Really old piece I wrote soon after 20.5 came out and it was revealed that Jirou had a brother. Could be read as a pairing or friendship, take as you will. Don't own them blah blah etc etc.
Also the formatting totally god screwed up when I uploaded this D: I'm trying to fix it. Let me know if you see anything I missed.
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Game Akutagawa. Six games to two.
Well at least this time it took a half hour, Yuuta thought to himself though still disgusted that someone like Jirou could beat him with that irritating carefree ease.
In any event, he had prepared for the disappointment this time. To every minute detail, Yuuta remembered when he requested that Jirou meet him at the street courts for a rematch. The blonde narcoleptic boy barely even recalled who he was at first, which incensed Yuuta all the more. However, the prospect of playing him again outweighed his annoyance. After all, if he couldn t beat Jirou how could he be expected to stand a chance against that idiotic genius that was his brother.
So the result of a loss was still the same, but there was some improvement and he d even gotten his opponent to wake for a few sporadic instances. But a loss was still a loss. Nothing left but to head back to the dorms and continue to practice.
"Ah Fuji-san... we re going the same way?"
"Hm?"
Yuuta turned suddenly to face Jirou who'd addressed him. He hadn t even noticed the older boy was tagging right along side him.
Jirou on the other hand didn t mind in the least, proving so with his silly characteristic smile.
"You mind going together?"
"Ah...?" The brunette returned that grin with a purely inquisitive stare. "I... guess...? Just don t call me Fuji. That s my brother or maybe my dad." No, he wasn t going to let Shuusuke bother him. See, he s resumed walking already.
"Ara?" Jirou watched Yuuta walk off having contracted a similar confusion, then quickly skittered to catch up with his companion. "So then Yuuta right?" The shorter boy couldn t suppress another smile. "Sorry, it just seems so informal. I've gotten in trouble for making stupid mistakes like that before." The laugh that followed seemed to imply that such mistake in fact occurred on a rather regular basis.
Yuuta didn't care either way. It was probably because the ignorant boy slept all the time, it was his fault. So why did he have to smile back at Jirou? Probably because it was funny, how he acted about the most irrelevant things.
They passed by a few more streets in complete silence, save for the light whispering of the trees over head, as if sharing secrets that no human was allowed to know. Yuuta thought it was awful rude of them. The towering figures could at least wait until they had passed by and then maybe he wouldn't feel so uncomfortable. That was of course why he was feeling uncomfortable. It had nothing to do with the sidelong glances he didn't even realize he kept aiming at Akutagawa next to him.
Jirou had since drawn back into himself and seemed to be floating along in a ghostly trance. Yuuta thought that was a bit disturbing too. He liked it better when the blonde boy was frivolously happy not that he really cared.
"It must be hard... having Fuji for a brother. I know what that's like." Jirou started suddenly, nearly startling the younger boy next to him.
Where the hell did that come from, Yuuta thought. It's not like he has... oh wait. "That's right... you have a brother too, don't you Akutagawa?"
"If you're Yuuta then I'm Jirou." Jirou grinned, wagging one forefinger to point out Yuuta's own silly mistake. "But I do, he's in college."
"What's he like?" said the younger boy, genuinely interested.
"He's really cool! He always does everything perfect. My parents always tell me I could be just like him if I tried harder didn't sleep so much." With another more nervous laugh, Jirou rubbed the back of his head having long since realized the unlikelihood of such a prospect.
"Yeah... that's exactly how it is." Well... maybe not the sleep part. "It's so damn frustrating."
"Not at all! I'm proud of my brother. But I'm gonna do what I want. And then they'll see that I'm just as good as he is and maybe even better."
Yuuta had nothing to say in response, merely gaping blankly at Jirou. They weren't so different from each other... so how could this other boy possibly think with that philosophy? How could he always be so optimistic and cheery about it? It was appalling... and though he would never admit it, Yuuta was a tad bit jealous.
"Ahh? You keep going down this road? This is where we part then. That was fun though. We could do it again sometime if you like. Later!" Jirou waved quickly.
It was like some sort of magic trick, you blink and miss it. Before he could respond Yuuta was watching Jirou proceed down his street, at a half run obviously still high on quite possibly the entire world. He looked awful cute.
...
Stupid! Yuuta cursed himself silently. He'd meant to think stupid of course. Where the hell would cute come from? Even if it was true.
Trying to put that mistake in the back of his mind he took a few steps in the direction of Sei Rudolph but had to chance one more look in the direction of the other youth, effectively stopping him again.
...
"Hey, Jirou. Wait up!"