"Yup." I grinned with pride as I reached for his hand to wrap my fingers around his. "You think she would have been fine with me going to another country without giving me a lecture?"
"We never saw her."
"Via text message."
He gawked at me which only made me laugh at his obvious shock. "Your sister doesn't do that?"
"I'd be lucky if my sister remembers I exist during the summer," Kaito whined. "Spring and summer are her favorite seasons. Actually, she loves winter, too, since she wears those heavy kimonos for various photoshoots. I'm sure she's going to try and con your sister into doing a photoshoot with her this year."
"Her and Sebastian, probably." I recalled my sister's boyfriend, who looked like he didn't deal with any bullshit because of his scowling expressions that I believed might be permanent.
"Did she at least check up on you?" I carried on with the topic.
"Ya. She's on another mission while searching for some new creamer flavor that has a balanced mixture of hazelnut and caramel."
"A balanced mixture?"
"It apparently shifts your coffee from caramel to hazelnut in a back and forth motion so you never know what you're about to drink. Katsume specifically explained how special this edition is, but she's talking with the CEO to make it permanent and name it after Starlight. Don't tell her I said that, though. I think she's trying to set it up as a Christmas present if it gets approved."
"Katsume sure goes above and beyond in relationships." I blinked in astonishment but was extremely happy for my sister.
She really was beginning to get comfortable in their relationship, which was comforting to witness after the suffering she'd dealt with years ago with her fiancé and team.
"That's just how she is with everything." Kaito sighed. "But she really does go the extra mile for Starlight. Guess she really likes her."
"Do you really like me?" I randomly asked.
He smirked as his eyes met mine. "Very, very much," he happily replied.
"Good," I replied. "Since I love you this much!" I used my hands to demonstrate.
He laughed and shook his head. "Red. You gotta cut that into four or the others will beat me up for stealing the whole rectangle pie of Brianne's love."
I joined in with his waves of laughter as I shook my head in defiance. "Nah! Let's see if you can put up with three angry men chasing after you for hogging me."
"That sounds like a nightmare," he whined and even shivered. "I’ll pass."
"Awww. That's no fun." I giggled and hooked my arm around his as I snuggled against him. He kissed my forehead, which was unexpected, and I looked up to see his worried expression.
"What's wrong?" I quietly asked.
"I'm not sure," he admitted as he frowned at my question. "I can't figure out an answer to why I'm worried that everything that's good in my life is going to disappear with one wrong step in the burning sand of life."
"Do you think something is triggering your anxiety?" I asked and he looked at me in confusion.
"I don't have anxiety."
"Hmm. You may not have an actual diagnosis, but it sounds like you're anxious about the future and there has to be a stem that's blossoming these feelings at such a magnitude," I elaborated. "There isn't anything physically happening now that's making you anxious, right?"
"No," he confessed.
"Are these emotions weighing you down? Like you're carrying them while trying to enjoy your vacation but can't get rid of them?"
"Ya," he confessed and ran his hands through his hair. "They make me feel as though I'm walking backward and not forward? It's like I'm pulling into myself more rather than focusing on what needs to be nurtured on the outside. I should be focusing on enjoying this vacation, and being around my friends and lovers, but I feel like these emotions sidetrack me from what is primarily important in the present."
"We could maybe see your doctor about it?" I suggested but he immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"I don't want it to be perceived that I have a problem. Also, I need to have a good medical record for kendo. If it shows I have some sort of problem, Master may kick me off for the semester."
"But it's not like you're physically sick," I pointed out.
"Yes, but that doesn't matter to them. Performance in the art of fighting works at a physical and mental level. If you lack in mental concentration, you won't be able to perform at the level of perfection