Chapter Text
The afternoon sun illuminated the almost-empty aisles of bookshelves that were neatly organised. Dust particles danced in the last sunbeams and gave the little bookstore an even older ambience than the crumbling storefront lead on.
Jirou traced the colourful spines of the books next to her with her finger, trying to determine by the title alone which of those were worth a read.
Her hand lingered in front of a particularly bright book for a few seconds before she pulled it out of the shelf in a swift motion and scanned the few lines of text on the back.
She scoffed quietly at the cheesy words on the pink back of the novel and slid it back into its place.
Who would ever read such garbage?, she thought to herself and threw a glance at the small sign at the beginning of the aisle that clearly read “Romance”.
It was definitely not Jirou’s preferred genre - not that she read a lot of books - and reading all those lines about different women all falling in love in various but oddly similar ways didn’t help change her mind. But she wouldn’t have to read it anyway, the book was supposed to be a present for Momo after all.
Her best friend had just moved into a new apartment and had invited Jirou and a few other friends over for a house-warming party on the weekend. Jirou had been meaning to buy her a little present for the occasion for more than a week now but she had been really busy lately. And now it was already Friday and this the last opportunity to get anything. That was also the reason that she had ended up in this small, slightly run-down bookstore. She had never even noticed it before but her phone had informed her that it was the closest one to her workplace and therefore the best choice.
Jirou picked up another book from the shelf and looked it over critically. It had a much more pleasing design than the one before so it would at least look good on one of Momo’s designer counters. The blurb, however, was just as unalluring. Maybe romance was not the right genre after all.
Jirou sighed quietly and ran her hand over her face. Why was it so hard to find a good book? Her brain didn’t seem to be able to come up with an original idea for a present and the fact that she was extremely tired didn’t help either.
The night shifts were starting to get to her. But that was one of the things her job as a Pro hero demanded from her.
She repressed another sigh as to not earn another confused look from the old guy behind the counter that was throwing curious glances in her direction from time to time. Instead, she followed the row of shelves into the next aisle.
Again, she let her gaze wander over the various novels, which were non-fiction novels such as cookbooks and publications about gardening. Jirou allowed herself to be a little bit more hopeful at the sight of the array. In between all these publications, there just had to be one that Momo would like.
She knew that she was overthinking all of this. Momo would be content with everything she´d get her, probably arguing that it was the thought that counted most, but both women hadn´t been able to spend a lot of time together lately due to their different work schedules and Jirou felt a bit guilty about it. Of course, she knew that it wasn’t her fault but getting Momo something nice would ease her mind at least a little bit.
Aimlessly, she picked up three books from the shelf to her right, opened them at random pages and let her gaze wander over the words without really taking note of what was written inside. Instead, she focused on the pictures, her eyes shifting between the colourful portraiture of foreign flowers and the delicious looking strawberry pie in the other book until an image in the third book caught her attention.
It seemed as if she had picked a book about rock music by chance. Almost as if her mind had subconsciously steered her towards something that excited her, she had opened it on a page about famous guitars.
She didn’t even have to read the small inscriptions under the black and white pictures to know what masterpieces of musical instruments she was looking at right now. She knew almost everything there was when it came to her passion for music and she dreamt about owning one of those babies almost every night.
Not that that would ever be possible though.
With her paycheck, she wasn’t even able to afford the repairment her own guitar needed so desperately let alone buy masterpieces like those.
The black numbers under the pictures clarified that even further, the many zeros seemingly mocking her unrealistic dreams and rubbing in once more how unbearably incompatible her desires and her real-life was.
With a frustrated sigh- and maybe a little bit too much force-, she shoved the book back into its place on the shelf, pushing it from her as she did with the little thoughts that she maybe wasn´t as happy as she could be.
“Wow, whatever could these books have done to you to deserve such harsh treatment?”
Jirou nearly jumped at the sudden sound of a voice that came from behind her. She turned around in a swift motion, her jacks slightly raised and the books she was holding pressed against her chest, to find a man at the beginning of the aisle.
He was probably around her age, leaning against the bookshelves, a curious smile on his face. With his messy blonde hair, the piercing eyes that looked almost golden in the last beams of light and his leather jacket, he looked kind of out of place. Like someone, she would find at one of those hipster cafes or a skate park but definitely not a quiet, old bookstore like this one.
Just a little bit too lively for a place this dusty and calm.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!”
His voice sounded honest but the little smile that tugged at the corners of his lips made her think otherwise.
Jirou took a deep breath and lowered her jacks again. She hadn’t even realised that she had tensed up until she had softened the grip around the books in her hands.
Embarrassment crept up in her and into her cheeks, the heat signalling her that she was turning red. Something that displeased her greatly.
It was just that she wasn’t used to getting scared. Her quirk enabled her to be aware of her environment at all times and in a closed room like this, she should’ve noticed right away that someone was there with her.
But now, she wasn’t even sure if he had been in the store when she had arrived or if he had entered without her knowledge. And quite frankly, that annoyed her.
Her quirk and its use were the reason she was allowed to work as a hero and now she couldn’t even detect someone before he was right behind her. Maybe, all these all-nighters were actually wearing her down.
“It’s fine.”
Under his amused gaze, she tried to regain her posture by standing up straight and pushing a strand of hair behind her ears. The smirk on the stranger’s face didn’t waver, his bright eyes now seeming to scan her face, searching for something only he knew. Jirou shifted from one foot to the other, her eyes now meeting his and the embarrassment, that still held her mind captive, making her furrow her brows in slight frustration.
She hated making a fool of herself and she especially wasn’t keen on having this dude make fun of it.
“Can I help you?”
The words came out just a little harsher than she had intended. Her counterpart must’ve realised it too, his demeanour changing. The confused look that he gave her now, almost made her feel bad about her pitch. But then again, he was the one striking up conversations with clearly agitated people. This was kind of his fault.
The blonde pushed off the shelves he had so casually leaned on and shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. For a second, he looked like he was considering something, his brows furrowing and his lips puckering up, then he set himself in motion again, making his way towards her.
“Actually, I was thinking that I might be able to help you.”
He came to a stop right next to her, leaning against the bookshelf again, seemingly completely unaware of the concept of personal space. His face plastered with yet another grin.
Jirou couldn´t help but wonder, what the deal was with this dude.
“You work here?”, she asked, her eyes scanning for a name tag on his jacket that she might have missed earlier but there was none. Only a little, yellow lightning bolt spray-painted on one of the upper pockets.
The man´s eyes lighted up with amusement as if she had just asked the silliest question of all time.
“Nope! But they should start paying me!” He hesitated, looked over his shoulders in an overly dramatic fashion and lowered his voice as if to tell her a secret. “I think, I am here more often than the actual owner”
Seemingly pleased with his own joke, he leaned back and smiled, his face radiating an almost child-like glee. Jirou tried to not roll her eyes. Whatever the deal was with this man, she could get by without it.
It was not that he was making her uncomfortable or anything of that sort - she was more than equipped to deal with weirdos and creeps and he certainly didn´t seem like one - but the longer he bothered her, the less time she could spend at home doing nothing.
Not that that was overly exciting but at least it wasn´t holding an awkward conversation with some stranger who spent too much time at local bookshops.
“That´s kinda sad”, she replied matter of factly, her voice clearly indicating that she was done with these shenanigans.
The blonde winced at her words.
“And you´re kinda mean!”
The face he pulled almost made her laugh a little. With his furrowed brows and his lips formed into a pout, he reminded her of a defiant toddler.
“Maybe!” She shrugged as to accompany her words, her face still conveying just the tiniest bit of annoyance to cover up for the fact that he had almost managed to snap her out of her self-chosen bad mood.
Maybe she was being a little harsh to this man.
She had never been one to be the most cheerful or open person but normally she at least tried to give the impression of being approachable. Maybe, if he had struck up a conversation on another day or maybe just another place than this lonely bookshop, she would´ve reacted differently, maybe even intrigued by his lively demeanour.
But as it was, she was just tired and in a hurry and also she had enough of feeling like she was this stranger´s main source of entertainment.
She had things to do.
After all, she still hadn´t managed to even find a genre let alone a book that was worth Momo´s time or at least a spot on her fancy bookshelves.
Jirou sighed. “Look, I still have some stuff to do, so…” She didn´t finish her sentence, leaving the words up in the air for him to figure out instead. With an apologetic nod, she gestured vaguely to all the books around her, hoping he´d catch her drift.
But of course, he didn´t.
She hadn´t even taken her first step towards the next aisle when she heard him trotting along, his quiet footsteps following right behind her.
Jirou rolled her eyes, sending a quiet question to the ceiling as to what she had done wrong lately to deserve something like this.
This guy was either dull as a brick or just absolutely unbothered by other people´s opinions of him and quite frankly she was starting to get just a little bit pissed off. She had no idea what was going on behind those light eyes off his, but if this was his idea of flirting with strangers then he was basically begging for a rather unfriendly rejection.
She was still searching for a diplomatic but fierce way of telling him to screw off when he caught up to her.
“So, what are you looking for exactly?”
He was now walking next to her, his hands still shoved into his pockets. He looked more serious now, a little smile still on his lips but his eyes focused on her with an expression that conveyed real interest.
For someone that didn´t work at the place, he seemed to be intent on helping her.
Jirou hesitated. On the one hand, it seemed tempting to get the opinion of an outsider, someone who appeared to be familiar with this store and, compared to Jirou´s minimum knowledge of good literature, probably knew something about books.
On the other, the thought of revealing even the smallest thing about her personal life to a stranger and then someone that was as annoying and nosy as this one displeased her greatly. And there would be no way around that if she wanted him to pick out a book that Momo would like.
“Is it for you or are you looking for a present?” His voice snapped her out of her thoughts again. He was still watching her, his eyebrows raised expectantly as if to remind her that she still hadn´t answered him but instead angrily strutted through the empty shop.
Jirou bit her bottom lip - a habit that she had been meaning to stop for quite some time now but that just befell her whenever she needed to get her thoughts in order. She had to make a decision now. What was she going to do?
Her mind was always coming back to one question: Was it worth it?
Did she really want to spend the next few minutes with this man, whose motives she could only guess, trying to solve a problem that she should easily have the ability to figure out herself? Her ego would definitely take a blow but then again, what was the worst that could happen?
Yes, she would have to talk to the stranger a bit longer and therefore put up with his shenanigans. But if he was telling the truth and he knew this store better than the back of his hand, then she could walk out of the store with a fitting present and forget all about this exhausting day.
If all failed and he turned out to be more than her frail nerves could handle, she could still come back to her original idea of telling him to screw off. The thought soothed her.
Jirou sighed and stopped in her tracks, directly facing the blonde for the first time.
“It´s for a friend of mine”, she hesitated, still unsure just how much she wanted to reveal, “She´s moving apartments and I wanted to get her something small.”
The man nodded exuberantly, the strands of hair that were falling into his eyes bouncing up and down with every movement, the golden of his iris shimmering through the curtain of hair. He seemed even more energetic than before, lips curled up into a never-fading smile. Jirou couldn´t help but wonder if there was anything in this world that could wipe it from his face.
“A book´s a clever choice!” He shot her an approving glance “What´s she like? Any idea what genre she would prefer?”
He paused for a second, the smile on his face growing wider. “Judging from the way you randomly picked books that no one in their right mind should read in their free time, I´d guess you don´t!”
If possible, the smug smile on his lips got even bigger and Jirou had to use all her mental strength to not roll her eyes in an overly dramatic fashion. She hadn´t thought it possible but she was already repenting her choice. The nerves on this guy…
“No, I don´t” She pushed a breath through tight lips, trying her hardest not to show that, while his words mostly annoyed her, they also demonstrated to her how little she knew about her best friend.
They spend a lot of time together and Jirou felt like she knew more about Momo´s life and her plans for the future than about her own, yet she wasn´t able to pick out a book for her. In all honesty, it didn´t feel good. But she didn´t want to justify her behaviour or her relationship with Momo to a complete stranger. She hadn´t sunken this low. At least, not yet.
Even though it got harder and harder to tell herself that with every second she spent in this bookshop.
To her surprise, the blonde didn´t jump on her answer to embarrass her yet another time. Instead, he nodded and gestured for her to follow him into the next aisle. Jirou stayed next to him, matching her pace with his. He was now beaming with energy, his strut fast and his eyes scanning the books around them.
“Lucky for you…”, he pulled out a book from the shelf, looked it over critically, just to put it back into its place without even addressing her, “I am an expert when it comes to good literature!” He continued his fast walk along the bookshelves.
Jirou let out a quiet sigh at his overconfidence, her lips almost forming a little smile. It was rather funny to see how certain this man was that he´d be able to help her. And she could tell that he meant his words. The way he strutted through the rows of bookshelves as if they were the castle walls of his kingdom, his leather boots following a beaten path that only he knew, it almost seemed like he ran the place. In his eyes, he was an expert. If it weren´t for the fact that Jirou felt so much more confident in her bad mood, then she might’ve even chuckled a bit about the man’s behaviour.
Of course, she had no way of knowing who this guy was but nothing about him screamed literature enthusiast to her. She couldn´t quite say how she imagined one to look- maybe a little bit more quiet and calm like Momo and definitely without the leather jacket and boots- but the man with the blonde hair definitely didn´t fit her description.
She rested her gaze on him, watching while he pulled out books of the shelves, the rings around his fingers making little noises whenever he let a finger run over the cover. The black polish on his nails was slightly flaking off and she could see that he had managed to paint over the edges on multiple fingers, the black, little dots contrasting his light skin. Whenever he read a title, he scrunched his forehead, his light eyes shifting over the words, the slightly smudged eyeliner making them look smaller as if he was concentrating intensely.
Jirou couldn’t deny that he looked cool. Not in a try-hard way like so many other people that she’d met but just naturally. As if he put no mind to his appearance but managed to radiate an almost unintentionally intriguing vibe nonetheless. She could tell that he had given his outfit some thought, the way that everything harmonised gave it away, but it still had that incidental congeniality. As if it was him who made this look cool and not the chains, the eyeliner or the earrings.
He seemed like the star of his own little show, one of those that Jirou would maybe watch but never admit to, the main character to some coming of age title.
But he was definitely not a bookworm in her mind.
“I could recommend you some of my favourites if you want to.” His voice snapped her out of her thoughts again. “Or you could tell me about your friend and I could look for something she might enjoy a bit more!”
His light eyes rested their gaze on her again, the last sunlight that shined through the dusted windows, dancing on his face.
She hesitated for a moment, unsure about what to tell him. There was so much that could be said about Momo and still, it wouldn't be enough to even graze her personality. She was just one of these people that were interesting without trying to be, someone who radiated a soothing calm that others felt drawn to. Being around her made others feel special too and yet, Jirou always had the feeling as if she wasn't completely worthy of her friends' time. As if Momo would waste her potential when being around her.
She pushed these thoughts back into the corners of her mind where they came from. None of these things would help her counterpart with guessing Momo´s literature taste.
“Well, she's smart”, she started lamely, her fingers fidgeting with her jacks as she tried to come up with something more specific than that. She was sure that, if someone were to ask Momo the same question about her, she would not struggle like that but instead give a novel-length characterisation.
The blonde raised his eyebrows, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Is that all?” The smile grew wider, now reaching his eyes and giving him a mischievous look. Jirou pressed her lips together to keep a sigh from escaping them.
“Momo´s organized. She has a plan for everything, she knows what she wants and she always finds a way to solve every problem.” Her jacks made quiet metallic sounds whenever the tips met, the monotonous sound helping her to structurize her thoughts. “She likes reading while sipping fancy tea and going out for long walks on weekends.”
Now that she had finished her spontaneous characterisation of her best friend, Jirou felt kind of stupid. Nothing that she had just listed was an indication as to what books she would like to read and Jirou was pretty sure that the blonde would agree.
He just nodded his head lightly, light strands of hair falling into his eyes that he briskly brushed away with his fingers.
“I see!”
His voice sounded sincere, not a hint of sarcasm that Jirou had expected. Instead, he set himself in motion again, his eyes darting back and forth between the various bookshelves as he swiftly walked among them, her following.
“She probably likes the classics but from what you've said, I'd guess she's already read those.”
Jirou found herself nodding along to his words, simultaneously amazed how easily he had picked up on Momo’s character and just a little bit ashamed that a random stranger had managed to beat her to it.
“Maybe something historical?”, he turned around to grin at her, now walking backwards somehow managing not to collide with his surroundings, “But definitely something with strong female characters!”
Jirou couldn´t help but raise her eyebrows in surprised approval, her earrings jangling to the slow nodding of her head. It sounded as if the blonde had fully understood her and what she was looking for and, as she was following him into yet another aisle, she reproached herself for having judged just a little bit too quick. Maybe he was not just a nuisance.
She was almost embarrassed about it.
“This is a good one!” Jirou reached for the book that he was offering her, her fingers closing around the leathery spine, turning it around and scanning the short summary on the back. “I´ve read it last summer and even though it is pretty long…”, the blonde let out a quiet chuckle, “It keeps your attention.”
“Sounds good”, she muttered, her fingers flipping through the pages, the air now slightly filled with the typical smell of the pages as if the ink was wafting through the air.
It was one of those classic books about women in the late 1800s, a story about war and love, self-fulfilment and the bond between families. Nothing that Jirou would read in her free time but if Momo were to suggest it for their scarce movie nights, she would probably enjoy it. And Momo would absolutely love it. He actually had managed to find something good.
Jirou closed the book again, her gaze wandering upwards to look at her counterpart, only to find him leaning against a bookshelf again, his light eyes resting on her face, unbothered by the fact that she had realised.
“What?”
Jirou could feel the blood rushing into her cheeks, her eyebrows furrowing at the feeling of insecurity that always befell her when others directed their full attention towards her and that she was so used to hiding behind a mask of indifference.
“Nothing”, he shrugged, a faint smile on his lips and for a brief moment Jirou couldn´t help but think about how strangely comfortable she had gotten in this bookstore, following around a stranger. Someone who seemed to be a nice guy, she couldn´t deny that but who still had every potential to be just as much of a jerk.
“I was just trying to come to a conclusion about what genre you would like.”
He shifted his weight from one foot onto the other, his eyes still taking in her face as if the answer to his question could be found there.
Jirou raised her eyebrows again, the smallest smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “And what great conclusion have you come to, genius?”
She hadn´t meant to be this direct, her brain already looking for a way to paddle back but to her surprise, the blonde´s smile grew even wider.
“I´m not sure…”, he tapped his chin with his index finger as if the little touches would help him find the right answer, “You kind of strike me as someone who might enjoy a good horror book from time to time.”
He now raised his eyebrows in expectation of her answer, his lips still curled into a cheeky grin. Jirou snorted lightly at his anticipating gaze.
“Wrong!”, she declared, cracking the first little smile of the day at the face he was pulling now.
The blonde had puckered his lips as if he couldn’t believe that he had guessed wrong, his brows now furrowed.
“Fantasy? Scy-fy?”, he raised his eyebrows dramatically with every question, tilting his head a little every time Jirou denied what he said with the shake of her head, “Romance?”
He leaned a little bit forward, dragging the last word with a cheeky grin.
Jirou rolled her eyes, a faint smile still tugging at the corners of her lips.
“Nope!”
The man let out a pretend sigh of frustration, dropping his arms in defeat, his face once again scrunching up.
“Okay, I give up!”, he paused for a second to push back some loose strands of his light hair that were now falling into his eyes as he, once again, leaned forward, “I just don´t get you!”
Jirou fought the urge to tell him that she was rather happy about that. The thought that some random guy with whom she had just exchanged a few words, would be able to perceive her completely was not just unpleasant but also didn´t fit her. She loved to be someone that people had a hard time reading.
More than once, she had been told that others just couldn´t tell what she was thinking. And to be honest, she did that on purpose. It was easier to feign not to care than to constantly worry about showing just a little too much to the world.
Still, the dramatic fashion in which her counterpart was now pouting, made her feel a bit easier. It was as if all the tension that had built up during her work hours was slowly dissolving as if this carefree conversation was taking her mind off of her worries even if only for a moment.
Or maybe she just missed talking about pointless things. There wasn´t much room for joking in her line of work.
“That would normally be the part where you tell me what you actually like to read! Or… you know…”, he paused for a moment, his eyes now piercing into hers, “give me any indication at all that you enjoy our conversation.”
“Who says that I do?”
Her answer caused the confident smile that had plastered the blonde´s face, to drop and for a second she thought she could see something like rejection flickering in his amber eyes but then he just furrowed his brows and formed his lips into a pout.
Maybe, she had been a little too direct once again, her intonation sounding meaner than she had intended it to. It was just her way of talking but she knew that others sometimes perceived it differently. And maybe, if she was being really honest with herself, she had wanted to see a reaction like this one, maybe she had wanted to find out if there was anything that could deal a blow to this man´s overconfidence.
He just seemed so unshakable as if nothing could lower his spirits. Criticism and harsh words seemed to either go over his head or he was simply immune to them. No matter how she behaved towards him, he kept smiling, his gaze still always coming back to rest on her.
Jirou couldn´t quite read this stranger. A little voice inside her head was telling her that maybe all of this was really this dude´s idea of flirting and quite frankly she couldn´t rule out that possibility. She just wasn´t sure yet how she would feel about that.
“God”, the blonde chuckled silently, drawing her attention to him again, “you really are mean!”
His facial expression had returned to normal, the glistening in his light eyes gave away that he was only joking. He didn´t seem to mind her way of talking, instead playing along with her act, or if he did then he at least didn´t show it.
Jirou took a deep breath, audibly sucking in the air before shrugging her shoulder. “Not always”, she mustered him for a moment, her eyebrows raised ever so slightly, “And not to everyone.”
“Okay, I get it! I am the problem here!”, he whined dramatically, making her chuckle just a little, “I'll just shut up then!”
As if to accompany his words, he pressed his lips together.
“Can you even do that?” Jirou set herself in motion again, ignoring the pretentious gasp coming from the blonde who trotted along beside her, accompanying her towards the register.
She was pretty confident that the man had recommended her a book her friend would enjoy and as she handed it to the older man behind the counter, she could feel how she relaxed a bit. This was one of her problems taken care of.
She fretted at the thought of what would have happened if the annoying stranger hadn´t pestered her with his presence. Very likely, she would have spent way more time picking up books to just put them back down again, only to buy just any novel and feel bad about it later. This way, she had saved a lot of time and could now enjoy the rest of her evening. And in the end, the blonde hadn´t even been that obnoxious.
He had now directed his attention towards the bookstore owner, chatting with him as if the two were old friends, their conversation revolving around a book that Jirou had never even heard of but that was, according to the excited ramblings of the man next to her, supposed to be released pretty soon.
The smile on his face was, if even possible, wider than before and he was gesturing wildly, almost knocking over some of the bookmarks that were neatly placed on the counter.
Maybe he really was a big literature enthusiast. Even if he didn´t look the part.
Jirou handed over the few bucks that the book had cost her and put the book inside of her black cotton bag, reciprocating the shopkeeper´s muffled “goodbye” with a light smile.
She turned towards the blonde next to her who was still going on about the novel, seemingly unaware of the fact that she was done with her shopping now and intended to leave.
“Thanks for the help!” She held up her bag as if to clarify what she was talking about and gave him an honest smile.
The blonde turned around to her, an expression on his face as if she had just awoken him from a slumber. He had the same cheeky grin tugging at the corners of his lips but the look in his eyes was a little confused as if her sudden words had made him forget what he had intended to say.
“Yeah sure, no problem!”
He seemed to have been deeply invested in the conversation he had been having. Jirou almost felt bad for the interruption. But she had felt even worse just leaving without showing at least a little gratitude, especially after how unfriendly she had acted towards him in the beginning. Even if a part of her would have loved to just leave unnoticed, he had been too friendly towards her to do so.
And now that that was done, she looked forward to spending the rest of her evening in front of her TV, maybe even calling Momo if she felt like it.
She made her way towards the exit of the shop, pushing past all the rows of books in the now almost dark shop. The sun had already set while she had been in there and as she opened the door, a wave of cold air greeted her and made her shiver slightly. It definitely was autumn now.
Jirou wrapped her leather jacket tighter around herself before stepping out into the cold wind that immediately played with her short hair. She had maybe gotten two or three meters down the road when a voice made her snap out of her thoughts.
“Hey!”, she didn´t need to turn around to know that it was the guy from the bookshop, his excited voice being carried over to her by the cold breeze, “Wait a second!”
She stopped in her tracks, turning around to see him approaching her with a leisurely saunter, hands still shoved into the pockets of his jacket.
“Sorry, I kinda didn´t catch that you were about to leave”, he stopped in front of her, an awkward grin on his face, “Even though it should´ve been pretty obvious!”
His voice trailed off and he was now rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, the cold breeze pushing strands of hair into his face.
“It´s fine!“ Jirou crossed her arms to shield herself from the wind, her mind revolving around the question of why he had bothered to follow her outside. It wasn´t like she had waited for a proper goodbye from him, the few words they had exchanged at the end being sufficient for her. But maybe he thought differently about that, maybe he wanted something in return for all the help he had been.
Jirou disliked the thought. Not because he didn´t deserve some recognition for helping her out but more because they were outside now, in a rarely used street, the sun already disappearing behind the horizon. This had a different vibe than the old bookstore.
“I just wanted to say that I can´t leave the debate about your favourite genre how it is and if you ever come by the bookstore again”, a smile spread on his face, “I will pick out a book that you´ll definitely love!” He stroked the back of his neck once more, his eyes scrunched as the last beams of sunlight were shining directly into them. “As I said, I am here often!”
She could feel how the tension, that she hadn´t even realised had built up, faded and a tiny smile tugged at the corners of her lips, while she decided that this guy might just be a decent one. Seeing his honest smile, she couldn´t help but nod to his words even though she already knew that she probably wouldn´t return here. There simply was no reason for her to come by, not even for a chance to have someone pick out a good book for her. She just wasn´t that much into books or annoying but charming strangers with never-fading grins.
“Oh, and by the way”, he directed his gaze to her face once more, “I´m Denki Kaminari. Figured you deserved to at least know who bothered you the whole time.”
This time, she couldn´t help but chuckle. She looked at the face that she now had a name to, his amber eyes glowing expectantly in the sun, the smile he always seemed to wear making them light up a little. It was nice to know that he at least admitted to being a bit of a bother. Then she didn´t have to bring it up.
“Well…”, she shouldered her little bag and pushed her hair out of her eyes, “It was nice talking to you, Denki Kaminari.” She put a little bit of an emphasis on his name before she smiled one last time and turned around to finally start her walk home.
She only walked a few meters before she threw a glance over her shoulder, making eye contact with the man once more.
“I´m Kyoka Jirou by the way!”
She could see the little triumphant spark in his light eyes, as he still stood there. Maybe she normally wouldn´t have done that, her instinct telling her to just forget about all this as soon as possible. But she couldn´t deny that the smile that had snuck its way onto her lips was genuine, her mood undeniably better than when she had entered the shop.
And so, she followed the roads home, the sunlight fading slowly and her lips still forming a little smile.