Translations/Meanings, Ch. 3.

3 Months Later

September 5th

Akira and Shiro walked together to their gym class, but Akira fell behind a few times. Eventually, Shiro stopped and so did Akira. He curiously looked up at him, “Why’d you stop?” Shiro held a hand up to Akira’s forehead, frowning as he did so. 

“You’re burning up, are you feeling alright?’

Akira shook his head slightly, “I feel sick..” He held his stomach and sighed deeply. Shiro patted his head and kept a hand on his back as they continued walking. Once they entered the gym, Shiro informed the teacher of Akira’s stomach ache and he was allowed to sit out for the class. He took a seat on the bleachers, still holding his stomach. Shiro joined him and started tying his shoes. When he finished, he glanced up, noticing that Akira was staring off somewhere. He followed his eyes, noticing that he was staring at Leon, Akira’s ex from their first year of junior high. Shiro sighed, nudging Akira. He rubbed his eyes, then turned to Shiro, smiling.

“Ignore him.”

Akira started kicking his legs, looking down at the ground, “I can’t…How can he pretend like he didn’t do anything?”

“Because he’s a bad person.” Shiro said, annoyed. He got up, looking down at Akira. Feeling his eyes on him, Akira’s eyes moved up at him. “I won’t let him bother you, I promise.”

Akira smiled, and Shiro walked off to the rest of the class. The class gathered into a circle and their teacher crossed his arms. “All right, we finished our volleyball unit last class, so it’s time for something fun, dodgeball.”

The class cheered, and Akira sighed in relief, “So glad I’m sitting out..”

Everyone gathered into groups, and Akira placed his hands under his chin, observing them. His ears turned to the door opening, and he felt a warm presence sit by him. Akira turned to a bright, smiling Hyori.

“Hyori! What are you doing here?

“Hey Akira! This is my study hall, so I decided to come and watch. How come you’re sitting out?”

“I’m not feeling too well, so I’m just watching today.”

Hyori smiled sympathetically, “Aww, I hope you feel better soon.”

Akira smiled, “Thank you!”

The two turned to the class, watching the game as they played. Akira’s eyes followed Shiro, blush creeping onto his face the more he watched. He admired everything about him, his long black hair was held into a ponytail, his bangs flowing as he played. His smile captivated Akira, and he couldn’t stop staring. But he was interrupted by the sound of a ball smacking someone on the other side of the room. Akira turned quickly, seeing a groaning Leon lying on the floor and a pile of dodgeballs surrounding him. Leon got up angrily and walked up to Shiro and his team.

“What the fuck is your guys’ problem?”

Shiro stifled a laugh as the teacher yelled to Leon, “You’re out Leon!” He crossed his arms angrily at this, protesting, "That’s not fair, they all aimed for me!”

Shiro threw another ball at his head, “Don’t be a baby, you’re out, Tanga!” (You're out, Idiot!)

Leon rolled his eyes, sitting down with the others who got out.

Shiro laughed, then looked up at Akira, waving and smiling brightly. Akira mouthed a “Thank you” and blushed.

The Next Day

Hyori walked into their homeroom class and sat down next to Shiro. She glanced to Shiro’s right side and noticed that Akira’s chair was empty. She frowned a little, disappointed that he wasn’t there.

“Where’s Akira?”

Shiro stayed fixated on his laptop, “The sickness from yesterday caught up to him, so he stayed home to get some rest.”

“Oh I see..it feels weird without him here!”

Shiro hummed in response, and Hyori glanced at his laptop, wondering what he was so focused on. His screen was filled with a collection of different outfits, and he was observing each one.

“Is this for the Christmas party next week?” Hyori asked.

“Yeah!” He crossed his arms, “I don’t know what to wear though.”

Hyori gasped, “Do you want to match? I have a slight idea of what I want to wear!”

Shiro perked up and turned to her, “Good idea!”

The two of them scooted closer together, and Shiro moved his laptop to the middle. They both continued to search together.

Hyori placed her chin on her hand, “Do you guys not celebrate Halloween? It’s only September and we’re already having a Christmas party.”

“Oh no we do! It’s just “another version" of Halloween from October 31st to November 2nd.”

She tilted her head curiously, “Really? What do you guys call it?”

“It’s called Undas, or in other words, All Saint Days. It’s a holiday to celebrate the dead. But Christmas season in general starts in September for us.”

Hyori smiled, “Oh, cool!”

1 week later

The sound of the doorbell could be heard from the entrance. Imani ran to the door, opening it to a matching Shiro and Hyori. Imani gasped in excitement.

“Oh my gosh! You two look so cute I love it!”

The two thanked her and they walked in together. Hyori hugged Imani, and Shiro looked around curiously trying to see past the large crowd of people, the sound of the Christmas music filling the house.

“Is Akira here?” Shiro asked.

Imani let go of Hyori and turned to him, “Yeah! I think the last time I saw him was on the couch.”

Shiro nodded, “Alright,” he placed a hand on Hyori’s shoulder and she looked at him, “I’ll be right back, okay?”

Hyori smiled, “Okay! I’ll just be with Imani if you need me,” Hyori grabbed Imani’s hand and they ran off to the kitchen for some drinks. Shiro walked away from the entrance, pushing past groups of people. Letting out multiple “Excuse me’s” and “Sorry’s” before he finally noticed a lonely Akira, sitting on the couch with a drink in his hand. He rushed over and sat down next to him, Akira’s face lighting up from the presence of his best friend. Shiro pulled him into a quick hug then let go.

“Hey Kira!”

“Hey..” Akira responded with a quiet voice and slight smile. He looked back down to the ground and played with the cup in his hand. Shiro grabbed his hand, pulling him up.

“Let’s go somewhere quieter.”

Akira smiled and the two walked off to a different room of the house. They made their way to another “living room” but this time, it was completely empty. They sat down on the couch together and Akira took a large sip from his cup. Shiro glanced at his cup.

“Salabat?”

Akira nodded. Shiro could tell something was wrong, so he began to rub his back to comfort him. Akira blushed, smiling at the boy. 

“How come you came? You hate parties..” Shiro asked.

Akira hummed, “Well everyone was going..I didn’t want to be the only person who wasn't.”

Shiro frowned and sighed, “You didn’t have to come, I would’ve stayed back with you..”

Akira shook his head sadly and kept his eyes on his cup. Shiro gently grabbed the cup from his hand and stood up.

“I’ll go get you some more okay? Just stay here.”

Akira, still staying quiet, nodded his head in agreement. Shiro walked off to the kitchen, noticing Imani and Hyori were still there. Imani waved him down and he joined them, filling up Akira’s cup and grabbing a sandwich at the same time.

Imani looked around, “How’s Akira?”

Shiro stayed fixated on the cup, “He’s fine, I might drive him home early though since he doesn’t seem too happy at the moment.”

“Ah alright!”

Hyori and Imani then walked off together and Shiro made his way back to the room. The moment he entered, he saw Leon sitting next to Akira, his hand holding his and tears flowing down Akira’s face. Shiro grabbed the sandwich from the plate, throwing it at Leon’s face. 

Leon stood up angrily and wiped his face, “What the hell?” He noticed Shiro at the entrance of the room, “You again? What’s your deal dude?”

Shiro walked up to him, pushing him, “What’s my deal? What’s yours! It’s obvious he doesn’t want to be around you anymore!

Leon snickered at this, “You mean she?”

Shiro placed his stuff down and smacked Leon, then poured the cup of salabat all over him, the smell of the ginger filling the room. Leon, not wanting to get caught fighting again, ran off angrily.

Shiro rushed over to Akira’s side, holding him and wiping his tears.

“I’m so sorry..I should have stayed with you..or let you come with me!”

Akira shook his head, “Stop blaming yourself..he just can accept that we aren’t together anymore.” Akira’s eyes moved from Shiro to the spilled salabat on the floor. “My drink..”

The two of them chuckled together. 

“Sorry about that.”

Akira smiled at him and Shiro pulled out his phone, and opening messenger.

“I’ll call my driver to pick us up and we can just hang out at my house.”

Akira nodded and the two of them made their way to the front of the house. Shiro held Akira’s hand tightly during this time, not wanting to lose him in the crowd. Imani noticed them, and ran over quickly, dragging Hyori along.

“Where are you guys going? The party isn’t over yet!”

Shiro turned to face her, “Akira’s not feeling good, we’re just going to hang out at my house if you guys want to join.”

Imani and Hyori looked at eachother, and Imani hummed, “Hmm..nah we’re good! You two have fun..together…alone.”

Shiro rolled his eyes, “Anyways, my driver is here, we’ll see you two at school.”

The group waved bye to each other, and Shiro and Akira left the house, entering the car.

The house was dark, and the sound of a movie could be heard from the living room. The glow of the TV reflecting off of their faces. Akira was bundled up in a warm blanket, his eyes closed and his head resting on the couch, near Shiro’s legs. Shiro took his eyes off of the screen, staring down at Akira. His bright white hair was sprawled out on the couch, a few strands laid out on Shiro's lap. He raised his hand, about to tuck Akira’s hair behind his ear. But before he could, the lights suddenly turned on, and he yanked his hand back, placing it on his lap. He looked up and noticed his mom, Hina, standing at the entrance of the hallway next to the living room.

“Oops! Sorry sweetheart.” She said, quickly turning off the lights.

Shiro smiled, “It’s alright mom.”

Hina stepped in quietly, “Do you want me to make some food? I’m sure Akira will be hungry when he wakes up.”

“That sounds great, thanks mom.” Shiro adjusted himself to a more comfortable position, “Do you think you can get him some natto? He was going to ask you for more but he fell asleep.”

Hina smiled at her son and nodded, then made her way to the kitchen. Shiro looked back at the tv, and he felt the weight of the couch change. He gazed over to the side, and Akira was sitting criss cross, rubbing his eyes. Akira turned to him with tired eyes as the blanket fell off his shoulders, “How long did I sleep?”

Shiro checked his watch, “Not long..” He adjusted the blanket so it covered Akira again, “My mom is making food and getting you some natto by the way.”

Akira smiled at this and held his hands in his lap. Shiro exhaled and looked around nervously, “Hey…can I tell you something?”

Akira nodded.

“Just don’t tell anyone okay?” Shiro looked away, “So um..I have this really big crush on someone. And I really want to court them. But I don’t want to ruin our friendship if they reject me..”

Akira placed a hand on his, and Shiro turned his gaze back to him, “Just tell them. I mean, you’re the Shiro Okamoto, I’m sure they like you back.”

Shiro chuckled, but then sighed, “I don’t want to get rejected though.”

Akira smiled, “You’ll be fine! You won’t know unless you try, right?”

Shiro smiled back, “You’re right..thanks Kira.”

As they stared at each other, Hina walked back into the living room with a tray holding two plates and a bowl. Hina made her way to the two boys, handing them their food.

“Here you go loves, if you want more just tell me, okay?”

Akira examined the silverware, their plates were filled with curry and rice, and his bowl contained natto and rice. He looked up at Hina, smiling happily.

“Thank you so much Tita Hina!”

Hina smiled, squishing his cheeks, “Of course!” She made her way back to her room, the sound of the door echoing through the empty hallway. The two boys started to eat and Akira kicked his legs happily.

“Mm, lami kaayo!” (So tasty!) He took another bite, “I love your mom’s curry so much.”

Shiro chuckled, “We have so much of it in the fridge, you can take some home if you want.”

Akira perked up, “Really?”

Shiro nodded and Akira hugged him happily.

As Hina closed the door, she turned to her husband, Haru.

“Haru..are you sure they’re not dating?”

Haru nodded, “Yes I’m sure, Shiro told us he’s not in a relationship right now, he doesn’t lie to us.”

Hina sat down on the bed, “Well that’s disappointing! They would be so cute together, I know Akira loves our boy so much.”

Haru laughed, “Yeah, but I know our son, he’s not gay.”

Hina rested her head on her husband's chest, looking up at him with curious eyes, “But what if he is? What if he’s only telling us he’s not dating someone to cover it up!”

“He’s not lying! Shiro wouldn’t lie to us about something like that, he would tell us.”

Hina sighed and looked down, “You’re right, I don’t know what I was thinking.”