Touya Watari's Story

** Sorry it took so long to post guys! I was doing some
randomish picture editing and formating. As you can tell, I
went a bit overboard. Oh well.

KUROSAWA - captain of the baseball team.
INOUE, AIKO - assistant manager.
MRS. HAYASHI - boss at the cafe

If I made a mistake somewhere please shoot
me a PM~ Sorry for taking so long! Changing thought
color so it's more apparent as well.
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XXFoot steps tapped against the concrete as music blasted loud and proud within the Fujiwara Heiress's ears. Sports bag at her side, she was lucky practice actually ended a little early, compared to most days. Any normal day, her schedule would be jammed packed with different studying sessions, varying work-times, and two different baseball teams. One, for her school, the other simply being for her own amusement at work as they challenged the local tea house every two weeks. But every now and again, she'd get a break... In fact, it seemed like there was a chance she'd be having quite a few of those for awhile.

XXThe cafe was actually closing down for a month or two, as the owner, Mrs. Hayashi was going to be leaving the country for quite some time, and she was far too picky to have the manager run the shop an entire month at the very least without her partial supervision and aid. And while there was nothing wrong with that, it just ended up giving Kayo time to work on her studies even further... Plus, there was always the fact of hanging out with her roommate, Touya. He was funny, not to mention... well, the cliche. Kind.

... Hm?

"Hey...! Hey, Fujiwara!" A voice bellowed, her bag swigging out to make contact with the sudden aggressor as they yanked out a headphone. As the bag was simply caught, Kayo glanced up to stare at the taller, blonde female. Ah, Inoue, Aiko? Blinking a few times, amber-chocolate mixed eyes blinked in genuine surprise.

"..Oh. Inoue. Sorry. Ya know, you could of just warned me you'd be going this way too." Kayo spoke up, pulling off to the side with Aiko as the older woman pulled out ... a cellphone? With charms? Wait-! That was her phone! Eyes widening, Kayo snatched the phone up quickly.

The woman just let out a laugh, shaking her head. "Well, Kurosawa wasn't available to give you back your phone, and I figured it wouldn't be all that out of the way. After all, I am heading down to the..." Glancing around, the girl smirked as she leaned in close. "Red-"

"Eh?! Say no more! Jeez, I-I wasn't that curious, Inoue! Thank you!" The brunette stuttered, eyes wide as she felt a blush creep it's way right onto her face. "..Wait! That's totally out of the way from my residence!" The face Kayo made next was comical, almost as she looked embarrassed and angry all at once, taking a few steps back in apparent horror.

Grinning ear to ear, Inoue seemed to laugh even harder at Kayo's reaction. "I was kidding, Fujiwara! I just the next train stop over, and there's still plenty of time to catch a bus! Give me some credit!" Reaching over, pretty black and shimmering nails ran themselves through Kayo's hair, ruffling it roughly after a moment. To keep it simple, Inoue, Aiko was apart of the college baseball team, assistant manager and a junior. Majoring in criminal psychology, she had the dream of one day being a criminal profiler out in America. With the brain on her, Kayo had no doubt she'd make it, but her English... well, it lacked. Dreadfully.

'..I wonder...' Kayo's internal voice spoke up, dragging all potential attention for the still babbling blonde away. 'Why... does everything just seem so... boring today? It's like I just... keep preforming the same routine over and over again... Regardless if I don't actually follow it to a perfect letter.' The nineteen-year old frowned, shaking her head as a hand ran through her bangs, pushing the hair out of her face.

Everything was the same, and now that she'd have so much extra time... what was she suppose to do? For once in her life... Kayo was at a pretty big loss. Normally, this sort of thing was something she didn't mind, something that was greatly welcomed from the highschool drama she got away from a year or so ago, if not a bit more when Amaya actually just asked Jin out... But this was just too silent for her to bare. She had friends, but none that were exceptionally close enough for her to be herself.

She had responsibilities, and a family name to uphold. It limited any chance Kayo had of being a 'normal' adult, and if you pretended to ignore the fact Kayo would be turning twenty soon, she- "Hello? Earth to Fujiwara, Kayo!" Aiko clapped, right in front of the zoning young adult's face. Pulling her head back, Kayo forced a laugh.

"Eh? Sorry... I was just thinking."

"Thinking? Kayo, you need to just stop. Stop thinking and just live. If you waste all your time thinking about what you're going to do tomorrow, you'll miss everything else as it just passes you buy! You might be your parent's heir, but it doesn't mean you can't live a little! The moment you turn twenty, I'm taking you and all your friends out, okay?! No ifs, ands, or buts!" Aiko declared, wrapping an arm around the younger girl's neck and walking with her towards Kayo and Touya's shared dorm.

"But-" Kayo objected, being silenced by a sudden sharp glance.

"No buts! Kayo, please, just try and live a little this year? I doubt your parents are going to care." Aiko finished, their footsteps gradually coming to a halt. Before either of them had even noticed, they were standing outside the dorm. Taking a breathe, Kayo just leaned against the door.

"..Fine. I'll try." Cracking a smile, Kayo nudged her friend hard in the ribs. "But you better stick true to that drinking deal, got it?"

"Got it! Even if their a little young, we can sneak them something~!"

"Aiko!"

"I'm kidding! Sheesh. Anyway, I'll catch you later!" Aiko waved, finally parting with a fast jog, much to Kayo's displeasure. That woman was going to be the end of her, that was for sure. Pulling out her key, and walking into the dorm, all Kayo did was call out a 'I'm home' before kicking off her shoes and dropping her bag by the door, heading straight for the kitchen and digging around.

Cereal seemed like a decent choice of a meal... But then again, so did Pocky and milk. Biting the inside of her cheek, Kayo... actually had no idea if Touya was even here. If he was, should she just cook something for the both of them? Last time she checked, tonight was her turn to make something for dinner...

---

Touya cast a disdainful glance downwards at the source of his problems for the past 30 minutes of his life. What had bugged him, you ask? Nothing less than a piece of electronics known as an "MP3" that he had bought just earlier today. You see, Touya was never the best with electronics - they were one of the few banes of his existence - and the fact that this device adamantly refused to leave the "repeat" feature off had eventually got to him. He was a very kind and benevolent man, but there were three things he could not tolerate: people causing harm to those he held dear, sweet potatoes, and of course, technical malfunctions. This thing had seriously put up a struggle and it was almost as if it was daring the young man to throw it at a wall or something. He might just do that. He may not be violent towards others very often, but if this thing was looking down on him...!

No, I should not get so upset over something so stupid.

Taking a slow breath in, Touya attempted to calm himself down. There was no need to be that angry at an inanimate object, even if it was taunting him by randomly turning back onto repeat for absolutely no reason, ruining the point of having his own playlist. There was certainly a reason it kept doing that, and until he figured it out it would continue doing what it was doing and having cool head would do him wonders when it came to problem solving.

...........

........

......

....

..

.

"I JUST CAN'T DO IT." he finally gave in to his anger.

Perhaps it would be best to explain why something so small was actually causing him this much distress. While a part of it was that he got easily upset with any problems with electronics, most of the cause was actually pent-up stress from earlier in the day. A quick look back will at least help one understand exactly why he wasn't in the absolute best mood at the moment.

The day had started just like any other, with the usual shower and eating of breakfast, followed by departing for school and the subsequent arrival. Classes, for the most part, had nothing notable to add to this summary of his day, except that he was pretty sure that his English teacher was pronouncing things incorrectly, but that was about it. However, towards the end of the school day, he was asked to help. The problem here was that the people whom requested his assistance were known delinquents and often slacked on their jobs. These young souls were members of the archery club, and this would not be the first offence. It was rather often (too much so if you ask Touya) that they would ask for his help cleaning things for them, which he never did decline due to his odd nature. But today was different. They had asked him to come by at around five, and gave him no explanation why, but he didn't really question it. Yet upon meeting up with them, they simply laughed in his face and told him he was stupid for even listening to them. They hadn't any job for him, they just wanted to waste his time. He was certainly not happy about this at all. Sure, he didn't exactly have any real plans, but what kind of childish prank was this? And for someone who helped them, despite knowing they only wanted to pass the work off because they were lazy!

More than anything, he wanted to show them a lesson!

But Touya Watari was not allowed to do such a thing. Instead, he simply drew in a deep breath and calmly smiled, saying nothing more than a "Well, do let me know if you need anything for real next time, will ya?" and quietly departed from the school. Aside from a small detour through a store to buy the MP3 he was now having problems with, his venture home was nothing of interest.

In truth, Touya was a person capable of anger just as often as any other, he simply did not allow it to show. In fact, he did not allow many things he felt to show. If it would bother others or cause a ruckus, then he could not let it happen. That was just how he was. He did not like hiding things from people as his was the nature of a man who couldn't stand to "lie", but even as oblivious as he was he could see that defying these punks would likely lead to some form of conflict, one way or another. It was best if he just let them get bored of him. That being said, he was lucky they never directly asked his opinion on them. He would have to tell them the truth then.

"Ah... whatever, I'll worry about it another time." Touya had persevered through the delinquents wasting his time, but was utterly defeated by an brand new MP3 player. What a shame. The young man fell onto his bed, wondering just what exactly he would do with his remaining time. She shouldn't be home for a little while longer, so he'd have the place to himself. There was only one thing a man of his age could spend his alone time doing. Perhaps that would relieve today's stress?

"I'm home!" he suddenly heard from the doorway, shortly after listening to the door unlock. He wasn't expecting that. His pants were already halfway down and he was ready to take a nice, warm shower. Luckily, he was not in her field of view when she walked in or he might die of embarrassment. Or she might sue him. Either way, it would not be fun.

"Welcome back!" He greeted, although there was a short delay due to him wanting to have his pants on before drawing her attention. "You're early? I hope it's not for a bad reason." he worried, noticing she had gone straight for the kitchen. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty hungry too. It was normal for him to forget to eat until he was starving, but usually he remembered to think about others. Hopefully, she wouldn't be upset he hadn't made anything.

"If you're especially hungry, I can always make something." he offered. He was aware of whose turn it really was.

Boy, he sounded like a needy wife, didn't he? Well, he had to do something. It just didn't sit well with him when he wasn't actively doing something around others. In fact, he made him feel upset, almost, like he was wasting time.

** if this post deletes itself one more time,
i'm going to fight RPG. In that, I promise you all.
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XX"Welcome home!" Oh! Touya was here... Then again she could of checked to see if his shoes were at the door in the first place. Oops. But, during the short delay of a response, Kayo had already dug out supplies for tonight's dinner, already prepping her station. "You're early? I hope it's not for a bad reason." Picking up her head, she turned to look towards him. It's been awhile since she was home this early, hasn't it? Not to say that for once she'd actually be able to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight.

XX"Ah, no nothing bad. I didn't have work today, actually, not to mention practice was pretty easy. I... Might be coming home a lot earlier. The cafe is closing down thanks to Mrs. Hayashi going away for a little bit. So that means even less work. The only things I might be busy with for awhile... are tests? Saturday I have a game coming up but that's about it." The brunette replied, shrugging her shoulders as she let them drop. For a moment, it almost looked like she was a bit wary about the lack of activities. "Kurosawa jumping on everyone's case to make sure we're ready, I guess this game is going to be pretty brutal."

XXCoach really did press them to do their best, after all...

XX"If you're especially hungry, I can always make something." Ah, that was sweet but Kayo was already scowling, just a bit. Leaning against the counter, she crossed her arms.

XX"I appreciate the offer, but it's my turn tonight, anyway. Did you eat anything before I came home?" She asked, before turning her back to him. "I hope you don't mind miso ramen tonight. I can go shopping tomorrow after school." While Kayo was a bare par cook, she did try and actually do her best, if not for herself, then Touya. It'd suck if she got her roommate sick because for some reason, the Fujiwara heiress honestly couldn't cook for shit. The idea of actually screwing up somehow and messing them both up made Kayo repress a cringe that ripped through her body.

XXThere was a long pause on Kayo's end as she focused absentmindedly on what she was doing, cracking her pointer finger with her thumb in the process. Biting the inside of her cheek, she just looked towards Watari, finally registering what he looked like. Eh? Was he going to go take a shower or something? His hair wasn't wet, so he obviously didn't just jump in a few minutes ago. Did she disrupt his shower-time?

XXCouldn't he have just taken his shower, then come to greet her?

XXHm... but what did she know? Everyone had their own styles of getting things done, and it was nice for her friend to greet her right off the bat, despite the few seconds of a delay. "Hey, dinner might be awhile. You can always go back to doing what you needed too. I didn't mean to come home so early it disturbed any nightly rituals." Blandly stated, but stated nonetheless as she tried to focus back in on the food making. While there were some things that were genuinely fun about the entire endeavor, cooking just.. wasn't something Kayo liked to do. Of course, that was just something she'd keep to herself. The last thing she needed to do was mention that to the house-wife of the apartment.

XXBesides, the worst jobs were always the most rewarding.

XX"But, if you do plan on going back to whatever you were doing, I have a question. Just how was your day?" That was quite enough about her, anyway. She wanted to know what Touya had going on for the week, and if anything happened she could help with. Who did she need to beat up, was almost a joke that escaped the nineteen-year-old, as she found herself looking back at the older male, smiling with a teasing glint beginning to shimmer in those strange amber-like eyes.

"Tch."

Yumiko felt something pelt her head start shortly after the irritated noise left the man before her. Curiosity getting the best of her, she reach for whatever hit the floor. Once her fingers touched the item, she immediately knew what had been thrown to her. She opened the packet, wiping her eyes gently just in time to see him reach for her bag. What's going on...? Did I really reach him..? Yumiko thought to herself with a baffled expression on her face. She wanted to say something, anything to lighten the new tension in the room, but it was if a knot had formed inside of her throat and calcified.

When he took her bag up the stairs, Yumiko immediately stood. She could have done that herself, but as she watched him struggle, she began to wonder if she was giving herself too much credit..? Her eyes shifted between the floor and Masaaki's fleeting figure. A moment later she heard something metal ping against the tile floor and soon after a door shut. Now that she was alone with her thoughts, Yumiko wiped her face with a new tissue and curiously went towards where the piece of metal had fell. As she investigated she found a small key. So her bedroom locked..? That was a relief. She then gazed to the top of the stairs, feeling that perhaps now everything would be alright.

Though she did feel bad, so she decided that she would somehow make it up to him later. Perhaps she could meet girls in class and introduce him to them? If he needed a girlfriend this badly, she would do everything she could to help. She wanted to cook, but she remembered the last time she had made something for her father... it had turned out disastrous.

She stared up the stairs for what felt like hours, but she hesitantly took a few quiet steps. Was this another trap to make her drop her guard? She wasn't sure, but every fiber of her being screamed for rest. The cab was quite cramped, so her muscles were incredibly sore.

When she finally made it to the top of the stairs, despite her anxiety, she used the key she had been given to open the door. She drug her bag in, flicking on the light. Once she sat her bag aside, Yumiko was surprised by the room. The bed was at least a queen size, and the room was far more extravagant that pictures could do justice. Before she took a step towards her new bed, Yumiko locked the door behind her. It gave her a sense of security knowing there was a way to lock herself in after all that had transpired that day.

Yumiko retrieved a pair of pajamas from her bag, removing her pants first, then her shirt, but she paused as her hand grazed her collarbone, images of how Masaaki had been touching her there just moments ago. Her cheeks immediately reddened, but she proceeded in quickly changing into the tank top and shorts. The last thing she needed was to remember that molestation. While he seemed to be under the impression she was consentual, it did not change how awkward and embarrassing that situation had been for her.. If he had gone any further she was sure her heart would sprung from her chest.

Deciding to move on from the moments of me ave ran to the bed and flung herself upon it, pulling out her phone. It was definitely time to call him, to let him know that she had moved here, seeing as they had not spoke in well over a month. Clicking on Touya's name, Yumiko's heart skipped a beat as the phone began to ring. What if he doesn't answer..? What if he has a girlfriend...? Her heart was pounding as she began to run through worst case scenarios, and she felt a wrenching pain in her gut. She remained on the line, praying that Touya would answer, because she needed to hear Touya's voice to remind her that this living arrangement was worth being nearby. Please pick up... She pleaded mentally as if the boy on the other end of the phone would somehow hear her pleas, chewing on her bottom lip nervously in her anticipation. She wanted to end tonight on a good note, so that her manga drawings for the day wouldn't be in vain. Although she knew it was ridiculous, she had been detailing every single day of her life since her fourteenth birthday in manga strips. That was when she realized she had an enormous crush on Touya, and it inspired her to draw her own manga. With the delusion that they were fated to fall in love, Yumiko felt that the manga strips would one day tell her love story with her childhood friend, but would also be the key to earning her a career in the manga industry as well.

---

"Ah, no nothing bad. I didn't have work today, actually, not to mention practice was pretty easy. I... Might be coming home a lot earlier. The cafe is closing down thanks to Mrs. Hayashi going away for a little bit. So that means even less work."

Touya was relieved nothing too serious had forced her home. However, the fact that she would be losing her job was probably very upsetting. That being said, Fujiwara was an exceptional person who would not have any problem getting another job if she so desired, so he wasn't too worried about it. He knew that if she put her mind to something, it would get done and that was something he admired about her.

"Ah, that's unfortunate." he commented.

He continued eagerly listening to Fujiwara as if what she was saying was the most important thing in the world, but was very disappointed she declined his offer. "I appreciate the offer, but it's my turn tonight, anyway. Did you eat anything before I came home?". she asked.

"No, I haven't. I'm actually pretty Famished."

"I hope you don't mind miso ramen tonight. I can go shopping tomorrow after school."

Touya smiled. "That's perfectly fine, I'm not very picky." he answered. He was absolutely confident that Fujiwara could cook like a master chef. Well, so long as it was nothing more complicated than ramen. Nobody could ruin that, right? Although he usually gave his true opinion when it came as something like this, he tended to sweeten his speech when it came to her cooking, very likely due to his crush on her. Besides, it was not as though anything he had eaten that she made had caused him stomach pains so there was no reason to complain. Besides, he had grown up on his mother's cooking and as far as he was concerned, she was the greatest chef the world had ever known.

Even if he didn't exactly have the best opinion on her as a person...

"..."

There was an abnormally long silence between the two of them, causing Touya get a bit nervous. Was there something wrong? Was she having a seizure? As he was thinking this, she suddenly spoke up. "Hey, dinner might be awhile. You can always go back to doing what you needed too. I didn't mean to come home so early it disturbed any nightly rituals."

Nightly rituals? What does she think I do when she's gone? Well, not that she's entirely wrong.

Touya hoped he misunderstood what she had said, but didn't worry much about it. Since she didn't need his help, he would go ahead and take that shower he was intending to take. Fujiwara continued before he could simply answer and head off to shower. "But, if you do plan on going back to whatever you were doing, I have a question. Just how was your day?"

"My day was uneventful for the most part, honestly." he answered. "It seemed Kuwabara-san and his friends wanted me to help them with their cleaning duties today, but that was nothing more than a prank meant to waste my time. I wish I could say that that wasn't the highlight of my day so far, but then I would be lying." he shrugged. He could mention the cruddy animation he made in class today, but he was rather embarrassed to mention that sort of thing to just about anybody. He was a bit too humble for his own good, sometimes. "I was offered a job to help put up fence around some older couple's property and will get a call about it sometime within the next few days, so hopefully that'll prove to be fun."

Touya turned to head to the shower, but gave a very warm smile back to Fujiwara. "Thanks for asking. Anyway, I'll be in the shower in case a fire starts or something." he teased before finally heading to the shower.

I'll treasure every moment I have with you!

After closing the door behind him, Touya removed his clothes, setting his phone on the sink counter while he looked at the shower with a pleased expression. To him, a warm shower was one of Earth's finest luxuries, and he indulged in it as often as he could without causing problems with the water bill.

"Ah~"

He began to step into the shower, but as fate would have it, his phone began to ring.

"Ha? Can't I just enjoy my shower first?" he complained to noone.

Touya reluctantly moved over to his phone and picked it up, looking at the caller ID. He immediately smiled, it had been a lot longer than he'd liked since he spoke to his osananajimi. With no hesitation, the young man answered his phone. "Ya haven't called in a while." he said plainly. Touya did have a bit of an accent he tried to hide from both his colleagues and Fujiwara, but since he'd known Yumiko for a while, he couldn't help but feel relaxed and let his guard down. It was nice having a friend he could feel like this around. "It's nice to speak to be able to speak again though, Yumiko-chan. You... are still there, aren't ya?" He hadn't actually heard anything on the other side of the line, but that was perhaps because he answered so quick.

"Ya haven't called in a while."

Yumiko's mood immediately brightened at the sound of that all too familiar voice. She knew his words were true, but that was because she was hurt and discouraged.. Her father only agreed to let her move to Tokyo because it was becoming painfully obvious to everyone in town that she missed Touya, but also because he trusted Yumiko in the big city as long as Touya was around, even if it was Tokyo. She didn't care that his tone of voice wasn't nearly as excited as she had felt. She didn't care, because the moment she heard his voice, the world was right for her again. She even completely let her molestation slip her mind, which was a feat in itself. It was hard to see past what had happened to her, but with Touya on the other line, she felt like everything would be fine.

"It's nice to speak to be able to speak again though, Yumiko-chan. You... are still there, aren't ya?"

"H-Hai! I didn't expect you to answer at this hour.." She replied back with a sheepish laugh, biting her bottom lip. She could feel her heartbeat fluttering just from hearing his voice, "A-actually, I called to let you know I've moved to Tokyo to continue my Art studies.. I just settled in tonight." She explained, hoping that a year was enough time between his departure and her own arrival. She didn't want him to feel stalked, even if that's exactly what she was doing. Her eyes shifted to the bedroom door, worrying that her new roommate would interrupt her call, but reminded herself that the door locked, so she was safe behind the wooden door. Or so she let herself believe, "Were you busy..? I can let you go.. I know it's late." Yumiko added nervously, but immediately wanted to slap herself in the face. It was times like this that kept her from confessing. When it came to Touya, she could not be selfish, at least not as much as she should have been to get her point across. Although she wished to confess to him, she was always looking out for his wellbeing, and was content with being close to him, but when he moved the entire order that she had come to expect, her submission to the friendzone, it was all off the table. She had to confess or else she would risk losing him to someone else, if she hadn't already, "Oh! Did you land a girlfriend yet? You were pretty popular back home, whether you accept that or not.." She was definitely referring to herself as well. She remembered several other girls chasing after Touya. She never dreamed she would be the one to physically chase after her best friend.

Then she checked the time, realizing it was she who had to go. It broke her heart to hang up on him, but she had to in order to get enough sleep, "Actually, I have to go, but I hope that we can meet up sometime. Good night, Watari-kun!" She exclaimed before hanging up. The rush of speaking to him was enough to keep her awake, so she moved to her writing desk to draw today's events so she could add them to her manga journals. She named her roommate Yuuma, seeing as she didn't know his real name anyway and the fact she gave everyone a different name. As she drew out everything that had transpired, even how he'd touched her, she put the books away inside of the dresser and went back to the bed.



Yumiko took a shower, albeit very quickly and put her school uniform (Check the OOC! It's in the tab we never use to communicate! It also has the college uniforms as well!!!) on in record time. She woke up at five A.M. just to avoid running into her roommate, but she wasn't sure what time he woke up either, so it was honestly just a shot in the dark. When she realized the coast was clear, Yumiko slipped out of the bathroom leaving a strawberry and vanilla scent behind. She tiptoed to retrieve her school bag and art supplies from her room, then locked her bedroom door behind her. She carefully made her descent to the first floor, carefully looking around to make sure her new roommate could not sneak up on her. Once she met the tiled floor, Yumiko let out a relieved sigh and made a beeline for the door and the elevator soon after. She went down the elevator in silence, proud that she managed to slip away without incident, but she doubted she would be so lucky that evening. She put on her shoes in the elevator, seeing as she didn't want to delay her escape by fooling with them sooner.

After the doors opened to reveal the ground floor of the complex, she saw the landlord, her eyes slightly narrowing. Although it was not this woman's fault, Yumiko had to deflect some of her anger at someone or she'd simply explode."How did you sleep? Did you enjoy Yamada-kun?" The landlord teased, the innuendo passing over Yumiko's head.

Yumiko shrugged her shoulders, "Not what I expected. He's a little... Self righteous." She responded before leaving the apartment complex. Yumiko walked the bustling streets towards her school, using google map to find the location more easily. Once at school, Yumiko received her class schedule, cringing when she noticed that she had choir and theater as classes as well as digital art, history of art, a practical drawing class and a practical painting class. While she would enjoy the art classes, she had never sang or acted before. She even had a dance class, but that was only on Fridays. She let out a sigh and found her locker to put her bag away, seeing as Choir would be her first class of the day. I-I don't know if I can sing... she leaned against her locker, then went outside to the courtyard. It seemed a college was connected to her school, so she decided to check it out, at least from the outside. She was amazed by it's architecture, smiling a bit, "So when I graduate, I just switch over to this school?" She stated under her breath, sitting by the fountains at the college while she waited for time to pass, seeing as she was incredibly early. She shivered a bit, seeing as the high school uniform did not have sleeves, instead it was more like a tank top with a dangling strap on both arms. Although cute, it did not repel wind that well. She still had her class schedule in hand, although it was no longer crisp paper. The page had wrinkles due to her anxiety. How was she expected to sing when she had never done so before?

** no new notes besides im a loser-- wait, no I lied
my bad. The bentos are made from "mini-hamburg with cheese,
wieners, watercress, cherry tomato, and finally, Heart Onigiri
with Shiso furikake, more details from the website itself~
It took a lot longer due to me researching, but hopefully
this works out for you, Famished!

EDIT: Rereading this, I'm actually surprised how... scattered
I got. I apologize in advance, but I was pretty much on a heap
of benadryl. I reorganized how I worded things, but nothing changed
to an extent. Not to mention I was missing a huge piece at the end!
Spring Break really needs to come a bit sooner, at this rate, aha.
xxxxxxxxxxDɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ◆ #E8ADAA
xxxxxxxxxxxTʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ◇ #F778A1

XXStretching, Kayo groaned as she tried to lift her tired body from the blankets at around... four in the morning? Yeah, it was four. Why had she gotten up this early, anyway? She had finished her homework earlier that night, and honestly thanks to having a school uniform, it wasn't like she spent hours on end trying to figure out what to wear. Feet swinging over to make contact with the plush rug beneath her bed. Digging out her school uniform, Kayo grabbed the essentials to wonder out to the bathroom, discarding her sleepwear as she set out her towel and jumped right on it to the perfect steamy temperature.

XXMuscles unwinding, and tension slipping, Kayo couldn't help but stretch once more, interlocking her fingers as she raised them above her head, and then stood on her tippy toes. This, was the greatest part of the morning. Not a care in the world, and such short hair made it completely easy to jump in and out in a rush. Hands slipping down her chest, down her thighs, the young college student began to rub in the lavender-rose scented body wash, then moved on to rubbing in a less powerful smelling shampoo. After a few more lenient moments of putting around within the shower, Kayo twisted the shower knob into the 'off' position.

XXPulling in the towel into the stall, she crouched down in order to grab and twist out the remaining water quietly, with nothing but the casual drip of the faucet. By the time the entire routine was done and over with, it was... honestly an hour later. Five o'clock, and Kayo was already pacing quietly through the living room and kitchen.

XXIn the end, it was decided that perhaps making them both bentos wouldn't exactly be that bad. Especially with so much to spare... But what if Touya didn't want one? Shaking her head and shrugging, if he wanted to leave it here for the fridge or share it with a few friends, it'd all be the same to her. Whenever it came to bentos, believe it or not, Kayo was nearly always prepared the night before. They had just enough in the fridge last night, that after they ate, Kayo actually began to prepare the needed materials early on.

XXHonestly, thanks to having everything prepared and ready, all the baseball star had to do was heat some of it up, make the fresh rice, and craft it all into actually looking decent within the bento boxes for them both. Of course, that was all while making sure the bentos were tightly packed, to prevent spilling as long as the lids stayed on tight. It... actually seemed to go by pretty fast, finally reaching six o'clock after a year.

XXShe might of gotten carried away a little bit though, when it came to the onigiri... Or the entire thing bento idea in general. Writing some quick scribble scrabble list down as to what to get for groceries, Kayo tapped her fingers impatiently against the counter. What else? What in the world did she get up so damn early for?

XX...Hm...

XXAh, there wasn't much of a point to just stand around, was there? If she went to school now, she'd be able to study in advance for Friday, so she wouldn't have to worry so much about the actual test... She wasn't exactly sure if she should just leave a note for Touya, or peak her head into his room and see if he was awake. Huffing, Kayo simply focused on packing her own schoolbag, giving it a few more moments to see if he'd come out... Looking up at the clock, Kayo just sighed as she took her keys, stuffing them into her bag. She'd see him at school, there was nothing to worry about.

XXHeading over to the university on autopilot, she just moved swiftly through the designated path, barely registering that she forgot about writing that note. '...Did I actually put away my dirty clothes? Wait, yes I did! I kicked them back into my room.' Kayo went over, looking to her feet. '...Shit! I forgot the note! How did I let that slip that fast?' Stopping to whip out her phone, she was quick to start dialing her friend's number as she walked up the path to the university.

Praying she just got voicemail, regardless Kayo spoke pretty fast as she noticed a highschool student standing outside the building, almost looking like she was admiring it. Coming to a stop a few feet behind her, Kayo rambled briefly a quick message, regardless of voicemail of Touya or not. "Hey, Watari-kun, I made a bento for you, it should be on the counter. I sealed it pretty tight, so don't worry. I'll see you at school, okay? I had to come in early to study! So sorry!" She apologized, mildly hoping it actually wasn't her roommate that answered, but she... had gotten distracted fairly quickly. After hanging up, she tapped the young girl on the shoulder as Kayo forced herself to go in front of her.

"Hey, is this your first time here?" She asked, pulling on her best smile for the fellow female... They should of really worked on the highschool uniform though, it was fair too chilly for such an outfit. "You definitely look like you're just seeing this for the first time."

"Hey, is this your first time here?"

Her admiring gaze was tore from the architecture when she heard a feminine voice noting that she was an outsider, "Is it honestly that obvious?" Yumiko responded as she tilted her head over her shoulder with a sheepish expression. She noticed that the girl had similar features to herself; she had to admit it left her with an eerie feeling. Was this girl her doppelgänger? Yumiko properly turned around, not wishing to be rude to the girl that had so kindly approached her with such warmness. In a big city like this she had not expected to meet someone so relaxing and bright. In all honesty, she imagined that everyone in the city would be more standoffish than anything.

"You definitely look like you're just seeing this for the first time."

The charming smile that Yumiko received did wonders when it came to calming her nerves. She was totally cool about being at a brand new school, that is until she actually got here and realized how intimidating the artistic competition would be. The pressure at this school suddenly had become very real, and she felt she was in over her head. She had never imagined enrolling in such a competitive high school, especially the building before her which was conjoined to the neighboring college, "I just moved here, I missed a friend of mine that moved here, and the campus is absolutely inspirational." Yumiko confessed, smiling back at the other girl. Their physical likeness was alarming, but it was definitely welcome. Normality was certainly something she craved after last night. She immediately pulled out her phone, texting Touya; 'We should get coffee during lunch.' She contemplated adding a smiley face, but she didn't want to send too strong of signals, especially after their period of lost contact.

Then, for some reason her thoughts returned to Masaaki and the events of their first night. Idiot! Don't think about Yamada-san in front of others! She mentally scolded herself, realizing that she would only get embarrassed and humiliate herself if she thought about her roommate in public. A blush immediately formed on her cheeks to her mortification. As far as Yumiko's thoughts were concerned, the night before could not have gone any worse than it did, well, of course it could have, but Yumiko was not all that aware of human cruelty. All she knew about criminal activities was what her father forced her to watch in the movie 'Taken'. She was naive, which was often a blessing and a curse. Suddenly she began to wonder what college Masaaki went to, considering he mentioned being a college student when she combed his hair. Tch. Why do I keep thinking about Yamada-San!?

Yumiko realized the other girl's uniform was different, so she couldn't help her curiosity, "Are you a student of the college?" She had to ask, and she felt immediately jealous that the other girl's uniform had long sleeves. Was there some kind of social stigma that high school girls wished to show more skin? Or was this some pervert's idea of a joke? Whatever was going on with the high school uniform, Yumiko was just happy that she could move past last nights events with her roommate. Finally she could pursue Touya seriously, and now that her roommate understood her heart was already taken, Yumiko was confident that the rest of the year would progress without incident. She had a lot to worry about, her job, confessing to Touya, and keeping a good grade in this prestigious Fine Arts High School if she wished to continue on to it's University that she had been admiring just moments ago.

Yumiko then realized that she had done something incredibly rude in her nervousness, and immediately bowed to her fellow brunette girl, "I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." She stated quickly, biting her bottom lip after she returned to standing erect. She had completely forgotten to supply the other girl with her name! Her mother would have smacked her if she had been there to witness Yumiko's mistake, so she was certainly grateful to be on her own in that moment, "I am Nakahara, Yumiko and I'm a Senior in high school. I just moved here yesterday." She felt immediately better after introducing herself, smiling shyly. She hoped that the other girl would not be offended that she did not properly introduce herself earlier on in the conversation. She awaited the other girl's response, a knot forming in her stomach. She hoped that this girl was nothing like the girls that picked on her back home, because she no longer had her support system to cheer her up.

---

---

Unfortunately, Touya's shower was a lot less detailed than his roommate's, and also noticeably shorter. Really, all that happened was that he used a bit of self control and spent minimal time cleaning himself. There was, of course, the involvement of scrubbing each and every part of him, as well as enjoying the fact he was in good enough shape to see each and every part of him, but really that's all that happened. Well, until about halfway through when the water start becoming cold.

Yeah, Touya didn't really have self control with the shower, he was just forced out because it was cold. Don't tell anybody.

But considering how he tired he was when he awoke, that was probably for the best. He had gotten little sleep since he was was genuinely excited that Yumiko had moved over. Talking to her on the phone after no contact for extended periods of time was great. The conversation they had, although not long enough in his opinion, was enjoyable. He, of course, did his best to shift the subject away after she asked about him having a girlfriend. He wasn't really able to talk about such things, even with her. At least not until he was a bit less of a coward. But maybe eventually he would open up about something like this to her? They were very close friends, and it wasn't an easy decision to leave her behind. Honestly, up until he started developing feelings for his roommate, Fujiwara-san, he even felt a little lonely. Needless to say, hearing about her arrival was probably some of the best news Touya had heard of in quite a while. Perhaps they should hang out soon?

As he pondered this, Watari had put on his school uniform and headed into the kitchen. Yumiko was nowhere to be found, and Touya perished the thought that he managed to wake up before her simply due to how dedicated to schooling she was. Did she perhaps want to go study or something? That seemed to be the most plausible theory Touya could come up with. Well, he could always ask her when they met at school.

Touya's phone began ringing shortly after he had entered the kitchen. Because of the ringtone, he knew instantly that it was his roommate, and his hand quickly darted into his pocket to find his phone.

"Hello, Fujiwara-san?"

"Hey, Watari-kun, I made a bento for you, it should be on the counter. I sealed it pretty tight, so don't worry. I'll see you at school, okay? I had to come in early to study! So sorry!" Touya couldn't actually get a word in before the phone hung up. Really, it was almost like she prerecorded the message, or that she was on some sort of autopilot. How weird. Well, she was probably in a hurry or something so he couldn't exactly take offense to how little he got to say. Besides, didn't she mention making him a bento?

Being the awesome detective he was, Touya made the task of finding a bento that was sitting on a counter out in the open look like an easy task. Curious, he opened it to see what she had made, only to firmly take notice of a certain piece of the bento that was made into a heart shape.

"Hmm..."

It would certainly look very delicious if he were paying any attention to other parts of it. But no, the heart-shaped food was the only food he could fathom at the moment. As if he was drawn to it, like there was a great connection between the two. Touya Watari and Kayo Fujiwara's heart-shaped onigiri. Was this love?

...

..

.

"If only I were so lucky."

Touya wasn't so naive to believe that there was some weird message he was supposed to be receiving due to a heart-shaped food, though he did note that it was probably one of the girlish things that he recalled witnessing Fujiwara doing, which was oddly nice. Sometimes, she was so tomboyish he could forget she was a girl if she wasn't so beautiful as well. He was aware that mentioning this would probably be a very bad idea, so he certainly had kept and intended to keep this to himself.

Thank you very much! It looks great!

He quickly sent a grateful text to her since he didn't get the chance to say thanks during their very short call, before grabbing his bag, the bento, and leaving the apartment. Not long after he did so, he received a text.

'We should get coffee during lunch.' Yumiko suggested.

Watari's reply ended up being: "That sounds great! Just tell me the details when you can."

Of course, immediately after sending that he began to wonder if that was rude in some way to Fujiwara-san. She went through all that effort, maybe he should've asked if she wanted to eat together? No, that was unlikely. She had a lot of friends anyways. Besides, as long as he ate her food, everything was alright, wasn't it? Touya couldn't tell if he was overthinking or not. But either way, he'd make sure the bento she had made would not go to waste! But he could worry about that stuff when the time came. For now, school awaited!

And so Touya headed off.

** f i ght me
but in all honesty, i hope this is okay!!
the skip is really bad, but i didn't know exactly
what to do, so feel free to jump in and edit or
something, Strix.
plus i forgot to ask about the weather so -- oops
just shoot me a pm and ill change them asap when i wake up
xxxxxxxxxxDɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ◆ #E8ADAA
xxxxxxxxxxxTʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ◇ #F778A1

XX Being so much closer to the girl, Kayo's eyes widened for a split second. "Is it honestly that obvious?" The girl asked, as Kayo just smiled soft, shrugging her shoulders. The way she was staring at the building was really the only obvious hint, if she was going to be blunt. But... what Kayo was really interested in was how similar they ended up looking alike. Hell, they could even be sisters. Of course, the most trained eyes could spot the obvious differences in appearances.

XXThis girl had shoulder-length hair, pretty and definitely giving off a feminine charm for sure. Man, were all highschool girls getting this pretty these days? When it came to eyes, however, Fujiwara saw into them almost too vividly. They seemed to radiate a gentleness, maybe fair more golden then Kayo's own. What a beautiful young girl! "Well, not many stare so fascinated by the school, that much is for sure." The heiress joked.

XX"I just moved here, I missed a friend of mine that moved here, and the campus is absolutely inspirational." Oho, she just moved here? How exciting! How cute, too! She really missed her friend that badly? Aha, it made Kayo miss her own friend a little bit inside. That smile though seemed like she was ready for whatever was thrown at her here in Tokyo, though.

XX"Oh? That's nice! I'm sure your friend is super excited to be seeing you!" The baseball player grinned, watching briefly as the girl had pulled out her phone and texted someone... before breaking out into the most hysterical of blushes. Biting her tongue, Kayo just stifled the small laugh."Are you okay? You're face looks a little red." Putting it cutely, anyway.

XXBut it seemed like the girl had taken notice to Kayo's own school uniform. "Are you a student of the college?"

XX"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I am. The uniform probably gave it away, huh? Isn't it cold, having such short sleeves?" Honestly, you would of expected the school would have some sort of optional jacket for the females in the highschool level. Way to go school system and their uniform choices. Ten out of ten.

XX"I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." Oh yeah, huh. They both had forgotten, hadn't they? "I am Nakahara, Yumiko and I'm a Senior in high school. I just moved here yesterday."

XXBowing her head a bit, Kayo offered another smile to her look-a-like. "I'm Fujiwara, Kayo. Freshmen in college. It's a pleasure to meet you too, Nakahara-san! Oh, hold on, my phone just..." Kayo mumbled, digging out her phone again as she glanced at the lit screen.

XXOh. Thank you very much! It looks great!

XXLooks like Watari was awake. That was nice!

---

TIMESKIP:
Date: February 12th (Friday), 2016
Weather: Clear, very faint chill

---


XX Well, this was a perplexing change in events. Who knew Kayo would actually be invited along? It... didn't exactly fit into her schedule, but she was willing to give it a shot. Even if she had to ditch later on Saturday if things went wrong.

XXSo... right now, they were just going to go shopping for a swimsuit, right? Oh, boy. That didn't sound like something she was going to be able to actually do without being fussy with what it looked like on her. The fuss, however, would obviously distract her from anything else she might of wanted to think about.

XXOf course, that didn't mean Kayo wasn't going to wonder how she even managed to get invited to this... or if the other party even knew she was coming with Watari. This wasn't going to be awkward, right?

"You look beautiful today."

His words took Yumiko completely by surprise, seeing as they actually had spent most of their time completely avoiding each other. To hear a compliment was a relief, but as he grew closer she realized that little had changed between the two of them. His arm rested atop her shoulders. The fact that the bare skin of his arm was touching the exposed skin of her shoulders, even in such a harmless way was noted. She felt her cheeks growing hotter by the minute, and she wasn't sure that she would be able to maintain her composure, "T-Thank you." She spoke it in English, and despite coming from a small little town hidden between the bigger cities that dotted Japan's countryside, she spoke it quite well. What she lacked in confidence, she made up for in her studies. She looked him over for the first time since they left the apartment together, noticing that his clothes matched her own. It couldn't have been more coordinated if the two had planned it. E-Everyone will think we're a couple! TOUYA will think that we're a couple! What should I do? I don't have time to go back and change....UGH! She thought frantically, biting the inside of her cheek. She shivered as she felt his breath brush against the exposed skin of her ear and neck, the ponytail she wore leaving most of her neck and ears unprotected from her roommate's serial habit of making personal space violations, "Y-You'll be popular at the beach yourself, I assume..." Now that she was giving the compliments, Yumiko reverted back to their native tongue, Japanese. She did not wish to outright call him attractive, even if that's exactly what Masaaki was. He was attractive, it could not be denied.

"Now that you know my name, that'll be Yamada-sama to you."

Blink. Blink. She almost thought she had imagined it, but after a moment to thought, she realized that Masaaki had actually commented on the fact that she knew his name, "Eh!?" Despite her horror and embarrassment, Yumiko did not fight the physical contact, remembering quite well what had happened the last time she attempted to deny him the right to touch her. It had become far too close to an adult moment, one that she did not wish to repeat. She had not been mentally prepared, nor did she think she would be anytime soon. Had it of been Touya, she wasn't sure if she would have had the voice to object... but her inner romantic rose to the occasion and saved her from the potentially erotic situation. Yumiko's warped virgin definition of 'erotic' anyway. Panic and embarrassment were the two main emotions that Yumiko felt, and her pink blush engulfed her entire face, transitioning into a bright shade of candy apple red, "Okinawa-san! She told me.. I..." Flustered did not even begin to explain how unraveled Yumiko felt in the elevator. Thankfully the doors opened, or maybe that wasn't such a good thing after all, because none other than Okinawa-san, their landlord noticed the pair stepping out.

Yamada-kun~ Nakahara-chan! You do make for an attractive couple. Ah... youuth~"

Twitch. Yumiko noticed that the landlady's mind was elsewhere and that their definitions of 'youth' surely would not match up. In fact, Yumiko had a feeling that if the landlady had her way... Nevermind that... She did not wish to corrupt her mind. However, she had a bad feeling that if she stuck around Masaaki and Okinawa-san long enough, the innocence her father desperately tried to protect would evaporate like smoke in Tokyo's busy streets. Whether Masaaki was ready to leave or not, Yumiko's feet were out the front door. She did not actively try to remove herself from his grasp just yet, but if he didn't keep up, it wasn't her fault. Once she saw Touya and Kayo in the distance she freed herself from Masaaki's arm and ran ahead.

"Fujiwara-San! Watari-Kun!" She energetically waved as she approached the two. She grinned to each of them, before glancing Touya over. She wasn't sure if he'd gotten taller, but she felt that he did. Not only that, she hoped that the dress and the way she'd prepared her hair would earn her a little attention from her crush. Perhaps he wouldn't see her as a child when she wore a dress? As lame as it sounds...please notice me Senpai!

Before she knew it, they were inside of a store shopping for swimwear. She wanted to prove that she wasn't a little girl anymore, so she went straight to the bikini aisle, even though she had never worn one before. She grabbed three from the shelves before trying them on in the changing room. She did not like the blue or the pink one she had chosen, instead deciding on a white one in the end. It was one of her favorite colors after all. It reminded her of a blank canvas, of endless possibility, of new beginnings, and of purity. She nervously stepped out to show the others to get their opinion, "How is this one..?" She did a shy turn to let them see the entire bathing suit, then her eyes shifted to Kayo, wondering if she choose to buy a new suit as well. She was curious what kind of swim wear a college girl would choose. She also wondered what kind of input the female upperclassmen would have on her choice of swim attire. She couldn't even manage looking in Touya's or Masaaki's direction. As they were male, it made this far more embarrassing. She had never shown this much skin before in public, this was the first time in her life.