Everyone, including Takemichi, gasps at his mom's words.

    "You take that back right now!" Benkei shouts, stalking up to the pair like a scary predator.

    "Yeah!" Wakasa exclaims from behind Benkei, following his footsteps as they both approach the Hanagakis with furrowed brows—his usual calm demeanor no where in sight. "Do you know how long it took us to make those uniforms? How much they were to make?!"

    "You're just jealous that you never got to wear one Ms. Hanagaki!" Shin shouts cheerfully, making his mother roll her eyes in what Takemichi has to guess in exasperation.

    "Yeah, yeah—I'm so devastated that I never got to try on one of those sweaty white jackets that smell like ten bags of dog shit..."

    Takemichi gasps at his mom's words.

    How dare she say something so rude and just downright terrible?! She doesn't know what the hell she's talking about!

    Takemichi is about to build up the courage to tell her off when he spots something unusual out of the corner of his eye.

    A smirk. On Shin's face.

    Shouldn't he be upset by her words? Why is he smirking like that? And why isn't anyone saying anything?!

    That's when Takemichi sees it: a mischievous glint in his dark eyes that lives within every Sano Takemichi has met.

    "Well, your days of utter devastation and despair have officially come to an end," he begins, setting the sign he was hanging up on the floor outside the door of the shop, as he walks towards the pair with his smirk growing with every step he takes.

    His mom's hand tightens around Takemichi instantly.

   "...excuse me?"

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In the end, the three mischievous adults forced Takemichi's mother into a black dragon jacket.

    Sure, she complained and whined the entire time, but Takemichi could sense that she was secretly happy to be spending time with them, even if they were forcing her to wear something she didn't like.

    (They all ended up taking a picture together for Takemichi's picture book. In the picture, all of them were wearing the signature black dragon jacket, even Takemichi—despite it being wayyy too big for him.

    Benkei and Wakasa had their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, bright smiles shining in the picture. Takemichi's mother and shin stood to the side, both laughing about a joke with Shin's hand on her shoulder, a light blush coating his cheeks. Takemichi, himself, stands in the center of the picture with his hands high up in the air, the white coat pooling down his arms as he throws up peace signs.

    And, if anyone saw the way Takemichi mother's hand lingered on Shin's waist, they never mentioned it.)

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Takemichi sneaks his camera into his backpack one morning when his mother isn't looking.

    The only reason he was able to get away with it was because his mother had been a mess that morning. Bruises littered her skin in green and black patches and—when she lifted her shirt to change into something more comfortable—he caught sight of red scratches all across her stomach and her upper chest area. The back of her ankles were decorated with hand shaped marks as well which she complained about all morning.

    He knows he shouldn't have taken advantage of the situation and snuck his camera to school, but he didn't really have much of a choice. She never lets him bring stuff to school, even for things like show and tell because she's afraid someone will steal from him.

    With guilt crawling up his throat, threatening to scar his vocal chords till he could no longer speak, he brushes the memory away. Takemichi hardly sees Hakkai and Yuzuha outside of school because of their strict older brother. This will be the only time he'll be able to snap a picture of them, so—hopefully—nothing goes wrong!

    When the bell rings for recess, Takemichi does his best to grab his Polaroid camera without the teacher noticing. Hakkai, of course, watches him from his side—his gaze curious and indigo eyes wide as he observes Takemichi stuff the camera under his shirt.

    The boy knows Hakkai won't rat him out to the teacher, so he lets the taller boy observe him. In fact, Hakkai actually moved to stand in front of him so Takemichi could take the camera to recess undetected.

    "What's the camera for?" Hakkai asks once they're outside on the playground, sitting on top of the slides that they've claimed as their own.

    "For pictures—duhhh!" Takemichi exclaims as he takes the camera out from underneath his shirt.

    Hakkai tilts his head, obviously confused for whatever reason. (Surely bringing a camera around is self-explanatory, right?)

    "Oh—but why?" Ok, Takemichi takes it back—that's actually a really good question.

    Takemichi goes on to explain how he's taking pictures of his friends and family for his picture book. Hakkai's face went from skeptical to interested in no time when Takemichi began to ramble about why he was making a picture book in the first place.

    The explanation was—thankfully—enough to satisfy and convince Hakkai.

    "Alright...so how do you want me?"

    Now it's Takemichi's turn to be confused.

    "Huh? 'How do I want you'? What does that mean?" He asks, making the taller boy's face burn a bright shade of red.

    "Y-Yknow! Like uh...posing and stuff," he mumbles awkwardly, a red flush reaching the tips of his ears as he wrings his hands, trying to offer up an explanation.

    "Oh um...I just want you to pose as like...yourself?" Takemichi answers, a little unsure himself. He never really asked anyone to pose for a picture before. He mostly just likes to take them by surprise and snap a picture when they least expect it, but now? He's not so sure.

    Hakkai scoffs at Takemichi's answer. "That's boring, Michi! I don't want to be in your picture book with a boring pose!" He exclaims, red flush disappearing instantly.

    Takemichi finds himself pouting at Hakkai's words. What's so boring about being yourself in pictures? Those are always Takemichi's favorite—when he can see the other person enjoying themselves, being happy and joyful like a camera isn't even there in the first place.

    "Fine! You don't have to be in my picture book if you don't wanna!" He shouts, which is a crappy lie.

    Takemichi needs Hakkai in his picture book—Yuzuha too. They're his first friends he ever made at school and he'll be damned if they refuse to be in his picture book!

    The frustrated boy opens his mouth, about to come up with a fib to get Hakkai back on track, when a mean looking boy crawls up the slide, glaring at the two boys.

    "You're blocking the slide!" He shouts angrily, narrowed eyes pointed directly at Hakkai.

    Hakkai narrows his indigo eyes as well and shoots the small boy a glare. "So what? Go on another slide," Hakkai says with a roll of his eyes.

    The strange boy sneers at Hakkai's response, face practically steaming with frustration. "There isn't another slide jackass!!!" He shouts, drawing the attention of the kids crowding the slide. "You and your little boyfriend hog this slide every day and we're sick of it!" The kids that are listening in on the argument pipe up in agreement, courage flowing through them like a bumpy river—disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye.

    The guilt from this morning begins to crawl its way back up his throat.

    Are Takemichi and Hakkai really causing this much of a problem?

    An apology is about to slip past Takemichi's lips, but the boy keeps talking—his gaze shifting from Hakkai to Takemichi.

    "And what's with the camera, huh? You gays having a little photo shoot in the slide like a bunch of losers?!" Everyone begins to point and laugh, calling them lover boys and mean slurs that Takemichi used to hear on the street back at his old apartment.

    He can't stop the tears that begin to prick the corners of his blue eyes.

    "H-Hold this real quick!" Takemichi cries out to Hakkai as he hands the furious boy his camera. The taller boy reluctantly takes the Polaroid camera from his grasp and sets it in his lap, mad—but confused. Without a second to waste, Takemichi turns to face the mean boy with tears running down his face, earning a few laughs from the kids crowding around them.

    The boy gets closer till they're almost a breath away from each other, a smug expression written all over his face. "What's wrong, loser? Did I hurt your feelings? You gonna cry into your boyfriend's arms?"

    Takemichi narrows his eyes at the boy in front of him, his vision getting more blurry with every second that passes.

    "No—I'll be crying in your mom's arms you stanky bitchy!!!"

   Takemichi punches the boy hard in the jaw and everyone goes wild.

    Everything that happens after that fades away into the back of his mind.

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Takemichi, as expected, got his butt chewed out by his mom when she was called into the office for his poor behavior.

    Hakkai was in there with him since he joined in shortly after Takemichi threw the first punch. However, thankfully for Hakkai, no one was there to chastise him for his actions.

    Well, sure, there was Yuzuha, but she would probably be proud of them for sticking up for themselves.

    The moment Takemichi, Hakkai, and his mother leave the school building at the end of the day, they're immediately tackled by said girl in a big group hug.

    "I heard you guys won your first school fight!!!" She exclaims happily. "Good job guys!!! You're amazing!!!" The words send a rush of joy through Takemichi's veins.

    Sure, he might've gotten his shit rocked in the end, but he was still the last man standing alongside Hakkai. That has to count for something, right?

    His mother scoffs from above them, drawing all of the kids attention. "That stupid brat shouldn't have said those mean things to you, baby. They had it coming."

    They all perk up, surprise written all over their faces.

    "You're—I thought you were mad at us for fighting!" Takemichi exclaims with a pointed finger, causing his mother to throw her head back and laugh like a maniac.

    "I had to act mad because teachers were present Michi. Deep down inside, I'm really proud that you stood up for you and your friend, even if you ended up getting a few bruises because of it," she explains with a smirk dancing on her red lips. Takemichi and his friends all heave out a sigh of relief, more than glad that they don't have to suffer his mom's evil wrath.

    "Oh! Michi—here," Hakkai says as he hands something out to Takemichi in broad daylight for everyone to see.

    His Polaroid camera.

    Takemichi can already feel his mother's cold stare being directed at the back of his head.

    Crap...

    Hakkai, of course, is oblivious to the mood change.

    "I ended up snapping a few pictures of us fighting that jackass on the playground! I think they turned out pretty cool—take a look!" He exclaims giddily while also handing Takemichi a bunch of Polaroid pictures he must've taken.

    Takemichi takes them with shaky hands, more than wary of the evil blue eyes boring into his head.

    "T-Thank you Haki-Chan..." he mumbles, still at a loss for words.

    Before Takemichi can turn around and face the hard stoned look of his mama, Yuzuha gasps and grabs the camera out of Takemichi's hands, an excited smile spread across her lips.

    "Oh my god!!! Is this a Polaroid camera?! Since when did you have one?!" She asks, voice high and excited as she expects the camera in her hands with endless curiosity. Watching Yuzuha play with his camera eases the fear in his chest.

    "Do you wanna take some pictures with it?" He offers out of the kindness of his heart (and totally not because he's trying to stall for time). Yuzuha is quick to shake her head yes.

    And, to his horror, she hands the camera to his damn mother.

    "Excuse me, Ms. Hanagaki, can you take a picture of all of us together please?" She asks sweetly, her brown eyes twinkling with joy as she stares up at his mom, completely clueless to the chaos she just created.

    Takemichi expects his mom to snatch the camera from her hands and go off on him about how she told him endless times not to bring anything to school, but she just—just smiles.

    It really shouldn't unnerve him as much as it does at this moment...

    "Absolutely! Get together kiddo!" She orders, her blue eyes lingering on Takemichi a little longer than necessary.

    And, as expected, after their little photo shoot, Takemichi's mother grabs the boy by the ear and yanks him away from his friends— a satisfied yet fearful smile dancing on his lips the entire way home.

    (In the picture, Yuzuha has both her arms over Takemichi's and Hakkai's shoulders, a pleased smile on her lips. Hakkai—the natural that he is—throws up a peace sign and smiles brightly for the camera. Takemichi, on the other hand, has his eyes closed and a wavering smile on his lips, more than terrified by the lady taking the picture.

    Even though Takemichi didn't look so great in the picture, he can't help but admire how beautiful the Shiba siblings naturally are.)

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Finding Chifuyu was surprisingly easy.

    When Takemichi went to his apartment complex in search of Chifuyu, he found the boy in the alley right next to the building feeding a bunch of stray cats. The blonde boy's eyes lit up at the sight of Takemichi, but he didn't move to greet him. He just threw the wandering boy a bag of cat food and insisted that he join him in feeding the wild felines. Takemichi, of course, accepted his offer with a blinding smile.

    Takemichi doesn't know how he never noticed the blonde boy before their first encounter. He never seemed too far away from the apartment—always somewhere around the area with a cat by his side. Perhaps Takemichi was too focused on Keisuke, Mikey, and Haru to notice the boy. The thought saddens Takemichi a little; they could've been friends earlier if the boy had just been a little more observant, but hey! There's no better time than the present, right?

    Despite having found Chifuyu, Takemichi has a hard time trying to take a picture of him.

    The boy, for some damn reason, won't sit still long enough for Takemichi to snap a picture.

.    "Stop moving, Chifuyu!" Takemichi griped, his hands gripped tightly around his camera as he once again tries to snap a picture of Chifuyu. The blonde, who's practically covered in cats, laughs at the boy's frustration.

    "No! Moving keeps my brain working!"

    "No it doesn't!"

    Chifuyu sticks his tongue out at Takemichi, making the boy stomp his feet—irritation coursing through his veins. The urge to slam the camera on the ground is growing stronger by the minute the longer he has to deal with Chifuyu's antics.

    "Sure it does! The reason you're so dumb is because you stopped moving—see?" Just as Takemichi is about to refute with something snarky, Chifuyu jumps from his spot on the floor, making the cats scatter from his lap.

    Before Takemichi can react, Chifuyu jumps and grabs the camera from Takemichi's hands.

    "H-Hey!!! That's mine!" Takemichi cries out as Chifuyu inspects the camera in his hands with a goofy smile.

    "Did you buy it?" He asks, a sparkle of mischief swimming in his green irises.

    Takemichi huffs out in frustration, wanting nothing more than to strangle the blonde in front of him. "N-No! My mom did, but—" Chifuyu cuts him off with a loud annoying sound.

    "Then it's not yours, so stop taking pictures with it!" He exclaims, his voice loud and cheery as he laughs hysterically like he won some kind of grand victory.

    Takemichi is about to jump the boy and yank the camera from his hands when the most incredible, amazing thing happened.

    Chifuyu accidentally steps on a cat's tail, making the animal hiss and claw his legs with sharp claws. The blonde yips at the scratches and tosses the camera into the air.

    Pushing Chifuyu aside, Takemichi catches the camera and snaps a picture, a pleased smile dancing on his lips as the blonde continues to cry in agony.

    (The picture Takemichi took consisted of Chifuyu being attacked by many stray cats, a petrified expression painted on his face. The blonde tried to convince Takemichi to take another picture, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

    This picture—for all of its chaos—perfectly depicts Chifuyu.)

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Takemichi was, admittedly, really nervous about snapping a picture of Mitsuya.

    He hasn't been to the older boy's apartment since the whole doll thing and Takemichi isn't quite sure how to act around him.

    Something about the purple haired boy makes Takemichi's cheeks flush bright red, causing his ears to heat up. It's a very uncomfortable feeling and Takemichi wants nothing to do with it. He just wants things to go back to the way they were: with Takemichi trailing after Mitsuya with stars in his eyes as he admires the older boy.

    But now he can't shake away the look Mitsuya had given him all those weeks ago. The prince comment that still makes his ears ring. The silly request he made right before Hakkai came to his rescue—

    Takemichi brushes the thought away as he steps up to the Mitsuyas apartment door. For his picture book, he needs to just—just act natural! Like nothing has changed! Yeah, it's a perfect plan!

    Takemichi brings his hand up to knock on the door when it swings open, revealing a disheveled Mitsuya Takashi. Something akin to cake batter is splattered all over his clothes and apron. His hair, which is normally nicely combed and clean, has bits of food in it. His face, just as messy as the rest of his clothes, is contorted into a frustrated scowl.

    That all changes the moment he sets his eyes on Takemichi.

    In just an instance, the frustration melts away to reveal something like relief and—and something else (something Takemichi wants nothing to do with).

    "Oh—hey Michi. Whatcha' here for?" He asks, exhaustion leaking into his voice. Takemichi can't help but feel sympathy for the older boy the longer he stares at his tired form; small body fighting to keep itself upright, eyes drooping from exhaustion, lips parting as he breathes in and out, trying to catch his breath.

    Takemichi stores the camera away in his bag for later.

    "I'm here to help you!"

     "H-huh?"

    Without waiting for a response, Takemichi decided to pull a page out of Keisuke's book and strides past Mitsuya, entering his home with the intention of easing the load for his friend.

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By the time Takemichi and Mitsuya are finished with Luna's birthday cake, they're covered in frosting, cake batter, and sprinkles.