A Songbird Is Loved Despite Its Warble

Aoko had managed to put aside one day a week to train in Kyoto. She usually didn't have much to do anyways, so it's not like her schedule was packed and required anything too crazy. But she was excited!

She actually really liked Kyoto, and she liked the people in Kyoto too.

Soshi, despite his problems with his family, always made time for her. And she ended up making some friends through Soshi, so even if there was a time that he was busy, she always had someone around to talk to.

This week was one of those times.

"Yer waitin' fer Okita-kun?" Kazuha asked, handing Aoko a can of juice. "Him an' Heiji should be out of their kendo tourney soon. Do ya wanna get some lunch?"

"Oh no, Aoko brought a homemade bento!" Aoko lifted the large tiered box, and Kazuha blinked in surprise.

"Oooh! Yer always so prepared, do ya make bentos for Okita-kun often?"

"N-no, nothing like that! Aoko used to make bentos for her dad all the time! She made this one, but Dad ended up not needing it, so she brought it along."

"Lucky us! Let's grab some more drinks and wait fer the boys, yeah?"

Kazuha bought two more cans from the vending machine and walked with Aoko back to the viewing area.

"So, are you and Hattori-kun dating?" Aoko asked, earning a scandalized gasp from Kazuha.

"N-Nawh! Did someone tell ya that??" Kazuha shook her head. "Me an' Heiji are just childhood friends, is all!"

"Oh! Sorry, it just seemed like it from how you two spoke about each other."

"Ehhn? I mean, ya talk about Kaito-kun in the same way. Does that mean yer datin' him?"

Aoko scrunched up her nose. Did she really talk about Kaito like that? Sure, he was her best friend aside from Keiko, but she was fairly certain that she complained about him more than anything else.

But, then again, Kazuha complained about Heiji too. And then there was Shinichi, who's closest friend was Ran. Though to Aoko, it seemed like Shinichi was the type to be completely oblivious to someone liking him.

Sorta like Kaito, now that she thought about it.

"Honestly, Aoko thinks that the twins wouldn't know the first thing about dating or romance."

"...Yeah actually, now that ya mention it! Ran-chan seems to really like 'em both, but they don't really notice."

Ran likes Kaito and Shinichi-kun? Aoko blinked, just now hearing that herself. Whenever she asked Kaito about Ran, he always seemed to refer to her as someone he was no longer close with, as if she didn't like him much.

Maybe Kaito was more oblivious than she first thought.

"Well, I'm surprised that ya spend so much time with Okita-kun either way! I figured his girlfriend woulda got jealous!"

Aoko paused, quickly turning to face Kazuha again.

"Girlfriend??"

"Yeah, haven't ya met her?" Kazuha pointed across the gym to another set of viewing stands, "Ya see that girl with the pinkish-brown hair? Next ta the girl with the dark red hair? That's Okita-kun's girlfriend!"

Aoko frowned.

He's had a girlfriend all this time and never told Aoko?

But, that didn't make sense. Soshi had introduced Aoko to everyone he knows, including his own childhood friend Momiji. So why would he omit his girlfriend?

It stuck out in her mind, and when she finally managed to catch Soshi alone, she immediately asked him for the truth.

"Girlfriend??" he blurted, and Aoko ignored the fact that he reacted the same as she had. "Who told ya I have a girlfriend??"

"Tooyama-chan did," Aoko crossed her arms under her chest. "Aoko doesn't really care who you date, but if she's gonna get in the way of you two, or if you're trying to two-time―"

"Whoa whoa, hold on!" Soshi put a hand up to stop her. "I don't have a girlfriend, and I'm not two-timin' anyone!"

"Then who's the girl that came to see you? The one with the brownish hair?"

Soshi blinked, apparently cycling through faces in his mind before exclaiming, tapping his fist into his palm.

"Oh, ya mean Moroha?"

Aoko couldn't help the way she frowned. Surely that means nothing, of course.

"Moroha ain't my girlfriend. And she wasn't here ta see me! She was here ta see her brother, Yaiba." Soshi pointed over his shoulder to a boy with spiky red hair. "That's her brother, and my greatest rival."

"Okay... So why do you keep a picture of her in your omamori?"

"I keep a picture of all my closest friends in my omamori," Soshi removed the charm from around his neck and carefully opened it, pulling out a bunch of small pictures.

There was one of the Kudo twins, one of Heiji, and one of Yaiba and Moroha.

"I mean, I won't lie and say I never felt anythin' for her. I had a crush on her a few years back, and I kept her picture in my omamori as a sort of prayer to do better, but I grew outta that crush." Soshi shrugged. "Me an' her are just friends."

Aoko didn't understand why that explanation made her feel better, and she decided not to think too hard on it.

"Aoko didn't think that you and Hattori-kun were so close, aren't you two rivals?"

"Yeah, but he's also my best bud! Though it's one-sided apparently, he says he's already best friends with Shin-niichan."

It's probably one-sided for him too, Shinichi-kun's best friend is Kaito...

But, after looking at the pictures, Aoko had decided on something else.

"Hey, Okita-kun, do you think we can invite someone else to lunch?"

―

"I-I'm so sorry!!" Kazuha put her hands together apologetically and bowed her head. "I-I must've just assumed..!"

"That's why ya shouldn't spread rumors if ya ain't confirm 'em yet, dumbass." Heiji popped a rolled omelet into his mouth, shrugging at Kazuha.

"Hey, no harm done!" Soshi put a hand on Kazuha's shoulder before she swung at Heiji, smiling politely. "Not like ya spread it to be mean or nuthin'."

"Okita's always been so popular with girls, I figured he already had a girlfriend," The red haired girl, who Aoko learned was named Sayaka, spoke up from her position beside Yaiba, to whom she turned. "Don't you think so?"

"Mmgf," Yaiba slowly the mouthful of rice he had shoveled into his mouth, "Okita doesn't do much of anything besides train. Or sleep. But that makes him really cool in my book!"

The group laughed, and Aoko actually felt really comfortable with Sayaka and Yaiba around. Not that she didn't like spending time with Soshi and the others, but sometimes she felt out of place due to the fact she was the only one with a Tokyo accent.

At least with these two around, their numbers were even. Though, she was a bit upset that Moroha couldn't come too. She really wanted to meet her.

"Speakin' of datin'," Soshi prompted, apparently embarrassed about the attention he was receiving, "The only pair of us here who are actually together are y'all, right?"

Aoko blinked, following Soshi's gaze to Yaiba and Sayaka.

"You two are??"

"Ehehe~" Sayaka put her hands together. "It's only been a few months so far, but we've been going strong~"

"Wow, y'all are probably the only pair of friends I have that're datin'." Heiji marveled, "Though I was certain that Sayaka-chan was in love with Kaitou Kid."

Both Soshi and Aoko, who were mid sip, turned their heads to the side to spit take in shock.

"I am~!" Sayaka admitted, a dreamy look on her face. "But that's just a celebrity crush, you know, something that'll never ever happen. I mean, don't you all have celebrity crushes?"

"They ain't criminals," Heiji muttered, but Kazuha raised her hand.

"I like Kaitou Kid too!"

"K-Kazuha??"

Aoko crossed her arms. "Well Aoko doesn't like him one bit! He bullies Dad and causes problems for everyone! Aoko can't wait for her dad to arrest him!"

"A-anyways..." Soshi coughed a bit, apparently avoiding everyone's gaze. "Yaiba, aren't ya worried about Sayaka's crush?"

Yaiba, who was chewing on some dried squid, simply shrugged. "It's just a crush. I'm the one who won in the long run."

"Do you have a celebrity crush, Yaiba-kun?"

"The only girl I like is Sayaka." he shrugged, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. From beside him, she gasped, now with a lovesick expression on her face.

"Yaiba~ ♡" She threw her arms around his neck, kissing his face repeatedly. He seemed completely unbothered, continuing to eat.

But the other four couldn't help the uncomfortable feelings that crept up on them.

Why does it feel like we're ALL the third wheel here...?

―

"I'm sorry about all of that," Soshi said as he and Aoko waited at the station for her train home. "Those guys they... well, they're always like that. I shoulda warned y'all before lettin' 'em join us at lunch."

"It's okay! Aoko liked talking to them!"

At least before they started getting all lovey-dovey.

"All of that, and we didn't even get ta squeak some trainin' in. I'm sorry, ya must've felt like this was a waste of a day." Soshi rubbed the back of his neck. "Next time, I'll make sure my day's clear.

"It's just Grandpa said I can't ever skip tourneys, or else he'll cut off my freedom entirely. And today's just happened ta fall on today cause of a rescheduling-"

"Okita-kun, it's alright! Aoko had fun, really." She soothed, watching as he finally let his shoulders relax.

"Awright, good..."

The train pulled up, lowering into place as people lined up to enter. Soshi watched the hustle and bustle, not noticing as Aoko started rummaging around in her purse.

"Well, yer ride's here. I'll see ya next week, yeah?" he looked back at her just as she held a strip of paper out to him. "Aoko?"

"It's a photo booth strip, from one of Aoko's trips with her friends." She refused to meet his eyes, her ears burning red. "You can put one of the pictures in your omamori."

He blinked, taking the strip and looking over it. It had pictures of Aoko with her friends, but the one at the very bottom was just her, looking flustered.

"Aoko didn't realize the others had left," she explained, "There was still a photo left, but they didn't know. Just pick one of the other ones."

Soshi ripped the bottom picture off the strip, handing the rest back to her.

"I'll keep this one."

"Ehh? But that one's so embarrassing!" she tried to take it back, but he held it clear over her head. "?? Okita-kun!!"

"Uh oh, yer train is gonna leave without ya! Better hurry!"

Aoko huffed, running through the doors just before they closed. Though he couldn't hear her voice, her expression told him that they'll be discussing this again later.

"..."

Soshi pulled out his omamori and removed the picture of Moroha. Truthfully, he did still have a crush on her. He had told his cousins that he would ask her out if he beat Yaiba, but he neglected to tell them that he had asked her out already, but she had rejected him.

Moroha simply didn't feel the same way he had, and he could respect that. It was why he added those other pictures, to soften the blow of heartache.

He removed the other pictures, looking down at them fondly.

"Thank ya fer keepin' my heart company all this time." He tucked the pictures into his pocket, before placing Aoko's picture in there alone.

"...

"Awright, back to trainin'!"