Pure and Innocent

By ryuusei

Little Keigo reluctantly stays at a daycare center and meets little Genichirou. Their meeting ends up discovering a foreign feeling... (eventual Tango Pair)

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

A/n: Please be gentle with me. This is my first fic. :)

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"Grandmama, where are we going?" A six-year-old Keigo asked while sitting at the backseat of the limo.

"You'll find out soon enough," his grandmother simply said.

The train station, a very busy place that is not for small children. Amidst the station are shops and centers catering to almost anything anyone needs. There are food stalls and electronic centers, small grocery stores and daycare centers. It's like having a mall with trains going in and out of it.

Little Keigo and his grandmother are heading for a daycare center in the train station. Confusion and disbelief are starting to brew up inside this little young master as they walk towards the said place.

"Grandmama, I can't believe you're leaving your precious grandson in commoner children's playpen! Ore-sama doesn't mingle with low-class kids."

More protests came from the boy but all of it was received by deaf ears and a small smile from the old woman.

"Listen, Keigo. Your parents are in abroad while your grandfather and I are busy managing things. You must be lonely at home, playing by yourself or with Beat (A/n: this is the actual name of Atobe's white dog in episode 126). Socializing with common children of your age isn't such a bad thing," she said.

"Go and play inside. Meet new friends. I'll pick you up later. As for security, your bodyguards would be just around, and don't even try to maneuver them into bringing you home," she warned the boy.

"Oh, alright," Keigo conceded with a dignified pout while thinking that he's better than any other kid that he'll meet.

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The playroom was huge and spacious enough for 20 kindergartners to run around. In one side, it had a slide, two swings & a seesaw. Adjacent to these was a life-size dollhouse and large toy box filled with toys of all sorts. On the other side, some chairs & tables, and the library corner can be found.

As Keigo entered, he expected to see a noisy setting: children tagging each other, minor arguments like who has a better teddy bear, and the like. But that was not the scenario that welcomed him.

Every kid was huddled around a young woman, listening to her as she tells the story of "Snow White."

"And the Prince bent over to kiss Snow White…"

Young Atobe-kun has had enough with fairy tales. He's so brilliant that he thinks that Greek mythology suits him more rather than the childish fairy tales. And so, he drew himself a chair, crossed his legs as he sat down, and pretended to listen.

After the story was finished, the teacher asked the newcomer to introduce himself. Keigo stood up and, as always, introduced himself in his style.

"You are all being graced by the glorious presence of Atobe Keigo, the beautiful, talented and only heir of the Atobe financial group of companies. Be thankful little toddlers and young Miss that you have met someone as great as Ore-sama," he declared while briefly brushing his hand against his hair.

Then, a momentary pause...

Almost everyone was awed and was gaping at him. Some because of the overconfidence they saw, some because of his alluring voice and good-looks, and some because they only understood half of what Keigo said. Nonetheless, these people were charmed by Keigo's confidence and aura. Keigo immediately knew this, and it made him gloat inside. The number of his followers had just increased again.

After everyone snapped back into reality, the teacher dismissed the children and told them it's their "free time." The other children dispersed around the room while the others gathered around Atobe. Keigo would've wanted to play as "king" over these toddlers (since they're asking for it), but he decided to leave them for a while.

He instead approached a certain boy in a far, almost hidden corner of the room. He was the only kid that was not impressed by Keigo's introduction. This boy was rather annoyed by it. He donned a navy blue cap (even though he's indoors) and golden-brown eyes.

"Hello there. What's your name?"

The boy, who was playing with a toy tennis play set, turned around and said,

"After stunning the others with that flowery, self-absorbed speech, you come here and ask my name. What are you up to?"

Keigo raised an eyebrow. "How rude. I'm just asking your—"

"It's Sanada Genichirou."

"—name." This nerved Keigo. "Who do you think you are, huh? Cutting me while I talk! Be grateful that Ore-sama's patient with you."

"I gave you my name. What are you complaining now? You know, Atobe, you talk too much. And try not to use 'Ore-sama.' It's annoying," Genichirou added.

At this, Keigo ranted to Genichirou about how "impolite" and "unfriendly" the other was. He even suggested that the other had a "severe case of attitude problem."

Genichirou laughed at this, much to Keigo's irritation. If Genichirou was irked by Atobe's bragging, now, he was amused seeing him complain. "What a drama queen," a thought that lingered in his head.

Keigo had an impression that Sanada was not taking him seriously. He didn't like that. And so, he provoked him.

"Acting so cocky doesn't make you better than Ore-sama (an intentional stress). I don't even acknowledge you."

This perked Sanada's attention.

"But, you can prove yourself to me by taking my challenge. Now, you might be thinking 'why would you do that?'"

It was Genichirou's exact, same thoughts.

"Let's just say, Ore-sama's giving you a chance to challenge him as well. We'll each do a task. And the one who can't do the task can very much forget about his pride," Atobe finished.

"Sounds like a good 'game' to me. Do you mind if you'd do my task first?" Sanada sounded a little assertive. He has already thought about Atobe's task.

"Not at all," said Atobe, eager to prove himself to Sanada.

"I want you to humble yourself before me. Kneel down, and promise that you'll never act so arrogant around me. That includes never saying 'Ore-sama' within my earshot," Genichirou declared with a small smile.

Keigo looked at him quietly. Making Keigo humble himself seemed like a lion bowing down to a mouse (not that Sanada is the mouse or anything like that). Young master Atobe had never promised anything like that to anyone, let alone to a stranger like Sanada. This "game" was starting to become a two-edged sword for his pride.

Either choice would have his pride pierced. If he's going to have his pride be wounded, at least he'd chosen the more dignified way. But fulfilling the promise was difficult as it is. If Keigo knew some swear words, he would've cursed Sanada.

"Ore-sama can do any challenge. This is no big deal." The last part was a bluff.

"Prove it, Atobe Keigo."

Keigo then kneeled on one leg in front of Sanada. He bowed his head with balled fists and proclaimed his promise to Sanada.

"I, Atobe Keigo, promise you, Sanada Genichirou, that I will never act conceited or arrogant around you. I will be as humble as I can to you."

And then, he stood up. There…Atobe had said it. Genichirou was pleased. It was shown in his face. He knew that Atobe would never dare to break his promise. He's not the type that would do something like that. He was so pleased that he felt he could do any task Atobe would offer him. He was starting to like this "game."

After taking a deep breath, Keigo cleared his mind and thought about Sanada's task. Sanada won't get away easily. Keigo thought of a challenge that he was sure that would hurt Sanada's pride whether he withdraws or not. It's payback time. Keigo chose to be wicked in their little "game" in a not-so-subtle way.

"So Atobe, what's my task to prove myself?" Genichirou said, almost smiling.

"Sanada, I challenge you to kiss…a boy," Keigo said with a smirk.

If Genichirou paled at idea, his face didn't show it.

To be continued…

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Constructive reviews are very welcome :)