𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇 | 儚き願い

二十七 | 𝟐𝟕𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑

[𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝟑] - 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

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❝𝑩𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖❞

· ✦────✧◦ 儚き願い ◦✧────✦ ·

𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑬𝒀𝑬𝑺 𝑭𝑳𝑼𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑫 𝑶𝑷𝑬𝑵 𝑰𝑵 𝑺𝑼𝑹𝑷𝑹𝑰𝑺𝑬 𝑨𝑺 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑲𝑬𝑫 𝑨𝑻 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲-𝑯𝑨𝑰𝑹𝑬𝑫 𝑮𝑰𝑹𝑳 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑰𝑵 𝑭𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑻 𝑶𝑭 𝒀𝑶𝑼. She tightened her grip around her books, staring back at you with a nervous expression. Machi turned her head to the side, trying to avoid your (e/c) gaze as you came closer to her.

Your sense of smell alerted you to a familiar fragrance, one that reminded you of the one at the mall. Machi noticed your silent stare and she nervously placed her perfume bottle deeper into her pocket, her face turning a shade of pink. She didn't know if you were going to comment on the scent since she thought it was quite overpowering, but in your opinion, it was quite subtle.

"Kuragi-san? What are you doing here?" You asked, setting down a large stack of books on a nearby table. "Are you getting some books for the school year?"

"O-Oh. . . Yes."

Machi fumbled with her hands, "Do you. . . work here?"

"I volunteer here. Are you looking for something specific?" You replied, "It's been quite hard trying to meet up with you when you're not busy. I'm sure you're studying pretty hard to get into nearby schools. Do you think you'd be free after?"

"Yes. I was hoping to find some traditional literature here." She pressed her lips together, her eyes glancing back at you for a fleeting moment, "Well. . . I should go home later today. . ."

Your eyes widened slightly but you softened up, "Oh. I see, that's fine," you waved her hands out to dismiss her, "I'll help you find your books and you can go back home. You're pretty busy after all."

She flinched in response to your words, a small sting appearing on the outside of her heart, "I-I mean! I can go home soon, probably!"

". . . Probably?"

You tilted your head towards her in a questioning manner, causing her to hold her breath in anticipation of your response. Suddenly, you began to laugh and smile, wiping away at the invisible tear from the corner of your eye.

"Kuragi-san, you're so funny. I think you meant that you could go home later?" She shook her head in denial but you noticed that she had been standing there for a few minutes, almost as if she was waiting for you to finish. You gave her a closed-eye smile, "Sure, we can hang out for a bit before you go home. I'll still help you get those books though."

As she nodded in response, you gave her a small hum, pressing your hand underneath your chin as you thought to yourself. If you remembered correctly, there should have been a couple of traditional books near the back of the store. They were slightly dusty but you were sure that they were still legible.

You smiled at her, "There are a few in the back if you would like to come with me, I can show you which ones to get."

Machi's eyes widened slightly but she nodded her head, agreeing to follow you to the other side of the store. As the two of you slowly walked towards the back, she looked off to the side, noticing the lack of customers in the store.