"I think it was a red sweater, but I'm not entirely sure. It might have been a shirt," I replied.
"I suppose that's okay," she said, trying to hide her disappointment. "I shouldn't expect too much this early." I would have apologized, but her smug grin made me hesitate. "I guess that means I'm more important than I thought I was!" she giggled.
Before I could respond, my phone rang. "A video call?" I said as I picked it up. "Who could be calling me so early in the morning?"
"It says 'Rubes'." Ishtar said, lying on my shoulder. "Who's this, Shirou?" She questioned
The call was from Ruby Rose, "one of my old friends." I answered.
naturally, I accepted the call.
"Shirou!" A black mop of hair exclaimed cheerfully. "I knew you'd answer!" she swung her head revealing some red highlights and her silverish eyes alongside a bright friendly smile.
I could see two other people in the frame, both with different shades of blonde hair. Another icon popped up, showing a third individual. "What's up, Ruby?" I asked as I joined the group call.
One of the boys exclaimed in distress, "Shirou! Bro, I owe her ten bucks because of you!"
"That seems like a personal issue, Promto." I replied.
"That's what I told him when he realized it was Ruby calling you."
"Cloud!" the other blonde pushed past Ruby, almost causing her to drop her phone, but she managed to catch it just in time.
"Promto, watch it! You'll have to buy me some snacks too!" she yelled at the spiky blonde.
"Ach, come on Rubes, you know I didn't mean to do it!" said Promto.
I recognized the two guys as Prompto and Cloud Strife, twin brothers with similar names to some of our favorite Final Fantasy characters. They also happened to be Ruby's cousins. I remember the day I pointed it out to them; their expressions were priceless. Sometimes, I even wondered if some one-winged villain would pop up and drop an off-brand supernova on us for the sake of amusement, considering that they both grew up with personalities that were dangerously similar to their fantastical counterparts.
The group continued their lighthearted banter, almost forgetting the original reason they made the call in the first place. "Oo, I almost forgot!" Until Ruby managed to remember why they had made the call in the first place. "Shirou, we were going to invite you out to this place we were going to visit in a few days! It's like super new, opened like a week-"
"-two weeks ago-" Promto interrupted, still trying to grab cloud with little success.
"-When did it open again, Yang?" Ruby turned around to her sister, Yang, to confirm her statement.
The oldest member of the group was caught off guard by her sudden inclusion in the conversation, swinging her attention away from the arguing twins, her attention was now shifted towards her slightly younger step-sister. "Huh?" she began. "You don't know? It's in around a week, yeah." I slouched over, laid my arm on the desk, and rested my head on it as I asked, "Don't you have classes? I heard your finals were coming up, Yang?"
"Don't remind me you-" She groaned, "Ugh, you never fail to kill by buzz, huh?"
I deadpanned
She caved instantly, "Alright, fine!"
"They got pushed back because some dumbass tried to assault a teacher… like the kind our old man always said to avoid at all costs."
"Yikes-"
"Yeah, yikes doesn't sound enough to describe it, to be honest.." she frowned "The egghead had the nerve to go after our physics/calc teacher—
"Wait, wait a minute, you mean Glynda?!" I shouted, "Who—
"Calm down, it was that twig Issei. You know, the leader of the 'Three Heat-Filled Stooges'.." She said calmly, running her fingers through her hair. "Nothing serious happened, the geek couldn't even touch her clothes before the football team beat him up. To be honest, it was embarrassing for the class, the guy went down talking about being the reincarnation of the greatest harem king."
"That bastard really lost his mind," Cloud added.
"Man, that idiot attempted it, I thought he was joking."Promto sighed. "That explains why Otis didn't answer my calls. Dude, he must have been working his ass off, damn."
"How about we drive downtown? We could visit her, see how she's doing, and maybe even invite her out? You know, to clear her mind and stuff." I suggested.
Ruby and Yang lit up like Christmas trees after hearing me out. Their eyes sparkling with unrestrained joy Ruby said, "That's a great idea! We could go out for some dinner too!" Yang followed up "I just got my car! We could take the wasp out for a spin!"
"Wasp?" I questioned.
"Uh, y- yeah, my bike's name is Bumblebee, so I thought I'd name my car Wasp. It fits the yellow-black aesthetic I- I like it, don't you think it's cool too?" Ruby chuckled at her sister Yang's accidental slip-up. Yang had been trying to be more "girly" for about a year, but she still hadn't shed her natural rowdiness and tomboyish ways. Not that I minded; I always found it more enjoyable to hang out with Yang when she wasn't trying to be someone else. Strangely, Yang's transformation coincided with the debut of my favorite idol, Ai. Just another thing for me to remember. Naturally, I caught onto her actions rather quickly but loved to pretend to be dense and tease her for her silliness. Who would have known that fierce woman would have had such a reverse scale?!
'Oh, How I love coin flips.' I thought to myself as I put on my best acting performance.
"Oh, you should have called me, Yang~. You got a new car and didn't call about it? I'm hurt!" I whined, dramatically grasping my heart with one hand while wiping nonexistent sweat with the other.
She took the bait surprisingly quickly, shaking her head in denial of any negative thoughts I might have had. "Shirou! I didn't... I wasn't... I was trying to... Hahhhh..." She exhaled before murmuring under her breath as fast as she could, "...Look, I wanted it to be a surprise... If it makes you feel any better, shotgun's only yours, and Bumblebee's still our thing t- to work on?"
"I... Wow. Reserved seats and I get special perms for the babes?!" My grin threatened to split my face. " You treat me so well, yang! I was just joking, but if you're offering, why the hell not?"
"W-wait, what?!"
Ruby burst further into laughter, struggling to speak between her giggles. I was almost worried she'd faint from lack of oxygen. "Real- haha- Real smoooth~, Yang- hahahahaha!" The person she was laughed at walked off-screen for a moment, feeling embarrassed. She covered her mouth for a moment trying to figure out a response before dropping them and accepting her fate.
Yang out a groan saying, "I'll pick you guys up. No need for multiple cars; it's just the five of us." Yang kicked Ruby off the call and said goodbye before leaving herself.
Now, I stood in my room, 'alone' and bemused by the sudden turn of events. "Well, isn't that something," I muttered to myself. "I guess I should get dressed. Something casual should be fine."
"You're different Shirou," Ishtar said from beside me.
"Hmm? Of course, I am." I responded, smirking as I walked toward my closet. "No two people live the same lives you know"
"It's not that big of a deal in my opinion." I laughed off her worries saying, "Just be happy I'm not some schizo, and figure out how to move from here on out!"
I opened my closet, which was filled with several identical outfits. Most of them were in different shades of black, green, and white, while a few came in other colors like red, purple, and gray. They were neatly arranged, and each outfit was chosen carefully to suit the occasion, reflecting my organized approach to things. I took my time choosing an outfit and tried on different combinations until I found the perfect one that matched my mood.
Ishtar floated in the background, silently processing her new life. I hope she doesn't take it to heart and adjusts to her situation. I had the strangest feeling that she was blaming herself for everything.
----
Author's Note.
Ugh, I managed to get all the water out but I still have to replace some flooring and the cupboards... cabinets whatever they're called! They're made of wood and the water kinda fucked shit up there, hahaha! maybe I'll just redo the entire area so it matches since I can't find the same ones.
I think this was more of a setup for the next actual chapter, which will be much longer - it's about 6k to 7k words long if I release it as it is. which means I'll be dropping some shenanigans within it! By the way, I just found out that an anime for Wistaria Wand and Sword is coming out! I loved reading it and was wondering if anybody else knew about it. I'm definitely going to watch it when it comes out!
Anyways! Take care of yourself with some light workouts anytime you can and eat well! You'll thank yourself later. Works wonders when you're feeling sluggish, trust!
See you soon! ('Soon' they said)