WEEK FOUR: Thursday (Touji)

"Um, Seryou-kun, have you seen this?"

"I've seen it," I replied numbly. How could I not have? Every person in my class, every person in the halls had been flourishing their phones at me for the past two hours. "And I don't have anything to say, so please leave me alone." I just wanted to get to archery practice and away from all this suffocating attention. There was no way I'd be able to shoot today, but at least the number of people able to harass me would be limited to just the other club members.

"No, not that one. These pictures of Shino-senpai. Is he okay?"

Kobayashi held her phone out. I took one look and snatched it from her with a gasp, scrolling through the photos in the thread. One showed Yuzuru slumped at his desk, his lips an unhealthy shade of blue. In another, he was being mobbed in the hallway with his eyes squeezed shut, while his friends Utsumi Shunji and Koike Arisa were trying to push people off of him. There was one where it looked like his friends were half-dragging him to the train station, and one of him and Koike on the train where his shoulders were up by his ears and his expression was completely miserable.

"Oh my god," I breathed. Had they already expelled him? Is that why he hadn't returned any of my texts or calls?

"Yeah, isn't it awful?" Sato materialized over my shoulder, looking at the pictures. "My big sister said Shino-senpai got into some kind of fight in the locker room at lunch."

"A fight?" I echoed, spinning around.

"With one of the guys in their class."

Tanaka. My stomach was already queasy, and now it did a sickening lilt.

"I guess his uniform got dunked in the showers, so he was sitting in class in wet clothes."

Wet? I looked at the pictures again. He was walking outside and riding the train without a coat on. It wasn't even ten degrees out. And his uniform was wet? "Oh my god, he's going to get sick."

Sato was peering at me curiously—and taking pictures of my reaction at the same time. "How come you don't already know this stuff? He hasn't told you?"

I didn't want to admit that I hadn't heard from him. Especially when she had a camera in my face. "Stop it," I barked frantically, holding up a hand to block the photos. "Didn't you hear what you just said? This is what I warned you guys about. People are hurting Yuzuru-san because of all this." Because of me. I felt like I might throw up. "I won't forgive you. Your stupid website has ruined his life!"

Sato and Nakamura gathered around me, and suddenly Kobayashi was there too, all of them patting my back and clucking their tongues. "This time it wasn't us, Seryou-kun. The Instagram account login is being shared with a group of people from a message board we're on. We told them not to post that picture, but they didn't listen."

"We banned the ones who did it and deleted the picture, but people are reblogging it everywhere."

"We made a post asking everyone to respect you guys' privacy, though!"

I stared at Nakamura in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" The three of them had circled Yuzuru and me like sharks for weeks, reopened the website I'd begged them to shut down, gave the login away so even more people could terrorize us, were snapping photos of me right this very second, yet had the nerve to ask other people to give us privacy?

Her cheeks reddened. "But we love you guys. We just want to share your cuteness with the world!"

Kobayashi pounced on my arm. "Please don't be mad. We're your biggest supporters!"

"Get off," I said, shaking my arm free. "Are you ready to take responsibility for what happens from now on? God, my brother was right. I should have let him sue you all."

I pulled my phone out and dialed Yuzuru's number again as I headed for the dojo. Nakamura and her friends trailed me the entire way, stammering apologies and reassurances that it wasn't going to be that bad. I had never hit a girl in my life, but if I turned back around right now there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to.

As I stepped inside the dojo, the call went to voicemail. Frustrated, I put the phone back in my pocket while Tajiri came hurrying over. She went past me to the girls and blocked their way. "This is a closed club practice," she said as they called my name. "Please leave."

They cooed in disappointment as she slid the dojo door closed.

"Stay here until they're gone," she said to me, "but then I think you need to go home. You'll be too much of a distraction during practice." Her tone was even, but her eyes were full of genuine compassion. It was maybe the most real empathy I'd encountered all afternoon. At least Tajiri wasn't treating this situation like some kind of titillating reality show.

"Have you heard from him at all?" I asked in desperation.

Tajiri blinked slowly. "You mean, you haven't?"

Needles pricked behind my eyelids.

Tajiri sighed. "No, I'm sorry, he hasn't messaged me. I saw the pictures, though. He doesn't look so good. If I hear anything I'll let you know, okay?"

Masamune came over, his shoulder brushing Tajiri's slightly. She stepped away with a cautious glance, which he seemed to understand. He turned to me. "Seryou-kun, is there anything we can do?"

There wasn't. "I'm going home," I said dully.

Tajiri nodded, then pointed at the locker room door. "Maybe you should go out through the gym instead," she suggested. "In case people are still skulking around."

I took her advice, heading through the locker room, but I paused in front of Yuzuru's locker thinking of what Sato had said. Some kind of fight in the locker room at lunch. I opened his locker, not really sure what I was looking for. Blood, maybe? But it looked the same, the roses still taped to the inside of the door, his archery gear folded neatly at the bottom. The bento boxes weren't there, though. He always finished off the food and left them for me when he was done. Did he even get to eat today?

I closed the locker and walked into the shower room, which was empty. I guess his uniform got dunked in the showers, Sato had said. No blood or broken stuff in here to give a clue as to what had happened. What had Tanaka done to him? Was he hurt? I'd spent lunch in the school library by the copiers, waiting for his call. The entire time I was sitting there, comfortably flipping through my history book, he'd been in here while Tanaka was doing god-only-knew-what to him.

I started to get a little dizzy, and the neat geometric tile pattern under my feet was swimming unsteadily before my eyes. I pulled out my phone again, but he hadn't called or texted back. Was he home sick? Sleeping? How was it right that ridiculous website knew more about his whereabouts than I did?

The website!

I pulled it up on my phone. The photos Kobayashi had shown me were still the most recent post, but there were more comments now. I opened the thread and landed on a new picture that had been posted no more than fifteen minutes ago. It showed Yuzuru sitting at a long desk in his cram classroom. I recognized the back of Koike's head next to him and felt a flash of gratitude. At least he wasn't alone. But what was he doing at cram school in a wet uniform? Was he insane? Why hadn't he gone home?

The person who'd posted the picture had drawn a bunch of arrows pointing at Koike. Who's this skank?

The rest of the replies devolved into some inane argument over whether Yuzuru was cheating on me, which I didn't care to read. I put my phone back in my bag and forced myself to take a breath. He wasn't replying to me because he was in class. That made sense. He looked pitiful, but if he was well enough to be at cram class then he probably wasn't injured, and he must not be expelled because otherwise there'd be no point to being in cram class, right?

I continued to logic myself out of panic as I left through the gym and made my way to the school gate. Okay, if Yuzuru was in cram class I probably wouldn't hear from him for another three hours or so. I'd go home, change out of my uniform, get some studying in for tomorrow's tests, and wait.

Or I could take the train and go meet him at his school when it got out?

That option was so much more appealing that I actually walked all the way down the concrete steps toward the street before pausing at the bottom and realizing what a terrible idea it was. We were still under orders not to be seen together. Maybe the cat was out of the bag now and it didn't matter... but it definitely could only make things worse.

I turned around and went back up the steps, heading up the hill for home instead.

When Umeki came to open the gate, her bow was stiffer than usual. "Touji-san," she said. "Welcome back."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Your parents are home," she answered, her tone carefully neutral. "As is your brother. They are waiting to speak with you in the sitting room."

I felt all the blood leave my face. Mom and Dad weren't supposed to be back until this weekend. Natsuki never returned from work this early in the afternoon. It could only mean one thing.

"Umeki-san," I said hesitantly. "Have you— Did you see it? The picture?"

She inclined her head.

"Are you—?" The idea that she might be disappointed in me, or disgusted, filled me with sudden apprehension. I guess I'd never thought about what her reaction would be to finding out about Yuzuru and me, but I wasn't sure if I could handle her rejection. "Is it..."

"Your young man is quite remarkable," was all she said. Her expression didn't so much as flicker, but relief gushed through me anyway because I understood what she was saying. I would have hugged her, except this definitely wasn't the right time. I bit back my relieved smile and nodded instead.

"Thank you, Umeki-san."

I followed her into the house, where she took my coat and shoes, and then she escorted me to the sitting room. It was smaller and much more formal than the giant living room where our Christmas tree was. This room consisted of an ornately carved, expensively upholstered sofa facing two wingback chairs, several glass cabinets filled with crystal and small art pieces, a marble-topped coffee table sitting in the exact center of a Venetian rug, and a baby grand piano in front of the stonework fireplace.

When Umeki gestured me in, I found my mom, dad, and Natsuki all sitting on the sofa, and one of the wingback chairs had been placed squarely across from them with obvious purpose.

My gaze flickered to each of their faces in turn, trying to gauge what I was walking into. Natsuki looked grave and uncomfortable. My mom's forehead was furrowed like she was thinking far too hard. And my dad was wearing his business poker face, the one where you couldn't tell if he was delighted, worried or about to ruin you. I bowed for a few seconds longer than usual. When I straightened up, everyone was still staring at me. I gulped, and went to take a seat in the chair.

It was silent for far too long. I was waiting for one of them to say something, because I didn't want to volunteer unnecessary information. And they were waiting for me to say something, for the same reason. It was a business tactic I'd been taught since I was a child. Well, they were the ones who wanted to talk, so by god, I would sit here all night before I'd speak up first.

Mom looked up at Dad, and finally he sighed. "Who is he, Touji?"

I looked between them, trying to assess why he'd asked the question. I could play dumb and ask what they were talking about, but we all knew that would just be a stalling tactic, and it would make me look weak. I opted for directness instead. "You met him last weekend. He's my archery club senpai."

My mom made a face, like she was just remembering all the additional reasons she didn't like Yuzuru.

"His name?" Dad said insistently.

"Shino Yuzuru."

Natsuki's head came up at that, and he regarded me with sharp eyes. "Shino...?"

I flushed. Had he told Mom and Dad yet about what I'd done with his Shino? Or maybe, now that he knew I had someone else, he wouldn't feel like he needed to? Maybe that would be one good thing to come out of this whole mess. I held his eyes and pressed my lips together, nodding.

Mom leaned toward me. "Touji, honey, we want to help, but you're going to have to give us an explanation. Was it a game? Some sort of tacky dare? Has he been bullying you in club, is that it? We know it's been going on a long time, your brother told us about the website. Oh, baby, it's okay, you can tell us."

My mouth fell open. Had she even really looked at the picture? I was hardly an unwilling participant in what was going on. Dad and Natsuki both had their teeth clenched, like they already knew what my answer was going to be. "It wasn't a game, Mom. Or a dare. And Yuzuru-san would never bully anyone. I..." Deep breath. "I love him."

A muscle rippled along my brother's jaw. Dad's left eye twitched, almost imperceptibly. And my mom's brows drew together like she was trying to figure out what I meant by that.

"And he loves me."

When no one said anything, I lost some of my willpower. "He's good to me, you guys. We're... kind of great together. He's so funny and lively and he's actually really smart, even if he's not always good with people. He makes me happy." When they were still silent, I looked between all three of them anxiously. "Please, I know it's not what you were expecting, but believe me, you'd like him if you'd give him a chance. Grandfather likes him, that counts for something, right?"

My mom made a humming sound and pressed her fingers to her mouth.

"Okay, Son," Dad said, laying a hand on Mom's shoulder, "I think that's enough for today. You can go up to your room now."

That's it? I'd been expecting argument, or questions, or even attempts to talk me out of my feelings. Possibly more threats to send me out of the country, or strategies to preserve the company's image. But maybe it wasn't going to be as difficult as all that. They were my family, after all, and they cared about me. Maybe they just needed time to process the idea. The problem was, Yuzuru didn't have time.

I stood up and bowed again. "He's in trouble, Dad. I think Houka might try to expel him because of me. He's a month away from university entrance exams. If he gets expelled now it could destroy his life. Please, help him?"

My parents exchanged glances. Dad cleared his throat. "We'll take care of it, Son."

"Really?"

He nodded, and I dove for the couch to give him a hug. "Thank you, Dad!" I hugged Mom too, her familiar powder-scented perfume enveloping me in comfort. "Thanks, Mom. I knew you'd understand. I love you guys so much! I'm so glad you're home."

My mom patted me lightly on the back. "We're glad to be home, too, baby. I promise, we'll never stay away this long again."

I would have hugged Natsuki as well, but I wasn't sure he was up for it. We eyed one another warily until he held out a fist, with an upturned brow that asked if I'd accept it as a peace offering. I grinned and gave him a fist-bump. "Thanks, bro. I can't wait for Yuzuru-san to meet you."

He grunted, then jerked his head toward the door. "Get upstairs and study. You have tests tomorrow, don't you?"

"Mm." I bowed, then bowed to each of my parents. "I love you guys," I repeated with a wide grin. All four of us in the same room together... that hadn't happened in months. And Natsuki had actually shown a hint of friendliness, which meant there might be hope for us after all. I felt more complete and whole than I had in ages, and it was the best feeling in the world. "Goodnight everybody."

"Goodnight, Touji."

I felt about a hundred kilos lighter as I climbed the stairs to my room. How did I ever get so lucky, to have been born into such a great family? My parents and brother had always protected and cared for me. No matter what the universe threw at us, as long as we had each other's backs no one was going to bring us down. Especially not a bunch of high school girls and their camera phones.

Now I just had to wait until Yuzuru was out of class so I could tell him he didn't have to worry anymore. If my parents said they'd take care of it, they'd keep their word. And maybe I could even invite him over for dinner some night next week, so they could start really getting to know him. He'd gotten off on the wrong foot with my mom last weekend, but his bright personality was sure to win her over eventually.

I got up to my room to find that Umeki had put a tray of food on my bed, alongside my book bag. There was a note on top of the dish cover that said Study hard! Inside, there was a feast of delicious things, about three times as much as I'd be able to eat. I guessed we wouldn't be doing a family dinner tonight... but then again, my parents weren't even supposed to be home yet, they probably had work to do. I'd study tonight, and maybe we'd get to have breakfast together in the morning.

I was just opening up my science book when my phone rang. My heart leapt—had Yuzuru gotten out of class early? But it wasn't Yuzuru calling, it was Ikuta Hiro.

"Hello?" I said, picking up the call.

"You guys sure know how to do a scandal," Hiro chirped on the other end of the line. "That sexy-ass photo of yours is the only thing anybody's talking about, even at my school. Imagine our surprise when Kanata and I got to the GSA meeting this afternoon and everyone was showing us you guys' picture."

I chuckled. "We didn't do it on purpose."

"Um, that didn't look like accidental making out to me."

"Not that," I replied, laughing again. "I mean the photo. Nobody was supposed to see it."

"Hm. Well, you sound pretty happy for a guy who just got his love life broadcast across the internet."

That was true, I was happy. "The thing is, I kind of just came out to my family a few minutes ago."

"No kidding? Damn. How'd they take it?"

"Surprisingly well," I replied. "I mean, they didn't say much, but they didn't seem too upset, either."

"That's lucky. Kanata's parents were pretty chill when they found out too."

"Really? What about yours?"

"I haven't told them yet. But I don't think it's going to go well. My dad's the conservative type. I'm not going to tell them until after I graduate high school, because if they decide to kick me out I can just go live with Kanata then."

I nodded slowly. "That's probably smart." Though I was wondering how his parents could possibly not at least suspect, seeing as how Hiro had more beauty products and fashion sense than any girl I'd ever met.

"But I saw those pictures of Yuzuru-san in the aftermath and I was worried. I tried calling but he didn't pick up. Is he all right?"

Remembering that he was sitting in class freezing, my smile dissolved. "He's in cram school right now so he can't talk on the phone. I'm worried too, though. I think some of the kids in his class are bullying him."

"Not cool, dude. Anything we can do to help?"

I shook my head, not that he could see it over the phone. "Tomorrow's the last day of school before winter break. If we can make it through one more day, maybe all the fuss will die down in the next couple weeks."

"Well, for his sake, I hope so. Your school sucks, man."

"No kidding."

We said our goodbyes and I went back to studying, but my mind was only half on the books. The rest of me was watching the clock on my phone, waiting for those numbers to switch over to nine. When they finally did, though, and I snatched my phone up, it remained silent. No texts, no calls. I thought about texting him again, but his phone already had a half dozen missed calls from me and probably twice as many unanswered text messages. Was I going to harass him as blatantly as those girls at school? Surely his uniform was dry by now, at least mostly. But he was still probably cold and not feeling well. I bet he was on his way home to change into something warm. I should give him a little breathing room.

That breathing room turned into fifteen minutes, then thirty. By nine forty-five I knew he had to be home, but still no word from him. I even resorted to checking that damn Instagram account, but there weren't any new photos.

At last, at nine fifty-two, I couldn't take it anymore and dialed his number.

The call went to voicemail.

I dialed again, same thing. Frustrated, I stared at my phone screen and willed it to send me something from him, anything to let me know he was okay. It remained maddeningly uncooperative.

One more, I thought, my finger hovering over his contact. It wouldn't be too pushy if I tried just one more time, right? If it didn't go through I'd really give up for the night. I tapped the screen again, put the phone to my ear, and started counting the rings. One, two, three, four... just as the disappointment was rising in my chest again, the other end of the line clicked.

"Hello? Touji-san?"

"Um..." I gripped the phone closer. "Yuriko-chan, is that you?"

"Yeah. You're trying to talk to my brother, huh?"

"Is he in the shower again?" I should have thought of that.

"No, I think he went to bed. He came in and started taking his clothes off and dropped them all down the hallway, went right to his room. Left his phone in his jacket pocket. It took me forever to figure out where the ringing was coming from. Hang on, I'll go get him."

"No, wait." If Yuzuru was exhausted enough to have forgotten his phone he was probably sound asleep, and after the day he'd had, he needed the rest. "Don't wake him. I just wanted to make sure he got home safe."

"He had a terrible day, huh?" Her voice caught like she was about to cry. "I saw the pictures. Shit, he was right, this is all my fault."

I was used to Yuzuru's constant cursing, but it didn't sound right coming from his little sister. "Hey, a pretty girl shouldn't use that language. Besides, you're not the one who posted that picture."

She sniffled. "How do you know?"

"Because you love him too much to do something like that."

"Touji-san," she sobbed gratefully, and I smiled a little.

"Is your mom home yet?" I asked.

"Uh-uh."

"Would you be able to do Yuzuru-san a favor and hang up his uniform tonight? He'll be in trouble if it's messy tomorrow."

"Yeah. Yeah, good idea. I'll iron it and hang it up by the heater." There was a scuffling sound that I assumed meant she was gathering up his clothes. "Touji-san?"

"Hm?"

"You really do like him, right? My brother, I mean."

"Very much."

She made a satisfied noise, followed by another sniffle. "You want me to tell him in the morning that you called?"

"Yeah. Tell him I— tell him everything's going to be alright. I'll explain when I talk to him."

"Mm."

"Goodnight, Yuri-chan."

I hung up and tapped the phone against my chin. Yuzuru was home, catching up on some much-needed sleep. That was a relief. Still, I wasn't going to feel better until I'd talked to him myself. I sighed and pulled my textbook into my lap again. It was going to be a long night.