"Hey, thank you for saving me."

Nejire looked over at Tamaki and gave a fake little smile. That was about... a month ago. A good month ago. When she was pretty disgusted by the idea of the S.U.N.S. Now... well look at her.

"Oh... it's no problem!"

"Please don't say that. I feel... it makes me feel weak." He moaned and his eyes kinda watered up with his hands balled up into a anxious fist. "I didn't get to say a good thank you last time. It was as pathetic as I was that night. So... thank you." Tamaki mumbled, snuggling himself into his hoodie out of embarrassment.

"Oh... you're welcome! I was just doing what was right." She said. Guilt crept up her throat. 

"Sorry! I made things awkward!" Tamaki squeaked, bowing his head to her. Nejire, who wasn't very aware of Asian culture, despite growing up with an Asian mom and Asian grandparents. She just patted his head awkwardly.

"So... wanna play the shooter game?" She asked, holding up the toy gun.

"Sure?"

✨✨✨✨

"Hey Ryuko," Shinya said, sitting at the table with Reiko. "How was class?" He asked. The sun went down a while back, and Ryuko was a bit late.

"The younger class was sweet. Did a good job too," Ryuko mumbled, "I felt tired the entire time." She yawned. Shinya tried to figure out what to say.

"Come sit! You'll probably be interested in our conversation." Shinya said, patting the seat next to him. She sighed with a smile and put her bag up and took off her shoes at the door.

"Ok, what's the conversation?" She asked, making a small portion of food. Just a tiny amount of fried rice. About the size of a child's fist. Rice was somewhat filling and it was fried rice.

'Just move it around, you don't have to eat to much.'

"It's not anything big, but my doll collection just filled up the shelves. It's only twenty but-"

"Dolls? You're a collector? I collect!" Ryuko gasped. She wasn't lying. Her mother may have neglected her, but she oddly still loved her? Weird, but she fueled the doll obsession Ryuko had as a child and if Ryuko went back to her parents' home, she would still see a bunch of porcelain dolls in the baby pink room she had growing up.

"She's not lying." Shinya laughed and looked at her. She was just moving food around on the plate as she spoke and he only saw her take one bite.

"Well, yeah, I collect! I make dolls too! Mainly for work but it's a hobby as well!" Reiko grinned. Something she finally had in common with Ryuko. Not that she was really searching, but look! It was there?

"Oh for work? Like you use magic on them?" Ryuko asked, her elbows placed on the table, her hands propping up her chin. "How does it work?"

"Oh it's just hoodoo." Reiko said.

"Hoodoo? I thought it was voodoo?"

"Oh, well there's a difference. Voodoo is more of a religion, Hoodoo is more like the practice of witchcraft kinda. Anyways, have you watched Death Note?" Reiko asked.

"Yeah! It was one of the things Shinya and I always talked about before we dated!" Ryuko grinned. Shinya got her into way more anime's than she had previously watched. She had only seen Death Note and like, two more. Now, she had watched at least fifty animes with Shinya.

"Great! So Light can control what the criminal does before death, that's basically what I do. I just get make dolls that look like a subject and name them after the subject. It's really easy! Fucks up my hands though..." Reiko mumbled, showing off her hands. They were bandaged and had cute little scars.

"No saying the f word." Shinya said.

"Oh shut the bloody hell up you European." Reiko said, mimicking a British accent.

"We are siblings! We are both French!" Shinya said, fighting his little sister. "And even then we're only half French. You didn't even grow up there! American!" Shinya stuck his tongue out, as if he were a child. Ryuko just laughed at their banter.

"I'm gonna go grab my collection, I wanna show you!"

"We should have a tea party with our dolls." Ryuko said, still laughing from their previous conversation. "I have so many pictures I have to show you!"

Shinya absolutely loved how close they were getting. And as they talked, Ryuko actually ate her food, especially when no one watched her, like when they had been arguing. She eventually got a bit more, but it was about the size of a babies foot, nothing more.

He was honestly proud of that. Even if it didn't mean anything, he thought it was nice.

✨✨✨

"Tamaki and I have to go home now, but we had a great time!" Eijirou said, noticing the clock said 8:30. "We have a curfew shorter than the national one."

"Oh, you two should go get some garlic before you go! Like, they're handing them out at some places!" Nejire gasped. "It's better to be safe. We're gonna get some before we go home ourselves!" Tamaki froze up and looked down at Nejire in pure horror.

"Oh, uh... it's fine! We don't live too far from here."

Yes they did.

"Well, uh, Nejire, bye. I'll text you later?" Tamaki asked.

"Boy you better not leave without a hug!" Nejire said, a sudden southern accent slipping through. "I sound like my aunt, oh god-" Nejire laughed, pulling on her hair. "But seriously, hug hug." She said, reaching for him and opening and closing her hands with a grin, waiting for her hug.

Tamaki looked up the entire time he hugged her, trying not appear creepy or anything when he had to lean down a bit just to hug her.

Both Yuyu and Mirio looked at him weird. He was kinda confused, less confused with Mirio, because he knew the problem, but he hardly talked to Yuyu.

"Bye bye!" Nejire shouted as Tamaki and Eijirou left. "You two are in trouble!" She hissed as she turned back to her two friends, her butthole lips showing.

Butthole lips. Your mother does this and you know you are going to get whooped.

"What?"

"You were both giving him mean glares! Next time I bringing someone from Ballet!" She frowned and lightly hit Mirio on the head. "You two are big meanies!" She whispered, puffing up her cheeks. "Anyways, we have to go buy prizes! Let's go!" She squealed and grabbed their hands before running into the arcade again.

"I dont wanna buy anything, you can go ahead." Yuyu said.

"Oh hey look, it's a Seungmin photo car-" Nejire pointed before Yuyu pushed a kid out of the way to get to it. "YUYU! You can't push children!" Nejire shouted. "We'll get banned!"

"Fuck them kids!"

Yeah so they left with a big plushy of a unicorn, a Seungmin photo card, and a coffee mug.

✨✨✨✨✨

Mochi looked down at her phone in pure disgust. What the hell did he want? He should've deleted her number years ago. Almost two decades ago. What the fuck?

Mochi: what do you want?

Eric: I can't talk to my best friend?

Mochi: no :). Fuck off

Eric: You're really gonna say that to me?

Mochi: yep. Go back to jail

Mochi said and shoved her phone in her pocket. He called her ten years ago asking for bail money while she tried to handle seven year old Nejire. Like, what an asshole? He didn't talk to her for seven years!

Eric: cmon bear, you can't do this to me

Mochi: yes I can.

She turned her phone off and got back to whipping the egg whites for the macaroons. He distracted her and now she lost track of the time she had been spending on it.

He had no reason to talk to her. No responsibilities. Eric could die in a while after all that time. Though... he's the reason she had even met Malachi... nope, still an asshole. Erica is nothing to her.

"Ma, guess who texted me after seventeen years!" Mochi said, pressing her ear onto her shoulder. Her assistant manager, Mirai walked in and looked at her weirdly. "It's about Eric." She whispered to Mirai, who immediately left the room to grab the rest of the staff.

They were all the equivalent of teenage girls at a sleepover. Right now they were waiting for Mochi to get off the phone with her mother.

"The guy texted me as if he didn't avoid us for seventeen years! Like what the hell? I'm gonna beat his ass next time I see him." Mochi grumbled, hearing the loud ping. "He just texted again I think."

Eric: can we at least meet up so I can explain?

"He did not just ask to meet up." Mochi grumbled, a hundred percent ready to throw the phone. She hated Eric with a passion.

The staff all gasped and looked at each other. Kaoruko gasped and was the most surprised. "He doesn't deserve that!"

"I know right!" Mochi shouted. "Of course I'm not gonna meet him. Only if Malachi and Nejire wanna, but I doubt it. They've heard about his bullshit. Nejire absolutely hates him." Mochi grumbled. "His ass better be in Georgia still. I swear-" Mochi hung up and looked at her staff. "I'm not meeting him. I'm not. He has no blackmail on me, he can't force me." Mochi crossed her arms.

"He is absolutely disgusting. Acting like that. If he ever comes here, he's banned." Mirai sternly said, saluting to his higher up. "We don't serve rodents in this establishment." Mirai grumbled, grabbing some garlic from the back.

"What's that for?" A newer employee asked. Short little Polynesian girl, her name tag said "Tsu."

"Oh, well with what happened yesterday at D.C. it's become a requirement to hang up garlic at night. Your uncle went to that, right?" Mirai asked.

"He did. He was the tall man with the dreadlocks."

"Anyways, what do you plan on doing with Eric? He's certainly awful." Kaoruko frowned, crossing her arms. "Oh yeah, Tsu, Eric is an awful person. Went to jail for assault." She whispered.

"Oh..."

✨✨✨✨✨

Monday morning

Oh dear god. Nejire and Reiko both were confused. They had entered through the same door and all they were hearing about was how hot Shinya was. Nejire was pretty grossed out, thinking of Shinya as her brother rather than a boss. Reiko was literally his younger sister.

"Hey Nejire." Reiko sighed.

"Sorry, you must be pretty uncomfortable with all this." Nejire whispered. "You ok?"

"I'm fine. I'll just ignore it."

Nejire walked to class and sat down with Yuyu. "Shinya's getting a lot of attention." Nejire laughed. "I mean, yeah he's attractive but he- he's practically married." She whispered.

"Eh, he's good looking I guess." Yuyu shrugged.

"I only watched that broadcast because of Kamihara. He's hot as fuck." Bibimi said, rather loudly. "Like holy shit, long hair on men? Yesss." Bibimi whined. "Like, marry me goddamn-"

"Yeah, his little sister is really uncomfortable with it. I hope Ryuko doesn't get any hate or anything." Nejire pouted.

"He has a girlfriend?!" Bibimi whipped her head towards the two girls. "What the hell?"

"Yeah... my sister? They're planning on getting married. He's thirty four?" Nejire snickered and went back to Yuyu.

"You know a "celebrity"? Surprise." A boy from the back of the class asked, using air quotes. He sat on the desk, leg on the chair.

"Yeah? He's my friend."

Yep. Nejire officially became popular just for being friends with a hot person.

✨✨✨✨✨

Dolls are important.

Eric is important, y'all can probably guess who he is.

Um...

Seungmin photo card.

Fuck them kids