Broken Dreams Blossom into Beautiful Songs

14

Toya's Perspective:

The two walked into the cafe to see that Kohane and An had already ordered. Toya overheard Akito sigh, Toya couldn't help but find it cute. While he wasn't sure why he had to come along. He didn't know anyone that Akito wanted him to eat with aside from that one encounter at the cafe and the occasional sighting of An in the halls as the hall monitor. However, if Akito wanted him to do it, then he'd do it. It was really that simple.

While that run was tough on him, he had experienced worse. Akito made it better, though. When the two first arrived at the door, Toya could barely catch his breath. He bent over and had his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. Akito walked over to him. "Haha, it's strange to see someone so tall kneel over before me like that." Akito teased. "Hah, sorry, hah..." Toya panted. Akito put his hands on Toya's shoulders as he sighed.

"Here, let me show you..." Akito grunted pushing against Toya's shoulders, causing him to stand. Toya complied with Akito's gesture, trusting him completely. Akito raised his arms up into the air. "Do this... I know it looks stupid, but it'll give your lungs room to breathe." Akito instructed. Toya blinked before trying it. Immediately, he noticed it was a lot easier to breathe. He quickly caught his breath after a minute or so thanks to Akito's help.

It was the little things like that made it so difficult for Toya to give up on his feelings for Akito. No matter how much water he seemed to pour on the flames of his affection, it only seemed to grow, absorbing the oxygen like a damned grease fire. "What took you guys so long? Was Akito causing you trouble!?" An's voice brought Toya back to the present. "Ah, come on! I'm not that bad!" Akito grunted sitting down in his chair. Toya chuckled slightly as he sat down.

"Oh, whatever... Hi! You're the hottie everyone's talking about, right? Call me An." An greeted with a devious smile. "Ah yes, the diligent hall monitor who gets nervous when calling students out..." Toya said, putting his hand up to his mouth in curiosity. "Ah, haha let's just forget about that..!" An laughed pulling Kohane. "And this is Kohane Azusawa! She's a little shy, but she's stronger than you think." An said, her eyes glistened with determination.

Akito's eyes darted to Toya's as he nodded. "Ah, I see... Hello Azusawa-san, it's nice to meet you." Toya said softly. "A-Ah, you can just call me Kohane! That goes for you too Shinonome-san!" Kohane said nervously. "Haha, if you're so sure I don't mind." Akito chuckled. "Okay, Kohane-san, you can call me Toya." Toya said with a soft smile. If Akito trusted these people, he would as well. Akito nearly chocked. "What's wrong with you?" An teased furrowing her brow. Akito coughed it off. "It's nothing." Akito replied sternly. Toya wasn't sure why Akito became so tense, it kind of worried him.

"Now that you say it, it's kind of surprising..." Kohane said playing with her hair. "What do you mean?" An asked leaning forward a bit. "It's just... I never expected to be sitting at the same table as Harumichi Aoyagi! It's kind of an honor." Kohane smiled. Toya felt his heart drop at the mention of his father's name. "Huh!? That was you?" An asked shock filled her face. Akito didn't say a word, he just turned his head toward Toya.

"Ah, yes... Kohane-san, how do you know that?" Toya asked softly, keeping his composure. His fear of being stalked kicked in again, but he dropped it. After all, this was Akito's friend. Someone Akito trusted. "Oh... Well... My dad is actually a really big fan of your father, he has an appreciation for classical music. Your father is a legend, after all... My dad got ahold of his limited album, including your feature when you were really young. It sounded so good!" Kohane scrambled to explain.

Toya felt uncomfortable. He didn't want to talk about his dad, classical music, or anything to do with it. However, it seemed that An and Kohane started going on a rant about different classical instruments. "The piano would be useful!" Kohane said softly. "But the violin has many more purposes, right Toya?" An said. Toya didn't know how to respond, the conversation topic sent him straight back into his fears. He felt his body slightly tremble.

Akito looked over at Toya, examining his expressions. To an average person, Toya seemed plain, his expression still. However, Akito knew better than this. Akito slid his hand on Toya's head. "You guys talk about that, but what I wanna know is what he does to get his hair so nice like this." Akito said. He was clearly embarrassed by his words, as he found phrases like that cringey... But, the fact he was just trying to change the subject... It made Toya so happy.

"Oh my god! I was going to say the same thing it's so shiny!" An exclaimed. Kohane giggled. "Yours is pretty cool too, An." Kohane smiled. "Ah! You're just so adorable, Kohane!" An said hugging her. Toya nodded innocently. "You have beautiful hair as well Kohane, I hear blonde is difficult to deal with at times." Toya smiled. Kohane blushed out of shyness. "O-Oh... You think so? I try my best to take care of it..." Kohane whispered. An smiled. "I like you, Toya-san!" An giggled.

"Wait... Is it okay that I call you that?" An said covering her mouth. Toya went silent for a moment. "I don't mind." He smiled. All she had to do was ask, after all. Toya looked over at Akito, if they were on the topic of hair... Akito's was magnificent, majestic, if you will. It was naturally orange, and shined in the warm lighting of the cafe. He had two strands of dyed yellow on the front of it, and it was always styled with excellence and precision by Akito's own hand and you could tell.

Really the only reason Toya knew Akito did it and not a professional was because he knew Akito himself didn't have a lot of money to spare. He wasn't sure why though, given Akito's father's job. It didn't make sense for Akito to have to work his own and still have nothing to show for it... However, Toya didn't want to pry.

Akito's Perspective:

This guy... "You have beautiful hair as well Kohane, I hear blonde is difficult to deal with at times." Akito's brain replayed. "You have beautiful hair as well Kohane," Akito's brain replayed again. "beautiful Kohane," It replayed once more. Toya's words had already stirred Akito's... Well his... What exactly was he feeling..? Akito's order arrived along with the others, but his gaze didn't move. He watched like a vengeful hawk as Toya conversed with Kohane.

This was what he wanted right..? Why did it make him feel like this. It made no sense... Maybe he was just tired. He had worked a lot in the past few days... He looked back over to his drink. He tried to pick it up, but when he went to wrap his fingers around it, he felt a spike of intense pain. His bruised hands from earlier prevented him from drinking his coffee... He didn't wince or anything, so no one seemed to notice. But, the pain still seemed to swell, both in his hands, and... In his heart.