2𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙕𝙊𝘿𝙊𝙉𝙀ˢᵉʳᵒ

𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕫𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕕𝕖ᵗʷᵉⁿᵗʸ-ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ

"And now I have a scar on my left thigh because I was trying to be Spider-Man, " Hanta explained. Korei's hands held onto his bicep as they continued walking through the mall. They had already met up with Mitsuo, Hanta's cousin, but they both wanted to window-shop. Hanta also promised Korei lunch, to which she happily took up his offer. "Hajime likes to make fun of me a lot, though. He calls me the 'discount Spider-Man' and it's not funny at all but it's the best he could come up with."

Korei wasn't surprised to hear him talk about his brother. On the night that they met, they learned about each other's family and their situations. She knew enough about him to know that he's the youngest sibling, has a great relationship with his family, and also has a very adorable niece who's named after him(even though her mother hates him)! "How big is it?" She asked, looking around the large mall in search of a good place to eat.

"The scar? It's a good size. The doctors said I would have bled out because when I fell, I cut a major artery or something but I used my tape like a turn-a-kit and Haji rushed me to the hospital. My nan was freaked. I think I was more scared of her reaction than of dying, " he confessed, chuckling. He noticed a pretzel stand and immediately tugged Korei towards it. "Do you have any injury stories?"

"Besides you almost ripping my skin off with your tape?" She asked, gaze upturned towards him. Hanta rolled his eyes and nodded, ordering them a large cup of pretzel bites to share. "Oo, can we get a lemonade too?" She was sidetracked, seeing that the drink came in an obnoxiously large size that would be perfect for the two to share. Hanta added it to the order, turning his attention back towards her to let her know he was listening. "I do have a story but I'm not sure I have any battle scars."

"I think I would have noticed if you had any, " he teased, causing her to blush. It's normal for people who are 'just friends' to have seen each other naked, right? It's like he's seen her completely naked but still. "Sorry for interrupting, carry on with the story." He apologized, grabbing their drink and handing it to her as he paid.

"Yeah, it involves my mom so it's gonna be bad, " she sighed softly, taking a sip of their lemonade. "Thank you, by the way." Hanta waved it off, thanking the worker as they handed him the large cup with their pretzel bites in it. The two walked, no destination in mind. The mall was a good place to do that. "Anyway, you know how my mom's an addict, right?" He nodded, remembering her telling him about it when they first met. "Well, she tried to have my grandma killed so she could collect life insurance and stuff. I was about thirteen at the time so it was right before I started Yuuei. My mom had been staying with us for a few months, she said she was clean but I'm not sure, you know? So, she's staying with my gran and me, and it was a Wednesday night, I think. She's just told me goodnight and sent me to bed. I never went to bed when she told me to, that was my way of rebelling." She chuckled softly, accepting one of the pretzel bites from Hanta. "Yeah, and I'm sitting up in bed, reading because I used to be a huge nerd. I hear this commotion down the hall so I go to check it out. There's my mother, knife in hand as two other women held my gran at gunpoint. I wish I could come out of this heroic or something but I'm not a hero and I never tried to be. I had an asthma attack and I woke up to my gran cussing my mom out as she beat her with a wooden spoon. My mom was arrested and so were her friends. I haven't talked to, nor do I want to talk to her, since. That's only part of the injury though, " she tried to put herself back on track. Hanta was listening intently, comforting her by walking a tad bit closer. "After the whole thing went down, my gran actually beat me with the wooden spoon because of my asthma attack. She said that if I was less of a coward that I wouldn't have asthma. Long story short, the only injuries I have are pretty much mental but I've long since healed."

"That's fucking intense, babe, " he murmured. "Pretzel bite?" He offered, hoping to raise her spirits. Korei happily accepted and smiled up at him. She loved that he didn't poke at the bad things, he always just sort of made her feel better. "Just know that I don't think you're a coward. You're a lot more outgoing than I thought you'd be but that's what makes you so amazing."

"Aw, " she smiled, sipping some lemonade before offering him some. "I honestly wouldn't be like this if it weren't for you? Like, being with Shinsou made me unknowingly change who I was and when he broke up with me, I didn't know who I was or what I wanted to do anymore. I wanted to find something exciting and I wanted to do that. Now, I didn't exactly do you, but you're my something exciting, Hanta."

"But I'm so boring, Korei." He said, handing her the pretzel bites and taking the drink. Korei opened her mouth to disagree but he just looked at her again. "Seriously, this is what I do on a daily basis, okay? Ready?" She nodded and Hanta continued. "Wake up, masturbate, school, play video games, get high with you, masturbate, get ready for bed. That's it, that's my daily schedule." They sat down at a nearby table in the food court, chairs pulled so they were sitting side by side. "How can I be your 'something exciting' when I'm not even exciting?"

"You encourage me to do things I've never done before! I wish I could say that I do the same for you but we both know that's a lie." Korei shrugged, eating some more of the pretzels. Hanta shrugged and quickly stopped her from continuing, a smirk on his face.

"I bought lingerie for the first time ever because of you! That's something!" He smiled brightly. "I probably wouldn't have done that until I was like twenty-eight or something. Oh! I took someone else's nudes! I don't think I would have ever done that for anyone else, " he shrugged. "I wrote a book!" He added, sipping the lemonade. Korei smiled and knocked her elbow against his. "Maybe we just bring out the best in each other?"

"Most definitely, " Korei confirmed. She sat the pretzel cup on the table, waiting for Hanta to finish drinking so she could take the lemonade. "What do you want to do now? Oh wait, according to your schedule this is cutting into your masturbating time, isn't it?" She teased, taking the drink from his hands. Hanta grinned and watched as her lips wrapped around the straw.

"Technically, I'm still getting high with you so no. I think we can catch a matinee and then head back just in time for me to stay on schedule." He shrugged, leaning forward to get a pretzel bite. "What do'ya think? Wanna watch a movie with me?"

"Yeah, " Korei nodded, eyes trailing over every little detail on his side profile. He's so handsome and he doesn't even notice! "Maybe you can break your schedule tonight and we can hang out in my room?" Hanta looked at her with lidded eyes. What exactly was she trying to do? "We'll make friendship bracelets and braid each other's hair." She teased, an amused smirk playing on her lips.

"That doesn't sound bad at all, Korei. I'm down, " Hanta shrugged. She giggled and smacked his arm. "You're always hitting on me! Oo, do you like me?" His eyebrows wiggled as he poked her. Korei flushed a bright red.

"Shut up!" She hit him again and Hanta just laughed. They finished their pretzels and headed for the cinema, hoping to find a good movie to watch. Korei couldn't help but think this was a lot like a date...and it made her very happy.