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Toya has many reasons to dislike Arata Tono.
For one, the first thing the older singer had said to Toya was that he and The Vivids all had potential as individuals, but the three of them lacked cohesion as a group, upsetting Kohane, and in turn An, quiet a bit.
Second, he seemed to have it out for Toya specifically, taking to calling him “The Vivids’ Third Wheel” and accusing him of not being able to find a partner because no one would put up with a cold weirdo like him.
Neither of those things, on their own, were enough that Toya would be against getting Tono’s help in their attempt to surpass RAD WEEKEND. Annoying as Tono may be, he’s still a damn good singer and probably the person on the street closest to surpassing RAD WEEKEND.
The real problem is that Tono was cruel to Souma.
Toya will happily say that Souma Miyata is his mentor, who showed him the ropes when it came to Vivid Street and encouraged him to keep going at it until he found something that made him want to sing. That was seeing the Vivids and their passion, and with Souma’s encouragement, he joined up with them.
Souma is a big brother to most of the younger singers on Vivid Street, though he’ll try to deny it, but he’s a kind ear and so full of energy it’s hard not to get infected.
Toya very much owes the current state of his life to Souma, so the fact that Tono’s first words to him when they crossed paths were “when can I hear you perform?” had set him off.
Souma had politely explained that he’s retired, but Toya was livid. Everyone knew Souma didn’t perform anymore, some tragic accident when he was younger, and no one talked about it since it made him upset.
Toya hasn’t told An or Kohane this, but he’s seen how Souma gets under the cheerful facade. Once Toya’d found him drunk in the Scramble Crossing and gotten him home, where Souma said the only thing Toya had ever heard about the accident that led him to stop singing: it’s how he lost his partner.
No one could mistake the light in Souma’s eyes when he talked about his partner, and that was the first and only time Toya had heard about Souma losing him. It was then and there that Toya decided to beg the Vivids to let him join them and surpass RAD WEEKEND. He’d hoped that seeing another show like that would give Souma some hope after everything he’d done for Toya.
He knew as soon as Tono had asked about Souma performing that he’d have to make sure Souma got home safe that night.
So no, Toya does not like Arata Tono and has no real interest in teaming up with him.
The strange thing is that Souma definitely thinks they should.
“He’s a great singer,” Souma points out while they’re planning in WEEKEND GARAGE, “and he’s probably the most passionate person on the street. Honestly, I’m shocked you didn’t ask him first.”
“Yeah but,” Kohane says, “don’t you hate each other?”
Souma gets that sad, faraway look in his eyes for a split second. “He might hate me,” he says finally.
“That’s just it! How could we team up with someone who hates you!” An says.
“He has good reason,” Souma says. “I did something to him that’s unforgivable.”
Souma won’t elaborate any more on that, just insisting that they should get Arata to join them.
They approach Tono and he’s surprisingly civil, so Toya is too. Their practice goes fine for their first run through, but there’s a je ne sais quoi they’re missing. An elusive “atmosphere” evident even from the recording of RAD WEEKEND.
Then their tentative alliance is broken when Arata asks, casually, if Souma will be coming to see them perform.
The entire room goes cold.
“That’s none of your business,” An says.
“What? Why the hostility, it was just a question?”
“You know, Miyata-san’s the one who suggested we team up with you,” Kohane says. “I-I think maybe you should stop picking on him.”
“Picking? On Souma ? Is that what you think?”
“Well, yeah,” Mita says. “Everyone knows you hate each other.”
Tono blinks. “I… guess that’s understandable,” he says. “Sorry, I won’t bring him up.” He keeps his word and doesn’t mention Souma for the rest of the practice, but there’s definitely something… different about him. He seems angrier.
The second practice ends, Tono leaves without saying anything. The others say their goodbyes, and Toya goes to do a little light street singing as practice.
He doesn’t want to do too much and risk wearing out his voice, but singing on the street corner was how An met Kohane, so it’s just about the only thing Toya can think of to do that would maybe result in him finding a partner of his own someday.
Toya hasn’t been singing for long when a boy with orange hair he doesn’t recognize approaches him.
“Say, you’re an interesting one. Sing with me a little?”
The boy smiles and Toya’s brain unhelpfully fires off the thought wow he’s hot before sending the signals to his mouth to make words come out.
“Sure, I suppose,” Toya says, thankful that his aloof nature means he probably doesn’t look incredibly embarrassed.
“Do you want to pick the song?”
“Tokio Funka?” Toya suggests.
“Yes, I know that one!” They hash out the parts very quickly and start singing. Somehow it’s electrifying in a way he’s never felt before. This boy is a good singer, sure, but something about their voices fit together.
Is this how Kohane felt hearing An sing for the first time?
Toya doesn’t even notice the small crowd that’s formed around them until they finish. He really wants to sing more with this mysterious boy, but the boy gets a message on his phone and sighs.
“Sorry, I’ve got to go,” he says. “It was nice singing with you.”
“What’s your name, and are you interested in performing?” Toya blurts out.
The guy looks confused for a second and then chuckles. “Why, is that an offer to team up?”
“If you’d like,” Toya says.
“Well, that depends, I guess,” the boy says. “I’ve got a dream to surpass this show I saw around here a long time ago, what do you think?”
“RAD WEEKEND?” Toya asks. “Us too! Or I mean my friends and I are also working on doing that! We’re putting on an event actually, if you’d like to join us. Y-you can be a solo act if you’d like I just—”
“Nah, I actually am pretty interested in finding a partner,” the boy says. “That’s why I came over here, someone I look up to a lot once told me he knew his partner from the second he heard him sing, and your voice, well…”
Thank the heavens Toya doesn’t show emotions well or else he’d probably be blushing right now.
“Well, great. I’m Toya Aoyagi, here’s my number.”
“Akito Shinonome,” the boy says. “Can’t wait to hear from you.”
~
Toya is breathlessly excited when he gets to practice the next day.
“Um, is he ok?” Mita asks.
“I’m not sure,” Okazaki says.
“I’m amazing!” Toya replies. “I’ve found a partner !”
Tono seems to bristle under that, but Toya doesn’t care about him. What’s important is he’s found a partner, and if all goes well, maybe Shinonome will being willing to team up with the Vivids too.
“Have you met this guy yet, An?” Tono asks.
“No, but if Toya likes him he’s probably cool,” An says.
“It’s amazing that Toya-kun found a new person that can sing AND wants to surpass RAD WEEKEND!” Kohane says.
“Honestly a little too good to be true,” Tono mutters. “You met him once and now you’re inviting him to perform? What if he’s a massive freak or something.”
Toya shrugs, and his phone buzzes. “He’s here!”
He runs down to get Shinonome and brings him to the practice space. Toya gestures to him. “Everyone, this is Akito Shinonome, he’ll be—”
“No.” Tono says.
Toya blinks. “I’m sorry?”
“Yeah, this,” Tono says gesturing, “is not happening.”
Shinonome rolls his eyes. “I thought you’d be excited.”
“How could I be, when you’re teaming up with Aoyagi! ” Tono throws his hands in the air. “I mean, why?!”
“Because I like his singing and we have the same goals?” Shinonome says.
“I refuse to allow this!”
“Well good news! I don’t need your permission!”
“Should you even be jumping into the deep end like this?”
“I’ve performed before!”
“You’re out of practice!”
“Oh come on, I—”
“Ok, time out!” An says, and Shinonome and Tono seem to remember there were other people in the room. “Wanna fill the rest of us in on this?”
Shinonome sighs. “Yeah, sorry about this. I’m Arata’s little brother. As you can see he can be overly protective, sometimes.”
“But you have different last names,” Mita says.
“We’re half brothers. I stayed with Aki’s family on the weekends growing up.” Arata explains. “Can you excuse us? We need to talk for a bit.”
Arata all but drags Shinonome out of the room.
A few minutes later Toya gets an apology text from Akito.
Sorry, we’ll have to do this another time when Nii-chan isn’t being stupid.
~
Souma knows something’s wrong the second Toya and the others walk in early and he sees the look on Toya’s face. “What happened?” he asks.
“ Tono happened,” Toya groans. “I finally find a guy I can partner with, and it happens to be Tono’s little brother and he goes full Bernardo about it.”
“Aki’s here?!” Souma gasps.
“Wait… you know him?” An asks.
“Yeah, Arata and I took him to see RAD WEEKEND.”
“You and Tono saw RAD WEEKEND together?” Kohane gasps.
“Yeah, did I not tell you guys we were partners?”
“ TONO was your partner?!” they all say in unison.
“Ok, I guess I didn’t.” Souma puts down the glass he’s polishing and takes a seat. “I guess if Aki’s back in town, now’s the time to tell you the whole story… just in case…”
“In case what?” Toya asks.
“In case he hates me too,” Souma says.
Souma doesn’t know what’s happening. He and Arata were on their way to celebrate after Aki’s show.
It was his first one after the Crawl Green fiasco, and he was absolutely terrified. But Souma and Arata cheered him, and the look on Aki’s face when the crowd cheered for him too made Souma swell with pride.
They promised Aki a celebration treat, so immediately went to Arata’s favorite cafe.
Then in the middle of the intersection, there were bright lights, then Arata screaming, then the feeling of a small shoulder digging into the middle of his back as he’s tackled away.
The next thing he knows he’s here, fumbling for his phone while Arata is holding Aki’s limp body and there’s way, way too much blood.
They ride with him in the back of the ambulance, and Arata won’t leave Aki’s side until Aki is wheeled in for surgery.
He’s shaking in the lobby and Souma tries to touch his shoulder.
“A-Arata, it’ll be alright,” Souma tries, but Arata whips his head over to glare at him.
“Alright? Alright?! My brother got hit by a car and might die, and you’re trying to tell me it’ll be alright?!”
“I’m sorry, you’re right, it was stupid, I just wanted to help.”
“You’ve done enough.”
Souma flinches back at that. Of course, Aki pushed him out of the way of the car. If it weren’t for him….
“Yeah,” Souma says. “You’re right. I’ll go.”
He gets up and leaves while Arata just sits with his head touching his knees and his hands clasped, almost like he’s praying.
“Because of me, his little brother had to be airlifted for surgery and treatment in America,” Souma says. “If I had been paying attention, Aki wouldn’t have had to push me out of the way.”
“What happened to the driver?” Kohane asks.
“He sped away,” Souma says. “I think Arata’s mom helped sue him, but that’s all I know.”
“Are you sure Shinonome-kun blames you?” Kohane asks.
“He must, I mean, he nearly died.”
Toya gets a look on his face. “Souma, how did you and Tono meet?”
“I heard him singing in music class,” Souma says. “From the moment I heard his voice, I knew I wanted him to be my partner.”
“...Shinonome told me someone he looked up to said something similar to him,” Toya says.
Souma blinks. “Someone he looks up to? No, he couldn’t possibly mean me.”
“Souma, have you actually talked with Tono since the accident? I mean sat down and had a real conversation.”
“How could we?” Souma says. “Even if he hadn’t gone to America with Aki, I still—”
Toya gets a determined look in his eyes and pulls out his phone. After a minute he looks at Souma seriously.
“Ok, you’re coming with me.”
An and Kohane tag along too, and Souma knows where they’re going long before they actually get to the Shinonome household. He’d spent so many weekends here.
“Toya-kun, I know you mean well but—”
Suddenly the door opens, and Aki’s standing in front of him, using crutches.
“What’s this about me not wanting to see you?” Aki asks. He follows Souma’s gaze and rolls his eyes. “Oh don’t even worry about that, I only need these sometimes. Get your ass in here.”
An, Kohane, and Toya practically push Souma into the house, where there’s tea and coffee laid out on the table.
At Souma’s usual seat is his favorite brew.
“Aki, you—”
“Seriously, how could I think I didn’t want to see you again?” Aki asks, collapsing into a large chair. “Seeing you again was one of the things I was looking forward to!”
“R-really?”
“‘Course! I tried sending you letters!”
Souma blinks. “I moved out of my parents' place. They never told me.”
“Anyway, you’re insane if you think I blame you for what happened,” Aki says. “The problem was the bastard who ran the light, which is why Auntie Yoka sued the shit out of him. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You might think that, but your brother…”
“What’s all the commotion?”
Souma’s heart stops as Arata comes downstairs. They lock eyes and it’s like the world’s frozen.
Arata breaks it first, turning his gaze onto Toya.
“What the fuck are you doing here? Aki’s not partnering with you,”
“W-why not?” Souma asks. “Toya-kun’s actually quite nice if you get to know him.”
“I know him well enough,” Arata mutters darkly. “He’ll be a bad partner.”
Souma frowns. “Aren’t you being a little dramatic?”
“No!” Arata says. “He’ll get so wrapped up in his own problems he’ll abandon Aki for three years!”
“...what?”
“He’s a piece of shit! This isn’t really his dream, he just hates his dad!”
Souma takes a shaky breath. “Are we talking about Toya-kun, or are we talking about you?”
“…Both?”
“Arata…”
“Aki should find a better partner.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want a better partner,” Souma says. “Maybe he wants his partner. Maybe he hasn't stopped missing him for three years, and maybe he’s just been too damn scared to call him.”
Arata steps a little closer.
“…Maybe his partner’s missed him for three years too. But maybe he thinks there was too much between them. Maybe he thinks they deserve so much better.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want better.”
“Maybe he should. Maybe his partner attracts trouble and gets everyone around him hurt.”
“Maybe he doesn’t care. Maybe he’d take every bit of trouble. Maybe he’d be yours in every lifetime. Maybe he wishes he’d been the one to get hurt. It would have been better him than Aki.”
Tears start to form in the corner of Arata’s eyes. “Maybe… maybe he wishes neither of you had gotten hurt. Maybe he wishes he’d have been fast enough to pull you out of the way. Maybe he just wishes he had been faster than Aki. Maybe he thinks... if he hadn't been around both of you would be better off.”
“And maybe his life would have been missing something without him. Maybe without him, he’d have spent his life missing something. Maybe, having his partner by his side makes life exciting! Worth living. Maybe he has a lot of friends, but not a single one of them could compare to his partner.”
“And maybe… he feels the same. Like the whole world could pass him by without his partner.”
“And maybe he’s just been drifting. Maybe, just maybe he’s been drifting through life without him. Maybe there’s no meaning to any of it without his partner. Maybe his dream was never to surpass RAD WEEKEND, but it was to surpass RAD WEEKEND with his partner. What would you say about that?”
“I’d say he’d do anything to make his partner’s dream a reality. At this point he’d do anything to have things be the way that they were.”
“Maybe he wants that too. Maybe he wants to kiss his partner until three years fall away, and it’s like they weren’t apart even for a second.”
And then Aki rolls his eyes and shoves Souma into Arata so they’ll kiss.
“Well, that was getting annoying,” he says. “I’m not really in a condition to practice a full routine right now, but do you want to head to my room and sing karaoke or play games while these two make up for lost time?”
“Yeah, I think that’s for the best,” Toya says.
They leave while Souma and Arata gaze lovingly into each others’ eyes.
“I still hate your brother,” Toya says. “I hope that doesn’t prevent us from being partners.”
“He gets that a lot,” Aki says. “Don’t worry about it, partner.”
“Hey!” Arata snaps, but Souma just laughs and buries his face in Arata’s neck.
“Ah, we should just leave them alone.”
Arata sighs. “Fine. You matter more than anything else right now.”