An Onigiri's Rock Collector (Bo x Masao)

Chapter 6 | Kazama

Masao was unbearably insane. He would listen to no one who criticized his relationship with Ai.

"I've decided that I'm not going to buy her anything. I'm going to draw a portrait of her." He told Bo the day prior.

"That's...something." Bo wasn't sure if Ai would appreciate it as much as he did his own portrait, which was now framed and hanging in his bedroom.

"It'll be a gift made with time, effort, and love. I'm going to do it over the weekend. She'll think I'm so talented, and then we'll get married!" Masao fantasized.

"In high school?"

"Let me dream, Bo-chan."

It was now the weekend. Bo had been sitting on the floor of his living room for hours, staring at the onigiri rocks he collected the past month. He felt sad, like he would never be able to tell him how he felt.

A voice echoed from outside, calling his name: "Bo-chan!"

He immediately rose and went to answer the door. But it couldn't be Masao this time, for the voice was a bit deeper than his.

It was Kazama.
"Let's take a walk." He said.

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The two paced on a trail at a park in silence. The birds chirped and the trees whispered, as if they were trying to create a conversation for them. Bo's hair danced in the afternoon's cool wind because he hadn't had time to fix it.

They decided to rest on a hill, where there could see nothing but a lake and a few passersby in their view. Kazama looked a bit calm, calmer than usual. He also still had his school bag with him, despite it being Saturday.

Bo knew what he wanted to talk to him about, but just when would he speak up about it?

"Bo-chan." He finally said. "Shinnosuke and I...are dating now."

Bo congratulated his friend and clapped for him. He didn't expect him to confess so soon. "You said you would wait until he won the boxing match. What happened?"

Kazama felt embarrassed, but in a good way. "Well...time happened, I guess. Yesterday we were just doing our usual sparring routine in the gym, it were only the two of us in there since we stayed so late. All of a sudden Shinnosuke just stopped and faced me with this...quiet stare...he said 'Kazama-kun, I'm tired. I don't want to do this anymore.'

"I asked him why, but all he did was sit down on the bleachers and take off his boxing gloves without saying a word. I sat next to him; I thought something was wrong with him and he just didn't want to tell me. Of course I was worried out my mind, it was so odd of Shinnosuke! I had a feeling it was my fault for pushing him for my own benefit."

"So what happened?" Bo asked.

"He grabbed my face and kissed me. We kissed on those bleachers."

"Shin-chan is daring." Bo commented.

"He sure is. He knew exactly what my plan was, but he said nothing until yesterday because he wanted to be alone with me, too. He even invited me to spend the night at his house...I don't even remember much about what happened there because we were too busy making out practically the entire night. It was a good thing because it gave him motivation to win. I was going to go home, but I wanted to give you an update on our relationship. You're the only person I've told about us."

"So you ditched cram school, too?"

Kazama laughed in guilt, "You don't have to say it out loud...Why'd you stop going there anyway, Bo-chan?"

"It was too boring for me." He lied.

"C'mon, you don't have to lie to me. We're childhood friends!" Kazama assured him, "I've noticed that you've been the first one rushing out the classroom when school dismisses."

Bo didn't feel comfortable telling him. Vaguely, he explained his purpose for his attitude. "I've been hanging out with Masao-kun."

"Masao-kun? Isn't he still working on his manga?" Kazama asked. "He never puts his pen down these days. I think with all of his hard work, he'll win the competition for sure!"

Bo nodded in agreement. "Kazama-kun, how does it feel to love someone?"

"Love?"

"Yeah, like you and Shin-chan."

Kazama chuckled. "For me, I always get happy whenever I see him. I cherish the moments we get to spend together no matter how short, long, sad, annoying, or happy they are. No matter how many mistakes they make, you can't help but admire them. You also catch yourself thinking about them a lot. Bo-chan, there's no way you asked me that without some sort of idea in mind. You must have someone you like, right?"

"Possibly."

Kazama laughed boldly, "Bo-chan! You've finally grown up! Who is it?"

"...It's a secret." Bo said, "I'm not sure how to tell them."

Kazama knew Bo was unbearably shy. He moved closer to him in order to give him some advice.

"I think the best way to get to their heart is to stay by their side no matter what. I can say this confidently, because that's how Shinnosuke made me fall for him. He taught me to get out of my comfort zone-as in, not everything has to be perfect and no one should expect too much from you. He showed me that there is amusement all around, you just have to find it and make light of it! He stayed with me the entire way, and I have a lot of good memories thanks to him. So, what I'm trying to say is: don't do anything too extravagant, but allow yourself to make great memories with the person you like, because you never know, your heart could burst and your confession could suddenly slip out easily!"

"If my heart bursts, I'll die." Bo said, worriedly.

"It's a figure of speech, Bo-chan."

"I see."

Kazama stood up and stretched, "Well, I'm going to cram school tonight, so I better head home and get prepared. Thanks for listening to me. You're a great friend."

Bo nodded. "I think I should go home, too." He said as he joined Kazama, standing still and looking out at the lake in the distance.

He was doing well, because he and Masao had made memories due to being friends for so long. Now that they had been hanging out alone at the riverbank, they had grown closer to one another, just not as intimately as Kazama and Shinnosuke had been. At least, that's what Bo felt.

When he got home, he immediately dialed Masao on his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Masao-kun."

"Yes?"

"I will..." Bo paused before telling him with confidence and loyalty in his voice, "I will support you in confessing your love to Ai-chan!"

Just as Kazama had advised him, he was going to stay by Masao's side no matter what.