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Natsuhiko loves girls, able to admires their beauty every day and never grow tired, so when he saw an adorable girl in the garden, speaking to her flowers with the care and attention of a fairy, he stopped in his tracks, admiring how her purple hair shone in the sun, that body flawless from her long eyelashes to her slender legs. She must be Akane Aoi, the beauty queen of school.
He whistled in appreciation, taking the time to admire the view and noticing she was alone and distracted, clearly needing something to brighten her day. As a gentleman, Natsu was up for the task, approaching her with a friendly smile, sure his irresistible charm could turn her into a mess of giggles.
He might even luck out and exchange contact info! It’s always nice to chat with cute girls~
“Hello there,” He grabbed a fallen flower from her garden, getting on his knee so they were eye to eye, and doing a half bow, loving how she startled, speechless. So she is a shy one? How cute~ “I couldn’t help but notice your beautiful garden,” he winked, grabbing her dainty hand “Out of all the flowers I see, you’re easily the most-”
“Don’t touch her!” A loud voice demanded, seemingly sprouting from thin air.
One moment he was enchanted by beautiful and distant eyes, the next he was eating dirt, hit in the back of the head with enough force to make his brain bounce.
Shit
He didn’t know she has a boyfriend!
“M-My bad,” Natsuhiko laughed nervously, getting back on his knees and rubbing his head, “I didn’t mean to hit on your girl…” Oh wow, the boy was furious. Even with his knitted vest and big glasses, Natsuhiko couldn’t feel much amusement. The nerd may be shorter than Natsuhiko but the intensity of those eyes and the nails on his bat made him wary, knowing from Tsukasa that small people can still do a lot of damage if they are crazy enough “I was just playing around,” He tried to smile reassuringly, raising his hands in surrender and ignoring how a grass leaf fell off his cheek “No need for violence haha.”
“We aren’t dating <3” Aoi said with a brutally sweet smile, Bat Boy deflated at her words but didn’t argue.
“You're not...?” He paused, realizing the boy was the bad kind of crazy if he was this possessive. His tone must have been misread, because he got another glare and a free bat in the face, feeling the world spin as he was thrown flying. Aoi blushed and smiled cutely at the display of violence, fond of her boy’s insanity.
...That was not what he had in mind when he tried to brighten her day.
There is something wrong with these two. Natsu scratched the back of his injured head, sure he would have been down for the count if he didn’t have a thick skull.
It's better to leave them alone. He already has a lovely lady waiting for him, Sakura's beauty far greater than Aoi's. Timeless.
.
The broadcasting club didn’t have any candles.
That won’t do, if he wants to surprise Sakura with a dinner date, he needs a mood that’s so romantic it was guaranteed to make her swoon.
“What are you doing in the storage room?” A tired voice made Natsuhiko jump, glancing at an unamused and familiar nerd.
The crazy boy looked smaller without the rage in his eyes and a massive bat in hand, but the start of a frown was still there. Maybe he is the type that is never happy, as tired as an old man at fifteen.
He does have the student council armband though, vice president if he got the design right, so Natsuhiko focused on that.
“Hello, Vice-kun~” Natsu chirped, wearing his relaxed smile to put him at ease. “Do you know where they keep the candles?”
“Candles?” He asked, raising a brow at his improvised nickname but not commenting on it “Why do you want candles? They are only for emergencies and the festival haunted houses.”
“School project~” Natsuhiko half lied. It was a personal project, but since his lady lives in the school, it's still a school project if he stretches the definition juuuuuust an itty bitty bit.
The boy stared, skeptical “...What project?”
Well…
He doesn’t want him to know he was setting up a dreamy dinner. He has a feeling the nerd already doesn’t like him, and stealing school property for personal gains won’t help his image. If worse came to worst he could be sent to the student council president for misbehaving, and his lady had warned Teru is a very capable exorcist whose attention should never be directed their way for long.
“You’re acting suspicious,”
“Art project, we are messing with wax." He lied, realizing a bit late this excuse doesn’t explain why he is in the storage room "...and I got lost.”
They stared at each other, the boy’s demeanor even more unimpressed than his lady’s. Hopefully he is not as smart as her though-
“You forgot where your club is, in the middle of the year.” He didn’t even word it as a question, openly judging him.
“Sure did!” He shrugged with a careless smile, sticking to it.
The boy sighed, not masking his annoyance. Natsuhiko expected to be mocked, but miraculously, the boy took his supposed incompetence at face value “Can you find your way back?”
“Sure.”
“...Let’s just get this over with.” He did not believe him “I still need to finish the sports festival budget for today.” He narrowed his eyes, suddenly sounding professional, more like a vice president than an unhinged bat monster “I’ll show you where they keep the candles.”
Natsuhiko thought about not following him, unsure if the boy would lead him to the candles or take him to an empty room to beat him up, but curiosity and confidence in his durability made him walk to his side, able to keep up with his slightly hushed steps with his normal ones. he resisted the urge to whistle a song, not that big on walking through long hallways while the silence stretched on. Thankfully, Baseball Bat Boy seems to indeed just be taking the path to the art room.
Maybe he isn't irredeemably crazy, it should be a breeze to make him loosen up compared to babysitting Tsukasa.
“So! What’s your name, Vice-kun?" He got closer "Mine is Hyuuga Natsuhiko,” He declared, striking a pose that he had tested in the mirror enough times to know made him look charming and trustworthy. “The brave, the handsome, the wise, and generous senpai~” He finished with a wink, not sure if he should be amused or offended by the way the boy took a side step to put some space between them.
“Now, now, now, there is no need to be so cold!” Natsuhiko raised his hands in playful surrender “I can take a hint, I won’t go after your beauty queen,” He inwardly chuckled at how quickly Aoi’s title got the boy’s full attention “There are plenty of fishes in the sea, Vice-kun~”
“Aoi Akane,” The boy corrected, which is just the beauty queen name in the wrong order, so he isn’t sure if it was the truth. He looked at Natsu as if his existence was a sad and dangerous thing “And I have seen enough of you to recognize a womanizer, Hyuuga-senpai.” He really wasn’t trying to hide his distaste “I hope you are being honest, I don’t want to see you bothering Ao-chan again.” His hold on his budget paper tightened, wrinkling the edges “She is much more than a fish in the sea.” Ah, he was starting to sound like the crazy bat monster again. “To touch her so carelessly…”
Natsu sweated, his easy-going smile growing awkward as Akane started to mumble under his breath.
Scary scary.
(At least this time Akane only has a pen, which should hurt less than a bat with nails. Haha.
Maybe he can sneak away.)
“Ah, we are here.” Akane’s animosity completely disappeared, walking inside and opening a drawer full of candles. “Here.”
“Great!” Natsuhiko hummed, familiar with enough weirdos to not mind the abrupt change in mood. "You're a life savior!"
"The plates aren’t here.” Akane frowned, the drawer below full of colorful glass and a hot glue gun, but truly devoid of plates “Do you know where the home ec lab is?”
“I already have plates.” Natsu hummed, planning to use his lady's antique candle holders, which are far more atmospheric.
Akane nodded.
"If you ever need help you can usually find me in the student council, just keep walking until you see the bulletin board, then turn right," Akane said, eating up his excuse that he gets lost easily "I’m sure there is a map of the school I can give you.”
"No, it’s fine, I got this." Natsuhiko said, a bit surprised by how helpful he was acting after every single word they exchanged made it seem like he was a piece of trash in Akane’s eyes. Natsuhiko pated his shoulder, smiling in a friendly way"Thank you Akane-kun~"
Akane shrugged his hand off, “Don’t mention it.”
Natsu sighed in relief, amused by how Akane suddenly froze in the middle of the hallway, only realizing now that his budget documents got wrinkled during his rant about Aoi. He tried to smoothly out as best he could loudly cursing his own carelessness.
What a weirdo.
Not as bad as he expected though. Who would have thought the bat monster has a nice side to him?
.
Sakura wasn’t impressed by his candlelight dinner, but he caught a small smile on her lips as she drank the tea he had perfected with practice, her beautiful green eyes staring in silence at the flickering flames.
She always looks so distant, yet so beautiful. Every preparation was worth it just for that brief smile!
.
Mitsuba was supposed to help him set a stage to serenade his lady, his school mystery powers would have been very useful for it, but he did not show up. Guess he wasn’t kidding when he said he would never touch construction pieces...
At least he agreed to be his backup singer when the time arrived. It's nice to have plans for later, even though he doesn’t know how to start the first step and build a stage.
A bright flash of purple caught his attention. Natsuhiko took a moment to appreciate Aoi’s beauty, her hair bouncing gently as she walked, before zoning in on a familiar boy trailing after her.
Ah ha! Now that was a guy he could use! Akane has the vibe of someone that would know how to do this.
“Akane-kun?” He yelled, waving “Akane-kuuun!”
Aoi spared him a look, but kept walking since it wasn’t about her.
Akane looked at him with exasperation, but he acknowledged his existence instead of following her, so Natsuhiko counted it as a win.
“Can you help me?”
“With what?” He frowned, but he stopped to give his full attention.
“Setting a stage for me and my lady to dance!”
He visibly lost some of his disposition to help, his laugher full of mockery, already tired of this conversation “Which one?”
“You’re a mean one, Akane-kun.” Natsuhiko teased, but his smile had dimmed, a bit offended “There is only one lady for me, the sweetest beauty of this century!” Natsuhiko sparkled, placing a hand on his heart, which skipped a beat just thinking about her hypnotizing eyes “My one true love!”
“Of course.” Akane said, making no effort to mask his disbelief.
“Pleaseee, I don’t know how to make it.”
“That’s not my problem,” He frowned, leaning back when Natsuhiko got too close “Go ask a friend.”
“I did, he ditched me.”
“Wonder why.”
Sheeesh, he really does not care about hurting his feelings.
Alright. No problem. Natsuhiko can set a stage alone, it's not like this is a new experience. He is good at improvising, this will be a piece of cake. He can bring his radio with him too! It will be fun.
“You’ll do it now?” Akane asked, following him.
Hum, he didn't expect him to follow him with that attitude. “You’ll help?”
“I don’t have anything to do now.” He replied, “Might as well.”
Natsuhiko gave him a lopsided smile.
.
Akane suggested something simple, so they started putting stakes on the ground to wrap fairy lights into it. While doing so, Natsuhiko told him to set the lights to something mysterious like purple and orange “She is a classy lady, old fashioned and sophisticated~” He hummed, twirling the fairy lights on his finger “Very into spooky stuff.”
Akane stopped, looking at his decoration with a frown “And you want to use halloween colors?”
“Nothing is spookier than halloween~”
“If you say so... What will you sing to her?”
“A love song!”
“I figured that much,” Akane raised a brow “But what kind of love song?”
“Idol songs!” Natsuhiko hummed, feeling giggly “I am the best at it, I know the choreography of fifteen by memory~” He bragged. They aren't easy choreography either, you need talent to do it! Being the self-proclaimed king of karaoke is no empty title “She is sure to be impressed!”
Akane snorted loudly, his smirk too sharp to be friendly “She will say no.”
Natsuhiko paused, pouting at his confidence. That’s harsh, he doesn’t even know her.
“Just because she always says no doesn’t mean she’ll do it again, Akane-kun.”
Something in Akane’s disposition changed, visibly colder “She says no?”
Natsuhiko’s smile got smaller, remembering all the times his lady hit him or told him to stop “A lot, she is so cold to me.” He played nervously with the fairy lights “But that’s just how she shows her love! She likes to stay in her corner, and doesn’t talk with many people.” He smiled brightly again “She is very shy, and sweet at heart! It’s so cute!”
Akane stared at him for a moment, audibly exasperated “Then don’t do it you fucking idiot. If you are sure she likes you,” He is! Well… Sometimes he feels like Sakura’s annoyance is too real, her glare hurting him, but that’s just her shyness in the face of his charm, he is sure of it! “Change your approach.” Akane paused, eyes growing distracted. “And if she doesn’t like you back, at least do something that makes her happy. You want to bring her joy not make her life hard, that’s why you’re going the extra mile for this song and dance, right?”
Yes, that's his main goal.
Natsuhiko paid more attention to Akane at his earnest tone, his big eyes resigned but not defeated, the setting sun making his messy hair shine a pretty copper color. Almost peaceful compared to his usual behavior.
Come to think of it... He doesn’t really know this boy. Surprisingly, he found himself wanting to learn more.
"Of course," Akane said, dropping any vulnerability, back to being a dick for no reason "That’s if you actually like her.” He gave him a skeptical look “Which I doubt it. How many girls have you flirted with, just this week?”
“I was just having fun! I wouldn’t go on serious dates with any of the girls I flirt with.” Natsu's smile twitched at his disgust, feeling like his view somehow dropped even more “I appreciated a pretty lady, cute ones too, surely you understand?”
“No.” He sounded just as disgusted as he looked “I only have eyes for Ao-chan.”
Natsu blinked at his conviction, amused. He has heard that one before, plenty of times.
“I can't deny she is quite the catch,” Natsuhiko wiggled his brows at him, putting an arm on his shoulder and dragging him closer, ignoring Akane’s murderous glare, “But there are plenty of beautiful girls out there, no one will blame you for looking Akane-kun.”
“I don’t care.” He shoved him off.
“Not even celebrities?” Natsuhiko tried to bait him, having been deprived of these stupid talks in the broadcasting club. Ghosts aren’t really caught up to pop culture. It's a tragedy. “Who was your first crush?~”
Akane stared at him with heavy judgment, as if finding people meticulously engineered to make others fall in love attractive was laughable.
Oh wow...
He is serious.
“Really…?” Natsuhiko sweated, too baffled to be sure if he admired his dedication. “Then shoot your shot, Akane-kun.”
Aoi seemed happy when Akane hit him in the back of the head, and while he is no heart stopper like the queen and king of school, Akane is really cute for a guy, with his round face and big duo colored eyes. It was a masculine kind of cute too, a boyish charm maybe, Natsuhiko wasn’t exactly sure how to describe it, it wasn't the kind of cute he is personally attracted to, but he does have eyes, he knows an attractive guy when he sees one.
(He sees himself in every mirror after all)
If Akane put some effort into a dazzling confession, the beauty queen might accept it.
“I’ve tried since we were six. She only seems to have gotten more distant with the years.” Akane shoulders slumped, twisting the fairy lights in his hand nervously, but his eyes still burned with something Natsuhiko couldn't quite name it. “...She might just not have eyes for me."
“You’re hung up on the same chick since you’re six?!" Natsu nearly dropped his lights on the floor, pitting the guy "Maybe you should move on Akane-kun.”
“Ao-chan is my best friend, the best girl you’ll ever meet, I don’t want to chase anyone else.” Akane narrowed his eyes at his wording, but Natsuhiko was starting to notice his anger is always quick to disappear “And even if I wanted, Aoi would get jealous,” He said, looking at Natsu like he was the unreasonable one “I can’t do that to her.”
He is insane alright, more than Natsu had thought.
“Here,” Akane connected the fairy lights, giving it to him “If you’re determined to sing for your lady, at least learn what kind of song she likes.”
Natsu nodded slowly.
.
“My lady, what is your favorite kind of music?”
Sakura gave him a tired and cold look, the one reserved just for him, but she must be in a good mood, cause she put a hand on her chin and thought hard, indulging in his question “I do not mind the popular songs… I suppose: Felix Bernard and Richard A. Whiting are pleasant.”
Natsu hummed, not having the heart to tell her these guys stopped making ‘popular songs’ many decades ago.
He reluctantly understood why Akane didn't think songs of this year would work and mentally gave him his thanks, setting off on a quest to learn the piano in his never-ending free time.
.
Natsu leaned his elbow on the wall, blocking Akane’s path.
Akane frowned at the sudden closeness but didn’t seem angry or surprised by his behavior, "Hyuuga-senpai, do you need something?"
"Just wanted to say hi~”
“Hi,” He deadpaned, ducking under his arm and continuing to walk.
“Aww, don’t be in such a rush, I have something for you!”
Akane looked back at him with suspicion, blinking when he was given a lemonade can “What.”
It wasn’t even worded like a question, but Natsuhiko still answered it with a smile “A gift!”
“A gift.”
“To you,” Natsuhiko winked, poking his cheek with the canned drink, amused by the way he made a startled noise at the cold, snatching it out of his hands with annoyance. He is very expressive, what a funny guy.
Akane frowned at his relaxed smile but he seemed reluctant to refuse the gift, giving the sealed lemonade can a quick once over, audibly confused “Why?”
“For your hard work, you helped me twice now!” He cheered “I wasn’t sure what you like so I picked a classic, but if you’re not a fan I can exchange it.”
“No need, this is fine...” He still seemed a bit confused, looking far younger when he wasn’t visibly angry, or suspicious “Thank you Hyuuga-senpai.”
He hummed, encouraged by the lack of outright hostility “What is your favorite drink?”
He gave him a weird look.
“Just curious,” Natsuhiko laughed, playfully nudging his head “Come on! There is no harm in talking.”
“Water.”
Natsuhiko blinked, trying to see any hint he was joking and raising his brows, this nerd have the taste of an old man. “Water doesn’t have a taste.”
"It’s refreshing." He insisted, but didn’t sound that passionate about it "Healthy too."
“Then what’s your favorite juice? You don’t seem like a sweets kind of guy."
“Half of the sweet drinks taste like liquid sugar.” He made a face, as if remembering something bad, but didn't let the memory linger, looking at him with a sharp smile that wasn't playful enough to be called 'teasing', but for once it felt more like his dig wasn’t mean-spirited. "I’ll take it you’re a fan of them.”
"You know me so well! I have a soft spot for the colorful ones too." He laughed, feeling a prickle on the back of his neck at his smirk. Something about being watched without a glare was surreal “You can call me Natsuhiko-kun~”
“Hyuuga-senpai.” He repeated.
Oh well, he is getting used to it.
He hummed, watching Akane take another sip of his drink and realizing he dodged the question “Now now, don’t be shy, I won’t judge you no matter what flavor you like~”
“Hum?” Akane frowned, taking a moment to remember his previous question “Ah, that, I like raspberry juice. I used to drink it all the time with Aoi.”
.
Natsuhiko was in a good mood, having finally found a piano he could use to train.
“Are you lost again?” Akane sighed when he spotted Natsuhiko near the music club, humming to himself.
"Only if your eyes count~" He brushed his dyed fringe out of his face, winking at Akane.
People usually giggled or ignored his flirty personality, but Akane paled, looking at him as if he was a walking disease and raising his hand in a ‘stop’ manner "I'm sorry. My heart belongs to another.”
Natsu blinked slowly at the firm rejection, processing his closed-off face with amusement “I wasn’t flirting, Akane-kun.” He grabbed his shoulder, chuckling at his annoyance “Your grumpy attitude is charming.” He teased, resisting the urge to bop his nose, sure from the fire in his eyes that he could lose his fingers if he tried “but I’m only interested in girls.”
Soft, pretty, cute girls~
He brought Akane closer, sure he would have been a very pretty girl, even Akane's name is girly! It's as if it was written in the stars! But alas, the world is unfair.
“I am aware.” That seemed to relax and disgust Akane at the same time “You’re the classic attention seeking pervert.”
“No need for verbal abuse, Akane-kun.” Natsu lamented, “I am a gentleman to every kitten I flirt with.”
“Don’t call strangers ‘kitten’, it's creepy.” Akane said. For such a nice guy he sure is effortlessly brutal. “For your own good, I hope you never call Ao-chan that.”
Ah, yes, the beauty queen.
“Do you still hate me for flirting with Aoi-chan?”
Akane frowned, surprised “I don’t hate you, Hyuuga-senpai, I just don’t respect you.”
“I see, that’s…” arguably worst? Though at least he is used to it “...good?”
Akane raised an unimpressed brow “You brought it on yourself.”
.
Mitsuba was sulking, the poor guy has it rough with the twerp as a mentor and sole friend, he looked like a kicked puppy as he played with the tea in his hand.
If only he appreciated his wise and handsome big brother figure more, but sadly, he is a tough kid to please, probably in his rebellious phase too, he always ignores Natsuhiko's attempts to cheer him up.
“Take him to the sports festival.” Sakura said, her gentle voice as enchanting as her gentle heart.
He couldn’t say no to her, willing to do anything to please her.
.
Mitsuba got excited looking at the competitive games and events going on, but his childish joy turned into depression the second he realized he couldn't participate in said games.
“Don’t look so gloomy, we will find something for you~” Natsuhiko ruffled his hair, keeping the kid in a chokehold as he tried to find something that would be fun for a ghost.
He let his eyes lazily sweep the place, catching a glimpse of Aoi’s enchanting purple hair in a small crowd of cheering students. Her eyes were just as mysterious and beautiful as they had been in the garden, but she didn’t seem to really be paying attention to the people playing, not raising her voice at all even when the players scored, her smile very tame, almost controlled when compared to her white haired friend's loud yelling and gushing about the events.
He isn’t sure how to feel about Aoi anymore. She didn’t seem to stand out outside of her cute hobbies and cute voice, like a princess, but in a weird way. There must be more to it right…? Is her adorable behavior all that it took to capture Akane’s heart for his whole life?
(A smile that cute is powerful enough to melt anyone, Natsuhiko knows, not in love but still attracted to her. Many people would fall hopelessly in love for less, he doesn’t know why he was trying to dig deeper.)
“Let me go! Help!!” Mitsuba yelled, hitting his arm and making a scene. “What are you even looking at?!”
He toyed with the idea of just watching people play games and place bets with the two brats. Humans go to sports games all the time, surely it can be fun for a ghost too?
“I got an idea, Mitsuba-chan~”
.
Natsu left the two kids cheering on the middle school game, a bit surprised by how interested yet jumpy Mitsuba got when the younger Minamoto showed up to enjoy the festival activities, but happy he snapped out of his moody mood.
He went to get a snack, finding Akane running around with arms full of boxes. He was somewhat surprised, not sparing any thought on how busy it must be to be part of the student council and class representative at the same time. It’s frankly strange that no one hesitates to call Akane, seeking him like bees with flowers. Natsuhiko’s class was far more reluctant to bother their class rep or trust them to help, though he can see Akane work way faster than his class rep. Very competent.
Now that he found him, he keeps seeing Akane everywhere, helping restock the food stalls, helping to change the arena decoration to match the next sport, and breaking out fights. He complained loudly about people’s carelessness, but he always rushed to help, sounding worried when someone was visibly distressed, and annoyed when things exploded.
“Hum,” Natsuhiko blinked, already having a feeling, but that confirmed: Akane is a nice boy, he got a sweet heart under all that ice. No wonder he is so grumpy though, just watching him makes him tired.
“Air senpai?” Mitsuba pulled his sleeve.
“Yes, Mitsuba-chan?” He hummed. “Did you enjoy the game?”
“Tsukasa is trying to eat the koi fishes.” He said with terror in his eyes, pointing at the bane of his existence.
Why is it always the shrimp making his life hard??
.
Natsuhiko found himself falling face first into the fountain, holding on to Tsukasa and wondering where his life went wrong.
Sports festivals were the perfect event to flex his athletic skills and impress his lady, to get tied to an adorable girl’s side on the three-legged race and make the cheerleaders giggly, yet here he was, stuck on babysitting duty to two brats. Tsukasa kicked the water, splashing it on his face and laughing like an unhinged toddler.
Great.
Natsuhiko slumped, looking miserably at his handsome reflection in the agitated water. He is too sexy for this.
“Why are so many people falling in the fountain?” Akane sighed, unable to see Tsukasa escaping out of Natsuhiko’s grasp to terrorize Mitsuba, but having already witnessed people mess up in every way imaginable to be surprised.
“It’s hot today.” Natsuhiko joked, surprised to see a hand extended his way.
“Not hot enough for this shit, get out.”
He was as rude as ever, yet... It feels oddly sweet to be cursed by him, those big eyes fully focusing on him, willing to help him without being asked “What are you looking at? Get out before you catch a cold.” He frowned, his nose wrinkling in a cute way, “Hyuuga-senpai, are you listening to me?” He is pretty cute, his eyes very big “Senpai…? Did you get a concussion…?”
“I am fine, I’m fine,” Natsu said in a wheezy voice, raising his hands in surrender. “G-Good as new!”
Akane’s frown grew more worried than annoyed. He put the towel on the edge of the fountain and rolled his pants leg, walking inside the fountain to grab his wrist “Tell me that when you don’t sound like you’re dying.”
“Okay,” He squeaked as he was pulled back on his feet, feeling weird.
Akane’s hand is rougher than his own, far more than any girl he flirts with, but is not bad, his hold is firm on his wrist but not hurtful as he drags him to a chair and puts the towel on his hands. “Get dry, I’ll get you water and a thermometer.”
Then he left, yelling “Where is the medical kit??”
Natsu looked down at the fluffy towel he was given with a tiny blush, his heart stuttering in his chest as he cleaned himself.
Maybe is because everyone knows he never gets sick, as resistant to viruses and bacteria as he was to sharp supernatural teeth and baseball bats, but he can’t remember the last time someone got worried about him.
Maybe he could pretend to be sick so Akane would fret over him? Surely he would be much sweeter if Natsuhiko was bedridden, in need of a caring and reliable caretaker. The idea made him smile, not being pampered in ages-
“Air-Senpai??!” Mitsuba grabbed his sleeve with horror in his eyes, pointing frenetically at Tsukasa, who was walking towards the fireworks booth with a far too eager spark in his eyes.
Natsuhiko's dreamy look turned into the stare of a dead man, feeling a familiar frustration at the runt but forcing himself to get up, almost slamming into Akane, who came back with a thermometer and a water bottle.
“What are you doing?” He reprimanded “Sit down!”
“I’m fine,” Natsuhiko said with a closed eyed smile, acting chirpy but inwardly bemoaning the lost opportunity “Siting down was just what I needed! I’m good as new again.”
“Are you sure?" He frowned "At least check your temperature, you were pretty red-”
“Are you worried about me?” He ruffled his head with enthusiasm, making his glasses get crooked. Cute. “How sweet Akane-kun! You’re such a nice guy~”
Akane concern turned into annoyance.
“You can keep the water, it’s your favorite~” Natsuhiko teased, his smile bigger than usual.
Akane raised his brows, more baffled than annoyed, but still visibly displeased. Fortunately, any mean words he wanted to share were swallowed down when he was called, switching gears and heading out to help, only able to spare Natsuhiko one final confused glare.
“What was that?” Mitsuba asked.
“A friend of mine.” Natsuhiko said, running towards Tsukasa and grabbing him by the back of his kimono, “And you are too carefree today runt, I am cutting your festival time short.”
“Awwww,” Tsukasa whined.
“You have friends??” Mitsuba looked shocked. Rude.
“Of course I do! Aren’t we friends Mitsuba-chan?” He teased, watching him go from sparkly eyed by the idea to displeased in less than two seconds.
“Heh…” Mitsuba looked away, a cloud of depression following him “I want a friend, but I don’t want it to be Air senpai…”
Ouch! Everyone is so mean to him...
.
Natsuhiko realized the strange feeling he got was more than an odd appreciation when he saw Akane confess to Aoi at the school entrance, caught off guard by how energetic he sounded, his cheeks flushed a lovely red and those big eyes soft, sparkling with unfiltered love. It's undeniably adorable, if Natsuhiko was in her place he doesn't think he would be able to reject him.
He took a moment to notice Akane had taken his full attention during the exchange, only having eyes for his goofy smile instead of Aoi's otherworldly beauty, only realizing she was here when she gave Akane four points, whatever that meant.
Between the two, he knows which Aoi he wants to sweet talk more.
“Oh,” Natsuhiko's smile fell, caught off guard “Shit.”