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Ever since being a young teenager, Kazunari has always had many friends and managed to blend in with any kind of crowd, but one day in college, while he was packing his things before going back to the Mankai dorm, three of his friends approached him with an unusually serious air hanging around them.
"Hey, guys. What's up?" Kazunari greeted.
"We, uh, wanted to talk to you about something, Miyoshi." the first guy said.
"Sure. What is it?" Kazunari asked.
"The three of us talked about this for a while, and, um..." the second guy said.
"We want to stop hanging out with you." the third one finished sternly.
Kazunari almost felt like he was in a really bad dream, like he couldn't believe nor process what he just heard.
"Wait...what..?" he asked with sadness and disbelief written all over his face.
"D-don't get us wrong..! It's just that..." the second guy stuttered.
"Our friendship with you just feels really fake and staged." the third guy said bluntly.
"We still respect you, of course, but it just doesn't feel comfortable being "close" with you." the first guy explained.
Several bad memories from elementary and middle school began playing in Kazunari's mind, and he swore that his eyes were already getting teary.
"In any case though, thanks for everything you've done for us and the time we've spent together."
"Y-yeah, we had fun with you, but-"
"We believe it's time for us to go our separate ways before we regret it later..." the third guy said distantly.
"Mm... I understand. Thanks for everything too, guys! So, uh, see you all around, I guess...?" Kazunari replied, but it sounded more like he was talking to himself.
"Yeah, we'll say hi if we see you." the first guy said.
"...It's getting late. We should go home now. You too, Miyoshi." the third one said.
"I, uh, still have a few more things to do, so I'll be here a little longer." Kazunari replied as casually as he could.
"O-ok. See you later, Kazunari-san!" the second one said as they waved to him goodbye.
Once the three were out of sight, Kazunari's smile immediately transitioned into a frown and while a tear trickled down his cheek, he grabbed his bag and bolted out the classroom, going the opposite direction of the other guys. His legs ran as fast as he could while his mind blanked out and feelings he thought he'd buried before slowly began to resurface.
Fortunately but also unfortunately, he eventuallu ran into Banri when he reached the second floor.
"Whoa, you ok, Kazunari? What's with the rush?" he asked, shocked and a little concerned at the same time.
Kazunari quickly and subtly wiped off the tears on his face before turning to Banri.
"Hey, Setzer! Nah, just wanted to get back to the dorms ASAP!"
"Why? Is something happening today?"
"No, not really, but Summer Troupe is supposed to have practice in an hour, so I don't wanna rush later, ya know?" Kazunari actually only remembered that on the spot, but it may as well have become a convenient excuse for the way he was acting earlier.
"Huh, ok. Do you wanna go ahead today, or are ya still willing to wait for me?"
"Hmm. I can wait for maybe five more minutes, I guess."
"Great. That's plenty of time. Be right back." Banri said as he reentered the classroom.
Three minutes later, Banri came back out, ready to go home.
"Thanks for waiting. Let's go?" Banri said.
"Yeah!"
The walk home was pretty much the same as usual. They talked about their classes, rehearsals, other Mankai members, and whatever came into mind. Thankfully, Banri never brought up anything regarding Kazunari's behavior earlier, which helped him calm down.
Before they even realized it, they were already standing in front of the dorms.
"Man, walking home always feels so fast when you're with someone, huh?" Banri said.
"Yeah! It's like time just fast forwards on us."
"Heh. Better than it going incredibly slow, though."
When they entered, the first thing Banri noticed was Juza sitting in the dining table with the milkshake he saved in the fridge in his hand.
"We're ho-" Kazunari said, but was practically muted by Banri's yelling and stomping.
"Oi, Hyodo! That's my fucking milkshake, ya asshole!"
Yuki sighed aloud from where he sat in the lounge and said,
"Those two will never change..."
"Ahaha! But they're also one reason why the dorms are always so lively." Azuma commented.
"We could do without the extra noise, thank you." Sakyo sighed from his seat too.
Kazunari just smiled after hearing the conversation, and quietly passed by the two gangsters fighting by the dining table to go to his and Muku's room.
"Welcome back, Kazu!" Muku greeted from his desk.
"Heya, Mukkun! Is that another manga ya got there?"
"Yeah! The latest volume of the series I recently got into came out just last weekend and I wanted to read it as soon as possible."
"Nice! Say, can I read the first few volumes if you're done with them?"
"Of course! I'll go get them from the shelf."
After a minute of rummaging through his shelf and stacking a few books on the table, he handed the first four volumes of the series to Kazunari.
"Thanks, Mukkun! I'll get started ASAP!"
"Ehehe! No problem, Kazu!"
Kazunari immediately sat by his desk and got to reading. He later only realized after reading the first volume that it was almost time for rehearsals.
"Wah! Mukkun, we gotta go for practice already!" Kazunari said as he hurriedly changed his clothes.
"Oh no, you're right! Let's go!"
They both ran to the practice room, barely making it in time for the agreed practice schedule.
"You two are almost late!" Tenma exclaimed.
"I was starting to think you two forgot about practice." Yuki remarked.
"W-well, we're all here now, so let's get started!" Kumon interrupted.
Practice and the rest of the day went by surprisingly well for Kazunari, so much so that he pretty much forgot what happened to him in school earlier. But that peace was disrupted when three days later, two more of his friends told him the same thing, and another one the day after.
On that third time, Kazunari definitely couldn't keep himself together and was on the verge of having an anxiety attack some time after his former friend left. Not wanting to be seen by anyone, he dashed out of the room with shaky legs, all the while trying to stop his tears from flowing out.
Unfortunately for him, he eventually bumped into Banri again, but this time he accidentally rammed into him, causing the both of them to fall backwards onto the floor.
"Ow..! What the fuck...?" Banri groaned while rubbing his hip.
"Ah..Banri..." Kazunari muttered.
Banri quickly looked up after hearing the familiar voice, and was surprised to see Kazunari completely red in the face and eyes glassy with tears.
"Dude, are you ok?! What the hell happened to you?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, Banri. Nothing happened.." Kazunari tried to assure.
"...Man, you're not even calling me by that weird nickname anymore. Something's definitely wrong..."
"...!"
"Come on, get up." he said while extending a hand to Kazunari, which he took slowly and shakily. "So... What happened?" Banri asked once more.
Kazunari couldn't form any words and tears only started to come out even faster than before. He quickly buried his face onto Banri's shoulder, not wanting to be seen and heard by anyone else.
"..!" Banri was surprised by the sudden action, but nonetheless pat Kazunari's head gently with one hand. "Alright, alright. You don't need to tell me, but if you want to tell someone about what it is that's going on.....then there's more than twenty guys back home that's got your back, myself included, of course."
Kazunari couldn't respond, except for the sounds of his whimpers and hiccups growing loud enough for Banri to hear more clearly.
Seven long minutes later, Kazunari stepped away from Banri, but still couldn't say anything.
"Wanna go to the bathroom before we head home?" Banri suggested, to which Kazunari just nodded to.
After a few minutes of washing his face, and drinking some water, Kazunari stepped out looking a bit better than before, good enough to at least fool anyone who didn't know about his breakdown earlier.
"You good to go?" Banri asked.
"Yeah... Thanks, Setzer..." Kazunari muttered just loud enough for Banri to hear.
"Of course. Come on, let's go home." he replied with a rare, kind smile.
As expected, the walk home felt longer than usual that day, since neither of them spoke almost the entire time.
"We're home~." Banri said aloud as they arrived at the dorm.
"Welcome back!" Omi, Juza, Taichi, and Azami replied simultaneously from the lounge.
"Why's everyone in the lounge together? Did I miss something?" Banri asked.
"Not really. We were just talking about our practice schedules and some ideas for our next performance." Omi replied.
"And you did this without the presence of your leader? Ouch, I'm hurt." Banri said dramatically and sarcastically at the same time.
"Stop acting like a grade schooler and get your ass over here." Sakyo said with a sigh.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'. See ya later, Kazunari."
"Yep, see ya!" Kazunari replied as cheerfully as he could, which fooled the rest of the Autumn Troupe, and left to go to his room.
Twenty minutes later, Kazunari went to the balcony to do a project for school and, hopefully, clear his mind about the recent events.
Fifteen minutes had passed, but not a single idea came into Kazunari's mind as he just stared at his laptop, paper, and pencil, barely even blinking. Though showing no emotions, the only things on his mind were the things his friends told him before leaving him.
As the waves of sadness and anxiety were slowly about to come crashing onto him, Misumi had come in from the ledge with perfect timing.
"Hey, Kazu~!" Misumi greeted from the ledge of the balcony.
"Whoa..! Hey, Sumi! Did you go out for triangle hunting?" Kazunari replied casually.
"Yep! Just finished~! Look at what I found today!" Misumi exclaimed as he brought out a black and white striped, triangular knit hat from his fairly large haul of triangles. It actually looked new, unlike most of the other things he found. "I saw this today and thought of Kazu, so here you go!"
"Wait, Sumi, did you actually buy this for me? It looks pretty new." Kazunari asked out of surprise.
"Yep! It's a gift~!"
"W-wow. Thanks, Sumi! This is really sweet of you."
"Yay~! I'm happy if Kazu is happy!" this made Kazunari smile to himself and looked at the hat with gentle eyes. "And also," Misumi continued, "you don't seem very happy today, so I hope this helps you feel better~."
Kazunari's eyes widened and his body stiffened out of shock upon hearing that last part. So far, nobody noticed him acting any differently than usual, so Misumi was the first to notice, even though it shouldn't have been that obvious to begin with.
"Sumi..." Kazunari muttered to himself.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Um...nevermind, it's nothing. Thanks again for the gift." he said as cheerfully as possible.
"You're welcome~." Misumi replied. Awkward silence slowly began to settle in, until he broke it by asking, "...Can I stay with you here?" in a surprisingly mellow tone.
"Huh? Oh, sure, go ahead."
Misumi quickly grabbed a chair, sat next to Kazunari, and looked at his work that had zero progress.
"Are you doing a project for school?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I have no clue on what to do."
"Can I help?"
"Huh? Really? Uh, I mean, if you want to, sure!"
"Yay!"
"I'm supposed to design our school's art page on the official website, but there's just too much one can do to it..." Kazunari whined.
"Hmm...." Misumi started to ponder on ideas. "Then why not take inspiration from your old works?"
"......Actually, I think I have a better idea." Kazunari said as his eyes lit up. "Why don't you help me make triangle designs?"
"Really?!" Misumi exclaimed in excitement. "Yay! Triangles with Kazu~!"
A bit over an hour later, Tsuzuru came by to tell them that dinner was ready.
"Ok! Thanks, Tsuzuroon! We'll be down in a minute!" Kazunari said as Tsuzuru just nodded and left as quickly as he came. "Wow. Time sure flew by fast, huh?"
"Making triangles with you is too much fun!"
"Haha! Yeah, I had fun too. " Kazunari replied. "U-um... Thanks again, Sumi. I'm glad you came here." he said while looking away and with a bittersweet tone.
"Anything to make Kazu happy~!" Misumi replied cheerfully
Even though it was such a simple statement, it was already enough to pierce his heart. Before he even noticed it himself, a tear started to fall down Kazunari's cheek. He scrambled to wipe it off before Misumi could notice, but was too slow anyway.
"Oh no... Did I say something bad?" Misumi asked worriedly.
"No... No, you didn't, Sumi. I'm just...really happy right now." Kazunari replied with a sniffle at the end. "I'm really lucky to have you in my life..." he added with a soft smile directed at him. This time, Misumi felt overwhelmed from within and couldn't resist hugging Kazunari.
"I feel lucky to have Kazu too~!" Misumi exclaimed while squeezing Kazunari's sides as tightly as he could.
"Ouch..! You're hugging too hard...!"
"Oh. Sorry~." he replied while loosening his hold.
Slowly, Kazunari raised his arms to hug Misumi back and rested his chin on his shoulder.
"Pat, pat. It's ok, Kazu! Everyone is here for you." Misumi assured.
"Mm... Thanks, Sumi..."
A minute later, Kazunari reluctantly let go and stepped back from Misumi.
"We should go eat dinner now." Kazunari said softly.
"Yep!" Misumi replied as he grabbed Kazunari's hand and started running downstairs.
"Waah! Sumi, not on the stairs! You're gonna make me trip!"
"Then I'll catch you!"
Once again, Kazunari started to feel soft over Misumi's simple words. He only began to realize how comforting and secure he felt when he was with him; not needing to put on a mask nor hide his true feelings.
"Haha! You make it sound so easy."
"If it's you, then anything is!"
And there he goes again with those cheesy, yet simple words that make Kazunari feel like he's dreaming, even though he isn't. "I love you..." Kazunari said in his mind, but immediately brushed it away after realizing what exactly that thought meant.
After dinner, Kazunari began working on his project, and thanks to the designs he and Misumi made earlier, he was able to get his artistic rhythm going again and finished in less than two hours.
Thankfully, it was Friday and he had no classes or activities for the next day, which meant he was free to spend that night however he wanted. After watching a movie with Tenma, Yuki, Taichi, Sakyo, Tsuzuru, and Izumi in the lounge, and reading two more volumes of the manga he borrowed from Muku, he decided to go to bed.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"It's either yourself or us, Kazunari." Tenma said sternly as he and the rest of Mankai stood before him with a cliff right behind.
"I-I...I can't choose only one, though..."
"You have to, it's one or the other." Taichi retorted.
"I..."
"You do know what happens when you're indecisive, right?" Sakyo said ominously.
"No... I... Someone save me...!" Kazunari muttered to himself in agony while his hands tightly held the sides of his head.
A few seconds later, Misumi stepped forward with the most impassive and cold expression he can ever have.
"Sumi...! Please.. I... sa-" Kazunari stuttered, but before he could finish, Misumi shoved him off the cliff in the blink of an eye. "...Huh..? Wait, no... Sumi...why..?"
Kazunari sat up from his bed with a jolt, his eyes wide, pupils shrunken in fear, and his back damp with cold sweat. He turned to see if he woke Muku up, and thankfully, he didn't. After a minute of panting and taking deep breaths, he quietly climbed down from his bed, put his rehearsal jacket on, grabbed his phone, and left the room as quietly as he could.
It was only 3:30 AM when Kazunari left his room, and not wanting to go back to sleep, he got a glass of water from the kitchen before going to the practice room.
There, Kazunari did a few stretches first before turning to the mirror to face himself. He then took a deep breath to help himself get into the acting mood.
"It's either yourself or us, Kazunari." he imitated the Tenma from his dream.
"I-I...I can't choose only one, though..."
"You have to. It's one or the other." he then imitated Taichi.
"I..."
"You do know what happens when you're indecisive, right?" he replicated Sakyo's expression and voice almost perfectly.
"No... I... Someone save me..!"
Just after he'd said that, the door slowly creaked open, revealing Misumi on the other side.
"Ah! I thought I heard someone in here!" Misumi exclaimed in relief.
"Sumi..! U-um...what are you doing up so late?"
"I got hungry so I was going to make onigiri! So, why are you up too? Couldn't sleep?" he asked as cheerfully as usual.
Suddenly, Kazunari ran over to Misumi and hugged him as tightly as he could while tears slowly formed in his eyes.
"Oh no... Did Kazu have a bad dream?"
Kazunari just nodded while trying to suppress any sounds that came from his crying.
"There, there. Everything's ok~. Now, deep breaths." he said as he inhaled deeply.
Kazunari followed Misumi's breathing and soon calmed down enough to be able to speak clearly.
"I'm scared, Sumi..." Kazunari muttered while still hugging him tightly.
"Why..?" Misumi asked sadly.
"My friends...they keep leaving...saying I'm not comfortable to be with, or that I'm not a true friend.."
"..."
"I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong... I don't know what it is that people don't like about me..! At this rate, I-I'll...be alone in school... Then, after that, maybe even you gu-"
"No, you're wrong! I, and everyone here, will never leave you!" Misumi exclaimed in frustration.
"Sumi..?" Kazunari looked up at him in shock since it was very rare for Misumi to be angry at all. Sad, yes, but not angry.
"Your friends in school are fake and ungrateful! They don't understand how kind, funny, caring, and beautiful you are! Everyone here loves you for who you are, and I will never let anyone say mean things about you!"
Kazunari immediately froze and it felt like his heart either had stopped beating or it was going so fast, he couldn't even feel it anymore. But one thing was certain: his face slowly grew redder and redder by the second, but thankfully, he was able to hide it with only the moonlight reflecting into the room.
"Everyone here is important to me. All of you are the reason I can keep smiling everyday, but even with everyone here, Kazu is extra special for me! Just seeing you smile already makes me smile, and seeing you sad will also make me just as sad...because...I like you even more than triangles!"
Even if he wanted to, Kazunari couldn't make the words he wanted to say come out of his mouth, all thanks to the embarrassment that filled him up all the way from his core. Was that a love confession..?! Anyone else wouldn't think of it that way, but he was dealing with Misumi here, who was pretty much the biggest triangle lover in the whole universe, so to be told that he likes him more than triangles was a lot for Kazunari to take in and think about.
"Ah! Are you tired now? I'll bring you to the lounge." Misumi said as he picked Kazunari up in a piggyback and carried him out. At this point, Kazunari gave up on trying to say anything, since he was already busy enough with the many thoughts going through his head.
When they got to the lounge, Misumi carefully put Kazunari down on the sofa.
"I'll make us onigiri, so just wait here!"
"Wait, I can-" but before Kazunari could protest, Misumi already dashed into the kitchen and had gone out of sight.
While sighing in defeat and exhaustion, Kazunari just went through his Instablam until Misumi finished the onigiri. He watched a few videos that caught his interest to help cheer him up, and in the middle of his fourth video, Misumi had already returned with a plate of two large onigiri on a plate.
"You're smiling! Do you feel better?" Misumi cheered.
"Yeah...a little.."
"That's good! You can start eating already, I'll go get something first!" he said as he hurried back to the rooms without waiting for Kazunari's reply.
Kazunari decided to wait for him to come back, since he wanted to eat the onigiri together. Just as he was about to watch another video, a blanket suddenly fell over his whole body.
"I'm back!" Misumi exclaimed.
"What's the blanket for, Sumi?" Kazunari asked curiously while taking it off of him.
"For sleeping, of course!"
"Here? In the lounge?"
"Well... I don't think you would want to go back and sleep on your own, right..?" Misumi replied with sheepishness in his voice.
Even though he never said nor hinted anything to that, Kazunari, in truth, felt reluctant about going back to bed on his own, so fortunately for him, Misumi had already gone one step ahead of him.
"Ahaha. You know me too well, Sumi." Kazunari said jokingly but awkwardly.
"...That's only because it's you..." Misumi muttered to himself.
"Hm? What was that?"
"Nothing! Come on, let's eat!" Misumi exclaimed as he took an onigiri from the plate.
Though Kazunari wanted to know what he said, he didn't push him to answer anymore and just ate his onigiri quietly.
"Thanks for the food!" Kazunari said after they both finished a few minutes later.
"I'll go put this by the sink real quick!" Misumi said as he got up.
"No, wait, I'll do that. You've done a lot for me tonight anyway." Kazunari insisted.
"No! Kazu should rest!" Misumi argued.
"Ahaha! Then let's just both go!" Kazunari giggled goofily.
"Yay! You're laughing!" Misumi cheered.
"Yeah, thanks to you."
When they returned to the lounge, Kazunari was laying the blanket out until he noticed Misumi trying to find a comfortable position on the other sofa.
"Wait, Sumi, you don't need a blanket or something?"
"No, I'm fine."
"You don't look very comfortable, though..."
"Really, I'm ok! You should go back to sleep. I'll be here if you need anything." Misumi assured.
After a long pause of thinking, Kazunari got up with the blanket in hand, transferred to the sofa Misumi was on, and laid on his chest while spreading the blanket out for both of them.
"Kazu..?"
"Is this...ok for you?" Kazunari asked, visibly and audibly embarrassed, which Misumi just smiled to.
"Yeah! Goodnight, Kazu~."
"Goodnight, Sumi..."
Misumi carefully adjusted the pillow on his head before gently hugging Kazunari under the blanket. He looked down at him and smiled softly before going to sleep too.
At 7:40 in the morning, Taichi, Omi, Muku, Kumon, and Tasuku were first to arrive in the lounge and immediately noticed Misumi and Kazunari sleeping soundly while snuggling close to each other on the sofa.
"Aww..! Those two look so peaceful together." Muku commented somewhat dreamily.
"No wonder Misumi-san's bed was completely empty when I woke up..." Kumon joined in.
"We shouldn't disturb them for now." Taichi said.
"I'll go prepare breakfast for everyone in the meantime." Omi said while quietly walking towards the kitchen.
"Well, I'll be out running for a while. Be back soon." Tasuku said as he headed for the door.
"Stay safe~." all the others said to him.
In the next hour, a few more people started coming into the lounge.
"*yawn* Good mor-!" Sakuya greeted cheerfully.
"Shh..!" Taichi interrupted him while pointing at Kazunari and Misumi's direction.
"Oh, I see... Sorry, I'll be careful." Sakuya whispered aloud.
A few other people came in soon after Sakuya, such as Tsuzuru, Izumi, Tsumugi, and Banri.
"Good mo-" all of them were about to greet, but were interrupted by Taichi.
"Shhhh!"
"Taichi, you're hushing gets louder each time you do it, you know?" Omi said just loud enough for him to hear from the dining table and with a smile that held him back from chuckling at him.
"Waah... Sorry..." Taichi apologized hastily.
"Wait, what's happening? Why do we gotta be quiet?" Banri asked softly.
At that, Taichi pointed once again to Kazunari and Misumi's direction, and Izumi, Tsumugi, and Tsuzuru smiled sweetly at the sight of the two cuddling together without giving any further comments.
Thirty minutes later, Kazunari woke up first and immediately noticed Muku, Banri, and Tsuzuru sitting on the other sofas.
"Good morning, Kazu-kun!" Muku greeted.
"Morning." Tsuzuru and Banri added.
"Mm... Good morning, guys." Kazunari replied sleepily and shyly.
He hoped there wouldn't be anyone by the time he and Misumi woke up, but when he looked over to the other side, he saw almost ten other people there too. Well, he wasn't sure, but that was his estimation.
"Sumi~. Wake up..." Kazunari gently shook Misumi's shoulder until he woke up too.
"Hmm... Good morning, Kazu~." he greeted with a lazy, but sweet smile. Seeing that up close made Kazunari blank out for a while and his cheeks flushed slightly as he suddenly remembered what Misumi told him last night.
"G-Good morning..." he replied with a dumbfounded expression.
Muku noticed the way the two of them were staring at each other, and started speculating and fantasizing things about them, all thanks to the amount of shoujo manga he's read. As much as he wanted to get his thoughts out, he didn't want to make them feel uncomfortable, therefore deciding to go back to reading his manga.
"W-we should go change clothes." Kazunari said to Misumi.
"Yep! Let's go!" he replied.
"Did you sleep well?" Misumi asked while they walked to their rooms.
"Yeah, surprisingly."
"That's good! So do you also feel better now?"
"Mm... I think so." Kazunari replied somewhat awkwardly. "Hey, um, wanna...go have lunch somewhere later? Like, just the two of us?" he then asked shyly while a small blush formed on his face.
At first, Misumi seemed genuinely shocked to hear the offer since it may have very well been Kazunari asking him out on a date.
"Sure! I'd love to!" Misumi replied with one of his biggest smiles, which caused the other's heart to skip a beat.
"G-great! Do you wanna walk around the mall one stop over and pick a restaurant there?"
"Huh? You don't have a place in mind today?"
"Well, I-I wanted to see what you would pick."
"Hmm...I'm ok with wherever Kazu decides! I'm sure there's someplace you want to try, so we can go wherever that is!"
Kazunari was stunned for a few seconds and didn't know what to make of Misumi's words, but he was almost sure that it was him being considerate in his own way.
"Alright. I hope you'll like it then! Let's meet in the lounge at 11:30?"
"Ok~! See you later!" Misumi replied as they arrived at the second floor.
"Yeah! See you!" Kazunari said as they both entered their own rooms.
Once he shut his door completely, Kazunari slid down the door and curled into a ball on the floor.
"Crap, crap, crap! I basically asked Sumi out on a date! ..And it doesn't help that he's so cute every time he talks or even looks at me..!" he thought to himself in a panic while all the redness he held in for the past few minutes began to show all over his face, neck, and hands.
At 11:00, Kazunari was already on his way downstairs, a bit too excited, and a little bit anxious, to go out with Misumi. The people who were there noticed that he wore a different outfit from usual and asked what was up.
"Yo, Kazunari. Where are you going?" Banri asked as he looked up from his phone.
"Sumi and I made plans to go out for lunch today."
"And you didn't invite the rest of Summer Troupe..." Yuki commented dryly.
"I-it was on a whim! I promise to take all of you next time!"
"S-so, today is like a date for you two..?" Muku asked with surprise in his expression. At this, Kazunari immediately became flustered and his face gradually turned bright red.
"N-no! Of c-course not! We're just gonna hang out like usual today..!"
"Sure you are..." Yuki said sarcastically.
"If that's the case, I may as well put some light makeup on you. Come on, you're coming with me." Azami said as he got up and motioned Kazunari to follow him to his and Sakyo's room.
"Wait, Azamin, it's ok, I don't need it! I'm legit just gonna have lunch with Sumi and nothing more!"
"Yeah, then you two are gonna wander around, and maybe even go triangle hunting together until dinner rolls around." Banri teased.
"Not you too, Setzer...."
"Come on, let's go already." Azami commanded as he grabbed Kazunari's arm and started dragging him.
"Heh. This looks like it'll be fun." Banri muttered. "Azami! I'll go watch you two, if you don't mind!"
"Me too." Yuki joined in.
"I-I'll go too!" Muku said.
When they arrived at the room, Azami immediately sat Kazunari in front of his vanity, while the other three sat on the rug. Banri and Yuki got their phones out to get ready to film and take pictures of Azami messing with Kazunari's face.
After applying foundation on Kazunari's face, Azami told him to close his eyes, and after seeing him smirk mischievously, the three knew the fun was about to start. Azami first started with his cheeks then made his way to his eyes, all the while trying not to laugh or snicker out loud.
Banri and Yuki weren't doing any better, since they had been holding in their laughter almost the whole time, and Muku was just smiling in enjoyment and amusement.
"Ok. Open your eyes." Azami said a few minutes later in as normal of a tone as he could.
Kazunari opened his eyes to see himself pale as a sheet with the brightest colors Azami had, most of them being different shades of red and bright shades of blue, slathered all over his features.
"Azamin!!! What is this?!" Kazunari exclaimed.
The four of them could no longer bear it, and so they laughed as loud as they could. Thankfully, Sakyo and the other adults were out for work, so they wouldn't get into trouble by anyone.
"Hello~! Is Kazu here?" Misumi suddenly came in and asked while almost immediately making eye contact with Kazunari.
"Waah! Don't look at me, Sumi!" Kazunari yelped as he rushed over to the nearest corner and squatted down while hiding his face in his arms.
Of course, Misumi didn't listen, and instead, quietly, but swiftly, approached Kazunari and looked at him with curiosity and enthusiasm written all over his face.
"Ahaha! I think you look cute, though!" Misumi laughed.
"Come on, Sumi. Don't lie to me..." Kazunari replied as he felt his soul leave his body.
"But I mean it! Kazu always looks cute!"
Kazunari felt his heart almost come to a stop and he started to blush massively, but thankfully, the makeup was concealing most of it. During his little crisis though, Banri and Yuki started snickering amongst themselves, while Muku also blushed pretty hard, most probably thinking up a few fantasies about the two of them.
"Bahaha! At least someone thinks ya look cute like that!" Banri teased.
"Uwaah..! This is like a scene straight out of a shoujo manga...!" Muku exclaimed in awe.
"Great, now you're both giving him weird thoughts..." Yuki commented with a sigh.
"Anyway! Azamin, please fix this already!" Kazunari begged like a puppy.
"Pfft! Yeah, yeah, I'm on it."
Five minutes later, Azami finished removing all the makeup and reapplied some on, properly this time.
"Ok, now you're actually ready for your lunch date." Azami teased as he started to clean his makeup brushes.
"Azamiiiin! I told you it's not-" Kazunari whined, but was cut off by Misumi.
"Wah! We're going on a date, Kazu?! Yay! I'm even more excited now!" he exclaimed blissfully.
Kazunari's whole self froze and all thoughts in his head screeched to a halt after hearing Misumi's words, and the other four in the room, except Muku, who started to blush and gape in awe, all let out muffled "Pfft!"s to keep themselves from both laughing and cringing at the same time.
"Guess it's gonna be a real date now, huh, Kazunari?" Banri teased further.
"A-anyway, the makeup looks bomb, as usual, Azamin! Thanks, and we'll g-get going now!" Kazunari stuttered awkwardly as he grabbed Misumi by the wrist and dragged him out of the room.
"Where are we going today, Kazu?" Misumi asked excitedly while still being dragged in the by Kazunari.
"..."
"Kazu?" his voice gradually changed into one of worry.
"I-It's a surprise..!" Kazunari replied with a forced smile.
Misumi could clearly see that Kazunari didn't feel happy at all after what happened with the others, and he gradually started to think it was partially his fault too.
"Hey, Kazu.." Misumi called out with an unusually sad expression and tone.
"Yeah, Sumi?"
"Did I...say something weird earlier?"
"Huh? N-no, you didn't. Why?"
"You look sad right now..."
"Well...they were kinda pushing the joke a bit there, I guess." Kazunari forced out a smile once more.
"But it's not like you to feel this bad about it.."
"Haha.. Yeah, you're right..."
Silence filled the air between them for the next minute or so, until Misumi spoke up again.
"Is it because I said that we're going on a date...?"
"..."
"..."
"Hey, Sumi. I've been wondering.." Kazunari said with a sad smile.
"Hm?"
"What exactly did you mean when you said "I like you more than triangles."?"
"...!"
"..."
".......That means....I really like Kazu....I love Kazu! More than anyone and anything!" Misumi exclaimed as tears slowly formed in the corners of his eyes.
Kazunari could no longer hold in his tears and anxiety, and immediately turned around to hug the other as tightly as he could. Thrown off guard, Misumi gently hugged back, and started to let his own tears flow out as well.
"Don't cry, Kazu... You'll ruin Azami's makeup.." Misumi lightly teased.
Kazunari couldn't respond with only his hiccups and whimpers escaping his throat at the moment. Misumi gently rubbed Kazunari's back to help him calm down, even though he, himself, was still sniffling from his own tears.
A few minutes later, Kazunari calmed down and slowly stepped away, but Misumi gently grabbed his hand so that he would stay close enough to him.
"......Why me...?" Kazunari muttered while facing the ground.
"Huh..?"
"Why choose me? Why choose someone that people see as a faker over anyone else...?"
"Don't say that about yourself!" Misumi's voice cracked.
"Huh..?" Kazunari's head jolted up in surprise from Misumi's voice crack and saw his eyebrows scrunched together in frustration and sadness as tears slowly began trickling down his cheeks once again.
"The Kazu I know is caring, supportive, funny, and very loyal! Those people are afraid to be with you because they're too insecure of themselves to see how much you're really worth!" Misumi practically shouted while he started to hiccup from his tears and uneven breathing. Thankfully, they hadn't reached the main area of Veludo Way yet, so no one, if not a few people, heard him.
Without thinking, Kazunari immediately hugged Misumi with a gentle, yet firm grip. Misumi let himself bury his face onto Kazunari's shoulder when he felt the other's hand gently holding the back of his head.
"I'm sorry, Sumi.... Please don't cry anymore..." Kazynari whispered gently, but sadly.
"But Kazu-!"
"You've done so much for me, yet here I am hurting you and being ungrateful for having you with me."
"....."
"If it's for you, I'll try to put all my insecurities aside, and face you and myself for who I really am, so please...don't cry over me anymore...." Kazunari tried to assure, but tears began to form once more towards the end.
"You too... Please stop crying.. It's only because I love Kazu so much that I feel this sad." Misumi said with the biggest smile he could put on, despite how terrible his face looked from all the crying.
"Mm. I love Sumi, too, so I'll do my best to-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt Misumi's lips over his, and though he was definitely caught off guard, he did nothing to resist the soft and gentle kiss from Misumi, and slowly closed his eyes and melted into it.
"Ah...! ..Sorry...about that.." Misumi apologized shyly after pulling away.
Kazunari smiled, put one hand around Misumi's waist, and gently lifted his chin with the other to kiss him again. Misumi almost gasped out of shock, but quickly relaxed and leaned his whole body onto Kazunari, which made him take a small step back out of surprise. When they pulled away, they locked eyes while still in a daze for a few seconds before they came back to their senses and let go of each other.
"I...uh..I like you too, Sumi...." Kazunari confessed shyly, his flirtatious side completely leaving him at that moment.
Misumi beamed before he threw himself back onto Kazunari and replied, "Really?! Ahaha! Kazu likes meeee~!"
"Yes, yes, I do~. Come on, let's go get lunch now!"
"Ok!" Misumi replied as he let go of Kazunari but still held onto his hand as they started walking again.