SixTONES drabbles

Going up on the stage during concerts is always exciting and even a bit scary, no matter how many times one does it. And it's not like they have done it even nearly enough not to fret before performances. Some of them just can't hide it as well as others, Hokuto thinks as he watches Jesse through the mirror in their dressing room.

The very first Crea show of the year is about to start in less than an hour, and the nervousness in the room is tangible. Jesse keeps walking around aimlessly, sitting down every now and then, fiddling with his phone or music player or a magazine and then standing up again, completely restless, not being able to stay still for too long. The nervousness is also clearly visible on his face.

Once, Jesse glances at Hokuto and meets his eyes through the mirror, instantly giving him a small grin and making a face but Hokuto can still see through his façade and wishes he could somehow ease the other's anxiety. He's pretty useless alone though, being nervous himself as well, and watching Jesse doesn’t actually make it any better. It's so quiet, Hokuto thinks a bit sadly, so quiet and empty with just the two of them.

When the clock is half past, Hokuto finally puts away his hair iron and firmly stands up. He suggests they go out to the wings of the stage. The other juniors must be there too, and he can't stay inside this room any longer. Jesse willingly agrees and they navigate their way along the narrow corridors to the back of the stage, and before they realize they are surrounded by busy looking staff members, costume racks and fellow juniors in a noisy but somehow comforting flurry.

Hokuto stops to talk a few words with Yuma and when he looks around after that, Jesse is nowhere to be seen. Hokuto zigzags among the people, looking around and feeling his nervousness growing again, especially when a staff member passing by tells him he'd like to have a few words with him and Jesse before they go on the stage.

Hokuto walks past the last costume racks and can suddenly hear a roar of laughter from behind them. There, on the farthest corner of the wing, half hidden behind a huge piece of prop, Hokuto finds Jesse.

With a couple of other people.

Jesse sits there with Juri, Shintaro, Taiga and Kochi, all of them laughing loudly at something. Hokuto watches how Juri stands up and starts imitating someone, putting up a little show like always, how Taiga whispers something to Jesse that makes them both snicker, how Shintaro pokes Jesse in the rib and almost ends up in a tickle fight with him, how Kochi kindly shares his energy drink with Jesse.

He watches and sees none of the earlier nervousness now. It makes him remember their previous concerts together, the shared fretting and worries, as well as joy and accomplishment after them. That's why they are there now. Things have changed on the way but there is still something that remains, and that something seems to be just what Jesse needs right now.

Slowly, Hokuto takes a step closer and Kochi is the first one to notice him, immediately getting up and pulling him along. The others smile widely at him, and Juri wraps an arm over his shoulder.

"Now we have everyone here."

"The staff guys want to talk with us before the start," Hokuto says to Jesse before he forgets.

Jesse nods and then glances at the guys around them. "Let's not go just yet? I want to... be here for a moment."

"It’ll go well," Juri says to Jesse.

"Just do it like always," Shintaro nods.

"We'll all be there together anyway," Kouchi assures. (For now, is what no one says.)

Jesse smiles at them and at Hokuto, who thinks that they do have a couple of minutes to spare and sits down with them. Because, after all, this is the best comfort and power they both can get before a show. Hokuto can feel the rest of his anxiety washing away when the other five answer his smile, and he hopes the time would slow down a little.

The air hitting Taiga’s face was cold as he rushed through the back door to the silent, deserted alley behind the theater. He hastily stumbled forward, gathering the hems of his kimono in his hands, wanting to get away as quickly as he could. The music and clamor carrying from inside soon faded away behind him but Taiga didn’t stop until he had run through the back gate and near the park beyond it. It was just before dusk; lanterns were already lit and doors open but the park was a quiet contrast to the bustling town behind him.

Taiga stepped away from the road and sank down by the pond, gasping for air, each breath a nasty sting in his side. He tore off the heavy wig, tossing it aside, and then bent down to scoop water on his face. He rubbed and watched how the white paint mixed with the dark water.

He felt filthy, so filthy that no water could ever wash away the feeling. When he closed his eyes, the flashes of images automatically rose up: the stage, the lights, the audience, the big crowd of people and one specific face among them, always watching Taiga, fixedly following his every move. Like a wild animal watching his prey. Taiga shuddered in disgust upon thinking of the impudent, hungry stare and before he knew, his heavy breathing turned into sobs, tears streaming down his face with the water and white paint.

Taiga crouched down, clenching his fists, a wave of despair and helplessness washing over him. He wished to get away, far away from there, wished to leave the theater and performing and this lifestyle behind. But it wasn’t like he was free to choose.

The light rattle of sandals on the path suddenly awoke Taiga and he turned around quickly, only to see a boy standing behind him, a concerned look on his face. He was probably around Taiga’s age and looked like a son of a merchant or an errand boy, judging by his clothes; Taiga saw them around quite often.

"Go away," he grunted, interference being the last thing he needed right then. He hastily tried to wipe his face, feeling both irritated and embarrassed.

"Are you alright?" the boy just asked, taking a few steps closer.

"Leave me alone!" Taiga raised his voice and forced himself to glare up at the boy, despite his current state. He was very much aware of his messy hair, stained face and quirky appearance; the beautiful kimono, and wig beside him.

But when he looked at the boy properly, Taiga suddenly recognized him as the one who’d been bringing deliveries to the theater lately, the one who’d once smiled at Taiga in passing with no reason.

The boy blinked at him, looking somewhat taken aback and eyeing Taiga’s kimono and the wig on the ground.

"I-I’m sorry, I thought... Thought you were a..." the boy trailed off, lowering his head and looking slightly embarrassed.

Taiga didn’t need to hear what the other had thought, he knew very well – and given his current appearance, he couldn’t actually blame the boy.

"Go away," he repeated, though quietly this time. In reality, he wanted to shout and cry for help, but it wasn’t like any soul could help him.

The boy didn’t seem to listen at all. "Are you alright?" he tried again and instead of backing off, he just came closer. "You’re from the theater, right?"

And there was that smile again; a small and a shy one but a smile and Taiga felt a clench in his chest. Any friendly treatment was so foreign to him that even the concern and smile from this stranger felt surreal. Why was he being so friendly, Taiga wanted to ask, why did he care about such a pitiful sight.

"Is it alright for you to be here?" the boy asked carefully.

"What about yourself?" Taiga shot back. Whoever the boy was, it was sort of a late hour to be walking around in that area.

"Not really," the boy admitted and glanced back towards the town.

"Don’t go," Taiga heard himself saying, and felt as surprised as the boy looked. He felt his cheeks heat up at the bluntness of his own words but he suddenly didn’t like the idea of being left alone; somehow the boy’s presence and kind smile set him at ease. The other felt so ordinary and secure, like a glimpse from the other world outside of Taiga’s, a reminder that maybe everything wasn’t so hopeless after all.

"Um, I mean... If you could stay for a while, please?" Taiga reworded himself.

And the boy did. He smiled and sat down beside Taiga by the pond, and they kept each other company while the night of Edo gradually darkened around them.

It was a weird encounter but, as Taiga would learn later, a very meaningful one.

At the age of 16, Hokuto escapes from the orphanage with Yugo.

Kento and Fuma had been collected only a week earlier, and despite their optimism of getting out there together the two of them were left behind, looking at the receding backs of their friends and attendants through the metal bars. It had been their last chance and after that, the escape had been the only option – neither of them wanted to stay to find out what the institution did to boys "overage" like them.

The escape was a close call but they made it, finally collapsing on the ground behind an abandoned and rundown warehouse two areas away from the orphanage, after climbing on roofs and running for their lives through half of the city. They were exhausted, powerless after the endless chase, and sweaty and dirty, but soon their gasps for air turned into relieved laughter, adrenaline and a thrilling feeling of freedom filling them.

As the days go by, their laughter and delight gradually disappear though, as they find out how harsh the living of runaways and outlaws can be. They don’t know their way around the city at all, and need to learn everything from scratch through trial and error – and a couple of times avoid getting caught only barely. It’s hard, with only a little food and no permanent shelter but they manage, together.

Sometimes Hokuto wonders if the escape was a right thing to do after all, but when they curl up to sleep side by side after eating well (of stolen food) or sit on the rooftops and watch over the dim, endless city or wander along the deserted streets in the middle of the night – at times like those, he thinks that freedom is definitely worth the hardships. They like to talk before falling asleep at night, in whispers, wondering where Kento and Fuma might be or about the blue sky, sun, and stars they remember from their childhood but that are not visible anymore through the thick pollution clouds, or about their dreams and what they’d do in life if the world was different.

They move around constantly, slowly towards the outskirts of the city, because it’s not safe to stay at one spot for too long. Farther from the center the areas are quieter and more rundown but also more dangerous. They know there are other outlaws and gangs out there; sometimes they see people in shadows of narrow alleys or watching through broken windows but they stay away from them, trying to avoid any trouble.

It all goes well until Yugo suddenly falls ill with a high fever and Hokuto has to take a risk and try to steal some medicine from a store. It’s pretty hopeless from the beginning and before Hokuto realizes, the guard has him pressed on the ground, telling the shopkeeper to call the police. He calls Hokuto a filthy street rat and swings his baton. Pain flashes across the left side of Hokuto’s face and he tastes blood. A series of frightening images flash through his mind but before he has time to think any farther, the shop is suddenly full of thick smoke and the piercing sound of alarm. The weight of the guard is pushed off of him and hands grab his collar, pulling him up and ahead. He’s being pushed through the back door and after that the order coming from a person behind him is rather needless.

"Run."

—

They are also from the streets but a lot better in hiding. They lead Hokuto to an empty and ancient cafe, and he has already completely lost directions on the way there. Surprisingly, they turn out to be around his age and apparently they’ve been keeping an eye on him and Yugo for a while already. Hokuto is confused and maybe a bit scared also, but they tell him to calm down, they’re bringing Yugo there and the two of them would be safe – for now.

Hokuto still isn’t fully convinced but decides to take their word temporarily. He wouldn’t get out there like that anyway, 1 against 4, and he’s rather exhausted after the run – and his jaw hurts like hell.

Suddenly, there’s a hand on his shoulder, pushing him down to sit on one chair that’s not broken and Hokuto looks up to see a fair-skinned, dark-haired guy, who offers him a pack of ice. Hokuto takes it with a small nod, pressing it against his aching cheek and then focuses his attention on the boy sitting on the counter; he seems to be in charge of talking. And the boy tells him.

They’re all outlaws, orphans or outcasts like Hokuto and Yugo, and are also fighting each day for living and freedom. There are countless others as well, some friendlier, some as nasty as the government authorities. They are currently the small group of four, keeping an eye on that area and occasionally running errands coming from “underground”.

The boy sitting on the counter introduces himself as Juri, and then there are Jesse, Shintaro and Taiga, and for a second Hokuto struggles to match a name with a face. There are more boys like them, their friends, Juri tells him, but they keep in small groups because it’s easier to hide and move around like that. Basically they’re just trying to survive out there, avoiding getting caught and making some outrage to the government and authorities every now and then. They are all waiting to turn 18 so that they can join the resistance movement.

"To try and make a change for the better," Juri says and Hokuto sees the others nodding. He feels a weird squeeze in his chest and in passing thinks about the orphanage, Kento and Fuma’s receding backs and the long, hard days he and Yugo have spent after their escape. It sounds like a goal worth fighting for indeed, he thinks.

Hokuto eyes the boys around him. He doesn’t know them at all but somehow, he thinks that they’re the ones he’s been waiting to meet.

"Would you mind a couple of new faces to your troop?" Hokuto asks and Juri grins.

The Thing on Gamushara backstage that day seemed to be Taiga’s humorous old high school t-shirt. He had partly guessed the fuss, attention and all the dirty jokes it would probably cause (and had been completely right) but had decided to wear it anyway. Especially Jesse seemed to really like the t-shirt; he had been loitering around, invading Taiga’s personal space even more than usual.

And Jesse didn’t seem to stop anytime soon, Taiga mused, when he was walking down the hall towards the costume room after Masuda had finally left them and gone to bother someone else with the backstage camera. Taiga could hear steps echoing after his, and soon he felt a light yank on his shirt, turning around only to see Jesse looking at him, the other boy’s grinning face shining with something Taiga took as excitement and mischief. He wasn’t quite sure how to take this sudden attention, especially if it was only because of one stupid t-shirt.

“What?” he asked Jesse, trying really hard to keep his deadpan face on.

“What’re you doing?” Jesse asked and gave Taiga’s shirt another yank, managing to sound like an attention-seeking kid.

“I was thinking of finally putting my costumes ready. Everyone else already has theirs by the stage.”

“I don’t, yet,” Jesse said. “Are we in a hurry with that?”

The way he looked at Taiga was piercing somehow, and Taiga couldn’t help feeling his cheeks and neck heating up. He turned around hastily to avoid Jesse’s gaze and pushed the door of the costume room open, stepping in. Jesse followed right in his heels and Taiga peeked over his shoulder to see Jesse shutting the door and then grinning over at him.

“What?” Taiga asked again, hating how Jesse could make him so flustered so easily. “If this all is because of this damn shirt of mine, then...”

Taiga trailed off and had no chance to continue, when Jesse suddenly reached for his wrist and yanked him closer. The pull surprised Taiga and he only barely managed to stop himself before bumping against Jesse’s chest.

“The shirt is nice and all,” Jesse said, “but I don’t want it. I want you.”

Taiga’s heart didn’t skip a beat but it did speed up, heating up his face even more. Even so, he dared to lift his head enough to gaze up at Jesse’s face.

Jesse leaned a bit closer, talking in Taiga’s ear in a low voice.

“Did I earn a kyun point with that line?”

Taiga snorted and shoved Jesse. Only he would think something as stupid as that.

“Well~?” Jesse prompted.

“Yes you did, you ass,” Taiga admitted, trying to bite back a smile but not really managing with Jesse’s stupid grin so close. And not close enough.

And suddenly all Taiga wanted to do was to kiss him, but not wait until Jesse would make the move, so he rose on his toes and gave Jesse’s lips a light peck. And another and yet another. The other was into it immediately; the kisses got deeper fast and Taiga felt Jesse’s hands sliding around his waist while he fisted the fabric of Jesse’s tank top.

After a hazy minute or two, there was suddenly a loud bump against the door behind them, startling them both. Taiga would’ve flinched away but Jesse didn’t let go of him.

“Who’s there?!” They heard a slightly confused voice through the door, and it made them grin at each other. “Open up!”

“There’s no one here~,” Jesse called and Taiga had to lean his face against Jesse’s shoulder to keep himself from cracking up.

“Jesse?” Juri asked. “I should’ve known. Open the door, I left my costume jacket there.”

“You’ll get it before the show,” Jesse said and was also trying not to laugh. “Now go away for another five minutes or so.”

“What?! Who else is there? ...Or no wait, I don’t wanna know. You fuckers,” they heard Juri mutter before his steps stomped away.

Taiga was able to hold it for about five seconds more before bursting into giggles, immediately followed by Jesse, as well. They did get their five minutes and even more, and in the end, were almost late with their costume racks. But Taiga decided that it was all worth it, even Juri’s picking, and he didn’t waste any time when Jesse came to yank his t-shirt again after the show.

Morning was still far away, so after their usual hangout bar had closed, Juri was quick to suggest a new place for the group and everyone easily accepted that. It was Saturday, so the pub was quite packed but they were lucky and managed to get the last vacant table in the far corner. They were escorted to the table by a young waiter, who was all bright smiles and polite gestures. (And "quite hot", as Hokuto expressed after the said waiter had gone to get their drinks.)

When the waiter returned with five draft beers, in spite of himself, Juri took a better look at the guy and had to admit that Hokuto had been right. The waiter was around their age, tall, broad-shouldered and handsome. Juri couldn’t help following the waiter with his eyes as he walked away, and was probably staring a bit too long as the others started snickering at him.

Juri cleared his throat. "Okay, toast!" he raised his glass, trying to guide his friends' attention elsewhere.

"For the long weekend!" said Jesse.

"For FC Tokyo's victory today!" added Kochi, who was the only one of them updated with soccer.

"For Juri's miserable love life," chirped Shoki. Juri tried to kick the other under the table but missed.

"Idiot, yours is as miserable and nonexistent," he shot back but was laughing with the others.

Juri had indeed been spending a good part of the evening complaining to each of them about how he wanted to find someone interesting, and a relationship that would last longer than three dates. It had resulted in them patting Juri's shoulder in turn and telling him that he'd find someone eventually.

"Juri, what about that waiter?" Hokuto eventually suggested somewhere between their third and fourth round of drinks.

The guy ("Morimoto" read on his name tag) had just come to collect empty glasses from their table and at that point, after so many drinks, whenever the waiter came, Juri couldn't help some accidental flirting which he wasn't at all sure the other understood or even realized.

"Stare some more, Juri," Jesse said at some point, snickering.

"I'm not!"

"Try asking him out. Or his phone number," Hokuto suggested.

"Or give him yours," Shoki put in. "The old receipt trick~"

Juri laughed at that at first but the closer the last call got, the more he started to actually consider doing that, just for the heck of it. And after their final order (and after the waiter guy had sweetly smiled at him), he finally asked if any of them had a pen and paper.

Kochi found a pen from his bag and Shoki was ready to sacrifice a bit wrinkled baseball ticket for a game he hadn't had time to go. While the others went to the counter to pay, Juri quickly scribbled his number at the back of the ticket and left it as visibly as possible on the edge of the table. As he turned around to leave, he saw the waiter guy already approaching the table in order to clean it up and made sure to flash one more smile to him before walking out after the other four, feeling rather proud and accomplished.

They were barely out of the door and took a couple of wavery steps towards the station, when they heard a shout behind them.

"Okyaku-san! Excuse me but you forgot something!"

Juri turned around, completely puzzled, and saw the waiter guy hurrying after them.

"What did you forget?" Jesse asked.

"I have no idea."

The waiter jogged to him, and held out the crumpled baseball ticket. "You forgot this ticket, is it important?"

Juri could only gape at the other for a moment. There were muffled snickers coming from behind him and he looked over his shoulder at his friends. “You know, I don't know if I'd want to date anyone this slow.”

And yet again, he could maybe try. He was kind of desperate. So Juri turned back to the waiter, who was now looking slightly confused, and flipped the ticket over so that the number on the back was visible and put it back on the waiter's hand.

"Call me maybe?"

All over the place is pretty much how Juri feels about himself right now, though he's doing his best to not let it show. It’s about 20 minutes until the start of the second show of J's Party, and about an hour since they found out that Hokuto was too sick to perform anymore today.

It's not the first time they need to make quick changes and practice stuff at the very last minute and it's never easy, but this time it's not only adjusted choreography and added lines on songs, not for Juri and Shintaro at least.

For the last hour he and Shintaro have been sitting at the parking garage with Kiji-sensei, learning new parts for their shamisen solos to make up for Hokuto's missing one and otherwise arranging the performance. Juri's head is spinning and fingers hurting and the paralyzing nervousness from the previous day is back again, making his stomach hurt. Still, he dares to let out a frustrated sigh only after the sensei’s gone back backstage to discuss something with the staff and they are left alone for a while.

Juri taps the rhythm with his foot and tries to play through his new part one more time but his fingers are shaking and he keeps missing the strings and plays wrong notes over and over again.

"Damn it," he curses under his breath.

"Hey, let's have a short break until the sensei gets back?" Shintaro suggests from beside him.

"No time! I still can't get this right," Juri grunts and ruffles his hair in frustration.

"You already played it right before. It's fine."

"No, it's not! Fuck this."

Juri mutters the last words barely audibly but he bets Shintaro can still hear them. He doesn't really mean it and doesn't want to be snappy but can't help his nervousness unwinding that way.

Juri hears Shintaro stepping closer and then the shamisen is suddenly being pulled out of his hands. Shintaro is right in front of him, and the tense lines of his shoulders and mouth suggest that he's as nervous as Juri.

Juri half expects the other to start nagging at him but instead, to his surprise, Shintaro grabs him by the shoulders and pulls him into a hug, squeezing so much it almost hurts.

"It'll be fine," Shintaro tells him. "We just do it like always."

Juri's pretty sure that Shintaro's convincing himself as much as Juri but he still appreciates it. He heaves a sigh, trying to let his tense muscles relax, and leans more into the embrace. Shintaro is warm and solid, his strong arms around Juri comforting and somehow able to squeeze part of his nervousness away.

"Why's it always you?" Juri mutters against Shintaro's shoulder. Because thank yous and other words of gratitude would be too embarrassing. Because if it really was anyone else, Juri's sure he wouldn't be able to do it.

"I'm sorry?" Shintaro says, equally serious, and his light laughter pleasantly echoes through Juri.

He holds on a bit longer, until there are noises at the door and they quickly break apart, picking up their shamisens and getting ready for the last-minute practice before the start. But now there's a small smile on Juri's lips and a bit more confidence inside him and whenever he looks up, Shintaro's right there smiling back at him.

They play through the songs without problems.

Falling cherry blossom petals were dancing in the air that day, the weather was warm and sunny and Hokuto slowly made his way from the station towards the university among other new students. It was his first real day, with lectures and everything and he was completely nervous. He knew no one; he was all alone in the flood of other nervous and excited freshmen.

Hokuto was shy and rather bad at talking to people and making friends so he was able to go the whole first day without speaking to anyone other than the cafeteria lady and the staff at the student information center.

At the end of the day, Hokuto walked back to the station among other students, most of whom already had their small groups of two or three or four and who were comfortably chatting about their classes and teachers with each other. Hokuto walked by these groups, through the gates and onwards to the platform. He sat alone at the end of the train car, and the only thing that cheered him up right then were the new messages he found on the LINE group chat.

Next few days were depressingly similar to the first one, and Hokuto was starting to feel that maybe he was no good as a university student after all. He had forgotten how hard it could be to make friends, especially now that there weren’t fixed classes and the same people sitting around him during every lecture.

It was hard and he was lonely, so on next Monday, Hokuto brought Jesse along with him.

Jesse was cheerful and goofy and he didn’t have to worry about school anymore himself, which Hokuto was slightly jealous about right then. But Jesse’s mere presence and his out-of-place retards and dull puns were enough to lift Hokuto’s spirits. Jesse was still very into imitations, and before lectures and during breaks Hokuto was entertained by Jesse’s imitations of his teachers and other students around him. It turned out to be a surprisingly fun Monday.

On Tuesday, Shintaro came with him.

Shintaro’s own university life was still ahead but Hokuto could already see his friend on the campus like that, surrounded by other people. Shintaro was active and athletic and in his opinion, the best way to make friends was to join a club. Hokuto skimmed through all the advertisement posters on the wall of the club building but was a bit overwhelmed by the amount and decided to think about it later. Instead, he took Shintaro to the university cafeteria and was amused at his friend’s amazement over all the good food it served. Hokuto ordered more than normally; only Shintaro was able to keep him company through that large of a portion.

On Wednesday, it was Juri’s turn.

Juri would gossip about cute girls, who were on the same lectures with Hokuto and happened to be sitting nearby. He’d be guessing which of them maybe didn’t have a boyfriend and would usher Hokuto to go sit on that seat next to that one girl who was alone or then near those three who were laughing cheerfully all the time. Well, Juri was mostly just talk himself and Hokuto was still shy, so he stayed where he was and settled with just gossiping.

Kouchi came with Hokuto on Thursday. He was a senpai, already in his third year in university, so he really had an air of confidence and coolness, and with him Hokuto somehow felt more confident himself. Kouchi was also helpful in the school’s library. With his help, Hokuto was able to navigate among all the shelves and eventually find the right books he needed for his courses.

Friday made Hokuto feel relieved; the week was almost over, and that day he had Taiga with him. Taiga was usually fine by just himself; he was able to immerse himself in his phone or a book or drawing for long periods of time, and at times it felt like being alone together with him. But Hokuto appreciated it anyway, especially since Taiga was probably the only one who could sit with him for two hours straight without getting bored, while he worked on his homework.

At the end of that day, like during all days that week, Hokuto went home feeling more cheerful than down and lonely.

Later in the evening, his LINE chat was full of both thankful and supportive stickers. Hokuto smiled at the emoticons and messages from his friends. At times like this, it really felt like they were right there with him, instead of in a different prefecture 200 kilometers away.

A week earlier, on Sunday evening when Hokuto had felt totally hopeless, he’d written a single, short message on the LINE chat.

If I could just take you guys to school with me every day.

--

On the following Monday, it was raining. During lunch break, Hokuto had his umbrella leaning against his chair, and almost tripped a guy carrying a full lunch tray with it. For Hokuto’s luck, the guy had an amazing balance, and Hokuto was able to awkwardly shag off after apologizing a million times and hoping that the ground would swallow him.

Half an hour later, the very same guy appeared in Hokuto’s lecture and sat next to him, and they both laughed awkwardly at the earlier incident. The guy was a freshman as well, and he seemed to be as out of place as Hokuto himself felt all the time. They started talking, and continued after the lecture.

Hokuto had found himself a friend.

He didn’t know what he'd expected to see when coming home from university that day, but Kochi had to admit that the scene in the living room in front of him hadn't been one. Juri, Hokuto, Shintaro and Jesse were standing in front of the door of Hokuto and Shintaro's room, all looking somewhat alarmed. They all turned to Kochi in unison when he stepped in, and only then he noticed a broom that Juri was holding and rolled up newspapers in Shintaro and Jesse's hands. It all looked so comical Kochi couldn’t help laughing.

"What's going on?"

"There's a huge bee in Hokuto and Shintaro's room!" Jesse exclaimed.

"We don't know if it's a suzumebachi or something," Juri said.

"Oh no..."

"It's because Shintaro left the window open again," Hokuto said, crossing his arms and looking at their youngest roommate.

"I already said I didn't! I don't know where it came from."

"Well, doesn't matter where it came from, now we should just find a way to get rid of it," Juri said. "Without getting stung."

Right then, Taiga appeared from the kitchen, carrying a fly swapper with him. "Found it!"

He walked to them and held out the swapper meaningfully. "Who of you isn't afraid of bees?"

Kochi had somehow known to expect it, but he still winced when all the eyes turned his way.

"Seriously?"

"Please!" It was kind of comical how all of them made the praying pose with their hands in unison, bowing at him.

"I'll wash your dishes for a week!" Jesse offered.

"I'll clean up for you for a week," Shintaro said.

"I'll make you extra dessert as a reward," Hokuto put in.

"Okay, okay, got it," Kochi said, holding up his hands in surrender. "But you do remember your promises then. And if I die because of that bee, I'll come back here and haunt you all forever."

His roommates were ready to take the risk, so too soon Kochi found himself alone in Hokuto and Shintaro's room, with the fly swapper and a bottle of insecticide.

"If you need help," he heard Juri calling through the door, "just say and we'll send Shintaro in there, too."

"Hey!"

"I'm fine," Kochi replied. "I think."

He was, in the end. It took him quite a while to find the monster hiding in the room, but after ten minutes or so he walked out of the room, victorious, the dead bee inside a paper tissue, and his roommates cheered, making him feel like some kind of a hero.

Kochi wondered if that was how all fathers felt at times. Later, he wondered even more; on Hokuto's request they decided to skip cooking dinner that evening and ordered pizza instead. But only when the delivery guy had arrived with six boxes, most of them realized that they were short of cash, and Kochi ended up paying for all of them.

"Kochi's the best," Jesse announced later, when they were all sitting in the living room eating. Next to him, Shintaro was nodding emphatically, his mouth full.

"We'd be in trouble without him," Juri agreed and tried to snatch a pizza slice from Taiga's box but Taiga slapped his hand away.

Beside them, Hokuto was having his home version of Gamushara's Hokuhoku corner and Shintaro and Jesse were apparently competing in who could fit more pizza in their mouth at one go.

Kochi thought that if it were these five, he was okay with being the father.

The last chance, people kept saying to them. This is your last shot, you should seize it while you can.

It all irked Jesse more than it should have. He could see their point, understood why all the staff and jimusho people would usher them like that. That’s how it worked. They were a team now, and quite popular at that, him and Hokuto.

Jesse knew and understood and the rational part of him (quite tiny) agreed and said that yes, they should indeed seize this chance. But the emotional part of him (considerably bigger) fought back saying this was not what he really wanted. Not quite.

He liked Hokuto a lot and they had fun on stage most of the time. He probably could’ve settled with that happily, if he had never known better. But he had. The stages and dressing rooms with just him and Hokuto were just too empty and quiet. They lacked four people. The four people Jesse kept missing.

He had been with Juri almost as long as he had been in the company, they’d always been together. He missed Juri’s support and jokes. He missed Taiga and their endless conversations and geeking over music together. He missed the good-hearted banter with Shintaro. And he missed Kochi, who was like a reliable older brother to all of them, always kind and smiley and helpful.

Jesse was browsing through old photos of them from the Bakaleya filming time and his heart hurt. It all just felt so unfair. He didn’t understand where they’d gone wrong in the company’s opinion for them to break the group apart. In Jesse’s opinion, they’d been great. They worked together seamlessly and they’d even hung out outside of work. For some reason, they all just clicked together like six puzzle pieces. And for him, they’d been more than group members, they’d been his friends.

He tried imagining how the others would react if he and Hokuto moved forward and maybe even debuted in the future. He wondered if their old friendship would survive that. He somehow doubted it. Even thinking about that made his stomach twist uncomfortably. His bigger emotional part was protesting again.

Your last chance.

But what if it wasn’t? What if they still had another one, all together? Jesse knew he was ready to fight for that and he started wondering if the others would join him. He wasn’t sure what they were thinking about things lately, they hadn’t really talked together for some time. But if there was even a small chance that the others were on board with him, he’d do anything. He would throw away the last chance and try some other way as six. That’s what he wanted.

I’ll have to talk to them, he thought. Now.

Your last chance. To follow your heart and gather the group back up.

I’ll do my best, Jesse thinks as he dials Kochi’s number first. Kochi would understand and back him up.

Time to gather up the puzzle pieces.

The center of attention, again, Taiga thinks venomously when a loud laughter and applause erupts in the Great Hall. Across the Hall at the Gryffindor table, the older Gryffindor students are gathered together in a merry and loud gang.

The center of it all, as well as the loudest and the most annoying in Taiga’s opinion, is no other than Jesse Lewis. He’s tall and handsome, supposedly fun and friendly, and captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Taiga hates him with passion.

He wishes he’d have the guts to send a little nonverbal hex to that annoying face. Jesse wouldn’t even know who sent it in the hall full of students...

Taiga’s plotting is interrupted when another face cuts his straight visual contact to the Gryffindor captain. Juri stares at him questioningly.

“What are you scowling like that for?” the fellow Slytherin asks when sitting across Taiga.

Taiga isn’t fast enough in averting his eyes, and Juri manages to follow his gaze to the Gryffindors. Just in time to see Jesse make stupid faces and others choking with laughter around him. Juri rolls his eyes when turning back.

“Idiot,” he comments. “We’re gonna crush them on Saturday. You should come and watch, too, Kyomo! He won’t be so full of himself after we’ve won, I promise that.”

Taiga ponders that for a moment and eventually says: “I could come.”

Juri has a good point. Taiga doesn’t care about Quidditch and usually when the whole school is watching the games, he enjoys the empty castle and grounds meanwhile. But this time he could make an exception.

So come Saturday, instead of heading for the library or the deserted common room like usually after breakfast, Taiga joins the excited crowd marching towards the Quidditch pitch. He has wrapped the Slytherin scarf around his neck and ends up sitting with Myuto and Kaito, who eagerly discuss the House Cup situation before the game. Taiga doesn’t care who has to win and by how much, he just wishes Juri’s plan in “crushing Gryffindor” comes true.

When the teams walk to the pitch, Taiga cheers with the others and waves at Juri. Then, his eyes travel to the Gryffindor team and to Jesse who’s leading them to the pitch as the captain. Taiga doesn’t really know the other players except Morimoto Shintaro, who’s a Beater and a good friend of Jesse. Speaking of which, that prick looks like he enjoys every second, being in the spotlight in front of the whole school, waving at the audience and prompting the Gryffindors to cheer even louder.

Taiga snorts to himself and wishes Juri’s well-aimed Bludger would drop Jesse off his broom during the game.

Unfortunately for Taiga, he quite soon discovers that Jesse flies too well for Juri’s Bludgers to hinder him. On top of that, Jesse, as well as the other players, are just unclear red and green smudges zooming back and forth, and Taiga has a hard time following who is who. He catches Juri a couple of times, and Jesse with the Quaffle (Drop it!, Taiga urges in vain), but as he tries to follow him, dozens of other situations have already happened elsewhere.

Taiga jumps a little when the Slytherins suddenly cheer loudly when their Chaser scores.

”How are you able to follow this at all?” Taiga asks Myuto and Kaito, who clap and whoop with the others.

”You get used to it,” Myuto just says. ”Don’t try to concentrate on just one player.”

”Hmph,” Taiga mutters and immediately averts his eyes from Jesse, who’s currently speaking with other Gryffindor Chasers.

As the game progresses, Taiga has to admit that he kind of gets into the mood and somehow learns to follow the players with the help from Myuto and Kaito. He gets excited when their Chaser approaches the goalposts, curses when they miss or are blocked, cheers when the Beaters aim the Bludgers nicely towards the Gryffindors, and feels thrilled at the sight of anything golden glittering around the pitch. He cheers the loudest for Juri, but has to admit that the Gryffindors are good players as well; Shintaro is fast and strong while the Chasers lead by Jesse play well together. Jesse scores frequently and is clearly the star of the team, the audience (the female students) screaming his name after every goal of his.

The Gryffindor team is in the lead for the most part of the game, but it’s not enough when Slytherin’s Seeker Abe Aran suddenly spots the Snitch. The whole audience gasps when Abe, followed closely by the Gryffindor Seeker, swoops down drastically after the small glittering ball. Abe is faster, catching the Snitch and ending the game, and the Slytherins erupt in loud cheers.

”Yes, yes, YES!” Myuto and Kaito clap, jump and hug each other, and Taiga. They cheer again when the Slytherin team land in front of the stands, celebrating with their house mates. Taiga sees Juri exchanging high fives with the rest of the team, looking happier than ever.

As Slytherin is officially announced as the winner, the Gryffindor team quietly exits the pitch while the Slytherin team stays, the audience now flooding to the pitch as well to congratulate the players. Taiga follows with the crowd.

”Party at the common room later!” he hears someone shouting.

The crowd is huge, there are students from other houses as well, and by the time Taiga makes it to the pitch and tries to find Juri, he hears that the team has already retreated to the changing room.

”They said they’d meet us back at the common room,” a fifth year student says.

Taiga feels a heavy hand on his shoulder, and finds Myuto grinning at him, trying to slip a slim glass bottle to his hands.

”What’s that?” Taiga asks though it's not hard to guess.

”Fire whiskey,” Myuto whispers. ”I’ve saved some for an occasion like this. Take this to Juri and others to the changing room? They deserve to start the celebration right away.”

”What? Why me?!”

”You’re his friend! And a nerd, you won't ever be suspected of anything if a teacher sees you. C’mon!”

Taiga wants to refuse, but being a dull spoilsport on top of being “a nerd” is too much even for him. Also, he knows how thrilled Juri will be about the alcohol, so he snatches the bottle from Myuto, hiding it in his robes.

Myuto grins, giving him double thumbs up. “See you in the common room! Feel free to take a swig, if you want!”

Taiga just rolls his eyes, walking out of the crowd and following the way he saw the Gryffindor team leave earlier. The changing rooms seem to be located in the low building by the pitch. Taiga approaches it, the alcohol bottle feeling heavy on his hand, but a glance over his shoulder tells him that no one in the pitch pays him any attention.

Hurriedly, he jogs the remaining meters, his eyes fixed on a wooden door on the side of the building. That must be it?

Taiga grabs the handle, pulling the door open and stepping in. He’s expected to see the merry and boisterous Slytherin team, but the room he walks in is empty. Weird. Taiga stops short, peering around.

”J-Juri?” he calls.

Right then, someone appears from behind the racks on his left, startling him a little. That someone is not Juri.

Jesse freezes when he notices Taiga by the door. For a moment that feels like an hour, they just stare at each other. Jesse is wearing shorts, only shorts, and disturbingly toned arms, pecs and abs fill Taiga’s vision momentarily. His mouth is dry and face heating up.

”What the hell?” Jesse exclaims, breaking the moment. ”What are you doing here?”

”Uh...” Taiga only manages.

“Get out, I don’t want to see you Slytherins today anymore,” Jesse snarls, clearly annoyed, and steps past Taiga to the door. Their shoulders brush lightly, and Taiga catches a whiff of sweat and something citrusy.

Jesse pushes the door open to underline his words. Taiga blinks, still baffled and slightly embarrassed, and still trying not to stare at Jesse’s bare chest and arms that are right in front of him (and failing gloriously at that). Jesse's sharp gaze finally gets him moving.

“Alright, I-I’ll go,” Taiga mutters. “Sorry...”

He steps out, and the door slams shut after him.

Taiga just stands there for a moment, still trying to comprehend what the hell just happened. His face burns with embarrassment and… something else, too. Jesse’s body, the lines of his muscles are burned in Taiga’s eyes like an afterimage. He never thought the annoying Gryffindor captain could look so ho–

Nope. No, no, no, no. We’re not going there, Taiga tells himself.

Shaking himself physically and mentally, he starts looking for the actual Slytherin changing room now. Meanwhile, he lifts the fire whiskey bottle, opening the cap and taking a long swig of the alcohol.

He had ridden all day and now wanted to find a good spot to spend the night in. The light had turned golden with the setting sun, and he knew he only had a couple of hours left before dark. He’d love to have an actual roof over his head for the night and maybe even a bed; Shintaro was fine with sleeping outside but after a week of that… The area didn’t look like a place where one would find inns, though.

Shintaro wasn’t quite sure where he even was right then. He wasn’t familiar with the region and had always been a bit bad with maps and place names. He did know that he had crossed Gold Road and Blackwater Rush two days ago and was now heading north towards the Riverlands. Or that was his purpose.

The road he was on now was a smaller country road that had winded through woods and fields in turn and past a couple small, now deserted villages. He had also seen some hanged men in the woods. Dead already for some time, no sigils had been visible so Shintaro had no idea whether they’d been friends or foes, or just some nameless country men. Probably better that way.

Now the trees grew a bit denser again, and after maybe a mile more, Shintaro saw a couple of burned down houses a bit farther from the road. When he rode closer, he also noticed what seemed like the ruins of a stone sept.

“Well, this is as good a place as any,” Shintaro said aloud, to himself and to his horse. “Don’t you think, girl?”

His horse snorted. He took that as a yes.

Shintaro made a simple camp inside the sept ruins. The walls were high enough that they would hide him from view from the road, and even with no roof, it was still the closest thing to a shelter he would find. His horse was happily eating grass outside the sept while Shintaro checked out the burned houses, or what was left of them. To his surprise, he found some tracks on the soft ground between them: hoofs and boots. And inside one house ruin were clear traces of a fire.

Could he be on the right track…? He knew the task was almost an impossible one, with how vast the lands were, but maybe, just maybe…

Suddenly, he heard his horse neighing shrilly. He drew his sword automatically while hurrying around the charred house ruins. The light was already vanishing now that the sun had sunk behind treetops, but Shintaro could still clearly see two dark-cloaked figures standing by the sept and his horse, their swords also out. That wasn’t a good sign.

“Hey!” he called, despite everything. “What are you doing?”

“We could ask you the same,” the taller of the two men answered. Both of them turned to face Shintaro and raised their swords slightly. They had pulled hoods low on their heads so Shintaro couldn’t see their faces.

“I’m just a traveler settling in for the night,” Shintaro told them, truthfully.

“There are no travelers around here,” the tall man said. Shintaro didn’t like his tone. He supposed he could handle the two of them, if worse came to worse, but he wished he wouldn’t have to try.

“And yet I am,” he said, as evenly as possible.

“Where do you come from, traveler?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

”Oh, but it is. Secrecy doesn’t bode well around here.”

When Shintaro remained quiet, the man snorted. ”You should come with us, stranger.”

”I don’t think so,” Shintaro said immediately and mentally prepared himself.

”It wasn’t a request,” the man spat and then dashed forward, swinging his sword at Shintaro.

Shintaro had expected it and dodged the blade easily. He swung his sword at the attacker and the blades connected with a clang. Shintaro realized that he was stronger and pushed the man back with his sword, sending him staggering backwards. As soon as the taller one was off him, the second man dashed towards him, and he was a lot quicker. Shintaro barely managed to lift his sword for defense, and steel hit steel again.

The shorter man hopped backwards, sidestepping around him. Something with his movements and the way he held his sword felt familiar to Shintaro, but he had no time to dwell on it before the man attacked again. He was a lot better than his companion, quicker and more precise with his sword. Shintaro had to put in his all and he was already getting out of breath.

Then many things happened at once. The man strode forward and swung his sword at him and Shintaro had to retreat a couple steps. But the sudden movement made the man’s hood drop, finally revealing his face. Their eyes met and Shintaro halted mid-movement.

“Juri?”

Then he suddenly felt stinging pain on his side and he groaned, dropping on one knee.

“Wait! Don’t!” Juri yelled and Shintaro saw the taller man stepping aside behind him, a knife in his hand. He pressed his hand on the wound, the fabric of his shirt already wet with blood. He had no idea what was happening, but one thing was certain.

Shintaro raised his head to Juri, who was stepping closer to him, a stony expression on his face.

“J-Juri? It’s me, Shin–aah!” Juri had walked to him and punched him in the stomach, right next to the wound. Shintaro doubled up in pain and dropped on his knees on the ground. His sword fell as well and his vision went momentarily black.

“Shut up, you fool,” he heard Juri’s hasty whisper next to his ear.

“Just be quiet and cooperate. Don’t make me hurt you again.”

Juri stood back up and said in a louder voice: “Like told earlier, you’ll be coming with us, stranger. Take him.”

More men had appeared somewhere, and two hauled Shintaro up and tied his hands behind his back. He was captured, his head was spinning from the pain, and all he could do was stare at Juri receding back. He had found what he’d been looking for.

Well into the night, they finally rode through the gates of Edo. The road had been long, and while most of the party, servants and house staff and many samurai, were ordered to travel straight to the mansion in the eastern part of the city, the lord and a small chosen band were to make a detour.

Kochi knew that his lord was a frequent visitor of Yoshiwara so it wasn’t unusual for him to hurry there right after arriving. It was unusual that he chose Kochi to accompany him there.

Kochi had been to the red-light district only once before, years ago. He remembered the bustling main street, lined with cherry trees and handsome teahouses and okiyas, all adorned with countless lanterns, and beautiful women in colorful kimonos luring the customers in. His stomach jumped at the thought of entering the area again.

They rode to the north, left their horses to the stables near the walls and upon entering, handed over their swords to the guards at the gates. Beyond them, the scenery was much like Kochi had remembered. He hurried after his lord with a couple of other samurai of the household. The daimyo passed all the establishments on the main street, and instead led them to a side street, and there to the very last house on the row. Kochi felt almost nervous when they were escorted in and to a fine-looking dining room.

The night in the establishment started with grand food and an endless supply of sake. And escorts, naturally. In this house, they were all male, though some looked even more beautiful than maikos and geishas Kochi had seen. There were four escorts, one for each of them it seemed, and they sat with them at the table, pouring them drinks and chatting with them. Or, all others were, at least. Kochi didn’t really know what to say to the young man sitting across from him.

He was probably the prettiest of them all, with tender features, light skin and silky black hair. He wore a dark purple kimono that was loosely tied with a golden embroidered obi. After a moment, he gave Kochi a small, tentative smile and filled his sake cup.

“I haven’t seen you here before, sir,” the young man said finally. “Your lord comes quite often.”

“I’m not that familiar with Yoshiwara,” Kochi admitted. “I’ve only visited once before, long ago.”

“Oh? Well, how do you like it, after some time?” The man asked, tilting his head slightly. He was clearly flirting, his smile growing sweeter, and giving Kochi his undivided attention. Kochi knew that he was paid to do so, but he let himself enjoy it nonetheless. He filled the man’s cup in turn and they toasted in silence.

“I think I like it very much,” Kochi said after sipping the sake that was soft and sweet and warmed his insides. Much like the man’s attention and smile.

“I’m glad. My name is Taiga, by the way.”

After maybe an hour, the daimyo and other samurais, already rather intoxicated, started disappearing to upper floors with the other escorts. Kochi looked as Iwamoto, another younger samurai of his lord’s household, followed a fair-faced young man clad in an indigo kimono out of the room. Now Kochi was the only one left. He glanced quickly at Taiga who was eyeing him keenly.

”Are you in a hurry?” Taiga asked in a low voice. ”Or would you stay for the night…?”

”I… I would.” Kochi said. He felt hesitant somehow, but then again, this beautiful man was looking at him with twinkling eyes, gently taking his hand to his own. Kochi let Taiga lead him upstairs, to a small room against the outer wall. The glow of the lanterns outside seeped through an open window.

Taiga shut the sliding door and stepped closer to Kochi, slowly untying his obi. Taiga’s gaze made shivers run down Kochi’s spine, and something much stronger than alcohol burned inside him. Taiga then pressed himself against Kochi, and Kochi automatically wrapped his arms around the other man, holding him close. Taiga’s breath smelled of sweet sake.

”Kiss me, sir.”

And Kochi did.

Afterwards, when Kochi was slowly riding through Edo just before sunrise, his mind was still in the small lantern-lit room of Yoshiwara.

”Come see me again,” Taiga had said to him before he’d left.

Kochi knew he would go again. The sooner the better.

They can’t all be dating each other, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you saw it. They all look so familiar with one another, they’re touchy-feely and giving hugs and kisses like it’s no big deal. I think I saw Juri and Jesse being flirty with all of them.”

“Oh, I saw it, too! I love it.”

“So this season we don’t have couples but a six-people poly relationship?”

“That’d be something new indeed.”

“Well, shall we see for ourselves, dear colleagues?” Durian finally asked when the loudest banter had faded.

“Yes!” all four commentators agreed in unison, looking excited.

Durian grinned and whipped open her fan, turning back towards the screens, ready to enjoy the newest episode of The Boyfriend.

Kochi and Shintaro, the oldest and youngest members of the house looked at first like an unlikely pair to be spending time together. However, relatively quickly they could be seen chatting together in the living room or on the terrace while the other members were working at the coffee truck or otherwise busy. It turned out they shared an interest in motorcycles and camping, and would talk about them for hours on end. During one date day, they chose each other and ended up spending a wonderful day driving to a beautiful camping spot outside of Tokyo. They even spent the night there, sleeping in the tent, but afterwards wouldn’t tell if they’d ended up sharing a sleeping bag.

In the evenings, the members of the house often gathered in the living room to watch TV together. The comfortable couch was big enough for twice the amount of people, but somehow the six of them always ended up huddled together. Juri, who was known to be very familiar and clingy with all of them didn’t miss a chance during their watch parties. More often than not, he was found next to Kochi, an arm thrown casually over Kochi’s shoulder, his fingers at times playing with Kochi’s nape hair. Or sometimes, Juri would use Kochi’s lap as a pillow and end up falling asleep only minutes into a movie or a drama episode.

Another two who were almost always glued together during the watch parties were Taiga and Shintaro. They would sit or sprawl next to each other, shoulder-to-shoulder, heads almost touching and often whispering and snickering with each other. Upon arriving at the house, they’d told that they were old acquaintances (“That means they’ve done it at least once,” Durian immediately commented in the studio), and one could see the familiarity in their demeanor; all the teasing, joking around and laughing together. And at times, one might wonder about their current relationship, when they curled up side-by-side on the couch. Once or twice they even fell asleep there in each other’s arms, only to wake up in the morning when Kochi or Hokuto came downstairs to make coffee.

In terms of “sleeping together”, the studio was quite in chaos when it was shown how one morning, Jesse exited Kochi’s room all casually. In pajamas and his hair a mess, Jesse padded downstairs to get water bottles from the fridge and then returned upstairs, going back into the room. The house members never talked about it, so it must’ve been a normal occurrence, though it wasn’t that for the commentators. After the first time, they saw Jesse sometimes following Kochi into his room in the evenings, or then slipping there afterwards after Kochi himself had already gone to bed. Whether they just cuddled in bed together or something more, it never made the cut, to the commentators disappointment.

Hokuto, who was known in the house for his personal fashion style and quirky humor, seemed to enjoy busying himself in the kitchen. He liked cooking with the members, making delicious looking Japanese meals with miso soup and proper side dishes or sometimes a trendy pasta dish found on social media. The other guys helped him to varying degrees, but the one who was there the most was Shintaro, who also enjoyed cooking. Hokuto was at ease with him, since he could trust Shintaro with almost anything; cutting, gutting a fish, roasting, frying. Although, if he wasn’t alert, Shintaro would nibble at the food they were making, claiming he was just “tasting it”. He would often offer Hokuto a sample, too, feeding him with chopsticks or a spoon, and Hokuto never declined. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it if the blushing and giggling were anything to go by. Their atmosphere was so domestic and cute it always earned squeals in the studio.

Hokuto also liked to work at the coffee truck. On his very first shift he was visibly nervous, not being used to customer service or brewing coffee, but his pick as the coworker of the day had been exactly right. Jesse was social and nicely boisterous, and was somehow able to draw Hokuto out of his shell. They always saw a Hokuto who was fooling around surprisingly much with Jesse. But the two also worked well together, attracting customers and selling coffee swiftly, and having fun while doing so. And if there was some obvious flirting (sometimes even kissing) during the quiet times, no one complained the slightest.

On top of good food, the members also enjoyed a drink once in a while. Some held their liquor better than others, but one member never declined a drink, were it beer or wine or sake. Jesse loved sitting in the dining room or at the veranda long into the night, drinking and chatting. His usual drinking buddy (the only one who could match his pace) was Shintaro. They’d drink and talk about everything and nothing, toasting and laughing together, and sometimes crying, too. Juri, who was also a night owl, would join them at times, as did Taiga, especially if they had a good wine to share with him.

Sometimes they stayed up all together, sometimes Juri would disappear in the middle, with either Taiga or Shintaro, after playing footsie with them under the table. One evening, after a bottle of red wine, Juri slipped away with Shintaro in tow, leaving Jesse and Taiga alone at the table. They were sitting side by side, both tipsy and chipper. Then, to the commentators surprise and delight, after a couple of long and meaningful glances between them, Jesse leaned closer and gave Taiga a quick kiss on the lips. It was like a test, a question, and Taiga answered it by pulling Jesse back for more.

And then the footage cut again, earning protests and groans from the commentators.

“I think we’ve seen enough to confirm that they are, indeed, all dating each other,” Megumi stated.

“Yep, 100%,” Chiaki agreed.

“If that’s the case, will the six of them just leave the house together at the end?” Tokui wondered.

“Maybe they will...”

“But think about it: you have five hot roommates and you’re dating all of them?” Durian exclaimed, frantically fanning herself. “Where do I sign up?”

The onion chips bag that’s half-eaten sits on the corner of Kochi’s desk when he comes back from the morning meeting. That already tells him that Jesse has dropped by while he’s been gone, as does the yellow post-it on his screen.

Lunch today at Yasuko’s? <3

Kochi smiles as he sits down and logs back in. Since Jesse joined the marketing team as a new member, Kochi hasn’t had the problem of who to eat lunch or grab a coffee with. Jesse is super sociable and he gets along well with the whole team, but for some reason Kochi is his favorite senpai so he naturally gets the most attention, too. At first Kochi was a bit baffled about that, but with time he’s come to accept his very keen junior. And he’s come to like him, too.

One adorable trait of Jesse’s are the small post-its he likes to leave around Kochi’s desk. Sometimes they’re invitations to lunch or coffee like today, sometimes weird drawings or lame jokes/riddles Jesse finds online (What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire? A frostbite! :D), and sometimes just short encouragements when Kochi’s having a long day or huge workload.

Jesse doesn’t know it but Kochi saves his favorite messages and sticks them to his calendar.

Today seems to be another busy day: Kochi needs to finish the monthly report and on top of that there’s a pile of bills to go through. He wouldn’t really have time for a long lunch outside of the office, but he hasn’t gone with Jesse yet this week and he misses their shared meals. Well, he’d just have to stay overtime tonight…

Kochi sends Jesse an OK on LINE and gets back multiple heart emojis.

He is growing more concerned by the second. Juri should be back already, he’s only gone to the bathroom? Taiga glances over his shoulder along the dungeon corridor but sees no sight of Juri. He sighs and takes a couple of steps as the queue in front of him moves again.

Hallowe’en is a bit different at Hogwarts this year. The teachers have prepared numerous scary and Hallowe’en themed attractions around the castle and the students have time to explore them before the huge feast in the evening. From what Taiga has heard, there are the scariest ghost stories in the library, some rare and intimidating magical creatures out in the yard, a unique opportunity to learn funny (yet harmless) hexes or jinxes in the Charms classroom and then this one they’re currently queuing to: an enchanted haunted house that’s been created in one of the larger dungeons.

The haunted house is only for students fifth-year or older and apparently many different teachers have added charms and obstacles there; Taiga’s heard talk about a boggart or a real vampire, but he doubts at least the latter. He and Juri are not super excited about the horror element in general, but they don’t want to be the only seventh-year Slytherins not trying it, so here they are.

Or, at least Taiga is.

The queue moves forward again and Taiga glances around him. They only let people enter in pairs for safety reasons, so if Juri doesn’t return soon, he’d have to give up the spot. He suspects none of the giggling Hufflepuff girls behind him would want to accompany him.

When there are only a couple of pairs before Taiga, (where the hell is Juri?) something unfathomable happens. Juri doesn’t return; instead, a couple of seventh-year Gryffindors appear by the queue. One of them is none other than Jesse Lewis.

Taiga automatically lowers his head and feels his cheeks heat up – his uncomfortable reaction to the annoying Gryffindor captain ever since the incident at the Quidditch changing room. Taiga’s tried his best to forget about it all but seems unable to. Jesse in turn probably doesn’t even recognize or remember Taiga.

That luckily seems to be the case now, as the Gryffindors loiter by the queue near the entrance, seeming to negotiate about something.

There’s only one pair before Taiga now, and he’s just thinking of leaving the queue since Juri’s not back, when the Gryffindors suddenly push Jesse forward.

“Now Jesse, that dude seems to be alone!”

“What…?” Taiga doesn’t have time to process what’s happening before he’s already ushered forward by their Potions teacher at the entrance.

“Next pair, please!”

“I’m… I’m not with him!” Taiga stutters, gesturing to Jesse who’s been pushed beside him.

“You cannot enter alone,” the teacher says. “Either you go together or don’t go at all.”

“No, no, we’ll go!” Jesse pipes in and lightly pushes Taiga through the black curtain and into the haunted house before he has time to protest at all.

It’s pitch black inside.

Lumos, Taiga thinks and lights his wand, seeing a narrow and uneven passage forward. There’s a greenish glow coming from somewhere and he can hear muffled shouts and screams ahead, probably from the students that entered before them.

Something bumps into him in the darkness, and he has to take a step or two to steady himself. It takes him a moment to realize it was Jesse. When Taiga moves to the side, he feels Jesse following him, pressing against his back.

“What the hell?” Taiga demands, raising his wand and the light. “I was waiting for my friend to go with him.”

“Ah yeah, sorry,” Jesse says and lets out a laugh that sounds almost nervous. “I had a dare I had to do.”

Taiga rolls his eyes. Of course. Dumb Gryffindors and their annoying need to constantly prove how oh, so brave and fearless they are. Only Jesse doesn’t seem very brave or fearless right now.

When Taiga takes a couple of steps, Jesse follows closely behind him like a weird, giant shadow. Taiga feels him even grabbing at the back of his robe.

“What are you doing?” he blurts.

“Uh, well…”

Then it hits him.

“Are you scared?”

“No!” Jesse denies immediately.

Right at that moment, Taiga hears a faint flapping noise and two small, dark spots (most likely, hopefully, bats) suddenly fly over them. Taiga startles a bit by them but Jesse full on shrieks, covering his head and again pressing against Taiga like he could protect the helpless Gryffindor against any danger.

“Um, you were saying?”

“Okay, yes, I’m scared!” Jesse admits grudgingly. “Just… get us out of here quickly and I’ll owe you.”

Huh. That’s interesting, Taiga thinks. It could be useful to have Jesse Lewis being in debt to him. How exactly, that remains to be seen. Also, Taiga has to admit it’s pretty hilarious seeing the popular Quidditch captain crouching and squealing because of a haunted house.

”Alright,” Taiga finally says. ”Follow me then. BUT if we actually run into a boggart or something, you better help me.”

—

Luckily, they don’t see boggarts or vampires but the route is full of other jumpscares and booby traps, like thick old curtains full of Cornish Pixies and enormous, sticky spider webs in one passage. After they’ve fought their way through them, they see (and this scares Taiga as well) a huge black spider reaching its front legs towards them. It’s only after they’ve both shouted and clung to each other in fright that they notice the spider only being a moving tapestry on the wall.

Taiga quickly lets go of Jesse and busies himself with fixing his robes, being grateful of the darkness as his face is probably flushed again.

The way through the haunted house is a weird ordeal altogether. On one hand, Taiga’s annoyed by the burdensome Gryffindor that keeps clinging to him and wails constantly; on the other, he’s annoyed because Jesse’s proximity and his hands on Taiga’s shoulders raise his heart rate more than the actual horror attraction.

And the farther they make it the more Taiga is used to his noisy and clingy shadow. At times, fleetingly, Taiga even finds himself thinking that Jesse’s low wails and distressed mumbling are kind of cute.

“Aah, ah, shit. I hate this. Aah! Aah. Let’s hurry, Kyomoto! Aah! What was that?”

“I don’t know…”

They round another corner and suddenly hear weird rustling and growling somewhere behind them. Jesse curses and hurries his steps, bumping into Taiga and forcing him to quicken the pace, too. Taiga feels like they must be near the end, since they’ve been inside the haunted house for several minutes already.

“There’s something coming from behind!” Jesse squeals.

“Okay, shall we just… make a dash for it?” Taiga asks on a whim.

“W-what?”

“Let’s run and hope there won’t be a boggart or anything in our way.”

“Okay!”

Taiga grabs Jesse’s hand (only out of necessity, he tells himself) and they run.

They see floating pumpkin lanterns with an eerie, greenish glow; bony, dark arms reaching from the shadows, clawing at their robes as they sprint past; and just before the exit that looms ahead, something crunches awfully and breaks under their steps. Taiga doesn’t dare to look what it could be.

They run towards the exit and hear weird shouts and banging from behind them, but don’t waste time looking over their shoulders. Taiga reaches for the dark curtains and they rush through them, out of the haunted house and into a torch-lit dungeon corridor. The curtains behind them fall back, blocking all the noises from the haunted house.

For a few moments both of them catch their breaths, Jesse muttering “oh shit, thank god, that was the worst ever…”

“Well, we made it,” Taiga then states. “So you owe me.”

Jesse glances at him and smiles that stupid smile that makes his stupid handsome face even more attractive. Damn it.

“I do,” Jesse confirms. “Thanks. And sorry? I’d also appreciate it if you didn’t tell everyone at school that…”

“That you’re a big wuss?” Taiga offers with a grin. Jesse shoves him with his shoulder.

“HEY!”

The shout down the corridor makes both Taiga and Jesse twitch and they automatically jump apart, and only then let go of each other’s hands. Taiga feels his face heating up again.

Juri is stomping towards them, the couple of Gryffindor students who had shoved Jesse in the queue following closely behind him.

“Here you are, what the hell happened?” Juri demands.

Taiga quickly glances between Juri and Jesse (his heart is still hammering) and decides that attack is the best form of defense.

“That’s my line! I waited for you forever in the line and then…”

Jesse’s housemates surround him, laughing and joking and Taiga promptly turns away from them. He definitely won’t forget about Jesse’ debt, though.

“You went in with him?” Juri hisses, nodding towards Jesse. “What the hell?”

Taiga heaves the deepest sigh. “I’ll explain later. And I’m done with the attractions, you’ll have to find someone else for the haunted house if you want to enter. I can’t recommend it, though.”