continued // @noobuyuki
For a moment, he stared at Ishigaki with a dumbfounded expression, completely amazed by how his point went right over his head. “ Yea, but I mean like…uh… “ Thinking it over, he tried to think of the best way to explain it without coming off as creepy–as if he could manage such a thing.
“ Y’know, like a couple. In the same bed and all. “ Hopefully that would make him understand what he meant. Mizuta had low expectations to Ishigaki saying yes. Actually, he would be surprised if he wasn’t turned down. It wouldn’t be much of a shocker, mostly since he has been desperately trying to get the attention of their gang’s boss since he was taken under their wing and just about every attempt was shot down.
“Ah.” The taller then retorted as he thought about these words, blinking a few times; it was inevitable for his cheeks to gain the slightest colour of a pink hue, pondering and pondering over and over. Was that how Nobuyuki thought of them? Surely, he must just pull his leg, right? The blondhead completely forgot about the ex-gang leader once Midousuji entered their lives. Not that Ishigaki necessarily minded -- sure, it stung -- but aside from the rather bad choice of role model, he also did not consider himself the best role model for someone younger such as Mizuta. To hear him speak of them as a couple -- it was somewhat fantastic.
Smiling at the other, he ran his hand through the ash-blond strands and moved to pinch his cheek. “Nobu... I have a responsibility here. I can’t just move out and leave Aki and Yama behind. You wouldn’t want to leave Tsuji behind either -- or Noriyuki... right? Besides... Midousuji needs our help. It would be irresponsible of me to move out with you. If you decide for yourself that you want to do something out of your life and stop being in this gang, I will not hold it against you, I will encourage you to spread your wings and move out of the bird’s nest, so to speak, hehe.”
This was not Koutarou turning down the other ---- it was him being mature about the situation. Surely, he would love to move out of here, start a different life, go to college, be somebody. This whole gang started in favour of helping those in need more so than being bad people. And now... well, now he was stuck here. And he felt bad for pulling in all his friends -- seeing how they were used by their new leader, mostly Yama and Aki. Or verbally abused, such as Nobu. It truly broke his heart, being the kind of person who would want to carry the weight of the world on his own shoulders to make life easier for his loved ones. And he completely, utterly failed.
If anything, he wanted Mizuta to leave by himself and become more self-aware and less reliant on others, less of a tag-along.
“I hope... you understand what I mean and don’t take it that I don’t want you near me. Quite the contrary ---- I really like you. But I am scared that you get too dependent on everyone.”
