𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕'𝒔 𝑻𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒓 | Kazutora Hanemiya x Reader

Chapter 5

"God, what a day!" Y/N said as she rested her head on the open book in front of her. She and Kazutora were at the library. It had been a few days since they were assigned to be cultural festival leaders, and over the past couple of hours, they had come up with a game plan for their haunted house. They covered all the bases, and all that was left to do was get the class involved. It was tough to figure out, but the pair were proud of their work.

"We're not done, sensei," Kazutora teased. "You still need to tutor me."

"Oh, please," Y/N retorted. "You fully don't need me to get decent grades. You're already smart!" She realized early on that Kazutora was actually really intelligent. She usually only had to explain things once, and he would understand right away. Maybe if he actually paid attention in class, she thought, then he wouldn't need tutoring sessions. But if she was being honest with herself, she didn't want to stop tutoring him. She liked hanging out with him, and little by little, he's been showing more and more of himself. She learned about Toman, his friends, and the Invincible Mikey, who saved him from a crowd of delinquents seeking revenge. She learned about how he was essentially raised by a single mom, too, but she felt he was purposefully excluding some details in his story. She learned he liked anything leopard-print, and she was surprised that he could also have a flashy side. Y/N was hungry to learn even more about him.

Kazutora laughed at that. "Yeah, but you motivate me," he slipped. They looked at each other for a second then turned away, both trying to hide their blush.

"But really," Kazutora said, "you've been helping a lot. I feel like I understand our lessons more when you explain them."

"Mmm, I guess," she said, trying to dispel any awkwardness between them. "Anyway, you're easy to teach, so I can't complain. Let's just chill for now, though. I think both our brains are fried."

"You're right," Kazutora said. "Man, is this what it's like being involved in school?"

"Wow," she laughed. "In case you forgot, Kazutora, you're a student, so obviously you should be involved in school."

Immediately after she spoke, they both realized what she said. "Ah, uhm," she stuttered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so familiar."

"It's okay!" Kazutora uttered quickly, a blush creeping up his neck. "You-you can call me Kazutora." He looked away, and then said tentatively, "Can I also call you by your first name?"

Y/N's heart was going crazy in her chest. "You can," she nodded, trying to hide her smile.

"Y/N," he said, unable to hide his flushed face, "let's work hard together."

"Yeah," she beamed at him. "Let's!"

+ + +

"Okay, guys," Kazutora addressed the class, "we've come up with a plan and we're going to split the class into departments for the haunted house." Their classmates were all ears. They were still a bit scared of the delinquent, but they were also really curious about him.

"So we're going to have three teams," he continued as Y/N wrote each department on the board. "Props, actors, and ambiance. Props people will create the backdrops and props for the haunted house, and we're going to need a lot of people for this. Actors will be the ones scaring people in the haunted house. You'll also be helping each other create your costumes. Ambiance people will work on lights and sounds to make it the scariest haunted house possible. We'll probably need three to four people for this."

"We were also thinking the haunted house could be like a maze, so it would be even scarier for the people entering," Y/N added. "I've written the departments on the board. Feel free to come up and write your name under the team you want to be in!"

Their classmates got up, whispering to each other about which department they were going to join. As they came up, some pat Kazutora on the back, thanking him for his and Y/N's hard work. He can be friendly when he wants to be, Y/N observed. She was happy that her classmates were finally warming up to him.

When his classmates were done, Y/N took note of who would be on which team. She actually really wanted to join the props team, but she knew she'd be too busy overseeing everything to help. Oh well, she thought to herself.

"Okay," she said to the class, "we'll reach out to each of your teams so you guys can work on the next steps! We'll also create a calendar of deadlines to make sure we're all working on time. Thanks, everyone!"

Before Y/N could go back to her seat, Kazutora tapped her shoulder. She turned to him and he leaned into her ear. "Great job," he said and then smiled at her. Y/N stared at him and then uttered a flustered "thank you." Not fair, she thought. Not fair at all.

+ + +

Within the next few days, the class started working on their haunted house. The cultural festival was three weeks, so everyone had to hustle. So far, they had been able to source materials, curate creepy ambient music, and figure out what kind of ghouls and creatures would make an appearance in their haunted house.

They used their lunch periods and time after class to build the base structures of their maze; they were way ahead of schedule. During this particular break, Y/N and Kazutora were overseeing everyone's work. Kazutora watched Y/N observing the props people paint backdrops, and he could see that she really wanted to join them. He learned during their tutoring sessions that she was in the art club, and from the way she talked, it seemed like she genuinely enjoyed artistic pursuits.

He walked over to where she was standing and grabbed her clipboard.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "I'm still taking down notes."

His eyes went over her notes then turned back to her. "I can take care of this for you," he said. "Want to help them paint?"

She looked at the props people and then back to him. He was basically giving her a free pass to do what she actually wanted to do. She felt her heart swell with gratefulness. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling. "Go ahead!"

She thanked him and then went over to the painters, asking how she could help. He watched her as she began painting, and he realized this is the first time he had ever seen her creating art. She looked so happy, and he couldn't help but allow his smile to reach his eyes as he observed her.