Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just the plotline. :)
Author's Notes: It came out pretty long. It was originally supposed to be a Kirihara/Marui-focused fic but it ended up being a 3 demons-Akaya fic. Kind of cute, I guess. The Kirihara/Marui is still there but not as I planned. And yeah. D: There'll be a second part to it. So it's not a one-shot, even though it was supposed to be one. Sadly, it's now a two-shot. D:
Dedicated to Tippy. ♥
A Matter of Reliability
When the going got tough, there were always three people Akaya could really rely on. Although, those three people just so happened to be the very same people he planned on crushing later. But until then, Akaya could always trust buchou, fukubuchou, and Yanagi-sempai to help him.
More buchou and Yanagi-sempai than fukubuchou (who nearly always had a reason to be mad at him), but that was beside the point.
"There's this person I really like, sempai," Akaya explained, mainly to Yanagi-sempai but he knew that buchou and fukubuchou were listening, even though they didn't look like it. "And I don't know what to do. It's making me confused."
Yukimura smiled softly and turned to face his kouhai. "Having a crush can often be confusing, Akaya. That's perfectly normal."
Akaya wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, but—"
"It's also completely normal for one to develop a crush at your age," Yanagi added, neatly putting his items away in his locker. Thankfully for Akaya, they were the only four in the clubroom. If Niou were to ever find out about his crush, it would be the end of him.
"What I can't get is why you have a crush on the only boy who wrote his English final on the brilliance of bubble gum," Sanada put in flatly, rubbing at his damp hair with a towel. Akaya instinctively sniffed in, taking in the scent of Sanada's clean shampoo.
Akaya thought it was weird how fukubuchou took such good care of his hair—washing it after practice everyday and all—and used such nice-smelling shampoo but always kept it hidden under that stupid hat.
Maybe Yukimura-buchou bullied him into hiding his soft-looking hair. Or maybe Yanagi-sempai blackmailed fukubuchou into never taking it off unless forced to (or required to by the teachers).
They were possessive that way and Akaya was scared just thinking about the complicated relationship of his sempai.
Wait… what?!
"Who says I have a crush on a boy?!" Akaya demanded, finally taking in the words of his stern fukubuchou. "Let alone Marui-sempai!"
The three older boys shared looks with each other; amused, knowing, and exasperated. Yanagi cleared his throat while Yukimura petted Akaya gently. "Akaya, it's fairly obvious who you have a crush on."
"You've had a crush on him for quite a while," Yanagi stated plainly. "I've been observing you for a while about it."
Akaya scowled and crossed his arms. No way was it that obvious that even fukubuchou knew. Was he that obvious? He hoped not because then Marui-sempai would know and Niou-sempai would know, and if Marui-sempai knew then he would never be able to face his sempai again. If Niou-sempai knew, then he'd be in for quite a hell.
"Staring at him for the majority of practice does not help, in case you were wondering," Sanada pointed out with an indifferent expression on his face. "Attacking people who tease him also doesn't help for much."
"It's mainly the staring, though," Yukimura chuckled, ruffling Akaya's hair. "You should try looking more subtle when staring at Marui-kun while he serves."
"You're lucky Masaharu hasn't noticed yet, which is surprising since he usually catches onto these things rather quickly," Yanagi said, closing his locker. Yeah, yeah. Anything was lucky when Niou-sempai didn't try to butt in. "Either that or your lucky he hasn't said anything about it, if he has found out."
"What do I do?" Akaya moaned, covering his face with his hands in exasperation. Yukimura laughed lightly and placed a strong hand on Akaya's shoulder. "Well, I know that Marui-kun likes boys too, for starters."
Akaya paused, peering at his buchou with wide green eyes through gaps between his fingers. "Really?"
Yanagi took a seat between Yukimura and Sanada, leaning against Yukimura's back slightly in order to see Akaya. "I have a few guess on who Bunta might like, from a few observations, that is."
"Marui does happen to like someone," Sanada threw in. "I overheard Niou teasing him about it. Marui seemed rather flustered."
Akaya moved his hands down out of his face and let out a sigh. "I guess that's a relief, in a way."
"What are your guesses, Renji?" Yukimura asked, turning his head to face the boy behind him. Akaya wrinkled his nose at the way their faces almost touched. Couldn't they save it until after his problem was solved?
"I shouldn't reveal that," Yanagi replied with a shake of his head. Akaya scowled and opened his mouth to say something, but was swiftly cut off. "It would be disrespectful to Bunta. But if you like Bunta, Akaya, and it's really bothering you, you should let him know and get it off your shoulders."
"Don't let it interfere with your tennis," Sanada added gruffly.
"It's not!" Akaya protested, making a face at Sanada. "And I can't, Yanagi-sempai. I don't know how to."
"Just tell him you like him," Sanada pointed out flatly. "How difficult is it?"
Akaya scowled and crossed his arms in a huff. Easy for fukubuchou to say, Yukimura-buchou and Yanagi-sempai probably jumped him when they first got together, so fukubuchou most likely didn't even have to lift a finger.
"Now, now, Sanada," Yukimura chided the raven-haired boy lightly. "Give Akaya a break."
Yeah, fukubuchou, give me a break, Akaya wanted to add, but refrained from doing so. The last thing he needed was for Sanada-fukubuchou to drag Yukimura-buchou and Yanagi-sempai away in the middle of his situation. Sanada let out a grunt laced with slight impatience but complied.
"What is your purpose in asking us, Akaya?" Yanagi-sempai asked, even though Akaya had a feeling Yanagi-sempai already knew the answer. "What do you want accomplished in asking us?"
"Advice, maybe," Akaya mumbled, looking away. "Since you and buchou and fukubuchou are… you know."
Akaya let out a cough to underline his point. Yukimura grinned and Sanada, Akaya could have sworn, turned slightly pink at the statement.
"You have a point," Yanagi-sempai nodded, shamelessly confirming Akaya's implication. Sanada made an annoyed noise and Yukimura simply chuckled lightly, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Your situation is different, but I'm sure we could give you advice on how to properly handle the situation."
That was a relief. If anything, he was going to need a lot of advice.
"Niou-kun's better at these sort of things, though," Yukimura mused out loud. Akaya froze and sent his buchou a childish pout.
"Like hell I'm telling Niou-sempai."
"If you told Yagyuu-kun first, I'm sure Niou-kun will be more…"
"Polite." Sanada pitched in.
"Yes, polite, with your little ordeal," Yukimura finished with a boyish grin. Akaya pondered on it for a few minutes before deciding that the chances of Niou-sempai being nice or polite about his situation were too slim to even consider risking. Yagyuu-sempai, if anything, would probably take Niou-sempai's side.
Then he'd just be twice the screwed.
Yanagi suppressed a chuckle at Akaya's unconvinced expression. "Why don't you see how Bunta feels about you?"
"Probably indifferent," Akaya said dejectedly. Marui-sempai only devoted his attention to things like cake and playing doubles with Jackal-sempai, other things were seemingly trivial. Or at least, that what Akaya got out of it after observing his sempai for so long.
"Then you'll have to catch his attention, Akaya," Yukimura said petting him again. Akaya closed an eye at the familiar gesture and made a face. He didn't really mind the petting; it just made him feel like a little child or his buchou's cat or something. It was kind of degrading, really.
"Buy him cake," Sanada suggested with a bored expression. Akaya liked how fukubuchou didn't even attempt to look sympathetic at all. Not that he wanted Sanada-fukubuchou's sympathy. But still. The only reason Sanada was there was because Yukimura-buchou and Yanagi-sempai were there. Fukubuchou, Akaya concluded dully, sucked at being a sempai. "Marui, judging by his cake consumption, will undoubtedly have a positive reaction towards it."
Akaya ignored Sanada's sarcastic comment, pretending that he simply didn't hear the suggestion.
"Talk to him more," Yukimura suggested genuinely. "Ask him about his day and maybe ask him if he'd like to get cake or ice cream with you after practice. Marui-kun would probably take very well to that."
"I guess," Akaya mumbled, lifting his shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. "It's easier said than done, buchou. Every time Marui-sempai's near I turn a stupid shade of red. Or at least, I feel I am because my face gets all hot and stuff."
Yukimura smiled. "You have to try your best, Akaya. Thing will go nowhere if you don't."
"Renji, just tell the boy already," Sanada said with an exasperated sigh. "This is dragging out and wasting time."
"Tell me what…?" Akaya asked slowly, narrowing his eyes at his sempai.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Yanagi replied, giving in rather easily. Akaya had a feeling they were probably all going to Sanada-fukubuchou's house to play or whatever Niou-sempai said they did. Niou-sempai was often unreliable and always lied to him, so Akaya dismissed the idea and refocused his attention.
"The quicker you tell him, the more time we have to play" Yukimura added.
Akaya nearly choked on his spit. He made a mental note that Niou-sempai didn't always lie to him.
"Akaya," Yanagi said calmly. Akaya leaned forward in anticipation, too excited to notice that he was nearly sitting in his buchou's lap. "The three of us have known Bunta for a long time and for us, his mannerisms and behavior have become quite obvious. Although it may not seem like it, Bunta holds a sort of intimate affection towards you."
"Huh?"
"It means he probably has a crush on you too," Sanada replied bluntly. Akaya gaped for a second, at a loss of words and unsure on how to react. "Which means your case is solved and we can now go. I have to lock up the clubroom."
The last statement was ignored by the three others and Yukimura sent his kouhai a reassuring smile. "He teases you a lot, doesn't he, Akaya?"
"I dunno," Akaya mumbled, trying to recall situations where Marui-sempai actually interacted with him. Now that they mention it, Marui-sempai did tease whenever they talked. "He doesn't talk to me much, though."
"He's shy too, Akaya," Yukimura pointed out. "As hard as it may be to believe."
"He stares at you too," Sanada added with a roll of his eyes. "When you're not staring at him, that is."
That wasn't true. Akaya frowned and narrowed his eyes at his fukubuchou. "Not."
"He blushes every time you're close by as well," Yanagi stated. "But not as obvious as you do. Bunta also fumbles a bit with his jersey when you talk to him."
Really? Wait, why didn't he notice that? Akaya didn't know if his sempai were really trying to help him anymore. It sounded too good to be true. Maybe they were just keen on getting rid of him. He shot his sempai a look of uncertainty but didn't say anything.
"You're the only one he offers gum to, Akaya," Yukimura said standing up and stretching his limbs. "If that's not obvious that Marui-kun likes you then I don't know what is."
Akaya perked. That was true, he supposed. He never really thought much about his sempai's nice occasional offer of candy, but now that it was mentioned, he had never seen Marui-sempai offer candy or gum to anyone other than him. Not even Jackal-sempai, who was Marui-sempai's best friend.
"We'll be leaving now, Akaya," Yanagi said as the three older teens made their way to the door. Sanada jiggled the keys in a slight impatient manner, motioning for Akaya to get up and out of the clubroom. Akaya fought back the urge to stick out his tongue, grabbing his bag and making his way out the door.
"I hope we proved to be helpful, Akaya," Yukimura smiled when they were all outside. Sanada let out a grunt of agreement while locking up the door to the clubroom.
"You did," Akaya admitted, staring at the ground. "Thanks sempai."
"You're quite welcome, Akaya," Yanagi replied, taking a couple of steps forwards as Sanada placed the clubroom keys in his tennis bag. Yukimura followed in the same suit, the three of them seemingly eager on leaving the school grounds. Akaya couldn't blame them. He was intent of going home too.
They said quick goodbyes and as his seniors started walking off, Akaya cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled,
"I'M STILL GOING TO CRUSH YOU THREE SOMEDAY, SEMPAI-TACHI. YOU HEAR ME?"
Yukimura chuckled and Sanada lifted a hand slightly over his shoulder in an indifferent, but acknowledging manner. Akaya watched their backs with a smug expression. He felt better about the situation already. And not only did his sempai help him, but they also didn't mind that he was still planning on defeating them later.
Not that they ever minded (although they should have), but whatever.
When the going got tough, Akaya could always rely on Yukimura-buchou, Yanagi-sempai, and (occasionally) Sanada-fukubuchou. He ran to the bus stop wearing a wide grin on his face. Tomorrow, he decided, he'd tell Marui-sempai how he felt.
He couldn't wait.
to be continued.