~A Void~

??Chapter 43??

Shinichiro perked up at this as he stared intently at Y/n.

"I'm here at the park with Wakasa, Benkei, and Takeomi. We decided to buy lunch for ourselves and you guys. Please bring the others with you to the park. Also, if you see Keisuke, bring him too. Takeomi also called Haruchiyo and Senju."

"Alright! I'll tell 'em. See you there!" Y/n nodded.

"Bye!"

Y/n needed the call and Shinichiro asked, "What did she call you for?"

"She, Waka, Benkei, and Takeomi bought lunch for us. They're in the park and she told me to bring you guys." Y/n replied as she approached the door, leading outside.

"Really?!" Mikey grinned as he ran over to put on his shoes.

"Yup." Y/n nodded.

As they left, they met Baji along the way and as Hiromi instructed her, Y/n brought him along. The others joked around in front as Y/n walked behind them with Izana beside her.

"Sooo? Is it better than you expected? They're not too bad, right?" Y/n glanced at him.

"No, they're not. It's nice to see Emma again. Mikey...he's there. Your friend was there too." Izana replied as Y/n sweat dropped.

"Well, it's good that today didn't turn out to be a disaster." Y/n proudly huffed.

"Yeah. I guess." Izana shrugged.

"You keep saying "I guess"." Y/n pointed out.

"Really? I didn't notice." Izana said.

"Maybe you're still nervous or unsure about how you feel today." Y/n guessed.

"Yeah. I am." Izana slightly sighed.

"Care to share why?" Y/n asked.

"It's Mikey. Before meeting him, I held nothing but hatred for him. I hated hearing how you and Shinichiro spoke about him and I envy that he's able to live so freely with you guys. I don't like Mikey, and today didn't change that. But...I guess he's not too bad." Izana spoke, his eyes trained on the ground.

"Hmm. I figured." Y/n said, blankly staring ahead.

Izana glanced at her, blinking.

Y/n continued, "I sensed the distaste you had whenever Mikey was mentioned. You became quiet and more stoic, so I guessed that you didn't like him."

Izana pursed his lips, expecting the girl to go on a rant on how he shouldn't feel hate towards Mikey, someone who has done nothing wrong. You can imagine the surprise he felt as Y/n grinned at him.

"I totally get it. I used to not like Mikey either. Before I met him, Hiromi would sometimes rant about how fun and talented he was, so I grew to detest him. Even when I met him, I would only stare at him blankly and give his short answers if I didn't ignore him." Y/n started as Izana's eyes were slightly wide.

"Eventually I got used to him and took notice that he wasn't too bad of a person, so I accepted his request of being friends. It took a while for me, so it's gonna be the same for you. Maybe even longer. But, just know that Mikey isn't gonna do you any harm if you decide to get along with him. Fun fact, I've actually talked about you to him, so you can imagine how annoyed he must have been when I went on rants during our hang out. Even then, Mikey doesn't hate you and finds the idea of having another older brother cool."