Four-Sided Love Taichi sat across from Seiyou's desk, patiently waiting as she looked over his test scores. "These are very high scores... Not as good as the man before you, but this is very good..." she lowered the tablet and looked at Taichi, pursing her soft red lips. "You're sixteen?" "Yes, Miss Seiyou," he answered. She leaned back in her chair a little, looking off to the side in thought. "In the beginning, were you familiar with the procedure of becoming a police officer?" "Not exactly, but..." "It's changed over the centuries," she interrupted. "A lot. In more ancient times, exams were not as hard, there weren't as many crimes, and yet," she looked down at him. "there weren't any sixteen-year olds allowed on the force. But now rules and regulations have changed and shifted. So,” she held stood up and shook his hand, "welcome on the team, Taichi. I'm sure you have the potential to make it here. Let me assign you to a partner. She's one of the best officers here." Seiyou led him down the hall where a young woman with blue hair stood, waiting for them. "Taichi, meet your new partner." They shook hands and smiled and Seiyou left. "Pleased to meet you, Miss... Miss.... umm..." Taichi struggled a little and Nanako laughed a little. "Nanako," she replied. "Hello, Miss Nanako," he said and she laughed again. "No, you can just call me Nanako," she said. "Nanako?" he repeated. "Yes." "Pleased to meet you." "You already said that." "Okay, well then, umm... I'm happy to be here with you." Nanako gave a wide smile. "As I am too, Taichi. Now then, let me show you around." * A week of questions and answers for Nanako. And a week of everything except what Taichi had expected out of the job. A boy with brown hair rushed in the door suddenly, startling Taichi and Nanako. He carried an unconscious body in his arms, covered in soot and bodily scars. On his shoulder were two monsters, an ibui and a pikachu. "Somebody help!" he yelled and ran into the back of the building. Taichi and Nanako followed, finding him rushing into the small health clinic where Nanami worked. "What's going on?" asked Taichi. Nanako shrugged. "I don't know," she said and they continued to rush after the boy. "Nanami! Nanami!" shouted the boy. "Shigeru?" said the nurse and she gasped as he set the body down on the bed. "It's Satoshi," he said in a panic as Nanako and Taichi rushed in. "I was getting out of the car, Satoshi was reaching for his wallet and the other car rushed in, and- and- and...." Nanami settled him down and he sat down in a chair, his head in his hands. The pikachu jumped off his shoulder and down to his foot, looking up at the body in worry. She quickly set a mask over the unconscious boy's face and brought down a glass frame over the bed. "It's going to be okay, Shigeru," she said and walked over to her computer. "I doubt Satoshi has anything too serious. You won't lose him or anything." Shigeru nodded hesitantly. "I'm just a little shaken up, that's all." "I'll just clean him up a little first," she said. "Now you just let me handle this," Nanako whispered to Taichi. "Excuse me," she said, taking a step forward to Shigeru. "Sir?" "Yes?" he answered, looking up at her with teary eyes. "C-could you just fill this out please..?" she asked and held out a small form. Nanami quickly gave a last beat of typing and firmly pressed "enter" on the keyboard. She stood up to face Nanako and Taichi as a gush of water started pouring into the glass frame. "No, please, Miss Nanako," she said, taking away the form. "I'll just take care of it. Shigeru is my younger brother." Nanako nodded and stepped back. "Umm, Shigeru?" said Nanami. "This is Nanako, one of the top officers here," she looked down at Taichi. "And this... umm..." "Taichi," he answered. "Hey," said Shigeru briefly, giving a flicker of his hand, before turning his head back at the bed. "Who...?" started Taichi. "His name is Satoshi. He's my roommate," he said. "And my boyfriend." Taichi nodded. "Well, we best be going now," said Nanako. "I hope Satoshi will be alright." "I have the X-rays," said Nanami as Nanako and Taichi left. Shigeru turned his head to his sister. She scanned over the large strip of grayscale paper. "Oh my," she exclaimed with a gasp. Shigeru stood up immediately. "What is it?" "He has a pretty bad break in his left arm... and one of his muscles are torn apart," she said. "I can fix the muscle pretty quickly, but this bone is going to heal more slowly. It might take a few weeks." Shigeru exhaled and hit his head against the wall. "It's okay, Shigeru, broken bones are really minor and I just upgraded all of the machinery. At least it's not the old fashioned way." -- Shigeru closed the door behind him with a sigh. "Excuse me, sir, can I help you?" asked a slightly deep and feminine voice. Shigeru turned around with a startle and almost bumped into Seiyou. He looked across to her, clenching his Ibui. "Oh, I was just coming back from the hospital clinic," he replied. "You're Nanami's brother, aren't you?" she asked him. "Yes," he said with a nod. "Let me say, she's a great help to our main force." Shigeru nodded again. "She's tending to my roommate, Satoshi. We got in a car crash..." "So you're the owner of that green Supiido-Sandaasu car a few blocks away?" Shigeru shrugged and chuckled a little. Seiyou gave a small smirk. "We're taking care of it," she said. "Look, I'll do you a favor. I can drop you and your friend off at the towing station to pick up the car." "Alright," he said and smiled. "Thanks. Is there anything I can do in return?" "You're cute. How about a date, hmm?" she said and dropped a piece of paper on top of his head before walking away to her office. Shigeru's mouth became a little crooked and he brushed the paper off his head and looked at it. There was an address and a date. He took a deep breath and sighed. Why not? It'd be fun. She'd just leave as quickly as she came after a day with him and it's not like Satoshi would know or even care as long as Seiyou was a woman. * "Good afternoon, Miss Seiyou," said Nanami and she put her hand on the doorknob of the clinic. Two days had passed, and Satoshi was still asleep. "Hello, Nanami," said Seiyou. "Isn't your shift over?" "I'm just going to clean up this room a little before going home," she said and opened the door. "Nice dress. What's it for?" Seiyou glanced down at the dress and back up at Nanami. "I've got a date." "Who's the lucky guy?" She smiled. "I have the feeling he'll tell you tomorrow." Seiyou left, leaving Nanami confused, but she shrugged and went into her room. She started gathering old cotton balls laying around the sink but heard a small groan coming from one of the beds behind her. She turned around, seeing Satoshi tossing his arm to his head and opening his eyes warily. Nanami quickly walked over, releasing the glass oxygen frame from the bed. Satoshi sat up and shook his head a little before looking up at Nanami. "Where...?" he wondered. "You're at the police station, Satoshi," said Nanami softly. He rubbed his eyes a little with his right arm. "Who are you?" "My name is Nanami, I'm the nurse. Are you feeling okay?" He nodded slightly. "Yeah, but my arm itches a lot..." he said and looked down at the cast on his left arm. "What happened? The last thing I remember... I think I was trying to find my wallet." "There was a car crash," she said. "Wha-well, where's Shigeru?" he asked in a panic. "And where's my pikachu?" "Shigeru and Pikachu are doing fine. They're probably at the apartment right now." Satoshi made a light sigh and looked down at the sheets. "I never thought this would happen." There was a small moment of silence but Nanami spoke up and held out a shot needle. "I can give you something to help the itching stop." "Umm, no that's okay!" he said and cringed back. "I think I can handle it." "Are you sure? It'll only take a second," she said. "That's what I'm always told," he said, and began hugging his bandaged arm protectively. "Really, the itching is usually such a bother, and it'll feel so much better after the shot," she pleaded and placed a hand on his shoulder. He cringed again. Nanami sighed and she set the needle down in exasperation. "I won't force you to, then," she said. Satoshi relaxed, resting his face in his hands and digging his fingers into his hair. Nanami turned around back to the sink. "You should just rest for the night and Shigeru will be here in the morning to pick you up." Nanami scooped up the rest of the old cotton balls and threw them into the garbage can. "How do you know Shigeru?" "He's my little brother," she answered. Nanami walked over to the other beds, straightening them, and took a glance at Satoshi, who was still sitting up with his eyes down at the sheets. "I told you to rest," she said. He shrugged. "I can't sleep now... like this... It's kind of overwhelming." Nanami sat down next to him and looked at him with gentle eyes. "You just need to try and relax," she said and set a hand on his shoulder. "You're really tensed up," she exclaimed. "You miss Shigeru a lot, don't you?" "It's not that, I'm just still recovering from a surprise like this." She rubbed her hands slowly against his shoulders. "That's how some people react. Try and keep the car crash out of your mind, okay?" There was a short silence. "I'm guessing you give all your patients a massage?" Nanami laughed a little. "Well, no, I don't. But you seem to need one, and so I'm just... I'm just doing you a favor," she said. Satoshi looked up at her. "I mean, you're Shigeru's boyfriend, so..." she started to trail off and stuttered as she looked down at Satoshi, who continued his gaze at her and she stopped her hands. He moved his head up and kissed her. She started to massage him again and still looked down at him, even when he turned away. "As I was saying, you're my boyfriend so I'm just doing a favor for you. I don't do this to everybody." * "...but it's not like I actually like those long ribbony things women wear." Shigeru lightly crossed his arms and looked up from his food and at Seiyou. She smiled and laughed. The restaurant was filled with the conversations of people, all slurred into a mumble. The smell of food was in the air, then repeatedly sucked out into air fresheners. "I know what you're saying. I never wear those things either," she said and a sudden look of disturbance crossed his face. "They always get in the way of my work." Shigeru looked back down at his food. This wasn't good. She can't be interested in him. His ibui crawled up on top of his head and made a squeal. "Oh, I see you have a pokemon as well?" "Yeah, I always let them out of their monster balls. I'm sure you don't mind them running around on our date," he said with a hint of sarcasm, and waited for disturbance to reach her, but he decided to just add one more thing. "And while Satoshi's still being tended to, I'm taking care of his pikachu as well," he said and held it out in front of her, hanging it over her food. "Hey there, little one," said Seiyou playfully and petted it between the ears. "Pika!" it growled loudly and hissed at her, throwing sparks out of its cheeks. "It's a lively one!" exclaimed Seiyou. "It's so cute! Here, why don't I show you mine." She held out a monster ball and opened it, letting out a karakara. Shigeru sweated and retracted the pikachu to his lap. He rested his head on his hand, leaning to the side. She definitely wasn't the kind of woman he was expecting. "I use this one a lot in my work. It's such a good help. I train it everyday. Do you do any training?" she asked. Shigeru shot his head up and stuttered. "Umm.. well, I, umm... do some training... sort of." "That's great! I like that in a guy," said Seiyou and she took a light swing at Shigeru's face, hitting his jaw. He made a small fake laugh and gave a look of misery. Seiyou sighed and stretched out her arms, leaning back in her chair. "This is so great! I'm finally getting a break from work," she said and smiled widely. She looked at Shigeru. "You just seem to make me feel so relaxed. I don't think I've met anybody like you before. You're so... so..." "Gay, I'm sure," he said and tapped his fork lightly against his food. Seiyou tilted her head to the side in thought. "Umm, no, not really." She narrowed her eyes. "You're so... so... so much like me. We have so much in common, and it's so great. Don't you think?" "Right..." he mumbled. "Is something wrong?" she asked and leaned over the table at him. "Well, you see..." he stopped himself, stuttering more. He wanted to tell her the truth, but something was stopping him. His mouth twitched, eager to say something and he looked into her eyes, wide with concern. He gave a sheepish look on his face. "I just need to go to the restroom. Can you excuse me for a moment?" Seiyou nodded, retracting to her seat and he stood up and walked down the pathway to the men's bathroom. Shigeru ran his hands along his hair in exasperation. 'Why didn't I say anything?' he thought and turned on the faucet. 'Maybe I should tell her the truth. But if I do, she'll think I'm weird for even bothering to go on a date with her.' Shigeru let the water run along his fingers. 'I mean, what kind of person goes out on a date with somebody they know they wouldn't be attracted to?' He suddenly looked up at himself in the mirror, looking at his surprised face. 'Wait a minute,' he thought and started splashing the cool water against his face. 'Why would I care what she thinks about me? She's not supposed to like me anyway.' Shigeru turned off the faucet and walked over to the paper towel dispenser. He looked to the far wall where the automatic door stood. 'What if I just walked out the bathroom and then sneaked out the back door? It's not like she'd hear me.' Shigeru went to the door and went through. 'But I left the monsters back at the table! This isn't really working out. I'll just tell her and get it over with.' He walked back down the pathway and to their table, seeing Seiyou taking a sip from her tea. She had returned her karakara and the two others were settled down next to his chair. "Seiyou, I-" he began. "No, Shigeru, let me go first," she interrupted as Shigeru sat down in his chair. Shigeru looked down at her for a moment, then relaxed, nodding. "I've been thinking a little, and I don't really think this relationship will go the right way," she said with depression embedded in. His mouth gawked open. "I mean, you're such a great guy, but for some reason, I just can't seem to see us in a relationship." Shigeru leaned over the table, almost knocking over his plate, and he grasped Seiyou's hands. "But Seiyou, I..." "No, please, Shigeru," she said and broke away from him. "I'm very sorry, but this just won't work out. At all." "Seiyou," he said, "you can't. Please, you..." She gave one last "no" and walked out of the restaurant. Shigeru suddenly found himself standing with his hands in fists and a streak of worry implanted in the back of his head. Then he realized he had just been pleading to the one woman he didn't care for, arguing about weather or not any of this could work out or not. And he wasn't on the side he planned to be on. * The lights were slightly dim as morning started. Shigeru walked out of the taxi and into the police station. He walked quickly, only saying a small "hello" to Nanako and Taichi as he passed by them. He went through the hospital clinic and saw Nanami waiting outside her door. "Shigeru! I have great news! Satoshi just-" she started. "Not now, Nanami, I'm in a rush," he said sternly and walked passed his sister. "But, Shigeru! Satoshi has-" "I said not now, Nanami!" he shouted as he walked down the hall and turned away, Ibui and Pikachu trailing behind. She became surprised and almost gasped, putting her hand over her mouth and she slowly walked back inside the room where Satoshi stood near her computer. "I thought I heard Shigeru's voice," he said, looking up at Nanami. "Yes," she answered, "I... I think he was going to the restroom. I mean, he just passed by so quickly." "It's not like Shigeru to pass something important just so he can take piss," he said and rested his hand behind his neck. "I know... what's gotten into him?" "What if he doesn't care anymore?" "Well, don't jump to conclusions like that, Satoshi," she said and sat down in a chair. "No, really Nanami. What could be the only reason that Shigeru would pass both you and me up?" "There is no only reason! For all we know, there could be a bomb down in the basement!" she argued. "Or he's in love with somebody else," said Satoshi. "Do you know what Shigeru acts like when he's in love?" Nanami paused for a moment and fright came upon her face. "He doesn't pay attention to anything else..." "So...?" "But he was heading towards the bathroom. Or actually... Seiyou's office is near there..." "Seiyou?" he asked. "She's the head of the police force." "She? Shigeru doesn't fall in love with women," said Satoshi, sitting down on one of the beds. "So who could it be?" "The only other guy he knows of is Taichi, one of the rookie officers here," she said. There was another pause except for Satoshi's head tilting to the side and they looked at the door. Nanami and Satoshi rushed out of the room. Satoshi followed her throughout the station as she looked around. They walked upstairs near Nanako and Taichi's small office space. Nanami opened the door. "Miss Nanako, have you seen..." she started, then trailed off. The room was empty. "Miss Nanami?" asked a voice. She turned around seeing Nanako and Taichi looking up at her. "Can we help you?" asked Taichi. "Taichi, you haven't been seeing Shigeru lately, have you?" she asked, turning to him. "And what we mean by 'seeing' is..." started Satoshi, eyeing at the boy. Taichi took a step back, almost falling over. "Y-you're Satoshi, I remember. I don't really swing that way," he said quickly. "What's wrong with Shigeru?" asked Nanako. "It's... it's nothing," replied Nanami. "We're just looking for him." Nanami dragged Satoshi away and down the escalator, leaving Taichi and Nanako as confused as they were. "Well, you... you want to help look for Shigeru then?" asked Nanako. Taichi shook his head slowly and shrugged. "I.. I don't know. I guess so." * "Seiyou, I..." began Shigeru as he walked in quickly through the door, slightly tensed up. She looked up and stood up from her chair and walked over to him. "Shigeru, please, let me go first." Shigeru opened his mouth, but stopped himself and relaxed his shoulders. "Shigeru... I've been doing some thinking last night, and I realized that maybe this could work out. I just don't want to pass up an opportunity with such a great guy like you and I hope it's not to late. Please don't say you've changed your mind about me. I want to take a chance and at least hope this will work," she pleaded. Shigeru looked across to her, their heights matching perfectly. He stared at her for a moment, almost smiling with a small corner of his mouth turned up. He hugged her tightly. -- Taichi peered in through the rippled glass by Seiyou's office. "Nanako!" he whispered, "I think I found Shigeru!" Nanako looked over his shoulder and the two widened their eyes, gawking. "That's him," she said, "and... Seiyou?" "I thought Satoshi was his boyfriend," said Taichi. "Not anymore, I don't think," said Nanako. They heard footsteps and the voices of Nanami and Satoshi. "Quick, hide over here," said Nanako and pulled Taichi into a dark corner of the hallway. They saw Seiyou walk out of her office, her car keys dangling over her fingertips and rattling. Shigeru walked out of the room and waited by the door. Nanami and Satoshi walked down the hall. Shigeru lifted his eyes to them. "Satoshi, you woke up!" he exclaimed. He rushed to them and kissed Satoshi, happy that his boyfriend was well again. "Shigeru, why were you in such a rush?" asked Nanami sternly, putting her hands on her hips. He looked up at his sister. "I'm sorry, I just needed to take a piss really badly," he lied. "I didn't really expect Satoshi to be awake yet." She exhaled deeply, looking down at the two boys. -- Nanako closed her mouth, but Taichi still kept his gawked open. "Should we tell Satoshi?" asked Taichi. "No," she replied. "He's at too much of a fragile moment for that." "Umm... Nanako?" "Yes?" "Where's your left hand?" "It's on your back, I think." "Where's your right hand?" "It's... umm..." -End Geeze, that was a LOT of couples to cover! Hope you kept up with it; it's sort of confusing.