Chapter Text
We’re here, Imaizumi thinks. Simultaneously, anxiety begins to twist at his gut.
Naruko and he are standing on Onoda’s doorstep. It’s too late for second thoughts, but apparently his brain hasn’t gotten that memo, because he’s having them. Along with fantasies of what he’d rather do than be here.
He wonders what would happen if he took off, if he avoided this discussion entirely. Running feels like a good choice, and his bike is parked a few feet away, right next to Naruko’s garishly red one. A ride might clear his head; that tactic has never failed him in the past.
Imaizumi could use a little clarity right now.
Not about his feelings so much as how to express them. The one thing he’s sure of, the feeling that keeps growing stronger the more the minutes wear on is that he likes his friends. He wouldn’t say he’s totally come to terms with it, given that he’s only had about an hour to mull the idea over. But he knows it’s the truth.
The question is: is this a truth worth sharing? And will Onoda really be better off if he tells him? If Naruko shares his own truth? Will the three of them be okay after the dust settles on this conversation?
Imaizumi isn’t sure.
But short of choosing the coward’s path and running, he’s about to find out.
Naruko knocks on the door for them. He shoots Imaizumi a look that seems to know what he’s thinking of doing and disapproves of it.
“Hey,” Naruko speaks up, “We’re in this together, Hotshot. Don’t flake on me.”
“I won’t,” Imaizumi responds, feeling like a stone has dropped into the pit of his stomach as he decides that. But his feet aren’t moving either, so it’s probably his final decision.
“‘Cause I plan on telling him no matter what. I won’t lie to Onoda-kun.”
“Good.”
There’s really nothing else he can say to that. It’s the right thing to do. He knows it is, somewhere inside. But the right thing is proving to be the scariest outcome for him currently.
Perhaps that’s appropriate, though. He probably should be nervous when he’s walking into a confession.
The door opens.
Behind it, Onoda peers out. His eyes flicker over Naruko without much change, but when he gets to Imaizumi, they widen, obviously not expecting him. He tries not to take offense, but he cringes inwardly a little. Shame prickles at Imaizumi’s skin.
It’s not just a confession he has to give. He also owes Onoda an apology.
At least he knows which one should come first.
“Um, hi… Imaizumi-kun, Naruko-kun.”
Naruko looks between him and Onoda as if gauging his next move. Apparently, it’s facilitating the conversation, because once Naruko’s settled, he opens his mouth.
“‘S okay, Onoda-kun, I talked to him. He’s ready to apologize.”
Imaizumi nods stiffly. Onoda just stares at him, and it’s one of those rare moments where Imaizumi can’t read what he’s thinking. If he had to guess, Onoda is feeling something like apprehension. He can’t blame him either. After their fight the other night, Imaizumi likely isn’t the top person he wants to see right now.
Then again, Naruko is vouching for him. Imaizumi guesses that’s a point in his favor.
Onoda trusts Naruko completely, almost too much sometimes, like when Naruko is boasting about something and Onoda takes it at face value. If anything, Imaizumi came with the right person to break the ice. But Onoda could still surprise them.
“I-It’s fine, Naruko-kun. You two can come in if you want.”
Onoda steps back to let the door open wider, head downturned toward the ground slightly. He’s avoiding eye contact now, and Imaizumi is certain his presence is the cause. Onoda isn’t comfortable with him there, or at least it seems that way. He can’t let it pass.
“I don’t have to come in, Onoda,” he offers, staying put even as Naruko starts forward.
“I do want to apologize. But that doesn’t have to be today, if you’re not ready to hear it.” He caps the words off with a kindly expression, or his best attempt at one.
Truthfully, Imaizumi isn’t sure he’s much good at it. Or apologizing, which he has limited practice with. That probably says something about his character, but he’s determined to not let him stop him from doing what he needs to do here. He cares for Onoda, and the things he said to him were rude. He only said them because he was too dense at the time to own up to his jealousy.
He needs to make amends.
As the silence stretches out a few more seconds, Imaizumi can feel his pulse rev, beating faster as he waits for a response. Now that he’s given him the option, is Onoda going to turn him away?
Has he completely severed their trust, their friendship with his behavior?
The longer it’s quiet, the more Imaizumi starts to believe he has, and his heartbeat grows heavy in his chest. Any longer, and he’ll begin to sweat.
But, mercifully, Onoda answers before he can spiral too far.
“I’m a little… surprised to see you here, Imaizumi-kun. But if you want to apologize, I guess it’s okay.”
Well, Imaizumi thinks, lips pursing. It’s not a perfect answer in so far as it doesn’t absolve his guilt completely, but at least Onoda is giving him a chance. That’s more than part of him feels that he deserves. He’ll take it.
Imaizumi lets out the breath he’s been holding in, and his chest instantly feels lighter.
“Thank you, Onoda.”
He really means it.
“It’ll be good, Onoda-kun,” Naruko chimes in, patting Onoda’s shoulder supportively. “We’ll get it all out and then things’ll only get better.”
Imaizumi raises a brow at that.
Naruko seems so sure of himself, but he’s on the opposite end of the confidence spectrum. Only get better? It seems like there’s an equal or greater chance of it only getting worse after they say what they came here to say. There’s his apology, which is one thing, but the other topic is… debatable in how it’ll settle with Onoda.
They might be seeing this door again sooner than Naruko thinks.
Still, part of him echoes, there’s hope. He may feel the same way.
Imaizumi tries not to let it influence him too much as he follows Naruko into the house. There’s work to be done before he can let himself think about Onoda requiting their feelings.
Luckily, if there’s one thing he’s never been afraid of, it’s hard work.
They wind up gathering in Onoda’s room. Imaizumi would have thought the living room was suitable enough for their talk, so he’s surprised to have ended up here. The location makes him on edge.
He’s always been a little nervous about being in Onoda’s bedroom, for reasons he previously didn’t understand. Now that he has more insight, Imaizumi concludes that, embarrassingly enough, he is like every other teenager with a crush. Seeing the object of his affection’s – or at least one of them – private space is just too much for his pining-addled brain to handle. It would be cringe-worthy, if he wasn’t here for an entirely serious reason.
That at least dulls the embarrassment, though, it’s something Imaizumi will probably revisit later and shrivel up at. And that’s not even beginning to tap into what he’d feel to be in Naruko’s room. He hasn’t been there before.
Maybe that will change. But only if today’s discussion pans out, he thinks.
Once they’re in the room, Imaizumi takes a seat in Onoda’s desk chair, opting to let the other two have the bed to sit on together. He figures he might as well. Right now, he is still the odd one out – it’s a logical choice.
Naruko plops unceremoniously onto the bed like he’s done with the futons at each of their training camps. He has nothing to be self-conscious about, so it’s not surprising.
Imaizumi shifts in his seat, watching Onoda sit beside Naruko. Naruko is quick to rub his shoulder when Onoda frowns, hand stroking soothingly up and down until the expression dissipates. Then Onoda looks around the room, between him and Naruko.
Imaizumi straightens up.
Should he start? He did come over here on a mission, after all.
When no one else rushes to say anything, he has his answer.
“I-” Imaizumi begins haltingly, “The other night. I need to apologize to you, Onoda.”
Onoda turns his gaze on him, and Imaizumi stops for a second, trying to read the emotion laced in his ever-honest blue eyes. Somehow, it proves a futile effort. But at least he’s listening, Imaizumi thinks. That’s the important part. The rest is on him.
“I’m sorry for what I said to you. I know you aren’t trying to make me feel excluded. Naruko either,” he adds, tossing a glance in his direction. Naruko stares back at him, face impassive. But something about how serious he looks gives Imaizumi the resolve he needs. He’s being listened to. This is his chance to make things right.
“You two are my best friends. I don’t want that to change, so I hope you’ll accept my apology. What I said was rude and unnecessary. You did nothing wrong, Onoda. I was the wrong one to snap at you.”
With that off his chest, Imaizumi exhales. Then he looks back at the other two, trying to gauge the reception of his words. But like they have been, both of their faces tell him nothing. So he’s forced to wait, with his pulse pounding in his ears.
Incredibly, it’s Onoda who breaks the silence.
“I’m still confused, Imaizumi-kun. I’m glad you’re apologizing but… um… what was that all about?” Onoda looks at him with a befuddled expression. His arms are braced on his chest, like he’s cradling himself. “I never tried to leave you out of anything.”
Seeing and hearing it all, Imaizumi feels a fleeting stab of guilt. He swallows it down before he answers.
“I know that now, but at the time… it felt like it. Because I was lonely, Onoda. You and Naruko had been spending more time together without me, and that realization caught up to me last night. I blew up at you, when I shouldn’t have. But that’s why."
“And what else?” Naruko interjects, looking at him pointedly.
Imaizumi sighs, exasperated.
“I’m getting there,” he answers him curtly.
“Hotshot and I talked this stuff over,” Naruko tells Onoda, turned to that side. “About him being lonely and all. And also-”
“I can tell him myself, Naruko.” Imaizumi shoots him a warning glance.
He’s moving gradually, both for his own sake as well as Onoda’s, who is the only one out of the loop as far as Naruko and he’s conversation. Naruko is being impatient, and as helpful as he’d been earlier, Imaizumi needs him to back off a little now.
Naruko looks back at him, and goes quiet.
Imaizumi nods once to let him know it’ll be alright, and then continues with his speech.
“I didn’t realize it until today, Onoda, but I’m jealous.”
When Onoda looks at him next, it’s with wide eyes.
“Jealous?”
“Yes,” Imaizumi answers straightaway. “That’s part of what Naruko helped me realize. I didn’t see it until he pointed it out to me, but I wasn’t just lonely because you two were hanging out with each other more than with me. I wanted you around more often for my own reasons.”
To that, Onoda doesn’t have a response, other than his expression becoming more bewildered. Imaizumi tries to not let that make him nervous. He has to say everything he came here to say, or it will be a waste otherwise. He needs to press on.
“I was envious of you and Naruko being together. Dating, I mean.”
If possible, Onoda’s confusion only seems to deepen.
“But why?” he interjects.
Imaizumi gulps as he considers his response. After all, he’s come to the moment of truth.
“Because… I like you, Sakamichi.”
Something kindles in Onoda’s gaze, and he sits back on the bed as if shocked. Beside him, Naruko is watching closely, eyes fixed in his direction rather than Imaizumi’s. He already knows all this, of course.
Meanwhile, Imaizumi is sweating. His pulse is threading through his veins at superhuman speed, and he feels like his heart is actively trying to sledgehammer through his chest. And he’s only given half of his confession.
“I… That’s not all, either. I also like Naruko. The both of you… I like you both.”
Onoda just stares. His face is full of surprise, but not much else to clue Imaizumi in to his thoughts. It’s terrifying.
Yet he finds he can’t take his eyes off Onoda. Not when he desperately wants to hear something, anything, that will quiet the doubts he’s starting to hear from within.
No….
What he said was a mistake.
Was he even thinking, confessing something like that? Now that he’s heard it in his own words, Imaizumi can begin to process how it sounds. Like he’d thought earlier, it’s strange to confess to someone who’s taken that you’re interested in them. It sounds far stranger to admit that you’ve fallen for not only them, but their boyfriend too.
No one does that. Other than him, apparently.
Imaizumi drops his gaze, feeling shame overcome him.
“He’s not the only one.”
Immediately, he jerks his head back up, sudden horror overwriting everything he’s feeling.
But Naruko continues before he can get a word in to stop him.
“I like him too. The same way I like you, Onoda-kun.”
Imaizumi feels like tearing his hair out.
Couldn't Naruko see that Onoda was already shocked to hear his confession? Did he really need to go and toss another one on top of it? Imaizumi knows he's gung ho about being honest, but there's being honest, and there's rubbing salt in an open wound. His declaration seems more like the latter, from where Imaizumi is sitting.
He huffs out a breath, briefly touching one of his hands to his forehead.
Then he peeks out between his fingers at Onoda.
The room is quiet, but he sees so many emotions fly across the other's face that it's impossible to decipher which one is prevailing. Onoda is staring at Naruko, who is looking back at him resolutely. Almost challengingly, which only makes Imaizumi want to huff more.
Naruko could stand learning how to deliver news delicately. Especially when it's as controversial as what he just blurted out.
Imaizumi swallows down the lump in his throat. He continues to glance between the other two, trying to piece together the situation. Each second, the silence grates on him further.
Just say something, Sakamichi, he thinks intensely, wishing for a moment that he could influence things just as easily as that.
He's not going to say anything himself. He's already said too much. Naruko had better not say anything else, or Imaizumi isn't sure what he'll do.
They're not here to push Onoda, or give him any ultimatums.
All he's here for, independent of what Naruko had in mind, is to confess his feelings. Onoda can take them or leave them as he wishes. At the end of the day, Onoda and Naruko are dating, and Imaizumi is still their friend. He doesn't plan on ditching that bond unless he must. If it's too awkward for Onoda to be his friend while knowing he likes him, then he'll withdraw. They can work together on the team and keep it strictly professional.
Not an ideal solution, Imaizumi thinks, frowning. The idea saddens him, but he'll commit to it if that's the way the cards fall.
All he really wants is for Onoda to be happy, whether that's with or without him. Naruko too, although that also depends on how this turns out. That's why Imaizumi had hoped he wouldn't say anything like he did. In a perfect world, Imaizumi would have confessed and Naruko would have stayed quiet until Onoda had a chance to respond. Then if things had gone well, he could have chipped in his feelings.
Now, he's in the same awkward spot as Imaizumi, where he stands to lose Onoda completely.
Imaizumi wishes he wasn't. Naruko and Onoda were already happy together. Now he's potentially ruined that for them. It doesn't make him feel good.
Stress causes his temples to throb, a headache brewing slowly within. Imaizumi leans more into the hand cupping his face, frown intensifying.
This was a mistake, he thinks again.
And better yet, it's a mistake he can't take back.
When he hears the first sniffle, Imaizumi’s stomach plummets. He looks up quickly, removing his hand. Across from him, Naruko too is flailing to observe Onoda, whose face is shining with the onset of tears. He removes his glasses, and wipes a hand across both eyes, smearing the tear tracks. Then he gives a little gurgle of a sob.
Imaizumi’s stress levels soar.
He caused this. He’s made Onoda cry twice in two days. It’s terrible.
“Hey hey, Onoda-kun,” Naruko tries to soothe, placing a hand on Onoda’s shoulder. He doesn’t shrug it off, but the noise he makes isn’t encouraging; just sad.
“I thought it was best if we were honest with ya. Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or nothin’.”
“No…”
“Yeah?” Naruko jumps in to say.
“I-I’m not mad. I just…” Onoda inhales, and a heavily clogged noise comes out.
Imaizumi scans around the room until he finds a box of tissues on the desk nearby. Grabbing them, he holds them out to Onoda, who looks surprised at first but takes one to blow his nose. The tense silence persists for another few seconds while he does so.
What is he feeling then? Imaizumi wonders even though he’s afraid to hope for anything.
But he isn’t mad, his brain points out. He said that specifically.
“Sorry,” Onoda says finally. “I’m just really… s-surprised.”
“Well yeah-!”
“That’s understand-”
Naruko and he start in at the same time, and just as quick, turn to stare at each other. Imaizumi glares a little, but Naruko glares harder, effectively winning the wordless battle. Imaizumi decides to let him have it, and quiets down. Instead he settles into the desk chair and crosses his arms over his chest.
If anything, his mouth has already done enough damage.
“Well yeah,” Naruko reiterates. “People don’t hear stuff like that every day, but it’s true, Onoda-kun. That’s how me and this guy,” he nods in Imaizumi’s direction, earning him a scowl, “really feel. S’okay if it’s confusing. You ain’t even gotta like it. We just had to be honest. You deserved to know.”
“No,” Onoda cuts in.
“No?” Naruko asks, visibly losing a little steam.
“I’m… it’s not that I think it’s weird. I’m just surprised you both feel that way.”
“Believe me, I think both Hotshot and I are just as surprised.”
Onoda shakes his head.
“No. It’s just… I thought I was the only one.”
Imaizumi’s mouth falls open.
Across from him, Naruko’s mouth follows suit, but he recovers quicker, blurting out, “What?!”
That’s what Imaizumi wants to know.
Onoda looks up, still teary-eyed, but with a certainty in his gaze that wraps around Imaizumi like a warm blanket, soothing his nerves.
“I really like you both too.”
He exhales, and it feel like he’d been holding a breath in for ages.
Then, just as the nerves begin to fade, they’re replaced with new questions. How long? How did Onoda realize it? How did neither of them realize Onoda’s feelings? Onoda is an easy read, at least usually, Imaizumi thinks.
But, he adds internally, I didn’t realize any of what I was feeling either.
If he looks at it that way, it’s entirely possible Naruko was right earlier: he sucks at people. Outside of reading them in races, that is.
“When, Sakamichi?” Imaizumi asks, before he can think better of it.
Onoda blinks back his tears.
“A-A while. I just always thought it was kind of… weird, you know. Liking two people at the same time, and not wanting to pick one. I-I mean-”
He glances at Naruko then, somewhat apologetically.
“I was really happy when you asked me out, Naruko-kun. I have been happy since then.”
“It’s okay, Onoda-kun,” Naruko rushes to assure him, and as Imaizumi watches him, there’s a faint shine in Naruko’s eyes that looks a lot like tears. Happier ones, probably sympathy-driven, but still tears. “I’ve been happy with ya too.”
He grabs one of Onoda’s hands, running his fingers over the top of it.
“I don’t know if I’ve known as long as you, but same. I don’t regret us going out one bit,” Naruko adds.
Onoda shakes his head.
“Me either. I just also like Imaizumi-kun a lot. But I didn’t know how he felt. About me, or us, or anything. You – You’re really tough to understand sometimes, Imaizumi-kun,” Onoda says, peeking at him with a sheepish, wobbly smile.
Imaizumi almost feels cheered enough to let out a laugh.
“I know, Sakamichi.”
Naruko beams at them both. Yet in seconds, his expression gains the devious edge of a smirk.
“And dense as a rock, too.” He turns his eyes on Imaizumi.
Imaizumi’s eyes narrow.
“I thought we were well and past that by now,” he says, trying to control the tone of his voice. He won’t be riled, not when things are going so well. Naruko’s lack of tact be damned.
“Just sayin’ you coulda saved us all some trouble, Hotshot, if only you’d realized stuff sooner.”
“Excuse you, but it’s not just me who needed time to realize things. You just implied that you only figured out recently that you liked Onoda and me. You said you didn’t think you had known as long as him.”
“Still faster than you!”
“It’s not a race,” Imaizumi responds, rolling his eyes. He turns to Onoda. “I’m sorry about him.”
Incredibly, Onoda smiles back at him.
“It’s okay,” he remarks contentedly. “I’m just really happy right now.”
That, unlike the earlier part of this conversation, makes Imaizumi feel great.
“I’m glad.”
“…So, does this mean we’re all in agreement on things?” Naruko cuts in. “I know me and Onoda-kun are dating, but do you want to date us, Hotshot? Onoda-kun, do ya wanna date Hotshot and me?”
Imaizumi freezes. His nerves resurface, and he drops his gaze quickly.
But Onoda wastes no time.
“Yeah!”
Scarcely able to believe his luck, he stops hanging his head and glances between the other two. Both are smiling – or in Naruko’s case, grinning – at him. As Imaizumi looks between them, he feels his heart warm, swelling within his chest as it increases its rhythm. He really can’t believe it.
He gets them both. Somehow, he gets to be with them both.
“Of course I do,” he answers, dazed by the realization.
“Then you know what that means,” Naruko prompts, sounding altogether too pleased with himself.
Onoda shifts where he’s sitting, and Imaizumi spies a new flush to his cheeks that only makes him curious.
“What?” he gives in and asks.
“We gotta seal it with a kiss.”
He clatters back in his chair, sending it sliding into the desk. Suddenly, the blush makes a lot more sense to him. But if Onoda knew what Naruko was going to say, and he’s blushing about it, then-
Imaizumi grips the armrests of the chair tightly.
He feels like he must be sweating bullets, but he’s not exactly opposed to the idea. Especially not when the other two seem so willing. On the other hand, he is intimidated.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Hotshot! What, never kissed anyone before?”
Imaizumi decides the best option is to swallow his pride down to where it can’t even glimpse the light of day. There’s no other way. He forces himself to nod.
“Ohoho!” Naruko exclaims in amusement. “So we’re gonna be your first then. Perfect.”
Turning to Onoda, he asks, “Mind if I go first?”
Onoda shakes his head. He’s even pinker than previously, though by this point, Imaizumi thinks he must have him beat, shade-wise. His eyes snap onto Naruko, watching like a hawk as he gets up off the bed and starts to close the distance between them.
As it gets smaller and smaller, he starts worrying about what he needs to do, or if he should close his eyes. If he’s going to be the worst kiss Naruko has ever had. He wonders how many people Naruko has kissed in total. Is there going to be tong-
Imaizumi feels Naruko slot into his personal space, and he manages just a little gasp of surprise before lips are pressing against his. He closes his eyes.
Naruko's hand comes to rest against his jaw, tilting it up. He lets him, and feels their mouths angle against each other firmer. Naruko's lips are rough, and they take out their desire on him with confidence. The more they move against each other, the surer Imaizumi is that Naruko knows what he's doing. His experience isn’t just some front that he’s giving off.
The idea makes Imaizumi morbidly curious, but that's soon washed away by the sting of teeth nipping at his bottom lip.
Moaning softly, he parts his lips under the pressure, and Naruko's tongue darts inside, glossing over the top of his own tongue. It's hot, Imaizumi discovers as Naruko repeats the motion before withdrawing to kiss his mouth another time. And wet, but that's a given, he thinks, the thought joining a dozen others in his hazy head.
They break then, and Imaizumi's eyes flutter open as the two of them pull apart.
Naruko is smiling. It's nearly a smirk, but for once, Imaizumi doesn't care. Doesn't feel the need to come back with a fiery response. Instead, he feels strangely content, calm apart from the loud hammering of his heartbeat. He's not stressed. If anything, he thinks, blushing, he's a little embarrassed.
He just kissed Naruko. The idea is so foreign that it's a wonder he's not bolting right about now.
Not only that, Imaizumi adds inwardly, but somehow, Naruko is now his boyfriend.
It's such a turnaround from just a day before that he's having trouble processing it. Probably, it's going to take a while before everything settles, both in their routine as well as in his head. Still, he's looking forward to it.
He doesn't have to be alone anymore. He can be around the two people he likes the most. They want him to be around.
“That was pretty good, Hotshot. Not bad, for a beginner.”
That, Imaizumi has to roll his eyes at. Putting a hand on Naruko’s chest, he prods him backward.
But it’s only a mild annoyance. Besides, there’s something more important he needs to focus on.
Turning away from Naruko, he looks right into the watchful eyes of Onoda. He’s staring their way with a slightly glazed gaze, letting him know that he surely saw their entire display. Imaizumi flushes at the attention, but keeps his resolve.
“Can I kiss you, Sakamichi?”
Onoda starts at the question, shifting wildly on the edge of his bed. His hands pull at each other nervously, and he drops his gaze. But a moment later, he nods.
Imaizumi takes in a breath, and then lets it out slowly to soothe his nerves. Slowly, he rises from the chair, passing Naruko on his way over to where Onoda is seated. The walk is easy. But once he gets there, he pauses, feeling his nerves settle back into the pit of his stomach.
Then he looks at Onoda, whose face is upturned, staring back at him expectantly.
Imaizumi calms down.
Onoda has always reset his pace just by being there, and this is no exception. He feels stronger now, knowing that Onoda wants him to, that he's waiting. He isn't having the same hang-ups Imaizumi has when he thinks about kissing him.
Wetting his lips, Imaizumi leans in, hands moving to grasp both of Onoda's shoulders to anchor himself. Their lips connect, and a frisson passes through the rest of his body, setting his receptors on fire. Slowly, he angles himself, letting his lips slot against Onoda's firmer, like Naruko had done with him. Onoda is soft and pliant against him, and Imaizumi can't help but backtrack, pulling a sliver away so that he can press gentle, featherlight kisses to Onoda's lips.
Instinctively, he moves one of his hands to cup the back of Onoda's head. They share one more firm, lingering kiss before Imaizumi pauses. Onoda's lips part, letting out a low sound that he nearly breathes in.
They both open their eyes at the same time, gazing at each other in a daze.
The moment bursts when there's an amused string of laughs from behind them. Imaizumi immediately identifies it as Naruko, even though his brain feels like mush.
"Really not bad that time, Hotshot."
He chooses not to take that as a jab, and instead turns to look over his shoulder.
"I learn quickly," he says evenly, glancing at Naruko.
"I'll say," the other responds, looking back at him with an expression that's filled with warmth.
"We can all learn together now," Onoda chimes in quietly, causing the two to look at him.
Imaizumi smiles and nods. He couldn't agree more.
He has Naruko and Onoda by his side, accepting him as he is no less. The jealousy and the loneliness are behind him, and he can just breathe. It's a weight off. And like Onoda said, they will be figuring this out together. As far as Imaizumi's concerned, that puts them on the path to success. The three of them have always made the best team on bikes, now, they're going to do that off them, too. He has no doubt that there will be tough moments, but as long as they all put in the effort, things will work themselves out.
For the first time in a while, Imaizumi feels content.