He Isn't Chapter 8

Miyagi was beginning to realize that Shinobu wasn't the only terrorist in his family. He had expected to return to his apartment with a little bit of time before Risako came over, time to think and figure out what he wanted to say to her. Instead, however, she was sitting in his living room when he walked in the door.

"How did you get into my apartment?" The man asked, carefully setting his bag down on the table. He began fishing through it for his cigarettes, pulling one out of the carton when they were found. He lit it up and walked over to sit across from Risako, taking a deep cleansing breath of toxic smoke.

"Before Shinobu left, he gave me his house key." She said, very curtly. She held up her hand, showing off the key, swinging back and forth from the key chain hung on her middle finger.

That's just great Shinobu... After all the trouble I went through to give you that. Miyagi thought resentfully. "That wasn't his to give, may I have it back?"

"Not till you and I have a long talk." The dark-haired woman shut her hand around the key and set both her hands in her lap. Though that was the last thing Miyagi wanted, he knew that if he didn't get it over with, she would never leave him alone. "You've changed Yoh..."

"That tends to happen over time."

"I don't mean it negatively. Just hear me out." Risako's voice was icy with irritation. "Not so recently, but in the past couple of weeks, you've seemed like a new man. Like you're really turning your life around and becoming happy. I have to tell you, I'm impressed with your progress."

"Well, thank you." Miyagi couldn't help but feel a little guilty. The only reason he would have been happy was because of Shinobu. It wasn't so much that he had changed as it was that the boy had changed him. "What does that have to do with what happened last night?"

"I want to get back together."

"Excuse me...?"

"You're not old enough to be deaf." The brash woman teased, though her voice was still tart. "I want to get back together with you Miyagi. I've seen that you've changed. I have changed in a lot of ways myself. Imagine how happy our parents will be to hear that we're getting back together!"

"We're not." Miyagi stated firmly, standing up and putting his cigarette out. He walked over and held out his hand for Shinobu's house key. "I have someone that I'm in love with."

"Of course you don't. That teacher of yours is long dead and gone and you and Shinobu broke up weeks ago."

"I'm not talking about her. I gave up on my teacher to be with someone else, and even though they aren't really around right now, I'm not going to get rid of them at the drop of the hat. Especially not to be with you."

"What... Are you saying you met someone?!" Risako asked, standing up in anger and disbelief. "You can't be serious Yoh!"

"My key. Risako."

"Why would you sleep with me if you have someone already?!"

"I don't know..." Miyagi confessed, averting his gaze some. "You have a boyfriend, remember? You're doing wrong by him. Go home and wait for him to return, I'm sure he's crazy about you."

"You're going to regret this." The dark-haired woman snarled, throwing the key across the room in rage. She snatched up her purse and started for the door, hesitating when she heard Miyagi add one more thing,

"Don't show up to class tomorrow."

"I hadn't planned on it." The door slammed behind Risako as she left. Miyagi paused very briefly before walking over and locking it behind her, just to be on the safe side. When he was sure she wasn't going to come storming back in, he walked over and retrieved Shinobu's house key. He held it for a minute, turning it between his fingers, watching the light reflect off of it.

"I have to call him." Miyagi murmured, though he was unsure if it was the right thing to do. Even Hiro had suggested it, but was it really a wise decision? While he listed pros and cons in his head, the older man searched through his house for a little envelope that he could put the key into, that way he wouldn't lose it. When he finally found one, he carefully scrawled Shinobu's name onto the face of it before dropping the key inside and sealing it.

He then turned to the task at hand, pulling his cellphone out of his bag. He dialed as if it was an impulse, his thumb lingering over the send button. Taking a deep breath, Miyagi pressed down and held the phone up to his ear. One ring, two rings, three...

Answer... Just answer...

"Hello?"

---

Risako shut her eyes once she exited Miyagi's apartment, trying to calm herself down.

What kind of woman could Yoh have found? Must be quit a catch to turn me down... She thought spitefully. While waiting for the elevator to reach the parking garage, she adjusted her purse straps on her shoulder, her mind flickering back to the key. It had belonged to her younger brother Shinobu, which made Risako wonder if he might know who Miyagi's new girlfriend was.

Someone had thrown a switch in the brunette's head and a huge grin spread across her face at a sudden realization.

Miyagi only ever said that it wasn't his teacher. He never denied it being Shinobu, I was the one who assumed it was someone new.

"My, my Yoh... You have really outdone yourself this time..." Little pieces of the puzzle were revealing themselves to the woman, creating a scandalous image. The past few weeks suddenly made sense to her, Shinobu showing up to stay with her, him going back to Australia, Miyagi's odd behavior. "Getting you back is going to be easier than I thought."

----

Collin's bright blue eyes fell on the phone set out on Shinobu's nightstand. It was vibrating and playing a soft piano melody, each buzz moving it closer and closer to the edge of the little table. The blond glanced over his shoulder at the bathroom, able to hear the crash of water from the shower. Finally, curiosity got the best of him and he picked up the phone, answering it.

"Hello?"

"Shinobu?!" The voice from the other end of the line exclaimed. Instantly Collin regretted answering the call, realizing that if it was someone back in Japan he wouldn't be able to explain. "Shinobu-" The rest was in Japanese.

"Um... I'm sorry, he's not available right now." The Aussie said slowly, praying that by some miracle the caller would understand. "Shinobu is showering."

"Ah..." The voice murmured, sounding severely disappointed. "Can you tell him I called?" Relieved that the man on the other line knew English, Collin was able to answer back.

"Yeah Mate, I can do that. Who's calling?"

"T-Tell him it's Miyagi."

Miyagi! This must be Shinobu's ex! The blue-eyed boy thought, feeling a jolt of jealousy. Shinobu had murmured the name in his sleep a couple of times, and once he had mentioned having recently had a break-up, Collin put two and two together.

"I'll be sure to tell him." He replied, keeping his voice low in case Shinobu happened to overhear.

"Thank you." The man hung up and Collin was left staring at an Call Ended screen. The two words blinked up at him for a couple seconds before taking the boy to the phone's menu. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching, he went to the call list on the phone, deleting the call. He returned the phone to it's spot on Shinobu's nightstand.

With a final guilty glance at the bathroom door, Collin picked up one of his text books and set to work on one of his assignments, trying desperately to slow the rapid beating of his heart.

---

Shinobu shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, drying himself off with his towel. He pulled on his pajamas and glanced at himself in the bathroom mirror, admiring his eyes. After a few seconds of staring, he set to work yanking a comb through his hair, working the tangles out with sharp tugs.

"You going to be in there all night?" Collin called through the door, his voice brimming over with amusement. "You're taking forever. Are you going on a hot date or something?" Shinobu yanked the door open and stomped out into the main room, where the blond oggled up at him.

"You took twice as long as I did, so I don't want to hear it." The smaller retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I have longer hair than you do. It's a pain to wash."

"If it's a pain, cut it!"

"No!" The blond gasped in horror, as if Shinobu had just said something unthinkable. "You don't understand Shinobu! This hair is my gateway to the ladies!" Shinobu rolled his eyes and crawled into bed, fluffing his pillow. When the pillow was nice and puffy, he dove in, face first, inhaling the smell of laundry detergent.

It was just cheap dorm detergent, but it smelled familiar somehow. The honey-haired boy wondered if maybe Miyagi might have used something with a similar scent, but he couldn't think of anything off the top of his head.

"When you're done snogging your pillow, maybe we can both get some sleep." Collin smiled in mirth, his grin like a Cheshire cat's.

"I'm not snogging it!" Shinobu shot back, pulling his head free of the floral-smelling fibers. He yanked the cord on the nightstand's lamp and turned so his back was to the blond. Many moments passed in silence and Shinobu felt himself get to the point of being almost asleep, but still awake.

"Can I sleep next to you?" It certainly sounded like something someone would say in a dream, but Shinobu's subconscious mind knew it was anything but. He sat up with a start and looked over at his roommate. In the darkness he could make out Collin's silhouette, the blond's face obscured by shadows, expression unreadable. The room fell once more into silence, the two boys waiting for the other to make a move, speak a word or two, breathe.
Neither wanted to be the first, because that would be awkward. So silently they willed the other to do it in their stead.

"I guess." Shinobu relented, his voice trembling a little. He cleared his throat and scooted towards the other side of the bed, making room for the Aussie. He felt his warm sheets being peeled back, accompanied by the mattress sinking a bit lower, due to the added weight. "Get your own pillow though, I won't share mine. You probably drool in your sleep or something."

"At least I don't snore." A warm sticky hand shoved against the smaller boy playfully, a little tingle left behind when Collin's hand was removed. The sound of a pillow hitting the bed soon followed, making the Japanese boy's throat clench up a little. His whole body was beginning to feel hot and sweaty and he couldn't relax no matter what he did. Not wanting to move around and shake the bed, he sat as still as a statue. "You can lay down you know, I don't bite."

"It's not you I'm worried about." Shinobu admitted, knowing that his heart was pounding too fast, his head was spinning in too many circles. Worst of all, however, was the little ache the honey-haired one was feeling inside his chest. There was something he wanted to do, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Nothing you can do will make me like you any less."

Was that a confession? Shinobu wondered, worried that he was getting ahead of himself. The only person he wanted was Miyagi. If that was the case, then why was Collin's husky half-asleep voice getting to him so bad? Why did he care about sharing a bed with his roommate? The blond was an annoyance and nothing more. A pesky little fly that wouldn't buzz off.

"If you want to kiss me, you can." Collin's next set of words threw Shinobu for such a loop that he had to jerk his head around to look at the blond and see if he had really said them. "You keep licking your lips. Either they're really dry, you're really hungry, or you want someone to kiss you. Girls do that sometimes. The lip licking thing."

"I don't want to kiss you!" Shinobu hissed, wiping his mouth off a little. "My lips are dry, that's all."

"I have some chapstick you can borrow." The taller boy's beautiful Australian accent hung heavy in the air, making the gray-eyed male feel overwhelmed. The moment the blond sat up, Shinobu closed the distance between them by crashing his lips into Collin's, a soft gasp of surprise coming from them both. "Dry lips huh?!"

"Th-That was an accident."

"You're a bad liar." The Aussie purred, clearly none-to-opposed to his roommate's sudden kiss. They were still only mere inches from one another. So close, that Shinobu could feel the blond's hot breath against his mouth, something that he hadn't felt for some time. He kissed Collin again, but this time with more intention behind it.

Two broad arms wound their way around Shinobu's neck, locking him in place like old wooden stocks. It didn't matter though, because the smaller of the two had no intention of pulling away. His partner's mouth was hot and inviting, like a hot cup of tea on a cold day.

The simple kisses grew deeper and soon the taller had maneuvered his body over Shinobu's, obviously the more dominant one. He ran his hands down the boy's sides, feeling nothing but soft fabric and the occasional flash of silky skin. Once he caught a chance, he pushed his tongue deep into Shinobu's mouth, his breathing speeding up a little upon entry. Their legs began to intertwine and that's when the shorter boy pulled away.

"What are we doing?" He asked through his panting, mind no clearer than muddy water.

"Kissing. Obviously." Collin laughed, setting his head against Shinobu's. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah... But... What about Dollie? You have a girlfriend and I have-... Well..."

"Your ex is your ex for a reason Shinobu."

"Dollie isn't your ex though." The honey-haired boy had to move his hand over his mouth, seeing Collin start to lean down for another kiss. "We can't do this, I'm sorry." Scrambling hurriedly, he pulled himself out from under the other boy and curled up once more on his side of the bed.

"Shinobu-..." Collin began, but he obviously couldn't finish his own thought. He fell silent and soon sunk back down on his side of the bed. "Goodnight."

"'Night" It was a stiff reply, but Shinobu couldn't help it. His whole body felt odd, strange, unnatural. There's something very wrong here... I like Miyagi... Not this guy. I don't even know this guy. But even as he thought this, he knew that in all reality, he didn't know anymore about Miyagi than he did Collin. Either way he looked at it, he couldn't justify holding off and waiting around for someone who had cheated on him. The only thing in the way was Dollie.

Shinobu decided to use her as a safety net. Surely Collin wouldn't try to keep pursuing him if he was getting along better with his girlfriend. The honey-haired boy decided that when they all headed up to Collin's parent's beach-house, he would do his best to make sure the couple had a nice time and a chance to rekindle their relationship.