𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐊𝐄𝐘 - 𝐑. 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐀

𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

FIFTEEN
_____

It was now the fifteenth day of October when a burst of red and orange hues filled the streets as the leaves fall over the cement and grassy grounds which occurred every year. The day was cold even with the Sun reflecting over them and their radiance blocked by each piece of leaf that filtered it, creating a different hue that was projected on the ground and among faces that walk past places from a certain angle.

    Each day, the environment gave them a cool smile with a warm hug every time they would go outside to enjoy the little blessings that it gave them. This season was appreciated by everyone.

    Everyone except Zumi Hoga.
    Zumi walked down the path towards school with her mouth pursed to a thin smile, seemingly trying to hide the frown that was about to appear if ever something were to irritate her further. It's also been a week since his cousin stayed in their house and today was his last day before he was going to head back to Miyagi, so he decided to come walk with her to school.

    He wore a beige knitted sweater and black pants with his white headphones hung around his neck, just casually walking with his hands in his pockets while blatantly observing how his cousin seemed too silent nowadays, though he already knew the reason why.

    "How's your skin?" He asked, not being able to take the silence that didn't quite sit well with him. He usually heard her laughs sounding right beside him while she teased him about random things, but today it was the complete opposite.

    "Much worse." She muttered with her hands clasping the straps of her bag while her feet lazy slapped the floors, whilst trying to hide the stinging pain that came after each step. She then began ranting with a quiet groan, "I hate autumn. No, I hate every season; it's too hot for my skin in summer, it's too cold for winter, it's almost too moist for autumn, and it's too dry in spring. My skin can't take all of that drastic changes that happens every month and it's having a hard time adjusting."

    He nodded silently in understanding, feeling his lips unintentionally curl down after hearing her concerns. Every month almost seemed like a large barrier that his cousin had a hard time going through, and he couldn't help but feel guilty because he didn't really know how to help.

    Upon reaching the front metal gates of the school that was pushed open, the two began to greet each other their goodbye's.

    Tsukishima reached his hand chest level to ruffle his cousin's hair then saying, "Mom and I are going back to Miyagi at around lunch time, so you won't be able to see me by the time you get home."

    The frown on her face only grew deeper and mumbled disappointedly, "Why so early?" She reached out and open her arms, enveloping her cousin that she won't be able to see again for a few months.

The sound of his voice vibrated against her ear, "I have school and it takes twelve hours to get back home." He returned the hug reluctantly, not used to the display of physical affection since he hasn't received a hug from her for quite a long time. He ruffled her hair one last time before pulling away and saying with a blank look, "Baka, you're probably going to forget to message every now and then. And you always bottle up your problems to yourself."

He let out a 'tch' before looking away.
Zumi felt a grin slowly plaster on her face then said teasingly, "Eh? Is Kei going to miss me?" She laughed at the flat look that he gave her then continued after her laughter dissolved, "Okay seriously though, I'll make sure to at least message you every day or something. And I'm not really good at talking about my feelings so yeah..."

He shrugged, "Maybe texting will help. You don't exactly have to speak."

"Hm, I guess I'll try. Well, see you on Chrismas break Kei, so don't miss me too much." Zumi said, giving her a now brighter smile then patted his shoulder before walking to her class.

"See you."

-o-

Zumi's hands fished the pockets of her skirt with her eyes narrowed down slightly then realized that she hadn't brought her money today. Her eyes scanned up and down at the vending machine that sold the snack that recently always caught her eyes for the past few days that she's seen its colorful package with the biscuits that looked quite appetizing. And now that her mind reminded her about it, she wanted to eat it.

She ran her teeth on her bottom lip slowly in irritation before giving another defeated sigh. She abruptly turns around but the sudden sight of a familiar boy that just silently stood behind her the whole time made her jolt back against the vending machine in surprise with a mix of fear.

She pushed herself away from the machine and placed her palm over her chest to calm her heart that was beating rapidly then breathed out deeply, "Whoo, Uh- hey Miya-san. I didn't see you there."

His lips quirk ever so slightly in amusement at the scene that just played out in front of him before responding, "Hey." He then tilted his head and asked as he stepped towards the vending machine right beside her, "What were you going to buy?"

His eyes scan passed the varieties of choices before he turned his head to lay his eyes on her face.

Zumi lifted her hand up and wave her hands with an awkward laugh, "No, I kind of realized that I forgot my money, so yeah... Well, I'm going back to class, see you arou-"

She began to turn around to run away but he reached out to hold her wrist lightly before she could step further away from him. He motioned towards the vending machine then said, "No, go ahead. Which one do ya want? I'll pay."

Her eyes shot up and her lips parted before stuttering, "O-Oh, I'll be sure to pay you tomorrow or something."

He shook his head in disagreement, "No, ya don't need to pay."

Her brows furrow and her lips form to a small frown at his generosity. It was not like people that she's encountered before would do the same for her, if anything, they would either walk away or whisper something that concerned her 'hideous' skin. And for this to happen right now, her heart felt warmed at the kind gesture.

This scenario reminded her of Suna in away because of that time that he bought her food as well.

"I...thank you." She mumbled, trying to stop the wide and trembly smile that was starting to appear on her face.

He found himself observing her reaction, unconsciously feeling this joyous emotion grow inside of him at the thought of being able to make her smile widely, which was something he never saw her do even from the first time he'd seen her. And that was the time she looked so angry when she was talking with Suna.

"It's nothin'."

She gave him a grateful smile before turning around to face the vending machine, pointing towards the small cheese biscuits package shyly, "I want this one."

"How many do ya want?" He asked, staring at the snack she was pointing at, suddenly feeling like wanting to eat it as well because of how delicious it looked, "Hm, I think I'll buy some too."

"Just one please."
He frowns at her request then argues, "But it's so small that ya could probably barely even taste it. I'll get ten."

"Wha-"

Before she could even completely finish her words, he was already pressing the buttons on the machine and inserting his coins. She let out a small playful pout then tiptoed to reach for his hair and ruffle it in mock annoyance.

"Please don't waste your money on me again, Miya-san." She grumbled, crossing her arms right after.

He grabs the snacks in his arms and hands her five then looked at her flat expression, causing him to release a chuckle. He could tell from her eyes that she was smiling but the way her mouth was pulled down forcefully only made her look goofy.

"Just call me Osamu." He says, with a small smile.

"Okay, thank you again Osamu-san."

_____

hello, i'm sorry if
my writing is some
-times really shitty.
i find it hars to
maintain a writing
style so yeah, i hope
y'all understand :>

anyways, i might
update again later