~Flashback: mid-golden week, during first homeroom~
"Shouyou, after going over everything I got some bad news for you..." I said in a grim tone peeking from behind some papers at the wide-eyed ginger. His brows quirked up worriedly and he leaned closer to me.
"You mean...?" He croaked.
"Yes..." While pushing the papers and notebook covered in red ink marks back across his desk I looked at him somberly. "Hinata Shouyou. According to this evidence... you are bad at English." I pretended to adjust a pair of invisible glasses up the bridge of my nose and crossed my arms, the boy groaned at me.
"Aw, man!" He flailed his hands exasperatedly before gripping the pages and pouring over the notes and edits I left him. "I even felt good about this assignment!"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Well I'm glad you asked me to take a look before class. You should also go over the corrections I made on your math. I can explain how to set up the equations if you need me to."
"Thank you, Toshikooo." Hinata whined. "I'm lucky you're so smart." His comment caused me to drop my façade for a moment, I was flustered.
"I- well- uh... don't give me so much credit. I just happened to understand it... And I figured I could offer you my help." I tried to deflect his compliments, but he wouldn't let up. Shouyou flustered me even more by continuing to comment on my intelligence before a voice intervened.
"Good morning, Toshiko!" A girl in our class smiled sweetly at Hinata and I with her hands behind her back. Tendrils of her hair fell over her cheeks and shoulders when she tilted her head.
"Ah- good morning, Mimari." I smiled back at her as Hinata replied with the same greeting.
"Toshiko... can I talk to you outside for a minute? Privately?" I gulped, this was starting to make me a little suspicious. Sure, Mimari was my classmate and friend, but she never did anything like this before.
"Oh- yes." I said, pushing back from my desk and following her out of the classroom. "See you in class, Sho."
"Okay! Thanks for helping with my homework!" He smiled and waved me out the room. As soon as I slid the door closed behind us, she grabbed my wrist and began dragging me through the halls.
"*Hey*- wah-? Mimari?!" A playful giggle met my concern, only adding to my confusion. She enthusiastically led me to a set of stairs leading to the upper floor - where all the second year classes were. She got a chance to catch her breath in front of a set of lockers, mumbling under her breath.
"She should be here already..."
"Mima. What is going on? Why did you drag me up to the second floor?" At my question, she turned and grabbed my hands. Holding them under her chin with wide eyes and a bright smile.
"You'll see! My friend will be here any second!"
"Your friend...?"
"Sorry I'm late Mima," a voice from behind us chirped up, startling me. "I had to take care of a few things."
"Oh! Asai! You're here!" I turned to see a beautiful 2nd year student. She had clear, dark skin and brown coiled hair pulled up in a stylish ponytail. My breath hitched in my throat for a moment, I wasn't ready to be graced by such a pretty person.
"So, this is your classmate?" She said scanning me up and down. I became a bit shy.
"Yep!" Mima gripped my shoulders and rested her head by mine. "This is my friend, Toshiko!"
"Um..." I interceded the conversation. "Sorry to interrupt, but can someone please explain what's going on?" At my question, Asai formed a mischievous grin.
"I'm glad you asked, Toshiko~" She cooed as she brushed past me to her locker, opening it then pulling me down to crouch at eye level with her. Mima walled me in on my other side, almost creating a pocket of privacy we three shared. "Welcome to this important locker business meeting."
"Business meeting?" I began. "What business do you have with me?"
"Well, it's not exactly what business we have with you..." Mimari admitted in a low whisper.
"It's what business someone in my class has with you." Asai finished the thought. When I quirked my brows at her in confusion she continued. "Let's start from the beginning. I'm Suzuki Asai in class 2-1, sorry to meet you so suddenly and under confusing circumstances!" She smiled and laughed sweetly. How could one person be so gorgeous? I think I just wished I looked like her.
"Well... it's nice to meet you Suzuki." I mumbled awkwardly. "How do you know Mimari?"
"Our families have been friends since before we were born!" Mima perked up and leaned on me to continue talking. "We practically grew up together!" If I wasn't so confused, her bubbly attitude would've made me feel less awkward and more like myself.
"And so, now that you're caught up with us... it's time to catch you up on the situation." Asai gently took me by the arm and led me to the outside of her classroom with Mimari still at my side. We peeked our heads in through a small crack in the door. I was looking around lazily - not sure what the point of this was. That is, until the two girls put their hands on my head and moved it to look in the correct direction. At a desk by a window looking up and talking to two of his classmates, was Tanaka.
"Tanaka?" I said aloud, however I was quickly shushed by my captors. They motioned for me to eavesdrop on the conversation across the classroom, so I strained to listen.
"So what are you going to do, Tanaka?" Said one of the boys standing over his desk.
"Yeah, you seem more serious about this than usual." They both smiled at him knowingly, almost amused.
"That's why I'm asking for advice!" Tanaka barked at them, then slumped in his seat. He seemed stressed about something. "I'm talking to her... today." Right as he finished talking, he began rising from his seat to walk with his two buddies; sending us into a flurry, panicking to escape from their line of sight. We found solace at the top of the staircase leading back to the first floor.
"So... who does he need to talk to so badly?" I asked them, the girls looked at each other then back to me with cheeky grins.
"Rumor has it - Tanaka-senpai has to talk to you, Toshiko." Mimari said.
"He's been going on about 'needing to talk to Toshiko' about something for the last few days." Asai perked up. "Which is why I asked Mima if she knew who you were. Lucky for us, you're in her class. So we devised a plan to let you in on the secret."
"Eh?! Me? What- What could Tanaka want to talk to me about...?"
"It seems to me... that he wants to confess feelings for you." Asai admitted. "Now, these are just rumors. But, he's been so hopelessly in love with Shimizu-senpai for the last year... the whole class has been secretly rooting for him to have a chance with another girl! So you should accept his feelings; he's handsome, he's funny, athletic!"
"I've heard some girls say he has really nice abs!" Mima squealed excitedly. I knew they meant well. They were just passionate and zealous and didn't mean any harm, but my heart was pounding in my chest. I felt incredibly anxious.
Feelings? For me? But we're just friends. Asai and Mimari are right about all those things... But I don't feel that way about Tanaka! His whole class wants to see him happy though... And I don't want to hurt his feelings.
I feel so under pressure...
"Toshiko? What are you doing up here?" To my horror, Tanaka and his friends rounded the corner and spotted us on the staircase. A lump formed in my throat while my heart drummed away in my chest. "Actually, this is great timing! Can I talk to you about something?" As he asked his question, I noticed our groups were watching closely with anticipation. My mouth opened to speak, but instead of even acknowledging his question, I ran away.
Stupid...
I made it to class right as the bell rang. The next few hours were filled with swirling thoughts and a bouncing leg. Mima would catch my eye every once in a while, but I refused to give an answer to her questioning looks. I knew what she was silently asking. 'Are you going to accept his feelings?'
Truth was, I had no idea what I was going to say. Attempts to plan an escape crossed my mind, although I knew I wouldn't be able to avoid him for long. We still had practice together. Then I thought about convincing myself that I liked him back, but that's an awful thing to do to another person - and yourself. Maybe I would develop feelings overtime by being with him more...? By the time the lunch bell rang, I had given up on my schemes.
"Shouyou, aren't you going to sit for lunch?" I questioned my friend as he was about to walk out of the classroom.
"Sorry Toshiko, I'm going to work with Sugawara on some receiving. Do you want to come?"
"Oh... no that's okay I don't want to impose. See you later, Sho!"
"Later!" He waved as he left the room, a disappointed sigh deflated my lungs. This was the first time Hinata skipped on our lunch break. Now that there was a rare moment to myself, I feared that Mimari would drag me around to find Asai or Tanaka. But she wasn't in the classroom, and I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Food was going to keep my mind off of everything, I took a big bite and tried to think about other things and calm down. However, fate wouldn't allow my life to be so easy.
A familiar hand patting my shoulder nearly made me choke.
"So you are in this class! Suzuki wasn't lying after all!" I turned over my shoulder with curry bun still filling my cheek. Tanaka was looking over me with an innocent smile. I couldn't hide my surprise.
"Ta-Tanaka... What are you doing here?" My voice squeaked out, however it seemed my friend was oblivious to my nerves.
"I still need to talk to you about something! I didn't realize how close it was to the bell earlier so it made sense why you were in such a rush to get back to class."
Oh my god... he's clueless.
"You should finish eating first. Is it okay if I sit with you 'till you're done?"
"Yeah, sure." He pulled up a chair and sat across from me at my desk, leaning back in the seat with his hands hanging out of his pockets. As I awkwardly continued to eat in silence, I tried to take note of his behavior. He didn't seem all that nervous to me... was he really that confident in his confession? My observation of him didn't last long though, the silence of my classroom was loud enough to grab my attention. It was so cliché. Every single person was watching with giddy anticipation. Barely able to hide the fact that they were all spying and eavesdropping - even Suzuki, Mimari, and Tanaka's friends were peeking their heads in through the door. Suddenly, I didn't feel so nervous anymore. I was annoyed.
I think I startled Tanaka when I stood from my chair, it certainly got our audience to avert their eyes. After quickly sweeping what leftovers and wrappers I had from lunch into my bag, I grabbed Tanaka by the arm and dragged him out of the room. He sputtered with shock, however didn't really try to fight out of my grasp. I couldn't handle being under everyone's scrutiny anymore, so I was on the hunt for a private location to talk to him. While quickly leading him through halls and up staircases, his bicep muscle moved under my fingers. That made me think of how strong he was.
He could handle it if I let him down, right?
Then that got me thinking of his other muscles, like his abs that Mimari brought up.
I mean... he does have really nice abs. This idiot shows them off all the time in practice without even realizing what he's doing...
Then I was thinking about how nice he is as a person, the type of girl he deserves, if he really has feelings for me, and...
Oh... I ended up leading us to the roof...
My stomach churned from seeing where we were and I loosened my grip from his arm. Ryu chuckled. "Toshiko...? What was that about?"
"I..." My eyes fell to the concrete, fists gripping the hem of my skirt. Color began to rush to my face. "I'm sorry, Tanaka!" My body snapped forward in a deep bow.
"What?"
"I've heard - about what everyone's been saying you need to talk to me about and... and I can't accept your feelings. I just don't feel the same way, I'm truly sorry!" I could feel my heart crack while I spoke, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt someone's feelings. And the weight in my chest worsened when silence stained the air between us.
Thwack. A small pain spread on my forehead. He flicked me!
"Ow!" I shouted while holding my head and standing straight.
"You idiot." He scolded, however that seemed to only be an act. His straight face broke as laughter ensued. There was no escape from confusion that day it seemed.
"You-! You're the idiot! Why are you laughing about this?"
"I'm laughing because you got the wrong idea!" He wheezed through laughter. "The reason I had to talk to you wasn't to confess any feelings! That would be crazy..." as he calmed himself, he stood straight with hands in his pockets. "The reason I had to talk to you was to ask you some girl advice, for Shimizu. My sister is tired of hearing me 'bitchin' about it and you're the only other girl I'm close to."
I couldn't stop my mouth from dropping open, I really did feel like an idiot. "Oh my god..." I muttered as my face grew hotter and redder than it ever had. "Oh god!" I was so embarrassed. That's what I deserved for being so gullible and believing anything my classmates said. There was almost no escape from him or that feeling. All I could do was turn away from him completely, and crouch on the ground covering my head with my arms. "This is so freaking embarrassing..."
"Uh- oi..." His voice was behind me, however I couldn't turn to face him in my awkwardness. But without much warning, he was suddenly crouched with me. Tanaka's strong arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me slightly closer to him without any effort. I met his eyes through my hiding place under my arms. He smiled tenderly. "Don't worry about it, dude. The real idiots are our classmates. Making anything out of nothing! Why they gotta be so invested in my love life anyway? Sorry you got dragged into it like this, I didn't know Suzuki and everyone would go all out like that."
He helped me to my feet and tried to ease the tension, but my lips were pressed into a hard line. Still trying to digest all the embarrassment I felt. The whirlwind and flurry I felt raging in my chest suddenly went still though, when his rugged hand rested atop my head - ruffling my hair a bit. "Seriously," he spoke again. "Don't let it get to your head. If you do, it's gonna mess you up in practice later!"
Instead of smiling with him, I bit my lip. "So-"my voice squeaked. I cleared my throat to ease the warbling of my words. "So, I didn't just horribly hurt your feelings by rejecting you? Everything is okay?" His grey eyes held my gaze, he didn't falter in his response.
"Of course not! Everything is okay! Just a big misunderstanding from rumors." With his reassurance, my shoulders finally relaxed. Deflating and easing up like air leaking out of a ball.
"Thank goodness. I've been stressed about this all morning!"
"Don't let it get to you! Keep your mind a solid fortress, like you usually do! Take after the best upperclassman, me!" My grin was finally able to match his.
"Okay dude. You're right." With that, we began walking back to the door of the building. He could ask me his Shimizu questions somewhere other than the roof. Before I could push the door open he spoke up.
"Say, Toshiko."
I looked back at him. "What is it, Tanaka?"
His face suddenly was a show of smirking and mock-flirting leaning into my personal space. "Is this where you start to catch feelings for me after rejecting my confession?" His voice became velvety but satire at the same time. I laughed and pushed his face away.
"Shut up, dumbass."
~Notes from author ~
Hey all! This chapter is more of a fluff piece! I liked the idea of establishing a more clear image of Toshiko's platonic relationship with Tanaka. I like the idea of them just being bros. And thinking of her giving advice to him for Kiyoko is so cute to me. I just needed a short break from the intense chapters before I found myself in some stubborn writer's block... The main timeline continues in the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy! Perhaps there will be a chance for more fluff chapters in the future, too!
Xoxo, Lemon:)