Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Kojiro had announced he had a surprise for the next ‘S’, Kaoru filed this piece of information away in the furthest depths of his mind. The others, however, hadn’t been so dismissive. Barrelling into Sia La Luce, they fired their commentary at speeds faster than their personal bests.

“I’m telling you, he’s got a new board!” Reki’s voice blared in Kaoru’s ears as he launched himself onto the barstool beside him, elbows narrowly missing the edge of his wine glass. 

“Only slimes would think that,” said Miya. “Your imagination is as limited as your skills.”

Langa, polite and the least audacious of the three, brought up the rear as he gently shut the door behind them. Despite his quiet nature, Kaoru didn’t miss the curiosity glinting in his eyes. “What do you think it is?” he asked. 

Kaoru closed his eyes, lamenting the loss of a peaceful evening. All he wanted was to wind down after work with some free food and enjoy the relaxing buzz that came with Kojiro’s extensive wine collection. 

“I told you,” said Kojiro, emerging from the kitchen with a plate of panna cotta and a knowing grin. “You’ll find out at ‘S.’. 

A soft, tangy raspberry aroma greeted him as he set the plate down. And the extra spoons that followed. 

Kaoru sent a half-hearted glare at him. How could he enable this disturbance to peace? 

Kojiro met his gaze with a bark of laughter. “You know, it’s not hard to admit that my cooking is the best you’ve ever had.” 

A spark of annoyance surged through him, curling his lips into a scowl. “You should have made tiramisu,” he said instead, to redirect the conversation to more familiar grounds. Bickering over nothing? He could manage, Kojiro somehow reading his mind and goading him into admitting the truth? Perhaps he’d consider it when pigs could fly. 

“Tiramisu’s for paying customers,” Kojiro retorted.

“Are you really not going to tell us?” Reki asked, words muffled around the spoon in his mouth. A streak of red smeared the corner of his mouth. 

Kaoru looked down at his plate. The masterful swirls of the raspberry glaze on the pudding were smudged, staining the crumbling crevices caused by hasty destruction of the panna cotta. “You pulverised it,” he complained. 

“You took too long,” Langa offered by way of explanation.

“Good to know that they at least appreciate my cooking,” Kojiro added. 

“This is your fault,” he told him.

And if Kaoru went home that evening telling Carla to remind him to order Panna Cotta for dessert the next time, no one needed to know. Nor did they need to know about the little cog of curiosity whirring in his mind, racing through every possibility for what Kojiro's surprise could be. 

By the time the next ‘S’ rolled around, anticipation sizzled in the air as chatter rippled throughout the participants. Who had a new technique? Was Adam going to show up tonight? And to Kaoru, more importantly, where the hell was Joe? 

Kaoru scanned the crowd. A gorilla as tall as he was surely wouldn't be that hard to spot. He fidgeted with the band on his wrist, mind racing with commands for Carla to call him. But as the instruction formed on the tip of his tongue, a sharp honk sounded, forcing the crowd to part as Higa’s flowery van appeared. 

As it skidded to a halt just before the start line, a hush fell over the crowd. Higa stepped out with Kojiro, who held onto a skateboard that was barely the length of his torso. 

“I told you he got a new board,” shouted Reki, excitement gleaming in his eyes as he darted over for a closer look. 

Kaoru followed, his pace faltering when he heard…barking? 

The crowd erupted into raucous cheers, now a tight ring around the van. Kojiro placed the skateboard on the ground, exchanging it for a large mottled dog. It wriggled in his arms, stretching its broad head upward to drag its pink tongue over his cheek. 

Questions flooded Kaoru's mind, each one fighting for the forefront as they became more and more incredulous. What was a dog doing here? Where did it come from? Was this the surprise? Which poor woman did he have to charm to steal it from? 

But before he was able to voice any of these, the dog let out a low woof before mounting the skateboard. Its stumpy body balanced steadily as one short leg stretched out to propel itself forward. Past the ‘S’ track start line. 

Kaoru’s breath caught in his throat as he shot a wild look at Kojiro. “You're letting a dog skate at ‘S'?” 

Along with the crowd, he only cheered the dog onwards. Like he had planned for this. 

By then, the dog was fast approaching the first turn down the slope. Spectators rushed to follow, clambering over one another to catch a glimpse of it. 

Reki and Langa were already skating ahead to try and keep up with the dog. Miya followed behind, his intrigue and exasperation seemingly at war with each other as he tried to maintain a bored expression. 

Kaoru glanced at Kojiro, whose attention now turned to the screen, watching the dog with a grin plastered on his face. Like a proud parent seeing the fruits of their child's efforts come to light. 

Still, ‘S’ didn't exist for them to step back and watch others skateboard. 

“So you're just going to stand there and let your dog take the spotlight?” Kaoru asked. 

Kojiro folded his arms over his chest, the hint of a challenge in his gaze as said, “What, you're jealous? Thought you'd be the first one to comment on the elegance of a well-executed run.” 

He scowled, unable to deny the truth. Watching the screen, the dog's movements were smooth and precise, even if its tail was wagging so fast that it blurred on camera. Still, like hell was he going to admit to being outclassed by a dog. 

Instead, he readied his own skateboard. “Carla, analyse the dog's average speed and map out the most efficient route to catch up with it.”

“Right away, Cherry.”

With Carla's assistance, he took off. The crowd jumped apart with barely seconds to spare as he sped past them. Despite his head start, Kojiro's laughter grew annoyingly close. He wasn't about to lose to a dog and a gorilla. 

“Carla, prioritise finding shortcuts. I didn't expect to be racing two animals today.” 

“Just admit you're scared to lose, princess!” said Kojiro, his grinning face appearing right beside him. 

Together, they raced down the mountain, twisting and turning around sharp corners at breakneck speeds before they caught sight of their original target: the dog. 

The dog had an almost uncanny ability to analyse the route, shifting its weight at just the right moments to maintain its balance. The sheer audacity of Kojiro to send it rolling down the mountain—a dangerous route even for humans.

In the end, Kaoru had instructed Carla to pull back. In his begrudging admiration for the dog, and by extension, Kojiro, he realised that as competitive as he was, even he wouldn't be so desperate to purposefully beat a dog . 

He crossed the finish line at a leisurely pace, slowing to a halt as he watched the audience cheer for Kojiro and the dog. 

Holding Carla at his side, he strolled over to them, a rare smile pulling at his lips. “As much as it pains me to admit, I'm impressed,” he said. “You yourself are a barely trained animal. I didn't know you had it in you to train one yourself.” 

Hands buried in the dog's fur, Kojiro shot him a half-hearted glare. Beside him, Reki, Langa, and Miya took turns ruffling its ears and receiving slobbery licks on their outstretched hands. 

“What breed is it?” Langa asked. 

Kojiro shrugged. “It's brown and fluffy. Who cares?” 

“Trust you to dive head first into things without researching,” said Kaoru. 

“What’s its name?” asked Reki. “We can't keep calling it The Dog.” 

“Seems like an appropriate name to me,” said Miya, playing with one of the dog's ears. His show of nonchalance fell flat when it tackled him onto the ground to slobber all over his face.  

Kojiro laughed at the display. He caught Kaoru’s eye, the corner of his lips curled into a smirk. “If you must know, I named him Tiramisu.” 

Kaoru felt his eye twitch. “Bit of a mouthful, is it not?” he said, steadily holding his gaze.

“It's got the same number of syllables as Cherry Blossom.” Kojiro leaned over, a stupid smirk on his face as he murmured, “Besides, you’d know all about annoyingly long names. Sakurayashiki.”

Kaoru ground his teeth, grateful that the mask hid most of his expressions, as he fought the urge to shove him in the face.