yuennss

[yuennss]

Tangerine

chapter five

this one is quite short ...

Haruno, a runaway from China comes to Japan in hopes of escaping an arranged marriage and refuses to have her dreams taken away. The guilt of abandoning everyone at home consumes her, as well as the loneliness that comes with it. One day, she meets a strange man with an indescribable charm to him.

“Kōyō is taking care of something right now.”

“Isn’t it quite late to be taking care of something?”

“This one is an exception, I suppose.”

“I see…” Haruno sheepishly replied, shying away from the conversation.

Their footsteps echoed in the hallways, decorated with shiny, glossy tiles. It reminded her of a chapel, with the arches and detailed pillars. It was dark, which Haruno felt at ease with, illuminated by a cool-toned light coming through the tall stained-glass windows. Her eyes sparkled at the floor that reflected the captivating patterns of the light that shined through the glass. 

“This hallway is quite different from the others, isn’t it?” Chuuya finally spoke, “Apparently, it’s called the ‘Hall of Light and Dark’.”

“Chuuya-san…”

“Yes?”

“I never knew you worked in the Mafia…” she uttered, “though you certainly do dress quite like it.”

“I’m just as surprised as you are, Haruno-san.”

“Aha…” Haruno smiled awkwardly then changed the topic with a question, “actually, you guys haven’t told what my job here is yet, mind explaining a little?”

“Hmmm…” Chuuya thought for a while, “Judging by your abilities, you might go on missions rather than handling errands or paperwork. It’s nothing short of what you can do, I’m sure.”

“However…” he continued, “Kōyō is in charge of you, so I think she’ll let you know tomorrow evening.”

Shortly, they arrive at the glass sliding doors of the Port Mafia’s main entrance. This was Haruno’s first time leaving it, without ever even entering it before. It concluded the end of her tour around the main building. As they stepped out, a chilly air hit them, Haruno’s long black hair flew to the side and she looked at the direction of the wind. It felt strange, it was already the dead of night so she certainly hadn’t been expecting a massive gust of wind to hit her. Until, droplets of rain soon hit her bare skin - first coming in droplets - then coming in groups of pouring rain. She quickly hid behind the entrance to shelter from the rain, checking on the executive next to her. He was still standing in the now pouring rain.

“You’re completely dry!” Haruno exclaimed.

“Want to try?” Chuuya asked, reaching out his gloved hand towards her. 

Haruno gasped, starry-eyed at the man, gradually extending her hand to hold his. In that moment, her mind hadn't thought anything of it other than the feeling of frosty breeze that seemed to hit her, but not the heavy downpour, not even under the soles of her heels did she feel the pelting drops she saw. A light heat flashed on her face in the spur of a moment while holding his right hand. It was warm and firm, her gaze lingered on Chuuya and her mouth agape as if she wanted to confess all the lies in her heart.

“C-can you give me a ride home?!” the shameless woman suddenly blurted in a loud voice, as if the rain was blocking out her volume.

She’d only just realized how unprofessional it was of her when Chuuya’s mouth pressed into a suppressed smile, before breaking out a laugh, exposing under his cool facade. The black haired woman quickly covered her mouth with her other hand in a fit of shock, like someone who’d just gotten her freedom of speech possessed. Her thoughts raced about what to say next.

“Sure.” he’d soon reply to Haruno, who was speechless yet apologizing. In all the time they were walking towards Chuuya’s ride, he hadn’t let go of her hand. She was now hugging tightly onto him, at the back of his Ducati whilst they sped away, further and further away from the Port Mafia headquarters. The sound of the engine shadowed the heavy downpour, there was something different about this night compared to the first time they met. They were now in a circle, not strangers anymore.

Under the peace of her own home, her thoughts - cornered by emotions - she felt her body drown inside the fluff of her couch. Her back fell groggily from the side of the sofa and her legs hung on the sofa’s arm, clicking off her heels and not even bothering to move herself higher up the couch. Her eyes glanced around the warmly-lit room and fixated on the ceiling lights, she’d forgotten to turn it off before she left earlier during the evening. Despite her on-going need to do everything, her body refused to do anything.

“That Chuuya…”

“Damn!” she cursed in her head, “he’s so totally cool.”

Haruno recalled back to when she shamelessly asked for a ride, dreading that it was going to haunt her forever – it probably was. Alas, she launched her body from the sofa to the bathroom, along with her perfect discipline to the front of her thoughts. Icy-cold water ran down her bare back, the scent of honey and almond milk lingered in the air when the shower door opened, unable to wait any longer, she leapt on the bed with damp hair and a shirt with nothing underneath. Haruno plunged into sleep the moment her head hit the bed. The window was still open, but at least she turned off the lights.

The next morning felt like a breath of air in the highest peaks of Everest - until she looked at her phone. Reminders of her monthly bills and annoying messages invaded her notifications. It was screaming at her to get up and start work.

[yuennss]

Remembering Junko Furuta

still thinking about the 44 days in hell

what the hell did she do to deserve that?

i mourn her like I knew her personally, it genuinely petrifies me whenever I remember her killers are still out there enjoying their lives

Truly one of the most disgusting cases of human cruelty of all time

[yuennss]

when the cramps so bad your vision blurs and you can only think about the numbing twist in your abdomen

[yuennss]

As a woman (especially young), the best thing you can do for yourself is to do it on your own. If you’re constantly waiting around for other people to come and do stuff with you then you’re gonna be waiting a long time.

[yuennss]

May 17, 2025 - Thousands took to the streets in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in solidarity with Palestine to commemorate the Nakba. [video]

[yuennss]

legit cringing at a fanfic i wrote five minutes ago

[yuennss]

hello, i'm sure your oc story is lovely but please do not tag them as 'x reader' if they're not actually x reader. if youre doing it to gain more traction, that's actually counterintuitive and will do the opposite.

omg i went with the suggested tags, its fine ill be sure to not tag it on my other chapters

thanks 4 letting me know anyway ><

[yuennss]

Tangerine

chapter four

Haruno, a runaway from China comes to Japan in hopes of escaping an arranged marriage and refuses to have her dreams taken away. The guilt of abandoning everyone at home consumes her, as well as the loneliness that comes with it. One day, she meets a strange man with an indescribable charm to him.

“I know…” Kouyou smiled softly, “the perfect sparring partner for you.”

The two stepped down the silent, endless corridors. Haruno took sparing glances around the places she followed the older woman to. Haruno noticed the seamless way Kouyou carried herself but to her, she looked a little sad underneath all the smiles she wore around her. Eventually, they end up in one of the warehouses behind all the immaculate skyscrapers. It looked more like a run-down madhouse of some crazy rocket scientist. There were burn marks, missing windows, rusty canisters and ripped, scratched, holed walls. 

“Seems he isn’t here yet, let’s wait awhile.” Kouyou stated, turning around to check on her kouhai. Haruno nodded and relaxed her posture after Kouyou turned back to look at the other end of the warehouse. The large metal doors for the warehouse had been lifted up. The moonlight effortlessly lit up the place through the broken windows. It was dead silent, so unnerving yet so calming.

Just then, a dark figure dropped down from one of the holes in the roof. A thud sounded in Haruno's ears and she turned to look at the strange silhouette. He was wearing a hat and he had a pretty orange tint to his ginger hair. Haruno’s eyes widened upon realizing the man, her bewildered expression immediately breaking her cool facade.

“C-Chuuya-san?...”

“Haruno-san...?”

“Hello…?”

“Uhm… hi?”

The ginger looked dumbfounded, the older woman stunned as well. A moment of uneasy silence choked the three while Kouyou quickly went from shocked to amused. Remnants of Haruno’s memory during that run crept up on her while she felt her face heating up.

“You two… know each other?” Kouyou chuckled embarrassingly while darting her eyes at both of their faces.

“We met… a week ago.” Haruno hurriedly explained, “I just know his name, that’s all.”

“Right…” Chuuya mumbled, turning his head around to hide the redness on his cheek, “never thought you’d be the new interviewee… small world…”

The pink haired eyed the two skeptically - what is up with these two tomatoes anyway?

“I see…” Kouyou’s voice stretching a little too much, “Well then as you know, this is Chuuya and he is an executive here too.”

Kouyou continued, “His ability is manipulating gravity but for this assessment, we shall evaluate only your physical abilities.”

Chuuya reveals a gun, then waves it in front of Haruno. Her face noticeably lights up at something.

“Just take this gun from me and you’ve passed this part of your test.” Kouyou explained, “And no abilities allowed, Chuuya will not too.”

Haruno listened intently to Haruno, then focused on Chuuya’s gun. It startled Haruno that he was an executive, with such a terrifying ability too.

“Come get this gun, I’ll go easy on you.” the ginger teased. He seemed so much more playful now than on that night.

“You don’t have to.” the black haired girl chimed, “I’ll get it alright.”

The gaze on Chuuya’s face fired Haruno up. A giddy sensation ran down her spine as she positioned herself infront of Chuuya, as she slowly surrounded the man, as she fixed her full focus on the pistol in his hand. Chuuya picked up on her flame too, a determined smirk revealing itself on his face. He understood one thing, the woman from that night isn’t the woman in this warehouse with him. Her stance felt immense and her stride around him dripped with a path of strength. Was she surveying him?

Her circling around him comes to an abrupt halt. Haruno locks eyes with Chuuya, her body turns, slightly bending her legs. She raises her hands like a bear and she lifts one of her heels up. Chuuya instantly recognizes this stance, Muay Thai? Swiftly, Haruno closes the distance between them to prevent him from running and tightening the muscles in her leg, she sweeps Chuuya’s heels to imbalance his posture. Her speed was almost threatening to Chuuya, but he catches on quickly and jumps back a split second before her sweep could land. The dark haired let out a grit of annoyance but nevertheless, this was the first time in a long time someone countered her sweep. Chuuya could see it now, the beast-like-bear behind her stance.

Haruno sprinted towards Chuuya, entangling her arms to clinch his upper body and landing another sweep. He quickly frees himself from her clinch but he is on the ground now. Before Haruno can grab the pistol, he pushes himself away from her with his arms, launching himself just enough for him to get back on his feet. Her legs push forward and she lands a blow to his ankle before Chuuya could even realize. This led to him collapsing again and Haruno successfully snatches the pistol from his hands. 

“When did she get so fast?!” Chuuya’s mind raced before feeling a piercing pain in his ankle and neck, “Damn it, she’s strong too.”

Kouyou had been watching it all unfold at the sides. She was impressed, far more than she was when she’d read Haruno’s background checks. It was the fact that she managed to disarm Chuuya Nakahara. The Port Mafia had gained another truly terrifying talent.

“Boss is going to love this one.” Kouyou cheered, rising from the gloomy side of the warehouse, “you’ve passed with flying colours!”

“Thank you…” Haruno muttered shyly, before passing back the gun to Chuuya who’d already gotten up. “I can’t believe you dodged my first sweep Chuuya-san.”

“No… your speed was no joke…” the ginger sighed, “that was fun.”

“Anyways, I’ve decided we needn't test your ability anymore.” Kouyou added, “Welcome to the Port Mafia!”

[yuennss]

Tangerine

chapter three

this chapter is alil loooong.. :O

Haruno, a runaway from China comes to Japan in hopes of escaping an arranged marriage and refuses to have her dreams taken away. The guilt of abandoning everyone at home consumes her, as well as the loneliness that comes with it. One day, she meets a strange man with an indescribable charm to him.

Alas, a week passes by like waves sweeping up sand. Haruno was in a daze after meeting Chuuya. She'd always believe fate would bring the one for her together so she focused entirely on training. First, she would study while eating breakfast, then head down to her apartment’s gym and do countless hours of kicks, jabs and jumps. Afterwards, she’d head back up to shower, eat her fill and do meditation or workout her abs til it hit 9. The next day was just a replica but it felt therapeutic to her. This whole week felt like she was pulled away from the chaos in her past.

Her mind drifts to the clearest parts of her mind. One random evening, her mother sat her down to talk.

“Listen very carefully to me.” the mother announced, her voice dripping with selfishness and disdain for the girl in front of her.

“I don’t want you to do any training or brute things anymore.” she continued sternly, “Ms. Lee does not want a daughter in law to do ‘unladylike’ activities.”

“Greed has blinded you mother.” Haruno shot back, “I gave you my marriage but I will not give you my dreams as well.”

“Your duty as my daughter is only to obey my wishes and not disappoint my will.” the witched woman declared, “not to have dreams.”

“You aren’t one to decide!” Haruno yelled, her eyes glassy with tears that flowed out. “I’m not listening to this anymore.”

With that, her legs shot straight, pushing the chair back with a loud creak. The last thing she remembered clearly was the look of fury in her mothers expression. It was the kind of look you wouldn’t give a child throwing a tantrum but the look you give a murderer that slaughtered your entire family. The next thing Haruno recalled precisely was already when she had left for the airport all by herself. The rest was vague. Sometimes when these memories flooded Haruno’s mind at night, all she could do was tightly hug the pillow to herself to drown out her emotions.

Eventually, the day of her interview came. Haruno still wasn’t sure on what she’d be tested on - her strength? - her intelligence? - or all she had to offer? Haruno decided to sleep in that day, subsequently continuing training after eating brunch then showering before heading out. She took off an hour earlier, just before the sun set, so she could enjoy her walk at a leisurely pace. Perhaps not to enjoy, but to cool off her nerves before arriving.

“Relax a little!” the girl told herself. She shaked her non-existent goosebumps away upon standing in front of the menacing building’s glass doors. These doors and windows were eerily spotless, almost a little for the amount of bloodshed that ran in mafias. Luckily, these doors weren’t the ones she had to enter. Haruno pulled out her phone from her pocket - scrolled through the file - looked up again and started moving.

“There should be a grey sinkhole behind one of these warehouses.” she recalled in her head. Her heels tapped the floor with each step. Haruno strutted confidently in these black heels, she’d constructed the perfect outfit for free movement while looking undeniably professional. A loose, black pinstripe blazer that covered her upper body, beneath it, a black cropped top. She usually didn’t button it but today she made sure to hide her skin. Haruno admired the structured silhouette she had when she wore this blazer and the stripes that gave the outfit a timeless look. She also wore the same pinstriped pants to highlight her tall stature, lastly a black belt to complement her waist better. Haruno felt her whole presence was quite intimidating, she had waist length pin straight black hair and dark eyes that contributed to it. However, she adored the side swept bangs that sat on her face. Her favourite part of dressing up was spending long minutes styling her bangs daily - it made her feel like any other girl.

Despite the effort she puts in her appearance, a part of her sensed that she didn’t truly want people to care about her looks. Back in her highschool days, the girls in her class never approached her while the guys completely avoided her. She’d never caused trouble, or played an unlikeable facade. So why? It led to her small circle of friends in school but she didn’t complain because they were probably the best people to have been friends with.

Still, she wanted to know.

“I want to know…” a 15 year old Haruno asked timidly, “do i look weird?”

“No?” the optimist beside her replied, “it’s not that…”

“Then,” Haruno pressed, “then what?”

“You just look… a little angry…” the girl hesitantly replied again, “Maybe smile some more!”

That was weird. Haruno knew she smiled lots.

Gradually, there really was a grey sinkhole at the back of the fifth warehouse with the detailing of a neko cat. Paying no mind to the cute design of the sinkhole cover, she lifted it and jumped down. The file had instructed her not to close it behind her. The cover was definitely heavy, but the moment her feet landed, the cover sinisterly shut itself. The black haired woman stood still, inspecting the dark, long corridor that led straight to a creepy elevator. The stone walls felt like they were going to close in on her. The dim lights daunted down at her while she

cautiously approached the ominous metal doors of the elevator. No buttons. Just a metal door that opened the moment she started approaching it. To Haruno, it was certainly an unnerving moment she felt thrilled to experience. 

“Tap, tap, tap, ding!” the corridor filled with sounds of her heels and a loud ding of the elevator. A brighter light pulled Haruno inside the cold elevator, before she could turn, she felt the chilling doors shut and the shaking of the elevator. Her eyes glanced around the room as she spun her body. There were no buttons again, but now there was an indicator at the top of the door. It shined bright red, the numbers on it increasing as Haruno stood still. It was a relief - she thought - at least she knew it was moving. She couldn’t shake off the microscopic camera that only someone like her would notice at the center of the roof as she refused to move a muscle during the whole wait.

“This elevator is impressively fast.” she noticed, now suddenly more concentrated at everything around her as the elevator doors began to open and the red light shined ‘60’. The doors reveal a carpeted aisle, stretched out around 30 meters and at the right side at around 15 meters was a tantalizing, large wooden door. She stepped out, immediately feeling a vicious chill, even colder than the elevator she had just stood in. It closed behind her and the long haired woman skimmed the walls. It was dimly lit and a whiff of burnt tea filled the corridor. At the end was a turn, however she turned straight to the door at the right. 

“This should be it.” she recalled back on her memories. Her hand curled into a loose fist before knocking the wooden material exactly five times.

“Come in.” a voice replied instantly. It sounded like an adult woman. Haruno gripped the gold handle, steadily pushing the door open and stepping one leg in at a time. Her eyes met with the red carpet, then a pair of violet eyes. The door clicked behind her as she placed her hand in front of her, strictly maintaining her confident composure. Haruno closely inspected the woman in front. She looked to be around her late 20s, slender and certainly quite tall despite her being seated on an antique, cherry red sofa with intricate gold lining. Her scarlet hair was tied into a traditional Japanese bun, hair pale face complimented with pink lipstick and red eyeshadow. Beautiful accessories littered her hair and her floral, pink-black kimono. Haruno felt a little taken aback by her graceful posture and luxurious appearance.

“Take a seat.” the woman gestured smiley at the replica of the sofa she sat on infront of Haruno. The rooms left was just a massive window, tinted til the moonlight that shined through it looks as if they were sifted with silk and the right was hidden with auburn show curtains. Infront Haruno were the two sofas that faced each other, in between a long, dark oak coffee table with a set of fine china sitting above. Two cups, one and the other, waited emptily for Haruno. The girl walked over to the sofa and sunk into the soft cushion. She watched the sakura scented woman pour ginseng tea over her cup. Haruno felt uncomfortable - off. Initially, she had thought there would be some sort of intense test she had to take. Surely the mafia wasn’t going to interview her like a normal office job would, right?

“You seem nervous,” the woman suddenly giggled after setting down the teapot. “Haruno, was it?”

“Yes. I’m here for a place in the Port Mafia.” Haruno quickly and sternly responded as an effort to mask her unsettled expression.

“You can call me Kouyou and I am one of the executives here.” the pink-hair woman exclaimed, “I looked through your files and I only have one question you need to answer.”

“What may be concerning you, Kouyou-san?” Haruno said, sipping the bitter tea.

“Are you sure about this job, Haruno?” she asked, without a single crack in her voice.

Haruno gulped her hot tea as she sat the cup down slowly, then looked at the glaring violet eyes. Has she already qualified for the job?

“Certainly, otherwise I wouldn't be here, would I?” the black haired girl retorted.

“I’m impressed.” Kouyou smiled, “Your background check says you have quite the outstanding capability, but it sure isn’t very clean now is it?”

Haruno paled at the last comment.

“Don’t worry, I owe your teacher one.” Kouyou immediately continued, “However, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to handle the mafia just yet.”

“Why not?” Haruno questioned intently, “I’m qualified aren’t I?”

“Are you ready to bloody your hands, Haruno-san?” Kouyou insisted, with a glare in her violet orbs. “Are you ready to be killed in betrayal of the Port Mafia?”

“This position…” her lips paused. “Will certainly change you.”

“And… I hope you’re prepared for it.”

“I’m prepared.”

“What?”

“I’m ready.”

A tide of uneasiness rode the moonlit room. Haruno clenches her fist on her lap, Kouyou notices a dark shadow washing over Haruno’s sharp eyes and a tingling sensation creeps up her spine.

“My, you’re quite determined.” she grinned, breaking the tension, “Well then, congratulations on passing your first assessment.”

“First… assessment?” Haruno trembled with a wobbly smile plastered on her face.

“That’s right, now let’s go.” Kouyou laughed. She abruptly shot up, now her tall stature looming over the younger girl.

“We're going to put your extraordinary physical portfolio to the test.”

[yuennss]

Tangerine

chapter 2

Haruno, a runaway from China comes to Japan in hopes of escaping an arranged marriage and refuses to have her dreams taken away. The guilt of abandoning everyone at home consumes her, as well as the loneliness that comes with it. One day, she meets a strange man with an indescribable charm to him.

The sun was begging to set, but Haruno wasn’t done yet. She wouldn’t be done with until she had run her feelings and heart out. She didn’t care where she ended up, at this point, she was running like there was no destination, no end.

“Snap out of it!” she’d tell herself.

Why isn’t she listening to herself?

It was just a job after all, why so scared?

Then, she stopped in her tracks. Just a few buildings away from her, she saw an all too familiar building. She was just in front of the Port Mafia’s headquarters. It seemed so ominous, now she was confused on how she had gotten there. Her legs didn’t ache. Had she really run that far? Behind was the sky, Haruno remembered it being a warm hue of orange and blue, it was now pitch dark. The tall skyscraper was so alluring yet so intimidating to the girl like an explorer finding treasure in a cave full of traps.

Beads of sweat that slithered down her head hid behind the neck of her blue-black vixen jacket. She wanted to use up her seemingly-endless energy, before she went back or she wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully. It wasn’t like she had any reason to wake early tomorrow nor anyone to go home to. It suddenly reminded her that she hadn’t sparred with someone in a long time. She urged to wreak havoc but that wouldn’t be very smart of her. Haruno looked around, wondering if by some small chance, there would be a bad guy kicking stray dogs or attacking overtime office workers heading home. Suddenly, a rage of fight in her bubbled violently and she lost it. Like a maniac, she scanned the area to make sure it was empty before effortlessly jumping between two close walls and onto the roof of some random building. Her hands grip on the metal railings at the end of the roof as she launched herself on it to get a better view of the beautiful city. It was shimmering with radiance under the moonlight, but at the time, Haruno was only looking for an amusing way to burn her fired up energy.

A small part of her wondered if she should grab someone's hat from above and just run before returning it to him and disappearing. That was what she did with the adults back at her village temple at least. The restless, confused expression they made every time just made Haruno turn pink from laughter.

“That was fun.” Haruno smiled as she thought back on her student days.

“I kind of want to do it again…” Haruno yearned then carefully thinking, “it’s fine to have a little fun right?”

In the corner of her eyes, Haruno spotted a short guy with a strange top hat, it was almost comical to Haruno because of the obvious different sense of fashion. He seemed to have choppy, but gracious hair from afar with the colour of a tangerine in it. The hat was oh-so tempting to her, as if it were a juicy bait reeling in the fish being Haruno. The girl reeled in closer to get a better glimpse at him. He was walking in one of the longer, darker alleys and was wearing clothes that seemed a little too out of place - a little too fancy. 

The girl leapt through the countless roof tiles like smoke flying in air, without a sound. She was going to get that bait and successfully give it back before he even realized. Determined, her legs carried her atop him, until… they didn’t. A loose roof tile had betrayed her. Severely. She braced herself not for the fall but the embarrassment of being caught falling dead in front of some strange man. As if anticipated, the man looked up at her mid air and the first thing she saw was his fierce, but confused eyebrows.

“This was the one.” she thought. Next thing she noticed was she was still in mid air for a hot minute. What was going on? Did she embarrass herself so bad the gods pitied her and sent her to the moon? But there was this handsome man in front of her so how? As shocked as she seemed - as shocked as the both seemed - she pulled herself together and tried to move her legs. Her legs felt heavier than ever, so stiff she couldn’t move it. Instantly, a pair of hands reached out to catch her before she touched the ground and a wave of pure embarrassment flashed over her skin.  She hurried to open her mouth to explain herself but the guy holding her spoke first.

“Are you alright?” a deep, smooth voice escaped his lips.

“I-I… Oh god…” Haruno felt her ears reach an all time high temperature, she definitely looked like a cherry tomato now, or ketchup even. Her hands were still on his shoulders and she was being carried princess-style by the man. This was an absolute disaster for her.

“I-I’m so so sorry!” she shrieked, after jumping out of his arms. The man still looked quite in a daze. “Is yo-your arm alright?!” 

“I’m fine… but why are you out here so late?” the man asked, tone dripping with concern and confusion.

“I was… going for a run!” Haruno smiled awkwardly. Her voice was definitely a little too loud. “Yeah! Burning these damn calories... you know…?”

“On the roof…?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Seriously…?”

“U-uh… yeah…”

“Yep, he is not convinced one bit.” Haruno thought to herself while beginning to think of the quickest way to escape. Knocking out a guy that saved her was out of the window.

“A-actually I’m feeling quite tired now…” Haruno chuckled obnoxiously, “I should probably head back now!”

Without wasting any more time, she waved to the man and twirled innocently behind to escape the desperate situation.

“Wait.” the ginger haired called out. Haruno stopped in her tracks before slowly turning around to face him.

“It’s dangerous around here, especially at this hour.” he uttered, “Let me walk you home.”

“O-oh no it’s alright!” she hurriedly stated, “I wouldn’t want to trouble you!”

“No, it’s fine.” he fought back, “I have a motor bike if you’re fine with it.”

And the next thing she knew, was that she was following some guy to a secluded parking lot near the community park. Upon observing the ginger, she noticed he had a confident stride in him and that he smelt incredibly amazing. 

“So… what's your name?” Haruno asked, breaking the silence between them.

“Chuuya Nakahara.” he replied while his hand wandered to the small compartment under the seat of his red motor. It looked expensive, as well as the black helmet he pulled out from it. “You can have my helmet, I don't use it at all.”

“I see…” Haruno smiled, accepting the black helmet from Chuuya.

“What about you?” Chuuya asked while shutting back the compartment in his bike.

“It’s Haruno.” she paused, “Just Haruno.”

Chuuya looked at her with an interested expression but he knew not to pry.

“Should we just go straight to your house?” he questioned with the softest voice, “Anywhere you want to stop by?”

“Can we get some ice-cream?” Haruno muttered timidly, “I hope-”

“Of course.”

lmk if i have any errors... or if you have any suggestions of ur own :P

[yuennss]

Tangerine

chapter 1

my first fic!! i love love love chuuya so this fic is for him and this will have an oc i created for the story and my convenience

Haruno, a runaway from China comes to Japan in hopes of escaping an arranged marriage and refuses to have her dreams taken away. The guilt of abandoning everyone at home consumes her, as well as the loneliness that comes with it. One day, she meets a strange man with an indescribable charm to him.

Haruno stared at the orange discolouration of her fingers as she felt it dig into the skin of the juicy fruit she was so fond of. It was like second nature to her, she could peel them as fast as eat them. There was a satisfying pull when the head came off, then she slowly separated a section carefully to avoid the outer layer breaking. It was annoying when the sticky juice pricked her delicate skin. Her favourite part, peeling off the thin, fibrous strands that clung on the pulp. It was like running your fingers over dried glue and peeling it off in one whole piece. Haruno popped the tangerine piece in her mouth and the same, familiar sweet feeling filled her heart with relief. Her eyes found its way to the red box in front of her, she had rushed to open it the moment it arrived from the mail. The vibrant red and gold hues of chinese lettering littered the box, as well as an obviously edited image of a tangerine plastered on the box.

It was the 29th of January. Chinese New Year. This would be how Haruno would spend it for the next couple of years or, maybe even the rest of her life. A week before Chinese New Year, she’d ordered three boxes of tangerines and had them imported to Japan. Afterwards, Haruno would dump the large piles of tangerines in the middle of her dining table and begin ‘celebrating’. A small part of her pitied herself as she couldn’t help but notice the empty chairs around her table. Why did she have to celebrate all by herself? On these days all she could think of were the non-existent presence of her friends and family sitting beside her, cheering loudly for a prosperous new year.

“Someday,” she thought. “I might go crazy.”

She’d chosen this very apartment because of the homely furnishing and cozy layout, but she’d never believe how big and cold of a void she had to fill after coming to Japan all by herself. The first few days were filled with sad attempts at fitting in, comforting herself with the thought of travel. At some point, she’d given up and sat in the empty, unwelcoming apartment quietly. Now, she just needed to wait a week for her interview at a new job.

Haruno’s name isn’t actually ‘Haruno’ but a name she came up with to help blend in with the Japanese. Her real name is 岳银联 (Yue Yin Lian) -each character translated to ‘mountain’, ‘silver’ and ‘unite’. However she saw it as ‘wild mountain anemones’ because anemones in chinese is ‘银联花’. Whereas Haruno (悠埜) is just ‘Haruno’. No last name because, what good would a last name do for a woman without family?

Now chewing her last piece, she swept the tangerine mess to another side of the table and pulled out her laptop swiftly from the bag hanging behind her seat. For no reason at all, she began feeling a sense of guilt as she clicked on one of her tabs. The screen darkened and it showed a file with sketchy details of the new job she was interviewing for. 

“Ding!”

A message popped up at the side of her screen, it was from her teacher.

“新年快乐！Missed me?”

A smile tugged at the end of her mouth.

“Are you free to call me right now?”

Suddenly, a soft ring from her phone came rushing it from her bag as she scurried to pick it up. She hesitated for a while, letting the ring go on a little longer before accepting.

“Why did you ask if you were going to call anyway?” Haruno huffed.

“Because” the other voice continued, “I was going to bother you anyway! Whether you liked it or not.”

“Well, what did you call me for?” Haruno asked the sing-song voice at the other side.

“Are you doing alright, Yin Lian?”

Haruno froze up for a bit. It had been awhile since someone had called her her real name. Since someone had even called her. The voice ringed in her head as she struggled to respond.

“I guess.” Haruno bluntly spat, “Anyways, I wanted to ask about this job you recommended to me.”

“There is,” Haruno continued, “something real… sketchy about it.”

“Ah,” the voice replied “That’s because I chose the perfect job for you.”

“Isn’t it a dojo?” Haruno questioned, now even more skeptical of the man on the other side of the phone, “then why is it showing me the way to some fancy skyscraper?”

“About that…” he gulped, “it’s not a dojo.”

“It’s the Mafia.”

Haruno’s voice cracked and her face went pale. She gripped the phone tightly then breathed in a big mouth of air.

“WHAT?! DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE?!”

“C-calm down and just listen to me…” the man’s voice pleaded as if a chopstick was stabbed into his right ear.

“I didn’t tell you this because there’s no way you’d agree.” he said, suddenly in a more reassuring tone.

“You’re more than qualified Yin Lian.” He spoke, “Sure, it’ll be dangerous but why are you doubting you and your abilities?”

Before Haruno could argue back the man added, “Plus, what better job than the Mafia for a runaway from such a tight country like China?”

“I-I could die… and what if they don’t hire me?” Haruno mumbled, “what then?”

“An executive there owed me one.” the teacher explained, “I’m almost certain they need skills like yours anyway.”

“I’m sure” he pressed on, “they will protect you as one of their own if you join.”

A bead of cold sweat ran down her forehead as she heard those words. The last sentence just sounded too sweet. A silence dawned on their conversation and the teacher allowed her student to process her thoughts for a while.

“I’ll call you back later so, goodluck alright?” the man said softly, breaking the tense silence. “You can expect the paycheck to match the work.”

The phone fell quiet and Haruno slowly put down her phone to her side. Her eyes wandered into the endless list of text the file displayed. The pay definitely did not disappoint but what was she thinking? What kind of hell dojo paid this much? She would've been suspicious if she took even a few minutes more reading through it instead of skimming through it like a textbook before a surprise test. At that moment, she closed her eyes while recalling one of the lessons her mentor taught her. What comes, goes. So she should always stay calm when it comes and goes. If she let her mind race free, there would be unwanted doubts and feelings that would shroud her resolve. Gradually, she opened her eyes again and slammed the laptop shut. She was going for a run.