[fic] Mitsukaru High - Ch 7
Title: Mitsukaru High
Author/Artist: mido_ban04 and tennis_dudez
Link: Winglicans Thread
Warnings/Rating:T (Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes)
Series/Pairing(s): TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki
Notes: Our second forum roleplay revolving around the two couples that we did over at Winglicans.
An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba’s graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. For clarifications on such information, feel free to contact me through Y!M (snoopeRJ_04).
Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction ’Anything for You’.
As my partner seems to be having problems with posting, I shall also be posting the chapters of this prequel. This is an edited version of our roleplay over at the forum (or rather, a cleaner and grammatically correct version), open to reviews. I have also opened this to be viewable by the general public.
Here is the 7th chapter entitled Of Fights and Family Issues. This chapter covers Kimeru and Takigawa getting themselves into a fight right outside Mitsukaru before they’re sent to the principal’s office. On the other end, Shirota takes it upon himself to try and understand Aiba, to the point of visiting the other’s house to talk with his family and share his views on how a family should be. Shirota and Aiba confront each other before Aiba’s barriers that he placed around himself are finally broken.
**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.
(cross-posted to tenimyu_slash)
The week passed by quickly. With the preparations for the exams the following week, everybody became busy. Kimeru was mostly found in the classroom during those days, looking at some notes that Takigawa made for him along with the ones he made himself.
Friday came and everybody was almost at their limits. Kimeru cursed under his breath; he was running towards the school. He woke up late that morning due to studying up to midnight the night before. He was almost there when a group of boys stopped him.
"You're Kimeru, right? Mitsukaru Senior High's vocalist," one of them said.
"Ex-vocalist. I'm not with them anymore..." Kimeru said with a frown. "Now get out of my way, I'm late for class," he said moving to step forward.
"I'm afraid you can't do that," another said as he walked up, grabbing him by the arms.
"Hey! What gives? Let go!!" He said as he glared at the group.
"We want you to deliver a message to Nagayama Takashi...so you better hold still," the one in front of him said.
Kimeru's eyes widened in realization. 'These guys were the one who beat Nagayan up!' he thought.
----------
Shirota went to school ahead of Takigawa since Moriyama had asked him to run an errand that involved making a head-start on registering a few things for their upcoming activities.
----------
Takigawa left his house at the usual time. He was making his way towards the school when he noticed a group of students - most of them from a different school it seemed - near the entrance. "What the--"
"What's wrong, Kime-kun too afraid to fight back?" one of them sneered at Kimeru who was bleeding from a cut on his cheek. The one who punched him had a ring on, and it cut him when he was punched.
Kimeru glared at them. "There's no way I'm wasting my energy on a couple of useless guys like you..." he said
"Don't listen to him, Okayama. Knowing his reputation he'll snap after a few more hits," one of them said.
"Either that or he's going to find himself in the hospital," Okayama answered as he looked at Kimeru. "....or in a morgue," he added with a smirk.
Kimeru's glare intensified. "You little son of---" he was cut off as another blow was dealt followed by many others.
Takigawa approached them slowly before his eyes widened when he had recognized that someone was beaten up and more importantly, who was being beaten up. He dropped his bag and ran towards them.
By this time around Kimeru had remembered the names of the ones dealing the punches; after all, this information would be useful.
They were from Shizuri High, a school not for from Mitsukaru. 'Okayama Souru, Akiyama Shintarou, Seto Yusuke, Fukuyama Seiji, Murai Ryouta, Naitou Taiki, Kawada Jouji and Hosogai Kei,' he said in his mind as he matched the name to the face.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Takigawa shouted. 'Of all the times..!'
Kimeru inwardly groaned. "Takigawa...get out of here!!" he yelled.
Fukuyama looked at Takigawa and glared. "And who's this? I don't remember seeing you…"
Okayama frowned. "Get him. He's seen us already...we might as well let him join the fun...isn't that right, Kime-kun?" he said as he smirked at Kimeru.
"Leave him alone! He doesn't need to be--" he was silenced by a hand of one of the two that were holding him.
Kawada and Hosogai advanced on Takigawa while Murai and Seto kept their hold on Kimeru. A short beating followed before Takigawa was covered with a few bruises on his face, as well as in other parts. Takigawa was on all fours, coughing before Okayama took a fistful of Takigawa's hair and pulled him to face him.
"So are you some kind of knight thinking he'd save Kime-kun from getting in trouble?" he teased.
"And you've... got some nerve doing it right in front of our school..." Takigawa replied in return, earning him a punch to the face, sending him to the ground, his cheek starting to bleed.
Okayama cradled his hand, adjusting his ring. "You guys are getting my ring soaked in blood..."
Kimeru growled; he struggled against the hold of the two. "I told you not to touch him!!!" he yelled. He was about to kick Murai when he heard something that made him stop.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE OKAYAMA!!" Nagayan yelled as he ran to them, behind him was the rest of Kimeru's friends and all of them were glaring at the group of boys from Shizuri.
"Darn it!! Okayama, we won't be able to handle all of them!!" Naitou said.
"Ku so...we'll be back!!" Okayama said before he stepped back and ran from the group.
"Wuss..." Furukawa hissed as he approached Takigawa and Kimeru along with the others. "Come on you two...let's fix you up before going to cla--"
"Takigawa. Kimeru. Report to my office," a voice came from behind them all.
They froze. It was the principal.
The principal smirked before turning on his heel and headed back into the school.
Takigawa painfully got to his feet, wiping the excess blood protruding from the cut on his cheek before he pushed past the group.
"Oi, Takigawa! You should visit--" Sota began.
"If we keep that man waiting it'll be harder to make him see reason..." Takigawa interjected, turning to Kimeru. "We have to go..."
Kimeru hissed in pain as he got up; he apparently bruised his knees when he was forced down. "Let's go," he said, dreading what was to come. He followed Takigawa inside to school, heading straight to the principal’s office.
"Nagayama," Daisuke suddenly said.
"What is it?" Nagayan asked.
"Get Moriyama-senpai."
"Hai."
----------
Takigawa and Kimeru entered the office where the principal was found sitting leisurely at his desk. The two moved in front of the desk and waited for whatever lecture the principal had in store for them.
"First quarter exams are next week. Getting into a fight... I expected you to have more sense of the situation, Takigawa..." the principal began, shaking his head in disapproval. "Frankly, I had anticipated that something like this would happen, but I never imagined it to be of this magnitude." He took a momentary glance at their injuries. "But it would seem that I had placed my faith on the wrong person to try and have Kimeru reformed. It was an impossible task after all..."
Takigawa frowned. "But I was the one--"
"Once a delinquent always a delinquent," the principal interjected. "To be honest, you were a fool for having put any faith in Kimeru's academic progress, Takigawa. And now you've even stooped down to his level, getting yourselves into a fist fight..." He turned to Kimeru. "As for you... You still ended up not learning anything these past few weeks, have you?"
Kimeru glared at the principal. "We didn't fight back!" he yelled as he slammed his fist on the desk. "The others could tell you that!"
"A likely story," the principal scoffed. "You would expect me to believe that you would have the presence of mind to restrain yourself from throwing punches?"
Takigawa bit his tongue, his fist trembling beside him. 'This idiot...' "Kimeru would!" he stated pointedly. "He's not the same person from before..."
"And where would that be coming from, Takigawa? Even if I made you two partners for that program, I doubt this delinquent would be able to pull his grades up even with your help," the principal fired back.
"ARGH! THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP!" Kimeru yelled as he stood and pulled his fist back. "This will knock some sense into you!" he said before advancing to punch the principal.
Takigawa stood as well and before he could stop himself, he stood in the way and took the full force of Kimeru's punch, sending him crashing to the floor.
"T...T...TAKIGAWA!" Kimeru exclaimed as he realized what happened. "W...what did you do that for?!"
Takigawa groaned, pushing himself off the floor slowly and painfully. Clinging onto the desk, he pushing himself to his feet, on the brink of unconsciousness but he kept himself steady, running on willpower as he panted slowly. "I-te..." he muttered to himself, feeling his legs might give out.
'This boy...' the principal thought in amazement as he watched Takigawa struggling to his feet. 'Why did he--'
"You don't have to use violence..." Takigawa began. "You and I both know that what he's saying is wrong... We didn't fight back... You've been serious about your studies up until now... and I know that more than anybody else... You were impatient and angry when we started..." Takigawa took a moment to chuckle before wincing at the bruise that had formed on his cheek. "...But later on you started taking things more seriously... to the point of quitting the band to focus on your studies... Hitting him now would put all your efforts to waste!"
Filled with rage, the principal slammed his fist on the desk. "Now see here-!"
"It's a waste of time talking some sense into him now..." Takigawa interjected.
"Takigawa...to show that kind of disrespect in front of me," the principal started. "It would seem that Kimeru has influenced you more than I thought." He looked at Kimeru who had moved to help Takigawa back to the chair. "This is the first time that the school had someone like you: Hopeless, juvenile and dangerous. That reputation of yours could bring the downfall of this school, and I will not have that," he finished. "Kimeru...you are therefore suspen--"
"WAIT!!" Moriyama yelled as he burst through the door, holding up a CD. "I have proof that they have nothing to do with the fight this morning!" he said.
"And I have Kimeru's test records to prove that he is improving academically!" Nagayan said, entering as well, but in a less dramatic way.
"My...test records?" Kimeru repeated as he looked at the little green notebook in Nagayan's hands.
Shirota followed inside. "And I can attest that Kimeru-senpai has been taking this program seriously and has been studying with Takigawa-senpai," he added. "I even have a recording of one of their study sessions if you like."
Takigawa looked over to the others before a hint of a smirk came across his face. "Y...You guys..." he muttered before he fell unconscious on the chair.
"Takigawa-senpai!" Shirota cried in alarm.
"Shirota-kun, please bring Takigawa and Kimeru to the clinic," Moriyama commanded. “We'll take care of things here."
Shirota nodded, handing the tape recorder to Moriyama before bringing Takigawa under his weight and helped him out of the office.
Kimeru paused once the door to the principal’s office was closed behind him. "That CD that Moriyama was holding...Shirota-kun...what was in that CD?" he asked.
Shirota adjusted his hold on the unconscious Takigawa before they started their walk to the infirmary. "A video... of that fight you two were in earlier... It came from an anonymous sender, though..." he explained.
Kimeru thought for a while as they went to the clinic. "An anonymous sender?" he repeated as he tried to think who could have possibly sent it. Suddenly, he remembered the pictures of Daisuke threatening Takigawa a few weeks back. Then it all fell into place. He had sat down on an empty bed beside where the nurse had helped Shirota place the unconscious Takigawa. He frowned when he realized who did this. "It was Aiba," he stated. "Aiba was the one who filmed it...he has the video camera of the school paper."
Shirota turned to Kimeru. "Are you sure?" he inquired as the nurse fussed with cleaning up a few of the cuts and bruises on Takigawa's face, bandaging them as best as she could before she proceeded to do Kimeru before leaving. Shirota turned to Takigawa and frowned. "After that bruise on his cheek from when Watanabe-senpai punched him had finally healed..." he sighed, patting Takigawa's leg gently.
"Yes, I’m pretty much sure. That kid doesn't know that he's risking his neck..." Kimeru said as he diverted his gaze to the ground. "That bruise on his cheek...it's partially my fault. I was going to punch the principal but he stood up and blocked the way."
Shirota blinked and pointed to Kimeru. "It was entirely your fault," he corrected.
Kimeru glared at him. "I wasn't the one who hit first...." he said. “Ch', why am I arguing with you anyway?!" He paused for a moment. "Fine, you know what? Everything is all my fault. The principal was right, I'm nothing but trouble. After all, this would have never happened if I just walked away back then and never pushed through with this program," he started.
"But let me tell you something. I don't regret it. I don't regret being partnered up with him and I don't care what happens to me. If it weren't for Takigawa I would most probably still be out there fighting with those jerks. I wouldn't have cared about my grades and I wouldn't have quit the band. I would still be the same jerk that everybody knew since the first year!"
"...but that's not what happened because he came along. It was because of him that I changed...They could suspend me if they want but they can't do it to Takigawa because...because..." he took a deep breath before continuing. "...he's not like me...he's nothing like me." He then looked at Takigawa, a soft smile on his lips. "And that why...that’s why I chose him..."
Shirota smiled as he heard this before he got to his feet. "You know something, Kimeru-senpai?" he asked, looking over to Takigawa. "Eiji-kun...Takigawa-senpai and I have been childhood friends for as long as I can remember... We looked after one another... So I have an idea what Takigawa-senpai is thinking most of the time... but sometimes I have to ask him to understand things better..." A small chuckle escaped him. "He's wanted to be with you... Ever since he decided to stake his position on the Council for you, knowing that you would eventually meet his expectations..." Shirota explained, turning to Kimeru. "After all, he's been waiting for an opportunity like that since Junior High..."
"Since...Junior High?" Kimeru asked as he looked at Takigawa. A sad smile formed on his lips as he stood to sit on the side of Takigawa's bed. "Baka....." he said quietly. "You big idiot......you should have approached me sooner..." He placed his hand on Takigawa's cheek, making sure that he didn't bother him because of the bruise. "....since Junior High I've been looking at you as well...I never approached you because I knew that we were too different..." he said.
"I'll leave you two alone, then..." Shirota stated, bowing before leaving the infirmary. 'Aibacchin... When can...' he thought as he headed back towards their classroom. 'When can you and I share that kind of understanding...?'
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Kimeru nodded, silently thanking Shirota for leaving them for a while. "...Eiji...I'll make everything up to you…and when you wake up, I'll gladly tell you everything that I told Shirota-kun..." he said as he kissed Takigawa on the forehead before standing up to lie down for a while.
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Lunch Break. Aiba was smiling to himself as he ate his lunch. It was a coincidence that he was out that morning. He came from a printing shop nearby to pick up something for the school paper. That was when he saw Kimeru and Takigawa being beaten up. Without thinking he filmed it and when he saw the principal approaching he left immediately.
"Oi, Aibacchin!" Shirota called, approaching the boy and set down another bag of cookies. "Maria-nesan wanted me to give these to you..." he muttered as he set the bag down on the table and slid it towards Aiba.
Aiba blinked as he looked at the cookies. "Wow....these are a lot...Let's share them!" he said as he took one and offered the bag to Shirota.
==========
The following week was the exams. It went smoothly for the four of them. Kimeru's friends had noticed the changes in their friend; he didn't have much of a temper and he was less rowdy. Nagayan thanked Takigawa for this, but he didn't really voice it out. Instead, he slipped a note in Takigawa's locker that was signed by all of them, even Daisuke.
During the Saturday after the exams, Aiba was with the soccer team once more. It was break time and he was chatting with Shirota amiably. Yagami Ren, his editor in chief, was there as well. He was checking on his field reporters and was also talking to Shirota.
Yagami then remembered something. "Aiba-kun, I saw you and Shirota-kun at the carnival a few weeks ago. You didn't tell me that you liked those things," he said with a chuckle.
Aiba fell silent; he looked down and grasped the notebook that he was holding a bit tighter. "We didn't go there, senpai. I haven't been in the carnival," he answered.
Yagami blinked. "Oh...then it must have been somebody else," he said as he checked on his watch. "I better go. I’ll be checking on Nakagauchi-kun who's covering the Tennis club. I'll be seeing you two around." With that, he left.
Shirota got to his feet as soon as Yagami left. "I'll be getting back to practice..." he announced, nodding to Aiba before taking his place in the fields as they continued with their mock game. Shirota, whose mind pondered on Aiba's denial of their little escapade, failed to pay attention to the game at present.
"SHIROTA! THE BALL!!" Kenken shouted.
It was at that moment that Shirota was knocked on the side of the head by the speeding ball before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"OI!! SHIROTA!" Zukki exclaimed, running up to him.
Aiba's eyes widened as he saw Shirota fall. "Shirota!!" he called out as he dropped his notebook and rushed to his side.
Kenken blinked at the sudden appearance of Aiba. "How did you get here so fast?" he asked, but was ignored.
"Aiba-kun...could you please bring Shirota-kun to the clinic? Kamakari, go help him," Wada said as he looked at the scene.
"H-Hai..." Aiba said before taking Shirota to the clinic with Kenken’s help. "I'll stay here, Kamakari-kun. You better head back to practice," Aiba said.
"Are you sure?" Kenken asked him as Aiba nodded. "O...kay then..." Kenken said before standing and leaving the clinic.
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Shirota came to a good 20 minutes later, feeling his head was being pierced through with nails as he groaned and opened his eyes. "W...Where am..." he slurred.
"Take it easy..." Aiba said. "You're in the clinic...the ball hit your head casing you to become unconscious," he explained.
Shirota shut his eyes. "Really...?" His mind tried to process why he had spaced out during practice before he remembered. Massaging his eyes, he asked. "Aibacchin... Why did you lie about us being at the carnival to Yagami-senpai?"
Aiba looked away. "I said that because...I didn't want him to know that we were together... it would be too awkward," he explained.
Shirota pushed himself to sit up. "How would that be awkward?" he demanded. "And what's wrong if we went there together?"
"You wouldn't understand!" Aiba snapped. "No one would understand! Not you, not Yagami-senpai and especially not my father!" he said before he clamped his hand over his mouth, realizing what he said.
A small smile crept up Shirota’s face. "Then help me understand... Tell me why you find it difficult to express yourself freely... what grudge you have against your father..." Shirota stated clearly and quietly.
"It's not exactly what you can call a grudge..." Aiba said. "I suppose I should start with why I'm staying at the dorms."
"I...I live in the dorms by choice. I didn't tell my family that I was going to stay there because I knew that if they did they would find a way to make me go back home to them...and to my father," he started.
"My father and I...we weren't in the best of terms when I left... He's always been there for me and my sister since we were young. Even when he's so busy with work he still manages to find time to be with us. I love my father...it's just that... every time he starts talking about the morals he wants us to integrate with ourselves... it's...it's different from the ones I have." He paused for a bit, unsure if he should go on.
"My sister and I had learned to accept whatever our father tells us...but I...I knew I had to draw the line when he started telling me how I should live my life." He looked at Shirota. "I realized that what he wanted for me was not what I wanted for myself and I told him that...he said that he could not accept it. That he can never accept it...so I left," he finished.
"And... you and your father haven't been on speaking terms since then?" Shirota inquired.
Aiba nodded. "Not just my father, but my whole family as well," he admitted. "I haven't been talking to my mother and sister either."
Shirota sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I see..." was all he could say.
Aiba stayed silent for a while before standing up. "I'll tell the nurse that you're awake."
Shirota nodded before massaging his temples. 'Looks like I'll be busy tomorrow,' he concluded.
----------
After he was excused from the infirmary, Shirota bid his farewells to Aiba and went to locate Ueshima-sensei, who was thankfully at the school checking the exams. After asking him for Aiba's address - after a quick explanation of his plan - he headed home and spent the night enjoying a meal with his sister Maria.
==========
After lunch the next day, Shirota headed out and went to visit the Aiba residence. It took him a while to commute and eventually stopped when he reached his destination. "Looks like this is the place..." he stated before glancing at the enormous house as he walked up to the front porch and rang on the doorbell.
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Aiba Daisuke looked up from finishing the financial reports for the company where he works in. "I'll get it," he said. He opened the door and looked outside, he saw a boy, around Hiroki's age by his estimate. He studied him for a moment. "Yes?"
Shirota bowed politely. "Konnichiwa. Shirota Yuu desu. I'm a classmate of your son Hiroki at Mitsukaru High," he introduced. "I was wondering if I could speak to you and your family for a while, Aiba-san," he explained.
"Hiro--" Daisuke was cut off as his wife, Aiba Mikoto, who moved up in front of him.
"A classmate of Hiroki’s, you say? Oh do come in!" she said brightly as she ushered Shirota inside. "I'm Aiba Mikoto, Hiroki's mother," she introduced. "And over there…" she said as she pointed to Daisuke. “…is his father, Aiba Daisuke."
"And I'm Hinako, Hiroki's older sister," Hinako greeted as she came from upstairs.
"So tell me, Shirota-kun. How is Hiroki doing at school? It's been a while since we talked to him," Mikoto asked.
Daisuke blinked from his spot on the doorway. He looked at Shirota as he was led to sit on the couch. He frowned. Something about the boy didn't sit right with him.
Shirota, surprised at this welcoming, sat down on the couch. "A-no... Hiroki-kun's been doing quite well in school... He's joined the school paper and has written quite a few articles already..." he stated. "He's one of the top students in the class in terms of grades, I believe," he added with a smile.
"That's so good to hear," Mikoto said with a relieved sigh. "So Shirota-kun, what did you want to talk to us about?" she asked. "Ah~ but before that, would you like some cake?" she asked.
"Chocolate cake!" Hinako added as she sat down on the other side of the couch.
"Anata, would you be a dear and get Shirota-kun some cake from the fridge?" Mikoto asked.
Daisuke looked at Shirota for a while before nodding; he came back moments later with a slice of cake and some water. "Here," he said as he handed them to Shirota and sat down on an armchair nearby.
Shirota controlled himself when they had mentioned chocolate. He took the slice from Daisuke-san and nodded gratefully. "Itadakimasu," he said before enjoying the cake. After washing it down with water, he set the plate and glass down on the table in front of him before bringing his hand to his knees, bowing to them. "Thank you for the cake. It was delicious."
"It's no problem at all, Shirota-kun...now please go ahead and tell us what you wanted to talk about," Mikoto said with a pleasant smile.
Daisuke eyed him warily, listening as Shirota told them about what he had found out about Aiba. Daisuke frowned when the boy mentioned about his son’s fears.
Hinako sighed as she told her parents as well about her short conversation with his brother. After a while, they concluded that they would give Hiroki more time to think about what was happening and thanked Shirota for coming to tell them about his situation.
Mikoto and Daisuke excused themselves for a while to talk about something while Hinako stayed behind to stay with Shirota.
"So...tell me Shirota-kun...are you really just a classmate of my brother?" she asked with a smile "Please be honest with me…"
A faint blush came to the boy's cheeks as he squeezed his palms into fists. "If it was in my perspective..." Shirota began carefully. “No... But in Hiroki-kun's perspective, I'm not sure..." He turned to Hinako with a small smile. "I've tried to bring Hiroki out of his seriousness and, in the process... Well, let's say I've grown much more interested in unlocking his true self..." Shirota finished. "I know somewhere deep down... Aibacchin can be a carefree spirit... He's just really held back to be able to express himself freely..."
"That's true...but it would seem that he's already taking after his father since he moved out…" Mikoto said as she came out from the kitchen, Daisuke behind her.
Hinako smiled. "Well, Shirota-kun...let me wish you luck, then," she said. "I'm sure you'll get Hiroki to see things your way."
Daisuke said nothing as he simply looked at Shirota. The visit ended up with Mikoto giving Shirota another slice of cake to take home, Daisuke remaining silent as he watched Shirota leave.
Hinako waved as she said her goodbyes. "Visit us again sometime!!" she said.
"Arigatou gozaimasu," Shirota said, bowing as he left the Aiba residence with the slice of cake in a box with him. The day was turning into dusk as he headed to the train station, remnants of his talk with Aiba's family returning to him.
"The reason I came here today... is because I believe that every family should maintain a bond despite the barriers between them," Shirota told them. "Every person should be given the opportunity to decide their future, and their family members should be there to provide the support, not hinder them from achieving what they truly desire."
Shirota sighed. 'I probably said a few things out of line... Aiba-san didn't really say much... I was hoping to change his mind about it...' he told himself.
==========
It was Monday, another school day and the beginning of a new quarter. Aiba woke up to early and decided to check his e-mail. He opened his inbox and saw that there were three messages. One from his mother, another from his sister...and to his surprise, the last one was from his father.
Aiba decided to read first the mail of his mother.
'Hiroki,
A classmate of yours came over today, and he told us all about how you were doing. I'm glad that you're doing well in school.
Honey, please remember that whatever happens we will always be here for you.
--Mom’
Aiba sighed heavily. He moved on to the next e-mail which was from his older sister. It was quite short, actually; a one-liner. But it made his eyes go wide as soon as he read it.
'WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!'
He frowned as he moved on to the next e-mail, keeping in mind that he would have to contact his sister about this later. He read the e-mail from his father, which was -as he expected- as short as his sister's. Even if it was short, it had the same impact on him.
'Hiroki,
Don't be afraid to follow a path that you have chosen on your own.’
As plain and simple as that.
'What's going on?!' he thought as he closed his laptop and started getting ready for the day, Kimeru also waking up. He glared at his reflection in the mirror. "Classmate, huh..." he muttered darkly.
----------
Aiba arrived at a later time in school intentionally. As soon as he entered the room, he saw that almost all his classmates were present. He slammed a thick book on his table, effectively catching the attention of the people in the room.
"Who went to my house and talked to my parents?!" he asked, his voice laced with dark promise if no one answered.
Shirota, leaning back on his seat, raised his hand high enough for Aiba to spot it. "I did," he replied.
Aiba glared at the boy beside him and grabbed him by the wrist. "Come with me," he said as he dragged him to the rooftop, locking the door behind them. "Why...Why do you have to bother yourself with my personal affairs?! What the hell made you go to my family and talk to them about things that you shouldn't even know?" he asked; anger evident in his voice.
Shirota, unfazed by this outburst, had curtly replied, "Because I like you."
Aiba froze for a few seconds before he started shaking his head. "No....don't....Don't even joke about things like that...it's not funny!" he said, turning away from Shirota.
"If I was joking, I would've been laughing by now," Shirota stated seriously. "Besides, did you ever feel something strange whenever you and I were together?"
"I...I..." 'I did...’ he finished in his mind. He closed his eyes. "Don't...please don't make me do this, Shirota-kun...I can't do this…you wouldn't understand...you don't understand!" Aiba said. He was feeling helpless right now. This was the exact same thing that he didn't want to happen.
Shirota took a deep breath and exhaled as he moved to the railings and clung onto it, leaning forward slightly. He looked over to the soccer field before stating, "Fathers don't hate their kids, you know..."
Aiba looked at him. "You wouldn't know...." he said. He had given up trying to gain control over his emotions. He glared at Shirota. "You don't know what the hell you're doing...I don't want to cause any more rifts in my relationship with my father...I don't know what you told them or what they told you, but this isn't your concern!!" he yelled.
"It is my concern!" Shirota bit back harshly, clutching tighter on the railings. "Don't go around thinking you're the only one who has problems with their family!" he shouted, shutting his eyes in frustration.
"Then go and trouble yourself with your own family!" Aiba snapped. "I can take care of myself, Shirota Yuu! I can take care of myself and my own problems!! I am not some helpless kid that you have to go running around for!"
Aiba looked at Shirota, breathing unevenly due to the burst of emotions. "...I don't want you...to do anything for me...I don't want you to get involved anymore than you are right now...” he said in a softer voice. 'And most importantly...I can't let you get involved because if this continues...I won't be able to force myself to kill these feelings I have for you...' he thought.
Shirota sighed heavily, calming himself down. "My parents got divorced when I was in the 4th grade. I was the youngest at the time, and all four of us were still attending school," he began. "My father was worried about being able to support us all so he and my mother agreed to get divorced, each taking custody of two kids each; my older brothers with my father, and my older sister and myself, and eventually Rina, with my mother."
Shirota turned his attention to the field again. "But since they didn't want to blame this situation on us, they did agree on keeping the house that I'm staying in while at the same time, each of them getting themselves an apartment. This difficult routine for my brothers and sister as we were growing up was making them hurt inside, but they were happy like I was because of the fact that we were still a family, in a way... It was very rare when we would see each other, though... complete as a family..." Shirota bit his lip before he continued.
"My father is a workaholic, so he rarely comes to visit the house due to all the shows he writes... My mother manages a restaurant, but manages to come over every other weekend... Dai-ani, who's working in the music business, stays with my father most of the time and comes to the house unexpectedly... Maria-neesan works as a book editor, so she's able to stay at the house from Friday to Monday every week... Jun-ani stays at the house every other day, and spends Tuesdays and Thursdays at his bandmate's house. He stays through the weekend whenever kaa-san's there..."
Shirota rubbed the back of his neck. "When I went and talked to your family yesterday, I realized... that it was a nice atmosphere to be around... It's obvious that they love you and are worried about you... Your father was silent throughout my entire visit, and your mother even mentioned that you were taking after him when you moved out..." He turned around to face Aiba for the first time since they had gone up there. "Ever since I met you, I noticed that you were serious about things, so I wanted to try and get you to laugh... But since you seemed to have mastered your control on your emotions because of your situation, I have to ask... Was your reaction back at the carnival a forced or genuine laugh?"
Aiba listened quietly as Shirota talked to him. He found himself unable to look at Shirota even if the other had already turned around to look at him. He averted his gaze to the ground, shaking his head. "I...I can never force a laugh," he said. "Back then...even I didn't understand why I felt so at ease with you. I could never understand why....why I found it easy to tell you everything," he admitted. "No matter how hard I try, I just couldn't conceal my emotions from you...you had always managed to break away my barriers to make me show who I really am." He paused. "It's not that I really didn't understand...it's just that...I don't want to understand..." he finished as he closed his eyes.
"Then why are you still hesitating? What's keeping you from understanding that simple fact?!" Shirota demanded.
----------
Meanwhile, back in the 1-1 classroom, Ueshima-sensei stepped in for homeroom. "Ohayou!" he greeted as they took their seats. He blinked as he noticed two empty desks in the back which he knew belonged to Aiba and Shirota. He smirked before popping his notebook open. "Okay, I'm going to start taking attendance~!"
----------
Aiba bit his bottom lip, his body trembling. "I don't want to go against my father because...because..." he started, tears starting to fall from his eyes. “Because I'm afraid!" he said as his eyes opened to look at Shirota. “I'm afraid that when I finally understand, I won't be able to turn around and go back!" he stopped for a moment.
"But...it's too late because I did understand it....I figured it out after leaving your house a few days ago," he said quietly. "I...I admit to myself now...that I feel the same way that you do...and I've never been more afraid in my entire life," he finished as he wrapped his arms around himself, his gaze averted to the ground once more.
Shirota's features softened as he slowly approached Aiba before he gently placed both hands on the other boy's shoulders. "If that's the case..." he started off quietly. “I'll wait for you, then. I'll wait for you to gain the courage to confront your father." He hesitated for a moment before tipping Aiba's chin so that they could look at each other eye-to-eye. "I won't leave your side."
"S-Shirota..." Aiba managed to say before hugging the other boy and breaking down.
Shirota smiled, wrapping his arms around the boy before slowly falling to his knees as he tried helping Aiba calm down while rubbing his back. "Saa, we still have classes to attend..." he stated quietly. “Stop crying, Aibacchin..."
Aiba simply nodded as he tried to calm himself down. A few moments later he pulled away from Shirota. "T-Thank you Shirota-kun..." he said as he smiled softly. “Come on…" he said as he wiped his face with his sleeve. "…we better head back before Ueshima-sensei sends someone to look for us."
Shirota helped Aiba up to his feet before they headed to the door. "Ueshima-sensei knows when to leave private matters alone," he stated as he unlocked the door and pulled it open, gesturing for Aiba to go ahead.
Aiba smiled. "Aa...I know that much..." he said quietly.
----------
The two went back to their classroom, earning smiles and a few thumbs up from their classmates, which Aiba found strange. Ueshima-sensei even winked at them when they got back to their seats. Aiba felt much better that everything was all out on the open for him and Shirota, now all he had to do was to think about confronting his father.
----------
Lunch break came easily, and as expected, the halls were filled with the students.
"OUT OF THE WAY!" Kimeru yelled as he ran out of his classroom; the people moved to the side to avoid getting hit by him. Even if Takigawa's room was just next door, Kimeru looked like he was going to run down the hallway.
"Takigawa! Look at this!!" he said happily as he shoved a piece of paper in front of Takigawa. The paper was a list of his grades so far, and not only were they above the passing marks, but it was way above it.
He even managed to top Sota in the Math exam, which was a feat in itself since Sota was the top of their class. The aforementioned boy was still in their room, looking at his paper in disbelief.
Takigawa, disoriented for a moment when the paper was flashed in his face, took Kimeru's hands and pushed the paper back so he could see it properly. He broke into a grin, nodding to him. "Omedetou, Kimeru," he congratulated, nodding over to him as he took his own list of grades and proceeded to keep it before Toru took hold of it.
"As usual..." Toru said, sighing as he handed it back. "Takigawa ranks 1st in all of the exams..." he stated slyly before heading back to his seat.
"So...are you two together now?" Nagayan asked, suddenly appearing between the two of them.
"Aa…with the exam done and all nothing's left to wait for!" Furukawa added, appearing this time behind them.
"I hate to say this but they're right," Daisuke grudgingly said.
"Not to mention that you're going to come back to the band now!" Koji said happily.
Ken'ichiro, the latest addition to the band and current vocalist, patted them both on the shoulder. "I'm looking forward to working with you senpai!" he said with a smile.
"I'll be expecting you back in the band, Kimeru...you're welcome anytime as well, Takigawa," Konishi said, nodding toward the both of them.
"Hey! You never answered my question Kime~~" Nagayan said as he looked at the two. "Are you two together now or not?" he asked. The rest quieted down, even Takigawa's classmates.
Kimeru swore he was blushing as he glared at his bandmates that had appeared one by one. "Yes we're together now! So will you leave us alone?!" he snapped.
His friends looked at one another and grinned. "Congratulations then Kime~" Nagayan said as he stood up. "See! I told you they’re together now!" he told the rest as the group left the room.
A big round of applause came from the rest of the class. A playful smirk appeared on Takigawa's face which he shot over to Kimeru, nodding in silent approval at his testimony.
----------
That evening, as Kimeru was looking at his notebook and averaging his final grades - which the teachers had happily provided -, he couldn't help but smile. "I can't believe it...I got a B…" he said with a smile.
"Good for you senpai," Aiba said as he typed away on his laptop.
Kimeru looked over at him. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm sending an e-mail to my parents," Aiba stated.
"I thought you said you don't want them to know how you’re doing," Kimeru said slyly.
Aiba glared at him. "Change of plans. Now leave me alone."
Kimeru chuckled. "Sure Aiba...oh yeah catch," he said as he threw a small square-ish object to Aiba who caught it. "That's my thanks for that little video of yours," he said.
Aiba looked at the thing in his hands and his eyes widened. "I've been looking for this program for the longest time!" he said as he looked at Kimeru who already had his back turned.
"Dumb luck. I grabbed the first thing I saw. Now stop talking, I'm going to bed."
Aiba grinned; he knew it wasn't dumb luck because the program was rather rare and to get one copy you would have to order it a week in advance. "Thanks senpai…" he said simply.
Kimeru smiled.
==========
The next day, both of the boys had woken up, causing them to rush to get ready. They ran all the way to the school and managed to get to their rooms as soon as the bell rang.
"Made it!" Aiba said in relief as he sat down on his seat.
"I'm surprised you came in late today, Aibacchin," Shirota greeted, grinning from his seat.
"Yosh! Homeroom's starting!" Ueshima-sensei announced, entering the classroom from the other door and heading to the teacher's desk.
"I spent almost half the night sending e-mails to my sister..." Aiba said as he got to his seat. "And I didn't even get to have breakfast because Kimeru-senpai woke up late too...he spent the night telling me that he was already with Takigawa-senpai..." he added quietly so that only Shirota would hear.
"Is that so?" Shirota mused, smirking as Ueshima began taking attendance. 'I was on the phone with Eiji-kun until 11 because of that...'
Aiba sighed. "I swear...Kimeru-senpai has got to be the most annoying guy I had ever known..." he muttered before he pulled out his notebook.
==========
The rest of the week passed by smoothly. Aiba spent most of his nights sending e-mails to his family. The four had planned to meet that Saturday to spend some time together. Aiba hesitated about the plan a bit when Kimeru told him; the junior had prodded him until he said his reasons. Aiba was planning to talk to his father that Saturday, to settle things once and for all. Kimeru understood and promised not to tell the other two until that day and for this, Aiba was grateful.
When Saturday arrived, imeru finished getting ready and was now walking to Takigawa's place, which was where they had all agreed to meet. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.
Shirota had told his family that he was going to go out with Takigawa and a few others and headed over to the older boy's house for breakfast. Enjoying Takigawa's special pancake recipe, Shirota played with Pearl for a while after breakfast as the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it~!" Shirota called as he got to his feet. Takigawa was in the kitchen washing the dishes. He pulled the door open. "Ah! Ohayou, Kimeru-senpai!" he greeted.
Kimeru grinned as he messed up Shirota's hair. "Ohayou, Shirota-kun," he greeted as he went inside. "I'm afraid Aiba won't be able to join us this morning, but he did say that he's going to try to catch up," he said.
----------
Aiba sighed as he looked at the door in front of him. "Now or never..." he muttered as he turned the key and opened the door. “I'm...home..." he called out.
----------
Shirota closed the door and frowned. "Is that so..." he said before moving to fix his hair.
Takigawa emerged from the kitchen. "Oh, you're here," he greeted, nodding to Kimeru.
Kimeru smiled at Takigawa before looking at Shirota again. "Don't be disappointed, Shirota-kun...after all...when he comes back he may have a surprise for you," he said. "He went to talk to his father."
----------
"Hiroki!" Aiba's mother exclaimed as she hugged her son.
"About time you came back, little brother!" Hinako said happily as she patted Aiba on the shoulder.
Aiba pulled back and smiled at them. "Mother...I need to talk to father," he stated.
"I'm here,” Daisuke said as he entered the room.
----------
Shirota's eyes widened as Pearl began pawing at his leg. "He what?" he inquired.
"Shirotan... If you don't notice Pearl, she'll bite you," Takigawa reminded him.
Shirota looked down and picked the dog up before she could complain and bite him.
Kimeru patted Pearl on the head before continuing. "He's been planning it since Wednesday. He didn't want you guys to find out for a while, he said...and since I couldn't think up an excuse for him I just told the truth," he said with a smirk.
----------
"And this is all coming from you, Hiroki?" Daisuke said as he looked at his son who looked straight back at him.
"Hai, all this was my decision...though I did get a certain someone to push me in the right direction along the way," Aiba said.
Daisuke thought about it for a moment. “Fine, do as you like..." he said as he continued working on his financial report.
Aiba smiled and bowed. "Arigatou, tou-san..." he said.
"Hiroki...is the person who you said ‘pointed you to the right direction’ the same one who you said was the one you…" he paused for a bit, thinking of the right term. "...the one you like?" he asked.
Aiba nodded. "Hai, the same one," he answered firmly.
"May I know who he is?" he asked.
Aiba smiled widely. "His name is Shirota Yuu."
Daisuke froze and looked up from what he was doing. "S-Shirota Yuu?!"
----------
Shirota glared over to Kimeru. "Some roommate you are..." he stated darkly before chuckling. “I'm glad you told us, though," he added.
Takigawa checked the time. "Saa, shall we head off? We've got a lot planned for the day, after all."
Kimeru grinned. "Sure," he said. "And hopefully by the end of this day someone here would finally stop having to wait."
----------
"Shirota Yuu? Wasn’t he the one who came over here last weekend?" Mikoto asked.
"Same one," Aiba answered.
"I knew it!!" Hinako cheered.
Aiba laughed before looking at his father who was still wearing a shocked expression.
"Don't worry about him, dear. Come tell us all about what happened in school and about that Shirota that you're so fond of," Mikoto said as he led Aiba upstairs to talk, Hinako behind them.
----------
Later that afternoon, Aiba said his goodbyes to his family, promising that he would visit again soon with Shirota -as requested by both his mother and sister. He smiled as he headed off to the place where he had planned to go along with his friends, excited to see them…and more importantly, to end the wait of a certain someone.
----------
The three had chosen to have lunch at a burger place, where they took their time consuming their food. Takigawa and Kimeru, who were having more fun enjoying each other's company, pulled Shirota to the karaoke bar to sing a few songs.
"Hai, next song's yours," Takigawa stated, handing the microphone to Shirota.
Shirota shook his head. "I'll pass," he said politely.
Kimeru was texting Aiba their location when he heard Shirota decline. "I'll go ahead then!" he said as he took the microphone and chose a song to sing. "Nanka Shiwase…here we go," he said as he encoded the song.
After singing, Kimeru noticed someone knocking on the door of the small soundproof room. "Look who came to join us," he said with a smirk as he walked to the door and opened it. "Took you long enough, Aiba," he said.
Aiba smiled sheepishly as he entered the room. "Sorry I'm late..." he said as he sat beside Shirota.
"How'd it go?" Shirota muttered, scratching his cheek.
"I-te, i-te..." Takigawa cried as he accidently leaned against the wall with his swollen cheek. "Mou, this is why I don't like being in fights..." he complained.
Aiba glanced at Kimeru for a while when Shirota asked this. "What? I couldn't think of an excuse," Kimeru said with a smirk as he went over to Takigawa to check the bandage on his cheek. "Tsk...that still needs around a week to heal..." he muttered, effectively distracting Takigawa.
Aiba smiled as he noticed what Kimeru was doing before he turned his attention to Shirota. "It went quite well," he said as he took hold of Shirota's hand and leaned a bit closer to him. "They were quite easy to talk to about everything and my conversation with father went more smoothly since the family knew you and loved you ...just like I do."
Shirota smiled as he grasped Aiba's hand in his own. "I'm still apprehensive with your father, though..." Shirota said carefully with a frown.
----------
"You punch stronger than Watanabe-kun..." Takigawa commented.
"Hey! Don't compare me with that caveman/barbarian!" Kimeru said as he playfully punched Takigawa on the shoulder.
----------
"Mother and Hinako-neesan will turn his mind around sooner or later," Aiba assured him. "So don't worry, okay?" he said before kissing Shirota on the cheek.
"About bloody time!!" Kimeru said as he smirked at the two, causing Aiba to blush.
Shirota smiled, leaning onto Aiba.
Takigawa saw this and smirked. "Glad to see you two are finally together," he stated.
Shirota blushed. "It took a week..." he muttered.
"And here I thought I had to use drastic measures to get the two of you together," Kimeru said with a smirk.
Aiba frowned. "Drastic measures?" he asked.
Kimeru nodded. "I mean like locking the both of you in the janitor’s closet for a while. It worked with Daisuke and Furukawa," he explained.
Aiba rolled his eyes. "Right..." he said.
Kimeru chuckled. "But since you two are already together then I wouldn't do that....or would I?" he said slyly.
"Kimeru-senpai!!" Aiba exclaimed, blushing furiously.
Shirota rubbed his temples. "Please don't mention 'closets'...." he stated darkly.
Takigawa chuckled. "Ah, that's right," he said, sitting down beside Shirota, patting him on the back. "His brothers locked him alone in the closet for half an hour when Aiba-kun slept over," Takigawa explained as Shirota pouted.
"Seriously, they could've found a better way to handle the situation..." Shirota complained.
Aiba chuckled. "Don't worry, Shirota-kun...I won't let Kimeru-senpai do that," he said.
Kimeru raised an eyebrow. "Now this Aiba I haven't seen before..." he said. "…am I right in assuming that this is also your doing, Shirota?" he asked.
Shirota shrugged his shoulders. "Saa... You're going to have to ask Aibacchin," he replied pointedly as he stood and retrieved the microphone.
Kimeru chuckled and looked at Aiba who smirked at him. "Do I really have to answer that senpai or is that a rhetorical question?" he said.
Kimeru shrugged.
Shirota, in the meantime, punched in 'Unbalance na Kiss wo Shite' on the machine before the song started.
Takigawa decided to leave the two roommates to argue as he tended to his swollen cheek while watching Shirota sing. 'I forgot how much he enjoyed karaoke...' he chuckled fondly to himself.
After spending an hour and a half in the karaoke booth, the four headed out to have dinner in a nearby restaurant before going home or back to the dorms.
We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)
Author/Artist: mido_ban04 and tennis_dudez
Link: Winglicans Thread
Warnings/Rating:T (Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes)
Series/Pairing(s): TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki
Notes: Our second forum roleplay revolving around the two couples that we did over at Winglicans.
An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba’s graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. For clarifications on such information, feel free to contact me through Y!M (snoopeRJ_04).
Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction ’Anything for You’.
As my partner seems to be having problems with posting, I shall also be posting the chapters of this prequel. This is an edited version of our roleplay over at the forum (or rather, a cleaner and grammatically correct version), open to reviews. I have also opened this to be viewable by the general public.
Here is the 7th chapter entitled Of Fights and Family Issues. This chapter covers Kimeru and Takigawa getting themselves into a fight right outside Mitsukaru before they’re sent to the principal’s office. On the other end, Shirota takes it upon himself to try and understand Aiba, to the point of visiting the other’s house to talk with his family and share his views on how a family should be. Shirota and Aiba confront each other before Aiba’s barriers that he placed around himself are finally broken.
**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.
(cross-posted to tenimyu_slash)
The week passed by quickly. With the preparations for the exams the following week, everybody became busy. Kimeru was mostly found in the classroom during those days, looking at some notes that Takigawa made for him along with the ones he made himself.
Friday came and everybody was almost at their limits. Kimeru cursed under his breath; he was running towards the school. He woke up late that morning due to studying up to midnight the night before. He was almost there when a group of boys stopped him.
"You're Kimeru, right? Mitsukaru Senior High's vocalist," one of them said.
"Ex-vocalist. I'm not with them anymore..." Kimeru said with a frown. "Now get out of my way, I'm late for class," he said moving to step forward.
"I'm afraid you can't do that," another said as he walked up, grabbing him by the arms.
"Hey! What gives? Let go!!" He said as he glared at the group.
"We want you to deliver a message to Nagayama Takashi...so you better hold still," the one in front of him said.
Kimeru's eyes widened in realization. 'These guys were the one who beat Nagayan up!' he thought.
----------
Shirota went to school ahead of Takigawa since Moriyama had asked him to run an errand that involved making a head-start on registering a few things for their upcoming activities.
----------
Takigawa left his house at the usual time. He was making his way towards the school when he noticed a group of students - most of them from a different school it seemed - near the entrance. "What the--"
"What's wrong, Kime-kun too afraid to fight back?" one of them sneered at Kimeru who was bleeding from a cut on his cheek. The one who punched him had a ring on, and it cut him when he was punched.
Kimeru glared at them. "There's no way I'm wasting my energy on a couple of useless guys like you..." he said
"Don't listen to him, Okayama. Knowing his reputation he'll snap after a few more hits," one of them said.
"Either that or he's going to find himself in the hospital," Okayama answered as he looked at Kimeru. "....or in a morgue," he added with a smirk.
Kimeru's glare intensified. "You little son of---" he was cut off as another blow was dealt followed by many others.
Takigawa approached them slowly before his eyes widened when he had recognized that someone was beaten up and more importantly, who was being beaten up. He dropped his bag and ran towards them.
By this time around Kimeru had remembered the names of the ones dealing the punches; after all, this information would be useful.
They were from Shizuri High, a school not for from Mitsukaru. 'Okayama Souru, Akiyama Shintarou, Seto Yusuke, Fukuyama Seiji, Murai Ryouta, Naitou Taiki, Kawada Jouji and Hosogai Kei,' he said in his mind as he matched the name to the face.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Takigawa shouted. 'Of all the times..!'
Kimeru inwardly groaned. "Takigawa...get out of here!!" he yelled.
Fukuyama looked at Takigawa and glared. "And who's this? I don't remember seeing you…"
Okayama frowned. "Get him. He's seen us already...we might as well let him join the fun...isn't that right, Kime-kun?" he said as he smirked at Kimeru.
"Leave him alone! He doesn't need to be--" he was silenced by a hand of one of the two that were holding him.
Kawada and Hosogai advanced on Takigawa while Murai and Seto kept their hold on Kimeru. A short beating followed before Takigawa was covered with a few bruises on his face, as well as in other parts. Takigawa was on all fours, coughing before Okayama took a fistful of Takigawa's hair and pulled him to face him.
"So are you some kind of knight thinking he'd save Kime-kun from getting in trouble?" he teased.
"And you've... got some nerve doing it right in front of our school..." Takigawa replied in return, earning him a punch to the face, sending him to the ground, his cheek starting to bleed.
Okayama cradled his hand, adjusting his ring. "You guys are getting my ring soaked in blood..."
Kimeru growled; he struggled against the hold of the two. "I told you not to touch him!!!" he yelled. He was about to kick Murai when he heard something that made him stop.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE OKAYAMA!!" Nagayan yelled as he ran to them, behind him was the rest of Kimeru's friends and all of them were glaring at the group of boys from Shizuri.
"Darn it!! Okayama, we won't be able to handle all of them!!" Naitou said.
"Ku so...we'll be back!!" Okayama said before he stepped back and ran from the group.
"Wuss..." Furukawa hissed as he approached Takigawa and Kimeru along with the others. "Come on you two...let's fix you up before going to cla--"
"Takigawa. Kimeru. Report to my office," a voice came from behind them all.
They froze. It was the principal.
The principal smirked before turning on his heel and headed back into the school.
Takigawa painfully got to his feet, wiping the excess blood protruding from the cut on his cheek before he pushed past the group.
"Oi, Takigawa! You should visit--" Sota began.
"If we keep that man waiting it'll be harder to make him see reason..." Takigawa interjected, turning to Kimeru. "We have to go..."
Kimeru hissed in pain as he got up; he apparently bruised his knees when he was forced down. "Let's go," he said, dreading what was to come. He followed Takigawa inside to school, heading straight to the principal’s office.
"Nagayama," Daisuke suddenly said.
"What is it?" Nagayan asked.
"Get Moriyama-senpai."
"Hai."
----------
Takigawa and Kimeru entered the office where the principal was found sitting leisurely at his desk. The two moved in front of the desk and waited for whatever lecture the principal had in store for them.
"First quarter exams are next week. Getting into a fight... I expected you to have more sense of the situation, Takigawa..." the principal began, shaking his head in disapproval. "Frankly, I had anticipated that something like this would happen, but I never imagined it to be of this magnitude." He took a momentary glance at their injuries. "But it would seem that I had placed my faith on the wrong person to try and have Kimeru reformed. It was an impossible task after all..."
Takigawa frowned. "But I was the one--"
"Once a delinquent always a delinquent," the principal interjected. "To be honest, you were a fool for having put any faith in Kimeru's academic progress, Takigawa. And now you've even stooped down to his level, getting yourselves into a fist fight..." He turned to Kimeru. "As for you... You still ended up not learning anything these past few weeks, have you?"
Kimeru glared at the principal. "We didn't fight back!" he yelled as he slammed his fist on the desk. "The others could tell you that!"
"A likely story," the principal scoffed. "You would expect me to believe that you would have the presence of mind to restrain yourself from throwing punches?"
Takigawa bit his tongue, his fist trembling beside him. 'This idiot...' "Kimeru would!" he stated pointedly. "He's not the same person from before..."
"And where would that be coming from, Takigawa? Even if I made you two partners for that program, I doubt this delinquent would be able to pull his grades up even with your help," the principal fired back.
"ARGH! THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP!" Kimeru yelled as he stood and pulled his fist back. "This will knock some sense into you!" he said before advancing to punch the principal.
Takigawa stood as well and before he could stop himself, he stood in the way and took the full force of Kimeru's punch, sending him crashing to the floor.
"T...T...TAKIGAWA!" Kimeru exclaimed as he realized what happened. "W...what did you do that for?!"
Takigawa groaned, pushing himself off the floor slowly and painfully. Clinging onto the desk, he pushing himself to his feet, on the brink of unconsciousness but he kept himself steady, running on willpower as he panted slowly. "I-te..." he muttered to himself, feeling his legs might give out.
'This boy...' the principal thought in amazement as he watched Takigawa struggling to his feet. 'Why did he--'
"You don't have to use violence..." Takigawa began. "You and I both know that what he's saying is wrong... We didn't fight back... You've been serious about your studies up until now... and I know that more than anybody else... You were impatient and angry when we started..." Takigawa took a moment to chuckle before wincing at the bruise that had formed on his cheek. "...But later on you started taking things more seriously... to the point of quitting the band to focus on your studies... Hitting him now would put all your efforts to waste!"
Filled with rage, the principal slammed his fist on the desk. "Now see here-!"
"It's a waste of time talking some sense into him now..." Takigawa interjected.
"Takigawa...to show that kind of disrespect in front of me," the principal started. "It would seem that Kimeru has influenced you more than I thought." He looked at Kimeru who had moved to help Takigawa back to the chair. "This is the first time that the school had someone like you: Hopeless, juvenile and dangerous. That reputation of yours could bring the downfall of this school, and I will not have that," he finished. "Kimeru...you are therefore suspen--"
"WAIT!!" Moriyama yelled as he burst through the door, holding up a CD. "I have proof that they have nothing to do with the fight this morning!" he said.
"And I have Kimeru's test records to prove that he is improving academically!" Nagayan said, entering as well, but in a less dramatic way.
"My...test records?" Kimeru repeated as he looked at the little green notebook in Nagayan's hands.
Shirota followed inside. "And I can attest that Kimeru-senpai has been taking this program seriously and has been studying with Takigawa-senpai," he added. "I even have a recording of one of their study sessions if you like."
Takigawa looked over to the others before a hint of a smirk came across his face. "Y...You guys..." he muttered before he fell unconscious on the chair.
"Takigawa-senpai!" Shirota cried in alarm.
"Shirota-kun, please bring Takigawa and Kimeru to the clinic," Moriyama commanded. “We'll take care of things here."
Shirota nodded, handing the tape recorder to Moriyama before bringing Takigawa under his weight and helped him out of the office.
Kimeru paused once the door to the principal’s office was closed behind him. "That CD that Moriyama was holding...Shirota-kun...what was in that CD?" he asked.
Shirota adjusted his hold on the unconscious Takigawa before they started their walk to the infirmary. "A video... of that fight you two were in earlier... It came from an anonymous sender, though..." he explained.
Kimeru thought for a while as they went to the clinic. "An anonymous sender?" he repeated as he tried to think who could have possibly sent it. Suddenly, he remembered the pictures of Daisuke threatening Takigawa a few weeks back. Then it all fell into place. He had sat down on an empty bed beside where the nurse had helped Shirota place the unconscious Takigawa. He frowned when he realized who did this. "It was Aiba," he stated. "Aiba was the one who filmed it...he has the video camera of the school paper."
Shirota turned to Kimeru. "Are you sure?" he inquired as the nurse fussed with cleaning up a few of the cuts and bruises on Takigawa's face, bandaging them as best as she could before she proceeded to do Kimeru before leaving. Shirota turned to Takigawa and frowned. "After that bruise on his cheek from when Watanabe-senpai punched him had finally healed..." he sighed, patting Takigawa's leg gently.
"Yes, I’m pretty much sure. That kid doesn't know that he's risking his neck..." Kimeru said as he diverted his gaze to the ground. "That bruise on his cheek...it's partially my fault. I was going to punch the principal but he stood up and blocked the way."
Shirota blinked and pointed to Kimeru. "It was entirely your fault," he corrected.
Kimeru glared at him. "I wasn't the one who hit first...." he said. “Ch', why am I arguing with you anyway?!" He paused for a moment. "Fine, you know what? Everything is all my fault. The principal was right, I'm nothing but trouble. After all, this would have never happened if I just walked away back then and never pushed through with this program," he started.
"But let me tell you something. I don't regret it. I don't regret being partnered up with him and I don't care what happens to me. If it weren't for Takigawa I would most probably still be out there fighting with those jerks. I wouldn't have cared about my grades and I wouldn't have quit the band. I would still be the same jerk that everybody knew since the first year!"
"...but that's not what happened because he came along. It was because of him that I changed...They could suspend me if they want but they can't do it to Takigawa because...because..." he took a deep breath before continuing. "...he's not like me...he's nothing like me." He then looked at Takigawa, a soft smile on his lips. "And that why...that’s why I chose him..."
Shirota smiled as he heard this before he got to his feet. "You know something, Kimeru-senpai?" he asked, looking over to Takigawa. "Eiji-kun...Takigawa-senpai and I have been childhood friends for as long as I can remember... We looked after one another... So I have an idea what Takigawa-senpai is thinking most of the time... but sometimes I have to ask him to understand things better..." A small chuckle escaped him. "He's wanted to be with you... Ever since he decided to stake his position on the Council for you, knowing that you would eventually meet his expectations..." Shirota explained, turning to Kimeru. "After all, he's been waiting for an opportunity like that since Junior High..."
"Since...Junior High?" Kimeru asked as he looked at Takigawa. A sad smile formed on his lips as he stood to sit on the side of Takigawa's bed. "Baka....." he said quietly. "You big idiot......you should have approached me sooner..." He placed his hand on Takigawa's cheek, making sure that he didn't bother him because of the bruise. "....since Junior High I've been looking at you as well...I never approached you because I knew that we were too different..." he said.
"I'll leave you two alone, then..." Shirota stated, bowing before leaving the infirmary. 'Aibacchin... When can...' he thought as he headed back towards their classroom. 'When can you and I share that kind of understanding...?'
----------
Kimeru nodded, silently thanking Shirota for leaving them for a while. "...Eiji...I'll make everything up to you…and when you wake up, I'll gladly tell you everything that I told Shirota-kun..." he said as he kissed Takigawa on the forehead before standing up to lie down for a while.
----------
Lunch Break. Aiba was smiling to himself as he ate his lunch. It was a coincidence that he was out that morning. He came from a printing shop nearby to pick up something for the school paper. That was when he saw Kimeru and Takigawa being beaten up. Without thinking he filmed it and when he saw the principal approaching he left immediately.
"Oi, Aibacchin!" Shirota called, approaching the boy and set down another bag of cookies. "Maria-nesan wanted me to give these to you..." he muttered as he set the bag down on the table and slid it towards Aiba.
Aiba blinked as he looked at the cookies. "Wow....these are a lot...Let's share them!" he said as he took one and offered the bag to Shirota.
==========
The following week was the exams. It went smoothly for the four of them. Kimeru's friends had noticed the changes in their friend; he didn't have much of a temper and he was less rowdy. Nagayan thanked Takigawa for this, but he didn't really voice it out. Instead, he slipped a note in Takigawa's locker that was signed by all of them, even Daisuke.
During the Saturday after the exams, Aiba was with the soccer team once more. It was break time and he was chatting with Shirota amiably. Yagami Ren, his editor in chief, was there as well. He was checking on his field reporters and was also talking to Shirota.
Yagami then remembered something. "Aiba-kun, I saw you and Shirota-kun at the carnival a few weeks ago. You didn't tell me that you liked those things," he said with a chuckle.
Aiba fell silent; he looked down and grasped the notebook that he was holding a bit tighter. "We didn't go there, senpai. I haven't been in the carnival," he answered.
Yagami blinked. "Oh...then it must have been somebody else," he said as he checked on his watch. "I better go. I’ll be checking on Nakagauchi-kun who's covering the Tennis club. I'll be seeing you two around." With that, he left.
Shirota got to his feet as soon as Yagami left. "I'll be getting back to practice..." he announced, nodding to Aiba before taking his place in the fields as they continued with their mock game. Shirota, whose mind pondered on Aiba's denial of their little escapade, failed to pay attention to the game at present.
"SHIROTA! THE BALL!!" Kenken shouted.
It was at that moment that Shirota was knocked on the side of the head by the speeding ball before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"OI!! SHIROTA!" Zukki exclaimed, running up to him.
Aiba's eyes widened as he saw Shirota fall. "Shirota!!" he called out as he dropped his notebook and rushed to his side.
Kenken blinked at the sudden appearance of Aiba. "How did you get here so fast?" he asked, but was ignored.
"Aiba-kun...could you please bring Shirota-kun to the clinic? Kamakari, go help him," Wada said as he looked at the scene.
"H-Hai..." Aiba said before taking Shirota to the clinic with Kenken’s help. "I'll stay here, Kamakari-kun. You better head back to practice," Aiba said.
"Are you sure?" Kenken asked him as Aiba nodded. "O...kay then..." Kenken said before standing and leaving the clinic.
----------
Shirota came to a good 20 minutes later, feeling his head was being pierced through with nails as he groaned and opened his eyes. "W...Where am..." he slurred.
"Take it easy..." Aiba said. "You're in the clinic...the ball hit your head casing you to become unconscious," he explained.
Shirota shut his eyes. "Really...?" His mind tried to process why he had spaced out during practice before he remembered. Massaging his eyes, he asked. "Aibacchin... Why did you lie about us being at the carnival to Yagami-senpai?"
Aiba looked away. "I said that because...I didn't want him to know that we were together... it would be too awkward," he explained.
Shirota pushed himself to sit up. "How would that be awkward?" he demanded. "And what's wrong if we went there together?"
"You wouldn't understand!" Aiba snapped. "No one would understand! Not you, not Yagami-senpai and especially not my father!" he said before he clamped his hand over his mouth, realizing what he said.
A small smile crept up Shirota’s face. "Then help me understand... Tell me why you find it difficult to express yourself freely... what grudge you have against your father..." Shirota stated clearly and quietly.
"It's not exactly what you can call a grudge..." Aiba said. "I suppose I should start with why I'm staying at the dorms."
"I...I live in the dorms by choice. I didn't tell my family that I was going to stay there because I knew that if they did they would find a way to make me go back home to them...and to my father," he started.
"My father and I...we weren't in the best of terms when I left... He's always been there for me and my sister since we were young. Even when he's so busy with work he still manages to find time to be with us. I love my father...it's just that... every time he starts talking about the morals he wants us to integrate with ourselves... it's...it's different from the ones I have." He paused for a bit, unsure if he should go on.
"My sister and I had learned to accept whatever our father tells us...but I...I knew I had to draw the line when he started telling me how I should live my life." He looked at Shirota. "I realized that what he wanted for me was not what I wanted for myself and I told him that...he said that he could not accept it. That he can never accept it...so I left," he finished.
"And... you and your father haven't been on speaking terms since then?" Shirota inquired.
Aiba nodded. "Not just my father, but my whole family as well," he admitted. "I haven't been talking to my mother and sister either."
Shirota sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I see..." was all he could say.
Aiba stayed silent for a while before standing up. "I'll tell the nurse that you're awake."
Shirota nodded before massaging his temples. 'Looks like I'll be busy tomorrow,' he concluded.
----------
After he was excused from the infirmary, Shirota bid his farewells to Aiba and went to locate Ueshima-sensei, who was thankfully at the school checking the exams. After asking him for Aiba's address - after a quick explanation of his plan - he headed home and spent the night enjoying a meal with his sister Maria.
==========
After lunch the next day, Shirota headed out and went to visit the Aiba residence. It took him a while to commute and eventually stopped when he reached his destination. "Looks like this is the place..." he stated before glancing at the enormous house as he walked up to the front porch and rang on the doorbell.
----------
Aiba Daisuke looked up from finishing the financial reports for the company where he works in. "I'll get it," he said. He opened the door and looked outside, he saw a boy, around Hiroki's age by his estimate. He studied him for a moment. "Yes?"
Shirota bowed politely. "Konnichiwa. Shirota Yuu desu. I'm a classmate of your son Hiroki at Mitsukaru High," he introduced. "I was wondering if I could speak to you and your family for a while, Aiba-san," he explained.
"Hiro--" Daisuke was cut off as his wife, Aiba Mikoto, who moved up in front of him.
"A classmate of Hiroki’s, you say? Oh do come in!" she said brightly as she ushered Shirota inside. "I'm Aiba Mikoto, Hiroki's mother," she introduced. "And over there…" she said as she pointed to Daisuke. “…is his father, Aiba Daisuke."
"And I'm Hinako, Hiroki's older sister," Hinako greeted as she came from upstairs.
"So tell me, Shirota-kun. How is Hiroki doing at school? It's been a while since we talked to him," Mikoto asked.
Daisuke blinked from his spot on the doorway. He looked at Shirota as he was led to sit on the couch. He frowned. Something about the boy didn't sit right with him.
Shirota, surprised at this welcoming, sat down on the couch. "A-no... Hiroki-kun's been doing quite well in school... He's joined the school paper and has written quite a few articles already..." he stated. "He's one of the top students in the class in terms of grades, I believe," he added with a smile.
"That's so good to hear," Mikoto said with a relieved sigh. "So Shirota-kun, what did you want to talk to us about?" she asked. "Ah~ but before that, would you like some cake?" she asked.
"Chocolate cake!" Hinako added as she sat down on the other side of the couch.
"Anata, would you be a dear and get Shirota-kun some cake from the fridge?" Mikoto asked.
Daisuke looked at Shirota for a while before nodding; he came back moments later with a slice of cake and some water. "Here," he said as he handed them to Shirota and sat down on an armchair nearby.
Shirota controlled himself when they had mentioned chocolate. He took the slice from Daisuke-san and nodded gratefully. "Itadakimasu," he said before enjoying the cake. After washing it down with water, he set the plate and glass down on the table in front of him before bringing his hand to his knees, bowing to them. "Thank you for the cake. It was delicious."
"It's no problem at all, Shirota-kun...now please go ahead and tell us what you wanted to talk about," Mikoto said with a pleasant smile.
Daisuke eyed him warily, listening as Shirota told them about what he had found out about Aiba. Daisuke frowned when the boy mentioned about his son’s fears.
Hinako sighed as she told her parents as well about her short conversation with his brother. After a while, they concluded that they would give Hiroki more time to think about what was happening and thanked Shirota for coming to tell them about his situation.
Mikoto and Daisuke excused themselves for a while to talk about something while Hinako stayed behind to stay with Shirota.
"So...tell me Shirota-kun...are you really just a classmate of my brother?" she asked with a smile "Please be honest with me…"
A faint blush came to the boy's cheeks as he squeezed his palms into fists. "If it was in my perspective..." Shirota began carefully. “No... But in Hiroki-kun's perspective, I'm not sure..." He turned to Hinako with a small smile. "I've tried to bring Hiroki out of his seriousness and, in the process... Well, let's say I've grown much more interested in unlocking his true self..." Shirota finished. "I know somewhere deep down... Aibacchin can be a carefree spirit... He's just really held back to be able to express himself freely..."
"That's true...but it would seem that he's already taking after his father since he moved out…" Mikoto said as she came out from the kitchen, Daisuke behind her.
Hinako smiled. "Well, Shirota-kun...let me wish you luck, then," she said. "I'm sure you'll get Hiroki to see things your way."
Daisuke said nothing as he simply looked at Shirota. The visit ended up with Mikoto giving Shirota another slice of cake to take home, Daisuke remaining silent as he watched Shirota leave.
Hinako waved as she said her goodbyes. "Visit us again sometime!!" she said.
"Arigatou gozaimasu," Shirota said, bowing as he left the Aiba residence with the slice of cake in a box with him. The day was turning into dusk as he headed to the train station, remnants of his talk with Aiba's family returning to him.
"The reason I came here today... is because I believe that every family should maintain a bond despite the barriers between them," Shirota told them. "Every person should be given the opportunity to decide their future, and their family members should be there to provide the support, not hinder them from achieving what they truly desire."
Shirota sighed. 'I probably said a few things out of line... Aiba-san didn't really say much... I was hoping to change his mind about it...' he told himself.
==========
It was Monday, another school day and the beginning of a new quarter. Aiba woke up to early and decided to check his e-mail. He opened his inbox and saw that there were three messages. One from his mother, another from his sister...and to his surprise, the last one was from his father.
Aiba decided to read first the mail of his mother.
'Hiroki,
A classmate of yours came over today, and he told us all about how you were doing. I'm glad that you're doing well in school.
Honey, please remember that whatever happens we will always be here for you.
--Mom’
Aiba sighed heavily. He moved on to the next e-mail which was from his older sister. It was quite short, actually; a one-liner. But it made his eyes go wide as soon as he read it.
'WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!'
He frowned as he moved on to the next e-mail, keeping in mind that he would have to contact his sister about this later. He read the e-mail from his father, which was -as he expected- as short as his sister's. Even if it was short, it had the same impact on him.
'Hiroki,
Don't be afraid to follow a path that you have chosen on your own.’
As plain and simple as that.
'What's going on?!' he thought as he closed his laptop and started getting ready for the day, Kimeru also waking up. He glared at his reflection in the mirror. "Classmate, huh..." he muttered darkly.
----------
Aiba arrived at a later time in school intentionally. As soon as he entered the room, he saw that almost all his classmates were present. He slammed a thick book on his table, effectively catching the attention of the people in the room.
"Who went to my house and talked to my parents?!" he asked, his voice laced with dark promise if no one answered.
Shirota, leaning back on his seat, raised his hand high enough for Aiba to spot it. "I did," he replied.
Aiba glared at the boy beside him and grabbed him by the wrist. "Come with me," he said as he dragged him to the rooftop, locking the door behind them. "Why...Why do you have to bother yourself with my personal affairs?! What the hell made you go to my family and talk to them about things that you shouldn't even know?" he asked; anger evident in his voice.
Shirota, unfazed by this outburst, had curtly replied, "Because I like you."
Aiba froze for a few seconds before he started shaking his head. "No....don't....Don't even joke about things like that...it's not funny!" he said, turning away from Shirota.
"If I was joking, I would've been laughing by now," Shirota stated seriously. "Besides, did you ever feel something strange whenever you and I were together?"
"I...I..." 'I did...’ he finished in his mind. He closed his eyes. "Don't...please don't make me do this, Shirota-kun...I can't do this…you wouldn't understand...you don't understand!" Aiba said. He was feeling helpless right now. This was the exact same thing that he didn't want to happen.
Shirota took a deep breath and exhaled as he moved to the railings and clung onto it, leaning forward slightly. He looked over to the soccer field before stating, "Fathers don't hate their kids, you know..."
Aiba looked at him. "You wouldn't know...." he said. He had given up trying to gain control over his emotions. He glared at Shirota. "You don't know what the hell you're doing...I don't want to cause any more rifts in my relationship with my father...I don't know what you told them or what they told you, but this isn't your concern!!" he yelled.
"It is my concern!" Shirota bit back harshly, clutching tighter on the railings. "Don't go around thinking you're the only one who has problems with their family!" he shouted, shutting his eyes in frustration.
"Then go and trouble yourself with your own family!" Aiba snapped. "I can take care of myself, Shirota Yuu! I can take care of myself and my own problems!! I am not some helpless kid that you have to go running around for!"
Aiba looked at Shirota, breathing unevenly due to the burst of emotions. "...I don't want you...to do anything for me...I don't want you to get involved anymore than you are right now...” he said in a softer voice. 'And most importantly...I can't let you get involved because if this continues...I won't be able to force myself to kill these feelings I have for you...' he thought.
Shirota sighed heavily, calming himself down. "My parents got divorced when I was in the 4th grade. I was the youngest at the time, and all four of us were still attending school," he began. "My father was worried about being able to support us all so he and my mother agreed to get divorced, each taking custody of two kids each; my older brothers with my father, and my older sister and myself, and eventually Rina, with my mother."
Shirota turned his attention to the field again. "But since they didn't want to blame this situation on us, they did agree on keeping the house that I'm staying in while at the same time, each of them getting themselves an apartment. This difficult routine for my brothers and sister as we were growing up was making them hurt inside, but they were happy like I was because of the fact that we were still a family, in a way... It was very rare when we would see each other, though... complete as a family..." Shirota bit his lip before he continued.
"My father is a workaholic, so he rarely comes to visit the house due to all the shows he writes... My mother manages a restaurant, but manages to come over every other weekend... Dai-ani, who's working in the music business, stays with my father most of the time and comes to the house unexpectedly... Maria-neesan works as a book editor, so she's able to stay at the house from Friday to Monday every week... Jun-ani stays at the house every other day, and spends Tuesdays and Thursdays at his bandmate's house. He stays through the weekend whenever kaa-san's there..."
Shirota rubbed the back of his neck. "When I went and talked to your family yesterday, I realized... that it was a nice atmosphere to be around... It's obvious that they love you and are worried about you... Your father was silent throughout my entire visit, and your mother even mentioned that you were taking after him when you moved out..." He turned around to face Aiba for the first time since they had gone up there. "Ever since I met you, I noticed that you were serious about things, so I wanted to try and get you to laugh... But since you seemed to have mastered your control on your emotions because of your situation, I have to ask... Was your reaction back at the carnival a forced or genuine laugh?"
Aiba listened quietly as Shirota talked to him. He found himself unable to look at Shirota even if the other had already turned around to look at him. He averted his gaze to the ground, shaking his head. "I...I can never force a laugh," he said. "Back then...even I didn't understand why I felt so at ease with you. I could never understand why....why I found it easy to tell you everything," he admitted. "No matter how hard I try, I just couldn't conceal my emotions from you...you had always managed to break away my barriers to make me show who I really am." He paused. "It's not that I really didn't understand...it's just that...I don't want to understand..." he finished as he closed his eyes.
"Then why are you still hesitating? What's keeping you from understanding that simple fact?!" Shirota demanded.
----------
Meanwhile, back in the 1-1 classroom, Ueshima-sensei stepped in for homeroom. "Ohayou!" he greeted as they took their seats. He blinked as he noticed two empty desks in the back which he knew belonged to Aiba and Shirota. He smirked before popping his notebook open. "Okay, I'm going to start taking attendance~!"
----------
Aiba bit his bottom lip, his body trembling. "I don't want to go against my father because...because..." he started, tears starting to fall from his eyes. “Because I'm afraid!" he said as his eyes opened to look at Shirota. “I'm afraid that when I finally understand, I won't be able to turn around and go back!" he stopped for a moment.
"But...it's too late because I did understand it....I figured it out after leaving your house a few days ago," he said quietly. "I...I admit to myself now...that I feel the same way that you do...and I've never been more afraid in my entire life," he finished as he wrapped his arms around himself, his gaze averted to the ground once more.
Shirota's features softened as he slowly approached Aiba before he gently placed both hands on the other boy's shoulders. "If that's the case..." he started off quietly. “I'll wait for you, then. I'll wait for you to gain the courage to confront your father." He hesitated for a moment before tipping Aiba's chin so that they could look at each other eye-to-eye. "I won't leave your side."
"S-Shirota..." Aiba managed to say before hugging the other boy and breaking down.
Shirota smiled, wrapping his arms around the boy before slowly falling to his knees as he tried helping Aiba calm down while rubbing his back. "Saa, we still have classes to attend..." he stated quietly. “Stop crying, Aibacchin..."
Aiba simply nodded as he tried to calm himself down. A few moments later he pulled away from Shirota. "T-Thank you Shirota-kun..." he said as he smiled softly. “Come on…" he said as he wiped his face with his sleeve. "…we better head back before Ueshima-sensei sends someone to look for us."
Shirota helped Aiba up to his feet before they headed to the door. "Ueshima-sensei knows when to leave private matters alone," he stated as he unlocked the door and pulled it open, gesturing for Aiba to go ahead.
Aiba smiled. "Aa...I know that much..." he said quietly.
----------
The two went back to their classroom, earning smiles and a few thumbs up from their classmates, which Aiba found strange. Ueshima-sensei even winked at them when they got back to their seats. Aiba felt much better that everything was all out on the open for him and Shirota, now all he had to do was to think about confronting his father.
----------
Lunch break came easily, and as expected, the halls were filled with the students.
"OUT OF THE WAY!" Kimeru yelled as he ran out of his classroom; the people moved to the side to avoid getting hit by him. Even if Takigawa's room was just next door, Kimeru looked like he was going to run down the hallway.
"Takigawa! Look at this!!" he said happily as he shoved a piece of paper in front of Takigawa. The paper was a list of his grades so far, and not only were they above the passing marks, but it was way above it.
He even managed to top Sota in the Math exam, which was a feat in itself since Sota was the top of their class. The aforementioned boy was still in their room, looking at his paper in disbelief.
Takigawa, disoriented for a moment when the paper was flashed in his face, took Kimeru's hands and pushed the paper back so he could see it properly. He broke into a grin, nodding to him. "Omedetou, Kimeru," he congratulated, nodding over to him as he took his own list of grades and proceeded to keep it before Toru took hold of it.
"As usual..." Toru said, sighing as he handed it back. "Takigawa ranks 1st in all of the exams..." he stated slyly before heading back to his seat.
"So...are you two together now?" Nagayan asked, suddenly appearing between the two of them.
"Aa…with the exam done and all nothing's left to wait for!" Furukawa added, appearing this time behind them.
"I hate to say this but they're right," Daisuke grudgingly said.
"Not to mention that you're going to come back to the band now!" Koji said happily.
Ken'ichiro, the latest addition to the band and current vocalist, patted them both on the shoulder. "I'm looking forward to working with you senpai!" he said with a smile.
"I'll be expecting you back in the band, Kimeru...you're welcome anytime as well, Takigawa," Konishi said, nodding toward the both of them.
"Hey! You never answered my question Kime~~" Nagayan said as he looked at the two. "Are you two together now or not?" he asked. The rest quieted down, even Takigawa's classmates.
Kimeru swore he was blushing as he glared at his bandmates that had appeared one by one. "Yes we're together now! So will you leave us alone?!" he snapped.
His friends looked at one another and grinned. "Congratulations then Kime~" Nagayan said as he stood up. "See! I told you they’re together now!" he told the rest as the group left the room.
A big round of applause came from the rest of the class. A playful smirk appeared on Takigawa's face which he shot over to Kimeru, nodding in silent approval at his testimony.
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That evening, as Kimeru was looking at his notebook and averaging his final grades - which the teachers had happily provided -, he couldn't help but smile. "I can't believe it...I got a B…" he said with a smile.
"Good for you senpai," Aiba said as he typed away on his laptop.
Kimeru looked over at him. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm sending an e-mail to my parents," Aiba stated.
"I thought you said you don't want them to know how you’re doing," Kimeru said slyly.
Aiba glared at him. "Change of plans. Now leave me alone."
Kimeru chuckled. "Sure Aiba...oh yeah catch," he said as he threw a small square-ish object to Aiba who caught it. "That's my thanks for that little video of yours," he said.
Aiba looked at the thing in his hands and his eyes widened. "I've been looking for this program for the longest time!" he said as he looked at Kimeru who already had his back turned.
"Dumb luck. I grabbed the first thing I saw. Now stop talking, I'm going to bed."
Aiba grinned; he knew it wasn't dumb luck because the program was rather rare and to get one copy you would have to order it a week in advance. "Thanks senpai…" he said simply.
Kimeru smiled.
==========
The next day, both of the boys had woken up, causing them to rush to get ready. They ran all the way to the school and managed to get to their rooms as soon as the bell rang.
"Made it!" Aiba said in relief as he sat down on his seat.
"I'm surprised you came in late today, Aibacchin," Shirota greeted, grinning from his seat.
"Yosh! Homeroom's starting!" Ueshima-sensei announced, entering the classroom from the other door and heading to the teacher's desk.
"I spent almost half the night sending e-mails to my sister..." Aiba said as he got to his seat. "And I didn't even get to have breakfast because Kimeru-senpai woke up late too...he spent the night telling me that he was already with Takigawa-senpai..." he added quietly so that only Shirota would hear.
"Is that so?" Shirota mused, smirking as Ueshima began taking attendance. 'I was on the phone with Eiji-kun until 11 because of that...'
Aiba sighed. "I swear...Kimeru-senpai has got to be the most annoying guy I had ever known..." he muttered before he pulled out his notebook.
==========
The rest of the week passed by smoothly. Aiba spent most of his nights sending e-mails to his family. The four had planned to meet that Saturday to spend some time together. Aiba hesitated about the plan a bit when Kimeru told him; the junior had prodded him until he said his reasons. Aiba was planning to talk to his father that Saturday, to settle things once and for all. Kimeru understood and promised not to tell the other two until that day and for this, Aiba was grateful.
When Saturday arrived, imeru finished getting ready and was now walking to Takigawa's place, which was where they had all agreed to meet. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.
Shirota had told his family that he was going to go out with Takigawa and a few others and headed over to the older boy's house for breakfast. Enjoying Takigawa's special pancake recipe, Shirota played with Pearl for a while after breakfast as the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it~!" Shirota called as he got to his feet. Takigawa was in the kitchen washing the dishes. He pulled the door open. "Ah! Ohayou, Kimeru-senpai!" he greeted.
Kimeru grinned as he messed up Shirota's hair. "Ohayou, Shirota-kun," he greeted as he went inside. "I'm afraid Aiba won't be able to join us this morning, but he did say that he's going to try to catch up," he said.
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Aiba sighed as he looked at the door in front of him. "Now or never..." he muttered as he turned the key and opened the door. “I'm...home..." he called out.
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Shirota closed the door and frowned. "Is that so..." he said before moving to fix his hair.
Takigawa emerged from the kitchen. "Oh, you're here," he greeted, nodding to Kimeru.
Kimeru smiled at Takigawa before looking at Shirota again. "Don't be disappointed, Shirota-kun...after all...when he comes back he may have a surprise for you," he said. "He went to talk to his father."
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"Hiroki!" Aiba's mother exclaimed as she hugged her son.
"About time you came back, little brother!" Hinako said happily as she patted Aiba on the shoulder.
Aiba pulled back and smiled at them. "Mother...I need to talk to father," he stated.
"I'm here,” Daisuke said as he entered the room.
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Shirota's eyes widened as Pearl began pawing at his leg. "He what?" he inquired.
"Shirotan... If you don't notice Pearl, she'll bite you," Takigawa reminded him.
Shirota looked down and picked the dog up before she could complain and bite him.
Kimeru patted Pearl on the head before continuing. "He's been planning it since Wednesday. He didn't want you guys to find out for a while, he said...and since I couldn't think up an excuse for him I just told the truth," he said with a smirk.
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"And this is all coming from you, Hiroki?" Daisuke said as he looked at his son who looked straight back at him.
"Hai, all this was my decision...though I did get a certain someone to push me in the right direction along the way," Aiba said.
Daisuke thought about it for a moment. “Fine, do as you like..." he said as he continued working on his financial report.
Aiba smiled and bowed. "Arigatou, tou-san..." he said.
"Hiroki...is the person who you said ‘pointed you to the right direction’ the same one who you said was the one you…" he paused for a bit, thinking of the right term. "...the one you like?" he asked.
Aiba nodded. "Hai, the same one," he answered firmly.
"May I know who he is?" he asked.
Aiba smiled widely. "His name is Shirota Yuu."
Daisuke froze and looked up from what he was doing. "S-Shirota Yuu?!"
----------
Shirota glared over to Kimeru. "Some roommate you are..." he stated darkly before chuckling. “I'm glad you told us, though," he added.
Takigawa checked the time. "Saa, shall we head off? We've got a lot planned for the day, after all."
Kimeru grinned. "Sure," he said. "And hopefully by the end of this day someone here would finally stop having to wait."
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"Shirota Yuu? Wasn’t he the one who came over here last weekend?" Mikoto asked.
"Same one," Aiba answered.
"I knew it!!" Hinako cheered.
Aiba laughed before looking at his father who was still wearing a shocked expression.
"Don't worry about him, dear. Come tell us all about what happened in school and about that Shirota that you're so fond of," Mikoto said as he led Aiba upstairs to talk, Hinako behind them.
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Later that afternoon, Aiba said his goodbyes to his family, promising that he would visit again soon with Shirota -as requested by both his mother and sister. He smiled as he headed off to the place where he had planned to go along with his friends, excited to see them…and more importantly, to end the wait of a certain someone.
----------
The three had chosen to have lunch at a burger place, where they took their time consuming their food. Takigawa and Kimeru, who were having more fun enjoying each other's company, pulled Shirota to the karaoke bar to sing a few songs.
"Hai, next song's yours," Takigawa stated, handing the microphone to Shirota.
Shirota shook his head. "I'll pass," he said politely.
Kimeru was texting Aiba their location when he heard Shirota decline. "I'll go ahead then!" he said as he took the microphone and chose a song to sing. "Nanka Shiwase…here we go," he said as he encoded the song.
After singing, Kimeru noticed someone knocking on the door of the small soundproof room. "Look who came to join us," he said with a smirk as he walked to the door and opened it. "Took you long enough, Aiba," he said.
Aiba smiled sheepishly as he entered the room. "Sorry I'm late..." he said as he sat beside Shirota.
"How'd it go?" Shirota muttered, scratching his cheek.
"I-te, i-te..." Takigawa cried as he accidently leaned against the wall with his swollen cheek. "Mou, this is why I don't like being in fights..." he complained.
Aiba glanced at Kimeru for a while when Shirota asked this. "What? I couldn't think of an excuse," Kimeru said with a smirk as he went over to Takigawa to check the bandage on his cheek. "Tsk...that still needs around a week to heal..." he muttered, effectively distracting Takigawa.
Aiba smiled as he noticed what Kimeru was doing before he turned his attention to Shirota. "It went quite well," he said as he took hold of Shirota's hand and leaned a bit closer to him. "They were quite easy to talk to about everything and my conversation with father went more smoothly since the family knew you and loved you ...just like I do."
Shirota smiled as he grasped Aiba's hand in his own. "I'm still apprehensive with your father, though..." Shirota said carefully with a frown.
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"You punch stronger than Watanabe-kun..." Takigawa commented.
"Hey! Don't compare me with that caveman/barbarian!" Kimeru said as he playfully punched Takigawa on the shoulder.
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"Mother and Hinako-neesan will turn his mind around sooner or later," Aiba assured him. "So don't worry, okay?" he said before kissing Shirota on the cheek.
"About bloody time!!" Kimeru said as he smirked at the two, causing Aiba to blush.
Shirota smiled, leaning onto Aiba.
Takigawa saw this and smirked. "Glad to see you two are finally together," he stated.
Shirota blushed. "It took a week..." he muttered.
"And here I thought I had to use drastic measures to get the two of you together," Kimeru said with a smirk.
Aiba frowned. "Drastic measures?" he asked.
Kimeru nodded. "I mean like locking the both of you in the janitor’s closet for a while. It worked with Daisuke and Furukawa," he explained.
Aiba rolled his eyes. "Right..." he said.
Kimeru chuckled. "But since you two are already together then I wouldn't do that....or would I?" he said slyly.
"Kimeru-senpai!!" Aiba exclaimed, blushing furiously.
Shirota rubbed his temples. "Please don't mention 'closets'...." he stated darkly.
Takigawa chuckled. "Ah, that's right," he said, sitting down beside Shirota, patting him on the back. "His brothers locked him alone in the closet for half an hour when Aiba-kun slept over," Takigawa explained as Shirota pouted.
"Seriously, they could've found a better way to handle the situation..." Shirota complained.
Aiba chuckled. "Don't worry, Shirota-kun...I won't let Kimeru-senpai do that," he said.
Kimeru raised an eyebrow. "Now this Aiba I haven't seen before..." he said. "…am I right in assuming that this is also your doing, Shirota?" he asked.
Shirota shrugged his shoulders. "Saa... You're going to have to ask Aibacchin," he replied pointedly as he stood and retrieved the microphone.
Kimeru chuckled and looked at Aiba who smirked at him. "Do I really have to answer that senpai or is that a rhetorical question?" he said.
Kimeru shrugged.
Shirota, in the meantime, punched in 'Unbalance na Kiss wo Shite' on the machine before the song started.
Takigawa decided to leave the two roommates to argue as he tended to his swollen cheek while watching Shirota sing. 'I forgot how much he enjoyed karaoke...' he chuckled fondly to himself.
After spending an hour and a half in the karaoke booth, the four headed out to have dinner in a nearby restaurant before going home or back to the dorms.
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