look at you, strawberry blond (fields rolling on, i love it when you look my way)

A glance at one of the girls passing by. A shout, a slap, and it was back to their routine like clockwork.

Ataru wondered idly if Shinobu would find him even remotely interesting if he stopped their game of cat-and-mouse anytime soon.

She’d be happy with his change in behaviour, sure, but then like all the times he had seen, her interest in someone else would come to the fore and he’d have to grab her attention again.

‘Maybe I should bring her my home-made chocolate for this apology. White Day’s coming up soon.’

It was too bad he’d never get the chance to give her something as her boyfriend again.

________

Before the sun set, the Miyake household was swarmed with government officials, paparazzi and news reporters alike.

The ordinary child of the Miyake family, Shinobu, had been selected to compete with an alien to save the Earth from colonisation.

Ataru had followed her back to her home as they bickered, introducing himself as a family friend rather than as her partner when the paparazzi pounced on them. Shinobu had looked hurt, but they both knew the cycle of events like the back of their hand - cheat, argue, break up and make up. It kept things exciting, after all.

The alien- Oni competitor introduced herself. ‘Lum’, the princess of the Oni race and the fastest soldier they had. She was pretty and strong, just his type, Ataru acknowledged, but he didn’t really have an interest in actually cheating on Shinobu beyond the occasional glance. They both agreed to not go out with anyone else during their breaks.

That night, Shinobu had wept on his shoulder, about how she was just an ordinary girl, how it wasn’t fair that the fate of the world was on her shoulders and how she would never be able to beat the Onis. 

And that night, Ataru set his reservations aside and proposed to her. 

Even if the Onis took over, even if they argued lots in the future, even if the spark between them fizzled out, he’d always stick by her side. 

And Shinobu, sweet Shinobu, bless her heart, had smiled tearily and held him tight.

And for the first time, Ataru was able to think with confidence, ‘So this is what it's like to be loved.’

______

Shinobu won.

The last climactic day of the Game of Tag, she had grabbed onto Lum as tight as she could. The poor Oni’s bra had fallen off in the process, and Shinobu had taken the opportunity to scream “MARRY ME!” at the Oni as she held on to her horns.

Ataru didn’t know what to do.

He just stood there, staring aimlessly as Shinobu waved her hands for the world to see her as the Champion of the Earth, while the love of his life slipped past his fingers into the hands of some alien.

The princess had seemed overjoyed to hear Shinobu’s confession, even leaping into the girl’s arms and informing her father of the new engagement.

The talk of a proposal seemed to remind Shinobu that she had a boyfriend- a fiancè who was waiting for her, because Ataru noticed the way she looked around frantically.

And when their eyes met, Ataru could only bring himself to mouth a few words to her before disappearing into the crowd.

‘I hope you’re happy.’

_________

Life went on.

The only difference was that he had a new classmate.

Lum.

The class was a mixed bag when it came to their newest addition and the new relationship between Shinobu and the princess from outer space.

Most of them were somewhat affronted by the relationship, not only because it was between an alien and a human, but because it was between two girls. Their attitudes quickly subsided when they realised that Lum did not appreciate the way they spoke about her ‘wife’ and had no qualms about electrocuting them in an instant.

Others (mostly boys) thought that it was a way to get two girlfriends at once, and would often suck up to at least one of them to try to be included in their relationship. 

‘Like that would work,’ Ataru mentally scoffed and went about his day.

Shinobu tried, Ataru would give her credit for that. She had tried to break things off with the alien, but Lum was as tenacious as she was pretty. Their relationship quickly turned sour, and Ataru couldn’t help but feel something break inside him every time he saw them walk home to the Miyake residence together.

_______

Lum had left.

Shinobu had called him up eagerly in the middle of the night, talking about how ‘she had just up and left’ and that ‘now that she wasn’t a pain in the ass anymore, they could be together again.’

Ataru hadn’t realised how much he missed Shinobu until he saw her under the streetlight. She was wearing the clothes she wore the day the Onis invaded, and…

There was a small felt doll of Lum in her breast-pocket. It seemed to smile knowingly at him, mocking him for what he could never do right.

He hated the Oni. He hated her for taking away his Shinobu, for making every visit of theirs like a stab in the back. He hated the way Shinobu smiled a little more genuinely every time Lum fought for her honour against the boys, he hated her, he hated her, he hated her-

Shinobu tried to pretend that everything was alright. She even tried to goad him into kissing her for the first time and setting the world back to normal, into dating each other again-

“You love her, don’t you, Shinobu,” his voice was surprisingly empathetic, and didn’t sound as dead as he had expected it to be. “This is something you’ll regret once she comes back home.”

Shinobu tried to play her nerves off as relief that she no longer had to play the fool near the alien, but eventually she broke down again and spilled all of her fears to him like they were both thirteen and their little town was the only part of the world they needed to know.

Her fear of the eventual societal rejection she’d have to face, the fear that all of this, whatever it was, would just come crashing down on her, the fear of her parents disowning her-

And everytime a new fear of hers was brought up, Ataru would do his best to come up with a solution.

He had promised to stick by her side no matter what. He would keep that promise.

Even if it meant letting her go.

Lum came back the very next day.

___________

“Oi, Miss Invader,”

“Hai, Moroboshi…?”

“...Make Shinobu happy, okay?”

“Oh! I intend to, datcha!”

___________

Ataru was recently 17 and had given up on love.

It was stupid, he decided, seeing yet another young couple on the road break up with each other.

It was stupid, he thought again, remembering just how badly his first relationship had gone. (Homewrecked by an Oni princess of all people…)

It was stupid, and yet, seeing how Shinobu and Lum worked together, how they seemed to be more close-knit than how he and Shinobu ever were despite the short time they had been together, (he should have felt jealous, but-) he couldn’t help but crave what they had.

He had invited the two of them out to a movie for his birthday, not really having anyone else to celebrate it with. It had been nice to reconnect with Shinobu and put his differences with Lum aside, but it had also felt…lonely.

And seeing them walk home together hand in hand had just made it worse.

‘I’m being left out again…’

_______

Grocery shopping was rather mundane, but it gave Ataru time to roam around the city to his heart’s content.

He knew that he ought to probably get a girlfriend soon. His classmates had been teasing him about being ‘cucked’ by an alien girl, whatever that meant… and the easiest way to prove that he didn’t give a damn about who his friend and ex was dating was to get a partner.

He had just finished his romp, when he noticed someone near the dumpster.

A boy, probably around his age, looking half-starved and exhausted. He wore a bunny onesie, and Ataru assumed he was the new store mascot.

“Poor guy… do they really overwork you for such silly reasons?” He murmured softly. He fished around in his bag for something cheap he could part with, finally deciding on a bottle of cold water and a carrot-cake he had planned to deconstruct (read - devour) and learn how to make over the weekend.

The boy took the food and water gratefully, almost scarfing it all down.

“Thank you! I feel much better now,” the strange boy beamed at him. 

Ataru couldn’t help but notice that he looked attractive. Iridescent hair similar to Lum’s, but with a distinctive yellow-red tinge. ‘I’d bet he’s a heartbreaker.’

While Ataru seemed to swing only in one direction, truth be told he didn’t really have much of a preference for gender. Strong and/or pretty people were good enough to be set up on his radar. Of course, their personality mattered a lot if he wanted to continue things…

But with the way his classmates and the adults in his life were, he had firmly cut off that avenue of his life. There were plenty of fish in the sea on the girls’ current.

“I’d like to repay you for your kindness. Perhaps I could take you out….?” He asked, offering a hand towards Ataru.

“I- wha- huh????” Ataru asked unintelligibly. His face heated up, and he was sure that the entirety of Tomobiki would be able to see it if he were to be set up as a traffic light.

‘This… it’s the first time someone’s asked me out!’ He realised, giddy with excitement. ‘And he’s a handsome guy too!’ 

Normally, he was more on the ‘asking out’ side of the spectrum, not the ‘being asked out’, but now…! Ataru wasn’t able to stop the goofy little grin that spread across his face.

Then reality came crashing down.

There was no way anyone would want to get into a relationship with someone like Moroboshi Ataru. Definitely not a long-lasting one. 

His own best friend who had known him for the longest time had rejected him in favour of an alien she had known for a few days.

He hardly even knew this guy. It was easier to spare himself the potential heartbreak and turn him down.

“Aw…. Geez, I’m flattered, I really am, but…” Ataru fumbled with his words for a bit. “I don’t know you, and I’m not really in the position to get into a relationship right now…”

“Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Inaba, and I work with the Destiny Production Bureau as an intern,” the boy- now identified as Inaba - rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Destiny… Production Bureau? Is this a prank?”

“I promise you, it's not! Here, take my business card,” 

Ataru took the tiny cardboard from him. It was a rather simple, professional-looking design. Inaba didn’t seem to have a last name, and the card looked like those fancy credit cards that he had seen some of the more wealthier people in the neighborhood use.

“You know, this is kinda suspicious… we don’t really know about such a thing on Earth. Are you guys Oni or…?”

“Our bureau has a wide range of people working with them. They’ve recently included humans in the workforce, but it’s limited to only a select few. So, I guess you could say we’re ‘aliens’ but not all of us are Oni, if that makes sense.”

Ataru nodded. The past few months with Shinobu on whatever whacky adventure that was destined for them that day was enough to desensitise him to anything new. Sure, it was exciting and fun to learn more about the world beyond Earth, but he didn’t really feel the usual incredulousness that would rise if a human were to be telling him this.

“Ah, I’m really sorry, but I have to go,” Inaba looked upset as he glanced at his pocket-watch. “I have a meeting I have to get to soon.”

“Oh…”

“Let’s meet here again next week! I’d love to know more about you…?”

Ataru realised that Inaba had forgotten to ask for his name. ‘What an airhead,’ he huffed fondly in his mind. “My name’s Ataru. Moroboshi Ataru.”

“Ah, okay, Ataru! See you in a few days!” Inaba waved to him as he used a key to open up… the grocery shop’s front door??? And then went through the door and disappeared????

‘...What just happened?’

_________________________

It had been a week, and Ataru found himself back at the grocery store at the aforementioned time.

‘Stupid dumbass. It was probably just a stupid prank. He’s probably not going to be here and I’m going to look like an even bigger idiot-’

“Ataru!”

The grocery door opened with a ‘woosh’, and Inaba was right there. 

Even though Ataru had checked inside the store and hadn’t been able to find Inaba there.

“You came…” Ataru must have looked a bit surprised, because Inaba huffed slightly.

“Of course I did! I wanted to know more about you!”

Ataru let a tiny smile form on his face, and allowed Inaba to set the conversation.

_______

Inaba always left.

“So, this is your favourite manga? I’ll read it by this week and return it to you! How does that sound?”

“Ah, that’s fine, but please be careful…. It’s difficult to find the earlier editions of Maison Ikkoku in the book store now…”

“Of course!”

But he always came back. Every week, and on time.

“I really liked the last chapter! It’s bittersweet, but it's also funny!”

“Mmhmm. I brought the next volume for you...if you want, that is ....”

“Thank you very much!”

________________

There did come a time where Inaba had to cancel their plans, just for a little bit.

“Ataru, I’m sorry, but it’s a work related matter…. Can we reschedule today's meeting? I promise this won't be a recurrent thing.”

“Ah… sure. I don't really mind…” There would have been a time where he would have been too gripped with the fear that Inaba would never return, having gotten bored of their budding friendship. But Inaba had been consistent, and Ataru appreciated him for it. 

His voice took on a familiar teasing tone. “But you better make it up to me, Inaba,”

“Oh, yes! How about I take you to that cafè you mentioned a while back on Wednesday, my treat!”

“Inaba… I was just messing with you, you don't really have to do that-”

“I want to! I want to take you out…. Then again, I might have been a bit too forward, I’m sorry-”  Inaba’s face took on a light shade of red.

“You don't have to apologize! I shouldn't have brought it up, you don't have to do anything-”

“OI, INABA! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!”

Ataru jumped when the voice echoed from the wall nearby (Inaba had to shift the hyperspace hole after the grocery shop owner had had enough of their shenanigans). Inaba simply sighed, before walking to the wall. 

“Yes sir, I’ll be there in a minute!”

“Is that your boss?” Ataru peeked over his shoulder, as if the wall would show what his boss looked like.

“Yeah…..one of them…” Inaba groaned. “That’s my cue to leave. If I can’t make it on Wednesday, you can use this key to get to my workplace if it's important.”

Inaba handed Ataru a small ornate key. Ataru stared at it for a minute before pocketing it.

“Okay, see ya….” Ataru pressed the back of his hand to his forehead in a melodramatic manner, before catching Inaba’s glance and grinning back at him.

Inaba figured out that Ataru was just trying to waste his bosses’ time and decided to play along, scrunching his eyes like he was going to cry. “Bye-bye, take care, I’ll miss you….” 

“ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?!”

Inaba thumped his foot on the ground in irritation and waved his goodbyes to Ataru, before jumping through the portal.

___________

Wednesday came, and Inaba was nowhere to be found.

Ataru had waited by their usual meeting place, but Inaba wasn’t there. He had half a mind to use the key then and there, but he decided to go to Tomobiki’s newest cafè. Maybe Inaba was going to meet him there like they had planned.

An hour passed after Ataru reached the cafè, and there was no sight of the bunny-onesie clad boy. Now people were starting to gossip, because Ataru had insisted on waiting for Inaba to come before ordering anything, and to everyone else, it looked like he had been stood up.

‘Ugh…. Maybe he really is too busy to come…’

He pressed his head onto the table, sighing softly before deciding to leave. It would do him no good to waste time like this.

___________

Ataru was sure that something had happened to Inaba when the next Saturday rolled around with his absence again.

This time, he had begged Shinobu and Lum to help him out. He had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side of that hyperspace hole, and he wanted to be cautious.

The hole in the wall had sealed up, much to Ataru’s surprise and dismay. Even the key wouldn’t open it up, so Lum ended up making a door that would fit the key in. 

How she managed to do that was another issue altogether…. But Ataru chose to ignore it in favour of finding his friend.

The moment they opened the door, they found themselves in one of the many streets of Tomobiki, despite having opened the door through the Miyake residence’s backyard. 

Which was weird in itself, but what was weirder was that the door closed behind him and disappeared, leaving him stranded. 

He sighed. ‘So much for asking them to tag along….’

He wandered around. The streets really did look like Tomobiki, except with different posters stuck on the walls, and the ones he swore he’d just seen that day were either ripped up or missing. 

And then he saw it.

A guy that looked just like him but older walking down the street, hand in hand with a small child.

‘What the….’

The two of them stopped when an older woman walked by to say hello to the child. He heard them say something about… a class reunion?

‘Wait a minute. That’s Shinobu’s mom, right?’

He paid more attention to their conversation after that. The man, who he was now sure was his older self, referred to Shinobu’s mom as ‘mother’.

‘Oi, oi, oi, oi! What the hell?!’

“You’re taking good care of my daughter, aren’t you?”

“It’s more like she takes good care of me, mother… I’m very lucky to have her…” his older self laughed awkwardly. Ataru cringed inwardly at that.

‘But we broke up! What the hell is this?!’

They parted ways a little while after, and Ataru decided to tail his future self.

‘...What does this mean? Is this one of my more plausible futures? Do I marry Shinobu in the end…?’ A cloud of gloom ended up making his thoughts murky and depressing the longer he thought about it. ‘No! I don’t want this to be even a slightly possible future!’

His mind ended up wandering to Inaba. ‘...What would he think of this?’

______________

The school meet was a sham.

His future self’s son had wandered off into the crowd, and now the two of them were panicking trying to find him.

Well, his future self was panicking. Ataru had started trying to find him. He had even left school premises and was now near the shopping plaza, thinking that the colourful baubles had distracted the child.

‘Where could he be- There!’ He spotted a familiar baby’s face hidden behind an ice-cream cone. 

As he ran towards the boy, he noticed several things. A., his future son (what a way to find out what one of his possible lives had in store for him) was with three other people, B., Lum and Shinobu were babysitting him somehow and C., Inaba was with them.

Once he got to them, he was hit with a barrage of questions from the girls, such as ‘How the hell do you have a kid?!’ and ‘Why is your kid calling me ‘Mom’?’. All questions he wished he had logical answers to, but alas.

“Guys, one at a time! He just got here!” Ataru almost cried in relief when he finally fully registered Inaba’s presence.

‘He’s okay! He’s okay, he’s okay-’

He practically leapt into Inaba’s arms, almost knocking him over and burying his face in the fluffy suit so that no one would realise how close to tears he was. Absolutely no contact with Inaba for the past two weeks with no idea if he was okay or if he was off doing some risky future stuff with his bosses had wrecked him mentally. The stories Inaba had told him about his job, possibilities of getting trapped in alternate futures, accidental changes to a single timeline echoing across multiple others…. There were many reasons Ataru valued his Saturday visits, and one of them was knowing that his friend was alive and well.

He only pulled away once his heart settled into its normal post-adrenaline rate. Inaba beamed at him and murmured, “I missed you, too.”

Ataru wondered if this future had warmer temperatures, because he could feel his face burn up. He shifted, huffing and turning his face away. 

“Uh, sorry to disturb your little moment-” he was abruptly startled back to reality when Shinobu held up his future self’s child. “-but we have a teensy bit of a problem.”

Ataru couldn’t help but notice that Lum had been crying. Her eyes were rimmed red, and her usually colourful hair was a dull shade of blue-grey. He didn’t really know what to do with that information. He stared at Shinobu, trying to telepathically ask her what was wrong. Shinobu glanced back at Lum, before holding the child up to the two boys and jiggling him a little.

‘Oh. Ohhhh. Lum, please don’t electrocute me.’

“Yeah, so apparently, he’s your kid in this timeline?” Inaba scratched the back of his head nervously. “And Miss Shinobu’s son?”

“Mmhmm. He kinda got separated from me in the future so I just tracked him down. My future self should still be at the school reunion.” The cloud of gloom had come back in full force, and he let out a rather frustrated sigh.

Ataru led the rest of the gang back to the school. Inaba looked perturbed, constantly exchanging glances with the kid and with Shinobu.

They all watched as Ataru’s future self tearfully embraced his son as they were reunited. 

“Come on, let’s go,” Ataru got up from his position behind the wall. He didn’t want to see the sight in front of him anymore. His voice sounded rather dead, and Inaba looked very concerned for Ataru’s mental wellbeing.

“Wait, we still need to discuss something! Why are we married in the future?” Shinobu asked. “And I haven’t found any sign of Lum, or any of the Onis ever since we stepped in here after rebuilding the hyperspace door! You’re awfully calm about this!”

“Ah… Inaba, could you explain that? I know the answer but I’m not good with explaining stuff….”

“Sure thing! I work with the Destiny Production Bureau, so we manufacture and manage countless futures depending on the choices available to you. This is one of those possible futures-”

“THERE YOU ARE!”

The gang practically jumped after that voice boomed over the street. 

“Wait… isn’t that one of your bosses?”

“Yeah, we gotta go!” Inaba grabbed Ataru by the waist. “Everyone, please hold on to me! I can teleport us out of here!”

Inaba let out a squeak of pain when Shinobu and Lum gripped onto him forcefully, and the four of them vanished in front of Inaba’s bosses.

_______________

They reappeared in a locker room, of all places. 

Inaba was trying to get everyone into the Bureau’s uniforms so that they could sneak out of there. Ataru had simply stepped into the big poofy suit with all his clothes underneath and now the two of them were waiting for the girls to get ready.

“Uhm, Ataru… just so you know… that’s my old uniform. I kinda grew out of it a while back, growth spurts and all… so if you’re uncomfortable, please let me know. I’ll get you a new one right away!” Inaba’s face was bright red, and he wouldn’t look his friend in the eye.

“Huh… for an old uniform, it’s pretty well kept…” Ataru busied himself with the soft material, not really having the courage to see Inaba. 

“Yeah…. I kept it because it was my first uniform here, you know, for the sentiment… Didn’t think it would come in handy…”

“Mn…. Do you want this back? Is that why you’re asking?”

“Uh, I don't really mind if… you keep it…” Inaba’s voice grew quieter, and Ataru was quite sure that the both of them were blushing. 

“Are- are you sure?” Ataru finally turned to look at Inaba, and sure enough, his face was beet red. 

“Mmhmm.” Inaba refused to look at him again.

“Inaba… Thank you. It’s a very nice gift - I’ll take care of it as well as I can.” Ataru beamed at him, placing a hand on Inaba’s shoulder.

“I…” Inaba turned to Ataru, a strange look on his face. “Ataru, there’s something I-”

“We’re done! Sorry, did you wait long?” Inaba let out a sigh of disappointment as he was interrupted by Lum. The girls wore cute bunny suits, and Ataru shot them a thumbs up before dragging Inaba up to his feet.

“Yeah, what were you going to say?” Ataru’s stomach twisted. He had a feeling he already knew what Inaba was going to say, but he really did not want to assume.

“…Later. I’ll tell you later, I promise.”

_________

Ideal futures were stupid, Ataru decided.

Right now, he was watching an older version of Lum flying circles around an older Shinobu as she asked her to marry her in front of everyone in broad daylight. His older self buried his face in his hands as he walked away, pretending not to know the two embarrassing ladies.

“Man, I sure can’t wait for the weekend! Inaba probably has a good tale to tell about his week,” his older self shouted loudly over Lum’s declarations of love.

‘Everything’s still the same, huh… I did ask for it, but still…’

When Inaba had suggested that everyone make their ideal futures after the previous fiasco, Ataru had honestly been scared. 

He didn’t know what it was he wanted. All he knew was that he wasn’t ready for anything to change. He wasn't ready for whatever waited for him a few years down the line.

Inaba was sitting next to him, looking down at the scene. He was quiet, letting Ataru ruminate in his thoughts, and when the adults left the street, neither of them followed.

Ataru sighed and shifted his position, almost leaning into Inaba. Almost.

“So… is this your ideal future?”

“Yeah, at least I thought it was. I… this is just my life right now.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah… when I was making the doorknob, I thought that it would be nice for everything to stay the same, but…” Ataru waved his hands at the now-empty street. “I don’t know, Inaba. I just… I don’t like it now that I’ve seen it. I don’t like… being lonely.”

“…Are you alone?” Inaba asked him gently.

“I’m not. My friends are great, and I love spending time with them. But they’re living their own lives… and I feel like I’m always lagging behind.” Ataru hugged his knees together, refusing to look at Inaba.

“When I met you, I didn't really have anyone to confide in.” Ataru’s head jerked up at that. “My life was just work, work, work. Until I bumped into you.”

Inaba looked at Ataru, a small smile on his face. “You make my Saturdays worth it. You can confide in me all you want, just like how you let me confide in you.”

“…Pfft.”

Inaba’s face flushed. “What are you giggling about?!”

“What the heck, Inaba?! You sounded so serious!”

“I am! I am completely serious!”

Ataru sobered up at that. “I… I know. I- Thank you, Inaba.”

He stood up. “You make my Saturdays worth it too.”

____________________

“Say, Inaba. What would your ideal future be like?”

“My… ideal future? I don’t know, interns aren’t allowed to make their own doorknobs…”

“Inaba, I’m not even working here and you let me make a door knob.”

“I… yeah, but…”

“You don’t even need to show me with a doorknob. Just tell me,”

“.... Give me some time, okay? It’s not something I’ve given much thought to.”

“Sure.” 

‘I’d wait for as long as you need to.’

_______________

After mucking around in multiple potential futures, Ataru and co. decided that enough was enough and tried to get back to Earth, only to be stopped by Inaba’s bosses. Now, Inaba was trussed up like a turkey while he, Lum and Shinobu were in a gilded cage high up from the ground.

The three of them shouted, screamed and basically acted as a nuisance for the other rabbit-people on the grass, until they were actually let out, much to their surprise.

“Here, we apologise for the confusion. Please take these snacks as a token of goodwill.”

The three of them seemingly dropped their guard and started to eat the food set out for them, only to have to dodge wooden hammers aimed at their heads from behind them.

“Oi, what the hell’s going on?!” Ataru demanded.

“This fool,” the leader of the bunny-men - a guy in a pink rabbit suit - jabbed a thumb back at Inaba’s prone form. “Accidentally gave you a key to one of your destinies instead of a key to his locker room. You have been exposed to a sight you were never meant to see, and now we have to wipe your memory. I hope you will be cooperative.”

“Hold on! We can’t just forget about this! I don’t want a future like the ones we saw and I’m going to do my best to stop them from ever happening!” Lum shouted.

“Everyone, please! This isn’t their fault!” Inaba’s bosses turned to look at him. “We mustn’t blame them for our mistakes! We were careless!”

Inaba’s bosses stared up at him for a moment, before setting up a… game show podium?

“Pop quiz!” The leader shouted. “Who was the one who lost the destiny key? Was it - 1. Inaba? 2. 因幡? Or 3. イナバ?”

“Ah, ehehe….” Inaba laughed awkwardly, only to be jumped by the rest of higher management to ‘take his fair share of lumps’.

“We have to help him!” Ataru shouted. Lum used the knife at the table to cut Inaba down, while both Shinobu and Ataru carried him out of the dust cloud of bunny-men.

The four of them kept running, until they reached the Hall of Destinies. There, they tried to find a way to return to Earth, only for Inaba’s bosses to catch up and begin trying to destroy all of the doors in order to stop them.

Ataru and Inaba had gotten separated from the group purely by accident. As the doors fell down around him, the two of them clung to each other and waited for the door-fall to end.

Afterwards, the duo tried to find Lum and Shinobu, only to find them holding each other. Apparently, they had managed to find at least one good future for themselves, and it was giving them a sliver of hope to keep going.

Ataru wanted to express his happiness over his friends finding their semi-ideal future, only to miss the moment when they were rudely interrupted once again by the bunny-men of the Bureau.

Inaba had teleported them to the door they had originally come through, but his bosses were right after them. 

“Inaba, get back here! This is a serious crime!”

“Everyone, get through the door! It’s the only way back!”

Ataru made sure that the girls were safely past the door frame before turning back to Inaba, only to be pushed through with them. 

“Inaba! What are you doing?!” He shouted, pressing his hands and feet along the frame to stop his friend from closing the door on them.

“I’m sorry, Ataru, but we won’t be seeing each other for a while…” Inaba turned back to him and moved to hold Ataru’s hands. “Don’t forget about me, okay?”

“No… no, you can still make it! Come with us!”

“I have to seal the hyperspace door on both ends. I won’t let them get to you!”

“Don’t- Inaba, please! We can- we can figure something out! What will your bosses do to you now?!”

“Ataru, if we do see each other again,” Inaba had this gentle look in his eyes, as if he knew just how terrified Ataru truly felt. “Will you have tea with me at that cafè you wanted us to go to earlier?”

“Inaba, don’t you dare-!” 

“Bye-bye, Ataru,”

Inaba used his grasp on Ataru’s hands to push him through the door fully, and then closed it on him. The wood then disappeared into the rays of the setting sun, with Ataru, Lum and Shinobu safe on the lawn in Shinobu’s house.

“Inaba…” Much to his horror, Ataru felt his eyes begin to well up with tears. 

What were Inaba’s bosses going to do to him? 

Would he be okay? 

…Would he come back? 

“In-aba, you… you jerk! You- you aw-ful, awful man!” Ataru sobbed, curling in on himself as he clutched at the only thing he had to remember Inaba by, sinking to his knees. “Cru-el… you’re so, so cruel….”

Shinobu carefully hugged him from behind, trying not to startle him, and Ataru leaned into her, before allowing the girls to lead him back to their room to clean up.

_______

“Ehehe, so yeah! I had to take overtime to clean up all of the broken futures ....” Inaba chuckled awkwardly as the gang proceeded to feast on the array of food they had ordered at the cafè.

“Well, it's a good thing you’re here again!” Lum said kindly, before her eyes flicked to Ataru, who had been unusually quiet the entire time. She grinned teasingly. “Moroboshi over here was worried sick about you.”

Inaba’s eyes widened, and he turned to look at Ataru, who was seated next to him and now fuming at Lum, face bright red. Before Ataru could snap at her or deny any of the accusations, Inaba placed his hand over Ataru’s and beamed at him. Ataru seemingly deflated at that, hiding his face in his palms.

“I’m sorry I made you worry, but I’m also glad you were concerned about little old me,”

“...Stupid. Of course I’d be worried about you.”

_____________

A few months had passed by surprisingly peacefully. Inaba had finished his overtime work and was now being scouted for a full-time paid position at the Bureau. He was excited, but he needed to pass a couple of tests in order to be promoted.

Which now led him to his current predicament - asking his best friend of eight months to go out with him as his boyfriend.

He hadn’t wanted to ask him out just for the sake of his job. He had tried to make it a special, memorable confession, but had kind of lost his nerve seeing him last Saturday. In the end, he asked his new friends for advice, explaining the situation he was stuck in to them.

“Wait, so you genuinely like Ataru? As in, love him?” Shinobu sputtered. “This isn’t just for your job?”

“I knew it!” Lum crowed triumphantly.

“Mmhmm…. I was hoping you could help me with asking him out…”

“Well,” Shinobu fidgeted. “He, uhm, he likes romantic gestures before and during a relationship, like open affection, flirting, and attention, especially if he thinks you’re attractive….”

‘Wait, how does Miss Shinobu know these things?!’  Inaba startled himself out of his thoughts as he took notes on a small pad of paper he had brought earlier. ‘Did Ataru… talk to her about this kind of stuff? Friends talk to each other about romance, right?’

Inaba had decided to ask her, only to get his hopes dashed when Shinobu revealed that she and Ataru had dated as an on-and-off relationship before the alien invasion.

“Hey, what’s that noise…?” Lum looked around her as a soft thumping noise started around them.

‘Oops…’ Inaba thought, trying to will his foot to stop betraying him and his emotions.

“Guys, sorry I’m late!” Ataru rushed to their table, taking the empty seat next to Inaba. “The usual route from my house was blocked…”

“Ah, no worries…” Shinobu glanced back to Inaba, trying to give him a push to ask Ataru out.

Inaba took in a deep breath, before placing his hand over Ataru’s. Ataru jolted at the sudden contact, before practically melting into the touch, scooting closer to him.

Whatever courage Inaba had dredged up earlier proceeded to chuck itself out the window at that action.

Lum noticed just how bright red Inaba had gone and sighed, before deciding to take matters into her own hands. 

“Moroboshi, Inaba here has something to ask you,”

Inaba stiffened at that, before turning to look at Ataru, who was looking at him with a soft, yet confused little smile on his face. He felt his heart rate increase a little more, before getting up and bending at the waist.

“Ataru! Please go out with me!”

“....Eh?!”

Ataru’s face was bright red, and he looked back at the girls, completely bewildered.

“Inaba, I- uhm- why me?!” He sputtered, too flustered to think clearly.

“Because I like you!” Inaba peered up at him, noticing the way Ataru’s face seemed to fall at that. ‘Oh no, he doesn’t look happy…’

Inaba faltered for a second, before saying what could possibly be the worst thing in the given situation. “Besides, anyone would do….”

“....Excuse me?!” Ataru was glaring at him now, and he grabbed his bag and got up to leave. “What the hell, Inaba?! You don’t just- you can’t just say that to people when you’re asking them out!”

‘Oh, crap…’ “Ataru, please wait, that’s not what I meant!”

“Well, if that’s the way you’re going to ask me out, I’m not interested! Go find someone else to date, you jerk!”

Ataru had stormed out of the cafè, and the three of them followed. Lum flew ahead to intercept Ataru before he ran off and disappeared again. A couple of bystanders ended up watching the scene in front of them.

“Ataru, hear me out for a second!”

“Idiot! Why would I want to go out with you if I’m just- just replaceable?!”

“You’re not! I’m sorry, Ataru, I never meant-”

“I-I ne-ver expected you of all people to say that kinda stuff, you know?! I actually thought- I thought-” Ataru stopped walking when he saw Lum in front of him blocking his way, and his shoulders dropped. “I thought we were alright…”

“Ataru, please listen to Inaba, he has good intentions!” Shinobu practically begged him, stepping behind the distraught boy.

Ataru raised his fist to his face to scrub at his eyes, and Inaba felt his blood go cold when he realised that he had made Ataru cry. 

‘I messed up…’

“...okay,” Ataru mumbled softly, so softly that it shattered Inaba to know that he had done this to the boy he loved. “Okay… I’ll listen.”

_______

“So, to get promoted, you have to… date me?” Ataru frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well, it’s not really ‘date’, per se…” Inaba fidgeted in his seat, his guilt starting to overwhelm him. He and Shinobu had switched positions, and he felt like he was being stabbed every time he met Ataru’s red-rimmed eyes. “I need to have a partner, and it’s a requirement to have one… in the romantic sense, that is.”

“Huh. But, why me?” Ataru looked around helplessly. “I… I’m no good at romance….”

“I… What I said back then was true, Ataru. I like you. I- I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable because you already turned me down once, and I didn’t want you to think I was only asking you out for the sake of my test….”

“I- I said that because, like I told you, I’m not a good partner… not because I don’t reciprocate...” Ataru let out a ragged sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. “You- you could find someone better, Inaba. There’s always better fish in the sea, you deserve better…” 

Inaba couldn’t help but feel angry at the way Ataru tried to push him away. “I don’t want them though! You’re the one I want! What can I do to help you understand that?”

Ataru went quiet for a while, and Inaba felt he had gone too far again.

“A-anyway, you have that promotion test, right…?” Ataru asked timidly, his shoulders raised like he was expecting something bad. He pressed his hands together, lightly tapping his fingertips before releasing a breath. “That… that should be our main focus right now.”

“Ataru… I’m really sorry for putting you on the spot. I should have understood that it’d be rude to ask, especially after your response earlier… I’m really sorry…” Inaba got up, unable to look anyone in the eye. “I- I should go find someone else, or at least explain it to my bosses…”

“Oi… oi! Hold on.” Ataru’s voice was still quiet, but just loud enough to get Inaba to stop in his tracks. “I… Inaba, you should have just told me- told us about the test earlier. I don’t mind… being your partner for a little while. Just… promise me you’ll wait for a while for me to fully respond to your, uhm, confession.”

Inaba’s eyes widened at that, and he turned to look back at Ataru. He still looked antsy, but otherwise not uncomfortable. “Ataru…! Thank you so much!”

‘You won’t regret this, I promise!’

________________

The four of them ended up going to the Destiny Production Bureau that very day. While Ataru had reassured Inaba that he understood that no harm was meant and that they would still stay friends no matter what, he still looked like he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. They had taken a detour to pick up Inaba’s old uniform from the Moroboshi residence so that Ataru could wear it during the tests. Luckily, Ataru’s parents were out on vacation so they didn’t have to worry about running into them.

It took them a while, but they managed to get to the starting area, where Inaba’s bosses were waiting for them. They seemed to be deep in conversation as they played a card game of sorts.

“Well, it’s not like he’ll come back anytime soon. He doesn’t have a partner, and even if he somehow gets one, he won’t be able to pass!” One of his bosses said, placing down a card.

Before Inaba could make his presence known, Ataru cleared his throat and shouted. “Excuse me! Is this where we start the test?!”

He was a little louder than he needed to be, and the evident scowl on his face made it clear to Inaba’s bosses that he had heard their conversation and did not appreciate the way they spoke about him.

“Ah, so you finally came,” the man furthest from the group at least had the decency to sound embarrassed. 

“Yes, sorry, I didn’t mean to make you wait, sirs.” Inaba mumbled, eyes trained on the ground.

“Hm. Who’s this? He doesn’t work here, does he?” The pink bunny-man from earlier gestured in Ataru’s direction, before reeling back. “Wait, isn’t this that brat you gave a destiny key to?!”

“It’s Moroboshi to you,” Ataru glared right back at him, before looking at Inaba. “Say, how do we start the test? We’re wasting time,”

“Ah, it's this way, I’ll take you there,” Inaba looked relieved to get out of the conversation.

“Wait, what’s with those two girls?” Another one of his bosses pointed at Shinobu and Lum, who had started to follow after the two.

“They’re our friends, sir. They wanted to tag along…” Inaba looked nervous, before shaking it off.

“Fine, if you all want to go, then we won’t stop you!”

“It seems like you could expend the energy anyway!”

“But by the end of it, you’ll wish you were dead!”

“Because this test challenges your ability to-”

“It’s this way, everyone please follow me!” Inaba called out, as they all proceeded to leave the higher-ups before they could get too invested in their monologue.

“Oi, at least pay attention to us when we speak!”

“Man, what was up with those guys? They kept yammering about the weirdest stuff…” Lum asked once they had reached a good distance.

“I dunno. They’re always like that.” Inaba shrugged.

“Inaba, what’s the test like?” Ataru asked. “Sure, we have to go flower picking in the space-time continuum, but is it actually difficult or something?”

“I actually don't know much about this test, since I’m still only an intern. What I do know, though… is that it’s the way the Destiny Production Bureau tests the courage and love of its employees.”

________

The once idyllic fields of the hyperspace area the DPB worked in were long past the group, with thunderstorms darkening the ‘sky’ above them. Their destination ended up being a rotting door that seemed to reach the clouds above.

“This place gives me ‘Highway to Hell’ kinda vibes…” Ataru mumbled.

“It really feels like we won't make it out of here in one piece…” Lum said out loud, only to be shot a dirty look by Inaba.

“Don’t- don’t say that kind of stuff!” Inaba hissed at her. He turned to Ataru, and held both of his hands, much to the boy’s confusion.

“A-Ata-Ataru… I-I-I’ll d-do my b-best to keep you safe! Even- even a-at the c-cost of my life! I promise!”

Ataru blinked, and when he finally registered Inaba’s words, a small smile made its way to his face.

“Don’t push yourself too hard,” he teased lightly. “Besides, we’re both in this together,”

“Ataru… You- you should turn back! It’s not safe for you!” Inaba squeezed his eyes shut as if it physically pained him to say those words. Even as he spoke, he pulled Ataru closer, eliciting a little giggle from him.

“…We’re right here, you know,” Shinobu deadpanned as the two of them continued with their theatrics.

“Silly! I have to be here for you to pass your test!” Ataru snickered, lightly squeezing Inaba’s fingers as he ignored Shinobu. “I’m not going to leave you so easily!”

Inaba made a noise in the back of his throat at that. “Ataru… that makes me feel a lot better. Thank you! I think I’m feeling up to opening that door, now that you’ve given me that courage!”

“Speaking of which, how are you going to open such a big door?” Lum asked. “I could fly up, but its key is a whole ‘nother matter on its own!”

“Ah, not to worry!” Inaba fished around in his pocket, bringing out a relatively large key. “There’s a side door.” 

“Ohhhh,” all three of them said in unison.

============

Inaba unlocked the door, steam billowing out and obscuring their vision. Once the steam went away….

A large public bath came into view. And with it, multiple people who were considerably attractive and were bathing there. The bath seemed to extend for ages, with no other entrance or exit in sight.

Inaba squeaked and slammed the door shut.

“Aw, what was that? I wanted to see!” Ataru pouted, batting his eyes at him.

“Ataru!” All three of them shouted at him. Inaba reeled back from him in shock.

“What? It’s not like I’m the only one!”

“Don’t lump us in with you!” Shinobu shrieked.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop, I was just teasing, sorry….”

“Y-you’re interested in that kind of stuff?!” Inaba whisper-shouted.

“Yeah, most people my age are!” Ataru responded tensely. “They just aren’t as open about it as I am…”

“So, Inaba!” A nearby door slammed open, effectively scaring the crap out of everyone, revealing his bosses on the other side. “You’ve decided to give up, haven’t you?”

“Well, it’s not like we expected you to go far in the first place!”

“He’s a huge coward, after all!”

“Oi, that’s uncalled for!” Ataru snapped. “What did he even do to you guys?!” 

He turned to Inaba, not expecting much of a response from the other bunnies. “Don’t you get mad when they say stuff like that?”

“Well, it’s not like they’re lying,” he mumbled.

Ataru sighed, before slamming the other door shut in the bunnies’ faces.

“Good riddance,” Lum sniffed, before flying back to the door to the public bath.

“Say, Inaba…are you uncomfortable with seeing people nude?” Ataru asked him directly.

“I- uhm-” Inaba flushed bright red. “Well… it just feels wrong to walk in on them while they’re bathing. And, I’m not used to…. That kind of stuff.”

“Then how about I cover your eyes? That way you don’t have to see them!” 

Inaba scowled at that, surprisingly. His leg thumped the ground at an agitated pace. “Why, so that you can g-gawk at them behind my back?”

“I wouldn’t!” Ataru sounded affronted at that. “Okay, I kinda get where you’re coming from, but I still wouldn’t! Watch!”

Ataru tugged Inaba away from the door, before stepping behind him. Nothing happened for a few minutes before Ataru groaned. “Man, I keep forgetting how tall you are. I can’t really reach your eyes well, unless…”

The girls watched, bemused as Ataru stood up on his tippy toes, wobbling a little as he finally managed to block Inaba’s vision.

“Uh… what do we do now?” Inaba asked, a little unsure of just what Ataru had in mind.

“Take a few steps forward for me, will you?” Ataru yelped as Inaba did as he was told, his hands falling off Inaba’s face. “Oi, slow down! I can’t keep covering your eyes if you do that!”

“How is that supposed to help?” Inaba asked, turning around.

“Well, my thought process was that if I’m concentrating on covering your eyes and looking ahead for you, then you won’t have to worry about me ‘gawking around’.” Ataru grumbled. “But it’s no good, I can’t even keep up with your walking pace when I’m doing that. Maybe a blindfold would-”

“That’s a bit extreme, Ataru…” Inaba sighed. “Maybe I can just keep my eyes shut and you can do that?”

“Ha, but how do I know that you won’t be peeking?!” Ataru cackled. “If I’m not allowed to look around, neither are you!”

“Is he serious…?” Lum groaned.

“I think so….” Shinobu mumbled, her face in her hands.

“Then why don’t you wear the blindfold?!”

“Because it’s your promotion test!”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

_______

It had taken the boys a while to figure out an optimal solution for the two of them. Sure, it was done under threat of death from the girls, but it was done. Halfway through their mock-argument, Inaba and Ataru had just started laughing their heads off at how stupid they were being and ended up deciding on what was possibly the least logical solution to their predicament.

Inaba had agreed to let Ataru cover his eyes to let himself feel more comfortable, however to compensate for Ataru’s lack of height, Inaba decided to piggyback him across the bath.

“There’s absolutely no way this will go wrong!” Inaba had cheered, hoisting Ataru on his back as he whooped a little to show just how hilarious he thought the whole situation was.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Shinobu groaned as she opened the door. The people in the room looked at them warily, but when they realised that the newcomers didn't mean any harm, they went back to their business, as one would in a public bath.

“Keep going straight,” Ataru murmured. Inaba couldn’t see, but he hoped Ataru wasn’t looking away from him- from the path they needed to take.

After a while, Ataru quickly pulled at his hoodie. “Wait, wait! Someone’s in the way!”

They continued like this for a long while, with Inaba successfully not bumping into a single nude person until Ataru felt himself sliding down Inaba’s back.

“Hey, Inaba. I’m not too heavy, am I?”

“No, of course not!” Inaba huffed. “If anything, you’re too light for a human. My hands are just tired from being in the same position for a while. How much further do we have to go?”

“Uh, it’s still a long while… it sure feels like one one of those long corridors in a horror movie but in a nicer place, if you get what I mean….”

“I haven’t watched a horror movie from Earth… are they good?”

“Uh, some of them are. I’ll show you some of the good ones and the bad ones once we get done with your test - I don’t think we’ve ever watched a movie together…”

“Sure thing! But first, can I just adjust my position?”

“Ah, yeah, sorry,”

Inaba pushed Ataru up sharply, before tightly gripping his legs, eliciting a soft squeak from the boy. 

‘They’re kinda soft and squishy…’

“Oi, Inaba!” Ataru hissed in his ear. “J-Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

“Readjusting…?”

“Y-you don’t have to- to grope me for that!”

Inaba stopped walking at that. 

“...Where are my hands, again?”

He felt Ataru bury his face - which was very warm - into the crook of his neck. “On- on my thighs…. Upper part…”

Ataru had been keeping his voice low and quiet the entire time, but after Inaba understood the words, he let out a little scream of embarrassment and started running.

“Hey, hey! Slow down!” Ataru scolded. “We’re in a bath, it’s slippery!”

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry! Let’s get this test done as soon as possible! I didn’t mean to do that, I’m sorry!” Inaba rambled, his face bright red as he seemingly didn’t hear Ataru’s warning.

Since Inaba had picked up the pace all of a sudden, Ataru was unable to keep an eye out for any obstacles on the floor. As expected of the least logical solution they could have taken, Inaba ended up slipping on a bar of soap on the floor and the two of them screamed as they slid at full speed towards the exit.

__________

After their crash landing onto the grass, Ataru got up only to find Inaba knocked out on the grass, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose.

“Good grief,” Ataru sighed - not without any fondness in his voice - before trying to wake him up. Once Inaba opened his eyes, Ataru took his handkerchief out of his pocket and tried to stem the bleeding for a while.

“I’b sorry…” Inaba mumbled through a stuffed nose.

“Hn? Why?”

“ ‘Din’t mean ta touch you so inappropriately ... not wi’out your permission…” he slurred slightly. Ataru flushed bright red, remembering just why they had crashed on the grass.

“F-forget it, it was just an accident…”

“But I never shoulda…. That was my first time doing that kinda stuff… din’t wanna make you uncomfortable ‘round me…”

“Inaba, you didn’t hurt me, really, it was just a slip of the hand,” Ataru removed the cloth to check on his nose, only to find out that the bleeding had stopped. “Huh, for a broken nose it’s too little bleeding…”

“Didn’t break my nose,” Inaba sighed, breathing deeply now that his nose was clear. “Got a head rush from- from that,”

Ataru blinked for a second, before an undignified squawk escaped his throat and he turned away quickly, his face burning red.

‘He- he really got a rush from- from touching me?!’ Ataru screamed internally. ‘This is too much, I can’t take this anymore…’

“Hey! Why did you go on without us?!” Lum shouted as she and Shinobu left the bath.

“Sorry!” Inaba shouted back to them.

When Lum still had a confused look on her face, Ataru buried his head in his hands because he knew that the two girls wanted an explanation. Too shy to admit what really happened, he ended up telling them a half-truth.

“Inaba got embarrassed when someone bumped into us from behind, then slipped on some soap.”

Inaba shot him a grateful look, and the two of them wordlessly agreed to never speak of it again…at least in public.

=================

After that particular event was done with, the gang kept walking forward. The plains stretched on, until the clouds darkened again. Before anyone could react, a huge burst of light blinded them. Once they could see again, they found that one of their legs was shackled to another person.

“...What the hell just happened?” Ataru stared at the purple donut shaped shackle his and Shinobu’s legs were stuck in.

“Ah. This might be another part of the test.” Inaba looked dead inside as he noticed his leg was stuck with Lum’s.

“Just how is this supposed to test your ‘love’ and ‘courage’?!”

“I don’t know, but we need to keep going forward!”

“Maybe this is supposed to be like a couple’s three-legged race…?” Shinobu mused. “But they accidentally paired up the wrong people…”

“I guess so…” Lum sighed morosely. She then tried to zap the shackle off, only to accidentally electrocute Inaba as well.

Shinobu was quiet for a while, until she turned back to Ataru and grinned. “Hey, do you remember the race we did for Valentine’s Day a while back?”

“Valentine’s Day?!” Inaba sputtered, staring at the two of them.

“Oh, yeah!” Ataru smiled back, though it wasn’t a full grin as it still hurt him slightly to remember his first relationship, though it was a dull ache compared to the earlier stages of their breakup.

“I think we could manage to get to wherever we need to be with that. Lum, Inaba, will you two be alright?”

“I, uh, sure…. If Inaba doesn’t kick me by accident…” Lum mumbled as they all watched Inaba’s foot practically bounce up and down off the grass, crushing it underneath. The only thing stopping it from flying off was its anatomical attachment to his ankle. Inaba himself was seemingly lost in thought, but he didn’t look happy with the situation.

‘Wait, is he jealous?’ The thought had popped up in Ataru’s mind earlier with the way he spoke before they entered the bath, but he didn’t really have anything to back it up. Now, though… ‘He is! He’s jealous for my sake! Awww!’ A grin made its way onto his face involuntarily, and he quickly hid his face with his hand and turned away. 

Shinobu noticed him and shook her head fondly. “Really, you two? Again?”

Ataru managed to shake off the fuzzy feeling enough to get into position with Shinobu, but not before flashing a grin at Inaba and shouting, “The faster we finish the race, the faster we get out of this situation! Losers owe the winning team a date!”

Inaba yelped at that. He was about to awkwardly thread his hand with Lum’s to get into a starting position, only for her to take off into the air.

“You betcha I’ll get that date! Sweetheart, I’ll see you at the finish line!”

“Wait, wait, WAIT!” Inaba screeched as Lum practically hoisted him around as dead weight.

“Well, we can’t let them beat us at our own game,” Shinobu laughed. “Let’s go!”

_____________

In the end, Ataru and Shinobu had won the race through the power of militaristic training they had done in the past. Lum was just barely keeping up, Inaba dangling in the air all thanks to their shared ankle shackle.

“Aw, come on….” Lum pouted as they reached a crossroads that they had decided marked the end of their little race. 

“So, I guess we won?” Ataru trailed off as he noticed the way Inaba clutched onto the grass, glad to be on solid ground again. He snickered a little, offering a hand to help him get back on his feet. Inaba took it gratefully, and didn’t release it as they turned back to look at the sign.

The two roads lead to comically contrasting lands. The one marked ‘Hell’ had acres of land with worldly delights, and Ataru swore he saw some kind of god with a couple of ladies and gents. ‘Good for them,’ he thought to himself. The one marked ‘Heaven’ looked more like its opposing counterpart, with ominous foliage in the area.

“Well, we should obviously go down this route, right?” Shinobu mused, gesturing to the land marked ‘Hell’.

“But the signs…” Inaba mumbled. “I don’t know, this feels suspicious.”

Before the team could ponder more on the situation, a girl’s scream pierced through the air from the land marked ‘Heaven’.

“Someone, someone please help me!” The girl came into view as she tried to get through the branches. She looked like she worked at the Destiny Production Bureau.

“Ataru!”

“On it!” 

The two of them got back into position, taking off towards the land marked ‘Heaven’.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright, okay?” Shinobu soothed the distressed woman as she used her hands to cling on to the two of them before the branches dragged her under again.

“Shinobu, I need your help with these branches, they’re a bit too strong!” Ataru shouted, gripping at the bark in an attempt to pull it away.

“Leave it to me. Stand back, will you?”

Ataru moved as far away as his ankle shackle would allow, as Shinobu got into her fighting stance. A well aimed kick and most of the branches that were too big to pull away were destroyed.

Ataru ripped off the rest of the vines underneath, careful to not hurt the woman any more than she already was.

“Thank you…” she murmured softly, holding Ataru’s hand. 

“Aw, shucks, it was nothing…” Ataru responded bashfully, only for the lady to glow and transform into… a Buddha statue???

Ataru screamed and pulled his hand away quickly, hiding behind Inaba.

“You did well to not be fooled by appearances,” the statue boomed, voice echoing through the land.

“What the hell?! I actually thought that other land was Heaven! What kind of an afterlife is this?!” Ataru snapped back at him.

“...Anyway, as a reward for your kindness, here is the key to your shackles,”

The statue chucked the key far, far away from the gang, and they all shouted as they saw the metal shine as it sailed through the air.

“Uhm, thank you very much-” Inaba was cut off as Lum took off again, trying to get to the key.

The three-legged race had turned into a game of fetch.

Lum tried to dangle Inaba so that he could catch the key while it was airborne, but Inaba’s hand-eye coordination was awful in the air, so it was up to Ataru and Shinobu as the key fell to ground level.

Unfortunately, for them, the key was headed for a lake, and they all ended up taking the plunge.

*************

Inaba had managed to grab the key earlier than anyone else, and used it to free Ataru and Shinobu first, then Lum and himself.

Ataru tried to smile back, well, as much as he could with his mouth filled with air. They all tried to swim back to the surface, now that they were free…

…only for a bunch of mermaids to grab them and separate them from each other.

Ataru almost screamed out as he was snatched away. The mermaid had taken him to what looked like a kelp forest, and he writhed, pushed and did his best to escape her grasp. He didn’t want to escalate the situation to physical violence, especially when he was starting to get dizzy from the lack of air.

His assailant had bound his ankles together with the not-kelp, and Ataru almost cried out as the leaves somehow managed to cut into his skin. The leg of Inaba’s old suit was now dangling by a small piece of cloth, and a huge gash had formed along his ankle. Blood leaked freely from the wound, diffusing into the water near him, and he had to force himself to keep his mouth shut as he tried to undo the knot, only for it to dig deeper into his leg.

He saw the mermaid snicker and rip out a piece of the not-kelp nearby, some of it having absorbed his blood somehow and turned black in the process.

His vision became spotty. None of the girls were nearby, and no matter what he did, he still couldn’t get free.

Somewhere, he felt a shadow being cast down on him.

He looked up at the obstruction of light, only to see what looked like Inaba… swimming away with someone.

‘Ah….’ The back of his eyes stung, and his lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. 

‘So in the end, I’m being left again…’ Ataru gritted his teeth. ‘That bastard.’

In a fit of rage, he used his hands and feet to fully yank out the plant from its roots, ignoring the way it dug into him as he swam as fast as he could, practically shooting himself to the surface of the lake. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Inaba swimming towards him, but this time he ignored him.

‘That jerk can go with whoever he wants. I’m done.’

Heaving himself onto the shore, Ataru gasped heavily as he tried to regain his breath. The fogginess in his head had cleared up quite a bit, but his leg was awful. It was still bleeding, and he tried to rip the leaf-blade stuck to his legs, but to no avail. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get rid of it, and he almost cried in frustration. 

His vision blurred, and he didn't notice when Inaba tried to pry away the plant himself. With careful motions, Inaba tore the not-kelp away, trying not to hurt Ataru even more. Ripping off the rest of the torn pant-leg, he used it to bandage the wound, hoping it would help stem the bleeding.

”Ataru, are you alright?” he asked gently, as if trying to calm a frightened critter.

‘Leave me alone,’ Ataru wanted to shout, to scream, to do anything that would make Inaba stop looking like he cared about him. Because if Inaba really did care, he wouldn't have left him to die in that lake. But all that came out was a choked sob, and he couldn't hold it in anymore. 

He didn't know for how long the two of them stayed like that, him curled up in a ball and bawling his eyes out, and Inaba rubbing his back in an attempt to calm him down. He’d tried to pull away, and ended up hating himself for not being able to do even that despite what had just happened.

Finally, he pushed Inaba away from him. “Jerk,” he snapped, voice hoarse from crying. “You- you left me.”

He hated how hurt he sounded. He should be angry, he should hate Inaba, but all he could think of was how awful he must be to make the other boy look so distraught. 

Inaba looked horrified, and he reached out for Ataru. “Ataru, I swear, if I had known that wasn’t you I wouldn’t have started for the surface,”

“The hell do you mean by that?” Ataru glared, scrubbing at his face. 

“The mermaid- she looked just like you,” Inaba explained frantically, now that Ataru had given him a chance. “There’s a plant that grows at the bottom of the lake that allows people to transform into others as long as they have a small amount of the other’s blood- I didn't realise that was what she had done until I saw you bleeding out and swimming to the surface. Oh, gods, Ataru, I’m so sorry, I never meant for you to get hurt like this-”

“Stop. Just stop,” Ataru sniffled, too exhausted to say anything else. Inaba had seemed so genuine, trying to get him to understand the situation, but he was just so tired, of the same misunderstandings over and over again. A part of him wanted to beg Inaba to let him go back to Earth, but he had promised to help him. Inaba hadn't really left him, after all. It wasn't fair to leave him hanging like this after what the mermaids had done to them.

“Do… Do you know what happened? To the others?” Ataru asked instead. The girls had disappeared after the mermaids had attacked them, and he hadn’t seen them anywhere in the lake.

“... I think my bosses might have done some kind of meddling to get them out of the test,” Inaba sighed. “At least, they shouldn’t be seriously hurt,”

Ataru groaned, before trying to get to his feet, only for his legs to give way under him. Inaba caught him before he hit the ground painfully.

“... I’ll take you back home, to Earth,” Inaba decided quietly. “This isn’t fair for you, I should have known it would be too dangerous-”

“But your test-”

“I don’t give a damn about my test! You’re hurt, you need to get back and get that treated!”

“I promised you! I promised that I wouldn’t leave!” Ataru snapped. “I’ll hold up my end of the deal. I know you didn’t mean to let me get hurt, so stop making my decisions for me! I’ve had worse anyway, bad luck and all that rot,”

Inaba didn’t respond, instead getting up and offering a hand to Ataru. He took it, and Inaba slung his arm over his shoulder.

“I- I could carry you, if you want. Like last time…”

“No, we still have a couple of tests left. Save your strength till we get to the flower.”

The two of them continued walking in silence, the tension palpable enough to cut with a knife.

**********

After a while, the two of them reached a large flight of stairs, with several of Inaba’s coworkers at the bottom. 

“Test-taker, this is the way to the flower!” One of them shouted to Inaba.

“Ah, thank you!” Inaba beamed at them. He turned to Ataru, whose expression softened at that. “We’re almost there,”

“Thank god,” he mumbled.

“Hold it! Only employees can climb the stairs!”

“If you want to use the stairs, you’ll have to leave him and take one of us as your partner,”

“Eh?! No way!” Inaba snapped. “Besides, Ataru’s wearing a suit. Surely that’s enough for the stairs, right?”

“...I don’t think I can make it.”

“Huh?!” Inaba glanced back at Ataru worriedly.

“My leg… I don’t think I’d be able to climb up all those stairs, walking was hard enough.” Ataru sighed, not having the courage to look at Inaba. “You… you should go with one of them.”

“But I don’t want to leave you here!” Inaba held Ataru’s hands again. “I’d have some peace of mind if I personally took you back home and got your leg checked, but…”

“If you do that, you’d have to redo the tests!” One of the bunnies shouted.

“Inaba, you’re so close to that promotion. Just go with one of the others,” Ataru turned away. “Besides… ‘anyone would do’, right?”

“I--! That’s not-”

“Well, if you really want to go with him, there is one way…”

One of them pointed towards a large stone statue of a cyclops. In its abdomen, a door was engraved.

As the group approached it, it came to life with a powerful roar and got into a fighting stance. 

Inaba let out a small shriek, but otherwise didn’t move.

“I’m going to mess you up good, you punk!” It shouted. “C’mon, bring it!”

“Ah….” Inaba’s eye twitched a little as he gauged his opponent’s strength.

“Don’t get yourself into unnecessary trouble,” Ataru murmured, a hand on Inaba’s shoulder. “Just take the stairs, I’ll be fine.”

“He’s right - just leave him here with us, we’ll send him back home,”

Ataru looked like he wanted to protest that, but then gave up.

“Don’t mess with me! Are we gonna fight or what, punk?!”

Inaba took a minute to settle his nerves before he moved towards the animated statue.

“Oi, are you serious…?” Ataru limped after him, as he kept walking.

“I have to,” he responded. “Because, I get the feeling that you won’t ever want to see me if I did leave you again,”

Ataru froze at that.

As Inaba walked forward, the land in front of them turned into a boxing ring. He put on a set of boxing gloves, before getting into a defensive stance.

“Inaba! Be careful!” Ataru shouted, walking to the ring walls as fast as he could.

Inaba turned back to smile at him, before glaring back at the statue. He dodged a punch from the monster by leaping into the air and aiming a hit at his eye, only to be pulled away by his hood when the attack proved ineffective.

The statue proceeded to use Inaba as a punching bag until he managed to slip out of his grasp.

Even after that, the statue rained blows on the poor boy. 

Ataru gritted his teeth, pulling at the barrier to get into the ring as well.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Some of the DPB workers ended up having to restrain him.

“Screw that! Let go of me!” Ataru shouted, straining to get to Inaba. His leg was pushing its limits, and he had to stop himself from screaming out in pain.

“Ataru, please stay back!” Inaba shouted in response. “I don’t want you to get injured any further!”

“But-!”

“I can hold my own. Just watch!”

Despite those words, the statue proceeded to wipe the floor with Inaba, and Ataru felt his stomach twist into knots as he watched the man get pummeled because of him.

“Inaba, please! Just stop already!” Ataru scrubbed at his eyes. “What happened earlier wasn’t your fault, so please-!”

Inaba wasn’t able to respond to that, as the statue punched him into the air.

Ataru shrieked as he could do nothing but watch as Inaba plummeted down to the ground. With nothing to break his fall, he’d surely…

Somehow, Inaba had grabbed onto the statue’s horn, which was apparently also its weak spot. That had the effect of pulling it off the statue itself, and it deflated, looking more like an empty balloon than what had mauled Inaba over the past few adrenaline-filled minutes. The door fell off the statue, crushing the victor underneath.

“INABA!”

__________

“Say, is there a reason for Inaba to need a partner for this test?” Shinobu asked as she stirred her cup of tea absently.

“There is,” the leader of the bunny-men nodded. “To get the flower to bloom, it needs an abstract fertilizer. To be more accurate, it needs a ‘cheerful romance’ between a couple for it to bloom!”

“Cheerful romance?” Lum echoed the odd phrasing back, wanting an elaboration.

“The love between people allows them to create several futures together. Different emotions are also useful… but we’d be lying if we said that we didn’t prefer a particular one. Joyful romances often help create some of the happiest futures we’ve made so far, and we’d like to keep it that way. Happiness and friendship and camaraderie are also high on that list, but we only offer those to workers who do not want romance in their lives.”

“So those weird tests…”

“Yes. We specifically design these to rip apart happy couples. Only if they pass these, will their love be enough to fertilize the flower. It’s personalised for every couple, which is why we had to stop you two at the lake. Usually we don’t allow more than one couple to take part at a time, unless there’s love among all of them.”

Lum looked like she wanted to ask more, only to watch a door open nearby. Ataru walked through, Inaba’s arm slung over his shoulder as he walked towards them.

“Well, I guess he’s not picking that flower, he’s got beaten up so badly…” one of Inaba’s bosses mused loudly.

Ataru rubbed his eyes, before lunging forward and grabbing that man by the front of his shirt.

“....The flower. Where is it?” Ataru glared, unable to muster most of his rage. Right now, his mind was on the boy he was carrying.

“That door,” the leader pointed towards a door behind the girls. 

Ataru nodded, releasing the other, and continued to trudge towards their destination single-mindedly, with Inaba in tow. The girls noticed a few stray tears leaving his eyes and couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

“...Will they be alright?” Shinobu asked nervously.

“Their injuries can be cured right after they pick the flower,” the leader shrugged, going to refill the teapot. “Or, if they both give up…” 

“Yeesh, what a pain…”

__________

Ataru grunted as his legs finally gave up on walking. He and Inaba were so close to the flower, he could practically see it. Though, he was somewhat unsure, because was the flower supposed to be brown? He carefully laid Inaba down on the ground, checking his breathing before limping towards the flower that had caused them so much trouble.

And that was when he noticed it.

The flower was brown because the damn thing had wilted.

Ataru’s vision blurred at that, but he managed to see enough to make out the words on the sign next to it.

“The flower has to bloom…. Or you fail the test…?” He read out, his voice shaky. “That’s- that’s so cruel!”

He ended up falling to his knees, not able to support his own weight anymore. “H-how could they do this…?”

He sat there for god knows how long, staring at the flower. It was only when he felt his pant leg getting moist when he realised that he had reopened his wound from straining it too much. He hissed, undoing the makeshift bandage Inaba had made to retie it, not having anything else to stem the bleeding.

Once he was satisfied, he scooted over to the unconscious boy, not trusting his feet. Inaba was definitely down for the count, with bruises beginning to form over his face and possibly more under his clothes.

Ataru exhaled sharply. “Idiot. You shouldn’t have picked that fight… What am I going to do with you now?”

Inaba didn’t respond.

A lump formed in his throat, and Ataru forced himself to look away. “But it’s my fault too, isn’t it? You got hurt because of me… goddamnit, Inaba, why are you like this? Why didn’t you take the easy way out like everyone else…?”

Somehow, he was able to keep the tears in this time. His eyes would ache tomorrow - Inaba seemed to want him to go blind from crying before the sun set. 

‘This whole time, I just…. I knew he liked me back, but… I always thought he’d leave, like everyone else.’

“At least… let’s get you comfortable.”

_________

Dreams of warm hands and daffodils wafted through Inaba’s mind as he waited to wake up. As a future ‘dreammaker’, he almost always dreamed lucidly, thanks to the mental training he had undergone before becoming an intern. 

He had lost consciousness sometime after winning the fight. Ataru’s good luck must have transferred to him, considering how he had found the statue’s weak spot.

He hoped the other was alright, and that his coworkers had the sense to get him home safely to get his leg treated. But he had the feeling that wasn’t the case, considering the almost other-worldly sensation he was having of being dragged around. 

Ataru was always so nice, at least to him. Too nice for his own good, at times. 

Inaba once thought that he had had horrendous cards dealt to him his entire life. 

Awful bosses and an even worse work-life balance. 

No one to come home to at the end of the day.

He’d simply get through it and let his grievances brush past him. After all, he didn’t really have anyone to talk about it with, his coworkers being friendly out of politeness and not out of any genuine sense of camaraderie. He just had to grit his teeth and bear with it, and hopefully his manners would smoothen the rest of his interactions with any higher-ups he managed to meet that day.

That fateful day, Inaba was almost sure that all of those terrible months were a setup to what was the start of a wonderful relationship.

After somehow making his way to Earth when he was supposed to be helping others with the spring cleaning in the Hall of Destinies, he’d worn out most of his energy trying to summon a hyperspace hole. Collapsing from the stress and fatigue, he hid himself behind a dustbin.

It must have been luck, because the fates designed in the DPB would never have ordained something that would bring him such joy for him. 

The sweetest boy he had ever seen in his life offered him food and water, expecting nothing in return. Pure, unadulterated worry and kindness was what he could feel from him.

Inaba thought that if he could ever love someone, if fate was kind enough to let him love someone, it would be the person in front of him.

As a result, he had made a fool of himself. His feelings were new and he hadn’t been able to understand them enough to act on them properly. 

Ataru, with all his reservations, accepted his companionship regardless, even if he did not want a relationship at the time.

And Inaba fell further for him.

Days went by with him, learning more about each other, experiencing new joys and sights…

Months with his own worries of accidentally pushing the other away with his own wants had finally worn down on him, and he slipped up often.

Inaba was a truly selfish man. A part of him wished that he could spend more time with Ataru, that he could prove himself a suitable partner-

Then the offer of the promotion test came.

It was three birds in one stone - get Ataru as his boyfriend, clear up his schedule for him and display just how good of a man he could be for him. After all, the test needed a romantic partner - what better way to prove to Ataru that he could be all he wanted in a lover?

He’d failed to take into account just why Ataru was so hesitant to take that step with him.

The entire time, he had messed up, time and time again, reopening old wounds that Ataru would have rather kept closed. In the end, he had even gotten him injured.

At this point, he was surprised that Ataru even wanted to be friends with him anymore.

He could feel himself begin to stir. The dreams dissipated, and bright light assaulted his eyes. He almost rubbed them, only to remember the two black eyes he had received in his fight with the statue.

The first thing he noticed was that despite lying on the ground, his head felt like it was in a remarkably comfortable incline against something soft.

That ‘something soft’ was Ataru. 

More specifically, his lap.

Inaba would have shrieked and moved away if his body didn’t feel like lead. He could only look up at him as he focused intently on some flowers in his hands, folding their stems to make a flower crown.

Once he was done, he realised that Inaba was awake. Instead of moving away, he just smiled awkwardly. “G’morning, sleepyhead,”

“...Where… where are we?”

“We, uh, we’re at the place where you need to pick the flower… but…”

Inaba followed Ataru’s eyes to see the wilted flower. He winced, realising that he would never be able to pass the test now.

“You worked so hard,” Ataru’s voice cracked and he looked away. “It’s too bad…”

Inaba got up into a sitting position. Ataru looked back to him, before fidgeting with the crown in his hands.

“Hey… this probably sounds like a stupid reason, but- well, uh, it wasn’t fair that you couldn’t pick the flower in the end…” he offered the flower crown to him. “So here! Just take these ones as a gift from me!”

Inaba carefully took the flower crown, his breath stopping as he placed it on his head gingerly.

“You… made this? For me?”

“Mn. Well, it’s a small thing, you can chuck it away if it starts rotting-”

“I’ll keep it.” Inaba beamed at him, despite the pain in his facial muscles. “I think I can press the flowers? Or some of my coworkers should know a preservation spell- either way, I’ll keep it. Thank you.”

‘He always tries to make me feel better. Everytime I try to get over my feelings, he goes and does something like this…’ Inaba felt his heartbeat speed up. Ataru flushed bright red (‘so pretty-’) and looked away again.

“It’s just a bunch of flowers…” he mumbled, embarrassed. “It’s not- it’s not the real thing…”

“Then I hope you don’t mind if I do this…” Inaba turned back to the flower field. His hands worked to pick the flower from the ground without the roots as cleanly as he could. One of them accidentally broke off in half, the stem too small for what he was planning to do, but he kept it regardless.

He arranged the flowers into a bouquet, and pressed them into Ataru’s hands. “Here, a gift for you as well,” he smiled fondly at the stunned look on his face. 

Ataru gazed at them, eyes softening as he hugged them closer to himself. His face was still red, but he wasn’t so embarrassed as to deny the flowers, a small ‘thank you’ in his direction. Inaba wished that he could do something fancier for him, he deserved it- but this would have to do for now.

Taking the flower with the broken stem, he gently tucked it behind Ataru’s ear.

The other’s breath hitched at the intimate action, before leaning into his touch. “Inaba…?” he asked, voice hushed.

Gods, he wanted to preserve this memory in his mind forever, regardless of the outcome.

“Truth be told… I never cared about the promotion.”

That startled him. “Huh?!”

Inaba let out a shaky exhale. He was going to do this. “Because, all I wanted was to spend more time with you,”

Ataru stayed quiet. 

“The promotion… it would have given me a few more leave days, and I would have just spent all of them with you, if you allowed it,” Inaba pulled away, his nerves starting to get the better of him. “I- I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me, all this time. Thank you for always being there for little old me,”

“…The hell are you saying,” Inaba felt his stomach drop at that.

He turned to Ataru, who looked like he was going to cry again. 

“I- I’m the one who’s…. Goddamnit, Inaba!” he shouted. His flowers lay on the ground, carefully placed despite the urgency with which Ataru practically leapt into his arms. Inaba’s flower crown was also knocked off his head, rolling near the bouquet.

The two of them held each other, Inaba’s own eyes starting to get moist from, well, everything that had just happened. His hands found purchase around Ataru’s waist, and Ataru’s own were over his shoulders. Their chests were pressed to each other, heartbeats almost overlapping as one.

“It’s a yes,” Ataru’s voice was wobbly, his face buried in the crook of Inaba’s neck like he had belonged there this entire time.

“Eh?”

“To your confession, you dummy, you better not have forgotten!” Ataru peeked out of his hiding place, a teary grin plastered on his face. “Yes, a hundred times yes, I like you back.”

____________________

Bonus :D - 

all i ever wanted was a life in your shape (i picture it soft and i ache)

Inaba pumped his fist as he finished the last of his work. All he needed to do was send the paperwork for filing and he was all set to take the rest of his day off. Once he was done, he placed a paperweight over the stack, which teleported it to his bosses for a review. 

He stretched himself, grunting as his joints popped and sank back into his seat.

“Boo!”

“Waugh!” Inaba let out a slight scream as his boyfriend (boyfriend!) of three weeks and counting jumpscared him by hugging him tightly without warning.

“Hehe, am I that scary?” Ataru snickered, pressing his chin onto Inaba’s shoulder and leaning into him. Something Inaba very much appreciated about their newfound relationship was the fact that Ataru really liked physical contact, and he basked in his boyfriend’s clinginess for a little while before pulling away and holding him back.

“You? As if, you’re too cute to be scary,”

Ataru’s ears turned red at that, but didn't budge. “Look who’s talking,” he huffed, folding his hands over his chest. “Anyway, how come you wanted me to meet you at your office today? Usually we meet in my room,”

“Ah, yeah,” Inaba shuffled around in his desk drawer for a little while, before finding what he was looking for - a half-carved door knob to fit in the Hall of Destinies. “Do you remember asking me about my ideal future?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah!” Ataru beamed. “Is this it?”

“Yes, I thought we could see it together…” he pressed the object into Ataru’s hands. “I haven’t really had a chance to see it myself, so, uh…”

“Sure thing!” Ataru smiled. His face fell a minute later. “Uh, your suit, the pant leg was ripped off… I’m really sorry about that again,”

“How many times are you going to apologise for that?” Inaba huffed. “Speaking of which, I got it fixed for you to get to the Hall today. So really, there’s not much of an issue if you’re worried about the suit, or the hyperspace issues,” He took out a small box and handed it over to Ataru. “Go get changed, won’t you?”

After a while, the two of them walked to the Hall. It would have been faster for Inaba to teleport him, but he also wanted to show Ataru around a little bit. 

Finally, they reached the Hall of Destinies. There, it took them a little while to find a door without a knob, but once they did, they attached it and turned to look at each other.

“So, shall we?” Inaba offered his hand to Ataru, who took it, smiling shyly.

The world past the door was surprisingly blurry. 

Ataru clung on to Inaba, feeling a little nervous. “Hey, Inaba. Aren’t the futures usually… clearer than this?”

“Ah, this is because I purposefully left some things out… I figured it would be better to iron those details out as time passed…”

Inaba seemed to know the direction they had to go in regardless of the clarity they perceived the future in. 

They reached a small house, with a spacious backyard. This area was a lot clearer than the rest of their surroundings.

“We’re here,” Inaba smiled fondly at the sight in front of them. “Take a look around.”

Ataru did just that. Hedges of daffodils and daisies marked the boundary of the plot, and behind the house was a small plot to grow vegetables. 

“Inaba, you’re into gardening too?”

“A little bit, what you mentioned got me interested too,”

“Ah - it’s not just because I said something, right?”

“No, but I’d be lying if you didn’t play a big role in this future,” Inaba smiled secretively at him.

Realising that Inaba wouldn’t say anything further, he huffed and entered the house through the backdoor. Again, a few details like the calendar and the knick-knacks in the kitchen were blurry, but everything else was visible.

And that was when he saw it.

Most of the pictures on the shelf were blurred out, but one was crystal clear.

Ataru stood on his tiptoes to take it and look at it closely. 

It was a wedding photo.

Himself and Inaba - looking a little older, in front of a chapel. The surroundings suggested that they were married in hyperspace, but most of their friends were there - he could make out an older Shinobu and Lum, as well as some of Inaba’s coworkers.

But the part that stuck out to him was just how happy his future self looked, linking arms with his husband (husband!).

In almost all of his potential futures, he was almost always a little miserable… but this…

“...Do you like it?” Inaba asked hesitantly. “This is the life I’d want to live with you,”

“... Like it?” He echoed back at him.

“Uh, well, if you don’t, I can always-”

“Inaba, if you don’t kiss me right the fuck now, I will be very upset,”

It was awkward, it was amateur, but it was theirs. Theirs, and no one else’s to interfere in.

Ataru went home that day with a half-formed door knob, an unfinished future and the boy of his dreams to look forward to for the rest of his life.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.