Nakano is frozen in her spot, eyes widened and staring straight at the boy in front of her. She should be used to randomly bumping into him, but no. She still can't get used to his sudden presence.
"Hey, Kano-chin!" He breaks into a smile as soon as he sees her. "I didn't know Emma invited you over!"
The weight from Nakano's hands disappears when Emma takes the bags from her. "I'll just start cooking dinner. You two can chat while I'm doing that."
Something about Emma's tone of voice and the glance she gives Nakano is really concerning to her. Whatever she's thinking, she really needs to stop.
"Well, I just offered to walk her home, and I did that. So I'll be going now."
She spins on her heel and heads for the door, but Manjiro quickly grabs her wrist like he did earlier today. "Wait! Kano-chin!"
She tenses, this unexplainable heat rising to her cheeks. Turning back and showing them a tinted red face she got for no reason is something she'd rather not do. She tries to cool it down by thinking about anything else, but no. It's like the warmth from Manjiro's hand is just making its way to her face.
"You still have my umbrella." He then takes what he had lended her earlier and tosses it into the holder at the front door.
"Oh. Sorry." There's a moment of awkward silence. "Now I'll go-"
"Awe, you should stay, Nakano-chan! I'll make you dinner too, as thanks for bringing me home."
'I mean... It wouldn't hurt to stay a bit. Takemichi should text or call me when he gets back, right? And maybe I can learn something from Manjiro now that he's here.'
"Alright then," Nakano agrees after her consideration.
"Great!" Emma perks up. "I'll get cooking, so you can wait with Mikey."
"I can help you."
"You can wait with Mikey."
Emma gives her that look, as if telling her to just stay with him. Whatever reason that could be, she just shrugs it off and respects her host. The blonde girl skips towards the back of the house, leaving Nakano and Manjiro in the dojo.
To say the atmosphere is awkward is an understatement.
Nakano just stands there, avoiding Manjiro's gaze to the best of her ability. She looks at the wall, the equipment, anything but him, and doesn't move.
Why? Why is so fucking awkward now of all times? With him?
"Where's Takemitchy?" He breaks the silence, asking a question in a lighthearted tone as he walks towards the equipment he battered.
"With Hinata," she lies. "I don't want to be a third wheel and make things awkward."
Like they are right now.
"Yeah, I get it." He props up a standing punching bag. "It's like that when I'm with Ken-chin and Emma."
"How so." Nakano starts helping him.
"Emma is always striking up a conversation with him, and the two just talk while I sleep on Ken-chin's back."
Emma obviously has feelings for Draken, and the two get along. They even forget Manjiro's existence for a while just to talk to each other. She can now confirm these two have actual chemistry, and whatever they have stirring up is sure to cause a reaction soon.
"I just silently walk behind Takemichi and Hinata. But whenever they want to do something, like get food, they look at and ask me first. I don't want to get in the way of them on dates, so I just leave them be."
YOU ARE READING
Keep Fighting
Fanfiction***MIKEY x OC FANIFIC*** Her childhood was hell on earth. Ten years of torture had twisted her in ways no one could ever imagine. That decade had haunted her for years after she returned to Japan. Twelve years after all that, she was forced to live...
