Pickles ||Inumaki x Reader||

Nine || Juice Can

-Art by Yama_Chee on Reddit-

The air was thick with anticipation as I never broke my eyes away from the savage pair that stared right back at me. My fists were clenched with all my might as if it would bring me any luck. And then finally, we began. 

"Rock, paper, scissors!" I yelled, slamming my fist into an open palm after each word, the boy opposite me mirroring my actions with an intense face.

My eyebrows twitched in fear when his final hand sign landed on two outstretched fingers: scissors. And I chose paper. 

Toge did a little dance as I fell to my knees dramatically.

He picked up the pebble at his feet and shoved it to me, using his other hand to point to Maki who was walking alongside Panda ahead of us. "Yeah, yeah. I'll keep the stupid deal." I muttered and took the small stone from him. If I knew I would lose, I would have never suggested the dare in the first place.

I took the stance of a classic baseball pitcher and focused on the target. In one swift movement, I dug my front heel into the ground and threw the pebble with full force. It traveled in a straight line, directly hitting the girl in the back of her head.

A wimpy shriek escaped me the moment she turned around with the deathly stare of a devil. "Do you wanna die!?" Maki snarled and launched her wooden katana at me. It would have hit me square in the face if I hadn't ducked in time. Even as my life was flashing before my eyes Toge kept giggling like a child.

Panda placed a paw on Maki's shoulder to make her calm down. "Anyways, as I was telling Maki," He said, grabbing our attention. "I think the first years might be in trouble if the Kyoto students are here." 

The animal only openly spoke about his speculations when he had a strong gut feeling, and we knew that his intuition had never been wrong. 

"Let's go." I said seriously. 

It had only been around a week since we started training the first-years but I was eager to help them, especially if they had ran into who we suspected. We rushed to the main area to find Nobara getting attacked by a tall, slim woman with a gun at the vending machines while a buff man with a scar across his right eye threw Megumi through a rooftop close by. They were Mai and Todo from the Kyoto school.

The four of us split up instantly with Panda and Maki heading for Nobara while Toge and I ran to Megumi. 

When we reached him, blood continued to drip down his pale face as he trembled on the floor, trying to restrain Todo using his shikigami. 

Toge pulled on one end of his unzipped collar, "Don't move." The gentle words had detrimental effects as the large man froze instantly at the smaller boy's technique.

His eyes were still glued to Toge when I popped up in front of him and struck him in the face with my fist, causing him to skid back with the weight of the force. "What do you think you're doing!?" I yelled angrily, watching the fresh burn mark sizzle on Todo's cheek as a result of my own technique. Only I was allowed to bully Megumi!

Toge stood protectively in front of the injured boy while I kept myself on edge in case the man still planned on fighting. But instead of doing so, he smiled softly at the sight of me. "It's been a while, (Y/N). Have you been well?" He asked, his tone changing as if he were a completely different person.

I only stared in annoyance at the shirtless man. "What do you want, Todo?" 

But that was a question I shouldn't have asked because within an instance he was on his hands and knees with his head lowered, "I want you to go out with me! You're just my type, (Y/N)!" He begged at my feet like he wasn't just tormenting my underclassmen a second ago. 

My face went red at his shameless pleads, especially since I knew Toge and Megumi were watching the whole thing. It was only when I heard a desperate, "Bonito flakes!" From behind me that I jolted back to reality.

Without a second thought, I kicked Todo's other cheek as humiliation burned through my face. "As if!" And for a moment I was reminded of a similar scene a year ago where I kicked him, just like that, while he humbly requested to be my boyfriend. Some things never change, I thought to myself.

"I love a woman who can be strong one minute and shy the next," He smiled as he got up, refusing to even acknowledge the fact I rejected him again and instead brushed it off as timidness. "Where's my jacket again?" He murmured while looking around.

Despite the injuries on both sides of his face (courtesy of moi), Todo smiled threateningly at Megumi one last time. "It seems like you didn't pass out of boredom," He said before turning back to Toge and I. "Tell Okkotsu he better come too." With his final ask, he left.

Toge and I just pouted at where he once stood. "What a jerk."

"Salmon."

Toge helped Megumi up while I gave the latter a handkerchief to wipe the blood. "You alright?" He simply nodded at my concern and thanked us for the help. 

By the time we got back down to regroup with the others, Mai and Todo had already left. Nobara was the first to came rushing over to me, wailing about how the jersey I bought for her was ruined. 

It was when I patted her back comfortingly that Panda came over, "(Y/N), did Todo give you a hard time again?" 

The others listened intently. Even Megumi, who was grabbing a juice can from the vending machine, seemed interested. "Nothing different from last year," I concluded, leaning against the wall.

"What does that mean?" Nobara asked, taking her hands off me.

Maki rested her katana against her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "He's totally in love with her; he's practically been begging her to date him ever since they met during the last exchange event. It's absurd."

"Salmon!" A green-faced Toge crossed his arms with a huff.

"It's not like that," I trailed off, getting a little embarrassed by everyone's comments.

Panda just laughed, "You don't have to deny it." He teased. 

I noticed Toge glaring at the animal intently, Panda just responding with a confused shrug at the smaller boy's expression. But my view of them was blocked when Maki stepped in front of me, "Anyways, we shouldn't let something like this distract us." She turned to Megumi and Nobara, "Come on- back to training." 

The pair complied with a nod, following the domineering girl to the track field where she planned to work them to exhaustion like she had every other day. I was about to follow along until Panda's loud whispering made me stop in my tracks. He had a dreadful look in his face as he called me over to where he stood with Toge, clearly having something important to say to me.

"So, your type. Do you like skinny guys or muscly g-?" Before he finished his question, Toge had knocked the bear to the ground with a single karate chop.

"Wh- Panda!?" My jaw fell as I watched my friend twitch in pain. 

Toge calmly left him on the floor and pulled me by my sleeve, leading me away from the defeated Panda. "Tuna Mayo," He mumbled as a means to tell me to ignore him.

I only looked over my shoulder with concern for the bear who lay defeated on the floor as the silver-haired boy dragged me away.

-

Even if you're short and flat (just like me fr) let's pretend that Todo would still have a crush on you bc you're just that pretty <3