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You looked in the mirror, twirling slightly in the skirt you borrowed from Mitsuri, your roommate. You anxiously tugged at the ends of the skirt to straighten out any wrinkles. Quickly giving yourself a once over, you nodded your head to ease the anxiety building up in your stomach.
There was a knock at your door. You glanced over at the door and saw Mitsuri peeking in.
“(Y/N)-chan! Are you ready for your first date?! And omigosh, you look SO adorable in the skirt! You should keep it,” Mitsuri gushed. She walked over to you and tucked in a loose piece of hair behind your ear.
“... Thanks, Mitsuri. I’m not gonna lie, I’m feeling hella nervous about this,” you admitted. You haven’t gone in dates for a long time now, but Mitsuri encouraged you to try out some dating apps to get back into the dating game.
“That’s normal, (Y/N)-chan! I get the feeling! But just have fun and be yourself! Anyone will fall head over heels for you,” Mitsuri exclaimed, causing you to smile gratefully at your pink-haired friend. Mitsuri had a knack for giving pep talks. She should become a motivational speaker, you mused.
“Now, got everything packed? Cell phone charged? Know where you’re meeting?” Mitsuri drilled. You nodded. “Okay, girl. If you feel uncomfortable or feel like things aren’t going right, you know who to call!”
“Yes, mom. But seriously, thanks, Mitsuri. I really appreciate it,” you said. Mitsuri pulled you into a bear hug (how is she so strong?!) and walked you to the front door. You took a big breath and turned around to wave good bye to your friend before closing the door behind you.
---
As you were walking to the metro station, you couldn’t help feeling nervous again. Admittedly, you weren’t fond of using dating apps to meet random strangers, as you were socially awkward and wasn’t one to put yourself out there. However, you were in need of a distraction...
Well, what did you need distraction from? Rengoku Kyojuro, a friend in you and Mitsuri’s friend group. Embarrassingly, you had a crush on Kyojuro for the longest time. Kyojuro was one of the nicest and warmest people you had ever met. Kyojuro was as bright as the sun; in whatever social setting, he shone the brightest. He was a man full of passion, had a strong sense of justice, and was extremely family-oriented. Not only that, but Kyojuro was extremely attractive with his luscious blond locks, captivating golden eyes and amazing physique. It was no wonder so many girls fawned over him.
Despite having a massive crush on Kyojuro, you couldn’t bring yourself to confess to him. Firstly, you didn’t know if he reciprocated the feelings you had for him. It would be super humiliating to have him reject you, especially when you share the same friend group. Secondly, related to the first point, it would probably create an awkward tension between you and Kyojuro if you confessed, causing a rift in the friendship. Thirdly, you were pretty sure you weren’t his type. You were the total opposite of him, you were introverted and quiet, while Kyojuro was extroverted, charismatic, and well... Extremely loud. Additionally... He was way hotter. In your mind, you think you’re a 4 at most and he definitely deserved a bombshell (of course, that was just your own self-deprecating thoughts coming at play).
Sighing, you entered the metro station, trying to hype yourself up for the date. I should be excited and having fun, right? Why do I have a foreboding feeling this won’t go well... you thought to yourself.
---
Mitsuri waved good bye and wished you luck as you left the apartment. Once you closed the door, she let out a silent giggle. Mitsuri was proud that you took a step outside of your comfort zone to try out dating. It took you a lot of convincing from the pink-haired girl, but nevertheless, Mitsuri was insistent you should try it out, hoping you could experience something as beautiful as love.
However, Mitsuri knew your hesitation to date didn’t only stem from your overbearing shyness. Mitsuri was very perceptive and knew what was going on inside (Y/N)’s heart.
Mitsuri took note of your crush on Kyojuro through several years of data collection during friend group meetups. Mitsuri noticed that whenever Kyojuro spoke to you, you would lower your eyes, refusing to look at the man directly, and would blush profusely. Or, whenever Kyojuro said something seemingly funny (though often unintentionally), you would always be the first to giggle, though quietly. However, she thought it was the cutest whenever you would slightly pout when you find out Kyojuro couldn’t make it to the meetups. Mitsuri knew you were too shy to confess to Kyojuro, probably due to his overwhelming presence.
A knock on the door knocked Mitsuri out of her silent musings.
Skipping to the door, she opened and was greeted by the sight of a man's chest. Mitsuri looked up and saw her good friend Kyojuro staring at her.
“Kanroji! Good to see you!” Kyojuro shouted.
“Kyojuro! What a lovely surprise, come in!” Mitsuri greeted enthusiastically.
“Thank you!” Kyojuro yelled, stepping into you and Mitsuri’s shared apartment. Kyojuro stood rod straight, crossing his arms across his broad chest. He appeared to be looking around for something.
“... What brings you here today?” Mitsuri asked, curiously.
Kyojuro smiled broadly. “I am looking for (L/N)! Is she around!” he asked loudly.
Mitsuri suppressed a knowing smile. “Oh, (Y/N)? She went out for a date today!” Mitsuri replied gleefully.
Kyojuro’s bright smiled suddenly appeared force. “Oh! A date! How lovely! Do you know with whom!”
“Oh, I didn’t think you would be the type to be so curious!” Mitsuri joked. Usually, Kyojuro knew his boundaries and wouldn’t pry, but today, something was a bit different.
"Hahaha! Kanroji, you are funny! But seriously! Who is (L/N) on a date with! Is it someone we know!” he shouted at the wall.
Mitsuri’s eyes glittered. “You busy right now? Let's go follow (Y/N)-chan on her date! She told me where she’s meeting, so let’s go!” Mitsuri suggested.
Kyojuro seemed hesitant. He did not think it was right to spy on his friend’s date, however, his curiosity was getting the best of him. Giving another forceful smile, he ended up agreeing by giving a sharp nod.
---
You got off the metro and began walking towards the meeting point with your date. Your anxiety levels were increasing by the second, soon to go off the charts. You hoped the date would go well, hopefully getting to know your date better. You weren’t hoping for immediate romance, just wanted to test the waters to see if he would at least make a good friend. Via text, he seemed like an alright person. He was insistent on planning the date, and being a passive person, you let him take the reins. As long as you were in public, you were fine with what he planned.
Standing at the meeting point was a man that matched the description on his dating profile. He was of average height and average looks, nothing really stood out. However, you didn’t pick your match based on appearances, you wanted to focus more on personality and whether he would vibe with you.
Walking up to him and nervously tucking a piece of hair behind your ears, you greeted him. “Hi, Hiroto, right?”
The man turned to you. “Hi, (Y/N)!” he opened his arms. You were apprehensive to physical touch, but you didn’t want to be rude and hugged him back.
After your brief embrace, the two of you started walking. He was going to bring you to lunch at a popular restaurant. You made sure to tell Mitsuri the location of your date.
During the walk, you tried to make small talk to ease the awkwardness. “So... Nice weather we’re having...” you muttered.
“Haha, yes! Such gorgeous weather, right? Glad you wore a skirt. It’s pretty hot, haha!” Hiroto said, wrapping his arm around your shoulder briefly, then let go.
You immediately tensed up from the brief touch. You hated getting touched, especially from a guy you barely knew. However, you didn’t say anything, afraid that you would come off as uptight.
The rest of the walk to the restaurant was a bit awkward. You tried to ask more questions to get to know him better, but he responded you with sarcastic answers EVERY TIME. You were getting slightly annoyed as you had trouble discerning what was fact or fiction. This is going to be the longest date ever.
You finally arrived at the restaurant. You sat with your back facing the door and Hiroto sat across from you. You tried to mask your displeasure of how things were going so far.
The waitress came around and passed out menus to the two of you. You grabbed one and took a look.
“Oh, this sounds nice,” you murmured, pointing the item to Hiroto.
“Are you sure? I thought you would have better taste than that,” he joked.
Your eye had a slight twitch, annoyed. “Haha,” you replied half-heartedly. You were starting to feel annoyed.
The two of you ordered your food and ate. Conversation was slow and awkward; it seemed that Hiroto wasn’t capable of making proper conversation other than dragging on lame jokes he made earlier. He didn’t take any effort to ask you any questions to know you better, and he didn’t answer any of your questions seriously. At this rate, you wanted your date to end ASAP.
Meanwhile...
Prior to leaving the apartment, Mitsuri insisted on putting on disguises to ensure you would not recognize them. Mitsuri wrapped a silk scarf around her brightly coloured hair. Thankfully, Kyojuro wore a hoodie, so he pulled up his hood to hide his fiery hair. (Y/N) would recognize Kyojuro’s distinctive hair from a mile away, so the two of them took extra precaution to ensure Kyojuro’s hair was properly covered. To put the cherry on top, the two wore sunglasses to complete their disguise.
Kyojuro, who was uncharacteristically restless, ushered Mitsuri out the apartment and flagged down a cab, rather than taking the metro. Mitsuri didn’t question her best friend’s apparent rush, already knowing the cause of it.
Astonishingly, the two of them arrived to the date venue around 10 minutes after you and Hiroto arrived. Upon entering, Kyojuro immediately found you, catching sight of your (H/C)-coloured hair. He was glad your back was facing the door, or else you would’ve noticed their terrible disguises.
The waitress brought Kyojuro and Mitsuri to a table directly behind yours.
"Kanroji! Order what you like! My treat!” Kyojuro “whispered”, although it wasn’t really a whisper, more like a normal talking volume. He resumed to look over at your table.
“Kyo, please try to speak quieter or else she will hear us,” Mitsuri whispered back. Mitsuri then listed off several items from the menu to the waitress.
Kyojuro watched your interactions with Hiroto. Kyojuro felt uncomfortable and wished he was sitting in Hiroto’s spot. Kyojuro noticed how Hiroto was staring at you and felt slightly disgusted by it. Unconsciously, Kyojuro started balling his hands into fists and his forceful smile returned.
“Kyo... Is something wrong?” Mitsuri knew Kyojuro long enough to sense that he was angry. Kyojuro seldom got angry, but whenever he did, it was very scary.
Kyojuro was very familiar with your communication style. From the get-go, he noticed how uncomfortable you were. Your body language was closed and shrunken, a sign you often showed when you were disengaged.
“She does not look comfortable! Should I go intervene!” Kyojuro asked Mitsuri. Mitsuri was busy shoveling food down her throat and said, “Let’s just keep observing!”
Kyojuro reluctantly agreed. Despite being a massive foodie himself, he couldn’t' find himself eating any of the delicious food Mitsuri ordered. He felt downtrodden from the sight of an uncomfortable (Y/N).
Back to Y/N and Hiroto...
The two of you were finishing up your meal. Hiroto paid for the meal and you thanked him.
“Are you ready to go to what I planned next?” he asked.
“... Sure,” you replied hesitantly, although you just wanted the date to end. However, your passive-ass was too afraid to speak up.
The two of you stood up and left the venue. You noticed an oddly-dressed couple sitting behind you, but you didn’t take mind to it. You were too preoccupied with how horribly the date was going.
---
Kyojuro watched you and Hiroto rise from the table and panic was setting in. When (Y/N) turned around, he immediately hid his face in his large hands, avoiding eye contact. He watched the two of you walk past him, relieved (Y/N) didn’t notice him.
“Kanroji! I apologize for interrupting your meal but we shall leave as well!” Kyojuro shouted urgently to Mitsuri. He immediately flagged down the waitress and got his credit card ready.
“May we please get the bill! We are in a hurry!” Kyojuro shouted, causing the waitress to flinch. The waitress rushed to retrieve the card machine.
“Don’t worry, (Y/N)-chan will be okay, she’s a big girl,” Mitsuri said to Kyojuro.
Kyojuro couldn’t bury his worries. Kyojuro knew you were the non-confrontational type and he knew you it was hard for you to stand up for yourself sometimes.
Once the bill was paid (RIP Kyojuro's wallet), the two of them immediately left. Fortunately, you and Hiroto weren’t too far off. Mitsuri and Kyojuro immediately caught up, staying at least 2m away from the two of you.
Kyojuro’s eyes nearly popped out of his sockets when he watched Hiroto grab your hand without your permission. He watched as the pervert wrapped his fingers around your smaller hand. He saw you visibly flinch, yanking your hand away.
Kyojuro tensed up and tried to speedwalk towards you and Hiroto, but Mitsuri held Kyojuro back. “Kyo! Look, she pulled away.”
"(Y/N) is clearly uncomfortable! We cannot stand here to keep watching!” Kyojuro said in a surprisingly angry tone.
---
After you and Hiroto walked out the restaurant, the two of you didn’t say a word and you didn’t feel like talking. The date was going absolutely terrible and you regretted all your life choices.
You suddenly felt a hand forcibly grab yours, linking your fingers together. You flinched and immediately pried your hand away.
“U-uhm. I am not okay with that. I’m uncomfortable with touching,” you said sternly. You were shaking from the sudden touch and rubbed your hand against your skirt. What the absolute fuck?!
There was an awkward tension. “Where are we going?” you asked in an irrate manner.
“Why don’t we walk around at the park? I’d like to spend some more time with you,” Hiroto suggested.
“... Ok.” you replied. You wanted to cry. You wanted to leave, but you didn’t have the guts to tell him. Instead, you complied, like the little bitch you were.
The two of you continued walking. Hiroto started asking you questions. “You like the park, yeah? It’s pretty, right? What’s your favourite part of the park?” he asked.
“Oh, uhm. I really like ---” Hiroto’s arm snaked around your waist and you felt him pull you towards him. Your heart started racing from severe anxiety. You couldn’t think straight, and you began to anxiously grab onto your purse strap, shrinking yourself. Because of your proximity to Hiroto, you felt your own body rubbing against his. “I.. Really like the trees,” you muttered quietly. Hiroto’s hand began to travel down... Causing you to shake.
“You really don’t like to be touched, yeah? You’re so tense,” he smirked, leaning his face extremely close to yours. You felt his breath on your face.
“No, I really dislike getting touched. Please stop,” you begged quietly. Hiroto continued rubbing your waist and tears began to leak from your eyes.
Suddenly, you felt his arm abruptly removed from your body.
“Please do not touch her!” you heard a VERY familiar voice shout. You turned around.
You were met with the sight a familiar-looking man, holding the collar of Hiroto. The man was taller and buffer than Hiroto.
“Kyojuro!” you heard someone cry, recognizing the voice to Mitsuri’s. You looked to see the perpetrator, recognizing the familiar physique to be Kyojuro's. A bunch of people gathered to look.
“Kyojuro! Mitsuri!” you sobbed, running towards your friends. Mitsuri grabbed you and immediately held you in a hug. She asked if you were okay and you nodded shakily.
“Kanroji! Please watch over (L/N)!” he instructed.
“When a girl tells you she doesn’t like to be touched, you don’t touch her!” Kyojuro said through his teeth. Hiroto was visibly shaking from Kyojuro’s intimidating aura.
Kyojuro immediately looked at you. He saw that you were very frightened, and based on your look, it looked as if you were pleading him not to incite any violence.
Kyojuro let go of Hiroto somewhat harshly, causing the latter to stumble. “Do not ever bother (L/N) again! Please leave!” Hiroto grunted and quickly ran away, clearly frightened by Kyojuro. Kyojuro then looked around at the spectators, who immediately left after the scene was over.
“(L/N), are you okay!” he asked worriedly. You looked up at Kyojuro’s golden eyes, immediately feeling a wave of comfort. You seldom looked directly into Kyojuro’s eyes, but once you did, your heart was racing like crazy. You really wanted to hug him; he saved you.
“Y-yes. Thank you so much for saving me,” you sniffled. Mitsuri patted your head lovingly, cooing you.
“(L/N)! You have to be more careful with using dating apps!” Kyojuro said, smiling softly at you.
You flushed from embarrassment.
Mitsuri let go of you and sighed. She put her hands on her hips.
“Guys... I’m just going to be upfront. Don’t you guys have something to say to each other?” she said, slightly exasperated.
“What are you talking about, Kanroji!” Kyojuro asked. You also looked at Mitsuri with your head cocked slightly to the side.
“It doesn’t take a genius to know what’s happening here!” she semi-shouted, pointing to the left side of her chest. “(Y/N), I know you’re shy, so I forgive you for that. But Kyojuro! You have no excuses!”
Kyojuro’s face grew red, almost as red as the tips of his hair. He turned to look at you, who was staring right back at him. Secretly, Kyojuro liked you for a while now. He didn’t think soft-spoken girls were his type, but you definitely changed that perception for him. He loved how you softly giggled at his lame jokes, or the way you intently listened to people speak. He loved that you were kind, compassionate, and caring. Not to mention, he thought you were extremely beautiful; he loved the way your (H/C)-coloured hair flowed effortlessly around your pretty face. Kyojuro never got the courage to confess to you as he didn’t think you would like a loud guy like him.
But after today, he realized he couldn’t stand you with another man, especially weirdoes like Hiroto. He wanted to be by your side and protect you from the demons of this world.
Swallowing his worries, he spoke up. “(L/N)! I...,” Kyojuro stammered.
You have never seen Kyojuro so flustered before. Not knowing what was happening, you waited patiently for him to continue.
"It is okay if you do not reciprocate! I also don’t want to ruin our friendship! However, (L/N) (Y/N), I liked you for a very long time now! Today, when I heard you were going on a date, I felt very jealous! I... I almost wanted to punch that man across the face when he disrespected you!” Kyojuro confessed, looking right into your eyes.
Your eyes widened in surprise. You felt your cheeks grow hot, not believing what was happening. Am... I dreaming? Is this for real? You thought.
Absolutely speechless, you looked to the ground, and began sniffling.
“Kanroji! I made her cry! What do I do!” Kyojuro shouted in clear panic.
Instead, you walked towards Kyojuro and hugged him, burying your face into his broad chest.
“K-Kyojuro... I’m crying because I can’t believe it! I... Also like you. A lot. I-I was too scared to confess,” you cried.
Kyojuro looked down at the top of your head, shocked, also not believing what he’s hearing. He immediately wrapped his strong arms around your smaller body.
He smiled softly. “Well... Do you want to be my girlfriend?” he asked quietly, which was uncharacteristic for the loud man.
You looked up at him with your teary eyes, smiling. “Of course! I would be the happiest girl in the world,” you replied.
Mitsuri watched the two of you embracing, smiling gleefully to herself. Although she didn’t anticipate the date to turn out this way, she was very happy with this alternative ending. It took a bit of time for the two dummies to realize, but thankfully, it wasn't too late.
The end <3