Vivid Bad Squad Polyship (Slow Burn)

Live House Alleyway

"Ah, senpai." Toya released the door handle to the library. He was early, anyways. "Good afternoon."

"Oh! If it isn't my precious kouhai Toya!" Tsukasa stopped in his tracks in the hallway and turned to the junior with his full stage presence. "How are you doing, today?"

In awe of the greatness of Tsukasa, Toya's defenses were washed away and he was forced to answer honestly.

Toya beamed. "I'm splendid☆"

Tsukasa laughed, no, guffawed, much louder than you should right outside the library. He shielded his eyes. "Haaaaarrghh!! It's too bright..! Toya, you shine almost as brightly as a star!"

"Hm? Do I really seem that happy?"

"Yes, of course! After performing for hundreds of smiling faces, I am qualified to say this. Toya Aoyagi, I hereby declare you 'elated!'"

'Elated.' Toya thought about the word.

Tsukasa continued talking. "Has anything super special happened recently?"

"Ah, well, nothing much." Tsukasa gave a curious look as Toya became bashful. "Yesterday, Shiraishi-san and I--"

"Yo," Akito protectively threw an arm around Toya, completely ignoring Tsukasa's radiance. Tsukasa, instead of pushing Akito into acknowledging him, put a finger on his chin in curiosity.

"H-hello, Akito. I was just telling Tsukasa-senpai about my afternoon with Shiraishi-san yesterday."

Akito's arm stiffened and he pulled away. "Tch, instead of an afternoon with me, you mean..." Toya blinked confusedly, feeling pulled out of his own body. Wasn't that water under the bridge? "I'll see you later, then, meet up with the rest of us when you get off duty." He waved as he walked away.

"R-right..." came from a newly confused Toya.

Tsukasa may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but even he could feel his kouhai's excitement turn to anxiety. "Toya, is something weighing on you?" He glanced in Akito's direction, remembering their conversation the other day.

Toya turned away from the star power. "Sorry to cut this short, senpai. I just noticed the time-- I should be going."

Two sides of Tsukasa fought. "Eto, um... just a second, Toya." He turned around obediently. "If you need anything, anytime, just call your trusty ol' Tsukasa Tenma! Have fun!"

Toya nodded, a small smile appearing on his face again. It was sadder. Emu was right: there is a difference. "Mm. Thank you for everything, Tsukasa-senpai."

Akito ignored some of the VOCALOIDS looking upon he and Kohane as they stood and chatted about their day. When he saw a single pixel, though, he took a giant step away from his girlfriend, which told the VOCALOIDS all they needed to know about their relationship status. Lucky(?) he did, too, because Toya, who already had suspicions, materialized.

They greeted each other as normal, then An came and they warmed up as normal. Practice went as normal, they discussed as normal. All normal, except when Kohane and An glanced at each other worriedly, they both knew the reason: Akito seemed to be straining himself. Kohane told him he wanted to stay behind for a second when practice was over. Toya thought she might be able to get whatever was wrong out of him and left without question. An, seeing this, shrugged and left too.

"What's up, shrimp?" he asked, drinking some water. She squirmed a little, unsure of if she should approach this like a concerned teammate or concerned girlfriend. She decided just concerned was enough.

Kohane folded her hands. "Is something the matter, Shinonome-kun? I noticed your voice was straining at practice earlier..." She averted her eyes downward.

"Tch." He reached out with his hand. She looked up, surprised, and he quickly used it to brush his hair back, instead. "Don't nitpick me, Azusawa..."

"Huh?!" He was completely out of left field from how he usually responds to criticism.

"I, uh..." He looked like those words had came out without his permission. "Nevermind. You're right. Doncha think I already know, though?"

"R-right! Ahahaha... Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to imply that. Just, if there's something making you uncomfortable..." the last words caught in her throat. Her hand swung forward in a non-committal handholding attempt. Akito watched her flounder her affection, not knowing what was holding her back. Was this how others saw him?

He chuckled and leaned forward. "I'll be okay, Azusawa." His voice was tender. She let her head droop a little as he parted her bangs and lightly kissed her forehead. Akito gave a half-embarrassed smile. Her eyes widened in awe, confusion, and a flutter in her chest.

"M-- Mm..." she nodded. "You and Aoyagi-kun performing tonight... good luck, Shinonome-kun!" She flashed a smile.

"Right!" A confident flare appeared in his eyes. His game face was on. Kohane felt an urge to perform with him again. "Welp, I'll be going." She waved.

Akito re-spawned in the real world already behind the live house they'd be performing at. Toya would arrive in a minute or two. He whistled, looking at the buildings the tune echoed off of, the rusting metal pipes, the brick and concrete material, the tar pavement cracking and sprouting weeds. Toya arrived to this sight, Akito absorbing the last of the day's light from the thin metal railing outside the back entrance, surrounded by the industrial world. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and watched. Akito had heard him approach and knew he was there, but he let him stare.

Toya approached him. Like a mob in a video game, when he stepped on a concrete step inside Akito's "detection" radius, the ginger immediately turned his eyes to him. "Yo, Toya. There's still a while longer 'till we're on, so let's check in and practice out here for a little."

The pair was deep in a maze of alleyways, and with all the music venues around, it was unlikely they would draw a crowd. "Sounds good."

They let the heavy door close behind them, muffling material keeping it from slamming. They shivered a little in the chilly night. Right before they began to practice again, Akito glanced at Toya, as though to check if he was still there.

"..."

Akito looked away and started the backing track. Toya took that for a good sign, and he was right. He felt a small pang in his heart as he sang, but when his partner's head was clear, his was too. Feeding off each other's energy, their heads refocused on the happier moments over the past couple of days, with each other and, surprisingly, with other people as well.

When they slipped into sync like this, almost every movement was felt by the other and nothing could disrupt them. Toya stretched as Akito jogged in place to keep his heartrate up. Ten minutes to showtime. Time to roll!