I'll Do My Rubesty!!! [OC X Canon]

CHAPTER 4 - "Running it Back"

Roughly 30 seconds go by, and it's just the two staring at each other. At this point, it was getting too awkward, Akane didn't think that the girl in front of him was gonna say anything, so he decided to speak up.

"Hello..."

"Pigi-!", she says, surprised and nervous.

Curious, he asks, "Huh? What was that...?" To which the girl tells him, "It's nothing..."

"Hm... So she doesn't wanna talk about that..." Seeing as addressing that isn't gonna work, he switches his approach, doing his best to put up a smile.

He says to the girl, introducing himself, "Machida Akane. It's nice to meet you!"

Time for her feels like it's paused for a bit, as she considers her options. On one hand, she's practically screaming from the inside to have her sister help her. On the other, she wants to see this through, if nothing else than to prove that she doesn't need her help all the time, and that she can handle her own. After quite a bit of talking herself into it and then talking herself out of it, she finally comes to this conclusion. "I said that I could handle myself, and I want to prove to Onee-chan that I've grown up!!"

Eventually, the girl nervously responds, slightly stuttering and shaking, "K-Kurosawa Ruby..."

"'Kurosawa'..." He's definitely heard of this name before... A family known for their multiple businesses, including real estate and restaurant management. And a name he managed to catch in that article he was sent last night.

"Kurosawa... Ah, like..." He rummages to pull out his phone and show the article. "From this?" He says, while pointing his phone screen up to her view.

Ruby definitely recognizes this article, as after the interview, everyone at Aqours got to take a look at it. "It's that article...!"

Sounding she lost a bit of that fright, she says, "Yeah, that's right...!!" Ruby also took note that he didn't even mention the family business thing.

"Oh, wow! Uhh, mind if I sit down?" It takes Ruby a bit to reply, but eventually she accepts, Akane seating himself about an inch or two apart to not make her too uncomfortable.

"You know, opening with talking about business stuff seems kinda boring, right?" His best attempt at making conversation. And it's true, at least in his mindset, opening with that does seem boring.

"Y-Yeah," Ruby responds, making note of the fact that this conversation didn't end up that much more awkward than she thought it would be.

Soon, the conversation progressed into asking her about the interview; general questions about how Aqours was formed and all that; to which Ruby tries her best to respond with the information she's able to muster, though also makes mention of little anecdotes, such as the time where one of her friends tried to, in her words, "summon a demon from the underworld", among other things.

This conversation actually finds them enjoying each other's company, talking about more of their personal lives, something Ruby wasn't expecting, but was greatly relieved for. She even starts to smile more while they continue to talk. "I'm doing it... I'm actually having a good conversation with a boy my age... And I'm not getting nervous... Maybe...this isn't so bad...!"

Meanwhile, Dia arrives to check on Ruby, although she notices the door is open slightly. And from there, laughter can be heard, as well as legible speech. She peeks her head inside, and sees the two talking to each other, even seeing her precious little sister's smiling face. "Ahhh, my little Ruby has found another friend her age to talk to," she notes, very much proud of her sister's progress.

Continuing their conversation "So, you say you live in Numazu?"

"Mm, that's right! Mostly with my Onee-chan, though."

Shocked, he responds, "Ehhh?? That's like, a little over half an hour from Fuji-shi, where I'm from!"

Then, Akane, out of the blue, tells her, "We should hang out sometime!"

A bit taken aback, she says, "E-Ehhh?? Really..??"

He elaborates. "Yeah! You're really fun to talk to! And honestly, I'm glad I got to meet someone here who was my age," Akane tells her with a smile.

This statement, she was very taken aback. She never once even expected to hold up a conversation with a boy, and now she was actually enjoying a boy's company. She feels like she's growing up, not being remotely scared of what once would terrify her. And now, hearing those words, it's like all that progress was validated. With the biggest smile on her face, she happily responds, "Yeah!!"

They get around to exchanging each other's contact info, but right after, their moment gets interrupted by a text from his mother. Her sister got a little too tipsy and won't be able to drive back home, so she had to do it, and decided to call her son.

"Ahhh, it's my mom," he says hurriedly.

"Are you going back home so soon?", Ruby asks, intrigued.

"Yeah... Apparently, Nee-chan had a little too much to drink, and Mom decided to just take us back home so she could keep an eye on both of us."

"Oooohhhh..." However, Akane still wears a smile on his face. "But hey, if you wanna talk, at least you'll know how! I really gotta go now though, see ya!!" He waves off Ruby and exits the common area in a hurry, not noticing that he left something behind.

"Ah... See you..." However, Ruby does, seeing that a wallet where he sat has been left there...