WEEK TWO: Monday (Yuzuru)

I woke up to my phone buzzing with a message from Seryou.

Good morning~♥

It was Monday. Another new week, and I was still waking up to his texts. I was deliriously happy. I shot him a quick message back, wishing I knew how to make that little heart thingy he was always using. Maybe I could ask Yuriko, she'd know.

I sat up in bed, stretching and yawning, and thinking about the miracle that yesterday had been. The day had started out absolutely miserable, and ended in the best date ever. Though I was a little embarrassed, remembering how I had pounced on Seryou last night. I'd even given him a kiss mark, which was not something I had ever done, ever ever, to anybody. He hadn't seemed bothered by it, but I was.

I'd never been that rough with anyone before. I hadn't meant to be, it's just that I'd been kind of out of my mind right then. Thinking about him and Shino having sex, not just once but a bunch of times, and the snotty look she'd given me right before she'd stepped into his arms, and the way he'd shown up at my house when I wouldn't answer his calls. Thinking about how he'd sat across from me in that restaurant and confessed all the things he'd done that he clearly thought were unforgivable, and the way he'd said if you stay with me as if he thought I'd be repulsed now that I knew... And then knowing all of it came down to what a kind, sensitive person he was, and how his quiet strength and loving nature made me want to wrap him up and become his safe place so that no one could ever hurt him again.

And somehow, because I was an idiot, that translated to me slamming him into the wall of an alley and kissing him so hard he'd ended up bruised. The only thing that kept me from feeling like a complete asshole was that he had seemed to like it. The sounds he made and his hands in my hair, and the way he kept looking at me while we were at Sky Garden like he was wishing I would do it all over again. What a masochist.

Still. I didn't know what I was doing. I hadn't had much experience with this kind of stuff, and I'd never had someone make me feel the way that he did, so I was just bulldozing my way through it. I needed to get a grip. It was a new week, and he was still my boyfriend, so I was going to start getting it right from now on.

I jumped out of bed and into the shower.

When I got to the train station by school he was there, propped against the wall by the gift shop. There were a couple girls hovering around him, but even that wasn't going to ruin my mood today. He broke into a smile when he saw me and I went jogging over to him.

"Hey, good morning."

"Good morning," he replied, eyeing me up and down. "You're really cheerful. I guess you got some sleep?"

"Thanks to you." I noticed he had his shirt buttoned all the way to his neck and his tie properly in place, in contrast to his usual rebellious, half undone style. My attention fell to his collar, which I knew was hiding the mark I'd given him. He caught me looking and raised a hand to his neck, giving me a secretive grin.

This made the girls giggle, and a flash went off as one of them snapped a picture. I was annoyed at first. But you know what? What the hell. I put an arm around Seryou's shoulders and hugged him into me. "If you guys are going to take pictures you should let us pose properly," I said, and held up a V finger-sign. They squealed and clicked away with their phones.

It was Seryou who put up a hand after a minute. "Okay, Kobayashi-chan, Sato-chan, that's enough. We have to get to school, today's the first day of school festival. Don't you all have stuff to do?"

They made disappointed mewing sounds, but he shooed them away and turned to me. "What was all that about? You usually hate that kind of attention, especially first thing in the morning."

"Maybe I just wanted a reason to hug you," I answered, enjoying the way his lips parted and his eyes turned a shade darker as I held his gaze.

"Um—"

"Come on, let's get going." We started heading for the station exit, and I asked, "What's first on your schedule today?"

"I have to report to homeroom and pick up my costumes for the class dance and the one I'm doing with the girls from my class later. Then stop by the gym to make sure the third-years have everything they need for the maid café, and turn on the machines there. Then get to the assembly hall for the class dances. You?"

"I'm headed to the dojo first thing to get the equipment prepped and the heat turned on—it's probably going to be freezing in there with the snow we had last night. Then the assembly hall. So I guess I'll see you there."

"Sounds good."

We parted at the gate and I headed over to the dojo. It was freezing, all right. The thermostat said seven degrees Celsius. We kept the heat off when the dojo wasn't being used, but it sure did make for a chilly start to the day, especially early morning practices. I went to the kerosene heater by the bow racks and popped the top open, pulling out the inner fuel tank. It was pretty much empty, which meant I had to carry it into the storage room at the back, haul the big container of kerosene out, and use an electric pump to fill the tank up. Then I drained the pump and put it back, closed up the big container, and hauled the much-heavier full tank back to the heater to drop it in. It dinged to let me know it was ready and I hit the power button.

A little flame rushed through the base and it started humming. There we go. When I was a first year, setting up the heater in the mornings before club practice had been my job, because the cold didn't bother me as much as everyone else. Still, Houka Academy was strange in that it held its school festival the first week of December every year. Most other schools had theirs in summer or fall. Usually the weather was mild enough that early December wasn't too cold, but winter had hit much earlier than usual so this year's festival was going to be a chilly one.

I stood and went to the bow racks, running my hands over the different ones and selecting a few to string up. We had a couple older bows for stringing demonstrations, but I wanted a few pre-strung for the lessons I'd be giving later. I also went back into the storage room to grab the two children's bows and handful of suction cup arrows that we kept on hand. There were definitely going to be some kids here today.

I was kneeling on the tatami mat laying out bowstrings when someone called my name.

"Shino-kun, is that you?"

It took me a second to recognize the guy standing in the doorway. But when I did, I jumped up. "Okada-senpai! I haven't seen you in ages."

He smiled and kicked off his shoes, bowing to the range before he approached. "It's been almost a year, hasn't it?"

"It was what, last year's city semi-finals? So yeah, more than a year."

Okada Takahiro and I had gone to the same junior high, and were in archery club together there. He was a year ahead of me in school, so when I got into Houka I started running into him at different archery events. He'd always been something of an idol of mine.

He came over to inspect what I was doing, and I grabbed another bow to string up. "What are you doing here?"

"My university has a few more high school spots left in its annual archery tournament, so they sent me to pick out folks to invite."

"Wait—you're the recruiter? From Tokyo University?"

His teeth flashed white and he nodded. I whistled. "Wow. I guess that makes sense though, your grades were always at the top of your class." Tokyo University was notoriously difficult to get into. The entrance exams were incredibly hard.

"Yeah, well, I also had a bit of an edge since I won the T.U. tournament last year." He winked. "Actually, that's also part of the reason I'm here, to be honest. You're graduating next semester, right? Have you decided which university exam you're going to sit for?"

"Not T.U.," I replied with a chuckle, tugging on the bowstring I'd just placed. "No way would I pass it."

"I'm not so sure about that. You're a Houka student, which is prestigious in and of itself. If you placed strong in the T.U. archery competition, you might not need to have the top exam scores to get in. And if I remember right, you're pretty much an ace in English, right? That's one of the hardest areas of the exam."

"Huh. You think?"

"I think it could be worth a shot. Come to Tokyo in two weeks and see."

I blinked. "Wait, you're inviting me to the tournament? You haven't even seen the festival demos yet."

"I don't need to, I know how good you are. I'll stick around for the demonstrations because I still have a couple more spaces to fill—a second year and a first year. But I knew before I came that I wanted you for the third year spot."

A flattered warmth spread through me. Okada was one of the best archers I'd ever met. His form and focus were nothing short of perfection. In junior high, I'd studied the tiniest details of his stance, everything from the precise position of his fingertips on the string to the minute shifts in balance that I could observe in his tabi-socked feet. He was the one who'd taught me to visualize not the arrow hitting the target, but the path it was going to take to get there. He'd always been kind and generous with me, but this offer took the cake.

"Wow, Senpai. That's... I appreciate that."

"So you'll come?" I nodded, and a grin spread over his face as he clapped me on the shoulder. "Excellent. I'm looking forward to it. And to watching you shoot today."

I beamed at him, then realized something. "Crap, what time is it? I've gotta get to assembly hall. See you later, Senpai." He gave me a salute as I hastily stacked the strung bows in the stand and darted for the door.

In the assembly hall I spotted my class gathered in a section of seats near the back, and hurried over. Koike gave me a chiding glare as I slid into the seat next to her, and she thrust a purple t-shirt and sequined headband into my hands.

"About time, Shino. Get these on quick, the performances are about to start." Even as she said it, the house lights went down and a group of first years filed onto the stage carrying what looked like giant flower props.

I shrugged out of my uniform jacket and started unbuttoning my shirt. Peppy pop music blared over the loudspeakers, and the first years started bopping around the stage. I pulled the t-shirt over my head, then finished removing my dress shirt underneath it before sticking my arms in the sleeves. Koike clucked her tongue. "You could have gone to the bathroom to change, you know."

"This is faster," I whispered back.

"Hm. Say, you seem better. I take it things went okay with Seryou yesterday?"

The mention of his name brought back memories of last night. The feel of his cold-hot skin against my lips, the way he'd gasped Yuzuru-san into my ear. The fiery way he'd looked at me when we were at Sky Garden and I'd asked to sleep there with him. I shivered a bit, unable to suppress the smile that crept onto my face. "Better than okay."

She eyed me like she wanted to ask more, but the song had ended and everyone was applauding as the next class took their places. This group was doing a traditional Japanese sparrow dance, half of them lined up in back with drums while the other half leapt around the stage brandishing dual-colored fans.

Seryou's class was the last of the first years to perform, and I leaned forward eagerly in my seat when they went filing onto the stage until I could pick him out among the performers. It actually was hard to do, because his trademark dramatic hair was covered by a full-body, hooded tiger suit. When I recognized him, I had to laugh. I guess his class had decided on a dance with a circus theme. There were kids dressed in lion and elephant suits too, and a couple in clown costumes, and a few of the girls had on sparkly leotards with giant feathers in their hair. One girl in a tuxedo-looking thing and top hat played the ringmaster, using a long ribbon on a stick instead of a whip. It was really more of a gymnastics performance than a dance, but I took great enjoyment in watching Seryou somersault across the stage and interact with his classmates. He was really into character, even pretending to lick a paw and wash his face during times when the other kids took center stage.

They finished with a loud cheer and the sound of a cannon, where one of the guys did a series of backflips from one end of the stage to the other to mimic a human cannonball. The audience was delighted, and the second the music stopped and they lined up to take their bows I stood up, clapping. My classmates joined me, and pretty soon most of the assembly hall was on their feet. Seryou was breathing hard, and I could see his bangs peeking out from under his hood, but he and the rest of his class were glowing.

The second years went next. There was a pom-pom dance and a comedic number where all the girls were dressed as guys and the guys as girls, and they did a hilarious ballroom dancing routine with lifts and everything.

Since I was in class four and a third year, our group was very last to go. There were only three guys in my class, Utsumi, me and a big athletic guy named Tanaka. We were center stage in our matching purple t-shirts and silver headbands, surrounded by the girls in pink t-shirts and flashing LED kitty ears. A couple of first years ran out to us with three wooden chairs, and the opening beats of Taylor Swift's Shake It Off started playing. The perky English lyrics swept across the stage, and we started twirling the chairs and gyrating to the music.

I wasn't much of a dancer, but even I had to admit this song was fun. Even more so with Utsumi and Tanaka on either side of me, tossing their hair and climbing onto the chairs to swivel their hips around. I hadn't really been looking forward to this part of the festival, but I had to admit that now that we were up here it was easy to get carried away by the energy of it all. That was the whole point, after all; the dance competition was meant to foster teamwork and unity among classmates. Right then I was feeling it.

We finished up and the audience roared while we took our bows. Our principal came out to thank everyone for their participation, remind the audience of the schedule for the day and highlight some of the club presentations that would be going on, then dismissed us so we could go run the rest of the events.

Seryou met me at the back of the hall. He'd pushed the hood of his tiger suit back so his hair was falling in his face, but I still couldn't help laughing as I approached. "It's a good look for you," I commented, and he raised a brow.

"You're one to talk." He pointed at the glittery headband around my forehead. I yanked it out of my hair with a grin.

"I guess that's fair."

"You headed back to the dojo?"

"Yup. I'll be setting up for the first years' demonstration and then teaching a few lessons."

"Cool, I'll walk over with you."

I glanced down at his furry outfit. "Dressed like that?"

"Hey, at least it's warm." He grinned at me and held a paw—er, hand—out. "Shall we?"

I snorted and hooked my arm around his, because that was a lot easier than trying to figure out how to take his hand under all that stuffing and fake fur. We put our shoes on in the little entryway outside the hall, then trudged through the snow-covered courtyard to the dojo.

There were already people milling around when we got there. We made a couple pit stops on our way to the locker room, Seryou to turn on the espresso machines at the beverage stand, and me so that I could hit the reset button on the kerosene heater for another cycle. We both took a little ribbing for our costumes, Seryou more than me, but there were quite a few folks who also took the chance to compliment his class's dance routine. It really had been maybe one of the best I'd seen.

In the locker room, his stuff was down a different row from mine, so he disappeared to the other side of the room while I got into my locker and out of my clothes. My jacket was already hanging up, and I had my gi and hakama on in no time. I folded my uniform and stowed it away, then swung the metal door shut and went around the corner to find him. His tiger suit was draped across one of the locker room benches, and he was tying his hakama on over his gi. I pulled up short.

The hickey I'd given him was darker and more noticeable than I'd realized. He had such pale skin that it stood out like a deep bruise. He'd said it didn't hurt, but nothing that vivid could possibly be painless. He looked up at me and I walked over, reaching out to touch his neck.

"I did that," I said, full of remorse.

His hand came up to cover mine and he stepped closer. "Mm-hm."

"I'm sor—"

He pressed a finger to my mouth, cutting me off. "Don't you dare apologize." While I was blinking in confusion, he bent toward my ear. "This is my favorite thing you've given me. I wish I could keep it forever."

The husky timbre of his voice sent the blood rushing to my face. "What do you mean, your favorite? I haven't given you, like... anything." That was actually true, now that I thought about it. He was the one always giving me stuff. Snacks and drinks and meals, even shoes once. What had I ever done for him? I couldn't remember, other than that one time I'd brought lunch to him and his classmates last week. One time, when he was bringing me stuff all day long, every day. The realization made me feel suddenly guilty.

We leapt apart at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind us. Masamune was standing at the end of the row of lockers. His eyes went from one of us to the other, and then to the spot on Seryou's neck, but he made no comment. Just opened up his locker and started pulling off his tie. Seryou turned back to his own locker while I stood there rubbing the back of my head in discomfort. Then Masamune thrust something at Seryou.

"Here. For your, uh... bug bite." It was a band-aid.

"Oh. Thanks, man," Seryou said, and took it from him. Masamune gave a curt nod and went back to his business. I busied myself picking up Seryou's tiger suit and hanging it on one of the wall hooks by the window, while Seryou fixed the band-aid to his neck.

We went back out to the dojo and were instantly swarmed with activity. Tajiri had arrived, and was busy doing roll call for the first years' demonstrations. Hirata was showing a group of people, who looked like mostly parents, the proper etiquette for entering the dojo and taking seats along the floor. I felt a little sad as I watched them. My parents wouldn't be coming today, neither could afford to take the time away from work. And Yuriko had school. I understood, of course, but couldn't help feeling the slightest bit envious.

"You're back," said Okada from behind me, and I turned and bowed.

"Senpai!"

He surveyed the row of first year club members who had started to gather along the range. "These are your juniors?"

"Yes. They're a good group of kids. If you'd like to have a seat over there," I pointed to the spot where our teacher usually stood, "you should have the best view." He nodded and went where I'd directed, with the graceful, shuffling gait that took years to master. I think all the archers in the room straightened a little as he passed, recognizing his expertise even if they had no idea who he was. He sank elegantly to his knees on the mat and laid his hands in his lap.

Three first years had been chosen for the demonstrations: Seryou and two girls. I stood at the back of the dojo by the bow rack and watched as the girls shot first. They were both good, with nice, strong framing in their arms and a decent sense of the harmony that was necessary between the archer, the bow and the target. But Seryou—he was more than good. He was stunning.

I watched him nock his first arrow, his eyes downrange and his breathing even. He waited until the quiet in the dojo was nearly absolute, until I swear I could actually hear him inhaling and exhaling from meters away. Then he raised the bow, and it creaked as he hit half-draw, then full draw.

Damn, he was beautiful. All the club practices that he'd been attending lately showed in the way he held that twenty kilo bow without trembling even a little, with exquisite tension in the lines of his arms. There was maybe a little too much concentration in his expression, but I still knew, before he even released, that this was going to be a great shot.

A cracking noise, followed by a thud. Sure enough, he'd landed right on the outer edge of the bullseye. He set a second arrow, his fingers moving as delicately as if it were a tea ceremony, and raised the bow again. I snuck a glance over at Okada, but couldn't tell what he was thinking. That was to be expected. Okada was the poster-boy for all things composed and refined, especially when it came to archery. But I hoped he was as impressed as Seryou deserved.

Seryou's second shot struck the first ring, and the third was slightly above the other two. The final shot was very nearly dead-center in the bullseye, though, and I tried hard to mimic Okada's perfectly stoic non-reaction even though my chest was bursting with pride. That's my boyfriend, you guys.

The audience clapped politely as Seryou lowered his bow and followed the girls from the line with slow, meditative movements. He wasn't as good at walking as Okada was, but then, none of us were. Tajiri was busy explaining some of the finer points of line etiquette to our visitors. I took the bows from each of the first years as they passed, setting them back in the rack, and brushed Seryou's knuckles lightly as I took his. "Good work."

He inclined his head, his eyes shining, and went to sit with the others while Tajiri finished up her explanation, then gestured in my direction.

"If you're interested in trying a bow for yourself, Shino-senpai is one of our most accomplished club members and he'd be happy to help."

I spent the next hour or so showing people the basics—how to put on the glove, hold the bow, position the fingers. My favorites were the younger visitors, the ones just entering junior high, because there was something deeply gratifying about seeing someone that age discovering a love of the bow. Archery could be dangerous, so giving them lessons now was a bit misleading. If they wanted to join the sport, they'd spend the first year or two learning the far less action-packed skills—how to walk and sit properly, how to care for the equipment, the rules of etiquette that drove everything that archery was. The closest they'd get to pulling a bow would be the thick, ugly rubber practice bows that were used to build strength and learn good form, and those were more like handling slingshots than a proper bow and arrow. Still, a taste of what they could be doing a few years from now might be enough to encourage at least a few to pick it up. It had been for me at that age, anyway.

Seryou served as my runner for the lessons, jogging to the end of the range to retrieve arrows and reset the target. It was a lot of work and he did it without complaint, though he was starting to get pretty sweaty after about the twentieth trip. In the meantime, I had to keep a sharp eye on our line of would-be archers to make sure no one was disobeying the safety rules—otherwise Seryou could get seriously hurt.

Then it was time to reset the range for the second years' demonstration. Seryou and I ducked into the locker room, because we were both worn out. He slumped onto the bench under the window, and I tossed him a water bottle from my bag. "Drink that," I ordered.

He laughed, running the back of his hand across his dripping forehead, and opened the bottle. I stood there to make sure he drank most of it before pulling out a second bottle for myself. He went over to his locker and pulled out his watch. "There's just enough time to grab something to eat, and then I have to get over to assembly hall for that other dance performance."

"You coming back here after?" I asked.

"Yup, I'm helping clear the range for the calligraphy club demonstration."

"Wish I could go watch you perform, but I have to do another set of lessons when the second years are done."

"That's okay," he answered, tossing his watch back into his locker and starting to untie his hakama. "You won't be missing much."

"I'll be missing you," I said stubbornly.

He turned to wink at me, and dropped the hakama to his feet. I was uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was now standing in front of me pantsless. His gi came down to his knees, so it's not like I was seeing anything inappropriate. But even just the sight of his bare knees and calves, how pale and slender and muscled they were, was enough to make me feel off balance. I stood up fast.

"I'm just gonna go—um—check out the food tables in the gym. Come find me when you're dressed." I hustled out of there, through the door at the other end of the locker room that opened into the gym. That was stupid, I told myself as soon as the door closed behind me. We're guys. In a guys' locker room. Everyone walks around naked in there, and I'm freaking out because he took his pants off?

Rather than dwell on it, I set out in search of something that Seryou might like to eat. I was going to be the one to treat him to lunch today, goddamnit.