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The Protagonist of our story lay in his bed on a Friday morning, not wanting to get up and go to school. It was only a few days after the incident on Valentine’s Day happened. That being said, the one thing the protagonist couldn’t keep off his mind was the rugby player Gunzou he met at the Sports Prestige School. The protagonist was thankful that he managed to get Gunzou’s phone number before he left but, Gunzou was the one who seemed so eager to keep playing rugby with the summoner. From the moment the protagonist met Gunzou he could tell something was different about him. When he bumped into him and thus, held his hand to get him up he had truly felt something. Then, after that he kept asking him to play rugby with him and for some reason, even though he wasn’t very fit and knew how dangerous rugby could be he did anyway, and even found himself enjoying the time with the fit rugby player. He was happy when Gunzou invited him to the Rugby Circle to spend time together, and the smile on Gunzou’s face made it seem that he felt the same way too. The protagonist knew what this emotion was called, but it seemed to him that Gunzou hadn’t realized it yet. Maybe he was so used to being single all his life, or didn’t realize that being in a relationship with another man was possible. Even then though, it seemed like he was oblivious to at all, even when it felt like he was flirting with the protagonist. There was also the whole… situation with Sitri’s feathers causing Gunzou to confess his love for the protagonist, but he knew he couldn’t hold that against him and that those weren’t his true feelings. That being said… the protagonist could very clearly remember how cute Gunzou looked when that happened, and he wanted to see it once more. He remembered the shining sparkles in his eyes, and wanted to bring them back. The protagonist rolled in bed and looked at the time on his phone. He couldn’t believe that he had spent so much time thinking about Gunzou, but now he had to get ready for school rather quickly. He didn’t have the time to now, but he had to remember to text Gunzou when the Rugby Circle was when he had the chance.
The protagonist had just got home from school, and figured this would be the best time to text Gunzou about their next time to hang out. While the protagonist didn’t know much of anything about rugby, he was still very excited. Maybe going to a place with many fans of the sport would help him learn more about it which, in turn would make Gunzou happy, which of course would bring a smile to the protagonist’s face. The protagonist had made sure to save Gunzou’s number into his phone, and secretly wished to one day be able to put a heart emoji in his contact name. The protagonist finally texted Gunzou asking when the Rugby Circle, and received an answer very quickly.
Gunzou’s reply read, “Oh! It was very nice to talk to you again, even if it’s just through text message. The Rugby Circle is Saturday the 18th, which is…… Oh... That’s tomorrow.” The protagonist began to type on his phone’s keyboard when Gunzou sent a second message.
“Ah I’m sorry for it being such short notice, and to think that I even wanted to spend some time training together at the rugby field before we left for the meet-up… I’m sorry protagonist, and I hope you forgive me.” The protagonist was honestly excited to hear this, and was even blushing a little. He tried to reply as cutely formal as Gunzou had.
“Oh no please do not worry Gunzou! I am free tomorrow and the idea of practicing some more before we got there sounds like a great plan! I truly want to know as much about the sport as I can. What time should I visit the rugby field, I’m guessing we can use the one at the school as a part of club activities?” Gunzou replied quickly again, saying that noon was fine for the field, and that the Rugby Circle would be at 2:30 PM. The protagonist was glad to hear this news. He was super excited the date he could hang out with the admirable Gunzou was soon. He thought about the good time he would have tomorrow until the day finally came.
It was Saturday morning, it hadn’t been much time since the plans were made for the protagonist to spend time with Gunzou nor had it been a long time since he even met Gunzou for the first time on Valentine’s Day, but he felt as if suspense had been building for quite a longer time. He decided the best option to get to the rugby field was by riding the bus, and therefore walked to the nearest bus stop. Thankfully the walk wasn’t long and there was another bus stop close to the school, which makes sense when a school is a place where many people who can’t drive are probably going to need to be. With all that being said, it didn’t take long for the protagonist to see Gunzou again. The protagonist wanted to come in a nicer outfit but, brought athletic wear as well to change into when they played rugby. He walked into the field and saw Gunzou in the same-old rugby uniform that he was wearing last time, but of course that made sense seeing as they are going to play rugby. Thankfully the weather wasn’t too hot, so the protagonist could enjoy the time he was about to spend with Gunzou.
“Oh protagonist! I am even gladder to see you again then I expected!” Gunzou spoke, “You seem to be wearing a very cute outfit… My apologies for wearing the same old rugby uniform!”
“Don’t worry about that! I figured I would probably need to bring another outfit more appropriate for when we trained anyways… and your rugby uniform looks pretty cute as well!” The protagonist wondered if one day he could wear that uniform too, playing rugby with Gunzou…
“Alright well, I guess I will go into the club room to change?” The protagonist asked.
“That seems perfect! I’ll be waiting here and then when you get back I can start teaching you more about rugby until we head to the Rugby Circle.” Gunzou smiled, and it made the protagonist happy. He walked towards the club room, and hoped he wouldn’t have to run into Ashigara or anyone else. Thankfully there was no one there, and the protagonist changed quickly so he could reunite with Gunzou soon.
The protagonist returned in his new clothes, and the two started practicing immediately. It was unbelievable how much fun the protagonist was having running around with the other man. The protagonist did have some struggles, seeing as he had a lot more fat on his body then Gunzou did, and hadn’t played many sports like Gunzou had, seeing as he did go to the Sports Prestige School, but Gunzou was patient with him, and the protagonist still had an easy time learning all the different passes and techniques. While they practiced, seeing as it was rugby, they made a lot of physical contact, bumping into each other and such. Just as last time, the time flew by and before he had known it 2 hours had passed.
“Oh,” Gunzou said after the two had stopped, “It looks like it’s already 2 PM. I think we should better leave now for the Rugby Circle seeing how far away it is, as well as we we’ll have to take the bus to get there. I’m sorry that you won’t have time to change, protagonist!”
“Oh don’t worry about that at all!” The protagonist replied, “If I go to the Rugby Circle like this, it might even work out better for me because I everyone will be able to just see me to know I play rugby. Plus, we’ve both worked up a sweat, so in these outfits we’re kina matching aren’t we?” The protagonist hope that saying that would make Gunzou smile, and he was able to catch a grin on his face.
“Then it’s settled! Let’s head for the bus stop!” Gunzou’s smile grew wider, and he put his hand on the protagonist’s shoulder and started walking. The protagonist smiled back at Gunzou and walked with him, and in a short amount of time they had made their way to the bus.
While they were on the bus Gunzou kept conversation going with the protagonist.
At one point he said, “I’m sorry if I took a long time for me to reply when I texted you. My hands are kind of big so, I struggle to type my sentences correctly.”
The protagonist didn’t think that at all, “Oh well actually it felt to me that you were texting very quickly, and didn’t have any noticeable mistakes. It seemed to me that it reflected off of your eager personality, which is a good quality of yours. I think that it is one part of why I like you so much Gunzou. If you want though, feel free to get more comfortable when texting me. It’s not like I mind spelling errors or anything…” After that the protagonist asked Gunzou if he could compare his hands to his own, seeing as Gunzou apparently had big hands. Gunzou obviously obliged and, the protagonist held his hand up against Gunzou’s. It really was pretty big, but the protagonist didn’t want to move his hand off of Gunzou’s. Maybe on the ride home, the protagonist thought, maybe he could leave his hand holding Gunzou’s for the whole ride on the bus. The conversation between the two continued on, but not at the same intensity as it did before, until the two arrived at the Rugby Circle.
As the protagonist had expected, this meet-up between players and fans alike of rugby wasn’t too large of an event. The whole thing was outside, but the protagonist knew that he would still enjoy his time there with Gunzou. The two walked around, looking at various merchandise for different teams, equipment to play the sport itself, and stuff like that, until Gunzou stopped, smiling and looking at the protagonist.
“Protagonist! Look here! This is my favorite Top League team, the Panasonic Wild Knights! Did you know that they were the first team to go a whole season without losing a single match?” Gunzou chuckled, and kept a smile in his face,
“Here,” Gunzou looked at the person running the stand they were at, “Can I buy one of these shirts?” He still had a smile on his face and pointed at the one he wanted, leaning closer to the table that all the shirts were on. He told the salesman his size, and then paid for his brand new shirt. The shirt was blue, which was the team’s primary color, and he walked with the protagonist around some more before making his decision on something.
“Actually, seeing as this shirt was kind of dirty anyways, and that I want the people here to be able to tell what my favorite team is, I think I’m going to change into this shirt.” Gunzou nodded his head, “Do you mind carrying around my old shirt?” Before he even got a response, the enthusiastic Gunzou started to strip off his current shirt.
“Oh, of course!” The protagonist said, he tried not to stare the few seconds Gunzou remained shirtless, but he found a little difficulty in doing so. Gunzou was very much built like a good rugby player, and it showed. Gunzou put on the other shirt, it was kind of tight on him, but the protagonist figured a lot of athletic styled clothes is like that. After that, the protagonist handed him the old shirt, and the he held it tightly. The protagonist really didn’t mind holding it, and it kind of smelled like Gunzou, so he was happy.
“Oh… we seemed to have already spent quite a while just walking around, but at least I found the thing I wanted to buy!” Gunzou said, “Now though, do you think it’s about time we should eat?”
“That does seem like a great idea,” The protagonist said, “I’d love to eat with you, and I didn’t eat any lunch before I came here anyways” Gunzou was glad to hear this. They looked for the area where all the food was, and eventually they found it. They wanted to get something that was simple and cheap, but still tasty and filling, so they both got nice and juicy hamburgers. While they ate, they had a lovely conversation. They shared jokes and stories, the protagonist told Gunzou about everything else that happened on Valentine’s Day, and Gunzou talked on and on about rugby. The protagonist loved to hear Gunzou talk about what he was passionate about, because he was a very excitable person, and always had a tone in his voice that the protagonist adored when he talked about rugby. The protagonist had learned much more about rugby than he thought he would just from practicing with Gunzou and learning from what all the other people at the Rugby Circle had told him, and he had grew to like it just as much as he did Gunzou. He genuinely hoped to one day, be able to play rugby well with Gunzou, just like Gunzou had wanted in the first place. After they finished eating, they realized how late it had gotten to be, and seeing as they had already walked around most of the other things the Rugby Circle had to offer, it figured it was time for them to go home.
“Gunzou… I guess it’s about time I should go back home, but I had an amazing time with you today. I guess I should set up days for next week that we should practice rugby together afterschool for next week. Also, maybe sometime we could go shopping together for my own uniform and gear to call my own!” The protagonist smiled brightly at Gunzou, he smiled back and then out of nowhere, hugged him tightly. When the protagonist was being hugged by Gunzou, his firm muscular frame pushing against the protagonist’s squishier frame felt pleasant for the both of them.
After a few seconds he pulled away slightly, leaving his hands on the protagonists side instead of fully wrapped around him, and still staying very close to him. They looked at each other in the eyes, and they were so close that their noses were almost touching.
“That sounds great protagonist!” Gunzou stared at him for a few moments before continuing what he was saying, “Actually I just realized something… This was a date between the two of us guys wasn’t it?” The protagonist started to blush. Then he realized something. He saw It again. Gunzou’s eyes were shining, just like they were the first time he was in love but this time it was real. The protagonist in that moment felt like the happiest person alive.
Gunzou was still the one talking, “Well I don’t think I mind… It felt like one but… Shouldn’t a first date be something like me taking you to a nice restaurant, instead of eating cheap concession stand hamburgers? I promise to take you somewhere nice but, shopping for rugby stuff does sound like a lot of fun. I guess we both like rugby a lot, don’t we?” The protagonist let Gunzou know that he was correct about the protagonist liking rugby. At this point the two were still extremely close to each other, and a kiss was definitely possible, but neither of them had the courage to make a move. Gunzou finally moved his hands away from the protagonist’s sides, and took a step back, before saying one last thing.
“Sorry if I seemed weird about anything in the process of planning dates. I just want to have the best first relationship possible.” The protagonist had almost forgot about what Gunzou said while he was entranced by Sitri’s feathers, that he had gone all of his 17 years of life without anyone to call a lover. Maybe Gunzou would never have predicted his first would be with another man, but the protagonist didn’t have much of any experience with love either, so he believed it would work out.
Gunzou figured the smartest thing to do was for him to take him home on the bus, and then from there he would take a bus back to his own home. The protagonist asked if he could, and his wish of holding Gunzou’s hand on the way home became a reality. Gunzou also let him take the shirt with him home. He probably just forgot about it, and the protagonist knew to text him that he had it and to return it to him when he saw it again, because he most likely needed it for rugby, but the protagonist appreciated having the shirt while he did. Today marked the day that the protagonist started his journey to become an ace rugby player, as well as the start of his first love, and he went to bed in a very good mood that night.