Chapter Text
The warm atmosphere of the afternoon was slowly starting to decrease, the sky turning into a soft shade of apricot, dusted with trails of sugar. The usual classes finally ended to let the middle school students engage to their club activity. In one of the main corridors, Tome made her way to her club's room, arms full of junk food she bought the day before. Her mind wasn't focusing on anything, but to finally get some time to rest after a quite stressful day.
She struggled to slide open the light blue door correctly, a few bags of chips jumping out of her grip.
"G-gosh, I should take multiple trips next time." The raven-haired girl sighed, her footsteps hastily sounded through the room to the table at the far back. She finally let her arms free; the food landed on the smooth surface like a waterfall, colored packages covered the table with a few Japanese brand names and mascots. But there was something else sitting next to the packages on the long desks, which caught her attention.
A pleasantly done brown cupcake was disposed on the center of the table to Tome's surprise. Her curiosity took the advantage and she went to investigate the unusual sight. The faint smell of chocolate tickled the young girl's nostrils, her stomach softly grumbled at the simple vision of the backed good. She picked it up with both hands, her eyes sparkled at how perfect the cupcake looked, the person who baked it sure dedicated time to make it look appetizing.
She noticed a small pastel pink note on the table, previously hidden under the little food cake and extended one hand towards it. She was forcing herself to not bite down the cupcake already; a warning voice in her head kept telling her it was maybe a lure to poison her, in some sort.
When she opened the letter with her lanky fingers, she was taken aback by the careful writing; it was so pleasantly made that every kanji looked like a drawing of its own. Tome started to read with concentration:
"Hello Miss President of the Telepathy club,
I'm sorry if you don't like chocolate cake, but I heard you talking with your friends in the hallway complaining the club doesn't have enough food to satisfy your needs and thought you will maybe enjoy a home-made cupcake. I wasn't sure if I wanted to make some yesterday, but after I heard your conversation, I made my decision clear. I really hope you'll like it!
PS: I haven't made the cake poisonous if you think it looks suspicious, you don't have to worry while eating it.
-A secret admirer"
A delicate cherry hue appeared under her long eyelashes, a feeling of flutter taking over her senses. Who could be that mysterious secret admirer? By the note they left behind, it reads like they weren't a club member, or someone she was close to.
The door of the club opened in a swift movement, Tome's mind came back to reality as few familiar faces came to view. Her face described bewilderment as her thoughts were still bothering her functionally, the small pink letter in one hand and the chocolate cupcake in the other.
"Is everything alright, Tome-senpai?" Mameta asked in a worried tone, it was rare to see his president so deep in thought.
"I... I have a secret admirer." Her blush deepened in color, turning crimson. She was still perplexed by the discovery, her heart clenched in its cage, her mind felt dizzy by the comfortable feeling; she was completely out of herself by this new sensation.
"Oh! That's awesome!" Haruto, another member, exclaimed with joy. "I knew someone would be head over heels of you, Tome-chan."
A proud smile now adorned her burning face, she felt honored to have someone finally admiring her to who she was. Her emotions took advantage of her senses and she stuffed the chocolate backed good right in her mouth, creamy icing now covering her smiling lips and porcelain cheeks.
"I am going to find this secret admirer! And nobody can tell me otherwise!" Tome shined in pure bliss, her right arm pointing at the ceiling of the room. The members of the club started to clap to her eagerness, knowing how determined Tome can be.
The Body Improvement club members entered the room at the end of her small speech, their expression showed surprise and confusion by the ongoing situation.
"And you!" She pointed to the smallest boy of the opposite club. "You'll help me find them!"
"-W-what, me? And who?" Shigeo queried while pointing to himself, his voice shaking and stuttering from the sudden attention.
"Yes, you Mob! You will help me find my secret admirer with your powers! And by will, I mean right now!" She shouted before she took the frail arm of Shigeo in hers, starting to run through the main and empty corridor, overexcited by the new mystery she has to solve.
"T-Tome-chan! No, not so f-fast!" The young boy complained, already feeling drained by the run which only started, to his displeasure. With a grin from ear to ear, she turned to him and exclaimed:
"-There is no time to slow down!
-W-well, maybe you'll need some time to clean your face..."
-
The next day, Tome was even more strong-willed to find the person behind the cherry blossom pink letter. She investigated every corner of Salt Middle School with Shigeo on her side to find evidences, but it was revealed to be futile: no pink pages notebook hidden in a locker or a scrambled up paper with writing of a letter.
With her ongoing optimistic attitude, Tome decided to go to her club room earlier than normal to see if the mysterious person came back to give another delicious cake of any sort. On her way, she caught the sight of an unknown student fumbling around with their hands, looking at the baby blue sky outside with nervousness written all over their face. With slight consideration of their situation, the young girl slowly tottered towards them.
"Hey, is everything alright?" She asked unsure, a frown forming on her past reassured look.
A faint and timid yelp escaped the trembling lips of the younger student, their eyes round after being startled by the President of the Telepathy club herself. A shameful blush dusted the soft face of the middle school student, their (e/c) orbs carefully looking away from the Club's President perplexed stare.
"I'm, I am okay Tome-senpai. Thank you for asking..." An innocent smile formed across their burning cheeks, the warm sensation of being special gently scattered through them. The older student's concern of their feeling was something incredibly delightful.
"You know my name?" Tome suddenly questioned, wondering if she heard them right. "I wouldn't have thought that some younger students would know me, what's your name?" Her finger rubbed her chin, wondering about the revelation. Has she done something recently to be known by students she never saw before? The younger teen was cute if she was honest, so she wasn't bothered by the thought that much.
"U-um, my name is (Y-Y/n)..." They nervously whispered, turning their head to hide the cardinal red blush from the black iris of the older girl. Trembling from stress, they started to walk off the scene.
" I'm- I'm sorry Tome-senpai, but I need tO GO RIGHT NOW!" The second grader ran off the corridor after shouting their last words, completely flustered by their position. Tome watched (Y/n) sprinting out of the empty corridor to the next exit.
"Don't run in the hall! Or you will get caught..." Her voice drained as the timid student was out of sight.
She lets out a deep sigh while deliberating the encounter in her head once again; it was the first time she saw them around school, such a shy and polite student she just meet. She won't lie, they were incredibly cute, and their uniform suited them so nicely, almost perfectly... She violently shook her head, 'don't think like that! They are younger than you, Tome!' The girl scolded to herself, trying to calm her troubling mind. With clear footsteps and thoughts, she made her way to the initial destination of her research; the Telepathy club's room.
She opened the sidling door, a smile returning to her past serious and puzzled self just by thinking of the other day. Yet, the cheerful expression soon faded to one which left her open-mouthed in surprise: another small cupcake was waiting for her on the club's table.