Chapter Text
The first message comes on a Wednesday morning.
Yu rolls over in his futon, soft grey covers tangling in his toes and ensnaring his legs in a prison of fresh linen scented bed sheets. His fingers fumble with the phone, nearly dropping it once, and then twice on his face before he can wedge his elbow between the pillow that is pressed against his side and his stomach, and adjust enough to hold the dull blue screen still in front of his nose.
xxx-xxx-1852
8:05am
do you rembr how soseki natume translated i love u into japnese? Jiraya.
He tilts his head to one side, squinting in the darkness of his bedroom, he doesn’t usually sleep in this late, but he was up all night studying for exams and since he doesn’t have classes or any cases at the Law Firm he works at, he decided to draw the curtains and mute his 6:45am alarm after the first time the snooze timed out. Allowing himself to sleep for a few extra hours.
That is until his phone wakes him up. Three shrill beeps followed by the harsh sound of the phone buzzing across the floor, that successful send Yu jerking upright and out of the hazy half sleep he had dozed into. He stares at the number for another moment, brain groggy from too much sleep, and when a name to match the number comes up blank his fingers dance across the screen.
xxx-xxx-4431
8:08am
Sorry but I think you have the wrong number.
He drops the phone to one side of the futon, cocooning himself in the blankets and huffing a tired sigh before he slips one hand out from the covers and rubs at his eyes.
The phone trills again less than a minute later.
xxx-xxx-1852
8:08am
Oh sry dude, mustve typed in a wrong # Jiraya.
Yu reads the text slowly, brain stumbling over the sender’s incoherent shorthand. His first reaction is to roll back onto one side, letting the phone slip from his limp fingers and onto the pillow next to him, but after the first few minutes of laying still and trying to coax his mind back into rest, his eyes open slowly, pale hand thumping about on the pillow until it rests on the phone and pulls it back up to his face.
He stares at the text for another moment, grey eyes large and dialated from the illuminated screen. Debating on whether or not he should just delete the short string of texts and go back to sleep, which is clearly the “normal” thing to do when someone texts the wrong number, or whether or not he should text the stranger back, Yu chooses the latter.
xxx-xxx-4431
8:09am
It’s alright. Kind of a weird question to ask a stranger though. Writing poetry?
Yu pauses for another moment, thumb hesitating on the “send” button before he presses it and rolls onto his stomach, his right elbow propped on a pillow. He pinches the bridge of his nose in thought and types another message, a smile curling on his lips.
But I believe the answer to your question is, The moon looks beautiful tonight.
He chews on his tongue for a moment, trying to coax the taste of sleep from his mouth while he screws one eye shut and runs through his mental notes from literature. Yes, that should be right. He hasn’t had a lit class since last semester but Yu remembers reading about Natsume, and his ability to retain information has always been one of his strong suits.
He hits the send button and watches the tiny “sending” icon blink under the message before it disappears and the time replaces it.
8:09am
Hope that helps.
He adds for good measure.
Yu tosses the phone across the floor, watches it slide on the hardwood until it thunks against the door, and sits up; rolling out of the futon before he begins straightening the sheets and pillows into their normal neat positions, running his palms over the comforter to smooth it out until he’s pressed away any remaining wrinkles.
After he’s made the bed, Yu walks the few feet through the undecorated beige walls of the hallway and into his flat’s kitchen, opening the fridge with one hand while he scratches idly at his hip with the other, nails tugging up the bottom of his grey night shirt and exposing his skin to the cool air of the apartment. He stares at the fridge for a moment before deciding that he has the extra time to make a real breakfast, pulling out a carton of eggs and turning on the rice cooker that sits on the edge of the counter.
It only takes him about twenty minutes to prepare breakfast, even if Yu takes an extra five to squeeze some fresh orange juice.
Before he settles in at the counter to eat he goes back to his room and scoops his phone off the floor, mildly curious to see if the stranger has responded to his last message.
He’s surprised when he flips open the phone and sees there are four new messages, all from Jiraya.
xxx-xxx-1852
8:11am
What Jiraya.
8:11am
Oh. thx! Hope you didnt actlly bother to look that up 4 me haha Jiraya.
8:15am
and NO i am not riting a love poem. Just studyn for exam. Jiraya.
8:22am
and i didnt txt a stranger on purpse. i just typed in the wrng nmbr i guess. Mustve missed a digit. Anywys thx again, u were a real help. Jiraya.
Yu smiles to himself, thumbing through the messages and chewing on a piece of egg, trying to glean whatever he can about the stranger based solely on the way he shorthands his messages. He assumes that it’s a guy, because of the manner in which he talks, and his signature, but the strangeness of the situation doesn’t keep him from thinking of a response while he slowly raises chopsticks to his mouth.
He does have one idea to find out more about the stranger though, and Yu only thinks about it for a moment before his fingers are tapping across the screen.
xxx-xxx-4431
8:31am
Don’t worry, I didn’t have to look it up. And like I said, it’s not a problem. It was an interesting way to start my morning, Jiraya.
He stares at the message for a moment before sending it, thumbs pausing between typing each letter of the name and then pausing again afterwards to debate whether or not assuming that actually is his name is either impolite or too forward.
Xxx-xxx-1852
8:31am
Jiraya? Jiraya.
__________
Xxx-xxx-4431
8:32am
Sorry. I assumed that since that was your signature it was your name.
Yu is chewing on a piece of rice, rolling it between his tongue and teeth while he stares at the text, fingers tapping on the granite counter of the kitchen island thoughtfully before he slides his thumb across the screen and opens a new message.
Xxx-xxx-4431
8:34am
Is Jiraya short for something, than?
He scoops up his empty bowl and walks it to the sink, trying to ignore how his cheeks burn slightly from embarrassment. He doesn’t even know who he’s talking to, and it’s not like he’ll ever meet this person, or talk to them after this conversation, so why should he feel embarrassed?
His phone buzzes on the counter, trilling twice sharply, and Yu begins scrubbing at the bowl with more enthusiasm, setting it on a rag to dry before striding across the kitchen and flipping open his phone.
Xxx-xxx-1852
8:35am
O sry, its been there so long that i forgot that was my signature. Jiraya.
8:35am
jiraya isnt my name tho. Its Yosuke. Jiraya.
Yu feels some pressure leave his chest as he reads the response, at least he doesn’t seem offended that Yu had assumed that was his name. And he now he has an idea of how to image the stranger. Yosuke. He takes a moment to update the contact before typing out a reply.
Xxx-xxx-4431
8:37am
Nice to meet you Yosuke.
8:37
Need help with any more exam questions?
Yosuke
8:39am
Lol not atm think ive given up on that for today. Sersly tho, thx for the help. Jiraya.
Yu smiles as he swipes the screen with one finger.
Xxx-xxx-4431
8:40am
Anytime.