"But I don't know the way."

Shuuya typed into his unsent draft.

"Don't tell me you don't know the way."

Read another message before he sent it.

"You can't possibly be this unaware of your surroundings, you know."

Shuuya just deleted the sentence and waited for a bunch more messages to arrive till she was done insulting him.

"So what are we gonna do?"

He finally replied.

"Send me your address. I'll come there and then we can go together."

Shuuya twisted his lips sideways.

Wow.

He forwarded the address and put his phone on the side-table.

Someone is actually coming over to my house. From my class.

He stretched his arms up one last time and got out of his bed.

"Be there in an hour." read Natsumi's reply on the screen.

But Shuuya was already on his way downstairs.

"You haven't bathed yet?" his mother looked at him in surprise as she set the breakfast on the table.

"Don't you bathe before meal even on Sundays?"

"Yeah...I'm going out for the day." he said, "So, I won't be having lunch either."

His parents looked at each other and then at him.

"That's all I came to tell you." he shrugged.

"Where are you going?"

"Some crepe cafe behind Minaari street. For breakfast. I don't know after that."

"Do you know where Minaari street is?"

"Not a clue."

"Well, how will you go then?"

"My friend's coming to pick me up."

His dad set his newspaper down.

"And whenever did that happen?"

"Mom, dad." Shuuya sighed, "I know there's lots of stuff you want to ask, and I should have told you before, but she's coming over in an hour, so maybe we'll talk about this during dinner?"

He didn't notice his mother's dropped jaw as he walked back upstairs. He'd never brought a single living creature home, not even a stray cat or a puppy he'd found wailing in a corner. He didn't need company of organisms. Her son was a literal robot.

And now he was going to cafe he couldn't name near some street he'd never heard of with a girl who was coming over within an hour.

She didn't even know how to react while her husband broke in a chuckle.

"I told you he'd just do fine." he said, pulling his newspaper back up. "He's another human after all."

"It could have been the other way too. You took quite a big risk, Ryousuke."

"If you didn't agree on it, why did you let me raise him?"

"I'm your wife, Ryo." she replied, getting back to her work on kitchen table, "You know I can't stop you if you want anything that badly."

"But you love him too, don't you?"

"There's nobody who wouldn't love him, but he doesn't give anybody a chance."

"You feel that too?"

"I don't feel it, I kno-"

The doorbell rang.

The couple looked at each other with the proudest of their smiles. Of all the medals he'd ever won, he deserved the biggest one for this.


As Shuuya rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen on his way out, he heard muffled voices of Natsumi and his mother laughing.

Before he could even set down his glass, he saw his dad come into kitchen.

"Holy mother of God, Shuuya." he said as walked in.

"What?"

"Are you sure it's not a joke by a bunch of nasty classmates on you?"

"That's kind of offensive, you know."

"She's beautiful, with an amazing sense of humor. You don't talk to anyone."

"First off, we're just friends."

"I would be sure that this all is a joke if you weren't."

"Dad, you don't need to teach me how to take care of myself."

"I'm just saying." he shrugged.

"I know." Shuuya gave out a sigh.

"But just for the record, I have never been bullied before. Would be kind of dumb if it happened now."

Ryousuke watched him walk out to the guest room.


"So where is this place?" Shuuya asked as they walked out.

"Oh, you will love it. Just your kind."

"We haven't even talked about what I like to eat. How are you so sure?"

"Oh, we haven't?" she asked with a smirk.

Shuuya sighed in defeat.

"This better not be a joke."

"You'll find out." she shrugged in a half smile. "But now that you brought it up, tell me what you like to eat."

"Well..." Shuuya thought for a moment.

What did he like to eat?

Food.

But that wasn't an appropriate answer.

"You don't know that, do you?"

"No, I'm just deciding what to say."

"Really?"

"Yeah, because I like a lot of food."

"What kind, I asked."

"All kinds."

"You don't have a favorite menu, or even a dish. Dumbass."

"I do." Shuuya refused to give up.

"Alright." Natsumi said in a deal, "If you can name one dish by the end of our time today, Shuuya, I'll cook you that for lunch tomorrow."

"You'll poison it."

"I'm not a bad cook."

"Didn't say you were. I just said you will poison it."

"So you think my food would taste good?"

"Well, technically, if you're really willing my death, you'd definitely make it delicious because if you don't I won't eat it and I won't get poisoned. But in my opinion personally, your food would be good because you excel at everything."

"You flatter me." she tilted her head side by side, smiling subtly.

"It's not flattery, Natsumi. You aren't perfect because you were born talented or anything. You're perfect because you're obsessed with the idea of perfection."

"What do you mean?" she chuckled.

"See, you're gifted. Unlike many people, your capabilities are unmatched. But your perfection, it doesn't come from your talent. You want perfection. It's etched in your skin, mind and heart. So much so that you'd go insane by the lack of it. And you know it, so for the sake of your own sanity, you tend to keep all your skills sharpened by the edge. You don't give anyone a single chance to point your imperfection out, even though in your own way, you're imperfect too."

"Sharp on your observations, aren't you?"

"Haven't got much to pay attention to." Shuuya shrugged.

"So what are these imperfections, you say, in me?" she was still smiling.

"I don't know that much."

"Or you're just reluctant to tell me."

"If you really had to get it out, you'd have done it already. You wouldn't have asked it right on my face and expected me to tell you truthfully."

"What if I did?"

"Then you're in love."

"Maybe I am."

Shuuya realized he'd walked two steps ahead while Natsumi had already stopped behind.

He turned to look at her, and they both cracked up into peels of laughter.

"You know..." Shuuya said, as Natsumi came walking ahead, "My dad asked if you were playing a joke on me."

"Why, really?" She asked with a lopsided smile but the question seemed genuine.

"Well, because you're pretty and smart. And girls like you are usually popular."

"I am popular."

"Not that way."

"Oh, try being popular that way."

"No, thanks, I have my own fame."

"Oh, do you, now?"

They were laughing again.


"This thing is amazing."Shuuya said with a mouthful.

"I told you."

"But this is not a crepe cafe."

"It's a bubble tea cafe."

"I know, that's my point. What is this shit?"

"Bubble teas are-"

"I know what bubble tea is. But why did you say we were going to a crepe cafe?"

"Because that shop is right on the starting of street. If you started asking for directions on the phone, I wouldn't have been able to tell you take two right turns after walking about 120 meters."

"Seriously?"

"No, I could have, but it was just too tiresome."

"You're incorrigible."

"Lazy."

"Yeah, that too."

"Finish your food, you love it and you know it exists because of me, peasant. Show some gratitude."

Shuuya let out a chuckle.

"Whatever the lady says."

He took another gulp of his tea and the last bite of his honey waffle he's ordered from the side menu.

"Say, Natsumi, what are we doing after this?"

"Oh, you'll love it."


Author's note: Hi again, people. Sorry I keep blacking out on y'all. But I'm getting the hang of my life, it's not an easy ride, you know. Okay, that was cheesily crap. Anyhow, back on biz, I'll try to update this story again within three months. Hope y'all keep loving it. Let me know what you think!