“Michi, didn’t you hear me?” Kaede’s deep voice and warm breath broke Michiru’s reverie. He blushed and turned his face away so his friend wouldn’t see his embarrassment. Kaede always did that, speaking so close to his ear when he’s distracted. He was annoyed with Kaede, but he was more annoyed with himself for reacting so strangely. Why did he feel so shy about being close to Kaede? They’ve been friends for a long time, not to mention they’re both men, so there shouldn’t be any reason to be embarrassed about being in close proximity with his best friend.
“Hey, are you really going to submit this article? Wouldn’t it be bad if your fans knew that you don’t have any romantic experience at all?” Kaede asked seriously. “But really, I’m amazed that you were able to stay pure this long. You must have a lot of frustrations pent up, huh?” Kaede smirked at him.
He really knows how to piss me off, Michiru fumed inwardly. “Oh, shut up. I’m not a man-whore like you. What’s wrong with waiting for the right person? Unlike you cynical bastard I still believe in love,” Michiru said coldly. Now, like many times before, he wondered how they had managed to stay the best of friends when they were polar opposites. He turned back to his article and waited for Kaede’s snide remark, but nothing came except a soft, “Love, huh.” as if he was in deep thought. He felt uneasy at this unusual reaction and changed the subject.
“About that article, I wrote that on a whim and as expected it was rejected by Mika-san. Speaking of her, I believe that’s her at the door.” Michiru got up when he heard the doorbell. As he passed by Kaede he saw his friend’s face darken, but because it was so fleeting he thought that he must have imagined it. Michiru knew that Kaede and Mika-san didn’t exactly get along so maybe that was the reason Kaede was upset for a moment. Still, Michiru was a little unsettled that Kaede would show such open dislike for a woman, and a kind and pretty woman at that. Wasn’t Kaede supposed to be a Casanova of sorts?
With all these jumbled thoughts in mind, he opened the door and welcomed a smiling Mika-san inside. “Good evening, sensei. I brought your favorite cake,” Mika-san said brightly. Her expression faltered a little when she saw Kaede come up behind Michiru. “Oh, Takagi-san is also here, as usual,” Mika-san said sweetly, though she put a little stress on that last part of her sentence. “Hello, Mika-san. Yes, I’m here as usual. Because Michiru and I are really close. You know that don’t you,” Kaede’s words are dripping with sarcasm.
Michiru sensed the uncomfortable atmosphere between the two and it’s making him more and more curious. Did something happen between them without him knowing? But more than curiosity, he felt both worried and sad that these two people, both important to him, could not get along. Michiru knew he needed to lighten up the atmosphere. “Oh, this is great, Mika-san! I’ve been thinking about getting this cake for a while now, but I haven’t had the time. Come on in and let’s have some tea. I have the article ready for you, as well,” he ushered Mika-san to the living room while Kaede just looked on.
I need to ask him about this, Michiru thought. It was just too weird how hostile Kaede was towards Mika-san. There had to be some reason behind it. With this in mind, Michiru put on some tea and prepared the cake for the three of them, resolving to talk to Kaede after Mika-san left.
Aoicchi's Corner of the Universe 