C5: Friends?

C5: Friends?

"So, was your family good, Fumi-san?"

Fumiko raises her eyelids with a spark in her deep dark eyes. 

"Family?" She whispers, hardly audible to anyone. But Toji still hears it. 

"Yes, your family." 

"What about my family?" She slowly steps forward, taking a seat on the counter. 

Toji smiles genuinely. The woman feels odd when he does this. Ever since Toji came into the bar, he hasn't been on his best behavior. 

He's been annoying and irritating. But now – he's suddenly genuine to Fumiko. He's suddenly making her feel better. 

"Anything about your family. People tend to feel better when they talk about their lives to strangers. Some of these strangers might no longer be strangers to you after you talk," Toji says, his bangs falling over his uneven eyes. 

Even when he smiles, however, his eyes don't show the same emotion. It makes Fumiko slightly uncomfortable, but she isn't one to refuse a kind gesture from a stranger. 

"You want to hear me rant about my life?" 

"I don't have anything better to do tonight." 

A little smile appears on the corner of Fumiko's lips. She lowers her head humbly for a moment. 

'Why's he asking me this?' She ponders. 'He's a handsome guy, though. But also a little bit of a prick.'

After a moment of wondering in the silence, Fumiko looks at Toji again. 

Toji has a mysterious presence. He is a stranger. And most of all, she doesn't even know his name yet. 

"Before we start. Can I ask for your name, stranger?" She leans forward on the counter, her messy bangs falling over her cute little eyes. 

The pub isn't busy like every other day. It's raining heavily outside with occasional strikes of lightning. The constant flashes brighten the dimly lit streets of Hagura City and the dark river that runs right before the Fushiguroya Izakaya.

The constant glimmers of lightning escape into the pub through the windows and shine upon Toji's face. He smiles, a mysterious glint in his eyes. 

"My name? It's Hayato Shinji." 

"Shinji? I had a friend named Shinji downtown." 

Toji's eye twitches for a second and his whole body tenses up. "A Hayato Shinji?" 

"Mmm…" Fumi furrows her brows and rubs her chin. "Not Hayato, I think. But – a Shinji." 

Toji's shoulders relax and he sighs. "Loads of Shinjis in Japan, Fumi-chan." 

Fumiko chuckles. "Yeah, but –" she pauses for a second. 

Then, her dark curious eyes look up at Toji again. "What about your work? And if you're new to Hagura, where did you find a job?" 

Toji smiles. 

For this, he has already planned his story. 

"Downtown at some communication shop. It's tiring because the number of employees there is very low. It's exhausting to work sometimes, isn't it?" 

She nods. "Yes it is, Shinji-san. I should know how hard it is to manage a shop with close to no support," she scratches the back of her neck, smiling awkwardly. 

Toji feels slightly sympathetic toward the woman. 

"Sorry, you had to do this all alone." 

"Mmm, no no. You don't have to worry." 

Another short silence befalls the two. 

Toji's attention has completely drifted away from the conversation at the curse users' table now. He is simply just sitting at the counter, talking with the woman. 

For the second he feels empathetic toward Fumiko, he has lost track of what he is doing there. 

'I have to ask her about the family. I only have time until the store closes.' 

"Yeah, Fumi-san. Now…" Toji begins. "You can continue about your family. I'm all ears for you." 

"I –" Fumiko attempts to start the conversation, but the customers walking toward the counter make her stop. 

"Ahahaha… yeah, Kaito. You are an asshole," the feminine voice calls out only a few steps away from Toji. 

The four curse users are no longer seated. Now, they are walking towards the counter, giggling and laughing. 

"Fumiko-chan!" Another voice calls out loudly. "Can you please put an order for four octopus ramen on the counter?"

"Ah, Daichi-san. You guys finished drinking beer?" 

"Yes, and my friends here say they are a little hungry. You still have some ramen left, right?" 

Daichi comes forward, pulling up another tool so he can sit before the counter. The counter has a long table, long enough to seat eight people at least. 

It's lined with chairs. It is the perfect place for a conversation with Fumiko.

Toji calmly shifts his head to the person who just sat beside him. 

He's a middle-aged man with a blonde buzz cut, some round glasses resting at the bridge of his nose, and a beard that makes him look like a sleepless employee. He smiles kindly at Toji. 

"Who's this, Fumi-chan? A friend?" 

Fumiko shifts her head toward Daichi, smiling awkwardly. "Ah – he's –" 

"Yeah, a friend," Toji smiles back at the man. "A new one, though. Me and Fumi-chan were just about to get to know each other a little bit better when you came, Daichi-san." 

"A friend?" Daichi remarks excitedly. "Well, make that octopus ramen five then, Fumi-chan! All on me. How do you feel about that, friend?"

"Thank you," Toji nods. "I haven't eaten a lot of octopus ramen, but I can find out whether your cooking tastes good or not?" He turns to Fumiko and grins. 

"Ahahaha!" Daichi laughs. "Her octopus is heavenly!" 

Fumiko blushes slightly and looks away. 

"I will prepare them in five minutes, guys," Fumiko replies, quickly rushing back to the kitchen. 

Beside Toji, another one takes a seat. He turns to see her. 

She has long red hair and crimson eyes. Her skin is pale, and she has a mysterious look on her face. However, she does have a charming look to her. 

"Oh, Fumi-chan has some handsome friends," the woman lays her head on the counter and stares deep into Toji's handsome face. "Very handsome." 

Toji eyes the woman with his usual uneven eyes. Yet, he manages to put a smile on his lips. 

"And Fumi-chan has some hot customers," he replies to the woman. 

"Oh?" Emi's lips curl into a smirk. "Likable customers here." 

The other two sit beside Emi and Daichi. 

One of them has long and pale spiky hair that reaches down to his waist and wears some eerie-looking goggles. He's also wearing a small cloak over his attire. From his cold expression, Toji can already guess which one he is. 

He is Kaito, the cold voiced guy.

The other one has an arrogant-looking face with short spiky dark hair and long eyebrows. He takes a seat and crosses his arms. 

"You're a whore, you know that, Emi?" He mutters to the woman beside him. He's the last one of the four curse users. 

Renjiro. 

'Hm… so,' Toji ponders. 'The blondie is the more sympathetic guy, Daichi. The bitch is the only girl, Emi. The arrogant asshole is Renjiro with black hair. And you are the cold idiot, Kaito,' Toji turns to look at Kaito. 

He gives him a bright smile, but Kaito just blankly stares back.

With no emotion whatsoever. 

'Average Kaito,' Toji remarks inwardly. 

Not more than 5 minutes later, Fumiko arrives with a tray of 5 bowls of piping hot octopus ramen. She places the tray down and serves each of them with one. 

"Here you go, everyone. I hope you enjoy my ramen." 

"Always, Fumi-chan," Daichi says excitedly, picking up the chopsticks. 

Toji picks up the chopsticks too and glances at Fumiko. 

Every one of the curse users came there to talk about Fumiko's family also, Toji already knows that. Thus, there is no reason to share this in secret.

"Fumi-san. Would you mind telling me that story of yours from earlier now?" 

Fumiko's mouth falls open. She did not expect Shinji to go out and ask it in the middle of all these people. 

"What story, Fumi-chan?" Daichi asks curiously. 

All five people sitting at the counter look at Fumiko, expecting her to continue the story. A faint smile appears on Toji's face as he realizes he has caught her in an inescapable position. 

Fumiko squints at Toji. 

But with all the curious eyes staring at her, she can't let them down. 

"Fine. I'll tell you guys…"