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The sun was bright, the winds were gentle, and the grass seemed a bit greener than usual when Chiaki received a text message in the middle of his afterschool activities. It was an invitation to hang out at a park from the other side of town, sent to him by none other Kuro Kiryu. Since he didn't get texts from him very often, the notification sent shivers of excitement down his spine. With the idea in his head of it being two tough guys doing tough stuff at a tough park, how could he ever find a better way to spend a beautiful day like this?
"Alright!" Chiaki exclaimed, having done at least three minutes worth of thoughtful consideration within 10 seconds. "The uncertainty of the world will never be enough to drag this man down! If you forge your own path, nothing can block you from the goal at the end...☆"
"...That's cool 'nd all Taichou, but how is it related to this at all...?"
"Really, don't just go around saying stuff like that... It seriously makes me want to kill you..."
The disapproval from Tetora and Midori brought him out from his own head, and Chiaki realized he had just yelled all of that aloud in the middle of planning an event with his unit. But he's been through this before. Many times. And so, Chiaki knows exactly how to play it cool after an outburst. "It is my duty as a squad captain to dole out life lessons to my subordinates, even at the least convenient of hours... You'll surely thank me after you bloom into star-studded tulips. ☆"
"Maybe it would be 'best' if we all went 'home' for the day..."
"Yes, Kanata! Excellent idea... For now we will disperse, until our duties are needed by the citizens of this world once again... Dismissed!"
"We can leave...? Thank goodness... I probably couldn't stand you for any longer today, Morisawa-senpai..." Midori said as he got up, grabbed his stuff, and walked out of the room. The rest soon followed his exit after they exchanged their 'goodbye's and 'see-you-later's. Chiaki only lingered for a moment or two, leaving to try and get to the location of his mystery meeting with Kuro. He hoped he wouldn't arrive too early, but he also worried about being late.
--
The view from the picnic table Kuro was sitting on would have looked gorgeous, if only he could look up at it. His eyes were transfixed on the strange gift he'd received the day before. He knew what it was and what it did, but never had he seen one in the flesh. What was he even supposed to do with it? He continued to wait in silence, stiff as a board, looking at the box of vaping accesories his hands held. Several more minutes passed by before he heard a familiar voice in the near distance.
"Kiryu!" He had finally arrived. It was none other than Chiaki Morisawa, the man of the hour. He was sprinting toward Kuro like a maniac, with a look on his face that made him look like no more than an eager child. At the speed he barreled at, he arrived at the other side of the picnic table within 30 seconds of his appearance. He stopped to let out a few quick pants of exhaustion before he sprung back upright. "Even at my breakneck speed, it appears I've still kept you waiting! But it is a large park, much larger than you! When it came to finding you... you were not unlike a needle trapped in hay. ☆"
"It's fine, Morisawa. I have not been sitting here for long, but I am glad to see you." Kuro showed Chiaki a soft smile before he got down to business. "...There's a reason why I brought you here."
Chiaki straightened his face, fearing the invitation was more grim than expected. "Yes... The reason... Kiryu, give me the news."
"I received a gift the other day. The contents were odd to me... I wanted advice from someone who I thought would be... interested in it. Or, had the potential to be." Kuro grabbed a box out of the gift bag he sat beside him, pulling away all the sides just enough to show what was inside.
"Wow, Kiryu-- that's a really cool vape pen!" Chiaki said as he scrambled over the table that had been separating them to reach for the pen, before his action was interrupted by the other.
"Please, calm down. I don't want to make a scene... This object..." Kuro looked down at the ground as a pink tinge developed along his face. "...Embarrasses me."
"Embarrass-- You?!" Chiaki couldn't keep from outwardly showing his shock. He wasn't used to the thought of Kuro being bashful, especially over something so trivial. But when he thought back to it, he used to be much easier to fluster back in the day. His train of thought got caught on memories of the past. Kuro's face being plastered red... That was a sight he couldn't get enough of. The fact that he forgot it was unbelievable... The images flashed by in his head and entraced him as--
"Morisawa?"
"Yes!" Chiaki was flustered, both by his thoughts and his carelessness to his friend. "Chiaki Morisawa, at his station! What seems to be the issue, might it be something a hero could solve?!"
"...You shouted something and froze up. I feared you might have died."
"Alive, I still am! I couldn't bear to waste this beautiful day by dropping dead on the hot sidewalk... ☆"
"I'm glad to hear it..." Kuro showed his soft smile again for a moment before moving back to his resting face. But even that small glimpse did wonders to reheat the fire in Chiaki's spirit. "...Let me get back to the subject. Do you know how to use this? Have you used it before?"
"I... No..." Chiaki said as he moved to scratch the back of his head. "Does it not come with an instruction manual?"
Kuro dug around in the box. It was rather loud, making them both realize just how much was crammed into the small box. For all Chiaki knew, there could be a whole universe inside it. An endless expanse of clouds and stars formed by puffs of vape juice. The water supplies of the planets would be more juice. It was a galaxy so vape-centric, it starts being comical before you know it. But if you fumbled around in its heavily themed expanse, it would get old rather fast. The cosmos itself would be beating a dead vape horse.
"It all comes together... After all, it'd the perfect crime... no one would ever look for a galaxy there! It's unheard of! How my burning mind couldn't catch on until now, I'll never know. ☆"
"You're saying something weird again. But I've found the manual, so I'll have to ask you to come back to earth."
Chiaki hadn't realized he said some of that aloud, and he had no clue how much of it he did, but it didn't matter all that much. It'd already been done, so the best thing to do would be to get back to the topic at hand. "Of course! Let us dig in and uncover the mysteries of our own universe's technology!"
"Alright. It says here..."
----
After reading, discussing, and analyzing the manual for what felt like an eternity, the pair felt they had a firm grasp on the instructions. They were finally prepared to try it out together.
"Alright... I've filled it properly... All that should be left is... Using it." Kuro held the single vape pen in his hand. He was nervous. More nervous than he should've been. And he could tell Chiaki felt the same way. Even if he was faking his way through it pretty convincingly, Kuro had a knack of looking right through his façades.
"Yes... Using it. Inhaling the vape, exhaling the vape. It'll all be so simple..."
"Simple... That it will be."
"Absolutely simple... Easy..."
"Indeed."
Both of them fell prey to an awkward silence. They had gone through all this effort, but they found the final hurdle was the hardest. Maybe it was the realization of what they were doing. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the public park, as empty as it seemed.
Maybe they were just afraid of looking stupid in front of eachother.
"I'm sorry, Morisawa... I still find myself trying to avoid this. Could you take the first... 'Hit'?"
"I... If you don't want to, I will be the one to rise triumphantly! After the tale spreads across our land and the bards write their songs, I hope they will grace your ears and inspire you. ☆"
"Yes... With your influence I will definitely persevere."
Chiaki picked the pen from Kuro's hand. This had to have been enough mental preparation, he thought to himself as he brought the pen to his quivering lips. He inhaled through it for the first time, and...
Started to choke.
"Morisawa, are you--"
Chiaki, coughing smoke out of his mouth uncontrollably, wildly gestured in Kuro's direction in an attempt to convey 'Yes, I am fine, I've just had a little accident. After all, even the most seasoned walker of the coals will get his feet charred when his focus fades. ☆' ...Or something like that. Kuro backed down, feeling grateful that he asked before he dove in to give him the heimlich maneuver.
He soon stopped coughing and slowly regained his sense of self.
"I think I might have done that wrong. That's just the hunch that I might have." Chiaki panted lightly while trying to recover the oxygen he'd just lost. He couldn't tell if the error was in how he breathed it in, or how he handled it in his mouth, or if the flavor was too overwhelming. Neither of them could decide on a single flavor, so they just mixed the four citrus-themed flavors that were included into the same pen for the maximum flavor. But that just seemed stupid now.
"The manual says here it's best not to take 'short drags'... Perhaps you didn't get enough?"
"I mean, I kind of feel like it was too much."
"...Let me try it. Your act has convinced me, as promised." Kuro held his hand out for the pen. Chiaki relunctantly returned it, stuck on the fact that he couldn't redeem his failure if he didn't have the pen... But it's Kuro's first and foremost.
As Kuro held the pen up to his lips, Chiaki couldn't help but think about it was in his own mouth just a few moments ago. Now it's in his mouth. Saliva and everything. And Kuro didn't even mind...
The sound of Kuro taking his first puff dragged Chiaki out of his... thoughts. He seemed to be taking it much better, even though his face looked like it was trying to twist itself into a spiral. The smoke came out hurriedly and imprecise, but Kuro still looked proud of his accomplishment as he tried to regain the air he had lost.
"Kiryu...! You did it!!!" Chiaki started to get teary eyed while he got up and ran to the other side of the table to pull him into a tight hug. Kuro accepted the hug gratefully, but held the pen to the side to ensure there wasn't an accident. He treated gifts with respect.
"I couldn't have done it without you, Morisawa..." Kuro patted Chiaki's back while his face reddened again. Chiaki's body spray was coming on strong, but Kuro didn't mind the smell. For some reason, he welcomed it. All of his senses got a big dose of Ryusei Red, seeing as his hugs always last much longer than a hug has any business lasting. He could feel Chiaki's grip loosen as he reached for the pen, pulling away completely to quickly shove it in his mouth.
His second drag went much smoother than the first one. He held it for a bit, then exhaled. It came out in a fragrant single-file line, being the cleanest cloud so far. It still wasn't exactly good, but it was something to be proud of for now.
"Morisawa, I'm impressed. I feel like we're going to improve with every puff."
They both smiled confidently and nodded at eachother.
----
The festivities continued long into the day, so long they even changed locales several times for some fresh scenery. They were currently settled down by eachother under the shade of a tree. The view was clear and filled with fun sights. There were hedges, slides, swings, and even a fountain by the river. The park got emptier and emptier as the sun set. Which made them realize abruptly that the sun was setting.
"Kiryu, the sun is setting."
"It is."
The corners of Chiaki's mouth dropped low. "It's sad to have to leave after having such an awesomely adventurous time with a comrade, right?"
"It is..." Both parties held disappointed faces. Going home was the last thing they wanted to do, but it was a neccesary evil to conquer. "...But we can't stay here forever."
"We can use it just one last time before we leave, right? Can we ride this citrusy cloud together as one, once more?"
"I don't see why not. It'll be fast." Kuro brought his hand to rest his chin on as he pondered one last detail. "...How will we decide who takes the last hit, then?"
"We should wrestle for it!"
"No. I won't use violence for no reason."
"T-then... Uhh..."
A silence hung over them again. This was the first awkward silence in hours... Kuro was the one searching for a solution this time, his mind sifting through possibilities upon possibilities. Before his mind wandered elsewhere. Somewhere a bit odd. Somewhere wild enough where it might actually work...
"I have an idea."
"Excellent! You're ever the shining beacon in these-- Hey!!" Chiaki cut himself off after Kuro started to inhale from the vape pen without further discussion. "Kiryu, you bastard! You snake! You... you were the villain of my lifestory all along, eh?! I'll be sure to-"
Kuro was the one to cut Chiaki's words short this time, grabbing his face mid-sentence to position him right infront of him. He pryed Chiaki's mouth open gently before pressing their lips together, exhaling the vapor from one mouth to another.
Chiaki accepted the transfer as his face turned red. Deep red. The color on his cheeks was red enough to fit in with his unit uniform. But it wasn't just him that was blushing. Kuro pulled away, his eyes closed tight to try and lessen the shame he was showing on his face. The silence came back. It seemed like the only sound in the world was Chiaki exhaling the borrowed vapor. They continued to avoid eachothers gazes, staying silent for a minute. Two minutes. But it couldn't have been three.
"Umm..... Kiryu."
"...Morisawa... I'm deeply sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." His face was guilty. He felt guilty. "I... It felt appropriate in the moment."
"...It was. Kiryu... I'm so very glad...!" Chiaki's voice cracked as tears welled up in his eyes for the second time in one outing. He could forget having his eyes be the only part of his face spared from redness.
"But it appears I made you cry..."
"Tears... Can be good! Crying cleanses the spirit... It shows the passionate feelings you hide deep inside you, too afraid to vocalize to another living soul...! ☆"
"I'm glad then... This way, we can head home with no regrets left in our hearts."
"Yes... Home. The place we must now head."
They sat peacefully for awhile, still unable to look eachother in the eyes.
"... Morisawa, could I ask you to depart first? I have to prepare to take this home."
"You-- You absolutely may ask me! The first to go home, the first to bed, the first to rise! That is I, the fiery Chiaki Morisawa of RYUSEITAI.☆ Ryusei Red, signing out!" Chiaki grabbed his bag and sprinted off to the north. Kuro watched him leave. He felt a bit disappointed, but mostly he was hoping he had went in the right direction. A minute later, he saw him look around and run in the complete opposite direction.
He was strange, but Chiaki had a way of making Kuro... Feel things.
He packed up his supplies, finally ready to leave for his own home, hanging on tight to the memories he'd made tonight.