Misfit Together

Chapter 3

(Things are picking up...! I think Suzuno's gonna become a main character in this story, wasn't expecting that, but hey she's my second fav and I absolutely love her so~ Also I slipped the first half of an idea from a reader over on fanfiction.net, MissGela, into this chapter~)

A few weeks passed and Urushihara had spent a grand total of six hours out with his friends in that time. Sure, he did prefer staying home most of the time and they talked regularly online, and of course Shizuka couldn't always make it into Tokyo to hang out anyway, but all things considered, he saw it as a major achievement.

Suzuno, Emi and Chiho, on the other hand, saw it as slightly suspicious. Suzuno was the first to notice him leaving the apartment every now and then. Not long after, she brought it up while the three of them were over at the boys' apartment for lunch.

"Wait, what?" Emi paused, her chopsticks hovering over the plate in front of her as she looked up at Suzuno, then turned to Urushihara sat at his desk, "Have you been sneaking out or something, you lousy littl-"

Maou interrupted before Urushihara, who was already glaring at Emi with gritted teeth, could snap at her.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, he's not sneaking out. I gave him permission."

"You what?!" Emi dropped her chopsticks and slammed a hand down on the table.

"Jeez, overreact much? So I go out sometimes now, I'm not doing anything wrong." Urushihara continued to glare at her as he picked at the bland bowl of udon he had been giving.

Chiho's eyes were wide with surprise, while Emi and Suzuno's eyes narrowed.

"Is that so? Then what are you doing on these outings, Good Hanzo?"

She may have been growing closer to the fallen angel, but that didn't mean Suzuno was about to completely let her guard down.

"I made a couple friends o-"

All three girls jumped.

"Friends?!"

"Yeah, we were pretty surprised too..." Maou chipped in.

"How did you of all people even meet someone?" Chiho's tone almost sounded impressed, although still disbelieving. Urushihara gave her a cold, blank stare for a moment before answering.

"Maybe if you guys didn't interrupt me I would tell you."

Chiho and Emi only pouted at that, leaving Suzuno to be the mature one.

"Apologies. Go on."

"I met them online. We'd been talking for a while then one of 'em suggested we meet u-"

"So they're weird computer nerds like you?"

"Hey! Who're you calling weird?! You're the one who keeps spying on us and stalking Maou...!"

But by then, none of them were listening to him anymore. Leaving him to throw one of his temper tantrums, Emi, Chiho and Suzuno wondered what sort of people could possibly be friends with someone as hopeless as Urushihara. Eventually, he gave up and turned back to his laptop, still picking at the udon noodles. As the others ate, they thought, the girls seemingly communicating in silence through their facial expressions.

Urushihara had found friends online, and had even made the effort to go out and see them. Now he was leaving the apartment on a semi-regular basis to spend time with them outside. Whoever they were, they couldn't be much different from him. For someone to actually enjoy being around him, they had to be just as cynical, just as childish, just as... downright repulsive as Urushihara was.