Intentions (Chapter Three)
Title: Intentions
Author: healielle
Pairing: Onodera Ritsu X Takano Masamune
Theme: 30Kisses #3: jolt
Disclaimer: Sekai Ichi Hatsuki belongs to Nakamura Shungiku and her affiliates.
Rating: Older Teens
Summary: Onodera Ritsu was never really truthful to himself, and he knew that better than anyone else.
Onodera Ritsu wasn’t particularly fond of the rain.
He pulled his jacket tighter around himself as he walked towards his house. A cold breeze was blowing that day, the kind that made you want to crawl under the covers and hibernate. Ritsu was glad that work had ended, and that Takano had left before him. It meant he could peacefully walk home without someone guarding him at every turn of the road. It wasn’t as if he’d tried to get into an accident. But then again, it wasn’t as if Takano was going to listen.
He huffed slightly as he walked up the steps leading out of the Subway, he couldn’t wait to go home and just fall asleep. He stopped still, no no no! He couldn’t sleep. He’d been having weird dreams about Takano almost regularly since the man’s birthday. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if he started having daytime hallucinations of the man at the rate he was thinking of him. Like right now. He could swear he just saw Takano laughing and smiling with the cashier at that Family Convenience Store.
Wait.
Ritsu paused and turned around. He peered in through the display window of the store. Takano was standing there laughing and smiling with the attractive cashier. Ritsu felt irritated. Well, if that was how he felt, it was probably good for Ritsu anyway. He growled as he realized he was thumping on the ground as he walked. What was he getting angry about at any rate? He wasn’t angry. Of course not, he was just suffering from a lack of sleep.
“Onodera?”
That was Takano’s voice. Ritsu turned around and bowed slightly to the man, acknowledging his presence. He then turned around, and ran all the way home.
Ritsu heaved deeply as he opened the door to his apartment, allowing himself to fall inside. He hadn’t run that much in a while, his sides hurt. He felt ever so slightly guilty, he really should reconsider running away from awkward situations were Takano was concerned, but… He covered his face with his hands. It was Takano’s fault anyway.
He sat on his knees. He never smiled and laughed with Ritsu that way. He loved him right? So he should be happier around him than some random girl. He breathed in deeply; he was completely out of breath. That was right! If Takano loved him so much, why was he always so serious around him?
Ritsu knew the answer. He also knew that his anger was just a cover up for the feelings he’d kept pent up inside for so long. ‘Ah, screw it.’ He had better things to do than feel jealous over some girl he didn’t know.
He shook his head rapidly. He wasn’t jealous, just highly perturbed. Yes, that somehow sounded better. Satisfied, Onodera Ritsu got up and went to get undressed.
“What is it exactly that he sees in this face?” Ritsu’s eyebrows twitched as he saw the mess his face had become. His hair was badly disheveled, probably from sleeping on the desk at work so much. A few pimples had started appearing around his neck and the eye bags under his eyes made him feel like a panda. He opened the tap and sighed as he felt the water splashing against his face. He paused for a while as he stared at his reflection. He looked at the water and back at his reflection. He cupped his hands and splashed the water on his hair. Did he still remember how to do it?
During his school days, he would often spend hours in the morning getting his hairstyle perfect. He’d hoped for the longest time that having a really good appearance would help in Takano noticing him… Wait. He shook his head. He had already promised himself that that was an alley he was not going to walk down.
Takano had told him that he loved the person that he was right then. Had he really meant that? Ritsu saw his face scrunch into a frown as he tried to fix his hair.
“Yes!” That was it. This was the hairstyle he had during his schooldays. He stared at his reflection before rapidly shaking his head, messing up his hair even worse than it had been before. He couldn’t believe he actually thought up ways to get Takano to notice him!
Ritsu sat on the floor of the roof of the school building, closing his eyes as the cool breeze drifted past him. He ruffled his hair and sighed, this was his favorite place in the whole building. He unbuttoned his jacket, the chill in the air made him shiver slightly. He took out a cell phone from his shirt pocket - he made a mental note that he needed to find a new place to hide it. He had almost been caught by the Student Council Vice-President that day. He shuddered at the thought of the boy.
He flipped open the cell phone, staring blankly at the wallpaper on the screen. It was a picture of him with some of his classmates. Should he ask? He dreaded to think of what Saga would tell him. He sat up and flipped his cell phone shut. He stretched out his hand above his head and placed them on his hair, flattening it down. Ritsu coughed, clearing his throat, either way, practicing shouldn’t hurt.
He stood up and walked to the edge of the rooftop and placed his hands on the grill. He made the ‘coolest’ expression he could, and tried to grin slyly. He turned his head to the side, “Hey Saga-sempai, want to take a picture with me?” He winked.
No! Ritsu covered his face with his hands as he sunk to the floor. That was terrible… There was no way he could do that! He wanted to scream at his classmates for their terrible advice.
“Girls always go for the ‘cool’ types.” Said one.
“Cool? Devilish is the way to go! Smirk at her, draw her in, be forceful!” Another friend patted him on the back, grinning madly.
Cool? Devilish? He felt like a dried out octopus!
But he would ask Saga either way. He’d made up his mind. He fisted his hands and breathed in deeply. He would practice as long as it took to get it right. He would definitely have a picture with Saga for his cell phone wallpaper!
He stood up, scrunching his face into a devilish grin, “So Saga-sempai…” he placed his hands on his chin, trying to look attractive, “What are you doing this evening?” Gah! Now he felt like an old pervert. He pushed his head against the grill, leaning down on it; maybe he should just text him instead.
‘Saga-sempai. Would you like to hang out this evening?’
Ritsu eyed the text warily. It looked normal. Would it do? Okay, so he had a new plan! It was the ‘Catch Saga Unaware’ plan. He smiled to himself, holding the phone close. He opened one eye as he felt a raindrop on his eyelid. Maybe he should think of another message? It wasn’t as if Saga liked to check his mail either way… He would probably just have to ask him in the library. He changed the contents of the message. This one looked more like what a young girlfriend would send to her upper classman boyfriend. At least he thought it was.
‘Saga-sempai. Want to spend a fuuuun evening with me today? (o^-~o)’
“Ah Ritsu-kun! There you are. The teacher’s…” Ritsu’s class representative stopped talking, the door held ajar. Her hands slowly fell to her sides.
“Ritsu-kun?” She carefully asked. Before her, in the middle of the rooftop sat a small statue of a boy. His hands were clenched tightly around his phone, and his mouth was open in dismay. The girl could swear that there was an inaudible cry of anguish coming from him.
Ritsu followed his class representative, the phone still clenched tightly in his hands. He felt as if his whole being was slowly being pulled down into the very core of the planet, and the way he walked did nothing to hide his feelings.
“Ritsu-kun? Are you listening to me? I’m going to have to confiscate your phone. You know you’re not allowed to bring it to school!”
He wasn’t listening to her. He’d sent it! He had been taken aback when she had opened the door and he’d sent it… He was such as idiot! He should’ve just stuck to the original draft. He did not want Saga to see his attempt at writing a ‘cute girlfriend style’ mail. He was never going to live this down.
‘You have received one message.’
Ritsu blinked.
It couldn’t be. Not the one time he didn’t want the boy to read his message. He shakily reached for the phone and flipped it open, ‘?? Are you high? Sure. I’m free today.’
His heart rushed. He’d read it. He wasn’t sure of what to make of the reply. It would probably be a good idea to never speak of it again. He would avoid Saga till school was over.
“Ritsu-kun! Who’re you calling in the middle of the hallway?” The girl turned sharply towards him. Ritsu stared at her. What was she talking about?
“Hello?” That voice… Ritsu turned to his phone. Crap.
“Ah, Saga-sempai! Hahahaha…” He laughed uneasily. This was the worst thing that could’ve happened! When did he call him? Oh God. He was dead, his perfect world had just rotted and died.
“Un.” Ritsu relaxed slightly. He hadn’t mentioned the message.
“Ah… Do you want to… eat lunch together?” Ritsu finished, looking befuddled. The student council representative reached for the phone again, “Is that someone from school? Who else has their phone?” From a far distance, Ritsu could hear the anguish of students being assaulted by the Vice President of the Student Council probably because of their beach blonde hairstyles.
“I’ll be on the roof!” Ritsu ended the call, not waiting for an answer from Saga.
“Ritsu-kun?” The girl seemed exasperated with him. He nodded shyly at her, “Later. I’ll give you my phone tomorrow.” He turned around and ran.
Ritsu clasped his hands tightly as he waited on the roof. He was acting erratically. Saga would probably think he was a complete idiot now, if he didn’t already think so. He looked at the sky, it was overcast. This wasn’t a good time to have lunch on the roof together.
Clank
Ritsu jumped and clutched at his chest. He put on his brightest smile and turned his head, “Ah… Saga-se---sempai!” He laughed slightly.
The boy closed the door behind him, a bored look on his face. He nodded towards Ritsu and walked towards him. Ritsu could hear his heartbeat grow louder with each step the boy took in his direction. By the time he was seated next to Ritsu, he was sure that his heart would explode.
Saga looked at Ritsu and touched his forehead lightly with his own, “Are you sick?”
“Hah! Wh-why would you sa-say that?” Ritsu fumbled with the words, the message was still on his mind.
“You’re completely red.” Saga had a stoic expression on his face.
‘He always looks so troubled.’ Ritsu calmed down considerably, “I… uh… Can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?” He still had that faraway look in his eyes. Ritsu wondered what he could do to make those eyes completely focus on him. He closed his eyes, and tried to calm his heart down, “Can I…”
Growl. Growl.
“Huh?” Ritsu looked towards Saga. He’d turned the other way. Was he hiding his face? Ritsu’s eyes widened in realization, “Saga-sempai, would you like to have a bit of my lunch?”
Saga turned even redder. Ritsu grinned slightly; he really was cute to look at when he was this flustered. He took his bento out from his bag and opened it. ‘Would he mind sharing chopsticks with me?’ He pushed the bento towards Saga.
The boy looked at Ritsu. He seemed slightly flummoxed, his shoulders tensed. “For me?”
Ritsu nodded. ‘Or not.’ Well, he wasn’t really hungry anyway.
Saga smiled at him, “You’re a really well cared for young man aren’t you?” He looked away, the smile gone.
“What?” But Saga didn’t answer him. He took a small bite from the bento. Ritsu watched carefully, following his every move.
Saga looked at him and stopped chewing, “Hey, I can’t eat if you keep doing that you know.”
“Ah! Of course.” Ritsu jumped slightly before closing his eyes. It was so hard for him to look away from the older boy. He was so happy right then, he was sure he’d die.
It was so cold.
Ritsu shivered slightly. This weather was terrible, he missed the warmer days. He rubbed his hands together, glad that he’d brought his gloves. He peeked inside the school gates. Saga hadn’t come to the library that day, but he had said that he was free that evening. He was supposed to wait there right?
Ritsu lightly touched his forehead, when it came to Saga- he never knew how to react. He felt the rush of anticipation as he stood there, waiting.
Damn that Takano for making him wait!
He remembered how cold it was that day. It wasn’t much different from today really. Ritsu looked at his cell phone and flipped it open. The wallpaper was just one of the standard ones that came with the phone. He hid his face in his hands at the thought of his school day antics. He felt for the wall nearest to him and punched it, trying to forget the past.
Takano Masamune was slightly amused.
Lately Ritsu had taken to screaming in frustration whenever he was agitated. He wondered if Ritsu knew Takano could hear him some of the time. Takano was curious though, what was he fretting over this time?
He leaned in towards the walls separating his room from Ritsu’s and tried to listen. There was a brief moment of silence followed by a muffled groan. The only word Takano could make out was his own name. He paused and looked at the wall. What was he doing? The wall stared back.
Takano turned around and paced up and down his apartment. He had absolutely nothing to do. He briefly looked at his phone before looking back at the wall. He was just so curious. But no, it would not do to eavesdrop. He calmly picked up his phone and dialed Ritsu’s number, “Hello.” He sounded unusually calm for someone who was slightly agitated the last time Takano had checked.
“I’m coming over.” Takano cautiously waited for the reply.
There was a brief pause before Ritsu replied, “Takano-san! You don’t live here but next door you know.”
“So?”
He smirked. He was sure he had heard Ritsu growl slightly, “I’m going to sleep now. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Good night.” Ritsu had hung up.
“Tch.” Takano flipped his phone off. He felt slightly lonely today. It wasn’t as if Yokozawa would come calling any time soon either. He supposed he ought to grab dinner and go to sleep too.
He shuffled towards his kitchen and opened the refrigerator; it was mostly empty except for old leftovers he was in no mood to eat, “Oh.”
There was a time when he was used to taking care if himself, but even then, once upon a time Ritsu had taken care of Takano. Between Ritsu and Yokozawa, he’d forgotten how to look after himself.
Saga sighed as he closed his book.
He was too hungry to concentrate. He really shouldn’t have stayed up late to watch that movie the night before. Because of that he was running late for school in the morning and didn’t have time to fix himself lunch. He could barely manage to put out Sorata’s food before running out for school.
Tring. Tring.
He glanced at his phone. A message? He’d just get that later. He got up from his seat and moved to place the book back in the right shelf.
Tring. Tring.
That phone. Saga quickly picked it up and walked out of the library, doing his best to look as unconcerned as possible. He’d completely forgotten to set it on the silent mode. He should’ve just left it at home. But then… He sighed. That small boy had a bad habit of sending him texts all day. It irritated him, but at the same time, it made him happy. He felt less lonely? Saga shook his head. Not that it mattered of course.
He quickly walked down the stairs, pausing at a somewhat empty corner. He wanted to see what the text said.
Trying to curb his anticipation, he quickly flipped open his phone. What was he so excited about anyway?
He quickly opened his inbox and clicked on the ‘New message’ icon. He tapped his feet, waiting for the message to load. Saga Masamune could swear he felt his left eye twitch in a way that had never happened before.
‘Saga-sempai. Want to spend a fuuuun evening with me today? (o^-~o)’
Saga stared at the text. Was he for real? He covered his mouth as he felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. He leaned against the wall and laughed, hiding his face behind his hands. People weren’t supposed to see him like that, but it wasn’t like he cared at that point.
“Saga-kun?” He stopped laughing and looked at the girl standing in front of him, a curious look on her face. She was one of his classmates. She had a crush on him, Saga was sure of that. He covered his smiling mouth with one hand and quickly typed a reply on his phone.
“What’s so funny?” Great. The girl had brought her friends. Saga felt irritated as the girls surrounded him, barraging him with questions. Why couldn’t they see that he didn’t want to talk to anyone right then?
He felt his phone vibrate slightly in his hands and quickly went to pick it up before the ring tone started, these girls wouldn’t tell anyone he had a phone, but he’d be in big trouble if the Vice President on the other end of the hall saw him with it. The girls took the cue and made to surround him, so that no one outside their little group could see what was happening.
He waited for someone to speak. In the rush, he hadn’t seen who was calling him, “Hello?”
“Ah, Saga-sempai! Hahahaha…”
Ritsu? Why was he calling? Saga tried to suppress his smile; he didn’t want these girls to come up with any weird ideas over who he was talking with on the phone, “Un.”
“Ah… Do you want to… eat lunch together?” Saga opened his mouth to agree, “I’ll be on the roof!”
The phone line went dead. Saga stared at the phone. What was that all about?
Ritsu was sure he’d heard the door next to his apartment click shut. Was Takano going somewhere? He moved towards the window and looked out. Apparently, he was. Ritsu’s eyes slanted into small slits. Was he going to see that girl again? He wanted to follow, but he couldn’t. Why should he? It was far too beneath his dignity anyway!
Which was why he couldn’t entirely explain to himself what he was doing standing outside the Convenience Store in his shorts and with last week’s newspaper clutched tightly in his hands, while peering out of the top of it to watch what Takano was doing inside.
“Look Mama.” A small girl pointed at him and smiled, “That person looks funny.”
‘Of course I look funny, I’m freezing!’ Ritsu turned a deep scarlet; this had been such a stupid idea.
Takano placed a carton of milk inside his trolley. If Yokozawa wasn’t going to be around anymore, he would need to get used to shopping and cooking for himself.
“Is he crazy?” Takano noticed the two old women standing in front of the Yoghurt section, pointing to something outside the store. He followed their gaze and slipped on his trolley, nearly losing control of it. Was that Onodera?
The figure had noticed that Takano had seen him. He quickly hid behind the newspaper, his feet shaking miserably.
Takano chuckled. What was he doing? He quickly grabbed the trolley and moved towards the cash counter. He saw one empty and dived towards it. It wouldn’t do to leave Ritsu standing alone in the cold for too long. Not this Ritsu anyway.
Ritsu strained to look inside the shop. He’d lost sight of Takano. Where was he? If he had come this far, the least he could do was finish what he’d come to do.
“Onodera.” The door to the store opened and Takano walked out, two packets in his hand.
“You came to shop?” Ritsu blurted out without thinking.
“Huh?” Takano had a confused look on his face, “Why else would I come here?”
“But…” Ritsu turned his face away from the man, “I’d already seen you come here before.”
“Haah?” Takano gave Ritsu a bewildered look before he realized what he was talking about, “I came to buy alcohol.”
“Oh.” Ritsu looked irritated. Why would he come to the same store twice? Not that he cared, he made sure to tell himself.
“Come on.” Takano reached for his hand and pulled him towards their apartment complex.
“Takano-san! Stop, what are you doing? People are looking.” Ritsu was suddenly very aware of his surroundings.
‘Not that you cared about that until now.’ Takano gave him an irritated look, “Are you trying to kill yourself? Let’s get inside.”
Ritsu tried to pull away from him. He started to rub his hands together, blowing air from his mouth into them.
Takano smiled, “You know they say…” Ritsu gave him a weird look, “… that if you can keep your hands warm you’ll feel less cold.”
Ritsu stared at him, “You…” Takano opened the glove from his right hand and handed it to Ritsu.
“What should I do with one gl…” Ritsu’s eyes widened as he realized what Takano was getting at, he took the glove and put it on, “Just so you know, this is only because it can’t be helped.”
‘Because you’re an idiot.’ Takano smiled as he ruffled Ritsu’s hair. He’d wanted to do that ever since his school days. He hated the perfect way Ritsu had always styled his hair and wanted to mess it up. He took every chance he could these days, not that his hair needed any more messing up. Takano took Ritsu’s left hand in his own and grasped it tightly, smiling when Ritsu turned his head away from him.
“Takano-san.” Ritsu looked at his feet, “Thank you.”
“Hmm.” Takano smiled, “Want to stay for dinner?”
“Only because there’s no food left in the house.”
Ritsu stifled a growl as he heard Takano’s mirthful snort.
Saga was feeling cold, especially his hands. They felt like they were going to freeze off. It had taken him a while to fend off those girls; he just hoped Ritsu was still waiting for him. Though knowing him, he was probably huddled behind the gates to the school, waiting.
From where he was walking towards the main gate, he could see a small figure wriggle about behind the gate. He almost smiled, almost.
As he got closer, he saw the figure rush out to meet him, “Saga-sempai!” Ritsu looked flushed, and Saga could tell that he was cold.
Saga swung his bag over his left shoulder, “I’m sorry I made you wait.”
Ritsu shook his head, “No, I just got here myself.”
Saga looked at the drenched figure in front of him. ‘As if.’ He didn’t say anything and made to leave the school grounds. Ritsu followed without a word.
They walked quietly. The boy had never asked him where they were going. It was like he had assumed they were going to Saga’s house. It made him feel weird, knowing that someone else was so comfortable in that cursed house. To think that someone would actually want to go there; he shuddered slightly at the thought.
“Saga-sempai?” Ritsu asked in a small voice. He rolled the scarf around his head and moved to stay in pace with Saga, the scarf just kept falling off.
“Hmm?” Saga looked at the boy from the corner of his eyes. Compared to him, Saga looked like he was taking a stroll in a desert. He looked like one gigantic blanket. Well, at least he was comfortable.
“Aren’t you… Ahh… Aren’t you… co-cold?” Ritsu looked like he was. His teeth chattered.
Saga made to walk faster. His house was still quite far away; maybe they should go somewhere else? “Not really.”
“But you’re shivering.” Ritsu pointed out. It irritated Saga. What was he supposed to do about it? Pointing out the obvious was hardly going to change anything. He didn’t reply.
“They say…” Ritsu cautiously started, “… if you keep your hands warm, you won’t feel as cold.”
“So?”
Saga felt Ritsu place something in his hands. It was a glove. He looked at the boy. What was he supposed to do with one glove? He paused and his eyes opened wide as he saw what Ritsu was trying to say. He placed the glove for the left hand on and grasped Ritsu’s hand with the other. He was right, it was warm. He smiled.
“Thank you.”
“Ah?!” Ritsu looked flustered again, “No pro-problem!” He grasped Saga’s hands slightly. That was all Saga needed to make up his mind. He pulled the boy a little closer to him and turned at the next corner.
“Huh? Aren’t we going to your…?”
“There’s a Karaoke place near here.” Saga didn’t dare look at Ritsu.
“Huh?”
“I’m carrying a spare set of clothes with me…” Saga started.
“Oh.”
“… And I like to sing.” He finished. Anything to get the boy warm and comfortable.
“Oh!” He was sure the boy was smiling. He turned to look at the boy. He wasn’t just smiling; he even had a weird expression on his face.
“Say Saga-sempai…” Ritsu looked at his own feet, “Would you mind taking a picture with me?”
When Saga was sure Ritsu couldn’t see his face, he smiled and replied, “I don’t mind.”
Ritsu stared at the empty plate in front of him. They had both been quiet throughout dinner, neither knowing what to say. Ritsu especially wanted to put the whole story behind him and objected every time Takano tried to open his mouth.
Ritsu took a sip from his beer and watched Takano do the same. It felt as if they were having an unofficial blinking competition.
Eventually, Takano looked away and took one final swig from him can, “Be right back.” He said as he got up and moved towards the bathroom.
It was uncomfortable. Being around Takano was just so uncomfortable. He never knew how to react, or what he should do next. It made him feel all confused. If Ritsu died due to a lack of sleep, he would make sure he wrote a detailed letter pinning Takano to the cause of his death first.
Hrmmm. Hrmmm. Hrmmm.
Ritsu jumped a little. What was that sound? His eyes turned to Takano’s phone on the table. He leaned towards it, trying to look at the Caller ID. Maybe it was someone he knew? He stopped still. It read ‘Yokozawa’.
His heart started beating fast; he didn’t want Takano to take the call. For a moment, he felt happy that Takano hadn’t come back yet. His hands inched towards the phone till they touched.
But it wasn’t as if this was his business. He flipped open the phone, should he tell the man that Takano was in the bathroom and would call him later? His eyes strayed upon the picture in the background and stopped. His fingers moved automatically, tracing the outline of the picture. This was… “How many times do I have to call you before you finally pick up?” Crap. Ritsu fumbled with the phone in his hands, he hadn’t meant to pick up! ‘What should I do? What should I do?’ “Hello?”
There was a brief pause before he heard a snort from the other end of the line, “No need to tell him I called.” Ritsu blinked. What had just happened? Didn’t Yokozawa have some business with Takano? All Ritsu could manage was “Ah.”
“Good night.” Ritsu heard the sound of a child screaming on the other end, “Good night.” He said automatically. The line went dead, Yokozawa had hung up.
Ritsu placed the phone on his lap, staring at the wallpaper. Memories flooded through his mind and his lips moved on their own, “Saga.”
“Yes?”
Ritsu turned his head sharply to the left. How long had Takano been there? How much had he seen?
“I… uh…” Ritsu looked from the picture back to Takano and back to the picture, “I…”
Takano placed a hand under Ritsu’s chin and leaned in and licked Ritsu’s lips.
“Wa-wait! Takano-san, are you drunk?” Takano placed a hand firmly over Ritsu’s mouth and pushed him to the floor, climbing on top of him.
Ritsu’s muffled screams hung in the air as Takano nipped at the man’s neck. The screams slowly turned into moans and Takano smirked, “I’m glad you’re spending the night with me.”
Ritsu pushed Takano’s hands away and gave an agitated groan, “I never said anything about spending the night here…Ah… Takano-san?” The smirk on the older man’s face unnerved him. He watched as he leant in and whispered in Ritsu’s ear, “Let’s have a fuuun night together.”
Ritsu protested, turning a brilliant shade of red, “That was an accident! Wait! Wa-wait! Takano-san!”
And all that while Takano’s phone lay on the floor, just outside Ritsu’s reach. It was flipped open and the wallpaper was a familiar one, especially to him. It had been the perfect picture they had taken at the karaoke joint that day, years ago. It had taken a few dozen tries and by the end of the day, both of their phones had their memory full.
The picture was slightly dark, the angle was misbalanced. But it was perfect. It was perfect because it was the first picture Ritsu had of the older boy smiling together with him. Ritsu’s head was low, as usual, and Saga had placed his hands on the boy’s head, as if trying to mess it up. He had a strange smile on his face; Ritsu could never tell what it meant. All he knew was that he loved the picture.