From A-Z, and Everything in Between

Inferiority Complex

"Hey, MafuMafu. I'm back," Soraru called as he opened the door to his friend's home.

He looked around the living room and was surprised to see it was empty. Either everyone else had gone home already, or they went out somewhere. Soraru wouldn't have been surprised if they all went to some karaoke bar near here, drinking and singing songs until dawn. It would've been fun to join them, Soraru thought to himself. He shook his head and pushed the door shut behind him. It didn't matter. He was only here to get his phone. That was the only reason he wasn't currently relaxing in his bed. Soraru walked over to the couch to see if he had accidentally dropped his phone here. It didn't seem to be there. So where else could he have put it?

"Soraru-san? What are you doing here?"

Soraru turned around to see MafuMafu looking at him curiously from the other side of the room. It looked like he had changed into pajamas and was getting ready for bed, considering the extremely oversized T-shirt he was now wearing like a nightgown. He sure does like to wear things that don't fit him, Soraru thought.

"I forgot my phone here and came back to look for it. Hope you don't mind," Soraru said, adding the last bit as an afterthought.

MafuMafu smiled slightly in amusement. "You're really forgetful, Soraru-san."

Soraru just went back to looking for his phone. He knew MafuMafu was going to mock him about this too. Why wouldn't he? Soraru was always leaving something somewhere. It was the perfect opportunity to poke fun at him. Soraru checked underneath the couch, and when he looked up again MafuMafu was standing beside him.

"I'll help you look if you want. Just tell me where you think you left it," MafuMafu offered.

It was a little surprising to hear the albino offering to help, but Soraru supposed even he had a nice side to him. That was probably why they were friends. MafuMafu would make jokes at Soraru's expense, and Soraru would in turn call him names or say harsh things, but in the end they were there for each other. It seemed weird to Soraru at first, but by now he just accepted it as the way things are.

"I don't really know where I left it. If I had to guess, it'd be somewhere in the living room since I didn't really go anywhere else," Soraru said.

MafuMafu looked around the living room for a moment, then lifted one of the couch cushions. The phone wasn't there either. They continued looking for Soraru's phone in silence for a while, but no matter where they checked they couldn't find it. Soraru sighed and sat down on the floor, leaning back against the couch.

"Where the hell is it? We've been looking for ages," Soraru said exasperatedly.

MafuMafu sat down beside him. "It'll turn up eventually. Maybe you should go home and get some sleep. It's getting pretty late."

"I can't just go home because I need my phone. I have a lot of important calls to make, and if I miss them it'll make my work ten times harder," Soraru snapped. He sighed again. "I should've just stayed home tonight..."

MafuMafu looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap. He seemed disheartened by Soraru's words. Soraru felt bad for yelling at him, and even worse for making it seem like all of this was MafuMafu's fault. But he was so tired and frustrated at the moment that he couldn't even think of apologizing, and his guilt was only adding to that.

"Maybe I can-"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it anymore, I'll find it myself. Just go get some rest, I know you need it," Soraru cut him off.

MafuMafu hesitated for a moment, considering whether or not to leave, then looked down at his hands again. "Soraru-san, are you just upset about the phone?"