Hajime was eating lunch with Ejiro as usual but this time Yuki decided to eat lunch with them at the moment. He recalled something that happened at the morning assembly, although it wasn't much.
Ejiro was getting nervous, 'Ah crap... I can't believe this... why do I have to be so obvious about it, now I'm doomed!' he mentally sighs.
Yuki sat herself down and ate her food quickly. Ejiro got quieter as they spent their lunch together, prompting Hajime to take notice, while the girls from other tables kept glancing back and forth between them, looking mainly at the Ice queen, Yuki Makato.
Ever since helping out Yuki from the thugs, she had been speaking to him more, and eating lunch together at break. Ejiro first thought this was a misunderstanding, but it wasn't. Now his lunchtimes have become tense, not knowing what to do when she's around or even conversating with Hajime. Why is the Ice Queen here anyway? Doesn't she have anything better to do? He glances around, and everyone is staring, and a lot of them aren't being subtle about it.
The tension was palpable. There was awkward silence, not a single word was uttered by anyone at the table. Except maybe when the ice queen asked about his day.
Ejiro is hyper-aware of the eyes watching them and of the distance between them.
Soon enough lunchtime ends, everyone gathers their food and leaves, and Hajime sighs in relief that nothing goes wrong, or maybe... he won't care, anyway. Hajime notices the weird atmosphere around his two friends, especially since Ejiro seemed rather fidgety with Yuki present.
"Hey, are you guys good?" Yuki asked.
The two looked at each other and then back at her with confused expressions. She looked like she was smirking at the two boys. Hajime has a scowl on his face as usual and turns to leave and walk the halls, with her following close behind him, She's gotten close recently.
"Heeyy Hajime! D-don't leave m-m-me h-here wi-with he-her!" Ejiro says in an overly dramatic way.
Hajime sighs, "Makato-san why are you here?".
"Oh, I heard about this one place where they sell tasty food," Yuki answered nonchalantly, which made Hajime smirk inwardly.
"I mean why are you with us? Don't you normally sit with other people?" Hajime clarifies.
"Eh? Was I not welcome to eat with you guys?" she pouted cutely while tilting her head slightly and pouting her lips, he didn't have it in him to refuse her...
Hajime and Yuki start walking again and Ejiro follows along quietly. There's an awkward silence, as they're both trying to process what happened. The group is in shock, and this causes a new rumour to spread, and then the two would become the talk of the school, This wasn't going to end well for either of them, though neither were going to tell the other.
Hajime's brow twitched at that last thought. No. Screw it, he wasn't going to try and figure out what was going through his head any more than he needed to. After coming to terms with that idea, he closed his eyes, relaxing briefly as his mind wandered to other subjects. After that fight he had with the thugs, Hajime realised he gathered a ton of money and skill points to be used, he also recalls his body completely regenerated itself overnight. Hajime remembers getting a tooth knocked out but it somehow grew back.
This whole thing of accepting his second life was beginning to feel surreal, a faraway daydream that he could never return to, it got him feeling kind of melancholic when he thinks about the future. Would this make him forget everything about his past life? Hajime didn't like to think much about his past. It wasn't like there was anything worth reminiscing about anyway. Maybe it'd be better not to... or worse? There was one thing in particular that he had a question about, and the lack of answers was gnawing at him more and more every day.
"Hey Kazuma-san! Can't we hang out together after school? Please..." The girl beside them suggests.
"Sure Makato-san..." Hajime sighed as he rubbed his temple; to be frank, he didn't understand why the girl was getting so clingy to him, She was nothing like the rumours people spread about her, or was he deceived?
Hajime searches for Ejiro to help him only for a look of exasperation from his best friend, telling him silently, 'Good luck.'
Hajime sighed, ever since that day she had become his friend. For the short period that he's known her, he's managed to learn several things about her, even though he initially knew nothing except for her aloof nature. At this point, Hajime didn't know what to do anymore.
Yuki grins happily, causing him to groan inwardly. The stares of other pupils were evident, while none dared to approach them in fear that the Ice Queen. Some rumours of Hajime dating Yuki had spread since she started to interact with him.
Ejiro on the other hand sees it as an opportunity to act somewhat normal for once and not jump at every little thing, and perhaps try to get to know her better. Who knows, maybe the two can become friends, a thought that sends shivers down Ejiro's spine.
Hajime could only give his best friend an apologetic smile. As for him, he just didn't have enough time or care to deal with this right now. It was completely out of his own volition, the situation being controlled by events beyond his control, or lack thereof, Maybe fate had something to do with it... and he would realise this could never amount to anything.
'I should've known better,' Hajime thought sullenly, as he and Ejiro are left in the dust.
Eventually, at the end of the day when the final bells rang, Hajime was left alone with Yuki who decided to accompany him as they exited the gates of the school and began to make their way through the busy crowd that was the streets of the city. During their walk through the city, Hajime was getting all types of sensations that felt almost alien to him.
He was supposed to be doing homework, paying attention to every word that his sensei taught him as if they were holy gospel, but instead, he was here, taking a walk with the ice queen. Everything about it was so wrong like it should've never happened, but there he was, against all odds, spending time with a popular girl.
Yuki didn't have a clue as to what he was feeling but she noticed the way Hajime tensed up and noticed his hands grip his pants tightly, as if holding onto them for dear life. She turns to him, softly taking one of his hands into hers, "You okay?"
Hajime seemed confused by her action, though he accepted it. Taking a deep breath, Hajime loosens his clenched fists as Yuki looks over his tense figure, seeing how stiff and straight his back is. Just by the looks of it, he looked stressed, but Yuki knew that deep down there was more to that. She had a strange feeling that something bad was bound to happen.
"Y-Yeah I'm fine." He manages to cough as if forced to say that.
Yuki decided it wasn't worth pushing him for answers, but in the few days she had spoken with him, it was clear to her that he wasn't okay. She wondered if it had something to do with what happened and if she was part of the reason why.
An awkward silence filled the air as Hajime remained completely silent and unmoving, while Yuki shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze and glanced away every time their eyes met. It didn't bother her at first, but now... well now, it was getting weird. She wasn't uncomfortable with his presence, and enjoyed it, despite the atmosphere becoming a bit stiff.
After a long walk, Hajime finally spoke up and broke the tension in the air.
"Okay, I have to ask, what is going on?"
"What do you mean?" Yuki questioned curiously.
"This! You, me, walking together? You invited me to hang out, and just like that?" Hajime blurted, eyes wide and confused, gesturing with his hands as Yuki watched him silently.
"Yes?"
"Since when do we hang out? I mean..." He pauses again, a puzzled expression on his face, "Sorry, it's just... my first time having to hang around someone else but Ejiro... And someone who is a girl... "
Yuki giggles at Hajime's flustered face, "Maybe I just thought it'd be nice to get to know each other?"
Hajime raised an eyebrow, "Come on, Makato-san, I've known you for the past couple of days."
"Hey! Just think of me as another Ejiro... O-Or a less pushy one."
"No, you're not, Makato-san," Hajime muttered weakly as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "But okay, let's play this game for now..."
Yuki joyfully smiles, giving him a happy grin before continuing forward with her hands laced behind her back, while Hajime scratches his head as he feels the heat rise to his cheeks.
They had arrived at the shopping mall after a few blocks. Aimlessly wandering through the busy streets before arriving in the shopping area, then walking into the mall, which had quite a large interior, while the ceiling and floors were decorated with flashing lights and neon signs.
Both Yuki and Hajime couldn't help themselves from staring in awe at the sight before them, which caused them to bump into each other.
"A-Ahh~! Sorry..." Yuki whispers, her tone unusually apologetic as Hajime takes a step back and distances himself away from her by a couple of centimetres.
"So... uh... Let's just go," Hajime said dryly, he began walking away from her as she looked at him, mouth open slightly, and an audible gasp could be heard from her mouth. That stopped him dead in his tracks before sighing again.
Hajime quickly catches up and continues walking. They walked in silence for several minutes until they got to the entrance. It was the first time in a while since he's been to the town square shopping mall, the last time was with Ejiro two years ago during the weekend, after that, he stopped coming due to studies and lack of money.
'Perhaps, I should visit again', he thought silently before focusing back on the current situation.
The size of the mall was nothing short of impressive. All around Hajime could see large glass stores that spanned over four or five stories, various clothing shops and some restaurants on the lower level.
There were also large escalators that led to the upper floors, huge banners hung from the ceiling and above those, a brightly lit display sign that read 'Welcome!' in its colours, contrasting the darker hues of the building itself.
It took them both a few moments to realise that this wasn't going to help them, but none of them tried to tell each other or even suggested they should go elsewhere. Hajime could feel the heat coming from her body as she pressed herself close to his side.
He wasn't too fond of being around so many people, but the Ice Queen helped calm his nerves.
'God damn it, why am I reacting like this?!' he mentally cursed.
Hajime took a breath. The air wasn't exactly cold but there was an unmistakable chill to the wind. He exhaled. Everything will be fine. He couldn't believe it, however, because at the back of his head, an alarm was blaring and his stomach was rumbling. His insides were beginning to churn and sweat was beading on his forehead. He could almost see stars floating around his vision. All his senses told him something was wrong.
'Am I getting sick?'
*Ding*
The system alerted him as an unexpected announcement suddenly appeared before him. He scans the notification briefly and notices that some sort of quest seems to have appeared for him.
[Quest Unlocked!]
[Description: Have fun]
[Objective: Solve your feelings, have fun at the mall and chill with the Yuki Makato, then end your quest here and regain your reward. ]
'.... What the heck..'
At that moment, Hajime had an ominous feeling wash over him, 'This is going to be a disaster.'
He quickly shrugged it off as the pair proceeded forward through the mall, walking side by side, "Okay, let's get going," she said while pushing Hajime to get them going faster.
Yuki first entered the Arcade, It was lively and colourful compared to outside, they both walked past the pop-up stores and wandered into a game centre. "...Hey, come here, Hajime," Yuki called him into a particular spot, and Hajime curiously followed along without question.
It was the claw game, where one tried to catch a toy by manoeuvring a claw with a joystick. Hajime never got into them, Ejiro may have been into them, and it would bring joy to see him frustrated to try and fail over and over again.
Yuki's eyes sparkled at the sight of a blue and white husky-looking plushie of some kind, she found it cute, the fur was thick and the eyes were bright yellow, somewhat reminding her of a cute puppy, like a Samoyed. She grabs his wrist excitedly, "Hey, Kazuma-san, are you any good at this? I wanna try and see if I can get it"
Hajime raises a brow, "Since when you liked stuffed animals, it seems unlike you, Makato-san" he teased her playfully.
Her lips grew in size and she gave the dumbest grin ever known to man.
"I want it," She stated bluntly, leaving no room for confusion. Yuki placed the two 100 yen coins, and began using the controls, moving the claw right above the dog's head, to which the claw eventually grabbed the left ear and slowly moving it towards the hole. Hajime and Yuki stood perfectly still for an entire ten seconds, waiting for the plushie to go all the way in but at the last moment, the plushie escaped its grasp just as it was closing towards the hole.
"Damn it!" She yelled out loud with the most adorable childish scowl on her face, taking her frustration out of the machine.
"It's okay Yuki." he tried consoling her but not to much avail.
"I want this plushie so damn bad, I'll keep trying till I do" She looked at Hajime with a desperate expression on her face, he felt rather awed at her determined look. To lose her cool like this was refreshing, her playful tone made his chest twist and squeeze in something foreign.
'Forget it! Hajime, don't go there!' his mind screamed to him.
Hajime chuckled at her misfortune. After an hour, it seemed Yuki was running low on money. She cursed under her breath as she glared at the remaining 500 yen coins that remained in her grip. Hajime sighed in defeat after watching her fail a couple more times, "Yuki, just give it up already-" but she simply glared daggers at him making him shut up instantly.
Seeing the look on his face, she groans. She walks toward Hajime and grabs the back of his head, She forcefully pulls him down by his hair while she stands on her tiptoes, their faces getting closer.
She pouted, glaring down at him before lightly punching his chest with her other fist, "No, I'm doing this. I'm getting that plushie!"
Hajime chuckles, smiling at her determination, "I can give it a go if you want."
"Are you sure? I'll repay you, I promise!" Yuki pleaded, her gaze locked on to his and he couldn't help but sigh once again and nod his head.
"I'm sure, just give me one moment, if you don't mind."
Hajime took his eyes away from hers and his eyes widened as he saw another notification appear in his line of sight:
*Ding*
[Recomended skill for activities: Aim and precision]
Hajime blinks in surprise, scratching his chin, 'That wasn't what I was expecting but thank you system'
Instantly, two skill points were spent to upgrade the skill. Two times better control, accuracy, and aim. Not really anything special but it can be upgraded with more skill points and money.
Hajime takes control of the joystick and starts the play again. He looks at her with a smirk on his face. Her jaw drops in surprise, as Hajime effortlessly moves the claw over to where the toy plushie rested. He manages to catch the tail without dropping it. Hajime couldn't keep himself from laughing at her stunned expression, letting out a breath, "How did I get so good at this?" Hajime shook his head as a confused expression crossed his face. Yuki looked too happy, "You are the best!" She exclaims excitedly.
After getting the plushie successfully. she clutched it against her chest, making happy noises before she quickly thanked Hajime who just grinned sheepishly. Hajime wasn't quite sure what to say so he just watched as Yuki ran around like a happy kid. She eventually calms down from her blissful happiness and proceeds to give her plushie to him.
"Hey, what's this for?" Hajime inquired confusedly.
"A gift, for a great friend, you're amazing and you did this all because you are nice and kind," she said, flashing him a smile. He wasn't sure why he felt touched by her comment, but he liked the feeling that he had received.
"Uh, thanks.." Hajime replied, clearing his throat.
"Let's go and explore the Mall a bit more."
Hajime tried to follow Yuki as the crowd grew denser, but she disappeared into the crowd leaving Hajime alone, standing by himself. He couldn't believe the turnout of things.
Shaking his head, he leaves the store only to accidentally bump into a weird-looking girl.
"Yeah! Watch it!" The rude girl exclaimed.
"Sorry." He apologised, bowing his head. As he looked up he could see a girl around his age with a ponytail that fell smoothly across her back. One of her crimson-red eyes stared into him with a hard glare, showing no sign of forgiveness. She was wearing an eyepatch on her left eye that covered a nasty vertical scar that ran from her right cheek to the bottom of her eyelid.
Hajime gulped as he met her gaze. he remembers something like this having happened before when he was in school.
"Watch where you're going, idiot." She said in a pissed-off tone, turning around and walking away from him.
Hajime sweat-dropped and sighed in relief As the adrenaline rush slowed down.
'These people are scary' he thought inwardly.
His ears were starting to ring slightly, and his legs felt heavier as he followed in behind her blindly. He's so absentminded that he didn't even realise he was behind her until she suddenly stopped. He felt an immense aura surrounding her and could swear several voices were whispering inside, all of it filled with violence and chaos.
'I wonder who she is' Hajime thought absentmindedly.
Makima blinked and stepped around a girl so that she was now face-to-face with him. The girl's face turned to a scowl but she did not care. Makima faces Hajime and gives a small evil chuckle. Something felt good in her mind, a thrill, pleasure and a chance at something dangerous as well, bringing out the feral and savage beast in him. it was like the world had slowed down around them.
Hajime took this moment to look at her dark outfit crimson and black outfit, he wanted to speak, but he couldn't. It seemed like his voice was failing him, his throat was tightening, and the words weren't coming.
Makima looked directly in front of him, her eyes glowing red, her expression cold, almost emotionless but filled with desire. Something about that boy seemed familiar, in a way that a predator would recognise another.
Hajime didn't understand why he was feeling so weird, why his heart was beating so hard in his chest, or why he was shaking ever so slightly. Something was compelling about this girl that drew him closer to her, the fact that she would not shy away from looking at him also had him intrigued and worried.
Almost like staring down a wild predator...
Eventually, the crowd would thicken up and make a clear path to them, and everything went back to normal but that didn't stop the strange feeling of unease in Hajime, something just felt unnatural. Hajime looks at the side and looks back at her only to see her walking ahead and further away from him.
Makima felt something strange, or an invisible, powerful force, beckoning her toward him, a mere stranger. A primal instinct, that's something felt very dangerous to approach but yet also tempting... The mysterious boy in the mall. Her right eye was still locked on him despite the crowds, people, and cars. She never broke eye contact with the black-haired boy, her focus... Sharp. For a moment...she focused hard enough that her vision started to blur until she finally lost her spot among the flood of people.
This is not the last time they're going to meet and Makima knows it for sure....