Monday Mornings

by Alkqli

Summary:

Every moment of my daily life feels like a chore. From the moment I get ready in the morning to go to school, all the way to when I return home to drop dead on my bed; it’s all a chore. There isn’t a day in which I don’t feel like I’m working under someone’s command, even if that isn’t the case.

This is why I’m constantly trying to hang out with my friends: to try to get rid of this feeling. They give me the exit I need to make my life feel less tedious. I love them; they’re the best. Yet, they’re only short escapades, since in the end this feeling will always come back. Nothing ever changes, just like a perpetual cycle.

…

I used to always ask myself, “Just when will this end?”

Until I met you.

______

This is a Highschool AU about Yuichiro and Mikaela starting as a pair of high school rivals, featuring the two of them constantly at the other’s throat, trying to outdo each other in both subtle and evident ways. Until they both start realizing that the other might not be as bad as they might’ve originally thought... Perhaps their feelings for the other might blossom into something much more beautiful…

Chapter 1: Bitter Meetings

…

 

“Settle down, all of you. Quit yapping around and listen.”

 

Professor Ichinose announced, slamming a tremendously thick book on his desk multiple times to gather everyone’s attention, which caused a few of us to jump in our seats from the unexpected loud sound.

 

“Are all of you done talking? Good. I have an announcement to make.”

He said, his tone not faltering even as the class remained silent. However, I found myself more interested in trying to keep a pen steadily balanced between my nose and upper lip.

“We’ve got a transfer student, so all of you play nice with him.”

He said, his eyes scornful as they stared at the class.

“Hey, you. Introduce yourself.”

He instructed someone, and soon after a voice able to make heads turn spoke up, completely drawing my attention.

“I’m Mikaela Shindo. Nice to meet you all.” He said, taking a small bow.

 

Everyone in the class was fixated on him, whispers roaring as everyone’s eyes examined his features. His face was framed by his golden, fluffy locks, which complimented his deep sapphire eyes.

 

He looks like he’d be a model.

 

“Sure. Sit wherever you see an empty seat.”

Professor Ichinose dismissed him half-assedly, nothing too surprising. He’s always been kind of an ass-hat.

The new boy looked around the classroom, eyes searching for an available desk, before stopping at a seat; the one behind me. Without overthinking it too much, he walked over, passing by me before placing his bag beside his desk and sitting down.

 

I wanna be his friend.

 

Although I feel like he might see me as a nuisance. He does look like that type.

 

Eh, better try than regret later.

 

I turned around in my seat, trying to face the new boy behind me.

“Psst, hey! Mikaela, right?”

Mikaela looked right at me, somewhat disinterested.

“Can I help you?”

Ooookay, someone’s in a bad mood.

 

That’s still not going to stop me.

“I was thinking of helping you out since you’re new and all that stuff.”

“Mmm, is that so?” He responded, still not very interested in making conversation.

“Yeah, I was thinking of showing you around and stuff. What do you think about that?”

Mikaela let out a groan, before actually paying some attention to me.

“Don’t you think you should pay attention to the Professor? Class is starting.” Mikaela said dismissively, his attention held captive by his class materials, which he was slowly pulling out of his bag.

“Eh, it’s fine. That guy never teaches anything important anyway. Always half-assing everything.”

Just as I said that I felt a sharp, fleeting pain at the back of my head, causing me to audibly go ‘ow’. Immediately after, I noticed a roll of chalk rolling on the floor near my feet.

“Amane. I know how fun it is to get a new classmate and all, but the class is here. Pull out your notebook and workbook. That goes to all of you.”

Professor Ichinose scolded, glaring daggers in my direction. I grumbled a few curses before sitting upright on my chair again. I heard a mumble from behind me.

“So much for it being ‘fine’.” Mikaela scoffed, his tone entirely mocking.

Damn, what a sweetheart. Won’t even bother with putting up good first impressions, I see.

Professor Ichinose started talking about something related to Tokyo while writing down the class heading with a new chalk roll on the board. My attention was diverted elsewhere, however. I dug through my backpack and pulled out my materials, as per request. I opened up my notebook and tore a small corner of one of the pages, before pulling out a pen and swiftly scribbling down:

‘so want me to show u around? - yuichiro’

I balled up the piece of paper and tossed it over my shoulder softly enough for it to land on Mikaela’s desk.

Shortly after, the paper ball was tossed back in my direction. I opened it up to greet my messy handwriting accompanied by neat letters, slightly smudged by ink.

‘No. I’m not interested in talking to you. Go bother someone else.’

 

Ouch. He’s a stubborn one.

 

Well, it sucks for him, because so am I.

I glanced over my shoulder to meet Mikaela’s face, his eyes focused on his notebook as he carefully noted down the class heading. I returned my attention to the note again before jotting down a few words and tossing it over my shoulder again.

 

‘we’ll see about that.'

 

…

After what felt like forever, the first period had finally ended, and we now had our short five-minute break. I pulled a chair over next to Mitsuba’s desk, now realizing the absence of a certain character.

 

“Hey, Mitsuba, where’s Kimizuki?”

I asked, looking around the room and realizing that the coral sourpuss was nowhere to be found.

“He said through the group chat that he’d be running late today. His sister’s condition took a turn for the worse overnight and now he’s worried sick.” Mitsuba said as she put her class materials under her desk and pulled out her other materials for the next class.

“Oh, shit, hope she’s alright.”

“I hope so too.”

.

Mitsuba is one of the most popular girls in the school, although that is no surprise. Her blonde locks, her blue eyes, along with her relatively large bust… she could charm any guy any day if she wished for it. However, her headstrong personality always kept any potential lovers at a distance, which is why you wouldn’t realize at first glance how popular she really is.

 

Only then I realized that she had started staring at me in silence. It took a few seconds before she opened her mouth again.

 

“So, are you harassing the transfer?”

 

Straight for the kill.

“Harassing? That’s a big word. I’m just trying to befriend him.” I said, my tone lighthearted, although my words weren’t lies.

“Reeally, now. Don’t think I didn’t see you throwing paper balls at him in class. You may be my friend, but I’m no fan of bullying.” Mitsuba declared, her eyes glaring at me with threatening intent.

“I’m not lying, I’m innocent, I swear!” I said, raising both of my hands in the air as if that’d help prove my innocence.

“Yoo-hoo! Yuu, Mitsuba!”

A voice rang out from the back entrance of the classroom. Everyone’s eyes immediately darted over towards the owner of the voice, some curious, but most knowing who it was.

 

My girlfriend, Shinoa Hiiragi.

 

Shinoa is probably the most popular girl in the school, her cuteness unmatched. Her lilac hair, always neatly tied up and complimented by a red bow made everyone’s hearts flutter. Plus, her personality, unlike Mitsuba’s, was playful and sweet, which simply drew in an incredulous amount of guys.

However, what makes her popularity ridiculous is the fact that her family owns this school. She’s the daughter of Tenri Hiiragi, one of the richest men in the country. Granted, she was cute, but most respect her because of her family rather than for who she is as a person.

Shinoa walked over to us, a smile plastered on her face as both of her arms hid behind her back. Behind her, Yoichi followed along.

“Hello guys!” Yoichi greeted us as he saw us.

 

Yoichi was the same as he had always been. He wasn’t particularly popular nor outgoing, just reserved and introverted. However, whenever he hung out with us, he seemed to loosen up and simply let himself be.

Shinoa inched closer to me before giving me a light peck on the cheek. Upon witnessing the scene, Mitsuba’s face twisted in disgust.

“Seriously, that’s so gross! Can’t you guys get a room or something?”

Shinoa’s lips curved into a smirk, her eyes taking the shape of crescent moons. This expression of hers never meant any good.

“You’re just mad because you’re single.”

Mitsuba’s eyes opened widely for a split second before her tone became somewhat… defensive? Not sure how to describe it.

“W-well, unlike you, I just enjoy being single! I could get a b-boyfriend anytime!”

“Suuure, like hell you do!”

Shinoa continued teasing Mitsuba, who was growing progressively more flustered as the teasing continued.

“Okay, enough guys.”

Yoichi interrupted in his usual tone, to which Shinoa actually listened, putting a halt to her teasing. I decided to take this chance to ask a question that had been clouding over my mind.

“I wanted to ask, are we meeting up after school today?”

Shinoa’s face brightened, before promptly responding.

“Yes, we are. We’re heading to the arcade.”

Mitsuba let out a sigh.

“You should really start reading the group chat.” Mitsuba added.

“Eh… I don’t feel like it.”

I stuck my pinky finger into one of my ears, letting out a yawn in the process.

“Seriously, Yuu… you’re hopeless.”

Shinoa said, laughing a bit in the process.

Almost as if on cue, the bell rang, indicating the five-minute break was over. Shinoa and Yoichi had to return to their respective classes.

Shinoa stood up straight, and leaned down to me once again, giving me a small peck on the lips.

“See you later, Yuu!” She said, her tone light.

She left the classroom along with Yoichi. I soon mimicked their actions, standing up to put the chair I had just borrowed back in its place, returning to my own desk for the next class.

Upon sitting down, I glanced over my shoulder to see him.

He sat upright, already prepared for the next subject. His blue eyes stood out from his blonde eyelashes, downcasted as he opened his notebook to be greeted by a blank page. He’s kind of… picturesque? Is that even the right word? I don’t know, man… My short train of thought was interrupted as his gaze caught mine.

“What are you doing?”

Upon being questioned, an idea popped up in my head.

“Nothing, just wondering if you’d like to join us this afternoon to go to the arcade.”

He squinted his eyes at me, giving me a distrustful stare.

“I have better things to do this afternoon, sorry.”

He dismissed, his attention being diverted onto something else now. However, it was only fleeting, since immediately after realizing I was still staring at him he looked up again.

“What now?”

I stared at his face in silence for a few seconds before speaking.

“Well, would you be free tomorrow? Me and my friends are probably going to hang out again.”

 

He raised an eyebrow, his thoughts clearly written on his face.

“No. I’m not free today, nor will I be tomorrow nor the day after. Like I said, I have better things to do.”

“Well, then—”

“Okay guys, please be quiet, class will be starting now.” Before I was even able to say a sentence, Professor Shinya Hiiragi interrupted, giving a start to his class.

…

 

After hours, the bell rang, telling us it was finally lunchtime. I stood up, walking over to Mitsuba’s desk to give her the usual “let’s go” to meet up with the others in front of the vending machines in the back of the school. However, just as we were about to exit the classroom, something sparked in the back of my mind.

Standing over the threshold, I looked over my shoulder. My eyes briefly darted over to my desk before focusing on its actual target; the seat behind mine. He was still there.

“Yuichiro, what’s wrong?”

Mitsuba’s inquiring voice rang from behind me, her tone slightly urging implying that she wanted to leave.

“Hold on a sec, I’ve got to do something real quick. Go on without me, ‘kay?”

“Don’t hold me against it later.”

She said, her voice already sounding a little more distant than before. Someone’s hungry.

I glanced at the hallway, and sure enough, Mitsuba had already disappeared. I decided not to not waste any time either, heading inside of the classroom once more. I approached the prickly blonde, who was still seated at his desk, packing up all of his materials.

“Hey.”

Upon hearing my voice, his shoulders stiffened. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before looking at my direction. His expression made him look as if he had just bitten into the most sour lemon he could find.

“What is it now?”

Why’s he so prickly?

“Uh, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me and my friends. Y’know, so you aren’t alone or anything?”

“No, thanks. I prefer my solitude.”

I looked at him, my lips twitching.

“Hey.”

I said, my tone flat.

“What?”

Why do you keep shutting me down? Is what I wanted to ask, but I refrained from doing so. I really want to be his friend, and making such a question would make it harder than it already is.

 

“...Nevermind.”

He raised an eyebrow, his gaze somewhat hostile as I simply shrugged and let out a sigh.

“Anyway, if you change your mind, go to the back of the school where some vending machines are. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Before he even got the chance to respond— which I’m sure he wasn’t planning on doing anyway— I walked away, already making my way to the school’s vending machines. I’m not giving up just yet. Sure, he’s a little irritating, but everyone’s got their faults. I still want to befriend him, and I’m not going down just yet.

I glanced over my shoulder as I walked down the hallway, over to the direction of my classroom. I wonder where he’ll be sitting.

“Yuu, where are you looking at?” A voice called out to me, interrupting my thoughts about the transfer student.

 

It was Shinoa.

 

“Oh, hey Shinoa. Were you waiting for me?”

Shinoa and I usually walk together to the vending machines when the bell rings, since she apparently enjoys spending time together in school as a couple. Although I didn’t expect her to wait for me today as well, considering I took longer than usual to get out of the classroom.

“Duh, obviously! I wanted to walk with you.” She admitted straightforwardly, clasping my hand in hers.

“I want to spend as much time as possible with you, Yuu.”

Her lips formed into a genuine smile, glowing with affection towards me.

That’s cute.

“Come on, let’s go.” She urged, pulling my hand as she walked in front of me, guiding the two of us to the vending machines.

…

Once we reached the back of the school, we were met with Yoichi and Mitsuba sitting beside the other on a bench next to the vending machines; our usual bench.

This area of the school is always surprisingly empty, even with the vending machines. Most people prefer the snacks the school store has to offer anyway.

“Ah, Shinoa, Yuu! Hello!” Yoichi called out, his face immediately lighting up at the sight of our faces. If you looked closely enough, you could almost make out a tail wagging behind his
back.

“Yo.”

I took a seat on the bench, accompanying my friends who were already seated. Shinoa, however, decided to consult the vending machines first before sitting down.

There were two vending machines: a snack machine and a drink machine, both containing a wide variety of items for us to pick. Originally, because these vending machines were not used much, they were always empty. However, ever since we started sitting here, Shinoa, being the daughter of the head of the school, managed to get them to fill up both of the machines and have them restocked on Fridays.

 

“Yuu, do you want anything?” Shinoa asked as she pressed a few buttons on the vending machine.

Shinoa always brought money for all of us to spend in the vending machine, since she was going to get it back once they restocked anyway and didn’t want us spending money in vain.

“Uhh, are there any lemon soft drinks in there?”

“You bet!”

 

“Uurgh… seriously, you two get here late and yet you ask him what he wants first? We’ve been waiting here, you know!”

Mitsuba grumbled, hunger clearly talking on her behalf. Shinoa chuckled.

“Sorry, sorry. Mitsuba, Yoichi, what do you guys want?”

“Melon bread, chips, a can of tea and any chocolate bar!”

“Well, aren’t you hungry? What about you Yoichi?”

“Your fault for keeping me waiting so long!”

Yoichi hummed to himself.

“I think I’ll have something sweet. Anything’s fine so long it’s sweet.”

After a few taps, Shinoa held in her arms a variety of snacks. She quickly turned over to us and handed us everything we had asked for.

“Lemon soda for Yuu, melon bread, green tea, chips and a chocolate bar for Mitsuba, and lastly another chocolate bar for Yoichi.”

“Thanks!” We all chanted at the same time.

Shinoa, after being done with her “lunch duty”, sat down beside me on the bench. She held a bottle of water and a twinkie in her hand. She opened the twinkie and took a large bite out of it, setting the water bottle beside her feet.

Mitsuba had long started eating; the moment her lunch was handed to her, she had started wolfing it down. Yoichi, on the other hand, took his time eating his chocolate bar.

“Mitsuba, did you skip breakfast again?”

Yoichi asked, noticing how abnormally hungry Mitsuba was.

“I was about to ask the same thing.” I added.

Mitsuba paused and sighed.

“I was running late today, I had no choice…”

“You need to change your alarm, you always say you’re running late!” Shinoa teased, a smirk forming on her face.

“Shut up, it’s true!”

“Calm down, I’m not saying I don’t believe you!”

“Sure you do!”

“Oh, by the way, have you guys heard about the new transfer student? I heard he’s in our grade. Is he in your guys’ class?”

 

Upon hearing Shinoa mention the transfer student, his image appeared in my mind. His golden hair, his sapphire eyes, and…

 

his sour temperament.

He was so prickly! And for no reason at that. Is he like that because he’s in a new environment? Is he the type to be mean on the outside but on the inside extremely sweet and likable? Or does he really not like me? Whatever it is, I want to get to know why. And for that, I must become closer to him… Although it’d be easier if he were willing to cooperate.

“Yeah, he’s in our class.” Mitsuba responded, snapping me from my thoughts.

“His name is Mikaela Shindo.” I added.

“Really? Do you think we could befriend him?” Yoichi asked

“No chance. Yuu was harassing the poor guy during class, throwing paper balls at him. Imagine having that as your first day experience.”

“What— No! I wasn’t harassing him! We were exchanging notes in order to not get caught by Ichinose!”

“Aha, ‘exchanging notes'. Didn’t seem like it from the way he kept glaring at you. Really, that was a whole show to watch.”

“I haven’t done anything to him! He just acts really unlikable for no reason!”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like you. Not everyone needs to like you, Yuu.” Mitsuba said, shrugging as she ate her chocolate bar.

I don’t want him to not like me, though. I want to be his friend. He seems like the kind of person who’d be really fun to have as a friend. I’m sincerely hoping that’s true.

“You don’t know that yet, Mitsuba. He’ll probably come around, considering how much of a charming prince my Yuu is.” Shinoa refuted, leaning her head on my shoulder.

Mitsuba’s face flared up with what can only be described as disgust.

“Seriously, stop it! That’s disgusting! We all know you guys started dating! Enough! What’s with the whole ‘my Yuu’ thing?!”

Shinoa rolled her eyes, before saying in a soft, low and somewhat melodic tone:

“Smells like jealousy~”

“Oh, shut up!”

…

“Open your textbooks in pages 235 and 236 and pull out your notebooks. We’re going to be thoroughly reviewing this material since you guys are having a pop quiz at some point during this week. Take notes, all of you.”

Upon mentioning the words “pop quiz”, the entire class roared in a groan.

“Quiet! All of you! Would you prefer it if the quiz were now?”

Miss Jujo barked, silencing all of us immediately.

I let out a sigh, listening to Miss Jujo’s orders. I pulled out my class materials and opened the book in the pages she mentioned.

A pop quiz… seriously? What a great thing to hear during the last period of the day.

…

The last period of the day…

I glanced over at Miss Jujo, who was pacing around the front of the class with her teacher’s textbook in hand explaining the contents of the material we had already seen. Then, I peeked over my shoulder, eyes locking directly onto the figure sitting behind me.

Mikaela.

 

His attention was fixated on the teacher. However, out of nowhere he closed his eyes and a frown appeared on his face. Just a few seconds later, he was glaring directly at me. He noticed me looking at him.

 

Upon him scowling at me, I immediately straightened up, turning my whole back against him once more. I ripped a corner of one of the pieces of paper within my notebook and pulled out a pen from my pencil case.

‘hey, why do u always glare at me?? did i do smth wrong? - yuichiro’

I crumpled the paper into a little ball and tossed it over my shoulder.

I waited for his response, pretending to listen to whatever Miss Jujo was saying and occasionally lowering my head to scribble on my notebook to make it seem like I’m taking notes.

“Did everyone understand the instructions?”

“…”

“Good. Let us start with the guided reading. Miss Sangu, would you be so kind as to begin the reading?”

“Yes, of course! …”

 

…

 

“Who would like to read the next page?”

“Me! I’ll do it.”

 

…

 

“Did you guys understand that? Complete the questions in the book in your notebook, we’ll discuss answers later.”

 

…

 

“Remember to study what we viewed today. Class dismissed.”

 

…

 

He never replied.

 

I stood up from my desk, my chair dragging itself on the floor letting out a loud dislikable sound. I turned my head over my shoulder, and sure enough— there he was, packing his things and looking ever so calm. My note was nowhere in sight.

I guess if I wanna talk to him it’ll have to be face-to-face.

“Hey, Mikaela.”

After calling out to him, he didn’t seem to show any reaction.

 

By which I mean he completely ignored me.

“Would you like to come hang out with us? We’re going to the arcade today.”

Immediately after asking, his face scrunched up. Is that the only thing he knows how to do?

“I thought I already told you I’m busy this afternoon.”

“Uh, yeah, you did… I was just making sure.”

“I don’t think my point came across properly before so let me rephrase it for you: I don’t want to spend time with you. Is that clear?”

 

…He’s kinda pissing me off.

 

“Yeah, sure, I get it, but could you at least tell me why?”

His frown deepened, his eyes cold.

“I don’t like you.”

Wow, no shit. That’s something even a blind person would be able to see.

“Why?”

“I don’t need to explain it to you.”

 

… He’s seriously pissing me off.

 

“You don’t even know me!”

“But I have seen enough to know that I don’t desire to be associated with you.”

“...Such as?”

“Everything.”

 

…

 

Now he’s done it.

 

“Fine! I won’t bother you anymore! I wanted to be friends with you because you seemed cool, turns out you’re just some shit-eating silverspoon prince. I’m sorry I’m not of high fucking quality to be your friend!”

Before I could even realize the words that had just left my mouth, I yanked my bag from the floor, carelessly stuffing my class materials into it before stomping out of the classroom. Who the hell does he think he is, anyway?! Fine! If he doesn’t want to have any friends, so be it! Odds are nobody is going to approach him anyway with that shitty personality.

…

“Yuu, what’s wrong?” Shinoa asked.

The whole group, minus Kimizuki, was reunited in front of the school gates since we were planning to go to the arcades today. I happened to be the last one to arrive, allowing everyone to feast on my current agitated state.

Shinoa’s eyes were looking at me with worry. Mitsuba and Yoichi also seemed quite concerned, although Shinoa was making it her top priority to be the one to comfort me at the moment.

I let out a sigh, trying to let all the momentary rage dissipate.

“It’s nothing. It’s just that Mikaela got on my nerves, nothing too big.”

“Mikaela… that was the transfer, right?” Yoichi inquired.

“What’d he do?” Mitsuba was the one to ask this time.

“Nothing, all he did was make it very clear that he didn’t like me, so I just told him I wasn’t going to bother him anymore.”

“I get the feeling that you’re not telling the whole story…” Shinoa commented.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, arcade time! Let’s stop wasting time here and let’s go!”

I said, purposefully changing the topic to try and forget about my anger. About him. I started marching along the sidewalk, making my way to the arcade. I looked over my shoulder to see them following along. I really like hanging out with these guys.

 

It’s his fault that he chose to miss out on this.

 

…

Chapter 2: Afterschool Games

Summary:

Yuu and his friends spend the day in the arcade.

After walking for what felt like an eternity, we finally arrived at our most-frequented arcade. It was one of our most common places to spend the afternoon together after school, just the five of us. Or, in this case, the four of us since Kimizuki was absent. It wasn’t unusual for him to miss out on a few of our hangouts since occasionally he had to take care of his sister, Mirai. She has been hospitalized for a while now due to an illness. Kimizuki was never fond of talking about it, so we don’t really know the specific details. All we know is he has a sick younger sister. 

 

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a hand grabbing me by the wrist, tugging on my arm. 

 

“Yuu, come on, let’s go play already!” Shinoa urged, continuously pulling on my arm. 

 

“Mitsuba and Yoichi already went ahead; come on, get going already!” She insisted.

 

Shinoa’s grip on my wrist never ceased as we walked around the arcade, looking at all the games and machines everywhere. 

 

“Did you bring your arcade card, Yuu?” 

 

I flashed a proud smirk.

 

“Of course I did! Did you think I wouldn’t come prepared to the arcade, of all places?” I say, pulling my arcade card from my pocket and showing it off as if it were a trophy. 

 

“...Does it have credits, though?” Shinoa asked, a grin slowly forming on her face. 

 

She got me there. 

 

“Uhh… it probably has some... I think.” 

 

She laughed, taking the card from my hands. 

 

“Come on, let’s go get you some credits.” 

 

…

 

Immediately after recharging my card with credits, Shinoa pulled me by the arm over to the games. However, she came to a sudden halt upon seeing Mitsuba engrossed in a machine—the claw machine.

 

Mitsuba was quite focused, her schoolbag at her feet as she paid close attention to the machine’s movements. Mitsuba always loved playing on the claw machine, for whatever reason. Whenever we came here, she immediately glued herself to the machine and started playing nonstop until she ran out of credits. 

 

Shinoa promptly walked up behind her, looking over her shoulder as Mitsuba manhandled the claw. 

 

“Why are you always playing this cash grabber?” Shinoa asked.

 

“Shh! Quiet! I have a good feeling, and I don’t want you to ruin it!” Mitsuba scolded as she stared intently at the claw, slightly shifting its position.

 

“What are you talking about? I doubt you’ll get anything anyway.” Shinoa ignored her, replying regardless. 

 

“Don’t jinx it!” Mitsuba barked.

 

“What are you even trying to grab, Mitsuba?” I asked, unsure as to what the claw was supposed to be hovering over.

 

“Are you blind? I’m trying to grab that blue penguin! I’m trying to see if I can grab it by the flippers."

 

“Why by the flippers and not the head?” I asked, scratching my head at her response.

 

“Because the claw will slip off if I grab it by the head! Now be quiet!”

 

It seems like Mitsuba had already tried a few times before resorting to other ways. I got to give it to her; she’s determined. 

 

Shinoa placed her hands behind her back, still watching expectantly over Mitsuba’s shoulder. I watched Mitsuba’s movements as I stood beside Shinoa. I wonder if she’ll grab it.

 

Only after a few more seconds did Mitsuba press the red button to lower the claw.

 

It slowly lowered and lowered before stopping right above the penguin’s flipper and closing. The claw slowly went up, pulling the penguin up in the air. I briefly glanced over at Mitsuba, whose expression was currently overjoyed. 

 

I looked back over at the claw again. It really grabbed the penguin! The claw made its way to the top before pausing and slowly moving over to the drop hole.. I could feel Mitsuba’s excitement as I stood next to Shinoa. 

Only for it to immediately vanish after the claw dropped the penguin midway.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“…I told you that you wouldn’t get anything.” Shinoa snickered as she stared at the penguin, stifling a laugh.

 

“You JUST had to jinx it.” Mitsuba mumbled, clearly irritated now that her closest chance at victory had disappeared before our eyes. 

 

“Leave, both of you! You’re both cursing my luck!” Mitsuba barked.

 

“Aww, Mitsuba. Look at the bright side! At least it’s closer to the drophole now!” Shinoa said in a teasing tone, but in actuality, she was secretly trying to comfort her.

 

“Stop being annoying, Shinoa! Leave; I’m trying to focus!”

 

“Fine, fine! Geez, we’ll leave!” Shinoa declared, pouting before turning over to me.

 

“Let’s go see what Yoichi’s up to instead.” Shinoa suggested.

 

“Sounds good to me.”

 

As we walked beside each other, Shinoa looked around the place, trying to spot Yoichi. 

 

However, her search was cut short as we soon bumped into Yoichi, who was currently immersed in a first-person shooting game… While shooting all the enemies down with concerning accuracy.

This was the one thing that scared me about Yoichi. 

Yoichi has always been a typically quiet yet very friendly and sort of puppy-like guy. He’s the type of guy who’d hug you tightly while being on the verge of tears after not seeing you for a whole day. He’s the sort of person who would accidentally stumble across a flower field, take a picture there, and send it to everyone with a caption that says something along the lines of “It’s a very beautiful place; we should come here together next time.”

 

Yet he plays these overly violent, gruesome shooting games with extreme concentration while taking down every enemy in sight without much hesitation. The gap between his personality and his taste in games is wide—far too wide.

 

Shinoa and I stood behind Yoichi, watching him in awe. Although we all knew Yoichi’s taste in games, it was always surprising to see him play without so much as batting an eye at all the blood flying around. If I remember correctly, I think the local high score was actually set by him. He’s… surprisingly scary.

"Seriously, Yoichi, you’re so good! I’d ask to play with you, but I feel like I’d just make a fool of myself.” I admitted, entranced by Yoichi’s performance. 

 

“Ah, Yuu, don’t say that…! We can play together; it’ll be fun!” Yoichi responded as he headshot an incoming enemy. Damn.

 

“Are you sure? You’re still playing your match right now.”

 

“Ah, um, it’ll be over in a second, so just hang in there for a bit.”

 

It was seriously unbelievable. His puppy-like nature still seeped out of him even during his game. It was very weird, but in a good way. Does that even make sense? Shinoa then let out a low hum, which reminded me she was still there. 

 

She suddenly leaned in closer to me before speaking in a low voice.

 

“Not to discourage you, but you are going to make a fool of yourself.” Upon finishing her sentence, she snickered.

 

“Shut up, I know.” I responded in a teasing tone.

 

Suddenly, Yoichi turned around to face us. His eyes widened at the sight of Shinoa and me whispering to each other, which caused his cheeks to flush. He averted his eyes, scratching the nape of his neck.

 

“Umm, sorry to interrupt, but... Yuu? I finished playing... Let’s play a round?”

“Oh, yeah! Don’t embarrass me too hard, will you?” I replied, excited and both nervous at the idea of playing with Yoichi.

 

“I’m sure you’ll do great!” Yoichi responded.

 

“Yoichi, lying is a baaad thing.” Shinoa chimed in, her tone playful as a smirk formed on her face.

 

“Hey! I’m sure I’ll still do well enough!” I defended myself.

 

“Yeaah, suuure… whatever you say, Yuu.” Shinoa dismissed.

 

“Here… Just slide your card over there and pick up that gun. I’ll keep playing with this one.” Yoichi instructed, pointing at another gun beside the one he was previously using. Apparently this was supposed to be a 2-player game, but Yoichi decided to play solo somehow. Scary. 

 

I handed my schoolbagto Shinoa and did what I was told. I passed my arcade card on the card reader and grabbed the gun next to it. Yoichi appeared to do the same on his side. He then positioned himself before looking over at me.

 

“Ready?” I asked him.

 

“Yeah!” 

 

And so our round began. 

 

Shinoa stood right in between us both as she watched the screen. Upon starting the game, we were told by some commander character that we were under attack by enemy forces and that we must do what we can to take down the opposing troops.

 

 Immediately after the so-called commander finished his set of instructions, the enemies started appearing one after the other. Yoichi had no problem taking them down; he kept headshotting each one that came into his line of sight, and he’d move his focus elsewhere once he saw my cursor targeting an enemy he was originally going to attack. 

 

Anyone could see he was purposely allowing me to play with him. If he wanted to, he could easily play solo, even with the game difficulty set for two players. Even then, I still tried my best to not stay behind. I shot down all enemies near my side of the screen, leaving none behind. I did occasionally receive a few hits, but I would be able to take the enemy down regardless. 

 

“You’re pretty good at this, Yuu!” Yoichi commented as he played.

 

“I feel flattered coming from a pro like you.” I responded, my tone joking as I let out a laugh.

Suddenly the waves of enemies stopped, and the so-called commander started speaking again, praising us for successfully defeating the enemy forces before flashing in large silver letters the words “MISSION COMPLETE.” Immediately after, we were shown our individual scores alongside our merged score. Unsurprisingly enough, I didn’t come close to Yoichi’s score. Yoichi’s current score didn’t beat his all-time high score, but it was pretty good regardless.

 

“No offense, Yuu, but you were unnecessary.” Shinoa commented immediately after seeing the scores. You don’t say?

 

I looked over at Shinoa before rolling my eyes at her, taking back my bag from her hands.

 

“As if you’d do any better! Try it yourself before making fun of me.” I refuted, stepping back and motioning at the gun controller, inviting her to play.

 

“You know what? I think I will!” Shinoa responded, her eyes forming crescent moons as her lips formed a smirk.

 

Without much delay, Shinoa stepped up and took my former spot, shoving her own school bag into my arms. She turned her head towards Yoichi before speaking in a bright tone.

 

“You aren’t tired yet, are you?”

 

Yoichi flashed a gentle smile before shaking his head.

 

“Not at all…!”

 

“Let’s play a round, then!”

 

Shortly after, they both swiped their arcade cards on the card readers, and the round started once again. The commander repeated his instructions once more and immediately after waves of enemies flowed in. 

 

Yoichi, once again, played flawlessly, shooting down whatever enemy forces appeared within his range of sight and changing targets whenever he noticed Shinoa would shoot them. 

 

Shinoa… was better than I thought. 

I should’ve expected it, really.

 

Shinoa, although she didn’t nearly come close to Yoichi, had a much more precise aim than me. She managed to shoot down enemies without too much trouble, not to mention she also took fewer hits than me. She’d even occasionally manage a headshot or two. She really was making me look bad right now.

 

The round soon enough came to an end. The commander repeated his praises once more, with the silver words “MISSION COMPLETE” following after his speech. Once the words faded, the individual scores tallied up once again before showing the merged score at the top. Again, unsurprisingly, Yoichi’s score absolutely destroyed Shinoa’s score. Yet, Shinoa’s score was still higher than mine. 

 

Upon seeing her score results, Shinoa looked at me from over her shoulder, her face wearing a cocky grin. 

 

“You were saying?”

I rolled my eyes at her.

 

“You still didn’t come close to Yoichi, though.”

 

“My score was still higher than yours!” 

 

“Yeah, yeah. Take your bag already.” I scoffed, handing her back her bag.

 

“You guys, the two of you did great! You just need a little more practice, that’s all.” Yoichi chipped in.

 

“Aww, Yoichi, aren’t you just the sweetest? You’re much better than Yuu over here.” 

 

Shinoa then went over to hug Yoichi, who was immediately startled by the sudden contact but didn’t dislike it nonetheless. He just kind of awkwardly stood there, scratching the back of his head. 

 

“I find it funny coming from you! You were the one who started all of this in the first place, anyway!” I placed both of my hands in my pants pockets, pretending to be annoyed but unable to hide my grin for long. 

 

“I’m not better than anyone, eheh... Um, do you guys want to play again?” Yoichi spoke up, unsure of what to do or even say next.

 

“No, thanks! I feel like winning right now, so I’m just going to drag Yuu away elsewhere.” 

 

Shinoa then let go of Yoichi, stepping away and over to my side before grabbing one of my arms and tugging at it. I let out a sigh before Yoichi let out a chuckle.

 

“Okay then! I’ll be here if you guys feel like playing a round.” Yoichi said before kneeling down and passing his card through the card reader once more, promptly holding the machine’s gun and getting ready for his next round. 

 

“Alright, see you later then!”

 

Immediately after, Shinoa pulled me by the arm once more, dragging me further and deeper into the arcade. After walking for a short while, we came to a stop in front of a very large arcade machine that I was already quite familiar with. The machine in question had a large screen and came with a small platform, large enough for two people to stand on it, with eight colored arrows on it, all pointing in certain directions. It was DDR. 

 

This was Shinoa’s favorite arcade game. Whenever we came, she would immediately dart over here and drag the disinterested Mitsuba along with her. However, ever since we started dating a few weeks ago, she’s been dragging me with her instead, to Mitsuba’s relief and to my agony. You’d think that by now I would’ve at least gotten the hang of the game, but you couldn’t be any more wrong. I can barely even hit one of the arrows in time; nevertheless, I can't even think of matching Shinoa’s unbelievable pace. Playing this game with her was nothing short of hell. 

 

Upon seeing the machine, I let out a loud groan.

“I should’ve known that’s what you meant when you said you felt like winning." I threw my head back as I voiced endless complaints. 

 

“Shush, Yuu! It’ll be fun; stop whining!” Shinoa claimed before dragging me on top of the machine’s dancing platform with her before dropping her bag at the side of the machine.

 

“That’s what you’ve said for the past two weeks... Ughhh.” 

I complained, removing my backpack before tossing it on the side of the machine as well.

Shinoa instead decided that it’d be more efficient if she just completely ignored my protests and simply dragged me along anyway. She swiftly passed her card through the card reader, pushing me into position, right at the center of one of the two sets of arrows on the floor. 

 

Upon looking up at the screen, I was greeted with a brightly colored menu showcasing various game modes for us—no, for Shinoa—to choose from. I glanced over to my side, and sure enough, Shinoa was already standing on her platform, slightly inching forward in order to access the machine’s buttons in order to make a selection. I didn’t need to ask her to know what she was going to pick; I already knew she was picking versus. I looked over to the screen, and sure enough, she chose versus. 

 

Upon making her selection, the menu screen changed, and now a variety of song albums were showcased on the screen for her to choose from. I groaned to myself, throwing my head back.

 

“Can’t you at least pick an easy song for once?” I protested yet again.

 

“Hmm…” 

 

She hummed, raising her left hand against her face and pressing her index finger against her lips, resting her thumb under her chin as a thinking gesture, and supporting her left arm with her right.

 

“Sorry, Yuu. I don’t want to!” She replied, smiling at me, before continuing to press the buttons.

 

Just then, I heard the game’s selection sound echoing through the machine’s speakers. I quickly flashed my head over to the screen, and sure enough, she had picked a song—not in hard difficulty, but in expert. Just fantastic.

 

“It’s just not as fun in easy mode.” She said it in a cheeky tone.

 

“You mean that it’s not as fun seeing me get a few points?”

 

“Mmm, yeah, that’s part of what I meant.” She smirked before laughing to herself. 

 

“Ouch! Shinoa, that’s mean!” I said, putting a hand to my heart and clutching my shirt, pretending to be hurt by her words.

 

“Shh, shut up, it’s starting!” 

 

As if on cue, a countdown, starting from 3, began. It only took a few moments before the song started. The song was one we’ve played on occasion many times before—and coincidentally, it was also the song I sucked at most. 

 

I released a long sigh before holding onto the metal bars behind the arrow buttons on the ground, seemingly preparing myself to play, albeit forced. 

 

In a matter of seconds, arrows of different colors, all facing different directions, made their appearance on the screen. For a new player, the number of arrows falling into view would be extremely overwhelming. I glanced over at Shinoa, whose gaze had drastically changed, looking nothing but zoned out at the moment. Muscle memory, isn’t it? 

 

I returned my attention to the screen and started moving. Left leg, left arrow, right leg, lower arrow, both legs, up and down… Alright, so far, so good. My grip on the back support bars was steady, and my eyes maintained their focus on the screen. If I keep this up, all will be well… Shit, I missed five. 

 

My stomps mixed with Shinoa’s echoed throughout the arcade. Mine were considerably louder than Shinoa’s, for I was practically fighting to not fail the round while she was seamlessly and precisely stepping on whatever arrow she had to step on.

 

Fuck, I missed six more. By this point, I could already feel hot sweat rolling down my forehead. This was always quite the workout, both physically and mentally, with the amount of mental concentration I have to spend trying to match whatever the screen flashes. 

 

I glanced over to Shinoa briefly, her face still very focused and seemingly not breaking much of a sweat. We barely started, and I’m already sweating. Crazy stuff.

 

 I kept holding onto the back rails of the machine, trying my best to focus on the arrows rapidly flashing through the screen. Right leg, up. Left leg, left. Both legs, both sides... Hey, am I getting better? 

 

I continued to frantically stomp on the arrows, trying my best to focus on the screen in front of me and nothing else. Nope, I will not look at Shinoa’s score. Nope, absolutely not. Focus on winning, focus on… Oh, shit.

 

I glance at Shinoa’s score from the corner of my eye and immediately feel my hot sweat turn cold. Her score seems to have roughly four more zeros than mine does… How is that even possible? I shake my head, trying to ignore the fact that I am getting absolutely obliterated and continue stomping on the dance platform, my knuckles going white from my grip on the support beams. The song should be ending anytime soon now, so I might as well give it my best shot for what remains.

 

Just as if on cue with my thoughts, the arrows started slowing down significantly, matching the tempo of the song. I felt myself relax a bit at the sight of the slower arrows, which I managed to be able to get due to the doable pace. It didn’t take long for the song to finally end, our scores quickly overtaking the screen we were looking at previously. On the screen there were two separate charts, one showing my scores and one showing Shinoa’s scores. It featured different scores, such as the number of arrows that were timed "perfect," "good," "okay," and "miss," alongside our final score in big numbers at the top. 

 

…Unsurprisingly enough, I lost. Miserably, at that. Shinoa’s score indeed had a few more zeros than mine, which is to be expected when my “missed” arrows are nearing her “perfect” arrows. 

 

“Good job, Yuu! You got a few more perfects than last time.”

 

Shinoa says enthusiastically, a poisonous amount of sarcasm coating her words. 

 

“Ha-ha, not funny.”

 

I wiped off sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, feeling rather exhausted, not because of the physical exertion but because of the unusual amount of concentration it took to “get a few more perfects than last time.”

 

I stepped off the metallic platform, stepping onto the colorfully patterned arcade carpet. That’s that; I’m not doing this again. I picked up my backpack and hauled it over my shoulder. 

 

“Heeey, where are you going? What’s wrong? Don’t want to play another one?”

 

Shinoa called out as I started making my way elsewhere. Uuughhh… I don’t want to…

 

“I’m gonna get something to drink, I dunno.”

 

I shot out an excuse and continued walking, not turning back to face Shinoa. Do not look a beast in the eyes, or it will attack. 

 

I heard Shinoa softly giggle before she spoke up once more, her unmatched levels of playfulness seeping through her voice. 

 

“Aww, are you mad you lost? It’s alright; I don’t mind letting you win the next round.”

 

I resisted the urge to shoot back a glare at her. Again, do not look a beast in the eyes, or it will attack. I dismissively waved my hand over my shoulder, making a bit of a swatting gesture as I continued walking over to the small snack bar in the arcade.  Although I did say the drink thing as an excuse to get away, now that I think about it, I am in need of some water.

 

“Yeaah, uh, we’ll see how I do next time we come here.” I replied, still not bothering to look at the most-likely pouting Shinoa.

 

"Whatever, you do you, then.”  

 

I could feel her rolling her eyes at me. Did I actually piss her off? Just as I was about to look at her, I heard her lightly chuckling to herself, followed by some selection sound effects from the game. Oh, guess not. Feeling slightly relieved, I decide to just shrug and continue making my way over to the snack bar. 

 

The snack bar is vividly decorated with bright neon lights, all varying in color. Snack displays are laid on the counter, showcasing all sorts of treats and delights one might crave, from chocolate bars, cotton candy, and soft drinks to fries, popcorn bags, and chips. The delicious scent of food suddenly made my stomach growl, forcing me to realize that the last time I ate was earlier during lunchtime at school—meaning, a bunch of hours ago.

 

 As I approach the snack bar, I finally look over at the cash register, which was currently being manned by a seemingly bored worker with purple hair. His hair was up in some sort of half-updo, his hair long enough to reach just a bit under his jawline. I think I’ve seen him a few times here. I think he’s a new part-timer? No clue; all I know is that Yoichi doesn’t seem to like the guy very much—I’ve never seen Yoichi dislike someone before. 

 

“Hey, can I get one water bottle, please?” 

 

I ask, finally at the counter, as I look at the purple-haired worker, who seemed to be much more interested in his phone than in anything I could come to ask for. 

 

He finally looks up at me from his phone, taking a quick look at me before stuffing the phone back into his pocket. 

 

“‘Kay, coming up.”

 

I let out a low hum as I observe the guy walk over to the fridge on the wall of the bar. Reminds me, what time is it already? I pull out my own phone from my pocket—7:39 pm.

 

Ah.

 

We’ve already been here for two hours?

 

A loud thud suddenly interrupts my train of thought. I look up to see the purple-haired cashier holding my water bottle down on the counter, his expression still seemingly unamused. It seems like he slammed it down.

 

“Here. That’d be $1.20.”

 

“Ah, right, here…” 

 

I reach into one of my pants pockets and pull out my wallet. I only have two $1 bills. I pull out both bills and hand them to the guy.

 

He takes them from me, pressing buttons down on the register and printing my receipt before pulling out my remaining change. He hands me my change and receipt, both of which I loosely stuff in my wallet before I shove it back in my pocket.

 

“Thanks.”

 

The cashier gave me a small nod and then went back to his phone. I don’t think he likes this job very much. 

 

I open up my water bottle and take a long sip from it. It’s about the time they say we need to go home. I let out a sigh.

 

Just as the thought plagues me, I see Mitsuba approach, her face... very displeased. I think it’s safe to assume that she didn’t get anything from the claw machine yet again. It’s crazy to me how she can spend many hours doing nothing but trying that machine over and over again.

 

I feel myself hold a laugh.

“Hey, Mitsuba! How’d the claw machine go today?”

 

She immediately shot a death glare at me. 

 

“You’re not funny, Yuu.” 

 

I feel the corners of my lips twitch. Don’t laugh don’t laugh don’t laugh—

 

“A-Anyways, why’d you stop?”

 

Phew. I somehow managed to suppress the urge to laugh my sides out. I take another sip of my water, lightly tilting my head back as I drink the cool liquid. 

 

“I got a little bit hungry, so I wanted to buy something to eat…”

 

She paused for a moment, propping her chin on her hand, making a thinking gesture.

 

 “Although I probably shouldn’t, now that I think about it. My parents probably made dinner.”

 

She mumbled to herself, lost in thought for a moment.

 

Ah, right. We’ll probably get going soon.

 

“Hey, Mitsuba, I was wondering—why do you always keep playing that claw machine? You’ve never won anything from it before, so I’m a little curious. Wouldn’t it be better to just buy a plush at this point?”

 

Mitsuba looked at me, placing her hands on her hips before speaking.

 

“It just wouldn’t be the same. The thrill of finally getting something that you’ve been arduously working to get isn’t really something I can just buy.”

 

She explained, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she spoke. 

 

“That’s fair and all, but why spend so much time on a claw machine of all things?”

 

“Because the prizes are cute.” 

 

I let out a sigh. I don’t think I’ll be able to understand Mitsuba.

Mitsuba paused for a moment, her mouth moving as if she wanted to say something, but the words simply didn’t come out. She let out a low hum before finally settling on some words.

 

“Hey, Yuu—”

“Yoo-hoo! Yuu, Mitsuba!”

 

Just as Mitsuba was about to express her thoughts, a feminine voice rang throughout the arcade. We both look over towards the source of the voice, already quite aware of who it was.

 

Shinoa was making her way towards us, a light skip in her step as she did so. In one hand, she held her blue schoolbag, and in the other, she was dragging Yoichi by the wrist, who seemed to almost be tripping on his step as she tugged him on. 

 

Once Shinoa was in front of both Mitsuba and me, she let go of Yoichi. I looked over at him, who was lightly rubbing at his wrist. I feel bad for the poor guy. However, that immediately changes the moment I notice him glaring at something over my shoulder—or, should I say, someone. He takes two steps back from the group, as if we’re too close to the snack bar for his liking. Right, he hates that part-timer. It’s really weird; I wonder if they know each other somehow?  

 

Noticing his discomfort, Shinoa speaks up.

 

“Say, how about we go outside? We’ve been in here for a while.”

 

Yoichi’s eyes seem to lighten up at that idea while Mitsuba nods in agreement. As a result, we all make our way towards the entrance of the arcade once more, each of us stepping outside into the now moonlit streets. 

 

“Sooo, did you guys have fun?” 

 

Shinoa asked enthusiastically, trying to start a conversation.

 

“I know for a fact I didn't; thanks for asking.” 

 

I respond sarcastically, a mocking grin on my face. 

 

“You’re just a sore loser. Anyways, what about you guys?”

 

She asked, her eyes landing on Mitsuba as she noticed that she was empty-handed. A dangerous smirk formed on her face.

 

“Hmm, I see you’ve won a bunch of plushies today. I’m proud of you, Mi-tsu-ba!”

 

If I thought Mitsuba was shooting daggers at me earlier with her gaze, she was absolutely shooting bullets towards Shinoa with that look. If looks could kill, Shinoa would’ve long been dead. 

 

“Aww, what’s wrong, Mitsuba? Shouldn’t you be jumping with joy right now? I mean, look at aaaall these prizes!” 

 

As if on cue, Mitsuba lunged over at Shinoa, holding her still in some sort of headlock.

“Keep talking like that and see what happens, Shinoa!”

“Aaaah, hey, hey, not fair, Mitsuba!” 

 

Shinoa protested, lightly hitting Mitsuba’s arm, her smile widening. 

“H-hey guys, let’s not fight, yeah?”

Yoichi, with a face akin to that of an awkward smile, gently grabbed at Mitsuba’s arm. Mitsuba let out a sigh before reluctantly letting go of Shinoa, her eyes still quite fierce.

 

Shinoa lightly stumbled out of Mitsuba’s grip before beaming brightly.

 

“Thank you, Yoichi, my hero!” 

 

She let out a small chuckle.

 

“Hey, what about you, Yoichi? Did’ja have fun?” 

 

“I did…! It was very fun. I’m happy we came here.” 

 

He flashed a warm smile, as if the cashier never existed. I want to ask, but I don’t think now’s the time. Maybe I’ll text him about it?

 

Suddenly, a ‘ding’ sound resonated through my ears. Just as I was thinking about texting Yoichi, he received a notification. What, did I mentally text him my question?

 

“Ah, sorry. Give me a moment…” 

 

He pulled out his phone from his pocket, momentarily looking at the screen before looking up at us and speaking up again. 

 

“It’s my sister; she’s asking when I’m coming home... I think I should get going, guys.” 

 

“It’s alright; we were gonna get going anyway.” 

 

Shinoa responded, patting Yoichi’s shoulder as she did so.

 

“It is getting pretty late. I gotta get in touch with my parents.” 

 

Mitsuba said absentmindedly, reaching into her school bag for her phone.

 

"Then I’m going to get going. I’ll see you guys at school tomorrow!”

 

Yoichi said, waving goodbye to all of us before walking away down on the sidewalk of the nightly road.

 

“Yuu, would you like me to accompany you home?” 

 

Shinoa asked as she looked at me, holding her bag behind her back as she awaited my response.

 

“No, it’s okay. You need to get home; they’re probably waiting for you already.” 

 

Shinoa looked at me for a moment before giving me a small nod. 

 

“Alright then. Goodnight, Yuu. See you tomorrow.”

 

She approached me and gave me a small peck on the cheek before winking at me and walking away.

 

“What about you, Mitsuba?”

 

Mitsuba paused for a moment, putting her phone back into her bag before looking up at me.

 

“Yuu, there’s something I want to tell you.” 

 

Hm?

 

“Yeah? What’s up?”

 

She averted her gaze for a moment, pausing as she thought of her next few words. 

 

“I think you should apologize to the new kid. I don’t really know what happened between you guys, but I think you should try to get along.” 

 

Huh?

 

“What brought this up?”

 

“It’s just… I get the inkling that you might’ve said something unwarranted to him earlier today. He just transferred—don’t try making his life miserable on the first day.”

 

I pondered for a moment before speaking up once more.

 

“So, are you telling me to befriend him?”

 

She scratched the back of her head.

 

“No, not necessarily. I’m simply saying that you should at least try to be nicer to him. You can be pretty headstrong when meeting people, and not everyone likes that, y’know?” 

I felt my gaze wander elsewhere, instead focusing on the cracks of the sullied sidewalk under our feet rather than meeting the gaze of the blonde girl before me. I felt myself shrug before responding to her once more.

 

“He was pretty rude to me first, though…”

Mitsuba clicked her tongue, dramatically rolling her eyes before crossing her arms, seemingly peeved. 

 

“It was his first day; cut him some slack.” She said it in a tone as if she were pointing out the extreme obvious—which wasn’t wrong. 

 

I could only sigh. She’s right. Maybe it was the nerves of being a new kid and all. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions right off the bat. 

 

My eyes finally met Mitsuba’s, who was now reaching into her bag once more, likely to reach out for her phone again. I could faintly hear the buzzing sound of notifications coming from it, likely her parents asking if she was on her way yet. 

 

“...Fine. I’ll apologize to him.”

“Good, good. Then, I’ll get going; my parents are waiting for me. See ya tomorrow, Yuu. Hope you’ll stick to that apology.”

“You know I don’t lie! I am a man of my word.”

“Suuure, you are. Good night!” 

 

Mitsuba turned on her heel, phone in her hand as we exchanged goodbyes, the faint blue light of her screen illuminating her features as she began walking away, leaving me completely alone now. I watched her as she faded into the darkness of the night. All alone now. All alone…

 

I felt myself gaze at the night sky, slightly obstructed by tall, illuminated buildings and urbanization. The gentle night breeze rustled my hair, lightly kicking up some discarded litter lying around. Perhaps it was because of the street corner the arcade was located at, but there was barely any sound at all, instead the only thing coming into my ears being the sound of my own breathing. 

I don’t want to go home. 

But… 

 

A sigh. I turned over to the opposite direction Mitsuba had just gone in, my feet, begrudgingly, lazily, taking slow yet uncalculated steps. Today was fun. It’s always fun with them. I wish we didn’t have to part ways. My gaze was rather interested in the shapes of the few visible clouds in the sky, all floating, moving unchanged, like they always did. Slow, soft, and peaceful. It’s fine. Tomorrow’s another day. 

 

At the thought of tomorrow, the image of the blond kid popped up in my head—his cold scowl, his curt words—it honestly made my blood boil. But still, he didn’t deserve that. Tomorrow I’ll apologize. Tomorrow, I’ll make things right.

 

Yes, tomorrow will be another day.

 

…

Notes:

I exist still lmao hello

Notes:

Hello! This is my very first public work *ever* and I'm very excited to post this !! I'd like to apologize in advance for any unintended typos or grammar mistakes, since I'm working on this entirely by myself.

Anyway, I wanted to try writing a slowburn featuring one of my favorite ships-- Mikayuu !! I was browsing here for some Mikayuu fics and I realized I was left with nearly nothing more to read, so I just went: "Fine, I'll do it myself" and started typing away... aaand now we're here, lol. I don't really have much to say tbh, I just wanted to greet you guys since I'm just excited to be doing this.

Anywho, I hope you guys stick for the ride!