I do not own Yowamushi Pedal.

The relationship between Makishima and Onoda is the cutest thing ever. I'm so glad I stumbled across this anime.

Onoda's 'Sick' Day

It was a beautiful morning. The sky was the shade of soft blue, peppered by fluffy white clouds that would occasionally drift past the sun, casting the world below into a cool, refreshing shade. It was really a terrible day to be stuck at school.

…not that Onoda was stuck inside a classroom, seated behind his desk and dutifully taking notes. He was currently on his mommy bike, riding the well-trekked route to Akiba, the sun's rays warming his neck and a gentle breeze caressing his raven hair. Though it was perfect weather for biking, Onoda was finding it hard to enjoy himself.

A knot of guilt had twisted into his stomach. "This is a bad idea," he whimpered.

But even as his mind whirled with anxious, torn thoughts, his feet continued pedalling towards his destination. "Why did they have to release the platinum-edition Love Hime CD today?" he lamented. "Why couldn't it have come out on my day off?"

He supposed it didn't necessarily matter, since he would have gotten his hands on a copy regardless. But he would have preferred not to skip school in order to do so.

He tried to resist the temptation, he truly did. He even got as far as putting on his school uniform, attempting to convince himself that Love Hime would have other soundtrack releases…ones that weren't platinum-edition…

Seconds later, he was in his casual clothes, hidden under his covers, convincing his mother that he didn't feel well. He was a terrible liar, and he knew his face burned a bright red from his effort, but his mother attributed it to his 'cold' and called Sohoku, explaining that her son would not be attending that day.

It took a bit to assure her that he would be fine by himself, and eventually she left to spend the day with her friends. Feeling an odd mixture of relief and guilt, Onoda wasted no time and hurried out of the house, climbing on his bike and speeding off to Akiba, wanting to be back home as soon as possible.

He could see the city off in the distance and a smile broke out across his face despite his conflicted feelings.

"Princess, princess! Princess, I love, love, love you! Princess, princess! Twinkle, twinkle!"

…

Feet propped up onto the table in front of him, Makishima idly flipped through a magazine, his jersey unzipped halfway. He glanced up when the door slid open, Naruko and Imaizumi stepping inside the clubhouse with a polite greeting.

"Yo," he returned. His brow furrowed when Onoda did not come stumbling in behind his friends, as he usually did when it came time for practice. "Where's Sakamichi?"

"Sick," replied Naruko, removing his school bag from his shoulder and hanging it on his hook. "He didn't come to school today, so I guess he's not coming to practice either."

"He must have caught a bug," mused Imaizumi. "He seemed fine yesterday."

"We should see him, when he feels a bit better," said Naruko, eyes glimmering with concern. "I hope it's not the flu."

As the two friends/rivals fell into chatter, Makishima twirled a strand of green hair around his index finger, expression thoughtful. The fact that his kohai was taking a sick day was surprising, since Onoda had a tendency to trudge to school and practice whenever he caught an illness.

His brow furrowed with soft worry. If his fellow climber had chosen to stay home, then something was certainly wrong. He hoped whatever Onoda had caught wasn't severe…it was rather silent without his cheerful nattering.

Hmm…I suppose I have a stop to make later this evening.

…

Sprawled across his blankets, Onoda cheerfully sang along to his newest Love Hime CD, kicking his sock-covered feet to the beat of the music. His eyes were focussed on his math homework, which Imaizumi had relayed to him through text. Determined to soothe his conscious, Onoda vowed to finish his schoolwork and have perfect attendance for the rest of his high school career.

Just as he finished his third math problem, his mother's happy voice rang throughout the house and caught his attention. "Sakamichi, you have a visitor! Makishima-san is here to see you!"

Onoda's heart froze in his chest for a total of three seconds before suddenly beating in a mad panic. He frantically scrambled to his feet, practically diving towards his CD player to cut off the music. He then hastily threw his schoolwork onto his desk before climbing back into bed, pulling his blankets right up to his chin.

Don't look guilty, don't look guilty, don't look guilty, he chanted silently to himself, already feeling a red flush creep up his neck.

Lying to his mother was one thing (and he still felt terrible about it). But she was a rather oblivious person, bless her, and it wasn't really difficult to get something past her. But he sincerely doubted he would be able to successfully fib right to his senpai's face. The very thought caused his stomach to clench uncomfortably.

A single knock landed on his bedroom door, startling him from his frantic thoughts. "Come in," he said, keeping his voice soft and trying to put a bit of a rasp to it.

His door opened and his mentor stepped into his room, a lazy expression on his thin face. "Yo. Naruko told me you were sick. How're you feeling, sho?"

"Better," said Onoda quickly. "I mean, I feel better than I felt this morning. Um…uh…my throat's a bit scratchy…but it's not bad or anything! I can definitely go to school tomorrow. I think it was just a bug. Yeah. Um...I feel fine," he finished weakly, ducking his stare to his dark green covers.

Makishima leaned against the door frame, studying the first-year critically. A dark red flush bloomed across Onoda's face, but it was not a symptom of illness. He could tell by the way Onoda fidgeted, his fingers playing nervously with a loose thread and his anxious nibbling of his bottom lip. His face grew steadily redder as the silence stretched on, the familiar tell-tale sign of his kohai's embarrassment and guilt.

"You," he finally spoke, "are a terrible liar, sho."

Onoda's head snapped upwards, bright blue eyes growing wide. "What?" he squeaked. "I mean, I'm not-"

"Sakamichi."

The stern deliverance of his given name caused Onoda to stop his flustered words and flinch. "I'm not sick," he admitted, shame-faced. "I just told my mom that so I could skip school."

"I gathered that," drawled Makishima. A strict frown formed on his lips, because though this was Onoda's first display of rebellious behaviour and it was frankly worrying. "Why?"

Onoda's face was now glowing like a beacon. He mumbled something into his covers, but Makishima could not make it out. With a minute sigh, the lanky senior moved across the room and tugged the blankets back with one sweeping movement.

"One more time," coaxed Makishima.

"I went to Akiba," repeated Onoda, feeling mortification swell within him. "There was a new Love Hime CD being released today…and there was only a certain amount being sold…and I really wanted it…" He trailed off and glanced down at the floor, unable to meet the eyes of his mentor. After speaking his reason for ditching school aloud, he realized just how ridiculous it sounded.

He's going to think I'm so lame, he thought miserably, fiddling with the hem of his T-shirt.

Makishima rested a hand against his cheek, suddenly having to fight the urge to chuckle. "I suppose I should have known it was something like that."

Onoda raised his head cautiously. "Makishima-san?" he ventured hesitantly.

"You've never let illness stop you from attending school before, so I thought it was odd you took a sick day and we were all a bit worried. Should have figured something was up, sho."

"Sorry," muttered Onoda. "I didn't mean to make anyone worry." He glanced nervously at his senpai. "Um…are you going to tell anyone?"

Makishima tilted his head to the side, his curtain of thick hair following his movement. He scrutinized the bespectacled boy for a moment, debating on his next action. Bright blue eyes stared pleadingly back and he let out a sigh of surrender.

"Tch. It'll be our secret, sho." Onoda beamed gratefully at him and Makishima idly wondered when he had gotten so soft. "But," he added, voice firm, "this is the only time you'll pull this stunt. I don't care how much love you anime, you can't fall into this habit."

Not that he thought the young boy would make it a routine to ditch school, but he thought he'd stress it anyway. Onoda never failed to obey an order, so Makishima was confident it wouldn't happen again.

"Hai!" said Onoda with a strong nod. "I won't! Thank you, Makishima-san!"

The redness had disappeared from his face, replaced with a dazzling smile. The green-haired senior could not help but smile back, reaching out a hand to tousle Onoda's short raven hair. "You realize you also skipped practice today, sho?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh," he said sheepishly. "I, uh, I forgot…sorry."

"You'll just have to make it up then," said Makishima, and though his voice was casual Onoda knew this was not a matter he had a choice in. Not that he would refuse, because he genuinely felt bad for forgetting about his club's practice. "Your homework done, sho?"

"No, not yet." Onoda gestured towards his textbook, resting on the wooden surface. "I'm almost finished."

"You want some help?"

"Please!" he exclaimed with an earnest nod, for he would never resist help from his beloved mentor. "Thank you!"

With fluid movement, Makishima dropped down into Onoda's desk chair, flicking open the textbook to review the material. The bespectacled boy studied him for a moment before asking cautiously, "Um…are you…are you upset? With me?"

Slim eyebrow flying upwards, Makishima cocked his head slightly and lazily regarded his kohai. "No. Surprised, and a little amused, if I'm to be honest. Not upset. But if you ever do this again it'll be a different story, sho."

"Right!" said Onoda quickly. He then asked curiously, "Have you ever skipped school before, Makishima-san?"

"Heh." Smirking, Makishima tossed the textbook at his kohai, who managed to catch but fell backwards in surprise. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

His response was vague and teasing, but Onoda totally knew that the answer to his question was a solid 'yes', and Makishima pretended he didn't see the resulting grin growing on his kohai's face.