A/N: First, sorry for the sudden 5 days of no updates! This chapter was tough to write as I'm fairly bad at characterisation (and writing romance was more idea-taxing than I thought ;w;), and last week was actually a holiday so that's why the updates came quick. But now I'm back to school, and I'm going through exam hell so updates miiiight come late in the meantime.
Second, I'm reminded of how limited my vocabulary and ideas are while writing this chapter... ahhh, if it's cringy, I'm sorry. I tried my best, and this is literally my first time writing a slow burn + friends to lovers story. Oh well, if you're able to handle the weaknesses in my ability to write, then I hope you enjoy it.
Anyway, this chapter continues off where the last chapter stopped, and maybe a small (or not? heheh) development for Yui here. You'll see what I mean when you get to it.
KatoriAeku - True, wonder why it's not a thing you can do. You'll see what happens with those two in this chapter, haha.
Mr Giraffe (Guest)
- Yui is the best waifuuuuu for sureee. I can't even imagine eating curry like that either - curry with chicken is my favourite, and to imagine it being defiled like that... yeeks. They probably can't because what kind of girl knows how to use a katana, lol. It's weird in a sense, but Yui's delinquent backstory gives her a reason why she knows how to.
- Hmm, that might not exactly happen... /wink wink
- Well, I'll think of something. I'm planning to either take inspiration of a novel I had to read for my English lessons (Sing to the Dawn by Minfong Ho) since it deals a lot with gender inequality, or think of a more realistic situation with the sombre ending. Nyeh, we still got a long way to even reaching that XD
"Kanji…! Stop!"
A hand soon managed to grip Kanji's wrist, stopping him before he reached where the girls' tents were. "Let go!" he shook his arm free as he turned to face the one who caught up to him, his agitated expression falling when he saw who it was. "S…Senpai…"
Yu stood there, panting heavily after running as quickly as he can to catch up to the blond. "Don't do this… you'll get into trouble, Kanji…" he murmured, his voice nearly a whisper. Kanji averted his gaze as his hands gripped into fists. "But… Yosuke-senpai…"
"Forget what he just said." The silver-haired boy shook his head. "He doesn't know when to stop sometimes."
Looking down, Kanji fell quiet as he stared at the glistening dew on the grass beneath their feet. The moon was bright tonight, the reach of the moonlight wide and far as it touched everything it could see in a whitish blue glow. Alongside the white orb were the same twinkling stars, far brighter up on the mountains that they were at town.
For a long moment, silence remained between the two.
Eventually, it was Kanji who broke it. "Look… Senpai, about that other day…" he started off, now beginning to sound awkward. Yu lowered his head in evident discomfiture, though thankful the moonlight was too dim to make notice of his reddish cheeks. "W-what about it…?"
"I, uh… I'm sorry for being rude to you." Kanji apologized, looking regretful for his actions. Yu looked up at him and shook his head again with a gentle expression on his face. "No, don't apologise. You didn't know that it was me at the time."
"Still…" Scratching the back of his head, Kanji sighed as all the tension he felt from before was extinguished with this small talk. "…Can I ask you somethin' Senpai?" he asked, wanting some answers to the questions that revolved in his head since that eventful rainy day.
Yu slowly nodded. "Go ahead."
"That day… you were wearing a full suit like some kinda businessman…" The blond started off, unsure of what to exactly ask now that he had the older boy's permission. "What're you doing, dressed like that?"
This question was something the silver-haired boy had expected him to ask. "I had some family business to take care of that day, and I was required to wear a suit and tie… sounds ridiculous, but that's what they told me," he answered, though it was somewhat of a lie too. He was making a purchase of clothes and textiles from the shop Kanji's mother handled.
"Really…" Kanji then gazed out at the moon for a few seconds. His mind went back to that moment where everything froze, the only sound being their breaths, and the look in Yu Narukami's soft silver eyes that lasted for so long, yet was merely seconds…
Shaking his head, he let out a noise of frustration. Why was he thinking about that?!
The sound he made got Yu worried. "…Kanji?" He tried to get his attention.
"Whuh? I wasn't thinking about anythin'!" Kanji quickly answered as he turned his head to look at Yu, his voice too loud for comfort. "Shh!" The smaller boy hushed him as he placed a finger on his own mouth. "You're being too loud," he whispered, letting his hand fall. They still had to keep an eye out for Mr. Morooka who might as well be roaming the grounds at this moment. "S-sorry, Senpai…" Kanji apologised again, looking down in shame for his own behaviour tonight.
…There was still one more question he wanted to ask.
He wasn't sure if he should, though… but if it meant his mind would clear, then he probably has to. "Senpai, I got one more question… uhh…" He trailed off as he recalled the memory of that moment again. "Hm? What is it…?" Yu gazed at him with those same deep pools of soft silver-grey, glimmering in the moonlight with hidden jewels of concern and worry for no one but the younger boy that stood in front of him…
Immediately Kanji shut his eyes, gritting his teeth strongly.
He can't bring himself to ask it.
"N…never mind, Senpai," Kanji told him, avoiding his senior's gaze. Yu raised an eyebrow, sensing that something was off. He was about to ask when he heard the faint rustling of the grass a small distance away from them. "I think we better go back to our tent, Kanji…" he whispered, tensing up. Whoever it was, they can't risk being seen.
The deafening silence of the mountains allowed Kanji to hear the almost inaudible noise. Sighing, he nodded. "…Dammit. Let's go..." He's not fond of seeing Yosuke again after that stupid question he just got from the brunet, but he's not planning to get expelled if the one that was coming just so happened to be King Moron.
So, the two quietly began to hurry back to the tent they left Yosuke in…
~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~
"There's the tents… ours should be somewhere near a slope…" Yu murmured softly, spotting a cluster of tents further ahead. He took a glance at Kanji who quickly looked away from him, making him sigh as he turned to face the blond. "Are you really okay, Kanji?" he asked, placing a hand on his own waist like he would usually do.
Kanji stuttered in his attempt to respond. "Y-yeah! I'm alright…"
The silver-haired boy crossed his arms, clearly not buying the act he just witnessed. "You're stuttering. Will you not tell me what's troubling you?" he asked again. When all he got was silence, a quiet sigh escaped his lips before he spoke again. "…Fine then… I won't force you to speak if you don't want to." He turned around to continue walking towards the camping grounds.
Yu heard the slight shuffling of footsteps as Kanji started to follow him again… and they both kept quiet this time.
~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~
As the two got closer to the campsite, they could hear a very familiar voice… one that was so cranky and loud it resonated through the fields of the mountain. Yu and Kanji froze in their steps, and the former could see the fleeting figure of a certain teacher moving away from the camps…
…It was Mr. Morooka, the last person they wanted to see at the moment.
Yu turned around quickly, worry evident in his silver-grey eyes. "W-we need to move back… It's Mr. Morooka. If he finds us, we'll be expelled."
"Huh? Seriously?" Kanji looked behind the silver-haired boy and noticed King Moron walking towards them with what seemed to be a hideously flushed face – was he drunk? If he was, well, no surprise that a guy like him would drink booze on a school campout like this.
"He's getting closer…!" Yu whispered in alarm as he saw the teacher getting closer into view. He forcefully grabbed Kanji's wrist and pulled him over to a small group of trees he spotted nearby. "Woah!" The blond hadn't expected for his senpai to pull him like that, and by the time he got a sense of where he was, they both were already hiding in the shadow of the trees. While looking at Kanji, Yu held a finger to his lips to signify that they need to be quiet as he glanced at the edge of the trees, where Mr. Morooka was now standing around.
The teacher had managed to hear their voices while on the way here and was now wondering if he just had one too many… but upon squinting through the darkness under the trees, he seemed to notice a figure. "Hey, who's there?!" he yelled with a slur, shocking the two teenagers. Before Yu could stop himself, he once again realised that Kanji was standing in the open and managed to grab the younger boy by the shirt to pull him over to where he himself hid behind a tree, his back to the trunk of it.
…Now they were standing a bit too close to each other.
The tense situation made them unaware of their current positions as Mr. Morooka staggered in his steps while he tried to move in between the trees, growing closer to where they currently hid. "Grrhhh… shitty trees…!" He was loudly cursing since he kept hitting the trees, though. "Screw whatever the hell was back here! I'm too tired for this shit." The drunk teacher soon gave up in his search and stumbled off to where the camp for the teachers were.
Sighing in relief, Kanji and Yu turned their heads away from the moving figure of Mr. Morooka, and finally their eyes landed on each other's gazes as they realised how close they were. Yu had his back pressed against the trunk of the tree while Kanji, who was a lot taller than him, had his hands placed right above the silver-haired boy's head on the tree to steady himself after being pulled over by his senpai. Essentially… they were in a position that had their faces up close to each other.
Just like that time in the rain, it felt like as if time had stopped completely.
They stared at each other, letting silver meet with bluish grey once more as their warm breaths touched their skin like a gentle caress. If the smaller boy had lifted his head up by just a bit… to let their…
By that awareness, a rosy hue grew on both of their faces.
Kanji pushed himself off of the tree to take a few steps back, breaking his stare while still blushing heavily. Yu averted his gaze to the ground, his cheeks now a reddish colour as he blushed too. What just happened between them…?
His heart was beating so fast, he felt like he couldn't breathe.
"…I think we better get back." Yu eventually spoke up, his voice quiet. Kanji quickly nodded. "Y-yeah."
A sudden awkwardness has fallen on the two teenagers as they got out from under the trees and quietly walked their way back to camp. The blush on their faces still hasn't disappeared – hopefully the dim lighting inside the tent would be enough to hide it. The silver-haired boy could still feel his heartbeat racing, though.
First in the rain, now under the trees… their gazes have met and froze all the same both times.
…Something's wrong with him.
~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~
When they finally arrived at the tent, what they didn't expect was to see Chie and Yukiko inside with Yosuke.
"Yukiko? Chie?" Yu looked at the two girls with surprise. "What are you two doing here?" he asked in a whisper.
"Hanako was snoring too loud… she sounded like a breeder hog…" Yukiko answered, sighing. "We're gonna sleep here – Mr. Morooka almost caught us, but we'll sneak out before the others wake up tomorrow…!" Chie added. At the same time, Yosuke looked at Kanji uneasily. While he's a bit glad that the younger boy didn't end up going over to the girls' tents, what just happened a while ago was still stuck in his mind. "There's too many people here now."
Kanji didn't miss the look Yosuke was giving him, his expression hardening. "…I'll go back to where the first-years are," he told them. "Oh, thank you, Kanji-kun," Yukiko thanked him with a nod. The blond then turned to leave but paused when his eyes fell onto Yu's soft face. "Be careful on your way there," he told him, his voice as caring as always.
"T-thanks, Senpai." Before everyone else could see his face turn red, Kanji quickly left.
For a few moments, the silver-haired boy stared at the exit of the tent with such a longing feeling in his throbbing chest. He soon decided to go to sleep to avoid his friends from suspecting that something happened between him and Kanji.
There's still a heavy feeling in his chest… and it burns the whole night through.
That morning, they all got together by the river after the campout was officially over.
Yu and Kanji were still a bit awkward around each other after last night, which was still a mystery to the other three. They tried to not let it show, at the very least. Yosuke looked around, grinning. "Looks like we're the only ones here! Let's get swimming!"
"Are you seriously taking a swim? I'll pass… I'm all stiff," Kanji told him, shaking his head. Sleeping in the first-year tents was cold as heck. "…I'll pass too. I didn't bring any swimwear," Yu added, looking sheepish. He intentionally didn't bring any because… well, they'll find out his secret if he took off his shirt. Plus, the river was probably ice cold - water from the mountains can be surprisingly chilly, especially in the mornings.
The three boys then glanced at Chie and Yukiko. What about them?
"What're you guys looking at us for…? If you guys wanna swim, go right ahead," Chie told them, raising an eyebrow. Yosuke crossed his arms. "…You know, you two still owe us."
"Huh? Whoa whoa whoa, we're not going in there. I mean, we do owe you, but… oh yeah! We don't have swimsuits with us! Man, of all the luck!"
"Y-Yeah, it really is unfortunate." Even Yukiko wasn't liking this one bit.
The brunet then used a condescending tone as he spoke. "Oh, I see how it is. We put up with your dinner, I saved you from King Moron, and you won't even have some fun with us in the river."
"N-No, it's really too bad. It'd be no problem if I just had a swimsuit. Haha…" Chie laughed nervously. To her and Yukiko's shock however, Yosuke then revealed two pairs of female swimwear – one was mostly yellow coloured while the other was red. It was obvious which one was for which girl. "Tadaaaa! I've got you covered!" Apparently, this was what he was doing at Junes while the others were buying the ingredients for curry. "They're Junes-brand originals, from our brand-new line of swimwear that just came in for the summer. I had a clerk friend of mine choose 'em for me. Pretty swanky, huh?"
The thing is, where the hell did he hide those?
"Dude, that's just wrong…" Chie stared in shock. "Did you have those this whole time…?" Yukiko questioned him, her eyes wide with surprise. "C'mon, let's all go swimming!" Yosuke told the two, grinning cheekily. Chie shifted on her feet uneasily, looking at her best friend. "What should we do, Yukiko…?"
"'It'd be no problem if I just had a swimsuit.'" Yosuke just repeated the brunette's exact words a few moments ago, in a squeaky and high-pitched voice. Both Yukiko and Chie were still hesitant, so he just drilled the nail in further. "Y'know, we really were looking forward to dinner… at least Yu had thought ahead. Now I wonder what would've happened if I didn't help you guys last night…"
Chie then stomped her feet in frustration. "We get it already! Sheesh, you never let things go!"
"Alright! That's more like it!"
~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~
A small while later, Yosuke had changed into his swimming trunks and waited around with Yu and Kanji who were still in their tracksuit outfits since they weren't swimming with him and the girls. "How far off did those two go to get changed…?" he muttered, crossing his arms. He then looked at Yu. "Dude, why didn't you bring any clothes to swim?"
"I… uh… forgot," Yu answered hesitantly. "I was too busy getting those ingredients that I forgot about it."
Yosuke sighed. "Seriously? Well… I guess I have to thank you for getting them, partner." He smiled at the silver-haired boy anyway. Then he saw Chie and Yukiko approaching them from the corner of his eyes, and even he was amazed by what he saw. Yu was genuinely surprised to see the two girls wearing such outfits – he'll have to admit, the brunet made some good choices.
"C'mon, let's get in," Chie told them, blushing in embarrassment. "Whoa… man…" Yosuke admired them with a grin. Kanji was silent as well as he stared at them. Somehow, Yu felt a sour taste in his mouth when he noticed that the blond was staring at the girls like any other average guy would. He should've expected it… but why is he…?
…It can't be.
Shaking his head, he forced a smile onto his face. "You two look cute."
Chie and Yukiko blushed even darker at his compliment. "Wh-Where did that come from!?" The brunette nearly shouted in embarrassment. Yosuke was obviously enjoying this, grinning at the fruit of his endeavours. "Man, this is going even better than I expected. Kinda makes up for having to eat that Mystery Food X last night." He then looked at the two boys beside him. "C'mon, you guys gotta admit I chose some good suits. Those girls might be childish on the inside, but I bet they're gonna turn into some fine-looking women before too long! Don't you think so, Yu?" he asked the silver-haired boy.
"…I guess." Yu wasn't exactly sure of what to say to that. But he definitely knew that no matter what his answer was, the thing that happened to them next was something he had expected, and Yosuke should've seen it coming.
The girls looked at each other before looking at the two boys. "You guys crossed the line…" Chie started speaking. "…Definitely." And Yukiko ended it. They both approached Yu and Yosuke and promptly pushed them off the cliff, into the river below.
Hell, the water was even colder than Yu had anticipated it to be.
As the two boys shivered in the cold water, Yosuke looked up at the cliff with chattering teeth. "Agh! I-it's freezing! Y-y-you didn't have to push us in…!" he shouted at the girls. Chie merely yelled back at him. "Who cares!? You were going in the river anyway! They brought this on themselves." She sighed quietly. "Sheesh… aren't they the worst, Kanji-kun?" She looked at the blond when she got no response. "Hey, you've been awfully quiet. Are you feeling okay?"
Then she noticed something. "…Uhhhh…"
"Wh-What…?" Kanji looked normal… except for the small stream of blood coming out of his nose.
He's having a nosebleed.
"Ewww!" Yukiko was so shocked to see that, to the point that she ended up pushing him off the cliff too.
Yosuke's eyes widened as he saw the falling figure of Kanji heading towards them. "L-look out!" He started moving backwards despite the shivers in his body to avoid getting hit by the blond's body. Yu lifted his head up to notice why his friend was doing so… only to realise a moment too soon that Kanji was about to fall on top of him.
Before he could even blink, he was forced back into the ice cold yet pristine clear river as Kanji fell onto him. His face stung at the cold temperature, as did his whole body in general – but his face burned like the heat of a searing fire upon opening his eyes in the water. His face and Kanji's were once again too close for their own comfort, and even the blond had his eyes open as he stared at his senpai with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. Their lips were just a small bit away from brushing together.
If Kanji had fallen any deeper, they could've ended up…
In an instant, Kanji managed to push himself out of the water with a gasp. Yu had to turn around in the water so he could do the same, coughing heavily after being in the water for what seemed like a long while. Yosuke looked at the silver-haired boy with worry. "P-partner, you okay?!" he asked, to which Yu nodded slowly in response. "J… just too cold…" he murmured, holding his arms close to his body as he started shivering. Both his and Kanji's faces bore a reddish colour to them; whether because of the cold water or not, that's something only they could answer.
"What was that for!? I didn't do anything!" Kanji yelled at Chie and Yukiko up at the cliff, sneezing after that.
"H-Hey! What's gotten into you!?" Yosuke shouted as well with a stutter.
"You guys had it coming!" Chie retorted, placing her hands on her waist like she usually would do. She then looked at her best friend. "C'mon, Yukiko. Let's leave them," she told her friend, and so they left the boys down in the river.
"Hey… hey! W-where are you guys g-g-going?!" Yosuke couldn't believe that those two would just leave them here.
With a sigh, Yu began to walk down the river to find a way out of it. "We better g-get out…" He can't stand another moment in this icy water, but his body still felt terribly warm after what just happened. Yosuke and Kanji quickly agreed on it and scrambled to get out of the river.
~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~
Thankfully, Yu had brought his school uniform as a change of clothes so he wasn't stuck in his wet school jumpsuit on the way home. As he did so, his mind would unwittingly wander back to the moments at the river and under the trees… he wasn't even sure if he wanted to talk to Kanji to tell him to just 'forget' about what happened.
His pulse was still racing.
This looks bad.
The night was spent in restlessness, but somehow Yu managed to wake up the following day and have the strength to go out and do something in the warmth of the sun after that time spent in icy cold waters. While on a small walk in the shopping district, he noticed Kanji standing in front of his mother's shop. He stopped in his steps as he contemplated on whether he should talk to the blond after everything that just happened yesterday… but then again, it was probably better he deal with it now than later, or never.
So, going against the sudden pounding of his heartbeat, he approached him. "Hey, Kanji."
"H-hey, Senpai." Kanji sheepishly scratched his head, remembering what happened yesterday. "Uh… about what happened yesterday…" He started to speak, but Yu stopped him. "I know. It was an accident." A small smile appeared on the silver-haired boy's lips, yet he found it difficult to speak the words he planned to say… but he had to. "…Let's just not talk about it, okay?"
…His chest hurt as he said that.
"Sure, no problem." Kanji nodded, a casual smile now appearing on his face. "Say, wanna go and grab a bite at Aiya Diner, Senpai? It's on me!" he offered. "…Why not?" Yu shrugged, putting on a smile for the younger boy. "Awesome! Let's go!" With a grin, Kanji began walking to the Aiya Diner down the road with Yu following him closely.
~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~
The both of them sat at the counter as they waited for their food.
Yu shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he tried to act like nothing was bothering him. He felt like his body was having hot flushes, and his pulse was still abnormally frantic. All of this seemed to be telling him something… but he's in no position to think about it at the moment as Kanji started talking to him, so he forced himself to smile.
Just then, they could hear the sound of the door sliding open as a customer entered. It was a middle-aged man, but the silver-haired boy instantly recognized the outfit the man was wearing – he's a cop. "Aren't you Kanji Tatsumi?" The police officer noticed Kanji sitting at the counter. "What are you doing here?"
Looking at the cop, the blond narrowed his eyes. "Can't you tell? Hey, you're a cop. What do you mean, what am I doing?"
"Just what I said. There's been quite a commotion around here lately."
"Well maybe if you did your job, things'd get quieter, huh?"
The police officer frowned at Kanji. "Y-You need to fix that attitude... oh well. Just don't pull anything, got it?" he told him. "I didn't…" Kanji was cut off by the man sighing. "I'm gonna eat somewhere else." The police officer turned around to leave but stopped upon noticing Yu. "Hey… you're Detective Dojima's nephew, aren't you?"
Yu raised an eyebrow. "…Yes, I am."
He definitely didn't miss the stern look suddenly appearing on the cop's face. Seems like he knows his story too. "You better not start something up in town, Yu Narukami," The cop warned him. The silver-haired boy merely sighed. "I won't, sir."
With that, the man finally left, closing the sliding doors.
Kanji glared at the door once the police office left. "Asshole..." He looked back at Yu. "What'd he mean by 'start something up', Senpai?" he asked, somewhat curious as to why the police officer noticed the older boy. Yu just shook his head. "It's something I did back then, so the police kind of got… agitated." That was the closest thing he could say about his time as a delinquent, but like hell was he revealing the real truth of it.
The blond huffed. "The cops're always like that. Besides, soon as they spot me it's, 'Whaddaya doin'?', 'You look suspicious,' and alla that bullshit... meh, I'm used to it..." He fell silent for a few moments. "…Sorry for gettin' you mixed up in this, Senpai... I really am just a troublemaker. For you... and for Mom. She's always apologizing for me. She's been sprouting more and more white hairs."
"You just need to change, Kanji." A gentle expression appeared on Yu's face, with a soft smile on his lips. A rosy colour grew on Kanji's cheeks while he stared at his senpai, then he averted his gaze. "Y-Yeah, huh?" He nodded earnestly at those words. "Filial piety, right? I don't really know what to do... or so I thought." Soon, he turned his head to look at the silver-haired boy again with a determined expression as his blush faded. "I'm gonna use this power I got to make this town peaceful! I've been causing nothing but trouble, but now I can finally return the favour! So let's get to it, Senpai!"
Yu nodded, still smiling at the blond. He could practically feel the enthusiasm rolling off in waves from Kanji… and he felt like he understood him more. As a result, the Emperor Social Link grew stronger.
Kanji then looked at the chef behind the counter. "...Hey Chef, the food ready yet?"
The owner of the diner paused from his cooking to glance at him. "Huh? You ordered something, Kan-chan?"
"I told you not to call me Kan-chan! And I did order: liver-leek stir fry and pot stickers!" The blond yelled at the man. "Tch! I'm gonna tear your store apart so fast you won't have time to file for insurance!"
"Kanji…" Yu shook his head at him with disapproval evident in his gaze. He said that he was going to change. Though… 'Kan-chan'? That's kind of a cute nickname for a tough boy like Kanji.
"Oh, uh, well..." Kanji quickly retracted his statement. "I'm gonna tear it apart and rebuilt it twice as good! I-I'm gonna RENOVATE your ass!"
"...Sounds good to me," The owner replied, not at all bothered by what the younger boy said.
~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~
After talking for a while as they ate their meals, they eventually parted for the day.
Yu waved goodbye at Kanji, and when he saw that the blond waved back with a grin, all he could feel was the strong pounding in his chest and the rushing feeling of heat into his cheeks and face. He quickly turned around and left the shopping district, all while his breath grew short and his mouth felt dry.
~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~
If Yui Narukami were honest, she would admit that something was off about herself ever since that rainy day of the test. She thought that she got over her tendency to overthink some things, but now she realised that her training has absolutely failed her in every aspect of that. Not only did she end up in some embarrassing situations with a certain blond, she had gone off and left herself in the one condition she swore to never end up feeling. The way she felt, how her thoughts have been, her actions around him…
She stopped walking to grip the part of her shirt that was over her heart, biting her lip strongly. She had denied it all this while, yet she couldn't deny it forever.
She grew a crush on Kanji Tatsumi.
…Fuck, she's screwed.