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"A bazaar?" Yuzuru finishes arranging the files on the desk and places them to his side.
The school is hosting a bazaar for all students, including other people outside of it, to attend. It was Tori's suggestion for Fine to have a stall there, the exact reason was unknown– According to him, it had something to do with Eichi.
Wataru twirls around the room in joy, "Aha! How wonderful~! And what are we to do? Perform?"
Yuzuru raises an eyebrow, "I don't believe you're supposed to have any part in this bazaar, Hibiki."
"Since it's for our unit, they figured it'd be okay. So he's with us, unfortunately.." Tori says, jokingly. "Though…"
"Because of somebody , everyone in the idol course isn't supposed to perform or anything if they're involved. So we can only sell things, I guess." Tori crosses his arms. "Any ideas?"
Yuzuru is lost in his own thoughts, knowing that the more suggestions he gives, it would probably be more work on his part. So he remains silent and lets Wataru go off on his own tangents.
He taps a pen on the desk, taking a few small glances around the room to appear as if he's pondering an idea. He notices a small plushie in the corner, it was a plush he had bought for Tori a few months back. Ever since that day it's been kept here so he could admire it whenever he wanted to.
A doll? . Something green appeared in his mind, something cute, he notes.
"Drawings…" Yuzuru mumbles without much thought. Tori's once confused look (courtesy of Wataru Hibiki) turns into an expression of what was almost relief and interest. He turns to look at his butler with a joyful smile.
"Drawing! Wonderful idea!" He claps his hands, "We can have a little spot for you to draw, Yuzuru! I've heard many things about your art!" Tori's smile twitches.
Yuzuru, in turn, blinks in surprise. He didn't mean for his thoughts to be so loud. It looked as if Tori was looking for a sort of escape and agreed to whatever he said for the sake of it. "Oh, I wasn't being too serious– I don't believe many people would want drawings from me."
He continues, "And even if I did do that, it likely wouldn't be as popular as the things you plan to sell, Young Master." Yuzuru smiles. Though Tori doesn't listen and brushes off his words, "Regardless! It'll probably be popular with the kids~! Do your best, Yuzuru!" Tori snickers and goes back to his conversation with Wataru.
This makes Yuzuru frown. He isn't all that confident in his art skills, drawing isn't even something he does that often. But if Tori wants him to do it, he can't really object– Can he?
The school bell rang, it was the day of the bazaar. All the students rushed out of their classrooms and down to the court to take a look at all the stalls. Colourful banners were strung around and the gates were open for visitors. Everyone was in a great mood, all except one…
Midori watches as his classmates run out the door and through the hallways, leaving him completely alone in his own classroom. He slumps over on his desk and sighs. Everyone was so energised today, it completely worn him out before the day even began.
He places his head on the table and slowly shuts his eyes, at least nobody will be here to bother him–
"Midori!" A voice chirped from his side.
He jumps up in his seat and looks around, to be faced with a very excited Tetora. "What're you doing here?"
Midori frowns and places his head back down on the table, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you and the others be outside having fun and spending your money and stuff-?"
"I asked first!" Tetoru says, "Why are you here all by yourself? Did you sleep well last night?"
"That's not the problem… I'm just not very excited. So I'll stay here until school ends." Midori shuts his eyes but is awoken by a sudden hand on his shoulder.
"C'mon! Morisawa wouldn't be happy if you weren't out there with us!" Tetora shakes him, which annoys the taller boy.
"W-Why would Morisawa be here… He isn't visiting- Is he!?" Midori stutters, still trying to sit still and go to sleep.
He had no time to process things. In a second, Tetora had already dragged him out of the class and they were already on their way to the bazaar downstairs. This sucked, it's not that Midori came flat out broke– He brought extra money knowing what day it was even if he had no full intention to spend it. But he wasn't really hoping to go around in a crowd of schoolmates and strangers looking at things he likely wouldn't want to buy.
Maybe if he looked hard enough, he'd be able to find some cute mascot plushies. Maybe Hajime had a stall set up, he'd expect the guy to be selling cute things.
The two finally reach the bottom and are faced with a large crowd of people– Adults, teens, even young children were looking around the stalls and chatting among themselves. "Well would you look at that!" Tetora lets go of his hand and smiles. Midori is having none of it.
Everything felt so overwhelming, even though he had only been here for a few seconds. He was almost contemplating sneaking away from Tetora when he wasn't looking– But decided against it. Maybe just this once, he'll enjoy himself?
"Hi hi~! Wow, it's rare to see you out, Midori!" A familiar voice that he recognizes as Mitsuru. The small boy shines a bright smile and waves at them.
"Mitsuru!" Tetora returns a smile, "What're those flyers for?"
"These? Oh, Ra*bits has a place riiiiiight over there, I'm helping to promote it!" Mitsuru stands on his toes and points to a blue-striped stall nearby. "It's fairly popular! Hope to see you guys there soon, gotta dash!!" Mitsuru passes the two of them a flyer and runs off to chat with the other visitors.
Tetora and Midori look at each other for a moment. "... Midori, you don't look too good."
"Y-Yeah, why would I be?! You dragged me all the way here!" Midori wipes imaginary sweat off his brow and crosses his arms. Tetora looks like he wants to say something, but shakes his head.
"Hm, nevermind then." He grabs Midori's wrist, "Come on! There's lots of places to see!"
Okay, he completely underestimated himself. What made Midori ever think he'd be able to handle all of this? Maybe it was enjoyable sometimes, he bought a small doll of a 'weird looking creature', in Tetora's words. It was incredibly small in comparison to his partner's almost full bag of goodies. But Midori really likes the doll, so he kept it close to him at all times. He had bought it at the Ra*bits stall when he and Tetora had passed by earlier.
Maybe an hour or two had gone by, the bazaar wasn't any close to ending and the school was still completely full. Midori fumbled around a couple of times while walking. Luckily, being taller than most gave him an advantage of being able to look where he was going.
He notices that one side of the school was less crowded than the rest, and redirects him and Tetora to that area instead. The other happily obliges.
Midori let out a sigh of relief, there were less people. Still somewhat populated but not as much as the other side. Perhaps it was because this area was farther away from the gates and school itself.
This doesn't stop the overly excited Tetora from walking around and taking every chance to look at all the things each stall nearby had on display. Midori wondered how much money this guy even had on him?!
Just as he thought he had a moment of peace, a very loud– No, annoyingly familiar voice came from behind.
"Takamine? Nagumo? Is that really you both?!" Chiaki's eyes sparkle as he wraps the two of them in a tight hug. "And here I thought you both ditched me~!"
"We were never with you to begin with…" Midori coughs out, the hug almost making him stop breathing. Which would be preferable at this point.
"Why are you in such a sour mood, Takamine? Are you not happy to see me.." Chiaki frowns, but doesn't let go from hugging the two. Tetora only chuckles nervously and tries to free himself from his unit mates grasp.
When he finally lets go, the younger boys cough for air and turn around to face Chiaki. "Morisawa-! How are you?" Tetora grins.
"Great! I tried to free up my schedule for today just so I could come here to see how you all are doing! Is Sengoku not with you both?" Chiaki hums, looking around expectantly.
"N-No.. he's probably off with his own friends." Midori responds. "What about Shinkai? Is he not with you? "
Chiaki laughs, "Kanata is busy admiring the stalls and stuff!" He places his hands on his waist, "Hm hm.. But you don't look too good, Midori! Are you sick? Has basketball practice been too hard on you? I hope Akehoshi and Isara are treating you well!"
Midori groans, why is everyone telling him this? It's getting annoying.
"I'm good, thanks. I'd just.. rather be somewhere else." He mumbles quietly.
"Somewhere.. else?" Chiaki ponders for a few seconds. "Aha! I know just the place to cheer you up!" He hits his fist into his palm as if he came up with something brilliant.
"Nagumo! I'll take him somewhere, okay? Stay here, I'll be right back!"
Tetora waves his hand, "All good, I'm actually gonna look around some more. You can look for Shinkai after you're done!"
Midori whines and cries to be let go from Chiaki but the older man doesn't budge. He's getting dragged around from place to place, at a time where he could've been sleeping! Or walking around the school absentmindedly! Maybe he shouldn't have gone to school after all…
He isn't really paying attention to where he's going, Chiaki is probably going to bring him to a stall with cute plushies that he and Tetora already went to and had already fawned over. And Chiaki is going to say something like 'These look like you, Takamine!' Or whatever.
Instead, he's being led to a different path– One that he and Tetora had actually skipped since they went in a completely different direction (thanks to Midori himself). Okay, maybe Midori's initial assumption would be right, just without the 'he and Tetora had already gone to' part.
But Chiaki skipped past all the stalls that had cute keychains, charms, mascot-related things on display.. Where in the world is this guy taking him to?!
Though Midori didn't have the chance to think about it any longer, the two of them stopped in front of a nearly decorated stall with charms shaped like bows and flowers– rimmed gold and blue. It was very distinct, and a recognizable colour scheme.
"Hello~!! Welcome!" Wataru smiles and parts open his coat, a small cut out of a dove popping out. "Be sure to take a good look around!"
Tori peeks out from behind the taller man and waves hello. Chiaki chuckles and greets the two of them while Midori glances around in confusion. "Morisawa, why are we here.."
Chiaki gives a big smile, "Wataru, what did you tell me earlier? Fushimi is doing drawing requests?" He leans down and places his elbow on the table.
The mention of Yuzuru's name perks up, and his eyes glimmer with a sort of shine that he thought he'd never feel again. Yuzuru was doing.. drawing requests? He was almost expecting this to be another one of Chiaki's attempts at being a cool mentor or something, but he hoped and prayed it was true.
Tori puffs out his chest and smiles mischievously, "Yes! Oh Yuzuru, are you free at the moment?"
Yuzuru thanks a visitor for purchasing something and turns to face his Young Master as they walk away. "I am now, is there a problem?"
"Takamine, you like Fushimi's drawings, don't you? When I heard from Wataru that he was doing requests I had to come find you! Aren't I great?" Chiaki grins and looks at his junior. Midori is stunned into silence, he looks at Yuzuru, then back to Chiaki, then back to Yuzuru again.
Yuzuru makes eye contact with Midori, and upon realising what was happening, chuckles happily. "Oh? Takamine wants a drawing done by me, I assume."
He grabs a seat and sits down at the left side of their table, it was fairly empty– Only a few water bottles and papers. "I wasn't expecting anyone other than young children to stop by, certainly a surprise~"
Chiaki gives Midori a pat on the back and heads off, "Enjoy, Takamine! Just give me a call if you need me!" Midori simply nods and looks back at Yuzuru, trying to contain a smile.
Tori brings Wataru down to his height and whispers, "Pfft, Yuzuru is gonna be there for a while. " A few other visitors stop in front of the stall and they both continue their jobs as usual.
Finally left alone, Midori stands in front of Yuzuru trying to decide on what to say. "Ah, I didn't expect Master Artist to actually have drawing requests open for today's bazaar– If I had known, I would've prepared a list in advance."
"It was a… last minute decision, my apologies." Yuzuru chuckles nervously. "Take your time."
Midori sees some other people arrive and decides to move to the side to not get in their way. Yuzuru notices this, and pulls out another stool, placing it beside himself. "Here, sit down."
Midori takes a seat beside him and stares at the blank piece of paper in front of them. "... Hm~ Could you just draw anything you want?" He looks up at his senior with a small smile.
"Ah- What?" Yuzuru blinks.
"I'm okay with anything you draw, I mean- It's from you, after all!" Midori hums happily, "I'll be happy to spend any amount of money for a drawing of yours, Master Artist Fushimi~"
Yuzuru could rarely ever see the 'gloomy and tired Midori' that people always spoke about. To him, Midori was always so excited and happy, though of course, he was aware that the junior had an interest in his art.
His voice sounds so expectant, so full of joy whenever he is around. Yet even he noticed something was off about him today. Perhaps he had a rough day, crowds aren't really his thing (at least, Yuzuru thinks they aren't).
He obliges, and begins drawing on the sheet of paper laid in front of him. Midori tries to look around while waiting, but he can't stop himself from stealing glances at the person drawing next to him. Yuzuru finds it cute, and doesn't mention a thing.
They exchange a few words, Yuzuru doesn't put too much thought into the drawings– One, because Midori would like it no matter what. And two, because he was only really 'okay' at animal-like things anyways. So he made sure to draw things that his junior would like.
"Is this alright?" Yuzuru lifts the paper and shows it to Midori. In an instant, Midori's smile widens and he admires the drawing like an over excited young child. His smile is so bright, nothing like his normally upset frowns.
"Ah! It's so adorable!! I could frame it!" Midori fumbles through his pockets to grab his wallet, "I forgot to ask you how much a drawing is! So if you would…"
Yuzuru laughs softly, "I can make you more drawings, if you wish."
Midori pauses mid sentence, and looks up at the other, mouth slightly agape. "R-Really?!"
Yuzuru nods. He wouldn't admit it, but he'd much rather stay here and draw for Midori than deal with selling their goods alongside the other two. Hopefully they don't mind all that much, the crowd seems to have lessened, after all.
"If you want, I'd be happy to."
"T-Then…"
Midori, again, says how he'd be alright with anything. So Yuzuru nods and begins to doodle all around the few papers he had prepared.
A beeping noise goes off, and Wataru claps his hands. "It appears it's time for our lunch break! Yuzuru?"
He pauses, and looks at Wataru. "I have my lunch here, so I'll be fine. You and the Young Master can go without me." Yuzuru smiles at him. Wataru responds with an 'okay~!' before walking off.
"... It's okay, y'know.. You can go eat with them."
"No no, I'd rather be here. Since our stall is on break, we won't be bothered."
"We?" Midori tilts his head.
"... Assuming you aren't.. leaving? Are you hungry?" Yuzuru says as he takes out a lunch box, "Sorry, I wouldn't want to keep you here if you have other matters."
"Huh?! Oh, no no no! I'm okay! I'm alright.. being here, if it's with you." Midori's ears turn a shade of red and he laughs sheepishly. Yuzuru can't help but be amused.
Yuzuru puts aside his drawing supplies for a while and eats his lunch with Midori by his side. Though Midori did seem to be in a good mood, there was a small shift in his behaviour that Yuzuru couldn't properly place. It bothered him.
"Are you feeling alright, Takamine?" Yuzuru puts his lunch box down and looks at the other.
He wasn't too thrilled to be asked the same thing for the third time today, but he couldn't be too mad seeing that this was Yuzuru. "I'm fine, why?"
"Just.. you look rather pale." Yuzuru places his hand on his chin, "Your expression, while remaining quite the same, also looks a little different somehow. Did anybody bother you today?"
Midori stammers, and can't really give a proper response. Yuzuru furrows his eyebrows in concern.
"Oh, I guess I have been in a sorta bad mood lately. But it's not a big deal–" Midori gets interrupted.
"Did something bad happen?" Yuzuru looks at him, his expression more softer than before.
"... Don't worry, I'm always like this. Just a random wave of sadness, like I said, no big deal." Midori chuckles nervously, but it drops to a frown. "Uhm, I shouldn't be disturbing your lunch time, Master Artist. Don't mind me.. I can pay for the drawings and go-"
Yuzuru places a hand on his shoulder before he tries to get up and leave. The look on his face was full of worry. "You aren't disturbing me. You're more important than my lunch." He coughs. "Go on and tell me what's wrong. No pressure, though."
Midori hesitates, staying silent for a few seconds.
"... I felt lonely." He reveals, looking away from his senior. "The rest of my unit has been busy with their own stuff, and I didn't wanna bother them."
Oh? Yuzuru raises an eyebrow slightly.
"Like.. They're all working really hard and I'm just.. by myself with nothing much to do. And I'm not mad about that since I like having time for myself but it also gets so lonely." Midori fumbles with his hands, "I'm the weakest in Ryuseitai. In my family. I can't make use of anything because I'm so useless too."
Midori lowers his head, so Yuzuru can't tell what expression he had– But he could assume it wasn't anything good.
"And I haven't been motivated at all this week up until now. And it reached a point where I wanted to just disappear and just curl up and die." Midori tries to let out a laugh, but it comes off sounding more forced and choked out than anything. "Sorry, really. I don't deserve to.."
He cuts off mid sentence, leaving Yuzuru a little confused. Until he realises Midori's body is trembling and he rushes to cover his face with his hands. Yuzuru panics a little, though he may be a butler there weren't many chances for him to comfort people in moments like these-!
"Argh… I'm so stupid… Crying in front of the Master Artist…" Midori sniffles. "I'm being such a bother to you, aren't I?" He tries to laugh.
Midori wasn't normally emotional, or overly expressive in general. He was known for being rather blunt and straightforward with the same look on his face. Even that made him look weak, even when he tried to look strong he just ended up looking like some pathetic young child.
He hated confronting any of his feelings, knowing that he would very well break down at any given moment if he did. He wanted all of this to end.
Now here Midori was, a sobbing mess and choking on tears next to the person he admired the most.
Yuzuru looks around, thankfully there weren't many people around. He'd hate for there to be any misunderstanding if someone stumbled upon them. He sighs deeply, placing both of his hands onto Midori's– Which were still on his face.
Yuzuru brings his hands down and places them on his lap. Midori looks confused, immediately looking anywhere but the other's eyes.
"Takamine." Yuzuru frowns, "Why did you keep that all from me?"
"E-Eh..?"
"Apologies, that must've sounded rude." Yuzuru says, "I meant, why did you never tell me in the first place? Or anyone for that matter? I'm sure your friends in Ryuseitai would've understood wholeheartedly."
They wouldn't, as much as they care about me they wouldn't. Midori thinks to himself. He wasn't even fully expecting to tell anyone, let alone Yuzuru. Midori can't bring himself to say anything more.
Instead of a harsh "Learn to get over it"– Midori is shocked when Yuzuru pulls him into a hug. He doesn't know what to do, his mind is going everywhere and he isn't sure what to feel.
"You aren't useless. Nobody thinks you are." Yuzuru comforts him, "You felt lonely, yes?"
"If that's the case, you can stay with me here as long as you want. I'm hoping that would cheer you up in some way. I couldn't imagine letting you go back to your dorm in such a state." He smiles softly at the younger boy. "So try and take some deep breaths, ill be sure to help you in whatever way I can."
Midori sniffs, "Urgh.. 'I'm not useless' huh? No matter how many times I tell myself that I just can't believe it." He grumbles, "Name one good thing about me! Anything!"
It sounded more annoyed, but also like a desperate cry. Wanting to hear any good reason for why he isn't just some pile of trash. Yuzuru ponders in silence. Just as Midori thought he got Yuzuru in a 'See?' moment, the other finally responds.
"You have a powerful singing voice." Yuzuru lets go and averts his gaze, "It's very nice to listen to, a very powerful yet soothing voice that even children love."
Midori tries to say something but is cut off, "You care about your unit more than you realise, you care more about the people in your life more than you realise."
"Your passion and love for cute mascots is adorable. It makes me incredibly happy that even my drawings are enough to make you over the moon. Had it not been for you, I might have given up on it entirely."
"I–"
Yuzuru places a hand on Midori's cheek, it's still a little wet because of his tears, though he didn't mind too much.
"You're cute, you don't seem to know that very much. Do people not tell you that enough?"
"A-Ah, I get comments about my height m-more often.." Midori stutters, freaking out from the palm on his face. Yuzuru brushes his cheek with his thumb, humming softly.
"Well, what I'm trying to say is.." Yuzuru leans in a little closer, "You're spectacular in your own way, even if you consider yourself lesser than the rest. Just because you do not have many accomplishments, does not mean you're useless."
"It's alright to be sad too, don't keep it all inside– It'll only build up and grow worse. I'm here, don't worry." Midori's face turns red, and his eyes look around nervously. "I, for one, think you're lovely."
Upon realising what he had just said, Yuzuru moves his hands away– His cheeks flush. "I didn't mean to let that out, sorry."
"N-No! Don't be!!" Midori laughs lightheartedly, "Uhm, I uh.. think you're lovely too–! No, wait, that sounds weird. Erm.. I mean… Arghh.." He covers his face and starts laughing again.
This makes Yuzuru laugh too, even though all his worries haven't gone away, he was relieved to see the other happy. "I believe I already had that impression, thank you."
Midori smiles, wiping his face. "Ah, what did you say about me earlier–? I'm cute? Ahah, no way you actually think that, Master Artist- Right?"
Yuzuru chuckles nervously, now it was his turn to be flushed. "Well, why wouldn't I think you are? When you look at me with those sparkly eyes, it's hard to think otherwise." The two sit in silence, unsure of what to say next.
Yuzuru grabs his lunch and continues eating, it wouldn't be long until their little break was over. Though he wished he could stay here with Midori forever. He eyes the paper in front of him, it's almost a full page– There's an empty space on the bottom left.
He takes a pen and using his free hand, draws something small with hearts around. Midori blinks and looks at it, "... And that's supposed to be?"
"You." Yuzuru puts his pen down. "It doesn't do you justice, unfortunately. But I hope you like it, consider it a gift from me since you've been accompanying me this whole time."
"I-I.. I love it!!" Midori snatches the paper and admires it, his smile is so wide it looks like it hurts. He kicks his feet and squeals quietly, to be so excited over just a few doodles is…
He's so cute.
"You're amazing, Master Artist! Wah.. I'm going to treasure this forever! Thank you so much!" Midori goes to take his wallet from his pockets, "This is one of the best days of my life~!"
"Hm.. I think you can pay me for the drawing in another way, Takamine." Yuzuru smiles, a very confused Midori looks up and tilts his head. He moves a little closer and moves his hand to Midori's chin.
He places a small kiss on his cheek and pulls away, smiling in satisfaction. "There you go, payment received." Yuzuru teases.
As if his brain had short circuited– Midori starts to stutter and flail his hands around in confusion, visibly flustered. Yuzuru has never seen his junior's face this red before, it reminds him of Hiiro's hair.
"H-Hah.." Midori finally manages something out, "Wh-What?!"
"Apologies, that must've been sudden–" Yuzuru is interrupted.
"C-Can… you do that again?" Midori covers his mouth.
"Do what again?" Yuzuru raises an eyebrow with a smirk.
"The.. uh.." The other is too embarrassed to say anything. He whines, "Master Artist–"
"I'm only joking." Yuzuru leans forward again, placing another kiss on the opposite cheek.
"... Again?" says Midori.
"My, are you going to keep asking me that until I kiss you everywhere?" Yuzuru laughs and gets off from his stool, placing himself on Midori's lap- Much to his surprise.
He kisses Midori on the nose, on the forehead, on his ears even. Midori can't help but smile, he hugs Yuzuru tightly. He feels warm, there's a nice feeling in his chest. He hopes for it to never go away.
Maybe going to the bazaar wasn't a bad idea after all. Maybe he'll stay like this, just for a little longer. Midori sighs all dreamily.
"Hey, can we go over there now? How long will it be until they let go of each other?!" Tori puts down his binoculars with a scoff, Wataru simply hums in response.
"Give them a moment, you can send Fushimi a call in a few minutes." He, too, puts away his binoculars and takes out a sandwich from his lunch box. "Our stall was very packed earlier, it should only be fair that our break lasts a little longer~"
Tori closes his eyes and grumbles in annoyance, "That's not the issue right now.." He turns around and points a finger– "I wanna know why you two are hanging around here as well!!"
Chiaki scratches his neck nervously as Kanata admires the scenery around him, unbothered by the young man's yelling.
"Well, since you guys are spying on Fushimi, we wanted to see how Takamine was doing as well!" Chiaki huffs. "We aren't even bothering you guys, don't get so mad."
"We aren't 'spying' on anyone! We're making sure that uh.. Midori doesn't do anything!" Tori crosses his legs and takes a bite out of a lunch that Anzu had prepared for him.
"Midori couldn't even 'hurt' a fly if he 'wanted' to." Kanata sways left to right, "Just like what Wataru said, we should 'leave' them be~"
Tori rolls his eyes, the 'drawing request' idea that even started this whole thing was his own fault. So there wasn't anyone to blame for it. He lets it go, for now.
"Hm.. I don't know what they were talking about, but Takamine looked really sad. He was shaking too!" Chiaki puts his hands on his hips, "Kanata! Let's make sure to cheer him up after the school day ends!"
"Alright~" Kanata says with a smile.