Ultimate Amiss IV
Back to Hajime!
For the Rebirth of the Daily Weird Prompt Thing [Competition] prompt: candy
"Move it!"
A shout came from behind him and Hajime stepped to the right, nearly colliding with a pedestrian as a bike spun past where he had been, weaving in and out of the crowded path. He stepped back into place after a moment, checking that no one else was following the cyclist.
After a few more steps though he turned sharply into an alleyway, leaving the other pedestrians behind as he passed beaten-looking doors, graffiti sprayed over them and onto the walls. He only stopped when he came to one with a bright pink star, only devoid of graffiti because it kept getting cleaned off on a semi-regular basis.
Hajime considered knocking to check if anyone was currently nearby, but he didn't want to cause any trouble for those inside. Whether they were a model or a photographer, but especially if it was the manager. The last time he had seen that woman she had told him to wait at the back instead of the front, so he didn't deter customers from entering by loitering outside.
So he walked over to the wall, finding a place that didn't look too disgusting to wait for her. According to his watch Junko should have been let out ten minutes ago, but she had said she would wait for him if she happened to be let out early or on time for that matter. Her hours were becoming even more unpredictable the longer she worked here. He was pretty sure it was against employment laws in some way, but as he kept hearing every model agency that wasn't 'on the map' worked like this.
The door swung open then and his gaze met with one of the employees, who had a trash bag in hand. "You waiting for Junko, again?" He just gave a nod of his head, at this point he was sure most of the people in this company knew why he was here. "They're doing some last minute shots, but those should be done soon."
"Thanks," he said, for the person giving him some information. At least, they weren't saying she would be in there for another hour or two - which happened occasionally.
"No problem," the man replied, walking down the alley to one of the dumpsters to drop the bag in, before he was heading back.
As the employee went to enter the building a flash of bright blonde hair flew out the opening, shouting, "Go! Go!" Hajime was just pushing off from the wall when Junko's hand wrapped around his elbow, pulling him down the alley as she ran.
He swore he could hear a shout from behind, "You damn cunt! Do you know how much getting this stain off my shirt is going to cost me? Get back here!" On top of that he could also hear laughter, likely coming from the other employee.
Hajime twisted his head back, trying to get a look at the man shouting at Junko light that; he wanted to shout back for using that language when speaking to her, but then Junko had already pulled him around the corner, out of the alley, and onto a sidewalk. She didn't stop running though, pulling him a full five blocks away, turning another corner, before she even came to a stop.
Junko collapsed into his side, nearly putting all her weight against him and he stumbled for a moment, his right shoulder hitting a wall being the only thing to balance him quick enough so he didn't go sprawling onto the ground. "I'm exhausted," Junko said, yawning before resting her head on his shoulder as he used the wall to right himself up.
"What happened back there?" he asked. Hajime knew she used to get in arguments with the manager, but it had been months since that last happened. Besides, he hadn't heard the manager shouting after her along with that man - more like a disgusting pig, by the glance he had managed to get.
She sighed, blowing air against his neck in the process. "He wanted a private picture for some collection with my face near his crotch, the fucking bastard. Real models don't put up with that sort of shit. So, I poured the wine from his glass on his shirt." Junko giggled against his shoulder. "That stain isn't going to come out no matter what he does."
Hajime frowned, now really wanting to go back and punch the fuck for trying to use a modeling agency for his own amusement. "You should have shoved the glass into his crotch," he muttered, earning another giggle from Junko. "Are you okay?"
"Of course," Junko said. "But I'm hungry. Can you pick something out?"
"Sure." Hajime glanced around the sidewalk, spotting some food vendors and a grocery store just a little ways down. His gaze continued to travel around the area before spotting a not so crowded area with stone benches surrounded by metal architecture. "You can wait over there if you're tired." He motioned to the spot with his free hand.
Junko lifted her head from his shoulder, looking over to the place. "Excellent." She released his arm then, standing up. "See ya!" With a wave she was off, crossing the street just as the light changed to go there.
Hajime raised his hand slightly, in a mini wave before looking back over his shoulder to the vendors. What should he get for them? Something fast, since Junko's lunch break wasn't particularly long.
He started down the sidewalk, gaze scanning over the food when he got to the vendors. Most of them were more like snacks then meals, so he continued until he came to a stand offering yakitori and nikuman. That was more like what he had been looking for, but... he wanted to check the store first before he decided.
With a smile at the vendor in apology for standing there and not getting anything at the moment he continued walking along the sidewalk, turning to enter the grocery store. But after a glance at the heated food inside he dismissed the idea of getting something like that from here. Instead he walked down an aisle to stop and glance over some candy. Not the best side dish ever, but he wanted something sweet. After a moment of deliberation between a couple different candies he grabbed a candy kit, paying for it at the front and carrying the small bag out of the store.
Hajime stopped by the vendor once more. His gaze flickered from the grilled chicken and pork bun, before he pulled out some yen to give to the woman running the stand. "Two yakitoris, please."
"Sure thing," the woman replied, sticking the money he handed over into a cashier before picking up two bamboo sticks with grilled chicken skewered onto them, pouring some sauce over them to hand them over a second later. "Thank you."
He gave a nod as he grabbed the bamboo, making sure he didn't run into anyone as he walked down the sidewalk. Hajime only had to wait a minute before the light changed and he could cross the street, licking at his arm when some of the sauce dripped onto it while he had been waiting.
Hajime walked over to the bench Junko was sitting on, offering the yakitori that hadn't dripped on him. "Here you go."
"Thanks." She took the bamboo stick, biting into a piece of chicken an instant later. "What's in the bag?' she asked, after swallowing, glancing to the bag hanging off his arm.
"Oh." He maneuvered it off his arm to sit on the bench in between them. "It's a candy kit," he said pulling the box out from the bag; he opened it awkwardly with one hand revealing a packet of Koala's March, a mini bag of petite truffle, and some yōkan.
Junko paused from taking another bite of her yakitori, picking up the Koala's March packet. "What's this? Are we children now?"
Hajime took a moment to respond as he had just taken a bite of his own yakitori. The juices from the chicken dribbled down his chin, the sauce sticking to his lips. "I'll eat it if you don't want it," he said, after swallowing, licking the sauce from his lips a moment later before taking another bite.
She set the packet back down in the box. "I have to watch my weight."
He almost rolled his eyes. "Every girl makes that excuse." Not that the snack was even really fattening in his opinion, but he figured she was talking more about the carbs from the cookie more than anything. She certainly wasn't going to leave most of that yōkan sitting there for him.
"It's not an excuse when it's part of your job."
He supposed that was true, she wasn't saying those words because she was unhappy with her body or thought she was fat when there was no evidence of that being true. As long as the company didn't start demanding that she became nearly anorexic for their shoots it didn't matter what he said on that front. He didn't even know why she didn't just go and switch companies, especially when she had been fighting with that manager about the type of shoots she would be doing. Her pay still wasn't even that good, and her 'fans' well... that was a different story.
She could easily go to one of those bigger companies that treated their models better. It's not like she was an idol after all. "Junko-" he had intended on telling her to just switch companies when a koala was pushed into his open mouth.
Junko's painted nail rested against his lower lip for a moment. "You eat it since I can't," she said, poking the koala against his tongue. "Make sure you savor it, the pineapple ones are hard to get your hands on."
He closed his mouth after she had moved her hand away, making a show of taking his time to chew, tasting the pineapple filling when the cookie cracked beneath his teeth. Once he had swallowed it down he spoke, "Then just have one so you're not missing out on the opportunity. Since they're rare." Like you, but the words got caught in his throat. Someone like him certainly couldn't say that to someone like her; and as much as he wanted to, he wasn't going to pick up one of the koalas to slide past her own lips.
Junko seemed to consider his spoken words though and picked up one of the koalas, peddling away on a bike. She held it between two fingers, pressing another to the center so the cookie cracked beneath the pressure. With the koala now split in half she raised both halves to her mouth, tongue flicking out to lick up the pineapple filling.
Hajime turned away when he felt his gaze lingering for too long, quickly taking another bite of his yakitori.
He remained silent as he finished the grilled chicken, setting the bamboo stick into the bag from the grocery store, where Junko had placed the cookie remains before eating the rest of her own yakitori. She had finished earlier than him and was now humming around a piece of yōkan in her mouth.
"You should take the rest with you back to work, as a snack." he said, only taking the Koala's March packet out from the kit, leaving the yōkan and mini bag of petite truffle inside the candy kit.
Junko glanced over at him. "You don't want any?"
Usually he would grab a piece of yōkan before she devoured all of them, but this time he just shook his head. "I got them for you."
She gave him a bright smile as she picked up the candy kit, getting up from the bench. "Thanks, Hajime."
He watched her as she took off down the sidewalk, heading back to the agency.
This took place before Junko became known as the Ultimate Gyaru. I will continue to jump along the timeline when it comes to these flashbacks.
