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Orinthophobia - Intense and irrational fear of birds.
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The kitchen of the Class 1-A dorms was both sturdy and multifaceted in it’s functions, which were all designed with the sometimes unhinged appetite of teenagers in mind.
it had two stoves with half a dozen levels each, a fridge that could house a veritable ton of food of various types in it’s hull, not to mention the pantry where all the dry foods were kept, whose back wall was so far away from the door one could use the way back and forth for sprinting exercises were it not filled to the brim with all manner of things from bags of flour to cans of beans.
Not to mention all the miscellaneous draws that contained dishes and pans and silverware enough for over twenty people.
And of course, the students made full use of it, both for breakfast and dinner, taking turns preparing meals for both themselves and their friends. From rich pastries to simple noodle dishes, each student would always put their favored meals on full display.
And along with all these wonderful features, there was one drawer in particular that had a specialized use in recent months, a use that came up as a result of of 1-A’s little sister particular tastes.
That use was, of course, to be always have a small bushel of apples ready at any time for Eri to take whenever she felt like it. It was one of the many unspoken rules in the dorm that no one was allowed to take from that drawer without express permission from the little girl directly.
Of course, she wasn’t the only person in the dorm that liked apples. In fact, one person in particular favored them as well, but the class made it a point that she have her own little “stash” just to be safe, while the rest of them had no qualms about sharing.
Which was way Fumikage Tokoyami was currently looking at the inside of the fridge in search of the red round fruit, and found nothing.
He reached in and pushed aside a few yogurt packets, then a half eaten sandwich and still nothing.
He scanned the inside for a while longer, scratching the feathers at the base of his neck in frustration and narrowing his eyes at the contents of the fridge as if an apple would materialize in front of him out of the thin cooled air.
His homework was giving him a headache, his recent test scores were lacking, and all he wanted was one measly little snack to help with his nerves, and he was going to find one even if he had to stand in the refrigerated air all damn night.
Unfortunately, he had kept the door open for too long, and a loud beeping jingle started playing from the fridge, making Tokoyami nearly jump out of his feathers in alarm.
After his initial start vanished, a stab of anger went through him and growled in fury, his patience running out completely as he slammed the fridge door with a yell and altogether more force then was needed.
If he had gained any satisfaction from the sound of the door crashing as it closed, it quickly evaporated when he heard someone yelp in fright behind him.
He snapped his head to look behind him, and there in the entryway of the kitchen he saw Eri, wringing her hands and biting her lower lip as she stood there, her feet shuffling in place and over all projecting unease in every which way possible.
And suddenly Fumikage felt like the most awful person on the planet.
(Her eyes were the worst of it though, shivering and shimmering as if she were on the verge of tears, which she might very well be. It reminded him of the first time she had a good look at him, a good look at his face, and screamed so loud several teachers rushed over ready to fight because they thought she was being attacked.
Except she wasn’t, all that happened was him walking over to shake her hand and her seeing his face from the corner of her eye and everything just went pear shaped after that.
Wasn’t the first time he had scared a child with his visage, and he didn’t blame her since she probably had more caused than most…still it hurt.)
They stared at each other for a long and heavy minute, one paralyzed by sudden fear and the other out of shame of causing said fear, until Tokoyami took a deep breath and made himself look as small as possible as he lowered his head and tried to give the little girl as a kind a smile as he could.
“Sorry Eri-chan,” He cleared his throat and turned to face her, slowly as to not scare her further, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She looked back at him with unease, but slowly she swallowed the lump in her throat, closed her eyes, took a deep breath of her own and bowed her head slightly, “It’s okay Mr. Fumi.” She clasped her hands at the small of her back, “I know you didn’t…”
(Mr. Fumi. He wasn’t “big bro”, or “uncle” like so many of his fellow students and some of the teachers.
Just, Mr. Fumi.
Again, he couldn’t blame her, and honestly even that seemed like too much to hope for at the beginning, but his heart ached to know he caused her this much distress just by…being.
But, she was trying.
She was trying, and that’s all he could ask of her.)
She trailed off and looked away, Tokoyami rubbing his forehead as the awkwardness of the situation started to weigh down on him.
He cleared his throat again, his smile straining, “Di-did you want something from the kitchen, Eri-chan?”
“Um…” She looked up, reluctantly meeting his eyes, “Y-yeah Mr. Fumi,” She gestured to the drawer right next to the fridge where he was standing, the one that contained her ‘apple reserve’, “I was just…getting an apple.”
“Well,” He waved a hand mildly, “Don’t let me stop you.”
They continued to stand there for another handful of moments, before Eri started stepping quietly towards the drawer, mumbling ‘excuse me’ as she passed him and reached out for the drawer.
A low rumbling noise stopped her, and she looked to the direction it came from to see Tokoyami putting a hand to his stomach.
A moment passed before another noise came from him, a blush beginning to emerge from under his feathers.
“Um…Are you hungry too Mr. Fumi?”
He rubbed the back of his head while looking away, “Y-yeah Eri-chan,” He chuckled nervously ”To tell the truth I was looking for an apple to munch on myself.”
Eri’s eyes widened, “You like apples too Mr. Fumi?”
Her sudden interest left him flat footed for a moment, but he quickly caught himself before it could dissipate and smiled at her, “Yes, their my favorite actually.” He pointed to the fridge with a slightly annoyed expression, “Unfortunately, there aren’t any left in the fridge.”
Eri’s face fell a little, her eyes shining with comprehension mixed with apprehension , “Is-is that why you were so mad Mr. Fumi?”
A bit of shame kicked the bottom of his stomach as he cringed slightly, “Yes Eri-chan,” He cleared his throat, “Again, sorry about that.”
She wrung her hands again, looking down and mumbling, “It’s okay…” She looked up, “But, what are you gonna eat Mr. Fumi?”
He waved off her concern as he opened the fridge door again, “Don’t worry about me Eri-chan, I’ll just pick something else.” With that he went back to searching for a snack, debating quietly on what he could take that won’t upset either his stomach or a classmate that was saving it.
Eri, for her part, started looking back and forth between the bird headed student and her apple drawer, an idea forming in her head.
A minute later, as Tokoyami was contemplating a pear for lack of options (and pears being a pale imitation of apples with a third of the flavor and the texture of wet Styrofoam, this contemplation disturbed him greatly), he felt a tug on the hem of his shirt, guiding his gaze downwards near his legs.
Which was where he saw Eri, standing up on her tip toes and with a single green apple in her hands, outstretched towards him in offering.
Tokoyami stared at her in confusion, looking up from the apple in her hand to see the drawer from where it definitely came from, her drawer, opened with out a care.
He looked back down at her again, a mild panic running through him as his thoughts raced, “N-no Eri-chan i-it’s okay I can’t-”
“Please,” She said earnestly, taking a small step towards him with the apple making him flinch back in surprise, “You wanted an apple right?” A slight blush came to her face, “A-and Mama and Papa said it’s important to share!”
“B-but,” He chuckled a little, “Eri-chan really it’s fine.” He looked away, “It’s yours so you don’t have to give it to-”
“I want to give it to you.” She said suddenly, an uncertain conviction in her tone, “You looked really sad when you didn’t find any apples, so I want to give it to you…” She trailed off, her sudden courage beginning to fade, “So…you won’t be sad anymore.”
He looked back at her, locking gazes with her shimmering eyes, a sudden warmth spreading under his feathers.
(Her eyes still shone with a little fear, but this time it was tempered with courage, and a certain type of determined kindness.
Those two were rubbing off on her…)
Slowly, carefully as to not break the tentative peace that found a place between them, he reached over and gently took the offered green fruit from her hands.
“Thank you, Eri-chan.”
She blushed a little harder and bowed her head, “You’re welcome Mr. Fumi.” After that mumble she took another apple from her drawer, closed it, than washed her snack before quickly running off from the kitchen.
And so Tokoyami stood alone in the kitchen, holding his green gift.
He usually wasn’t the biggest fan of green apples, a bit too hard for his taste, but he couldn’t help but think, as he took a bit from a slice, that this particular apple tasted especially sweet.
(She was still nervous around him after this, and he was still just Mr. Fumi, but over time being in the same room doesn’t fill her with a quiet sort of dread. After a while seeing him out of the corner of her eye doesn’t make her heart jump up her throat.
One day when his turn comes up to cook dinner, he surprises everyone with apple pie of all things. He gives the first slice to Eri, and she gives him a wide happy smile, eyes free of any kind of fear.)