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Prompt: One of the boys is a closet otaku and outed after their backpack of manga is left behind. Who is it and what kind of manga is discovered? Who discovers it and where?
“Reki?” Oka asked, frowning uncertainly. “You didn’t happen to leave your backpack here yesterday, did you?”
“Huh? No, why—eegh.” Reki scrunched up his face at the floral-pattern backpack in Oka’s hand. “Why do you think that would be mine?”
“I thought being an airhead, you might’ve had to borrow one from your sisters or something,” Oka explained. “And what is that face for? It’s cute.”
“Langa’s the airhead, not me!” Reki protested.
“Since when?” Langa asked, sweeping the floor of the shop.
“Since always. I meant it in a nice way.”
“How can you mean airhead in a nice way?”
“Like a term of endearment?” Oka supplied.
“Yeah!” Reki nodded enthusiastically. “One of those. You know, kind of how Cherry means ‘gorilla’ in a nice way and Joe means ‘nerd’ in a nice way.”
Langa frowned as he processed this and Oka pressed his lips together trying to hold back a smile.
“Endearment?” Langa asked.
“Like Cherry and Joe?” Oka asked at the same time.
“Huh?” Reki replied, startled and rapidly blushing. “What? No. Just—no, that’s not what I meant at all!”
“Pretty sure that makes you the airhead then,” Oka teased good-naturedly. “Oh well. I guess if it’s not your backpack…”
“Who was even in yesterday?” Langa asked, broom no longer sweeping as he stopped to think.
“What’s in it? Did you look? Is there a wallet or ID or something maybe?” Reki suggested.
Oka laughed awkwardly. “Well, that’s the thing…”
“Excuse me!” Shadow—Higa called as he peeked in the door to Dope Sketch. “Have you maybe seen—” His eyes fell on the flowery backpack in Oka’s hands and widened. “Oh!” Then he looked up at Oka and he turned bright red. “Uh. Oh.”
“You two can go ahead and head home for the day,” Oka told the boys. They didn’t need to be told twice, grabbing their things and scurrying out the door, their skateboards hitting the sidewalk before the door closed all the way.
“I take it this is yours?” Oka offered.
“Uh, well, n-no! It’s my, um, sist…er’s…” Higa gave up the lie halfway through and drooped, cringing. “Did you look inside?”
“I did,” Oka admitted. “I thought it might help me identify the owner.”
Higa sighed, looking away in embarrassment. “Go ahead and laugh.”
Oka did laugh, but not at all in a rude way. “Why would I laugh at you for manga? Who hasn’t read manga?”
Higa glared at him. “Manga is one thing. A backpack full of shojo manga belonging to Shadow, the antihero of S, is a whole other thing.”
Oka smiled playfully, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Who is this Shadow you’re talking about? I don’t think I know the guy.”
“Whatever,” Higa grumbled, blushing again as he thrust out his hand. “Thanks for holding onto it. Sorry—sorry for inconveniencing you.”
Oka wasn’t ready to give it back, instead setting the backpack on the counter and unzipping it. “There’s really no reason to be upset. And there was no inconvenience at all, it was just hanging onto a backpack for one day—”
“What are you doing?” Higa yelped, panicked as Oka pulled out a volume.
“This is really yours?” Oka asked, gesturing with the book. “Not…a girlfriend’s?”
Higa shook his head. “No. Even if I did have a girlfriend, I would die before showing her my manga collection.”
“So you don’t have a girlfriend,” Oka mumbled under his breath.
“What?”
“Nothing. So you have more than this?”
“Lots more,” Higa admitted, finally just giving in and leaning on the other side of the counter. “But this is my favorite. I’ve re-read it I don’t even know how many times. Especially when I’m down, which is why—” Realizing he was rambling and giving too much away, his mouth snapped shut, teeth clicking.
“Kaze Hikaru, huh?” Oka asked, reading the title. “What’s it about? If it’s your favorite it must be good.”
Higa frowned uncertainly, pink on his cheeks. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“No!” Oka insisted, unable to hold back a smile which he realized probably didn’t help. “I genuinely want to know. And you seem so passionate about it, it’s cute.”
“Cute?” Higa squawked.
“So what’s it about?” Oka coaxed. “You can tell me a little bit, can’t you? To pay me back for holding onto it for you?”
Higa’s lips twisted into a frown, considering. “Well. It’s about the Shinsengumi—”
“A shojo manga about the Shinsengumi?” Oka asked skeptically, looking at the cover again.
“Right? But that’s what makes it so good! You see, the main character joins the Shinsengumi to get revenge for her family—but of course she can’t join as a girl so she has to disguise herself as a man, right? And—well, I don’t want to give the plot away too much, but it’s just really inspiring, yknow? She’s trying so hard and even after she realizes revenge isn’t the answer, she wants to stay in the Shinsengumi as a man to protect Okita—”
“Okita?”
“Oh yeah, she falls in love with Okita Souji and he finds out she’s a girl but ends up letting her stay and—anyway! She’s constantly overcoming her limits and striving to get stronger to protect what’s important to her. Even if she has to maintain this alternate identity to do it.”
“Mmm. I can see why that might resonate with you.”
“You are teasing me after all,” Higa pouted.
“Of course not,” Oka assured him, thinking that wary sulk was adorable. “Please, continue.”
“It’s full of really interesting history too!” Higa continued defensively. “If…you know, if you’re into that sort of thing. And of course being the Shinsengumi the side characters are all cool and strong. But not without their flaws so they all feel very human and realistic!”
“I see,” Oka said, chin propped on his hand, giving Higa an encouraging nod to continue.
“It’s got a lot of humor and even the l-love story is really sweet and pure and you can’t help but root for their happiness.” Higa looked away bashfully. “Even if I bawl my eyes out every time I get to the end and Okita dies.”
“Whoa! Spoiler!” Oka laughed.
“What?” Higa’s head jerked up, eyes large. “It’s— W-were you gonna read it? But I mean, even if… It’s historical fiction about the Shinsengumi, of course Okita dies—” he stammered, getting increasingly flustered. “That would be like saying I spoiled Titanic by saying the ship sinks at the end!”
“It does?” Oka asked, staring back incredulously.
Higa froze for a moment then flushed bright red, whining a little as he covered his face with his hands. “Can I just have my backpack back and you pretend none of this ever happened?” he asked through muffled hands. “You’re so mean.”
Oka burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Okay?” He gave a hopeful smile as he reached across the counter and pulled Higa’s hands away from his face. And didn’t let them go. “But is it okay if I hang on to the backpack for a bit?”
Higa’s eyes flickered to Oka’s hands still holding his. “Um..?”
“I want to read your favorite manga,” Oka explained, finally letting go.
“O-oh,” Higa stuttered uncertainly. “I mean, sure? Or are you teasing me again?”
“No, I’m serious! Maybe we can meet up for dinner next week?”
“Dinner?” Higa squeaked. “Why?”
“So I can return your backpack and Kaze Hikaru and we can chat about it?”
“Y-you really don’t have to—”
“What, you don’t want to talk about your favorite manga with a lunkhead like me?” Oka asked.
“No, that’s not it at all! I don’t think you’re a lunkhead, you’re—I mean, I’d love to, it’s just—”
“Then it’s a date. You like Italian?”
Higa sputtered. “That’s way too fancy!”
“It’s to pay you back for loaning me your manga,” Oka said smoothly.
“Then it’s way too fancy! And too expensive—”
“It’s fine,” Oka assured him. “Joe owes me a dinner anyway for losing a bet with me. So I really need someone to go with. Can’t eat in a place like that all alone, right?”
“I-I suppose,” Higa admitted.
“Joe keeps glaring at you every time he walks by,” Higa whispered, eyes darting nervously around Sia la luce as he watched Joe return to the kitchen. “What exactly was your bet?”
“Oh, you know,” Oka said with a shrug and a little smirk. “I just bet him that you’d be my boyfriend by the end of the month.”
“What?” Higa hissed. “But—you can’t lie to win a bet!”
“I’m not,” Oka said innocently. “And you look very handsome tonight, by the way.”
“So do you—I mean—what?”