Title: Mitsukaru High
Author/Artist: snooperj & Bloodysamurai
Series/Pairing(s): TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki
Notes: An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction 'Anything for You'.
Here is the 4th chapter entitled The Night Carnival. This chapter details how Aiba's serious personality slowly starts to change as he spends time with Shirota both as a reporter for the School Paper on the Soccer team and as a friend. Shirota invites Aiba to the carnival for seemingly friendly reasons, but both are beginning to see the feelings they hold for one another.
**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.
The next day, Shirota came to Takigawa's place for breakfast as previously planned, enjoying himself some long-awaited French toast. When both were through, they headed off to school.
Takigawa frowned when he examined Shirota's face. "Why is your cheek swollen?"
Shirota brought a hand over it. "Jun-ani's fault..." he muttered. "Pinched me so hard for spending too much of my allowance on one day without telling him..." he explained. "He had my calculator hostage and I couldn't finish my Math assignment without it..."
"When was this?" Takigawa asked incredulously.
"That day when Kimeru-kun first went to your place... I went to eat out with Aiba-kun at a yakiniku restaurant..." Shirota replied.
Takigawa's eyes widened for a second before he cleared his throat. "What was the occasion?"
"Nothing, really... I just thought of treating him out for dinner... Although I did tell him it was to celebrate our first week as classmates," the younger boy replied, chuckling.
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Aiba and Kimeru came to school together; Kimeru was talking to him about one thing or another while Aiba tried his best NOT to listen since he wasn't really interested in what the junior was saying.
Fortunately for Aiba he was the first one to arrive in the classroom. He sighed as he sat in his place and looked out the window.
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Kimeru in the meantime headed straight to the rooftop to think. What happened the day before had finally sunk in and he couldn't help but smile.
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Yagami smiled as he placed the latest news on the bulletin board of the School Paper.
"School Band Club in need of a New Vocalist"
Takigawa and Shirota arrived in school earlier than expected and did their usual routine of checking out the bulletin board for any new announcements. Shirota was browsing for any news on any upcoming games, while Takigawa searched for anything for the Council. His eyes stopped, however, when he spotted the news on the School Paper's board and blinked. "New... vocalist...?"
Shirota inched beside him. "Wasn't Kimeru-senpai the vocalist? Why are they looking for a new one?"
"I'll go ahead, Shirotan!" Takigawa called, heading off to the band room. When he arrived, he spotted Sota and Nagayan there.
Sota and Nagayan looked at Takigawa as soon as they saw him by the door. "Takigawa? What brings you here?" Nagayan asked.
"If you're looking for Kimeru then I'm afraid that you won't be finding him here anymore," Sota added.
"W...Why'd he leave the band?" Takigawa inquired once he caught his breath.
Sota and Nagayan looked at each other in confusion. "You didn't know?" Nagayan inquired. "He left the band so that he could concentrate on his studies," he explained.
Sota nodded. "Quite a big sacrifice on his part, I'll say...you don't know how much he loves singing," he added.
Takigawa nodded. "I do, actually..." he told Sota, grinning. "Thanks for the information..." he bowed to the two before heading off to where he knew Kimeru would be. Upon reaching the rooftop, he pushed the door open, panting once more. "Why... must this school... be so big...?!" he told himself with each breath before he spotted Kimeru. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.
Kimeru spun around in surprise to face Takigawa. "Tell you what, exactly?" he asked.
"That you quit the band..." Takigawa explained, walking up to him.
"Oh that..." Kimeru said slowly. "I was planning to tell you eventually...wait... How did you know?" he asked.
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"Seriously... Running off like that..." Shirota muttered to himself as he headed to his classroom. When he arrived, he spotted that Aiba was already there. "You're here pretty early, aren't you?" he said cheerfully. "Ohayou, Aiba-kun," he greeted.
Aiba nodded over at Shirota. "Aa. Kimeru-senpai woke me up this morning and he seemed pretty intent on getting here early," he explained.
"Really? That's strange..." Shirota admitted, setting his bag down on his desk and moved through the empty classroom. "Na Aiba-kun... Have you been to the night carnival downtown?" he began.
Aiba tilted his head a bit to the side in thought. "Night carnival? I don't think so..." he said.
"We should go! There's lots of stuff to do there!" Shirota said excitedly.
Aiba raised an eyebrow in question. "Why are you asking me to go?" he asked. Realizing how negative his response was he shrugged. "I guess it's fine..." he added.
Shirota grinned. "Yosh! So is tomorrow night alright with you? Kimeru-senpai is meeting up with Takigawa-senpai for another study session by then..." he reasoned.
Aiba thought for a minute. "I guess it's okay with me. It's a Friday night anyway," he said.
"Glad to hear it!" Shirota said excitedly, pumping a fist into the air. "Yosh! We've got plans tomorrow night!" he cheered.
Aiba didn't really understand why Shirota was so enthusiastic about it. 'It's just a carnival...' he thought.
Shirota sat himself back down when their other classmates started coming in.
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"There was a post on the bulletin board about it..." Takigawa explained.
Kimeru blinked. "Bulletin...board?" he asked before frowning. "The school paper...should have known that they would get something like this on their bulletin board..." he muttered. "In any case, since you know already. Yes, Takigawa…I quit the band, but for a good reason."
Takigawa nodded with a small smile on his face. "I know. It's so that you could concentrate on your studies, right? Sota and Nagayan told me when I went to the band room earlier," he stated.
Kimeru nodded. "But once I pull my grades up I'll go back...and I'll be better than ever!" he said as he pumped a fist into the air.
Takigawa smiled. "Glad to hear it. Your aim is to be a J-Pop singer in the future, right?" he asked. "I'll be sure to get any albums you decide to release," he said brightly, flashing a thumbs-up over to Kimeru. "That's a promise."
Kimeru nodded. "I'll hold you to that promise," he said.
Takigawa chuckled. "Count on it." He paused and checked the time. "I should get going... I need to submit a few things to Moriyama-senpai..." he said, nodding to Kimeru before he moved to the door. "Oh, and good luck in your classes today," he added before heading downstairs to the Council Room.
Kimeru smiled to himself before going downstairs to go to his class as well.
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It was already the first break time. "Takigawa-kun!" Abe, one of Takigawa's classmates, went over to him. "Hey listen! I've got two entrance passes to the night carnival for tomorrow. Maybe you can have it since I won't be able to use it. My parents and I are going out of town and it would be a waste if they're not used. I already asked everybody and it was either they had plans or they already have their own pass..." he said. "So...you want them?"
Takigawa eyed the tickets before smirking. What a coincidence it was that he had just given away his pair of passes to Shirota earlier that morning so that he wouldn't feel bad about not being able to come over. He nodded. "Aa, I'd be glad to take them off your hands, Abe-kun," he replied.
Abe sighed in relief. "That's great! Here you go," Abe said as he handed the tickets to Takigawa. "Have fun then!" he added before going out of the room to head to the cafeteria.
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Aiba opted to stay in the classroom for the first break. He brought out a book he was trying to finish and started reading it from where he had bookmarked it.
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Shirota was spending the first break with his classmates Yanagi Kotaro and Endo Yuuya.
"I thought you were supposed to factor this out?" Yanagi inquired, scribbling something on the paper.
"No, no, no. You should combine these first before factoring it out so it cancels out like that," Endo reasoned.
While the two were fighting over how their current Math assignment was supposed to be solved, Shirota was sitting down on another bench, strumming a random song on the guitar.
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"Aiba-kun! I heard that your photos of the Soccer team will show up on the school paper!" Adachi said as he went over to Aiba. "The paper is going to be released before exams! Isn't it great?"
Aiba looked up at him and shrugged. "I guess it's good news," he said.
"Gee...you could be more enthusiastic about it...." Adachi said.
"Whatever for?" he asked as he flipped the page of the book.
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Kimeru was on the rooftop again; his friends were having a meeting in the studio to talk about what they would do with their certain predicament, thus leaving Kimeru alone for a while. He sighed as he leaned on the fence and looked at the town.
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Takigawa spent the rest of the first break inadvertently addressing his classmates' inquiries about their subjects. When he finally found some time to himself, he took out the passes and smiled. 'A little break wouldn't hurt, right?' he told himself as he slipped them back into his bag for safekeeping.
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As soon as the bell rang, Kimeru hurried back to the classroom, making it before the teacher arrived.
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Soon, classes ended. Aiba stood up and took his bag. "Ne Shirota-kun...I'm looking forward to tomorrow," he said with a small smile.
"So am I!" Shirota said. "Ja, I'm off to practice then!" he called, taking up his bags and jogging out the room and headed to the locker rooms.
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Takigawa had arrived for varsity practice early and started his laps around the court that he was already on his last lap when the rest of the team arrived.
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"Heading to the dorms?" a voice asked, causing Aiba to turn his attention to the door.
"Aa..." he answered.
Kimeru chuckled. "Then let's head back together," he said.
Aiba looked at him suspiciously. "You don't have band practice?" he asked.
"I quit."
"You what?!" Aiba exclaimed. "Oh well...you have your reasons…" he said dismissively.
Kimeru nodded. "So let's go head back."
"Hai..."
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The rest of the afternoon carried on in its usual manner; Shirota had been involved in another practice game, while Takigawa found himself playing a game to determine the starting 5 for their annual practice game with another high school. When both the Soccer and Basketball teams had concluded training, the two met up as usual at the gates and headed home together.
The next day, Shirota went to school early, as designated by their captain for an early morning practice to prepare for their upcoming game tomorrow. That way, they didn't need to schedule practice that afternoon.
Takigawa had gone to school rather early as well to assist Moriyama with next month's activities in the Council Room. When everything was filed, he spent the rest of the early morning up on the rooftop, spotting the practice of the Soccer team and decided to watch for a while as he waited for a certain someone to show up.
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Kimeru had let Aiba sleep in a bit; the boy had been up until midnight studying for a quiz, so he went to school on his own. He yawned as he opened the door to the rooftop. He was a bit surprised to see someone there and smiled when he realized who it was. "Takigawa," he said as he closed the door behind him.
Takigawa turned to see Kimeru arrive. "Ohayou," he greeted, a smile creeping up his face before he rummaged into his bag and pulled out the passes and held them out to Kimeru. "There's a night festival tonight... Do you want to go?" he inquired. "Shirotan's apparently going with Aiba-kun tonight... at least that's what he told me yesterday," he added, grinning.
Kimeru took the passes and looked at them. "Sure, this looks like fun," he said with a smile. "Wait...Aiba and Shirota? They're going out?" he asked.
Takigawa chuckled. "Yes and no," he replied simply.
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Down on the field, the Soccer team had another practice game between the first team and second team, and Shirota had just managed to score a goal. "YOSHA!!!" he cheered, pumping a fist in the air as he headed back to their side of the field.
"What do you think, buchou?" Kujirai Kousuke, the team vice-captain inquired.
Wada nodded. "He'll be a good asset to the team. Good mood-maker, too... Mark him down."
"Hai," Kujirai replied.
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Kimeru frowned. "What do you mean yes and no?" he asked.
"Yes, they're going out to the carnival together, and no, not going out if we put it in the context of them being in the same relationship we're in..." Takigawa explained.
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Aiba yawned as he went passed the soccer field. "A-re? Morning training?" he muttered as he stopped to watch.
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Shirota, on the defending side, managed to tackle the ball off one of the players with a perfectly timed sliding tackle. He brought the ball upfield, expertly passing the defenders before he passed the ball at the last minute to his teammate Kanesaki Kentarou, who took a shot on goal as the ball zoomed past the goalkeeper and into the goal area. "Good pass!" Kentarou called, gesturing a thumbs-up to Shirota, who returned it with his own, partnered with a grin.
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"Wow...he's actually pretty good..." Aiba said as he moved a bit closer to watch.
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"I see..." Kimeru said as he looked at the grounds; he saw something that caught his attention. "Takigawa...take a look at this..." he called out, pointing at the soccer field.
Takigawa looked over his shoulder and looked over to the soccer field and smirked. "Well, well, well... Look who's stopped and watched the practice game..." he said, leaning down on the railings.
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The game continued before the regular team managed to score a point. Shirota and the rest of the second team managed to get back a goal before the final whistle blew as Wada called them all to announce the line-up for tomorrow's game.
"...forwards will be Kanesaki Kentarou and Shirota Yuu! This is the line-up for tomorrow's game. Call time is at 8 o'clock in the morning. That is all!" Wada announced before the team dispersed.
Shirota and Kentarou congratulated one another before Kentarou went ahead to the locker room. Shirota spent some time and finished his water bottle before he spotted Aiba. "A-re?" Aiba-kun?" he grinned, jogging up to him. "Ohayou~! Did you come to watch the game...?" he asked apprehensively.
"Um no...I was actually just passing by…" Aiba said as an excuse. 'Darn it...I knew I should have left earlier.' "You're good..." he complimented.
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Kimeru chuckled. "Those two...they don't get it, don't they?" he asked.
Takigawa stroked his chin. "Well... Shirota's showing some signs of recognition to those feelings he has... Hence always asking Aiba-kun to accompany him... to the yakiniku restaurant last Monday and now to the night carnival... On the other hand, the pictures Aiba-kun took may not be a coincidence at all if he shares the same feelings towards Shirota like we think he has..." he reasoned out.
"From what I know of Aiba, I think that it's safe to say that he has totally no idea of how he feels," Kimeru voiced out. "But they're young. They'll find out sooner or later," he said.
"I suppose the only way to confirm that is later tonight at the carnival," Takigawa finished, grinning as he patted Kimeru on the shoulder. "Are you as curious as I am in finding out whether those feelings exist or not?"
Kimeru faced Takigawa with a smirk on his lips. "You bet I am," he answered.
Takigawa chuckled as he took up his bag. "It's settled then," he stated with finality. "We'll have to keep an eye on them tonight."
Kimeru nodded. "Though I don't want to spend the entire time stalking them, just until we see what's really going on," he said.
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Shirota smiled, nodding. "Ah, sankyu..." He looked at the ground for a while before saying, "I've been chosen to play with the first team in tomorrow's practice game with one of the other high schools..." He paused before clearing his throat. "Ah, gomen... I have to go and get changed for class... See you later in the classroom, then!" he nodded before jogging off to the locker room.
"Sure..." Aiba said as he watched Shirota leave. He sighed before heading off to the classroom. Once there he sat down on his seat and looked out the window.
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Takigawa laughed. "Of course not. That would ruin the whole point of us going and enjoy ourselves," he reasoned.
Kimeru smirked. "That's true," he said.
"So what time do we meet later? We don't have any Council work after school..." Takigawa stated.
"I don't have anything that would hold me back once the bell rings," Kimeru said with a smile.
"Maybe you'd like to go and have some tea or something?" Takigawa offered with a grin.
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Shirota managed to change rather quickly and was making his way to his classroom.
"Shirota-kun!"
Shirota stopped in his tracks and turned to see the second year vice-captain Kujirai. "Ah, Kujirai-senpai."
"Wada-buchou already announced the line-up earlier, but I wanted to make sure that you're comfortable with your position as I'm still fixing the formation that would best suit the team," Kujirai explained. "Did you have any preference as to the position you wanted to be in?"
Shirota shrugged. "Well, I've always been put in mid-field when I was in Junior High... But I've both assisted with goals and scored some myself... So..."
"Mid-field striker, huh?" Kujirai interrupted, smirking. "It suits you. With Kentarou-kun as a forward, Wada-buchou as a mid-fielder and myself as a defender, I think that gives us plenty more opportunities of attacking..." Kujirai stated fondly.
Shirota merely nodded.
"Alright, then. I'll pass on this information to Wada-buchou. Sankyu, Shirota-kun. We'll announce the final line-up by the end of the day on the bulletin board. Be sure to drop by and check it out before you leave today," Kujirai stated before heading off to his classroom.
Shirota bowed before continuing to his own.
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"Tea sounds good," Kimeru answered.
"Then we meet up outside school right after classes?" Takigawa offered.
Kimeru nodded. "Sure, that won't be a problem," he answered. "Oh and by the way...I found something out that the Student Council might be interested in knowing," he started. "Some kids from another school were rumored to have beaten up one of the students in our school."
Takigawa frowned. "Who was the victim?" he asked worriedly. "Is he alright?" he added.
"Aa. He's fine, he got away with a few bruises, or so I've heard." Kimeru answered. "Either way, I think you should be informed."
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'I wonder if I could ask Yagami-senpai to put me in charge of covering the Soccer team...' Aiba wondered as he took out his notebook to look at something. 'Wait...why do I even want to cover that team? ...They're always outdoors and there's practically almost no shade in their practice area plus the fact that there's a huge chance that I might get hit by the soccer balls....' he continued as he weighed the pros and cons of his request. While thinking about it he was subconsciously drawing a stick figure kicking a soccer ball.
Shirota arrived at his classroom and looked inside, seeing the usual figure of Aiba at his desk. "Whatcha doing?" he asked randomly as he entered the room and set his things down on his desk.
"Me? Nothing..." Aiba answered as he made another stick figure beside the one he first made. This time it was holding a camera.
Shirota looked over Aiba's shoulder and managed to see what he was doing. "A-re? Is that supposed to be me?" he inquired, pointing to Aiba's first stick figure.
Aiba, realizing what he was doing, slammed his notebook shut. "Don't mind it! Random stick figures that's all!" he said quickly.
Shirota stepped back, holding his hands up. "Hai, hai..." he said before moving back to his bag.
Aiba sighed in relief. He turned his attention to his seatmate after a while. "Shirota-kun, did you do the homework for history?" he asked.
Shirota set his gym bag down on the floor beside his desk and hanging his book bag accordingly before he turned to Aiba. "Aa. Why do you ask?" he inquired, taking his seat.
"Ano..." Aiba started hesitantly. "I think I need a bit of help with the third question..." he said as he showed him his assignment.
Shirota leaned over and took the assignment and read the question before grinning. "Oh, this one~" Shirota rummaged into his book bag and pulled out a thin book and opened it to where he had marked it. "Here, this should help. My sister used that book when she was in college," he explained, holding the book out to Aiba.
Aiba took out the book and scanned the page; he smiled when he saw that it was indeed the information he needed. "Thanks Shirota-kun!" he said before he started finishing his homework.
Shirota nodded. "Anytime," he replied, leaning back on his seat and closed his eyes.
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Takigawa nodded. "Thanks for the info... I'll report it to Moriyama-senpai later..." he said. "Saa, we should get going..."
Kimeru checked the time with his watch before nodding. "You're right," he said. "Let's go!"
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As soon as Aiba finished answering he handed the book back to Shirota. "Done with it. Thanks again."
Shirota stirred from his short nap and nodded. "Sure thing..." he replied, taking the book and slipping it back into his bag.
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The day had ended quite quickly for some of the people in Mitsukaru High; among these people were Aiba, whose mind was quite preoccupied with what happened that morning and what he was going to do after school.
Shirota, after the bell rang, stretched his arms out over him. "Finally, classes are over!" he said, turning to Aiba beside him. "Excited for tonight?" he asked cheekily as he got to his feet.
"I have to admit, I am a bit excited about it," Aiba said as he finished arranging his things.
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For Kimeru, however, it seemed that the day stretched on longer than necessary. He did well on the test he had but he had a hard time concentrating; he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious about going to the carnival after classes. After all, it was technically a date. That was why as soon as the bell rang, he stuffed his books in his bag, dashed to his locker and bolted towards the school gates.
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After reporting the incident to Moriyama-senpai as he passed the older boy's classroom, Takigawa excused himself and headed off to the school gates to meet with Kimeru.
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Shirota grinned. "Do you want to stop by anywhere before we head there? It's pretty early to be going there right away," he explained, collecting his things.
Aiba thought about this for a moment. "Can we pass the place where they sell those anime series nearby? Kimeru-senpai told me about it and there's something I wanted to see," he said.
Shirota nodded. "Sure. Takigawa-senpai used to take me there quite often before," he said conversationally as he made his way out of the classroom.
Aiba nodded, "Aa. I've never been there before...." he said.
"It's a nice little place," Shirota stated enthusiastically. "They've got a whole lot of series available."
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Kimeru was already by the gates waiting for Takigawa.
Takigawa arrived not long after. "Should we get going?" he inquired.
Kimeru grinned. "Sure. Lead the way," he told him.
Takigawa started off down the road. "There's a place quite near the carnival area, so I figured we'd go there," he stated.
Kimeru nodded. "So what do you want to do once we get there?" he asked.
"To the tea shop or the carnival?" Takigawa inquired in return.
"To the carnival of course," Kimeru said with a chuckle.
"I was thinking we'd go on the rides... Try out a few of the booths..." Takigawa said in thought.
"And of course go to the food booths! Never forget the food booths," Kimeru said pointedly.
Takigawa laughed. "That's right. How could I forget?" he said dramatically.
Kimeru laughed. "You honestly don't expect me to go there and not drag you to at least half of the food booths, do you?" he said.
Takigawa grinned sheepishly. "Seems I've fallen for a fellow food maniac," he teased as they arrived at the shop as they settled down at one of the outside tables and ordered some tea before Takigawa pointed to a certain place. "The carnival's going to be held over there," he explained.
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Aiba thought for a moment. "I wonder if they already have Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz..." he mused.
Shirota patted Aiba on the shoulder. "I'm sure they do!" he replied. "Now hurry up! I happen to remember that a lot of kids go there after school!" he said, taking Aiba by the wrist and pulling him forward as he started running out the school despite the load on his shoulder from his gym bag.
Aiba let himself be led by Shirota to the shop; sure enough there were a lot of people there when they arrived. "Ano sa...Shirota-kun?" Aiba asked before they entered. "Maybe we should pass by the dorms after we finish here to leave some of our stuff," he offered.
Shirota turned to Aiba and nodded. "Good idea," he admitted, managing to make a path, squeezing himself into the shop, pulling Aiba in with him until they managed to get inside.
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Kimeru chuckled. "As they have said: birds of the same feather flock together," he quoted as he looked at the area where Takigawa was pointing at; sure enough he saw what looked like a mini amusement park. "Interesting..." he said.
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After a few minutes of being bumped by random people, Shirota and Aiba went out of the shop. Aiba had managed to find a copy of what he was looking for and bought it. He looked at his watch for a moment before frowning. "We should hurry..." he said as he took hold of Shirota's hand as he started running towards the general direction of the dorms, that were luckily nearby. "Looking around that crowded place took a lot of our time," he explained.
Shirota merely nodded, his gaze fixed to his hand that was intertwined with Aiba's as they dashed towards the dormitories. He felt his cheeks heat up for reasons he didn't know before shaking his head.
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Takigawa thanked the waitress as she came out with their tea. He took his cup and blew off the smoke and took a sip.
Kimeru was quiet as he finished his tea, "Hey Takigawa..." he said suddenly. "I know this sounds redundantly weird but...why do you like me?"
Takigawa traced the rim of his cup with a finger. "Well... How do I put it..." he started slowly. "It's hard to explain..." he admitted.
Kimeru smiled at him. "Don't worry, you don't have to answer anyway…" he said.
"Then I won't," Takigawa replied with a smirk.
Kimeru chuckled. "I'll get it out of you someday," he said.
Takigawa smirked. "You can try, but I might end up showing you why instead of actually telling you..." he said carefully.
Kimeru blinked. "I don't know what you mean but I think that when that happens it would be very interesting..." he said. "...to catch that on film," he added slyly.
"Basically I would much rather show you why I like you through some action than simply stating it in words that may have no meaning in them," Takigawa clarified.
"But still…it would be interesting to watch over and over again since it may only happen once," Kimeru told him.
Takigawa smirked. "That would have to depend on the situation, won't it?"
Kimeru looked at him. "Now you're just creeping me out with that smirk."
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Aiba let go of Shirota's hand as soon as they reached the door to his and Kimeru's dorm room. "Here we are, please don't mind the mess that is also known as Kimeru-senpai's things," he said as he pulled out the key to open the door. He entered the room first and closed the door behind Shirota as he entered. "Feel free to place your bags on my bed," he said as he placed his own bag on the table.
Shirota nodded, moving to set his things down on the boy's bed. "You really like photography, don't you?" Shirota pointed out as he fixed his things after taking a moment's glance at Aiba's side of the room.
Aiba looked up from pulling out something from his bag. "Aa. It's been a hobby of mine since junior high," he said as he sat on the bed. "I think we have a few minutes to catch our breath. Sorry for suddenly pulling you like that."
Shirota straightened up and shook his head. "It's alright. It's like exercise," he explained.
Aiba nodded. "Oh yes, I'm forgetting that I'm talking to one of the school varsity members," he said. "Of course your stamina level would be high…"
Shirota rubbed the back of his head. "Well, yes..." he stated.
"As expected..." Aiba said. He looked at the pictures he had placed on the wall, at a loss of what more to say, seeing that they still have some time to spare.
"A-no..." Shirota piped up. "How did the pictures you take come out? When you visited the team a few days ago, that is..." he inquired.
"Oh those..." Aiba said. "Most of them will be on the school paper which will be released sometime before or after the exams," he said. "And I think I might be visiting your team often..."
Shirota grinned. "That's good to hear! And... are you planning to focus on the team in behalf of the school paper?" he inquired.
"Hai. I'll be in charge of covering the event concerning the soccer team," Aiba said.
Shirota grinned. "Then I'll be expecting you at tomorrow's game, then," he said excitedly.
Aiba nodded. "Sure...I'll be there," he said before consulting the clock on the wall. "I think we better head out," he told Shirota as he stood up and opened the door. "After you," he said.
Shirota slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded, heading out the door.
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Takigawa finished his tea and got to his feet after checking his watch for the time. "Let's get going, then. Shall we?" he inquired, picking up his bag and gestured the way to the carnival.
Kimeru nodded, taking his own bag before following Takigawa to the carnival.
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It wasn't long until Shirota and Aiba reached the carnival as well, though Aiba didn't have an idea that his senpai would be there. They had just entered when Aiba was looking around. 'A-re? Isn't that senpai?' he thought but the person vanished as soon as he saw him. He shrugged... 'Must have been my imagination,' he told himself.
"Ne ne, Aiba-kun, let's go to that one first!" Shirota stated excitedly, pointing to a game booth.
Aiba nodded. "Sure," he said as he went over to the game booths.
"This one, this one," Shirota said, pointing to the shooting game.
----------
Takigawa pulled Kimeru out of sight when he had spotted Shirota and Aiba from a distance. "We don't want to know we're here too," he hissed before leading him to one of the nearby food booths.
Kimeru grinned. "If that's what you think is best. Though I'm interested on how this will work out," he said before looking around. "Hey look, they have cotton candy!" he said as he pulled Takigawa to the direction of the said food item.
"So am I, but---" Takigawa was cut short when he was pulled off to the cotton candy.
----------
Aiba looked at the game booth. "Shooting game? Go on ahead, Shirota-kun. I'm no good when it comes to those types of games. I'll just watch you," he said.
"Nobody's 'no good'!" Shirota encouraged, handing the gun to Aiba. "You should try it, at least!" he said.
Aiba sighed as he took the gun and took aim, but as he had said earlier, he wasn't really good when it came to aiming. He missed the target. "Why am I not surprised?" he said quietly to himself. After a few more turns he handed the gun to Shirota. "Your turn," he said.
----------
Kimeru bought two of the cotton candy and handed one to Takigawa. "Sorry about that..." he said as he smiled in embarrassment.
Takigawa took the cotton candy and smiled. "No, it's alright. I happen to enjoy cotton candy," he admitted.
Kimeru grinned. "That's a good thing, then!" he said happily.
----------
Shirota took the gun. He carefully took aim and managed to hit the target. After doing so a few more times, he lowered the gun on the counter.
"Congratulations!" the booth operator cheered. "You hit the target enough times to win one of the main prizes. Choose anything you like from our selection on the shelf," he said, gesturing to the shelf decorated with large stuffed animals.
Shirota looked at them for a while before turning to Aiba, grinning. "Which one do you want?" he asked.
Aiba blinked. "E-eh? Me?" he asked. "You go ahead and choose Shirota-kun. You were the one who won anyway..." he said, blushing a bit.
"No, I want you to choose! I was planning to give it to you, anyway..." Shirota explained, scratching his cheek in slight embarrassment.
"Oh...um...then...that one..." he said as he pointed at the panda plushie. The man behind the booth nodded as he handed Aiba the panda. Aiba took it and smiled. "Ano...thanks, Shirota-kun," he said, his blush still not subsiding.
----------
Takigawa moved to see if he could relocate the younger pair, pulling Kimeru behind another booth as he spotted them. He grinned. "Look, Aiba got himself a panda plushie," he declared.
Kimeru finished off his cotton candy and looked at the two. "It looks like Shirota-kun got it for him, though..." he said as he observed the scenario. "Young love..." he said with a chuckle.
Takigawa chuckled. "You're probably right."
----------
"No problem," Shirota replied with a nervous grin. "Saa, what do you want to do?" Shirota inquired distractedly as he looked at the other booths.
"I'm not sure..." Aiba said as he held the plushie closer and looked around.
----------
"Over here!" Shirota called, moving forward to another booth. A few kids were tossing around a water balloon back and forth between themselves.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "LOOK OUT!"
Shirota turned around and just managed to side-step out of the way, dodging the water balloon. "Hey, watch where--" he was cut short, however, when a big splash resounded behind him. The next thing Shirota knew, he was soaked by the excess water that flowed out from the tank.
Aiba blinked at he saw Shirota dodge. "That was--" he was cut off as he saw Shirota soaked by the water that came from the tank just behind him.
"Ah, gomen!" the booth operator said, approaching the drenched Shirota and handing him a towel. "We didn't expect the water to overflow like that..." he apologized.
Shirota took the towel and grinned, wrapping it around him. "It's fine. It was my mistake for staying too close to the dunking tank," he said in reply.
Aiba looked away, his body shaking. A few moments later he was laughing so hard that his sides started to hurt. He knew he must have looked like an idiot but he just couldn't control it.
----------
"He....he's laughing....he's actually laughing!!" Kimeru said as he watched with wide eyes. "I can't believe it!"
Takigawa turned to Kimeru. "He's never laughed before?" he asked incredulously.
"I never heard him laugh before...he's always been so serious," Kimeru explained. "Well who would've guessed that your boy over there would be the one to break the ice?" he said in amusement.
Takigawa looked over to Shirota and smiled. "Good job, Shirotan," he said to himself.
Kimeru chuckled. "Come on let's leave those two alone," he said as he pulled Takigawa away.
Takigawa nodded, finishing his cotton candy along the way.
-----------
After a few moments Aiba managed to calm himself down. "Gomen Shirota-kun! But that was just..." he was cut off by another round of laughter, but a bit more controlled this time. "G-Gomen!" he said again as he tried to stifle his laughter.
Shirota looked over to Aiba, frowning for a moment before breaking into a grin as he used the towel to dry his hair. He moved up to Aiba and grinned once more. "I'm glad I got you to laugh," he stated.
Aiba's laughter had died down. "Sorry for laughing at you," he said with an apologetic smile.
"It seems you're the type who's amused by other's silly misfortunes..." Shirota assumed.
Aiba looked away in embarrassment. "I...guess so..." he said.
Shirota merely smiled before pointing to another game booth. "Do you want to try fishing?" he inquired.
Aiba nodded. "Sure, maybe this time I could win you a prize," he said.
Shirota grinned before approaching the booth while using the towel to try and dry his clothes even slightly.
----------
Kimeru led them to one of the rides. "Let's do the bumper cars!" he said as he got to the line. "Mou...lines are always long..." he muttered. "When I get famous we'll go to a carnival again and we won't have to fall in line!" he proclaimed.
Takigawa laughed. "Would you even be free to go to one? A singer's career is a bit too unpredictable," he stated seriously.
Kimeru smiled. "Don't worry!" he told Takigawa. "I'm sure I'll be able to pull a few strings!" he said.
Takigawa chuckled as they moved forward in the line. "I'm sure you will."
----------
As soon as they arrived at the booth, Aiba tried his luck. "Let's see..." he said as he played. He did manage to get a prize this time, though it wasn't as big as what Shirota got for him, having only gotten the knack of it on the third try. "Here...sorry that it's small," he said as he handed over a little white mini-Mokona plushie.
Shirota took it and smiled. "A prize is a prize. Size is secondary," he stated warmly. "Thanks for the effort," he added.
Aiba smiled. "No problem...hey! Let's try that one!" he said as he went towards one of those dart games.
Shirota followed Aiba. "I like this one," he expressed happily.
----------
The line moved quicker than the both had expected. Kimeru had chosen one of the blue cars. He looked at Takigawa to see if the other would join him or go individually.
Takigawa took a moment's glance around before joining Kimeru in the car. "You have done this before, haven't you?" he inquired, halfway from putting the safety harness around him, buckling it in place.
"Of course I have. I used to battle Daisuke and the others on these..." he said with a smirk. "...get ready..." he said before the bell to signal the start rang. He stepped on the pedal, making the car jerk before speeding off to the center of the area. Kimeru turned sharply to avoid getting hit and managed to hit all the cars there that were moving in a span of a few minutes. When the ride ended he smiled at Takigawa. "That was fun!" he said happily.
----------
Aiba sighed as he noticed that he didn't hit any of the targets. "This just proves that my aim is really bad..." he said. "But oh well."
"A-no..." Shirota supplied, tapping Aiba on the shoulder as he gestured to the booth operator.
"Your friend won a prize! Which would you like?" he inquired, gesturing to the objects he had placed on the counter.
Aiba's eyes widened as he looked at the things placed on the table, again they were major prizes.
"A-re? ...You're really good when it comes to these games..." Aiba said as he picked the medium sized brown bear.
Shirota scratched his cheek. "Yes, well... My brother used to take me to this kind of place when I was younger..." he explained.
Aiba nodded. "Well...it paid off, look at your skills," he said as he raised the plushie that he had just acquired.
Shirota nodded. "It took me some time. So don't worry if you can't do it now. You'll only improve if you put in the effort to make better next time!" he said encouragingly.
----------
Takigawa, glued to his seat, heaved a huge sigh of relief when the ride came to an end. He turned to Kimeru and forced a smile. "A...Aa..." 'He'll be a maniac driver if and when he starts driving...' he concluded in his head.
Kimeru got out of the car and dragged Takigawa outside. "Where do you want to go next?" he asked.
Takigawa looked around. "How about that?" he inquired, pointing to the Ferris Wheel.
Kimeru raised an eyebrow, "Ferris Wheel?" he asked. "I guess it's fine...let's go before the line get's long then!" he said as he took Takigawa by the hand and led him to the line for the Ferris Wheel.
Takigawa looked at the structure for a while as they settled to wait in line. 'It looks stable enough...'
----------
Aiba nodded. "Hai. And maybe that time I could get you a more decent prize instead of the other way around," he said.
Shirota grinned. "I'm looking forward to that," he said happily, looking around. "Where to now?" he asked.
----------
Kimeru grinned as soon as they were able to ride in one of the carts. "This one I haven't been on before, I've heard from Furukawa though that the view at the top is amazing!" he said as one of the operators closed the door of the cart once they were inside.
Takigawa nodded. "It is," he confirmed.
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Aiba looked around and spotted the Ferris Wheel; it was already nearing sundown and he wanted to see the view. "There," he said, pointing at the ride.
----------
"So you rode this before?" Kimeru asked as the ride started moving bit by bit towards the top. Once they reached the highest point Kimer looked out. "Look! Just in time for the sunset!" he said happily, as he looked at the view.
A few moments later the ride jerked to a stop. "What's going on?" Kimeru said as he looked at Takigawa.
"We're experiencing minor technical problems, we would like to ask the passengers to not panic as the technical team will do their best to get the ride moving again," a voice on loudspeaker said from the ground.
----------
"And here I thought that the rides here are well-maintained," Aiba said as he looked at the ride. "Changed my mind, that will take a while...let's go find something to eat instead," he told Shirota.
Shirota nodded. "Good idea," he said, adjusting his hold on Aiba's panda plushie as they headed off to a random food booth.
----------
Kimeru sighed as he sat back down. "Now why does this whole situation seem too cliched?" he asked before looking at Takigawa. 'Either that or I've read too many of Furukawa's shojo mangas....then again...why do I read them?!' he thought. The sun was setting in the horizon, giving the cart an orange glow inside, causing the atmosphere to seem more --as Kimeru dejectedly admitted to himself-- romantic. Kimeru closed his eyes as an attempt to not think of anything else.
Takigawa sighed. "I had a feeling something like this would happen..." he admitted. "Well, at least we'll have an extended time viewing this sunset from here, na?" he tried.
Kimeru smiled as he looked at the sunset before turning his attention back to Takigawa. "You have a point there," he said, "It's not like we're in a hurry anyway, right?"
"Of course we're not," Takigawa replied with a grin. "Let's just enjoy the moment," he said.
----------
Aiba and Shirota had managed to find some seats near the food booths. Aiba looked at his two plushies, the smile still on his face. "I still can't believe that you won two major prizes..." he said.
"I told you it was because I've done it a lot... I just got lucky this time around..." Shirota defended.
"Yes, that's true but....it's still two major prizes..." Aiba said.
Shirota sighed. "I guess I can't stop you from being amazed, huh?" he stated as he decided to concentrate on his food.
"Aa...after all...it's not every day that someone plays games in a carnival and gives the prizes to me..." Aiba said carefully.
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Kimeru nodded. "Aa..." he answered as he looked outside again to see the faint orange glow of the sunset envelope the city. It seemed like it wasn't the city that Kimeru grew up in; it was as if that nothing awful happens at some places in that area...it just looked absolutely perfect. He smiled at the thought.
Takigawa looked over to Kimeru, smiling fondly at how the sunset had illuminated the boy perfectly. He chuckled. "Kimeru... I'm glad you agreed to come to the carnival with me," he began.
Kimeru looked at him with a smile still on his lips. "I'm glad I came too, Takigawa…" he said.
Takigawa looked into Kimeru's eyes for a long moment before he slowly inched closer. Suddenly, the Ferris Wheel jerked, causing Takigawa towards Kimeru as their lips brushed for the whole of two seconds before Takigawa immediately pulled back, blushing furiously. "Gomen..." he replied.
Kimeru's eyes widened as he felt their lips connect. He blushed as soon as they parted, averting his gaze to the ground. He was going to say something when the voice on the loudspeaker spoke about the ride being fixed.
"We're sorry for the wait. The technicians have fixed the ride and we'll be evacuating the passengers one cart at a time. We thank you for your patience," the voice called through the loudspeaker.
Takigawa looked away before distractedly feeling the ride slowly starting to move once more. "Looks like they've fixed the problem," Takigawa noted quietly.
Kimeru decided to just keep quiet until they got down from the ride wherein as soon as they were away from the crowd surrounding the ride, he took hold of Takigawa's hand. He grinned at him before turning his attention to the direction of the booths nearby. "We should look for Shirota-kun and Aiba..." he said as he led Takigawa to the booths.
Takigawa nodded. "A...Aa..." he said quietly.
----------
Shirota disposed of the plate he had before getting to his feet, taking hold of Aiba's panda plushie. "That was satisfying," he stated.
Aiba nodded as he disposed his own plate as he took his bear plushie and stood up as well. What he saw next though, made him stop. "Shirota-kun....that...isn't that Kimeru-senpai and Takigawa-senpai?" he asked as he pointed to the two that were just a few booths away from them.
Shirota squinted his eyes before nodding. "Yeah," he replied, turning to Aiba with a smile before glancing back at them. "Wait, what?!" he added, pointing at them. "What are they doing here?!"
Aiba blinked. "That's what I want to--- Shirota-kun...they're holding hands...." he observed as the two walked around, apparently looking for something.
Takigawa's search ended as he pointed to the younger two. "There they are," he said as he and Kimeru walked up to them.
"What are you doing here?" Shirota repeated.
"Kimeru-senpai...aren't you supposed to be studying with Takigawa-senpai instead of dragging him out to a..." Aiba paused; looking at the two's intertwined hands. "...date," he finished.
Kimeru grinned at him. "Takigawa was the one who invited me, Aiba...and besides a little break won't hurt," he said.
Shirota looked over to Takigawa, who had rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. The younger boy smirked. "After giving me your passes..." Shirota said, shaking his head.
"Abe-kun offered his passes... I had planned on taking it easy today with Kimeru-kun so I accepted them..." Takigawa muttered in reply.
Silence fell over the four after a while. Aiba was the one who broke it. "I think we better head back," he said as he looked at his watch.
Kimeru nodded. "That's right. Is Shirota-kun coming with us?" he asked.
"Aa. His things are in the dorm room," Aiba answered.
Kimeru looked at Shirota and then Aiba. "In the dorm room?" he asked.
"It's not like we would enjoy the day walking around with our school bags..." Aiba said.
"We did," Kimeru countered.
"You should change," Takigawa pointed out to Shirota, gesturing to his semi-wet clothes.
Shirota nodded. "I have an extra pair of clothes in my gym bag," he explained.
----------
The four headed off to the dorms afterwards. Aiba and Kimeru were having a verbal warfare all the way back, Kimeru had been smirking the whole way while Aiba frowned. When they reached the dorms, it was Kimeru who opened the door. "Come on in. Don't mind the mess," he said.
Shirota stepped inside and knowingly made his way to Aiba's bed, setting the boy's panda plushie on it in exchange with his bags as he took them.
Takigawa entered the dorm and took a moment to examine the place.
"Ne, where's the bathroom?" Shirota inquired.
"Right there," Aiba said as he pointed to a door inside the room. "I almost forgot...I'll just get something from Adachi downstairs," he added before leaving the room.
Kimeru nodded at him and watched Shirota make his way to the bathroom. As soon as the doors closed, Kimeru looked at Takigawa. "Hey…about earlier..." he said slyly.
----------
Shirota set his bag down as soon as he closed the door and began to change his clothes. 'Of all the times to get my uniform wet...' he scolded himself.
----------
Takigawa turned to Kimeru before the blush reappeared on his cheeks. "W...What about it?"
Kimeru kicked the door closed from behind him and advanced on Takigawa. "Oh…nothing much…" he said slyly, a smirk on his lips. "I just thought that you might want to do it properly." He then took hold of Takigawa's necktie and pulled him down for a kiss.
Takigawa, taken aback for a moment, took a while before his brain had registered what was happening as he returned the kiss. He pulled back before nodding nervously. "I wasn't really expecting..." he trailed off, unsure how to phrase his thinking.
Kimeru grinned as he stepped back and sat on the bed. "Wasn't expecting what, exactly?" he asked.
Takigawa cleared his throat. "Nothing... You do the most unexpected things sometimes..." he stated.
Kimeru chuckled. "That's one thing that you should get used to, then," he said with a grin.
"I'm back..." Aiba said as he entered the room. "Takigawa-senpai...your face is red...are you alright?" he asked.
Takigawa waved his hand. "It's nothing," he replied hastily.
Shirota emerged from the bathroom, having changed into his track pants and a dry shirt. He looked amongst the group. "Did anything interesting happen?" he inquired.
Kimeru simply grinned and Aiba seemed to have taken the hint. "Oh...." he said in realization, looking back and forth between the two second years.
"Time we got going!" Takigawa announced, taking his bag in one hand and Shirota's wrist in the other.
Shirota managed to grab his things before calling out, "See you tomorrow, Aiba-kun!" just as Takigawa had opened the door and left the dorm with the younger boy.
----------
Kimeru burst out laughing as the two left, while Aiba went to the bathroom to change.
When he got out a few moments later, Kimeru took his turn. "Hey Ai--" Kimeru stopped when he saw Aiba asleep on the bed. Kimeru grinned. "He must have been so tired and he didn't even tell Shirota..." he said as he noticed something. "A-re? He's smiling...." he muttered as he looked at Aiba.
The younger boy was holding the giant plushie that was almost half his size; he was clearly asleep but the smile was unmistakable. Kimeru reached for the camera on the table and turned off the flash. He adjusted a bit so the shot he would take would be clear. He snapped the picture and smiled. "Good night, Aiba," he said quietly before slipping into bed and falling asleep as well.
----------
On the way to their houses, Shirota brought up a strange conversation. "Ne, Eiji-kun..."
"What is it?" Takigawa inquired.
"There was this strange feeling I had when I was with Aiba-kun earlier... I can't really describe it..." he said carefully.
Takigawa thought about it for a moment. "When exactly were you feeling that way?"
Shirota blushed. "On the way to the dorms... He grabbed my hand..." he muttered.
Takigawa saw this kind of behavior and laughed, patting Shirota on the back. "You don't understand it, right? Why that type of gesture made you feel strange?" Shirota nodded. "Well, that's because you like him," he replied bluntly.
Shirota glanced over to Takigawa. "W...What?!"
"I'm serious," Takigawa continued. "I was feeling the same way with Kimeru..." he stated fondly. He stopped when he noticed that they had reached his house. "Looks like we part ways here. Good luck in your game tomorrow, Shirotan," he said, waving before heading to his front door.
Shirota watched Takigawa before shrugging, continuing a few more houses before reaching his own and resigned to his room.
Aiba woke up the next day to the sound of his alarm. 'Strange...I don't remember setting it,' he thought as he sat up and yawned.
"Oi, Aiba...you're going to be late for Shirota-kun's game if you sleep in!" a voice said from the bathroom.
"I'm up..." Aiba muttered as he stood, looking around. Kimeru stepped out of the bathroom, pulling a shirt over his head.
"I'll go ahead of you, I'll be back sometime after lunch," Kimeru said.
Aiba nodded. "Aa...I'll just be at the game and maybe I'll come back after..." he said.
----------
Kimeru knocked at Takigawa's door. He hoped that the other boy was home. He looked at the picture he was holding and smirked. 'It took a while to print but it was worth it.' It was the picture he took of Aiba the night before.
----------
Aiba reached the venue of the game with a camera, notebook and pen in hand. He had received a message that day that his request of being in charge of covering the soccer team's activities had been approved. He went to the game for the school paper and to secretly cheer Shirota on.
----------
Shirota was doing some stretching with his partner Kentarou. The final line-up was announced earlier that morning and the team had been doing individual drills to warm up. Shirota got to his feet and nodded to Kentarou, who wanted to do some practice shots on goal.
"Today's the day," Zukki said, walking up to his teammate. "You excited?" he inquired.
Shirota nodded with a grin on his face. "Of course. The first game we're playing with the varsity team," he explained.
Zukki chuckled. "True..."
"Shirota!" Wada called.
"Hai!" Shirota ran up to him.
"Your position is vital. Show me how well you can play midfield-striker, okay?" Wada said, patting the younger boy on the shoulder encouragingly.
Shirota nodded. "Hai, buchou!"
----------
Takigawa checked the time. It was almost time for Shirota's game to start. He was preparing to bring Pearl out for a walk before he heard a knock on the door. He went to open it. "Ha--Kimeru? What are you doing here?" he inquired.
Kimeru handed the picture to Takigawa. "After the game...give this to Shirota-kun. I'm sure he'll appreciate it," he said.
----------
Aiba had managed to get a good position to get some good pictures for the game. He adjusted the lens so that it would be ready for taking pictures once the game starts.
----------
Takigawa took the picture and smirked. "I'm pretty sure he will..." he replied, nodding.
"The game is today, right? Why don't we go and watch?" Kimeru asked.
Takigawa looked over to Pearl before moving to attach the leash to the harness. "I was planning on walking Pearl anyway. It would be nice to see Shirota play again. Let's go," he said, setting the picture on the table by the door and exited the house, locking the door behind him before they headed off for the school where the game was.
----------
After final instructions were given to the team by Wada, the game was just about ready to start as both teams got into position on the field. The referee handed the ball to Kentarou, who set it down on the mark. The coin toss had been in Mitsukaru's favor so they were awarded the kick-off. The whistle was blown, and the game began.
Aiba held his camera in place as he watched Shirota move. He forgot for a while what he was supposed to be doing before standing up to take pictures, writing notes every now and then as the game went on.
----------
"Over here!" Kamakari 'Kenken' Kenta called as Wada passed him the ball. The players from Taito High attempted an interception but Kenken managed to get to the ball and passed it forward to a waiting Shirota.
Shirota took quick aim at the goal and kicked the ball as it sped past the keeper and the whistle blew, signaling their first point.
"Nice pass, Kenken!" Shirota he called; running back to their part of the field.
----------
Kimeru nodded. "Let's see if Aiba's actually doing his job..." he said with a chuckle.
Takigawa chuckled. "I'm sure he would be," he stated, Pearl walking ahead of them, sniffing around the pavement as they neared the school where they heard some cheering in the distance.
----------
Aiba watched as the game progressed; he had managed to get a list of the names of the other players earlier, thus giving him an opportunity to quickly identify the players on the field. He looked around through the view finder of his camera to snap a picture of the crowd.
He looked up when he heard that the crowd cheered about something and saw Shirota with the ball, running to the other side of the field. He carefully adjusted the lens of the camera and took a shot. 'This will make a good main picture for the article,' he thought as he smiled.
----------
"Zukki!!" Shirota called after managing to intercept a pass and kicked the ball over to Zukki, who took it forward and passed it on to Kentarou who took a shot on goal and scored, causing the crowd to cheer once more.
'Shirota... Kanesaki... Suzuki... Kamakari...Those freshmen are a nice addition to the team...' Wada thought to himself, smiling from his spot on the field. 'It looks like we'll have a chance in the tournament this time.'
Aiba snapped a picture of Kentarou scoring a point before jotting something down.
----------
As soon as they reached the field Kimeru looked around. "There he is," he said as he pointed at Aiba before looking at the field. "And there's Shirota," he added.
Takigawa looked around, locating the scoreboard. "They're already leading by 2 goals. That's not so much of a surprise..." he stated as they watched Taito kick off to attempt to score.
----------
There was a fierce battle for the ball that arose at mid-field. A mix of Mitsukaru and Taito players collided with one another before one of the Taito players managed to break away with the black and white, continuing towards the Mitsukaru net.
"Kujirai!" Wada called.
"I got it!" he replied, running up to intercept the ball. The Taito player, however, surprised everyone and took a long shot as the ball flew past both Kujirai and the keeper Irei Kanata.
"Don't mind, don't mind!" Shirota hollered to his teammates as the crowd from Taito cheered. "We'll get it back!" he reassured them as he went to retrieve the ball so they could restart the game.
----------
Aiba looked around the crowd and spotted Kimeru and Takigawa nearby; he thought about going to them but decided against it as he still needed to finish his job.
----------
Kimeru sighed as he watched the game. "Quite the mood maker..." he commented as he watched Shirota get the ball. "He'll make a nice captain in his senior year."
Takigawa nodded in agreement. "He was captain of the Soccer team last year in his senior year at junior high. Led them to the Nationals and ended up winning it all," he stated. "So he's used to these kinds of situations and knows just what to say to bring his teammates' spirits up."
----------
Wada watched Shirota before breaking into a grin. 'Shirota Yuu... Captain of the Hirokoshi Junior High Soccer team that won the National tournament in their division... I'm glad he came to Mitsukaru...' he thought in satisfaction. "Yosh! Let's get back that goal we lost!" he cried as the team cheered in agreement.
Kenken passed the ball back to Wada, who started the attack with both Shirota and Kentarou running ahead of him. Wada smartly evaded an incoming tackle as he jumped and passed the ball over to Shirota, who took it and continued forward. He began using a few tricks to get past the Taito players - whether it was heeling the ball overhead, making fake sidesteps or simply kicking it through their legs, Shirota reached the penalty area and found an opening and tapped the ball sideways to settle the ball in front of a charging Kentarou, who took a massive shot that was deflected by the keeper.
The ball rose into the air as Shirota went to take the rebound and jumped up, heading the ball back towards the net. "Get in the goal!" he called as the ball bounced off the ground and snuck past the keeper and into the goal, scoring another goal.
----------
Kimeru grinned. "That sounds great. Then maybe we have a chance to get to win something this year," he said.
"According to the information I gathered, the Mitsukaru Senior High Soccer team has never reached anything above third place since 1985 and by the looks of this game alone I think it would be safe to say that we have a chance this year," Aiba said, appearing behind them, causing Kimeru to jump in surprise.
"Don't do that!!" Kimeru said.
Aiba blinked. "Do what?"
Takigawa laughed at this. "In any case, Aiba-kun is right," he said, turning back to the field. "They've gotten a lot stronger with the addition of those four freshmen," he stated. "Shirota, Kanesaki, Kamakari and Suzuki..."
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The game continued until the first half come to a close with the blow of a whistle. The score remained at 3-1 in Mitsukaru's favor as the teams went to their benches for a short break.
"Good job, everyone!" Wada praised as his teammates sank to the ground or to the benches, slightly out of breath. Some were bringing towels to their faces while others quenched their thirst with water. "The game is moving in our pace. Let's keep it up and get us more goals!" The team nodded.
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Aiba jotted down a few things while it was halftime.
"Can I see the pictures you took?" Kimeru asked and Aiba nodded, handing him the digital camera. Kimeru moved back a bit to show Takigawa as well. "Why am I not surprised that this is all Shiro--"
"The other players are there too," Aiba said quickly, snatching the camera back.
"Minna!" Shirota called, jogging up to them as soon as he spotted them. "Glad you could all make it," he said, grinning before he heard some barking. It wasn't long before Pearl had jumped onto the boy, causing him to collapse to the ground, laughing. "Pearl, get off!" he cried as the Yorkshire proceeded to lick Shirota on the face.
Takigawa laughed. "Pearl, don't jump on Shirotan like that," he scolded lightly.
"You're doing great out there," Aiba said as he took the dog from Shirota, patting it before handing her to Takigawa.
Kimeru nodded. "Even from this side of the field I can still say that you're good," he said.
Shirota got to his feet and nodded to them. "Thanks for the compliments..." he said humbly, grinning.
Takigawa took Pearl from Aiba, stroking her as he said, "You'll be going full steam at the start of this second half, right?"
Shirota nodded to Takigawa. "Aa." He turned and saw that Kujirai was waving at him to come back. "I got to be heading back now. Enjoy the rest of the game!" he called before jogging back to the field to begin the second half.
"We will!" Kimeru called out after him.
"I'm going back to my place near the bleachers, want to come with me?" Aiba asked them.
"Hmm...Sounds like a good idea," Kimeru said.
Takigawa nodded as they followed Aiba to the bleachers.
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The second half of the game brought about a sudden flare from Mitsukaru. Play after play, Shirota, Kentarou, Wada and Kenken were the most active, intercepting passes or stealing the ball from their opponents and passing it forward, leaving Shirota or Kentarou to score. When the final whistle was blown, the game ended with a score of 6-2 in Mitsukaru's favor.
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When the game had ended and the players were allowed to leave, Aiba, Kimeru and Takigawa waited for Shirota by the school gates.
Aiba looked at his watch for a while, consulting it for the time. "I think we still have some time..." he muttered.
"Time for what?" Kimeru asked him.
"I"ll tell you when Shirota-kun comes," Aiba said.
Shirota, having changed from his soccer uniform, jogged to the gates to meet the three. "Thanks for waiti-- No, Pearl!" he said, stepping back as Pearl attempted to jump on him again but was held back by Takigawa gently pulling on the leash.
"Congratulations, Shirotan," Takigawa greeted.
Kimeru laughed when he saw Pearl try to jump on Shirota. "She seems to like you a lot," he observed.
Aiba looked at them then at his watch again. "Ne, Shirota-kun...where would you like to have lunch? It's my treat...you can come along too, senpai-tachi," he said as he looked at the three.
Shirota turned to Aiba and blinked. "H...Hontou?!" he exclaimed.
"And since when were you up to treating people out to lunch, Aiba-kun?" Takigawa inquired.
Aiba just shrugged. "It seems proper since it is Shirota-kun's first game...and I know that Kimeru-senpai didn't have breakfast," he stated.
Kimeru chuckled. "That's true."
"So where do you want to eat, Shirota-kun?" Aiba asked again.
"Anywhere is fine," Shirota replied. "I don't really mind where."
"Okay," Aiba answered before leading them to a nearby restaurant.
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After an hour and a half that was spent inside, the four soon returned to their own homes and --in Kimeru and Aiba's case-- dorms.
Before they knew it, it was Monday again. Aiba as usual was early for his classes. He was going to submit his article after school and hopefully it would be part of the next issue.
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Kimeru, in the meantime was looking around lazily at his friends; the second years were at the auditorium for their first period. It was something about an outbound activity on Wednesday and Kimeru wasn't exactly listening for details.
"...so go ahead and pick a partner. You're allowed to pick a partner from another class but make sure..."
That sentence got Kimeru to turn his attention to the speaker. 'From another class...so that means...' he smirked. 'I can be partnered with Takigawa.'
As soon as the teacher finished talking there was a line in front to register their partners. Kimeru managed to get to the line before it got too long. "A-re? Kimeru-kun? But you already have a partner."
Kimeru's eyes widened. "What? Who?" he asked.
"Abe Yoshitsugu-kun from section one," the teacher answered.
Kimeru got out of the line and looked around, only to see Abe waving at him. 'What the heck?!'
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Takigawa remained in his seat as he watched the rest of their batch line up and sign up with their partners. He sighed. 'Well, it would be no point in fighting over partners at this sort of thing...' he reasoned with himself.
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"I can never beat you to be first in class, Aiba-kun..." Shirota said with a mock pout, the mini-Mokona plushie he had gotten from the other boy decorated his book bag as he hung it on the side of his desk.
Aiba looked over at Shirota and shrugged. "I just wake up early that's all…" he answered as he turned his attention to the article he was reading. 'So if I place that picture here...' he thought as he looked at an empty box above the article.
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Kimeru frowned as he went back to the bleachers heading to where he was sitting a while ago.
"Kimeru-kun!" Abe said as he approached him.
Kimeru sighed and looked at Abe. "Yes, Abe-kun?"
"I'm sorry for not asking you about this, but I hope you don't mind being my partner," Abe said carefully.
"I don't mind Abe-kun," Kimeru said with a smile.
Abe sighed in relief. "Thanks Kimeru-kun! I'll see you around, then!" he said.
"Aa. See you around," Kimeru answered.
Abe stood and went back over to where their section was as he immediately approached Takigawa. "Takigawa-kun! Guess who I got to be my partner!" he said enthusiastically.
Takigawa, having watched their earlier conversation from his place stated, "Kimeru-kun, na?"
Abe nodded. "Hai. I honestly thought that he was going to get mad about it since I didn't ask him first, but he said he didn't mind. Can you believe it?" he asked.
Furukawa overheard this and came closer just as Abe left to talk to Baba Toru who was beside him. "You don't mind this?" Furukawa asked Takigawa.
Takigawa heaved a sigh and massaged his temples. "There's no point in arguing about it now... Abe-kun seems keen on being able to have Kimeru as his partner. I don't want to impose myself on them..." he replied.
The teacher walked up to them. "Takigawa-kun... It seems you're the only one without a partner. Is that fine with you?" he inquired.
Takigawa gave a small smile and nodded. "Hai."
Furukawa just patted him on the shoulder. "Knowing Kimeru he'll be able to think of something to make it up to you..." he said.
"Oi Furukawa! What are you doing talking to that wall?!" Daisuke called out from the top area of the bleachers.
Furukawa sighed. "I'll see you," he said before standing up to rejoin Daisuke and their group.
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After a while they were asked to go back to their classes, Kimeru knew that he didn't have a choice in the matter anymore and decided not to brood about it. 'At least there's still a chance that I'll be with Takigawa...wherever we're going...' he thought.
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After classes, Aiba had gone straight to the School Paper office to submit his article while Kimeru waited for Takigawa outside his classroom.
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Takigawa wrote the homework for Math before standing, fixing his things.
"Na, Takigawa-kun," Tuti called. "I heard you were left without a partner for the field trip... Are you fine with that?" he asked worriedly.
Takigawa clipped his book bag closed. "I don't mind..." he replied. "Ja, I'll be going ahead, Tuti." With that, he headed outside and stopped when he saw Kimeru. "Let's get going, shall we?" he said as he started off down the hall.
"Sure," Kimeru said with a grin.
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Shirota had gone off to the Council room to help with a few things while Takigawa continued with the Student Partner Program.
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Aiba left the room to find the hallway empty. He sighed as he headed outside the campus. His phone rang and he pulled it out from his bag; it was his mother. He stopped walking and stared at the screen for some time until the ringing stopped. He sighed heavily before deciding to turn off his phone. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before walking on.
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The study session at Takigawa's place carried on as usual that Monday night. He and Kimeru had tackled Math and took much longer than usual before Kimeru understood how to use the formulas correctly before Takigawa told him he could return to his dorm.
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Shirota, having arrived home from school that afternoon, chased his brother Jun around the house. The younger of the two was shouting to give back his bag when the older Shirota had spotted the miniature plushie and asked him about it repeatedly, threatening not to give the bag back until Yuu had answered his question.
TBC
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