Chapter Text
Fujita Kumi, the bestowed upon you. The name Kumi came from your mother, it was a name given to every eldest daughter in your mother’s family. The name meant Longtime Beauty. When you were younger your grandmother called you Kumiko as it was the childish version of your name mainly to differentiate you and mother. Your family always took pride in birthing beautiful women, only marrying into doting families that would handle your beauty with care but that seemed to take a turn with your mother.
Mother turned vile when you turned out supposedly prettier than her, you were doted on by everyone around you which only worsened the cruelty held in silent glares and vile words spoken when alone. Mother even fooled Father into her mindset.
The difference between your parents, one stung longer while the other held a strong bite caused from pain. All of it stuck to you the same, it wore the mind and soul down until you became what they wanted. Adapt, overcome.
To say you were lucky to adapt fast enough to the neglect was adjacent to praising people learning to survive. It was all survival in the end, becoming pliant to the only presences in your life. Following their wishes you decided that once you hit your twelfth birthday you asked to donate your nice clothes. Switching pretty soft colors for darker more worn down materials from family members, thrift stores. Anyone where it would have your parents satisfied you were becoming lesser than your mother. Forcibly lowering your presence and entire existence to cower to her.
Requesting makeup and hair dye to change your appearance that opposed what mother wanted. It took little convincing for the three ear piercings in each ear as mother quickly approved as it only solidified to her how you preferred choosing things outside the beauty norms.
Upon entering Junior High, you were a completely new person, you were previously much more outgoing and loved to join friends on outings but with change came harsh reality. Eventually you found out that they only liked the pretty face you had and how much of a pushover you were. The fear of rejection and wishing to be liked by anyone but in the end you were left alone as the words of your parents echoed. “You were lucky to even be born in such a family, we kept a roof over your head and didn’t sell you off the second you could walk. We already treat you amazingly! We spoiled you so much you became an attention whore!”
You didn’t need friends anymore, it was fine, you could easily manage without. Maybe focusing on school was better than you could get to a good college, even if it was just barely out of the house. It was what you told yourself, that you would get into a good college and get away from here as soon as possible.
Life was tense, evidence in such a fact laid deep in the muscles of your body and depths of your mind. Focusing on how to please your parents, how to maintain a stable life that kept you away from harm rewarded you in fading memories. Grasping at “childhood fondness” that never lasted long from your parents or from him. One thing you could recall was that within your Junior High years was attending your grandmother's funeral, the last of your hope withered with her ceremony.
School years ended up in making yourself land on winning awards but never too much, always made sure to never succeed too much where mother previously failed. Studying her accomplishments soon became a class you passed with flying colors. Know well how to follow her steps but in a washed-up-copy way.
With graduation, you were kicked out of the house but having already expected that. They had room to love and cherish their other children properly now. By the time you were kicked out you already had a place lined up that would be close to your new college and job. The second you had turned fifteen you applied at a cafe that was somewhat far from the house but close to your High school and dream College. Wisteria College and the cafe was called Blue Spider Lily. You were highly regarded for your job despite your looks due to your loyalty and dedication to your work.
At least now you would be granted reprieve in silence until the new horror would eventually unlock itself. Everything was temporary in the end.
Arriving to work as usual, just slightly early but never too early where you had to kill time before clocking in. A precise schedule set for yourself from years in the job. Tying up your dyed red and black hair into a ponytail, roots of (h/c) starting to show as you examine yourself in the cafe bathroom. You sighed, pulling to strands out of the front to frame your face and adjusting your slightly choppy bangs.
I should really save up to get my hair done by a professional, I can never get these damn things right.
Huffing before adjusting your snake bites and eyebrow piercing so they weren’t crooked. You left in such a hurry this afternoon leaving rather less prepared than usual. Nightmares haunted your attempts at sleep, slipping in and pulling you into a cycle of annoyance mixed with exhaustion. Sliding on your hat and half apron before washing your hands and walking out of the bathroom.
Just need to get through today, you do this everyday, you got this. You did it yesterday, you can do it today. Take it slow.
Survival meant realism in how you approached life. Not letting yourself drown in day dreams about a life that is not yours. Friends that are not yours, laughs that are misplaced in your voice.
There were many changes you took upon yourself to differentiate yourself from the detached version of yourself. The most noticeable one was the large tattoo that covered the outer expanse of skin on your right arm that started at your shoulder and small detailing ended on the knuckle of your middle finger. The design continued from just above the outer of your right hip down to your ankle. The design itself consisted of black thinned lined spider lilies, bleeding weaving lines with a moon on your shoulder blade. That along with multiple piercings two one your bottom lips, one on your eyebrows and three in each earlobe. Keeping your hair dyed for years and simple black eyeliner that usually looked rubbed off and smudged.
The tattoo was drawn by yourself and done over the past year, only finished a month ago in the process of having it completed. Your boss, Ms. Kathrine joked about having it done for the shop with them being the legendary Blue Spider Lilies to which turned into a new nickname from her. The memory of her teasing you with it came back, bubbling with fondness.
Soon you stepped back into reality as your name was shouted, pulling your attention to the person, it was one of the newest teens that joined your crew. “Miss Fujita!! I’m so glad you’re here today!!” spoke the smaller teen, smiling brightly as you patted her head with a nod.
“I’m here everyday, Mio-san, at the same time. Don’t worry so much.” Speaking while walking over to the register to clock in for your shift. Looking at the few customers that had already been in the shop, already served and happy. With no worry of serving a customer immediately, you turned your attention back over to the brunette who was awaiting your guidance. “I am the one who is training so you should be more confident in your work, it seems like it will just be us today. Could you handle most of the cleaning? I will show you how to prepare pastries when we have downtime, okay?” Asking despite knowing the answer as Mio didn’t mind cleaning due to her anxiety with customers.
Mio nodded, humming happily as she headed to the back to presumably take care of dishes the day shift left. Turned back to the counter and realized there was something lacking as you realized no one had put music. Instead the shop was filled with idle chatter and faint sound of water running in the back.
Music was your escape, taking any opportunity to have something to focus on in the background. Humming your way over to the table filled with miscellaneous staff belongings and papers you had fished out your phone. Going through the small process of connecting to the speakers and filling the shop with your music taste. Glancing at the doors and watching as people came in and moved to the register to take their order. Pen in hand with a blank ticket, ready for their order.
At first it didn't take much notice of the three customers that had walked in as they were in their own conversation. A normal occasion honestly was not different from any other customer encounter. They walked up to the counter, greeting them with a constant small smile.
These three held differing styles to them. The first with silvery-white hair was taller than the other two, who seemed about the same height, he was close to even a foot taller than them. Craning your neck up to even hold up the basics of customer service decency felt tiring, feeling sorry for anyone who had to do that long term. Working in customer service for so long you had an eye for picking up details without leaving a lingering gaze, taking in details in case you needed them despite seeing hundreds of faces each day.
Who you mentally established as the ‘leader’ of the trio, aka buff tall man wearing makeup red dots that connected to his with his hair into a small ponytail, walked closer towards the check out. Clearing your throat for a moment as you hadn’t fixed yourself into the defaulted Customer Service mode. Pulling yourself into a more practiced wider smile than the default you wore. “Apologies, seem to still be waking up… Welcome to the Blue Spider Lily! How may I help you?”
Silence.
Starting off.. Swell… So lively today! I can just feel it radiating off of them…
The three seemed almost shocked at your presence while you simply tilted your head to the right ever so slightly at the slowly building silence. Hoping they would give you something to free you from this torturous stare off. “..Do you need a moment to look at our menu?” Awkwardly waving at the three in front of you, mentally begging them to say anything.
Even if you were used to odd looks and shock from your appearance despite Japan’s thoughts on appearance as if you are a part of the Yakuza. This felt.. A bit much? Maybe you just looked worse than you thought.
The blond with bright red tipped hair perked up and stepped closer, brows pinched in worry. “Oh yes! Apologies Madam! I had just recognized you from somewhere or perhaps someone who looked similar!” His voice was louder than you had expected but it was something to fill the silence. “We would like to order three drinks, the first being a Medium Cold Hibiscus Tea with two pumps of blueberry syrup!” He grinned wide as you wrote down the order with your right hand and in the register then you looked back at him, keeping your constant small smile.
“Will all of the orders be separate or together?” Questioning while looking over both the written ticket and screen you put the order into, making sure it was correct. Looking back up at them with a raised brow.
“Seperate.” The dark haired male spoke after a moment of them looking between each other as if a silent conversation was going on.
Nodding in acknowledgement. “760 Yen and could I please get a name for the order?”
The blond had already fished out his wallet from his pocket and handed two 500 yen bills to you, as you grabbed them your fingers grazed each other which didn’t bother you as it was an everyday occurrence for you. “Kyojurou!” The blond– Kyojurou– blurted as you nodded once more. Grabbing a medium tea cup and writing down Kyojurou on it along with the ticket, setting both of those to the side.
Quickly pulling out the change you handed it over to Kyojurou. “240 yen is your change back, your tea will be out shortly.” Kyojurou nodded and moved to the side. Eyes remained on you to which you paid little mind to. Looking at the other two, waiting for which was going to order next.
The taller of the two speaks up first, “How about you make whatever your favorite is?” He smirked, leaning towards you more but you just blink and shake your head.
“No. You won’t like what I choose.” The refusal caught the ravenette off guard, you could sense it amused him and the white haired man was shocked at the refusal. It was obvious your taste in drinks would not fit the man that yelled that he drew attention everywhere he went.
The stranger seemingly unfazed by the refusal simply rethinks his question. “Then what do you think would be flashy enough to fit my taste?” He asked, cocking a brow. A hand of his gesturing to himself.
Taking a moment to think before an amazing idea hits you, holding back the urge to laugh as you look as serious as possible, “I can do a rainbow boba with sprinkles… maybe even toss some whip cream on top.” If it weren’t for your years of customer service training on hiding your true expressions you would be a giggling mess. After a few beats of silence and an unreadable expression on the man, you simply turned to the other. “While he decides, what could I get for you?” The smile you held earlier returned with practiced ease.
The ravenetter barely needed a second to consider his answer, earlier amusement “Just a plain black coffee, small. The name is Giyuu.” His voice was quieter than the two but perfectly loud enough to be heard. “Just get him a medium chocolate Mocha. Separate.” It seemed like he could guess your questions ahead of time which was nice. Efficiency in customers that seemed to respect you was always nice.
Going through the familiar steps to process both orders. You found out the taller male’s name was Tengen as you took the three cups and started working on them. Hyper focused on the tasks at hand besides the few glances to the door. Knowing the general flow of customers and low traffic not many people came during this time of day especially for coffee. You’re fast at what you do, brewing the hibiscus tea while you get the espresso shots for the coffees. With the many years of experience of making these drinks it was very easy for it to just be muscle memory.
Calling out their names as you finish each order. They were a bit more eager to grab their drinks than the usual customer but not overly eager like random admirers. As long as they weren’t creepy, you couldn’t care much, this wasn’t a new occurrence.
Despite your odd relationship with relationships, people and romance. You drew in some attention but from the crowds that it grew manageable to ignore. Plus you were simply too busy to entertain someone in your life like that.
Co-workers, classmates, and strangers have confessed their love for you but you never returned any feelings. You were too enveloped in your world of pain and guilt of ruining the lives of your family members. Such things were always left to daydream about.
Once the orders were out, the three men left your mind without much care if they returned. Returning to your duties as the head manager, restocking pastries with fresh ones. You would bring Mio new dishes, answer any questions and guide her through making a fresh batch of Mochi donuts.
The ravenette led his two rowdy friends who were talking about the upcoming semester’s classes and what they would plan this year. They were all in their third year of college, all staying near where they went to high school so their friend group could stay close. Giyuu didn’t really care where he went to college as long as he had a chance to still see her. Despite his almost decade long crush, she didn’t even know of his existence, one day she will.
Hopefully.
Fujita Kumi will know him, he won’t go through another graduation without saying a word to her. It was extremely selfish of him to want her when she was obviously wrapped up in her own world, closing off everyone once she hit junior high. He heard rumors that Fujita was a very bright and extroverted girl until junior high came.
Even if Giyuu was far from one to care to indulge in rumors he still listened. At first none of it was his business then found himself clinging to them to understand the girl he admired from afar. Apparently she took a completely different look prior to junior high and her parents allowed so much change. The change brought most people shutting her out and bullying her, an idea Giyuu had a longtime distaste for that bubbled up in his throat.
In Giyuu’s opinion the darker look seemed to fit Fujita much more than what he could imagine of pinks and purples that thought only got stronger as they got older. In their second year of high school Kumi adorned two silver circular barbells on her bottom lip which seemed to make it more plump than before.
It was embarrassing to recall how much he took to memorizing her features, despite the dark edges she kept, Fujita remained as beautiful as an Angel.
Giyuu realized he had somewhat spaced out, blinking himself into remembering what they were doing.
Oh yeah, coffee before meeting up with the others.
He had memorized where he needed to go, wanting to check out this cafe as it started to get a spark of popularity especially with the college students starting to come back to the dorms and prepare for classes. The ravenette was surprised he hadn’t been in here before with its closeness to the dorms, only a short fifteen minute walk.
The three arrived and walked through, Giyuu looking around before spotting a familiar raven and dark red haired woman, she was fidgeting with something as music came on and then glanced over at them. Having long since memorized her features for years it took less than half a second to recognize her.
How could I have missed coming here? How long has she been here?
He realized as they walked up to the counter the other two were also surprised by your appearance. Not appreciating how much the other two were staring at her. Tengen especially needed to stay away, although he doubted the playboy could even start up a conversion with you outside of the need to be nice to paying customers. Unlike those two, he understood you, he understood your need for walls and falsities. With the timing of your isolation it was an easy guess on who the cause was, your family, stealing the light of a beautiful thing with so much potential.
The ravenette couldn’t help but stare, not even realizing that Kyojuro had given his order, you had asked them if the orders were together or separate and he couldn’t help but interrupt with a blunt, “Separate.”
Giyuu was thankful that the lady didn’t even seem to give much attention to the fact that she and Kyo made contact, even if only temporarily. He wanted to give his order for Fujita’s attention before he realized Tengen might pull something without another pair of ears around him to keep his mouth in check. Still he attempted flirting but she shot it down with even a bit of judgement for making such a request, it shocked Giyuu for a moment as Tengen for once wasn’t given in to.
Realized he should just order for the two of them and gave his order and a fairly basic one for Tengen, telling her the information she would need without asking. Even if she had given him a simple smile due to her job requiring it, his heart couldn’t help but skip a bit and feel his ears burn.
She noticed even if she doesn’t recognize me, she’s still as kind as before.
It had reminded him of when he started falling for the girl. That is a memory he will always cherish.
Tengen and Giyuu paid and walked over to the other side of the counter to pick up their beverages. “Kyo, what did you mean by the fact that you recognized the girl from before?” Tengen asked in a more hushed tone to not get the attention of the lady working on their drinks. It was highly unlikely due to her being in her own world, likely not even hearing them in the slightest.
Giyuu was also curious, what Kyojurou had said slipped his mind and was now curious. “When we leave I will explain, it is rude to discuss it in her presence.” Kyojurou said, calmer from his typical shout which was appropriate for both the setting and tone of the topic.
Once the three received their drinks, Giyuu was especially glad to have something touched by her. What he felt was beyond simple infatuation or crushing. He might be slightly smitten by the idea of her. Years of yearning that ached his body that he did try to ignore for so long in hopes of it passing but that never happened. Seemingly coming to cherish the small habits he could catch during his admiration, he never took his watchful gaze from afar farther than that. He knew rejection was inevitable and would rather leave you less uncomfortable, blissfully unaware of how you captivate him.
They all walked out of the cafe and started on their way to Mitsuri's place where they would meet with the rest of them. “Sooo…? How did you know such a flashy woman?” Tengen asked, cocking a brow at Kyojurou who had an imperceptible blush on his cheeks, this caught Giyuu’s attention.
Watching the conversion intensely as he held his typical stoic expression. Taking the occasional savored sip of his drink. “She most likely doesn’t know me but it was impossible to miss her in high school! Did you really not realize she was there? Miss Fujita Kumi is in our grade! She’s been around us since our first year of high school though I didn’t notice her until our second year…” Kyo trailed off in what seemed like regret but soon picked up where he left off.
“We were paired up for a history project! I tried to befriend her but no matter what I did throughout the entire year she was not very receptive. Miss Fujita didn’t seem to have anyone by her side and when I asked around Mitsuri only could guess as she too tried to talk to her!” Giyuu was quite shocked by what Kyojurou was saying, how did he miss two of his friends talking to or at least attempting to talk to you. Let alone Kyojurou got to work closely with you on a project. If not even Mitsuri could talk to you, could he?
“I can’t believe I missed someone like that.” Tengen murmured just loud enough for the two while in thought. Hand holding his chin as he considered something.
“Not too unbelievable you missed her. How many names and faces of the women you flirted with in high school that you can remember?” There was a bite in his words that went either unnoticed or ignored. “Whatever it is that you are planning its best for you to stop while you’re ahead, she isn’t like that.”
To that remark it earned a look from the other two while Giyuu’s gaze remained ahead while taking a drink as if he hadn’t revealed that he too recognized Fujita. Tengen slipped around Kyojurou and Giyuu placing the ravenette in the middle of them while Tengen leaned in close. “Oh, really? Mind enlightening us on how you of all people would know that?” That teasing tone had Giyuu regretting speaking up in the first place.
With a resigned sigh and stepping up towards the apartment of Mitsuri and Obanai. “I met her in junior high.” Deciding that was enough, he shrugged while walking ahead of them. Avoiding any more questions for now.
Exhaustion was heavy with your shift ending with all paperwork done and the shop was locked up. Training Mio was quite easy thankfully, you didn’t need to overexplain simple steps, relieved she grew up baking and knew most of the process. After shoving your things into your bag, slipping earbuds in and letting your playlist relax you. Relief welcomed your head as you removed the ponytail from your hair and ran fingers through it.
Your body and feet ached a bit, you had been used to the long periods of standing and walking but you completely forgot to stretch this morning to make it easier on your tired body. Perfectly timed, your stomach growled as you came up to your favorite convenience store. Shrugging your shoulders, deciding why not. Walking in with familiarity to the shop, nodding to the cashier behind the counter before making your way to the ramen section.
The safe and comfort food was always the go-to. Why try something new when you might waste your money on something you would dislike. Opting in for the very simple chicken flavored ramen, an ice cup and green tea pouch then go to check out. Fishing out your wallet while pulling out an earbud to listen for the total, handing over the amount needed and taking your change. After paying, you put your earbud back in and went to make your food when you recalled what a customer had said earlier..
Jurohero..? No… I think his name was Hyokerou? Kerojurou? Wait no, his name started with Kyo.. Kyo, the same kanji used for capital like Kyoto.
You squinted as you tried to recall the blond hair, his face was blurry but you could recall the blond hair with red tips. Perhaps you had seen the head of hair before or even the face but barely fragments of memories appeared.
Oh wait, Kyojurou… Do I know that name? How did he recognize me? Maybe you attended the same school? I think I recognize that hair…
Shrugging to yourself once more as you pull your attention to the beeping microwave alerting you of your ready food. Cursing to yourself as you burn your hand a bit in risk of pulling it out too soon, putting it in for a bit longer than necessary.
As music drummed in your ears, ignoring the world around you and enjoying your lazy dinner of ramen and green tea. You pulled out your phone and scrolled through social media. Never posting or even setting a profile picture was how you preferred to go about any social media accounts. Given how common your name was, setting your first and last name as your username was simply with excessive numbers. Solely wishing to follow your favorite artists and bands for updates.
Apparently you were famous today, gaining a couple of followers. Clicking in to see the notifications, narrowing your eyes as you looked over the usernames, not recognizing them a bit. Occasionally you'd get people from school following you to DM you but you had ignored every DM to hang out or to get to know you. Honestly unsure how people realized it was you or seemed to take an accurate guess on who you were.
Seemingly nothing particularly crazy today aside from a band touring Asia but near enough worth taking the time off work for. It doesn't hurt to hope for something closer for you and not spend an hour via train or deal with seas of crowds for an event.
Finishing up your food, cleaning your mess and heading out to your apartment as usual. During the walk home you had decided you should redye your hair so your (h/c) didn’t show back up once classes started back up soon. The small habit of stocking up came handy at a time like this. The walk to your apartment was short and done with no hassle, thankfully.
Once you got in the door, you shrugged off your bag, tossing your apron and slipping off your shoes. Muscles felt vaguely sore and exhausted, body wishing to sleep but to maintain a slightly stable sleep schedule you decided against it. Since you felt comfortable in your clothes from work, you didn’t feel the need to change.
Letting your body ungracefully lie down on the floor, turn on the music on the TV and start stretching out your very sore muscles. As you stretched out your foot the pain of pulling a muscle struck caused you to groan in annoyance rather than pain. “Dammit… Went the day without doing that.” You went on to stretch more but stopped stretching any bit of your foot letting it rest for now until the pain ceased.
Having completed your stretching you put on your favorite show, grabbing your study materials and deciding to handle more of your textbook. School hadn’t yet started but with work you would need to prepare for little time for studying. You were halfway through your second textbook for your main class so it would be easy to get through the start of the semester on a good foot. During the end of each semester is when you need to cram extra time due to holidays and the start of summer.
Since your third year of high school you started to study in the summer to prepare so you didn’t overwork yourself. You wondered if this year you would actually make yourself make connections and start on your interests, you needed to stop emotionally clinging to people who despised your existence at twenty-one years old.
Ah wait, how would I even make friends? Almost everyone by now has their friend groups that have been formed years ago.. I would barely fit in anywhere and I'd just feel like an imposter.
Thinking about that question in the back of your mind as you wrote notes, highlighting important parts and even making a few flashcards of things that seemed important enough for a good quick refresher. You nodded to yourself, satisfied with your progress in your work, you checked the time on your phone with no notifications as usual. 11:38 P.M. Satisfied with studying for a good few hours. Despite the hunger in your stomach you settled for a glass of water and went to bed.
Upon being the lucky and wiser bunch to get afternoon classes for the semester, yet again you submitted your choices immediately and with your grades you snagged the best class times. Now with school starting for the year you were the morning manager for the Blue Spider Lily. Kathrine despised mornings, especially mornings full of college and high school students.
This was your sixth school year working for Kathrine and third in college specifically, the two of you now had a well established schedule. Being the head manager and holding a position that made life easier for the owner, it was simple and relaxing in a way. Reliable, Kathrine was always understanding and held amazing benefits held usually by westerners which made sense for her given her being a foreigner.
Black coffee as your life support to keep you awake for Psychology classes. Starting the day with your class on Descriptive Ethics, which was one of your favorites of your classes. The class was quiet, the teacher was straightforward but kind, and you had a perfect amount of classmates. You made sure to wear your black face mask as it deterred most of the stares and people talking to you given how it was usually worn by the sick. Barely anyone gave much of a second glance to people who almost seemed like they were trying to hide themselves inwards.
While it contradicted what you planned for the year, every extroverted nerve in your mind was buried a decade ago. Feeling incredibly out of place on the idea of making friends but waiting for someone to invite you in was like waiting on a winning lottery ticket in terms of possibility. This morning you only had the urge to cower and die from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone even in mind alone twice! Twice! That's a new record in terms of low numbers.
As you carefully rubbed the sleep from your eyes. Careful to avoid smudging your makeup too much, a bit was fine as it made it look better but if you did it too much it made you look like a crying mess. Sliding down the mask, chugging the rest of the coffee and going on with writing notes from the current discussion when you felt someone staring into your skull.
Why can't society be normal to an awkward idiot for one day? Is it that hard of an ask, honestly? Class is ongoing people, common decency and respect is a thing!
Scanning the room while keeping your gaze wandering to not earn glares or a scolding. That is when they stopped on someone returning the gaze with far more intensity. Raising a brow at the long haired ravenette as you tilted your head.
What is your problem… Pay attention, idiot.
You rolled your eyes and continued with your note taking. Most of your notes were just add-ons to your previous ones from the text book, adding sticky notes of emphasis in areas that could use it. The material itself was simple work and a few days into the new school year, after the first day of obligatory syllabus breakdowns lessons started up either mid-way through the first class or the second. Most of your own work barely needed revisions due to how long you had taken to prepare for the year.
Upon the dismissal from the professor you gathered your belongings, neatly putting away your notebook, laptop and pencil case. You had about twenty minutes until your next class but did not wish to spend the time doing nothing. Perhaps you could spare some time to read some of the book you brought with you.
After throwing your garbage and grabbing your earbuds out as you walked out of the room. Once you had stepped out of the classroom you felt a faint tug at your sleeve, pulling your direct to the male who seemed rather awkward while trying to pull a blank expression. It took a few seconds to register the man’s face, it was the staring guy. Before you could question him he spoke up, “Miss Fujita, right?” To which you nodded.
Hi, hello.. Nice to meet you?? Formalities are a forgotten treasure…
Tilting your head slightly as you gave him an expectant expression, “Yes. Do you need me for something?” Raising a brow and waiting as the other seemed to relax even if subtle.
“Well, not me but…” The guy seemed a bit unsure of what he wanted to say. Forming the words before swallowing his nerves. “My friend, Kanroji-san, wanted to get your number and to get to know you. She would ask herself but she has an opposing schedule.” He seemed to speak truthfully regarding the friend and the name sounded too unique to be made up on the spot.
There was heavy doubt on your end, You did your best to try and recall the name. A blur of a memory resurfaced, a girl with pink and green hair constantly pestering you to talk to her and complimenting you. With more focus you recalled more, she did talk at you a lot since you sat by each other in homeroom throughout high school.
I did tell myself to try to get myself out there.. Kanroji was a fairly pleasant person and the compliments she gave were fairly common from her.
With a sigh, mental conflict gnawing at your insides before you forced the words out before you could stop yourself. “Sure. Hand me your phone.. Please.” Internally reminding yourself to be kinder as you were talking to someone out of work that wasn’t your family, it was quite the difficult task since you could barely remember the last conversation you had with someone that wasn’t family outside of work. Gods, you felt so unsocialized and you might go scaring off the first attempt you entertain.
The ravenette handed his phone open with the new contact open, seemingly shocked by your response. The urge to be offended was swallowed as you recalled prior you would just glare at people attempting conversation with you. When you input your information you keep only your first name as the contact’s name. “Tell Miss Kanroji to use my first name. I am not fond of my last name being used. What’s your name?” Speaking as you typed up a text so you could add the contact in your phone, if he was a friend of Kanroji he was probably okay.
“Tomioka Giyuu.” You nodded as you typed out the name and when you typed out the Giyuu part you realized you had spelt it prior.
Oh the shop.
Having sent yourself the message you returned Giyuu’s phone to him with a small bow of gratitude. “Nice to meet you Tomioka.” Giving farewell before making your leave to your next class, sighing once you were a safe distance away. You felt so drained from a single conversation, how would managing a friendship feel like? A shiver rolled down your spine at the thought as you entered the classroom.