Lighter | Noriaki Kakyoin

2| Cicada

It was sunny when I made my way outside the school building to have my lunch accompanied by some fresh air. Noises of cheerful chatting slowly ebbed away as I approached a quieter place. 

Sitting with his back to me, I found Kakyoin paying close attention to one of the bushes. As I came closer, I noticed he was sketching something, so concentrated he didn't even notice me. I was a few steps away from him when I started questioning why I was getting closer in the first place, but it was already too late.

"Good morning, Kakyoin." I chimed my greetings in hopes of not giving off any stalker vibes, but my presence ended up startling him. His grip on the pencil faltered, and the result was a harsh line left on his drawing.

"Natsume-san, you sure walk silently." He composed himself as he analyzed the damage.

"I'm so sorry!" There goes my second impression. Should I bury myself now or later? "I swear I didn't mean to scare you, I just..."

"It is fine." As I crouched down next to him, I noticed he was sketching a cicada that, luckily, was still peacefully standing there doing nothing. "I was thinking about starting again, and this incident simply gave me the push I needed." He smiled comfortingly at me.

"I know you're only saying this to make me feel better." I leered nearer to see for myself, and the lines were perfectly portraying the bug in front of us. He was doing an impressive job with shadows and values, and I had ruined it. "This looks amazing! You're really good at drawing. I'll think of something to make up for this."

"There's no need to." He closed the notebook and relaxed his posture, mimicking a lazy cat reaching out for sunlight. "Why don't you sit with me for a little? We can have lunch together." He gazed at me with expectation and receiving all the attention from those eyes set my nerves on edge.

"Of course." I straightened my skirt and sat a little farther from the bug, just in case. "Oh, I have an idea! I'll make cookies for you." I announced confidently, very pleased with my idea as I took out my food.

"Cookies? As an apology, you mean?" He looked genuinely surprised even after I answered with a nod. "I know I just said there was no need for apologizing, but it is not easy to refuse cookies." He made a troubled expression as if confronted with a moral dilemma.

"I was already planning on baking them, you see." I copied his phrase, with a hint of humor this time. "Now I have someone to test my baking skills."

"Thank you, Natsume-San." I knew it wasn't much, but he acted as if I had just done him unmeasurable kindness. Maybe he's not used to receiving many acts of generosity? Or perhaps he just really loves cookies.

Either way, something in him echoed a type of gratitude that only came from years of loneliness. It only made me feel motivated to give him the sweetest things I could if only to make him smile like that again.

"By the way, you can just call me Yubi."

After he nodded, a comfortable muteness settled down between us, and the distant sound of leaves shuffling kept us company.

...

I took out the second cookie tray the next day as lunch approached. My act did not go unnoticed by an aroused Chiyoko, whose appetite was never to be doubted.