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“No, you idiot. That’s absolutely wrong,” Rohan said with a small frown as he looked over the page in front of him. “You’ve actually managed to conjugate every single last one of these verbs wrong.”
Josuke let out a groan, throwing his head against the table. “Rohhhaaaaan, stop being a jerk,” he whined out, sounding extremely frustrated. He peeked back up at the page with pouty lips before looking at the mangaka again.
Rohan rolled his eyes, arms crossed against his chest. “How am I being a jerk? I’m spending my very precious, very important time trying to help you learn this language. I’m a busy man, you know? Be grateful I’m even deeming you worthy of my time.” He slid the page back towards Josuke. “It’s not my fault you’ve got a thick skull. Now, fix these.”
“Spanish is impossible to learn, Rohan, and you know why you’re a jerk. I didn’t ask you to tutor me, I asked for a different, faster kind of help,” Josuke said as he reluctantly picked his pencil back up and stared blankly at the marks Rohan had left in every single one of his answers.
A smug smile spread on Rohan’s lips as he raised an eyebrow. “And what kind of help were you expecting, Higashikata?” he asked in a teasing tone. He knew exactly what Josuke had wanted him to do, he wasn’t an idiot. But he enjoyed messing with the younger man far too much.
Josuke glared up at him, lips curled down. “I want you to use Heaven’s Door on me to teach me this dumb language. You know, like you did with Koichi when he went to Italy last year?” He started scribbling something down on the paper once again, letting out another small frustrated sound. “It’d be much easier, you wouldn’t have to waste your super special time on a delinquent like me and you could get back to doing whatever it is you do during your oh so busy day of writing manga.”
“Watch your words, Higashikata. I don’t appreciate your cheekiness.”
“Okay, okay. Sorry. Jeez, Rohan. Just… can you use Heaven’s Door? I have other classes I need to study for and you’re obviously a busy man. I go back to university tomorrow and I really don’t think I’ll be able to learn anything this way anyway. It’s a waste of both of our time.”
Rohan’s frown deepened. “Are you implying I’m not capable of teaching you?”
Josuke started at him in disbelief. “That’s not what I’m saying at all! What the hell?” He let out a sigh, putting his face back against the table. “You’re so hard to deal with, man.”
Now that Josuke wasn’t looking at him, Rohan allowed himself to smile. Messing with him had always been too much fun. “In any case, taking shortcuts in learning is not something I encourage. Koichi’s case was an exception due to its pressing urgency.” Although that wasn’t entirely untrue, it wasn’t the main reason why Rohan had decided to tutor Josuke instead of just using Heaven’s Door. The truth of the matter was he had missed having the pompadoured troublemaker around, but he would definitely never admit that outloud.
The fact that he actually missed Josuke was unsettling. It’s not like they were awfully close or anything along those lines. Rohan wasn’t even sure they could call each other friends, they were probably something closer to acquaintances. This was the first time in a long while they spent time together, without their group of friends around.
“Rohan, please, this is also super urgent,” he paused, putting his pencil down and looking straight at him, “I could do something for you in return, anything, really.”
Rohan nearly flinched at the intensity of Josuke’s gaze on him, but he held his ground. “Tough luck, I don’t need anything from you.” He glared right back, his jaw set.
Josuke sighed, looking back down again. “Fine. I give... Please teach me then, Kishibe-sensei.” He took the paper and pointed at the first sentence. “Can you please explain what I did wrong here? I don’t think I’ll be able to figure it out on my own.”
The sudden change in his attitude took him aback, but he quickly composed himself. “Yes… um, you used the singular, first person conjugation of the verb, when it’s meant to be the plural first person conjugation. Since it’s talking about how you and your friend both liked apples.” He glanced down the page and bit his lip.
Josuke’s eyes widened as he looked over the paper again. “Oh what, really? Ugh…can we… can we go over verb conjugation rules again?”
Rohan nodded. “Sure,” he started, skipping a few pages of the book on the table and handing it over to Josuke, “Here, look over them again in the book while I make us some tea. Write down any questions you have and I’ll answer them when I’m back, alright?”
“Thank you, Rohan,” Josuke said softly, smiling up at him.
He walked over to the kitchen, filling up the kettle and heating it up. While he waited for it to boil, he leaned against his table. Rohan had expected Josuke to keep insisting, to get upset at him over it all. A few years ago, Rohan was sure he would have whined until he got what he wanted. But… Josuke had matured, hadn’t he? He wasn’t a bratty teenager anymore.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed that Josuke had changed… but, he’d never really thought much of it until now. He could tell Josuke was taller now, his muscles much more noticeable and defined and his features had significantly sharpened. But, he hadn’t really realized that Josuke had grown in other aspects as well.
The whistle of the kettle brought him out of his thoughts and Rohan found himself actually smiling. He was looking forward to getting back to Josuke, to teach him all he knew… and… to talk to him. Rohan shook his head, pouring the tea on two cups. This was not the time to be thinking about that fool. He had to keep his cool.
Rohan walked back into the living room, handing one of the cups to Josuke. “Alright. Now… what would you like me to explain?”
They spent hours together reviewing the material for Josuke’s test. Rohan was shocked at the fact that Josuke knew absolutely none of the basics. He needed to understand those in order to process any of the more complicated things he was learning. So the mangaka focused on these topics just a bit more than on the rest.
Once it got dark outside, Rohan indicated it was probably time for them to stop reviewing. They both had other stuff to do, after all. They picked up all of the papers and books on the table and walked towards the front door.
“Thank you once again, Rohan. I don’t think I’ll absolutely fail now, at the very least. I think I more or less understand all the basics, which should help me understand the rest,” Josuke said with a small smile on his face.
Rohan shrugged. “You’re welcome. I hope you do pass your test, don’t want you to make me look bad.”
Josuke chuckled, shaking his head. “I won’t tarnish the Great Kishibe Rohan’s image, don’t worry.”
“I could use Heaven’s Door now, if you wanted me to. Since you did put in some effort,” he blurted out. His eyes widened at his own suggestion, but he didn’t take it back.
Josuke looked at him with an eyebrow raised, as if thinking it over for a while. He shook his head. “Nah, you were right. Taking shortcuts like that isn’t really cool. I want to learn things the normal way… though that may mean I’ll have to come visit you for help most weekends.”
Rohan rolled his eyes, letting out a small annoyed huff. “I guess it can’t be helped, then. Just make sure to let me know in advance when you’re coming over.”
“Will you make me food if I let you know when I’m coming? Or perhaps take me out to dinner?”
“Don’t push your luck, Higashikata.”
Josuke laughed at this and then shot him a smile. He hesitated at the door, looking back at the mangaka. “It was nice spending time with you again, Rohan. It had been a while since we last hung out, huh?”
“Spending time with me is always a wonderful experience.” A smile snuck its way into his face after this while he looked up at Josuke. “But, yes. It had been a while.”
“Oh shut up, you big dork.” Josuke leaned down to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. I’ll come see you tomorrow before going back.” With a blush spread across his face, Josuke left.
Rohan put his hand against his cheek, staring at Josuke as he walked away. He found himself unable to move from where he stood, feeling his own cheeks heat up as well. Damn that Higashikata. Despite all of his “growth”, he was still as annoyingly unpredictable as he always had been.