towards the courtyard.
Hanako and Yashiro are standing right behind a window overlooking the courtyard, while Mitsuba is eye to eye with the statue. Hanako said the statue would notice his presence and it would be very difficult to contain it or whatever, but Mitsuba knows this is a lie to get him alone with Yashiro. Whatever. Mitsuba is curious about this Kou of the Courtyard, too. Now that he’s eye to eye with it, he’s unsure which hand to touch. One is holding a staff out, and the other is peacefully at his side. With one last look at the window to see Yashiro and Hanako barely paying attention, he rolls his eyes and reaches his hand out towards the one resting. White light flashes, he hears thunder come down right behind him, and all of sudden, the hand feels warm. Mitsuba pulls the hand towards him, and Kou falls down easily, right into his arms.
“Fuck.” Mitsuba says, looking down at a confused Kou of the Courtyard. To his right, he hears running and yelling, yelling… his name. But all Mitsuba thinks of is the boy right in his arms.
“Hi! What’s your name?” He asks. Mitsuba, red in the face, blurts out,
“Mitsuba Sousuke.”
“Looks like you’re my soulmate, Mitsuba. At least that's what the rumor says.” Mitsuba turns his head to side, confused, when he feels a hand on his shoulder.
“Mitsuba?! How did you?!” Yashiro yells, a little too loud for comfort. Kou taps Mitsuba on the shoulder and tells him to put him down. Mitsuba readily obliges, his arms already tired.
“Wow, Mitsuba~chan, you were right. How interesting.” Hanako snickers.
Mitsuba begins demanding answers immediately.
“So, Mr. Soulmate, what's your game here? Trap girls and use them to fund your perversion? Keep the cutest one for yourself?” Kou shakes his head.
“No! I’m not even a ghost!” Hanako pins Kou against a wall. Kou can feel his hot breath on his face when Hankao whispers,
“So what are you..? Eh, Kou~kun?”
“You're asking me what I am?! You’re the one who left me out there!” Hanako lets go and steps back.
“Hmmmm... I don’t remember that. Probably someone else then.” He shrugs, and starts to walk back to Yashiro’s side.
“What do you mean?! You’re him, you’re Tsukasa, and you turned me into stone!” Hanako stops in his tracks.
“He turned you…?” Kou nods feverently.
“I come from a long line of exorcists! I would never allow myself to be a ghost! I myself, am in training to become a great exorcist, just like my brother! How long has it been? My brother… wait. My brother. What’s the date?”
“It’s March 11th.” Mitsuba says, and Hanako quickly adds,
“2020.” Kou runs his hands through his hair, grasping at it.
“No it’s not. It can’t be.” Kou keeps chanting ‘no’ and frantically dragging his hands through his hair.
“What did you think the date was?” Mitsuba asks.
“It’s 2010. It’s 2010. It’s 2010.” Kou covers his face with his hands. “There’s no way it’s been 10 years. It was 10 minutes. It was 10 minutes.” Sobs began to rack Kou’s body, until he collapses on the ground and hangs his head. Mitsuba and Yashiro share a look of concern, while Hanako stares off into the distance, refusing to meet their eyes.
Finally, they calm down Kou with orange juice and he finally stops crying. Hanako is long gone, saying he needed to go somewhere. They need to figure out what to do with the crying human boy in front of them before the teachers kick them out.
“You should take him.” Mitsuba whispers, loud enough for Yashiro but not Kou to hear.
“What?! He’s a boy, my mom wouldn’t let me! Aren’t you soulmates or something?!”
“Even worse! What if he wants to get it rough?! Yashiro, you wouldn’t leave me with a pervert, right?” Kou sips sadly on his orange juice, still sitting on the ground while everyone else is standing. Finally Kou looks up and asks,
“What's your name?” Yashiro smiles awkwardly.
“Yashiro Nene. You’re Kou?”
“Kou Minamoto. I guess people have been calling me Kou of the Courtyard.”
“And you’re human?”
“I’m human and alive. I was 16 when this happened, so I’d be… 26 now.” Mitsuba resists the urge to call him old, despite technically being the same age, since Kou has been having a pretty life-ruining day. Yashiro giggles, and Mitsuba can see right through
her smile.
“Well. Let’s go, Mr. Soulmate.” Mitsuba says, sighing immediately after.
“Huh?” Both Yashiro and Kou say.
“You’re gonna stay with me till we find your family.” He says, helping Kou up.
“I’m not sure if i’m actually your soulmate though. That was probably all orchestrated by the ghost that turned me to stone.” Mitsuba huffs, holding on to Kou’s arm.
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s go.” As Mitsuba rushes Kou off school property, Yashiro stands there, stunned. And alone.
“Welcome home hone- Who’s this?” Mitsuba’s mom asks.
“A friend.”
“What friend?” She says, eyeing Kou.
“Hi ma’am, I’m Kou Minamoto.” Kou stuck out his hand and Mitsuba’s mom shook it eagerly.
“Hello Kou! Will you be staying for dinner?”
“Can he stay the night..?” Mitsuba asks, avoiding eye contact with his mother.
“Honey, it’s a school night… just be prompt, ok? And don’t stay up late. Why don’t you show Kou where to put his things and then come down to help me with dinner.” She says, making sure to give Mitsuba a look. Mitsuba grabs Kou by the hand and runs up the stairs, only pausing to tell him to stay in his room and don’t look around. He then takes the stairs two at a time, and tries to steel his nerves for the conversation he’s about to have. He walks into the kitchen as nonchalant as possible to his mother making miso soup and salmon.
“What do you need help with?” He asks, leaning on a counter. She pauses, putting down a spoon, and turns to Mitsuba.
“Sweetheart, I love you, I want you to be happy, and I don’t want you to miss out on childhood things like sleepovers just because you’re gay. But honey… are you two… together?” Mitsuba’s face starts to go red, but he quickly catches himself and calms down.
“No. Kou is a friend.” Mitsuba’s mother grins like the cheshire cat when she catches his ears going red.
“Is he? Sousuke, I’ll take your word for it, but even if he was, I would still let him stay over. I just don’t want to hear noises at 3 am, so if you are going to have sex, please be safe and do it in the living room.” His mom turns away and continues stirring the soup. It takes everything out of Mitsuba to not crumble, but he manages.
“We’re just friends, but I’ll remember that when I get a boyfriend.” Mitsuba says, already walking out of the kitchen.
“Ok sweetheart, go get em’!” When he’s out of his mom’s eye sight, he makes a break for the stairs and bolts to his room. Swinging the door open, he notices Kou staring at his switch.
“What.” Mitusba says, taking a seat on his bed.
“I clocked out around 2010… what is this thing?”
“It’s a console.”
“Can I turn it on?”
“I guess.” Mitsuba says, already getting up to help him. The screen turns on, showing the Animal Crossing: New Horizons title.
“Wow, another Animal Crossing game! I have city folk at home- well. I guess I don’t anymore.” Kou says, putting down the console.
“Listen Lame-Ass Traffic Safety Earring, we’re gonna find your family, so don’t get all mopey about it!” Mitsuba yells. Kou turns to him, eyes wide.
“You’re right! We got this!” He says, a big grin coming back to him. Mitsuba has the sudden urge to kiss him, but immediately tosses it to the side and tries to focus on calming himself down. All of sudden he gets a text; his mom is done with dinner and expecting them.
“Ready to eat?” Mitsuba asks.
“Always! I don’t think I’ve eaten in 10 years, anyway.” Mitsuba gets up first, then pulls Kou to his feet.
“Don’t say anything to embarrass me.” He says, opening the door.
“So… Kou… how did you meet Mitsuba?” Mitsuba gives him a look, but he knows Kou’s got this.
“Through friends!! We know a lot of the same people.” Mitsuba nods his head, taking another bite of his salmon.
“How nice! Sousuke, what friends introduced you two?”
“Hanako and Nene.” He says, nudging Kou’s foot.
“Oh, are you two playing under the table! Sousuke I thought I taught you manners!” She says, laughing. She truly is having the time of her life. Mitsuba pulls his foot away.
“Ms. Mitsuba, your cooking is great!”
“Thank you Kou! Someone, over here, to your right, is very unappreciative.”
“Mom, I also love your cooking.” She snickers, leaning in to ruffle his hair.
“My little boy! It’s ok- I know you do.” As Mitsuba allows his mother to practically pet him, Kou feels like he’s missing something. When he made dinner for his brother, he would always get a pat on the head or back-has he really not done that for 10 years? Who has been cooking for Tiara and Teru? How are they-
“Oh, you two are done! Sousuke you go help set up the futon while I clean up. You’ll be using a futon, right?” She asks, mouth curling into a terrifying smile. Mitsuba fights the urge to run away.
“Yup. You’re on the floor, buddy.” He nearly gags saying buddy. Kou seems oblivious to all the fighting, like a lost dog. Mitsuba grabs his hand and runs out of the kitchen yet again.
“Thank you, Ms. Mitsuba!!!” Kou yells. When she hears it she giggles, knowing well enough that her son is lying to her in some way. When you only have one child, you become attuned to their tendencies. She just hopes she doesn’t have to see them naked when she wakes them up for school.
Mitsuba stacks their futon into Kou’s arms, not-so-subtly in awe of how much he can carry, and then leads him back to his room. Immediately once they get in, Kou drops it on the ground. It slams hard, and Mitsuba knows his mom heard that.
“Stupid Traffic Safety Earring! What are you doing?!” He whisper-yells.
“Well we have to lay it out, right?” Mitsuba wants to bang his head on the nearest surface. He gets on his knees, slowly unrolling the futon and getting all the blankets in order. He grabs a pillow from his bed and tosses it on top. Kou does nothing but stand uselessly, watching, and when Mitsuba finishes, Kou sits on his bed
“What are you doing? This is your bed!” Mitsuba says, gesturing towards the futon.
“Oh.” Kou says, moving to sit next to Mitsuba. Out of nowhere, Mitsuba’s mom walks in, only to see them moderately apart, just sitting together.
“Ok guys, don’t do any wild partying! I know it’s only 8, but I’m gonna go to bed already. So please don’t make so much noise! I’ll be sure to wake you two up in the morning. Goodnight!” Mitsuba knows this is an orchestrated trap to get him to let down his guard. 8 pm? The lights are on in his house until at least 2 am. The Mitsuba household is late to bed, late to rise, and they like it that way. Nonetheless, he says goodnight to her and so does Kou. Now alone again, Mitsuba realises he hasn’t changed yet. And that maybe his pajamas aren’t exactly what 16 year old boys wear.
“We need to get changed. You don’t have clothes, so you can use.... mine…. I guess.”
“I mean, I can sleep in my uniform!” Kou says, scratching the back of his neck. Mitsuba opens his pajama drawer, trying to find something that won’t look too... suggestive. Mitsuba loves the feeling of blankets on his legs, so he pretty much only wears soft sleeping shorts. Which doesn’t seem like something a guy like Kou Minamoto would be happy with. But he also doesn’t want to leave him in his school uniform. Mitsuba takes out a longer pair for himself, and a long sleeve shirt. ‘Longer’ is a little deceiving, because they still only reach his upper thigh. Does he walk around like this? Had he never realised that this is a little odd? Turning back around, he says,
“So… I only have shorts.” Kou’s face brightens, a smile turning all his features.
“Oh! That's fine. Thanks.” Mitsuba can’t decide what would be worse. Seeing a moderately attractive boy in short shorts or a moderately attractive boy seeing him in short shorts. He decides on the former and tosses the longer ones to Kou. All of sudden, Mitsuba hears a zipper and his eyes go so wide they nearly fall out of their sockets.
“What are you doing?!” he yells, closing his eyes shut and turning away.
“Getting changed?” Kou replies, still taking off his pants.
“You weren't supposed to do it here! Pervert! Pervert!” Mitsuba’s face is now bright red, and he’s turned away, covering his face. Kou probably has his pants off by now, and is quickly putting on the shorts. Finally, he taps Mitsuba on the shoulder and Mitsuba moves his hands. The first thing he notices is that Kou is way too tall. Like way too tall. Right next to his shoulder. And way too close. He thought he had calmed down, but he was very wrong, cause all of a sudden his face was hot again. Mitsuba shuts his eyes and uses his free hand to push Kou’s face away, while yelling, “Pervert!” He backs away from Kou until his back hits a wall. “You think you can get it rough when I let you into my house! Pervert! Called yourself my soulmate so you could get with me! Just like in porn! Pervert! Just like in porn!” Tears are streaming down his face as he yells, and Kou stands there silently. Suddenly, he goes quiet at a knock at the door. Slowly, his mother opens the door, first looking at Mitsuba standing against a wall, and then at Kou on the other side of the room.
“What happened?” She asks. Mitsuba quickly wipes away his tears and says,
“Nothing. We were just joking around.” His mom raises both her eyebrows.
“Joking around doesn’t usually sound like sexual assault, Sousuke.” Mitsuba sighs, totally embarrassed.
“No, I swear. We were just joking around. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Mitsuba’s mom looks once more at Kou and Mitsuba, and then walks out, not closing the door behind her.
“Leave it open!” She yells behind herself. Mitsuba and Kou stand and stare at each other.
“I’m gonna change now…so… uh… look away.” Mitsuba says, and Kou turns around and covers his eyes. Mitsuba changes the fastest he ever has in his life. Now in very short shorts, his door open wide, and still completely embarrassed, Mitsuba says Kou can turn back around. When Kou obviously stares at his legs, Mitsuba wants to yell at him to stop being a pervert, but he resists. Suddenly, Kou says,
“Your legs are pale.” Mitsuba gives him the most disgusted look he’s ever made.
“Real charmer soulmate over here. Lusting after a cute boy like me’s legs so openly! I know I look cute, but you don’t have to remind me.” Kou scratches the back of his neck, his ears having gone a little red.
“Sorry. You do look cute though.” Mitsuba doesn’t want to let it get to his head. Mitsuba can’t let it get to his head. Mitsuba isn’t going to respond-
“Really? Do I? With a cute boy like me, it all comes so naturally. Since you’re a pervert, I’m sure you’re thinking of all sorts of things you want to do with my legs right now. Pervert!” Mitsuba makes sure not to yell this time, even though he is barely thinking about what he’s saying- he’s just saying it. All of a sudden, Mitsuba is trying to meet Kou’s eyes, and he won’t look at him. And he just keeps scratching his neck, and Mitsuba can even see the faintest of blushes on his cheeks. Mitsuba knows he’s cute… but ...
“Let’s go to bed.” Mitsuba says, deciding he’s had enough of this. He turns off the light and shuffles past Kou to get to his bed. The both get under the blankets and say goodnight to each other, but 10 minutes later, Kou says,
“I can’t sleep.” Mitsuba wasn’t asleep. He was... thinking.
“I can.” He says, although it's a blatant lie. Kou ignores him and continues to talk.
“Your mom is nice.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. My parents weren't around growing up. It was just my brother and my younger sister.” Mitsuba turns around to face Kou’s futon, and rests his head on his hands.
“Are we… really soulmates..?” Mitsuba asks hesitantly. Kou and Mitsuba finally meet each other's eyes. Kou moves to rest his arms on Mitsuba’s bed.
“I… don’t know. The ghost that turned me into a statue came up with the rumor and took a lot of the students himself. But really… I mean. There has to be some validity to a rumor, right?” Kou says, and suddenly laughs. Mitsuba starts laughing too, and then they're giggling together in a dark room 2 inches apart.
“I’m the first person who’s un-stoned you, right?” Mitsuba says, and then immediately regrets it, turning around. Kou only laughs harder, getting up and pushing Mitsuba to get him to wake up.
“Yeah, you are.” Kou says, between laughs.
“Shut up! Trying to get into my bed late at night! Pervert! Just like in porn!” he whisper-yells. Kou suddenly moves him to the side and climbs in next to him. Mitsuba’s mind is going wild wondering what Kou is doing in his bed. His face is also far beyond lightly blushing.
“I used to take group naps with my sister and brother. Could I… uh… sorry, can I hold you?” Mitsuba gathers everything in himself and finally whispers a small,
“Yes.” Kou wraps his arms around him tight, and holds him close to his chest. Mitsuba doesn’t even think about how hot it's going to get in the morning, not even about the implications of it all; Kou just feels warm and Mitsuba feels comfortable. He falls asleep in less than 5 minutes.
Mitsuba feels warm. And comfortable with Kou’s arms still around him. Mitsuba taps his hand twice to see if he’s awake. Kou immediately starts to pull his arms back before Mitsuba even says something.
“Why’d you pull away?” Mitsuba says, in his groggy morning voice. He turns around to see Kou blushing a red so deep it could be all blood. Mitsuba, still half asleep, just wraps his arms around Kou. Now chest to chest, Kou may or may not be dying. Since when was Mitsuba this sweet?! And affectionate?! Kou hesitantly wraps his arms around Mitsuba again, when Mitsuba startlingly nuzzles into his chest. He can hear how fast his heart is going, right? Kou cranes his neck to see Mitsuba’s alarm clock, only to barely make out the numbers. Seven… two… seven… 7:27… 7:27?! School is at 8... Should he wake up Mitsuba? Looking down to see Mitsuba’s cute face, Kou feels really guilty. If he wakes him up, Mitsuba will be upset, but if he lets him sleep in, they’ll be late and Mitsuba will be upset. No winning here. Kou lightly moves his hand on Mitsuba’s back, only to get no reaction. Then he lightly pats his back, getting a very loud moan out of Mitsuba. And now he’s 5 feet away.
“What, pervert?!” He yells, moving to sit down with his legs crossed on the bed.
“I was just trying to wake you up!”
“You did that! What time is it!” Before he gets an answer, Mitsuba peeks over and sees the clock. Mitsuba immediately climbs out of bed and runs into his closet, only taking a second to throw Kou’s clothes at him. With his school uniform and cardigan out, Mitsuba doesn’t even have time for shame. He turns away from Kou and quickly strips. Kou tries to hurry too, but he’s definitely not as fast as Mitsuba. He loudly announces he’s gonna go do his makeup and come back for Kou if he has time. Kou, newly alone, finishes getting ready as quickly as possible; he wants to see Mitsuba do his makeup. Running out the room, he ventures down a hall, soon stopping at an open door. Peeking in, he sees Mitsuba meticulously re-doing his hair-and it seems he's struggling with his hair pins. Kou barges in and asks,
“Can I help?” Mitsuba jumps three feet in the air, but begrudgingly says yes.
“Hold these. I’ll tell you when I need one.” Kou stands by eagerly and offers up hairpins like a child. With one remaining hairpin, Mitsuba exclaims that he’s done.
“How does it look? I’m only asking you cause you’re the only one here,” he says, not looking at Kou.
“You look cute! But wait, I have an idea.” Mitsuba goes red, and is about to start blabbering when Kou tucks the hair covering his eye behind his ear. “Your eyes are so pretty. I love the blue splotch.” Mitsuba’s face looks like it’s about to explode when he yells,
“I know, I’m cute! You’re so captivated by me! I’m adorable! I know!” Kou stands there and smiles while Mitsuba continues to shout. Suddenly he says, “I finished my makeup earlier, we need to go.” Kou nods, but he’s a little peeved he didn’t get to watch. Maybe later. They both run past Mitsuba’s mom on their way out, but only Mitsuba catches the knowing look that says ‘I saw you this morning’ and the sly smile that comes with it. He can’t find it in himself to care though.
They both walk into Mitsuba’s class like nothing was wrong. They get caught after two minutes.
“Mitsuba? Who’s this? Wait… you look familiar.” Asked Kanoe, his teacher, curiously.
“I’m another Minamoto kid! You had Teru and Kou, right?” Kou says, rolling with it. Kanoe suddenly becomes more serious.
“Ah… Kou Minamoto. I’m sorry. What’s your name kid?” Kou has a brief flashing thought of ‘wow, people think I’m dead’, before saying,
“Tao Minamoto.” Kanoe slaps him on the back and says,
“Don’t worry about papers yet, Tao. I’m sure your parents are working on it. Have a good first day.” And then walks away like nothing happened. Mitsuba looks at Kou with a worried face; would he spiral? People really think he’s been dead for 10 years- possibly even his family- but Kou looks up to Mitsuba with his usual grin asking where his desk is. He chooses the one right behind it. Class goes without a hitch-Kanoe stares a little and Kou is bored out of his mind, but they make it through 40 whole minutes! When the 10 minute break starts, Kou instantly starts to hit Mitsuba until he turns around.
“I still have class, idiot.” He says, only to see Kou pull out his puppy eyes. “Wanna get a soda?”
“I don’t have money.” Kou responds.
“Did I ask if you had money? Let’s go.” Mitsuba stands up, and then takes Kou’s wrist in his and walks him all the way over to the vending machines. And right bythe machines are Yashiro and her friend Aoi. Mitsuba waves, and then pulls on Kou’s arm gently until he waves too. Yashiro gives him a look that’s definitely confused as hell, but she waves back anyway and moves so he can get his soda. When he leans down to get it, he awkwardly realizes his position and instead drops down into a squat. He then, even more awkwardly, hands Kou his drink, and gets up only to be quickly pulled away by Yashiro.
“I’m just gonna borrow Mitsuba!” She runs down a hall until it splits down into staircases and starts talking so fast he can barely understand her.
“What are you doing with that Kou boy!?! Why is he here?! What are you gonna do?! Hanako hasn’t come back!” He puts his hands out to signal to her to calm down, but she isn’t even looking at him.
“Radish-senpai, calm down! I’ve got it! I’m just gonna help him find his family. I don’t know where your boyfriend is, find him yourself!” Now crossing her arms, Yashiro looks at him with a deadpan expression.
“That shrimp isn’t my boyfriend.”
“You’re worrying like you’re his girlfriend.” Mitsuba over exaggeratedly hides behind his sleeve as though she’s yelling at him now. Suddenly, the two minutes until class warning bell rings, and they briefly look at each other- before running back to where they came from. Kou and Aoi are awkwardly standing together-they didn’t want to leave each other alone, but don’t know what to say- until their respective friends come up and take them by the hands, dragging them in different directions. With barely seconds to spare, Kou and Mitsuba are in their seats.
At lunch, Yashiro begs Mitsuba to look for Hanako with her, which means Kou, Mitsuba, and Yashiro are going ghost hunting. Of course, they start in the girls’ bathroom.
“Hanako? Where are you?” When no response comes, they ask again, and again, and again, until Mitsuba finally asks if this is the last place. Yashiro is on the verge of tears, until Kou asks if there are any other supernaturals that would know where Hanako is. Suddenly, Yashiro is running, sprinting all the way down to the staff room, to see No. 5, Tsuchigomori- who’s also her old homeroom teacher. Mitsuba says he refuses to run, and Yashiro gets halfway down the hall before Kou feels bad and scoops Mitsuba up bridal-style. He’s screaming the whole way there.
“Tsuchigomori-sensei!!” Yashiro whines, barging into the staff room. Tsuchigomori gets up and immediately starts apologizing to his colleagues, before closing the door behind him and walking towards the library. Yashiro continues to whine, while Tsuchigomori just continues to tell her to wait. Mitsuba doesn’t even struggle out of Kou’s arms- just sits there looking pretty while being carried to the library. Finally in the library, Tsuchigomori unlocks his boundary and lets them all in. He sighs deeply, before finally saying,
“Hanako is fine.” Yashiro immediately bursts into relieved tears, while Mitsuba is still in Kou’s arms.
“What happened?!” She blubbers through tears. Kou finally decides it’s time for Mitsuba to stand on his own two feet, and lets him down gently.
“Tsukasa and him had a… dispute. Over No. 3. Tsukasa broke… many rules simply doing that. A human as a mystery? Turning him to stone? Leaving him for ten years? Of course Tsukasa wasn’t… bothered. So they fought. He’s in critical condition right now.”
“Can I see him?!” She asked. Tsuchigomori considered it for a minute, before groaning and opening a bookshelf up.
“Only you. Hurry back. I need to talk to these two, anyway.” Yashiro runs in. Tsuchigomori clears his throat, before saying, “About the rumor.” Kou nods his head rapidly. “It seems as if Tsukasa made you a rumor that would work even if the statue didn’t move. So even if the statue didn’t make you into one itself- that was never in the rumor. Which means that Tsukasa could do that himself. But it did specify that only a soulmate could re-animate you so… take that as you will. I also was able to look into both of your books and I found that you were to meet at another point- however... it does seem at the moment that you are… romantically tied.” Mitsuba and Kou turn to each other, and then immediately look away. Kou laughs, turning back to Mitsuba with a huge smile on his face. Mitsuba starts laughing too, but refuses to meet his eyes.
“Guess we’re soulmates, huh?” Mitsuba finally breaks and turns around to meet Kou’s eyes. His big dumb grin and big dumb blue eyes have captured his heart in such a way that he won’t even doubt anything about this crazy soulmate thing. Supernatural shit is weird enough. Yashiro comes out of the room looking a little pink. Tsuchigomori nearly has a heart attack when he notices her lips are suddenly swollen. Deciding he’s had enough of teenagers, he kicks them out of his boundary.
After leaving a now happy Yashiro at her classroom, Mitsuba drags Kou down an empty hallway.
“So we’re soulmates. That’s a little worrying considering you’re technically 10 years older than me, but I’ll take it.” Mitsuba says.
“Hasn’t class started?” Kou asks.
“Probably. Not everyday you meet your soulmate though, right?” Mitsuba says, moving closer to Kou. He stands on his tip toes and wraps his arms around Kou’s neck, until their faces are inches away.
“Can I kiss you?” Kou asks. Mitsuba nods, leaning in. Kou wraps his arms around Mitsuba’s waist-making sure to remain above the belt- while they continue to slide their lips together. Mitsuba tastes like cherry lip gloss. Kou tastes like soda. But who doesn’t like cherry soda? They are in their own little world. When they finally separate, neither has any idea how long it's been. They don’t really care either, considering they are back at it again after a quick look and a laugh. All of sudden they hear footsteps behind them, and considering this is an empty hall, it means they’ve been caught skipping class to make out. They both open their eyes mid-kiss and break off, Mitsuba turning around to see a blonde girl with half pigtails and blue eyes. She squints, like she can’t believe her eyes. Until all of a sudden she's running top speed at them. Mitsuba quickly moves out the way, but Kou is dead in his tracks.
“Kou?!” She yells, jumping on to Kou. Kou can feel her weight as she hangs off his neck, and it feels familiar. She’s yelling his name and crying, when suddenly he realizes.
“Tiara?” She only starts crying harder, burying her head into his chest. Kou wraps his arms around her, and uses another arm to pat her head.
“Kou-nii! I always felt you! You were always here! Teru-nii has been looking for you for 10 years! But you were here!” Mitsuba stands to the side with a pleasant smile on his face, while Tiara continues to blubber to Kou.
“Tiara… where is Teru-nii?” Kou says, with tears in his eyes.
“Well, we’ve been looking for you since you disappeared. Teru tried to exorcise Hanako-san and Tsukasa, but he failed. Since then he’s lived as an exorcist, he travels a lot… so I'm by myself a lot. I learned to cook though!”
“Where is he now?” He asks.
“He’s home right now. He just got back from an expedition.” She says, finally pulling away. “I missed you so much. I love you, Kou-nii.” Kou pulls her into another hug and says,
“I love you too.”
They decide to ditch school for the rest of the day-Kou, Tiara, and Mitsuba- and go to the Minamoto residence. Mitsuba doesn’t really know why he got invited. The Minamoto’s are a very persuasive bunch. Mitsusba also knows his mom is gonna be pissed. Not everyday you meet your soulmate, though. So really, he only has a little guilt. Finally in front of the house, he’s feeling a little nervous. This situation is crazy in itself- it kinda makes his head spin- but here he is, in front of his soulmates house, about to meet his brother. Tiara whips out her key and unlocks the door, letting them all in, and then goes to look for Teru. Kou simply stands in the doorway. He soaks it all in. He remembers how the floor was that rich hardwood, how the couch in the living room had scratch marks, how the walls were covered in little scribbling from Tiara. And now that that's all gone, he wonders if what he knew was gone, too. All of sudden he feels a tugging on his sleeve, and looks over to see Mitsuba. Kou takes his hand in his and automatically feels better. Tiara comes back two minutes later with someone that looks like his brother. Teru Minamoto is a man now. Kou lets go of Mitsuba’s hand to run into his brother’s open arms, and immediately starts tearing up.
“Teru-nii.” He says, his eyes shut tight and voice shaky.
“Kou. I’m sorry. I'm sorry I wasn’t strong enough. I’m so sorry. Kou.” Teru sounds tired. Really, really tired.
“Teru-nii, I love you. Thank you. Thank you so much.” Kou responds through ragged breaths.
“I love you too, Kou. I love you.” After a few more minutes of hugging, they part, and Teru immediately asks who Mitsuba is.
“That’s uh… my soulmate? Boyfriend? Husband?” Mitsuba’s eyes go wide at ‘husband’, and he starts waving his arms in front of his face, repeating, ``We're not married!” over and over again. Teru simply smiles,and asks Mitsubas,
“You saved him. Thank you.” Mitsuba resists the urge to make the situation awkward, and simply smiles and says,
“Thank you.” Teru asks Mitsuba to stay for dinner to thank him, and Mitsuba simply can’t say no when he sees Kou’s smile. Sometimes, things pass you by. But when you’re surrounded by your family, and your soulmate, it’s really hard to be sad.