#the endous are just a.. sudden realization I guess

[juustozzi]

assorted i11 drawing dump, vol 2!

[bitway-arts]

@enfubu HEY HIRO MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I wrote you some older enfubu holiday style...I hope you enjoy!!

Fubuki begins to slide his jacket off his shoulders, letting it roll off his arms. He catches it before it can completely fall off, taking it into his hands and then holding it up properly for Endou to slip his own arms into the sleeves. He had noticed the other beginning to shiver, most likely thanks to Hokkaido's colder weather. Even if he was already wearing a festive sweater, the cold seemed to manage to get past it. So, Fubuki decided to lend him his jacket to add an extra layer of warmth to protect him from the colder winds.

"You sure you'll be okay, Shirou? I don't want you to get cold either…" Endou manages to say without any chattering teeth. A look of worry crosses his face to the thought of stealing warmth from the other and leaving him in only a long sleeved shirt.

"I'll be fine," Fubuki reassures. "It's not the first time I've gone out without a jacket on."

Endou keeps that worried look, staring at the other, but decides to believe him. Fubuki would definitely be okay! Thinking about it, it may have been a silly question to ask. The other had lived in this type of weather all of his life, so Fubuki was used to all of this. But, even if he was, it didn't stop Endou from taking a hold of his hand, letting his bigger one envelop the other's.

"Then, I'll make sure your hand is kept warm, okay?" He replies with a big grin.

This causes Fubuki to chuckle, make a smile appear, a real rather than polite one. Endou was still a cute dork, even after all these years.

"Fine by me. Now, let's keep going, shall we?"

"Mhmm!"

They both break into bigger smiles, hands squeezing each other's before looking ahead. They continue their walk along the streets of Fubuki's hometown. The town always had a bit of a Christmas feel to it year round, even if the locals would say otherwise. Maybe it was just the snowy weather or the lights from the shops and street lamps that lit the streets or the huge, towering tree that remained in the center of the town that made it seem festive to those who weren't familiar with the area.

During the holiday season, there definitely was more snow, more lights that were displayed and actually went with the holiday theme, and, of course, the tree would be decorated with tons of ornaments. Placed underneath it would be boxes designed to look like presents. The area around it was filled with more lights, trying to make the scene pleasing to the eyes. Over the years it had grown into a popular attraction for those visiting, especially for couples.

And this year, Fubuki had wanted to bring Endou up to his home to show it to him. While it was nothing special to him, having seen it year after year, he thought the other might enjoy it. To have that childish awe he had when he saw it for the first time as a kid.

He wasn't disappointed when he saw those brown eyes light up. It had reminded Fubuki of how his eyes would shine whenever their old team had come up with some new move. The gray haired male was certain that if they were younger, Endou would have made a dash towards the tree, excitedly running around it and praising how cool it was. The image was so clear in his head; it made him chuckle.

"It's so cool, Shirou!" He gasps, unintentionally raising their held hands for a moment.

"It is, huh?" He replies, although his gaze was on Endou rather than the tree. He already had the image of that overgrown tree stuck in his head, he was certain that he could point out which ornament hung from which branch while blindfolded. Right now, Endou was the one he'd rather be looking at.

His smile was so heartwarming, infectious. It was so charming and yet…it had fallen for a moment. Not entirely, but it changed enough to cause a look of confusion to cross Fubuki's features.

"Are you cold?" Endou asks while turning to look at him.

"Huh?" Fubuki blinks. The weather was chilly, even for a local like him, but it wasn't anything extreme. "Why do you ask?"

Endou squeezes their intertwined hands. "I can feel you shivering a little." He points out. "I kinda thought for a while that you didn't get cold."

It's an attempt at a little joke and it does make Fubuki chuckle.

"I guess even I get cold sometimes." He shrugs. "I'm fine though, really."

Endou gives a pout and Fubuki knows that he's not getting off the hook that easily. But, that pout disappears as quickly as it had been thrown on his features, quickly forming into a smile. He releases Fubuki's hand from his own before throwing his arms around the other into a warm embrace.

"I'll just have to keep you warm then!"

Fubuki blinks, having been caught off guard by the sudden hug, but lets out a laugh. Arms wrap around Endou and he lets his head rest against his. Feeling his body against his did make him feel warmer, all while making him realize just how cold he felt too. Endou was always warm though, he thought. But right now, he felt especially warm. God, he wished he could just keep hugging him here, to get rid of the cold and just to be in his arms.

The taller pulls back after a while, keeping that smile as he looks to Endou. Fubuki can't help it and leans in for a quick and sweet kiss. He wanted to make it longer, but decides to throw in an eskimo kiss, gaining a little giggle from the other man.

"Maybe I should get cold more often then," Fubuki says.

"I don't want you getting sick…" Endou mumbles, "but, I'll warm you up as much as I can to make sure it doesn't happen."

Fubuki pulls him into another hug, sharing warmth. Endou offers to give back his jacket, but Fubuki insists that he really does need it more. He almost gets it back when that worried look appears on his face once more. But when they go back home, Fubuki promises to make it up to him with a nice warm cup of hot chocolate- for both of them.

[senjutsunokoutei]

Ares Reflections

So Ares has finally ended… Here are my thoughts on Ares as a whole and some interpretations & headcanons on Nosaka and Nishikage’s relationship. ...The latter is, uh, really long. 

My biggest gripe about Ares is the poor pacing, but I enjoyed the overall plot and characters. Ares had a lot of potential and I think a lot opportunities were wasted because everything was so rushed.

I think one of the problems was the fact that there were so many characters in Ares. They had most of the original characters on top of Asuto, Haizaki, and Nosaka. It’s so hard to squeeze screentime for ALL these characters in just 26 episodes. Ares definitely deserved at least 52 episodes. They tried to balance the content between the original characters and the new Ares protags, but they ended up not giving enough time to both sides... I would've liked more content on Kira Hiroto and Atsuya since they're dead in the original timeline… I got really emo about Atsuya because Shirou suffered so much with his personality complex in the original series. I wanted to see gradual character development for the new Ares characters, not some abrupt, sudden change of heart.

Also remember how Asuto overheard Nosaka’s conversation with Anna? He knew about Nosaka’s brain tumor but he wasn’t really… affected by it? It would’ve been nice if Asuto faltered even the slightest bit because of this information, just for the sake of character development. Because I remember Endou felt really bad when he found out Kidou was fighting for Haruna’s sake? I wanted Asuto to go through something similar to that…

I also didn’t like how Nishikage and Nosaka just pulled new hissatsus out of their asses? I guess since they were the opponent team and not Raimon, development isn’t as important to them… But a little bit of development would’ve been nice. The final match had way too many hissatsus and it just felt extremely rushed… Heck, the entire show was rushed what was I expecting. I was very happy with Goujin’s development though. He had one of the best character developments in Ares.

It also felt like Nosaka’s personality (or, at least the depiction of him?) kept changing too abruptly. He was framed as a cold, emotionless character at first but warms up to Raimon super quickly. I get that some of that has to do with him trying to keep up a strong image of himself. I also don’t get why Nosaka was like “I will win… I have to win…” during the match. I understand he wanted to fight Raimon fair and square and let the match decide the fate of Ares, but at the same time it seemed like he was desperate to win? When deep down, he was really hoping to lose… And then now he’s suddenly buddy buddies with Asuto and Haizaki. I mean, I understand why they’re friendly now, I just don’t like how it happened so fast. I like his mischievous side though, it’s really cute. I hope he continues to troll Nishikage and Haizaki in Orion.

Basically, I like how they set up Ares, and it had potential to be so much better, but they ended up rushing the plot so they missed a lot of opportunities to make the show more dramatic. Hopefully Orion does a better job of character development and interactions. I have high hopes in Orion.

One last thing -- honestly, I am really perplexed by the whole Anna thing. This isn’t even because I ship Nosaka and Nishikage - I just really do not understand what the point of framing Anna as a love interest. First, they framed it as if Nosaka were interested in Anna (with the whole “is it even possible to have feelings for a girl” thing). I didn’t like that to begin with because they literally had JUST MET by pure coincidence because Nosaka happened to collapse and Anna happened to witness it. Anna’s a nice girl so of course she helps him out. During the Outei and Seishou match, Anna was upset that Nosaka used such low-handed tactics. There was absolutely no reason for Anna to develop feelings for him after seeing a shitty play like that. If anything, she’s just worried about him just like any other nice girl would because he’s literally at risk of dying. Then, out of the blue, in the last two episodes, Anna for some reason seems to have developed a thing for Nosaka? She makes an attempted confession (it was strongly implied, at least), only to be rejected by Nosaka before she even got to confess. Nosaka and Haizaki makes more sense as a ship… Heck, even Nosaka and Asuto make a better ship. Like honestly I’d support them if their relationship actually /made sense/. Everything they share is so... shallow... like their interactions were so trivial. Perhaps it’s just my personal preference because I like ships where one character does something to influence the other character in some way. I /guess/ I can see why Nosaka would be slightly interested in Anna because she was nice to him and I guess he’s not used to people being nice to him. I don’t think Anna’s a bad character, I just don’t like how they wrote her interactions with Nosaka. I do want to see Nishikage and Anna become friendly with each in Orion though, since they haven’t had a proper interaction yet.

Okay here are some thoughts and headcanons about Nosaka & Nishikage’s relationship. Perhaps I’m reading too much into their lines, but I’m a shipper who loves to overanalyze so take these with a grain of salt.

Nosaka confesses that he wasn’t really trying to achieve anything in particular; he just wanted his existence to be acknowledged by somebody. Before meeting Nishikage, he was neglected and likely abused by his parents (primarily his mom). He would probably do his best to get his mom to acknowledge and be proud of him, but she would ignore anything he did. He lived a sad, lonely childhood and desperately sought attention. When he saved that girl in the fire incident, he knew that if he could save that girl even at the risk of his life, he would be able to make an impact on the world. Surely, he’d be acknowledged for that. At that time, he wasn’t scared of losing his life because he didn’t really have anything to live for. He was ready to sacrifice his life if that meant he could be acknowledged, because he desperately desired recognition. Nishikage was the first person to ever acknowledge and respect Nosaka, which made Nosaka happy.

Nishikage saw his action as a selfless, courageous act and fell for Nosaka. Nishikage wanted to save the girl too, but gave up because the flames were too strong. Nosaka went into the building without hesitation, and Nishikage was smitten by his bravery. I don’t know what sort of past Nishikage had, but here’s my headcanon. He wasn’t born in a bad family - in fact, he was probably pretty well off. However, he was either bullied or was deceived and swindled a lot, which made him lose faith in humanity. He’s a good boy at heart so he initially tried to put his trust in people, but after being cheated over and over, he loses hope for the world. At some point, he decides to fight back against his bullies. He’s naturally strong and tough, so he wins all his fights. He probably makes a name for himself through all his fights and turns a bit delinquent. I don’t think he’s the type to start fights, but he definitely won’t go easy on anyone who tries to pick a fight with him.

After meeting Nosaka, he realizes there really are good people in the world. Also, after hearing about Nosaka’s situation, he realizes that Nosaka is similar to him in that the people around him didn’t treat him well, but Nosaka took a different approach. Nosaka was also treated badly by the world, but that didn’t cause him to turn his back against the world. Instead, Nosaka wanted to make the world a better place. That lights a fire in Nishikage’s heart and inspires him to help make the world a better place instead of despising the world. He vows to change the world alongside with Nosaka. Nishikage fell for his courage, determination, and sense of righteousness. Nosaka becomes a role model to Nishikage, because to Nishikage, Nosaka is the kind of “ideal” person he aspires to be. Although Nosaka admits that he was ultimately doing it for recognition, Nishikage acknowledges that Nosaka has good intentions with his actions and will still continue to support Nosaka all the way because he trusts Nosaka’s judgment.

When they first meet, Nosaka mentions changing the world with the Ares program. This was back when he wanted to something big so he can be acknowledged. Nishikage likes the sound of it, and vows to follow and support Nosaka in this cause. Nosaka is under the impression that Nishikage is only following him because of this goal to change the world. As the first and only person who has ever praised him, Nosaka was really happy and wanted Nishikage to stay by his side. He was scared Nishikage would leave if he found out that he was only trying to be acknowledged, so he desperately tries to keep up the strong image that he thinks Nishikage has of him. At the same time, having Nishikage around kept him in check, as Nosaka admitted in ep 26. Nishikage was the motivation for him to keep going this whole time. Nosaka definitely would have broken down if Nishikage weren’t there with him... Imagine all the pain and suffering he must have endured because of his brain tumor… Uuuuu... The reason why Nosaka didn’t consult Nishikage about his suspicions about Ares at all was because Nishikage was under the impression that the Ares program was meant to make the world a better place. Nosaka didn’t want to cast any doubt on Ares for Nishikage since that was pretty much the foundation for their dream of changing the world.

I think Nosaka wanted to tell Nishikage about his illness at some point, and probably even made an attempt to, but couldn’t because he didn’t know how to bring it up. He didn’t want Nishikage to worry, and he didn’t want to show signs of weakness either. He hid his illness from the entire team so they would be able to focus on the matches and not have to worry about his illness in the back of their minds.

In episode 24, Nishikage gets caught up in his emotions and says he wants to be with Nosaka longer and even tries to demand Nosaka to stop playing soccer. To Nishikage, Nosaka’s life is more important than achieving this goal. When Nosaka realizes that Nishikage found out about his brain tumor, he panicked. He frantically needed to maintain his strong image, which led him to do the kabedon. After the kabedon, Nishikage takes some time to cool down (he must be full of emotions after that). He takes the time to reflect about Nosaka’s actions, remembers that’s what he loves about Nosaka in the first place, and decides that he will support Nosaka all the way till the end. When Nishikage confesses why he fell in love with him and says he’ll support Nosaka’s cause until the bitter end, Nosaka looks away for a bit because he feels bad because deep down, he’s really not trying to achieve anything in particular. But he still looks back and smiles at Nishikage because he’s still happy to hear those words.

Nosaka finally confesses that he’s not really trying to achieve anything and apologizes to Nishikage for not being able to be the “perfect person” he thinks he is. Given how the game was going, he had pretty much accepted that the Ares program was bad at that point, so he knew he couldn’t keep hiding things any longer. Nosaka apologizes because he thinks he has disappointed Nishikage, but this doesn’t change how Nishikage thinks of him. This is a nuance that gets lost in translation, but in episode 26, when Nishikage says “you are my hero,” he uses uses casual speech to Nosaka for the first time instead of his usual polite speech. After hearing Nosaka’s confession, he realizes that Nosaka was likely keeping up his strong image just for his sake. He realizes that Nosaka doesn’t exactly want to be treated like an emperor. He drops his polite speech for that line to show that he doesn’t see Nosaka as just his perfect emperor, but as his hero. I headcanon that Nishikage had fix his bad mouth in order to get into Outei Tsukinomiya, so he practiced polite/formal speech with Nosaka and got used to it. He holds a lot of respect for Nosaka, so using polite speech to him was something he felt obligated in doing anyway. I also think it’s highly possible that Nishikage said to Nosaka the exact same line (“you are my hero”) in the past when they first met. So he says it again in the same connotation as the first time, just to ensure Nosaka that he still sees him as his hero, just like before. I hope he drops the polite speech in Orion because I want them to see each other as equals.

Anyway, while both of them deeply cared for each other, they seemed to have some misunderstandings about each other, which caused a bit of tension throughout the show. After the match, I’m sure Nosaka explains to the rest of the team about his entire plan. I’m sure he and Nishikage have a heart-to-heart conversation and clear up their misunderstandings, which prompted me to draw this comic.

I think it’s sweet how they show affection to each other in their own ways. Nosaka loves to tease and mess with Nishikage, which is kind of his way of showing affection. He’s comfortable around Nishikage and loves seeing his reactions. Nosaka is a bit mischievous in his nature and it’s really cute (like how he trolled Haizaki with the handshake). Nishikage will do every little small thing for Nosaka… He carries all the bags when they go shopping (in the official postcard art). He has a towel prepared for Nosaka after he’s done washing his face. He guards Nosaka when Haizaki showed signs of aggression. He really did treat Nosaka as his emperor…

Nosaka kept in a lot of these emotions to himself. No matter how strong-willed he is, there is still so much he can take. In this final episode, he finally shows a little bit of his weaknesses. He hides his brain tumor from everyone on the team because he doesn’t want them to worry for him. He doesn’t really have any interaction to anyone outside of Outei, so when he met Anna, he took that opportunity to talk about himself. I think he confided in Anna because he probably felt that it was safe to tell her about himself since he didn’t expect her to spread any of that information to the rest of his team. I like the idea of Anna being the middle person to help Nosaka and Nishikage patch up, but again I don’t really like how they developed her character...

Anyway, I’m super excited for the Nosaka manga that will be published in MangaOne. Who knows when it’ll come out, but I can’t wait to read it!

[inazuma-eleven-translations]

IEGO Bonds Gryphon Novelize

Note: I’ve been working on this translation for a while, but due to my hiatus I decided to just start uploading it right now. YES I know barely anyone cares about GO, and I should probably focus on Ares (I WILL!) but Inazuma GO will always be the most special to me and, no matter what, I WILL translate this novel! One day I’ll finish the whole thing!

Chapter One (Part 1) - Unlimited Shining

“Hey, wake up! Tenma!”

The next thing Tenma knew, Shindou Takuto was shaking him awake.

As soon as he regained consciousness, he was suddenly hit with the strong scent of grass. He was lying on his back on a grassy terrain. As his eyes gradually came into focus, he noticed Shindou peering at him anxiously.

“Captain…”

Tenma mumbled, pulling himself upright. A sudden strong wind hit his face and he cringed in response. The gust shook and rustled through his hair’s natural waves. As he stood up, Tenma only now began to observe his surroundings with wide eyes. In front of him was a dense growth of unfamiliar trees, and behind him was a vast, seemingly endless ocean. Sunlight glistened across the surface of the rolling waves and wild grass grew haphazardly along the shore.

“The ocean…?! Where… where are we…?”

“...I don’t know. Nobody knows what’s going on.” Following Shindou’s cue, Tenma turned around to see the other members of the Raimon soccer club in disarray. Some were only just beginning to stir; some were looking around in bewilderment; some were waking up nearby teammates; and others were simply standing still in shock.

“Tenma! Are you okay?” Nishizono Shinsuke hurried over to him. The small boy ran with a bounce, his hair bobbing up and down with the movement.

“I looked around this place just a second ago but there’s nooooothing!”

“...I guess we must have fallen asleep without realizing it.”

Third year Sangoku Taichi furrowed his eyebrows and said, as Nishiki slapped his own cheeks and added: “I bet it was sleeping gas.”

Nishiki scrunched up his thick eyebrows and began shaking his head. His high-ponytail shook furiously from side to side.

First year Tsurugi Kyousuke was the only one cautiously surveying his surroundings in silence. He grit his teeth, a dark expression on his face. His narrow eyes were clouded over in confusion.

Though he had previously been a Seed and an enemy of Raimon, he was a now a firm member of the team. Only at this moment his expression was reminiscent of his natural instinct as a Seed, but his teammates hadn’t noticed his sudden change of demeanor.

“...Is this the training camp?” Puzzled, first year Kageyama Hikaru said to no one in particular, but everyone knew deep down that something was very wrong. Though he was normally easy-going and cheerful, Hikaru couldn’t hide the anxiety he felt at this minute.

“...That’s right. We were supposed to go to a training camp. Fifth Sector’s orders… They sent a bus…” As Tenma muttered to himself, Shinsuke looked up at him with unease…

They lost track of time but Tenma and the other Raimon Eleven members boarded a bus sent by Fifth Sector a couple of hours earlier. 

Though they couldn’t be sure of how much time had passed, evidently it had been several hours ago that the Raimon Eleven members boarded a bus sent by Fifth Sector. Prior to that, an order had come from Fifth Sector for the Raimon Eleven to go to a training camp.

Raimon were right in the middle of the Holy Road tournament, having just won their third match against Kidokawa Seishuu. Yet apart from knowing Fifth Sector would escort them there, everything about this training camp was a mystery, even the location. The entire team protested, including their Coach - Kidou Yuuto.

Chairperson Kinzan, who brought along the news, was a man sent in by Fifth Sector. He had predicted the Raimon Eleven’s refusal, and countered their opposition with a few words he knew would have an effect.

“You mean you don’t want to know? What your former coach Endou is up to? … He’s giving us a helping hand, you know.”

This stunned the Raimon Eleven. Still reeling from shock, Kidou carefully considered Kinzan’s words. For him to go as far as mentioning Endou’s name… That had to mean something. If Endou was any way involved with this so-called ‘training camp’...

Kidou remembered the words Endou had left him with, after entrusting the position of Raimon’s coach to him.

“Fifth Sector’s true objective is probably not just controlling soccer. I want to look into it.” This was the last thing Endou said before he left Raimon. Suddenly, Shindou’s voice pulled Kidou out of his thoughts.

“Why don’t we go and see, Coach?”

Shindou, Tenma and the others looked at Kidou.

“Isn’t it possible Coach Endou learned whatever they’re plotting and went there to try and stop them?”

That was very perceptive of Shindou, Kidou thought. Though the Raimon Eleven had originally objected to Kinzan’s order, at Shindou’s words they reconsidered their willingness to go investigate this ‘training camp’. However, in Shindou’s judgement, a few members of the team should stay behind at Raimon.

“At this point in time, Raimon is the center of the anti-Fifth Sector boom. We can’t leave here unattended.” It was decided that second years Hayami, Hamano, and Kurama would stay behind at Raimon. The three saw off their teammates as they departed with a feeling that something was not quite right.

Read part 2 here.

[sakuchii-fanfiction]

SHOCK! Inazuma Surprise - CP 3

A/N: This is the final part. With this the story has reached its final destination. The next anniversary fic shall be written once I reach my 10th anniversary, which is in 2021! Till then, I focus on my other stories. 

Surprise Three: Dreaming, Awake, Dreaming?

“Sa-Sa-Saku…san!?” I heard Endou stutter in disbelieve and gulping loudly. He stared at me with widened eyes and snorted loudly. As if he finally realized what was going on, Endou then covered his nose and wiped away the blood.

“E- ENDOU?” I repeated for the second time. Seeming to have recovered, Endou glanced at me and flashed to me that stupid smile of his. That was so like him, he surely recovered fast!

“Yes?” He asked while grinning.

See? He’s acting as if nothing happened. This reaction caught me off guard and I wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to answer. We kept staring at each other in a complete silence, which I finally dared to break after some time.

I sighed loudly. “Nothing…”

A light smile appeared on my face. A fake smile, but I’m sure he wouldn’t catch that.  

After that I walked to Endou and sat on the bed. I let myself to fall on my back. I then sighed and covered my face with my hand, "SHIT!" I cursed. Surely, this wasn’t the place for me to keep my mouth clean. Even I needed to let off some steam.

I didn’t see it clearly but somewhere in my heart I could feel that the boy was staring at me. The stare was so intense that I thought he would burn holes into me.

“There’s something bugging you, right?” Endou asked kindly while leaning over. I felt as he suddenly started playing with my hair. (Well, this felt awkward). I raised my arm a little and turned to look at the brown-haired boy. Upon our eyes meeting, he smiled kindly at me.

“… I’m just a little tired and confused, I guess.” I answered while closing my eyes. All the things that had happened to me that day came to my mind. It had been a really tiring day with full of surprises. While I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to comprehend all this information I would be lying if I said that I did not have fun.

It was fun. All these people felt so dear to me. They were so kind to me. It was like we were all a one big family. Yes, they were my family. I couldn’t hold back my smile at the thought of it.

A family.

As I kept laying on the bed, I felt as Endou suddenly took hold of my hand. My eyes widened and I rapidly sat up on the bed. It was a grave mistake. As soon as I was up, the boy wrapped his hands around me.

“Don’t mind it so much. You can relax now,” he whispered and the shock on my face slowly faded away. All of a sudden, the tension that had been inside me, the one I had been unconsciously holding back the whole day, vanished.

For the first time that day, I was finally able to relax.  

I closed my eyes and buried my head into Endou’s chest while enjoying his tight and strong hold. I really don’t want to admit this, but the feeling was so nice. It was so comfortable to be with him…

As he kept embracing me, I slowly felt my eyelids getting heavier. I kept on nodding off and almost fell asleep. The sudden thought was unexpected, but it perked me up. No one had ever mentioned it, but just the thought of it made me extremely curious.

“Say, Endou?” I started and stared straight into the brown-haired boy’s eyes. He looked at me with questioning look. I felt my cheeks getting hotter. “How did we meet… and how did we end up together?” He was my boyfriend after all, so there had to be some kind of story, right?  

My biggest concern was, just how this cheerful-airheaded-soccer-idiot actually managed to capture my heart and why? I knew myself and my weakness towards red-heads and albino’s so it would’ve been most obvious if I was dating Nagumo or Fubuki (though the kind-hearted boy wasn’t exactly albino).

And as far as I had counted, Endou was two years younger than I. So, why?

Why Endou?

Endou turned to look at me and smiled widely. “You were a new transfer student in our school back when I was only a first year. We weren’t supposed meet under normal circumstances, but something brought us together…” the boy explained and then kept a pause.

“On your graduation, as I did not want to get separated from you, I confessed my feelings to you and you accepted them.” I heard the boy telling. I couldn’t see his face clearly, as he had covered my head with his hand, but I could feel his heart beat fastening.

I had been an idiot after all. The story was so cliché I felt like throwing up. Like I had thought, there’s no way I would have accepted Endou’s confession in real life. But the way he kept acting, it felt like it wasn’t the real Endou.

My eyes widened slightly.

Real life… Which one is the real world, this or the other one? I don’t know anymore… I’m not sure… This is so confusing.

“Say Endou…” I once more spoke and my eyes turned to look at the boy. Endou tilted his head and he smiled at me. Such a kind smile… A light crimson appeared on my face and I looked away while blushing.

What in the world was this stupid feeling inside me?

“Can you tell me, is this a dream… or am I actually awake? Is this world real or just a part of my imagination?” I asked, desperately wanting to know the truth. I felt like he of all people could give me the answer I needed to hear.

Endou stared at me with stunned look and he was amazed. “Heh… you… this… déjà vu…” the boy mumbled and I raised my eyebrow. What was he talking about? Why was he acting so strange all of a sudden?

Why was this a déjà vu?

“He hee! She has asked the same question every single time, and he still refuses to give her a proper answer. That’s so stupid!” I heard a faint voice giggling somewhere in the dark room. When I turned towards it, I saw the door of my closet slowly opening. Seven pair of eyes were staring at us while shining brightly.

“Oh, our let’s-hide-in-the-closet-and-wait-for-their-kiss plan was ruined by you, Ichinose’s-crazy-personal-stalker.” one of the voices said as the said person realized that I was staring at them. They had been busted.

A deep crimson appeared on my cheeks and at this moment I realized that I was still in Endou’s lap. I rapidly got away from him. “What are you guys doing here? This is my room!” I cried flustered. This was so embarrassing.

I wanted to have at least some privacy in my own room!  

“Meh… and here I wanted to see them kiss.” Yuki sighed and walked out of the closet while being followed by Suginei, Axelle, Maaya, Kokoro and…. JAMI? Why were these people here? I was sure that I passed through Matsurei and Suginei while they were talking to Shirou and Atsuya. How did they get into the closet?

“Yuki is always so mean!” Maaya commented while glancing at Yuki. She grinned, but Yuki seemed annoyed. She pouted hard.

“Shut.the.hell.up! Sorry for being a party pooper!”

Kokoro looked worried and hurried to interrupted the two arguing girls before anything fatal was to happen. “Anyone want candy?” Silence fell into the room.

I sweat dropped. It surely was an effective comment, maybe a little too effective. No one knew how to continue from there. We were just staring at each other in awkward silence. Did Kokoro even have any candy with her? No one dared to ask.

“Ah, um!” I don’t know if it was surprising, but I was the one to break the silence. This kind of situations felt so forced and disturbing. Everyone turned to me and I blinked a few times.

“What exactly did you mean earlier…?” I asked the question from my self-claimed younger twin-sister. By this time, I wasn’t too bothered about our relations… but I wasn’t used to being oldest one. I had always been the youngest child.      

Yuki glanced at me and shrugged. “Everything is simple. Do you know that meaning of parallel worlds?” the snow white-haired girl asked as her eyes started to shine like a madman. At this point, things seemed slightly dangerous.

I could only nod hesitantly. I could kind of understand why this person liked astronomy so much! Then again, I’m not sure if parallel world has anything to do with astronomy. Most likely it does not… Heh!

“Well, well! Then everything is very easy to understand!” Yuki announced and kept a short pause. “I guess by now you have gotten the idea. Shortly to say this and the other world… they are parallel worlds.”  

“They are both real, yet both are a dream. The two of them are connected. You live in both, sleep in both, fall in love in both. The you in here and the you in there are both the real you.” I suddenly heard Matsurei’s voice speaking. Suginei and Kokoro nodded at the comment.

I heard Jami speak after Matsurei. “But only when you accept the both worlds as real yet dream, you’ll have your memories saved in both worlds.” He grinned while glancing at the others who all nodded.  

“Currently, you’re the only one who hasn’t accepted the truth… or to say Endou-san hasn’t been able to tell you it yet.” Maaya smiled while Yuki nodded. I turned to look at the dark brown-haired boy who laughed desperately while massaging his head.

Haven’t heard about it from Endou? Was someone supposed to tell about it to us. If it was Endou for me then… “Then from who have you guys heard it?” I asked from the girls.

“Kazemaru,” Matsurei answered while smiling and Suginei nodded her head.

“Edgar,” Axelle spoke, joining the conversation for the first time that night. I later on heard that she was also Gouenji’s supposed stalker.

Yuki and Kokoro both told that they had heard about it from Ichinose. This wasn’t much of a surprise, though. Kokoro was his supposed younger sister while Yuki was his self-proclaimed stalker (and Aphrodi’s crazy cousin).

“Midorikawa,” Maaya announced.

Jami was the last one to speak. “Suzuno.”

What wait! He seriously got Suzuno to tell such important matter to him? Since she had Suzuno as her favorite character – tell me why I didn’t get to hear it from Nagumo?

This world was so weird.  

“Gotcha!” I announced happily, while seemingly looking as if I understood everything. I tried to assure this to myself and everyone else, but I’m not sure how many of them actually brought my acting. Even if they doubted, no one showed it, instead they all smiled.

It was so nice, that feeling of having friends with you.

“For how long are you going to make us wait? The cake is ready!” We all heard Haruna’s voice shouting from the other side of the door. Apparently, I would not get any sleep. This seemed like something that had been planned from the very start.

I sighed. So much for the peace and quiet. But getting an explanation for this weird feeling and continuous mysteries calmed down my nerves. I had been on the edge the whole day, trying to figure out what was going on. Now I knew, and now I had the chance to enjoy the party without concerns.

“COMING!” I then answered loudly and laughed in excitement. I ran out of the room being followed by the others. In the living room, there was a HUGE cake waiting for me (yes, it was the same cake from earlier). This time, the candles had been lit and everyone had gathered around the cake.

“Blow the candles and make a wish,” Aki told and I smiled at the girl.

Really. Something unbelievable had happened today, and I finally came to like the idea. This really was the feeling I had waited for my whole life. To have all these loving people around me. It was simply the best.

I then turned toward the cake. With serious expression on my face, I made a wish and blew the candles. Everyone congratulated me and they suddenly started to sing the “happy birthday”- song. At this point, I couldn’t hold back my tears of happiness. The party was truly being celebrated with everyone.

It was so fun!      

As we kept on celebrating and playing various games, I suddenly heard strange noises. It was as if someone was playing a guitar… electric guitar. My eyes widened rapidly… no… this melody!

It was the same one that HE had played during our last practice.

As the melody kept echoing in my mind, I felt my eyes getting heavy. I yawned loudly, said bye to everyone and closed my eyes. I knew exactly what this feeling was… it was finally time for me to return back…

“Oi, are you okay?” I heard a faint voice asking. Hearing the question, I opened my eyes.

The scenario before me was so familiar. I was at the place where we usually practiced our songs. There were drums behind me, the two guitarists were standing on my left side and I was standing in the middle while holding the microphone.

Okay, there was also a grand piano in the room, but we seldom used it as no one of us was a pianist. I really wished I knew how to play a piano, but sadly I could only use my voice to sing.

“Can we continue?” I heard the voice of my crush speaking and I turned to him while smiling light. When my green-colored eyes met up with his cerulean blue ones, I felt my cheeks turning redder.

Why it had to be him? Why was he the one asking the question?

“Yeah, sure. I’m sorry for spacing out like that…” I apologized and he pulled his hand through his chocolate brown hair while sighing loudly. Damn, I feel like I made a mistake and disappointed him. I needed to think of something and quick.

“At least I did see a great dream!” I hurried to continue in order to clear my mistake. My tone was jokish and I pulled out my tongue, trying to liven up the mood. Was this good? Was I funny?    

“What kind of dream?” No one laughed, but at least our second drummer showed some interest towards my words It was kind of fun that we had two drummers and two guitarists in our bad. Yet, only one singer who was also the only girl, the newest member and a leader… fuck. Yes, believe it or not, but that was all me.

“A real dream.” I answered to him while leaving the boys in complete suspension and confusion. After that I giggled lightly and then said. “Maybe we should just continue? I recall it’s our turn to perform next week, right?”

The four boys nodded at my words. I led the boys, telling them the list of songs we would perform and we started practicing them one by one. Ah, I really loved these practice times.

They made me feel so alive.  

That morning, was like every other before. I woke up the moment my phone’s alarm went off, and started playing “Akuma wo Yobisou na Igirisu no Uta.” I turned it off and yawned loudly, looking satisfied. Aside from it being a typical morning wake-up, everything else was far from being normal.

I was alone as my parents were on a holiday trip in Russia. My plans for the day were to have a skype video-call conversation with my friends from overseas. I was supposed to be in cloud nine, yet, just seconds after I woke up an annoying and odd feeling started to bug me. It felt like something wasn’t right and I got to know the reason for it in no time.

I scanned my room and my eyes widened in shock. All the plushies I’ve been collecting for years were gone, and instead there was a bunch of soccer balls, varying in size and color. There was also other soccer-related stuff.

I shook my head in disbelieve. This couldn’t be! The room… it was mine, but still… it wasn’t completely mine.

I was very close on losing my mind and going rampage when I heard suddenly heard strange noises behind me. Without second thought, I turned towards the source of the noise, wanting to figure out what it was. The sight didn’t appeal to me at all.

A strange brown-haired boy was soundly sleeping next to me.

If this was your typical situation, anyone would’ve screamed at this point, but I did not. Instead, a light smile appeared on my face and I reached my hand towards the boy. My wish had really come true, I giggled as I recalled what I had wished for.

I want to be with everyone… Forever!

Really, that had been one hella crazy Anniversary day. Hopefully the next one wouldn’t be as strange and crazy. Maybe next time I would actually remember something… Something about the people that I loved.

This wasn’t dream at all!

I kindly caressed the boys head and smiled, “Ohayo, Mamoru.”

~O-WA-RI~

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