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It had been cropping up here and there in odd places for a while now— ever since Rin had made a new friend and started bringing Godaiin around.
Godaiin and Konekomaru had gotten along great right from the start, just as Rin had predicted. They were similar in a lot of ways, and it wasn’t much of a surprise when Godaiin began coming up in conversation. Konekomaru was nothing if not Ryuuji’s most considerate friend, it made sense that would extend to the newest addition to their group.
It started out as seemingly random small acts of thoughtfulness.
“Do you think Godaiin would like to sit with us for lunch?”
“Maybe Godaiin would be interested in our math study sessions, if he’s in Okumura’s class he could probably use similar help.”
“I heard Godaiin wasn’t feeling well yesterday, do you think he might like a tea this morning?”
And then suddenly Godaiin wasn’t just Godaiin anymore, but Sei.
Konekomaru had been late to their cram study group. Not just late, but he’d come bursting into the common room of the abandoned boy’s dorm they’d come to prefer to all get together in, out of breath with the biggest grin Ryuuji had seen on him in a while, cheeks dusted pink and dressed down in casual clothes.
“Where’ve you been?” Renzou called from where he’d been hanging upside down on the couch, upset that Konekomaru had gotten out of a whopping ten minutes of schoolwork that Renzou himself had spent the entire time complaining through rather than working anyway.
Konekomaru’s smile somehow grew even larger, until it was so big his eyes were crinkling in the corners, and he sat himself amongst them and started to gush. “Sei asked me to check out that new cat cafe I was telling you guys about. Did you know all of the cats there are up for adoption? Sei wants to speak with his father about becoming a sponsor!”
Ryuuji could only smile to himself, glad that Konekomaru had made such a good friend outside of the cram classes and that he was pursuing his own interests. He’d been tethered to Ryuuji for too long, held captive by his sense of duty to Ryuuji and his ambitions, always entirely willing to cast aside his own wants if he believed it could offer any benefit to the Myodha. He deserved to have something solely for himself.
“Do you guys wanna grab a bite at Ponchan?” Rin was bouncing along the sidewalk, compensating too hard to cover for his own sulking as if he hadn’t spent the entire morning on the verge of tears before vociferously proclaiming that he had moved on from his plans of getting a date and was now dedicating himself to work the Festival instead.
He was looking for a distraction and Ryuuji was not even a little bit interested in providing it.
Ryuuji shook his head, already walking in the opposite direction. “Maybe next time, I’ve got firearms training.”
Rin threw his head back and groaned up at the sky in yet another dramatic display. “What about you, Koneko?”
“Sorry, I’ve got some more homework to do.”
Konekomaru caught up with Ryuuji quickly. He was a deceptively fast walker considering how much shorter he was, but it gave Ryuuji the opportunity to indulge his curiosity while they were headed the same way.
“What’s up with you?”
“What do you mean?” Konekomaru didn’t look up, holding his books to his chest.
“You love Ponchan,” Ryuuji stated simply, as if it was more than enough to speak for itself.
To his immense surprise, Konekomaru blushed. “I just figured with the Festival coming up it would be better to save a bit.”
“Huh?”
Konekomaru huffed, shaking his head like Ryuuji was a moron for not immediately getting it.
“Honestly Bon, it should be pretty evident. I’d prefer to have the extra money to spend with a date.”
It wasn’t evident. Konekomaru didn’t seem anything at all like their other desperate for a date friends. He wasn’t the type to just go with anyone that asked. Besides, the last time they talked about it—
“I thought you said you didn’t have anyone to invite?”
Konekomaru flushed a deeper red, clutching his books tighter and turning to part ways as they approached their dorm.
“Who knows, maybe someone will invite me.”
“I was asked to the Festival.”
Ryuuji offered a hum of acknowledgment, his eyes still focused on his textbook. There was so much he still needed to—
“By the president of the Sutra Lovers Society.”
Ryuuji’s pen paused against the paper, his head cocking towards his friend as he turned that around in his mind.
Konekomaru didn’t gloat, but the clipped way he spoke added a lot more weight to that simple sentence than he’d have expected. This wasn’t good news. What was he trying to say?
“Did you accept?” Ryuuji carefully tried to push for more without making how lost he was completely obvious. Konekomaru only used that tone when Ryuuji was meant to understand and he was already frustrated that he didn’t.
“…no.”
That answer created infinitely more questions.
“I thought you were waiting for someone to ask you?”
Konekomaru sighed heavily, lifting his Demonology textbook until his face was shielded by the thick covers, closing himself off in a move Ryuuji had become very familiar with. “I suppose I was.”
And then Konekomaru was lifting his earbuds, mumbling that he needed to focus on his studies and clearly ending the discussion.
Apparently Ryuuji’s question was not the correct one.
Or maybe it was? Konekomaru had wanted someone to ask him to the Festival, of that Ryuuji was absolutely certain. Just…not that someone. A specific someone?
Ryuuji was firmly under the belief that the entirety of this stupid festival was a waste of time and a distraction that none of them could afford to entertain, serving as nothing more than Mephisto’s twisted method of stoking the already raging hormones of the masses for his own personal entertainment, but his friend had been excited. Quietly so, too reserved to cause a multi-day scene the way some of their other classmates had, but he’d been undoubtedly looking forward to it.
Ryuuji was wildly out of his element, but this felt important. Konekomaru was definitely upset and if it had anything to do with the other bits and pieces Ryuuji had noticed over the last few weeks then…he wasn’t confident it was something he could resolve on his own. He didn’t have any experience with this sort of thing, and the last thing he wanted was to go unintentionally embarrassing his friend.
Ryuuji would, unfortunately, have to enlist some help.
Renzou lay sprawled across Ryuuji’s bed, scrolling through his phone, and Ryuuji wondered if he’d even heard any of what he’d just said.
“Oi! I asked you to come over for a reason!”
“How am I supposed to worry about someone else when I can’t even get a date myself?!” Renzou wailed, flailing his arms like it truly was the end of the world.
“Maybe that’s a good thing. You could do with a little less temptation, the universe is telling you to move on.”
Something terrifyingly devious flashed across Renzou’s face and Ryuuji had a split second to wonder if reaching out for help had been a mistake before Renzou was opening his mouth again. “You know all about temptation, don’tcha, Bon?”
Ryuuji narrowed his eyes, hoping the heat of his glare was enough for Renzou to take the hint that this wasn’t something he should push. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, c’mon, don’t pretend you aren’t itchin’ to ask Okum– oomph.”
Ryuuji tossed his pillow onto Renzou’s face, effectively shutting him up before he could finish that damning sentence. The feelings weren’t real if he refused to acknowledge them.
“We aren’t talkin’ about us. This is about Neko. He seems…disappointed.”
Ryuuji snatched his pillow out of the air as it came flying back at him, turning to see Renzou now sitting up with his arm still outstretched from the throw.
“Yeah, he’s got a crush, what of it? We’re all suffering here.”
“You knew?” Ryuuji sputtered.
“Of course I knew, you’re like the last one to figure it out. I swear that big brain of yours is completely blind to anything romantic.” Renzou rolled his eyes.
“I ain’t completely–”
“I dunno why you’re makin’ it into such a big deal. He’s the only one of us that actually got a date.”
“He turned her down, actually.”
“Wait, what?!”
“The girl from his club? He told her no.”
Renzou shot to his feet, grabbing Ryuuji by his shoulders and giving him a hard shake. “I heard that, what I meant is why? Have you seen her?!”
Ryuuji pried Renzou’s hands off of him. “No?” He wasn’t sure what that had to do with anything.
“She’s probably heartbroken, her confidence wounded.” Renzou was reaching for his shoes, gears turning in that one track mind as he moved on like this whole conversation hadn’t even happened. “A true gentleman would console her.” He nodded his head, agreeing with his own convoluted train of thought.
“Well that leaves you out then,” Ryuuji grumbled, already accepting that he was on his own here as he watched Renzou scrambling towards the door.
“Wish me luck!” Renzou called without looking back, racing into the hall and slamming the door behind him.
Ryuuji would have to figure it out himself.
“Mornin’ Suguro! Here’s that book I was telling you about.”
Ryuuji stared blankly at the book Godaiin was holding out for him, floundering for the right things to say because this could be his only chance.
“Suguro?” Godaiin’s pleasant smile was shrinking, his eyebrows furrowing as Ryuuji’s silence dragged on. “You said you were interested in borrowing it, right?”
“Yes! Sorry, I guess I’ve been pretty distracted… This Festival stuff has been crazy, huh?” There, that sounded normal enough. Hopefully.
“Are you going to the concert? I heard you’ve had a few invites.”
Ryuuji shook his head vehemently, not interested in wasting time talking about his vast disinterest in all of those invites. “I’m gonna be working security with Okumura Sensei...what about you?”
“Sir Pheles asked our class to set up the rice ball stand again. I’ve been thinking about helping since just about everyone but Okumura is going to the dance.”
That was probably the worst thing Sei could’ve said. Ryuuji was not at all prepared for how he was going to get him to ask Konekomaru, but he couldn’t just stand by and let him decide to work the Festival knowing how much it meant to Konekomaru to go together.
“Really?” Ryuuji scrambled for a way to salvage this.
“Is that a surprise?” Godaiin chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, and Ryuuji had no clue what to make of that.
Fuck it. Everyone said he was blind to all things romance. He could just be honest and play it off as his own ignorance.
“I assumed you and Neko would be going together. You two have been spending so much time together, and I know he turned down other’s invites.”
“He did?” Godaiin’s eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of his skull, his entire expression shifting to something that looked more like…pleasantly surprised?
“You’re right! I should just ask. I don’t know what I was thinking. Thanks, Suguro!”
Ryuuji could only wave as Godaiin sprinted off, amazed that it had been that simple. Crushes really were completely stupid.
Konekomaru had called not long after Ryuuji and Godaiin parted ways to tell him that he’d gotten his date for the concert after all. Ryuuji congratulated him, grateful that he hadn’t entirely messed everything up and smiling to himself at the unconcealed joy in his friend’s voice.
He’d made the right decision to intervene, and standing here now, with the music booming, lights flashing, and Konekomaru in the crowd beaming up at Sei— he was one of them now— while they danced together was filling Ryuuji with a strange sort of warmth he hadn’t anticipated. This whole Festival was starting to feel a lot less stupid than he’d initially thought it to be.
As a matter of fact, UVERworld was set to play next and they’d always been one of his favorites…
“They look like they’re having a good time.” Renzou nudged Ryuuji’s arm, nodding towards where Rin, Yukio, and Shiemi were dancing in a circle as if they didn’t look utterly ridiculous. “Maybe we could sneak away and do some dancing too.”
“Get back to work,” Ryuuji growled with no bite, his gaze still trained on their friends. It was sounding less and less like a terrible idea…
“Oops, a call from higher up! Gotta go!”
“Wh— Shima!” Ryuuji shouted after Renzou’s rapidly departing figure.
Renzou tossed a cocky two-finger salute back over shoulder, and then he was weaving between couples and disappearing into the crowd, surely on his way to not actually do any work.
Ryuuji huffed, but his eyes were already drifting back to the others. They looked so happy and carefree. Even Yukio had let his guard down enough to enjoy a dance with his friends. There were no heavy expectations, no demand for more, just fun. Maybe…
Maybe, once he found Renzou, Ryuuji would allow himself to enjoy a little break too.