Chapter Text
THE ANATOMY OF A GRUMPY BLACK CAT
Nanase was contemplating how to put in his thoughts in his blog as he looked at the blog name. He wanted to write something to let out his pining for Itoshi Rin, his crush since high school. You see, he and Rin went to the same high school and were soccer teammates. Now in Blue Lock University, they happened to be in the same Nursing program and they were classmates too. They were classmates with Nagi and Reo from high school and this year in uni, so naturally, the four of them hung out together. Despite that, Rin was aloof. Aloof to everyone, aloof to his friends, aloof towards Nanase.
The sunshine boy sighed as he looked at the blinking cursor. He intended his blog to be anonymous, hence, he called Rin as the eponymous Black Cat, while he, the observer, did not address himself in any other than in first person. He was supposed to be studying the digestive system for tomorrow's lecture, but here he was, being a hopeless romantic idiot.
Entry 12: The Black Cat Eats Mochi
Today, the Black Cat bought mochi at a kombini. He hated how the matcha one still tasted sweet, and he wanted his a little bit bitter. He didn't realize that I was intently studying this one-way street called the digestive system while chugging on latte in a can.
He hit save, read the short entry, then published it. It was a whirlwind of emotions, and not to mention the whirlwind of assignments, most particularly Anatomy and Algebra. He prepared his things and his outfit for the next day before hitting the sack.
****
Reo was snickering while reading something in his phone. Rin rolled his eyeballs before asking Reo if he was planning to flunk Algebra, and Reo just told him to shut up. He was a math ace anyway, that arrogant rich bastard. Beside him, Nagi was head-desking like the usual, feeling like being in university was too much work. And in the classroom, the students were all abuzz.
"Where is Nanase, by the way?" Reo asked Rin without taking his eyes off his phone.
"The heck I know?" Rin replied. "Am I his guardian?"
Reo blinked and put down his phone before looking at Rin. "You and Nanase live next door in the dorm. Please don't tell me you are never aware of whatever is happening to things around you."
"He's grown-up," Rin replied with his usual gravelly voice, grabbing his Anatomy book for the long exam later today.
Nanase came in, but he did not seem like himself. Reo beamed and asked him if he had eaten breakfast, and Nanase said he had. As he took his place beside Rin, it was the first time that Rin ever took notice of him that morning.
"You look like your digestive system violated the natural law," Rin said in his usual cold manner. "Did your food decide to go back from the stomach out of your mouth?"
Nanase smiled, but he had a guarded look on his face, as if he was hiding something. Rin just shrugged off, and Reo continued laughing with whatever it was on his phone. Nanase took his phone and logged into the university forum.
Somehow, an idiot found his sappy blog and posted the link online. In one night, the blog went viral, and everyone was endeared towards the hopeless one-sided love the blogger had for the grumpy black cat. Many were already making their predictions as to who the blogger or the cat was, but they pinned it to the Nursing students, the Pharma students, the Dentistry students, and the Med students in the next building. Who else would be talking about the digestive system?
But despite the blog being anon, Nanase was still anxious. He did not want to let Rin know of his hopeless crush. And now, the whole university knew. Soon, his classmates were talking about the Black Cat entry where the blogger mentioned about the komorebi on the cat's face as he briefly took a nap in the library.
"It was literary."
"It was romantic."
"It is creepy."
"To write about the komorebi on the cat's face? Damn! They must be very love-struck!"
Nanase remembered that Friday afternoon when Rin paused from studying for a bit and took a break. He head-desked and took a short nap. But the trees from outside (and the window sills) filtered the afternoon sunlight so dramatically that it cast a beautiful glow on Rin's face, and Nanase, who passed by, felt his heart racing. Tachychardia coz someone was so damn handsome.
The students' moment of foolishness, however, was broken, thanks to the algebra professor who came in for the first class. And Nanase wondered if he should stop blogging for a while.
Who is that idiot who found his blog?
--tbc--