Matchmaker - Soukoku

Chapter Two

Higuchi pov

I consider Chuuya to be one of my closest friends. I've been friends with him since freshman year, for a while now. He seems a little grouchy at first, but he's actually really fun to be around. He's also had a huge crush on Tachihara since last year.

So today, Tuesday, October 28th, I, Ichiyo Higuchi, am going to be the best friend ever and help out the poor guy.

The bell rings just as Ms. Akiko finishes handing out our homework.

"Remember, hand it in by tomorrow morning!" She yells after us as we exit the room. Jesus, I'm gonna die from overworking myself, can they lay off on the homework a little?

I shove my homework into my bag and dash out of the classroom towards the cafeteria, eager to put my plan into action. It's totally gonna work. Gin is already in on it, Akutagawa doesn't seem to care, as per usual.

I slide onto the bench of our usual table, next to Gin. She smiles at me and my heart gives a little flutter. Akutagawa looks at us and sighs.

"Why are you sighing?" I ask, pulling out my lunch.

"It's just- never mind." He sighs again, turning his attention back to his food.

"Hey, guys!" Chuuya sits down next to Akutagawa. "Oh, where's Tachihara?" He asks.

It's my turn to sigh. "I asked him to get me a book from the library." I say, picking at my food.

"What? Why?" Chuuya asks.

"Look, Chuuya. All of us know that you have a massive crush on Tachihara." I point my fork at him. "It's kind of a miracle he hasn't figured it out by now, you're literally so obvious."

"I-I- no, I just-" Chuuya splutters.

I put my fork down. "Don't try to lie to us." I say. "C'mon, we're trying to help you here." Gin nods and Akutagawa rolls his eyes.

Chuuya crosses his arms, glaring at me. "Fine, then. How are you going to help?"

"Well, I'm not." I say, smirking. "I know someone who can, though."

Chuuya looks skeptical. "Who?"

Akutagawa sighs. "Literally how have you not heard of him, I swear to god..."

"Heard of who?!" Chuuya asks, his glare intensifying, now directed towards Akutagawa.

"There's a boy in junior year, our age, who everybody calls the matchmaker." I pause for dramatic effect, wiggling my fingers.

Chuuya snorts. "That's the corniest shit I've ever heard."

I choose to ignore him. "Basically, he's just really good at bringing couples together. You know Poe and Ranpo, the seniors, right?"

"Yeah?"

"They're pretty much the most socially awkward people to ever exist and he still got them together."

"You could ask him to help you." Gin says quietly. "He's helped a lot of couples together."

Chuuya shakes his head. "Look, I don't know why y'all think I need some corny Doctor Love or whatever shit he's doing to help me, but I don't, I'm fine on my ow-"

"Heyyy!" Tachihara yells from a few feet away, running up towards our table. Chuuya turns bright red. "I got you your book, Higuchi!" he hands me a book titled How to Become an Artichoke Farmer: Tips and Tricks to Success. "Interesting choice, I have to admit. I'm surprised the library even had it." He laughs.

"It's for a paper." I lie, tucking the book into my backpack. I'm just going to return it later.

Tachihara wedges himself in between Akutagawa and Chuuya. "Sooo, how's it going?" He asks, taking out his lunch.

"It's fine, I guess. I have soooo much homework." Chuuya says, shooting me a glare that means If you say a word you're dead. I smile at him.

"Me too!" I chime in. "Ms. Akiko wants me to write like 3 essays, she's so annoying!"

"I know right, she gives way too much homework." Chuuya nods.

"Hahahha, imagine, I don't have her." Tachihara takes a bite of his food and winks, causing Chuuya to malfunction a bit. "What's she like?"

"Oh, she's okay, I guess. She can be kind of scary sometimes." I say, giving Chuuya a minute to regain himself. Jeez, this wouldn't be happening if he would just listen to me, oh my god.

We talk about our schedules and complain about teachers until the bell rings, and then we all go our separate ways. I have geometry next. I feel a tug on the sleeve of my uniform. It's Chuuya.

"I- you know what-" He starts. He pauses, glaring at me. "You know what, I'll talk to him. What's his name? And what does he look like?"

I clap my hands and beam at him. "Perfect! His name is Dazai Osamu, he's a junior, just like us. He's tall I think, brown hair... he's supposed to be really good looking, he's been asked out a buncha times. Oh, he's on the debate team, they have practice after school today, go see if you can talk to him then!"

Chuuya nods once and disappears into the massive crowd of students funneling towards the cafeteria doors. I sigh. Honestly, some people.

...

After school, I'm sitting at a cafe with Gin, drinking a latte.

"I swear, I'm so fed up, he should just confess already, oh my god!" I complain while Gin nods sympathetically. "You're such a good friend, Gin, you always listen to me." I reach across the table and touch her hand, smiling softly. She turns pink and smiles back.

I can feel my heart beating loudly. I'm just about to say something when my phone rings. Jesus, I only know one person who actually calls people instead of just texting them now. I groan and take my phone out of my coat pocket, missing the warmth of Gin's hand on mine.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Higuchi! I'm at the debate room! What do I do?" Chuuya's voice comes from my phone.

"Jesus, just go in and talk to him." I make a face at Gin and mouth Chuuya. She giggles.

"Yeah, but what do I say? And all the other debate team members are gonna be there!" Chuuya sounds exasperated.

"I'm sure they're all used to people asking him for advice, you could just wait until their practice is over and talk to him outside of the school... oh, and he hung up." I look at my phone, the words Call ended at the top of my screen, and roll my eyes.

"God, he's so annoying sometimes!" I groan, sipping my latte.

Gin laughs a little. "It's okay." She says in her quiet voice that I've grown to love. "He'll be fine, he's just nervous."

"Why does he always complain to me, though..." I grumble. "I'm not the answer to all of your problems, Chuuya!"

"He just trusts you." Gin gives me a genuine smile, and my heart flutters. "I mean, who wouldn't trust you. You're pretty great." She blushes, staring at her lap.

I turn bright red. "Uh, you too." I place my hand back on top of hers and smile.

You know what, fuck Chuuya and his problems, I have my own stuff to deal with now.

1181 words

A/N: Guys I love Gin and Higuchi sm omg