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Back when Takumi was in his first year of junior high, there was a brief period of time during which Karua developed a crush on a guy in her class. He sat at the desk before hers. He was good at all the artsy stuff, he picked up her pencil case once when she accidentally dropped it and was, according to what she claimed, overall perfect. Takumi didn't see it. Sure, he didn't know the guy. And yeah, alright, during the few interactions they actually did have, he seemed like an alright person. But being an "alright person" didn't explain why his existence would be such a big deal all of a sudden that Karua not only found a way to bring him up in every conversation, but would regularly stay behind at school to watch him paint instead of walking home with Takumi like she used to. Or what exactly made him so cool that she moved the plans she made with Takumi to another weekend so she could accept that guy's invitation to go to see a film together.
That last thing especially annoyed Takumi at the time, but when he complained to his mom about it, she acted as if the whole situation was somehow his fault.
"If you're so worried about another boy stealing Karua away, you should have taken her on a date yourself, Takumi," she scolded him.
"But I don't want to go on a date with her," Takumi said with a frown. "I just want things to be normal."
His mother sighed and ruffled his hair gently as she told him: "Then sooner or later you'll meet a girl that will make you lose your head like that as well. And then you'll understand what Karua's going through right now."
Takumi doubted that. He honestly thought it was stupid and as he watched his classmates make idiots out of themselves simply because they liked someone, he felt strongly convinced from the bottom of his naive heart that he wouldn't be like that, because it was really embarrassing.
He certainly never thought he might lose his head for someone literally one day — but that's precisely what almost happens to him in the Last Defense Academy's cafateria at three in the morning, which aren't the ideal circumstances to get nearly beheaded under. Maybe if he was in battle and it was one of the strongest commanders that got the best of him, that wouldn't be that bad. It might even be a little cool, just a little bit — definitely it would not be the worst way to go before the Revive-o-matic brought him back, turning his beheading into a dramatic tale he could tell over campfire in the future.
But that's not how it happens.
One moment, Takumi is rummaging through the academy's freezer, getting the ingredients he thinks he could use, then the next he can hear a swish of a blade along with a "BEGONE, EVILDOER" and dodges just in time for the blade of a katana to miss his neck by mere milimeters.
"What the hell!?" He yells, dropping frozen salmon onto the floor as he turns to look at his would-have-been killer, his heart beating too fast in his chest.
Seemingly only now realizing who she's facing as the light from the freezer illuminates his face, Kyoshika gasps loudly.
"Sir Takumi! What are you doing here?" She asks. "You were the one robbing our academy's precious food supply?"
"What?" Takumi asks, wide-eyed. "How could I be robbing us? I literally go here!"
Kyoshika narrows her eyes at him and contemplates it for a moment. After a few seconds pass, she must come to the conclusion that Takumi is right, because she lowers the Holy Jumonji Sword.
"That is true," she agrees. "But why would you rummage through the kitchen at the evil hour, under the cover of darkness?"
"The… evil hour?"
"Indeed," Kyoshika nods. "This is when the vilest of evil deeds and ghost hauntings take place, Sir Takumi."
"Uh… okay… I didn't know that. Sorry," he says, rather than pointing out that this is ridiculous.
Well, to be fair to Kyoshika, Takumi supposes he can admit that what he's doing does look kind of suspicious, or at least weird, if not for any of the reasons just told to him and definitely not enough to warrant an "act first, ask questions later" type of reaction, let alone one as extreme as decapitation.
"I wanted to make a bento," he decides to admit. "But I didn't want anyone to see me making it, so…"
"Huh? Why is that?" Kyoshika asks, confused.
"Well… It's supposed to be a surprise for the person I'm making it for," he says, feeling a little embarrassed to say it out loud.
He leans down to pick up the packaged fish he dropped, only to have it slip from his hand once again when Kyoshika asks:
"Could that someone be Sir Gaku?"
"What!? How — I mean —"
"Then I'm right?" Kyoshika asks, her eyes growing wide, before a smile spreads across her face and she jumps up in excitement like a little girl. "My luck lately has truly been unmatched! If only there was a casino here at the academy, I could start my journey to becoming a legendary gambler!"
Takumi stares at her. "You… just guessed?"
"So I did!" Kyoshika confirms proudly. "But sir Takumi, why are you making a surprise bento for sir Gaku? I sense a fascinating tale hidden behind it — you must tell me everything from the start!"
The good thing about all this is that at least it means the answer as to why Takumi's doing this wasn't actually obvious to Kyoshika. The bad thing, however, is that Takumi was planning to keep this to himself and not tell anyone at all, which is tragically becoming impossible.
He could ignore her and just not tell her, sure, but… the thought of leaving Kyoshika to come up with wild theories to explain this incident or, a far more terrifying thought, involving others in a conspiracy to figure it out… Takumi doesn't really want to imagine that.
So he starts talking.
The morning of the very same day on which it happens isn't anything out of the ordinary. It's a morning like many others, or at least those that find Takumi crawling out of bed and heading down to the cafeteria rather than choosing to skip breakfast (and possibly other meals) for a few more precious hours of sleep. Not many people are there when Takumi enters the room, but it's still lively with chatter. Ima and Kako are sitting side by side at the table, eating an unusally edible-looking meal compared to the kind of "food" that generally ends up on their plates, giving detailed reviews of it to an increasingly more and more dejected-looking Gaku, who sits across from them. Takumi surmises he must have been the one to cook for them today.
The thought of that makes him smile — and of course it does. There is no reason to think it has anything to do with Gaku himself. Takumi would smile at anyone preparing breakfast for the twins and think it sweet. It makes him happy to see his friends getting along and having fun together. It's a living proof that his decision to go back in time was the right choice and that he hasn't doomed them to a fate much worse than what once had been. That he hadn't robbed even more of them of futures they could've had. He doesn't think about Eito's corpse rotting in the morgue because all his friends are alive and that's what matters. Eito was the one who forced his hand the first time Takumi killed him and if that was the one death, the one sin he could not take back, but repeating it was a price necessary for everyone else's happiness — then Takumi would pay it over and over again. He knows that as he looks at Ima, alive and himself, able to have a normal, casual conversation with his sister, who is smiling and living out her youth the way a Kako that he has left behind would have wanted. Gaku may not be smiling, instead resting his head face down on the table in defeat, but if two teenagers with a ruined sense of taste criticizing his cooking is the greatest worry he has in those one hundred days, then that means Takumi managed to keep him safe as well.
He reaches the Ration-o-matic when Gaku's voice stops him, calling out:
"Takumi! Dude, wait! You like my cooking, right? Come on, I'll make you the same thing, I'm sure you'll at least appreciate my efforts," Gaku says, already scrambling to his feet and hurrying towards the kitchen with a look of determination on his face.
Takumi laughs, half-surprised, half-fond — a normal amount, as he always feels when his friends surprise him or do something nice for him or act passionate about what they're doing. And it is nice, to have Gaku make breakfast for him. It tastes good. It's fun, to talk to Gaku while he's eating, but he's talking with Kako and with Ima as well. It's a normal morning, no different from the one before, or the one before that. There is no reason for Takumi to suspect that anything has changed.
So when his heart suddenly skips a beat as Gaku cheers him on later that day during a defensive battle, Takumi has no idea where the hell that came from. One moment the world is the way it should be and everything is normal and then the next moment Gaku provides support, along with a cheerful grin and an excited "Go, go, go!" — and for some reason Takumi's heart decides to take special note of that and his face feels a little warm as his brain thinks Cute.
Sure. Okay. That's not something Takumi was aware he thought about Gaku. It's an odd realization to have. It makes his chest feel all weird inside and it sits on his mind throughout the rest of the battle. It distracts him. Which sucks because now he feels like he's obliged to do a good job — because it'd be a shame to disappoint Gaku after he cheered him on like that. And he can't do a good job while he's distracted, so he's not gonna look all that great in Gaku's eyes this time. Which is also not something he expected to be worrying about today, but here he is.
He decides not to think much about it. It's something that happened. Alright. He's experienced weirder things than that. He experiences weird things on daily basis. If he were to rank them all, finding Gaku cute and wanting to impress him for reasons unexplained would actually be pretty low on that list. Nothing he has to dwell on much.
Then another battle comes and Gaku spends a lot of time hyping up Takemaru and Darumi and Takumi feels oddly annoyed. Not that these two don't deserve to get support but it's just, well, surely at least some of it should be directed towards him, right? With him being the leader, it just makes sense. It's not like he thinks Gaku should act as his personal cheerleader — even if, now that the image of a cheerleader Gaku appears in his head, it's an unexpectedly— no, scratch that, let's disregard that thought, it's not unexpectedly anything and even if it was, that's not the point. The point is that there's nothing wrong with Gaku cheering other people on in battle but it's understandable that after the last one, perhaps Takumi subconsciously assumed he'd get some of Gaku's attention too this time around, so he's just a bit disappointed. That's all.
Maybe he's making a big deal out of nothing. No, he's definitely making a big deal out of nothing. He needs to get his head in the game and not think about this kind of stuff. Seriously, what's with him?
But it doesn't leave him. This feeling, at the back of his mind. Like an itch he cannot scratch and it persists, lingers. An odd need to have Gaku's attention.
There's two ways Takumi can deal with it: ignore it completely and hope it goes away or actually get Gaku's attention and count on that helping, making the need eventually fade after it gets tended to.
He decides to opt for the second one because… Well, it's an option. And he just happened to choose it. He doesn't really have to explain himself.
The plan is simple. Stick close to Gaku for a whole day and surely that'll be a big enough dose of Gaku that he'll be just fine in the next battle and won't need Gaku to keep looking at him then.
Executing the plan is easy too. He finds Gaku in the rec room, sitting over at the stage, discussing with Eva the details of his "awesome epic band" he's trying to start, apparently. When Takumi approaches them, he seems to be in the middle of trying to find out if the invaders have similar musical instruments to humans and if Eva recognizes anything they have available at hand here. When he hears Takumi approach, he stops mid-sentence and turns to look in his direction. A wide grin appears on his face when he notices who it is that's walking towards them.
"Takumi!" He calls out excitedly. "Hey man, good timing. Do you play any instruments?"
Cute, Takumi's mind thinks once again.
"Ah, sorry, no, I've never had the chance to learn," he says apologetically.
"Too bad," Gaku says, "but I bet you can sing though."
"Oh, I don't really —"
"Guys like you always can do anything even if they say they can't," Gaku cuts him off dismissively. "Stop with the modesty. Listen, Takumi, we need you in the band."
"The band?" He asks.
"Yes," Eva nods. "Mr. Maruko and I will become rock stars."
"Is that so…?"
"You bet!" Gaku says. "And you can be one too! Are you in? Come on, we need a pretty guy on the team to really make our music sell — and then before you know it, we will be famous and all the girls will love us. Trust me, they love boybands!" Gaku declares confidently, then falters a little. "Or, uh, well, I guess it's not really a boyband if Eva's with us… but that doesn't matter! The chicks will dig it anyway!"
Takumi's brain processes everything Gaku just said and different parts of his mind latch on to different sentences, prompting conflicting reactions within him. One part gets stuck on the fact that Gaku thinks he's pretty and it makes him realize that Gaku complimenting him has a similar effect to Gaku cheering him on. Another part finds it annoying that Gaku's motivation here is apparently impressing girls, even if he wants to do it with Takumi, and weirdly enough, that sours his mood. The latter must be what mainly shows on his face, because Gaku frowns.
"Come on, at least think about it," he says.
"I didn't say I wouldn't."
"So you will!?"
He could swear Gaku's eyes almost shine when he asks that and Takumi finds it very hard to say no to him in that moment, so instead he says:
"Uh… sure. Why not?"
"Heck yeah!" Gaku cheers.
Eva claps her hands. "Welcome on the team, Mr. Sumino!"
Takumi's pretty sure that saying he'll think about it isn't the same as him joining the team, but he doesn't want to ruin their fun so he just nods and stays quiet as the discussion returns to who should be responsible for playing which instrument. Or at least he intends to stay quiet at first but… honestly, it's hard not to get caught up in the excitement. Gaku's enthusiasm in infectious and soon enough, Takumi finds himself involved in the heated discussion over the topic of the band's first song, then excitedly high fiving the two once they manage to settle on a subject matter that they all like and want to sing about.
The discussions carry on until dinner, which is when the excitement dies down after the others overhear Gaku's ambitions and laugh in his face.
"What kind of delusion is that?" Kurara asks, sounding incredibly amused.
"W-Well — " Gaku tries to but in the end can't actually start defending himself because he really does have the rotten luck he's always complaining about and it turns out to be one of those days when everyone chooses to voice their complaints about him and give him a detailed list of his flaws. Takumi can't even blame them because it's not like he's never been harsh on Gaku himself and — well, it's not like what they're saying isn't true. Sure, Gaku complains a lot. And — well, yeah, he does kinda go too far with some of his comments. And yeah, he can be kind of a jerk at times. And Takumi can't deny he has his cowardly moments. And doesn't always think before he acts or speaks.
Still. This is pretty harsh. Especially when Kurara declares that once a loser, always a loser, and that she bets back at school, Gaku's never gotten chocolates for Valentine's or a homemade bento and can only dream about that kind of "basic popularity for peasants".
And then Gaku isn't smiling anymore. He sits there, moody and frowning and he doesn't finish his food. And as Takumi looks at him, his stomach twists into a painful knot. He doesn't know since when it bothers him this much to see Gaku upset, but it does. So Takumi knows he has to do something about this.
"I understand now, Sir Takumi!" Kyoshika tells him with a dramatic gasp. "You're here to make something for Sir Gaku that will help you profess the depths of your love for him!"
"That's— H-Huh? What?"
She nods to herself, as if it all makes sense now.
"I admire your devotion, Sir Takumi."
"Kyoshika, wait, who said anything about… about professing my… love?"
Kyoshika looks at him in confusion.
"Are you not here to make a bento for Sir Gaku?" She asks.
"I am, but —"
"Is that not a love declaration?"
"That is a pretty strong word!" Takumi points out, feeling his face go red.
Kyoshika considers that for a moment.
"How do you feel about sir Gaku then, sir Takumi?" She asks.
"That's — W-Well, uh…"
Takumi thinks about it. It's not a difficult question, or at least it shouldn't be. He… well, he's not gonna be making any bold claims because surely, he would know if he was… in love with Gaku, but… but…
See, Takumi feels something about Gaku, he's willing to acknowledge that. He doesn't understand when it started or why he's noticing now and didn't before. When it turned into something to notice, something that's somehow different than things were before. It's not really that different either, but… in a way, somehow, it still is. It doesn't make a lot of sense.
The fondness he feels for Gaku doesn't feel new. He doesn't think it felt quite like this during his first one hundred days here, but somehow, it still feels like it's been there, the way it is now, for longer than the days he spent in this second timeline. That doesn't exactly make sense to him either, but that's how it is.
He likes seeing Gaku smile. He likes spending time with him. He feels warm around him, in a way that's not the same as with their other friends. It's a little annoying, all of a sudden, when Gaku pays more attention to other people than when he does to him. And when Takumi was listening to his teammates explaining in detail how Gaku is the least dateable guy around, Takumi knows with certainty that that's simply not true — and he wants Gaku to know that's not true. That's why he's here.
But… That doesn't have to mean anything, does it? Because…
"I mean… What would it matter, if I liked Gaku? Like, you know… like that," he says. "It doesn't change anything."
"It changes everything!" Kyoshika protests. "How can you speak of such passion as something of no value?"
Takumi grimaces. "I don't know where you're getting this 'passion' thing from…"
"The fact that you have journeyed on a quest under the cover of night for the sake of the one you hold affections for is proof of your sincere devotion, sir Takumi," Kyoshika insists. "But I see your true enemy is the inability to face your feelings… worry not! It is completely normal for a hero to need a sidekick! And I, Kyoshika Magadori, will help you through this ordeal!"
"Um…"
"I know plenty about romance, trust me!" Kyoshika assures him. "Making a bento for sir Gaku is a fine idea and I shall happily aid you in this endevour, but it is not enough! What you need to do to lift his spirits is to include a letter!"
"A letter?"
"A letter revealing your genuine feelings is a must! I know you are not yet ready for a confession, but you will remain anonymous and it will merely serve as the first clue you leave for sir Gaku! Once he's aware he has a secret admirer, he'll start thinking through each of his interactions with possible suspects and further romantic gestures will be far more effective!" she explains to him.
"Okay, hold on…" Takumi says. "Why would I leave any clues? I'm not trying to get with Gaku."
Kyoshika's eyes widen.
"Why not?"
"He doesn't like me like that!" Takumi tells her and honestly, he thinks that much should be obvious. "And I don't think he's going to. I mean… you've heard the way he talks about girls. Do you think he'd be happy about a guy being into him? All that'd do is get me rejected and then things would get awkward…"
Much to his confusion, Kyoshika's response to this very valid concern is loud laughter, which Takumi finds pretty offensive.
"Hey, I'm serious," he says, frowning.
But Kyoshika looks at him as if he was being silly and she giggles, an amused twinkle in her eyes.
"Hey!" he repeats.
"My apologies, sir Takumi," she says. "But you have much to learn. This is an incredibly common trope in BL manga."
"What?"
"Sir Gaku is obviously overcompensating! And his feelings for you will make him realize that!"
"What feelings? I just said — "
"There's no reason for you to overthink this, sir Takumi," Kyoshika interrupts him. "In fact, this is a matter of the heart, not the brain! Overthinking only stops you from achieving your goal."
Takumi's starting to get a headache.
"Right…"
"Besides, didn't you say you wanted to lift sir Gaku's spirits? How will he know what you meant by the bento if you don't put it into words?" Kyoshika asks.
"Well —"
"For all he knows, maybe you simply thought he was hungry and that's why, as an act of mere charity, you wanted to fill up his stomach!" The girl says, then suddenly covers her mouth with her hand and her eyes widens. "That's… T-That's a very bold statement to make, sir Takumi."
"Huh?"
"Telling sir Gaku that you want to fill him up… Who would have thought you'd try to convey your carnal desires right out of the gate…"
"What?" Takumi sputters. "I did not say that! You were the one who —"
"But worry not! Sir Gaku is the kind of man who I'm sure will appreciate your dirty-minded approach!" Kyoshika tells him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't have a dirty-minded approach!" Takumi protests, his face feeling very warm.
"I understand, sir Takumi, and I do not judge you," Kyoshika says in a tone that is probably meant to sound reassuring. "As your loyal sidekick, I will continue to support your plans. Let us get to cooking and crafting the letter right away! Operation 'Woo Your Way Into Your Unlikely Crush's Heart': begin!"
The operation Woo Your Way Into Your Unlikely Crush's Heart does not go as smoothly as Takumi would hope or as Kyoshika assured him it would. The problem is, once again, the rest of the SDU screwing everything up for him.
Gaku bursts into the cafeteria in the morning with Takumi's letter in hand, then marches over to Kurara proudly and all but shoves it in her face.
"How does it feel to be wrong?" He asks, grinning smugly.
Kurara slaps the letter away, indigant.
"What the hell are you doing, attacking me with some trash!?"
"Hey! Careful with that!" Gaku protests, clutching the letter close to his chest and smoothing it out. "It's not trash, this is a love letter!"
Kurara stares at him for a moment, then bursts out laughing.
"Pfft, a love letter? Did you stoop so low now you're writing to yourself? Wow, that's a level of desperate I didn't expect even from you."
"Huh? Of course I didn't write it, what the heck? It's the real deal!" Gaku argues. "I even got a bento along with it! Clearly I'm not as undateable as you said I was!"
Kurara snorts. "Show me that thing," she says as she leans over the table to snatch the letter from Gaku's hands.
"I tried to do that just a moment ago!" Gaku points out.
The other two people present in the cafeteria, Darumi and Yugamu, move closer with interest, drawn in by the commotion. Darumi takes the seat next to where Gaku is standing, meanwhile Yugamu looks over Kurara's shoulder and reads with her. As they do, both Kurara's and Yugamu's eyebrows rise up.
"Your secret admirer must be quite shy, printing out the letter rather than writing it by hand and risking their identity being revealed through it," Yugamu muses. "Can't say it's very romantic."
"Secret admirer," Kurara repeats and scoffs. "Someone's playing a prank on this dumbass and he doesn't even realize because he's as poor in critical thinking skills as he is in money."
Gaku bristles at that. "Fine, don't believe me! But give that back to me."
"I believe you, Gaku," Darumi chimes in.
Gaku's eyes light up immediately and a smile returns to his face.
"Really!? Heck yeah!"
"I can't wait for the plot twist when it turns out your secret admirer's a stalker and a creep who watches you in your sleep and BAM! You get murdered by the end of your love story. You know, a classic 'if I can't have you, no one else will' kinda ending," she elaborates, grinning to herself like a lunatic as she does.
Takumi has to try really hard not to look too insulted, because once again Darumi's unfairly accusing him of being creepy and this time she doesn't even know he's the one she's throwing accusations at! But he still gets targeted! What did he ever do to deserve that?
Gaku's smile fades. "What the hell? What's with that morbid vision!? Just let me have this!"
"I think you should take it as a compliment if you can attract yanderes," Darumi says.
"I don't wanna attract a yandere! Invaders already want to kill me every time they attack, I don't need more people after my life!" Gaku protests.
"You don't have to worry about that, you're not attracting anyone," Kurara tells him. "Though I do agree the letter's pretty creepy."
Huh? Her too, now!? Takumi poured his heart and soul into it!
"Um… What's in it anyway?" He asks. "It can't be that bad, right?"
"Other than who it's addressed to?" Kurara asks. "Writing this kind of thing and not even signing it is in poor taste. Just read it for yourself," she says, tossing the letter onto the table.
Darumi makes grabby hands at the piece of paper as Takumi reluctantly picks it up and pretends to be reading it for the first time.
It's true that it's not something he would have written if he'd been writing it on his own. The language he used in it was flowery and too poetic for his usual standards but Kyoshika insisted that was a must and hey, the less it sounded like him, the better. Maybe he went a little overboard here and there, but…
"Oh man," Darumi says. "I'm getting second-hand embarrassment reading this."
"I think it's a sweet letter," Takumi gives his unbiased two cents. "So let's not all be like that."
"Exactly! Takumi gets it!" Gaku says, meanwhile Darumi and Yugamu both stare at Takumi as if with his very reasonable response he just revealed the entire truth behind the letter to them.
Takumi looks away, pretending not to see their gazes on him, nor feel how his face blushes.
"Who do you think it could be from?" Gaku asks him when they're hanging out in the courtyard again later that day.
"Huh?"
"You know… The letter. You… You don't think Kurara was right and it's just a prank, do you?" He asks, his voice getting a little smaller with every word, dripping with hesitation. When Takumi looks at him, Gaku's gaze is cast down, eyes staring at the grass under his feet. His mouth forms a frown. "I didn't want to think about it when I found the letter but… Can't deny it'd make sense. Maybe someone just wanted to mess with me after yesterday."
Takumi hesitates.
He'd like to live in a world where he'd be able to say that none of their friends are heartless enough to play that kind of pranks on people. Unfortunately, their friends are assholes — so Takumi stays silent, struggling to come up with a good response.
Of course, saying nothing at all turns out to be the worst response of all.
Gaku gets up and laughs awkwardly. "Yeah, man, I'm being dumb, aren't I? No wonder people would wanna laugh at me. I mean, who makes such a big deal out of something like this? To everyone else it's probably nothing… I'm sure you got a ton of love letters back at school," he says, not without a hint of bitterness in his voice.
Takumi blinks. "Huh? Me? What makes you say that?" He asks, genuinely confused.
"Uh, obviously you would. Guys like you always do."
Takumi wonders just what exactly Gaku imagines his social life to be like.
Takumi was never exactly Mr. Popular. Well, at least not before coming here, but that's mostly because you can't be a time traveler without that doing things to your reputation. But still, until all this mess started? Takumi thought of himself as more of a loser. Not the kind that would get bullied or made fun of, really, but the kind that never really participated in things until Karua made him, would be late to school regularly if Karua didn't stop at his house most days to make sure he woke up and drag him out of bed if needed. He was on okay terms with most of his class but not really close to any of them.
Huh. He supposes things has changed a lot since coming here.
Other than the sleeping in part, of course.
Oh, Takumi then thinks to himself. That's an angle I can use here.
"Well, maybe you weren't popular back at school, but we're not at a normal school anymore, are we? Or around, uh, normal people, either," Takumi says, laughing a little sheepishly at his own comment. He loves his friends, he does. But they're… quite something. Unusual is an understatement. "It only makes sense things would be different. I bet back at your school you never got to show off any of your good traits either but here? You're a dependable teammate, you throw parties like nobody else, you look out for everyone in your own way and you're a good cook, too. You can be a sweet guy when you try to, Gaku. What's there not to like?" He asks.
Gaku stares at him for a moment.
"…Huh," he says. "Dude, did you just copy that off the letter?"
"What?" Takumi asks. "No! That's — No, I didn't," he rushes to assure him.
"Really? 'Cause it was almost word for word what it said," Gaku points out. "You could at least come up with something original for me, you know?"
"I did! I meant that!" Takumi protests. "And I did not sound like the letter!"
He would know — he's confident he remembers the letter better than anyone else, considering he was the one who wrote it.
"Well… not exactly, no. But you said pretty much the same thing," Gaku says. "No one here sounds like the letter did. Which, uh… ah, crap, someone is making fun of me. No one would write all that poetic crap about me!"
"It's an anonymous letter, right?" Takumi reminds him. "I guess they made sure not to sound how they normally would. Brcause they don't want it to be too obvious who they are."
"But I don't get what's that about either! It's not like there's any competition! What does she have to lose by coming forward?" Gaku asks. He's taken off his cap and is clutching it in his hands miserably as he looks up at him and adds: "Takumi, do you think it's just that it's that embarrassing to like me?"
"No! I'm sure that's not it."
This is spinning out of control. Takumi never intended for the letter to be anywhere near that big of a deal. He doesn't even think it sounded that romantic! Despite how everyone is acting, it was not a confession — like he said to Kyoshika earlier, he's not ready to make any huge declarations right now. He just… he just wanted to let Gaku know what he thinks about him in hopes to cheer him up a little. Let him know he's appreciated. And he knows Gaku likes being complimented so maybe he let himself lay it on a little thick. And maybe he gave away just how many little things about Gaku he notices.
But still. Isn't all that just proof of the fact that he's being sincere? He didn't think anyone would assume he's trying to make fun of Gaku! And now that they've gotten this idea into Gaku's head, it seems like the insecurities just don't want to let him go.
Gaku sighs. "Maybe I should get Kako to help me find out who it was. Do you think she'd help me? She likes playing detective, this should be totally her thing."
No, no, no, there's no need for even more people to get involved.
"Um… I'm not sure that's a good idea," Takumi says.
"Why not? You don't think it's her, do you?" Gaku asks, then laughs before Takumi can answer and shakes his head. "Nah, man. I could actually bet you money it's not," he says, then pauses as something seems to occur to him. "Wait, she is really close with the other girls though… think she'd lie or throw the investigation on purpose?"
"We don't know it was a girl," Takumi blurts out.
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Takumi barely stops himself from visibly grimacing or hiding his face in his hands.
Why would he bring it to Gaku's attention that that's even an option!? The less likely Gaku is to figure out he's the one who wrote the letter, the better, right? No?
Well. There is a part of him that he realizes felt kind of annoyed hearing Gaku wonder which girl sent the letter to him. For some reason. It's a part that he should definitely have not listened to.
Gaku looks at him with wide eyes.
"I — I mean… we don't know who it was. So… it's a possibility," Takumi explains awkwardly.
"Uh… dude," Gaku says and Takumi's starting to feel defensive, but alas, he can't exactly show that. "Let's assume it isn't," he continues and Takumi's stomach drops, even if it shouldn't because it's not like he expected anything to come of it, he didn't buy into what Kyoshika was saying either, he's not that naive, it's just… "Think about it," Gaku sighs. "Ima's the same as Kako. He's too much like my siblings and anyway, it's not like he pays that much attention to anyone but her. Even if that wasn't the case, he's like… really mean to me! And then Eito's dead, so it obviously wasn't him either."
Takumi blinks, taken aback. He's not sure there was a need to bring up the latter case, but he clings onto the realization that Gaku's listing actual reasons he reacted this way and none of them so far have been that it'd be a problem for him if the letter was from a guy because it was from a guy.
"Takemaru's way too tall, man," Gaku continues. "I look even shorter next to him! So thanks but no thanks!"
Takumi laughs. "That's a pretty shallow reason."
"So what? Everyone's shallow about this stuff, I'm just honest!" Gaku says. "Anyway, Shouma's just depressing to be around. I don't need someone constantly getting me down. Can you imagine trying to go on a date with someone who keeps talking like that? It'd totally kill the vibe," Gaku explains and then before he gives his last reason, a haunted look flashes across his face: "And Yugamu freaking scares me, dude. That guy's a major creep," he finishes with a shudder.
None of the guys Gaku talked about just now were him, Takumi notices. None of the reasons he listed applied to him, either.
He really, really wants to ask what it means that Gaku didn't even take him into consideration. It's probably not a great idea, though.
"Does that mean any of the girls would be fine?" Takumi asks instead.
Gaku scratches the back of his neck, seemingly thinking about it: "Well, no. But I already told you I don't think it's Kako."
"What about the others? Does it make no difference to you who it's actually from?" Takumi asks.
Gaku blinks. He looks at Takumi strangely. Takumi's not sure what that look means. Maybe it's confusion, maybe it's hesitation. As if Gaku never actually considered this before.
"Well, what do you plan to do when you find out?" Takumi wants to know.
Gaku frowns. "Does it matter?" He asks, looking away. "It's not like they're just gonna come forward… so there's not gonna be anything for me to do," he mutters. "Whatever, man. Come on, wanna go to the rec room play table tennis with me?"
And Takumi does want to, so he drops the topic and nods.
"It sounds to me as if everything went perfectly, sir Takumi!"
The nighttime announcement has already played and Takumi is sitting in Kyoshika's room, having just finished recounting the events of the day, trying to make the point that the letter was a failure and her advice doesn't work. The point that she does not seem to be getting, judging by her words and the unreasonably proud look on her face.
"Were you listening to what I was saying…?" Takumi wonders.
"Naturally! And we are on our way to success, sir Takumi!"
"We are?"
"It might not seem like that as of now, but you will simply have to trust the process!" Kyoshika assures him.
"Well, alright…" He says, not feeling very convinced.
Kyoshika pulls out a piece of paper that she presents to him just as proudly — there's a simple graph drawn on it, with stick figures that Takumi thinks are meant to represent him and Gaku. There's a bunch of drawings he can't exactly decipher but he understands the last part of it, he thinks, which is a drawing of a happy ending this is all supposed to lead to, portrayed by stick-him and stick-Gaku holding hands, with a heart hovering over them. It'd be cute if he wasn't feeling confused right now.
"So… what does any of this mean?" he asks.
"Sir Takumi, can't you tell?" Kyoshika asks. She points at a drawing of… Takumi… putting his hand on Gaku's shoulder? "The next step is of course a kabedon!"
"A kabdeon," Takumi repeats.
"It is when a heroine is backed against a wall or a locker and the mysterious, confident, somewhat intimidating yet alluring love interest places his hand on the wall, intensifying his aura and — "
"Y-Yeah, I know what a kaebdon is, you don't have to explain it," Takumi cuts her off. "You don't think it'll just weird him out?"
"Why would it?" Kyoshika seems confused. "It is a traditional gesture of — "
The door to Kyoshika's room opens then, making both of them jump up in surprise. Takumi turns his head to look in the direction of the entrance, where Kurara stands, her arms crossed. She steps inside and uses her foot to kick the door behind her close.
"If you idiots talk any louder, you won't need any strategy at all because everyone on the roof, Gaku included, is going to hear," she scoffs.
"Lady Kurara!" Kyoshika exclaims. "This is a secret meeting! How did you know what we're talking about?"
"Are you deaf? I just told you, I can hear you! At first I thought you two were getting up to something nasty, but then I heard what you were actually talking about — and honestly, it's even worse," she says, frowning, and looks at Takumi, before asking him mockingly: "Have you fallen on your head?"
Before Takumi can respond, Kyoshika jumps to his defense:
"Not at all, Lady Kurara! But he has fallen! He has fallen for sir Gaku! Isn't that wonderful?"
Kurara looks at them both in utter disgust.
"That is one way of saying absolutely revolting," she says. Then, she sighs dramatically. "Well, I shouldn't expect peasants to have anything even resembling proper taste, but I suppose that is for the best. The sooner a degenerate like Takumi is removed from the dating pool, the better it is for the female population. And if he takes Gaku out of it while he's at it, we can consider that a positive conclusion."
"What did I even do?" Takumi asks defensively.
"Very well," Kurara continues, ignoring him. "I shall lend my help as well. And my advice will actually get you somewhere. You better be grateful that a noble like myself will lend you her help and you better show proper gratitude."
"Sure? I am grateful, but — "
"Leave all the planning to me," Kurara interrupts, not letting him get any questions in. "I am confident you would only fuck it up spectacularly. You just show up at the cafeteria tomorrow before the nighttime announcement and I'll take care of everything."
Takumi didn't question why every plan involved the cafeteria in some way, but he's learning quickly that he should, because that is apparently not his lucky place. An even more important lesson he's learning from this experience is to never trust Kurara with anything.
"What the hell? This isn't funny!" Gaku yells at her through the freezer door, banging his fist on it. "Just open the door! Man, what is wrong with you!"
"I… I don't know if she's even still there," Takumi says, his shoulders shaking. He reaches out and catches Gaku by the wrist before he can hit the door again. "Come on, there's no point. You'll just hurt yourself."
Gaku lets his hand drop and his shoulders slump.
"Why on earth would she do this? I didn't think she ACTUALLY hated me…" he mumbles. Then, he glances at Takumi. "And I definitely didn't think she hated you. What's up with that? Isn't everyone supposed to like you?"
Takumi blinks. "You think so?" He asks, his face warming up just a little.
Gaku shrugs. "Yeah? It's just facts, dude. Or — well, maybe not, since you're here too," he says, leaning his back against the wall before sliding down to the floor in defeat.
Takumi himself is wondering how he got here. Maybe it's his punishment for doubting Kyoshika's harmless ideas or maybe it's the universe trying to drill into his mind he should have never gone along with anyone's ideas in the first place. He's the leader, isn't he? He should be coming up with solutions to everyone's problems, especially his own.
Kurara's solution involved paying Gaku to go get her something she claimed she needed from the freezer, sending Takumi to go with him since "You're taller than him, go help him reach the higher shelves" and then locking them both inside.
He looks at Gaku, who's hiding his face in his hands right now.
"Do you think we're going to freeze to death?" He asks.
"If we do, at least the Revive-o-matic should bring us back," Takumi tries to comfort him.
"I don't want to freeze to death though!" Gaku protests. "So what if we get brought back? That doesn't make it sound any less painful or scary! Man, this is awful…"
"We don't know for sure if we're going to freeze to death," Takumi quickly adds. "I'm sure someone will show up and let us out…"
"But what if they don't? Everyone's probably in their rooms already! Our survival depends on if anyone goes midnight snacking or not!"
"Hey — Hey, Gaku, listen," Takumi tries to speak in a reassuring voice. He crouches down on the floor next to Gaku and places his hand on his shoulder. "We're not gonna freeze to death, alright? I'll try to open the door. And if not, well… we can do some exercises? We'll find a way to warm up. It's going to be fine."
Gaku looks up at Takumi, his eyes fearful but also, Takumi would like to think, hopeful. After a moment, he nods.
Takumi spends the next twenty minutes trying to get them out. It doesn't go well. Gaku watches him intently the entire time, encouraging him to keep trying and he is doing his best to look like he believes Takumi can do it and under any other circumstances, Takumi would be thrilled to have Gaku cheering him on again, and this time him only. It's unforunate it has to happen like this.
Not much time passes before Gaku starts spiraling again.
"We're doomed. We're completely doomed!" He wails, pulling on his cap anxiously. "What rotten luck! I can't believe it's gotten so bad it's affecting people around me too now!"
"I don't think it's your fault," Takumi tries to comfort him.
"Well, duh it's not my fault. It's because the universe hates my ass for some reason! And it's freaking Kurara's fault too! Do you think this is a hate crime? I should sue her for this once we get out of here!"
Takumi supposes that's as good of a motivation to hold on to as any. "Sure. You should do that."
"You bet I will!" Gaku says, now furiously rubbing his hands along his arms, trying to make himself warmer. "This sucks!"
Takumi pats him on the shoulder and that's when it happens.
Gaku suddenly grabs onto Takumi's jacket and pulls him closer. He hides his face in Takumi's chest and Takumi freezes. Not literally. For a brief moment, he feels entirely too warm. He's pretty sure that's usually a sign you're about to die from hypothermia. Maybe he is about to die. His head feels weird and the world seems to stand upside down out of the blue.
"G-Gaku?"
"What?" Gaku asks, his voice getting muffled by the fabric of Takumi's clothes. "You're the least cold thing here, Takumi. We've gotta… share the body heat, or something."
"I don't know if that's how it works…"
Gaku looks up at him with a frown. "Do you have better ideas!?" He asks.
Takumi raises his hands apologetically. "Sorry… sorry, you're right," then, he hesitates. He looks at Gaku, shivering and staying close to him, trying to soak up what little warmth Takumi has to offer. That's… That's something Gaku wants right now, to be as close to Takumi as possible. And Takumi, well… he doesn't want Gaku to be miserable or scared. He wants Gaku to feel safe and he wants Gaku to feel happy. Which Gaku might be just a little bit closer to feeling if Takumi just…
Pushing his doubts away, Takumi wraps his arms around Gaku. Gaku returns the hug.
Oh.
He can feel Gaku's heartbeat, he realizes. He can feel Gaku's breath on his skin and he can feel the little warmth that is still left in him as well. He can feel a sense of purpose now, a strong need to keep Gaku with him, to protect him, to keep him warm. Takumi's heart beats a little faster and feelings he's not all that familiar with fill his heart, keeping it far, far from freezing, unlike the rest of his body.
He supposes it isn't all that bad, if he gets to hold Gaku like this.
In a rare show of mercy from fate, neither of them freezes to death. The door to the freezer opens about an hour later, courtesy of Yugamu, who apparently ran into Kurara while returning to his room from the bio lab and heard about their situation. He finds them curled up together on the floor, Gaku wrapped around Takumi like an octopus, tearfully telling him of all he'll never get to do after dying in here, from more serious stuff like how now he'll never get to lift his family out of poverty after returning from war, to how he'll die without ever having his first kiss (something a voice in Takumi's head told him to point out to Gaku that they can fix, but ultimately he decided against it — it wouldn't be fair, when he is fairly sure they're not going to die, at least not for good).
Oddly enough, Takumi feels colder once they're out of the freezer, with Gaku no longer so close to him, instead scurrying off to his room, perhaps longing to take a hot shower and bury himself under warm covers, or maybe at least partially due to embarrassment of being found cuddling with a guy. Takumi hopes it's not the latter.
Gaku running away leaves him alone with Yugamu and as Takumi soon finds out, it wasn't purely out of the goodness of his heart that Yugamu decided to get them out of this situation.
"You know, Takumi, if you feel like expressing your gratitude to me for saving you two lovebirds from this predicament… I happen to be in need of a test subject."
"I don't think I'm that grateful," Takumi tells him and tries to leave.
Yugamu catches him by the back of his hoodie, making him stop.
"Now, now, at least hear me out first before saying no. It's nothing scary. Scout's honor and all that ~"
Yugamu is the furthest thing from a scout, however, so Takumi doesn't trust this at all. It must show on his face, because Yugamu sighs dramatically.
"You wound me, team leader," he says. "But you know, you might find what I have rather useful in your passionate pursuit of Gaku."
Takumi wants to point out that the wording is a bit strong there and question how Yugamu knows about this in the first place and what makes him so sure it's true, but then he stops himself. He supposes there's no point really in continuing on with denial when he was found hugging Gaku close to his chest, his face no doubt betraying the whirlwind of emotions inside him.
"Alright, I'm still a bit afraid to ask but… what exactly do you need to test?"
Yugamu grins wide, like a Cheshire cat.
"I'm glad you asked, Takumi," he says and from his sleeve, he pulls out a collection of suspicious looking vials with suspiciously colorful liquids inside.
Yugamu launches into a detailed explanation regarding each one. The first vial, with a red substance stored inside it, is something akin to a perfume, according to Yugamu. He was thinking of making it into pills, apparently, but figured perfume might be more fitting and produce a stronger effect. It is supposed to boost one's confidence, makes them more naturally attractive to those around them, drawing people's attention and highlighting positive qualities in a mate. It sounds harmless enough, if a little stupid, because Takumi doesn't get how a "become-hot-quick" perfume is supposed to work, but strangely, as he listens to Yugamu he is overcome with a feeling of dread. He shudders, almost as if his senses know something he doesn't and are trying their hardest to communicate how terrible of an idea agreeing to this would be. Takumi doesn't understand it, but since the thought of saying yes is giving him a physical reaction of feeling like he's about to throw up, he listens to those senses and quickly shakes his head.
"Sorry. That sounds too shady for me," he shuts Yugamu down. "What are — Uh, what do the other two do…?"
The second one, a light blue liquid with hints of silver in it, according to Yugamu is a potion that makes you temporarily grow tentacles. Takumi can't shake his head fast enough. He doesn't know how he'd even explain this to anyone and doesn't want to have to find out.
Yugamu looks at Takumi like he wants to tell him that Takumi needs to live a little (which Takumi IS trying to do but he doesn't think downing strange mixtures will actually help him with that — he fears it's quite the opposite), then presents him with the third, final vial.
The catboy potion.
"Gaku is a simple guy," Yugamu explains. "This might just work on him. You should give it a go."
Takumi turns around and leaves.
He tries the kabedon. Gaku looks at him in confusion and asks why Takumi is trying to stop him from going to the bathroom.
He agrees to Kyoshika's plan of running with toast in his mouth and running into Gaku, as embarrassing as it feels. He bumps into him with too much force, they fall to the floor and the toast drops on the ground. While Takumi's having a crisis over the fact that he ended up on top of Gaku for a moment, Gaku lectures him on wasting food.
He goes with Gaku on exploration alone. They get caught in the rain but rather than having a romantic moment in the shelter, Takumi just gets sick. He vaguely remembers someone nursing him back to health but he's so out of it he doesn't remember who it was.
He asks Gaku to help him learn how to cook. Gaku agrees and it's fun, even if it doesn't happen the way it does in movies and still no romantic tension appears, but it's nice. Until the moment Takumi messes up and cuts his finger.
He considers even taking Yugamu up on the catboy potion offer after all, but apparently Yugamu has already found another test subject and his formula still needs corrections.
Miserably, Takumi thinks maybe it's not meant to be. Then, he wonders since when he started expecting any of this to work.
The night all of the Second to Last Defense Academy decides to gather in his room for brainstorming — because apparently everyone knows by now — Takumi's just tired and simply not in the mood for any of this.
It's nice that they care. But right now, as he listens to everyone shouting over each other, arguing about what the best way for Takumi to win Gaku over would be, he feels like his feelings are being used for entertainment.
He didn't even invite any of them here.
Kyoshika is devising another manga-inspired plan that Takumi can't quite follow.
Kurara criticizing Kyoshika's idea at every step.
Yugamu's suggesting more and more outrageous solutions he claims he could work on, such as devising a trap that won't let those caught in it unless they kiss.
Takumi tries to tell them to let it go, but he can't even get a word in.
Eventually, he snaps. "Alright, everyone — OUT. MY feelings for Gaku are MY business, okay? I'll figure it out on my own. Or I won't. But it's nothing to any of you! Just — Just let me sleep in peace, okay?"
He gets some looks like he's ruining their fun, but they kindly do get out.
Moko and Nozomi linger for a moment, apologetic looks on both their faces.
"I'm really sorry about this, Takumi. They can be a little oversensitive, but they just got excited about it. I mean, it's a little like getting to experience a normal school life again, isn't it?" Nozomi says.
"…I guess," Takumi says, because he doesn't want to get angry at her too.
"That's right, we were all just wanting to help, sweetie — even if it got a little overwhelming…" Moko tells him. "For what it's worth, I think you should just tell him how you feel, hon."
"Um…"
"I agree!" Nozomi nods and smiles at him. "I'm sure Gaku will appreciate it if you're just honest with him."
"Yup! And if you get rejected, you just come to your pal Moko and we can all eat ice cream and cry to sad movies together," Moko offers.
"Uh… thanks," Takumi says. "I'll… think about it," he tells them, though he doesn't really intend to.
They both say their goodbyes to him and Takumi closes the door.
Could he? Just tell Gaku how he feels? Again, is there even a point to it?
What if Gaku has noticed what's been going on? Maybe the reason he hasn't said anything is simply because the truth is that he does not like Takumi back and he's sparing him the awkwardness.
Maybe Takumi should just forget about it already.
Those are the thoughts he falls asleep with, although the universe holds different plans for him, as Takumi finds out the following day when he's awaken by the sound of somebody knocking on his door.
Whoever it is, he ignores them at first. But the knocking is persistent. It repeats after a minute and then a minute after that. Then again and it's clear that his visitor isn't leaving and pretending he can't hear them or trying to go back to sleep won't work.
Unhappily, Takumi crawls out of bed and marches over to the door, not bothering to hide the dissatisfied grimace on his face.
When he opens the door, it's Gaku who's standing outside his room and Takumi's eyes widen and his stomach twists in knots nervously.
"Oh. Hi, Gaku."
Gaku looks up at him. Takumi can't think of a reason why, but he looks nervous. He's fidgeting with his hands and his face looks slightly pink, which on him looks adora— which Takumi simply notices.
He is confused, however, why Gaku would be standing in front of his room so early in the morning. And Gaku can apparently read his thoughts now, because he frowns and tells him:
"It's noon, dude."
Takumi blinks. Oh. "Um… I see."
Takumi stares. Gaku stares back. Now Takumi's starting to feel a little awkward.
"So… do you need something?" He asks.
"No! No," Gaku shakes his head, then hesitates. "Or, well — Yes, yes I do. I — I wanted to talk to you."
"Sure. What about?" Takumi asks.
The nervous look returns to Gaku's face.
"So, uh…" he starts. He looks around and his fingers pull at the edge of his sleeve. "Um… so you know how we all have rooms up on this roof?" He starts, laughing awkwardly.
Takumi's confusion grows. "Yeah?"
"Right! And they're all next to each other."
"I… know that?"
"So, uh, you know the sound also really carries here, right?"
At first, Takumi doesn't know what Gaku's getting at. Sure, sound carries here. That makes sense. He doesn't know why that should concern him. Or why Gaku is treating it like it should be some sort of revelation to Takumi. He's not the first person to point it out to him either. Just a few nights ago, Kurara also said —
Oh.
Takumi freezes and his stomach sinks.
"Is… that so?" He asks.
He thinks about the context in which Kurara told him about it. He thinks about what his friends talked about last night — none of them bothering to keep their voices low. He thinks about Gaku's nervous behavior.
Takumi takes a step back and prepares to shut the door right in Gaku's face, then pretend this conversation never happened, but Gaku quickly steps forward, stopping him, and gives him a look so wounded that Takumi immediately feels bad. Seeing this kind of look on Gaku's face makes him feel like he kicked a puppy.
"Bro, don't just close the door on me while we're still talking, what the heck? That's just rude!" Gaku complains.
"S—Sorry."
Gaku looks at him silently for a moment, then sighs.
"Look, Takumi, just let me talk, okay?"
He doesn't see many options to choose from, so he nods.
Gaku puts his hands in his pockets, rocks back and forth on his feet, takes a deep breath and continues:
"So as I was saying, you can hear pretty much everything here if people just talk loud enough. Which they did. Yesterday. So I did hear… well, enough. And listen, I figured that'd be kind of a dick move if I just… pretended I didn't know?" He says.
"Look, Gaku, I…"
"Wait, I'm not done," Gaku says. "First things first." He points a finget at him. "So YOU wrote that letter?"
"Um…"
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asks, crossing his arms.
"Um."
"You knew I was worried someone was just playing a prank on me," Gaku pouts.
"Um… Sorry?" Takumi says sheepishly.
Gaku sighs.
"Well, I guess it's fine," he says. Then, he looks down for a moment, seemingly bracing himself for something, before he looks up at Takumi with wide eyes and asks: "So… you actually like me, then? Like… for real?"
It must be Takumi's imagination or wishful thinking, but he could swear the blush on Gaku's face deepens.
"That's — Well, I — I mean —" he fumbles around for words for a moment, but eventually just settles for a simple: "Yes?"
Gaku frowns. "Why does it sound like you're asking me?"
"Yes," Takumi corrects himself and his palms feel strangely clammy, while his heart beats a little too loudly in his chest. "Yeah, I do."
For a moment, Gaku looks sincerely surprised, as if he thought there was still another explanation for this and expected it all to turn out to be a misunderstanding.
"Oh! Oh… Okay. Alright. That's… damn. Wow." He seems to need a moment to process this.
"Y-Yeah, uh… sorry, about… Well, just sorry," Takumi says.
Gaku gives him an odd look.
"Huh? Why would you apologize?"
Takumi shrugs.
"Takumi… You can't just apologize after telling someone you like them. It makes the confession look really lame."
"Oh. Sorry."
Once again, Gaku sighs.
"Man, you're really bad at this," he says and Takumi startles, mildly offended by this remark. "Have you never confessed to anyone? I expected you'd be smoother than this."
"I — No, well, I haven't," Takumi admits.
That seems to surprise Gaku too.
"Huh. That's — Wait, so I… I'm the first person you ever confessed to?"
Takumi shrugs.
"And… the way you've been acting kinda weird all week — that was your attempt to… uh, ask me out?"
Takumi shrugs again.
"You could have just told me, you know," Gaku tells him, his voice sincere.
Takumi blinks. He looks at Gaku and Gaku's face looks serious. Genuine. It's doing odd things to Takumi's heart.
"Oh," is all he's able to say to that.
"And uh… please don't let people lock us in any more freezers? Because that sucked," Gaku says.
"That one wasn't my idea," Takumi hurries to clarify. "I — I wouldn't let that happen if I knew beforehand."
"Alright." Gaku nods. "That's good."
There's a moment of silence. Gaku stares. Takumi stares back.
"So…" Gaku speaks again. "Are you, like… going to ask me out for real then, or…?"
Takumi blinks.
"Do you want me to?" He asks.
"W-Well…" Gaku hesitates. His forehead creases as he tries to gather his thoughts. "I mean — You know, I was… thinking. About the thing you asked me the other day."
"The thing?"
"Yeah. About the letter. If, um… if it mattered to me, from who it was."
"Oh."
"Well, it does matter. It's — I wouldn't be happy with just anyone. I — I didn't really think about that, because honestly, I just — I just wanted someone to like me. But… But I don't think it'd feel right, accepting a confession with someone I just don't feel that something with, y'know?"
Takumi listens, his eyes wide. He doesn't want to get his hopes up, but doesn't this almost sound like…?
Gaku continues. "Look, I — I don't know, okay? I'm — Not completely sure how I feel. It's — Like I said, I've never done this whole liking someone thing before," Gaku tells him and now he's definitely blushing hard. "But, um… Well, I think — Y-You're a really cool guy, Takumi. And I do like you, man. Like — You know. I like hanging out with you. And you're pretty funny. And you can do a lot. And… well, you're just easy to talk to. And… I don't know, I feel… comfortable around you. Happy? Yeah."
"Oh."
"And I mean, you are hot," Gaku adds.
Takumi flushes. "T-Thanks." He clears his throat. "So, uh… are you saying…?"
Gaku nods. "I do wanna go out with you. I think."
"Oh," Takumi says again. "Oh. That's — Cool. That's great."
It's probably not the most eloquent way to respond to someone he likes telling him he wants to go out with him, but his thoughts are racing too fast for him to put them in to words and right now, this is the best he can manage.
"But!" Gaku adds. "I do have standards! I want to be romanced properly."
"Sure," Takumi agrees. "Though, uh… I… did try to do that…"
"Well, you can take advice from me next time," Gaku tells him. "I'm an expert when it comes to myself."
Takumi laughs. "Right."
"And I do have an idea for what we can do first! Like… you know. As a date."
"You do?"
A part of him wonders if maybe he didn't wake up at all and he's still dreaming.
"Yeah! I was thinking and we still haven't done any real work for our band," Gaku starts and Takumi is ashamed to realize that with all that's been going on, he nearly forgot about that. "So you should write a song. And I'll help you. But if you want a really good confession, there's nothing more romantic than doing it through a song."
"You want to… sit with me as I write a song about you? For our first date?" Takumi asks.
"Heck yeah!" Gaku confirms and he smiles so wide and so endearingly that Takumi could never find it in his heart to say no to him.
He laughs fondly and returns the smile. "Alright. Just, uh, let me get breakfast first, alright?"
Gaku snorts. "More like lunch, but sure. Let's go." He grabs Takumi's hand, once again taking him by surprise, and leads him towards the stairs. "You should already start thinking about what you wanna put in a song. Like, what exactly do you like about me? And how did you realize you like me? Did your favorite color change to the color of my eyes or something like that? Sure, it's a little cliche, but it's a cliche for a reason," Gaku talks, and Takumi can't see his eyes well right now but from how his voice sounds, he knows they must be shining with excitement.
"This is getting to your head pretty fast, huh?" He notices.
"Well, yeah? Why wouldn't it?" Gaku asks. "This is the first time anyone has liked me, ever. You bet I'm gonna let it get to me. I mean, you like me, dude. Me," Gaku emphasizes and giggles to himself. Takumi's heart warms. "Can you believe that?"
Takumi looks at him. He looks at Gaku's happy face as they walk together. He focuses on the warmth of Gaku's hand around his. Holding it so casually, without hesitation, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world to him to hold it like that. He thinks about the way his heart hasn't stopped beating fast since he opened his door to see Gaku standing outside it. He thinks about the way Gaku smiles at him, about the way Gaku talks excitedly, about his nervous ticks, about the way he looks when he pouts and complains and about how cute he finds all of that.
He thinks about the excitement he feels as it's sinking in that this isn't one big delusion Takumi's mind has conjured up, but instead something very real that's actually happening.
He feels grateful, in that moment, for all of Kyoshika's, Kurara's and Yugamu's meddling and the chaos and the mess caused by it. He feels really grateful, despite how he didn't believe in them at the time, for Moko's and Nozomi's words to him before they left yesterday.
Miraculously, Operation: Woo Your Way Into Your Unlikely Crush's Heart has somehow worked.
Takumi laughs to himself, an overwhelming amount of affection welling up inside him.
Gaku pauses for a moment. He turns to look at Takumi and tilts his head, looking up at him with curiosity.
"Hm? What is it, Takumi?" He asks.
Takumi shakes his head.
"Nothing. It's nothing," he said. "But, um… yeah. Yeah, I can believe that," he says.
He can see the exact moment Gaku realizes what question Takumi is answering because the blush returns to his face in full force.
"O-Oh! Oh, alright," Gaku says and even though they're not walking anymore, he still almost trips and stumbles. Takumi catches him by his shoulders and steadies him. Gaku looks even more flustered at that. "Alright! Well…" he takes hold of Takumi's hand and tightens his grip on it. "A-Anyway, let's go. You said you were hungry, so we should hurry. And, uh… I — I can make you something, if you want. You know, as a thank you. For that bento you made for me. And because I'm a pretty good cook. You like my cooking, right?"
"Yeah," Takumi agrees. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Okay! Cool. I'll do that then," Gaku nods as he continues pulling Takumi towards the cafeteria.
Takumi smiles. He supposes his mother was somewhat right. Not about the details but… the actual near-beheading aside, he does understand what it feels like to lose your head because of someone you like, he thinks. And he's very aware it's definitely made him look like a fool in the past days. Not just once, but multiple times. Honestly, he's embarrassed himself more than the classmates he judged ever did. And he's definitely been acting more ridiculous than what he complained about Karua being like. If she remembered who she was and remembered Takumi's pettiness over the whole thing, he's sure she'd laugh at him now — and it would be fully justified.
But, well… as they walk through the academy's corridor hand in hand, starting the day together, with plans ahead of them that Takumi is looking forward to with all of his heart… He finds he doesn't mind much if he looks a little ridiculous. It's all that ridiculousness, after all, that finally got him here. And it's that ridiculousness that's made Gaku happy and put that smile on his face that Takumi likes seeing so much. It's the very same ridiculousness that Takumi hopes will keep Gaku by his side.
He squeezes Gaku's hand in his, smiling to himself, wide and sincere, and decides that if it does, it's definitely more than worth it.