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Rain was seriously the worst. It messed up the whole day. Rain in the morning meant no morning run, it meant lugging an umbrella. Rain in the afternoon meant no soccer practice and lead to rainy evenings, during which Daisuke was brimming with energy he couldn't work off. He longed for a run. Briefly, he considered screwing the rain and running anyways--but he couldn't risk catching a cold (Kou would never let him hear the end of it), not to mention it was late. Though the murderer had been caught, he would feel uneasy about going out in the dark rain.
Still, Daisuke restlessly kicks his blanket off and stands up. He can't possibly sleep with this much energy buzzing inside him. Maybe a quick jog to the kitchen will help. Plus a warm drink. As he waited for the water in the kettle to boil, he bounced from foot to foot. Daisuke wasn't usually so keyed up, but something about this weather really stirred him up. The sound of the living room television turning on stopped his movement. Daisuke frowned, that was odd. It was all static. He was hit with a stray thought. He remembered his classmates talking about a midnight channel. Apparently if you looked into a TV on a rainy midnight, your soulmate would appear. A quick glance at the clock told Daisuke it was indeed midnight. The image was blurry, distorted, static-y. Curious, he stepped closer to try to get a better view. Up close, he could make out some details and see the makings of a silhouette. Daisuke would recognize that hairstyle, that posture anywhere.
His soulmate... it was Kou!
It was blessedly rain free the following morning, though it looked ready to start up again at a moment's notice, and Daisuke ran the whole way to school. When he ran, his mind went blank. It was a welcome distraction from the thoughts about the midnight channel. He couldn't run forever, though. All too soon, Daisuke was sitting in his desk, his mind wandering away from the lesson and getting lost in his thoughts. It seemed unfair. He was finally getting over his fear of women (thanks to none other than Kou's help... well and Yu's), getting ready to re-enter the dating world. The idea of dating Kou was as foreign as the idea of a magic TV channel dictating soulmates! What did it even mean to have a soulmate?
Class ended and Daisuke was jolted from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Kou looking at him with a concerned expression. "Dude, you look like you've seen a ghost!" Daisuke jumped up, accidentally kneeing his desk in the process. He cursed under his breath and Kou took a step back, "Seriously man, what's up?"
Daisuke hated lying, not to mention he was awful at it. And even if he did tell a decent lie, Kou could see through him in a heartbeat. "I'm going for a run," he blurted out in response.
"Huh? Whaddaya mean? It's pouring out, and when have you been known to skip lunch?" Kou took the chair from the desk in front of Daisuke's and pulled it up so he could sit across from Daisuke. He then took out his lunch and leveled a strange look at Daisuke, "You gonna sit or what?"
Daisuke ungracefully sat back down at his desk. He glanced out the window to confirm what Kou said was true, the rain couldn't hold off forever. Soccer practice would be canceled again. He frowned at the thought and went to retrieve his lunch. "Shit," he mumbled, searching his bag for something that wasn't there. All he could find were his chopsticks.
"Forget your lunch?" Kou cut in, looking amused. He pushed his lunch to the middle of his desk, "Here. Seriously, what would you do without me?" he teased. Daisuke's face grew uncomfortably warm as he muttered his thanks. "Man, you're completely out of it today," Kou looked concerned again. "Is something wrong?"
Daisuke shook his head, "It's nothing." Kou didn't look convinced, but neither did he press it. Daisuke was grateful for his friend's understanding and they ate lunch in silence.
For the next couple days it didn't rain and Daisuke threw himself into soccer. It was easy enough to avoid Kou, though he began to wonder why he felt it so necessary. At first, he just wanted time to think, to consider what it meant for Kou to be his soulmate. It felt so natural to be with Kou. Kou was his best friend, after all. Daisuke knew he would happily stay by Kou's side for as long as he could. Is that what being soulmates meant?
Was that love?
Daisuke knew he loved Kou, and that Kou loved him. It'd be impossible to be friends for so long without loving one another. But was he in love? Daisuke didn't know a thing about what it meant to be in love. His heart didn't race when he saw Kou, when they touched his heart didn't skip any beats, nor did butterflies flutter about his stomach when they spoke. Everything he knew about love from movies or TV was nothing like what he felt for Kou.
Soulmates or not, would anything really change between them? Daisuke felt foolish for all this running around. Come Monday, Daisuke promised himself he would talk to Kou and clear the air.
It seemed Kou had the same idea. Monday afternoon he all but demanded the two of them have lunch. Even if he wanted to, Daisuke couldn't have refused. They sat with their backs against the fence. Daisuke was working up the courage to speak, but Kou broke the silence first. "What's up with you, man? Why've you been avoiding me? Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it. Just, enough with this avoidance crap!"
Daisuke opened his mouth to explain, ready to lay it out in an eloquent and calm way. Instead, he ended up loudly saying, "I think you're my soulmate!" Kou looked taken aback by the proclamation and Daisuke hastened to clarify, "That is, I saw you. On the midnight channel thing..." Kou started laughing and Daisuke felt a mixture of embarrassed and angry. "What's so funny!?"
"Dude! It was that Shirogane kid."
"Huh!?"
"Haven't you been paying any attention? Everyone's talking about Shirogane being on the midnight channel! It couldn't have been me."
Daisuke grew even more embarrassed, his face redder than any apple. "Your hair looks the same!" he tried to defend himself. "You're sayin' the midnight channel has nothin' to do with soulmates?"
Kou was still laughing lightly, "I doubt it! Is that what this whole thing was about?" Daisuke looked away, feeling more foolish than ever. "I can't believe you thought I was your soulmate," Kou laughed again.
"Would it be so bad...?" Daisuke mumbled under his breath.
"Hm? What was that?"
"Would it be so bad?!" he lashed out. Kou looked surprised at the outburst. Daisuke exhaled loudly. "I don't know shit about love, man. But I've been thinkin' 'bout it lots lately. There's no one I'd rather figure it out with than you!"
"Daisuke..." Kou blushed at the confession. And then a smirk crawled across his face, "Now look who's saying mushy stuff!"
"Ass," Daisuke unceremoniously shoved Kou.
Kou chuckled before grabbing Daisuke's hand, interlocking their fingers. "My family won't approve, you know... I have... responsibilities."
Daisuke squeezed Kou's hand more tightly. "I know." He should have figured this would be Kou's answer.
"So... this won't be easy." Daisuke's head shot up as he looked to Kou in confusion. "Dating. It won't be easy. But, my family didn't approve of basketball either. If there's anything I like more than polishing balls, it's gotta be you."
"Sap..." Daisuke wondered if it were possible for his face to be permanently red as Kou smiled widely at him.
"There's lots we need to discuss..."
Kou and Daisuke spent the rest of lunch speaking quietly on the roof.