12.) Confirmation

Saturday, November 28th, 2020. 11:30 AM

Sora looks up from the blue sweater she's knitting on the porch, her expression going from soft yet worried, to angry. Her brown eyes land on Kenji as he steps out of his car, the murderous rage sending a shiver down his back. "What the fuck do you want?" She spat out at him.

"I need to talk to Kaya. I don't know what Mio told you guys. Those things, I promise you she's full of it ma'am. I love your daughter, I've been nothing but devoted to her since the beginning." Kenji replied, walking cautiously towards the porch all the while. "So you want me to stand by and let you fill her head with more lies?" Sora stated with a flat expression.

Kenji sighed, he'd hoped her parents would be out or something, seeing as she wasn't home, not at Kaname's place; this was the only place left to look. "They aren't lies. I just want a chance to set things right with the woman I love. Please Mama-Sora, I even moved things around to be here in person as soon as possible instead of waiting until Tuesday." He pleaded.

"Mom, who are you out there talking to?" Kaya's voice came from inside the kitchen, sending a look of panic across Sora's face and one of satisfaction for Kenji simultaneously. "Kaya, Mio lied to you. Please, talk to me. I love you." Kenji called loudly, receiving a glare from Sora, none too happy that he'd likely weasel his way back into Kaya's life as she had some weakness for him that Sora never understood.

Kaya froze in the kitchen, the cup of lemon ginger tea she'd steeped, shaking lightly in her hands. Hot tears started to run down her face, her stomach tying in knots at the sound of his voice. She felt like she wanted to run away, to vomit, to go out there and hit that man across the head with her dad's old college baseball bat. Anything but speak to him.

At the same time a voice in her head nagged at her to do just that, a voice that sounded much like Kenji's now that she'd thought about it. She sat her tea down on the table and shook her head, trying to clear it, the words she'd been hearing ring in her ears since Thursday night screaming in pain at her. "Please Kaya, I know it hurts. Please don't push me away." Toru's voice rang, causing her to pause and remove her phone from her back right pocket.

Kaya held her phone in both hands, looking at it with confliction in her heart. "Kaya, stop this foolishness, we're getting married, you should be able to come out here and talk to me." Kenji called in to her again, sending a wave of nausea over her. She pulled up Toru's number in her phone, a small smile across her face at their unspoken understanding that she'd avoid calling him any name until she'd decided for sure which one she wanted to use.

She hovered her thumb over the button to call "him" as she'd changed it in her phone after she started to feel better after her fight with Kenji about being friends with Toru. Her heart sank at the recollection of how he'd embarrassed her just for being friendly to another man. She wanted to believe he was so upset because he expects the same level of loyalty from her as he gives in return, but couldn't shake the feeling it might not be the case.

"Kaya, there's no reason for you to be hurting right now. Come out and I'll clear everything up. I'm sorry Mio hurt you, but I'm here to make it better." Kenji called out to her again. A single tear fell down Kaya's face as she closed her contacts and put her phone back into her pocket before walking out and looking at the man she planned her whole future with six feet from the front steps.

"Why would Mio lie about that? It's a lot to lose to say something like that to your own family." Kenji nodded solemnly. "When I found out what she'd done, we argued and I demanded answers from her. When she told you that you owed her for me still being with you after how mad I was about your new friend Mr. Oikawa that part was true, but she didn't do what she claims she did to achieve that.

All she did was constantly assure me that you loved only me, and reminded me of how you prove it in the little ways. Then I found out you invited him here for dinner after you found out I had work. So I asked her to come here and test his intentions since I knew yours are pure. She told me she didn't expect to be so attracted to him and became more and more insecure as she tried to get him to have sex with her and kept getting denied.

It was pretty clear to her that he doesn't JUST want to be your friend Kaya. She was hurt and drunk and not thinking correctly. She just wanted to hurt you back. So she told you those lies about me and insulted you. I would have never asked her for her help if I knew she was going to hurt you. Please, you have to believe me. I love you, remember.

Think of all our plans. Beautiful fall wedding, honeymoon at Amicalola Falls, buying a home together in Winder, two kids, PTO and scouts. What about our future? Do you really think I would just throw all of that away? And on Mio? Come on, you should know me better than that. Can you just please forget the crazy shit she said and let things go back to normal?" He finished, pleadingly.

Kaya fidgeted with her fingers, she still felt a great deal of conflict in her heart, she thought seeing his face would stir some strong emotion in her, yet she felt nothing. She had no desire to hug him, to kiss him, to hit him. She didn't care about seeing him at all. However, his words instilled a need in her to obey, which she was trying to understand. Kaya moved her hands to her face and wiped away tears with a loud sniffle.

She thought of all the things he'd listed they planned to do, realizing none of them were the things she wanted. She told herself she was compromising because it was important to do so with your spouse. But listening to them all listed off together they weren't compromises. They were the things she'd given into because he wouldn't relent. She thought about how Toru angrily told her she stood up to him but not to Kenji, and realized he was right.

"What about what she told Toru before she told Kaya?" Sora asked as her daughter sobbed softly on the porch. "Great, so he's got you under his spell too Mama-Sora?" Kenji asked, annoyed. "I don't know anything about what she said to Mr. Oikawa." He answered cockily. Kaya's eyes shot open as she never did learn what it was Toru was told before she found out, wondering if there was something else that could go against Kenji's story she pulled her phone out and immediately dialed.

The phone rang once before it was answered. "Kaya, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He answered, his speech fast and slurred. "I, I want to know what she told you." Kaya replied, having him on speaker and staring down Kenji daring him not to allow him to speak. "You mean when I spoke to her in the hall and should have just told you right after, but didn't because I'm a miserable friend?" He asked, with a sob in his throat.

Kaya felt her heart clench to hear him, it sounded like he'd been going not stop with drinking and who knows what else. "You're not a miserable friend." She defended. "I am still trying to think about a lot of things and I'm not ready to really talk yet, but I need to know what happened in the hall. Please." She pleaded, Toru listening silently on the other end as she explained the reason for her call.

Kaya listened closely as he started to explain that she'd grabbed onto him and started telling him all the things she'd let him do that Kaya wouldn't and to stop ignoring her in hopes of fucking Kaya. He told her how he tried to tell Mio that he didn't want to fuck Kaya, but that Mio insisted she was right and that he should give up because Kaya loved Kenji too much despite him being small and not a very good lover.

Kenji shot an angry glare at the phone, but said nothing, not wanting Kaya to go back inside. Toru continued speaking, explaining he'd told Mio she shouldn't be blabbing the thing's Kaya told her and that she bragged that Kaya would never tell anyone those things and that he asked her if she was meaning to make it sound as though she'd had sex with Kenji and that he never satisfied her so she needed something better and then told him that Kenji doesn't get complaints from the people he pays for sex.

Kaya cried as she listened to the things Toru was telling her. She knew that even if the things Kenji told her were true and that Mio was jealous and trying to hurt her that it would make no sense for her to say all of those things to Toru first. She also thought about how there was no way Mio could know that Kenji never goes for long as she'd never told anyone that, and since she'd only been with Kenji, she wasn't sure if he was small or not. But she did know it was something he himself was insecure about.

"Thank you. I, I think I need to take a little time away from the office. I'll swing by and get what I need to work from home and send an email to everyone letting them know I'll be back at an undetermined date." Kaya told Toru on the phone, the tears falling quickly "I just really need to sort a lot of things and I need to be alone to do that. I'll call again when I'm ready to talk." She told him, her heart breaking to tell him goodbye.

A sob rang out from the other end of the phone. "Ok, for what it's worth, I regret every part I had in this that caused you pain. I never want to make you cry. Please know that. I'll continue to respect your space and I look forward to hearing from you. Please take care of yourself. And please tell your family thanks for dinner again and it was nice to meet them all. I had a great time up until the end there." Toru told her softly, pain in his voice.

Kaya nodded, fighting back the tears. "I will do all those things. Talk to you later on sometime." She told him, unable to bear the thought of saying the word goodbye. "Yeah, later on sometime." Toru repeated, before Kaya hung up the phone and placed it back in her pocket, feeling immediate regret, yet knowing she needed to go through with her plan.

"I'm texting Kaname, he can take you to my place to get your things. Even the things you left for me like your shirts, any gifts you gave me. I never want to see anything that has to do with you ever again. Just the thought of you makes me sick. Oh and I'll be sending you the bill from my OBGYN. I went Wednesday, once the lab is open Monday I'm sure I'll get that call about the Chlamydia Mio said I have."

Kaya turned and walked back into the house without another word, Kenji standing in his spot at the bottom of the stairs with a stunned look on her face. "Why the hell would she get an STI test?" He asked aloud. "I have no idea, but I'm glad she did. You little shit. How dare you give my baby girl a disease. Go wait in your car for Kaname." Sora told him snidely.

"Kaya, you little fucking bitch. Get out here and at least tell me to my face that you've been fucking that asshole Oikawa." Kenji yelled, causing Sora to get up from her rocking chair and approach him. "You know what, fuck it, he can have you. Hope he like's flat chested bitches who just lay there when you fuck them. You're the most boring lay I've ever had. It would have been unbearable if not for how tight you are." He yelled.

Atsushi came out to the porch from hearing the terrible things Kenji was screaming at his daughter, his wife's voice yelling back at him, and his daughter's sobs ringing through the entire house. "What the fuck did you just say you little prick?" He yelled, pulling Kenji to be face to face with him by his collar. "Wanna try saying that shit to my face?" He threatened.

"Mio, is a WAY better lay than your daughter. I was only with her because she's so eager to please." Kenji responded coldly. Atsushi pulled his fist back and landed it fast and hard against Kenji's jaw, causing the latter to fall over on all fours. "You were never good enough for her, fucker. Why are you still even here?" He yelled at him before kicking him in the stomach as he tried to stand again.

Kenji let out a dangerous chuckle before spitting blood from his mouth. "I'm supposed to be waiting for Kaname so I can get my shit from that little slut's house." Kenji told him. Atsushi kicked him over onto his back and landed on his knees to straddle Kenji. "I'll kill you." He yelled, landing his fist against his face again just before Kaname and Kosuke pulled him off him.

"Dad, stop it, you're gonna wind up getting arrested and Kaya needs you right now. Not to mention we're awaiting word about adopting Hoshi." Kosuke reminded him firmly, causing Atsushi to freeze and give an apologetic look. "I wasn't thinking." He answered. "I know dad, I know. Just let Kaname get him out of here. Come on, let's go to Kaya, poor girl sounds to be crying even worse than the other night." He let out with sadness in his tone.

Atsushi nodded, watching Kaname help Kenji into his car and get in as well. "Yeah, I'm not sure what happened, I wasn't out here because I was trying to avoid hitting him. But then things got loud and I lost it." Atsushi admits. "I do know he started yelling and calling her names, but before that I have no idea what happened." Atsushi turned to his wife for answers, knowing she'd have at least a few.

"She called Toru and asked him what it was he kept from her the other night. He told her all the facts of that night, leaving his feelings out of it. Then she told him she needed some more time and space and was going to work from home. She looked like she was struggling to say all of that. I've seen her nearly call or text him a few times just yesterday and today. I think she has no idea how she really feels about him." Sora assessed.

Atsushi nodded his understanding and agreement. "It's likely complicated. I'm sure some time to think will help her a lot to think about what she truly wants and how she really feels. In the meantime, we just need to be here for her." Kosuke nodded, the three of them entering the house together, the sound of Kaya crying from her old room blasting through the house like it was on a megaphone.

__________

Meanwhile, Toru had been sitting in his apartment in Buckhead when Kaya called. He was surrounded by people he didn't know with names he never bothered to take notice of. Most everyone was passed out from the night before still, beer cans, solo cups, clothes, condoms, and white powder littered the floor. Try and try as he might, he still couldn't bring himself to fuck any of the girls at the party.

He was looking in his phone at the picture he'd snuck of Kaya as they left dinner after the concert just a few nights prior, her bright smile looking over at the Ben and Jerry's sign and telling him that she used to go there after long study sessions with the girls in her sorority. He wanted to text her, to call her, anything. But he knew she didn't want to hear from him and couldn't stand the thought of hurting her further.

Toru pulled a tiny plastic bag from his pocket and poured white powder onto his left index finger in as straight a line as he could and snorted it through his nose before taking a bottle of Tequila and chugging as much as he could. He picked his phone back up and looked at the picture, his finger tracing Kaya's face as he wished he could see her, his phone suddenly ringing with "<3" popping up as the caller.

Hearing her voice filled him with joy, his only regret was that he'd just taken a fresh line and he didn't want her to know how far he'd fallen while fearing she may never speak to him again. He answered, apologizing to her for the things he'd done she didn't even know he'd done, only to have her explain she was calling for the answers he'd owed to her.

When he heard her say he wasn't a miserable friend, he felt hope begin to blossom and told himself not to allow the feeling to stand. He did his duty, explaining to her what all occurred, trying not to let her hear how much it pained him that not only had she been betrayed by people she trusted, but that he'd let her down. Once he finished telling her what she needed to know, he waited with his heart in his throat as she sat silently and thought.

He'd hoped they could talk, or that she'd tell him he could start calling and texting her, but instead she told him she wouldn't be in the office and wasn't sure for how long and not to contact her during that time. He was happy she was doing the things she felt she needed, but he hated that she was going to be away from him and having no idea how long it would be for. More so he hated that he could hear more pain in her voice as she spoke.

Once he'd gotten off the phone with her, he looked around the room again, unsure what to do he called Hajime, knowing he'd be bitched out and not caring. Hajime listened to him without a word as Toru went over the events of Thursday night and all that had transpired since then. Hajime's only word was that he would arrive in 20 minutes.

When Hajime entered Toru's apartment, he kicked him hard in the outer thigh, causing Toru to wince and complain. "Get off the floor, dumbass." Hajime told him harshly, to which Toru easily complied. "Answer the question again Toru. I'm not helping you with shit until I have the latest answer." Hajime demanded, causing Toru to swallow hard. "And don't even think about lying to me." Hajime warned, Takeru coming behind him and looking around at the mess.

"How many times do I have to answer the same question?" Toru asked haughtily. "Until I'm satisfied the answer will no longer fluctuate and is completely true." Hajime shot back, "Now, answer." Hajime demanded. "I'm afraid I'm gonna need you to pose the question Iwa, I can't get my brain to get the words out without it." Toru told him, stalking away from him in case he decided to hit him.

Hajime sighed heavily, pinching his nose and shaking his head with his face towards the floor before he looked up at Toru. "How do you feel about Kaya? Truly." Hajime asked for what felt like the millionth time. "I love her Hajime. I love her and it hurts." Toru answered, his eyes wet, with tears he held back. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and dressed. I'll take you to Aimi so you can tell her and we'll go from there. Takeru will make sure your guests get out ok." Hajime told him gently.

Toru sniffed, his hands shaking slightly, but he got up anyway and faced Hajime. Going to see Aimi was something he always hated. It was difficult for him to see her in that place. But he knew Hajime was right, if he didn't go and tell her who would? It wasn't anyone else's place to do so. And it's not like he'd chosen to fall for Kaya, surely Aimi could understand that his heart eventually moved on. Couldn't she?