Kouya Marino had not wanted to go, but his mother had given him one of her special "Looks" that had made him reassess his situation and reconsider his weekend appointments. Grudgingly, he told her he would do as she said, only if nothing else came up. Unfortunately, when he had worked out the schedule with Kuroudo Murume, now the president of the Tobita Club, he had much to his chagrin, discovered that there was nothing in the club that needed his handling during that particular weekend.

"You need to get out more, Kouya," Jirou Oriza told him.

"Funny," the boy who had just turned thirteen grumped. "I remember when practically all of you were telling me I should start concentrating on attending the club or I'll be kicked out."

"That was last week when you were always skipping while we were scheduling your practice for the upcoming Prefecture Matches," Kuroudo Murume pointed out kindly. "Besides, think of it as an opportunity to travel."

"I've traveled enough, thanks," Kouya told them, scowling. "Are you just getting rid of me?"

"Seriously? Yes." Kuroudo shrugged and gave him another one of his ambiguous smiles, to which Kaoru Hanano, the team manager, giggled.

"You don't have to be so honest about it," Kouya yelled. From the next room, they could hear a loud thump and a shout from the Gear Master Kyousuke Jin to shut up or else he couldn't work. They all promptly shouted their apology, only to hear another crash and even loud swearing.

So off Kouya Marino went into a weekend excursion with his mother, which wasn't an excursion at all if he thought about. He was actually "hired" by his mother who, about a year earlier, had expanded her restaurant and was accepting personal catering services for parties. People from different social circles, especially those that bordered the higher class and above, were starting to take notice, and for the first time his mother had gotten an out-of-town order: to cater for an event hosted by a rich family of the name Shinoda in Kyoto that will last for three days. His mother, whom everyone either called "Marino-san" or "Marino-sensei", had earlier discovered she was shorthanded and had thus somehow managed to convince Kouya to be one of the "waiters" for the event.

He had grumped as any teenager being forced to follow his mother would, but had finally conceded when he was allowed to bring a couple of magazine�and Garuda Phoenix, of course. He never usually went anywhere without it. His mother glanced at it once while they were piling into the van and raised an eyebrow, commenting that he would hardly need his gear while he was playing waiter for a bunch of socialites. Kouya did not reply and only held the gear box in his arms the whole trip. The looks she gave him during the trip only made him grip his box harder.

Later, a few hours after arriving in the location and while struggling to arrange the standard bowtie around his neck in preparation for the cocktail dinner, he asked, "Don't you need some kind of training to become a waiter?" He blew an irritated breath; he knew how the whole bow-tying worked only if he wasn't the one tying his own.

"Don't be ridiculous," one of the waitresses, Sae Haruno, humphed at him as she stubbed her cigarette. "You just stand around and give those obnoxious people what they want. They want caviar, you give it to 'em. They want blood, you give it to 'em."

"That's helpful," Kouya muttered and quickly left.

It was awfully lonesome, even though most of his fellow waiters and waitresses were people he knew. They were mostly around sixteen or older; he was the youngest of them and felt horribly out of place. While he sometimes hung out with them, knowing them was different from working with them, and they didn't actually hang around with each other while working. At the most, he tried to stick with Toshi Haziguchi, who was one of his mother's older workers and also who quickly discovered his intent at around ten minutes into the party in time to hiss at him, "Mingle, you loser," before promptly veering off into a totally different direction, leaving Kouya on his own.

Alone and unwanted, feeling sorry for himself and feeling utterly put-off, Kouya stood at one corner, holding a trayful of crystal goblets filled with wine. He found that if he stood there long enough, some people actually went to him instead of the other way around. Earlier, when he had done rounds, he had found himself overwhelmed with orders that he wanted to yell, "Get your own, you have feet!" but didn't, since his mother often came out of the kitchen to survey them and would kill him if he did anything like that. Or, worse, give him that look of disappointment that would make him want to crawl to bed and never, ever get up.

And thus he had finally resolved to standing next to a potted plant, holding the tray up and trying not to meet anyone's eyes. Being a wallflower, he thought to himself sullenly, was not fun.

"I thought you were supposed to be a waiter, not a bartender," someone said beside him.

Kouya stiffened and whirled to his side, dangerously sloshing some wine to the rim of the crystal glasses. "You!" he hissed.

Takeshi Manganji stood beside him, wearing a tux and a smirk that set off his arrogant demeanor. "Yes. Me. I assume you still remember me."

"What are you doing here?" Kouya demanded, carefully keeping his voice low. Seventeen-year-old Takeshi Manganji was, although many considered as one of his good friends, his rival�a conceited one, at that. Two years ago, they had fought in the Crush Gear World Cup Tournament, with Kouya surprisingly winning. Kouya liked to think that they both benefited from that particular event, had even expected Takeshi's overpowering mannerisms to diminish especially since that particular fight had taxed them both and wrenched some emotions that neither had shown to each other since. Still, two years later, Kouya found himself still becoming irritated with the other boy's presence.

Takeshi only took one glass from his tray and sipped slowly, taking his time before answering, "The question is: what are you doing here?"

"My mother's catering the whole thing," Kouya announced smugly. Even if he still couldn't forgive his mother for pulling him into this whole dreary event (which, incidentally, just got worse), he was still proud of her abilities. "And you?"

Takeshi gave him a condensing look. "Really, Kouya, you'd expect a high class social event such as this without the Manganji Corporation?"

"I don't keep track of your boring business dominations," Kouya said huffily, only to uneasily remember that Takeshi spoke true.

Takeshi seemed to find his declaration amusing. "Of course. It would be too much for your oh-so-limited perspective to take." He tipped the glass into his lips, unsuccessfully hiding his smirk.

"That's going too far!" Kouya yelped, then quickly looked away when he realized that some people had turned to them. Gritting his teeth, he counted to ten�slowly�before returning his gaze to Takeshi, who had what Kouya determined was a haughty look on his face. "Takeshi, I have a job to do, so if you'll just�go away, I think I'll go back to doing it." When Takeshi didn't seem to take a hint, he tried again: "Shoo."

Takeshi rolled his eyes. "How inept." He nodded cordially at a passing couple who waved at him before resuming his announcement, "Your inability to learn more appropriate words suited for the moment is probably the only thing that never ceases to amaze me."

"Big words, Takeshi, they're only big words," Kouya countered, only because usually by this time, he would have already dropped everything he was holding and would be pounding Takeshi's form into a pulp, but currently could not; it was bothering him. He tugged at his bowtie and cast an eye to his mother's direction, only to find her glaring at him. Sweat broke over his forehead and he made a final attempt at being respectful:

"Uh�as much as I'd like to talk, I really have to go do my job, so get out of my way�uh�sir."

He heard Takeshi choke down his laughter with his wine and pointedly ignored him; instead, Kouya marched up to several people and asked politely if they would care for a drink, or would they care for some cheese sticks or whatever the hell they called it. A few minutes later, he felt a soft bump on his arm and was glad the few glasses on his tray didn't tip over. "Hey!" he exclaimed.

It was Ran Jung, one of the other waitresses, and she muttered near his ear, "All wrong, Marino."

"Wha�" Kouya unsuccessfully tried to catch her but she was already making her way towards the door for employees to get more drinks. How do they expect me to do it right when they won't tell me? he thought unhappily. He was about to follow Ran into the kitchen when he felt a soft pressure tugging on his pants' waistband.

It was Takeshi, discreetly giving it another tug before letting go. There was an irritated look on his face. "You, come with me," he demanded loudly, gesturing and quickly turning away, obviously expecting Kouya to follow without question.

Stunned, Kouya could only look at his retreating back before he realized that people around him were whispering and Haruno had appeared to take his tray and giving him a slight kick at the ankles. "Get going, Marino," she hissed. "That's Takeshi Manganji, the son of the head of Manganji Corporations. Your mom'll kill you if you annoy one of the main guests this early!"

"But�but�" Kouya cast a helpless look at the direction where his mother was supposed to be, but she most probably must be in the kitchen, issuing final orders for the main course. Weirdly enough, he felt lonely discovering she was not there.

"Go on," Haruno said again, a little kinder. "We'll cover for you."

Finally realizing that he had no choice, Kouya squared his shoulders and nodded. "Right." He hastened his steps, Takeshi had a head start and had longer strides, and some steps later found that the older boy had led him outside to the large garden. "Hey�hey, wait, Takeshi! Takeshi!" Kouya stopped and wheezed, then said louder, "Manganji-san!"

Only then did Takeshi stop and turn to him. "You really are an idiot, aren't you, Kouya," he said almost a little fondly.

Kouya squinted against the poor light, glancing around and grimacing at the towering hedges artfully shaped into different figures that he could not distinguish during the evening. Instead of trying to make sense of the place they were in, he glared at Takeshi. "Okay," he said, then had to catch his breath again. "Okay, what was that about?"

"Follow me." For the second time, Takeshi gestured for him to follow and went ahead.

Kouya threw up his hands and followed; Takeshi's steps had slowed and Kouya found that he now had no trouble maneuvering himself through the trail. A few minutes later, he further realized that the older boy had led him to a small greenhouse somewhere in the middle of the garden. Amazingly enough, Takeshi opened the door and led him inside as if he owned it. The younger boy hesitantly stepped inside, then unsuccessfully suppressed his gasp,

Varieties of flowers grew everywhere as if they had not been given enough place to stretch. Most of them were shrubs but vines had also taken over most of the lower walls and posts. Pots could be seen but they were either broken due to the uncontrolled growth of the shrubs or overturned by the thick vines crawling with the grass on the floor and the array of flowers that Kouya knew to be orchids hanging from different ceiling structures.

"This is amazing!" he said, wishing there was enough light instead of the poor lightbulb that flickered at the middle of the space. Then, he asked, "How come you know about this?"

Takeshi shrugged as he closed the door. "The Shinoda family is a family friend and we sometimes visited them when I was a child. They basically let me run around loose when their children were still around. They still let me do it while even when their children's gone."

"Gone? To where?"

Again, Takeshi shrugged. "School. Somewhere else." He cleared his throat and cross his arms. "This is a perfect place. No one can see."

"Perfect for what?" Kouya's eyes narrowed.

"For me to give you instructions on how to do your job," Takeshi stated simply, rummaging around what looked to be an abandoned table filled with gardening tools.

"I don't need your help," Kouya said, but it was a little sulky. Damned if he was going to owe another one to Takeshi. "I can do it by myself."

"You were doing such a good job with it, too," Takeshi replied sarcastically.

"Why does everyone expect that just because Mom owns the restaurant, I automatically know how to serve people?!" Kouya burst out, kicking a pebble to a stray direction, then another. "I hang around at the kitchen, not at the serving area."

"Snitching food, no doubt," Takeshi put in.

"Hey!" But Kouya had to admit that the older boy had hit close. He kicked another pebble only to have Takeshi exclaim, "Quit it!" The poor light had prevented him from realizing that the pebbles were hitting Takeshi's leather shoes. He flushed. "Sorry."

"Here." Takeshi handed him what looked like a smudged tray. "Props."

"Can't you just tell me what to do?" Kouya complained.

Takeshi rolled his eyes. "Well, the first thing you have to be is respectful."

"I am respectful!" Kouya yelled. "Just not with you�but you're different! You�" He struggled to find words but he could only come up with, "I know you."

"Still, this is a formal engagement, so there are no friendships unless I, as the master, tell you to treat me as one."

"�didn't know we actually are 'friends'," Kouya muttered under his breath.

Takeshi paused, then turned away. "Of course, but it was just an example."

Was there disappointment in his voice? Kouya suddenly felt guilty. "Listen, Takeshi, I really appreciate your help but my mom just made me do this, you know, so she can't really blame me if I fail�"

"That's exactly the attitude you have that I hate, Kouya!" Takeshi interrupted, whirling around and poking a finger at his chest. "You always think that just because everyone expects you to do something, you can't live up to their expectations! You don't give yourself enough credit."

Startled, Kouya suddenly remembered that time, almost three years ago, when Takeshi had humiliated Kouya and had formed his own Crush Gear club, and had said something almost like this. He stepped back, feeling all the more guilty. "I just don't want everyone to think I'm good when I'm actually not," he mumbled, swatting Takeshi's hand away.

"Well, you have talent. Don't think otherwise."

Kouya cracked a grin. "For being a waiter?"

"You have people skills, I'll give you that," Takeshi rejoined, giving him a slight smile. "I suppose it just depends on which kind of people you're with."

Distractedly, Kouya could not help thinking that Takeshi seemed kinder when he smiled. But I already knew that, he thought to himself in surprise, then blinked when the older boy stepped away and sat on one of the benches.

"The next thing you should know is that you should cover places your fellow waiters and waitresses don't. You should always keep an eye on their course, notice which of the guests got what, when, and if they look like their drinks are low or empty." Takeshi frowned. "Got that so far?"

"I think I got your gist," Kouya said slowly, nodding. He wondered why nobody had told him such simple rules before, then guiltily realized that if he had been more observant, he would have noticed it a long time ago. He sat down next to Takeshi, sighing when he realized that his legs were tired even with just standing.

Takeshi seemed to notice this. "Another thing is to take what little breaks you can. Since this is a pre-dinner event, you're lucky, and you can rest while the guests are all eating. However, you might be up all night after that. You have to notice when your other servers are taking their own breaks. Only at least three at a time, maybe even two because I think you're a little understaffed. You'll be luckier if you're the only one�"

"How come you know about this?" Kouya asked, stretching his legs. "I mean�did you take some course in that fancy high school of yours?"

Takeshi shook his head. "You're either really an idiot or just ignorant," he said in a mildly disgusted tone. "I know because I've been to thousands of these events before for our company's expansion. I've lost count." He shrugged his broad shoulders, wrinkling his nose. "That's one of the things you have to remember in parties like this. It's utterly boring and nothing ever happens."

"Then why do you keep throwing parties like that?" Kouya wondered.

Takeshi raised an eyebrow. "Marino, if I was in charge, we won't exactly be having a gowned ball."

"Yes, you do," Kouya countered. "When you throw one of those fancy pre-match parties, it's almost like this."

The older boy rolled his eyes. "I'm not the one who plans them. It's usually my family's guest relations head. I just tell them who to invite." Then, wickedly, he added, "I never invite you because I'm almost always sure you're going to crash it."

"That was only once!" Kouya huffed, giving Takeshi a little push, which Takeshi laughingly evaded. "Besides, don't you have exams and all going on? You're already in high school�it should be hard." Then, Kouya remembered something and added: "And you have a girlfriend. I don't know how you manage your time. You're like Kuroudo."

Takeshi scowled at him. "What era did you stop at? I broke up with Akari a long time ago. Not that it's any of your business."

"You have?" It struck Kouya as odd to think of Takeshi without Akari Ushida who, ever since being officially declared as Takeshi's girlfriend, had never left his side since. When Kaoru had told him about it, he had remembered exclaiming what kind of girl would actually fall for Takeshi Manganji and that she must be really stupid to see something in him. Seeing her, however, was different; she had been fiery, loquacious, and beautiful that something in his own gut had hurt when Takeshi had finally introduced them. "What happened?"

But Takeshi's scowl had deepened. "I said it's none of your business," he replied gruffly, immediately standing. "You know, if you have any plans into becoming a full-fledged serving crew you have to brush up on your discretion skills."

"And why are you doing this?" Kouya asked hurriedly, not exactly in a rush to go back to Takeshi's lecture. "I mean helping me. It's not like you're going to benefit from it."

"If you must know, I have to say I feel sorry for your mom," Takeshi replied. "If you screw up, it's going to be your Marino-sensei who'll take the blame." Kouya belatedly realized that he was right and promised himself he would give himself a kick once he was alone for not thinking that. "Besides, I was bored. They were all talking about the railroad structure and how they can manipulate the costs or something." He yawned. "It's interesting, actually, but it gets old when they start speaking about the same thing without results."

"I would've thought it would be your forte," Kouya admitted, looking away. "All that planning and company domination�it seems like your kind of thing."

"It should be, I'm taking over some of my father's companies when I turn twenty-one," Takeshi replied matter-of-factly.

Kouya gaped. "No way!" He had never thought of Takeshi as a company president. In his mind, older Takeshi (still wearing his high school uniform) bellowed, "Kurosaki, get me my morning juice! Gamano, give me the latest reports on the countries we invaded.  Momiya, where's the building I wanted to destroy yesterday? Is it in rubble yet?" with Kurosaki, Gamano and Momiya running around in women's corporate suits. He snickered.

"Is it amusing to think about me taking over?" Takeshi's voice interrupted. He had one eyebrow raised.

Kouya blinked. "N-no, actually. I was just�" He cursed his imagination and had to suppress a wave of laughter. "�just�I was thinking about Kurosaki in a skirt!" he blurted out, unable to help himself.

There was silence as Takeshi blinked at him, then, much to Kouya's surprise, burst out laughing. Kouya could not help himself and joined in. They spent the next few minutes trying to stifle their laughter, each failing until they were both out of breath but still giggling and had fallen on the floor, pounding the soil and clutching handful of grass in attempts to stop. Finally, a kneeling Kouya managed to take in a deep breath and not let out another fresh bout of laughter.

"I�" He gave another short burst of chuckles before gasping out, "My pants! Aw, man, Mom's gonna�kill�me�" His voice trailed to a stop when he felt a hand brush against his cheek and looked up, only to see Takeshi's face close to his own, too close.

Kouya felt the laughter die in his throat. He wanted to make a sound but no amount of strength could make him say anything. It was like watching a slow-motion movie, with Takeshi's face coming closer, eyes closed, until Kouya felt his own eyes flutter shut and he leaned forward, meeting the older boy's lips.

It was just a mere slight brushing of their lips. It occurred to Kouya that it felt a little awkward with his eyes closed and with himself kneeling on the ground, but when Takeshi paused, he found that he didn't care. His eyes flew open and he was about to say something when Takeshi leaned closer. Their lips pressed together in the lightest of all pressures that Kouya had ever felt�or had never felt. He felt a slight shudder overcome his body when something moist touched his lower lip. It was making him giddy and frightened at the same time; but Kouya was naturally curious about everything, so closing his eyes, he let Takeshi nip his mouth lightly, catching his breath when what he knew to be Takeshi's tongue traced his lips over and over, tip sweeping the corners of his mouth until it was replaced by teeth, lightly grazing his lower lips and tugging.

"�keshi," Kouya mumbled, moving his lips against Takeshi's.

Takeshi did not answer, merely brushed his lips against Kouya's own damp ones, building a pressure, his hand cupping Kouya's face, fingers entangling with the wisps of hair and pulling him closer�

"Are you sure this is place abandoned?" a high-pitched voice of a female asked breathlessly from somewhere near the entrance.

"I'm sure," a male's voice replied. "Don't worry, nobody comes here."

So quickly that Kouya actually heard something popping, Takeshi immediately pulled away and jumped up. "And that is why you should always respect the guests," he announced loudly, glaring.

Kouya confusedly blinked up at him and was about to ask a question when he realized that Takeshi was looking not at him but at the entrance of the greenhouse. Actual thoughts returned to his brain, and he stood slowly, trying to remember important facts and putting them together, such as where he was and what he was supposed to do. As his brain rearranged itself, he blinked again before he realized that Takeshi had asked him a question. "I wasn't thinking," he blurted out, still bewildered.

Takeshi was giving him an exasperated look. "I asked if you understood, not if your brain is working," he told him in a voice that clearly announced he was not wondering why Kouya was the worker and he the guest of an elaborate party.

Kouya glanced up at him then to the couple who were gawking by the doorway before turning back to Takeshi. "Y�yes, sir. Sorry�I�"

"Leave now, then," Takeshi told him tersely, waving his hand before turning to the couple. "Shinoda-san. Forgive me, I have used your greenhouse without permission."

"It's alright," the man said, voice a little gruff. "Manganji�Takeshi, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir." Takeshi nodded at the woman, who seemed much younger than Shinoda-san. "Misaki-san. Good evening."

"Manganji-kun," the woman said faintly, but giving him a polite nod in return. She turned to Kouya. "And this is�?"

"One of the hired servers, Misaki-san." Takeshi swiftly moved before Kouya, cutting off his view of the couple and effectively hiding the deepening of the flush that was already on his reddened face. "Trifle, really. I was giving him some pointers on increasing his usefulness, especially since he's a bit clumsy when it comes to doing his job."

"You are too kind, Manganji-kun," Shinoda-san boomed, "but you must really leave that up to the caterer. I hear she brought her own hired help."

"It's not her job�" Kouya cut in, pushing Takeshi away, but the older boy grabbed his waist and pinched him, causing him to yelp.

"She's busy and I thought it would be amusing to train him myself," Takeshi interjected. "Call it one of my good deeds." At the corner of his mouth, he muttered, "Apologize."

Kouya gaped at him. "What for?"

"You are too kind," Misaki-san repeated.

Another pinch on his waist and Kouya immediately bowed and said loudly, "Forgive my limitations, Shinoda-san, Misaki-san�and�Manganji-san! Please excuse me!"

"Go, now, quick," Takeshi muttered again, then aloud said, "I have to ask you about this particular kind of flower, Shinoda-san, they're a particular kind, are they not?"

"You�you'll have to ask my wife," Shinoda-san said with a touch of embarrassment. "I'm afraid I know very little about gardening. It's such a waste that this greenhouse has fallen into such disarray�"

With their attention off him, Kouya managed to slip past the couple and make his way back to the party, feebly dusting the soil and grass now stuck to his only good pants. His mother would really kill him when he came back, not to mention the other servers wouldl give him hell for disappearing. A quick look at his watch told him he was only gone for an hour or so but dinner was most probably ending, which meant he could sneak in and grab a quick shower. He quickly changed directions and headed for the separate two-floor cottage, much smaller than the main house but near it and still within the estate, where he, his mother, and the rest of the servers were housed.

When he opened the door, he found that nobody was there. He breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the room he and his mother were sharing. He had argued that he could stay with the guys, who were all sharing one room, but he was now glad that his mother had insisted they share rooms since they were sharing one toiletry anyway, because their room had a private bathroom.

Once inside, he carefully removed his clothes and put them in the bathtub, letting the warm water run over it. Sighing, he sat on one of the stools, staring stupidly as the water from the faucet pattered harshly over the cloth.

Takeshi had kissed him�right? He had never, in his whole life, thought that there was a possibility that Takeshi might like guys, let alone like him, but that was like Takeshi Manganji, constantly surprising him. On the other hand, Kouya had kissed him back, had even wanted to kiss him�right?

Wait�Kouya frowned. Was it even a kiss? Their lips had touched but it wasn't exactly hard, or what his classmates' stories of what kisses were supposed to be, and Takeshi had run his tongue over Kouya's own lips (had it been another time and somebody else telling Kouya that Takeshi would do that, he would have immediately screamed at the top of his lungs about the infinite disgusting things one could acquire from a fellow human being). That didn't count as 'kissing', right? And what about when Takeshi bit him? It didn't really hurt but�

He felt his face flush again and put his palms over his cheeks in an attempt to cool his already reddened face. "STOP THINKING!" he shouted out-loud, then gave a small irritated sound when realizing he still had to wash his clothes to get rid of the dirt from the greenhouse soil.

With intense concentration, he threw himself into scrubbing the soil off his pants. His dress shirt was easy and he surmised that if he hung it tonight outside, it would dry immediately and would be ready for use the next day although the pants had some crusts of soil on them no matter how hard he brushed. He gave it one more intense scrubbing, then: "Uh-oh."

A hole about half the size of his fist now bore over the fabric.

His attention and mood now wrought, he resigned himself to an hour of horrified screaming from his mother and a whole night struggling to sew the thing together, if it was still within the realms of repair. He berated himself for not bringing an extra as his mother had admonished him to do as he carefully hung the clothes on the roof just outside the window.

Finally, he climbed into the tub and sighed. The private bathroom was smaller than the other two bathrooms in the cottage, but it was still bigger than their house's. He tied his already long hair at his nape and began to scrub his body. And unbidden, his mind began to wander once more.

�so if it wasn't a kiss, then what was it? There had been that funny fluttering in his stomach when it happened, even when Takeshi had bit him. He had heard of classmates talking about kissing and things that came with it�whatever those were�discreetly, as if talking loudly would break some sort of spell. Even in the Tobita Club, people only implied such things, especially when they talked about Kuroudo and his boyfriend Eddie Kobayashi or Lilika and her boyfriend Alex Borg. Kouya didn't particularly think of himself as ignorant, but it seemed there was a lot more to these things than everybody let him on. It made him feel cheated, although a part of him was also a little apprehensive.

What if Takeshi didn't like him? What if�it was another one of his ploys to trick Kouya or, worse, to protect him? Takeshi always did go to the extreme in fulfilling some kind of old promise he made to himself, like pulling away from the Tobita Club just so Kouya could step out of his brother's shadow during Crush Gear�

And Kouya had another horrifying thought.

What if�like that time during the World Cup, Takeshi was only looking for Yuuya in Kouya? What if�

�if it was Yuuya Takeshi actually liked?

But Yuuya's gone! Kouya thought to himself, sitting up quickly from the tub. No matter how hard he thought about it, the explanation made more sense. Takeshi, the extremist, had always wanted Yuuya and this was another form of it. He, the one who always got what he wanted, was deprived of Yuuya, so he can only take second best: Kouya.

It made Kouya a little sick and he stood, grabbing his towel and quickly drying himself.

"But�" He stopped and bit his thumb nail, brain still working.

There was still the possibility that that wasn't a kiss. If it wasn't, then Kouya was most probably misinterpreting everything, including his own reaction, Takeshi's expression, and�besides, biting and licking had nothing to do with 'kissing'�right? At least, Kouya had never heard of kissing which included biting and licking. Those usually had something to do with eating, and the thought of Takeshi eating him was�

A loud growl interrupted his thoughts and he felt an embarrassed blush cover his cheeks despite his solitude. That reminded him, he hadn't eaten dinner yet. He wrapped his towel around his waist and fervently hoped his mother had noticed that he wasn't present during suppertime and would bring some food for him.

A few minutes later, he was dressed in comfortable clothes and was reading the most recent Gear Fighting Magazine when someone knocked briefly and opened the door.

"Kouya?" His mother entered the room, frowning.

"Mom!" he exclaimed, sitting up from his futon, only to gawk as his mother made her way towards him, a fierce expression on her face.

"KOUYA MARINO, WHERE DID YOU DISAPPEAR TO?!" she howled, raising a fist to let it land on his head with a loud thump!

"Ow!"

There were muffled voices from outside and Kouya had could tell the rest of the crew were just outside, discussing their situation. He jumped up and held up his arms. "Mom, let me explain! Ack! Put down that pan, someone could get hurt!"

"I'll hurt you more if you don't explain soon!" Marino-san shouted, brandishing one of her pans while chasing him. "And why are your clothes wet?"

Upon finding himself cornered, Kouya shook his head. "Mom, calm down! It's not as bad as you think�"

"Your pant knees have holes!" she shrieked.

"Oh, well yeah�I scrubbed it too hard, sorry. About that�"

"Kouya," she said in a warning tone.

Kouya glared back. "I'm trying to explain, Mom, okay? Just hear me out!" He sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't come back, but it was for your own good anyway. I was ruining everything for you because I didn't know how to handle the whole thing, so I went away to practice and�stuff. I got into a little accident and my pants got dirty so I had to wash it. I'll get it fixed, I swear, Mom. I'm really sorry." Well, he amended to himself, that was what happened anyway. He just omitted the fact that Takeshi had dragged himself (okay, so he followed willingly) and what happened in the greenhouse�

He fought the rising blush on his cheeks and concentrated on his mother. Her expression has softened and, Kouya noted with a sigh of relief, she had lowered the pan.

"Oh, Kouya, I'm sorry too," Marino-san said, a smile appearing on her face. "I was just too excited about getting this break that I forgot to think about your feelings. I just wish you made it known earlier."

"I did, you just wouldn't listen," he grumped, scowling.

"I didn't?" Marino-san thought about it. "Oh, yes. I suppose so. Next time I do that  please feel free to chase me with a pan." As if Kouya would ever do that. "And I'm sorry you had such a hard time, but I know you're bright boy and you catch up quickly."

"I'm not, Mom!" he burst out, feeling irately angry and unable to control it. "I'm stupid and I'm not cool and I can't think for my own and I always end up making a mess of things and I'm not like Yuuya!" He clamped two hands over his mouth, horrified both at his words and at his mother's expression.

Marino-san's eyes were wide. "Why would you even think you're stupid?" she asked him incredulously.

Kouya wished he could call back every word that had left his mouth but it was too late. "Everyone, Mom�you, my teachers at school, the Tobita Club, and Tak�well, a lot of people, including you and Dad sometimes."

"Kouya," his mother said gently, sitting next to him on the futon, "there are traits you and Yuuya both have because you're brothers, but don't think you'll be stuck being the same forever. You two are different and were brought up differently. Don't ever think we always compare you two."

"Yeah�" Kouya felt uncomfortable but a little better. "It just came out, and it's something I've been thinking about for some time now."

"I thought you were over this," she asked him, putting an arm around him. "During that match two years ago?"

"Maybe I'm not going to be over it for a long time," Kouya said, shrugging. "I always think that, well, maybe Yuuya's better in everything."

"Yuuya has his faults and so do you. It doesn't make you worse than him, nor he worse than you." Marino-san gave him a quick hug which he allowed, just this once. "Now, you could have asked someone within the crew if you felt uncomfortable asking me."

"I asked Haruno-san and she just said we should give the guests blood or something," Kouya confided.

Marino-san rolled her eyes. "You, of all people, should know that it's never a good idea to ask Sae about those kinds of things. She's unreliable."

Kouya laughed. "I guess so." He gave her another hug before standing. "Did you bring a sewing kit? I guess I'll go work on those pants while I'm still awake."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Marino-san rummaged around the plastic bag she had brought before producing a pair of pants. "This is for you."

Kouya looked at it incredulously. "Did you buy it?" he asked.

"No." Marino-san seemed amused by the idea. "Misaki-san, one of the guests, said you might need this so she lent it to me. It's her son's, about your size. Try it on; I'll go check on the ingredients that just came in."

"You didn't even have to chase me with a pan!" he accused, snatching the pants from her outstretched hands.

His mother only shrugged as she stood. "I saw the whole in your pants and saw red," she said with a smile as a way of explanation.

"And did you bring food? I didn't eat," he asked as she was leaving.

She shook her head. "Sorry, Kouya, I barely got to eat myself, half worried about you and worried about the food. Check the kitchen downstairs, though. I doubt it's stocked but you might find something you can eat." She closed the door to Kouya's loudly complaining stomach.

The pants fit perfectly although a bit too long, but that could be easily remedied. Satisfied, he put it away and, after redressing, headed down to the kitchen to look for food.

"Nice disappearing act, Kouya-chan," Sae Haruno called out as he passed by the living room, where most of the crew had gathered to play cards. The words weren't said in an accusing tone, in fact it was friendly, but it still made Kouya feel bad.

"What did the Manganji kid want with you?" Risa Hatakeyama asked, laying down a pair of her cards.

Kouya blushed. "N-nothing," he stammered.

"Spill it, Kouya-chan," Kyo Onishi said, not looking up. "Actually, Hatakeyama's just interested because she finds that guy 'kind of cute'." There were hoots around and Risa blushed.

"He was at least nice to look at," Risa defended. "Unlike most of the guests. There were only a few of them around our age."

"He was hot," Sae interjected, grabbing one of the nearest drinks. "Wasn't he, Kou-chan?" Kouya realized that everyone kept calling him either "Kou-chan" or "Kouya-chan", making him sigh.

"What kind of a question is that, asking that to a guy?" Seiichi Terada shouted good-naturedly. "Girls really shouldn't ask guys, 'Isn't that guy cute?' because, really, what kind of answer do you want us to give?"

"Yeah," the rest of the boys seconded, raising their glasses. Three more pairs of cards were thrown into the middle of the table.

"But he was really cool," Ran said, looking dreamy. "You're so lucky, Kouya. Takeshi Manganji of the Manganji Corporations."

"Rich, too," Eriko Midorigawa put in.

"My cousin goes to his school, said he's running for one of the top spots for graduation," Toshi Haziguchi offered, only looking up from his cards to add, "You should thank me for this bit of information."

"Whatever." One of the girls threw a cabbage leaf at his head.

Kouya was about to escape when Risa turned to him again, "So, Kou-chan, what did he want from you?"

"Shine his shoes?" Kyo interrupted, earning laughter.

Kouya felt all their eyes on him, expecting some kind of answer, and he had the wild notion of yelling out that they were all wrong, that Takeshi was a stupid jerk who toyed with other people's emotions just for his amusement, but he was sometimes so kind that it hurt because Kouya knew that kindness will hurt Takeshi as well. Still, he knew those answers would demand further in-depth explanations so he only replied vaguely, "He�wanted to help me with my people skills."

"He could've helped me," Sae said, grinning.

"And we all know how low your people skills is," Toshi said, ducking from another cabbage leaf. "Hey! Put that back or Marino-san will kill us!"

Taking this as an opportune moment, Kouya rushed to the kitchen and began his search for food. He opened all cupboards, even the refrigerator at the corner of the room. His search only yielded around fifty drinking glasses and one carton of milk, almost near its expiration date, in the ref. Sighing, he told his stomach to shut up and poured the milk on the glass, immediately gulping it down. At least it would help him sleep.

The glass of milk suddenly made him remember about Sean, the man he met in San Francisco more than two years ago. Sean, he remembered, had practically never eaten but had kindly given Kouya the rest of his food and a glass of milk when the younger boy was unable to sleep.

That was when I ran away, Kouya remembered, smiling slightly. Because I hated U-Ya�and�

He wondered how Carlos was doing now, how the Brazilian Crush Gear section was faring. He could only get news through websites and through the different Crush Gear magazines he collected, but it was different from actually seeing with his own eyes, or actually speaking with Carlos.

Thinking about Carlos made him think about Yuuya, then, of course, Takeshi, He refused to submerge himself into another depression like that one, especially since there was nothing to be depressed about. Angry, yes. Depressed, no.

And thinking of Takeshi reminded him of the 'not-kiss', and thinking about that made him remember that he was still hungry. A little exhausted and lacking energy, he washed the glass he used and replaced it to trudge back to the living room, only to find that the crew were gathered closely next to the entrance, the girls talking more animatedly.

"What's going on?" he asked, slowly nearing them.

"Kou-chan!" Risa Hatakeyama practically floated up to him. She was easily taller than Kouya's height and she loomed over him, her face a combination of dreaminess and excitement. "Guess who just came by?"

Something twisted deep within Kouya's stomach. "I don't rea�"

"Takeshi Manganji!" she exclaimed, then demanded, "Hey, where are you going?!" but Kouya had already pushed past her and into the door. "Hey!"

"TAKESHI!" he yelled, pulling the door open only to find that the surroundings was empty. He whirled around. "Which way did he go?!"

"We assumed that he'll be going back to the main house," Kyo told him, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "What's it to you, Kou-chan? Have a fight to pick with him?"

"Something like that," Kouya muttered, then gave himself a shake. "I mean, no. He was just�why did he come?"

"He told me to give you this." Risa held out a paper bag towards him, still looking wistful. "He said something about keeping you from eating�"

"Gimme that!" Kouya greedily snatched the bag from her and almost wept in relief. "Food!" He opened the bag and sniffed, then cried out, "CRAB! My favorite!" He felt his knees weaken and he fell on the floor, clutching the most precious thing to his chest. "I'm�I'm so hungry!" he wailed. Dumping the wrapped contents on the living room table, mostly crab sandwiches, his companions quickly gathered their playing cards and drinks before he put his hands together and shouted, "Thanks for the food!" before diving in.

"Wow�Kouya�chan�" The rest of the crew stared in amazement as Kouya polished the food in five minutes flat.

When he finished, they had to give him some of their drink so he could swallow the food he was choking on, pounding his back for good measure. It was only another minute after that Kouya finally gave a sigh of relief and let his back rest against the foot of the couch. "That was good," he exclaimed, patting his stomach.

"Dude, that was awesome," Kyo uttered, eyes wide. "I never knew someone other than Toshi could finish off food that fast."

"You've never met my friend Jirou Oriza," Kouya returned, dumping another can of juice in his throat.

"Anyway, Takeshi Manganji apologized for keeping you from dinner, Kou-chan," Risa finished her message, still looking quite pleased with herself.

"Apologized, huh?" Kouya muttered to himself.

Just then, Marino-san appeared at the top of the stairs, watching them with a puzzled look. "Is everything alright? I thought I heard noises. Is Kouya there? Tell him to go to bed already."

"Yeah, Mom, I'm here," Kouya yelled back, embarrassed that he was still being treated like a kid.

"You'll never guess who just came by to give Kouya food, Marino-sensei," Sae called out animatedly. "Takeshi Manganji!"

"Oh." Marino-san paused. "Did you thank him, Kouya?"

"Uh�no, I didn't get a chance to," Kouya said, getting up.

"Next time," Marino-san admonished as he pushed past her and made his way up the stairs, "you have to thank him properly and invite him for dinner. It's only right to invite your friends over to taste my cooking once in a while."

"Friend?" The girls looked stunned.

Kouya frantically motioned for his mother to shut up but she did not seem to notice. "Of course. Kouya and Takeshi are very good friends. Takeshi even taught Kouya how to Crush Gear!"

"Mom, that wasn't Takeshi, that was Yuuya!" Kouya corrected, then quickly rushed up as the shocked expressions on the girls started to wear off.

A few minutes later, while lying on the futon on the floor next to the bed, Kouya sat up when he heard his mother enter the room. "You're still awake?" Marino-san asked him concernedly as she reclined over the bed.

"Yeah. Uh�I wanted to ask you a question." Kouya took a deep breath and wondered how he was going to phrase this easily, except that there really wasn't an easy way to ask if he wanted to know what he needed to know. He wasn't really intimate with everyone else in the cottage, his close friends were so far, so he might as well ask his mother. I'm such a loser. "Mom�have you ever kissed someone before?"

There was a pause as his mother ceased all her actions and Kouya sat frozen on the futon next to her. For a few moments, it seemed that every sound in the background had intensified: the chirping of the crickets, the croaking of the random frogs in the nearby pond, the murmur of people from downstairs.

Then, his mother raised her head slightly and replied with an amused voice, "Of course I have, Kouya. That's why I'm married to your father."

The answer was certainly not what Kouya had been expecting�come to think of it, he wasn't really expecting an answer. With one loud whoosh, he let out the breath he did not know he had been holding back and plunged on, "So you've kissed."

"Yes, Kouya. Married couples do kiss each other sometimes."

"Because you like each other, right?"

"Of course, yes."

Kouya frowned. "Do you lick each other, too?"

"KOUYA MARINO, HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING LATE-NIGHT CABLE?!" his mother hollered, quickly sitting up from her bed.

Kouya cowered. Well, he was somehow expecting that reaction. Nevertheless, he plunged on: "No! I was just�thinking about it."

"When we get home, I am having a talk with your teachers. What on earth are they teaching in junior high nowadays?!" his mother ranted.

"Mom, don't blow up," Kouya pleaded. "I was just�I just want an advice."

His mother immediately ceased her speech about the evils of modern teaching and was all-ears. "Go ahead, Kouya, you know I'm always here for you. I'm your parent so you shouldn't be scared."

"Your reaction was enough to scare me," he pointed out, then cleared his throat at the glint of his mother's eye. "Uh�the thing is, somebody�kissed me."

"I see." His mother paused. "It's no use asking you who it was, right? You'd say I don't know."

"Actually, you know�him." Kouya began to play with the corner of his blanket.

"Him." His mother's voice wobbled.

Kouya nodded, forcing himself not to watch his mother's dark form. Even in the absence of light, he somehow knew that his mother could see his red-flamed face.

Another pause, then his mother continued faintly, "Don't worry about that, Kouya. Whatever you think about your mother, you'll have to remember I'm open-minded."

"The thing is," Kouya rushed on, immensely grateful for those words, "I'm not sure if I like him�or if he even likes me. It just�happened and, well�I've never really thought if I do like girls or boys or�either. Or neither. I've never thought about it that much."

When his mother didn't butt in, he continued, "The thing is, I'm not really sure if we did kiss because�well, what we did isn't the exact definition of kissing, or at least, from what I know about kissing. And if we did kiss, then why? Like everybody else, he worships the ground Yuuya walks on so he might�well, he might not really like me at all. I mean, he might still like me, but not like me for me." He wondered silently to himself if the random words popping in his brain and coming out his mouth were actually making sense. The blanket he was holding between his hands was now crumpled due to his unnecessary fidgeting.

Silence reigned the room again and, for the first time, Kouya felt tears rise in his eyes. He angrily wiped them away with his sleeve before continuing harshly, "It's�it's not fair. Yuuya's always the one people remember and not me. I don't hate Yuuya because I miss him too, but everyone always seems to expect me to become like him. I can't even be liked for me unless people know Yuuya. And even I�I can't like someone unless it has something to do with Yuuya. It's like Yuuya's an invisible rope that's holding us together and we can't break away ever."

Again, there was no response, and Kouya wondered further if it was wise to bare his misgivings to his mother. After all, whatever hell Kouya was undergoing because of his brother, he still had to tread softly. He might have lost a brother, but his mother had lost a son.

Then, finally, his mother spoke: "Let me get this straight. You're confused because you don't know if the two of you did kiss. And you're angry because the person who kissed-or-did-not-kiss you might really like Yuuya and is using you as a substitute. But you're also angry because�you think you also like him only because of Yuuya."

Hearing it said like that made it all sound ridiculous and for the second time that night, Kouya began to giggle. "Wow, Mom, does that sound pathetic or what?" He doubled over, pounding his fist on the futon, laughing until tears squeezed out of his eyes, until he felt his mother's fingers thread into his hair and pulled his head into her lap where he laughed and cried all over again. He buried his face into her nightgown, mumbling, "It's so unfair it's actually funny, so funny," repeating it until he was exhausted. When the tears dried, he remained motionless unless he told her softly, "I'm so confused."

"You should be," his mother told him huffily. "Even I'm getting confused, and I'm older. Kouya, like I said, your brother and you are bound to have some things that are similar because you're brothers. But both of you have to accept that he's dead. He's not coming back."

Kouya could not help notice that his mother still had to speak forcefully when saying it. He groped in the dark and found her hand, squeezing it tightly for assurance.

"The only thing you can do now is to go forward. The question is: do you like him?"

"I'm not sure," Kouya told her truthfully.

"And you're not sure he likes you, too." His mother 'hmm'-ed. "Well, why don't you find out?"

Kouya thought for a while, then shook his head. "No," he muttered. "I don't like having to push other people into making decisions."

"Kouya, you don't have to make him realize it," his mother admonished, giving him a gentle thump on the head. "You just have to nudge him to making a decision. Making someone accept the real you isn't really all different from that time you wanted people to accept the Tobita Club. Remember when you worked so hard to get members when it was falling apart?"

Of course he did, and they both knew it. Put that way, Kouya thought things might be easy�except this was Takeshi and he always felt vulnerable with Takeshi. However, something heavy was finally lifted off his chest and he found that he had no more words to say.

"I'll think about it," Kouya said finally, giving his mother one final embrace and reluctantly pulling away. They settled into their respective beds and for a few seconds, comfortable silence fell over them.

Then, Kouya said aloud, "Yuuya never really had problems like this, didn't he, Mom?"

"Oh, you just didn't know," his mother replied faintly. Apparently, she was already falling asleep. "Your brother was at the verge of adolescence. He apparently had more problems with kissing than you did. Not as magnanimous but just�more numerous."

"He did?" Kouya sat up. This was news to him. "With whom?"

"It was a long time ago," his mother replied sleepily. "Let me see�his first kiss was this boy named Shingo Nagatori."

"NAGATORI-SAN?!" Kouya repeated incredulously.

"And then he was pulled into a kissing booth where he had to kiss all the girls in his class. That traumatized him, of course, but he was young then. Then he said Alex kissed him and he kicked him on the groin."

Kouya sweatdropped.

"�Of course, Lilika kissed him, too, many times. Your brother never complained about that, and I daresay he liked kissing her too. Then I think he said he wanted to kiss this boy named Harry Gamble. Or did he want to kill him? I forgot�" She shifted and fell silent, ready to fall asleep.

Kouya reclined once more on his futon, staring at the ceiling and thinking about what his mother had told him when he remembered, "Does biting also have anything to do with kissing?"

He heard something that resembled choking but his mother firmly declared, "Goodnight, Kouya."

And that was that.

The next day, he woke early when an annoyingly loud buzzing noise near his head begged to be acknowledged. He groped around for his celphone, then nearly had his eardrums popped when Kyousuke's voice shouted from the other line: "THANK GOD!"

"Jin?" he shouted back. "I can hear you loud and clear!"

"I know! Kouya, you need to come back tomorrow!" Kyousuke sounded frantic and Kouya could practically see him hopping around just like he usually did when he knew he had to do something but didn't know how. "Morning, preferably. My computer just crashed with Garuda Phoenix's most recent files and I still need to measure some screws for the match next week."

"We have all week to do that, Jin." Kouya snuggled deeper into his blankets.

"Don't argue, Kouya." There were loud voices from behind him, most likely Kaoru's, then Jin took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. "We can't do it next week because I need to pre-order the material and it needs at least five working days to arrive. The new files weren't saved in the club computer so I need to do it again personally. We can make it if you come back tomorrow."

"Uhm�" Kouya thought hard for someone who just woke up. "We're scheduled to come back tomorrow anyway, but we're also scheduled for some stops so my mom can buy some stuff along the way. We'll be arriving at around midnight."

"That's too late!" Jin raged. "Be here at 15:00 tomorrow and we'll still make it for the Prefecture Matches." There was a click followed by silence. Kouya turned off his own phone and tossed it to his bag.

Sitting up, he saw that it was still 6:00; his mother was already gone, probably preparing for the lunch and final evening feast. He crawled to the corner where he had stored his gear bag and opened it, not helping the smile that always came to his face whenever he saw Garuda Phoenix.

"Good morning," he whispered, picking up his gear as if it was the most important thing in his life. Like every morning, he took a cloth and lovingly traced each and every curve, sweeping the invisible dust that gathered at every crook. He inspected the parts, making sure that each was perfect. Those parts that Gear Master Kyousuke Jin had specifically marked as the parts that only he can touch, Kouya left alone. The last time he had touched it, Jin had somehow magically known and had ranted at Kouya so much that his ears still rang at the thought of it.

Hey, he thought, as he did whenever he talked to his gear. Did you know about Takeshi? Can you understand him? Whenever I think I understand him, he always does something to prove me wrong.

Sometimes, he thought his gear would answer him, or Yuuya's voice would, but this time there was nothing. After doing his morning ritual of fixing his gear, he got dressed and went down. There, his mother was going over the menu with Risa and Kyo, but she looked up when he appeared.

"Kouya," she greeted. "I just went to the stockroom and realized that three of the cabbages were missing."

Kouya noted evilly that Kyo and Risa's cheeks were tinged with pink and their gazes never met his. He shrugged. "Okay. You want me to buy them?"

"Yes. You know the kind I want, right? Just look for that. One of the helpers kindly gave me directions to the market. It's a bit of a long walk but you'll manage, won't you?"

A few minutes later, Kouya found himself making the long trek towards the main gate and into the highway. As he intently tried to make some sense out of the hastily scribbled directions, he heard someone faintly calling, "You! Server boy!"

He refused to turn around just in case it wasn't him, only the person continued to cry out, "Server boy! You! Takeshi Manganji's boy!"

He whirled around. "Lady, Takeshi Manganji doesn't own me!" he snapped, only to find out that it was Misaki-san.

The woman was a little younger than his mother but looked haggard and worn, especially since she only wore little makeup during the day. She wore fashionable clothes that didn't really go with the weather, Kouya noted, but he wasn't about to point that out. The woman looked slightly irritated as she came up to him, not even wobbling through her high heels.

"I did not know what else to call you," she told him haughtily. "Did you get the pants?"

Kouya blinked. "Huh? Oh�uh, yes." He remembered that it was Misaki-san's son who owned the pants he would be wearing later. His nose twitched in annoyance. "Thanks." It wasn't said formally and it was sullen.

The woman only waved a gloved hand. "It was a ratty old thing anyway. Listen to me, boy, Manganji-kun assured your silence in exchange for those pants. I wish to hear this directly for you."

"Eh?" Kouya was confused. What was old auntie blabbering about?

The irritation in Misaki-san's expression increased. "What you saw in the garden. Manganji-kun assured me that you would keep silent about the affair and what you saw in the greenhouse if I give you this." She shoved the pants into his arms. "Or do you need other forms of payment? I should have known that you would rather get notes rather than these pants, but God knows what that boy was thinking�"

Kouya watched her in bewilderment as she produced her purse; only as she was pulling out a checkbook that he realized what he was talking about. "That�that isn't�!"

"How much then?" she asked impatiently.

Disgusted, Kouya resisted giving a vicious stomp on her foot and instead snapped angrily, "Lady, I don't know if you have a brain made out of ramen or have no brain at all but I won't be paid like that."

Misaki-san raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really? Then why has Manganji-kun asked for this service�strange as it may be�in exchange for your cooperation?"

Kouya felt his face flush but refused to remove his eyes from meeting the older woman's own. "Ta�Manganji understood a problem I have that he caused and is making up for it," he replied stiffly. Tightening his grip on the pants, he shot again, "I'll borrow this pants but I don't expect anything else from you�and get it into your head that I'll return this. Without your permission and exchange."

The woman appeared shocked at his outburst and feeling a bit triumphant, Kouya turned to his heels and began to walk away. "I don't know what kind of rules you rich people have, Misaki-san," he bit out as parting words, "but if you assume too much you'll realize that you don't understand anything at all."

And lest he found himself again losing his temper at the woman, Kouya quickly left the astounded Misaki-san on the street and hurried away.

He was still seething two hours later as more guests began to trickle into the luncheon area, held in the spacious garden. It was the kind that Kouya had only seen in movies and Western television, and he was at least thankful that he would not have to worry on treading over women's long trains of gowns; they were wearing summer dresses to take advantage of the sunlight. Still, there were some females along with some males who cringed at the bright light and continued to hover in the shadows of trees, poles, and canvas roofs that was set specially for the event.

It was only then that Kouya managed to put into practice some of the pointers that Takeshi had given to him the night before. He carefully took note of the routes hi s fellow servers took, followed the particularities in tastes that some guests had, and half-listened to conversation in order to know who was the current head of discussions and thus would need less food and alcohol. After all, even Kouya knew that the primary intent of this three-day gathering was not only to celebrate togetherness but also to establish and reaffirm business ties. Takeshi must have said something about that the night before, Kouya was sure of it, if only he allowed himself to think about the incident the night before.

But thinking about that made Kouya think about the other problems that went along with it, so he resolved to concentrate on the task at hand. He was a bit torn on whether he should make excuses to speak with Takeshi, or just forget that the incident had ever happened.

Anyway, it seemed that Takeshi was intent on talking with those old executive-looking people anyway. He was standing with a small group of men and women, all speaking intently to each other and he himself was putting in words now and then, of which these people immediately stopped to listen. Kouya could not help noticing that Takeshi had discarded the formal tuxedo as the other guests had and had also donned a shirt and slacks that, while showing its simplicity, also showed his status.

Kouya thought it was so practically Takeshi Manganji, and also further thought he hated himself for noticing.

"Ma-ri-no!" came an urgent whisper at his ear, making him almost drop his tray before he managed to compose himself and turn to glare at Seiichi Terada.

"What?" he snapped. "It's a good thing I just dropped off the empty glasses at the bar!"

The older boy looked apologetic. "Look, I really need a cig break, can you deliver this tray to that group over there?" He gestured to the direction of the small group at the side of the garden near the fountain.

Kouya's eyebrows drew together as he squinted at the direction before flatly replying: "No."

"Please?" Seiichi wheedled.

"No! There are lots of people on your route and I don't know half of them so I don't know what they'll want!" Besides, Kouya added wrathfully, Takeshi Manganji's group is within your route, you fool.

"Just ten minutes�no, five minutes! I breathe real fast!" The boy's eyes were practically glazing as he leaned over him. "Please, please?"

Silence, before the younger boy snapped, "Fine!" and turned away to follow the direction as well as take the offered tray with the pre-ordered drinks on them as the other sputtered his gratefulness in quick breaths before disappearing.

Anyway, Kouya told himself with more false cheer than he expected himself to have, Takeshi Manganji wasn't in the same group where he would deliver the drinks, it was only Takeshi's father. He was surprised that he could still remember that man's name; his face was ordinary although the glint in his eyes resembled Takeshi. He supposed Takeshi must have inherited his eyes and brains from his father, while the rest came from his mother.

He berated himself for thinking about it too much.

Also, he thought to himself as he made his way through the people who were strolling through the gardens who laughing or discussing and making small talks, Kouya knew that everyone, including him, regarded only those who are important. One of the pointers that Takeshi had impressed upon him the night before was that servers had to be dedicated, silent, and invisible. They do not speak until they are spoken to.

He was thinking about Takeshi again.

Kouya made a mental note to himself that he would never smoke and become a nicotine-addict like Seiichi Terada, with his stupid ten-minute-no,-five-minute breaks.

He took his time covering part of Seiichi's route before he managed to make his way towards the group composed of company executives and managers which included Manganji-san. The discussion seemed to be led by the older Manganji, and upon arriving the server could not help but be at least a little grateful that he was present when his ears caught the magical words: "Crush Gear."

"The mistake of the company was to focus on the trend," one of the bony, stern-looking woman was saying. "Erasmus Trading did not believe that the sport itself would continue to develop and thus spent little time on considering possible paths that Crush Gear itself will take."

"Exactly," was the loud affirmation done by the older Manganji. "Nobuhara should have taken into consideration that with the presence of scientists in the field, and the sport itself being in its first stages, there are bound to be changes."

"What are those called again?" one put in.

"Gear Masters," was the reply from someone.

Kouya silently handed out the drinks.

"But Manganji Corporations have lost billions due to the VT Chassis," a stocky man ventured, eyes glinting at the direction of Manganji-san. "Two years ago, I remember, when investment in its science and material was lost with the public availability of its private information."

The older man seemed to waver for a moment before he drew himself higher and stared at the man in the eyes. "Despite this," Takeshi's father replied stoutly, "the company has managed to recover completely."

"Yes," another from the group murmured, glass against his lips, "especially since there has virtually been a monopolization of the research and parts especially within Japan."

"And I look forward to working with your firm, Yasuda-san," ventured Manganji-san, raising the glass he thoughtlessly took from Kouya to the direction of the man. The man acknowledged this by also raising his glass. "The merging of our companies will truly help with the further knowledge sought by the Crush Gear world."

"You mean 'acquisition'," the man, Yasuda-san, said with a small smile.

Manganji-san returned this with a wider smile. "I believe in cooperation, Yasuda-san."

"Anyway," another quickly said, "with Crush Gear becoming a known sport all over the world, and with the coming of the third World Cup in two years, Manganji-san must demand to have a representative in the Gear Fighting Association."

"Without question," agreed one of the groups, nodding at Manganji-san's direction. "The Firestones have monopolized the association too long. The representative may even be Takeshi Manganji, your son. After all, it is known that he has intense knowledge on the workings of both the management and the scientific sides of Crush Gear, and he has practically handled your Gear companies since he was sixteen."

"Yes, the Firestones have been ambitious, haven't they?" Manganji-san said softly, as if to himself. He was smiling. "I have also lobbied for representation within the GFA but they will still not give their answer until next year so I will continue to wait."

"Anyway," said the stocky man tartly, "if Crush Gear disappears, your company will have the possible chances of salvaging the remains of the investment�eh?!" The gasp was uttered as Kouya, finally not taking it anymore, quickly drew himself before him.

"Crush Gear is here to stay!" he shouted, jabbing a finger at the man's chest, ignoring the fact that he was shorter by more than a head. "And you people can't understand it because you yourself don't play!"

"Eh? Eh?!" The man's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets and he quickly darted looks around. "You atrocious servant, how dare you�"

"Servant?!" Kouya screamed, feeling his face redden. "I'm telling you�"

"Now, now, Hoshino-san," came a smooth voice from behind Kouya just as he felt someone catch his wrist and grip it tightly behind him, "one must not let the hired help indulge themselves. Anyway, I would like to introduce you to the World Cup champion two years ago: Kouya Marino."

"Takeshi!" Kouya gasped, whirling around to the other boy who had caught his wrist in a tight grip.

Takeshi, however, was not looking at him and was instead gazing at the one he called Hoshino-san, the one Kouya had railed against. "Crush Gear is truly a sport that can only be understood once you have gained knowledge over its mechanics," he said. "Who would have better knowledge other than the champion himself?"

"World Cup champion?" Hoshino-san peered doubtfully at Kouya. "This little boy?"

"Yeah, and I beat Takeshi fair and square, too, you�frog-face!" It was only watching how the man's eyes further bulged out that he gulped and realized he would be in bigger trouble with his mother. "Uh�sorry, sir, I meant that I did beat Takeshi two years ago�"

"Of course!" came an explanation from behind them. Everyone turned to see Manganji-san beaming at him. "I was thinking where I saw you before! You are Kouya Marino, the one who challenged my son two years ago, the one who was against him during the final matches in Manganji Buildings!"

"Yes, sir," Kouya meekly said, shamefully hanging his head. Behind him, Takeshi had let go of his wrist.

Meanwhile, Manganji-san had turned to his co-executives and said loudly, "My son, Takeshi-san, beat this boy during the finals of the World Cup Championship two years ago, which was organized by the GFA."

"Hey, mister, I beat Ta�let go!" Kouya yelled when Takeshi again grabbed his wrist and twisted it hard.

There was now a large crowd gathering around them, murmuring. Helplessly, Kouya watched as Seiichi returned from his break and look into him in bewilderment before his face disappeared among the group of people who were collecting around them.

"Now you've done it," Takeshi hissed at his ear.

Kouya turned to him, red-faced and growing angrier by the second. "Hey, I did beat you that time!"

"No, that's not it," sighed the other boy, but it was drowned by the murmurs and mutterings that the people were doing. Clearing his throat, Takeshi turned to his father and said, "Crush Gear is one of the sports that, while still young, has continued to captivate not only children but also different adults in several aspects, including the scientific and its commercial possibilities. Manganji Corporations will be a fool not to take advantage of this movement as this will help with the economical proceedings of our country, as well as be a benefit for the corporations that wish to invest here."

"The low knowledge of companies concerning the management of such sport is lamentable," one agreed.

"What is Crush Gear anyway?" came the voice of a snooty onlooker. "My daughter�detestable creature, I despise her mess�has become enamored of it and I've only recently heard of it."

"My son and his friend here are the top two fighters of the event," came Manganji's proud boom as he gestured towards them.

"Father!" Takeshi's voice was a warning which the older Manganji did not heed.

"In fact, I believe they will be able to completely show how the proceedings is undertaken by an exhibition match, what do you say, eh, son?" Manganji-san turned to beam at Takeshi.

The younger Manganji seemed to take this into consideration, before finally nodding. "I suppose it will be advantageous for business if we manage to get commissions and services from other firms. I agree to the exhibition match, Father. Please give us ten minutes and speak to Shinoda-san over the use of his arena."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kouya yelled, trying to wrench himself away from Takeshi's grip. "I didn't agree to anything! Ack! Let me go!" This was said in an almost scream as the older boy began to drag him to the direction of the main house. Behind them, there was a buzz of excitement as many of the executives struggled to learn more about Crush Gear and while Manganji-san managed to locate Shinoda-san.

After a few seconds of unsuccessfully trying to pull away from Takeshi's grip, he finally settled for trying not to stumble as he followed the older boy. "I guess it's also a bit understandable why your father's company is requesting for participation in the WGFA."

"He shouldn't, I don't approve," Takeshi muttered, not looking at him. "The Firestone Trading Corporations has every right to currently representing the whole of WGFA, especially with Gina Firestone as lead."

"W�what do you mean?" By then, Takeshi had finally let go of his wrist and they were now briskly walking on the path, Kouya trying not to gasp as he struggled to keep up. "Are you�saying that the Firestones have the right to monopolize the GFA?"

"They have the right because the Firestone family produced the Legendary Gear God," Takeshi told him coolly.

Kouya finally stopped trying to keep up with Takeshi's strides and gawked at him. "Are�are you saying that the Legendary Gear God is actually Gina Firestone?!"

Takeshi stopped and stared at him, his expression torn as if he could not decide whether he should laugh or smack Kouya's head. "What on�NO! No, it's not Gina Firestone, it's�" He threw up his hands and resumed his pace. "You know what? There's no use telling you. Just get your gear and meet me at the fifth hallway on the second floor, east wing, next to the painting with the deer. Be there in ten minutes." With that, he veered off to the direction of the main house.

Kouya hurried to the cottage, fumbling with the security code and hurrying to their room. Five minutes later, he found himself going up the winding stairs to the second floor, muttering to himself the directions Takeshi gave.

When at last he found it, Takeshi was already there waiting for him. Without a word, the older boy beckoned and led him to the end of the long hallway.

"Takeshi�" Kouya hesitated. "A-about last night�"

Takeshi spared him a quick glance before looking away once more. Kouya could read no expression on his face. "What about it?"

"Don't you think�we need to talk?" Kouya bit his lips as they paused before the great doors that separated the hall from the ring.

There was silence while Takeshi frowned at the oak wood with its engravings, fingers enclosing and clenching around the brass handle. "I hardly think now is the time."

"But�"

"I said later, Kouya," Takeshi said sharply and pushed the great doors open.

There was no loud cheer like during official matches; the audience was composed of people who viewed Crush Gear as a mere childish sport or another business opportunity. I wonder if these people can appreciate the level of intensity present in a match like this, Kouya thought, apprehensively watching as the guests gathered at the bleachers, politely making comments about the ring, the lights, and everything else that hardly helped in the gear match itself.

When Takeshi promptly went to the red zone, Kouya obediently resigned himself to the blue zone. The preparation dugout was a little dusty, as if it had not been used for some period of time.

As he opened his gear box, he realized that felt a bit lonely, having to fix his gear by himself. It wasn't that he didn't know how, it was just he had become so used to having one of his club members with him. He closed his eyes and pretended that Kaoru was behind him, yelling that he should win while Lilika patiently tried to calm her. Jirou and Kuroudo, he thought to himself, would be trying to stay away but would offer advices, especially if they have already fought the opponent themselves. Kyousuke, in the meantime, would be right next to Kouya's elbow, pointing out what should be done to the gear and giving possible analysis on the opponent's gear.

It didn't really make him feel better and there was that funny feeling in his stomach again, which he couldn't remember having since the World Cup Finals.

"Speak your feelings through your gear," their club owner Lilika Tobita had told him once during a match he could never forget.

But how could he try connecting when he did not know his feelings in the first place?

At last, he was inserting the last screw into the wheel slot when Kyo, who had agreed to referee, stepped into the judge's stand and called, "Fighters, into the ring."

Kouya gave Garuda Phoenix one last inspection before stepping into the fighters' stand. He gripped his gear tightly. I'm not the only one who can speak through my gear, he thought determinedly.

"This is a one-round, three-minute, sudden-death match. Gear fighters, set up!"

Across the ring, Takeshi met Kouya's eyes and positioned himself. His eyes were empty, his face devoid of emotion. A bit pissed, Kouya lifted his gear and went into his usual tornado stance. Takeshi, too, knows how to speak through Gaiki.

"Ready!"

I'll just have to know how to answer him.

"GO!"

"Let's go, Garuda Phoenix!"  He jumped and released his gear into the ring, barely aware that Takeshi too, had released Gaiki; both gears made sharp sounds of metal hitting metal when they landed. They brushed past each other, testing the grounds, before Gaiki customarily used the momentum and sped up.

Can you see it, Takeshi? Kouya thought, glaring at Gaiki. I didn't use the special release. I'm waiting for you to make your move.

Phoenix's chassis box moved to the front, pulling it into a loud spin in the middle of the ring for defense. Ignoring this, Gaiki fell beside him. Kouya growled; if Gaiki stayed at the side, it would not be swept by the tornado, but would also not be able to attack. Don't fail me now.

Then, Takeshi shouted, "Gaiki!" In almost a second, the dark red gear had disappeared.

"Wha�?!" Kouya gasped, brain also registering that there were murmurs among the audience. His eyes darted into the ring. "Where are�" He raised his eyes briefly but nothing can be seen, not even in his tornado's eye, but�

"Now!"

With another gasp, Kouya turned once more to Garuda Phoenix, watching as his gear wobbled a bit to the side until it stopped its spin with a sickening thunk and flew into the air, forcefully being pushed by another powerful form. Gaiki had not disappeared, it had kept itself hidden next to Phoenix using the wind that swept the ring to hide itself. Being too near had kept it safe from being blown out. Kouya leaned forward, holding out his arm. "Phoenix, NO!"

Obediently, the blue gear slammed against the wall and plunged back to the ring, albeit shakily. Kouya blew a breath.

"What's the matter, Kouya?" Takeshi taunted. "Frightened of me now?!"

Kouya glared at him despite himself. "I beat you once, Takeshi, I can do it again!"

"Don't think that the last two years were spent on nothing. Gaiki has grown, and you're still too stupid to realize it."

Stung, Kouya yelled out, "Garuda Phoenix!" The gear quivered slightly before the chassis box shifted slightly, pulling the weight of the gear and forcing it to regain its balance but also to decelerate. The younger boy stretched his arm out and demanded, "Speed up!"

In response, the gear did as he said, building its speed while cruising next to the borders, waiting still.

Takeshi pointed a finger at him. "Gaiki's not the only one that's matured, Kouya." Anger laced his voice, fighting the volume of metal against metal. "I've left our last match behind and have been reborn. You must remember that I've grown up as well!"

And in a blink of an eye, Gaiki charged out of nowhere and smashed its nose into Garuda Phoenix's side, causing the Phoenix to topple and overturn, only to return upright as the head hit the ground and made it bounce. A deafening shriek of emerged; Gaiki smugly dropped to one side as Phoenix struggled to regain its balance.

Grown up, Kouya thought in astonishment, palm flying over his chest where a sharp pain had spread. Takeshi had grown up while Kouya had stayed the same, refused to change. His true rival had grown�but he had not completely left abandoned Kouya. This match�Takeshi was pulling Kouya to a change, forcing him to meet the older boy equally. They were, after all, rivals�and the point of having one was for the fighters to keep their edge, to be forced to improve. Takeshi was�forcing him�to change�

"NO!" he screamed. "This isn't the answer I was looking for!"

Phoenix's chassis box shifted to the front, making it spin uncontrollably. Past Gaiki, it swept into perilous circles around the ring. Somewhere in Kouya, he knew that Phoenix was exposed to danger but his sight had blurred and the pain in his chest was rearranging itself�

"Thirty seconds till time!"

Takeshi raised his arms. "King�"

�focusing somewhere�

"�of the Dragon Fighters!"

�near his heart.

Kouya's head snapped up and he growled, "Not that easy!"

Gaiki shot into the air, its velocity allowing the cool air around it to harden as it blew like a legendary water dragon's breath around the ring.

Kouya extended both his arms, enclosing his hands into fists, and punched into the air. "Shining crusher!" And like the bird that it was built after, Phoenix spread its wings and flew away in an attempt to escape the ice.

It wasn't Kouya's special move, but the speed allowed swift elusion as the gear bounced on the wall and used it as leverage to drop back on the now completely frozen ring and skid over the ice-covered ground. It was only then that Kouya realized that it effectively cut his speed into almost half�and the dragon was already falling back to the ground with only one thought in mind: to further extinguish the fire Garuda Phoenix burned.

"Takeshi, no!" Kouya gasped but it was too late.

With a loud roar, Takeshi raised his arms to the heavens and let it sweep down just as Gaiki, with the fluid movements of a sky dragon, circled the ring and let its jaws snap Garuda Phoenix's wings.

"No!" Kouya screamed, holding out his arms in a futile effort to slow his gear's destruction. "Garuda Phoenix!"

An earsplitting screech echoed along the walls as Gaiki maneuvered itself on the ground and proudly shot out once more beneath Garuda Phoenix, but the movement caused warm air to collide with the cold. As if in slow-motion, Kouya could only watch in horror as Garuda Phoenix hurtled over the space�

A shrill buzz resonated throughout the arena, effectively causing Kouya to start and hold out his arms just as Garuda Phoenix lost its nestle and came tumbling into his expecting hands.

"Time's up!" Kyo's voice bellowed over the loud roar Gaiki was making in the ring. "This match is a draw!"

There were more murmurs from the bleachers before some of the spectators began to applaud, if only to be polite, although one part of the audience seemed to be clapping louder than everyone else. Kouya thought dully it might be Takeshi's group of businessmen but right now, he didn't care. Despair and anger was eating him and before Kyo could announce the cause had decided the match, Kouya found himself jumping out of the fighters' circler and rushing towards the other end of the match.

"Takeshi!" he screamed.

The figure of his opponent was already anticipate his move but nevertheless tumbled on the ground with a grunt when Kouya's fist connected with the hard lining of his stomach.

"KOUYA!" his mother's voice shouted at the corner of his awareness, but he ignored her, ignored everything except the person before him.

"You�you�" Kouya felt tears threaten his eyes again but he refused to let himself weep again. He grabbed the lapels of Takeshi's shirt and gave him a vigorous shake. "Couldn't you wait until I was ready?!"

Takeshi Manganji shoved him away before regarding him coolly. "You are my rival, Kouya Marino. I had to give you a push someday. You had it coming." He straightened his shirt, then poised himself for Kouya's frame to launch at him again but it never came.

Marino-san held her son by the arms from behind, struggling to keep him close. "Kouya, it's alright, Kouya," she kept repeating, embracing him tightly. "You've lost nothing."

"You're wrong!" Kouya raged, not taking his eyes off his opponent. "I've lost everything!"

Takeshi gave him one final glance before turning sharply and making his way to the exit. Kouya thought he saw him clutch his stomach once, as if the impact actually hurt, but he could not be too sure. Takeshi's father and his group met him on the way out, enclosing around him and following his heels until they disappeared through the hallway. With them, the rest of the spectators followed and left.

Kouya clenched his hands and glared at the floor. "It's not over," he muttered to himself. "Not by a long shot!"

"Of course not." His mother's voice penetrated into his thoughts, making him realize that she had finally succeeded into pacifying him and letting him fall on the ground. "It's not the end of the world, Kouya." Kouya looked up and she smiled. "Everything will right itself, somehow."

He stared at her for a moment, soaking in the promise, until he nodded and stood. She accompanied him to the dugout where he snatched the gear box and viciously stuffed Garuda Phoenix in, refusing to look at it. Slowly, they made their way out of the arena, out of the ring, into the hallway.

Kouya never noticed where they were going until he was already sitting in the middle of the little room he and his mother shared. His mother was murmuring words at him, saying something about cooling himself off and thinking some stuff over, but he only nodded at all of them and fell on the bed, burying his face into the pillow. Even with only one night, it already had his mother's comforting scent and he breathed deeply, trying to stop the headache that was threatening to overcome his thoughts.

How could have Kouya thought that Takeshi had changed? He had hoped that the older boy would have already shown his sensitive side but that match�

Takeshi had shown he was capable of destroying Garuda Phoenix, and would not hesitate to if Kouya had only shown more aggression. He had shown he could manipulate Kouya into actions and emotions even Kouya had not begun to acknowledge. And Kouya had to admit he had taken the coward's way out and had run away.

But how could he have faced him? How could Kouya face him now? He had not been wrong. Takeshi was demanding for something: a true rival who could meet him in the ring. How proud Kouya had been, bagging the Second World Cup Finals, bragging to everyone that he was Takeshi's worthy adversary, that the other boy had chosen him. But he had stopped growing, had kept himself to a certain level while Takeshi had grown matured, had gone beyond him.

"I'm not a worthy rival," he mumbled to himself.

He knew it. Kuroudo probably knew it, too, with his keen senses. Takeshi had waited in vain, but why would he force Kouya to change?

All of a sudden, Kouya realized that he was shivering. He removed his bowtie and formal suit, replaced it with one of his normal wear, and drew the blanket over himself, huddling tightly, remembering that soft pressure on his lips only the night before.

So did Takeshi only want a rival? Had he exploited his knowledge of manipulation to force Kouya to think the night before? So then that wasn't a kiss, only a skillful maneuver that would compel the younger gear fighter into confusedly following his path, throwing cleverly laid traps like breadcrumbs, waiting for Kouya to sink into the hole before ripping apart every values and memories he held dear.

And that kindness the night before: the teaching of manners, the apology in form of food, they were all probably a careful set-up, a ruse to control Kouya's thoughts. And what now? Was Takeshi happy that he had finally ripped Kouya apart? Was he finally content that his goal had been achieved?

Kouya chewed his lower lips and burrowed deeper in the covers.

His mind, though, refused to give him only those pictures; instead, they gave him some images of Takeshi, a different one whom Kouya was only allowed to see in brief moments:

Takeshi, who's face was illuminated with the brightest glow as he faced Yuuya across the ring. Takeshi, according to Lilika and heightened by his imagination, who wept piteously upon seeing a lifeless Yuuya in the hospital. Takeshi who, despite struggling to hide his emotions, could not quite suppress the hope in his eyes while telling Kouya about the Brazilian player with the name U-Ya.

And what about the Takeshi who wept with the complete break of ties between himself and Yuuya during the Second World Cup Finals? And the Takeshi who had thrown his arms wide open and caught him in an embrace when Kouya had been declared the World Cup Champion? Takeshi, who had spun him around and laughed despite the tears in his eyes? And even now, the Takeshi, who had ordered Gaiki to retrace his course so the wind current he himself created would carry Garuda Phoenix back to Kouya's arms?

Who was that Takeshi?

Again, Kouya squeezed his eyes shut and pleaded, Yuuya, you always understood him better, and he's always been close to you. What does he want?

If that Takeshi had a less selfish motive for pulling Kouya into another level, what was it?

Thinking about it was exhausting and depressing. He wished he could skip tonight's dinner and just go home. Besides, Kyousuke had told him to be back early. The Gear Master would probably demand an explanation for the beating Garuda Phoenix had received.

At the thought of his teammates, he pressed his lips together and rummaged through his bag for his phone, scanning through the list to find Kuroudo's number and dialing it. After a few tries of soft purring against his ear, Kuroudo's alto voice answered: "What is it, Kouya?"

"Kuroudo�" He hesitated; his friends were all wonderful and protective of each other, but if they were anything else, they were honest. "Kuroudo, do you think I haven't developed?"

"Wait, Kouya." There was a soft apology at the background and someone else murmuring she'll wait before Kuroudo returned. "Now, what are you talking about?"

"I mean�my gear fighting has always reflected my personality. Have I developed at all since the World Cup Finals? Or did I just stay the same?" Kouya huddled under the blanket, a bit fearful of the answer.

Kuroudo was silent for a moment. "I wouldn't say that," he replied finally. "We've seen you mature during the one year when we first became your teammates. I don't believe you stopped developing after the Championship at all; only�it has decreased somewhat." He sighed. "Jin-san thought it was a bad idea and wanted to push you into become better, but Oriza-san and I were against it."

"Why?"

"Because we knew you've been through a lot," the Tobita Club president told him simply. "During that one year, you were forced to cope with things a lot of people normally never faced the rest of their lives. You're young, Kouya, and we could see you were fighting back for every bit of childhood you had lost ever since your brother died. We decided we'll let you mature during your own time."

"Oh."

"Don't think we thought it would be better if we forced you, though. Jin-san particularly thought so, but he reluctantly agreed that you've proven yourself capable of handling yourself so far and would most probably cope with changes better than we do. If you think you're ready, we're still here to support you."

Despite himself, Kouya still had to smile. "I know, Kuroudo. I don't say it often but�thanks."

"What brought this on?" the half-Japanese inquired, puzzled.

Kouya sat up. "It's a long story. I'll tell you when I go back home."

"Alright. Oh, and Kouya, Jin-san is ready to go into a nervous breakdown so if it's possible, please arrive before 15:00 tomorrow." Kouya could hear the smile on Kuroudo's lips. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay there."

"Thanks, Kuroudo." Kouya ended the call and returned his phone to his backpack, thinking quietly.

Takeshi's ulterior motive�what is it? Is there even one?

Kouya touched his lips, remembering Takeshi's gentle lips touching his during that not-kiss.

What else could it be? he wondered.

He was still thinking about it while carefully disengaging the loose parts from Garuda Phoenix and fixing his gear's position in the box when he heard loud sounds from downstairs. The crew must be back.

He stood and went to the bathroom to look at the mirror, grimacing when he found his cheeks flushed and his eyes drooping slightly even though he had not wept. Scowling at his reflection, he washed his face before exiting the confines of the room and going down to ask them a big favor.

Everyone stopped talking when he appeared and he paused, apprehensively watching their reactions.

"Kouya �" Toshi was the first to speak but he stopped immediately.

Kouya continued his descent down the stairs. "I know, that was pretty stupid of me. I wasn't going to noticed, and I wouldn't have if I kept my mouth shut and if Manganji-san�Takeshi's father�didn't see me. But he did and he insisted Takeshi and I should have a demonstration match." He pushed against them and would not meet their gazes.

"Dude! You punched Takeshi Manganji," the older boy gawked.

Kouya glared at him. "Yeah, well. He had it coming, too."

"How did his body feel like?" Ran asked eagerly, earning groans.

Kouya blushed. "I wasn't exactly thinking about that when I punched him!" he defended, wishing his complexion didn't show all his blood vessels threatening to rupture. Then, he muttered, "He's always been on my nerves, but�"

A hand was on his shoulder and he turned to see that it was Kyo. "You know, I don't know much about Crush Gear except that my younger brother and sister play it but�I thought that was one great match."

Kouya blinked at him. "You're right; you don't know much about Crush Gear." He laughingly ducked as Kyo playfully tried to hit him but he quickly turned somber and shook his head. "No, really, that was a horrible fight."

"Why?" Seiichi asked. "Because you almost lost?"

"�No." Kouya shook his head. How could he explain to them that it every single fights he and Takeshi had had been personal and that this was the most exposing, most terrifying one he had ever faced? "It was�because I couldn't meet him equally." Then, he was struck by something. "I was too scared."

"Scared of what? Losing?" More questions flooded his ears but Kouya could barely hear them, lost in his own words and thoughts.

He was afraid of the answers he would get but asked them anyway. And when he got his reply, he had become afraid�that he might not be able to meet Takeshi's expectations.

Takeshi demanded a rival equal to himself. What if he now discovered that Kouya was not the rival he had chosen all along?

That would shatter Kouya enough.

But Takeshi had pulled him into a realization, so he must be expecting an answer from Kouya, too. Kouya had yet to respond to that demand.

He should tell Takeshi about his decision soon or else Takeshi might look for another rival, might be too disgusted with Kouya's reaction that he'll leave him behind. Besides, Kouya liked Takeshi, liked him enough to want real kisses and more gentle touches and true smiles. Even if those were just ruses for the older boy to pull him into developing, even if it was just another incredibly well-laid plan to push Kouya into another level of rivalry, then Kouya would not disappoint him.

Maybe, just maybe, through it, Takeshi would learn to like Kouya enough for another kind of relationship to build. Kouya thought he should stop his habit of running away and face this new challenge with the same determination he had had years ago.

What good was a rival when he remained stagnant, after all? Takeshi might be ruthless in the ring, but as a person he was also kind. It was probably his way of saying he was giving Kouya a chance to catch up.

He turned to the other servers and grinned to them, finally feeling some kind of peace. "I'm not going to run away anymore," he muttered to himself firmly.

He did not know that they were already talking amongst themselves, didn't care that they had already almost forgotten that he was there. He had an answer, even if it raised more questions, but he could care less about that. He was nervous, apprehensive, and best of all, he realized he was finally free.

Marino-san arrived a few minutes later and immediately marched up to Kouya. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern. At Kouya's nod, she continued, "Good. You and Risa come with me to the kitchen; you're the only ones who know exactly how I want the rolls to be stuffed."

"But, Mom�" Kouya stopped. There it was again, that glint in her eye.

So off they went to the main house, coming in through the servants' entrance and directly going off to the kitchen. It was only Kouya's second time there and he still marveled at the huge room that barely held all the cooks struggling to perfect each dish that most guests hardly thought of at all. His mother's face was already red with all the heat but she looked cheerful enough as she pointed them to their respective tasks.

Kouya, who has had many experiences in cooking for his mother, could tackle the job mindlessly. He shouted over the noise: "Mom, I need to go home early."

"What?" she yelled, followed by mild cursing as white smoke sizzled over the pan she was holding.

He bit his lower lip briefly, scowling at the hasty arrangement of stuffing in the roll. He undid it while explaining Kyousuke's reason to his mother, his account more often than not being interrupted with shouts and banging of pots. When he finished explaining, she waved for a moment and disappeared to another smoke-filled area, shouting orders, before going towards him, wiping her hands on the apron.

"I don't see why not. You'll have to take two trains�or buses. And wake up early." She raised an eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to talk to�you-know-who?" she asked suddenly, taking some of the rolls he finished.

Kouya concentrated hard on the new batch of stuffing. "Maybe. I don't know if he'll let me talk to him. He might be mad at me for punching him."

"I wasn't talking about Takeshi, I was asking about�the boy who kissed you."

Her voice was already hushed but Kouya still darted nervous looks around before hissing, "Mom!" Then, he struggled to keep his voice neutral and unheard, even above the noise, "I don't know."

That was, he thought to himself, at least the truth.

When his mother left, Risa wormed her way to his side and managed to ask too many questions about Takeshi, most of which Kouya did not know the answer, or didn't know how to answer without explaining exactly how he came to know them. He hoped Risa thought that the redness that tainted his cheeks was due to the unnaturally high heat in the room. He supposed she did. Her face was red as well.

A few hours of work and dozens of questions later, Kouya and his companion trudged back to the cottage for a quick shower and change of clothes. Since it was already the last night, Shinoda-san had donated money for extra food which the servers might use for their own private party later. Everyone was looking forward to that and promised to be at their best.

Once again, but Kouya promised would be the last time, he found himself in the ballroom where it all started. This time, he kept himself inconspicuous: he tied his already long hair neatly at the nape, kept his head down and murmured answers only when he was spoken to. And because he knew now wasn't the time for a confession, he agreed along with the others on the scheme to let Risa cover all the areas Takeshi Manganji was on. He was sure he would have no trouble concentrating.

He was taking a break in one hidden corner of the room when a long shadow fell over him; he winced and continued to massage his leg before looking up. "Is it time�?"

Takeshi Manganji stood before him, dressed in his impeccable black tux, hair slicked back in a way Kouya knew he almost always did whenever there was a party. It suddenly felt like he knew everything about this boy but still found himself surprised by every detail he didn't think he'd remember about him.

"Takeshi," he uttered softly.

Takeshi only had a mild indifferent smile on his face. "Kouya Marino, just the person I wanted to see. I have a score to settle with you."

And just like that, Kouya knew Takeshi had been doing some thinking of his own.

The younger gear fighter stood, then blinked when he realized that someone was behind his comrade. "Uh�Takeshi�?" He pointed slightly.

Takeshi turned, then put on a fake surprised look on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry. It was�Risa Hatakeyama, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Risa's face flushed and she straightened on where she stood behind Takeshi.

Takeshi nodded. "I was right, who can forget such a lovely name?" Risa's face, if it was possible, turned redder. "Risa-san, I have a special request for you. I would like a moment alone with Kouya, so we can talk, if you can understand. It will be very important to me if you tell nobody, especially my father, that we are gone. I'm sure he would�disapprove of my actions."

The girl all but grinned goofily. "Don't worry about that, Manganji-san. I'll make sure I never saw you."

Takeshi managed to look grateful. "Thank you. You understand, right? We have to settle it ourselves, you see."

She nodded eagerly. "Of course," she breathed, blushing. "S-see you, Manganji-san."

It seemed, however, Kouya was the only one who heard her speak, since he was already being dragged away by the arm from the room and into the garden. "H-hey!" he sputtered, trying to put breaks on his shoes but failing. "Takeshi, my�my arm! That's my arm!" He stumbled once but Takeshi hauled him up and pushed him until Kouya realized they were headed towards the same greenhouse they had gone to the night before.

He did not doubt that his face was already as ripe as Hatakeyama-san's, if not redder. He stumbled in and stood frozen for a while until the ominous click behind him made him whirl around. "Takeshi!"

"You said you wanted to talk," Takeshi told him coolly, blocking the only exit. "So, let's talk."

Now that Kouya had the chance, he found that words were failing him again. Where would he begin, anyway? "I'm ready to face you now," seemed too much a challenge, and Kouya didn't know if he was ready to face him again. "You suck but it turns out you're right," sounded a bit foreboding and might result to another fistfight, no matter the good intention that was at the end. And "I like you, Takeshi," sounded pathetic, not to mention Takeshi might laugh at his face. He wasn't quite ready for that�yet.

So he fidgeted with his fingers and frowned at the ground. "Takeshi, I�"

"You say 'talk', but all you can say is my name. Really, Kouya."

Kouya's head snapped up. "Hey, you were the one who dragged me out here."

"You were the one who said we should 'talk'," Takeshi pointed out, not sounding a bit amused.

The younger boy was getting pissed. "Because you didn't even offer an explanation last night!"

Silence fell over them, Kouya regretting that he had said anything while Takeshi's expression shifted from surprise to�nothingness. "Last night, I only had good intentions in mind," Takeshi told him stiffly.

"It doesn't matter," Kouya told him sullenly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of the pants Misaki-san had lent him. "I've realized you're right, anyway. I've talked to Kuroudo and I'm going to improve, so you won't have to look for a new rival�you won't, will you?" He chanced to look at Takeshi but the older boy was openly gaping at him.

"What made you think I would go looking for another rival?" the heir to the Manganji Corporations demanded, taking long strides to reach him. "Is this a joke?"

"That was what the match was all about, wasn't it?" Kouya snapped, not understanding why he was losing his temper when he had already resolved he would not get angry. "So you'll have an equal who'll keep on chasing after you, who'll make you improve and improve some more?"

Takeshi sighed. "You can be so dumb sometimes, Kouya Marino."

"Then why do you always have to make me figure out everything?!" Kouya yelled, giving him a slight push. "Why can't you just say something so I'll understand it? Why did you have to confuse me so much?!"

"So you can feel how I feel!" Takeshi yelled back.

"Feel what?" Kouya shot back. "Satisfied that one of the people I know can be manipulated easily?"

"Try confused, too!" Takeshi shouted. "It was petty and it was stupid, but you have to admit you got something out of that match."

"Yeah, I got the sudden insight that I'm one of the people you can just play around and discard."

"Where the hell did you get that idea?!"

"You!"

"When?"

"When you kissed me!" Kouya screamed. Unable to take it anymore, he stamped his foot and glared up at Takeshi, who was staring at him with wide eyes. "Which I know can't be called a 'kiss' because, yeah, I figured it out: you played it safe, didn't you, and didn't exactly kiss me but it was still confusing because I thought you were being gentle and kind and the next day�"

"You thought that wasn't 'kissing'?!" Takeshi looked dumb-founded. "What the hell do you call that, then?!"

"Licking? Biting? I don't know, you were the one who did it!" Confusion was making Kouya angrier and further bewildered.

"You�" A stormy expression was overcoming Takeshi's face by the second and it was beginning to frighten Kouya. He stepped back just in case but Takeshi had advanced towards him, quickly closing the space between them. "You little brat, you don't even know half about what it was all about and you dare to throw that back to my face just because you can't understand it?!"

"Then make me understand!" Kouya challenged, then could only choke on his breath when Takeshi took his shoulders roughly, fingers digging through the material of his shirt, deep into his skin. The older boy's eyes had slanted and seemed unfocused, as if searching for something that wasn't quick to be seen. Kouya was beginning to think shouting wasn't such a good idea after all when Takeshi spoke again.

"Be careful what you wish for," he muttered darkly before he suddenly leaned forward, holding Kouya in place while their lips met.

It wasn't like the first time; it felt rude and angry, with Takeshi's lips pressing hard against his own. It made Kouya brandish his fists again, only Takeshi seemed ready for it and grabbed them, fingers clamping hard over his wrists to subdue him. Kouya gasped and stumbled when Takeshi used his bigger body to force and pinion him on the ground, mouth still locked with his.

The younger boy tried to open his mouth to speak, say something that would make Takeshi stop, but the words became a muffled sound as Takeshi invaded his mouth with his tongue, stabbing inwards and roughly tracing the hard ridges of his upper palette with his soft movement, a sharp contrast when he began sucking slowly. Kouya could not help giving another small sound when Takeshi did something he couldn't understand but made him squirm and gasp, pulling back slightly. With his arms pinned over his head, he tried to move his legs in an attempt to push the older boy back, only he discovered that they were somehow entangled with Takeshi's and with no chance to escape. He tried to turn his face away but Takeshi pressed on, demanding some kind of answer to a question Kouya could not anymore understand.

"Is this what you meant by a 'real' kiss?" Takeshi growled, pulling back slightly but trailing his lips over Kouya's neck.

I've been such a child, Kouya thought helplessly, trying to turn his head away, giving a moan when Takeshi's knee pressed at his side, holding him in place. He whimpered, feeling himself choke and unable to breathe as the older boy continued with his ministrations, roughly biting and sucking at his collarbone. "W�wait," he whimpered, surprised that it came out like a sob. "Please�"

"Oh, god!" Takeshi tore his mouth away and pulled himself up, staring at him with wide and unfocused eyes. Short, sharp breathing escaped his mouth, or Kouya thought it came from Takeshi because as soon as the older gear fighter pulled away, Kouya had immediately curled and took deep, ragged breaths. "K�Kouya�"

"You�" Kouya sniffed, angry at himself for feeling largely scared and disappointed at the same time. Then, realizing that Takeshi was easing up from his body, he brought his knee against Takeshi's groin hard. Well�he missed and only got a part of Takeshi's thigh but it surprised the other boy enough for him to emit a sharp hiss and roll away.

Quickly, Kouya scrambled away and sat up, breathing hard and watching with some kind of satisfaction as Takeshi slowly fell back and gingerly massaged the thigh Kouya hit.

"You little kid," Takeshi growled, not looking up at him.

"You deserved it," Kouya snapped, voice hoarse. When Takeshi did not reply, he crawled forward, frowning. "Did it hurt?"

"What do you think?!"

"Let me�"

"NO!" Takeshi caught the hand Kouya was reaching out, then quickly let go as if the touch had burned. "Just�it's okay. You missed, okay? But you've got bony knees and you've got bony fingers and my stomach also still hurts where you punched it."

"Hey!" Kouya sat back down indignantly. Fine, if Takeshi didn't want help that was fine with him. It was his fault, anyway�and suggesting that he had bony knees! "You jerk."

"I know that," Takeshi replied dryly, then more softly, "It's�I'm sorry. I came here so I can apologize, if you can believe that, but I always get something messed up and you�" He had finished his inspection and found a bench where he could lean against, not meeting Kouya's eyes. "�you just make me do something I always thought I'd never do."

"Is this my fault then?" Kouya asked incredulously.

Takeshi grimaced. "No. No, none of this is your fault. Strangely enough." He gave a bark of laughter and buried his hand in his hands. "God, that was just insanely stupid. I'm sorry. You misunderstood it all, and I was too stupid to think you might take it all differently and understand it the way I did�"

"Takeshi�?" Kouya watched as the older boy stopped with a shudder and stood. "What are you�?"

"Let's just forget about it," he said, voice trembling slightly, taking a step away.

Kouya hurriedly stood up, ignoring the sudden dizziness that attacked him. "It's just going to get bigger and bigger until we can't understand anything," he cried, then accusingly, "Takeshi!" when the older boy began to walk away. "You're always telling me I'm a coward, but you don't ever look at yourself."

"I already know, Kouya!" Takeshi shouted fiercely, whirling around to face him. "I don't need you to tell me!"

"Then why can't we talk already?!"

"I need some more�time to think. Tomorrow, maybe, I think�"

"I'm leaving tomorrow," Kouya told him softly.

Takeshi looked up. "I know. We'll talk in the morning."

"You don't understand. I'm going back home early tomorrow morning. I'm not going with my mom. Jin�he needs Garuda Phoenix back by the afternoon."

Takeshi was silent, then spoke quietly, "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

"Takeshi," Kouya called as the older boy began to unlock the greenhouse door, "let's finish this. I don't want to get all confused again and misunderstand what you want me to think. I'm your rival but�I want us to be friends, too."

"Friends," Takeshi said under his breath, probably thinking Kouya would not hear; but he finally just nodded, said nothing else, and let himself out of the greenhouse.

The younger boy fell back on the grass, thinking to himself quietly. So he had understood Takeshi's need to pull him into a higher level, but the reason behind it was misunderstood. Was Takeshi trying to tell him that he liked Kouya? The same way Kouya liked him?

Then why were they arguing? Why couldn't they just talk and say it? Was it too difficult for Takeshi? But Kouya liked him, too, so nothing can be wrong�

Suddenly, Kouya realized something very, very important and gave a loud groan, smacking his forehead: He had forgotten to tell Takeshi he liked him!

No wonder he looked about ready to freak, he thought to himself, then a little darkly, Well, he deserved it, too. He shouldn't have done that�that was awful. His first�alright, since Takeshi seemed to be considering last night as a 'kiss', then it was his second�kiss, and Takeshi had ravaged his mouth as if there was no tomorrow.

He touched his lips and grimaced, hoping they didn't look too bruised. Glancing at his watch again, he hoped his mother would forgive him this time, then tried to dust away the soil from his pants and the back of his shirt, scowling when he realized that the grass stains were now also on his white shirt. He calculated the time and thought it was already late and some of the servers might already be in the cottage, so he got up and went to that direction.

When he entered the house, all of them were gathered in the living room, playing cards and eating the food they had bought with the bonus Shinoda-san had given them. He looked around. "Where's Mom?"

"She's talking with the house's head chef," Eriko Midorigawa answered when no one else did. Upon casting an eye at him, she did a double-take. "What happened to you?"

Everyone turned to him, watching him curiously, until Sae Haruno hooted, "You went off to the dark with someone, didn't you?!"

"Eh?!" Kouya blinked at them. "What did�"

"Your pants, all messed up. And your lips are all bruised!"

"Gah!" Kouya clamped his hands over his mouth.

Some of the servers quickly jumped up and gave him a closer inspection despite his protests. "It is!" Kyo Onishi howled, managing to pry his hands away from his face. "Who's the lucky chick, you stud?"

"N-no one!" Kouya stammered, backing away in alarm. "Nothing happened!"

"If you say so," Ran Jung teased. "Ooh! There's no one your age here, so it must be someone older."

"Well, y-yeah, but�hey!" His eyes widened when he realized what he had said, making everyone laugh loudly. "It wasn't like that! I mean�"

"Don't worry, Kouya, we won't spill the beans," Toshi told him as they made their way back around the table.

"So anyway, Risa," Sae said, apparently in the middle of a story, "you were saying about Takeshi Manganji?"

Risa nodded indulgingly. "So I kept silent and listened to what they were talking about and one of them said she saw Takeshi Manganji making out with one of the waitresses in the greenhouse."

Kouya straightened in panic, then started to edge away slowly to the stairs while they were busy with their conversation.

"But there are only four of you here," Kyo interjected, putting down a pair of cards. "Which one is it?"

"I wish it was me," Ran Midorikawa sighed.

"Well, it has to be one of the crew," the boy insisted, "since we all practically wear the same uniform to make sure we'll be easily spotted within the guests. But who disappeared all night anyway�" His voice trailed off and he followed Risa and Sae's stare.

Everyone started and whirled around, ready to pounce, but Kouya had finally disappeared up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door behind him. He fell down on the floor, burying his face in his arms.

"They know! They know!" he groaned. "I'm so dead!" Then, a sudden thought came to him and he groaned again. "Takeshi's so dead!" And, because he was finally thinking clearly, he howled, "MOM'S SO DEAD!" His mother won't get another job like this again! And it was entirely his fault. The servers might spread the word, get rumors started up, and Takeshi might be ostracized. But not for long because he's rich and people will still accept him.

But his mother's reputation! And his mother would know!

He was so dead.

He thought about it logically. Apparently, the one who saw it was only one person, and just their word might not be enough. The only people who can confirm who the people were inside the greenhouse were, of course, Takeshi himself and the rest of the crew. And Kouya. If Kouya somehow managed to gain control of the situation, talk to the crew and beg them not to tell. Which means he'll be drawing other people into his private mess.

But that was better than nothing. He took a quick shower, rinsing the stray grass still on his head, and stuffing the stained clothes into a corner, thinking guiltily to himself that Misaki-san had told him anyway to keep the pants anyway. She obviously didn't care about it anymore. Then, he squared his shoulders and psyched himself on descending to the first floor, hoping fiercely that there was still food on the table since he skipped dinner again.

The others were still gathered in the living room, but conversation stopped as he descended. A little awkwardly, he kept his eyes down.

"Uh�"

"Was it you?" Eriko asked quietly. "The waitress in the greenhouse?

Kouya gave a miniscule nod, trying to fight the blush in his cheeks. "Takeshi and I�we know each other because of Crush Gear and�we fight each other a lot. Takeshi is�he'll get into a lot of trouble if this comes out and I don't want to be the one to get him into it."

He paused, expecting them to say something, but when no one said a thing, he continued, "Please, listen to me. I need your help. Please don't let it spread, and if someone asks, please don't say anything about it. Mom might lose her job and Takeshi's dad is here and Takeshi might get into trouble. Please, don't tell anyone!"

He found himself on his knees in a way he had never begged anyone else besides Takeshi; somewhere in his subconscious, it occurred to him he had never gotten down on his knees for anything except when it somehow pertained to Takeshi.

Finally, someone spoke up: "Kouya." He flinched. "You don't have to do that; we know how important this job is for Marino-san."

Kouya looked up and found that all of them were nodding. He hesitated, a bit unbelieving of his good fortune. "Really?!"

"And we know how important this is for you, too," Sae put in wickedly, causing him to blush as he stood.

"So don't worry about it," Kyo told him, beckoning. "By the way, we know you didn't eat so we saved some of the crab for you."

"Wait," Risa said suddenly, "you mean you and Manganji-san have been making out since the time you left together?"

Kouya started violently. "We weren't making out!" he crowed.

His companions blinked at him in surprise. "Then what were you doing?" Sae pounced, grinning ruthlessly. "Groping?"

"We were talking�and that's none of your business!" Kouya's face turned redder and everyone laughed again, assuring him they were just kidding.

Feeling more cheerful, Kouya allowed himself to be lead to the small table full of playing cards and food while the others continued to chatter about the guests and what happened the rest of the night. Kyo, in particular, seemed interested in Crush Gear and he had Kouya relay to him the different rules, events, matches, and seminars. When he asked about clubs, Kouya told him about the Tobita Club and how he was the second founder with his friend Kuroudo Murume as president, although he briefly mentioned the Manganji Dreams Club. Then, they all started talking about their next possible trip and where it might be, and about almost everything else. Kouya was content with just sitting and eating, half-listening to them, when his mother arrived.

"Oh, Kouya, I was looking for you," Marino-san said, removing her shoes and putting on her slippers. "That boy Takeshi Manganji came to me and said he needs to be back early as well and offered to accompany you back home tomorrow."

There was smothered laughter from someone in the room but Kouya refused to look up from his boxed rice. "Okay."

"He'll be coming over at 9:00 am, then. He brought his own vehicle. Be good, Kouya, and I'm expecting that you won't fight anymore."

"Yeah, Kouya," Kyo snickered, "kiss and make up."

"Shut up." Kouya threw one of the cabbage leaves next to the couch.

Marino-san was immediately at his side, eyes glittering dangerously. "So, it was you who was getting the cabbages from my stock?"

"No, Mom, I swear�!"

Later that evening, Kouya was lying on his futon again when he sat up and asked his mother, "You still awake, Mom?"

His mother gave what sounded like a snort and replied sleepily, "Somehow. What is it?"

"I was thinking�that I think I like the person who kissed me. I mean, I don't think if I'm gay, but will it be okay? Are you going to be okay with it?" He breathlessly watched his mother's form as she shifted to face him.

"It's your decision, Kouya," she told him seriously. "I'm your mother, so I'll worry either way if you choose to date girls or girls. If they hurt you, I'll still kill them."

Kouya sweatdropped. "So do you think�Dad would mind?"

His mother was thoughtful for a while. "Well, your father's always been more conservative, but we both want what's best for you. He'll probably make it into a big deal for a little while, but he'll get tired and get over it if you give him time."

"Oh." That wasn't really good but at least it was the truth.

Then, his mother sighed and reached out a hand to touch his hair. "You know, when your brother died, your father and I were equally devastated. I think I almost went insane, especially since your brother was so far away from us when it happened, and we didn't even get to see him one last time.

"But your father was really strong about it. He would visit your brother's grave every week, remember? Sometimes he would bring you; sometimes he would go by himself. It helped him accept it. He was so very strong." His mother's voice was tender. "And when he realized I still couldn't accept Yuuya's death, he took it one day at a time and kept on going. He didn't force me to accept it; he only stood by me and waited. Just like you. You're both so very strong.

"So don't worry about him, Kouya. He's stronger than I ever was." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Don't worry about anything."

Kouya nodded, smiling to himself and thinking, Even if I grow up, I don't ever want to lose this.

They were both settling back on their beds when Kouya said softly, "And Mom�"

"Mm?" Her voice was sleepy again.

"The person who kissed me�" Kouya hesitated. "It was Takeshi Manganji."

There was a slight pause, then movement as his mother looked down on him from the bed, smiling. "I know, Kouya. I know. Now, go to sleep."

The only thing Kouya was to bring was his gear box; the rest of his things were to be brought by his mother. He wasn't the first person up; his mother was already awake and cooking breakfast in the makeshift kitchen, and the rest of the crew making final preparations for their own trip an hour later. Kouya was just grabbing one of the toast when someone knocked on the door.

Seiichi Terada beat him to it, throwing it wide open for everyone to see. "Hello, Takeshi Manganji-san," he announced cheerfully.

Takeshi, now dressed in casual jeans and shirt, only blinked in uncertainty before giving him a winning smile. "Good morning. I'm looking for Kouya Marino."

"I'm here!" Kouya shouted, waving from the kitchen. "Lemme get my things!"

"Oh, it's Manganji-san!" Risa said as she descended from the stairs as if she just happened to come along. "Do you remember me?"

"Of course," Takeshi replied, giving her one of those enigmatic smiles of his. "The wonderful server from last night. Thank you so much for your help."

"No problem, Manganji-san," she said, smiling in a way that was practically a drool.

"Is that Manganji-san?" came voices from the kitchen. "It's him, isn't it?"

"We're leaving!" Kouya shouted, already pulling Takeshi away from the doorframe. "Mom, don't forget to return the pants!"

"I won't," she called back from the kitchen, followed by some clattering as she appeared at the doorway just as Takeshi was closing the door. "Oh-oh, Kouya, can you cook dinner tonight? I don't know if your father will survive another night of instant food."

"Yeah, sure." Kouya beckoned at Takeshi impatiently. "Let's go! The earlier we get there, the better."

"I'm not your driver," Takeshi grumbled, falling into his steps.

Kouya waggled his eyebrows. "Want me to drive?"

"NO!" Takeshi said, a bit louder than necessary. "Besides, I don't think your legs can reach the controls yet."

"Controls?" Kouya blinked.

Takesh shrugged. "I brought my motorcycle. We'll use that since my father needs the car. His driver will take care of everything."

"Where's Kurosaki-san, then?" Kouya asked, bounding up next to him.

"At home," Takeshi replied shortly. "Father brought his own driver. Since I'm going home earlier than him, I had the motorcycle brought up here early this morning from our summer house nearby." They came up to the huge garage where around five different cars and at least three limousines were parked. Ignoring his gaping expression, the older boy led him next to a shining Harley near the entrance.

"Cool, I've never been on a bike before," Kouya said, brightening, then almost dropped his gear box when Takeshi tossed a helmet to his direction.

"Put that on," he ordered, strapping on his own helmet. He did not wait to watch if Kouya followed his instructions; instead, he got on and started the machine with a kick that emitted a loud roar.

Kouya scowled at the helmet, trying to make sense of the straps. "Geez," he muttered, scowl deepening when the straps got even more entangled.

Takeshi turned to him, then rolled his eyes. "I can't believe it. You actually managed to make something so simple look so hard." He grabbed the helmet and settled it on Kouya, then yanked the strap under his chin, tightening it so it wouldn't be too awkward. "There."

The younger bow got on, settling his precious box on his right lap. Takeshi was slowly easing the motorcycle out of the garage. "Hang on to something," Takeshi told him.

Kouya hesitated only for a moment before putting his free arm around the older boy's waist. He felt Takeshi stiffen and lest he decide to throw Kouya off-balance, the younger boy tightened his grip and leaned closer, letting his chin rest on Takeshi's shoulder. "Are we going to talk now, too?"

"In case you didn't know," Takeshi told him stiffly, "talking is almost impossible when you're riding on a motorcycle."

As the sound of the motor revving filled the morning light, it occurred to Kouya that Takeshi, the conniving bastard, had probably planned it that way in the first place.

It took some time to get used to balancing himself, then another long time before Kouya could get used to the weight of the gear box on his lap. They had to stop a mere twenty minutes on the road for Kouya to find a more comfortable way of sitting and for Takeshi to suggest that he wedge the box at his back and tighten the box strap so he wouldn't constantly worry about it flying off.

"We wouldn't really be having this problem if you had a car," Kouya muttered loud enough for Takeshi to hear.

"I can still make you catch a bus," Takeshi suggested dangerously, to which Kouya immediately shook his head and proclaimed himself fit to ride on.

The new position, though, freed two of Kouya's hands, which he awkwardly placed on both sides of Takeshi's hips. He felt the boy flinch again but relaxed almost immediately. Kouya didn't mind as long as he wasn't going to fall. He found it wasn't really scary to ride something that went so fast and actually began to enjoy himself.

Apparently, Takeshi didn't think so, and after almost two hours of journeying through mostly fields and highways, Kouya found that they were entering a city and blinked. "Eh?" he asked when Takeshi killed the motor, got off, and turned to him.

"Okay," he said tersely, "we are going to have our talk now."

"Good," Kouya said, following suit and pulling off his helmet. "Because I didn't get to eat breakfast. Do you mind if I eat while we talk?" Then, hastily, he added, "You can eat, too, of course."

Takeshi blew a frustrated breath and led the way. Kouya felt a bit disappointed that Takeshi didn't rise to the bait and trudged after him, only to find that the older boy had led him to an expensive-looking restaurant. "H-hey�can't we find something that costs less?"

"I'm hungry, too, and if we're going to eat, we're going to eat here," Takeshi declared. "Besides, I want to be a little inconspicuous."

"How inconspicuous can you get in an expensive restaurant?" Kouya hissed, trailing next to him.

Takeshi shrugged. "If you pay them enough, they won't even see you."

Kouya worriedly wondered if the money his mother gave him would be enough to pay for his half of the meal. Maybe he'll just have soup. He remembered the last time he had eaten in a posh restaurant: with an old man who didn't pay the bill and said it would be their way of getting revenge against the Manganji family. He wondered further he could pull off the same trick now.

Once inside, the younger boy stuck close to Takeshi, half expecting the management would show up and throw them up for wearing jeans. However, he found that there were only few customers, and most of them were wearing simple clothes.

Takeshi seemed to guess what he was thinking and told him: "It's not the peak hours yet. Wait until dinner."

"Have you been here before?" Kouya asked.

His companion gave a gesture that was a half-nod. "A few times."

They had barely seated themselves on a cozy corner when a waiter appeared by their side, giving them a menu and asking for their orders. Kouya was about to open his mouth when Takeshi beat him to it and rattled off fancy-sounding names that Kouya only barely remembered from his mother's cooking. The waiter efficiently jotted them down, gave a small bow, and left them. Kouya's eyes trailed after him.

"To think that was my job for the past few days," he murmured to himself. He turned to Takeshi. "So, finally stopped running away, didn't you?"

Takeshi scowled at him. "Look who's calling the kettle black," he muttered.

"I don't know why you're so nervous," Kouya told him cheerfully, playing with his spoon. "We're just talking."

The older boy watched him for a moment with a half-smile on his lips before countering, "You were the one who was practically screaming bloody hell when...it happened." He stumbled over the words and even Kouya awkwardly dropped the spoon over another piece of silverware.

"That was�you couldn't really blame me," he argued.

"No, I told you I don't blame you," Takeshi sighed. "That was entirely my fault."

Kouya watched him for a moment before kicking him under the table. "Okay, that's enough self-pity. You said we'd talk, you didn't say anything about this becoming a drama."

Despite himself, his companion laughed. "You're right. I owe you an explanation." He looked up and began with, "Akari-san and I broke up�"

"What does that have anything to do with it?"

"Shut up and listen." Takeshi glared at him. "Akari-san and I broke up a few weeks after I introduced you two." He paused again, then continued, "Don't get me wrong. She was kind, she was sweet�"

"She loved to argue with you," Kouya recalled, frowning.

"Our parents set us up," Takeshi told him flatly. "My father wanted me to get 'acceptable girlfriends', preferably someone from his own inner circle. Akari-san is the daughter of one of Father's business partners, so naturally they thought it would be wonderful if we both got together. We didn't want to, but we were in so much mess that time that we thought it would work out. She was�having trouble with her previous boyfriend and I�was becoming aware of the fact that I like you."

Silence fell over them, broken only when their orders arrived. A few minutes were spent on rearranging their utensils but Kouya found he was beginning to lose the appetite that was building all morning. He picked on his food silently, thinking about Takeshi's words, before he looked up and repeated:

"She was in trouble with her previous boyfriend?"

Takeshi rolled his eyes. "I just said I like you for almost two years and the only thing you can ask me is about Akari-san's boyfriend?" When Kouya kicked him again, he supplied, "Yes. I thought it was over between them but apparently it wasn't, so the guy comes barging in our school and starts yelling for me to give him Akari-san back." Calmly, he sliced the meat on his dish and poured sauce over it before popping it in his mouth. "And she went back to him."

"You gave her up?"

"No, I told you: she went back to him. It was her own decision. Besides, when she saw you, she said she somehow knew I like you." There was a pause before Takeshi asked, "Can we talk about that, now?"

"I like you," Kouya told him.

Takeshi choked a spoonful of rice he was just beginning to chew and began flailing his hand for a glass, which he found and downed in an instant. It took several more moments for him to regain some composure and wipe his mouth, before he sputtered, "Well, that was easy for you to say."

"That's the problem with you, Takeshi," Kouya told him cheerfully, feeling his appetite returning. "You always make a big deal out of things and go drowning them by pretending they're not there. I like you, it's that simple. When you kissed me�" He grinned at how easy it was to say the words. "�I went through all sorts of hell trying to figure out if you had some ulterior motive or if it was just a part of your wanting me to raise myself to a higher level and meet you as your rival."

"I was doing that," Takeshi pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Kouya's grin widened and he began to attack his dish with gusto. "And thanks. You were right. That first night, I got so scared but managed to think it over. When you played that match, I thought you might have only done it to confuse me, make me think and pull me to that level of Crush Gear fighting. I also thought that you might only like me because you like Yuuya�"

"That was never�" Takeshi began, then winced when Kouya gave him another kick.

"I'm not finished!" Kouya told him indignantly. "I know it now. It's just that lately, I've also been thinking a lot about everyone expecting me to become like Yuuya that even I expected it myself. I thought you might also be like that, but you weren't.

"After the match, I realized that I was making a big deal out of nothing, just like what you tend to do�"

"Hey!"

"�so I thought if I just stopped running away from what I felt, and what I thought you were feeling, then I'll get my answers immediately." He paused to shove a spoonful of food in his mouth.

"And that's the answer?" Takeshi asked incredulously. Unlike Kouya, he was almost finished with his food.

"Mph." Kouya nodded, swallowed, then went on, "Well, yeah. I like you. You like me. I liked kissing you. I'm guessing you also liked kissing me. You do, don't you?"

The younger boy found it amusing to see Takeshi's cheeks redden slightly. "Yes," the older boy answered uncertainly, then more determinedly, "Yes, of course."

"So then, what do we do now?"

Takeshi thought for a moment. "We pay the check," he finally answered, waving to a nearby waiter.

Kouya started, then laughingly protested, "But I haven't finished yet!"

"Then make it quick! You don't want to get back late, don't you?"

"We have plenty of time!"

"I have some businesses I have to attend to as well, you know," Takeshi told him matter-of-factly. There was a pause, then he said softly, "I really do like you, Kouya Marino. It won�t be widely accepted, especially since you just barely turned thirteen, not to mention you're also a guy, but I still like you. You make me feel alive, and not only through Crush Gear but also because you make me rethink my perspectives and make me want to become more than what people expect from me. When I call you my rival, I want to become better, except I also want you by my side as my equal when I do."

Kouya blushed, feeling something warm spread over his chest. It was almost like the feeling he got when he and Takeshi faced each other on the gear ring only the day before, but it was different somehow, too: more slow and liquid, almost incomparably wonderful.

"I�thanks," he murmured. He didn't know what else to say, so he blurted out, "I don't know much about this, and I'm still beginning to learn about stuff you've already known for years. But�I don't want to disappoint you."

Takeshi reached out across the table and covered his smaller hand with his big ones. "As long as you don't disappoint yourself, then disappointing me won't be a problem."

It wasn't a declaration of love or anything else like it, but Kouya felt like the past two days had melted into a funny memory, one they might be laughing over in the next few days. It would be better, he thought a little wistfully as he scraped his plate clean, if they would be laughing about it together.

At around 13:00, the motorcycle was pulling up next to the familiar warehouse with the colorful hand-painted sign declaring "Tobita Club, Crush Gear Group, XXXXX Perfecture." Takeshi expertly maneuvered the bike through the numerous cars parked outside, scowling.

"This is what I hate about this clubhouse," he complained as he killed the machine. "It's right next to other warehouses and so difficult to go through."

"Most of the members of the Tobita Club just walk, though," Kouya told him, unable to resist giving him a poke at the waist. He grinned when Takeshi recoiled instinctively, then quickly jumped off in case he decided to retaliate. He pulled off the helmet in an afterthought. "Oh, this is�"

Takeshi stopped him by waving his hand. "Keep it with you for now. It'll give me a reason to come back for it." He stopped, as if he could not believe he had just said that.

Kouya frowned. "Enough of a reason to come by?" he asked softly.

"Reason enough to come see you," Takeshi replied, giving him a small smile.

It struck Kouya that it was a little bit like flirting and it made him feel a little bit heady again. He grinned. "I can't wait then."

Then, drunk with the utter recklessness of it all, Kouya leaned forward and kissed Takeshi on the lips, reveling in the softness of his lips and how pliant it seemed against his. When he pulled back, he didn't have to look at a mirror to know both their faces were both slightly flushed and had that wide goofy grin on their faces.

"I'll call you later," Takeshi told him over the sudden roar of motor. In a few seconds, he was already making his way through the road.

Kouya nodded and clutched both the gear box and helmet to his chest, currently two of his most important things, and watched until Takeshi disappear through the highway traffic before finally turning to the clubhouse and trekking the remaining steps towards the door, noticing that there was a slight bounce on his strides.

So the answer is�there's no answer! Except that we can now meet each other as equals�rivals, friends, and even something more.

Kouya wasn't certain if it would all work out but he was sure that, like most challenges he had met with, it would still be fun. And worth it.

With this in mind, he skidded to a stop in front of the two-doors and thought how lucky he was to have friends who accepted him for who he chose to be for himself.

He pushed the doors open, letting in the afternoon sunlight, and shouted, "I'm back!"

His teammates and friends, Kuroudo Murume, Kyousuke Jin, Jirou Oriza, Kaoru Hanano, and Lilika Tobita, all turned to him and gave a resounding reply: "Welcome home!"

- Takeshi managing to pull Kouya into a new level of rivalry.
- Kouya realizing that he should shed his childish behaviors and start realizing his responsibility to other people, and how he can affect them whether he likes it or not. (by requesting the other servers to keep quiet about it, he thought not of himself but of his mother and Takeshi)
- Kouya managing his relationship with othher people (namely the Tobita Club and his parents) and his own gear through discovering Takeshi likes him.
- That love is a combination of angst and self-consciousness, but overall, it's supposed to be fun. (I might tend to disagree, but this is Crush Gear, where the primary theme is "Do something and have fun doing it.")

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