[One-shot] When Spring Begins
Title: When Spring Begins
Author: shiroikazex
Group/pairing: Hikanoo,
Genre: Romance, fluff, a little bit of humour
Word Count: ~3,000
Rating: G
Summary: AU. Inoo had been crushing on Hikaru since forever, but was too afraid of getting rejected to send chocolates on Valentine's. He did, however, receive a pack of chocolates from a certain F-kun, though he had no idea what connections to make of that. After running into trouble with a couple of thugs around the neighbourhood, Inoo found out who this F-kun was.
Disclaimer: I wish they were mine. Sigh.
Notes: I promised I'd write this for kamenashi05 since EONS ago and I FINALLY finished it. SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. Hope you guys like it anyway! :D
Hikaru wasn't the type to go to school early, at all, preferring to stroll into class just as the bell was about to go off. He responded to all his teachers' warnings with his charming grin, countering that he was right on time, or when he wasn't, being fashionably late. He must have surprised the councilor on duty at the school gates that day, but he waved at Tamamori anyway. Best to act normal to cover up for everything.
After dropping off his bicycle at the near-empty shelter, he dashed through the corridors into the quiet classroom, silently muttering a prayer to the gods for keeping the stuffy room empty at this hour. He headed straight to the desk by the window, 3 seats from the back and shoved the small box in his hand unceremoniously into the compartment underneath it.
He heaved a sigh of relief and darted back out of the classroom, his guitar case on his back. There was some time to while away before classes started, and he headed up to the rooftop.
~
Valentine's day was about as depressing as it could get this year. Inoo counted a grand total of 4 presents, 3 of which were anonymous so there was nothing he could do about that, and one that was signed with an initial "F". He had no idea who "F"-kun was, no names came to mind, so he cycled home with the 4 small packs that could pathetically fit in his already exploding bag of books.
He was beyond disappointed that after all the stealthy glances he caught from a certain someone, none of the presents gave an indication towards that person. Perhaps one of the anonymous ones, but that was merely Inoo's own guess, and that wouldn't prove anything.
Hypocrite, Inoo scolded himself mentally, after cursing at how cowardly the other male was for not leaving his name and then realizing that he had not given Hikaru anything for Valentine's, for fear of being rejected.
He sighed as he cycled on. He had one more year in high school, perhaps next year he would finally find enough courage in himself--
"Nii-chan!"
He braked sharply and looked to his left. Over the hedge he spotted his sister in the small alleyway across the road looking back at him with wide, fearful eyes. And then he noticed them.
There were three--if the situation wasn't this dire he would have found it rather comical, really--two tall ones, one black-haired and the other with brown hair that looked almost orange under the setting sun that seeped into the alley, and a short one in the middle with blond streaks in his brown hair. He noted their uniforms--the well-known unruly school around the corner.
"Who's this guy?" The short one asked with a sneer.
"Nii-chan, help!" Aki called out again, struggling against the grip of her captor, the tall black-haired one.
"Shush, princess, we were really only asking you to hang out with us for a while."
Inoo wondered where his strength and his courage appeared from, because suddenly the bag of books felt like feathers in his hand as he dashed across the road, though obviously it still felt like a bag of thick textbooks to the three thugs who were each knocked off their feet as the bag made contact with their torsos. Inoo panted and dropped the bag, the strength leaving him, and the three stumbled to their feet while clutching their sides where they had been hit by the swinging bag.
"You son of a bitch--"
A fist collided with his cheek and he fell back, black spots erupting across his field of vision.
"Nii-chan--"
"Oi! What are you rascals doing there?!"
Through his blurred vision, Inoo saw the three thugs look pass him at the man who had hollered from behind him and sneer.
"You'll pay for this!" The short one spat at Inoo before the three took off in the other direction down the alley and disappeared around the corner.
Soft, delicate hands helped him up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He leaned against the brick wall of the alley and waited for his head to stop spinning.
"Are you alright?" The man who had yelled asked, as he jogged across the road to where the two siblings were.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Aki, you ok?"
"Yes," She held back tears as she dabbed at Inoo's face with her handkerchief. "T-Thank you, Nii-chan. And thank you too, Koyama-sensei."
The tall man smiled and nodded back at Aki.
"Please be careful from now on, Aki. You had better be careful with who you're associating with in the future--"
"They cornered me when I was walking home, sensei, I didn't know them--"
"I see. I'll report this to their school, don't you worry. I'll walk the two of you home and explain this to your parents."
~
"...It's your fault for not leaving your name."
"I did!" Hikaru said exasperatedly. "I did! He just..."
"No one would relate it to you, Hikaru."
"He should know whom I worship if he likes me!"
"How the heck do you know that he likes you, anyway?" Taiyou looked at his friend pointedly. "Sure you caught him looking at you a couple of times in class, but you do realize that there a bunch of other guys in school who do, and that's just cos they want to be like you right?"
"No they don't--"
"Yes, like that dude in first year... What's his name--Senga? He's been studying you for ages, just cos he's aiming for my sister."
"He is?!"
"Showed up at my place the other time, and Tsuki shouted for him to come back when he could play guitar as well as you could."
"...Tsuki likes me?"
"Unfortunately."
"Cool!" He grinned, but it was wiped off his face by Taiyou's death glare.
"Don't you even dare. I know how you are with girls--"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So you're saying that Inoo might have been watching me because he wants to be like me and attract girls?"
"Maybe," Taiyou shrugged. "Why do you care? I thought you were just gonna prank him with that present."
"W-Well, yeah! That's all there is to it, right? I mean the guy's such a girl, it would have been funny to see him be all red in the face and everything..."
"If I didn't know any better, I would have said that you genuinely like the guy."
Hikaru laughed, albeit a little dryly.
"I don't."
"It's still horrible of you to play a prank like that. The guy never did anything to piss you off."
"Just thought it would have be funny, Taiyou, I didn't mean any harm. Thank god that he didn't recognize my signature then."
Taiyou just shook his head and turned back to his homework. Hikaru stared at the equations in front of him for a while longer before slamming his book shut and getting onto his feet.
"I'm heading home."
"But you're not done--"
"I'll do the rest at home, these are easy. See ya~"
He ran into Tsuki on his way out of the Ayukawa residence, and for the fun of it, winked at her as he passed. The blush that crawled onto her cheeks brought him so much satisfaction, it almost entirely covered for his semi-rejected confession earlier that day.
He didn't like that pale, skinny scholar sitting in the corner of that classroom.
He liked him very, very much. So much, it scared him a little to do a proper confession.
~
He was halfway through the third box of chocolates when his sister came into his room.
"I'm sorry about today, nii-chan, does your cheek still hurt?"
"It's fine now," he smiled reassuringly. She nodded back and noticed the chocolates on his table.
"Oh! You got chocolates! But from who?"
He shrugged and handed the box to her.
"I don't know, they were all anonymous."
"But that one has a signature... 'F'? Who's 'F'?"
"No idea."
"Aren't you in a boys' school, nii-chan?"
"Yeah?"
She blinked in wonder and slowly devoured the piece of chocolate.
"Did you give chocolates to anyone?"
"N-No."
"Oh, okay..."
"Go to your room, I need to study."
"Fine..."
~
All prayers for Inoo to somehow relate Flea to him went unanswered, as Hikaru waltzed into class day after day and received nothing from the other boy. He received even less, and it wasn't just his paranoia speaking. Inoo absolutely refused to look at him now.
Perhaps he received a gift from someone better, Hikaru supposed. Damned.
Though he did grow curious about the bruise on the pale boy's cheek the day after Valentine's. He heard from friends that Inoo got into a fight defending his sister. Somehow the thought of it made him smile, strangely enough. That guy had guts.
"...but I heard it was with them Shirokin guys."
Hikaru felt a cold hand squeezing his insides.
"Shirokin?"
"Yeah," Haruma looked worried too. "They're not the kind of guys you would mess with..."
"Why the hell would that pale Barbie pick a fight with Shirokin guys?!"
"They were harassing his sister, Hikaru, that's enough to make any nii-chan pick a fight with--well, even the Yakuza."
"Huh..."
"You're the youngest brat at home, you won't understand."
Hikaru rolled his eyes.
~
Inoo changed his route home for the next couple of days, avoiding the neighbourhood where the other school was and avoiding alleys that he normally took as shortcuts, and quite luckily he never ran into them again. He was pretty sure that they would seek revenge, and he wasn't sure if he would receive that burst of strength to escape again.
Though when his mom commanded him to go to the convenience store to grab something at 10pm, he could do nothing but comply. He got onto his bike and cycled down the street. The quickest way to get to the convenience store involved going through one single, rather well-lit alley, and he decided to take that route despite his instincts screaming at him not to, because it was late and he still had a ton of work to do.
He was halfway through when three shadows blocked the exit. Without thinking, he got off his bike and dashed back down the way he came, until two guys appeared there too, sealing off his escape route.
The lights flickered overhead and he swallowed.
"Well, what do we have here..." The same short one from before spoke up. "Hey there, Inoo-kun."
"H-How did you know my name?"
"It ain't that hard. Scholar, piano prodigy... your name pops up everywhere in the local news, you know."
He backed up into the middle of the alley, trapped, while the thugs advanced from both sides.
"Takaki, do the honors."
The orange haired guy--Takaki--stepped forward into the light, a look of arrogance on his face. The black haired one with a stick-like figure followed, cracking his knuckles--
A loud "omph!" was heard and the two guys whipped around, only to be knocked off their feet. Inoo's eyes widened as someone grabbed his wrist and tugged him along, running past the short kid who was clutching his head and groaning on the ground. Inoo tripped over his own feet, trying to catch up with the athletic male in front of him. He could recognize that jacket and that back anywhere, after all, he had spent hours staring at that back.
"Yao--"
"JUST RUN!"
He felt the adrelanine pumping through his veins as he dashed through the streets of the residential area, his wrist still firmly in the grasp of the guitarist before him. The Shirokin students have long since regained their locomotive abilities and were hot on their heels, shouts containing high levels of obscenities filling the air.
They darted past stunned pedastrians who were then gruffly pushed aside by the guys behind. He was starting to feel the burn in his legs--he was not one who ever exercised much, passing PE with a borderline grade--and he was struggling to keep up with Hikaru. His breath came in sharp, painful pants and he knew that he couldn't continue for much longer.
Up ahead, a deliveryman pushing a load of plastic crates on a cart drew close at a dangerous speed. Instead of slowing down and going round the similarly shocked deliveryman, Hikaru charged straight on, just barely missing the stack of crates. He did, however, reach out a hand and knocked the staggering stack of crates over, scattering the contents across the asphalt, and Inoo felt a small surge or relief as he heard his pursuers slipping and tripping over each other in the spilled pile of ice and frozen seafood.
They rounded the corner at their original speed and Hikaru dragged Inoo to one of the houses down the street, urging him to climb over the low wall into small, but well-kept backyard beyond.
"What?! Are you crazy?!" Inoo hissed, but Hikaru gave him a rough push and he scaled over the wall with a leg-up from Hikaru. The younger male landed quietly after him and pulled him into the hedge, crouching and hiding themselves in the leaves, away from the glare of the street lamp.
He could hear his heart hammering loudly in his ears, even as the Shirokin students approached and argued in loud voices over where he was. He shut his eyes and willed for them to go away, and after what seemed like forever, the voices faded and Inoo slumped against the low wall, wiping the sweat away from his eyes.
Hikaru was breathing heavily, but quietly, a little too close for comfort, but Inoo was too tired to care at the moment. The younger male sat himself down beside Inoo, surrounded by the prickly branches of the hedge.
"T-Thanks..." Inoo managed to croak out after his breathing had steadied. Hikaru simply nodded and closed his eyes, sighing as the cool spring breeze hit their sweaty faces. Inoo cast his eyes towards the house, finally noticing the lack of illumination.
"Whose... house is this?"
"My elder sister's, her family's on holiday," Hikaru replied with his eyes still closed.
"Oh."
"I can't believe you really took on Shirokin guys, you idiotic bookworm."
The insult stung a little, but Inoo felt the need to defend himself.
"They were touching my sister--"
"Yeah, that was some gut you had, I heard," Hikaru chuckled quietly. "But you're cool. Just... Be careful."
"What were you doing there?"
"I was at Taiyou's place, getting homework help. Was on my way home."
"I see... Thanks, again, but thanks."
"Yeah yeah," Hikaru waved him off.
The night was quiet, now that their pursuers have left. Inoo looked up at the night sky where a handful of stars glittered, and noticed just how close they were sitting next to each other. He could feel the heat radiating off Hikaru's skin, though it did nothing to help the chill getting to him. His sweat-soaked clothes were more than useless against the chilly winds that were starting to pick up, and he shivered involuntarily against the cold.
He felt a sudden urge to grab hold of Hikaru's arm. It must be warm.
He shook the idea out of his head as a surge of warmth rushed to his cheeks. His shiver didn't go unnoticed, very apparently, as Hikaru turned to him with a concerned expression upon his usually carefree face.
"Cold?"
"I-I'm fine."
Inoo held his breath as Hikaru suddenly took his hand and held it between his own.
"You were shivering, Inoo. We'll just stay here for a bit more, to make sure that they're gone. Hang in there, alright?"
Inoo nodded meekly, and did not withdraw his hand. The warmth spreading up his arm was comforting, and he relaxed, leaning ever so slightly against Hikaru's shoulder. Hikaru coughed, and Inoo immediately sat up straight.
"S-Sorry."
"No! It's fine!" Hikaru said quickly with a nervous chuckle. "I didn't--well, I mean--It's not really a bother."
Inoo nibbled on his lower lip nervously, his hand still held between Hikaru's large, rough ones. He curled his fingers experimentally and held the other's hand softly.
"Inoo... Uh... Y'know... the chocolates on Valentine's... Did you get any from anyone interesting?"
"Huh? Um, they were all anonymous. Except for one that was signed with F-kun. I have no idea who that is so it's as good as being anonymous."
"Oh. Can't think of anyone with an initial F?"
"No."
"Maybe it's someone who likes Flea," Hikaru said under his breath quickly.
"Flea?"
"Yeah, he's the bassist of Red Hot Chili Peppers, this American rock band. He's really cool, like the way he plays the bass and his stage presence is just.... awesome."
It took a moment or two for it to dawn on Inoo, and he nearly gasped out like a high school girl would. His sudden silence snapped Hikaru out of his fanboying daze and the younger one dropped his gaze to the grass beneath their feet.
"Y-You sent them?"
"It was meant as a joke! I mean... You..."
Inoo felt his heart sink, just like that dreadful feeling he got from simply looking at roller coasters.
"Joke?"
"It was--oh my god, please don't cry. It was meant as a joke only... only because I didn't know if you..."
"If I what?!" His disappointment morphed into a sudden burst of anger, having been played a fool by the one guy he had been fretting over for the past few days. "You thought it would have been funny to just... just--"
"Because I didn't know if you liked me back, damnnit!" Hikaru spat out a bit too loudly. He immediately clamped a hand over his own mouth, looking nervously around. The area remained quiet.
"You like me?" Inoo whispered, and Hikaru nodded, his eyes darting everywhere and avoiding Inoo's questioning gaze.
"Yaotome-kun..."
"Call me Hikaru, please?"
"...Thanks for the chocolates, they were delicious."
"Of course they would be, I made them myself--"
"Hikaru-kun, I like you too."
It was Hikaru's turn to be speechless. Inoo simply smiled, and smiled, and smiled, because there were no words for the crazy happiness he felt at that moment. Hikaru looked away first, hiding a smile of his own at the corners of his slightly upturned lips.
"That's a relief."
He didn't let go of Inoo's hand until they parted ways at Inoo's front door.
~
Inoo stared at the clock, counting down the seconds to the bell.
3 seconds before it went off, a tall boy with a head of messy brown hair and a guitar case on his back strode into class with his daily sunshiney smile and received the class' "good morning"s with a idol-worthy wave.
The bell went off just as said guitarist's eyes drifted over to meet Inoo's.
A small smile was exchanged, and Inoo cast his eyes to the trees outside of the classroom window, where, on the bare branches, tiny green leaves were beginning to appear.
Something was growing between them.
Something wonderful.
Author: shiroikazex
Group/pairing: Hikanoo,
Genre: Romance, fluff, a little bit of humour
Word Count: ~3,000
Rating: G
Summary: AU. Inoo had been crushing on Hikaru since forever, but was too afraid of getting rejected to send chocolates on Valentine's. He did, however, receive a pack of chocolates from a certain F-kun, though he had no idea what connections to make of that. After running into trouble with a couple of thugs around the neighbourhood, Inoo found out who this F-kun was.
Disclaimer: I wish they were mine. Sigh.
Notes: I promised I'd write this for kamenashi05 since EONS ago and I FINALLY finished it. SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. Hope you guys like it anyway! :D
Hikaru wasn't the type to go to school early, at all, preferring to stroll into class just as the bell was about to go off. He responded to all his teachers' warnings with his charming grin, countering that he was right on time, or when he wasn't, being fashionably late. He must have surprised the councilor on duty at the school gates that day, but he waved at Tamamori anyway. Best to act normal to cover up for everything.
After dropping off his bicycle at the near-empty shelter, he dashed through the corridors into the quiet classroom, silently muttering a prayer to the gods for keeping the stuffy room empty at this hour. He headed straight to the desk by the window, 3 seats from the back and shoved the small box in his hand unceremoniously into the compartment underneath it.
He heaved a sigh of relief and darted back out of the classroom, his guitar case on his back. There was some time to while away before classes started, and he headed up to the rooftop.
~
Valentine's day was about as depressing as it could get this year. Inoo counted a grand total of 4 presents, 3 of which were anonymous so there was nothing he could do about that, and one that was signed with an initial "F". He had no idea who "F"-kun was, no names came to mind, so he cycled home with the 4 small packs that could pathetically fit in his already exploding bag of books.
He was beyond disappointed that after all the stealthy glances he caught from a certain someone, none of the presents gave an indication towards that person. Perhaps one of the anonymous ones, but that was merely Inoo's own guess, and that wouldn't prove anything.
Hypocrite, Inoo scolded himself mentally, after cursing at how cowardly the other male was for not leaving his name and then realizing that he had not given Hikaru anything for Valentine's, for fear of being rejected.
He sighed as he cycled on. He had one more year in high school, perhaps next year he would finally find enough courage in himself--
"Nii-chan!"
He braked sharply and looked to his left. Over the hedge he spotted his sister in the small alleyway across the road looking back at him with wide, fearful eyes. And then he noticed them.
There were three--if the situation wasn't this dire he would have found it rather comical, really--two tall ones, one black-haired and the other with brown hair that looked almost orange under the setting sun that seeped into the alley, and a short one in the middle with blond streaks in his brown hair. He noted their uniforms--the well-known unruly school around the corner.
"Who's this guy?" The short one asked with a sneer.
"Nii-chan, help!" Aki called out again, struggling against the grip of her captor, the tall black-haired one.
"Shush, princess, we were really only asking you to hang out with us for a while."
Inoo wondered where his strength and his courage appeared from, because suddenly the bag of books felt like feathers in his hand as he dashed across the road, though obviously it still felt like a bag of thick textbooks to the three thugs who were each knocked off their feet as the bag made contact with their torsos. Inoo panted and dropped the bag, the strength leaving him, and the three stumbled to their feet while clutching their sides where they had been hit by the swinging bag.
"You son of a bitch--"
A fist collided with his cheek and he fell back, black spots erupting across his field of vision.
"Nii-chan--"
"Oi! What are you rascals doing there?!"
Through his blurred vision, Inoo saw the three thugs look pass him at the man who had hollered from behind him and sneer.
"You'll pay for this!" The short one spat at Inoo before the three took off in the other direction down the alley and disappeared around the corner.
Soft, delicate hands helped him up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He leaned against the brick wall of the alley and waited for his head to stop spinning.
"Are you alright?" The man who had yelled asked, as he jogged across the road to where the two siblings were.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Aki, you ok?"
"Yes," She held back tears as she dabbed at Inoo's face with her handkerchief. "T-Thank you, Nii-chan. And thank you too, Koyama-sensei."
The tall man smiled and nodded back at Aki.
"Please be careful from now on, Aki. You had better be careful with who you're associating with in the future--"
"They cornered me when I was walking home, sensei, I didn't know them--"
"I see. I'll report this to their school, don't you worry. I'll walk the two of you home and explain this to your parents."
~
"...It's your fault for not leaving your name."
"I did!" Hikaru said exasperatedly. "I did! He just..."
"No one would relate it to you, Hikaru."
"He should know whom I worship if he likes me!"
"How the heck do you know that he likes you, anyway?" Taiyou looked at his friend pointedly. "Sure you caught him looking at you a couple of times in class, but you do realize that there a bunch of other guys in school who do, and that's just cos they want to be like you right?"
"No they don't--"
"Yes, like that dude in first year... What's his name--Senga? He's been studying you for ages, just cos he's aiming for my sister."
"He is?!"
"Showed up at my place the other time, and Tsuki shouted for him to come back when he could play guitar as well as you could."
"...Tsuki likes me?"
"Unfortunately."
"Cool!" He grinned, but it was wiped off his face by Taiyou's death glare.
"Don't you even dare. I know how you are with girls--"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So you're saying that Inoo might have been watching me because he wants to be like me and attract girls?"
"Maybe," Taiyou shrugged. "Why do you care? I thought you were just gonna prank him with that present."
"W-Well, yeah! That's all there is to it, right? I mean the guy's such a girl, it would have been funny to see him be all red in the face and everything..."
"If I didn't know any better, I would have said that you genuinely like the guy."
Hikaru laughed, albeit a little dryly.
"I don't."
"It's still horrible of you to play a prank like that. The guy never did anything to piss you off."
"Just thought it would have be funny, Taiyou, I didn't mean any harm. Thank god that he didn't recognize my signature then."
Taiyou just shook his head and turned back to his homework. Hikaru stared at the equations in front of him for a while longer before slamming his book shut and getting onto his feet.
"I'm heading home."
"But you're not done--"
"I'll do the rest at home, these are easy. See ya~"
He ran into Tsuki on his way out of the Ayukawa residence, and for the fun of it, winked at her as he passed. The blush that crawled onto her cheeks brought him so much satisfaction, it almost entirely covered for his semi-rejected confession earlier that day.
He didn't like that pale, skinny scholar sitting in the corner of that classroom.
He liked him very, very much. So much, it scared him a little to do a proper confession.
~
He was halfway through the third box of chocolates when his sister came into his room.
"I'm sorry about today, nii-chan, does your cheek still hurt?"
"It's fine now," he smiled reassuringly. She nodded back and noticed the chocolates on his table.
"Oh! You got chocolates! But from who?"
He shrugged and handed the box to her.
"I don't know, they were all anonymous."
"But that one has a signature... 'F'? Who's 'F'?"
"No idea."
"Aren't you in a boys' school, nii-chan?"
"Yeah?"
She blinked in wonder and slowly devoured the piece of chocolate.
"Did you give chocolates to anyone?"
"N-No."
"Oh, okay..."
"Go to your room, I need to study."
"Fine..."
~
All prayers for Inoo to somehow relate Flea to him went unanswered, as Hikaru waltzed into class day after day and received nothing from the other boy. He received even less, and it wasn't just his paranoia speaking. Inoo absolutely refused to look at him now.
Perhaps he received a gift from someone better, Hikaru supposed. Damned.
Though he did grow curious about the bruise on the pale boy's cheek the day after Valentine's. He heard from friends that Inoo got into a fight defending his sister. Somehow the thought of it made him smile, strangely enough. That guy had guts.
"...but I heard it was with them Shirokin guys."
Hikaru felt a cold hand squeezing his insides.
"Shirokin?"
"Yeah," Haruma looked worried too. "They're not the kind of guys you would mess with..."
"Why the hell would that pale Barbie pick a fight with Shirokin guys?!"
"They were harassing his sister, Hikaru, that's enough to make any nii-chan pick a fight with--well, even the Yakuza."
"Huh..."
"You're the youngest brat at home, you won't understand."
Hikaru rolled his eyes.
~
Inoo changed his route home for the next couple of days, avoiding the neighbourhood where the other school was and avoiding alleys that he normally took as shortcuts, and quite luckily he never ran into them again. He was pretty sure that they would seek revenge, and he wasn't sure if he would receive that burst of strength to escape again.
Though when his mom commanded him to go to the convenience store to grab something at 10pm, he could do nothing but comply. He got onto his bike and cycled down the street. The quickest way to get to the convenience store involved going through one single, rather well-lit alley, and he decided to take that route despite his instincts screaming at him not to, because it was late and he still had a ton of work to do.
He was halfway through when three shadows blocked the exit. Without thinking, he got off his bike and dashed back down the way he came, until two guys appeared there too, sealing off his escape route.
The lights flickered overhead and he swallowed.
"Well, what do we have here..." The same short one from before spoke up. "Hey there, Inoo-kun."
"H-How did you know my name?"
"It ain't that hard. Scholar, piano prodigy... your name pops up everywhere in the local news, you know."
He backed up into the middle of the alley, trapped, while the thugs advanced from both sides.
"Takaki, do the honors."
The orange haired guy--Takaki--stepped forward into the light, a look of arrogance on his face. The black haired one with a stick-like figure followed, cracking his knuckles--
A loud "omph!" was heard and the two guys whipped around, only to be knocked off their feet. Inoo's eyes widened as someone grabbed his wrist and tugged him along, running past the short kid who was clutching his head and groaning on the ground. Inoo tripped over his own feet, trying to catch up with the athletic male in front of him. He could recognize that jacket and that back anywhere, after all, he had spent hours staring at that back.
"Yao--"
"JUST RUN!"
He felt the adrelanine pumping through his veins as he dashed through the streets of the residential area, his wrist still firmly in the grasp of the guitarist before him. The Shirokin students have long since regained their locomotive abilities and were hot on their heels, shouts containing high levels of obscenities filling the air.
They darted past stunned pedastrians who were then gruffly pushed aside by the guys behind. He was starting to feel the burn in his legs--he was not one who ever exercised much, passing PE with a borderline grade--and he was struggling to keep up with Hikaru. His breath came in sharp, painful pants and he knew that he couldn't continue for much longer.
Up ahead, a deliveryman pushing a load of plastic crates on a cart drew close at a dangerous speed. Instead of slowing down and going round the similarly shocked deliveryman, Hikaru charged straight on, just barely missing the stack of crates. He did, however, reach out a hand and knocked the staggering stack of crates over, scattering the contents across the asphalt, and Inoo felt a small surge or relief as he heard his pursuers slipping and tripping over each other in the spilled pile of ice and frozen seafood.
They rounded the corner at their original speed and Hikaru dragged Inoo to one of the houses down the street, urging him to climb over the low wall into small, but well-kept backyard beyond.
"What?! Are you crazy?!" Inoo hissed, but Hikaru gave him a rough push and he scaled over the wall with a leg-up from Hikaru. The younger male landed quietly after him and pulled him into the hedge, crouching and hiding themselves in the leaves, away from the glare of the street lamp.
He could hear his heart hammering loudly in his ears, even as the Shirokin students approached and argued in loud voices over where he was. He shut his eyes and willed for them to go away, and after what seemed like forever, the voices faded and Inoo slumped against the low wall, wiping the sweat away from his eyes.
Hikaru was breathing heavily, but quietly, a little too close for comfort, but Inoo was too tired to care at the moment. The younger male sat himself down beside Inoo, surrounded by the prickly branches of the hedge.
"T-Thanks..." Inoo managed to croak out after his breathing had steadied. Hikaru simply nodded and closed his eyes, sighing as the cool spring breeze hit their sweaty faces. Inoo cast his eyes towards the house, finally noticing the lack of illumination.
"Whose... house is this?"
"My elder sister's, her family's on holiday," Hikaru replied with his eyes still closed.
"Oh."
"I can't believe you really took on Shirokin guys, you idiotic bookworm."
The insult stung a little, but Inoo felt the need to defend himself.
"They were touching my sister--"
"Yeah, that was some gut you had, I heard," Hikaru chuckled quietly. "But you're cool. Just... Be careful."
"What were you doing there?"
"I was at Taiyou's place, getting homework help. Was on my way home."
"I see... Thanks, again, but thanks."
"Yeah yeah," Hikaru waved him off.
The night was quiet, now that their pursuers have left. Inoo looked up at the night sky where a handful of stars glittered, and noticed just how close they were sitting next to each other. He could feel the heat radiating off Hikaru's skin, though it did nothing to help the chill getting to him. His sweat-soaked clothes were more than useless against the chilly winds that were starting to pick up, and he shivered involuntarily against the cold.
He felt a sudden urge to grab hold of Hikaru's arm. It must be warm.
He shook the idea out of his head as a surge of warmth rushed to his cheeks. His shiver didn't go unnoticed, very apparently, as Hikaru turned to him with a concerned expression upon his usually carefree face.
"Cold?"
"I-I'm fine."
Inoo held his breath as Hikaru suddenly took his hand and held it between his own.
"You were shivering, Inoo. We'll just stay here for a bit more, to make sure that they're gone. Hang in there, alright?"
Inoo nodded meekly, and did not withdraw his hand. The warmth spreading up his arm was comforting, and he relaxed, leaning ever so slightly against Hikaru's shoulder. Hikaru coughed, and Inoo immediately sat up straight.
"S-Sorry."
"No! It's fine!" Hikaru said quickly with a nervous chuckle. "I didn't--well, I mean--It's not really a bother."
Inoo nibbled on his lower lip nervously, his hand still held between Hikaru's large, rough ones. He curled his fingers experimentally and held the other's hand softly.
"Inoo... Uh... Y'know... the chocolates on Valentine's... Did you get any from anyone interesting?"
"Huh? Um, they were all anonymous. Except for one that was signed with F-kun. I have no idea who that is so it's as good as being anonymous."
"Oh. Can't think of anyone with an initial F?"
"No."
"Maybe it's someone who likes Flea," Hikaru said under his breath quickly.
"Flea?"
"Yeah, he's the bassist of Red Hot Chili Peppers, this American rock band. He's really cool, like the way he plays the bass and his stage presence is just.... awesome."
It took a moment or two for it to dawn on Inoo, and he nearly gasped out like a high school girl would. His sudden silence snapped Hikaru out of his fanboying daze and the younger one dropped his gaze to the grass beneath their feet.
"Y-You sent them?"
"It was meant as a joke! I mean... You..."
Inoo felt his heart sink, just like that dreadful feeling he got from simply looking at roller coasters.
"Joke?"
"It was--oh my god, please don't cry. It was meant as a joke only... only because I didn't know if you..."
"If I what?!" His disappointment morphed into a sudden burst of anger, having been played a fool by the one guy he had been fretting over for the past few days. "You thought it would have been funny to just... just--"
"Because I didn't know if you liked me back, damnnit!" Hikaru spat out a bit too loudly. He immediately clamped a hand over his own mouth, looking nervously around. The area remained quiet.
"You like me?" Inoo whispered, and Hikaru nodded, his eyes darting everywhere and avoiding Inoo's questioning gaze.
"Yaotome-kun..."
"Call me Hikaru, please?"
"...Thanks for the chocolates, they were delicious."
"Of course they would be, I made them myself--"
"Hikaru-kun, I like you too."
It was Hikaru's turn to be speechless. Inoo simply smiled, and smiled, and smiled, because there were no words for the crazy happiness he felt at that moment. Hikaru looked away first, hiding a smile of his own at the corners of his slightly upturned lips.
"That's a relief."
He didn't let go of Inoo's hand until they parted ways at Inoo's front door.
~
Inoo stared at the clock, counting down the seconds to the bell.
3 seconds before it went off, a tall boy with a head of messy brown hair and a guitar case on his back strode into class with his daily sunshiney smile and received the class' "good morning"s with a idol-worthy wave.
The bell went off just as said guitarist's eyes drifted over to meet Inoo's.
A small smile was exchanged, and Inoo cast his eyes to the trees outside of the classroom window, where, on the bare branches, tiny green leaves were beginning to appear.
Something was growing between them.
Something wonderful.