Chapter Text
Standing outside the quiet coffee shop she had promised to be at, Mukuro stares out at the opposite side of the street, a little nervous.
Shirogane wasn’t here yet.
In all fairness, Mukuro had gotten here a little early, but she’d been here for a little while. She looks at her phone. It was five minutes after the agreed time. Maybe she changed her mind? She checks her messages, but there weren’t any new notifications from her.
She didn’t know Shirogane very well. This was pretty much their first time formally meeting after all, so maybe she was the type to leave Mukuro waiting for a while? Which was okay, of course. The soldier’s time is expendable, it’s just nice to know. Meeting new people was always a lot of trial and error before you could understand them well enough to act properly around them.
It was the cosplayer’s idea to meet up here, so Mukuro was inclined to wait. If it took too much longer, she might bite the bullet and send her a message, but she didn’t think five minutes justified that. Maybe if it got to a half hour, then it would be reasonable. The last thing she wanted to do was appear pushy or rude, especially when the other girl was going out of her way to get to know her better like this.
...Why did the other girl want to get to know her better anyways? Junko had volunteered Mukuro as a model for Shirogane’s cosplays for her own amusement, that she understood. But surprisingly enough, the cosplayer told her she wanted to meet up beforehand to talk about it. But what was there to talk about? She just wanted Mukuro to put on outfits, right? It didn’t really get deeper than that.
So why did she want to talk at a coffee shop first?
It’s not that she minded that much, it was much preferable to somewhere more crowded. It was just odd to her, why would anyone willingly spend more time with her than they had to? She wasn’t interesting, and she wasn’t very adept at holding up conversation either. Maybe Shirogane had deeper intentions, but she didn’t really know what those could be.
Before she can think any further on this, she hears her name being called out from the left, fast footsteps steadily approaching.
“Ikusaba-san!”
She turns quickly, looking at the source of the interjection. And of course there was Shirogane, rushing up with one arm raised in a wave. Her outfit stood out to Mukuro a little bit, a button up shirt tucked into a floral skirt. It was really cute, and makes the soldier wonder if she should have put on something nicer than jeans and a sweatshirt.
But maybe attire shouldn’t be what she focuses on right now, considering she was currently being addressed.
“Hello Shirogane.” She replies blandly, moving her gaze back up to the other girl’s face.
“I’m so sorry for being late! I’d hate to make you wait for someone as plain as me.” Shirogane apologizes, genuinely looking upset by the whole thing.
“It’s really fine, I don’t mind waiting.” Mukuro assures. It strikes her odd that the other girl would call herself plain when in the presence of her of all people, but maybe it was a joke or something. “I really don’t think you’re plain though.”
“That’s so sweet of you Ikusaba-san!” Shirogane responds cheerfully, seeming to get over her distress pretty quickly. “But there’s no need to flatter me! It’s quite clear I’m very plain, It’s just how I am.” She insists, clearly keen on keeping that descriptor for herself.
Well, Mukuro certainly isn’t going to argue with her. “Um, alright. Sorry.” She’s not really sure what to say to the ‘sweet’ comment, so she decides to brush past it for now.
“It’s fine! Anyways, let’s get going. We can chat more once we’re inside!” Shirogane’s back to being chipper, looping her arm through Mukuro’s to link them and pulling her inside.
Mukuro doesn’t really know what to do with her arm. She didn’t exactly expect the taller girl to want to make contact. Not that it was a bad thing, it was kind of nice. But that didn’t make it any less awkward.
She lets the taller girl lead her into the establishment, there’s a few people there, but overall the coffee shop was pretty empty. A bonus, that just made it a little bit less stressful to be in. Nothing was as bothersome as trying to do things in a crowded place. In her opinion, at least.
They don’t stay at the entrance for long, as soon as the doors close behind them Mukuro finds herself being dragged to a nearby booth, before Shirogane lets go and takes a seat. After a moment of contemplation, the soldier takes a seat on the opposite side. That way they have a little space, and it’s easy to make eye contact while they talk. She certainly doesn’t want to look like she’s not paying attention.
They’ve barely just sat down before Shirogane is initiating conversation again. Not that it’s a bad thing, but it’s impressive how easily she’s able to keep dialogue running.
“So, do you like tea or coffee more?” The cosplayer asks, eyes lighting up with curiosity, looking a little too eager for an answer to a question that doesn’t seem that important. To the soldier, at least.
Even odder that she asks that while they’re in a coffee shop, the answer would make itself apparent as soon as she ordered something. Oddities aside though, the answer is pretty easy.
“I prefer tea.” Mukuro says without missing a beat. She personally finds coffee unappetizing, if she really needed the caffeine she’d rather get it from pretty much any other type of caffeinated beverage. “How about you?”
Shirogane grins, seemingly delighted from this new piece of information. “I prefer tea too!” She pauses for a moment as if contemplating her response, before prattling on. “It’s just so much nicer, and way more aesthetically pleasing! Nothing beats a nice warm cup of tea on a rainy day.”
For some reason Mukuro feels like that’s a lie, but she can’t really place why. Something about the response felt scripted. But who is she to decide what’s the truth or not, especially with someone she’s just met. And besides, even if she was lying about it, who cares. It was just drink preferences.
“...Yeah, I know what you mean. It can be a nice thing to have when you’re winding down from a long day.” The soldier finally responds with a nod. The other girl was certainly able to articulate the nice parts of tea pretty well.
“Exactly!” The taller girl agrees, looking rather pleased. She looks like she’s about to say more, but before she has a chance a waitress takes the moment to ask for their orders.
Shirogane cheerfully orders ginger tea for herself. Mukuro on the other hand, asks for what she always opts for; green tea. She was nothing if not predictable.
The soldier does take the time to make a mental note of the other girl’s preference though, you never knew when that kind of information came in handy.
When the waitress leaves, there’s a brief moment of awkward silence before Shirogane dives in to break it again. “So, I should cut to the chase shouldn’t I?” She asks, looking at Mukuro expectantly.
The...chase? Mukuro doesn’t really know what she means by that, and she’s not really sure if she should ask. The best course of action would probably just to go along with it and see where it goes, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Well, she had a few ideas, but she wasn’t going to dwell on them. “If you’d like to.”
“Of course! So what I wanna ask is...What’s your favorite anime! Since you’ve agreed to model my cosplays and all, you must be a fan of anime too, right?” The cosplayer asks, holding her hands together and leaning forward, looking rather excited at the prospect. “You seem like the Shonen type, but maybe that’s a ploy right? You’d never expect someone as stoic and composed as you to be into something like Magical girls!”
Ah. Mukuro probably should have seen this question coming and prepared for it, but that’s hindsight. She’s in the present, and she has no idea what the majority of that meant. And she’s not exactly in the place where she can run off and do some googling to try and pull a convincing lie. She wasn’t the type to lie anyways, even if the opportunity did present itself.
“Uhm...well, about that.” Mukuro stalls for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase it. She didn’t want the other girl to get mad, that could be pretty detrimental. “I-”
“Oh, don’t tell me, is it Ecchi?” Shirogane interrupts, looking playfully scandalized. “I never would have guessed someone like you would be into anime like that, but I think it’s kind of charming! Quite the juxtaposition, don’t you think?”
She doesn’t know what that means. “Erm, no. That’s not it either…” Mukuro trails off, she still hasn’t come up with a palatable explanation. “You see...the truth is, I don’t even think I’ve ever seen one before.” Her gaze flicks to the side for a moment, but she doesn’t let it linger for long, lest the other girl think she’s pulling her leg or something. A deeper misunderstanding would be really inconvenient right now. “I’m sorry.”
Shirogane looks rather surprised, but she doesn’t look mad. After a moment of stunned silence, she nods sagely. “Ah, I understand, you’re just nervous! It’s okay, you don’t have to hide anything from me. I’ve seen pretty much everything under the sun, so I’m in no position to make fun of you, even if it’s something that most people would consider silly!” She leans even closer now, her elbows on the table. “Sooo...What is it?” She presses once more.
Mukuro is mildly distressed by this predicament. She wasn’t lying! She didn’t know what anime was! All she knew is that it was animation, but she’d never seen one. She’s almost frustrated, but the confusion she feels is stronger. Why was this girl so strongly convinced that she watched anime? Before she can attempt to voice her thoughts, the blue-haired girl fills the silence.
“Aw, I’m sorry was that weird? I was just messing with you!” Shirogane apologises, instantly moving back and looking mildly upset. “Maybe I shouldn’t have taken the joke so far…”
What…? Mukuro didn’t really follow. “I’m sorry, but what joke?” She asks, puzzled. She didn’t really see any part of that conversation that could be considered humorous.
Shirogane’s expression flicks to mischievous. “Well, it’s pretty obvious you’ve never seen anime before, if not from the type of person you present yourself as, it was clear from the confused look on your cute little face!” She sighs wistfully. “It’s pretty plain to see that you’re a total normie, you might’ve fooled someone else, but I’m an expert.”
There was a lot to unpack there. And frankly, Mukuro didn’t really have the time or the prowess too. “Ah, well...I guess that makes sense.” Cute? Normie? She wasn’t cute, and she didn’t have any idea what a normie was. “I apologize for not telling you sooner?” She meant it to be a confident apology, but it comes out sounding more like a question.
“No, no It’s okay!” The cosplayer assures, looking far from angry. “It makes sense that you wouldn’t know much, being the Ultimate Soldier and all. I can’t imagine you got many opportunities to indulge in anime or manga, scandalous as that may be.” She puts one hand in the air, a finger pointing up at the ceiling. “That’s why you expressed interest in cosplay, right? You were enamored by the world of fiction and wanted to learn! It all makes perfect sense, especially with what Enoshima-san told me...” She pauses, giving a warm smile. “...Well, it’s perfectly fine, I’d be more than happy to introduce you, I already have the perfect idea on what to show you first.”
The soldier was floored. She’d expected the other girl to be mad at her for not knowing, or accusing her of trying to deceive her. She definitely didn’t expect the other girl to offer to show her the shows she enjoyed to watch either. She has a feeling whatever story Junko spun up had something to do about the assumptions the other girl was making, but there’s no way of truly knowing. Maybe she was just like that.
Mukuro is finally done articulating her response, but before she’s able to start talking they’re interrupted by the waitress again. Odd, she’d completely forgotten about the drinks. She accepts her green tea, thanking the waitress before she leaves again.
She puts her cup down on the table with a small sigh. “Uh, yeah, that’s exactly it. Thank you so much for understanding Shirogane, if you’d like to do that then I’d be in no place to refuse.” It was clear that she really wanted to introduce her to who knows what, and who was Mukuro to deny her? She tacks on a little more, just so it sounds more sincere. “I’m sure someone with such a refined taste in fiction will know all the best media, right?”
It looks like she made the right choice, the other girl looked thrilled. It’s also safe to say Mukuro was in for an adventure.
“Really, do you really mean it?” Shirogane asks, overjoyed. “I’m so glad! Oh my gosh, Ikusaba-san we’ve got to start right away! I want to start you off with one of my first animes, I promise you’ll like it! It’s a very strong start for it’s genre. It’s older, but I think it still holds up just fine. It’s even getting a reboot soon, so maybe we can watch that together too!” She suddenly slouches, looking upset. “Oh, I’m sorry, that was too forward wasn’t it? It was a little rude of me to assume you’d want to do all that with plain ol’ me…” Her gaze moves to the table, and she picks up her cup of tea, taking a long sip.
“Yes of course.” She nods, her finger tapping against her cup. “If that’s what you’d like to do, I’m not opposed to it.” She wouldn’t have offered if she didn’t want to to some degree. While she wasn’t exactly keen on doing this, a part of her would feel really bad if she let Shirogane down. For some reason that’s beyond her for the time being.
At the sudden shift of mood, Mukuro finds herself confused. She blinks, taking it all in. “No, no it wasn’t. You’re fine.” Her grip on the cup gets tighter. “I want to hang out with you.” She won’t reflect the plain statement for now, she’s pretty sure it’s a fool's errand
Shirogane looks up, eyes widening. “Do you really mean that?” She starts to lean forward again, her eyes scanning Mukuro’s face. “You’d really like to watch anime with me?”
Mukuro withholds a sigh, nodding. “Yes, I’d love to Shirogane.” There were worse things to be doing, and she knows Junko will surely get a kick out of this once she hears about it. “When do you want to do it?”
The cosplayer taps her chin thoughtfully for a moment, before nodding to herself. “Well, would today work? It’s still pretty early, so we could meet up later?” She takes another sip of her drink, contemplative. “...Unless you’re busy of course, I’d hate to impose.”
Mukuro didn’t really have anything to do anyways. “Today would be fine, I’ll have to feed my cat first though, so I can text you later and let you know. Does that work with you?”
Shirogane nods, looking rather pleased. “Yes, that works out perfectly! That’ll give me time to clean up my room and make sure I have everything ready.” She pumps her fist. “Gosh, I’m so excited, first we went out for coffee together, and now you’re coming to my room to watch anime...I’d almost say this was like the plot of a romance manga, but I’m nowhere near main character material. I’m much too plain.” She almost looks disappointed, tipping her head back and chugging the rest of her drink. How peculiar.
“Ah...alright, glad to hear it then.” Mukuro doesn’t really know how to even begin responding to that. “I’m glad you’re having a good time then?” Was doing something like this considered romantic? She wouldn’t really know, she’s never exactly indulged in romantic media or pursued people romantically. She could barely interact with people platonically. “Main character or not, I enjoy spending time with you, so I’m sure It’ll be a nice time.” She moves her gaze to the table, taking a long drink from her cup. Her tea was starting to get cold now.
It seemed like their meeting was coming to a close, so Mukuro flags down their waitress, insisting on paying the bill.
When the waitress leaves, Shirogane shakes her head. “You didn’t have to pay for all of it, that was so sweet of you!”
“I’m sorry...I just thought it’d be the polite thing to do.” Mukuro turns to look at the other girl, a little concerned. “I hope I didn’t upset you.” It’d be a weird thing to get upset over, but the soldier has gotten people mad at her for weirder reasons.
“No, it’s okay! I just didn’t expect it that’s all, it was rather chivalrous…” She trails off, her cheeks starting to get a pink tint to them. After a moment of letting the statement linger, she looks back, eyes filled with hardened resolve. “That just means I’ll have to pay next time, alright?”
Next time? Well...there were worse things, she supposed. She gives an amused huff. “Alright, then I’ll have to pay the time after that I presume?”
“No way, Next time we’ll split it!” The cosplayer declares, sporting a wide grin.
From that point on, they spend a little more in the establishment, most of the conversation led by Shirogane, the cosplayer trying to whittle out any information on the soldier’s tastes that she could, likely to gauge what genres she’d like. But there was no truly knowing with her.
But of course, all good things must come to an end. It was a lot of fun, and Mukuro actually found herself feeling disappointed that she had to depart so soon. But she knew that if she waited any longer her cat would be quite peeved. He had to be fed, after all.
Besides, they had a plan to meet up later, so it’d be alright. Standing up, the soldier walks out to the entrance with the cosplayer, stopping at the sidewalk.
“It was really nice talking to you Shirogane, I guess I’ll see you later then.” She gives a small wave.
“It was great talking to you too! Cya in a little while.” She raises her arm up, giving a wonky little salute.
The form was horrible, but it was honestly a little endearing. “Yeah, see ya.” She gives a nod, before parting ways. Despite everything, today had been pretty good, and she was really looking forward to tonight.