Misfit Together

Prologue

(Hello, my lovelies~! I'm back, as promised, with the story of Urushihara, Momoko and Shizuka, which I am nicknaming the HaMoShi fic (like, from the first syllables of their first names, you get it? Idk) This prologue kind of recounts the one-shot where I introduced these OCs with a bit of new info thrown in. I'll be aiming to update every weekend. Enjoy~!)

Despite everything, he was happy.

He'd taken a risk and, although he hadn't exactly gotten away with it, it had been worth it. Urushihara had left the apartment and spent some time with his internet friends. And for anyone as socially inept as him, that alone was an achievement. Plus, he had enjoyed it. Completely by chance, he had met two people who seemed to match with him so well, and what was even more impressive was how well he found himself matching with them. Fitting in between them like the last piece of the puzzle.

Urushihara had been following Shizuka Kusanagi online for quite some time, pretty much since he discovered the vast world of the internet. Or had Shizuka followed him first? Either way, they were nothing but silent mutuals for a while until Shizuka eventually took the initiative and replied to one of his posts. Their conversations could go on forever, covering books, anime, music and updates on one another's lives. They could both be so casual and laidback yet they also shared the same sarcastic, deadpan sense of humour. But what really clinched their friendship was the discovery that they were both on the A-spectrum, Urushihara being asexual and Shizuka being aromantic.

Eventually, browsing Shizuka's blog led him to find the one and only Momoko Hamasaki. After a mere few days of watching Shizuka reblog post after post from her, Urushihara gave in and curiously clicked the follow button. Soon enough, he realised he couldn't go a single day without seeing that bright, round smiling face on his dashboard at least once. Momoko's blog was a jumble of cute animals, pastel gore, anime, anxiety, video games and miscellaneous jokes and memes, much like the girl running it. And selfies. So many selfies, bombarding him and anyone else who saw with her strange colour combinations and unnecessarily excessive accessories. Hats, chokers, bracelets, wristbands, badges, they were all there, to the point that virtually every picture received a response of "tone it down" from either Shizuka or Urushihara. Or sometimes both. Multiple times.

Then came the day Shizuka sent that message. The one telling Urushihara he would be coming over to Tokyo from Kanagawa for the weekend. And Urushihara had made his decision.

And now he sat at his laptop, trying to block out the waves of annoyance from Maou and Ashiya, thinking about it.

The meet-up itself went well. Of course, he recognised Momoko the moment he saw her, dressed in an oversized purple hoodie, a pink skirt only just poking out beneath it, galaxy-print leggings and furry boots, with a pair of bright red headphones round her neck and a neon orange sweatband on her wrist. Like she had just stepped out of one of her many pictures. And although he posted his own pictures far too rarely for Urushihara to have a clear image in his head, it was easy to guess that the taller boy behind her was Shizuka. He was pretty much just as Urushihara expected, too. His outfit was far more... simple, and far less loud, than Momoko's. He had on worn-out blue jeans, a plain black t-shirt and a grey hoodie with a pair of red converse being a single splash of colour. His light brown hair was spiked and messy and a pair of reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

Urushihara's own appearance fit almost perfectly between them – the bright colour of the purple alongside the simplicity of the clothes.

Up until the awkward explanation that he'd had to sneak out of the apartment to come, Urushihara, Shizuka and Momoko did have a lot of fun. They talked and laughed as they wandered around. Urushihara was quiet at first but his friends eventually brought him out of his shell and he started to enjoy himself, especially when Momoko suggested they get ice cream. They time went by all too quickly, filled with new inside jokes and new discoveries about each other.

He'd learned a lot about them, and they'd learned a lot about him. He really had found good friends. But he still had one secret he wasn't ready to give up. And he didn't expect he ever would be.