Work Text:
Today’s the day, I thought. Today’s the day I get a girlfriend.
ᆫMission acquiredᄀ
I look up at the ceiling, searching for the spark of determination that will help guide me through this treacherous mission. I took a deep breath and opened my front door. A whole plethora of leaves and debris blast through me as I shield myself with both of my arms. I stood there shocked, irritated, confused, stupid.
I brushed myself off and peered over the pile of leaves that now live on my front door. I can’t believe it. What are those two doing here!?
Far out in the distance, I see Hidenori and Yoshitake. Hidenori held a leaf blower that was on full power. I can barely hear anything if that thing is on. On the other hand, Yoshitake had a rake. Which I wouldn't entrust him with it.
“It seems like he’s awake now.”
“Did we wake him up?
I rub my eyes, which were irritated and itchy caused by all the dust and dirt blown my way. Hidenori flailed his arms around like a maniac to keep my attention.
“Tadakuni kun! We decided while you were asleep, we should help you clean up! We can’t help but realize you are a slob!”
Hidenori calling me a slob was the last thing I wanted to hear. My house is perfectly clean and tidy.
“Why are you even here!?” I yell back.
“I can’t hear you! What did you say!?” He shouted with his hands cupped to his ear, like that’ll help.
This guy is unbelievable, “Just come closer!” I shout back waving my hands at them.
If any of this continued, my throat and lungs would have died. Both of them dropped their things onto the floor, then slumped both of their shoulders and slowly trudged to me. They glared at each other exasperatedly and sighed. Yoshitake furrowed his eyebrows then placed his hands on his hips. “You should be grateful you have friends like us Tadakuni. We were even nice enough to clean your lawn for you.”
I chuckled a little. To me that sounded more like a joke.
I patted him on the back. “Aha! Thank you, Yoshitake, Hidenori, for making more of a mess inside my house!"
Yoshitake widened his eyes, then bowed awkwardly. "Um, your welcome."
I cringe at the sight, is he serious?
"That was sarcasm! You really think I'm thanking you?!"
He crosses his arms as he closes his eyes. “It’s the thought that counts, Tadakuni kun.”
Hidenori steps in between us before I strangle the blondie. “Yoshitake, this is not what we came here for.”
“Then what are you-” Hidenori cuts me off by handing me a small folded pink piece of paper. I unfold it and it reads, Pet Cafe! New grand opening at Sanada st. on March 12! Everyone is welcome! Opens 7am-8pm & closes on Saturday. Cel: not-real-number (Not a real number.)
My first thought is, this is the chance where I can finally find a girl! My second thought is, where did they find this?
"Hidenori, how did you get this?"
"I was given a similar looking paper by Ringo-chan, but a gust of wind blew it away. I trailed it by watching the pink paper soar through the air. At the end, I ended up in an alley where a pink piece of paper laid on the ground. I thought I had finally found it, but it was this instead."
Curious, I ask, "What did Ringo-chan give you?" He tapped his glasses and answered, "I think it was a flyer about a festival that is organized at their school."
"Hey, let's not lose focus."
Yoshitake breaks the off topic conversation and continues, "It's 7:34, the grand opening is today. Are you coming or not?"
Hidenori and I stare at each other and nod. We ran after Yoshitake, step after step with a full pledged goal to find a girl.
We arrive 15 minutes later, due to various breaks and distractions. Exhausted and breathless, we flung the door to the cafe wide open and collapse on a table.
I slam my hand on the table countertop. "I haven't ran like that in years."
Sweat was dripping off my nose and onto the table. Yoshitake and Hidenori didn't look so good either. Their faces were bright red with buckets of sweat trickling down them. The small breeze from the air conditioner cools my face, which helped me breathe for the first time in forever.
One of the employees sauntered over to us. With the overly noisy panting, it's hard to ignore.
An auburn haired girl stood in front of us, with her hand equipped with a pen and notepad. "Um, h-how may I help you?"
"Uhhhhhh-" is all we can say dazed off at the moment.
"Sir, are you here to order or?" She flicked her pen back and forth nervously.
"We would like to order… Lobster Risotto-" I answer impulsively.
The worker blinked, then stepped closer. "I'm sorry, what?"
I mouthed slowly, while also pointing at non-existent letters in the air. "Lob-ster Ri-so-tto."
She raised an eyebrow, which was accompanied by a muddled look on her face. "Sir, this is a cafe. We don't have that."
I glare at her intensely, she stared back for a while and turned her eyes away. She stuttered, "Um, a-anyways, I will be back if you need anything."
She turned to leave and trotted over to other customers asking for help. I thought to myself, Why did I say that? I guess my mouth has a mind of its own.
I feel a light tap on my shoulder, which turned out to be Hidenori.
"We should go look around. There may be some girls around here…" He directs his head over to a glass door on the other side of the cafe which had a sign labeled, "Pet room."
"That might be the hot spot." Yoshitake grinned. I try to peer through the glass, but it was too far.
"Well, we should try and take a look, huh?" I stood up swiftly then bolted for the door. I hear muffled footsteps behind me, which I'm assuming is Yoshitake and Hidenori.
Now in front of the pet room, I take a deep breath. I slowly opened the door and a strong musky scent swept around me. With my head up high, I parade into the room while inspecting possible girls I could talk to.
Hidenori and Yoshitake follow behind me, but soon separated on their own to see if they could possibly find someone before me.
All around me were cats and dogs of all breeds and sizes. As I marvel at the tiny creatures around me, I stumble backwards imbalanced. My back nudges against something soft.
I stiffen up to the light touch of whatever was behind me. I stepped forward and turned to face the mysterious being.
Standing before me was a petite girl wearing a light green cardigan with a small white cravat. Her long wavy hair goes down to her upper leg, colored coral brown.
"Sorry!" I managed to squeak. With downcast eyes, I feel a rush of embarrassment fill my chest. "No, it's okay," she smiled. "It was just an accident."
Man, how did this happen? I thought to myself. Maybe this was a bad idea. Should I talk to her or something? This is awkward. "The weather is nice today."
"Oh, yeah, it is." She responded quietly. She shuffled her feet which positioned herself away from me a bit. At this point, I think I've already lost my chance. A pause of silence arose until I feel a small vibration in my pocket.
A notification popped up. It was a text from Hidenori. It read, Tadakuni kun, we've found you. :) What the heck? What does he mean by that? I look up to check if the girl is still there. She was still standing there with an awkward smile on her face, maybe she's expecting something.
I lowered my phone and replied back, What do you want, creep? I put my phone back into my pocket, but a notification popped up as soon as I did. Ohhh, I just wanna give advice ya know? I mean this is the first time you'll ever talk to a girl. So I want to give some tips for you. :D
That emoji scares me in a way. I reply with, You hardly have any experience. His immediate response was, Fine, but I'll leave some advice if you're feeling desperate. Advice #1: Ask for name. Advice #2: Tell her you're looking for a girlfriend. Advice #3: Start flexing your arms and stretch your legs (you’ll appear manly). Advice #4: Make a move. I'll be watching you.
Should I listen to him? I'm a bit desperate, but his list of advice doesn't seem that promising. It's better than nothing I guess. I stepped toward the girl, my palms are sweaty and my hand is shaking. "So, uh, what's your name?"
Her eyes widen a little, I think it was out of the blue. She regained her posture and continued, "Well, it's Maka Hozumi."
Her eyes looked away for a second and glanced at mine. "Oh, my name's Tadakuni (last name unknown.)"
I lifted my hand and scratched the back of my neck, "So, what are you doing here?" Her face seemed to light up a little. I think that was the one time I asked a good question. “Oh, I have a dog so I thought I could bring him here. His name is Piko, a Pomeranian. Hey, look, there he is!”
There was a small, golden, living stuffed animal pawing at me. He was so small that I think I could actually crush him without realizing it. Good thing she pointed him out for me. I ignored the little puppy and turned back to Maka, but it's pawing slowly escalated to hard scratching. It kinda hurts, but I tried to endure it for a while.
I decided to tell her about her dog before my ankle gets detached. “Um, Maka, your do - GYAAAAH!” Small sharp teeth dig into my skin. Maka’s eyes widen when she looks down at the horror before her. “Piko! Stop!” She slides her hand beneath Piko’s belly and lifts him close to her chest. She steps away, flustered with her downcast laden head. She stutters, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah.” Looking down at my ankle, I thought to myself that this may be a horror movie. Might as well be called, “Dogzilla,” or something.
Bright red blood escapes my ankle and falls to the floor. Maka left to go to the front counter to ask for tissues and bandages, if they have any. At the moment, I’m sitting here pathetically, waiting for help.
A few minutes later, Maka shows up with a roll of bandaging. She crouches down then takes my ankle and wraps it with bandaging. At first, I never thought a small dog could do this much damage to me.
“Are you okay?” She asks while still applying bandaging to my ankle. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s not like he killed me or anything.”
“Well, it’s still not okay. He doesn’t usually act like this…” Her voice fades a little while she speaks. “I don’t know why he would do that to you.” I thought to myself, Maybe he just really hates me, that is a big possibility. “I’m afraid I have to leave you after this, I have work today and I can’t afford to cut time.” I reassure her by telling her that it’s really okay and I’ll do fine on my own.
“There, it’s done!” She gently sets down my ankle and stands up instantly. “Oh, uh, thank you.” I managed to get up, though my left ankle is practically limping. “No problem. See you some other day!” She picks up Piko and swings her purse around her shoulder then waves at me before she leaves.
I let out a sigh of relief, yet my heart is still beating so fast. Honestly, I never thought that that kind of scenario would play out here. I don’t know whether to be proud that I got close to a girl because of that.
While I contemplate to myself, someone nudges my back from behind.
“Huh?”
“Tadakuni!” Yoshitake lunges at me and my ankle stumbles. “ Hey, stop! That hurts!” He looks down at my feet and sees my bandaged ankle. In his eyes reflected a somber and pitiful expression, looking like he wanted to ask something. “So that’s what the dog did to him…”
A head of a brown haired boy stood out of the crowd behind Yoshitake. “Indeed, that is what happens if you don’t follow my advice.” I just wanted to wipe that smug face off of Hidenori.
“What kind of advice is that? I’m pretty sure you didn’t text me advice that includes how to deal with a dog biting your ankle!” He lowers his glasses, which caused them to glare at me. “Your situation was too far-fetched and unlikely. If you were me, I would think that you couldn’t possibly know what would happen, dumb dog.”
I don’t know what pushed me to be friends with these guys. Maybe it’s because I’m lonely and they are lonely too, who knows.
ᆫMission failedᄀ
Try again?
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