This is a spin off of my other work, First meeting (it's not necessary to read it to understand this one, but...). It will be mostly canon compliant at the beginning, but there's a small (not really, actually it's pretty big) difference that will start a snowball effect at one point.
I don't believe this will be more than four chapters or so. Also, it's slash. (If you didn't notice). It will have a slow build because boys have issues.
That's it, enjoy! :)
(As always, constructive criticism is very welcomed).
This story has also been posted in AO3 (kurosaki_ami)
Running 'till the world ends
Chapter 1: A promise, made and forgotten
The three were very different. Two boys with opposite personalities and a girl with her head in the clouds. They lived in different prefectures, one from Tokyo, one from Hyougo, and the third from Hokkaido. They met by chance in Takeru's hometown. Riku was on vacation with his family in Kobe, where his maternal grandparents lived. Nana was there for the summer, accompanying his father, who was busy with his work but loved his little girl so much that took her with him.
They lived in different worlds, they were too different. They should have clashed, or at least they should have ignored each other – it was the natural thing to do.
But they shared a passion.
They had something in common in the form of a sport: Stride. Their love for it was so great that their differences didn't matter.
Riku and Takeru met first, in a lonely little park, beneath an elephant-shaped slide. Riku's love for the sport was immediately obvious to Takeru, who got enamoured with it shortly after. It was Riku's idea, that they start running together. It was also one of Takeru's most treasured memories, because it was the beginning of a new chapter in his life, a much better one.
Then they met Nana, a week later, when Riku almost ran into her and had to pull off a complicated pirouette to avoid the crash. Takeru stared at his friend in awe, after the shock and adrenaline had started to fade, and Nana was fascinated. She had known about Stride, but it was her first contact with the sport in real life and it enchanted her almost as much as Takeru felt taken with it.
Soon, she started to hang out with them.
At first she wanted to be a runner, too, but it didn't work so well. As slow and clumsy as Takeru considered himself to be compared to Riku, he had to admit that he was good compared to Nana. She had been down about it for a while, but then Riku saved the day (again) when he introduced her to the role of the Relationer. She hadn't looked convinced at the beginning, but a couple of videos and stories later, she had taken a real shine to it. And she was very good at pulling off successful relations between the boys.
It was a warm afternoon, three days after the trio had met, when Riku presented his companions with a pamphlet. It announced that an under-15 Stride Competition was going to take place in five days, and he wanted to compete.
"Please," he had said, very serious. "I know we can win. We will win."
Though they were nervous, both Nana and Takeru accepted. They couldn't say no when Riku's eyes were so full of fire and determination. It had made them feel emboldened and brave, which neither felt too very often.
It was a small amateur competition, but they took it seriously nonetheless. They practiced and practiced and practiced… and then Riku insisted that Takeru be the Anchor. It was a shock, because Riku was by far the strongest and fastest of them and it should have been him the one who finished the race, the one who crossed the final goal.
Takeru did try to make him see reason, but the bubbly boy would have none of it.
"It must be you, Takeru." He had said, and just like before, when he had told them they would be competing, the dark haired boy accepted without any more protests.
He ran with all his might, terrified that he wasn't good enough, that he hadn't practiced enough, that he was going to disappoint both his first and only friends because there was no way he could win this, there was no way that… Takeru won't ever forget Riku's next words, his vote of confidence: "Trust him, trust Takeru! Takeru, don't give up!"
It was then Takeru decided that in fact, he could do it. He would do it. He was going to win and prove it to the world and to himself that he wasn't useless, that he wasn't a waste of space and food and money – that he was worthy. Worthy of having friends, worthy of being loved.
He redoubled his efforts and, thanks to Nana's accurate indications, together with Riku he pulled off their best relation to date. The small fragment of a second in which their hands touched was the defining moment. In that minuscule period of time, he had felt as if he could sense every emotion that Riku was feeling – his adrenaline, his hopes, his faith. He ran even faster, as though he had suddenly sprouted wings, feeling almost weightless. He collapsed in a breathless heap on the floor just after crossing the finishing line, but he was elated. He had done it. He was not useless.
They won.
They really won!
"Oi, catch your breath," Riku had said. Takeru opened his eyes and marveled at the sight of that huge smile and outstretched hand, so similar to the time they first met. "You did it, Takeru." The I knew you would, went unsaid.
Takeru smiled – the brightest he had ever smiled – and took the hand. He was pretty sure that he would always take that hand.
Later that night, they celebrated their success. Summer vacation was coming to an end and they would soon have to part ways. Nana was going back to Hokkaido, and Riku's time visiting his grandparents was over. They lit fireworks on the beach, and it was then that they promised to meet again.
They promised to enroll in the same high school and win Stride's most important tournament: End of Summer.
They promised, and Takeru kept that promise close to his heart.
Both Riku and Nana had been a blessing, a breath of fresh air in his oppressive, neglected life, and he treasured the memories of their time together as something fragile and invaluable. He took shelter in them as his home life crashed further down, being a continuous reminder of his true value. They were his only source of strength many times after that eventful summer; the reason why he didn't give up and studied hard, even thought it was difficult for him. He studied because it was the only way to enter high school, and he had given his word.
He was grateful. Hadn't it been for that purpose – for the fire that had been ignited inside of him by Stride, by Nana's enthusiasm, by Riku's warm smile and endless cheer – he might have fallen apart at the seams.
In middle school, he studied as much as he could, and continued training and running with the school team. He didn't really feel as if they connected, not as he had with his childhood friends. Not as he had with Riku. But he wasn't surprised, because he knew it in his heart that his only team was the one with those two, and that wouldn't change anytime soon – probably would never change.
They had promised to form a team and run together again, after all.
Seven years later they met at Hônan Academy. Takeru was not really surprised, just very excited.
Riku was still as cheerful as he remembered him. He had grown as much as Takeru, and the bespectacled boy could notice that he had kept running – not that he had ever doubted it. His legs, even through the uniform trousers, were obviously well muscled and firm – perfect for a fast dash. He ached to touch them, but he ignored the impulse for the moment and kept considering his friend. (During the years, he had developed a small leg obsession, and he usually scared people without trying to because he would get too curious and touchy-feely.) His hair had grown, and he wore it partly tied up, but his bright, encompassing smile was the same. Takeru could only stop staring at him when it was Nana's turn to introduce herself. Even through his own introduction – in which he only stated his name – he couldn't bring himself to stop staring.
Nana hadn't changed much physically. She was taller, and her hair was longer, too, but it was still up in her signature twin ponytails. Takeru almost smiled when she asked for assistance because she didn't knew much about Tokyo, but his attention was caught by Riku's clapping, which died slowly when Takeru's eyes fell on him once more.
He had a bad feeling. Something was not right.
Apparently, both of his friends had completely forgotten about him, and about the other.
But it was alright. He could deal with that. They would – naturally – join the Stride Club and then, when they ran together again for the first time in so long, they would remember everything.
He was sure of it.
It didn't happen quite like that.
During recess, he went hunting for the clubroom and finally found it after an exhaustive search. It was isolated and looked almost abandoned. He wasn't particularly bothered by that, but he was slightly concerned that Riku and Nana would miss it. So he decided to look for them and be their guide.
He found Riku first, in the gymnasium, and his perfect legs were bared thanks to the sports uniform. Takeru couldn't resist this time, and had to touch them. The senpai with the volleyball asked for Riku's name and almost unconsciously, Takeru answered at the same time he made contact with the smooth skin.
"Yagami Riku."
"Eh?" Riku and the senpai echoed, surprised, and before he could say anything to explain his presence, Riku had run away. He was still really fast, and Takeru was impressed. Though, it did pose a problem, because now he had to search for him again.
He decided to go back towards the section of the school where the clubroom was located, hoping that Riku had found his way there, but found Nana instead. She was still enthusiastic about Stride, and followed Takeru to the clubroom without hesitance, even though she was surprised that he knew where she was going without having to ask her about it. Takeru just answered with a vague comment about it being obvious, and the subsequent strange scene with the upperclassmen in the room was enough to distract her.
Riku, on the other hand, was much more difficult to convince. He had to physically drag him to the clubroom with Nana. Takeru couldn't fathom what could have happened in the years during their separation that made that boy – who had been obsessed with the sport – try so persistently to escape their destiny. He was honestly a little bit disappointed, but mostly concerned. Why?
The impromptu practice match that the senpai decided to hold that same day was a source of hope and excitement for Takeru. He would run with Riku, relying on Nana's words, for the first time since that time. His eyes shined with enthusiasm, but his stomach still churned when he didn't notice a mirroring emotion in Riku's.
But it was okay. They would connect. They would connect, and they would remember. They had to remember.
He breathed in, breathed out, and he listened to Nana's instructions. The tension transformed, and he was soon high on the feeling of adrenaline only Stride could bring, the one that he loved so much. He ran with all his might, trusting Riku to do the same and connect.
It was a bit delayed, but they managed it.
Takeru stopped with the aftermath heat of their clapping hands pulsating in his palm, watching Riku accelerate and disappear with a mix of feelings in his chest, which made it hard to breathe.
He didn't waste time going to the finishing line and barely caught the end of it. He watched as Riku fell to the ground out of breath, amazed that both him and Hasekura-senpai had finished at the very same time. Before he could consciously decide to do it, he had crossed the space separating him from his very first friend and offered his hand with a small smile. Riku's face showed his surprise briefly, but then he was grinning happily and accepting Takeru's hand, and the dark haired boy felt the heavy feeling go away.
Their memories weren't back, there was no obvious recognition in their eyes or in their way of addressing him – being called Fujiwara by them was weirder than he could have ever imagined – but now he had the hope that they could have the same relationship as back then, even if they never remembered. Takeru wasn't selfish enough to make them feel obligated to be his friends again, but he desperately wanted them to. He needed them to.
The feeling was distressing enough that it distracted him, and he messed up dinner that night, which earned him a painful cigarette burn in the middle of his back. It was a small mercy that his punishments never included his legs being hurt. Other places ached, sure, but they didn't affect his running overly much.
That was the important thing.
If he could run together with his friends again, nothing else mattered.