Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights to respective owners.
A/N: oh my god you guys are amazing! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, faved, and followed! I read all your guys reviews and I was floored! This was just a little Coffee Shop AU and I didn't really think it was good but you guys obviously changed that! To show gratitude I composed a much longer chapter and I hope you guys don't mind the length! So thank you for your patience and here's the next thrilling chapter!
P.S. You guys should totally check out my other stories as well! Like my Co-authored one with CassieRaven ("The Thin Line of Lover and Foe" which is M-Rated) and "Model for Me" which is also M-Rated! So if you're feeling lost at the end of the chapter and need another fix, just hop over to my profile! Okay now go to the chapter lol
Chapter Three
"And with the theory of psychoanalytically you all, the students, should be able to deduce -using that very theory- should be able to figure out the very nature of many the- MISS TSUKINO!"
"WHAT!?" The pig-tailed blonde glanced frantically at her white-haired professor and then the meter stick slammed down on her desk space. In her moving glaze, she was able to come upon the few drops of shining saliva on the dark wood surface. She closed her eyes. 'Shit.'
"Miss Tsukino, I somehow keep finding myself surprised that you still even attend my classes and lectures," Professor Shiro bit out roughly, "You might as well stay home if you're just going to snooze through them and disrupt the rest of the willing to learn students with your obnoxious and hideous snoring."
Usagi heard the rounds of snickers and giggles go through her classmates in the lecture hall and felt her five foot size shrink to one foot. It was middle school and high school all over again with everyone, even the teacher, making fun of her. "I'm s-sorry Shiro-sama I had a late night-"
"Of what? Binge watching, ogling K-Pop stars, eating boxes of bonbons," he questioned with a gray eyebrow upturned, making her slouch further in the chair. "Well whatever it was, I'm sure it was much more important than getting your masters and finishing your social work education."
She panicked. "No it wasn't! I swear to you I care about getting my social work de-"
"Then why are you sleeping in my class, why are you late all the time, why is your work never finished, why fail all your exams and tests," he paused, "If you care."
The sting of tears began behind her eyes and she bit her lip to keep it all in at his condescending tone. "I-I'm sorry-"
"I pity the children that will be placed under your care if you ever do get your degree," he spoke firmly. "I see this type of behavior again, I will swiftly remove you from my class. Understood?"
"Y-yes," her wavering voice ringed out, crystal blue eyes becoming glassy.
"Very well, then on with the lecture of theory…."
Usagi didn't care to listen onto her Professor's lecture, just barely keeping her appearance that she was, and let her mind wander to dark places like it always did when she questioned herself.
She, was never good enough. It happened throughout her whole life in every aspect; her schooling had been a mess of F's, all her relationships ended in failure and heartbreak- almost always because of cheating and definitely not on her part - then it was letting her family down for never being smart enough, or or or….
The tears freely cascaded down her red cheeks, staining the skin but she didn't care as all her classmates had already turned back to focus again on the old man in the front. She wanted this to end, now. She couldn't, wouldn't, make it through another fifteen minutes of this without breaking down.
As if hearing her pleads from above, the string of musical notes rang through the hall, signaling the end of the class period.
And Usagi was the first one out the door.
Dabbing at the last of the tears on her face, the blonde plastered a smile on her mouth and walked into the Coffee Shop with renewed confidence and happiness.
Her pump heels walked in a straight line to the destined table.
"I heard from a little birdie you're looking for me? Your move."
"Minako what the hell am I supposed to write back?!"
"Um how about 'WHO ARE YOU'?!"
A black pen and a piece of ripped off notebook paper already shoved into her hands, Usagi had shakily written her message:
"I have been looking for you. Though it's kind of hard to find you so spare me the work and bless me with your name?"
Usagi smirked at remembrance of the written message, finding it a perfect response, while Minako had thought it sounded like a Shakespeare-line reject. It was a great reply and she could hardly wait to see what they wrote in response. Whoever 'they' was.
Suspense rapidly building within her being, the bubbly blonde shook out the piece of lined paper- the same kind as yesterday -and hastily pulled at it to read the neat kanji. And once more her heart soared and plummeted at the reply she received.
"And let there be no mystery? Don't you just love a good mystery? I'll let you work for it blondie. Make your move."
Annoyance exploded within her. 'A good mystery? What the hell is that supposed to tell me? I just want to know who you are baka! Great I'm dealing with a comedian with a flare for chess!"
She crumpled up the slip of paper, infuriated for a few seconds -even considering throwing out the response at the nearest trash can- but the last word catches her attention finally. Usagi smoothed out the message again and her eyes zeroed in on 'blondie.'
'They know me….they've seen me before!'
Wildly searching for anyone that even remotely looked in her direction, she grew partially paranoid and thought back to interactions with people she had in this very coffee shop but who could ever be this person…..maybe it was just a regular who had noticed her a lot. But she knew most of the regulars (the friendly ones anyway) so….
Who could it be?
With a quick flare of a marker from her backpack, as well as making one of her knights move to a new square, Usagi turned on her heel and left the shop, grueling over her reply, praying that maybe they would answer more clearly next time.
"Do I know you?"
"Odango just don't think about it so much, you're going crazy trying to find this person!"
"Because I need to know who it is Rei!" The blonde adjusted the phone between her shoulder and ear. "You know how I love mysteries and solving them!"
"Don't remind me," Rei muttered over the connection, "I'm still sore over the fact that you of all people beat me in Clue that one game night."
"Hey I'm not school smart but at least I'm Clue smart." Dipping the wooden spoon into the hot pan, Usagi stuck out her tongue to taste the homemade red sauce. But as soon as her taste buds registered the flavor, her face scrunched up into a revolted state. 'I'm definitely not cook smart that's for sure.'
"All I'm saying is don't go-all-Usagi on this okay?"
"Fine, fi- wait what do you mean 'go all Usagi on this', why did you say it like that?"
Over the phone, she heard a sigh. "Look, Usagi I love you but you tend to go overboard with some of your schemes. Especially when a guy is involved."
Twisting the stove dial to zero, the cooking disaster blonde slid the black pot to a cooled spot, hoping that maybe the sauce was still usable for her pasta, just maybe. "What do you mean overboard?! I'm just a little bit of a hopeless romantic."
"A little?"
"Why does everyone keep saying it like that?!" Unlacing her long hair from its big bun, the waves of gold shimmered down her back and she raked her hand through it, dropping onto the hot pink couch in the small living room. "Rei what am I supposed to do?"
"Honest?" The black-haired lawyer took a pause then a sigh once more. "Just let it play out and don't put your whole heart into it. Usagi it's just a game of innocent chess, not a life-changing decision. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I won't Rei," Usagi sighed. "I promise I won't."
There was a pause and shuffle of papers in the background. "Listen I have a huge case to prep for so can I just call you tomorrow before we go shopping with Minako?"
"Yea sure," Usagi closed her eyes and tried to calm the mounting headache, "It must be nice to have your life figured out and ready."
"Trust me, being an adult is not all margaritas and clubbing. There's also bills and everyday problems that we all go through," Rei said. "I'll see ya."
There was a click and Usagi brought the phone to her face to see the colorful home screen pop up, smiling faces greeting her frowning one. It was of all her friends at her 21st birthday, all dressed to the nines in party dresses and a big sash wrapped around her body, declaring her legal status to the world.
Life was playing out a lot more differently than she had expected. Things were supposed to be different but oddly it all felt similar. She was still jobless, still failing school, still in school, her friends were doing better than her, and of course she was still so brutally single.
The only noticeable difference in the two time zones was her residence. At least now, she moved out of her parent's house and into a apartment in the heart of Tokyo. Albeit it was a shoe sized apartment, Usagi made it her own and it was very livable from her perspective with its bright walls and comfy furniture.
Bouncing her leg in the air, the blonde's thoughts drifted to her mystery player, a smile curling on her lips. She imagined best case scenario: her opponent being a handsome, charismatic, witty, and kind guy who was her soulmate and true love. They would fall in love hopelessly, their wedding with the dearest of family and friends, building a family, living their lives together….
Of course her friends' pessimistic rants filtered in her mind and more realistic (and worse case) scenarios played out: a 60 year-old pervert who had the hots for her, maybe a 80-year-old senile lady, heck maybe it's a serial killer looking at her to be his next victim.
Usagi smashed one of her pink fur-covered couch pillows into her scrunched up face. With her beautiful luck, it would be one of those outcomes.
So deep into her negative thoughts, she dimly felt the vibrating through the pillow on her face, and fumbled to grab the bedazzled iPhone.
Swiping to accept the call, figuring it was one of the girls, Usagi cradled it next to her ear under the throw pillow. "Hello, single and lonely Usagi here."
"Usagi." Her eyes snapped open. "Hey…"
Pink fur went flying across the room and blue depths flashed rage and hurt. "How the hell are you calling me? I blocked your number ass."
"I know," the voice said in disappointment, "I'm calling from a payphone. I figured that you would answer and I could talk-"
"Talk?," she questioned in disgust, wrinkling her nose, "You want to talk about this more? There's nothing else to explain."
"Just let me defend my-"
"You wanna defend why you cheated on me with three different girls, numerous times?"
Silence. 'Of course,' she thought.
Usagi could just imagine him rubbing his face in frustration over the phone until finally-"They were mistakes. They're nothing compared to you Usagi, please. I was the biggest idiot in the world to think that they were better."
She scoffed, anger building within her. "You had sex with them. All different times through our relationship! How the hell do you make that mistake multiple times on different occasions? Oh right! Because you're a pig and a jackass."
His voice broke and she was disgusted at herself when she hoped that he was crying."Usagi please we can make it work, I'll never do it again-"
"No," she cut in coldly, using a shaking voice she didn't recognize, "I've been with so many people who always said that. 'I'll never do it again Usa. It was just a one-time thing. Wasn't serious. She's nothing compared to you. We can work through it.' And every time I stupidly let them back in, I got my heart broken again."
She heard his breath through the phone and she felt the sting of hot tears racking up behind her eyes. 'I almost fell for you, thought you were different and someone I could get serious with but I was just being naïve Usagi who believes the best in people.'
The man shakily sighed over the phone. "Usagi I really cared about y-"
"Just go screw yourself," she spat, "Or get one of those girls to. I don't care. Just never call me again."
And her finger stabbed the red button before another sentence could be uttered, letting the phone fall to the plush landing of her rug. She ran quaking fingers through her loose gold hair, the urge to tear it out growing. The remembrance of how he used to touch it and run his dirty little fingers through it made her ill, so much so that she darted to the miniature bathroom in a heartbeat.
It was always the same story, poor old clueless Usagi gives her heart to a decent guy and he always ends up taking a jackhammer to it, only to attempt on repairing it with band-aids of 'sorrys' and 'I care about you.'
Looking up to meet her pale face in the reflection, Usagi let the tears run. She really was pathetic.
Never pretty enough. Never smart enough. Never funny enough.
Never good enough for anyone.
She stumbled back into the small living room, knocking her purse off the coffee table, the contents spilling out on the floor. Before tugging to her bedroom, the tear-streaked blonde saw the familiar folded up piece of paper.
With shaking fingers, she plucked it out of the mess of compacts, pens, and receipts, rolling it out to reveal the message again.
"And let there be no mystery? Don't you just love a good mystery? I'll let you work for it blondie. Make your move."
The note made her break out into a watery smile and a hearty laugh.
It was dangerous, she knew it was, but she let her beaten heart pulse in hope. Maybe Prince Charming was just a chess move away.
"Miss please-"
"DON'T YOU 'MISS' ME PUNK! I ASKED YOU A QUESTION AND YOU SURE AS HELL ARE GOING TO ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!"
Usagi reddened further, embarrassed to see that the entire coffee shop was now staring at her spectacle of a friend. "Minako ease up."
Wild indigo eyes met hers. "What do you mean ease up Usa?! We need answers and this shrimp has the freaking answers!"
The blushing blonde slid her eyes to the shrimp; he was new, that was evident with his quaking and nervousness. He wore a ball cap and apron just like the others, colored braces and nerdy bifocals framing his chubby face. Usagi felt her heart ache for the poor teenager, it was obvious that Minako was his first rude customer.
"P-please Miss, I've just been working here for a few days I don't know-"
"And you know what else has been going on for a few days? My friend's game of chess," she declared, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Tell me, are you courting my friend here? Are you a master of chess? Why are you getting sweaty and nervous? Are you stalking her creep!"
His eyes widened as rolls of sweat continued to tumble. "What! No, no, no I'm not I swear! Please I-"
"What's going on here?" Another employee of equal height and age approached the counter next to his team member, glasses perched on his nose as well. "Can I help you ladies?"
From the sharp tone of his voice and the air of cockiness around him, Usagi could already tell where this train wreck was going to go down. 'This won't be good…'
"Well you see I asked your employee here a simple question and he refuses to answer it," Minako supplied matter-a-factly.
"What was the question," the new kid asked, sass lacing his words, of course that eluded Minako.
"My friend here is wondering who's her mysterious chess player so I was just asking johnny boy here if he's happened to see anyone in particular taking an interest in the chessboard over there," the chatty blonde explained, "A simple question."
The new one (Yuko on his nametag) looked to Minako seriously with a glint of challenge in his pupils. "We, as employees, can not divulge such information due to respecting the privacy of our customers."
Minako blinked dumbfounded. "What?"
"Let me spell it out for you," he smirked. "We can not tell you, ma'am. Breach of privacy."
The blonde scoffed in disbelief. "This is a coffee shop, not confession in Church. The hell with the privacy of your customers. Just tell us who's playing against her."
"No."
"You little jacka-"
"Minako, let's just leave," Usagi begged, now tugging at Minako's arm as the blonde barred her teeth, leaning over the counter to huff into the faces of the boys. "We'll think of a new way relax!"
"No! I will squeeze the answers out of them! Just give me a few minutes alone with them!"
"Minako!"
"What the hell is going on here?" As if an angel bathed in light appeared from the heavens, Usagi's eyes dazzled as her regular barista walked up from behind the two boys, concern etched on his features. "Yuko-san, Momoto-san, are you two helping these ladies?"
Noticing, for the first time, his tag with the words 'Team Manager', Usagi felt her heart soar.
"Uh yes Senpai, we were just telling the ladies we couldn't help them," the suddenly nervous and blushing Yuko uttered, looking down at his feet.
"Yea," Momoto squeaked, already pulling out his inhaler.
The manager looked to both blondes with a smile. "Maybe I could be of help. What did you two need?"
In an instant, Minako explained their dilemma, all in her game of chess and mystery player, using frantic and animated gestures that made Usagi shake her head and shift uncomfortably.
He looked over to the lone chessboard with a confused expression. "People still use that dusty old thing?"
"I know right," Yuko chided, disgusted almost. "I think it's older than me."
The manager turned to the blondes once more. "So you two are asking if any of us have seen your chess Romero?"
"Yes," Usagi answered. "It sounds crazy, I know. But I'm just super curious."
"No no I understand," he reassured, kind eyes reflecting through his wire glasses. "I'm sure my two teammates here can help you."
"What?!," both teens exclaimed with wide eyes to their superior, Yuko looking in disbelief while Momoto continued to pump air into his lungs.
"That's right," the manage clamped a hand down on the boys shoulders. "Why don't you two just make a list of anyone who looked suspicious by the chess board. You both should know the majority of the customers by now, especially you Yuko-san. You practically have a photographic memory with customers names."
Usagi could see the boy's blush grow deeper and avoided eye contact with everyone, especially his manager. "Yes Senpai, I'll help them."
"Alright good," the man looked again to the blondes and left with a nervous smile as another customer went up to the register.
The second he was out of earshot and the group was no longer in his eye of sight, Minako's blue hues turned almost red to the two workers on the other side of the counter, a vindictive grin curling against the corners of her mouth. "You heard your Senpai. Make the list bakas."
Death stares were exchanged, but eventually Yuko pulled a slip of paper from behind the counter and began the list of names of regular customers who could be possible suspects to this whole chess scheme.
Catching the battlefield out of the corner of her eye, Usagi left Minako to deal with the two 'snitches' while she set out to see today's message. Sure enough, a white paper poked out of the thin container.
"I know you. Next move."
Annoyance and even more curiosity filled her to the brim. This person could not give a straight answer to save their life!
All she wanted was a hint, a clue as to who exactly was writing this perfectly presented kanji. But vague answer after another, it was hopeless. But they knew her, so it was something that she could branch off of.
Problem is they knew her, but how could she not know them?
"Can you give me a hint? Come on, throw a bone to the poor dumb blonde, not-so stranger."
"Alright so here's the list those two boneheads gave us."
Usagi pulled the paper closer to her on the table, eyes searching for a name that looked somewhat familiar to her but nothing jumped out particularly.
Dread filled her and the idea of having a stalker seemed to grow more prominent. Why was it always the creepers she attracted?
"I don't recognize anyone Minako," she concluded with a heavy heart. "This is hopeless."
"Now now now, maybe you don't know their name but I'm sure you've seen them," with a manicured hand, Minako pointed to the names on the list, some being females and some males. "I made a deal with nerd boy over there that when someone from this list comes in, he'll give us the low down and we can low-key interrogate them."
Usagi cocked a blonde eyebrow and stared at her friend in almost disbelief. "Low-key? Minako you can barely whisper."
"Usa! I can be sneaky and nonchalant." The staring didn't stop, in fact it was even more reinforced. "Fine, fine, fine, you can interrogate them and I'll watch from a distance."
A smile spread. "Thank you."
The doorbell dinged and a loud hiss was flown through the air, Minako whipping her head to the counter behind their table. Yuko was mindlessly cleaning a glass with a towel while bluntly staring at the newest customer, who, judging by the backpack and advanced textbooks, was a college student.
The blonde friends stepped to the counter within earshot.
"Regular, fourth year at Tokyo-U," Yuko informed, looking away, "Usually studying here and I believe is going to medical school. Gets a regular coffee, black. Mostly alone and I've seen him play some games of chess on his laptop. Might be your guy."
Usagi's eyes roamed over the tall figure who was fully invested in his phone at the moment. He had dark hair, striking eyes, and you could see some steady muscles under his plain T-shirt. He was younger, usually she stayed away from college guys but this hottie might be an exception to the rule.
"Whatcha waiting for," Minako gave her a push towards the line, "Go check him out."
Touching her hair and adjusting her floral short shirt, Usagi breathed in and walked over to him, standing behind with bated breath.
Clueless on how to start, she looked to the corner where Minako gestured for her to bump into his backside and break the ice.
Sending a prayer to any gods, the blue-eyed blonde tried her best to gently push into his backpack without being overly rude. Of course a small shove did nothing to the stone built man so she pushed further until he shifted which made her snap back to being upright.
He looked over with cool eyes, landing on a smiling face and wide eyes.
"Oh I'm s-so sorry," she said with a stutter. "Lost my balance there."
"It's okay," he reassured with a polite smile, turning back to the suddenly too slow line.
Usagi frowned, wondering just how she was supposed to find out if he was the one. It wasn't like she could ask "oh how's your chess game son?" or "do you by any chance have a tendency to call people blondie?"
She rolled her eyes in the idiocy of it all.
Eyeing the stack of medical books in the crook of his arm, light bulbs went off and silent thanks was sent to Ami and all her meaningless medical lessons.
"Oh cool so you're majoring in neurology?," Usagi asked with enough enthusiasm to catch his attention once more.
It did and he glanced to his books. "Yea, I had a bad accident with my head when I was younger so I kind of just gravitated towards it. Do you attend Tokyo-U?"
"I attend the Grad school. Graduated two years ago actually."
"Oh, what are you getting your Master's in?"
Giddy was gripping her and a silly smile plastered itself on her face. "Social work."
"That's amazing," he said, shooting a smile that went straight to her knees. "It's a very honorable profession to be a social worker. You must have a kind heart."
"Yea I guess you could say," Usagi chimed, twirling a piece of blonde hair while grinning silly.
"Uhhh, you guys need a moment or…."
Fire would have been shooting out of her eyes if it hadn't been the barista she knew, that interrupted the lovely conversation. He stared wide-eyed at the two but understanding drew in him and he quickly became nervous. "I mean n-no one's behind you s-so take your time l-lovebirds."
"Oh no it's fine," her handsome-maybe-mystery-chess-boy reassured, missing Usagi's sigh as he handed over the yen. "I'll take a regular coffee to go. Just black please."
When the guy went to deposit the change in a pocket of his backpack, the barista mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her. She sent a small smile. 'It's okay.'
Usagi stood awkwardly next to him, shifting foot to foot as the barista punched in his order and wrote the man's name on the paper cup. The guy then proceeded to walk to the pick-up counter, with her fumbling after him like a love-sick school girl.
"You know actually one of my friends is actually becoming a doctor too," the blonde stuttered, desperate to keep his attention. "She's doing her residence at Juban General, going to be a surgeon."
He stopped at the counter and gave her another smile, dark eyes sparkling with curiosity. "I'm actually considering going to Juban General. How does she like it there?"
"Oh she loves it! All the people there are nice and super helpful so you should totally consider it," Usagi chirped, flashing her brightest smile before an amazing strategy seeped into her mind. "You know what? If you give me your phone I can give it to her. My friend can help you out and get you recommended to Juban if you want?"
Much to her pleasure, she saw his face light up and nod to her request. Opening up one of the spiral notebooks in his hand and plucking out a pen from his back pocket, the college guy sprawled his number, name, and other medical stuff that would probably mean something to Ami but made Usagi's head spin.
He tore the piece of paper out and smiled big. "Here you go! Thanks so much, it's funny who you meet at a Coffee Shop, huh?"
Usagi let her shoulders drop as her eyes roamed over the information sprawled on the paper, meeting the guy's gaze with a half-smile that didn't reach her blues. "Yea, it's funny."
"Kuyske T!"
"Oh yea that's me," he answered, grasping the paper cup from the barista. "Well I guess I'll see you around- oh shoot I never caught your name!"
"Tsukino Usagi," she informed, her eyes dropping to the ground as he said his name and bid farewell probably with a thanking smile. Heavy feet lead Usagi back to her and Minako's table, dropping the piece of paper on the table, while she slumped into the wooden chair with disappointment in her deep eyes.
Minako looked up with wide eyes full of questions. "So? Was it him!?"
The blonde shook her head with solemn. "No, look at the paper."
"So," Minako questioned, examining the writing, "I don't get it."
Usagi reached in her pocket and fished out another piece of folded up paper. "The handwriting doesn't match, I know it doesn't."
While Minako compared the two styles, Usagi watched as her 'not-chess-opponent' walked up to a guy leaning against one of the rustic staircases, and both smiled at each other while they embraced. After retracting they shared a sweet kiss.
Usagi sighed with a bittersweet smile spreading on her lips, happy that at least those two were happy with each other, even if Kuyske wasn't her guy. But she wouldn't deny that her heart did fall a bit more at the sight of another happy couple and her in the dark corner again, a storm cloud above her.
With a glance to the lengthy list in front of Minako, Usagi could feel the headache forming against her skull. She knew that she was going to get desperate, fast.
"You think I'm who?"
"Well you see I moved this piece on that chessboard over there and someone also moved one. And then it just continued with moving pieces and then exchanging notes here and there but the problem is that my opponent keeps avoiding my questions of their identity. So I have now resorted to finding them by asking potential suspects to confess to being my chess player."
The stranger blinks four times (she counted) before walking away shaking his head and muttering about how he needs to find a new hangout spot besides this café.
Usagi sighed, looking to Minako who was already crossing out the name, and briefly mused her failed plan. 'Well I guess telling the truth was a no-go."
"Who are you again?"
"I am the mystical fortune teller of the coffee shops and I am here to read your fortune sir," Usagi stumbled out, concocting a thick accent to play her part, somewhat.
The man looked up to her in confusion. "I have never heard of-"
"Just let me read your fortune!"
His hand shot out as he stared wide-eyed in fear. Usagi blew at the dangling part of Minako's godly scarf that she tied around her head, and she carefully examined the guy's hand, her fingertips tracing the faint creases and lines, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Ahhhh, yes I see your most deepest secrets and thoughts."
"Really," he questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, yes, yes," she chanted. "I can see your future even."
He leaned in closer to her, his interest suddenly peaked. "How? What do you see?"
"I see….," she whispered, eyes so focused on the hand, as if waiting for something to appear oh so suddenly as clear as day. "I see you playing chess with a beautiful girl…"
He blinked, face frozen in bewilderment. "I'm...playing chess?"
"Yes," she said with more confidence and less of her accent. "I can see it so crystal clear. With this girl, you're falling more and more in love with her. Maybe you should reveal yourself to her. Like right now."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm just saying you should save the girl a few meltdowns and stress spells and just confess yourself to her, you know just, well I don't know….TELL HER YOUR NAME!"
Minako took a sip from her white ceramic mug, the cream and sugared coffee melting against her taste buds. But then a series of loud arguments sliced through her serene setting of the morning.
"You're insane! Some crackpot off the street I'm sure!" A tall handsome man came into her line of sight and watched as he left in a flurry of curse words and a reddened face.
Of course, Usagi soon appeared as well, dressed in her ridiculous get-up of a street fortune teller, colored glasses perched on her nose and scarf wrapped around her head. "Hey! For your information I live in an apartment, not the street!"
Minako sighed as Usagi continued on with her slew insults, pulling out the black marker and crossing out the next name on the list with a thick bold line.
"Hey there."
The man jumped from his chair and turned away from his computer screen to set eyes upon a smiling pig-tailed blonde who had dancing blue eyes. "Uh hi."
"So you play chess?"
He darted his eyes to the online chess game being displayed on the laptop, "Uh yea I do."
Her smile widened. "Really? Do you perhaps love it?"
"Yea."
"Oh that's great," she cooed, eyes never halting in their sparkling. "Do you by chance, love it so much that you would engage in an mystery filled game of chess with a girl that has blonde hair and a killer personality?"
"I don't play chess for the last time you weirdo!"
The man ripped his arm out of Usagi's hand and stormed out of the shop, grunting and mumbling the whole way.
The blonde huffed in anger. "Well you could have been a little more nicer about it!"
"Sooo...this is what you meant by becoming a little obsessive about it," Makoto questioned with wide eyes as the table all stared at their red-faced friend who was stomping to the chess board, determination in each step.
"Yup," Minako answered, blacking out yet another name on the list. "So far we've knocked about seven people out of the running. And it's only been one day."
"Does Usagi-chan really think this is the best way to find this mystery person," Ami asked, concerned and worried over how red Usagi's face had turned.
"Ami, do you really want to try and stop Usagi of all people when she has a scheme like this," Rei took a sip of her coffee. "We just gotta let this run its course and be there when she needs us."
All four women watched from across the room as the fuming blonde stuck her hand into the slim container and retracted a piece of folded paper which she nearly ripped open.
"If you keep asking me who I am blondie, this little game of chess will end more sooner than you think. Keep going, make your move, and stop asking questions."
Usagi could feel the aggressive push the words had, they almost flew off the page and slapped her actually. The message spoke volumes to her and rage consumed her so much that she ripped the paper in two, crumpling the pieces in her hands.
Being annoyed and frustrated was now an understatement. She was pissed.
She had just embarrassed herself in front of multiple people, claiming that they were her mystery player in chess (Do you know how much it takes for even the city crazies to look weird at you?!) She did not need this-this sass and smartass making her jump through hoops to know who the hell they were.
She was tired of it and so the grad student almost snapped the pen in half writing down her only logical response.
"I just want to know you! I want to get to know you!"
"Another person, another cross-off….." Usagi muttered, dragging her feet to the empty register, the morning rush having dissipated. Even with two days and about ten human interactions with suspects, she had no real results or answers. Just buckets of embarrassment.
"You've come up with zilch I'm guessing?"
"Thanks for the information Captain Obvious," she snapped viciously. Of course she immediately regretted it when she saw that the person she had snapped on was her regular barista, who shone fearful eyes at her and stopped cleaning the plate in his hand. "Oh god I'm so sorry. It's just been a long day full of nothing."
He relaxed and smiled nervously, appearing understanding and considerate. "I get it, I was just trying to crack a joke but uh it's obvious you're not in the best mood. I'm sorry."
She sent him a friendly smile and kind eyes. "No it's fine…." She froze and felt her face grow red and hot.
The man chuckled nervously, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Wasureta, uh that's what most people call me."
Usagi felt her blush slowly die down, usually she remembered people's names but somehow she forgot his. "I-I'm sorry Wasureta-san. Can I just call you Wasu-chan actually?"
"Yea, sure," he nodded, a friendly smile gracing his face. "And it's fine."
She smiled and went to rub her pounding forehead. "It's just I've come to a dead end with this whole thing. I mean I went to almost everyone and have tried everything! Like one-" she rose a finger in the air "-told the flat out truth, two-" rising another finger "-dressed up as a coffee shop fortune teller with clothes I had from my school play of 'A Lonely Beggar', three-" rose yet another finger "-I even tried to convince people that I needed their signatures for a petition to prevent your guys from pulling your guava smoothies just so I can see their handwriting! Actually I was pretty successful with that last one, got about fifteen signatures."
Suddenly a fit of laughter ringed through her ears and Usagi whipped her head up to see Wasu hysterically chuckling, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh I'm so happy that my misfortunes make you giggle Wasu-chan."
"I'm s-sorry, I-I'm sorry," he choked out, trying to regain his calmness but her pouty frown made it all that impossible. "It's just you're going through a lot to just find one person."
"Well blame me," she chided, "I like a good mystery and I have the curiosity of a cat."
Finally reining in his laughter, the barista gave her an understanding look with dazzling eyes. "Well I'm sure your mystery guy is out there somewhere in the sea of coffee drinkers we have. He's probably jumping up and down wanting to meet you."
"Oh yea he's probably jumping out of a window," a passing by Yuko hissed behind Wasu.
"Yuko!" He turned back to Usagi with an apologetic smile.
Eventually, Usagi walked away from the counter when a new round of customers came in and she left poor Wasu to deal with them. Her eyes landed on the god forsaken table, and remembering her note from yesterday, she was scared to see her opponent's response.
Swallowing the lump in her constricting throat, the blonde gasped at the folded piece of paper sticking out. With shaky fingers, she unraveled the surprisingly bigger piece of paper. Her eyes widened and for once, the giddy butterflies took flight again in her stomach.
"My only rules are that you never directly ask for my name and that you never call me. Break either rules, and our game of chess ends. If you really want to get to know me, then I can't stop you blondie.
(080) 197-5330
I want to get to know you too."
The number was punched in already, it's been punched in for the last ten minutes. But she still hasn't sent a single message yet.
Here she was, dressed in bunny pajamas, cross-legged on her fluffy bed, and her favorite K-Pop songs humming on the Bluetooth speaker. She was in the perfect environment to send one blasted text message but she was scared.
What if it was a huge joke and the number would direct her to a some kind of therapist line or even worse, a sex call. She would be humiliated and embarrassed for the one-thousandth time in her life.
She examined the cell number again, her fingers jumpy and mind torn. The piece of lined paper laid next to her on the floral bedspread, the sincere words calling to her and making the butterflies and flutters all that much present in her bustling body. Maybe she should just take a chance at fate?
Holding on to that last shred of courage, Usagi's fingers quickly tapped out the message and pressed sent. As the little whoosh echoed, her eyes widened and palms became sweaty.
The blonde prayed that her risk would pay off somehow and that a real person would answer her. All she had said was simply, "Hi."
Leaping off the bed, Usagi padded to the small bathroom with the intention of getting ready for slee-
DING!
The blonde vaulted onto her bed, in record time that would make Olympians jealous, and scrambled to open her phone to display her new message with excited eyes.
"Hey Usagi! I was just wondering if we're still on for another lunch date on Wednesday! -Naru"
The excitement escaped her body and the woman visibly deflated at the message. Usagi responded back to her redhead friend and the phone slipped from her hands limply, landing on the pink sheets once again.
'Here I am, desperately waiting for a guy to text me back, on the edge of my seat and jumping to my phone every time it dings...Why does this feel like Deja-Vu?,' she mused with a pathetic grin.
She tugged back to the bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth, all with a frown. Snapping off the fluorescent lights, the pig-tailed blonde unraveled her golden hair, freeing it from pins and elastics while walking to her bed. She placed the hair materials on the bedside table, ready to be used the next morning.
Out of pure habit, Usagi checked her home screen and dropped it back on the table.
In seconds, she picked it back up with crazed eyes.
(080) 197-5330
"Hi."
Her heart was beating out of its chest and a slow grin appeared. But all the message said was 'Hi'. No big declaration of love or really any declaration besides a simple, everyday greeting. For a little, she questioned if maybe the number was even right.
"I'm sorry, I might have the wrong number."
It was just a few seconds later when the phone vibrated in her hands.
"It depends. Is this Blondie?"
Her smile broke out even bigger and she felt the jitters all over her body as she typed back her reply.
"Is this Chess boy?"
"Ohhhh so that's my name?"
And she laughed, actually laughed out loud at the reply because of the lightheartedness of the whole thing.
In the first time in a long time, Usagi felt her heart soar to the heavens and she let it. She could have one good thing in her mess of a life.
Right?
Awww, now I'm feeling better as we speak! Don't worry this isn't the end but next chapter certainly won't be the reveal chapter earlier just a little more suspense for you all. Thank you for all the reviews, favs, and follows! Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought! Who do you think is Usagi's mystery player? (I know, redundant question) but any theories!? Tune in next time!