She's a stressed and struggling student in Osaka, living alone and barely managing to pay off her debts to keep herself off the streets. But an encounter with her used-to-be favourite utaite, Mafumafu, might change all of that!
"You know what the both us need?" Mafumafu speaks up, smiling. I look at him questionably, but he continues smiling. "A walk to clear our heads." he says, spreading his arms for exaggeration.
Me and Mafumafu walk along Osaka park, along with the various couples, families, and people. We don't fit either of those descriptions, especially the couple position. Walking beside him, I stare ahead, trying not to make it awkward for myself. It's just a normal, relaxing walk to clear our heads from this mess, right? Scanning the scenery as we walk, I recognize this park. It's where I first met Mafumafu.
I shiver a bit in the cold air of the park, it's cold; but not that cold I need a jumper. I'm halfway through my walk, but then I hear what sounds like a scream. "Waa! Get off me!" the voice yells. By instinct, I quickly run to the source of the voice.
"I'm Mafumafu!"
He's kidding, right? I stare at him again, analysing his face. Wait... I pull out my phone, and quickly search up "Mafumafu face", the screen lights up with the results, and I quickly scan through the various results, before picking out a photo. My eyes widen as I look from my phone to the person in front of me, over and over again.
"I gotta repay you somehow, you saved my life! You have to at least know the person who you saved!"
"...and I want to save you too."
As these thoughts go through my mind, I realise how fortunate my meeting with Mafumafu was. How lucky I was to meet him. I don't deserve it, some other fan should've gotten the chance for this meeting, someone else should be at his side. Attempting to distract myself, I spot the tree that I rammed into when trying to tackle Mafumafu. Stifling a snort under my breath, Mafumafu looks ahead. "Remember this place, ###-chan?" he asks, a tone of nostalgia in his voice. I nod in agreement "Mhm", I mutter in reply. "Remember when we met?". asks Mafumafu softly, turning to look at me and stopping the walk. He gives me a sad smile that I'm not sure how to respond to, making my body tinge a bit out of discomfort. Scanning the area for a distraction, I spot an ice-cream truck in the distance.
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Mafumafu spots me looking at the ice-cream truck "Ah, ###-chan, do you want an ice-cream?", he asks. I nod in agreement, anything to escape this awkward situation we're in.
Me and him walk over to the truck, where the man inside is handing out ice creams to other people. Scanning the van's side to look at the different flavours, I decide to settle on a simple vanilla cone. Mafumafu nudges me over to the open window of the truck, where there is a line of customers also retrieving their ice-creams from the worker. Work is fast I notice, as the customers seem to be getting their ice-creams straight from the pump. As he hands two ice-creams to a couple, they walk off, happily licking their cones. Mafumafu nudges me, we're next in line. The worker smiles at me, "Enjoy your ice-cream!" he says cheerfully, handing us our cones. "You and your girlfriend, young man.", the worker adds, and I blush a deep red. "Oh no, we aren't exactly dating", Mafumafu protests, but he smiles like he knows something. Well, maybe he does. Not. I've never had ice-cream before, tasting it for the first time will be pretty exciting. Just as I'm about to take a lick, I can hear a child crying in the distance.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, but we can't afford it, ok?", I can hear a mother say softly, trying to calm her child. Her young son wipes his eyes, sobbing with disappointment. She bends down to hug him "I'm sorry. I know it's your birthday, Taro-kun, but we just can't afford an ice-cream today. Mommy's sorry", the woman says, and gently wipes his tears, giving him a kiss on the cheek in the process. The boy, Taro, lets out one final sob, and seems to accept that he can't have his birthday ice-cream. Nodding sadly, Taro takes his mother's hand, and as the two of them walk off, I feel a pang in my chest. "Wait!", I call after the two, and they turn to look at me.
The mom smiles nervously, "D-did you need something, miss?", she asks, as Taro nervously clings to his mother. I smile at the woman, "Your son can have my ice-cream, instead. I haven't touched it yet, so it should be fine. "###-chan", Mafumafu starts to say, but I turn around "It's okay, Mafumafu-san.", I reassure him. Walking over to the kid, I hand him my ice-cream, and smile as his face lights up with joy. "Thank you!", he says happily, a big grin on his face. Running over to his mom, he points at me, "Mommy, I wanna marry her when I grow up! She's really nice!", Taro cheers, and his mom smiles at me awkwardly. "Taro!", she chides him, and walks over to me. Surprisingly, she bows, and bows her son's head in the process, which causes his nose to get stuck in the ice-cream. "Thank you so much, we're so grateful, miss.", the mom says, "You've made Taro very happy, if there's anything we can do to repay you...". Stopping her, I pat her shoulder "Don't worry, I don't need any payment", I smile "It's your son's birthday, after all". The woman smiles at me, "You have a good heart, miss." she says "It'll serve you well in the future". I look at her quizzically, a good heart, me? Taking her son's hand, they start walking away "Have a good day!", she calls back, and Taro waves cheerfully. Waving after them, I feel good about myself.
Mafumafu turns to look at me "###-chan, why did you give them your ice-cream?", he asks. "It was his birthday, wasn't it? He deserved it after all", I respond. Mafumafu sighs, and hands his also untouched ice-cream to me. "Here you go, ###-chan, you can have mine instead" Mafumafu says "Wha- I can't take it, Mafumafu-san!", I start to say, but he lifts a finger to my lips. Flustered, a blush sweeps over my face. "You've never had ice-cream before, right? I can tell from your expression", Mafumafu smiles "So you can have this.". Taking it, I hesitate at first, then take a tentative lick. Immediately, the flavour fills my mouth. The ice-cream is cold, refreshing on my tongue, and it's sweet, leaving me wanting more. Taking lick after lick, Mafumafu takes amusement in my bliss. "Ah, ###-chan", he suddenly says "You have some ice-cream on your nose!". Feeling that my nose is a bit sticky, I find that he's right. Mafumafu walks over, "Hold on, I'll take it off", he says, leaning closer. To my surprise, he licks the ice-cream off my nose softly. Feeling the sensation of Mafumafu's cold tongue against my nose, it's like an electric shock against my body. Mafumafu grins cheekily, and for a moment, I just stand there before jumping back in surprise. "Mafumafu-san, you weirdo! Why'd you do that?!", I ask, blushing madly. Mafumafu just smiles "Why not?", he replies simply. Why not?!, I think to myself, outraged and embarrassed. Just as I'm getting ready to hit him, me and Mafumafu hear a voice that's very familiar to me behind us.
"Well, I wasn't expecting to see the both of you here!"
