Falling In Love With A Ghoul {Juuzou Suzuya x OC}

Rainy Day

Thunder rattled the building and I shot awake, startled. Heavy rain slashed at the fragile windows, and I wasn't surprised when the delicate glass shattered and a strong gust of cold wind rushed into the building.

"Dammit. Not again," I groaned, the spray from the rain washing over my face.

Getting to my feet, my vision became blurred. Seeing as this happened so often, I simply held onto the wall as I made my way downstairs. I cursed myself for having left my only sweatshirt at Anteiku, a small, popular coffee shop that had a secret: it was run by ghouls.

I flung open the door and took a moment to mentally prepare myself before stepping out into the downpour. Trudging my way towards the coffee shop, I kept my head down, too tired and drenched to deal with any social interactions. My feet aligned with the crack on the sidewalk as I balanced on the narrow sliver. It felt good to act like a child again. I was so preoccupied following the crack in the sidewalk that I nearly walked into someone.

"I'm so sorry, I should've been paying attention to where I was going, I-" I rambled, but a familiar voice cut me off.

"Hey, you're that girl from yesterday, aren't you?"

My head whipped up to look at the person in front of me, and I quickly recognized the boy from last night. Or... was he a boy? His features appeared rather androgynous, but looked slightly more feminine than masculine.

"I never caught your name yesterday, may I ask what it is?" he asked politely.

"I'm Hayate Daitan," I replied.

"Nice to meet you, Daitan! The name's Juuzou Suzuya, I'm a third rank investigator with the CCG," he introduced, stretching his hand out for me to shake. I hesitantly grabbed it and he looked up at me, his bright scrimson eyes studying my face. I awkwardly looked away and pulled my hand back to my side.

"So, uh... would you mind if I invited you to get breakfast with me? I would love to chat more right here and now, but I'm just soooo hungry, can we please go get some food?" I smiled at his childishness and gave in.

"Sure, where we're you thinking?"

Suzuya did a little celebratory dance before replying, "I've heard of this coffee shop in the 20th ward called Anteiku, apparently they make the best coffee and have good food as well. Have you ever been?"

"I've been there a few times. Oh my gosh, you hafta try their sandwiches, they're absolutely amazing!" I rambled. Even though I was a ghoul and couldn't eat human food, I knew that would convince Suzuya that I'm a human if he had any prior doubts.

We walked in awkward silence. Even though it was 6 in the morning, Suzuya seemed very full of energy. The few people moving sluggishly through the streets had rain jackets and umbrellas, but the boy splashing through the puddles beside me didn't seem to mind the rain.

"You must like the rain, huh?" I asked him as we neared Anteiku. The small sign became visible as we rounded the corner.

"Sure do! It's especially peaceful when it rains in the morning, 'cause barely anyone is outside and it's nice and quiet," he explained.

Suzuya skipped ahead of me and grabbed the door. "After you, m'lady," he joked, grinning widely at me as he held the door for me.

I gave the eager boy a light smile in return and stepped through the door, entering the cold hallway. As soon as I pushed the door open to the cafe, I was greeted by the warm, cozy atmosphere and welcoming servers.

"Hayate!" a short brunette girl exclaimed, running over and hugging me.

"Hey Hinami, how's it goin?" I grinned at her as I picked her up and spun her around.

"Pretty goo- who's that?" Hinami pointed at the boy who was standing at the door, admiring my heartwarming interaction with the girl.

"Just a friend I ran into last night. He invited me to join him for breakfast, so here we are." I glanced back at Suzuya and he smiled.