alicenine fanfic Cross Game part 21b

Part 21b

Hiroto had just finished showering and exited his bathroom when he heard his iPhone ringing. Half running, Hiroto grabbed the device and pressed the answer button before the caller hung up. He managed to read Tora's name on the screen before he brought his iPhone to his ear.

"What's up, Tora?"

He could hear Tora's voice on the other line, asking him out to meet up at some café.

"That new café at Akihabara? Why in the world do you want us to meet up there, of all places?" asked Hiroto again.

For some reason, Tora sounded like he was in a rush, and Hiroto wondered why. Nevertheless, he put that thought aside now and stated his agreement to meet the taller teen.

"Okay, okay. I'll be there in 30 minutes. Order what you like, anything would be fine for me. See you soon," and then Hiroto hung up.

Throwing his iPhone carelessly onto the bed, Hiroto proceeded to dry his hair up. He approached his wardrobe, opened it and searched for some decent clothes to wear. Whilst doing so, his mind wandered to his encounter with Saga at the school's rest room earlier this afternoon.

Hmm… It'd be a perfect opportunity to ask Tora about this matter.

Nodding, Hiroto got himself ready. He moved very swiftly, because he promised Tora to arrive at their meeting place in only half an hour.

~*~

Hiroto exited the train station and headed to Gundam Café. He had coincidentally passed the said café once when he went to Akihabara last week with his classmates, so he knew where his meeting point with Tora was located at. It didn't take much time for the short brunette to reach Gundam Café. Hiroto entered the café, was greeted by the waiter at the entrance who informed him that they were almost close.

"I only came here to meet my friend. Do you happen to know where he is?" asked Hiroto, at the same time craning his neck to spot the certain dark-haired teen.

Before the waiter could give him a response, though, Hiroto had already spotted Tora. The expression Tora wore was that of annoyance; it made Hiroto wonder what had upset the tall one. Tora was approaching him, so Hiroto didn't bother move from where he was currently standing, which was by the entrance. He lifted his arm, waving at Tora. Within a few seconds, Tora had stood before him.

"Let's go," said the dark-haired student.
"Already?" asked Hiroto, confused.
"Yeah."

No further words were said, as Tora pushed open the door and exited the café, Hiroto following from behind. Hiroto managed to bow at the waiter when he heard him say, "Thank you for visiting! Come again!" just before he turned on his heel and caught up on Tora. Now walking side by side, Hiroto finally saw the mess at the front of Tora's uniform.

"What happened to your uniform? Did you spill some drink or something? Or did you bump into a waiter?" asked Hiroto, raising an eyebrow.
"Some annoying kid did this," replied Tora, clearly not amused.
"You should have at least washed it. Did you bring an extra shirt?"
"No. Just forget it. It doesn't matter."
"But I know this little accident ruined your mood."

Tora sighed, "Hiroto…"

Hiroto shrugged, changing the topic afterwards.

"Where are we going now?"
"Somewhere quiet. Know any place like that?"
"In Akihabara? Hardly. But maybe the park up ahead should do," answered the shorter one.

Then, Hiroto dragged Tora with him, heading to the said park. Once they arrived there, Hiroto searched for a bench, found one, and motioned to Tora to sit there. Tora complied without any protests.

"So," started the shorter teen, "Why did you want us to meet? Something happened?"
"A lot of things did," Tora put his school bag down beside his thigh on the stone bench, "There's really are a lot of things, so much so, I'm not sure how to word them out."
"Took you long enough to start spilling the beans. I'm kind of hurt that you didn't tell me much earlier."
"What are you talking about, Hiroto?" Tora looked confused.
"Oh, c'mon, Tora. Do you really think that low of my intelligence? It doesn't take a genius to figure out your problems."
"Seriously, how much have you known?" Tora straightened up a bit.
"Enough… And just relax, please."
"How could I?"
"Oh, Tora. Do these problems of yours bother you so much that you can't even relax? They must be some pretty bad, bad ones."

Tora raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit relieved that Hiroto seemed not to know about his problems that well, as he previously feared; because Tora wanted to tell Hiroto first-hand. The two of them had been best friends since so long ago, it was only natural that Tora felt more comfortable confiding in Hiroto than in anyone else, his older brother Nao included. Leaning back onto the tree trunk, Tora closed his eyes for a moment, before he spoke up.

"Remember that night when I told you about my friend's problem?"

Hiroto nodded, but then noticing that Tora hadn't opened his eyes yet, he hummed in response.

"Gees… How should I say it? It's just that—"
"It's actually yours, isn't it?" Hiroto interjected Tora with a calm tone.

Tora snapped his eyes open, not expecting the shorter student to be straightforward. The dark-haired teen opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again because he actually didn't know what to say.

"Dude, are you sure you're ready for it?"  Hiroto asked out of the blue.

"What—?" Tora was taken aback.

"I mean, are you ready to be a daddy?" Hiroto turned his head back to face his best friend. "I know something has happened between you and Saga-kun. Is he pregnant?"
"You... How did you...?" Tora gasped in disbelief. Did Hiroto somehow manage to become a psychic or a mind reader?
"I saw Saga today in school, and he was like, punching up in the toilet, and when he found out I saw him, he almost freaked out." Hiroto explained with a small frown. "Adding his strange reaction with the fact that there are weird rumours about you and Saga being... an item or even engaged, and that story about your non-existent friend—"
"Okay, I got it." Tora's shoulders fell, he pouted with an unhappy expression on his face. "So, nothing escaped your notice, right? Mr. Great Detective?"
"Come on! I can figure it out only because I'm good at observation! And I'm only worrying about you, okay?"
"I'm sorry. I'm just... this whole business just... kind of freaks me out." Tora knew he was being too defensive. After all Hiroto was his best friend; still, discovering the shorter boy managed to read him so well really did make him feel quite nervous.
"It's okay." Hiroto shook his head; after all, it wasn't like he couldn't sympathise with his friend's situation. "So that 'girl' really is Saga after all?"

Tora nodded helplessly.

"And he's having your kid?"

With great reluctance, Tora nodded again.

"Crap." Hiroto murmured. "No offense to neither you nor Saga, still... this whole thing... it's just bad."
"Now you can see why I'm so stressed out, right?"
"So, what are you going to do now? Are you really going to... marry Saga?"
"What else can I do?" Tora threw both his hands up in the mid-air in abandonment.

There was a long paused before Hiroto voiced out his next question carefully. "But do you love him?"

"I ...I don't know..."

It was true that Tora couldn't even fathom his own feelings towards his cousin. Things had become so complicated, Tora was certain even his genius big brother Nao couldn't handle them. He chuckled at the thought, which made Hiroto frown.

"What's so funny?" asked the short brunette in confusion.
"Nothing…" Tora shrugged.

Hiroto dropped the matter, viewing the entire park when he suddenly remembered something.

"You know, Tora… What about Shou?"

The black-haired teen sighed rather loudly at the mention of that certain friend of Saga's.

"Must you bring him up in our conversation, Hiroto?" asked Tora, sounding annoyed.
"Well, we both know he is Saga's best friend. I even think he is way too close to Saga to a point he had the guts to punch you at school in front of every student and got a suspension from it," Hiroto reasoned.

"And… What's the point?"

"Don't you think he knows? Judging from his action—"

"He still has nothing to do with my engagement to Sa—my cousin."

"Dude, relax. Why are you so worked up?"

"Just because."

This time, Hiroto sighed.

"I think you need some rest, Tora. It's nearly evening, anyway. C'mon, I'll walk you to the station," advised Hiroto, standing up from the bench.
"No, wait."
"Huh?"
"Come with me. I need to look for something."
"What is it?"

Tora mumbled his answer, which to Hiroto sounded like 'wedding rings'. At first, Hiroto didn't believe his ears, but then Tora continued, "There's a jewellery shop nearby. So, if you don't mind coming with me…"

Hiroto stared at the taller teen for a moment, before he smiled in understanding, "So, I guess you really are serious about this marriage thing, right?"

Tora couldn't come up with an answer to Hiroto's rhetorical question. That was when Hiroto patted his back in an assuring manner.

"You have my full support, no matter what," said the shorter teen with a grin, "Let's go!"

For the first time after a while, Tora felt much better despite his problems. He strode along behind Hiroto, feeling somewhat grateful that he had Hiroto as his best friend.

-End of Chapter 21-