The sun is blasting down on me, and I feel like I am going to melt. Tokyo is bustling this morning, and the sidewalks are absolutely flooded with people. It’s not too bad though, as everybody seems to be minding their own business as usual. So long as I don’t bump into anybody, I shouldn’t have to engage in any form of conversation.
Usually, I would call a cab to travel between Saigo Press and my apartment, but I lost my wallet in my room somewhere, forcing me to walk all the way to the office and back again. Over the past couple of days, there has been this ongoing game of hide and seek between my wallet and I, and I guess I’ve never been very good at seeking.
A group of girls walk by; they all wear short shorts and tank tops, showing off what looks to be as much skin as possible. I can’t help but look away in embarrassment, as they are all much prettier then I am. I look down at my own outfit, and I am equipped with the same unwashed blue jeans from yesterday and my trusty beige cardigan.
I guess these aren’t exactly summer clothes, but I wouldn’t dare to wear anything even remotely revealing outdoors. Even if I wanted to, my wardrobe consists of nothing of the sort. Just long sleeve shirts, jogging pants, jeans, and pajamas. A bunch of cardigans, too. I’d also roast like a lobster.
I am much more exhausted than usual today, as I was up all night trying to get ready for my meeting with Fuji. I am pretty confident that it did not go very well though, as we had a crucial disagreement about the romance between the heroine and the main character. He profoundly questioned my methods of romance in my novels, saying that it feels “forced”. I still cannot believe he could say such a thing! I’ve been writing fanfiction for years and if there is one thing I know, it’s that no matter what, all the girls in the story have to throw themselves at the main character. That is just how relationships work. He then asked me if I have ever been in a relationship before. I don’t really know why he asked that. The answer is obviously no, I haven’t. Even if I did want to, I could never get a boy to like me. I’m already 24 and have never even had a boyfriend. It’s safe to say that I’m way too far gone at this point.
I stand just outside my apartment door and let out a long sigh of relief. Thank god that I finally made it… that was far too much excitement for one day. My afternoon nap is well overdue. Just me, my bed, and an army of pillows to serve me in my sleep. I can’t help but crack a little smile, I’ll work on my manuscript later. After I tend to my well-deserved nap.
I turn the nob and open the door with a gleeful expression cast across my face, but it quickly turns into a display of confusion as the smell of bacon floods my senses.
The sound of classical violins harmonizes in the background as Kotaro comes to the door to greet me. He wears a long white apron and a big white chefs hat on his head. I can hear meat sizzling on the stove top.
“Oh, Yuriko! Welcome back, how was your meeting?” he asks as if he was not expecting me in my own apartment. Just as I am about to reply, he continues. “Ah, before you answer, would you like some breakfast?” he displays a heaping plate of pancakes and bacon before me.
My head is spinning. Kotaro is standing in my doorway offering me breakfast while he is dressed like a chef. Maybe Fuji killed me out of disappointment earlier, and this is some ducked up afterlife.
“Uhm… how did you get into my apartment?” I ask as if it is not that big of a deal to disrupt my nap time.
“Don’t you remember? We had a meeting set for today, so Kiyoko and I made our way over, and the door was left open. So, we walked in to investigate and saw on your calendar that you have a meeting with Fuji today. We decided to have things ready for when you get back. Hopefully, you don’t mind the intrusion!”
Ah! I totally forgot… we were supposed to have a brunch today at my apartment for the third Writer’s Block meeting. I was up so late last night working that I completely forgot about our plans… I must seem like a real idiot right now, and my facial expressions undoubtedly reflect that sentiment.
“I am so sorry, I absolutely forgot! Please forgive me!” I say as I power out a deep bow. This is classic me, and probably part of the reason why I’ve never had any friends before.
*~Dong~*
I feel a metal surface gently collide with the side of my head, causing me to look up at Kotaro. He looks down at me with a smile, frying pan in hand.
“Don’t be silly! It’s not unlike us writers to be forgetful from time to time, learn to loosen up a little bit, kay?”
He may be right, it is normal to be forgetful from time to time… but I am forgetful all of the time. Big difference. But, it is kind of weird to have somebody actually smile at me for failing at something... I can’t help but smile back at him.
“O-okay! But, you said Kiyoko was here too… where is she?” I ask as I peek over Kotaro’s shoulder. He is so tall that I have to get onto the tips of my toes in order to see past him.
“Oh, she went out to get some-” just as he is about to explain, Kiyoko’s voice erupts behind me.
“Nobody panic, I have arrived!” she shouts. Ironically, this causes me to jump and panic out of surprise.
I turn around to see her holding a tray of four coffees and a notebook. She places a coffee in my hand. ‘Black’ is written on the lid, she knows just the way I like it, only after the few coffee shop excursions we’ve been on together. I look down at it and back up at her.
“Ah! Thank you so much... you really didn’t have to. I could have walked up for us!” I mention, feeling bad that Kiyoko and Kotaro have done all of the work in order to make this brunch a brunch. She grins back at me, ignoring my comment.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Well, let’s hurry in and get this Writer Block underway!” she grabs my hand and leads me into my apartment. I close the door behind us.
The three of us sit around my living room table with coffees in each of our hands… well, Kotaro actually has a coffee in both hands, but Kiyoko hasn’t said anything about it, so I just assume that it’s normal for him. We had just finished eating, and I feel like my stomach is going to explode. As a person who lives off of instant ramen noodles, when I get the opportunity to eat actual food, I tend to overdo it a little bit.
After we eat is when we usually begin to bounce ideas for our novels off of each other. At first, I didn’t see why we always had to eat before our discussions, but Kotaro insisted that we did, saying that it will help us think clearer... Or something like that. I don’t know if any of that is true, but I do know that he is a great cook, and I’d be real silly to turn him down.
To start it off, Kiyoko leans forward and pulls out her notepad from her purse. However says something that I did not expect, leaving me slightly flustered in my seat.
“So, Yuriko. How’s volume two been going lately? I am dying to read it!” asks Kiyoko with a cheerful smile, taking another sip of coffee. Kotaro nods as if he agrees with her. I look down at my cup and swirl around what coffee is left in it. I am still not used to people actually enjoying my writing, no matter how many sales or good reviews it gets. It just feels so weird. If they knew how far I was behind schedule… would they be disappointed in me? If they learned how much of a mess I am, would they still want to try and have a club with me in it? This morning, I finally got it to where I wanted, even if it is long past its admission deadline. I decide to half-life… more, stretch the truth.
“It’s going really well, thanks! We’re just going through the last stages of editing right now. You’ll be the first to know when it comes out, though!” I decided that I should hide my shortcomings for just a little longer. Especially that goofy plan to become a protagonist or whatever.
Suddenly, there is a knock at my front door.
“Coming!” I holler as I get up from my seat and head for it. I’ve gotten pretty good at answering doors lately, ever since Kotaro and Kiyoko have been stopping in at least. I guess any normal person wouldn’t see it as such an ordeal, but I certainly do! You can never know who is on the other side. It could be anything. From a mailman to a serial killer. I’d say people ought to be more careful answering doors. Regardless of all that, I pull the door open with only a little hesitation as I peek my way through the opening.
“Hello, can I help-” I stop right when I see who is on the other side. A boy with layered black hair and bright grey eyes stands in the doorway, holding a brown leather wallet with a chibi cat etched on it out towards me.
“Are… are you Yuriko Akimoto?” he asks, peering down at me. I feel like my heart just skipped a beat. He is so cute, an actual angel is standing at my front door! I straighten my posture and power out an answer.
“Y-yes, that’s me!” I try my best to look cool and collected, maybe I should try and pose as Kotaro does… that might work. Not now, though. I can’t be applying any new techniques during an encounter.
“I just moved into the building a few days ago, and this morning I found your wallet in the laundry room… your ID was in front of it, so I asked the superintendent what room number you were in so I could deliver it to you... I hope you don’t mind the intrusion!” he responds with a bright white smile draped across his face.
My mind comes to a blank, as I don’t know what to say. I’ve been looking for it all week, and I thought that it was just lost in my apartment somewhere! Thank god it wasn’t stolen. I had all of my money and identification in there… losing it would have been a nightmare, to say the least. How do I thank him? Do I pay him money? Do I invite him in? So many options and so little experience answering doors. My trans is disrupted by Kiyoko launching to an uproar in the background.
“Haru?!” she shrieks, springing her way up in front of me. I haven’t a clue as to how she went from my couch to my doorway in such a fleeting amount of time. She glances at me, then back at the boy. Looking at me as if I had just done something horribly wrong. I have never seen Kiyoko’s angry side, and I pray that I never will be doomed to do so. She is a true horror.
“Kiyoko?!” erupts the boy in response. His calm expressions are now void, and the two stand glaring ferociously at each other. I can’t help but stand stunned in place, stuck dead center between the friction. To my relief, Kotaro grabs my arm and plucks me away from the rising contention.
“You know Haru?” Kotaro whispers as we kneel behind my kitchen counter.
“I don’t have a clue who he is! He’s just here to deliver my lost wallet… is he dangerous?” That’s it! He must be some sort of violent criminal! How could I have been so naive? If Kiyoko hadn’t come to my rescue, I would have fallen subject to his ravishing looks, and I would have been abducted to be his little sex slave. Being forced to-
“Nah, he just refused to draw lewd art for one of Kiyoko’s novels, and she’s been pissed about it ever since.”
“O-oh, I see…”
After Kotaro expensed all of his shounen anime powers to suppress Kiyoko, she calmed down. Apparently, the two had worked on several volumes together, and Haru illustrated all of the covers. However, Kiyoko wanted to increase her male viewership by having a lewd image of the heroine plastered onto the book. Haru refused, telling her that ‘she should focus on adding more shounen elements to the story’ if she wanted more male readers. Kiyoko lost it, as she took it as a huge backstab at her writing. So it goes according to Kotaro, at least. Maybe Kiyoko is just a little over dramatic.
After Kiyoko settled down with Haru, Kotaro invited him in for a coffee. And yes, Kotaro invited him in. He is plainly comfortable in my apartment it seems. He would probably make himself right at home anywhere, actually. I imagine him sitting in a lion's den, making all the lions brunch as he sits on a big rock dressed like a chef. If it were a novel, I’d call it Zoo Wars.
I had finally received my lost wallet, which had a prolonged delivery due to the cold war that brewed at my front step. However, it was all worth it though. It was the first time in… well, ever that I had so much fun with people.
I now stand at the door with Haru across from me.
“Well, I’ll be going now! Good luck on volume 2 of your novel, I’ll be sure to look out for it!” he delivers with a smile, turning to walk away.
“W-wait!” the words leap out of my throat. He turns back around, looking back at me.
“What's up?” he replies.
… What did I just do? Oh no! I could have just let him walk away and left it at that! Why did I call back out to him? Was it because I had fun? Was it because I think he’s cute? I don’t know! I decide to go with my gut and just say whatever comes out, surely it won’t be too bad.
“Feel free to come say hi if you ever see me around… or something like that… It’s okay if you don’t want to, of course!” I announce, more loudly than I anticipated. My heart is beating like it is trying to burst from my chest, and my palms are sweaty. My knees are weak and my arms are heavy. I’ve been nervous before… but this feels kind of different. I knowingly put myself in a situation for the embarrassment this time. What’s gotten into me?
“Yeah, sure thing” he responds with a smile. “I’ll see you around, only if you don’t keep me and your fans waiting on that second volume!” he declares with a laugh and a wave goodbye. I can’t help but laugh back in response. I think I should go fix up those romance parts in my manuscript now.