Kokoro no X (I) ~EDITING~

One

I rested on the shoe shelf near the front of the store. It was short, short enough I could easily rest my elbow on it and still not stand at full height. The front half of the store was almost entirely glass, and in the afternoon light the store looked gold.

Every day, it lit up like this, and for some reason I always stopped to watch it until it disappeared. Which didn't take long - before I knew it, the store was almost dark again, and Yasu, my boss, finished locking up the back room and turned to me, glancing around the room.

"Isn't it a bit dark in here?" he laughed. He pushed his glasses up a bit and walked towards me. Nudging me, he added, "You're still wearing your apron, or is that the new fashion amongst you youngsters these days?"

I sighed, chucked a bit, and took my apron off, just kinda throwing it on the front counter. I'd get it in the morning. Tomorrow was Wednesday anyway, so I had the day off to work. All it meant was that I'd be the first person in besides Yasu.

We locked up and walked home. Yes, we. Yasu lives next door to me, acts like my guardian. He is my guardian, really, if I'm being honest. When I was a kid, I was living in abandoned houses and underneath decks on my own, avoiding anyone who might try to whisk me away to some foster care. I had someone I was living for, and I couldn't afford to let them down.

Then Yasu found me. He hardly even blinked before he decided to drag me home with him. He tried to get me to tell him my parents' number, but I don't have parents, so I didn't say anything. He really did almost put me in foster care, and even though he's more overbearing than anyone I've ever met, I'm still thankful for that.

Now I live next door to him, I have my own house and whatnot. It's nothing too special, a two-bedroom place that's kind of falling apart on the outside. It doesn't matter, I'm the only person who lives there, and I don't need anything fancy.

Of course, it would help if I had something a little more presentable, especially tonight.

After all, tonight someone's time will be up.

I lived off of my paycheck working at Yasu's. Of course, he tried to pay for things like my bills and such, but I never let him. That month, though, I had a little bit left over, so I bought myself something nice.

So what, I was selfish.

There was a knock on my door. That was her.

I opened the door and let her in. Her bright green eyes were dulled by the artificial light in the living room, and she was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. I was still in my work uniform, and embarrassed as I was - a first for me - it was too late to change anyway.

She marvelled a bit at the inside, resting her fingers for a second on the arm of the couch before moving on.

"It's so quaint! I love it," she sighed.

I had invited her over for dinner, so I, still in my work uniform, silently cooked dinner while she told me about her day. We were in the same main class, but she had different electives than I did, and in our friendship so far she had been the talker and I had been the listener. I was fine with this, it meant I didn't have to fake anything. It was easy to act like you were listening, it was easy to actually listen.

"...and so Allocredan is getting SO hard. I don't understand how Kin puts up with it." I nodded. I had no idea who Kin was, but it didn't really matter. Nor did I care.

"Oh, hey, by the way-" She pulled something out from her satchel. I didn't get a good look at it, but it seemed like a can of something. "-I brought this, uh, as a gift."

I supressed a laugh. "What is it?"

"Ah, it's just a drink from overseas. My parents run a store that specializes in foreign foods, mostly Allocredan." She set it down on the linoleum countertop with a clink. "They sometimes overstock and so we get the leftovers."