~ 32 ~
Ryuka didn't remember her mother too well.
She died when she was about five years old. Ryuka remembered that her death struck her very hard when she was a kid. But over time she got over it. Well, as much as possible, that is. This wound would never completely heal.
Ryuka remembered her mother's orange hair, literally orange like the fruit. She remembered her blue eyes, and her tall figure.
She also remembered parts of her behaviour. Her seriousness, her stubbornness, her softness.
But Ryuka didn't remember her voice at all.
She knew that her mother wasn't the best parent, or the best person, but who is though?
She just wished she would remember more about her.
Especially on days like this.
Makoto Tanaka's death day.
Ryuka didn't show up at school that day, claiming she was sick.
At about five in the morning, Ryuka left the house. It's a wonder to see her do anything that early.
She did this every year. She visited the grave yard, only once a year, but at least she did.
Once she arrived there, she just sat down on front of her mothers grave stone wordlessly. There were no tears left to cry, not for a long long time now.
Every year, Ryuka would sit there in silence, pull out a pen and a paper, and write out every single detail she remembered about her mother.
She didn't want to forget the already little amount she knew.
But her writing stopped every few minutes. And that continued. For the whole day.
Writing, silence, thinking.
For the whole day.
Every year.
But this time, something different happened. Something Ryuka really didn't expect.
After about five hours of just sitting there in silence, she heard footsteps approaching. But they weren't just the footsteps of a person who wanted to visit their loved one's grave and would just walk past Ryuka. No.
The footsteps stopped right beside her, waking her from her trance.
And then she finally realised that is was raining.
Ryuka slowly turned her head towards the person beside her. Her eyes trailed up from his black pants up to his black jacket and finally, his fire red hair.
Ryuka squinted her eyes unamused. "...What?" Was all she could bring out.
The man held an umbrella in his hand, not taking his eyes off of the grave stone in front of them. "...Why are you not at school?" He asked.
Ryuka just slowly looked forward again too. "...Didn't feel like it." She mumbled out.
Endeavor let out a grunt of some sort. "Instead of missing important lessons at school, why don't just come here earlier?"
"...I've been here since dawn." Ryuka spoke quietly.
Silence filled them. Only the splattering of rain was still heard.
Ryuka looked down, the paper with all the things written down on it, was ruined. The letters were completely unreadable.
She just watched with dull eyes as the paper dissolved slowly.
'Just perfect...right out of a movie scene.' She thought, letting out a sad chuckle.
Ryuka dusted off her hands, slowly standing up from the dirty ground. She was completely wet by now, standing beside the perfectly dry Endeavor with his umbrella.
"...So, what brings you here?" Ryuka asked after a while of silence.
"My car." He answered.
Ryuka smirked. "A jokester hm?" She mumbled.
"...Just trying to adjust to your....humour." He spoke.
Silence fell upon them once again as they stood there in the rain, watching the raindrops fall on top of the gravestone.
Then suddenly, Ryuka could feel no more raindrops falling on her. She slowly looked up, seeing Endeavor beside her, so close that his umbrella covered both of them.
"....I always thought you and my mother didn't like each other?"
Endeavor chuckled, he actually chuckled. Ryuka's head immediately snapped to him in surprise.
"You know nothing, you brat." He retorted.
"Then tell me."
The man needed a moment to find the words. "...Your mother and I were friends before I even knew your father." He gulped.
Ryuka could feel that he wasn't telling the complete truth, or maybe left out something important. She could see it in his sad eyes.
"I wouldn't know, Tou-san barely talked about her, just like Yout— just like everyone." Ryuka said, almost bringing up her brother.
She gulped, promptly closing her mouth.
"...That's because they don't want to admit that she was an asshole." Endeavor encountered.
Ryuka threw him a puzzled look, not expecting such a comment.
"...Maybe that's why you were friends." Ryuka threw back.
Endeavor didn't seem offended at all, he actually smiled very lightly. "That's exactly why."
- - - - -
"Ohh, you got a nice car dude." Ryuka smiled in awe, sitting herself in the passenger seat of Endeavor's car.
"Don't ever call me dude." He glared, starting the car.
"Dudeeeeeee." Ryuka provoked with wide eyes, earning a heavy eyeroll from the man.
"Remind me to never drive you anywhere ever again." He spoke darkly, rounding a corner.
Ryuka looked all around the big modern car with an impressed face. "Call me prejudice but I though that you for sure have a driver that brings you anywhere."
"I do, I barely drive my own car." He answered honestly.
"But today you did?"
"This is something I do alone." He said with a distant look in his eyes.
"Yeah...I get that." Ryuka sighed, averting her eyes outside the window.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "This is not the way to my house." She mumbled.
"You're going to school." The man answered sternly.
Ryuka rolled her eyes, throwing him a judgemental side glance. "...Not even on a day like this can you show a little bit of empathy?" She asked annoyed.
"You know what they say—"
"Empathy is not for the self inflicted"
"EmPaThY iS nOt FoR tHe sElF iNfLiCtEd."
They both said at the same time, Ryuka in a mocking tone rather than a serious one like Endeavor.
They simultaneously glared at each other. "No one says that. Just you and my old man's old man." Ryuka grumbled.
Endeavor looked towards the road again. "Well, he is right."
"He's a jackass."
"He was my mentor and Sensei."
"That explains a lot."
Both of them grumbled inaudible words under their breath after that, before silence fell upon them.
After a few minutes, Endeavor stopped the car. "We're here."
Ryuka took her stuff and looked at the man. "Thanks...bye."
He only nodded.
But the second Ryuka closed the door of his car, her eyes widened. Endeavour was ready to drive away.
"Wait! I don't even have my uniform—" But her words got silenced by the sound of Endeavor's car driving away with full speed.
Ryuka watched his luxurious car get tinier with a deadpan face.
"....Asshole."
- - - - -
AN: That's a short one but next one will be long :o