If I were to say that I'm walking with two girls, would you believe me? Well, if you were to ask anyone from my class or even me, I'd say that was extremely impossible. However...
"So what is your favorite ice cream flavor, Ayase?"
"Well, I like vanilla and chocolate, especially when it's mixed. Strawberry is also very delicious."
I'm currently listening to the girl talk of these two girls in front of me.
Surprisingly, Shimamura-san wasn't really unwelcoming with Miku. Even though Miku acts intimate towards Shimamura-san, they were getting along just fine. I wish Senpai-san and Shimamura-san would be this way as well.
"Oooh, yeah! Chocolate and vanilla go well together, and even strawberry can taste absolutely delish on its own!"
Today was pretty bizarre. Besides the fact that I'm walking with two girls, it's also been awhile since I last saw Miku having another personality that I didn't know about. You could say that felt like it was a discovery out of this world.
They both kept talking about stuff. Food, clothes, gadgets, whatever things that are involved with being a girl. I'm not a girl, so I wouldn't exactly know.
Until eventually, their conversation switched to romance.
"Hey, hey, do you know Tashigiri-san?"
"Tashigiri...?"
"Oh, him," I butted in. "Isn't he famous for breaking people's hearts?"
Ken Tashigiri is widely known in school. Apparently, he's the same year as me, but rumours quickly spread about him from his junior high classmates. Although that happened, he never really stopped with breaking people's hearts. Those types of people are the worst.
And of course, these are all just second-hand information. I got it all from Kentarou.
"Since when did you became a part of our conversation?" Miku asked.
"Just wanted to comment."
"Oh, I remember him," said Shimamura-san. "He went to the same junior high as me."
"For real?! Did he try to hook up on you?"
Whoa, that's some question
"Well, he did try once. But I kind of built up my reputation of being a scary person back then, so scaring him off wasn't much trouble. I'm pretty sure he slowed down with other girls after that."
"Woah, he even had the gut to take you on? Yeesh, that's some confidence he's got for just dating a few girls."
"Yes, he really was the worst."
"If only boys wouldn't be such perverted beasts who only care about the body and not the feelings of a precious maiden," Miku said as she side-eyed me, smirking.
"As far as I'm concerned, I've never met anyone like that,"
"I think Miku-san was talking about the fact that you're a boy," Shimamura-san said.
"Hehe, you get it, Ayase!" said Miku.
"But I wouldn't really say he's part of those perverted beasts you're talking about," Shimamura-san added. "Besides the fact that he embarrassed me in front of the whole class, blackmailed me so he could give me headpats, and then embarrassed me in front of my mom..."
Hey, those are just way too cruel.
"He's all in all just fine. He's kind to people, shares his lunch, and always has a loyal friend by his side."
"...Yuuji," said Miku. "I heard blackmailing there."
"Blackmailing?" I asked.
When Shimamura-san said those not-so-cruel things about me, she did mention something about blackmailing... Wait.
"No, no, it's not what you think," I said. "That's just a misunderstanding on her end, we both agreed on this, right?"
When I turned to face Shimamura-san, she had her eyes facing sideways with a completely emotionless face.
"Yuuji!"
Miku started hitting me like earlier, which was hard. It hurts, and it doesn't feel like a massage.
***
Throughout the whole day, I hadn't heard my teacher's lectures. My mind was struggling to focus. I wanted someone to tell me that everything was going to be okay one last time, in order to assure myself that everything's going to be okay.
It was now currently lunch break. My eyes were staring straight at nothing. My mind was still trapped in a constant loop, and nothing was entering it. My mind was totally messed up.
But after last night, my mind wasn't that messed up now. All I needed to do was listen to what Miku said, and I'd be able to maintain everything.
"Yo," someone called out to me.
When I faced the direction of the voice, it was Satou-san. Seems like she left her group. The question was why.
"Seems like that mind of ya isn't thinkin' straight. Wanna talk 'bout it?"
"...Why are you so oddly willing to talk to me right now?" I asked.
She probably hated me because of the fact that me and Miku are friends.
Rin Satou and Miku Akiyama were friends since junior high. After getting separate classes when they entered senior high, Satou-san slowly turned like this. But despite that, the affection that Satou-san had for Miku was still the same, at least, according to Miku.
"I'm not. I'm talking to ya 'cause my friend's in trouble."
By friend, she probably meant Yui-san.
"You've been so out of it lately. I'm guessin' Yui told ya somethin'?"
Somehow, she hit the mark with that question.
"...Well, you're not wrong," I said, replying in a quiet voice.
"Mind tellin' me what happened to both of ya? Just a favor."
Since I had no reason to lie abou tit, I decided to give in.
I told her all about what happened in the rooftop of the abandoned building. How Yui had feelings for Kentarou, the princess and hero story, and all the way to their ending. I didn't mention the thing about Satou-san being scared.
After that, I went and told her about our meeting at the playground. About how we took some drinks, went to the slides, and Yui-san requesting help from me.
I finished, and put my head in my hands.
"Don't ya think it's better to not help Yui, then?" she asked without even the slight bit of hesitation.
"...How can you say that to your friend?"
For some reason, I was feeling something swell up inside me. Some uncontrollable feeling that hasn't been inside me for years. It was somehow unexplainable, even for me.
"Y'see, Yui's quite the handful. She can't do things properly, doesn't take things seriously, and can barely hold her emotions and sometimes just letting it out. Because of that, I've seen some instances where she's been hurt. And the most she's been hurt is her heart."
Satou-san impresses me with her ability to understand emotions and show deep care and unmatched kindness.
"But wouldn't that mean that you should help your friend more?" I asked. "If you know their situation, it should be obvious that you should help them."
Somehow, that feeling grew more and more as I kept talking. I admire her over the fact that she knows the feelings of her friend...
"I know, but—"
"Will you just shut it, then?!" I suddenly shouted, making the whole class's noises dissipate, leaving Satou-san's face in extreme intimidation. "If you don't want to help your friend, then don't! You don't have to point it out, damn it!"
My mind completely overwhelmed with anger.
I ran out of my classroom, leaving both my classmates and Satou-san in shock and confusion.
This was the one thing that I hated.
"If she doesn't want to help her, she doesn't need to point it out," I quietly said to myself as I ran and ran, passing through different people as I did.
***
After minutes of running, I eventually tired myself out and came to a stop. I didn't look back, didn't care about people's reactions about me, and just kept running.
Calming myself down, I took a look at the place. It seems like I'm on a different floor now, and it was completely empty. Not much students were around the hall, and the some classrooms were quiet except one.
I saw the sign, and it says that this was the Acting Club. I remembered that word, and it seems like this is where Senpai-san is. She's the president, after all.
Still trying to calm down my heart rate, I decided to lean in the wall and wait for her, hoping to have someone to talk to for just a bit.
After a few minutes, the door opened with sounds of acting stuff getting louder, and a girl exits the door. When I thought it was Senpai-san, my thoughts were diminished by her short white hair.
"Um, hello fellow stranger," she said monotonously when she saw me, giving a slight bow. "Are you looking for someone?"
Somehow, I was stuck in a trance when she spoke to me, and just kept staring at her.
"Oh, if you're wondering who I am, I am Kasumi Ibott. I'm half-American half-Japanese, and was born in America."
When she introduced herself, I decided to snap out of it and introduce myself to her.
"M-My name is Yuuji Akamatsu. I'm bored from Japan, I guess."
"Yuuji Akamatsu...," she said as she gave me a long and hard stare.
"W-What's wrong?"
"Ah, you're Kouhai-kun," she said monotonously yet again.
"Kouhai-kun?"
Last time I remembered, it was Senpai-san who called me that.
"Yeah. You're the one President Matsumoto has been speaking so much about. Your name is widely known across the Acting Club at this point."
Wow, word really does spread like a virus once it's out.
"Huh," I said. "Should I be careful?"
"Well, besides standing right in front of the door, I think you're all good," she said, giving me another monotonous answer while giving me a thumbs up. "Though, you should probably go by now."
"What makes you say that?"
"Our break is about to start, and any guy that visits this club is always getting all the attention, probably because they think you're a boyfriend of someone."
In other words, not only are they welcoming, they're interested in who my girlfriend is, which is nonexistent.
Suddenly, sounds of chattering and footsteps could be heard from the door.
"Well, that's the signal," the girl said, waving her arms and turning around making her white hair spin. "I'd rather you go hide before they come out, you know."
Leaving those final words, she started to walk away while waving her hand in the air, indicating that she was saying farewell to me.
"Hey— W-Wait!"
I barely knew this floor, and even if the layout were the same as the other floors, I wouldn't know that as my mind was still filled with the problem from earlier.
Before she could turn to a corner, I caught up to her and walked beside her.
"Can you at least explain to me why I need to hide?" I asked.
"I already did, didn't I?" she said monotonously. "Those girls are always interested in other people, almost completely butting in their businesses. If you wouldn't want that, then get out of here."
She's trying to tell me that they're super annoying. I couldn't tell if that's what she's trying to convey, as she keeps speaking with almost no feelings in her words to back it up.
Trying to not get overwhelmed by my anger yet again, I grabbed her arm.
"Can you at least stay with me until they're all out of the club?"
She looked back at me with her blue eyes, not having even a hint of disgust or terror from the fact that I'm grabbing her. Her face just kept projecting nothing.
She sighed, and then grabbed my arm.
"Just come with me," she said, dragging me somewhere I didn't know.
A few vending machines were just in the corner of where she turned, and between it was a perfect spot for people to hide.
"Just squeeze yourself between these two vending machines," she said. "It should be able to hide you."
As the windows were behind the vending machines, it was pretty dark that it would be able to conceal a person.
"Are you sure this'll be able to hide me?" I asked. "And if so, how can you be so sure?"
"Because I've tried that spot before."
"...That's a valid reason."
I squeezed my whole body between the vending machines, and surprisingly, I fit snuggly well in there. It was also quite dark.
"Well, I'm leaving now," she said.
Having listened to her, I completely hid myself away. And just like she said, there wasn't anyone that ever noticed me. There were many students that were going out, passing by and sometimes even buying a drink, but none of them saw me.
When I confirmed that they were all gone, I freed myself from the tight space and started heading towards the Acting Club room.