[fic] Mitsukaru High - Ch 8 Part 2
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 and such from fellow TeniMyu Slash fans. :D
Here is the 8th chapter entitled School Productions. This chapter focuses on Mitsukaru putting on a musical production for the quarter, managed by the Student Council. The chosen production was Broadway’s RENT. With Takigawa and Shirota as part of the cast, Kimeru and Aiba share different views with their respective partner’s involvement in the musical.
Shirota and Aiba share their sweet kisses with one another when they visit each other - Aiba teaching Shirota tango for the musical, and Shirota helping Aiba move back in with his family. Kimeru, now alone in the dorm, moves in with Takigawa.
However, because of the length of this chapter, I am forced to divide it into two parts. This is part 2.
**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.
The next day, Shirota headed out after breakfast and made his way to the dorms to meet up with Aiba. Once he climbed the five flights of stairs, he knocked on the door. "AIBACCHIN!" he called.
Kimeru pulled open the door in annoyance. "Quiet! Your voice is loud enough to wake the dead!!" he said in irritation.
"I.e. You, Kimeru-senpai," Aiba said as Kimeru got out of the way. "Thanks for coming early, Shirota-kun," he said with a smile.
Shirota nodded. "No problem. I had to sneak out before my dad could ask any questions about it, though," he said, scratching his cheek.
"Sou ka..." Aiba said as he took one of the two boxes near the door. "Here Shirota-kun...you can carry this," he said as he took another another box after taking his back pack. "There we go...I'll see you then, Kimeru-senpai," Aiba said with a slight bow.
Kimeru yawned before looking at him. "Sure whatever...though don't count on the fact that since we don't stay in one room anymore I’ll stop annoying you," he said.
Aiba grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it, senpai...besides, you'll be moving out in a few days as well, right?"
Kimeru smiled. "Aa…"
Shirota furrowed his brows as he took the box and looked between Kimeru and Aiba. "Eh?"
"Remember back in the auditorium?" Aiba asked Shirota. "Kimeru-senpai will be staying with Takigawa-senpai from now on and it would seem that they have agreed on starting next week," he explained.
"Ah, that's right..." Shirota said before pausing. "But that means..." He frowned, deciding to head to the stairs in awkward silence.
"I'll see you around then, senpai," Aiba said as he caught up with Shirota.
Kimeru shook his head before closing the door once Aiba stepped out.
Aiba walked beside Shirota and looked at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Shirota shook his head. "It's nothing," he reassured him.
Aiba frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked.
Shirota nodded again. "Aa. I can always talk to Eiji-kun about it, anyway... About that..." he said off-handedly.
"Okay then....." Aiba said, not forcing the issue. "Hinako-neesan said that mother's preparing something for you at home…" he said.
Shirota chuckled. "Your mother seems to have found my weakness," he mused.
Aiba grinned. "Mother's good with people because of that....look how she manages to manipulate my father."
Shirota laughed. "I've noticed," he pointed out.
Aiba smiled as they headed to his place.
----------
Upon arrival, Hinako immediately ushered them inside. "We were waiting for you!" she said happily.
Shirota smiled to himself as he entered the house. He bowed politely as he spotted the parents and looked over to Aiba. "Ne, where do you want me to put this, Aibacchin?" he inquired.
"Let's put it in my room," Aiba said with a nod. "We'll just be upstairs!" he told his parents as he led Shirota to his room. He managed to open the door and moved aside to let Shirota in. "Come on in."
Shirota entered the room and set the box down by the cabinet before looking around. "Heh... Your room's pretty big..." he pointed out.
Aiba closed the door behind him and placed the box, along with his backpack beside the bed. "If you think this is big, you should see my sister’s room," he said as he sat on the bed. "I've missed this," he said before lying down and taking one of his pillows. "Wanna join me here? It's soft," he said, grinning like a child.
Shirota chuckled, nodding as he approached the bed. "You take after your mother bribing me with these sorts of things," Shirota accused.
Aiba smirked. "Something bad about that?" he teased as he threw a pillow at Shirota.
Shirota caught the pillow and shook his head. "Not really."
Aiba grinned before moving to a sitting position on the bed. "Let's see...knowing my mother, she'll call us down for something in about 15 minutes or so..." he said. "So what do you want to do until then?"
"That's difficult to answer since we're in your house, Aibacchin..." Shirota admitted.
"We could play some games on my computer," Aiba said as he pointed at his desktop. "Or anything that might catch your interest in my room."
Shirota looked around. "A-re?" he slowly got to his feet and approached Aiba's desk.
"Ever heard of a magic eight ball?" Aiba asked as he went over his desk and picked up something pink and round.
Shirota nodded. "Never really used it before, though..." he said.
"Nee-san gave this to me before school started. It's called a date ball," he said. "She seems to think of it as a practical joke," he added as he turned the ball over. "You're supposed to ask a question concerning relationships and then it answers." He looked at the ball and shook it. "For example...will Takigawa-senpai and Kimeru-senpai eventually end up together after they graduate?" he asked the ball before turning it so that the little transparent part was facing upwards.
What appeared on the small window was a triangular object that had the words "Absolutely!" on it with a little heart at the bottom.
"You try," Aiba said as he handed Shirota the pink object.
Shirota took the ball and shook it. "Will Moriyama-senpai end up with someone in the future?" he inquired randomly before watching the triangular object flash "It's looking good" with a little heart at the bottom. He chuckled to himself.
Aiba grinned. "Is it Yanagi-kun?" he asked as he took the ball and shook it. "Why not?" Aiba read out loud as he smirked.
Shirota glanced over to Aiba. "You picked that up or was that just a guess?" he inquired sheepishly.
"I knew the looks that they were giving each other during the practices," Aiba said with a smile. "It was pretty clear that they were interested in one another in my perspective of things."
"So I wasn't the only one who noticed," Shirota said, grinning.
Aiba nodded. "That's why Takigawa-senpai should be ready when Moriyama-senpai decides to do something about it," he said with a grin. "Let's see...." he said as he looked around. “We still have about 10 minutes..." he said.
"I'm sure Eiji-kun's noticed it by now. He spends a lot more time with Moriyama-senpai than I do, anyway," Shirota explained before remembering the boxes. "So do you need help unpacking?" he suggested.
Aiba thought for a moment. "Nah, I can take care of those later." '...after all I can't let you find out that almost half of those stuff is connected to you,' he added in his mind.
Shirota nodded. "Okay..." he said before turning to the door.
"Hiro~~ mother wants you and Shirota-kun to come down for a while~" Hinako said from outside.
Aiba blinked. "That was...against my calculations, but oh well."
Shirota nodded to himself before turning to Aiba. “Looks like you were wrong," he pointed out with a grin.
"I guess so..." Aiba said as he opened the door, only to yelp in surprise as his sister came in and locked the door behind her.
"So....?" she asked the two.
Hiroki took a few steps back. "So...what?!" he asked.
"Are the two of you together?" she asked with a grin as Hiroki turned beet red.
Shirota nodded. "Aa," he replied bluntly.
"I knew it!! I'm going to go and tell mom~" Hinako said before going out, leaving Aiba to stand in shock.
"What did-- OI! NEE-SAN!! MATTE!!" he yelled as he ran out the door to stop his sister.
Shirota chuckled, following after the siblings as he closed the door to Aiba's room.
Hiroki chased his sister to the gardens while his mother came out from the kitchen. "Congratulations Shirota-kun," she said as soon as she saw Shirota. "Why don't you sit down while those two have a bonding moment?"
"WE'RE NOT BONDING!" Hiroki yelled as he passed by the window.
Shirota nodded. "Aa. Arigatou," he replied politely, bowing before he took a seat at one of the garden chairs.
After a while, Hiroki stopped chasing his sister and went to sit on the chair beside Shirota, "Sorry about that...nee-san just gets into my nerves sometimes..." he said.
"Not my fault that you are easily annoyed, little brother," Hinako said with a smile.
"Enough you two...we have a guest," Mikoto reminded them.
"Hai..." they both answered.
"Here, why don't you have something to eat while you tell us the story of how you managed to convince our Hiroki to see things in your perspective?" Mikoto said as he placed a plate full of brownies on one of the tables.
Shirota's eyes lit up at the sight of the brownies and took one. "Arigatou! Itadakimasu!" he said, taking a bite out of the brownie, chewing it fondly.
Mikoto smiled as Shirota ate some of her handmade brownies.
"So what happened?" Hinako asked.
Hiroki sighed before telling them the story.
"Aww...that's so sweet, Shirota-kun!" Hinako said as soon as Hiroki told them about that little encounter at the rooftop.
Hiroki smiled at Shirota fondly. "Aa...that was the moment he managed to change my mind," he said.
Shirota smiled lightly. "I'm glad you got to talk to your father about that, Aibacchin..." he said as he took another brownie.
"That's because I knew you would be behind me all the way," Aiba said with a smile.
Hinako chuckled. "But still, Shirota-kun... Thank you for confronting Hiroki like that. If you didn't do it then he may still be at the dorms right now."
"He might've still been afraid to show himself and be the serious type he's made himself to be in school..." Shirota said, shuddering before he smirked over to Hiroki.
"An image which I would still have to maintain," Hiroki said as he took a bite off a brownie.
Shirota slapped the boy on the arm. "No you don't!" he complained.
Hiroki looked at him. "I was just kidding!" he said.
Hinako chuckled as she patted his brother on the head. "You two are sure are cute," she said before standing up. "I'll just be upstairs. I have a paper to finish," she told them.
"Hai nee-san…"
Shirota nodded to Hinako before reaching out for a brownie before he found the plate to be empty as he looked at it. "Ahh! You got the last brownie!" Shirota accused, glaring over to Hiroki darkly.
"Don't worry, Shirota-kun. We have a fresh baked chocolate cake in the fridge since I noticed that you liked the one before," Mikoto said as she stood. "I'll go bring some."
Hiroki stared at his mother as she left before turning his gaze to Shirota. "My mother...seems to enjoy spoiling you…" he said.
"I might not be able to leave at the rate this is going," Shirota whispered to Hiroki as the cake was brought out, causing the boy to grin. "Lucky~" he said.
Mikoto smiled. "At least you have something rather than Hiroki as an incentive to come here, right Shirota-kun?" she said as she handed Shirota a slice of the cake.
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After a while, the sun had started to set. The two were back in Hiroki's room, lying down on the bed to pass the time.
Shirota checked his watch before sitting up. "Yabe!!" he exclaimed, getting to his feet. "Gomen Aibacchin, but I have to be heading back home," he said hastily.
Aiba looked at the clock and saw up as well, "Alright...come on, I'll walk with you down the street," he said with a smile before leading him downstairs where his mother and sister said their goodbyes to Shirota.
"It's fine, I can make it on my own," Shirota said as they reached the gate, holding Aiba back, nodding over to him. "Enjoy your time with your family..." he added, smiling softly.
Aiba smiled back. "I'll see you on Monday, then..." he said. “...and Shirota-kun....thanks."
Shirota nodded, hesitating for a moment and leaned forward, kissing Aiba on the lips for what seemed like three seconds before he quickly pulled away. He bowed and headed off. "Ja~"
Aiba stood there stunned for a few seconds after Shirota had left, his hand moving up to touch his lips. 'F...First Kiss....' was all his mind managed to process before stepping back to close the door. He marched up the stairs like a zombie and went straight to his room, causing his mother and father, who were at the den, to look at one another before shrugging.
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Shirota jogged on his way back to his house. 'Did I really..?' he asked himself, shaking his head furiously. 'I did... And I don't regret it!' he told himself firmly before grinning, sprinting off the rest of the way. By the time he got back to his house, his father, he found out, was called away back to work while his mother, Rina and Jun were there for dinner joining him and Maria.
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"..AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY YOU WERE THE ONE I DECIDED TO CALL ABOUT IT!!" Aiba said into the speaker.
Kimeru was holding his phone an arm’s length away from his ear. "That's what I wanted to know..." he muttered before placing the phone near his ear. “Listen, you have to calm down...you're treating this like he passed on some sort of disease on you..." he said.
"I am calm!!" Aiba insisted, his voice a lot less loud than before.
Kimeru sighed. "Look, if you really want to know what happens next you have to wait until Monday. Now leave me alone," he said before ending the call.
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Shirota finished any of his unfinished assignments after dinner in his room before leaning back, turning around in his swivel chair before he went to his bed and lied down, exhausted. "What to do..." he muttered onto the blanket.
==========
Monday came along and despite the fact that he lived a little farther, Aiba still managed to get to school in time.
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Fifth period, the class before lunch. It was English for section one of the first years, the class that Ueshima-sensei taught.
Aiba was doodling in his notebook as he listened to Ueshima-sensei lecture on about Roman Mythologies. He then noticed a sudden movement by the edge of his desk and he froze. 'Please don't let it be.....' he thought as he looked at it.
A medium-sized spider crawled up to his notebook.
Aiba's eyes went wide. "Ahh!" He jumped out of his seat and instinctively went behind Shirota.
Ueshima-sensei paused in mid-lecture at the sudden scream from the back of the classroom, all eyes averting to Aiba, who had jumped out of his seat. "What's wrong, Aiba?" he called from the front of the class.
Shirota looked over his shoulder to the boy before his eyes returned to the desk and pointed at the insect on Aiba's notebook. "You're afraid of spiders?" he inquired.
Aiba looked at the creature on his notebook before nodding slowly. "Hated them and had been afraid of them since I was 5," he said quickly.
"Well, I learned something new today..." Shirota said brightly before standing, moving to the cabinet and pulled out an empty jar they normally used for art class and unscrewed the cap, heading back to Aiba's desk and forced the jar over the spider, sliding it to the edge and quickly closed the jar once more. "There we go, problem solved," he announced, bowing to Ueshima-sensei before leaving the room momentarily to bring the spider to a different location.
Aiba sighed in relief once Shirota went out with the spider; that was when he noticed that everyone was looking at him. "A-no...gomen!" he said with a bow before returning to his seat.
Ueshima grinned. "It's fine, it's fine. Saa, back to the lesson~" he said, averting his gaze to the book in his hand as Shirota returned to the room and took his seat.
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After classes, it was once again time for practices, the scripts were handed out to the characters and even Aiba managed to get a copy for reference use on his article. He was reading the script when something Shiozawa was saying to Takumi and Kazuki caught his attention.
"Wait! You can't do it like that!" Shiozawa said as he walked over to the two. "You're supposed to look at each other during this instrumental and there should be some sort of chemistry!" he explained.
"How do we do that?" Kazuki asked getting annoyed at the 6th interruption for that certain scene.
Shiozawa walked over to the table where Takumi was. "You should look at him with intensity not like he just walked in the room. And you!" he said as he went over to Kazuki. "You don't just walk inside the room like you're walking in the park…add something there that would cause some chemistry!"
Kazuki frowned. "You're confusing me..." he said.
Shiozawa thought for a moment. "We need someone to show you...some people who have natural chemistry...aha! Shirota-kun! Aiba-kun! Would you two please come here for a second and show these two how it's done?"
"What?!" Aiba exclaimed as he stared at Shiozawa.
Shirota, who was practicing a song on his own, paused as he turned to Shiozawa, frowning. "What are you talking about?"
Shiozawa grinned. "I want you two to show Kazuki and Takumi-senpai how this scene would be done in your perspective.”
Aiba frowned. "You're telling us to show these two drama club members how to do a proper scene?" he asked.
"Exactly,” Shiozawa replied.
Shirota glanced over to Aiba, lowering his lyrics. "You can't be serious..." he said, looking back over to Shiozawa.
Shiozawa smirked. "I'm afraid I am...now go," he said as he nodded at Aiba who looked at Shirota as if asking him what to do.
Shirota heaved a deep sigh and set his lyrics down and approached the stage, nodding over to Aiba. 'The sooner we get this over with, the better...' he thought to himself.
Aiba frowned as he went up on stage. "I'm not part of the cast...." he muttered darkly.
Yagami watched from the sidelines. "Shiozawa-kun is doing this on purpose, isn't he?" he asked Moriyama.
Moriyama chuckled. "Maybe," he replied bluntly.
Takigawa and Yanagi, who were off-stage practicing their duet, paused when Shirota and Aiba were called on-stage. Takigawa stepped out onto the wing of the stage and raised an eyebrow. 'Is it just me, or...'
Shirota patted Aiba on the shoulder. "Don't mind it. As long as we get things over with here, you can get back to your work, na?" he said before turning to Shiozawa. "Now what did you want us to do exactly?"
"Just the part where Maureen and Joanne are inside the billiards room," Shizoawa said as he led Aiba to a space near the billiards table and then placed Shirota by the door.
"Aiba-kun, you're Maureen for a while and Shirota-kun, Joanne."
"I have to jump on the billiards table?!" Aiba exclaimed.
Shiozawa nodded. "Hai...now you better watch closely, Takumi-senpai, Kazuki-kun," he said to the two who were smirking just behind them. "Music!"
After Shirota and Aiba did the scene, the music ended as Shirota heaved a huge sigh, bending over. "Is that enough for you, Shiozawa-kun?" he inquired, looking over to him.
Shiozawa nodded. "Better than expected," he said with a thumbs-up. "Did you two get that?" he asked Kazuki and Takumi who nodded, smirk still in place.
"I never knew that you could move like that, Aiba-kun," Kazuki said as he patted Aiba on the shoulder. Aiba frowned before going back to his seat.
Shirota nodded wordlessly before getting off-stage and went to retrieve his lyrics.
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Takigawa and Yanagi looked at each other, smirking.
"Takigawa-senpai, they're--"
Takigawa nodded. "Aa. They are."
----------
After a while Moriyama caught the attention of the others. "For the last part of today's practice I would like to see the progress of the characters and their songs," he said.
"First up, let's see Tango Maureen!"
Aiba smiled at Shirota and gave him the thumbs-up sign. "Gambatte~" he said.
Shirota approached the stage and returned the gesture to Aiba before he joined Kazuki on stage.
"I don't want to get my foot stepped on, Shirota-kun," Kazuki warned as he went to take his place on one side of the stage.
Shirota nodded. "Don't worry. I can assure you it won't happen," Shirota replied, heading to the other side.
"Start!" Moriyama called.
"Looks like you taught him well, Aiba-kun," Moriyama said as he took a seat beside Aiba to watch.
Aiba shrugged. "He's a fast learner so it was easy."
Moriyama grinned as the dance progressed to the more awkward movements. "You even taught him that move?" he asked and Aiba nodded.
When the song ended, Kazuki nodded curtly to Shirota. "Not bad for a first-timer," he complimented before heading off-stage.
Shirota sighed with relief as he looked over to Aiba and grinned at him before getting down from the stage.
"Nice job. You looked great up there," Aiba said with a smile.
Moriyama stood up and approached Toru who announced the next pair. "Next is Light my Candle," he announced.
Kimeru, who was talking with the rest of the band heard this and turned his gaze sharply towards Yanagi.
Takigawa patted Yanagi on the shoulder as they took center stage. "Remember what I told you earlier, Yanagi-kun?" he inquired.
Yanagi nodded. "Aa. I'll try, but I won't guarantee I won't be bothered..." he replied.
Toru brought a hand up. "Start!"
As the song started Aiba felt a strange aura fill the auditorium. "That....that's coming from Kimeru-senpai, isn't it?" he asked as he looked at the band vocalist near the side of the stage.
Shirota moved to Kimeru and put a hand on the junior's shoulder. "Mah, there's nothing to get jealous over," he said quietly as the song progressed.
"Who told you I'm jealous? I'm not jealous…" Kimeru hissed as he looked at Yanagi moving around the stage.
Shirota chuckled. "Frankly, there's no need to be jealous. You know Ei--Takigawa-senpai already declared his feelings for you, and he wouldn't throw that away," he explained. "Besides... Yanagi-kun may very well have someone special as well. Both of them are treating this as just a musical where they ended up being partnered up. That's all."
Kimeru took a deep breath and counted to ten before exhaling. "You're right..." he told Shirota. "I'll try to calm down," he said slowly, turning his gaze away from the two on the stage.
After the song, Moriyama announced their schedule for the coming weeks before dismissing them.
===========
Shirota continued practicing the guitar with Takigawa until the latter was able to play the song on his own. It didn't take long before the musical reached the dress rehearsal a few days before the actual presentation. The group gathered in the auditorium as Moriyama took center stage.
"Okay, we're only two days away from actual show time. This dress rehearsal is a dry-run of the musical from start to finish. Any mistakes can be overlooked for now, but I urge you all to do your best and act as though this is the real thing!" he began.
"Aiba-kun, please don't forget to take pictures," Yagami instructed as he patted Aiba on the shoulder.
"Hai senpai," Aiba answered as he adjusted the lens of the camera.
Kimeru nodded to the band. "All we have to do today is watch. The recorded version of the songs is already at the sound booth," he said.
Nagayan grinned. "But in case something goes wrong, we better be ready, right?"
"Aa," Kimeru answered.
"Alright, let's get started!" Moriyama announced; heading off-stage as the dress rehearsal began.
Aiba took pictures every now and then as the cast and crew moved around. He even managed to take a picture of the band club watching. After the dress rehearsal, Aiba headed to the backstage to look for Shirota. "Shirota-kun~" he called out from the door.
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Kimeru, in the meantime, was talking to Moriyama about something on stage as he waited for Takigawa.
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Shirota popped his head out from the dressing room with his prop glasses still on. "Give me a second, Aibacchin. I need to change back to my uniform," he informed him.
"Okay, I'll just wait for you here..." Aiba said as he closed the door.
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"Don't worry, Moriyama-senpai...everything is going to be fine...besides...you've been waiting to ask him out for a while, haven't you?" Kimeru asked slyly.
Takigawa and Yanagi came out onstage talking about their duet before they saw Kimeru and Moriyama. The freshman had a particular blush on his cheeks as Takigawa smiled, patting him on the shoulder before nodding to Kimeru. "Shall we head off, Kimeru?" he inquired.
Kimeru patted Moriyama on the back. "Good luck senpai~" he said before running up to Takigawa and Yanagi. "Oi, Yanagi-kun... Moriyama-senpai wants to talk to you about something," he said with a grin.
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Shirota emerged from the dressing room, flashing a thumbs-up. "Yosh! Change complete!" he proclaimed, the glasses still on.
Aiba chuckled. "Not really. You're still Mark," he said as he pointed at the glasses.
Shirota blinked. "AHHH!" He pulled off the glasses and hastily took out the case and kept it in his back pocket. "There!"
Aiba grinned. "Now that's my Shirota-kun," he said.
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Takigawa nodded to his senpai before leaving the two alone and heading off with
Kimeru. "Saa, what should we be having for dinner?" he inquired.
"Don't really know...wanna try eating out for once?" Kimeru asked him as they left the auditorium.
Takigawa contemplated about it for a moment before nodding. "I don't mind. I'm fresh out of ideas for tonight, anyway," he admitted.
"So where do you want to go?" Kimeru asked.
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Shirota grabbed Aiba by the hand and whizzed down the aisle of the auditorium and out. "Let's celebrate and have dinner somewhere!" he said brightly.
"Sounds good to me," Aiba said with a smile.
"I was thinking--"
"Somewhere with--" Takigawa began.
Both Takigawa and Shirota paused before they noticed each other's presence; Takigawa and Kimeru were just a little ahead of Shirota and Aiba as they were leaving the school grounds.
"Are you two going out for dinner?" they asked each other.
"Ko-ra, I asked you first!" Shirota complained.
"No you didn't!" Takigawa fired back.
Aiba and Kimeru looked at one another and shrugged. "So Aiba?" Kimeru started.
Aiba thought for a moment. "Italian?" he suggested.
Shirota grinned, turning to Aiba. "I second the motion!" he said brightly.
Takigawa stumbled before shrugging. "We're splitting the bill on this one, then," he announced, looking over to Shirota. "Somebody here might end up ordering more than anybody..."
Shirota pouted and turned to Takigawa. "I can budget my allowance for this, thank you very much!" he said defensively.
"I can shoulder his part of the bill," Aiba offered as he raised his hand.
Shirota turned to Aiba. "Ehh? You don't have to, Aibacchin. I don't plan on spending much tonight..." he said hastily.
Takigawa started walking again. "As long as the bill is paid, there aren’t any problems," he said. "Ikuyo, Kimeru~"
"I'm paying your part of the bill," Aiba said firmly as he looked at Shirota.
Kimeru chuckled. "Recently got your allowance, have you?" he teased.
Shirota pouted but decided not to argue any further.
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As soon as they reached the restaurant and seated, Aiba looked at his menu. "What do you want, Shirota-kun?" he asked.
Shirota looked at the menu in high regard. "Some pasta would be nice," he stated, pointing to the particular dish.
Takigawa, in the meantime, was checking out the salads and pizza. "Anything interesting caught your eye, Kimeru?" he inquired.
Kimeru looked at the menu. "I...can't...decide..." he said. “You pick for me," he answered.
Aiba put down his menu and looked at the three. "I know what I'm ordering..." he said.
"And that would be?" Shirota inquired as Takigawa placed a few orders to their waiter.
"Just a simple, carbonara..." Aiba answered as he placed his order. "My parents are coming for the play…" Aiba added randomly.
Shirota placed his order of chicken salad and a small pizza before the waiter left. "Eh? Your parents?" Shirota repeated.
"Aa....for some reason they wanted to watch you," Aiba said with a shrug.
Shirota blinked before pulling out the prop glasses and putting them on. "I would understand your mother coming to watch, but your father?" he inquired, using a different voice that he'd be using for Mark.
"My mother convinced him to come along," Aiba reasoned.
"Well, that answers a lot..." Shirota replied coolly.
Takigawa smiled. "Are any of your siblings coming to watch, Shirotan?" he inquired.
Shirota pulled off his prop glasses. "My mom, Maria-nesan, Rina and Jun-ani, for sure," he replied.
Kimeru then looked at Takigawa after he had placed his order. "How about you, Takigawa? Are your parents coming?" he asked.
Takigawa shook his head. "They're still abroad. Last I heard from them, they were in France," he explained. "It's very rare for them to be coming home to visit..."
Kimeru thought for a moment before smiling. "Don't worry then~ Aiba and I will still be watching, right?" he said as he winked at the younger boy.
Aiba blinked. "Of course I'm watching...I need to cover it for the paper…" he said.
"So does that mean that if you're not going to cover it you're not going to watch?" Kimeru asked slyly.
Aiba glared at him. "Of course not! I'll still be watching because of Shirota-kun..." he said. "...and Takigawa-senpai," he added quickly when he felt that certain aura from Kimeru that quickly disappeared.
Takigawa and Shirota smiled at one another.
"I've only met Eiji-kun's parents at least twice when we were younger... They told me to keep him company whenever I could, which started that whole staying over every Tuesday and Thursday ritual," Shirota explained.
"I apologize if that ritual has to be broken, Shirotan..." Takigawa said, nodding to the younger boy.
Shirota waved a hand in front of him. "I don't mind."
Kimeru looked at Shirota and looked away for a minute. "That...would be my fault..." he said. "Gomen Shirota-kun," he said.
Shirota grinned. "Really, it's alright, Kimeru-senpai," he reassured the junior.
Aiba blinked at the way Kimeru was acting. "Senpai...?" he asked before spotting something unusual. "Isn't that Moriyama-senpai and Yanagi-kun?!" he said as he pointed at a table not far from them.
Shirota turned to Aiba. "Eh? Moriyama-senpai and Yanagi-kun?" he repeated, following Aiba's finger to the table.
Takigawa smirked. "Looks like they finally broke the ice..." he muttered.
Aiba grinned. "I knew it....it was impossible not to figure it out," he said with a nod.
Kimeru looked over his shoulder. "Looks like senpai listened to what I said after all," he said before their orders arrived.
"Eh, you talked with Moriyama-senpai?" Shirota inquired as he took a fork to indulge in his salad.
Kimeru nodded. "He asked me my opinion about asking someone out for a first date. It wasn't really hard to figure out who he was planning to ask if you pay attention to details," he explained.
Takigawa nodded in silence as he partook of his own salad.
"I'm surprised that they only started now though..." Aiba said with a shrug as he started on his own food.
"You should know from experience that things like these need time to blossom," Shirota explained eagerly.
Aiba smiled and nodded. "That's true..." he said in agreement.
----------
The rest of the meal was spent eating their chosen dishes - and at one point, Shirota and Takigawa fighting over the piece of pizza - before they were all stuffed.
"That was a satisfactory meal," Takigawa said in approval.
Aiba, who had excused himself a while ago to go to the bathroom, came back to join them. "I already paid the bill," he informed them.
"How much do we owe you?" Kimeru asked.
"Nothing..." Aiba answered.
"Aiba...."
"Senpai..." The two engaged in a glaring war before Aiba sighed. "Fine..." he said as he pulled out the receipt from his pocket to show the two juniors the amount of the bill.
Takigawa pulled out his wallet after mentally adding up the dishes he had ordered and handed out the amount to Aiba. "Here."
"You're not doing this just because I paid for dinner before, are you," Shirota inquired, looking over to Aiba.
"Maybe....maybe not…" Aiba said with a smirk.
Kimeru laughed when he heard this. "Sneaky kid..." he managed to say.
Takigawa stood. "It's about time we headed home, I believe?" he announced, grabbing his bag.
"Hai~ we still have classes half the day tomorrow, after all," Kimeru said.
"Then half the day we'd be in the auditorium making the final preparations for the play on Saturday," Aiba added.
"At least we don't have to worry about varsity practice until after this... Ne, Eiji-kun?" Shirota inquired as they left the restaurant.
Takigawa nodded.
----------
Aiba bowed to them as they reached an intersection where he would have to go the other way, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Takigawa-senpai, Kimeru-senpai," he said with a bow. "And don't forget about that test tomorrow, Shirota-kun," he added before kissing Shirota on the cheek. "Ja ne~" he called out as he crossed the street and turned around a corner.
Takigawa looked over to Shirota and smiled. "You've really changed him, Shirotan," he complimented.
Kimeru was still a bit shocked from what he witnessed. He shook his head to clear his mind. "Shirota-kun...you are one amazing kid..." he said as he patted Shirota on the shoulder.
"I don't think it's something to be praised for..." Shirota said as they headed in the direction of their houses.
"Why not? We're seeing a different side of Aiba now ever since you two got together," Takigawa argued.
"Aa...when he was at the dorms it's nothing but books, angst, his laptop, angst, academics, angst and did I mention angst?" Kimeru listed. "...Then you came and it became: books, Shirota, laptop, Shirota, academics, Shirota and......oh yeah~ Shirota," he said with a grin.
A slight blush came to Shirota's cheeks.
"You never did tell me how you managed it, Shirotan..." Takigawa said. "The next thing we knew, the two of you were..."
"We were talking about a few private matters..." Shirota cut in.
"Well, whatever you said must have caused him to drop all his defenses," Kimeru said with a shrug. "Because before the Saturday that you told us that you were together he was just staring at your picture the whole night."
"Point of the story is, I said a few things and I waited for him to act, which he did and we ended up together," Shirota said with finality.
Kimeru grinned. "You're one heck of a guy, you know that?" he said before messing up Shirota's hair.
Shirota moved forward, saving his hair from further disorientation as he swiftly combed it back to normal with his fingers.
Takigawa laughed. "Shirota doesn't enjoy having someone mess up his hair," he pointed out.
"I've noticed," Kimeru said before noticing that they were already at Takigawa's place. "Well...I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Shirota-kun," he said with a smile.
Shirota nodded, bidding them good night before walking further down the street to his own house.
----------
Takigawa unlocked the door and headed inside. He went the living room, noticing that one of Shirota's guitars was still there. He moved to place it back in its case. "I'll have to give this back to him tomorrow," he told himself.
Kimeru looked at the guitar for a while before smiling. "Hey Takigawa, play something for me," he said suddenly.
Takigawa paused and turned to Kimeru. "Ah, gomen... I don't..."
Kimeru chuckled. "Even if it's just the song for the play, I don't mind..." he said with a soft smile. "…please?"
Takigawa nodded before sitting down, taking the guitar up and began plucking the corresponding strings before he began to sing.
"One Song
Glory
One Song
Before I Go
Glory
One Song To Leave Behind
Find One Song
One Last Refrain
Glory
From The Pretty Boy Front Man
Who Wasted Opportunity
One Song
He Had The World At His Feet
Glory
In The Eyes Of A Young Girl
A Young Girl
Find Glory
Beyond The Cheap Colored Lights
One Song
Before The Sun Sets
Glory - On Another Empty Life
Time Flies - Time Dies
Glory - One Blaze Of Glory
One Blaze Of Glory - Glory”
Kimeru closed his eyes as Takigawa reached the middle of the song. He smiled softly as he listened to the lyrics.
“Find
Glory
in a song that rings true
truth like a blazing fire
an eternal flame
Find
One Song
A Song About Love
Glory
From The Soul Of A Young Man
A Young Man
Find
The One Song
Before The Virus Takes Hold
Glory
Like A Sunset
One Song
To Redeem This Empty Life
Time Flies
And Then - No Need To Endure Anymore
Time Dies"
When the song ended, he slowly opened his eyes and gazed fondly at Takigawa. "That was perfect...Eiji-kun."
Takigawa smiled before breaking into a grin. "You just called me..." Takigawa got to his feet, placing the guitar back in its case before approaching Kimeru. "Do me a favor when you become a J-Pop singer..." he said quietly, pulling Kimeru to his feet. "Write a song for me..." he said, pressing his forehead against Kimeru's, smiling. "Ii na, Kime-kun?" he finished before kissing him on the lips.
Kimeru smiled. "No problem…" he whispered as he placed his arms around Takigawa, "I'll make the perfect song for you. I promise."
Takigawa nodded. "I know you will."
Kimeru chuckled before pulling away. "Now come on...we better get to bed or else we'll both end up waking up late tomorrow," he said.
Takigawa nodded. "You're right. Though no matter what time we sleep, it ends up with me still waking up early and having to prepare breakfast," he teased, heading up the stairs two steps at a time.
"That's not true! I can wake up early if I want to!" Kimeru said, grin back in place as he ran after Takigawa.
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 and such from fellow TeniMyu Slash fans. :D
Here is the 8th chapter entitled School Productions. This chapter focuses on Mitsukaru putting on a musical production for the quarter, managed by the Student Council. The chosen production was Broadway’s RENT. With Takigawa and Shirota as part of the cast, Kimeru and Aiba share different views with their respective partner’s involvement in the musical.
Shirota and Aiba share their sweet kisses with one another when they visit each other - Aiba teaching Shirota tango for the musical, and Shirota helping Aiba move back in with his family. Kimeru, now alone in the dorm, moves in with Takigawa.
However, because of the length of this chapter, I am forced to divide it into two parts. This is part 2.
**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.
The next day, Shirota headed out after breakfast and made his way to the dorms to meet up with Aiba. Once he climbed the five flights of stairs, he knocked on the door. "AIBACCHIN!" he called.
Kimeru pulled open the door in annoyance. "Quiet! Your voice is loud enough to wake the dead!!" he said in irritation.
"I.e. You, Kimeru-senpai," Aiba said as Kimeru got out of the way. "Thanks for coming early, Shirota-kun," he said with a smile.
Shirota nodded. "No problem. I had to sneak out before my dad could ask any questions about it, though," he said, scratching his cheek.
"Sou ka..." Aiba said as he took one of the two boxes near the door. "Here Shirota-kun...you can carry this," he said as he took another another box after taking his back pack. "There we go...I'll see you then, Kimeru-senpai," Aiba said with a slight bow.
Kimeru yawned before looking at him. "Sure whatever...though don't count on the fact that since we don't stay in one room anymore I’ll stop annoying you," he said.
Aiba grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it, senpai...besides, you'll be moving out in a few days as well, right?"
Kimeru smiled. "Aa…"
Shirota furrowed his brows as he took the box and looked between Kimeru and Aiba. "Eh?"
"Remember back in the auditorium?" Aiba asked Shirota. "Kimeru-senpai will be staying with Takigawa-senpai from now on and it would seem that they have agreed on starting next week," he explained.
"Ah, that's right..." Shirota said before pausing. "But that means..." He frowned, deciding to head to the stairs in awkward silence.
"I'll see you around then, senpai," Aiba said as he caught up with Shirota.
Kimeru shook his head before closing the door once Aiba stepped out.
Aiba walked beside Shirota and looked at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Shirota shook his head. "It's nothing," he reassured him.
Aiba frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked.
Shirota nodded again. "Aa. I can always talk to Eiji-kun about it, anyway... About that..." he said off-handedly.
"Okay then....." Aiba said, not forcing the issue. "Hinako-neesan said that mother's preparing something for you at home…" he said.
Shirota chuckled. "Your mother seems to have found my weakness," he mused.
Aiba grinned. "Mother's good with people because of that....look how she manages to manipulate my father."
Shirota laughed. "I've noticed," he pointed out.
Aiba smiled as they headed to his place.
----------
Upon arrival, Hinako immediately ushered them inside. "We were waiting for you!" she said happily.
Shirota smiled to himself as he entered the house. He bowed politely as he spotted the parents and looked over to Aiba. "Ne, where do you want me to put this, Aibacchin?" he inquired.
"Let's put it in my room," Aiba said with a nod. "We'll just be upstairs!" he told his parents as he led Shirota to his room. He managed to open the door and moved aside to let Shirota in. "Come on in."
Shirota entered the room and set the box down by the cabinet before looking around. "Heh... Your room's pretty big..." he pointed out.
Aiba closed the door behind him and placed the box, along with his backpack beside the bed. "If you think this is big, you should see my sister’s room," he said as he sat on the bed. "I've missed this," he said before lying down and taking one of his pillows. "Wanna join me here? It's soft," he said, grinning like a child.
Shirota chuckled, nodding as he approached the bed. "You take after your mother bribing me with these sorts of things," Shirota accused.
Aiba smirked. "Something bad about that?" he teased as he threw a pillow at Shirota.
Shirota caught the pillow and shook his head. "Not really."
Aiba grinned before moving to a sitting position on the bed. "Let's see...knowing my mother, she'll call us down for something in about 15 minutes or so..." he said. "So what do you want to do until then?"
"That's difficult to answer since we're in your house, Aibacchin..." Shirota admitted.
"We could play some games on my computer," Aiba said as he pointed at his desktop. "Or anything that might catch your interest in my room."
Shirota looked around. "A-re?" he slowly got to his feet and approached Aiba's desk.
"Ever heard of a magic eight ball?" Aiba asked as he went over his desk and picked up something pink and round.
Shirota nodded. "Never really used it before, though..." he said.
"Nee-san gave this to me before school started. It's called a date ball," he said. "She seems to think of it as a practical joke," he added as he turned the ball over. "You're supposed to ask a question concerning relationships and then it answers." He looked at the ball and shook it. "For example...will Takigawa-senpai and Kimeru-senpai eventually end up together after they graduate?" he asked the ball before turning it so that the little transparent part was facing upwards.
What appeared on the small window was a triangular object that had the words "Absolutely!" on it with a little heart at the bottom.
"You try," Aiba said as he handed Shirota the pink object.
Shirota took the ball and shook it. "Will Moriyama-senpai end up with someone in the future?" he inquired randomly before watching the triangular object flash "It's looking good" with a little heart at the bottom. He chuckled to himself.
Aiba grinned. "Is it Yanagi-kun?" he asked as he took the ball and shook it. "Why not?" Aiba read out loud as he smirked.
Shirota glanced over to Aiba. "You picked that up or was that just a guess?" he inquired sheepishly.
"I knew the looks that they were giving each other during the practices," Aiba said with a smile. "It was pretty clear that they were interested in one another in my perspective of things."
"So I wasn't the only one who noticed," Shirota said, grinning.
Aiba nodded. "That's why Takigawa-senpai should be ready when Moriyama-senpai decides to do something about it," he said with a grin. "Let's see...." he said as he looked around. “We still have about 10 minutes..." he said.
"I'm sure Eiji-kun's noticed it by now. He spends a lot more time with Moriyama-senpai than I do, anyway," Shirota explained before remembering the boxes. "So do you need help unpacking?" he suggested.
Aiba thought for a moment. "Nah, I can take care of those later." '...after all I can't let you find out that almost half of those stuff is connected to you,' he added in his mind.
Shirota nodded. "Okay..." he said before turning to the door.
"Hiro~~ mother wants you and Shirota-kun to come down for a while~" Hinako said from outside.
Aiba blinked. "That was...against my calculations, but oh well."
Shirota nodded to himself before turning to Aiba. “Looks like you were wrong," he pointed out with a grin.
"I guess so..." Aiba said as he opened the door, only to yelp in surprise as his sister came in and locked the door behind her.
"So....?" she asked the two.
Hiroki took a few steps back. "So...what?!" he asked.
"Are the two of you together?" she asked with a grin as Hiroki turned beet red.
Shirota nodded. "Aa," he replied bluntly.
"I knew it!! I'm going to go and tell mom~" Hinako said before going out, leaving Aiba to stand in shock.
"What did-- OI! NEE-SAN!! MATTE!!" he yelled as he ran out the door to stop his sister.
Shirota chuckled, following after the siblings as he closed the door to Aiba's room.
Hiroki chased his sister to the gardens while his mother came out from the kitchen. "Congratulations Shirota-kun," she said as soon as she saw Shirota. "Why don't you sit down while those two have a bonding moment?"
"WE'RE NOT BONDING!" Hiroki yelled as he passed by the window.
Shirota nodded. "Aa. Arigatou," he replied politely, bowing before he took a seat at one of the garden chairs.
After a while, Hiroki stopped chasing his sister and went to sit on the chair beside Shirota, "Sorry about that...nee-san just gets into my nerves sometimes..." he said.
"Not my fault that you are easily annoyed, little brother," Hinako said with a smile.
"Enough you two...we have a guest," Mikoto reminded them.
"Hai..." they both answered.
"Here, why don't you have something to eat while you tell us the story of how you managed to convince our Hiroki to see things in your perspective?" Mikoto said as he placed a plate full of brownies on one of the tables.
Shirota's eyes lit up at the sight of the brownies and took one. "Arigatou! Itadakimasu!" he said, taking a bite out of the brownie, chewing it fondly.
Mikoto smiled as Shirota ate some of her handmade brownies.
"So what happened?" Hinako asked.
Hiroki sighed before telling them the story.
"Aww...that's so sweet, Shirota-kun!" Hinako said as soon as Hiroki told them about that little encounter at the rooftop.
Hiroki smiled at Shirota fondly. "Aa...that was the moment he managed to change my mind," he said.
Shirota smiled lightly. "I'm glad you got to talk to your father about that, Aibacchin..." he said as he took another brownie.
"That's because I knew you would be behind me all the way," Aiba said with a smile.
Hinako chuckled. "But still, Shirota-kun... Thank you for confronting Hiroki like that. If you didn't do it then he may still be at the dorms right now."
"He might've still been afraid to show himself and be the serious type he's made himself to be in school..." Shirota said, shuddering before he smirked over to Hiroki.
"An image which I would still have to maintain," Hiroki said as he took a bite off a brownie.
Shirota slapped the boy on the arm. "No you don't!" he complained.
Hiroki looked at him. "I was just kidding!" he said.
Hinako chuckled as she patted his brother on the head. "You two are sure are cute," she said before standing up. "I'll just be upstairs. I have a paper to finish," she told them.
"Hai nee-san…"
Shirota nodded to Hinako before reaching out for a brownie before he found the plate to be empty as he looked at it. "Ahh! You got the last brownie!" Shirota accused, glaring over to Hiroki darkly.
"Don't worry, Shirota-kun. We have a fresh baked chocolate cake in the fridge since I noticed that you liked the one before," Mikoto said as she stood. "I'll go bring some."
Hiroki stared at his mother as she left before turning his gaze to Shirota. "My mother...seems to enjoy spoiling you…" he said.
"I might not be able to leave at the rate this is going," Shirota whispered to Hiroki as the cake was brought out, causing the boy to grin. "Lucky~" he said.
Mikoto smiled. "At least you have something rather than Hiroki as an incentive to come here, right Shirota-kun?" she said as she handed Shirota a slice of the cake.
----------
After a while, the sun had started to set. The two were back in Hiroki's room, lying down on the bed to pass the time.
Shirota checked his watch before sitting up. "Yabe!!" he exclaimed, getting to his feet. "Gomen Aibacchin, but I have to be heading back home," he said hastily.
Aiba looked at the clock and saw up as well, "Alright...come on, I'll walk with you down the street," he said with a smile before leading him downstairs where his mother and sister said their goodbyes to Shirota.
"It's fine, I can make it on my own," Shirota said as they reached the gate, holding Aiba back, nodding over to him. "Enjoy your time with your family..." he added, smiling softly.
Aiba smiled back. "I'll see you on Monday, then..." he said. “...and Shirota-kun....thanks."
Shirota nodded, hesitating for a moment and leaned forward, kissing Aiba on the lips for what seemed like three seconds before he quickly pulled away. He bowed and headed off. "Ja~"
Aiba stood there stunned for a few seconds after Shirota had left, his hand moving up to touch his lips. 'F...First Kiss....' was all his mind managed to process before stepping back to close the door. He marched up the stairs like a zombie and went straight to his room, causing his mother and father, who were at the den, to look at one another before shrugging.
----------
Shirota jogged on his way back to his house. 'Did I really..?' he asked himself, shaking his head furiously. 'I did... And I don't regret it!' he told himself firmly before grinning, sprinting off the rest of the way. By the time he got back to his house, his father, he found out, was called away back to work while his mother, Rina and Jun were there for dinner joining him and Maria.
----------
"..AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY YOU WERE THE ONE I DECIDED TO CALL ABOUT IT!!" Aiba said into the speaker.
Kimeru was holding his phone an arm’s length away from his ear. "That's what I wanted to know..." he muttered before placing the phone near his ear. “Listen, you have to calm down...you're treating this like he passed on some sort of disease on you..." he said.
"I am calm!!" Aiba insisted, his voice a lot less loud than before.
Kimeru sighed. "Look, if you really want to know what happens next you have to wait until Monday. Now leave me alone," he said before ending the call.
----------
Shirota finished any of his unfinished assignments after dinner in his room before leaning back, turning around in his swivel chair before he went to his bed and lied down, exhausted. "What to do..." he muttered onto the blanket.
==========
Monday came along and despite the fact that he lived a little farther, Aiba still managed to get to school in time.
----------
Fifth period, the class before lunch. It was English for section one of the first years, the class that Ueshima-sensei taught.
Aiba was doodling in his notebook as he listened to Ueshima-sensei lecture on about Roman Mythologies. He then noticed a sudden movement by the edge of his desk and he froze. 'Please don't let it be.....' he thought as he looked at it.
A medium-sized spider crawled up to his notebook.
Aiba's eyes went wide. "Ahh!" He jumped out of his seat and instinctively went behind Shirota.
Ueshima-sensei paused in mid-lecture at the sudden scream from the back of the classroom, all eyes averting to Aiba, who had jumped out of his seat. "What's wrong, Aiba?" he called from the front of the class.
Shirota looked over his shoulder to the boy before his eyes returned to the desk and pointed at the insect on Aiba's notebook. "You're afraid of spiders?" he inquired.
Aiba looked at the creature on his notebook before nodding slowly. "Hated them and had been afraid of them since I was 5," he said quickly.
"Well, I learned something new today..." Shirota said brightly before standing, moving to the cabinet and pulled out an empty jar they normally used for art class and unscrewed the cap, heading back to Aiba's desk and forced the jar over the spider, sliding it to the edge and quickly closed the jar once more. "There we go, problem solved," he announced, bowing to Ueshima-sensei before leaving the room momentarily to bring the spider to a different location.
Aiba sighed in relief once Shirota went out with the spider; that was when he noticed that everyone was looking at him. "A-no...gomen!" he said with a bow before returning to his seat.
Ueshima grinned. "It's fine, it's fine. Saa, back to the lesson~" he said, averting his gaze to the book in his hand as Shirota returned to the room and took his seat.
----------
After classes, it was once again time for practices, the scripts were handed out to the characters and even Aiba managed to get a copy for reference use on his article. He was reading the script when something Shiozawa was saying to Takumi and Kazuki caught his attention.
"Wait! You can't do it like that!" Shiozawa said as he walked over to the two. "You're supposed to look at each other during this instrumental and there should be some sort of chemistry!" he explained.
"How do we do that?" Kazuki asked getting annoyed at the 6th interruption for that certain scene.
Shiozawa walked over to the table where Takumi was. "You should look at him with intensity not like he just walked in the room. And you!" he said as he went over to Kazuki. "You don't just walk inside the room like you're walking in the park…add something there that would cause some chemistry!"
Kazuki frowned. "You're confusing me..." he said.
Shiozawa thought for a moment. "We need someone to show you...some people who have natural chemistry...aha! Shirota-kun! Aiba-kun! Would you two please come here for a second and show these two how it's done?"
"What?!" Aiba exclaimed as he stared at Shiozawa.
Shirota, who was practicing a song on his own, paused as he turned to Shiozawa, frowning. "What are you talking about?"
Shiozawa grinned. "I want you two to show Kazuki and Takumi-senpai how this scene would be done in your perspective.”
Aiba frowned. "You're telling us to show these two drama club members how to do a proper scene?" he asked.
"Exactly,” Shiozawa replied.
Shirota glanced over to Aiba, lowering his lyrics. "You can't be serious..." he said, looking back over to Shiozawa.
Shiozawa smirked. "I'm afraid I am...now go," he said as he nodded at Aiba who looked at Shirota as if asking him what to do.
Shirota heaved a deep sigh and set his lyrics down and approached the stage, nodding over to Aiba. 'The sooner we get this over with, the better...' he thought to himself.
Aiba frowned as he went up on stage. "I'm not part of the cast...." he muttered darkly.
Yagami watched from the sidelines. "Shiozawa-kun is doing this on purpose, isn't he?" he asked Moriyama.
Moriyama chuckled. "Maybe," he replied bluntly.
Takigawa and Yanagi, who were off-stage practicing their duet, paused when Shirota and Aiba were called on-stage. Takigawa stepped out onto the wing of the stage and raised an eyebrow. 'Is it just me, or...'
Shirota patted Aiba on the shoulder. "Don't mind it. As long as we get things over with here, you can get back to your work, na?" he said before turning to Shiozawa. "Now what did you want us to do exactly?"
"Just the part where Maureen and Joanne are inside the billiards room," Shizoawa said as he led Aiba to a space near the billiards table and then placed Shirota by the door.
"Aiba-kun, you're Maureen for a while and Shirota-kun, Joanne."
"I have to jump on the billiards table?!" Aiba exclaimed.
Shiozawa nodded. "Hai...now you better watch closely, Takumi-senpai, Kazuki-kun," he said to the two who were smirking just behind them. "Music!"
After Shirota and Aiba did the scene, the music ended as Shirota heaved a huge sigh, bending over. "Is that enough for you, Shiozawa-kun?" he inquired, looking over to him.
Shiozawa nodded. "Better than expected," he said with a thumbs-up. "Did you two get that?" he asked Kazuki and Takumi who nodded, smirk still in place.
"I never knew that you could move like that, Aiba-kun," Kazuki said as he patted Aiba on the shoulder. Aiba frowned before going back to his seat.
Shirota nodded wordlessly before getting off-stage and went to retrieve his lyrics.
----------
Takigawa and Yanagi looked at each other, smirking.
"Takigawa-senpai, they're--"
Takigawa nodded. "Aa. They are."
----------
After a while Moriyama caught the attention of the others. "For the last part of today's practice I would like to see the progress of the characters and their songs," he said.
"First up, let's see Tango Maureen!"
Aiba smiled at Shirota and gave him the thumbs-up sign. "Gambatte~" he said.
Shirota approached the stage and returned the gesture to Aiba before he joined Kazuki on stage.
"I don't want to get my foot stepped on, Shirota-kun," Kazuki warned as he went to take his place on one side of the stage.
Shirota nodded. "Don't worry. I can assure you it won't happen," Shirota replied, heading to the other side.
"Start!" Moriyama called.
"Looks like you taught him well, Aiba-kun," Moriyama said as he took a seat beside Aiba to watch.
Aiba shrugged. "He's a fast learner so it was easy."
Moriyama grinned as the dance progressed to the more awkward movements. "You even taught him that move?" he asked and Aiba nodded.
When the song ended, Kazuki nodded curtly to Shirota. "Not bad for a first-timer," he complimented before heading off-stage.
Shirota sighed with relief as he looked over to Aiba and grinned at him before getting down from the stage.
"Nice job. You looked great up there," Aiba said with a smile.
Moriyama stood up and approached Toru who announced the next pair. "Next is Light my Candle," he announced.
Kimeru, who was talking with the rest of the band heard this and turned his gaze sharply towards Yanagi.
Takigawa patted Yanagi on the shoulder as they took center stage. "Remember what I told you earlier, Yanagi-kun?" he inquired.
Yanagi nodded. "Aa. I'll try, but I won't guarantee I won't be bothered..." he replied.
Toru brought a hand up. "Start!"
As the song started Aiba felt a strange aura fill the auditorium. "That....that's coming from Kimeru-senpai, isn't it?" he asked as he looked at the band vocalist near the side of the stage.
Shirota moved to Kimeru and put a hand on the junior's shoulder. "Mah, there's nothing to get jealous over," he said quietly as the song progressed.
"Who told you I'm jealous? I'm not jealous…" Kimeru hissed as he looked at Yanagi moving around the stage.
Shirota chuckled. "Frankly, there's no need to be jealous. You know Ei--Takigawa-senpai already declared his feelings for you, and he wouldn't throw that away," he explained. "Besides... Yanagi-kun may very well have someone special as well. Both of them are treating this as just a musical where they ended up being partnered up. That's all."
Kimeru took a deep breath and counted to ten before exhaling. "You're right..." he told Shirota. "I'll try to calm down," he said slowly, turning his gaze away from the two on the stage.
After the song, Moriyama announced their schedule for the coming weeks before dismissing them.
===========
Shirota continued practicing the guitar with Takigawa until the latter was able to play the song on his own. It didn't take long before the musical reached the dress rehearsal a few days before the actual presentation. The group gathered in the auditorium as Moriyama took center stage.
"Okay, we're only two days away from actual show time. This dress rehearsal is a dry-run of the musical from start to finish. Any mistakes can be overlooked for now, but I urge you all to do your best and act as though this is the real thing!" he began.
"Aiba-kun, please don't forget to take pictures," Yagami instructed as he patted Aiba on the shoulder.
"Hai senpai," Aiba answered as he adjusted the lens of the camera.
Kimeru nodded to the band. "All we have to do today is watch. The recorded version of the songs is already at the sound booth," he said.
Nagayan grinned. "But in case something goes wrong, we better be ready, right?"
"Aa," Kimeru answered.
"Alright, let's get started!" Moriyama announced; heading off-stage as the dress rehearsal began.
Aiba took pictures every now and then as the cast and crew moved around. He even managed to take a picture of the band club watching. After the dress rehearsal, Aiba headed to the backstage to look for Shirota. "Shirota-kun~" he called out from the door.
----------
Kimeru, in the meantime, was talking to Moriyama about something on stage as he waited for Takigawa.
----------
Shirota popped his head out from the dressing room with his prop glasses still on. "Give me a second, Aibacchin. I need to change back to my uniform," he informed him.
"Okay, I'll just wait for you here..." Aiba said as he closed the door.
----------
"Don't worry, Moriyama-senpai...everything is going to be fine...besides...you've been waiting to ask him out for a while, haven't you?" Kimeru asked slyly.
Takigawa and Yanagi came out onstage talking about their duet before they saw Kimeru and Moriyama. The freshman had a particular blush on his cheeks as Takigawa smiled, patting him on the shoulder before nodding to Kimeru. "Shall we head off, Kimeru?" he inquired.
Kimeru patted Moriyama on the back. "Good luck senpai~" he said before running up to Takigawa and Yanagi. "Oi, Yanagi-kun... Moriyama-senpai wants to talk to you about something," he said with a grin.
----------
Shirota emerged from the dressing room, flashing a thumbs-up. "Yosh! Change complete!" he proclaimed, the glasses still on.
Aiba chuckled. "Not really. You're still Mark," he said as he pointed at the glasses.
Shirota blinked. "AHHH!" He pulled off the glasses and hastily took out the case and kept it in his back pocket. "There!"
Aiba grinned. "Now that's my Shirota-kun," he said.
----------
Takigawa nodded to his senpai before leaving the two alone and heading off with
Kimeru. "Saa, what should we be having for dinner?" he inquired.
"Don't really know...wanna try eating out for once?" Kimeru asked him as they left the auditorium.
Takigawa contemplated about it for a moment before nodding. "I don't mind. I'm fresh out of ideas for tonight, anyway," he admitted.
"So where do you want to go?" Kimeru asked.
----------
Shirota grabbed Aiba by the hand and whizzed down the aisle of the auditorium and out. "Let's celebrate and have dinner somewhere!" he said brightly.
"Sounds good to me," Aiba said with a smile.
"I was thinking--"
"Somewhere with--" Takigawa began.
Both Takigawa and Shirota paused before they noticed each other's presence; Takigawa and Kimeru were just a little ahead of Shirota and Aiba as they were leaving the school grounds.
"Are you two going out for dinner?" they asked each other.
"Ko-ra, I asked you first!" Shirota complained.
"No you didn't!" Takigawa fired back.
Aiba and Kimeru looked at one another and shrugged. "So Aiba?" Kimeru started.
Aiba thought for a moment. "Italian?" he suggested.
Shirota grinned, turning to Aiba. "I second the motion!" he said brightly.
Takigawa stumbled before shrugging. "We're splitting the bill on this one, then," he announced, looking over to Shirota. "Somebody here might end up ordering more than anybody..."
Shirota pouted and turned to Takigawa. "I can budget my allowance for this, thank you very much!" he said defensively.
"I can shoulder his part of the bill," Aiba offered as he raised his hand.
Shirota turned to Aiba. "Ehh? You don't have to, Aibacchin. I don't plan on spending much tonight..." he said hastily.
Takigawa started walking again. "As long as the bill is paid, there aren’t any problems," he said. "Ikuyo, Kimeru~"
"I'm paying your part of the bill," Aiba said firmly as he looked at Shirota.
Kimeru chuckled. "Recently got your allowance, have you?" he teased.
Shirota pouted but decided not to argue any further.
----------
As soon as they reached the restaurant and seated, Aiba looked at his menu. "What do you want, Shirota-kun?" he asked.
Shirota looked at the menu in high regard. "Some pasta would be nice," he stated, pointing to the particular dish.
Takigawa, in the meantime, was checking out the salads and pizza. "Anything interesting caught your eye, Kimeru?" he inquired.
Kimeru looked at the menu. "I...can't...decide..." he said. “You pick for me," he answered.
Aiba put down his menu and looked at the three. "I know what I'm ordering..." he said.
"And that would be?" Shirota inquired as Takigawa placed a few orders to their waiter.
"Just a simple, carbonara..." Aiba answered as he placed his order. "My parents are coming for the play…" Aiba added randomly.
Shirota placed his order of chicken salad and a small pizza before the waiter left. "Eh? Your parents?" Shirota repeated.
"Aa....for some reason they wanted to watch you," Aiba said with a shrug.
Shirota blinked before pulling out the prop glasses and putting them on. "I would understand your mother coming to watch, but your father?" he inquired, using a different voice that he'd be using for Mark.
"My mother convinced him to come along," Aiba reasoned.
"Well, that answers a lot..." Shirota replied coolly.
Takigawa smiled. "Are any of your siblings coming to watch, Shirotan?" he inquired.
Shirota pulled off his prop glasses. "My mom, Maria-nesan, Rina and Jun-ani, for sure," he replied.
Kimeru then looked at Takigawa after he had placed his order. "How about you, Takigawa? Are your parents coming?" he asked.
Takigawa shook his head. "They're still abroad. Last I heard from them, they were in France," he explained. "It's very rare for them to be coming home to visit..."
Kimeru thought for a moment before smiling. "Don't worry then~ Aiba and I will still be watching, right?" he said as he winked at the younger boy.
Aiba blinked. "Of course I'm watching...I need to cover it for the paper…" he said.
"So does that mean that if you're not going to cover it you're not going to watch?" Kimeru asked slyly.
Aiba glared at him. "Of course not! I'll still be watching because of Shirota-kun..." he said. "...and Takigawa-senpai," he added quickly when he felt that certain aura from Kimeru that quickly disappeared.
Takigawa and Shirota smiled at one another.
"I've only met Eiji-kun's parents at least twice when we were younger... They told me to keep him company whenever I could, which started that whole staying over every Tuesday and Thursday ritual," Shirota explained.
"I apologize if that ritual has to be broken, Shirotan..." Takigawa said, nodding to the younger boy.
Shirota waved a hand in front of him. "I don't mind."
Kimeru looked at Shirota and looked away for a minute. "That...would be my fault..." he said. "Gomen Shirota-kun," he said.
Shirota grinned. "Really, it's alright, Kimeru-senpai," he reassured the junior.
Aiba blinked at the way Kimeru was acting. "Senpai...?" he asked before spotting something unusual. "Isn't that Moriyama-senpai and Yanagi-kun?!" he said as he pointed at a table not far from them.
Shirota turned to Aiba. "Eh? Moriyama-senpai and Yanagi-kun?" he repeated, following Aiba's finger to the table.
Takigawa smirked. "Looks like they finally broke the ice..." he muttered.
Aiba grinned. "I knew it....it was impossible not to figure it out," he said with a nod.
Kimeru looked over his shoulder. "Looks like senpai listened to what I said after all," he said before their orders arrived.
"Eh, you talked with Moriyama-senpai?" Shirota inquired as he took a fork to indulge in his salad.
Kimeru nodded. "He asked me my opinion about asking someone out for a first date. It wasn't really hard to figure out who he was planning to ask if you pay attention to details," he explained.
Takigawa nodded in silence as he partook of his own salad.
"I'm surprised that they only started now though..." Aiba said with a shrug as he started on his own food.
"You should know from experience that things like these need time to blossom," Shirota explained eagerly.
Aiba smiled and nodded. "That's true..." he said in agreement.
----------
The rest of the meal was spent eating their chosen dishes - and at one point, Shirota and Takigawa fighting over the piece of pizza - before they were all stuffed.
"That was a satisfactory meal," Takigawa said in approval.
Aiba, who had excused himself a while ago to go to the bathroom, came back to join them. "I already paid the bill," he informed them.
"How much do we owe you?" Kimeru asked.
"Nothing..." Aiba answered.
"Aiba...."
"Senpai..." The two engaged in a glaring war before Aiba sighed. "Fine..." he said as he pulled out the receipt from his pocket to show the two juniors the amount of the bill.
Takigawa pulled out his wallet after mentally adding up the dishes he had ordered and handed out the amount to Aiba. "Here."
"You're not doing this just because I paid for dinner before, are you," Shirota inquired, looking over to Aiba.
"Maybe....maybe not…" Aiba said with a smirk.
Kimeru laughed when he heard this. "Sneaky kid..." he managed to say.
Takigawa stood. "It's about time we headed home, I believe?" he announced, grabbing his bag.
"Hai~ we still have classes half the day tomorrow, after all," Kimeru said.
"Then half the day we'd be in the auditorium making the final preparations for the play on Saturday," Aiba added.
"At least we don't have to worry about varsity practice until after this... Ne, Eiji-kun?" Shirota inquired as they left the restaurant.
Takigawa nodded.
----------
Aiba bowed to them as they reached an intersection where he would have to go the other way, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Takigawa-senpai, Kimeru-senpai," he said with a bow. "And don't forget about that test tomorrow, Shirota-kun," he added before kissing Shirota on the cheek. "Ja ne~" he called out as he crossed the street and turned around a corner.
Takigawa looked over to Shirota and smiled. "You've really changed him, Shirotan," he complimented.
Kimeru was still a bit shocked from what he witnessed. He shook his head to clear his mind. "Shirota-kun...you are one amazing kid..." he said as he patted Shirota on the shoulder.
"I don't think it's something to be praised for..." Shirota said as they headed in the direction of their houses.
"Why not? We're seeing a different side of Aiba now ever since you two got together," Takigawa argued.
"Aa...when he was at the dorms it's nothing but books, angst, his laptop, angst, academics, angst and did I mention angst?" Kimeru listed. "...Then you came and it became: books, Shirota, laptop, Shirota, academics, Shirota and......oh yeah~ Shirota," he said with a grin.
A slight blush came to Shirota's cheeks.
"You never did tell me how you managed it, Shirotan..." Takigawa said. "The next thing we knew, the two of you were..."
"We were talking about a few private matters..." Shirota cut in.
"Well, whatever you said must have caused him to drop all his defenses," Kimeru said with a shrug. "Because before the Saturday that you told us that you were together he was just staring at your picture the whole night."
"Point of the story is, I said a few things and I waited for him to act, which he did and we ended up together," Shirota said with finality.
Kimeru grinned. "You're one heck of a guy, you know that?" he said before messing up Shirota's hair.
Shirota moved forward, saving his hair from further disorientation as he swiftly combed it back to normal with his fingers.
Takigawa laughed. "Shirota doesn't enjoy having someone mess up his hair," he pointed out.
"I've noticed," Kimeru said before noticing that they were already at Takigawa's place. "Well...I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Shirota-kun," he said with a smile.
Shirota nodded, bidding them good night before walking further down the street to his own house.
----------
Takigawa unlocked the door and headed inside. He went the living room, noticing that one of Shirota's guitars was still there. He moved to place it back in its case. "I'll have to give this back to him tomorrow," he told himself.
Kimeru looked at the guitar for a while before smiling. "Hey Takigawa, play something for me," he said suddenly.
Takigawa paused and turned to Kimeru. "Ah, gomen... I don't..."
Kimeru chuckled. "Even if it's just the song for the play, I don't mind..." he said with a soft smile. "…please?"
Takigawa nodded before sitting down, taking the guitar up and began plucking the corresponding strings before he began to sing.
"One Song
Glory
One Song
Before I Go
Glory
One Song To Leave Behind
Find One Song
One Last Refrain
Glory
From The Pretty Boy Front Man
Who Wasted Opportunity
One Song
He Had The World At His Feet
Glory
In The Eyes Of A Young Girl
A Young Girl
Find Glory
Beyond The Cheap Colored Lights
One Song
Before The Sun Sets
Glory - On Another Empty Life
Time Flies - Time Dies
Glory - One Blaze Of Glory
One Blaze Of Glory - Glory”
Kimeru closed his eyes as Takigawa reached the middle of the song. He smiled softly as he listened to the lyrics.
“Find
Glory
in a song that rings true
truth like a blazing fire
an eternal flame
Find
One Song
A Song About Love
Glory
From The Soul Of A Young Man
A Young Man
Find
The One Song
Before The Virus Takes Hold
Glory
Like A Sunset
One Song
To Redeem This Empty Life
Time Flies
And Then - No Need To Endure Anymore
Time Dies"
When the song ended, he slowly opened his eyes and gazed fondly at Takigawa. "That was perfect...Eiji-kun."
Takigawa smiled before breaking into a grin. "You just called me..." Takigawa got to his feet, placing the guitar back in its case before approaching Kimeru. "Do me a favor when you become a J-Pop singer..." he said quietly, pulling Kimeru to his feet. "Write a song for me..." he said, pressing his forehead against Kimeru's, smiling. "Ii na, Kime-kun?" he finished before kissing him on the lips.
Kimeru smiled. "No problem…" he whispered as he placed his arms around Takigawa, "I'll make the perfect song for you. I promise."
Takigawa nodded. "I know you will."
Kimeru chuckled before pulling away. "Now come on...we better get to bed or else we'll both end up waking up late tomorrow," he said.
Takigawa nodded. "You're right. Though no matter what time we sleep, it ends up with me still waking up early and having to prepare breakfast," he teased, heading up the stairs two steps at a time.
"That's not true! I can wake up early if I want to!" Kimeru said, grin back in place as he ran after Takigawa.
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