21

                                    

                                          
Akasuki
25 years old
2 months later, in Tokyo, Japan. 
Yaz is three months pregnant. When she told Haru he had jumped around, shouting that he was going to have a brother. Itʻs obvious who the father is.
Iʻm cooking in the kitchen when Yaz walks in and sits at the kitchen island, "What ya makin?" she asks in English, laughing when Haru runs past, a bucket on his head, with one of Yazʻs younger cousins. "Haru," She shouts, "At least lift the bucket up so you can see! You could get hurt!" 
Sheʻs smiling, the bags under her eyes are mostly gone and she looks healthier.
Beautiful.
I look at her longer than I should and when she looks back at me, I look away, "Ramen." 
She nods, "Make me a bowl." She's wearing a women's pantsuit and her hair is tucked behind her ears. 
There's always so many people here, walking around but none were in the kitchen. It was just me and her. I shove the thought away as I place the bowl in front of her, "Iʻm an amazing cook, just so youʻre aware."
She gave me a smile, "Iʻm sure you are." She starts eating the food with the chopsticks I handed her. 
I lean forward against the kitchen island, across from her, "What do you think?"
She looks up at me with wide eyes, "Wow," She pauses, "This is horrible."
My eyes widen but then she smiles and I throw a dish towel at her. She catches it, laughing. Against myself, I smile too. Yaz and I have become something like friends when Toru and I moved into her house. We, of course, still work for Mr. Yama, but we were always set to watch over Yaz and Haru. 
Haru runs up to Yaz and climbs on the chair next to her. She ruffles his hair and when he asks for some of her food, she feeds it to him, a smile tipping her lip. He smiles up at her, still eating his food. I can tell he admires her, always has. He even seems happier here, his nightmares still haunt him but it's only been two months.
A quote Yaz had told me replays in my head, "Kids can play all day and still cry themselves to sleep at night," I shake the thought out of my head. 
Haru hops down from the chair and runs off. 
Yaz is great with kids. Not just Haru but any kids that are around her. They love her even if they are a little intimidated sometimes. It's something I've come to learn in the past two months. 
Yaz is very lovable.
I shove the thought away as Yaz gets up to put her bowl in the sink, "Where is everybody?" I ask. The house was always busy but I hadn't seen a lot of people walking down the halls. 
She turns toward me, leaning back against the counter, "I think they are trying to position themselves so that they look more intimidating and hiding their children." 
I study her, trying to read her emotions, "why?" 
"I think Mei secretly gave the order because Isamus is visiting today." She crosses her arms and starts to tug on her hair a bit. She's stressed. 
I shake my head with realization, "Isamu is visiting? Why didn't you tell me? I would have dressed," I pause, looking down at what I'm wearing, "better." 
She tries to hide a smile with her hand then pushes off the counter, walking up to me. "You look fine." She fixes the collar of my white button up shirt, her hands are gentle, I watch her do it without saying a word. My heart is speeding up a bit. When she's done with that she starts to carefully roll down the sleeves that I had rolled up so they wouldn't get dirty. Her hair is slightly in her face and I have the urge to tuck it behind her ears just so my fingers could graze her face. 
She starts on the other sleeve brushing the tattoo on my forearm, near my pulse, of a flower. "What type of flower is this?" She asks, glancing up at me. 
Our eyes meet and it feels intense, "A Jasmine flower," The words come out breathless. 
She must feel how the air has changed and her lips tip into a small smile. I'm staring at her, and her fingers graze over the tattoo. I gently place my hand over hers and there's a shock like electricity. I look down towards her lips and she sucks in a small breath. 
"Why-" she breathes but before she can answer someone clears their throat. I look towards the door to see Mr. Yama, standing there, arms crossed but I notice that Yaz doesn't look towards him until she's done rolling my sleeves, buttoning the cuffs. 
She looks up towards Mr. Yama and nods in greeting, "Isamu."
His expression is blank and unbothered like what I hope mine looks like because he can't know how Yaz affects me. "Was I interrupting something?" His voice is cold.
Yaz ignores the question, "Haru should be in the living room." Her voice sounds as unbothered as his but I can see her expression. It says, 'It's none of your business, Asshat.' I should know because she's given it to me quite often. 
Yaz makes her way towards the living room and for a second Mr. Yama narrows his eyes at me but then he follows her.
I let out a breath when they're gone, leaning on my hands that grip the edge of the counter. 
I bow my head but when I close my eyes I think of Yaz. And when I open them I think of her again. 
"What am I doing?" I mutter under my breath as I push off the counter.