Work Text:
ARC 1: PRELUDE
I
2012
Chihiro tugged at his dad's pants. He'd stopped confirming items on their shopping list, which meant he was distracted.
"Dad?"
“Hey, son, could you do me a favour?”
“Sure, what?”
His dad lifted him off the ground and onto his shoulders.
“Am I seeing who I think I'm seeing?”
Chihiro followed his gaze. On another aisle were a family of three. A woman with short blond hair. A girl around his age with short black hair. And a man with messy black hair that Chihiro recognised from the shows his dad took him to.
Shinta Arakawa. His dad's favourite rakugoka. In normal attire and reading the back of a cereal box.
"Yup," Chihiro said.
“Cool.” He grabbed their shopping cart.
***
She tugged on her parents’ sleeves.
“Mom. Dad. Look”
Akane pointed at the tall, red-eyed, black haired man walking toward them with a big smile on his face.
She recognised him. He’s the man her father called his number two fan, since Akane herself held the number one spot.
Her parents stopped scanning the shelves, and they all turned to face her dad's fan and the boy on his shoulders.
***
He'd known the other man for a while, but not deeply. And the guy probably just knew Kunishige as his overly enthusiastic fan.
But now, standing face to face in a supermarket aisle, he learned a little more about him.
Shinta Arakawa was a stage name. His real name was Tohru Osaki. The lady introduced herself as his wife, Masaki Osaki and the girl said her name was Akane Osaki.
“I'm Kunishige,” he looked up, “and this is my boy, Chihiro.”
Chihiro gave a little wave. They waved back.
All three of them widened their eyes, recognition flickering in their gazes.
"I'm not the legendary Kunishige Rokuhira," he said, before they could ask. "We just happen to share a first name. It happens a lot, actually. People see the name and assume we're the same."
“Then, what's your last name, Mister?” Akane asked.
“Rokuhara. Another reason why people think I'm that guy.”
They nodded, seemingly buying it.
Phew.
Then Kunishige changed topics, enthusiastically launching into praise for Tohru's most recent performance
II
A few weeks later, the Rakugo Café
“Shin.”
Tohru, cigarette in hand, turned at the familiar voice. An older woman in a kimono was approaching with two familiar faces in tow.
'Oh, it's Kunishige and Chihiro.'
"Yes, Miss Yoshino." He put out the cigarette.
She waved a hand at Kunishige
"I finally found the person who leaves those barely legible reviews. And I’m sure you know exactly who he is, considering how excited he gets after your performances.”
"Sup." Kunishige waved.
Chihiro did the same, looking as stoic as ever.
Miss Yoshino turned to Kunishige, hands on her hips.
"You can tell Shinta what you think in person. No need to write it down."
"I could write down what he wants to say." Chihiro offered.
Miss Yoshino smiled at the boy. "Don't you worry about that, sweetheart."
“It's not a problem, Miss. I'm always writing down stuff for my dad.”
“True.” Kunishige nodded, while ruffling his son's hair, “I'd be hopeless without him.”
“Well, you don't need to this time.” She gave Kunishige a pointed look, “I'm sure your dad can handle himself.”
“If you say so, Miss.” Chihiro replied. His dad rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Miss Yoshino said her goodbyes to Tohru and left the three of them to prepare for the next show.
"So..." Kunishige started.
“How about we walk and talk?” Tohru suggested. “I need to pick up Akane from school.”
“Sure.” Kunishige glanced down at Chihiro. “Excited to see a school for the first time?”
‘Oh, right. Chihiro was homeschooled.’
It was honestly hard to tell sometimes.
Chihiro shook his head. “Nah. Akane makes it sound super boring.”
Tohru chuckled. “School isn’t that bad. She’s just exaggerating.”
“Exaggerating?” Chihiro tilted his head curiously. “What does that mean?”
“Well…”
The three of them left the café together, Tohru explaining the word before elaborating on why school wasn’t as bad as Chihiro thought.