Yutaka froze.
Him.
This is...his..house.
Shurui had gone to greet her son in the hall. He couldn't see the kitchen...but her Splatling was left in the hall. Yutaka knew he could put two and two together and realize it was her.
"...she was crying, apparently she didn't do too well in a turf war herself. I think she's just being hard on herself..." Shurui blabbered on.
Yutaka hunched over to make herself look small. She blabbed about someone stealing her thunder to the mother of the person who stole her thunder. Who was now blabbing that same thing back to the person in question. Not only that, but this same person was one she had insulted, and pretty badly too. Yutaka turned beet red, then paled. She could feel Sorui enter the room and stare at her. She hunched down even lower.
...
"Well, I hope she feels better."
Huh?
"As long as she had fun, that's all that matters, right?"
What...what was he saying.
She had expected him to be angry. This...this was...
Yutaka sat, frozen and hunched, over her bowl of rice. She barely heard Shurui as she left.
"I have to go work my shift. Stay safe, Sorui! And Yutaka," The name hit her skin like acid. "don't be so hard on yourself! And make sure you get home safely! Bye!"
The door shut. There was silence.
Sorui broke it.
"Sorry." He said.
Sorry? Why's he saying sorry?
"I guess you wanted to do that on your own, I shouldn't have interfered..."
No...don't...tell me that...
"...I even overheard you swear you could do it. And I was just a newbie..."
Stop...
"...I guess it was...luck?"
"STOP!"
Yutaka hunched as low as she could go.
"YOU...you...you have nothing to be sorry for. I...I yelled, and...and...I..."
Her eyes began to water.
"I insulted you...and I called you names...and I laughed at you..."
Teardrops hit the wood of the table, silently.
"...why...are you...apologizing...I'm the one that needs to say...s-sorry."
She turned around. Sorui had backed against the wall with the outburst. He didn't know what to say...he had to think for a moment.
"N-no, really, it's ok. I know I don't have fancy clothes like you guys...they are pretty bad..."
"STOP IT, REALLY. I-it shouldn't matter what clothes you wear..."
"Really, it's fine. I mean, I could buy some more, but I don't really have enough to get something that good..."
"Huh?"
"My mom doesn't make that much. We get bye, but I don't spend that much on clothes anyway..."
"I...I..."
"But I never knew you earned money for battling in turf wars. I mean, if I had, I might have joined sooner..."
"Wha...wha..."
"...but wait, do you lose money if you lose? O-or get nothing? What if I kept losing? I mean, today was a total fluke..."
"N-NO!" Yutaka interrupted. "You get money. You get money whether you win or lose, it just changes the amount..."
"Oh!" Sorui's expression lightened. "That's great then! Then I can save up a little. Maybe, after a while, even if I lose, I can get a better outfit. That's great..." Sorui hummed a little and smiled.
Yutaka was agape. He didn't know anything about how turf wars worked at all. But he had managed to...
"Um...c-can I ask something?" Yutaka murmured.
"Sure?"
"Why did you help me? Since I had been so rude to you, I mean..."
"Um..." Sorui rubbed the side of his head. "I-I'm not...sure. I guess I just felt like I should."
Yutaka's eyes fell, and she felt her cheeks turn red. There was a tightening in her chest.
"So..." Sorui glanced around. "w-would you like to be friends? I'm Sorui Saigono."
Yutaka stood up abruptly. Her mouth opened and closed a few times to find the right words.
"Yu...Yutaka...Meisho" She finally said. And sat back down.
There was an awkward silence between the two. Yutaka broke it.
"S-so...your...birthday?"
"Ah-hah...did my mom tell you about that? Yeah, it's my birthday. My mom was going to get off work early and we were going to have a little party...that was my present, you know. The Slosher...I mean, the bucket."
Yutaka felt the words stab through her heart.
"My...too..." She mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"I said it's my birthday...too." She finished.
"O-oh. That's...funny. Heh. Happy birthday?"
The awkward silence returned.
"I...I guess I should be going."
The two walked around each other until Yutaka was at the door and Sorui was at the table.
"B-bye."
"Bye..."
She hefted her Splatling, and shut the door behind her.
Sorui paused to think. It was her birthday too, then? Maybe that's why it didn't feel right to join the opposite team.
"Maybe..." He wondered aloud.
He stuck his fingers in a bowl of rice that was sitting on the table and started to nibble at it.
"Maybe..."