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The sun bathes their park in light; for the whole past week, the weather has been especially pleasant, considering it's late March. The first flowers are already sprouting, and the same is sure to happen to cherry blossoms.
Viewing their blooming flowers is tradition, one Toya was never allowed to partake in; school breaks were usually filled with cold ivory keys, repeating melodies, and an ache in his hands that never seemed to cease. His classmates were usually coordinating different meet ups and events, ones he'd always have to decline attending. The world of classical music is one that has no time for a halt, for admiring the fleeting flowers; in order to attain success, one must hone their craft at all times.
“Dude, you good? You've totally spaced out.” That's Akito, his voice between light amusement and concern. They're in their park, taking a small break from practice. It seems like their rest is over.
“I apologize.” He bows his head, then stands up for their bench. What song were they going to work on after this break?
“What'cha thinkin’ so strongly about?” Akito bumps their shoulders together with a faint teasing smile.
“Cherry blossom season is upon us, correct? I’ve never had an opportunity to have a proper cherry blossom viewing, like the ones my classmates would always plan,” he admits. They’re currently rather busy with their upcoming event, so most likely, this year the cherry blossoms will pass him by. However, there’s always next year, and he doesn’t mind waiting.
“Then we’ve gotta change that!” An springs up from her seat. “They’re going to bloom in three days, according to forecasts. If we wait an extra day, then we’re sure to catch the best of it!”
“Oi, settle down,” Akito chides. “Let’s finish practice, then we can plan it in the evening.” He stretches his arms out leisurely.
“Sounds good, Shinonome-kun!” Kohane agrees.
They quickly settle back into the familiar groove of practicing. There’s an excited energy tickling along his nerves, though; he’s glad to view the cherry blossoms with his team.
Once he’s settled in at home, he takes out his phone. It’s been rather busy with notifications, so he hurries to open their groupchat.
Partner 🥞
>@Toya
>we need ya
>get an in line
Shiraishi 🎧
>what the hell
>youre the one who started
Partner 🥞
>if im gonna be makin the sweets then you dont get to tell me what to do
>worry about your sandwiches
Shiraishi 🎧
>be warned that youre not getting any
Ah. They’re arguing, of course. He’s not sure what else he expected.
Toya
What seems to be the issue?<
Partner 🥞
>so far we decided that im doin sweet snacks, ans on savoury snacks, kohane on drinks and you in charge of activities
>tho you gotta be the one in charge in general
>bc an is insisting i make muffins even tho id rather make cookies
>its your first time and i know you like cookies better
>tell her off
Shiraishi 🎧
>rude??????????????
Toya
Couldn’t you prepare both, Akito?<
If it’s not too much trouble, of course.<
Partner 🥞
>ill make both then
Azusawa 🐹
>ehe (˶ˆᗜˆ˵)
>i’m looking forward to them, Shinonome-kun (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
Shiraishi 🎧
>its over just like that???
> u rlly are like an obedient dog that only listens to Toya
Partner 🥞
>shut the fuck up
>now youre not gettin anythin from me
Azusawa 🐹
>Aoyagi-kun, could you check SEKAI when you have a moment?
>Me and An-chan can’t find any of our games (｡>﹏<)
>Maybe they’re there?
Shiraishi 🎧
>you cant deny me my muffins
Partner 🥞
>i absolutely can
Toya
I will check soon, then.<
I might also ask for advice on what activities could be fun.<
Shiraishi 🎧
>no need to be so serious!! well have fun no matter what
Partner 🥞
>yeah
>dont sweat it
Toya
I understand.<
I’d like to talk to the Virtual Singers regardless, to inform them of our plans.<
I’ll head over to SEKAI now. Behave.<
With a fond shake of his head, he closes the groupchat to play Untitled instead. White light envelops him, and moments later, he lands in front of the cafe.
“Toya-kun,” MEIKO greets, turning away from the cafe door. “What brings you here so late?”
“There’s a few matters I need to attend to. What are you doing, MEIKO-san?” He looks over her shoulder to see a few pink branches stuck to the cafe door.
“I found some cherry blossom decals, so I’m decorating the door with them.” She steps away, showing off her work so far.
“I like it. Seasonal decorations are always quite charming,” he praises. “Also, we’ll be having a cherry blossom viewing picnic in four days. You’re welcome to look around, possibly even peek out of our phones if we’re certain it’s safe.”
“Thanks for the invitation. I’ll let the others know when I see them.” MEIKO looks at him expectantly, like she knows that’s not all he has to say.
“Firstly, are Azusawa’s and Shiraishi’s games here? I’ve been tasked with selecting the activities we’ll be doing, and playing games together is the only one I have so far.”
“I put them away on one of the shelves, I’ll show you where.” MEIKO opens the door and heads in. He follows after her, watching her drop off the remaining decals on one of the tables. “We’re also thinking about folding some origami cherry blossoms and stringing them around the cafe. What do you think?”
“It’d look beautiful. Without proper cherry blossoms growing here, it’d be a faithful recreation of the canopy, I believe.” He follows behind MEIKO as she heads over to a cabinet far back in the cafe and opens the first door.
“Here’s your games. Whenever you leave them behind, I’ll put them away here for you.” MEIKO waits until he picks up the stack before closing the door. “Now, you mentioned that games are the only activity you have. Is there anything else you might want to try?”
“I’m unsure.” He looks down to the stack of boxes and cards in his hands. “I don’t know what other group activities would befit this occasion.”
MEIKO hums, light and melodic. “How about drawing? You could all try to draw the same thing, or perhaps each other, and see how your drawings differ from one another.”
“That’s a brilliant suggestion. I’ll ask Akito where to get supplies from, since he often purchases them for Ena-san and knows which ones are of good quality.” He bows lightly. “Thank you, MEIKO-san.”
“It’s no problem. Have fun during the picnic, okay?” MEIKO smiles. “I better finish sticking on these decals.” MEIKO heads back to the door, picking up the decals along the way.
He quickly pauses Untitled. Drawing with everyone sounds like an exciting activity. He’s looking forward to their picnic even more now.
Four days later, they all meet up in their park; as An predicted, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Once An arrives, they’re ready to find a spot.
“I didn’t wanna be late, but I slept in a little,” she pouts. “I left as much work as I could for today, so it’d be fresh.”
Akito releases a long suffering sigh.
“I appreciate your efforts, Shiraishi,” he offers.
“Thanks. Someone clearly doesn’t.” She looks pointedly at Akito, who sticks his tongue out at her.
“Ya admitted to oversleepin’.” Akito fixes An with a flat stare.
“Yeah, and you’re a freak of nature.” She fires back.
“Um, the drinks are from An-chan’s recipes, and I hope they taste good enough.” Kohane diverts the topic, a hint of a sharp edge in her voice.
“I’m sure they’re fine!” An bumps Kohane’s shoulder.
“How about there?” He points to an empty spot between the trees, which should give them a wonderful view of the surrounding trees.
“That’s perfect! You’re a genius, Toya!” An rushes over, placing down a container and unfolding her blanket. She expertly spreads it out on the grass, then kneels down to start unpacking. “First off, here’s the sandwiches Akito’s getting none of.” She places the container down. He can see little toothpicks stuck into them, with paper cherry blossoms decorating the top. “Then, I also made some dip and breadsticks, and onigiri, and eggrolls, and some cold skewers! And the paper flowers on the toothpicks are all handmade, too!” An proudly gestures to her boxes.
Kohane places down her backpack next, then pulls out a portable fridge. “Um, I made cherry blossom lemonade, I also brought black tea infused with cherry blossoms. Oh, and some water with lemon, and a thermos with coffee. And I even found a pink set of paper plates, cups and utensils, so I bought it.” Kohane takes out the aforementioned set; the plates are decorated with blossoming branches, as are the cups. “I also have sugar packets, as nothing is sweetened.”
“You’re so smart, Kohane!” An squeals, wrapping Kohane in a hug.
“Ehe, thank you, An-chan.”
“I brought the muffins,” Akito says sharply, while lifting the cover from the tray; the muffins are decorated beautifully, some have chocolate shaped like branches with pink candy on top, some have flowers and petals stuck into them. “Blue wrapper’s low sugar. I also got cookies, the blue container’s low sugar, too. Anythin’ with blue is low sugar.” Akito takes out two containers of cookies shaped like cherry blossoms, complete with a pink glaze.
“Show off.” An murmurs, trying to look upset and failing.
Akito glares at her before continuing.
“Made some cake pops, tried to shape ‘em like the flowers, but they didn’t come out the best.” The cake pops Akito takes out look beautiful, closer to professional than his words really let on. “And I got some cheesecake in cups, too.” Akito takes out one last container, with the cups wrapped in pink or blue ribbon.
“Everything looks really delicious,” he praises, taking a seat between An and Akito. “I brought a few games, as well as some empty sheets and pencils. MEIKO-san suggested we attempt to draw together, perhaps even each other, and it’s something I’d like to try out.”
“Sounds cool! But first, we should dig in!” An happily reaches for a muffin, though a hand seizes her wrist before she can reach one. “Oh my God, fine, you can have a sandwich.”
“You’re not gonna say anythin’ else?” Akito mutters threateningly, though his hold on An’s wrist isn’t as tight as it could be.
“What do you want me to say? ‘I’m sorry I said the truth’? Well, here it is.” Her response makes Akito huff in annoyance. “You know it’s true! You don’t listen to me or Kohane the same way you do to Toya.” An throws her free hand in the air.
“Akito,” he interrupts. Akito drops An’s wrist.
“Fine,” he grumbles, then reaches for a sandwich.
An takes her muffin, gesturing briefly between Akito and him. He shakes his head in response, as it’s not worth bickering over this any further.
He takes a plate, wondering what to start with. Everything looks delicious, and they all went through the extra effort to make it on theme, too. He carefully picks up a sandwich, making sure to keep the paper blossom intact, then takes an onigiri, as well as a few cookies from the blue box.
“Azusawa, could you pour me some tea, please?” he asks, placing the plate in his lap.
“Of course! Does anyone else want a drink?” She looks between An and Akito, who both nod.
“I’ll also try the tea, jus’ pass me a sugar packet with it.”
“Me too!” An mumbles out with her mouth full, then quickly swallows. “Damn, these are unfairly good.”
“Ha.” Akito’s triumph falls a little flat over the fact that he’s eagerly piling one of everything on his plate, including the foods An prepared.
“Here you go!” Kohane hands him his cup, then gives An and Akito theirs.
“Mm, we should do a toast!” An declares, waiting for Kohane to pour herself a cup of tea. “Y’know, like, we should cheer for this picnic! And for more things like this in the future!” An proudly raises her cup, rolling her eyes when Akito snorts.
“That’s the shittiest toast I’ve ever heard.” Akito raises his cup regardless of his complaints, and he and Kohane quickly follow.
“Cheers!” They call together, then take a sip. The tea tastes wonderful, bitter with lingering flowery notes from the cherry blossoms.
“It’s delicious, Kohane.” he praises, placing it down to take a cookie instead.
“Ehe, thank you! An-chan’s recipes helped me a lot.” Kohane takes another sip from her cup, then piles some food on her own plate.
He bites into his blossom-shaped cookie. It’s really good, and only has a faint sweetness carried by the cherry blossom flavouring. Once he finishes it, he tries the sandwich; it’s delicious and filling, packed with vegetables and ham, complete with a nice condiment he can’t quite identify; it must be handmade.
“You both outdid yourselves, Akito, Shiraishi. Your foods are delicious,” he praises with a nod.
“Aw, thanks Toya!” An responds, while Akito rubs his neck and looks away.
“‘Course it’s good.” The faint blush dusting Akito’s cheeks makes his nonchalant dismissal fall flat.
“The egg rolls are really good, An-chan,” Kohane mutters out from behind her roll.
“Thanks, Kohane!” An wraps the other girl in a hug with her free hand. Kohane squeaks in response, while An happily sways them.
“Toya, what games d’ya got?” Akito turns to him, while sliding off the cheese and vegetable from a skewer.
“I brought cards, as well as Jinsei Game,” he answers, “I’ll unpack them once we’ve eaten.”
“Alright.” Akito cracks his knuckles, then focuses back on eating. His face is blissful as he bites into a breadstick with a happy sigh.
Shaking his head, he looks back at his plate. He finishes the onigiri, then picks up a breadstick and dip, since Akito seemed particularly fond of them. The crust is crunchy, while the inside is soft; the herbal dip adds a pleasant freshness to it.
“Wait, if Toya’s got Jinsei Game, shouldn’t we start now? It’s gonna be ages before we’re done.” An jolts, pulling away from Kohane.
“You’re fast,” Akito snorts from behind his muffin.
“If we make space in the middle, I’ll start preparing the board.” He puts down his plate to start moving their containers.
“Oh, yeah!” An rushes to help him, as does Kohane. Akito haphazardly moves some of his boxes away before returning to his muffin.
“Thank you.” Once there’s enough space, he takes out the box and begins unpacking. He places down both boards, then distributes the money, then takes everyone’s pieces: his blue, Akito’s yellow, Kohane’s red and An’s green.
“Alright! Who should start, then?” An asks, stretching her arms out in front of her before picking up a cake pop. “These don’t look half bad!”
“Thanks. An’ Toya should, ‘s his first cherry blossom viewing party,” Akito mutters out between bites of onigiri.
“If you don’t mind, then I will.” Once An and Kohane shake their heads, he picks up the dice and rolls.
The game goes as expected, meaning really slow. An’s and Akito’s bickering doesn’t aid the game time, and neither does the fact that they’re all eating between their turns, and it takes them painstakingly long to get out of the junior board. Akito triumphantly rolls into the doctor career, only for An to upstage him by becoming a star. His own job as a programmer is fine, though not as lucky as those two. He’s somewhat relieved to see An lose her job later on, as it gives him a better chance at winning.
In the end, Kohane and her car full of children sweep the victory; he ends up in second, with Akito behind him, and An landing in last.
“Let’s not play Jinsei anymore.” An hurries to help him pack the board, eager to remove the game from sight.
“Someone’s a sore loser,” Akito chuckles.
“You barely placed above me!” An threateningly points a stack of money at Akito, who snatches it out of her hands and places it back in the box.
“How about we try drawing now?” Kohane suggests in a clear attempt at peacekeeping.
“Oh, sure!” An, easily swayed by her partner’s words, wraps her in a hug. “What should we draw?”
“MEIKO-san did suggest drawing each other. Perhaps we could do a set amount of time per person, then switch once we’re done. That way, everyone draws everyone,” he proposes.
“That’d work.” Akito reaches for a cheesecake cup, eagerly digging in with a spoon. “Ena snatched one yesterday and said they’re really good. Haven’t had time to try’em myself.” Akito shoves a spoonful of cheesecake into his mouth. His eyes roll back moments after. “Shit, ‘sh amazin’,” he mumbles out, mouth full.
“Wow, self-absorbed much?” An teases. Akito only takes another spoonful and shoves it her way. She does try the cheesecake, dropping down after she takes a bite. “Fine, you win, cheesecake lover.”
Akito, ever mature, flips her off and shoves another spoonful of cheesecake into his mouth.
He quickly passes around their pencils and paper, as well as some cardboard to use as backing.
“Would fifteen minutes work? I can set a timer on my phone.” Kohane accepts her items from him, unlocking her phone with her free hand.
“Works for me.” Akito shrugs, eyebrows raising up when he notices An take a cheesecake cup. An sticks her tongue out at him.
“Is now a bad time?” There’s a voice coming from his phone, and he jolts with surprise. He takes his phone to see MEIKO peeking out of it.
“Ah, MEIKO-san. I think it’s alright for you to look. We’re about to start drawing, like you suggested.” He places his phone in his lap, in a way that will let MEIKO see what he’s drawing.
“Oh, we get to watch you draw?” Luka pops out of Akito’s phone alongside KAITO.
“That sounds fun! We should try that sometime!” Rin excitedly bumps Len’s shoulder, both of them peeking out of An’s phone.
“Good luck, Kohane,” Miku encourages from Kohane’s phone.
“Hehe, thank you, Miku-chan. Who should we start with?” Kohane looks between the remaining three of them.
“You! I wanna draw my precious partner!” An proudly declares. “We can go either clockwise or anticlockwise, so it’d be either Akito or me next.”
“I don’t mind either.” Akito waves his hand dismissively.
“Mm, then I’m next! Drawing myself seems hard, so I want it to be over quick.”
“That’s not very encouragin’ for Kohane, since ya made her draw herself first.” Akito raises his eyebrows.
“I can be first if you’d prefer, Azusawa,” he offers.
“It’s okay, thank you, Aoyagi-kun. I don’t mind.” Kohane determinedly spins her pencil. “Should I start?”
“Yeah!” “Yes.” “Go for it.”
He looks between his page and Kohane. She has big, soft eyes and thicker eyebrows. Her mousy bangs frame her face, and she’s in one of her trademark hats. Artists usually start by figuring out the placement of all features, don’t they? Breaking down everything into shapes is a common technique from what he knows, so he draws in a delicate circle to serve as a base. A head-on angle seems the best, since he’s sitting directly opposite to her, so he starts drawing in her features.
Ah, but should he try stylizing it?
With such a short time, there’s no possibility of him making a realistic drawing. He takes an eraser and removes his current progress, quickly fixing his circle to retry. Soft features mean curves, and she has dimples when she smiles, so he should include those, too. He separates her hair into simpler shapes, similar to how anime often focuses on the overall shape rather than the individual strands. He adds her pigtails, and her hat, and—
She’s rather off-axis.
She was straight just moments ago. He looks between her and MEIKO, though it’s looking rather hopeless, not to mention angled.
“Sorry, Toya-kun. I’m not sure I can help,” she murmurs out, quiet to not disturb the others.
He nods in acknowledgement and grips his pencil tighter. He just has to move a few things, and she will look better.
“Time’s out!” Kohane announces alongside her phone going off.
“Should we reveal our drawings now?” he asks, looking between Kohane and angled Kohane.
“Let’s wait till the end?” Akito suggests, rubbing his neck. “Keeps the suspense, I guess.”
“That sounds good, Shinonome-kun,” Kohane nods. “An-chan next, then.”
“Yeah. Could ya pass me the lemonade before we start?”
While Akito and Kohane are busy, he shuffles angled Kohane to the bottom of his pile. Hopefully, he can do An proper justice. Once Kohane resets the timer, he resolutely puts his pencil to the paper.
An’s to his left, though he doesn’t think he should attempt a side profile. Perhaps drawing a straight on angle will be easier now? He pencils in a circle to try again.
An has a bright smile and bright eyes, with small eyebrows sat atop. Her bangs are partially pinned up by vibrant hair clips to reveal an earring, while flowing freely on the other side. She’s a joyful, vibrant person, and he wants to capture that essence. Her eyes are sharper than Kohane’s, and her hair gradients into blue… should he try to mark it down someway? He gently fills in the tips of her bangs and the strand that curls in front, then adds her stars and clips. He moves away to check if she’s straight; she’s slightly off, but way better than angled Kohane. He draws in her ear. It looks wrong; too small, or maybe wrongly angled? He erases it, then tries again. It still doesn’t look right. Perhaps it needs to be a little lower? He erases, then draws it in once more, though it still doesn’t look how it should.
Kohane’s alarm interrupts his fixing once more. He quickly shuffles his drawing to the bottom, then waits for the signal to start.
He has to draw himself.
He has two toned blue hair, split down the middle. His eyes are more narrow, and there’s a few moles scattered around his face. Kohane likes it when he smiles, so perhaps he should draw himself with a smile. An is similar, often poking his cheeks when a smile puffs them out, so he has to make his smile wide enough. Akito commented once that his eyes squint whenever he smiles super wide, so he should include that, too.
Ah, the eye doesn’t look properly squinted. He quickly erases it and tries again; it’s not perfect, though it’s certainly passable. The other eye should hopefully come out better.
It comes out worse.
Biting his lip, he erases it and tries again; it needs to be symmetrical, nearly closed with the force of his smile. He hadn’t realized how difficult this’d be; somehow, drawing Kohane and An was easier. His eye is still rather crooked, but Kohane’s alarm rings before he can fix it.
Only Akito left.
Akito’s lips often stretch into a self-assured, almost cocky, lopsided grin. Despite that, his eyes are warm and soft, while his fluffy hair is artfully messy. There’s freckles scattered across his full cheeks and nose. He needs to draw Akito right; Akito’s his partner, and he deserves a proper drawing.
Ah, his smile doesn’t look right.
He erases and tries again; it’s still missing something, though, so he reattempts to fix it. Maybe now it’ll look good? He leans away a little, and it’s still not correct. He erases once more, frowning when he notices the smear currently present on his page. That’s not good. He redraws it once more, jolting a little when Kohane’s alarm rings.
“Time’s up! Ehe, I’m excited to see how everyone did.” Kohane carefully places her phone down, then gathers her drawings into one pile.
“Should we place them all in the middle?” An suggests, eagerly leaning forward.
“Let’s do that. We can compare the differences in our drawings that way.”
They arrange their drawings one next to another; a row of Kohanes, Ans, himselves and Akitos, with his column being third. Akito tosses an arm over him as he moves closer, An also moving closer to make space for Kohane.
He takes in their drawings; Kohane’s have a cuter style with similarly adorable expressions, probably inspired by mahou shoujo shows; An’s take on a sleeker look, the four of them looking cool, possibly influenced by popular shounens. Akito’s drawings look really good; his messy lines create sketches of the three of them smiling, warmth and joy obvious on their faces. His drawing of himself has a more subdued, fond expression he sometimes shows around them.
“Why’re you so different?” An pokes his drawing of himself.
“Dunno, felt weird to draw myself smilin’ like that.” Akito rubs his neck. “Y’all’s look good. And ya improved with each one, Toya. Good job.” Akito ruffles his hair, and he leans into it a little.
“Thank you. They could’ve been better, though,” he pauses for a moment. “I like how adorable we look, Azusawa.”
“Ehe, thank you! I like yours a lot, too.”
“What about mine?” An pulls Kohane close. “They’re your favourites, right?”
“Answer carefully, Kohane-chan,” MEIKO chuckles.
“Um, I can’t pick a favourite.” Kohane blushes when An squeezes her harder.
“You can say it! They won’t be mad.”
“We won’t?” Akito looks at him, and he shakes his head in response.
“Akito, your drawings are so good!” Len compliments. “Do you draw a lot?”
“Nah, they’re not much. Ena’s way better at it.” Akito rubs his neck.
“I like them a lot, Akito. Would it be alright if I kept the one of me?” He picks up the drawing; his own face beams back at him. Akito did much better at the thing he attempted to do, his wide smile forcing his eyes almost closed.
“Sure.”
“Wait, can I too? We could each take the drawings of ourselves.” An excitedly picks up Kohane’s drawing of her.
“Hehe, I’d like that. We could have little keepsakes to remember this by.” Kohane picks up the drawings of her, neatly stacking them together before putting them in her backpack.
“Can we draw each other too?” Rin turns to MEIKO, quickly popping over to his phone.
“We can. Let’s head back to find supplies, shall we? Enjoy the rest of your picnic.” MEIKO disappears with a warm smile. After saying their goodbyes and promising to stop by later on, the rest of the Virtual Singers disappear, too.
“Phew!” An falls back, laying down on the blanket and grass. “That was tiring. I never drew so much in such a short time.”
“Are you alright, Shiraishi?” He looks at her, smiling when she nods.
“Yeah! And the blossoms look really nice from this angle.” An reaches up to catch a petal.
“I see. Perhaps I should try that, too.” He lowers himself onto the soft grass, looking up at the flowering canopy. “It does look beautiful like this.”
At the edge of his vision, he can see Kohane and Akito doing the same. It’s nice, to do something so mundane with his team again.
“Thank you,” he says. “Spending time like this every once in a while is very pleasant. I’m glad you were so eager to indulge me.”
“‘Course.” He sees Akito wave his hand. “We’re always happy to do stuff with ya.”
“Yeah! And we were probably due a break, anyway.” An lets the petal she caught fly away.
“If there’s anything else you’d like to experience with us, let us know! This is fun, and I’d like to plan another outing together,” Kohane adds on.
They stay like this for a little while, making a list of activities to try together someday. Despite the flowers casting shade on the four of them, his chest feels incredibly warm.