Donut Friendship – Chapter 10: Mukago
Tanjiro was a hardworking boy. Some might even say, a bit too hardworking. Since the day his mother became sick, he worked every day in the bakery. When she overcame her sickness and returned to work alongside him, Tanjiro continued to work hard and didn't take any days off. His mother became worried that he might be overworking himself, so she told him to take a few days off. Tanjiro was against the idea at first, because he didn't want his mother working alone, but after some arguing, he agreed and decided to take a few days off.
To put his mind at ease, his mother asked his sister, Nezuko, to help her out in the bakery. Finding that out, Tanjiro knew that he could rely on his sister, and that his mother and sister would take good care of the bakery together.
It was Monday morning and Nezuko was preparing for her first day at the bakery. As she was putting on her apron, Tanjiro came over to her.
"Nezuko! Thank you so much! Normally I would be the one to help our mother, but she insisted on me taking a few days off and…" as he was speaking, Nezuko interrupted him
"Nonsense! I happily help our mother! You overworked yourself and mom was worried about you! And because of that, you will take a week off and relax!" Nezuko replied
Hearing that, Tanjiro smiled and nodded.
"Oh, before I forget! We got a lot of new customers!" Tanjiro added
"Yes I know! Your donuts sell a lot." Nezuko replied as she put on her apron
"No, that's not what I meant." Tanjiro replied, to which Nezuko looked at him confused
"Listen, it's very important!" Tanjiro added, to which Nezuko faced him and smiled
"Alright, what is it?" Nezuko asked with a smile
"Our donuts attracted a lot of new costumers, and some of them are really weird! There is this guy who keeps bugging girls in front of the bakery. If you see him, then just tell our mother or inform the authorities. Then there is this rich politician. If he is not satisfied with our food, then he will do everything in his power to shut our bakery down! And finally, there is that guy with black hair and a camera. If you see him, don't talk to him or else he will take his pants off! Well… that's basically it! Tanjiro explained with a smile
…
…
Hearing that, Nezuko tried to process his words.
"…huh?" she replied as her smile and confidence slowly disappeared
„But don't worry! You got this!" Tanjiro did a thumbs up
…
…
"…huh." Nezuko mumbled as she thought about his words
At first, Nezuko was confident, but after hearing Tanjiro speak about the new customers, her confidence left her. And with those words, Tanjiro left the bakery and Nezuko's working week began. She worked at the counter, while her mother worked in the back, making the donuts.
After sometime, Nezuko got the hang of it, and just like her brother, she managed to keep the donut sell fluent. Even though she had 1 or 2 odd customers, like a tall white woman with red dots on her face who once again forgot her wallet, she managed to complete all orders without a problem.
She also kept an eye out for the people that her brother mentioned before he left. Luckily for her, she didn't see any of them. But instead, she saw somebody else…
…
While sitting behind the counter and waiting for costumers to come, Nezuko spotted a girl outside the bakery. The girl was lost in her thoughts and looked pretty sad. Nezuko didn't know her, but she recognized her school uniform. It was the uniform of the Kimetsu Academy, which meant that that girl was from a different class. Curious, Nezuko left the counter and went outside the bakery.
"Hello!" Nezuko said with a smile
The girl turned around and looked at Nezuko.
"H-Hello…?" she replied confused
"I see that you're wearing the Kimetsu Academy uniform! That means you're from a different class than me!" Nezuko explained and pointed at her
The girl looked down at her uniform and smiled.
"Y-Yeah. Are you also a student at the Kimetsu Academy?" the girl asked
"Yes! I am a second year, Nezuko Kamado!" Nezuko said
"I am a third year. Mukago. Nice to meet you." Mukago replied with a smile
"Nice to meet you, Mukago! Say, can I ask you something?" Nezuko asked
"Ehm… sure? What is it?" Mukago replied
"I saw you from the bakery, and you looked pretty sad… Did something happen?" Nezuko asked with a concerned look
"Ah! No! No! Nothing serious! It's just that… never mind." Mukago replied and looked at the ground
Hearing that, Nezuko became even more curious.
"Come on, tell me! I promise I won't tell anyone!" said Nezuko
"I… don't know. I never told anyone before…" Mukago replied and looked at Nezuko, who was staring at her with puppy eyes
"Ah… a-alright. But you must promise me that you won't tell anyone!" Mukago gave in
"I promise!" Nezuko replied with a big smile
"Ok, can we go inside?" Mukago asked, to which Nezuko nodded and lead the way
…
…
Inside the bakery, Nezuko went behind the counter and was ready to hear Mukago's story. Mukago looked around, making sure nobody could hear the two. After making sure that there were no other customers, Mukago walked to the counter and spoke up.
"Well… the thing is that… hmm… there is this… boy." Mukago murmured, to which Nezuko nodded
"And well, I think I might… like him." Mukago added
"SQUEEEEE*" Nezuko put her hands on her mouth and squeaked
"AHHH! Don't do that! It's embarrassing!" Mukago said embarrassed
"I am sorry… It's just so cute seeing somebody have a crush!" Nezuko explained with a smile
"Ah…"
"Anyway! Who is he? Is he cool? Is he older than you? What does he do? Tell me! Tell me!" Nezuko bombarded her with questions
"I tell you! Just don't say it out loud!" Mukago replied
"Ups, sorry! Hahaha…" Nezuko laughed a little
Mukago once again checked her surroundings, making sure nobody could hear the two.
"His name is Rui Aya-" as she was speaking, Nezuko cut her off
"RUI!?" Nezuko yelled
"AHHHHH! NOT SO LOUD! NOT SO LOUD!" Mukago panicked
"Ups! Sorry! Hahaha… Anyway! Rui?" Nezuko asked with a big smile
"Y-Yes. Do you know him?" Mukago asked
"Yes I do! I met him one night at the Academy! He seems like a cool guy!" Nezuko explained
"One night? What were you doing at the academy at night? And what was he doing there?" Mukago asked confused
"Ah…" thinking about it, Nezuko decided it would be better if her ghost hunting adventures remained a secret
"N-Never mind! Anyway, that is so cute! I am sure Rui would be happy if he had a cute girlfriend like you!" said Nezuko
Mukago blushed a little bit.
"Thank you… but…" Mukago replied and Nezuko raised an eyebrow
"But… I don't know what to do…" Mukago added
"What do you mean?" Nezuko asked
"Well, the problem is that we don't see each other very often, and we rarely speak. I am friends with his sister, but the two don't like each other very much… and on top of that, I have a part-time job, so I have almost no free time after school…" Mukago explained
"Ah…" Nezuko murmured in a sad tone
"I don't know what to do…" Mukago added in a sad tone
Thinking about it, Nezuko got an idea.
"I got it! Why don't you just spent some time with him at the academy? I saw him a few times, and he spends most of his time alone!" said Nezuko
"I thought about that… but what do I say?" Mukago asked
"How about that, you would like to have lunch together with him?"
"Eh… well… I don't know. I don't even know what kind of food he likes." said Mukago
Hearing that, Nezuko just smiled confidently.
"Huh? Why are you smiling?" Mukago asked confused
"Girl… I got something for you…" said Nezuko, as she slowly turned her head towards the donuts
…
…
…
The next day at the academy, Nezuko was watching Mukago, who was holding a bag. Mukago was looking around, trying to find Rui.
"Nezuko… thank you for your help… I hope this works…" she thought
As she was looking around, she spotted Rui, sitting alone on a bench. She glanced at Nezuko, who just smiled, and then walked over to him.
"Hello… Rui."
Rui looked at her, curious to why she was speaking to him.
"Rui… I have some donuts and I wanted to ask you… if you would like to have some."
Hearing that, Rui looked at the bag.
"Are they from the Kamado Bakery?" he asked
"Y-Yes! How do you know?" Mukago asked
"My mother eats a lot of their donuts… and often tells me to buy her some…" he explained
"Ah… well, they are really good!" Mukago replied, to which Rui just stared at her
"So, do you want some?" Mukago asked again
Taking a deep breath, Rui replied.
"Sure, I try some… sit down." he said and made some room for Mukago to sit next to him
"Ah! Thank you Rui!" she said with a big smile and looked at Nezuko, who was doing a thumbs up
"Nezuko… thank you so much!" she thought to herself as she was sitting with her secret crush
Author's note: 10th chapter already… never thought I write so many chapters. Anyway, I will be very busy the next few days, so expect the next chapter in 2/3 weeks…