Chapter Text
High School is exhausting and a pain in the ass for many students. It certainly was for Sousuke Mitsuba. An endless ordeal of studying and looking cute. Sure, it’s his own fault for putting so much pressure on himself. He had to be the cutest boy! Thankfully, it was time for winter break. Two weeks of freedom. Only that they still got homework they had to finish but that could wait until the last day..
They’re in the first year of High School. Sousuke, Minamoto Kou and their friends Yokoo and Satou. Winter is surprisingly cold this year and they’re all dressed up accordingly.
“So what are you two up to during winter break?” Yokoo cherfully asked them with a grin on his face while looking at Mitsuba and Minamoto. The two looked at each other and shrugged.
“We don’t have any plans yet,” the blond teenager replied.
“My family has a house in Yuzawa near the Neaba Ski Resort, we could all go together and have some fun,” Satou suggested as they walked out of the school towards the main entrance.
“That sounds so dirty. Are you trying to seduce all of us, Satou-kun?” Mitsuba asked teasingly.
“Isn’t that in the Niigata prefecture? It would be a long trip if we use the train, right? Maybe we can ask someone to drive us, like Teru-Nii-san.”
They stopped at the front gate. The dark haired boy stared at Mitsuba before pinching the teen’s cheeks, “I am not interested in seducing you, Mitsuba-chan. I’ll leave that to your boyfriend.” He snickered as both of them blushed but neither of the two denied their relationship.
“I agree, we would need someone older to supervise us otherwise my parents won’t let me go,” Yokoo chimed in.
“I don’t know if I should tag along. I never used a snowboard and never skied before. All I ever did with snow were snow angels with my dad and sledding.” They all went silent at the confession from Mitsuba. The pink haired rarely talked about his late father.
“I bet you were super cute back then. It will be fun, Sousuke.” Satou comforted their friend and all of them hugged the pink haired teenager. A sweet tender moment between the friends.
“You guys are planning something?” That was Amane’s voice interrupting their moment.
Yugi Amane along with Yashiro Nene, Akane Aoi and Aoi Akane were upperclassmen in their second year of High School - and friends with the younger teenagers.
“We’re planning to spend winter break in Yuzawa. Satou-kun’s family has a house there,” Kou explained their plans. A grin spread across Amane’s face, “Would you mind if we tagged along?”
“Satou, what do you think?”
“Sure, it’s big enough.”
“How would we get there? Neither I nor Ao-chan have our licenses yet. Minamoto-kaichou included, we would be eight people. We need at least two cars and two drivers to get there which makes it nine people.” No one was surprised to hear the red haired teenager going through all options and problems even before they agreed on anything.
“We could ask Nanamine-senpai,” that was a suggestion from Mitsuba, “but that means we need to invite Natsuhiko-kun and Tsukasa-chan as well, which adds up to twelve people.”
Satou ran a hand through his short black hair as a sigh left his lips. He was starting to regret his offer. His close friends and Kou’s older brother? Any day. Inviting Nene and Aoi-chan? They are lovely. Akane-kun is also very responsible so having him around would make things easier for Minamoto-kun. So far so good. Truth to be told he is scared of Nanamine-senpai but they definitely need her. Amane and his twin brother and Hyuuga-san on the other hand? They mean trouble. He started to get headaches just thinking about what could go wrong with all of them together at one place.
“Don’t worry, Tsu-chan and Natsuhiko-senpai won’t cause too much trouble if Nanamine-senpai is around them.” This time it was Mitsuba who was comforting Satou.
“Fine, if everyone gets their parents permission, I guess we could all go together.”
They all seemed to be hyped about the trip as they made their way home. Mitsuba was tasked with asking Nanamine if she would be willing to drive them, while Kou was tasked with asking his older brother. Amane had the happy task of telling his brother and Natsuhiko.
Somehow all of them seemed to forget that Teru and Kou couldn’t leave behind their little sister Tiara. One person more wouldn’t hurt, right?
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“Teru-Nii-chan, Tiara-chan, I am home,” Kou called out once he came home. He heard the footsteps of the youngest member in the family. The girl ran towards him to jump into into his arms, “Kou-oniichan. You’re home!”
He carried the young girl to their father’s study which Teru uses as his own while their father was away. The study was a big room, filled with lots of books on both sides of it. In the middle there was a mahogany desk with a comfy looking chair behind it. There were three large windows allowing a great view over the Minamoto estate. On the desk there were lots of papers neatly stacked in multiple piles. The oldest sibling of the family was sitting at the desk and doing whatever kind of business someone his age has to do. Student council work, probably.
“Welcome home, Kou.” The oldest Minamoto greeted him without looking up. When he noticed that his brother didn’t leave him he looked up.
“What is it, Kou?”
“Satou-kun’s family has a house in Yuzawa. We thought it would be nice to spend winter break there together with everyone.”
“That friend of yours? Alone? Not gonna happen.”
“That’s why I’m here. We need someone who drives and supervises us and you’d be perfect.”
Silence broke out for several minutes.
“If Teru-oniichan goes, Tiara goes too!” The young girl demanded.
Kou blinked a few times then laughed nervously, “Of course. We wouldn’t leave you behind.”
Teru wasn’t looking like he was convinced yet, “Who would come along?”
When Kou told him who would be there Teru sternly said no and turned away to look out of the big window of the room.
Kou needed Tiara’s help to convince him in the end. Puppy eyes from both of his younger siblings and the promise of delicious desserts made him weak. He couldn’t say no to them when they teamed up on him.
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The pink haired teenager had a lot more trouble. Sakura slammed the door into his face when he dared to disturb her peace with his mere presence. When he rang the doorbell again, she was clearly annoyed - although no one could tell given her deadpan appearance.
“What do you want?”
“...” He was too scared to voice the question he came for.
“...” Her staring was so intense, he could feel the cold climbing up his spine.
“... Hi Nanamine-Senpai.” The first words spoken by him after gathering the little amount of courage left in his body - which wasn’t much to begin with.
“Mitsuba-chan. What do you want?” She tried to smile at him, maybe to comfort him a little bit. She didn’t let him enter her home though. No one has ever been to her place before.
The boy was nervous, his hands playing with his sleeves and his eyes gazing around.
“We would like to… invite you to Satou-kun’s home in Yuzawa. Onsen, snowboarding, skiing and all that.”
“Let me guess, you need me to drive you guys and to watch over Tsukasa-kun and Hyuuga-san, am I right?”
The pink haired boy nodded and to his dismay she slammed the door into his face again.
“You wouldn't be alone. Kou’s brother Teru and other responsible students will be coming along.” His last try to change her mind. He stared at the door in front of him and was about to turn away and give up on it when it opened again, “Fine.”
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Amane had an easier time than the other two. The mere mention of a trip made Tsukasa as excited as a small child.
“Yay, we’ll go on a field trip with all of our friends,” the younger Yugi twin cheered as he hugged his brother.
“I wouldn’t call everyone a friend but yes.”
“Mitsuba-chan will be there as well, right?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Oh, just curious. He’s so pretty you know? I love teasing him.”
“I think he is in love with the Kid.”
“I know. I don’t mind. It’s a reason but not an obstacle dear brother! I’ll go packing my stuff.”
Sometimes he just doesn't get how his brother ticks. Does Tsukasa have a crush on Mitsuba? Or was he just messing with the pink haired boy? He’ll have to watch out for his brother. Again. He checked on his brother who was already packing his baggage. He grabbed Tsukasa’s phone and dialed Hyuuga-san’s number.
As soon as he mentioned that Sakura would be there, Natsuhiko ended their call. It was one of the shortest phone calls Amane ever had in his life.
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Once the three of them were done with their tasks and they let each other know, Mitsuba created a chat group. Somehow he had everyone’s numbers. He should get a new number soon, it’s a bit creepy that everyone has his.
Chat group “Roadtrip”
Cotton Candy: Looks like we managed to get everyone on board. Thanks @Queen
Cotton Candy: Also thanks @Honorable President.
Cola > Iced Tea: Thank you. Did you just create a chat with everyone? I’m Satou, by the way.
Cotton Candy: Don’t ask why I got all their numbers but I do.
Brat: It’s because you’re our cute mascot. Tsukasa here.
Cotton Candy: Queen is Nanamine-senpai, Rumorgirl is Ao-chan, Glasses is Akane-kun, Iced Tea is Yokoo, and Idiot is Natsuhiko-kun.
Iced Tea > Cola: Then the Honorable President is Minamoto-senpai?
Cotton Candy: Yes.
Idiot: Why is my name Idiot?!
Brat: You just answered your own question lmao.
Idiot: Shut up, small runt.
Honorable President: Who is Crazy Knife and Daikon?
Daikon: Minamoto-senpai! I’m Yashiro Nene. Second year. Crazy Knife is Yugi Amane.
Honorable President: Ah, I remember you, Yashiro. Thank you.
Crazy Knife: Don’t flirt with my girl!
Daikon: Your girl?!
Kid: Your girl?
Cotton Candy: Your girl?
Rumorgirl: Your girl? Since when? Lovely to ‘meet’ everyone.
Glasses: Ao-chan, I love you!
Rumorgirl: Low effort, Akane-kun. At best two points out of ten.
Queen: Can you guys shut up? I’m trying to watch my daily soap and my phone is vibrating the entire time. Besides, we need to see if everyone has the permission to go and when and where we meet up. I suggest tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the school.
The chat went silent for an hour or two, nobody daring to send another text.
Queen: Good, I’m done now. So, did everybody get their permission?
Cotton Candy: My mum hugged me and gave me 30,000 yen.
Iced Tea > Cola: My parents agreed because Minamoto-senpai and Nanamine-senpai will be there.
Cola > Iced Tea: My family agreed as well. We just need to clean everything before we leave and I had to promise that only Kou and a few selected others are going to cook.
Crazy Knife: Our mother doesn’t really care what we do, so we’re in at any rate.
Brat: She cares in her own way, Nii-chan.
Daikon: Got the permission ♥
Glasses: Same.
Rumorgirl: Dito.
Princess: Yay! We’re all going. Let’s build plenty of snowmen, Mitsuba-chan!
Brat: Wait, who is that?
Cotton Candy: Our princess of course. The princess of the Minamoto family, the cutest girl in the world - Tiara. She joins because we can’t leave her behind. And yes, we’ll build an army of Snowmen!
Iced Tea > Cola: Already feeling like a part of the family, Mitsuba? ;) Glad you admit it!
Cotton Candy: Shut up, Yokoo.
Honorable President: Tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the school. Everyone’s dismissed.
Kid: We aren’t at school, Teru-Nii.
For the rest of the night everyone was busy with packing their baggage.
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The very next day everyone tried to get out of bed early enough so they wouldn’t be too late. Most of them didn’t have any problems with that. Only Natsuhiko arrived a few minutes late. They only had two cars and two drivers but thirteen people and their baggage. Playing real-life Tetris, the amount of baggage wasn’t a real problem - Akane-kun was a master in Tetris!
“How long does it take to get there?” Amane asked.
“About three hours without breaks and a clear road. We may need a bit longer though. The weather is clear for now, but with you kids around I bet we’ll take a fair amount of breaks,” Teru explained. In the meantime Akane was busy with splitting up the people.
“We have Minamoto-kaichou and Nanamine-senpai as drivers. A few of us need to sit on each other, otherwise we will never leave.”
“I’ll sit on Kou-oniichan’s lap!” Tiara happily exclaimed who smiled at his sister.
“Yashiro, you’ll sit on my lap!” Amane declared without even asking the girl.
“In your dreams, Amane-kun. Ao-chan, mind if I sit on your lap?”
“Not at all, Nene-chan.” They ignored the pouting Amane.
“Kou and our Princess will be in my car, as will be Satou-kun, Aoi-chan and Nene-chan. And you, Aoi.” Teru decided. Sakura glared at the blond teenager as if she is asking him if he’s serious about that. He’s leaving her with the trouble pack!
“You,” she said sternly as she looked at Yokoo, “You’ll be my co-driver.”
Said light brown-haired teenager was too scared to deny her that. Natsuhiko on the other hand was pouting because he didn’t get to sit next to his crush.
“Oi, Mitsuba-chan! You can sit on my lap,” Tsukasa offered with a cheeky grin. He saw that Kou glared at him but he didn’t seem to care.
Once everyone was seated - Mitsuba ending up on Natsuhiko’s lap as Tsukasa was a little bit too grabby as he tried to grope the pink haired boy, they started their journey.
They were on the road for about maybe five minutes before they had to take the first break. Tsukasa had to pee. Sakura only relented because she didn’t want him to mess up her car. She would never hear the end of it if he peed himself. The next break was about twenty minutes later because Amane and Kou had to use the bathroom.
“Why didn’t you guys go to the toilets when we stopped for Tsukasa? Even Mitsuba-chan did,” Nene complained. Even Akane, Yokoo and Satou went with the two because both Sakura and Teru made clear they wouldn’t stop for any ‘little boys' tiny bladders’ for at least an hour again.
“Where is Tiara?” Teru asked the group. The little girl was nowhere to be seen.
“Mitsuba-chan isn’t here either,” Sakura noticed.
“They’re there in the snow,” Natsuhiko said and pointed to the small mountain next to the roadhouse. Apparently, they climbed over the fence and were playing around. They’re both laying on their backs making snow angels. Everyone was relieved to see them safe and sound. Once the two were done they headed back, Mitsuba carrying the girl on his back just in time for the other boys return.
“We made snow angels, Teru-oniichan!” The young girl was clearly happy so Teru wasn’t able to be mad at the pink haired boy. Even Sakura wasn’t able to scold them and that means something.
“Really? That’s really nice you should thank Mitsuba-kun,” Teru replied with a gentle smile on his face. Tiara let Kou pick her up, whispered something into his ear before they both leaned towards the pink haired teen to kiss him on both of his cheeks, “Thank you Mitsuba-chan.”
Sousuke blushed brightly and turned away.
Much to the relief of both driver's nerves they were able to clear a nice amount of distance before they stopped again almost two hours later.
“We are halfway there,” Satou explained once everyone gathered in front of a nice roadhouse.
“We’re staying for half an hour, I need something against my headaches,” Sakura declared, rubbing her temples.
While they didn’t have to stop for the past two hours, the boys in her car almost drove her to insanity. Tsukasa constantly tried to flirt with Mitsubsa who was clearly uncomfortable, while Yokoo seriously tried to have smalltalk with her of all people and Amane tried to turn HER radio to a different frequency. She was exhausted. The group split up, some of them exploring the immediate area while some of them went to eat something at the local restaurant.
True to her words Sakura somehow managed to get some pills for her headaches. The other girls were with her chatting around but she didn’t feel compelled to participate.
Yokoo and Satou were busy dragging Amane and his twin around while Natsuhiko seemed to be asleep. Teru and Akane were standing in a corner talking with each other while having watchful eyes over their group.
“I sure hope there won’t be too much trouble. That Tsukasa is a devil,” the blond haired teenager mumbled as he stretched his limbs.
“Don’t worry Minamoto-kaichou, Nanamine-senpai will take care of him.”
“I thought I told you to drop the honorifics when we’re alone Akane,” Teru whispered with a grin on his face. Akane blushed slightly, “Yes, of course.”
Kou and Sousuke were sitting at an orange-colored table, next to each other so they were able to hold hands.
“I don’t know what has gotten into him but Tsukasa won’t stop flirting with me,” the pink haired boy complained. Not that he didn’t like the attention but it was still weird.
“He’s just trying to mess with us, Sou. Thank you for playing with Tiara, she really admires you.”
“I love that girl. Unlike you and your brother she has some sense of fashion so not all hope is lost for your family.”
The blond teen didn’t reply and just squeezed his boyfriend’s hand.
After the break and making sure everyone went to the restroom they continued their journey. This time without any further breaks and before they started, Sakura had Tsukasa switch places with Akane much to the annoyance of Teru.
In the end they needed about five hours to reach their destination.