2.23. Shibuya

Sunlight filtered in through a small crack in the curtains. It lit up the otherwise dark room, a sliver of brightness cutting the room in two and highlighting the individual specks of dust floating in the air. The room was silent.

Until a phone sprang to life, buzzing on top of a wooden nightstand as it chimed obnoxiously loud. A few seconds later, the boy in the bed groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as he rolled over and blindly felt for his phone.

He accepted the call, bringing the phone to his ear to hear a familiar voice. "Y/N, where are you at? I'm waiting for you just outside Starbucks."

Y/N had gathered most of their phone numbers over dinner the night before. They'd organised a meetup the day after Bluelock ended, at Tokyo's famous Shibuya district.

He frowned. "You're already there, Isagi?" His voice was husky and low from sleep, and Y/N coughed, trying to clear his throat.

"Yeah?" Isagi sounded confused. "Just getting some drinks while I wait."

"Wait, what's the..." Y/N opened his eyes properly, looking at the time displayed on his phone. Oh, shit. Ten thirty already?! "Ah."

"Ah?"

Y/N flushed. "I'll um... I'll be there in maybe an hour. Get lunch or something, don't wait for me."

"Are you in bed?"

"No..."

He heard Isagi laugh on the other side of the line. "Sure. Chigiri said he'd be here in fifteen, Bachira in thirty. I'll see if I can find somewhere to eat as a group."

"Alright. I'll try to hurry up."

"See you!"

"Bye."

Y/N ended the call, sighing as he threw back the blankets and stumbled out of bed. What to wear... He raised a hand to his hair as he scanned his wardrobe, feeling the messy, sticking up strands.

One thing he was certain about, he didn't know how to dress up. He'd never needed to, living alone and basically only interacting with strangers. But today - the one day he felt the need to dress nicely - he had no time.

So in the end, he threw on a casual outfit, brushed his teeth, and splashed water on his hair in an attempt to calm it down before he left. His apartment was an absolute mess, but he would have to deal with it another time.

🥕🥕🥕

"Where are you?!"

Y/N groaned with frustration, eyes scanning the nearby area as he spoke into his phone. He'd managed to catch a lucky train, and got to the crossing in just under an hour. But upon arrival, he'd been completely unable to locate Chigiri, Isagi, and Bachira in the huge crowds.

"Inside Starbucks, second floor. We're by the window?"

"I don't see you?" Y/N looked over the crossing, at the window of the famous coffee shop. He saw no Isagi, and certainly no pink hair.

"Um... Come over. We'll meet you at the stairs."

Thankfully, the crossing lights turned green as soon as Isagi said that. Y/N hurried across alongside hundreds of other people, some of them in casual wear, quite a few in business attire. He stayed on the phone the entire time, feeding his location to Isagi.

"I took ten steps into the crossing..."

"Eleven now."

"Ooh, there's a guy with a pink shirt."

"Halfway across the crossing."

"Still walking."

"Nearly tripped over my laces."

"Some people are staring at me strange."

"Welp, I'm nearly there."

"I crossed."

"I see Starbucks."

"Heading inside the doors."

"Ow. Who made glass so hard to see?"

There was a rush of static from Isagi's end of the phone, like he'd sighed directly into the microphone. "Y/N, please be quiet."

"Not being quiet."

"Walking across the shop."

"Still on my phone."

"Waiting to see you."

"It's so hot in here."

Finally, Y/N spotted a flash of pink, as well as a familiar bob cut. He didn't get off the phone, though, speaking in an annoying, childish tone.

"Nerd spotted."

"Walking closer."

"Still not seen."

"Oh!"

Isagi hung up on him. The trio began making their way across the crowded cafe, meeting him in the middle. Y/N grinned, waving slightly as he tucked his phone away.

"Y/N!" Chigiri had his hair up in a high ponytail, wearing a collared shirt inside a chequered red and green sweater. A handbag slung over his shoulder, he smiled widely. Y/N's face heated a little at the enthusiastic welcome.

"Hey!" Bachira was just as happy. A pair of headphones around his neck, a black jacket over a loose fitting white shirt, he held a huge latte in a plastic cup. One hand was a blur as he aggressively churned the drink with a mixer.

And Isagi had a polo shirt, with a smart black sweater over it. He was scowling at Y/N playfully, and pointed a finger at him. "You, sir, are the most annoying little shit I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."

Tucking his hands behind his back, and tilting his head in the perfect portrayal of innocence, Y/N smiled. "I try my best."

"Did you call anyone to come with you?" Chigiri asked.

"Well, Barou wanted to know if I was doing anything today. Don't know why." Y/N shrugged nonchalantly. "I asked Niko... and Reo if they wanted to come. Reo said he's already in Shibuya today, and Niko said he would rather hide in his room and play video games."

"Sounds about right." Isagi chuckled.

"Oh, and then Otoya and Yukimiya said they were with Reo, but they would be happy to meet. I told them we were at Starbucks." Y/N's eyes flickered around the crowded cafe.

"I messaged Nagi... he said he found an arcade, so he's stopping there."

"Raichi didn't want to come. Apparently, he's training his 'sexy soccer'."

"Right..."

"And..." Chigiri's voice trailed off. Y/N frowned, watching his pink eyes drift to something just above Y/N's shoulder. When they widened with surprise, Y/N leapt a metre into the air.

"Is it a fuckign spider?!" He yelled, in the middle of the crowded shop. Chigiri, Isagi, Bachira, and a dozen nearby people watched as Y/N span in circles, brushing frantically at his jumper.

After he'd span for a good ten seconds, swaying from dizziness, he staggered right into Chigiri. Wide, pleading eyes stared up at the princess. "What are you doing just standing there?!"

"Y/N, it's not a spi-"

"I'm gonna die!" Y/N screeched. "I'm allergic to spiders - not really, they just give me rashes - not really, they just make my skin tingle - not really, they just kind of look ugly....!" His voice trailed off, before he realised what he was supposed to be doing and started dramatically making pained noises.

Chigiri and Isagi shared a look.

"Weeeee!" Bachira decided it would be a good idea to spin around as well, nearly dropping his cup on the floor as he also staggered into Chigiri. For the hell of it, he also began to make pained noises, repeating 'ow' as he poked Chigiri's chest over and over.

"It's not a spider!"

Chigiri glanced around, sending the most apologetic look to the other people in the cafe as he sighed. "Look over there."

Y/N and Bachira immediately stopped their antics. Both boys glanced where Chigiri was pointing, at a table on the other side of the cafe.

Six other boys were clustered around a table, hot drinks in front of all of them. They seemed to be pretty into whatever discussion they were having, hands waving and faces serious as they compared something on their phone screens.

Y/N recognised five of the six. Aryu was easily recognisable, wearing a long black jacket and shirt that blended well with his hair. Yukimiya sat next to him, wearing a smart button up, his hair neatly slicked to one side. Karasu had on a long coat, hair spiked up like always.

Eyes lighting up as he spotted Reo, Y/N dashed across the shop floor. Bachira followed a second later, the pair giggling as they rushed the group of strikers. "Reooooo!"

Being the only one not invested in the conversation, Otoya spotted them first. He wore a wool hat, and dark clothes with headphones around his neck. The boy Y/N didn't know was next, large eyes rounding with surprise. He raised a shaky hand at them.

Reo barely had time to put his cup on the table before Y/N had flung his arms over the back of his chair. He stiffened, hesitating as he glanced over at Y/N, and Y/N tilted his head questioningly.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Course I am." Reo mumbled. "Are you not angry?"

Genuine confusion flickering across Y/N's face, he blinked. "Why would I be?"

"My parents..."

"What?"

"They sponsored Kuroi..."

"Why am I supposed to be angry at you for what they did?" Y/N smiled. "Idiot. Stop looking so guilty."

Reo's face lightened with relief, and he returned Y/N's smile properly. He took the smaller boy's wrist, pulling him to the side of the table. His other hand picked up the coffee cup a second time.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would've already left."

Y/N's face turned a shade of pink. "I uh... I was running late."

"He overslept." Isagi laughed, Chigiri with him as they got to the table.

"I did not oversleep!"

"You sounded like a zombie on the phone."

Y/N's mouth opened. Then it closed again, the boy unable to think of a comeback. It took him a good few seconds before he was able to speak back.

"At least I don't gaslight people into thinking there's a spider on their shoulders!"

"That wasn't even me!"

"You were an accomplice!"

"You're delus- oh, can I help you?"

A young man, wearing a white shirt and Starbucks overalls approached them. He looked completely worn out, sighing as he looked mostly towards Y/N.

"You." He pointed at Y/N tiredly. "Get out."

"What?!"

"You're making a scene. Get out of the cafe."

"Sir, it's not even me!" Y/N protested. "It's their fault!"

"Who is the person that everyone in the cafe is looking at?" The man sighed. Y/N's face turned a brighter shade of red, as he glanced around. It's not everyone... like eighty percent...

"Um."

"Get out." The man noticed the other boys. His eyebrows furrowed. "You all as well."

"Can we finish our drinks?" Yukimiya asked politely. He threw Y/N an exasperated, but teasing glance.

"No."

🥕🥕🥕

"I can't believe you sometimes."

Karasu sighed, very much missing his espresso. "We were just having a nice, calm conversation about the stock market. Reo was going to tell me how to make money off commodities."

"And how to design one's own clothing." Aryu added.

Otoya, with his arm slung over Y/N's shoulder, smirked at the smaller boy's mortified face. "I think it's great you got us kicked out. I don't have to listen to them yapping, and I get to check out some more Shibuya chicks." He grinned, squeezing Y/N against his side once. "Though, none of them compare to you."

Y/N squeaked. Otoya laughed, relishing his embarrassed expression. "Kidding, obviously. I don't swing that way."

"By the way, I've never met you before!" Chigiri had started a conversation with the unknown boy. "Are you from Bluelock?"

"Y-yes." The boy stammered. "Tokimitsu. My name. Is. Yes."

Chigiri searched till he found Reo's eyes. Reo just shrugged. "He went to the same school as Yukimiya, apparently. He was a late joiner into the third selection, 'cause Ego had to work a little bit on his social skills."

"Right..." That didn't work, did it... Chigiri did his best to relax the other boy though, smiling reassuringly.

In the end, Tokimitsu didn't say anything. He dropped to the back of the group, still following them. Chigiri sped up a little. He poked Otoya in the side, making the boy look over in surprise, and yoinked Y/N from right under his arms.

Otoya made a small noise of annoyance, but Y/N didn't notice. He was too busy looking up at Chigiri, a bright, enthusiastic smile on his lips.

"Where are we headed?"

Y/N grinned. "Wanna go jump Nagi? He's playing games instead of joining us."

"Sounds good!"

Without waiting for anyone else, Y/N took off down the incredibly crowded street, weaving in between pedestrians with all the ease of... well, a professional soccer player.

And just like that, everyone was running as well. Chigiri beckoned them to speed up, and the group of teenagers sped down the pavement, laughing audible even over the noise of the crowds.