nico's

P.S. : confusing pov change alert

Hanamichi looked around curiously at the mess the class had left on in their rush to go to the gym for the school cultural festival main event. Fabrics, glue gun, wires, you could probably find the entire craft store in this class.

His friend was standing by the window, whistling some tune as he watched the flow of people coming in and out the school gate.

Without paying attention to the other, Hanamichi’s attention was snatched by the sight of something interesting on the floor, hand reaching out to grab it and feel the scratchy but soft sensation. It was lighter than Hanamichi thought it would be, used to seeing the fabric bundled up together for a voluminous look.

“Look, Yohei!”

Yohei turned his head, eyebrows climbing up at Hanamichi grinning happily with a white tulle fabric that he held on top of his head.

“I’m Yohei’s bride now!”

His lips parted at the easy words, eyes trailing at how the fabric shifted from Hanamichi’s attempt to keep it together, as organized as he could without blocking his sight. His inside was ticklish, a bunch of ants biting at the sweetness he felt.

Holding his palm up telling Hanamichi to wait, Yohei look at the craft materials, having something in mind to make.

Hanamichi left him be, still seated on the floor though his eyes never left the other. Hm, Yohei knew how to make him nosy with his back facing Hanamichi.

“Are you still wearing the tulle?”

“No. It’s tiring holding it up.”

“Hold it up now.”

Hanamichi let out a confused noise but obeyed, curious at what might transpire next at the wish. Even when Yohei turned to face him, his hands were behind his back, hiding whatever it was from sight.

“What? What did you make?”

Instead of a reply, Yohei held one of his hands out, waving it so Hanamichi would grab it.

The redhead looked at him suspiciously. “You are not going to pull a joke on me, are you?”

“Trust me.”

“You said that last time!”

Yohei laughed. “I promise.”

Eyeing the other for a bit, Hanamichi finally relented. He was still curious about what the other would do after all.

At the kiss Yohei pressed on his hand, his cheeks redden and mind melting at what he presumed to be a romantic act given by his lover. It was enough to distract him from noticing Yohei pulling out his other hand until their hands were almost touching, eyes widening at how Yohei tenderly inserted a ring to his finger.

“Now, you are my bride.”

Hanamichi stared at the ring. In place of a diamond, plastic flower adorned it. The band was thin, enough that Hanamichi could barely feel it wrapping around his ring finger if not for the weight of the flower.

“Can the groom kiss the bride now?”

Mito Yohei, you utter bastard.

He had no idea how much Hanamichi wanted to shout to the air, his heart jumping out of its cage that Hanamichi won’t be surprised if someone told him his chest was heart-shaped.

“Let me make your ring first!” That was the only thing he could stutter out.

His ring was not as neat as Yohei’s due to his large hands, one size bigger due to his miscalculation, yet he couldn’t look away from it when it adorned Yohei’s smaller finger.

“You can kiss me now.”

Links below!

[YOHANA , shippy gen] playing tricks

Rating T+ / Teens and up

It was easy to feign ignorance when nothing happened. Yohei would say he had been doing great in that department, but even he could not put what happened off when he had his first near death experience at the hand of the ghost that had been haunting him this past week.

Among the two of them, it was truly Hanamichi who was the bravest one. People had came to think both to hold the title, an equal partner with relatio ship as thick as thieves, fearless facing any adversaries ahead of them, but they were wrong to think of that.

Yohei had lost the game on bravery since long time ago, not long after he met Hanamichi.

Confessing to someone you like for 50 times, baring your heart and showing a part of yourself to practically a stranger, how could that not be brave? To accept rejection among rejection yet picking up your broken pieces, to see the beauty of your jagged heart, just for a chance that the other might say yes, would anyone dare to say this to be a cowardice?

Braveness didn’t stem from physical prowess and mentality only, it was something more than that. Putting yourself out there and consciously allowed yourself to be vulnerable, one might call you stupid because eons old survival instinct clashed against the concept of vulnerable itself. But it was vulnerability itself that allowed you to trust and love, to be whole as a human. That’s what make Hanamichi lovable in Yohei’s eyes.

If Yohei wanted to stay equal to Hanamichi, then shouldn’t he be as brave as the other?

His lips tore a little from the dry skin, causing a twinge of pain that he ignored steadily to look at the other. Knuckles opening and closing up, discomfort with how damp his palm were, even his toes were squirming against his sole, hidden by the leather shoes he was wearing.

“I like you, Hanamichi.”

“I’m not a gyaru!” The redhead pouted, fingers twiddling. “‘s just they say dressing up like this is cute…”

Now that she mentioned it, Akira could see the truth on the statement, in a way he couldn’t put on words of what it was that made him believed her.

Akira had seen and knew some gyaru, from the one who went to great length to embody the concept to one who made due with that they had. The girl seemed to adopt only some points of it, oversized school cardigans and loose socks, pretty nails, red hair tied as high pigtails.

“But that’s what I don’t understand. You do look cute, why would anybody reject you?”

The girl looked at Akira with wonder coloring her eyes, cheeks apple red at the compliment before a laughter broke out.

“Really? I mean, of course, I’m cute! You have great eyes!”

Her mood was like a light switch. In several minutes Akira had came across the girl, he had seen at least three emotions running amok. She was an open book, hiding nothing in her eyes and lips, even her words were genuine enough for Akira.

Look, another change on her expression.

“He said,” the girl sniffled, sad again at her predicament. “That he has someone he likes and I’m not his type…”

Ah. There was that.

“I’m sure you will meet someone who will like you for you are.”

Akira jolted in surprise when the girl started to bawl, hands hanging on the air, unsure of whether he should offer a comfort. He settled with extending his handkerchief that the girl took like a robber with how fast she grabbed it.

“I thought he would be it! He smiled at me and helped me, he was so kind!”

Akira said nothing, unsurely patting the girl on her head without messing the hairdo. A pitiful noise escaped when he saw how red the girl’s eyes were, knowing from firsthand experience that her eyes would be swollen in few hours.

Hydration was important too, right?

Reaching inside his bag, Akira pulled out the mineral water he bought from the convenient store. It was lucky he saw the girl before basketball practice or else he won’t be able to offer anything.

Except the handkerchief of course.

The girl didn’t show any reservation in accepting given things, taking the bottle and cracking the seal open for a gulp. For a second, Akira wondered whether the girl knew about stranger danger with how open she was with Akira, but decided not to think further about it.

“Thank you.”

“Your welcome.”

Akira peek into his wristwatch, about 10 minutes into the practice. Even though he felt bad leaving the girl alone, he should get going or his upperclassmen would break into a hive.

“I hope it would go nicely on your next confession. Good luck.”

His step was halted at the tugging on his pants. Looking down, the girl crouching on the empty park was staring at him with a certain look.

“… Yes?”

“You’re good guy. What’s your name?”

“It’s Sendoh Akira.”

“Sendoh, huh? I’m Sakuragi Hanamichi, nice to meet you!”

“It’s nice meeting you too, Sakuragi.”

It was unexpected and he was late to his practice, but Akira couldn’t say he regretted it. Quite an experience with the girl’s honesty. Her brash confidence that contradicted with her woeful cries of broken heart was especially refreshing.

Akira thought about it again and made a decision.

“Can I have your number?”

“For what?”

“I want to see you again, Sakuragi.”

Sakuragi gaped for a second. When she picked up the slackness of her jaws, Sakuragi crowed loudly.

“You already look forward to see this genius again? You’re a smart guy, Sendoh! You can have it!”

“Next time we meet, it shouldn’t be about broken heart again,” Akira joked, taking her flip phone, heavier with all the accessories she hung, and typed his number.

At the sound of camera flashing, Akira looked up.

Sakuragi was making a peace sign, a silly expression of tongue tucked out the way he had seen gyaru did. She was taking her picture with Akira’s own phone.

“There, I already set my picture on the contact as well. You too!”

“Ah— I’m not one for picture—“

Disregarding the tumbling words, Sakuragi snatched her phone back, positioned it toward Akira’s face like the reporters that came to his match with their camera.

“Ok, smile!” The girl laughed obnoxiously when she took a gander at the result. “It’s so awkward!”

It was.

Even though the picture itself was blurry, Akira could see the inept smile caught mid motion and off guard, his eyebrows were contorted in a way Akira could never replicate consciously. The girl looked so amused by it though, so Akira thought everything went alright.

“I have to get going now, so I suppose see you again.”

“Where are you going?”

“Basketball practice.”

Sakuragi made an inquisitive noise. “Is it fun?”

“Sure. The most fun I ever have.”

“Then let’s go!”

Akira glanced at her, mind whirring off before it came back alive.

“You want to go?”

“Yeah! I have nothing to do now, the guys are busy with their stuff, might as well go watch basketball!”

“It’s only a practice though…”

Usually at this point, Akira would make it known that the girl couldn’t come to the practice. It wasn’t once or twice for people, strangers, to approach Akira and mentioned their intention to do the same. Some were his fangirls as well, latching to his arms that Akira had quite a time escaping from the grip.

A gnawing curiosity that would always be inside one Sendoh Akira when faced with something atypical, away from the norm or straight line of his line, prevented him to do just that.

Would it be the claps of awe that echo around the gym or a challenge thrown carelessly when Sakuragi watched their practice?

Akira wanted to find out about that.

“Come on then. I’m sure it will be worth your while.”

“Let me be the judge of that, Sendoh! Let see if basketball is that fun.”

This time, Akira chuckled.

A wide smile and loose face muscle, it was a weird expression to be found on Hanamichi’s face. If you were to see him from a filter, it would be sickeningly pink with flower petals flying everywhere that you wanted to look away.

Hanamichi was on cloud nine, possibly floating as opposed to walking with his own feet. His mind was whirling with only one thought, from a few moment ago when Haruko with her beautiful smile said, “Then let’s go out this Sunday!”

Never mind that they made the plan to buy some school supplies. It might as well be a date with Haruko.

A date. The first date in his life.

Maybe moving to a new town wasn’t all that bad even though the weather here was gloomy and heavy every other day. The guys back on his home town would understand, even gave a slap to the back of his head. If this was what he had to face to finally accomplish his dream as a high school student, Hanamichi would take it no matter what.

Stuck in his own thought, Hanamichi didn’t hear the sharp skidding sound of tire against the asphalt nor the screams of people around (the result of being desensitized with screams from his hometown, no doubt) until his ears registered the shouting voice calling for Haruko.

Haruko?!

Like a wind, Hanamichi whirled his body around to find the source of his happiness. Eyes sparkling and lips pulled up, they all dropped like the falling stars at the sight of another man craddling Haruko intimately.

Who was this fool?!

Stomping on his way, Hanamichi glared at the black hair student with all the hostility and venom he could mutter up, fists curling tight holding back violence at bay. He had promised his dad that he won’t fight as much he did back then yet it was hard trying to forgone violence entirely.

Then he noticed the look of shock in Haruko’s face, tension cut up like a strings, and easily dropped to his knees in concern. Without even tryin to hide it, Hanamichi pushed the guy away, tad surprised to feel tough muscle under his palm and needing more strength to budge the guy from his position.

“Are you okay, Haruko-san?”

Haruko nodded, rubbing her hands as she tried to regulate her breath. When she raised her head and gasped at something, Hanamichi was once again alarmed, looking up to find anything that caused such reaction. His eyes landed on the dented car door, eyes squinting to find anything scary about it.

There wasn’t even a speck of blood.

“Did— Did Rukawa-kun do that…?”

Any other sane person wouldn’t ask that. What kind of person could dent a steel with barehand, moreover a highschool student? But it didn’t matter to Hanamichi. At the question and the starry eyes, Hanamichi gritted his teeth.

“Look, Haruko-san, I can do that as well!”

The steel door didn’t even resemble a door anymore when Hanamichi finished pushing it, heaving a satisfied breath at the show of power. Students standing around let out a startled noise, breaking into a round of gossip that would sure added Hanamichi’s street creed.

All of that was in vain when the person Hanamichi wanted to show off didn’t look at it. Haruko had turned away, busy trying to calm her friends down and being checked for any possible injury. Hanamichi would very much like to go join the check up session if not for the tug on his arm, immovable and strong.

The black hair guy stared at him, eyes cold going up and down, making a sniffing motion.

A memory of this morning formulated like a cloud in his head, triggered by the sniffing. Hanamichi remembered. He knew this guy. The one who moved away as soon as Hanamichi sat down on the first class while muttering, “Smelly.” and walked away, leaving Hanamichi gaping feeling slighted.

“You break the vow.”

What was this guy talking about?

“What vow? Stop sniffing, asshole. I don’t smell.”

Sure, he went to the wet market this morning to buy some fish and meat but he showered after that. The only thing he would be sniffing was—

Oh.

He always told his dad lemongrass smelt like crap and now he was going to hold it against him with this evidence. But that was that and this was this, right now, he needed to defend his dad’s questionable choice of a soap.

“I smell perfect. Put that nose away,” he raised his hand, “And let me go, you freak.”

“You break the vow.”

What frigging vow?

“I don’t know what you are saying, damn!”

The hold was broken off with the rain of fists against the other’s stomach, enough to make someone feel nauseous but the guy didn’t even look close to fainting. Hanamichi reveled on the look of surprise and ugly grunt escaping the guy’s mouth though.

“You…”

“Ooh, what’s that, Kaede?”

Another weird guy appeared with a goofy smile, this one friendlier in appearance compared to the other. His hair reminded Hanamichi of the grass you had to water everyday to grow healthily and he was tempted to check if they were as sharp as they look.

Kaede frowned at the other guy’s appearance before throwing his gaze away, shrugging like nothing happened at all. If he didn’t miss the twinkle of amusement on the other’s eyes, Kaede won’t even think about looking away.

“Sorry for that, my brother seems to mistake you for someone else.”

“This guy dare mistook a genius like me for another person?” Hanamichi huffed. “Also, your brother is rude. What kind of guy sniffed at someone and called someone smelly? Even I’m raised better than that!”

Hanamichi, in fact, was no different than Kaede. He had called out someone for having a bad breath and told a guy in the metro to wear a deodorant to his face but they didn’t need to know that.

“Oh?”

The guy looked delighted, extremely so like he found something interesting.

Within a blink of his eye, the other had stood in front of Hanamichi, face closed to his nape that Hanamichi first instinct was to push the guy away to maintain his distance. The shout he let out was something he hoped everyone ever forgot hearing.

“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to do that,” the guy raised his palms in surrender, smile never disappearing.

“You are as weird as your brother, man.”

“That’s the first time I heard that,” the guy tilted his head toward Kaede, communicating something that Hanamichi didn’t try to read. “Anyhow, nice meeting you. The name’s Sendo. I’m looking forward to see you again.”

A hello and a goodbye in one sentence, that’s the first time Hanamichi heard of it.

“Whatever.”

No longer thinking about the brothers, Hanamichi turned to find Haruko, leaving them standing alone watching his retreating back. They only started to talk when there was a specific distance left between them.

“He doesn’t break any vow. He is a human.”

Kaede grunted. The scent of human clung to the redhead but it was also tinged with something that Kaede didn’t recognize. He couldn’t be entirely to sure that the redhead was a human, but if Sendo, who had the strongest nose among them said so, then that must be it.

“What’s his name?”

“… Idiot.”

“Puha!” Sendo laughed. “You don’t remember. Doesn’t matter, we will find out soon.”

Sendo whistled a tune, never breaking the note even when he smiled and waved toward the girls giggling at his direction.

“… You are interested in him.”

“I am. You are, too.”