All it Takes is One Encounter

"Rayfar?" The girl cocks her head slightly as she stares at me.

"K-K-K-K-Kurokami-" It takes a ridiculous amount of force for the words to even leave my mouth. I feel like I'm about to hyperventilate.

"Did I get the wrong person?" Suddenly, the girl's eyes open wide. "Oh, gosh, I'm really sorry..."

I take a deep breath and finally choke out "No...I'm Rayfar."

"I'm Kurokami," the girl replies quickly. "I guess you figured that out, though."

I can tell just from her expression that she's disappointed. I would be too, if I was her. Imagine finally getting to meet up with one of your online friends and it turns out he's a broke loser. In about three seconds she's gonna turn tail and leave.

"You're...shorter than I thought."

She stares at me with a blank expression. Aw, crap. Crap, crap, crap. I just spit out the first thing that came to mind because I couldn't think straight...I had no choice. There's a really pretty girl who normally wouldn't give a loser like me the time of day right in front of me, but now I've made it even more awkward.

Suddenly, she starts giggling. "That's what you noticed first?"

"Uh...No- I didn't...I didn't mean-"

"Not the...you know...other thing?"

"What do you...mean?"

"Are you serious?" She's trying so hard to hold her laughter in, but it's not working.

"You're...uhh...a student?"

In between gasps for air and barely-stifled guffaws, she hisses "Oh my God, this is too funny..."

Damn it, I've already blown it. I didn't even do anything. I was trying to not offend her and instead she's making fun of me.

There goes my relationship with the famed Kurokami-sensei.

"Wait, I'm sorry!" My voice is so terrified that it even surprises me as I hear it. "I was trying to-"

"Nononononono!" She cuts me off before I can finish. "I wasn't mad at you...I thought you were funny. I mean...I never told you I was a girl and you're not even a little surprised!"

First of all, yes, I am shocked that Seigo Kurokami is a she and not a he, but I was trying not to say that because I didn't want to unintentionally say something that might make her angry. You know. In case she's one of those "So what if I'm a girl? You got a problem?!" kind of women. But now she thinks I'm a weirdo.

"Are you...really Kurokami-sensei?"

"Obviously." She runs a hand through her long, silky hair, flipping it back over her shoulders.

"You're positive someone didn't hire you to prank me?"

She frowns slightly. "What are you trying to suggest?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all."

It suddenly grows awkwardly silent as she stares at me with those big, round eyes. She definitely hates me. At best, she thinks I'm strange. I can definitely tell that. I can't tell what women are thinking at all, but I know when they don't like you. Ugh. I have to say something or the mood will become too heavy, but try as I might, I can't think of anything-

"Kurokami-sensei...what's your real name?"

I want to punch myself in the face.

Of all the stupid things I could have said, I had to say that.

Making an author, especially an anonymous one, share his or her personal information is just creepy, and I asked for it without introducing myself first.

Knockout. I just know she's thinking What is this guy's problem?! I'm gonna get back on the bus to that tiny little apartment I call home, delete her contact information, delete my novel, delete my account, and never set a single foot north of the ring road again.

"Hashigami." Suddenly, and unexpectedly, she smiles. "Hanabi Hashigami."

"Oh! I'm Sakuta...Kou is my first name..." We're in a busy public place, but my words echo like we're alone in an empty room. I'm kinda self-conscious about my name. It's a guy name, but it's written in a very feminine way. You can't tell that from talking, though. "Nice to meet you..."

"You too." She throws her blue school bag over her shoulder and gracefully spins around. "Ready to go?"

"I, uh..." Suddenly, with a sinking feeling, I realize that my back is bare. I packed my laptop up in a backpack I'd bought from the 100-yen store, but I was so nervous getting ready to catch the bus downtown that I must have just set it down in my apartment and forgot it. "I forgot my laptop at home...it has my rough draft on it..."

"It's fine," she replies peppily. "I already looked over Chapter 15 yesterday. I wanted to talk about some other stuff today anyways."

She begins walking away from the greenery of the park, and I, like an obedient puppy, have no choice but to follow her. I don't have any clue where we're going, or what to talk to her about on the way there. I don't even know what women my age like, other than eating and sleeping. So I make my journey in silence, shivering every time a gust of wind comes along and bites the back of my neck.

Aomori is a city of signs. Every street corner, you turn and there will be fifty more, all jutting out in front of your face with huge, bold lettering to catch your attention. It's like every store is shouting at you to buy their product. If you've ever wanted to see a cartoon drawing of a chicken with a bow tie encouraging you to buy one of his breaded and fried relatives, this is the place. It's not a comfortable setting for introverts like me. It feels like one of those Middle Eastern bazaars in a movie where the foreigner is immediately surrounded by hundreds of aggressive shopkeepers hawking products. Combined with the awkward, silent walk, it makes me feel even more uneasy.

We've been walking for about ten minutes with no sign of our final destination when I finally gather up the courage to ask hesitantly. "Kurokami-sensei...where are we going?"

She cocks her head back over her shoulder at me, still moving along. "You'll see when we get there. I wanted to surprise you."

Having no choice but to keep following her, I do. In silence, I watch her long, silky hair bob with every step. It's almost trance-like how she moves. She walks gracefully.

She's incredibly well-groomed and well-dressed. Just from my first look at her, I figured she was one of the popular girls at school. Heck, even her name has that aura of a cool, trendy rich girl. When I was in high school, I wouldn't have even dared to breathe the same air as girls like her. It's not like I was frequently talking to girls to begin with, but the popular girl clique was something else entirely. I knew they could make my life miserable as easily as they breathed, so I steered clear of them.

How someone like her ended up on a webnovel site filled with weirdos is something that baffles me.

She finally stops at a nondescript, two-story brick building. There are no signs touting the superiority of their wares on this side street. In fact, there's very little suggesting that anyone or anything lives here.

Wordlessly, she opens the door to the stairwell, and I follow. It's dingy inside, and our footsteps on the corrugated metal echo like gunshots. I've said it before, and I've said it again. This is painfully awkward. I really want her to say something...because I'm not gonna. I'm not a chatterbox, and I'm even less of one when women are involved.

We get up to the second floor, stopping at a small placard advertising the business on the floor. NyanNyan@home. Don't tell me, this is-

Kurokami swings the door open, and I'm instantly greeted by a vision of paradise.