Chapter Text
My name is Hamaoka Yuuka. I go to Hoshimi High School. I’m pretty, and popular, and I LOVE Boy’s Love!
It had been raining all morning, the light pattering splattering the window as students huddled in groups across the classroom, school still a half hour from starting, but the seats still full. The air was damp, creating an almost cold environment, though it was still the middle of spring. Outside, the trees shook in the wind, a little more violent and turbulent than the rest of the storm would give on, adding onto that mixture of chilliness.
Despite the mood outside, the classroom was more vibrant and lively than usual as Hamaoka sat, watching over the sea of faces. Instead of everyone talking and chattering, though, most of them had their faces pressed into their phones, quickly mashing their fingers against the screen. Almost all their faces were fixated on the bright colors that flashed by, and the myriad of fruits that filled each screen gave an indicator to what they were doing.
Berry Blitz Blast.
It was a new game that was sweeping the market. Targeted towards high schoolers, it was a shooting game that focused primarily on colorful fruit. It had the tinge of angst and violence that most kids craved, but also seemed to be user and market friendly. The marketing was genius.
Her gaze went back down to Okuda’s phone, where she was playing it too. Her avatar, a bright girl with rainbow hair, was spinning a bright pink assault rifle, which shot at various types of fruit. Kawamura was just beside them, her face also glued to the screen. The three girls watched in rapt silence as the screen flitted past images, Okuda loading into one of the more popular maps, the Mall.
That was when Hamaoka cleared her throat, nudging Kawamura lightly, who let out a soft squeak of surprise before looking at the other girl.
“So…” Hamaoka starts, grinning more widely as she tried to get their attentions away from the game. “Are we just not gonna talk about your date?”
Kawamura’s face grows a light pink and she shakes her head, smiling.
“I told you already. It went okay.”
“But yeah! We need details if we’re gonna make any of this work! How did he react? What did he say? Come on--!” she pleads, grabbing Okuda’s face in her hand, squishing her cheeks, and raising her reluctant face up to stare at Kawamura. “Tell us!”
Kawamura sighs, but relents, turning her gaze to look across the room. Hirose, Nakamura, and Takeuchi were all surrounding Nakamura’s desk. Hirose had his face pressed close to Nakamura, staring at his phone screen as he played Berry Blitz Blast. He must have been engrossed by it, as he didn’t seem to have any strange reactions to Hirose’s proximity, nor did he say anything at all except to excitedly show them the rare skin he’d gotten last night. Hirose was laughing, smiling more at Nakamura then the screen, something that makes Hamaoka more eager to hear about the date due to.
“It was really nothing… We just talked a little. And he said he wasn’t interested in me,” she says lightly, eyes already going back to the screen in Okuda’s hands.
“You’re hopeless!” Hamaoka shouts, and then stands up on her chair, pointing at the rest of the class and shouting. “You’re ALL HOPELESS! Attached to this game! This is a fad you’ll also pass by in a week!”
No one pays her much attention, and she grumbles, plopping back down in her seat and crossing her arms with a ‘hmph!’.
“Did that make you feel better?” Okuda asks, deadpan as she shoots a fruit at another person on the screen. Clearly someone from their class, as a loud ‘hey!’ reverberates from the other side of the room.
“... Kinda,” Hamoaka grumbles, only turning her desk back around when class starts. Before they can fully get into the lesson, though, she turns her head back to Okuda and Kawamura.
“If you both want to engross yourself in your game, then I’ll just take our findings into my own hands! By the end of the day the two of them will be like lovesick puppies! And then I’ll have ALL the material we need for our Boy’s Love! HAHAHA!
Kawamura and Okuda glance at each other as Hamaoka devolves into laughter, only stopping when she gets a reprimand from the teacher. Still, that manic-filled look in her eyes fills the both of them with concern.
By the time that lunch had rolled around, none of Hamaoka’s plans had succeeded. She failed to get them to partner up in home economics, neither of them even looked at each other when they had partnered up for math, and their English lesson didn’t even have partners today! Today, she was huffing a storm to the point where it actually drew Okuda from spending her lunch hunched over her game, and instead trying to calm her some.
“We’ll get our chance Hamaoka. You’re just gonna give yourself a panic attack at this rate,” she says plainly, placing a hand on Hamaoka’s shoulder. But she wouldn’t budge from where she was standing, near perched on the edge of her chair as she glared daggers at the two boys. At least they were having lunch together, along with Takeuchi and Mukai.
“Silence!” Hamoaka says, planting a finger on Okuda’s face, who gives her a deadpan stare. “My brain is working.”
“How couldn’t I guess. I can see the steam coming out of your ears,” Okuda grumbles, going back to her food. “Tell me when the grand genius has a plan.”
The both of them sit like that for a few more moments. Hamaoka’s eyes darted around the room. She watches and stares at the faces that are planted in their games. She watches as Nakamura pulls out his phone to show Hirose and Takeuchi the new skin he had gotten and some of his shooting skills. And then she abruptly stands, strutting over to where the boys were sitting.
She plants herself in the side between Takeuchi and Mukai, right in front of Nakamura’s desk, and crosses her arms with a smirk. Takeuchi’s eyes grow instantly wide, and he flounders out a few half-words, staring at Mukai to ensure that this was real. All that it garners is a passing glance from Nakamura, though, he gives her a smile and a wave. Before Takeuchi can embarrass himself, Hamaoka smiles.
“Hey boys~” she says, grinning her widest as she leans across Nakamura’s desk, lightly touching the edge of the screen. “So you all are obsessed with this game too, hm?”
“O-oh! Yeah!” Nakamura says, face lighting up as he pauses the game, looking up at her with a brighter smile than she’d seen on him before. “It’s so great! Plus we can play with all our friends in class! I-Isn’t that cool?”
“Hm, yeah, it’s awesome. What about you? Do the rest of you play?” she asks, and then cuts Takeuchi off as he starts to answer with a bit of a boisterous look. “What about you Hirose-kun? Do you play?”
Hirose stares at her, and then over at the silenced Takeuchi, who was staring daggers at him for drawing Hamaoka’s attention. He raises his hands almost in surrender at him and smiles.
“Me? A little I guess. I’m not really good at it or anything! But it looks fun!”
A much more dangerous smile curls on Hamaoka’s lips as she presses further.
“Oh really? Well, maybe if someone here were really good at the game, they could help you! Maybe even after school! At their house!”
Hirose blinks at her, his mouth hung open in a smile. He stares at her, then at the group of boys, then back at her. He rubs the back of his neck slightly, almost with a little bit of nervous energy.
“Really? Who’s good in this class?”
“Well, Hirose, I don’t mean to brag but--” Hamaoka practically smacks her hand onto Takeuchi’s mouth. She turns to him, a scary smile on her face as she stares daggers at him.
“Somebody else?” she hisses quietly, getting the other boy to shut up with wide eyes and a slight blush on his cheeks. All of their eyes turn to Nakamura and he balks a bit, shrinking in his seat.
“M-me? I’m not that good! A-and Hirose wouldn’t want to hang out after school or anything s-so it’s not that--”
“I’d be cool hanging out with you man!’ Hirose says, clapping him on the back. Nakamura nearly falls out of his chair, his face going bright red as he babbles out a string of incoherent words. This prompts some concern on Hirose’s face and he scrunches his eyebrows with worry.
“Oh crap, did I hurt you? Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah! Yep! Totally fine! Yep!”
“So… You two gonna get together to play some after school?” Hamaoka prompts with little mercy, grinning wider as Nakamura shrinks further, face growing the color of a beet.
“Ah-- W-well, I mean, if you’d like to Hirose…? I-I’ve not really cleaned or anything, but--! W-we can!”
Hirose just smiles, giving him a much softer and - from Hamaoka’s view, at least - a more affectionate pat on the shoulder. His own face was lightly pink.
“I’d love to hang out, Nakamura! I’ve never seen your place before! This could be fun!”
“Ah.. Uhh… O-okay!” Nakamura says, panic in his eyes as his eyes watch Hirose for a few beats.
“Welp boys! That was fun! But mama’s gotta run!” Hamaoka says, grinning like a predator as she stands, walking away. She is quickly followed after by Takeuchi, though, who plops himself in the seat beside her as she rejoins Okuda.
“Okay, okay?! What was THAT?!” Takeuchi shouts, making Hamaoka grimace as he gets in her face.
“None of your business!” she shouts back.
“No, no--! This is my business now!” Takeuchi says, crossing his arms. “What are you doing with Hirose-kun? What kind of scheme are you running? I’ve known you long enough to see your scheming face!”
“Weren’t you just willing to kick him to the curb yesterday…?” Okuda asks, glaring at him. “Why so pressed now?”
“Because-- BECAUSE!” Takeuchi counters lamely, pouting harder. “I wanna know!”
“Well too bad!” Hamaoka says, sticking her tongue out at him, which makes him balk. “This is a secret girl thing!”
Takeuchi’s face grows blank a moment before fury warps his features. He growls, glaring daggers now at Hirose.
“You like him now, don’t you?!” he hisses under his breath. “That sleazy horn-dog! First Hana-chan and now you? I ought to knock his face in for--!”
“I don’t like him!” Hamaoka snaps, crossing her arms with defiance. “You’re stupid! And an idiot! It’s clear who Hirose likes and it’s not me! And it’s clear who I like and it’s not him!”
Takeuchi’s shoulder sag a bit, most of the fighting leaving him, but still an annoyed look crosses his face.
“Who do you like?”
That makes Hamaoka’s cheeks go red and she crosses her arms further, glaring into one of the desks. Takeuchi leans a bit closer, making her face go redder and her cheeks puff into a pout.
“Who do you like, Hamaoka?”
“NOBODY! NOW GET YOUR STUPID FACE OUT OF HERE!” she says, pushing him by the face away from her. This only catches Takeuchi in a daze before a silly look comes to his face, and he smiles dopily, grinning as he walks back over to where Mukai is sat. Okuda just stares at Hamaoka, who refuses to even look at her now.
“... Wanna talk about it?” she prompts, causing Hamaoka to fluster more.
“YOU SHUT UP TOO!”
“... Fine.”
It was still pouring rain when school had gotten out. The gutters outside the school were pouring rain that dripped slightly into the front hall. Students walked by the slowly growing puddles, umbrellas in hand as they talked excitedly at the end of the school day. Though the continuous wind blew water into their faces, causing alarmed shouts to ring out more often than not.
Hamaoka stood at the edge of the school’s overhang, pouting as she stared into the streets. She was waiting for Kawamura to be finished so they could share an umbrella home. She held her arms across her body, trying to keep some of the heat in as she.
A few minutes pass as she stares blankly out into the street, suddenly wishing she had downloaded that stupid game. She lets out a quiet grumble and shivers, then decides to walk back into the school. Finding an empty classroom to camp out in was better than just standing there in the cold.
She eventually finds one on the ground floor, quietly peaking her head in to ensure it was empty before sliding it, sitting on one of the seats. She crosses her arms, silently watching the clock go by.
It was times like this that she thought that the world was truly quiet. When she had no one around her, when the work and the stress of the day eventually winded down. It was the quiet that gave her nerves, though. The noise and the work was predictable. The silence was anything but, though. She absently taps her foot on the ground with nervous energy, watching the rain go by.
It was because of the silence, though, that she caught voices from behind the door. Footsteps had stopped right in front of it and they must have been standing right near it, as they were crystal clear. To top it, the voice that was speaking, clearly lowly but still audible, was one that she recognized.
She had never heard Hirose Aiki sound so nervous before.
“Look, we don’t have to if you don’t want to… I know that you were kinda put on the spot, but… I’d really like it if we did,” Hirose’s voice travels through the wall, and Hamaoka nearly falls out of her chair to hear it better. She stands up, tiptoeing lightly over to the door to press her ear more firmly against it.
“... I-It’s not that I don’t want to!”
That was Nakamura’s voice! Hamaoka’s eyes widen as she leans now fully against the wall next to the door, hands over her mouth to stifle any noise.
“I-I just… Nobody’s ever come to my place before and it’s a little-- Well, you know…”
“... A little what?”
“I-I don’t want to say it!”
“Nakamura… You told me to be more truthful and honest to what I wanted. It’s your turn.”
There was a beat of silence, where Hamaoka thought that the two boys had walked away, but she heard Nakamura’s voice reply.
“I… I want you to come over. I would really-- Really… L-love it. If you came over.”
“Hmm~?” Hirose laughs, almost teasingly. She can imagine the sly look on his face and a smile that curved at the edge. “Well, I would love to come over too."
“T-that’s good! That’s… That’s good! Yep!”
“You’re blushing so hard right now!”
“S-stop it!” she then hears footsteps, and Hirose’s laughter as a second set run to catch up to them.
“Come on! I was just joking~!”
As the two boys walk away, Hamaoka stares, stunned for a moment, at the wall. Her hands covering her mouth slowly as she waits a few beats, and then steps out into the hallway. It was empty once more.
When she makes it to the entrance, Kawamura’s is standing there. A look of concern crosses her face as she offers Hamaoka under the umbrella and they start to walk.
“... You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What-- Happened?” Kawamura asks, voice full of concern.
It takes a moment for Hamaoka to reply fully, her mouth open for a few seconds prior.
“I think… The situation is a lot more progressed than we thought.”