ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ່࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏 ♡
The following morning, Kaori had dressed herself up nicer than usual. A day off school and a hangout with the boy she admitted to having a crush on gave her a reason to dress up in some of her favorite clothes.
As she opened the door with her phone and keys in her hand, she clicked on her text message with Toge to alert him that she was ready to leave. But as she stepped outside, her eyes sprang up to see Toge also staring at his phone in front of her door.
Ding!
Kaori looked up, and then back down at her phone which lit up.
Toge :) :
I'm here
She smiled lightly, glancing up at him to see him also dressed nicely. It was a sight that made her think even more highly of him, and she immediately thought he looked cute.
Toge smiled back at her, seeing her look even prettier than a normal day at school made his cheeks rosy.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked, putting her phone and keys in her pocket.
As her ears immediately covered themselves in cursed energy the moment she left her dorm, he replied, "yes."
"Cmon," she said, waving her hand as she began to walk. He joined her at her side, pulling his scarf over his seals. "Should we get some coffee first?"
He nodded, feeling around the inside of his pocket to make sure he had money for the both of them.
As they arrived and stood at the back of the line, Kaori's eyes squinted to see the menu better. A drink similar to her regular order caught her eye, and she pulled out the money she would have to pay for it with.
When the line shortened, Kaori first told the cashier her order, then turned to Toge to ask what he wanted.
Without the ability to speak regularly in public, he pulled his hands from his pockets, one pointing to the drink he wanted and the second holding a credit card. Kaori pressed her head against his, following his finger to the name of the drink.
"Number 12?"
He nodded, his hair brushing hers before she pulled her head away.
"A number 12, please."
The cashier named the price of the items, turning the keypad towards the pair before they were interrupted.
"Tuna tuna!" Toge exclaimed, pointing his hand to the menu above them.
Kaori looked up suddenly, her hand full of money pausing as she tried to see what she was told to look at.
As she scanned the menu, Toge inserted his card into the keypad, paying for their orders. A beeping noise alerted Kaori, and she turned her head to see the cashier already walking away to prepare the drinks.
Toge walked to the end of the counter, placing his card into his pocket while Kaori trailed behind him.
"I could've payed for mine," she informed him, pouting as she felt bad for him paying for both items.
"Bonito flakes," he shook his head.
She stared at him, and he tried not to stare back as he kept his eyes glued to the barista.
"Thank you."
He finally looked over to her, grinning again. "Salmon."
ʚ♡⃛ɞ
Later, as the two walked the streets, several stores caught their eyes which they walked into together. They never bought anything too big, a new shirt for Kaori was all she picked out. But Toge hadn't found anything good enough for what he had been hoping for yet. A small custom-plush store caught his eye, but it wasn't what he was searching for at the time.
As they window shopped, crossed streets, got lost, and found their path again, Kaori took interest in a store she saw an advertisement for. A street away, there was a sign for a woman's apparel store. She didn't want to torture Toge into following her there, so she set off on her own.
"You might not want to go in there with me, I'll meet you around this corner, okay?" she asked, placing her hand on the streetlight pole.
The blonde tried to think very little of what that store would sell, instead nodding and waving goodbye to her for the time being. As she crossed the road and followed the signs, Toge walked further down the road, finding another store that might actually hold what he wanted to buy.
As the two shopped in their separate stores, leaving the registers with one item each, a pouring rain began to set in Tokyo.
"Sir!"
Toge turned around, looking back at the cashier who had called for him.
"Take this umbrella," he said, holding out a red bundle.
The blonde reached out to grab the offering, bowing his head as a wordless thank you. He unraveled the umbrella, preparing to step into the rain as he tucked a silky black box into his coat pocket.
Kaori tucked her bags under her arm, dashing out the door to find the corner she promised to meet her friend at. The puddles splashed under her feet, soaking her leather shoes as she continued to blindly run.
The stores in the area had no awnings in sight, so as she was unable to stop and get a break from the beating rain, she reached a crosswalk, looking around for Toge. A bright red umbrella caught her eye, and familiar clothing gave her some relief in this storm. She looked across the road, sprinting for the other side as it appeared to be clear.
"Toge!"
He turned, making a beeline towards her as he noticed she was already drenched. Her abrupt stop in front of him caused water to splash onto his pants, and she immediately apologized.
"Sorry! I really should have been faster, but now I've gotten your clothes all wet!" she whined, continuing to speak mindlessly as she rang the water out of her hair. She laughed to herself about what she was saying, but Toge didn't listen to what her words were.
He watched her mess with her darkened hair, fix her clothes, and giggle to herself. He laughed along with her, so in his own head he didn't even realize he was now brushing a stray piece of hair away from her face.
She looked up at him, only to see nothing but his face very close to hers. So close, that he had kissed her.
Her movements froze as his hand held her face gently, pressing his lips to hers even more feather-like than his hand did to her face. Her eyes stayed open in her shock, and her lips moved not a centimeter as he finally pulled away, immediately red from his embarrassment.
His words were almost silent over the pounding of the rain outside of this bubble under the umbrella. He cared not for the civilians anymore, as he knew he was already able to speak to her without hurting her in any way.
"I'm sorry, I... shouldn't have done that! It's just that I like you so much and I was zoning out..." he rambled, pulling at his hair as he already began bowing his head apologetically.
Kaori listened, now fully tuned into what was happening in front of her. He admitted that he liked her, and he couldn't have been lying with what he just did. She pulled her bags close to her chest, listening to the last thing he said before she acted herself.
"That was a mistake I should have asked you before and I'm-"
She pulled him by his neck, pressing her lips more harshly to his than he did to hers. His eyes were the ones to widen this time, not believing what she was doing now.
As she was the one to pull away first, she kept her hand placed on his neck, not apologizing, but rather admitting herself, "I like you too."
His next smile was brighter than all the other ones she had seen from him so far, contagiously causing her to smile back at him. His hand returned to her face, pulling her towards him one last time. This time, they both closed their eyes, tilting their heads as the kiss continued a while longer.
But not long after it started, a familiar loud voice pierced their ears, separating the two from their moment.
"INUMAKI AND KAORI JUST KISSED!" she screamed, holding ten times as many bags as Kaori, an umbrella, and a phone in her hand. Nobara shouted the statement into her phone again, earning another shout from Maki who was on the other end of the call with a nearby Panda.
The two who were correctly accused backed away from each other enough to stay under the umbrella, both embarrassed that an underclassman witnessed this scene. Nobara continued to fume as she shouted for the pair to come with her.
Kaori didn't understand where her anger was coming from, but as she pulled Toge and his umbrella along with her, Nobara shut off her phone for a minute to continue yelling.
"Get over here!" she demanded, panting from her anger.
They walked closer, both honestly afraid of what she would do.
"You can't kiss him without telling me! It's unfair! I was the one who totally set you two up!" she scolded, her umbrella bumping into Toge's as she leaned towards Kaori.
Kaori sunk down, waving her hands around as she apologized. "Sorry, but I don't see why I should have told you! Plus this date was my idea!"
"Was not!"
All Toge focused on was the word "date."
"Also it's our choice if we wanted to do- ah- that!"
"I wanted to see!"
"Nobara!"
The orange-haired girl scoffed, turning to walk back to Jujustu High as she continued to scold her friend for something she didn't do wrong. Kaori reached out her hand to Nobara, only to get pulled back by Toge's hand on her arm. She turned back to him, watching as he unraveled his scarf and placed it on her head. With just his one hand, he made a hood out of the fabric to dry her hair and keep her from getting sick.
She adjusted the scarf, lightly blushing while she thanked him. He returned a nod and pulled a face mask out of his pocket to cover his seals.
Before he started to walk again, he reached his hand down to hers, "can I?"
She gladly took the offer, sliding her fingers down his palm before locking them with his. She began pulling him along the sidewalk behind Nobara.
ʚ♡⃛ɞ
After the two parted ways with Nobara, they continued down the hallway to where the second year dorms were. As they reached Kaori's door first, she released his hand and unlocked the door, putting the key into her pocket after.
"Thank you for coming with me, Toge."
He nodded happily, removing the face mask from his mouth and placing it into his pocket. He turned back to Kaori, immediately holding out a silky black box in his palm.
"This is for you."
She looked down at his hand, wondering why the box was so fancy looking.
"Really?" she asked, her voice soft and cracking.
He nodded, moving his hand closer to her.
As she took the box and slowly opened it, the first thing she noticed was a golden chain. A small, circular printed pendant caught her eye and made her hold the box closer. A familiar flower caused her to awe, bringing tears of happiness to her eyes.
"Is this a zinnia?"
He nodded again, adding another smile.
She remembered that day he first spoke normally to her. The way he cherished it enough to get her this gift, signifying that day as an important one in their relationship made her overjoyed.
"I love it so much..." she began to say, choking back a sob from such a sweet gesture. She began to bring her second hand to her mouth to mute herself, but his hand already grabbed hers.
"Kaori..." he spoke, holding her hand in both of his as he bought it up to his chest. "Can I be your boyfriend?"
She snapped the box shut and started to cry. Moving her fist closer to her lips, she guarded her mouth with her knuckles.
Toge started to panic, hoping that it wasn't so wrong of him to ask that she would start crying out of despair. He released one of his hands and placed it under the scarf on her head, brushing her damp hair with his fingers.
"You don't have to say yes..." he reassured her.
Launching herself forward into his coat, his hand brushed the scarf off of her head onto her shoulders. His feet stumbled back and she wrapped her free arm around him. One of his hands still held hers, and as she showed no sign of releasing it, he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb smoothly. She continued to cry a little longer, soon mumbling her reply into his sweater,
"yes."
A sigh he didn't know he was holding soon escaped his lips as soon as she replied. Her hand released his, and she gave him a proper hug that he returned so happily. He laid his head on top of hers, still combing through the wet strands.
When her breathing settled, she pulled away from him, wiping at her red eyes.
"I shouldn't cry about this stuff but I also can't help it, sorry," she laughed at herself.
"Don't be sorry."
She sighed heavily, brushing her hair out of her face before unraveling the scarf around her neck. "You probably want this back," she said, offering the fabric to him.
He stared down at her hands, lifting his head quickly, "keep it."
And she did, saying goodnight one last time before she entered her dorm quietly. Now she was in possession of two scarfs, both from him.
ʚ♡⃛ɞ
A/N: Kaori isn't a crybaby alright?? She just has some drama with her dad and makes it difficult to correctly interact with other guys and it'll be explained later, don't hate her please ‼️‼️