The walk back home was silent, your eyes wandered down the desolate streets and your eyes dropped to your wrist watch.
9pm.
'I wonder what Emma and the others are upto....' It had been so long since you had sat down and actually conversed with them.
All your time was either spent at the bike store, dealing with Faceless business and occasional visits to the library.
You rarely got any real time to talk to them and maybe that was a good thing, growing apart but why was your heart aching at the idea of not being friends with them.
Your cellphone buzzed in your pocket and you swiped it out, for a while you stared at the text message from the Toman group chat.
An official Toman meeting.
'But why we meeting at the play ground?'
The second you arrived at the destination, your friends were all there—each wearing a devastated expression.
"Did someone die?" You inquired, breaking the deadly silence.
Emma took in a deep breath, "it has come to our attention that you have been avoiding us."
The others all turned to look at you and you were dumbfounded. "Me avoiding you guys? Never."
"Then why haven't you come out for our weekly hangouts?" Pah-chin interrogated.
"I got busy with life?" You stated but it came out more as a question.
"But everytime?" Draken spoke, his head buried between his hands. "Did we do something to make you uncomfortable?"
Yukio did not meet your gaze.
A bubble drafted through the air—catching everyone's attention, sadly it popped the second it touched Hanemiya's cheek.
Manjirou was at the center of everyone's attention, he held the bubble maker in his hand.
Ignoring the curious eyes, he blew some more bubbles that floated in the air. "Anyone want more?"
One of the bubbles popped on Draken's face and he snatched the bubble maker from Mikey, he produced more bubbles than before.
Laughter and joy filled the air as a bubble war had begun, Mikey pulled out bottles for everyone to play with.
During all that chaos your eyes had managed to catch Mikey seating alone on the swing. He seemed content without how everything had turned out, it was as though he had planned.
You took a seat by his side, "we should go back in there," you suggested joyfully.
He rubbed his swollen cheek in pain, "i think I am going on time out. That Fuyumi girl can sure punch."
You chuckled at his statement. "She can do worse with her legs," you said with a slight smirk.
Mikey grabbed the chain on your swing and pulled your swing closer to his. Your throat ran dry at the sudden action.
"Mikey?"
A solemn expression stormed in his dark as his eyes ran across your face. It was obvious he was upset at the amount of time you spent away from them but you wondered why he had not said anything.
Him whining would have made more sense.
"Take your time," he released your swing from his grasp. "We'll wait for you. Time to go back."
The words hit a deep part in you. They made you feel lighter and warmer as though all your worries had washed away. Mikey was about to walk away and instinctively you caught his wrist.
He glanced back at you, bewildered at the emotions swimming in your eyes but instead of saying what you wanted to say, you mumbled out an awkward 'thank you.'
You released his arm and your hands fell to your sides. "I'll join you in a bit," you coughed out.
Who knew working on bikes could be so fun?" you smiled wiping away beads of sweat from your forehead. You had been helping out Shinichiro and Inui at the store when you could because you enjoyed acquiring a new skill.
'New skill? Check' you thought checking off in your head of your many lists of talents.
"I know right" Shinichiro replied petting the bike you were working on as if it was some kind of domestic animal. You smiled when you heard the bell chime, you got up from where you had been working to be met with a familiar pair of green eyes.
"Sei! What took you so long? I almost died from thirst" you said waving for him to come over and he did.
"I'm not your errand boy" Inui retorted, throwing Shinichiro a coke which he easily caught. "You say that but you act like it" you replied holding your hand out to him.
He placed a can of (f/d) in your hand and you hummed at the feeling of the cold can in your hand. "Y/N, take a break. Fixing bikes is fun but you're over doing it" Shinichiro said ashe ruffled your hair.
He really loved your determination but it was too much. You literally spent more time at the bike store than you did with your friends.
'I'm here because of you' you side eyed him, taking a sip of your beverage. You had no idea exactly when he would die and you planned to be by his side at all times, learning how to fix bike was fun but not your main goal.
'I hope Faceless is okay in Kuragari's hands you thought an invoulantary sigh escaping your lips, wondering if you made the right choice taking a break.
"Yeah this place is starting to become stuffy" Inui commented referring to you and you hit the back of his head earning shocked look from Shinichiro.
"No need to be rude. I'll leave besides I have an appointment today" you said. Over the past month you and Inui were getting along.
"Stupid witch" Inui grumbled lowly which did not go past your ears making a playful grin find it's way to your face.
"Are you starting to get soft?" you teased wiggling your eyebrows at him. "You used to call me all sorts of crude names~"
"I guess you two have gotten closer" Shinichiro commented happy about the new development.
You waded into the crowd feeling excited for the appointment you had made with one of your friends. You waited patiently infront of the manga store he told you to wait.
You stared at your feet, suddenly feeling unsure of the idea of meeting up with him.
"Hey Y/N" you looked up to see none other than making genius standing right infront of you. He was the person you had an appointment with. "Kokonuts, what's up?" you grinned at him.
He ignored the overly friendly nickname you had given to him. He did not mind it.
He seemed annoyed with the people shoving past you guys not paying attention to anything other than their selves. "Let's go somewhere... quiet" he said.
Kokonoi ended up taking you to a family restaurant, sitting across you. He sat across you and ordered something from the menu while you ordered favorite food and drinks.
"Any new books you're reading?" you asked trying to create a conversation. You were not exactly close, all you did was study together and talk about your love for attaining knowledge. He was the only one who could understand your nerdy side as well.
"Not really." He answered seemingly lost in a trance as he stared outside to the busy street. It was clear that a lot was on his mind that he needed to share.
You sighed waiting for him to get to point. He had asked you out to ask for an opinion on something, he couldn't understand but he didn't say a word. And that's when you knew you were the one capable of breaking the silence.
"You know if you aren't going to tell me what's bothering you then I can't help" you said leaning back on the chair folding your hands over your chest getting straight to the point.
He slightly sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes. "I just needed advice... what do you do when a rival wants to meet up?"
'Oh this is about me. No wait Pluto' you thought. "Well I don't see a reason not to, a rival doesn't necessarily mean an enemy y'know especially when there is respect between them."
He nodded his head, "but how do you know when you respect them?"
"Well.... do you have fun competing against them?"
"... Yes"
"How would you feel if they disappeared?"
He frowned. "I trust them not to."
"Then you hold the person in high regards which is basically respect. So who would die if you just met the person?"
He hummed a sigh obvious he was still unsure about the meeting. The waiter placed down your hot orders infront of you and you smiled overly enthusiastic about your food.
Kokonoi smiled at the reaction but it soon turned cold as images of fire flashed his head. His mood went down.
"You know when I was young.... I used to stay in the house and study hard unlike other kids.." you breathed recalling your previous life. You had not grown up like other children.
Acquiring knowledge for you was just a means escape from the tight clutches of your mother's hand. You had not forgotten how much you seeked her approval and how fast you ran away from her the minute you got accepted into a high school far away from home.
You had not expected to see Yuno in that same high-school, seeing him brought back fond memories of your childhood but you never approached him because of the guilt you felt after you abondoned him when he needed you most.
He sighed. "Sometimes being children does not mean we get to be kids."
Bewilderment filled your eyes as you stared at Kokonoi, surprised that a child could come up with that but you laughed closing your eyes, "I guess you're right. But we've got a lot of time left to be kids so why not start now?"
"Time is the problem" he breathed. Wishing he could back the wheels of time to save her. His life without her was meaningless. Everyday for him felt like torture as he tried to numb his feelings with money.
You scratched your cheek trying to think of a way to cheer him up,you could sense the strong stench of grief that oozed out of the cat-eyed boy. Your eyes lit up as you pulled out a flag from your inner pocket and placed it on his meal. "That should make you lighten up."
A million questions crossed his mind at the flag but the effort was enough to make hom smile. "You keep flags in your pockets?" he asked.
"I hang around a lot of kids... some more complicated than others" you said thinking about Mikey and Luna. Although Luna wouldn't sulk as much as Mikey.
"I hope I don't count as them" he said, picking up the flag.
"No you're definitely much more mature but a flag could brighten up anyone's day" a warm hearted smile plastered on your face, eyes sparkling.