6 - Step Back

Shinobu lays down on her bed after showering and changing. She sends a sassy "thank you" message to Giyu before dropping her phone and smiling

Who knows when was the last time they hung out alone

And only God knows when was the last time they even enjoyed being together

It was surely before their break up

Shinobu breaks her train of thought as she realized what's happening. She was in horror

She enjoyed hanging out with Giyu

"I must be insane!" Shinobu exclaims, not even thinking about if she would be heard by the other people living in this house

The thought of enjoying time with Giyu terrified her. It was-

Too familiar

On a date, in a mall, Giyu taking her home, sending a message of gratitude, and smiling at the ceiling

Granted, her message wouldn't have been sassy in the past, but it was still too familiar

Yes, this has been their first friendly interaction in years, but even this felt like too much for Shinobu

Too close to the edge

And she didn't want to fall

Not again

~

It was the first day of school, once again, and Shinobi and Giyu are blockmates, once again

To Shinobu, it felt like the gods were playing a prank on her. Only one question filled her mind in the entire morning

Why does it feel like the world is pushing them closer and closer?

Giyu excused himself from the class, which was more like an orientation, as he got a call

"Daki, I still have class" Giyu said. He was just in the hallway outside the class

"Oh, really? Sorry!" Daki said at the other side of the line

"It's fine, it's first day anyway. Just orientation, as always" Giyu assured

"I'm calling because I don't have class until 2, so I'm planning on visiting" Giyu was shocked by what he heard and chuckled a little

"First day there, and you already want to come back to KNY?"

"I just wanna visit you!" Giyu heard a little laugh "Unless you don't want to see me, then okay" Giyu could already imagine Daki's little pout

"I didn't say anything. Are you going already?"

"Yep!"

"Okay, be safe, see you later"

They said goodbye to each other, and Giyu entered the room once again

~

As the bell rang, the two started to fix their things before leaving the classroom

Weirdly, they left the room at the same time and are now pretty much walking beside each other

Shinobu didn't notice as she was looking at messages from Mitsuri

She raised her brow at one particular message

"Hold on to your ex tight. Someone's here"

What does she mean by-

Shinobu's question was answered as she looked up from her phone and saw the person she might hate seeing the most

Daki

Her face immediately transformed into an irritated one before rolling her eyes

Daki was just looking at them with a smile, but when Shinobu rolled her eyes, it turned into a more awkward smile

"Long time no see, Daki!" Mitsuri randomly appeared behind Shinobu, who was waving her hand enthusiastically

Mitsuri, or really any of the other people in the friend group, never grew to hate Daki, as aside from one mistake, she never really did anything wrong

It was maybe a bit fishy to them that Daki became close friends with Giyu immediately after the break up, but they did appreciate that Giyu had some other friend aside from them

"Well, I transferred, so that happens" Daki joked before the two hugged briefly

"Why are you here, by the way?" Mitsuri asked a question Shinobu also wanted answered "I'm not busy, so might as well come by and eat lunch with Giyu"

Shinobu rolled her eyes, so Mitsuri bumped Shinobu with her elbow

Giyu was just standing beside Daki, unbothered and looking at his phone before his name was mentioned

"We'll go already. You guys want to join?" Daki asked with a smile

"No thanks" Shinobu said with a hint of hostility before walking away

"Shinobu-" Mitsuri called to her as walking away was a little disrespectful "Sorry about that" Mitsuri said with a small smile

"I'm used to it, and I arguable deserve it" Daki chuckled before the two also walked away

Mitsuri chased Shinobu, and when she caught up, slapped her arm

"What was that for?" Shinobu whined "You can act a little nicer" Mitsuri said

"For that homewrecker? Over my dead body" Shinobu rolled her eyes for the nth time that day

"That was three years ago"

"Don't care"

Mitsuri sighs. She knew what Daki did, and she agrees it was wrong, but she never knew why Shinobu had such a grudge over it

Did it really impact their relationship that much? Mitsuri wouldn't know because they looked normal even in the faithful day of the incident

"Why is she here anyway? Going all this way to eat lunch." Shinobu clicked her tongue, clearly still very annoyed

Mitsuri wasn't sure, but Shinobu did seem more annoyed than usual

Shinobu was always bothered by Daki's presence, but this mad? Probably first few weeks of college when Daki and Giyu started eating lunch together often if Mitsuri remembers correctly

"Why are you so mad? You've always hated her, I know that, but this is more severe than usual" Mitsuri said, curious

"It's because-" Shinobu paused to think. Even she didn't know the answer

"I don't know, don't care"

Shinobu has a hunch on why, but she doesn't even want to think about it