Kuroba Kaito (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flashyaudacity) wrote2015-03-27 03:14 pm
flashyaudacity) wrote2015-03-27 03:14 pm
Realizations and Denials
Kuroba Kaito was coming to a terrifying realization: he wanted to flip Yukari's skirt.
The thought alone wasn't the terrifying part--the thought itself wasn't new; he'd contemplated it before, back when they'd been at Landel's and he'd seen her in her school uniform for the first time. No, the terrifying part was the why, and what it meant.
When the thought of flipping Yukari's skirt had first come to mind he'd held back, in part because he didn't know how she'd take it, and in part because night shift hadn't been a time for fooling around. Kaito had thought about it a few more times since being reunited on this side of the Institute, but his reasons for refraining were less stark than they'd once been. This wasn't the Institute; he and Yukari weren't trying to get past the walls to find their fathers or their fathers' impostors. Sure, there were serious issues to be dealt with on this side, too, but it wasn't like it was all business all the time.
Flipping skirts had always been a simple thing to him: three parts mischief and one part idle curiosity. It had been a great way to get a rise out of Aoko, at least up until she'd gotten those fish print panties as revenge (he hadn't dared flip her skirt since). But Yukari... It was different with Yukari. It wasn't about how flippable her school skirt looked (and it looked very). It wasn't about getting a reaction out of her. If Kaito were honest with himself (and he was trying desperately not to be), it was because he really, really wanted to see her panties.
...No, that wasn't quite right. He didn't just want to see Yukari's panties; he wanted to see Yukari in her panties. When it came to her, any shred of innocence he may have claimed was quickly becoming lost. Goodbye mischief, goodbye curiosity, hello hormones.
It wasn't just that Yukari was such a pretty girl, either--sure, he'd noticed her looks when they had first met and sure, he'd done some harmless flirting, but he was pretty sure he hadn't actually been interested back then. He wasn't exactly sure when that had all started to change.
But it had started to change, be it when they had miraculously run into each other in Kyoto, or when he'd gone to visit her in Iwatodai, or she'd come to Ekoda. Maybe it had started when they'd discovered each other's secrets and realized why a seemingly normal student had caught Landel's eye.
If Kaito were honest with himself (and again he was trying desperately not to be), he'd admit that maybe his interest in Yukari as something more than a friend had been there all along and he'd just done a spectacular job of ignoring it in the face of more pressing issues--Landel and his dad and monsters and detectives and praying that Hattori would never put two and two together and come up with 1412. But even Iori had thought he and Yukari were into each other back at the Institute, and his friend wasn't exactly renowned for being the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Iori's perception or intuition or whatever it was was the one bright spot in the whole mess of feelings Kaito had found himself caught in. If Iori had been right about Kaito, maybe he was right about Yukari too. Maybe he actually had a chance with her--and if he did, he didn't want to screw it up by a simple flip of the skirt.
That was new for him, but then again, when it came to Yukari a lot of things were new for him. He'd flipped Aoko's skirt for so long that he'd never really worried about her getting the wrong idea, but at this point he couldn't stand the idea of Yukari writing him off as just another pervert after all. Even though he'd be lying through his teeth if he said he didn't want to flip her skirt, Yukari herself was more important than that--and that was what terrified him. He'd fallen for her, good and hard.
One of these days he might even stop denying it.
The thought alone wasn't the terrifying part--the thought itself wasn't new; he'd contemplated it before, back when they'd been at Landel's and he'd seen her in her school uniform for the first time. No, the terrifying part was the why, and what it meant.
When the thought of flipping Yukari's skirt had first come to mind he'd held back, in part because he didn't know how she'd take it, and in part because night shift hadn't been a time for fooling around. Kaito had thought about it a few more times since being reunited on this side of the Institute, but his reasons for refraining were less stark than they'd once been. This wasn't the Institute; he and Yukari weren't trying to get past the walls to find their fathers or their fathers' impostors. Sure, there were serious issues to be dealt with on this side, too, but it wasn't like it was all business all the time.
Flipping skirts had always been a simple thing to him: three parts mischief and one part idle curiosity. It had been a great way to get a rise out of Aoko, at least up until she'd gotten those fish print panties as revenge (he hadn't dared flip her skirt since). But Yukari... It was different with Yukari. It wasn't about how flippable her school skirt looked (and it looked very). It wasn't about getting a reaction out of her. If Kaito were honest with himself (and he was trying desperately not to be), it was because he really, really wanted to see her panties.
...No, that wasn't quite right. He didn't just want to see Yukari's panties; he wanted to see Yukari in her panties. When it came to her, any shred of innocence he may have claimed was quickly becoming lost. Goodbye mischief, goodbye curiosity, hello hormones.
It wasn't just that Yukari was such a pretty girl, either--sure, he'd noticed her looks when they had first met and sure, he'd done some harmless flirting, but he was pretty sure he hadn't actually been interested back then. He wasn't exactly sure when that had all started to change.
But it had started to change, be it when they had miraculously run into each other in Kyoto, or when he'd gone to visit her in Iwatodai, or she'd come to Ekoda. Maybe it had started when they'd discovered each other's secrets and realized why a seemingly normal student had caught Landel's eye.
If Kaito were honest with himself (and again he was trying desperately not to be), he'd admit that maybe his interest in Yukari as something more than a friend had been there all along and he'd just done a spectacular job of ignoring it in the face of more pressing issues--Landel and his dad and monsters and detectives and praying that Hattori would never put two and two together and come up with 1412. But even Iori had thought he and Yukari were into each other back at the Institute, and his friend wasn't exactly renowned for being the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Iori's perception or intuition or whatever it was was the one bright spot in the whole mess of feelings Kaito had found himself caught in. If Iori had been right about Kaito, maybe he was right about Yukari too. Maybe he actually had a chance with her--and if he did, he didn't want to screw it up by a simple flip of the skirt.
That was new for him, but then again, when it came to Yukari a lot of things were new for him. He'd flipped Aoko's skirt for so long that he'd never really worried about her getting the wrong idea, but at this point he couldn't stand the idea of Yukari writing him off as just another pervert after all. Even though he'd be lying through his teeth if he said he didn't want to flip her skirt, Yukari herself was more important than that--and that was what terrified him. He'd fallen for her, good and hard.
One of these days he might even stop denying it.