Tsuki panted as he ran through the rain to reach his apartment. His bag was soaked but he was confident that the letters inside were safe from nature's attack. That made him smile but he didn't slow down until he reached an overhang that shielded him slightly from the rain. Without warning Tsuki felt a sudden push, sending him sprawling on the wet, hard ground.
"I am so sorry!" a high-pitched voice apologized. Tsuki looked up to see that a young woman, a foreigner by her appearance and accent, standing over him and saving his bag from becoming completely ruined. "I fix this, ok?" she asked, pointing at a huge rip in Tsuki's bag strap.
"Oh no, thanks though!" Tsuki laughed while getting back on his feet. "I did that a while ago when I was running from some scary dogs!"
She paused but then laughed along. "Why run from dogs?" she asked.
"I'm a delivery service," Tsuki answered, taking his bag back from her and giving it a once over to make sure it was ok. "I deliver letters for people so they get there before normal mail."
"But what about email?" she asked, looking at him like he was insane.
Tsuki shrugged. He had gotten that a lot before. "It's more romantic this way, though slow. I don't get a lot of customers but that's okay! It's more fun this way!"
She laughed and nodded. She was about to reply but her eyes fixed on something and she gasped. "Oh no! Your scarf!" She grabbed it and examined it more closely. His fall had damaged it some because it was an old scarf and so easy to rip. "I fix, yes?"
Tsuki hastily shook his head. "You don't need to, seriously! I can sew it back together at my apartment!"
"But mine is here," she said, gesturing to a door just two feet away. "It won't take long, promise!"
Tsuki smiled and accepted the offer humbly. She made some tea and the two of them got to talking, finding that they had a lot in common. Her name was Karen Jackson and she had recently moved in from America. She had gotten a job at a bakery her friend owned, but was not used to Ikebukuro's geography yet and got lost. She had been running home hastily when she had run into him.
"Good-bye Heiwajima-kun!" she said cheerfully as Tsuki left.
"Maybe I'll see you again," Tsuki smiled, waving but then running in the direction of his apartment.
This scenario wasn't new to him. He had often met random people on the street, gotten into conversation with them and parted as friends. Many people in Ikebukuro knew him, and so he was a source of information as well as a messenger. He knew a lot of random things and was probably the most knowledgeable person around who didn't have ties to yakuza or charge a small fortune.
Tsuki didn't charge much for his deliveries and was paid purely in tips for his information. As a result he couldn't afford an amazing apartment, but it was his home and he didn't care if people thought he was poor. He was happy and as long as that didn't change, anything was fine by him.
Didn't realize until now that this is kinda like You are My Loveprize in Viewfinder... but that's kinda how their relationship is in my eyes. Well if you haven't read that manga you should! But either way, I hope you enjoy!
Okay, did change something in the past couple days? Submitting this with my chosen format was really tedious and annoying. It got rid of my dialog, made paragraphs after deleted dialog bold, and refused to let me italicize anything!
