[fanfic] Minus One - (Mikado/Anri)
Title: Minus One
Type: Oneshot | PG
Fandom: Durarara!!
Pairing/Characters: Mikado/Anri + mentions of Masaomi
Genre: Drama, Friendship
Word Count: 4,733
Warnings: None
Summary: Written for the drrr!kinkmeme ( Click). A mute and bespectacled Mikado asks Anri out on a sort-of date. AU-ish, but still canon compliant.
Note: Wrote this a long time ago, over the summer actually. I'm not very satisfied with it, but I just thought I'd share it. :)
'It's quiet.’
Mikado thought as he and Anri sat on a metal bench located on Raira Academy's empty rooftop. Masaomi, who normally provided more than enough noise for the trio, was currently absent, which did not come to a surprise to the two silent students. Lately he'd been disappearing from them, always coming up with an excuse, smiling and chuckling before uttering a rushed goodbye with a quick wave of his hand. Masaomi would just grin so wide until his eyes disappeared and dimples shown on his cheeks. He'd sing a little tune about picking up girls, flutter his arms and fingers around and pose dramatically in what was just so Masaomi that it just felt so right. The pattern was endearing, the pair thought, but now it started to worry them.
Instead of laughing quietly and politely behind a pale hand, reddish-brown eyes closed in amusement at the odd display, Anri nods, accepts the excuses like it's nothing when in fact it totally is not that.
Not nothing, that is.
She knows something is up and she voices her opinion to Mikado on several occasions. He agrees with her suspicions after noticing the signs, blue eyes questioning and worried behind his own pair of square-shaped glasses.
But currently, Mikado and Anri just stand there, right in front of the gates of Raira Academy and blink at the quickly disappearing blonde head, white hood bouncing with every hurried step of his feet. They stand side by side, expressions oddly similar, and before they know it, the disciplinary committee member is gone from their sight altogether.
Mikado then realizes how close he is to the petite girl and blushes before stepping back as inconspicuously as possible, his glasses falling slightly down its perch upon his nose. Anri looks up at him curiously, notes the pink on the boy's face and blushes slightly too.
She tries her best to ignore Saika's coaxes, forever tempting her, whispering from the farthest recesses of her mind.
Love, love, love, love, love, love.
Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut.
Cut him, cut him, cut him. Cut him.
Love him, love him, love him--
Anri blinks and smiles slightly at Mikado by her side, who in turn, hesitantly and slowly smiles back.
After a few more moments of standing in front of Raira Academy, the dark haired boy takes a hold of himself; he straightens his back, pushes his square, black frames up his nose and cocks his head to the side as if suggesting, ‘Let's go.’
Anri looks up, gazes at a spot right beneath the pair of blue eyes and replies quietly, "Okay."
They walk side by side through Ikebukuro. The sun is out, setting and casting a golden glow on their surroundings. The air is warm, not too humid, and the silence between the walking pair is comfortable. The bespectacled girl holds her black bag in front of her, two arms stretched out while her hands grip the warm leather handles loosely. Her walk is steady and rhythmic, and her face points forward, eyes set straight. Her mind is on her two friends, the overly loud one and the completely silent one.
Anri idly wonders how the strange duo became friends. The now current blonde with the large and loud, strong personality who chats and laughs on an almost daily basis and the quiet, shy black haired boy who can’t speak at all. ‘Perhaps it’s something like her and Mika: foils for one another-- a sort of give and take relationship…’ But then she remembers how close the two are, remembers how they act around each other despite the language barrier and concludes that no, that is not the case. They are definitely not using each other.
It has to be genuine.
With that thought, Anri looks to her side where Mikado appears to be in an inner debate of some sort. His phone is out, and from what she could see, a typer is displayed on the screen. She waits patiently for whatever the boy has to say. And as expected, the screen is held carefully out in front of her.
The Raira pair halts to a stop.
Anri peers at the words on the phone screen, her eyes slightly narrowed to better see the small characters.
'Ano...Sonohara-san? Would you like to get something to eat?'
Mikado is blushing slightly, and the current wielder of Saika can just imagine what his voice would sound like: probably not too high and not too deep, maybe average. She can imagine Mikado's voice quivering as he asks that question and wonders, just wonders. Wonders about many things.
"Okay, Ryuugamine-kun." she says quietly, her lips tilted slightly upwards in encouragement. Saika's voice is getting louder in her mind, and Anri thinks, it's okay. It's okay to spend some time with Mikado.
Mikado smiles widely and they continue walking forward, each step almost mechanic but also fluid due to the friends’ daily tradition. The sunlight reflects off Mikado’s glasses and clear blue is hidden from Anri’s view. The other class representative places a hand above his black frames to shield his narrowing eyes and Anri ends up doing the same, her other hand holding her black school bag to the side.
Eventually they make it to Russia Sushi. Simon, who stands outside the establishment, greets the pair with a wave of his large arms and pauses in his advertising of 'Eat Russia Sushi! It's good. Very cheap.' He smiles at the pair of bespectacled students who apparently just got out of school.
"Welcome to Russia Sushi!" He bellows in his deep voice. The Russian man stops, seems to count the students in front of him with his eyes and asks, "No Kida-kun today?"
The pair nods. Mikado's smile slowly slips into a frown, but then he remembers where he is and whom he's with and puts a smile back on his face.
He looks at Anri before whipping out his cell phone and typing, 'Just us two.'
Mikado faces it to the muscular black man who has an unreadable expression on his face. He smiles though, and waves a hand toward the entrance of his sushi restaurant. "I hope you enjoy the food."
Mikado smiles thankfully and bows. Anri bows too and murmurs, "Thank you very much."
They seat themselves in a secluded area and wait for Denis to take their orders. Mikado sits there, his school bag to his left as the pair waits in silence. The normally pale boy's face is flushed, as Anri's well pronounced...bosom appears larger than normal in the cubicle. He turns his head to the right and tries to will away the blush on his cheeks.
Meanwhile, Anri seems to know what's going on with her friend, but she says nothing. She plays with the leather bag currently on her lap, her face down-turned towards the table.
Denis greets them, and after seeing the two customers' faces, puts away his notebook normally used for taking orders. "The usual?" he asks with a grin. And not two seconds pass before the pair looks up and nods.
Denis leaves, and the air is tense for some strange reason. Then suddenly it happens.
Mikado sneezes. It's a series of sneezes actually, and remembering what his mother taught him in elementary school, his upper arm catches the...liquids so as to not spread the germs.
If it was any possible, the silence between the two becomes even more silent.
Mikado's frames end up crooked on his face, and some tears manage to leak out of his eyes and land on the glass lenses from the sneezing spell. The mute boy's face is flushed madly in embarrassment and he appears to be cross eyed, eyes turned inwards at his nose and crooked glasses. He sputters soundlessly and looks around for…something, anything.
For some really weird reason, the whole thing is hilarious, and what makes it even worse is the fact that Mikado looks at the sleeve of his normally immaculate uniform blazer. His blue eyes widen at the...stain.
Anri's reddish brown eyes also widen, albeit comically, her eyebrows shooting upwards despite herself. She replays the whole event over and over in her mind a few more times before...before...--
Giggling.
Mikado, with his messed up glasses, and somewhat messed up hair whips his gaze onto the petite girl. He removes his glasses from his face to observe the apparent damage, his vision turning blurry at the action, but then he realizes that it's Anri who's current giggling. It's Anri, who's twinkling voice grows louder and louder, her smile larger. With a smile of his own, the mute boy places the accessory back on his face. He wants to see Anri happy. He wants to ingrain that image into his eyes so he could look back and think of good times. He wants to see it with as much clarity as possible. He doesn't to miss this short, rare moment, so he waits to clean the still-dirty glasses.
And best of all, he laughs too.
Eventually the pair quiets down, Mikado removing his Raira blazer and looking it forlornly for a moment, then removing his glasses and gently placing them on the table. He looks through his bag for a specific item of specific use. A few tense seconds pass, then minutes before Mikado realizes something before shooting up in his seat: he left his eyeglasses case at home.
Face crestfallen, he looks around for any soft napkin or cloth to wipe his glasses with, but alas there is none. But then he looks up, spots Anri and notices the reflections on her own pair of spectacles. He thinks of an idea.
The mute boy takes out his cell phone and with a series of clicks and button manipulation, types out a message. He hesitates. Would this seem weird? he asks himself.
He shakes his head to dispel any doubts.
Anri is curious at Mikado's frantic movements. She wonders if anything is wrong...if her laughing had hurt his feelings. But then she remembers how Mikado had laughed too, how the light reached his eyes brighter than she had seen it in a while and thinks that it's all right.
cut, cut, cut.--
Anri shakes her head at that thought before realizing that she had done it at exactly the same time that Mikado did. They both look up and blush. Mikado scratches the back of his head before sliding the red phone over to her.
Anri accepts the red phone, holds it in the palm of her hand and reads.
'Sonohara-san...umm, well, sorry to be a bother, but can I borrow your eyeglass cleaner?'
Anri sees how nervous the boy is and nods before handing the phone back to the other Raira student. Really? his face asks. And she nods again as she opens her school bag on her lap and rummages through her belongings. Finding what she was looking for, the girl holds a black glasses case in her hands, opens the container and removes the soft burgundy cloth. She hands the cloth over to Mikado who hesitates, thinks for a slight moment before accepting the procured item.
Mikado, in his loosened blue tie and rolled up uniform shirtsleeves (he removed his blazer due to the stain) holds the cloth in his two hands in front of him as if it were something precious. He bows as best as he can in his seat, his soundless lips forming the words "Thank you." as his face nearly collides with the table.
And Anri replies quietly, "No problem, Ryuugamine-kun." as Denis returns with their food. Two simple plates of sushi.
Mikado can't think of anything else that could make this...dinner more embarrassing. He narrows his blue eyes at the pair of black glasses in his hold, trying to make his blurred vision as focused as possible. He wipes the glass, forefinger, middle finger and thumb moving in a circular motion before swiping back and forth to remove any streaks. Satisfied, he places the glasses back on its perch on his nose, looks up and finally notices the food laid out in front of them.
He looks questioningly at Anri who just smiles softly in return. Realizing he still has the cloth in his possession, Mikado decides to wait until the meal is done to return it. After all, their food is here already. And the two students are more than happy to start eating.
Anri and Mikado both pick up their wooden chopsticks and break them apart with a resounding snap. They then place their hands together and say quietly and in synch, "Itadakimasu," though only one quiet voice came out, and it was feminine.
They eat in silence, the only sound is that of Simon trying and failing to bring forth customers into the strange sushi shop. Denis whistles lowly while cleaning and preparing various ingredients for his wide array of creations, sounds of a knife hitting a chopping board in perfect sequence filling the air. Occasionally cars honk from the open door and Ikebukuran chatter enters the restaurant.
Mikado notices this all, and then some. Anri too. They both end up looking out the wide, glass window and spot...
…and spot Masaomi of all people, with a strange look on his face.
The dark haired pair pauses in their eating. With his chopsticks, Mikado holds a piece of sushi up to his awaiting mouth. But he stops, stares, closes his mouth and turns slightly to the right get a better look. Anri’s chopsticks face towards the sushi plate and according to her expression, she's surprised as well.
They both look at one another, a silent message passing between the two that yes, it is Masaomi out there with his characteristic hoodie, dyed hair and confident stance. But they don't recognize the face...
No.
They do recognize the face. It was more like, they don’t recognize the expression on their normally flirtatious and happy friend. The whole situation was...suspicious to say the least, and suddenly the pair's conversation from past times flooded their memory banks. Just what in the world is going on?
Unbeknownst to the two bespectacled friends, they each have their own share secrets, secrets that they want to keep hidden until the time is right. If Masaomi has his very own secret, then it's up to them as his friends to respect his wishes.
Mikado, on the other hand, sees something else entirely. The expression on Masaomi's face just now...he doesn't recognize it--not right away--but after some careful inspection of the still-standing blonde whose orange phone is pressed against his ear...
It reminds him of when they were both young wide-eyed kids back in Saitama, when the bullies would go up to Mikado and make fun of him. The bullies enjoyed making the voiceless boy cry, saying hurtful things and causing him pain both physical and emotional. He was an easy target at the time: he can't scream, yell, call for help or properly explain the situation to any adult. It was one of the darker times in the young boy’s life, and he couldn’t help but think,
‘It’s just not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair---
---and---
It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!’
He cried and cried and cried on the cold, wet, green grass, tears streaking down his young face which made Mikado feel sticky and uncomfortable. He was surrounded by other boys with loud voices, voices that could communicate, emote, cheer and laugh, all the while thinking, asking, ‘Why?’ over and over again in his innocent mind.
But that was when Masaomi would show up, concern embedded in those brown eyes as he fretted over the mute boy. 'Stay here.' he tells Mikado after pulling him to a secluded area, and in response the black haired boy just nods. Masaomi would then leave for 5 to 10 minutes, Mikado covered in bright yellow Pikachu bandages that Masaomi would bring with him as he bit his lower lip in worry. Usually the bright boy would return within that exact time frame, but one day, one day, it was different. Mikado couldn't wait any longer. Masaomi was 7 minutes later than usual. So, he ran to the direction where the other kids were, mainly the bullies and Masaomi.
What he saw there--Mikado remembers as he eyes the current Masaomi behind his glasses--was a sight he can never forget. Masaomi, still in elementary school, was beating up the larger and tougher-looking bullies with nothing but his smaller, bare fists. His moves were frighteningly strong and calculating for a child his age, his normally warm brown eyes narrowed in disgust as he kicked, hit, ran around and pummeled the other boys into the dirt. But Mikado had to admit, he was awestruck. Stars might have shown in his eyes at the time.
But when Masaomi was done, the bullies' groaning and bruised bodies strewn around the play area, he saw the face. The face that scared him when he was little.
The same face that Masaomi wears right now.
Mikado snaps out of his reverie, remembering that he is here with Anri in Russia Sushi in Ikebukuro, not with Masaomi and the bullies back in their hometown in Saitama. He's curious, want to find out what Masaomi is involved in and he can sense that Anri feels the same way. But what should they do?
Anri wants to leave Russia Sushi at this very moment, change into her black clothing and finally unravel some answers to her blonde friend's strange behavior. She spares a sudden glance at her companion and observes as his blue eyes change in a myriad of emotions, the glasses intensifying the anxious and...wait, was that excitement in those eyes? Anri blinks, thinking it’s a figment of her imagination and discovers that yes, it must have been the lighting. It was dark now, and Russia Sushi's lights were on. It must have been a trick of the light.
Anri faces the blonde in the window again, sees frustration on his face before he turns away and stalks deeper into the night. Her mind quiets, but Saika, ever persistent, continues her mantra of love, love, love and cut, cut, cut. Stuck in her picture frame state of mind for just a moment, she snaps back to reality, turns around and sits regularly in her seat. She eyes the partially eaten food laid out in front of her, reddish brown eyes inquiring before looking up into another pair of glasses-covered eyes.
They look at each other, Anri and Mikado, and again they say things without words or actions. They sit back completely as if Masaomi had not shown up and try their best to make the atmosphere normal.
If Masaomi doesn’t want to be with them right now, it’s his choice.
But as for them…
Anri peers at Mikado from the top of her food. They owe it to each other, to do this together. Relish the friendly company and not think about Masaomi and the other problems as of late.
A myriad of thoughts invade the two students’ minds and the silence between them is thick. Thick with what? Tension, apprehension…they don’t know. They dont‘t want to know.
But then suddenly...
"Hey, hey, hey! How is the food?" Simon booms as he walks closer to the silent pair. Anri and Mikado snap out of their musings and take a look at the grinning black man.
"Good." Anri complements with that soft tone of hers.
Mikado paints a smiles on his face and does the 'thumbs-up' sign on each of his hands.
Simon takes the news well, for he slams a large pot of...something hot on their table. "Tea, it's good for you!" He grins, places two innocent cups beside the surprised patrons. "Russian tea. It's very good! Try!" And he pours the two Raira Students steaming cups of the dark, steaming liquid.
Simon is leaning against the entrance to their cubicle area, waiting for the two's reaction. Dumbstruck, yet again, the pair look at one another and pick up the steaming cups. The rising steam fogs up the pair's glasses to the point that they can see nothing but white covering their vision. As they hold the cups and wait for them to cool down, Simon hums an old Russian lullaby, seemingly content with just standing there and watching the two students stare down at the cups with steam-covered glasses lenses.
"..."
"..."
Anri and Mikado take a tentative sip.
And sputter out the liquid as fast as possible....
Well, actually, Anri drinks the small dosage of tea and coughs a little, her left hand covering her mouth while her right promptly returns the cup to the table. Mikado, on the other hand, actually manages to keep the tea in his mouth and not on his clothes (thank god), but he burns his tongue from taking in too much of the Russian tea. He underestimated its apparent hot temperature.
So, the two students coughed, and sipped on their normal lukewarm green teas, all the while trying not to let the discomfort show on their faces.
"How is it?" a deep voice broke the pair from the recovery.
Reddish-brown and blue meet light gray, surprised that the black sushi chef is still there.
Anri speaks first. "It's different." She says carefully. "I would enjoy it more if it was less hot--" she pauses, looks down at the black tea again. "--but the taste is very interesting."
Simon is satisfied at the vague answer and transfers his weight onto his other leg while awaiting Mikado's reply. The boy rights his glasses before digging into his pocket to retrieve his phone. He pulls it out--red color and phone charm and all--and texts:
'I agree with Sonohara-san.'
He nods, smiling, and faces Anri. Mikado returns to his phone before texting again. 'The smokiness is unexpected. I don't think we were quite ready for it. He chuckles and scratches the back of his head while the other hand holds the phone out to Simon. Simon bends down to read the simple yet honest text message.
But after a few moments of good, warm silence, the prolonged silence steadily grows into tense, awkward minutes. The students eye each other questioningly, Mikado's arm straining to hold his phone up to the black man.
Suddenly, while straightening up and placing his dark hands on his hips, Simon proclaims bluntly in his deep voice.
"I do not know what it says."
Anri and Mikado both sweatdrop, and this time, Anri reads the text aloud, garnering much thanks from the mute boy across from her. Simon chuckles good-naturedly at the statement and thanks them.
"I will add Russian Tea to menu. It's good, right?"
The pair nods and Simon leaves with a bright smile on his face.
Now, with free Russian Tea and two plates of almost empty sushi, Anri and Mikado realize that the atmosphere is now less tense, more relaxing than before. Did Simon....? Mikado glances at the black man behind the sushi counter, eyes narrowed. Hmm...
As he moves his hand to return the phone to his pocket, Mikado feels something soft brush against his skin. It's the glasses cloth from earlier, burgundy in color and rectangle in shape. It belongs to Anri.
Without saying anything, Mikado folds the cloth on his lap carefully, treating it as if it were treasure. Head tilted down, his glasses slide a little down his face. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, lets the air escape his constricted lungs as 'Why am I so nervous?' filters through his head. He shakes his head momentarily to clear his mind, thus shifting his loose glasses back and forth with the awkward movement. He abruptly stops, looks up carefully and fixes up his appearance before holding the cloth out to Anri with his head bowed so close to the table his nose nearly touches the wasabi. His eyes water and his nose twitches at the close proximity, but he refuses to let it get to him.
Anri tilts her head to the side, smiles a bit and accepts the folded item. "Thank you, Ryuugamine-kun." And she proceeds to put the cloth away, her black hair swaying with the movements.
Mikado pushes back up to normal, shakes his head and quickly types out on his phone.
'No!...ahh...Sonohara-san, I should be thanking you...So, umm thank you very much for letting me use your glasses lense cleaner!' He gives her the phone to read as he waves for the bill.
Anri looks up from the red phone currently in her hold. "You're welcome." The girl says, and she cleans forward to hand the phone back to Mikado, her fingers brushing slightly against the others.
They both blush.
After the meal and saying their thanks to Simon and Denis. The pair continue their trek home. The night is silent and warm, slightly windy and the atmosphere feels so right despite the fact that a large part of their group is missing. Anri and Mikado try not to dwell too long on that thought and instead enjoy the quiet comfort enveloping their small, two-part group.
Finally, they reach the street where Mikado, Anri and Masaomi normally part ways. The pair stands there staring up at the sky, at the few stars that dot the empty blackness of night.
Mikado looks away first, not sure what to do in this situation. Was this a date? he asks himself, thinking over and over about the events that occurred over the past couple of hours. He isn't so sure.
Anri is thinking that it's about time to head back home. Saika's demands to cut and love are becoming stronger and stronger as times passes by. She needs to rest. She also needs complete her homework, not to mention think about…
...
--well, think about many things, mainly her two friends. Reddish brown eyes pin themselves on Mikado's slightly hunched form. He must be tired too...
But then suddenly, something warm and slightly wet lands on her cheek, pressing tentatively, softly against her cool skin.
A kiss.
Anri's eyes widen. Saika flares in her mind again, red threatening to spill over very her own eyes. So she closes them and wills the redness away. When she opens her brown eyes, she is met with the sight of a clearly blushing Mikado who is looking pointedly to the side and avoiding her questioning gaze. He is playing with his fingertips and shuffling his feet nervously, glasses slightly reflecting the moonlight from above.
Anri is surprised, to say the least. She smiles, realizing that during this whole time she spent with Mikado, she, for the most part, viewed life through her very own eyes, not through that of a skewed, narrow picture frame unable to fully experience and control. Yes, Saika's voice became more and more pronounced at certain times, but Anri realizes that it was easier to avoid the urge, to ignore the voice in her head when she was with Mikado.
For that and much, much more, Anri is grateful. Immensely grateful.
She bows deep to Mikado who seems to have squawked in surprise at the abrupt action, if his movements give any indication. "Ryuugamine-kun!" She announces a few decibles louder than her normal voice. "Thank you very, very much!" And she stands up straight and fixes a strangely happy and determined look on her face.
Mikado can only stare, and stare some more before bowing deeply himself, his balance slightly off.
They both straighten up, stand closer to one another.
The boy takes out his phone and types, tongue pressed upwards in fierce determination as he stares down at the glowing screen, series of buttons forming sentences on the piece of technology.
'Thank you very much for your time, Sonohara-san! We should do this some more.--'
He pauses, hesitates before continuing with renewed vigor.
'Next time, let's take Kida-kun with us, too.'
And with a grin, he stands next to the object of his affections and shows her the phone.
Anri looks up at Mikado who stands by her side. She nods once, her smiling eyes peering through her round glasses and her straight black hair moving in tandem.
The pair of bespectacled students laugh together--one soundless and one quiet--before heading separate ways home.
Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow we can figure all this out.