Hey everyone, Muk here with a new one-shot.
Now this one is actually done for a Secret Santa gift for a friend of mine over on an rp server I'm on. When I saw that I got them, I admit I had some trouble deciding on what to do. And given how I've been busy lately with finals, it wasn't on the top of my mind.
But they are actually a fan of Tokomaru, and I admittedly wanted to do something with them for a while. While this ship isn't one of my top 10 ships, it's still one I like so here we are.
So without further ado, enjoy.
It was essentially a tradition for the Naegi siblings that on the third Saturday of every month, they would go to the bookstore together. As it always updated their collection on those days, this was the go to time for them to get the newest volumes of some of their favorite mangas before they went out of stock. It all started with Komaru practically dragging Makoto with her a year prior to his enrollment to Hope's Peak. Even after moving into the academy, Makoto still took time from his schedule to go with his sister.
Upon arriving, the two immediately split off to get what they were looking for. Komaru hurried over to the manga section of the store, already having an eye out for her favorite. Upon finding it, she immediately grabbed it out of the shelf, along with a few other ones she found interesting. Satisfied with what she had she made her way back to the exit.
It was then she accidentally bumped into something that knocked her down to the ground. She rubbed her head as she got up to see what, or more accurately who, she walked into. Also on the ground was a girl around Komaru's age with long braids and dressed in a school uniform. Right beside her were a pair of glasses that Komaru guessed fell off when she walked into her.
"Oh sorry about that, didn't see you there," she apologized.
"N-N-Next time watch where you're going," the girl replied with a stutter.
"I'm really sorry," Komaru apologised again, grabbing the girl's glasses and handing them to her, "Here, they were knocked down."
The girl merely grumbled as she took her glasses and put them back on. She got off the floor and dusted herself off, before looking up at Komaru, "How could you not see me when I was right in front of you."
"Sorry, just got too excited," Komaru sheepishly smiled as she held her manga, "New manga and everything, kind of got distracted there."
The other girl just glared at her, "If you read those sorts of unsophisticated trash, no wonder you're so scatterbrained."
"Hey! First of all I am not scatterbrained," Komaru replied with a glare, "And secondly manga is not trash, it is art!"
"A-Art belongs in a museum, not these so called 'works of literature,'" the girl responded, not skipping a beat to counter Komaru's claim.
"And what would you know about literature?" Komaru asked.
"Hey Komaru, you got what you wanted?" Makoto's voice called out, "I'm ready to head back. Oh Toko, didn't expect to see you heere."
Komaru looked at Makoto in bewilderment while the other girl just gave an annoyed look at him. "You know her, Makoto?" Komaru asked.
"She's my classmate," Makoto explained, "Toko Fukawa, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy."
"... suddenly everything makes sense now," Toko said, "T-This is your sister that you bring up sometimes isn't it?"
"Toko… Toko… where have I heard that name before?" Komaru mumbled, tapping her chin as she thought hard. Her eyes soon widened as she suddenly remembered, "Oh my god, you're that incredible author who wrote those amazing romance novels!"
"So you've heard of me, what do you want, a medal?" Toko asked harshly, "G-Guess I know more about literature then you said, huh?"
"I am so sorry for what I said, I swear I didn't mean any of it!" Komaru apologized, actually bowing as she did.
"F-F-Fine apology accepted or whatever, just quit that out!" Toko hushed, checking for anyone who might've seen them.
"Anyways, what are you doing here Toko?" Makoto asked, "I didn't expect you to be in the manga section considering you hate them."
"Which I still cannot forgive by the way!" Komaru exclaimed.
"I was looking for references on romance in a school environment," Toko answered, "Much to my displeasure, the only ones I know are manga. Just being in this aisle makes me want to puke."
"Oh, if you're looking for romance then…" Komaru started as she looked through the shelves and pulled out a manga from it, "Might I suggest this one? "The Bomb Inside Her," a favorite of mine. It's got everything from romance to drama!"
"W-Why are you helping me?" Toko asked, reeling back slightly, "Y-You trying to trick me or something?"
"What? No, not at all," Komaru assured, "Look we just got off on the wrong foot . If you're friends with Makoto then I'm sure you aren't so bad. I just want to help out with your work, and I am telling you nothing this is a good reference."
"... oh god you're a second Makoto with that helpful talk," Toko sighed, "F-Fine, I guess it wouldn't hurt to see it."
"That's the spirit! Give it a read and I'll guarantee you change your mind about manga," Komaru exclaimed happily.
"Don't put your hope on that," Toko countered as she took the manga from Komaru, "This changes nothing, Miss Brother Complex."
"B-Brother what?!"
Toko didn't even reply as she just walked away, leaving a flustered Toko and a bemused Makoto to their lonesome.
"Well...that was interesting," Makoto said.
"Brother complex, she barely knows me and she says something like that?!" Komaru exclaimed.
"Don't pay attention to it Komaru, that's just how Toko is with people," Makoto assured, "She's a… complicated person."
"Whatever you say Makoto," Komaru sighed, "Still, at least I got her to give the manga a try. She'll change her view before you can get a girlfriend."
"Why bring me into this?!"
*A week later*
If there was one thing that Komaru enjoyed most after a long day of school, it was hitting the nearby café to get a bite to eat before heading home. Normally she would go with friends, but for today she was on her own.
The café was well known in her school, so there were some familiar faces there when she arrived. But there was one face she most certainly did not expect to see. In a booth at the far end, Toko Fukawa was by herself. And to Komaru's surprise, she was actually reading the second volume of "The Bomb Inside Her." She inwardly smirked as she made her way over to the writer, who had not noticed her arrival yet.
"Fancy running into you here," she greeted.
Toko was so startled she yelped in surprise and the book was thrown up into the air before landing back on the table. Toko actually moved away from Komaru, pinning herself against the wall and taking short, rapid breaths in panic. Komaru noticed and immediately got concerned, "Hey didn't mean to scare you like that. Just wanted to say since it's been a while since we met."
Toko remained panicked before eventually calming down and just glared at Komaru, "N-N-Never do that, again!"
"My bad, just didn't expect to see you here," Komaru said, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.
Toko sighed before returning to her seat like she was earlier, "What are you doing here?"
"This cafe is right by my school, I come by here sometimes once classes end for a bite," Komaru explained, taking the seat on the other side of the booth, "What about you? This place is pretty far from Hope's Peak, isn't it."
"Y-Your brother recommended this place when I asked him if he knew any good spots that were quiet," Toko answered, "He said this café was a chill place. Although, if I knew you come here too I would've steered clear."
"Aw come on, I'm not that bad," Komaru complained, before taking the book Toko dropped and showing the cover, "But anyways, couldn't help but notice you got the next volume of the manga I gave you."
"Th-That's just more reference!" Toko exclaimed, taking back the book and clutching it closely with a red face, "T-This doesn't prove anything."
"Sure it doesn't," Komaru said with a smirk, "So come on, tell me, what do you think of it? Did it change how you view manga and you admit they're works of art."
"Don't be ridiculous," Toko said, annoyed, "Just reading one manga won't change my mind on them. As for this one, the premise is just confusing. The main character is mostly bland with the only interesting part of her is the bomb inside of her, and it was overall just odd."
"So… you didn't like it?" Komaru asked, a saddened expression on her face.
"... I didn't say that," Toko corrected, "The plot was confusing, sure, but it was interesting as well. The interactions between the main character and her love interest did feel genuine. I'd say it's one of those manga that I would admit are actually decent."
"Hey decent is just another way of saying good so I'll take it!" Komaru cheered.
"W-Where did you hear something as ridiculous as that?" Toko asked.
"My brother," Komaru simply stated.
"Ah yes, Mr. Make Friends with Everyone," Toko sighed, "Not like I care about being hurtful to him, but he can be a bit much at times."
"Oh believe me you don't know the worst of it," Komaru replied, "Makoto means well, but sometimes he gets carried away."
"You're telling me," Toko continued, "First day he ended up in the Nurse's because he was knocked out while trying to stop a fight."
Komaru actually laughed at Toko's comment, something that Toko thought sounded nice, "He told me about that. But that doesn't come close to what happened the day he got the letter for Hope's Peak."
"O-Oh yeah, how bad could it have be-"
"He got mixed up with a jewel thief and somehow stopped him by causing to crash with a single soda can," Komaru interrupted.
Toko just sat there in silence at a loss of words from what she just heard. She wasn't sure how to respond to what Komaru just said about her brother, it seemed so unreal yet also plausible. "... Is your brother just a magnet for trouble?"
"That's something I wonder every day," Komaru smiled, "It's like no matter where he is, something always happens to him." Toko actually snickered at that comment, something that Komaru quickly commented on, "You have a nice laugh."
Toko blushed madly at that, "W-W-What are you saying? Y-You can't just say s-something like that so carelessly!"
"Why not? It sounded nice," Komaru said innocently.
Toko groaned at the girl's naivety when she remembered something, "L-Look, I actually need to head back to the academy so I can't stay here."
"Oh," Komaru said in disappointment, "I understand."
"G-Geez, no need to look so down about it," Toko said as she got up. Before she left she looked back at Komaru, "You planning on coming back here tomorrow?"
Komaru wasn't sure why Toko asked that but nodded in response. "I might drop by here again tomorrow… it was nice talking with you."
Komaru's disappointment went away as soon as Toko spoke, a wide smile on her face, "Great! It's a date!"
"N-No it isn't!" Toko scolded, her face reddening, "Don't just say something like that out loud."
Komaru just laughed as Toko groaned and walked away. She wasn't sure what it was about that girl that got Toko so interested. Whether it be her personality, or the fact that Toko just found talking with her easier than most people, she wasn't sure.
She wonders if she should ask Makoto what are some things Komaru likes for a gift.
And with that this short one-shot is finished. Now I really hope I did a good job here. This was my first time writing Tokomaru so I'm not sure if I did a good job with it or not. I actually had a lot of trouble coming up with an idea for this story, rewriting near the beginning until I got to something I liked.
Anyways, my favorite part here would be when they meet in the cafe just because it gave them more interaction then their book store meeting.
So to my friend that this was written for I hope you enjoyed this.
Sain'ofu.