#but mannnn do i have Takes(tm) on them both

[scatterpatter]

you know you're Normal(*) about a media when you have the "Literally everyone is wrong about this character EXCEPT me" take about not one but TWO blorbos in the same media-

Anyways I like Blitzwing TFA and Perceptor TFA a lot

*Absolutely fucking deranged

[somevirtualnolife]

All's Fair in Love and Basketball

Rating: G Series: Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You Pairing: Yumi Saotome x Protagonist (OC) Summary: Takeru tries to comfort Yumi after a loss in a basketball match, but it's clear that's not the only thing she's upset about.   Author’s Note: I just started playing Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You and watched the OVA and guess what? I really enjoyed it. And unsurprisingly, I was inspired to write a fic about one of my favourite girls, Yumi! Like so many of the TM/TMGS love interests, she is super endearing despite being so silly. And as expected of a TM/TMGS protagonist, my boy is oblivious to girls liking him in any way that could be romantic.

I hope you guys enjoy! I've learned that there are even less TM fics than TMGS ones, so I'm just trying to do my part to feed the fandom (and if you don't like Yumi, well I guess you're getting fed anyway lol).

The gymnasium was buzzing with noise when Takeru Omura entered. It echoed with the sounds of shoes squeaking against the floor, basketballs bouncing, and shouting from both the girls’ basketball team and the attendees watching. It was a junior match between Kirameki and Habataki, one of the last of the season, so needless to say the place was packed. He spotted Yoshio up on the second-floor bleachers overlooking the court, with a big grin on his face as he spotted his friend.

“Heh-heh~ come here to scope out the juniors, eh?” the auburn-haired boy grinned before pulling out his small blue notebook. “They are pretty cute, and according to my intel, you’re pretty popular with them, Mister Basketball Ace of Kirameki.”

Takeru could feel the heat rise in his cheeks. He knew Yoshio meant well, but that notebook caused more trouble than not. Looking at Rei, he always assumed that being popular with girls would be how he wanted to spend his high school life, so having intel on every girl cute seemed useful. In reality, it was a recipe for disaster that provided an onslaught of rumours, hurt feelings and miscommunication that he had to diffuse like it was some kind of explosive device.

Specifically, a bomb.

“It’s not like that,” he finally responded. “The girls usually come out and support us, so we should do the same.”  

The ref blew a whistle for a small time-out and the girls relaxed a bit. Below, he spotted a familiar, auburn-haired kohai grabbing her water bottle. Eventually, she spotted Takeru above and grinned widely, waving her free hand enthusiastically. He smiled back and then cupped his hands over his mouth.

“You got this, Yumi-chan!” he yelled.

Her brown eyes seemed to sparkle at his words. It wasn’t before long that the whistle went on again and they were back on the court.

Yoshio looked between his friend and sister as they continued to exchange looks and waves every now as the game went on.     

“Oh, not like that, but like that.”

“I- what?” his voice started. “Dude. No. No-no-no.”

“Like I said before, it’s fine if it’s you, but you know-”

The basketball ace lifted his hands in defence. “We just hang out a lot because of shared practice schedules. Plus, you told me to look out for her in case any weirdos came for her.”

Yes, they sometimes hung out on weekends when there was no practice, but it was strictly as friends. Yumi very clearly wanted to experience all that high school had to offer (minus the studying). She clearly wanted to experience club life, friends, and dating. So yeah, Takeru didn’t mind being her practice date now and then. It was safer for her that way.

Right?

“Okay, man. Whatever you say.” Yoshio let out a sigh, which Takeru couldn’t quite figure out the intention behind. 

Eventually, the final buzzer went off, showing Habataki taking a lead over Kirameki by 10 points. An unfortunate loss, but it was sort of expected. Their basketball teams often ranked highly in the region. Takeru would chalk it up to it being a private school, but that’s like the pot calling the kettle black.

“Mannnn, that was so close!” Yoshio groaned.

“Yeah, but it is what it is.” Takeru’s green eyes followed Yumi as the girls dispersed after talking with their coach. Her pace was fast, and her shoulders seemed tense at this distance.  

“Aw man, I know that walk,” Yoshio quickly got up from the bleachers. “I’ll catch up with you later. I do not need her to come home and suplex me out of frustration.”

Takeru laughed at first but then realized that was a very real possibility. That girl loved her pro wrestling.  

“Best of luck, dude. I’ll let you know if I see her. Maybe.” It wasn’t like either of them had a cell phone to contact each other.   

As he exited the gymnasium, he shivered slightly as he saw his breath in the cold winter air. With the sun long since set, the streetlights provided a soft orange close in the darkness. The walk home wasn’t too far, but he looked forward to a nice bowl of nabe when he got home. It wasn’t before long on his walk home that he heard someone grumbling and kicking something. Looking to the right he saw the familiar ponytail of a teen girl slamming her foot on the side of one of the plastic slides at the playground.

“Oh, there you are. Yoshio’s looking for you. Or maybe avoiding you,” he joked. It was actually a bit unclear if his friend planned on looking for his sister to calm her down, or to avoid her until the next day. He should’ve asked.

Yumi seemed to freeze at the sound of his voice, her stomping stopping, and her shoulder going up past her ears.

“Go away.”  

“You guys can still easily clinch a win against Hibikino. Their team is so bad it’s basically non-existent.”

“I’m serious, I don’t feel like talking right now!”  

“Yumi, it’s just one game. No need to have a tantrum over it.”

It was then that she finally turned around, her face fully red, fists clenched.

“Ugh, you’re such a JERK, Takeru!”

Before he knew it, Yumi threw her bag with almost the same speed and force that she would a basketball, which slammed straight into his gut. While it was a bit of surprise was grateful it didn’t go any lower.

“Hey, watch it! Why do you have to be so-” Just as he was about to tell her off, he noticed her eyes were visibly red, watering up to about the halfway point before they started to fall.

Oh.

Oh no. Those were tears. Not like the ones at the amusement park, or whenever she would get mad about her brother changing the channel on her.

“Yumi…”

With one last cry of frustration, Yumi finally sat down on the wooden bench, burying her face into her hands.

“It’s fine. It’s whatever. I… just wanted you to think I was cool,” she mumbled.

Ohhh boy. Takeru wasn’t always the best at saying stuff. He didn’t always think his words threw before saying them, regardless of how they could come across. Sometimes he just felt like he chose whatever was the easiest option. It was probably one of the big reasons so many of the girls were frustrated with him. But seeing Yumi being so sincere, it twisted something in his chest. She wanted him to think she was cool, huh? Sometimes he forgot he was her senior, as they very rarely addressed each other as such. He nervously scratched the back of his neck, before he sat down next to her, carefully patting the top of her head.

“I mean, you did look cool out there, regardless of the loss.”

Yumi stopped for a moment, looking up at him, a slightly confused look on her face.   

“R-really?”

Takeru grinned. “Well, yeah! I mean, that 3-pointer you scored? Your form was perfect. Not to mention that you know how to get around the court fast. Besides, you guys really held your own. It was a great match to watch. When there’s no challenge, matches are boring to watch anyway. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Almost instinctively, he reached over and placed his hand on her cheek, gently wiping away the remainder of her tears. Yumi flinched for a brief moment, but she didn’t pull back.

“You were awesome out there.”

“When you say it like that…”

“Hmm?”

She paused and turned her head for a moment, a bit dumbfounded.

“You, don’t know how you sound right now, do you?”

“Uhh… I hope like a wise and insightful sempai, looking out for his kohai?”

There was another pause before Yumi started to laugh. There were tears, but clearly not of frustration.

“Ahhh, you’re such an idiot.”

“Hey. I just gave you a heartfelt speech and that’s what I get?” Takeru chuckled. He was just happy he was not going to get another hit in the stomach. 

Yumi quickly stood up, stretching out her arms before placing them on her hips. “Fiiiine. You’re right. I’m only just finishing up my first year after all. Plenty of time to work hard and show you what I’m  really capable of.” 

“Right? And come next year, Kirameki is going to squash those Habataki losers. The win will taste all the much sweeter.”

“Uh, yeah! In basketball...”

“Yumi, there you are!” Yoshio ran over to the pair panting. “Jeeze, I thought mom was gonna kill me if I didn’t find you.”

He then looked back and forth between Yumi and Takeru, wheels turning in his head before grinning.

“Oh. Apologies if I was butting in on something~”

“You simply existing is a butt-in on my life,” his little sister stuck her tongue out before turning over to Takeru one last time. “Anyway, thanks for the talk, sempai. I’ll see you Monday for practice.”

Takeru waved as the two siblings walked off, clearly bickering as they did so. He was glad that he managed to turn things around. He’d best get going as well, considering how cold it was outside, but for some reason, that tightness in his chest earlier turned into something warm and calming. Sure, Yumi could be a lot at times, but she was also funny, determined, cute, and sincere. He needed someone like that in his life when he lacked those qualities at times.

And he was glad that he still had one more year with her.