Ding~
'A text?'
Still wandering the school halls, I got a text. I grabbed my phone and unlocked it, feeling pretty relaxed. Of course, using your phone wasn't allowed, but since I was technically absent today, screw the rules. The sound of the notification caught me off guard—no one usually texted me at this time, either because of school or work.
[Itsuki: Yo man, where ya at?]
'Oh shit. I forgot to tell Itsuki and Yuta.'
[Me: Can't come today, didn't clean my uniform, and Hiratsuka-sensei wasn't happy about it.]
[Itsuki: Bro... L]
[Me: My fault, bro. I sold.]
[Itsuki: Just know it's fair game... 😈]
[Me: You...]
[Itsuki: :)]
'I don't know what he has planned, but please, God, don't let it be anything too stupid!' I closed my phone and slid it back into my pocket. I didn't need to text Yuta since Itsuki would handle it, I was sure.
I finally reached the school entrance, stepping out into the daylight. The sun was still a good four hours away from its peak, and it felt weird being out so early. I didn't know what to do! Sure, there were places I could go, but nothing really came to me.
"I guess I'll just head into central Tokyo and go from there." I spoke to no one in particular, just me uselessly trying to direct myself.
I hopped on a train, and in no time at all—a mere 20 minutes—I was in central Tokyo. Particularly, Shinjuku again because for some reason it spoke to me or I just missed Sawako a little too much. She's busy all week with school stuff, and her mom finally cracked down on her!
She didn't get bad grades or get in trouble, I was told it was just that her mom didn't want her getting too far behind, which I could understand.
'A-Ah, should I ask her out properly? I probably should, right? But, do I really need to? It feels like we're already on the same page, so maybe it's unnecessary. Still, this is new territory for me..'
As I walked torn with my thoughts, I noticed the streets were louder than when we came on our date, with a plethora of people heading to work. Their sharp suits and whole demeanor clashed with my wandering, and casual pace.
'I wonder if mom will pick up...'
I took out my phone and called my mom. When you need advice about women it's always best to ask another woman! Now, beware that asking another woman doesn't mean just any woman but one you know for a fact you can trust but that's just advice in general.
"Amane, why aren't you at school, mister?" My mom's voice was really soothing minus the fact she was about to lecture me here soon.
I coughed awkwardly, "I-I forgot to clean my uniform and Shizuka-sensei told me I couldn't wear casual clothes."
"...I know why."
"Huh?"
"I-I can't believe my son has grown up!"
"M-Mom, I didn't do that in my uniform!" I felt the heat rush to my face, and what didn't make it better were the people staring at me. I had long since stopped at a crosswalk, but the light went red at the worst time possible.
"But you did it?!" I could hear the excitement in her voice.
'I'll never understand how this woman thinks...' I pushed the thought to the side and just spoke the truth.
"Yeah, Sawako and I had our first date! Then, things escalated."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! My virgin tsundere Amane is now just a tsundere!? I'm telling your father!"
"MOM, AREN'T YOU AT WORK?! STOP SHOUTING!?"
"Actually, no, I'm not. Your father and I got the day off!"
"Of course..."
The light finally turned green. I started walking with great speed to get me away from all of the stares, which were really uncomfortable!
"What? You don't like that your kind, gracious, beautiful, glorious mother is getting a break? Tch~ Tch~! Bad Amane!"
"Yeah~ Yeah~, anyways I have an important question."
She didn't say anything, so I took that as to continue.
"Sooooo, let's say I never properly asked her to be my girlfriend but we did all that, and there is that vibe where we don't really need to. Do you think I should still properly ask her out?"
"Hmmm. Are you sure you didn't ask her out?"
"Yes, I mean I wouldn't have called you if I didn't feel like I had."
"I'm sure it's fine, dear!"
"Ar-"
"Just trust your mother on this! Oh? Your father is home, I'll talk to you later."
"Tch. Going to flirt instead of help your own son?!"
"Bhehehe~, you shouldn't try copying me, boy. But~ We are properly going to give you a sibling maybe!"
"E-Ew?! I don't want to hear that!"
"Too bad! Bye Bye~!"
The call ended, but screw all that. The urge to puke consumed me.
'I should just go eat and buy some modules. I can complete that quest today!'
"MY PURSE!"
The scream jolted me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see a blur of movement heading straight toward me. My body moved on instinct.
"Gotcha ya!" I caught him by the neck, choking him to where he could barely still breathe. Normally, coming from the U.S. where there were more guns than people, I wouldn't try this shit. But I knew he didn't have a gun on him, and I think some adrenaline from the shock had stopped me from holding back.
'This brings me back to when I acted on that damn impulsive thought. G-God, that was embarrassing!'
"GU_GUALK?!"
"My bad, my bad. Thought of something from the past."
I accidentally choked him harder, causing him to flail frantically, but he was short and quite weak, so I didn't even feel it.
"STOP! PUT THE MAN DOWN!" A female's loud voice rose above the growing buzz. Turning my head I saw the woman in question, a cop, standing firm and her fingers lightly brushing the holster at her side. Her partner looked pissed but nonetheless he joined in to help her.
"Why?"
"Because you'll kill him at this rate?!"
I could feel the weight of dozens of eyes on me, the murmurs of the growing crowd blending with the officer's sharp tone. I put my hands up in a gesture of surrender as it was better to be safe than sorry
Pah~
The man fell to the ground and couldn't even get up to run off somewhere. One cop apprehended him, and the other, a female, and the one who felt the need to shout at me, scrutinized me.
I just shrugged it off while putting my hands down to grab my phone. I shot my mom a text and hoped for the best.
[Me: Dear mother, your son may be apprehended in the next few seconds. I'm innocent! (I'm really not kidding... I'm face-to-face with cops right now.)]
'Hopefully, nothing happens.'