It was a creeping thing, slowly growing in the background of everyday life. As much as Reiji tried to be prepared for any and all possibilities, this one had left him completely off-guard.
So far he had pinpointed its start after his duel with Yuya. For the first time in three years, he had found himself with no immediate plans for the future. While he had both a company and a family to go back to, both situations were unlikely to have any drastic short-term changes. He hadn't wanted to admit it, even to himself, but the situation was genuinely frightening.
He must have not been hiding his distress very well, because suddenly he found the Hiragi Yuzu girl looking at him so intently with those blue eyes, he wondered if she could see straight though him.
"Excuse me?" He quirked an eyebrow towards her.
"Oh, I didn't mean to stare," A slight bit of color rushed to her cheeks. "Just was trying to put together my thoughts and what I was gonna say. I wasn't sure how I wanted to phrase it."
"Might as well speak your mind." He gave a slight shrug in response. It was better to have it out and done with, then be stuck in this awkward state.
"Well I was wondering if I could get your number–" Before he could question such an unprompted request, she barreled right through and explained, "–you've been a great help to us dealing with all this–" She gestured to her surroundings as she searched for the right word. "–stuff. And I thought it might be nice for Yuya, you, and I to actually get to, you know, hang out? Get to know each other outside of life-threatening situations?"
It only had occurred to him then that for as linked as their roles and lives been, he knew barely a thing about her.
"That would not be an unpleasant experience," He readjusted his glasses.
"Awesome, why don't we switch duel disks?" Next thing he knew, he was punching in his duel disk id's into her's and vice versa. When they switched back, he found her contact info entered into all neat and organized.
"Thanks, sorry if I made it awkward for you."
"You're fine," Reiji replied, and with that he went to find Mother and see if she needed any assistance from him. The event was pushed to the back of his mind until a few day later he got a text from her asking if he was up for ice cream. While at first it took him off-guard, he had decided an hour out of his schedule wouldn't hurt.
It was impossible to deny the awkwardness from the event. It seemed the other former Lancers and You Show students were surprised by his appearance. Not to mention that it was his first time talking with many of them without the world in danger. Still that Yuzu Hiragi welcomed without a hint of uneasiness. While she gave him plenty of space, her occasional snarky comment or knowing glance made him feel more a part of the group than anything else.
So things continued like that. Yuzu would text him about every event she and the others were participating in. He was only about to join them about a third of them, but over time Reiji was starting to feel like he was genuinely becoming a part of the group.
Then another shift took place. Over time, the texts started to include more than just their latest plans. First there were a few emoji's scattered about. As pointless as they were the little smiley faces and other expressions endeared themselves to him. Then a few questions about math or history wormed their way through. Reiji hardly batted an eye though; it was only understandable since he had finished his schooling already. Still somehow his advice ended up including dueling advice. And once they covered that topic there was no stopping the extent of their conversations.
While Reiji still enjoyed being included with the others in their scrapes and happenings, he couldn't help but cherish this time with Yuzu one-on-one. She was a bold, fiery soul, unafraid to speak her mind. Yet that fierceness was tempered both by a charming personality and a quick intellect. It was rare to find someone with the drive to pursue what they wanted, the empathy to focus others, and the knowledge to understand which side of her personality was needed when. No excuse of his would fly by her, yet her bluntness held no malice, ignorant or otherwise.
Her presence becomes expected, and it really only hits him how deep he was in when he found himself standing outside her house, sweating bullets.
"Reiji?" She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "You wanna come inside or–"
"This shouldn't take too long." He readjusted his glasses. "I just came to give you this." Gingerly, he handed her a small package.
Yuzu scrunched her nose. "I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but you do know it isn't my birthday right?"
A flush of heat ran to the tips of his ears. "I know, but isn't this the kind of thing…friends do?" The words fell awkward off his tongue. Was he even allowed to use that word at this point?
Regardless of his behavior, she opened the package, letting out a small gasp when its contents were revealed.
"Melodious Pendulums?!" She shifted the cards around in her hand. "You made them just for me!?"
"I figured they'd be useful in your next tournament. It was really quite simple." Despite his words, he felt a slight surge of pride.
"Well it means a lot to me. Thank you." Her smile was almost blinding in its radiance as Reiji averted his gaze and mused that maybe friend didn't fully capture the extent of his feelings towards her.
Oh no.
He quickly excused himself afterwords, but it did nothing to stop the thoughts racing through his head. The more he mulled it over, the more it seemed to ring true.
Reiji stopped in his tracks with a sigh. Whatever had been planted in his heart back then had finally bloomed.
He was in love with Hiragi Yuzu and there was no stopping it.
I am so screwed.
Happy Birthday Rose, you've always been so encouraging to me about my writing, I consider you a friend and a great part of the Arc V fandom