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"Isn't weird?" Inoue said to Kuro. "That Rikkun only eats burgers in lunch every day, and that's it?"
"Isn't that like you drinking strawberry milk every single day?"
There were stomping sounds of the feet. By then, Kuro's body was dragged down to the side by a strong physical force.
By the hushed voice too near to his ears he realized it was Inoue leaning closer to him.
"Aren't you worried?" Inoue hissed, partially in an annoyed tone. "He ran away from his parents and sister and lives by his own. How does he get to pay for food, money, and shelter?"
For Kuro, half of what she said was a muffled noise to him. Probably more. Half a moment he spent taking in those pair of chocolate-brown eyes staring expectantly back at him, and less more a moment to be convinced that hers were as similarly aesthetic to his own golden ones.
He didn't know what to say except for what he just blurted out right in that instant.
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"... The lesson a while back still gets to you, huh?" Kuro seemed to retort, but in a soft voice as if it was a complement.
Inoue didn't seem to be listening, her attention intent on about Rikkun's daily nutritious diet plan.
"I'm serious, right now, Kuro. I'm seriously worried."
"But, I'm serious too."
Seconds has passed Inoue was still leaning onto him, glaring from the corners of his eyes.
Laughing nervously for the heck of it, Kuro gave in. "Okei, okei! B-but first, let me go."
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In a heartbeat, Inoue obliged, crossing her arms against her chest instead.
"Here's my thoughts on that subject," Kuro began, subconsciously pulling down his neck tie further. "When it comes to food, call Sasha."
Inoue shook her head in confusion. "What-?"
"Did somebody called me and food?!"
As fast as the speed of sound, Sasha was right in front of them, a fist holding a cooked potato pressed on the spot of her heart. "I'm now right here!"
Again, Inoue shook her head in confusion. "What is-?"
"For service!" Sasha replied.
Once more, Inoue shook her head in confusion, holding her head for self-comfort. "I... I don't understand..."
"Watch and understand." Kuro winked. Taking a deep breath, his howl voice turned hard and serious, as if he's in a middle of a crime drama movie.
"Investigator Sasha Blouse, you're on a case. This client here,"
He gestured at Inoue who looked utterly nonplussed in turn. "-needs your help on some particular thing, about food, of course."
Eyes gleaming, Sasha straightened her back. "What's the edible evidence?! Who's the consuming suspect?!"
"Um... am I missing something here...?"
"If there's something missing, then the food will lead you the way!"
"Food Detective Sasha Blouse-" Kuro began explaining, still in his stony tone of voice. "-is actually our school's pride and joy. She saved some little kid whose money was stolen from him by looking through every one's bento to deduce their purchases, eventually finding the guilty kid."
Inoue tried to digest the new information, slowly making a reply. "So... you mean to say... we're going to investigate Rikkun's...?"
Kuro shot a small rather admiring grin as he dropped his stony voice act. "Atta girl! Hear that Sasha?"
"Investigate Rikkun's lunchboxes it is! Lunchboxes never lie!"
♡
Standing upon the doorstep of Kuro's uncle's house was Rikkun in a red uniform with an icy scorn written all over his eyes.
"Here's your vegetarian platinum burger and cherry burger with extra cheesy french-fries."
Smiling from ear to ear were Kuro and Inoue as they opened the door for him in anticipation.
"Wow. So, you're a delivery boy, huh? You look professional."
Kuro said in a mocking glee and carried the take-out, while Inoue handed out the money to Rikkun. "Exact as a square. You don't have to count it."
Nevertheless, Rikkun checked the payment before eyeing the two again, with a scorn five times icier than the last time. "How the hell did you know about this?"
"Rude!" Kuro pointed out, scolding him while pointing a pointy finger. "You don't do that to your customers!"
Fluttering her eyelashes, Inoue sweetly added. "Say it nice and friendly, Rikkun."
Without hesitation Rikkun coldly replied with, "Tell me how the hell you two knew about this, please?"
Rikkun waved a hand dismissively and started to leave. "I'll get going. You're not going to order again just to make fun of me, do you?"
After 8 times in a row of Kuro's and Inoue's deliberate food take-out in the weekend by the same delivery boy, it was another week for school. The little difference was, their homeroom teacher, Erwin, was back in top shape and mind.
"Good morning, my students." He pleasantly said yet with a touch of eeriness. "You don't seem too pleased to see me. I wonder why?"
Their homeroom teacher clearly knew why by the looks of everyone. And just as always, their school began as usual routine, with lessons to learn, quizzes to undertake, and activities to deal with.
Another little difference was the absence of their substitute instructor, Levi, who had left immediately the moment his agenda was done. Students who had fair share of experiences being a student by him was glad of the riddance. That, and because they don't have to carry out cleaning duties thrice as much when he was around.
But those simple memories did give them a sense of nostalgia; Demi High wouldn't be the same neat and clean on its own without Instructor Levi, they thought.
Although, there is one student who had more memories to be remembered by, and it's not just simple as cleaning and studying.
By the end of the dismissal, Inoue bailed from the school grounds as fast as she could muster her legs to run. All in a while taking a short call to her mother that she'll be coming home late.
For Inoue, this wasn't the first time she was in a hurry. Details were the same as the last time she had been in this situation; the same sidewalks, the same number of people, the same cold weather, the same season, and the same person she's running to before its too late.
About an hour and a half later, she passed the obstacles of moving crowds, roads, cars, and all things that, for this day, insignificant for her. Her pinkish-ginger hair sways along with her too-quick head looking left to right, right to left, front and back, back and front. It didn't took long for her to find who she was looking for.
There were only few people passing by the tunnel station, and standing idly by like a stiff rock close to the railways was her teacher, Levi Ackerman, who was also more than a teacher to her.
She stopped the thoughts from going into her head and took several cautious steps forward to him. As if by sensing, her teacher turned his straight gaze towards her.
No, not by sensing. It was as if he knew she'll be coming in this same instant.
It wasn't a prediction. Of course, this had happened before. This was her second time.
Whether destiny weaved the same strings for her or not, it's just as the same torturous feeling. The torturous feeling of having to say goodbye.
Their distance closed into few inches. The stares they exchanged were a mere word apart, and the silence was muffled as cottons. Too meaningful to say something, too loud to be heard, too thin their time left.
The train would come for him soon.
And just as so, she couldn't bring herself to say it. More so she couldn't blurt what she wanted to say all this time. But maybe because she couldn't accept it as she thought she could, and this could be her last chance to say them, no matter how much she willed herself to not accept what's right in front of her.
Even as a couple years and a half had passed by, just as old habits die hard, it was even harder to kill your firsts. Like, for one, your first love. Inoue has that.
"I... I haven't properly greeted you." Inoue said at last, though a bit fumbled over her words. "It's long past that day but still, happy belated happy birthday, Levi-seishou."
After a moment, her teacher finally said something, in his usual cold clipped tone. "Is that what you all have to say? After coming all the way here?"
Her body tensed as she heard the train closing by. This is it. Just few minutes and it's over.
It's over.
Those two words clutched deeply into her mind, painfully tugging into her heart.
Her eyes gone misty. "I'm sorry for being strange. There were many things I wanted to say to you, but even before then, I just can't. Even now I can't tell you these feelings I had when I'm afraid it will hurt me bad. I'm sorry for wasting your time, that I don't even know how I came to be running all the way here, just to greet you..."
Her words trailed off, like a magic casting its spell.
A spell of being softly patted on the head before tracing the lengths of her hair by the fingertips.
But the magic was his face on to her hair, giving her a soft and gentle kiss. Because, all of a sudden, her face bloomed into the ripest, sweetest of strawberries. The taste was divine, even if she wasn't tasting it.
"You're not strange." He said, feeling his lips moving from the strands of her messy hair. "Not strange at all. Not by one bit. Thank you. For everything."
"No..." Inoue said, her voice shaky and foreign.
But all in all, there were no regrets from her heart. Content. "I should be the one saying that, seishou. Actually, I...."
Few minutes after the train appeared. The time for goodbyes.
Sore dewa.
♡
Inoue's breath puffed a small cloud against the winter air, taking in the chilly mist through her nose as she stepped out from the tunnel outside the surface. It was still winter, cold and relentless. The clouds few and the skies gray, the sun setting down.
She escaped a sigh. A good long, relieving sigh.
I should've done that a long ago. It wasn't easy, but oh, so worth it.
She was about to head back home when two steps after, someone was calling out her name. It was familiar, usually a nuisance to her ears.
Today, however, was an exception. "Innnnnooouuuuuuueeeeeee!"
With a screeching of his shoes, Kuro came into a sliding halt, circling his arms to balance himself before falling flat on his butt.
Success, he flashed a grin, then, as if something occurred to him, retracted his grin into a perfect straight line of a mouth, feigning impassiveness.
"Oh, um, yeah. You just had the second- or maybe third- heartbreak of your high school love life." He began, pulling out a handkerchief from his back pocket. "Here, wipe your tears and your sadness away."
As if it was by natural instinct, she retorted, "I didn't cry. And even if I did, I wouldn't use a handkerchief that stowed close on their butts."
"Aw, don't be like that, Inoouuee!" Kuro flashed another grin, then on a second thought, retracted it again. "I mean, you can cry on my shoulder. It's wide enough for your lovely big tears. But no snot, please. This jacket's new."
Then, as close as sexual harassment a man can do to a girl, the gay took steps closer as he leaned his shoulder to her face, pressing it on her nose without closure permission. "C'mon, here. Here."
"Kuro, stop that." Hissed Rikkun from the back, emerging at their side. Half-shoving, half-handing out a bottle of latte coffee. "Inoue, take this. Something to warm you up."
Much obliged, Inoue happily took it from him, cupping both of her hands onto the warm bottle. "You're very thoughtful, Rikkun. Unlike someone here who isn't straight, flirty, annoying, and a bit of a narcissist who talked as if he's the only guy in the world who could make everyone swoon."
"You're talking to me, sweetie? 'Cause I am." Kuro patted his chest. "The only one in the world, and.... why don't I have something thoughtful and warm too, lovely Rikkun-kun?"
"I'm thinking whether or not I'll give you one." Rikkun casually responded, while glaring at Kuro at the back of his head. "It's hard, since there are more reasons for me not to."
"Two against one? Harsh! Harsher than this cold!"
"You're in a good mood today, are you, Kuro? Did you just do something when I'm gone?" Inoue noticed, her face written in suspicion.
"Maybe, maybe not." Kuro sing-sung. "C'mon, I know I have one too, gimme~"
Sighing, Rikkun tossed a bottle of warm mocha coffee to Kuro. "You didn't know since you left so early, Inoue, but our class are having a little party to celebrate both Armin and Erwin's comeback. Freshen yourself up back home, and we'll come pick you up."
"Sure, will do." Inoue replied with a pleasing smile, drinking her latte before it gets cold.
Whether it was on purpose or not, Kuro was walking at the side of Inoue, their paces closely matching.
"It's nice isn't?" Kuro told Inoue in a soft whisper. "The feeling of moving on?"
"How did you know I moved on?"
"By the look on your eyes. They still look as sweet as chocolate, but also bitter in a same taste. Perfection~"
"Um, okei. So, what are you trying to say? Just spill."
"I'm saying... this time, we're all out on winning Rikkun's heart, right? Nothing to drag you away, just pulling yourself forward. Two rivals fighting over the same person, but sharing the same goal; to find love~"
Inoue abruptly paused walking. For a second there, she was entranced by his words.
She stared at him for a while, him catching up to Rikkun when a substance from above caught their attention. Inoue looked up as well, mimicking their expressions.
From the dullest, grayest of skies, snowflakes clear as crystals were falling down on them. Almost translucent. Almost glowing.
They were melting rather too fast, too quick for them to stare in awe. Some of them pops into clutters of snow. Died, but still beautiful nonetheless.
Winter of youth. Inoue thought to herself, smiling.
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