11 years later

Author's notes: The dialogues and actions from the first part are taken from the drama CD Prelude, tracks 2 and 3. I'm not very fluent in Japanese, so I'm playing most of it by ear, so more apologies in advance!

"Aah, so it is the real deal! HAYATO da, HAYATO!"

Tokiya froze where he was standing with Shou and Ren, clenching his fists. He knew it was a bad idea to come to this school knowing that he'd definitely be mistaken for his stage identity, but he had to if he wanted to debut as Ichinose Tokiya and not a faker like HAYATO. So, steeling himself, he waited until the person - a boy with bright eyes and red hair - bounced up to him with a big grin on his face.

"Nee nee, say 'Ohaya-ho!~' Nee, nee~"

"You have the wrong person."

Shou spoke up from beside Tokiya, all seriousness in his tone. "This guy here is Ichinose Tokiya, HAYATO's younger twin brother."

The redhead blinked in confusion, and lucky for Tokiya, he was distracted when Ren started talking to another teen, Masato. He was content to stay in the background, observing everyone and their interactions with each other, until they had to leave to start the games.

Ittoki Otoya, Tokiya learned, was a very interesting individual. During their first game battle together, Tokiya didn't know why he helped Otoya with the game and save that damn cat, but the younger teen had a certain charm to him that Tokiya felt was familiar. Like a long forgotten memory.

"Tokiya! Stretch out your hand!"

"Otoya! Shift your centre of gravity!"

It felt right to call Otoya by his first name, Tokiya realised after they saved the cat and received their prizes, even though they've only met for less than a day. He wasn't sure if Otoya felt the same though, and he wasn't one to dwell on it, even though the niggling feeling that he forgotten something important hadn't gone away.

It took half a year of living with Otoya and tolerating the other teen's quirks and habits for Tokiya to realise something, especially when Otoya took out a pretty worn out but very familiar scarf from his wardrobe to wear as the weather got colder.

"Otoya… where did you get that scarf?"

The redhead blinked, tucking the loose ends in his jacket. "Oh, this? I got it when I was a little kid, right before I was adopted, my old caretaker told me."

Right before he was adopted? Tokiya wondered, still glancing curiously at Otoya while the latter pulled out his shoes and mumbled something about it being the right weather for sweet potatoes and hot cocoa. Otoya… was adopted… Wait, he knew someone named Otoya once… and he was from an orphanage…

"Otoya, which orphanage did you come from?"

"The small one in Fukuoka."

Fukuoka, Fukuoka… "Is it the one with the playground?"

"Yeah…. how did you know that, Tokiya?"

Tokiya frowned, reaching under his pillow to grab the battered up plush he kept. The vibrant red felt had dulled to a faded crimson, but it was still in a pretty good condition, the stitches still holding strong even after eleven years. Nodding a little, the older teen held out the plush, and Otoya took a while before he recognised it.

"Onpu-kun!" He ran over to hug both Tokiya and the plush, happy tears forming at the corners of his eyes. "I thought I lost you when I moved out! Where did you find him, Tokiya?"

"You left it with me, silly."

"Eeh? I can't remember…"

"It was cold, and you were sniffly." Tokiya sat up straighter, adjusting the scarf around Otoya's neck. "'And that's bad because it means you're getting sick. Sugata-san says that it's bad being cold and sick at the same time.'"

Ruby eyes widened in recognition, and Otoya hugged Tokiya tighter, pressing his face against the older boy's neck. "So it was you…" he mumbled, his voice soft. "You're that boy with the sweet potatoes…"

"Yes."

The two stayed like that for a while, until Tokiya spoke up. "You broke your promise, Otoya."

"Huh?"

"You told me that you'd see me tomorrow, but you left without even saying goodbye. You made me a very sad boy that day."

Otoya sat back, pouting as he wiped at his eyes. "I wanted to call you, but then I remembered I didn't know your full name or your number. And I was so happy to find out that I was adopted it kinda slipped my mind, I guess…"

Tokiya sighed, ruffling Otoya's hair. "Don't do it next time. Or else I won't forgive you."

"Hai, Tokiya."

"And you still owe me those sweet potatoes I wasted that day."

"Eeh? Gomen…"