Shadow Assistance

4 years earlier…

A warm, sunny day with the end of summer vacation nearing. Just a week left until school comes back. But now, it was just a day for the both of them to relax, especially for Mayeda.

"Mayeda! Come up here!" A younger voice call out to him.

The sky was a light orange along with the surrounding area exposed to the sun, the sunset would shine down on the playground, especially on the rope tower.

Shining down on the girl in front of him. Admiring her from below.

"Jeez, we're not kids anymore, why're we here? We're literally middle schoolers now." Mayeda complained as he attempted to climb up.

One grab up after the other up the rope tower, a struggle for someone as fat as he was at the time. He was only halfway up the ropes.

Climbing was harder than expected, even if it's meant for a child's playground, the struggle was still felt in his body.

"Come on! Hurry! You'll miss the sunset!" The girl would call out to him again.

Mayeda gets more frustrated from the persistent message of hurrying up. He already was trying his best.

"Look, I'm try-"

His foot slipped down on one rope and fell on his back, his back hitting the wood chips below on the park.

Oof!

The girl looks down and would quickly climb back down to his aid with a frantic effort.

"A-are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" She panics a little as she bends down to look closely.

His head hurts a little but he felt fine from the fall, after all, he was only halfway up.

Also maybe thanks to the fat as well.

"Yeah, I'm good…" Mayeda mumbles and flushed a little, looking away a bit from her.

"W-what's wrong? Did I do something to upset you?" She softly asked and sat down next to him in the wood chips.

He noticed how her white sundress would also get a little dirty from this.

"Hey, your dress is getting dirty." He points out and takes her hand to get her to stand up.

She refused and remained by his side.

"It's just a dress, it's no biggie. Just tell me what's wrong…" The kind girl said with a fitting cute smile of encouragement.

Mayeda looked up at the dying skylight before the night falls eventually.

"I feel so ashamed." He sighed and looks back at her.

"I can't do things normal people are able to, I lack the strength and the power to do anything." Mayeda continued with a sad smile, accepting the reality of his life.

The girl's face would be a bit surprised before gently bonking his head in response.

"Ow." He says, despite it not really hurting.

"Don't say such words like that again." She pouts and pinched his cheeks, her face seemed really disappointed with his words and her beautiful crimson eyes turned stern.

Why is she so upset right now?

"But it's true though, I'm just a fat, stupid, ugly loser who hasn't amounted anything in life yet. It's been 13 years and I haven't even-" He was attempting to speak through her pinching his cheeks, turning a bit red from the grasp she had on him.

"That's enough. Please, stop that nonsense…" She cuts him off, pleading with a shaky voice.

Eh?

Mayeda quickly stopped his words when he noticed such a saddening sight.

She was beginning to tear up.

"Miyasaki…?"

I truly never deserved to have you in my life.

***

"Hello?"

…

"Earth to Princess Mayeda."

…

"Dude, wake up already!"

A violent shake would be felt on the sleeping boy's shoulder.

His eyes would eventually part open, a bit tired but now awoken.

"Finally, you woke up from your beauty sleep." Usui teased with a soft smirk, shaking his head a little.

Mayeda gently rubs an eye and looks around the classroom to wonder what he missed.

The classroom was empty. Nobody else other than Usui and himself which would quickly wake him up nearly entirely.

"Wait, what happened? Where is everybody?" The curious boy asked with a calm voice.

A smirk plays on his friend's lips.

"You slept through the entire math period, dumbass." Usui informs him with a smile.

Ah…

That makes sense.

"Wait, how did the teacher not notice I was asleep?" Mayeda questioned next, though he felt more relaxed.

"Ah, he did notice. He just didn't really care. Your grades will reflect on your actions was all he said." Usui shrugged from earlier's events, almost like he was agreeing with his teacher.

Mayeda stood up with a nod and walks out of his desk, already wanting to go to lunch already since his school day was halfway through.

Usui would follow right behind him as they walked through the decently filled hallways to the cafeteria.

Loud chatters would be heard, food to be served and desired, just a normal lunch period.

The two boys would grab a tray and go in line, picking out their food and drink for the day before eventually finishing.

Mayeda glanced around the large room before he eventually found it.

"Ah, there it is. The vending machine!" He would be more enthusiastic about his cookies now.

"Go get us a seat, I'll be right over there." Mayeda tells Usui, signaling to save them a seat before they all get taken away.

"Whatever you say, king." Usui joked in a playful tone before walking away to find them any empty seats in the crowded cafeteria.

I wouldn't wanna sit in a bathroom stall and eating lunch like back then.

The talk and black haired boy would walk to the vending machine and take out his spare dollars for some cookies.

But before he could insert them in, a small, delicate hand stopped in front of the bill inserting into the slot.

Mayeda was surprised and looks to the side to notice her again.

Yoshikawa Manami.

"Yoshikawa?" Mayeda questioned her sudden presence again, especially before he was gonna get the love of his life just now.

The girl cleared her throat.

"So is now a good time to chat? It's really something important to me that involves you in it." She politely asks again, the same intentions from earlier but this time, it was without any troubles on time since it was a break period.

Might as well see what's up. It must actually be that important to her if she's willing to keep bringing it up again.

"Sure, wanna sit Usui and I?" He would calmly offer her a place to talk with him.

She would quickly shake her head gently in refusal of this idea.

"Um, I would actually prefer it in private if that's alright with you… it'll only take five minutes, I swear!" Yoshikawa softly spoke, not feeling too comfortable with talking about this subject in a large room with a large number of people.

She's just like me for real.

Both of them would walk out the cafeteria and into the hallway to find a place to talk.

Mayeda walks behind her while eating form his tray.

He would quite hungry, so walking and private chatting didn't stop him from eating food. Even if it's school food.

"Oh, let's talk in here." Yoshikawa gestures to an empty classroom that wasn't being used.

The boy nodded his head and entered the classroom with her before closing the door behind him.

Mayeda kept eating and sat on an empty desk in the front of the room while Yoshikawa sat on the right desk next to him and settling her tray on it.

The unbothered and quiet boy finished his school lunch and began to unwrap his cookies.

Oh boy, I was looking forward to these all day.

A faint smile would form on his face as he began to bite his cookie.

"I like Mr. Sato." The flustered girl suddenly admitted.

!!?

She fucking what?!

He was so taken aback, so surprised by this sudden revelation of events that he nearly choked on his cookie.

Cough, cough.

He patted his chest and drank his water to calm it down together before speaking.

"Say what again?" He questions, wanting to be sure of what he just heard.

Yoshikawa played with her hair, her blush already intensifying from more than it already was before repeating.

"I have a crush on Usui Sato…"

…

"That's sounds cool." He casually said, trying to play the news off as some natural thing.

"Eh? Really? You're fine with that?" She would be surprised from his seemingly casual response, expecting something more.

She had been haunted by admitting her feelings to someone the entire day, and to have it brushed so easily felt weird but oddly relieving.

"I mean, who doesn't? Usui is such a cool guy after all. A kind person with good looks, it's natural for women to be pining over him." Mayeda calmly spoke as he ate his cookie, wanting to give his friend a boost from behind the scenes.

"T-that's actually what I wanted to talk about…" She stuttered and shyly glanced down at her tray, she hadn't taken a bit yet from now nervous she was.

"Hm?" The hungry boy glanced over at her face.

"I'm just a little unsure of how I should go about it. I've never really had these feelings before, but my heart beats differently when I see him…." The flustered girl murmured with her hand onto her chest from her admission.

Mayeda nodded and takes another bite.

"You sure it's not fear? He's a scary guy after all." He added a small joke in response with that calm smile.

"I'M BEING SERIOUS HERE!" She quickly stammered out from this.

The pair just stared at each other from that, wondering what to say next.

Sigh.

"Why come to me anyways? Is it because I'm his friend or something?" He asks with a full mouth as he finished one cookie and immediately held the next one.

She shook her head.

"I asked you because you seem like a nice and open person to come up to…" She sheepishly said and paused before continuing.

"Call it weird but I suppose I knew you wouldn't be the type to be like that… most men who talk to me end up having ulterior motives, but right now you're treating me like we've been friends for awhile despite just meeting."

The beautiful woman gave a smile.

"I'm glad to see my judgement was right about you."

Damn this girl, she really knows how to unconsciously charm others. No wonder why she's quite popular.

"It's no problem really, people always need their times of vulnerability and safe places to be themselves with others."

Mayeda paused his cookie domination and turns to her, willing to hear her out.

"So please, if I'm really what you want to hear from, go ahead and spill out what you want to say. I'm here to help you." He puts on a small, polite smile with that calm voice.

The beautiful girl would take a quiet, deep breath.

"What kind of girls is Mr. Sato interested in?" She would ask this ultimate question with a gentle expression filled with anticipation and hope.

What? This should be an easy answer from here. Just tell her she's already perfect as it is and just confess.

He knew Usui had a crush on her anyways, she was considered a beautiful woman by almost everybody in this school that it felt like a written in stone fact by now.

"Ah, well you see, he already-" He begun to tell her before he quickly paused.

A weird idea. An extraordinary thought came to his mind. A play that could actually kill several birds with one stone.

Mayeda quickly snaps out of it and clears his throat before smirking and crossing a leg over another.

"I think I have an idea of what type of women he likes, though you may be very surprised about it." He would tell her, a small ember growing within himself.

So, she's willing to learn and take advice from a friend of his to be a woman that Usui would be interested in. As adorable as that is, it's also quite desperate to see this happening.

I could just tell her here that his feelings were mutual and end up connecting together eventually…

But that sounds kinda simple, so boring. That would be just like that, huh?

"Oh really? Please do tell me!" She clasped her hands together, filled with hope of seeking the knowledge that she's been looking for.

His small smirk would widen a bit and look back at her face.

"So, tell me, Yoshikawa…" He stood up from his chair to lean down to her level, face to face.

He felt a feeling he never felt before in such a long time years ago. Though of course, he'd never show it to anyone, not even Usui himself.

Her cheeks would redden a little from his sudden proximity.

Why is this guy so bold and talkative all of a sudden?!

"Why do you like Usui?" He started off with a small, calm smile with a subtle motive under that expression.

What's this feeling in my chest? This idea… just stirred up something… fun?

I think I have a small idea, but right now it's nothing more than just an idea. It might just be a dumb fantasy after all, but there's no hurt in trying it…

Right?