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Getabako

ゲタバコ

shoe cupboard situated in the genkan, an entryway or porch of a house

Uwabaki

うわばき

indoor slippers. The main purpose of using indoor shoes is of course to keep the room clean

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Clouds languidly drift against the darkening colours swirling in the sky, the melding of purples, pinks, and yellows creating a rift in the sky as evening slipped away, giving night the chance to take the reigns for the day. People hurried along the roads in an attempt to get home before nightfall whilst others were still trapped in their various shops, multiple lights of the various shops and stores switched on, all adding to the ambience of a typical night in Tokyo. Outside of the bustling people and roars of traffic were on the other side of town, the quieter part alongside the train lines where two boys slowly drifted along, chatting amongst themselves.

"...then she told me to take off my shirt, and I freaked out a little. She got really embarrassed too — gosh, she's really, really cute — and apologized because I got the wrong idea. She left and I changed. She's super nice, Yuu. She even gave me this free shirt," Kaito frantically explained, running ahead of his friend so he could do a twirl, showing off the pink tank top that occupied the space his school vest and shirt once enveloped. The writing 'Cure Cafe' was emblazoned across the front in a twirly cursive font, colored in white writing that stood out against the pink background and had a cream cat's face below it all. The vest, teemed with the heart bongers he still wore on his head, wasn't an uncommon sight to see especially in a city known for anime and cosplay, yet it still looked ridiculous to Yuuto, who also didn't like the idea of people knowing that he wasted away all his evenings watching his friend watch a girl.

Yuuto paused for a moment, not sure whether he should have honestly told his friend the revaluation or leave it be, but what was decided for him when Kaito yelled and fist-pumped the air. The excited boy ran ahead some more, propelling himself off the ground as he jumped, landing on the cement border separating the river Hōsei river below from the road. Balancing on the edge, he splayed his hands out to the side in an attempt to balance himself, his maid cafe keychain dangling off the side of his bag in the jingling noise they both grew all too familiar with.

Scoffing, Yuuto shook his head and resumed walking, his schoolbag securely tucked under his arm. He lifted his eyes off the ground and looked around like he usually did, absorbing the familiar sight of the Yodo river drifting below, a few students and other casually-clothed people lying or sitting on the slanted patch of grass just off the bank of the river. Looking further out was the railway in the distance and the sight of a city coming to life, a myriad of lights substituting the absent rays of the sun. The scent of fresh water and grass mingled with the more alluring scent of potato chips and yakisoba, the latter tugging Yuuto out of his reverie and making him realize that Kaito had hopped off the border and stopped at the vending machine by the roadside.

"Hm, what to get," Kaito murmured aloud, his eyes intently focused on the rows of chips, drinks, and other snacks separated from him behind a thick layer of glass and price tags of each item. Running his finger along the glass and leaving a faint trail in the wake, Kaito finally stopped at the salted potato chips in the last row, his eyes lighting up when he noticed that they were the last two. "Alright!" he called, already flipping out his Naruto frog wallet and shuffling around for ¥73.

"I thought you spent all your money earlier?" Yuuto questioned, one of his bushy eyebrows set above the other in his usual questioning stance. Kaito stopped after he'd rolled all the coins in, a sheepish smile manipulating his lips as he chuckled nervously and scratched his head.

"Unless you forgot, I didn't get to finish anything because of you. Besides, I'm still mad at you for that stunt you pulled earlier, so don't get ahead of yourself," Kaito warned, trying to act as if he was angry with Yuuto, but being on cloud 9, it was almost impossible now to feel ecstatic now that he'd gotten somewhere with the girl of his dreams, cruel scheme or not. Replaying the whole thing in his head for the umpteenth time, a ginormous grin overtook his face, and he didn't even realize that the potato chip was now in a suspended state in the machine.

Yuuto sighed, ignoring his best friend as he banged his hand on the side of the vending machine, and just like that, two bags of jyaganko and grape sodas popped out. Kaito snapped out of his reverie shortly after, grabbing his items and passing half of it to Yuuto, who hesitantly took them and followed the other boy to the riverside. Kaito plopped down first, cranking his can of soda and taking a long gulp, sighing in relief once he moved it away from his mouth and swallowed.

For a moment Yuuto remained standing, indecisively looking from his friend to the road, knowing that only another ten minutes of walking would have him arriving at his apartment and hopefully catching up with all the work he still had left to do. Kaito called him before he could fully make up his mind, and that's what led to Yuuto deciding that just a few minutes of solitude without being clobbered with work could be good for him.

Yuuto carefully set his bag down and plucked his sweater from inside, tying it around his waist before he perched on the grass because grass stains were the worst. Kaito, uncaring of all the precautions he could take to keep himself clean and give his mother an easier time on his uniform, carelessly sprawled out on the terrain, sitting upright and tucking his legs underneath himself only for the sake of protecting his ridiculous top. Yuuto shook his head at the display, a faint image of a younger Kaito popping into his mind, the young boy's uniform lanced with mud and grass stains as he stuck a hand out to Yuuto and brazenly called him by his first name.

"Nice to meet you, Yuuto!"

Kaito tilted a potato chips bag at his mouth, letting the crumbs at the bottom flow into his mouth before crushing the bag and stuffing it in his bag. He took another long swing from his soda, to which Yuuto reluctantly followed, popping his jyaganko pack open and slipping a few of the crispy chips into his mouth, letting the smooth tastes of cheese and tarako butter freely roll over his tongue. The chip churned loudly as Yuuto chewed, and even though he thought he wasn't hungry anymore, as the savoury flavor dissolved into his senses, it prodded him to take one more. And another. And another. Before he knew it, the bag was half-empty, and as he popped his soda open, Kaito suddenly groaned next to him.

"So, as I said, I really like Soejima, and God, I even had the chance to talk to her but..." he trailed off, letting his elbows stay on his knees, face buried into his hands. "Man! I had the chance to give it to her and I ... I didn't, Yuu-chan! What if she thought I was being perverted for wanting to give that to her or worse, slap me?" he swung his hand around, slapping his hands together and flinching at the sharp sound evoked, wincing some more as he imagined that he'd gotten something like that from Soejima. "The timing was off, Yuu-chan, I'm sorry."

"What are you going on about?" Yuuto absently replied, casting a sidelong look at his bummed out friend. It was almost comical how quickly his moods could zip from 100 to zero or vice versa, but 11 years of friendship taught Yuuto the key in handling his friend's tantrums; ignoring him. But before that, perhaps Yuuto could at least hear him out and pretend that he cared.

"The letter," Kaito said. He rolled to the side and dipped his hand in his bag's front pocket, yanking out an envelope that looked too familiar to miss. "This one."

Yuuto glanced at the envelope before closing his eyes again. "I already dropped it off, don't worry." he casually replied.

"You did? When? I've had this one since you gave it to me, so unless you had a copy I didn't know about?" Kaito questioned, sticking out his lower lip in a pout as he gazed down at the letter, transfixed, oblivious that his friend had stiffened next to him. "But if you insisted that you gave it to Soejima-san, I suppose that I have nothing to worry about then, right? Or ... or you mixed up the letter somehow?"

That speculation widened Kaito's eyes in realization, but Yuuto wasn't having any of it. "Of course I didn't mix up the letters. Don't be an idiot," he defended as he ripped the envelope from Kaito's hand. Though he wanted to believe his own words, he couldn't help the feeling of his thumping heart in his chest and the rising sense of dread that attacked him as he brazenly ripped the seal off and took out the paper inside. The scent of cherry perfume assaulted his senses as he slowly unfurled the letter, his eyes widening in disbelief as his eyes flowed over the first words.

Dear Soejima-san,

Kaito leaned in too, scanning the words for himself. His mouth twisted to the side in confusion and eyebrows went closing in, a sink formed to prevent them from merging into one entity as confusion overtook his previously miserable face. "This one is for her, see? It has her name at the top," he pointed out. "Yuuto, did you mix up the letters?"

It made Yuuto sick to his stomach to think he did, but as he sat there, the irrefutable fact stared him right in the face. He racked his mind, trying to remember whose name was on the letter he gave the maid, and after a few seconds, the memory returned to him.

Two days ago at Higashi Public High School

The final bell went off, marking the end of the school day. A warm layer of sunlight fell through the window and softly fell over one side of Yuuto's face, who was seated at his regular seat by the window, one hand placed against his jaw as he stared outside at the students frolicking around the blossoming Sakura trees below his classroom. His other hand was absently moving along his book page in something he later discovered to be yet another doodle of one of his manga characters, and before he knew it, he'd lost track of time. Sometimes it was hard to navigate time when Kaito was absent, and he'd been that day, stuck at home because of the flu. And so Yuuto packed his bags and slowly walked down the stairs to the genkan when someone approached him.

"Oi, Masayuma. I hear you write letters for people. Do you mind helping me out?" Barely turning his head, Yuuto glanced to the side to see a familiar face, Kyōya Hinata standing next to him, leaning on one of the lockers with a ¥20 slotted between his fingers.

"Another girl? That's—"

"Third time this week, I know. You don't have to spell it out, man. Sorry to break it out, but not all of us have a face like yours, dude. Some of us actually have to work for babes, so don't get cocky on me!" Hinata argued, jabbing a finger at Yuuto, causing his feather earring to sway. "So what do you say? You'll write it for me?"

Yuuto blankly stared at him only for so long before he resumed what he was doing before, which was popping his assigned locker open. Kicking off his indoor shoes, Yuuto dropped his outdoor pair by his feet and slipped his feet inside before taking up his former pair and shoving it into his locker, closing it with a low click. Without receiving a response, one would think Hinata would get the message that Yuuto was ignoring him and leave in peace, but as Yuuto shut his locker and turned to the side, seeing Rei there, it was clear that his plan didn't work. "No." he simply stated, moving past Rei.

"What? Dude, come on! We don't call you matchmaker for nothing, man! Help a brother out!"

Yuuto was all set on his 'ignore Hinata' resolve, but as the annoying boy followed Yuuto almost halfway home, whining and begging the entire time, Yuuto finally gave in, because Rei was a persistent bastard and would shut up until he got what he wanted. After another melodramatic moment of whines and leg-grabbing, ¥360 had Yuuto jotting down yet another name with the promise to have the love letter drafted and completed overnight.

Currently

Yuuto sat there on the grass, eyes fixed on Kaito's letter, which was still addressed to none of the than Soejima Chiho, the girl that was due to receive Kyōya Hinata's letter, which Yuuto had forgotten to deliver because a certain someone had hopped to yet another girl. At first, Yuuto was shocked, then annoyed, then dreadful, because one look at Kaito, seeing his expanding eyes and loosening jaws was enough for Yuuto to guess what his friend was thinking.

"We have to get it back!"

Right guess.

Nevertheless, Yuuto scoffed. "And how would we do that?" he asked, though he wasn't keen to hear it one bit. "It's already done, Kaito. She'll get Hinata's letter, and besides, she doesn't know your name, so it isn't that much of a big deal."

"That's exactly my point. You know that Hinata can be a girl's name or a guy's name, so what if she thinks it's from a girl? That's a nightmare, Yuu! We — no you — have to do something!" Kaito argued, and when he saw Yuuto's incredulous expression, knowing that he would snap back, Kaito quickly added, "It can't be me. She already saw my face, so how would it look if I suddenly popped up at her house or back at the Cafe? She doesn't know you, and besides, you gave them the letter, so it's only right. Please, please, Yuu! It'll end terribly if you don't!"

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Congratulations for powering through another chapter :)

How do you think Yuuto will get back the letter?