Title: Confession (A sequel to Akira no Souzou)

Author: miakakennyuuki

Series: Nobuta wo Produce

Pairing: Akira/Shuji

Genre: Romance, Drama, Humor

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: I don't think I need to warn you guys. This ain't ne?

Summary: A girl finally confesses to Akira. Why does it make Shuji feel so weird?

Notes: Uke!Shuji. I've always wanted to. (Comes later, in part two.)

This can be read independent of Akira no Souzou.

Confession (1/2)

Shuji headed to the roof where he normally met Akira for lunch, humming absentmindedly under his breath. A contented smirk graced his face, and he practically skipped toward his destination. To observers, he looked unbearably happy. Shuji would have denied it, but it was true that he was happier than he had been in a long time.

Ever since he saw Akira's face that first day at his new Hokkaido school, the feeling of content had never left. It was as if, with Akira there, nothing could go wrong. Of course, Shuji would like Nobuta there too, but somehow it was a little different with Akira. All the anxiety about making new friends and keeping up his popularity flew out the window the instant he spotted the strange boy in the corner by the window. Because now there was someone who already knew Shuji, and that meant that he didn't have to hide.

Shuji allowed his smirk to transform into a small smile, and turned the corner that contained the stairwell to the roof. Before he could continue forward, a voice stopped him. It was female, and she was…confessing?

"S-S-Suki1," Shuji heard her stutter. He looked toward her voice, and all he could see was a fairly pretty girl with a cute, short haircut, and the back of a tall boy with bleached hair. The boy looked awfully familiar. Shuji's eyes widened. No way…

"K-Kusano-kun, suki da yo2. Please accept this gift," the girl continued. She held out a small pink-wrapped box. Akira moved to take it, and Shuji froze. If Akira took the box, he was, in effect, accepting this girl's affections. He didn't know why, but the thought made Shuji slightly cold.

Shuji watched as Akira's hand continued forward, dread settling uncomfortably in his stomach. If Akira had a girlfriend, where did that leave Shuji? Would he have to eat lunch alone on the roof? Or should he get a girlfriend of his own? Problem was Shuji didn't like anyone, and the thought of pulling what he did with Mariko, here at his new school and new life, made him nauseous.

Akira continued to reach forward, but he bypassed the box, and instead ruffled the girl's hair. She yelped and backed away a little, before a determined look crossed her face and she stepped forward again. It seemed she knew Akira was strange, and was determined to get through it.

"Suki da yo," she said more firmly, shaking the box a little. Shuji could almost feel Akira smile, and the nauseous feeling increased.

"Boku mo suki3!" Akira said cheerily, and Shuji choked a little. The girl's face broke out into a brilliant smile. Shuji could only stare. How could he not have noticed Akira liked someone? Dragging himself from his inner angst, Shuji watched as Akira's hand formed its weird gesture. Akira snapped its mouth in the girl's face, and she twitched back a little. Shuji couldn't help but admire her. That sort of thing used to send him running for the hills. "Boku mo suki," Akira repeated. "To-mo-da-chi-chan!4" Kon-chan, as Shuji was loath to label the hand creature, moved its mouth along with Akira's words.

"Eh?" the girl said, confusion settling over her features. Meanwhile, Shuji breathed a sigh of relief. Akira just liked the girl like a friend. Like he liked almost anyone. Crisis averted, Shuji relaxed against the wall and waited for Akira to finish. Suddenly, Shuji was very hungry.

"Amuro-chan is such a good friend, telling Akira she likes him too. Akira happy!" Akira ruffled her hair again. "Let's go to karaoke sometime, ne? Shuji-kun will come too."

"Eh?" the girl repeated, still holding the box out. Somehow she had lost control of the situation.

"Akira has to have lunch with Shuji-kun. Shitsurei shi-masu5," Akira sang, bowing haphazardly to the girl. He spun on his heel and charged up the stairs, flapping his arms like a bird. The girl just stared after him, the little pink box trembling. After a moment or two, she turned and headed down the hall.

Shuji stared at the spot Akira had previously occupied. Why had the situation affected him so much? He should be happy if Akira ever had a girlfriend. It would mean that he wasn't a complete weirdo. But the thought of Akira spending the amount of time required with a girlfriend, away from Shuji…Shuji himself had given up all his lunches to Mariko.

"Shu-ji-kun, doko!6" Akira's agitated call floated down the stairwell, causing Shuji to jump.

"Don't mind7," he told himself, already following Akira's increasingly distressed calls. If he didn't hurry, Akira would reach foghorn volume, and the whole school would hear.

"Iku, iku8," Shuji grumbled, heading up the stairs. When he came through the service door, he was immediately tackled by a happy Akira.

"Shuji-kun!" the bleached boy yelled, snuggling up to his long-haired friend.

"Get off," Shuji snapped half-heartedly, pushing at the boy on top of him.

"Shuji-kun ga dai suki!9" Akira exclaimed. Shuji's head snapped up to stare into sparkling dark eyes. Well, two can play that game, Shuji thought.

"Boku mo suki," Shuji said solemnly. Akira's face nearly shined like the sun, his smile was so radiant. "To-mo-da-chi-chan!" Akira's eyes widened, before he laughed loudly, falling off Shuji.

"Shuji-kun saw?" he asked, rolling over to lie on his back. "Amuro-chan is a nice girl, but Akira doesn't want to eat lunch with her. Akira wants to eat lunch with Shuji-kun."

Shuji raised one thin eyebrow. With Akira's logic, that would mean…naw, probably not. "Well, lunch is almost over. Let's eat," he said, pulling some melon bread from his pocket. He opened it halfway and held it slightly away from him, already expecting what Akira did next.

"Akira chomp!" he said, leaning forward and latching onto Shuji's melon bread with his teeth. Shuji let it go and watched fondly as Akira devoured it not unlike an animal. After a moment Akira looked up from his prey, catching Shuji's soft look.

"Nani?"

Shuji smiled. "Nani mo10," he answered. Flopping onto his back, he looked at the sky. "Nani mo."

END, for now.

1 Suki – Really informal way of saying "I like you."

2 Kusano-kun, suki da yo – "Kusano, I really like you."

3 Boku mo suki – "I like you, too."

4 Tomodachi-chan – "Buddy" or "Dear friend."

5 Shitsurei shimasu – "Please excuse me."

6 Shuji-kun, doko? – "Shuji, where are you?"

7 Don't mind – Japanese expression that means, "Don't worry about it." Said in English.

8 Iku, iku – "I'm coming, I'm coming."

9 Shuji-kun ga dai suki – "I like Shuji best!" or "I really like (love) Shuji!"

10 Nani mo – "Nothing."

That didn't really come out the way I planned. There was supposed to be bitch-slappin' and stuff, but it seemed way out of character. Maybe I'll do a parody of this later with all that. It'll be fun. Anyway, the second part should be out soon, if I haven't written it already. Hope you liked it.