higuruma hiromi x reader, 1.3k words, literally just fluff and dialogue and a little smooch I just like him. reader is american-coded but I kept the rest pretty neutral
"you smell like kettle corn."
"that would be the kettle corn, hiromi."
you pop another of the salty treats into your mouth, looking over at him with a bit of a stink-eye. when you'd invited him out to go to the county fair with you, it'd been in the hopes of getting him to loosen up. but clearly the stick was too far up his ass to be pried by normal means.
it was nice to see him in something other than a suit and tie, though. the sleek professional look was nothing to sneeze at, but it was a welcome surprise to see him in a colored button-up and some khakis, as church boy-ish as it may be. how he wasn't sweating buckets was beyond you.
"do you want to ride something? fireball? hurricane? spinning strawberries?"
hiromi higuruma shakes his head, gaze distant, small pupils seemingly focused on a spot in the middle distance. he's spacing out. after i spent 40 whole dollars to get us both in here. typical.
"you know an answer would be nice."
"is this a date?"
you balk. pause in your tracks on the fairway. of course it isn't. but, also, of course it is. he's your hot foreign coworker who's never been to a southern usa county fair. it's a date if he's having fun. if he isn't having fun, you're just a real good samaritan helping out the japanese lawyer who emigrated to your shared law firm. how do you tell him that without explaining those idiosyncrasies?
"uh… not really? do you want it to be?"
he shrugs. shrugs. at your very awkward advances. the cur.
"i wouldn't be against it."
oh. oh, okay. you start walking again, letting him fall into step beside you as you make the curve onto the second line of rides along the fairway. the whole place is a cacophony of noises and smells; the kettle corn is really a welcome change from the horse manure and burning gas of poorly maintained attractions. WAIT.
"you're not against it??"
hiromi looks over at you, eyes still appearing bored, but there's an uptick in his expressiveness, the slightest crook to his mouth that you rarely see.
"yes. you're attractive. and you're kind to me, inside and outside the office. i feel comfortable around you."
"but it doesn't, like, matter to you?"
now it's hiromi's turn to stop walking. he puts one hand in his pocket, the other gesticulating calmly as he speaks like he's on the stand, not a few centimeteres deep in powdered sugar coated dirt.
"of course it matters. but i wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable if my feelings weren't returned."
you look away, tap your finger against your shorts. nervous habit.
"and if they were?"
he steps forward, a little too close, takes a piece of popcorn from your cheap plasticine bag, and places it in his mouth. crunch, chew, swallow. the blaring top 40 hits by the tractor pull seem to get quieter.
"i'd like to ride the ferris wheel. i wouldn't want to if it were platonic. hence my hesitation."
"oh." you say it aloud this time. "and you want to, uh… kiss on top?"
he smirks. you've never seen such a thing on his face before. it's cute, and it pisses you off a little.
"let's not get ahead of ourselves."
later, as you ride to the top on the rickety old wheel, feet mere centimeters from the edge of the gondola, you look down at his shoes. not comfortable sandals like yours, or even tennis shoes for the rough earth. wing tips.
"why are you wearing those to the fair?"
"i have ugly feet."
"how can you have ugly anything?"
and then he kisses you. maybe to shut you up, maybe because what you said was endearing, you don't know. just that one moment you're incredulous, the next you're… something else. stomach aflutter, eyes closed, hand half reaching towards him like a silly little statue. it's too much for someone of your age to be feeling, too high school. you break away, a bit of a pant in your voice.
"you just-"
"sorry."
"no. no, don't be sorry, it just-"
"surprised you?"
"… yeah. yeah, that."
hiromi grins. grins! the bastard!
"would a second one surprise you?"
"no, of course n-"
it does. especially when he wraps his thick fingers around the back of your head and pulls you in closer, no longer sampling, but tasting. you meet him where you can, your own hand grasping his button up, which you quickly realize is actually held together by clasps when one pops and your fingers touch his undershirt.
"don't get fresh," he chides, taking your hand and lacing your fingers. the fair feels decidedly far away. "it's only a first date."
"i wasn't-! it was an accident!"
hiromi grimaces, just for a moment, and reclasps the shirt. "walmart. it was a novelty. should've known."
you laugh. hiromi smiles. his eyes are still critical, but you've decided you like them that way. "i can show you the real mid-tier stuff next weekend. if you want?"
he looks up at you, and something akin to gratitiude flickers in his gaze.
"you know, I should be the one to plan the second date. it's only fair."
you hesitate. would that be a date? i mean, technically, yeah, maybe.
"i wasn't really thinking of it that way. i would just be helping you out."
the ferris wheel begins to descend. hiromi looks chagrined. you've seen more emotions on his face in the last 10 minutes than you have in the entire month you've known him. it makes you backpedal.
"that is to say!! not that i wouldn't want to go on another date with you! just that i wouldn't consider clothes shopping a date."
he relaxes, just a fraction, though you notice one of his hands white-knuckling the safety bar.
"if i took you to dinner after?"
"that… would change things."
"hmm."
the ride screeches to a halt. hiromi, ever the gentleman, climbs out first, then holds out a hand to help you out. he waves to the bored teenaged operator in thanks, then the two of you continue your descent down the fairway. his hand never leaves yours.
"i know little about what you like to eat. besides kettle corn, of course." he starts, hovering by one of the prize-based attractions for a moment before continuing, "in fact, I know little other than the fact that I like you very much. and, now, that you're an above average kisser."
you blush, squeeze his hand timidly. "thank you."
"the pleasure is mine, believe me." he stops between two rides, out of the way of other guests, and keeps his fervent gaze on yours. "i'd like to plan our second date, and be certain it's something you'll enjoy. consider this a formal request."
you chuckle, shaking your head, though not in denial. "no need for the formalities, hiromi. i accept. i'd love to do this again."
he hands you his phone, already unlocked on some fair use wallpaper of an open field. "go ahead and put your number in. emailing about things like this is too slow, and, frankly, unprofessional."
you snort, but put your number in anyway. "you're being goofy. don't be nervous, it's just me."
he smiles as you give his phone back, and stars your contact without a second thought. after sliding the device back in his pocket, he takes your hand again, and begins walking as if nothing of import had happened.
but his hands are sweaty the rest of the night. and you're just nice enough to not mention it.
*kicking my feet twirling my hair around one finger lounging on my comforter* what do you think his executioner's sword would feel like in ur pussy do u think it's warm or is it freezing because justice is best served cold
My order for books 22 and 23 came in so now i just lack 2 more books to finish the 8 core arcs!
and ironically on the same day my order of stickers and pins from @glitt-ers came in! the stickers are so cute and shiny and i gotta reorganize my higurashi ita bag to fit all the new pins in!
finished the last book of the atonement arc! much like in the anime, its still my absolute favorite. i just love crazy rena and the whole alien subplot is so good, not to mention primo keirena moments... theyre so cute and the end is so good. "in the next world we'll fall in love like normal" is just so...my heart. i love them...
i only have 3 more books so im gonna have to start ordering them again soon. thankfully the massacre arc is THICK so ill have some time, and i realized my local used book store has festival accompanying arc available to order so i can get them there and support my local bookstore! they also have gou and meguri!
finally finished reading the eye opening arc! going through the manga as a fan who has only ever watched the anime has been really interesting. honestly there arent as many differences as i expected.
rant below
ive always heard vn fans rail against the anime, but are generally pretty positive about the manga so I assumed when i read the manga id see all these crazy huge differences but it has only further cemented in my mind that the specific flavor of vn fans who hate the anime are just idiots.
the way some vn fans talk about it, the vn is a beautifully tragic story of friendship and heartache and the anime is tortureporn blood and gore that ignores all symbolism and themes in favor of catering to edgy yandere fans. so now im in the manga and its the exact same beautifully tragic story of friendship and heartache vn fans promise punctuated with violence and blood. which is exactly what the anime was.
so if that was the anime, and the manga im reading now is virtually identical, and the manga is considered a good adaptation by the same fans who hate the anime...the only conclusion is the fans who hate the anime straight up didnt watch it lmao
this isnt at all to rail on the vn, or fans of the vn, i mean its literally the source material and thats almost always by far the best version of any story, but weve all seen the fucks on reddit (and ill be real, i see em on here sometimes too, but more rare) who just demean and belittle fans of the anime, especially those of us who havent played the vn.
i still plan to play (or watch other ppl play lmao) certain arcs that dont appear in the anime, but especially now with the manga i dont see any point in going back through a story ive consumed 15 times over to play the original question/answer arcs as a vn. i can read the TIPS on the wiki if i want, but otherwise i dont see a point especially now that i can truly see how close the anime stayed to the manga...
Reading the Higu VN and reaching this scene only to reinforce how much better the original 2006 anime is compared to GouSotsu.
While it is true that in gousotsu they approached this scene more 'accurately' to the VN by having Shion ask Keiichi if he would buy that doll for him and gets him inside to make Mion witness this (while in the original anime both Shion and Keiichi are walking down the street when Mion happens to come out of the store and sees them) I can't help but think that the general vibe the old anime had was way better than what we got later...
Of course the original anime is not perfect either, but I can't shake this feeling that an almost 20 year old anime did a better job at so many things than another anime adaptation that is so new and could have been a lot better, but wasn't....
What bugs me the most is that gousotsu has been the first Higurashi experience to many people and they never get past that, and I don't blame them, but if you could read the VN, the manga or at least watch the 2006 anime I assure you you'll love Higurashi!
I had had this feeling since onikakushi of course, but watanagashi is centered around the twins, my favourite characters, and I could not resist writing this hahaha
