I saw him when I was twenty-one.
He was sitting in his own way, on a bench at To-Oh University. I was late for my philosophy class, not that I was too worried about that. I only took the class to fill some of the three hour gap between organic and inorganic chemistry. But as I was walking as fast as I dared across the break between the science building and the building that housed philosophy class, I saw him.
He was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, a pair of shoes on the ground at his feet. His bare toes were wriggling against each other as he stared off, obviously deep in thought. I stopped dead in my tracks and watched him as he slowly traced his thumb across his lips, licking off the crumbs left over from the bite he had taken of the doughnut in his other hand.
I was mesmerized. I'd never seen anyone like him before. His long black hair was styled in a casual messy way, and his clothes were very basic. A baggy pair of jeans and a long sleeve white t-shirt. His eyes were rimmed in black shadows, making him look as if he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in years. But somehow, his entire appearance captured me. He was so beautiful, and my mouth instantly dried at even the thought of walking up and talking to him. I'd never been very good at talking to guys I liked, and had never had very many boyfriends throughout my life. I had preferred to concentrate on my studies, which is what got me the scholarship to this school.
I continued to stand frozen on the pavement, just staring at him, no longer thinking about philosophy class. I watched as he stared at the sky, blinking far less than I thought possible for a human being. His index finger now rested limply against his teeth as he slowly nibbled on the nail. His eyes were scanning the sky, and then moved to the area around him. Slowly he scanned the area to his right moving his head in time with his eyes.
Until they landed on me.
A normal person would've flinched slightly, at being caught staring at someone. They would've then let their eyes quickly wander to something else in an entirely different direction; to try and make the person that caught them think that their eyes meeting was merely a coincidence. But I wasn't really a normal person. I'd never seemed to fit in right with the other kids. I had a small set of close friends, with a very large circle of people that I knew surrounding us. Those were the ones that thought they were my friends. But none of them really knew me, not even the ones I actually considered friends. I was never very social, I didn't want to go to the parties of the popular kids to drink and smoke. I'd never seen the point. I hadn't wanted to flirt with all the boys I knew, and then hook up with three or four of them at someone's house on the weekend. I was just me, which wasn't what most people considered to be normal.
Which is why when his eyes met mine, my eyes refused to budge. They refused to stop admiring his beautiful features. To stop watching his finger as it dangled from between his teeth, held by only the short nail that he had captured there. My eyes were glued to him, and before I could even comprehend what was going on.
He was walking towards me.
He had wedged his feet into his shoes chaotically, and his back hunched greatly while he walked. As if he had an invisible burden that was weighing down his shoulders. His hands were jammed deeply into the pockets of his jeans, and he had his head turned up at a sharp angle to compensate for the slant that his back created. His eyes stayed connected to mine the entire way from his bench until he was merely a few feet away from me. His eyes stared deeply into mine, and I began to wonder what exactly he was looking for. My heart was racing, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to speak if he created a conversation.
He said nothing for the first few minutes. He seemed to be analyzing everything about me. He reached out his hand, overcoming the few feet that separated us, and held his palm out to me. My eyes questioned him, wondering what his motive might be. But as I stared at him, I felt a deep sensation of trust for the man in front of me. So slowly, I placed my hand in his, and followed his lead to the coffee shop across the busy street.
I guess I'd be missing philosophy class that day after all.
He guided me to a booth near the back, letting my hand fall from his as we both chose to sit across from each other. A waitress was quick to reach us, her eyes widened slightly at the way he was sitting, but she brought out her notepad to take our orders.
"Hi, my name is Kimiko, what can I get you two today?" she asked us politely. And before I could open my mouth, he opened his.
"She'll have an upside down caramel cappuccino, and I'll just have a coffee thank you." He said slowly, barely placing any emotion in the words he seemed not to speak, but to recite. His eyes never left mine, and I saw a smile slowly form on the face of the waitress as she jumped to the conclusion that he and I were together. I didn't think to correct her, as I myself was confused at that moment.
"How did you know that's my favorite way to have coffee?" I asked timidly as the waitress walked away to fix our drinks. I silently congratulated myself on being able to talk coherently to this mystery of a man.
He studied me for a moment, as if trying to judge what he should tell me. I wondered to myself what kind of secrets he kept hidden from the world as he prepared to answer my question.
"A lucky guess I suppose." He smiled slightly at me as the waitress returned with our drinks.
She placed the tall mugs on the table in front of us, and I picked mine up slowly. Wary about spilling anything in front of someone like him, who seemed to note everything that happened around him and store it for later reference in what must be a remarkable mind. I closed my eyes and took a sip, smiling warmly as the sweet candy-like coffee slipped over my tongue and down my throat.
As I opened my eyes, I saw that the table was littered with sugar packets as the man in front of me smiled tenderly as he stared at me, his hand poised over another pack of sugar. He let his eyes flitter back to the packet in question as he tore it open and spilled its entire contents into his cup. I watched as he did this over and over again, until his drink was no longer coffee, but the sweet grainy substance moistened with coffee.
I wondered to myself why I had never tried that, I'm sure a normal person would find it disgusting. But to me it looked like an intriguing new experience. I puzzled over whether or not I might like it as I slowly sipped my coffee, waiting for it to cool down before I dared to take a larger drink.
I realized in the middle of my puzzling that he had been staring at me for some time as he drank his very sugary coffee. I looked at him, and felt the heat of blush rise to my cheeks at his gentle smile. I watched as his eyes blinked once for every five of mine. And yes I actually counted this. It seemed like we were the only two people in the coffee shop. Although I knew this wasn't true, we were surrounded my people. But it was if our booth was somewhere that no one but us could penetrate during those moments.
His eyes seemed to be studying me again. As if every time he spoke to me he had to judge what exactly he was able to speak aloud, and what would have to stay concealed. Finally, after several minutes, he seemed to have decided what he would like to say.
"Hello, my name is Rue Ryuzaki." He said quietly in his own way. Staring at me the entire time as if to judge my reaction.
"Hello Rue Ryuzaki. My name is Ami Miyamoto." I said with a smile as I rolled his name over my tongue, testing how it felt to say out loud.
His eyes seemed to smile as his lips moved up into the same expression, "Hello Ami. If you wouldn't mind, I would very much like to see you again tomorrow."
I smiled in agreement, having a feeling that I would no longer be going to philosophy class at all this year.
