Notes

ix months had passed since the last ball was held in the outdoor squares. Most of the bricked floor was covered with leaves if they weren't swept away by the workers. Autumn's horizon was introduced by colder winds. More importantly, the royals insisted on celebrating the season with another open ball. However, a simple ball had thousands of significant meanings.

For Bokuto Koutarou, it soothed his soul to dance and meet his previous comrades. For Akaashi Keiji, it was an opportunity to make business partners and connect with buyers. While for other families, it was a chance to eat rich food.

The clock hadn't struck two digits, but the music must have echoed between the trees. Bokuto watched a few birds fly off the branches above. It was rare for him to wake up early. However, the significance of this event was far too great to sleep over.

His best friend, best known as Kuroo Tetsurou, stepped foot outside for the first time in a while. His heart would likely not be repaired ever since his secret lover was pierced by a bullet. Bokuto saw it in his eyes at every chance they had eye contact. It was what drove him to smile regardless. He would never give up until his best friend would copy his expression.

"female, male, royal, peasant. There's a wide selection of charming people," Bokuto pointed out, consciously playing mind games with his best friend.

"Shut it," Kuroo scoffed and rolled his eyes. He wasn't about to receive a lecture on love and romance.

"Who said I was talking about people for you?" Bokuto looked away to hide his snarky smile. He had truly been the comedian out of the two.

"Brainless giant," Kuroo muttered and caused Bokuto to laugh. There was an effect of holding onto his smile and radiating laugh. Kuroo hated that he smiled lightly at the brutal exchange, and shook his head dumbfoundedly.

From there, their eyes were on the bridge leading to the castle. Of course, the castle itself was unreachable. The squares, however, were open and set with lively music and shops. Their walk was quiet and riddled with different memories.

Kuroo remembered purposely missing the last ball. He followed social norms and knew quite well what people thought of wimpy soldiers. Bokuto and himself remembered his mighty arrival after leaving the military. Nothing felt like meeting people's shameful gazes and awkwardly smiling at them.

Bokuto especially remembered a handsome man he was acquainted with at the last ball. Though, the odds were realistically slim of meeting with him again. Then again, the royal events were quite popular and important. It was something most people looked forward to. The odds were suddenly flickering between narrow and likely.

At around 1 pm, the activity picked up. He and Kuroo had the honor of trying out royal cuisine. He swore he tasted food outside his culturally broad palette. Kuroo and Bokuto eyed each other upon recognizing a few meals they had as soldiers. Yet, they humbly chose to try locally produced dishes and desserts. Their intake of proteins soon reached its limit, before they had to move to another activity.

"Wine tasting?" Kuroo suggested after a delighted sigh. Bokuto responded with a raise of his eyebrows. The exchange must have revealed who the smarter friend was.

"At this hour?" Bokuto asked. His hair was ruffled by a sudden breeze, while Kuroo's didn't budge. Their walk suddenly formed a meaningless, yet comfortable route. They mindlessly wandered from one shop to another booth while planning what to do.

"True, the best activity for last. Hm, let's go help that child win," Kuroo suggested. Bokuto opened his mouth to ask who, and what, but followed his gaze instead. Indeed, a kid not older than fourteen struggled in a battle of strength. At one glance, it seemed the challenge regarded pulling at something with one's entire strength.

"Oh?" Bokuto asked, and stopped in his tracks along with Kuroo. The two quietly observed the scene for a second. Indeed, the child reattempted the challenge for a seemingly third time. Bokuto pieced together the puzzle in his head, before nodding in agreement.

The tiles clicked under their very feet, at a steady rhythm of their walk. Once the sound reached pairs of ears, they were met by a group of people. The booth was decorated with potential prizes one could win. Some were small, but others were quite worthful.

"Hello! My name is Kou, his name is Tetsu. We suddenly want to challenge this thing. Should we team up, buddy?" Bokuto informally changed the narrative with his speech. Only Kuroo could piece out the social skills within the presentation. Nonetheless, both of them smiled politely before waiting for a response.

The young child contemplated his response for a second, before nodding shyly. Kuroo and Bokuto eyed one another in a battle of who was going to win the game. Though they trained equally hard, Bokuto's biceps formed a larger diameter. Kuroo smiled in defeat, before shaking his head.

Bokuto read the rules. They were as straightforward as they were simple. As long as one pulled the handle hard enough to reach 200, one won the prize. Kuroo folded his arms over his chest as a spectator, as Bokuto readied himself. As the theatrics of a man Bokuto was, he shamelessly rotated his arm for preparation. His fully built muscles exposed themselves in a few angles, as Bokuto stretched.

Kuroo saw the child's expression turn bright as Bokuto pulled the handle. The worker was stunned by the exponential increase in numbers. Bokuto used around 80% of his strength to reach a hundred and fifty and needed a deep breath. He controllably exhaled deeply, before fastening his grip even more. Kuroo spectated the number increase to a hundred and eighty. One more tug and Bokuto would win.

Around ten percent of his arm strength remained, as Bokuto was determined to win. He held his breath and swore his veins were escaping his arm. Bokuto tugged at it harder, with his bicep bulging into its whole shape. His strength was impressive, even to Kuroo.

Bokuto didn't actually know what the numbers were. Kuroo raised his eyebrows once the number hit two hundred. In fact, the device made a sound. The sound of a bell could be heard, and not only by the very closest. A few walking past the booth started applauding the man. It wasn't often Bokuto received positive feedback from peers.

His pulse stabilized after letting the handle go. Blood rushed back southward, as gravity did its wonders. Bokuto suddenly remembered why he did the challenge.

"This one?" Bokuto asked the child as he pointed to the biggest ball he could see. The child shook his head, which surprised the older. He spent a second thinking, before pointing toward the pair of shoes. They were designed with special material Bokuto wasn't familiar with. However, the child's happiness reached his eyes.

"We'll take this one," Bokuto pointed to the same pair of shoes. The man behind the counter was still stunned by the results but soon bounced back to consciousness. He shyly congratulated him and handed over the shoes in a simple box.

It didn't take long before he gave it away to the child. The smaller squealed before even jumping up and down. He must have really wished for the prize. Bokuto snuck a look toward the child's current shoes, and nearly frowned at seeing the small rips and loose threads.

In the few seconds he spent looking at the child's shoes, another silhouette formed a blurry image. Bokuto raised his head to face Kuroo, as he had presumed. However, he was surprised to meet with a pair of metallic blue eyes.

"This festival has a way of reuniting anyone," Akaashi had pointed out. Bokuto chuckled in return. His thoughts ran in a sequence only he knew of. Before he knew it, Bokuto respectfully bowed with a hidden smirk playing on his lips.

"Remember me? I'm only a breadwinner. Not some royal," Akaashi slowly explained. His chuckle carried a tinge of confusion. Even his facial expression broke into a befuddled one. The gesture didn't carry logic in this society.

"Really? My mistake. You look like one," Bokuto halfheartedly apologized, with no traces of guilt on his face. Rather, the sly look on his face returned. Akaashi's mouth opened itself before closing. No words escaped, though his eyes reached ground level.

"You also look like the hero of the day," Akaashi returned. Unbeknownst to Bokuto, the bold words escaping his lips weren't characteristic at all. Rather, Akaashi had spoken without thinking rationally first. His eyes looked to the booth, and the direction of the happy child had run off.

Bokuto's smile radiated genuinely at the mention and shrugged his shoulders. The child was still happily chatting to his caretaker, whether it was his mother or aunt. He turned to face Akaashi again,

"I was a soldier after all," Bokuto pointed out. Akaashi nodded at the fact and found himself remembering their previous exchange. Unbeknownst to Bokuto, Akaashi had spectated the scene of Bokuto's heroic act. He had recognized him within five seconds.

"Nice to meet you again. Do tell what brought you here," Akaashi curiously spoke, and quipped his head sideways in interest.

"I go here every year. Alone a few times, and with willing family members and friends sometimes. How about yourself?" Bokuto failed to mention a fun story or reason. His heart belonged to these festivals and happenings. Going out could have been considered a passion.

Akaashi smiled in amusement, before speaking, "Well, I was asked to accompany my cousin," he nodded lightly and looked intently at the child behind Bokuto whose hands held a box.

"That's your, oh. I see," Bokuto widened his eyes slightly, and nodded to himself in realization. Akaashi nodded to confirm and cleared his throat to add more.

"Which is also why I walked over. Thank you, for helping him out. His mother instructed me to give you compensation by the way," Akaashi remembered the real reason he had approached the man. He reached his fingers into his pocket, to feel a number of coins. Bokuto held his hand out to stop the action.

"A gift doesn't require debt," Bokuto shook his head to refuse the compensation. He smiled genuinely, as to convince Akaashi not to stress about money.

"Thank you, so you won't need to owe me anything for this gift," Akaashi flipped the script. His smile was sly, and Bokuto knew it. He confidently pulled out a few coins and counted them in his hand. Bokuto chuckled at the retort but shook his head once again.

"Really? You've gifted me with your presence already," Bokuto retorted again. Akaashi laughed lightly and felt his cheeks threaten to tint red. Once again, the shorter found himself speechless. Truly, he couldn't form a response to such a sentence.

"And I'm generous," Akaashi kept up with the atmosphere. He competed with Bokuto in terms of eye contact. Akaashi felt electricity reach his body from the sky.

He gulped lightly, before reaching his free arm to grab Bokuto's forearm. Akaashi had a clear intent, as he spread Bokuto's fingers only an inch or two. He broke eye contact, only to make sure the money didn't fall. Akaashi rushed the action of forcing Bokuto's fingers to form a lid atop the coins. He then backed off the taller, suddenly worried he had gone too far.

Bokuto didn't budge or form any emotion of discomfort. Rather, he raised his eyebrow. Akaashi looked at him quizzed as if to expect a retort to the action.

"I don't mean to test your generosity, but I was wondering if a dance could count as compensation," Bokuto asked as confidently as before. Akaashi wondered if he ever ran out of it.

"Let us meet at this booth at six," Akaashi accepted the offer. He only needed to spend quality time with his aunt and cousin. However, turning away Bokuto felt like a crime. At a second glance, Bokuto's features checked off every requirement of being attractive.

"Your highness," Bokuto prepared to send him away. He flattened his free hand and outreached his arm. In a few moments, Akaashi's flat hand layered atop Bokuto's. Without gravity's assistance, Bokuto held up Akaashi's hand as if he were a true royal.

The action led attention to surround the two. Even Akaashi contemplated pulling away in fear. There was something about the action that brought him delusion. Bokuto's expression of respect and interest as he proceeded to bend his knee, stunned Akaashi.

Somehow, the action made Akaashi taste the flavor of being royal. The delusion of comparing himself to a royal lasted for a second before Bokuto flashed him one last smile. Akaashi hadn't done anything that required much physical activity. Yet, his heart rate accelerated to a fast pace. Even after Bokuto's departure.

"At six," Akaashi mumbled to himself, before having to walk toward his relatives.