[RP LOG] - Takeru and Kai (NPC) (finished)
What: Takeru starts attending classes again, after a while.
Why: Because this can't wait anymore guys. 8/ I can't play him a feelingless bastard forever.
When: Mid-May sometime. The whole clearing his 'infection' should already be over.
Who: Takeru, Koemi Kai (his basketball senpai, remeber?), mention of Mike
Where: Tokyo Uni campus, Tokyo.
It had been a while since he'd seen the tall white walls and the big, wide-open, glass doors of the Tokyo Uni Literature and Linguistics building. It shone a new light in the less-slanted, mid-May, sun, brighter, warm enough already for him to have pulled on the loose, soft, beige pants and a low-cut black long-sleeved shirt. His beige, newspaper-print messenger-bag slung low at his hip, slanted towards the small of his back as his hands rested buried deep in his pockets. He stood in the middle of the courtyard, with people coming in and passing by, people leaving, smiling, talking on their cell-phones, hurrying, waves of discussions, talk, chatter grazing by him as though he wasn't there at all. Sun-kissed blond locks, slightly longer now, a slightly darker golden blond, still waiting for the sun to brighten them up to that sandy-blond they always turned to... and sky-blue eyes looked on, distant and unseeing, even if framed by a pair of light, black-rimmed glasses.
He stood there and thought it was time to go back. To become who he used to be, who he was supposed to be... and no longer chase those dreams that he knew would never come true. Because growing up didn't mean giving up on them... just knowing how to choose them better.
The breeze picked up, still spring-cool, sweeping the last of the fallen April bloom along the sidewalk and he thought to himself: 'I'm nineteen. I've my life spread out in front of me.' And he had. He had a goal, had a wish and had the hope and will to reach it. How many times had he said he would walk on, would make things work, would carry on... and he always had. Yet this time, he finally felt sure about the path ahead. 'I'm ready to grow up,' he thought. No more reaching out for limits, no more crawling back when they burned his fingertips, no more unsettled values and unclear emotions. No more glances back over his shoulder, regrets and what-ifs, no more uncertain glances and craving for support and comfort... no. He had two feet to stand on and they could carry him as far as he wanted them to and he was leaving his teen-age unsure steps behind.
“Hey, 'keru!”
He turned, meeting the familiar sight of his basketball senpai. Jeans, tee, warm maple eyes and the short, slight weave to his locks, he looked like he hadn't changed at all. “Hey, 's been a while,” the older man beamed, a hand slapped to the blond's shoulder, “I couldn't reach your phone, what happened?”
Takeru had watched those eyes linger on him too many times to count, had seen the spark in them ignite, warming them, making them wishful and hoping someday, somehow, his lips would move and say what they couldn't bring themselves to say. Takeru had seen it, and wished he could soothe them, make them look at somebody else that way, somebody who could someday return the heartfelt look. There was a time when it felt like that look was all he had left, when Koemi's eager, but nervous hands were the only ones there still making sweet little excuses to reach for him. They still were - he could feel the other's hand move gently, slightly gingerly, to the where his neck met the shoulder blades, thumb lingering on the bare skin that the shirt's wide collar didn't cover.
Time back, he had given it thought. Koemi had defended him, had always been a loyal friend, had always been there... but he didn't know about the digital adventure, nor the digital world. And somehow, that gaping void of the unsaid had always kept Takeru a step back. And as if knowing there were more layers to the blond than what he could see, Koemi had never tried to overstep that gap. Could be he didn't have the courage to... and Takeru thought it was better this way. Lovers came and went... but uncomplicated friendships were what they both needed most. Underneath that starry loving smile, Takeru had saw Koemi Kai lost, unsure as he'd never been on the baseball field after his dreams of a professional basketball career had been blown to dust. And just like Kai had held his shaking shoulders when he'd first broken up with Dai years ago, and then when he was left an empty shell after Michael had said his goodbyes a year ago - Takeru had never stopped looking up at the older man, knowing his support had made the other find his footing again, too, realizing being a trainer instead of a player was just as good. In a way, they were still a team, and Takeru wished they always would be.
“I had some issues to deal with,” he said quietly, blue eyes not quite meeting the other's, “I would have called you back, but I needed to get through them alone...” he offered an apologetic smile now.
Those maple eyes sharpened from curiosity to worry, but Takeru gave them a long, reassuringly calm look. The hand on his nape slid up, suddenly ruffling through his blond tresses in a playful, childish way, an old gesture dating all the way back to the first time they had met, when Takeru's basketball club entrance trial didn't seem to want to end, and he thought his arms and legs would fall off. Back then, Koemi, his evaluator and sparring partner, had came over and ruffled his hair, not nearly as out of breath as Takeru himself, but winded just as well. He'd told him he did good, back then, welcome to the team.
And just like then, Takeru tried to dodge him ruining any semblance to order that he tried to keep his hair in, too, halfheartedly, trying to push the other away, but only ending up with an arm secured around his shoulders, already pulled up the few steps to the building's entrance. “Hey, Kai--” he was trying to make the other let go, seen as they were walking up awkwardly, making people dodge around them, but the older boy simply pushed on, stopping only at the billboard with the schedule. He inspected it with a small determined frown, ignoring Takeru's critical look and the small betraying smile curling the corner of his lips. He seemed to find the blond's block of lessons just fine, already pulling him along the stairs and towards the right classroom, Takeru's messenger bag slapping between them awkwardly.
“Koemi, since when do you know my schedule---” Takeru demanded, poking at the other and ignoring the confused looks the girls passing them gave them.
Kai never wavered though, keeping his head up and set on the goal-door. “Since you wouldn't answer. I came looking for you at school,” he explained casually.
Steps dealt with, they came to a stop on the hallway, Koemi finally releasing the blond and musing up at him as the other fixed his glasses. “Those look good on you,” he acknowledged, still smiling, though his tone was serious. “Hope you can still play basketball without them, though?”
Combing an unconscious hand through the back of his hair, Takeru, too, smiled, nodding. “Thanks... and yeah, can do,” he promised, “my eyesight's not so bad, I'm just wearing them to not strain my eyes.”
“Good,” was the short answer, his eyes still locked with the other's, alive. “Because you're helping me get back at Tomiya Saturday, he said I surely suck worse, the fitness-creep I had to become, unlike his skinny province ass.”
Tomiya... a flash of black spiky hair and slightly too big ears, the guy who transferred into Koemi's grade halfway through high-school. He was a decent shooter, Takeru remembered, and the cocky-type when he scored. He nodded, it would be fun playing again.
“Later then - enjoy your lesson-” and Koemi was swiftly walking downstairs again.
Takeru quickly grasped for the railing, leaning over it to shout after him. “Mike's coming Saturday...?”
Kai stopped enough to give Takeru a fleeting surprised look. Was he -still- seeing the older blond? But he didn't miss a step, or more than a second to reply. “Bring pretty-boy along then. He can be our cheer-leader.”
Takeru's face lit into a grin. “He'll kill you when I'll tell him you said that.” It was silly. Michael towered a good half a foot above both of them, what kind of a cheer-leader would he make?
Kai only raised a hand in a wave, and Takeru watched his retreating back until it half-jogged out of the building downstairs, probably late for his own lesson. And as the bell rang above his head, the blond lingered on the railing, thinking life was good. It was only as good as you needed it to be, and only as bad as you could take. The extra mile was always up to you - and he felt ready to walk his.
Why: Because this can't wait anymore guys. 8/ I can't play him a feelingless bastard forever.
When: Mid-May sometime. The whole clearing his 'infection' should already be over.
Who: Takeru, Koemi Kai (his basketball senpai, remeber?), mention of Mike
Where: Tokyo Uni campus, Tokyo.
It had been a while since he'd seen the tall white walls and the big, wide-open, glass doors of the Tokyo Uni Literature and Linguistics building. It shone a new light in the less-slanted, mid-May, sun, brighter, warm enough already for him to have pulled on the loose, soft, beige pants and a low-cut black long-sleeved shirt. His beige, newspaper-print messenger-bag slung low at his hip, slanted towards the small of his back as his hands rested buried deep in his pockets. He stood in the middle of the courtyard, with people coming in and passing by, people leaving, smiling, talking on their cell-phones, hurrying, waves of discussions, talk, chatter grazing by him as though he wasn't there at all. Sun-kissed blond locks, slightly longer now, a slightly darker golden blond, still waiting for the sun to brighten them up to that sandy-blond they always turned to... and sky-blue eyes looked on, distant and unseeing, even if framed by a pair of light, black-rimmed glasses.
He stood there and thought it was time to go back. To become who he used to be, who he was supposed to be... and no longer chase those dreams that he knew would never come true. Because growing up didn't mean giving up on them... just knowing how to choose them better.
The breeze picked up, still spring-cool, sweeping the last of the fallen April bloom along the sidewalk and he thought to himself: 'I'm nineteen. I've my life spread out in front of me.' And he had. He had a goal, had a wish and had the hope and will to reach it. How many times had he said he would walk on, would make things work, would carry on... and he always had. Yet this time, he finally felt sure about the path ahead. 'I'm ready to grow up,' he thought. No more reaching out for limits, no more crawling back when they burned his fingertips, no more unsettled values and unclear emotions. No more glances back over his shoulder, regrets and what-ifs, no more uncertain glances and craving for support and comfort... no. He had two feet to stand on and they could carry him as far as he wanted them to and he was leaving his teen-age unsure steps behind.
“Hey, 'keru!”
He turned, meeting the familiar sight of his basketball senpai. Jeans, tee, warm maple eyes and the short, slight weave to his locks, he looked like he hadn't changed at all. “Hey, 's been a while,” the older man beamed, a hand slapped to the blond's shoulder, “I couldn't reach your phone, what happened?”
Takeru had watched those eyes linger on him too many times to count, had seen the spark in them ignite, warming them, making them wishful and hoping someday, somehow, his lips would move and say what they couldn't bring themselves to say. Takeru had seen it, and wished he could soothe them, make them look at somebody else that way, somebody who could someday return the heartfelt look. There was a time when it felt like that look was all he had left, when Koemi's eager, but nervous hands were the only ones there still making sweet little excuses to reach for him. They still were - he could feel the other's hand move gently, slightly gingerly, to the where his neck met the shoulder blades, thumb lingering on the bare skin that the shirt's wide collar didn't cover.
Time back, he had given it thought. Koemi had defended him, had always been a loyal friend, had always been there... but he didn't know about the digital adventure, nor the digital world. And somehow, that gaping void of the unsaid had always kept Takeru a step back. And as if knowing there were more layers to the blond than what he could see, Koemi had never tried to overstep that gap. Could be he didn't have the courage to... and Takeru thought it was better this way. Lovers came and went... but uncomplicated friendships were what they both needed most. Underneath that starry loving smile, Takeru had saw Koemi Kai lost, unsure as he'd never been on the baseball field after his dreams of a professional basketball career had been blown to dust. And just like Kai had held his shaking shoulders when he'd first broken up with Dai years ago, and then when he was left an empty shell after Michael had said his goodbyes a year ago - Takeru had never stopped looking up at the older man, knowing his support had made the other find his footing again, too, realizing being a trainer instead of a player was just as good. In a way, they were still a team, and Takeru wished they always would be.
“I had some issues to deal with,” he said quietly, blue eyes not quite meeting the other's, “I would have called you back, but I needed to get through them alone...” he offered an apologetic smile now.
Those maple eyes sharpened from curiosity to worry, but Takeru gave them a long, reassuringly calm look. The hand on his nape slid up, suddenly ruffling through his blond tresses in a playful, childish way, an old gesture dating all the way back to the first time they had met, when Takeru's basketball club entrance trial didn't seem to want to end, and he thought his arms and legs would fall off. Back then, Koemi, his evaluator and sparring partner, had came over and ruffled his hair, not nearly as out of breath as Takeru himself, but winded just as well. He'd told him he did good, back then, welcome to the team.
And just like then, Takeru tried to dodge him ruining any semblance to order that he tried to keep his hair in, too, halfheartedly, trying to push the other away, but only ending up with an arm secured around his shoulders, already pulled up the few steps to the building's entrance. “Hey, Kai--” he was trying to make the other let go, seen as they were walking up awkwardly, making people dodge around them, but the older boy simply pushed on, stopping only at the billboard with the schedule. He inspected it with a small determined frown, ignoring Takeru's critical look and the small betraying smile curling the corner of his lips. He seemed to find the blond's block of lessons just fine, already pulling him along the stairs and towards the right classroom, Takeru's messenger bag slapping between them awkwardly.
“Koemi, since when do you know my schedule---” Takeru demanded, poking at the other and ignoring the confused looks the girls passing them gave them.
Kai never wavered though, keeping his head up and set on the goal-door. “Since you wouldn't answer. I came looking for you at school,” he explained casually.
Steps dealt with, they came to a stop on the hallway, Koemi finally releasing the blond and musing up at him as the other fixed his glasses. “Those look good on you,” he acknowledged, still smiling, though his tone was serious. “Hope you can still play basketball without them, though?”
Combing an unconscious hand through the back of his hair, Takeru, too, smiled, nodding. “Thanks... and yeah, can do,” he promised, “my eyesight's not so bad, I'm just wearing them to not strain my eyes.”
“Good,” was the short answer, his eyes still locked with the other's, alive. “Because you're helping me get back at Tomiya Saturday, he said I surely suck worse, the fitness-creep I had to become, unlike his skinny province ass.”
Tomiya... a flash of black spiky hair and slightly too big ears, the guy who transferred into Koemi's grade halfway through high-school. He was a decent shooter, Takeru remembered, and the cocky-type when he scored. He nodded, it would be fun playing again.
“Later then - enjoy your lesson-” and Koemi was swiftly walking downstairs again.
Takeru quickly grasped for the railing, leaning over it to shout after him. “Mike's coming Saturday...?”
Kai stopped enough to give Takeru a fleeting surprised look. Was he -still- seeing the older blond? But he didn't miss a step, or more than a second to reply. “Bring pretty-boy along then. He can be our cheer-leader.”
Takeru's face lit into a grin. “He'll kill you when I'll tell him you said that.” It was silly. Michael towered a good half a foot above both of them, what kind of a cheer-leader would he make?
Kai only raised a hand in a wave, and Takeru watched his retreating back until it half-jogged out of the building downstairs, probably late for his own lesson. And as the bell rang above his head, the blond lingered on the railing, thinking life was good. It was only as good as you needed it to be, and only as bad as you could take. The extra mile was always up to you - and he felt ready to walk his.