Aiko didn't approach Daichi about taking her to the dojo with him in fear that he might suspect Baji's invitation to be simply for that reason. Of course, having Daichi as an ally would help their plight if things like that became regular, but she was certain Baji wasn't as shallow as to feign a friendship for an ulterior benefit.
When Wednesday evening came and Aiko still had not received an invitation she reminded Baji, as it was his suggestion. This highly amused Baji who assured her that he had in fact asked Daichi if he could bring her, but had also told him that it was his decision and there would be no hard feelings either way.
"Daichi does like you at the end of the day," Baji said. "You can't tamper his ego like that and expect him to just hand you over to another guy."
"Hand me over?" Aiko asked. "I'm not a piece of equipment, you know? And I was never his to hand over anyway."
Baji's light chuckles became outright laughter at that. "If he doesn't invite you this time, I'll make sure you get to come next time."
"You don't seem too bothered about not seeing me," Aiko said, sounding sulkier than she'd meant to. "I mean, not that you should be bothered. Why would you be?" She continued, ending with a fake laugh.
"I am kind of bothered, but I'm also bothered by these short, haphazard visits. They're getting a little annoying, and I don't like being annoyed. If Daichi can help us set up more regular meetings, then that'll be cool. But, I'm not gonna force him when it's clear how he feels about you."
Aiko let out a loud groan and held in the urge to scream. Baji was right. She'd known him for over three months and the majority of their meetings had been a five-minute hello on the corner near the library. They needed to work something out if they were going to have a real friendship.
"If the worst comes to the worst, we can always be penpals, I guess," Baji said.
Aiko's mouth dropped open as she considered if he was speaking truthfully, but then the sudden outburst of his laughter hinted that he was probably joking.
"That wasn't funny," Aiko said bluntly.
"No, but I bet the expression that you made was."
Yeah, it probably was, she thought and laughed too.
"You know, you sound cute when you laugh compared to when you groan," he said.
Cute, she repeated internally, holding in a giggle. Was that a compliment?
"I thought you said only babies and cats are cute," she said.
"Yeah, well I guess girls can be cute sometimes too," he said, taking a short pause before continuing. "Well, you can be cute sometimes."
"Really?"
"Sometimes. Other times you're annoying. To be honest you might get even more annoying if we start to hang out more."
Aiko giggled at his attempt to backtrack for having called her cute before adding, "Well, I'm prepared to take the risk."
"Yeah. I thought you would," he laughed.
* * *
Thursday came and Daichi still hadn't mentioned the dojo.
He really did plan on going without me, Aiko thought, but by then she had already come up with her own plan to force an invite out of him. They had a double science class that day and, as usual, Daichi paired himself with Aiko for their practical exercise.
"So," she started as they set out their apparatus. "I heard that you're meeting up with Baji this weekend."
"Yeah. So?" he asked, watching Aiko from the corner of his eye.
"Nothing. I thought it was nice."
Daichi turned his focus on to the pending experiment and pulled on his goggles.
"I was a bit annoyed that you hadn't told me, but it's fine. I'm sure I'll work something else out."
Daichi nodded and pushed her goggles towards her, clearly more concerned about starting the project.
Aiko put her goggles on, opened her notebook, placed her pen on top and gave him a thumbs up to indicate she was ready.
Together they sorted out their slides which each contained a fruit fly sample and then they mounted their microscopes.
"Could you say 'hi' to Draken and Mikey? I really wanted to see them again," Aiko continued.
"Draken and Mikey?" he asked, turning his attention to Aiko for the first time.
"Yeah. It's Mikey's dojo you're going to, right?"
"Er ..."
Aiko leaned over her microscope and feigned attention to her slide with a fake 'hmm'.
"You don't mean Mikey, the head of his gang," he said in a whisper.
"Yeah," she said as she jotted down a note in her book.
"Oh, I didn't know," he said trying to sound indifferent. "What's he like?"
"He seemed cool, but we didn't get to talk much." Aiko stopped writing and held her pen against her lips for a moment, appearing deep in thought. "He has those really deep, distant eyes that you just can't tell what's going on inside them."
"Okay," he said and sat down in contemplation.
Aiko changed slides and continued focusing on her work, intentionally ignoring Daichi.
"Erm, what about Draken? What was he like?" Daichi asked after some time.
Aiko let out a small sound to express her surprise that he was still thinking on the same subject, and then sat down and faced Daichi. "He's actually not as scary as he looks. Of course, we weren't exactly in opposition or anything but I'm sure you'll be fine. You're Baji's guest. I didn't mean to worry you."
"Worried?" Daichi chuckled a little and then stood back up and started setting up his microscope. "I'm not worried. I'm sure they're cool guys."
"Yeah," Aiko said, resuming her work position. "I'm sure you guys will get on once they talk it out a bit with you."
"Talk it out?" he repeated. "Yeah, sure."
Maybe he's not going to take the bait, she thought as he resumed his work as usual.
The two worked quietly, simply passing slides between each other and exchanging observations with each other until pack-up came which, again, they completed in almost silence.
"I wonder if there'll be any girls there," Daichi said as they waited for the other workers to pack up their stations.
"Mikey's sister might be there, but I don't know if they hang out with any other girls," Aiko answered.
"You've met Mikey's sister?"
"Yeah. Twice now, and we talk on the phone sometimes."
Daichi opened his school journal and started writing the notes from the whiteboard. "Oh, so you're friends?"
Aiko too opened her journal as a slow smile crept onto her face. Wow, he's good, she thought, realising where his line of questioning was leading.
"Yeah, kind of. It would be nice to actually hang out with her, though."
"You should have mentioned it, Aiko. I mean, I wouldn't mind you coming along if you wanted to meet up with her."
Nice way to get out of looking like you might have been scared, she thought, turning to face him. "Would you let me come with you?"
"Why not? Then you say hello to Draken and Mikey yourself, right?"
So the agreement was made with Aiko and Daichi and, with her father preparing for travel, getting permission from him had been a lot easier than she'd expected.
He had, without mentioning anything to Aiko, taken a month's transfer to his office in London, and had been more than preoccupied with closing deals and signing paperwork to pay much attention to Aiko's extracurricular activities, especially as Daichi had suggested it.
Daichi was almost untouchably in her father's eyes. He was a top student who regularly received awards and honours, but more importantly, he was the son of her father's closest friend and business partner. Daichi did no wrong and was above any doubt or suspicion. Whereas Aiko, his own daughter and therefore the daughter of the woman who had dishonoured him by leaving, seemed to be suspected of everything and anything. How she had gotten so far with her current rebellion was a miracle in every sense of the word.
And just as he never considered her word as truthful, he never considered her opinion as having any weight, so Aiko simply stood by, feeling no sorrow whatsoever when he informed her of his pending departure. Unbeknown to Aiko, he had considered various options for her during his absence, such as enrolling her into a summer camp, but due to her apparent conformation, he had decided instead to hire a stay-in carer and leave Aiko at home to adhere to her usual routine.
He did make one slight alteration insisting that another friend such as Yui or Ichika, accompany them. As much as he liked Daichi as a possible match, he didn't consider it appropriate to allow them to spend hours alone together.
After consulting Baji, Aiko's first and only choice was Yui. There was no way she would try to get Ichika in on such a reckless and disobedient scheme.
Baji told her the next evening that he had informed Mikey that she would be bringing a friend and he was cool about the whole thing and was looking forward to meeting Aiko again, as was Emma. He also wanted a recap of the whole exchange between her and Daichi which he found completely hilarious.
Friday was Aiko's chance to work on Yui. It took a little manoeuvring to make sure that Ichiko wasn't around as she would never have gone along with keeping the plan a secret. Ichiko was unswayable when it came to breaking the rules. In some parts, Aiko almost found her admirable. To stand so firmly for the sake of rules that people had placed upon her, even if most of her friends didn't wholeheartedly agree with them let alone understand the reason for them, took some strength. But, for the most part, Aiko found her annoying. If she wanted to follow the rules that was fine, but Aiko couldn't understand why she felt the need to subject everyone else to the same regimented living.
Yui didn't take much persuading. Aiko's Wednesday evening excursion with Baji was enough proof for her that he was safe. Plus, she consoled herself with the fact that it would be daytime, Daichi would be with them, and she had wanted to meet Baji properly for some time.
* * *
Holding a small box of dorayaki, Aiko followed behind Daichi as he led them up the path at the side of the dojo and round to the back where, unlike the front side, several boys and bikes were congregated. Baji noticed them immediately and came to greet them with his usual full smile adorning his face.
"Glad you guys could come," he said, addressing the whole group rather than just Aiko. "Emma's waiting for you inside there," he added, looking briefly at Aiko and then pointing towards the entrance of the dojo.
Aiko nodded and offered no contest. She knew that Baji wanted her to be there, but she was still aware that she was gate-crashing his meet-up with Daichi and she was happy to allow Baji to dictate how the day would go. So, after waving a greeting to Chifuyu, she made her way inside.
Emma rushed over to Aiko on opening the door and immediately drew her into an embrace. "I'm so glad you came," she said before ushering both girls into the room and closing the door behind them.
Mikey, as usual, stood out from everything else as he sat in the middle of a sofa in the corner of the large hall. He could almost have resembled a king sitting on a throne with his most trusted guard, Draken, sitting on a stool nearby. What they were discussing though seemed to be more of a bore than anything else if the blank expression on Mikey's face was anything to go by.
Emma walked over to a small table that was sitting in front of the sofa which was already prepared with drinks and snacks, gesturing to the girls to follow.
Aiko offered a small nod to Draken as she passed by, and then found herself, overwhelmed by the power that Mikey emitted without making the slightest effort, drawn to stand before him like a person presenting themselves in a king's court.
"Hello, Mikey-san. This is my friend, Fujihari Yui. Thanks for allowing us to visit you," Aiko said with a small bow of her head which Yui, who was standing close beside her, mimicked. Aiko outstretched her arms and offered the box of dorayaki to Mikey.
Mikey reached up to take the box, that distance that was evident in his eyes leaving as a wide smile spread on his face. "Aiko-chan, nice to see you again. Please sit and enjoy yourself."
Aiko took Yui's hand and rounded the table to sit opposite where Mikey was. He was formidable and able to switch between an aura that belonged to a tiger and an aura that belonged to a mere kitten in the flick of an eyelid. Emma too sat at the table and led most of the conversation before getting a catch-up on any advancements in Aiko's relationship with Baji. Aiko didn't have much to tell her. She still couldn't read Baji as well as she wanted to but she did have a small hope that he liked her as much as she liked him. Of course, it could all just be in her head so after admitting it she quickly swore Emma to secrecy.
Mikey let out a small laugh and asked if he and Draken were also sworn to secrecy as they had, of course, heard the whole thing.
"I'm sorry," Aiko said as her cheeks flushed with heat. "Emma got me a little carried away. I probably shouldn't have said so much."
"I joke," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "Your secret is safe with us, right Draken?"
"Tsk, girls," Draken said with a shake of his head, but on more coaxing agreed that he had no intention of discussing anything that was said with Baji.
"Draken, you should be more of a romantic," Emma complained. "Don't you feel excited that Baji might be on the verge of finding his true love?"
"No," Draken said bluntly. "I can honestly say it's not something that excites me in the slightest."
"Pfff," Emma said, sticking her tongue out at him. "And that's why boys are no fun to be around sometimes."
"What do girls do that's so much fun?" Mikey asked.
"A lot better things than just beating each other up. We laugh and sometimes sing together, or we talk about love and romance, or we do each other's hair and make-up," Emma answered.
"Boys do that too," Mikey argued.
"I'm not putting on make-up," Draken said firmly.
"Yeah, but we do all that other stuff. Probably even better than girls," Mikey said waving his hand dismissively at the girls.
Emma shook her head. "No way."
"Fine then. Let's have a competition," Mikey suggested.
That got Emma interested, although Draken seemed quite the opposite. "What kind of competition?" he asked.
"I guess it will have to be a hair competition."
"No way," Draken said.
"I think that's a great idea," Emma chimed in. "A simple competition to see who does hair the best."
"And how would this competition go?" Draken asked.
"Simple. I will do your hair and Aiko will do Mikey's and we'll compare it to what you have now."
Draken, Emma and Mikey argued over the details for some time, and in the end, it was agreed on. Yui's task was simple, she merely had to watch and then judge which was better out of the boys and the girls, and then, as an added twist, which of the girls' were better.
Nervously, Aiko approached Mikey armed with a hairbrush and numerous hairbands and clips that Emma had given her. Mikey's expression became one of sheer excitement as he reached for the hairbands, instructing her to make sure she used as many purples as possible. So Aiko got to work, still wary not to pull too tightly as she plaited four small cornrows halfway along the middle of his head before securing the rest into small elastics.
Emma went for a more colourful approach with Draken and used a mixture of all the colours possible, so Aiko was sure to add a few sparkly hair pins to the sides of Mikey's hairdo too. They were soon finished and waiting as Yui tallied up the various aspects of each hairdo to come up with a winner. The boys vs girls competition was easy, with a slightly reddened face, Yui pronounced the boys as winners exclaiming that, although the girls' styles were more complex and beautiful, they hadn't correctly captured the personalities of the wearers.
Emma vs Aiko was a lot more difficult and Yui seemed to delay out of not wanting to make either feel bad. She'd already tried to declare both girls winners but was refused immediately.
"What's going on here?" Baji said, after coming through the door.
"A little competition," Emma said.
"Right," Baji said. "And that's why I don't let girls play with my hair." His eyes quickly flickered a glance at Aiko, probably as the memory of her combing his hair flashed through his mind as it did hers. "We're about to go on a ride. Do you two want to come?" he asked Draken and Mikey, and after both boys agreed he turned to Aiko and asked if she would like to come along too.
A huge smile overtook Aiko's face as she nodded back at him. He didn't forget about me, she told her sub-conscience that had been stressing about that exact thing for the last 30 minutes.
"Wait," Emma shouted. "We need a winner. Whose is better, Baji?"
Baji looked back and forth between Draken and Mikey a few times before announcing. "Aiko's."
"That's biased," Emma stated. "But I'll allow it."
Baji laughed but didn't contest that his answer may have been biased. He told them they needed to leave soon so they had 5 minutes to fix their hair and then left the room.
Aiko and Emma got to work re-doing Draken and Mikey's hair back to their original styles and then, after a short clear-up of the room, made their way outside.
The first part of the day had gone well. She felt that Draken and Mikey were truly her friends rather than simply knowing her by association, and Emma she felt especially close to, even though their friendship had been building steadily over the recent months, and now Yui seemed to get on well with Emma too. Her next step was to work out exactly what her friendship with Baji was. Her feelings for him had grown beyond control and it didn't seem to be stopping. He was the first and last thing she thought about every day and the only thing that seemed to make her smile when she felt down.
She knew what he meant to her and where she wanted their friendship to go, she just needed to find out exactly where he stood.