Chapter 2 - Hopeful encounter
Am I even for real? Mitsuri Kanroji thought while staring at her phone as if it had personally wronged her. She squinted her eyes at the screen, hoping to see something she had missed, anything, really, that would give her a clue on where she was supposed to go from there.
She twisted and turned the damn digital map, zooming on every detail, trying to recognize something familiar but to no avail. She was close to a full-on panic attack and the day had barely even started. What a fucking joke she was, standing awkwardly in the middle of the students' cafeteria, she had to look so stupid it wasn't even remotely funny.
"… lost again?" What?! Mitsuri looked up and met the heterochromatic gaze that seemed to haunt her dreams as of late. Most of the time it was visiting her in the most unexpected fashion when she was asleep, and always it left her with a feeling a deep longing.
"What?" and "Oh.." were apparently the only two available words in her vernacular at the moment, Mitsuri did not feel coherent enough to formulate anything better when that particular man was standing so near.
And of course she'd fall on Obanai Iguro when she was feeling like a complete failure standing alone in a room full of normal people, and normal was something she definitely wasn't. He was standing there too, looking quizzically at her and she just knew she had to look like a mess.
"Are you lost again, Mitsuri?" he pressed on, and she finally registered what he had told her in the first place.
"I, uh.." she was going to make a fool of herself for sure. Well, it couldn't be worse than that, right? "Yes, actually" she finally opted for honesty, it wasn't like she had any capacity to get herself out of that situation by herself, much to her chagrin.
A smile must have tugged at his lips, but she could only guess at it based on the small lines that appeared in the corner of his eyes. He was wearing a mask similar than the one she had first met him in the week prior. His raven hair was tied at the back of his head, giving him a tamer appearance than the wilder, loose mane of dark locks he had been rocking back then too.
Mitsuri could not look away from his eyes, their ethereal beauty seemed to catch her off guard every time. And just when she was about to shake out of her stupor, he'd use that mesmerizing voice of his and poof, she'd be enthralled all over again.
How a voice could even be described as deep and magnetic, she had no idea, but the adjectives seemed the only one truly fitting the image of pure male hotness that was standing before her in that moment.
Fuck but the things his voice spurred in her obscenely imaginative mind were the stuff of movies, the kind you illegally downloaded at night - alone in your room.
Stop drooling! Mitsuri pushed all these thoughts from her head as best as she could, knowing deep down they'd return in a vengeance as soon as he'd speak again. She just had to get used to the sheer want he seemed to awaken in her with his mere presence.
"I just don't get this stupid plan!" she said when she felt she could answer in actual sentences. "I know where I'm standing, but I can't even manage to understand where I have to go!"
The visible smile lines around his eyes deepened a little and he looked at her in clear sympathy. He had to be mocking her on the inside though, considering the flagrant lack of sense of direction she was currently exhibiting.
"I can show you around" he offered before quickly adding "If you want." He glanced at the useless, terrible, pathetic map on her phone, "I know my way around this place, and I know it's not always easy to get where you need to in time."
Mitsuri stared at him for the longest time, this guy was really too good to be true, she thought. Twice he had offered her help without even knowing her, and this time he was willing to take her there?
"You'd do that?" she practically squealed, then calmed herself before anyone around noticed her outburst. "But don't you have classes to attend too? I don't wanna keep you up and make you late" her protests were so weak she couldn't believe herself. She sure made one clingy, pathetic schoolgirl.
"I don't have class for another hour, I'll be fine" he simply answered before looking at her kind of expectantly.
Was she going to say yes? Really, there wasn't even one ounce of hesitation in her body. She'd get to spend time with the object of her recently spurred wet dreams and even maybe - if she had any guts left in her - she'd find the courage to ask him his number. Mitsuri Kanroji was not one to back away from a challenge, not anymore, never again.
"Let's go, then!" she had grabbed his hand and practically dragged him towards the nearest exit door before she stopped and realized she had no idea for they were supposed to go. "Right" she let go of his hand with a sheepish smile, "Maybe you should lead the way" she relented.
He opened the door for her and extended his hand in a 'this way' gesture, "After you" he offered gallantly, "tell me where you have to go and I'll get you there in no time" he concluded.
"You're my hero Obanai!" she couldn't help but say, she felt like this was not the last time he'd come in to save her and sweep her off her feet at the same time. "Thank you so much!" she added with what she hoped was a not too crazy smile.
Obanai stopped for a second a looked at her with what can only be described as astonishment. His eyes danced around her face, before attaching themselves to her mouth. He seemed to catch himself after only a short moment and looked away in embarrassment.
Mitsuri hoped her obsession with him wasn't looking too obvious and checked that her outfit was still looking fine for good measure.
Her long, pink hair was tied in her two signature braids, she had only applied minimal makeup as per usual except for a touch of pink lipstick that she couldn't resist putting on that morning. She was wearing a baby pink cardigan with a tight black skirt completed with thigh high pink socks to keep her legs warm.
She had to hope he'd find her cute, or hot… or both. She hadn't felt like any of those for such a long time, maybe forever. Just the thought of a guy like him finding her hot, out of all the other girls here made her head spin, she simply couldn't believe it.
Obanai Iguro turned his turquoise and gold eyes back to the girl standing beside him, she seemed caught up in her own head, absentmindedly scanning the crowd of students. Maybe she was hoping for someone to come in and rescue her from him.
He was kind of weird, in all honesty. Always standing apart, barely interacting with others beside the bare necessities and that was without even mentioning the mask he always covered his face with, covered his mouth with, really. People got to find that particularly weird.
Mitsuri had never commented on it, though. Not the first time they had met in that hallway where his life felt like it would change forever, not in the couple other times he had seen her in the week passing since, and not now, just before she had given him the most vibrant smile he had ever seen in his life.
At that moment, a few things had gone through his head. First, he had wanted to take a mental picture of her, just so he could remember this smile being directed at him when his darker, sadder mood returned. Afterall, he didn't know if she'd ever smile at him like that ever again, she could very much stop talking to him any day and not feel anything about it. He didn't want to dwell that much on what it would make him feel.
After that, a furious want to kiss the hell out of her at taken root inside his mind and body. It was so strong in fact, that he was sure she could read his every thought right out of his head if she looked at him again.
He didn't know if desire was the kind of thing one could spot on someone else's features, but he was sure his own were very transparent in that matter.
She was just so heartbreakingly stunning, it seemed to be effortless for her to take his breath away with every look, to make his body sing to her tune with every word. All of it was just too much, too intense, too dangerous.
Yet Obanai was willing to give up on all his sanity just to spend a few minutes with her now and then. Such a sunny, joyful, and outright brilliant personality was not something you'd encounter every so often. He couldn't help but see every second spent with her as a gift.
Finally, he looked at her again and she smiled once more. "Lead the way!" she had to say to get him to move even an inch.
"Let's go through there" he felt compelled to say, trying to appear as if he had considered what would be the best itinerary to get her where she wanted to go. They started walking together in silence, he had no idea what he could even say to her that wouldn't come out as freaky or outright creepy.
"Tell me, Obanai" she began with a conspirational tone, he turned his head in her direction immediately to indicate he had heard her.
"You said you study herpetology, right?" she went on. He didn't even remember ever having spoken to her about his studies but couldn't help the small flutter of happiness inside his heart at the idea that she had listened and remembered the things he might have said.
"Yes, you remember correctly" he simply answered with what he hoped would resemble a smile, not that she'd see it when it was hidden behind his mask. For the best, really, he simply told himself.
She smiled triumphantly before asking "Does that mean you study actual, living snakes?"
"Yes of course" he answered truthfully, "living snakes are actually the best source of information for someone who wants to learn about them" he concluded easily.
"So… are you one of those guys who lives in apartments where snakes are literally crawling everywhere because they think these animals shouldn't be locked up ?" Mitsuri was joking of course. Obanai just couldn't quite believe why she'd want to spend time laughing about anything with him.
"Sadly, no" he teased back, "My place is way too small to give multiple snakes enough space to truly thrive and be content anyway."
"Of course, of course" Mitsuri answered in a serious tone, as if she even knew anything about his place and what size it was. But Obanai knew she was still joking around with him and he didn't want to stop this lighthearted banter, the kind he didn't feel comfortable exchanging even with the closest people around him.
"I do have one snake, though" he added for good measure, hoping to catch her off guard. It must have worked considering she started squealing beside him, acting thrilled at the idea of him really sharing living space with a snake.
"Oh my God that's so cool!" she bounced on her feet, "What's it look like? Hasn't it tried to bite your hand off before?" She went on firing questions at him, and he was sure he'd forget at least half of them by the time he'd get to answer.
He didn't stop the small chuckle that rose from inside of him. Obanai Iguro rarely felt so carefree, so lighthearted when talking to a girl - to anyone in particular as a matter of fact.
"His name is Kaburamaru and he's been my roommate since forever, it feels like" he told her. What a strange occurrence this thing between them was, Obanai had never felt anything similar to this with any of the people he had taken to call 'friends' over the years.
Talking with Mitsuri was pleasant and he didn't feel any pressure to answer, the words just came out of his mouth like he had always been easily outspoken before. Obviously, only he knew what personality he truly had, but he liked the way she made him feel in that moment, and every other they got to spend together.
"Can I see him?" she asked excitedly, "I've never met someone living with a snake before you!" He was defenseless against her smile, she could probably take everything from his wallet if she kept him distracted with it long enough, he was sure of that.
"You can meet him directly if you want, someday" he offered, hoping, praying that she'd say yes so they could see each other on one more occasion.
"I can't believe you just offered that! Yes! Definitely! I'm sooo gonna take you up on that!" Well, making her happy like that was quickly starting to become his new favorite thing in the world and he knew he'd do anything to keep seeing that radiant smile illuminating her soft features.
"Just ask any…" Obanai had barely started his sentence when he thought he heard someone hailing for him.
He and Mitsuri had gone up some flights of stairs and were now very close to the lecture hall she had been headed towards when he found her. He turned on his feet as she quieted down to listen as well. Obanai immediately regretted the departure of the smile that had been tugging at her lips but a few seconds before.
"Yo, Iguro!" he heard and instantly recognized the voice : it belonged to Tengen. He and Uzui were friends of sorts, mostly rivals, really. Especially when they were at the dojo they both had started frequenting ten years ago. The two of them really had the biggest competitive spirit in there. Well, with the exception of Sanemi, but that guy was the very incarnation of competition itself.
Tengen didn't even wait for an answer from his shorter friend before unpacking the news he had come to deliver. "There's a huge party tonight at Sanemi's! Everyone will be there… and then some. It'll be flamboyant!" he seemed genuinely thrilled at the prospect of that particular party.
Mostly because Obanai knew Tengen would get blitzed from trying to drink every type of alcohol that was sure to be served that night, as was often the case in events such as this one.
"Oh, alright" Obanai simply answered. He didn't know why Tengen kept inviting him to their 'friends 'group' parties every time one was organized since he practically never came anyway. Crammed spaces with lots of drunk people acting out were definitely not his forte and he tended to keep to his own anyway.
He liked their friends well enough for the most part, he just didn't seem to fit in that much among them. Not like someone with Tengen's sense of style and overly extraverted personality, in any event.
Mitsuri had been standing aside for the duration of the encounter and smiled almost shyly at Uzui. Fuck, Obanai thought. If he thought he had no chance in hell with a girl like her before, he didn't have a slimmer of hope now that she had seen the sheer 'drool-inducing male perfection' - as he had once heard his friend being described as - that was Tengen Uzui.
"Hi!" she just ended up saying when Obanai didn't seem to answer Uzui's request at coming to the party.
"Oh, hello!" Uzui finally seemed to get the fact that she was standing near Obanai, willingly. "We've never met before, or I would surely remember a beauty such as you! I'm Tengen Uzui but my friends call me Tengen!" the light-haired man exclaimed with his best, most flirtatious voice.
Obanai barely spared him a dark look, wishing he'd just stop being so charming to everyone. Not like he could do anything about that. Maybe grow an inch, or five. And maybe try to be nice and friendly with people... That was definitely not his type. For the better, he repeated once more to himself.
"I'm Mitsuri Kanjori" she simply answered, "It's so nice to meet a friend of Obanai's!" she then emphasized with a smile in his direction. What the ..? Obanai had been expecting her to get absorbed in Uzui's exuberant charm, yet she seemed to only see the taller guy in regards with himself.
Tengen looked at Obanai with a look of pure wickedness as he proclaimed "Oh but you must come to the party tonight dear Kanroji! It'll be the most fabulous party of the year, many students will be here, surely you'll get to meet a few girls and obviously some guys there." At that, his gaze turned piercing, hoping to catch the raven-haired guy's reaction.
Before Obanai could do anything remotely close to what he had in mind - which was no less than attempted murder on his so called friend - Mitsuri had turned to him once more.
"Will you be there?" she had asked the question so quickly she couldn't seem to hide the apparent hope in her words.
Wait. She was hoping he would come? Obanai caught her eyes and everything else melted away around them.
The hallway and everything else in the perimeter faded and all he could see was the light green of her luminous gaze steadily holding his own.
A heartbeat passed, then two, and he had a feeling he'd do just about anything that she would ask of him as long at it made him feel that way. Like she cared whether he went to that stupid party or not, like she didn't care that other guys would be there, guys like Tengen, taller, stronger, prettier than he could ever be.
He searched her eyes, hoping - dreading - to see something that would disprove the narrative that was building inside of him. That this was meant to happen, that they were meant to have met, that she could hold in her slender hands the whole of him and … what? Tear it apart? Tear him apart? Or heal the bone-deep wounds he had been carrying every year he had spent on this planet?
What had started as a simple encounter the week before was quickly and irreversibly transforming into a possibly life-altering experience. What remained to be determined was his willingness to go along with the cards that life kept dealing him or his wish to just give up right there and then, never knowing what could have been.
And why did he feel like all of that would be set in stone once he had answered her query about attending this students' party out of everything else? Obanai simply had to trust his gut on this, and trust that what he was feeling maybe wasn't a trap that would make him fall in a never-ending pit of despair.
Will you be there? How much time had passed since she had asked him that, again? Fuck but he always got so caught up in his head when she was around, always questioning his instincts, always second-guessing his decisions. Not this time, he thought, never again.
"Now, you see Mitsuri…" Tengen had started talking on the heels of Obanai's lack of speech. Maybe it was meant to spare him the embarrassment of letting her down or maybe he wanted to tease his friend - the latter being the more plausible reason - but Obanai just knew what he was about to say. "My friend Obanai here doesn't…"
"I'll be there" Obanai just cut him off in the middle of his unfinished speech, not caring that he was being rude, Tengen did know his personality after all. He just directed his answer at Mitsuri and when a smile lit up her whole face, he thought he'd never regret a single thing that could happen that night.
"That's so cool! I'll definitely come too, then… if that's ok with you, Tengen?" Mitsuri turned her gaze to the giant standing next to him.
Stop feeling so fucking insecure all the time! Obanai internally reprimanded himself. He could never help the feeling of envy that surfaced whenever he was hanging with their group of friends, which was mainly made of men. Men that were all taller than him, men that didn't have the social inaptitude he seemed to be dealing with on a regular basis and men that were definitely less scarred than he was.
Except for Sanemi, of course. But that guy never had a care in the world for what anyone could think of his appearance, which somehow had made him one of the most popular guys among their group, giving competition to even someone like Uzui. And wasn't that an exploit in and of itself?
"Huh… interesting" Tengen started saying with his gazed zoomed in on Obanai's. He looked deep in thought for a couple of seconds before flashing a radiant smile back at Mitsuri. "Of course, my dear, of course. Like I said, it'll be absolutely flamboyant!"
Obanai decided to full on ignore his friend's teasing eyes, knowing very well what kind of thoughts must have been crossing his mind.
"I have to go to class, you guys!" Mitsuri suddenly caught herself after glancing at the watch on her wrist. "Will you send me the address for tonight, Obanai?" she shyly enquired.
He stood frozen in place. "But…" God but was he really stammering like some idiot kid? "I don't have you number" he finally said, feeling utterly stupid.
"Give me your phone and you'll have it!" she answered with more self-confidence than she had previously showed.
He immediately got his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her without uttering a word. She took it with a smile and quickly typed in her contact information before handing it back to him.
"Bye now!" she turned around and disappeared inside a classroom, leaving Obanai standing in the hallway with his phone in his hand, it felt like it weighed so much more than it actually did, and it kept him rooted to the spot.
At long last, he turned to Tengen. The white-haired man was looking at him with a very threatening glint in his eyes, and a very knowing smile on his face.
"Don't." Obanai simply warned him before he could start anything. He didn't feel ready to face anything this guy was cooking up inside his filthy little brain. He certainly didn't feel ready to acknowledge the more than bizarre thing that was happening between him and a pink-haired, green eyed, captivating girl who had taken the chance to talk to him that one time - and who still didn't act like she regretted it.
"See you tonight!" Tengen simply answered before running off in the opposite direction.
What have I even gotten myself into this time? Obanai groaned inside. Now he had to get ready for a party of all things. And why the fuck did he feel excitement at the idea of meeting Mitsuri there. Obanai Iguro was so screwed.