Drabble # 228
Title: One in a million
Chapter: [3/?]
Authors: gabs_yuuya and yamap_oukoku
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Pairing: Tegopi
Genre: Romance, AU, fluff, Angst
Disclaimer: We don't own the boys as you already know, but we can't help to dream about it ^^
Summary: Yamashita Tomohisa, aka Yamapi, is a well-known bachelor of Tokyo nights, but what makes him so well known? Well it's just the simple fact that no one ever managed to get a hold of this handsome and rich young man. The few ones that dared to say they managed to get into Yamashita`s bed, are just liars or never had a chance to make it happen a second time. The only thing he really want is to find his long missed one in a million.
[Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06][Chapter 07]
---
Standing behind a long counter of a crowded sports apparel store, Tegoshi struggled with a very persistent customer who believed to be having some certain rights which Tegoshi knew she hadn’t and he tried his best to keep his cool and deal with it like usually. In front of costumers he had always been calm and collected, he always knew what they wanted and how to please them without promising more than he could fulfill but right now he wasn’t in the mood to deal with them, or anyone.
“Thank you for your effort.”
A middle aged woman with short black hair, wearing a purple tracksuit and white tennis shoes waved goodbye after thanking Tegoshi for his assistance. The young man sighed exhaustedly, desperately wishing for his break time to arrive faster than normal, and since he hadn’t had the time to even take a shower before his shift started this morning. He still felt as tired as when he fell asleep last night and guessing he didn’t have much sleep deepened the feeling of lacking sleep.
Sometimes he wondered how he ended up in this position, where he had to deal with costumers; he had always been slightly shy around others and preferred to spend his time rather alone then in midst of the busiest of places, yet exactly this job suited him better than anyone else.
He knew everything about every little piece they sold and loved every tiny detail of it and nevertheless what had happened in the past or will happen in the future he could never part ways with sports and especially soccer, which lead to this sports apparel store that mostly sold and supported soccer gear.
It was just perfect and he found himself drawn towards it like nothing else, it was his little escape.
Until today he even enjoyed those little complaints and arguments that occurred from time to time when someone hadn’t been happy with their purchase, he just always knew how to make it up to them without shouting it from the rooftops. Some might say he was after all the most charming clerk to run into and there he was now, five hours later after parting with the person he thought he’d never see again in his entire life, struggling for the first time in a long time with one of their regulars, at least that’s what the guy said when he showed Tegoshi his VIP free card to everything he wanted and needed.
He knew the rules; they were engraved in his mind like a psalm of a bible, which he didn’t read though.
1) Answer your phone. Immediately.
2) Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them.
3) Listen to your customers.
4) Deal with complaints.
5) Be helpful - even if there’s no immediate profit in it.
And he always did, but right now those complaints were piling up and one person after the other came running to him as if they knew he had a really bad day.
Tegoshi sighed as the tall, not very handsome and annoyingly persistent man happily walked away once he had found out what the real problem was and they had solved it smoothly.
As soon as he had a peaceful minute his thoughts spun back to Yamapi and how ridiculous he thought it was to run into him in a place like this, he hadn’t been expecting to find him here, because after all he was rich and always wanted to work abroad. He knew though that there still was a tiny possibility of meeting him some day sooner or later, but he had prayed that it wouldn’t come to this before he could move away again by the end of the year.
Tegoshi didn’t work here for long, he moved to Shibuya only one month ago and he started to regret his decision for sure with that last encounter. He had worked in a tall and very famous sports apparel store in Yokohama, his former hometown, but unfortunately said store was undergoing renovation and rebuilding right now which would at least take half a year to be completed. He had been very lucky when they offered their senior employees (of at least 2 years) with the best reputation to work in the company’s sister branch until they’d finish all building alterations and modifications.
Tegoshi knew it was for the best to accept the offer since he was sure being able to find a proper job that suited him wouldn’t be easy without moving and so he settled with the idea of coming to Shibuya where they even arranged a small but safe apartment for him, despite the fact this place mostly freaked him out.
He hated Shibuya.
Well not really hate the place itself but all the memories he had that were locked on the busy streets of this particular part of Tokyo. Back when he moved to Yokohama two years ago he had a really bad feeling already to come back to this area but it was the only thing he could do to get back on track with a proper lifestyle. He had been out and about for too long and the countryside he had been dragged to five years ago just wasn’t working for him, especially since there were far worse memories linked to that place. He hadn’t been in Yokohama though ever since his family brought him along to Tokyo when he was around six years old or so, therefore this was rather a safe place to live unlike to Shibuya where he spent most of his teenager time.
Back three years ago he made the biggest step of leaving Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido as he ran away to settle in Niigata who someone offered him an amazing job out of the blue, but it just wasn’t the same and he knew he had to come back sooner or later.
--
Another customer said good-bye and Tegoshi finally could enjoy his well deserved break time, entering a small room in the back of the staff’s area. When he found a spot completely free from any other co-workers he let himself sink down onto a chair, sipping on a cup of hot coffee he picked up on the way from a vending machine as it already became his habit, coffee was an addiction he couldn’t imagine living without anymore.
Certain memories of his childhood suddenly took over his brain as he stared into the cup of coffee, examining the black hot beverage, and he couldn’t help but let them drown his current thoughts as if they had a mind on their own, again he failed to suppress it.
[Flash back]
“Now boys hear me!” Yamapi’s mom said with a serious tone in her deep voice “I will let you two go to have fun alone because I know you both are already young men and you can take care of yourselves. But you both are going to be standing in front of me, right here at 4 PM and not a second later, do you hear me?!”
The middle aged women kept staring down at the two skinny boys in their beach trunks in front of her, remembering how both were already bursting with excitement this morning over breakfast. She wanted to make it quick so they could go and enjoy a nice day at the beach.
“Haaaaaaaai~”
The two boys shouted exited, showing her their brightest smiles they had to offer.
“Did you help Tegoshi-kun with the sun blocker, Tomohisa?”
His mother eyed him carefully, knowing that the kids weren’t really interested in sun protection or anything else that didn’t have the word “FUN” written on it.
“Haaaaaai~”
Yamapi replied cheerfully, looking to his friend and back to his mother.
“Good good, now you can go!” Yamapi’s mother shook her head, “Be careful all the time, you hear me!!”
Both boys faced each other as she patted them on their heads, motioning them to leave already.
“Soooo Tego-chan, what you want to do first?”
A bright smile appeared on his lips as he asked his friend cheerfully.
“Beach soccer!”
The younger boy shouted exited in reply, making his friend chuckle because he already knew this would be the first and maybe only thing on Tegoshi’s mind.
“haha.. Tego-chaaaan, .. I knew it!”
He naturally brought his hand to his friend’s head, ruffling his already messy hair which earned him a light growling sound from the younger boy. Yamapi motioned him to go inside again,
“Ne, I didn’t bring the ball, can you go back quickly?”
“Mooo, Yamapiii~” Tegoshi glared at the older boy as he pouted, “Why do I always have to do those things?”
“It was your idea wasn’t it?” Yamapi stuck out his tongue towards his little friend “If I would make the plans we would just go swimming and play in the sand.”
“But you want to play it too don’t you?”
Tegoshi now said with an almost sad voice, wondering if he’d be annoying his friend with the idea of playing beach soccer….
“Sure I do, silly. But you are younger and faster and if you won’t hurry we won’t get there before sunset.”
The older boy said teasingly, slightly pushing his friend forward so he would get moving already.
“Mooo ~ ok ok … “
And with that said Tegoshi rushed towards the door but before he disappeared inside he remembered he had left his stuff outside and so he turned to look next to the veranda, where he spotted the small blue bag next to Yamapi’s dad who was reading a book under the shadow of a big red beach umbrella.
“Tomohisa.”
Yamapi turned around to face his mother, after he watched his friend run toward him with the bag in his hands, smiling happily he found it so fast.
“You are the older one!” His mother gave Yamapi a serious look, “You need to take care of Tegoshi-kun! You know the beach is very big and it’s really easy to get lost, so don’t ever let Tegoshi-kun go away from you, ok?”
“OK mom, I understand so please don’t worry about it! I promise I will keep both eyes on Tego-chan, all the time!”
The young boy said as he caught Tegoshi as he was about to pass by excited to run ahead. He threw his arms around the younger boy’s waist to hug him tightly and lift him off the ground slightly. Yamapi began to spin both of them around playfully to show his mom that he was always paying attention to what his friend was doing.
“Waaa~ Yamapii don’t ~ don’t do that!”
Tegoshi almost screamed in between laughter as he struggled in his friend’s arms, trying to free himself from the tight hug. But Yamapi wasn’t planning on letting him go so fast and he spun them around for another few rounds before settling him back on to the ground, which made Yamapi’s mother chuckle and motioning them to leave already.
As always the two friends had a lot of fun as soon as they arrived at the nearby sea shore, and after playing a few rounds of beach soccer they let themselves fall into the sand exhaustedly.
Lying in the sand Tegoshi turned unto his stomach to face his friend, propping himself up on his elbows to rest his head on his hands.
“Ne, you’re ready for another round Yamapi?”
The younger boy smiled at him cheerfully as Yamapi also turned around to face his friend.
“Moo, Tego-chaaaaaan… more soccer? Didn’t we already play that for hours?”
“Hm, you’re right…”
Tegoshi let his head fall into the sand disappointed, lifting it back up just enough for his hands to slip underneath before he plopped it back down, eying his friend curiously.
“You are so much better than I am, and so fast!” Yamapi scooted closer to the boy, going down onto his head’s height to glance into his eyes. “And all I do is run around you exhaustedly trying to get that ball off of you, which almost never happened.”
“But Yamapi, we don’t even have a winner or anything,..”
“That’s because we are only two and that strange thing we used as goal isn’t even here anymore.”
The older boy chuckled as he pointed towards a spot where there had been some sticks and leaves and stones they put up to mark a goal.
“Hm, true…”
Tegoshi followed the other’s finger as he pointed out their ‘problem’ before Yamapi got up to his feet again after ruffling the boy’s hair playfully.
“Get up there sleepy head, let’s play some more then.”
“Honto???”
Tegoshi’s eyes suddenly brightened up again at his friend’s words and he didn’t hesitate longer to jump off the sand himself.
“Sure! Let’s go!”
Yamapi smiled at his friend before grabbing the ball that lay in front of their feet and ran off kicking it straight ahead of him. The younger boy followed him excited, screaming for his friend to wait and play the other way.
After another few rounds of happily playing with the ball on the empty sea shore the two friends decided to cool off in the water and sprinted toward the under the shining sun blue glittering ocean.
Tegoshi reached the shore first and ran right into it, getting himself wet from tip to toe in an instant as he jumped into the cool water. A couple of seconds later he was joined by his friend who also sprinted into the refreshing ocean, splashing water in every direction which made Tegoshi burst out in giggles as he watched his friend enjoy the coolness just as much as he did.
“Neee…do you want to have a swimming contest Tego?”
The older boy eyed his friend curiously, but frowned lightly as Tegoshi shook his head slightly as he bit his lower lip.
“You know that I’m not very good at swimming Yamapii~”
“Don’t worry Tego, I know how good you are and I promise to look out for you, always.”
Yamapi smiled reassuringly, moving closer to his friend to splash a handful water into the other’s face. The younger boy growled loudly before laughing too and playfully splash water back into the other’s face.
“Waha stop it Yamapii~” Tegoshi yelled once he couldn’t see anything but water, he turned around to start swimming and Yamapi followed him in a rush, eager to out swim his friend.
Once they dried off again and Yamapi checked his watch to see it was almost the time his mom had said they should be back, they decided to play one last game.
“Let’s find the prettiest sea shell for each other as a ‘good-bye beach vacation’ gift, what do you think?”
“Ohh.. yeah, we are leaving tomorrow morning again,” Tegoshi ‘s cheerful voice dropped slightly as he remembered their trip was about to come to an end already, he had enjoyed his time with Yamapi and his family to the fullest. “This would be a really nice idea Yamapi, let’s do it! I will find the prettiest for you for sure!”
Yamapi smiled at his friend’s excitement and he hardly could hold back his own as they ran off toward the sea shore once more.
“But hey Tego,” the older boy shouted before turning into the other direction, “I too will find the prettiest for you!” he winked at his friend before waving and running off to find the coolest sea shell to give his friend.
Tegoshi shook his head at his competitive friend and smiled to himself before running off further down the shore himself.
---
After what seemed like ages to the little boy he finally found a medium sized pearly white seashell. Holding it up high to examine its form and color again he sighed and wrapped his small fingers around it tightly. Tegoshi was more than pleased with what he found and couldn’t wait to show it to Yamapi, knowing he would completely love it too because it was simply the prettiest. Tegoshi was sure that whatever Yamapi had found would be super pretty as well but he believed strongly it couldn’t beat his shell.
He started running off happily toward the agreed place by the tree’s they had rested earlier; he would wait to meet Yamapi there if he wasn’t already waiting on him.
He kept on imagining his friend’s excitement, his happy face and bright smile once he’d given him his present and soon Tegoshi arrived at their meeting point. He couldn’t see Yamapi underneath the trees once he got there so he turned around to look for him impatiently and he didn’t have to try for long because soon he spotted his friend a few feet away. Yamapi though wasn’t alone; he seemed to be talking to a girl.
At first Tegoshi just didn’t like the idea of Yamapi talking with someone he didn’t know, when he was supposed to be looking for a present for him. Soon Tegoshi noticed Yamapi seemed to already have found something because he held a small sea shell up into the air against the sun, showing it to said girl. And the moment when he saw that Yamapi was about to give said shell to said girl he suddenly felt really angry at the fact that he’d give away his present, especially to some girl he probably just met.
That just wasn’t fair.
Tegoshi could feel the tears forming in the back of his eyes, coming from nowhere and he hated it that much that he just wanted to cry really hard. Almost more than that feeling though, he hated Yamapi for giving away his shell. Without thinking he turned his back to the other and started to run to the other direction as fast as his feet would take him. Tegoshi would hate if Yamapi saw him cry and especially since he didn’t even know the reason why he was feeling like this, he felt just as confused as angry.
--
Tegoshi felt exhausted like he was running for hours when he decided to just stop at the shore and settled himself in the warm sand, waiting for the sun to set. He kept sitting there just staring at the sea hugging his legs close to his chest, every now and then gazing down onto the shell in his palm.
The young boy wondered if it was even worth to keep now, that their game or whatever it was seemed to be totally forgotten. Tegoshi thought it wasn’t necessary to give his shell to Yamapi anymore when he just gave his away. Maybe he should just throw it into the ocean and forget about everything.
“Tego-chan!”
After daydreaming for a while Tegoshi suddenly heard a familiar voice shouting his name from very close behind. He turned around to find Yamapi come running from behind a tree, dashing towards him as he kept shouting his name and waving his hands furiously. It wasn’t like he didn’t see him but he didn’t want to ‘meet’ him, therefore Tegoshi turned back around to face the sea in front of him, wishing his friend would just disappear. Before Tegoshi could tell him that he wanted to be left alone he felt Yamapi’s arms wrapped around his body as he hugged him as tight as he could.
The younger boy‘s eyes sprung open wide in surprise, “Yamapi?” he asked carefully from under Yamapi’s tight grip, not understanding what was going on out of the blue. “What…are you..”
“WHERE have you been?!”
Yamapi shouted in reply, not breaking the hold he had over Tegoshi.
“I looked for you everywhere, but I didn’t manage to find you, I was starting to think something really bad had happened to you… and… and it would have been entirely my fault, you know …and … and…”
Yamapi’s words were getting lower and died quiet as he started sobbing hard behind his friend, who was just as startled as before.
“Yamapi? …What’s wrong?... Are you crying?”
Tegoshi turned to face the other and when he saw that he really was crying he returned the hug from earlier and caressed his friends back supportively to calm him down. “Hey …Please don’t cry … nothing bad happened… I’m fine ….Yamapi...” Tegoshi tried to calm Yamapi down with his words spoken softly and reassuringly calm.
“I thought I would never see you again…” The older boy exclaimed, slowly breaking the hug to look at Tegoshi with puffy and red eyes. “Why didn’t you go back? Why did you stay here? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I was thinking the worst Tego-chan… why did you stay here?”
Tegoshi looked at his sobbing friend with a troubled expression, he had no idea that he would worry about him like that, he wasn’t even gone for long was he?
“I… well… I… saw…I… thought…”
Tegoshi tried to complete his sentence many times but he couldn’t manage to bring out the words clearly. He felt troubled indeed but also very happy that Yamapi had thought about him and searched for him even though he could have been playing with that girl instead.
“Tego? What’s wrong? Did something happen? Has someone done anything to you?”
Yamapi’s expression went from sad and afraid to worried and curious, his words almost cracking as he dried his tears with the back of his hands. “Tell me, what happened Tego-chan…” Yamapi said softly as he gently brushed the palms of his hands over Tegoshi’ blushing cheeks, caressing them comfortingly.
“Well, you see.. when I was finished, actually I went back, and I saw you talking to a girl…”
Tegoshi tried to sound like he didn’t care much about it and lowered his gaze into the sand beneath their feet.
“Oh you mean Sakura-chan?” Yamapi asked with a sudden smile on his lips, “Ah, she is a nice and funny girl, you would like her Tego. I had fun talking to her.” He didn’t notice the change in Tegoshi’s eyes as he spoke almost too cheerfully all of a sudden.
“Yeah I saw how much you liked her!” Tegoshi exclaimed loudly without trying to hide how annoyed he was hearing Yamapi speak like that. “You liked her so much that you even gave her my shell! How could you Yamapi!? Wasn’t it supposed to be a present for each other?!”
“I did what?!”
Yamapi didn’t get what his friend said.
“I saw you giving it to her! I should have thrown this away like I wanted to!”
Tegoshi said gazing down to his hand and slowly opening his fist to reveal the sea shell he had collected earlier. When he suddenly lift his hand and turned to look at the ocean Yamapi reacted in time to stop his friend from throwing it into the ocean.
“Don’t…Tego…please don’t do that. This is my present right?” Yamapi loosened his grip on the younger boy’s wrist and slowly brought his hand down to lie on his lap. “I still want it you know?” Yamapi smiled his sweetest smile and Tegoshi felt even more confused than before.
“B-but, why should I give it to you!?....” Tegoshi yelled at his friend before turning away to look at the ocean again, fisting his sea shell tightly. “You gave mine to that girl!” his last words almost came out in low sobbing sounds.
“Hey… Tego-chan…” Yamapi tried to make his friend turn back to face him but he was being ignored by the younger. “Ne ne, you don’t need to be pouty about it silly.” Yamapi tried all he knew would get Tegoshi’s attention “I know you are angry but you really don’t need to pout about THAT…”
“I’m not pouting!” Tegoshi whispered as he hugged his knees tightly, pouting even more “And even if I was I can do it as much as I want!”
“But you have no reason to be mad at me Tego-chan…”
Yamapi said holding back his smile as good as he could.
“Yes I do!”
Tegoshi turned around to glare annoyed at his friend which made Yamapi chuckle because he saw that Tegoshi was really pouting, just like he always does when he’s angry. Tegoshi glared back at him, turning around again as he felt like getting more and more angry at Yamapi and the fact that he didn’t seem to care about his feelings. Before Tegoshi could say or do anything else, he felt Yamapi arms hugging him by his waits again and soon his feet were lift off the ground as Yamapi was spinning him around.
Like magic all of his anger seemed to suddenly fade away at the action, because he really liked when Yamapi did that. He loved how fast Yamapi could spin him around and he even more loved that he only did that to him. Even if his little sister asked him to do it, he would say it was only his and Tegoshi’s game, so he couldn’t do with to her.
And before Tegoshi knew he was laughing in his friend’s arms as they spun around a few times before Yamapi put him back on the sand, gently turning him by his shoulders so they would sit face to face again. Tegoshi stopped laughing and looked up to his friend he saw Yamapi’s smiling expression while grabbing his hand and placing something in it.
“You should know that I would never give it to anyone else,.. baka!”
Yamapi said grinning at Tegoshi, who looked down into his hand and couldn’t hold back the smile forming on his own lips. In his open hand lay a small, very pink-ish sea shell which seemed just amazingly tiny and incredibly perfect that Tegoshi couldn’t even believe Yamapi managed to actually see it in the sand.
“But … but I saw you… giving it to her!”
“Not really, you saw me showing her the awesome present I found for my best friend, baka!”
Tegoshi jumped forward to throw his arms around Yamapi in a tight embrace and Yamapi brought his hand to the boy’s head to gently ruffle through his hair. Tegoshi put all his feelings in that hug; how thankful he was for having Yamapi and for just how much he cared about him. Especially was he thankful that he didn’t lose his Yamapi to that girl…..
The young boy had no idea from where those feelings came or what they meant. He couldn’t even question properly if they were wrong to have or not…
Yet he didn’t know anything but all that mattered at that moment was that his best friend was hugging him back just as tightly. Soon they returned back to meet Yamapi’s parents as they shared a lot of laughter and smiles, just like always.
[/end flashback]
Thinking about those days back then made him shiver and he could feel his heartbeat race faster the more he let those memories sink in; it kept beating so fast he thought it was going to explode. His head felt dizzy and his palms were getting sweaty, making it hard to hold the cup of coffee properly.
Right now he just wanted to throw that cup against the wall or better in Yamapi’s face, for he was the goddamn reason that made his life so miserable all over again. Although he wished he never entered that night club somehow he wanted to just do that again, go back and take revenge, revenge for all the pain he caused him the last five years, revenge that would make him see he shouldn’t have played him with like that. He had trusted Yamapi ever since the first day they met; he had always admired and trusted Yamapi with all his heart but what was it worth?
Nothing.
Tegoshi shook his head to force any other thoughts of his childhood away before emptying his drink and getting off the chair to look out of the window. It wasn’t long before his mobile phone’s alarm reminded him to get back to his shift and he prepared himself for another few hours until he could get back home finally, he was dying to have a healthy shower and couldn’t wait to relax in front of the TV.
---
Yamapi didn’t know how to start looking for Tegoshi because five years ago he already tried everything he could have thought of and yet all traces lead into a dead end, mostly because there were hardly any tracks to find in the first place.
He remembered it like it was yesterday, that day Tegoshi disappeared out of his life without notice, without even a goodbye.
It was a warm and sunny Monday morning, birds were chirping and the wind around his face felt soothing and relaxing as he walked down the most familiar road to visit his friend. It was the start of summer vacation so they were both free to do whatever pleased them, and the plans they had made the night before when Tegoshi spent the weekend at Yamapi’s place, like he did almost every weekend included going to the beach and maybe some movie. Yamapi had looked forward to their first day of summer vacation after another struggling year at school, it was simply one of the best days he thought he had ahead of but instead it turned into the worst they he could have ever imagined.
After the ten minute something long walk Yamapi finally arrived at the desired place, still humming to one of Tegoshi’s favorite songs that was stuck in his head after the boy had sung it non-stop that weekend, once he could make out the apartment complex he already sensed the difference and not knowing what caused that feeling that made Yamapi stop and shiver.
There wasn’t anything to see until he climbed up the stairs and he reached the front door, the shock in his eyes must have been visible once he took in the sight before him. It looked like a scene from a movie, the door was broken in and the windows were covered with brown wooden plates. He couldn’t believe his eyes, Tegoshi’s name tag had been removed roughly and when he walked inside without hesitation because he couldn’t even remember to be careful in case there were bad people inside, and to be honest he wouldn’t have minded because that scene before his eyes already broke his heart and he couldn’t think anything would be worse than losing Tegoshi.
For some reason he just knew he had lost him before even making sure this was a totally different case, he just sensed the worst and unfortunately he was right. The apartment was completely empty and not a single trace of his best friend and his family was to be seen.
Not here and neither at any other place.
First thing he could think of was going to the police and they informed him in a serious manner that there had never been a family named “Tegoshi” that lived anywhere near Tokyo. Not the past two hundred years or so he thought he’d remember and even if it was only the past twenty years this still was far from being possible because he knew them, he knew his best friend because they went to school together, they met almost every day and he had been at his home more often than he could list if he was given two months time.
This was just plain ridiculous and totally impossible.
Yamapi also went to their schools and talked to the directors but they told him the same, never had there been a kid named Yuya Tegoshi. It seemed as if everything had been edited too, there was simply nothing that would prove that his friend ever existed, except the photographs and things he had in his personal possession but people wouldn’t give a shit about what he had to tell.
And when they told him he’d get in deep trouble if he wouldn’t stop this, Yamapi knew that there was something really bad going on and he swore he’d find out, but unfortunately he wasn’t lucky and after one whole year of researching he started to give up.
He knew he had existed, for god sake how could he not but those people made it impossible to find him, and knowing there had to be a higher power in the game he wasn’t sure how long he could work on this ‘case’ without being exposed and maybe they’d even come after him. Which he had considered could be good though, it might help to find Tegoshi but he wasn’t that strong to really take that risk and it haunted him that he couldn’t do anything about it, that he was too weak.
Nevertheless he swore he’d never completely give up on it and one day he’ll find out the truth and Tegoshi.
There he was now five years later, a wealthy adult with much more power and connections and clear evidence of Tegoshi’s existence yet he didn’t know how to proceed. Truth be told it was a huge shock and everyone would be freaked out, he thought, nonetheless he knew he had to do something about it and get back on track.
His mission obvious, find Tegoshi and talk to him.
Talk to him properly.
It was easier said than done he realized once he remembered that there was still no tracks of any person named Tegoshi Yuya to find, making him wonder if that even was his real name..
.. he guessed probably not or at least that name got complete erased from this planet years ago, yet he had to find a way to get a hold of his identity because he was fucking excising.
Realizing now he hadn’t lost him forever he knew that there wouldn’t be anything that could hold him back anymore, even less would anyone take him away again, not this time.
Yamapi remembered “THE HUNT” club he had met him, still not fully understanding how all this could have happened, there but at least he knew exactly where he’d go first thing after he had finished his assignment, which was almost done and forgotten with.
He scribbled down some random combinations of numbers he could think of, putting some letters here and there he smirked and tah-dah, done. Yamapi sighed in relief; it was easier to hand out work that seemed to be done by a third grader when you literally owned the business in one way or the other.
It wasn’t like he didn’t care about his father’s company and he had always given his best to bring in money for the firm but sometimes there were things thrown in the way that seemed to be in need of a bit more attention, just like right now and with that last thought he took all papers he needed and ran off.
On his way to his father’s office he got himself a cup of coffee, said hello to certain people he knew would go checking on him later but then he wouldn’t be there and at least he wanted to show he had been around, even if it wasn’t the proper way he’d usually do it he didn’t really bother right now.
Once he had dropped off his paperwork which he had on the way sorted neatly in some black and white folders to make it at least look professional, he rushed through the hallways and sprinted to his waiting car. Nobody seriously cared whether he was coming or leaving, people respectively nodded and waved goodbye or hello or whatever it was they didn’t bother, it was simply a form of deference.
The underground garage was chilly and empty, finding his car quickly he was out and about faster than he could have wished.
The roads down Shibuya were hectic as always around this time but for once he hardly minded, there were other things on his mind which made it quite hard though to concentrate on the traffic ahead of him properly.
[Flash back]
It was their last day of vacation that Tegoshi spent with the Yamashita family at their beach house, and tonight the rain was coming down in sheets, looking like it wouldn’t stop any time soon.
The two boys decided to play some more games before going to sleep even though Yamapi’s mother had told them to go to bed immediately after dinner, because they should be in a good mood tomorrow for their drive home. Neither of them was sleepy enough to do just what they were told and instead the two friends gathered on Yamapi’s bed surrounded by a mountain of pillows and blankets, playing with their handhelds, books and action figures for another hour.
When Tegoshi finally admitted that he was getting really tired, Yamapi offered to tell him a story he’d made up rather than reading a book. Tegoshi liked the idea and hurried to put away all toys they had spread across the bed sheets at once by himself. Before Yamapi realized what the younger boy was up to he had already snuggled up next to him waiting patiently for his story.
Yamapi smiled down at his friend who laid there squished into the pillows with his eyes closed just waiting for him to start, and Yamapi didn’t wait long to do so, and before the younger boy said anything else he lowered himself down to join his friend in a comfortable mess of pillows and blankets.
As soon as Yamapi finished his story Tegoshi crawled out of his bed and walked over to his own, jumping underneath the blankets in no time, he felt like falling asleep already while listening to his friend’s story but since it was just too much fun he didn’t let his sleep take over.
“I’m sorry Tego that it didn’t stop raining yet, I hoped it would once we were finished..”
The older boy crawled underneath his own blankets properly lying down, turning to face Tegoshi on the other side of the room.
“It’s ok, I think I’m too tired now to notice.”
Tegoshi smiled to his friend who just chuckled at his comment, “Yeah you could hardly keep your eyes open....”
The younger boy decided to ignore his friend’s teasing completely tonight because he already looked forward to some fun dreams.
“Good night Yamapi.”
The older boy chuckled and pulled the blanket over his head, “Sleep well Tego-chan. See you in the morning.”
He didn’t get a reply from the younger and wondered if he had been falling asleep that quickly, which would have been the very first time for him to witness, for he would normally fall asleep before the usual very active boy.
Neither of them though had expected the rain to become heavier and shortly after their good night’s the storm outside kept both awake as branches hit the windows furiously due to the severe wind blowing in front of their house. Yamapi could feel that he was getting slightly tense at the thought it might get even stormier, he wasn’t worried about himself as much but concerned that it might wake up Tegoshi, as he knew the boy was really afraid of storms and especially thunders.
When exactly that happened and loud shuttering thunders could be heard from what seemed pretty nearby Yamapi wondered if Tegoshi would be able to sleep and he turned around to check on his friend.
“Tego…”
He whispered, noticing that Tegoshi lay underneath a bunch of blankets and pillows, it was hard to see if he was awake or not but the boy didn’t reply so he figured it must be ok and he turned back to face the ceiling, trying to fall asleep himself.
Not long after that, when he finally was about to fall into a peaceful sleep, he heard deep sobbing sounds coming from what seemed to be very very close. The older boy rubbed his tired eyes with the back of his hands purposefully as he propped himself up into a sitting position, glancing over to Tegoshi’s bed realizing his friend must have been awake the whole time but to stubborn to show he was being afraid of the storm.
“Tego-chan?” Yamapi almost whispered into his friend’s direction, “..are you ok there?”
He didn’t get a response from the younger boy who was curled up underneath his heavy blankets, pressing pillows over his head to mute out everything around him, but it didn’t work.
“Ne ne, you don’t need to be afraid…nothing will happen to you inside, trust me.”
Yamapi hoped he would get his friend’s attention and that he could calm him down because he himself wouldn’t be able to fall asleep knowing Tegoshi was crying because of the storm.
“I..I’m not scared ..I’m not..”
Tegoshi exclaimed, his voice drowned in sobs, trying hard to suppress his tears and show his friend that he wasn’t scared and really brave; Yamapi though could hear the tears falling in between his words.
“Ne, come over here…hurry Tego-chan, you can sleep here.”
Yamapi patted the empty space next to him as he offered it to his friend, because he knew how much Tegoshi was afraid and would normally crawl into his parent’s bed, so he thought this would be the best he could do to help.
“Why… should I do that Yamapi?”
Tegoshi mumbled from underneath the pillows, sounding slightly annoyed.
“Don’t ask why, just come over here.. you will see you will feel saver not sleeping on your own.”
Yamapi wanted to convince him to crawl into his bed but didn’t want to tease him about that he knew he was scared really badly and usually would sleep with his parents.
“I’m fine!....” Tegoshi pattered, still not wanting to show his weakness. “I’m not a kid anymore you know?”
“I know Tego-chan, but I would feel better too if you’d come sleep with me…”
Yamapi wondered what else he could say to change his mind, he even played with the thought of jumping underneath Tegoshi’s blankets or carry him into his bed against his will, which probably wouldn’t be the healthiest way.
“I’m.. I’m not sleeping in your bed, Yamapi…”
“Eh? Why not?”
The older boy felt slightly amused at his friend’s unexpected comment because it wouldn’t be the first time and he never seemed to have minded to join beds.
“Because…. Because we’re both boys… and boys don’t sleep in the same bed!”
Tegoshi didn’t know why he said that but it was the first thing that came to his mind, mostly though he didn’t want to sleep in his friend’s bed because he didn’t want Yamapi to see him cry.
“But Tego we shared a bed many times before, don’t you think it’s nothing to worry about?”
Tegoshi didn’t reply because he simply had no idea what to say, no excuse because he knew how damn right his friend was and there shouldn’t be anything to worry because they were best friends anyways.
“Well then….”
Yamapi slipped back underneath his blanket, wondering if anything he could say would be able to help now.
Not long after their conversation ended without success, the yet loudest thunder could be heard mingled with a loud cry followed by Tegoshi jumping into Yamapi’s bed in a rush. The younger boy dashed underneath the covers faster than Yamapi could realize what happened. When more lightning stroke close to the house with loud and frightening sound, Tegoshi let out another desperate cry and without hesitation he threw his arms around Yamapi as tight as he could, burying his face in the older boy’s chest.
Yamapi almost freaked out at the cold touch of his friend, worried that his skin felt so freezing cold against his even though it wasn’t really cold inside the house, it was summer after all.
He looked down the same instant Tegoshi lifted his head and their eyes met.
“Were you crying?”
Yamapi asked as if he hadn’t heard him sobbing so hard, noticing how teary Tegoshi’s eyes still were.
“No…”
The younger boy protested, sniffing a couple of times which brought a bright smile onto the other’s lips and he reached out to wipe Tegoshi’s tears away with the back of his hand.
“Let’s sleep, shall we?”
Naturally Yamapi pulled his shivering friend closer to his body and began to gently rub his friend’s arms and back comfortingly. Without much effort he could calm Tegoshi down quickly as he curled up against his friend appreciatively, enjoying the warm embrace that made him forget all about the storm still going on outside. Yamapi noticed his friend must have been sweating of fear until now but was relieved when he felt Tegoshi relaxing in his arms ever so quickly.
“There, there Tego-chan…” The older boy smiled to himself as he kept on patting his friend tenderly, “Don’t worry I am here for you… nothing will ever harm you while I’m by your side…”
The younger boy nodded against his chest softly, filling Yamapi’s heart with happiness and joy, knowing that Tegoshi believed in his words.
Soon Yamapi noticed how Tegoshi slowly fell asleep in his arms, he could hear his breath becoming more and more even and Tegoshi’s hold around his waist was slowly getting softer as their legs intertwined, unconsciously seeking comfort.
Even though the older boy wanted to sleep badly as well he couldn’t fall asleep as easy as his friend. Strangely his body started heating up and soon he felt a burning hot sensation on the inside, thinking this shouldn’t be happening despite the warmth his friend’s body was now giving off, it wasn’t yet that warm to be feeling like this. As if that wasn’t enough to worry even his heart started to beat faster and it felt like jumping out of his chest with every breath Tegoshi let out against his neck and every time he felt the boy’s chest moving against his own.
Yamapi didn’t know what was happening, but he liked the feeling which somehow was like something inside of him was changing. Wondering about whether he should really worry about it or not, he came to the quick conclusion that it probably wasn’t a sudden illness because it felt really good somehow.
He began to enjoy the strange and yet unknown feelings of having Tegoshi sleep in his embrace, tightly wrapped around his warm body like this.
Since it was feeling so strangely good having him snuggle up against his chest he thought it couldn’t be something bad, could it?
Satisfied with his conclusion Yamapi as well drifted off to sleep with the crazy storm outside totally forgotten by both.
[/end flash back]
Remembering that first night he had noticed the slow process of his change of feelings towards his best friend made it so hard to believe that all of this was supposed to be come to an end a long time ago. Yamapi was sure that he would find a way back into Tegoshi’s heart; he would fight for it with all powers he could gather no matter what the price may be.
----
Soon Yamapi reached the place he knew “The Hunt’s” clubs’s owner Matsura resided and without hesitation he rushed up the stairs and rang the door. He could have called before he knew but now it was a bit too late now.
“Yamapi?”
The slightly older man seemed startled to see Yamapi at his front door.
“Hey man!”
Yamapi said cheerfully, waving his hand up high.
“What brings you here?”
Dressed in what seemed to be a lilac silk bathrobe, holding a newspaper under his arm he stared at him like an intruder.
“I need your help!” Yampi spoke without hesitance, casually walking past the older man through his door “Can I come in?”
“Well, … sure why not!” Matsura sighed, still very surprised. “You could have called first you know..”
“I know and I’m sorry but it was quite urgent.”
“I see,… it must be of high importance so to what do I owe the honour of your first visit in all those years?”
He slightly chuckled.
“Hn,..” Yamapi looked around searching for a spot that seemed suitable to have a proper conversation but Matsura’s place did neither look inviting nor did he feel comfortable with sitting down anywhere. “It’s really, erm.. important right now, so can you spare a minute?”
“You already let yourself in so of course, spill.”
Matsura put away the newspaper and sat down on a chair next to what looked like a dining room table although there was no proper kitchen to be seen let alone dishes or food anywhere close. All there were papers and books scattered around like in some kind of warehouse but most likely a warehouse where there worked Yakuza super-brains, He chuckled at his thought.
“You remember that guy you showed me last night?”
Yamapi casually spilled once he decided to take a seat across from where the other man sat down, just to get a proper feeling of a conversation here. It must have sounded strange but he didn’t like to be the one standing when asking a favor.
“You mean the one you disappeared with?”
“Um yeah, to make it quick; I need to find him.”
“..and I’m guessing you need me for that?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Why didn’t you…. I mean you didn’t even ask him his name?”
“Duh, I tried to but he’s somewhat stubborn,… well let’s rather say it’s a very complicated story and I actually know his name because I kind of know him from a few years ago but the whole problem is a bit bigger than just not knowing his actual name, which I kind of don’t.”
“Yamapi, slow down, I don’t get you at all.. you do know him and his name but yet you don’t know nothing?”
“YES!” Yamapi snapped his finger excited. “EXACTLY!”
“Wha…why?”
The older man looked truly confused and Yamapi wished he could define everything in one word and make it reasonable but he couldn’t.
“I’ll explain later, just help me to find him fast. I know you got your ways so please can you try to track him down from what you know? Can you gather all information you get from the guys who work at the club?”
“Oh.. you mean.. just like that?” Matsura burst out in laughter, “I’m not a yakuza you know even though many accuse me having relations…”
“If you like it or not I bet you do have your connections and maybe relations but I don’t mind and I don’t care. I won’t tell I just need you to help me, please.”
“Sure Yamapi, if it’s for you I’ll do everything that’s in my power.”
“Thanks, I knew I could count on you!”
They high fived and Matsura lead Yamapi out the door.
“No biggie, I’ll give you a call later.”
Yamapi urgently left Matsura’s place as he waved goodbye and made his way back home to do some research himself, again.
“Thanks it’s appreciated.”
TBC
---------
Authors talk:
Riina: So, this was finally chapter three, ne.. It was REALLY long, again…
But I think it’s more fun to read a lot than just two pages ^.~
Gabby: Hum desho? Is nice to have lots to read then thinking: “eh? It already ended??” T.T
Riina: I hope we could point out that both boys again ‘remember’ the same day of their childhood in one way or the other… ^_^
Gabby: hum desho? Their minds work the same way somehow ne? Tegopi love power lol
Riina: We already are working on the upcoming chapters ne Gabby-chan?
Gabby: Yeah we’re! And since our lovely readers liked the flashbacks we’re really working hard to come up with cute and nice moments for you guys! ^^
Riina: Everyone please look forward to it! 楽しみにしていてください~ Tanoshimi ni shite ite kudasai ~
Gabby: hai hai and thanks for the lovely feedbacks in the previous chapters we’re dying to know what you guys thought about this one ^~^ See you guys soon! Bye bye *waves*
Chapter: [3/?]
Authors: gabs_yuuya and yamap_oukoku
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Pairing: Tegopi
Genre: Romance, AU, fluff, Angst
Disclaimer: We don't own the boys as you already know, but we can't help to dream about it ^^
Summary: Yamashita Tomohisa, aka Yamapi, is a well-known bachelor of Tokyo nights, but what makes him so well known? Well it's just the simple fact that no one ever managed to get a hold of this handsome and rich young man. The few ones that dared to say they managed to get into Yamashita`s bed, are just liars or never had a chance to make it happen a second time. The only thing he really want is to find his long missed one in a million.
[Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06][Chapter 07]
---
Standing behind a long counter of a crowded sports apparel store, Tegoshi struggled with a very persistent customer who believed to be having some certain rights which Tegoshi knew she hadn’t and he tried his best to keep his cool and deal with it like usually. In front of costumers he had always been calm and collected, he always knew what they wanted and how to please them without promising more than he could fulfill but right now he wasn’t in the mood to deal with them, or anyone.
“Thank you for your effort.”
A middle aged woman with short black hair, wearing a purple tracksuit and white tennis shoes waved goodbye after thanking Tegoshi for his assistance. The young man sighed exhaustedly, desperately wishing for his break time to arrive faster than normal, and since he hadn’t had the time to even take a shower before his shift started this morning. He still felt as tired as when he fell asleep last night and guessing he didn’t have much sleep deepened the feeling of lacking sleep.
Sometimes he wondered how he ended up in this position, where he had to deal with costumers; he had always been slightly shy around others and preferred to spend his time rather alone then in midst of the busiest of places, yet exactly this job suited him better than anyone else.
He knew everything about every little piece they sold and loved every tiny detail of it and nevertheless what had happened in the past or will happen in the future he could never part ways with sports and especially soccer, which lead to this sports apparel store that mostly sold and supported soccer gear.
It was just perfect and he found himself drawn towards it like nothing else, it was his little escape.
Until today he even enjoyed those little complaints and arguments that occurred from time to time when someone hadn’t been happy with their purchase, he just always knew how to make it up to them without shouting it from the rooftops. Some might say he was after all the most charming clerk to run into and there he was now, five hours later after parting with the person he thought he’d never see again in his entire life, struggling for the first time in a long time with one of their regulars, at least that’s what the guy said when he showed Tegoshi his VIP free card to everything he wanted and needed.
He knew the rules; they were engraved in his mind like a psalm of a bible, which he didn’t read though.
1) Answer your phone. Immediately.
2) Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them.
3) Listen to your customers.
4) Deal with complaints.
5) Be helpful - even if there’s no immediate profit in it.
And he always did, but right now those complaints were piling up and one person after the other came running to him as if they knew he had a really bad day.
Tegoshi sighed as the tall, not very handsome and annoyingly persistent man happily walked away once he had found out what the real problem was and they had solved it smoothly.
As soon as he had a peaceful minute his thoughts spun back to Yamapi and how ridiculous he thought it was to run into him in a place like this, he hadn’t been expecting to find him here, because after all he was rich and always wanted to work abroad. He knew though that there still was a tiny possibility of meeting him some day sooner or later, but he had prayed that it wouldn’t come to this before he could move away again by the end of the year.
Tegoshi didn’t work here for long, he moved to Shibuya only one month ago and he started to regret his decision for sure with that last encounter. He had worked in a tall and very famous sports apparel store in Yokohama, his former hometown, but unfortunately said store was undergoing renovation and rebuilding right now which would at least take half a year to be completed. He had been very lucky when they offered their senior employees (of at least 2 years) with the best reputation to work in the company’s sister branch until they’d finish all building alterations and modifications.
Tegoshi knew it was for the best to accept the offer since he was sure being able to find a proper job that suited him wouldn’t be easy without moving and so he settled with the idea of coming to Shibuya where they even arranged a small but safe apartment for him, despite the fact this place mostly freaked him out.
He hated Shibuya.
Well not really hate the place itself but all the memories he had that were locked on the busy streets of this particular part of Tokyo. Back when he moved to Yokohama two years ago he had a really bad feeling already to come back to this area but it was the only thing he could do to get back on track with a proper lifestyle. He had been out and about for too long and the countryside he had been dragged to five years ago just wasn’t working for him, especially since there were far worse memories linked to that place. He hadn’t been in Yokohama though ever since his family brought him along to Tokyo when he was around six years old or so, therefore this was rather a safe place to live unlike to Shibuya where he spent most of his teenager time.
Back three years ago he made the biggest step of leaving Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido as he ran away to settle in Niigata who someone offered him an amazing job out of the blue, but it just wasn’t the same and he knew he had to come back sooner or later.
--
Another customer said good-bye and Tegoshi finally could enjoy his well deserved break time, entering a small room in the back of the staff’s area. When he found a spot completely free from any other co-workers he let himself sink down onto a chair, sipping on a cup of hot coffee he picked up on the way from a vending machine as it already became his habit, coffee was an addiction he couldn’t imagine living without anymore.
Certain memories of his childhood suddenly took over his brain as he stared into the cup of coffee, examining the black hot beverage, and he couldn’t help but let them drown his current thoughts as if they had a mind on their own, again he failed to suppress it.
[Flash back]
“Now boys hear me!” Yamapi’s mom said with a serious tone in her deep voice “I will let you two go to have fun alone because I know you both are already young men and you can take care of yourselves. But you both are going to be standing in front of me, right here at 4 PM and not a second later, do you hear me?!”
The middle aged women kept staring down at the two skinny boys in their beach trunks in front of her, remembering how both were already bursting with excitement this morning over breakfast. She wanted to make it quick so they could go and enjoy a nice day at the beach.
“Haaaaaaaai~”
The two boys shouted exited, showing her their brightest smiles they had to offer.
“Did you help Tegoshi-kun with the sun blocker, Tomohisa?”
His mother eyed him carefully, knowing that the kids weren’t really interested in sun protection or anything else that didn’t have the word “FUN” written on it.
“Haaaaaai~”
Yamapi replied cheerfully, looking to his friend and back to his mother.
“Good good, now you can go!” Yamapi’s mother shook her head, “Be careful all the time, you hear me!!”
Both boys faced each other as she patted them on their heads, motioning them to leave already.
“Soooo Tego-chan, what you want to do first?”
A bright smile appeared on his lips as he asked his friend cheerfully.
“Beach soccer!”
The younger boy shouted exited in reply, making his friend chuckle because he already knew this would be the first and maybe only thing on Tegoshi’s mind.
“haha.. Tego-chaaaan, .. I knew it!”
He naturally brought his hand to his friend’s head, ruffling his already messy hair which earned him a light growling sound from the younger boy. Yamapi motioned him to go inside again,
“Ne, I didn’t bring the ball, can you go back quickly?”
“Mooo, Yamapiii~” Tegoshi glared at the older boy as he pouted, “Why do I always have to do those things?”
“It was your idea wasn’t it?” Yamapi stuck out his tongue towards his little friend “If I would make the plans we would just go swimming and play in the sand.”
“But you want to play it too don’t you?”
Tegoshi now said with an almost sad voice, wondering if he’d be annoying his friend with the idea of playing beach soccer….
“Sure I do, silly. But you are younger and faster and if you won’t hurry we won’t get there before sunset.”
The older boy said teasingly, slightly pushing his friend forward so he would get moving already.
“Mooo ~ ok ok … “
And with that said Tegoshi rushed towards the door but before he disappeared inside he remembered he had left his stuff outside and so he turned to look next to the veranda, where he spotted the small blue bag next to Yamapi’s dad who was reading a book under the shadow of a big red beach umbrella.
“Tomohisa.”
Yamapi turned around to face his mother, after he watched his friend run toward him with the bag in his hands, smiling happily he found it so fast.
“You are the older one!” His mother gave Yamapi a serious look, “You need to take care of Tegoshi-kun! You know the beach is very big and it’s really easy to get lost, so don’t ever let Tegoshi-kun go away from you, ok?”
“OK mom, I understand so please don’t worry about it! I promise I will keep both eyes on Tego-chan, all the time!”
The young boy said as he caught Tegoshi as he was about to pass by excited to run ahead. He threw his arms around the younger boy’s waist to hug him tightly and lift him off the ground slightly. Yamapi began to spin both of them around playfully to show his mom that he was always paying attention to what his friend was doing.
“Waaa~ Yamapii don’t ~ don’t do that!”
Tegoshi almost screamed in between laughter as he struggled in his friend’s arms, trying to free himself from the tight hug. But Yamapi wasn’t planning on letting him go so fast and he spun them around for another few rounds before settling him back on to the ground, which made Yamapi’s mother chuckle and motioning them to leave already.
As always the two friends had a lot of fun as soon as they arrived at the nearby sea shore, and after playing a few rounds of beach soccer they let themselves fall into the sand exhaustedly.
Lying in the sand Tegoshi turned unto his stomach to face his friend, propping himself up on his elbows to rest his head on his hands.
“Ne, you’re ready for another round Yamapi?”
The younger boy smiled at him cheerfully as Yamapi also turned around to face his friend.
“Moo, Tego-chaaaaaan… more soccer? Didn’t we already play that for hours?”
“Hm, you’re right…”
Tegoshi let his head fall into the sand disappointed, lifting it back up just enough for his hands to slip underneath before he plopped it back down, eying his friend curiously.
“You are so much better than I am, and so fast!” Yamapi scooted closer to the boy, going down onto his head’s height to glance into his eyes. “And all I do is run around you exhaustedly trying to get that ball off of you, which almost never happened.”
“But Yamapi, we don’t even have a winner or anything,..”
“That’s because we are only two and that strange thing we used as goal isn’t even here anymore.”
The older boy chuckled as he pointed towards a spot where there had been some sticks and leaves and stones they put up to mark a goal.
“Hm, true…”
Tegoshi followed the other’s finger as he pointed out their ‘problem’ before Yamapi got up to his feet again after ruffling the boy’s hair playfully.
“Get up there sleepy head, let’s play some more then.”
“Honto???”
Tegoshi’s eyes suddenly brightened up again at his friend’s words and he didn’t hesitate longer to jump off the sand himself.
“Sure! Let’s go!”
Yamapi smiled at his friend before grabbing the ball that lay in front of their feet and ran off kicking it straight ahead of him. The younger boy followed him excited, screaming for his friend to wait and play the other way.
After another few rounds of happily playing with the ball on the empty sea shore the two friends decided to cool off in the water and sprinted toward the under the shining sun blue glittering ocean.
Tegoshi reached the shore first and ran right into it, getting himself wet from tip to toe in an instant as he jumped into the cool water. A couple of seconds later he was joined by his friend who also sprinted into the refreshing ocean, splashing water in every direction which made Tegoshi burst out in giggles as he watched his friend enjoy the coolness just as much as he did.
“Neee…do you want to have a swimming contest Tego?”
The older boy eyed his friend curiously, but frowned lightly as Tegoshi shook his head slightly as he bit his lower lip.
“You know that I’m not very good at swimming Yamapii~”
“Don’t worry Tego, I know how good you are and I promise to look out for you, always.”
Yamapi smiled reassuringly, moving closer to his friend to splash a handful water into the other’s face. The younger boy growled loudly before laughing too and playfully splash water back into the other’s face.
“Waha stop it Yamapii~” Tegoshi yelled once he couldn’t see anything but water, he turned around to start swimming and Yamapi followed him in a rush, eager to out swim his friend.
Once they dried off again and Yamapi checked his watch to see it was almost the time his mom had said they should be back, they decided to play one last game.
“Let’s find the prettiest sea shell for each other as a ‘good-bye beach vacation’ gift, what do you think?”
“Ohh.. yeah, we are leaving tomorrow morning again,” Tegoshi ‘s cheerful voice dropped slightly as he remembered their trip was about to come to an end already, he had enjoyed his time with Yamapi and his family to the fullest. “This would be a really nice idea Yamapi, let’s do it! I will find the prettiest for you for sure!”
Yamapi smiled at his friend’s excitement and he hardly could hold back his own as they ran off toward the sea shore once more.
“But hey Tego,” the older boy shouted before turning into the other direction, “I too will find the prettiest for you!” he winked at his friend before waving and running off to find the coolest sea shell to give his friend.
Tegoshi shook his head at his competitive friend and smiled to himself before running off further down the shore himself.
---
After what seemed like ages to the little boy he finally found a medium sized pearly white seashell. Holding it up high to examine its form and color again he sighed and wrapped his small fingers around it tightly. Tegoshi was more than pleased with what he found and couldn’t wait to show it to Yamapi, knowing he would completely love it too because it was simply the prettiest. Tegoshi was sure that whatever Yamapi had found would be super pretty as well but he believed strongly it couldn’t beat his shell.
He started running off happily toward the agreed place by the tree’s they had rested earlier; he would wait to meet Yamapi there if he wasn’t already waiting on him.
He kept on imagining his friend’s excitement, his happy face and bright smile once he’d given him his present and soon Tegoshi arrived at their meeting point. He couldn’t see Yamapi underneath the trees once he got there so he turned around to look for him impatiently and he didn’t have to try for long because soon he spotted his friend a few feet away. Yamapi though wasn’t alone; he seemed to be talking to a girl.
At first Tegoshi just didn’t like the idea of Yamapi talking with someone he didn’t know, when he was supposed to be looking for a present for him. Soon Tegoshi noticed Yamapi seemed to already have found something because he held a small sea shell up into the air against the sun, showing it to said girl. And the moment when he saw that Yamapi was about to give said shell to said girl he suddenly felt really angry at the fact that he’d give away his present, especially to some girl he probably just met.
That just wasn’t fair.
Tegoshi could feel the tears forming in the back of his eyes, coming from nowhere and he hated it that much that he just wanted to cry really hard. Almost more than that feeling though, he hated Yamapi for giving away his shell. Without thinking he turned his back to the other and started to run to the other direction as fast as his feet would take him. Tegoshi would hate if Yamapi saw him cry and especially since he didn’t even know the reason why he was feeling like this, he felt just as confused as angry.
--
Tegoshi felt exhausted like he was running for hours when he decided to just stop at the shore and settled himself in the warm sand, waiting for the sun to set. He kept sitting there just staring at the sea hugging his legs close to his chest, every now and then gazing down onto the shell in his palm.
The young boy wondered if it was even worth to keep now, that their game or whatever it was seemed to be totally forgotten. Tegoshi thought it wasn’t necessary to give his shell to Yamapi anymore when he just gave his away. Maybe he should just throw it into the ocean and forget about everything.
“Tego-chan!”
After daydreaming for a while Tegoshi suddenly heard a familiar voice shouting his name from very close behind. He turned around to find Yamapi come running from behind a tree, dashing towards him as he kept shouting his name and waving his hands furiously. It wasn’t like he didn’t see him but he didn’t want to ‘meet’ him, therefore Tegoshi turned back around to face the sea in front of him, wishing his friend would just disappear. Before Tegoshi could tell him that he wanted to be left alone he felt Yamapi’s arms wrapped around his body as he hugged him as tight as he could.
The younger boy‘s eyes sprung open wide in surprise, “Yamapi?” he asked carefully from under Yamapi’s tight grip, not understanding what was going on out of the blue. “What…are you..”
“WHERE have you been?!”
Yamapi shouted in reply, not breaking the hold he had over Tegoshi.
“I looked for you everywhere, but I didn’t manage to find you, I was starting to think something really bad had happened to you… and… and it would have been entirely my fault, you know …and … and…”
Yamapi’s words were getting lower and died quiet as he started sobbing hard behind his friend, who was just as startled as before.
“Yamapi? …What’s wrong?... Are you crying?”
Tegoshi turned to face the other and when he saw that he really was crying he returned the hug from earlier and caressed his friends back supportively to calm him down. “Hey …Please don’t cry … nothing bad happened… I’m fine ….Yamapi...” Tegoshi tried to calm Yamapi down with his words spoken softly and reassuringly calm.
“I thought I would never see you again…” The older boy exclaimed, slowly breaking the hug to look at Tegoshi with puffy and red eyes. “Why didn’t you go back? Why did you stay here? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I was thinking the worst Tego-chan… why did you stay here?”
Tegoshi looked at his sobbing friend with a troubled expression, he had no idea that he would worry about him like that, he wasn’t even gone for long was he?
“I… well… I… saw…I… thought…”
Tegoshi tried to complete his sentence many times but he couldn’t manage to bring out the words clearly. He felt troubled indeed but also very happy that Yamapi had thought about him and searched for him even though he could have been playing with that girl instead.
“Tego? What’s wrong? Did something happen? Has someone done anything to you?”
Yamapi’s expression went from sad and afraid to worried and curious, his words almost cracking as he dried his tears with the back of his hands. “Tell me, what happened Tego-chan…” Yamapi said softly as he gently brushed the palms of his hands over Tegoshi’ blushing cheeks, caressing them comfortingly.
“Well, you see.. when I was finished, actually I went back, and I saw you talking to a girl…”
Tegoshi tried to sound like he didn’t care much about it and lowered his gaze into the sand beneath their feet.
“Oh you mean Sakura-chan?” Yamapi asked with a sudden smile on his lips, “Ah, she is a nice and funny girl, you would like her Tego. I had fun talking to her.” He didn’t notice the change in Tegoshi’s eyes as he spoke almost too cheerfully all of a sudden.
“Yeah I saw how much you liked her!” Tegoshi exclaimed loudly without trying to hide how annoyed he was hearing Yamapi speak like that. “You liked her so much that you even gave her my shell! How could you Yamapi!? Wasn’t it supposed to be a present for each other?!”
“I did what?!”
Yamapi didn’t get what his friend said.
“I saw you giving it to her! I should have thrown this away like I wanted to!”
Tegoshi said gazing down to his hand and slowly opening his fist to reveal the sea shell he had collected earlier. When he suddenly lift his hand and turned to look at the ocean Yamapi reacted in time to stop his friend from throwing it into the ocean.
“Don’t…Tego…please don’t do that. This is my present right?” Yamapi loosened his grip on the younger boy’s wrist and slowly brought his hand down to lie on his lap. “I still want it you know?” Yamapi smiled his sweetest smile and Tegoshi felt even more confused than before.
“B-but, why should I give it to you!?....” Tegoshi yelled at his friend before turning away to look at the ocean again, fisting his sea shell tightly. “You gave mine to that girl!” his last words almost came out in low sobbing sounds.
“Hey… Tego-chan…” Yamapi tried to make his friend turn back to face him but he was being ignored by the younger. “Ne ne, you don’t need to be pouty about it silly.” Yamapi tried all he knew would get Tegoshi’s attention “I know you are angry but you really don’t need to pout about THAT…”
“I’m not pouting!” Tegoshi whispered as he hugged his knees tightly, pouting even more “And even if I was I can do it as much as I want!”
“But you have no reason to be mad at me Tego-chan…”
Yamapi said holding back his smile as good as he could.
“Yes I do!”
Tegoshi turned around to glare annoyed at his friend which made Yamapi chuckle because he saw that Tegoshi was really pouting, just like he always does when he’s angry. Tegoshi glared back at him, turning around again as he felt like getting more and more angry at Yamapi and the fact that he didn’t seem to care about his feelings. Before Tegoshi could say or do anything else, he felt Yamapi arms hugging him by his waits again and soon his feet were lift off the ground as Yamapi was spinning him around.
Like magic all of his anger seemed to suddenly fade away at the action, because he really liked when Yamapi did that. He loved how fast Yamapi could spin him around and he even more loved that he only did that to him. Even if his little sister asked him to do it, he would say it was only his and Tegoshi’s game, so he couldn’t do with to her.
And before Tegoshi knew he was laughing in his friend’s arms as they spun around a few times before Yamapi put him back on the sand, gently turning him by his shoulders so they would sit face to face again. Tegoshi stopped laughing and looked up to his friend he saw Yamapi’s smiling expression while grabbing his hand and placing something in it.
“You should know that I would never give it to anyone else,.. baka!”
Yamapi said grinning at Tegoshi, who looked down into his hand and couldn’t hold back the smile forming on his own lips. In his open hand lay a small, very pink-ish sea shell which seemed just amazingly tiny and incredibly perfect that Tegoshi couldn’t even believe Yamapi managed to actually see it in the sand.
“But … but I saw you… giving it to her!”
“Not really, you saw me showing her the awesome present I found for my best friend, baka!”
Tegoshi jumped forward to throw his arms around Yamapi in a tight embrace and Yamapi brought his hand to the boy’s head to gently ruffle through his hair. Tegoshi put all his feelings in that hug; how thankful he was for having Yamapi and for just how much he cared about him. Especially was he thankful that he didn’t lose his Yamapi to that girl…..
The young boy had no idea from where those feelings came or what they meant. He couldn’t even question properly if they were wrong to have or not…
Yet he didn’t know anything but all that mattered at that moment was that his best friend was hugging him back just as tightly. Soon they returned back to meet Yamapi’s parents as they shared a lot of laughter and smiles, just like always.
[/end flashback]
Thinking about those days back then made him shiver and he could feel his heartbeat race faster the more he let those memories sink in; it kept beating so fast he thought it was going to explode. His head felt dizzy and his palms were getting sweaty, making it hard to hold the cup of coffee properly.
Right now he just wanted to throw that cup against the wall or better in Yamapi’s face, for he was the goddamn reason that made his life so miserable all over again. Although he wished he never entered that night club somehow he wanted to just do that again, go back and take revenge, revenge for all the pain he caused him the last five years, revenge that would make him see he shouldn’t have played him with like that. He had trusted Yamapi ever since the first day they met; he had always admired and trusted Yamapi with all his heart but what was it worth?
Nothing.
Tegoshi shook his head to force any other thoughts of his childhood away before emptying his drink and getting off the chair to look out of the window. It wasn’t long before his mobile phone’s alarm reminded him to get back to his shift and he prepared himself for another few hours until he could get back home finally, he was dying to have a healthy shower and couldn’t wait to relax in front of the TV.
---
Yamapi didn’t know how to start looking for Tegoshi because five years ago he already tried everything he could have thought of and yet all traces lead into a dead end, mostly because there were hardly any tracks to find in the first place.
He remembered it like it was yesterday, that day Tegoshi disappeared out of his life without notice, without even a goodbye.
It was a warm and sunny Monday morning, birds were chirping and the wind around his face felt soothing and relaxing as he walked down the most familiar road to visit his friend. It was the start of summer vacation so they were both free to do whatever pleased them, and the plans they had made the night before when Tegoshi spent the weekend at Yamapi’s place, like he did almost every weekend included going to the beach and maybe some movie. Yamapi had looked forward to their first day of summer vacation after another struggling year at school, it was simply one of the best days he thought he had ahead of but instead it turned into the worst they he could have ever imagined.
After the ten minute something long walk Yamapi finally arrived at the desired place, still humming to one of Tegoshi’s favorite songs that was stuck in his head after the boy had sung it non-stop that weekend, once he could make out the apartment complex he already sensed the difference and not knowing what caused that feeling that made Yamapi stop and shiver.
There wasn’t anything to see until he climbed up the stairs and he reached the front door, the shock in his eyes must have been visible once he took in the sight before him. It looked like a scene from a movie, the door was broken in and the windows were covered with brown wooden plates. He couldn’t believe his eyes, Tegoshi’s name tag had been removed roughly and when he walked inside without hesitation because he couldn’t even remember to be careful in case there were bad people inside, and to be honest he wouldn’t have minded because that scene before his eyes already broke his heart and he couldn’t think anything would be worse than losing Tegoshi.
For some reason he just knew he had lost him before even making sure this was a totally different case, he just sensed the worst and unfortunately he was right. The apartment was completely empty and not a single trace of his best friend and his family was to be seen.
Not here and neither at any other place.
First thing he could think of was going to the police and they informed him in a serious manner that there had never been a family named “Tegoshi” that lived anywhere near Tokyo. Not the past two hundred years or so he thought he’d remember and even if it was only the past twenty years this still was far from being possible because he knew them, he knew his best friend because they went to school together, they met almost every day and he had been at his home more often than he could list if he was given two months time.
This was just plain ridiculous and totally impossible.
Yamapi also went to their schools and talked to the directors but they told him the same, never had there been a kid named Yuya Tegoshi. It seemed as if everything had been edited too, there was simply nothing that would prove that his friend ever existed, except the photographs and things he had in his personal possession but people wouldn’t give a shit about what he had to tell.
And when they told him he’d get in deep trouble if he wouldn’t stop this, Yamapi knew that there was something really bad going on and he swore he’d find out, but unfortunately he wasn’t lucky and after one whole year of researching he started to give up.
He knew he had existed, for god sake how could he not but those people made it impossible to find him, and knowing there had to be a higher power in the game he wasn’t sure how long he could work on this ‘case’ without being exposed and maybe they’d even come after him. Which he had considered could be good though, it might help to find Tegoshi but he wasn’t that strong to really take that risk and it haunted him that he couldn’t do anything about it, that he was too weak.
Nevertheless he swore he’d never completely give up on it and one day he’ll find out the truth and Tegoshi.
There he was now five years later, a wealthy adult with much more power and connections and clear evidence of Tegoshi’s existence yet he didn’t know how to proceed. Truth be told it was a huge shock and everyone would be freaked out, he thought, nonetheless he knew he had to do something about it and get back on track.
His mission obvious, find Tegoshi and talk to him.
Talk to him properly.
It was easier said than done he realized once he remembered that there was still no tracks of any person named Tegoshi Yuya to find, making him wonder if that even was his real name..
.. he guessed probably not or at least that name got complete erased from this planet years ago, yet he had to find a way to get a hold of his identity because he was fucking excising.
Realizing now he hadn’t lost him forever he knew that there wouldn’t be anything that could hold him back anymore, even less would anyone take him away again, not this time.
Yamapi remembered “THE HUNT” club he had met him, still not fully understanding how all this could have happened, there but at least he knew exactly where he’d go first thing after he had finished his assignment, which was almost done and forgotten with.
He scribbled down some random combinations of numbers he could think of, putting some letters here and there he smirked and tah-dah, done. Yamapi sighed in relief; it was easier to hand out work that seemed to be done by a third grader when you literally owned the business in one way or the other.
It wasn’t like he didn’t care about his father’s company and he had always given his best to bring in money for the firm but sometimes there were things thrown in the way that seemed to be in need of a bit more attention, just like right now and with that last thought he took all papers he needed and ran off.
On his way to his father’s office he got himself a cup of coffee, said hello to certain people he knew would go checking on him later but then he wouldn’t be there and at least he wanted to show he had been around, even if it wasn’t the proper way he’d usually do it he didn’t really bother right now.
Once he had dropped off his paperwork which he had on the way sorted neatly in some black and white folders to make it at least look professional, he rushed through the hallways and sprinted to his waiting car. Nobody seriously cared whether he was coming or leaving, people respectively nodded and waved goodbye or hello or whatever it was they didn’t bother, it was simply a form of deference.
The underground garage was chilly and empty, finding his car quickly he was out and about faster than he could have wished.
The roads down Shibuya were hectic as always around this time but for once he hardly minded, there were other things on his mind which made it quite hard though to concentrate on the traffic ahead of him properly.
[Flash back]
It was their last day of vacation that Tegoshi spent with the Yamashita family at their beach house, and tonight the rain was coming down in sheets, looking like it wouldn’t stop any time soon.
The two boys decided to play some more games before going to sleep even though Yamapi’s mother had told them to go to bed immediately after dinner, because they should be in a good mood tomorrow for their drive home. Neither of them was sleepy enough to do just what they were told and instead the two friends gathered on Yamapi’s bed surrounded by a mountain of pillows and blankets, playing with their handhelds, books and action figures for another hour.
When Tegoshi finally admitted that he was getting really tired, Yamapi offered to tell him a story he’d made up rather than reading a book. Tegoshi liked the idea and hurried to put away all toys they had spread across the bed sheets at once by himself. Before Yamapi realized what the younger boy was up to he had already snuggled up next to him waiting patiently for his story.
Yamapi smiled down at his friend who laid there squished into the pillows with his eyes closed just waiting for him to start, and Yamapi didn’t wait long to do so, and before the younger boy said anything else he lowered himself down to join his friend in a comfortable mess of pillows and blankets.
As soon as Yamapi finished his story Tegoshi crawled out of his bed and walked over to his own, jumping underneath the blankets in no time, he felt like falling asleep already while listening to his friend’s story but since it was just too much fun he didn’t let his sleep take over.
“I’m sorry Tego that it didn’t stop raining yet, I hoped it would once we were finished..”
The older boy crawled underneath his own blankets properly lying down, turning to face Tegoshi on the other side of the room.
“It’s ok, I think I’m too tired now to notice.”
Tegoshi smiled to his friend who just chuckled at his comment, “Yeah you could hardly keep your eyes open....”
The younger boy decided to ignore his friend’s teasing completely tonight because he already looked forward to some fun dreams.
“Good night Yamapi.”
The older boy chuckled and pulled the blanket over his head, “Sleep well Tego-chan. See you in the morning.”
He didn’t get a reply from the younger and wondered if he had been falling asleep that quickly, which would have been the very first time for him to witness, for he would normally fall asleep before the usual very active boy.
Neither of them though had expected the rain to become heavier and shortly after their good night’s the storm outside kept both awake as branches hit the windows furiously due to the severe wind blowing in front of their house. Yamapi could feel that he was getting slightly tense at the thought it might get even stormier, he wasn’t worried about himself as much but concerned that it might wake up Tegoshi, as he knew the boy was really afraid of storms and especially thunders.
When exactly that happened and loud shuttering thunders could be heard from what seemed pretty nearby Yamapi wondered if Tegoshi would be able to sleep and he turned around to check on his friend.
“Tego…”
He whispered, noticing that Tegoshi lay underneath a bunch of blankets and pillows, it was hard to see if he was awake or not but the boy didn’t reply so he figured it must be ok and he turned back to face the ceiling, trying to fall asleep himself.
Not long after that, when he finally was about to fall into a peaceful sleep, he heard deep sobbing sounds coming from what seemed to be very very close. The older boy rubbed his tired eyes with the back of his hands purposefully as he propped himself up into a sitting position, glancing over to Tegoshi’s bed realizing his friend must have been awake the whole time but to stubborn to show he was being afraid of the storm.
“Tego-chan?” Yamapi almost whispered into his friend’s direction, “..are you ok there?”
He didn’t get a response from the younger boy who was curled up underneath his heavy blankets, pressing pillows over his head to mute out everything around him, but it didn’t work.
“Ne ne, you don’t need to be afraid…nothing will happen to you inside, trust me.”
Yamapi hoped he would get his friend’s attention and that he could calm him down because he himself wouldn’t be able to fall asleep knowing Tegoshi was crying because of the storm.
“I..I’m not scared ..I’m not..”
Tegoshi exclaimed, his voice drowned in sobs, trying hard to suppress his tears and show his friend that he wasn’t scared and really brave; Yamapi though could hear the tears falling in between his words.
“Ne, come over here…hurry Tego-chan, you can sleep here.”
Yamapi patted the empty space next to him as he offered it to his friend, because he knew how much Tegoshi was afraid and would normally crawl into his parent’s bed, so he thought this would be the best he could do to help.
“Why… should I do that Yamapi?”
Tegoshi mumbled from underneath the pillows, sounding slightly annoyed.
“Don’t ask why, just come over here.. you will see you will feel saver not sleeping on your own.”
Yamapi wanted to convince him to crawl into his bed but didn’t want to tease him about that he knew he was scared really badly and usually would sleep with his parents.
“I’m fine!....” Tegoshi pattered, still not wanting to show his weakness. “I’m not a kid anymore you know?”
“I know Tego-chan, but I would feel better too if you’d come sleep with me…”
Yamapi wondered what else he could say to change his mind, he even played with the thought of jumping underneath Tegoshi’s blankets or carry him into his bed against his will, which probably wouldn’t be the healthiest way.
“I’m.. I’m not sleeping in your bed, Yamapi…”
“Eh? Why not?”
The older boy felt slightly amused at his friend’s unexpected comment because it wouldn’t be the first time and he never seemed to have minded to join beds.
“Because…. Because we’re both boys… and boys don’t sleep in the same bed!”
Tegoshi didn’t know why he said that but it was the first thing that came to his mind, mostly though he didn’t want to sleep in his friend’s bed because he didn’t want Yamapi to see him cry.
“But Tego we shared a bed many times before, don’t you think it’s nothing to worry about?”
Tegoshi didn’t reply because he simply had no idea what to say, no excuse because he knew how damn right his friend was and there shouldn’t be anything to worry because they were best friends anyways.
“Well then….”
Yamapi slipped back underneath his blanket, wondering if anything he could say would be able to help now.
Not long after their conversation ended without success, the yet loudest thunder could be heard mingled with a loud cry followed by Tegoshi jumping into Yamapi’s bed in a rush. The younger boy dashed underneath the covers faster than Yamapi could realize what happened. When more lightning stroke close to the house with loud and frightening sound, Tegoshi let out another desperate cry and without hesitation he threw his arms around Yamapi as tight as he could, burying his face in the older boy’s chest.
Yamapi almost freaked out at the cold touch of his friend, worried that his skin felt so freezing cold against his even though it wasn’t really cold inside the house, it was summer after all.
He looked down the same instant Tegoshi lifted his head and their eyes met.
“Were you crying?”
Yamapi asked as if he hadn’t heard him sobbing so hard, noticing how teary Tegoshi’s eyes still were.
“No…”
The younger boy protested, sniffing a couple of times which brought a bright smile onto the other’s lips and he reached out to wipe Tegoshi’s tears away with the back of his hand.
“Let’s sleep, shall we?”
Naturally Yamapi pulled his shivering friend closer to his body and began to gently rub his friend’s arms and back comfortingly. Without much effort he could calm Tegoshi down quickly as he curled up against his friend appreciatively, enjoying the warm embrace that made him forget all about the storm still going on outside. Yamapi noticed his friend must have been sweating of fear until now but was relieved when he felt Tegoshi relaxing in his arms ever so quickly.
“There, there Tego-chan…” The older boy smiled to himself as he kept on patting his friend tenderly, “Don’t worry I am here for you… nothing will ever harm you while I’m by your side…”
The younger boy nodded against his chest softly, filling Yamapi’s heart with happiness and joy, knowing that Tegoshi believed in his words.
Soon Yamapi noticed how Tegoshi slowly fell asleep in his arms, he could hear his breath becoming more and more even and Tegoshi’s hold around his waist was slowly getting softer as their legs intertwined, unconsciously seeking comfort.
Even though the older boy wanted to sleep badly as well he couldn’t fall asleep as easy as his friend. Strangely his body started heating up and soon he felt a burning hot sensation on the inside, thinking this shouldn’t be happening despite the warmth his friend’s body was now giving off, it wasn’t yet that warm to be feeling like this. As if that wasn’t enough to worry even his heart started to beat faster and it felt like jumping out of his chest with every breath Tegoshi let out against his neck and every time he felt the boy’s chest moving against his own.
Yamapi didn’t know what was happening, but he liked the feeling which somehow was like something inside of him was changing. Wondering about whether he should really worry about it or not, he came to the quick conclusion that it probably wasn’t a sudden illness because it felt really good somehow.
He began to enjoy the strange and yet unknown feelings of having Tegoshi sleep in his embrace, tightly wrapped around his warm body like this.
Since it was feeling so strangely good having him snuggle up against his chest he thought it couldn’t be something bad, could it?
Satisfied with his conclusion Yamapi as well drifted off to sleep with the crazy storm outside totally forgotten by both.
[/end flash back]
Remembering that first night he had noticed the slow process of his change of feelings towards his best friend made it so hard to believe that all of this was supposed to be come to an end a long time ago. Yamapi was sure that he would find a way back into Tegoshi’s heart; he would fight for it with all powers he could gather no matter what the price may be.
----
Soon Yamapi reached the place he knew “The Hunt’s” clubs’s owner Matsura resided and without hesitation he rushed up the stairs and rang the door. He could have called before he knew but now it was a bit too late now.
“Yamapi?”
The slightly older man seemed startled to see Yamapi at his front door.
“Hey man!”
Yamapi said cheerfully, waving his hand up high.
“What brings you here?”
Dressed in what seemed to be a lilac silk bathrobe, holding a newspaper under his arm he stared at him like an intruder.
“I need your help!” Yampi spoke without hesitance, casually walking past the older man through his door “Can I come in?”
“Well, … sure why not!” Matsura sighed, still very surprised. “You could have called first you know..”
“I know and I’m sorry but it was quite urgent.”
“I see,… it must be of high importance so to what do I owe the honour of your first visit in all those years?”
He slightly chuckled.
“Hn,..” Yamapi looked around searching for a spot that seemed suitable to have a proper conversation but Matsura’s place did neither look inviting nor did he feel comfortable with sitting down anywhere. “It’s really, erm.. important right now, so can you spare a minute?”
“You already let yourself in so of course, spill.”
Matsura put away the newspaper and sat down on a chair next to what looked like a dining room table although there was no proper kitchen to be seen let alone dishes or food anywhere close. All there were papers and books scattered around like in some kind of warehouse but most likely a warehouse where there worked Yakuza super-brains, He chuckled at his thought.
“You remember that guy you showed me last night?”
Yamapi casually spilled once he decided to take a seat across from where the other man sat down, just to get a proper feeling of a conversation here. It must have sounded strange but he didn’t like to be the one standing when asking a favor.
“You mean the one you disappeared with?”
“Um yeah, to make it quick; I need to find him.”
“..and I’m guessing you need me for that?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Why didn’t you…. I mean you didn’t even ask him his name?”
“Duh, I tried to but he’s somewhat stubborn,… well let’s rather say it’s a very complicated story and I actually know his name because I kind of know him from a few years ago but the whole problem is a bit bigger than just not knowing his actual name, which I kind of don’t.”
“Yamapi, slow down, I don’t get you at all.. you do know him and his name but yet you don’t know nothing?”
“YES!” Yamapi snapped his finger excited. “EXACTLY!”
“Wha…why?”
The older man looked truly confused and Yamapi wished he could define everything in one word and make it reasonable but he couldn’t.
“I’ll explain later, just help me to find him fast. I know you got your ways so please can you try to track him down from what you know? Can you gather all information you get from the guys who work at the club?”
“Oh.. you mean.. just like that?” Matsura burst out in laughter, “I’m not a yakuza you know even though many accuse me having relations…”
“If you like it or not I bet you do have your connections and maybe relations but I don’t mind and I don’t care. I won’t tell I just need you to help me, please.”
“Sure Yamapi, if it’s for you I’ll do everything that’s in my power.”
“Thanks, I knew I could count on you!”
They high fived and Matsura lead Yamapi out the door.
“No biggie, I’ll give you a call later.”
Yamapi urgently left Matsura’s place as he waved goodbye and made his way back home to do some research himself, again.
“Thanks it’s appreciated.”
TBC
---------
Authors talk:
Riina: So, this was finally chapter three, ne.. It was REALLY long, again…
But I think it’s more fun to read a lot than just two pages ^.~
Gabby: Hum desho? Is nice to have lots to read then thinking: “eh? It already ended??” T.T
Riina: I hope we could point out that both boys again ‘remember’ the same day of their childhood in one way or the other… ^_^
Gabby: hum desho? Their minds work the same way somehow ne? Tegopi love power lol
Riina: We already are working on the upcoming chapters ne Gabby-chan?
Gabby: Yeah we’re! And since our lovely readers liked the flashbacks we’re really working hard to come up with cute and nice moments for you guys! ^^
Riina: Everyone please look forward to it! 楽しみにしていてください~ Tanoshimi ni shite ite kudasai ~
Gabby: hai hai and thanks for the lovely feedbacks in the previous chapters we’re dying to know what you guys thought about this one ^~^ See you guys soon! Bye bye *waves*