Title: Smiles and Enigmas
Pairing: Fuwa/Kazamatsuri
Inspiration: "Reason for joining: to investigate the truth of this guy's smile."

Killah Notes: OMFG. Another Whistle fic from me! And it's FxK. Cuuuuuuteee! I love this pairing. xD Fuwa is so ultra awesome, and Kaza is so flipping adorable. Wh00tness! Ahhhhhhhhhh! Hahahahaha… I'm so high. /sigh/ .

Besides, there's something wrong with Kaza-chan. xD No one's that happy. You just know he's hiding something! Aghhh. XPPP I just had to make him into some sort of mysterious freak with strange intentions (not that kind of strange! xD) in his head. He's like some sort of…manipulative mastermind (not really… xD) here, so deal with it.

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Contrary to popular belief, Kazamatsuri was not as much of an open book as many others perceived him to be. Although a majority of visible façades seen gracing his features were determination and happiness, he was hard to read and far from predictable. Only Kazamatsuri knew what went on in that impossible head of his. And, because of that, no one else did.

No. Not even Fuwa.

Fuwa "Crusher" Daichi, infamously known around Sakura Jyousui as the dangerous genius of second year, could not comprehend exactly what went on in Kazamatsuri's mind. Even with his vast knowledge and detailed analysis, the brain of the petite forward was still a mystery.

Fuwa, a man of logic, did not like mysteries. In his opinion, things were better off solved and rational. And if they were not, he would surely make them.

Of course, the day the Crusher finally began to ponder Kazamatsuri was the day he would experience first hand one of the many mysteries that that inscrutable mind could create.

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"Fuwa-kun!"

Fuwa turned and was surprised to see Kazamatsuri before him, still clad in his shorts and shin guards. "Heading home, Kazamatsuri?"

Kazamatsuri smiled at him, nodding. "Yes. Want to walk home together?"

Fuwa shrugged, shouldering his sports bag. "Sure."

Strange… Kazamatsuri has never asked me to walk home with him before. What does he want from me?

"Nice weather we're having today, eh?" Kazamatsuri mused conversationally.

"Yes." Fuwa looked up, the cogs in his head spinning. "It is a temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing at a consistent speed of 56 kilometers per second." (Killah: Hoy, I dunno if any of this is a sign of good weather, so we'll just pretend it is, okay? n.n)

Kazamatsuri tittered softly. "That's just like you, Fuwa-kun."

Fuwa glanced down at Kazamatsuri oddly. "I am blowing at a consistent speed of 56- ah, wait, it has picked up- 57 kilometers per second?"

The shorter one burst into good-natured laughter, his eyes closing with mirth. "Oh, no, no, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that you're very…observant. I've noticed that about you. You're incredibly smart, too. I've been watching you, and now that I've mentioned it, you have many other abilities. Not many people can maintain their straight A average – or create one, in my case – and play goal keeper for the Sakura Jyousui soccer team."

Fuwa did not know what to say. Should he thank Kazamatsuri for his kind words of praise? Should he return the favor by expressing Kazamatsuri's good points? No. Instead, Fuwa did what Fuwa would do: speak his mind whilst simultaneously making his statement as blunt as possible.

"You have been watching me?" It was a simple question with no innuendo laced in its shadows. Fuwa was not the type of person to scream out things in panic relating to stalkers and creepy people and whatnot, and he was not a man of implications.

Kazamatsuri nodded. "Uhn!"

"Oh." The two fell into silence. To any other people, it would be considered an awkward silence, but no. This was Fuwa.

They passed the school gates, then continued on, taking the sidewalk path back to the field. Fuwa looked back, his gaze landing on the path they had just taken. Was Kazamatsuri planning to walk around in circles? PerhapsTakai had kicked a ball at the forward's head a little too hard, thus causing disorder to the brain cells in there, and causing him to become deficient…

Fuwa, ready to express his thoughts aloud to Kazamatsuri, opened his mouth to speak, but said boy interrupted him.

"Saa, Fuwa-kun, I love soccer. It's my life. I even changed schools and enrolled into Sakura Jyousui because I couldn't play it at my old school."

Fuwa noted that they had reached the field, and that by the way he was calmly instigating conversation, Kazamatsuri did not seem intent on stopping there.

"I joined Sakura Jyousui's soccer team to improve myself, and to do what I loved the best. I've lost friends, made friends, and gotten those lost friends back, not to mention the fact that I've gotten closer to the two best players at Musashi no Mori by playing here, instead of at Musashi no Mori itself. What about you, Fuwa-kun?" Kazamatsuri looked up at Fuwa. "How has life been after joining Sakura Jyousui's soccer club?"

Fuwa regarded Kazamatsuri coolly, albeit with confusion. Where was this conversation going?

Quite an enigma indeed.

"It has been good. Mundane, yes, but good nonetheless."

Kazamatsuri cocked an eyebrow. "Mundane, Fuwa-kun?" He let a laugh escape his lips. "Only you would use such a word."

Fuwa sent Kazamatsuri a glance similar to the one he had shot him with earlier. "I doubt that, for I have not copyrighted the word for my own uses. It is quite open to the public, and I am sure that people are using it."

Kazamatsuri bit his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing. "Never mind, never mind." His smile grew, and his eyes crinkled slightly. "So what have you gained from joining the soccer club?"

Fuwa raised his eyes in thought. "Friends, I suppose. And the satisfaction of knowing that I can crush others by beating them in a game."

Kazamatsuri blinked.

"And the knowledge that people are sentimentally unstable enough to cry after losing, though I fail to understand why."

Kazamatsuri nodded in veiled sheepishness.

"And not to mention a varied training schedule that will surely build athleticism and good health, thus delaying the eventual rotting of the body that will take place when I reach my old years."

Kazamatsuri laughed to himself at the answers he had been given. They were just too predictable, coming from Fuwa. He smiled up at the taller boy and nodded at the response. "I see that you've gained…eh…a lot from soccer. And why did you join the team?"

Fuwa's eyes glazed slightly in thought. "I believe I remember the exact words I said to you on the field when I joined the team." He raised his thumb to his chin, contemplating the past. "'Reason for joining: to investigate the truth of this guy's smile.' Then I pointed at you, like this." Fuwa pointed at Kazamatsuri, who in turn snorted in laughter. (Killah: Please note that I am going by Japanese subs, and this is a direct quote from one of them. Fuwa says something different in the manga, but he means the same thing.)

"I remember that day," Kazamatsuri reminisced cheerfully. "Say… Did you ever find out?" His tone seemed innocent enough, but Fuwa had looked closer, immediately spotting an odd glint in his eyes.

"Find out what?" Fuwa questioned, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Kazamatsuri shrugged flippantly. "Oh… It's not important… But, y'know… Did you ever find out 'the truth of my smile'?"

Fuwa eyed Kazamatsuri oddly, discreetly glancing between him and the pavement before he spoke. "Partially."

Kazamatsuri raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Fuwa thought silently to himself once again. "Well…perhaps not." At Kazamatsuri's inquisitive expression, he chose to elaborate. "Over time, I have learned that you smile at everything. It is quite unnerving," he added, much to his teammate's amusement. "So it is difficult to truly investigate the truth. I do not know." That was something he was not used to and at ease with to say, but around Kazamatsuri, who would not judge him, it wasn't as hard as he had expected.

"Do you want to know?"

Fuwa wasn't an expert on people, let alone speaking habits and conversations among them, but he knew enough to know that Kazamatsuri's tone was filled with something less than innocent intrigue. Slightly curious of his shorter friend's behavior, he decided to take the bait.

I'll play your game, Kazamatsuri. What are you up to?

"Yes. I would like to know."

Kazamatsuri nodded absently. His childlike face was calmly blank, but under further inspection, his eyes were filled with turmoil, as though a battle was taking place somewhere in their depths. He looked as though he were trying to make a very important decision, but wasn't quite winning, which seemed impossible, seeing that he was on both sides of the debate.

Finally, he looked up at Fuwa with determined eyes that the dark-haired tensai (Killah: Japanese for prodigy or genius.) only saw during a soccer game. "I'll tell you, Fuwa."

Fuwa nearly reeled back in surprise. He hadn't really been expecting that. He didn't even know that there was an answer to what he had been trying to investigate. He was just convinced that whatever truth there was behind Kazamatsuri's smile was something rhetorical. Truth be told, he hadn't been doing much investigating. Truth be told, the whole proclaim-and-point thing concerning the little forward's smile was just a little dramatic flourish Fuwa had felt like doing that sunny afternoon.

But if Kazamatsuri was going to tell him the truth, he would listen.

"But there is a catch."

Fuwa's ears perked. "And that catch is…?"

Kazamatsuri smiled mysteriously, a smile that Fuwa had never seen on his face before. "We'll play a game, Fuwa-kun." He took a left past the track and field club's long jump pits.

Fuwa followed Kazamatsuri's trail, duly noting that they had reached the field and that the shorter boy had unsheathed a worn, yet clean, soccer ball from his sports bag. "A game?" he questioned.

Kazamatsuri nodded in affirmation. "Yes. You win, I tell you the truth of my smile. I win–" He stopped to prolong the drama. "I win, I give you a kiss."

Fuwa froze, staring at Kazamatsuri penetratingly. "Excuse me?"

Kazamatsuri had the modesty to blush. "Uh…" This was the Kaza Fuwa knew.

Fuwa waved it off. "I suppose I might as well. It's no loss to me whether I lose or win," he commented.

Kazamatsuri looked rather brighter at the last part, but grew a little more flustered. "Heh…" Soon, the mask of determination was back up, surprising Fuwa greatly. "Let's play?"

Fuwa smirked, striding quickly to the goal posts. "Let's."

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"You win, Fuwa-kun," Kazamatsuri said evenly, his eyes lowered and his cheeks slightly red; whether from exhaustion, or the embarrassment of practically telling Fuwa he was going to kiss him, Fuwa wasn't quite sure.

"I have perfected the blocking of your out-front kick, Kazamatsuri," Fuwa replied just as calmly, his hands in his pockets, a customary habit he had come to possess whilst in front of a goal post.

"I guess you have…" Kazamatsuri picked the ball up, his raven-colored bangs shielding his eyes from view. He chuckled humorlessly to himself and slowly lifted his head. "It's pretty silly of me to act all depressed, eh, Fuwa-kun?"

Fuwa just stared at the small boy before him, his eyes drilling holes into Kazamatsuri. "I suppose."

The shorter of the two cradled the ball between his two crossed arms, swallowing awkwardly as he did so. "So. Do you want me to tell you why?"

"Not particularly."

"Eh?" Kazamatsuri lifted his head all the way up, his dejection instantaneously replaced with his accustomed curiosity. "You don't want to know why?" And in that instant, right before his head had fully surfaced, Fuwa had appeared right before him.

See that, Kazamatsuri? I can have enigmas of my own.

"No."

I can be just as baffling as you.

"I want to know how."

Kazamatsuri cocked his head to the side in confusion. "How what?"

"How…" Fuwa, the frightening, masterminded eighth grader that many lower and upperclassmen feared, lowered his head and diffidently pecked Kazamatsuri on the lips.

"How was that?"

Kazamatsuri blinked. "Fuwa-kun… W-why?"

Figures he would answer my question with a question…

"Because," Fuwa replied, not bothering to continue. He stuck one hand in his pocket again, using his free one to pat Kazamatsuri on the head. It was a quick, awkward pat, and it gave off the impression that Fuwa thought Kazamatsuri was a dog of some sort.

"Because what?"

Fuwa flippantly knocked the side of the shorter boy's head in an affectionate manner. "Need I say more, Kazamatsuri-kun?" The 'Crusher' smiled lightly and turned away, returning his free hand to its customary spot in his pocket. "I will see you around."

Neither of the two was quite sure what meaning was laced into that promise, for Kazamatsuri was in too deep of a daze, and Fuwa was convinced that he was still not a man of implication.

Of course, Fuwa let it be as he began to walk off the field.

What just happened there? This is quite a strange development in my disposition… Have I become spontaneous?

Fuwa stared ahead as he continued to walk. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kazamatsuri still standing where he had been before. The brown-eyed forward blinked innocently and lifted his fingers to his lips, tracing over them absently.

But why did I kiss him? Do I feel the same way about him as he feels about me? Or maybe…

Fuwa's vision flitted back again. He eyed Kazamatsuri as the shorter one smiled vaguely to himself and began to walk in the opposite direction, ball still cradled in his arms.

Why am I questioning myself? Is it because I do not know the answer? How can I not know the answer?

Argh. I do not like my new, enigmatic, spontaneous self. I am even baffling myself.

Wait. I am confused.

o.O

I do like him. Or do I?

Wait. Yes. I do. Argh. Stupid Kazamatsuri. Why does he have to be so confusing? He is making me confused.

Fuwa Daichi did not like being confused.

…From now on, I will leave the mysteriousness to Kazamatsuri. I get to be blunt and normal.

"Kazamatsuri! Wait!" Fuwa turned, the strange conversation he had been having with himself finished. The dark-haired keeper ran after Kazamatsuri's retreating back, waving a previously pocketed hand in the air to emphasize his point. "I have something to tell you!"

Kazamatsuri turned and stopped to wait for him. He smiled at Fuwa warmly as he reached him. "Heading home, Fuwa-kun?"

Fuwa flashed Kazamatsuri a quick grin before it melted into his usual hard façade. "Yes. Want to walk home together? We can talk on the way."

Kazamatsuri nodded and the two walked off the field, as though nothing had happened. If anyone had been looking, they would have noticed that the two were standing just a little closer than usual, and that Fuwa's eyes were flickering brightly.

Maybe the 'truth of Kazamatsuri's smile' was rhetorical. Maybe not.

All that mattered was that Kazamatsuri was now one of the few things behind Fuwa's smile.

O w a r i

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Killah: Eh…I got a little floaty at the end, eh? I decided that a confused and fun-to-laugh-at Fuwa needed to make his debut! Wh000000000t. xDDD …But I think I strayed far from the point of my story. xD I tend to do that… /sigh/

Who here expected some tongue? xDDDDDDDDD Yeah, you wish, suckers! BWUHAHAHAHA! xDDD …/cough/ -.- Sorry. X.x But anyway… They're just eighth graders! A peck is only natural. XD Besides: this is Fuwa we're talking about. He's not exactly the compassionate prince in shining armor who'd sweep Kazamatsuri off his feet and whisk him away to a castle, eh? xDDD

REVIEW! n.n Next oneshot from me will definitely have a Shiina/Kazamatsuri pairing. /high-fives Ametris/