I stretched my arms, holding them up in the air. It was halfway through May, and we had decided to eat lunch outside to celebrate the beautiful weather. I sighed, "It's so nice and warm, I feel like my bones are defrosting," I said.
"You sound like an old woman," Kise and Kasamatsu said in unison.
"If you keep scowling like that, you're going to look like an old woman as much as I sound like one," I spat back at Kasamatsu.
He was about to yell at me when Rima and Hayakawa came to join us, "Hey you guys," she said happily.
I nodded at her, "Hey."
"Shira, are you going to the festival tomorrow?" Rima asked me.
"In Tokyo?" I asked her.
She nodded, "I don't know, it seems like a bother," I said.
She pouted, "Come on, it'll be fun, even Kasamatsu is going."
"Is it that you need a place to stay the night, because I'm staying with my manager and I'm sure you can spend the night as well-ssu," Kise said.
I thought for a moment and then responded, "Nah, blondie, I have a place to stay."
"So you're going then?" Rima asked.
"I guess so," I mumbled.
"Well, don't look too happy about it," Rima said.
"It's just, nevermind," I muttered.
I hadn't gone to a festival without Shogo in years, and I really wanted him to come with me. The only thing that stopped me from inviting him was a yellow headed idiot that I'm pretty sure Shogo would punch as soon as he saw him. Plus, even though I really liked this group of people, I had only known them for about two months, hence my hesitation. I decided however, to make the best of it.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a sky blue yukata, wooden sandals, and had my hair up. I looked out the window, the sky was just about black and it was almost the time I was supposed to meet up with everyone. I clattered down the stairs and confronted the person who was studying in the living room, "Honestly, do I look okay?" I asked him.
Haizaki-nii (the person I was staying with) looked at me saying, "You look beautiful Shira."
"You're just saying that, are you sure you can't come?" I asked.
He smiled at me, "I'm sorry, I have a big test tomorrow, but I got you a present to make up for it, close your eyes."
I obliged and felt Haizaki-nii take my left leg and fasten something around it, "Okay, open them."
I opened my eyes and looked down at my ankle, which now had a deep blue ankle bracelet around it, "Do you like it?" he asked.
I gave him a hug, "Yes, very much."
He ruffled my hair, "You should go soon, before you're late."
"You're right," I said, rushing out the door.
I walked for about ten minutes until I saw a yellow head sticking out above the crowd. I snuck up behind him, and poked him in the back. "Senpai, that's not funny!' he shouted as he turned around to look at me.
I chuckled, "It is to me."
He pouted, "Senpai's being mean to me again."
I ignored him and looked around asking, "Where's the others?"
"They're not here yet," Kise said.
"How long have you been waiting?" I asked.
"I got excited and got here twenty minutes ago," Kise said quietly.
I clucked my tongue, "The model was early and the delinquent was on time, I feel like if anyone was late it should've been us."
We waited for ten minutes, until my stomach started growling and I took Kise's hand saying, "I'm hungry let's go get something to eat."
"But what about the others?" Kise protested as I dragged him through the street.
"They have cell phones, they can find us when they get here," I said, as I found a ramen stall.
I ordered a bowl and turned to Kise, "Did you want something?"
"What are you having?" he asked me.
"I think I'll have the unagi ramen bowl," I said to Kise and the guy taking our order.
Kise wrinkled his nose, "You like eel?" he asked me.
"Yes, you don't?" I questioned him back.
"A bone got stuck in my throat once when I was a kid," Kise muttered.
"And that's your reasoning for disliking it?" I said in disbelief.
"It was very traumatic," Kise said defensively.
"Hey, he'll have the same as me," I said to the guy, who nodded and went to place the order.
"What are you doing senpai?" Kise asked me alarmingly.
I looked at him seriously, "It's time to grow up blondie."
He whined at me until the food came, then he proceeded to pick at the bowl, "Don't think I don't see you eating around it," I said, turning towards him.
He frowned, I stared at him until he took a bite out of the eel. He chewed quickly and then swallowed, looking at me with widened eyes, and then started coughing.
I slapped him on the back a couple of times saying, "You alright blondie?"
He coughed a couple more times and spit out a small bone onto the counter. I was expecting him to be mad at me for making him eat it, but instead he clung onto me, letting out a small whimper. I patted his head awkwardly saying, "There, there."
I gently peeled him off of me and went to switch our bowls saying, "Kid, I stand corrected. The universe is trying to kill you with unagi. I already ate the eel in mine, so have this and I'll eat yours."
He sniffed, "Thank you senapi-ssu."
It was that moment when my phone rang, I picked it up saying, "Hello?"
"Where are you?" Rima's voice sounded on the other side.
"You're all late by the way, and we're on the first ramen stall you'll come across if you go left," I said.
"Okay, we'll be there in a couple of minutes," she said before hanging up.
When they arrived, I glanced over them. Hayakawa and Rima were in matching dark grey yukatas, Kasamatsu wasn't dressed up (shocker), and I looked back at Kise in his red yukata. "Well, aren't you two adorable," I said to the couple.
Rima blushed embarrassed, "Sorry we were so late, we were trying to convince Kasamatsu to wear a yukata for half an hour."
I turned to the steel blue eyed male, who had his arms crossed and a grumpy look on his face, "I think it's for the best, Yuki looks best when he's being himself," I said, not being able to picture him in anything that wasn't hyper masculine.
"So what have you two been up to?" Rima asked.
"Senpai tried to kill me," Kise answered.
"The universe tried to kill him," I corrected.
"The universe didn't force me to eat unagi," Kise said, glancing at me sideways.
I turned to him and huffed, "You've had a sudden change of heart, weren't you the one who was just clinging to me in fear?"
Rima chuckled, "Don't tell me you're becoming a tsundere Kise."
"And we all thought Midorima was the ultimate tsundere," I said walking out of the stall.
"Don't compare me to Midorimacchi!" Kise shouted as he followed me out.
I looked at him with narrowed eyes and said coldly, "You don't even compare to mommy, not by a good three inches," and changing my tone with a sparkle in my eye, "And, those back muscles man, even God himself doesn't have back muscles that glorious."
I stared off into space, picturing those perfectly sculpted mounds of flesh until Rima waved her hand in front me saying, "Earth to Shira, you're making Kise very jealous right now."
I snapped out of my muscular stupor and looked at the blushing and pouting blonde, "I have great back muscles too senpai!" he exclaimed as he shrugged his yukata off his shoulders.
Cue a crowd of screaming fangirls jumping all over him in his half naked glory. I started walking off in the opposite direction when Rima said, "Wait Shira, we can't just leave him."
I held my phone out, "He just texted me telling us to go on ahead, and that he'll try and catch up with us later."
Rima linked arms with Hayakawa and walked down the street, leaving Kasamatsu and I trailing behind them. We were walking for a while when Kasamatsu suddenly said to me, "Just so you know Shira, I don't like you."
I gave him a questioning look before he rephrased, "Not like that, I do like you, I think you're pretty cool, but I don't like you in a romantic way."
I turned away from him, "I knew that Yuki."
"I was just making sure, you know, because whenever something like this happens, girls always accuse me of using Kise to get to them," Kasamatsu explained.
"Then they obviously don't know you, you're not that kind of man, and you're also scared shitless of girls," I said.
"Crap," he said suddenly.
"What?" I asked looking at him.
He pointed straight ahead, "Although we have established no romance, I think Rima and Hayakawa have their own plans."
I looked where he was pointing, the couple had led us to a boat ride for couples, Rima looked at us saying, "Come on you guys."
Both Kasamatsu and I sighed as we got on a boat together and started staring at each other awkwardly. I occasionally turned my head to the boat Rima and Hayakawa were on, at least they were having a good time.
That's pretty much how the next couple of hours went, Rima and Hayakawa dragged us to all the couple events and Kasamatsu and I endured the comments about how we were such a great couple. That was until we came across a stall with a goldfish scooping game, and Kasamatsu and Hayakawa got into a very intense competition to see who could scoop the most goldfish.
It didn't matter in the end, because they both ended up getting three. Kasamatsu rubbed his head saying, "What should we do, give them back?"
"No, you can't do that, those goldfish expect to go home with someone, you'll hurt their feelings!" Rima said.
I'm pretty sure we were all looking at her like she was crazy, but no one said anything because she said it with such conviction, she even had small tears at the corner of her eyes. I sighed saying, "I have a pond in my backyard, I could take them."
That is how I ended up here. Rima and Hayakawa had gone into another couple maze, and Kasamatsu was preoccupied with a guitar that he wanted to buy. I told him that it was fine if he left me, but that is how I ended up like this. At a festival. Alone. Carrying six bags of fish. I'm now fish lady, which I think is a step down from cat lady.
I stood next to a stall, watching the lights of the ferris wheel go around in a huge circle. "Senpai?" I heard a voice ask.
I looked to my right, "Oh hey blondie."
"Senpai, I told you to stop calling me that," Kise whined.
I ignored him, "So you were finally able to shake your fangirls?"
"Yeah, I had to play a bunch of games and get them all gifts though," he said tiredly.
"Sounds bothersome," I said.
He glared at me slightly, before noticing all the goldfish I was carrying, "Did Kasamatsu senpai and Hayakawa get those for you?" he asked.
I looked down at them, "Yeah."
He puffed out his cheeks, "That's not fair."
I looked at him strangely, "What's unfair?"
"They stole my gift!" Kise shouted.
I was about to ask him what the hell he was talking about when he shoved a bag in my face, "It doesn't matter, mine's way better!"
I took the bag in my hand, swimming slowly around in the water was a yellow goldfish, "Thank you Kise, it's really pretty," I said.
A blush flashed across his face before he said quickly, "But not as pretty as me right?"
I looked at him with a frown, "Please don't ruin it with your fakeness."
He laughed awkwardly before quickly changing the subject asking, "What were you doing by yourself?"
I looked up at the moving lights, "Thinking about how I've never been on a ferris wheel before," I answered.
Kise's face lit up as he pulled my hand, "Kise, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Going to the ferris wheel!" Kise said excitedly as he dragged me away.
I admit that it wasn't the most exhilarating ride, but I liked being so high up. I heard a camera shutter, and looked at Kise, who had his phone in front of him. "What are you doing?" I asked.
He smiled, "Saving the memory of senpai's first ferris wheel ride forever∼."
"You're two," I said, looking out at the night sky.
"What are you going to name them?" Kise asked me, nodding at the goldfish.
"I'm not going to name them," I said plainly.
"You have to at least name mine," Kise whined, pulling on my shoulder.
I sighed in defeat, "Fine, I'll name it," I said looking at the fish.
"Hmmmm," I hummed as Kise watched me intently.
"I got it," I said.
"What is it?" he asked.
I looked at him, "Kise Jr."
Kise's whole face turned red, "Why?" he stuttered.
I cocked my head, "You're the one who gave him to me, he's yellow, and he's the seventh goldfish I've received tonight."
Kise blushed an even deeper red when I mentioned his jersey number, "Maybe I can get him a jersey with my number on it!" he said excitedly.
"Fish don't wear clothes," I said.
"Will you at least bring him to see his papa's games?" Kise asked.
I facepalmed, "Blondie, fish don't work that way."
"But I'm sure he'll be there in spirit," I said to the now depressed male next to me.
"You think so?" Kise asked as he perked up.
"Definitely," I said to humor him.
After the ride, Kise and I met back up with everyone. Rima yawned, "It's getting late, I think we should all go."
Kasamatsu nodded in agreement, then Kise proceeded to drag me away saying, "I'll take senpai home!"
"Kise," I said.
"Hmm?" he replied.
"You're going the wrong way," I said.
He blinked at me a few times before blushing, and then dragging me the other way. "These shoes are hurting my feet really bad," I muttered after we had been walking a while.
"Do you want me to carry you?" Kise offered.
Never one to refuse a free ride, I climbed onto Kise's back, "That's a pretty anklet," Kise commented, looking at my leg.
"Thanks, it was a present from a friend," I said.
Kise carried me up to Haizaki-nii's apartment, where I crept in quietly, expecting him to be asleep. Instead, I was confronted with a man studying as hard as he was when I left, "Seriously Haizaki-nii, you're such a good student."
He looked at me and smiled, "You're back, did you have fun?"
"Yep, do you have a place for these guys tonight?" I asked, holding the goldfish up.
He laughed, "Yes in fact, I have a wonderful toilet bowl where we can send them back home."
"I'm serious," I said.
He chuckled, " I have a bucket somewhere," he said, getting up.
I sat on the couch, which was very comfortable, and the tiredness attacked me. I closed my eyes and started to slowly drift to sleep. I heard Haizaki-nii come in and ruffle my hair saying, "Already asleep, huh?"
I felt him take the goldfish out of my hands, pick me up, and walk up the stairs before I completely passed out.
"SENPAI!"
It had been a couple of days since the festival, and I was outside, gardening, when I heard the blonde idiot's voice. "I'M BACK HERE BLONDIE!" I shouted.
I heard the gate open and close, before I heard a giggle, followed by Kise saying, "Senpai, you really are an old woman."
I glared at him, "I'm not in the mood Kise."
I only worked in the garden when I was extremely upset, it was something my grandmother used to do to calm me down when I was little. In this case, I had just been in a fistfight with Shogo's ex, who brought a little posse to try and beat me up. Key word: try.
Sensing I was not to be messed with right now, Kise sat next to me and silently watched what I was doing. That was until he screamed and started clinging to me, and I was treated again to one of Kise's fears. "Senpai, save me!" he said, nuzzling into my side.
"From what?" I said, annoyed.
"That," he said, pointing at a worm.
"The worm?" I asked.
"It's so disgusting!" he yelled, burrowing further in between my arm and side.
"Well I'm sure they find you disgusting too, then again, maybe not, because they're worms and not judgemental assholes," I said, suddenly really defensive of worms.
"Senpai's being mean to me again," he said.
I then flicked a worm at his face, to which he responded by squealing and jumping away from me. He landed next to the pond, which peaked his interest, "Ahh, the reason why I came here in the first place."
He scanned the pond and then looked at me asking, "Where's Kise Jr?"
I took off the gloves I was wearing and said, "He's in the house, with my other pet fish."
I led Kise inside the house and into the living room, where the fish resided. There was Kise Jr. and my other fish that I've had for four years.
"Who's this?" Kise asked pointing to her.
"That's Shira Jr.," I replied.
"Ehh, senpai, you have a fish named after you too?!" Kise shouted.
I nodded, and thought about when I had gotten Shira Jr. Shogo and I had gone to a festival in Shizuoka a couple years back and I was so upset that my parents wouldn't let me have a dog, so he spent all his money trying to get me that fish. When he finally got it, he handed it to me saying in a very tsundere like way, "Here, it looks like you so I thought you should have it."
It's true, Shira Jr. is black with light blue eyes, and Shogo named her after me because of it. I put Kise Jr. in the bowl with her so she wouldn't be alone anymore. I turned to Kise saying, "Yeah, my friend got it for me, and he was the one who named it."
Kise frowned saying, "What's with this friend who buys you stuff, acting like he's your boyfriend or something…" Kise mumbled.
I smirked at him, "You're acting like a jealous boyfriend right now blondie."
He immediately blushed, sputtering, "Am not."
I walked back into the garden saying, "Then stop blushing when I say things like that."
"I am not blushing!" Kise shouted after me.
"If you don't stop being loud, I'm going to throw another worm at you," I threatened.
"Waah, senpai, that's so mean," he whined back.
