Chapter Text
It was nearing the end of your time at Hope's Peak Academy, your final exams were coming up, you had to write an essay detailing the history of your talent, the benefits and disadvantages and other shit, as well as making a project based on your talent. Boy is this week gonna be stressful and boring, you thought.
You pouted as you strolled down the halls of the academy, deciding to collect some things from the art studio, you had stayed back later today to plan out your assignment wondering what materials you would need, you were thankful the school was so generous, it had so many supplies you could borrow.
As you entered the room, you were hit with that art-room-wet-paint-smell, you ran your finger through your hair and lightly tugged at it, grumbling quietly, your stomach was getting that feeling again, a dull pain, not painful enough to be a cramp but not light enough to go unnoticed, it was usually a sign that something bad will happen soon, it was always a sign that something bad will happen.
Call it intuition, call it coincidence, whatever it was, it was a pain in the ass and you never cared for superstition anyway.
You rubbed your forehead and took a deep breath, no doubt it's a sign I'm gonna fail my exams... you shook your head, I can't think so negatively!
You scratched your head, planning on stress-dying your hair tonight, like you usually do, not that it was difficult, you were the ultimate hair dresser after all, your talent seemed to have given your hair unusual strength, as it was quick to grow back no matter how many times you cut, shaved and dyed it, those with receding hairlines would be very jealous. Your talent also gave you incredible precision, being able to dye or shave any pattern into your head without the risk of making a mistake or the colours mixing together.
As soon as the feeling left, you walked over to a wooden box, bent over and started rummaging around, collecting the hair dye you required for your project and placing them in your bag, you were happy that you were allowed to keep the hairbrush from the box, having lost yours like a month ago.
Smiling to yourself, you stood back up and put the box back, swinging the backpack around your shoulders, and left the room. You were back in the hall again, the teal carpeting, clean and pristine, not a speck of dust to be found. Heh, Kirumi must have been here... (Authors note - Kirumi is my wife I love her so much-).
You began down the hall, most of your classmates and other students have left, the setting sun shining through the windows, the rays bouncing off the floor, a warm feeling on your face.
You saw a familiar figure leave a room further down, her back facing you, not a care in the world. Your face glowed as you picked up the pace.
"H-Hey! Tsumugi!" You called as you jogged down the hall, your arm flapping in the air to get the geeky girl's attention.
Truth be told, you never knew what attracted you to her so much. You were quite close as you both admired each other's talents, most conversations with her occurred from her requesting a wig or accessory for her cosplays, her amazing cosplays... But whenever you asked to hang out with her, she would always decline, politely of course, she said she was working on a project, that had been her excuse for your entire final year at hope's peak. She never told you what it was though, and when she wasn't working on a project, she was at the anime club, anime had never been your type of thing and the other members there were pretty hostile to say the least, you could never forget the time Tsumugi offered to walk you home after school and you heard her screaming at the members for... some reason, something about snooping in her emails you think, you hadn't heard her that angry before.
You wanted the courage to talk to her, to become closer than friends. You loved how sweet she was, her passion for her projects, even her 'plainness' was refreshing from your more boisterous classmates.
She turned around in surprise as she saw you slow down, panting slightly.
"Y/N?" She said, you could tell she was surprised even with her soft tone, her teal eyes staring in speculation. "Is something wrong? It's pretty late..."
"N-No, nothings wrong, I-I was just wondering if you wanted to walk out together?" You asked, your cheeks burning.
"Hm? Oh of course! I've been meaning to spend more time with you anyway. I've kinda been busy since the anime club disbanded, aha!" Tsumugi smiled, her sparkly eyes and glittering glasses seemingly ignoring what a sweaty, blushing hot mess you were rn, a light pink flush on her cheeks. She wants to spend more time with me? You smiled back and followed her out of the school, a warm red spreading across your face.
The soft summer breeze hit you as soon as you left the building, shaking the bright green grass and small flowers surrounding the paths, the small petals being blown and danced along the silvery gold sun-hit stones of the pathway. Pale, pink petals from the cherry blossom trees decorating the landscape, the air was still warm as the sun set, the sky dyed a deep gold fading into a baby blue as the sky went on, like stepping from a dry, solitary land into a beautiful, vibrant painting. Tsumugi certainly noticed, pointing to the sky.
"Look how beautiful the sky is Y/N! It's like the cg from that one dating sim..." Tsumugi tapped her chin and looked up in thought as she went through the library of visual novels in her mind. You watched in admiration as her cute face scrunched up while she was thinking. Her eyes drifted down to your face and noticed your staring.
"Aha! Looks like I got caught up in my references again! Sorry about that Y/N," She clasped her hands together as she turned to you, not really knowing how to continue the conversation.
"Don't worry about it! I know what it's like to be deep in thought, sometimes the customers start talking to me while I style their hair and I don't even notice." You scratched at the back of your head as she giggled with you.
You and Tsumugi kept chatting while walking to the gate, making plans to hang out after graduation and what you were doing for the exams, the conversation turned to talking about studying and Tsumugi mentioned a nearby café she frequents where they could research their talents, you said you could meet her there tomorrow evening, which she agreed to. As you reached the gate, Tsumugi started saying her goodbyes and said how nice it was to talk to you, you blushed and said bye back, admiring her pretty hair as she walked away. You turned and went home, your heart beating fast as you thought of what Tsumugi said, 'I've been meaning to spend more time with you anyway~'
awooga
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However, you were despairingly unaware of Tsumugi's true feelings towards you. Unaware of the way she focused on you during classes and how she stalked you between them, the way she thought of you while watching anime, distracting her from her passion, the way she'd walk past your home and make note of whether you were inside, the way she watched you style your wigs in the art room after school, the way she thought of you all the way home, the way she thought of you all day, the way she thought of you at night, under her blankets, with the hairbrush you lost all those weeks ago.