Out of Nowhere (Rindou x reader)

Chapter 46: Love & War

"(Y/n), you don't have to win. Whatever happens, I'll be right here."

—~—

Third Person POV

"Rindo, can I bother you for a second?"

(Y/n) grinned expectantly at him, buzzing with a newfound excitement and motivation. After telling him that she'll be right back, the (h/c)-nette barged back into her homeroom with something in her hand.

Said male peeked one eye open before sighing, "You're always bothering me, but go ahead."

"Can you organize this for me, please?" She asked and held out the object she was hiding. Cocking a brow, his face of blatant confusion contorted to one of shocked curiosity.

"Why are you handing me your trashed attempt?" He questioned and grabbed the trash bag from her hands, the same one he saw in her club room so long ago. The work she wholeheartedly prided upon stuffed into the trash disguised as humiliation and shame.

She blinked and slightly recoiled at his statement, "Eh? I didn't tell you what it was..."

"I kinda got a peek. I mean, it was just lying on your work table, (y/n)," he stated and she offered a small smile at his response.

She always seem to forget how considerate he was at times. That he probably refrained from telling her since it would've worsened her mood, and she appreciated the thought. That was always something she admired about his character, even back then.

The blonde leaned back onto his chair once more and closed his eyes, "Anyways, if you're asking me to sort out your trash, I'm pretty sure it goes in recycling—"

"No, stupid, I want to use these for the contest— er, some of them, at least," she explained and the dots were finally connecting for him. Ah, so that's what's she wanted... Alright then—

"Hah? Are you crazy? You're gonna finish that disaster in less than two weeks?" He stared at her incredulously but she still kept that overly confident attitude of hers— the same one he knows all too well since the beginning. Before he knew it, a wide grin of his own broke out on his face, "I like it. What do I have to do?"

This... this was a nice change of pace.

The next day, (y/n) returned to school like normal with Rindo right on tow to keep her company. Nobody would've guessed the turmoil they went through the past couple of days as they went straight to their typical behavior of cats and dogs. If anything, their insults became more creative and more frequent, but that was just how they were anyways.

Then suddenly, while they were talking about the competition, (y/n) stood up from her chair as if she had the grandest realization and Rindo confusedly glanced at her abrupt mood change. With a quick 'I'll be right back! Stay right there!' she left in a hurry, leaving a more than bewildered purple-eyed boy to his own devices. He opted to close his eyes and rest for a bit— which, by the way, his girlfriend still attends school an hour early— until she bursted through the door with this absurd plan of hers... and he's never been happier.

All this time, he was at a loss on how to bring (y/n) back up from rock bottom. He swears, every time a new obstacle would appear, the extremely resolute, unwavering girl before him increasingly became more and more dejected as time went by... and that terrified him to no end. He tried everything to make sure the fire in her eyes wouldn't disappear, and when it inevitably did, he was the one who felt defeated. That all he could do was just be there until she got better on her own accord.