After long hours the fourth expected-*Ring-Ring*-arrived... Yukue unhooks
the phone from the wall. Speaking with a well crafted tone, she greets them with a kind, "hello." Afterwards, she is waiting patiently for her client to respond.
"mutter"
She looks behind her, locking on to the recently dried tuxedo "Ah, Yes! your silver tuxedo is on hanger three... it is ready for you to pick up." she announced, placing the phone back to her ear.
"mutter-mutter!"
Yukue somehow understood and responded in kind "You have a nice day as well!" she said with a faint smile. "why does he speak with 'mutter'?" she questioned under her breath, inwardly thanking her time taken to understand him. She hung up the phone and turned to face her physical customers.
First, she called up the patient, middle aged couple to the counter "Mr. Tashima, your Hawaiian shirt is on the second shelf. Mrs. Tashima, yours is with his of course." she enjoyed their presence at least.
Sadly, the popular students from the same school were up next. She just handed them their clothes and mutely gestured them to leave since they always had some arbitrary complaint that she didn't want to hear. "Too soft as always..." One of the girls remarked as the group left. Yukue only responded with a scoff.
"Now, a short break..." *Ring-Ring* She groaned inwardly, her expression tired, the weight on her eyes building. "back to the phone..." she whispered, shuffling around the counter and arriving at the third... Ring of the-*Ring-Ring*. She opens with a strained kindness "Hello?" She began waiting a bit longer than she wanted, which was evident by a twitch in her eyebrow.
"Hey, Yukue..."
*Crack*…
Yukue's eyes shot open, like her body finally processed a morning coffee, or she broke a plate at three in the morning, which is likely accurate. "Ringo..." She hadn't expected Ringo to talk to her after yesterday, which wasn't much of a talk mind you, he muttered something about 'no more' and walked away, swaying like he were a pound away from being carried away by the wind its like he was tired of being asked if he were...
Anyway. Choosing not to comment on the... expensive, sound, he continued. "So... you know." He trailed off... (should've said started...)
Thankfully, Yukue had a feeling she 'knew' "I'm doing fine if that's what you are wondering." She answered, her tone neutral, allowing just a small chuckle to escape her.
There was hesitant return of a shorter chuckle, then a momentary pause from Ringo. "Ok...So. Wanna get something to eat? 's been a while..." Now he was being direct? She felt as if all of her constant working had snapped her into a vivid day dream, which was worrisome.
"W-well... S-sure." she stammered.
There was another, longer pause, a silence thickened with unspoken words, questions, and creeping sounds of a soft fluttering. Finally, Ringo broke the silence "Tomorrow sound nice?" A hint of composure in his voice.
Yukue, however, felt her words catch due to what she was about to ask. "H..." She hesitates, uncertain how he would respond. She blurts quietly "How about today? in two hours..." She was thankful he couldn't see her face right now.
For a moment, there was only the subtle static noises from phone till Ringo's voice came back, "Okay. see you in, two hours." The phone hung up, there was no short 'bye', just a... hesitant agreement. Yukue hung the phone back on the wall and leaned on the damaged counter behind her. She exhaled softly, now deep in thought.
But, what would she wear? She left her shop shortly after, flipping a sign that read "Orders only" in bold red.
Casual-nice, was the description she gave her outfit. a pale-blue blouse over some gray jeans didn't seem like too little or too much.
She clung to her last few minutes to ready herself, mentally, if only he had said challenge, and hadn't practically ghost her for multiple days... She would've said no, should've, but a sudden eagerness said otherwise. Why was she eager though? the need to ask... That, question came to mind,*beep...* maybe she was just curious. *beep* Maybe she wanted to go back to how things were... but what were thing like?
*BEEEP!* Her brother's voice boomed from the custom alarm he swapped hers with without her noticing. The alarm blared, with a nagging consistency, Just before she could blank out of the world, going too deep in her thoughts. It sent all of that nerve management to the wind.
She creeps the door to her room open, taking slow strides towards the lobby of the hotel, doing her best not to punch a hole into the wall the further she got. She peeked downstairs to see if Omoide was waiting, he would certainly try to make a fuss if her saw her dressed up for an occasion. Thankfully she believed no one was there at first glance, only to see Ringo waiting in the small lobby reading a cooking magazine. She clenched on to the rails of the stairs, her eyes wide till she calmed her self, managing to hide the surprise in her voice "Y-you're here already?"
Ringo's head snapped up towards yukue widening his eyes slightly, like a bird spotting a shiny red car in the grass, with a candle on their head. He quickly stood up from the chair he was in, turning to face yukue fully, revealing a mint green V-neck shirt with a star on the center of the chest, a dark green hoodless jacket, and cream colored, cotton pants.
There was an awkward silence between the two of just staring, no notable expression other than that same, faint gaze. Finally, Ringo fixed on a relaxed expression before remembering the question he was asked. "I left once I found an outfit... since I had nothing better to do."
She held back a laugh, the smile was a struggle though "O-Oh..." More hesitation. For a moment, Ringo slowly returned to read the magazine, silently offering yukue more time for, whatever girls need time for.
"Shall we..?" She offered, gesturing toward the door. Ringo stared blankly, then nodded and promptly closed the magazine, leaving it in the seat he was in. "Lets."
The two walked toward the door of the shop and Ringo respectfully held the door for Yukue, neither making much of a show of it which brought a look of relief on Ringo's face that Yukue couldn't see as she walked past.
The two walked together, a loud silence between them. Suddenly, Ringo brought up a topic "You said you did martial arts before... have you been in a tournament?" Yukue was a bit surprised by the sudden question but was glad their walk wouldn't be in silence "Yes," She said, showing a curious expression. "why do you ask?"
He glanced at her, slightly turning his head in way to show he was interested in an answer. "What's it like?" Ringo asked, watching as yukue thought deeply, with an oddly conflicted expression on his own face. It quickly vanished when he noticed Yukue coming up with an answer.
"Nerve racking..." She confessed, scratching the back of her head and laughing softly. She stared toward the distance "Felt like I was carrying a weight like no other."
"And have you gone to more?" He looked at her before casting his gaze forward to see where the next turn was.
Yukue took that moment to smile softly "Well, yes. Have you been to any?" she was anticipating a story.
Ringo paused, scratching his head till he dug as deep as he could "Not once." he shrugged. "Didn't have the time." He hadn't noticed Yukue's dumbfounded expression.
She let out a small laugh "You, out of time?" she teased, with a warm smile on her face.
He placed his hand on his chest in a mock show of offence "Oh, of course, sleep till twelve, eat at two, nap at three, eat at eight, sleep." He responded matter-of-factly while rolling his finger to indicate a loop. Maybe a bit, too matter-of-factly.
"Really?" she asked genuinely. The schedule seemed reasonable for Ringo who gave an exasperated look at her.
The genuinely curious question made him laugh softly "No, it was just school and home." He stated flatly, before playfully sticking out a tongue and peace sign when he saw Yukue wince. He began laughing when Yukue exhaled sharply, probably mentally chiding herself for believing.
Yukue sighed softly and joined his laugh. It continued like that past two unfamiliar buildings before she collected herself again. "Hey... Where are we going?" She asked after noticing they were walking on roads she hadn't seen before, and the tight alleys they cut through.
"This slushy spot I found." he responded casually. He held his hand open behind him, waiting for her, till he just snatches Yukue's hand, beginning to take corners confidently and walking at an eager pace, his feather flapping happily in the wind. Soon the boy came to a stop, tugging his slightly exhausted partner forward "This is it!" He spoke with the childish excitement he had when they first ate together.
In what seemed like a blur, they were out of the alleys, standing in front of a medium sized bar, dimmed windows, wooden panel walls. It had a high end look on the outside that seemed to be carry a lively air to it even if there weren't many people there. They walked past the near-empty patio at the front and walked through the tinted glass door.
Inside was vastly different, blue lighting lining the tile walls, cherry red booth seats with a few people in them, wooden chairs around small wooden tables with room for two. And then there was the slushy dispensers, full of every color and every flavor that could fit in the small segment, free of use to the customers to make any cocktail of sweetness.
Yukue didn't have a chance to admire the place as Ringo b-lined toward the dispensers, tapping a chair he passed by to claim it. Yukue followed closely behind, still taken aback by this new place tucked deep in Nerima "How did you find this?" she asked, watching Ringo blur between the flavors and picking out his favorite blend; mango, pineapple, and peach with such a familiarity that you would assume he had visited for years, maybe even lived there.
After a flurry of spurts, Ringo checked the multiple layers of flavor excitedly before answering "I flew in one day and got kicked out... for being a stork." He didn't mention that it took a lot of persuasion to stop his raid of their slushy bar, which happened to be a broom wielding employee.
"Oh..." Yukue didn't want to dig any further into that story, deciding to make her slushy. She chose just lemon and green apple, perfectly sour and flavorful. Then a question formed in her head "How do you do that, transformation?" She spread her arms gently and flapped her wrists.
Ringo looked at yukue, then at her slushy for no particular reason. finally he spoke as he walked to their table "It's a curse. cold water makes me a bird, and hot water turns me back."
The two grabbed their seat, yes, seat... Impossibly so, they managed to not only grab the same chair, but they even made a poor attempt at sitting in it before they noticed the other. They probably would've argued over the chair but in another strange act of chivalry, and after some intense hesitation, Ringo holds the chair for Yukue. "T-Thank you..." She bowed her head slightly, before slowly seating herself. Her body visibly tensed when Ringo pushed her chair in and stood there for a moment, his hands resting on the chair, above her shoulders.
But whatever the reason, he seemingly snapped out of it, muttering a quick apology. "Oh- sorry..." His hands bounced off of the chair and disappeared behind the frozen girl who was still staring forward with a blank, wide gaze, her hands tucked tightly into her lap. "Its fine." she blurted to hastily assure her shuffling, rival.
Once he finally sat down in a separate chair, Ringo immediately began sipping his slushy. And like a switch, his awkwardness vanished, becoming a blissful smile. the quietest moan escaped him, something he didn't seem to be aware of as he was too busy enjoying his blend of nirvana. Yukue finally acknowledged her green and yellow blend after a lot of holding her hands in place so she didn't punch the table in half.
Yukue quickly sipped her slushy once, her lips puckering at the sour blend of both fruits but it was what she expected. She took a pause to manage the sour sensation before sipping more of her drink. She was somewhat jealous of how good Ringo's slushy seemed to taste but she slowly found specks of heaven in her slushy, smiling softly and the pleasant flavor once she got used to the sourness.
And it stayed as such, silent slurps, soft smiles, a warm silence. Was it normal to be fine with this silence? For it to feel so warm? Ringo's brow furrowed as he thoughtlessly stirred his slushy. "I've known her less than a month and I..." he began, still enjoying the sweet sensation on his tongue. Maybe it was the slushy that made him so content. "That walk was a bit awkward..."
Yukue was simply enjoying her slushy till she noticed that Ringo was staring at her, not intently, not longingly, but like he was studying, not her though, his stare seemed... distant, like he wasn't focusing on her, he seemed to look inwardly. After a moment more, he smirked and shook his head softly, quietly dismissing a thought and bringing his attention back to the slushy. Yukue sat there, thinking of that small moment and that time at the chair and in the lobby. "Ringo seemed to get lost in thought often..." though she did like the way he...
Yukue hastily looks down at her slushy to focus her mind elsewhere, slurping her sour slushy intensely. She does eventually find something to think about, to remember, a silver glint, wrapped around the third finger of his hand. Ringo watched her expression sink, an unfamiliar panic flushing past him, and to his feather, only proving to confuse him more. "You're married aren't you?"
There was a long pause, his face shifting through many forms of contemplation. He then settled on looking off to the side and scratching his head "Yea, sure, or whatever... s' not even real..." he pouted, stirring his slushy with a new vigor. This too confused him but maybe it was because he was nagged about his marriage constantly by the Tendos which made him so dismissive. But he never felt such an urge to toss the ring till now.
She exhaled sharply an uncertain blend of disappointment and relief. Just as quickly, Yukue's gaze retreated down to her hands resting on the table, daring not to look up she was poking at her ever sweetening slushy and taking a few cautious sips of it. "What... do you mean... fake?"
"It's some stupid revenge plot." It was the abridged version of a very messy breakup he was dragged into. The whole story was a bit, out there... but details, details. Ringo finally took another slurp of the, now soft orange, slushy. It wasn't as sweet at the moment, compelling him to start drinking the rest of it. which he would regret doing so fast since he has no slushy to drink now. Maybe he should've drank it sip by sip.
Now there was more resigned silence Neither looking at each other, or listening to the world around them. Yukue was stabbing her slushy again and looking deeply at the colors as they blend. green and yellow... suddenly a sweet lime. She smiled, rested her cheek on her hand and stared at Ringo. He stared back, this time at her, for a moment he seemed glued to her. It wasn't awkward either... She... Yukue's eyes widened.
There was that insistent panic again. Ringo felt the change in her stare, he felt like he were standing under the sun "Something wrong?" Why did he feel somewhat worried? "Did you get slushy cramps?" Was it worse?
She just continued to stare, wide eyed, a faint blush forming as she looked at the amber dots before her. "Just fine..." She slowly looked down with a small, beautiful smirk. Ringo had to smother the flame on his head absentmindedly. "slushy cramp?"
Now he was staring wide eyed much more confused than ever, finding himself sinking into his chair. "Something wrong?" She was teasing him? so suddenly? was this revenge for those acts of chivalry? or his previous stare? that must be it! Ringo noticed the sly glare she gave, he never imagined her to have such a...n... expression.
"Acting coy are we..." He mumbled, smothering the flame on his hair to stop the fire alarm from going off. "I'm just having slushy cramps..." Why was he on the loosing end of this game? He hated being so flustered, made it hard to think. But Yukue however, enjoyed this victory, understanding the fun of teasing. But her amusement rose when she saw Ringo smirk and lean in his chair. He closed his eyes confidently "So, pretty girl..." endure. "Has this date been fun?" he stretched on a toothy grin and stared straight at her lapis loops.
Yukue's hands slammed into her laps and her head snapped to the side, looking at the blue lights on the ceiling. Shortly after hearing Ringo chuckle Yukue's eyes changed to a more realizing wideness. She turned her head back to the table building mounds of confidence within. "Of course..." She was hesitant but needed to finish what she started "its with you... Handsome." She shot out a small smile. Her counter managed a soft wince in Ringo's eyes but he stayed composed.
"This is silly..." he said between a chuckle. "Do you want to keep flirting or should we call it a day?"
"You really should." A voice like a venom laced dagger left a great wound of tension between the, now three, people standing at the wooden table. Dressed in the company's uniform, her arms crossed, Lee Yin shot daggers at Ringo. "Sorry to interrupt your time, but I'm borrowing my husband for a while. Go home if you want, he will be charged." She growled, briefly giving her attention to Yukue before scowling at Ringo.
Lee Yin tapped her spear on the ground, summoning ten other girls from the booths who quickly surround Ringo, hog tie him, and drag him into the back in a slide show like sequence. "Again sorry about the commotion, but I need to have a talk with your..?"
"Rival." Yukue stated boldly.
"I'm sorry for any inconvenience my husband brought upon himself." Lee Yin shot back. With that, she starts toward the backroom, pulling a spear out of her front pouch, It's rumored to be made out of the pocket of a man's pants.
"Now wait a second!" Yukue 'wisely' dashed in front of a clearly agitated, spear wielding woman. She held her hands out passively "You're not gonna kill Ringo are you?" She chuckled nervously, hoping Lee Yin would join her and say its all in good fun.
But Yukue watched Lee Yin look at her and where Ringo was dragged off. She continued to look back and forward between the two like she was making a hard decision. "Of course... not." Lee Yin oh so convincingly answered. "Why are you so worried? You two are just rivals." she talked looked dismissively at her.
Some need to establish herself as more than a rival nagged her soul but she was a just a rival. "Rivals can care for each other!" she declared with a calm confidence. A confidence that caught Lee Yin's attention, good, bad... maybe both (which would be worse...)
"Rivals should stay out of marital issues!" based on the fact that she swung the blunt end of her spear towards Yukue's head, it might've been bad. Yukue did manage to duck under the attack quite easily. This annoyed Lee Yin who muttered something Chinese that could translated to, "stubborn girl..." before flipping the pointed end of her spear toward Yukue "Just stay out of this. You don't need to be hurt."
Yukue rose up to a proper stance, ready to take on this, passive aggressive, spear wielding girl. "I can't just leave Ringo here to get hurt by his fake wife!" She declared defiantly, or stubbornly.
Lee Yins eyes sharpened, her spear radiating a dangerous anger. "You... Irritating!" In a flick of her wrist the spear tip whisked dangerously past Yukue's nose, her hand drawing back, winding back up for a ensuing thrust. "Just stay out of this! Rivals don't need to help each other! They fight over old issues! Not have slushy dates!" she roared, having just enough of this girls insistence to meddle with her affairs! She was a twitch away from unleashing a full force thrust till a uniform clad girl with messy, black long hair pops through the back door. "Ringo escaped!" The girl exclaimed, rushing back through the door to join the chase.
Lee Yin stabbed her spear into the ground, clearly at her wits end with Ringo and Yukue, who she points her spear at. "If you chase me, I will tie you to the highest thing I find and leave you there till I'm done with Ringo!" She threatens, more so promises Yukue. "Why does he make this plan so difficult?" She muttered, rushing out of the building to hunt down Ringo.
Where was he though? Well, he was walking out of the same back door, fixing his hair and his jacket. He looked like he spent a sum of energy to escape since he was walking out with a weak smile and slightly dirty clothes. "Did she stab you?" He asked, having heard the outburst outside.
"N-No, she was close..." Close enough to feel Lee Yin's irritation in her spear. "I need to train more." she noted, she didn't expect to face a spear face to... blade? But all's well that ends well. Though, would it end well for Ringo? She was his wife fake or not. The two walked out of the shop and halfway across the street Yukue spoke, "Hey... Rivals have slushies together, right?"
Ringo stopped, looking up in contemplation, "Yea... I'm pretty sure it's normal." They were about to enter the alley's when Ringo felt the need to say something, the one thing that wouldn't rest easy on his soul. "I win." He speeds up, smirking proudly and choosing not to explain.
"What?" One smoothie sat alone, still unfinished and melting.