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𝟑𝟔 || 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐒 ||

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   "Yuzuha?!"

    The girl in question laughs sheepishly, a rosy blush spreading across her cheeks. Yuzuha raises a hand to nervously scratch at the back of her nape, beads of sweat gradually swimming down her face.

    Takemichi gulps loud and clear and he's certain that his face resembles Yuzuha's: red and flushed with sweat rolling down the sides of his cheeks till they drop from his chin. The smaller boy fiddles with the hem of his shirt, a nervous habit he's never quite been able to get rid of.

    "Yeah...I'm—I'm the one who's been writing you those letters..." Yuzuha mumbles, her voice quiet and meek, but it rings loud in Takemichi's ears.

    "Is...Is this a joke, Yuzuha?" Takemichi asks, his heart beating wildly as he continues to stare at his friend.

    And...for some reason...the thought of all of this being a prank hurts Takemichi in a way he doesnt expect. Surely he should hope that it is a prank!!!

    ...right?

    Yuzuha immediately shakes her head no. "Of course not, Michi! I really like you–like...i wanna go on dates with you and watch movies and hold hands and be..." she looks down at her shoes, avoiding Takemichi's gaze as she continues, her words barely loud enough to even be considered a mumble. "Be...y'know, like girlfriend and boyfriend..."

    Takemichi inhales sharply, more than a little surprised to hear Yuzuha outright confess to him. His hands begin to grow clammy and sweaty. His fingers twitch to tug on the hem of his oversized shirt. He wishes that Keisuke or Mikey were here to tell him what to say or what to do.

    The poor boy is completely out of his element. Takemichi has never been confessed to before, hell, he never thought anyone would ever confess to someone like him! Sure, he's seen how these playout in movies and tv shows, but what the hell does Takemichi say when he's not given a script?

    Takemichi goes to open his mouth, probably to croak out some poor excuse to leave, but Yuzuha interrupts him with a small laugh.
   

    "I'm sorry if I took you by surprise, Takemichi," she says from in between her sad bouts of laughter. "I just–I've had a big crush on you for a while and...I needed to say something." Then, very suddenly, Yuzuha lifts her head, her honey brown eyes clashing with Takemichi's blue azure ones. "I–I want to date you and be a kid with you. I want to know what it's like to hold your hand and hug you and be cared for!" she exclaims loudly, striking a nerve inside Takemichi's brain that has him straightening his spine.

    For a second, Takemichi allows himself to imagine what it would be like to date Yuzuha. If he dated her, they could go on fun dates, like to the movies or go by a farmers market and buy cute knick knacks. Takemichi could braid cute flowers into her pretty brown hair and gush over her beauty and she'd blush and throw her arms around Takemichi with a soft giggle...

    Maybe, If Takemichi decides to date Yuzuha, he can finally learn what it'd be like to be a kid at his age–a kid who doesn't have to constantly watch their back for attackers, a kid who doesn't have a mother in jail, a kid who doesn't have to worry if a new threat will show up around the corner.

    Takemichi takes a few steps closer to Yuzuha, the gravel crunching loudly beneath his feet, drawing her attention.

    With his face set aflame, Takemichi opens his mouth, ready to give the girl his answer...

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    "YOU'RE DATING THAT WICKED BITCH YUZUHA?!"

    Takemichi doesn't hesitate to glare at Keisuke and his rude mouth, his arms crossing defensively in front of his chest.

    "Don't call her a bitch, Kei-chan!" Takemichi shouts back.

    Mikey, who's been standing awfully close to Takemichi when he delivered the news of his...relationship..with yuzuha, reels back as if shocked. Haru gawks at Takemichi with an open mouth from his spot next to keisuke, his green eye twitching in what Takemichi has to guess is disgust.

    "Yuzuha? Are you braindead or something?" Haru sneers, his green eyes boring holes into Takemichi's soul.

    The curly haired boy easily brushes the look off with a roll of his eyes.

    "Of course not! What's wrong with me dating Yuzu-chan?" Takemichi decides to ask, knowing that–if he didn't throw the question out there–then the group of boys would continue to rub Yuzuha's name in the dirt without any clear explanation.

    "She's rude," Mikey begins, his dark eyes staring Takemichi down as if he were prey. Despite not being bothered by Haru's or Keisuke's glares, Mikey's dark soulless eyes send a chill up the poor boy's spine. "She's always dirty and bossy and–'

    "Mikey–You're rude, dirty, and bossy too!"

    "Yeah, but that's different."

    "HOW?!"

    Keisuke pops up beside Mikey and throws an arm over the blonde's shoulder, their grouchy looks practically mirroring each other. "Because he's Mikey," Keisuke sings, his chin landing on the blonde's shoulder. "And–because he's mikey–He can get away with that shit."

    Takemichi is about to protest and call bullshit when Haru slides up on Keisuke's other side. He leans against Keisuke's side, his sharp green eyes not leaving Takemichi for a second. "Yep! He's our king and we're his peasants!"

    "NO WE'RE NOT?"

    "Yeah, Haru, I'm not a damn peasant!" Keisuke then scrunches his hand up into a fist and points it high in the air. "I'm a knight who protects the king!!!"

    "Uh huh!" Mikey agrees with enthusiasm. Then, very suddenly, Mikey throws a pointed finger right at Takemichi. "And You would've been my queen if you didn't go off and get yourself a girlfriend, You traitor!"

    ...and Takemichi is completely lost...

    Rather than questioning his friends' behavior, Takemichi spins on his heel and walks away. He's got better things to do then listen to all of these stupid insults thrown at Yuzuha...

    "Hey!!! Where do you think you're going, peasant?!"

    Takemichi whips his head around and sends a nasty glare towards Keisuke.

    "I'm going to hangout with my girlfriend–y'know, something you guys don't have?" Takemichi sneers, secretly delighting in their offended gasps. Then, to add more salt to the open wound, Takemichi throws his head back and smirks, his eyes landing on Haru and his wide green eyes. "Oh, and Haru, tell Wakasa i'll be late for dinner, ok?"

    An angry scowl forms on Haru's face upon hearing those words slip past Takemichi's lips. "As if! Tell him yourself, you Ass kisser!!!" Haru screams, but Takemichi has already turned back around, walking away from his three best friends.

    As Takemichi creates more distance between him and the boys, a heavy feeling of disappointment settles inside his stomach. Why couldn't they just be supportive of Takemichi? Why couldn't they just slap him on the back and tease him lightly instead of being outraged at a kind hearted girl?

    Just when Takemichi thinks that he's figured his friends out, he's proven wrong...

    With a sad sigh, Takemichi makes his way to the movie theaters where he knows he'll be greeted by the warm smile of his newfound girlfriend.

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    Keisuke and the boys watch Takemichi walk away, his head held high and shoulders set back, and–

    "I'm shitting in his pillow tonight..." Haru grumbles, his voice awfully close to Keisuke's ear, but the boy barely hears him, so engrossed in his own anger and frustration as he thinks of Takemichi and Yuzuha together as a damn, disgusting, lovey dovey couple...

    "Make sure to hide his puzzles too–I want Takemitchy to suffer..." Mikey breaths out, his voice hollow and void of emotion.

    "You got it, Mikey–"

    "Guys, we have to do something about this!!!" Keisuke screams, unable to bear the thought of Takemichi together with someone that isn't him or Mikey. "That disgusting rat Yuzuha is gonna brainwash him and turn him against us! I know it!!!"

    Keisuke's not surprised to see Mikey and Haru nodding along, their faces set in a determined expression one might wear before going off to war.

    "You're right, Baji. That stupid shiba is gonna turn him into a lovesick fool! We gotta save him!" Haru exclaims, removing himself from Keisuke's side to properly face the two boys. "I don't want him to bring Yuzuha over to the apartment, I don't want her in his room, I don't wanna share meals with her, I want nothing to do with that wicked witch!!!"

    Keisuke and Mikey exchange a glance, one full of mischief that Keisuke can practically see the schemes flowing through mikey's head like an endless river.

    "We can't let her steal Takemitchy from us. I won't allow it–He's ours, not hers!" Mikey pouts, his arms crossed defiantly in front of his chest, his dark eyes boring holes into Keisuke.

    Ours.

    Takemichi is Keisuke's and Mikey's and that's that.

    And Keisuke will be damned if some tramp with mommy issues steals him from them!!!

    "We gotta sabotage their dates," Keisuke sneers, his lips breaking out into a wild grin. "Make him realize how much of a mistake it was to date Yuzuha, and then he'll be crawling back to us in no time!"

    Mikey copies his grin, a fanged smile stretching across his face. "Yeah–good idea Keisuke–and then he'll be ours again!"

    Keisuke can't fight off the smirk that makes his way onto his lips. With his eyes dancing between Haru and Mikey, He shows off his fangs with a devious laugh. "HELL YEAH!!! A-AND THEN HE'LL NEVER WANT TO GO ON ANOTHER DATE AGAIN!!!"

    "Except with us!" Mikey adds, his finger pointing at himself and Keisuke.

    Keisuke's smile widens.

    "Damn right!"

    "Well lets make a plan to get rid of Yuzuha!" Haru pipes in, an evil grin taking over his face.

    "YEAH!!!"

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    "Eh? Keisuke–are you actually doing your homework?"

    Keisuke doesn't bother to look up from his piece of paper, his gaze set on creating a plan to take Yuzuha down.

    "No. I'm creating a plan!" Keisuke explains, his pencil not stopping its elegant dance across the blank sheet of paper.

    Keisuke's mom pops up behind him, and–vaguely–he can see her shadow looming over her form as she tries to sneak a glance at what Keisuke is writing. Oh well. Let her see. It won't make a difference when he and his friends take Takemichi back from Yuzuha.

    "'Operation break Yuzuha and Takemichi up'--Keisuke!!! What is this?!" She shouts, strangely enraged at the words displayed on the top of the paper. Keisuke turns his head to gauge his mom's reaction and–yeah, she's upset.

    But why?

    "Me and the boys are trying to save Takemichi from Yuzuha!"

    "Save? Wait, are they dating?" She finally asks, her voice full with so much surprise and amusement that it makes Keisuke want to take the pencil in his hand and gouge his eye out with it.

    "Yeah, but they won't be for long!" Now, back to the piece of paper–

   Before Keisuke can write another word down, his mom reaches over the couch and takes the paper, earning a surprised yelp from the boy. "Hey! Give that back!!!" Keisuke whips his body around, trying and failing to grab the piece of paper from his mama's grasp.

    His mom raises a brow at Keisuke and her eyes gaze at the paper in her hand, her lips moving down in a disappointed frown. "Keisuke!!! This is wrong! Just let Takemichi be happy with his girlfriend–"

    "He'll be happier with us!!!" Keisuke cuts in, once again attempting to take the paper from her hands.

    He fails.

    His mom levels him with a half hearted glare, the paper tucked safely within her fingers. "Keisuke, you should be supportive of Takemichi! This is his first relationship, yeah? So be happy for him instead of–of whatever this is," she says calmly, gesturing to the paper in her hands.

    Finally, Finally, Keisuke snatches the paper from her hands. "You don't understand, mom! She won't treat him right!"

    His mom places her fists on her hips, her face seemingly unimpressed with the boy. "How do you know that, Keisuke? Yuzuha is a very lovely girl–"

    "She broke my nose and gave me a concussion!"

    "Two years ago."

    Keisuke throws his hands up, the piece of paper waving wildly in the air. "She's mean and rude to us! She;s stupidly overprotective, she'll steal Takemichi away from me and the boys to go on disgusting dates, and it's just not fair!"

   "What's not fair? That Takemichi got a girlfriend before you?"

    Keisuke's eyes go wide at her words and–momentarily– he forgets what he's about to say.

    How can she be so blind?

    Does she not know?

   WHY CAN'T SHE UNDERSTAND?!

    "NO!!!"

    "Then what's not fair, Keisuke? Talk to me baby."

    "BECAUSE I LOVE HIM, MOM! IT'S–IT'S NOT FAIR THAT HE'S WITH HER WHEN HE SHOULD BE WITH ME AND MIKEY!!!"

    Keisuke doesn't wait for his mom to respond.

    With his eyes pinned to the floor, Keisuke takes his paper and runs to his room, cutting his mom's voice off with the slam of his door.

   
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    The first thing Keisuke and the boys try to do is steal Takemichi away from Yuzuha whenever they're together at school.

    Ever since the two started dating, Takemichi would sneak off his playground to Yuzuha's during recess, their hands always clasped together as they talked about who knows what.

    Well Keisuke's sick and tired of it.

    The two lovebirds are sitting on top of the monkey bars, their legs swinging lightly as they talk to one another, smiles stretching across their faces that look painful from a distance. With Haru and Mikey on his tail, he gestures for the two boys to follow him. They all exchange a single glance and nod.

    Their first plan has officially begun.

    Plan A: Steal time away from the couple and separate them as much as possible.

    Keisuke strides up to the pair and looks up at them, a high pitched whistle leaving his lips as he tries to draw their attention away from each other. Takemichi is the first to spot Keisuke and the boys–He sends them a kind smile, big blue eyes lighting up with recognition at the sight of him. Yuzuha, on the other hand, scoffs and glares down at the boys.

    "Oh hi guys! What's up?" Takemichi asks, painfully oblivious to the mischievous scheme that's taking place before his very eyes.

    "We're gonna play tag! Wanna join?" Haru asks, light and cheerful, and it takes everything in Keisuke not to heave out an evil cackle.

    Takemichi–sadly–doesn't bite the hook. He laughs softly and shakes his head no.

    "Nah, I'm good! I'll just watch you from up here!"

    Yuzuha's face lights up at Takemichi's response and she sends the boy a look of complete fascination.

    ...Gross...   

    Keisuke ignores the gagging face Mikey is making behind his back and charges forward, not one to give up.

    The fanged boy tilts his head and sends the boy a mischievous smirk–His hands placed on his hips as he laughs loud into the open air. "Ah, I see! You think just because you have a girlfriend that you're better than us, yeah? I see how it is, Takemichi!" He shouts from in between his bouts of laughter. He finds joy in the guilty expression that crosses Takemichi's face.

    He's got him!

    "I–no, that's not–"

    "Oh really? Then come down and play tag with us–"

    "Stop bossing him around, Baji!"

    Keisuke's gaze immediately moves over to Yuzuha. Glaring up at the girl, Keisuke flips her the bird, earning him a groan of frustration from Takemichi. "Stay outta this, Yuzuha! This isn't about you, miss nosy."

    Yuzuha leans over, her brown hair waving wildly as she smirks at them, her brown eyes dancing with annoyance. "You're not fooling anyone, Baji! Stop tryna steal my boyfriend, you obsessed freak!!!"

    "OBSESSED FREAK?! SAY THAT TO MY DAMN FACE, YOU STUPID GIRL!!!" Keisuke goes to climb up the monkey bars when two sets of arms pull him back, keeping him in place. Whipping his head back and forth like a captured animal, Keisuke catches sight of Mikey and Haru trying to hold him back from sending Yuzuha into a coma.

    "HEY! NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR THIS, KEISUKE!!!"

    "YEAH! WE CAN'T DO THIS IF YOUR GROUNDED STUPID!!!"

    Takemichi ignores the boys beneath him and snaps his head around to stare at Yuzuha, his jaw dropping open in surprise. "Eh? Steal me from you? Is that seriously what they're doing?"

    Yuzuha nods with a roll of her eyes. "Seriously...just ignore them, Takemichi."

    Before going back to his conversation with Yuzuha, Takemichi snaps his eyes to the three boys and sends them each an annoyed glare.

   
    ...Well, guess Plan A failed...

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    The next plan they have on Keisuke's long list of plans is Plan B.

    Plan B: Crash their dates.

    It took awhile to put things in motion due to the fact that Takemichi refuses to talk about When he goes on dates with Yuzuha, so the three boys decided to turn to the person who might have an idea of where Takemichi and his girlfriend would be.

    "Huh? Takemichi and Yuzuha?" Wakasa asks, his fingers fidgeting with a lit cigarette as Keisuke, Mikey, and Haru crowd around him, seeking answers. "I think Takemichi said something about going on a movie date with her in a few days...on Thursday." Keisuke mentally high fives himself–

    Wakasa is suddenly in their faces, his purple eyes narrowed and suspicious as he glares at each kid individually. "Why d'ya need to know? I hope yer not plannin' on ruining his date with her..." He mumbles, face dark and intimidating enough to make the three boys shake their heads no.

    "Of course not, Wakasa!"

    "Yeah–what Haru said!"

    Keisuke eagerly nods along, his mouth carefully clamped shut to keep anything suspicious from slipping past his lips.

    Wakasa eventually moves away from the boys, giving them time to make good use of Wakasa's information.

    So, on Thursday, the three boys showed up to the movie theaters, ready to crash and ruin