Kagura found herself standing in front of the Shimura dojo in Kabukicho, a strong urge making her want to turn around and run back to the metro terminal. She would have never even considered Kabukicho as a place of residence if not for the fact that her bank balance would not be able to afford the nicer districts in Tokyo. Sure, there were a few decent establishments within the district, such as the Shimura's and the temple school down the road and the grocer…
She shook her head and raised her hand, poised to knock on the blue wood of the open gate. She could hear from within, the faint, reedy sound of a broom being swept against stone, proving the existence of human life inside the compound. Kagura took a deep breath and finally knocked, a sharp tattoo of her knuckles rapping against the gate.
"Hello? Is there anyone there?" She called out, trying to peer inside without seeming too suspicious. If anything, the fact that she didn't fully walk inside was the most suspicious thing about her at the time. It's okay though, Kagura was nervous.
The sweeping stopped and the soft thuds of worn sneakers grew louder to reveal a young man in blue striped sweats and a white tee.
"Hi," he greeted, nodding in Kagura's direction. He seemed perplexed, the wrinkle in his brow and the twitchy way he held the broomstick. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Kagura smiled brightly. "Actually yes. I'm here about the room for subletting."
The man's face morphed into an 'oh' expression. He snapped his fingers in understanding. "You're that chick Aneue was chatting with online. The one from China, yeah?"
"I was born in Osaka," she trailed off in reply.
"Oh, I just figured, since you're coming from Shanghai and all," he clarified, eyes downcast in embarrassment. "Aneue's out at work right now but I can take you to your room. Here let me carry your bags for you."
"Oh, yes, of course," she murmured, slightly shell shocked when he grabbed her largest suitcase and the small duffel in her hands. He was already off, about to disappear past one of the outer walls when she came back to her senses. "Hey! Wait, I can still carry my own things!"
"Oi! I didn't even get your name. Oi!" Kagura called out, hefting the bag still slung over her shoulder higher up as she chased after him. "Kind of rude to just ditch me at the gate, yes?"
She found him quietly waiting for her outside of an opened stairwell. "Thanks for waiting for me."
He had the audacity to look sheepish. "I realized once I stepped foot inside that you wouldn't know where to go." He readjusted his grip on her bags. "And I'm Shinpachi, Shimura Shinpachi. I'd shake your hand but a bit preoccupied at the moment."
"Pleasure to meet you," Kagura grinned, returning the pleasantries. "The name's Kagura and don't you forget it, hm."
Shinpachi hummed and beckoned inside with a jerk of his head. "Let's get you to your room first and then we can talk about remembering."
He turned, disappearing into the dimly lit stairwell, leaving Kagura behind yet again.
"Oi!" She shouted, following the man of few words again.
Luckily for Shinpachi (and Kagura) was that the only available room was on the second floor, so a single flight of stairs was all that was necessary to traverse. Not to mention that there were only two floors, with the Shimura siblings having already laid claim to the first floor, which heavily took inspiration from more traditional homes.
"Hey, in here!" Shinpachi called out, the lone opened doorway at the top of landing indicating to Kagura that is where he went. "Here's your room," he began, gesturing around the room with a basic bed set against the wall and closet with a desk by the window. "I know it's not much but bathroom's downstairs and, uh, so is literally everything else. Aneue and I are downstairs too so if you need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask." He ended on a cheerful note. "I'll let you be for now, but if you want dinner or directions anywhere later, I'll be downstairs."
She hummed as he stepped out, still taking in the room, already formulating a plan to decorate the sparse living space.
"Oh, hey, how's it going, Kagura-chan?" Shinpachi greeted as she walked into the kitchen, smile bright as he looked up from his crossword. He set his pencil down, intending to leave his hands free in case she needed help. "Is there anything I can help with?"
Kagura shook her head in disagreement. "No, just happened to be feeling a bit lonely. It's definitely going to be weird to get used to speaking Japanese again after so long… not to mention the fact that I'm going to start working in a week's time."
Shinpachi gestured to the vacant chair across from him. "Well, seat's free and there's rice in the cooker and some side dishes in the fridge if you want to help yourself to food. Aneue's still out of the house so she can't be mad that I'm offering food to you."
Kagura took to his instructions, suddenly feeling ravenous from her journey and unpacking for the past two hours. She quickly scooped a hefty portion of rice and found an egg and sauce to season. Shinpachi eyed her bowl warily but made no vocal reply. As she tucked into her meal, he went back to his crossword, an easy silence settling over them.
A short moment later, realization hit Kagura as she stopped chewing in mid bite when she finally understood what Shinpachi meant when he spoke last. "What do you mean she'd be mad?" She mumbled.
He looked up at her from his crossword and waved her off. "It's nothing, Aneue just is a bit temperamental about food. You'll find out later. Best save yourself in the meantime, yeah?"
Kagura hummed. "I guess so." And finished her food quickly, wanting to explore a bit before the sun set for the day.
hi everyone, in the process of getting back into the groove of writing again and trying to appear more active on this side of the internet hehe.
enjoy and ill try to make the updates for this fic be every week or so :)