Character: Ryouta Yoshitsune (OC)
Year: 2018
Title: Just a Story

When Ryouta went past the bookstore on the way to school that morning, he stopped rapidly, and then turned back to look at the store. More than a few people had to walk around him, much to their annoyance, but he barely noticed. He just thought of the three volumes of manga he had been waiting for. As luck would have it, all three of the series had released the new volumes just after his birthday, and so for once, he would be able to buy them himself, instead of asking his parents and hoping they could remember.

So….should I go now? He considered this. Usually, he wasn't one to make stops on the way to school-instead, he just went straight there. And it wasn't as if it would be impossible for him to go after school instead. On the other hand, he did not want to wait, and it was still rather early. Even if he went into the shop now, he wouldn't be late for school, which was one of the main things to worry about. Yes, it's decided!

Grinning from ear to ear, he strode happily into the bookstore and headed straight to the manga section. There were no special promotional displays for any of the series he was looking to buy, and so he had to browse the shelves. Like, really. They didn't even do a display for Fujinuma-sensei's series, even though he came from here and all that? It didn't matter too much though, as much as Ryouta was baffled by it, for really, as long as it hadn't gone out of stock already, such things didn't matter. So, mindful of the fact that he had to go to school, he hunkered down and got on with it. While he was doing this, he only heard one other person –or rather, two, given that that person seemed to have a little child with them-who seemed to know the cashier, as it didn't take long before he heard the woman chatting to the cashier, while her child babbled happily.

When Ryouta had successfully found all three books, he went up to the till. The woman and her child- a little girl who looked about two-was still there. She had purchased a book, which was swinging in a carrier bag she held, and now she just talked to the cashier. Ryouta tuned out the conversation they were having –it was just grown-up stuff, after all-but the little kid looked at him with huge brown eyes, finding him interesting. It was almost flattering, so he waved slightly as he put the books on the counter, and when the little kid giggled in response, it made him smile.

"Here's the money!" he told the cashier cheerfully as he pulled the wad of birthday money from his bag and held it out. Dutifully, the cashier smiled and took the money from him.

"You're really excited to read those, huh?"

Ehh?

Ryouta jumped, not expecting that the woman would talk to him. But he pulled himself together, and nodded, though he was a little embarrassed at how flustered he got.

"I get that." The woman agreed. "It's like the wait is finally over, and now you have the actual physical volumes in your hand to read over and over again, rather than having to dig out all the magazines for each chapter, am I right?"

"Y-yeah, sure." A grown-up who has a kid likes manga. Really? Ryouta stared at the woman, at her friendly face and the camera around her neck, with her shopping and little girl, but he could not see it. Strange.

"Son, are you sure you were given enough money?"

"Huh?"

Ryouta whipped back around to the cashier and stared.

"You are 500 short." The cashier fanned out the notes by way of explanation, and Ryouta blinked, before taking his bag off and hurriedly searching for any money. But when he didn't find any, he realised what had happened.

"I must have left some of it at home by accident. Will I not be able to buy any of them?" Ryouta asked, unable to hide his disappointment.

"You'd have to put one aside, yes. But that means you can still get two. So, which ones will it be?"

Ryouta studied each volume, and frowned. Which one could he live without buying today? It was hard to decide, since he had different reasons –the author, the TV series, the one he could talk to his friends about-for liking and wanting to buy each series, so he didn't particularly want to put one aside. Argh, which one? Which one? He could practically feel the cashier's eyes bore into him impatiently, and the woman and her kid were there too, which made it even more embarrassing. Hurry up and choose one!

"Ah, it's okay, kid. I'll cover your total. Get all of them."

Ryouta looked up rapidly and gawped at the woman, meeting her eyes.

"I…uh, really?"

"Airi-san?" the cashier was just as confused. "Why would you do that?"

The woman-Airi-grinned and winked as she started to dig in her handbag.

"It's not such a big deal." She said breezily as she found the right amount and was about to hand it over, when the kid interrupted.

"I give it!" she declared loudly, looking offended that Airi would think otherwise. Airi looked down at her.

"Takara, you want to give the money to the boy?"

Takara nodded intensely at this.

"Yes, Mama."

Airi looked at Ryouta uncertainly, and he shrugged. Doesn't make a difference. He was mostly just stunned that he would be able to buy all three, just as he wanted to. So Airi handed the note to Takara, who solemnly gave it to Ryouta, bursting into giggles the moment he took it and added it to the rest of the money.

"You should be grateful for that, you know." Was all the cashier said as he rang the items through and handed them over in a paper bag.

"Oh, I am." Ryouta took the bag and turned to Airi and Takara. They were leaving too, so he walked to the door with them.

"I, um….thank you very much!" he blurted out once they were outside, bowing slightly. Takara clapped in glee.

"Not a problem." Airi told him. "Just make sure you make the most out of these, that's all I want."

"Sure!" Ryouta grinned as he checked the time. I can still get there early, so perhaps I will read one of these for a little while, then the rest can be started at home. It was an exciting thought.

"Good, good. Now, since I'm sure you've got to rush off to school, Takara and I will go now. So, bye-bye, kid!"

"Bye-bye!" Takara chorused. Ryouta smiled, and dashed off. As he did, he could hear the mother and young daughter chat to each other, and one thread of conversation drifted towards his ears, even as their voices became more distant.

"Did you see that, Takara? That boy is a fan of Papa's."

"Really? He likes Papa?"

"Well, the manga that Papa writes, anyway. I don't think he actually knows Papa as a person."

"Oh. Okay. Can we tell Papa?"

"About the boy?"

"Yeah! He's funny! I like him!"

"Ah, I see-"

At that point, Ryouta crossed the road, so he could not hear them anymore, and he didn't turn back to see if they would still be in his line of vision. But he thought about what he had heard. A fan of 'Papa'. Which meant that Takara's father was one of the mangaka who had created one of the series whose newest volumes he had. But he didn't know who-no, wait? I'm sure Fujinuma-sensei is married and that he has a kid? But was that a kid a boy or a girl, and were they little or more my age, or even bigger? He honestly had no idea, but all the same, the thought made him stop as he turned and looked at where they had been, just moments ago. And he wondered, if such a thing was really possible, if he really had just-

No, that's ridiculous!

Shaking his head to rid himself of the thought, he pulled himself together. That's the kind of thing that only happens in stories, he decided. And with that, he turned back around and continued on his journey to school, holding tightly onto his paper bag.

...somehow, I'm not entirely satisfied with this one. The idea made sense in my head, planning it out was fine too, but actually writing it...well, that was a different story altogether. Still, I did the best I could with it, and now it is here. But I'm a bit stuck with the writing of the other two (they are planned, but again, the actual writing of them...=P) so it is will probably be a very long time before you see those stories. For which I apologise. Anyway, I hope that you're enjoying the stories here, and please do leave me feedback if you can :)

P.S. Would any of you be interested if I drew the OCs featured in this fic collection? If so, do tell me :)