Twisted Fate | Akutagawa Ryūnosuke ✓

13 | Tea on Rice

Your mouth dropped open with a yawn as you gave your limbs a wide stretch, unearthing old bruises and unhealed wounds.

More pain. Just what you needed.

Shrugging it off, you let your arms swing loosely by your sides as the sun began its ascent to the peak of the sky, filling the air with a hazy light. You shielded your eyes, feet slapping a monotonous rhythm against the pavement as you walked into town. It was your free time, and you thought you'd give yourself chance to clear your head after spending over a week in the depressing base of the Mafia.

Sweat sprung from your neck as the sun beat down on you, and you quickly unzipped your jacket, shrugging it from your shoulders, before continuing down the street with your head hanging low and your eyes averted to the floor. No need to attract unnecessary attention with the bruises on your face.

Occupation hazards, Chuuya had called them.

You were pulled from your thoughts as someone brushed roughly past your shoulder, almost knocking you off the kerb.

"S-sorry, Miss!"

The voice seemed vaguely familiar, plucking at a memory, and you lifted your gaze to meet a distinct pair of mottled yellow and purple eyes. "Huh - it's you?"

The boy furrowed his brows, feather-white hair curving around his face. "Me? I'm sorry, I don't- oh. It's... you." His cheeks darkened with a blush, and he wrung his hands nervously. "You were the woman by the riverbank."

You drew your eyes away from his, a small pang of guilt spiking your heart out of sync. "Yes, and I left you there. Starving."

The boy hummed uncertainly, folding his lips into a straight line. Silence brewed between the two of you as you refused to meet his gaze, shuffling your feet instead.

"Uhm, how are things?"

The boy appeared taken aback by your kindly tone, his peculiar mismatched eyes widening as they grazed the various cuts around your face. "Good, actually. I have a job now, and food," he added, colour seeping back into his cheeks. "Sorry, you probably didn't need to know that."

You rolled your shoulders lazily, throwing up a hand to shield your eyes from the blinding sun. "No, it's okay. Where are you headed?"

All of a sudden, his stomach made a crude noise, and he buried his face in his hands. "Uhm, apparently to get some food," he spoke between his fingers, muffled.

You slipped a chuckle - the noise sounding almost foreign from your tongue - and gestured over his shoulder, where the street opened into a wide pavilion. Erected stalls held various trinkets and foods, infusing the air with mingling herbs and spices, excited chatter.

"Let me buy you something; it's the least I can do after... leaving you. I know what that's like."

Despite your brief acquaintance with this boy, you felt obliged to help him, especially considering the predicament you had left him in by the riverbank. He could have died there for all you knew, yet the pale-haired male hadn't crossed your thoughts since the second you left him.

He took his hands from his face, eyes dropping to his feet, tracing small circles with the tip of his shoe. "Please, it's okay-"

"I know, but it would clear my conscience."

Letting his mottled gaze linger on you for a moment longer, he issued a sigh and gave you a lopsided smile. "If you insist, but I'd rather avoid the market."

"That's okay. I know a small place just around the corner. What's your name anyway?"

"Atsushi. Nakajima Atsushi."

You offered him a wan smile, tying your jacket around your waist as you began down the street, the male nipped at your heels. "Nice to meet you, Atsushi-kun. I'm [Y/N]."

He dipped his head into a polite nod, he followed you into a dimly lit teahouse. His stomach gave another unearthly rumble, and he blanched with embarrassment as your eyes snapped toward him, chuckling quietly.

Half an hour later, the boy was seated with a steaming bowl in front of him, eyes flashing in the hazy light from the lanterns strung around the room. You and Atsushi had managed to steal brief conversation during your wait for the food, and you'd found it surprisingly easy to get along with him. To the extent you found his company endearing.

"From the entire menu, you chose tea on rice?" You remarked, reclining back in the plush seat as he began eating his food with fleeting manners. Atsushi glanced at you sheepishly, using his fingers to wipe at the corners of his mouth.

"Uhm, I used to eat it a lot at the orphanage, so I've acquired quite the taste for it," he explained, not quite meeting your gaze. He adopted a melancholic smile all of a sudden, and you traced the constellation of freckles on his cheeks with dismal [e/c] eyes.

"Oh, sorry. What happened?" You ventured, your voice dropping to a soft murmur.

Atsushi chewed slowly on his mouthful, stalling for time to gather his thoughts. "They kicked me out," he said bluntly, fiddling with his chopsticks.

You sucked your bottom lip, fixing a piece of hair behind your ear as you debated whether or not to reveal your own past predicaments. "I'm sorry. I've had experience living on the streets, so I know what it's like to have nothing," you admitted in a grim tone, toying with a loose thread in the tablecloth so as to avoid the boy catching your gaze. Who knew what it would reveal; things you'd fought hard to forget, to put behind you? Or nothing at all - would it betray your true cold-hearted nature. "But, anyway, I'm glad things are turning out okay for you. I'm back on track now too," you added with a fleeting grimace, hastily morphing it into a smile.

"I'm glad," he echoed, setting down his chopsticks and pushing his empty bowl away. He patted his stomach, giving his arms a stretch. "I really do appreciate the food, though I feel I should have paid myself."

You shook your head quickly, [h/c] hair swishing along your shoulders. "Please, don't feel bad," you insisted, dropping the matter with a simple shrug. "So, Atsushi-kun, where do you work exac-"

"Atsushi!"

"Wahh!?" Startled, the pale-haired boy almost toppled head-first off his chair, fingers scrabbling to catch hold of the tablecloth and barely avoided dragging the whole table down with him. Recovering himself with a fierce blush painting his cheeks - a sight that made your chest clench slightly - the boy spun to face the stern-faced male who had barked his name. "K-Kunikida-san. What are you doing here?"

The man scowled, tapping furiously at a leather-bound notebook clutched tightly in his hand. "Don't you know - we're late for a meeting. So stop messing around with, ahem, this young lady and- oh- it's you."

You reached up to scratch the nape of your neck, recognising the jagged ponytail falling over his shoulder - you'd pickpocketed this man. "Small world, huh?"

"Yes, well, I apologise but I shall have to steal my colleague away from your side. We have important business you see. Ahem, come along then."

Hanging his head, Atsushi scraped back his chair and bowed deeply in front of you. "Thank you, again, for the food. I hope to see you again."

Then, flashing you a wide smile, the white-haired boy scurried away.