Carnivore

iv) Angustiarum

IT HAD BEEN A PECULIAR AFTERNOON FOR MANY REASONS. Far too many that Kirishima Eijirou had expected and by the following morning he was concerned.

Extremely concerned.

But he wouldn't voice it aloud. Not right now when he was as involved with Kennedy Zinnia's current situation as he was.

The usual, almost ritual afternoon snack-run had taken an awkward and rather odd turn upon the arrival of Zinnia's once-been classmate at the front of Yuuei, and as Zinnia lead the way, arm casually linked with the buxom bunny-girl's own and bouquet of bright flowers in her other, Eijirou followed along a few paces behind. He kept his hands buried in the pockets of his pants, maintaining a casual front in spite of the curiosity that was gnawing away at the back of his mind.

He vaguely recalled seeing a bunny-girl fitting this girl's appearance in a couple places, one indeed being back at the Hospital one time, another time guaranteed, though the where and why was evading him.

But it didn't matter right now.

His phone vibrated away within his pocket, undoubtedly due to an ongoing onslaught of messages from Kaminari demanding answers to any and every question he had on his mind. He'd ended up muting his phone simply to be free from the incessant chimes it would make so he could mull over his own thoughts, and of course make sure his friend didn't push her limits and wear herself out.

Regardless, he doubted he'd answer many of the torrential questions the blond had much later, anyway; It wouldn't be manly to gossip, regardless of the fact that Zinnia had essentially told him to come, too.

Soon enough, the three had wound up at the usual fast-food store, and the bunny-girl legitimately turned rigid at the sight of the store.

'I-I don't--' The bunny girl had began, however a yelp escaped her as Zinnia appeared to ignore her and seemed to drag her inside by force.

A remarkable feat considering physical strength was not in Zinnia's possession right now.

They had wound up taking the usual table, and after a brief moment of intervention, Eijirou had essentially forced Zinnia to sit down and let him order for them, not unlike she had done when Kaminari had joined them that one time. He was greeted by the familiar lilt of Zinnia's head towards the right, far less subtle than usual with more of her hair unable to be tied back, but she said nothing more than her request of anything sweet. Not that he was surprised, considering the girl's sweet tooth.

It took the Bunny-girl, now formerly introduced as Kobayashi Ritsuna, took at least four attempts to stammer out a request for just a cola, with an unsteady fist full of coins held out promptly to pay for her beverage.

Kobayashi seemed to remind him quite a bit of Midoriya and the way he would reduce to a nervous, stuttering mess the moment attention fell upon him. Except, for some reason it felt remarkably different. He couldn't exactly place why, however.

'I'm back.' Eijirou announced as he returned to the table with a tray of orders in his grasp, smiling amiably as he set both the cola and caramel pudding in front of the two girls. 'I asked them for extra caramel sauce for you, Zim.'

'I can tell.' His friend affirmed promptly as she scooped up her small bowl. 'Thanks, Eiji.'

The stuttered thanks he also received from Kobayashi were squeaked out promptly, as well.

However, the awkward silence that soon stretched out was uncomfortable, especially so for Eijirou, who'd decided he might as well start on his usual burger and fries. The shy Bunny-girl fidgeted with the straw of her drink almost obsessively before Zinnia decided to be merciful and break the silence.