Disclaimer: Arai's friends are based on my own close friends. Tokyo Revengers is not mine, it's just my eye candy!
Warnings: Mostly about Arai and her friends. WHOLESOME! And as they say, friendship is magic!(ehehe)
That's my best friend,
she a real bad bitch
-Doja Cat & Saweetie
(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿) [edited 04/05/2022]
It was recess time and it was the only period of the day where students could mingle with their friends from other classes. Many of them hurried out of their classrooms to head to the school store to buy their lunches.
And by the way, if you weren't careful, you might have gotten trampled by the stampede of incoming rushing students, since by now, there would be a long cue in front of the store.
Which also meant that the hallways would be cluttered with students from left and right, moving in or out of their classrooms.
I cursed my luck for being allocated to the classroom furthest away from the rest of my friends.
Manoeuvring past in the sea of students, I squeezed into any openings that my whole body could get into and after pulling through each toss and turns, and eventually, I made it to the front of Shiya's classroom.
The landscaped windows peered into an almost vacant room of desks and chairs, it showed some students with Shiya surrounded by the rest of the ladies. From the looks of it, they've already engaged in a deep conversation without me.
They're so cruel to leave me out of the conversation.
Oh well…
There's only one thing left to do!
And it can't be helped.
"WHaT hAve I MisSeD, MY BOOtifull PLUS SEXY peoplesss?!" Bursting through the door, I roared loudly, declaring my presence known to the entirety of the classroom.
Cue the sounds of groans, moans, and there even some laughter though it was mostly groans.
All of it was like music to my ears.
No matter who they were, friend or foe, they should've already gotten used to my sudden outburst by now, if not then they'd just had to deal with it!
"Nice of you to finally join us, Arai," Shiya said dryly from her desk with the rest of the girls fervently gathered around her.
"Oh, I'm wounded! If I'd known any better, it sounded like you didn't want me being here at all," I said, making my way towards them.
"Not at all," Harumi chirped back. "But we were talking about some...things, before you came,"
"Some things,eh?" I said pointedly with a raised brow.
At this, the girls turned to look at Nagumo with narrowed eyes, expressing their annoyance.
Nagumo, while busy drinking her green tea, had yet to notice this. As soon as she realised the quiet was because of her, she choked.
Jumping onto the empty table top beside Shiya, I sat on it with one leg folded over the other and tilted my head. "What do you mean by that?" I inquired, staring back at Nagumo.
Quickly casting her gaze down, Nagumo plays with her fingers for a bit, stalling for time. I shot Aoi a look, and she only gave a shrug in response.
If Nagumo doesn't want to let me know, then that's fine. I don't want to make my friend that uncomfortable and force herself to share something she doesn't want to share with me.
I know I cross a fine line of innuendos and crude gestures but one thing is for certain; I'll never breach the personal boundaries of a person, much less a friend.
Sute, who had been standing behind Nagumo until now, cleared her throat. "It's nothing big, Umo-chan was just going on about finding another person for a mixer after school. I had to cancel cause some urgent things came up," She took a pause as she sighed. "Then again, I never really wanted to go in the first place. But Nagumo was being a persistent bitch about having me go and wouldn't shut up if I didn't,"
Finally Nagumo broke her silence. "Hey, I need moral support, alright! And it'll be a fun experience since it's a four-on-four dinner date. We'll just be eat out together, get to know them, and maybe do something fun afterwards,"
"Don't try to disagree when it was mostly done so that you, our dearest friend, over here, doesn't need to go on a blind date alone with someone you hardly know," Aoi added.
"Poor, poor, Umo-chan," Sute said with pity.
"I have met him," She muttered quietly to herself with a growing red on her cheeks.
Now I can understand the dilemma.
Nagumo was a real piece of work, out of the six of us she was the youngest. And knowing that she was also the most vain, well… let's just say, she was very prone to overlooking things even when it was completely obvious and was right in front of her.
She's had a fair few relationships from the time since I've known her, though it never lasted for long. The recent one in fact just ended a few months ago and was the longest by far, lasting almost a year.
It still shocks me, to this day, at how quick she was to search for a new partner.
I don't have much of an opinion on romantic relationships, since I've never really been in one,(and never will be in one) though sometimes I think Nagumo needs to slow down.
"Which brings me to ask you this. How exactly are you sure about meeting them? For all we know they might be a creep," Shiya reasoned.
"Well, a friend of a friend introduced me to him. And safe to say, we were both interested in each other at first sight," Nagumo said excitedly with blushy cheeks.
She proceeded to cup her cheeks and squealed all ditzy to which Sute expressed her disgust with a groan. "So then he suggested that we should go on a date to get to know each other better. But I wasn't feeling confident about meeting him all by myself, so I thought that maybe you guys might want to come with me for a mixer," Nagumo explained while twirling her plastic bottle.
"Aoi and Harumi have already agreed. We're still looking for one more person to fill in for Sute's vacant spot,"
"Then isn't Shiya gonna come with you guys?"
"Can't, as much as I want to go, I've got to have dinner with my family later,"
"And you see, that's the problem," Aoi sighed, turning to me. "Arai, we were hoping that maybe you'd be free to come along with us later,"
It took a while for me to let whatever Aoi said thoroughly sink into my mind.
I froze before resuming to reanimate back to life. "Seriously, me?! Wait, wait, you guys want me to go? You can't be serious?!"
"Sadly, we are,"
"But, I don't know about that. I was thinking of staying after school to complete an Art project,"
"Come on Arai, you can do the project at another time. It's not due for another week," Harumi drags, holding me from my shoulders as she violently shakes me back and forth.
"But I- want- to- finish it- as- soon - as- possible!" I managed to make out the words, while being shoved around.
I know for fact, that they know I wasn't very versed in this sort of thing.
I don't date.
If they invited me to go on this mixer, then that would mean that there were no other options left.
I was their last resort…
"Think about it, if you come, you won't need to pay for your food," Nagumo coaxed me, which made me lick my lips.
She knew what she was doing when she brought up the topic on food. I'll never say no to such an attractive offer.
I nudged Harumi to stop. "Oh okay, Umo-chan!" I whistled but it was a failed attempt.
I don't really exactly know how whistling works, so in the end, it came out leaning more to a 'wooooh!' kind of sound.
"Are you a dying bird?" Sute asked, with a voice so razor sharp like a knife slicing through smooth butter.
I am the butter.
A tinged of hurt ran through me. "I-I can't really whistle but, but that's no excuse not to try," I countered, while my voice stuttered.
How are most people able to whistle? Like, was it something to do with positioning your tongue? Or was it about controlling your breaths? It's really complicated!
Sometimes I can do it, and then sometimes I can't, which makes it all the more frustrating! It's too much work.
"Really? I thought there was an actual dying bird nearby," Shiya joins in, looking around. Doubling for another verbal jab to add to Sute's insult.
"Please don't encourage her," I pleaded.
"And miss the opportunity to embarrass you? I don't think so,"
Funny of them to think that I'd get so easily embarrassed.
"Hah!" Straightening my back, I turned my head away and went on. "Darling, how about you tell me something I don't know about myself?"
Little did I know, I had just signed my death warrant.
Damn my oblivious self.
"You totally have a crush on that one foreign student," Nagumo pointed out.
"Your dirty mind knows no bounds and you tend to have the need to strip whenever and wherever you get the chance," Sute cuts out an answer.
"And lastly-" Shiya slowly said, generating suspense.
And let me tell you, that suspense was one of the worst few seconds of anticipation in my life.
They all looked at each other with the same sort of gleaming mischief.
"YOU'RE INTO WOMEN!" They shouted in unison.
Everyone else who was in the classroom turned to look at my direction.
"I AM NOT!" I rebuked with a hot burning sensation coated over my cheeks.
"Ohoho, don't lie, Arai,"
"You so are!"
"We all know you enjoyed that kiss,"
That struck a chord in me, I thought I never had.
"It was an accident! No offence, Shiya-"
"Some taken,"
My apology's, my dear friend.
"-but I really, really didn't like it! Not one bit! How many times do I have to tell you guys that I'm only ever interested in men?!"
"And the little one, spews more lies!" Aoi chimed. "Don't worry, Arai. No matter what your sexuality is, we'll be here for you. So tell us when you're ready, mn' kay?"
That incident was really just an accident.
An accident I stressed.
It happened in our last year in elementary school. Shiya, bless her soul, brought many pocky boxes and shared them with us. Not sure whose idea it was, but the pocky challenge was suggested and we thought nothing of it other than it'd be fun to try and see who would last while chewing on a pocky stick on one side.
Some of them were reluctant at first, though of course not me. I was confident that I would win. For my first(and last) contender, Shiya had summed up enough courage and raised up to the challenge.
Without room for hesitation, I dived right in and went chomping down on the stick. However, Shiya showed no signs of backing down either, and went in with the same conviction.
It was a sad day.
We all know what eventually went down.
Ever since then, no one has let up on reminding us, especially me, of it.
They've made a pretty good argument about my preferences, but I'm adamant that I'm interested in only the opposite sex.
Shiya shivers at the thought. "You stole my first kiss!"
"-By accident," I whined.
"Mhm, and you say you're only interested in men,"
"I am! Hey, I admit I like that one foreign student cause he looks pretty. And it's not a crush. There's a difference between liking a face and liking the entirety of a person. I just so happen to admire those pretty blue eyes and freckles across that very delicate face! Oh, and don't get me started on our senior, the dude had a magnificent body I swear!" I sputtered in my frustration, clenching a fist so hard as I emphasised on each point on why I do like guys.
They all lowered their gazes and gave me a look of pity as if all the points I'd listed carried little to no weight of importance.
Usually, they'd say that I do indeed have a crush on that kid. However, to me, he was only the sort of person that would only ever amount to being an eye candy to me. I thought he had a pretty face, and I decided to be open about it. That was it. As for personality… Well, I don't find it attractive.
There was nothing wrong with just liking a pretty face!
On the other hand, there was also our upperclassman from the school's Judo club. Every single time we had training sessions, the boys were not allowed to wear an undershirt in their gi's. When I saw the golden opportunity, I sprinted for it.
I'd take a moment to appreciate that glorious solidified body of his. The young man was a hella rip, if I do say so myself, so I can't help myself from ogling my eyes at it every often I get.
Overall, being honest about these sorts of things were, after all, the Arai-way of doing things.
Cause why not?
Though, now I regret being so open with them.
They can only ever be eye-candies to me. It was a HUGE difference to Nagumo, or even Shiya, who, whenever the two landed crushes or infatuations, would become more rampant and chaotic.
"Shh. It's okay, child, shh," Harumi shushed me, putting a finger over my lips.
"Wait I-!"
"Shh!" She enforced the hushing.
"We're here for you," Nagumo cooed.
"Mhm, there's no need for you to keep resisting that part about yourself like that. You know we're all accepting no matter what, right?" Shiya reassured me.
Usually I would retaliate, however…
I was left utterly speechless!
I've been stunned to the point of almost no return.
"Shit, I think we broke her…" Sute muttered.
For the entire time that I was in school that day, I fell into a deadly silence.
"So, what are you going to wear?" Shiya asked.
"I dunno, something casual and nice, I guess,"
"Define, casual and nice,"
A shirt and jeans paired with sneakers quickly came to mind. Maybe toss in a jacket to add more flare to the outfit, and there you have it, something casual and nice.
Yeah, it was going to just be a simple outfit.
No dresses, for sure. I don't own any, but it was mostly because I don't like the feeling of wearing them. The feeling of having my butt feel airy and exposed under is well… just something I can never get used to.
Well, actually, I don't mind wearing them, it's just that as long as I have pants underneath. Y'know, to keep my bottom buns secured, covered, and warm, then I'm perfectly fine with putting one on.
"You know, sometimes I don't even need to ask. You're going to wear the exact same outfit you wear everytime we go out together. A shirt and jeans, am I right?"
I love that she understands me so well.
"Yep,"
"Would it kill you if I ask you to try switching up your style?"
"Possibly…"
"Thought so," In her dismay, she shakes her head.
"But maybe I'd swap out the jeans for some shorts," I said in a more thoughtful tone.
Shiya lets out a heavy sigh. "Isn't that what you wear everyday, then? Let me tell you about making good impressions on dates. Firstly-"
And I automatically tuned out from her ramblings.
I don't get it. Why should I make such an effort to look pretty for someone I barely know? I'm not looking to date anyone, so why bother? Also, weren't dates supposed to be fun? I agreed to go for the experience and that I've never been in one before(and the free food. Can't forget the free food!).
She snapped her fingers in front of my face, forcibly pulling me away from my train of thoughts.
"Hey, you're not even listening."
I took a few more steps to the front before stopping in my tracks to turn back and face her. She gave me a tired look and it made me feel guilty for making her waste her breath.
I don't do this often but it can't be helped but I don't like making my friend feel mad cause it makes me feel bad.
"Fine, I'll wear something more suitable,"
"Thank you," She mustered a weak smile.
By suitable, I meant fancier t-shirts and jeans. Maybe, I'll ask Yosei for some fashion advice later, and for help to change up my hairstyle.
It was a sunny evening, and I was feeling good. When I say good, I actually meant I was feeling down-right great with myself.
Like nothing in the world could bring me down, at this moment.
Gazing into the mirror of my apartment, I was overcome with a sense of amazement for how I was looking this fine. It's been quite a long time since I dared to put effort into my appearance until now, and I'm loving it.
Ah, I never thought I'd be fond of my own appearance to this extent.
I won't say I looked gorgeous or anything like that, and actually mean it. No, that can never be the word I'd ever use to describe myself.
But, honestly speaking, for once, I think I look somewhat more decent than how I would look most of the time.
My hair was tied into a small bushy tail at the side of my head while I sported a woollen tartan pattern jacket over my inner white collar shirt. I wore tight leather black jeans, paired with my favourite white and greyed chunky shoes. Lastly, for an extra punch of flamboyance to complete the look, I couldn't forget to put on my precious round sunglasses.
"Aha, someone's a little too excited with herself," Yosei pointed out, clasping her hand in delight.
Shiya nodded her head. "She really is, what was it, outfit change number 7? You can tell by the way she's posing in the mirror, enjoying herself like that,"
Shoot, they caught me off guard. Gotta think about something real quick to back me up.
"I finally am a bit taller," I said tearfully, wiping my eyes dramatically.
It was random but well, I was not wrong when I said that I was wearing shoes that help add a couple of inches to my height.
Shiya scoffed. "Sure, only by a few centimetres. You're not even close to my level," To prove her point, she stood up, and brought a hand to my forehead and back to her own head to measure.
"It's still enough for me," I retorted.
I won't ever verbally admit it, but I liked being short.
It had a lot of its advantages, like going low and hitting the—
Sure, there were the pros and cons of being a short person. However, I've come to accept that I can't hope to grow any taller than how I am now.
Yosei 's giggles reach my ears. "Then my job here is done. Have a fun night ladies!"
Shuffling closer to Shiya's side, I whispered. "Isn't the adult usually supposed to say something, or is it just me? Like setting up some ground rules for the meeting?"
"You're right, Arai," Shiya patted my head.
I was left befuddled but nonetheless, I enjoyed the warm gesture of affection.
Oh no….
Oh no, no, no
WHat have I done?
This was a distraction. Shiya would never have patted my head, even if I earnestly pleaded to her.
In all essence, I knew that she would never give me that sort of satisfaction easily even when I so desperately crave affection.
"Yosei-san, please make sure Arai doesn't get home not too late. I'm worried she'd wander off somewhere, and we all know how she is," Shiya eyed me to behave since she wasn't going to be there with me to keep me in-check.
"Sure, sure. I'll make sure to look out for my precious tenant, and she still has to pay her dues for rent,"
"I'm sure she does," Shiya huffed.
"As if I'd have any other reason to stay out late. I still have to wake up early for school tomorrow, y'know?"
The two of them glanced at each other, and then back at me. And it was clear that they still had their doubts.
The idea of dating someone was an entire foreign concept to me.
However, I was going to rectify that matter today, by tagging along Nagumo's joint blind date operation. Four-to-four participants will be attending the mixer and the itinerary was all laid out and planned by our amazing Nagumo.
I was looking forward to the experience. Getting to know new people and getting along with them are my specialties. Though, some may argue that I'm a bit too intense at first, they'll come to know that I only ever meant well.
Originally, I thought we were going to dine at the typical fast food restaurant but, we're talking about Nagumo here, another high-end person. So it was no surprise to expect that the girl would've made the decision to go all-out for this outing.
Heck, we were dining at an authentic Japanese restaurant!
Glancing at the menu from the waiting line outside had almost given me a mild stroke at the cost of a single side dish.
I was the first to arrive at the meeting point outside the restaurant and it seemed like no one had turned up.
Of course, it was not their fault but mine as I followed the directions of a broken clock. I didn't have any time to repair it and I forgot to remind myself it was broken. It got me in a frenzy as I thought I was going to be late. The clock had misled me to come here half-an-hour earlier than the designated time for the meeting.
Good job to me!
It'd be awkward to linger outside the restaurant. The staff were already beginning to look at me weirdly, probably suspecting me as a suspicious person since I was standing at the entrance there, and that I was not going into the restaurant any time soon.
New plan: I'll walk around the mall, kill some time, and come back later in about half an hour or so. Hopefully, at least one of my friends had to have arrived by then.
This was bad.
For a second, I thought I saw a familiar face.
The mind has a strange way of playing tricks on you. After my trip to the bookstore, I passed by the arcade and I almost went in for a double back-flip when I thought I saw Sano Shinichiro.
No, that couldn't be right.
It was too soon for another encounter with him.
If I'd known any better, his gang was based all the way in Shinjuku. How could it be that he was spotted somewhere around Chūō? Chūō city wasn't as highly regarded as the bustling renowned Shinjuku City, so I don't understand why he'd be here.
On that note, I probably had an eye-problem since there were many people that bore similar features; black hair, and dark eyes, so I could have mistaken them for him.
Though truthfully, I really didn't want to give him a second lesson cause I've already said what I needed to say to him. The business deal was done.
Transaction completed.
These days, it seems that my life as a gang leader is finding ways to clash into my personal life. That was a big no-no in my book.
I can't afford to make the same mistake twice.
As I dwelled on a past memory, it had made me fail to recognise the person who was walking towards me. I only ever realised as soon as I laid eyes on that familiar grey bucket hat. That was Aoi's trademarked accessory.
"Hey is that you, Arai?" Yup, I can confirm that that was Aoi's pleasant voice. "You look different, I thought you weren't big on dressing up,"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She shrugged her shoulders.
Now, I really can't wait to see the other two's reactions when we meet. They're always like this to me, expecting that I'd do the same old thing and ending up surprised when I don't.
Well, I guess that can't help it. I admit that I have a way of seeming like I'll do certain things.
"'Y'know, forget about it. This Wild Kitten is too prideful sometimes, but you see, I didn't want to make Shiya mad, so I cave in to her request,"
Aoi nodded her head understandingly, though quickly recollected herself and turned to me with a dubious look in her eyes. "Say Arai, how did you come across the nickname?'"
Something about her expression stuck out to me.
"Hmm, what nickname?"
I feigned ignorance.
"You were referring to yourself as a 'Wild Kitten,' weren't you?"
"No-" I said, casually dismissing her statement. "I think you heard wrong, what I said was: this Wild Person. I didn't say kitten. What made you think of a kitten?"
Without any room for her response, I began walking.
"Hey-hey! Arai-chan! Don't leave me hanging!"
"My love, I would never. But please, try to keep up," I sped up.
(A/N)
Arai is starved for affection.
Literally! Especially when it comes to head pats. She loves getting head pats. There was no other reason for it. You can count on her to march up to a person she barely knows and ask for a headpat when she's really feeling desperate. I guess you can think of this as more insight into her feral nature. Which makes her alias as the 'Wild Kitten,' all the more suitable for her as it fits her personality.
On a matter completely unrelated, I'll be halting on posting on Wattpad but do make sure to swing by over to that platform if you want to see the art I did for this chapter!
