The days leading up to the culture festival came and went in an agonizing blur, every second being outlined by Shizuka's constant frustration. By the time the fateful event finally arrived, she had managed to reach a level of misery she hadn't felt in a very long time. One which painted her face in various hues of melancholy made her look almost hollow.
So obviously that meant she was a perfect candidate for promoting their club's new show.
"Hey…" Her voice drawled out as she stood by two younger students, "Would you like to come and see our show?"
The two girls flinched as they stared at her, sweat beading their brows and their bright, bubbly atmosphere instantly popping under her shadowed, expectant stare.
"Umm…well, that's…" One girl stuttered, watching carefully as Shizuka tried to hand her a colorful flyer.
"We…already have plans…doing other stuff." Her friend answered instead, saving them both and taking the flyer from Shizuka's grasp, "But, we'll keep it in mind. Thanks…"
With that, the two of them turned around and quickly ran into the boisterous crowds. Within seconds they were lost amongst the throngs of people enjoying themselves in the halls.
Well, that was a success if Shizuka had to say for herself. It was just unfortunate she was the only one who thought so.
"Hey!" Haru scolded while lightly karate chopping her head from behind, "You're supposed to make people want to come see our shows! Not scare them off by breathing on them weirdly!"
Slowly, Shizuka turned around to face him, her frown an ugly thing on her face, "But, Haruo…"
"How dare you use my full government name."
"Oh come on! Stop complaining about everything! You were the one who told me to come out here and pass out flyers. I was perfectly happy staying behind the scenes helping everyone prep for the last show."
"You were certainly doing something behind the scenes, but it was not 'helping'."
"Hey…" Shizuka warned, "Don't start right now."
Haru simply rolled his eyes, "I just thought it would be better for you to come outside and do something than let you continue to rot away in your corner like you've been doing the last few days."
"I wasn't rotting!"
"Mushrooms were starting to sprout around you, Shizu."
"You're a mushroom."
"Ugh! Okay, you know what?" Haru turned Shizuka back around and guided her through the thick crowd of students, "You deserve to have a new change of pace instead of continuing to beat yourself up about what happened that day. Losing a wallet is not the end of the world."
"It wasn't just a wallet, though!" Shizuka frowned, "My uncle gave thatme that as a gift when I started middle school. It was the first present I got that made me feel like I was slowly becoming an adult."
"It was a Spongebob wallet."
"No? It was Doodlebob!" Shizuka turned on Haru in mock disgust, shaking her finger at him disappointingly, "For someone who wants to work in the entertainment industry after high school, you're severely uncultured when it comes to animated shows."
"Well, so sorry for being 'uncultured', Miss America."
"Spongebob airs here in Japan too. What are you talking about?"
"Okay, fine! I'm sorry I live under a rock then!"
Before she could say anything else, Haru spun her back around and continued to guide her through the crowd towards their classroom. As they passed by the many happy students - both new and old - her thoughts slowly drifted lower and lower.
She knew Haru was right in the sense that it wasn't the end of the world her wallet was lost. But, the fact still hurt nonetheless. Despite the fact that they lived together now, Shizuka didn't share much with her uncle. Nowadays, she actually wonders if there was truly anything they had in common at all, their only shared moments occurring during the few times her uncle was allowed the time to visit her family when they still lived in America.
It was simply perfect timing that they would end up experiencing the silly show for the first time together. And it was a different coincidence all together that they would both end up loving it dearly.
But, as she grew older and realized how quiet and reclusive her writer uncle really was - Was he a recluse because he was a great writer? Or was he a writer because he was a great recluse? These were the true questions of the universe - Shizuka also came to the conclusion that their small moments were just that. Mere moments. She wasn't even sure if he would understand the joke if she were to tell him she had him listed as "Pinhead" in her contacts.
Naturally, it came as a great and happy surprise to find her uncle had gifted her with the silliest wallet anyone could find for their niece, the face of the most ugly doodle plastered on its skin for anyone to admire or laugh at if they saw it for themselves.
"It isn't much." Was all her uncle had told her as she held the wallet in her young hands all those years ago. And really, it wasn't. But still, she held onto it dearly.
So it was more than just a disappointment that she had lost it. Especially in a way that was so stupid.
"In all seriousness…" Haru's voice filtered through Shizuka's reality again and she perked her head up to listen, "I really am sorry you lost your wallet, Shizu. If you want, we can try looking around lost and found again after our last show. Maybe the kid you ran into just never found the time to drop it off until now. Or, with this many people coming and going, maybe someone else managed to find it and will drop it off later?"
"I guess." Was all Shizuka could say, her sigh heavy in her lungs.
"Well, if there's a lesson to learn from this, let it be that–"
"Don't say it please. I already want to cry."
"You need to get yourself A. New. Bag." Haru emphasized each of the words with a heavy pat on her shoulders, making Shizuka grumble and slap at his hands.
"My bag is none of your business and will be fine once I stitch it back up again."
"You shouldn't have to stitch it up in the first place! A bag is supposed to keep all your stuff in. Not force you to learn how to sew like Betty Crocker."
"How do you not know Spongebob characters, but you know Betty Crocker? Who is a baker. And fictional, by the way."
"I just know even she would tell you that you need a new bag." He said, "Besides, the two of you could be twins with all this graying hair."
He ruffled her silver locks playfully, threatening to undo the claw which held all her hair up. Shizuka swatted at Haru's hands again, forcing him to finally let her go as they approached the door of their classroom. Just behind it, she could hear the frantic murmurs of their actors, no doubt getting themselves settled before their next show in a few hours.
As they stepped aside to allow other students to pass by them in the hall, Shizuka pointed at Haru accusingly.
"You can just leave the problem of my backpack to me, alright?" She said impatiently, "I know it doesn't help me at all right now, but it's all just really–"
"'It's complicated' I know." Haru finished for her, leaning against the doorframe comfortably, "You say that every single time."
"If you already know what I'm gonna say, why do you keep asking me about the damn bag?"
"A part of me wonders whether you'll change your answer if I keep trying."
"That's how people go insane, you know."
"Oh? Is that why I always feel like I'm losing brain cells when I'm around you and Rin?"
"No! That's just you being…stupid."
Haru snickered and effortlessly moved out of the way as Shizuka tried to jab him in the ribs. Almost as soon as he pushed himself off the frame, however, the door to their classroom suddenly slid open sharply, making the both of them jump in alarm at the sudden appearance of one of their classmates.
"Tasaka!" The boy exclaimed, reaching for Haru anxiously, "We got a situation."
"Uh, oh." Shizuka couldn't help but say as she watched her friend's face instantly morph from surprise to unease to stern.
"Tell me." He said with a firm tone before being dragged back into the room by their classmate.
Quickly, the door slid shut once again, and despite being surrounded by plenty of undisturbed students, Shizuka found herself all alone.
"Well then," She said to no one but herself, "I guess I'll just keep going on by myself?"
"Ah!"
The sound of a new voice coming from behind her made her blink. Quickly, she turned around only to come face to face with another male student. His blonde hair was an easy companion to his equally pale eyes staring at her, the cat-like gaze making a natural part of Shizuka just a tad bit uneasy as she held it with a puzzled expression. Looking down, however, she noticed the phone the student held in his hands, his finger hovering just slightly above the screen as though he was, up until this point, focusing on whatever was on it.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" She apologized, "Am I in your way? Excuse me."
She stepped aside carefully, allowing the boy the space he needed to move past her. She couldn't help but blink again when it was clear he was not moving from his spot.
"Ah…no." The boy began, "That's not it."
"Hmm?" Shizuka raised a brow, watching as he rubbed at his neck awkwardly.
"It's just…you."
"Me?"
The student continued to fidget in front of her, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he looked around for what Shizuka assumed was a familiar face in the crowd. Though, a pinch of frustration began to mark the boy's brow as it became obvious he couldn't find who he was looking for.
Honestly, the whole thing was starting to make her feel nervous as well.
"Here." She finally said through the awkward silence, offering the boy a flyer from her arsenal.
"Uhhh…"
"I don't know if you've seen it yet, but we're having one final show of our play a little later. You should stop by and check it out if you have the time!"
He took the piece of paper from her gingerly, humming in acknowledgement albeit without enthusiasm.
"The story is full of action and the actors are all amazing, but I think the costumes are our biggest showstopper!" She continued with very little bias.
Again, the boy nodded, his expression void of any interest at all. Still, Shizuka smiled. She could see him running the idea through his head thoughtfully, eyes going back to reading the flyer with the show's information as though to catch something he may have missed. Eventually, he looked up at her once again, face a bit more clear and voice just a tad bit steadier.
"Actually, I wanted to say–"
"Shizuka!" Haru's voice boomed from the other classroom entrance, the sound making her flinch for the second time that day.
"Oh my GOD! Will you calm down, please? You're going to scare the children!" She yelled in response, pointing to herself.
Haru, however, didn't seem to care about her concerns, joking or not. Instead, he opened the door for several of their other classmates, gesturing for her to follow them as they all rushed out of the classroom.
"Come on, hurry to the auditorium! We have an emergency on our hands!"
"Huh?!"
Shizuka stared slack jawed as Haru refused to elaborate, pushing himself away from the classroom to follow their other classmates down the hall. Swiftly, the sea of students parted for their large group, curious murmurs rippling down the corridor as they all watched with wide and enthusiastic eyes.
She looked back and forth from where her friend disappeared to the boy she was speaking to only a moment before. He too watched in confusion as their group waded through the crowd, eyes blinking in astonishment. When his gaze managed to tear itself away from the scene, moving back to her own bewildered face, she couldn't help back laugh nervously.
"Sorry about that. I guess I have to…um…" She looked down at the pile of papers still left in her hands, and clicked her tongue in frustration, "Actually, can you do something for me?"
Before the poor boy could say yes or no, Shizuka dropped the leftover flyers in his hands.
"Huh?"
"Can you get rid of these for me?" Shizuka asked as quickly as she could, "You can do it however you'd like. Pass them to random people. Leave them on a table. Use them as toilet paper. I don't know, you can be as creative as you want!"
"Huhh?"
"I'm so sorry!" She said with one final bow before turning around and running off.
A strange sense of deja vu lay heavy on Shizuka's mind as she hurried to follow after Haru and their other classmates. But, she easily shook her head free of such troubling thoughts and pushed herself forward to whatever new chaos lay waiting for her ahead.
By the time she made it to the auditorium, Shizuka didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry.
Rin however, looked as though she was about to vomit out her soul.
"So let me get this straight." Haru began with a tone so deep and frightening it could be felt within one's bones, "On top of the changes to your performance I allowed you to incorporate, you thought it was a good idea to also change how your death scene was portrayed on stage so that it would be…how did you put it? 'More shocking'?"
Beads of sweat perspired on Rin's forehead, "Yes."
"And you decided to do all of this without my permission?"
"…Yes."
"Tell me, Rin, how did that turn out for you?"
Their friend lay on an old prop couch backstage, one of her feet carefully wrapped and propped up while her forehead sported a fantastic bandage underneath her now tangled bangs.
She pursed her lips, "I honestly think it turned out pretty good all things considered."
Haru removed his glasses and held his face in his hands with a groan, "Why couldn't you just wait one more day? Just listened to me for one more day! That's all you had to do! Now what are we going to do about the last show SHIZUKA STOP LAUGHING!"
Behind him, Shizuka giggled painfully, "Well I'm sorry that I'm doing my best to keep myself together here, Mr. Director! If you haven't noticed, I've just lost one of my children."
She held up her arms towards him, the gown she had made for Rin hanging limply like the fallen ghost of a princess. The dress was effectively shredded, a huge tear running from the hem straight to the waistline. Meanwhile, another gash tore one sleeve in half and bit into the shoulder, changing the shape of the bodice all together.
The death scene in their show was meant to be a huge turning point for both the heroine and main protagonist; A conclusion to Rin's tragic character arc which would then set in motion the epic final battle. All she had to do was present her dramatic monologue, then perish as she 'jumped' to her demise off their fake tower and behind a thick cloud of smoke from their borrowed machine. It was simple yes, due to their lack of real money and substantial props. But, it got the message across and allowed the story to move forward.
For Rin, however, there was always a want for something more. And some time between their first and second showing of the day she had managed to find the little voice in her head that convinced her to do silly deeds as well as their old air mattress in storage.
Perhaps running on whatever adrenaline she felt during their first successful shows, she was able to convince enough of their team to set up the mattress just behind their stage, and provide her with a small set of steps to walk up on as though she were actually walking up their tower. With this new height and landing pad, the fall was able to look more convincing - as described by their classmates later on when reporting the incident to Haru - but also came with several consequences.
Without having much practice with the mattress or a clear understanding of the distance she was now falling down, Rin's impact ended up in her bouncing from the landing pad, and crashing into an unused set of theirs from behind the scenes with a worrisome force. Honestly, once they had seen the destruction themselves, it was truly a miracle knowing that Rin only achieved a twisted ankle and small cut and bruising on her forehead. In fact, if she was in any mood to make jokes now, Shizuka would probably pat herself on the back and say that it was thanks to her amazing seamstressing skills that her dress ended up becoming Rin's armor, taking the majority of the damage and allowing her friend to instead be killed by Haru.
Unfortunately, Shizuka's jolly mood was now gone, much like the number of hours she had spent in the past few weeks making the gown from scratch.
From her spot on the couch, Rin reached out for her.
"Shizu-chan, I'm really so so sorry about the dress." She said with pure sincerity, "If I'd known what I did would've ruined all your hard work, I wouldn't have gone through with it at all. But, that doesn't change the fact that I did. You don't have to forgive me, but please know I'm really sorry."
Shizuka forced her mouth into a line, urging her face to not give in further to the distressed feelings that weighed on her lungs. She could see it in her friend's face that she truly meant what she said and sighed as she allowed her to hold her hand reassuringly.
"You know I'll always forgive you, Rinnosuke." Shizuka conceded, "Though I really wish you would have thought about it for a second longer before deciding to become a professional stunt coordinator."
"I'm sorrrrryyyy." Rin sobbed and held Shizuka's hand gently in the palm of both of hers.
"Hey, where's my apology?" Haru's voice spoke up, irritated.
"Don't make me hit you, Haruo." Shizuka bit back just as exasperated, but Rin held on bravely.
"No no no, he's right." She said, "I know I was joking about it earlier, but what I did was wrong and it could've put others in danger at the time. Not just myself. I just—I really just wanted the show to be the best it could be. I wanted to make it memorable."
"Well, I guess nothing says memorable like almost dying in front of one fourth of the whole school." Haru conceded
"And new students." Shizuka added
"And new students, yes."
"I'm sorry…" Rin said once again, tears now making her eyes shine.
Haru snarled in frustration at the sight, running his hands through his hair roughly before putting his glasses back on.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it anymore now that it's been done." He stated the obvious, "Our problem now is figuring out what to do for the final show. With the amount I allowed Rin to change in her performance, even the understudies won't be able to fill in for her!"
"Then don't have them try to act out the changes!" Shizuka answered, "It's the final show anyways. Why make them try to remember what wasn't in the original script?"
"Because the people now expect the show to be a certain way! They've probably talked amongst themselves and those coming will want to see the show they've heard about!"
Shizuka narrowed her eyes at the stupidity in his response.
'Just say you actually liked the changes Rin made to your script you prideful twizzler.'
Ignoring her pointed glare, Haru stroked his chin in thought.
"Actually," He started, "When I think about it, there's only one other person who knows the changes of the show like Rin…"
He looked at Shizuka quietly, gaze steady with her own as she blinked. She looked behind her expectantly, then blinked again when she turned back around.
"No." She said simply.
"I saw you two practice together."
"No."
"And you were there when we ultimately made the other changes!"
"No!"
"It doesn't have to be perfect, but you're the only other person who knows what has to be done!"
"Oh my god, how many times do I have to say 'no'? Do you need me to say it in English instead? Fuck no!"
"Stop being so vulgar!"
"Stop being desperate!"
Haru held her by her shoulders, keeping her focus on him as she tried to look at anywhere but him, "Shizu, please. You know you're way around the stage just like all of us. It's just for the final show. That's all we need!"
"No!" She yelled again, "I still haven't gotten over the last time I allowed you to talk me into taking over someone's role during our first year show!"
"Nobody is going to throw up on you this time!"
"I might, though!"
"I'm still sorry about that too…" Rin mentioned with her face red and head hung low.
Shizuka patted her friend's shoulder reassuringly, then pushed Haru off as she made him focus on her dying creation.
"Besides! If you want the last show to still hold some meaning, I've got to fix this dress as fast as I can. It makes no sense of this gown isn't being worn during the heroine's death scene! How am I going to fix it if I'm busy giving a shitty performance?"
Haru clicked his tongue and turned away finally. Her words seemed to have struck a chord of realization in him, and in the end he must have known she was right.
They stood there in contemplative silence, their time ticking as they put their heads together on how to fix their problem.
With nothing else to lose, Shizuka brought up the only other solution not yet said.
"You know," She began, "Besides myself, there's only one other person who knows about the changes made to the script."
Haru's gaze was sharp, "And? What about it?"
Shizuka batted her eyelashes in silence.
"You can't be serious. I'm the director!"
"And? Even Shakespeare acted in his own plays when it called for it."
"Ugh…"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to argue anymore after the long afternoon. Swiftly, Shizuka approached him and put her hand on his shoulder, allowing him to take a second before looking back down at her.
"Haru, how badly do you want this last show to rock people's world?" She asked sincerely, "Accurate to the script or not?"
He grimaced, "Really really badly."
She firmly grabbed the collar of his uniform then, a determined smile on her face.
"Then you better start stripping."
She doesn't know how they managed to salvage the show. In fact, Shizuka doesn't know much of what happened at all in the two hours that followed their team's decision to send Haru to the front lines.
If she wasn't backstage sewing closed the wounds that had been inflicted on her dress - something she realized had to be done by hand when the fact of her sewing machine being left at home was made apparent - she was helping the rest of the crew pushing and pulling the sets across the stage.
And if she wasn't helping in either of those departments, then she was pulling her weight covering Haru's responsibilities as he gave off his monologues, delegating roles and making sure all duties were fulfilled to ensure the whole show didn't fall apart on everyone's anxieties. She was just barely able to finish tying off the dress's final stitch before Haru came bouncing backstage to step into it for the final scene, his long wing flowing behind him chaotically.
"I don't know how we're doing it, but we're doing it." He muttered several times as Shizuka zipped him as tight as the dress would allow before sending him back off to his 'death'.
By the time it was all said and done, the last notes of the battle ringing clear in their conclusion, Shizuka felt as though she wanted to collapse.
"It's done!" She sighed in relief as she helped Rin back onto her old couch, returning her to her place of rest after the cast all took their final bows. Immediately, she plopped herself on the floor next to her friend, laying her head against her thigh as the heaviness of the evening finally began to wash away from her.
"You are a miracle worker, Shizu-Chan!" Rin praised her, her long black hair ticking her nose as she peppered her tired head with kisses, "Watching you sew as quickly as you did was honestly amazing. How many stitches did you end up doing?"
"I couldn't keep count after 200…too much else to keep track of."
"Oh god, I promise not to be stupid and ruin one of your creations ever again."
"Yes, please don't. My hand will cease to exist if I have to do this again." Shizuka lifted her arm in front of her warily, "Actually, now that I think about it, is my hand still attached to my arm? Or did it fall off on the way back over here?"
"It's still there!" Rin assured her with a small low five, "Do you want to stay here for a little while before heading home?"
"Don't you need to go to the hospital to get yourself checked out first?"
"I'm not in any serious pain. I can wait a little bit longer. We can ask Haru to help after he's done canoodling with the public."
"Who's canoodling where?" Haru's voice slithered in effortlessly.
Glancing his way, Shizuka was met with the sight of his brown curls still tucked away beneath a stupidly gold wig, the fabric of the newly repaired gown still cinching his lean and muscular frame awkwardly. His glasses just barely smudged the quick makeup applied onto his lashes, making his lower lids just slightly darker than usual as he stared down at them with a triumphant expression.
"Well look at our Mr. Director. Back from the spotlight already." Shizuka teased with a small salute, "Good work out there, beautiful."
"Good work to you too, soldier." He saluted back, taking the wig off simultaneously, "Who would have thought you'd make such an epic comeback helping with the work after only sprouting mushrooms backstage the past few days."
"Ugh, don't go talking about that now. I'm in the perfect position to just steal your kneecaps."
Haru chuckled then sat on the arm of the couch with them. Together the three of them collectively sighed, taking in the first peaceful moments of the day despite the later time. In her spot on the floor, Shizuka turned herself more towards Rin, wrapping her arms around her friend's stomach as she curled herself more towards her. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to rest, her mind floating away on a lazy river of words shared with her people.
"Don't you have more fans to greet on the stage?" Rin's voice asked above with a gentle mirth.
"I've greeted the maximum number of people I'm willing to see with this damn dress on."
"You know you can change out of it now, right? You don't have to keep wearing it so long after the show."
"And let go of my desires to be a gorgeous princess so soon? How cruel!"
"Pft, you're weird."
"And I'm also tired. So just let me sit back here for another moment, then I'll change and we can go."
"Yo, Tasaka!" Another voice suddenly called somewhere in the distance, the tone deep and unfamiliar in Shizuka's drifting subconscious.
"Oh, Kuroo!" Haru called back over in surprise. She could feel him lift himself off the couch then, no doubt striding forward to whoever it was that had grabbed his attention. Just faintly, she could hear someone whistle.
"Whooo, hello there, gorgeous. How do you still have such muscles after these past few years?"
"Oh shut up. Don't go acting stupid when I have no energy to fight you."
There was a laugh then followed by a groan. A conversation intermingling with Shizuka's own thoughts until the bulk of their sentences sifted and drifted away in the background of her dreams.
As her mind wandered between the planes of fantasy and reality, she could hear the soft brrrrr of a fan next to her, keeping her cool despite the heat of summer bearing down on them outside. Which was strange, cause Shizuka could have sworn they were marching into November.
She sat at her desk, her head tucked into her arms and a stupid smile creeping up on her face as she heard the continued arguments in front of her. A heated discussion over something stupid, she had no doubt, but a passionate one nonetheless. One she knew Tooru and Hajime would want her opinion on as if she were the deciding judge on what was deemed 'right' in the world.
But, maybe she could just listen to them a while longer before joining them.
"Shizuka…" A voice began to call her, shaking her arm to try and rouse her from her sleep.
No. Let her rest a moment more. She wasn't ready to leave just yet.
"Shizuka! SHIZUKA!"
She was suddenly struck with the violent force of an indoor slipper colliding with her head, the attack shattering her dreams in a cataclysmic awakening that sat her up straight and alert.
"Godzilla '93!" She exclaimed with wide eyes, her silver hair finally falling out of her claw from the attack and cascading down her shoulders.
When both Rin's surprised expression and the furniture backstage finally registered back into Shizuka's knowledge, she shook her head and blinked away the last remnants of sleep. Looking down, she could see the culprit of a shoe still lingering by her thigh, Haru's name and class number clear as day on the tongue.
"Oh good!" His voice said nonchalantly from the entrance, "She's awake."
"You know, Tasaka…" The second voice that Shizuka still couldn't recognize spoke up, "We could have just come back another day. I don't think that was really necessary."
"Yeah, Tasaka! What the hell, man?" Shizuka agreed with a vehement annoyance, snatching Haru's shoe from the ground and waving it at him, "You better give me one good reason why I shouldn't just feed this to my neighbor's dog on the way home."
"I'll give you two, actually." Haru answered while stepping aside to allow her a perfect view of their guests, "They came here to see you specifically."
Shizuka furrowed her brows in confusion as her gaze landed first on the taller student in front of her. With his weirdly styled rooster head of black hair and sharp eyes, she felt like she would have immediately recognized him if they had met some place before. And yet, she had no idea who he was. Or why he would be looking for her when it was clear he was more friendly with Haru.
Even his own face seemed to blank as they stared at each other for a beat in silence, uncertainty filtering his expression as though he wasn't sure why he was being put up front and center when it was apparently him who wanted her time.
"Uh," He coughed, "Kenma, here."
The tall student pulled on the sleeve of another who was still obscured from Shizuka's view, bringing in a mop of blonde hair and golden eyes which finally made something click within her memory.
"Oh! It's you!" She exclaimed in amazement. Quickly, she fumbled to stand back onto her two feet, ignoring the aches and bruises on her knees as she rushed towards the group of boys, "You really came!"
"Yes." The blonde kid nodded in a familiar gesture Shizuka was already becoming accustomed to.
"That's so awesome! I don't think I've seen anyone I talked to actually come and see one of our shows before. I'm so happy you made it!"
"Yes."
Shizuka smiled, tilting her head to meet the boy's gaze sincerely, "So?"
He stared back at her with thoughtful eyes, humming in wonder before taking his time to answer her.
"It was interesting." He said, "It was fun seeing Tasaka on stage and I think all the costumes were really well made and cool."
Shizuka blushed happily, "Right? I think so too!"
Behind her, Haru lightly chopped the top of her head, "Hey Kozume, you're allowed to tell her to shut up when she's being annoying."
The smile on her face never left as she jabbed her elbow into Haru's chest.
"No, but I actually wanted to stop by to give you this." The student - Kozume Kenma, Shizuka could name him now - interjected while digging for something in his pocket. When he found what he was looking for, he held it up for Shizuka to see and immediately her eyes grew wide with both shock and happiness.
"My wallet!" She cried for joy as she held out her hands. Gently, Kozume placed it in her waiting palms and she brushed her fingers over the familiar material habitually, DoodleBob's silly face a welcoming sight, "I can't believe you found it!"
Kozume shook his head, "You dropped it by the lockers the other day."
"Dropped it by…" A flash of a memory went through Shizuka's mind as she replayed the incident of her collision with an unfamiliar figure. The shadow of a boy who plagued her easily forgettable mind and the game which she almost destroyed for him in her hurry to battle sales.
It was almost dreadful how easy it was to fit Kozume's face in the place of someone she thought she would never find again.
"That was you?!" Shizuka spewed the now obvious, "Oh jeez, I'm so sorry again for crashing into you back then. And thank you so much for bringing back my wallet! Really you're a lifesaver for keeping it safe all this time!"
She bowed frantically and could see from the corner of her eye the way Kozume tried to wave off the gesture.
"No, it's ok. I appreciate you saving my game back there before I was killed off and sent back to the beginning." He said, "I had just remembered I forgot to save before we crashed into each other so it would have been a pain if I had to level up all over again over my stupid mistake."
"Oh I know that feeling!" Shizuka grabbed her shirt as the painful memory crossed her thoughts, "Once during a thunderstorm, I was about to save my game, but then lighting flashed and made us lose all our electricity for five minutes. All of my game's memory was wiped clean and I had to start from the beginning. I'm still scared to play another Zelda game to this day."
Kozume nodded in agreement, the movement a little more excited than his previous actions. Just as quickly, however, he settled down, stuffing his hands back into his pockets.
"In any case, I'm just glad I was finally able to give you your stuff back." He expressed clearly, nodding once more in combination with a small bow of his own, "Well then, I guess I'll see you later, Endo-san. See ya, Tasaka."
Shizuka raised her brow at his words in befuddlement, but waved back as he signaled his goodbyes. As he turned to leave the stage, the taller student followed slowly behind him, glancing back at her one last time before giving her his own wave.
"See ya later." He smiled knowingly before continuing on his own leave.
Shizuka frowned at the strange familiarity that rang with their words towards her, leaving her almost dumbfounded as she watched them leave the auditorium together in their own comfortable bubble.
"Shizu-chan, do you know them?" Rin asked curiously as she hopped up next to her.
Shizuka shook her head as she wrapped a hand around her friend's waist, hoisting her arm on her shoulders so that she could lean on her properly.
"Never saw Rooster Top my entire life. And I only really know Kozume from almost killing him the other day." She confessed.
Beside them, Haru snorted, laughing at the stupid accuracy of Shizuka's new nickname as he repeated it to himself. It made her frown deepen at the new fact that hung down on her knowledge.
"How do you know them, Haru?" She asked, "You all seemed very friendly, huh?"
"Oh, well your lovely 'Rooster Top' and I were in the same class together last year." He snickered again, "But, I've known both Kuroo and Kozume since middle school. They've been on the volleyball team together since then, and while I was doing basketball back then we were constantly arguing over who got to use the gym for practice and—Woah! Why the hell are you pulling that face, Shizu?"
"What face?" Shizuka demanded as her scowl made the wrinkles on her brow furrow deeper.
"You look like someone just fed you dog food or something." Rin said with an equal display of surprise at the sudden change in expression.
Shizuka clicked her tongue in exasperation, not wanting to allow the conversation to cruise down further than she'd like. With quick movements, she hoisted Rin slightly off the ground, carrying her back to safety behind the curtains much to both her and Haru's surprise.
"Come on," She said, "I'm ready to leave now, so let's hurry on out of here."
Though both of her friends seemed baffled by the deflection, they also appeared to be in agreement to leave. Much to Shizuka's relief, they didn't ask her much else about her change in moods and left her to her own devices as she deluged in her negative thoughts.
Of course, out of all the people she could've almost bulldozed over, the universe just had to choose another freaking volleyball player.
As she grabbed her bag from the corner of the stage, crossing it over her chest so that its newly stitched side wouldn't have a chance to tear, Shizuka looked back down at her returned doodle wallet.
"See ya later." The Rooster Top's - Kuroo - stupid smile replayed in her head, making her scowl once again at his confusing tone.
"'See ya later' my ass." She mumbled before opening her bag and shoving her wallet back where it belonged.
It made a part of her sad to think so, especially since Kozume was in no ways at fault for being unfortunately acquainted with her now. But for the sake of her sanity and his HP levels, it would probably be best if she were to pray none of them saw each other ever again after this.
Ever.
—
A/N: I promise more Nekoma in the next chapters, I just really needed to establish these characters I'm so sorry TT^TT