"The second Tokugawa shogun began a policy of isolating his country from foreign influence, and this led-"
Slim, impatient fingers tapped briskly at the wooden desk in an even rhythm. The owner had been stealing glances from the bespectacled boy beside him every now and then, seemingly anxious to what the other was thinking. Sure enough, the pale boy was completely oblivious to the pair of dark eyes focused entirely on him. Touya let out a weary sigh and glanced at the clock hanging from the wall as seconds ticked away together with his heartbeat. Only a few minutes left and the show was about to start.
After the torturous night of doubting and dwelling at the thought of that "project" of his, he finally decided that he would go through with it. He'd been waiting for so damn long, and he knew that waiting for the chance to fall from the sky wasn't exactly the wisest thing to do. After all, he was the one who "needed" something, so it's just befitting that he should be the one to act on it. And soon too.
Touya sneaked a glance at his left side, eyes narrowing as they came in contact with a familiar figure. The girl named "Mika" had no idea that two, watchful eyes had been scrutinizing her every move, seemingly studying every single detail about her. Touya gave her a disapproving look before turning his head and focusing on the lecture. Yes, he thought, today is the day alright... Smirking slightly, he scribbled on his notebook and added a few "strategies" that might help him with his plan.
"Okay class, that's all for today."
"Thank you, Teach!"
After giving their teacher a final greeting, Touya hurriedly packed up his things, only to discover that Mika beat him to it. The girl was approaching his Yukito with a bright smile, cerulean eyes beaming with warmth and, as Touya noted, something else. But all those thoughts quickly vanished as the girl (or bitch, as he calls her in his not-so-classy moments) start up a conversion with Yukito.
"Hey, Tsukishiro-kun, are you free tonight?" The girl asked with no hint of shyness whatsoever. He gave the bespectacled boy another one of her sweet smiles and tilted her head a bit to the side as she waited for an answer. Touya all but vomited at the sheer tackiness of the girl, but didn't move an inch as he watched on.
Yukito pondered for a minute and smiled at her genuinely. "I think so... why?"
"Um, well... the archery club members are holding a stargazing overnight party tonight... you coming?" Mika continued, flashing Yukito a flirty smile.
Yukito blinked at the obvious flirtation, a tinge of crimson painted his porcelain skin. He adjusted his glasses a bit and smiled at the invitation.
Touya scowled at the sight. He couldn't believe how openly the girl had been flirting with "his" Yukito. Even more so, Yukito seemed to be happy with the girl's "skakiness." He could have sworn the girl was smirking inside in triumph.
As if anticipating Yukito's "yes" to the invitation, Touya immediately rushed to their side.
"Wait, Yuki. I just remembered, Sakura wanted to know if you could stay over for tonight. The kaijuu wants some help with her project." Touya interrupted deliberately.
Yukito blinked his eyes in confusion. "Sakura? I saw her early this morning. How come she didn't-"
"-The project's bow and arrow making," Touya said in a casual tone, cutting off a puzzled Yukito.
"She probably forgot to ask you, or was too shy to ask. And well, since you have an extensive knowledge about archery, I thought you should be the best man for the job."
Touya had been trying hard to keep a straight face all the while. Inside he was fawning over his victory already but struggled to keep his composure. After all, he was a good actor. He had always been an expert in keeping his feelings bottled up inside, hardly unveiled for everybody to feast on. He knew that for Sakura's sake, he had to be strong, and putting on an iron mask was the only solution he could come up with.
Years passed and that mask was kept intact, until he met Yukito, his silver-haired salvation, and supposedly one of the great guardians of the Clow book. He was stunned at first, looking through those amber eyes and seeing something else... or someone. He had seen it, and believed it, if not for his gift. He had seen the apparent contrast between his best friend and the other within him. Yet nothing changed, he still fell for him. The mask he carved to perfection all those lonely, painful years he endured by himself had eventually cracked, leaving him wide open for the rest of the world to feast on.
Touya had been waiting all this time for his best friend to see him in "that light" but to no avail. He could have waited a little bit longer, but the sight before him made it impossible. No, he thought. If he waited for Yukito to make the move, or rather, if he waited for that Mika character to make the move, he knew that it would even be more difficult to retrieve Yukito back from the girl's clutches.
"I see.." Yukito uttered with slight uncertainty. He didn't want to break Sakura's heart by declining, but Mika...
"Well," Touya began, "if you couldn't come it's okay I guess." He sighed exaggeratedly and tried to give the bespectacled boy his most "disappointed" look. "Guess I'll just have to break the news to her when I get home. Maybe buy some sweets, to lighten things up."
The soccer player grinned inwardly. I'm winning! He screamed in his mind. He knew Yukito couldn't refuse offers like that, not if it involves his adorable, kid sister. Of course he wouldn't admit that to the little monster, but he was glad that at least, Sakura was willing to work with him. Sakura had been curious at first, questioning him why he thought of something like that. In order to rescue himself from that awkward position, he invented an excuse and told Sakura that he needed to talk with Yukito about something, and that he couldn't seem to do it because the bespectacled boy was always busy. Naturally, his sister had bought the idea, thinking that his niichan had a "misunderstanding" with her long-time crush. She thought that by pretending to have a project, she would be helping them out, even if it meant lying to Yukito.
Touya knew he should be ashamed of those antics he was trying to pull, but waiting any longer would make roots grow on him. It wasn't like his current "competition" was holding back either. Oh no, she couldn't fool him with her fake display of sweetness. There must be something up on her sleeves, he noted, and he wasn't going to just sit back and relax. Like the saying goes, "All is fair in love and war."
Yes, this is war.
Touya was pulled away from his trance when he felt a slight movement before him. He shifted his gaze to Yukito and almost jumped around in sheer joy when he saw Yukito smiling at him.
"Okay To-ya," The bespectacled boy confirmed his thoughts, "I'll stay over tonight and help Sakura-chan with her project."
Yukito turned to Mika, amber eyes clouded with worry. He gave Mika an apologetic smile and spoke. "I'm sorry, Mika-chan, I guess I couldn't come to the stargazing party tonight after all..."
Mika just shook her head and smiled at him. "No worries, Tsukishiro-kun. There would be others like that anyway, and I'm sure Kinomoto-kun's sister would be very sad if you didn't come to her rescue."
Yukito felt relieved at that, and gave the girl a warm smile. "Thanks, Mika-chan, for understanding. I knew you would. See you later, yeah?"
The girl smiled back and winked at him. "Of course! There's always next time. Anyway, gotta go. Later!"
Mika skidded out of the classroom, smile still lingering on her face. Touya seemed furious, but she thought, what the hell. This is so much fun!
Touya was bothered. He didn't know why, but he had an ill feeling about it. He eyed Mika suspiciously as his gaze followed the girl out of the classroom. That Mika must be up to something, he thought. If my eyes weren't playing tricks on me that is.
He saw something move before him and turned to see Yukito waving a hand at his face to catch his attention.
"To-ya, is there something wrong?"
The soccer player shove all his thoughts aside and shook his head. He gave Yukito one of his rare, heart-melting smiles and replied. "Nope, nothing wrong Yuki. Come on, let's head home."