Fikush-ON!

Ch. 10: Sakuragaoka Festival

I was in the middle of scribbling explosions into my math notebook when the bell rang, ending the school day. I swept the notebook into my schoolbag, and glanced out of the window. The weather was nice, all right. Tadaaki called me from the classroom's doorway, so I stood up and walked over to him. Before stepping out of the class, I waved my hand to Ichiro, who was in cleaning duty. Tadaaki and I headed to the school's left wing, and walked down to the basement floor. As we stepped into the club room, I quickly noticed how stuffy the air was. I threw my bag on the couch, and reached up to open one of the windows. Much better.

"Any wishes?" I asked as I walked over to the kitchen area.

"Well... Yanyang would be nice," Tadaaki answered, crashing on the couch.

After ten minutes or so, the coffee was ready. Leaving enough for Ichiro, I prepared two cups, and carried them over to the couches, handing the other one over to Tadaaki. I took a seat on the couch, resting my legs on top of the coffee table. I reached over to grab one of the remotes, pointing it towards the stereo system. The speakers started blasting 90's rock music. I sipped my coffee, and glanced at Tadaaki, who was just staring at his cup. It's unlike him of being so quiet, something must be wrong.

I took my legs off the coffee table, leaned a bit forward, and asked him: "What's on your mind?"

Tadaaki glanced at me, and then upwards. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you about this for a while... I saw you during summer vacation."

That's it? Well, better let him continue. "That same day, I had just come home from vacation. And, well... I saw you in a neighborhood, south-west of here."

My jaw dropped a bit. I set the coffee cup down on the table, and turned to face Tadaaki. "Wait, how—"

He interrupted be by talking over me: "I was sitting in my dad's car. They decided to stop by at some small store, so I waited in the car. However, the parking lot was across from a certain neighborhood."

Hold on... there's a parking lot right across from Hirasawa's house. Is he really going to say...?

"Coincidentally, I saw you stepping out of one of the houses, waving goodbye to some girl at the doorway. I think I recognized her, wasn't she the same gal who came to pick you up at Yukinokawa last winter?" he asked me. I noticed some amusement in his tone.

I tried to keep my cool, and shrugged. "Yeah, the very same. What about it?"

"Are you two dating?" he asked me out of nowhere.

I stood up, clenching my fists. "Of course not! We're just friends!"

This caused Tadaaki to burst into laughter. I looked at him confusedly for a few seconds, until I sat back down.

"Fuck off already," I muttered, unamused.

"Relax, man. Can't you take a joke?" Tadaaki said, still chuckling, and setting his coffee cup down on the table. He soon calmed down, and, with a more serious tone, said: "But seriously speaking, she looks cute and seems nice, so of course I'm wondering if you two would be dating."

I thought about his words, and nodded.

However, Tadaaki grinned, and continued: "...especially if we consider your ponytail fetish."

I quickly stood up, walked over to Tadaaki, and grabbed him by the collar. "I'm going to shove your head up your ass, fucker!"

And so began a ruthless wrestling match, accompanied by the rock music blasting from the stereos.

Our obscure scrimmage was interrupted by Ichiro. "What the hell is this? You guys want to be pro wrestlers or something?"

I let go of Tadaaki, and helped him on his feet. His scruffy face made me chuckle, and he also began to laugh. Meanwhile, Ichiro had poured himself a cup of coffee, and carried it over to the couches.