Work Text:
yashiro didn’t even know what she was supposed to think anymore. she was so done with hanako-kun refusing to even let her near another guy.
let’s get something clear here. hanako-kun is absolutely not her type. he’s rude, he’s a pain, he’s bratty, he’s irritating, he’s pervy, and he doesn’t talk about himself. yashiro absolutely does not like him in that way; the notion is laughable. (and okay, just because hanako-kun’s eyes are a beautiful amber, and his hair is dark and tousled, and his features are simply lovely to look at, and he looks comically tall next by her side, and when his arms are around her, she feels warm...none of these things mean she likes him.)
yashiro may have a history of falling in love with the wrong guys, with one thing in common: they’re all exceptionally beautiful. but never has she been truly enamoured with a boy who has a terrible personality. and frankly, hanako-kun is the type she wouldn’t date, because he’s too loud yet too quiet, too controlling, he babies her too much, and he makes her do his dirty work. (plus he’s kind of dead.)
and even after knowing perfectly well that yashiro would never even glance in his direction, he still protects her purity like he was her own boyfriend. yashiro doesn’t touch other boys, because if they come too close, suddenly hanako-kun is in between them, glaring daggers at the unsuspecting male of the day.
and like, what the hell, hanako-kun? yashiro finds it hard enough to find a boyfriend; if her chances were low before, hanako-kun has completely destroyed them now.
and yet...suddenly, she can’t think of a scenario where she’d want to date Just Some Handsome Guy. she looks around, and can’t find a boy she likes. everything has changed, and she wishes she was joking.
yeah, hanako-kun is possessive, he’s jealous, he gets unnecessarily angry, and he’s too soft on her. so then why does he not see? it’s so blindly obvious that yashiro likes him.
fine. she admits it. it’s whatever.
...no, it isn’t. hanako isn’t stupid; yashiro knows this. so why hasn’t he...done anything? he must know. even she knows it’s painful to watch any longer. but hanako-kun hardly shows any kind of reaction. it’s like her stupid goddamn feelings are being completely ignored. the only time he acknowledges her in this way is when she’s in danger or when there’s a boy too near. what the hell is she supposed to do?
— — —
“hanako-kun!!” yashiro is so happy to see him that she can’t be bothered to be embarrassed by it anymore.
a week has passed since they escaped shijima-san’s fake world (lovely as it was). yashiro is always so relieved to be seeing the real deal that she can hardly conceal her happiness.
hanako turns and smiles, but it doesn’t last long; he’s bumped backwards by her as she jumps to grab onto him.
“huh? did you miss me, yashiro?” he grins gleefully.
“i’m so happy to be back in the real world!” yashiro babbles by way of explanation.
neither of them speak the words they’re both thinking. they don’t mention her life span, because it’s not important. of course it’s important, but it’s not something either of them can change. and yashiro wants to enjoy her life.
“really,” hanako musingly pats her head before kou bursts into the bathroom with mitsuba, the latter of which is blushing and grumbling and protesting. what a scene.
yashiro is happy to see them too, though she can’t say she’s not disappointed that she couldn’t have stayed alone with hanako-kun for a little while longer.
but mitsuba’s complaining that kou is treating him too roughly and he doesn’t even want to be here, all the while not looking actually upset in the slightest, and kou is like a puppy dog, not budging from his side, as if wanting to show him off, and hanako isn’t even paying attention to them, suddenly too absorbed in his game with the mokke. still, yashiro finds them absolutely adorable. so cute that for a moment she forgets about him. until all she can think is that she wishes hanako were like that with her, and it makes her a little bittersweet.
she has to enjoy her life, after all.
— — —
“hanako-kun!” yashiro calls, practically bounding towards the girls’ bathroom excitedly. she’s had an oddly good day today, and she feels almost (almost) blessed, because it seems ever since finding out about her lifespan, it’s like she’s choosing to let go of her worries because she simply doesn’t have the time. all she has time for is—well. she just wants to be close to him. she hates this stupid crush, but it always makes her smile.
“hey, yashiro,” he greets her, weirdly docile as she latches onto his arm. hanako pats her head quickly and floats away. yashiro is dragged along with him. she’s still holding on, not planning on letting go. his arm is solid and warm and strong and real.
“where are you going?” she pouts.
“i have a meeting with the mysteries,” he explains, “but i should be back in about half an hour.
yashiro blinks. “okay.”
there’s a little silence.
“yashiro.”
“yup?” she sings.
“you’re gonna have to...let go...”
“huh? but...” yashiro knew he’d probably ask her to, but she didn’t want to. she didn’t want to let go just yet. she didn’t want to be alone.
“listen,” hanako shifted uncomfortably, cheeks pinking, “you can go home early or something...but i’ve got to go, or i’ll be late,”
yashiro frowned. “go home?”
“yeah, you can leave once i get back, but it’s actually kind of important this time, so—“
“i...” she’d have to clean without him there. and then once he finally returned, she’d leave. “i don’t want to do that.”
“you want to...work more?” hanako stared into her eyes for the first time that day, confused.
“no!” yashiro stuck her tongue out, “i just wanted to spend some time with you,”
“you...really?” hanako asked, looking suddenly so innocent and flustered at such a simple statement.
she loved it. she loved how he remained unfazed in the face of death, but came undone at such silly things.
“yeah...” yashiro’s face flushed. who knew, maybe he’d finally get the hint.
“then maybe, once i get back, we can do something else together,” hanako proposed somewhat shyly, filling yashiro with warm hope, “because we’re friends, too.”
oh.
she staggered, letting go of him. that was somehow...a harder blow than she’d expected.
“okay, see you in a while!” hanako called, taking his opportunity and rushing away.
yashiro frowned. the bitter feeling in her chest stayed there while she scrubbed and cleaned. hanako came back to an underwhelming greeting.
“yashiro, what’s wrong?”
“i...” she couldn’t even voice her worry. it felt so stupid. all yashiro wanted was for him to see her as a girl. and here he was, a spirit from a whole different time, so detached and mysterious. and here she was, really thinking she would have a chance with him.
even though hanako-kun wasn’t her type at all, and he was insensitive and crude. he was also not that tall. he wasn’t her type at all, yet here she was, wishing he loved her the way she loved him.
"nothing."
— — —
“so that’s the plan, kou-kun. what do you think?” yashiro stared at him earnestly. she couldn't give up just yet.
kou scratched his head, and glanced at mitsuba, who was idly fiddling with his hair a couple of feet away from them, clearly disinterested in the conversation.
“so...you want to pretend you like me, senpai, to make hanako jealous.” kou reiterates in case he’s at a loss.
yashiro gives a serious nod. “yup.”
kou doesn’t know what to say. yeah, he used to like her, but she had never been interested. he knew that. it was suspicious. plus...now there was mitsuba. they weren’t something defined, but it would feel weird to go along with her plan.
as if reading his mind, mitsuba latched onto his arm playfully. “i think it’ll be funny, minamoto-kun,” he smiled so sweetly that kou was at a loss once again.
“o-okay,” he said dumbly, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from mitsuba, “i’ll help you, senpai!”
besides, if it was for yashiro-senpai, he could do it. maybe he didn’t have a crush on her or anything anymore, but he still loved her like family. he could do this much, even though her request sounded distinctly sketchy.
— — —
it would be perfect. she’d act all lovey dovey with kou-kun, and hanako-kun would get all jealous and mopey.
they would touch, and he would separate them, and yashiro wouldn’t let him. it would be perfect. she’d see his reaction. she’d see if maybe he liked her like she liked him. (painfully so. just look at what it’s doing to her.) and maybe he'd even be so jealous that he'd...confess his feeling...
yashiro walked into a door. wow, she needed to get her mind out of the gutter. it's not like he returned her feelings, anyway! the chance was slim to none. but, it was still there, right? maybe she'd get ignored, but at this point, she was willing to try pretty much anything.
so when yashiro walked into the girls’ bathroom holding onto kou-kun for her dear life, she was practically beaming, buzzing with anticipation. the moment hanako-kun turned, she could tell his eyes were zeroing in on their point of contact.
yashiro waited with baited breath, but he said...nothing. she couldn’t read the expression on his face.
nobody spoke for a good minute.
“hey, hanako,” kou-kun finally said, looking too innocent for words. yashiro felt bad for forcing him to be her accomplice, but it was only for one afternoon, right?
hanako-kun gave him a look, and said nothing.
“hanako-kun...” yashiro said, confused, “um, then, shall i get started?”
“yeah,” hanako-kun smiled brightly.
now yashiro was even more confused. at least he was still staring at the way she clung to kou-kun, but...this was even more confusing than usual. she could never tell what he was thinking.
so yashiro pushed it from her mind, deciding to focus on cleaning for a while. that is, until she remembered what she was actually supposed to be doing.
“heeey, kou-kun,” she sang, “will you help me reach this spot?”
hanako’s eyes flicked to her for a moment. he was taller than kou.
“of course, senpai!” kou said, ever the reliable friend.
yashiro giggled more than necessary. “oh, that reminds me! we’re still going out tonight, right?”
kou flashed her a confused expression for a moment, but evidently decided to just go with it. “um, yup, we are!”
“to the movies!” yashiro elaborated, improvising.
they beamed at each other. was hanako watching? she hoped hanako was watching.
“senpai, you have a little something there...” kou-kun murmured, leaning into her to brush a speck of dust from her cheek.
blushing, yashiro had to admit that he was pretty good at this whole thing.
but he was moving closer. he wasn’t stopping. clearly, he was counting on hanako separating them at last moment again. but the closer he came, the less likely it seemed that hanako was going to intervene.
now millimetres away from her mouth, kou was panicking with his eyes. yashiro was getting frustrated. they were moving as if in actual slow motion, giving hanako more than enough time, yet nothing was happening. she couldn’t do this. hanako-kun was...
“hanako-kun...you...you‘re the worst! ugh!” yashiro cried after pushing kou lightly away and spinning to look at the offending ghost.
hanako’s face was bitter when she made eye contact with him for that split second. but then she was turning and running out of the old girls’ bathroom before she knew where her feet were carrying her.
this wasn’t fair. it wasn’t how it was supposed to go. hanako-kun was supposed to stop them! he was supposed to tell yashiro that he never wanted another guy to touch her, because she was his! but instead, he hadn’t even cared enough to speak to her. he didn’t love her. he didn’t even like her.
yashiro had never felt so insecure in her life, and that was saying something big.
she sat crouched in the school’s garden club, in her favourite vegetable patch. it was pretty at this time of the year; the veggies were still flowering. but she couldn’t care less. the sun was low, bathing the grounds in an orange glow. but she wished she were anywhere else but here, because she was so, so embarrassed.
what was she even thinking? did she truly believe hanako-kun would be bothered? he didn’t care! he was the seventh school mystery, he had so much more to think about than a stupid mortal girl like her! she would never be anything more to him than a lame, boring assistant with fat radish ankles—
“yashiro.”
she trembled, because she knew that voice.
“what the hell do you think you’re doing, huh?”
footsteps. he was coming closer, just great. here she was, in tears, looking absolutely ridiculous, and he was right there.
“trying to make me jealous like that?”
his voice was so loud. right behind. he was right behind her. she could feel the hot breath on her neck. it made her shiver. yashiro hated how nice it made her feel.
crunching. the dry ground between the patches crunched under his foot as he made his way to her. they were face to face when he crouched down to look her in the eye.
“what did you want me to do? hmm, yashiro?” hanako-kun crooned.
yashiro let out an involuntary whimper. he was kind of scary like this, but she liked it. she liked him, and he didn’t like her back. she couldn’t say anything. she couldn’t look him in the eye. he didn’t seem to mind.
“you’re so silly,” hanako said, tilting her chin upwards so she was forced to meet his eyes. “so unbelievably silly.” she heard the way he was gritting his teeth.
“i-i thought you actually liked him, yashiro. i thought his tireless puppy crush finally got to you. i thought you were happy.” hanako-kun’s eyes were bitter again. “you know i fucking hate it when other guys touch you like that, don’t you.”
yashiro gave a shaky nod. she didn’t know what he was going to do next. she didn’t know if she wanted to know. but—
"you're so dense, hanako-kun..." she couldn't help what slipped out. yet he didn't see her feelings for him, or even kou's feelings for mistuba. it was almost unbelievable to imagine how disinterested one has to be to look past this.
“you were trying to make me jealous.” he ignored her words with a little eye roll and the ghost of a smile.
she nodded again.
“why?”
hanako was looking at her still, but now, he was a whole different person. his face wasn’t cold, bitter, or leering. it was open, contorted, confused, insecure. as if he genuinely didn’t know why.
“because.” yashiro drew a breath. this was her big moment. she was disappointed; this day had gone nothing like she’d planned. “hanako-kun is mean, rude, pervy, annoying, bossy, possessive,” she could him pouting, which always made her smile, “and kind of a pain. you’re the worst.” she stuck her tongue out at him. hanako scowled.
“you don’t talk about yourself, and you’re kind of insensitive, and you make me clean toilets. you don’t treat me gently at all, and to be honest you’re not my type at all—“ on seeing his face, she cut herself off, swallowing a giggle. damn him for making her feel better.
“never mind. what i’m trying to say is," yashiro whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. (she was definitely going to die like this. die of embarrassment. and wow, she needed help because apparently she could not stop talking anymore.) “you’re the worst, hanako-kun, because you made me like you so much.”
hanako started at her, speechless.
“i didn’t expect you to say that.”
yashiro goggled disbelievingly. “but it was so obvious!”
hanako scratched the back of his head, “well, i kinda thought you were messing with me or something...i never thought you’d be this serious,”
yashiro fumed, “well—sorry for messing with you!”
“no, sorry, it’s my fault,” hanako mumbled, suddenly completely subdued. she couldn’t even meet his eyes.
“i guess it feels weird how relieved i am, is all,” he continued.
“wait, what?” yashiro’s head snapped up suddenly.
“did you really think i didn’t like you back, yashiro?” hanako almost laughed.
yashiro flushed indignantly. “in my defence, i have zero experience with romance!” she didn’t even care that she was embarrassing herself at this point. nothing could be worse than the things she’d just said a couple of minutes ago, after all.
“that’s true,” said hanako, cupping her cheek, “so i guess i have to spell it out for you.”
it was unpredictably romantic, yashiro thought, as he leaned in, obscuring the pink and orange rays, touching his lips to hers.
she’d always dreamed of a fairytale kiss with a handsome prince, or someone close enough, anyway. this was far from that, but it was kind of better.
the gentle spring breeze tickled the back of her neck. she couldn’t think. she couldn’t breathe. hanako was so warm and right against her, trying so damn hard to be respectful of her. in fact, he was pulling back before she was even really aware of what happened.
“i love you, yashiro,” he said simply, but she could tell he was only acting unbothered for her sake. he wanted her to have that perfect romance, but he was shaking on the inside.
she felt a burst of affection. “i love you too,”
“yeah, i know,” hanako smiled.
yashiro whacked him.
“well, it’s true!” hanako defended.
yashiro couldn’t find something to say back, so she pulled him closer by his jacket, savouring the flustered face he made for a split second before he was back to normal.
“yashiro, you actually like me, don’t you,” he murmured, a millimetre from her mouth.
“of course i do,” she rolled her eyes, “i do.”
hanako kissed her again then, with—let’s just say—more enthusiasm than last time, knocking her backwards onto the ground.
“hanako-kun!” she protested, but she was laughing a little.
“just...you should call me amane,” he said, suddenly hovering above her.
“okay, amane,” yashiro breathed, and couldn’t stop him from squeezing her to his chest.
“you must miss being called by your real name,” she thought aloud.
“yeah, well, this is a secret, but it’s special coming from you,” he whispered.
yashiro wondered how he had transformed from the sadistic hanako to the soft amane in five minutes, but she wasn’t going to complain. how could she, when he only did it for her?
"can i tell you another secret, yashiro?" hanako asked, looming above her, blocking the sun from her view.
"o-okay," yashiro stammered. wow, he was close all of a sudden.
"it's kind of unexpected coming from me," he began, and yashiro's heart skipped a beat, "but i'm actually...really dense."
there was a moment of pin drop silence before yashiro whacked him over the head.