Someone Like Me [ShizuoxReader] Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – Rhythm of Port Town

youtu.be/nwx4mvfeN3A?t=3s

Some time has passed, June has just arrived, and everyone eagerly awaits the beginning of summer! Despite the magnificent weather and contagious happiness of everyone lately, you are going insane...

Over the past month, you and Shizuo have been so busy that you haven’t been able to spend any time together. Just when you two think you might be able to squeeze time in, something always comes up; causing cancelled dates and dreary loneliness. You’ve been absolutely miserable not getting to see your boyfriend. You get to talk occasionally, but it’s not a good substitute for you. You’ve started to get rather irritated by everything and have even snapped at your friends on occasion. Matter of fact, even Shizuo is affected by this extended separation and has become cranky himself.

Eira, Tom, and even Mr. Matsuoka can tell something is wrong with you two. Eira takes the initiative and speaks with the men in order to do something about how depressed and aggravated you two have become. Not long after, the three of them begin making plans...

~~~~

soundcloud.com/ris-dominic/nor… (You may have to click play on the website)

Because of this long week at work, you’re quite exhausted on this Thursday afternoon. It’s helpful when customers come in though, because you get to be a little social. However, today has been the slowest day of the week so you’re glad it’s almost over.

You lean on the counter wandering off into your daydreams when the store bell rings announcing another guest. Rather tiredly, you straighten up and put on a happy face to greet the customer. But as you do, you realize who it is.

“Wha? Eira!!” You dash over to give her a big hug. “I haven’t seen you in so long! How are you?”

“Doing good!” she replies.

As the two of you begin to chat, Mr. Matsuoka comes out from the back.

“What’s all the commotion out here? Haha.” he asks jokingly.

You introduce Eira to your boss and you all continue the conversation. A few moments later, the bell rings once more. You lean around Eira to warmly welcome your guest, when you suddenly freeze.

www.zippcast.com/video/0b372f8…

One of the men that walked through the door froze as well. Your eyes lock as both of your minds try to make sense of the situation.

“Shi-... Shizuo...” You utter gently. You haven’t seen him in so long that you are in complete shock; and so is he.

Shizuo’s face settles into a soft and loving smile as you begin to cry. You run over and tackle him, knocking you both to the floor.

You begin to hug each other tightly as Eira walks over and says, “Good! Now that you two are here...”

You turn around and you both look up at her, confused. She finishes, “We have a surprise for you!”

Mr. Matsuoka chimes in, “Eira approached Tom and I because both of you have been, well... absolutely miserable to say the least.”

Then Tom continues, “So, we came up with a plan to get you guys off work so you could spend some time together.”

Eira finishes, “So we worked it out that the both of you have the weekend off!” Eira smiles cheerfully. “You both have been working really hard lately anyway. So think of this as a ‘forced vacation’. Haha.”

“Matter of fact...” Mr. Matsuoka begins to think, “Today is Thursday, right? Okay then, your vacation starts now!”

~~~~

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zn1Ne…

After you and Shizuo leave the store together, you stroll down the sidewalk thinking about what you’re going to do with your time.

“To be honest, I can't think of anything.” you say. “I haven’t had time to relax in so long... I don’t know what to do with myself. Hahaha”

“I agree. Tom and I have been working our butts off. But it’ll be nice to finally spend some time with you.” Shizuo says, wrapping his arm around your shoulder, pulling you to his side.

You blush intensely but quickly relax feeling his soothing warmth you haven’t felt in ages. You glance at a store you are passing when a two-week old poster for a festival catches your eye.

“Hey! That’s an idea! How about I check to see if there are any local events or festivals going on? That way we don’t really have to plan anything. Hahaha.”

“Mmm. That’s not a bad idea. Go for it.”

After a brief search on your phone, you find something.

“Hey, Shizuo! Look at this! Iwatobi is hosting a big festival for the next few days. We could go tomorrow!”

You two carry on excitedly to make your plans for the next day.

~~~~

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2OqBJ…

The next morning you get up bright and early, bags packed and ready to go. You meet Shizuo outside your apartment.

“Morning!” You greet, waving from the top of the steps.

Shizuo waves back and then watches you make your way down with your bags. He raises an eyebrow to you when you finally stand in front of him.

“What are you doing with all those bags?...” He asks with a sigh.

“Hey now...” you begin to pout, “three bags isn’t a lot. Besides, most of it is towels for us when we go swimming and sit on the beach. And I’ve got my swimsuit and other stuff we may need in my backpack.”

“Heh, alright then.” Shizuo says with a soft grin. “But let me carry some of them, okay?”

He takes your two biggest bags and you both head to the bus station.

~~~~

A few moments later, you arrive in Iwatobi! It’s rather early, so there’s not a lot going on at the moment. You both decide to traverse through the booths just to see what’s there before heading to the changing rooms so you can go swimming. You go first so Shizuo can stand guard outside and keep an eye on the bags.

“Okay. You’re turn!” You say, coming out in your flip-flops wearing a beautiful blue and green one-piece swimsuit with a skirt around the bottom.

Shizuo was sitting beside the door watching everyone, so when you come out you catch him off guard. He looks up at you with wide eyes.

Realizing he’s staring at you, you begin to speak, “Hey, uh-“

Shizuo quickly regains himself and begins to stand up. He attempts to hide his blushing face by clearing his throat. *A-hem* “Y-Yeah, okay…” He says nervously as he walks into the changing rooms.

It only takes about a minute for Shizuo to come back out but you don’t notice because you are so engrossed in watching people having fun.

“Alright. You ready to go play?” Shizuo asks behind you.

You turn to find Shizuo in blue swim trunks and an orange and yellow, floral Hawaiian shirt...completely unbuttoned.

Startled, your body tenses up as you gaze at him awkwardly. You knew this was coming, but there was really no way of preparing yourself for seeing your boyfriend “shirtless” like this.

Shizuo simply walks to you, shirt blowing in the breeze, and asks naively, “What? You okay?”

As your internal nosebleed begins to subside, you shake off your feelings and move on. “Yeah, no. I’m fine. Let’s go!”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vq5UQ…

You and Shizuo spend the next two hours swimming and playing on the beach until hunger finally drives you back to the booths to find some food. There are a lot more people at the festival now, so the lines for food are quite long. You really want to eat, but you also want to check out everything.

Therefore, Shizuo makes a suggestion, “How about this: I’ll wait in line to get some food and that will give you some time to look around. These lines don’t look like they’re really moving fast.” He says, glancing at the line beside him. “Does that sound okay to you? I’d rather wait here by myself and let you look instead of having you stand here with me in this boring line.”

You tilt your head as you reply with a smile, “Well, the line wouldn’t be that boring if I was standing with you. Hahaha.”

Shizuo looks at you and smiles gently, placing his hand on your head. “Thanks, (f/n).”

“But I thank you for the suggestion! I think I’ll take you up on that because I really want to take a quick look to see what’s here. Later!” You turn around and leave with a wave.  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6q6gG…

Hmmm… Let’s see what’s going on! There’s a lot to look at!

Right away, you approach a booth on your left with three guys in their swimsuits. The short, blond one is at the front of the booth trying to get people to check out their stand.

You glance at the booths to your right when a voice suddenly calls out beside you. “Hey, miss! Hey!!”

Confused, you look to your left and the blond is waving frantically to get your attention, wearing the biggest smile you’ve ever seen.

You make your way over to the enthusiastic little guy. “Hello, there! You wanted me?” You ask him, smiling.

“Yes!” He grabs your hands. “You look like a really fun and nice girl! I was wondering if you would mind helping us out!?”

You’re more concerned that this guy is about to pass out from spazzing so much than the fact he is still holding your hands. “Um, sure. What do you need?”

Before he can say anything, a skinny guy with blue hair and red glasses comes out from behind the table’s awning. “Nagisa, you shouldn’t be so pushy... Let the poor girl go.”*

“Oh, right! Sorry about that. Oh, yeah! My name’s Nagisa! It’s nice to meet you!”

Will this guy ever slow down? He’s gonna hurt himself. Hahaha

“My name is (f/n)! It’s a pleasure to meet you, too!”

“Oh!” Nagisa turns and goes behind the other guy’s back and begins to push him toward you. “And this here is Rei-chan!”*

“Stop pushing me! Get off!” Rei shouts. Nagisa stops and Rei readjusts himself and his glasses. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you. ...Hm? Your swimsuit...”

Rei moves uncomfortably close to your body and circles you intently, examining your outfit. “This swimsuit is magnificent. Absolutely beautiful...”

A cool voice suddenly comes out from behind the booth. “Rei. Give her some space.”

“Oh!” Rei quickly straightens up. “You’re right. My apologies, miss.”

“Haha. It’s okay. I really love this too.” You reply grinning, fingering the bottom of your skirt.

“Oh, where are my manners. Come with me.” Rei leads you under the awning to the table where the last guy is sitting, keenly carving strange little birds out of wood. “This is Haru.”*

“Hello, Haru!” you say cheerfully.

“Hi.”

You stare blankly, feeling denied.  Ehhh…What did I do?

Rei sighs. “Don’t worry, he’s always like that.”

Ah, one of those types. Hahaha.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNSX7e…

Suddenly, a loud, yet comforting voice calls from just outside. “Hey guys! Sorry I’m late! Coach Sasabe really needed my help.”*

Nagisa calls you, “Hey (f/n)! Come out and meet our last teammate!”

You step out to meet Nagisa and he points to the tall man beside him. You turn and look up to your left to meet a pair of stunning eyes the color of peridot.*

“O-Oh! Hello! My name is Makoto Tachibana. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”*

“U-Uh...Hi.” You stand there stunned by how handsome he is. Your heart begins to pound.

W-Wow. I normally don’t care for guys that are really toned and muscular, but……DANG. He’s so good-looking. Those eyes…And that smile… You begin to blush.

No, no, no! Think about Shizuo! Stay focused!!* You think, slapping yourself mentally.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too! So, uh...” you turn to address the swimmers, “what do you guys need help with?”

“Ah! I can answer that.” Makoto says softly. You gaze into his eyes once more. “We used to be on the swim team together back in high school and we’ve returned from college to help do some fundraising for our old swimming center ‘ITSC Returns’ run by our old coach.”

“Oh! You were on a swim team together! That’s awesome!” you say eagerly.

“Sure is!” Nagisa pipes up from behind. “I swim the breastroke!”

“I prefer the butterfly myself.” Rei adds.

“I only swim free.” Haru says from within the booth.

Makoto chuckles softly. “Haha. And I swim the backstroke.” He smiles at you gently.

Nagisa quickly speaks up. “Yeah! He’s got backstroke for days!”*

“Nagisaaa!” Makoto whines.

While everyone begins to laugh, Shizuo finishes getting food for the both of you and begins to walk toward you.

You carry on with the guys. “Hahaha. So anyway, Makoto, that sounds really- EH!?”

You look and find Shizuo carrying you around your waist. He had walked right behind you, picked you up, and is now hauling you away.

“W-WHA!? Shizuo!?” you begin squirming and whining as you try to turn back toward the swimmers you left with sad faces. “I was just about to help them! They need iiiiit!”

“I need you more!” Shizuo growls.

You cower knowing you’re in trouble and while you’re afraid to look, you sheepishly turn to look up at him. Your tense face relaxes when you see his; he’s extremely flustered. Shizuo’s mouth is thin and nervous, and his cheeks are a bright shade of red.

“Alright, Shizuo.” You say gently.

“Hmm? Oh.” He stops awkwardly and puts you down.

You move closer to his side and wrap your arms around his neck and shoulders as you whisper quietly, “You don’t need to worry about me, Shizuo. I love you with all of my heart. I’m not going anywhere. But I appreciate the concern.~ Hehehe.”

You pull Shizuo in and kiss him tenderly on his cheek. He calms down and returns your embrace.

“Thank you…” he mumbles into you.

“C’mon.” you say pulling away. “Let’s go eat, shall we?” You smile cheerfully.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Shizuo replies gently with a soft smile.

He takes your hand in his and you walk together down the road to enjoy the rest of your weekend.