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———— THIS WAS AWKWARD.
[y/n] tapped her finger against her phone, silently walking to class, avoiding eye contact with anyone that looked her way. she tugged at the hem of her shirt; a nervous tick she picked up back in middle school. how she ended up carrying it all the way to her first year of university, she's never know.
it was a bit frustrating at first, trying to find her class, but eventually, she managed to figure out where her class was and made her way inside. there were a few students already seated, some wandering in behind her. she found the first empty seat that was furthest from the others and planted herself there. she took a moment to look around the room and observe the other students. they looked relatively excited to be there, and some seemed to know each other already. probably friends from high school.
she lived back in fukuoka, the sixth-largest city in japan. her father was a respected tech mogul and her mother managed the canal city hakata. needless to say, she could've easily stayed around home to attend university as anywhere would've accepted her in a heartbeat due to her parents' status, but she decided she wanted to venture on her own and do things for herself. at first, she thought of going overseas to study, but, after realizing that that may have been a bit too ambitious, she decided to stay within japan. she applied to many different universities, but the one that stuck out to her the most was doshisha.
the university itself became one of japan's most prestigious universities. it also had one of the most selective admissions in all of japan. she didn't think she'd get in, but, she was very bright in high school, being in class 7 all years. she was part of countless academic and social clubs, as well as played sports. it was a no brainer to accept her. of course, the tiny mention of her parents and the possibility of a large endowment if she succeeded at the school was a considering factor in her selection process.
still, [y/n] didn't let that possibility bother her. she was a perfect student; there was no denying it. the only thing that stood in her way? her newfound anxiety. she wasn't this anxious back home, but, moving almost eight hours away from familiar surroundings caused for some stress. her parents had insisted on getting her a house so she wouldn't have to live in the dorms, and, after a very long, arduous argument, she finally caved and let them get her the house. she didn't mind a free place to live, but it was definitely harder to make friends living off campus.
her break was spent moving her things in and trying to navigate kyoto. it was a bit different from fukuoka. definitely not as many high rises and tech buildings. it was still nice, though.
she wasn't sure how long she zoned out, but what snapped her back to reality was a boy talking to her. "i'm sorry?" she said.
"i asked if anyone was sitting here," he muttered. she shook her head no and he took a seat beside her, keeping his distance. she watched the way he glanced at another boy in the class who sat at the other end of the room with a few others. she thought about saying something, but decided it wasn't her business.
she sat quietly as the lecture began, occasionally glancing at the boy beside her. he looked equally as anxious as her, but his anxiety seemed to stem from the boy sitting at the other end. hers was just all around. she had been doodling in her notebook, and eventually zoned out again until the boy next to her nudged her arm, a stack of paper in his hand. she quietly apologized before taking a paper and passing the stack along to the next row, now embarrassed that she had zoned out twice. in front of a cute boy, nonetheless. once class had ended, she quickly packed up her things to head out, but not before getting stopped by someone. "hey, you!" she heard. she turned around, seeing the boy that the one sitting next to her was looking at.
"were you talking to me?" she asked.
"yeah! did yasunari say anything to you? i felt him looking at me, but every time i turned back, he was looking at you, so i assumed he talked to you or something."
"i'm sorry, who?"
"the guy sitting next to you? oh, this is awkward. i guess he didn't talk to you, then."
"uh, no, sorry."
"well, in any case, i'm natsusa yuzuki. you look new. are you a first year?" he asked, gesturing for her to walk with him.
"yeah, i am," [y/n] quietly replied. "oh, i'm [y/n] [l/n], by the way."
"love the name. i'm gonna call you [n/n]."
"i- okay."
"you're very anxious," he chuckled.
"i wish i could say the same for you."
"say, you like rugby?"
"rugby?"
"yeah, rugby."
"uh, i mean, my brother plays it sometimes-" [y/n] started, but natsusa cut her off.
"great! why don't you come watch practice one day?" he grinned.
"oh, do you play?" she asked.
"nah, i used to, but then i got into a really bad accident and now i can't play anymore. check out this sick scar," he pointed to the back of his neck. [y/n] recognized the spot. it was a hernia.
"hernia, huh?"
"yeah! how'd you guess?"
"i'm studying medicine. kind of have to know these things."
"oh, i see. you want to be a doctor. so, you're definitely super smart," he muttered, as if he was contemplating something. "well, feel free to come to rugby practice anytime, 'kay? i'll be waiting for you!" he smiled, and, just like that, he was gone.
