Chapter Text
When Shuu saw that Akane started leaving school with Sakura, he panicked. Now, this wasn't a normal response for him. Sure, his public persona panicked a lot, but internally he was always at a stasis. It's always been like that. Until Akane showed up.
Why is he panicking over two friends leaving together?! Sakura is notably trustworthy, and a pleasant presence as a whole. But it's not her fault at all. Blaming her would be unfair.
It's not Akane's fault either. He's very self aware when it comes to hurting other people. Nobody is at fault here except Shuu’s emotions. He knew that. If it was anyone else leaving with Sakura, it'd be fine.
It's the fact that it's Akane. That boy unwittingly made Shuu Iura fall for him.
“You're overreacting, Shuu,” Motoko had told him when he first confessed to them about his problem. But noticing his unwavering unease, their expression softened. “If it's bothering you so much, confront Kouno-senpai about it,” They suggested, leaving a cup of tea by their brother's side and sitting next to him.
Motoko, although they bickered with him a lot, at the end of the day they're the only one who truly understands who Shuu Iura is. Although it's not an unknown fact that he's autistic, Motoko is the only one who knows it's not the way that people assume.
Their advice to talk to the vice president is what led Shuu to beeline to the student council room in the morning. She was always there early to get a headstart on paperwork before classes started. Sure enough, she was there. But instead of a pencil in her hand, there was a book. Manga.
After a minute of loitering in the doorway, Shuu finally walked in. “Morning, Kouno-san…” He yawned out, noting the way she frantically hid the book under the paperwork she was supposed to be doing. “G-Good morning, Iura-san! What brought you here so early?!” Sakura greeted, (albeit a bit more overbearing than likely intended) turning her attention to her fellow third-year. They didn't talk one-on-one much, so this was a rare occasion to say the least. But when she noticed his melancholy look, her face twisted into one of confusion.
“What's wrong? Did something bad happen that the council can fix?” Sakura asked, rising from the crickedy seat to stand face-to-face with Shuu. “Oh, no! Not at all! Just…” Shuu flapped his hands below his waist to calm himself. “What are you and Akane doing after-school…? Are you two a thing?” He choked out, immediately turning his attention to the floor when he got what he wanted out.
The question lingered in the air for a moment, before he heard a stifled giggle. “Iura-san… We're definitely not that . I'm very happy with Remi and Sengoku, and wouldn't dream of cheating on them.” She reassured, barely managing to stifle a giggle.
Right.
How could he forget? They were the pinnacle of attention for a good week. It was quite expected, to say the least.
“O-Oh, that's right!” Shuu spat out, knocking his knuckles on his head. “Sorry for bothering you about something so miniscule, I'll be on-”
“That being said, your feelings aren't invalid, even if they weren't aware. You're allowed to feel upset over things, Iura-san.” Sakura continued, catching the other completely off-guard. “I know! I-I-I just wasted your time over something stupid though!” He retorted, bowing frantically as an apology.
“What's going on here? Sakura-chan, is Iura-kun bothering- ohh…” Remi pressed as she stood in the doorway, but noticed Sakura vigorously shaking her head and stopped her line of questioning. “Ah, is this about his thing for Yanagin?”
That made him malfunction. Me, like Akane? That… “Makes sense actually.” He [unintentionally] spoke aloud, surprising one passerby in particular. They had heard the full conversation down the hall, and hearing him say this was a shock. Instead of vocalizing it, they kept it to themselves and continued walking to their class. “Class starts in two. Iura-kun, if you don't have a signed excuse slip, please see yourself out!” Remi chirped, motioning towards the door. Seeing her girlfriend take her job seriously made Sakura giggle, even more so when Remi started physically pushing Shuu out of the room and slamming the door after him.
Akane started leaving school with Sakura for only one reason. Weekly Shinobi. There were no ulterior motives behind this action, just his hyperfixation acting. Nobody he was friends with shared the same interests as him; running into the student council VP at the bookstore looking for the same series was something he borderline needed .
Someone who isn't the voice in my head who also likes Weekly Shinobi? What an amazing occurrence! He thought to himself as he walked home from their first encounter. Each week they would leave together for the bookstore.
Weekly turned into daily somewhere along the way when they went on a hunt for every volume of a different manga, the original Sailor Moon manga.
That was a hard feat, considering they only sold the newer prints in plenty. The two of them currently only had three of the volumes, and they weren't even chronological. “Volume 3, volume 13, volume 18… Can they be at least a little consistent?” Sakura huffed as she and Akane left the store disappointed. “It’s really frustrating, huh?” Akane replied, checking his phone. He had just gotten a text from Shuu.
Sender: Shuu
Subject: !!!
one ok rock new album hit the shelves!! wanna come with me after school tmrw to the music store? 🤩
He cracked a smile, which did not go unnoticed by Sakura. “Yanagi-san?” Hearing his name called, he quickly hid his phone and turned to Sakura, nerves on fire. “W-W-What is it, Kouno-san?” He croaked, adjusting his glasses to somewhat mask the shaking of his hand. But nothing went past Sakura's sharp eyes.
Instead of probing, she asked the question that intrigued her more. “Yanagi-san, is there something going on between you and Iura-san?” Sakura asked, moving her backpack to rest on her other shoulder. Seeing her do that, Akane followed suit. Instead of a strong reaction that she expected, he simply shook his head (somewhat in melancholy, Sakura noted).
“Not anything he did… Ayasaki-san has told you about… That, right?” Sakura nodded, so he continued his explanation. He was trembling. “W-Well, I feel he's been distant lately… And started to wonder if we weren't as close as I thought. Ha-Has he mentioned me in any of your conversations?” Akane asked, sucking in a sharp breath after.
They're both so hopeless, they don't even notice each other… Sakura thought, smiling to herself. Akane noticed. “Kouno-san?” He awkwardly smiled to match hers.
“Yanagi-san, it's not my place to decide for you, but I think you should talk it out with him. You might be right, but there's a chance you're wrong.” Akane released the breath he didn't even know he was holding. Sakura always knew the right thing to say, always. Jun would call it eery, but Akane finds it endearing.
“You're right.” He decided to meet Iura at the music store like he had requested. “I'm sorry, Kouno-san, I'm not gonna make it tomorrow,” Akane told Sakura, and given the smile and “Understood, it's okay” she gave in response, the student council VP knew exactly what he meant.
Sakura Kouno is a gift from the gods themselves. Everyone who knew her decided that long ago, and she just proves time and time again that it's a fact.
To: Shuu
RE: !!!
i'll be there : ]