Hallelujah Chance
(Nobuta wo Produce/Proposal Daisakusen crossover)

Sometime towards the beginning of last year, Shuji and Akira had decided that the ocean will never, ever get old, and the decision still stands. They still go there every day after school, and sometimes Akira takes pictures to send Nobuta. Shuji with sand in his hair. A seagull diving for fish. And once Shuji got a picture of Akira being chased by a very angry pelican.

Nobuta will respond little later. Usually it's a polite "Thank you", sometimes she'll include a picture, or a short message. "I'm doing fine. Mariko's fine. Nobuta Power." Etcetera.

So Akira isn't quite sure how he ended up at the beach by himself. Maybe it had something to do with Shuji's little brother's doctor's appointment that he couldn't go to by himself, or maybe it was just because he hadn't felt like going to school today. In any case, he's there, alone, except that there's someone else there, too. A man walking the beach, seeming not to care that his pants are getting wet from the ocean surf. Akira already rolled up his pants, and left his shoes by his bike, so he doesn't have to worry.

The man seems to be talking to himself. He has long hair, like Akira's, sharply angled bangs falling over his eyes. He looks like a brother, a fellow wanderer, a salaryman skipping work, and Akira feels like he should talk to him.

"Kon," Akira says, saying hello with his fox hand. Foxy hand. He laughs at this, because it's funny, and his laugh startles the man out of his private conversation.

"Sorry," the man says. He blinks.

They look entirely too similar. A few years difference, maybe, and a different taste in hair dyes, but other than that. It's a little eerie, like the time with the ghosts.

"Your pants are getting wet," Akira says, pointing to them.

The man looks down. "It doesn't matter. They'll dry."

Contrary to popular belief, Akira knows when he is going overboard. He knows when to be polite, and when to be a friend. This man, stranger though he may be, is someone who needs a friend. To get past his initial discomfort, Akira assigns them a personal history in his mind – he likes to think that they both enjoy tofu and admire Yada Akiko - and casually slings an arm over the man's shoulder.

"Something is troubling you, my friend," Akira says in his gravest voice. "Would you like to talk about it?"

The man looks at him blankly, and seems to consider moving away. "Shouldn't you be in school?" he says.

Akira shrugs. "Perhaps." He changes his tone, becomes serious. "Don't change the subject."

"The girl I love is getting married," the man blurts out. He doesn't seem to know why he admitted that. Suddenly, he finds the pattern of sand to be very interesting.

"Akira shock," Akira mumbles quietly, eyebrows slightly raised. "Did you love her a long time?"

"Since third grade," the man responds, and then reconsiders this. "At least."

"Does she know this?" Akira inquires.

The man shakes his head. "I could never tell her. I always thought we'd be together forever, after all."

"Friends are never together forever," Akira says sharply. He touches his hand to his heart. "Only in their hearts. And thoughts."

"I didn't know that until now," the man says bitterly. "I'm a fool."

"Then there are two of us," Akira says. He half expects to hear a mocking, cackling laugh as he says this – but Catherine is far away, with Nobuta. And Shuji is far away, too. So instead, a seagull cries above them.

The man looks at him curiously.

"Real friends are hard to find," Akira explains, and uses his free hand to point to the sky. "To find them is like a chorus of Hallelujahs. It's all chance."

"A hallelujah chance?" the man repeats, and smiles quizzically. "I guess so."

Akira lowers his arm, and turns the man to face him. He places his hands on the man's shoulders, holding him in place, firmly.

"If you really love this girl, then don't stop loving her," he says seriously. "Maybe your love will be a different kind of love. But don't take it away from her."

Akira pauses. His plea doesn't seem to be dramatic enough. He lets go of the man's shoulders, and asks, "What's your name?"

"Um," the man says, slightly dazed. "Ken Iwase."

"Okay," Akira says. He grabs him again, hands on shoulders, and gives him a tiny little shake, just to make sure he's paying attention. Just as if Ken was Shuji, just like Akira sometimes wishes someone would do to him. Spending an extra moment to make sure the point gets across.

"Don't take away your love from her," Akira repeats. "Turn it into something else. Because she's your friend, right? Keh-ehn-kun."

Ken blinks. Akira tightens his grip, and Ken nods.

"Okay," Ken says. "Okay."

Akira lets go. His phone is ringing, after all, and it's Nobuta's special ringtone. He flips it open, checks his messages. Nobuta sent him a picture of a bouquet being sold on the street – bright sunflowers. The caption read, "4U."

"Hey," Ken interrupts. "You too. With your girl."

"Who said there was a girl?" Akira demands, but Ken only laughs at him and walks away. He shoves his phone back in his pocket, and turns to face the ocean, waiting for his face to stop feeling warm. He stays there, the tide slowly covering his feet with wet sand, until Shuji comes to find him.

Akira shows him the bouquet of flowers from Nobuta, gloating for a moment that they were for him. Shuji waves him off, but continues to hover awkwardly.

"Oi, Kusano, why weren't you in school today?" Shuji asks, trying not to look too concerned.

Akira shrugs. "I had to find myself."

author's notes: Well-- Ken's "Hallelujah CHANSU!" pose is such an Akira move that I felt that there ought to be a reason for it. Akira and Ken are both played by Yamapi, which is the obvious reason why they look alike.. Uhm, and both series are awesome. The end!