Love All Your Vices || Haitani Rindou/OC

01- the beginning

"I'm telling you, he was really nice."

"the part where he insinuated something at the very start isn't so convincing, Kei."

"Hikari," she whines.

"what? he literally said how and where—he's a fuckboy. you hate fuckboys."

"he's not."

Hikari, her one and only friend, sat across her at the cafe. they were both studying, the girl for accountancy, Kei for business. actually studying however proved to not just be hard, but rather definitely impossible when a certain purple-eyed man brimmed her mind with unease.

he left her his number. it's been two days. the only reason she wasn't able to call him was because she was grounded again by her parents after they found out she was at a bar.

"hey, you okay? Hikari asks softly, looking up from her book.

she smiled, deflecting her concern with a joke. "no, I think I need to see him again."

"I know we haven't known each other that long, but if you need help, you can talk to me, Kei."

Hikari looked away right after saying so, focusing her eyes on her material. she was a shy friend, but she was smart and perceptive. some time ago when they met up for yet another study session, she was able to notice the bruises on her arm—right under her sleeves.

she didn't say anything then, but Kei knew she kept that in mind.

it was frustrating. Rindou, Hikari—what both of them had in common was that they saw her for what she was even when they didn't know her that long, and like so, their first instinct was to offer help. she had nothing against them, she liked them for their concern.

it, however, made her feel like the most pathetic girl in the world. imagine being seen for who you are, and immediately, they discern you need help.

"my parents are very strict with me," she explains, "I was homeschooled most of my life, I wasn't allowed to leave our house—it made me a smart kid, sure, but I can be quite new to the world."

"that isn't a bad thing," Hikari quietly tells her. "it's not your fault. you can learn for yourself now, I offered help because..."

"the bruises?"

she nods. "the bruises. I didn't mean to imply you can't stand on your own."

"perhaps I can't..."

"Kei, don't be so hard on yourself—listen, if you wish to learn, you might as well just call up Rindou or whoever he was. I have a feeling he'll be your first lesson."

Kei sarcastically smiled at her. "are you seriously cursing my future with him?"

she scoffed. "what future? go ahead, call him, maybe that'll make you feel better."

+++

Kei anxiously glanced down the screen of her phone as she stood alone in the girl's bathroom of the cafe.

Rindou Haitani.

she'd spent the majority of her time locked in her room with no electronics just thinking about him. the problem was that she was a hopeless romantic. what, with being shut out from the world most of her life, she's only had books to turn to. and books—she still struggled to accept that the romance she reads, she might not experience.

but then Rindou shows himself to her. he was charming, and kind, and mean and rude. somehow, she loved that he was rude.

with nothing to do in her room, she thought of him. him and his eyes, his hands, his scent. him and his bluntness with others yet so very soft voice when he said her name. they breathed the same air for a total of ten minutes, she had to make up for their lack of actual time together with daydreams.