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They were sitting at a coffee shop. Life had become busier for them overtime and living in different sides of the country made their meetings already scarce enough but today was different and both parties happened to be in the same place and so they agreed to meet and talk face to face like in the old times.
“Someoka-kun,” Shirou began as he looked down at his cup of hot chocolate that he held between both hands. He was trying to find the right words to begin the conversation.
“What is it, Fubuki? We’ve known each other for long enough, you can say whatever you have in your mind,” Someoka reassured him, taking a sip of his cup of coffee.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Shirou admitted; perhaps it was dumb from him to hesitate at this point. “I’ve been wondering for a long time, y’know, ever since we met… Back then, I didn’t told you about Atsuya. You didn’t find out until way later. I wondered if that ever bothered you. Had I known it was alright to talk about my situation, we probably wouldn’t have hidden it.”
“Is that it?” Someoka interjected as if he wasn’t phased by it. “That guy keeps calling every other night to boast about his skills and whatever he’s been doing. He called me right the other day just to say that he beat a new record in snowboarding managing to do a new move perfectly. I think we’re beyond that, I’m not bothered at all.”
“... He did that?” Shirou forced a smile, he wasn’t sure he remembered those calls. “It’s just been on my mind,” he continued, “I always felt bad for never saying a word to you back then but that’s the only way we could feel safe back in the day. I’ve been through a lot as a kid, y’know? Adults always hated the idea of Atsuya being here,” he placed a hand on his chest, over his heart. “They would say things like I should let go of Atsuya, or that he was a figment of my imagination; even suggesting that I should integrate with him to become one person. It was always other people claiming that it’s wrong for us to be ourselves and be okay with it. It hurt a lot, it hurt Atsuya even more; feeling that no one wants you for who you are and that you’ve to become different in order to be acceptable. At some point we kept it mostly to ourselves, thinking that if we pretended to be the same person then no one would say those things to us anymore...”
“Atsuya sure doesn’t look like the type of guy who would get bothered about what other people say. You’d think a tough guy like him would just tell those people off and stop caring about them. Kick them out of your life,” Someoka remarked. And Shirou lifted his head, blinking at him. “Well, at least that’s how he comes off to me,” he added.
“No, no. You’re right,” Shirou affirmed. “I’ve just known Atsuya for so long that it’s hard for me to think of him as only a tough person. He gets hurt like everyone else, even if he doesn’t show it to others. And as kids, it was a lot easier to get hurt. You only learn over time how to stop letting those things affect you.” Shirou took a sip of his chocolate and placed the cup back on the table staring at it lost in his own thoughts. “I think it’s because of you, our friends from the trip and the old Hakuren team that we’re finally at a place where we can be content with ourselves. Atsuya and I, always were the happiest when we were together as a team, trusting each other while being our individual selves. It’s because of everyone that now, we can be our authentic selves and not the façade we put together in order to keep us safe. He’s Atsuya and I am Shirou, we’re a two-people team leading life together in the best way we can. Thankful to have people in our life who accept us and want us the way we are. I felt bad for not telling you back then but I’m thankful that you’re still our friend despite all, that you’re a friend to Atsuya.”
“It’s fine. I thought of Atsuya as a rival during the trip, that feeling of wanting to surpass each other is still strong, it motivates me to continue bettering myself. I can’t let go of my rival because he happens to have another personality and was hiding his name from me, that would be stupid. Even you are good at a lot of things, you both make that perfect team you wanted to be. If anything changed, it’s that now I have two people that I want to surpass so you better not let me down," Someoka said and Shirou reassured him that he wouldn't. "Has he told you about the upcoming tournament?" Someoka continued, "it’s a regional thing, players showing their skills with judges deciding on the scores. Nothing big, just players showing off what they can do.”
“I believe he left a note to me about it but haven’t had the time to check it,” Shirou admitted. “Are you joining in?”
“You better be joining as well. Atsuya said he’s going to be there so it can be like the old times. Show everyone your defender skills and let’s see which one of us gets the first place.”
“I probably should, if Atsuya doesn’t want all the protagonism for himself,” Shirou laughed. “Thank you, Someoka-kun,” he murmured.
“I’ve told you that’s fine. What are friends for? Look,” He showed the other his phone. “This is what the tournament is about…”
Thank you for letting us be ourselves...