Hair

SHE WASN'T QUITE sure how she got roped into hosting the next Kogarasumaru meeting, but she didn't really mind. It was actually quite nice having people around the house while her parents were out at work. Now it didn't seem so quiet and lonely anymore.

She went back down to the basement where they were all gathered. Her basement was nice. Very cushy. And big. And that was what had lured them all down there in the first place. Half of the floor was carpeted, the other half made of smooth, clean wood. She made her way over to a couch and sat down on it, neatly tucking her legs under her.

She wasn't interested in what any of them had to say at the moment. Her mind seemed to reel when she so much as glanced at the shark. Three days ago, he had kissed her, or more of gave her many kisses, in front of not only Kogarasumaru, but also several other teams. And they had kinda, sorta, become a couple. She smiled giddily to herself and buried her face in a pillow.

She had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who was the Fang King, no less. But she didn't care about the title or the Fang Regalia. All she cared about was Agito. He didn't have to be a King for her to love him. She considered the word. Love. Did she love him? Her smile turning into a grin. Yes. No doubt.

The other side of the couch sagged and she looked up to see Akito. "Yayoi-chan!" the boy exclaimed, reaching over and snuggling against the girl.

Yayoi smiled and hugged Akito. At least she got his approval on the whole relationship thing. Akito yawned in her arms and she looked at him. "Getting tired?"

"Mmm, yeah," the lighter shark murmured. So cute! Yayoi thought. The boy rubbed his eyes and went quiet for a moment. Yayoi watched him sit still until he smiled slightly. Without warning, he switched the eye patch.

Yayoi found herself with an armful of a scowling Agito. "Fuck," the shark growled, looking at the group sitting on the floor chattering away. "These idiots never quit, do they?" Yayoi could feel her heartbeat speed up as he rested his head on her lap. He glanced up at her and cocked an eyebrow. She gave him a lopsided grin and he blushed and muttered, "Idiot."

Five minutes ticked by and the shark eventually dozed off. My God, he looks so adorable! Yayoi's mind squealed, though she knew that if she ever admitted it to Agito, he'd probably go off on a rampage. She watched his sleeping face contentedly and then an odd thought occurred to her. Am I pretty to him?

Frowning a bit, she grabbed a pillow and carefully slid it under Agito's head and pulled herself out of the way, making sure that she didn't disturb him. Free of the shark's resting body, she made her way upstairs to the living room. Her bare feet barely made any noise as she lightly crossed the wooden floor to the mirror that hung on the wall. She stared at her reflection.

An ordinary, Japanese girl with dark brown hair, clear skin…so plain. She sighed. What does he see in me? She pulled the two hair ties out of her hair and watched it fall limp around her shoulders. Does he like my hair up? Or down? She set the two ties on a shelf and smoothed out her hair. Then she pulled it up in a messy ponytail.

"What are you doing?"

Yayoi gasped and let go of her hair. It fell around about her face, obscuring her vision. Agito was leaning against the threshold that led down to the basement, watching her in confusion. Yayoi pushed back her hair and stammered, "I-I was just w-wondering if…well, I mean…what you…"

"Fuck, spit it out!" Agito snapped impatiently.

Yayoi clenched the hem of her shirt and whispered, "I was just wondering what you thought of me. Do I look…cute?"

Agito stared at her. "What?" he asked. "Did you just ask me if you looked cute?"

Yayoi held up her hands. "O-okay, I know that you aren't in to that sort of thing. Um, let me rephrase that: do I look better with my hair up or down?"

He still stared at her. Then, very slowly, as though he were a cat, he stalked forward. Yayoi noted that without his ATs, he was just as tall as her, if not perhaps a centimeter taller. He stopped in front of her and looked her over. "Geez," she heard him murmur. "Now you decide to get all self-conscious?" He shook his head and just sat down on the floor, leaning back against the couch. "I chose you because I wanted to. Isn't that enough?"

Yayoi blinked. "Oh." She smiled a bit. "Sorry." She sat down next to him and soaked in the warm summer sunlight that was streaming in through the windows. Mmm, he's right. I shouldn't be worrying about my appearance. He's dating me because he likes me for who I am. But she still wanted to know which hairstyle he preferred.

---

HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND why she was asking such stupid questions. He closed his eye and allowed himself to take in the warmth of the sun. A shuffling noise reached his ears and he looked to see that Yayoi had stretched out on her back on the floor and was basking in the light. She had a slight frown on her face and her features seemed troubled.

He decided to consult Akito. 'Oi. What's wrong with her?'

The other boy shifted, but slowly roused from his nap and looked at Yayoi through Agito's eyes. 'I don't know. What did you do?'

'Fuck! I didn't do anything! Why do you assume it was my fault?' Agito growled.

Akito shrugged and patted his brother's arm. 'Well, what happened?'

'I don't know,' the darker shark grumbled. 'She started spouting some random crap about if she was cute and which hairstyle I like on her. Or something like that.'

'Hm. She's a bit insecure.' Akito watched as Yayoi's eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, although he could tell that she was wondering about something. 'She's not confident. She might think that you're going out with her because of pity…'

'Fuck, no.' Agito looked at Yayoi. 'I don't pity people. I'm with her because…I want to be.' His tone softened. 'Just tell me what I should do.'

'Well,' Akito said slowly, 'girls like compliments. When was the last time you gave her one?' Agito shrugged. 'Well, say something nice to her! Try and be a bit romantic. Girls love that kind of stuff.'

'Fuck, no! I don't do that shit.'

'Fine,' Akito sniffed. 'You know, you never seem to take my advice until the last minute. You're so stubborn. Go ahead, though. Say nothing, for all I care. But do you really want her to be like that?' He gestured to Yayoi, who was now tracing random patterns in the floor, her eyes closed. 'She may become so insecure that she'll start thinking she's not good enough for you. She may leave. Do you want that?' Agito was silent. 'Hmph. Thought not. So show her that you pay attention to her and that you care. I know that you can be romantic if you try.' Akito giggled and waltzed back to his corner of their mind and settled down to continue his nap.

Agito pursed his lips. Damn… Then he looked at Yayoi. Romantic, huh?

---

SHE HEARD HIM sigh softly, and then she heard him move. Her eyes opened slowly and she saw that he had shifted and moved closer to her, a curious gleam shining in his gold eye. Yayoi lay there frozen as Agito extended a hand and caressed the side of her face. "Agito?" she asked cautiously, but he shook his head and she fell silent.

"You really want to know what I think?" he said in a low voice, leaning over her. "About your hair? Here's my opinion: both." He pushed some of her locks away from her cheek and placed a feather-like kiss on her skin there. Yayoi's breath hitched in her throat and her mind went blank; she couldn't find any words to say.

"I like both," Agito continued, and his voice took on a purr. "When it's down, it frames your face perfectly and you look gorgeous." The last word was a whisper as he kissed her chin next. "But when your hair is tied up…" Here, he pressed his lips to the side of her neck and she shivered in delight. "…it makes it easier to kiss you here." He smirked before placing another kiss at the base of her throat. "Therefore, I like both."

Yayoi had to remind herself to breath as Agito stared steadily at her eyes. There was an aura of warmth surrounding him that wasn't from the sunlight. A bit of mischief there too. "Then again," he murmured in a teasing tone, leaning closer until he hovered over her lips. "I'd much rather kiss you…" he lightly pressed his lips to hers and pulled back, "…here."

Yayoi, after a moment, slowly gave a nod. "I see," was all she could say. What else could she say?

Agito chuckled and kissed her again with more force. Yayoi instantly reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He, in turn, grabbed her waist and pulled her up so that she sat on his lap.

"So," Yayoi was able to gasp between kisses, "what…does that…mean?"

Agito stopped and took a moment to look at her face. "It means that you shouldn't give a fuck about what you look like." He buried his face in her neck and nipped the sensitive skin. She tightened her grip on him. "Just so long as I'm with you, it doesn't matter what you look like," he said into her skin. "Got it? I'm with you because of whom you are, not what you look like."

"Mmm," she agreed before gently pulling his face towards hers and kissing him. "But still, do you think I'm cute?"

Agito groaned and pulled her closer with a toothy grin. "Yes. More than cute though."

"Explain what you mean by 'more'," Yayoi breathed as he nibbled her ear lobe.

"I'll leave that up to your imagination," Agito replied softly, kissing her again and again and again, until she was seeing stars.

"O…kay," she managed to get out, but before Agito could do anything further, she heard a creak. Apparently he heard it too, because he froze by her cheek.

Slowly, they turned towards the stairs that led down to the basement. There was Kogarasumaru, staring at them with flushed faces and wide eyes.

Yayoi shrieked and Agito roared, "Fuck! What the hell are you idiots?! A bunch of perverts?"

"Now, now, little shark," Ikki crooned, fanning himself with his hand. "It's obvious that you're the pervert here, taking advantage of our poor Nakayama. I was getting warm just watching you two."

Yayoi shrieked and started to get up, unsure of whether she should hide in embarrassment or go punch the crow in the face. Agito held her where she was and tightened his arms around her waist. "Screw you, crow," he sneered. "You get your kicks from watching us? Pathetic that you don't even have a girlfriend yourself like her."

Ikki roared and made to spring at Agito, but Kazu and Buccha held him back. "Be glad, Yayoi," Emily said. "I was the first one to see you two just now, and Onigiri asked what I was looking at. I had to knock him out so that he wouldn't go after you."

"If he had so much as glanced at you, I would have killed him," Agito whispered in Yayoi's ear. The girl pecked him on the cheek, now reassured.

---

"GUYS," KAZU SAID, "isn't it almost lunch time?"

"Let's order pizza!" Buccha said. The others enthusiastically agreed and Ikki decided to spare the shark. They all rushed to the kitchen to get to the phone first, leaving the couple still sitting on the floor.

"I'm surprised that you were stupid enough to ask such idiotic questions," Agito leered at Yayoi.

The girl turned her knowing eyes to his face and gave him a smirk that almost rivaled his own. "Please. I'm surprised that you were smart enough to ask Akito for advice and actually follow it the first time."

Agito stared at her and could faintly hear Akito snickering in the back of his mind. "You…" Then, very calmly, he shook his head and leaned back against the couch, pulling Yayoi with him so that she rested on him. "Never mind. I'm never doing it again."

After a moment, he heard Yayoi ask, "Was it worth it?"

He smiled, though she couldn't see it, and absentmindedly dropped a kiss on her forehead as his silent answer.

Yes.