Satou walked into the changing room. As usual, any negative emotion had been erased from her face, as if she hadn't been feeling anything bitter at all. Shoko turned her head and looked at her friend in surprise. "You're late today, Satou." she said. Satou nodded and told her she had been given a later shift. A senior girl rushed into the room. "Matsuzaka, I just want to say thank you! I'm sorry that I had to ask you for this." she said, an apologetic look on her face. "It's no problem!" Satou replied in her usual preppy voice. The senior girl's face turned mildly serious.
"How was Mitsuboshi?" upon hearing that name, Shoko's blood went cold. She couldn't bear to think about him after what she went through. "Mitsuboshi-kun? Oh, unfortunately, I couldn't see him today either." the senior girl sighed at Satou's reply. "I don't think he'll be coming back at this rate. That's what the manager's on tenterhooks about." she turned to Shoko. "And you say he wouldn't see you either, Shoko?" she asked. Shoko clutched her juice box. It felt wrong to lie like this to her senior, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about what happened. She doubted that they would believe her anyway. So, she responded with a mere 'Yes, Mitori-senpai'. Satou flashed the two girls her usual sweet smile. "I'm sure Mitsuboshi-kun knows that this lifestyle is unhealthy, and that he can't continue on like this. So I'll keep trying as hard as I can to bring him back to his feet and help him find himself again." Satou said in a determined voice. Mitori smiled.
"I'll leave that to you. Thanks again. Well then, let's get to work, shall we?" the senior walked out of the changing room. But before she could leave the room, she remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot. Su-chan stopped coming to work around the same time Mitsuboshi did." she said. Satou's placid tone remained as the opened her cabinet. "I think everything regarding Su-chan,"
"I don't think it could've been helped." she said. The senior smiled. "You're right. I guess there's no use in talking about them if they've left." she said with a sigh. After she had left the room once and for all, Shoko turned to Satou. She was determined to keep acting normal around her, even with the information that she had been forced to take in. "Satou, how are things with you and that boyfriend of yours lately?" she asked. Satou smiled when she thought about her love.
"Things are lovely between us. We're intimate and always smiling, every day." Satou remarked, her eyes gleaming gently. She blushed when she thought about Y/N, her 'boyfriend'. Shoko blinked. Usually, she loved hearing about love stories and happy couples. But in Satou's case, she couldn't really bring herself to sincerely smile. "Is that so? It would be lovely to meet him one day. This boyfriend that's captured your heart." Shoko laughed casually, masking her uneasiness. Satou smiled innocently. "Mhm. Someday, maybe you two will meet."
Throughout the shift, Shoko watched from the corner of her eye as Satou worked. Mitsuboshi said she was a kidnapper, and she had ran away with a young person. A young person that has been missing for a long time. It was hard to believe, because Satou's happy-go-lucky personality, topped with her beautiful looks, made her seem incapable of any wrongdoing. She watched as Satou welcomed guests, took their orders, and sent them off. All with a sweet smile.
After work, Shoko walked down a busy street. She was going to meet Asahi. Her phone ringing snapped her out of her forlorn thoughts and she rushed to a quiet place. She answered and told her mother another lie. It was like a daily routine for her. Being somewhere she wasn't supposed to be at, lying to her mother, and just being a rebellious little girl. After hanging up, she looked at two girls who were playing around with older boys. It jogged memories of when she and Satou used to hang around with boys around that area. And memories of a conversation a while back.
"Hey, Satou? Why are you always changing boyfriends?" Shoko asked one day when she was hanging out with Satou. Satou was staring at the starlit sky through the restaurant window. "I haven't found them yet. My one and only. Once I find that love, I'll probably stop messing around with boys and settle down with my lover." Satou said that all with a smile on her face.
Shoko thought over her words. 'My one and only. Someone who I love, that will only be for me. Asahi-kun. I thought that we would be closer if we both found boyfriends. But I feel like we're drifting apart. I used to feel safe with her, we used to have so much fun. She was my dearest friend.' Shoko walked to the park quietly. Even if she had a boyfriend, she could rarely see him. Whereas Satou was living with her lover. Is that why they've been drifting apart? Is it because Satou would rather be with her boyfriend? Surely she prioritized friendship over love.
Satou didn't. She forgot everything in her life whenever she was with Y/N. Her friendship with Shoko used to be the one thing she actually enjoyed. But after finding love, she completely disregarded her friendship and spent all her time thinking about and being with Y/N.
Y/N looked up at Satou's space buns. "Satou-chan, your buns are so cute." they remarked. Satou was more than happy to receive a compliment from her beloved. She giggled as Y/N touched and played with her buns. "How about I comb that lovely hair of yours, Y/N-chan?" she offered. It felt so peaceful to have Y/N snug in her arms as she tenderly combed their hair. She wanted to keep them in pristine condition. She was always happy to take care of her darling Y/N.
"Sho-chan." Asahi smiled softly when he saw his girlfriend. Any negative emotion in Shoko's heart was erased at the sight of him. "Where is she? I've brought more food for her." she asked. Asahi shrugged and told her he had just arrived. Shoko's sharp eyes caught a figure underneath one of the benches. She immediately ran over and gasped when she found that the figure was indeed the elderly woman that had fainted the night before. "Hey! You're sleeping underneath the bench again?" the woman was in a deep sleep, so she didn't hear Shoko's shrill yells. Frustrated, Shoko banged on the top of the bence. The woman woke up with a gasp.
She tried to crawl away, scared that someone was going to hurt her. "Ah, wait! It's just us! Sho-chan, you should really be more polite to her." Asahi lectured. The woman looked up and saw Asahi offering her a bun. The woman stared at the bun blankly before accepting it.
"Thank...you." she spoke softly. Shoko smiled slightly. "It's no problem. We don't want you going hungry and passing out again." she said. It really scared her the first time she met the woman. She had fainted upon hearing Shoko call for her. She and Asahi had helped her trudge to a nearby bench. They both listened to her growling stomach with looks of pity and unease. Luckily, Shoko had an extra bun in her school bag and could give it to the woman. The woman was wary of both of them at first but eventually warmed up to them since they were basically taking care of her. Now, the two teenagers sat in silence as the woman munched away. Between the two, only one thought circled in their mind. They glanced at each other slowly.
'She looks like a hamster, doesn't she?'
YOU ARE READING
𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐨 𝐔𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐮 𝐌. 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
Fanfiction(𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐔, 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐬𝐚𝐡𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐘/𝐍 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐮.) (𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬...
