Serendipity
Chapter 16: Shuppatsu (Departure)

The two of them stayed up all night the evening before Takeru left. It was not dissimilar to the time he had first moved to France, except now they were lovers instead of friends. After spending nearly every waking moment together for the past two months, they'd have to go two weeks without seeing each other. She felt dramatic when she thought it'd be difficult. It was after all only two weeks.

Takeru was already touchy, but because this was their last night, he couldn't get enough of her. It embarrassed her to admit it, but she felt the same. For the first time since uni, she received a love bite, just where her collarbone met her shoulder. She felt like they were still in their honeymoon phase, and while she was often shy to admit such things, he wasn't in the least, telling her all of the reasons that made her so special as he held her throughout the night. At multiple points, she even expected him to tell her that he loved her, though he never did.

Despite being knackered, they refused to sleep. She told him she would miss him, and he told her his dreams for their future. They seriously considered moving in together the moment he got back. He'd only get the corporate flat for so long, and they were already practically living together. She'd have to talk to Miyako first, but he suggested that even if she didn't want to give up her current flat, she was still welcome to move in with him anyway. He was going to live by himself in a place big enough for the two of them. She told him she would think on it.

She finally dozed off against him just as the sun rose, then woke up a few hours later to the sound of the doorbell. Takeru had told her that Yamato would be coming to drive them to the airport, and she felt her heart beat faster as Takeru went to let him in. Her footsteps heavy, she followed several steps behind him, stopping just where Yamato wouldn't be able to see her immediately. She watched as Takeru opened the door and jovially greeted his brother.

"All packed?" Yamato asked Takeru, seemingly in good spirits too, though the moment he saw her standing in the hallway, he darkened. She instantly looked down to avoid eye contact, still unsure just what she had done to make him this way.

If Takeru noticed the transaction, he didn't draw attention to it, ushering Yamato inside before disappearing into his room to get his suitcase and leaving her alone with him.

Yamato was silent, and while she wasn't a big talker herself, she tried.

"It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Fine."

"How was traffic?"

"Fine."

Hikari forced a smile. "Thank you for driving us to the airport."

He lifted his brow. "You're going with us?"

"Ah…"

She didn't know what to say, suddenly feeling like she should uninvite herself, when Takeru's voice cut through their conversation.

"Don't mind him. He's being moody because he's sad to see me go."

Hikari turned to see Takeru had come back into the room, smiling pleasantly at the two of them. He had brought out his suitcase, which contained a few essentials and snacks for his friends but was otherwise empty.

"I'm coming back, you know. You don't have to miss me so much," Takeru teased. Yamato's expression didn't change, and Hikari already knew his mood had little to do with Takeru's exit.

"Is Mum here? I thought she was going too."

Takeru shook his head. "No, she got called into work today. I'm only gone for two weeks. All of you guys will see me again."

Yamato frowned. "Well, Mum asked me to bring her some natto, so it's baking in my car at the moment."

"Just give it to her after you drop Hikari off at home," Takeru offered easily as a solution.

She thought Yamato looked overly annoyed at Takeru's suggestion. Not knowing what to say, she changed the subject, not wanting to make it more awkward. "Takeru, your suitcase looks too common."

He looked down at the silver luggage, indistinguishable in Hikari's opinion to countless others. She had a pink silk twilly tied to her bag, which she undid and secured in a bow on the handle.

"Is it too girly?" she asked him, looking at her work.

"It's perfect. It'll remind me of you," he said sweetly, playing with the hairs on the top of her head before kissing her there.

Yamato cleared his throat. "Let's go. You'll be late."

Takeru carried the conversation on the car ride to Haneda, Yamato offering responses every now and then. She sat silently in the back, staring at the back of their heads and sometimes catching Takeru winking at her from the rear-view mirror.

At one point, he turned around in his seat to show her his phone. Taichi had texted him, wishing him to have a safe flight.

"I told you I'd make him like me," Takeru boasted.

She smiled affectionately but didn't comment, because she caught sight of Yamato rolling his eyes at the mention of her brother.

Once Hikari had told Taichi that Takeru was moving back, he had accepted the two of them to be real and had even said something in favour of Takeru's character.

Her brother was easy, but she still couldn't say the same about Takeru's.

At the airport, Takeru checked in and Yamato bought the three of them coffee. Having come a bit early, they staked out a table to drink and wait. She watched the brothers bounce conversation off each other, she listening wordlessly while Takeru's fingers sometimes softly kneaded the side of her stomach to get a response out of her. She would smile at him but tried not to involve herself in order to bring as little attention to herself as possible. She listened as Yamato once again brought up the natto for their mother that was currently making his car smell and gave him reminders of what to do while in Paris, while Takeru listed the areas he thought of moving to once back in Tokyo, not mentioning that these were all places he had considered with her input as well.

She carefully kept track of the clock, overly aware that as the time passed, they became closer to saying goodbye. She couldn't help but feel a sadness, no matter how much she told herself that it wasn't sad. In the previous scenario, this would have been Takeru leaving forever, whereas now he was leaving only to be one step closer to being with her.

When the time came for him to go through security, she gave him a hug, too shy to kiss him in public but mostly in front of Yamato. Takeru, however, had no issue. With Yamato watching, he kissed her too intensely, and she had to push him away because she was embarrassed. She glanced at Yamato, who was looking off, pretending he hadn't seen.

Takeru hugged Yamato goodbye, then held her tightly in his arms again. He lifted her off the ground and held her close, whispered sweet nothings in her ear and told her he'd be back soon.

"Wait for me, okay?" he told her, his lips on hers.

"Maybe," she teased, forgetting that Yamato was next to them. "I'll have to see how I feel about you once you're gone."

He frowned.

"Don't joke about things like that," he said, pecking her lips. "I'll miss you a lot, Hikari."

"I'll miss you too."

Yamato sighed loudly to remind them he was still there. Hikari blushed and tried to withdraw from Takeru, who didn't seem to care nearly as much and kept her in his arms.

"Go catch your plane," she said to him.

"Stop trying to get rid of me so quickly."

"You're actually going to miss your plane," Yamato noted dryly.

"I have plenty of time," Takeru dismissed with a cock of his head because his arms were still around her.

Somehow, she was able to wiggle out of his grasp, and he gave her a final kiss goodbye before stepping into the security queue. When he reached the front, he remembered to turn and wave, flashing his beautiful smile as he disappeared into the clearance check.

It took her a moment to realise she had been left alone with Yamato again. While she was disheartened to see Takeru gone, she glanced in his direction and saw that Yamato showed no reaction.

"I'll drive you back," he offered her.

Despite his impassive tone, she still felt a rush of gratitude for his kindness. The ride was silent, however, and she soon gained the feeling that Yamato had only offered because Takeru had made him.

She attempted menial conversation.

"It'll be exciting when Takeru's back. You can see him more often."

Yamato didn't take his eyes off the road. "He's moving to Tokyo. It's too far from where I live."

She suddenly wondered whether Yamato found dropping her off in Tokyo a hassle.

"Still, it'd be nicer to have him in Japan," she tried. "It's much closer than France."

He must have been able to sense that she was looking at him, but he still wouldn't even glance her way.

He's driving. Stop being so senseless, she told herself, looking back down at her lap.

"I think it's pretty clear that he's moving back for you, not me."

It was a response that seemed to have been delayed a few seconds, but her heart swelled anyway. She looked up at him again, only to see a conflicted look appear on his face.

She couldn't take it anymore. She gathered all her courage. "Do you think I'm not good enough for Takeru?"

He didn't respond, hurting her feelings more than she would have thought.

"Whatever I say will just end up getting back to Taichi and Sora anyway, right?" he replied finally.

She realised Sora must have confronted him about what she had told her the other day. She felt ashamed, as if she shouldn't have said anything at all, but she just didn't understand his hostility.

"I'm sorry," she found herself saying, even though she didn't actually think she had done anything wrong. That conversation hadn't even been about him, and she trusted Sora to have relayed any information regarding him in a way where he needn't be so adverse.

He didn't say anything in return. She regretted getting in the car with him, the silence unbearable to her.

"I think Takeru must love you very much," Yamato said after a while. "He must, if he's willing to give up his entire life for you."

Hikari felt the return of guilt that she had constantly been feeling, the one that Takeru and Miyako and Sora and Mimi had all tried their best to convince her was all in her head. Despite everyone, including the source, assuring her that it wasn't true, Yamato shattered those comforting words with a single sentence.

He had even said the word "love," she noticed, which neither she nor Takeru had ever said to each other. She wondered if this was Yamato's inference or a word Takeru had used to him directly.

"I know he's doing a lot for me, and I know you don't think I'm good enough for him, but I like Takeru very much. I really, really like your brother. I won't hurt him. I promise. The last thing I want is for Takeru to regret this. I wouldn't have let him move back if I didn't really believe in us."

Yamato didn't respond, eyes glued to the road in front of him. He didn't even react. It was as if he hadn't even heard what she had said. She felt embarrassed, and she couldn't force herself to speak more after that. There was a long, uncomfortable silence, and she turned to stare out the window, trying not to think about how much Yamato hated her.

While she stared off into the clouds, wondering whether any of the passing planes she saw were Takeru's, she heard Yamato's velvety voice speak once more.

"I've never once thought you weren't good enough for him."

She turned to face him, surprised, but he was still staring at the road, using one hand to turn on the stereo without looking. The sound of rock music ended the conversation, and they were silent for the rest of the trip.


12 January 2021