An Unheard Voice - Chapter 25: Chapter 25

"Seriously, you could have told us sooner! I think choosing a guy's swimsuit would be pretty easy." An says, dragging Azusawa into the store. I came to her for help and she invited Akiyama and Ena. Akito didn't come.. is he mad at me?
"Toya's pretty-- piece of cake." Akiyama sighs, with their lollipop sticking out.
"Yeah. Also, remember Akito's face when we said he had Toya's lipstick on his mouth?" Ena smirks. I blush, turning around.
"Don't worry Toya, we lied. It was hilarious seeing him wipe it off immediately!" They cackle, and Azusawa giggles. In a good or bad way.?
"Okay, let's get some answers before choosing anything. How comfortable are you showing everything besides that area? Like no shirt?" An asks, looking at the mannequins. I inhale, and shake my head. That's way too embarrassing.
"Let's get Aoyagi a shirt, then!" Azusawa suggests.
"Ooh, yeah! I have the perfect decisions here!" An says, handing me clothes. They all then push me into the changing room, and I stare at them. "Nooo!!" She cries, as I throw the.. bikini at her face.
Seriously, I feel like all she has is blackmail of me.
I come out with the first one, a one piece.. This.. isn't exactly what I had in mind. I mean yeah it doesn't show my chest, but.. it shows almost all of my legs and arms. I cover myself slightly, humiliated. Azusawa puts down An's camera who complains, and smiles.
"The shyness is adorable, but we don't want you to be uncomfortable with your outfit. Try the next one!" Akiyama grins, and I go back in.
"Haha, I got an ass shot. Wait, is his bigger than mine?" An says, and I freeze. "No wait, don't delete it!"
The next one is basically a normal shirt and shorts. They think, and look back at me.
"Too simple. Next one?"
This one is just random strips of clothing-! No way I'm wearing that!!
Akiyama whistles, and An laughs at me.
"I'm sending this to Akito." She wipes her tears, and before I run up to her I remember what I'm wearing..
I'll get humiliated either way. Why did I ever agree to wear this? I knew I had a bad feeling.
"Shoo! Shoo!!" Ena scares off a few people looking, and I run back in the dressing room.
I come out again with one that , and their eyes light up. They glance at one another, and nod.
"This one!" They vote in unison, and I nod, changing out of it then going to pay. Akiyama takes it, and smiles.
"Let me do this, babygir--" They grin, but get smacked on the head by.. Akito? And Ena?
"Sorry I'm late." He smiles menacingly to Akiyama who is now probably dead on the floor. Ena scoffs, and takes my stuff. I can.. pay for it..
"It's okay, we dragged you here way too early." She pats my back, walking to the cashier.
"Wow, just call him babygirl if you don't want Mizuki doing it." An smirks, and I stare at her. What even is babygirl?? Akito rolls his eyes, walking up to me.
"They didn't harass you, did they? My alarm didn't go off, sorry about that." He smiles, putting his hand on my shoulder. I shake my head, going to take the bag from Ena.
I should get home before my mother wakes up. Father returns next week, too.. I'll still be going out, but I want my mother to come with me.. But for the now we leave tomorrow with everyone.
We've invited An, Azusawa, Ena, Akiyama, an everyone else from the Christmas party basically. But Akiyama said they'll be sticking with two other people too.
"Bye, Toya! We'll see you soon!! Akito's gonna wait for you to make sure nobody hits on him, aren't ya?" An elbows him, and he blushes. I nod, and wave goodbye.
They've invited my mother as I mentioned, so she's coming. Well, that's better than a bunch of teenagers that are really likely to cause chaos one way or another.
"Let's go!" My mother says, marching to the station. My bathing suit makes me feel more comfortable, so I'm not embarrassed, I'll just put my shirt on when we get there.
On the other hand, her outfit was chosen by them as well, a white and blue swimming dress with the back exposed. I have to remind her to apply sunscreen when we get there so she doesn't embarrass herself. But seriously, Akiyama chooses some of the coolest outfits.
"Ah, Ms. Aoyagi! Over here~!!" Ena waves, next to Akito. An said he just grabbed random swim trunks and a shirt and left the store.
He invited me to sit next to him on the cooler, so I did. But he's on his phone right now most likely messaging An, so I sit there in silence. My mother took my phone in her bag for safe keeping.
He gets up, rummaging through the bag below me.
.. Well, it's clear he's been.. working out... Wait Toya, stop being creepy! I shake my head as he puts on his shirt.
"How do you like my outfit? Mizuki chose it~" She says. It has some sort of a sunflower patterned two piece. It's very cute, indeed.
"We're just waiting for.. everyone." Akito scoffs, putting his phone down. He clears his throat, and covers my chest with a towel. "Um.. you did bring a shirt, right..? I don't- um. I have and extra one if you need it." He mumbles, blushing. My face turns beet red, and I nod rapidly, showing him mine.
"Stop keeping that cute stomach to yourself, Akito!" An pokes my side, and I flinch. "Haha! Take that!" She keeps poking it, tickling me. I try not to laugh, and he smacks her hand away. "Ouch. Where's my wife?" She has a piece, but a slight hole the stomach area, with long sort of see-through white sleeves.
"I-I'm here! I didn't make you wait too long, did I?!" Azusawa comes running shortly after, with a pink two piece but an adorable design and a skirt. I'm guessing An chose it. Her face lights up, and she runs to grab her bags for her.
"You look so adorable, Kohane~! How did I get so lucky getting blessed with a fallen angel?!" She squeals, giving her kisses all over. Azusawa giggles, embarrassed by causing a scene. "No weird creepy perv tried talking to you, right?!"
"Nope!"
"Good! As your girlfriend, I will protect you!" An says, blocking her out of everyone's sight. "Also, you don't have make-up on?"
"I haven't bought water proof yet, but it's nice to have a bare face once in a while." She smiles.
"Of course it is, it reminds me of when we first met~! Still, you look adorable either way."
"Now we're waiting on the clown squad." Akito says, and Akiyama giggles behind us, scaring me. I fall off the seat, onto the floor. "Shit, Toya!" He helps me up, glaring at them.
They have on a pink swimsuit also, except this one is more connected than Azusawa's and slightly purple. They apologize, and go up to Ena. Both Azusawa's and An's dad eventually come with more supplies.
"Hahahaha!!" Someone laughs in the distance. I recognize that laugh-!!
"Don't start laughing where I can be seen with you! I don't know him. He's not my friend." Kusanagi mumbles, and he takes high offense to that. Kamishiro wears something similar to me, except with no shirt and Tsukasa has sunglasses on. Kamishiro giggles, giving him a small peck on the cheek. He immediately closes his mouth after that, bright red.
I ran up to Tsukasa, greeting the others as well.
"Hi, Toya!" He ruffles my hair, and I smile. Kusanagi has a green swimsuit, with a skirt as well. Otori has a fluffy top, and a skirt similar to Azusawa's. She looks at me with a wide grin, and Kusanagi waves. I wave back, and signal them to follow me.
Hanasato, Momoi and Kiritani have already arrived. All different colors, except Hanasato is glaring at everyone looking at Kiritani. She softens her gaze when the adults look at her.. Akito and Momoi are talking, but she blushes as he grins, and I grow sour. She hasn't put on her swimsuit yet, do we need to buy one for her, too? Kusanagi pats my back, I turn to her.
"It'll never work out." She whispers, and I sigh.
"Mafuyu and Kanade are coming.. coming.. they're here!" Akiyama says, waving as high as they can. They were at the christmas party, but I can't seem to remember their names.
The one with white hair has a very big hat and sunglasses..
They wave, approaching us. "Alright! Everyone ready?!" They shout, and we all answer 'yes', then they march into the train. We all follow, and take our seats. I sit in between Akito and Kusanagi, and a few help put everyone's bags away including Akito.
"Your outfit suits you." I smile at her, and she smiles back. I may have to put my notebook away when we get there..
"Thank you. You look handsome as well, and I'm surprised Akito hasn't been staring like you have." She wiggles her eyebrows, and I blush, frowning. I'm taking back the compliment.
"Emu and I went on a date yesterday. Well, she dragged me everywhere so I might be tired today." She scoffs, and I giggle. Akito comes back, and we both shut up. He stares at us both, and just sits down.
After sitting in silence for a while, I hear a light tap on the window. It's moving.. what the.. I turn my head, and see his head resting on it. That must be uncomfortable... Kusanagi elbows me, smirking. I sigh, and gently touch his head, putting it on my shoulder. She gives a thumbs up, and offers me a headphone connected to her phone. I take it, and watch her play.
He woke up and began panicking again, asking and making sure he didn't dislocate my shoulder. I can't tell if he's mocking me or genuinely worried.
My mother takes my hand, making sure I don't wander off. This is embarrassing... Akito chuckles, and follows us instead of his sister who is currently shouting.
Once we got in, An called us all to go around her. We did, and she cleared her throat.
"Okay, so we will all go our separate ways from now on. Whoever you decide to go with is who you'll stay with for the rest of the day! Hopefully." She shoots a stare at Akiyama, who averts their gaze awkwardly. "Shout-out to Kohane's dad, my dad, and Toya's mom for making sure we don't blow up the place!" She turns to Kamishiro and Tenma, and they look down. Ena holds Akiyama back from coming to my mother, and we get weird stares. Maybe the last part wasn't all that necessary...
Ena, Akiyama, Momoi and the other two went in their own group and they'd be fine without a grown up, Saki and her girlfriends went with Tsukasa, Kamishiro, Kusanagi and Otori.
Hanasato and Kiritani joined our group since An invited them, and Azusawa joined my mother, Akito and I.
This is so confusing. I take off my sweater to put on my shirt, and see Akito staring. I blush, confused. He realizes, and turns his head away fast. Maybe he got lost in thought.
"Where should we go first?!" An says, but runs to a slide. I've never been here before.. My mother stays with the other two, and Akito follows me getting dragged up the stairs, then I begin trembling. Why is this so high..? Akito notices, and grabs my hand, going next to me. My face heats up, and I turn to him, flustered.
An sees, and gives us a blank stare. I smack his hand away slightly, and he chuckles. Eventually our turn comes, and An goes behind Azusawa.
"We'll see you guys down there! See ya!" She shouts, as Azusawa shrieks. The blood from my face drains, and Akito grabs my hand, placing me down.
"I'll be behind you." He says, and sits down. My cheeks are probably pink by how close we are, but I nod. Once we go down, my soul leaves my body. I shut my eyes, but Akito grips my arm like his life depends on it.
".. that wasn't me." He covers his face with his palms in embarrassment, and I smile. It was less scarier than expected.. probably because he was with me. An drags me again and Akito chases after.
"Here, look! You see that bucket?! Take a picture when it goes down and send it to me! Come on, Akito!" She says, grabbing his arm.
"Wait what-"
They just stand there, along with other children. I smile and take a quick photo of Akito's embarrassed expression.
"Hey Akito, look! That bird in the sky is falling!" An cries, and he looks up, but then the bucket pours on them. After screaming and the kids crying while running away, Akito slowly looks at An, who's laughing. "Ouch!!"
He huffs, and walks back to me. I took a billion pictures.. which one do I pick? Maybe this one. He leans over, and laughs.
"Send me that, too." He says, and I nod. After scrolling through for a while, we get interrupted.
I feel a tug on my sweater, and I look down. I hand Akito my phone, to see the child. I tilt my head, and he lifts up my sleeve. What the-?!
"I saw you were hurt. My sister said you were cute, so I wanted to give you my bandaid." She sticks a unicorn bandaid on the scar on my hand... Aw. I pat her head, and smile.
Quick explanation time-- those are actually my scars from when I learned the piano. I don't think my father ever realized that whenever he would hit my arm with some sort of ruler or whatever this was, it would leave a red mark sometimes. I think these might be permanent.
Immediately Akito pulls me away, and brings me behind the restroom building. He removes my sweater on one side, and I flinch a little when he presses on a mark out of nowhere. Huh..?
"Who did this to you?" He asks. I'm stunned, so I don't know what to say.
"Wh-What..?" I ask, confused.
"Who. Did this. To you?" He grumbles, rubbing it. I don't know how to say my father did it.. they already hate each other enough.
"I-It's not.. im-important.." I whisper, and he looks up, like.. sad. What happened?
".. Toya, if anything is happening, you know you can come to me.. right?" He asks, bringing my wrist to his lips. Snap out of it Toya, he's just looking closely at it!! I nod, so he can let go. But he doesn't.
"I.. um, it was.. my f-father. That was before, so- during p-piano lessons- not an-anymore. I'm.. sorry." I look to the side, and he comes closer to me, pushing me against the wall. Please strike me dead right now.
"That fucking.. whatever," he mumbles. I'm too flustered to even say anything about his language right now. "Please Toya, just.. come to me the next time something like this happens. I'll take care of it. I don't want to see any part of you injured, let alone marked." He moves his face closer to mine with my wrist close to him and one of his arms next to my shoulder, looking me in the eyes. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was pinning me to the wall, like.. kabedon, or something.
I nod, my heart beat increasing. It's so loudly despite all of the people in the background, most of the children.
.. He was really that worried about me? Why should.. he even be worrying about me? Do I really cause him to think about other things and not enjoy his time whenever we are?
"HEY! You two are ditching us, aren't y--" An points to us, sliding. We both turn to her, as our eyes widen. Half of my sweater is off, he's close to me up against the wall. Personally, I wouldn't complain about that part, but this looks so wrong-!!
"Dude.. weak. We're in public." She covers her eyes, and I quickly put my sleeve back on. I run up to her, shaking my head rapidly and waving my hands around. "Haha! I'm telling everyone!" She runs, and I chase after her.
"Don't run here! You're going to fall!!" Azusawa tries warning us, but I fall flat on my face.
"Toya! Are you-" Akito and my mother shout, and Akiyama comes dashing.
"I HAVE THE MED KIT! STAND BACK EVERYONE!!" She says, and I get up, rubbing my forehead. I'm not injured at all..? "STAY DOWN!"
They bash my head to the floor, and I groan. That hurts-! Ena smacks their head, and they lift me up.
"I'm sorry. Have a lollipop." They get dragged away by the purple haired girl. .. Is she related to Kamishiro, perhaps..?
"Are you okay?! Do you need to stay down again?!" My mother grabs my face, inspecting it. I shake my head, standing up and backing away.
"I thought Mizuki's technique was pretty good thou--" She adds, and I frown at her. She giggles, and Akito pulls my shirt down.
"Don't mind me."
"I wanna see Toya's tummy!" An grins, attempting to lift my shirt up, but Akito throws her. I'm so confused.
I can't really tell if I'm heating up from being near Akito after.. that, or the sun. It's not even that hot outside today..
"Hey, Akito!" Momoi waves, in her swimsuit now. It's.. adorable, really. She has a hat on, too. "Do you like it?" She asks, twirling.
"Pretty cute, honestly. No wonder why you had that reputation as an idol." He scoffs, walking the other way.
"Thanks. Unlike you, I actually chose something that'd be nice, didn't I?" She smiles, and follows him. .. What.
"Why? Because I'm a jealous jealous jealous boy.. if I can't have you baby, if I can't have you baby~" An begins humming, and I frown at her, unamused. "Don't worry, brodie! I gotchu."
She slaps my back, and I immediately hold that area as it stings. Ow-!!
"You have 2 seconds to dodge my attack!!!" She screams and they turn around, but she jumps on the two of them.
Now all three of them are on the floor, groaning.
"I told you to dodge my attack." She says, but gets hit by Akito then collapses. .. I should probably make sure she hasn't passed out.