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 9th chapter entitled The New Teacher. This chapter focuses on the actual performance of the school musical of RENT put on by the school before it shifts to the introduction of a new problem for Shirota and Aiba in the form of a new teacher in the form of Takahiro Akira. Their relationship is once again put to the test as Takahiro-sensei takes interest in Aiba. Shirota, along with the help of the Student Council, tries to expose the devious deeds of this seemingly innocent Math teacher.
**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 day of the musical arrived. The rest of the school plus the guests gathered in the auditorium that Saturday afternoon. Among those guests were Aiba's parents and some of Shirota's family.
Moriyama was giving final instructions to the cast before confirming that everything was working. "Alright, time to show everybody your hard work!" he said to the cast, who cheered in agreement before getting into position at the wings and on stage.
Aiba was somewhere in front; he was tasked by Yagami to take a whole video coverage of the play while Kimeru was in the front row beside Ueshima-sensei.
The curtains were pulled before the first song began to play. The eight cast members took their places under a spotlight as the piano instrumental began to play. It wasn't long before they all broke off into song.
"525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love.
Seasons of love."
"525,600 minutes!
525,000 journeys to plan.
525,600 minutes - how can you measure the life of a woman or man?" Kazuki sang.
"In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died," Sota sang passionately before the rest came back to sing the final verse.
"It's time now to sing out, though the story never ends.
Let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends.
Remember the love!
Remember the love!
Remember the love!
Measure in love.
Seasons of love!
Seasons of love."
Aiba smiled as he continued filming.
"They've done a good job in casting..." Ueshima commented quietly and Kimeru nodded in approval.
The musical continued before Takigawa took center stage with a guitar in hand as he sat himself down on the prop chair and began to play. After a few measures, he began singing 'One Song Glory'.
Kimeru was mesmerized as he watched Takigawa on stage. He had seen the practices, and even had a chance to hear the song a few days before at home but he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Aiba grinned as he glanced at his senpai, 'Good job, Takigawa-senpai~' he thought.
After the song, Takigawa headed off-stage as the lights faded for a while before coming back on. The scene was set as a knock sounded before Yanagi entered before the song 'Light my Candle' began between the two.
"Now now Kimeru-kun...Don't strangle the armrest..." Ueshima said as he saw Kimeru's grip on the armrest of the chair tighten.
Kimeru willed himself to relax and continue watching.
Shirota's family, who had met Takigawa quite a number of times already, silently applauded his fine performance on stage. The song ended not long after before a few scenes passed and Mark and Joanne's song of 'Tango Maureen' was up next. Kazuki was on-stage first before Shirota made his entrance. As the song progressed, Shirota was fussing around with the prop equipment while Kazuki on the mic.
Their first short tango sequence that followed ended in Kazuki dropping Shirota intentionally to the floor as the former began to walk away, the song still in play. Shirota recovered and continued the song before their second sequence followed shortly after. As the song ended, the lights dimmed out before the rest of the musical continued.
Aiba grinned when as he watched Shirota move smoothly along the stage. He winced a bit as the boy was dropped, a soft thud echoing in the speakers. He fought back a laugh when he saw Kazuki leave the stage when the lights were out, muttering darkly about not getting the other to react inappropriately as they danced.
The musical ended with a reprise of 'Seasons of Love' from the cast members before the curtains were pulled down. A vibrant round of applause came from the audience as the three directors - Moriyama, Toru and Shiozawa - came out on stage.
"Thank you for coming to watch our rendition of RENT!" Moriyama said with a microphone in hand.
"We would like to introduce the cast once more, so please show them your support!" Toru continued with his own microphone in hand.
Aiba positioned himself at the aisle in order to have the full view of the cast, focusing on each as they stepped forward to take a bow. As soon as the curtains were dropped he hurried to get to the backstage to congratulate Shirota. He already spotted Kimeru moving to the sides as soon as he pressed the record button to stop the recording of the play. He looked around a bit to see where he could pass since the audience was already standing up to leave. That was when he spotted his family....he froze. 'EH?! Mother is talking to Shirota-kun's sister?!' he thought in disbelief.
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Shirota Maria bowed. "It's nice to finally meet Aiba's mother," she said conversationally.
Mikoto smiled at her. "It's wonderful to meet some of Shirota-kun's siblings as well, I've heard good things about you from Hiroki." she said.
Maria nodded. "This is my mother Pepi," she introduced, gesturing to her mother who stood. "And my brother Jun and sister Rina," she continued, gesturing to the two where Rina was on Jun's shoulders so she could see the stage.
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Backstage, the cast were congratulating one another.
"So that bike ended up working alright after all," Takigawa said as soon as he spotted Shirota, patting him on the back.
Shirota chuckled. "It always has. Kazuki-kun just doesn't know how to use it," he teased before running away from the said Joanne actor who chased him around, causing the rest of the cast members to laugh at this outcome.
"Takigawa! Good job!" Kimeru said as he came backstage.
"Yes...too much of a good job, Kimeru-senpai strangled the armrest of his chair during the 'Light My Candle' song," Aiba said with a chuckled as he joined them.
Takigawa chuckled. "Yanagi and I had that much effect on you, Kime-kun?" he teased.
"APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW!!" Kazuki bellowed, still giving chase to Shirota, who managed to mount the bicycle and used it to escape from Kazuki.
Aiba laughed as he saw what the two was doing. "Go Shirota-kun~" he cheered.
Kimeru frowned. "What can I say...it looked realistic...not to mention the kissing scene back there...." he said.
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Mikoto bowed to them. "I'm very pleased to meet you," she said before gesturing to the two behind her. "These are Hinako, my eldest and Daisuke, my husband," she introduced.
Hinako bowed at them and Daisuke simply nodded.
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Takumi, after enjoying himself, halted Kazuki, who was panting now as Shirota stopped and got off the bicycle, grinning in triumph before approaching the three, lounging an arm over Aiba's shoulders.
Takigawa smiled. "Then I can safely assume I have inherited my mother's skills," he said.
Shirota turned to Takigawa. "Ah, that's right. Your mother's an actress and a model, isn't she?"
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Pepi stepped forward. "I do hope Yuu's visits to your house have not been troublesome for you, Mikoto-san?" she inquired.
Mikoto shook her head and smiled. "Not at all. I'm actually very grateful to him for managing to make Hiroki come home," she said.
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"Takigawa-senpai's mother is and actress and a model? That's amazing..." Aiba said as he looked at Takgiawa.
Kimeru nodded. "Yeah you inherited your mother's skills...." he said in agreement. ".....I'm just glad that Yanagi is dating Moriyama-senpai or else I'll--"
"YANAGI'S DATING WHO?!" came the immediate response of some of the cast.
"Er...I think I said that a bit too loud..." Kimeru said sheepishly.
Yanagi blushed a good crimson color as Moriyama simply grinned.
Shirota sighed. "Yes, you did, Kimeru-senpai..."
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Pepi raised her eyebrows. "Is that so? Well, I'm glad my youngest son's been able to do that for Hiroki-kun," she said.
Kimeru shrugged before grinning. "They were bound to find out anyway..." he said.
Aiba nodded in agreement before remembering something. "Ah! I almost forgot!! Before I went here I saw our parents talking over at the audience area!" he told Shirota.
Kimeru grinned at them. "Now isn't that interesting...right Eiji-kun?" he asked as he looked at Takigawa.
"What did you just call him?" came another collective reaction.
Kimeru smirked at them. "Is this rehearsed or what?" he asked sarcastically.
Shirota turned to Aiba. "You're kidding!" he said before turning to Kimeru. "Oi, I'm the only one who--"
Takigawa brought a hand up to cut Shirota off. "Relax, Shirotan," he said as he turned to Kimeru, nodding.
Kimeru chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, Shirota-kun, I'll call him Eiji instead," he said before pointing at Takigawa.
Shirota grinned, flashing a thumbs-up towards Kimeru. "I accept!"
Takigawa brought a hand to his face, sighing. "You guys..." he muttered.
Kimeru chuckled. "Then it's settled!" he said as he shook Shirota's hand before looking at Takigawa with a smile.
Aiba blinked. "O...k.....Now that was just strange."
Takigawa shrugged, but the slight blush on his cheeks was there. "I'll go and get changed..." he announced, heading off to the dressing room.
"I'll come with you!" Shirota called, following after the junior.
Aiba smiled. "Kimeru-senpai and I will just be waiting out here..." he said.
Kimeru nodded before looking around the stage.
----------
As soon as the two got into the dressing room - which was thankfully empty except for themselves - Shirota took of his prop glasses.
"It's alright, isn't it? I mean... breaking our tradition?" Takigawa asked quietly.
Shirota nodded. "Aa. I understand completely," he reassured him. "Don't worry, I'll find something to do to occupy my time." Shirota moved to get his clothes. "You just make sure you don't get into an argument with Kimeru-senpai about something trivial or I'll have to come and resolve it for you," he warned lightly.
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"So...senpai…" Aiba began as he looked at Kimeru. "How are things going?" he asked.
Kimeru grinned. "Everything's going fine...and you? I see you haven't started using Shirota-kun's name," he said. "It been a whole quarter and it's still 'Shirota-kun'."
Aiba frowned. "Well...I don't think that--"
"He'll like it once you do..." Kimeru said slyly.
"You...think so?" Aiba asked hesitantly and Kimeru nodded.
----------
Takigawa looked over to Shirota, blinking for a moment before approaching his place to retrieve his clothes.
Shirota, who had managed to finish changing into some casual clothes first, moved to the door. "I'll be going ahead, Eiji-kun!" he said.
"Go on, then," Takigawa called.
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"So what the heck are you waiting for?" Kimeru asked his kouhai with a grin.
"I...I guess you're right," Aiba said.
"Look, here he comes....good luck with that, Aiba," Kimeru said with a nod before heading towards the dressing room. "See you on Monday, Shirota-kun!" he said as he passed Shirota.
Shirota nodded over to Kimeru as he passed before walking up to Aiba, grinning. "Saa, I believe our families are still outside?" he offered.
"Yeah. Want to go to them now, Yuu-kun?" Aiba asked, a bit nervous about following Kimeru's advice.
Shirota nodded, making his way to the door. "Su---" He stopped and rounded to look over to Aiba, walking back and talking him by the arms. "What did you just call me?!" he asked.
Aiba blinked at Shirota. "Er...Yuu-kun?" he answered.
Shirota beamed, nodding excitedly. "I'm glad, I'm glad..." he muttered to himself before pulling him off to go see their families. "Saa, let's go, Hiroki!" he exclaimed happily.
Aiba blushed when he heard Shirota call him by his first name. "S-Sure..." he said before smiling.
As soon as they reached the audience area they saw that the only people there were the parents of the cast, who were either with them or -in Kazuki and Takumi's case- running around the audience area.
Aiba spotted their parents near the front row. "There they are!" he told Shirota as he led him to them.
Shirota nodded as they headed up to their families.
"I SEE YUU-ANI!!" Rina proclaimed from Jun's shoulders.
Mikoto looked around and spotted them as well. "Congratulations on that successful performance, Shirota-kun," she said as the two approached.
Daisuke simply nodded to them and Hinako waved.
Aiba smiled at them. "Aa, and I have it all on film," he said, "I'll provide a copy for you, Shirota-san," he told Shirota's mother.
Pepi nodded. "Arigatou, Hiroki-kun. That's very thoughtful of you," she said.
"Where's Eiji?" Jun inquired as Rina reached down and pulled on Shirota's hair.
Shirota jerked a thumb backstage. "Still dressing up. Why?"
"Just curious," Jun replied.
----------
Kimeru, knowing that only Takigawa would be inside, rushed into the dressing room. "Guess what!!" he said as he closed the door behind him.
Takigawa was halfway into pulling on a shirt before he looked over to Kimeru. "What?" he inquired as he followed through and put on his shirt.
Kimeru grinned. "Aiba just called Shirota 'Yuu-kun'," he said. "About time, don't you think?"
Takigawa stuffed the last of his costume into a bag after zipping it closed and nodded. "It took them long enough..." he said. "But if I know Shirota, he'd have replied with calling Aiba by his first name."
"I guess you're right," Kimeru said with a nod. "So I guess we'll be seeing more progress from the two of them," he said with a chuckle.
----------
Aiba checked on the camera as his sister talked to him about the play. His father, in the meantime, excused himself from the group for reasons no one knew while his mother was still talking to Shirota's mother.
Shirota, playing with Rina for a while and talking with Jun, noticed Aiba's father straying from the pack before sighing to himself.
"Yuu-ani, can I borrow glasses?" Rina asked from his shoulder.
Shirota looked up to Rina. "What? You mean my prop glasses?" he inquired as Rina nodded.
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Takigawa smirked. "I suppose so." He slung the bag over his shoulder before nodding to Kimeru. "Alright, I'm all set to go," he announced.
Kimeru nodded as he took hold of Takigawa's free hand. "Let's go on home then~" he said with a bright smile.
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Aiba looked up from his camera and noticed something unusual. He looked at the sound booth and realized what was amiss. "Excuse me for a moment..." he said as he headed to the small booth. "Is there something wrong sensei?" he asked the teacher near the equipment.
"Ah, Aiba-kun...just the person I needed to see," the teacher answered.
"Why is that, Takahiro-sensei?" Aiba asked.
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Shirota pulled out the case and took the glasses, handing them to Rina. "Be careful with them, alright?" he warned.
"Hai!" Rina replied, putting the glasses on.
"Don't worry, they're strictly prop glasses," Shirota reassured his sister.
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Takahiro smiled as he placed a hand on Aiba's shoulder. "I just wanted to tell you that I'll be handling the school paper and that I expect that copy of the play on Monday," he said as he took a few steps toward the boy.
Aiba, feeling his personal space being threatened, stepped back immediately and shrugged off the teacher's hand. "Aa...I-I'll finish editing it as soon as I can, sensei...though it's Yagami-senpai that you should inform about handling the club," he answered hurriedly. "Please excuse me sensei…I...I need to go back to my family," he added before running out of the booth to rejoin the rest.
Shirota put Rina down before looking around, seeing Aiba return from the sound booth as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Where'd you go off to, Hiroki?" he inquired, walking up to him.
"J-Just checked something in the sound booth. It's alright now..." Aiba told Shirota as he forced a smile.
Shirota blinked before nodding slowly.
"Yuu! It's time to go!" Pepi called.
Shirota looked over to his family and nodded before turning to Aiba. "Ja... I'll see you on Monday, Hiroki," he greeted before heading off.
When Monday morning arrived, Shirota came to the classroom after having a brief talk with Wada-senpai about tomorrow's practice now that the musical was over.
Aiba was silent; he came from the School Paper's office a while ago and the conversation he had with the new head of the club wasn't really something he could get over quickly. He didn't even notice Shirota arriving.
Endo, who did notice Shirota arrive, walked up to him. "Oi, Shirota! Did you hear? They said that a math teacher of the higher batch will be replacing ours," he said.
Shirota set his bag down on his desk. "Eh? What was wrong with our previous Math teacher?" he asked, frowning.
"She quit apparently, for reasons that the student body is yet to find out," Endo said. "I also heard that he'll be supervising the School Paper..." he added as he glanced over to Aiba.
Shirota followed Endo's gaze over to Aiba. "Oi, Hiroki..." he said, poking him on the arm gently. "You alright?"
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Takigawa came from the Council Room after a long conversation with Moriyama-senpai involving a lot of things - which included Yanagi-kun, the success of the musical, and the other projects for the rest of the school year. He sighed as he reached his classroom.
"Rough morning with Moriyama-senpai?" Toru inquired slyly.
Takigawa nodded as he sank into his seat. "He was asking me a lot of questions about relationships..." he explained with a sigh.
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Kimeru placed his bag on the table to take out his notebook. "Where the hell is my English homework...?" he muttered.
Aiba almost jumped in surprise as Shirota poked him. "H-huh? Yeah I'm fine..." he said.
"Something wrong, Aiba-kun?" Endo asked as he approached him as well.
Aiba shook his head. "It's nothing..."
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Once the bell rang, Ueshima came into the room to check the attendance. "Ah~ Aiba-kun...Takahiro-sensei wanted to see you for a while; he asked me to tell you to report to his office immediately," he said.
Aiba froze when he heard the name. "H-Hai sensei..." he said before standing up and leaving the room.
'If that's about the School Paper, shouldn't he be talking to Yagami-senpai since he's the editor-in-chief?' Shirota thought to himself as homeroom period continued as usual as Ueshima-sensei continued taking attendance.
Aiba wasn't able to come back to class until the period before the first break. His was visibly shaken about something but didn't dare to tell anyone about it. He took deep breaths to help calm himself down.
When Aiba had finally managed to return to class, Shirota looked sideways to him. 'Well, apparently something's wrong...' he thought to himself with a frown before he returned his attention to the teacher as they went through one more class before the break came.
"Do you want to talk about anything, Hiroki?" Shirota asked quietly, leaning towards the boy's desk.
Aiba shook his head. "I-It's nothing..." he assured him and refused to talk about it any further.
Shirota sighed. 'Well, apparently it's not nothing...' he concluded in his mind, having already figured out Aiba's style with things. "If you say so..." he replied, pulling out a lunch box full of rice cookies. He took one and offered it to Aiba. "Hai," he said brightly.
"Sankyu..." Aiba said as he took the food offered to him.
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After their break, Aiba had managed to get himself back into a more appropriate mood for academics, but it soon disappeared as the next teacher came in.
"Good morning class, I'm Takahiro Akira, and I'll be your math teacher from now on. I'm pleased to meet you all."
Shirota felt a strange aura emanating from this new teacher as he frowned. 'Why do I get the feeling that there's something up with this teacher..?' he thought to himself as he rose to his feet. "A-no, Shirota Yuu desu. I'm the class representative, so if there's anything you need help with, please don't hesitate to tell me, Takahiro-sensei," he said.
Takahiro smiled at Shirota. "I'll remember that, Shirota-kun. Arigatou," he said brightly. "So~ let's start this period with a pop quiz~" he said causing some of the class to groan.
As the students were taking the test, Takahiro moved around the room, keeping a watchful eye on each and everyone of them. He stopped behind Aiba's seat and placed a hand on the boy's back and leaned forward a bit. "Careful with your answers there, Aiba-kun..." he said in a low voice before moving on.
Aiba froze at the contact, but managed to recover as soon as the teacher went away.
Shirota noticed this from the corner of his eye, resisting the urge to break his pencil before he continued solving the problems. 'Relax...' he told himself repeatedly as he nearly burned the paper at how fast he was answering everything.
As soon as the papers were passed, Aiba looked at Shirota for a while. 'Please tell me he noticed that...' he mentally pleaded.
"Alright then, I'll be giving the papers back tomorrow and we'll see how you guys did," Takahiro said as he placed the papers in his envelope before pulling out a class list. "Let's see...now....um...Aiba-kun," he called out.
"H-Hai," Aiba said as he stood up.
"Why don't you tell me what your answer to number one was?" he said with a smile.
"A-no...negative 15," Aiba answered.
Takahiko nodded. "Are you sure about that?"
"Hai. I'm sure sensei..." Aiba replied.
"Very well then, we shall have to see the results of your quiz to find that out, ne?" Takahiko told him before starting the lecture on a new topic.
Aiba frowned as he sat down. 'Then what the hell was that for?' he thought.
Shirota raised an eyebrow at this development. 'Something's up with that teacher... Best we keep an eye on him...' he told himself as he looked over to Aiba before pulling out his notebook to take down some notes.
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Lunch break came along. Aiba was staring at his packed lunch as he thought of what happened during math class.
"Hiroki, aren't you going to eat?" Shirota inquired as he pulled out his own packed lunch.
Moriyama and Takigawa stopped by the 1-1 classroom. "Shirota-kun, we need a favor," Moriyama said, averting himself from looking into the classroom to look for Yanagi.
Takigawa chuckled as Shirota stood and stepped out of the classroom. "There're a few surveys we wanted to conduct before next quarter begins," he explained, handing out a pile of papers. "Distribute them among the freshman classes and have them back by the end of the week."
Shirota nodded. "I can do that..." he replied, glancing over to Moriyama before shrugging. "Yanagi-kun went to have lunch in the cafeteria, senpai..."
Moriyama blushed, looking over to Shirota and nodded. "A...Aa..."
Takigawa smiled, patting Shirota on the shoulder. "We'll expect to see you in the Council Room after classes, Shirotan. Ja."
The two headed off to the cafeteria as Shirota re-entered the classroom as he sat down in his seat, blinking at the papers. "What the..? A popularity poll..?"
Endo looked over Shirota's shoulder. "What's it for?" he asked.
Aiba stabbed his fork at the chicken in his lunch box before taking a deep breath. "Itadakimasu~" he said to himself as he started eating his lunch.
Suzuki joined Endo and scanned the paper. "That looks interesting."
Shirota sighed. "Another event for next quarter," Shirota explained. "I'll hand this out tomorrow during pre-homeroom," he said as he stuffed it into his bag before starting on his lunch.
Aiba watched Shirota as he got back to his seat. "I think I need to talk to Yagami-senpai about that teacher..." he muttered darkly.
Suzuki and Endo returned to their own seats as Shirota turned to Aiba. "Yes, you should..." he replied quietly. "I don't like the way he's acting around you..." he added, more to himself as he turned his attention to his food.
"Neither do I..." Aiba said with a sigh. "And you won't even believe the questions he started asking me when I went to his office this morning..."
Shirota looked around the classroom for a moment to make sure they weren't going to be overheard before turning to Aiba. "Such as?"
Aiba paused for a moment before looking around. "Well...some personal questions for one...he even gave me this...which is strange in itself," he said as he showed Shirota the calling card of their math teacher.
Shirota's eye twitched at the sight. "I would've understood his intentions if he was doing it with everybody else... But why is it always you?" he inquired angrily, keeping his voice low.
Aiba shrugged. "I don't know either, but believe me....I don't like it," he muttered.
----------
Lunch break soon ended and the classes started once more. After classes, normal activities for students in the varsity and other clubs resumed.
"I'll see you after practice, Yuu-kun. The paper has a meeting today so I won't be covering your training," Aiba said.
Shirota brought up his bag, chuckling. "I won't be attending practice today since I need to meet up with Takigawa-senpai and Moriyama-senpai this afternoon," he explained. "So I'll meet you out by the gates after activities are done. Ja, Hiroki!" he said, nodding as he left for the Council Room.
Aiba nodded as he left the room for the School Paper office. As soon as he got there, "A-re?" he said as he looked around, noticing that no one was there. Aiba stepped into the room and decided to wait for the others.
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"Yo, Shirotan," Takigawa greeted as he rose from his chair and nodded to Shirota as he came in through the door.
Shirota nodded as he went to his desk.
"Aibacchin's part of the school paper, isn't he?" Moriyama inquired behind last week's paper as he sat leisurely at his desk.
"Hai..." Shirota replied. "Why do you ask, senpai?"
"Toru and Nakagauchi told me that there was something suspicious going on lately... With that new teacher..." Moriyama explained.
Shirota frowned. "Aa..."
Takigawa folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back on his desk. "This new teacher... Takahiro Akira..." he began. "He's teaching the first years, isn't he?" He turned to Shirota.
"Aa... He's teaching Math..." Shirota replied. "Besides supervising the School Paper, that is..."
"Which reminds me, the other members went out earlier to make the deadline for the mid-week release of the paper covering last Saturday's production," Moriyama explained.
Shirota blinked. "Aren't they supposed to be having a meeting right now?" he asked wearily.
Moriyama lowered the paper he was reading and shook his head. "No... Yagami-kun told me himself he was-- Oi, Shirota-kun!"
Upon hearing that there wasn't going to be a meeting, Shirota dashed out of the Council Room and headed to where the School Paper would meet. Unfortunately, this was on the other side of the school. i'I'm going to kill that teacher if he does anything to Aiba..!' he thought to himself.
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"Aiba-kun..." Takahiro greeted as he entered the room.
Aiba looked up from his draft of the article he did. "T-Takahiro-sensei..." He looked at the teacher, watching his movements.
"Come now, Aiba-kun...no need to be tense. It's just the two of us here..." Takahiro said as he moved towards the boy who immediately stood up and backed away.
'That's exactly why I'm tense!!' he thought.
Takahiro smiled. "The other members won't be coming. They still have their articles to finish...it's funny that you didn't get that certain announcement," he said as he continued advancing. "Funny....and very convenient…"
Aiba's eyes widened as his back hit the wall. 'Oh Shit...' "Sensei...I'm warning you...come any closer and I'll--" Whatever he said was cut off as his teacher grabbed him by the arms and silenced the freshman with his lips.
"HIROKI!!!!" Shirota called, sliding the door to the office open and paused, his eyes widening at the scene. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" he exclaimed, walking into the room, glaring dangerously over to Takahiro. 'I'll kill him!' his mind shouted.
Takahiro pulled back when he heard the door slide open. 'I knew I should have locked that...' he thought in irritation. "Shirota-kun...how nice of you to join us..." he said as he smiled at the boy who just barged in. "It's a shame that you had to walk in on the private lessons that Aiba-kun had requested."
'What?!' Aiba thought in shock.
"I'll see you two, tomorrow then," Takahiro continued as he walked out of the room, patting Shirota on the shoulder as he passed.
As his foorsteps faded down the hall, Aiba stood there, staring at the door. His gaze fell on Shirota. "Y-Yuu..." he said before running to the boy, throwing his arms around him.
Shirota fought to keep himself calm as Takahiro made his exit. Shirota wrapped his arms around Hiroki protectively. "That jerk..." he muttered darkly. "Gomen, Hiroki... I should've realized it sooner..." he whispered over to the boy. "Then we could've avoided all this..."
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"Takigawa-kun," Moriyama called.
"Hai?"
"Do a thorough investigation on Takahiro Akira's background. I have a bad feeling about him..." he said.
Takigawa nodded. "I'll do that."
----------
Aiba shook his head as he tried to calm himself down. "We both didn't know....so no one is to blame…" he managed to say. "I...I can't believe that he…he did that."
"We'll have to keep a close eye on him from now on..." Shirota said. "I don't want him to be trying anything like that again..." He looked over to Aiba before bringing a hand up, running a thumb across Aiba's lips. "Get those germs off, too..." he added quietly.
Aiba smiled before stepping back a bit. "Thanks Yuu..." he said.
The next day at Math class, the test that they took the previous day was returned.
"I failed?!" Aiba said incredulously as he stared at his paper. "But my answers are correct!" he argued.
Takahiro looked up from the class list and smiled. "Yes they are, but your solutions are wrong...and what does that tell me, Aiba-kun?" he said.
'Is he accusing me of cheating?!' he thought in shock. "Sensei...these solutions are based on our book!"
Takahiro nodded. "Solutions that it would seem that you do not understand, Aiba-kun," he said pleasantly. "I shall see you after classes and we'll see what we can do, na?"
Aiba stared at him. 'No way I'm going to--'
"Either that or you would have to go to detention. Either way, Aiba-kun, you'll be stuck with me after classes," Takahiro put in.
Shirota took hold of Aiba's paper and compared it with his before blinking. "Well, this isn't fair..." he said out loud before looking around. "Zukki, can I borrow your paper for a second?" he inquired.
Zukki held out his paper. "Sure..."
Shirota compared all three before a low "Heh..." escaped him. "Now I know this isn't fair..." he pointed out, causing some of his classmates to look in his direction.
"And what may I ask is not fair in my grading system, Shirota-kun? Are you perhaps questioning the grades that I gave out?" Takahiro said as he looked at Shirota. "Aiba-kun. Write your answers on the board."
"H-Hai!" Aiba said as he stood up, taking his paper from Shirota before heading to the board to write his solutions.
After finishing he made a move to go back to his seat. "Stay there, Aiba-kun," Takahiro instructed as he stood up and looked at the board. "Can anyone tell me why this is wrong?" he asked the class who looked at each other.
"No one? Then I'll show you why this is wrong…" he said as he picked up the chalk and got his copy of the book. "If we follow Aiba-kun's solutions, which he claims came from the book, this would come out as this..." he said as he wrote an answer beside Aiba's.
"If this is the case...could anyone tell me why Aiba-kun still arrived at the correct answer regardless of the fact that the process that he followed is wrong?" He looked around the class again. "Then let me tell you why...that would be because Shirota-kun is seated next to him," he said as he looked at Shirota.
"Now...I direct your attention to the correct solutions which only one of you has managed to get," he continued as he wrote down the solutions, consulting his book every now and then. "These....are the solutions that I expected you to use, but it just so happens that only Endo-kun was smart enough to get them all," he paused to look at the class. "The rest have gotten low marks as well, and it just so happened that some of you failed because of carelessness."
"Now, if no one else would like to speak up as to why that is the grade you have gotten, you may return to your seat Aiba-kun," he said as he looked at Aiba who had his head hung low as he returned to his seat.
"Detention after class, Aiba-kun...and you have Shirota-kun to thank for that," Takahiro finished.
Shirota blinked at the solutions before standing. "Please wait a moment, Takahiro-sensei... Those solutions just now..." he began. "If I may be so blunt to say this, they're incomplete. There are holes in the solution where the representation isn't clear at all..."
Takahiro sighed. "Shirota-kun, I would appreciate it if you would just keep quiet and not argue any further," he said. "Detention for you after classes as well."
Aiba sighed in relief.
"I shall have you assigned to another teacher after classes for your detention work," Takahiro added.
Aiba looked up. 'WHAT?!'
Shirota took his seat, sighing, rubbing the back of his head in irritation. "Hai..." he responded. 'Mattaku... This is just unfair...' he thought to himself, sliding his test paper off his desk and slipped it into his bag before pulling out his notebook, consulting last quarter's notes during Takahiro's lecture while at the same time half-heartedly taking down new notes as well.
Aiba sighed heavily as he took down notes as well.
----------
First break came. Only one topic was being talked among the various groups in the classroom of first year section one: What happened during their Math class.
"I can't go to detention with him!! I absolutely refuse!!" Aiba said.
Shirota heaved a huge sigh and crossed his arms, leaning back on his chair.
"But seriously, it's hard to believe..." Zukki said incredulously. "You and Aiba-kun were always at the top of the class when it came to Math, Shirota-kun... And now detention...?"
Yanagi shook his head. "We're dealing with a strange teacher, that Takahiro guy..."
"Aa... I'll see what I can do..." Shirota quirked up before turning to Aiba. "I'm sorry I can't do anything about detention later, Aibacchin... But I'll have a talk with Moriyama-senpai and Takigawa-senpai about this during lunch... Hopefully they'll be able to do something..."
Endo looked at the two. "What's his problem anyway? Did you guys do something to him?" he asked.
Aiba glared at his desk. "He's the one who did something to me..." he muttered darkly.
"And we'd prefer not to discuss it here," Shirota said pointedly.
"We want to lend a hand if we can..." Yanagi offered.
Aiba sighed. "Thanks, but I don't want you guys getting into any kind of trouble..." he said as he looked at his friends.
"But he already got himself into trouble..." Yanagi argued, jerking a thumb towards Shirota.
"It was for a good reason..." Shirota fired back before they had to continue classes.
----------
When lunch break arrived, Shirota stood. "I'll be back in a bit. Look after Aibacchin while I'm gone, alright?" he said over to Yanagi and Endo, who nodded as he left for the Council Room.
Aiba sighed before starting on his lunch.
----------
Meanwhile, Kimeru was heading to the cafeteria with his friends. "So Kime... How's that song you're trying to do?" Nagayan asked.
"It's been put on hold for a while to make way for a new project," Kimeru told him.
"What project?" Furukawa asked.
"That would have to be a secret for now," Kimeru said with a grin.
----------
Moriyama was looking through a folder Takigawa had just handed him. "Well... Isn't this interesting information you've gathered, Takigawa-kun. I'm surprised..."
Takigawa nodded. "Arigatou." He turned to the door to see Shirota arrive. "Ah, Shirota-kun. You came."
Shirota walked up to Moriyama's desk and took the folder. "Let me see that," he said, his eyes reading through the information.
"Oi, I was reading--"
"I need a favor from you two..." Shirota cut in as he read through the file of Takahiro Akira.
Moriyama blinked, looking over to Takigawa who shrugged. "What is it, Shirota-kun?"
"Can you bring a video camera to wherever he holds detention?"
"What for?"
Shirota closed the folder. "I want to get proof of what he's doing in private. Especially with Hiroki..."
Takigawa walked up to him. "Wait, detention?" he repeated.
Shirota nodded. "Takahiro gave him detention for failing our test yesterday."
"That's rare... Considering that Aiba-kun isn't one to get a failing grade in Math of all subjects..." Takigawa reasoned.
Shirota pulled out his own test from his pocket, unfolded it and slammed it on Moriyama's desk. "Tell me what's wrong with the solutions I used."
Takigawa blinked. "A 'D'?!" he exclaimed.
Moriyama examined the solutions for a minute. "I don't see anything wrong with these solutions... If I'm still applying my first year Math knowledge to testify it..."
Takigawa scanned the test as well. After a while, he looked over to Shirota. "Seriously?"
Shirota nodded. "I've been given detention, but he simply refuses to have anybody else intrude so he's assigned me to somebody else," he explained before he bowed. "So... Onegai shimasu!"
Takigawa and Moriyama looked at one another before nodding. "We'll get it no matter what, Shirota-kun. Don't worry," Moriyama responded.
----------
Aiba stared at the detention slip in his hands; one was his while the other was Shirota's. "....he got Ueshima-sensei for detention..." he muttered as he read the contents. "And I'm stuck with my worst nightmare..."
----------
The day passed more quickly than Aiba would like. He watched the clock as the last few seconds of class ended. He pulled out his detention slip as soon as the final bell rang. "I really have a bad feeling about this...." he said to himself.
Shirota stood. Aiba had handed him his detention slip when he got back to the classroom to find that he would be spending detention with Ueshima-sensei. He reached out for Aiba's hand as soon as they were the only ones in the classroom. "This will be the last time..." he muttered. "After today, he'll stop harassing you... I swear..." Shirota took a step towards Aiba and kissed him on the lips. "Ii na, Hiroki?" he said softly, smiling as he stroked the boy's cheek.
Aiba leaned a bit to Shirota's touch. "Alright..." he said quietly. "You'll wait for me when detention is over right?" he asked as he looked at Shirota.
Shirota nodded firmly. "Of course. I've always waited, haven't I?" he said with a soft chuckle.
Aiba chuckled. "That's true...." he said before pulling back a bit. "We better go before that teacher decides to extend detention period..."
----------
After going down the opposite direction from where Shirota was going, it wasn't long until Aiba reached Takahiro's office. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
"Come in," came the smooth voice of the man inside the office.
Aiba stepped inside. "I'm here for detention, sensei," Aiba said.
Takahiro grinned. "Very good, Aiba-kun... Please lock the door."
----------
Shirota sighed as he made his way in the opposite direction to Ueshima's office. The door was ajar as he saw the man drinking some coffee. He knocked lightly on the door.
"Ah, Shirota-kun~" Ueshima said cheerfully, waving him inside. "Come in, come in."
Shirota bowed before entering, holding out the slip to him. "I believe you've been informed of the situation, sensei?" he inquired.
Ueshima waved off the slip. "Ah, I have. And I find it quite hard to believe, honestly," he pointed out, gesturing to a seat in front of him across his desk. "Sit down, Shirota-kun."
----------
Aiba locked the door behind him before looking around the office.
"You do understand why you're here, don't you Aiba-kun?" Takahiro asked as he stood from his chair.
"Because I failed a test," Aiba answered, causing Takahiro to chuckle.
"That's not it, Aiba-kun...to be honest you did very well on your test."
Aiba looked at him in apprehension. "Then...then why did I receive a failing mark?" he asked.
"That would be because it's the only way to get you to have detention...and would you like to know why that is?" Takahiko asked before advancing on Aiba who shook his head as an answer to the question. "That would be because it's the only way to get you alone...." the teacher finished before taking hold of the boy.
"Sensei...Don't…" Aiba pleaded.
"I'm afraid that you don't have a choice in the matter, Aiba-kun," Takahiro said before smirking.
----------
"Takigawa-kun approached me during their free period about the matter with Takahiro-sensei," Ueshima began, setting down his cup on the desk. "And with concerns to your pop quiz yesterday... The marks he made on your papers aren't your real scores."
Shirota blinked. "What?"
Ueshima held out a notebook to Shirota. "Test scores are recorded in a subject teacher's notebook before they return the papers to the students. I managed to borrow Takashiro-sensei's notebook earlier for reference."
Shirota flipped to their class' grades. "This is completely different!" he reasoned.
Ueshima nodded. "Aa. But he did the opposite for a reason..." he said quietly, taking the notebook back. "Unfortunately, I wouldn't--"
"He failed Aibacchin on purpose..." Shirota muttered as realization struck. "To get him alone..." He looked over to his homeroom adviser. "Ueshima-sensei!"
Ueshima held a hand up. "Don't bother, Shirota-kun. Takigawa assured me that he and Moriyama will get to the bottom of this by the end of detention."
Shirota shrugged. "I hope so..."
----------
Unknown to Takahiro and Aiba, a small red light was peeking through two books on the bookshelf; the lens of a video camera recording everything going on in the room, including what was going on between Takahiro and Aiba.
The detention period only lasted for an hour, but for Aiba it seemed a lot more.
Takahiro smirked as he heard the last bell of the day, signaling the end of the detention period. He looked at Aiba who sat at the corner of the room, hugging his knees as tears ran down his face.
"I'll see in class tomorrow, Aiba-kun.....and be careful not to get anymore detentions," he said before taking his things and leaving the room.
----------
Shirota, who Ueshima had let off 15 minutes before the period ended, headed off to meet up with Aiba. He stopped a bit before the office as he saw Takahiro leaving his office before he ran forward and stepped inside, looking around and spotted Aiba. His eyes widened. "HIROKI!" he hissed, moving up to him.
Like clockwork, Takigawa and Moriyama arrived moments later, strolling into the room. Moriyama moved forward to retrieve the hidden camera as Takigawa approached the two. Moriyama stopped the recording before Takigawa spoke. "Are you alright, Aiba-kun?" he asked hesitantly.
Aiba shook his head silently as he looked up at his two senpais and Shirota, his tears still falling from his eyes.
"Takahiro-sensei...he...he…" he trailed off, looking down once again.
Shirota knelt down and wrapped his arms around Aiba in an attempt to comfort him. "It's alright... You don't have to talk about it, Hiroki..." he said quietly.
Moriyama was rewinding the tape already. "I left this here to record since before detention started. So it should have recorded everything that went on," he explained.
Takigawa nodded as he and Moriyama checked the contents to the tape through the viewer if it contained what they needed.
"Come on, let's get you home, okay?" Shirota said quietly as he helped Aiba up to his feet.
Aiba nodded as he allowed Shirota to help him up. He remained quiet all throughout the way home. One thing he did though was he didn't let go of Shirota's hand the moment that they left Takahiro's office.
"I'll leave it to you, senpai tachi," Shirota said to the two before leaving with Aiba.
Takigawa watched them leave before turning to Moriyama. "We'd better get this evidence ready for tomorrow, Moriyama-senpai..."
Moriyama nodded. "Aa. I'll burn it into a CD in the Multimedia Room," he said, going ahead as Takigawa left to meet up with Kimeru.
----------
On their way to Aiba's house, Shirota felt Aiba's grip on his hand and he was more than obliged to return that grip as he turned to the other boy. "Do you... want me to stay over with you tonight?" he inquired quietly.
Aiba nodded at him. "Please…" he said. "Mother and Father went out of town for a anniversary trip and nee-san would be sleeping over at a friend's house..." he explained after a few minutes more of silence.
Shirota nodded, kissing Aiba on the head. "Alright..." he replied quietly, managing a smile. "We don't have to talk about what happened to you earlier... I swore to you that it would be the very last time, right?" he said as they reached Aiba's house.
Aiba nodded silently before pulling out his keys to their house. He opened the door for Shirota to get inside.
----------
Kimeru saw Takigawa approach from his position by the school gates. "What took you so long? Did something happen? Aiba and Shirota went by earlier and Aiba looked like he looked death in the eye…" he said with a frown.
Takigawa sighed. "Let's start walking. It's quite a long story..." he said finally as he began telling Kimeru about Takahiro-sensei, Aiba and Shirota on their way to his place.
----------
Shirota set his bags down by the couch after closing the door behind him before easing Aiba onto the armchair.
Aiba sat down on the armchair. "We have dinner in the fridge...we can just heat it later," he said. He looked at the living room and sighed. "Who's going to see that video that the Student Council took?" he asked.
"The higher ups of the school..." Shirota replied carefully. "So it's just the principal, vice-principal and the faculty... I won't ask you what happened if you don't want to talk about it, okay?" He bent down so that he was eye level with Aiba. "Do you want anything?" he asked quietly.
"I...I want you to know what happened before you hear it from anyone else..." Aiba said quietly, as he motioned for Shirota to sit beside him before starting to tell him what had happened inside the office of their Math teacher.
----------
"HE WHAT?!" Kimeru exclaimed as soon as Takigawa finished telling him what happened. "And has Shirota seen that video?" he asked.
Takigawa shook his head. "I'm afraid that if he finds out, all hell will break loose and he'll kill Takahiro for doing what he did, given Shirota's strong sense of wanting to protect Aiba..." he said quietly.
Kimeru frowned. "That's true...but knowing Shirota he'd find out one way or another," he said as they reached Takigawa's house. "And according to what you just told me...he has to be there for Aiba right now..."
Takigawa chuckled. "I'm sure he already is," he said as he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door before heading inside with Kimeru.
Kimeru nodded. "Ah! I almost forgot!! Eiji I want to ask you a favor!" he said. "Teach me how to cook!"
Takigawa blinked. "What's this sudden interest all of a sudden?" he asked, chuckling as he moved into the kitchen.
"I just don't think it's fair that you always do the cooking, that's all...." Kimeru said with a grin.
Takigawa smiled. "I don't mind doing the cooking," he said. "But if you want any lesson on cooking, we can do it during the weekend..." he offered.
"Promise?" Kimeru asked as he used the puppy dog eyes on Takigawa.
Takigawa chuckled, patting Kimeru on the head. "Hai," he replied before Pearl barked, announcing her presence. "Saa, I'll go and get dinner prepared. Would you mind feeding Pearl and Q in the meantime, Kime-kun?"
Kimeru grinned. "No problem~" he said as he saluted before going to the kitchen do what was asked of him.
----------
Aiba took a deep breath before starting. "Takahiro-sensei told me that the grade he placed on my paper wasn't my actual grade...he admitted that he failed me to get me alone. He didn't notice that it was already an entrapment operation on the council's part," he said. "He made me lock the door and advanced on me..." He paused for a bit, feeling the tears well up once more. "The room....the room was soundproof so even if I did call for help, nothing would happen."
Aiba looked down. He clasped his hands together and focused his gaze on them, unable to look anywhere else. "He forced me, Yuu...and I... I couldn't do anything to stop him...and until now...I can still feel every touch he did…"
Shirota sat himself down beside Aiba and listened quietly, looking down at the boy's hands. When he was done, Shirota brought both hands on top of Aiba's. "I'm sorry... I said I'd never leave your side..." he began before he brought a hand up to Aiba's face, caressing his cheek before having him face him. "If there's any way I can help you forget, Hiroki... Just tell me, alright?" he whispered, the corner of his lips curling into a small smile.
Aiba nodded at him. "Yuu...would you mind sleeping beside me tonight, then?" he asked.
Shirota's smile widened slightly before leaning forward and kissing Aiba on the lips for the second time that day. "Of course..." he replied. "So long as I'm not fighting for your affection with your panda plushie," he teased lightly.
Aiba chuckled. "Oh you don't have to worry about that. After all, he's just a substitute when you're not around," he admitted.
Shirota nodded. "Alright then," he said, getting to his feet. "Let's go and heat up that dinner, shall we?" he said, happily changing the subject as he strolled into the kitchen. "Saa, did your mom leave any cake here?" he wondered out loud.
"Uh... I think there's still some in the fridge..." Aiba said as he stood up and followed Shirota to the kitchen.
"Yosh! We have dessert for later!" Shirota said gleefully as he pulled open the fridge.
Aiba chuckled. "It would seem so..." he said with a smile.
Shirota managed to find the dinner Aiba was referring to and pulled it out from the fridge. "This is it, right?" he inquired, setting it down by the microwave.
Aiba nodded as he set the microwave to heat the food. "Just one minute will do..." he said as he pressed some buttons. "There we go," he said as the microwave started heating their dinner.
----------
Takigawa was preparing a fairly simple dinner of soy chicken with some special chicken rice that went with it in the kitchen. 'I wonder how Shirotan and Aiba-kun are doing..?' he thought to himself.
Kimeru returned from feeding the two household pets. "Q really has an appetite, doesn't he?" he said.
Takigawa chuckled. "Of course. Why do you think he's so fat?" he said before transferring the cooked chicken to a platter before he began cooking the rice in a special manner.
Kimeru chuckled. "That's true..." he said. "He has got to be the most pampered rabbit I have ever laid my eyes on."
Takigawa grinned as he continued cooking the rice. Before long, he had finished his dishes as he and Kimeru went to set them on the table before they proceeded to feast.
----------
"Why is it that every time I come over your family offers good food?" Shirota whined as he took another bite of their dinner.
Aiba thought for a moment. "Maybe it's because my mother had anticipated you coming..." he answered.
----------
"Another five star meal as usual~" Kimeru complimented after the meal. "Now I do the dishes~" he said with a grin.
Takigawa smiled, nodding as he rose to his feet and cleaned up the table while Kimeru did the dishes.
-----------
Shirota was already partaking of dessert after dinner. "You'll have to ask your mom about this cake, Hiroki..." he said in between bites.
"I'll have my mom teach me how to bake it, then," Aiba said in amusement, taking his own slice of cake.
After taking care of the dishes, Shirota and Aiba went upstairs to the latter's room. "I think I have some loose shirts that could fit you..." Aiba muttered as he rummaged around in his locker and pulled out a few shirts that he thought might fit the other.
"I have my spare set of clothes from practice that I didn't use today..." Shirota explained. "You don't have to worry about that, Hiroki..."
"That's good to hear," Aiba said in relief. "For a minute there I would have to go and get some of my father's shirts," he teased. "You can change here, I'll go change in the bathroom," he said as he took out some of his clothes and went out of the room to change.
Shirota chuckled before nodding. "Aa." He waited for Aiba to leave the room before moving to his bag that he had brought upstairs with him and pulled out his spare set and changed. When he was done, he folded his uniform up and set them down on top of his bag. 'Hmm... I'll have to ask Hiroki if I can get this washed for tomorrow...' he thought to himself before he straightened up and moved to the bed.
Aiba went back to his room after changing. "Yuu, give me your uniform and I'll put it in the wash," he said. "I might as well do it now so that you can wear it tomorrow."
Shirota paused, chuckling to himself before pointing to his bag. "It's over there," he directed. 'Read my mind, didn't you?'
Aiba took Shirota's uniform and went downstairs to put it in the washing machine along with some other clothes. After setting it, he went back upstairs. "It would take 15 minutes before I can put it in the drier so that all I have to do tomorrow is iron it," he said as he entered the room.
Shirota nodded as he went to retrieve his bag, deciding to do some homework. "I saw the actual grades of the quiz earlier..." he said, pulling out a piece of paper so that he could write his essay for English.
"You did?" Aiba asked as he pulled out his notebook to do their homework as well. "What were our actual scores?"
Shirota clicked on his mechanical pencil and looked over to Aiba. "You and I got 'A's'..." he replied with a reassuring smile before moving to write his essay.
"I knew it...." Aiba muttered darkly before finishing his homework.
----------
After 15 minutes, Aiba went downstairs to put the clothes he washed in the dryer. He closed the lights and made sure that the doors were locked before returning upstairs. "That should do it..." he said before yawning as he entered his room.
Shirota was working on the floor the entire time. He had finished the last sentence to his essay before he slipped it into his folder and moved to put it back into his bag before his hand sank to the floor as he dozed off.
Aiba sweat dropped when he saw Shirota on the floor. "Honestly...this guy..." he muttered as he approached the boy. After a few moments, he managed to get Shirota on the bed. He sighed in relief. "There...now at least he doesn't have to complain of any backaches..." he said as he slipped under the covers as well.
The next day, Shirota yawned, rolling onto his side before he accidentally fell off the bed with a thud. "I-te!" he complained, hitting his head on the floor as he sat up, rubbing his head gingerly. "Mou..." He blinked, looking around to realize that he was in Aiba's room. 'Oh right... I spent the night here with him...' he reminded himself.
Aiba woke up to the sound of a loud thud. "Huh?" he said in confusion before looking around, spotting Shirota on the floor not soon after. "O-oi...Yuu are you alright?" he asked as he hopped off the bed and helped Shirota up.
Shirota saw Aiba and nodded. "Aa..." he replied feebly before being helped to his feet. "Sorry I woke you..."
Aiba smiled. "No it's fine...I was planning to wake up this early anyway," he said after glancing at the clock on the wall.
"Hiroki~ Breakfast is on the table..." a voice said from outside the door.
"NEE-SAN?!" Aiba exclaimed as he opened the door, only to see his sister smiling at him.
Shirota scratched his head with one hand while the other rubbed his eyes before stifling a yawn. He turned to the door and lowered his hands, bowing. "Ohayou gozaimasu..." he greeted sleepily.
Hinako smiled. "Good Morning to you as well, Shirota-kun," she said, "Now why don't you come down for breakfast?"
Aiba blinked, still trying to get over the fact that his sister was there. "We'll be down in a bit," he replied.
Hinako nodded. "Alright," she said before leaving.
Shirota resumed rubbing his eyes before he approached Aiba. "What are you surprised about?" he inquired, lounging an arm over the other boy's shoulders.
"Well...I'm surprised because if I recall correctly, when she sleeps over at a friend's house, she doesn't come back until after classes," Aiba explained.
Shirota shrugged before heading for the door. "Well, I'm hungry, and I can't go back to sleep now..." he said, taking Aiba's hand. "Ikuzo~" he said, pulling him out of the room.
Hinako saw them go down the stairs. "You're uniform is over there, Shirota-kun," she said as she pointed on the table by the stairs.
"....Nee-san...you ironed them?" Aiba asked.
Hinako nodded. "I had nothing else to do and I saw them in the dryer," she explained.
Shirota nodded. "Arigatou, Hinako-san," he said. "I'll take a quick shower and dress up after breakfast, then..."
"No problem~" Hinako said as she went upstairs. "I already had breakfast a while ago. I'll just be in my room to get ready for school," she explained.
Aiba nodded before leading Shirota to the dining room to have breakfast.
----------
Takigawa had woken up ahead of Kimeru and went to prepare breakfast. Once he had set everything on the table, he proceeded to feed Q and Pearl.
Pearl was barking excitedly as Takigawa set down her bowl. "Not so loud, Pearl," he said. "You'll wake Kimeru-kun up."
"Too late for that..." Kimeru said with a yawn as he joined Takigawa downstairs. "Good morning....I have interesting news for you."
Takigawa got to his feet and gestured to the dining table. "What news would that be?" he inquired.
"That teacher that you were talking about earlier," Kimeru started as he followed Takigawa to the table. "He's connected to the principal....so if and when you come forward with that video, you better have the entire Council and at least a faculty member behind you."
Takigawa nodded as he took his seat. "Moriyama, Shirota and I will be there... as will Ueshima-sensei," Takigawa said with a smile.
"Bring Aiba along. He could testify and he would be concrete proof on the matter since the principal could just say that's it's all a set-up," Kimeru said, "Then tell me what happened once it's over."
Takigawa nodded. "No problem. Let me just go and tell Shirotan," he said before standing. He took out his cell phone and speed-dialed Shirota's cell phone as he moved into the living room.
----------
Shirota was sitting down to breakfast when his phone vibrated from his pocket as he pulled it out. "A-re? What's Eiji-kun calling for at this time?" he thought out loud, looking over to Aiba. "Gomen, I need to take this." He stood and went into the kitchen before answering the call. "Hai?"
"Shirotan, I need a favor," came Takigawa's voice over the phone.
"What would that be?"
"We're going to see the principal about yesterday's events this morning at pre-homeroom and we need the Council, Ueshima-sensei and Aiba-kun to be there. So can I ask you to tell Aiba..?"
Shirota blinked before nodding. "A...Aa. I understand. I'll take care of it," he replied. "Ja, I'll see you later." He ended the call and sighed.
Aiba looked at Shirota as he ended the call, "What was it?" he asked.
Shirota kept his phone before turning to Aiba, walking back to the dining table. "We're presenting the video to the principal today at pre-homeroom..." he explained. "And it's best if you came along... to testify the contents of that video..."
"M-Me?" Aiba said in uncertainty. He thought for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Alright...then I guess it's best that we head to school as soon as we can..."
Shirota nodded as he finished his breakfast before getting a shower and changed into his uniform afterwards.
----------
Takigawa and Kimeru, after getting ready for school themselves, had just left the house and were on their way. "Moriyama-senpai's already contacted Ueshima-sensei and they're waiting outside the Principal's office," Takigawa said.
"You guys sure move fast...." Kimeru said.
Takigawa chuckled. "That's just how Moriyama-senpai operates," he said before they reached the school and parted ways.
----------
As soon as Shirota and Aiba reached school, they first placed their things in the classroom before making their way to the principal's office. Aiba held Shirota's hand along the way, not caring if others saw them.
It wasn't long before all three members of the Student Council, Aiba and Ueshima-sensei were outside the Principal's office, waiting for Takahiro-sensei to arrive.
"I'm sorry for having you come over like this so suddenly, Aiba-kun," Takigawa apologized, nodding to Aiba.
"It's fine Takigawa-senpai.....at least this time around someone else is with me..." Aiba said as he looked around apprehensively.
"Aiba-kun...." came a familiar voice which caused Aiba's grip on Shirota's hand tighten a bit more.
Shirota turned to see Takahiro-sensei, glaring over to him before he nodded out of courtesy. "Takahiro-sensei..." he greeted.
Takahiro smiled at them. "I have been informed by my co-workers to head here once I arrived. Is there something wrong?" he asked.
Aiba glared. 'As if you don't already know....' he thought darkly.
"Shall we be heading inside?" Moriyama announced. "So we can end this before homeroom period," he added before pushing the door open to the Principal's office as the group lined up and proceeded inside after the Student Council President.
The principal, Nobuyuki Tatsuo, looked up from his desk. He watched as the students came in, followed by Ueshima and Takahiro.
"Alright, now tell me what is this all about," he started. "...and this reason better be good to make me in early."
Moriyama stepped forward. "We'd like to issue a complaint against Takahiro-sensei," he began, gesturing to the aforementioned teacher. "The reason for this is because for the past few days, he's been harassing one of his students in particular."
"Harassing?" Nobuyuki asked as he looked at Takigawa. "And do you have any proof for this?"
Takahiro smirked inwardly.
Takigawa nodded. "We do, actually," he responded. "Three of them, in fact. The first is the testimony of the student concerned," he said, gesturing to Aiba. "Aiba Hiroki of first year section one, who is both a student under Takahiro-sensei in their class and a member of the School Paper. The second is the testimony of Shirota Yuu," he continued, gesturing to Shirota. "He was the one who saw Takahiro-sensei harassing Aiba-kun last Monday when club activities were in session in the School Paper office."
"The third is this video," Moriyama finished, holding up a CD. "This was taken yesterday afternoon when Aiba-kun was in detention with Takahiro-sensei."
Takahiro looked at Moriyama in surprise once the CD was mentioned.
Aiba didn't even look at him, his gaze fixed on the principal as this was going on.
"Very well...hand me that CD and I shall hear the testimonies afterward," Nobuyuki said as he took the CD from Moriyama. "Is it alright with you that we view this with them?" he asked Aiba who nodded quietly. Nobuyuki looked at the CD placing it in the player nearby.
The group watched the video from the TV as yesterday's events in Takahiro's office were revealed.
Shirota shut his eyes at some points, clutching onto Aiba's hand as he bit his lip. 'Darn it...' he cursed inwardly.
Aiba looked away from the screen, unable to watch the video. He looked at Shirota at one point and gently squeezed his hand to help reassure him.
Takahiro watched the video; no emotions could be seen in his face as the video ended.
"Takahiro...what have you got to say about this?" Nobuyuki asked.
Takahiro smiled at the students before looking at the principal. "It's obviously a ruse, Nobuyuki-san," he said and Nobuyuki nodded.
'WHAT?!' Aiba thought in alarm.
"How is it a ruse, Takahiro-sensei?" Takigawa inquired before turning to the principal. "And quite frankly, just because you're related doesn't mean you have to take his side, kochou."
Takahiro chuckled as he directed their attention to the CD. "I can name a few reasons why it is clearly a ruse," he started. "One would be the fact that the video itself isn't clear. Second would be that the voices from the audio is also full of static and finally, the angle is taken from behind. The only thing we see about the one assaulting -or so you say- the student which is clearly Aiba-kun is his back."
Nobuyuki nodded when he heard this. "I'm afraid that he has a point," he said as he looked at the students once again.
"This was taken during detention in Takahiro-sensei's office, so it should be concluded that it was him!" Shirota told the principal, pointing accusingly over to the Math teacher.
Takigawa sighed. "I was hoping not to bring this up anymore and wanted a confession from this one video..." he started as he rummaged through his bag. "But since it would appear that we clearly won't be getting one from Takahiro-sensei at this point, I have no choice but to bring this into play." He pulled out a few other CDs from his bag. "There were a few other video cameras cleverly positioned inside Takahiro-sensei's office at that time, recording the very same event. One of these should reveal that Takahiro-sensei is the very same one who had assaulted Aiba-kun that afternoon."
Aiba inwardly sighed in relief when he heard this but froze as he felt someone pull him away from Shirota.
Everything was blurred for a few seconds and when everything cleared up he found that Takahiro had taken hold of him, a knife pointed at his neck. "I thought you would make this easy for me just like the other schools I went to...I guess not," Takahiro said.
"Akira...put the knife away..." Nobuyuki said as he stood up.
"Move and I slit his neck," Takahiro warned as he slowly stepped towards the door, taking Aiba with him. "Out of my way...." we told the rest.
"You don't have to do this, Takahiro-sensei..." Ueshima began, slowly stepping aside.
Takigawa turned to Takahiro. "Will you give it up already? The reason why you couldn't do as you did with the other students from the other schools you went to was because you chose the wrong student," he explained calmly. "I admit, if Shirota-kun was not as close to Aiba-kun as he was, there wouldn't be any immediate action taken against you."
"Well that's not my problem now, is it?" Takahiro said as he used his free hand to feel for the door knob behind him.
"Well that's not my problem now, is it?" Takahiro said as he used his free hand to feel for the door knob behind him.
"Akira...Continue this and I will have to call the authorities," Nobuyuki warned.
"Go ahead. I'll be gone before they arrive," he said. "You honestly think that I didn't have any back up plans in case something like this happened?"
A calm smile came across Takigawa's face. "And you thought we didn't have such plans ourselves?" he said when a group of sirens echoed, coming towards the school as he pulled out his phone from his pocket, which was open, displaying the emergency number.
"Takigawa-senpai..." Shirota muttered in amazement before turning to Takahiro. "Let go of Hiroki right now!" he declared.
"You bunch of brats...." Takahiro muttered as he looked at them. He smirked when he heard Shirota speak up. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Shirota-kun," he said. "Aiba-kun over here will by my little exit ticket."
"Not if I can help it..." Shirota muttered before dashing forward in the blink of an eye - and he thanked his training for this - and swiftly managed to take hold of Takahiro's wrist holding the knife with both hands and twisted his arm before he could do anything.
Takahiro released the knife in surprise as Shirota twisted his arm. "You little--" whatever he was saying was cut off as Aiba turned around and kicked him where it hurts.
Soon after, the door burst open and the police came in and apprehended Takahiro. The principal – grudgingly - apologized to them for his ignorance on the matter and allowed them to return to their classes.
Moriyama excused himself from the others and headed off to his classroom as Ueshima-sensei, Shirota, Aiba and Takigawa headed off in the other direction.
"You never told me you had other cameras there, Takigawa-senpai," Shirota said.
Takigawa chuckled. "Oh, there weren't," he replied.
Ueshima smirked as he followed behind the three.
"Eh?!" Shirota declared.
"Those were just blank CDs. I'm surprised Takahiro bought it that they were other videos," Takigawa explained.
Aiba looked at Takigawa after a few moments. "Ne, Takigawa-senpai....could you do me a favor and destroy this CD?" he asked as he handed the CD back to Takigawa. It was returned to him before they left the principal's office.
Takigawa took the CD and nodded. "We'll pretend this never happened," he said with a smile. "Saa, I have to head this way," he said, pointing to another hallway leading to the second year classrooms. "I'll see you later, Shirotan, Aiba-kun." He turned to Ueshima-sensei and bowed before leaving.
"We still have some time for pre-homeroom," Ueshima-sensei reminded them before ushering them to their classroom.
"Ah, I have to pass out the surveys!" Shirota said, running ahead.
Aiba chuckled. "Count on him to remember his job at the last minute," he said.
----------
During lunch time, Aiba had dragged Shirota on the school rooftop to have lunch there. Kimeru had given him the copy of the key to the door so they had it all to themselves, though he wasn't sure if Kimeru and Takigawa would join them.
Shirota surveyed the rooftop for a minute with his packed lunch in one hand and Aiba's hand in the other. "This has quite a few memories, this place..." he said with a smile.
Aiba nodded. "Aa..." he said in agreement as he led Shirota to one of the areas there. "I'm glad it's over..." he said.
Shirota nodded, following Aiba. "So am I..." he said. "I was worried something might've happened to you…"
----------
Takigawa had met up with Kimeru during lunch and proceeded to tell him what had happened the morning while they headed to the rooftop.
Kimeru sighed. "Well at least the worse is over," he said. "Though that move you did was pretty cool. Who knew that the CD's you held were fake."
Takigawa chuckled. "I figured it needed to be done. I'm surprised they didn't bother checking it if it had any videos at all," he admitted.
Kimeru grinned. "It must be because he knew that he was already caught, Takahiro I mean."
----------
Aiba sighed as he stopped and pulled Shirota down to sit beside him. "Yuu…" he started, placing his hand on Shirota's cheek. "You know what? Even during the time when I was alone yesterday with that person...I had managed to keep myself together even now despite everything that had happened…and you know why is that?" he asked quietly. "That's because I knew that when everything was over you'd be there for me…"
Shirota smiled, placing his hand over Aiba's that was on his cheek. "Aa. And I always will be..." he said quietly.
"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" Aiba teased before pressing his forehead against Shirota's.
Shirota pressed his lips against Aiba's for a moment before replying, "No, but I'm glad you said so... Because I love you too."
----------
Takigawa nodded as they reached the door to the rooftop.
"Did we come at a bad time?" Kimeru asked as he saw the two.
Aiba immediately pulled away when he heard Kimeru's voice, a blush on his cheeks.
Startled, Shirota pulled back and rubbed the back of his head, blushing as well.
Takigawa smiled at the sight. "But I'm glad you've put that episode behind you already," he said. "You two sure know how to get ahead of us in that department," he teased.
Kimeru nodded. "They move faster than us in every aspect in my opinion," he said.
Aiba chuckled. "In any case, I'm glad that we could have lunch together again," he told the group.
Takigawa nodded. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said as he took his seat.
Shirota was scratching his cheek.
"What's wrong?" Takigawa inquired.
"Nothing..." Shirota replied. "I was just pondering on what you guys said earlier..."
Kimeru looked at Shirota as he sat down. "What about it?" he asked.
Aiba, curious about it as well, looked at Shirota too.
"You and Kimeru-senpai... Began spending time with one another way before Hiroki and I did..." Shirota began. "It didn't take long before it was out that you two were together... But... why haven't you--"
Takigawa smiled at this before moving to mess up the boy's hair, who only blushed at the gesture. "Shirotan... I'm thankful you're concerned, at least," he said before turning to Kimeru.
Kimeru chuckled. 'He has absolutely no idea on how far Eiji and I have gone, hasn't he?' he thought in amusement.
Aiba looked at his two senpais. "...you two haven't....?" he asked incredulously.
Takigawa smiled. "We'll let you two think whatever you like," he said before moving his attention to his lunch. "Saa, let's eat!"
Aiba looked at Shirota before shrugging. "Itadakimasu~" he said before starting on his lunch.
Kimeru smirked. "Saa...let's eat then."
Shirota looked to the others before sighing, attending to his own lunch. "Itadakimasu~"
TBC
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