A/N: I've... been reading a lot of Shokugeki no Soma, and now I want to cook. But I have to write this chapter, so I can wait for a bit.
... I'm sorry, I got distracted with reading again in the middle of this note. I'm not kidding.
WARNING, emotional chapter coming up. Or, as emotional as a CFV fic with OCs can be.
By the way, I bet none of you would have expected for it to start like this*insert mocking grin here*
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Aichi sighed, turning back to the match going on before him. Kamui was currently in a fight against Morikawa for the fourth time that day, and while he enjoyed watching his friends play, he was getting rather bored.
Well, as long as they don't find out. And Kai-kun should be here soon.
Using as little movement as possible so not to attract the two fighter's attention, he pulled out his phone, unlocking the screen and opening up his emails.
... At least, that's what Miwa-kun said...
Blue eyes blinked as the double doors to the store slid open behind him, turning to look at who walked in while shoving his phone in his pocket.
A boy that looked around his age walked in. He wore a grey vest over a white button-up shirt and white slacks, a backpack hanging off his shoulders.
... It wasn't him.
Although, they looked very much alike. Light brown hair, green eyes - or eye, the left one appeared to be a goldish-hazel color - even the shape of their face was similar, although this one seemed to be slightly rounder. He also had a fuller complexion, not as pale as Kai.
Well, that was about where the similarities ended, it seemed. The boy glanced around nervously, but seemed to calm down after a moment, turning to the counter. He examined the packs spread out in front of the register, leafing through them with a bored expression.
...
Aichi turned away, having lost interest. As similar as they were, they weren't the same person.
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Madoka sighed deeply, having been holding his breath. He knew someone was staring, although he made sure not to look at them.
He knew who frequented this shop, who he'd been avoiding.
Looking through the many packs, he internally groaned.
There's nothing here. He thought, reaching over to the next display and repeating. He knew this one had some of the cards he wanted, but he knew pulling them would be pure chance.
He knew how this game worked, after all.
He looked up when someone stepped in front of him on the other side of the counter, smiling gently.
"Welcome! Oh, it's been a while, Yamato-kun." The manager said, and Madoka nodded. "Are you all done with club activities today? It's getting rather late."
"Ah, yes." He said, feeling awkward. It'd been over two years since he'd visited Card Capitol, so he was surprised that the manager remembered his face. Though he supposed it was to be expected, he was sure there was no one there with the same eyes as him. "I was on my way home and thought I'd stop by, it's been a while..."
The manager nodded with a hum, watching as he picked through the packs of cards. He found it rather unnerving to be watched so closely, and was about to settle with a random pack, when the doors opened behind him, causing him to jump.
"Oh! Kai-kun, hello there!"
Madoka froze, feeling the blood drain from his face, fingers twitching.
... Shit.
He stayed completely still, waiting for the boy behind him to either not notice him and walk away, or - at best - ignore him.
That didn't happen though. He felt the older boy's gaze almost instantly.
"... So you came back." He said, walking over to the counter and looking through the box Madoka had abandoned. "Any reason why?"
"... None in particular." He said shakily, pushing aside three packs with the tips of his fingers and pulling out two behind them. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk right now. I'm sure you understand."
There was a pause, then a sigh, followed by the other boy turning to walk away. He didn't move, however, instead looking back over his shoulder.
"Grandpa is worried about you. No matter how much you deny it, nothing will change the fact that we're family. Get over it."
With that, he walked away, and Madoka felt something hot well up deep inside him.
"... Don't talk like you know everything."
Grabbing another three packs at random, he quickly pulled out his wallet, paid, and thanked the manager - who'd walked away to inspect the other fights and had returned just then - before quickly walking out of the building.
The moment he stepped outside, he ran.
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'Can I come over?'
Yoshiro felt his eye twitch, staring at the subject box of his email.
Yes, subject box. Madoka hadn't even bothered typing it in the message box.
He sighed heavily, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
That idiot, he did something unnecessary again.
Opening his eyes, his gaze softened when he glanced at the small picture next to the email.
Well, that's why he has me around.
He was going to regret this later, he knew, but that didn't stop him from typing a quick Fine, but you're making snacks before tossing his phone onto the other side of the bed, burying his face in his hands. He thought for a moment, then brought his head up, reaching for his phone and opening his contacts.
Recipient: Yahagi Kyou
Message: I've got it bad.
He didn't have to wait more than five minutes before the reply came, and he could almost hear Kyou's mocking tone.
'No shit, now get over it before you both do something stupid.'
He was about to send another message asking just how the other boy knew what he was talking about, but was interrupted by a knock on his door. Seconds later it opened, Madoka walking in, head down.
"Hey..." He said, closing te door behind him. Yoshiro waited for him to sit down before patting his back lightly.
"Alright, whatever happened, it can't be that bad." He said as casually as he could. Though he knew it probably was that bad, seeing as everything else that could depress the boy was usually such. "If Hagane is still picking on you, just ignore him. He's... stupid."
Well, he wasn't the best at cheering people up anyway. Though it was probably worth the short laugh he got out of his friend. The mood quickly dropped again, however, when Madoka pulled his knees up and buried his face in them.
"... I went to Card Capitol today."
At this, Yoshiro's head snapped toward the smaller boy, eyes wide. He groaned, running a hand through his hair.
"Of all the stupid... why?" He said, not bothering to hide the annoyance. He had a feeling he knew what happened now, but he wanted to hear it from Madoka first.
"I don't know, it was just right there and I forgot to split up with Akio before we got to the turn, and I thought it'd be okay for just a little bit."
Yoshiro waited, knowing his answer would come soon.
"... I ran into my cousin there." He said, voice barely above a whisper. Yoshiro sighed, bringing a hand up and ruffling Madoka's brown hair.
"Alright, so?" He said curtly. He felt Madoka stiffen, and sighed again. "There's no problem if he doesn't tell anyone, right? You guys got along well enough when you were little kids, and from what you've told me he doesn't seem like the type of guy to go sticking his nose in other people's business."
Madoka was silent for a long while, and Yoshiro almost thought he was over it... before he felt the shaking.
"B-But... I can't even remember... when we were kids."
Yoshiro's eyes widened, staring at him in shock.
Don't tell me... he's figured it out?
"Everything... I-It's all blank. I can't remember anything before fourth grade, I can't even remember how I met you!" He was growing frantic now, and his breathing was rough. Yoshiro felt the panic growing inside him. "It just hit me... when I saw Toshiki at the shop today, when he told me 'we're family', it hit me. I don't know why I'm here, or why I'm living with Uncle, or why I haven't seen my dad in four years."
Yoshiro winced when Madoka grabbed his arm - his hand was still on the boy's head - bringing it down and holding it tightly.
"All I know is you're the only connection I have to anything."
He felt the tears, felt them dropping onto his arm how they made his skin feel hot.
He knew it would happen eventually, that the boy would realize how blank his mind was, but it was happening a lot sooner than he thought.
Swallowing thickly as Madoka continued to mumble to himself, he pulled his arm free of the death grip it was in, wrapping it around his shoulders and pressing the smaller male's face into his shoulder. It was as close to a comforting hug he'd be able to give, but it seemed to be enough as Madoka's sobbing turned to wails and he was in another tight hold.
He decided he didn't regret it as much as he'd thought.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You want to know." He said, then took a deep breath, then released it.
"You've done a good job of holding it in so far. There's no shame in letting it out now."
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A/N: Emotional chapters are hard to write, because it's embarrassing and I already feel like this story has been focusing too much on my OCs(that and I specialize in crack-fics and Gen, which this is not). Not to mention there hasn't been anything related to CFV other than Kyou and the occasional appearance of one or two canon characters. BUT IT'S FANFICTION SO- no. Anyway, there was is, the big reveal!
... Nah, I'm kidding. Though I'm sure no one expected it(at least, I hope not. If you all did then I fail at what I do). So yeah. An easy explanation to how they're related, since it's not relevant in the story and already out in the open: Madoka and Kai are first-cousins. The uncle that Kai stayed with after his parents died was Madoka's dad and the brother Kai's dad, and the grandparents Madoka is staying with are his paternal grandparents, making them Kai's too. I was thinking of going back and changing Madoka's grandparents to another uncle and make things more confusing, but then I remembered that my flashdrive is shit and I don't have access to it anymore. Sucks. There are things I can't explain here, so I'll leave that to your imagination until the story reveals it.
As of now I'm going to announce it: ADT is almost over. If you're wondering "how is Hero going to fill in all these plot holes while keeping the story solid" well... I can't tell you. Wait a little longer. Because I feel like trolling(but since I suck at keeping secrets for too long I'll probably say it eventually).
EDIT: Maybe I should find a beta. Editing these myself is getting kinda annoying, and all I really need is someone to spell check for me... Also, I edited this twice because I WAS ONLY 2 WORDS AWAY FROM HITTING 2,000 AND I'M STUPID LIKE THAT.