Hey, what's up? I reference chapter 74 in this story but that's about it.
Yuzuki's Onii-chan is here. Ryousuke needs more screen time...err panel time?
...
Yuzuki ambles along the sidewalk with Yuu right beside her. "You'll like the café I work in, Sensei. Everyone there is really nice." Seo's lips twist into a smirk. "Am I gonna get some free food, Kashima?" She casually inserted her hands into the pockets of her shorts and looks up to her friend's face. "Sensei, I'll see what I can do but I'm just helping out there. It's nothing permanent yet."
They finally arrive at their aforementioned destination and they are greeted by a blonde haired man. His hair is slick back and he dons a white collared shirt and black vest over it with matching black pants. It takes Yuzuki a minute for the person to register in her head since she isn't used to this sort of formal attire on him.
"Onii—" The young man immediately slaps her mouth shut. "Kashima-kun, why did you bring Yuzuki here?" He whispers to Kashima, disregarding the fact that his sister can hear as clear as day. Scanning around for the other servers that work in the café, he mentally prepares himself for the moment they realize that this little troublemaker here is the little sister he has been keeping away from this place. The older Seo lightly pushes his sister to an empty table and tells her to behave. Confusion sets upon Yuzuki's face, only because her brother is acting weirder that usual. Ryousuke hastily pulls Kashima to the back and begins discussing the deal of the day since his sister is now here and will probably never leave until his shift ends.
Yuzuki watches as his brother leaves the vicinity. Amber eyes wanders around the quaint and quiet café until they linger on the back of a familiar underclassman's head. Bolting from her seat, she rushes towards the unsuspecting young man and ropes an arm around his neck. "Yo,Waka!" She glances at the other person sitting with Wakamatsu. Trickling drops of lukewarm liquid stains the person's white uniform. Several drips of said liquid cascades down his wooden face. "Oi, Nozaki. You're making a mess." Unbeknownst to Seo, Wakamatsu was in the middle of drinking his coffee when she suddenly greeted him in her very Seo-like fashion. Wakamatsu apologizes to Nozaki and hands a few napkins his way. "Seo-senpai, do you mind?" Yuzuki arches her brow. "Do I mind what?" She genuinely asks and plops down on an empty chair at their table.
"So, whatcha guys doing?" She looks to and fro between the guys and covers her mouth dramatically. "I'm not interrupting with anything, am I?" She teases, implying something else scandalous. Nozaki's eyes twitches in annoyance. One more minute with this girl will drive him crazy. "Interrupting what exactly, Seo? We are…" The mangaka stops. He couldn't exactly announce that this is the 10th day of his stakeout for ideas he could do for his precious manga so he resumes with something more mundane. "…drinking tea and hanging out like friends should." He speaks in his deadpan manner. "Oh well now that I'm here, it'll be fun, right Waka?" She pats his shoulder a little bit too enthusiastically." Wakamatsu simply nods his head as he raises his mug to his lips. "What did you order, Waka?" She curiously stares at his drink. "Well, Seo-Senpai…" Wakamatsu mindlessly allow her to grab his beverage and drink from it. A light blush swims across his cheek. He manages to squeak out, "I was going to tell you!" She sticks her tongue out in disgust. The bitterness of his drink swells inside her mouth. Fortunately, there is a container of sugar nearby. Waka swiftly covers the top of his cup. "Seo-Senpai, please stop." She already violated his cup already. He will not sit idly by and bear witness to his drink being transformed into a pond of sugar.
"Yeesh, Drama Queen. Fine, lemme see the menu." With nothing else to do and nowhere else to escape to, Wakamatsu complies. "You want anything, Waka? My treat." Waka massages his temple. "Yeah, peace and quiet, Senpai." Going over the menu, Yuzuki comments that she doesn't see that particular meal. "What's in it?" Wakamatsu mutters a, "nevermind."
"Oh! Waka, I bet you'd like this cake." She points to the taro cake. The crease on her kohai's forehead smooths out. He wonders how she knew what he was contemplating about earlier. Not waiting for his answer, she goes to a waiter and coerce the poor guy into taking her order first even though he was about to take someone else's.
Nozaki shakes his head but he could usually rely on these two to provide some sort of inspiration, even if he has to tailor a few events for his manga.
A few minute later, Seo comes back with a plate of cake in tow. "Yo, got the cake." She hands a fork to Waka and surprisingly to Nozaki as well. All Nozaki does is inspect the utensil being waved in front of his face. "Wut? I'm being nice, Nozaki. At least say thank you." A grimace appears on the artist's face. "Thank you…Seo." He begrudgingly spits out.
Seo plots the lay of the land on the piece of cake situated in the middle of the table. "This side is mine and this is Waka's" She draws an imaginary line on the cake with her fork. "I guess you can be here, Nozaki." He trails along the direction of the fork. Seo offers him the very tip of the cake.
That isn't even half a fork full of cake, Nozaki reasons in his mind.
Seo digs in first and takes Nozaki's measly portion anyways; simply forgetting or not caring what transpired seconds ago. Nozaki sets his fork down with a clink on the plate. "Wut, ya don't want any? Suit yourself."
Wakamatsu laughs nervously but then complains when she breaches the imaginary line bordering his territory. "Senpai, you said this is my side!"
"I did?" Seo mumbles out with a mouth full of cake. Mischief begins to brew in her eyes. "You mean this side?" She pokes another part of the cake on his side. Wakamatsu glares at her but it ends up looking like a harmless squint. "What's wrong with yer eye, Waka?" He can't even do menacing properly! Noticing his cute pout, she turns the plate so her untouched section is on his side. "Fine, fine…" Seo strangely relents. Waka holds his fork still. She gave up too fast. There are usually more attacks than that. Seo occupies herself with the remainder of her portion and does end up leaving Waka's side alone.
Suspicion soon leaves him as he takes a bite of the tasty treat. Seo leans her elbow on the table and rests her chin on her opened palm. Her lips tilt to a small smile as she gazes at the way Wakamatsu is enjoying the purple confection.
Nozaki silently scribbles down some notes of the development unfolding before him. He plays numerous scenarios in his head and picks one that suits them. Perhaps it could be something along the lines of Oze saying, "If only I was that fork?" Nozaki makes a side note nearby that question if the line is too racy.
"Ya doin' homework while we're hanging out, Nozaki?" Seo pries him out of his thoughts. He closes his notebook and apologizes until seconds late he realizes he has no reason to say he's sorry.
"Hey, Waka. Didja know my Onii-chan works here?" Wakamatsu recalls his encounter with her older brother. "Yes, I've met him. I don't think he likes me very much." Seo purses her mouth. "Let's ask him. Onii—" A larger hand seals her mouth shut. "Yes, Yuzu-chan? Please don't call out and you can get anything on the menu." Ryousuke pleads with his voice lace with desperation. Seo's face scrunches up in frustration and forcefully removes his brother's hands away from her for the second time that day. "Why are you being mean, Onii-chan, covering my mouth like that all the time? What did I do to you?" Wakamatsu conceals his mouth with a hand and puts his head down. His heart is beating fast again. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll make it up to you but just for today, I'm not your brother." Her eye's widens. "Then, who's my Onii-chan today?"
Ryousuke vehemently nods his head. "Wakamatsu-kun could be your Onii-chan." The first year's breath hitches when the focus is on him. Seo takes a second before responding. "But I like playing with Waka." Her now ex-brother swallows a soft cry at the implication that she doesn't like playing with her only big brother.
"I'm still here, you know!"
"I know, Ryousuke." Yuzuki snaps her finger. "Oh, can me and Waka get some drinks." Her eyes connect with Nozaki's. "Hmmm, like iced tea. You're good with that, Waka?" Nozaki's eyes slanted at being neglected…or in his case purposely neglected. Before her brother or rather not-her-brother-for-today leaves, she grabs the hem of his shirt. "Oh wait, waiter. Do you like Waka?" For reason, the waiter bit stings Ryousuke more than he would care for but bites down a retort. "Of course, I like him, girl who is not my sister. You should come over tonight, Wakamatsu-kun. Our dad is cooking up his signature plate and it'll blow your mind." He winks at Wakamatsu. "Mom and Pop will certainly like your Waka, Yuzu-chan." The blonde is pretty proud of himself. That should rile his sister up. Maybe even embarrass her. A disturbed expression riddles Yuzuki's face.
"Waka is busy…"
Wakamatsu interjects quickly. "I don't want to intrude, Ryousuke-san."
"Oh you're no—" Yuzuki abruptly slams her hands on the table. "Waka isn't interested, waiter. Now get us our drinks" She coldly demands it, like a gang leader without remorse.
"Now who's being mean, Seo-senpai." She glances at him from her periphery and shyly shifts her head towards Nozaki. "Now, you're ignoring me? What's with you?" Seo masks her face with a blank façade. "I just don't want them to like you." Wakamatsu couldn't help but be hurt by her admission. Why would she say that? Has she said that to Sakura-senpai or Kashima-senpai? "Surely all this time, you've thought of me as at least a friend?" The air around them thickens with tension. "Seo-senpai?" Nozaki can hear the strain on his younger friend's tone. Ryousuke comes back with a tray full of ice cold tea, oblivious to the ongoings surrounding the pair. "Tea for…" He switches between his sister and Wakamatsu. "…three?" How long was he gone for?
Blanketed in the same uncomfortable pressure enveloping the two, Nozaki wails out loud, cursing the Gods above. "I ask for a development and this is what I get? Cruel world!" The three are stunned by his outburst. In fact, the entire place is surprised.
"Oi, Nozaki. What are you yelling about?" Whether or not Nozaki intended to slice through the thick, tense veil surrounding the two with his outburst, they'll never know but it does the trick and Seo is the first to say something. She crosses her arms and leans back against her chair. "I just don't like sharing, Waka." Wakamatsu blinks. Does she consider him as her toy or something?
"So, at least borderline friends?" Seo shrugs. "Sure."
Her "sure" doesn't satisfy Hirotaka although he's not sure why that is. However, Nozaki is very satisfied. A resolution took place. That's all he wants in his stories.
She takes a gander at her not-brother. "So, waiter. We need more cakes." Ryousuke doesn't acknowledge her request at first so Kashima, across the room (who somehow heard Yuzuki's order), shouts, "You got it, Sensei!"
Ryousuke sighs wearily. So he's going to spend his entire paycheck on these guys, huh.
…
The next day…
Seo enters Wakamatsu's classroom. "Yo, Waka." She greets and parks herself on his desk. Completely unaware of the whispers of his classmates, she presents to him a red bento box. "It's my leftovers from last night. I couldn't finish it so I thought I'd save it for you."
"That is very considerate of you, Seo-senpai." He rubs the back of his neck. Wakamatsu is not entirely sure if it's really her leftovers or she's just kidding around. Why does he want to say the former? She grins. "I know." Their eyes linger on each other briefly. "Next time, you can join us, Waka." After making a big deal about it yesterday, he was worried things between them would be awkward. He's glad it's not.
"I'd like that, Seo-senpai." Wakamatsu's homeroom teacher clears his throat and gestures for Seo to go back to class. She jumps off his desk. "Great, I'll see you tonight."
…
I can't seem to stop adding Nozaki in almost all my SeoxWaka fics. He just has to be there.
I hope you enjoyed this story and I'll just wait here for Izumi-sensei to do more SeoxWaka chapters...