Back When I Knew You
“I loved you then…back when I knew you”
Synopsis: 💎 When your old high school best friend, and admittedly, first love randomly shows up at your door one morning after a bit over ten years apart, your memories of him that you once locked away comes flooding back. Are you open to hearing him out after all this time? (In other words…will you take your man back or nah?)
♕Pairings: Kazutora X Black Fem Reader🤎 🛑Content: 18+, Eventual smut, Some grief, Some angst ~Crossposted On: Wattpad ONLY ~Updating WEEKLY
w.c 3.9k💠
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CHAPTER 1: WRONG DOOR
There's probably not a single person in this world that hasn't experienced what you have.
Especially, when there's a person in your life that has a special place in your heart that's no longer there. You live off the memories, those sweet moments that as time passes, begin to feel like a dream you struggle to hold on to. The memories blur together sometimes, but the feelings attached never die. For some, even the arguments and moments where you couldn't stand them become precious too. That's you. Now at twenty five, you've quite obviously moved on, not letting the lingering thoughts and questions get to you too much.
Today is Saturday, a gloomy weekend, but a weekend nonetheless. This entire week had been nothing but light rain and cloudy skies, as a hurricane was passing along the coast a ways from where you live. It was transition season, that phase where we adjust from summer to autumn. Remnants of the previous season fade out, leaving behind crisp air, cold breezes, and longer nights. It's the morning, so you go in the kitchen to start your usual home routine.
You begin with the dishes, quickly getting to work on those and finishing in no time, then set the kettle on the stove to make some decaf coffee. You haven't been much of a coffee drinker ever, but sometimes you get so hooked on the flavor for a while that you can't help but make some a few days in a row. Heart palpitations made coffee an issue for you, along with other caffeinated drinks, but a few cups of decaf couldn't hurt. The kitchen is connected to the living room, which has a nice sized flat screen tv. You turn on Spotify through the tv, deciding to start the morning extremely tranquil with some chillhop and lo-fi music.
Sometimes there's mornings where you know exactly what you want to eat for breakfast, and other times, like today, it's nothing but a question mark. As you stood in the kitchen sifting through breakfast ideas, a few gentle knocks catches your attention over the music. Your brows furrow. It's not usual someone comes to your apartment without first telling you in advance.
You prepared yourself to open the door and tell the person they have the wrong door, as it's normal sometimes for people to confuse their friend or family member's apartment number for another. "One second!" You called out in an unintentionally sing-songy way. You still had on your pajama shorts set and light pink satin bonnet on, but answered the door nonetheless. It's your place anyways. You opened the door a crack, giving the person on the other side a small smile, speaking with a soft and kind tone of voice.
"Hi, I-
Whatever sentence you had come up with in your head instantly evaporated. You stood completely frozen, heart racing. The door was only open just a bit, but you immediately recognized the face in front of you.
He stood there, eyes wide, lips slightly parted just like you. You blinked rapidly as nine thousand different emotions and thoughts coursed through you.
"Hey, it's-...it's been a while." His tone was so soft, so cautious.
His voice was just the same, but much deeper now. He still has the same big eyes, tiger tattoo, and earring just like before, too. It was highly overwhelming..and very confusing. You felt like you were looking at a ghost, a mirage, or some sort of mythical creature in front of you. Suddenly, every memory of the past became crystal clear, as if it all happened just months ago as opposed to years. Everything that you locked away came surging back like a wave you had your back towards, colliding with you and taking you under in just seconds.
Flashback
10 Years Ago
Moving to Japan was an odd experience to say the least. After your father cheated on your mom, she decided that was the last straw with him, and took you and just up and moved to Japan. She's always loved Japan ever since you all went on a two and a half week long vacation when you were too young to even remember. Your older brother of five years has been off to college for some years now back in the states, playing basketball while studying undergrad in business communications.
As for you, it's about three months into the school year in Japan.
"Morning!" Your friend Yumi called out in a sing-song tone.
"Heeey!" You and your other mutual friend Asuka sang back, smiling brightly with a small wave. Yumi made her way over to the both of you, her expression looking as if she had been waiting to tell us something all night.
"Guys! I have something crazy to tell you!" She beams right on cue. This was a regular occurence with her. She was your teapot and you two were gladly her cups, taking in whatever gossip she had to say with excitement every single time, without fail.
"What? Another cute boy passed you by on your way home from school again?" You teased. Asuka and you giggled lightly at Yumi's reaction, a cute pout and narrowed eyes.
"No! But it is about a boy, though!" She started, her tone lowering so others around us walking towards the same school wouldn't hear. "So, I heard these other girls talking yesterday on the way home from school saying some boy at our school is in a gang! But then! They were also saying he's like super hot, like, smokin' hot." She finishes with a wide, mischievous grin.
"Smokin' hot?" You raised an amused brow. "Just as smokin' hot as that dude that sits in front of you in history?" You chuckled.
"Ahhhh, Harada-kun." She swooned before turning serious again. "Well, I've never actually seen this guy myself, but I don't think those girls would talk about a delinquent so openly like that unless he really was attractive." She smiled wide.
"At our school though? If he's at our school wouldn't we have seen him by now? He must not be that cute if we've never noticed." Asuka chimed in, her expression clearly showing she didn't believe Yumi.
"Exactly! That's literally what I was thinking." You add. Yumi tsk's to herself, shaking her head in disappointment.
"Well see that's the thing, since he's a delinquent it's not too often he shows up to school. We'll have to just wait until there's some kind of commotion about 'em, I guess." She shrugs nonchalantly.
You scrunched your face up, not really buying this whole mysterious, hot, gang boy thing right along with Asuka. This could very well be just another case of the rumor mill. There's always some talk about gang boys this and gang boys that, but who knows at this point which stuff is actually true?
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At school, you don't necessarily call yourself popular, but you are pretty well known. You stand out like a sore thumb anyways having big afro textured hair, dark brown skin, and an American accent as heavy as an expensive fur coat. Some admired your uniqueness while others, usually some of the girls, looked at you with distaste and jealousy. Attention from guys was never an issue for you as it was always someone who wanted to "try you out". Aside from the fuckboy type, there were also some sweethearts that just genuinely liked you, but usually they were always too afraid to make a move. So you moved through high school life fairly unbothered, sticking to the friends you do have and trying to keep your grades as high as possible.
The day went on as usual, pretty boring, and absolutely zero sign of a "smokin' hot gang boy" as Yumi mentioned earlier that morning. Math was annoying and confusing, history was interesting, and music was the best part of the day, same as always.
But it wasn't until the late evening, while on your way home from purchasing a few items your mom had asked you to pick up from the nearby grocery store, that things started to get...intriguing.
"Oi! What's a cute lil thing like you doing out by yourself?"
The voice of a guy, seemingly college aged, made your heart practically stop. Unfortunately, you were quite used to this. Guys always loved to hit on girls when they were alone and vulnerable. Usually you and your friends walk together for as long as y'all can manage before having to part ways after school. They were no longer with you to help ward off the guy trying to make an advance.
"I'm just heading home." You respond, keeping your voice composed yet slightly stern so he understood clearly that you weren't down for any games tonight.
"Oh yeah? How 'bout I walk with you? Make sure nobody else comes to try and steal you away from me." He suggested smugly, grinning down at you. This guy was tall, and looked at you with nothing but lust.
"Oh, no thank you; I'll be alright-
"Come oooon, don't be like that, sweetheart! You could come with me; it'll be fun." He reached out for your arm holding the plastic grocery bag.
Your heart started racing. Now this wasn't normal, not usual in the slightest. You were used to guys approaching you and being persistent, but never have you experienced a guy continue to come onto you so aggressively even though you've already declined. Your eyes widened, trying to remain calm as best as you can. Freaking out definitely won't help deescalate a situation like this. The man could be drunk or armed for all you know.
"Please, let go. I don't wanna go with you, ok?" You asserted, keeping your shaky voice as stable as possible. He chuckled dryly, pulling you by the arm, the force was so strong you lost your balance. Your head came right into contact with his chest as his other arm wrapped around your waist. Your grocery bag fell out of your hand in result, some items spilling out unceremoniously.
"Why you fightin' so hard? High school girls like you always wanna-
"Stop! Let go!" You trembled, using your free hand to push yourself away from him by the chest. By this point you were starting to hyperventilate, fear of being raped or kidnapped overtaking your mind. Your eyes searched around the area, hoping maybe someone was around to see or even hear what was happening and come through on your behalf.
"I don't wanna go with you!" You cry out in English, voice cracking as involuntary tears welled up in your eyes. A fight or flight response kicked in within you, causing you to become way more forceful with trying to get out of his grip. He grunted in frustration, holding you tighter while backing you up into an alleyway behind a corner store. Noises of struggle blended with small sobs and cries as you struggled.
This was it, he was definitely going to rape you.
Your heart could barely keep up with the way you were hyperventilating, causing it to work overtime to make sure blood was pumping and enough oxygen flowed through you. If you kept up like this, you'd surely pass out. The grocery bag was long gone, abandoned somewhere on the vacant sidewalk. The older man shoved you to the ground, causing your head to make contact roughly. One small scream was all that you could get out before he quickly slapped a hand over your mouth, the other making quick work to yank your uniform open. Buttons popped off, flying in multiple directions, one even hitting him in the face in the process. You squirmed and flailed all over, aiming to knee him in the family jewels, but it seemed he was used to this kind of fight.
With everything in you, you didn't wanna give up. This wouldn't go down without a fight from you, but with the way this was going everything you attempted was futile against this older, much stronger man.
You squeezed your eyes closed, wondering what you did for this to happen to you.
"Don't worry baby, I'll make you feel so-
The man's words were cut short, the sound of a grunt and heavy thud filled your ears. Your eyes flew open, taking in what happened. Instead of one, now there were two guys here, one standing over the other. It was a boy who seemed to be more closer to your age. With a small gasp, you lift to a sitting position and scramble backwards until your back hit the cold, stone wall of the corner store.
You watched the scene unfold, utterly shaken up. The two got into a pretty one-sided fight. The college dude seemed like such a strong and forceful guy until this other boy showed up. Now it's as if he's never fought at all. Your supposed savior was beating the absolute shit out of the other dude. His punches were clean, and looked to have some genuine technique behind them. Grunts and cries of pain left the offender as he took punch after punch.
Once the older guy was knocked to the ground by a right hook from your savior, he stomped onto his chest multiple times, knocking the wind out of him instantly. At first a sense of relief and gratitude had washed over you when he showed up, but now, it was starting to look a little scary. He wasn't stopping at all, and the look on his face was beyond menacing. He didn't even say a word this whole time, just pulled up and immediately started throwing hands. You were afraid if he kept this up, he'd break that man's sternum or something; maybe kill 'em.
Eventually, he finally stopped, seeming to come back to his senses at the sound of your fearful whimpers. He stared down at the beaten and battered man, squatting over him and grabbing a fistful of his bloodied shirt.
"Let me catch you pull some shit like this in my sight again-
"I-I'm sorry! I-
He was quickly cut off by an abrupt, swift punch straight to his already bloodied nose, making his head snap backwards. You jumped, turning away and covering your face with your trembling hands as the man hollered out in pain for probably the hundredth time.
"-I'll break your arms, you got me?"
The older man swallowed, nodding his head frantically in fear. It was so crazy how the tables had turned. The once confident looking man was just reduced to a whimpering, apologetic mess within minutes by a seemingly fellow high schooler.
"Get your punk ass outta here." He commanded, abruptly letting go of his shirt, making the man plop back onto the ground roughly. Was his threat even eligible to be considered mercy after the way he just ruined him like that? Honestly, you didn't really care, because you were too busy teetering on the edge of an intense panic attack and/or just full on passing out.
The beaten man scrambled to his feet, wincing in pain as he scurried out of the way while clutching his nose and left side, long gone into the night. Your savior walked up to you, his expression softening just a bit. It didn't do much to take away from his intimidating presence though, as he was splattered with blood along his face and once fully white bomber jacket, and his fists might as well have been dipped in red paint. He looked freaking terrifying!
Involuntarily your body trembled harder, a part of you didn't trust him as he could very well kill you with those hands.
"Here." He uttered softly, extending a bloody hand to you. You didn't move an inch, only looking at his hand with a jumble of emotions. It seemed he realized how 'tainted' his hand was, quickly wiping it on his black shirt under the bomber jacket he wore, then extended it back out to you. It was an appreciated move even though it did nothing but just smear the blood around his hand. Hesitantly, you placed your hand onto his larger one, letting him gently stand you up on your feet.
Suddenly, you became oddly hyperaware of the way you probably looked right now, feeling self-conscious about it. Without a doubt your hair was an absolute mess, that one you knew for sure, and your clothes...
Your top...
The top that man ripped open...
It seemed you both realized at the same time that the majority of your buttons were missing, exposing a black lace bra with a little fuchsia pink bow and jewel hanging off it right in the center. You gasped, ripping your hand away from him as you held you shirt closed with both hands.
"Sorry! I uhh, didn't see anything." He lied, quite obviously. You kept quiet, too embarrassed and overall overwhelmed at everything that just happened in such a short amount of time.
"Could I..walk you home?" He offered, making sure to keep his eyes up on your face and nowhere else. You nod, standing there a bit dumbly, waiting for him to show the way as if he knew where you lived.
Oh right, he doesn't.
Your shaky legs finally dragged their way across the ground, walking past your savior and heading towards the sidewalk. He followed after you, going and picking up the groceries you had left behind earlier.
"Thank you", You finally mumbled, shyly, "For helping me." 💎
Somehow, he actually managed to get you to open up a bit as you walked home together. He was actually very sweet, and you both even discovered you go to the same school.
"I've never seen you before." You both mutter at the same time, causing a little laugh to come from you.
"Well, I moved here last year, it hasn't been that long at this school. What grade are you in?" You asked curiously.
"Grade? I'm a third year." He replied, slightly amused that you said grade instead of year. You were still getting used to all the nuances of Japanese culture.
"Oh yeah, I meant year."
Admittedly, the more you spoke to him and looked past the blood stains, he was really cute..like, really really cute. His eyes are a pretty light, honey brown and he has a really adorable beauty mark right under his right eye.
He has an overall bad boy look for sure, but he's so nice and has a kind voice, and he surprisingly makes you smile even though you just had a highly traumatic, intensive therapy worthy experience. You were grateful nonetheless, had he not been there who knows what state you'd be in now.
"Umm, so, what's your name?" You asked shyly, trying to keep the small conversation going. He seemed to react as if he just now realized neither of you exchanged names. Your home was just two blocks away at this point, so you couldn't part ways with him without at least getting his name.
"I'm Kazutora-
"Huh?!" You cut in dumbly. You must've not heard him right. His name sounded like the whole Japanese alphabet to you. He chuckled, making his earring he wore kind of jingle like a Christmas sleigh bell.
"Kazu..tora." He sounded out slowly. You said his lengthy name a few times, getting used to the sound. After a while it kinda grew on you, you thought the name actually sounded cool. You finally introduce yourself, telling him your name which you ended up also having to sound out for him as it isn't a Japanese name, of course.
"So, you're American?" He asked politely, a cute, charming smile on his face.
"Mhmm, from the east coast!" You nod proudly.
Kazutora honestly found you really cute, with that heavy accent and big, fluffy hair, and those brown doe eyes you have. After finding out you both go to the same school, it seemed like for the first time he finally had some motivation to even go, and be there on time at that. He decided he'd show up tomorrow, maybe he'd be able to surprise you in the hallways as he'd pass you by. You were busy talking about something, probably about where you're from specifically in the states, but he was completely tuned out from all that. It was like he could hear you but it wasn't completely registering as he was too busy just watching you.
He took in what he could of you without looking like a creep, his eyes roaming from your coily hair to your curly eyelashes, then your plump dual-toned lips. He noticed your bottom lip was a deep reddish-pink, while the top was a nude brown shade, very different from what he's used to seeing. Another stark contrast was just how plump they really were compared to what he's always seen, and that cute little gap in the center where your top and bottom lips meet was doing something for him. It made your lips look constantly parted slightly, a flirty look that captivated his eyes and held them there.
"You heard me?"
He snapped out of his trance, blinking once blankly while his ears tuned into the sound of your voice.
"Oh, I didn't hear you. What was that?" He said, trying to play off the fact that he was definitely staring at you. "I said have you ever been to the states?"
"Oh no, never. I've never been to any other country before." He shrugged plainly.
You frowned a bit at that. Your mom always taught you that traveling is extremely important and something not many people have a chance to do, so you should always be grateful for the places you've been to. "Well maybe one day you'll be able to travel places! I think traveling's really special 'cause my mom-...."
Once again Kazutora tuned out a little, still hearing you but his own thoughts were much louder. You tend to go off talking about things often, it's already the second time in just a few seconds you've gone on a little ramble about something you care about. He decided it was pretty cute rather than annoying. You're an intriguing girl to him, and even though you've met in a rather wild circumstance, he wanted to know more about you.
"Oh, this is my place here." You mutter softly, pulling him once again out of his own little world. He hummed in response, giving a small nod. "Thanks again for saving me, I was really scared, but I'm glad you came through." You added, going in cautiously and giving him a gentle hug regardless of the bloodstains all over him.
Kazutora's eyes widened, completely taken off guard that you're hugging him. He wasn't sure at all how to respond for a moment, his mind completely blank. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around you, patting your back in a way that he felt would be comforting. "Don't worry about it." He smiled softly. You both pulled away, his eyes averted as your hands went back to keeping your shirt closed.
"Ahh, I hope my mom doesn't see me looking like this. I gotta go, but hopefully I'll see you around?" You smile shyly, fiddling a bit with your top.
Little did you know Kazutora was planning for you to see him again much sooner than you were probably thinking. "Yeah, for sure!" He chuckled, amused at the cute way your face lit up.
"Ok! Well, bye!" You waved, heading off to your front door with a wide smile.
Kazutora placed his hands in his pockets, walking backwards so he could see you head inside. He'll have to figure out where he put his school uniforms once he gets home now.