Stop It Shinnosuke!

Chapter 10

"How can you do that?!" Kazama shouted in half amusement and half anger.

"Because I can! That's such a simple move. Come on now, Kazama-kun!" Shinnosuke whined as he tapped the buttons on his console so quickly that one might even lose sight of his fast moving fingers. Kazama sure did.

"You are definitely using a cheat code of some sort! There is no w-" Kazama stopped speaking as he realised that he lost once again in the game. Shinnosuke laughed hard at Kazama's surprised reaction, he just couldn't get enough of making him speechless by the numerous special combo moves he had up his sleeves.

"I'm not playing." Kazama said slumping into the bed frame like a child handing over the console to Shinnosuke.

"But we just started~" Shinnosuke pouted, refusing to take the console from his hand.

"It's already so late. I have to go home." Kazama replied putting the gaming console on the bed as he stood up. They had been playing games the whole time they were in Shinnosuke's room and didn't really talk much, apart from the times when Kazama kept accusing Shinnosuke of cheating, just to receive a laugh from the latter.

"It's just 7 right now. Stay a little more." Shinnosuke quickly put down his console and stood up too, "I need help with my... homework." He muttered the last part, almost cringing saying the word he didn't use often.

Kazama looked at him with brows raised in confusion and disbelief, with a little hint of 'Are you for real?' .

"You never care about your homework, stop lying." Kazama scoffed as he bent down to take his bag. Shinnosuke said nothing for a while, only to open his mouth when Kazama was almost at the door.

"I noticed you." He said.

Kazama turned to look at him once again, but this time with genuine curiosity.

"What?" He asked, turning himself on his heels to face Shinnosuke.

"I noticed you, when everyone was here." Shinnosuke said, walking a bit closer but not too close, "When they asked you about your old school."

His words took Kazama by surprise. Was he watching him? No, more importantly, what did he notice? Did he notice Kazama's strange behavior, or did he notice the unusual relief on his face when he got to avoid his friends' interrogation? Questions as such ran through Kazama's mind in a split second.

He didn't take any longer to ask Shinnosuke, "What are you talking about."

He tried, tried to play dumb. Hoping it would work, because some times, Shinnosuke was scarily observant and he desperately hoped this wasn't on of those times.

He wasn't ready to tell him. Yet.

"I know you don't want to talk about it. I don't wanna ask you anything either." Shinnosuke said, surprisingly seeming mature, "I just... couldn't help but wonder just why are you so avoidant when it comes to your... school." He finished, quickly letting out a sigh and scratching his nape, realizing he actually indirectly only asked the same question he said he didn't want to ask. Kazama's stomach twisted.

"He knew. He saw through me." Kazama thought, his eyes staring into the void as he tried to find an answer. But he couldn't. He couldn't come up with any excuse. He wasn't sure.

Did he even want to lie to Shinnosuke? Again? Or did he want to let out the heavy weight that he had carried.

Was it finally too much to bear? Was it time to finally let out what he had inside him?

But, was it even right?

"It isn't anything like that, Shinnosuke." He said, smiling so sweetly that it even made him feel confident in what he was about to say, "It's just that... I didn't feel comfortable there. It was just a short change for a short time, one that I don't find important enough to think about that often. That's it." He lied. Again.

Shinnosuke looked at him with a blank stare, almost as if he was expecting him to say something else, something more. But Kazama said nothing further, blindly following his plan of not revealing anything to Shinnosuke. Or to anyone, on that matter. Not yet.

"Is that so." Shinnosuke said, in a non- questioning tone, "Well, I couldn't care less. It's good that your prestigious school didn't have much of an impact on you." He said, walking towards Kazama.

"Because now you know you wouldn't get a better friend than me anywhere even if you tried." He grinned as he stood next to Kazama, sliding his hand across his shoulder.

"You know, I'm the best in the world after all." He said staring at Kazama, his voice evidently filled with pride, which made Kazama smile a bit, a genuine smile.

"You are nowhere near good, idiot." He said as he pushed Shinnosuke's hand away and turned towards the door. "You are nowhere near what I want in a friend, so technically you are the worst." He said walking down the stairs, his artificially made up harsh word seeming like an opportunity to Shinnosuke.

"Is that a challenge?" Shinnosuke asked following him. Kazama looked at him slightly, thinking.

"I don't know. Whatever you decide." Kazama replied after thinking it through. Shinnsouke grinned more intensely than before, realising that Kazama was now more clever towards his tricks than before, using it against Shinnsouke himself.

As Kazama reached the main doorstep, putting his shoes on with graceful manners, Shinnsouke leaned against the wall and watched him amused, just like each of the time he saw him doing it. Weird thing to find interesting, but maybe that was what made Shinnsouke, well, Shinnsouke.

"What?" Kazama caught a glimpse of Shinnsouke's stare.

"Nothin'." Shinnsouke shook his head. "A challenge it is, then." He declared.

"A challenge you won't win." Kazama said firmly before standing up and tapping his shoes, something his did out of habit.

"You can't decide that." Shinnsouke stood straight, "We'll have to see who wins."

"Doesn't change what I said, you won't win." Kazama repeated smiling.
"Good night, Shinnsouke."

Shinnsouke looked at him go through the door, before saying, "G'Night, Kazama-kun."

Kazama left, leaving Shinnsouke alone with his thoughts regarding what happened upstairs. Just as he was about to immerse himself in his head, came down from upstairs a yawning Himawari.

"I feel so much better. I think I would go to school tomorrow." She announced cheerfully, particularly to no one, before stopping at the last step to look at her brother, who stood at the empty doorstep staring at the door.

"What's the heck." She said, catching Shinnsouke's attention, " Why are you standing there all alone, so creepy." She shivered.

Misae, listening to Himawari's voice, came out from the kitchen, finding Shinnsouke there.

"Shinnsouke, what are you doing here? Where is Kazama-kun?" She asked, answering herself soon afterwards, "Oh, he went home."

"Yeah." Shinnsouke said yawning in return after having seen Himawari do the same. "He should've stayed. Ask him to sleep over next time. I have so much to talk to him about, such a polite boy." Misae smiled, creeping out Shinnsouke who found his mother's smile unusual, like always.

"Wait! Kazama Ni-chan was here?" Himawari asked in a tone of disbelief, "Why didn't anyone wake me up?" She asked, deeply offended. Misae simply sighed and went back into the kitchen, leaving Shinnsouke to deal with her.

She turned to look at his brother, who looked at her for a while before saying, "Cause you sleep like a l-"

"Ugh Shut up!" She yelled, sighing deeply before angrily going into the living room, muttering to herself, "Unbelievable!"
Shinnsouke smirked at Himawari's reaction, before he went back upstairs into his room.

As he jumped to lie down in his bed, his thoughts came back to him. Thoughts about the conversation He had with Kazama. Shinnsouke was upset.

He was upset because he knew. He knew that Kazama lied to him.

Again.