Specks of Light

Part Seven. Chapter 5: Rejection

[“Yuu- san? What’s wrong?”] Fujino asked with a tone of concern. “Umm..I’ll tell you later but can I go?” Yuu asked once again turning to look back to see if Ijuuin had caught up with him. [“I’m not at home right now, Yuu- san. I’m heading to an audition for the Invincible anime”] Fujino spoke with a calm voice. Surprisingly, Yuu felt disappointed at the information and now he really didn’t know what to do. “I see...I’m sorry” he said without being able to avoid his feelings from showing in his voice. Probably if he was fast, he could get to the train station before being seen by Ijuuin- sensei. [“Where are you, Yuu- san”] he hard Fujino asking when he was about to hang up. “At the plaza shopping mall, I…” Yuu started once again turning to see if Kyo was closeby. [“Stay close to the coffee shop. I’ll pick you up there”] Fujino said sweetly. “Thank you, Fujino- sensei” Yuu whispered into the phone [“I’m on my way”] Aki said without losing the sweet tone he had used. “Thank you!” Yuu finished as he hanged up the phone.

Yuu saw Ijuuin- sensei arriving to the entrance clearly in desperate seek of him. He knew he was acting really immature, but he could not help but feel completely cheated. Not only had Ijuuin- sensei hidden something from him again, he had also lied about staying at the editorial. In other words, Ijuuin had taken him for a fool. He saw as the Kyo made his way through the people moving his head from side to side. Yuu walked towards the coffee shop, for the very first time in his life, thanking that he wasn’t really tall. He saw a fancy car approaching and he knew that had to be Fujino- sensei. The car parked at the only empty spot and as soon as Yuu started to head towards it, he heard his name being called “Yanase- kun!”. Yuu turned his head to find Ijuuin- sensei intensely looking at him with a really concerned and very tired expression. He hesitated on what to do when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. Get in the car” Fujino told him with a sweet smile.

“No!” Yuu heard Ijuuin saying but he really didn’t want to make a scene neither did he want his anger and frustration to explode right there. So without turning to look back, Yuu slowly headed towards the blue car and slid himself into the passenger’s seat. Feelings of anger and guilt started to rise inside him as he saw Fujino standing right in front of Ijuuin- sensei, he knew that Fujino would deal with Kyo and that was surely what made him feel the worst. The fact that he didn’t have the courage to face Ijuuin by himself and instead making someone else do it for him, was probably the lowest thing he had ever done. But he knew this was also for self defense as he felt like he wouldn’t be able to resist a minute talking to Ijuuin- sensei by himself. With that thought in mind, he breathed deeply and rested his head against the car seat, impatiently waiting for Fujino to enter the car as well.

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Few times in his life had Kyo felt this worried and scared, the rejection on Yanase’s eyes as he had walked into Fujino’s car had been enough to form a cold hole in his chest. “Yanase- kun, please…” he started “Don’t waste your time, Ijuuin- sensei. He can’t and he won’t listen” Fujino told him with a serious expression. Due to the situation, Ijuuin would’ve expected the guy to have a satisfaction smile, but much to his surprise, Aki seemed to be legitimately upset. “I don’t know what happened between you two...but it’s clear you hurt Yuu- san so please stay away” Fujino spoke with a harsh tone. The words cut through Kyo's skin making the hole in his chest grow even bigger now, he had not meant to hurt Yuu, he would never want to hurt him and he knew he had done wrong. Still, this was not Fujino’s business at all.

Feeling like his whole body was numb, he forcefully took two steps closer to the car, determined on taking his partner out of that vehicle, even if that meant he had to use some force. “Don’t get any closer” Fujino warned him extending an arm to block Kyo’s track. “He is my partner, Fujino- sensei. I’m the one dating him, not you...you have no right” he said setting his hand on Fujino’s forearm applying some pressure to remove it from his way. “You’re also the one who hurt him...why do you think I’m here? You think I just guessed you two had problems and came here looking for him? Are you really that delusional, Ijuuin- sensei? I’m here because he called me almost in tears” Fujino told him using the same harsh tone he had used when he asked Kyo to stay away. Ijuuin was usually a really confident man, but now he really had no idea of what to do, he had never loved someone the way he loved Yuu. The only thing he knew now, was that he needed to get Yanase out of that car. “Yanase- kun!” he called louder this time successfully getting one step closer to the car.

Yuu didn’t even turn to look at him which made Kyo feel his heart completely sinking. “What happened to respecting Yuu- san’s feelings instead of being selfish, Ijuuin- sensei?” Fujino asked using the same argument Kyo had tried to use against him when he had confessed his feelings for Yuu. “He clearly doesn’t want to be with you right now, so let me tell you once again...please stay away” Fujino said this time finally displaying a tiny smile that didn’t completely hide just how upset he was. Ijuuin had also been mad at Hatori- san when he had attacked Yanase at a personal level*...could it be that Fujino was now feeling the same kind of anger he had felt back then? And if it was so, could that mean that Aki loved Yuu in the same way he did? No, that just couldn’t be. “Are you happy being his backup plan then, Fujino- sensei?” Kyo asked in frustration realizing the magnitude of the trouble he had just caused. “I’ll be whatever he needs me to be...specially when you fail your role” Aki answered confidently “I must go now, have an important meeting. Have a good afternoon, Ijuuin- sensei” Fujino concluded as he walked towards the car with his usual victorious pace and got into the driver’s seat.

Ijuuin watched in disbelief as the car made a turn and slowly drove away, with his hands clenched in fists he decided it was probably better to give Yuu a few hours to calm down. He had made several mistakes in his life and all of those had come back to haunt him one way or another. This mistake, however, may cost him what he loved and cared about the most in this whole world and that idea alone was torture. “Please take care of him” Kyo said silently as he saw the car disappearing from his sight into a big avenue.
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*Reference: Junjou Sentiment: The case of Yanase Yuu. Part Three. Chapter 2: Tension.