Chapter Text
The Monday after making up with Momo and Okarun was nothing but a joy for Jiji and Aira.
Jiji would naturally be more upbeat about it, exploding with energy the moment he saw his friends again on the way to school and wrapping them in the biggest hug together. Aira, meanwhile, would just be more subdued and act like her usual self of being nonchalant as she talked with Momo and Vamola again, but there was an obvious air of positivity around her.
The group was back to normal again, everyone accounted for whenever the meetups were happening.
Jiji walked around all day with a spring in his step as Aira kept her normal strides. They were talking with Okarun and Momo again, and the rest of the group fell into place from there.
This high carried them through school, on the walk home from school, and even throughout the night at his house when they were watching Chiquitita. Particularly notable here was Jiji.
It first started with a round of gaming with the alien, as they played tag team in Super Smash Brothers and annihilated every opponent in sight. Chiquitita was still the best there was with a controller, but Jiji was actually giving him a run for his money the likes of which he never did when playing against Okarun and Kinta. Aira was never over during these sessions, but while she sat and watched them play, even she felt like he was more into this than he probably should've.
Several rounds of absolute carnage against their opponents later, Jiji spoke up.
"Hooo man, we're wiping the floor with 'em tonight!"
"This is fun, deezch!" the alien declared.
"As much as I want to keep going, I think it's time to get some food going. You wanna keep playing by yourself or do you want a show put on?"
"Can I keep playing?"
"Go for it!"
He put his controller down and headed to the kitchen to begin making something, Aira letting him take the reigns tonight as she watched the alien play.
"By the way, anyone mind if I throw some music on?" Jiji asked from the kitchen. "If not, I can stick an earbud in."
"Not interested in hearing your music," said Aira bluntly.
Jiji wasn't phased as he still threw an earbud in, turned it on, and got to work as a playlist started going on his phone.
For the first few minutes, Chiquitita was absorbed in the game on the TV while Aira watched. At first, she only had interest watching, but seeing how much fun the alien had started to have an influence on her, and she wanted to see if she could be let in on the action.
"If you want, Chiqui, I can play this with you, too," she said.
Ever the type to include everyone who wanted to, he happily allowed her.
"Okay, deezch!"
Aira picked up the controller and took her place alongside Chiquitita on the team he created. They played two games to start as she familiarized herself with the controls while he carried them both and slaughtered the opposition. She was a quick learner, though. The glances she took towards the boys allowed her to see how they were pressing the buttons and what moves those translated to on-screen. It only took one match before she could keep pace, even if he was still better.
After the second match ended, she decided to check on Jiji.
"Hey, how's the food-"
And she turned around to see him dancing as hard as he could, completely into the music he was listening to. He was still paying attention to the food, but he was dancing as much as he could where it wouldn't completely distract him.
It was enough to make her give a light smile.
Seeing him act like this was enough to give her a sense of happiness, in as much as her body would let her recognize it before she caught herself, but it was true. Her partner in heartbreak was finally free of his feelings, and since she was trying to follow him in that regard, it helped that he was in a spot that could show her what true moving on looked like.
Chiquitita saw it and got distracted from his game too.
"What music are you playing, deezch?"
Jiji was momentarily still distracted from the music until he opened his eyes and saw the two staring at him.
"Sorry, you two say something?" he said as he removed the earbud.
"Is the food ready?" asked Aira. "And he asked what music you're listening to."
"It will be in a few minutes, and for the music, this song probably isn't appropriate, but I can play a song like it if you want."
"Okay!" exclaimed the alien as he got up from his seat to go to Jiji in the kitchen.
Jiji disconnected his earbud, brought out a Bluetooth speaker he would've used if Aira had been fine with it, connected it, and selected the song he was going to play.
It was tropical house song she wasn't familiar with, especially since the words were all in English, though she honestly wondered if Jiji knew what the lyrics were and wasn't just dancing to the music because he liked how it sounded.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was that, as it played, it made Chiqui dance. Jiji would've danced anyway, but now, someone else was enjoying the music like he did and danced along with him.
If watching Jiji made her happy when he was dancing, then it only made Aira happier to see Chiquitita join him.
She got up from the couch, found a place to stand off to the side, leaned against the wall, and took in the sight of the boys dancing like that. it was a beautiful, pure moment to her, seeing two people who had a lot to do with her finding bright spots through the pain of getting rejected by Okarun.
She was becoming more and more thankful to have Jiji in her life, because not only was he able to be someone else she could count on to care for Chiquitita, he was also becoming someone who could help bring happiness to her life, too.
To her, he was a genuinely special guy to have around.
...
"Wait, what am I thinking?"
She quickly shook her head and composed herself. That was never who Jiji was supposed to be to her.
The authoritative leader quickly came back as she made her mind settle down.
"Is the food ready yet?" she asked to cut in on the music as she stood upright off the wall.
"Just about," he responded.
"Well, hurry up then."
"What on earth was that?" she asked herself. "Him getting that new deal going can't come fast enough."
And speaking of which, he still never told her that day if he talked to his parents at all about it. If there was something she felt they needed to talk about, it was that.
Once they were done eating and cleaning up, while Chiquitita was in the living room playing more Smash Brothers, Aira brought it up.
"By the way, did you mention your plan to watch him in the future?"
"I didn't," he replied. "In fact, I wanted to bring it up to you right about now."
"You didn't yesterday?"
"There was a Zaint-Germain game on..."
"You're hopeless, you know that?"
"...There's more to it, though. Since Mr. Shrimp is picking him up tonight, I wanted to ask if you'd want to stick around, uh...and meet with my parents to talk about it."
A round of silence fell on them.
That wording saved him from having her take things the wrong way, but all it did instead was make her question how serious he was about this.
"Are you telling me you want me to ask them for you?"
"No, that's not what I mean. I'm more thinking this will be a proper joint thing between us, and I feel like it would be better if we both proposed it instead of it just being me. I don't think they'd take it the wrong way, but a part of me worries they could see it as me shirking responsibility."
"I doubt they would if this was meant to help you feel better. Now that you are, this would've ended soon anyway. You're overthinking it."
"...I guess...would you still want to stay and talk to them though?"
That proposal got a sharper reaction out of her.
"Huh?! Why?"
"Because they know you're coming over anyway, and I almost feel like I owe it to them to introduce you guys."
"I'm just here for Chiquitita!"
"I know...but it's been under my roof, and I feel kinda guilty to them for not at least introducing you guys. Even though they know you're coming over...I don't know, I just feel like it's wrong to not let my parents actually meet you with all you've been doing around here."
That...actually made her think about it.
He was right. She was basically a stranger to them that he gave the okay to so that she could help babysit Chiquitita. Even worse, this was by her command. She was not part of the original deal his parents had for him, yet his parents were implicitly allowing her in on this, anyway.
She likely did owe them a proper meeting if only to show her gratitude.
As much as she wanted to think there a way out of it, she just didn't see how there was a morally right way to do so. A good person probably would meet them, if only to apologize for letting herself in on the deal they made, but also thank them for it too.
She let out a hard sigh.
"I'll introduce myself, got it?" she said. "I don't trust that you'll sell me the way I deserve."
"So you'll meet them? Thank you so much! That was a big burden of mine for these past couple weeks."
He let out his own sigh as she turned around and went back to the living room while he finished cleaning up.
He then returned after a few minutes, and the Aira that was on the couch did not look like the Aira he just talked to as he sat on the other end of the sectional. This one was looser, enjoying life more with her favorite alien by her side.
He sat there and, despite his usual tendencies of being their cheerleader as they played, he just took the sight of her in like this.
He had to admit, she looked good wearing authentic emotions.
A few minutes after Chiquitita left for the evening, Jiji's parents had arrived home from their date night.
They wanted to give Jiji total control of watching over Chiquitita, thereby forcing him to focus on the child instead of his feelings, so they had been looking for a bunch of reasons to leave the house in the span of the scheduled duration their son would be babysitting. Some nights were genuine errands, some nights were focused on them doing their own thing separately since his mom was the current breadwinner who had to work overtime here and there while his dad was trying to find a new college to teach at, and some nights were excuses for date nights.
When they entered the house, they found Jiji sitting on the steps.
"Cool," Jiji said. "You guys are home."
"Everything okay," asked his dad, having never seen his son wait for them like that.
"Yeah. I was just in a rush to talk to you guys about something. We...have a visitor."
He gestured to the living room for them to see Aira sitting on the couch.
"A girl!" exclaimed his mom, striking a stupid pose just like he would.
She got up from the couch and proceeded to introduce herself.
"Hi, I'm Chiquitita's first and most beloved babysitter."
"So YOU'RE the one Jin's mentioned!" his mom exclaimed with such enthusiasm it almost put Jiji to shame. "So nice to finally meet a cyootie like you!"
"He gets calling girls that from his own mom?" Aira thought to herself.
"Keep it down, dear," Mr. Enjoji said. "Sorry about her. Thanks for helping Jin out with this, and sorry for taking that kid away from you."
Aira felt like they were being surprisingly welcoming to a stranger who intruded on a deal that was meant only for their son.
"No, I apologize for coming here without asking. Enjoji told me everything, but I still wasn't ready to let go of being Chiquitita's babysitter. I'm sorry for that."
"No worries. Jin doesn't have much experience doing proper babysitting, so it was probably good for you to come over and help him where needed. Thank you."
She was officially adding Jiji's parents to her list of adults she will never give an attitude towards. These people were way too nice and accommodating.
"Hang on, your seem familiar..." Mrs. Enjoji pondered. "Have I seen you before?"
"I saw you when you came to get Enjoji from Miss Seiko," Aira said.
"That's right! You've been a friend of Jin's for a long time now, huh?"
She turned her attention to Jiji.
"Jin, you always make friends with the kyutest of girls!"
And immediately, he slumped down and hid his face in his shirt, letting Aira see what his biggest weakness was, whereupon she smirked at seeing him like this.
"He said it's only right we meet since I've been coming over so much," she said.
"Glad he did! Wait right here! I'll have some snacks ready in no time!"
"Oh no. That's okay. I-"
But she would have no chance to finish as his mom rushed into the kitchen to throw something together.
At least Mr. Enjoji could relate, who was all too used to this being how his wife was when guests were over.
"Sorry if you have somewhere you need to be," he said.
"I don't, but my dad might worry if I'm out too late," she responded.
"I have no problems with someone who eats and runs!" yelled Mrs. Enjoji from the kitchen. "No guest leaves this house without a full belly, though!!"
"Again, sorry," said Mr. Enjoji. "Please, sit while you wait."
"Thanks."
She took a seat on the couch with Jiji coming to join her, as his dad took a seat in a nearby chair.
"So, since you been here so many times, I'll ask," his dad said. "Was Jin right in saying the nights have been fairly easy?"
"Yeah," responded Aira. "Chiqui's an easy kid to care for."
"That's good. Guess that means you didn't need to come over after all, huh?"
"I'm the original babysitter. I will not take chances with him."
"She loves that l'il guy if you couldn't tell, Dad," chimed Jiji.
"I could tell. Well, just so you two are aware, we have been talking about ending this soon, so Aira, if you want him back soon, I'm sure Jin will be done with this in no time."
"Actually Dad, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. There's something I wouldn't mind doing going forward."
"Which is?"
"I wouldn't mind continuing to babysit him, but to give Aira more time to watch him too, could we maybe do a split thing? I'll take him a few days and Aira will take him on others."
"You both wouldn't mind a schedule like that?"
"It works for me," said Aira, while Jiji simply nodded with a grin.
"Well, I don't see why not. Only thing is we'd run out of excuses to leave you home alone if we kept this up, so we'll be here more going forward when we're not working."
"Fine by me!" said Jiji.
"Heck, Aira can come over on all those days and more if she wants!" exclaimed Mrs. Enjoji coming back with an assortment of snacks. "Any girl as beautiful as her is welcome into our home whenever she likes!"
Jiji simply gripped the air in front of him as he leaned down in anguish. His mom was the bane of his existence in front of friends, no matter how much he loved her.
"So I am free to keep coming here?" asked Aira.
"Absolutely, dear!"
"Thank you so much," she said as she started digging into the food.
"Since Jin's taken a liking to the kid, too, you think your parents would be fine with him visiting?"
A fair question that still made Aira freeze and stop chewing.
"Dad..." said Jiji through gritted teeth.
After swallowing, she gave an answer.
"Uh, I haven't thought about that."
"He doesn't have to if you're not comfortable with it. I'm just wondering if you had thought about returning the favor that way."
Returning the favor to Jiji?
Did she need to?
She already believed that was what this was, meeting the people whose house she kept entering without her being there to give the explicit okay. After that, though, she never thought about if that was something she should've done.
She was Jiji's leader. It was his job to accept her requests as her subordinate.
But did that count when it came to his parents?
She was never going to tell an adult she respected that she was their leader like she would the rest of the group or even Mr. Shrimp. She would never call herself Seiko's leader, and after meeting them just one time, she couldn't call herself the leader of the Enjojis, either. This wasn't even Jiji's plan from the beginning, nor was it done without a meaningful reason she otherwise wouldn't understand.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized she might owe him more than she realized for letting her in on this.
The dominant part of her still wanted to be the only one who saw Chiquitita on certain days, but then, she remembered something else.
She could technically see Jiji as much as she wanted when those days came around too, the same guy she believed was making her life happier.
That was the part of her that took over when she answered.
"...I can talk to my dad about it."
"No, you don't have to if you don't want!" chimed Jiji, afraid she was only saying that under duress. "I promise I'm not looking for anything to make up for this!"
"If Chiquitita wants you around, then you should be around him when you can."
"What the heck am I saying, right now?!" she screamed internally. "I could've had Chiquitita back to myself on those days!"
"You sure?" he asked.
"Whatever makes Chiqui happiest is what should be prioritized, and if he wants you around, you should be."
"Come on!" she screamed at herself again. "Really?!"
"Well, if that's the case, I can ask him if he wants to do that next time he's over."
He then turned his attention to his parents.
"By the way, you said I'd be done with this soon. Did you have a set time in mind?"
"Our plan was initially a month," said Mrs. Enjoji. "We just weren't sure how much time you would need."
"Okay, wanted to make sure how much time we had to discuss things more...do you need to go, though, Aira?" he asked.
"Yeah, I don't want to keep my dad waiting."
"Jin sure has a great taste in friends," yelled his mom. "So great to meet you! Come back any time sweetie!"
Being around Jiji must've done a number on her if she was this numb to his family's enthusiasm by this point.
"Not so loud, dear," said his dad as Aira got her shoes on. "Thanks again, Aira."
"No, thank you for letting me come over all this time unannounced."
"See ya tomorrow!" yelled Jiji.
She simply waved at him.
Once she stepped outside and closed the door, she repeatedly slammed her palms to her face.
"I screwed up again!" she said to herself. "Chiqui could've only been mine on the days I have him and I ruined it!!"
She then started her march towards her house in a huff, thoroughly upset with herself, all the while with a thought laying in the back of her head.
"...I really did that because I want to see Enjoji more, didn't I?"
Meanwhile, back in the house, Jiji's parents had one thing on their mind to ask their son.
"So...you had a girl like that over," chimed his dad.
"Knew that was coming..." Jiji said to himself.
"Dad, she really was just here to babysit. That's why she called to yell at me the night you proposed this."
"So you have her number, huh?"
"Damn it. Too much information..."
"I mean it, it was just babysitting. Remember, I told you it could be rough having to watch Chiquitita and Evil Eye at the same time without someone to back me up."
"I know, just messing with ya. She seems kind, though."
"Thanks for agreeing to this, by the way."
"That little guy touch your heart that much, huh?"
Jiji rubbed the back of his neck.
"I just liked having him around and wanted to keep watching him."
"A man who's good with kids!" exclaimed his mom. "The ladies will be knocking down your door once they find that out. A girlfriend awaits for you!"
"Thanks..."
He turned around and went upstairs to his room, getting away from the teasing, but only a few minutes of laying on his bed later, his mom came to see him again.
"Hey," his mom said from his door. "Are you doing okay, though?"
He sat up on his bed as she came in to talk with him.
"Yeah, I am."
"You think you've moved on from what you were feeling before?"
"I am! I talked to them today with no problems at all!"
"That's good! Just be prepared if tomorrow's a bit more low-energy for you."
"Why would it?"
"I noticed how you were this morning. You were as happy and excited as I've ever seen you...but I've seen how moving on from rejection can be for some people, and that high doesn't last forever. I'm just saying, don't be surprised if you feel more down than you were today."
"Come on, Mom! I get to talk to my friends again! How could I not love this?"
He said it with a smile, and while she knew he would be okay just by getting this far, she also knew how long this process could take even once the person accepted things and moved on.
As much as he tried to reassure her, she ultimately left his room unconvinced.
He should've headed his mom's warning.
Jiji didn't outright dismiss it, but he was ready to ride the high longer than his mom had warned him it would last.
Monday was the euphoria of simply being free from those feelings, but Tuesday brought an awareness of the thing he missed out on, a relationship.
It became noticeable to him anywhere he walked when a couple was present. Holding hands, hugging and kissing in public, and just two people being cute together made it sink in to him that he didn't get the girl and was left to be single.
There were no hard feelings towards Momo and Okarun. He worked too hard to get to the point of simply being able to talk to them again to have any. He was happy for them and was ready to support them as much as he could whenever they felt comfortable enough to make it public. All there was left for him to do was just be a good friend they could continue counting on.
This was just what happened when he was reminded of what he lost out on.
He wouldn't sink back into outright depression as much as it just kept his energy levels at a lower ceiling. Put a Zaint-Germain game on in front of him and he would go full fan mode at the drop of a hat. This was more a case of his head just not having the overflow of happy thoughts and bombastic music that always drove him forward. He just didn't feel like being at that level when it was obvious he was missing out on something.
And it wasn't like he didn't have girls to pick from.
He knew how easy it was for him to attract girls his age. He flirted with them specifically because he could bring them in. If one didn't respond, he'd try again with another girl who would. Getting a girlfriend would've been easy for him if he decided all he wanted was just that, a girlfriend.
But he knew better than to do something like settle, especially so soon after what he went through.
There would be nothing healthy about just picking the first girl who thought he was attractive and calling it a day. It wouldn't be fair to her, who wouldn't get a boyfriend stemming from something selfish other than liking her back, and it wouldn't be fair to him, who would be getting a girlfriend more for indulgence than anything.
That was why Momo meant something to him. She didn't placate or indulge. If she was annoyed, she would say it, and she wouldn't accept something if she knew it wasn't right.
At the same time, she also uplifted. She was always prepared to tell him that things would be okay, that he was far more capable than even he gave himself credit for. Like him, she cared about things being positive.
That mix really got to him, someone who was a balance to him. It felt like she could've really complemented him with what he could've been looking for in a girlfriend if he sat down and thought about what he really wanted, but he still knew she worked better with Okarun, where the balance was far more apparent and with no baggage weighing them down. It also helped that Okarun never tried to oversell himself like Jiji often would, not in his kindness, but in his authenticity.
Especially the case for a guy who seemed so good with the ladies but in reality had very limited dating experience.
Flirting with girls may have been second-nature, but he wanted something that was truly authentic where he could trust the girl with his soul. Granted, he wanted flirting to be the gateway to that, but he just didn't feel like he found it yet with anyone, and with Momo taken, he was back to square one.
School would play out as always that day. He would walk in, get swarmed by all the girls, say a sweet, silly thing or two, and move on with his day. He would see his friends, and perhaps most importantly, he would talk to Aira.
There were things they needed to hash out regarding this new deal of theirs, including best days, time constraints, and even if he was given the all-clear to visit her at her house. He couldn't talk to her on the way to school since it was another case of her arriving to school before anyone else did, which only furthered his sense of loneliness as he walked by himself for most of it.
It was a small thing, but he really appreciated her company whenever she provided it. It wasn't something he would take for granted again.
He had to wait until break to see if he couldn't find her and talk to her, and after scouring the halls for a bit, he did find her.
Getting hit on by another guy.
And immediately, Jiji didn't like what he was seeing.
Something about this dude's face just rubbed him the wrong way. It was smug, and his eyes were looking at her with zero appropriate thoughts behind them. He never cared to keep up with school drama and gossip, but this guy certainly looked like the kind girls would often warn their friends not to go out with.
And he had the gall to try his luck with Aira.
He couldn't hear what they were saying, but that smile he was giving her was just gross. Whoever this guy was, Jiji could already tell she deserved far better than him.
He was ready to walk over and get between them, but Aira knocking the guy's arm away from her stopped him in his tracks.
He caught himself, and he realized what he was doing.
Then, he retreated behind the corner.
He didn't care to look at how the rest played out, because, almost by instinct, he knew Aira well enough to know she would handle this on her own.
He was actually prepared to get in her way like that, something he felt she would've hated. She was the leader. Why would she need or want someone to fight a battle as simple as scaring off a guy she wasn't interested in?
His mind then looped back to how he was feeling throughout the day, and the only consideration he gave was to the first thought that came to his head, that he never should've brushed off the warning his mom gave him.
It was all he needed to think about to distract him from how his heart felt at seeing another guy try that with Aira.
Aira walked down the halls with all the dignity in the world.
She had just gotten done scaring off a total scumbag she wanted nothing to do with. Apparently, he had heard about the rumors she spread about Momo, and since he was a fan of the bad girl type, he decided to try his luck with her.
There was no luck for him, though, not when she hated that part of herself so much that anyone who wanted to endorse it was automatically her enemy.
After knocking his arm away from her, she looked at him with deadly eyes.
If they could've, they would've seen her becoming her silky persona as she spoke her next words to them.
"You have nothing for me," she said, her eyes sending a shiver down the spines of the guy and his friends. "Now leave before I make you regret even trying to talk to me in the first place."
All he did was step back in fear before she walked off.
"You were so cold back there, Aira," said Tsubami with awe.
"Someone like him deserves it," she responded, back to her usual self.
Her interest after that was simply trying to get back to her homeroom where she wanted to just wait out the rest of the break period. Her focus was only that until, after making a turn, she saw Jiji in the distance.
From there, it shifted to wanting to talk to him instead.
"Guys, I have to catch up to Enjoji," she said to Tsubame and Anzu. "Don't wait for me."
She then took off directly towards him.
She wanted to further refine the details of their new babysitting plan with Chiquitita, though it would come with an admission that she hadn't talked to her dad just yet. She would've mentioned it on their walk to school, but she came to school early after her call with Tsubami and Anzu the night prior ended prematurely, and they wanted to finish their talk on a new collection of outfits being released next week they all wanted to go shopping for.
He was walking pretty fast, but she decided to keep pace only as long as she could see him. It wasn't so important that it couldn't be discussed on their walk home after school, so if he was in a hurry, so be it.
But then, he turned down a known dead end to a fire exit.
Then, a girl that competed with Aira in commanding attention at school for her looks followed him, with another girl known to be her friend in tow.
"Did Enjoji...get a girlfriend already?" Aira thought.
Her curiosity was piqued, and she picked up her pace to see what was going on.
At least, she wanted to believe it was only her interest piqued. Her chest wouldn't have felt a small pang otherwise.
She hid herself behind the corner as she listened in.
"So, would you like to entertain me this weekend?" the girl asked.
She got right to the point, much to Aira's annoyance.
"Sorry, but I don't think I'm in a good spot to do that," Jiji replied.
Aira felt a lot of relief at hearing that.
"Wait, why am I relieved?"
Her mind went crazy with a thousand points for why she knew this shouldn't have been a big deal to her. Like Jiji, she started wondering if this was the after-effect of accepting the rejection of Okarun.
The girl, however, was persistent.
"Come on, Enjoji. I know a couple nice places we could try. Just you and me."
Jiji, however, wouldn't be swayed.
"I appreciate it, but I just can't. I already have plans, and with other stuff I have going on, it just won't work."
"Nothing to change your mind?"
"I'm sorry."
With that, the girl realized she had no choice but to give up.
"Oh...alright..." she replied.
"Don't be upset!" he said, switching back to his usual attitude and mannerisms. "A kyootie like you can find quite the man who will move mountains for ya!"
To emphasize that point, he even mimicked struggling to push a heavy object. Even in a lower emotional state, he refused to allow himself to be the cause of someone's sadness. He knew it was best to reject her for a variety of reasons, but the least he could do was try and uplift her, letting her know she could get any guy she wanted and that it doesn't have to be him.
It clearly worked with a laugh she let out.
And the whole scene made Aira gag, so she started walking off.
She just happened to do it down the path that would allow Jiji to see her.
"Hey, Aira!" he said, stepping away from the girl and instead to her. "I've been looking for you. Was hoping we could hash out more details about our plan for Chiqui."
The fact that they were thinking the same thing surprised Aira.
"Oh, I actually wanted to talk about that too."
"Actually, is there still enough time?"
He checked his phone to reveal only a few minutes left before break was done.
"Gah, that doesn't look like enough. After school?"
"Like always, I guess."
"Cool! See ya then!"
He skipped off to his homeroom while Aira turned her head to the girl he had just rejected, only a few short seconds before simply turning her head back around and walking off to her own homeroom, though not before the girl gave Aira a gentle smile. Considering the guy Aira just chewed out, that girl was far more palatable for her at least.
"Well, guess we know why he rejected you," her friend said who was also with her.
"Yeah...they seem cute together. No hard feelings."
What was it about rejecting that girl that stuck with Jiji for the rest of the day?
Actually, that whole sequence of events stuck with him, starting from seeing Aira get approached and ending with him cheering that girl up after turning her down. Something about it felt like a test of himself in the aftermath of accepting he wouldn't be with Momo.
First, the guy who went to Aira. He came close to acting but help himself back when he saw her do it instead. There was no reason for him to have to step in. The worst would've been nothing more than her turning her powers on and attacking the guy. She was going to win whatever that confrontation was, no matter what.
And yet, he was still ready to act. All he could think of for the reason was that it was his possessiveness trying to escape via other means.
That wasn't good. It meant he still had an uphill battle to fight off something he thought he had gotten past by making peace with both Okarun and Momo. He couldn't even sense any feelings for her anymore.
But if that was the case, why was he so ready to turn down that girl?
His whole day up to that point was spent being hyper aware of how alone he felt compared to the couples he saw. It struck him what he was missing out on now, a relationship, and that girl would've certainly given him that if he said yes. Even the setup was right for it, allowing him to be cornered in that dead-end corridor because he just wanted a space to clear his head.
But he didn't say yes to her. He rejected her.
That had to be a test, right? It was him proving to the world he was taking this seriously with no desire to rush it.
But then, why did he feel the need to react when he saw that guy with Aira if he was serious and working to move past this?
It was a circular thought process that dominated his mind for the rest of the day. How was he able to handle one thing so poorly while another thing was handled so well?
The talk with Aira didn't have as much meat on it to go through as they were expecting it would, especially after she admitted she hadn't asked her dad anything yet. The scheduling of days was a lot shorter conversation than he intended since she wasn't part of any clubs beyond the research club, so it was all on him to come up with days and times around his schedule, which he needed to think about more.
That left time for him to get lost in his thoughts again, even on a night where he was watching Chiquitita. It didn't even feel like he was really even there. He was just a body that was there to watch the child and eat with them when Aira finished making dinner.
He was there enough to throw on the cartoons Chiquitita liked to watch, but other than that, he was zoned out.
"Jiji?" the alien said before poking the boy. "Jiji?"
"Hmm?" Jiji asked.
"You looked like a statue."
"Oh, did I? Sorry. Today's been kinda weird for me."
"Why?"
"Just because of some things I've been thinking about and some stuff that happened at school," he said, before switching to something more playful. "If you want a good story, ask Aira what happened in the halls today."
"He doesn't need to know about it," exclaimed Aira from the kitchen as she cleaned up.
"What happened, deezch?" asked the alien anyway.
"Nothing you need to worry your little head about, honey," she replied in the sweetest way she could. "I just needed to make sure someone was given a time-out."
"She had a far easier time today than I did..." Jiji trailed, which Chiquittia picked up on.
"Are you okay, deezch?"
""Yeah...or at least, I'm trying to be. I can't figure out how well I've been doing."
"Is it because of a girl, deezch?"
Jiji jerked his head around in surprise.
"How'd you guess that?"
"I see it a lot in the shows we watch, deezch."
"Truth in television...yeah, I'm still learning what it's like to move on from someone not liking me back."
It was something both he and Aira were trying to do, who had taken a keen interest in listening to what they were talking about, especially after a statement like that would've naturally struck a chord with her.
"Sorry you didn't win," said Chiquitita.
Jiji chuckled.
"It's fine. Not everything can work out the way you want it to."
"Love seems hard, deezch."
"Yeah...if it doesn't go your way, it doesn't feel great...but I don't think it's something I would trade away."
"How come?"
He smiled. Then, he moved from the couch to sitting on the floor to be closer to eye-level with the alien, the cushions on the couch now providing him arms and head with support.
Just like with the girl he rejected, as much as he valued not shying from the truth of a topic like this, he wouldn't let the conversation end on a low point. Plus, now felt like a good a time as any to prove he did learn something from all of this.
"Let me give you some advice Chiquitita: don't be afraid to fall in love. When I think about the girl I liked and the time I spent liking her, I really did enjoy that time. Liking someone just makes the world feel better to live in, it makes you happy to be alive because you get to see them every day, and it can make the way you look at yourself better too. It certainly isn't fun to lose, but that just means you'll get to have fun when someone else comes along and makes you feel that way all over again. Love is definitely hard, but it's also really fun!"
That was all meant for Chiquitita. Jiji was only registering the little alien in front of him as he gave his wisdom to the child, hoping he would grow up not to fear it because someone around him didn't win.
And yet, Aira couldn't help but look at Jiji with awe in her eyes and a blush.
He couldn't have spoken something that struck her more in her heart if he tried.
To her, he got it. He knew what being in love meant and what it looked like, how much it could hurt, but also how much it shouldn't be feared, and he perfectly summed it up in words.
"You should find someone to fall in love with, then!" the alien said. "That way, you'll be happy again!"
Jiji could only laugh.
"If only it were that easy. I am happy now, though, but do you know what would make me happier? Some cookies! Want some?"
"Yeah!"
He picked the alien up to ride on his shoulders.
"To the kitchen!" he declared.
The alien had fun as Jiji carried him into the kitchen so they could have a snack, setting Chiquitita on the counter.
"You probably need your next glass of milk, too."
As Jiji went about getting the snacks and Chiqui's drink ready, the alien talked to Aira, their presence snapping her out of her trance.
"Jiji's smart, huh?" he asked.
"I guess...he is."