Title: Breaking Tradition
Author: Blufox
Pairing: Marui/Kirihara
Words: 1891
A/N: I don't like the way it started and ended. But I made this over a month ago and realized that I won't be able to extend it any further. So yeah, there. I just had to post it coz I miss Bunta.
Breaking Tradition
by: Blufox
"Would you like to have cream and sugar, sir?"
"No, thank you. I drink it black."
"Is that all you're having sir?"
"Yes, please."
"I'll be back with your coffee, sir. Please enjoy your stay here."
Marui subtly scanned the café and smiled. It has been a while since he last visited this place—more so, last been in Japan. The familiar faces he used to see are now gone, replaced by a new set of crowd he clearly has no idea of. Suddenly Marui wondered if he made the right decision of dropping by this place, now that he's starting to feel old and nostalgic.
The café he used to hang out around a few years back is still full of Rikkaidai students, loud Rikkaidai students that are having the time of their lives—enjoying every moment and laughing as if there's no tomorrow. Marui wondered if he too was once that loud, and couldn't help but wish that he could go back to that time and just live life.
He wanted to be young again. He wanted to wake up everyday complaining about how school sucks. He wanted to feel the sensation of getting high marks in his exams while taunting his classmates about his tensai skills. He wanted to run around the field again, complaining about how Yukimura's been corrupted by Sanada's evil ways. He wanted to play tennis again, chew gum, eat cake. He wanted to laugh, cry, scream, jump, feel. Yes, he wanted to feel again.
Everything he is now is dull. He lives by the rules. Acts as he must. Does what is expected from him. He fulfills his life as an adult. As a responsible being worthy to be taken notice of. As a person who took the exact opposite path from that of his yesteryears.
His once shoulder length pinkish-red hair, is now neatly tied in a bun, dyed black. His coffee, now sitting in front of him, contained no sugar, nor a delicious looking cake beside it. His Japanese accent, once perfected with grace and sophistication, is now stained by his foreign speaking tongue.
The person he was before is dead, completely abandoned in a place that is beyond his grasp.
Staring at his cup of coffee, he grabbed and took a long sip from it before finally putting it back to its original position.
He couldn't help but wonder how he managed to drink that kind of beverage for seven years. Hold on, has it been that long? Yes. Seven years. It sounds like a long period of time and yet Marui felt as if it wasn't enough—as if he will never be ready to face Japan again.
When he left, a lot of people accused him of being selfish. They called him an insensitive jerk; telling him how horrible he is to leave everything behind just like that. They trashed him again and again until they got tired and finally left him alone. Completely alone, solely decided never to talk to him ever again.
His family comforted him by telling him that they weren't his true friends if they accused him of things like that. During those times, Marui fought hard not to shove their comfort away and accuse them of being the one who's not acting like his family at all. Marui wanted to stay in Japan. He wanted to go to high school with his friends and continue his tennis career. He wanted to pass Tokyo University and flash his tensai skills to everyone within his range. But he couldn't.
He couldn't because his family was too selfish to hear him out. He couldn't because his family decided for him without asking his consent, his opinion. He couldn't because he was left with no choice but to turn his back on his friends, pretending as if everything's okay when it's not.
And yet he couldn't blame his family as well. They just wanted what's best for him. They even waited for his junior high graduation so he can attend high school right away. No matter how inconsiderate they may have been, Marui knew that they too have sacrificed a lot of things for what they claimed to be a better life. They all lost something for the benefits that his future in a foreign land can offer.
Taking a glance at his watch, Marui couldn't help but release a humorless laugh. He couldn't believe that his companion stood him up. It has been an hour since their meeting time, and he can see not a single trace from him. He thought that maybe, seven years may perhaps have been too long to reconcile the past.
Taking another sip from his coffee, he almost got it spilled all over him when a pair of closed fists banged on his table. He immediately recognized the unruly curls of the panting man even though his face was not visible as he was merely kneeling and trying to regain his composure, after having what may seem to be a long run.
Marui couldn't help but smile as he reached out at patted the man's hair—an old gesture that he had been achingly wanting to do for a long time.
"What's up, Akaya?" he said. He couldn't help but frown as he heard his accent. It sucked. He sounded like a freaking stranger struggling to speak Japanese. He was about to greet the other again with a better accent when Kirihara lifted his face up and flashed an apologetic grin.
"I'm sorry, senpai. I was sleeping in the bus and got dropped off the last station" he said while gesturing the waitress to get him some water. After gulping the water in one go, he continued by explaining that he started to panic about Marui thinking that he stood him up and immediately ran all the way towards their current location dropping the fact that it'd be faster to take the bus back.
Marui just shrugged and told him that it's okay after noting that he's no longer his senpai so he should drop the honorific. There was an awkward silence after that leading both of them to grab the menu list to avoid eye contact and more awkward silences.
"So, uh, sen- Marui-kun, what are you having?" Kirihara asked.
Marui dared to spare a glance and told him that he wasn't really hungry as he placed the menu down and let out a dejected sigh.
For a moment, Kirihara looked pressured, and Marui wondered if it was because he wasn't eating. He suddenly realized how awkward it would be to eat alone or to watch someone eat in front of you. Marui immediately grabbed the menu again and then finally decided to take cheese sandwich in the end.
After they took their orders, Marui gestured for a coffee refill and was immediately accommodated by the waitress. He could feel Kirihara's stare as he sipped his coffee and tried to ignore it but immediately dropped the thought when he saw a frown forming at curve of his companion's lips.
"What?!" Marui said in an annoyed manner. He wasn't expecting it to go that way, though, but he couldn't help but feel relieved after realizing that he hasn't talked in that much of a free manner for years.
While Marui was busy spending his time in tralaland, Kirihara took that opportunity to snatch his coffee and take a sip from it. Almost in an instant Kirihara spit the liquid he sipped back to the cup and pushed it back to Marui's direction.
"SENPAI! THAT TASTES AWFUL!" Kirihara whined trying to look as cute as he can after noting the color of Marui's face turning to an angry red shade. He was expecting a bonk on the head but he didn't expect it to be that hard to be followed by a loud laughter. Somehow, even though the hit really did hurt, Kirihara couldn't help but smile at his senpai.
Marui looked so uptight that Kirihara would have thought that he was a completely different person, which is why seeing his senpai loosen up a bit, somehow lifted off the atmosphere. To Kirihara, Marui seemed to be a stranger a while ago, both physically and in character. He might have even passed the thought that the black hair dude sipping his coffee was actually his senpai if it weren't for the way he constantly tapped his foot in a 1-2-3 rhythm—a mannerism he does when someone has kept him waiting for too long.
Marui dried off the tears that escaped from his eyes and stared at his cup. "I wouldn't be able to drink from that now" he said in a monotone. Kirihara tried to inhibit himself from gulping but failed when Marui shot daggers through his eyes.
"You're paying," he said in a straight voice. Almost immediately, Kirihara nodded actively and agreed, leading Marui to release another hearty laugh.
"That was fun," he said after he recovered from his laugher. "Haven't done that in a while. Kindda miss it" he added after a while.
Marui suddenly felt as if he's in junior high again, threatening his kohai for something unimaginably shallow. Suddenly, he felt the urge to do the things he hasn't done for a while. He felt young and alive again—but then again, he is young. He's only 23 years old anyway, not much of a grown up.
"Hey Akaya, can you eat fast? I sorta want to go to a lot of places," Marui said after finally escaping his world of thoughts. When Kirihara managed to give him an uncommitted hesitant approval, he then flashed him a toothy grin and knew that he won the favor when Kirihara bowed his head while releasing a defeated sigh.
"So, where we going, senpai?" Kirihara asked, while chewing off the last bits of his sandwich, allowing his right wrist to be dragged by Marui.
Marui completely ignored the fact that Kirihara was still addressing him "senpai" since he is living his moment as a junior high student again. He decided to ignore his kouhai's question too since that was what he used to do back in the days.
It was only when they turned towards the once-familiar alley when Kirihara realized where they where heading. Entering the beauty salon, Marui pushed Kirihara towards the chair and ordered him to stay after handing him a couple of magazines. After an hour or so, Marui returned with his shoulder-length pinkish-red hairstyle and headed outside the salon while, yet again, dragging Kirihara.
Marui laughed out one last time before finally calling it a day. His body is starting to ache and he feels kindda tired, too. Looking at Kirihara, he then made a geeky grin before nudging the other using his elbow. Marui may have matured and changed his habits while he was in America, but he never really learned how to speak direct words of gratitude to anyone. So instead of thanking Kirihara for spending time with him, he asks him what he wants to get in return.
Marui almost missed Kirihara's serious expression when he looked towards his direction. But when he heard him say his words, he knew that it was all he really wanted and needed to hear.
"I want you to stay, senpai. Stay with me."