Again, I don't own Oofuri!

No notes or new terms (a tatami mat is self-explanatory; it's a Japanese mat, where a few of them are used to cover the floor of a room), so enjoy the final chapter!

Chapter 4

Reiichi Mihashi usually had a smile on his face, and was typically an easy going guy. However, this time, his mouth was twisted in a grimace, and his eyes blazed with anger as he gazed at the scene. "Get off him."

Atsushi immediately scrambled to his feet, and stood nervously at attention.

Reiichi turned to his son as Takaya coughed and sputtered on the ground. "What happened?"

Ren shook his head, tears in his eyes that rolled down his cheeks as he glanced at Takaya now and then. Finally, he seemed to steel his resolve enough to respond. "Th-they were picking at me…and…and Takaya…told them to stop. That…that they were stupid for saying bad things…a-and then…Atsushi…grabbed him, and…and hit him…"

Slowly and unsteadily, the story poured out of the young noble.

Through it all, Atsushi had grown increasingly nervous, and even Yoshi fidgeted even though he hadn't participated as much in the heckling and the fight.

Reiichi, if possible, looked even more cross than he had when the fight first started once he learned what had transpired. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he had a soft spot for Takaya; the teen was like a blessing in disguise for Ren, and he had noticed that Ren was happier than he had been in a long time since Takaya appeared in their lives.

He could even overlook the fact that Takaya had instigated a bit of the fight by insulting Atsushi and Yoshi. Thinking about it, he could understand the reason; the weapons were still in plain sight. Had Takaya just opposed them without getting them angry enough to forget about the weapons, there would have been more blood spilled than just a split lip.

"Ren." Reiichi looked at his son a moment. "Take Takaya inside and help him get cleaned up." His gaze turned back to the two trembling men. "I'll handle this."

"Okay." Ren nodded, then offered Takaya a hand up.

Takaya blinked, surprised that he wasn't scolded, and accepted the help. Maybe Mihashi-dono understood what I was thinking by instigating them?

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Reiichi inquired briefly.

"Ah…no, sir." Takaya was sure that he would be a bit sore the next day, particularly his back and chest from having Atsushi's weight on him, but aside from the split lip and the growing bruise under his left eye, he was uninjured.

Reiichi nodded, then indicated to his son for the two to get out of the area.

Whatever was going to happen wasn't going to be pretty, whether it be yelling or something more drastic.

Ren and Takaya were more than happy to comply with that order.

Takaya tried not to cringe as Ren handed him a tied cloth filled with ice to hold to his cheek. Everything else had been taken care of, and he was changed out of his dirty clothing as the two sat in one of Ren's rooms.

"Sorry…if that scared you…" Takaya mumbled as he gingerly held the bag of ice to his cheek.

Ren shook his head. "I…wanted to…thank you. For standing up for me. I've heard them…talk about me before. Others do it, too. The…the way I talk, they make fun of. Nobody's…spoken out about it, though."

Takaya blinked in surprise. "No one?"

Ren frowned and shook his head.

"What about your father?"

"He…didn't know about it. I…didn't tell him." Ren cringed back as if he expected to be hit for that admission.

"Hah?" Takaya exclaimed in shock. "Why didn't you tell him!"

Ren twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I…was afraid…of what would happen…if I did."

"Your father doesn't strike me as the type that would order seppuku for something like this…"

Ren shook his head. "N-no that! He…he wouldn't. But…if they ever got back at me, then…"

"Oh." Takaya understood. "You were afraid of their retaliation against you."

Ren nodded miserably.

Takaya sighed. "Look, you can't be afraid all the time, especially if it's your own health that's in question. They might not have been hurting you physically, but they were hurting you mentally. That's not okay. You're aware of that, right?"

Ren sniffled as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Takaya groaned. "I feel like I'm bullying you…"

Ren shook his head and wiped his eyes, though there were still some tears.

"I'm just saying that you can't let people walk all over you all the time. Yea, you tried to stop them, and I'm glad you didn't try to physically restrain Atsushi, but you have to project your voice a bit more if you want them to listen."

Ren blinked wetly and looked up quizzically.

"Do you get what I'm saying?" Takaya queried.

Ren stared at him blankly, then nodded.

Takaya sighed again. Obviously not. "I'm not saying to yell…but did you watch how your father handled those two?"

"Y-yea…"

"He spoke crisply, and self confidently. Even if you're scared, you have to sound confident about what you're saying. Get it?"

Ren blinked a couple of times.

Takaya figured that he wasn't going to get the point across unless he came up with a better example. "Okay…you know how I stood up to Atsushi when he was insulting you, and then started to mouth off to him?"

Ren nodded. He could follow that much, at least…

"I seemed confident, right? Atsushi took me seriously."

Again, Ren nodded. "Y-you were c-cool!"

Takaya grinned. "Hate to break your image, but I was scared stiff underneath."

Ren nearly gawked. "R-really?"

Ah, there was the light of understanding Takaya had been looking for that suddenly reached Ren's eyes.

So, the dark haired teen smiled. "Yep. It was right after training…at any time, Atsushi or Yoshi could have decided to pick up a sword and try to impale me. I was well aware of that, so I got them angry enough for them to forget about it. The chance was still there, though. So, even though I sounded all confident, there was still that voice of doubt."

"I…think I understand…but…I don't understand, then, why you did it. Why you stood up to them…like that…when you could have been r-really hurt…" Ren trailed off and frowned, then looked away. "Is…is it…because you have to…?"

Takaya rolled his eyes and put the ice pack down, then shifted closer to poke Ren gently on the forehead. "Moron. I did it because I like you."

Ren rubbed his forehead and stared up at Takaya in shock, awe, and something else that the other couldn't identify.

Takaya felt heat rise to his cheeks, though he had no clue why.

Then, Ren moved forward. "I…!" the rest of his sentence was cut off when his hand hit the cloth of ice on the ground, which caused him to slip and pitch forward.

Takaya's eyes widened as he twisted around in an attempt to catch the other teen and prevent a face plant to the tatami mat.

The result, after a 'thud' and a 'crash', was Ren on top of Takaya…

…with their lips locked together.

It was a moment of shock for both boys, before Ren leapt away like a frightened cat and Takaya shot up to a seated position and scooted to the other side of the room.

Both were red-faced, and both were in a state of disbelief.

Ren stared at the wall, too embarrassed to look at Takaya.

Takaya, as well, was too mortified to look back at Ren. It wasn't just about the accidental kiss, however. It was because he had enjoyed it. That thought scared him somewhat. He knew that he liked Ren, and the boy obviously liked him back, but was it something more?

He had wondered it for a while, now. Not knowing much about love, his musings had typically come to an abrupt halt. It was wrong for two guys to fall in love, wasn't it? Let alone an artisan and a noble…

Takaya felt his lips a moment, then glanced hesitantly over his shoulder in time to catch Ren do the same.

The two instantly turned back to look at their respective corners as their faces heated up again.

Takaya was cursing himself. Nothing made sense. He didn't know how he felt, or what anything was supposed to feel like, but eh couldn't deny that he liked the impromptu kiss. He couldn't deny that he didn't like having Ren near him.

Unknown to Takaya, Ren entertained the same sort of thought line.

In fact, it was Ren that grew bold about it, mostly because of Takaya's speech earlier. The other teen had shared something that had made him nervous…and there would always be times when he was a little scared, but had to move forward.

Ren didn't think he would be putting that into practice so soon, but he couldn't deny what he felt from being around Takaya and that kiss, as well.

"I like Takaya, too," Ren said, in a voice so quiet that it wouldn't have been heard in a noisy room. There was a hint of fear in his tone, but he tried to project the confidence that the other had spoken of earlier. "I…might…more than normal…"

Takaya gulped, then took a deep breath and let it out before he turned around.

Ren had turned a bit to face him, though he was obviously nervous.

Takaya figured that, if someone like Ren could get over the fear of putting these strange feelings out in the open, then so could he.

Ren watched as Takaya slowly eased himself back towards the center of the room.

"I…don't really understand all of this, to be honest," Takaya began. "I know I feel something different, and something more…more than just friends, you know?"

Ren had started to scoot closer, as well, to hear.

Takaya normally talked loudly, but at the moment, he was just as quiet as the other teen, so Ren had to move a bit to make sure he was hearing it right.

"It might be frowned on, too, you know…" Takaya trailed off.

Ren glanced to the side a moment, then back at the other with a determined expression on his face. "Nobody has to know."

Takaya considered that. It would be a little difficult to hide it all the time, but Reiichi had a lot of duties as a noble, and there were plenty of times when Ren would normally be alone (if it weren't for Takaya). Plus, the nobles were given a lot of privacy, and Ren was no exception to that.

"I…I liked that. Even though…it was an accident…" Ren stammered.

Takaya realized with a start that the two had moved close to each other again, but then relaxed somewhat. Whether it was love or something else, Ren obviously felt the same way, so he didn't have to be afraid of that.

"Did…you…?"

"Yea. I liked it, too," Takaya admitted.

Ren stared a moment, then smiled brightly.

Takaya was almost taken aback by the brightness of that smile, but then found himself smiling back.

What had they been so afraid of? It seemed silly, now that Takaya thought about it. Over a month of brooding on the topic, and it had all just happened naturally, and quite accidentally.

"Can…can I…? Not as…an accident…this time…" Ren stammered.

It took Takaya a moment to realize what the other had just asked, but he finally realized it between the teen's body language and the blush.

Takaya felt his cheeks heat up once again. "I…don't know what I'm doing…"

"N-neither do I…so it's okay…"

Takaya chuckled and slowly took Ren's hand. When the other didn't pull back, the dark haired teen smiled. "I want to, as well."

It was still innocent, it was still something totally new to them, and it was still confusing. However, there were two things that the two knew for certain as they leaned towards each other: They both felt it…and it was their little secret.

END

Before anyone lights their torches and grabs their pitchforks because I'm ending it there, I'm not good at writing romance (realistic, at least…anyone that's read my Digimon fics will probably agree), or anything more in-depth than "moments" (like I have in my Detective Conan fics).

It would be an insult to you (the readers) if I tried to write a romantic scene, so I'll leave the rest of what happens (and their relationship) up to your imaginations.

Same with what happened to Hatake and Yoshi, though it was hinted that they would be kicked out rather than committing seppuku (figured I'd put that explanation in there since there's bound to be at least one person that asks).