Chapter Text
"hey, akito.." she popped her head into the room, taking a step in when the coast was clear, ignoring the very annoyed grumbling of the boy she was looking for. "let's go to phoenix wonderland."
he didn't even look up at her, just squinting at his phone with a huff. "why would i go with you?"
"because you love your dear older sister and wanna hang out with her?" she shrugged, leaning against the doorframe, ignoring the scoff in his voice.
"ena. why would i go with you."
she sighed, looking away at nothing with a frown. "..to take pictures of me and mizuki for me."
"no." now he looked up at her, clearly offended that she would even think of asking him to be around mizuki.
"that's why i didn't wanna tell you they'd be there," she groaned, stepping into the room and crossing her arms. "just for a little bit, okay? three hours max!"
"three-?!" he stared at her, grimacing as she went on about he should go. normally he would give in and go, but.. well, it wasn't that he didn't like mizuki, but.. they were annoying was all. "i don't wanna go take pictures of you and your weird partner for three hours."
"akito, just-" she grabbed his arm, and he grabbed onto the matress, glaring at her as she exhaled, grabbing onto his hoodie and pulling. "you're acting like a child! it's just for a little bit!"
"you can't make me." and he childishly hung on, trying to ignore her tugging. "no matter what you say, i'll never go."
"they have those new fluffy pancakes there, ill buy you some."
"..."
he ended up going.
"lil brosef!"
he regretted going.
"man, you look good! like you haven't slept for forty hours, but good!" they grinned, lightly punching his arm, laughing to themself. "how's an and her girlfriend doing? i haven't seen them since the school festival!"
"that's because you never go to school." he huffed, ignoring their whining and holding up the his phone, their eyes widening when he pointed it at them. "say cheese."
"hey-!" they yelped, flinching when the camera flashed, glaring at him as he looked at the picture. "rude! i wasn't prepared!"
"you look funny." he muttered, slipping his phone away when they tried to steal it, ena pulling them off of him. "can i have pancakes now?"
"not yet! we need to go to a few places first!" she stated, grabbing mizuki's hand and pulling them along, ignoring his groaning as he followed.
it wasn't that bad, if he was being honest. it wasn't super hot outside, it wasn't super busy, and it was still early, meaning he'd be able to escape and get home before it got dark. the worst part was following these two love-struck fools around and taking pictures of them. for references, ena had explained. which made sense. he still didn't wanna do it though.
"okay, next is the carousel!" mizuki grinned, ena yelping about how that wasn't in the plan before being dragged off, leaving akito behind to stare at them scramble into line. he sighed, just moving to a nearby bench, relaxing for probably the first time since he had gotten there and pulling his phone out to check the photos. he wasn't nearly as artistic as his sister, but he could at least differentiate a bad photo from a good one.
both of them standing in line, posing with a mascot, mizuki trying to climb a tree to get a little kid's balloon and ena yelling at them, security dragging them out of the tree.. he could keep those last ones, they were funny.
maybe if.. he had brought someone along, it wouldn't be as bad as it was. someone from his group.. 's not like him and kohane really had anything in common apart from music, so no for her, which automatically meant no for an.. maybe toya..? he'd probably like it here, though he doubted he could see him smile or anything on a ride.
"no, two guys at a theme park together, that's.." he grumbled, scratching the back of his neck, shaking his head with a sigh. he'd probably die if he invited toya out like that, much less alone.. he'd doubt toya would get the wrong idea, but.. wait, what was the wrong idea?
"this is stupid." he sighed, tilting his head back and closing his eyes, trying to ignore whatever thoughts were trying to get into his head. toya would probably be upset at him for thinking like that anyways. he could practically hear him nagging at him.. akito, akito, akito..
"..to. akito." his eyes widened, the two-toned boy of his thoughts suddenly hovering over him, making him yelp, leaning forward quickly and nearly falling off the bench as he turned. "oh, you heard me."
"toya-?! what're you-" this was embarrassing, this was a nightmare, of course he'd show up while thinking about something as stupid as going on a date, he wanted to crawl under a rock and die. "why are you here?!"
"oh, i'm with.." he looked beside him, before stopping, turning around, clearly looking for someone who wasn't there. "she ran off."
he stopped, tilting his head curiously when the other boy frowned a little, feeling a pang of something in his chest. ""she"?"
"yes, a.. friend. she must have seen something interesting." he nodded to himself, before looking back down at him. "you?"
he stopped for a second, before shaking his head, sighing. "with my sister and her partner, they wanted me to take pictures of them for art references." he explained, toya nodding, though he couldn't ignore the way he had said it.. friend.. as if he was lying through his teeth. he didn't like it. "so, a friend i haven't heard about? what's she like?"
he looked surprised akito was asking in the first place, thinking for a second before nodding to himself. "she's very sweet. a really lively person who's good at cheering people up."
"okay.." he nodded, biting his lip and looking away, inhaling slowly. he didn't like that.. i mean, he knew toya was more quiet, he didn't have that many friends apart from the close ones, so a sudden, mysterious girl he was talking about..? why hadn't he heard of her before? "is she like, a mysterious cousin you've never told me about?"
"oh- she's actually-" he began, before being cut off, a short blonde nearly tackling him over the bench, akito yelping and jumping up as she laughed, the two-toned boy seemingly unfazed. "saki, that was dangerous.."
"sorry, but you looked easy to scare!" she smiled brightly, letting go of him, but still standing close, the taller boy pointing down at her, then to akito.
"saki, this is my friend akito." he stated, said boy slowly waving, unsure how to feel about this girl who had popped up out of nowhere. she was toya's.. friend, but- he had been cut off telling him who she was, so..
"i'm saki tenma! it's nice to meet you, friend of toya's!" she smiled, and he watched her wrap her arms around toya's arm, trying to tug him, and he felt that weird pang in his chest again. "i saw a stand full of really cute souvenirs, let's go look!"
"oh, okay." he nodded, glancing at akito, saki turning to look at both of them. "are you coming?"
"umm.." he looked down at his phone, then at the carousel, barely spotting mizuki and ena on it, laughing together about something he wouldn't hear about, then back to the two with him. "..yeah, okay. i'll go."
"new member! let's go!" she cheered, starting to drag toya along, akito fallowing behind, squinting at her. he wasn't sure what it was, but something seemed familiar about her.. it was annoying, that was all he knew. and.. did she say her name was tenma..? where had he heard that name before..? "oh, right, wonderlands x showtime is performing tonight, we need to go see!"
"is that why you invited me?" toya looked at her, and she nodded quickly, letting go of his arm to run ahead to the stand, and he sighed, glancing over at akito, eyes widening just slightly. "akito?"
"huh?" he stopped, blinking a few times before turning to him, confused by the sudden concerned tone of voice. "what's up?"
he stared for a moment, humming a little in thought. "you just.. looked mad. are you okay?"
"oh- yeah, just.." how was he supposed to explain that this "friend" of toya's made him feel made because of her clinginess? for all her knew she could've been his childhood friend or something, he didn't want to accuse anything in case he said something wrong. "wonderlands x showtime?"
"that's a stage group here. tsukasa is in it." he explained, stopping when akito choked on air, lightly patting his back as he leaned over, trying to catch his breath. "i thought you knew? he's mentioned it before."
"i don't pay attention when he talks." he grimaced, just thinking of that way too happy, clingy, annoying nerd making his stomach turn.
"he talks about you a lot, i thought you listened.." he muttered, and he looked up at him, confused, waiting on him to continue. "most of the time while you're present. i'm sure he'd be happy if you went."
"do i have to..?" he grumbled, stopping when his phone buzzed, digging it out and frowning at the incoming call from ena. "hold on a second, i need to take this."
"okay, i'll be here." he waved, letting him walk off to a secluded corner, answering the call and moving the phone away from his ear.
"akito!! where are you?!" she yelled, and he sighed, bringing the phone back to his ear as she continued to yell at him.
"i'm fine, i'm with a friend. don't worry." he explained, listening to mizuki laugh at her being worried, before yelping, probably ena smacking them. "how much longer is this gonna take?"
"just an hour longer, now get back here!" she was gritting her teeth, he could practically hear it, sighing. "don't sigh at me!"
"whatever, just.." he trailed off, glancing behind him, where saki was holding up a bracelet she had bought, inhaling and looking away again. "i'm done."
"what."
"i'm done taking photos, i'm gonna hang out with my friend." he finished, cutting the call before she could start yelling, turning to go back to the two, feeling that pang again when he looked at him. "what time does that show start?"
"thirty minutes! i wanna keep looking at souvenirs until then!" saki smiled, and he nodded, trying to force nasty thoughts down as toya nodded in agreement. so they set off again, stopping at stalls so she could buy whatever random cute things she could find. eventually, it was time for the show, so he followed them down some worn, old path, ending at an old stage, people already there.
"you guys find a seat, i'll be back later!" she waved, running off, and he sighed, dropping his shoulders as toya looked for a good spot. finally, she was gone.. the thought made him feel bad, but whatever.
"here, this is a good spot." toya pointed at a bench, and they sat, a few minutes passing before the lights dimmed, and he wondered for a second if he would have to walk home in the dark or not.
the crowd went silent, a spotlight appearing over the center curtain, and he looked up when a voice rang out, feeling some sense of dread when it spoke.
"today's story is the tale of a prince. one proud and strong, who's one goal in life is to make those around him happy." the voice spoke, just as the curtains opened up, and they watched a boy jump out, swinging his sword to face the crowd, laughing loudly.
"akito?" toya muttered, akito leaning against him, nearly falling out of his seat after the boy had run out.
"that's- tsukasa-?" he asked, staring up at his senior, who was giving a speech about love and loyalty and all that. "like- the tsukasa from our school?"
and toya simply nodded, leaving him to stare, utterly confused as the play really began, a suspenseful song playing in the background as some pink haired girl in a dragon costume jumped out, yelling about being evil or something.
he understood plays, sure, they weren't his thing really, but he figured he might learn something. but this? this was.. something else. it was such a small, old looking stage, but all the special effects looked new and helped bring the play to life. the actors sang and danced and performed all at once, even with only the three of them (two?? one was a robot), and the costumes looked so realistic, he was almost shocked he hadn't been there before. almost. after all..
"you can never defeat me, dragon queen! not when i have all my friends with me!" tsukasa- er, the prince of love and loyalty, yelled, pointing to the crowd, children and adults alike all yelling back, and he watched, amazed, as the play ended on its final scene, the prince embracing the dragon, mumbling about how friendship could save her, too. and they sang a song together, before the curtains closed, people standing and cheering. and he sat there, still shocked, in awe of what a play that was. considering it was tsukasa of all people performing. i mean, that romeo play or whatever it was didn't really convince him of anything, but..
"come on, let's go." toya stood up, and he followed, stretching his arms above his head as the two toned boy looked around, nodding. "do you want to go backstage?"
"backstage-?"
he nodded again, glancing at the stage, where different colored lights were shining on the ground, almost as if leading the people out. "tsukasa said it's okay if i wanted to go. you can come too."
"oh, okay." he nodded, following behind, feeling somewhat nervous. he usually just messed with tsukasa at school, how would he feel about him coming to one of his plays..? and- enjoying it.
they walked to the back, toya pulling a curtain back to poke his head through. "hello?"
"oh, toya.." it was the robot, but- a girl this time, nodding to him, before freezing when she saw akito, looking away quickly. "..hello."
"hi." he waved, recognizing her from toya's class. she didn't seem like she wanted to talk though, so he wouldn't bother her, just continued to follow toya to the biggest area, the other cast members getting things ready to shut down. it seemed to be going well, before the dragon girl suddenly stopped, making tsukasa bump into her, a wing nearly poking his eye, yelping.
"emu! why did you-" he stopped when she turned, looking with her, stiffening up suddenly, before yelling when emu ran towards them, smiling brightly.
"it's you two-!! the ones who helped me find tsukasa!" she smiled, grabbing their hands and shaking them almost violently, both of them speechless, just letting her ramble. "i was so shocked to see you both here! oh, tsukasa was even more shocked! when i told him, he was all like "eh???" and got all red and i thought he'd collapse-!"
"emu!!" said boy grabbed her, putting his hand over her mouth before turning and shoving her, clearing his throat before turning back to them. "w-welcome backstage! i hope you two enjoyed the show!"
"it was really good. the ending was really well thought of." toya nodded, tsukasa grinning, nodding in agreement. "i thought the scene with the dragon's song was nice."
"of course! the moment where the dragon learns that she, too, can be happy and be with the people she loves, it is truly a tearful scene!" he clenched his fist at his chest, before sticking it out, pointing at akito. "my bug catching junior! what brings you to our play today!"
he grimaced, suddenly remembering why he always teased him. that stupid stomach feeling was back again, and he cleared his throat, just playing it off with a smile. "it was good. i liked it when the robot wizard nearly crushed the prince."
"wh- the part that almost kills me?!" he yelped, taking a step back, pouting when he laughed, just inhaling and crossing his arms. "w-well, as long as you enjoyed it, then i will accept being hurt anyday!"
he looked at him, smiling, though slightly confused. "seriously? you don't seem like you'd like that."
"well, some sacrifices must be made! like the prince, the star of the story, i must do things i do not like for the people i love!" he huffed, both of them going quiet for a moment while the words sunk in. and then he realized, face going up in flames of a blush, shaking his head quickly. "o-of course, i mean- platonic love, obviously! yes! the prince is a very affectionate person, he loves everyone!"
"ah, okay." he nodded in understanding, very much ignoring his own blush as he looked away at nothing. "so, would you let me put a bug in your hair if i enjoyed it?"
he grimaced, thinking for a second before shaking his head. "even i cannot love someone enough to let them do that to me.." he shuddered, making the other laugh quietly, bringing his hand to cover his mouth, tsukasa clearing his throat, standing up straight and turning to toya, who had been watching them the whole time. "toya! is saki with you?"
he shook his head, akito turning to him, almost having forgotten about her. "she left before the play, i think she went to find her girlfriends." and akito choked on air, being ignored as tsukasa nodded.
"ah, her bandmates! perhaps they are still outside, then! we should find them!" he continued, toya nodding, both of them turning and going, akito staring at them as they went. saki- her.. girlfriends? plural? did he hear that right? but- tsukasa had played it off as her bandmates, but- huh???
and he froze, feeling a presence behind him, grimacing as he turned to see the person he had dreaded seeing most here. "hello, shinonome! we meet again!"
"kamishiro.." he shuddered, his senior smiling down at him, a mischievous look on his face. "what do you want."
"oh, don't be so harsh! i just came to say hi is all! you did come to one of our plays for the first time after all!" he laughed, and he mentally added him to the number one annoying spot in his head. mizuki he could at least tolerate, but this guy? no. "so, what did you think?"
"..it was fine." he grit his teeth, the taller boy nodding, crossing his arms with a hum.
"really? that's good. i was worried during it, i thought tsukasa might trip up for a little bit." he explained, and he tilted his head, slightly confused but not really wanting to question him.
"he seemed fine to me."
"oh, you poor thing. for someone he loves, you think you'd notice." he hummed, laughing when the orange boy flushed, furiously shaking his head and cursing under his breath. "but really, he always gets nervous when someone he likes is in the audience, it's not really a surprise. though it was funny watching him panic back here because of it."
"he was panicking? him?" he squinted, mentally blocking out everything else he was saying. "i get being nervous, but panicking that much?"
the purple boy nodded, looking up at the cieling with a smile. "well, i don't blame him. anybody would be nervous like that when a cute boy is in the audience." he finished, the orange boy just standing there, words processing in his head before the taller one laughed, looking back down and moving past him, patting his shoulder as he went. "till we meet again, shininome."
he turned to stare at him, but he disapeared behind the curtain, leaving him to think about the conversation, just gritting his teeth and turning to leave. forget everything that menace had said, it was probably just to mess with him anyways. just leave the stage, go home, and..
"akito!" he froze, tsukasa, toya, saki, and three other girls he didn't know standing outside, tsukasa waving at him with a grin. "we're gonna go get some food, do you want to join us?"
"no, i'm fine." he sighed, scratching the side of his and walking up to them, that feeling in his stomach and chest happening all at once around him. "i just wanna go home, honestly."
"oh, okay. i'll walk the tenmas home, then." toya nodded, ignoring the whining from saki about not wanting to go home yet.
and he stared, those words thankfully being the one to process, pointing at saki and tsukasa, eyes wide. "wait- you're siblings?"
"you didn't know?" they tilted their heads, and he suddenly realized why he got that nasty feeling around her, grimacing and sighing.
"yeah, sorry, guess it slipped my mind. i'm going home." he waved, turning to leave as soon as possible, just wanting to get home and go to sleep. tsukasa and saki were siblings.. that.. made a bit more sense. tsukasa was a little clingy with toya, too, and had said that he thought of toya as a little brother, so that made him feel better at least..
so he left, trying to ignore the events of today. now he had to go home, and ena probably brought mizuki over, so he wouldn't be able to relax.. but maybe that'd help him keep his mind off everything else. it was too much to process. tsukasa was dumb, kamishiro was even more annoying than mizuki, and toya was.. toya. it was too much for his brain to handle, so he just shut it off, making it home and going straight to his room to flop onto his bed.
and ena never bought him any pancakes.