notes1: the beginnings of kouichi&juri (do they have a ship name?)
notes2: the part about the katous owning a tavern in shibuya is legit. i can't remember if the frontier gang lived in shibuya or further away, just that the train station was in shibuya. (sighs)
notes3: i'm not sure if the present tense approach went well for a fluffy one-shot like this. present tense and angst/hurt&comfort tends to go better in my head.
dedication: Flaming Platinum (for the Vday/White Day Fic Exchange) hope you like it :D
+ standard disclaimer
The traffic in Shibuya is heavy that Saturday.
Kouichi sighs again and runs a hand through his hair, looking out of the window impatiently as the bus moves along slowly down the congested roads. He glances at his watch and cringes mentally. Takuya's going to kick up a big fuss if I'm late again, that's for sure. Maybe I should've said yes when Kouji offered to come over and pick me up.
The bus finally pulls up in front of the bus stop and Kouichi weaves through the sea of commuters to get to the exit, heaving a sigh of relief when his feet touch the ground.
"I'd better make it there in time," he grimaces, thinking about the last time when Takuya went on and on for minutes—that felt like hours—just because he was late. That had undoubtedly earned him the irritation of his brother and Junpei — Izumi and Tomoki had been more sympathetic and patient.
He heads off down the street towards Takuya's house for the second time that week, humming a song he'd heard on the radio this morning while eating breakfast. Allowing himself to catch bits and pieces of passers-by's conversations, he passes by the swarm of children outside a comic shop, chatting animatedly about some comic or card game or whatever it is — he can't really remember.
"Masahiko, five more minutes."
The poster outside the shop advertising the latest red deck catches his eye. Should I get that for Takuya's birthday next month? He always plays red decks…
"Do you play WIXOSS?"
At first, he doesn't respond. Then, he hears no reply and grows curious until he turns and—
The sudden realisation of a girl roughly the same age as him standing right next to him is startling and he nearly squeaks but he suppresses it, instead turning his whole body to face the girl who has spoken properly. The brunette smiles sweetly, hands clasped behind her back and he stammers, "Um—um—"
"Sorry, did I scare you?" she giggles, covering her mouth with one hand — he notices the puppet she wears on that hand. "I'm Katou Juri. Nice to meet you!"
"Uh—"
"I don't live in Shibuya, actually. But my family owns a tavern around here!" Juri rambles on, taking light steps in a circle around him while smiling cheerfully. "I've been into WIXOSS for almost a month now, after my friends coerced me into playing with them. I tried to get my brother into it too, but he's still more interested in comics and manga."
"A-actually—"
"So, what colour deck do you use? I always use blue decks — my favourite is Blue Inheritance, my first deck ever!"
"Excuse me!" Kouichi cries out loud, exasperated at last. "I'm sorry, but I don't play WIXOSS. I was just looking at this because my friend plays it, and I was thinking of getting him a new red deck for his birthday."
Juri blinks and laughs merrily, teasing him, "Oh, come on! Just about everyone plays WIXOSS nowadays. Don't you want to learn? I can teach you if you want!" She looks at him with her big brown eyes pleadingly.
He cringes, knowing this trick all too well from Izumi and Tomoki — well, mostly Izumi now, when she doesn't get what she wants. Just last week, Kouji made the mistake of calling her a 'big fat baby' and incited her wrath. Shuddering at the thought, he muses, I do not want to know what she's gonna do if I don't say yes. But then again…
She presses a strip of paper with a series of numbers on his hand and beams brightly, tucking the pen in her hand inside her pocket. "Here! This is my number! You can text me some time and tell me when you're free so I can teach you! We could meet up or something! I mean, I'm in Shibuya over the weekends since my brother and I don't have school then."
I'm gonna be late! I definitely do not want to listen to Takuya's ramblings! Crap!
Grinning awkwardly, he stuffs the paper in his pocket and raises his hands and stumbles backwards, apologising, "Sorry, but look at the time! I need to be going or I'll be late for a gathering. Maybe next time, if we meet again!"
She stares at him dumbly for a few moments before bursting into laughter and waving. "Bye then! Text me soon, okay?" She watches as he disappears into the sea of people and crosses the road before turning back to Masahiko, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Masahiko, time's up. We need to get going."
The little boy groans in disappointment and reluctantly bids his friends farewell, following his elder sister away from the comic shop. She pulls out her mobile phone to text her father when she notices a new message from an unknown number.
How's tomorrow afternoon at the coffee shop three blocks away from the comic shop? Is 2p.m. fine?
A new message pops out below, Oh, and this is Kouichi by the way, the guy you just met. We were talking about WIXOSS, remember? Sorry I forgot to give you my name.
Juri feels a large smile creep across her face, and skips down the street with Masahiko's hand gripped in hers as she heads off after sending a quick text to her father.
.
.
.
Later that day, Katou Tadashi notices that his daughter is oddly helpful at the tavern.