Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Candidate Proposal – To be completed by the candidate

For your project, collaborate with your partner to present at least three locations that hold a personal importance to you. Each place should be described in detail, and you should include a short summary of the local history, adding references where relevant. Consider including personal anecdotes, photographs, video recordings or physical souvenirs to enhance your presentation.

This project is designed to assess your abilities, challenge your views, and promote self-exploration.

- - -

Assigned groups:

XXXX, XXXX

Nishihara Miyako, Hirai Hikaru

Masayoshi Oishi, Akari Kito

Tsukasa Yugi, Mei Shijima

Kou Minamoto, Sousuke Mitsuba

Ogata Yuichi, Katakuri Shika

Shun Yokoo, Yomogi Satou

XXXX, XXXX

XXXX, XXXX

…

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Kou huffed as he placed the slip of paper into his bag. He really hated group projects. He could never say no to anybody, so he always ended up doing most of the project by himself. But not this time. This time, he would put his foot down and refuse to falter.

The project itself was fairly straightforward enough, as long as his partner pulled their own weight. Their school was situated between quite a few famous landmarks, and the train was fairly cheap and quick to take for places that were outside of walking range. Plenty of festivals were also set to take place around this time of the year too, so he was sure that they wouldn’t have any difficulties with finding locations to visit.

There was just one nagging issue – Kou’s partner.

Kou didn’t know of anyone called Sousuke Mitsuba.

Granted, he wasn’t the most popular guy out there, but he was quite familiar with most of his classmates’ names.

His brother, Teru, was the more popular one out of the two of them anyways. The popularity king, Student Council President and ranked number one. He attracted all sorts of attention from both girls and guys alike and was endlessly busy with various meetings and other class president duties.

Kou on the other hand, often had to rush home each day, too busy with housework and taking care of Tiara, to interact with his fellow classmates much. They would exchange pleasantries and have friendly small talk, but that was about it. Even so, he’d like to believe that he was on good terms with mostly everyone.

He was sure that he didn’t know of a Sousuke Mitsuba in his class.

Oh well. He could worry about all of this later, Kou sighed as he made his way to his next lesson.

* * *

It was nearing the end of the school day now. The bustling atmosphere had died down a while ago since everyone was focused with cleaning their designated areas. The blackboard had been wiped clean, the faint scent of chalk lingering through the air tickled his nose. The mahogany floorboards glistened in the light while Kou was scrubbing away at his desk.

The faint rustling of papers being filed away, accompanied by the gentle breeze of the wind, softly grazing his cheek.

Beams of sunlight dispersed through the open windows, painting the room in vibrant yellow and orange mosaics. Distant chattering could be heard from the hallways and somewhere in the background, the clock was ticking away, filling the room with it’s steady and constant beat.

“Hey, Minamoto-kun.”

Was Sousuke a new transfer student? Kou pondered as he continued wiping down his desk, his hand delicately tracing the natural wood grains in the desk. Although it seemed to be in pristine condition, upon closer inspection, small imperfections littered its surface - each left behind by the hundreds of pupils who once sat at this desk before him.

Each with their own aspirations, hopes and dreams.

What were his dreams? He knew he would inevitably take over the family business after Teru, but would he be able to take on such a big responsibility? It was no secret that his older brother was the perfect candidate for the job, with his perfect poker face, stone-cold negotiations, and unwavering tone. He was always great at nearly everything he tried, so as much as Kou loved him, he couldn’t help but feel suffocated by the towering expectations at times.

“Minamoto-kun.”

The vibrant colours of the room around him faded into a blur and he found himself lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. The clock was still ticking away in the background, echoing loudly throughout the room now, calling for his attention.

Time was this fickle, demanding thing. A thing that consumed his mind each waking day. It followed his every breath, lurked within the shadows, and kept him awake throughout the night. Clocks were a constant reminder of all the time he was wasting way – doing all of these pointless things. Worrying about the future. Worrying about his worries.

But enough of that. He should focus his energy on the here and now. He had a project to work on after all, and a partner that he needed to track down.

Kou would have to make a good first impression with this Sousuke guy. He would need to introduce himself, shake their hands and make them feel welcome, right? Was he missing something else? Maybe a welcome gift? Or was that too much?

“MINAMOTO-KUN!” a voice pierced through his lingering thoughts, dragging him back down into reality. His surroundings cleared up, and his hand tightened around the rag, grounding him.

“Ah, sorry- I was deep in thought,” Kou chuckled nervously, a faint pink rising to his cheeks. “Do you need something?”

The boy stood opposite of Kou’s desk, arms crossed as he was watching at him with an unamused expression, “I don’t think that desk could possibly get any cleaner than it already is. I can practically see my reflection in it. Everyone left ages ago, by the way. I thought that I should let you know - you seemed pretty distracted.”

Kou’s panicked eyes scanned across the room, but sure enough, it was empty apart from the two of them and the rows of desks. Had he seriously been zoning out for that long? He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and sure enough, it had been almost an hour after school had officially finished.

He was going to be an hour late home.

“Ah, already!? T-Thanks for letting me know!” Kou frantically bowed, snatching his bags. He was already making a mental checklist of the things that he had to do - cook dinner, wash the dishes, tuck Tiara into bed, clean the bathrooms…

“Wait-!”

He reached his hand out, but before he could say anything else, the door slammed shut and Kou was already long gone, leaving him standing alone in the classroom.

What was he always in a rush for? The pink-haired boy huffed in annoyance as he began to pack up his belongings too.

* * *

Soft melodies of singing birds flowed through the air, their harmonies delicately blending with the gentle laughter of students. The walls were warm from the morning sun casting its golden glow through the clouds and the faint whirring of fans could be heard throughout the halls. The big school bell chimed, signalling that a new school day had begun.

He had warned her to bring a coat before playing outside. Kou internally groaned as he carefully placed his shoes into his locker.

He arrived home yesterday, drenched in sweat, to a coughing and sneezing Tiara, a worried Teru, and a burnt wall in the kitchen. But the wall was the least of their concerns. The doctor had assured both of them that Tiara just had the common cold, but Kou couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

He could picture her laying in bed right now, buried in thick layers of fluffy blankets, surrounded by plushies and probably snuggling up with Fairy.

At least his mother was home to take care of Tiara today.

As he was closing up his locker, the rhythmic sound of light footsteps gradually grew louder before suddenly stopping beside Kou. He turned his head slightly, facing the approaching person.

Ah, it’s the guy from yesterday.

“Hey, Minamoto-kun. Do you have a spare pen I could borrow?” The boy waved, his yellow scarf dangling loosely from his neck. He was slightly shorter than Kou and had one of those cameras from the photography club peaking out from behind his scarf.

“A pen? Yeah, sure thing!” said Kou as he reached into his bag, pulling out a peculiarly coloured pen.

“Didn’t take you for the type of guy to have sparkly pink pens,” the pink-haired guy chuckled as he took the pen from Kou’s hand, placing it in his pocket. “Thanks.”

Kou’s hand rested back on his neck. “Ah, I’m not. It’s probably one of my sister’s pens.”

“You have a sister?”

Before Kou could open his mouth, a booming voice reverberated through the hallway.

“HEY, BIG NEWS EVERYONE! PRESIDENT MINAMOTO IS IN THE MARKET FOR A LOVER!!”

“Huh??”

“Oh!”

“No way!?”

The floor began to shake violently, as the deafening sound of footsteps rumbled closer. Suddenly, a horde of people burst into the corridor, seemingly out of nowhere, and charged down the hall like a pack of blood-thirsty wolves locking onto their prey.

High-pitched squealing and rustling of clothes and bags filled the hallway that was completely silent a moment ago.

As they raced past, the boy beside him screamed in terror, squeezing himself into the lockers behind him as quickly as possible.

Kou, on the other hand, reacted a second too slow. Someone collided shoulders with him and the impact caused him to fly into the danger zone. He flung his arms around aimlessly, as if he were drowning in the ocean, as he tried to fight back in the unforgiving sea of students.

His attempts were futile.

Before long, he was swept far, far away.

* * *

“-And then I ended up late for my first class,” Kou grumbled, placing an apple onto his lunch tray.

“Never a dull moment with you, huh?” Yokoo laughed behind him, causing his tray to sway slightly.

The three of them were lost in conversation as they navigated through the busy cafeteria, occasionally stopping to greet fellow classmates.

Satou glanced around for an empty table, eyes widening as he spotted one. “Anyways, you’ve seen the new assignment, right? Have you planned out where you’re going, Kou?” he asked as they continued walking forward.

“We’re thinking of heading out this weekend to Satou’s old hometown. I’ve heard that one of the shops there make the best dango!~” Yokoo cheered, his mouth watering slightly as Satou chuckled lightly in front of them.

“I-uh haven’t thought about the project,” Kou sheepishly said, “I’m having trouble with my partner.”

Satou sat himself down at the empty table, swiping away at a stray crumb. “Hm? Does someone have a grudge against you?”

“But you get along with everybody!” Yokoo said, placing his lunch down beside him.

Kou placed his tray down before waving his hands around in defence. “It’s nothing like that! I just-”

“--TSUKASA!”

The sudden collision sent Kou tumbling backwards. His eyes shut closed, as he braced for the impact. He felt someone grasp the front his shirt tightly. One of his arms instinctively wrapped around the mystery figure’s jumper, while his other arm spread out behind him, softening the fall.

Crash!

“O-Ouch!!”

Kou’s eyes flew open as strands of familiar pink silky hair fluttered in front of him, tickling his face. They were close enough that Kou could spot the small mole underneath his eye, and smell the faint scent of sweet vanilla wafting from his neck.

They were both in quite the precarious position, with Kou’s legs loosely wrapped around the boy, and the latter awkwardly draped over him, with a death-grip on his shirt.

The boy’s hand loosened as he met his eyes, “Minamoto-kun!?”

They simultaneously jolted backwards in shock, hyperaware of their positions. Kou awkwardly coughed before inelegantly picking himself up from the floor. Seeing that the other was still sitting down, Kou hesitantly offered his hand to the pink boy.

“Are you alright?” finally asked Kou. He nodded subtly as Kou pulled him up from the ground.

Stifled giggles caught Kou’s attention. As he glanced to the side, a short boy with dark bobbed hair stood there, his hands covering his mouth. He seemed to be the culprit behind all of this.

A wide, unsettling smile crept onto his face. Something about way his guy stood with his void-like eyes, sent a shiver down Kou’s spine. Creepy.

But before he could say anything, the boy turned around and sprinted at a record-breaking pace, almost crashing into another crowd of students.

“GET BACK HERE, TSUKASA!!-” the pink-haired guy screamed, uncharacteristically loud, as he dashed off after the troublemaker.

Kou groaned as he sat and leaned back in his chair, avoiding eye-contact with the two sitting opposite of him.

“As I said, never a dull moment with you, huh?” Yokoo chuckled, picking up his cup. Kou took a bite out of his apple to avoid having to respond.

The three of them ate in silence, with the occasional bickering here and there. Kou felt himself relax as they fell back into their routine: Satou begging for Yokoo’s dessert, Yokoo refusing, causing the former to (jokingly) threaten to end their friendship, which then forces Kou to give up his dessert to break up the squabble.

“Oh yeah, you didn’t finish off what you were going to tell us,” Satou said, while taking a bite of his stolen cake. “What’s up with your partner?”

Kou chewed for a moment before responding. “I was partnered up with someone named Sousuke Mitsuba, but I-uh, don’t know who that is.”

“Oh, Mitsuba-kun?” Yokoo head perked up.

“You know him?!” Kou’s head snapped towards him.

“The guy you just bumped into,” Satou flatly interjected. “Or more accurately, the guy that bumped into you.”

“He’s in the photography club, right? The one who won a bunch of awards?” Yokoo said, eagerly digging his chopsticks into his rice. “I remember him taking our photos for the yearbook.”

Kou yelled, his hands smacking the table. “S-Seriously!?”

Kou’s eyes darted towards the dissipating crowds, desperately scanning their faces, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pink figure. But he must have left ages ago. His stomach churned, threatening to bring up his lunch, as his gaze dropped back down to his empty lunch tray.

Of course. That Sousuke Mitsuba.

* * *