PRICELE$$ love - Chapter 7
Title: PRICELE$$ love
Author: Aisu & Kuriimu
Rating: PG13 for now
Pairings: Akame
Disclaimer: We don't own Akame.
Summary: Jin's a crowd-pleaser; always adapting his personality to suit others, trying to uphold his family name by keeping up false pretenses. He's sick of people sucking up to him and pretending to be his friend when all they want is a connection to his social status.
Kazuya's a realist; he hates people who are 'fake', or rather, aren't true to themselves, and it makes him sick watching them live their day to day life as a constant lie.
When the two meet at a goukon for the first time, their personalities clash. While Kazuya's ready to leave in a heartbeat after the event, Jin can't help but linger behind lost in his thoughts. He had never met anyone like Kazuya before. Maybe he was just what he needed to help him escape his world of lies.
A/N (Kurii): This chapter's dedicated to shatteredinu for her persistence and constant nagging. =] Hope this update won't disappoint you~
[ 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 ]
CHAPTER 7
Kazuya and Pi were already setting the tables and getting ready for the evening service when a flustered Jin burst through the door of Kazen Café. Smoothing down his wind-blown hair, Jin walked through the doorway and nodded his acknowledgement to the two who were working before quickly going to the backroom to change into his t-shirt and put down his belongings.
"Pi, I'm leaving your lunch in here!" Jin yelled out from the backroom, slipping the t-shirt over his head. "What did the manager want?" Jin asked as he walked out from the backroom while tying a bistro apron around his waist.
"Hm? Nothing much. Just wanted to check in with us and see how we're doing," Pi replied from his position behind the cash register.
"Ah, that's good." Jin picked up a stack of napkins and wandered over to where Kazuya was setting tables to lend him a hand. "Hey, Kame. About that thing I was talking to you about earlier..."
"About what?" Kazuya wandered away from where Jin was standing to start setting up the next table.
"About moving in with me. No, wait, about me helping you out." Jin strolled over to where Kazuya was and placed the napkins next to the plate. "Lending you a hand."
"Mmhm, I'll think about it."
"And how you found out- Kame, are you even listening?"
The younger boy had gone into the backroom to put away the extra settings and proceeded to the entrance of Kazen Café to help their first customer for the evening service.
Once Jin had finished setting up the remaining tables, there was a steady flow of customers coming in and he didn't get a chance to talk to Kazuya throughout the service.
When 8 o'clock rolled around, the stream of customers had slowed down considerably. Jin silently watched Kazuya as the younger boy wiped down the tables, performing the usual tasks necessary for closing.
"Just go over and talk to him." Pi's voice traveled his to his ear, startling Jin out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" Jin turned and directed his gaze to the cashier.
"You've been shooting glances at him the entire night, just go over and tell him whatever's bothering you."
During Jin and Yamapi's conversation, Kazuya had gathered his stuff and was already heading out the door. "I'm gonna head home now," he announced. "Later!"
"See you!" Pi gave a cheery wave as Kazuya opened the door and stepped out.
"W-wait!" Jin yelled in an attempt to stop the younger boy from leaving, but Kazuya had already stepped out of the Café and the door closed behind him. If he had heard the older boy, he didn't wait to hear what Jin wanted.
~*~
After his last failed attempt to talk to Kazuya that night, Jin went back to his apartment to do some thinking for himself. He was sure he had taken a great deal of care to make sure that the younger boy would not find out about his father's business; he hadn't even disclosed his family name to the boy, conveniently leaving it out and simply introducing himself as 'Jin'. How Kame was able to suddenly blurt out the name Nishi Records was still a mystery to him.
"Did he already know when we met at the goukon?" Jin mused out loud, letting himself fall back onto the bed, staring at the blank ceiling in concentration as if it held the answers to his questions. "If that's true though, then maybe he really does hate me...? He's definitely not acting like the other people that know me..." Jin turned in his bed, his brows furrowed as he pondered the situation. "Why's this kid gotta be so confusing? Usually I can figure people out to some extent... I don't know what he thinks about me at all." Jin sighed. "At least he said he'll think about moving in." He scratched his head lightly as he sat up on the bed. "Thinking is just as good as saying yes. Might as well start clearing out the extra room so I can drag him over next morning."
~*~
The next day, Kazuya woke up to the sound of a loud banging on his door. He groaned as he forced himself out of bed to see who was so intent on finding him at eight in the morning. He had no work or classes today, and his plan on catching up on lost sleep was destroyed. Dragging his feet to the door, Kazuya opened it abruptly and narrowly escaped his visitor's fist about to knock on the door once again.
Upon seeing the younger boy's sleepy face, a wide grin appeared on Jin's lips as he hurried to straighten up. "Ohayo!" Jin lifted a hand up in acknowledgment.
Kazuya groaned as he turned around, leaving the door ajar, and walked back to his bed to bury himself under the layers of sheets.
Smiling at his success in getting into Kazuya's dorm room, Jin picked up the stuff he had brought with him and ambled in after the sleepy boy. "Kame. Get up!" Jin tugged at the multitude of layers covering the boy, gripping his shoulders until he got Kazuya to sit up.
"What do you want?" Kazuya mumbled, blinking blearily at Jin while being completely wrapped in his comforter so that only his face was shown.
"Look! I brought some empty boxes over!" Jin practically jumped in his seat on the bed opposite of Kame's. "I spent the entire night clearing out the extra room, too!"
"Mmph, too early." The younger boy fell back onto his bed; it was definitely way too early to have to deal with Jin's hyper-activeness.
"C'mon, it's already..." Jin glanced at the clock, "eight in the morning."
It certainly didn't feel that early seeing how awake Jin was. He hadn't even bothered to think of the time since he'd rushed out of his apartment the moment the sun was up.
"...Alright," Kame sighed and slowly sat up. He knew he wouldn't be able to get rid of the other man until he did what was wanted from him. "Why don't you run down to the convenience store and get me some coffee while I take a shower and attempt to wake myself up."
Jin's eyes lit up as he watched Kame plod slowly to the bathroom. When the door was closed and the sound of running water was heard, Jin got up from his spot on the floor and left the dorm to get the boy his coffee.
~*~
Jin was already sitting on Kame's bed, sipping his own cup of coffee when the younger man walked out with wet hair and clothes sticking to his body where it hadn't been properly dried. He handed Kame his cup of coffee with four sugars and two creams, just the way the younger boy always had his coffee whenever they were together at Kazen.
"Thanks." Kame took a sip from the steaming cup before picking up a towel that was hanging from a nearby chair to dry his damp hair. "What are all these boxes for?"
"For you to put your stuff in."
"And why would I need to put my stuff in them? I've got enough drawers and space here."
"So you can move the boxes over to my place."
"...Ah, yes, that discussion. I've thought about it and I appreciate your generosity, but I'm not going to freeload off of you."
"You're not 'freeloading' off of me. You're going to help me split the rent." Jin waved off the other boy's protests. "Renting such a big place isn't cheap you know? So if both of us pay the rent together, it'll be a lot cheaper. You'd actually be helping me out and not the other way around."
"I guess, but... I don't know..."
"Plus, seeing as how you're so freakishly neat, you can help me keep the place tidy! I won't have to waste money to hire cleaners every week." Jin smiled proudly seeing how his logic was making sense and that Kazuya seemed a bit more convinced now. "You know it's a great deal for us both. You wouldn't be able to get such a nice place at the same price, and it's relatively close to your university, too. The extra money that you save will help you out with tuition." Jin raised his brows a few times and looked at the boy still deep in thought. He could practically see the wheels churning in Kazuya's head as he mentally calculated what he spent and what he would save from this 'bargain'.
"Are you sure this is alright with you?" Kazuya questioned; he didn't want to cause anyone more trouble than necessary.
"Yes! I'm positive!" Jin jumped up from his spot on the bed and dragged Kazuya over to his desk. "You start clearing your desk and I'll start on your closet."
It took them the rest of the morning and the better part of the afternoon to pack up Kazuya's belongings. Most of the things that Kazuya kept in his dorm included his school books and the basic necessities, so there wasn't a lot to pack. The majority of his belongings were still in his room at his parent's place.
"Is this everything?" Jin asked when he went back to Kazuya's dorm and saw the boy going around the room to double check that they had packed everything.
"Yeah. The rest of my stuff is still at my parent's place. We can get it tomorrow or something." Kazuya turned around and walked out of the door followed closely by Jin.
"Oh? You're moving out of your parent's place too?" Jin stepped aside for Kame to lock the door.
"My parents plan on selling the house soon since they've already got their own places now. I don't want to have to pick who to go with after the divorce, so I think moving out completely would be the easiest. I'm able to support myself now, anyways." After turning the knob once more to check that it was indeed locked, Kazuya turned around to face the other. "Ready?"
"Yep. I drove my car here so all your boxes are already loaded in the trunk." Fishing his keys out from his back pocket, Jin led the way his car in the parking lot. "Should I drop you off at my... our place, first? That way you can start unpacking while I go get us something to eat?"
"Sounds good, I'm starving."
~*~
Kazuya hummed a little tune to himself as he carefully stacked his books up onto the bookcase. After a quick lunch, he and Jin had shopped around a bit to pick up some basic necessities for Kazuya. They had ended up buying new matching sets of cups, chopsticks, and other stuff that Jin otherwise already had in his apartment, but felt the need to match Kame's new things. Kazuya smiled to himself as he remembered how eager Jin had been, hopping from one place to another, picking up matching things for the both of them. It's like we're lovers who're moving in with each other or something, Kazuya mused. However, when the sound of the door slamming shut reached his ears, he snapped out of his reverie and silently berated himself for having such thoughts. Standing up from his kneeling position, Kazuya smoothed the creases in his shirt before walking out of this room, now his, to see if it was Jin bringing back the food.
Juggling with the numerous take-out bags, Jin clumsily reached into the front pocket of his jeans to retrieve his keys. He wasn't sure what Kazuya liked best, so he'd ordered a little of everything. After successfully finding the house keys, Jin fumbled as he slipped one into the key hole and opened the door to their apartment, slammed the door to stroll into their living room, and dumped the many bags of food onto their dining table.
Hm, our apartment; has a nice ring to it. Jin smiled to himself, prepared to yell for Kazuya to come out to eat until he saw the younger boy already walking toward him.
"You got all of that just for the two of us?" Kame strolled over, staring down at the mountain of food. "You do know that it's impossible for us to finish this, right?"
"I didn't know what you like, and I've always liked variety in my food anyways," Jin replied in his defense and headed towards the kitchen cupboards for the new cutlery that they had bought today to set the table with.
~*~
The majority of the meal passed by in silence. A few random comments were thrown out when something playing on the television caught their attention, but apart from that, the sound of chopsticks against bowls, and the low mumble from the television itself, the apartment was silent. It was a comfortable silence however that gave them both some time to think by themselves.
Kame filled his bowl halfway with the coconut rice that he had seen Jin eat numerous bowls of; an obvious favorite of the older boy's. He looked up when he heard Jin clear his throat and place down his chopsticks. He looked ready to either give a serious speech, or announce something grave.
Seeing as he had successfully captured the latter's attention, Jin opened his mouth to ask what he had rehearsed in his head many times during the course of their dinner.
"Kame, I was just wondering if-" Before Jin was able to ask his well thought-out question, he was cut off by Kame's hand, signaling for him to pause.
"Wait, before you continue, let me say this first to make things clear between us and so I won't forget later on." Kazuya looked at Jin's face and continued upon seeing the older boy nod. "My moving in here and... partaking your hospitality has nothing to do with your status or anything, alright? It's merely a friend accepting the help of another friend."
"Isn't that what I've always been trying to explain to you?" Jin replied amusedly.
"That's not the point. I just don't want you to think that that's the reason I'm friends with you - because I'll gain merit from befriending you, which is not true."
If Jin had had any doubts about Kazuya's intentions, it was then that they disappeared. There weren't many to begin with, but after hearing what the younger boy said, Jin couldn't help but feel a bit elated; he had just made a new friend on his own. Not a childhood or family friend, not someone who was more interested in his family's business than himself, a true friend; someone who liked him for himself and not because of his family name.
By now Jin knew that Kazuya knew about his father's business, but when Kazuya looked at him, he wasn't seeing Nishi Records, or Akanishi-kun, heir to Nishi Records. He was seeing Jin. Plain Jin. Jin, the waiter at Kazen Café; his co-worker, friend, and now, roommate.
"Yes, yes. I know." Jin replied, with an uncharacteristically large smile as a reply to such a statement from Kame.
"Good. What did you want to ask me before?" Kame questioned, picking up his chopsticks again.
"Hm? Nothing, I forgot." It didn't matter how or when Kazuya found out about his background. What mattered is how Kazuya saw him, and if Kazuya saw him as Jin, then there wasn't anything more he needed to ask.
A/N (Aisu): Chapter's all written by Kurii. My head's about to explode; if I missed any typos/grammatical errors please point them out for me. :] Actually, if you EVER see a grammatical error EVER please don't hesitate to tell me.
A/N (Kurii): I was beginning to think that we wouldn't get this chapter out until next year! XD I'm really sorry for the short length and how long it took us. Hopefully this chapter isn't too disappointing since it took me forever to think of how to write this chapter. Feedback much appreciated! =] And Merry Christmas everyone!! (btw, it's still Christmas from where I am. It's just cus Aisu posted it, so the date's not the 25th D:)
Author: Aisu & Kuriimu
Rating: PG13 for now
Pairings: Akame
Disclaimer: We don't own Akame.
Summary: Jin's a crowd-pleaser; always adapting his personality to suit others, trying to uphold his family name by keeping up false pretenses. He's sick of people sucking up to him and pretending to be his friend when all they want is a connection to his social status.
Kazuya's a realist; he hates people who are 'fake', or rather, aren't true to themselves, and it makes him sick watching them live their day to day life as a constant lie.
When the two meet at a goukon for the first time, their personalities clash. While Kazuya's ready to leave in a heartbeat after the event, Jin can't help but linger behind lost in his thoughts. He had never met anyone like Kazuya before. Maybe he was just what he needed to help him escape his world of lies.
A/N (Kurii): This chapter's dedicated to shatteredinu for her persistence and constant nagging. =] Hope this update won't disappoint you~
[ 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 ]
CHAPTER 7
Kazuya and Pi were already setting the tables and getting ready for the evening service when a flustered Jin burst through the door of Kazen Café. Smoothing down his wind-blown hair, Jin walked through the doorway and nodded his acknowledgement to the two who were working before quickly going to the backroom to change into his t-shirt and put down his belongings.
"Pi, I'm leaving your lunch in here!" Jin yelled out from the backroom, slipping the t-shirt over his head. "What did the manager want?" Jin asked as he walked out from the backroom while tying a bistro apron around his waist.
"Hm? Nothing much. Just wanted to check in with us and see how we're doing," Pi replied from his position behind the cash register.
"Ah, that's good." Jin picked up a stack of napkins and wandered over to where Kazuya was setting tables to lend him a hand. "Hey, Kame. About that thing I was talking to you about earlier..."
"About what?" Kazuya wandered away from where Jin was standing to start setting up the next table.
"About moving in with me. No, wait, about me helping you out." Jin strolled over to where Kazuya was and placed the napkins next to the plate. "Lending you a hand."
"Mmhm, I'll think about it."
"And how you found out- Kame, are you even listening?"
The younger boy had gone into the backroom to put away the extra settings and proceeded to the entrance of Kazen Café to help their first customer for the evening service.
Once Jin had finished setting up the remaining tables, there was a steady flow of customers coming in and he didn't get a chance to talk to Kazuya throughout the service.
When 8 o'clock rolled around, the stream of customers had slowed down considerably. Jin silently watched Kazuya as the younger boy wiped down the tables, performing the usual tasks necessary for closing.
"Just go over and talk to him." Pi's voice traveled his to his ear, startling Jin out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" Jin turned and directed his gaze to the cashier.
"You've been shooting glances at him the entire night, just go over and tell him whatever's bothering you."
During Jin and Yamapi's conversation, Kazuya had gathered his stuff and was already heading out the door. "I'm gonna head home now," he announced. "Later!"
"See you!" Pi gave a cheery wave as Kazuya opened the door and stepped out.
"W-wait!" Jin yelled in an attempt to stop the younger boy from leaving, but Kazuya had already stepped out of the Café and the door closed behind him. If he had heard the older boy, he didn't wait to hear what Jin wanted.
~*~
After his last failed attempt to talk to Kazuya that night, Jin went back to his apartment to do some thinking for himself. He was sure he had taken a great deal of care to make sure that the younger boy would not find out about his father's business; he hadn't even disclosed his family name to the boy, conveniently leaving it out and simply introducing himself as 'Jin'. How Kame was able to suddenly blurt out the name Nishi Records was still a mystery to him.
"Did he already know when we met at the goukon?" Jin mused out loud, letting himself fall back onto the bed, staring at the blank ceiling in concentration as if it held the answers to his questions. "If that's true though, then maybe he really does hate me...? He's definitely not acting like the other people that know me..." Jin turned in his bed, his brows furrowed as he pondered the situation. "Why's this kid gotta be so confusing? Usually I can figure people out to some extent... I don't know what he thinks about me at all." Jin sighed. "At least he said he'll think about moving in." He scratched his head lightly as he sat up on the bed. "Thinking is just as good as saying yes. Might as well start clearing out the extra room so I can drag him over next morning."
~*~
The next day, Kazuya woke up to the sound of a loud banging on his door. He groaned as he forced himself out of bed to see who was so intent on finding him at eight in the morning. He had no work or classes today, and his plan on catching up on lost sleep was destroyed. Dragging his feet to the door, Kazuya opened it abruptly and narrowly escaped his visitor's fist about to knock on the door once again.
Upon seeing the younger boy's sleepy face, a wide grin appeared on Jin's lips as he hurried to straighten up. "Ohayo!" Jin lifted a hand up in acknowledgment.
Kazuya groaned as he turned around, leaving the door ajar, and walked back to his bed to bury himself under the layers of sheets.
Smiling at his success in getting into Kazuya's dorm room, Jin picked up the stuff he had brought with him and ambled in after the sleepy boy. "Kame. Get up!" Jin tugged at the multitude of layers covering the boy, gripping his shoulders until he got Kazuya to sit up.
"What do you want?" Kazuya mumbled, blinking blearily at Jin while being completely wrapped in his comforter so that only his face was shown.
"Look! I brought some empty boxes over!" Jin practically jumped in his seat on the bed opposite of Kame's. "I spent the entire night clearing out the extra room, too!"
"Mmph, too early." The younger boy fell back onto his bed; it was definitely way too early to have to deal with Jin's hyper-activeness.
"C'mon, it's already..." Jin glanced at the clock, "eight in the morning."
It certainly didn't feel that early seeing how awake Jin was. He hadn't even bothered to think of the time since he'd rushed out of his apartment the moment the sun was up.
"...Alright," Kame sighed and slowly sat up. He knew he wouldn't be able to get rid of the other man until he did what was wanted from him. "Why don't you run down to the convenience store and get me some coffee while I take a shower and attempt to wake myself up."
Jin's eyes lit up as he watched Kame plod slowly to the bathroom. When the door was closed and the sound of running water was heard, Jin got up from his spot on the floor and left the dorm to get the boy his coffee.
~*~
Jin was already sitting on Kame's bed, sipping his own cup of coffee when the younger man walked out with wet hair and clothes sticking to his body where it hadn't been properly dried. He handed Kame his cup of coffee with four sugars and two creams, just the way the younger boy always had his coffee whenever they were together at Kazen.
"Thanks." Kame took a sip from the steaming cup before picking up a towel that was hanging from a nearby chair to dry his damp hair. "What are all these boxes for?"
"For you to put your stuff in."
"And why would I need to put my stuff in them? I've got enough drawers and space here."
"So you can move the boxes over to my place."
"...Ah, yes, that discussion. I've thought about it and I appreciate your generosity, but I'm not going to freeload off of you."
"You're not 'freeloading' off of me. You're going to help me split the rent." Jin waved off the other boy's protests. "Renting such a big place isn't cheap you know? So if both of us pay the rent together, it'll be a lot cheaper. You'd actually be helping me out and not the other way around."
"I guess, but... I don't know..."
"Plus, seeing as how you're so freakishly neat, you can help me keep the place tidy! I won't have to waste money to hire cleaners every week." Jin smiled proudly seeing how his logic was making sense and that Kazuya seemed a bit more convinced now. "You know it's a great deal for us both. You wouldn't be able to get such a nice place at the same price, and it's relatively close to your university, too. The extra money that you save will help you out with tuition." Jin raised his brows a few times and looked at the boy still deep in thought. He could practically see the wheels churning in Kazuya's head as he mentally calculated what he spent and what he would save from this 'bargain'.
"Are you sure this is alright with you?" Kazuya questioned; he didn't want to cause anyone more trouble than necessary.
"Yes! I'm positive!" Jin jumped up from his spot on the bed and dragged Kazuya over to his desk. "You start clearing your desk and I'll start on your closet."
It took them the rest of the morning and the better part of the afternoon to pack up Kazuya's belongings. Most of the things that Kazuya kept in his dorm included his school books and the basic necessities, so there wasn't a lot to pack. The majority of his belongings were still in his room at his parent's place.
"Is this everything?" Jin asked when he went back to Kazuya's dorm and saw the boy going around the room to double check that they had packed everything.
"Yeah. The rest of my stuff is still at my parent's place. We can get it tomorrow or something." Kazuya turned around and walked out of the door followed closely by Jin.
"Oh? You're moving out of your parent's place too?" Jin stepped aside for Kame to lock the door.
"My parents plan on selling the house soon since they've already got their own places now. I don't want to have to pick who to go with after the divorce, so I think moving out completely would be the easiest. I'm able to support myself now, anyways." After turning the knob once more to check that it was indeed locked, Kazuya turned around to face the other. "Ready?"
"Yep. I drove my car here so all your boxes are already loaded in the trunk." Fishing his keys out from his back pocket, Jin led the way his car in the parking lot. "Should I drop you off at my... our place, first? That way you can start unpacking while I go get us something to eat?"
"Sounds good, I'm starving."
~*~
Kazuya hummed a little tune to himself as he carefully stacked his books up onto the bookcase. After a quick lunch, he and Jin had shopped around a bit to pick up some basic necessities for Kazuya. They had ended up buying new matching sets of cups, chopsticks, and other stuff that Jin otherwise already had in his apartment, but felt the need to match Kame's new things. Kazuya smiled to himself as he remembered how eager Jin had been, hopping from one place to another, picking up matching things for the both of them. It's like we're lovers who're moving in with each other or something, Kazuya mused. However, when the sound of the door slamming shut reached his ears, he snapped out of his reverie and silently berated himself for having such thoughts. Standing up from his kneeling position, Kazuya smoothed the creases in his shirt before walking out of this room, now his, to see if it was Jin bringing back the food.
Juggling with the numerous take-out bags, Jin clumsily reached into the front pocket of his jeans to retrieve his keys. He wasn't sure what Kazuya liked best, so he'd ordered a little of everything. After successfully finding the house keys, Jin fumbled as he slipped one into the key hole and opened the door to their apartment, slammed the door to stroll into their living room, and dumped the many bags of food onto their dining table.
Hm, our apartment; has a nice ring to it. Jin smiled to himself, prepared to yell for Kazuya to come out to eat until he saw the younger boy already walking toward him.
"You got all of that just for the two of us?" Kame strolled over, staring down at the mountain of food. "You do know that it's impossible for us to finish this, right?"
"I didn't know what you like, and I've always liked variety in my food anyways," Jin replied in his defense and headed towards the kitchen cupboards for the new cutlery that they had bought today to set the table with.
~*~
The majority of the meal passed by in silence. A few random comments were thrown out when something playing on the television caught their attention, but apart from that, the sound of chopsticks against bowls, and the low mumble from the television itself, the apartment was silent. It was a comfortable silence however that gave them both some time to think by themselves.
Kame filled his bowl halfway with the coconut rice that he had seen Jin eat numerous bowls of; an obvious favorite of the older boy's. He looked up when he heard Jin clear his throat and place down his chopsticks. He looked ready to either give a serious speech, or announce something grave.
Seeing as he had successfully captured the latter's attention, Jin opened his mouth to ask what he had rehearsed in his head many times during the course of their dinner.
"Kame, I was just wondering if-" Before Jin was able to ask his well thought-out question, he was cut off by Kame's hand, signaling for him to pause.
"Wait, before you continue, let me say this first to make things clear between us and so I won't forget later on." Kazuya looked at Jin's face and continued upon seeing the older boy nod. "My moving in here and... partaking your hospitality has nothing to do with your status or anything, alright? It's merely a friend accepting the help of another friend."
"Isn't that what I've always been trying to explain to you?" Jin replied amusedly.
"That's not the point. I just don't want you to think that that's the reason I'm friends with you - because I'll gain merit from befriending you, which is not true."
If Jin had had any doubts about Kazuya's intentions, it was then that they disappeared. There weren't many to begin with, but after hearing what the younger boy said, Jin couldn't help but feel a bit elated; he had just made a new friend on his own. Not a childhood or family friend, not someone who was more interested in his family's business than himself, a true friend; someone who liked him for himself and not because of his family name.
By now Jin knew that Kazuya knew about his father's business, but when Kazuya looked at him, he wasn't seeing Nishi Records, or Akanishi-kun, heir to Nishi Records. He was seeing Jin. Plain Jin. Jin, the waiter at Kazen Café; his co-worker, friend, and now, roommate.
"Yes, yes. I know." Jin replied, with an uncharacteristically large smile as a reply to such a statement from Kame.
"Good. What did you want to ask me before?" Kame questioned, picking up his chopsticks again.
"Hm? Nothing, I forgot." It didn't matter how or when Kazuya found out about his background. What mattered is how Kazuya saw him, and if Kazuya saw him as Jin, then there wasn't anything more he needed to ask.
A/N (Aisu): Chapter's all written by Kurii. My head's about to explode; if I missed any typos/grammatical errors please point them out for me. :] Actually, if you EVER see a grammatical error EVER please don't hesitate to tell me.
A/N (Kurii): I was beginning to think that we wouldn't get this chapter out until next year! XD I'm really sorry for the short length and how long it took us. Hopefully this chapter isn't too disappointing since it took me forever to think of how to write this chapter. Feedback much appreciated! =] And Merry Christmas everyone!! (btw, it's still Christmas from where I am. It's just cus Aisu posted it, so the date's not the 25th D:)