Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
July 30 2xxx - Jinx Pov.
With a sigh, I grabbed my scroll wheel and pressed call on the contact I'd been using for the last five minutes. I really didn't expect to spend my Sunday, the last day on I-island, this way.
"Jinx?" Izumi's face appeared on the screen.
" Hey … I need a favor," I said immediately before I could back out. I really didn't feel like dragging anyone into the mess that was my family, much less a classmate. Even though I'd already done it, I didn't want to make it worse.
Introducing him to Caitlyn was one thing; introducing him as my fake boyfriend to Mom was quite another.
"First, hello, good morning, yes, I'm fine. Rest wonderfully," Izumi said mockingly. I rolled my eyes.
"Good morning, Izumi, how was your evening?" I asked dryly. He just laughed amusedly before giving me a smug look.
"I can't complain, it was... fun." Izumi said suggestively. I raised an eyebrow in his direction.
"Boasting about sex? How ungentlemanly of you," I said playfully, and he just shrugged while smirking at me.
"Excuse me, was that jealousy I heard?" he asked mockingly. I rolled my eyes in amusement.
"Don't get your hopes up, Miyamura." I mocked, and he just laughed lightly.
"So why the call?" Izumi asked slightly curiously, and I grimaced.
"I... need a favor," I spat out quickly.
"Yeah, sure, what happened?" Izumi said immediately with a shrug. I bit my lip.
"Well… my mother and my sister came… apparently someone told them about the incident at the gate, so they came all the way to I-island." I began slowly, Izumi laughed amusedly.
"Yeah, I understand. I got a call from my mom." He said playfully. I groaned loudly.
"Goddess, is that bothering you, too?" I asked with shared frustration.
"Not really," Izumi said, amusedly. "My mom practically gave up on me having a normal life. She knows I'm ridiculously strong, so she doesn't really worry that much," Izumi said before snorting. "In fact, she was more worried about Ruby and the other girls."
"Wait, what? Really? " I asked incredulously, Izumi laughed out loud.
"Oh yeah, my mom adores my fiancés. She's known Taylor for over a year, and she lived with us, so she practically adopted her right away. She adores Ruby too, even though she's known her for less time, but she loves her bubbly personality."
"She respects Azula quite a bit. Azula was raised as a princess, so she understands a lot about business and politics. Mom likes talking to her. And Darkness, well, she hasn't met her in person yet, but I have no doubt she's going to like her too."
"I mean, she's living vicariously off me. Mom definitely wanted daughters, but well, I was more than enough trouble for her, and she was too busy at the time, so she didn't have any more children. So now she's adopting all my partners," Izumi said mockingly. I snorted.
"Sounds like your mother wants to replace you," I said mockingly. Izumi burst out laughing.
"Maybe, I'm sure if by some regrettable circumstance I were separated from Taylor, Mom would choose to stay with Taylor," he said, smiling. I snorted loudly before sighing.
"Then… a favor." I tried again.
"I'm listening," he said simply. I took a deep breath.
"I need you to be my fake boyfriend for the entire afternoon and accompany me on a date to meet my mom and annoy my sister!" I quickly spat out. I grimaced as I watched Izumi blink slowly.
"It's okay," Izumi said, shrugging. Now it was my turn to look at him in confusion.
"Is it okay? That easy? " I asked incredulously, and he just laughed.
"I mean, yeah? It seems like you don't know me," Izumi said playfully. "I've already seen most of the things on I-Island thanks to the pre-opening the day before and my date with the girls yesterday. I was going to look for something to do with the girls for the rest of the day, but most of them have plans too.
"Darkness was going to spend it with class 1B since she spent it with me the day before, Ruby was going to meet up with Penny, and they were going to walk around the exhibits. I think Ruby also wanted to meet up with Viktor and Jayce to get those blueprints for the ants they promised her."
"I think Taylor had some plans with Sona, and Azula was going to meet up with Yunyun. I was going to join some group and keep up with them if I didn't find anything I wanted to do." He said with a shrug. I let out a sigh.
"Good, good, good," I repeated before wincing.
"So… would it be okay if we meet outside the hotel in about… two hours?" I asked with a grimace.
"Okay, I'll ask Azula to walk me there," Izumi said simply. "By the way, is there anything I need to be careful about? Anything I should say or do? " Izumi asked. I quickly shook my head.
"No! Just be yourself. I don't even feel like going through the effort of lying. This will be annoying enough," I said, massaging my temple before stopping. "Really... do you know what... how annoying can you be?" I asked slowly. Izumi smiled widely at me.
"Depends on how annoying you want me to be." Izumi said with an almost deranged smile, and my smile began to grow wider.
"Well, my sister is a free pass to anything, literally anything that makes her lose her mind," I said excitedly. I saw Izumi's eyes sparkle slightly with excitement.
"Perfect." Izumi said with a shit-eating grin. "I have to get ready, I'll leave you." Izumi said as he grabbed.
"Two hours before?!" I asked incredulously. I knew it took the boys a while to get ready, but two hours? Izumi just laughed.
"Don't be ridiculous. It won't take me more than 15 minutes to get ready. I have to wake the girls up and make sure they get ready. They're still sleeping. They were too tired last night to get up early." Izumi smiled lasciviously at me before hanging up.
I blinked a few times before groaning in frustration. Damn lucky bitches, they'd had marathon sex last night and possibly gangbanged a guy until they were exhausted, and I had to face my uninvited sister. Life wasn't fair.
With a last huff, I stood up as I texted Mom confirming Izumi's attendance.
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"How long until your 'boyfriend' arrives?" Vi asked, frowning. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall.
"He'll arrive when He arrives," I said dryly.
"He's a boy, Vi. They usually take their time getting ready. Besides, I'm sure it was something I missed. It might take him a little longer," Caitlyn said softly. Vi just snorted.
"Hasn't Miyamura come yet?" Mom asked as she approached while putting her phone in one of her pockets.
"He should be on his way. Were you able to find somewhere to have lunch?" I asked, feeling just a hint of nervousness. Mom just looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. There were a couple of problems with reservations so close to the time, but we were able to get a table," Mom said, as if it were obvious.
"You bribed them?" Vi asked dryly.
"Of course." Mom didn't even ignore her. Vi was about to retort as I rolled my eyes.
"Here he comes," Caitlyn pointed out quickly, as if trying to avoid another fight, which, yes, was the best idea. Still, my gaze shifted to where Caitlyn was looking. Just as she'd said, Izumi was approaching, his arm tangled through Azula's.
Izumi dressed much simpler than his regular costume. Especially in this decade, the bastard knew how to dress well. It almost made you wonder why he wore a traditional kimono as his costume.
He had some pretty tight black jeans that clung to his skin, a plain white t-shirt, it seemed a size bigger than necessary since the neck was really wide and showed below his collarbones, the fabric seemed of good quality even from a distance, but it seemed like it was trying to stick to Izumi's body even if it was loose, if you searched slightly you could see the marks of his muscles.
And finally, on top of that, he had on… a light coat? A black shawl? No… wait, I quickly recognized it, it was that stupid black haori he was using as a coat. Which, I had to admit, looked good on him. Very good.
His hair was tied back, revealing all the delicate features of his face. Really, how could someone with such strength and skill with a sword look so delicate? So… masculine?
The idiot was handsome, and I knew it by the way he walked—always so regal. He walked with such swagger as if he expected the world to tilt. And he certainly wasn't that wrong. I could see all the women stop to stare.
I could hear several people cursing Azula for walking arm in arm with Izumi.
Was he… wearing makeup? This was the first time I'd seen him, but I'm pretty sure his eyelashes stood out more than they do now, plus his nails were painted… blue and pink… oh… that bastard was in fashion.
The pair approached us, and my body moved almost automatically, taking a step forward.
"Here you go." Azula said dryly. Izumi snorted.
"What am I? A ball? " he said dryly. Azula glared at him before looking at me.
"Don't let go of his arm, ever," she said tersely before turning and walking briskly away. Izumi just laughed, in a wicked sort of way. I could see him put a hand in one of his pockets. I could see Azula flinch slightly as she froze mid-stride before turning around and glaring at Izumi over her shoulder.
Izumi just laughed mockingly before ignoring her. Strange. I'd have to find out what just happened. But right now I had a show to start.
"Izumi, you're here." I said with a smile.
"Jinx, dear. Sorry for the wait." Izumi said, smiling softly as he bowed his head, strands of hair falling lightly to the sides of his face. It really was unfair how well-behaved he could be.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you took too long choosing the color of your haori," I said mockingly. Izumi's eyes sparkled slightly before he smiled,
"Ah, so you noticed my haori this time, 10 points for you." Izumi said while winking. I snorted.
"Of course, I noticed. You complained about it multiple times last time," I said playfully before looking at him. "Also, points? Do I earn anything with them? " I asked with a smile. He just smiled suggestively at me.
"Of course you can exchange them whenever you want," Izumi said hoarsely.
"Oh? And what can I exchange them for, and how many points do I have? " I asked, playing along.
"That's... a secret," he said, winking at me. "And you're at -90 points," he said playfully.
"Wait what-, I'm in the negative?!" I asked incredulously, not faking my surprise.
"Of course you are," Izumi said haughtily. "You couldn't tell my haori apart from the other day," he said mockingly.
"Oh come on! Did I lose 100 points with that? I'm not even Japanese, so I didn't even know it was called a haori until the other day! Now I realize!" I complained. He just scoffed.
" It's no excuse, besides, please, it's literally the only thing I'm wearing from my costume, I've already pointed that out to you before. You would have been in trouble if you hadn't noticed," Izumi said with a laugh.
"It's not fair." I didn't pout. Izumi just laughed mockingly before wrapping his arms around my neck and bringing his face closer to the scope.
"Well, I guess I'll have to give you your consolation prize." Izumi said huskily, his eyes glowing brightly. Even being so close to me left me speechless. I shuddered slightly and fell silent.
"""AHEM!!"" I jumped sharply and pulled away from Izumi when I heard the three people around us clear their throats loudly. I blushed slightly, shit, I had lost myself in the game, I looked at Izumi, who just had a broad smile on his face without seeming surprised.
I tried to glare at him, but he just winked at me. Damn bastard. I looked at Mom, who seemed amused by the whole situation, then at Vi, who was looking away, but I could see her eyes twitching slightly, and finally at Caitlyn, who was blushing slightly.
"Aren't you going to introduce us, Jinx?" Mom asked with an amused smile on her face. I cursed under my breath.
"Okay, okay, let's get this started," I said tiredly.