I like to Get to Know You Better, Yuuto-sempai!
Onoda Sakamichi is a huge anime otaku trying to become a professional cyclist. But he has his eyes set on Shinkai Hayato's younger brother Yuuto and wants to exchange phone numbers with him. Luckily, he and Teshima Junta decided to pay a visit to yuuto's house . How will Yuuto react when he finds out that Onoda is coming?
Shinkai Yuuto is not just your average first-year cyclist, but he is really good at taking care of pets like his brother's pet rabbit Usakichi. Today was a typical weekend where everyone has gone home for the day and Manami was needed at Toudou's place to help him with the guests. As for Kuroda, he decided to stay after and help Yuuto with his sprinting and climbing in the clubroom gym. He hated baby-sitting Hayato's younger brother, but it was a job that he needed to do. After all, Takuto hangs around with Yukinari a lot, especially on his days off.
"How am I doing, Kuroda-san?" asked Yuuto while pausing to wipe the sweat off his face.
"You've imrproved a lot after that race. But your timing is still a bit off though. But I think we can work on that next week." Said Kuroda.
"Thank you so much sempai!" bowed Yuuto happily.
"Tch! There's no need to thank me." Said Kuroda. "Although you do need to work on improving your timing in the climbs and hills, but I think you will get there in no time."
"Of course. I just need that so I can beat that little glasses boy from Sohoku. Speaking of which, how is he doing? I am just wondering why he hasn't stopped by for a visit yet?"
Kuroda's eyes widened at that remark. "Hah? Are you in love with Onoda? Why are you thinking about him now?"
"Because when Aniki was around, Onoda and his friends always stopped by to visit and they get along so well. After my brother graduated, I kind of wanted to spend more time with him."
Kuroda looked at him for a moment and sighed. Geez! These cyclists are always putting their minds on other people when they should be practicing for the upcoming inter-high. Sometimes even he couldn't figure out why his friends at Hakone were so gay.
"Do you have his number though?"
"I am going to call up Captain Teshima after I take a shower. In the meantime, why don't you call up Onoda and see if he has free time?" winked Yuuto with his finger gun salute.
"Why are you asking me to do everything around here?" protested Kuroda. "Fucking Headband Boy must have been passing around our numbers to Megane-kun after he graduated in order to boost his popularity and his fan club. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?"
"That's because Onoda is falling for us." Said Yuuto from within the shower.
"He doesn't even attend our school and yet he still is forced to come at the request of Toudou? This is going to be the beginning of a migraine for me." Sighed Kuroda. Suddenly, his frown turned into a smirk after checking his phone. "Perhaps with him here, I could get him together with Yuuto."
After fifteen minutes have passed, Yuuto walked out of the shower with the towel tied around his waist as he hummed some popular 90s song by Justin Timeberlake while blow-drying his hair. He needed to look perfect for the sohoku guests coming. Upon reaching for his clothes, he could hear the phone going off. Thinking quickly, he reached into his jersey and answered the call.
"Hello, Yuuto here."
"Yuuto, hey it's Aoyagi. I heard you were calling for Onoda right?"
"Yes, but I wanted to see of Teshima was free"
"He's busy trying to get Sugimoto-san and Danchiku-san to shape up. I think within about 15 minutes they will be on break."
"Really? And I thought they were prepped for the inter high again. What did they do this time? Your team really gives me the goosebumps ever since Onoda-chan raced me."
"We are still working hard trying to be the best in Japan, but nervousness flew around like a swarm of angry bees. Luckily, we overcame that obstacle and fought hard to get to where we are today. I am sure Hakogaku is practicing twice as hard."
"Yes, we will beat you again at the next Inter High anytime! In the meantime, I would love it if Onoda-chan were to visit me again."
Aoyagi nearly choked on the water he was drinking after hearing that. "Really? I thought your school would kick us out due to tightened security?"
"Nah, most of my teammates have either left or are just resting at their dorms. It's only just me and Kuroda-san doing after school cleaning duties. Unfortunately, Manami was supposed to be helping and he wandered off somewhere doing climbs."
Aoyagi just laughed on the other line. "I can see where wonder boy gets his stubbornness from."
'Yeah, he hasn't changed at all. No wonder my brother always lets him off easy. He acts like nothing involves around him. I think our previous teammates were a bit too lenient."
"Hakone has a lot of easy-going people I bet."
"Yeah, easy for you to say. Can you please put Teshima-san on the line?"
"Sure, just a minute." Said Aoyagi as he paused the phone. "Captain Teshima, Yuuto-san is on the line for you." He walked over and handed the phone over to his partner.
"Thanks, Aoyagi-san." Smiled Teshima as he pushed resume on his phone.
"Hello Yuuto, sorry to have kept you waiting for so long." Said Teshima.
"It's fine, Teshima-san. Anyway, just checking to see how things were going."
"Well, I'm all right I guess. Being the captain is tough, especially when you have a couple of new first years who have no idea what they are doing."
Yuto chuckled on the line. "Yeah, I know. Even Kuroda has had his fair share of problems with some of the newbies. They started insulting him and called him "Old Man Kuroda" or "Grey-haired sempai. Nearly every one of my teammates tried not to laugh but it was funny as hell.!"
Laughter could be heard from Teshima and Yuuto while Kuroda sweat-dropped. How was this funny to him?
"Anyway, was there something you wanted to tell me about?" asked Teshima.
"Yeah, I was wondering since today is a weekend, I was wondering if you and Onoda would like to come and visit us. I am sure Kuroda-sempai wouldn't mind." Said Yuuto as he paused for a moment and winked at Yukinari and made that gunshot pose at him.
"Sure, I guess we don't have too much to do on a typical Friday. Onoda and I would love to come. He must really be thinking about you a lot after watching his favorite anime."
"Oh you mean Love Hime? I got into that show even after hearing Onoda-chan singing it. Speaking of that little baby, has he been taking karaoke lessons?"
"No, with the amount of cycling that he has been doing, he barely has any time to do karaoke."
"Too bad, I would have loved to hear him sing."
"Me too, Yuuto."
Just then, the voice of Yuto's mom could be heard in the background. Yuuto paused for a moment and asked, "What is it, mum?"
"Since you are having guests over, why don't you have them try out some of my fruits and power bars I left on the counter?"
"I will let them know. Thanks mum."
Yuuto was a sweet person just like his brother Hayato, they both have a knack for talent and will do anything to impress people. He likes cute things, especially the bunny rabbit, Usakichi. Ever since he joined Hakone, he became an exceptional climber. Occasionally, he will be a sprinter sometimes, but not always.
A few hours later after school, Teshima called his parents and told them that they were going to friend's house and will return around 8pm. Furthermore, the ride to Hakone took a few hours from Chiba due to traffic and the amount of people coming and going. Luckily, it was already after 5 pm and everyone must have gone home for the day so the train shouldn't be too crowded.
It was really difficult for Yuto to admit that there was someone that he admired the most. Ever since Onoda won last year's inter-high, he has been praised and gaining popularity among the crowd. Yuto has heard his brother talking about the cute little kid non-stop to his teammates and eventually, they became good friends with Sohoku.
"Hayato-ani, I don't really know how you became such great friends with the Sohoku team, but your roommate arakita must really miss the little brat a lot too, eh? No wonder you guys took such good care of him even when he struggled to get out of the pack. Even when he fell behind, your boyfriend pushed Onoda forward and told him not to look back and never give up. I don't know how this kid became the biggest hurdle to overcome such an obstacle, but it is time for me to show nice I really am to him." Thought Yuto.
"Are you still dreaming about Onoda, Yuto?" asked a familiar voice. Yuto immediately broke out of his thoughts as he looked level-eyed with the person standing in the doorway.
"Manami-kun? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I just stopped by to return your math textbook you left in your locker. I let myself in because I thought no one else was home." Smiled Manami
"Geez, couldn't you have waited until I return to class tomorrow to retrieve it? This is the second time you came into my house without permission. What am I going to do with you?"
"No, it's fine. I am just doing a favor for a friend." Continued Manami as he took a seat on the couch. "Do you still have any more power bars in the fridge somewhere?"
Yuto sighed and settled his chin on his hands. Ignoring Manami, he got up and went to the fridge, but not before noticing the muddy footprints left on the welcome mat at the front door.
"Can you please take off your shoes? You are stinking up the whole place!" barked Yuto.
"Sorry about that Yuto-san!" said Manami as he reached down and took his shoes off and placed them on the shoe rack before returning to the couch.
Yuto wondered why Manami was such a quiet kid. Sure, he was nice and sweet, but why does he spend all his time hanging out with Onoda? Was it because of his obsession with Love Hime? Or was it something else altogether? Whatever it was, Yuto could sense that something strange was going on between the two, but decided not to pursue it any further. Just then, a knock at the door could be heard.
"Come in!" called Yuto.
As soon as the door was opened by Manami, he could see Teshima and Onoda staring right at him.
"Onoda-chan!"
"Manami-chan!" squeaked Onoda as he ran up to him and gave him his best bear hug.
"How are you doing? I haven't seen you for a while now."
"I'm fine, what do you mean you haven't seen me in a while? You just saw me the day before at the arcade." Said Manami.
"Ah, right, right! Sorry about that. I guess I was misinformed." Said Onoda nervously. People around him could see the sweat trickling down his face while Yuto watched in amusement.
"So this is the famous Onoda Sakamichi I have heard so much about?" said yuto as he walked up to the cyclist and shook his hand.
"Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you at last, Yuto-san!" said Onoda as he bowed respectfully.
"Please stand straight up. No need to bow." Smirked Yuto.
"Thank you very much! I just came to return the love Hime dvd I borrowed from you and frankly. I wasn't too impressed with a few episodes. At least the rest were decent."
"Why, I thought you loved the show?"
"I do, but only two episodes; 9 and 16 were bad and confusing at the same time."
"I see, but I will have to see them for myself. Thank you for returning it." Smiled Yuto.
"You're welcome. So, sempai. Want to have a little private chat in the family room?"
"Sure, this way please." Said Yuto as he led the Sohoku guests inside. After Teshima and Onoda took off their shoes and donned slippers, they were led to the family room where they both stared in awe at the beautiful decorations all over the place and the childhood photos of the Shinkai siblings in their younger years. They also looked at the paper cranes that Yuto set all over the shelves. How did this kid get such creativity?
"Those paper cranes are beautiful, Yuto-san." Said Teshima. "Where did you learn how to fold them?"
Yuto looked at the paper cranes and said, "Oh, those? I did them in an art class back in grade school. I just do them for fun now during the weekends. It's something to keep me occupied when I am not cycling."
"Oh….I see! You have such wonderful creativity. I wish I could be more like you." Said Onoda nervously.
Yuto looked at Teshima for a moment and scratched his head. Just what is up with this kid? Does he always get this nervous around people?
"Sorry about this, but Sakamichi-kun stutters a bit in his convo and sometimes he doesn't get too comfortable around the others, just like Aoyagi."
"Hey, no problem. I guess he just needs time to get to know the others better." Smiled Yuto.
"No! I'm perfectly fine, Perm-sempai and Yuito-san." Answered Onoda. "In fact, Yuto, I wanted to ask you some questions."
"Sure."
"What made you go into cycling?"
"Well, when I was younger, I watched a lot of cycling on television, especially my brother, Hayato. And so I thought cycling was a great sport. Therefore, I wanted to try it out to see how well I do in it."
"Ah, I see. Why did you decide to join Hakone?"
"I was recommended by my brother and the other teammates after the first Inter High was over and they showed me the ropes, trained me in the use of equipment, and the basics of the bicycle."
"That's wonderful. You have so many great friends at Hakone just like me. I guess you are so popular and well-liked." Beamed Onoda.
"I feel so honored to hear you complimenting me, but it's actually my brother that gets all the girls at Yonan. So the popularity goes to him."
"May I suggest something?" asked Teshima. "Maybe you guys can split the popularity amongst yourselves? Having one sibling taking all the glory seems to be selfish."
Onoda nodded in agreement. "Also, even though I don't have any siblings, I just don't feel that being an only child is fair to me. To be honest, I like having friends as brothers to look after me and take care of me. Even my mom feels that way too because she is super supportive of Naruko and Imaizumi."
For a moment there, Yuuto thought that Onoda was joking, but after hearing his little speech, he felt moved. This boy really does have a lot of support at Sohoku.
"You know, Onoda-chan. My brother has told me a lot about you. After I saw your race against our team, I couldn't help but feel happy for you. Furthermore, after meeting you for the first time out there, I thought to myself; who exactly are you and where did you come from?"
"I felt the same way, Yuuto-sempai. At first I thought you were Hayato, but after I saw your hair and eyes, you really do look like him and you guys share the same likes such as eating power bars to boost your energy. I hope Hayato-nii is doing well in the University. The reason why I wanted to see you was because I would like to get to know you better after meeting you out on the field previously so that we can become best friends, is that okay with you?" said Onoda as he reached his hand out towards Yuuto.
Yuuto looked at Onoda for a moment and smiled as he returned the handshake. "Sure, and I would love to know more about you as well if we are going to be friends, is that a deal?"
"It's a deal, sempai." smiled Onoda. "Oh, can I have your phone number to keep in touch with?"
"Sure, give me your phone so that I can add my number in for you in case if you need anything." said Yuuto.
Teshima and Manami both watched the two teens having a moment and smiled. It looks like Onoda and Yuto will be able to get along pretty well as the time comes.
"Looks like Sakamichi-kun has made some interesting friends today, didn't he? As an upperclassman, I should double-check to make sure he gets back home safe later this evening."
Teshima smirked at Manami and said, "Although I am a terrible substitute for someone like Onoda, I can only do my best since he loves to visit almost every place possible. He has a knack for finding figurines since he is an anime Otaku. I don't know how or why he got my best friend Aoyagi into that show, but even our former upperclassmen started singing like crazy at last year's inter-high even when we were falling behind."
"Right, I can see why we missed out on joining the choir. But I am not surprised that he is into convincing people to join the anime club. Perhaps if Hakone had hosted the anime club, would Onoda be interested in joining?" replied manami.
"Hm? Really? Your school hosting an anime club? I think Onoda would be delighted to hear that!" smiled Teshima.
"Wonderful, just make sure to have him keep in contact with me."
"Of course. I think Hakogaku does a lot better job at taking care of Onoda than I did."
"Oh, don't say that. You've done a great job taking care of glasses-kun. I hope you didn't just come here for small talk, Teshima-san. Did you bring Oolong tea?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did." Teshima looked down in his little bag and fished out a box with oolong tea packets inside. He took two of them out and went towards the kitchen to grab two cups from the cupboard while Manami boiled water in a pitcher. A few minutes later, Manami poured the tea into tw cups and they took a seat in the living room enjoying their little chat together while Onoda and Yuto watched something on television together.
"I just love being in your company for the first time." said Onoda.
"Really? What would Hayato say if he saw you here?" asked Yuto. "He would literally escort you off the premises by force and shoot you dead."
Onoda sweat-dropped at that remark. "Yuuto-sempai! Please don't joke about something like that!"
"Just kidding! My brother is a sweet person, he wouldn't hurt you at all." Smiled Yuto as he ruffled Sakamichi's hair gently.
Onoda breathed a sigh of relief. Really, the people at Hakone are devils.
The End
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this story that I have written between Onoda and Yuto. This is the first time that I ever talked about Shinkai's little brother. I know that there are some pretty funny parts here, but the interaction between Yuto and Onoda for the first time makes me think of the interaction he had with Manami during their first year as cyclists. Furthermore, do you guys think I should do more of Manami and Teshima pairing fics or do you want to see the Shinkai siblings? Please let me know as you read and review!