Chapter Text
"Okuyasu-kuuun -- !"
The shout cut through the peaceful ambiance of mid summer like a knife through warm butter, but surprisingly not at all piercing or sharp like most girls that called out to Josuke - but then again, this girl wasn't calling out for Josuke. As soon as the boy heard this, he caught the sight of his companion flinch very obviously, and a low grumble interrupted whatever he had been rambling about before. Josuke looked behind him at the friendly looking girl trotting to catch up with them, her face shining with genuine kindness. Her face was slightly flushed, tinting a warmer shade of scarlet the closer she got to the boy she had been shouting to.
Said boy didn't share the same enthusiasm to see her - in fact, he looked downright irritated. Oh, shit. Josuke's brow creased with worry - was this girl bothering his best bro?
"Ugh, shit… It's that annoying girl again!" Okuyasu scowled in exasperation, looking like he was at his wits end as he curled his palm and fingers around the back of his broad neck, rubbing it cluelessly, "Thought I lost her, how does she always find me?!"
"Is she bothering you or something?" Josuke inquired, more bewildered since he couldn't see such a sweet, friendly looking girl harassing someone like Okuyasu. Big bad Okuyasu "sends people running with just a squint" Nijimura. Hell, even the upperclassmen keep their distance, since Okuyasu looks older than he actually is.
"Yes! She won't fucking leave me alone!" Okuyasu huffed, glancing at the girl's approaching form with a burning sideeye that made Josuke feel secondhand discomfort. "I try'ta stay the hell away from her but she always finds out where I am and picks on me!"
Josuke frowned and fixed his brow, taking the situation a little more seriously in light of this new information. "What's she been doing?"
"Tch… All kinds'a shit. Stole my lunch, wrote in my notebook, stalked me -"
Before Okuyasu could explain himself any further, the girl finally caught up to the brooding delinquents and met their menacing glares with a beaming grin that made Josuke even more confused. Surely what Okuyasu said about her couldn't be true, right? Not this sweet little thing, the honor roll student in her dorky sneakers and socks rolled up all neat and tidy, hair impeccably groomed despite Josuke swearing he saw her in the outfield playing softball quite passionately earlier. She was the type of student that normally would've stayed away from their crowd, a good girl. Surely she wouldn't be capable of bullying someone, and especially not a delinquent, right?
"Yeah, whaddya want?!" Okuyasu spat, his usual slouch not even making a dent on how large and intimidating he was, the girl was so small in comparison.
The girl was unfazed, much to Josuke's shock, who expected her to roll over in submission after Okuyasu's threatening posture, but she just kept happily wagging her metaphorical tail. The girl held out a spiral notebook, frayed at the edges with small doodles and Okuyasu's unmistakable chicken scratch marring the cover, a bright smile lighting up her doll-like face. "You left this in class, Okuyasu-kun! I'm glad I caught you before you left, I have no idea where you live."
The girl gave a slight chuckle, and Josuke blinked, momentarily taken aback by her thoughtfulness. He looked at Okuyasu, who was still snarling and snatched the notebook out of her hand, flipping through it frantically as though he expected to find it tampered with.
"Tch, whatever, I bet you marked it up again like you did last time - AHA! You did!" Okuyasu stopped at a certain page and pointed at her in an accusatory fashion, and the girl's smile did falter for a moment, but she didn't back down and only gave a tilt of her head, as if confused. While the two maintained a staring contest tense enough to curdle the air, Josuke slipped the notebook out of Okuyasu's hand before the boy crushed it with how hard he was clenching his fist.
"Mmh, I saw you writing in it in class, so I assumed you were writing notes and filled in stuff you missed." The girl shrugged loosely, her tone a bit defensive, but still light and calm. Upon flipping to the recent page where Okuyasu attempted to scribble down notes for once (at Koichi's behest, he was at least trying to pay attention in class and the three of them were making decent grades with each other's help), and sure enough, corrections to spelling and extra notations were filled in the blank spaces in glittery purple ink, as well as a yellow highlighter bringing attention to certain subjects.
Josuke's brow raised, and he flipped the page to see that she had also filled up an entire page with extra notes, small doodles brightening up the margins and making it feel very affectionate. There were hearts and affirmations to Okuyasu's train of thought (even if it went off the rails at some points), as well as small, sweet messages that were very encouraging, but borderline fond and adoring.
"You're wonderful! Well done!" "You're so smart!" "I love how you worded this!" "You're amazing, keep it up!"
Josuke blinked three times, as if trying to make sure that what he was seeing was real. It was. Josuke looked back at the girl and examined her, completely transfixed by his companion, a soft, doe eyed look on her face like she was staring at a lovable puppy, when in reality she was staring in the face of a volatile delinquent.
It took him a moment, but then the pieces all fell into place and the young Joestar's eyes blew open in shock. Before his friend said anything else that could jeopardize the situation, Josuke clapped a hand on Okuyasu's shoulder mid-rant about how the girl wouldn't leave him alone and that he just wants to walk home in peace.
" - And you keep gettin’ into my fuckin’ business and it drives me insa - Eh?" Okuyasu screeched to a halt as soon as he felt Josuke's fingers digging into his shoulder.
"Oi, here," Josuke dug in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled wad of yen, which he offered to the girl. She took it hesitantly, and looked up at him in confusion, prompting the boy to offer a reassuring smile. "Can you get us something from the vending machine? You can get whatever you want, it's on me."
"Oh, sure! Thanks, JoJo!" The girl beamed and turned away, trotting happily across the street to the vending machine, well out of earshot.
The grip on Okuyasu's shoulder immediately tightened to the point where the boy let out a pained "owowowow!", but Josuke just glared at him and bent the two of them over so that the girl couldn't hear them when they whispered.
"Are you out of your mind, dumbass?!" Josuke hissed, searching Okuyasu's rugged face for any sign of remorse while he looked at him like he just insulted his hair.
"Eh?! What the hell are you going on about, Josuke?!" Okuyasu growled, trying to struggle out of his friend's grasp, only to have a thick bicep constrict around his neck as Josuke maneuvered him into a headlock. "Knock it off!"
"Are you really that dumb?! She brought you lunch, practically wrote all your notes for you, and waits on you after school, and you think she's annoying?!" Josuke growled as he wrestled to keep Okuyasu still.
"Yeah, so what?!"
Josuke suddenly grabbed Okuyasu by the front of his gakuren and yanked him up and forward, staring into his eyes wildly as though the young Joestar had gone feral.
"She likes you, dumbass!" he cried in exasperation. Okuyasu's scowl diminished, and a confused frown replaced it. Josuke groaned, and rolled his head back to look at the sky as if seeking divine salvation from his friend's stupidity. "This is just great… Shit, this whole time you've been turning her down, thinking she's trying to pick on you, but in reality she's been trying to get you to like her back!"
It took a minute for Okuyasu's mach speed thought process to catch up and piece things together - and Josuke couldn't help but feel bad for the guy… He's such an airhead he couldn't even recognize the signs of a girl trying to impress him!
"Wha…" Okuyasu narrowed his eyes, then looked over at the girl, eyeing her suspiciously. After a moment, he scoffed. "No way."
"Yes way," Josuke rolled his eyes and pulled up the notebook, flipping to the page with the kind messages. "Can't you read? Look at this, she's crazy about you!"
Okuyasu scanned the neatly written notes, and realization slowly dawned on his face. “...O - Oh.”
Josuke crossed his arms over his broad chest, giving his friend an I told you so look. Okuyasu looked at him in utter shock and horror. “I… I fucked up, didn’t I? Aww, shit… I’m so stupid!”
As his friend dug his fingers into his scalp out of frustration for himself, the young Joestar couldn’t help but feel bad for Okuyasu, clapping a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. “Then do the smart thing, and say you’re sorry.” Josuke offered kindly, glancing over Okuyasu’s shoulder as the girl returned, carrying a trio of drinks under her arm, and Josuke’s left over cash in her free hand.
“I’m back! Here, Okuyasu-kun, I got your favorite!” The girl chirped, a light blush tinting her cheeks as she handed the sheepish boy the soda.
“Eh, thanks…” Okuyasu murmured, but he just stared down at the bright red can with remorse.
“I don’t know what you like, JoJo, sorry…” The girl apologized sheepishly.
Josuke shrugged and took the drink and cash she handed him with a lopsided smile. “Aha, no worries! Hey, I’ve gotta go, my house is this way -” He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the street behind him, not the street he lived on, but he was trying to make a quick getaway. “ - You guys should walk home together.”
He elbowed Okuyasu encouragingly after saying that, causing the boy to flinch. The girl, oblivious, only smiled brightly. “Alright! Thanks for the drink, JoJo, see you tomorrow!”
“For sure!” Josuke grinned, giving Okuyasu a knowing look before turning and walking down the street he had pointed at.
Okuyasu was dumbfounded - really, what was he going to do now?! He was lost without Josuke’s guidance! The crack of a soda can caused Okuyasu to flinch and turn around, seeing the girl taking a sip from her drink, momentarily distracted by the way her throat bobbed with the gulp of liquid. The summer had given her flawless skin a light, sporty sheen of sweat, and flushed her cheeks ever so slightly.
“I’m not sure where you live, Okuyasu-kun, but my house is only a few blocks that way,” she explained, pointing in the direction of her house. She chewed on her lower lip, and tapped her fingers against the aluminum of the soda can timidly. “D… Do you wanna come over for a bit?”
Okuyasu was speechless for a moment, gawking at her like she had grown a second head. Finally, his inner Josuke told him to just say yes - really, what harm would it do? Swallowing thickly, he finally spoke an agreement in his gravelly voice. “Uh, yeah, s - sure…”
He was grateful that he had listened to his inner Josuke, because the girl looked absolutely delighted to hear his response, a big smile lifting her features and making Okuyasu’s heart stop. How long had it taken him to realize that she’s so cute? Too long. He really, really felt like an idiot.
There was a long pause of silence as the two fell into step next to each other, Okuyasu at a loss as to what to say, and his girl companion amazed that she had managed to convince her crush to actually walk with her. She had begun to lose hope the more she was rejected by him, every harsh word he uttered gradually chipping away at whatever confidence she had left - but she was still hanging onto the small chance that one day… One day he might finally see intentions for what they truly were.
It seemed like that day would be today, and the girl couldn’t be more excited, but she found herself clamming up. Everything she had wanted to say to him before - daydreamed about saying to him - were stuck on her tongue, left completely unsaid.
Okuyasu, on his part, had no words. He really didn’t know what to say in this situation, now that he knew that the girl he thought had been bullying him actually liked him. ”Do the smart thing, and apologize,” Josuke’s voice echoed in the back of his mind, causing him to rub his neck awkwardly.
“Ehh… Hey,” He spoke, catching the girl’s attention. He went stiff as soon as her big, sweet eyes were directed up at him, and he almost couldn’t speak again. “I - I’m sorry, f - for like… Bein’ an ass, or whatever.”
The girl blinked owlishly, taken aback by the apology - really, was she daydreaming again? She had imagined this exact scenario before, they just had to hold hands and kiss in the rain and it would be complete. Her cheeks burned at the thought, and pinched herself, expecting to wake up from a cruel dream. But this was real, she was awake, and Okuyasu had an authentic look of guilt on his face, brows pulled taut and pouty lips curled into a remorseful cringe.. Her heart throbbed… This was real, it was really happening.
“It’s okay Oku,” She smiled kindly, reaching out to give his arm a reassuring pat - and sucking in a sharp breath when she felt how dense the muscles under his gakuren were. She hid her reaction by taking a sip of her drink. “I guess I did come off pretty strong.”
“Nahh, thinkin’ back on it, ‘s actually pretty sweet,” He defended her, tucking his hands into his pockets. His posture had loosened into his characteristic slouch, which made her feel a bit better - the last thing she wanted to do was make him feel uncomfortable. “Um… Thanks, y’know, for doing my notes and stuff.”
The way she tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled shyly at the sidewalk was so cripplingly precious that it took all of Okuyasu’s strength not to swoop her into a bear hug. Not that she would’ve minded that. “It’s no problem…” She murmured, a smile sweetening her doll-like features.
After reconciling, the two gradually fell into an easy conversation, the awkwardness and uncertainty subsiding into something more lighthearted. The girl had only ever seen Okuyasu’s true self when he was with Josuke - she always got a painful tightness in her chest when she saw how happy he was with his best friend, but she> could never make him grin and laugh like that. Now, she was telling him about how she got arrested over the summer for driving in a similar vehicle driven by an escaped convict. That story gave her the pleasure of hearing his gravelly, rustic voice up close for the first time, and it was just for her.
“Aww, shit!” Okuyasu wheezed. “That sucks - shit!”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but giggle too. “Glad me getting locked up overnight is amusing to you! But the girls there were pretty nice, this one woman taught me how to pick a lock, and another taught me how to get out of a choke hold.”
“What? No way!”
“Yeah! Want me to show you?” She grinned at him challengingly - this was definitely not an excuse to get him to hold her.
Okuyasu couldn’t help but agree to the sentiment more, and his eyes lit up at the opportunity to hold a cute girl. “Ye - Yeah!”
“It might hurt a bit…” She admitted, giving him an uncertain look. “But I won’t kick you anywhere where it counts.”
After hearing this, Okuyasu started to lose confidence, but then decided to just give it a try. “Pfft, how badly can you hurt me?”
The girl just giggled, and the two stopped on the street as the girl beckoned him closer. Okuyasu shyly stepped towards her, and almost swallowed his lungs when she turned her back to him and pulled his arms over her shoulders, securing one around her neck. He held it there loosely, but the way she craned her neck back to look up at him with a doe-eyed smile and the softness of her delicate skin under his thick arm made something stir inside of him. He smells really good… She thought - he was a tad musty (as teenage boys are), but he must’ve been using a nice body spray, the natural scent suited him well.
“Is - Is this too tight?” He asked unsurely, not wanting to hurt her.
“Nope, this is perfect!” She chirped.
Before he could say anything else, she stepped one foot to his side, then gave him a punch to his inner thigh, causing him to double over with a wheezed groan. As soon as he bent over, she elbowed him in the gut, winding him. He released her to hold his stomach, and she twirled out of his grasp with a triumphant grin, still holding his arm.
“Fuck!” He swore, grimacing in pain. “You almost got my nuts!”
The girl laughed jovially. “That’s where I’m supposed to aim for the real thing - I told you I wouldn’t hit anything important.”
“True…” He huffed, finally catching his breath - he would have a bruise there, but he would cherish it. He really admired this girl now, and the big smirk he gave her once he righted himself afterwards made that clear. “Remind me never to fuck with you.”
The girl grinned cheekily, and tugged him along by his arm, the two continuing on their original path back to her house - which wasn’t much farther by that point. She lived in a pretty normal looking house - but there didn’t appear to be anyone home, the lights were off and the garage door was shut.
“My parents are both lawyers,” She explained, releasing his arm to open her school bag and fish out her house keys. Okuyasu stood at her side patiently at the front door whilst she unlocked it. “The earliest they’ve ever come home is 8 PM, so we have the entire house all to ourselves.”
The big smile she gave him after saying this made Okuyasu’s heart stop in his chest - what… What were they going to do in that time? He cautiously followed her inside after taking off their shoes at the front door, and for a moment he just took in his surroundings. There weren’t many pictures on the walls, or on the fireplace, where one might usually put stuff like that - it’s almost as if no one lived there.
“I don’t usually have people over, sorry if it’s boring in here.” She apologized sheepishly, but Okuyasu shrugged it off.
“S’fine,” He replied, feeling a bit bad for her - she must’ve been so lonely… He couldn’t remember ever seeing her hang out with anyone. She was sociable, but never really involved herself in a group, as far as he knew. That was going to change from now on. Suddenly, he spotted the entertainment system, and he immediately targeted her gamecube. “D’you have Mario Kart?”
She whipped around, eyes lighting up with recognition, a big grin splitting her cheeks. “Hell yes I have Mario Kart!”
Okuyasu’s eyes widened. “Well, what’re we waiting for? You beat my ass for real, now I get to beat your ass at Mario Kart!”
“You’re on!”
An hour, several drinks, snacks, and a load of shouting later, Okuyasu had indeed kicked the girl’s butt multiple times. Okuyasu learned that the sweet girl was way more vocal about her displeasure than he originally thought, but somehow it wasn’t unpleasant in the least. Seeing her get all flustered and angry made him grin like a wolf - it was really cute. She was really cute.
“One more round!” She commanded, popping another cheese puff in her mouth before reaching for the controller again.
“Nooo,” Okuyasu groaned, “I’m tired of kicking your butt!”
The girl sneered halfheartedly at him. “One more, we’ll make a wager out of it.”
Oh? This intrigued Okuyasu. “Alright, whaddya got in mind?”
“If I win, you have to walk me home after school from now on,” She smiled impishly.
Okuyasu raised a brow, but smirked - he didn’t mind that at all. “Fine, if I win, you…” He hummed, looking up at the spinning ceiling fan thoughtfully. “Y’have to… Y’have to do my homework for two weeks.”
“Pfft, that’s easy,” The girl waved him off smugly. “Deal, now let’s go!”
Okuyasu was a bit indignant that she thought doing his homework was easy, especially since she had her own homework to do on top of that - it intimidated him a bit, but he didn’t say anything. He just vented out his frustration into the game, unnecessarily leaning his body with every turn he made, purposefully leaning over the girl to distract her. She would yowl out a laugh and yell at him to get out of her way, and Okuyasu would cackle evilly.
Okuyasu patted himself on the back for that - stuff like that that he did always annoyed Josuke, but he prided himself in the fact that it could make her laugh so easily. He liked that about her - he liked how giggly and happy she was when she was around him, he never saw her like that with other people. It was nice. She was nice.
He found himself looking at her, entranced by everything about her. Really, he felt incredibly stupid for not seeing her for who she truly was, he felt like he lost so much time and that he needed to make up for all of it. The girl pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she focused on the game, but quickly realized that Donkey Kong had stopped moving on the other screen - Okuyasu wasn’t paying attention, he was blatantly staring at her with a gooey look on his face.
She turned to look at him, maybe confusedly ask what he was doing, only to see Okuyasu’s eyes focused back on the screen, his jaw prominent under his sunkissed skin as he tightened it. She saw his throat bob as he swallowed, and had a hard time tearing her eyes away from the sight, he had the most beautiful skin. She finally looked back at the screen to take advantage of the upper hand she had, and used a blue shell to knock Donkey Kong out of the way before Toad swept over the finish line, and the girl finalized the last lap in first place.
“Yes!” She jumped to her feet with a loud whoop.
“Aww, man! I didn’t even see that comin’!” Okuyasu whined, but he was a good sport about it. Besides, he was satisfied with his multiple other wins.
“That’s why you pay attention, goofball,” She teased, plopping down next to him again and pinching his cheek, causing him to scrunch his nose at her. She giggled at his expression and turned off the game. “Wanna watch a movie? It’s only 6 PM.”
He was on autopilot, ready to say yes, but then the time registered in his mind, and he yanked the sleeve of his gakuren down to look at his watch. “Ah, shit! I - I gotta go… I totally forgot!”
The girl watched in surprise as Okuyasu jumped to his feet and rushed to the door - grabbing his school back off the couch on his way. She trotted after him and watched as he shoved his feet into his shoes, a bit disappointed, but more confused than anything.
“What did you forget?” She asked, understanding that personal emergencies came first.
“Uh - I, my dad,” He admitted, his mind a bit frazzled as he patted his pockets - as if making sure he still had everything. “He - He can’t cook, I make dinner. I gotta - I gotta go - um - “
He suddenly looked at her, and his chest tightened with guilt once more - she looked so pitiful in the archway to the living room, holding onto her arm awkwardly, as if she wanted to do something with her hands, but didn’t know what. When he looked at her, she offered a reassuring smile, but he could tell she was disheartened.
“Um, hey,” He said, walking over to stand closer to her, lifting up a hand as if to touch her, but instead placed it behind the column of his thick neck. “I - I’ll come get you for school tomorrow, if - if y’want.”
The girl’s eyes lit up at this, and she nodded her head eagerly. “Yeah! Besides… I won the wager.”
The smug grin she directed at him lightened the mood, and brought out a chuckle from the boy. “You sure did, just don’t tell Josuke.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” She mimicked zipping her lips shut.
The two exchanged a few more words, before Okuyasu was stepping out of the front door and into the warm summer air, a stark contrast to the air conditioned coolness of her house. However, before he could walk down the street, she grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“Okuyasu…” She said, her voice low and timid.
“Huh?” He turned around, wondering if maybe he forgot something.
Using the slight height advantage the step up between the door and the porch gave her, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, her lips soft against the roughness of his face. He was shell-shocked for what felt like the longest time, eyes blown open in utter shock, as though she had shot him. He swore his heart had stopped and he was dead, but then he saw her pulling away from him, a shy look of adoration in her eyes, and he knew this was real.
He watched in amazement as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, her small hand lingering on his firm, broad shoulder before sliding off. “See you tomorrow.”
She said it so softly, Okuyasu wondered if she actually said it. The door was shut in his face before he could ask any questions, leaving only the warmth of her kiss behind and a quickening burst of adrenaline. He lifted a hand, and touched the spot, his cheeks flushing when the current events finally caught up to him.
Holy shit… He was done for.
With a lovesick look on his face, Okuyasu walked back home - earning questioning grunts from his dad, but he just swept by him from his place at the dinner table and giggled his way to the fridge, unable to get that girl out of his head. After fixing a quick dinner and eating, he went straight to the phone and called Josuke, unable to contain his excitement.
“Hello, Higashikata reside -”
“YOOOO JOSUKE,” Okuyasu practically roared into the phone, not letting his best friend even finish his greeting. “You were right bro! You were fuckin’ right!”
“What the fuck?! Okuyasu?!” Josuke stammered, probably holding the phone away from his ear to avoid going deaf. “What are you screaming about?!”
“You were right about that girl, Josuke, you wouldn’t believe it!”
That piqued the young Joestar’s interest, and he found himself practically hunched into the phone. “What happened?!”
“She kissed me, bro!” Okuyasu laughed jovially. “She’s totally into me! And I’m totally into her!”
“Wha -?! You’re kidding me!” Josuke guffawed.
“I’m being forreal!” He defended giddily. “Shit, bro… I can’t believe I didn’t realize! God, she’s so fuckin’ cute… And strong, too! She kicked my ass at Mario Kart and real life! I think… I think I might like her, dude!”
Josuke was in shock… He was telling the truth. Josuke closed his eyes and smirked, shaking his head. Whatever that girl saw in Okuyasu, he didn’t know, but Josuke couldn’t deny that he was happy for his friend. He was also a tad jealous, but he would let Okuyasu have his moment for now…
“Ah, shit, what am I supposed to do now?!” Okuyasu suddenly panicked. “I - I dunno how to talk to girls, man!”
Josuke stared at his phone incredulously. “Are you kidding me?! Just say whatever you said that made her want to kiss you, dummy! Ask her on a date, ask her what she likes, just get to know her!”
Okuyasu was mystified by the idea, as if he had never heard of actually dating someone before, and scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Ye - Yeah! Okay, for sure! I’ll come up with something.”
“You’ve got this, bro,” Josuke encouraged, still sounding a bit exasperated. “Just don’t act like a dumbass again, I’ll kick your ass, heal you, then kick your ass again.”
Okuyasu got a little indignant at that, hissing at the other boy. “Yeah, yeah, I get it!”
After that, he hung up, lacing his fingers behind his head as he stretched his back, a big grin of satisfaction lifting his features. He felt so giddy - a girl liked him! He couldn’t wait to see her tomorrow, maybe he could encourage her to come to his house this time.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he wanted to slap himself in the face. He forgot to get her number!