from afar. | takata mashiho

✧ who listens.

yuri seems out of it. i know, just a second ago i was in limbo with her, but i just can't stand to see her with those mascara-streaked cheeks and overused, oversized t-shirts anymore. i need to cheer her up. because i know how it feels to fall down that hill. it hurts. a lot. it's too much for her to bear alone.

✧ ༺━━━━༻ ✦

"he hasn't been around for a while. i don't know where he went."
"look, i know i sounded salty earlier, but you really like this dude. so i won't stop you from meeting him. but please tell me where you are when you do meet up with him so i don't have to call the police."
"yeah. that's if he comes 'round again."
"do you wanna go look for him? call him?"
"yes," she nods, "please come with me." she begins to pull out various outfits from her closet in an emotional wreck. she chooses one. out of all the others she made, she chose jeans and a white blouse. yuri leaves her bedroom with a drudge, also leaving a pile of cashmere and denim and what not on her bed. i can't leave it like this. so when she's in a completely different room, i'll fix it up. i like cleaning! it's fun.

"what happened in here?"
"i cleaned your entire room."
"okay. let's go now." her eyes blink tiredly and she smiles weakly.
"okay." i know she really meant to say thank you. i run up to her, sling my arm around her shoulders and sing like a mad man – my attempt to lighten the mood. she smiles with a little more strength than before. i avert to grabbing her hand and dragging her out the door. "let's go find uzumaki naruto!"
"watanabe haruto."
"whatever! is his dream to become the hokage?"
"no. i think he wants to be a soundcloud rapper."
"oh honey. no."

we walk into clothing stores and other stores of all kinds. her smile is getting stronger. we do random stuff like hardcore dancing to the shop's music and choosing stupid outfits for each other. "how's this?" yuri walks out in the strangest concoction i have ever seen. a floppy sun hat, white elbow-length gloves, and a maxi dress that's covered in rainbow feathers. "you look like you belong in red velvet's peek-a-boo music video."
"ah true!" she shuffles back into the changing room.

we decided to eat next. we order everything we crave, without a care of anything regarding pricing. we just want to be happy. it's practically a buffet at our table. people stare. but we don't care. because we are hungry and have money to spend. even the waiters and waitresses are concerned. they hesitate to bring out food when we request it. but each time we do ask, our table is empty. we eat it all. when we complete our feast we stroll to where we pay. "that would be two-hundred-and-one-thousand and eighty-eight won."
"shit. that could feed a family of four." i hand the guy my card, i'm not fussed. i ate well. he takes it but still looks concerned. i nod and wait for the transaction to take place. someone calls him from behind but i can't hear their voice clearly. all he tells us is that he will be right back.

he comes back with who i assume is his manager and says, "my boss wants to take a picture with you. you know, because you ate so much. and that's not an insult i swear. i'm actually quite impressed." yuri and i just look at each other and shrug.
"okay? sure." and so we do.
"we will print it and put it up in this store. please come back to see it! and to eat again!"
"haha, of course. thank you for the food." we wave them off and laugh once again.

"we totally forgot about finding naruto."
"haruto. and oops."
"at least we ate a great meal."
"yeah. he'll find his way back to me eventually. i'm irresistible."
"you sure are." her smile is stronger than it ever has been before. and now, mine is too.