Gifts and roses..-*

Chapter 14- festival.

Sanemi was fuming.

He stood tense in the kitchen as he made himself breakfast, his movements rough and aggressive. The rest of the festival had been a frustrating exercise in futility. He had spent the entire evening tracking down corps members, demanding to know if any of them were his secret admirer. Yet, despite his insistent efforts, no one confessed. Let alone showed a single sign they knew what he was talking about.

Each encounter had been the same: wide eyes, stammered denials, and nervous glances. He had talked to everyone he could think of from the training, but the admirer still remained hidden. It made his blood grow warm. How could someone be so bold but then too cowardly to step forward?

He slammed a pan onto the stove. His anger surfacing, not just because he hadn't found his admirer, but also because he felt like he had wasted the evening. He had been having fun before he left after all.

He had been so caught up in the ridiculous chase that he hadn't even realized he'd left Tomioka all alone. It was only now, as he reflected on it, that he realized how abruptly he had abandoned him.

Tomioka had been different that night, more relaxed, more... happy. Sanemi had never seen him like that before, the memory of Tomioka's rare, contented expression flitted through his mind, and for a brief moment, Sanemi felt a twinge of regret. He had ruined it without even noticing.

"Dammit," he muttered, cracking an egg into the pan with more force than necessary. The shell splintered, a few shards falling into the pan alongside the yolk, but he barely noticed, his thoughts elsewhere. He sighed heavily; the sound almost lost in the crackle of the egg as it sizzled in the pan. His gaze drifted aimlessly, settling on the wildflowers beside him. They sat neatly in the vase, next to a pile of the dark red cloths that had accompanied the gifts he'd been receiving.

The cloth's deep, rich hue caught his eye, sparking a flicker of recognition that he couldn't quite place.

Where had he seen that shade of red before?

His brow furrowed as he stared at it, the memory teasing the edges of his mind, just out of reach. It was familiar, too familiar to ignore. He let his mind wander back through numerous encounters, searching for the memory. Red... like blood? No, that wasn't it. It was something more specific.

Then, like a flash of lightning, it hit him.

Tomioka... Tomioka!

He darted forward and grabbed the cloth, his heartbeat quickening as he held it up.

It was the same colour Tomioka wore last night.

Sanemi ran a sweaty hand through his hair as his pupils shrunk, his mind racing. He was just about the only person from the training he didn't interrogate- The memory of Giyuu's strange behaviour immediately came flooding back. The nonsense he started spilling about the answer being in front of him, the blush on his cheeks, the permanent smile on his face the entire night.

He brought a hand to his mouth, his breath catching in his throat as his stomach twisted in painful knots. It all made sense... why he kept asking about the dango, why he looked shocked to see Sanemi give him a gift in the red cloth- why he wanted to walk together- why he gave him those bandages- why he kept looking at him like that all evening.

Sanemi's heart wracked his chest, a dizzying mix of emotions swirling inside his body, making his fingers go completely numb as the realisation settled in. He felt like he had been struck by lightning, every nerve in his body on edge.

Tomioka was his secret admirer.

It was him all along.

He staggered back, clutching the cloth tightly in his fist. His breaths came in short, ragged gasps as he tried to breathe through his tightened throat. "No... no way," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the sizzling egg. But as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, he couldn't deny the truth staring him in the face. He felt a rush of everything at once: shock, confusion, disbelief. His mind was doing laps, replaying every interaction with Tomioka, every hint he had missed.