Chapter Text
Nene was tired- exhausted, even. She'd been up until an ungodly hour playing an idol-raising game on her phone, with a twelve hour shift awaiting her the next morning. Her own doing, but she didn't feel an ounce of regret about it as she wiped a tear remembering the concert her character had performed.
Her exhaustion deepened as she entered the café, saying a quiet good morning to her manager only to be told that she'd be training a new employee today. She went about her opening shift tasks, eyelids heavy. After a particularly difficult rush, Nene excused herself to the bathroom, locking the door and placing her head against it with a soft thud. She breathed out a sigh, peeking an eye open to check her phone for the time. Three hours down, Nine to go.
Once Nene had gathered herself enough to brave the café again, she exited the bathroom. She approached the counter to see a new addition speaking with her manager. A new addition who, from behind, looked exactly like her good friend Hanako. 'He didn't tell me he applied here,' She thought as she continued walking towards the two. 'He's never come here before, either.'
Nene's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion as she slowed her pace down. Her manager caught her eye, smiling at her before speaking to Hanako once more. He turned around, and Nene's heart dropped.
"Wha- are you Hanako's doppelgänger?" Nene yelped, fearfully backing away as she eyed the boy's strikingly similar appearance. Whoever this was, he wasn't Hanako. Not-Hanako blinked at her, brows furrowed, before a bright smile took over his face. "You know Amane!?" He asked, rushing to her and leaning in until they were nose to nose. 'Ah. Tsukasa, no doubt.'
To say that Nene 'knew' Amane Yugi would be an understatement. They'd known each other for years, their friendship beginning one night during a summer camp. She had entered the girls bathroom for her nightly routine, talking to herself in the mirror as she applied a face mask. She'd been ranting about her lack of success in love during the camp, bemoaning the lack of hot guys there when she'd heard it- a muffled chuckle.
Nene had never been more afraid in her entire life. She remembered cautiously stepping closer to the source of the chuckle- The Third Bathroom Stall. She remembered noticing the door was unlocked, and reaching out to slowly push it open. She remembered opening the door, and seeing big, round eyes that glowed brighter than the moon. She remembered the shriek they both let out upon seeing each other.
"I was in here first!" The boy had replied when she'd finished yelling at him for being a pervert. "Yeah, in the *girls* bathroom," She said with a huff, shaking her head disapprovingly. "It's cleaner in here. Is social hour over?" He asked, standing from his spot on the toilet tank and hopping down, walking out of the stall. Nene blinked at him as he began washing his hands. Those headlights for eyes looked at her expectantly. She was a deer.
"Ah- oh. Uh, yes." She stuttered. She wanted to kick herself for being so star struck by him- He wasn't even her type! Still, there was something about him that drew her in, and she suddenly understood roadkill. She watched him release a breath of relief. "Were you hiding in here? Why?" Nene asked, watching the boy sputter in offense as color rapidly flooded his cheeks. "I wasn't *hiding*....I just didn't want to participate, and they wouldn't let me go to bed" He mumbled, picking at his nails.
"But why? Don't you want to hang out with your friends?" She asked, tilting her head. "No. I don't have any," He said simply. He began walking away, seemingly done with their interaction. "Bye, Hanako-san," She said, rolling her eyes. His head whipped around so fast she worried for a moment if he'd hurt himself. 'Or been possessed'. She shivered at the thought. "What!? Don't call me that!"
"Hanako-san, Hanako-san, are you there?" She sang, twirling around as he raced to cover her mouth. "Quit it!" He yelled. Then, there was the creaking of a door.
"HeeEere... I... Am.." a soft girl's voice sang. Nene and Hanako, as she had now dubbed him, grabbed ahold of each other, and shrieked at the top of their lungs. From the entrance of the bathroom, Aoi giggled, entering and waving to Nene. "Nene, I was wondering where you went!" Aoi looked between her and Hanako. "Terribly sorry to interrupt," She said with a wink. "I just heard you attempting that old rumor, and I couldn't help myself," She smiled cheerfully at Nene, who was still trying to catch her breath after the scare of her lifetime. She clung tight to Hanako, who looked like he may have fainted. Aoi wondered if it was from her little prank or because Nene was hanging off of him.
Aoi left after another lighthearted apology, leaving Nene and Hanako to themselves again. They caught their breath together, arms still encircling each other. Hanako looked at her, and she looked at him, and they broke into soft laughter. They released each other, and before he could walk away again, she grabbed his wrist. "You said you didn't have any friends before...are you okay?" She asked tentatively. He smirked at her, mischief mixing it's way into the color palette of his eyes. "You worried about me?" He asked teasingly. She rolled her eyes and released him, walking over to her night bag. Silently, She pulled out an eyeliner pencil- good enough. She walked over to the perplexed boy and grabbed his arm, writing her phone number on his hand.
"In case you ever...want one."
Chapter 2
Summary:
Amane's POV
Chapter Text
Amane was having the worst summer of his entire life. He was stuck in a camp full of musical theatre kids. His brother was probably somewhere he wasn't supposed to be with his (too many, in Amane's opinion) friends, leaving him alone, and the counselors had refused to let him just go to bed instead of go to the camp's nightly social hour.. So here he was; camping out in the girls bathroom. Look- it's cleaner okay!? He had tried the boys bathroom first, but the stalls were hazardous.
He'd been reading his newest pick from the library- a book about constellation mythology, when the door had opened. he clapped a hand over his mouth, pulling his feet up and moving to sit on the toilet tank. The girl that entered wasn't a counselor; Which would've been a relief, if she had just been coming in to do her business and go.
Amane sat silently, listening to the girl whine and talk to herself as she got ready for bed. She began complaining about her lack of love life and Amane, despite having no experience of his own, couldn't help but chuckle. He heard her quiet down, but he figured she was just doing some kind of skincare thing. He wasn't expecting for the door to his stall to swing open shortly after.
The shriek he had let out was embarrassing enough, but it was made infinitely worse when Amane saw her. Despite being a complete mess, she was a complete *hot* mess. Amane prayed to any and every God out there that his face wasn't bright red as he was scolded by the physical embodiment of his type.
He was able to defend himself and his reasoning for being there, and had tried to escape the situation quickly. However, the girl had teased him, and began chanting about some old ghost rumor. He had tried to stop her too, only to be scared even further by her friend. The girl had wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, and he thought for a moment that he may actually die.
Then, the girl of his dreams had laughed with him. Asked if he was okay. Written her..phone number..on his..wrist. She had left minutes ago, leaving him in the girls bathroom to gape at his arm with his face feeling hot. "That girl... had really fat ankles," He thought, his heart hammering in his chest as he walked out of the bathroom.
"Ah! Amane!" Tsukasa cheered as he struggled to climb through a window into their bunk room. Amane paused at the entryway for a moment, watching as his twin brother knocked his head against the windowpane before sighing and hurrying over. After Amane pulled his brother into their room, Tsukasa wrapped himself around him, excitedly chatting about the abandoned building he and his friends had just been to.
Once he managed to peel Tsukasa off of him and convince him to go get cleaned up for bed, Amane pulled his telescope out from under his bed. He opened the window fully, admiring the clear summer night. He looked down at the phone number written on his arm and felt himself blush. He adjusted his telescope, and peered into the stars. While sketching a map of the night's sky, his mouth pulled into a soft smile as his mind drifted to his new friend.
Once he was done with his sketch and notes, he pulled out his phone and added the first contact that wasn't his mom, dad or brother.
To: Daikon Girl
Hi. This is Amane Yugi.
From: Daikon Girl
Hanako-san Hanako-san...is that you?
To: Daikon Girl
I told you not to call me that! Naughty Daikon!
Chapter Text
Tsukasa tilted his head, pulling out of Nene's space to stare curiously at her. "Y-yeah. We're, um, friends," She stuttered, blushing furiously as something knowingly sparked in the fire of his eyes. "Nene, you'll be training him today, so please don't accuse him of being a clone before you've even been introduced," Her manager scolded softly as she walked into the back. "Tsukasa," Nene said with a polite smile. "I'm Nene. Yashiro," She added, suddenly wondering if Amane had ever mentioned her.
Tsukasa's knowing smile pulled into a bright grin, revealing sharp fangs. "Hey, how'd you know?" He asked, pointing to himself. "Amane and I are identical, after all. Not even my friends can tell us apart from just a glance," He continued after a minute of Nene staring blankly at him. Before she could form a response, Their manager returned with an apron for him, and sent them to do inventory.
She was trying not to stare- really, she was. She couldn't help it though. Everything about Tsukasa was similar, yet so different from Hanako. They looked the same, of course, but Tsukasa's movements were so unlike Hanako's. He was missing the tension in his shoulders that Hanako always carried. He was fluid, carefree- A polar opposite to Hanako's sharp, calculating approach to things.
"So, have you and Amane kissed yet?" Tsukasa asked, pulling his stare away from a box of prepackaged donuts to direct it at Nene. "Wha- No! It's not- I don't- He's not even my type!" She cried, covering her face to hide from his eyes. They didn't have the soft glow that Hanako's did. Hanako's eyes were kind, warm and gentle. Tsukasa's were sharp, wild and frustratingly intelligent.
Nene wondered for a moment if he could read minds. He hummed, returning his gaze to the various boxes while muttering about kisses being lemon-flavored. He wasn't taking inventory, even though she had just showed him how to, but Nene was too flustered to say anything. She had other things on her mind- Like his audacity!
Asking her about...*that*. The idea of her and Hanako kissing. She puffed her cheeks out in frustration, angrily scribbling numbers down as her face burned. Their manager came to the back to inform the two that she was leaving, bidding them a farewell and welcoming Tsukasa to the team once again.
Training Tsukasa Yugi may have been the hardest thing she'd ever done. He was constantly distracted, he stared at the customers, he had no sense of personal space (Much like his brother), and worst of all, he was great at everything he did. He had the entire menu memorized by the end of their shift. Not even Nene knew how to make some of the drinks they offered.
Nene sighed, placing her uniform apron and visor on a hook in the back. She felt close to death, her eyelids heavy and her hair messy from the long day. Tsukasa came into the back with his apron spun around his neck like a cape, sucking on an ice cube. "You never told me, by the way," He said, removing and placing his uniform on it's designated hook.
"Huh?"
"Amane and I. You knew I wasn't him. Immediately," He explained, waiting patiently.
"Oh! Um, yeah...I don't know. I think it's just how..different you guys are? The way you act, the way you carry yourselves. You may look alike, but I know my Hanako," She said proudly, completely oblivious to what she had just said. Tsukasa's eyebrows flew up, genuine surprise on his face. The surprise then melted into a shit-eating grin as Nene yelped, realization hitting her. "*my* Hanako, eh?" He teased, leaning in while Nene swatted at him and desperately tried to explain herself.
"Well, thanks for training me today, Nene Yashiro," He said with a cheeky smile. "I'll be sure to tell your *beloved* Hanako that you said hi," He snickered, waving goodbye. "He's not even my type!" She yelled after him. She huffed, pulling out her phone. She left the café, scrolling through her unread notifications. Most of them were texts from the main subject of her mind, updating her on the strange happenings and bored thoughts he experienced during his shift at the library.
She walked home, enjoying the cool breeze of the night and smiling as she read through Hanako's texts. As she lay in bed, exhaustion pulling apart the threads of her consciousness, she wondered if Tsukasa would mention her when talking to Amane about his day. She kind of hoped he would.