Chapter Text
Gorou had signed up for a membership at this gym only recently; he used to work out at home, but he has to admit that it's more inspiring to do so alongside a few other motivated individuals, whether they are experienced or not.
He has been making sure to train everyday to stay in shape, and he does—although his goal is to build up a bit of muscle. But… he hasn't gotten that far yet. Strange, considering how long he's been doing that.
There's nothing he can do about his smaller size, and he is pretty strong… he just wishes it would show .
But he's not one to give up. As long as he perseveres, it should happen eventually, right?
Some of the other people working out at the same hour as him, in the morning around ten, are rather inspiring. Gorou had noticed that there was this particular group of guys, the really intense type, training together and throwing endless encouragement at each other. It's safe to say that they are a pretty big source of motivation for everyone around. And while their build and strength probably has to do with the fact that they're Oni, Gorou tries to not think about that too much.
Because he has not been able to stop watching them. One of the men in particular, who seems to be the 'leader' of the group, has the exact build that Gorou would like to achieve one day. Without the size. That guy is much taller than he is, and Gorou is well past the age he can still catch up.
Oh well.
Once again, he trains by himself on the elliptical, although he steals multiple glances towards the group of Oni working out with the lat pulldown machine. The music in his ear buds drowns out their cheering, so he lowers the volume for a minute to be able to hear it—he lets their good spirits fuel him as well, watching their leader as he flexes his biceps and laughs loudly to the others.
He'd love to join them one day, but they'd probably just laugh at him. He can't take that kind of humiliation, so for now, he just watches discreetly as he does his own routine.
An hour later, he finishes up, then takes a shower before he leaves the gym. He has a bit of time to grab something to eat before he goes to work for the day.
His part-time job as a writer for the magazine That's Life is enough to pay the bills, he supposes, and while he's not sure he wants to do that all his life, the section of the magazine he currently works on has become somewhat fun. The only thing that could still bother him is his boss, Yae Miko, but she's taken the day off to spend it with her wife. Today should be a breeze.
After eating lunch, he gets inside the building, spends time greeting his co-workers before he settles down at his computer.
A bundle of papers have been set on the desk, next to his monitor. This must be the new batch of letters for next month's issue. He's been getting more and more of these with each passing month, as the magazine has greatly risen in popularity since…
Well. Since the reveal of his persona's 'appearance'. Gorou is used to write back to the readers under another name; Miss Hina. Of course, it was Yae Miko's idea, not his—he wouldn't have thought of something like that himself. At first, it was just that; a faceless persona with just a name and a sort of fake personality. He's gotten pretty good at giving the advice the readers need.
It's gotten a bit more embarrassing, however, since 'her' picture was published in the magazine. A tall, busty woman with hair long enough to reach her lower-back, with the same dog ears as him. The picture is now used as a background on his computer to, in the words of Yae Miko, 'remind him of who he should act like when he writes his replies' .
"Alright, let's see…"
The first few letters are the usual stuff; self-confidence issues, work issues, love issues… and while he isn't great at responding to the latter, he still tries his best. He types up the answers on his computer, making sure to capture the imaginary personality of Miss Hina.
He then reaches for the next letter in the batch, then starts reading it as he would any other.
Dear Miss Hina,
There's this guy at the gym I work out at who keeps staring at me whenever I'm there with my guys. Every morning, I see him glancing at me every now and then, probably thinking he's not being obvious about it. I don't know what his problem is. Thing is, I'm not upset—he's pretty cute, but he won't talk to me at all. I'm starting to wonder if I should come up to him myself. What do you think I should do?
A cold sweat overcomes Gorou, who has to examine the letter a few more times to make sure that he read that right.
Oh.
Oh no .
The letter is anonymous, as they all usually are, but Gorou immediately makes the correlation. Is that talking about him? There's a chance it isn't, maybe his situation isn't that uncommon, especially considering this magazine is sold all across Inazuma. It would be one hell of a coincidence.
But if it isn't… has he been that obvious? Besides, his intentions have nothing to do with what that guy's imagining! He's just looking to get inspired! What has he gotten himself into this time?
His pointy ears twitch as he reads the letter one more time. He can't come up with a response to this one on the fly, that's for sure… but he can't just ignore it. Maybe it can wait until he’s finished with a few others…
He sets the letter down on the other side of the desk, in a place obvious enough that he'll remember to respond later.
Maybe, with a bit of luck, that guy won't be at the gym tomorrow morning…
*
When he goes home at the end of his work day, he starts to feel a little guilty that he managed to answer all those letters except for the one that was puzzling him. Hopefully Yae Miko won't see it on his desk tomorrow and ask why he's having trouble with it. Knowing her, she’ll immediately guess the answer somehow .
He knows his roommate is home at the moment, so he simply knocks on the door when he gets there. It's only a few seconds before Kazuha opens; he seems like he just came back from a stroll, with his hair down and a mug of coffee in his hand.
"Hey," Gorou greets him as he steps inside, and Kazuha's stare remains on him even as he closes the door behind him.
"Bad day today?" He asks with a worried tone, and Gorou turns around to shake his head.
"Not bad, just weird ," he affirms, and Kazuha laughs lightly before he goes back to the living room. He sits down at the table, and judging by the few papers scattered across it, he must've been working on some poetry.
Gorou leaves his belongings in his room to come back to the living room where he decides that he'll have some hot chocolate. He supposes, for a moment, that Kazuha won't ask anymore about his day—but this obviously isn't like him.
"Did Yae Miko give you a hard time again?" Kazuha asks with an amused smile, and honestly, Gorou almost wishes it had been that instead.
"No…" Gorou clicks his tongue. "You're going to make fun of me if I tell you."
Kazuha tilts his head in disbelief. "Do you really think so? After everything we've been through?"
Unwilling to hide too much from his friend, Gorou concedes as he scratches the back of his head. One of his ears twitches.
"You know that guy I told you about, at the gym?" He begins hesitantly.
"The one you've been observing for a while?" Kazuha instantly asks back—of course he knows exactly who he's talking about. Gorou had mentioned him before. Perhaps too many times, if Kazuha still remembers. How embarrassing.
"I— I wasn't—! " Gorou exclaims as his face flushes, but he soon stops himself. Who is he kidding? 'Observing' is exactly what he's been doing, and he has to be honest with himself about it. "I mean, yeah, that one. I was really trying to make sure he wouldn't see me, but I got this letter at work…"
He had taken a picture of the letter right before leaving, just to show it to Kazuha—the two share almost all of their troubles by now, so it doesn't bother him. His roommate hums as his eyes travel across the letter, and when he's done, he looks up to see Gorou staring at him in wait for some kind of answer.
"...What were you expecting, exactly?" Kazuha asks, and that has Gorou taking his phone back and grinding his teeth in frustration.
"I don't know! Not that !" He whines. "What am I supposed to do now? I’m not allowed to ignore any of these letters, and I can’t ask my boss to reply to it in my place, you know how she is!”
Kazuha leans back on his seat, and is, to no one’s surprise, rather unbothered by the situation; it’s safe to assume he would react this way even if he were in Gorou’s place. “Calm down. This letter might not even be about you,” he says, and Gorou’s tail droops as he realizes that he’s gotten a bit carried away by his emotions. “And even if it was, how would Miss Hina know?”
He has a point. No one is supposed to know that he acts as the imaginary Miss Hina, and so his response will in no way reveal his identity or put him in the spotlight.
“But still, in the scenario where this letter is about me , what I answer will have an influence on how he acts later,” Gorou mumbles as he rests his head in his hands. “But at the same time, Miss Hina wouldn’t simply tell people to just give up …”
Kazuha hums with a tilt of his head. “The solution seems pretty simple to me. You’ve been watching this guy for a while now, and letting him make the first step seems like a good strategy if you don’t want to do it yourself—”
“Again , I wasn’t trying to flirt!” Gorou’s face grows even redder as he reaffirms that fact.
“I know you weren’t.” His roommate casually takes a sip of his coffee. “You’re not good at it.”
Well, at least he’s honest. And Gorou is well-aware of that fact anyway. “Yeah.”
“What I mean is, maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible to get to know him. I don’t think you would spend every minute watching him at the gym if you weren’t at least a little bit attracted to him—”
“Would you look at the time!” Gorou interrupts him as he stands back up, staring at a non-existent watch on his wrist. “Anyway, I need to start making dinner! You just keep on writing your poetry, alright?”
Kazuha gives an amused smile as he stares at the time on his phone. “Isn’t it a bit early?”
Gorou doesn’t answer that; right now, he needs to occupy his mind with anything else that comes, because he refuses to think about that guy anymore. At least for now. He knows he’ll probably see him at the gym again tomorrow, and he knows he’ll have to reply to that letter as well.
Talking to Kazuha about all this may not have been the best idea, he knows Gorou too well and reads him perhaps just as easily as Yae Miko does.
Indeed, when he gets to the gym the next day, that guy is here as usual, working out with his friends; and Gorou’s ears droop down immediately as he sees him. He seems to be competing with his friends to see who can lift the heaviest weights.
He does try to keep his eyes off him as much as he can, but it’s as if his brain were wired for it now; his head always raises to look where the source of this clamor is, and it’s always him , laughing and cheering and flexing as he celebrates his victory, and—
Gorou tries to keep his tail from wagging as the realization crashes down on him.
Maybe he just wants him, after all.