d a t e for r e n t | Rin X Reader X Haruka [1]

Lying in a meek district of Tokyo sat a worn warehouse, light peeking from underneath the heavy metal door. Voices could be heard incoherently from the outside while two figures were illuminated through the curtains of the second storey.

    “Tachibana, I can’t do this no more!”

    “But, it’s still early~ Just once more, okay?”

[_f/n_] couldn’t tear her gaze from the male’s portrait, the glint in his eyes reflecting his keenness was very alluring.  Since he was so eager, she couldn’t shut him down without feeling guilty later, but closes her lids for a moment to reconsider. 

    “Fine...”

Makoto replies with his signature smile - it was only ten to nine, his best friend would be at the pool training and all he would go home to was a lonely apartment. Knowing this beforehand he spent the rest of his day with his classmate and took her home, although he never thought he'd be helping  with her frustrations.

The [_h/c_] girl paused, biting her lower lip with her eyes focused on the black ink. She appeared to be struggling to remember where they left off, although it was just a pretense to drag it out and eventually not happen. If it wasn’t for that mishap with Sexy-kun and getting fired, and then [_f/n_] would never have been sitting there with Makoto, in her apartment, being tormented by interview questions. 

An unsuccessfully stifled laugh reaches the pair from outside the door, their eyes meet from across the table, letting the other know ‘That’s not me’ and continue to communicate with exaggerated facial expressions.

    Should we check it out...? （；¬＿¬)

    ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ No! You don’t know who’s out there! 

    I’m sure it’s probably nothing! ノ￣□￣)ノ 

    (✖╭╮✖) That’s what they say in horror movies...and they die. DIE. 

[_f/n_] lets out a heavy sigh. She had lived in this city for all her life and she had never experienced anything devastating. There would be the occasional news headline about some person haunting the shadows with intent to kill, over told ghost stories and sometimes coverage on the Yakuza. (People were more outspoken about rubbish on top of a train.)
However, knowing her friend’s weakness to scary things paired with her own dislike of indecisiveness, she took the lead. Standing from her seat and then walking towards the door with his much larger figure behind hers, they take a look at the base of the stairs.

 “Oops, I shouldn’t be eavesdropping~” says a dark haired girl, the contrast of her hair and fair skin like a ghost. “I’ll take my leave now, sorry to interrupt~!”


     SADAKOOO!! ✘Д✘◍

    Oh dear lord. Tsk, this girl... (/ToT)/ ~┻┻
 

She turns on her heel, planning to give them their privacy, only for a hand to latch on to the gray t-shirt she’s wearing, stopping her. 

    “No~! Stop jumping to conclusions, he was just helping me with preparing for job  interviews,” [_f/n_] explains, thrusting the resumes in her hand into her roommate’s  face. 

    “It's just a misunderstanding! I offered to help [_f/n_]-san to practice,” the fore mentioned male assures.

    “I see...and just when I was hoping you finally got a boyfriend,” she mutters under her breath, sarcastically yet slightly disappointed. 

The [_h/c_] haired roommate had heard her and was exasperated from learning the older girl’s hopes were thrashed. Being best friends; she was either ignorant or very uninformed if she didn't know that [_f/n_] had no intent of having a relationship, as she intended to focus on her studies. That said, she had to admit it did sound like they were in the middle of an intimate tryst or at least in some kind of relationship had that perk.

Makoto stood there with a smile of relief. He wasn’t pleased with the young woman’s crazy resemblance to otherworldly beings, but the thought escapes him as his ears register the lingering Tottori* accent. 

    It can’t be...

    Lots of girls have long black hair and blue-gray eyes and....

The young man’s eyes fixated on the older girl’s features, his green orbs trying to recall their familiarity. He was in his own world as he watched the two girls conversed; she looked eerily alike someone he knew, someone he knew really well but, he couldn’t be sure. It was a long time ago and he was much younger, that person was a gaussian blur in his memory. 

    No, Haru would have told me.

   “Hey, Tachibana~”

The backstroker looked towards the origin of the voice, snapping out of his thoughts. He closed the door behind him, then descended down the flight of stairs and enters the open living area. The literature student sat on a barstool at the kitchen, leaning in to take a whiff of the aromatic dishes on the stove as Shizuka expertly multitasked with a navy blue apron tied around her waist.

 
  “Did you want to stay for dinner? I know it’s kinda late to eat, but I’m hoping you aren’t watching your weight because Shizuka’s cooking is really good.”

    “Shizuka...” Makoto murmured, his lips quivering from the mention of her name.

    “Hi there, Tachibana-kun! I’d be really happy if you stayed, it’s not often that we have company, plus I’d love to know about how you met [_f/n_],” she greeted.


Then placing down the wooden cooking utensil and waves at him - this time her Tottori accent was absent. The ex-barista mentally face palmed, even though she wasn't much younger than the young woman, the twenty two year old would act like her mother at times. It completely defeated the purpose of moving away from home to be independent, although time to time it was nice to have someone keep the loneliness away.

    "Umm, I actually have an assignment I need to finish so I can't stay, but thank you for the offer!" 


[_f/n_] sensed some peculiar brightness to his voice, the change of tone as if he didn't want to be in a particular situation. She lets it slide, brushing the thought away, maybe it was her imagination.  She leaves her seat and walks Makoto to the large, double door entry, sending him off.  


    "Sorry about dragging you along then, you could have been finished by now."


    "Don't worry about it [_f/n_], I'm happy I could help."


With his back turned towards her, he walks towards the train station just a hundred or so meters away. He didn't expect things to turn out the way it did, but things happen for a reason. 


    "See you tomorrow! Good luck with the assignment!" [_f/n_] shouts, her voice now indiscernible to him. 



The up cycled oak dining table with metal legs was laden with a home cooked Japanese dishes: gyoza, steamed rice, miso soup, pan fried mackerel, pickled radish and a light salad. The moment [_f/n_] slides into her chair she hungrily reaches for her chopsticks and her expression softens as she tastes the distinctive taste of Shizuka's cooking in her mouth. Nothing else except filling her stomach would help dissolve the built stress of job hunting.


    "Hmmm, he dropped '-san' I see... Such a polite young man." noted Shizuka. Still wearing her apron she sets her herself into her seat next to her roommate. "Itadakimasu~"


    "Shizuka, you're not that much older than us. You shouldn't make comments like a middle aged woman," says [_f/n_], taking a bite of the lightly seasoned fish. 


    "Oh, but I feel like I am~ Watching your love life blossom is much better than any soap on T.V." 


    "But you don't watch tv."


    "Exactly my point~"


[_f/n_] jerks her head to the side unamused with girl's peculiar thinking, fortunately for her, part of the meal would be quiet as Shizuka pondered about what events were to unfold. 


    What a small world... Makoto's all grown up now.

    I'll have to see him, won't I? Well, I've put it off long enough.

    Time to be a big sister again.



...



An efficient hum of the refrigerator ran in the background as [_f/n_] washed the dishes. The kitchen was clean and neat as expected of the girl, her cleaning experience from part time jobs was of use. 


    "[_f/n_], you're clearly wasting your youth on these monotonous temp jobs.I have an idea that is perfect for you," says Shizuka.


    "Okay, tell me."


The girl was fundamentally good. Except her ideas were often wacky and were either on very two different parts of the spectrum; very bad or very good, never an average one. 


    It won't hurt to listen right?


    "Why not become a date-for-rent? Since you are unattached university student with a horribly low account balance, this would be perfect."

    "No."

As expected, horrible.


    "Just sleep on it! You're getting paid to accompany some guys your age, you'll make friends," she continues, trying her best to look at the brighter side.


    You want your best friend to become a baby prostitute... Very funny.


    "I have friends," [_f/n_] laughs. 
    

    "You could get a boyfriend~" 


    "Shizuka. No."


    "Fine, just think about it okay? I'll even help you screen the guys and kick the perverts out." The girl was not giving up although there was much convincing to be done to have [_f/n_] agree.


    ﾉ￣□￣)ﾉ What is with her? Seriously? Has she no shame?



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