Chapter Twelve: Commence Operation True Honey

First things first. They had to find Yukihiko and start dropping hints. They would only drop one to start with and wait for his conclusion. If by the next day he hadn't figured it out, then they'd leave another hint. Meanwhile, they'd confront Shunsuke and tell him it would be best to take a chance and confess his feelings to Yukihiko. Before Shunsuke makes the confession, they drop the final hint with Yukihiko, hoping he does clue into who it could be.

"Okay, now that we have the plan settled, it's time to put everything into action," Keita stated. "Tracey, you should drop the first hint."

The Watcher nodded. "Alright."

Kazuki spoke up. "But, if it turns out that Shunsuke-san is there as well, abort the mission and come back."

"Got it. Here goes nothing."

Keita and Kazuki watched as Tracey left the room. They exchanged worried expressions. Even if the plan was followed to the letter, there was still the simple fact that Yukihiko might not feel the same way. "We can only hope for success, right?" Keita asked.

"Right." Kazuki pulled him into an embrace. "That's all we can do for now."

Tracey spotted Yukihiko, and to his relief, he was alone. "Hey! Yukihiko!"

"Oh, if it isn't Tracey," the tennis club captain remarked as the Watcher ran over to him. "So, what's up?"

Tracey caught his breath before responding. "Wataru and Kakeru have noted with concern that your skills have been...well, a bit off lately. You're still thinking about what I said, aren't you?"

Yukihiko nodded. "It's hard to not think about that."

"Well, I've decided it's alright to give you a hint."

"Really?"

"It would help you see who I mean sooner, right?"

Yukihiko nodded. "So, what's the hint?"

"The person I am speaking of is constantly by your side, he thinks of you as a good friend."

"That's the hint?"

"That's all for now. You'll receive your next hint tomorrow if you need it."

"Alright."

"But, this should help narrow it down, right?"

The second-year nodded. "Yes, it does."

"Good. Then, I'll leave you to work it out, and if you haven't by tomorrow, then I'll give you the next hint at breakfast."

"Alright then. Thanks, Tracey."

"I'm only hoping you and that person can find your true happiness with each other."

"Just as you found yours?"

The Watcher blushed lightly. "How...how did you know?"

"Well, I was just teasing, but your response tells me you really have. But, the only ones I see you with most often are...wait, Keita? Or Kazuki?"

"Both," he responded, the blush still on his cheeks.

"Well, congratulations! I'm happy for you!"

"Thanks, Yukihiko. Well, I'd better leave you to think about who I meant. See ya!"

"See you later, Tracey." He watched the Watcher run off again. He's certainly got a lot of energy. Now, who could he mean?

Tracey returned to the room. "Alright, he's received his first hint, and he's figured out about us."

Keita laughed. "That sounds right. So, what did he say?"

"The hint I gave him does help narrow down his options quite a bit." He noticed Kazuki appeared worried. "Is everything alright, Kazuki?"

The taller male nodded. "I'm just hoping that our plan works out for both of them. We know of Shunsuke-san's feelings, but there's still a chance that Naruse-san may not feel anything more than friendship towards him."

Tracey nodded. "There is that possibility..."

"But, we can't just give up on them! Naruse-san might feel the same way, but he might not realise it because he's always finding others to call his Honey," Keita commented.

"That's one of the reasons I love you, Keita." Tracey sat beside him. "You're not the kind to give up on others."

Yukihiko thought about it all night long, even as he slept. It was hard to reach the conclusion after all, even though the options had been narrowed down. But, that meant not only those who also grew close to Keita after his arrival, but even the twins. Tracey had said it was one person, so it could be either of the twins, or it could be one of the other guys. But, who? Who was it? Who could it be?

The next morning, as they sat at the table eating their breakfast, they noticed Yukihiko still appeared bothered by who Tracey had meant. They weren't surprised that he'd approached their table. "How is it going?" Tracey asked after greeting him.

"Not too well. The options have been narrowed down, but there are still too many people..." Yukihiko sighed. He patted Marill on her head. "Good morning, Marill. Haven't seen you around lately."

Marill blushed lightly but refused to give an answer.

Tracey answered for her. "She's quite close to Tonosama."

Marill glanced up at her trainer. "Marill ma!" Tracey!

Tracey chuckled. "I just meant that you've become good friends with him."

Yukihiko blinked. "Tonosama? You mean Umino-sensei's cat? I thought he'd only ever be close to Umino-sensei!"

"Believe it or not, he'd bonded with Marill easily over that week."

"Oh, okay."

"So, anyway, would you like your next hint?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay then." Tracey turned to Keita. "Your turn."

Keita nodded. "The person Tracey meant has a cheerful and energetic personality, his smile is very contagious."

Yukihiko nodded. "I think I'm starting to get who it is now."

"Really?" the other three asked, Marill continuing to eat her breakfast.

"Okay, it's either one of the twins or...hmm..."

They sweatdropped. Surely that hint would've been the most helpful!

"Wait a minute..."

"Yes?"

Yukihiko looked over to a redhead sitting at a table nearby. He saw the other second-year was wolfing down his breakfast, as he did have lots to do before class even started. "You mean...Shunsuke?"

Their eyes widened. Yukihiko understood who it was! "Yes. I noticed that he's become upset about never being called your Honey, only he'd prefer it for real," Tracey replied.

"I see...how could I not have realised it yesterday?"

Or sooner for that matter, Kazuki thought, though he knew it would be rude to voice it.

"But, I don't even know how I feel for him..."

Crud! Keita cursed mentally.

"I mean, I appreciate all he's ever done for me, and I'm glad he's always by my side..."

"Then, you should think of just how deeply your appreciation runs. Think about what life would be like without him. That's how I worked out how I feel for Kazuki and Keita," Tracey suggested. "That was Marill's idea."

"Well, she's a smart Pokemon." Yukihiko gave her another pat. "I'll have to work this out. Anyway, I'm getting hungry, so I'm going to get breakfast. See you later."

They watched as he left before exchanging looks. "We won't have Shunsuke-san confess just yet, we need to let Naruse-san work out his feelings," Kazuki suggested.

"Agreed," the younger teens voiced in unison.

It was no surprise that the twins approached them later that day as practise was ending. "Now what did you say to him?" they demanded to know.

"Yukihiko knows Shunsuke is the one who wants to be his Honey, but he doesn't know if he feels quite the same just yet, so he's trying to work that out," Tracey explained.

"It would've been better if he never knew who it was!" Kakeru screamed.

"Isn't that contradictory to what was said the other day?" Kazuki asked.

"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you!"

Wataru had to calm his brother, though he too was quite annoyed. "Calm down, it's not going to do anything."

Kakeru did calm. "We tried to challenge him, but even then, he was too distracted."

"It's not working at all," the twins sighed in unison.

"Then, that just means that Naruse-san is being serious in his considerations," Keita commented.

"Do you really think so?" Wataru questioned.

"I do. Once this has come to an end, he will be back to normal. Just give him some time."

"We can't give him too much, there's a tournament next month," Kakeru explained.

"That's why we want him to be playing his best," Wataru added.

"The last time he didn't do well in a tournament, he was miserable for the next month following."

"We don't want that to happen again," they voiced together.

Tracey smiled. "You really care about him, don't you?"

They nodded. "We're happy when Naruse-buchou is," Wataru stated quietly.

"We look up to him," Kakeru added.

"He's our hero!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Then, I am sure that everything will be alright," Tracey assured. "Yukihiko is quick to sort himself out, and with you there to support him, he will be alright."

"Do you really think so?"

"I do. I've noticed that about him in my time here."

"Why are you so observant?" Wataru questioned.

"I'm a Pokemon Watcher. Using those skills, I'm able to observe the behaviour of humans as well."

"Ohh...so that's why you know him so well..."

"It's like how I could tell that you two are truly worried about Yukihiko. You appeared aggressive, but underneath that was deep concern."

"Wow, you're good," Kakeru remarked. "So, Naruse-buchou really will be alright?"

"I stake my pride as a Watcher on it."

The twins exchanged looks before smiling and nodding. "Then, we'll take your word for it. Bye!" they stated before walking off.

"That's a lot at stake, Tracey. Are you sure everything will be alright?" Kazuki questioned.

"I know it will be. I'm not a fortuneteller, but with my observational skills, I'm able to pick up a few things here and there. And, I know something that Yukihiko still has yet to realise."

"You can't mean..."

"Yes. He loves Shunsuke just as much. Every time I've seen them together, I was always able to pick up hints here and there. I noticed he was always standing quite close to him, closer than friends normally would. There's always a certain twinkle in his eyes whenever he's looking at Shunsuke. I've even noticed the tone in his voice when they have a conversation."

Keita's eyes widened. "You really are good!"

Tracey blushed. "I still have a long way to go..."

"After hearing all of that, I refuse to believe that! None of us would've noticed that, no matter how much time we spend with them!" He leaned in close and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You truly are amazing, Tracey!"

Kazuki nodded in agreement. "It looks like this plan will be a success after all!"

Keita/Tracey: HAMU-HAMU HEAVEN!

The two chibified hamsters were strolling through the forest, still on that search and still wondering what Takuto had meant by knowing of the perfect thing to sketch. They came across Chibified-hamster Omi on his laptop. He appeared to be in deep focus. "Shichijo-san!" Keita called as Tracey called out, "Omi-hamu!"

The silver-haired hamster looked up at the younger teens. "Oh, hello, Itou-kun, Tracey-hamu."

"You're focusing really hard, Shichijo-san! Are you doing something complicated again-hamu?"

"No, I'm in the midst of a battle-hamu."

"A battle-hamu? With Nakajima-san?"

"No, this time it's not with Nakajima-san."

"Then, who's sending you viruses-hamu?"

"I never said it was a virus battle-hamu."

Tracey sweatdropped. "You have virus battles against Hideaki-hamu?"

Omi nodded. "It's fun yet dangerous at the same time-hamu."

"So, if you're not battling Nakajima-san, and it's not a virus battle, then what is it-hamu?"

"Is it a Pokemon battle simulation-hamu?" Tracey asked.

"Not that either-hamu." Omi was hitting the keys furiously. "I'm trying to prove to Kaoru that World of Warcraft is not a waste of my time-hamu."

The younger hamsters sweatdropped, not really expecting to hear that answer. Neither of them thought Omi was into MMORPGs.

Tracey tapped that same blackboard with that same baton, while Keita stood on the other side of it.

Omi popped up. "It seems Operation True Honey might work out after all, but will Naruse-san realise it as well-hamu? And, what's that letter that Tracey-hamu received-hamu?"

As Omi said that, a letter appeared in Keita's paw and he handed it to Tracey who stared at it in confusion.

"Next time in Newest Student At BL Gakuen: Could Our Ending Not Be So Happy?. I hope this story continues to tickle your sweet tooth-hamu!"