𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕'𝒔 𝑻𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒓 | Kazutora Hanemiya x Reader

Chapter 9

Kazutora had gone toe-to-toe with some of Tokyo's biggest delinquents. Hell, he had just come out of a fight that very day. But he's never felt as fearful in those fights as he did right now, standing across Y/N's mom.

"Who are you?" she repeated, visibly annoyed.

He swiftly bowed at her and started to speak. "Good evening. I'm Hanemiya Kazutora. Y/N is my classmate and has been tutoring me. I dropped her off just now."

"I see." Y/N's mom eyed the boy. She took in his yellow highlights, his piercing, and his tattoo. It was easy to see he was trouble and someone her daughter should not be associating with.

Kazutora's heart was pounding in his chest. He knew from what Y/N told him that her mom was a strict and stern woman. He could feel the sweat forming on his forehead, scared of what she might say.

"I'd like you to stay away from Y/N, please," her mother said curtly. Kazutora looked up at her. She didn't have any discernible expression on her face. "Ask your teacher to assign another tutor to you."

He was shocked. He didn't think she could be this cold, especially since her own daughter was such a warm-hearted person.

"But–" he started, but was quickly cut off.

"Do you think it would be good for my daughter's reputation to be seen with somebody like you?" she asked. "What exactly is she getting out of fratrenizing with you?"

What was she getting out of being with someone like me? He thought. If we were to be together, wouldn't I just get her into more trouble? Kazutora had already felt guilty about putting her in danger earlier, and now he was deeply hurt by her mother's words. He was hurt because she did make valid points. She even reminded him of his father, and he just wanted to get out of there. We really are more alike than I thought, Y/N.

"Excuse me, then," Kazutora bowed to Y/N's mom once more. He got on his bike and sped off. He was so happy just five minutes earlier, and now it feels like he's been brought back down to earth. He didn't know if it was possible for him to stay away from Y/N. He feels like his life had changed so much since they met, so he didn't know what to do.

Man, this really hurts, he laughed harshly at himself and the predicament he had gotten into.

+ + +

"Y/N! Where were you yesterday?" Erina asked as Y/N sat down at her chair. Class hadn't even started yet, but she saw some of her classmates working on their project for the cultural festival.

"Ah, I was feeling sick," she said, "but now I'm all better."

"Woah, you never get sick!" Erina said. "Anyway, I'm one of the actors for the class project. Can I come in as a sexy witch?"

"No!" Y/N laughed. "You have to actually be scary."

They were discussing Erina's costume at length when Kazutora entered the classroom. Y/N smiled and waved at him, still giddy from the day before, but he quickly looked away and sat at his desk. He buried his head in his arms, not acknowledging Y/N in the slightest. She found this strange. He had never done anything like that before. He'd always say hi back. She was going to go over to him to ask if something was wrong, but Miss Fujimoto entered the classroom and asked everyone to settle down. Talk about déjà vu, Y/N thought. I'll just talk to him during lunch.

At lunch, Kazutora was checking on everyone working on the project. He had his hands full with some prop stuff when Y/N came up to him.

"Hey," she said, "can we talk?"

Kazutora didn't meet her eyes. He couldn't. "I'm a little busy right now," he said, turning away from her. He went back to the props people building the façade of their maze and helped them steady the wood.

What the hell? She asked herself. She didn't want to make herself paranoid, so she told herself they could speak later when it was time to tutor him. That's right, Y/N calmed her mind, we'll definitely get the chance to talk later.

But that chance didn't come. At 7 p.m. that night, Y/N was waiting for Kazutora to show up at their usual spot in the library. She texted him asking where he was, but he never replied. 7:15 rolled around, then 7:30, then 8 p.m., then 8:30 p.m. What the hell? Y/N was pissed now. Kazutora had stood her up! Was it because of...? Y/N had a sudden flashback of when she kissed his cheek. No way, Y/N thought to herself, was it me who messed up? Maybe he doesn't like me in that way and I just made everything awkward?

Y/N wanted to scream. She wanted to take back the kiss she gave him and make him forget all about it if it meant getting to talk to him normally. She packed up her books and headed out. She wanted to see him right away, but she didn't know where to look. She was walking around the streets of Tokyo aimlessly and eventually ended at a fast food joint.

That was a bust, she thought to herself. She was seated at a booth right beside the window, and she watched the people outside go by as she sipped on her milkshake. She checked her phone again, but still nothing from Kazutora. She went into his contact page and called him. She stared out the window as it rang, and miraculously, she saw Kazutora on the other side of the street. She got up, about to go over to him, but she watched him check his phone, see that she was calling, and put it back in his pocket—completely ignoring her call.

Suddenly, a blonde girl who had been walking ahead of Kazutora went back to him and pulled on his arm. He followed her and they both disappeared into the crowd. Oh, Y/N thought. Her vision became blurry, and she realized tears were welling up in her eyes. So he didn't see me that way after all. Y/N dumped her food in the trash and walked back home.