{At Danny's}
Upon arriving at the diner, Kiyota and Sakuragi were rather thankful that it was not packed with its usual customers. Only a few were dining, either alone or with a companion or two. For Sakuragi, it was a welcome respite since he was not entirely sure that he could bear the usual bustle of noise and laughter that night. Scanning the place, his spirits rose as lady luck made his favorite spot available. With a nudge to his companion, he silently lead them towards the rightmost corner of the diner where a table was rather alienated from the rest, giving its occupants a much needed privacy.
Once seated, Sakuragi beamed when a waiter immediately came and took their order. Soon after, the waiter returned bearing two cokes and two sandwiches, much to the redhead's hungry stomach's delight.
{Somewhere in Kanagawa}
Head bent, shoulders slump, hands tucked inside a basketball jacket's pockets,
a lone figure walked without a real sense of direction along the now, almost
deserted, streets of Kanagawa. It didn't seem to matter to the guy where his
feet would lead him since his thoughts were currently focused somewhere else
or rather on 'someone'.
A dog's bark effectively brought the guy's attention to where he was. Stopping
for a moment, sapphire eyes barely registered the absence of people around him
as well as the lateness of the evening before resuming his aimless walk . His
body, though aching for the comfort of his bed, could do nothing but heed his
heart's yearning... To see him again. But where to look was still a mystery to
him since the guy he was seeking would surely be reluctant to be anywhere near
him again.
With an uncharacteristic sigh, a pale hand relinquished the warm haven of the
jacket's pocket and started kneading an aching forehead. The throb started
earlier that afternoon and worsen came nightfall but he ignored it. He had not
taken anything for the pain since no medicine could take the 'real pain' away
anyway. Nothing could.
But someone can.
Taking reign over his heart's silent whispers, the guy shook his unruly raven
locks and took a moment to lean against a wall; calming his nerves, resting
his growing weary limbs, and giving his aching head a knead from both his
hands. He knew he couldn't go on like this. But he couldn't stop either. He
had to do something. Need to know something before he eventually seek the
sanctuary of his lonely apartment. Thus with a determination that was not
entirely alien to him, he straightened himself and continued on his journey,
silently praying that his feet carries him to where his heart wanted to be.
To see him again.
{Back at Danny's}
"Why aren't you eating?" Sakuragi asked, lifting his eyes towards his surprisingly silent companion.
"Not hungry."
Grinning, "Still upset that I got the better of you huh?" Sakuragi egged, wiping his mouth. In response, Kiyota just humphed and turned his attention to the menu in front of him, seemingly trying to read what was written without actually reading it.
"Come on, I thought you enjoyed it. And if I remember it correctly... You even begged me for it." The redhead troublemaker from Shohoku High School couldn't help the twinkle in his eyes as he interjected the last part.
"Stop reminding me of that." Kiyota bit back, turning sideways in an act of ignoring the brown-eyed imp.
Not even perturbed, Sakuragi chortled and said, "I can't help it. You're just too damn easy to bait and..." He stopped. He would have gone on and on with his teasing if not for the death glare that he was suddenly facing. Shifting in his seat, "So, are you gonna eat that?" He asked, pointing to the still untouched sandwich, the obvious change in topic effectively subduing an imminent quarrel.
Glare gone in exchange for disbelief, Kiyota shook his head and said, "You're unbelievable," then passed the sandwich to Sakuragi. To his chagrin, the redhead tease gave him a wink before tackling the sandwich with his usual enthusiasm for food.
Across the room, the door of the diner swung open and in came a rather tall, tanned, and formidable looking young man. Dark brown eyes scanned the area for a red and black unruly kept hair. Catching something bright, his solemn face broke into a slight smile as he strode towards the pair. The red mop was bowed low, stuffing himself with a sandwich like he had not eaten for weeks. The new comer grinned, finding the sight delightful indeed. The one with the dark unruly kept hair had his back on him and a mischievous gleam flickered in his eyes. Slowly, he made his way to the pair and then made his presence known by nipping the neck of his lover.
A startled, "Eeeppp," was wrenched out from the shorter guy as he almost jumped out from his chair.
The redhead, though surprised himself, laughed out loud upon seeing the horrified look on Kiyota's face and said, "Can't believe he got you on a sneak attack, monkey."
Ignoring the loudmouth, Kiyota turned towards his teaser and chastised him. "Shin-chan, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that."
Maki just grinned and took the empty seat between the two sophomores'. "So why page me to come here?"
Surprised, "You paged him to come here?" Sakuragi questioned, brown eyes locking with blue.
"Why not? I knew he'd be back tonight or tomorrow morning, so I paged him to come here instead."
Clearing his throat, "Again, why are we here and not at home?" Maki repeated, and then looked back and forth to the two younger players; one was looking anxious and the other was smirking.
Fidgeting in his seat, "Kiyota owed me dinner so he's treating me tonight," the redhead supplied, grabbing his coke so he wouldn't be expected to say anything else.
"Really?"
Payback. After casting a quick glance at his once bickering partner, "Well, not entirely true. You see, carrot top here just threw a tantrum over at our apartment and since we can't order in because of the mess, we decided to dine out," Kiyota disclosed with a satisfied smirk.
"What mess?" Maki asked, his brows creasing in a slight frown.
Glaring daggers at the shorter guy, "Nothing. Kiyota's making things up," Sakuragi interjected, hoping to have the matter drop.
Matching glare with a glare, Kiyota adamantly replied, "Am not!"
"Do to!"
"Not!"
The argument went back and forth, it was like a sick game between two of them. Sighing, Maki had thought that advancing a year would give the two some sense of maturity but boy was he wrong. Standing up, he delivered twin blows on each unruly head.
"Ouch!" Cried both players while rubbing the lump on their heads.
Kiyota's dark blue eyes threw daggers at his lover as he all but yelled, "Why did you that for?"
Before Maki could answer Kiyota. Sakuragi leaned forward to grab Maki by the collar. "Why you, only Gori does that to me."
Slapping the redhead's hands away from him, "You two are acting like bumbling idiots, it's the only way I remembered of stopping you," Maki answered, not the least bit remorseful of his actions though he was aware that patrons at Danny's were scuffling away from them. Turning his attention back to the two, "So, either one of you wanna tell me what really happened?" He repeated.
Pouting, "Hmph, I won't tell," Kiyota replied, crossing his arms for emphasis.
Sakuragi, on the other hand, knew from the set of the stubborn chin that Maki was not going to let the matter drop. Taking a deep breath, he sagged back in his seat and began telling his story. "What he said was true. I did went to your place and sort of..." he trailed for a second, gesturing in the air with his hands. "... mess things up but it was not that bad."
Upon hearing that, Kiyota turned his head sideways and stared wide eyed at the man on his right. "NOT THAT BAD!? You almost wrecked the whole place and would have punched holes through the walls too if we've stayed a while longer."
Bobbing his crimson head up and down, "That too," Sakuragi dejectedly admitted but not without glaring at his shorter companion again.
"Why?"
Brown eyes shifted gaze to a darker shade of brown in attention but only managed to say, "Huh?"
Maki sighed. Placing his elbows on the table, he leveled his gaze with that of the Shohoku player's and said, "Why did you feel the need to thrash the place?"
A look of sadness crossed the boyish face, brown eyes now downcast. "I… I saw Rukawa yesterday and I... I told him what I feel for him, but…"
"Let me guess, it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to, right?"
Sakuragi shook his head and mumbled, "No."
Before Maki could say anything, the diner's door swung open again, bringing in a tall arresting young man wearing a red and black jacket with the word Shohoku written on it. This time, the newcomer scanned the almost empty place for a seat suitable to his present state of mind.
When Maki saw the roaming eyes stopped at their table, his lips curved into a smile after seeing the play of emotions on the newcomer's face. Interesting, he thought.
Surprise, joy, pain, anger, and jealousy. Yes, jealousy was definitely there since it was the expression which stayed painted in the Shohoku player's face even after being seated at the other corner of the diner.
Tearing his gaze away, he studied his two companions. Since they were seated in a circular fashion and with his being the one facing the door, it was not surprising that the other Shohoku player's arrival had gone unnoticed by the two. Placing his elbows on top of the table, he was then made aware of the waiter's presence beside him and after giving his order, he gave his attention to the only person who dared called him an old man. "So, Hanamichi, what do you intend to do now?"
Taken by surprise," I don't know," Sakuragi honestly answered. Actually, he hadn't put much thought on the subject ever since that morning. It hurts way too much. Maybe I should just forget him and move on, he considered.
But it'll hurt you much more. Right, Hanamichi? His mind countered. Groaning out loud, "Can we not talk about it now?" And then proceeded to bang his head, none too gently, on the table.
"Oi, Red Monkey, stop that. We can't pay for anymore damages," Kiyota berated, holding Sakuragi by the shoulder to hinder the latter's further attempt of self-injury.
Quite surprised at his junior's action, Maki didn't say anything but stared and waited for the other to calm down a little. Suddenly, he felt goose bumps rising at the back of his neck. Without giving it much thought, he lifted his head and met, what felt like, the icy glare that was directed at him. Without breaking his gaze from the person across the room, "Did he tell you why?" He questioned Sakuragi, his curiosity now piqued.
Nothing. The younger man was still in lala land, still banging his head lightly on the surface of the table as if the pain would just drop on top of it. Impatient, he whacked the side of that crimson head and was awarded with a deathly glare and a raised fist. Unperturbed, "Stop acting like an 'Aho and answer my question. Did. He. Tell. You. Why?" He punctuated, slapping away the raised fist after emphasizing each word to get his question across.
Straightening in his seat, "Let us get something straight shall we? First, only Kitsune calls me an 'Aho. Second, I am not an idiot. Third, what's it to you anyway? It's kind of personal you know?" Sakuragi answered.
Exasperated, "Just answer the question, Hanamichi, or are you just scared to tell us why this supposed guy who loves you dumped you instead?" Maki dared, suppressing a grin when he saw the sudden flare of fire burning in the other's honey brown eyes. It always works.
With fist clenched, Sakuragi leaned over the table to get closer to the former Kainan captain and said, "I am not afraid of anything. Especially not that proud Kitsune."
"Then why not tell us?" Asked the now curios Kiyota.
Throwing his arms in the air in despair, "Because I don't know his reason. That's why." Sakuragi admitted, feeling the fight to keep that painful experience to himself slowly ebbing away as it became apparent to him that his present company wouldn't let it go. Times like this made him wish for his Gundan's company. At least they wouldn't badger him till he was ready to say anything about the matter.
God, I miss them. If only Youhei and the others didn't have to work at the beach today.
"Why not tell us what happened then? Or is that a secret?" Maki taunted, cutting Sakuragi's musing. Switching his glance back and forth his two companions, "Aargghh! The two of you are both nosy. No wonder you're stuck to one another." He tried stalling but their stance remained the same. Giving up, "Ok. You win. This has been the worst day of my life anyway so why ruin the trend, right?" He joked but he only got twin smirks for his futile effort. Subjecting himself to the inevitable, he took a deep breath then started reliving the nightmare that, in his perception, was his own making anyway.
"Last night, I left a note at his house …"
*** Flashback ***
Sunday morning greeted a jovial Hanamichi Sakuragi jogging his way to where he had asked Rukawa to meet him, the open basketball court near the park. He was not able to sleep a wink last night since rehearsing his would be confession speech kept him till the wee hours of the morning.
It's been a month since Rukawa's return from his trip in the states and it took only a day of knowing about the other's return for Sakuragi to start thinking of a way to make Rukawa know of his 'realized' feelings. How to do it was a challenge though, since the self-proclaimed Tensai had nothing but heartbreak from his past courtship of the opposite sex. This time, however, with the realization of the depth and different feelings he has for the silent raven head boy, Sakuragi spent a week preparing his impending pursuance of 'his' blue-eyed Kitsune. Nothing could deter him from his objective; prove his love and reclaim the love that he unwittingly shun months before.
He did stuffs which he hadn't done with his previous endeavors; observing the object of his affection's likes and dislikes, buying things which Youhei and the others tagged as 'sappy and corny', frequenting the greeting card stalls and learning by heart the meaning behind the words of love written by the masters of the art. That sort of stuff. After that week, he then spent the next two weeks seeing his plan through... To woo the pants off the pale, but handsome, silent, ebony haired Rukawa.
Act # 1: Love notes… For the past two weeks, teachers at Shohoku high have suffered migraines in thinking why the redhead was suddenly coming to class early and awake. The reason, though unknown to them, was simple... Sakuragi had to come to school early, where no student was still about, so as to place a note addressed to Rukawa on his classroom table.
Secretly, he would wait just outside the Kitsune's classroom to watch those sapphire orbs glance and pocket the letter addressed to him and sniff the petal that came with it. Afterwards, Sakuragi would cheerily walk towards his own classroom, singing not his national anthem but a love song he had heard from the radio.
Act # 2: Sweets for my sweet… Sakuragi found out that the raven head likes to eat sweets every after practice. With that knowledge, he made it a point to leave a Hershey bar or M and M's on top of the blue and black duffel bag, discreetly, before joining their practice. Then to wash the sweets, a cherry flavored Gatorade was left alongside the chocolates.
Act # 3: Red rose to symbolize his fiery love… Life was good for everybody surrounding the now cheerful redhead, and Youhei and the others knew the reason for it. Wanting to keep the jolly disposition their friend was in, they helped by placing a single stem of red rose everyday inside the blue-eyed boy's locker. Of course Sakuragi gave them the combination, which the former in turn got from Ayako.
Act # 4: Food for the heart… During lunchtime, Sakuragi coerced the server at the cafeteria to give Rukawa a baked muffin, which Youhei's mom baked, in combination with whatever the boy ordered. At first, the server was scared stiff. Imagine fire breathing down your neck, pressuring you to serve and then ice freezing you on the spot, denying to be served. Despite her dilemma, she was able to tell a feasible lie to the glaring boy about him being the lucky pick of the week to have a baked muffin, thus saving her from two week's blasting of fire and ice.
Yes, everything turned out as planned. Now the last act, Act # 5: His confession. Smelling the dozen of roses in his hands, Sakuragi couldn't help feeling the first onslaught of first date jitters as he entered the court. Checking his watch, he smiled seeing that he had arrived just in time. Glancing around, he noted that Rukawa was late.
Guess, I'll have to wait for him.
Waiting was never his strongest suit but seeing that he had a month preparing for this day, he thought that a few more minutes or hours wouldn't kill him. Stepping further inside the empty basketball court, Sakuragi managed to brush away his usual impatience by remembering the weeks that passed. It had been such a long yet short week for him and he was both glad and not to have found it coming to an end. Though if the urge to continuously express the depth of his feelings was an indication of how his future would be with Rukawa then, he guessed, it's safe to say that he'd not be using the word 'end' in their relationship at all.
Chuckling at how his own thoughts made his heart beat a little bit faster against his chest, Sakuragi brought his attention back to the impending task at hand and wondered how Rukawa would receive his last and final declaration. Would he like it? Would today be the start of them being together?
Yes.
Call him egotistical. Call him arrogant. But, he had this uncanny certainty that before the day ends, he would be going home with Rukawa by his side. Feeling a surge of happiness from deep within, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, conjuring up a pair of breathtaking blue eyes, the color of a gem stone, sapphire, and wished for its owner to come soon. He couldn't wait to start their life together.
Suddenly though, another set of blue eyes intruded in his thoughts. This set was of a darker shade but its beauty was not lost to him since he had often reveled at how those pair of eyes made him feel almost weak in the knees just by gazing at them.
A voice inside his head suddenly whispered, Kiyota…
Stunned, Sakuragi immediately opened his eyes and looked around. Seeing nobody, he whacked himself with his free hand and cried, "Aargghh, why is that Monkey in my head today of all days?"
Why not? His mind asked.
"Because I need to focus on Kitsune now and not that Monkey."
Admit it, you've grown to care for that so-called Monkey…
"Yeah so. What's that got to do with Rukawa and I?" He defended, though to whom and why was a blank to him.
You're playing with fire, Hanamichi. Sooner or later you have to deal with this. His mind warned.
"I know that," he growled at no one in particular. "But I get to choose when and it is not now. So, SHUT UP!"
"Who are you talking to, 'Aho?" A familiar deep somber voice spoke from behind Sakuragi and it was a wonder that his feet stayed glued to the ground. Turning around, he saw the raven head standing a few feet away from him.
Cursing his stupid mind, "Er, no one. Just talking to myself. I'm glad that you came," the redhead greeted, his smile mirroring his words.
"I was curious," was Rukawa's clip reply and then, upon noticing the bouquet of flowers, "Going to a funeral?" He queried though he knew the answer to that one.
Blushing stark red, Sakuragi chuckled. "No. Here, they're for you," he said, offering the said bouquet to the one whose name was showed on the card.
Rukawa's face showed no surprise but an unmistakable expression of pain marred his calm facade which somehow alarmed the redhead. But before Sakuragi could even ponder on the said expression, Rukawa threw the flowers to the ground and icily said, "I am not a girl. Stop giving me this stuff."
Dropping his still outstretched arm to his side, "But you seemed to like the stems of roses I gave you before?" Sakuragi pointed, expressions of confusion and hurt wiping the smile off his face.
In response, Rukawa turned away and said nothing, hands clenched on his sides.
Ignoring the deep sense of foreboding that was slowly creeping inside his heart, "Didn't you know that I gave you those roses?" Sakuragi asked, grasping at anything just so he could go on hoping that all would be well for the two of them.
Taking a deep breath, "Yes I do. I am not stupid that I can't figure out your calling card," Rukawa snapped, remembering the Sakura petals. Then, with the intention to wound, he turned to face Sakuragi and said, "I threw them all away."
Sakuragi tried not to flinch but failed. The sharpness of the tone as well as the stone, cold anger in Rukawa's expression shocked him and froze that illusion of them being together into a stand still. Pain started pricking his heart but he couldn't do anything about it. However, numbed as he was from neck to toe, his brain was working hard on deciding whether to run with what little self-dignity he had left or to stay and risk being stripped of that dignity just so he could understand Rukawa's undisguised anger towards him.
Deciding on the latter, Sakuragi found the strength to snap from his painful trance and took deep breaths. Once he gathered half the semblance of his earlier disposition, "Ok, no flowers then. What would you like? Chocolates?" He asked in a hopeful voice, his eyes pleading Rukawa to not to hurt him further by rejecting the idea.
Interpreting Rukawa's silence as a yes, hope flared within the taller Shohoku player again. "Oh yeah, I remembered that you used to like the ones I left for you during practice. I still have a Hershey bar," he excitedly said and immediately made a beeline for his duffel bag on the ground, only to be stopped by a cold voice saying, "No. I don't want it."
Hands frozen in the process of taking something from his bag, Sakuragi stared up at Rukawa and felt the hurt slowly giving way to anger as he leveled himself to full height and asked, "Well, what do you want?"
Waiting for an answer, Sakurai watched as Rukawa bowed his head low, his fringes hid whatever expression there was in his eyes. Then, when he looked up, his handsome face was already masked with the same stoic facade he always wore.
"I don't want anything from you," with icy blue eyes unwaveringly holding questioning honey brown ones, "…ever again."
Sakuragi flinched, again. But this time, he ignored the pain, anger, and hurt and concentrated on the WHY. "What's the matter with you? I know for a fact that you enjoyed those gifts. The roses, notes, everything! So why in blazes are you saying all this?" He exploded, inching closer to the impassive fox-eyed boy.
Hearing no reply, Sakuragi grabbled Rukawa by the collar of his jacket and all but snarled, "Is this your sick joke of getting back at me? Answer me!" The pain behind the angered voice was unmistakable but he didn't care. He no longer cared if he sounded and looked pathetic to the slightly shorter boy. His heart was breaking, that's all that matters to him.
Rukawa's sapphire orbs held what was once a pair of sparkling, honey brown eyes for a brief second before the hurt and betrayal he saw in them made him look away. Wordlessly, he pried Sakuragi's hold on his collar, and when freed, walked past the latter to retrieve a ball lying on the ground.
Calmed by the familiarity of holding the 'once' focus of his life, Rukawa managed to find his voice and firmly said, "I never liked them."
Sakuragi was surprised to feel himself shaking, whether from anger or hurt he didn't know. His head was still full of questions and he'd be damned if he stopped right now. What's a little more pain? He could take it. He had to. Turning slowly around, he watched as the object of his affection stood with that familiar air of indifference surrounding him. What he would give to be like Rukawa at that moment.
Steeling himself for further heartbreak, "You can't lie to me, Kitsune. I know that you liked them. Now my question is why? Why are you doing this? I thought I was making my feelings clear to you through all those gifts that I gave you.
"…"
Combing his fingers through his red tresses, Sakuragi fought his earlier urge to flee and said, "Look, you might find my ways corny or your male ego just can't take it that another male's courting you but that's my way of showing that I care," he imparted, kneading the throbbing pulse at the back of his neck. "I have never courted anyone in my life. Not those 50 girls who rejected me. Not even Haruko. I'm sorry if it embarrasses you but there's no need to hurt me like this. I love you. Why won't you believe me?" There, he had finally said it out loud. Let those words convey what those material things seemed to have failed to do.
Rukawa's whole stance turned rigid and his facade broke into one of intense anger. Dropping the ball, the silent Shohoku ace walked towards the redhead and stopped when the distance was about an arm's length away. "Love me?" He sneered, eyes blazing. "You don't know the meaning of the word, Sakuragi, so don't you go saying it to me. As for the gifts, I never asked for them so do yourself a favor... Stop."
Ignoring the fact that his former nemesis had spoken far more than a week's worth of his vocabulary, Sakuragi just remained where he was, stoned by the words and the expression of cold hatred burning from the Kitsune's blue eyes. Then, as if woken from his nightmare, he suddenly shook his head and his eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "No!" He cried. "You can't mean that, Rukawa. I don't believe you. Why all these lies? Why? Why?"
Turning away from the redhead's pained brown eyes, "I don't lie, 'Aho."
Taking the raven head by his shoulders, "Yes you do, Kitsune. I know you still love me, still care for me. Why are you hurting me this way?"
Rukawa remained unmoving. He didn't even made a move to remove Sakuragi's firm hold on his shoulders. "Believe what you want."
Shaking Rukawa lightly, "If you're still thinking about what happened the last time, well don't. I know I was wrong when I didn't return your feelings back then, but things are different now. I now know what I feel for you, and I'll prove it to you. Just give me a chance," he begged, holding Rukawa's cold hands in his. But the face before him did not change one bit. Suddenly, the hands in his were wrenched away and a fist went flying to his face.
Dazed by the impact, the redhead could only stare dumbly and then in the coldest voice he ever heard Rukawa use, "I don't love you, Sakuragi, not anymore."
With that Rukawa hurriedly left the court, leaving a devastated redhead banging his fist on the ground and finally letting his tears flow freely down his face. "Rukawa…Why?"
After a few minutes of wallowing in self-pain and anguish, Sakuragi stood up, wiped his tears, and focused on the ball dropped by the Kitsune. Slowly, he went to pick it up and then with all his might, rammed the ball into the hoop. Landing on his feet, he watched as the ball rolled behind the bushes thinking that a few minutes ago he was planning on playing one-on-one with 'his' Kitsune, after their shy confessions and revelations of course. He had to laugh sarcastically at that, thinking how stupid it was of him to ever assume that Rukawa felt the same.
Still holding that sarcastic smile on his face, he turned and went to pick up his duffel bag only to trample on the bouquet of flowers he had bought for his confession. Deftly, he bent to pick them up. The stems were still encased in its wrapping but the roses lost its freshness and its color lost its luster. All that was left of it was a sorry excuse for a lifeless bouquet of flowers, thrown and trampled upon by its cold and unfeeling recipient.
Just like my heart. He painfully admitted to himself. Not able to stare at something that reminded him of his broken heart, he blindly threw the bouquet away and cried, "Damn you, Rukawa!"
*** End Flashback ***
"… and then I left the court," Sakuragi said, ending his story. "Up till now, I still don't know his reasons. I would have looked for him and wrung the answer from his neck, but decided against it. So I went to cool off and then went to your place." Facing Maki but with his head bent low, "I am sorry, Oldy, really I am. It's just that, I was so frustrated and so damn angry and hurt at the same time," he cried, his voice shaking from repressed emotions.
Both Maki and Kiyota grew silent and let their companion recover from the pain of recalling the events that led to his heart getting broken. Eyes brimming with renewed tears, "Now that you know it, you can start laughing at me now. Kiyota did. He said that I was stupid in thinking that I could woo a cold-hearted person like Rukawa." He softly said, and then added, "Maybe I am stupid. Stupid enough to think that I could right the wrong I did when I shirked his feelings for me before."
Kiyota felt like kicking himself when he remembered the careless way he had said those words earlier. Inching his chair closer, "Oi, Hana, you know I didn't mean what I said earlier. You are not stupid and it was not your fault," he gently berated. Wrapping his arms around the Shohoku forward, "Now, how about cheering up and order anything you like. It's on me." Turning the brown-eyed boy towards him, he playfully rubbed their noses together and chuckled when he saw the redhead's obvious surprise at his public show of affection.
Still shy in public I see. Maybe I could use this to my advantage, Kiyota happily mused.
He had never before initiated anything like that. Normally they would either bash each other's heads or fight. Whatever, but not like that. Not letting the abnormality of his actions deter him. Kiyota leaned his forehead on the other and proceeded to give Sakuragi a soft and sweet close-mouthed kiss, not minding the curious glances and audible gasps from the nearby patrons, and a pair of burning blue eyes watching the whole scene with pain in his heart.
To be continued..................