Chapter Text
"It’s beautiful outside today, isn’t it?" A female voice remarked, turning towards her male counterpart who was sitting beside her in the booth.
His hands wrapped around the warm cup, which had heated up thanks to the burning liquid inside. He felt warmth rush up to his cheeks, creating a flushed pink color. He averted his gaze from her face towards outside the window, which had blooming cherry blossom trees.
"Yeah, April really is the perfect time of the year, huh?" He chuckled awkwardly, looking back at her face.
She donned a soft smile, her eyes having a special warmth in them. "Yeah.. you could say that."
"Blegh, teenage love." Ekubo made an exaggerated face, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "One of the most disgusting things a spirit like me can witness in your stupid world."
"I think it’s sort of sweet." Shigeo said, not looking up at Ekubo as he continued to make an espresso.
"Well, yeah. You’re you . Why do I even bother with you? Where’s that brat Ritsu when you need him? Now he’ s a hater. Makes me wonder how you two are even related."
Shigeo continued to ignore Ekubo’s non stop rambling. He had grown accustomed to this routine. Waking up early, then walking to the cafe while accompanied by the annoying green spirit, and getting the shop ready for the day. Then customers would start pouring in, and jazzy music would fill the room.
"Hi! Can I get a plain black coffee?" A young woman asked, most likely around the age of 19. Her friends behind her started giggling to themselves, as she winked at Shigeo and added, "And since you’re super cute, I’d like you to make my drink."
Shigeo felt flowers blooming inside his mind, daisies and maybe even tulips ripping through his head of hair, and created a scent as sweet as the words. The warmth rushing up to his cheeks had created a gentle pink hue. He found himself frozen in place, trying to even attempt to comprehend the words that left her mouth. Was he being flirted with? He really wasn’t used to this at all. He had always been the socially awkward one, not really being popular or having many friends. So what did one do in this situation? He’d ask Ekubo, but then the girls would look at him like he was insane. So what did he say? “Thank you”? Or, would that come across as rude? Should he compliment her back then..? Or maybe that would be too forward.. He had no idea what to say.
So the words stayed lodged into his throat, and he settled for a simple nod. Turning around to start working on her drink. A plain, black, coffee. That was easy enough. He had done this a million times, so why did it feel weird now? He almost messed up, but caught himself.
"Here you go.. That’ll be ¥300." He handed the coffee cup over to her. She reached into her wallet, taking out the appropriate amount of money. Attached to it was a small note with a phone number on it.
"I’ll see you soon, cutie!" She teased, taking a sip from her coffee and leaving with her friends.
"Man, isn’t she annoying?" Ekubo said, looking at the direction in which she left. Then he turned his gaze towards Shigeo, who was holding the note and looking at the number on it. His expression was still flustered and surprised. "Shigeo.. Don’t tell me you’re actually considering calling her."
Shigeo shook his head, looking at Ekubo. "She called me cute.. I can’t just ignore her. I’ll call her after work."
"Shigeo, it’s a fake number! She didn’t give you her real number. Man, you can really be dense when it comes to stuff like this."
***
"What do ya want?" An old, husky male voice came through the phone.
Shigeo looked at his cellphone, then back at the number. Double checking to make sure he entered the correct phone number. And, well, he did. So it was a fake number afterall. He suddenly felt foolish for thinking that it was real. Ekubo was right, again.
"I’m so sorry sir! Wrong number.." Shigeo said shakily, declining. He sighed and stuffed his cell phone back into his pocket.
"I told ya Shige. Confident girls like her think they can just go around giving false hope to guys." Ekubo said, then winced. "Sorry dude."
"Maybe I should just stay out of this romance stuff.. I really don’t get it." Shigeo said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and beginning his walk to his apartment.
"Isn’t that what I’ve been tryna tell you for the past.. 10 years?? It's not worth it Shige! With your abilities- you could achieve way greater things! I still can’t believe you choose to slave away in a cafe!"
"Come on, Ekubo. I’m just an average guy you can find anywhere," Shigeo stopped near a vending machine, grabbing a small carton of milk, "My psychic powers won’t help me in the long run."
"You’re the only one who thinks like that! If his powers had gone to anyone else- we’d be seeing something entirely different!" Ekubo thought to himself, sighing. He had grown accustomed to Shigeo’s viewpoints; and was forced to accept them whether he actually agreed with them or not.
It was impossible to deny, even by Shigeo, that his powers were extremely dangerous. How lucky had the world gotten, that they ended up in the hands of a socially anxious, humble guy who seriously believed he was average. There were numerous other scenarios that the world had come so close to- like a power hungry, rich old geezer. Or perhaps an assassin, or somebody with a suffocating god complex. All those ideas were absurd, not that Ekubo couldn’t understand how they felt, though.
Shigeo continued his walk to the apartment complex. It was a fake number. Of course it had been, he mostly expected it to be. So then why did disappointment hit him like a truck once he had confirmed it was? Why was he holding onto false hope that he knew was false?
Shigeo arrived at the small dump he called his apartment. It was a small, cramped space with roughly two rooms. One was forced to fit in a bedroom and kitchen, the other was a small little closet space you could hardly call a bathroom. The walls were a dead beige color, the floors were dusted wood. It wasn’t much at all, especially comparing it to his friends’ places, but it was enough.
Shigeo set his shoes aside and tossed the keys onto a small counter. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a small ¥200 cup of noodles. When he was younger, he used to love the small cups of ramen. He remembered on winter days, he and Ritsu would hold the bowls as they were boiling to warm up their hands. But now, after having it day after day, he had grown sick of them.
He poured the water into the cup and set it in the microwave, then looked at his phone while he waited. Still no messages. Well, aside from one from Ritsu, complaining about something that happened at work. Tome and the others still haven’t messaged him for about a month now, but he wasn’t mad. They all had their own adult lives now, after all.
Still, was he really this lonely? The only message he's gotten all day, and its from his little brother. Not to mention, he’s almost a hundred percent sure those same messages had been sent to Shou.
The beeping of the microwave managed to pull him out of his thoughts, and he opened the door, taking the cup out. He settled down onto his futon and slurped the noodles.
"Hey, Ekubo?" He asked, not looking up from the cup of noodles.
"What?"
"Do you.. think I’m.. lame?"
The question caught Ekubo off guard. He had basically been expecting anything but that. However, after letting the question simmer for a bit, it wasn’t too surprising.
Shigeo was never what you would call a confident guy. Having known him since he was still experiencing the early stages of puberty, Ekubo knew him pretty well. It wasn’t some private gossip topic that Shigeo allowed himself to be used as a doormat.
During his first year of high school, which was meant to be a “new start” (according to Shigeo,) just turned out to be a “let’s humiliate Shigeo fest.”
He didn’t fit in with the rest of the students there. They were either short, prepubescent annoying geeks who would talk your head off babbling about some new video game, which was apparently the best they’ve ever played, next to the other forty video games they gave the same description. They were the kind to sit at their desk and pretend to read manga volumes they had already since read, in hopes somebody would recognize it and walk up to them, viewing them as some cool elite knowledge manga reader. In reality, they just wasted homeroom skimming over pages pretending to read while their thoughts were solely focused on getting somebody to talk to them. Pathetic, in Ekubo’s opinion.
The other group of students was arguably the most annoying, considering it consisted of cocky, arrogant teens who thought they were superior to those less conventionally attractive than them. They were the kind of students to be loud and obnoxious on an early Monday morning. Where they found the energy, Ekubo couldn’t tell you. Apparently, to be popular meant you had to be annoying, sociable, and have misplaced confidence in your appearance. They also assumed that because they fit the bill, they suddenly had a right to be bitchy to everyone around them.
The last group of students, who arguably nobody liked, not even each other, but nobody could really do anything because they hardly reacted to bullying, was the nerds. These annoying little shits grated on Ekubo’s nerves whenever they’d snicker at Shigeo’s inability to answer a question. They were like the grammar nazis with how often they jumped at the opportunity to correct anyone and everyone. They were usually on the student council as well.
Surprising to literally no one, Shigeo wasn’t any of these more popular groups (stereotypes.) He was socially awkward, slightly dense, and less than average when it came to being athletic. Which don’t get Ekubo wrong, he had definitely improved since they first met, his ability when it came to physical activities was still lackluster compared to his self proclaimed professional classmates.
His only friends were his little brother, middle aged ex-boss, and other people from middle school. So having no friends in high school was basically like walking around with a large sign that said “bully me!”
Even now, where he’s just barely dipping his toes into adulthood, the lack of social experience he has shows in his pretty awful customer service and low self esteem.
But still, why would he ask a cynical spirit with a god complex if he thought he was lame? Had he really stooped so low that Ekubo’s opinion even mattered?
Even so, he still pitied the poor boy, so he tried to put together a cluster of what he thought were comforting words that he had heard from Reigen.
“Of course not. You’re not lame, Shige! Just.. not popular, that's all. But your coolness factor has nothing to do with popularity! So grin up and eat those noodles.” He grinned in what he hoped looked casual and not weird and obvious at all.
Yeah, Shigeo Kageyama was pretty lame.