Welcome to second part of the School Festival arc. Now we really get to see what happens on the big day, with lots of characters getting involved in many scenes that I have to split the day into two chapters.

Just a note of clarification, since I've been asked often: I generally use British English and not American English. I grew up in a former British colony, so it's more natural for me to use British terms and spellings, such as 'football' and 'colour', instead of 'soccer' and 'color'. Sometimes I incorporate American words too, since I've spent my college years in the United States. I apologize if that causes any confusion when reading my story.

A guest reviewer says the flow of the story is anime-like, and that is generally the kind of atmosphere I hope to build. While I'll try to be as realistic (for a lack of better word) as possible, some scenes will have a little dramatic effect just to keep up with this anime-like atmosphere.

And yea, I did plan for that unintended Kenkari moments in the previous chapter, and may have some more of it in the future (*evil smirk*). I'm glad everyone seems to like Sora's introduction. I had a hard time figuring out how to introduce her, and I had this idea of her designing the costume when I was doing laundry one day. Talk about random inspiration that comes from nowhere.

As usual, I recommend reading in ½ page size to get the feeling of reading a book.

Chapter 10: Carpe Diem

Today was going to be a good day.

Hikari kept telling herself that as she brushed her teeth, tidied her hair, put on her favourite red hair clip, and changed into her school uniform. She went into the kitchen and made herself a toast, poured herself a cup of milk, and sat on the dining table to enjoy her simple breakfast. All the while, she couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

The calendar hanging on the wall marked today's date, 10th July, with a big red circle. In less than a couple of hours, she would get to experience her first ever School Festival, the day that she had been looking forward for months. Being a worker for her class' activity made it a plus. Although she wouldn't get to walk around the campus as much as she wanted to, she would be able to work with her classmates to make this a day to remember for the rest of their lives. Speaking of seishun! (*)

The time now was eight thirty, so she still had some time to spare before she had to leave her apartment. Her parents were still sleeping, and she had to close Taichi's door to prevent his snores from waking them up. They all promised to come in the afternoon to visit her, and she was really excited by that. She couldn't wait to show her parents that she was fully capable of attending school like a normal teenager did, and they could meet her friends too!

Thinking about her friends, however, brought a small frown on her face. Things had been rather awkward between her and Takeru these days. When she came into terms with her feeling three days ago, she didn't know it would have such an impact on their friendship. She found herself stealing glances at him more, and Takeru looked troubled whenever he was working with her, on Akemi's order. A lot of times he just stayed quiet and seemed eager to keep a distance from her. He also hardly interacted with Daisuke and Ken, and she wondered if there was something going on among the golden trio. However, she had been too busy helping out on preparation that she did not get a chance to ask them about it. She sighed. It wasn't like she could just ask anything at anytime she wanted. Her condition did not permit that.

Don't think like that, Yagami Hikari, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Today is the day you've been looking forward to for so long, and you cannot let your problem drag you down. You have to work hard so that when you look back at this time of your life you will have no regrets at all.

Slapping her cheeks lightly, she scrupulously checked her belongings. After making sure she got everything, she put on her black leather shoes and left her apartment. She let out a content sigh and put a smile on her face as she jumped into the elevator.

Today was going to be a good day.

'Everyone, gather up!' Akemi's cheerful yell brought everyone's attention and they all stood reverently in front of her. The class representative with long black hair looked satisfied at how punctual and prepared everyone was, as she cleared her throat and started briefing the whole class.

'First of all, thank you again for all the time and effort you have spent in preparing for this day,' she announced and politely bowed, to the applause of her classmates. 'I know that not everyone is happy with the idea of holding a butler café, or wearing a butler uniform,' she cast a long look at the golden trio, who turned their faces away amidst everyone's laughter, 'but here we are, only fifteen minutes before the School Festival officially begins. We've got everything settled already, and together, let's make this a day to remember for the rest of our lives.' She bowed again and everyone clapped their hands in appreciation.

'Now, here are everyone's schedules,' she held up a pile of paper in her hands. 'I know that you're all anxious to know who your partner will be, so now I'll announce their names in order. When you hear your name, come to get your schedule from me. The first pair: Fujimoto and Arai.'

A boy and a girl from the group emerged and took their schedules. They looked at each other and smiled.

'Next, Wanatabe and Motomiya.'

'Hai!' Daisuke jumped to the front and grinned at his partner vivaciously. 'Let's do this together, Ai-chan.'

'S–sure,' Wanatabe Ai stuttered and blushed, surprised that she got paired up with one of the most popular boys in the school. A few girls gave their shy friend supportive slaps on the back as she hesitantly took her schedule. Daisuke ignored that and walked with her to a corner to discuss how they should split their duty on serving the customers.

'Nanahara and Ichijouji.'

Ken composed himself and walked to the front, feeling glad that at least he was paired with someone he knew well. Nanahara Michiko was the girlfriend of one of his football team members, so he needed not worry about working with an obsessed fan girl of his.

'Let's work hard together, Ichijouji-kun,' Nanahara smiled and Ken did the same in return while giving Akemi an appreciative nod.

'Yagami and Takaishi.'

Some other girls squealed and congratulated Hikari quietly, while some looked dejected that the last of the golden trio was also taken. The brown-haired girl tried her best to suppress a blush from appearing on her face. Biting her lips, she walked to where Akemi was standing and took her schedule. Takeru, not noticing the exchange between his partner and the other girls, wondered why Akemi looked at him with the corners of her lips lifted in a mischievous manner. He swore he heard Akemi whisper 'have fun' to him when he took his sheet, but when he met her gaze the dark-haired girl merely winked at her and said nothing more.

Coughing to clear his throat, Takeru asked Hikari about how they should arrange their service. They agreed that he would be in-charge of explaining items on the menu, and she would be responsible for taking order and filling their customers' cups. It was the best arrangement they could come up with.

When they were done, they made sure the other looked presentable. Takeru's face reddened as he inspected Hikari's outfit. The green tie clung to her developing body neatly, and she looked adorably cute in that white shirt and black tail coat. Even without any make-up, her petite figure made her look more attractive than ever. She looked like some characters that he read from those gender-bender manga, and those types were usually the popular ones. Takeru noticed some other boys were stealing glances at his partner. He clenched his fists and sent them an admonished glare, feeling a sense of anger rising from his gut.

Hikari also blushed at Takeru's appearance. She was sure any girl would love to be in her position now, working with a very handsome blond in a butler outfit for the rest of the day. Takeru looked exceptionally sharp in the costume. With his natural blond hair and blue eyes, it was as if a character from a foreign TV show had come to life. He tucked in his white shirt in his black trousers and adjusted the knot of his tie clumsily. Since there was no mirror in the classroom (Akemi instructed a strict no-mirror rule, in case some guys would try to peek on the girls when they were unaware), he couldn't really tell if he looked alright on that. Hikari noticed his troubled state and helped him tidy his tie knot, bringing it up to his collar and fixed its position. Their fingers crossed in the process. Takeru raised his eyebrows and stared at their point of contact, and she quickly let go of her hands and looked away.

'Thanks,' Takeru whispered, his face glowing in fervour, and Hikari just nodded shyly in response. Both were troubled for relevant yet different reasons. In Hikari's case, she was bothered by her recent discovery of her feelings for him. Takeru, on the other hand, kept thinking about Ken's words from their dinner three days ago.

He wanted to think that Ken was wrong, that his friend was seeing things that weren't there. There was just absolutely nothing between them, and that he did not like her that way! But after spending two sleepless nights thinking about the situation, he came to the conclusion that his friend was actually right. His mind had been occupied by Ken's words for the past three days, and he knew he couldn't really reject them.

Yes, he figured that he likely cared for Hikari more than he thought he would, or should, for that matter. He smiled whenever she did, and he found her presence very comforting. He also was impressed by her kindness and optimism. She seemed to be able to brighten him up no matter what. It was a different feeling from when he interacted with other girls. It was different from how he felt about Mimi, who was like be his older sister, or Sora, whom he would always associate with Yamato, or even Miyako, whom Takeru saw as nothing more than a good friend. It also was nothing like his bond with Daisuke and Ken, as they did not occupy his mind like she did. With Hikari, things were much more complicated, yet much more soothing as well.

He had asked Mimi for advice, when she was on break from her work. Takeru could only hear her laughing very loudly over the phone for a whole minute before he decided to hang up. He did get a text message from her afterwards, saying that she was glad the hormones in him finally kicked in. He almost threw the phone at the wall.

In a way, he was relieved that Hikari, for whatever reason, seemed to have something in mind too, so she did not confront him about his weird behaviour. However, at the same time he couldn't help but feel mad that she was avoiding him. He didn't recall doing anything to trouble her, so he didn't understand why the girl was acting that way.

Takeru mentally groaned at his conflicting emotion. He didn't know what to do with it. It was so perplexing.

'It's time,' Akemi's enthusiastic voice shook them off their own thoughts. 'Let the show begin now!'

Hikari turned to look at the blond, finally, and gave him an encouraging smile. Takeru stared at her and offered a small smile as well. Whatever they were thinking beforehand, they knew they had a duty to fulfil. They had to set aside their problems and give their best today.

The classroom was soon filled by many visitors when the School Festival officially began, and everyone was busy serving customers before an hour had even passed. They were the only class that managed to stage a cosplay café, hence many people decided to stop by to check out the boys and girls. There were also couples and alumni who just wanted a place to sit down and enjoy some snacks.

'You two look soooo cute! I want a picture with you two now!'

Yamato smirked as Mimi put her arms around a startled Takeru and a meek-looking Hikari. The teen idol passed her camera to the older blond and he gladly obliged, noticing the uncomfortable expression on his brother's face. Mimi beamed enthusiastically and flashed a peace sign on her hands as she put her arms on the two junior high students' shoulders and pulled them closer to her. She smiled happily as Yamato took the picture.

'You really think others won't recognize you just because you put on a wig and a pair of glasses?' Takeru hissed as a now pink-haired, four-eyed Mimi inspected the picture. That outlook, along with her yellow t-shirt and green miniskirt, made her stand out of the crowd more. Sometimes the blond wondered if his friend was aware of the fact that she was famous among teenagers.

'Well, no one has come up to ask for my autograph yet, so nah,' she shrugged casually and took her seat. Takeru just rolled his eyes and Hikari giggled a bit.

'Excuse me,' a voice interrupted them and they all turned to face Senjougahara Akemi, who was glaring at them with an irksome expression. She had her hands on her hips in a bossy manner. 'We have rules that customers are not allowed to take pictures with the servers to avoid any trouble.' The long-haired girl pointed at a sign on the wall, and then turned to face her fellow classmates. 'I thought I told you guys explicitly not to allow a customer do that, especially you, Takeru-kun.'

Takeru gulped nervously. Akemi had specifically lectured the golden trio about that rule, since many girls would want to take pictures with them. The blond was aware of that when Mimi asked for a picture, but he also knew that if Mimi wanted to do something, there was virtually no way of stopping her. Plus, he couldn't really say no to the sixteen-year-old. He was about to explain the situation when his brother beat him to that.

'We're really sorry since we didn't notice that.' Yamato hid a smirk when Akemi looked stunned to see him. It worked, he thought. 'Please don't blame them on this as this is all my fault, for I am the one taking the picture.' He raised a finger, silently telling Mimi not to speak. 'Would you be so kind to just let this pass? I promise we won't do it again.'

Takeru made a dirty face at his brother. He knew what Yamato was trying to do. He was using his 'Ishida charm', as Yamato proudly called it, to ease the girl's frustration. The older blond looked at Akemi with his best puppy eyes and an electric smile, and winked at her by the end of his sentence.

To Takeru's surprise, Akemi's cheeks turned slightly pink before she put her fist in front of her mouth, coughed, and turned away. 'I won't ask you to delete that photo, but please refrain from doing so again, as that will deeply trouble us.' Takeru could not believe his eyes when the girl that he was somewhat scared of walked away just like that.

'And that, Takeru,' Yamato grinned, 'is how you charm the ladies.'

'Oh please,' Mimi sneered at the blond's arrogant remark. 'That trick will only work on innocent junior high girls or your fans.'

'What a happy coincidence that she happens to be both,' Yamato made a face.

Takeru's jaws dropped on the ground when he heard Yamato's words. 'What?' He almost yelled.

'It's true. I've seen her a few times in my gigs. She's always on the front row,' Yamato explained as if that was the most obvious thing on earth.

'But…but…' but she was not into boys! Takeru almost screamed that out loud, but the rational side of him reminded him that he did not want to suffer a painful death yet. He decided to give up thinking about that. Akemi was too mysterious of a person that he could never figure out fully.

'Ah, whatever,' Takeru sighed and scratched his hair. At least he knew he had some blackmailing material for Akemi later on, if she ever threatened him again. 'So, have you decided on what to order yet?' He asked the two.

'I'll take the chocolate fondue,' Mimi spoke with fervour. Knowing how much the girl liked dessert, Takeru was not surprised.

'Just a cup of cappuccino will be fine,' Yamato yawned a bit. 'I'm not used to getting up so early. Some girl just has to call and wake me up at nine o'cl– OUCH!' Hikari was writing down their order on her notepad, and she jumped in surprise when Yamato hastily jolted with a groan. Takeru raised his eyebrows, seeing the pout on Mimi's face.

'Someone should learn to treat the lady better then. It's just eleven in the morning now, and I have an event to attend in the afternoon. Do you know how hard it is for me to get a morning off, just to come here to see how lovely and adorable Takeru-chan and Hikari-chan look in their butler costumes?'

Hikari blushed a bit at Mimi's directness while Takeru just pretended he did not hear that. If possible he wanted to pretend he did not know her at all. Yamato just rolled his eyes and murmured something in a low voice, earning himself another kick under the table from the 'pink-haired' girl.

'Let's go get their orders,' Takeru said to Hikari and she nodded, looking at the two on the table with an amused expression as they kept arguing over the matter.

'How is everything?' Takeru asked. His brother gave him a thumbs-up and Mimi beamed.

'The chocolate fondue is really good! I like that a lot. Plus I got two cute butlers to serve me that!'

Hikari giggled. She was starting to get used to Mimi's ebullient nature. Takeru took the plates from them. 'And that would be eight hundred and sixty yens in total.'

Yamato took out his wallet and passed Hikari the amount. 'Thank you very much for coming,' Takeru and Hikari, out of habit for the day, bowed together as Yamato and Mimi were leaving. The two older teenagers laughed, and Yamato turned to face his younger brother.

'Oh Takeru, when will you be off?'

'In an hour and a half,' Takeru glanced at the clock that showed eleven thirty. 'What's wrong?'

'Just wanna have a chat with you before I go. How about you meet me at the basketball court when you're off then?' Yamato asked.

'Sure,' the younger blond replied hesitantly, not really sure what Yamato wanted to ask. Mimi's suspicious smirk only served to arouse his confusion.

'See you later, Takeru-chan, Hikari-chan!' Mimi yelled as they left the classroom, and once they were outside Mimi turned to Yamato with a serious expression. 'Did you notice there's something going on between the two of them?'

'That's what I'm going to talk to him about,' Yamato replied. He also noted that Takeru had been acting weird at times. Plus, Ken and Daisuke had told him about their little argument with Takeru three days ago. He decided not to tell Mimi about that, though, as he reckoned it would be better for him to confront Takeru about that.

As they were walking away from the classroom, a brown-haired brunet was making his way to the same place from another direction. He did not notice the familiar blond hair that he knew too well a few feet in front of him, as he took a turn and entered the butler café.

'Welcome to Class 3-A's butler café…Taichi-senpai!'

Yagami Taichi blinked and waved at Ken, who was working at the reception now. He chatted with Ken a bit, complimented on his outfit and was taken to an empty table. 'I'll get Hikari-san as your server. Just give me a second.' Taichi thanked Ken as the boy walked towards the back of the classroom that was separated from the sitting area by a large signboard. Taichi could only assume that the kitchen was behind the board.

Soon, another brown-haired figure emerged from signboard, and she smiled warmly at the sight of his presence. A blond was walking behind her.

'Good afternoon, Taichi-san,' Takeru greeted him as Hikari gave her brother an affectionate hug.

'Hey there, Takeru-kun,' Taichi said as Hikari gave him the menu. He looked at his sister in butler outfit, and thought that Sora really did a good job on this. 'You looked really nice, lil sis,' Taichi gave her a thumbs-up, and Hikari beamed, glad to receive her brother's compliment. Yet then, the older Yagami noticed that several guys in the room were staring at his sister with ogling eyes. While a part of his brain told him it was normal for those hormones-driven teenage boys to admire his pretty sister, another voice in his head told him that it was unforgivable for them to look at her with such lustful glances.

He was about to stand up and say something when Takeru moved from Hikari's right hand side to her left, his body shielding her back and hence purposefully blocking the view of those boys. Taichi saw those boys let out a dissatisfied groan, and he looked at Takeru in amusement.

'It happened a few times already today,' he muttered under his breath with clear venom in his tone. He stopped, though, when he noticed Taichi looking at him oddly. 'Ah sorry, I was just talking to myself,' he made a nervous laugh and went on to explain what they had in store.

Hikari pretended that she was not aware of the whole exchange taking place, but she was doing her best to hide her burning cheeks and keep her happy smile out of sight with the spare menu she was holding. She had noticed that many boys were looking at her rather unpleasantly, and it had been bothering her ever since. Yet, every time Takeru would casually walk in between her and the boys, not giving them any room to look further. Hearing Takeru's gritted tone made her mentally jump in happiness. He cares! Hikari thought. He notices! And that always managed to bring a tiny smile on her face.

'How about you sit down and accompany Taichi-san, Hikari-san?' Takeru offered, seeing that Taichi was alone and figuring that they would want to spend some time together. Hikari frowned and cast a quick glance at Akemi. She knew that they were not supposed to act too close to customers, even if they were family members. Takeru saw her worried countenance and gently pushed her to the empty chair opposite to Taichi's seat. 'I'll explain to Akemi about it, so don't worry about that,' he smiled at both her and Taichi before leaving the two Yagamis at the table.

'So, it seems like you got yourself a prince charming, huh?' Taichi teased. He only meant to poke a little fun at his sister, but when Hikari avoided his gaze, looked down at the table and did not look mad, he grew frantic. 'Wait, for real?' he wondered out loud, his eyes widened and his shoulders tensed visibly. He leaned forward to look at his sister with an intense gaze. His eyes were filled with pure horror, with different scenarios playing in his mind. Does my sister like this little Ishida…Takaishi…whatever his last name is, brat? He screamed to himself, waiting for Hikari to respond.

Hikari tried to dismiss his words as casually as she could. 'You're thinking too much, onii-chan,' she signed. 'Takeru-kun is just being a friend.' While she loved Taichi dearly, she knew he could be overly protective of her at times, and she did not really want to share this part of her life with him right now. She was not prepared for that yet.

Taichi sank into his seat and let out a long sigh of relief. He trusted that Hikari would not lie to him. Hikari was too young to show interest in the opposite sex anyway, especially when that person might be that Ishida Yamato's brother, he thought. While so far Takeru had left a good impression in his mind, he refused to see him as a potential boyfriend for his precious little sister. In fact, no one was. Hikari was only fourteen! It should take some time before she started to think about dating.

'Where's Jyou-san?' Hikari asked and mouthed Jyou's name. Since Sora was busy today and could not come, Taichi had asked Jyou to tag along to keep him company. Their parents were coming in the afternoon, after they finished meeting an old friend over lunch. Taichi was asked to go too, but he would much prefer walking around the school that he once attended and reminisced the good old times.

'He's busy at old man Kido's clinic, as usual,' Taichi went on to complain about his friend who ditched him, and Hikari laughed at how her older brother exaggerated everything her 'other brother' did. 'Seriously, I get that he wants to be a doctor, but I think he's too obsessed with trying to know everything. No wonder he and Koushiro get along so well…'

'Onii-san!'

Yamato was leaning on the door to the basketball court when Takeru approached him. The younger blond had changed into his school uniform as he did not want to attract too much attention by walking around the campus in his butler costume.

'Let's walk this way,' Yamato offered and they walked around various stalls. Some were selling food and some had mini-games for people to enjoy with. On a glance there were people of different age groups here. While most of them were students of the school, there were also some adults walking around and some children chasing after each other. All were wearing bright smiles on their faces.

'How's dad?' Takeru asked. He had not seen his father in a while already.

'Fine as usual. Always working. You know how he is,' was the stolid reply his brother gave him. Ishida Hiroaki worked in a TV station as a producer, and he always led his team to travel around Japan to assemble necessary information for different shows the TV station planned on making. Both Yamato and Takeru reckoned it was just an excuse to get away from the city so he could avoid the possibility of meeting their mother.

'I see,' Takeru said with a small frown. He wasn't particularly close to his father, but he did want to see him more. He had tried to set up some 'family gathering' since he and Natsuko returned to Japan, but he had never succeeded. Both adults always came up with different reasons to avoid such meeting, even when Takeru was being very discreet about the whole thing. They just somehow seemed to know what their younger son was planning.

'Daisuke called me yesterday.'

Takeru's heart stopped a beat and his eyebrows twitched. 'Oh?' He merely said.

'He was worried about you.' Yamato stopped at a stall that was holding a shooting game. He asked for the toy gun and loaded it with plastic bullets. He aimed at the plastic cans he was supposed to be shooting and pulled the trigger, hitting it right in the body.

'There's nothing to be worried about,' Takeru grunted, putting his hands in the pocket of his trousers and turning his face away. He was not an irascible person, but he didn't like the idea of everyone trying to force their ways into his personal life.

'I believe he has good reasons to be,' Yamato said when he hit another can. He had to hit five in a row to win the prize. 'You and Ken are not talking to each other.'

'We were working. There's no chance to talk.'

'You know what I'm talking about,' Yamato answered and took his aim. Takeru lowered his head and remained silent.

'I only have a vague idea of what this was about as, you know, Daisuke always exaggerates everything,' the older blond loaded his gun and prepared for the last shot, 'but I think Ken is right about your problem.'

'When is he not?' Takeru added acerbically upon the mention of his omniscient friend. Yamato raised his eyes slightly at his brother's tone, but ignored it temporarily as he made his final shot. It hit the remaining can, and he won himself a small white bear doll. The student in-charge looked amazed by his effortless victory, but Yamato only managed a scowl when he knew the prize was a doll. Sighing, he grabbed it and started walking.

'So what's the deal?'

'What do you mean?'

'Your true feelings,' Yamato pointed out. 'Do you like Hikari or not?'

Takeru's expression darkened. While he treasured spending time with his older brother, he did not want to have this conversation with him.

'Is it because of dad and mom?' Yamato asked with a pained voice, almost a whisper. 'Is it because of what happened between me and Sora before?'

Takeru bit his lips and swallowed hard. He wanted to get out of here right now. He did not want to think about these matters. They only brought him unpleasant memories. He could still remember his parents swearing and yelling at each other when a four-year-old him hid under the blanket in his room, with Yamato trying his best to comfort him. He still remembered the grief on his brother's face when he and Sora broke up. He desperately wanted to rid those images off his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he never succeeded. They kept coming back, reminding him what a failure his family was when it came to love and affection.

Yamato sighed, knowing that he had hit the spot. He knew that the failed marriage between their parents affected his brother dearly, and he also knew his breakup with Sora did not help in this matter. Takeru had always looked up to him, and when he failed in his own relationship it was almost like declaring his last resort was gone.

The two brothers remained silent as they walked through different stalls. Some people gawked at them, for it was quite a sight to see two foreign-looking teenagers walking side by side. Many girls stared at them and drooled, especially some of Takeru's fans or some who recognized Yamato as the lead vocalist of the Teenage Wolves. Some also commented on the cute doll in Yamato's arm, and said boy ignored their glances.

'Remember that foreign film that you made me watch when I slept at your place last year?' Yamato suddenly asked. 'The one about an English teacher and some students studying poetry in a very old-fashioned school?'

Takeru was startled by the change of topic, and he tried to recall the title of the film. 'Dead Poet Society?'

'Yea, that one. I never like it that much since I'm not into poetry or literature like you are,' Yamato ignored Takeru's curious gaze and went on, 'but I do remember one scene where the teacher talks to the students and whispers something in Latin into their ears.'

Something in Latin? Takeru liked the movie when he watched it with Yamato on TV, but he couldn't really remember the scene at once.

'Carpe Diem,' Yamato recited melodically, and Takeru's eyes glistered in recognition. 'I don't remember anything else from the movie but that phrase.' He took a breath before continuing. 'Our family doesn't have the best record in relationship, myself included,' Yamato raised his hand to stop his brother from protesting – he knew Takeru would rebuke his statement even when he knew it was true, 'but if I indulge myself in my past regrets, then I can never move forward. I'm still young. I'm just eighteen. Our parents' divorce doesn't mean that I can never like anyone else, or not try to like anyone.'

Takeru blinked his eyes as Yamato's words sank in. When had he heard similar things before?'

'Yes, my relationship with Sora failed, but it was a mutual agreement. We just don't have time for each other due to our commitments, and we realize we don't like each other that much,' Yamato stopped and looked into his brother's fuzzy eyes, 'but that doesn't mean we'll be forever unhappy and lonely. She has a new boyfriend now, and I have also dated some other girls. They don't always work out well, but the point is to let yourself try, and hope that you won't regret later for doing nothing when you have the chance to do the right thing.'

'You cannot change the past, Takeru-kun…You can only live with the consequence of it…'

Takeru suddenly knew why Yamato's words sounded so similar to his ears. Hikari had told him the same thing before. Whatever he tried to think about, it seemed he could not get his mind off the brown-haired girl with those bright, mesmerizing redwood-coloured eyes.

And oddly, he did not seem to mind at all.

'How do you know she's the one, though?' Takeru spoke finally, after immersing himself in his own thoughts. 'How do you know if things will work out fine? How do you know it's not doomed to failure?'

'When I go on shows with my band, I never know if I'll make a mistake or two, or even more. I don't know if I'll get my solo right, even if I've practised over and over again,' Yamato put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder, causing him to look him in the eyes, 'but the song won't come by itself. No playing, no song. You have to take risk in order to succeed.'

'Like basketball,' Takeru whispered, more to himself than to his brother.

'Like basketball,' Yamato replied firmly. He avoided using basketball as an example as he thought it was still a sensitive topic, but the young blond brought up the topic himself, so Yamato took it as he had overcome it already.

The two turned a corner and now they were near the staircase to the second floor. Yamato decided he had had enough, and made up his mind to leave. He had to meet up with his bandmates for their weekly practice.

'I won't make you answer if you really like Hikari or not. That choice is up to you to make.' Yamato shoved the bear doll into his younger brother's arms. 'Carpe Diem, lil bro. Seize the day. Just remember that.'

With that Yamato left the campus, leaving behind a perplexed Takeru standing there, holding the white bear doll that his older brother had won. Yamato's felicitous remark echoed in his mind. He stared at the doll for a minute, sighed, and took the stairs.

End of Chapter 10

* 'Seishun' is a term that roughly translates as youth/adolescence, but conveys a deeper and more passionate meaning. It holds the meaning of not just happiness and playfulness, but also contains a sense of 'being young is nice' and no regrets when looking back at one's youth. It is a common term used in Japanese or Asian language, and I find it more suitable in this scenario than 'youth' or 'adolescence'.

Sadly, Koushiro will just be briefly mentioned like that in this chapter, and won't make his appearance until some chapters later.

After revising the outline for the next ten chapters, this story might end with…more than thirty chapters. I'm writing a lot more than I expected as new ideas keep floating into my head. To think that I originally planned for this to be a fifteen-chapter story, I'm actually quite amazed by the progress.

Next chapter will be the conclusion of the School Festival arc. Please stay tuned for that! Reviews are deeply appreciated!