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The Street Sekai echoes with the intricate voices of the four members of Vivid Bad Squad. With the success of their latest event the group keeps working harder and are improving immensely since they teamed up. After they finish their practice the group puts away their equipment breathing hard from exhaustion. Things are getting serious now after they figured out the real reason why Rad Weekend was a success.
An brushes a strand of hair out of her face and turns to Kohane. “Let's stay behind and get something from the cafe.” Kohane nods with her pigtails bouncing. “Sure! Akito, Toya want to join us?” Akito slings his backpack around his back and shakes his head. “I have work. It is my last shift before I can quit for good and focus my time on rehearsals with the team. I wish I could, next time I will for sure. What about you Toya?”
Toya sighs, “I can’t either, I have family over and my dad wants me home.” Kohane looks at the two of them and gives a small smile. “Well, see both of you tomorrow. I wish you could have joined us.” An takes Kohane's hand and they start to walk towards the cafe. “Don’t get into trouble. Ya hear? Toya, keep Akito in check.” Toya laughs at An’s statement which makes Akito roll his eyes.
They press pause on Untitled which transports them to Shibuya Park. Toya takes a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. He has not seen his extended family in a long time and he is not looking forward to telling them he has quit playing the piano. He knows the response he will receive from them will be the same as his father’s. Akito takes Toya’s hand and gives it a squeeze offering him some comfort. “Hey, it will be ok. I’ll be there for you if anything goes wrong.”
Toya can’t imagine what his life would be like without Akito. They met back in middle school when he was singing in Vivid Street. He started singing as a means of running away from his father’s expectations. When they teamed up he learned how much joy performing and making music can give. Akito taught him not to run away but to face problems head on. He couldn’t have asked for a better singing partner.
There is something about Akito that gives Toya a feeling of butterflies in his chest. Akito is his best friend, but lately he has been seeing that many of Akito’s features are pretty cute. He likes it when his expression softens when they are alone, it seems that expression is saved only for him. His eyes are really pretty too, he likes how his green eye colour contrasts to his orange hair. His hair looks really soft. What would it feel like? Wait a minute…. What is he thinking? This is the kind of thing that someone would think about with a crush. Akito is his friend nothing more...Right?
Toya squeezes his hand back and they continue to walk the golden sunset shining in their faces. “I am just tired of my father’s expectations. He means well, but sometimes I just want him to accept the path I want to take.” Akito nods as they continue to walk down the street, kicking a stone along the sidewalk. They see a plume of smoke arise from one of the apartment buildings.
“You think that is a campfire?” Akito says as he plugs his nose. Toya looks forward and his steps falter. “There is way too much smoke for that to be a campfire.” Akito starts to walk towards the direction of the smoke and walks a little faster. Toya speeds up a bit to catch up to Akito. “Akito, what are you doing?” Akito does not slow down. “I am going to see what is going on.”
Akito starts to run and Toya falls behind him trying his best to catch up. He knows Akito is going to be late to work and that he himself is not going to make his curfew. “Akito, slow down! Someone else will handle it.” Akito looks back at Toya with the familiar look of determination that he gives on stage. “I won’t forgive myself if I don’t do anything.”
Toya smiles back at Akito and quickens his pace so that he runs next to him. When Akito’s mind is set on something he won’t back out. “I’ll be by your side.” Akito pats Toya on the shoulder as they continue to run.
They arrive at the source of the fire and see flames raging out of an apartment building from the upper most floor. They see a group of people standing outside the building. Some of them have burns and other major injuries. The fire department is nowhere in sight. Akito approaches one of the women in the crowd and asks her what is going on. She told them that her apartment building had caught on fire due to a cooking accident.
Everyone who was close has escaped from the fire but the lady’s dogs are still in the building. The fire department has been called but they have not arrived yet. Akito shudders at the mention of dogs. After getting bit by a dog when he was younger he has never been a fan of them. His fear of dogs is quite embarrassing and he wishes that his skin was a bit thicker.
Despite this he rushes into the building not looking back. Toya instinctively runs after Akito. He knows that this is dangerous and that they should just leave this to the fire department, but all reasoning leaves Toya’s brain as he follows Akito. Why is Akito running into the fire, and why is he running after him? In spite of the situation they are in, Toya can’t help but admire Akito’s courage, but he wonders where that will land him in the future. Maybe their recklessness will get the better of both of them.
They keep running up the flights of stairs until they reach a door glowing with red and gold flames. However; this gold contrasts from the one that they saw in the sunset that they passed after rehearsal. The red seems to be more prominent than the gold. Despite this the gold is the only colour that reflects into Akito and Toya’s eyes.
They can hear the barking from the house as they get closer. The two enter the house dodging the flames before them. They walk through the house to see a cage of golden retrievers in the living room.
Toya crouches down and opens the cage and starts to pick up some of the dogs. There are four in his arms but he cannot hold any more. He looks up at Akito and sees him freeze. Even though Akito had the courage to run into a fire, the sight of eight golden retrievers still frightens him. Cute.
“Akito, can you pick up the other dogs?” Akito reluctantly nods and scoops up the rest of the puppies. The puppies shake underneath Akito’s arms. Toya and Akito rush out of the apartment and run down the stairs. Toya is surprised that none of them got injured after just rushing into a fire. He can see that the puppies are trying to clamor their way out of Akito’s arms. Akito tightens his hold on the dogs. “Hey, stay put! Geez dogs are so stupid.”
Toya laughs, “Yet you still ran into a fire for them.” Akito’s face immediately turns red. Probably from the heat from the fire, Toya thought. “Shut up, I just don’t want anyone in danger.” If they were not running away from a fire Toya would have ruffled Akito’s hair. He wonders how he would have reacted to that. Maybe he would have made another cute face.
They exit the building and deliver the puppies to the lady. The fire department still has not arrived. The lady takes her puppies and thanks the two, but still looks worried. “There is still one more in there.” Akito doesn’t think twice and runs back, Toya not far behind. They can hear the lady yell behind them to stop but they keep running. After making it this far they do not want to leave their job unfinished.
They get back to the apartment and see the fire has grown since they were last there. There is no barking to be heard this time. This makes Toya worry. He hopes that the dog is still alive. Toya can hear a scream, he turns on his heel and sees the sleeve on Akito’s left arm is burning. He rushes over to him and pats down the flames. The flames extinguish but Toya can feel Akito’s arm is hot from where the flames were. “We should go back and tend to that burn. We don’t even know where the dog is.” Akito shakes his head and keeps walking forward. “No, let’s keep going.”
They enter the bedroom of the house and hear whimpering and see a dog is stuck under a pile of rubble. They get to work and start to pull up the pieces of wood that are underneath it. The roof of the house is starting to collapse as they continue to lift the heavier pieces that are on the bottom of the pile. When the dog is finally free it starts to rush forward out of the apartment. As soon as this happens the roof caves a bit causing wood to block their path. Toya feels the flames catch his legs and a searing pain goes through him. He topples to the ground, Akito next to him patting down his arm trying to put out the flames.
Once the flames are finally out Toya can see a wall of flaming rubble blocking their way out of the apartment. There is no window in their enclosed area so they are trapped. It is hard to breathe when surrounded by plumes of smoke. The ceiling is starting to cave even more and they are surrounded by a wall of fire. Toya sits on the ground facing Akito with terror in his eyes. Akito immediately wraps arms around Toya protecting him from the flames. His scent overpowers the smell of the smoke. Toya melts into Akito’s arms, gripping him tight not wanting to let go.
“I love you Akito. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Akito’s eyes widen, grips Toya’s shoulders and looks at him in shock. Did he just confess to Akito in a burning building? Out of all of the possible scenarios that went through Toya’s head of possible confessions this was definitely not one of them. Toya’s face heats up despite being surrounded by flames and looks into the gold that reflects in Akito’s green eyes. “I just thought you should know that. In case we don’t make it out here.”
Toya feels Akito’s lips press against his own. The wood around them sparks the moment their lips touch. For a few moments Toya forgets about the fire blazing around them. Akito’s lips feel soft and sweet. This doesn’t feel real to Toya; he must be dreaming. Everything that happened to them the moment they entered the burning building has felt like something carved from a fantasy. He expects that he is going to wake up but he doesn’t.
The kiss was brief and clearly acted on Akito’s instincts. He didn’t even think about it when he decided to kiss Toya. It just felt like the right decision. When Toya confessed his love, Akito succumbed to his impulses. His actions even surprised himself. The thought that he may have romantic feelings for Toya has never crossed his mind. However, secretly deep down he has always felt this way for him because when their lips touched he knew that he has always wanted to kiss him.
After they break away from the small kiss time seems to freeze and the flames seem to blur as the two gaze at each other. Toya slowly reaches out his hand towards Akito allowing him the option for him to pull away and starts to run his hands through Akito’s hair. Akito responds to the gesture by cupping Toya’s cheek. They can hear the sounds of wood sparking and the roof caving above them.
Toya rests his forehead against Akito’s still running his hand through his hair. He wraps his other arm around Akito’s back holding him tight. He doesn’t want to die yet. Not after Akito, and the rest of his team still have so much to prove. Not when he has revealed to Akito his love and knows what it feels like to share a kiss with him. He takes a deep breath looking at the boy before him. They have each other and if they are to spend their last moments of their life in the presence of each other that will be enough. This may not be so bad.
Akito buries his face into Toya’s chest, shaking under his tight hold. Toya has never seen Akito so terrified and vulnerable. He has always seen him as someone who is courageous and resolute, to see him break down his tough exterior shatters his heart.
The rest of the events that happened in the flames are a blur to both Toya and Akito. They just remember holding onto each other as a lifeline, burying their faces into each other, and feeling tears that are not their own dampen their shirts.
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Two firemen work their way through the wreckage of the collapsed apartment in search of two heroes. They work through the piles of rubble with no one in sight. When all seemed hopeless, they cleared the last bit of rubble in the ruined building and saw two teenage boys lying next to each other unconscious with their hands laced together. Both of their chests rise up and down.
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Toya wakes up and sees that he is in a hospital bed. The moonlight shines into the window through the curtains. Next to the window he sees Akito lying in another hospital bed with bandages and his hair singed from the fire. They are alive. Or was it a dream?
He stares at Akito’s sleeping form and smiles. He looks so beautiful in combination with the shine of the moonlight. The way his golden orange hair rests on his pillow is breathtaking. He wonders if Akito will wake up and forget everything that happened in the apartment when he does.
Everything that happened in the burning building replays in Toya’s head: saving the dogs, getting trapped in the building, confessing to Akito, and kissing him. He wonders if Akito remembers that too. He hopes he does.
Akito’s eyes flutter open and he sees Toya gaze onto him. He gives him a small smile and removes the blanket that used to cover him. Akito slowly sits up struggling a bit due to his injuries and smiles at him lovingly. “Toya, is that you?” Toya nods, seeing the moonlight shine a little brighter. Akito sighs in relief and slides his legs over the edge of his bed and sets himself on the ground limping over to Toya’s bed.
Akito pushes himself onto Toya’s bed and wraps his arms around him, burying his face in his hair. Toya can feel his chest rise and fall against him as he leans into Akito’s embrace. Akito separates from Toya for a second so that he can look at him. “I realized that I forgot to respond to you earlier.”
“What do you mean?” Akito gives Toya a soft kiss on the forehead and takes a deep breath. “I love you too.” Toya runs his hands through Akito’s soft hair trying to take in what he is hearing. He remembered. “Do you mean it?” Akito nods with the most conviction he can show. “I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life.” Akito leans in and places his lips against Toya’s.
This kiss lasts a little longer than the last one they shared in the flames of the apartment. Toya can hear Akito gasp as he tangles his fingers through his hair and he adjusts his position so he can deepen the kiss. Both of them would be content if they could do this forever. Neither of them want to pull away. This is something that both of them have secretly wanted to do for a long time. Even if they didn’t know it before.
They break away from the kiss and Toya cups Akito’s cheek, stroking it with his thumb. “Is this a dream?” Akito shakes his head and kisses Toya’s palm. “This is real. I love you and nothing is going to change that.”
Akito lies down with his arms outstretched inviting Toya to join him. Toya happily obliges and snuggles close to his boyfriend. Both of their weary bodies relax in each other’s embrace. Their breaths slow down and they drift closer to sleep. The sound of Akito’s beating heart eases Toya as his eyelids flutter shut. He can feel a hand absentmindedly running through his hair and it feels really nice. “I love you Akito.” Toya can feel Akito’s lips press against his forehead. “I love you too. Thank you for staying by my side.”