The pale light of morning slipped through the thin curtains, spilling across tangled sheets and tangled limbs. Taichi stirred first, drowsy and sore, only to find his arms still looped firmly around Yu's waist. Their legs were a mess of knots, their foreheads pressed together, breaths mingling in quiet puffs.
For a moment Taichi just stayed there, watching the lines of Yu's sleeping face. The bruises on his knuckles still throbbed faintly, but the warmth of Yu's body eclipsed the sting.
"Wake up, sleepyhead."
Taichi whispered, brushing his lips against Yu's jaw.
Yu hummed, eyes fluttering open, and offered him a soft, shy smile.
"You're still here."
"I told you…"
Taichi said, soft but certain.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Their hands fumbled under the blanket until their fingers interlocked, palms pressing close in a sweetheart's hand hold. That simple touch steadied them both.
"Whatever's waiting for us at school…"
Yu murmured.
"…We'll face it together."
Taichi finished for him.
And they stayed like that a while longer, kissing lazily, until the world intruded and they had to rise, bruises hidden as best they could with bandages and long sleeves.
---
The whispers started before they even made it through the gates. Heads turned, eyes widened.
Yu's cheek was mottled with fading bruise, covered by a square bandage that only made it more obvious. Taichi's knuckles were wrapped, stiff with tape. And across the courtyard, Isuke Sasaki appeared with a split lip and bloodshot eyes, the flawless mask of the school prince finally cracked.
"Did you hear…?"
"Princess Yu confessed in front of everyone."
"And then there was a fight—look at them!"
"Arifukua fought Sasaki for her, didn't he?"
"No way. But… then why do they look like that?"
The weight of rumor pressed in thicker than ever, and still Yu clung to Taichi's arm. He didn't pull away this time. Taichi held him steady, his eyes daring anyone to approach too closely.
And somewhere behind the hum of gossip, Isuke's gaze burned across the courtyard, locked on Yu.
The whispers were suffocating, but Yu barely heard them. He clung tighter to Taichi's arm, his cheek brushing the fabric of his sleeve, eyes downcast.
"Yu!"
The shout cut through the murmurs—Sakura Sato was waving furiously from across the courtyard, Fumiko Fujimori right behind her with a thermos tucked under her arm. Souma Satou and Yamato Yamada flanked them, and Haruka Minami came jogging up from the gate.
Within seconds, Yu and Taichi were swallowed in the protective circle of their friends.
"Oh my god, your face!"
Sakura gasped, almost in tears as she touched Yu's bandaged cheek.
"Don't cry—she looks cute even with the bandage."
Yamato said, grinning in a weak attempt at levity.
"Cute but fragile."
Souma muttered, glaring past them at Isuke's distant figure.
"That creep's still hovering."
Haruka's eyes were sharper.
"Ignore him. You've got us."
Yu's chest warmed despite the sting in his cheek. He murmured.
"Thank you… all of you."
But his gaze drifted back up to Taichi's profile—stern, steady, unmoving.
Fumiko shoved the thermos at him.
"Drink this before class. Ginger tea. Good for nerves."
Yu blinked.
"You really are my mom…"
"And don't you forget it."
The group laughed, even Taichi chuckling under his breath, and for a moment the pressure lifted. Surrounded like this, Yu could breathe.
The reprieve didn't last long.
As soon as Yu and Taichi stepped into the classroom, the hum of whispers turned into a physical thing pressing against their backs. Desks squeaked as classmates twisted in their seats to stare.
The teacher cleared her throat sharply, trying to restore order, but even her voice wavered as she glanced at Yu's bruised cheek and Taichi's wrapped hand.
"Settle down. Everyone, take your seats. We… we have much to discuss about the festival wrap-up."
But her words were drowned out by the murmuring.
"Did you see Sasaki's lip?"
"Princess Yu's really dating Arifukua the Beast? For real?"
"I thought Sasaki-san and Yu-chan were a thing…"
"No way—Yu-chan straight up confessed in front of everyone!"
Yu shrank in his seat, heat crawling up his neck, but Taichi's hand found his under the desk. Their fingers locked. Taichi's thumb brushed against his knuckles—reassuring, grounding.
And still, across the room, Isuke Sasaki sat with his perfect posture, split lip standing out against his pale skin. His eyes never left Yu. Not once.
The teacher let the whispers bubble for only a moment longer before her voice snapped like chalk breaking across the blackboard.
"Enough!"
Every head jerked forward. Yu nearly jumped in his seat. Taichi's hand squeezed his once, steadying.
"I know what's being whispered…"
The teacher said, her tone sharper than usual.
"And let me remind you—this is a classroom, not a gossip circle. Whatever personal matters are going on between your classmates, they are not the focus here."
Her eyes swept the room, pausing just a fraction too long on Yu's cheek and Taichi's bandaged hand, then cutting toward Isuke's lip.
"This is the second term. Your final exams are coming up quickly. That is what deserves your energy."
The murmurs thinned into silence, students shifting guiltily.
She turned back to the blackboard, writing brisk strokes in white.
"Furthermore, I expect you all to look forward and prepare for the upcoming field trip. The site we'll be visiting has deep historical significance, and you'll be responsible for reports based on the visit. That, combined with your exams, should be where your heads are. Not… idle speculation."
Yu swallowed, shoulders lowering just a bit. The mention of exams made his stomach tighten, but at least it broke the fixation of every eye on him.
Beside him, Taichi leaned back in his chair, expression unreadable but posture protective—his presence like a shield.
Across the room, Isuke Sasaki sat still, lips pressed together, eyes half-lidded as though the teacher's scolding had never touched him at all. But his split lip, dark against pale skin, was a silent mark that told everyone more than any rumor could.
Yu exhaled slowly, shoulders slumping in relief as the teacher's lecture dragged the class away from him. A field trip. A human thing. The kind he had once only read about through the school handbook DK01 had made him memorize.
'Exams… I'll have to study harder… I can't risk going back to day one...not after everything.'
His hand stayed in Taichi's beneath the desk, fingers trembling until Taichi curled his warm grip over Yu's. Just that touch steadied him. The whispers had quieted, at least for now.
But when the teacher mentioned the field trip again, Yu's chest fluttered nervously. He'd never been on one. A part of him almost felt excited—visiting a historic site with his friends, walking around together, learning, seeing the outside world beyond café shops and neighborhood stores—but another part of him trembled. Crowds. Rumors. Eyes always watching him. Could he manage it?
[You'll be fine.]
DK01's voice hummed inside his head, practical as always.
[Your classmates are distracted now, and you'll be surrounded by Taichi and the others. This will be safe enough.]
Yu wanted to believe that. Still, the thought of the trip pulled his nerves taut. He clung to Taichi's hand like a lifeline.
---
Across the room, Isuke Sasaki sat poised as ever, back straight, expression neutral. To anyone watching, he looked like the perfect honor student—listening intently, jotting neat notes. But under the surface, his mind churned.
A field trip.
The teacher's words replayed in his head like a gift wrapped just for him. One last opportunity. Away from the safety of classrooms, away from the interference of meddling friends. A chance where he and Yu could slip into the shadows of a historic site, and he could finally—finally—make Yu understand they belonged together.
His split lip throbbed faintly with each twitch of his mouth, but he smiled anyway, thin and cold, pen tapping against his notebook as if already drafting the plan.
This field trip would be his last chance. He would not waste it.
---
At home, their little studio apartment had transformed into something between a nest and a study hall. Open notebooks and scattered pens filled the low table, textbooks stacked precariously to one side. A kettle hissed on the stove, steam curling in the air as Taichi scribbled down formulas onto scrap paper, muttering them under his breath.
Yu sat across from him, long white hair spilling over his shoulders, ruby-red eyes narrowed at his own open book. He held his pen like it was a fragile glass rod, cheeks puffed slightly in concentration. Every few minutes, he peeked over at Taichi, as if Taichi's furrowed brow could somehow help him puzzle out his own question.
"Focus, baby."
Taichi teased without looking up, sensing the gaze on him.
Yu's face flushed and he ducked down.
"I am focusing! It's just… hard…"
His voice softened, small and fragile.
"What if I don't do well on the exams? What if I fail the trip too somehow…?"
Taichi finally set his pen down and leaned across the table, plucking Yu's pen out of his fingers.
"You won't fail. You're too stubborn for that."
He smirked.
"Besides, you've got me. And Haruka, and Fumiko, and Sakura. Also Yamato and Souma, though they're not much help, heh. Regardless, you're not alone."
Yu blinked up at him, the corners of his eyes damp. Slowly, Taichi reached over and tapped the tip of Yu's nose.
"And if you get something wrong—big deal. I'll carry you through it."
The kettle whistled sharply, breaking the tender silence. Yu scrambled up to pour hot tea into mismatched mugs, careful not to spill. When he set Taichi's cup down, his hand lingered, brushing against Taichi's knuckles before pulling back shyly.
The rest of the evening unfolded in rhythm: Taichi explaining equations, Yu reciting vocabulary words aloud, the two collapsing side by side on the couch when their brains refused to hold any more information. DK01's dry commentary in Yu's head about Taichi's "primitive teaching methods" only made Yu bite back laughter and hide his smile against Taichi's shoulder.
And when Taichi slung an arm lazily around Yu as they dozed together under the glow of the desk lamp, Yu thought—just for a fleeting moment—that maybe exams and trips weren't so scary after all. Not when he had this.
---
While Yu and Taichi shared quiet evenings of study, elsewhere, Isuke was sharpening his plan with the precision of a blade.
In the dimly lit student council room, stacks of paperwork sprawled across the desk like pieces on a shogi board. As president, he alone had authority over seating charts, rooming assignments, activity groups. He flipped through the rosters slowly, pale fingers tapping the paper where Taichi's name appeared next to Yu's.
"No."
He murmured, whiting it out in neat, controlled strokes. His pen moved fluidly, splitting them apart—different bus seats, different hotel rooms, different hiking partners for the field excursion. Where Taichi's name lay blank, he penned in his own, the black ink biting into the page.
While he was at it, he might as well change where Fumiko and Sakura were placed as well. The more isolated Yu was, the easier it was for himself to finally make Yu see how much they belonged together.
A smile ghosted his lips, cold and certain.
'If you won't come to me willingly, Yu… then I'll corner you until you do.'
When the vice president poked his head in, asking if Isuke needed help, he answered smoothly.
"It's only logistics. I want everything to be perfect."
His voice was honey, masking the venom beneath.
Behind him, the paper roster looked harmless enough—just names and numbers. But for Yu, it would mean isolation. For Isuke, it was the trap tightening.
---
Days later, in the apartment, the mood was entirely different. Yu sat cross-legged on the floor, his suitcase open and embarrassingly empty. Clothes lay strewn around him like a laundry storm, and he was chewing his lip, staring at a checklist.
"Do I bring three outfits or four? What if it gets cold? What if I need an extra towel? Do I need special slippers for the ryokan?!"
His voice pitched higher with every question, ruby eyes wide.
Taichi, already packed in ten minutes, leaned against the couch with his arms folded, trying not to laugh.
"Yu. We're not moving there. It's just two nights."
"But it's Kyoto! And it has a hot spring!"
Yu held up a one piece red swimdress awkwardly, cheeks red.
"D-Do we… do we bathe together?"
That finally broke Taichi's composure; his face flushed nearly as much as Yu's, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's… communal. But there's usually separate men's and women's sides. And, uh… if you're nervous, I'll stay by you."
Yu relaxed a little, setting the swimdress carefully in the suitcase. He reached over to take Taichi's hand, threading their fingers together.
"As long as you're with me, I'll be okay."
Taichi squeezed back, warm and certain.
"Always."
The hum of wind rustling dead leaves outside the window filled the silence that followed. Between exams, the looming trip, and everything unspoken about Isuke, there was so much waiting for them. But for now, it was just two boys on the floor of a tiny apartment, laughing over toothbrushes and towel sizes, building a fragile bubble of peace before the storm.
---
The morning air was crisp, the chatter of students buzzing with excitement as the buses lined the school gates. Suitcases rolled, cameras flashed, and the air carried the tang of anticipation.
Yu clutched his bag strap tightly, sticking close to Taichi as the teachers handed out seat assignments. His heart sank when he read the slip of paper:
Bus 2, seat 12B.
Taichi's paper read:
Bus 1, seat 4A.
Yu blinked hard.
"This… has to be a mistake, right?"
His ruby eyes darted up, searching Taichi's face for reassurance.
Taichi's jaw tensed, the paper crumpling slightly in his fist.
"Classes should be grouped together. It's not random. Someone did this on purpose."
He didn't have to say who.
And sure enough, when Yu stepped onto his assigned bus, sliding into his seat with trembling fingers, the figure sliding in beside him turned his head slowly, a smile cutting across his lips.
"Good morning, Yu."
Isuke's voice was soft, pleasant to anyone listening—but to Yu, it dripped with menace.
Yu flinched back, clutching his smaller bag tighter against his lap. He turned to glance out the window, eyes scanning frantically until they found Taichi boarding the other bus across the lot. Taichi's gaze locked on his, steady, protective, as if to say:
Hold on—I'm still here.
Yu swallowed, his pulse thudding. He sat frozen beside Isuke as the bus rumbled to life, the separation already a knife in his chest.
By the time the convoy of buses wound its way through Kyoto and stopped at the traditional ryokan, Yu was pale and quiet. His classmates poured out of the buses with squeals of delight at the tiled roofs, the koi pond at the entrance, the promise of hot springs later.
Yu stepped off slowly, his legs stiff. Relief surged when he spotted Taichi standing by his own bus, waving. Yu immediately started toward him—only for a teacher to step between them, clipboard in hand.
"Rooming assignments!"
The teacher called out cheerfully.
"Line up and listen for your names!"
Yu froze again when he heard it.
"Room 203: Isuke Sasaki and Yukio Hokohayashi."
His stomach dropped to the ground beneath his shoes.
Taichi's name came moments later:
"Room 107: Taichi Arifukua and Yamato Yamada."
Yu's chest tightened. He turned his head desperately toward Taichi, who was already pushing forward, his brows furrowed in outrage. But a firm hand from another teacher landed on his shoulder, guiding him toward his assigned room.
Isuke stepped smoothly beside Yu, his suitcase rolling silently behind him.
"Looks like we're roommates, Yu. Fate really does favor me, doesn't it?"
His smile was serene, like this was all perfectly natural.
Yu hugged his bag close, eyes darting back to Taichi, whose fists were curling tight enough that his knuckles whitened. Taichi's eyes burned with a silent promise:
I'll find a way back to you.
And so, in the hushed corridors of the ryokan, the separation became painfully clear—not just in paper assignments, but in the slow, deliberate cage Isuke had laid around Yu.
---
The sliding door rattled softly as Yu stepped into the tatami-floored room. The faint scent of fresh straw and cedarwood lingered in the air, along with the clean hush of Kyoto's autumn breeze through the open shoji window.
Behind him, the door clicked shut. Isuke set his suitcase neatly against the wall, then turned toward Yu with a smile that felt too polished, too practiced.
"You must be tired after the bus ride."
He said, walking closer.
"Why don't you change into the yukata? Here, let me help."
Before Yu could protest, Isuke's hands were already at his shoulders, slipping the strap of his school bag down, brushing against his blazer as if undressing him were the most natural thing in the world. Yu stiffened, clutching at his chest, his long white hair slipping forward like a curtain between them.
"I-I can do it myself!"
Yu said, his voice shaking but firm.
Isuke's hand lingered at his collar, a little too intimate. His smile softened as if he didn't hear the resistance at all.
"You shouldn't be shy, Yu. We're roommates now. We should get comfortable with each other."
The weight of his presence pressed down, his fingers brushing the top button of Yu's shirt. Yu jerked back, clutching the fabric closed, heart pounding.
"No."
His ruby eyes shone with a trembling fire as he lifted his chin.
"You don't love me, Sasaki-san. You say you do, but if you really did, you wouldn't keep doing this to me. My heart—it already belongs to Taichi. No matter what you do, you can't change that."
The words cut through the quiet like a blade. For a moment, Isuke's smile faltered, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Taichi's name. But then the mask slid back on, smooth as glass.
"We'll see."
He murmured. He moved past Yu casually, lifting the folded yukata from the dresser and placing it on the futon.
"You'll come around eventually. I can be patient."
Yu hugged himself tightly, refusing to move from where he stood. His body trembled, but his resolve had never felt sharper.