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Y/n must have read the letter over a hundred times and she felt lost in his words each time. Eventually, the fireworks came to a stop and the group all cheered and decided loudly they were going out for ramen.
She was left in the dark and seemed to finally snap out of her dazed expression then turned to the group stuffing the letter in the bag as she carefully placed the frog in the bag as well.
"Y/n! You missed most of the fireworks! What was Saiko's gift?" Hairo asked the girl curiously trying to take a peak in the bag
"I have to go home," Y/n spoke to the group who seemed caught off guard by her sudden decision.
"Right now?" Kuboyasu asked the girl who nodded eagerly
"At least let me walk you there! It's very dangerous this late at night." Kuboyasu suggested to the girl who eventually agreed and the two said their goodbyes to the group before making their way out of the festival.
"So — what was in Saiko's letter?" Kuboyasu asked the girl who seemed to grip her bag a little tighter.
"It was a letter to show his appreciation for me," Y/n said eventually after a long while of thinking. Though Kuboyasu wasn't convinced
"It was a love letter, wasn't it?" Kuboyasu deducted to the girl who eventually nodded feeling embarrassed by the thought.
"What are you going to say once you get home?" Kuboyasu asked gazing at the girl who just looked away
"I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead." Y/n whispered to Kuboyasu who just nodded and seemed to be struggling to speak
"Well, whatever happens. Im here for you." Kuboyasu eventually said.
"Thank you, Kuboyasu," Y/n whispered turning over to hug the boy for comfort. He was quick to return the hold.
"I don't know. Do you even think Im girlfriend material? I've never dated anyone before, I wouldn't know how to act." Y/n asked Kuboyasu waiting for his response. He went quiet for a moment then spoke
"You don't have to act a certain way. They fell for you because of the way are. Don't change anything." Kuboyasu spoke as if demanding the girl do what he says. Y/n just nodded and gave him one last squeeze then let go
"I never expected Saiko to like me. I mean, I knew that he liked me. But I didn't know he liked me. Does that make sense?" Y/n asked as the two seemed to slow their steps down. After a small contemplation, Y/n eventually spoke up again
"Maybe I should. After all, Saiko is a nice guy." Y/n broke down to Kuboyasu who seemed to grow even quieter.
"What's wrong?" Y/n asked the purple-haired boy who just seemed to take a hard gulp then turn to the girl
"Nothing. I was just thinking. Do you wanna go on the swings? For old time's sake?" Kuboyasu asked referring to the last time the two had a chance to talk at the park.
"Of course. Where's the park from here?" Y/n asked the boy who reached down grabbing her wrist and dragging the girl towards the park that seemed to have not a single soul
"Guess we're closer to home than I initially thought," Y/n mumbled to Kuboyasu who sat in the same swing as he did last. Y/n followed and sat in her spot as well.
"What did you want to talk about?" Y/n asked Kuboyasu who leaned back staring at the starry sky
"Im not sure. I just want to talk, about anything. I like talking to you." Kuboyasu said lowly to the girl who smiled and stared up at the moon then placed her bag on the ground beside her swing.
"How's Ozzy?" Y/n asked Kuboyasu who slightly swung himself back and forth
"He's doing fine. He's grown slightly since the last time you saw him. Whenever I call him mochi he seems to respond to that name as well. I suppose he's got two names now." Kuboyasu smiled at Y/n who became embarrassed
"It's okay, I was a little too nervous to tell you his name anyway." Kuboyasu quickly reassured the girl who decided to start swinging back and forth like he was doing
"What are you planning to do after high school?" Y/na asked the teen who let out a small laugh
"Not college that's for sure. Schools are great and all. And I would love to become a law-abiding citizen and be in massive debt, but after what happened in London. I don't need any more school to live the life I want." Kuboyasu finished his eyes briefly looking into Y/n's who seemed to be piercing his before he even noticed
"You don't need school? Are you rich now?!" Y/n asked the teen with an excited expression. He just nonchalantly nodded in response
"Turns out, being the son of the currently highest ranked mafia leader of London makes you a lot of money... Most blood money, but still money." Kuboyasu said to the girl who just started in amazement
"Im not planning on going to college either. I just wanted to live my life to the fullest and hang out with my friends! Yes — that includes you." Y/n spoke to Kuboyasu who seemed to feel his smile grow
"It's funny. Sometimes, I like to imagine the nice life I would've had if I had never been a part of this fortunate circumstance. In the next five years would I be dead in a ditch or would I have a nice place to welcome me home. I like to think that I somehow managed to escape my parents and live in a quiet part of Japan with my own garden to plant all the healthy vegetables I want. And I would have Ozzy living his best life with all the luxury and quiet any cat would want." Kuboyasu spoke smiling at the thought. Y/n seemed to get lost in his words and found herself imagining a made-up life where she had two cats and lived in a rundown apartment. She became upset at the thought and quickly dismissed the imagination
"A nice and quiet life?" Y/n asked Kuboyasu who laughed slightly
"Well of course I would still hang out with you and the rest of the group. It won't always be quiet. But thinking about the peace, it sounds nice." Kuboyasu said to the girl who nodded thinking quietly to herself.
"What are you going to say to Saiko?" Kuboyasu brought up after a long moment of silence. Y/n felt her face flush as she gripped onto the sleeves of her kimono
"Maybe something I will cringe at later. Or maybe It will be something sweet. I'll come home to see him waiting on the couch and he's bouncing his leg like he always does when he's nervous. And then he'll see me and say something like 'I finally can croquet something that doesn't look terrible.' And I would smile and hold up the letter before saying 'I like you too.' He would be content and I would be happy knowing it didn't take the turn for the worse." Y/n mumbled out loud to herself imagining the scene as she described it. Kuboyasu listened tentatively to the girl's story and halfway through looked away to think to himself
"Saiko better be the happiest man on the planet after today," Kuboyasu whispered to himself mainly. But Y/n heard and began to feel embarrassed.
"Let's get going then? Are you ready to confront the danger head-on?" Kuboyasu asked the girl wondering if she would back down from going to her house knowing Saiko would be there.
"I'm scared. But let's go!" Y/n whispered glaring at the exit of the park. The two stood up from their seats and made their way out of the park.
.
.
.
Y/n stared at the small gate leading to her house and did some last-minute thinking. She wondered if this was the best idea and if she should just hide away at Kuboyasu's house where she won't have to worry about anything such as his love life. Y/n took one last tempting look at Kuboyasu who had been holding her hand the whole way for comfort
"Thank you Kuboyasu. You made me realize a lot." Y/n smiled nervously at the boy who nodded and stared down at their hand-in-hand contact before letting go.
Kuboyasu watched the girl unlock her gate with mild hesitancy before forcing himself to walk away from the scene. He hadn't even made it halfway down the road before he felt his eyes beginning to blur. He found it hard to breathe without letting out a sob and had to take off his glasses where he would continuously wipe his tears throughout the rest of the way back to his home. His throat was burning and he felt as though nothing could make him more miserable than he had felt at the moment.
Some of his old friends seemed to notice how depressed he looked the more he made it across town and gave the man a look of pity. They watched the lonely teen sobbing to himself in his kimono struggling to unlock his door.
"I wonder if his girlfriend broke up with him?"
"Maybe he'll turn back to us for any support."
"Let's just leave him be for now."
Kuboyasu lay in his bed throughout the rest of the night refusing to get up and answer the door for the string of old friends asking if he was okay. He didn't feel okay. He was the farthest from okay. He felt miserable. He stared down at his pajamas wondering when exactly the small tears had gotten there. Anything to distract his mind. There was currently gang friend number 24 at his door ringing his doorbell nonstop for what seemed like five minutes. Kunoyasu blew his nose one last time before standing up finally losing his patience with the person. He made sure Ozzy didn't wake up from his nap and made his way towards the door figuring it might have been Shigechi refusing to give him space. He harshly thrust the door open as his eyes widened seeing a girl waiting patiently in what seemed to be a fluffy coat that covered her flannel pajamas.
"Kuboyasu," Y/n whispered seeing the boy who stared at her with a shocked expression
"What are you doing here? It's two in the morning! This is the most dangerous time for you to be in this town!" Kuboyasu whispered harshly at the girl who nodded
"I know! I got mugged on my way here! He seemed to have suddenly lost consciousness though." Y/n smiled winking slightly to the boy who still held a ludicrous expression. The spirit smiled at the girl's comment while Kuboyasu moved aside letting the girl into the apartment. She hung her coat on his small hanger and turned back to the boy looking around his home
"What are you doing here?" Kuboyasu repeated once again to the girl
"The moment you left. I felt like something was missing. Saiko noticed immediately that I was out of it. I told him I would tell him my answer in the morning... But, I couldn't sleep." Y/n mumbled watching Kuboyasu's expression switch to shock
"What do you mean? So you risked your life to come here?" Kuboyasu asked the girl who felt her face flush
"Kuboyasu," Y/n muttered looking up at him before starting again
"I don't love Saiko. I love you." Y/n said firmly watching Kuboyasu's face go blank. He felt his hands beginning to tremble slightly and he moved towards the girl feeling his eyes watering once again
"Please. Say it again." Kuboyasu mumbled moving the girl towards him and into a secure hug
"I love you," Y/n said once again feeling a wet spot beginning to seep through the fabric of her pajama shirt. After a small while of hugging Kuboyasu let go staring at her eyes that seemed to peer into his red watery ones.
"Remember that story I told you about? The one about living that peaceful and quiet life?" Kuboyasu asked Y/n who smiled nodding shortly
"You were in it," Kuboyasu said to the girl who felt her face heat up as Kuboyasu slowly ran his fingers down the girl's face admiring her features, then pulled her closer to his face where the couple eventually felt their lips crashing against one another. Kuboyasu began rubbing his thumb against the girl's cheek pulling her even closer to himself as Y/n began running her fingers through the boy's hair. It was as though fireworks were going off inside the girl's head and she even wondered if she would prefer this over any firework show in the world. After thirty seconds of the kiss, Kuboyasu pulled away seeing her beet-red face.
"You might want to stay over for tonight. I'm not risking you getting mugged again." Kuboyasu said protectively and made sure to cling on to the girl for the rest of the night.
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A/n: YES. I have done it. I was going to do Saiko 100% but at the very last minute again I was like... Should I?
I wanted to break all the hearts of my Kuboyasu simps (including me) but changed my mind!
Is there going to be an epilogue tiny snippet? I have no idea. Depends. For now. This is the end.
It has been really fun. I remember when I was sitting in my driver's ed class and just came up with this whole premise in my head. It's been fun.
At least I finished right before the tidal wave of school comes crashing down on me.