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“Mitsuru. Oh Mitsuru. Where are you? Will you please come out now?” When no response came back Tomoya sighed.
Once again Mitsuru had run off right before the live and, once again, he had been tasked with finding him and dragging him back. Earlier backstage Tomoya had noticed, as always, that Mitsuru had disappeared right as they were getting ready. When he pointed this out to Hajime and Nii-chan they just giggled, like it was some private joke between them.
“I guess you’ll have to go find him now won’t you, leader.” Hajime said.
“I agree. That’s you responsibility as the leader of Ra*bits.” Ni-chan echoed.
Tomoya sighed and didn’t bring up the fact that, even before he became the leader, it had still been his job to go find Mitsuru. Shaking his head, Tomoya refocused himself. There wasn’t much time left before the live started and he needed to find Mitsuru. Now, where could he have dashed off to. Usually when he ran away it was somewhere close by. While he always did run away, Mitsuru was nice enough, if you could call it that, to not go too far away.
A few more minutes passed and still no sign of Mitsuru. Tomoya sighed again. He needed to focus. Where could Mitsuru be? Looking around Tomoya noticed something that he had missed before. There was the smell of fresh bread in the air. Following that scent would surely bring him to Mitsuru. After a minute the smell lead him around a corner and to a small bakery.
And, as he had guessed, there was Mitsuru.
He seemed to be holding three pieces of bread in his left hand and was currently eating a fourth in the other.
“Mitsuru! There you are! Do you know how long I have been looking for you?” Tomoya sighed, more relieved than angry.
Mitsuru, upon seeing him, beamed. “Tomo-chan! Look at this bread I found! I got enough for all four of us. Bread is the perfect thing before a live.”
He juggled the bread in his hands, moving the bread from his left to his right until he only held one in his left.
“Since you found me you get yours first.” Mitsuru beamed as he held he bread out.
Whatever fleeting annoyance Tomoya had melted away instantly.
“Thank you Mitsuru.” He said while grabbing the bread.
Mitsuru stared at him. Tomoya sighed again as he took a bite out of the bread. Tomoya’s face lit up. The bread was very warm and soft. It must have just come out of the oven. Mitsuru smiled once again.
“Ok. But we really have to get back now. The live is about to start.”
Mitsuru just shook his head, not seeming the least bit guilty at all. He held out his hand and Tomoya took it as he began to lead Mitsuru away. Tomoya knew that it looked a little odd, two 17 year old boys holding hands while walking together. But this way Tomoya knew that, even without turning around, Mitsuru was always walking with him. He had forgotten which one of them suggested it, but they had been doing it for a long time now and it had worked so far. The most surprising thing about it was that Mitsuru never once broke away after they held hands. And he became very calm, almost unnaturally so.
His usual storm of energy, which never shut off, even when he was sleeping, seemed oddly missing. Or, not missing Tomoya thought, but controlled. Almost like he was doing it on purpose. Tomoya shook that thought away. It was probably just because Mitsuru was focused on his bread or something. As they approached the entrance to the live Tomoya paused and turned back to Mitsuru.
“Why do you always run away right before a live?” Tomoya had always wondered but hadn’t ever asked before.
He wasn’t exactly sure why he was asking now. It just came out of him.
Mitsuru gave a wide smile.
“Because you’ll always find me Tomo-chan.” He said, calm as ever, before leading a stunned Tomoya through the door.
——————
The live had gone perfectly. They had arrived back with enough time to get ready and nothing went wrong. So why did Tomoya feel uneasy. Maybe it was what Mitsuru had said before. ‘Because you’ll always find me Tomo-chan.’ It didn’t make sense. Of course he would always find him. That was his job as the leader. So why did Mitsuru say it?
Tomoya shook his head. He wasn’t going to get anywhere by dwelling on it. Maybe he would ask Nii-chan about it later. He was smart so maybe he knew the answer. Sighing again, he opened the door to his room at the dorms. Feeling a presence from the ceiling he waved high at Mayoi.
“Good afternoon Mayoi.”
The ceiling didn’t respond, but it usually didn’t. Mayoi wasn’t a bad roommate though and Tomoya appreciated that.
As he was just sitting down and changing clothes, he heard a knock at the door. Confused, Tomoya went to open the door. Standing outside his door, as if he had heard him earlier, was Nii-chan.
“Nii-chan, why are you here?” Tomoya took a step back in surprise.
“You seemed a little off after you came back with Mitsuru-chin. And while I may not be your leader anymore I am still your Nii-chan so I wanted to check on you.”
Tomoya’s face flushed red. Was he really that off? He motioned for them to sit on his bed.
“What has you worried Tomo-chin?” Nii-chan asked, waiting for Tomoya to respond.
He took a deep breath before starting.
“When I was coming back with Mitsuru, right as we were heading inside I asked him why he kept running away and he said ‘Because you’ll always find me’.” Tomoya looked at Nii-chan but he only motioned to continue. “It was just a weird thing for him to say because of course I would always find him. That’s my job. I’m the leader.”
Nii-chan nodded. “Are you sure its your job because you’re the leader? Because I remember you did it even before then.”
Tomoya shrugged. “Well, I guess. But that’s because you told me too.”
Nii-chan looked confused. “I never did that. I remember you decided that on your own since you said ‘I’m the only one who could catch up to him so I’ll go get him’.”
Tomoya froze. He said that? He had totally forgotten. He had thought, mistakenly it seems, that he was doing this originally as a suggestion from Nii-chan, and then continuing that duty as the leader.
“Every time you go chase him down you sound annoyed, but your face seems happy and you’re smiling. Like it’s a game between you too.” Nii-chan continued.
Tomoya’s face flushed red again. “It’s not a game Nii-chan! It’s serious business. Mitsuru keeps running off and and and…”
Tomoya put his head in his hands.
A few seconds passed and then he felt a hand on his head.
“It’s ok Tomo-chin. This is all new to you but it’s a sign you’re growing up. It’s so hard to see my little rabbits grow up but I’m also proud.”
The two sat there for a little while, embraced by the warm silence around them.
“Now you need to figure out your feelings and what you want to say to Mitsuru-chin.” Nii-chan said as he stood up.
“Thank you Nii-chan. You really are the smartest one in Ra*bits.”
Nii-chan laughed. “Well, if I’m the smartest one then you’re definitely the one with the most heart…Leader.”
Tomoya smiled and slammed into Nii-chan with a hug.
“Whoa, Tomo-chin you’re gonna make me-” Nii-chan tried to say as they both crashed on to the floor. Tangled together, they both started laughing.
—————
Tomoya peeked around a corner. Coast is clear. Tomoya raced across the school yard towards another building. Once he made it safely he breathed a sigh of relief. No Mitsuru encountered yet. Tomoya shook his head. He knew he had told Nii-chan that he would think about what he said, but he wasn’t sure what to do. So he decided that it would be better to avoid Mitsuru until he figured everything out. Which, unfortunately, was made harder by the fact that they went to the same school, were in the same class and lived in the same building.
How was Mitsuru so good at hiding. This was a lot harder than he thought it would be. But he had managed to do it for the past few days. Spying a nearby bench, Tomoya took a seat to catch his breath, his eyes closed. As he sat there he caught the faintest whiff of something. It smelled familiar. Opening his eyes, he let out a gasp.
Mitsuru was standing in front of him. And carrying bread. His face had a frown and he looked a little sad.
“Tomo-chan? Are you ok? Did I do something bad and that’s why you won’t talk to me anymore? If I did then I’ll apologize.” He said, holding out a piece of bread.
Tomoya shook his head. Now Mitsuru was sad. He had somehow made things worse than before.
“You didn’t do anything wrong Mitsuru. It’s my fault.” Tomoya motioned for Mitsuru to sit next to him. He did.
“I’m sorry that I’ve been avoiding you. I’ve just…had a lot of things to think about.”
“Really? What kind of things? Leader things? Because you don’t have to think about all those things yourself anymore. I’ve grown up a little so I can handle some intellectual tasks now!”
Tomoya laughed. He had been so dumb. He shouldn’t have been so dumb. He should have just talked to Mitsuru at the very beginning.
“Mitsuru.” Mitsuru looked at him, curious. “I want to ask you again. Why do you keep running away before every live?”
“I already told you Tomo-chan. It’s because you’ll always find me.” Mitsuru’s mouth tightened a little, like he was annoyed he had to repeat something so simple.
Tomoya chuckled. He was cute.
“Yes, I understand that. But why do you think that?”
Mitsuru thought for a second before speaking. “Because you always do. You’ve never failed to find me once.”
“But what if Hajime or Nii-chan went to find you?”
Mitsuru’s face scrunched up again. “Well…even if they found me it wouldn’t be the same. Because it wouldn’t be you Tomo-chan.”
Tomoya’s mouth fell open for a second before erupting into a smile. “Mitsuru, you may be the smartest one of all.”
Mitsuru shook his head. “I’m an intellectual now!”
Tomoya chuckled and leaned in to kiss Mitsuru. Mitsuru laughed around him.
“What are you doing Tomo-chan? That tickles.”
“It’s because I like you.”
“I like you too Tomo-chan!”
Tomoya leaned in again. This time Mitsuru didn’t laugh. Tomoya did hear a crunch though. Looking down he saw that their bodies were crushing the bread Mitsuru was holding.
“Oh no, Tomo-chan’s bread. I wanted to give this to you because you looked sad and bread makes everything better.”
Tomoya chuckled again.
“Thank you Mitsuru. You were right. It does make feel better. Want to share it?”
Mitsuru’s eyes sparkled. “Tomo-chan!”
Tomoya laughed again as he split the bread up, the two of them eating together on the bench, bread in one hand and each other’s in the other.
—————
“Tomo-chan? Tomo-chan! Where are you?” Mitsuru called out backstage.
This was very odd. Where had Tomo-chan gone? He had just disappeared.
“Nii-chan, have you seen Tomo-chan? I can’t find him anywhere.”
Nii-chan smiled. “I guess you’ll have to go find him then. We can’t be missing our leader before the live now can we? I can trust you to do this right?”
Mitsuru puffed out his chest. “Of course Nii-chan! I’ll dash to him right away!”
Mitsuru ran out of the back and out onto the street. He had to find Tomo-chan, but how? Wracking his brain real hard he decided that if he ran fast enough he would be able to catch up to Tomo-chan no matter how far away he was. Racing around the place he eventually caught a smell incredibly familiar to him. Bread! Deciding to take a break to recharge his batteries, he raced over to the bakery. Surprisingly, when he arrived he not only saw a lot of bread, but also Tomo-chan! He did it! He found him. And he was carrying bread too.
“I did it. I found Tomo-chan!” Mitsuru almost smiled but held back as he tightened his face. “Why did you run away before the live? It’s not like you at all Tomo-chan. I had to dash to find you.”
Tomoya smiled back at him. “Because you’ll always find me Mitsuru.”