"...Things I almost remember.
And a song someone sings, once upon a December.
Someone holds me safe and warm..."
-Anastasia; Once Upon A December
Mei felt like she was constantly pretending to be normal—whatever that meant. Since a transformation in high school, she'd managed to bury the embarrassing avatar that was bullied throughout middle school. Reinventing a worthless self, her mind rationalized while the introverted, otaku heart deep inside despaired. Her dream was to be a manga artist.
She wondered if college would be any different—far away from the expectations that high school consumed. However, after snagging the popular president of the soccer club, Mei found life was remaining as tactless at college as her boyfriend coolly remained beside her.
'Me or that. You have to pick,' Koya had demanded with that appearance of absolute irritation. Confused by the implications of such a request, Mei chose to please him. Now as a closet otaku, she realized that she'd given up a part of herself. The red string wrapped around the desire to be a manga artist severed.
Still, when Mei closed her eyes at night, pictures of being held by various anime/manga/video game men flashed behind closed lids. Hidden in her phone were countless fanfiction pieces that she craved to upload after writing, or read again and again.
Truthfully, Mei found her smartphone to be a godsend—a click of a button either hid or displayed that secret part of herself. It was one of the things that kept her going living in this half life of sorts.
The day that university classes started was like anyone other day, really. Arriving nearly an hour early, Mei had jitters at the new manga chapter that came out. Would Yona finally get her act together and realize Hak...? Fifteen minutes later, Mei groaned in despair at the manga chapter on her phone. It would be another month of yearning, after all.
"Uh, you okay?" The voice brushed near the shell of her ear, jolting Mei as she paled. An attractive man sat next to her; a pair of eyes reminiscent of painted blades of grass amidst various seasons, yet those orbs were focused on the end of the manga chapter that lit up her phone's screen.
"Ahh, you're one of those," he smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Mei felt her face bloom with heat, secondary to the shame and guilt she experienced tearing her apart inside. Why did she have to hide this side of her? Why wasn't it more accepted? It was like she had been caught doing something dirty or wrong; yet, was it?
Utterly exhausted and embarrassed at the exchange with this stranger, Mei sought shelter behind a curtain of brown hair. It was a automatic defense to anticipated criticism—and an action she hadn't given into since those pathetic days of being bullied.
"Hey... I didn't mean anything untoward or malicious about it," the man attempted to explain with a soft voice. He rubbed the back of his neck and continued, "A friend of mine is actually into that stuff, too. Extremely. I kinda forgot that other people can be so discrete about it."
He laughed, as though recalling something. The weight of his stare burned into Mei—her heart pounding too quickly as she tried to get the coloring on her face back to normal.
The man shifted in his seat awkwardly before reaching forward, two fingers brushing under her chin to lift her blazing face, while his other hand tucked locks of hair behind her ear.
"There. That's better," he smiled charmingly but gulped when they made eye contact. A light blush dusted his cheeks when he withdrew his hands. "Sorry," he apologized with a slight dazed look in his eyes. "I didn't mean to touch you so carelessly. Forgive me."
"I—it's okay," Mei's voice cracked painfully, causing the blush to intensify on her own face.
"You sure? I can move seats if you would be more comfortable," the man suggested, rising to his feet as if expecting her to wholeheartedly agree.
"No!" A trembling hand shot out, fisting the sleeve of the man's shirt. His eyes widened at the action yet remained silent waiting for her to continue. "Err, sorry... I didn't mean—that is you don't have to change seats because of my stupidity."
The man blinked back at her, bewildered yet curious, "Stupidity? I don't think understand but okay." Polite grass-like orbs returned to the hand still fisting the fabric of his sleeve, and Mei released her hand at once—apologizing profusely.
He simply smiled and shook his head, "I'm Yuusuke Igarashi, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Igarashi-san" was her response, giving a polite bow in introductions. "My name is Mei Hatori. Please take care of me."
Throughout class, both Mei and Igarashi flashed looks of curiosity at each other—especially when he caught her doodling on her notebook.
Igarashi eyed the doodle of the Wings of Freedom crest, flashing a 'of course' expression.
"A fan of Attack on Titan, as well." He whispered the tease, keeping his eyes on the professor with a busy hand scribbling down notes. "Who's your favorite? Capitan Levi?"
Mei grinned genuinely at the reference, drawing Igarashi's attention. "Mikasa, actually." His eyebrows shot up at that—mind immediately falling into the gutter due to his friend's extensive BL conditioning. "Levi's a second for me. Have you watched?"
"Mmm," he affirmed casually. "In between practices and such. It's a popular anime."
Not everyone had that mindset, Mei reminded herself before replying, "I suppose you're right. Still, I didn't expect that."
"Appearance aren't everything," he shrugged, briefly glancing over at her.
After class ended and everyone was packed up, Mei stiffened as something touched her shoulder. With a breath of confusing relief, she saw it was Igarashi.
"Listen...could we maybe exchange—" Igarashi began and then jolted himself, as though surprised at his words.
Mei stared back in confusion. "Exchange...?"
"Um, you know what...nevermind," he stated, scratching the back of his head with a slight smile. However, he wouldn't meet her gaze. "Forget I said anything."
Through a furrowed brow, Mei mused, "Alright. Take care, Igarashi..."
A grin broke across his face, "Ah, I like that without the honorifics. Can I call you Mei-chan?"
"Uuuh... I suppose that's fine," she replied, once again blushing at his casualness.
"Great! I gotta go to practice, so see you around. Take care, Mei-chan," he said, sticking his tongue out before turning around and heading off.
And Mei, feeling inspired and a happy mess, decided to start drawing again. There was still time before meeting her boyfriend after soccer practice after all.
A/N:
I don't own anything recognizable in the Kiss Him Not Me manga! Also, I don't own Attack on Titan, Yona of The Dawn, or Anastasia.
I'm finally deciding to exorcise the obsession I am having with Igarashi, so I hope you all enjoyed it so far because the lack of Igarashi stories had me in distress as I near the end of the manga chapters.
Reviews are lovely!