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Haruka checked his phone and murmured, "He's late again. It's been over an hour. Maybe he's lost."
Last week, Haruka had an accidental encounter with Yamato. Haruka had no intention of leaving the house at that time, but Kanata's constant annoyance made him unable to bear it anymore. So, he decided to go out to get some fresh air. To his surprise, he bumped into Yamato, whom he had only recently met.
"Nijo, where are you going?"
"It's none of your concern," Haruka stated in a firm and assertive tone, making it clear that the matter was not up for debate. Haruka didn't mean to act like that; his mood was just worsening. He realized his own words sounded too harsh and tried to correct himself, but Yamato immediately responded.
"You seem upset, why?"
Haruka felt unworthy to speak to Yamato after being cold to him, regretting his actions but still frustrated.
"I told you it's none of your business."
"But I want to know."
"We're rivals, we shouldn't be this close."
Once again, Haruka was being cold to him. Haruka shouldn't have answered like that. Why did those words come out of his mouth? Maybe because of this lingering anger, or maybe he had always been this cold. Haruka didn't care. Besides, Yamato should have realized that Haruka didn't want to be bothered.
Why did he suddenly approach him when it was clear that Haruka wanted to be alone? Oh, wait. Upon reflection, it was Haruka himself who approached first. He was annoyed but then he met Yamato and thought maybe he could help. How foolish. How could he have such thoughts? How could rivals, who should be enemies, become close friends? It was impossible.
"Do you want to talk?"
"I don't need to."
"You seem like someone who's lonely."
"What?"
Silence engulfed Yamato, leaving the atmosphere tense and uneasy.
Ah, Haruka was cold again. In the silence that followed their exchange, confusion took hold. Though he felt lonely, he didn't want to admit it. Nevertheless, Yamato's presence beside him gave him some comfort.
"Sorry," Yamato said softly after a while. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just wanted to help if I could."
Haruka ceased speaking and started pondering over Yamato's words. Though he was irritated by Yamato's presence at first, Haruka began to understand how having someone like Yamato around could make a positive difference in his life and felt a sense of empathy for those who may be struggling without such support. However, his ego and resentment towards Kanata made him reluctant to reveal his true feelings.
"I'm just in a bad mood. Sorry for my earlier attitude," Haruka replied with a slightly softer voice.
Yamato's reassuring smile lit up the room as he said, "Don't worry, Nijo. We all have those days."
They sat together in the park, enjoying the peaceful evening while basking in the comfortable silence. Despite the lingering uncertainty in Haruka's heart, a glimmer of hope was slowly taking root. With Yamato's help, he felt he could finally let go of his deep-seated hatred and find inner peace.
Yamato showed his phone and asked, "Nijo, if you don't have any plans this week, would you like to go to this music event? Fuuta and Misaki told me about this band, but I've never heard of them so I'm curious."
Haruka became quiet and contemplative. He was surprised when Yamato asked him out, considering they had only met on a few occasions. However, their interactions made it feel like they had been friends for a long time. Haruka couldn't help but wonder why Yamato chose to invite him instead of his bandmates. Was it simply because they had run into each other? If Yamato met someone else, would he offer to watch the movie with that person instead?
"Why me?" Haruka asked curiously.
"Because you know more about guitars."
"You could ask your Fuurai friends, couldn't you?"
"But I want to go with you."
THUMP
Haruka suddenly felt his heart racing. He wasn't interested in watching a band he didn't care about, even if Yamato invited him. However, the last sentence that Yamato spoke left him speechless and he simply nodded his head in agreement. Yamato then sent the website link to Haruka so that he could buy the tickets online.
That's what happened, but now Haruka had been waiting for someone who didn't show up. He had heard that Yamato was easily lost, but was it really that bad? Haruka started to worry that he might go to places he shouldn't visit since Yamato was quite foolish. Should he start calling him? No, let's just wait another 15 minutes. But what if half an hour later he still didn't show up? Haruka was frustrated and anxious so he started to call Yamato.
"Tsubaki, where are you?"
Yamato answered the phone from Haruka, "I've arrived at the venue."
"Huh!? We agreed to meet in front of the station, didn't we?" he replied angrily.
"Sorry. I got off at the wrong station, but it turned out that the station was closer to the venue, so I just walked."
"Tch! You should have said so earlier!"
"Sorry..."