"Do you really love him?" She finally asked after a long period of silence. Atsushi nodded, still keeping his head down. Kyouka wanted to be happy for him. She really did! But why Akutagawa? Out of all people? She knew Akutagawa had 'apologised' to her in a way. But she could never forgive him. Akutagawa was messed up because of Dazai, she knew that well. Everyone knew, actually. It's very obvious that his obsession with Dazai stemmed from at least some abuse. She felt bad. She couldn't help it, Akutagawa was just a kid. But, she was a kid too. She's still a kid. She sighed, it could be worse. He could've been dating Mori. Ever since she joined the agency, she was told to always see the bright side of things. She knew Atsushi wasn't into women. But Akutagawa?? Out of all men? His taste in men was very concerning.
He didn't view her the way the men in the mafia did. He cherished her, not for her looks, but because he cared. He cared about her, and she cared about him, so she won't tell him not to pursue a relationship with Akutagawa. But, she will be there for him if he gets hurt. She won't leave him just like many others have already done.
"I'm happy for you, Atsushi." She said softly, voice barely above a whisper. Atsushi looked up at her. "If he hurts you, I wont attend." He nodded. Kyouka continued to eat, frowning at the coldness of her chicken katsu. Atsushi coughed, "Let me make you some ramen.." Kyouka nodded.
Atsushi got out a pan and filled it with water, putting it on the stove to boil. He grabbed a pack of ramen from the pantry, opening it up and getting a bowl as well. Kyouka smiled, she hoped Akutagawa would treat him right. Atsushi deserved good things in his life, she wouldn't hesitate to make Akutagawa 'sleep' permanently if he hurt Atsushi.
After a few minutes Atsushi came back with a fresh bowl of ramen. "Thank you." she said quietly. Atsushi smiled, he walked back over to the kitchen. He pulled out some containers and saved their dinner for another night. Atsushi was always big on saving things, they didn't have a lot of money, but she had a feeling that was about to change.
———
MAR 7TH 6:19 AM
Kyouka awoke to the feeling of the world shaking. Was that an earthquake? "Kyouka! Wake up!" Nevermind it was just Atsushi.
She opened her eyes and saw Atsushi sitting beside her futon, showing her something on his phone. She grabbed the phone as Atsushi got up to make breakfast. Kyouka read the time. 6:00 am? He really had to wake her up at this hour? They usually woke up at 7:00 to go to work, and besides that its a Saturday!
She groaned and decided to read whatever Atsushi wanted to show her. It was a school website, they explained what they did, the grades they taught, ect. Nothing really caught her eye, except, for the price. This was a very expensive school, the tuition alone was 2,000,000 yen. The uniforms were also expensive! How much money did Akutagawa have?!
Atsushi walked over to her with a plate of crepes (it was a tradition to eat crepes on Saturdays). "You don't like it?" he asked, walking back to the kitchen to get some crepes for himself. "No, it's just expensive." She said. Atsushi giggled at her response, "It was Akutagawa's request so I can understand if it isn't your thing."
He brought his own plate and sat next to her. He pulled up another website on his phone, this one was way different. It was so.. cute! It was a small school, all girls, plus they had pink uniforms too.
He let her look at it for a second, switching to a different tab a few minutes later. The third school wasn't too different than the last, it was another small, all girls school. They had black and white uniforms.
"These are the ones that are closest to us." He said as handed her the phone. "You can look for more if you'd like." Kyouka nodded and smiled.
Atsushi's phone dinged, but he didn't seem to notice. Kyouka clicked on the notification. It was from Akutagawa, more links to school websites. She clicked on the most recent one he sent, taking her to a blue website.
This one looked just like the others, no variety at all. All private schools seemed the same to her. This one's uniform had a lot of layers. First, a long sleeve dress shirt. Then, a waist coat and bow/tie (they had options). A cardigan, plus a long skirt.
She clicked on another link Akutagawa sent, this one had pictures of the inside. It was beautiful, Kyouka almost audibly gasped. It looked like a palace. It was perfect, pure white lockers, beige walls, pristine clear windows, desks with no marks or anything. Their summer uniforms consisted of a pink short-sleeve shirt, a knee length skirt, a sweater vest, and a navy blue bow. The winter uniform had a long-sleeve white dress shirt, navy blazer, grey plaid skirt, navy bow, black cardigan, and black shoes.
This. This was the one. "Atsushi, I like this one." Kyouka said softly. Atsushi nodded, opening up Imessage to tell Akutagawa. Kyouka wrapped her arms around Atsushi, she finally felt normal.
"Thank you.." She whispered. Atsushi nodded, he hugged her tighter. He hoped Kyouka would be happy. They pulled away, happy to have each other.
Chapter 5: Project get Kyouka in school!
Start from the beginning
