Unfriendy Lovers

An Unlikely Meeting

Shinobu gritted her teeth in vexation, waiting for the child to stop pulling on the hair she had spent hours working on. Not letting her irritation get the best of her, Shinobu kept her perfect, pearly white smile plastered on, calming trying to remove two little fists from her purple tips. 

After the child had reluctantly let go after an inordinate amount of coaxing, the weary part-timer stood up while wiping her hands on the apron every employee was supplied with. She took a quick glance at the children's clock that was hung low on the wall, which in turn only served to make her feel even angrier at her situation. 

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Shinobu Kochou was a straight A+ student, a talented musician, great athlete, kind, beautiful, all in all, a perfect student. However, no matter what she did, she would never be able to escape from the comments, the not-so-silent whispers comparing her to Kanae, her older sister. 

She had moved across the countries to remove herself from the comparisons, attending the most prestigious university while taking arguably one of the hardest majors. She could finally claim the title of number one with her sister absent, the title she had longed for her entire life. Or so she thought. Giyu Tomioka, a freshman her age, claimed the title for himself. He was a nonchalant student, never showing or revealing any emotions. Combined with his undoubtedly attractive face, toned body, many girls fell widely in love with him, their affections ranging from a slight crush to unhealthy infatuations. 

Shinobu, instead found his cold, indifferent demeanor to be annoying and imprudent, as if he believed himself to be better than everyone else. This, combined with the fact that he never associated with anyone, led her to believe that Tomioka was simply a narcissistic, conceited, genius, who was blessed with good looks. 

What made her hatred for the man burn even hotter was at his blasé manner in which he received his grades. Even after receiving a perfect score on an exam, Tomioka would refuse to smile the tiniest bit or show the slightest bit of relief. 

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Shinobu took another look at the clock, this time staring at it for a while, as if to make sure she was reading the time correctly. She groaned once she realized how late it was, wishing that she'd brought her chemistry textbooks to the job. 

She had only started to work part-time at the daycare a few days ago since her best friend Mitsuri, recommended it to her. 

"The shifts are short and all of the kids are wonderful! You'll love the job. And you'll make some cash on the side."

Shinobu had only agreed to work this particular day since the shift was from 3-6 pm. She had planned to go home and immediately bury her head into her notes and textbook, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, she was now working overtime by 3 hours. 

She stared at the two siblings sitting on the floor, one of them wearing an adorable duck print bucket hat. Even after the daycare's hours had officially ended, their negligent parents had still not come to pick them up. 

She rubbed her eyes in frustration as the test the next day was supposedly the hardest one of the first semester, and yet here she was, unable to study because of an irresponsible asshole. 

The older sibling, a boy, stood up apologetically. "I'm really sorry miss. I'm sure you're really busy, but since our daddy's late, you have to stay here with us."

If Shinobu could recall correctly, his name was Tanjiro and his younger sister's name was Neuko. Tanjiro was a very kind child, someone who would always share and help the other kids at the daycare, and his sister was just a baby.