Monotonous | Nanami Kento x Reader

26 | Kento | Realization

Kento had a rough day.

A rough week, in fact.

How he was still moving forward, he did not know. It was a miracle how his body did not shut down from all the stresses of his daily life. It would be so easy to just barricade himself in his room; but Kento wasn't one to take the easy route. Besides, even without finding any pleasure in material objects, there was someone he hoped desperately to see.

Y/N's absence from the bakery had caused him to realize that he had grown accustomed to her, and now, he didn't feel like he could go the rest of the day without her. Despite that, he came every day, even for the mere chance that she showed up. It was like a craving, a gnawing in his stomach.

His growing feelings towards Y/N had built up slowly and crept on him all-the-while he was unaware. There was no denying it now.

Not now as he once again was standing opposite the H/C baker, his eyes not on the cursed spirit around her shoulders, or her stray fly-aways hidden by his tie that she still kept, or her slightly messy apron sprinkled with flour, but rather directly on the girl herself. Almond brown with E/C. He couldn't look away, nor did he want to.

His tiredness could not compare to the sight of her, like seeing a pond in a desert. 

Her eyes were still bright, but lined with more dark circles than usual, something that Kento caught onto. A weaker smile played on her lips as she greeted him. 

She was back.

She was actually back.

He lowered his voice. It was like any loud sound would startle her. "Y/N, have you been sleeping well?"

His first thought was to make sure she was well, not to bombard her with useless words of consolation, but rather questions of concern to gauge her health.

"Oh, yeah. I've been under the weather lately" She yawns, closing her eyes briefly before reopening them. "That obvious?" That tremble of self-consciousness did not go unnoticed. Her fingers smoothed down her apron subconsciously, filled with a jittery energy. 

Kento stopped her, doing it for her. "You still look stunning. Always." He fixed her headband, created from his tie, adjusting it so the material didn't bunch. "Let me try another question." It was like seeing her in another perspective for the first time. Once he was fully accepting of his feelings, did he see and recognise the whole picture. 

Under that smile was a woman wholey exhausted.

"What's bothering you?" Kento skipped the 'are you ok?' question; the answer to that was obvious.

Usually, Y/N would respond with her reassurance that everything was ok, but this time, she didn't feel like covering it up. It was a testament to her state and comfortableness around him. The first thing she mentioned was related to -- his stomach sank -- to the cursed spirit latching onto--

"Gosh, this feels really specific. My shoulders." The aches grew worse as time went on, because the cursed spirit was feeding on her energy. When Kento had first seen it, he assumed it was harmless, but at the point, it was clear it was the source of her pain. 

Y/N rubbed her left side, her smile melted away as she continued speaking. "Everything feels so... cold? And it feels as if everything comes from there. I don't know how to explain it, it feels-- it feels so--"

"Pointless. Hollow. Empty." Kento finished for her, his eyebrows creased in concern. He got a nod of affirmation.

"Exactly." As she prepared his order, guilt gnawed at Kento, the first real emotion he could feel instead of the numbness that iced his body. He had the choice to solve this for her months ago, yet he kept making excuses that she'd be alright without his help. She wasn't fine. Now, the curse had escalated to this point where his heart ached at her pain.

He wanted to do anything possible to her, even if it meant doing something he told himself he'd never do again. And he wouldn't hold back anymore. Kento leaned in just a little closer. He wanted to go even closer, but he held himself back. "Do you trust me?" His voice was low as he asked.

"Trust you?" Y/N repeated. "For what?"

"Answer my question. Do you trust me?" His eyes searched hers, looking for a sign, something to prove his answer-- something, anything. Luckily for him, he didn't have to wait long; barely a second passed before she gave her answer in a breathless whisper.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Yes. I trust you, Kento."

She didn't flinch as his hand swiftly launched out towards her, but he didn't touch her. The rush of air brushed across the skin of her neck and shoulder, and she felt an immediate relief. Y/N didn't know what he just did, but what she did know was that her strange symptoms disappeared thanks to him. Breathless words filled with gratitude left her sweet looking lips.

"Thank you."

Kento froze. His muscles stiffened taut. The way she looked up at him like he was the most important person in the world had his face turning red, heartbeat rushing faster than it ever did. This lack of control over his emotions sent him into overdrive, and his feet raced to get out of that situation, too overwhelmed to think clearly.

He could barely hear Y/N's shock and protests as he left the bakery, numbly aware he forget to take his order. To hell with his bread, he wanted something more than that. He wanted to be selfish. But he couldn't. He had to get away before he'd do something he regret.

Still, her last words caught his attention as they echoed in his ear.

"I don't know what you did, but it helped me. So please, come back. If not now, then later. Just not never." She had rushed out just as quickly as him, perching by the doorway, her stray hairs so generously tucked by starting to peek. Kento had the resist the urge to fix them, his fingers twitching as he listened to the girl despite that part of him yelling at him to run away. The girl wearing his tie. "Thank you." 

As he looked back, he made a realization that he could never take back.