I took one step forward, then another, then another, and then another.
I stopped on my fourth step because Chikaoka had turned her head towards me and gave me an unpleasant, uninviting gaze. Did I ruin some plans of hers? It's not my fault that Mr. Uemichi picked her to watch me. Well, this turn of events isn't so bad. I thought.
With her not watching me, this will be the perfect time to meet up with Isami somewhere, and catch him up on my situation, as well as see what he's got, regarding the Shard of Polaris.
"You look busy, Chikaoka, I can go shopping and get some clothes and other necessities by myself. You go hang with your friend." I said, giving her a smile that was the complete opposite of her unfriendly gaze.
The girl next to Chikaoka spoke up with enthusiasm. "Hi Mr. Saburi! You're quite famous and also quite the mystery around here. My name is Ichimori Sachi."
I looked at the newcomer that had spoken. Her name was Ichimori Sachi. She had dark brown hair cut into a bob, with a glittery, orange, flower shaped barrette, pinning the hair on her left side behind her ear.
Instead of the academy uniform that I saw Chikaoka wearing last night, Ichimori was wearing regular street clothes that consisted of a thigh length, orange summer dress, and a navy, denim jacket.
"It's nice to meet you, Ichimori," I said, giving her a polite bow.
I looked from Ichimori to Chikaoka, and finally realized that Chikaoka also, was wearing street clothes rather than her school uniform from the night before. It hadn't even come to my attention until now for some reason, I guess I just wasn't really paying too much attention to her appearance.
Upon actually examining what she was wearing, Chikaoka was wearing a gray, one shoulder tee, and a black pleated mini skirt. She also had a maroon cardigan, tied around her waist.
I took my eyes off the two girls that were dressed in late summer wear and looked towards the exit. "Well, I have some stuff to do before I move into the dorms here. I should probably start on that."
I turned from the girls and raised my hand in a farewell and then I walked down the hallway towards the academy's front lobby entrance.
Ichimori turned towards Chikaoka. "You didn't tell me that he was moving into the dorms here."
"Well, I didn't think it was that important, and there's a lot that I didn't tell you yet; and plus, it's not like I want to be his handler, I'm just trying to get through this assignment and return to my normal life."
"Being his handler doesn't sound all that bad, and now you have a full-time partner. Also, this will give you the chance to learn some of the responsibility that you lack. Besides, he doesn't seem all that bad of a guy either."
"I am responsible! And you just said hello, Sachi. If you get into a conversation with that idiot, you'll find that he's arrogant and annoying… a real smartass! I honestly don't see how we can work together, let alone complete this assignment in three days."
"Three days? That's not a lot of time… You know, Oka, I'm up for helping you if you need it. It's not like I'm doing anything in particular for the last three days of summer break."
"Thanks for the offer, Sachi. That idiot is confident that he can do it in the three days, but I just don't see it happening."
"At least he has confidence… Hey, we're still on for lunch and shopping right, Oka?"
"I don't know, all of a sudden I'm swamped with stuff to do…"
"Well, Didn't Saburi say something about going shopping? How about we take him along for lunch and shopping. That will allow us to keep our plans, and we can also talk about your assignment too. Sound good?"
"That really doesn't sound good at all..."
Chikaoka frowned at the suggestion, but Ichimori ignored her attitude and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her along the hallway. The two girls left through the academy's front double doors after the boy who had left ahead of them.
I walked through CIMEDE Academy's large, double doors, and headed down the large stone steps with a single thought in my mind. I need to leave the grounds before those girls come out. I continued down the path that passed through the cultivated greenery including flowers, trees, and some ponds. It felt like walking through a garden.
I continued down the path until I saw the school gate. I didn't look behind me so that I didn't look conspicuous on the cameras that I'm sure were everywhere. I saw a couple cameras along the path, and I'm sure that there were some that I didn't see. The security on this place is pretty high tech for a school… Then again, this school is pretty much an academy primarily for training military warriors, so I should expect that.
The gate became closer.
I'm almost there! Once I pass through the gates, I can make my way to a store or park, or any public place to contact Isami. Wait! How am I going to do that though? Luckily my phone was left with Isami before I tried to break into the museum, so I don't have to worry about it being confiscated, which would have been the worst since it had all of my contacts. But now that I don't have my phone, I also don't have a way to contact him......… Wait! I got it!
Finally! I let out a sigh of relief. The academy gate became three steps, two steps, one step away… and........................…
"Hey Saburi! Wait up."
I froze… What the hell! I was this close to slipping out of the gate, and now this has to happen? I can still work with this… I think…
I turn my head back. The girl with the brown bob was running towards me waving, while dragging the red-haired girl by her hand.
"What's up?" I asked.
The brown-haired girl, Ichimori Sachi, came to a stop in front of me and spoke. "Me and Oka are also going shopping." Chikaoka pouted her lips and crossed her arms. Ichimori elbowed the red-haired girl and continued. "We thought it would be fun if we all went together."
Uhhhh what do I do now? I looked at Ichimori, and then I looked at Chikaoka. Unlike Ichimori, who was smiling, Chikaoka had her cheeks puffed and her lips pouted cutely. Why is she acting like a baby? Does she think she's a baby?
"It doesn't look like Chikaoka thinks that." I added, after looking at the pouting girl's face.
Ichimori used her thumb and index finger to pinch and tug at the red-haired girl's puffed cheeks that almost looked like a balloon. "Awwwww swe jwust twyna bwe cwute"
Chikaoka's face became even more red than it had already been. This time, probably because of embarrassment. "Don't pull on my cheeks, Sachi!"
"It's not like they're going to start sagging."
"They could!"
"You're too young, it won't happen!"
"It could!"
"They won't sag since I don't do it a lot."
"I don't want you to do it at all!"
I stared dubiously at the two girls that were bickering before my eyes. "................................................…"
After the long barrage of arguments and insults, the two girls abruptly stopped their bantering and looked in my direction. Did they really forget that I was standing right here? And why are their cheeks turning red like cherries? Oh wait, I am a man of understanding.
From my honest point of view, I wasn't particularly intrigued by their argument. However, I do have to admit that it was quite amusing. So, Let's go into detail from my point of view.
I, Saburi Keisuke, a young high school boy, was walking down the road, minding my own business. When suddenly, I get stopped by two very cute girls. Does that sound like a good rom-com plot? How about I name it "Does a Stop on the Road lead to the Start of my Heart?" Well, that name was not one of my best, and I could probably think of a better one if I actually tried.
Anyways, after I got stopped by the girls, one of the girls, a very nice, very cute, bob haired girl in an orange sundress invited me to go hang with them… Like them both… is this becoming a harem? Or perhaps I was totally wrong about the girl liking me, and she just wanted me to escort them to where they were going… Title switch time. How about "From Friends on the Road to Relationships in a Room" That one sounds sexy and could be a best seller.
I should become a Rom-Com author!
So, following along with basic rom-com knowledge, we need some conflict. So, it was left to the author to make the red-haired girl a real asshole. Apparently, she did not want me along for the female duo's escapade. So how about I do my own little counterattack. Let me add to the plot that I didn't particularly want to join them anyways… ANNND BOOM!
After I tried to get out of the predicament of being with the two girls, the sundress bob girl, the one who had initially invited me along, playfully tugged on the red-haired girls cheeks making a playful event, that I did enjoy seeing. In fact, it was quite humorous. Their playful bantering almost reminded me of the way that me and my best friend Isami act. It all ended in the two girls playfully arguing and insulting each other. And I'll even admit that I might have been enjoying my time in their presence.
After the two girls argued and insulted each other for around one minute, not that I was keeping time, they seemed to have remembered that I was standing right there. From my experience of reading rom coms, every rom com needs a scene where the heroines get embarrassed and shouts "kyaah" or something like that… wait this scene doesn't even need a "kyaah", the two girls will probably just look extremely embarrassed and run away… That also could happen.
But my knowledge of rom coms left me with a spoiler that is more probable for this situation. In a common scene where the heroine gets embarrassed, she will usually take it out on the main character... in that case... OH SHIT! That's me!
From the girls' viewpoint.
The two girls who had been messing with each other, suddenly remembered that they were not alone. They turned to see a young boy awkwardly standing stock still, grinning like an idiot, while watching them argue and insult each other.
What's with that expression? The two probably thought. Was he enjoying himself? Did he think that this was some sort of grand event? Was something like this familiar to him? Or was he thinking something entirely unknown to their expectations? It looked like he was stalking the two with his eyes, he might have even been imagining something that probably shouldn't be explained.
The young boy was wearing an expression that could only be described as grinning like an idiot. The way that the idiot's grin looked, it could only lead to one thinking that he had a very corrupt mind. The boy could sense the hostility in the embarrassed girl's eyes, and even though both girls were red up to their ears, only one looked utterly vicious, like a wild beast hunting its prey. And so, the young boy pleaded his innocence,
"No, no, no, I'm really not grinning for very wrong reasons, that you obviously suspect. I'm no pervert! You both started arguing in front of me in the first place, so don't put the blame directly on me! Besides, this expression that's on my face only shows that I'm enjoying myself… that might sound wrong, but I mean that I like hearing you argue… that also sounds wron------g"
The atmosphere fell silent. Birds chirping, and bugs buzzing was not even heard. The boy who had been pleading his innocence fell silent. The boy coughed and then fell to his knees, and then did a face plant directly on the paved walkway. The sundress bob girl jumped back in surprise, while the red-haired asshole watched on emotionlessly, except for the slight remains of red that shown on her cheeks.
What had actually happened in this quiet scene was quite simple. The red-haired girl, who might have been considered an asshole, had punched the young boy right in the stomach. The red-haired girl looked as if she would just leave him lying on the road for the birds to flock over and devour.
But alas…
The young boy stood right back on his feet as if nothing had even happened. He showed a sarcastic smile and scoffed. "Ow! That hurt the contents of my stomach soooo bad… It looks like you're buying lunch."
The so-called red-haired asshole girl seemed to be talking to a now awakened asshole boy. She breathed out a sigh.
And to preserve the asshole boy's pride, the details of what happened next will be exempt, and forgotten, something that is not to be spoken of again.