Frontiers Unexplored

1) All Aboard

"So, what do you have planned tonight?"

Takuya Kanbara stopped the soccer ball rolling towards him with his right foot before sitting down on the bench behind him. He leaned over and began to untie the laces on the shoe propped on top of the ball, rubbing at his forehead with his lower arm once he was done. His brown eyes remained focused on the task at hand as he spoke and switched the foot elevated from the faux grass he had been kicking the ball around on. "Shinya's birthday party is tonight. The whole family's getting ready to celebrate," he replied.

Takuya reached for his water bottle as he looked to the person who had asked the question in the first place, Chihiro Ayumu. They had been his teammate and closest friend for as long as either one of them could remember, and they were always his go-to partner when it came to kicking his spare soccer ball around the school's field. He took a swig from the bottle as Chihiro pulled their deep brown hair from the low ponytail it had been in at the base of their neck. They began retying it shortly afterwards, smoothing down any stray, sweat-ridden hairs along the way.

"I figured you'd say that. In that case, I'll have to go on and pick up a gift for him as soon as I get the chance," Chihiro said as they began shoving their things into their simple, worn-out sports bag. They slung it over their shoulder and reached out one hand to help Takuya to his feet. "I wish I could be there, but I'm pretty sure my math teacher is going to kill me if I'm late on another assignment."

Takuya accepted the offered hand as he shut his water bottle's lid and grabbed his own bag. He picked up his soccer ball with his free hand and started walking towards the locker room, taking special care to not step on his untied shoelaces on the way. "It sucks that you can't be here, but I'm sure Shinya will forgive you if you get a nice present for him," he told them. "You know Shinya. He'll forgive and forget on the spot if you give him something, assuming he wasn't already going to forgive you to begin with."

Chihiro snorted as they arrived at their destination. "Believe me, I know," they assured him. They pushed open the door to the locker room, letting Takuya walk in before following him inside for themselves.

While Chihiro made a beeline for the restrooms, Takuya dropped his soccer ball and water bottle on a stray bench. He made his way over his own stall before stepping inside and locking the door. "You should stop by later in the evening if you can," Takuya suggested, his voice echoing in the space. "No pressure, of course, but Shinya would love to see you."

"I'll have to see," Chihiro answered after a brief pause. " You have no idea how tempting that sounds, but I have to put my studies first every once in a while. I don't want to get destroyed by a teacher before I can get Shinya that present, after all."

Takuya raised an eyebrow as he began to change out of his soccer uniform and into his regular clothes. "Since when do you care about school or what teachers think?" he asked, a light smirk playing at his lips. Even if Chihiro couldn't see it, he knew that they could hear the smile in his voice.

"I like to have a decent reputation sometimes, Takuya," Chihiro replied with a light and teasing scoff. "Besides, if I fail this class, I won't be able to play soccer until I can get my grades back up." They slid the door open on their stall and stepped outside. The faucet turned on a few seconds later, and Takuya heard water splashing as Chihiro washed their face off.

"You make a good point," Takuya said, his tone signal of his surrender. He heard the water stop running, and an automatic hand dryer came to life as Chihiro presumably stuck their hands under it. He began shoving the last scraps of clothing into his bag before sliding the door's lock and stepping out.

When Takuya left the stall, he saw Chihiro standing with their arms crossed against the wall next to the exit to the greater locker room. Their hair was still in the same messy ponytail, but a black hat they preferred to wear backwards covered most of it aside from the length found at the base of their neck. Chihiro wore their favorite brown jacket over an orange shirt with black trousers. Silver chains hung from their waist in the place of a belt. Black gloves covered their hands. An emerald green bandanna with yellow swirling patterns was tied around their left wrist, and a matching piece of fabric hung from their neck. Chihiro's green and brown shoes were just as mud-stained and messy as Takuya remembered, a testament to just how well-loved they had come to be over the many years of Chihiro owning them.