falling into step
A Haikyuu! fanfic
by mew-tsubaki
- ^-^3
Chapter 9: Those Kinds of Things
"Shinji! Breakfast!"
Watari jolted at the sound of his mother's voice and slid off his bed, book in hand as he hit his head on the floor and struggled to get up with his t-shirt falling over his face.
He heard his door open, and the first thing he saw with his shirt out of his eyes was the brown slacks of his mother, who stood in the doorway. "Honestly! Why the heck are you reading like that?" She bent and squinted at the cover. "I don't recognize that. Is that a book of yours?"
"No, it's a friend's," he answered, and he slid the rest of the way off his bed, finding leverage once he was on his back. He got up, checked to make sure the light novel was all right, and put it on the bed. "Sorry. Breakfast, right?"
His mother shook her head at him. "Yes. I don't care that it's summer vacation. Get up and eat at a regular time, Shinji." She took a step towards him and patted his cheek. "And no more reading upside–down like some bookish sloth. All the blood's rushed to your head, making your face red." She clicked her tongue at him and turned around, muttering something about teenage boys.
He grinned, despite having no audience. He checked his reflection in the long mirror hanging on the back of his closet door and saw his mother had somewhat missed the mark. With his dark complexion, he was more of a berry hue than plain old red, but that just made him more amused, and his grin widened as he thought back on earlier in the week.
Of course contrary to surprise, Watari had done well on his first-semester finals, just this side of acing them. He'd been disappointed for a heartbeat, the first time he'd ever felt that way since he normally was fine with anything starting in the late eighties or higher, but Matsukawa had been impressed nevertheless. "Almost perfect scores on everything—cripes, I thought people like you were a myth," he'd told the libero mid-Sunday morning.
"It's because I put the effort in, as do Okino and Kindaichi, though there are people to whom it comes naturally. Kunimi and Yahaba are like that. Weren't Iwaizumi-san and Oikawa-san in advanced classes, too?" Watari had asked.
"Oikawa got stuff done pretty easily and as necessary, but Iwaizumi's a bit like you in that regard. Although the poor guy endured a lot more hair-pulling than you." He'd paused to glance over his shoulder as they'd gone into the kitchen at Matsukawa's house, almost as if checking to make sure Watari's amused smile that prefaced his laugh was there on his face.
Not one to disappoint, Watari had smiled and laughed. He'd taken a seat at the little two-seater table against the wall that was halfway between the kitchen and the dinner table in the dining space, and he'd watched as Matsukawa had pulled out this and that ingredient since he was making good on his deal of preparing lunch for Watari, even if it was on the early side. "It's not as though I have much hair to pull… But what about you, Matsukawa-san?"
The older boy had held three fingers up over his shoulder. "Hanamaki, Shido, and I were the Average Trio. Not that I didn't take school seriously, but I did what I could and made sure to stay on the team and didn't worry about the rest."
Ah. Though Watari didn't feel like changing his studying habits, he couldn't deny he liked how at ease Matsukawa was. How he'd phrased it…it sounded comfortable. Or maybe Watari just liked how very Matsukawa it sounded.
They'd gotten to chatting about what the summer practice schedule would look like for the break, and Matsukawa was done with the food a little after that, partially because he'd actually done some prep work early that morning. And the lunch? It had made Watari's eyes pop—he enjoyed hard-boiled eggs, but he'd never had deviled eggs before. He'd gaped the whole time Matsukawa presented the spread and brought it over to the two-seater—how nice it was not to have to sit on the floor for once—and until he'd had the first bite. Then he'd forgotten his manners and scarfed another three eggs before realizing this was supposed to feed both of them.
"Ahm…sorry," the libero had squeaked after swallowing.
But Matsukawa had laughed and shaken his head. "Have as many as you want, Watari."
That hadn't been the only thing they'd eaten, but it was definitely the highlight of the meal. He wasn't even sure if his favorite food had come up in conversation before, but whether Matsukawa knew or had taken an extremely educated guess or just had the luck of the gods on his side, Watari was happy. That mood had stuck with Watari throughout the rest of the week, though he tried to tamp it down while at practice. The last thing he wanted was for the mood to disappear if Hoshimura or Yahaba noticed and started pestering him about it…although, Watari thought now as he traipsed downstairs to join his parents for breakfast, he suddenly had the feeling that maybe Yahaba wouldn't pester him. Hmm. Maybe it was due to the fact that Yahaba had other things (and people) to distract him?
Satisfied her son would stay on a decent schedule, Watari's mother let him slip away to his room after helping to clean up, and he took the small break to get more of his summer homework done. Practice was every other day on weekday mornings, so Watari had the time to complete everything, though he'd probably have it done well before the end of the break, at the rate he was going. It was only Thursday and Watari had fallen into a habit already, of racing through one subject before reading more of what Matsukawa had loaned him. He'd finished the other two short stories the other day, and he'd started the light novel early this morning and hadn't paused until his mother's interruption. So now he hurried through yet another subject so he could return to reading. After all, Matsukawa would have two free hours between his shift at the store and his delivery route.
Watari halted answering one of the response questions for English as his mind wandered to Matsukawa's schedule. He'd texted Matsukawa on Tuesday before heading over during the older boy's break, and it was a good thing he had, because Matsukawa had used some of that time for himself, getting ready for the rest of the night, so it wasn't as though it'd be the best idea for Watari to surprise him. Still, the libero knew he itched to do so anyway—likely a side-effect of the happy culinary surprise his friend had given him.
With homework out of the way, he picked up the light novel again and kicked back on his bed, returning to the world of Wish You Were Here Yesterday. The translation was very good, he thought, because it made a lot more sense than the movie had. Various characters were given the spotlight, and the book explored the complications and nuances of the relationships of people who were fairly normal except for one detail: they each could not survive without the presence of one other person. Through a single touch, life essence was exchanged between the two, so a person literally could not live without the other.
But, as romantic as it sounded at first, Watari thought he understood one of the reasons why Matsukawa liked the story. Not only was it a light fantasy, but the precariousness of human interaction was hard not to examine. The characters, especially the two leads, were interesting fellows, but there was this air that clung to a few of the partner pairs, that there might not be any caring between the two, romantic or platonic, as if they knew and saw each other as just another part of life. An existence in their life, but not a presence.
Watari grimaced at his observation. Did that even make much sense? He mused about explaining it to Matsukawa later and hoped his friend wouldn't be as lost as he felt just thinking things over.
He ate lunch with his mother when the time came and returned to reading once more after, but he ended up drowsing until he finally nodded off. Only when his computer chirped with a message from Hoshimura did Watari wake up, and he lost the rest of the day and a good part of the early evening to editing cuts of video one of Hoshimura's exes-turned-friends had at last sent him from their games against Senseki and Karasuno.
The shaven-haired boy dragged a hand over his tired face and noted when the clock on his computer screen turned to seven o'clock. Luckily, Hoshimura had signed off twenty minutes earlier, so Watari didn't have to figure out how to shake his friend before heading out and winding his way to the hardware store. When he saw Matsukawa around the back of the truck, he recalled having been distracted from the book twice in one day and internally cursed at himself.
"Good evening, Matsukawa-san," he greeted the black-haired teen.
Matsukawa nodded to him with that smile that forever verged on smirk. He patted the open bed of the truck and grinned when Watari hopped up to claim his usual spot. "Long day?" he asked when Watari yawned.
"Kind of. Early day, somewhat by accident. I started the light novel today."
Matsukawa raised his eyebrows, an invitation to continue.
"Don't worry—I finished the other short stories just yesterday." Watari blinked. "Oops. I probably should've brought that collection to return to you."
The taller boy shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You can read the others after the novel, if you want. I just wanted you to read those four stories I suggested, mostly." He grew quiet and darted his dark eyes between Watari and the small tower of boxes to his right.
Oh. "I enjoyed them," Watari offered, and he enjoyed that pleased look on Matsukawa's face at hearing that. "I'm astounded by how much I like the novel, though. I sped through so much of it…" He chuckled at himself. "To be honest, I'm not done, but I'm close to the end, and it's a little sad, knowing it's nearly over."
Matsukawa opened and closed his mouth. There was a twinkle in his eyes. "…just wait for the ending."
"Why? Is there a twist?"
Matsukawa's face morphed with that wolfish grin, and Watari could tell by the slight hike of his shoulders that he was suppressing a laugh.
"Oh, come on, Matsukawa-san! Can we at least talk about what I've read up to this point? Look, I've reached the start of the backstory for—"
But the older boy shook his head, and he playfully patted Watari's head. "Just read the ending," he insisted, and then he strolled inside to make the usual delivery.
- ^-^3
Watari considered it a bit addling these days when Matsukawa teased him like that or let him chatter on and on for long stretches without interrupting, so he went to finish the book that night but found his mind wandering. It was frustrating.
More frustrating was practice the next day. Now that the team was far-enough removed from the stresses of exams, the sting of defeat ached again, and more than just Kyoutani and Kawasumi began pushing themselves. Ueno seemed to be in resilient, high spirits, though Hoshimura was a cloud hanging over the court.
"What's got him?" Kindaichi asked the captain and vice-captain during a quick break between warm-ups and the short practice matches of three-on-three Irihata-sensei wanted to get going.
"No clue," Watari said. The three of them and Kunimi, who stood nearby with mild interest, stared in Hoshimura's direction. The middle blocker had as dour an expression on his face as Terakado typically had. Watari glanced at Yahaba. "He seemed fine yesterday when we messaged. Ah! Which reminds me—I've just about finished stringing together the recordings he sent me, so I figure we can watch those next week during a club meeting."
Yahaba nodded and then glanced at Hoshimura with a shake of his head. "I think it's related to that, actually. Hoshimura mentioned something about owing that friend of his a favor now, and I don't think he's too keen on responding. He asked Ueno if he could hide out at his place, and I'm pretty sure he even eyed and debated asking Kyoutani when Ueno said no."
The captain shut up and Kindaichi scurried away, Kunimi trotting behind him, when Hoshimura stalked in their direction. "Yahaba…," he started.
But Yahaba beat him to the punch. "Sorry, no." He patted Watari's shoulder then, too enthusiastically to the point of hurting, but the shaven-haired boy knew when to keep quiet. "Watari's coming over, and you know the rule at my house—one person over at a time."
Hoshimura groaned.
"You made your bed, Hosshi. Just sleep in it."
That reply wound up encouraging a few "missed serves" to Yahaba's head and back, but mild-mannered Hoshimura did his best to keep his decent reputation intact and "missed" only when Irihata-sensei wasn't looking and when Mizoguchi-san couldn't be sure the blocker had done it on purpose. By the time practice, which ran over by half an hour, ended for the day, the challenge was no longer avoiding Hoshimura but keeping him and the setter from killing each other.
"Argh," Yahaba snarled in the clubroom to Watari as the others left one by one. "I really hope the next three weeks aren't the same crap, different day."
Watari waved to Okino and Kawasumi and Sanada, who were on their way out. Then the libero turned to his locker beside Yahaba's and raised his eyebrows. "It's tough when Hoshimura stoops to that level," he remarked.
"Thank gods Ueno isn't a complete child, but Hoshimura and Kyoutani…" Yahaba groaned and banged his head against his locker door. "Watari."
"Hmm?"
"Please find a time-travel machine and prevent me from becoming captain."
The libero, in the past, would've fretted over this kind of attitude from his friend. Yet, now, he realized this was Yahaba's captaincy, and it wasn't a bad one. So… "Nope. You're doing fine, Yahaba, honest." He raised his eyebrows higher, waiting for Yahaba to peek at him. "Give it a few days. Things will be back to normal, captain."
"I guess…" The brunet straightened up then and put the rest of his things in his bag. He closed his locker just as Watari finished gathering his own things. "Hey. The invite still stands. You coming over?"
Watari paused briefly. Just because it was summer break, he wasn't trying to see Matsukawa every day…but having the option was enticing. On the other hand, Watari figured it wasn't exactly a question with Yahaba. "Do you even want me over, or are you just making good on what you said to Hoshimura to make sure he doesn't end up at your house?"
Yahaba laughed while the vice-captain checked to make sure he had overnight supplies and swiftly texted his mother. "A little from column A, a little from column B." He grabbed hold of Watari's arm and pulled him out of the clubroom after, and Watari flashed back to being pushed to the apothecary about two weeks prior.
Yahaba's home was nice and quite different from Matsukawa's, modern and pristine and black-and-white. Watari had been over countless times, more so since the end of their first year, when he and Yahaba had first really become friends, sometime after Kyoutani's absence from club. But the condo was nice, if a bit big for just Yahaba and his parents.
Predictably, they found Yahaba's father still at work and his mother at her baby grand piano, preparing for a summer-end concert. Music-focused though she was, she did pause long enough to mark her sheet music and point her pencil to a plate of snacks she'd left out for the boys on the kitchen counter, but then the athletes scarpered upstairs to Yahaba's room so she could have some peace.
Watari's phone buzzed, and his pulse sped up, but it was simply his mother confirming she'd seen his message and was fine with it so long as he didn't impose too long and came home the next day. He frowned at his screen but locked the device and tossed it into his bag.
"Well, aren't you about as happy as Hoshimura."
Watari pursed his lips and settled Yahaba with a look. "I don't have his kinds of problems."
"Sure, sure." Yahaba whistled and swiveled in his desk chair. "Although, you asked if I wanted you over. Yet you're the one who looks as if he's expecting a text from a certain someone~"
Though he wasn't certain he liked Yahaba hitting the nail on the head, he couldn't deny how his pulse picked up at the insinuation. He did enjoy interacting with Matsukawa…and maybe he'd become a bit spoiled these past few months. But there wasn't anything wrong with feeling that way, was there?
Yahaba blatantly eyed him and sighed. "Ah, you go ahead and take the first bath, Watari."
Watari blinked, and a friendly smile bloomed on his face at Yahaba's clear topic switch. "I'll be quick."
"Take your time. Just mind the duck shelf!"
"As always…."
- ^-^3
His dreams were filled with rubber ducks, bad jokes, and classical music. But that was a given at Yahaba's place.
The two friends had whiled away the day and night considering the roster for their upcoming Spring High prelims entry and easily getting sidetracked by Yahaba's history homework, a subject which Watari had finished already. Then the music downstairs, dulled by the soundproofed floors and walls, had come to a stop, Yahaba's father arrived, and the four of them had dinner.
Watari and Yahaba slept in the following morning, though the odd dreams woke the libero first. He remained on his back for a few minutes, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the silence of the late morning. After a moment, he heard the telltale plinking of keys that told him Yahaba's mother was back to work.
His thoughts wandered then, to visiting Matsukawa's house. Yahaba's place was nearly always filled with classical music because of his mother's occupation as a concert pianist and his father's work heading the finances for a friend's accomplished ballet company. Watari's house was run-of-the-mill, with the sounds of the television often running through the house, though Watari liked listening to some old rock. But Matsukawa's house? It was super quiet since he tended to visit when Matsukawa's family was out, though Matsukawa liked to indulge in his weird music tastes about half the time when Watari was over, even if only to see what kind of reaction he'd get out of the younger boy. Thinking on it now, Watari had to stifle a snicker. Matsukawa's playfulness was…something else, all right.
Yahaba yawned to Watari's right, and the bed creaked as Yahaba turned to face his friend down on the floor in the spare futon. "'Morning."
"Good morning."
"…you sound pretty coherent."
"I've been up for a little while."
Blankets rustled, and Watari could picture Yahaba, bundled up since the AC forever blasted at his place, popping his head out of his nest and peering over the bed's edge at the shaven-haired teen. "Didn't sleep well?"
"No, the opposite. Stunning, when you consider I know the backstories for the family of rubber ducks in your bathroom."
"Hey. You sat there, rapt as you listened to Michiyasu and Noriko's harrowing tale of coming together. Kuniharu and Hirako wouldn't exist without those brave ducks."
"That was at the end of winter in our first year, Yahaba, the first time I stayed over. I couldn't stop listening because I couldn't believe someone our age collected rubber ducks, let alone made up elaborate stories about them."
There was a second of silence, and then both of them snickered at the memory. "You got me there, but I don't care. I like what I like, you like what you like—it'd be insane if everyone walking around was the same person." Yahaba sighed, a groggy kind of exhalation. "So, if you slept well…"
Watari had a quip on his tongue, about keeping to the schedule his mom wished, but he didn't say that. "I was listening to your mom play."
Another second of silence, long enough to hear the piano's melody waft up the stairs. "Ah, yeah. I find it comforting, you know. I can't take a steady diet of it, hence treasuring the really nice headphones Dad bought me for my birthday two years ago, but it's something she's always done, even in my earliest memory. So I guess…nostalgia?" He paused again, and a strong thrum reached them as the song picked up slightly. Watari could feel Yahaba's eyes on him in spite of the darkness of the room. "Why? Does it bother you? You've never mentioned it before."
"Oh, no, I like it. It's different. I was just thinking about taste in music."
"Yeah? What's Matsukawa-san's like?"
Watari grumbled. "Thanks for letting me steer things, Yahaba."
"Hey, I wanted to run to the finish line, not stroll there, Watari." His voice was closer now, meaning Yahaba was leaning further over the edge. A tiny part of Watari knew he wouldn't be disappointed if his friend fell off that edge. "So spill."
He didn't. Not unlike before when Yahaba had asked for specifics, Watari preferred to keep the details to himself. But, also as before, Watari knew he couldn't keep quiet and expect to sate the setter's curiosity at the same time. "It's…different," he said at last. "Funky instrumentals that are borderline easy-listening."
"Ahh, I see." The bed creaked, and Yahaba's voice was further away; he was lying back in bed properly once more. "Hanamaki-san's into a lot of techno crap, some far too industrial to be called music, really. But," he added more nicely, "sometimes he finds collaborations between bands he likes and bands I like."
Watari shifted his head on his pillow. "It did come as a shock, you know."
"Me telling you about him and me?"
"Not that I've ever stopped to think about it long enough to suspect, but yeah."
"It's not an 'opposites attract' thing, if you're wondering. He and I are equally likely to lose our cool, and I've been known to be laidback."
"Yeah, you had Kyoutani going for a while."
"Yep." Yet another pause. "I take it you've been splitting your time between homework and Matsukawa-san?"
"Feeling lonely?" Watari smiled.
"No," the captain obviously lied. "Just curious as to what you two get up to."
"Talking, mostly. Reading, too—ah, he helped me study. Games, movies, TV, walking anywhere… Running errands and window-shopping. Normal things." He refrained from mentioning the deviled eggs. That was one of those details that Watari, remembering something Matsukawa had said, decided to be selfish about and keep for himself.
This time Yahaba was silent for two minutes, which made Watari nervous as to what ridiculous things were running through that occasionally flighty head of his. But, if he had any comments, Yahaba withheld them, and instead he turned on the overhead wall light without warning. The next thing the libero knew, Yahaba had his phone out and was checking his inbox. "Ha!" he laughed, swinging his legs over the bed's edge to sit up.
"What?"
"Hoshimura actually went so far as to make Kyoutani his victim." Yahaba showed Watari, who had to wince in the sudden onslaught of brightness, the slew of profanity-riddled texts from their ace. The captain beamed. "One public word of rebuke to Hoshimura come Monday, and Kyoutani should be docile for a few days in thanks." He sighed happily, and Watari shook his head at him. This devious side, too, jived with Hanamaki's, the libero contemplated.
Watari believed he might head home around lunchtime, but Yahaba felt particularly lazy today, and, considering practice had been so tiring the day before, Watari relented and stuck around. They got caught up watching a broadcast of a foreign volleyball tournament, but Yahaba changed the channel when his mother shot him a stern look at the disruption he made every time the setters pulled off moves he had yet to achieve. So they switched to some music program that looked to be a competition between dueling pianos, but that pulled Yahaba's mother from her bench a second time—only, this time, mother and son alike railed against the supposedly sloppy techniques of both pianists.
Before he knew it, it was close to early dinnertime, and Watari knew his own family would expect him home soon. Yahaba whined that he could stay for dinner, too, no worries. "Mom likes feeding you," he told the shaven-haired boy in the doorway to his room, watching his friend pick up his things and shoulder his bag. "You eat most anything put in front of you."
"That's called 'having good manners,' Yahaba," Watari corrected, rolling his eyes.
Yahaba's phone chimed then, and his tune changed. "Yes, it is, and let me use more manners to show you out."
Watari led the descent downstairs. "What's got you—"
"Who do you think?" Yahaba retorted, scrunching his nose up at him. But he couldn't keep his lips from curving up as they reached the foot of the stairs.
Hanamaki. Of course. "Why do I even bother asking?" Watari sighed. Yet he didn't mind, not really—how could he when it put Yahaba in such a good mood?
They made no further plans at the door, but Yahaba reminded him about the game footage for the coming week. Around the corner from the condominium complex, Watari saw Hanamaki coming up, carrying plastic bags that were dripping and appeared to be holding sodas if not also ice-creams. Hanamaki grinned at him and saluted in passing, and then he hurried to Yahaba's.
The libero checked the time on his phone once he reached the edge of Yahaba's neighborhood. Hmm. It would be six before long… And he'd heard nothing from his parents about being home by then…
Before he could think too hard on it, Watari caught the bus and headed towards Matsukawa's house. That wasn't his ultimate destination, however, as he slowed to a stop outside the window for Sekitan Apothecary.
He peeked inside but didn't see Matsukawa right away. Still, he entered and mindlessly scanned the products up at the front of the store, the sunglasses, the sugar-free gum, the spare phone chargers—
"Watari?"
Even before Matsukawa spoke his name, Watari had sensed the larger male coming up the aisle. The shorter teen smiled instinctively. "Bad time?" he asked, and his smile faltered, seeing Matsukawa rather blindsided. He knew he hadn't been banned from the store, but was it so bad if Watari ever set foot here?
Matsukawa closed his mouth, which had popped open in a small "o." He shook his head but took a step closer to Watari. "I'm still working."
"You've got"—he picked up Matsukawa's hand to read the older boy's watch since his phone was in his pocket—"about five minutes before the day's over. Is it all right if I wait for you? I'll stay out of the way, promise." It dawned on him how presumptuous he sounded, so he grabbed a packet of gum from the shelf beside him. "If I buy this, that makes me a customer, right? And customers can stay."
The older teen's shoulders slackened, and he gave Watari's a hand a squeeze before letting go and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I dunno… I don't mind," he added when Watari frowned, "but the end of my shift means—"
"Itchan! Where'd you go?"
Though Matsukawa wasn't a stranger to such words, he cursed under his breath and took another step closer to Watari, so that the endcap might hide both of them. Unfortunately, the opposite happened, and the person looking for Matsukawa came and found him.
"Why do you even bother hiding that big frame of yours in our tiny store?" the willowy woman asked, and she cocked her head to one side at Watari while Matsukawa groaned. "Friend?"
"Watari Shinji," Watari replied automatically, bowing his head respectfully. He'd only seen her in passing and in pictures, so she didn't exactly need an introduction. Nevertheless—
"Matsukawa Kako, Issei's older sister," she said somewhat flatly, though Watari didn't get the sense that she intended any rudeness. Kako faced Matsukawa and held up a hand, splaying her fingers. "Itchan. Five more minutes. I own your butt for five more minutes. Go move the pallets from out back to inside the back door." She returned her attention to Watari while her brother rolled his eyes.
"I'd like to buy this," the younger boy coughed, holding up the gum.
She stared for another two seconds, shrugged, and walked to the counter.
Matsukawa gave him an apologetic look. His mouth was bunched up, a squiggled line across the bottom of his face. No doubt he had a million things to say: "I'm sorry about her," "This is why you haven't met my family before now," "I will blitz through five minutes even if only to escape here," and "Never call me 'Itchan,' promise," to name a few.
Witnessing his discomfort, Watari shook his head. "I'll just buy this and keep my head down while I look through—" Well, there weren't any magazines in this place. But… "Maps. There. I'll look through the maps." He laughed nervously.
But that put his friend at ease, and Matsukawa managed a chuckle. "She's about as bad as she seems, so she's not terrible," Matsukawa reassured him.
"No, it's… I just didn't think she'd be your height," the shorter boy confessed. Really. That'd been intimidating.
Matsukawa leaned in towards him, hovering a bit over the shaven-haired boy and making Watari look up at him. He grinned impishly when Watari gave him an exasperated look. "…you're a good height, Watari."
"What's that supposed to mean…?!"
"Itchan! Hey! What did I tell you?" Kako called from the counter.
Matsukawa straightened up. But his eyes bored holes into Watari, so his meaning was clear: "Please be patient."
Watari beamed at him and hoped that offered some comfort. In the meantime, Watari felt he learned some interesting things in those five minutes. He'd never imagined Matsukawa would have a nickname, Oikawa's "Mattsun" aside, and Kako…was assuredly cut from the Matsukawa cloth. She and her brother were equally taciturn, and she didn't mince words when explaining things about medication and cures to customers, nor did she cough up her smile as readily as her brother might. In a word, she was stern. But there was a soft edge to her—not unlike Matsukawa, though he showed his more often.
Kako was complacent once the hour struck, and she caught her brother's apron as he took it off and tossed it to her. "Have fun," she called without even looking up from a shipment order as the two teens left.
"May I at least ask?" Watari prompted as they made their way to Matsukawa's house.
Matsukawa pouted but rolled his eyes. "Apparently she called me 'Itchan' when I was first born and has never stopped since. Mom and Dad told me I was confused for a year or two and didn't respond to 'Issei' for a while because of that. Siblings," he growled, but the tips of his ears were reddish, too, so he wasn't truly upset. He shook his head and ran a hand through his curls.
Watari wanted to do the same, if only to calm him, but he quelled the impulse. "It's nice, though. I think it shows you guys are close in your own way. I'm envious." He smiled when Matsukawa looked down at him, but the taller boy appeared tame at that, and he took his steps closer to Watari as they arrived at the old house.
"You've got your duffle with you," Matsukawa pointed out as they kicked their shoes off and went upstairs.
"Ah, yeah… I can probably only stay for so long before Mom bugs me to come home. Impromptu sleepover at Yahaba's," he finished when Matsukawa still looked confused.
The other boy nodded. "Guess that means you haven't finished the book yet."
Oh, of course. "No, not yet. But soon."
Matsukawa smiled gently. "Don't rush through it. And it's not as though we have to talk about it right now," he stated, though that mischievous twinkle was back in his eyes when Watari huffed at that, obviously referencing how Watari wanted to discuss the story so far. Instead, he picked up a game case from beside his TV. "I've got a new game I borrowed from Hanamaki. Want to be my Player Two?"
The libero shelved his annoyances over putting the light novel off yet again and gave Matsukawa a befuddled look. "Don't you mean your co-player? I'm not much of a Player Two."
That twinkle turned into a gleam, but Matsukawa didn't comment. He merely chuckled to himself instead.
- ^-^3
Sunday belonged to Matsukawa, too, in the end, when Watari woke to an early-morning text asking to hang. The light novel was still on Watari's mind, but it wasn't as if he'd never finish it, so he went over to Matsukawa's with a clear conscience, and the duo ended up caught up in Hanamaki's videogame for a second time.
Watari, himself, ended caught up in practice and finishing homework and helping everyone else stay on top of theirs over the next few days. "Kyoutani and Terakado might even pass their assignments in on time," he breathed as he dropped to the cushion beside Matsukawa on Friday night while they settled in the path of the fan Matsukawa had installed in his window. Though it wasn't as hot as it had been lately, the late-August humidity was wearisome, and temperatures were expected to rise over the weekend. The shaven-haired teen was rather glad when Matsukawa didn't even move to grab his game controller, opting to flip his TV on instead.
"You'll make an honest student of Mad Dog yet," Matsukawa quipped, leaning back against his closet door and sliding his eyes to the right, towards Watari. He'd placed the cushions back against the wall so they could lean and enjoy the circulated air without effort.
"Ha, I doubt it. Just keeping Mizoguchi-san's blood pressure down is the attainable goal." Watari didn't have anything else to add at the moment, so conversation dwindled, but that wasn't uncomfortable. Unlike with Yahaba or his other friends, Watari didn't feel required to keep up the dialogue between him and Matsukawa, though he knew Matsukawa didn't mind him talking by himself for long periods with few interjections from the taller boy.
Matsukawa clicked around, though Watari couldn't decipher if he was searching for something to watch in particular. He settled on a comedy, one that Watari watched with his parents, and the room grew quiet save for the whir of the fan's blades and the show's dialogue and laugh tracks.
The humidity and the quiet and the overall comfortable atmosphere made Watari's eyelids heavy, so he pulled his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms atop them so he could rest his chin. But at some point he genuinely nodded off, and he awoke when he felt fabric against his temple. He sat up straight, as if jolted by electricity, and apologized to Matsukawa. "I— You could've said something," he spluttered. Was the room more humid than before? Or was it just his face that felt bizarrely warm?
But Matsukawa glanced at his shoulder and at Watari, a bemused smirk on his face. For a brief second, the raven-haired boy's eyes widened, as if to say "I didn't even notice." But then Matsukawa must've changed his mind, and his eyes crinkled, somewhat charmed, like "I don't mind, so you're welcome to again." And he snickered when Watari, embarrassed, shoved him in response.
There was a knock on Matsukawa's door then, and Kako slid it open, announcing herself with "Itchan~" She held up a bowl of rice crackers. "Mom had them sitting in the fridge, so they're perfect right now. Share with Shinji," she ordered, but she meant well and came and placed the food in the middle of the table. Kako straightened up, hands on hips, and eyed Watari, rather as she'd done when they'd first met. "Dinner's on the late side at our house, but you're welcome to stay for it, you know." And there! The twist of her lips that was reminiscent of Matsukawa's smirk—it fought her for a second before she smiled wryly and fixed her eyes on her brother. "I'm sure our parents would like to meet this friend who isn't Takahiro."
Matsukawa's eyes clouded over briefly, as if he were trying—and failing—to transcend the conversation. "Thanks for the food," he said curtly in an effort to usher her out of there.
She left without another hint and closed the door behind her. Watari looked between the door and his friend, who reached for the rice crackers and passed the bowl to him. "Your family gets their fill of Hanamaki-san, don't they?"
The annoyance on that tanned face vanished, and Matsukawa suppressed such a large laugh, he had to hold his sides, nearly doubled-over. "That's one way of putting it…!"
Watari felt some odd semblance of relief at having passed off that awkward moment with Matsukawa with Kako's fortunate interruption. The rice crackers held their attention for a while, too, until Matsukawa ate the last one. Watari debated going downstairs to fetch more—and handling Matsukawa's parents in addition to his sister, should they be home soon—when Matsukawa's phone rang.
Clearly Matsukawa hadn't been expecting a call, because he shrugged at Watari. But he answered it, and Sawauchi's chipper face popped up via video chat. "Yo, Matsukawa!" He tilted his head to one side and peered more closely at the screen. "Hey, who's that with you? I can see an ear and a bald head…"
"Hi, Sawauchi-san," Watari said with a quick wave, figuring there was no harm in saying hello. Not to mention the sudden exhausted expression on Matsukawa's face meant the older boy wasn't up for a chat. "What's up?" Watari asked.
Sawauchi blinked at what probably seemed like an unlikely pair, but he didn't comment. "Yuda and I are gonna be home this weekend, and I already touched based with Shido and Hanamaki. We were thinking of hitting the public pool. You in?" He turned his head to Watari. "You, too, Watari. Yahaba's coming along. The more, the merrier." Though he wasn't as peppy as Shido or Yuda could be, Sawauchi definitely had an infectious grin, and it was hard to say no.
Still, Watari sneaked a glance at Matsukawa—only to find Matsukawa sneaking a glance at him, too. That made his pulse quicken and him laugh. "Yeah, it sounds like fun," Watari answered. He wondered if he'd done so for the both of them.
"Great! And, hey, Matsukawa," Sawauchi drawled. "You know, you should invite Kako-san, too. I'm sure she can take a day off every now and then—"
"No," Matsukawa stated with a pointedly irritated expression, and his thumb hovered over the "END" button for half a second while Sawauchi tried to convince him otherwise, and then Sawauchi's face was gone. Matsukawa sighed, stopping only when he noticed Watari staring with a small smile. He lifted one eyebrow and sank the other, Matsukawa-speak for "What?"
But Watari thought it best to keep his observation to himself. For all Matsukawa griped about Kako, he cared…but Watari didn't think he needed to comment that it was cute, how Matsukawa protected her in his own way.
"Are you sure you want to go?" Matsukawa asked, putting his phone on silent before placing it out of reach on the table.
"Yeah, why not? That's what summer's all about, isn't it? The pool, the beach, fireworks, scary stories—all that. Like school trips."
"…yeah. But you've never experienced an overnight trip outside of club with these guys…."
- ^-^3
"OPERATION: COOL-OFF—COMMENCE!"
Yahaba turned to the other four as Hanamaki and Yuda paraded into the outdoor public pool area Sunday afternoon, arms linked and louder than most of the preschoolers present with their mothers. "Do something about that," he hissed, red from head to toe, and not from sunburn.
Shido and Watari shook their heads apologetically, giving up the losing battle when they saw one. Matsukawa and Sawauchi rolled their eyes. "There's no taming that once it's started," Sawauchi reminded the setter as he and Shido pulled up the rear.
Yahaba threw his towel over his head as Hanamaki turned and waved to him, motioning to the good spot he and Yuda found by one corner of the deep end. The captain grumbled something incoherent as he fell back and padded in his duck-printed flip-flops alongside Watari and Matsukawa, but Watari chuckled at the sight, because really Yahaba was attempting to hide a smile that stretched from ear to ear.
The four alum and two seniors did indeed take over the few chairs Hanamaki and Yuda scouted out for them, and Yuda and Shido volunteered to take turns watching over everyone's belongings, so Yuda stayed behind first, as he was the only one who had yet to apply sunscreen. Hanamaki and Yahaba ran off ahead of the rest.
"More like a mother chasing after her child," Sawauchi remarked as he, Shido, Matsukawa, and Watari watched the spectacle. And somehow Sawauchi's point rang clear when Hanamaki jumped into the pool, making a splash that drenched Yahaba, and then reached up and yanked the unsuspecting captain into the water with him.
"Well, if you can't beat 'em," Shido said with a bark of a laugh, and he hopped in after the ditzy couple. Sawauchi went to the edge to lower himself in, but he slipped on the side and dropped like a dead weight into the water. When he popped back up, his dark hair, a tuft of which normally stuck up just in the front, was in complete disarray, full of sea urchin spikes that made him resemble Iwaizumi.
Watari felt a familiar stare on the top of his head, and he looked up to find Matsukawa's friendly smile. The older boy motioned for him to go first, so Watari unzipped his light, short-sleeve summer hoodie and tossed it on top of his drawstring backpack beside Yuda's chair, and they entered the water.
Both the pool and the perimeter were crowded. It was pure luck that Hanamaki hadn't landed on anyone when he'd jumped in. The group of friends tried to stay together, because that had been the point of arriving together, but Sawauchi was the first to wade off when he eyed a pretty girl with dark hair like Kako's, and Shido chased after him, reminding him of a previous incident that hadn't panned out well for the former middle blocker.
"So Kako-san is Sawauchi-san's type?" Watari asked Matsukawa, and Hanamaki nodded from his other side.
"It's never gonna happen, though," Hanamaki stated, and he gestured with a snort to the dark look that crossed Matsukawa's face then.
Watari fretted, seeing that expression, and he waved to Yuda to pass him the inflatable beach ball Hanamaki had brought along. The freckled guy threw it, Watari bumped it as came naturally to the libero, and Hanamaki spiked it. It lightly smacked Matsukawa in the shoulder, but the former blocker's smirk returned when he served it into Hanamaki's face, and Hanamaki stumbled backwards into Yahaba, sending both of them tumbling underwater.
Matsukawa faced Watari then, and his features were softened. "Thanks," he said.
Watari beamed at him. "No prob—" He stopped just as a squirt of water caught him in the face, and Yahaba narrowed his eyes at his friend, hands clasped and poised for another attack. Watari's patience thinned because of that and the weather, and he uncharacteristically shoved Yahaba's head under, thus beginning a stream of childish antics from boys who should've known better.
Their commotion caught Shido and Sawauchi's attention, but Shido got the ball up when they neared, so the ridiculousness cooled to a fun few rounds of pseudo-pool volleyball. Yuda mewled from the sidelines about joining in, and he got to switch places after Shido and Sawauchi grilled their fair-skinned friend about reapplying sunscreen after. All in all, fun was had, more than Watari had expected, though he knew he'd set the bar low after Matsukawa's warning about hanging out with the lot of them.
"Yahaba and Hanamaki-san are well-behaved today, too," Watari commented to Matsukawa when the two of them took a break once more than an hour had passed since their arrival. They sat in the pool chairs with everyone's things, so Yuda, Shido, and Sawauchi could play, and Hanamaki and Yahaba meandered towards the far end of the pool.
Matsukawa snorted from beneath the umbrella attached to his chair, his cheek cupped in one palm. He pointed with his other hand. "Wait for it," he told Watari.
The libero followed where he gestured. Yahaba and Hanamaki were talking by the corner directly opposite where Watari and Matsukawa sat, and Hanamaki boldly placed his hands on Yahaba's waist. Yahaba, after an odd beat, leaned in to him, and they kissed.
"No shame," Matsukawa said, but there was laughter in his voice, especially at Watari turning his head away. "Ah, it got better. Watari, look."
Doubtful, Watari trusted him regardless and saw that the alumni trio had snuck up on the couple, and they laughed at how blindingly red Yahaba and Hanamaki turned, understanding they had an audience. Even Watari couldn't help himself, and he laughed along with Matsukawa, too. After a minute, he had that pleasant sensation of goosebumps and a pinpoint spot of warmth, and he knew Matsukawa was watching him again. He tried to turn his head slowly, nonchalantly, but Matsukawa chuckled when their eyes met. "What?" Watari asked, not sure what to make of his senpai's amusement.
But Matsukawa shook his head. He reached for Watari, who'd put his hoodie back on to dry off for a bit, and pulled the yellow hood up over the shaven-haired boy's head. He used the diversion to slip back into the pool, and he sent sprinkles of water at Watari, careful not to hit the belongings and wetting Watari's toes. His smile, mischievous, also had a hint of "Come on back in."
Watari made a face and shook his head.
Yet Matsukawa wouldn't take no for an answer. He swam to the other graduates and came up behind Yuda. Then the black-haired male hooked his elbows under poor Yuda's arms and dragged him away, scooching him out of the pool and motioning for Watari's return.
Watari tried to apologize, but Yuda waved him off, caught up in the merriment. "It's all right, Watari! It's best to give the kid his candy when he's this greedy." He guffawed at his own metaphor, much to Watari's embarrassment.
Still…the metaphor seemed appropriate, given the gleam in Matsukawa's eyes. Not to mention the fact that he pulled Watari in once the libero was close enough. Of course Watari lost his footing, but he didn't go under. Matsukawa's firm grip on his upper arm made certain of that.
And Watari had a hard time shaking the feeling of Matsukawa's hand on him even after those fingers pulled away.
The group of friends stayed and played for almost another two hours, but Sawauchi and Yahaba were the first ones to cave to their hunger, and Yuda suggested they grab lunch together. "If we can all settle on one place," the freckled teen pointed out as he dried his strawberry-blond hair.
Shido deflated the beach ball with a frown. "Ah, I can't… I promised Shimada-san I'd take the evening shift… It was the only way I could get the day shift off!" he exclaimed when Yuda and Hanamaki made faces at him.
"Maybe grab takeout?" Yahaba offered. He tugged on his hair, which began curling as it air-dried. "Honestly, I'm dying of hunger, but I also want to go home and shower." Hanamaki mumbled something to him, but Yahaba rolled his eyes and smacked his hands away, and the couple resumed being on their best behavior.
Matsukawa's hair, too, was curlier than normal, though he'd also been the last one out of the pool. He threw his towel over his head and halfheartedly patted his hair. "I'm fine with anything," he mumbled.
Sawauchi groaned, so Watari piped up, "Why not the family restaurant up the street? They're fast, so it'd be like takeout."
That was the general consensus, so they spilled out of the pool just at the right time, as more families arrived. Matsukawa and Watari dawdled behind the others as the group went to the restaurant, but their friends didn't mind or didn't notice—Watari couldn't be sure.
Either way, Watari enjoyed the alone time with Matsukawa.
But, after another few minutes, Matsukawa still had his towel on his head. He grunted and stopped a few yards away from the restaurant as the rest headed inside, and Watari stopped with him.
"Here, let me," Watari said, bolder than he thought he could be. He reached up and toweled Matsukawa's hair dry, and he laughed when Matsukawa simply bent down for better access. He put Watari in mind of a large puppy, an idea bolstered by the softness of the few curls that poked out from underneath the towel and tickled Watari's fingers as they brushed by. Yuda was right. Matsukawa really was a kid sometimes—
Watari's train of thought screeched to a halt when Matsukawa's fingers came up and stilled the other boy's hands. The touch was gentle, but… Watari hadn't noticed before, at Sekitan Apothecary, and he hadn't noticed in the pool, either. But Matsukawa's hands were sturdy yet surprisingly soft, despite his hard work.
A kid. Not.
"Watari."
The shaven-haired teen jolted and snapped back to his senses. He took his hands off Matsukawa's head, as if caught red-handed, as the older boy straightened up, though it was another second before Matsukawa's hands, which had slid down to hold on to Watari's wrists, pulled away. "Sorry, sorry! Shall we eat?" he babbled, and he picked up the pace, though Matsukawa stuck close by, and the libero spent the rest of the outing noting how absurdly hypersensitive he was with Matsukawa around.
- ^-^3
Wish You Were Here Yesterday would be put off no longer, Watari decided Wednesday morning. He'd been so focused since Sunday on avoiding distractions that Watari had been a model vice-captain on Monday and had completed his summer homework on Tuesday, and his efficient vibes spread out to the rest of his team that morning, so the team not only ended practice timely but ended a whole ten minutes early. The take-no-hostages, get-it-done mindset was a happy accident, but Watari was determined.
He got home, took a speedy shower, made his mother gawp at him when he turned down a pre-lunch snack, and tucked in to finish the light novel.
…twenty minutes later, he was done and had this strange euphoric sense, mostly from completion. But he reread the last chapter twice more, and something he'd posited but hadn't explored came back to the forefront of his mind.
So, too, did the past weekend, but Watari tucked the memories aside when his mother ordered him downstairs to eat a proper lunch.
After that, ticking down the hours until Matsukawa was done at work became the waiting game of the century for Watari. He tried to preoccupy his mind with his favorite puzzle games on his computer, with doing a smidge of receiving by bumping his volleyball against his wall, with reviewing his homework three times to make sure he'd truly finished everything—
After three o'clock, he sent Matsukawa a short text, asking if he was up for a visit. Five minutes later, Matsukawa's response came:
-(｡-_-｡)人( ｡-_-｡)
Watari chuckled, taking some courage from that, and hustled downstairs to get his shoes on.
His mother heard the commotion and emerged from the first-floor hall closet, vacuum in hand. "Going out again, Shinji?" she asked, eyebrows raised at him in the vestibule.
"Yep. I'll be back before dinner." He stood but stopped when he saw her frown, recognizing he'd been rather brusque in assuming he could head out without permission. "…sorry. Mind if I go out?"
She sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, not caring that she wrinkled her nice floral dress in the process. "You've been out so often this summer, outside of practice. Shigeru isn't sick of you yet?"
He couldn't help laughing at her frankness. "No." Which was true, so far as he knew.
"It's not even Shigeru, is it? Is there something I should know?"
Watari flashed back to the few times he'd gotten into trouble as a toddler. His mother always had seemed to know what he'd done, no matter what—and her perceptiveness had not dulled. "It's my senpai," he confessed. "The one who's given me a few rides home. He's a good friend." Also true. And yet…
"Fine, fine. But if I'd known you be seeing him so much, I would've asked for his info sooner." She held out her hand and flapped her fingers at him, demanding his phone.
Watari relented, because there wasn't any harm in it, and he pulled up Matsukawa's contact, copied it, and pasted it into a text for her. She pressed the button to send it to herself, and then she was placated. "So I can go now?" her son tried a second time.
She curled her index finger at him, those warm gray eyes so piercing on her face where they were so soft set in his. But she smiled warmly after he kissed her cheek. "Be back before dinner," she reminded him, and she closed the door after he left.
After practice that morning, he didn't want to run, and jogging wasn't good for the joints, but he couldn't help speed-walking into town and past the hardware store, past the bus stop, past the countless blocks and streets, glimpsing the mustard yellow awning, glimpsing the other Taisho-era houses in this traditional neighborhood, hurrying through the short front gate, hurrying to the old-looking front door—
He stopped, caught his breath, slowed his pulse, and knocked. Matsukawa must've been nearby on the first floor, because the door opened promptly.
"Good evening," Watari said, a smile curving his lips up automatically. He caught sight of this in the glass of some of the photos hanging by the stairs and made a conscious effort to calm down.
"Good practice today? You're not as tired," Matsukawa remarked after he let Watari in to his room. He chuckled when the libero paced a bit before settling on one of the cushions by the table.
"No. I mean, yes. Yes, a good practice. No, I'm not tired." Ah, a mix of emotions was bubbling up inside Watari, but he needed to sort them out first. He took another breath and smirked triumphantly. "I finished the book."
Matsukawa's eyes widened. His smile was a slow prize. "I wondered when you would." He eyed Watari up and down, and then he turned his head to stifle his snicker. "But you forgot to bring it, and you forgot the short story collection again…!"
Well, that helped Watari deflate and calm down. "Hey! I will read the other short stories…!" he retorted, though he couldn't deny feeling stupid at having left Wish You Were Here Yesterday at home. He knew exactly where it was, too: closed, on top of his comforter, right in the middle of his bed.
But the taller boy sat on the cushion to his left and leaned his elbows on the table. He motioned with his head, like "Go on."
"So. The ending."
Matsukawa's eyes did the crinkling thing again, so Watari focused on the woodgrain of the table.
"It…was excellent," he finished, albeit anticlimactically. Truthfully, he was still trying to figure out what it was he had to say about the ending, without embarrassing himself. The ending stuck with him, which was why he'd reread it, wondering if rereading it might lessen its impact on him. But that hadn't worked; it'd just left a bigger impression on him. The light novel and the short stories…reading stories of people unable to live without each other, of angels falling in love, of the important things happening in the background but happening nevertheless—it was as if life played out like love, building up and passing just like that. Or was it the other way around?
"Watari?"
"Ah, right. Um…" He decided to stick with the basics. "Ay's parents, his fathers…it felt like circumstance at first, but it wasn't, was it?"
"I don't think you need me to tell you so." There was a lilt to his voice, a hint of laughter.
"His biological father and his dad's partner—there was duty there, and friendship, but his dad's partner had helped raise Ay. And Ay… Ay's grown by the end. But they were still together. It might've been circumstance that brought them together, but choice kept them together." Watari chuckled at himself, understanding how clichéd that sounded. "It really ended things nicely, though. I loved that."
"Same here," Matsukawa said, and his voice… It was soft, but there was something else there, too, now.
Watari smiled easily as he felt Matsukawa staring once more. …but, now, in light of discussing the ending, Watari felt quite self-conscious of that gaze on him. He waited for Matsukawa to speak more, but he forced his eyes up when the room remained quiet, though he felt nervous about catching his friend in the act.
Matsukawa's eyes were glued to him, that smirk lingered, and his posture was as comfy as ever. He didn't even flinch when Watari looked back and studied his face. It wasn't even a poker face. It was just…Matsukawa's face. A familiar face…a handsome face. That smirk bordering on smile, that nose with a slight right tilt, those angled eyes with coal black eyes… His eyelashes were blacker than his curls, too, and so, so long.
Watari jerked when Matsukawa breathed, a chuckle coming at the end of his exhale. So. Matsukawa really was this aware of him. It didn't come as an utter surprise to Watari, because he knew Matsukawa had stared before. But now it felt different. And yet Watari didn't mind, partially because he knew he often caused that smile to appear. He'd decided to come here, and a part of him, Watari suspected, had expected this kind of reaction from Matsukawa. Even if Matsukawa had acted otherwise, Watari knew he would come here, again and again and again, because that smile—
—that smile, which he knew right then and there, that he could no longer go without belonged to a person he could no longer go without.
…ah. The story made complete sense now.
- ^-^3
Yoooooookay. Mostly I just want to point out that Mattsun's texts have been getting friendlier without Watari's notice, *lol* (or maybe my little libero leaf of a son is slightly emoji illiterate? Whoops :P). Anyway…yeah. All that happened. XD Mattsun cooking is just precious… All their families, too—W's good relationship with his parents, especially his mum; Mattsun's colorful fam, esp his sister (Kako's my OC, who first appeared truly in "Lonely Child" and "Content Adult," tho I'd been thinking about her for a while…); Yahaba's family, too! (Headcanons for Y's fam first cropped up in things like "April Fool" and "Zone.") Speaking of family, Kako's nickname for Mattsun, "Itchan," is more commonly used for boys with versions of "Ichiro" for their names, or rather names starting with "Ichi" or "Itsu;" Kako used it when she was little because of the double consonant in her lil' bro's name. Also, there are some things manga-only readers should be familiar with, such as Yahaba's affection for rubber ducks (and lbh this precious dork WOULD name them) and the Seijou alumni trio (Yuda, Shido, and Sawauchi are too, too important to me, AGGGGHHH; headcanons about Shido working at Shimada Mart first cropped up in a long, untitled Matsuwata piece I wrote for a tumblr pal), and the trio come in handy, too, considering Iwaoi's technically busy in this story, *lol*. As for friends, the Watayaha friendship is also super important, and Yahaba… It's pretty obvious the setter has figured everything out by now, amirite? ;D And, though it might be easy for Matsuwata to catch the Hanayaha fever, Matsuwata was starting to happen before Watari even knew about Hanayaha, starting to happen somewhat alongside the strong Matsuwata friendship, so it's legit and not a side-effect. XD What else… I'm surprised that Wish You Were Here Yesterday borrowed from Bikke's Shinkuu Yuusetsu more than I thought it would; I already had the general plot of falling into step figured well before I read Bikke's manga, but the manga has helped add that special something to the main point…which Watari has just about figured out by now. ;3 Lastly, there were plans for a dumb Hanayaha scene in which Makki whipped out a "spare" bathing suit in the hopes of seeing Yahaba in a speedo, but there wasn't time for that (sorry!), plus I was laughing too hard at the idea even to include it. XD But let's just imagine the exchange happened behind the scenes—if so, it's a miracle Yahaba didn't strangle Makki before the pool.
So, with all that said, thank you very much for reading, and let's meet again in ch10 to see how things play out, no?
-mew! :3c