Togo Arai breathed a sigh of relief at having
cleared another corner. 'Just another hallway, a set of stairs, and two more
hallways after that, then I'm home free'. Easy. He grinned at his grand
escape.
The school was empty; all the other students were
out spending this special day with their girlfriends or other loved ones. Arai
on the other hand didn't feel like wasting energy on what he considered a
'worthless non-holiday'[1], and made it a point to break up with his most recent
fling to avoid having to deal with it.
Those who didn't have anyone to share the day with,
or who felt the same as the rebel student, had arranged a small get-together.
Something to do besides sit around alone, for it's better to complain about it
as a group than by one's self. Arai didn't feel like going to a party full of
pathetic boys; he'd rather be riding.
But someone else wouldn't be at the party either.
Someone would be on their own private mission, and Arai knew who that someone
was. That someone was who he was avoiding at all costs. So far he was safe.
The stairs were in sight, and he smirked again as
his confidence began to build. But that confidence was quickly depleted when he
caught a faint sound drifting down the hallway behind him.
Ducking behind a thick column, the boy with
bi-colored bangs held his breath and tried calming his now racing heart to
listen. He hoped he'd just imagined the sound. Maybe it was a dream...or a
nightmare. Ears perked, breath still held, he listened carefully.
There it was....
In the quiet of the hallway, a high-pitched, boyish
voice called out. "Araaaiiii-kuuun...." If he listened more closely,
he could also hear the slight footsteps coming closer.
A small glance around the column confirmed his
greatest fear. Peeking into every classroom and every nook was Mikimaro
Shimura...carrying what had to be the largest heart-shaped box of
chocolates in all of Japan.
"Araaiii-kuun, where arrreee yooou?"
Knowing he had to get away before the other made it
to his hiding spot, Arai watched and waited. At just the right moment, when the
smaller boy had his face pressed against the glass window of a classroom door
several yards down the hall, he made his move.
With his breath shallow and his footsteps light, the
young man stepped away from the column and made a bee-line for the stairs. And
he almost made it...almost.
"I found you!"
He didn't need to look to know the chase was on.
With a short "kuso!" he took off running, taking the stairs two at a
time and believing it to be a miracle that he didn't trip and break his neck.
Then, at reaching the end of the stairway, he felt he had a better chance with
the straightaway of the hall. However, his pursuer's steps pounded behind him,
keeping up the pace despite their height difference.
"Get back here and accept your candy like a
man!"
"Go away!" Arai called back over his
shoulder.
Rounding the next corner, he almost plowed over a
pair of students making their way back to the dorms. Without so much as a hint
of an apology, the teen pushed his way past, making some headway when the other
had to pause to dodge the students. The smaller boy wasn't nearly strong enough
to push them as his prey had, and the other boys were quite mad as it was, being
run over and all; they weren't about to be pushed around again. Mikimaro had no
choice but to step out of their way before continuing chase.
The exit was in sight, and Arai picked up the pace,
feeling hopeful after all. When he reached the double doors he immediately
grabbed the handle and pulled...and nothing happened. He pulled and pulled some
more, to no avail. Glancing behind him, he saw his pursuer was almost upon him,
and here he was with a jammed door. No way to escape....
When he'd almost given up, a stroke of pure genius
struck the violet haired boy. Instead of pulling on the door...he pushed. Like
clockwork, the door opened.
Seeing his prey was about to escape, the short
brunet made a daring move and dived, closing the space between them as he flew
through the air. His arms reached out, but grabbed nothing as he realized it was
too late.
Slamming into the ground, the boy looked up out the
glass doors to see a quickly retreating back...and he choked back a sob.
Arai fanned himself with his shirt to cool off as he
made his way towards his beloved motorcycle. "Geez, why's he gotta chase me
around so much?" On the inside, way deep down, he smiled. 'Well,
that was kinda fun....'
Something fuzzy looking on his bike caught his
attention, and he rushed over, ready to yell about people touching his property.
Upon closer inspection, violet eyes widened as he realized what it was.
"A Teddy-bear?" He picked the small brown
thing up to examine it further, muttering to himself, "I bet she
left this. Some girls just don't know what 'I don't want to see you anymore'
means."
As he turned it over, a card dropped down, landing
on the pavement. He picked it up, and seriously considered throwing it, as well
as the bear, straight into the garbage bin. Something told him not to, and
instead he opened the envelope and pulled the plain white card out.
It wasn't what he thought it would be at all.
Expecting some kind of 'please take me back' letter,
the young man was surprised to see, instead of neat, girlish handwriting, a
short message written in boyish chicken-scratchings.
Arai-kun,
Thank you for being my friend. You'll always be my
hero!
Happy Valentine's Day!
-Shimura Mikimaro
He stared at the card a moment, then glanced up
at the building he'd recently fled from. "Mikimaro...." 'He
did this for me.... Why? Why does he chase me around so much? And why...why do I
care?'
Tucking the card carefully into a pocket in his
jacket, the teen headed back towards the school, ready to get some answers and
learn a little bit...about himself.
The boy, who was really no younger than any of his
classmates, but always assumed so because of his height and disposition, sat on
his bed in his lonely room. His roommate, Yusuke Kato, had a Valentine's date
with a girl he'd been chatting with on the internet; this was to be their first
meeting and the sporty teen had left exceptionally early to make sure he wasn't
late.
So Mikimaro sat alone, fingering the ribbon on the
large, open box of chocolates while slowly chewing on a caramel filled treat.
He'd spent his whole allowance for the next two weeks on this box, and he
couldn't let any go to waste.
When a knock came at his door, all he really felt
like replying was "go away," and continued his moping. His visitor had
other ideas, however, and allowed himself in, despite the smaller youth's
half-hearted attempt at a threat. At seeing who his guest was, he lowered his
head and stared at his feet, the candy, his blanket...everything but the violet
haired boy before him.
"Mikimaro-"
"Gomen ne, Arai-kun," the short teen
interrupted. "I don't mean to be a pest. I just.... I'll leave you alone
from now on."
He felt a weight settle on the bed as the other boy
sat next to him. A hand found it's way to the top of his head, rustling his hair
before putting pressure to make him look up at it's owner.
"It's ok," Arai smiled. "You
don't.... Well, you do bug me, but I don't mind so much." A pout and
a sniffle from the brunet made the school's resident rebel laugh, just a little,
out loud. "You are pretty cute ya know."
The other boy just stared; no longer pouting, but
not showing much of any expression at all. The two gazed at each other for a
moment before Arai noticed that his hand was no longer simply resting on the
brown haired head. His fingers, almost of their own free will, were running
through the soft, unruly locks, reveling in the feel of the fine hairs.
He tilted his friend's head back a bit further,
taking note of his features. Big brown eyes, cute little nose...soft lips. His
hand left it's place on the warm head and moved down to cup the slight chin; his
thumb absently caressed the smooth cheek, causing the smaller boy to look a
little surprised and a tad hopeful.
Arai finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Come
on, you can't eat all those chocolates by yourself."
After a brief moment, Mikimaro smiled and nodded.
"Sure I could!"
Anyone standing outside the door would hear laughter
and giggling throughout the night as the two friends spent this
not-so-scary-after-all holiday talking and laughing...together.
~Owari~
notes:
[1] Just for the record...I don't know Arai's
opinion on Valentine's Day...or any holiday for that matter. I put this
in...just to make the fic work like I wanted it to.
This fic was actually written to have another
part to it (for Kato and Nakamoto ^.^), that's why it's set up the way it is in
some places. Unfortunately...I suddenly don't feel like writing the other part
(my muses aren't cooperating....). But I think this one can stand alone on it's
own just fine.
Valentine's Treat
By: sailorstarsun