tenipuri_xp | RP log - Golden Pair + some NPC's

Date: last weekend
Rating: PG/PG-13
Summary: Oishi and Eiji's first official date: going to a 'matsuri' aka summer Shinto festival. Get ready to choke on Teh Fluff ~~and be mesmerized at my new GP icon~~.

Around these days, the yearly summer festival would be held in Oishi's neighborhood; more exactly, in the surroundings of the local Shinto shrine. Natsuki had reminded her brother about that through mail, and also told him something else.

"Why don't you bring Ei-nii for the festival and the weekend?," she had written in her message. "Grandma and Grandpa will be in Nara, visiting Auntie Hisako and Uncle Yuuichi and the newborn Rumiko-chan, anyway. Several of my friends are in vacation, so I don't want to be alone and bored this weekend, please!"

So, Oishi had called his grandparents first, asking them if he could bring Eiji along. They had met Eiji earlier, more exactly during the ball, and were okay with both his mutation and his friendship with their grandson. They still didn't know the extents of their friendship, and Oishi himself wasn't in a hurry to tell them by now, though he knew it'd come out sooner or later... Still, they had accepted to let Eiji sleep over, and that was more than enough in the moment.

At Saturday, after lunch Oishi was done changing the water of his fish tank and giving Eiji-fish and Oishi-fish some food as well (*mental note to self: check on them as soon as we're back at Sunday*). His bag was packed and ready to grab and use, so he had nothing else to do...

"Eiji," he asked, turning towards his roommate, "are you ready to go?"

Eiji tried to fit the boxes of Pocky into his backpack, but was failing, because there was already so much inside, and the bag just wouldn't take everything. Strewn on his bed were his clothes, towel, toiletries, and already in the bag were his DVDs in case they wanted to watch them, music CDs in case Oishi wanted to listen to them, some more boxes of Pocky, and his other towel. In case the first one got dirty or wet, of course.

"Unya," he said, exasperated, and shaking the bag, hoping things would settle properly--they'd been tossed in haphazardly, and not packed carefully like Oishi had done his. "Not yet, Oishi!"

"Hey, Eiji, we'll be there just for two days. No need to bring so many things..."

There would be just three people there. Both boys and Natsuki, and maybe two or three friends of hers that still were in Tokyo - and would most certainly not sleep over with them. Hmmm...

For a second, Oishi vaguely wondered if something would happen between the two. He and Eiji had shared more kisses and snuggling after the night in the medlab, yes... Oishi wasn't shy and had become more used to body contact since his roomate and boyfriend was still glompy and open in his physical affections; however, lately he had noticed Eiji was progressively bolder in that field. It wasn't so much about the quantity of touches that Eiji started to steal more and more frequently from him - it was about the quality. The last time they slept in the same bed, in example, Eiji had not only nuzzled his neck as always, but kissed and lightly licked both his neck and shoulder, in a half-sultry half innocnet way that surprised the would-be doctor. Of course, Eiji claimed immediately that he was joking and testing Oishi's own endurance to touch, but he still wondered...

"Whatever happens... I hope it's for the best," he thought before speaking to Eiji. "Eiji, I still have some space in my bag. Want me to pack some of your stuff there? We have to go soon, Natsuki is waiting."

Grinning sheepishly, Eiji upended his bag onto the bed and nodded, sorting through his things and doing it properly this time. "Can you take some of the Pocky, Oishi?" Even if he left his CDs and DVDs behind--silly him, of course Oishi had DVDs and CDs and they'd probably watch those if they got bored--Eiji still wanted to make sure they had a good supply of his favorite snacks.

Not knowing the thoughts that were going through Oishi's head, Eiji grinning to himself as he stuffed clothes in a semi-neat fashion into his backpack. Maybe Oishi's bed would be nice and big, and there would be lots of space to cuddle. It was fun teasing Oishi in bed, Eiji thought with another grin to himself. And after talking to Ryoma, Eiji had decided he'd ask when the time was right, or if Oishi asked, he'd say yes. But maybe not until the matsuri was over.

"Of course." And Oishi opened the bag, took the Pocky boxes and neatly placed them inside. "I think we have also some fruits candies at home, since everyone in my family has a sweet tooth. And ingredients for cake, too. If not, we can go to the Lawsons down the block anyway."

When the bag was closed, Oishi sat on the bed next to Eiji. "Thanks for coming with me this weekend, Eiji. Really." Wrapping an arm around Eiji's waist, he idly wondered what would the ex-catboy do right now...

"Hoi, I hope they have lots of Pocky, nya," Eiji said with a grin, and finally zipped his bag closed. Finally it would close! Oishi was a lifesaver.

As Oishi sat on the bed next to him and put an arm around Eiji's waist, Eiji slipped his own around Oishi, and squeezed. "I wanted to go, Oishi. It'll be fun, and we'll go to the matsuri, hoi! And Oishi won't have to worry about people pointing at my ears and tail too, nya. Mmm, takoyaki, and festival snacks. Can't wait to go nya!" He grinned up at Oishi and pecked the taller boy's cheek happily.

"I hope Natsuki and the friends of hers still around haven't eaten it all. But hey, we do have ours just in case."

Oishi's breath was a little caught in his chest when Eiji kissed his cheek, but didn't do anything to push him away. He had to learn to not get nervous... Eiji still wasn't easy to predict, and in fact, a good part of the younger boy's charm lied in that particular trait. Being all heart was no sin, and now that Eiji was more aware of his surroundings and the feelings of others even without his empathy...

His embrace tightened a little, and his lips were curved into a sweet smile. Even more when Eiji's next kiss landed real close to his mouth, brushing against the borders, and it didn't make him nervous.

Hee. Oishi didn't pull away, and the arms around Eiji tightened, and Eiji liked how he could tease Oishi and get Oishi to just take whatever Eiji dished out. He really did love Oishi so much, Eiji thought, snuggling a bit.

Moments later, though, he looked up, and said, "Nya, didn't Oishi say Natsuki would be waiting for us? Maybe we shouldn't keep her waiting, nya!" After all, the subway was predictable and ran like clockwork, but if they were late they'd have to catch a later train that might make them miss their bus.

Oishi checked at his watch. They were still in time to reach the subway and hop in a train immediately after that. "Yeah, we should be going then..."

Breaking the embrace, he stood up and took the bag. Then, he turned to Eiji and extended his hand to him, smiling playfully and deciding to act like the teen he still was. "And off we are, Eiji Kikumaru! Coming?"

Eiji grinned and grabbed Oishi's hand, squeezing it. "Hoi! Oishi! Omatsuri! Oishi! Omatsuri! Oishi no omatsuri!" Grinning at his own pun (it _was_ a festival at the Oishis' neighbourhood, and festival food _was_ yummy), Eiji let Oishi lock up, and then tugged the other along, impatient to get there.

---

The subway and bus ride was uneventful, Oishi guiding Eiji expertly so that neither of them got lost. Eiji was excited to be on the subway and the bus and not have to worry about being exposed as a mutant, but he restrained his excitement, merely fidgeting with a silly grin on his face and occasionally grabbing Oishi's hand to squeeze tightly. They were almost there now.

Noticing Eiji's increasing excitement, Oishi checked on the subway map on the right. Yes, they had to hop down in the next station...

"We're here," he murmured, smiling. "Let's go..."

There were lots of people who wanted to get off the train there as well, and both boys had fully-packed bags, so they had to struggle a little to effectively reach the platform. Things were a little easier from then on, and in few minutes they were getting out of the station.

"My house is some blocks away," he told Eiji, grabbing his wrist and smiling openly as he pulled him forward. "We'll be there in a span of minutes. Come with me, Eiji."

It was a pleasant walk to Oishi's house, even with the heavy bags. Maybe it was the company, Eiji thought, because Oishi had taken his wrist and hadn't let go. Eiji preferred it when Oishi actually _held_ his hand, though, and he adjusted their grip and wove his fingers with the other teen's. It wasn't long before they were there.

Oishi didn't feel like rejecting Eiji's touch. Even if the streets surrounding the station were crowded, he wouldn't let go of this person walking by him. Not only because he kinda feared thast Eiji could get lost in the crowd since he wasn't used to be outside of either school or his house, but the older youth really enjoyed being with him, so close. And few people were staring, anyway.

Soon, they reached a more residencial part of the neighborhood. And after walking some more...

"Ei-nii! Syu-niichan! Heeeeey!"

A girl with very long black hair (well, considering her powers, it was an understatement...) and green eyes that were similar to Oishi's waved at both boys from the porch of one of the houses. She was clad in a light blue yukata with printed pink flowers on it and seemed to be very excited, so it seemed that she hadn't had to wait for so long.

"Natsuki!," and Oishi waved back. But right then, Eiji started running towards the girl, pulling Oishi along with him.

"Natsuki-chan!" Eiji called out happily, grinning as he dragged Oishi along with him, tiredness forgotten. It was good to see the other again, and she seemed fine, so it was good to know she wasn't harmed by her powers surfacing. "Ne, Oishi, hurry," Eiji urged, pulling at his roommate and boyfriend with a backward grin. "Let's go in!"

"Ei-nii!," and Natsuki followed the boys into the house. With some difficulty, that is, since she the yukata was a little uncomfortable to wear. "You guys want to change into yukatas first, if you have them handy?"

"I have mine handy," Oishi replied as the three got in, "so yeah. I'll change clothes now, won't take me five minutes."

He turned to Eiji. "Do you have a yukata handy? I have a spare one here, if you don't. Or you can just go in normal clothes, if you want."

Whoops. "Gomen, Oishi," Eiji said, grinning sheepishly. His yukata was in his closet back in their dorm room. He clapped his hands together once and peeked from behind them, grinning at Oishi. "Can I borrow yours? I don't want to go in normal clothes if you're both in yukatas, nya."

"All right, then, come up to my room. Natsuki, we'll be back in some minutes, don't worry..."

"Okay!..."

In that minute, the doorbell ringed and Natsuki went to check it, seeing in glee that some friends of her had come. Oishi waved at the two girls and two boys (eh... didn't one of the boys slightly look like a younger version of Kaidoh...?) that his younger sister was hushing into the house and then went up the stairs, bringing Eiji along - by the hand, like the ex-catboy surely wanted.

Squeezing Oishi's hand, Eiji went up after him. He hadn't seen Oishi's room before, and it was neat and organised, just like Oishi was in the room they shared. "Nya, Oishi, the room looks like I imagined Oishi's room would look like!" Eiji said with a big smile. He glomped Oishi with a grin.

"Heh, thank you." And Oishi accepted the embrace, more relaxed now that they were in the room that Oishi's realm since uncle Akitaka took him and Natsuki to live there; and now that Natsuki and their grandparents were taking care of it.. it still was his favorite place. Having Eiji now with him - ah, he was so happy by merely having the other youth here. Oishi Syuuichirou really was easy to please in this sense, was he?

Still, they had something else to do, so soon he had to disengage himself from Eiji's arm wrapped around his body so he could get his spare yukata. That took him less than five minutes; soon, a blue yukata and a dark green one were on the bed, waiting to be worn by one of them.

"Which one do you want, Eiji?"

Which one did he want? Instead, Eiji held up the blue one to Oishi, and then the green. "Hoi, this one matches Oishi's eyes," Eiji said happily, and glomped Oishi again, the yukata squashed between them. "Oishi will wear green and I'll be blue, nya!" Grinning at Oishi when Oishi agreed, Eiji wondered if they could just change in the room. It was just like back in the dorm, right?

"Don't peek, Oishi," Eiji said with a grin, even as he made sure the door was locked. Pulling off his shirt, Eiji begun to undress to wear the yukata, and even though he asked Oishi not to peek, he was stealing quick peeks at Oishi himself.

He didn't care about peeking or not peeking, but since Eiji had asked, Oishi decided to comply to the request and didn't look at the other as they changed clothes. Come to think of it, the blue one matched Eiji's eyes as well... maybe forgetting the other yukata at home wasn't such a bad thing, heh.

When he was almost fully dressed (he only needed to put on the sandals), Oishi asked his partner, without turning, "Are you ready now?"

Well, he was _almost ready. "Just tying it up, nya," Eiji said, trying to remember how to do up the yukata. It _had_ been a while since he'd worn one. It wasn't too big even though Oishi was a bit taller, luckily.

Getting frustrated (he'd always been just a bit impatient), Eiji pouted, and said, "Oishi, can you help me, nya?"

The sash of the yukata was somewhat easier to tie than the one of a normal kimono, so it didn't take Oishi too long to get it done. Some more fabric stretching, and voilà: Eiji was as well dolled up as he was.

"You said we shouldn't make Natsuki wait," he said, smiling as always, "so let's go for her and the other kids!"

Thanking Oishi with another glomp, Eiji cheered. "Omatsuri! Come on, Oishi!" He took Oishi's hand and pulled the other downstairs with him--but of course, he waited until Oishi could close his door first. Eiji didn't want Oishi falling down his own stairs just because Eiji was impatient, after all.

Running down the stairs, Eiji said, "We're ready! Let's go, nya!"

"Omatsuri, then!"

And Oishi, after locking his door, allowed Eiji to grab his hand and pull him towards the stairs and the door, where Natsuki and her junior high friends (the ones that were there when they went upstairs, plus some other kids who had presumably arrived when they were still dressing up) were already waiting...

Soon, a small "caravan" of school-aged kids was walking animatedly towards the local Shinto temple and its surroundings. Natsuki and a bleach-haired, tanned female friend of hers in a goldfish yukata (even ko-gals were in!) were leading the way, the others followed them close, and Oishi and Eiji were the last ones in the group; the future healer was simly too engrossed in the feeling of beng "back home" to really hurry, looking at the familiar places that, for the present night and maybe the following day, were full of color, life and energy.

They were lagging behind, but Eiji, excited though he was, was content to walk along beside Oishi. Okay ... so maybe he bounced a bit too much, and maybe his grin was much wider than it would normally be, and maybe if he had his powers everyone within a ten-block radius would have been feeling ecstatic. But he was holding Oishi's hand, and he was going to an omatsuri, and he didn't have to worry about losing his hat, or people throwing stones at him.

Maybe he'd been too hard on Mi-nee. Maybe he'd talk to her soon.

Maybe.

In the meantime, Eiji squeezed Oishi's hand, and settled for tugging his roommate along when he felt they were falling behind too much.

There were lots of things to see, certainly, and every now and then Eiji was the one who kept him on the road this time, tugging at either his arm or his green sleeve. At others, people stopped by to talk to him or Natsuki about many different things, some sparing some seconds to speak to Eiji and the other kids as well.

"Syuu-niichan!," Natsuki called up to him at some point. "We'll try catching goldfish with the paper nets, just like you caught Oishi-fish and Eiji-fish last year!"

"Okay, then. If you guys get lost or something, go to the shrine gates and we'll meet up with you there..."

As soon as the kids were gone to catch their future pets, Oishi started to search for another booth with any kind of games. His eyes were fixed on the booth next to the goldfish catch one - ah, the water balloons yo-yos! It could be fun to fish 'em out with only the help of a hook and a dissolving string... So, he poked Eiji on the shoulder and pulled him towards that booth...

"Eeh? You already have goldfish, Oi--," Eiji began, but he cut himself off as he realised they weren't going to the goldfish catch, but to the water balloon yo-yos. Oooh. Grinning, Eiji glomped Oishi. "Wai! Yes, let's play that, Oishi!"

The dissolving strings didn't dissolve that quickly, which was great. It didn't cost that much to play, but it was a LOT hard than it looked! As soon as he went after a balloon, the hidden currents under the water's surface pushed the hook away in random, unpredictable directions, and Eiji soon lost patience with the game. Frustrated, he handed his slowly dissolving string to Oishi. "You play, Oishi, you're the patient one, nya," he said, pouting.

Carefully, Oishi took the hook, concentrated a little and started to slowly, carefully pull the balloon up. A little more... just a little more... there... OUCH, and the ball plopped back to the pond.

"I just paid for my own tries, so my time is just starting. I'll get balloons for us, don't worry."

The attempts that followed weren't much more succesful. Every time Oishi was about to get his plastic prize, the hook would miss the target or the string would dissolve. But finally, the last try was the most sucesful one... and a blue and green balloon was now in Oishi's hands, all wet and still lightly bouncy thanks to its waterly filling.

Without any hesitation, Oishi delicately placed it in Eiji's open hands. "This is my way to say 'thanks for coming to my house, Eiji'."

"Uwa~! Oishi, you're amazing, nya!" Eiji exclaimed, gingerly handling the balloon until he was sure it wasn't going to pop in his hands. It wobbled, and slid in Eiji's hands, squeaking a little as he held it tighter to make sure it wouldn't splatter on the floor and waste Oishi's hard work.

The vendor gave them a string to tie to the end, and Eiji made the loop big enough for two hands. "We'll share, nya," Eiji said, grinning at Oishi as he took Oishi's hand and looped the string around both his and Oishi's hands.

Oishi was more careful as he and Eiji walked among the crowd, their hands touching constantly as they both held the string that was tied to the balloon. There were many other booths, each one with its own charm and touch: more games, some cultural shows, cuisine, etc. So many things usually present more in the subconscious than the surface, but that always found its way to get out and shine somehow.

The next time they saw Natsuki and her group of friends, they were running (as much as the yukatas allowed them) towards the shrine and its adjacent park. "Fireworks! Fireworks! They're starting in ten minutes! Let's go!"

Fireworks! Eiji tugged on Oishi's arm, clinging. "Oishi, Oishi, let's go see them!"

Oishi started to walk faster, also wanting to see the fireworks. If his memory served him right, the view from the shrine was better than from the park, but the park offered in exchange more space...

So, he called out for his sister and the other children and guided them towards the big park, reaching a clearing in the middle of it. While there was already lots of people, the clearing was large enough to provide a good view and room for everyone.

BOOM! BOOM!

Few minutes after they arrived, when they were practically settled, a flare suddenly went up into the darkened sky and erupted into bright light. Lots of other flares of different colors followed, showering the darkened sky with beautiful, brilliant shades of blue, gold, red, green...

With Eiji squeezing his hand and leaning on his shoulder, and Natsuki and her friends squealing and cheering at the beautiful fireworks, Oishi Syuuichirou just couldn't be happier.