𝙵𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 - 𝙷. 𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚞 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Thirteen

On her way up to her and her mother's cozy two-bedroom apartment, Kazumi stopped to grab their mail. Unfortunately, the envelope she had pulled out of their small metal box were the ones she hated getting the most: medical bills. As she walked down the hall she ripped open the crisp envelope, even though it was addressed to her mother, and looked at the damage from her last specialist appointment - $400.

To some people it probably didn't seem like the end of the world, but to Kazumi, who scraped herself down to every last penny she had each paycheck, these meant she'd be paying interest on top of the fee for two months, plus eating pre-packaged noodle cups for every meal so she could still feed her mom well. Of course, she'd never tell her mother that, so when she reached the apartment door, Kazumi haphazardly shoved the bill into her purse and plastered on a smile.

"Hey, Ma." She called out as she locked the door behind her, only to be met with a deep voice responding to her greeting. "What am I? Chop liver?" She stuck her head into the kitchen and when she saw that familiar head of fluffy violet hair, relief flooded through her body like a river breaking through a dam. "Hi, Hitoshi. What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow, "What does it look like I'm doing here?" She glanced around and noticed all the prepped ingredients for a batch of homemade chicken noodle soup, bone broth boiling on the stove and everything. Kazumi turned and rested her forehead on the cool surface of the fridge, not wanting to show him the emotions she was concerned he would be able to see written on her face.

While she did appreciate Shinsou's thoughtfulness, it made her feel incredibly guilty that now it seemed he felt he needed to take care of them - a burden she wouldn't have wished upon anyone, but especially not him. That guilt combined with the stress of the newest subtraction from her already in the red bank account had her entirely overwhelmed. Kazumi knew she now needed another job, but in doing so, she wouldn't be able to take care of her mother as she deserved, adding more weight to the imaginary anvil sitting on her back.

Needless to say, this wasn't the reaction Shinsou was anticipating. He dropped the wooden spoon he was holding and approached Kazumi, lifting a hand to gently rub her back. "You okay? If you just want to be alone, I can head out. I was just spending some time with your mom an-"

"Spending time with my mom?" She questioned, turning around to face Shinsou with confusion. At this moment, he saw that she had been trying to hide from him that she was upset as the depths of her eyes had dulled and her expression downcast. Shinsou wrapped his arms loosely around Kazumi's waist, "Yeah, she'd called this morning and wanted some company so I was happy to oblige." He gestured with a jut of his head toward the stove, "Figured I'd make your life a little easier and make dinner while she rested."

"That's very nice of you, Hitoshi. Thank you." She sighed, knowing that now the fridge was most likely bare and he was probably perceptive enough to notice. Shinsou tilted his head down and nudged her cold nose with his warm one, "What's wrong, Kazumi?" She shook her head and tried to curl her lips up in a smile, but it didn't look natural and she knew it wasn't fooling him. "Everything's fine."

Shinsou pressed his smooth lips against her forehead, "She was asleep when I checked in fifteen minutes ago so I doubt she's awake. Just talk to me. Please?" Kazumi's false barrier easily crumbled as she focused on the kind lavender eyes that patiently waited for her to speak. "I need to get a second job."

He kept his composure, though internally he was already worried enough about her picking up too many hours at Hosu Thrift and the thought of her working more in addition to that made his heart sink, especially after his conversation with Mae. The stark reality of the situation was that Mae was right; Kazumi would have fewer bills to pay, cheaper rent, and have the time to go and live a little after she passed. No one other than Mae would ever admit that aloud, but they all knew it was true. That was the moment he realized that when he was deciding what to make for dinner and saw he clearly had minimal options ingredient-wise, that it wasn't just because Kazumi hadn't had time to do grocery shopping - it was because she couldn't afford to.

"I can help, Kazumi. You're already working too much as it is." He was relieved that his years of hiding his emotions had helped him bite back the distress he was feeling enough that she wouldn't pick up on it. "Don't be ridiculous, Hitoshi. It's not a big deal, just how life is going to be for...well, a while."

"It doesn't have to be if you let someone help you for once." The female sighed, she hated feeling like this, like she couldn't take care of herself or her mother, like she was failing. Kazumi's foot was tangled in the seaweed of her mind while the tide of the world started to swallow her whole. If she wasn't so stubborn nor so proud, she would've been able to climb up onto the liferaft that Shinsou had been offering, but instead, she remained struggling for each breath as she thrashed within the sea, unwilling to risk tipping that life raft and bringing someone else to their demise as well. Kazumi tilted her head up to place a trembling kiss on his lips, it was another embrace from her that he'd never forget the feeling of, this time though, it wasn't in a good way. "You're really sweet, Toshi, but you know I can't let you."

Each passing second that she wouldn't let him help was eating him up inside, she was hurting and he needed to do something about it. He couldn't just watch as she collapsed into herself like a dying star, so he did the one thing he knew she would let him do - he kissed her. At first softly, letting their lips press against one another in a sweet embrace, but Shinsou couldn't help the concern that controlled him and his kiss became much more urgent. He wished he could take away all of her worries and replace them with hope, but he knew that wouldn't happen, so he deepened their kiss, hoping to at least distract her from her pain even if just momentarily. And it did.

Kazumi found herself so utterly wrapped up in the moment Shinsou had created that she didn't even remember where she was or what her name is, all she knew was that this is what she wanted, what she needed. Passion bubbled up within her and she clung to Shinsou, letting her fingers dig into his shoulder blades as she tried to bring herself as close to him as possible. He groaned softly at the pleasurable sting, the sound of which tickled her lips in the best way possible. When Kazumi pulled her lips just barely an inch away to catch her breath, she whispered, "Hitoshi, I need you."

The words had barely left her before she hungrily kissed him once again, hating that her lips had felt the cool air against their surface. Shinsou lifted Kazumi up and placed her on the counter, parting her thighs with his hands so he could stand between them. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him even closer, wanting nothing more than to feel like her body was just an extension of his and vice versa.

The pair had both been so wrapped up in their current state that neither heard Mae hobble into the room. She originally decided not to disturb them, but when she noticed the red light on the stove indicating that an element was on, she had to go and turn it off. The last thing Kazumi needed was to deal with a fire and seeing how they hadn't even noticed her, they definitely wouldn't have noticed something like that until it was too late. The click that accompanied turning the knob to 'off' had caught Shinsou's attention and he pulled his lips off of the brunette's.

Mae smirked at him, "Don't mind me, just making sure you don't burn the place down." Kazumi rested her forehead on Shinsou's shoulders, much too embarrassed to show her mother her now crimson face. "I'll go put my headphones on, Kazumi, so don't you worry about me!" She teased, in turn, her daughter stuck her arm out and presented her middle finger. Mae chuckled as she walked away but internally cringed at the idea of having to hear her daughter having sex again.

"I'm sorry," Kazumi mumbled into the soft cotton of Shinsou's fitted T-shirt. His hand raised to caress her hair soothingly, "You know, if you were serious about needing me, I do have a car parked downstairs..." She shook her head side to side and her voice was muffled as she replied, "She'll know anyway...and what about dinner?"

Shinsou started brushing Kazumi's wavy locks into his hand as he spoke, "Dinner can wait, it's not going anywhere. So what if she knows?" Shinsou paused and tugged the hair in his hand lightly as a way to tilt her head up to meet his lustful gaze. "We just have to make sure she doesn't hear how good I can make you feel."