Moving In(2)

Tooru did not know what to do about Naoko's scars. So he did what any reasonable adult would do—try and forget.

Instead of Naoko, Tooru concentrated on the other enigma in the house.

Yoojun.

Tooru had already made a little map in his head.

It describes Yoojun as an idiotic muscle head whose brain is smaller than a pea.

Tooru wholly believed that. 

But he also believed Yoojun was stupid enough to be kinder than most.

Every time he took large mouthfuls of rice, gulped water down like he hadn't drank in days, or the way he made breakfast for Naoko a little cuter, and for him a little spicy, Tooru knew Yoojun was an idiot who was kind.

It was quite annoying according to Tooru. But bearable too.

And Yoojun made average food, but it felt like it had been made with enough care that he was eating at his home.

At his home, his nanny used to make him breakfast. She made great pickles.

The pickles Yoojun served were just as tasty. The sour and salty and spice blended into each other, so that when mixed with rice, soup was not needed.

It was after tasting Yoojun's food that he had eaten more than one bowl of rice in the past few years.

If he ever ate rice.

Tooru sighed.

"What's wrong?" Naoko asked.

"Umm…have you ever seen a laptop?" Tooru changed the topic.

"What's that?" Naoko tilted her head as she asked.

"It's like a box with information," Yoojun pretended to fix his non-existent glasses.

"That's such a bad way to describe it," Tooru glared at Yoojun at which Yoojun shrugged.

"What does it do?" Naoko stared at Tooru with bright eyes.

"Do you want to see it?" Tooru paused for a moment and said in a dragging tone, "Why don't you know about laptops? Isn't there a school here till like eighth grade?"

"I've never gone to school," Naoko muttered.

Tooru knew he messed up. He bit his lips and looked at Yoojun who immediately turned to Naoko— "You still draw so well, how!"

"Yes, how!" Tooru looked at Yoojun praising and insulting Naoko at the same time.

Tooru sighed, he had been doing that a lot recently.

He watched the other two.

They had only met recently but they acted like long lost father and daughter that met each other at a carnival.

"Yoojun, do you have a girlfriend?" Tooru asked on whim.

"No?" Yoojun raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Maybe what Naoko needs is a mother?" Tooru made up a random reason.

Both of them burst out laughing.

"I have you, that's annoying enough" Naoko said between gasping for air.

"Yeah!" Yoojun agreed, almost choking on food.

"Shut up," Tooru blushed and threw his chopsticks at the two. "Fucking idiots."

They just laughed more.

Tooru did not know why he was even living with them now.

Tooru stared at the half empty bowl then at the two idiots who battled each other with chopsticks.

Naoko laughed and tried to stab Yoojun, who looked as serious as a person giving an exam. Yoojun managed to almost defeat Naoko. 

But then Naoko said—"I hate you."

She might have said it all smiling but Yoojun froze and Naoko won by poking Yoojun with one of the sticks.

"That was unfair!" Yoojun mumbled.

"Everything is fair in love and war!"

She didn't say which one this was. 

The next day when Tooru woke up, he had an off—very rare.

Naoko and Yoojun were both half asleep, or so he thought since it was four in the morning.

But the door was open and Naoko was standing outside staring at the moon.

She looked at him.

Her eyes looked cold, her body stiffened. Then it relaxed as she saw him.

Tooru sat down on one of the chairs he dragged next to her.

She stood there.

"Are you okay?" Tooru patted her back, she stared at him.

He stood up and offered the chair to her and sat on another one.

She whispered after a few moments, "I don't know."

"Do you not trust us?" Tooru said with a pause.

"I trusted my mother but she still made me hate her." Naoko scoffed.

She looked at Tooru and said, "How do I know you two who barely know me won't?" 

"That's true."

Then they sat there the whole morning.

Tooru patted her back. And Naoko looked at the moon.

When Yoojun woke up and saw them, he did not act like he noticed.

Even when he met Tooru's weary eyes.

Yoojun walked to the kitchen and made breakfast.

Naoko went to annoy Yoojun.

Tooru almost looked back at her.

But he didn't.

He didn't sleep for the next few days.

Each day, he would get scolded by the nurse that helped him. 

Gladly his lack of sleep did not kill any elderly in the village

But it did fry his brain.

When he got home, both Yoojun and Naoko were fighting and yelling at each other.

"You are so dumb like a damn squid! Tooru likes chocolate more!"

"Well you behave like a mountain goat always bleating, because I am sure he said it was vanilla!"

When Naoko saw Tooru she came over to him.

Shouting about something.

It had been five days,

Since Tooru had slept.

His eyes sunken, throat dry, and his body shivering.

He could see nothing, the world blurred.

Naoko pushed and pulled him, as though he were a toy.

Didn't she not trust him?

Why was she acting so friendly?

Why did she treat both him and Yoojun like they were family?

Just to push them away?

Everyone was like that. Every damn person.

His old friends. 

His family. 

His lover.

All of them were liars.

Naoko was pretending to care too.

At that moment Tooru did not like Naoko or Yoojun.

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Tooru yelled,his voice filled with venom, he said, "You act like we both are your family, but you don't even trust us!"

"Leave me dammit," he pulled his hand away.

No one moved.

And no one said anything.