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Tensai-kun pixiv id 1509192
Aichi stared down at the scrap of paper in his hand.
GSA
st meeting 10-21
op Handsome after closing 9pm
re not alone!
ring coping mechanisms
nd tips for dealing with your feelings
ow to provide support to the friends who need it
He had arrived at Card Capital with the rest of the Miyaji High School Cardfight Club, ready to get in some much-needed practice before their final High School Koshien. He had put his bag down and spotted a half sheet of typed paper, a third of it torn off and missing, under his chair leg. It looked like it was some sort of club announcement.
His attention was drawn to a commotion at the front door, as Miwa and Misaki came in together, hand-in-hand, and a chorus of welcoming shouts went up from the kids playing cards. The two went into the back to stow their belongings and put on aprons, ready to relieve Shin at the counter now that their university classes were over for the day.
Aichi shoved the paper into his blazer pocket and forgot about it, rising to greet his friends.
He remembered it again that night, as he lay in bed, unable to sleep. Miwa had caught him up on his news of Kai, not that there was much of it. He had moved to France just a few short months ago, and Aichi missed him keenly.
He had been in love with the older boy for most of his life, and after he had rescued Kai from the Reverse, and Kai had rescued him from the moon, his feelings only sharpened. The time for declaring himself would have been then, right after all that talk of mates, but Kai hadn’t said anything, and Aichi hadn’t either. He had been desperately busy trying to get his life back on the rails; copious amounts missed schoolwork, and a month-sized hole in his memories that he had to hide from friends and family who hadn’t realized he was missing. When he finally came up for air, the moment had passed. Kai was being heavily scouted, graduating from high school, and making plans for his future, and Aichi rarely even saw him.
Resigned, he threw himself into his own final year of high school, vowing to lead the Cardfight Club to one last Koshien victory.
Now, with nothing to focus on in the midnight hour but his regret at not being more open while he had the chance, Aichi remembered the torn flyer in his pocket. If the meeting was at Card Shop Handsome, it probably had something to do with Vanguard, and maybe he would go. Staying overwhelmingly busy was one way to keep the melancholy at bay. It was one thing he had perfected.
Aichi slid out of bed, retrieving the paper and his phone. He did a search on GSA, and his heart beat double-time.
GSA
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
trans and queer youth uniting for racial and gender justice
Aichi blinked.
It… was a network of high school clubs for gay kids and their straight allies. He was pretty sure there wasn’t anything like that at Miyagi. But maybe that’s why they were having their first meeting at the card shop; maybe it was for kids from all the area high schools. Or maybe it was to add a layer of anonymity for kids who weren’t comfortable being outed at school. That’s genius.
Aichi picked up the torn paper and peered at it, trying to guess what the missing parts were.
First meeting 10-21
Card Shop Handsome after closing 9pm
You are not alone!
Sharing coping mechanisms
Advice and tips for dealing with your feelings
Learn how to provide support to your friends
His certainty grew. True, there were words missing, but it had to be something like that. His hands trembled, and he wondered if he’d have the courage to go to the meeting in just two days. If only the club had started up last year, maybe he would have known how to handle his hopeless crush before the object of his affections had absconded to France with his heart.
Aichi felt a sudden surge of determination and set a reminder in his phone. He was going.
When Friday rolled around, Aichi was an anxious wreck. He dropped a beaker in the chem lab and had to stay after class to clean up the glass shards. He read the wrong page aloud when it was his turn in English class, and got a rare reprimand. He spent his lunch period in the bathroom with a nervous stomach.
After school, it was more of the same. He turned the oven on to 450 degrees instead of 350 and didn’t realize his mistake until the smoking casserole his mother had left was reduced to ashes and the smoke alarm was blaring. He aired out the house and broke into his savings to buy dinner, walking to the fried chicken joint two blocks over.
When his mother came home from work, she was understanding, and more concerned about his mental state than the food. Emi was overjoyed at his mishap; she detested casseroles.
Aichi finished his homework, and trailed over to Card Capital, too keyed up to stay home. He was surprised to see Misaki working.
“Isn’t it Miwa’s night tonight?” Aichi asked, sliding into a seat at a fight table.
“He had something else to do, so we traded.”
Aichi, intrigued by her slightly guilty look, would have pressed for details, but a middle school kid asked him for a fight, and the moment passed.
The evening passed in a pleasant haze of cardfighting. Aichi busied his mind with giving pointers to budding players, one of his favorite things to do. He was well known in the shop, and there was always a knot of eager players around his table.
Aichi left at 8:30, taking the train to Card Shop Handsome, and walking up and down the block across the street until he saw a trail of kids leaving the shop. He took a few deep breaths, and strode to the door, getting to it just as Gouki Daimonji was about to lock it from inside.
The shop owner’s eyes widened, and he swept the door open, gesturing Aichi inside.
“Aichi Sendou! Good to see you. It’s been too long. What are you doing here so late?”
Aichi could hear a low buzz of conversation from the private room at the back of the shop, and he twisted his hands nervously. Card Shop Handsome was large, situated on a busy corner, and they often rented out their extra room for pirate-themed birthday parties and larger tournaments.
“Hi, Gouki!” he said brightly. “I… uh… is there a meeting here tonight?” his voice came out as a squeak, and his blush ignited.
Gouki’s eyebrows rose, half disappearing under his bandana. “There is… but…” He cleared his throat, clearly searching for the right words. “It’s for… ah… a very certain type of people. I’m not sure if… ah… you…”
Gouki was as red as Aichi, and he trailed off uncertainly. “Maybe you should just go on back and let him explain. Good to see you, at any rate.” He ducked his head, and strode off to the utility closet, pulling out a broom, and industriously sweeping the already clean floor.
Aichi walked slowly toward the party room, full of trepidation. He knocked lightly on the open doorframe, cutting off whoever was speaking. He saw a few kids whose faces he didn’t recognize turn toward the door.
“Okay, sounds like we have a late addition. Go ahead and fill out your contact forms, and I’ll be right back.”
Aichi was frozen in place, just now realizing that Miwa was the speaker, and then there he was, his affable grin in place, as he filled the doorframe. Aichi met his eyes in shock, then looked past his shoulder to glimpse Morikawa and Izaki standing up and craning their necks, eyes widening comically as they spotted Aichi.
Miwa took a step forward, crowding into Aichi as he quickly shut the wooden door, cutting him off from further discoveries.
Aichi’s saucer-wide blue eyes flew to Miwa’s gray ones.
“Hey, Aichi! What are you doing here?” the blond asked with false cheer.
“I… uh… came for the meeting?” It came out as a question, and Aichi winced.
“How do you know about that?” Miwa looked worried, sliding his eyes away to the right. “It’s kind of… almost... by invitation only.”
“Oh. Sorry. I found a flyer. Half of one, anyway. What are you doing here?” Aichi knew Misaki and Miwa had been dating since they graduated high school, and was utterly perplexed as to why he’d be at a GSA meeting. Oh. Well, he must be one of the straight allies. Miwa’s always been a cool guy like that.
“Well, I’m kind of the founder? Me and Tetsu, actually.”
“I see…” Aichi said faintly, although he clearly didn’t.
“You said you found a flyer? Could I see it?”
Aichi dug around in his pocket, pulling out the scrap of paper that he had folded into a crooked one-winged origami swan. “Yeah, sure. It was under a chair leg at Card Capital.”
Miwa painstakingly unfolded it and smoothed it out as best he could. The frown lines between his eyes smoothed out and he let out a disbelieving chuckle. “Aichi…” he started carefully, “this isn’t something for you.”
Aichi’s determination roared to life, burning through his embarrassment and unease. “Yes, it is!” He said defiantly. “I’ve been in love with him for half my life now, and I’m… I’m… gay.” He ended on a whisper, deflating.
Miwa’s eyes softened, and he put a reassuring hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. “What exactly do you think this is?”
“I… I looked it up. The Gay-Straight Alliance?”
“Um… no. The paper's been torn, see? We’re the VanGuard Support Alliance. VGSA. It’s our second year, and we’re inducting new members tonight.”
Aichi turned white and swayed. Miwa glanced around, thankfully noting that Gouki had disappeared, and he led Aichi to the nearest fight table, pulling out a chair for him, then sitting across from him. He filled the silence with his explanation, giving the stricken boy time to recover.
“It’s hard, being friends with you guys, you know? I mean you, and Kai, and Ren. The people who are so good at Vanguard that it changes the world... changes reality. Literally. It’s hard knowing that the next threat to humanity could be right around the corner, and although we’re close to the epicenter, we can’t do anything about it. We try our best. Often it's not enough. While you were fighting Kai on the roof of the Tatsunagi building, I had a pretty deep conversation with Tetsu about it. I felt like I had failed Kai, he felt like he had failed Ren with the whole PSYqualia thing… we just kind of bonded, you know?”
Aichi had gotten his color back, and his eyes had risen to meet Miwa’s. He wasn’t over his embarrassment yet, but he was caught by what Miwa was saying.
“And then, after the whole thing with you disappearing… It just seemed like there would be no end to it. To the cycles of trouble and destruction. So Tetsu and I decided to start a little underground support group. For those of us who feel like support characters in your stories. And for the next generation of ‘supporters’. We tell our own stories, we talk about our feelings, and we try to come up with strategies to be better friends to you guys. Cuz, you know… communication is key!”
Miwa laughed nervously, then buried his face in his hands. “Oh my god, this is so embarrassing.”
Aichi laughed along with him. “You think this is embarrassing. I… I just came out to you!”
It was his turn to bury his face in his hands and groan.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Miwa’s voice was oh, so gentle. “It’s not like it was a surprise, Aichi. Just a confirmation, if anything. I just wish you would have said something to him.”
“So do I,” Aichi said mournfully. He stood abruptly, pasting a smile on his face. “Well, you need to get back to your meeting. And I need to get home. I’m… really sorry we’ve made life hard for you guys.”
Miwa walked him to the front door. “Hey. None of us would have changed a thing. I know. We’ve talked about it. A lot."
Aichi laughed, touched beyond measure. His usual glow was back. “Oh. One more thing. Why VGSA? Why not just VSA? It would have saved me the misunderstanding.”
“Ah. There’s already a local VSA. Vietnamese Student Association. And do me a favor, and keep this a secret. I know you’re cool about it, but I’m not sure everybody else would be.”
“Of course, Miwa. Good night.”
The door closed behind him, and he strode back to the station, immersed in his cringe and his thoughts. It never occurred to him that he hadn’t sworn Miwa to secrecy about his own confession until much later. Two months later, to be exact.
Kai had come home for the European Circuit winter break and had asked Aichi if he could walk him home from the Card Capital Christmas party.
Aichi was cleanly split between terror and elation, and he almost fell over the snow-shrouded bike rack as soon as they left the building. Kai made an exasperated noise, and took his gloved hand in his own, firmly, muttering, “Here. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
They walked that way for a block, hand in hand, Aichi bemused and wondering exactly what this was.
Kai finally broke the silence. “I heard you started a new high school club. I’m surprised you had the time.”
Aichi stared straight ahead, turning crimson. “Yes. There seemed to be a need for a local GSA, and no one else was going to do it, so… I did. There's a lot of interest. Even though I’m graduating soon, I think it will carry on. If something is important enough to do, you should just do it.” He didn’t elaborate further. Kai obviously knows what the club is, if he’s heard about me starting it. If he has any questions, he can ask them.
“Mm. Good advice.”
They walked on, snow falling softly around them, an occasional car slushing past.
Kai stopped him next to a decorated Christmas tree in front of a gift store long closed for the night and turned to face him. He took a step closer, and Aichi’s breath hitched, twinkle lights blurring in the background. Kai spoke quietly and intently, green eyes blazing. “Aichi. I like you, too. I always have.”
He searched the younger boy's face and must have found what he was looking for, as his face relaxed into a near-smile.
Aichi’s eyes widened as Kai’s head lowered, and his lips hovered inches above his own, giving him a choice.
He took it, sliding his gloved hand out of Kai’s and up around his neck. Aichi leaned up and kissed him softly, then more deeply as Kai shivered and wrapped both arms around him.
When they parted for breath, Aichi asked wonderingly, “Kai-kun. You said you like me, too. How did you know?”
Kai just gazed at him steadily, and Aichi’s romance-hazed brain finally made the connection. “Miwa told you!” he gasped, rearing back in outrage.
“Do you really mind?” Kai asked gently, and Aichi sighed in happy resignation, going to his tiptoes to kiss him again.
Support group indeed, he thought, bemused, before all other thoughts fled into the night.