Shadows Of Fate

7.) A Birthday Surprise

  Hey, those chips look pretty good! Hey, that drink looks like the one I endorse! Hey, that’s the new drink I saw- Oh my god, who am I kidding? This is like the what, 7th time I’ve said that as I walked around the convenience store? Nezuko said he had to take an incoming call outside. He told me to stay inside the store and wait for him. That call must be something serious for him to take this long. I checked the time on my phone. It had already been 10 minutes since he went outside.

  ”Excuse me, miss? If you’re not here to buy anything, could you to please exit my shop.” The cashier told me, eyes staring daggers at me. Geez, did he think I was going to steal something? Bowing my head apologetically, I exited the shop in embarrassment.

  Right when I was about to exit, the automatic doors opened to reveal Nezuko himself about to enter the shop.

  “Zuko, there you are! What took you so long?”

  “Kuroi, sorry my manager called me about my upcoming schedule. I have to head back now. Sorry to cut our outing short. Let’s go out again another time!” Nezuko explained.

  “Oh, you have to go now? That’s fine. You probably took time out of your usual busy schedule to go out with me. Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you in school tomorrow then!” I said.

  ”Bye!” He shouted and gave me a small wave before running off.

  I don’t know what Nezuko talked about on the phone with his manager, but I don’t think that would have caused his hands to look swollen and red.

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   My week continued as per usual. I spent time with the other 4 like how I normally do. I did get invited to be the main emcee for the 36th Japan Music Awards. It was a music award ceremony where many popular music artists perform and receive awards. When Haruka told me, I may have had a slight panic attack. I really hoped that my Enochlophobia wouldn’t spike at the wrong moment during the show. However, I was excited to see some of my favourite musical artists perform. I was especially looking forward to Nezuko's performance. Hopefully, he would be able to win an award too! This was also my first emcee job for an event! To conclude, I was really looking forward to attending that award show.

  It was currently just past 11pm and I had just finished up my homework. I returned home later than usual today because of a photoshoot. After a quick shower, I was exhausted and ready to pass out. Making myself comfortable under the soft blanket, I gradually drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was a busy day.

  What I failed to notice were the continuous notifications popping up on my phone as the clock struck midnight.

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  It was a bad habit to check your phone first thing in the morning, right after you wake up. But, geez! What was going on last night that my notifications were blowing up with posts mentioning me? Slightly rushing for time, I chose to blatantly ignore the notifications and assume it was about the information about me being an emcee being released.

  I had another photoshoot in the morning right before school. I would only be able to start school after break. As I passed through the hallways of the building, many staff members greeted me with unusually bright smiles. I could only awkwardly smile back in return, wondering what the hell was going on today.

  After my photoshoot ended, I rushed to change into my school uniform. On the way, I even sent a text to Sayo, letting her know that I would be reaching school by break time. She replied almost immediately saying that she and the other 3 would be in Yuta’s office.