Chapter Text
She stopped. She looked him up and down as he was speaking, realized where he was going halfway through the first sentence, and waved him off. “I’m sorry, I have a girlfriend. Thank you, though.” Then she walked away.
This man has been here for at least four hours.
You decided to walk around a nearby park. It wasn’t supposed to rain until later, but nonetheless, you brought an umbrella anyways. Just enough to get a breath of fresh air before your appointment later, you decided, so it shouldn’t be too long. It was only morning at the time you had spotted him -- bound tightly in a leather jacket, a bouquet of roses in hand, and his skin tight pants wrapped heavily around his legs like they were the only thing that kept him grounded.
And now, here you are. Four hours later, watching the same futile performance over and over and over from afar. Your hands were seemingly limp against the bridge’s railing, holding up your weight. Clouds, dark and grey and angry, had accumulated in the sky. It didn’t seem to affect the man, no, he continued to look out over the water, waiting for his next instance to strike. During the times when traffic was light to nonexistent, much like this, he would let his smile fall, and he would stare hard and cold onto the river, like it was giving him a long speech about something that it had constantly nagged him about. Maybe he was having that conversation with himself.
A young woman, brunette hair pulled back into a ponytail, had her midday fate set as soon as she had stepped foot onto the bridge. The man’s glare shattered into a million pieces once he heard the sole of her foot connect with the harsh, dull bridge, and he turned his head to make sure he wasn’t just hearing things. When he was proven to be correct, the man looked out onto the lake again; his shocked demeanor flipped to a confident and earnest smile, but under what you could tell was a farce -- it was a perfect coverup for his internal conflict to just any one person, but after hours of examining him, you knew better -- it was but a false accusation by easily deceived minds. However, with this newfound mask, the man had wished to ensnare the unsuspecting woman.
She had no clue of the precisely laid out plan this man had for her. You had only wished for a mere moment that you had warned her, but this ongoing pattern was too intriguing to ruin. It was interesting to see how each passerby handled this upcoming situation, and this woman was no different. Expecting, fascinated, you leaned forward to hear the conversation better.
The woman stepped just behind the man, the click of her heel alerting him that it was time for him to perform. He turned his body to her, holding out the roses for her, and smiling that same disgustingly fake smile from before. “Hello, my angel!” he had called out to her. “My name is Karamatsu Matsuno, however, you can call me your--”
“Gross,” the woman sneered, not even giving him a snippet of a stare as she continued on her path.
You sighed and let your body fall again. You were hoping that this time, someone would be willing to listen past his overboard introduction, just once. The man stood stiff in his position, holding out the roses to a spectre, before turning his body to look over the river once again. His back rose up and sunk in on itself, indicating the deep sigh of a dejected reject. Coming along the opposite side of the bridge, a man on his phone decided to make his way through the leather jacketed man’s trap. You stood up tall again and listened. Maybe, this time, it’d be different for the man on the bridge.
He, of course, knew right away that someone would be making their way towards him. He had known every time; it was as if he had two extra eyes on the sides of his head, watching each end of the bridge for a new victim to hunt and strike with his flourish display. How he hadn’t managed to spot you, you didn’t know, but you let him continue without disruption.
The man took one step behind the romancer, and before the passerby knew it, the romancer spun himself around again. “Hello, my angel! My name is Karamat...su… Matsuno...”
It seems as though he completely ignored the romancer. This was a new reaction for the most part. No one had outright forgotten to even steal a glance to the man, though they pretended to; people would pass by, quickly look over to the roses the man held out for them, but just as quickly moved on without a word. You could tell from this new reaction that the man on the bridge was to the point of giving up. You, however, didn’t want that.
Were you brave enough to go and talk to him? That’s the main thing chaining you to the end of the bridge in solitude, watching and waiting for his plans to burn and fail every time. However, many smaller, less important questions danced in your head -- could you pull it off smoothly, carefully, as to not scare him away? Could you somehow introduce yourself without sounding like a complete buffoon? No, probably not. You were neither graceful nor a good enough liar to prove your innocence to the man, but something inside of you urged you forward. You didn’t listen to it.
The man let the bouquet fall to his side. He stared at the empty space before his eyes, his completely useless sunglasses hardly hiding the fact that this man was woebegone. You, a stranger, could see that this man had expected at least some sort of success from his attempts today, but it was almost like he had expected failure, too.
His eyebrows suddenly flew up, shocked, and he looked up at the sky. He removed his sunglasses and held them to his side. A second later, he flinched again, rubbing at his eye. He blinked again and stared up once more, only to dolefully look down after a second or two. You too looked up to see what all the funny business was about. To your surprise, the coldest, softest drop of water found a home on the end of your nose. You wiped it off, and just moments later, more hit you. It was coming faster and faster, and now it was a downpour. You checked the small watch on your wrist, and it seems as if you’ve missed your four o’clock appointment. Unfortunate, but you were thankful it wasn’t for anything important -- to you, at least.
You looked up, and to your dismay, the man was walking away. You pulled your umbrella from the small backpack you wore over your shoulders and hurriedly opened it, running to the man before he could hide behind the thick curtain of rain.
As to not be too suspicious, you stopped a few feet behind him to catch your breath. You kept walking, though slowly and quietly, so that he might not notice you. That would ruin the plan that you had for him. It was odd, you noted; first, he had done all the planning. He planned a speech, and probably more, but you never got to that part. Now, here you are -- planning on taking out a man whose name you only ever overheard for lunch. Only, when the downpour began had he given up, and when the downpour began had you taken on this challenge ahead of you. Alike in mind, though not the same.
You sped up, wanting to be beside the man. Even from behind, with the way his back was hunched over, it was obvious to anyone that he’s had a pretty awful day. Your heart ached in your chest for the stranger, a burden to care for him draped over your shoulders like a wet blanket.
You lifted the umbrella above your head and his and stood beside him. You looked over to examine his face. His chocolate eyes sunk sadly to the bottom of their sockets like they were tired and just wanted to nap. His black hair had gone flat and slick with the rain. He didn’t notice you beside him, until he found that no water was falling onto his shoulders. He looked up, and upon noticing the umbrella, turned his head and noticed you, too.
“Oh! I, uh--” His face blossomed a startled red as he backed away from you, back into the rain. “Sorry, I didn’t see you. My bad.” He trotted away from you in a rush, tossing the soggy bouquet of roses into a nearby garbage can. After only twenty feet or so, he went back into his mopey walk, this time his hands in his pockets.
This wasn’t how you planned it to be. As you passed the garbage can, you retrieved the roses and trotted yourself back over to him. Newfound puddles splashed with every step, and the hem of your pants had been soaked to the point that your ankles had grown cold. You found your rightful place at his side and lifted the umbrella above him once again. He turned his head to you immediately this time, confused and awestruck. You held out the roses to him.
He paused in the middle of the manmade pathway around the park. A white bench behind him, rows of rosebushes lined up the now soaked lawn -- it all seemed like a fairytale. He stared at the roses in your hand, and shakily, he took them back. “Why…?”
“You said your name was Karamatsu Matsuno, right? I’m [First] [Last].” You held out your hand for him to shake. He looked down at it, puzzled, but quickly took up the offer.
“You were standing at the end of the bridge,” he acknowledged quietly as he brought his hand back to the roses. Water fell down his face and across the bridge of his nose, dripping from his soaking wet hair and into the bouquet. “I thought you were having fun mocking me. Why are you here, then?”
“Mocking?” Your face contorted oddly. “I was hoping that someone’d stop and let you talk. That never happened, though.” With that sentence, he looked at the floor, a bashful and ashamed smile coming across his face, eyebrows crinkled like tinfoil. “I’m here to listen, if you’d like.”
His smile fell, and he looked up at you amazed, as if you’d performed a miracle right before his eyes. His thick eyebrows knit with worry, and his eyes darted around, looking for something. Someone, possibly. He saw nothing but the sheets of rain that fell from the sky, and he returned his nervous gaze to you. “Really?”
“Really.”
His eyebrows relaxed, he bit his lip, and quickly he threw on the romancing smile again -- this time, it was beautiful. It was dazzling. It would stop anyone in their tracks just to look at the confidence of this man before you. It was big, it was beautiful, and it was real.
“Hello, my angel!” He went down to his knee, something which he hadn’t done with the others, but he quickly realized that the floor was wet and to accommodate with this condition he lifted up his knee. Squatting, he continued. “My name is Karamatsu Matsuno. However, you can call me your dream guy~!” He gave you a wink. “Might I know yours?”
He quickly remembered that he already knew your name, and anxiousness fell upon his face, he stood to correct himself, but you played along. “It’s [Name], [First] [Last]. What are you doing in the rain, Karamatsu?”
For a second, he only looked at you, one single drop of water dripping down the side of his face. He quickly got his act together and went back to squatting. “I wished to know if you would like to accompany me to a divine meal! What do you say, my sweetheart? ” When he said that in English, you couldn’t help but laugh to yourself.
“Well, sure, I don’t see why not.” You said between giggles. He looked so proud of himself, and as such you knew your mission had been completed. You wanted to continue to the afterstory. “Where do you have planned, Kara?”
He blinked, rubbed at his eyes, then looked at you again. “‘Kara’?”
“Yeah. Is it okay if I call you that? I mean, if you’re uncomfortable with it, I won’t--”
“Yes, of course, my angel! I’d be delighted to be given such a name.” He stood up fully, his earnest smile still on his face. “As for our late lunch, I have--” He winked, shot a finger gun, and shouted: “ No plans! ”
You snickered. “‘ No plans, ’ eh? Well, then where would you like to go?”
“Wherever my sweetheart desires~”
You shrugged. “ I want to eat whatever you want to eat.” You tapped the tip of his nose with a playful finger, poking your tongue out like a child. “Now, again, where do you want to go for lunch, Kara?”
He looked like a deer in the headlights -- or, rather, a deer in the spotlight. The spotlight seemed to suit him better anyways. “W-Wait, I asked you out on this fine evening, my dearest, shouldn’t you pick the spot and I pay for our meal?”
“Not tonight, Kara. It’s up to you.”
He blinked, a crooked smile slowly crawling over his round cheeks. “R-Really? Wow, I…” He looked down and covered his face with his hand, the other one wrapping around his stomach to hold himself. “Thank you,” he squeaked. He stood there for a moment or two, and when he pulled away his hand, droplets of water streamed down his face from his eyes. This time it wasn’t rain.
You held out your elbow for him to take, and he quickly looped his arm with yours. “Now, Kara, I propose to you the question once again,” You took a step forward, and a bit delayed he followed at your side. “Where do you want to eat?”
“Ah, how about…” He shrugged his mouth to the side of his face, thinking as he looked up at the edge of sky you could see from under the umbrella’s edges. His cheeks puckered up with his expression. “Would… that little cafe at the corner near here be okay? If not, I can--”
“Good choice,” you commented. “I haven’t been there in a while, but their hot chocolate was pretty rad last time I was there. You ever been there before?”
“Alas, I have yet to immerse myself in the sweet flavors of such a place,” He held back the roses to you. “Take these, as a token of my thanks.”
You realize how quickly he can go from one personality, the one of a lost puppy left on the streets to fend for himself, to that of a stage performer begging for the audience’s eyes. It was amazing, if you were to be honest with yourself; though, you assumed it was to cover up whatever other personality he’d shown you prior. And, now that you think about it, both sides are looking for, perhaps even pleading for the slightest amount of attention. You gladly gave it to him. It’s not that you minded how different he could be, per se, but it’d be nice to see the real thing more than just when he’s a vulnerable soul.
However, you complied nonetheless, taking the roses back into your hands and staring at the droplets of rain that fell upon them.
“So, my dearest, tell me about yourself.”
And you did. You told him about your job in retail, your cat, and your favorite kinds of music. When you asked for more on Karamatsu, he told you that he's one of six identical brothers, his passion for the arts, and how he longs for love. That last part was tacked on very quickly and very dramatically, but you didn’t question it. You stopped just in front of the cafe, folded your umbrella back up, and entered. The rain cut out just as the door shut behind you.
The cashier seemed more than terrified to be serving you, and ended up getting a newbie to help you. You had no idea why -- that’s when you looked up to Karamatsu and realized how silly and out of place the both of you looked here. It seemed to be a fancier cafe than those more normally around these parts, and both of you were drenched and dressed rather casually -- or, in his case, rather gaudy -- but that was all fine. The newbie handled the two of you with care, and within five minutes, you were seated and waiting for your drinks.
“Tell me more about your brothers, they sound like a handful.” You requested, leaning forward onto the palm of your hand with an interested smile.
“No, no, I’m blessed to have them!” That sounded entirely strained, but you wouldn’t push him on the subject. “Osomatsu, the dearest eldest brother, enjoys drinking and gambling. He’s a carefree soul, much like yours truly!” He began to play with his fringe, and again, you knew it was a lie. “I’m the second oldest, so not much to tell about me -- but the third oldest is Choromatsu. He says he wants to be the one in charge, but he’s always going out of his way to make himself happy. I’m glad he’s out and doing things on his own like that!” Another lie. “The fourth is Ichimatsu. He loves cats, but he can be cold, especially to me -- but that’s not to say he doesn’t love me! Even if he does have a weird way of showing it!” Lie. “Jyushimatsu is a ball of sunshine, and I feel like I can be most open with him. We sing on the roof sometimes, but he’s partial to baseball.” Actually, this one sounded remotely truthful. “And Todomatsu -- the sweet, youngest Todomatsu -- he has such a future going for him! He’s always above us, succeeding more than all of us! I’m so proud of him, and all my brothers, really.” And, again, a lie.
You wanted to know how he really felt, but you only met him today -- you’d have to uncover those secrets yourself in the future.
Your drinks came, and you shared them over stories and jokes and the occasional flirt from his side of the conversation. Of course, you assume he’s just flirting to be nice, so you let him do his thing. Plus, you haven’t been told such sweet, kind things in a while -- cats don’t exactly speak, and other than your pet, your life is filled with solitude and the occasional panic. You allowed yourself to indulge in his fluttery vocabulary, just for a bit, as your face grew warm.
“My [Name], I must ask you,” He shifted in his seat to scoot closer to you. “What made you do that?”
“‘That’?”
“Yes, as in, why did you… a-ask me. To come here.” You could tell he was burying something -- he seemed to be keeping a lot from you -- but, as you had many times before, you let him have this. It’d be disgusting to just beg him to pour his heart and soul out to you within the hour you officially met; that kind of thing requires trust and time. Both of which you’d be more than happy to give him.
“Well, I was just so hopeful that someone would finally talk to you, or at least let you finish your speech,” You sighed and leaned back. “When no one did, I realized, ‘hey, I’m someone,’ and took the opportunity. I haven’t regretted it yet.”
He chuckled softly at that, his face blossoming with the pinkest of hues. It was enchanting.
Then, before you knew it, it was all over. You offered the crook of your arm to him, which he took swiftly after only a moment, and you both exited the building smiling. The rain seemed to have stopped for good, but the sky still threatened to pour itself onto the people below it. “My angel, you must be magic!” Karamatsu exclaimed. “You’ve stopped the monsoon for us just by your presence alone, and for that I thank you.”
“You’ve uncovered my secret!” You put your free hand over your forehead dramatically, playfully. “I’m actually a wizard -- oh, how did you know?”
He snorted quietly. “A beauty such as yourself, I assumed you to be a god, actually.” He paused, sighed, and cut the scene. “Well, thank you a lot for today. I needed it.”
“Of course, Kara. Same time next Tuesday? I’m normally busy on Thursdays.”
He was taken aback. “W-Wait, what do you mean? Like, you wanna do this again? With me? ” He pointed at himself shakily in disbelief, red in the face with shock and flattery. “Really?”
“Well, yeah. I had a lot of fun today, getting to know you--” Or who he wants you to think of him as, at least. “--and everything. You’re rad, and I wanna do this again. Unless, you don’t want to. I know I’m not the most interesting person in the world--”
“I’d love to!” He grabbed your hands and fell to his knees, the roses falling somewhere in between. His head was ducked under so that you couldn’t see his expression. “Thank you so much for this, [Name]. Thank you for everything. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
You smiled melancholily at him. “Well, I might,” You muttered to yourself. “But it’s no problem. Thank you, too, for your time.”
“So, back to the prior conversation,” He let go of your hands and stood up again, brushing away invisible dirt from his pants. He put his hands in his pockets and gave you a charming, grateful smile. “Same time next week, Tuesday, my angel?”
You nodded with a small smile. You picked up the bouquet off the floor and handed it to him with a wink. “Yeah, same time next week.”
He smiled and blushed. Realizing this, Karamatsu hid his face behind the roses. “Would… would you like me to walk you home?” He held out one of his hands to you. His offer took you by surprise -- for some reason, you hadn’t expected him to ask this. Sure, he seemed like the type to do so, but you were treating him today, so there wasn’t any reason for this action. “It’s the least I could do for you.” Or, at least, not in your eyes.
“Oh, no, it’s okay. I wouldn’t want to keep you from the rest of your day any longer.” You waved your hand, flopping it like a dead fish. “I’ll get going then--”
“I have no plans for the rest of the day, my sweet! My only wish for today--” He grabbed his sunglasses from, once again, who knows where, and put them over his eyes. “--was to meet an angel, and that has been granted. I’m free for the rest of the day~”
“Really, I shouldn’t burden you.” You turned, knowing full well that he would keep persisting until you agreed, and began to walk. “Bye, Kara. See you next week.”
“Wait, [Name]! You’re not a…”
Before you could hear the rest of his sentence, you turned the corner and drowned out his voice with the new drops of rain that fell from the cloudy grey sky. And, as soon as you knew his presence was gone, it began to rain again. You regretted leaving him behind. You wanted to turn back and just accept his offer, but now you were afraid -- of what, you didn’t know. Rejection? Being forgotten as soon as you left? Anger? All were possible, and you didn’t want to find out. So, instead of listening to your gut feeling, you opened your umbrella and kept forward, and you wish you hadn’t.
You wish you had gone back.