YEAH! OH, YEAH!

[Iida/Utsushimi, No Quirks, Adults, Trans Character, Stranger than Fiction AU, 1251 words]

Tenya Iida woke up every weekday at precisely 6:45am, without the need for an alarm clock's intervention.

Rising from bed, he took a seven minute shower followed by four minutes for personal hygiene. After getting dressed for the day, he ate a simple breakfast of fruit with toast and left for work.

"Hello?" Tenya said, standing at his apartment's entrance, looking around in confusion. Since waking up that morning, he'd begun to hear a strange voice, one describing his day with frightening accuracy.

No one responded...and so he decided to ignore this for now, and add 'auditory hallucinations' to his list of concerns in his next doctor's appointment.

This was a man who lived his life by a routine. Once he reached work, he would do his job to the letter, avoid any social plans with his coworkers, then return home to watch the news and read online periodicals.

By any outward measurement, Tenya Iida seemed fulfilled with this life. He had perfected his use of time, and minimized personal risks. The fact that the pleasures he received in return were meager, to be generous, didn't seem to bother him.

Under his breath, Tenya growled, "I don't just seem to be fulfilled, I am." So what if he didn't spend his time as most people did? He could deviate from his schedule whenever he wanted to. He just...didn't want to. That was all.

Walking down the street, Tenya swung his arms from side to side, elbows in stiff right angles, as though this somehow made his walk faster.

Looking down and seeing he was doing just that, Tenya forced himself to straighten his arms, though they still moved back and forth in time with his steps.

The bespectacled man was almost a caricature of orderliness. From his education history, straight A's and no disciplinary record, to his workplace, where he always did his work as quickly and efficiently as he could. One had to wonder how he saw the people around him, with their spur-of-the-moment decision making and utter disregard for perfect punctuality.

Stopping in his tracks, Tenya blinked. Did...did he really come off that way?

Did everyone see him as a stick-in-the-mud, did it look like he judged those around him harshly?

Whoever...whatever this voice was, Tenya felt the sudden urge to prove them wrong. Rather than continuing to walk towards his bus stop, which would get him there precisely ten minutes before the bus came, he took a sharp right and entered a coffee shop. It had been years since he'd imbibed in caffeine, but the odd rebelliousness he felt surge through him made him want to have some anyway.

This particular morning, for reasons known only to Tenya himself, he deviated from his schedule and decided to have a coffee break. Was it caused by the strain of his lifestyle? Or was it merely a strange craving put upon him by his Delatestryl prescription?

'Or maybe I just want to break away from the script you're trying to set,' Tenya thought.

Luckily for Tenya, there was no line in the cafe, and he was able to approach the counter without issue, the order on his lips without even having to look at the menu.

"One black coffee please, the smallest size you offe-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Tenya was stopped, stunned, when he noticed the girl standing behind the counter.

"Like, oh em gee! Iida, is that you?"

It had been years since Tenya Iida had crossed paths with Camie Utsushimi. Classmates in a few university classes, they had been, at best, casual acquaintances. She likely remembered Tenya as merely the class's most uptight kissass, but as for why Tenya would remember her...

'Please don't say it,' Tenya thought, dreading the idea that Camie may somehow hear what the voice said next.

...she had been the source of his first crush, though the girl was completely unaware of this fact. He'd trapped those feelings in his heart for years, but seeing her again released them all in a torrential windstorm. Unbeknownst to Tenya, if Camie were to learn of his pining, he would find her quite amenable to a pursuit of them.

What.

She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Even wearing an ill-fitting barista uniform with a stiff collar, her brilliant smile and honest eyes stole Tenya's breath from him. She moved with a bounce in her step, one that made...certain other parts of her bounce in tandem.

"Tenya Iida, right? I'm, like...pretty sure that's your name? Or no! Was in Tensei? Or...was it...?"

Tenya winced hearing her say another name, one he'd buried years ago, but did his best to put on a good smile anyway.

"No, you are correct, it is Tenya. I apologize for my silence, I hadn't been expecting to see you here."

"Why? It's kinda my job, y'know?"

"Yes, but I wasn't aware you were employed at this cafe."

"Oh! Duh! You just wanted a coffee, huh?" Tenya nodded his head. "Poggers! One black coffee, coming up!"

Leaving her to work in peace, Tenya took a seat, the only customer in the cafe. This unexpected reunion brought up old feelings, and with them, old hopes.

The voice wasn't wrong...awkward and going through a second puberty at the time, Tenya hadn't been able to gather the courage to confess his feelings before. This was a chance to try again.

Casting that train of thoughts aside, Tenya thought about something else: this voice. While a hallucination was still an option, he was finding himself doubting it more and more. No...it was reminding him of something.

Narration.

As if he was somehow the central figure in a story. Possibly a romantic one, he considered with a blush. That thing the narrator had said about her being receptive to possible advances...

"Yo! One coffee, hot and ready!"

With a speeding heart rate, he approached to take the cup of coffee, sipping it to find it perfectly prepared. The blend used was quite aromatic, and the idea of coming to this cafe more often suddenly became even more attractive.

"Thank you. Here is-"

"On the house, teacher's pet!"

"...Camie, I haven't been in school for almost a decade."

"Alright then. Free coffee for the cutie, then."

The next words came out of Tenya's mouth before he even realized he was saying them.

"Only if I can buy you dinner in exchange."

Camie looked at him, her expression a strange mix of confusion and excitement.

"Dude, are you serious?"

"Um...yes. I am. I get off of work at 5pm, and could be ready as early as 6:15. If there is any particular establishment you would prefer, please let me know. I am free every day this week."

With utter delight written across her face, Camie nodded.

"Totes! Sounds like a date."

Then, she pulled out a napkin, and used a pen from the register to write out a set of numbers before handing it to Tenya. Looking down, he saw a string of hearts after the phone number.

Feeling strangely numb, yet triumphant, Tenya left the cafe with the napkin and coffee in hand. Perhaps this voice wasn't something to worry too much about after all...

Little did he know that this dinner date was the first step in a journey that would take his life in directions he never would have imagined...a journey which would end with his own death.

"What?!"