So, this is just an idea that came to me the other day while I was staring out of my window. While I should be working on my other stories, I felt compelled to write this. Any who, considering this is an AU, the characterization will be varied slightly. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Date Published: 12/30/15
Word Count: 3,770
Page Count: 6

Prologue: The Mundane, Miserable Life of a Literary Girl

The life of Fukawa Toko could be summarized as being both boring and miserable. The girl would get up every morning to see a family that wished she didn't exist. Her two mothers and father would give her a simple good morning before going back to whatever they were chatting about. She would sit at the dining table, and eat the western breakfast made by one of her mother's in silence. After that she would clean up, and leave for school with a simple, barely audible bye. They treated her as a complete stranger most of the time despite having lived with them her whole entire life. The only time they ever paid any attention to her was when someone was in a bad mood and decided to smack her around to make themselves feel better. That, or if they need some extra money.

"S-some p-people really just shouldn't have children," she would mumble to herself while thinking it would have been nice if they placed her up for adoption instead of keeping her, "It's their fault I a-act the way I do and all. I-I would p-probably be a better p-person if I d-didn't have to live with them."

She would then procced to her junior high school to see all of the students who also wished she didn't exist. She didn't know why they all ganged up on her, but she guessed it was because she was an easy target due to her horrible people skills. She would then be forced to deal with their cruel pranks that seemed to get worse as the days passed. Sometimes it was someone offering to eat lunch with her, despite never showing up while the onlookers laughed at her foolishness. Other times it was finding disgusting bugs shoved into her shoe locker. Most of the time though, it was the usual vocal harassment.

"P-people are h-horrible! Th-they always, always try to make a fool out of me!" she would yell out when she was alone, while her nails dug into her skull, "What did I e-ever do to them?! Is it simply because I'm alive?! Gah, I'm such a w-wretched person!"

She would later travel home and lock herself up in her room with either a book or a pen. The only time she would ever leave her room was if she needed to use the bathroom, eat, or be forced to have some sort of interaction with her family. Her life was almost always on repeat day after day. She would deal with people that didn't care about her, get some sort of harassment, and then go home to work or read in solitude.

"It w-would be nice if I could just read and write all day," she would mumble to herself from time to time while in her room, "That way I w-wouldn't have to deal w-with people who hate me."

If it wasn't for her writing skills, she was sure no one would even acknowledge she was actually there among the living. Her books, the things she placed her heart and soul into creating, was the only reason people still remembered her. She was born with the talent of using words to convey strong emotions and create vibrant worlds. Without that, she was sure she would merely fade away into oblivion. Even though the situation that brought her talent to life still plagued her, she couldn't help but continue on writing. It was the only thing that made her feel like she had a reason for existing. Well, besides being a living punching bag to her family.

She had published her first work at the age of ten, and for the past five years she had been regularly releasing new stories. Some people even consider her story, So Lingers the Ocean, her masterpiece that had also become a best seller. She had never expected it to become extremely popular, but it's popularity was good for her mental state. It reminded her that people enjoyed what she could make, and that people actually liked her.

"It would be n-nice if my classmates l-liked me as much as my fans," she would say mumble after being harassed from time to time, "Th-though I doubt my fans would s-still like me if they a-actually met me in person."

The world around her always seemed to be basked in a gray light and the pattering of rain. She would often proclaim that it was the world's way of saying it didn't like her too. She of course knew the weather, being a non-human entity and all, didn't hold any ill will towards her. It was completely nonsensical, but whenever she saw the gray sky from her window, her brain quickly jumped to that conclusion.

"Accursed weather," she often mumbled when she looked outside in the morning, "W-why must you despise me so much? D-does the w-world hate me like everyone else?!"

Despite her gloomy outlook on life, she did have one place she could go to where she was free from the hateful glares. It was a small bookshop that was near both her home and school. It opened when she was about nine, and she made a habit of going there to buy something with the small amount of money one of her mother's would give her. The owners were a young married couple who both shared a love of books. Together they decided that they wanted to share their love of literature with the people around them.

Normally, she wouldn't feel comfortable around people, much less strangers. She and people weren't a great combination after all, but the shop owners were always kind to her. They had never looked down on her, threw anything at her head, and never tried to lock her up in a closet for a few days. Even after she published her first story, they still treated her with the same kindness. So after a few months of shopping there on a regular basis, she managed to find a way to be friendly. As the years went on, she managed to form an odd friendship with the owners. She could go to the shop and have a somewhat normal conversation with people who liked the same things as her, and for a change feel somewhat comfortable around people.

So on that particular late Monday afternoon day after school in May, Fukawa made her way to the shop. Even when she didn't have anything in mind to buy, she still enjoyed going there. While she never chatted for a long time, she did enjoy talking about the latest book she read or how her own story was going. Sometimes she would even sit down and drink some tea with the wife while talking about something or other. Most people would consider it odd for a girl to be sipping tea with a store owner, but she never gave it much thought. They were one of the few people who were kind to her, and she didn't feel completely uneasy speaking with them. Just because she kept to herself didn't mean that she didn't like having a normal conversation. Sometimes it seemed like older people, excluding her family and many teachers, were easier to talk to then kids her own age.

The store, simply known as Moteki Books, was centered in the middle between a residential area and a shopping area. Like other shops in the area, the bottom floor was used as the store while the upper half was the living quarters. The front of the store had an awning hanging over the door, with its name printed on the front and both of its sides. In the center was the door, and to its right was a window with its name printed on it, and one could see inside.

With a simple push of the door, Fukawa could hear the jingle of bells as she walked into the shop. It took only a matter of moments for her to walk into the nearly empty shop and to be greeted with a chipper voice she was accustomed to.

"Hello Toko-chan, how are you doing today?" spoke the voice of a woman known as Moteki Shiori. She was standing behind a counter that was on the left hand side of the room with a door behind her. She was in her late twenties, of average height with medium length dark brown hair and matching pair of eyes. Though those were the eyes of an average human, they almost always held a mischievous glint to them. As usual, she was bearing a bright smile and energy seeping through her words. When Fukawa first met her, she deemed she was overly friendly and needed to learn how to not put her nose into places it didn't belong. It also didn't help she was overly eccentric most of the time. While that hadn't changed much, the girl did come to appreciate their conversations, no matter how odd it would become.

"Hello," she replied simply as she walked past the simple counter.

"Is there anything in particular your looking for today?" she asked while Fukawa continued to walk further into the store. Bookshelves where aligned all over the store with signs hanging down from the ceiling with what genre was in what area. The store wasn't very large, but it had a variety of different sections. Large bookshelves where aligned against all of the walls with small separations for the different genres, while smaller ones were in the middle. While it was cramped compared to larger chains, it still gave off an inviting aura.

"No, I'm just killing time," she replied simply. She often found herself wishing she didn't have to return to the wretched place she had to call home. Yet without any friends to spend time with, she never had many options to choose from. There was also no point in going to a library because she preferred owing the books she read rather than borrowing them. If she wanted to read, she could do it about anywhere else than her home. Yet here, she could have a somewhat friendly conversation and forget about how much she hated her family.

Fukawa found herself walking towards the romance section that was close to the counter when she heard Shiori call out enthusiastically, "Oh, I have something interesting to tell you Toko-chan! Just the other day a boy came in and bought your newest book!"

"S-so what?" she replied while looking at the back of a book she randomly grabbed off the shelf, "I-is it that s-surprising someone bought m-my book?!" Her newest story had been released the previous Friday, so why would that be surprising? Her publisher had told her that her books had always sold well upon release. Perhaps it was because a boy bought it?

"Of course not! The thing is that he's one of my newer regulars and was really excited about buying your book! It was as if he was waiting years for you to publish something new!" she exclaimed gleefully, "I have sold your books to tons of people, yet not once did I talk to someone who was extremely happy to get his hands on it! It was if he was beaming with excitement! Granted I was surprised he bought a romance instead of the usual mystery or adventure, but that's aside the point."

"I-I see," she replied with a gleeful smile crossing her face. It always made her feel better when she heard about people enjoying her work. It allowed her to feel a brief confidence in herself before the usual doubt returned to her mind. While she liked reading reviews about how much people enjoyed her work, nothing beat hearing it in person.

"I then asked him why he was happy to get it, and he told me he has been reading your stuff since you first started writing! He's a total fanboy for your work Toko-chan! A cute one too!" declared the older woman joyfully.

"I think your overreacting," she spoke while wondering why she was getting so worked up over nothing. She had always been the energetic type, but she could never understand where it all came from. While Fukawa wasn't a fan of those type of people, she was usually able to hold back her cynical comments around the shop owner.

"Then something popped in my head, and I think it's a great idea personally. Wouldn't it be nice if you became friends with him?" she asked simply.

The book nearly slipped from her hand as she shouted out from the surprise of her words, "No! O-of course it wouldn't! E-everyone I m-meet ends up hating me! H-how could I e-ever b-become friends with someone?!" She turned her head to face the beaming woman as she felt her stomach fill up with dread. It was basically impossible for someone like her to make friends out of anyone! She either scared them away, or they ended up just screwing with her head!

"Last time I checked Toko-chan, I'm your friend," she replied in a softer tone, her energetic smile turning into a comforting one.

"Y-you're an e-exception! P-people who are older than me usually aren't as cruel!" she replied in the same manner of voice. Getting along with people her own age was always a problem. They always mocked her, toyed with her emotions, and generally made a mockery out of her. Yet adults where easier to speak with, well, some of them anyway. Her publisher and editor were easy to talk with, though that was part of their job.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend your own age? I've talked to him a lot, and he's a nice boy. He doesn't seem like those jerks you have to deal with at school!" she exclaimed loudly, the energy returning to her. Shiori had heard about her people troubles many times, and knew quite well she lack any companions her own age. Fukawa had never divulged all of the details of her miserable life of course. She didn't want the owners to get too. She also didn't know what type of actions they would take, and what those outcomes could be. She wasn't the type to take risks, well, most of the time anyway.

"A f-friend my own age?" she mumbled to herself while returning the book to the shelf and looking downwards to the carpeting. She tried making friends before, and they had always betrayed her and placed her misery on display for the world to see. Not once had she been able to make a somewhat friend out of a person who wasn't at least ten years older than her.

"Yay! I know you like talking with me, but wouldn't it be nice having a friend closer to your own age? My gut says he would be glad to be friends with the person that writes the stories he really enjoys!" she exclaimed happily while motioning her palms onto the countertop.

"Then what about all the o-other people you sold my b-books to?" she asked out of curiosity. She said herself a lot of people buy her books, so why hadn't she brought that up before? Not like she would have wanted her to do that or anything!

"Well, none of them seemed as happy as he did. Besides, I didn't talk with those people very much so I can't say if they are a good person or not. Though I assure you that this boy would make a good friend! Actually, he kind of reminds me of Kiyoshi…" With that, she was referring to her husband. Unlike his wife, he wasn't a loud mouth. Though he shared her tendency of getting into other people's business if it meant helping someone out. His name, being written with the character for pure, fitted him perfectly.

"W-why's that?" she replied hesitantly. The idea of having a nice person be her friend sounded nice, but it didn't mean she actually wanted to go through with it.

"Well, he gives off this nice, accepting vibe. That, and it seems like he can carry on a conversation with about anyone. Though most of all," she paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath, "He's really nice. He even brought me a present for my birthday because we chat so much! He's a really sweet kid!"

"T-that's really underwhelming," she mumbled while pondering why anyone would buy a present for a store owner you just happen to talk with? It sounded like the guy was a tab bit too nice for his own good.

"Anyway, you should meet him! I'm sure he would like to be your friend! He's even the same age as you!" she declared jovially, "So come on! He tends to come here on Wednesdays, Fridays, or Sundays around this time. Though he sometimes comes more than once a week."

"N-No way! I-I'm not doing it! I-I'm fine with having n-no f-friends my own a-age you meddling woman!" she exclaimed loudly while walking towards the front of the store. While it would be nice to have a friend her own age, there was no way she could go through it. It was hard enough trying to be nice to the shop owners, so how could she get along with someone her own age?! She made every person hate her after all! Just a single sentence out of her mouth could cause his soul to be filled with malice towards her!

"Oh come on Toko-chan, Makoto-kun isn't someone to be afraid of! I don't think he has a single mean bone in his whole body!" exclaimed Shiori while reaching her hand over the counter to grab hold of Fukawa's shoulder.

"A n-no is a no!" she yelled at her sharply at the woman, her eyes filled with irritation, before jerking her body away from her, "I-I'm going to meet anyone, so you c-can stop s-saying that again and again!"

Shiori quickly responded to the girl after a long sigh, "Whatever you say Toko-chan. Though I have a feeling you're going to run into him sooner or later. He has a unique type of luck, so I'm sure that's bound to kick in. Though I'm not sure if it'll be good or bad on his part," she explained while mumbling the last part.

Fukawa let out a huff of annoyance before grumbling, "I'm leaving now," and headed to the door and grasped the handle tightly.

"Alright, see ya. Just make sure to keep what I said in mind," replied the brunette while waving at the girl. Despite Fukawa's temperament, she never allowed herself to get too mad at her. Perhaps it was because she was nice, or because she knew Fukawa's behavior was because of her home and school life.

"Yeah, whatever," she mumbled before opening the door and heading out into the open. The sky above her was drizzling, and she couldn't help but let out another huff. She didn't have an umbrella, but she could get home before it started to come down quicker. Somehow her days always ended up getting worse as time went on, and there was no remedy.

Before she moved away from her protection, a voice caught her ears and she couldn't help but turn her head to the left. A girl and a boy, both with a tuff of hair standing out, were walking under an umbrella in her line of sight.

"Komaru, do you have to take up all of the room?" asked the boy whose shoulder was being assaulted by the droplets.

"Well, this mine, you know?" the girl responded in a spirited manner with no ill intent, "We wouldn't be in this situation if you didn't manage you get a hole in yours. So, of course I'm going to take up most of the room."

"I honestly have no clue how that got there," replied the boy with a sullen look on his face, "Though you could move over just a little bit."

"I'm going to say either the dog got to it and thought it was a toy, or your umbrella just hates you," spoke the girl in the same chipper manner while laughing lightly.

"Knowing my luck, it's probably both," responded the boy with a sigh while also moving his head down to look at his shoes.

Fukawa couldn't help sigh herself while watching their exchange. They looked awfully chummy with one another. It was like a scene out of some cheesy romance, with the only exception it was the boy who didn't have an umbrella instead of the girl. It was just so cliché, and just watching it started to make her feel sick to her stomach.

"Do you have another one you can use, or am I going to have to share mine with you for a while?" asked the girl in a playful tone.

"No, I have another one I can use," replied the boy while returning his head upwards with what Fukawa thought was a slight smile.

It was at that moment the soft, green eyed boy looked at directly her, and she felt a shiver run up her spine. Was he going to tell her to screw off? To stop being a creep for watching them? To tell her to go die in a fire?!

Yet to her amazement, he just gave her a small smile before continuing his conversation with the girl. At that point they were walking past the store, and she decided she needed to hightail it out of there. She was surprised he didn't say anything mean to her, but she wasn't going to stick around and wait for the girl to say anything. So she turned her body to her left and started to walk in the opposite direction of the two in a hurry. At least she managed to get out of there without having a confrontation.

When Fukawa was out hearing range, the girl decided to speak up, "Did you know that girl Makoto?"

He quickly replied in a soft voice, "I don't, but it looked like she was having a bad day so I thought to give her a smile to maybe brighten her mood."

"Now that's my brother, always being the nice guy even to strangers!" she exclaimed happily, while raising the hand with her school bag up slightly.

"Yeah, I know. It would be nice if the world was a little nicer to me," he laughed lightly while he turned his head around to see the back of the girl scampering off into the distance.

Well, there you have it! I'm not sure if I'll continue this right away since this is just a random idea I wanted to get out on the internet. Any who, I hoped you liked it and of course review!