Title: Anything for You
Author/Artist: snooperj & Bloodysamurai
Series/Pairing(s): TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru, Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki & Watanabe Daisuke x Furukawa Yuuta
Notes: Here is the 25th chapter entitled Adoptions. Upon returning from the campout with the mass of fellow Tenimyu actors, we zoom in our focus to the newly discovered Sensei Pair of director Ueshima and mangaka Konomi as they run into some nostalgic kids. We also direct our attention to the Takigawas with their newly adopted son Ryouma. This chapter details the events of May 10, 2007.
**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.
~Routines~
+++May 10, 2007+++
Kimeru sleepily opened his eyes, blinking at the sunlight streaming through the mouth of the tent. 'Oh yeah...we all camped out...' he thought before yawning and slowly sat up. Looking around, he spotted two other figures in the tent, one which was his husband and the other was his son as of last night. Smiling to himself he slowly went out and was greeted by the sight of Furukawa and Nakagauchi making breakfast.
"Good morning," Nakagauchi greeted as he added an egg in a pan.
"He's surprisingly decent in the morning," Furukawa said with a smile as he handed Kimeru some water which the singer greedily downed.
A little shuffling erupted from the tent Kimeru had emerged from as the two figures inside seemed to jostle about. Finally, Ryouma crawled out and made an attempt to run off, quickly followed by Takigawa who seized him.
"Let me gooooo!" Ryouma complained.
"Relax, Ryouma! It's just us!" Takigawa reminded him.
Ryouma calmed down for a while and snapped his eyes open, panting as he looked around. Seeing that he was being held back by Takigawa caused him to blush at his earlier tantrum (if you called it that). "G-Gomen..." he muttered out in apology.
"Looks like my family is up~" Kimeru said with a grin before walking over to them, "Good morning~" he greeted as he kissed Takigawa on the cheek and took Ryouma's wrist from him. "Let's all have breakfast together!"
Nakagauchi blinked as he watched them before chuckling and placing a few of the cooked eggs on a plate. "This is the first time I saw him wake up after a race without a hangover, puri~" he commented.
Furukawa nodded. "It's a miracle if you consider the amount he drank last night."
"That's probably because Takigawa was here," Daisuke considered, emerging from his and Furukawa's tent, approaching his fiancé, pecking him on the cheek. "Not to mention the newest addition to their family."
Takigawa smiled and followed his husband and son over to breakfast. "Ah, I should probably go and wake up Shirotan and Aibacchi," he announced, moving off to locate their tent. "Shirotaaaaan," he called out once he found it.
A sleepy groan emanated from inside.
"One more daaaaaay," Aiba drawled out as he snuggled deeper inside the sleeping bag.
Kimeru chuckled. "There's always the river, Eiji," he said slyly, loud enough for the inhabitants of the tent to hear.
"We're up! We're up!" Aiba said as he practically sat up.
Furukawa grinned. "Oh yes...I forgot that he doesn't know how to swim yet, meaning that a river is a very good threat~"
"No giving up Hiropiyooooo!" Shirota stated in a slur.
Takigawa rolled his eyes before zipping their tent open and intruding. "Time to get up!" he announced before grabbing Shirota like a sack of potatoes and carried him over his shoulders.
"Lemme go! Lemme gooooooo!" Shirota yelled in a sleepy fit.
"Wake up already else I'll really toss you into the river, Shirotan," Takigawa threatened.
"But you can't when my leg is still in a cast!" Shirota rebutted.
"Shirotan might sink like a rock, puri~" Nakagauchi said before opening a new pack of eggs and adding some in the pan.
"Hmm... That's true..." Takigawa admitted before shaking Shirota awake instead before placing him down beside Kimeru. 'There we go~"
Shirota, head swaying back and forth slightly due to the acquired dizziness, ended up leaning his head on Daisuke's shoulder, who was conveniently sitting on his other side.
Aiba peeked out of the tent and looked around before spotting Ryouma. "You know...that guy suddenly looks very familiar now that I see him in the daylight," he said before squinting. "Ryouma-kun, weren't you always seated at the back by the door?" he asked.
Ryouma jerked at this recollection from Aiba, slowly turning to him before nodding. "T-That's right... I was... actually Shirotan's other seatmate at the time..." he explained sheepishly, picking at the eggs handed to him.
"You had glasses back then," Aiba said before crawling out of the tent and walking over to the growing group of breakfast-eaters.
Nakagauchi, having been relieved of the cooking by Kenken, sat beside Ryouma. "I am a bit curious, puri," he told him as he munched on a piece of bread. "Why didn't you ask help from your former classmates when you ran away?" he asked.
"Masa, your school paper days are over, so stop digging up information again," Toru reprimanded with a sigh.
Fidgeting, Ryouma avoided everyone's gaze. "I... didn't want to be an inconvenience to anybody..." he replied pathetically.
"You wouldn't be an inconvenience with your situation, you know," Shirota answered, feeling much more awake than a few moments ago.
Kimeru nodded in agreement. "But if you're taking drugs and had been gambling and piling up a debt...THAT's the time you become an inconvenience," he said with a grin before patting Ryouma on the head. "But we all know you're not like that," he added in assurance.
*SPLASH*
Everyone fell silent when they heard the sound and slowly looked at the river. "Gah! How did I end up in the river?" came the voice of Konomi.
Ueshima plowed out of the tent he shared with Konomi and glanced around. "Where-" pausing when he heard the splash and stifled a laugh.
By the riverbed, Kazuki and Washimi Ryou, Hyoutei's Kabaji actor, were there.
"Good work, Kabaji. He was particularly hard to wake up," Kazuki stated in pure Atobe fashion.
"Usu," Washimi answered, but with a snide grin.
Ueshima trudged up to the river to help his lover up and out of the river. "This is why I absolutely forbid you from drinking too much beer, Takeru," he scolded as Yagami and Kiryama Renn came to hand Konomi a few blankets to get warm.
"I expected nothing less from my Hyoutei muses," Konomi muttered as joined the group with a rather large grin which turned into a stunned look when he saw Kenken cooking. "What the?"
Kenken looked away. "...what?" he snapped as he blushed a bit.
"Kenken, I have more eggs here!" came Koji's voice, jogging up to his partner.
Ueshima guided Konomi to a place to sit down. "No time to get stunned by your muses, Takeru. Breakfast," he told him, shoving a plate of food into his hands.
-break-
After everyone had breakfast, the group decided to laze around a bit longer. Kimeru in particular was watching Ryouma pull out a duffel bag of things that were hidden behind the bush where Daisuke had originally apprehended him. "Maybe we should pass by Shibuya before heading home," he whispered to Takigawa.
"As long as I drive," Takigawa whispered back over to his husband.
"Of course, Tou-san," Kimeru said with a grin before patting Takigawa on the shoulder before turning his gaze back to Ryouma.
Shirota noticed this and limped over to Ryouma as fast as he could manage. "How did you survive with just that much?" he asked incredulously, almost in sympathy.
Aiba, who was just beside Shirota before he limped off, approached Ryouma as well. "Considering the fact that we've been out of university for some time...you must have been going around like this for...a very long time."
"Yes, well..." Ryouma pursed his lips, unsure how to respond as he dismissively scratched the back of his neck, albeit nervously. "I... I got by somehow..." he replied.
"You should have come looking for us! We could have helped you out!" Shirota complained.
"B-But I didn't really... I didn't know where... Or... I..." Ryouma stuttered to try to find the words.
Aiba patted him on the shoulder consolingly, "Well, at least now you have all of us to help you out!" he told him. "And you've got yourself a very caring set of parents too!"
'Oh, right... Parents...' Ryouma thought, glancing over to the Takigawas before shutting his eyes in embarrassment.
"Come on Ree~" Takigawa said good-naturedly, the nickname just coming to mind as he scooped him over his shoulders again. "To Shibuya we go!"
Ryouma blushed intensely at this. "R-R-R-R-R-R-Ree?"
"See you back at home!" Aiba said with a wave of his hand.
"We're going back home in a while as well. All the tents are packed away," Furukawa said with a smile as he approached the two while waving at the Takigawas who went ahead.
"Well, we are riding home together," Shirota supplied.
"Can I drive this time Yun?" Daisuke asked hopefully as he lugged up some few tents that they had lent.
"Sure you can~" Furukawa said with a smile.
"Give the tents to us so you have more space, puri~" Nakagauchi said with a grin. "We live near you guys anyway so we can just drop them off at your house."
"You do?" Shirota asked incredulously as Daisuke handed him the tents.
"A few blocks away, yes," Toru said, helping Nakagauchi with the tents and shipping them to their car.
"That reminds me...we haven't really gone around the subdivision since we moved there," Aiba said thoughtfully.
"You'd be surprised just how many familiar faces are there if you take the time to jog around, ne Daisuke?" Furukawa said with a smile as he helped Shirota walk over the rocky parts of the camp area toward the car.
"Familiar faces?" Shirota repeated.
Daisuke shrugged as he unlocked the car once they reached it. "Apparently the subdivision our houses are in... is the same one as the rest of these guys," he explained pointedly.
"You almost sound repulsed by the idea, Daisuke," Ueshima chided playfully.
"I do not!" Daisuke defended. "Just because you two live in a grand mansion..." he thought glumly to himself.
"No reason for you to be jealous. It's all because of him," Ueshima explained, gesturing a thumb at Konomi.
"You can come over and spend a few nights there, you know," Konomi offered as he adjusted his hold on his bag. "After all...that 'grand mansion' would not be there if not for you guys," he said with a chuckle.
"Yosh! Then I want to go there!" Shirota stated in excitement before plummeting back into reality. "...Once Hiropiyo and I get out of our casts!" he stated in determination and a firm nod.
"For Kimeru's birthday then," Ueshima suggested. "Takigawa-kun had asked us if we could hold his birthday party there," the director explained.
The mangaka beamed. "You can even bring your hamsters-"
"Guinea pigs," Furukawa quickly corrected.
"Guinea pigs…when you go there," Konomi finished. "For now let's all go home and go back to reality," he said gloomily.
"Translation: He doesn't want to go back inking those pages of Tezuka again," Ueshima stated with a shrug.
"Tezuka?" Shirota asked excitedly.
"So you're doing the semi-finals of the national tournament already, right Konomi-sensei?" Daisuke asked.
"Yes, Tezuka...he seems to be giving me the most headaches among all of the characters," Konomi told him with a sigh before looking at Daisuke.
"And yes, I'm working on the semi-finals," he said with a nod, "I'm still looking for a few more muses for Shitenhouji, though," he admitted.
"If Mitsukaru High was a goldmine before then looking for them should probably give you an idea," Kentarou suggested as he and Yagami walked up to them.
"I would suggest you try scouting around Ruito's batch," Takumi suggested. "Or Sakurada's for that matter."
"Since Konomi-sensei stopped going to Mitsukaru at Ueshima-sensei's resignation he wouldn't have had the opportunity to see them all," Shirota realized.
"I guess that's true," Konomi said truthfully.
Sakurada thought for a while before frowning. "Count me out of the helping squad. I'm still trying to hunt down one of my batchmates that went missing," he told them.
"Who would that be?" Aiba asked.
"Kido Yuuya," the Echizen muse answered. "Do you remember him, Ueshima-sensei? You did handle our class once..."
Ueshima, ever the sharp memory, thought back for a long moment. "I do remember substituting for a first year class during my last year teaching there..." he started off. "Was he the hyper one?" he ventured.
"Yes. The one always calling me 'Koshimae' for one reason or another," Sakurada said with a nod.
"Did you just say 'Koshimae'?'" Konomi asked. "That' what...Tooyama Kintaro calls Echizen," he said before looking at Ueshima with a bright smile.
"Who's Tooyama Kintaro?" Daisuke asked.
"Someone from Shitenhouji?" Shirota guessed.
"He's the hyper active one that's going to be another of Echizen's rivals," Konomi said with a nod to himself. "He's fun to conceptualize but I still need a muse."
"Then we should help Sakurada find him!" Shirota cheered, pumping a fist into the air before falling back into the backseat of the car.
"That'd be great," Sakurada admitted. "Even with Keisuke's family's help there hasn't been much progress yet," he said with a sigh.
"We're trying the best we can!" Minami defended with a frown.
"We can start conceptualizing when we all get home. Looking for a missing person means a rather big area to cover," Furukawa told them.
"That and Yukio and I still need to go grocery shopping," Konomi said.
"That was totally random, Konomi-sensei," Furukawa pointed out.
"It's the effect of the beer is all," Ueshima explained, pulling Konomi by the ear to their car.
"Then... Maybe we can meet up at your place after dropping off our things at our own places?" Minami suggested over to Daisuke and Furukawa.
Daisuke nodded. "Go right ahead. We can discuss out in the garden," he informed the third Tezuka actor.
"See you in a while, then," Furukawa said with a wave as they all separated ways for the meantime.
-break-
At Shibuya, the Takigawa's had just managed to get a parking space nearby. "While I don't mind the style that Yun had imposed on you, let's see if you can come up with a style of your own while looking around," Kimeru said as he got out of the car. "All else fails we can always go one of my stores," he offered.
"A style of... my own?" Ryouma repeated as he blinked dumbly at the hoard of stores before him.
"In short, pull together an outfit of your own," Takigawa supplied for him. "Don't worry about the price or quantity. We've got it covered."
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Ryouma nodded slowly before taking a cautious step into the nearest store.
"Don't be intimidated-" Kimeru was cut off when he saw a familiar streamer down the street. "Eiji...I spot a sale," he said before clutching onto his husbands's arm. "Watch Ree would you?" he said before hastily walking towards the store with the sale.
Takigawa was about to protest but Kimeru already zoomed off before shaking his head. 'Looks like I'll have to conduct another search when Ree's done shopping...' he thought to himself with an inward sigh before following Ree into the shop to find him looking apprehensively at the clothes on the rack.
-break-
Kimeru grinned as he looked around the shop which was a furniture shop. "Why in the world is there a furniture shop in Shibuya?" he wondered as he looked around. "Well...I do need to look for stuff for Ree's room~" he said happily. "And I have my credit card."
-break-
Deciding to help him along with his shopping, Takigawa approached his son and began pulling a few random clothes from the rack and pushed his son to the dressing room. "Here, mix-match them and give me ones that you like," he told him.
Ryouma blinked repeatedly before nodding. "O-Okay..." he said feebly before disappearing into a dressing room with a near pile of clothes.
-break-
After making some final purchases, Kimeru nodded to himself and strolled out of the store. "Funny...this is the first time that I exited a store in Shibuya without any shopping bags," he said in amusement before heading back to the shop where he left the other two. Spotting Eiji by the door of the dressing rooms, he approached him. "He's already fitting them? That was fast," he commented.
"He was taking so long choosing that I grabbed a pile and shoved them into his arms," Takigawa explained with a chuckle.
"Uhmmmmmm," Ryouma peeked out of the dressing room before coming out in a particular combination of a flashy white polo shirt and slick black jeans. "I was wondering if this looked alright…"
"..Light colors will look absolutely good on you," Kimeru complimented as he nodded to himself. "It's a good thing I chose light shades for your wallpaper," he said with a happy grin.
"W-Wallpaper?" Ryouma asked just as he was about to head back into the dressing room and wheeled around again.
"You'll be getting your own room, and Kime's decorating it," Takigawa offered as a response, causing Ryouma to blush again and busy himself by moving back into the dressing room to try on more outfits.
Kimeru smirked and nodded to himself, "He'll get used to this," he said with a chuckle.
-break-
Meanwhile at the other side of town, Konomi and Ueshima were at the grocery and were nearly done. "All that's left is breakfast cereal," Konomi said as he consulted their list, "Let's not get Frosties this time. It always mysteriously disappears."
Ueshima snorted when he heard this. "Yes, don't they always?" he chided as he pushed the cart along before spotting the cereal aisle. "Ah, here we are. If it's not Frosties, then which would you prefer Takeru?" he asked.
"Let's try those star shaped ones," Konomi said as he took two boxes of Honey Stars and put it in the cart. "Yosh we're done~" he said with a nod before walking towards the cashier to pay for their purchases. After a while they headed out to the parking lot with Konomi pushing the cart filled with grocery bags. "Now all we have to do is go home and go to that meeting with Yuuta about-" the mangaka was cut off when they felt someone bump them both from behind.
"S-Sorry about that," a child about Sakurada Doori's age said before running past them.
Ueshima stopped when the boy ran off, feeling his back pocket to find the lack of his wallet. "...My wallet's gone," he announced, glancing off in the direction the boy had gone.
Konomi blinked before handing the cart to Ueshima. "I'm on it!" he said before giving chase, reasoning to himself that since he was the younger, he should take it upon himself to take on the more tiring roles like chasing purse -or in this case wallet- snatchers. "Gotcha!" he called out as he managed to grab the boy by the back collar of his shirt. "You're coming with me, young man," he said sternly as he carried the boy on his shoulder.
"Hanase!" the boy cried out as he struggled. "I'll give back the wallet! Let me go!" he pleaded.
"Nope. Sorry," Konomi said as he walked back to Ueshima and presented the boy to him.
As soon as Konomi put the boy down, Ueshima's memory was jarred, pointing at him. "Kido... Kido Yuuya?" he identified, narrowing his eyes slightly in recognition.
"E-eh?" Yuuya said upon hearing his name and looked up at the man in front of him. "B-but who..." he trailed off before his eyes widened in recognition. Jumping up a bit, he pointed at Ueshima and yelled, "AAAH! THE LEGENDARY UESHIMA-SENSEI SAMA OF MITSUKARU!"
Ueshima chuckled. "We could do without the titles here, Yuuya. That was years ago," he chided, waving a hand and picking him up by the back of his collar and half-dragged him off towards their car. Unlocking it, he opened the back door and tossed him inside with the groceries. "In you go~"
After realizing that he has been tossed in a car with white seat covers, Yuuya immediately got to the floor to avoid dirtying it. "S-sensei! Let me out!" he told the teacher. "I'm sorry for stealing your wallet! Please don't turn me in!" he pleaded.
Konomi grinned as he got to the front seat and started the car as soon as Ueshima was inside. "Who says we're turning you in, Kido-kun~?" he asked as he backed away from the parking. "And don't bother trying to get out. The doors at the back have child locks that I haven't bothered switching," he added as he noticed Yuuya trying to open the doors.
"Oh, and don't bother getting conscious of dirtying the seat covers. I was planning to change them anyway," Ueshima explained as he fastened his seat belt. "Help yourself to some snacks though~"
"...I can...have some?" Yuuya asked hesitantly.
Konomi nodded, "Of course you can. Go ahead and get one," he encouraged.
Slowly getting back up on the seat, Yuuya rummaged through the grocery bags and pulled out some chips. "...Domo..." he answered quietly before opening it and eating the contents.
"Don't worry. When we get home you can eat again."
"H-Home?" Yuuya asked.
"We'll explain everything when we get there," Ueshima clarified for the boy before taking out his phone and calling Watanabe Daisuke. Once the line on the other side picked up, the director leaned back. "Hello, Daisuke. I need a favor."
"What would that be, sensei?"
"I need certain papers delivered to our house today. We found Kido-kun and are in the process of bringing him home."
"Already?" Daisuke exclaimed through the line. "That was quick..."
"Yes well, he bumped into us, so we were lucky."
"Call Sakurada-kun too," Konomi told Ueshima, "I'm sure he wants to visit Kido-kun."
Yuuya looked up and blinked. "Sakurada?" he asked. "Sakurada Doori?"
Konomi nodded. "He's been searching for you for quite some time now. You're the only one not accounted for in your batch, after all."
"S-Sou…"
After discretely clarifying exactly what papers to send over, Ueshima ended the call with Daisuke before searching through his contact list for Sakurada's name and pressed Send.
"Ueshima-sensei?"
"Sakurada-kun. We found Kido-kun."
"Yuuya? Uso! Hontou?" Sakurada asked him incredulously.
"Yes. We're bringing him to the house now. So if you'd like you can come visit him," Ueshima suggested.
"Alright, I understand! Kei and I will come and visit as soon as I finish informing the rest of my batch. Arigatou, Ueshima-sensei!" he said in gratitude before hanging up.
"We're here~" Konomi said as he entered the gates of their house and parked the car by the garage. Getting off, he left the maids to get the groceries before plucking Yuuya from the backseat and taking his wrist to lead him inside.
"This...this...you live here?" Yuuya exclaimed.
"Mm. And so will you."
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEH?"
"First things first," Ueshima began with a smirk as they walked into the house. "Giving Yuuya a bath~" he announced before heading off to prepare the bathroom.
"Bath?" Yuuya asked, "But…But I don't have any spare clothes," he said with a pout.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we have something that would fit you in the meantime," Konomi assured him before leading him to the bathroom. "I'll also go shopping later to get you some clothes." 'Or I can just ask Daisuke and Yuuta to do it since they'll be bringing those papers,' he finished in his mind.
"Now then, bath time!" Ueshima called, peeking out from the bathroom with a wide smile and pulled Yuuya inside.
Getting dizzy from being dragged from one part of the house to another, Yuuya obediently followed Ueshima without as much as a complain. Looking around at the spacious bathroom, a smile started to tug at the corners of the boy's mouth.
"Come on, into the tub you go," Ueshima called, pulling Yuuya to the lukewarm water-filled tub.
Yuuya blinked. "E-Eh?" he asked. "Sensei I can take a bath by myself!" the younger argued as he backed away.
"No, let me!" Ueshima complained with a pout as he advanced on Yuuya.
-break-
Meanwhile, at the Watanabe residence, Daisuke was scrambling around the room to locate the adoption papers Ueshima had asked for. "Gah, I can't find it!" he whined.
Furukawa smiled and walked up to his husband and handed him a folder. "You left these in the fridge yesterday," he said in amusement.
Daisuke, meanwhile, apprehensively took the cold folder. "In... the fridge...?" he repeated incredulously, blushing in embarrassment. "Domo..."
-break-
A yelp, a splash and a string of curses later, Konomi watched in amusement as Ueshima walked away with a more manageable Yuuya over his shoulder. "Spare clothes are on the bed," he told Ueshima with a wave of his hand.
"Hai~ Then we head off to Shibuya for more clothes!" Ueshima cheered as he helped Yuuya get dressed. "I don't want Yuuya to have to keep wearing an extra set of my clothes until the end of the week."
Konomi nodded. "I'll tell Yuuta and Daisuke to get some clothes before they head here then, just so Yuuya has something to move around in," he told them as he eyed Yuuya.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yuuya asked.
"Oh it's nothing~" the mangaka answered before hearing a maid call his attention. "Oh look Sakurada-kun and Minami-kun are here~"
Sakurada dashed past the man and looked into the room. "Yuuya!"
Yuya's eyes brightened as a smile appeared in his face. "Aaaaaah! Koshimaeeeeee!" he exclaimed.
Konomi blinked before excusing himself and hurriedly went to the drawing room.
"Where is Konomi-sensei going?" Minami asked as he watched the mangaka zoom off.
Ueshima calmly stepped back to let Sakurada past to run and hug Yuuya as he looked over to the current Tezuka actor. "Another attack of inspiration."
"I missed you!" Yuuya said with a wide smile. "I'm sorry I lost touch after graduation. Things just took a downhill turn for me then!" he explained to his best friend.
Ueshima turned to Yuuya with a frown. "I was going to save it for asking you later on but now that you've brought it up what did happen to you?" he asked.
"Even my men were finding it difficult to locate you..." Minami added.
Yuuya pulled away from Sakurada and looked at Minami, regarding him for a while before looking away. "It's not that your men haven't found me," he told him. "It's that they don't want you to know that they've been having me under radar ever since!" he snapped before glaring at the third cast Tezuka. "It was the Minami's fault that I've been on the streets for the longest time!"
Minami's eyes widened, what Yuuya said making him speechless as he shifted his gaze downwards.
"Now now, let's not point fingers and dwell on the past," Ueshima said, deciding to step in. "What's past is past and what's important is that Yuuya is now safe and off the streets and in the loving care of his new parents...to-be," he finished with a grin.
Yuuya pouted and 'hn'd just before Sakurada pulled him into a comforting hug. Sniffling a bit, he looked away.
Sakurada glanced at his boyfriend for a while and sighed. "Well, I guess this is one thing we need to clear up, Kei," he told him.
Minami nodded firmly. "I'll make sure to take care of it personally," he promised.
-break-
Meanwhile, back at the Watanabe household, Daisuke was looking around for the car keys. "Yuuuun! The car keys are missing!" he cried out frantically.
Furukawa sighed as he looked at the key holder on the wall and saw piece of bread pierced on the hook. Calmly walking to the kitchen after dislodging the bread from the holder, he knowingly opened the fridge and pulled out the car keys from inside. "It's in the fridge," he called out to Daisuke before walking towards him and handing it to him.
Daisuke peeked out from the laundry room and dashed up to his fiancé. "Again? I think I'm still sleepy..." he finally concluded, shaking his head and took said keys. "Let's go to the Takigawas to give them these papers!" he said.
"Um Daisuke...I think you meant Ueshima-sensei," Furukawa reminded him. "He was the one that needs the papers, remember?"
Glancing down at the papers where he had written Ueshima's name, Daisuke gloomed at his absent-mindedness. "Oh yeah... Takigawa's a lawyer too... so he should have these kinds of paper on hand... Right... Ueshima-sensei..." he corrected himself before turning to Furukawa with a smile. "Shall we get going?"
"Alright, but let's keep in the slow lane, shall we?" Furukawa said in worry as he led Daisuke out of the house. "And before I forget, let's stop by the mall for a bit. I have a feeling we need to get a set of clothes."
Daisuke nodded. "Clothes? Okay..." he replied as he unknowingly dropped the keys on the driveway and moved up to the car. "I'm driving!" he announced.
Furukawa smiled nervously as he discreetly picked up the keys from the ground.
Watching Daisuke enter the back seat, the Fuji actor went to the driver's side and slowly took the car out of the driveway. "At ease, Daisuke," he said before heading off to the mall.
"Yun, why is the car moving? I can't find the steering wheel around here!" Daisuke complained before peeking where Furukawa was seated, ultimately realizing where he was actually seated. "...Oh." Yawning, Daisuke stretched his arms overhead. "I think I'll... take a nap..." he said before plopping down on the seat for a short rest. In a few moments, he had already begun snoring.
Chuckling to himself, Furukawa chose the longest route to the mall to let his partner sleep. Around 2 hours later, they reached the mall. Finding parking and turning off the engine, the actor looked over his shoulder and sighed. "Out like a light..." he said before thinking for a while. "Daisuke...you need to wake up for a while," he called out in hopes to wake the other man up.
Snoring continuing for another few seconds, it abruptly stopped as Daisuke slowly groaned and fluttered his eyes open. "Yun...?" he drawled out, yawning as he reached up to rub his eyes. "A-re...? I fell asleep in the car..."
"Yes you did. Now stay here while I go make a quick trip inside, alright?" Furukawa requested. "And please, Daisuke, stay awake," he said before heading out.
"Hai hai~" Daisuke reassured his partner as he watched Furukawa head off to the mall, causing him to settle into a few minutes of pure boredom, making him wonder what the heck he could do during that time. "Why didn't I stash a Pacman game in here?" he realized, head hanging in disappointment in himself.
Just outside the car, a small puppy was whimpering and pawing the door. Having been a stray for some time and no one bothering to pick him up, the poor puppy was near death because of the heat and hunger. "Arf...arf" it barked weakly before lying down on the ground, whimpering.
Hearing a strange sound, Daisuke looked around before hearing a weak bark that made him roll down the window and look around. Averting his gaze downwards, he spotted the puppy as his eyes widened in sympathy. "K-Kawaii..." he muttered out, cheeks tinting a slight pink at its frail state. "You poor thing..."
The puppy perked up a bit at hearing a voice. Looking up at Daisuke is got up on its hind legs and pawed the door again before barking cutely.
Slain by its cuteness, Daisuke's breath hitched as he wondered what he could do. With a cautious glance in both directions, he rolled the window down completely and squeezed out of the open window, reaching out for it. "Come here little guy..." he said in a cooing whisper, smiling as he retracted into the backseat, holding to close to him.
Barking gratefully, the puppy affectionately licked Daisuke's cheek as its tail started to wag happily. Nuzzling Daisuke on the neck he barked a bit more before settling in Daisuke's hold.
Daisuke offered the puppy a smile and nuzzled it back, while the back of his mind was somehow dreading Furukawa's return. '...Yun's going to kill me.'
A few more minutes later, Furukawa returned with a paper bag and a grocery bag. Once he got inside, he heard a bark. "What the..." he said before turning around and saw Daisuke with the puppy. Blinking for a while, Furukawa offered a smile and the grocery bag. "There's dog food in there. Just feed it a few so that it won't make too much of a mess," he told his husband before turning his attention back to the front and drove out of the parking area.
Surprised at the turn of events, Daisuke mutely took the bag and rummaged for the dog food with one hand, holding the puppy in the other. "Ah, here we go~" he said, pulling it out and opening the box, offering a handful to the little creature.
"So what are you naming him?" Furukawa asked conversationally as they hit the main road and headed back towards their subdivision. "And you better make sure he doesn't get away from you when we get to Konomi-sensei's. Remember, he has cats."
Daisuke looked at the puppy in contemplation, as if hoping that the name would just appear on the dog's face but getting back to reality, he thought. "...I don't know. I never really expected to find a puppy..." he admitted sheepishly.
"Don't worry Daisuke. You still have a lot of thinking time," Furukawa assured him. "You can also ask suggestions from Konomi-sensei," he offered.
Daisuke nodded in agreement. "That's true... I'm banning naming him a drink or food else I might just devour him," he said with a nervous laugh before glancing down at the puppy who whined. Glancing down at him, Daisuke frowned. "What, you don't want me to eat you do you?" he asked in a panic.
"If you ask Konomi-sensei though you might end with a Tenipuri dog, Daisuke" Furukawa commented with a chuckle as they entered the subdivision. "Let's see...Konomi-sensei's is...down this street~"
"This is our first time visiting their house isn't it?" Daisuke clarified, stroking the puppy who took a nap, looking at the houses they passed.
"Yes it is, so be on your best behavior," Furukawa answered teasingly before spotting the house, "There it is," he said before parking the car outside the main gate. "Come on Daidai~"
"Coming!" Daisuke said, gingerly disembarking from the car with the
From inside, Konomi noticed the parked car and smiled widely. "They're here!" he announced to the people down the hall.
"Yosh, we can finally finalize this!" Ueshima cheered, grabbing Yuuya and pulling him in the direction of the door, Minami and Sakurada following.
After being ushered inside, Furukawa smiled and waved at the director. "You must be Yuuya~" he greeted the boy who sheepishly nodded before clinging onto Ueshima.
Konomi raced down the stairs, followed by Kahulamilk which quickly caused the puppy in Daisuke's arms to struggle, wanting to play.
Daisuke just barely managed to keep the puppy from jumping out of his arms before looking around. "Yun did you bring the folder from the car?" he asked suddenly.
"This one?" asked Minami, pointing to the one squeezed under Furukawa's arm.
"Come in come in. I see you have a puppy with you," Ueshima pointed out with a chuckle.
"He found it in the mall parking lot," Furukawa answered as he handed the folder to Ueshima. "Oh before I forget," he added before handing the shopping bag as well, "Outside clothes," he said as an explanation.
Yuuya peeked inside the bag once it was handed to Ueshima, smiling widely when he saw it was about his size.
"I'm confident these will fit you perfectly Yuuya," Ueshima stated with a smile, handing him the bag of clothes, nodding to Furukawa. "Thank you for going through the trouble. "
Daisuke fell forward as the puppy wrestled out of his grip, jumping after Kahluamilk and ensued a chase.
Feeling Kahulamilk climb him like a tree, Konomi patted the cat that was turning into a ball of fluff little by little.
Furukawa bent down and took the puppy in his arms and patted it, causing it to still. "Bad dog! Stay still," he reprimanded firmly.
Yuuya blinked. "Sugoi...it listened," he said in amazement.
"But this is the first time Yun's touched him..." Daisuke clarified with a frown, blinking in awe.
"I'm inclined to think that that dog is trained," Minami supplied.
Ueshima laughed. "That would be mighty interesting if that were the case. Say Daisuke... What's his name anyway?" he ventured.
Daisuke got to his feet and shook his head. "He doesn't have one yet..."
"We were hoping Konomi-sensei could help," Furukawa said thoughtfully as he handed the dog back to Daisuke.
Taking the dog into consideration for a while, the mangaka started to think. "Why not name him Ryouga? Mischievous, feisty and spirited but deep down inside he's quite disciplined and has a protective urge towards his important persons."
"What's this now? Another Echizen?" Daisuke mused, chuckling as he glanced down at the dog. "Do you like 'Ryouga'?" he asked the puppy.
The dog barked once and proceeded to wag his tail.
"We'll take that as a yes," Konomi said with a chuckle. "Why don't we all have some snacks?" he offered the rest before leading the way to the dining room.
"You came back from shopping just now, right sensei?" Daisuke inquired with a tease as he held the newly named Ryouga puppy gingerly in his arms.
Ueshima nodded as he reviewed the adoption papers and smiled. "Looks like all that's left is Takeru and Yuuya's signatures~" he said cheerfully, grabbing a pen from Minami and signing it accordingly.
Sitting down with the rest, cakes were served as well as a full meal for Yuuya who eyed it carefully.
Konomi reached out for the papers once he was done and signed the space allotted for him, "Here you go~" he told Yuuya who looked at them carefully for a while.
"A-are you...sure?" he asked the two.
"I don't think they would ask me to look for those papers if they weren't sure," Daisuke pointed out with a chuckle.
"We'll make sure to take good care of you Yuuya," Ueshima reassured the younger. "It's boring to have this big house with no kids to run around in it, wouldn't you agree Takeru?"
Konomi nodded in agreement. "Yes it is," he told Yuuya, "Believe me...having you around would definitely have a positive effect for everyone in this house."
Yuuya managed a small smile before nodding in understanding. "Okay..." he answered before taking the pen and signing the papers before handing it back to Konomi who immediately handed it back to Daisuke.
"We leave the processing in your capable hands," the mangaka told him.
"You can count on me, sensei!" Daisuke said, gratefully taking the papers and slid them into its folder, handing the pen to Minami.
"Thank you, Daisuke," Konomi said before glancing over to Yuuya who was starting to consume the food in front of him. Chuckling in amusement, he patted the boy on the back when he started choking. "Easy there...no one's going to snatch that from you," he assured him.
"I'll drop by tomorrow to bring some food for Yuuya..." Minami suggested sheepishly.
"Whatever for?" Ueshima inquired curiously.
"...Because it was because of my negligence that he was out longer than he was supposed to?" the third Tezuka actor tried.
"I want cereal!" Yuuya said after recovering.
"Eh?" Konomi asked.
"It's cheap and...well...it's good," the boy said sheepishly.
Furukawa was about to comment when they heard a familiar voice from the kitchen.
"NO FROSTIES?"
"...Wasn't that... Nakagauchi-kun?" Minami inquired.
Ueshima moved off to the kitchen and chuckled. "Disappointed?" he asked the trickster.
"So he's the one stealing Frosties?" Daisuke exclaimed in surprise, frowning.
Nakagauchi got to his knees and brought his hands in the air in despair. "Why? Whyyyyyy?"
Furukawa chuckled. "He's really taking it hard," he observed.
"...Who is he?" Yuuya asked.
"Haven't you ever thought of the fact that we noticed them going astray every time we got back from grocery?" Ueshima teased with a smirk.
"Oh, I'm surprised you don't recognize Nagakauchi-kun," Daisuke explained. "He was the sly presence floating about Mitsukaru as part of the School paper."
"That's a nice way to describe him," Minami pointed out.
"I hear...a blasphemy..." Nakagauchi said as he looked at Yuuya. "Kido-kun! You really don't know me at all?" he asked.
Yuuya inwardly flinched and shook his head as he hid behind Ueshima.
"That's a first," Sakurada said with a chuckle.
"That's not any reason for you to scare him, Nakagauchi-kun," Ueshima reprimanded.
Daisuke thought for a moment before making a conclusion. "Oh, I know. He hasn't heard your catch phrase yet," he suggested.
"Puri?" Nakagauchi tried.
"AAAHH! THE CREEPY STALKER PHOTOGRAPHER PERSON!" Yuuya exclaimed.
"As expected, everyone remembers you by 'puri'," Daisuke teased with a pat on Nakagauchi's shoulder, grinning.
"Wasn't that the reason why people referred to him as Puri-kun at one point?" Minami asked.
"That wasn't my intention!" Nakagauchi defended before extending a hand towards Ueshima. "Frosties!" he said with a pout.
"What's the matter? You seem deprived," Furukawa said with a smile.
The trickster lightly glared at them all before pouting even more. "Everyone suddenly stopped buying Frosties..." he complained.
"That's just because he doesn't bother checking our own pantry for it," Toru piped up from the door, shaking his head. "Do excuse me," he said politely, walking up to the trickster and taking him by the ear. "Come on Masa, it's about time we stopped bothering everyone with your hunt for Frosties."
"Toruuuuuuu! That huuuuuuuuuuurts!" Nakagauchi cried out as he was dragged out of the house, complaining all the way.
"That was entertaining," Furukawa said with a chuckle.
Daisuke chuckled as well at seeing this. "It finally looks like Toru's starting to put his foot down," he observed.
"About time, too," Ueshima added with a nod of approval.
"Anyway, sensei," Furukawa said with a smile, "We'll be heading back home now."
Ryouga barked and wagged his tail as if agreeing.
"I'll take care of these papers tomorrow if that's alright with you sensei," Daisuke urged. holding up the folders with one hand while scooping up Ryouga with the other.
"We understand. The sooner you get them done, the better," Ueshima reminded the future Tenimyu actor.
"We'll be going then," Furukawa said before bowing and heading out with Daisuke.
"Kei and I should get going too," Sakurada said, "Can I visit Yuuya again?" he asked the two men.
"I'll come back with cereal," Minami promised Yuuya.
"Of course, you're welcome to visit him anytime," Ueshima urged the Echizen actor with a nod of approval.
Sakurada nodded before giving Yuuya a noogie, "See you tomorrow!" he told him.
"Yeah, be seeing you!" Yuuya said as he wiggled away from Sakurada's grasp.
"Ah by the way, if you're coming over tomorrow do it after lunch. We might go shopping again in the morning," Konomi reminded.
"Okay~" Sakurada said with a nod before bowing and dragging Minami out of the house.
"Why wait until tomorrow to go shopping? We can do it now~" Ueshima pointed out cheekily as soon as Sakurada and Minami left.
"You know what? You're right!" Konomi said happily before picking Yuuya up over his shoulders. "I'll get him dressed~" he told Ueshima as he took the bag of clothes as well.
"I can get dressed by myseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelf!" Yuuya protested as he was brought to the nearest bedroom.
A few minutes later, both came out with Konomi grinning like mad and Yuuya looking a bit flustered. "Off to the shopping district!" the older cried.
"To Shibuya!" Ueshima cheered, already holding the car keys and the door open.
On the way to Shibuya, Yuuya was curiously looking out the window. "There are a lot of...big houses in this subdivision," he noted in apprehension. "And...not to mention a lot of familiar faces..."
Ueshima chuckled. "Yes, well most of my actors have settled down here. And most of said actors were Mitsukaru graduates, so I wouldn't be surprised if you recognized a few people."
Yuuya nodded in understanding and continued to look outside all the way until they reached Shibuya.
"We're here~" Konomi announced after turning off the engine, "Clothes?" he asked Ueshima in confirmation.
"That's what we're here for," Ueshima confirmed, unbuckling his seatbelt as the little family got out of the car and headed off to go about their shopping.
Yuuya looked around in awe once they got to the main area.
"Get anything you like~" Konomi said with a smile.
"ANYTHING?"
"Yes anything. Don't worry yourself over the price tags," Ueshima chimed in. "If you start doing that I'll have to step in start choosing your necessities for you," he warned with a smirk.
Yuuya smiled nervously and nodded.
"Come on then, let's get things you want before we go to the more stiff stuff like furniture," Konomi offered. "I believe a cell phone should be our first order of business."
"Not to mention a laptop," Ueshima added before gesturing to the electronics section. "I'm sure Doori will end up bothering you to get one in the long run."
"Speaking of Sakurada...I noticed that he's been hanging around Minami-kun more often than usual," Konomi observed as he watched Yuuya ogle at some phones on display.
"I'm surprised you only noticed that now when they've been together for almost a year already," Ueshima teased. "Considering Minami was such a troublemaker when third cast came in..." he added with a sigh and a shake of his head.
"I know that but..." Konomi paused before thinking for a while. "I think I'm going to ask for an investigation."
"Puri?" came a voice from behind them.
"Just in time, Nakagauchi-kun!" Konomi said happily.
"Do you always follow us around Nakagauchi-kun?" Ueshima asked skeptically, looking around and expected to find his usual partner Baba Toru with him.
"Nah, I just have a knack of being conveniently around every time that you need me," Nakagauchi said proudly. "So what's this about an investigation?" he asked.
"About Sakurada-kun," Konomi started.
"If it's about him living with Minami, you're the last ones to know," Nagakauchi said pointedly. "Even Watanabe Daisuke already knows about the situation and we all know he's usually the last to know if it isn't anything about Furukawa~"
"If you added mangakas like Konomi-sensei to that circle of people who know then he would be the last to know," Baba Toru piped up as he walked up to Nakagauchi.
"That's true," Ueshima agreed with a solemn nod.
Konomi pouted and crossed his arms. "Well regardless of that communication pattern..." he said before clearing his throat. "What's the issue on Sakurada?" he asked.
"Like I said, he lives with Minami now," Nakagauchi answered as he cleaned out his ear with his pinky.
"But why?" the mangaka prodded.
"I think I know where this is going..." Toru said before pulling out some papers and handed it to Konomi. "I'm sure you can figure out Doori's situation just by looking at these," he explained needlessly.
Ueshima stepped up behind Konomi and looked over his shoulder at the papers that he recognized were death certificates of Doori's parents.
Looking at the papers in understanding, the mangaka thought for a while. "I see...so that's why he's been camping out with Minami-kun..." he said thoughtfully, "But is that working for him?" he asked.
"Considering Minami's family, it's a bit hazy to say for certain. But Minami tries his hardest to try and place a fine line between yakuza activities and time with Doori since it somewhat unsettles him after what happened with Aibacchi," Toru explained with a shrug.
Half listening to this, Konomi looked over his shoulder at Yuuya who was being shown a few phones. "Hey Yuuya...want a brother?" he asked, causing the teen to suddenly look at him.
"E-Eh?" was the dumbfounded reply from the teen.
'Looks like I need to go and get Attorney Takigawa on the phone for another set of those adoption papers...' Ueshima thought to himself with a chuckle, pulling out his own cell phone and flipped it open. Before he could open the phone book, Toru already snatched Nakagauchi's phone that was already ringing up Takigawa's phone and handed it to the director. "Thanks."
The voice on the other line stifled a yawn. "Takigawa Eiji speaking."
"I need a favor from you," Ueshima requested and explained the situation.
"I'll drop them over at your house then," came a sleepy response.
Grinning, Konomi nodded to Ueshima before walking up to Yuuya. "Let's look at them phones, shall we? Your mother over there has been bullying me to get one too," he told him before slinging an arm on his shoulders.
Blushing a bit, Yuuya nodded and turned his attention back to the gadgets.
As soon as he hung up, Ueshima shot Konomi a warning glare. "Just who did you say was the mother, Takeru?" he asked.
"We'll leave you guys to your shopping then. Come on Masa," Toru said with a nod before pulling his partner away to the cameras.
"Um...m-me?" Konomi answered carefully before laughing nervously, causing Yuuya to look up at him in slight confusion.
Ueshima nodded in satisfaction before walking up to the two and pointed out a few phones with good functionalities, especially for someone as primitive as Kushranada Takeru.
-break-
It took a while for the three to get whatever electronic gadgets Yuuya wanted and needed, and soon they stopped over for a little snack at one of the restaurants. Yuuya fidgeted as he looked around, not used to those kinds of places yet.
"I'll have the usual," Konomi said before closing the menu he had. "You?" he asked Yuuya.
"Um...whichever?" he said.
"At least look at the menu and point out something you really like or want to try Yuuya," Ueshima coaxed, handing the menu back to the boy. "Again, don't bother about the price."
"Er...okay..." Yuuya said before picking up the menu again and looked it over. Thinking for a while, the boy pointed at a pasta dish. "This one then sensei..." he said.
"Tou-san," Ueshima corrected with a smile as he swiped the menu and called the waiter to relay the orders.
"S-Sou...Tou-san..." Yuuya muttered as he shyly looked down at his lap.
Konomi chuckled. "You'll get used to it," he assured him.
"Yeah, and you can call him 'Kaa-san'," Ueshima said slyly, pointing to the mangaka as he spotted the waitress arriving with their food.
"Way to lessen the awkward atmosphere, Yukio," Konomi said before patting Yuuya on the shoulder. "Don't worry, there's no rush," he assured him.
"That was quick," Ueshima noted as the food was spread out on the table for them. 'Which reminds me to get a few extra boxes of cereal for the house...'
Taking an experimental sniff of the food, Yuuya felt his mouth water. "Itadakimasu!" he said enthusiastically before digging in.
"Now that's the kind of attitude I want to see!" Konomi praised.
At the entrance of the restaurant, a loud yell was suddenly heard. "Get your hands off me, Nakagauchi!" Doori yelled as he thrashed from over the man's shoulder.
"Oh quit it, puri…" Nakagauchi said before slapping his ass in reprimand, causing the teen to squeak and quiet down.
"Dooooori!" Minami called out, running after Nakagauchi into the restaurant before spotting the sensei pair and paused. "U-Ueshima-sensei! Konomi-sensei!" he recognized.
"We stopped by your house and got the papers Takigawa-san dropped off," Toru offered, holding out the envelope to the mangaka. "All you need to do is sign it and he's yours~"
"Just in time!" Konomi said before taking a pen from his shirt and signed the papers before handing them to Ueshima.
"D-Doori?" Yuuya asked hesitantly.
"I hear Yuuya!" Doori exclaimed before trying to look over but failed.
"Sorry kid, not putting you down till everything's final," Nakagauchi told him.
"Until what's fi- hey are those adoption papers?" Minami identified when he spotted Ueshima leafing through the documents and signed in the designated places before handing it to Toru.
"You can put him down now Nakagauchi-kun," Ueshima instructed.
"And since we already tricked him into signing those earlier, we'll take them to Takigawa for processing," Nakagauchi said before putting Doori down on the space beside Ueshima. "Have fun sensei!" he called out before he and Toru left the establishment.
Doori blinked as he looked around in confusion. "E-Eh?" he said.
"Welcome to the family~" Ueshima chimed over to Doori.
Minami gaped his mouth like a fish out of water. "Whaaaaaat? Now it'll be twice as hard going out on dates with Doori!" he whined with a pout, slinking down onto the seat across his boyfriend beside the mangaka.
"Of course it would be," Konomi said with a grin before looking at Ueshima, "That one over there is no push over you know," he informed the younger.
"Exactly what I'm afraid of!" Minami protested with a frown.
Ueshima rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Doori, casually switching seats with him so that his two sons could sit together. Looking at this for a moment, he nodded to himself before sliding a dish Doori's way. "Have some food."
Yuuya and Doori looked at one another for a while before grinning. "Hai, itadakimasu!" Doori said before starting on his food.
"You should eat too, Minami-kun, there's enough for everyone," Konomi offered.
"I won't bite so long as you don't make parenting difficult for me Minami-kun," Ueshima warned him lightly.
Minami stiffened before nodding, deciding to distract himself by eating. "Itadakimasu!"
'Ganbatte, Kei!' Doori mentally cheered.
Yuuya chuckled at this before finishing his food.
-break-
Meanwhile, the Takigawas finally settled back home after the trip to Shibuya. Takigawa Eiji had returned from dropping off the papers at Ueshima's place before plopping back onto the bed for another well-deserved nap.
Ryouma, in the meantime, was finding it unsettling looking at the big space that was his bedroom and the mass of shopping bags they brought back from Shibuya. "Er..."
"Need help sorting things?" Kimeru asked as he stepped in the room. "Your father's out like a light and I have nothing else to do...so..." he said before closing the door behind him.
Blushing in embarrassment, Ryouma looked from the singer to the bags before sheepishly nodding. "Alright, thanks... Though I have no idea how to even begin tackling this mountain of clothes..."
"Once we have your shirts out of the way it'll be a snap," Kimeru said in confidence before opening the bag nearest to him. "Oh look, underwear," he said before moving to put those in a drawer.
"K-Kaa-san!" Ryouma argued, unconsciously having already adjusted to calling them tou-san and kaa-san already.
"What?" Kimeru asked playfully, "It's not like it's anything new to me," he told him before putting the last of the underwear in the drawer.
"Now come on, there's a bunch of hangers somewhere there. We can use those on your other shirts."
"I seriously think you picked out at least half of the pile we eventually brought home," Ryouma accused, picking up a shiny polo shirt from the pile and went to retrieve the hangers.
"No I didn't," Kimeru said calmly, "I was furniture shopping while you were picking out clothes, remember?" he pointed out before looking at his son. "If you're looking for someone to blame, I'd suggest that you blame your father~" he said with a grin. 'If you can, that is,' he thought with an inner chuckle.
"Uso..." Ryouma said incredulously, frowned deeply and in slight panic realizing the implications behind Kimeru's words. To distract himself, he bustled about grabbing a shirt or pair of pants and hung it on the closet.
"By the way, Ree what do you want for dinner?" Kimeru asked casually as he folded some shirts and set it on the bed for the meantime.
"Who's cooking?" Ryouma asked immediately.
"Your father," Kimeru answered. "He'll get to it once he gets up after a nice long sleep," he informed the younger. "By the way Ree, are you up to coming to the bar with me next week? I need to check on a few things."
Inwardly sighing in relief, although still not quite sure about what he was getting himself into, Ryouma contemplated on the offer for a moment as he continued hanging his new clothes. "Just as long as you come out and tell me what you own already so I don't have to get so surprised every single time, I will," he bargained.
"Five all around studios, three bars, six fashion lines, one mini department store, two stalls in Shibuya, nine restaurants, two cafe's, two houses, shares of the Tokyo metropolitan arena, seven recording studios, two music schools and your dad," Kimeru listed off.
Ryouma practically dropped what he was holding as his mouth gaped for the next few seconds before he frantically shook his head, composing himself and cleared his throat. "I see," he said in distraction. 'Wrong move,' he scolded himself.
Chuckling Kimeru moved over to the other bags to unpack the clothes inside them. "Oh yeah…I forgot to mention the six rest houses," he told the boy cheekily. "Which is why when you're on break or something we can go out of town," he offered.
Tripping over a paper bag, Ryouma fell to the floor before rolling onto his back and sat up. "Okay, I really regret asking that question now!" he said with a light flail.
"Oh you shouldn't be," Kimeru said with a smile as he helped him up, "After all, you're going to end up inheriting all those eventually," he teased. "Better to know now, ne?"
Feeling dizzy, Ryouma absentmindedly nodded. "Right... inherit... me... son... riiiiiiiiiiight..." he said with finality.
-break-
Panning over to the residence next door, Shirota was outside in the front garden relaxing on a lawn chair, admiring the clouds in the sky while resting his leg. "Just a few more months~" he tried to reassure himself.
Down that street, Hisanori Satou happened to be walking by while carrying a rather large overnight bag. He had just left the house of a friend after a supposed sleepover and was heading to another friend's place in the pretense of having another one. Truth be told, he was doing this for quite some time now after leaving his parents house and not having the courage to tell anybody about. Unfortunately for the boy, he was starting to feel under the weather due to the accumulated stress. "Just...a few...more..." he muttered to himself before his body gave in, causing him to black out.
~Caring~
Shaken from his little daydreams when he heard a thud on the sidewalk, Shirota jumped out of his chair. "Eh?" Panicking for a moment, he looked around before turning to the house. "Hiropiyooooooo!"
Aiba came running out a few moments later and saw the collapsed figure on the floor. Quickly realizing he couldn't do anything due to his arm that was still in the cast, he did the next best thing. "DAI-NII!" he called out.
Instead of an immediate response, a puppy came running into the Shirota garden, barking happily and ran around Shirota's lawn chair. This was shortly followed by hurried footsteps giving chase. "RYOOOOOOOOUGAAAAAA!" Daisuke exclaimed.
"Daisuke, I don't think that's the reason why they called you outside," Furukawa pointed out before looking over at Satou. "Now what do we have here?" he asked as he approached the collapsed boy.
Managing to finally catch Ryouga, Daisuke blinked and looked over to Furukawa. "Oh, looks like he collapsed. Should I get him something to eat or drink?" he asked.
"I'm on it!" Shirota called out, hopping over into the house.
"I think a cold towel and a soft bed would do," Furukawa answered before gingerly picking the boy up. "Get the bags for me, please," he asked Daisuke before walking towards the Shirotas.
Aiba held the door open as Furukawa went inside, watching Satou curiously.
Daisuke scooped up the bag with his free hand before following the group into the Shirota house. Shirota directed them to the guest room upstairs as he limped around the house as quick as he could.
"You should seriously stop doing that if you want to get better quicker," he commented over to Shirota.
"It's fine I'm used to it," the younger said dismissively.
Putting Satou on the bed and placed the wet towel that Hiroki had handed on his head, Furukawa stepped back and smiled. "He'll be alright," he told them. "Hmm... He looks familiar, don't you think?" he asked.
Squinting for a while to get a better look at the boy, Shirota's eyes widened and pointed. "Aaaaah, it's Hisanori-kun!" he exclaimed in a hushed voice. "He attended Mitsukaru before."
"I see..." Furukawa said thoughtfully. "We'll leave him in your care then~"
"Eeeeh?" Aiba exclaimed in shock.
"Yes?" Furukawa asked with a smile.
"Since he's already here might as well be you guys that look after him. Shirotan knowing him was an added bonus~" Daisuke explained, adjusting his hold on Ryouga.
Shirota looked from the teen to the other pair. "B-But we have no idea about taking care of kids!" he argued.
"And the simple reason of considering him as a kid is already a good first step~ Good luck~" Daisuke encouraged before he and Furukawa left the house.
Shirota frowned before turning to Aiba. "What do we do now?"
"We take care of him~" Aiba said enthusiastically before sitting down beside Satou.
A few minutes later, the younger woke up from unconsciousness and hesitantly looked around and saw the nice room he was in. 'Am I dead?' he thought before spotting a familiar face. "Hey...aren't you...?" he said weakly.
"Hai, Shirotan desu~" Shirota told the younger with a smile. "I believe we were schoolmates back in Senior High. Ne, Hisanori-kun?" he confirmed.
"S-Shirota-kaichou?" Satou asked hesitantly before trying to sit up and failed doing so.
"Easy there, Hisanori-kun, let your body recover from the shock of fainting," Aiba told him gently. "Now then, if you could just tell us the phone number of your parents-"
"I can't," Satou cut in.
"Why is that?" Aiba asked.
"J-Just because!"
Shirota turned to Aiba for a moment of confusion as he adjusted his in his chair. "Are they abroad or something?" he clarified.
"N-N...Yes! That's exactly it," Satou answered.
Aiba pouted. "Hisanori-kun, have you forgotten that you're very transparent when you try lying?" he asked him.
Frowning, Satou semi-glared at the Fuji actor. 'Well, it's been working quite well for the past few sleepovers...' he thought.
"I suppose your friends may have been fooled but we aren't," Shirota stated seriously, frowning as he observed the younger contemplatively. 'Just what is he trying to hide about his parents?' he asked himself.
"My parents stopped caring about me ever since I was 12 so calling them now would be useless," Satou snapped. "Besides...they've long left Japan already. They were always eager to leave me behind."
"Since you were 12?" Shirota repeated in surprised before frowning. "But that means that..."
Looking away pointedly, Satou sighed inwardly. "What of it?" he asked in irritation. "I was a scholar ever since..." he added. "...an athletic scholarship was what got me through."
"Yes I remember that you were on scholarship..." Shirota said ruefully. "So... what have you been doing now?"
"Surviving on sleepovers," Satou admitted.
"And no one ever found out?" Aiba asked.
"...You guys did."
"That makes us responsible for you!" Shirota chimed with a smile before he got to his feet. "I'll go and give Dai-nii a call~"
"W-Wait a minute! What are you calling other people in for?" Satou asked in alarm.
"I was about to ask the same thing," Aiba said in confusion.
"Relax," Shirota reassured them as he whipped out his phone. "I'm just going to ask him for a few papers~"
"Oh..thaaaaaaaat," Aiba said in realization.
"What? What's that?" Satou asked with a frown. "Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" he asked.
"That's a secret Hisanori-kun~" Shirota fired back with a grin before excusing himself from the room to make the call.
"...I'm going back to sleep..." Satou said before flopping back down.
"You go do that so that when you wake up it's time for dinner~" Aiba said before patting him on the head.
-break-
"...I'm not kidding!" Shirota said with a pout through the phone.
"Okay okay I get it. I'll hand you the documents a little later. Yun's calling me to the basement," Daisuke said before cutting the line.
Shirota blinked as he glanced at the phone. "What would Furukawa-kun be doing in the basement?" he asked himself randomly before shrugging.
"Hisanori-kun fell asleep again," Aiba informed his partner as he joined him. "Soooo, have you fixed it?" he asked hopefully.
"I can't when I don't have the papers on hand," Shirota whined with a frown. "Dai-nii said he'd give it to me after he helps Furukawa-kun with something."
"If it involved their basement I think we should just invite them for dinner," Aiba said with a pout. "Only kami-sama knows what happens down there."
"Clearly you know something that I don't again," Shirota accused, sticking his tongue out playfully before nodding. "That's true. For now I think we should finally start redecorating that other bedroom properly."
"Um ...Yuu...injured limbs?" Aiba reminded as he raised his arm in emphasis. "We can ask help from the others once they're not too busy for now."
Staring down at his cast, Yuu frowned before slumping his shoulders, for a moment deflated. "Oh right... So maybe we can figure out someone who knows Hisanori-kun... If it's Mitsukaru there's bound to be someone..." he explained.
"How about we ask Hisanori-kun what he wants to do when he wakes up before we decide things for him?" Aiba offered. "Maybe...he'd want to stay with us," he told him.
"Okay~" Shirota conceded quickly. "But that means more waiting, so I think I want to go and grab some chocolate to munch on!" he said randomly.
"Check the freezer," Aiba said helpfully. "I think Eiji-nii re-stocked it last time."
"Yosh~ Chocolate~ Chocolate~ Chocolate~" Shirota sang as he headed off to the kitchen in a happy daze.
-break-
Later that day, activity after activity revived amidst the three households. Takigawa finally was up and about, cooking for the three households after finding out about the sudden guest; Daisuke was sprawled out on the couch muttering darkly about his partner and the basement, while Shirota was sitting down beside Satou solving a crossword puzzle waiting for the boy to wake up.
Soon enough, Satou woke up and opened his eyes with a groan. "S-Shirota-kaichou?" he identified as soon as he spotted Shirota.
Looking up from his book, Shirota smiled and placed the pen in as a temporary mark for his puzzle and placed it down on the bedside, shifting his attention to Satou entirely. "Hey there, glad to see you finally awake~" he greeted. "You hungry? Eiji-nii's whipping up dinner so it'll be a while."
Frowning at this, Satou slowly sat up. "Why do you...even care so much? You barely know me, Kaichou," he asked as he met Shirota's gaze.
"I care because I want to, Hisanori-kun~" Shirota explained needlessly. "When someone's in trouble my first tendency is to panic. Buuuut after that I try my darnest to show as much concern or care as needed from person to person," he added with a chuckle. "Plus with a husband like Hiroki I guess you could say his want to help others rubbed off on me~"
"I...see..." Satou said before sending his gaze back down to the sheets. Then an idea hit him. "Say, Kaichou...can I stay here for a few days?" he asked.
Glancing momentarily over to the bedside table where a spread of signed papers was laid alongside his crossword puzzle book, Shirota smiled over to Satou. "I've got a better proposition for you if you're up to it," he offered before grabbing the papers. "Are you perhaps interested in staying here with us for a longer period of time? Say... as part of the family?"
"F-Family?" Satou repeated in surprise. "Would...would that really be okay?" he asked.
Shirota beamed before holding out the papers and a pen to Satou. "All that's needed is a yes from you, your signature on the appropriate places on these papers and you'll be a Shirota~"
Carefully taking the papers, Hisanori looked them over and spotted something in particular. "Only if...only if you'd let me alter my name a bit," he bargained.
"Go right ahead~" Shirota said encouragingly, stretching his arms over his head.
Satou nodded before reaching for a pen that was conveniently on the bedside table and affixed whatever needed to be placed there. "H-Hai..." he said before handing them back to Shirota.
"Hmm... Lessee..." Shirota said as he reviewed the papers. "Shirota Satoshi..." he smiled as he turned to the boy. "That sounds great~" he complimented.
"D-domo..." Satou said quietly.
"Hey boys," Kimeru called out as he peeked in the room. "Dinner's done, come on down," he told the two.
"Yosh, dinner!" Shirota cheered, getting to his feet a little too fast before grimacing in pain. "I-teeeeeeeeeee!"
Seeing this, Satou -now Satoshi-, got up from bed and hurriedly helped Shirota back to his feet. "A-are you alright?" he asked before looking down and saw the cast. "You're injured!" he pointed out. "You have to be more careful, tou-san!" he said. Realizing what he unconsciously blurted out, the teen looked away in embarrassment.
"A-ra...what do we have here?" Kimeru asked as he crossed his arms and leaned on the door frame as he grinned.
Hopping on his good leg, Shirota sat back on the bed and heaved a sigh of relief before turning to Satoshi. "I'm okay, don't worry~" he reassured him with a smile, oblivious to having been called tou-san.
'He didn't seem to notice...good...' Satoshi thought in relief before offering a hand, "Should...should I help you downstairs?" he offered.
Seeing that his assistance wasn't needed, Kimeru slinked away from the scene and went on downstairs.
Shirota beamed at this. "That would be great musuko-chan~" he chimed with an inner chuckle.
Satoshi nodded sheepishly and assisted Shirota in coming down the stairs. "Looks like we're making some progress here," Aiba said as he spotted them as soon as they got down.
"What's for dinner?" Shirota asked.
"Curry," Takigawa intoned as he glanced over to him. "With a dash of chocolate."
"You can put chocolate in curry?" Shirota asked incredulously.
"Yup," Daisuke confirmed. "You never tried it before?"
"That's because Hiropiyo kept saying how I was having too much chocolate with everything!" the second generation Tezuka intoned with a light flail.
"Well it's true!" Aiba said in defense.
"Yes yes, now let's all settle down so Shirotan can indulge himself," Kimeru said teasingly.
"Yes let's- hey!" Shirota complained with a pout.
"Don't take it personally Shirotan," Takigawa consoled. "After all, you've got a new son to attend to~"
Ryouma handed Satoshi a plate of curry. "Here you go," he offered with a smile.
"A...Aa…domo," Satoshi answered sheepishly before taking the plate and setting it down. Slowly he looked at Ryouma for a while before frowning. "Hey wait a minute...aren't you Baba-buchou of the tennis club?" he asked.
"Yes I am," Ryouma answered with a sheepish smile. "I'm surprised you still know me," he admitted.
"A-re? Another connection we weren't aware of?" Shirota inquired.
"Looks like it," Takigawa pointed out.
"So you went to Mitsukaru?" Aiba asked.
Satoshi nodded his head. "I came from Shizuri..." he said carefully, aware of the tension between the two schools. "I transferred to Mitsukaru in the middle of first year but remained mostly invisible," he explained.
"Invisible? I hardly think that's the-" Takigawa began to explain.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Shirota suddenly screamed.
"What's wrong?" Daisuke asked with a frown, turning to the injured Tezuka actor.
"Satoshi... You were part of the soccer team weren't you?" Shirota asked quickly.
"Didn't we already establish that I was a team mate?" Satoshi asked before pouting. "You were the one who said so yourself, t-tou-san..." he said, stuttering out the last bit.
"No you didn't," Shirota argued with a frown. "All you mentioned was you being an athletic scholar, but not the actual sport," he explained.
"Well why do you ca-...oh right...gomen," Satoshi said apologetically, hanging his head low. "Yes, I was part of the soccer club," he answered.
"I'm disappointed Yuu-kun. And you were captain no less in our senior year," Ryouma told Shirota with a shake of his head.
"Yeah well... my president instincts kicked in before my team captain instincts did. Plus he was on sick leave often so I didn't realize it right away," Shirota argued.
"Sick leave?" Aiba asked. "So that explains why he wasn't there very often," he said thoughtfully.
"And I never did get to understand why," Shirota admitted.
"I began to wonder if you bothered continuing the usual standard procedure of collaborating with the school paper to do our investigations to solve such mysteries, Shirotan," Takigawa accused.
"Well...at least now you can put that behind us," Aiba said with a smile.
Shirota nodded before turning to Satoshi with a smile. "Don't be shy now, tuck in~" he coaxed.
"We've got a lot of food spread out," Takigawa reminded the boy.
"Mm," Satoshi said before clapping his hands together. "Itadakimasu," he said before starting to eat.
TO BE CONTINUED. :D
We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)