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On a Friday afternoon at the tail of the summer term, Jotaro Kujo and Noriaki Kakyoin prepare to leave school for the day. It’s not quite hot enough to force Jotaro to abandon his signature cap and jacket but hot enough to almost totally zap the energy from him, along with most of the students.
The fact that Sannoji High School lacked AC for money reasons had come to bite it in the ass yet again.
Rather than running, the first-years lethargically dragged their feet through the halls, rather than chattering, the third-years murmured and groaned sleepily, and second-years traded hand-held fans among their circles. Girls shield themselves in white parasols, long sleeves and suncream, and boys simply whine. Sure, the outdoor sun would burn them, but the lack of AC had turned the school into what a particularly verbose classmate had called "considerably more severe than the fiery pits of fucking hell."
To put things into perspective: Sensei Okumura from class 2-B went to get ice lollies for his class of 15 from the 7/11 just around the corner at 12:15. However, before he could even return to class at 12:25, 7 out of the 15 were already more juice than ice.
Despite it all, at the end of the day Noriaki still had the energy to chat with Jotaro with all of his usual enthusiasm.
“Jojo, did you know they’re turning that old building near my house into an arcade?” Noriaki asks as he shuffles into his outdoor shoes, undoes his top button, and tugs his collar.
The aforementioned “old building” had been completely barren for as long as Jotaro had known it. It’d always been this quiet little brick structure with two sad broken windows that resembled a pair of eyes, the glass shined as if glossy with tears. When juxtaposed with the modern, western-style multi-story homes just next door, it looked more like an outhouse than a place anybody could conceivably live in. With time, the sad little building had cowered itself deep into a quilt of nettles and thorns. It was as if it were trying its hardest to be forgotten. To an extent, it was succeeding. Afterall, not even the local middle school’s scamps had graffitied it yet– let alone go near it. After a certain point, Jotaro had started questioning if it were more bush than structure.
However, one afternoon in March last year, Jotaro spotted a group of men in high-vis, bright orange vests near the bush/building. The men stripped the sad little structure of its foliage coat, ripping it into the daylight and mowing its moss fleece down with a hose. Since then Jotaro stopped taking that route to school because of the construction noise. He endured many sounds he’d rather not, like cicada song, the neighbor’s dogs, fluorescent lights, and the radio at the konbini, but he drew the line at construction sounds.
"Hm? An arcade? So that’s what they’ve been doing there" Jotaro comments as he closes Noriaki's shoe locker to 'save him the trouble'. He hands Noriaki’s school bag and gakuran back to him (which he’d had holding onto to keep it off the floor while Noriaki changed shoes.) “How’d you know?” he asks as they start for the school gates.
“You see, one of the guys working on re-doing the place actually went to school with my dad and they had a long chat about it all. He said they’re gonna have Donkey Kong Jr and other new stuff from the city! It’s really exciting stuff!”
Jotaro admittedly didn't know what the hype surrounding ‘Donkey Kong Jr’ was about. He’d heard about it on TV but a game about a monkey throwing things didn’t pique his interest, plus he didn’t appreciate the Tokyo arcade’s crowds. However, hearing Noriaki talk about his hobbies always made him feel …nice. The corners of Jotaro's lips twitched upward, threatening to smile, but he quickly shut them down.
“Hm, When’s it opening?” Jotaro asked, as coolly as he could manage.
Noriaki paused, tapping his chin as he thought.
“I think it’s in about a month– I think. I’ll have to ask my dad again though, just to confirm,” Noriaki mused.
“Sounds good.” Jotaro nodded, “Would you uh…” His voice was suddenly a little hoarse. He lowered the brim of his cap to avoid Noriaki’s gaze.
“Huh?” Noriaki hummed “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
“Wanna go?” Jotaro managed, “To the arcade that is.”
“Of course, I would!” Despite not being able to see Noriaki, he could hear the other’s small playful smile in his words. "I kind of thought that would be a given.” Noriaki giggled.
Jotaro peeked beneath his cap’s brim and Noriaki’s lips quirked into a crooked toothy smile as he noticed this. He beamed, letting his nose bridge and eyes crease and cheeks dimple. Noriaki's dark red braces are on full display– he had always hated them and often resorted to closed-mouth smiles to hide them, but Jotaro always thought they suited him perfectly.
Even on hot summer days like this– days where cicadas screech and the sun stings, Jotaro catches himself thinking (despite how mushy and stupid it sounds) that Nori’s smile could rival the sun’s warmth. It overjoyed him, and that was embarrassing as fuck.
“I guess…It’s a date!” he murmured, trying and failing to copy the way someone on one of his mother’s romantic doramas had said it. His cheeks burned, though he convinced himself it was due to the weather. Jotaro fiddled with his jacket realising he might get a rash if he continues wearing it in such temperatures.
Noriaki barely bit back a laugh, instead breaking into a somehow wider grin “It’s a date?” he echoed.
Jotaro swallowed thickly, pushing down his embarrassment, “Yeah, like the saying. You know the saying, don’t you?” He stammered.
“I do know the saying,” Noriaki smiled “So….it’s a date then?”
Jotaro nodded, tugging at his collar, “I suppose it is.”
They walked the rest of the block meandering between comfortable silence and chatter, about the weather, how much Jotaro would be okay with carrying Noriaki’s stuff, and how much Noriaki is okay with carrying it himself, etc.
They finally reached the road that separated Jotaro’s block and Kakyoin’s block.
“Should we go to Little Reef tomorrow?" Jotaro mused. "You don't have plans, right?”
"I'm free from the afternoon." Noriaki waved “See you there?” he chirped.
"Yeah, see you."
Noriaki admittedly didn't know much about Marine life. Jotaro would speak about it often, show him TV shows and documentaries related to sharks and dolphins, and read him passages from books about fish that look like aliens. Visits to the Little Reef (a local aquarium) were regular, but the ocean just didn't really pique Noriaki’s interest. However, hearing Jotaro talk about it always made him feel…nice.