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“So anyway, lady—”
“Oh, how rude!” Granny Oni thwacked the offender between the horns. “That is not how we address people, Itto!”
“Ow! Hey! I’m sorry, already! Can you stop hitting me?”
Granny Oni sniffed and settled back into her armchair. “I’ll try, dear.”
“Anyway, granny,” Itto continued, raising a hand to rub his abused head, “do you know my girlfriend?”
The room exploded in coughs, snorts and outright laughter from the men he’d been told were his friends. Well, gang members, to be exact. Although Itto wasn’t feeling a whole lot of respect from them just then.
“Girlfriend?” The skinniest one wheezed. “Who says you have a girlfriend?”
Itto rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Menta—”
“Genta.”
“Whatever. You think I don’t know if I’m dating somebody or not?”
“Uh, well…” Another gang member, shorter, spoke out hesitantly. “That’s sorta how amnesia works, boss.”
Itto snorted. “Amnesia, spamnesia. Just ‘fess up, you guys. I already know I have a girlfriend, I just don’t remember who.”
Kuki Shinobu—definitely not Itto’s girlfriend, his ribs still ached from how hard she’d socked him when he’d tried to kiss her—nudged Itto’s arm with a knobbly elbow.
“You don’t remember any of us, even Granny, and you’ve known her for almost your entire life.”
“This,” Itto said, waving a hand airily, “is different. I know I’m down bad for somebody, I can feel it. You know, in my heart.”
“Oh. Well.” Shinobu cut her eyes sideways, away from him.
Itto jabbed an accusatory finger beneath her nose. “You do know who she is! So how come she isn’t here nursing me back to health, huh? What, she’s so grief-stricken she couldn’t even leave the house or something?”
“Boss,” Genta said slowly, “just because you’re down bad, doesn’t mean you’re, uh, invoked with that person.”
“Involved,” one of the others (Nanoru?) piped up.
“Entangled.”
“Intersexual.”
“Bro, that doesn’t mean what you think it means.”
“They’re right, Itto,” Shinobu said, gently (for her). “You could have a crush on somebody and be feeling that. You really don’t have a girlfriend.”
“W-Well—” Itto tried to cover his emerging pout with bravado. “What if it’s a big secret? ‘Cause she’s, uh, a real famous idol or something so we gotta keep it under wraps. Oh!” He snapped his fingers, eyes brightening. “I must be dating Ms. Hina! That’s gotta be it! The only explanation!”
More coughs, snorts and barely muffled laughter filled the room as Itto beamed at his so-called friends.
“You can’t keep a secret to save your life,” the only other oni in the room, blue-horned in contrast to Itto’s totally awesome crimson, said with a roll of his eyes. “If you were dating Ms. Hina, we would definitely know about it.”
“And how the heck do you still remember Ms. Hina when you forgot all of us?” The plumpest of Itto’s friends exclaimed.
Itto rolled his eyes. “Duh. I’ve got a whole stack of her magazines in my room.”
“Sissy.”
“Shut it, fatso!”
“Itto, dear,” the old lady said mildly, eyes on the haphazard pile of knitting in her lap. “Why don’t you put your energy towards trying to remember those of us in this room? Your friends and family who love you very much and are here for you in your time of need. Rather than fretting your horns off about this girlfriend who may or may not exist.”
Itto wilted in his wicker chair, his lower lip finally pooching outwards in a pitiful pout.
“She so too does exist,” he said, but it sounded hollow even to him.
“There, there,” his granny said, reaching across to ruffle his hair affectionately. “I’m sure a good night’s sleep will iron this mess right out. All will come right in the morning.”
All did not come right in the morning. Itto woke up just before midday and still couldn’t remember a thing.
“Dammit!” He yelled at the bedroom ceiling.
“Mind your language!” Came the spirited reply from downstairs.
A sea of worried faces met Itto in the living room. He flopped down on the floor amidst them with a sigh.
“Still nothin’.”
“Damn.”
“Genta.” Thwap.
“Ouch! I mean, darn.”
“Maybe you should see a doctor,” the blue oni, Takuya, suggested. Despite his mostly indifferent and frosty act, his eyes held genuine concern. He obviously spent a lot of time at Granny and Itto’s digs, too, so Itto knew they were friends, really.
“What’s the point? My health is fine, it’s just my dumb memory.”
“Don’t they have doctors for that stuff, too? Like…head doctors.”
“Headshrinkers,” Mamoru sniggered.
“I think I’ll go for a walk,” Itto announced to the room at large, pushing himself back to his feet. “Get some fresh air or somethin’.”
It was raining outside, although lightly. It suited Itto’s gloomy mood. Forgetting his whole life just from a bump on the head really sucked! He felt completely useless, pathetic, lost at sea. Like a stupid baby that got separated from its parents and couldn’t do anything but sit and cry its stupid baby head off about it. Totally lame!
He walked all over the island, coast to coast, waiting to see if anything would jog his memory. Everything felt familiar but there were no details; he knew this land was his home, he could feel it deep inside, but he couldn’t remember why he recognised the smell of the ocean at low tide or why seeing the lavender melons on the trees conjured the bittersweet taste of them in his mouth; those things just were, and, as far as he knew, had always been so.
The same way he was sure he had a girlfriend.
Okay, so technically , on account of the memory loss, this version of Arataki Itto had no experience in the romance department, but that didn't matter ‘cause love was one of those things you just knew, wasn't it? The same way you knew when you were sleepy or hungry or when you had to pee. And Arataki Itto knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was in capital L-O-V-E love!
He stopped walking to wrack his brains, scowling hard enough to make his head hurt.
Who was she? Where was she? And how could he ever figure it all out when his so-called friends were so sure she didn't even exist?
He was near a dark and gloomy forest, the path forwards marked out with tori gates. That meant there was probably a shrine ahead. Maybe he should go and pray to the Archons to get his memory back. He was all out of other ideas.
Nah, he thought, turning away from the gloomy forest with an equally gloomy state of mind. As if any Archon would care about one measly oni like him.
Raising his eyes, he noticed for the first time the sprawling estate overlooking the forest. A pang of familiarity hit him but he immediately scoffed. Right! Like he'd know anyone fancy enough to live there!
There was somebody outside, though. A young, blonde haired man in a red coat was busily sweeping leaves from the courtyard. He must have felt Itto’s attention because he suddenly whirled into a fighting stance, holding his broom in front of him like a spear.
Itto laughed joyously; this fellow, he liked!
“Oh,” the blonde said as he self-consciously lowered his broom. “It's only you.”
“Yeah,” Itto said, puffing his chest out proudly. “The one and only.”
The blonde man narrowed his large green eyes.
“Can I help you with something?”
They were very striking eyes and the blonde hair stood out a mile from anyone else Itto had met on his walk, but he still had no memory of ever meeting the man before.
Whatever; might as well come out with it.
“I've got amnesia.”
The man straightened up with interest.
“You're joking.”
“Nope.” Itto popped the ‘p’. “My friends said I was chasing a tanuki that tricked me into thinking it was an onikabuto and I fell down a mountain. Or a hill. Anyway, I clonked my head and now I don't remember anyone.”
The blonde moved closer. “So you don't know who I am?”
Itto shook his head. “But you must be pretty la-di-da to live in a place like this!”
“Oh, you really don't remember,” the blonde said to himself, then held out a hand. “My name is Thoma. I'm the housekeeper here.”
“Oh. We know each other?”
Thoma shrugged. “In passing. The one you're really close with is the master of the house, Ayato.”
“Ayato.” Itto rolled the name around in his mouth, savouring it. Unlike every other name he'd been introduced to in the last twenty four hours, this one felt almost familiar, as though his memory of its owner was just barely out of reach like an itch he couldn't scratch.
“Is Ayato here? Can I talk to him?”
Thoma shook his head. “He has meetings all day, but I can ask him to visit you tomorrow?”
“Sweet!”
Itto returned to Granny’s in a better mood than he’d left it. Granny had shooed most of the gang away; just Kuki and Takuya remained. That was cool with Itto. His mood might’ve picked up, but it was hard to act like a totally awesome and fun leader to a bunch of guys who obviously idolised him but who he couldn’t remember anything about. The being awesome part came naturally, but it still felt kinda like hard work. Kuki and Takuya weren’t like that, though. They didn’t treat him so special.
Which was a good thing! He didn’t want to get a big head or anything. Your homies were supposed to keep you grounded, right?
“What if I never remember anything?” Itto asked Kuki later that evening, the two of them sitting on Granny’s porch with a glass of fresh lemonade each.
Kuki shrugged. “I don’t know, boss. But honestly? I don’t think it’d matter that much.”
“You don’t?”
She shrugged again. “You’re still acting like the same old Itto we all know. You’ve still got Granny, and all of us. You’ll just have to make new memories, that’s all.”
Itto chewed on that for several minutes. In a way, it made sense. He already liked Kuki and the rest of the gang; he’d be happy to go on hanging out with them. It seemed like the old Arataki Itto had led a humble and simple life that would be easy to fall back into the rhythm of.
And yet—
“Hey, Shinobu?”
“Yeah?”
“Who’s Ayato? Do you know him?”
Kuki narrowed her eyes. “Did you meet him today?”
Itto shook his head. “I met his housekeeper. What kinda fancy guy has a housekeeper? But anyway, he told me I know this Ayato guy, only I don’t remember. But I think I almost remember? Like, his name seems kinda familiar. We must be pretty close, huh?”
Kuki had a strange look on her face—what Itto could see of her face over her mask, anyway. He didn’t know how to interpret it.
“To be honest, boss, I don’t really know how close the two of you are. When you meet up with him, it’s always alone.”
That sure made them sound like close friends. So how come Ayato wasn’t in the gang? Was he too fancy to hang out with the boys? Nah, Itto wouldn’t be homies with a snob like that!
“I see him a lot, then?”
Kuki shook her head. “He’s a pretty busy guy. He’s, uh, the head of the Yashiro commission.”
“The Yashi-what?”
“Never mind,” Kuki said. “You don’t see him that much, but yes, you do know him.”
“I dunno why, but I got this funny feeling he’s gonna be the key to getting my memory back,” Itto said. He slurped down the last of his lemonade noisily. “When I heard his name I felt all like yeah! That guy! Ayato, yeah! Even though I don’t remember what he looks like or anything. But Thoma said he’ll send him here tomorrow, so I guess I’ll find out!”
Kuki went on giving him the same funny look.
“Good luck, boss,” she said.
Itto was awake long past dark that night. The thought of finally getting his memories back was too exciting to let him sleep. Well, really it was the thought of meeting this Ayato guy. It didn’t make any sense to be excited about someone he didn’t remember, but he was. The name kept bouncing around in his mind: Ayato, Ayato, Ayato.
Whatever happened when they met, Itto knew it was gonna be important.
He overslept. Not that he really had anything to get up for. Granny said he should wait at least a week before working in case he had a concussion and he made it worse. Itto didn’t think he had a concussion, but he hadn’t been to a doctor so he supposed he couldn’t know for sure. Better safe than sorry.
Thoma hadn’t promised him Ayato would come that day, and he hadn’t given Itto a time, either. But apparently, Ayato was an early riser kinda guy. When Itto woke up, he could already hear voices downstairs.
He pulled on some clothes and ventured out of his bedroom.
“—can go and wake him up for you, dear.” That was Granny. “Half the morning is already gone, he really should be up by now, anyway.”
“No no, please don’t disturb him on my account.” Itto didn’t recognise that voice. It was soft and pleasant and hearing it made him feel kinda tingly, which was weird. “I can wait a few minutes longer before I have to get to my next appointment. If I don’t see Itto now, I’ll try again another day.”
Was it Ayato?
Itto burst into the kitchen, his chest puffed out and grinning from ear to ear.
“Arataki Itto, in the flesh-o!”
“Itto!” His granny scolded him. “Is that any way to greet a guest?”
Itto flapped his hands at her. “He’s here to see me, right? He just said so!” He finally turned his full attention to the guest in question, and—
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
What the heck—?
The man seated at the kitchen table was dressed immaculately in a white suit that emphasised the paleness of his skin and the soft blue of his hair and eyes. He smiled serenely while Itto gaped at him.
“You’re Ayato?” Itto’s voice came out as a squeak. He hastily cleared his throat and tried again. “ ‘Sup, homie? Thanks for dropping by.”
“Good morning, Itto. I was very sorry to hear about your accident.”
That hot, tingly feeling was taking over his whole body. It was the same feeling from the day before when he’d first heard Ayato’s name, the same feeling that had kept him up so late last night, only times, like, a million.
Itto knew it for what it was right away.
It was capital L-O-V-E love.
His girlfriend…was a boyfriend?!
“The accident, yeah,” he blustered. “I’m fine, though! Uh, besides the whole amnesia thing, anyway.”
Ayato—easily the most beautiful person Itto had seen since he’d clonked his head—laced his fingers together beneath his chin and regarded Itto with those stunning eyes.
“You honestly remember nothing?”
Itto suddenly didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Granny. Of course Ayato would remember that they were an item, so Itto wanted to tell him that he remembered, too! He sort of almost remembered, anyway. But he didn’t know if Granny knew, or if Ayato would be angry if she found out. Maybe Granny didn’t know Itto was into guys. Even Itto hadn’t known until he saw Ayato.
“W-We can talk outside,” he said quickly, gesturing towards the back door. “You said you’ve got somewhere to be soon, right? I could walk you there! If—If you want.”
Ayato smiled his heavenly smile and Itto quickly pressed a hand to his cheek to make sure he hadn’t actually caught on fire.
“That sounds delightful.”
Ayato’s appointment was in Ritou, a pretty long walk from Hanamizaka. Itto was nervous, but he knew he had to spill his guts before they got into the city and people might hear them. Not that he was ashamed! Ayato was stunning, what guy or girl could be ashamed to be seen with him? But Ayato lived in a fancy house and Kuki had said he was some kinda bigshot or something, and Itto was just…well, the word ‘delinquent’ had been thrown around within his earshot over the last few days. He wasn’t a fancy bigshot guy like Ayato, anyway, so they probably kept their thing on the downlow.
“Uh, s-so…you and me…” He started, his face glowing like a furnace.
“Hm?” Ayato looked at him as they walked. “Do you remember me after all, Itto?”
“Yeah! Uh, well, not exactly. But I, uh. I have feelings about you. For you, I mean! F-From before. I—I know we’re…” Itto wiggled his fingers between the two of them. “We’re a thing, right? A couple. Together.”
For half a step, Ayato faltered. It was so quick Itto almost missed it. But then they were right back in step, and Ayato was smiling sunnily at him.
“That’s right, Itto. We were involved before your accident. And, if you’d like, we can remain so.”
“Yeah! Totally!”
Itto was walking on air. Right from the start, he’d known there was someone! And okay, sure, he’d assumed it was a girl and not a guy, but who the heck cared? Ayato was his, his, his.
Itto laughed and Ayato gave him a quizzical look.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Itto shook his head, still beaming. “I knew it the whole time, that’s all. Even when I didn’t remember it was you, I knew I had a girlfriend! Uh, boyfriend. Amnesia, spamnesia, I said to the gang! That’s just something you know in your heart! They all laughed at me, but who’s laughing now, huh? That’s right, it’s me! Gahahaha!”
Ayato let out a soft chuckle of his own.
“I’m glad you remembered.”
“Psh, who could forget you? You’re gorgeous!”
Ayato’s cheeks gained a hint of colour and he brought a hand to his mouth.
“You’re very sweet to say so.”
Itto was full to bursting with that tingly, fizzy feeling now. He wanted to turn cartwheels, he wanted to sing and dance, he wanted...
He wanted to touch Ayato. He really wanted to hold his hand, but he didn’t know if that was okay. Until he remembered everything for real, he would rather let Ayato take the lead.
Luckily for him, Ayato seemed to be on the same page. He took Itto’s arm and pulled him towards a small and secluded cluster of trees.
“Shall we pause here for a moment?”
Ayato’s hand on his bare arm made Itto’s stomach feel even more jumpy.
“Sure!” He stuttered, following along.
The tree cover was sparse, but enough to break up the sunlight. The air was cool beneath their shade. Ayato looked ethereal, bewitching as he crowded Itto up against their trunks.
“Itto. Would you like to kiss me?”
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
“Yeah,” Itto said; his voice came out hoarse as his mouth suddenly went dry. “I guess we’ve kissed lots of times before, huh?”
Ayato smiled and put his hands on Itto’s shoulders. “Yes, that’s right.”
He leaned in and kissed Itto squarely on the mouth, and Itto—
Totally froze up.
He wanted to, oh boy did he ever want to kiss the guy, but he’d thought he’d at least remember how.
It should’ve been like a fairytale where one kiss would bring all his memories back, but it hadn’t.
“Something wrong?” Ayato asked. His warm breath tickled Itto’s face.
“I… I don’t remember how,” Itto confessed miserably, his eyes downcast. “I really, really want to! I like you a whole lot, Ayato. I—I love you, I think. It feels like love.”
Ayato’s eyes softened and he cradled Itto’s face in his hands, encouraging the oni to look at him.
“Oh, Itto,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve forgotten. We can start again, right here and now.”
Itto nodded, gazing into Ayato’s beautiful lavender eyes. He took a breath and leaned in.
It felt like a first kiss. Ayato’s lips were soft and dry and his hands were cool against Itto’s overheated skin. Itto’s heart was beating like a taiko drum and he’d forgotten how to breathe. Ayato smelled like expensive cologne with the bitterness of Granny’s tea on his breath. He sighed and parted his lips; Itto copied him and their tongues touched. Electricity bolted down Itto’s spine and he clutched at Ayato’s clothes, probably wrinkling his nice suit. Ayato didn’t complain but only tilted his head and kissed Itto more deeply.
How had Itto forgotten such an incredible, wonderful thing? How had he ever thought about anything else—how had he ever done anything else when he could have been kissing Ayato instead?
Ayato pulled back and Itto tried to chase him with a needy whine. When he reluctantly opened his eyes Ayato was wearing the brightest smile Itto had seen on him so far, radiating quiet joy.
“There, there,” he said, patting Itto’s cheek. “Now we’re properly reacquainted, aren’t we?”
“When can I see you again?” Itto blurted out.
Ayato gently stroked his horns, his hair, his forehead. He trailed his fingertips down Itto’s face as though he, too, had forgotten how it felt to touch his lover.
“We had plans to meet this evening, actually. I believe you wanted to show me some new cards you recently acquired.”
“Cards?” Itto shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
“I’ll teach you how to play,” Ayato said, still smiling ever so sweetly. “But now, I really must be going.”
He slipped nimbly out from between the trees, leaving Itto weak at the knees behind him.
“Come to the estate for eight-thirty tonight,” Ayato called back, “and save your appetite.”
Itto sure hoped he was just talking about food.
Or maybe he didn’t. He could hardly even tell anymore.
Everything was moving so fast, but it was just the dumb amnesia making it feel that way. For all he knew, he’d been seeing Ayato for years already.
He’d get used to it all after a couple more days, right?
Being an awesome gang leader was tough when all Itto could think about was that kiss, and the possibility of more kisses later. Time crawled by.
“What’s wrong with you?” Takuya asked. “You normally eat three times that much.”
“That was the old me,” Itto replied, toying with what remained of his second serving of katsudon.
The other oni scoffed. “You lost your memory, you didn’t get a gastric band.”
“A what?”
“Never mind.”
“Maybe it’s ‘cause I’ve just been sitting around the house all day,” Itto said defensively. “Normally I’d be out working up more of an appetite, right?”
“No, not really.”
“Whatever. I’m fine. Shut up.”
Takuya raised his eyebrows but dropped the topic, apparently bored of it. Mamoru came up behind Itto and hung off of his shoulders.
“Hey, boss! You wanna go onikabuto hunting tonight?”
Itto shook his head. “Can’t. I have a dat—uh, meeting. I have to meet someone about, uh, my memory thing.”
Genta squinted at him from across the table. “Like, a doctor?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re meeting them at night?” Kuki joined the small group of people frowning sceptically at Itto. “It isn’t some quack, is it?”
“No! They’re just…too busy to see me before that. They’re a real doctor! Ayato set me up with them!”
Dammit, he’d gone and blurted out the one name he’d been trying to keep out of his mouth. He regretted it when he saw the suspicion in Kuki’s eyes deepen.
“You did see Ayato this morning, then?”
Itto shook his head. The lies were really just pouring out of him today. Had he lied this much before he’d clonked his head?
“Nah, he was too busy, but he, uh, sent me a letter telling me to meet this doctor later tonight. Really did me a favour, haha!”
Shinobu’s eyes narrowed still further but, like Takuya, she chose not to press the issue. Itto breathed an internal sigh of relief.
“So yeah, I’m busy tonight, gang. Kuki, you’re in charge of, ya know, gang activities and such.”
“Sure, boss,” Kuki said, thumping Itto on the back much harder than was necessary. “Have fun with your doctor.”
He wasn’t sure why he kept lying about Ayato. He’d thought when he figured out who his totally real and obviously super hot girlfriend was, he’d brag about it all over the place. None of his so-called friends had believed him at all, but now he knew that he’d been right while they were wrong and he hadn’t even rubbed their noses in it!
But it just…felt like a secret. The same gut feeling that had told him he was in love was telling him to keep it quiet. Obviously, Kuki and the rest hadn’t known about Ayato before. He didn’t think Ayato’s housekeeper knew, either. He would have told Itto right away if he did.
Ayato hadn’t asked Itto not to tell anyone, and he obviously knew Itto couldn’t remember if it was a secret or not. But he also hadn’t, like, thrown himself at Itto? He’d been kind to him at Granny’s, and then those kisses…Itto blushed, remembering their stolen moment amongst the trees. But Itto kinda felt like if he found out his girlfriend—boyfriend—had amnesia, the first thing he’d do was be sure to remind them that he was their arm candy and they better not forget it! Uh, again.
He jogged most of the way to Ayato’s place, feeling like he had energy to burn. His stomach was still all jumpy and he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch.
It was Thoma who met him in the courtyard, before any of the guards (who were eyeing him suspiciously) could chase him away. Thoma wore a much friendlier expression to greet him than the previous day.
“Yo,” Itto said, raising a hand to—shake? High five? He settled on a lacklustre finger gun. “Where’s, uh…”
“Ayato asked me to show you in,” Thoma said. He ushered Itto in through the doorway. “Are you hungry? I made extra gyudon for you.”
Itto shook his head, although he was silently impressed that Thoma knew how to cook. Another time, he’d’ve asked him about it and maybe even suggested a lesson (no oni could live on roasted lavender melons alone, no matter how good Kuki’s were!) but he just couldn’t think about anything but Ayato, Ayato, Ayato.
“Suit yourself,” Thoma said with a shrug. “Follow me. They’re both outside.”
Both?
Itto dutifully followed.
Thoma walked him through a foyer so spacious their footsteps echoed, then out through an open shoji into a huge garden ringed with sakura trees. Pink blossoms blew about in the wind, showering the two figures circling each other on the short grass. Both wielded swords and they sparred like they were dancing, an elegant and teasing back and forth that showed off their grace and poise. Their movements were practised and familiar, telling of many such spars in the past.
Itto didn’t recognise the pretty silver-haired girl who held her sword before her face like a fan and watched her opponent over its sharp edge, but she looked a little like Ayato so Itto guessed they were related. His sister, probably. Maybe a cousin. But his attention didn’t stay on her for long because as soon as his eyes landed on Ayato, he was transfixed.
Still dressed in white, though now he wore a kimono rather than the stiffer suit of that morning, Ayato glowed in the fading light of dusk. Between slashing the air with his sword, he tossed out arc after sparkling arc of water that always fell just short of soaking his opponent. Itto spied the blue vision hanging at his hip and wondered how he’d missed it earlier. Then he looked at Ayato’s face and remembered exactly how pretty the man was, and it made sense.
Forget owning a vision; Ayato was a vision.
The girl laughed as she effortlessly dodged each spray, a quiet but cheerful sound as the two whirled around and around each other. Ayato was silent but his soft smile spoke volumes. Itto thought he looked the most beautiful when he was happy and he once again forgot how to breathe while he watched the incredible performance. Ayato lunged forward with his sword just as a gust of wind sent pink petals whirling through the garden; the breeze caught his hair and the sleeves of his kimono and for a moment he looked to Itto like a creature sent from the heavens, maybe some kind of moon god.
The spar soon came to an end and the opponents faced each other and bowed while Itto stood in awe of the most breathtaking thing he’d ever seen. Even with the amnesia, he felt sure he would’ve remembered it somehow if he’d ever seen such a display before.
He burst into raucous applause, complete with whoops and cheers.
The girl startled, dropping her sword as both hands flew to her mouth.
“Oh! What in the world—?”
Itto rushed forward, hoping the girl wouldn’t think she was being attacked. She had to know Thoma had let him in, right? And that he and Ayato had a—meeting?
“Sorry, sorry! Didn’t mean to scare ya! Just, wow. That was amazing! Are you, like, a professional…whatever that was? Fighting? Dancing? Fight-dancing? If you’re not, you should be! I never saw anything like it!” Belatedly, he remembered his manners. “I’m Arataki Itto! Ayato’s, uh, friend.”
The girl offered him a shy smile. “Yes, I know.”
“I’ve got amnesia,” Itto said, in case no one else had told her.
“My name is Ayaka,” she said. “I am Ayato’s sister.”
“Cool! Nice to meet ya! Uh, again, I guess? Like I said, you looked awesome just now.” Itto dared to look at Ayato. “Both of you.”
“Thank you, Itto,” Ayato said.
His smile made Itto’s already nervous stomach do a backflip.
“I apologise for having held Ayato up. I leave him in your care,” Ayaka said. She offered her brother a bow. “Thank you for the lesson, nii-san.”
She gave Itto a very sweet smile before disappearing inside and leaving him alone with Ayato.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
“Did ya forget I was coming over or were you just showing off?” Itto blurted out.
Ayato’s smile widened until he had to duck his head to compose himself. He couldn’t hide from Itto, though, who felt warm all over as he looked at him.
“I didn’t forget,” Ayato said at last. “After supper, my sister asked me if I would watch her practising her kenjutsu and give her some pointers. We simply lost track of time.”
“Uh huh,” Itto said, rolling his eyes. “Sure. I’ll bet.”
Ayato held out an arm and Itto took it without hesitation, nestling his hand into the crook of Ayato’s elbow.
Ayato steered him through the building, past ostentatious wall hangings and dark wood tables, incense burners and several racks of katana.
“I will admit, I thought Thoma’s offer of food would distract you for longer. You were also far more punctual than I’ve become used to.”
Ayato was used to him. Used to him being late, but still. Itto’s heart fluttered in a way that was fast becoming familiar.
“Guess I’m not that hungry today,” he said, trying to subtly look at Ayato’s mouth.
“Oh?” Said mouth lifted at the corners and Ayato’s lavender eyes cut to him. “Do you have another activity in mind?”
They reached an open door at the far end of the house; inside was a futon with a low table beside it and little other furniture. A bedroom, then. Ayato’s bedroom?
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Itto hated to admit it, but he was seriously out of his depth, here! As far as he knew, he hadn’t ever…with anyone. He quickly changed track.
“Y-You said something about cards earlier, right? You were gonna teach me a game?”
Ayato’s smile sweetened.
“Yes. It was your very favourite game before the accident. In fact, it was you who first taught the rules to me.”
“Woah.” Itto totally forgot his brief panic. “I actually taught someone something? I taught you?”
Ayato settled at the head end of the futon, kneeling with his feet tucked neatly beneath him. He gestured for Itto to sit opposite him, which he did with a great deal less poise.
“Did you bring your deck, Itto?”
“My—” Itto floundered, patting down his pockets. “I—I guess I don’t remember where it is.”
Ayato only smiled and picked up a luxurious looking box from his side table.
“That’s okay. You can share mine. I have plenty of cards now, thanks to you.” He fanned out his deck between them and pointed to a card. “The first thing you should do is pick three of these character cards. They will form your team. Pay attention to their elements and check the back of the card to learn how their attacks work. Every character has ten health points, and the goal of the game is for you to defeat my three characters before I defeat yours. Now, as for support cards…”
Itto’s mind boggled. The game seemed crazy hard! So many rules and cards and dice and all sorts. Ayato just went on and on explaining the rules and Itto couldn’t keep up at all. Ayato was nice to listen to, though. His voice was so calm, so soothing. He was nice to look at, too. Itto realised he was looking at Ayato more than at the cards and he didn’t have a clue what rule Ayato was telling him about now.
“Alright, enough yapping!” He interrupted. “I’ll pick it up as we go!”
Ayato stopped talking and tilted his head.
“As you wish, Itto. Here, you’ll need these.”
He handed Itto some kind of tiny scorecard and a pencil, then dealt them out several more cards each.
“Piece a’ cake,” Itto muttered to himself as he gathered up the cards and hunched over them. “Nothin’ to it. Get ready to lose, Ayato!”
It turned out, in fact, to be no piece of cake at all. Itto had no idea what he was doing. He rolled the dice when Ayato told him to and if they matched the little element symbols on his cards, he attacked. That part made enough sense, he could deal with that! But Ayato kept using cards from his hand and writing things on his little scorecard and grabbing Itto’s scorecard to write on that since Itto didn’t get that part at all, and before he knew it, Ayato was telling him he only had one health point left!
Itto huffed, outraged at having been defeated so quickly.
“Wait, wait, I gotta have a magic spell or somethin’ that can turn this around!” He shuffled frantically through his support cards, but nothing made any sense at all. He fed a fried egg to his last remaining character and looked up at Ayato hopefully.
Ayato was smiling behind his hand. Laughing at him!
“What?” Itto asked suspiciously. “What’d I do?”
“That was a revival item,” Ayato said. “You should have used it on one of your defeated characters.”
“Huh? I could’ve brought this guy back to life? Aw, man! No way!”
Ayato removed two cryo dice from the board and played a normal attack, and that was it. Game over. Itto slumped forward, his head in his hands.
“This game is stupid! Are you sure you explained it right? It’s so hard!”
“Don’t feel bad, dear Itto,” Ayato said, reaching out to pat him between the horns. “I’m sure you’ll win the next round.”
Ayato calling him ‘dear’ and touching him definitely took his mind off of the loss. His face heated up as he thought about the other things he could be doing with Ayato. The bedroom door was still open, though…
“D-Do you wanna…” Itto ventured, glancing at Ayato between his spread fingers. “Um. M-Maybe we should…shut the door?”
Ayato’s eyes darkened with interest and he sat up a little straighter. “Oh? What do you have in mind?”
“You know,” Itto mumbled.
Ayato shook his head, a coy smile spreading over his face.
“I can’t imagine what you could possibly want to do with the door closed.”
Itto huffed. Ayato was playing games with him! He knew, alright.
“Why don’t you show me?” Ayato said, and—oh.
Itto clambered off of the futon to firmly close the bedroom door. He took a moment to compose himself with some deep breaths; when he turned back, Ayato was calmly collecting up the cards and dice and scorecards to leave the futon clear. He looked at Itto from beneath his pale eyelashes.
“Don’t be frightened.”
“I’m not!” Itto said indignantly, slinking back over to him.
He knelt by Ayato’s side, hoping he wouldn’t have to ask for the kiss he so badly wanted. Ayato had been able to read him very well that morning. He obviously knew Itto inside and out, just like a good boyfriend should.
Right on cue, Ayato reached for him. His delicate fingers combed through Itto’s hair, moving it away from his face. Itto’s eyes slid closed and a quiet moan slipped from his mouth. It felt so damn good whenever Ayato touched him. How had he ever gotten used to that feeling, before?
“Itto,” Ayato murmured. Itto felt him drawing closer and his heart kicked into high gear. “My sweet Itto.”
“Yours,” Itto whispered before Ayato’s lips pressed to his.
It was funny; even though he’d forgotten basically everything after the accident, some things still felt familiar. Stuff his body remembered even if his brain didn’t, like the taste of Granny’s lemonade or his love of onikabuto fighting. He still knew how to get around the island and he found himself instinctively dodging around obstacles he didn’t even realise were there like he’d done it a thousand times. He didn’t remember his gang members names but being with them still felt as natural as breathing.
But kissing Ayato wasn’t one of those things.
Ayato’s tongue swept over Itto’s lower lip, pulling another startled moan out of him. Ayato drew back to look at him, smiling slyly with the most adorable blush starting to colour his cheeks. Itto blinked dumbly and Ayato tugged at his arm.
“Come here. I want to hold you properly.”
Itto obeyed, scrambling onto the futon. Ayato lay down on his side and, heart hammering away, Itto did the same. They looked at each other for a long time, then Ayato touched his face and Itto once again closed his eyes until he felt the sweet touch of lips against his own. Ayato pressed right up against him, slipping an arm around his waist and a hand beneath his shirt. Itto hesitated, then put his arm around Ayato, too. He couldn’t find a way beneath the layers of his kimono so he just held him tight and kissed him, on and on and again and again.
Ayato tasted sweeter than candy and Itto didn’t ever want to come up for air. Ayato was a siren luring him in and he was more than happy to follow. His hand was a hot brand against Itto’s bare skin and Itto wanted to be burned alive.
Ayato hummed against his mouth before finally pulling away.
“Are you alright?”
Itto nodded, his hand tightening around Ayato’s kimono.
“Never been better.”
Ayato stroked his hair; there was something almost sad in his smile, or maybe some other emotion Itto couldn’t figure out.
“Good. I’m glad.”
They’d kissed for a long time, till Itto’s stomach growled and sorta killed the mood. Then, Ayato fetched him a bowl of Thoma’s gyudon and just watched him while he ate it all up.
It was nice. Cosy.
“My schedule is lamentably full for the next few weeks,” Ayato told him as they held hands in the courtyard, delaying their inevitable parting, “but please do feel free to come by the estate at any time. Even if I am absent, Thoma and Ayaka will take good care of you.”
Itto didn’t know what to say. The whole thing still felt so unreal. Even if he couldn’t remember his life before the accident, he didn’t feel like the sort of guy to have a standing invitation to a fancy estate. He didn’t look like the sort of guy that a guy like Ayato would date.
“Okay,” he said, squeezing Ayato’s fingers. “I hope I can see you real soon, though. Even if it’s just a quick walk into town like this morning. If you’re ever near Granny’s house—”
“I’ll be certain to stop by,” Ayato said with a soft smile that made Itto’s heart go thud thud thud.
“Ayato?” He ventured meekly. “Um, I haven’t told anyone about us ‘cause I didn’t remember if they knew or not, but…could I? Just, ya know, Kuki and the gang. And Granny. Not like I’m gonna broadcast it to the world or something, haha! But…does it have to be a secret?”
Ayato stepped in close and took Itto’s face in his hands.
“It’s no secret,” he said. “You may tell as many people as you please.”
“Okay,” Itto breathed, getting lost in Ayato’s beautiful eyes.
They melted into one final, lingering kiss. Itto could feel Ayato’s smile against his lips and it made him giddy.
“Here,” Ayato murmured against his burning cheek. He pressed something into Itto’s hand. “Show this to the guards whenever you come here. They’ll let you in, no questions asked.”
Itto reluctantly broke from the sensual embrace to look at the item. It was a blue omamori, embroidered with the Kamisato crest that he’d seen all over the estate.
“You know where my bedroom is, now,” Ayato said, his fingers at the nape of Itto’s neck. “You can access it from the garden if you’d like to visit…after hours.”
Itto swallowed thickly, imagining creeping into Ayato’s room after dark and finding him on his futon wearing…what? Silk pyjamas? Nothing at all?
“Can I do that tomorrow night?”
Ayato kissed him again with heat and Itto’s knees turned to jelly.
“Please do.”
Itto left at last, walking on shaky legs.
Wow. Just the night before, he’d thought Arataki Itto led a humble, nothing sort of life. He guessed that was still true enough, but…Wow.
The most beautiful man he’d ever laid eyes on—Itto thought that would hold true even if his memories came back—and he was dating Itto, kissing Itto, inviting him over after hours to—to—
“Wow,” Itto muttered to himself, touching his lips where he could still feel the ghost of Ayato’s.
He had to be the luckiest oni in all of Inazuma.
“Why do you keep grinning like that?”
Shinobu elbowed him hard in the ribs and Itto spluttered.
“Oi! Can’t an oni just be in a good mood? What, is there a law against smiling or something? I thought that sudoku decree or whatever was over already!”
Shinobu narrowed her eyes and leaned in close. Itto tried to keep his cool but it was tough with those purple eyes glaring at him all suspiciously like that.
“What did that doctor do to you?”
“Doctor? What Doc—ohhhhh yeah, yeah, the doctor!”
“Oh kami, you’re the worst liar!” Genta crowed with glee. “We all know you didn’t see any doctor, bro!”
“Wha—? Hey!” Itto scrambled to his feet and raised his fists. “You calling me a liar, bro?”
“He literally just did, yeah.” Takuya rolled his eyes from the tree branch he was perched on.
Itto spluttered again. “Uh! How about some respect for your leader, here?! And—And anyway, if I wasn’t with the doctor, what was I doing all night, huh?” He thrust a triumphant finger towards Genta. “Betcha can’t answer that one!”
Genta, Mamoru and Akira all exchanged looks.
“Oh, we can make a pretty good guess,” Mamoru said.
Itto huffed and folded his arms. “Oh yeah? Like to hear you try!”
The three men stood up, shared another glance, then turned their backs to Itto and wrapped their arms around themselves to make it look like they were each getting amorous with somebody. Loud and lewd smooching noises rang out beneath the tree canopy.
“Mmm, oooh Ayato!”
“Mwah! Mwah! I wuv you, Ayato!”
“Kiss me more, Ayato!”
Itto choked on his outraged gasp and fell into a coughing fit, sinking to his knees.
“Alright, alright, we get the picture,” Shinobu snapped at the others, who turned around to show their half-guilty, half-delighted grins.
“I—We—It ain’t like that!” Itto wheezed, red in the face.
Shinobu slapped him heartily on the back. Her hand lingered for a moment before slipping to press at a tender spot on his neck that made him hiss. Ayato’s mouth had been in exactly that place the night before, and—dammit, did he have a hickey? He knew he shoulda checked a mirror before leaving the house!
“You sure about that, boss?”
Itto coughed one final time. “You all got some nerve, making fun of me like this. None of you even believed I had a girlfriend.”
“Well,” Akira piped up, “weren’t we right about that?”
“Psh! A—A technicality!”
“So you are seeing him.” Shinobu squeezed Itto’s shoulder and Itto turned to look at her, bewildered.
“You really never knew, before?”
Shinobu shook her head. “It’s like I said: you always met him alone and you only ever said you’d been playing cards or fighting beetles. You called him your bro.”
“Huh. It’s not a secret, though! I asked him if I could tell.”
Shinobu’s expression softened all at once and Itto blinked at her, taken aback by the warmth in her eyes that had so recently been flinty and cold.
“That’s good. I’m happy for you, boss.”
As much as he'd been embarrassed at the show his gang had put on, it felt good to spill his guts. Even though it had just been a single day, Itto felt like he'd been holding it all in forever.
“I knew it as soon as I saw him, Shinobu. My heart was all like: yeah! Boom! This is the guy! I mean, I still don't remember, technically , but I know.”
Shinobu once again studied his face.
“You're really serious about him.”
Itto nodded fast. “We must've been pretty serious already. It feels like… I dunno if I can explain it, but it's like: being with him feels new, but the feelings don't? You get what I'm saying? Like I've been into him for a super long time.”
“And he feels the same?”
Heat rose in Itto's cheeks as he remembered all of the kissing the night before.
“Y-Yeah, for sure!”
“Hm.” Shinobu clapped him on the back. “Just be careful, Itto, alright? Don't move too fast.”
Itto blew her off with a ‘psh’.
“I know what I'm doing, Shinobu.”
He had no idea what he was doing.
Sneaking away from the house had been easy; it was a Thursday, and Granny always had her shogi nights with her other old lady friends on a Thursday. But now Itto was getting close to Ayato’s house and, well, butterflies in the stomach didn't even cover it. His gut felt like a hornet’s nest.
Sure, he wanted to see Ayato again and sure, he wanted more of those kisses that melted him to goo, but what if Ayato wanted to do more than just kiss and Itto couldn't remember how? He didn't remember what Ayato liked, or how they usually—if they ever had, that was. They must have, right? If they were in love?
Itto was so dazed, it took him several minutes to realise he was walking in the wrong direction. In fact, he’d wandered right into the spooky forest!
And right there, beneath a tori gate, was that same damn tanuki that had tricked him before!
There was no possible way Itto could know it was the same tanuki, only he did know. He knew it in his gut, and the tanuki recognised him, too! It giggled and disappeared in a flash, then reappeared several yards deeper into the forest. Taunting him!
“Oh, you’re gonna pay!” Itto declared, rolling up the sleeves of his coat as he gave chase.
He could hear the ocean. There was sand against his skin, cool and coarse. His head throbbed with pain.
“Ow…”
“Itto?”
Itto opened his eyes and immediately closed them again with a groan. That damn tanuki! It had lured him off a cliff again and he’d tumbled right out of the forest and onto the beach!
“Itto, can you hear me? Are you alright?”
That voice…
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
“Ayato?”
He heard the other man sigh in relief. “Yes. Thank goodness you’re awake.”
Itto groaned again and tried to sit up but a cool hand on his forehead stilled him.
“No, don’t move. I’ve called for help. We’ll get you back to the house and have a doctor look at you.”
“I’m alright.” Itto coughed weakly. “I think.”
Ayato traced over Itto’s brow with gentle fingers. “There’s a bump here. Does it hurt?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Poor Itto.” Ayato cradled his face with both hands. “Whatever shall I do with you?”
Itto made another attempt to open his eyes; this time, he was able to keep them open without worsening the ache in his head. His vision was blurry at first, but slowly Ayato’s face resolved itself above him, just as beautiful as Itto remembered—
Remembered.
He remembered.
Ayato, sipping from a giant cup of boba while they played Genius Invocation beneath the shade of Itto’s favourite tree in Hanamizaka.
Ayato, shaking with laughter, sitting on Itto’s shoulders and craning to reach the onikabuto they’d spent the entire morning chasing.
Ayato, pushing an extra serving of tamagoyaki over to him with an indulgent smile.
Ayato, glowing under the late afternoon sun. Softened by the dawn. Radiant beneath moonlight.
So many memories of Ayato: a dozen, fifty, a hundred.
But not one…
Not one single memory of kissing him.
Not before that day amongst the trees, after Itto lost his memories.
Before he could open his mouth, he saw Ayato reading it all on his face.
“Ah,” he said. “Your memories have returned?”
Itto swallowed. “Um. Yeah.”
Ayato’s hands left his face.
“I suppose we have some things to discuss, then. Back at the house, once the doctor has checked you over.”
Itto’s throat had never felt dryer.
“ ‘kay.”
It took some time to get there. The doctor and Ayato both insisted on carrying him in a stretcher just in case he had a spinal injury or internal bleeding, in spite of Itto’s repeated insistence that he was fine, really, it was just a few scrapes and another bump on the head. They needed Thoma’s help to haul him back up the cliff and carry him into the Kamisato Estate where they laid him on Ayato’s futon, sandy clothes and all.
The doctor gave him a thorough examination, prodding Itto’s hands and feet with his pen and asking if he could feel it, then having him move his arms and legs around just to prove that he could. He asked him a lot of questions, too; something about checking for head trauma. Most of them were real kid’s stuff like: what day of the week is it? Where are you right now? Itto thought he got them all right.
Finally, the doctor allowed him to sit up. He shone a light into his eyes.
“Pupillary response is normal. Reflexes are normal. Sensation in all four limbs is normal. I’m confident that you haven’t suffered a head trauma or any other severe injury. I recommend that you refrain from any strenuous physical activity for at least twenty four hours, and keep an eye out for any changes in vision, speech, or balance. I’ll leave you my card; please, do contact me if you’re at all worried.”
Itto snorted. “See, I told ya: I’m fine! They don’t call me Arataki ‘tougher than nails’ Itto for nothing!”
He heard Thoma asking Ayato in a loud whisper if people really called him that, but he chose to ignore it.
“Thank you for your time, doctor,” Ayato said. “You may rest assured that you will be paid handsomely for the trouble, if you could kindly send the invoice to my staff.”
The doctor bowed and took his leave, with Thoma showing him out. That left Itto and Ayato alone once again.
For long, long minutes, neither spoke. Then, they both began at once.
“Bro, I’m really sorry I—”
“Itto, I must apologise—”
Each broke off with an awkward chuckle.
“It may be more wise for you to go first,” Ayato said.
Itto cleared his throat and looked up at the ceiling. He fidgeted with the straps crossing his chest.
“I’m sorry I thought we were a thing. I guess I just…got it wrong. I really did lose my memories, you know. That wasn’t a gag! I didn’t remember you at all, but then I saw you and I… Uh. I g-got all these feelings so I just figured… Anyway, like I said, I’m really sorry.” He blew out a despondent breath. “I was so super sure I was dating somebody! But I guess Genta was right the whole time.”
“Oh?” Cautiously, Ayato sat on the edge of the futon, close to Itto. “What did he say?”
“He said, ‘just ‘cause you’re down bad for someone doesn't mean they like you back’. Something like that.”
“Hm.” A pause. “Well. If that is what he said, he wasn’t quite right.”
Itto frowned and risked a tiny glance at Ayato—who was, in fact, wearing silk pyjamas. They were black.
“What do you mean?”
“Itto.” Another pause. “Why do you think that I went along with it, when you asked me if we had been romantically involved before your accident?”
Itto had to think about it. He remembered now how Ayato had stumbled for just a moment when he’d said it, but almost immediately agreed that yes, they’d been an item. It had been Ayato, too, who dragged him away into the trees and kissed him.
Their first ever kiss. Man, if Itto had known, he would’ve taken it a lot slower. Appreciated it, savoured it—
Ayato laid a hand on his knee and Itto’s train of thought screeched to a halt.
“You weren’t the only one who was ‘down bad’, to use your parlance.”
Itto raised his eyes and finally let himself stare openly at Ayato, who smiled a small and soft smile that Itto now recalled seeing before. He’d seen it many times, in fact. Ayato had always smiled at him like that, and it had always made Itto feel all tingly and weird inside because yeah, okay, he’d been down wicked bad for Ayato, only… Only, he’d never fully understood that until he’d gotten a good bonk on the head. They were both guys and Ayato was his bro, his aniki, so Itto thought it had to be normal to feel so gooshy about such a totally awesome friend, right?
Looking back, he felt like a colossal idiot.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “About me, I mean. Obviously I didn’t think you would, but I…I thought I only liked you as a friend.”
Ayato’s smile softened even further and he squeezed Itto’s knee.
“Yes, I know.”
Itto’s entire world was spinning like crazy. Everything he’d thought was true before the accident and everything he’d been so sure about afterwards, all of it had been wrong, wrong, wrong.
“You should’ve told me!” He exclaimed. “Aniki! You liked me all that time and you never said?”
Ayato sighed and he looked so sad it made Itto’s chest ache. Impulsively, he seized his friend’s hand and crushed it between both of his own and then, he raised it to his lips and pressed a firm kiss to Ayato’s delicate fingers.
Watching a pink blush first bloom and then spread in Ayato’s cheeks was the best thing he’d seen all day.
“I was cowardly,” Ayato said, looking less shame-faced now, with Itto nuzzling his hand, than he might’ve done if his admission had come five minutes earlier. “I wasn’t sure my feelings were reciprocated and, to be frank, I wasn’t ready to face the possibility that they were. I wasn’t ready to be with you.”
Itto recalled his words of the night before, how Ayato had seemed perfectly happy for Itto to tell anyone he liked.
“You were ashamed, right? Of me?”
“What?” Ayato’s face fell as his eyes met Itto’s. “Oh, Itto. No, never.”
“ ‘Cause I know you’re, like, a fancy bigshot rich guy and I’m just a dumb oni who’s always getting in trouble and—”
Ayato cut him off with a kiss.
It was Itto’s favourite kiss of all they’d shared so far, because now he knew it was really, truly his. His to keep, this kiss given by Ayato to him, Arataki Itto, the delinquent oni of Hanamizaka.
For all that, though, it was much too brief. Ayato pulled back quickly and cupped Itto’s face with his free hand.
“I was never ashamed,” he murmured, his warm breath ghosting over Itto’s mouth. “Not of you, not of our friendship and not of my feelings. I was only ever afraid of losing you, and of how people might treat you. I wanted to protect you. I wanted to protect what we already had.”
“Oh.”
Itto darted forward and stole another quick kiss. He felt Ayato’s smile against his lips and his heart went thud thud thud in response.
“I shouldn’t have lied to you.” Ayato’s fingers were in his hair. “That was a sneaky thing to do. I should have told you we’d never been together romantically, but I… I was weak, I suppose. You offered me everything I wanted on a silver platter.”
“You wanted me?” Itto breathed the question quietly, still disbelieving even with the proof all but in his lap.
“I did. I do, still. If you’ll have me, Itto.”
“Are you kidding?” Itto found he was grinning so hard he had to back off. It was worth it for the way Ayato’s eyes came to life at the sight of his joy. “Ayato, my man, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! And you laugh at my jokes and you do dumb stuff like beetle hunting with me and I know it was you who bailed me out of jail those last two times ‘cause there’s no way the gang has that kind of money! And—” He took a deep breath. “Even after I got clonked on the head, I didn’t stop liking—no, loving you. I knew it the second I saw you. I guess amnesia Itto is a lot smarter than regular Itto. But I do. I love you.”
Ayato did climb into his lap, then, and Itto got to discover what the fuss over silk pyjamas was really all about.
The only thing that felt better under his hands was Ayato, Ayato, Ayato.
“He’s got that deranged grin again,” Genta said in a stage whisper, bumping Shinobu with his shoulder.
Shinobu only smiled behind her mask as she watched the boss gazing dreamily in the direction of the Kamisato Estate.
“Ah, let him be happy,” she said. “He’s earned it.”