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Normal day, normal schedule, normal outings.
Kugie was sitting on the steps outside of her school, scrolling on her phone while listening to some music — The plastic earbuds barely containing the sound, little vibrations of noise being heard all across the city. Many people fell victim to Kugie’s obnoxious music, however the closest casualty was the mop-headed Ranmaru Kageyama.
“Kugie…!”
He tried to call out to her, taking a seat beside her on the steps; no reaction. The girl’s smoky auburn eyes glued to her screen as she scrolled through her typical timeline: kittens, flowers, photos of her friends…Ryoko….
“KUGIE!”
His face flushed the slightest hint of pink once he saw that familiar girl on her phone, his bandaged hands instantly grabbing onto her arms and shaking her like a salt bottle.
“Wha—What the hell, Ranmaru?!”
She took out her black earbuds, an annoyed pout resting on her lips, turning her phone off and placing it on the concrete beside her.
Kugie wasn’t surprised with his presence, as they did hang out at least a few days of the week after school, living the closest to each other out of everyone in their little scattered, high-school group.
She raised an eyebrow at his bewildered expression, not being able to decipher a proper reason for it being there; she didn’t look like a mess, she literally checked herself out with her camera mere minutes ago.
“Uh, did something happen? Why are you looking at me like that…?”
Ranmaru instantly lowered his head down to the ground, sighing in embarrassment. He ran a hand through his messy hair as he tried to sort out his messy mind.
“I-I’m fine…”
Kugie didn’t really buy it, so she decided to scavenge through her bag until she pulled out some strawberry-flavoured pocky. Silver-wrapping dropping to the ground, she held one out into the space between them.
“You hungry or something? The hell’s wrong with you?”
Ranmaru’s beaded eyes looked up, hesitantly latching his fingers onto the sweet stick. He began to nibble at it while mumbling a few words.
“I guess there’s like…Something on my mind…? It’s nothing really serious though, so…”
By now Kizuchi was devouring the packet of Pocky, her curiosity piquing with his cryptic words. Sure they’d hang out and talk about all sorts of problems they endured in their lives: surprise tests, arguments, the tiniest things that ticked them off that day…But never did he come to her looking like he'd just been put through hell.
Crunch after crunch, Kugie’s voice shifted intto something more neutral; maybe her usual rowdiness was squishing him into a corner he refused to back out from.
“What’s up? It seems pretty serious to me, I mean…Look at you.”
Although her eyes didn’t meet his face, instead focusing on the travelling cars that wheels screeched across the uneven slate — the sound making her teeth grit instinctively.
Ranmaru looked away, a nearby wooden fence serving as the perfect canvas for him to paint out his scrambled thoughts; most of them blending into the form of a black-haired girl with dazzling honey brown eyes.
Shaking his head to snap out of it, he let out a prolonged sigh. Even if Kugie wasn’t looking at him, he could feel her eyes gaze at him with every move he took.
A block of awkwardness built itself up inside of Kageyama’s throat, almost huddling himself up into a little ball as he realised there truly wasn’t any way out of this now – He’d just made himself look like a fool, and he’d look like even more of a fool if he just swept it under the rug!
“C’mon, silence isn’t going to fix your problems.”
Great, now she’s caught onto his defensive mechanism. Truly lovely for someone as anti-social as Ranmaru, being met with the stronghold that was the confrontational Kugie, menacingly munching on those damned pocky sticks.
He inspected her confident stance; was the pocky bribery? Sweet treats for exchange for intel? What was she playing at? The way she seemed so unbothered about his stressed sentiments, only tapping her foot off a stone slab rhythmically.
He let out a silent groan, but Kugie had sharp ears that caught every little reverb of it, eyes instantly locking onto the reluctant Ranmaru.
“Fine, fine…I’ve uh, got a question, I guess.”
“Spill.”
Blowing out a puff of air, Kageyama braced himself as if Kugie was about to maul his face off.
“You know how you’re like…Dating Anzu, right? How did you even um…Get with her?”
“—What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”
An instant reaction, taking Ranmaru’s words offensively, more angered statements pouring out one by one.
Kugie definitely interpreted his words in the worst way possible.
“Are you saying I’m like…Ugly? Or, do YOU like Anzu?! Because sorry, she’s off the market.”
Ranmaru immediately put his hands up in surrender, waving them around as he attempted to swat away her anger.
“No, not like that! I meant like ‘how did you ask her out’...!! Anzu’s safe, I don't want her…!”
His voice slightly contorted with offense of his own when Kugie accused him of desiring to date Anzu; sure she was a good friend, but as a lover…? To someone as quiet and snarky as Ranmaru…? He wouldn't even dare take his good friend’s girlfriend ever, that’s the worst thing one can do.
“Ohhhhh…”
Kugie nodded in relief, holding up another twig of pocky up to him, a sugary, sincere apology for her outburst.
“So you’re asking for advice, yeah?”
“Yeah, yeah that…!”
His trembling fingers took the pocky graciously, scoffing it down knowing that Kugie’s wrath was beyond them.
Kugie couldn’t help but let out the smallest chuckle of surprise, a menacing smirk sliding across her lips as her piercing eyes glanced at him from the side.
“You actually like someone? YOU?”
Was her tone condescending? Probably not, but Ranmaru took it that way, anxiety mixed with insecurity flaring up in his shoulders.
“Yeah? Is that really so outlandish? God forbid.”
He muttered, rough notes coming out from his weak body.
Kugie just stared at him, eyes slightly softening from his perceived indignation.
“No, I’m just a little uh…Surprised, I guess? You never seem like you’re really interested in anyone.”
She wasn't wrong, inevitably causing Ranmaru to nod in agreement.
“Yeah I guess I don’t, but I–I do, I think.”
“Well who is it? Can’t help you if I don’t know the ‘lucky’ person.”
Teasing, though clearly supportive, still dangling more pocky around him.
“...Ryoko…”
“WHAT?!”
Kugie almost stood up from the shock that hit her body, flailing her hands and words around.
“One of MY BEST FRIENDS!? NO WAY!! RYOKO AS IN…HIROSE?! RYOKO HIROSE?!”
“WHAT…?! IS SHE LIKE TAKEN OR SOMETHING…?! LIKE I KNOW SHE HANGS OUT WITH JOE A LOT BUT—!!”
“NO I THINK SHE’S SINGLE, I DON'T KNOW….!! I THINK, NO WAY…No way…Okay, calm, let’s calm down and talk about this.”
Ironic coming from the person that caused this sudden spike in energy to arise. She sat down once more, although it was evident she was going to continue squirming around in surprise.
“You like Ryoko, correct?”
“...I thought we made that clear.”
Kugie let out a little huff accompanied with a laugh, the sudden whiplash leaving a lasting effect on her.
“Yeah, maybe we did…Wow, Ryoko Hirose…That’s one I wouldn’t have expected, I was thinking like…Sara, maybe.”
Ranmaru frowned, the girl’s words discouraging him more than anything.
“So, are you saying we wouldn’t be compatible or something…?”
“No! Not at all, I mean…Me and Anzu are kinda like that, and we’re pretty happy.”
She tried to reassure him, her hand hitting his grey jacket’s shoulder a few times, trying to whack those negative thoughts out of his mind.
“Like, Anzu’s a goof, and I’m not as bad of a jokester like she is. But we still get along like Bonnie and Clyde, you know?”
She fixed up her unruly hair once more — tedious after just doing that a few moments ago, the revelation truly taking a toll on her short, luscious hair she washed the night before.
“Just because I reacted like that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, I’m one of her closest friends after all…So you shouldn’t take my screaming into account, just a natural reaction when you find out someone likes her…I get you though, dude.”
“Right…Okay…You still didn’t answer my question, though.”
Her statements were strong, but maybe a little TOO strong to serve as comfort…It felt like Ranmaru was one of those soldiers in those army movies that’d play on TV; Kugie being the sergeant that’d scream ‘words of motivation’ that in reality sounded like pure slander.
“Oh, how did we get to date? Well…I didn’t just go up to her and say: ‘Hey, let’s date!’ — It’s a lengthy process man, though we did go and get some ice-cream at the local parlor as our first ‘official’ date.”
“Ice-cream..? Don’t people want something more fancy for their first date? Ice-cream seems pretty cheap for that.”
Poor Ranmaru, his head truly working in movie tropes when he said that.
Kugie caught onto his lack of experience of romance quickly: from coming to her for advice, to the fact he latches onto stereotypical themes.
“Nah, it’s not cheap! Think about it…It’s sweet, cool, and our local parlour is close to the beach! Perfect for a little chatty walk afterwards, hm? Oh and course there’s many flavours you can choose from!…Just don’t date anyone who willingly picks vanilla, that’s when you know you’re going to live a boring life.”
Ranmaru scratched the back of his head.
“But, my favourite flavour’s vanilla…”
“I guess we’ll have to expand that taste then…Only joking, Ryoko’s sweet gal, she loves everything and everyone.”
A mellow smile appeared on Kageyama’s face when he thought about Ryoko’s kindness: how she’d always try to bring a smile to his face, never overstepped his boundaries, always made sure to leave a space for him at all times…
“Yeah, she really is the best…”
“Uh-oh, we’re really smitten over here.”
“I mean, who wouldn’t be? She’s like the prettiest, most kind person you’ll ever meet.”
The words spilt out of him like rainwater; the type that’d leave a fresh, floral scent in its aftermath.
It was clear he held a lot of silent passion towards the girl, every word being emphasized and clearly picked out carefully just like fresh strawberries in a flowery field.
This left Kugie even more invested than before, grinning at the gooey-eyed Kageyama.
“Well, why don’t you go tell her that, then? If she’s the kindest person ever, I’m sure she’d enjoy hearing that.”
That made Ranmaru instantly snap out of his loving trance, vigorously shaking his head in disagreement.
“H-hell no! That’s corny as shit…I’m not just going to go up to her and just express my undying love for her, what is this, the movies?!”
Kugie just shrugged, a huff of irony leaving her lips as she smiled.
“Well…What are you going to do then? Sit around and just let it pass?”
“Of course not! I-I don’t know, I am NOT going alone with her somewhere…! I’ll fuck that up for sure!”
“...Are you shy?”
Ranmaru’s head instantly darted away from Kugie, face flushing a tomato red as he crossed his arms from the teasing.
“Maybe I am, so what?!”
“I mean I could just set it up for you, a little outing for you two, like where do you—”
“ —I want to get ice-cream with her.”
“Oh! So you’re copying me now, okay.”
“Well it was YOUR idea!”
He argued back, still curled up into his little ball. Kugie chuckled it off, rolling her eyes at his flustered behaviour.
“Okay, okay…Maybe it was. I’ll give her a ring then, and you invite—”
“ —No, you’re coming with me, we’re making this a double date.”
Kugie exhaled strongly at his demands, his sharp voice cutting through every single Kageyama-centered idea she’d proposed.
“Fine, fine. Double ice-cream date this weekend sounds good?”
Finally the boy turned back around, nodding while the pink slowly washed off his face — uneasy eyes darting around everywhere but Kugie’s face.
“Yeah, yeah…That sounds good.”
But Kugie still had one more trick up her sleeve, her grin becoming more grand and malicious than before, pointing her index finger up.
“But, under one condition that is…”
She laughed manically, leaving Ranmaru rather horrified than reassured at all.
He should’ve expected this to come with a price, everything with Kugie usually does; the pocky being the first instance he should’ve taken more into account. He slapped his hand over his forehead, already dreading the words that’d come out of her mouth.
“You call Ryoko right now and tell her about the date, and I’ll shoot Anzu a text about it.”
He gulped, the idea of actually telling Ryoko about the date sending a shiver down his spine.
Ranmaru knows how understanding she is, the girl wouldn’t make fun of him at all, yet he couldn’t help but hold a good amount of doubt: What if this strains their relationship? He truly does cherish the bond they’ve built over the few years they’ve known each other for, and he wouldn’t want to tarnish it to the ground now.
However, he’d be lying to himself if he kept up this whole status quo of ‘just being friends’ — It’s not been like that for a while; the way his heart would jump at every accidental touch, how he’d always desire to be the closest to her, sitting beside her, making small talk…Anything.
And now, he’s given one opportunity to follow through with it. So he swallows down whatever fragile pride he holds and takes the bullet, the phone buzzing until a familiar voice is heard over the speaker.
“Give me a sec, Sara! Ranmaru’s calling— Heyyyy Maru! What’s up?”
Cheery and cute as always, the enthusiastic Ryoko sits on the other line, her smile practically being heard with her happy notes.
“I—Uh…Are you free this weekend?”
“Hmmmm, yeah I think I should be! What’s the occasion?”
“Erm…So Kugie and Anzu are going to get some ice-cream together this Saturday and I was w-wondering if uh…You wanted to tag along with me…?”
“Ooh, so they’re going on their usual little rendezvous! Cute, so we’d be like their little plus two’s…A Double date~?”
Her tone didn’t seem very against the idea, playful and satisfied as usual. Though the way she clearly named it a ‘double date’ almost sent Ranmaru into a spiral.
“W-well yeah. b-but it’s not like an a-actual—”
“It’s a date! I’d love to come with you!”
“Oh…O-Okay! D-don’t worry about paying for anything I-I’ll take care of it..!”
“Hehe, okay! I’ll see you Saturday, gotta go!”
“Oh, b-bye…!”
A stumbling mess was all that Ranmaru could be described as, the phone almost slipping out of his sweaty fingers countless times during the call.
Kugie only observed, a prideful smirk plastered on her face throughout the duration of the conversation.
At least his feelings could be set in stone now; his eyes still wide from the fact Ryoko presumably felt a similar way towards him, happily interpreting their outing as a date of their own…He broke out into a little beam, although the words that came out with his teeth weren’t the kindest.
“Fuck you, Kugie.”
Chuckling, the girl stood up and patted his shoulder, not taking his words to heart.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Saturday’s two days away, gotta get yourself ready. Anzu’s already agreed to come, so this shit is set in stone, baby!”
She left the remaining box of pocky on the step, letting Ranmaru indulge in them as a final act of emotional support as he braced himself for probably one of the most important days of his life.
…And he’d make sure that he wouldn’t mess this one up, he’d make sure of it!