The sun blared down upon Noriko's head. Blankly gazing into the sky above, Noriko wandered about whether her letter should be delivered. What if he thinks it's embarrassing and simply throws it away? Shuya's a nice boy, but even-
Noriko's ears detected a change in her environment. The loud giggles of her peers had subsided and consequently replaced with stares that penetrated her hard exterior. When the silence finally sank in, Noriko realised it was a social cue for her to speak. But she was way too occupied with her daydream to really care about giving a response.
Nonetheless, in an act of politeness, after weighing up the pros and cons of giving a simple answer she finally filled the silence with a plain notion. "No, not really..."
The group eyes suddenly popped open. Clearly, they didn't think Noriko would make a disagreement, especially since she and Yukie had be particularly close as of recent.
It was no lie, Yuka, Chisato and Haruka all liked Shuya. But it was Yukie who actually "liked" Shuya. (Not that Noriko knew the conversation was demanding her opinion on whether Yukie and Shuya would make a good couple.)
Noriko, having realised her answer wasn't appropriate, was about to come up with an excuse.
"I-
"I'm sorry Nori; it's easy to forget what a perfect couple you and Shuya make..." Yukie's feeble voice trailed off, the tears that were leaking from her bowed head were given recognition from her thick voice.
"But-
"Thanks Nori, we'd only just convinced her to make a confession!" Haruka's shrill voice went up an octave in anger. This was to be expected from Yukie's closest friend.
Then her instinctual behaviours kicked in. She picked up her day pack and her rubbish. Once she was standing she made an apologetic gesture towards her friends and hesitantly moved away.
The school field was a wide construction of grass, picnic tables and small gatherings of trees. Like rubbish in the gutter, students were scattered across the field, all consumed in childish conversations ranging from idols to recent gossip about the delinquents at Shiroiwa Junior high.
There was never really a clique problem at Shiroiwa junior high; nevertheless the wanderers never really had anywhere to go.
Thankfully, Noriko was rather content with her solitude. Her graceful movements were never contradicted by the unlevelled grounds. The way she walked when alone wasn't awkward, she was wasn't hesitant or slow. In fact she held her head as high as she could, especially since the sun was so bright but not overpoweringly warm.
As her head arched backwards, to bask in the warm light, she felt her foot slip against the abnormally damp grass. What Noriko had failed to realise was that she was walking towards a lonely deep bird bath. In which several birds had expertly chucked out about half of the water.
Of course, this reality wasn't based on some trashy romance novel where an enchanting guy would suddenly appear behind to catch her. Due to lack of dark and handsome, Noriko landed flat on butt. The splash back of the water on the grass stained her blue sailor suit with brown splashes. Great! Could my day get any worse? To her surprise she saw a dark outline creep up into her personal space. Once she registered the shadow had sprouted from behind, she made an attempt to turn around.
There he was. Hand extended with that distinct smile had stretched out across his warm face. So this is the Shinji-smile? Politely she took his hand and stood up. Retrieved her bag off of the soggy ground and bowed her head in gratitude.
"Thanks third man." This was all she could manage, being as the past 10 minutes hadn't been particularly kind to her.
"That's okay Nakagawa. It's a man's duty to assist a young lady." The smile was then accompanied by a wink that was legendary. This made Noriko faintly smile. After this short exchange Noriko went to continue walking, but then it hit her- Where am I even trying to go to? Her startled expression seemed to trigger something in Shinji as he immediately went to hold her.
"Shinji!" A gasp escaped from her mouth. Shinji Mimura was clinging to her, caressing her head and pulling her torso in close to his. Confused as to what to do, Noriko let her arms hang and her head rest upon Shinji's chest. After about thirty seconds had passed, Shinji's arms loosened. But Noriko felt no urge to leave and actually encouraged the embrace to continue, by wrapping her arms around his lower waist. With this she pressed herself against him.
"You looked upset. I couldn't let you just wander around by yourself again." In the past when Noriko had wandered about the males in her class, Shinji always seemed like one of those too cool to care types. But her observations weren't usually very perceptive so she shrugged it off. This was when she realised she hadn't ever felt a real hug. The thought that followed was even more haunting. I've never even had a boyfriend.
Her body ran rigid. By this point in time their embrace had lasted several minutes and due to Shinji's body blocking her view of the field she had no idea as to whether anyone was looking or not. A wave of embarrassment washed over her. The sun now seemed to be toying with her, illuminating her and Shinji in a kind of spotlight.
Despite her sudden embarrassment she clung on tighter.
Shinji Mimura
As Noriko's arms wound tighter around Shinji he internally smirked. It's just too easy. A little affection and they'll be begging for ya'! Not that Noriko was a particular venture of his like Takako. But in some way, Shinji felt very sorry for Noriko.
Uncle, it was you who told me of the importance of finding love. But, I'm not the one who needs this. Noriko does. That last little thought surprised Shinji. He'd never cared about any of the girl's in his class before, but there was something about Noriko that separated her from the rest.
As he realised this, unintentionally he further loosened his arms which made Noriko fidget. By now it was her chin that he could feel leaning into his chest. Her wide dark eyes peered into his. This was when he noticed the sadness there. While he wanted his hug to appear big and strong, all he wanted now was to make her feel better.
When he thought about it, Noriko was probably the only girl in the class that called him by his first name. She was also the closest girl to him in the class. Plus she wasn't ugly. Ugly! Why would you even think of making a move on her? Noriko is a friend.
When she blinked, he noticed the light of the day had washed away, replaced with a cold grey tone. Harsh winds shortly followed, making the lunch bell hard to hear.
Noriko Nakagawa
The signal for the end of lunch rang startling Noriko. Distinctly she jumped at the sound and shivered at the fierce wind that wrapped around her skinny ankles. The rumble of Shinji's torso made Noriko giggle.
Already the students made their way towards the corridor entrance, barely noticing the entwined couple. Remembering her embarrassment she quickly broke free of Shinji and turned her back to him. Clutching her sides she debated whether to walk to class or stay with the third man.
Having made her decision for her, Shinji grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the end of field. Obviously, the star of the basketball team was a natural for running, but for a student who barely participated in athletic activities the swift pace was astonishingly hard to keep up with.
Kazuo Kiriyama
By this point, the majority of the students had entered the building and were beginning their preparations for classes. The few who braved the outside past the bell were only those who weren't considered favourable company.
Class 3b's resident "bad boys" were leaning against the fence inhaling cigarettes, Misturu Numai was leading the conversation at hand- the class hotties were a common topic.
"That Takako, what a quality pair of tits that one has!" Ryuhei Sasagawa stated. His comment was rather plain and very usual. The group continued rambling about all the attractive girls in 3b, never failing to add derogatory terms and degrading comments.
Kazuo was never surprised with this group. They were plain. They were simple. They were easy to use. What Kazuo had learned over the past years of running his gang was that all were of a low intelligence and all were desperate to serve him. The only member of the gang who didn't belong was Sho. But then #!*% weren't really accepted in any stereotype, maybe delinquency was his own personal rebellion? Not that Kazuo cared; Kazuo only cared about what his next plan was. He lived to live. His existence was as simple as his gang's. He only did as he pleased, a sociopath of sorts.
While the idiocy continued, Kazuo had found a new form of entertainment, in the form of two classmates. When he first noticed them enter the copse of trees, he thought nothing of it. But female student #15 was no rebel, so her being out past the bell was very intriguing. As he continued peering at them he noticed something that really confused him. The two were holding hands.
Being a great retainer of knowledge, even though gossip never interested him vaguely, he would've never guessed this. This sudden interest left him though. His cigarette had burnt out and he had more important issues to deal with.
Noriko Nakagawa
After they'd entered the copse of trees the pair began moving right, the opposite direction of the Kiriyama family. After about ten metres Noriko finally spoke up, "Shinji where are you leading us?" Her voice gave a tone of urgency.
"Aren't you bored of routine?" His vague answer annoyed Noriko. She was beginning to realise that this was probably the normal thing for Shinji. If only he wasn't holding onto my hand so hard!
The copse of trees was about 8 metres deep and ran the length school. After a further 20 metres of silence Noriko finally decided that she wanted a proper answer.
Yanking her hand away and leaning back on her right foot she half turned her body and tilted her head. "Look, you never gave a straight answer. Where are we going?" the strength in her voice slightly bewildered her.
"You'll never know, unless you follow Me." Although Shinji's face was of pure arrogance Noriko couldn't help but think it was an act. Following her poetic gift she attempted to convince him to tell her. But this wasn't necessary.
It was nice that the two had shared that special memory but honestly it didn't matter anymore. She used the only words that were real, "Thanks for earlier. I needed that."
Shinji Mimura
Shinji was not used to rejection. All he was going to do was lead her to the hole in the fence and take her for a coffee and hopefully a treat. But clearly Noriko was too uptight for anything casual.
What is her problem? I was only giving the Shinji charm. Uncle, what is happening?
Shinji considered going after to her and asking for the coffee he intended on having, but forgot about this. After all there was plenty more girls to get a cheap thrill from.