Work Text:
The cold November wind blew right into Karasu Tabito's face. The guy was walking to the park. He was supposed to meet his friends.
Yukimiya Kenyuu has probably already arrived. He was a very punctual person, always arriving a few minutes before a meeting. Otoya Eita - their mutual friend, on the contrary, was always late. Tabito is sure that he won't be here until about fifteen minutes after the agreed time, promising seven times that he will be almost there. One day, along with Mikage Reo (another friend who couldn't take a walk today due to a packed schedule of tutors), Karasu told Eita the time was earlier than agreed, just so that the blond jerk would show up on time, which he did. Yukimiya was so surprised that he even put forward a theory about Otoya's substitution. But Eita then threw a tantrum, questioning the company's trust in him, after which this amazing idea had to be abandoned. Thinking of his friends, Tabito didn't even notice when he reached their usual meeting point. Fortunately, Kenyuu brought him out of his thoughts by shouting.
"Karasu! How far are you going?" A tall, dark-haired man with glasses called out to his friend.
"Hello to you, too, Yukimiya. Did you write to Otoya?"
"Yes. He said he'll be here in five minutes.. ten minutes ago.
"Shall we take a walk, then? If anything happens, he'll find us."
"I don't mind."
They walked slowly through the bare autumn trees, talking about the past week and the upcoming winter break. Their small talk was interrupted by Eita's phone call. Kenyu picked up the phone and described the place they were passing, after which Otoya ended the call. Eita, like everyone else who lived in the area, was well-versed in the park. It wasn't difficult for him to reach his friends in three minutes. After greeting Tabito, Otoya immediately received a slap on the back of the head for being late. Fortunately for him, Yukimiya was more patient and much kinder than Karasu, not letting their meeting turn into a fight. They wouldn't have gotten into a serious fight, but they could have landed a couple of punches.
"Let's go to the mall, I want coffee."
"You just got here," Tabitho grumbled.
"Do you really like bare trees that much?"
"Can we really go to the mall? I haven't bought a birthday present yet."
"The birthday what?" Tabito asked, soon realizing that Eita's birthday was on the third of December. Now, on the twenty-third of November, it would be nice to choose a gift. But aren't surprises more valuable if the recipient doesn't know what they are? With that thought in mind, Karasu asked the next question — " Then why do we need Otoya? Isn't it better to choose a gift without him?"
"Are you implying that I have no taste, Karasu?" Eita said with slight resentment.
"Why would he hint if he's right?" Yukimiya said, adjusting his glasses. Considering the fact that he was the most stylish of the three, his words could be considered a sentence.
"So why do we choose Otoya's gift with Otoya? " Tabito repeated his question as Eita snorted irritably at Yukimiya.
"My?" Otoya was surprised.
"You didn't get an invitation from Hiori?" Yukimiya asked.
"Damn, You's birthday is on the thirtieth! I forgot, " Tabito said, thinking of a possible invitation to the celebration. Hiori You was a childhood friend of Karasu until Hiori's parents sent the boy to boarding school. But recently, friends restored communication when You transfered to the Blue Lock High School, which Tabito and several of his classmates entered. Hiori and Karasu weren't as close as they once were as children, but they were still friends. It was even sad that You hadn't mentioned anything about the party when he had already invited Yukimiya. "I haven't received any invitations. "
"I didn't get an invitation either," Otoya decided to say.
"It's clear you didn't get it. You and Hiori don't communicate. But the situation with Tabito is really strange. Perhaps he wanted to invite you personally?
"I'll hope so," Karasu said thoughtfully, then his face changed and he said — " Then let's go pick out a present for Hiori?"
"Coffee first."
"Okay, Otoya," Tabito said, rolling his eyes.
The trio went to the exit of the park and boarded a bus. After driving a couple of stops, the friends reached a three-story shopping center. After sitting in a coffee shop for fifteen minutes and warming their hands, the boys went shopping. Kenyu quickly found a Sinnamonroll sweater from the Sanrio company. It, according to him, would suit Hiori perfectly. Karasu wasn't so lucky, as he didn't find anything suitable for You. Tabito had a good taste in clothing, but he couldn't be sure if Hiori would like his choice or suit him. Beautiful diaries and pens, although they looked very good on the shelves, did not quite fit as a gift. You's every day is planned out by his parents, who are obsessed with their son's grades. Karasu wasn't going to give anything that reminded him of that sad fact.
In the end, Tabito decided to buy an arcade game card. Karasu bought it and immediately added two thousand yen to his account. Hiori likes to go to arcades, and therefore he will definitely like the gift. Kenyuu agreed. Eita also called the card a nice gift, even though he complained that he had never received anything like it from Karasu on his birthday. Tabito rolled his eyes, but made a note: "Go get a present for Otoya with Aryu and Yukimiya soon."
Friends said their goodbyes and left some time after. Karasu was looking forward to receiving Hiori's invitation at school or after school.
On Monday, Tabito entered the classroom with a good mood that was unusual for him or for any other high school student. He greeted Reo and Kenyuu, then started to put things on the desk. Otoya, Aryu, and Hiori were not in the classroom. Everything is clear with the first one, he's late again. Aryu must have just finished putting on his makeup and is already getting ready for school. But You should be in here by now. He's a class prefect after all. After asking Mikage about Hiori, Karasu found out that Ego had invited the boy to his class. Their teacher must have wanted to fill him up with work.
And so it happened. During the day, Yo not only studied, but also ran after the lagging students, urging them to raise their grades. "Poor Hiyori. Learning from the Ego is dangerous for the psyche, and doing his requests will probably drive someone crazy one day" Karasu thought.
Tabito hadn't spoken to You all day. The prefect was too busy, so Karasu decided not to distract him. It wasn't until after school, when all the students were getting ready to go home, that Tabito approached Hiyori, wanting to talk. However, he quickly ran away, shouting that his parents were taking him away.
You didn't invite Karasa to the birthday party. It was embarrassing… Perhaps, with all his business, he himself forgot about his holiday? Maybe Tabito have to wait until tomorrow.
Hiyori was more or less free on Tuesday. At least Ego wasn't driving him like it was yesterday. Karasu even talked to him in the same company during the long break. But You still didn't say anything about the upcoming birthday. At the end of the day, Karasu, tired of being patient, approached the blue-haired man himself.
Hiori, I heard that you will be celebrating your birthday on Saturday, but you didn't tell me anything about it—
"You know you won't be invited. Why do you ask?" Hiyori said with an exasperated sigh. Then he added quickly, " My parents are dragging me to some math contest again, so I'm off."
"Bye," Karasu said, looking at Hiyori's back. He couldn't believe that Yo had been rude to him.
Hiyori has always been a good person. Sometimes even too good. He was a polite guy who always helped if asked. He always helps his classmates as a prefect's duty. Even though You didn't even want to be a prefect. It was his parents' wish in the first place. Karasu couldn't understand what made Hiori angry. Tabito couldn't remember any major fights lately. He really didn't understand what was wrong.
That evening, Karasu called and texted a friend, but never received a response. Now Tabito was beginning to feel like he was being hated. And he still didn't know why. But after making a reasonable assessment of the situation, Karasu decided to talk to You. Even if Tabito made some mistake.. There was nothing wrong with making things right by talking. They will definitely discuss everything on Wednesday. Maybe Karasu will be able to present his gift earlier, if he wasn't invited to the party anyway.
On Wednesday, Tabito got up earlier than usual. This wasn't really necessary, since Karasu usually arrived ten minutes before the first class started. Most of his friends also got up early, so Tabito could chat with them or plan something after school. But today, his main task was to make peace with Hiori. Despite the fact that they didn't seem to be fighting. Karasu slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the house, heading to the Blue Lock “
When Tabito entered the classroom, there was no one there but Reo. Greeting Mikage and getting a “You're early”response Karasu asked Reo if Hiori had come. In response, the boy said that the prefect should already be at school, because he always goes to see Ego before coming to the first lesson. Tabito analyzed You's actions. Now it was clear why the class didn't learn about various events from Jinpachi. Receiving information from Hiyori is much better than hearing it from the Ego, with which students try not to cross paths once again. Karasu put his briefcase on the desk and walked towards the teacher. After going up to the second floor and passing through a couple of corridors, he bumped into Hiori before reaching the office.
"Are you free?" Tabitho started the conversation. Even if he wanted to talk, he wouldn't dare distract You from what he was doing.
"I was going to class. Shall we go together?" Hiori replied with a smile. It was confusing. Were they fighting or not?
"I'd like to talk, so let's step aside."
"Okay"
The boys retreated to a nearby recreation area and continued their conversation.
"First of all, did we have a fight?" Karasu asked, already guessing the answer.
"Did we fight?" Hiyori asked, cocking his head slightly to one side. This was the reaction Tabito had expected.
"You haven't returned my calls or texts. And I kind of expected you to invite me to your birthday party…"
"Haven't I already explained myself?"
"No, you didn't."
"But I sent you a voicemail when.". Oh, damn! It might not have gone because my parents took my phone away . Sorry! Then I'll start from afar. Remember when you walked me home on Friday?"
"Yes."
"So that's it. Before my mother took me away, you said my brain was lewd." She seems to have heard it.
"Oh."
"When she got home, she told father everything. He swore for a long time, saying, I began to study worse because of bad company. But this is absurd! Especially considering the fact that my grades didn't drop, " Hiori raised his voice. It can be understood. The situation is really annoying. With a click of his tongue, Yo continued in his usual tone — " They took my phone away from me and forbade me to talk to you. That's why I can't answer my phone or spend time with you. I think in a few months they will forget about it, but definitely not in the near future. I'm sorry I didn't explain anything. I thought you already knew, " Hiori said with sadness in his eyes. Karasu would never be able to get mad at someone like him!
"Apology accepted," Tabito took his phone out of his pocket and pulled the arcade card out from under its case. The arcade card doesn't look very impressive, but I hope you enjoy it. Since I won't be able to spend my birthday with you, I'd better give it to you sooner.
"Thank you, Karasu. I really like. I swear we'll go there together. Even if it will be in a year. This is a promise!" Hiori said and held out his hand to Karasu with his little finger sticking out.
"Like when we were a kid, huh?"
"Yeah. Anyone who breaks a promise will eat a thousand needles. "