Chapter Text
Finally, the moment that Saki had waited for so long has arrived.
After playing 'Lovichool', an abbreviation of the popular videogame 'Lovely High School Life' since late night, an important event was finally going to happen.
Perhaps on the same important level as when she and her childhood friends got together again and formed Leo/need or when she spent the whole afternoon baking sweets with her favorite idol Momoi Airi, well, something like that, anyway it's important!
She couldn't wait any longer! She just has to push a button and that's it and when she does she'll start the-
Knock Knock
"Saki?" Her brother's voice was heard on the other side of the door. "I'm going to open the door, hope you don't mind."
Saki didn't have time to react, her excitement changed to panic when she saw Tsukasa opening the door of her room.
"Mom says breakfast is- Did you stay up all night?" The girl looked away.
"I-I, I didn't." Despite not looking at him, Saki could feel Tsukasa's gaze on her.
"Saki."
"I may have been a little up all night." Tsukasa put his hands on his hip causing Saki's panic to increase. "But it was something important!"
The older just sighed and turned to leave the room. "After breakfast we talk, come down before the food gets cold."
When Tsukasa left the room, Saki hurried to the bathroom to wash her face, she jumped when she saw the dark circles in her eyes in the mirror, she can't believe that was what gave her away in front of her brother.
Going downstairs, Saki saw her family sitting in the dining room, she prays that her parents won't notice her dark circles.
"Good morning!" She said, a little more excited than usual so she wouldn't look suspicious.
Sitting down at the table, Saki was grateful that her parents were just as talkative as she was. Work issues, about a worker, asking something that happened at school at school, whatever.
The only one silent was Tsukasa, but he wasn't seen strangely, he prefers to eat in silence and taste the food.
Finishing her breakfast, Saki hurried to wash her dishes and ran upstairs to her room, thanking her for breakfast and wishing her parents a good day at work.
"Is Saki alright?" asked his father looking at the recently closed door.
Both father and mother did not show concern in front of the girl, but they knew that something was wrong with her because of how fast she ate, as if she was in a hurry.
"Don't worry." Tsukasa spoke, getting up from the table and picking up his and his parents' plates. "I'll talk to her, so you guys just focus on today's work"
Both parents, relieved by their eldest son, smiled.
After a while Tsukasa said goodbye to his parents who were going to work and after cleaning the house a bit, he went to Saki's room.
As he did before, Tsukasa knocked on the door of the room and upon hearing his sister's voice giving permission, he entered.
The only difference was that Saki's bed was now more arranged, that and that the younger's hair was no longer tied up in a messy bun, it was loose and combed.
Tsukasa sat on the desk chair, watching Saki sitting on the bed looking around and tapping her knees.
"So," Tsukasa began, "why did you stay up all night? You know not to overexert yourself, rest is also good for your health."
He wasn't angry with her, just that every time Saki tried too hard in her activities, she ended up tired or sick and that worried him.
"Just promise you won't be mad." Tsukasa raised his hand in promise.
And then under her sheets, she pull out a video game cover.
"A game?" Tsukasa wanted to yell because of how silly the reason was, but he had promised Saki that he wouldn't get mad.
He got up from the chair and walked to the bed, sitting next to Saki and grabbing the video game.
"Lovely High School Life?"
Tsukasa looked at the cover, it had a boy in the center, he was hugging a big orange heart, behind him were four smiling girls, each one had a different aura.
Saki expected some kind of reaction from her brother, but Tsukasa only looked at the front and back of the game's cover.
"Saki, what is this?" Saki's eyes lit up at the question and she quickly also took out her laptop from under the covers and opened it, entering the game.
"That's Lovichool!" She exclaimed, the loud sound of the game starting to play as she moved her mouse to choose an option.
"Lovi... chool?" Tsukasa blinked, he understood the theme of the game by looking at the cover, but not the silly name his sister said.
"Lovely High School Life! It's a very popular dating sim with the girls in my class!" She beamed in happiness as she began to search for pictures on her phone.
"You spent the whole night playing a dating sim?" Saki nodded strongly and exaggeratedly.
"It's very addictive! And the stories of the characters are very engaging." Saki pointed to one of the girls behind what looks like the protagonist. "She is Shiku-chan, your beautiful and perfect childhood friend, she's also the school's idol!"
Saki's finger moved to the second girl, who had a pure and reliable smile.
"This is Fuyu-chan, the protagonist's classmate, she is an elite student trusted by other students and teachers!"
Now her finger went down to the third girl, whose smile was a bit forced, but not because it seemed fake, rather because she found it difficult to smile, besides that her expression looked embarrassed.
"This is Kusa-chan! Junior of the protagonist, she has a hard time talking to other people because she is shy, but she also has a blunt personality!"
Lastly, Saki pointed to the last girl, who whose smile was very bright accompanied by a wink, looks very relaxed unlike the others.
"This is Shira-chan, her personality may be very friendly, but don't be fooled, she's on the disciplinary committee!" Her finger went to the protagonist. "And this is Ten-kun! The protagonist and in charge of living his lovely high school life with any of the available routes! What do you think brother?!"
"What do I think?" Tsukasa repeated in a dry voice.
Tsukasa couldn't be honest with her.
Saki smiled as bright as the sun as she explained the story and characters in a very excited manner, but Tsukasa was screaming internally. The coincidences that existed with the characters were very terrifying for the blond, Tsukasa can think of a person who resembles the character and is one hundred percent the same as the drawing in the game, not only in appearance or personality, but also in the names, 'Ten-kun'?' 'Shiku-chan'? Tsukasa wanted to grab a pillow and cover his face so he could scream.
"Hey, Saki." Tsukasa called her to get her attention. "The character designs look interesting and the game art attractive, but why is it popular? It looks like a normal dating sim to me."
Normal if he ignores all the similarities between his person and acquaintances and the characters in the game.
"Hum hum hum, it's good that you ask, chachan!" Tsukasa shuddered upon seeing the screen.
The drawing was a boy who was offering his hand to help lift someone up, but the problem was not that he was a boy, the problem was that this boy had messy ginger hair, some piercings hanging from his ears and his uniform had a jacket under the blazer, besides that looking at him he gave an air of being someone calm but with a temperament. similar to someone Tsukasa knows.
"Akio-kun!"
"Why him?!" Tsukasa started to turn pale, his mouth went dry and all the signs in his head started to go into alarm.
Of all people, he had to be the one involved in this as well.
"Akio-kun is the only bl route in the game." Saki began her explanation. "Normally he's a recurring character who shows up to tease Ten-kun, but he's also the game's secret route!"
"Ha ha ha, Is that so? I see..."
"Akio-kun's route is characterized by being a fresh route in which there are not many problems that could affect both characters, apart from the question of 'can two boys date?'" Saki moved her laptop from one side to the other excitedly and for this reason Tsukasa kept his gaze on Akit- Akio. "For girls it's popular because it's bl, but surprisingly Akio-kun's route is also popular among boys, some call it 'the bromance route'.
Tsukasa just laughed as he saw his sister's explanation, he had never seen her so excited explaining something, her eyes, her body movement and actions, Saki was so excited to talk about her game, Tsukasa had to contain how uncomfortable he was and keep listening.
[ Eh? Ten-senpai? Are you okay?! ]
Great, the game also has character voices, this couldn't get better.
[ Akio? I'm sorry, I didn't see you. ]
[No, my bad for not notice where I was running.]
The drawing of Akio offering a hand to Ten changed to the sprites of both boys, having slight changes in their movements and facial expressions as they continued their conversation.
"This is the beginning of true love! The reason why I stayed up all night!" Saki's eyes literally had stars as she watched the boys' conversation. "I spent the whole night finishing Shira-chan's route, it was the last one I had left, and finally!"
"About that, don't ever stay up all night again, sleep is important." Tsukasa gave her a tired look before patting Saki's head as she replied with a lively 'Yes'. "I'll go to my room, I have homework to do so enjoy your game."
"Okay! Thanks brother, bye-bye." Saki didn't look up from her laptop, so Tsukasa huffed and left the girl's room.
Walking to his room, Tsukasa had a thought in his mind.
"I will never play Lovichool."
"AAAAAHHHH THIS IS BAD!"
Tsukasa was running desperately throughout his house.
His alarm didn't go off at the time it was supposed to and when he woke up he saw that he had 15 minutes left to get to school on time. He took a quick shower and brushed his teeth at the same time, that only took him 5 minutes. He put on his uniform and ran downstairs to the kitchen.
"Good morning son." His mother greeted him.
"Morning!" He took out orange juice and toast from the fridge.
Tsukasa poured the juice into a glass and when he drank it he wanted to spit it out instantly because of the sensation of freshness in his mouth, he forcibly drank all the juice and put the toast in his mouth, he will eat it on the way.
He went to the door, put on his shoes and arranged them so that they would not bother him when running.
"I'm leaving!" Tsukasa opened the door without waiting for a response from his mother.
Something that Tsukasa has always hated is being late, he doesn't like people making him wait longer than he should and he doesn't like being waited for either, everything has an agreed time, besides that as a star, he must follow those times so that people around him can notice Tsukasa's consideration for everything else. It's just education.
In addition, he must also set an example for others, maybe because of Rui, his reputation is a bit ruined, but something that Tsukasa has shown is his academic performance, he has never seen the need to take extra classes or exams with marks that are close to the minimum and his attendance has always been remarkable, being one of the first in his class to arrive, only behind some who have morning activities in their clubs.
A star must also give their best and never slack off when it comes to their academic background, is what Tsukasa always tells himself.
And that's why he couldn't have a late arrival mark, maybe no one will take it into account (apart from the teachers) but Tsukasa will, it's part of showing his best qualities whether it's his classmates or the public in Phoenix Wonderland.
He counted in his mind the minutes that remained and the streets that he had to pass, everything seems to show that Tsukasa will be able to arrive on time! He could celebrate but he must first get to the school before they close the gate, he just must not meet something halfway there that distracts him and-
Bum!
Tsukasa fell to the ground after colliding with someone, he was so close to getting to school but of course something had to stop him, at least the fall wasn't so painful, but he gasped when he saw the toast on the floor.
"My toast! Hey look where-!"
"Tsukasa-senpai?" Tsukasa heard the other person's voice.
"Akito!" Shinonome approached Tenma offering his hand for the blond to get up.
"Are you okay? I didn't see you." Tsukasa takes Akito's hand and stands up.
"No, no, it's my fault for not paying attention while running." Tsukasa smiles at him so Akito won't feel guilty, suppressing a sigh at the toast on the ground.
"By the way, senpai, I didn't think you were the type to be late for class." Akito points and Tsukasa widens his eyes.
"It's because I'm not!" Tsukasa checks the watch on his wrist, nearly gasping in midair. He grabbed Akito's hand and started running again.
"Hold on-! Wait, senpai!" Akito didn't get a chance to say anything as he was being dragged away by Tsukasa.
Who would have thought that Tenma's grip could be so strong, throughout the journey he never loosened his hand with Akito's, moreover, he made sure to tighten his hand more so that Shinonome would not separate from him.
Akito was not in a position to protest either, Tsukasa had his eyes so fixed in front of where he was going so as not to repeat what happened just now, for this reason his focus didn't go further than the road and Akito's hand, and the ginger knew that he would spend saliva if he tried to speak to Tenma and why he suddenly ran off holding his hand.
Akito saw that they were approaching the school and a smile appeared on Tsukasa's face, inadvertently tightening the grip of both hands even more.
They passed the teacher at the gate and some students from the disciplinary committee. Tsukasa heard the complaints about not running, it's better than having the gate closed so he didn't give it any importance and the teacher won't do it either if Tsukasa doesn't (forcedly) get into a bigger trouble.
They slowed their pace when they reached the lockers, letting their lungs catch up on some of the lost air before changing their shoes.
Tsukasa let go of Akito's hand to go to his locker, both of them losing the little warmth that gathered in their hands.
"Sorry about a while ago." Tsukasa said, Akito couldn't see him because of the lockers, but the two of them were the only ones there. "There was nothing left for time to run out and I panicked."
"Geez, at least next time let me know before you drag me through the streets." They both laughed.
"I would rather there not be a next time." Tsukasa peeked out, watching Akito change his shoes. "I'm going to my class, see you later Akito!"
"See ya, senpai." Akito said goodbye and waited for Tsukasa to turn around to look at his hand. "Warm."
Tsukasa walked to his classroom, calm now and with his spirit rising again. "Today will be another good day!"
In fact it wasn't a good day, Tsukasa doesn't know if it's the effect of being Monday or something like that, but the morning classes felt so slow and heavy, there was a moment when he was nodding off in the middle of class that he almost fell asleep.
As his only meal in the morning was the toast that he could not finish, Tsukasa from the second class began to feel hungry, luckily his stomach did not sound, but he felt irritated by the lack of food. Since he got up late, he didn't have time to make his luncheon, also he left in a hurry that he forgot to take money to buy food.
Rui was eating with some of his classmates and Nene, just seeing him go by, gave him a look that meant to leave her alone.
Now Tsukasa was lying on a bench, trying to ignore the rumbling of his stomach without any success, he could feel that his stomach was eating his organs from the inside, well now he is exaggerating a bit, but that happens when you don't even have a propper breakfast!
"Oh, it's good that I finally found you." A voice appeared.
It just so happens that the voice comes from the same person he met in the morning.
"Akito, something wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just," Akito sighs and scratches the back of his neck, sitting down next to Tsukasa. "Here, I noticed that in the morning I made your toast fall on the floor and when I saw you leave your classroom without your lunch I assumed you didn't bring anything to eat."
"Akito, you really are a good junior!" Tsukasa grabbed his shoulders and began to shake him.
"Yeah whatever, just take the food." Akito practically shoved the plastic bag against Tsukasa's chest, but Tenma was still smiling.
"Thanks for the food!" Tsukasa took out a sandwich and a carton of strawberry milk. "I'll pay you later, how much did it cost?"
"Don't mind that, take it as thanks for this morning, if it wasn't for you, I would have had the english teacher on my ass for being late, what a annoying guy." Tsukasa laughed even though Akito was insulting someone that both must respect.
Akito drank the strawberry milk, smiling at the sweet taste of it.
"I didn't think you'd like strawberry milk, you look more like someone who likes chocolate milk." Akito waited until he swallowed his food to answer him.
"Hah? What kind of statement is that?" he took another bite of his sandwich. "You look like someone who likes weird flavors."
"Banana milk it's weird?"
"You... Anyway, a problem with the strawberry milk? I usually drink it so I didn't think much of it." Akito chewed his food hard, Tsukasa chuckled at that childish attitude.
"No, no, I am glad that you chose your favorite flavor for me. I get to know something new about you, that I think I like strawberry milk more now." Tsukasa smiles at him and Akito slightly looked away, avoiding making eye contact. "I know! I should start trying more of what they sell here!"
"Sacrifice your nutritious lunch for a few sweets from here?" Tsukasa didn't ignore the sarcastic tone in Akito's voice.
"I can learn to vary! Besides, there might be a chance that I'll find something nutritious." Tsukasa grinned defiantly.
"I have to see it to believe it." Akito grinned in the same way as Tsukasa.
"And we can have it with strawberry milk, together!"
"I'm only down with the strawberry milk."
The two continued eating until lunch time was over, Tsukasa suggested that next time they try all the flavors of milk available and Akito joked that he was going to leave his wallet dry, but Tenma interjected that he will put half the money, also that he would buy Akito something as a thanks for today and after so much insistence Shinonome had to give in, making Tsukasa happy.
Coming out of the shower relaxed always left a good feeling in Tsukasa every night, being the only one still awake he walked around his house drying his hair calmly.
Today was what he calls Tsukasa, 'A fruitful day'
Acting on stage, bringing smiles to the entire audience is something that will always make Tsukasa's heart move, but the process of putting together a play always leaves him waiting for the final result and the reactions it can cause and that was what happened today.
A new play always starts with a brainstorm. Putting together the thoughts of 4 different people is somehow a fun thing. Tsukasa and his troupe didn't come up with something specific, but it doesn't mean it was a waste of time, having different ideas not only helps now, it can also be used for future plays that will bring smiles.
"Brother, mom and I have told you several times to dry your hair in the bathroom or in your room." Saki appeared coming down the stairs.
"Sorry, there was no one here, so I thought it wouldn't be a problem." Tsukasa put the towel around his neck, his hair no longer dripping "I thought you were already asleep."
"I was, just woke up for a glass of water." Saki filled a glass of water and went back up the stairs. "Night-Night, Brother."
"Good night." Tsukasa turned off the lights in the living room and went up the stairs to go to his room.
When he fell on his bed, Tsukasa expected sleep to come right away, but it didn't. He turned from one side to the other, changed sleeping positions and even counted a hundred sheep but he still couldn't fall asleep.
Something prevented him from being able to enter the world of dreams. The only thing that his mind repeated every time he closed his eyes, was that moment in the morning, when he bumped into Akito.
But that's normal, right? It was just something that happened with a friend, nothing more.
"Me, Akito, in the middle of the street, the toast that I dropped, his hand...!" Then Tsukasa's brain clicked and his face changed into a panicked expression.
[Eh? Ten-senpai? Are you okay?!]
[ Akio? I'm sorry, I didn't see you. ]
[No, my bad for not notice where I was running.]
What happened in the morning was the same thing that happened between those guys from Saki's game!
Okay, maybe it's just a coincidence! What happened apart from the morning? Strawberry milk! It's not like there's also a moment in the game when those guys talk about strawberry milk, right?
Right?
Nerves were taking over Tsukasa's body, and without hesitation he searched for a video about Akio's route. He cringed when he saw the beginning of the game again, where the two collide in the morning and he couldn't help but see himself and Akito as the game's characters.
For the moment everything was going well, there was nothing that was similar to him and Shinonome, making Tsukasa start to get relief from that scare, after all it was a coinci-
[I am glad that you chose your favorite flavor for me. I get to know something new about Akio, that I think I like banana milk even more now.]
Eh.
Eh.
Eh?!
Tsukasa hit his head against the mattress several times, feeling a fusion of embarrassment and cringe into one, the image of Ten smiling with a carton of banana milk in his hand and Akio nervous and blushing refused to leave his brain.
How could he indirectly do something similar to that game not just once but twice! Now what is he going to do? Tsukasa doesn't have those kind of feelings for Akito and doubts that Shinonome has feelings for him apart from friendship.
As if by fate, his brain lit up like a lightbulb and he had an idea. He can prepare himself to avoid these kinds of moments if he knows what he's up against!
Tsukasa left his room and walked to his sister's, knocking on the door with minimal force so that Saki could hear him, but his parents couldn't.
"Saki, Sakiii!" Tsukasa whispered-shouted, knocking on the door over and over again without stopping until the girl got up.
After much knocking, Saki opened the door rubbing her eyes that were still half closed "Brother? Do you need something?"
"Could you lend me Lovichool?" Tsukasa asked and if the girl refused he was ready to bow to her if necessary.
"Lovichool?" Saki didn't ask, she just walked away from the door and came back with the game in her hands. If it were another occasion she would beam in happiness. "Here you have."
"Thanks! Before I forget, do I need to do something first to play Akio's route?" Saki tilted her head thinking.
"In addition to playing the other four routes, when you start a new game you must choose 'orange juice'" Without saying anything else, Saki closed the door to go back to sleep.
"Of course it had to be orange juice!"