Chapter Text
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
A sharp ring echoed off the walls. An alarm that sat on a bedside stand rung through out the small bedroom of Yashiro Nene.
Her eyelids opened in a rush as she jumped off her bed. Her hair was messy with strands all in the wrong places. Shutting off her alarm since her ears were already aggravated, she picked up her phone on her nightstand, scrolling through her messages.
10 unread messages from Amane Yugi.
Wait...
10 MESSAGES?!
Unlocking her phone, she checked what was wrong. Amane wasn't the type to send that amount of messages to anyone, only one, then he'd wait for a reply.
7:12 AM
Amane: Good morning, daikon!
Did you sleep well?
7:29 AM
Amane: Shouldn't you be awake by now?
7:45 AM
Amane: Did you oversleep again??
7:47 AM
Amane: Yashirooo?
7:49 AM
Amane: I'm outside your house...
your lights are still off
7:52 AM
Amane: Please tell me you’re just getting dressed and not still asleep
7:55 AM
Amane: We’re gonna be late if you don’t wake up soon
7:58 AM
Amane: I brought an extra hair tie
And your umbrella
And that bread you like
8:01 AM
Amane: Okay I’m knocking in 2 minutes
If you’re mad I’ll let you hit me once
Deal?
She sighed loudly as she made her way to the restroom to at least fix her messy hair. Downstairs, she could hear her mother and another person talking. Amane was already waiting for her, and school started in fifteen minutes.
Running down the stairs, both her mother and Amane stared at her. Amane's expression changed instantly the moment he saw her, a smug grin spread across his face,
"Seems like someone slept late, huh, Yashiro?" he teased as he handed her bread. "Were you doing something dirt–"
Her cheeks reddened out of embarrassment. "Shut up! I wasn't! You're so weird, Amane!"
Yashiro's mother sent them off before they could get any later; they both waved at her as they left quickly.
Nene remained silent throughout the walk, and Amane couldn't help but notice. He talked about his demonic brother and how he almost ate a candle that morning as an "experiment" because his friends wouldn't let him do it on them. They both chuckled at the story, but then it fell silent again. Suddenly, a small nudge caught Nene's attention.
"What was that for?"
He shrugged, crossing his arms. "I dunno. You've been acting weird since this morning."
She looked at him with equal confusion. "What do you mean? I'm not."
"You overslept, ignored your alarm, and you're super quiet."
"I—huh? I always do that... Amane, I swear I'm fine."
He suddenly stopped walking, gripping her shoulders gently but firmly.
"Yashiro."
"You've been my friend since kindergarten. I know you more than you think! What's wrong?"
Nene's cheeks flushed at her last name being used. He always referred to her by her last name, but lately... each time he did, a warm feeling bloomed in her chest, something she couldn't quite explain.
Seeing her blush, the younger boy's grin widened. "Do you have a crush—" he gasped.
"No! What makes you think that?! You're definitely not my type!"
"I didn't say it was me. Am I your cr—" he teased.
"Shut up already!" Nene snapped, but her tone lacked bite.
If Nene was quiet at the start of the walk, now it was worse. She refused to meet Amane's gaze, only nodding or humming when he spoke. Amane found her flustered state amusing. He told her about his twin brother, school work, and an upcoming soccer game he was taking part in. He tried everything, but she just wouldn't talk to him.
By the time the first bell rang, they arrived at Kamome Academy. Nene was visibly unravelling, while Amane looked as smug as ever, arm draped over her shoulder. Kou waved them over, while Mitsuba Sousuke grumbled about the homework.
Mitsuba eyed Amane and Nene before spitting out an insult. "Why is the daikon so red?"
"What did you do to Senpai?" Kou demanded, pulling Nene away from him.
"I didn't do anything to her! Why would you think I'd do something?" Amane taunted, grabbing Nene's arm as Kou took her away.
"Because you're a pervert," Kou pointed out, "and you always play with Nene's feelings."
"When did I do that?" Amane asked.
Mitsuba scoffed skeptically. "You kissed her on her cheek last week."
"Yeah, so? I always do that as a friend," Amane shrugged, though it sounded confusing.
"Are you stupid? No wonder you dig in toilets..." Mitsuba muttered before walking off.
The second bell unexpectedly rang, and Nene murmured as she headed to her first class. Amane was upset—she hadn’t even said goodbye! Kou sighed, walking with the younger boy to their classes, scolding him about playing with Nene and her feelings. Amane just nodded, even though he'd probably do it again.
* *
...The rest of Amane's day was horrible. Not in the usual sense, but to him, it was one of the worst days ever.
Nene refused to talk, look at him, or walk close to him. He hadn’t realized that his joke had upset her so much. What he didn't understand was why she was so upset today; he’d always teased her about those topics, but she had never shut down like this.
During class, he caught Nene staring at him, but she looked away quickly when he met her gaze. He pouted and kept listening, his thoughts circling around Nene so much that concentrating became difficult; he wanted to know what he'd done wrong to apologize.
After class, he'd tried to confront her about this morning and to apologize.
"Yashiro," he murmured, grabbing her arm gently. "Did my joke this morning upset you? I'm sorry, I didn't—"
She ran.
She ran before he could even finish his sentence. He stood there dumbfounded, then sighed as he left for his next class. He gripped his sukuba tighter while his face contorted in different expressions at once.
By lunch break, he was emotionally drained. He tried everything to get her to pay attention to him, but nothing was working. He waited in line with his twin brother, and Tsukasa noticed Amane was sulking. As the little brother he is, naturally, he'd want to know what was wrong and try to help.
"Hey, Amane," he piped, tone getting higher by the second. "What's got you so... pouty today?"
Amane murmured a few words that Tsukasa couldn't quite catch. The only words comprehensible from whatever he had said were Yashiro, avoiding, and blushing.
"You have a crush on Yashiro?" Tsukasa basically shouted, eyes widening in mischief.
His older brother stared him down before shouting back. "What? I said that she's been avoiding me, and her face is red around me!"
"Ohhhh," Tsukasa smirked.
Amane didn't deny that he had a crush on Nene. Since it was his brother's secret, Tsukasa would try his best not to tell anyone, even though he just screamed in the caféteria about it.
Meanwhile, Nene sat at a table with Aoi, taking slow bites out of her plate. Aoi was rambling to her about rumors and spooky stories she'd found for her, considering Nene was a fan of horror. She noticed that Nene was more zoned out than usual and looked lovestruck; her conclusion was that she was thinking about her childhood best friend again.
Aoi leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands as she studied Nene carefully. "Nene," she said slowly, dragging out her name.
"You look like someone who just realized something."
Nene snapped out of it, blinking. "Huh?"
"You're smiling at your rice."
The chopsticks she was holding suddenly stopped mid-air while her face flushed out of pure embarrassment.
"Aoi! I am not!" she sputtered.
Aoi giggled softly. "You totally are, and you've been zoning out all lunch," she tilted her head, palm resting on her chin. "Let me guess... this is about Amane again, right?"
Nene nearly choked on her rice.
"W-What?! Why would I be thinking about him?!" Her voice came out higher than she meant to, drawing a few glances from nearby tables.
Aoi simply smiled, the kind of smile when someone has already figured everything out.
"Well, you two have been inseparable since forever," she said casually. "And you were really red this morning when you got here."
Nene's face burned hotter.
That stupid kiss.
Her finger slowly traced the spot on her cheek absentmindedly.
Last week, during the afternoon, before they separated to go home, Amane had leaned over like it was the most normal thing in the world and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
"Good luck charm," he whispered with a grin.
At the time, she just pushed him off and then yelled at him. Of course.
But later that night... Nene groaned quietly and dropped her forehead onto the table.
It made her realize something.
Something she didn't know she felt for Amane until last week.
Aoi laughed gently. "You're not even denying it, Nene."
"Okay... maybe I like him? Just a bit..." Nene mumbled.
"...And I brought a gift for him today."
Across the cafeteria, Amane sat with his tray, staring miserably at his food. Tsukasa sat beside him, kicking his feet under the table while grinning as he'd just discovered something interesting.
"You should just talk to her," Tsukasa sang.
Amane groaned, dropping his head onto the table.
"I tried."
"You didn't try hard enough," Tsukasa replied cheerfully, shoving another piece of sushi down his throat.
"She ran away, Tsu! Ran away!"
He snorted, still chewing on the rest of his rice. "That's because you're weird."
"I'm not weird," he snapped with no bite, slowly lifting his head and wiping the small crumbs of rice on Tsukasa's face. Messy eater...
"You kissed her and then asked if she had a crush," Tsukasa said flatly. "That's weird."
Amane stared at his brother as he had just betrayed him. "...You're supposed to be on my side."
"I am on your side," Tsukasa said brightly. "Which is why I'm telling you that you're being dumb!"
Amane frowned down at his tray again.
On the other side of the cafeteria, Nene slowly ate her rice while talking with Aoi.
"I was planning to confess to him today..."
"But maybe I should apologize as well," she murmured.
Aoi raised an eyebrow, quickly checking the time. "For what?"
"For running away earlier..." Nene admitted sheepishly.
Aoi's smile widened, a small giggle escaping her. "Yes," she said immediately. "You should."
Nene looked across the cafeteria without thinking, right at Amane. At the same exact moment, their eyes met.
For a split second, they both froze.
Amane's ears instantly turned pink, and Nene looked away quickly as her cheeks flushed.
Tsukasa burst out laughing a bit too loudly.
"Oh," he said delightedly, watching the two of them panic from opposite sides of the room. "This is going to be fun."
Aoi grinned, grabbing Nene's hands firmly but gently. "We'll make this the best confession ever."
* *
The rest of the school day passed like a slow, agonizing pace for both Nene and Amane. Nene had decided that she wouldn't speak to him until the very end. Not a word. Not a hint. She clenched her fists under the desk, stealing glances at him during class while rehearsing her confession silently over and over in her mind.
Amane, meanwhile, was equally frustrated but worried. Every time he looked im her direction, he caught her stealing a glance before shyly looking away. He tried waving, joking, even tossing small gestures in her way, but Nene's icy politeness or soft "thanks" kept him on edge.
Tsukasa noticed what was happening immediately.
Just like he always does.
"You're doing it wrong, Amane," Tsukasa whispered, grinning widely. "She's clearly trying not to talk to you. You need to figure out how to break through that wall of silence before she melts into a puddle of embarrassment or something."
Amane silently groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I don't even know what to say! She's... she's acting weird, and I just want to know what's wrong!"
"Exactly," Tsukasa said, leaning back with a smirk. "So stop overthinking and pay attention to her! You know she likes you, and you like her! You're hopeless if you don't see it."
"She doesn't like me like that, you idiot!" Amane protested a bit too loudly, concerned glances turning towards him. Second time it's happened today...
"Yugi twins. Stop it with your chitchats and focus." The teacher said.
They both nodded, and Amane went back to quietly sulking while secretly stealing small glances at Nene.
By the end of class, Amane was pouting like a toddler. He had tried everything to get Nene to talk with him, but nothing worked.
"Amane. I need to speak with you for a moment, if you don't mind."
The teacher, Tsuchigomori, called out before he left.
"I've noticed you haven't been focused today. Did something happen?" He questioned, taking another large sip of his coffee.
Amane scratched the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "No, not really. Yashiro's just mad at me, I think."
He looked somewhat surprised. Amane could be annoying towards her, but she wouldn't ignore him for this long. "Apologize to her for whatever you did, and give her time to think about it."
"I've tried, Sensei! She ran away when I tried!" He whined, gripping his bag tighter.
"Ah. I see what's going on here," he chuckled, setting his mug down. "Yugi, I don't think she's mad at you. Just wait a bit, alright?"
Amane was rather confused, but nodded anyway as he left, waving at his teacher before quickly making his way to his next class.
The day continued on. Every passing period's pace seemed like it was slower, and they were each filled with tiny, tension-filled moments.
In math, Nene accidentally dropped her pencil case near Amane's desk. He bent down to pick it up, their fingers brushing for a moment. Both of them froze before Nene muttered a quick "thank you" and looked away.
In the hallway between classes, she bumped into him again, almost dropping her books. Amane steadied her before she could fall and whispered, "Careful, Yashiro..." She stumbled a bit and mumbled an excuse.
Every time this happened, Tsukasa would snicker in Amane's ear, making it clear he saw everything, whether he liked it or not.
Finally, the last bell rang. Students flooded the hallways, chattering and rushing to the front gate. Nene clutched her bag tightly, heart pounding like a drum in her chest. She could see Amane ahead, walking at his usual pace, backpack slung over one shoulder.
Tsukasa elbowed Amane lightly. "Hey, A-ma-neeee! She's clearly planning something!"
Amane frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
"She's nervous, determined. Probably about you," he answered with a mischievous grin.
"About me?! Tsukasa! Have you lost your mind? Stop making these accusations!"
Meanwhile, Nene's chest felt like it was about to burst. She had rehearsed this moment countless times in her head, but now, seeing him so close to leaving, fear and excitement twisted in her stomach. She took a deep breath, gathering every ounce of courage she had left.
As Amane and Tsukasa reached the front gate, about to step out, Nene's feet moved on their own. She dashed forward, her hand trembling as she grabbed his arm.
He froze, turning toward her with wide, surprised eyes.
"Amane," she said, her voice catching slightly as her cheeks burned bright red.
"I need to tell you something!"
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