Chapter Text
Kazuha stood back from the chalkboard upon dotting the final line for the new seasonal menu, letting out a small smile at his work. The sides of the black chalkboard board were neatly decorated with maple leaves and wind patterns, the items were listed as follows: Honeycrisp apple shaken espresso, Maple pecan latte, Pumpkin spice chai, Cranberry apple danish. Kazuha personally, was a fan of the maple pecan latte, he loved anything maple if that wasn’t already apparent with his cardigan embroidered with maple leaves.
While putting away the chalk he hears someone mumbling from behind him, ‘Those all sound sickeningly sweet.’ Honestly, his sensitive hearing was a curse more than it was a blessing, he hears a bit more than he would have wished at times, able to easily catch onto grumbling customers, at least it made customer service a whole lot easier. He didn’t pay much mind to it as the person walked off, of course. Everyone had their own taste.
“Nice job, Kazuha.” He hears his coworker, Kokomi speak from behind him, her blue eyes running over the neat cursive on the board. Kazuha turns his head and gives her a small smile in response.
“Ah, but I might have gone just a bit overboard with all the maple leaves…”
“Just a bit.” She teases.
Kokomi heads into the cafe first, the bell from the door ringing as she prepares for opening, Kazuha deciding on staying outside for a little longer, enjoying the autumn breeze rustling his hair as it blows from between the taller city buildings. It was his favorite season, a shame he couldn’t quite go out and whip up some poetry at the moment, he had a few needy cats to take care of first.
He’s been working at this cat cafe for a little over a year now, it paid fairly well and he liked spending time with the cats, he honestly might have grown attached to them by now. (Who was he kidding? he’d take a bullet for them.) It was terrible news for when he would eventually have to quit after he finishes college.
Working at the cafe had been a nice change though, peaceful compared to his past job. He enjoyed the comfort of making drinks and seeing familiar faces, and lately that was including the indigo haired man that always showed up later in the day, studying before succumbing to falling asleep next to the cats.
It was peaceful. For the most part. Until he learns that their new kitten Rai had somehow managed to sneak into the kitchen and consume half of their freshly made whipped cream. He only learns this because he hears Layla frantically shouting from inside the cafe, shooing the cat away from the kitchen before letting out a heavy sigh.
He winces, letting out a worried grunt for Layla before entering the cafe himself. It wasn’t the first time the sneaky cats got into the kitchen before, sometimes he would open a cabinet and find one happily sleeping away, honestly they might have been a food safety hazard at this point… but what college student cares about that when they’re going to a cat cafe? They just want to see the cats anyhow.
He takes Rai from Layla’s hands, softly scolding the kitten before setting it back down, scratching the back of its ear and listening to the soft purr it lets out, how could anyone stay mad with that face? He was sure the kitten knew that fact too.
He ties on his apron, going back to the kitchen with Layla and Kokomi setting up, washing his hands first before offering to make another batch of whipped cream for Layla as he witnesses her mourning throwing it away.
A great start to the busy day ahead.
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Kazuha turns his head to the sound of the bell on the front door ringing, the sky much darker out than earlier as he notices a familiar regular walking in, messy indigo hair covering his forehead and his hands stuffed angrily in his hoodie’s pocket, complete with a backpack strewn over his right shoulder, he was also… soaking wet from the rain outside, a scowl plastered onto his face.
Setting aside his broom Kazuha moves to the register, pulling his lips into a smile. “Good evening, I didn’t quite notice how bad it was raining out…” Kazuha mumbles, mentally mourning when he has to go home. “Anyways, what could I get for you today?” Although he recognizes the man, he’s never actually rung him up before as he was typically in the back or busy cleaning. “I hope nothing ends up Sickeningly sweet.” He teases, recognizing the voice from earlier, watching as the Indigo-haired man grimaces.
“You heard that earlier?” He huffs out, blowing away the hair from his face.
“You said it rather loudly you know, I thought you wanted me to hear?”
“Not really no.” The other says dryly., his tone carrying tiredness. Before Kazuha could ask for his order again he snaps “You should already know I want my usual.”
“I’m afraid I’m not quite sure what your usual is.”
“Large black coffee. Hot, and make it bitter too.”
“Okay, a large black coffee, hot, with a longer brew time to make it more bitter, correct?” Kazuha replies back and then remembers he should ask for the other's name. “And your name?”
“Yes.” the other groans out, seemingly inconvenienced by having to speak. “It’s Scaramouche”
“Well, I hope you have a nice day, thank you Scara.” Kazuha replies back with the same mild tone, stepping back to start working on his drink. A part of him really considers giving him an extra sweet caramel frappe for the others grouchiness but alas he doesn’t give into the urge, he couldn’t exactly be mad the other was soaking wet but a simple thank you would have sufficed.
Of course by the time he finished making the others drink he finds the indigo haired man already cozied up in the small corner table he usually sat in with the cats next to him, his laptop pulled out probably in hopes of getting in some last minute studying.
“Here’s your drink,” Kazuha says with a small smile finding a strange fondness for seeing the man cozied up with the cats,, setting it down by the table beside him, taking note of the books he has next to him, most if not all about human biology and medical science. Probably a bio major.
The other lets out a small thanks Kazuha was honestly surprised to hear.
After that the cafe falls into a silence once more, only accompanied by the occasional purrs and mewls of the cats. Kazuha picks up his broom, continuing to sweep away to the sound of the music playing in the cafe.
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By the time its closing hour, Kazuha’s uniform off and the kitchen lights shut off Kazuha notices a small slumped over form in the corner, a mop of indigo hair from earlier being seen from the corner of his eyes as he pauses, realizing it's the man from earlier, fast asleep, Kazuha had no idea he was still here.
He looked peaceful, kazuha almost didn’t want to disturb him, he seemed tired, eyebags under his resting eyes. Unfortunately he couldn’t quite leave a customer here overnight so he did the second best thing.
He lightly tapped the other's shoulder calling out the name he was given softly.
“Scaramouche?” Kazuha mumbles tentatively. “It’s time to wake up, we close in 5 minutes.”
A soft groan is heard. The other stirred, opening his eyes and staring at Kazuha rather dazedly, his expression still sleepy, akin to a cat.
His soft, dazed expression only lasted for a moment before he scowled.
“What do you want?”
“It’s closing time.” Kazuha softly laughed, finding the others' sudden switch amusing.
“Oh.” the indigo haired man replied back, sighing as he rubbed his eyes and sat up straight, already moving to shove his books back into his bag.
“I hope you slept well, I’ve never seen someone nap so easily after chugging an entire cup of coffee.”
“I’ve been up for three days straight.” Scaramouche deadpans.
“You what?”
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Scaramouche lets out an annoyed sigh, tapping his cheek with his hand as he stares up at the white board, his eye bags were probably dark enough to cause concern with how Heizou kept glancing at him.
he took another sip of his canned coffee, it was lavender flavored and sickeningly sweet by nature, but at least it got the job done, he didn’t feel like he was going to pass out any second now anymore.
The professor drawled on and on, every time she paused, Scaramouche perked his head up in hopes she would bless him with the holy words ‘lecture is over, make sure to read pages blah blah blah’. Except she never did and he was stuck waiting.
His notebook was completely unwritten for this lecture, save for the dumb doodles he drew, a few cats from the cafe, Childe’s dumb dog.
He tilted his head towards Heizou in boredom, seeing what the other was up to, “I’m so bored, I can’t wait for this damn class to be over”
“You could have chosen to not come, you know.” Heizou replies with a sigh, his ears praying to be cut off as he’s forced to listen to his friend’s complaints for the last 30 minutes.
“Yeah but then I’d be stuck at home with Mona and her loud ass playlist.” Scaramouche groans.
“I don’t know why you don’t buy yourself better noise cancelling headphones, you’re rich anyways.
“I’m not going to waste my mother’s money on headphones, besides they work just fine.”
Heizou tilts his head to finally look towards his friend, his expression deadpanned.
“What?” Scaramouche muttered accusingly, staring at the maroon haired boy.
“You say that as if you haven’t spent your mother’s money on an entire collection of gundam kits—“
“—Shut up.” Scaramouche hisses, his tone raising enough in the quiet lecture room that the professor noticed, staring him down above the rim of her glasses.
“Is there a problem, Scaramouche?” her voice rings out in the silent classroom.
He puts on his best customer service smile, “No, Miss, not a problem at all.” he says softly, listening to Heizou stifle a laugh from beside him.
What was this a high-school comedy?
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In a quiet dorm room Scaramouche shifted around in bed, the sheets rustling from his sleeplessness, of course he couldn’t sleep, it was nothing new.
He gave up on trying to sleep, instead shifting over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling, mindlessly.
Ever since he was a child Scaramouche, or at that time Kunikuzushi, always had trouble sleeping, he didn’t know what exactly it came from, he used to have dreams back then, ones he would awake to with tears in his eyes as pathetic as it was. He would go to his mother then, quietly tip-toe down the halls and sneak into her room to lay on her bed. She would always scold him in the morning when he woke up.
Now he didn’t have dreams, or tears for that matter, just plain old sleeplessness, how annoying.
The only time he ever got some proper rest was during the daytime, when he snuck a nap in between classes or when he was studying at the cafe, it was also annoying because he never really ended up getting anything done when he was at that cafe, he’d always give into the tempting warmth of the cats cuddling up to him and fall asleep.
Thinking about the cafe, his mind traveled back to the worker, he’s seen him before of course, he’s a regular at that cafe, his name was Kazuha.
He didn’t know why his mind thought of him, or why he kept glancing at him whenever he was supposed to be studying. His presence was small, it didn’t take up much space and neither did he, always in the corner doing something and minding his own business, he was hardly noticeable.
He was just as bland as everyone else in Scaramouche’s eyes, yet he couldn’t help but notice the smaller things the more he found himself observing the man instead of his studies, he would notice his kindness, he was polite and well mannered, never differentiating people or treating them differently, including Scaramouche himself when he was serving Scarmouche for the first time, he knew he wasn’t likable nor did he try to be such.
It was nothing impressive really, just some regular human with their brain in use…right?
A small ding sounded from his phone, breaking his chain of thoughts. He grumbled, shifting over to his side again as he reached over to his nightstand haphazardly, dragging his phone across it and up to his face, blinking blearily from the bright screen.
It was 2:44 AM and below was a text from Heizou. Something about some halloween party coming up later this month and how he should go with him.
Kunikuzushi furrowed his brows, clicking on the message to open the app so he could type back a response.
“Why the hell are you texting me so late.”
“bc i knew you’d be up and it turns out im correct so”
“Im not going trick or treating with you heizou”
“Did you even read what I sent? I said it was a party, not trick or treating.”
“yk i hate parties”
“cmon scara pleasee i’ll be so bored going alone”
“plus it would be funny to watch people together”
Scaramouche groaned, shutting his eyes that were sore from the screen and tossing his phone aside, he didn’t want to deal with Heizou right now. In fact his friend seemed to work like a remedy, a sense of sleepiness finally overcoming him as he buried his face into his pillow.
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Kazuha walked leisurely around the campus on the way to his next science class that started in roughly 25 minutes or so. He was taking his time walking there so he could clear his mind, closing his eyes as he took in the soft autumn breeze that tousled his hair. What should he do today? He wondered making a mental to-do list, he had work that afternoon but before that he supposes he should catch up on some studying he's been neglecting for haikus, Kazuha was smart, although he did have a poor sense of time management that he was quite aware of, easily distracted by moments of inspiration, although those moments were fulfilling to him they were not as fulfilling to his grade which took quite a hit. He’s been doing better though at least catching up his grade to a solid B+ in the classes he was especially bored in.
He opens his eyes as he starts to hear soft footsteps following along with his, turning his red eyes to meet soft blue ones. His friend Ayaka stared at him with a teasing smile.
“I was starting to wonder when you’d notice me besides you, Kazuha.” Ayaka chuckles.
“My bad, I was mentally preparing for tuning out Mr. Yamamoto later.” Kazuha mumbled in response, although his hearing was sensitive, that was only when he was actually paying attention, since it was more of a burden he learned early on how to tune things out.
“Speaking of tuning things out, did you hear me when I was asking you about the Halloween party me and my brother are hosting?”
“Hm? Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I hadn't heard that either.” Kazuha apologizes, feeling bad that he unconsciously tuned out his dear friend.
“So, would you want to go?” Ayaka said, plastering on her usual idol-like smile in hopes it would help him agree.
“I don’t have much going on so sure, when is it?” Kazuha hums.
Ayaka told him the details as they idly walked together towards their shared class, mentioning that they were doing a costume party and that he should dress up, in typical halloween party fashion.
After they made it to class, He spent his time pondering about what to be while he tuned out his teacher’s incessant mumbling about things that he had no interest in. Perhaps he should do something classic like a vampire? He already had red eyes so he wouldn’t need to worry about contacts. No, he felt he would be a bit too corny in an outfit like that, perhaps he should be a kitsune instead? They were classics in Inazuma folklore and he did enjoy foxes anyhow. They were cute fluffy creatures.
Later, he pitched a text to Ayaka in hopes of finding some sort of inspiration and she also suggested a kitsune, saying how he would look cute with fluffy fox ears on and it would suit his already fluffy hair.
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Scaramouche let out a disgruntled noise as he stared at his reflection in the mirror before him, His face was covered in wrinkles from his wincing. His eyes glued onto the fuzzy reflection of the cat ears on his head, complete with small little bells on the sides.
He unfortunately, very unfortunately. Had to see Yae Miko today, why? Because that dumb vixen always worms her way into his life one way or another. Since he doesn’t really see his mother all that much, for him it was college and for her work reasons. Yae Miko took it upon herself to ‘check up on him’ from time to time for his mother, in reality though it was mere harassment, plain and simple.
Today was yet another one of her little invitations to come over and have some tea, with no other choice he obliged, and deciding to make the most out of it he regretfully asked her for any ideas on what to wear for the halloween party, at first he begrudgingly agreed because Heizou wouldn’t stop begging him about it, but only after he agreed did heizou let him know he had to dress up too which was not what he bargained for.
“Why. Why do you have this in your house.” He begins, his voice full of disdain as his eyes trail onto the pink figure behind him in the long standing mirror.
“A woman needs her entertainment you know.’’ She chuckles standing behind him as she stares into the mirror with a smile.
“I don’t even want to ask what entertainment you’re into.’’ He grumbles.
“Enough of that, look at how cute you are, little one. Might I say,” She gestures to the cat ears. “These fit you perfectly.” She hums, bringing her hands up to adjust the ears so that they were a little further up on his head. “Perhaps we should draw on some whiskers too?”
“No.”
“Child you know when you ask someone for help you can’t decline all of their ideas.” She tuts, scolding him.
“I'm talking to you, so anyone would decline your ideas.” He replies in turn. “Anyways whatever, I guess these ears will do.” He adds, not like he had much of a choice for a halloween costume. He had to just accept what was available.
After figuring out a costume, the two of them went back to drinking tea, an especially bitter blend that they both enjoyed. When the vixen wasn’t being absolutely god awful annoying, Scaramouche didn’t necessarily mind her company. He was used to being around her more often than he was with his mother growing up, as such she’s been a bit more of a…guiding figure in his life. As much as he hates to describe her as anything such.
And they could both agree on some things, they both had a more mischievous nature and the same taste. Although her mischievous nature worked against him sometimes as well. He couldn't say much since there's been plenty of times he’s gotten her back for it. Like the time he caught Yae Miko writing some weird ass fanfic about her and his mother and told his mother about it. This was before the two of them actually got together, back then Yae Miko was absolutely one-sidedly pathetic for his mother before Ei realized she was equally as pathetic for the woman. Their relationship was one of his main sources of entertainment back then as a kid, before things got…screwed over at least.
He shook away the last thought, not wanting to reminisce about everything. His eyes refocused onto his tea, seeing his reflection within it. He lifted his head upwards, not wanting to stare too long on that either. He shifted his eyes onto Yae Miko across from him, her legs crossed and her body fully relaxed into the arm chair while she read on her tablet with a straight face. She was probably reading smut. She always reads it with a straight face. He let out a sigh and turned on his phone, deciding to scroll through his twitter timeline. There were a few pieces of fanart posted for the media he was in, random drama he couldn’t care less about that always somehow made it onto his page, and something else that caught his attention, a random blog more or less.
The owner of the blog was the guy from the cafe—Kazuha, and Scaramouche hated how stupidly fitting his name was as he scrolled through his blog, his posts were filled with maple motifs, hell he even added a maple emoji at the end of all of his captions. The things he posted were in character, a few selfies of different hairstyles. Ones that his eyes paid a disgusting amount of attention to, silently admiring how each strand of hair fell, some pushed back towards the side and held up with a maple pin and random barrettes. He was probably one of those perfectionists who did anything for an aesthetic picture because how the hell did he look so effortless in all of them–? But it didn’t feel that way, the photos seemed painfully natural, in fact some were blurry or had a mess in the background but they were still pleasing to the eye nonetheless. That was all there was to it. He was just pleasing to the eye, that's all. That had to be the reason his mind occasionally floats to him when he closes his eyes. He also found out a few details about him, like how his birthday had just passed.
Scaramouche did decide to follow him, only because he also posted cat pictures of all the furballs at the cafe, which he did enjoy looking at, no complaints there. The cats kept him warm and gave him company when he was studying there, and he played with them and snuck in occasional treats from his bag. It was a mutual transactional relationship.
“Ah, It’s time for my publishers meeting at the publishing house, I gotta go.” Yae Miko spoke up, setting down her teacup before standing up and walking towards the door. “Feel free to stay here or go, little one.” she added, ambling down the halls. “Also, I could see you checking out that blonde-haired boy on your phone from the reflection of your glasses.” She stated in a playful tone as she turned the door knob.
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Scaramouche stares at his phone one more time, rereading the address he was sent for the party again.
“Building 2, blue welcome mat outside…Building 2…” He mumbled out loud with furrowed brows, shuffling down the halls as he reread the message again. He’s probably walked every inch of building 2, he’s already walked down the dorm hall Heizou said it was 3 times. Maybe it was divine intervention saving him from going, but it was too late, he already committed to wearing these stupid cat ears, and he didn’t want to be doing it for nothing.
Eventually he did end up giving up, walking towards the hall door as he brought his hand up to tug off the cat ears
As he turned the corner to the door, the door suddenly opened.
Straight into his face.
Hard.
He let out a grunt as he felt the hard metal smack him in the face, his steps staggering backwards from the door as he heard a quick apology tumble out.
“I’m sorry I didn’t see you there–Oh. It’s you–?”
“What the hell do you mean, ‘Oh it’s you’?’’ Scaramouche responded offendedly, rubbing his head from the impact.
“I just didn’t expect to see you here–or in that…” The annoying blonde haired cat cafe guy–Kazuha, mumbled, vaguely gesturing towards what was on his head with his hands. “Still, I’m sorry for hitting you with the door–that probably hurt. A lot.” He winced.
“No shit. Also, aren’t you wearing ears too?’’ Scaramouche mumbled incredulously, staring at the fluffy ears on the other guy's head, “Are you dressing up as a kitsune for halloween or something or do you have a secret furry side hobby nobody knows about?” He grumbled, his forehead still aching from where he was hit.
“I’m wearing them for halloween I assure you, but you shouldn’t insult other people’s hobbies.” Kazuha retorted back in annoyance.
“I can and I will.” He responds back. “Since you’re here, dressed up, I assume you’re going to that halloween party too?”
“Yeah I am, I got a bit lost though. Since you’re here, I assume you’re also lost?’’ Kazuha replies back mimicking the others' tone.
“Since I can't find the aforementioned blue welcome mat after walking three rounds, I assume I am.” Scaramouche says with the same sarcasm.
“Well I was about to go check building 1, Want to go with?” Kazuha offers
“I was just about to leave, but I guess I can, why not.” Scaramouche shrugs, deciding to take up his offer, he should try one more time to make wearing these stupid ears worth it. At least he wouldn’t stand out too much with his costume on if Kazuha was in the same boat next to him.
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“Oops, I might’ve sent the wrong address.” Heizou laughed, scratching the back of his hair. “Well at least I know you didn’t ditch me.”
“I should have.” Scaramouche sighed. Him and Kazuha did find the right dorm, but ended up parting ways when they entered towards their respective friends.
“The cat ears really suit you, you know?” Heizou murmurs, eying the fluffy ears on his head. “They even have little bells. I can’t believe you put those on willingly though.”
“I asked stupid Yae if she had any ideas and this was the best she came up with.” Scaramouche groaned at the thought of her, bringing his cup he was given when he entered, up to his lips to sip. Wincing as it went down “This tastes like shit.”
“I thought you liked shitty tasting things?” Heizou teased, grabbing onto Scaramouche to pull him besides him while they navigated the party together.
Ever since he entered he was reminded why he didn’t like parties, the music was loud, there were too many sweaty and drunk people, and he already hated people normally. But he did have one thing that he enjoyed, watching other people making fools of themselves, it was really entertaining. Once everyone had a few drinks in, he was sure some shenanigans would ensue. He liked watching people at gatherings, or meetings. He remembers the entertainment he had watching his classmates meet up for their group project last month, each one of them trying to get out of doing their own work.
He sat quietly next to Heizou as they observed the crowd together, sipping their drinks and laughing in tandem to particularly funny moments that happened during the party.
After his round of people watching, towards the end of the party Scaramouche had naturally gravitated towards the balcony area, since there were less people over there and the music wasn’t as loud. To his surprise, he found Kazuha over there as well. Staring out towards the sky from the window as he sipped. At that moment he seemed…lonely looking. Staring off at something in the distance neither of them could truly know, his gaze unfocused. Scaramouche couldn’t find himself to interrupt the moment, nor ignore it. So he continued to stare at him quietly.
Everything else seemed to quiet down as they coexisted together in the same little corner. It seemed they were always existing quietly together.
He only stood there dumbfounded when Kazuha turned to him, a small smile on his face before he turned around towards the crowd and left.
The moment felt strangely personal.
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Kazuha stepped out of the bathroom in a clean set of clothing, fresh out of the shower. He rubbed the remaining wetness off from his hair with the small towel hung around his shoulders, shivering from the coldness of his apartment.
Since it was fall time the days lasted much shorter leaving his room bathed in a subtle blue from the sky after sunset even though it was only 5 PM. He loved this particular hour of the day, when everything turned blue and soft just before nighttime arrived. It always made his hands itch for his pen and notebook to write down some poetry, although it didn’t have much of an effect on him today, it only added to his slight gloom.
With a sigh he pulled out his desk chair, opening his laptop covered in miscellaneous stickers before flicking it on, the bright glow of the screen making his eyes wince before he quickly turned down the brightness. He supposed he should study, since he didn’t pay too much attention in class he always made sure he studied up on the material at home in his free time so he didn’t fail.
For the next thirty minutes or so he attempted to study, listening to calming music in the background while his recorded lecture drew on, his notebook filled with messy scattered notes pertaining to the subject when he actually tuned in to what he was hearing.
He sat down his pen with a sigh, moving his hand to pause the lecture as he slumped over in his chair.
He couldn't focus.
The calming music in the background turned to static in his ears.
He knew why he couldn’t focus, the calendar on the wall taunted him as to why.
Today was the day Tomo died.
His third year death anniversary. He knew the date was coming up, every day leading up to it he feels it coming closer and closer no matter how much he tries to distract himself and avoid thinking about it.
He lays his head down on his desk, staring at the date on the wall with an empty gaze, watching as it slowly fades out of focus while he escapes back into his mind, his mind picturing blonde hair, a constant smile and dumb polaroids he still has on his fridge.
Kazuha liked to think he was a person capable of handling his own problems, of handling his own grief and learning how to grow past it, but he can’t help but think if it ever does get better sometimes. When his mind slips back into his grief and spirals back down into a pit. He knows it gets better, he has been better, but it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it whenever this day rolls around.
The calendar on the wall went back into focus as he sighed, lifting himself up from his desk. He didn’t want to sit here all day and rot thinking about it, he’d rather find a healthier way of processing his feelings today.
Standing up he stretched, relieving his tense muscles as he turned his gaze to the window that peered into the indigo sky and grey street below. Perhaps he would go out and enjoy the weather. A small walk with fresh air always made him feel better than being cooped inside breathing stuffy air.
He grabbed a light jacket to throw on and his red scarf before grabbing his tote bag hanging off of his bedroom door handle, before exiting his room he quickly grabbed his writing notebook and tucked it safely inside his bag, writing out his feelings wouldn’t hurt either.
Slipping on his brown loafers he walked out of his apartment, making sure to lock the door first before he made his way down the building staircase.
Stepping out onto the street he grabbed his earphones from his bag and put them on, just to block out the loud noises till it was a tolerable amount of noise for him.
He walked down the street, pulling his jacket tighter around him as a cold breeze rustled past him, his feet stepping on the soggy fallen leaves that coated the sidewalk down below, it was slightly damp outside from previous rain, it was common for rain in Inazuma no matter the season.
Despite the coldness, the air felt good against his skin, breathing in the refreshing scent that followed after rain, it calmed his mind down.
His feet walked down a familiar path, passing a few blocks down from his apartment building till the smell of salt started to coat the breeze
This particular area by the sea not too far from his apartment was a safe haven for him, it was a place he and tomo didn’t hang out around, a place that wasn’t tied to memories of tomo like so many other places were.
It was an area he just recently started to go to, wanting to find a place just for himself, not tied to memories that would make him feel sentimental.
He sat on a bench beside the sidewalk that faced the shore, a staircase to go to the beach just a few steps down.
He stared deeply into the water, watching the repetitive motion of the waves crashing against the sand, the ocean was covered by a haze of mist, covering the other islands within Inazuma, making the sea look endless. It was a beautiful sight.
He tugged his writing book out from his bag, grabbing a pen he always kept in there out as well before he flipped the pages, turning onto an empty page.
He starts with a few scribbles on the top corner of the page before he writes anything that comes to mind in no particular order. Switching between journaling his thoughts and writing a few lines of poetry.
Some were about Tomo, about his melancholy, about old memories.
A few were about his daily life, about the cats at the cafe, about his studies and his parents.
He writes questions for himself with no answer, dotting the question mark at the end before he suddenly hears a voice right besides his ear, making him jolt forwards before twisting his head around. Even with headphones on he should have heard someone get that close!
His eyes meet familiar indigo ones, staring at him incredulously.
“What are you writing? A self-introspection?” Scaramouche asks with a raised brow, his eyes glazing over the unorganized words the other wrote, probably deeply personal with the way Kazuha quickly slammed shut his notebook.
“You know, it's rude to come up to someone and watch them from behind.” Kazuha retorts, slightly irked by the others' insensitivity and the fact he was reading Kazuha’s personal thoughts.
“Yeah well, you’re in my spot.” Scaramouche retorts back with a huff, sauntering around the bench to plop down on the other side.
Kazuha lets out a troubled sigh, his peace interrupted momentarily. The man, Scaramouche, was interesting to say the least, this is the second time Kazuha’s bumped into him outside of the cafe, and now he’s learned his new safe haven belongs to someone else. As much as he was usually fascinated by the others' grumpiness, today he wasn’t in the mood for Scaramouche’s remarks.
Kazuha puts his book away and grabs his bag, preparing to stand up and go before he’s interrupted by the indigo haired man
“To answer your question…it does get better.” He whispers so quietly even Kazuha had to strain his ears to hear him.
When Kazuha turns to look back at him he notices the way his head was turned away from him as he said it, the side of his face stuffed into his hand while his body seemingly followed with tilting away. He looked embarrassed, the tips of his ears a slight pink hue that could be attributed to the cold.
“I wasn’t trying to read what you wrote, I know it’s personal. I was just curious to see what you were doing...” He adds on, equally as quiet, almost…shy.
For a moment Kazuha didn’t know how to respond to the strange comfort Scaramouche offered. This was the first time he’s truly interacted with the indigo haired man. They’ve always existed in quiet harmony together, blending into the backgrounds of each other's lives aside from the occasional times they’ve talked to one another, always brief.
And now the quiet slightly-grumpy man that always slept in the corner seat of the cafe Kazuha worked at was offering him a few reassuring words, albeit shyly and hesitant.
Kazuha closed his mouth, averting his gaze back onto the foggy sky above the sea. “I know.” He replied quietly. He didn’t talk much about this part of his life with anyone, not even his friends, yet suddenly he found himself spilling out. Maybe it was the comfort of speaking to someone you barely knew-to not have to worry or care about ruining your image in the eyes of someone you know.
“Today was the day a friend of mine passed away. Its been a few years now, but every time this day comes back again, it feels like…. He’s just died.” Kazuha confesses.
He receives no response back from Scaramouche, only the tell tale sign that he was listening from the way his posture sat upright, his eyes opened just a little bit more in attention.
“I try not to lose myself in my grief even now, but it always feels like I fall back to rock bottom, No matter how much I avoid thinking about it.” Kazuha lets out a dry chuckle before his lips release a wary sigh.
“I’m sorry for dropping this onto you. Something inside of me just felt like…I should let it out, at the very least to someone else.” He finishes, turning his gaze back to the Indigo haired man besides him.
Scaramouche searched his mind to say something—anything, his lips parting only to come up empty in response. His urgency to speak only furthering when he watches Kazuha’s small smile tilt downwards a little. He wasn’t good at comforting someone, but just for today…he wanted to. Especially when he saw himself in that same exact position long ago.
“…It’s fine…letting it out is good. It does help.” He offers in response after a moment of silence. “And…it didn’t bother me.” he adds on in reassurance.
Kazuha’s guilt lifted slightly, his small smile coming back.
“Thanks.” He responds softly.
“You're welcome.” Scaramouche responds back.
⋆⭒˚.⋆⭒˚.⋆⭒˚.⋆⭒˚.⋆
Scaramouche’s eyes are glued to his laptop, the dark circles under his eyes were especially heavy as he crammed in the last of his studying. His eyes were slightly burning from the screen caused by him not blinking enough, making him shut them tightly before leaning back with a sigh. His back meeting the plush cushions of the seat he was on with a small crack.
He opens his eyes as he hears the sound of a cup being placed on his table before getting slid over towards him.
He stares at the paper cup with a white plastic lid in front of him before his eyes slowly move up to the head of white hair smiling at him.
“Here, it’s chamomile tea to help you relax, free of charge as thanks for the last time I saw you.” Kazuha speaks softly, his voice sounding relaxing to Scaramouche as well as the scent of warm tea filling his nostrils.
Scaramouche takes the cup in silence, bringing it to his lips to take a small sip, the warmth of it filling his tastebuds along with the smooth flavor, it tasted light, not too strong nor was it very sweet. He let out a hum of approval, setting it back down as he directed his eyes back to his laptop to continue his work. Only to raise a brow when his laptop was suddenly closed by a sunkissed hand. His eyes tilting up towards the blonde haired server once more with an incredulous look.
“You should really rest. Your eyebags are so dark you’re going to scare away our customers.” Kazuha tuts in a half hearted tone.
Scaramouche only lets out a grumble in return, wanting to complain but he finds himself too tired to actually come up with something, his body immediately wanting to give in to the suggestion. He does concede and lay his head onto the table, cushioned by his arms crossed underneath as he murmurs sleepily, “I’m going to report you.”
“Reporting me for making sure you don’t stay up for three days straight? How absurd.” Kazuha responds back as he walks away to continue his work.
He was glad Kazuha was looking much happier than the last time he saw him. The thought of his warm smile directed at him was what his mind thought of as he slowly relaxed into his position before sitting a little more upright to take another sip of his tea, feeling a sense of sleepiness wash over him, aided by the soft purrs of the cat cuddled up beside his lap.
Eventually he falls asleep, this time not being awoken by Kazuha to signal closing, but instead by a mischievous cat poking his face repetitively with their paws, causing him to let out a deadpan expression as he stared at the cat that only let out a mewl in return.
In familiar motions, his hand silently reached into his pocket to grab out a small baggy before silently tossing a treat towards the cat that happily catched it before scurrying off.
This exact scene has happened far too many times.
Scaramouche conceded to it every time.