Darkest Shade of Blue- Tamaki X OC

Chapter Five

"-and I said that there's no way that could be right! Of course a cute little mouse could never- Hey! Ume are you listening?" Nejire broke off her long winded story when she noticed the silver-haired girl next to her yawn widely.

The two were currently perusing a large outdoor market area. The streets were lined with permanent storefronts and restaurants, as well as numerous vendor stalls and food trucks. They had only arrived an hour previous, but Nejire's arms were already loaded with shopping bags.

"Mmhmm," Ume replied, stretching her arms over her head. "A mouse chewing through metal. I was listening. Sorry, I just stayed up kind of late last night."

"Oh!" Nejire said brightly before bringing a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "I never pegged you for a night owl!"

"I'm not, usually," Ume mumbled, feeling the telltale burn of a blush starting on her cheeks.

Her friendship with Nejire was still fresh, but she knew the girl well enough to recognize a potential problem. If her friend found out about Ume and Tamaki's late-night text conversations, she would absolutely never hear the end of it. She didn't want Nejire to get the wrong idea; she and Tamaki were just friends. That was all there was between them.

Thankfully, Nejire didn't ask why she had been up so late, simply gave a sympathetic nod before pointing to an outdoor eating area a short distance away. A small grassy area between two stores had been adorned with picnic tables for shopper use.

"Why don't we get some lunch and take a break?" she suggested. "My arms are getting tired from carrying all of this stuff."

"Maybe you shouldn't buy something from every stall we pass," Ume teased as they entered the short line for a nearby food truck. "What do you even need nunchucks for anyways?"

"They're not for me !" Nejire defended herself quickly. "They're for Mirio! I like to do my Christmas shopping early! I got stuff for my parents. The handmade fuzzy socks are for Tamaki—he likes to wear them at home. He'd probably be so embarrassed if he knew I told you that!"

The two girls both erupted into a fit of giggles until it was their turn to order. Ume decided on takoyaki, chocolate mochi to share with Nejire, and treated herself to a soda, while Nejire ordered yakitori and water. Once their orders were paid for and received, they made their way over to a picnic table. Nejire quickly placed her lunch down, then let all of her purchases slide from her arms in a heap before slumping onto the bench with a sigh.

"Ugh. Do you actually like that stuff?" Nejire demanded after watching Ume eat a piece of takoyaki. "I've never been able to get past the idea of tentacles in my mouth ." She shuddered at Ume's nod. "Although, that was a pretty cool idea you had for Tamaki to use them for his quirk! I bet he'll find lots of ways to use them!"

Ume continued eating her lunch while Nejire chattered on about anything that came to mind, giving comments when her classmate had to pause to take a breath, which wasn't often. Once she had finished with her takoyaki and moved on to sharing the mochi with Nejire, she pulled out her phone to check the time and was pleasantly surprised to see she had received a text from Tamaki.

T: Are your ears falling off from listening to Neji yet?

U: We're having fun! She's told me some pretty interesting stuff. Something about a mouse eating through metal and one of her friends really liking fuzzy socks?

T: I told you not to believe anything she says.

U: What's wrong with fuzzy socks? I like fuzzy socks.

"Hey! Hey !" Nejire exclaimed from across the table as she bounced up and down. "What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, uh..." Ume scrambled, feeling her ears burning. "I may have told Tamaki that I know he likes fuzzy socks."