~ SHIRO ~
I felt the urge to punch the mirror for showing me something this horrific. A kimono's purpose was to enhance a woman's figure and bring out her beauty. But in my case, was there anything to bring out? Anything that didn't hurt the eyes?
I sighed. It had been a long time since I bothered with my appearance. It didn't usually trouble me, as no one really paid attention. But today, I genuinely wanted to look good for Keiji. It was weird that I felt kind of responsible, as if it was my basic duty, being his girlfriend.
After all, tonight was our first festival together. This was supposed to be important, right? In a lot of animes, entire plot arcs were dedicated to festivals and they was usually the setting for key character developments. And not to mention, romantic stuff always happened during the fireworks. Therefore, I couldn't afford to screw this up.
But easier said than done, I was already on the verge of a meltdown trying to get this kimono to look half decent. Perhaps I'm wearing it wrong. Or maybe it would look better if I tried tying my hair up.
I immediately proceeded to prove myself wrong the moment I moved my hair out of my face. Sighing, I let it down again. This was too hard. I guess Keiji would just have to be deal with... whatever this was.
Speaking of the devil, the doorbell rang. My time of reckoning has come. Grabbing my phone in one hand and my purse in the other, I hurried down the stairs to answer the door. As usual, I was greeted by a smiling Keiji.
"Well, don't just stand there." I looked away, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Say something." Just try not to hurt my feelings.
My eyes widened in surprise when he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. "Don't worry," he whispered assuringly. "You look really pretty today."
I felt my face heat up and I quickly pulled away to put some distance between us. "What... who said I was worried?"
"Whatever you say," Keiji simply laughed and reached for my hand. "Come on, let's go."
Thankful that he didn't choose to dwell on the subject of my appearance, I let him drag me to a place I had never thought of going.
~~~~
When we arrived, the sun had already set and the sky had transitioned into a deep navy shade, but the streets were far from dark. Tokyo was a place where you couldn't exactly see stars but that was compensated by the lanterns hanging overhead to the bright neon signs that lined the buildings and walkways.
Like every year, the show-ground was crowded and although the night was still young, the festive mood had already taken effect in the smiles of people around me. As a child, I used to love these festivals, but as I got older they began to lose their appeal. It wasn't the crowd that bothered me because, believe it or not, at an event like this, no one really spares the time or effort to observe strangers. For once, anxiety wasn't the issue here. To be honest, I wasn't sure if there really was an issue, it just felt pointless.
I felt Keiji's hand gently squeeze mine. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" I turned and smiled at him to prove it.
"Just checking." He returned the smile before asking. "So what would you like to do next, Sweetheart?"
Woah, hold up. My eyes widened at the nickname he just casually threw in. This was probably the first time he referred to me other than my name or "manager". And I had to say, he was pretty damn smooth with it, no hesitation at all.
"Let me think..." I pondered, letting my eyes wander around. We had already played a few games, like throwing darts and shooting hoops, but unfortunately we were unsuccessful in acquiring any sort of prize. So I turned my attention to the food stalls instead. When health is low, we got to replenish. Simple logic.
Keiji immediately caught on, tracking my wishful gaze to the stand selling candied apples. He chuckled and tugged softly at my hand, leading me towards it. "You could've just said so."
"I was just about to, until you read my mind."
Minutes later, I was smiling contentedly with the treat in my hands. I happily bit into it, hearing the satisfying crunch of the candied surface breaking against my teeth. The syrupy sweetness contrasted perfectly against the sour flavour of the apple. This was by far the best part of the festival. The fireworks could never compare.
I turned towards Keiji, noticing his gaze was still fixed on me, accompanied by a strangely affectionate smile. "Do you want some?" I asked, suddenly feeling awkward.
"No, I'm fine. I don't particularly like sweets." He replied with a soft laugh. "But who knew an apple can make you this happy?"
"Yeah... who knew..." I sighed. The only two things that made life worth living were food and games. In particular, candied apples and...
Apple Pie!
I had completely forgotten about our plans tonight. We were supposed to play together, until Keiji called me last minute about the festival. You are so careless. How could I forget something this important? What was happening to my priorities? I facepalmed myself. Hard.
"Alright, for real now, are you okay, Shiro?" Keiji asked with genuine concern.
"Yeah... I mean, no... well, not entirely." I stuttered an incoherent response. "Um, can I go and make a call real quick?"
He looked slightly confused but nodded. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead."
"Thanks," I mumbled, as I quickly hurried off to the side and fished out my phone.
Apple Pie wasn't someone who ever left his phone so he picked up after three rings. "Hey, Fire, took you long enough."
And just like that, I felt really bad. "Im sorry, I... I can't play tonight. So... um, don't wait for me, you go ahead. I'm really sorry."
"Oh, no, it's fine. That's all good, really."
For some reason, his response only made me feel worse. Perhaps it would've been better if he had gotten mad or yelled at me. "My boyfriend asked me to go to the festival with him and I said 'yes' without thinking." I felt like I owed him an explanation, even though it doesn't justify anything. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have agreed. Or at least I could've called you to let you know."
"Hey, don't worry, it's fine." He reassured me again. "It's chill, I understand. Now go and have fun."
"Are you sure..."
But he cut me off with an unnecessarily cheerful "bye", before hanging up.
"Okay then..." I mumbled to myself, slipping my phone back in my bag.
I quickly made my way back to where Keiji was still waiting for me. I was surprised to see him also on the phone, ending the call just as I arrived. However, his expression looked more concerned than earlier and his voice was laced with worry as he spoke.
"Hey, Shiro, I just got a call from the team and something came up." He explained. "Konoha-san just told me that Bokuto-san is in some sort of trouble and I'm a bit worried. Do you mind if I go check on them for a bit?"
"Oh, um..."
"I think they really need me right now. You'll be okay by yourself, right?"
But I really need you, too. However, I couldn't bring myself to say that. "Uh, yeah. Sure..." I replied instead.
"Good girl. Thank you so much." He smiled gratefully and patted my head. "I'll be back as soon as I get things sorted. I'll find you before the fireworks, okay?"
"Actually, you don't have to..." I mean, if he was going to leave, he may as well end the night here so I could go home early.
"No, I can't do that. I'll be back, Sweetheart. Catch you later!" With that, he pressed a quick kiss to my cheek and left.
My heart sank a little as I watched Keiji's tall figure disappear into the crowd. Great. I sighed as I sat down on a nearby bench. I guess I'll just sit here and wait until he comes back. It shouldn't take more than thirty minutes.
Pulling out my phone, I decided to do a full house check, going through all my games to collect login rewards and complete daily missions. Honestly, I would've preferred if he had left altogether and called it a day. Even though I knew he'd be back soon, waiting in a public place by myself would make any amount of time feel extraordinarily long.
This was a different type of anxiety. It was the uneasiness you feel in the pit of your stomach after hiding alone for a long time, wondering why no one has found you yet. It was the uncomfortable nervousness bubbling at the back of your throat, as you debate whether or not to make a sound. You could always turn yourself in but that defeated the purpose of the game.
Right now, I wanted to get up and leave. But anywhere would be the same. I knew no one was watching, no one was paying attention, and yet I couldn't shake the feeling of being stared at. My brain couldn't convince the rest of my body that there was nothing to worry about because anxiety works in wondrous ways.
Go on your phone.
Why would I do that? No idea, but I did.
Quick, text someone so you don't seem lonely!
Since when did I care? But good point.
However, the real problem was who to text. I couldn't bother Keiji again. It had hardly been fifteen minutes and I didn't want to be clingy or cause even more trouble for him. With him eliminated, I was running out of friends. The only other contacts I had were my father and Apple Pie.
Although my father never parted with his work phone, he rarely answered messages on his private number. A daily "how are you" was the most I couldn't expect from him. Calling him would just be awkward and, not to mention, a waste of his time.
And that left Apple Pie. This was a difficult one. How would I even start? "Hey man, it's me, again. I know I ditched you for my boyfriend but my boyfriend just ditched me, so..."
I shuddered at the thought. Saying this was equivalent to drop-kicking my dignity into the dirt and trampling across it. Didn't I have any other friends? I knew I was out of options.
Oh well, fuck my dignity.
I quickly dialed his number before I could change my mind. To my surprise, he picked up faster than before, cutting short my mental preparations. "What's up? Did your boyfriend ditch you?"
"Okay, first of all, ouch. And secondly, how on earth did you know?"
"I guessed." He replied indifferently. "I mean, why else would you call?"
I sighed. He wasn't wrong. "I'm sorry."
"Wait, hold up." He said abruptly, not even acknowledging my apology. Then I heard him drop the phone. Before I could brace myself, a torrent of obscenities flooded in from the other line, slightly muted, but clearly audible. "You useless, fucking bot! If you're gonna hold a sniper rifle, you gotta snipe. What are shooting at? Air? Get the camper. Get the mo-ther-fu-cking camper!"
Oh, that's right. I had almost forgotten. Apple Pie was a rager. It happened less when I was with him because we rarely lost, but there were still times when he would lose his shit. I heard the intense mouseclicks and keyboard taps, signalling to me that he was still trying to clutch. But this was soon followed by a resounding keyboard smash.
"Dude, careful there. Your keyboard needs to survive this season." But, of course, in his current state of mind, he couldnt hear me.
"What the shit... No! You had one job! You had one fucking job! All you had to do was watch my back. Now that I'm dead, who's gonna carry? Not you!" He continued to yell, which was completely understandable, given his circumstance. "Next round, just die. Get yourself killed so I can pick up your sniper."
This continued for another three rounds, until the game was lost and Apple Pie had run out of breath. "Sounds like you're having a tough time, too." I remarked, after the profanities were toned down to an acceptable, PG-13 rating.
"You think? Why don't you try to rank up with these idiots? Tell me how it goes."
"No, I think I'll pass."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Are you going to keep playing?"
"In bot-lobby? No way am I going back there again." He answered, voice tinged with distaste.
I laughed at his response. Honestly, I loved the way he casually talked shit about anything and everything. While others lived for wholesome reasons like family or friends, this man was surviving on pure spite and his hatred of the world. What a legend.
"Can we just talk?" He asked out of the blue.
"About?"
"Anything," he replied, his tone brightening. "Like always. I mean, it's a win-win situation; I need a break and you need company. So... yeah?"
"Of course." With that, he jumped right into it, continuing to explain his ideas for his own game. And before I realised it, the uneasiness in my chest had dissipated, replaced by a comforting, familiar warmth.
I was aware that it sounded ridiculously unrealistic and even more aware that I had a boyfriend, but Apple Pie's voice was my favourite. It was the voice currently going on about his dreams and aspirations, the voice encouraging me to pursue my own, the voice that was there when I needed to hear it the most. And it was the one I cherished the most.
~~~~
It's been a while, how are you all?
First of all, I apologise for not updating for a long, long time. The few months were really stressful and finding the time to write was difficult. But the real problem was the lack of motivation, which took a toll on most aspects in my life. The days were repetitive and uninspiring, hence I couldn't find what I needed to write. I'm very sorry that you had to wait and thank you for staying.
Secondly, a general status update on all my books: currently, all three (My In-Game Boyfriend, To Hell And Back and Moonlight Harmony) are on-going and incomplete. This book is the closest to being finished, but of course, there are still some ways to go. The Hisoka fanfiction is on hiatus, with only part one (12 chapters) out. There will be a total of four parts and will be continued after the completion of My In-Game Boyfriend. As for the Akaashi fanfiction, it has only just started and I'm just updating here and there when ideas come.
Lastly, I am in the process of writing a KuroKen fanfiction. I've actually planned it out already and I'm really excited about it. Unlike other stories, I will only begin posting after I've fully completed it. But what I'm going to reveal is that there will be five parts, based on these songs:
War of Hearts - Ruelle
A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant to Be - Jess Benko
No Time To Die - Billie Eilish
As the World Caves In - Matt Maltese
A Way to You Again - Peter Bradley Adams
That's it, thanks for reading, I hope this chapter was satisfactory. And for those who have waited since the beginning, I can't thank you enough.
~ krypto