Prologue – Part 1...
...A Normal Everyday Life
"Shun-san, Shun-san... Shun-san!" yelled a familiar and yet distinctive voice.
I was so tempted to shake off the person who's been calling my name but luckily, I hesitated. I opened my heavy eyes and the last thing I wanted to go through was my Maths teacher waking me up in the middle of class.
"Sorry Yukimura-sensei," I apologised. His thick furry eyebrow twitched and he scoffed, noticed in the corner of my right eye were small giggles of my fellow, yet so distant classmates.
"Just because you recently transferred here does not make you special, I will not tolerate such behaviour from you again," he grumbled with a sharp glare.
I just recently transferred schools and this was the first time I ever got told off in the middle of class. Also the first time a teacher caught me sleeping in this unforgivable hell of a subject. As you can see, I clearly hate Maths and learning the basics of Mathematics is good enough for me to live a normal life in the future. Ever since I started school I was top of the class for eight years until I started flunking at second-year junior high.
Since I was flunking Maths, I apparently disgraced my family. Because of all the upheaval my parents caused, I chose to move out and live in a crappy apartment that was pretty cheap but it's better than living with verbally abusive parents. I also got a part-time job at the cliché job as a Pizza Hut cashier – which wasn't really my style since I'm not very good at socialising, but I knew the basics – to pay off the rent and save enough to buy some of that bitter convenient store food.
"Isn't that obvious?" I bluntly questioned back, followed by my teacher who slammed my desk with both his hands. His mere abhorrent reaction didn't cause me to flinch but some of my classmates did.
"You're redoing all the work in this lesson after school in this class and until you're finished, you can go home." He walked back to his seat at the front of the class and kept a sharp eye on me. Some people in this classroom haven't learnt their manners yet, it's very rude to stare, that goes to those trash-talking boys at the front-right corner of the class. Also that girl who sat to my right who had long black hair down to her waist and light-purple eyes.
"Hey Shun-san," the girl on my right quietly called my name. I pretended not to listen because I didn't really like talking to people other than those close to me. I looked down and kept my eye on my blank textbook. "Shun-san. Hey Shun-san, don't pretend I'm not here." She had to stop eventually. "Yuuma-san." I literally grunted when I heard her call me by my first name. "See? I knew you were listening," she assumed, though her assumption was right.
"Stop bothering him Nakagomi-chan," another girl adjacently in front of her said quietly. She took a glance at me then back at the girl who sat next to me known as Nakagomi.
"He doesn't look bothered Matsuwaka-chan!" Nakagomi raised her voice at the girl in front of her now known as Matsuwaka.
"You're a bit insensitive-"
"Quiet down back there!" the teacher yelled directly at Nakagomi. She quietly whimpered and looked down at her work like a scared little pup. I was convinced that she was until she stuck out her tongue at me and threw me a spare pencil.
"You should get to work now so you'll be able finish it off easily after school," I was told while she stuck her tongue out and winked at me. I looked bluntly at the pencil thrown on my desk and was surprised how good that throw was.
"Thanks..." I expressed shyly. Like I previously stated, I'm not very comfortable talking to people. But what's up with this girl? How can she be so outgoing even to complete strangers like me? I could easily guess this doesn't change the fact we're classmates. It does takes one to know one another. Maybe I could make friends with her since I was once going through this similar moment with a guy who was outgoing and very friendly to me in my workplace. The way he acted made me feel more comfortable around him and I ended up becoming mates.
School started around 15 days ago, It's been two days since I transferred to this school and unintentionally eavesdropped on a few conversations and gossips, I could tell I'm already popular. But that's a problem to me, since I'm not very good with socialising with others. After class ended for lunch break, I couldn't help myself but shyly tugged her sleeve just after she left the classroom.
"Uh," she expressed and looked at me with a really surprised face, it's almost as if she just discovered something.
"Your pencil..." I reminded her, held out my hand and shown her the pencil she threw at me.
"Oh, you can keep it Shun-san!" she giggled. "Besides, I happen to carry a lot of them!" she exclaimed excitedly. She opened up her bag and took out a small pencil case. Pretty flashy for such a mere case. She opened it showing me all the pencils, but with her carelessness a single pencil dropped out and I managed to catch it in mid-air while she was completely oblivious since she closed her eyes with a smile. What I didn't expect was more pencils falling out of her case and I didn't have the flexibility to catch them, since I'm taller than the average person.
I got on my knees and started picking up the pencils, she opened her eyes and jumped in shock as she saw me on my knees picking up the mess she made.
"Don't take it the wrong way... I didn't look," I assured her and stood up putting the pencils back in her case.
"Well..." she trailed off.
"I would've been more comfortable if your skirt wasn't so short by the way..." I bluntly told her. She gasped and her face went all red, then I walked off.
Just like every other girl in every school I've been to. She's definitely not unique and I'm having doubts if I could be friends with her. I didn't know if I said the right things since I'm not very good at socialising. Maybe I should go back and apologise just in case? No, I would look stupid if I was apparently apologising for no reason. I just know I have a slim chance of making friends with her now. To be honest, all this gets to my head very easily and I tend to get stuck into things. Let's just say that I easily get attached to certain things that I experience.
...
It's been seven days since I got into trouble for sleeping in class, I'm also starting to get along with Nakagomi which isn't really surprising to me anymore. Since the school was big, there were places I could hang out by myself during lunch breaks. I normally take a seat on one of those wooden outdoor chairs that are placed just outside the pathway to and from the school gate and the main school building. I also wait for my lunch to arrive since I live by myself and can't cook anything. I hate to eat convenient food during school, because it just doesn't feel right and I prefer to eat clean food at a public place. So I just sat down and waited.
"Hey sophomore!" a random voice called out. I pretended that I wasn't listening – like I always do.
"Didn't you just hear him? He's calling for you scrub!" another voice came into action. First of all, I'm a third-year high student. Not a second-year. I could feel the sight of nearby people burning into my body, I never felt so uncomfortable in my life. But my instincts told me that trouble is going to stir up very soon and I'm pretty sure it involved those people who called me.
"Hey, are you listening to me!?" the first voice I heard yelled. I kept my head slightly down and stared blankly at the ground. For some reason, my hands in my pockets started sweating.
"Guys, leave him alone," another voice came from a different direction, though the voice sounded shaky.
"You stay out of this scrub!" one of the voices shouted. I then saw the feet of the students who were calling me when they stopped right in front of me. They were wearing black boots that looked like they were made out of full leather, they also weren't wearing the school pants which somehow surprised me.
"I'm talking to you!" One of them grabs my shirt collar and somehow picked me up off my chair. I looked up and saw the guys who disturbed my peace, they were way taller than me. They almost looked inhuman because of their size. I accidentally started laughing at my own thought of them being inhuman.
I received a quick unexpected punch from the other guy on the left side of my face and thrown to the ground, I heard the 'oh noes' and low gasps from the other students around. I didn't think anyone could be taller than me in Japan, but I guess this proved me wrong. I used only my right arm to push myself up to my feet since my left arm is physically weak for some apparent reason and can't be bothered finding out why.
"I'm not a sophomore..." I bluntly replied to them. They just laughed. "Did I say something wrong...?"
"Now what makes you think you can start waltzing into our school and talking to Nakagomi-chan, you Eurasian scrub!" one of them tries to insult me with mere words.
"So the reason why you're talking to me is because of a mere misunderstanding and that you're being a racist pig...?" I straightforwardly assumed while looking down at his shoes.
"I bet you don't have the guts to say it again and to my face this time scrub!" the one I assumed to snapped back. I looked up at him and made a straight face.
"So the reason why you're talking to me is because of a mere misunderstanding and that you're being a racist pig...?" I repeated as I stared into his eyes this time.
"Dude, he's gonna die..."
"Is he some kind of idiot?"
"Let's get out of here before something goes wrong."
"Same, I don't want to get involved with this."
I'm a very good listener as well, as far as I can tell, these bystanders are just cowards. Now that I saw what these big guys looked like, the one who calls me scrub is some blonde, short-haired student with distinctive black, small eyes and a wide face. The other has black hair, similar style as his partner and he's got a much skinnier face with brown eyes. They looked pretty fit, but I wasn't surprised.
I quickly stepped to the left, jerked my head back a bit and took a quick step forward, dodged one of their punches and successfully punched the black haired one in the face with my right arm. Some gasps erupted from the bystanders, and a few more seemed to join the crowd. As the black haired student lowered a bit from my punch, I bent both my knees then spun around lifting one of my legs and used that foot to smash his face in with. He violently tipped over and started rolling on the ground in pain. The blonde one was pretty fast and he managed to grab my right arm. I jerked back but he held on pretty tight, he then kicked me at the back of my left knee and I forced that leg on the ground in pain. The black haired guy finally got up and threw a punch at me. Since my left arm was physically weak, it's reaction time was very slow too and I couldn't block his attack. I jerked my head back in response and his punch slightly missed my nose, I then grabbed his punching arm with my right hand and jumped back with all the force in my right leg, causing them to bump into each other and they ended up knocking themselves down.
I wasn't sure if I broke a tendon at the back of my left knee because I felt excruciating pain from there. I limped back a few steps, then a familiar girl came out of nowhere, grabbed both my arms and forcibly sat me down on the chair. As my two foes tried to get up, some of the bystanders actually did something helpful for once and pinned them down with smirks on their faces.
"Are you alright onii-chan?"
"Yes," I answered my sister.
"Come on, I want to bring you to the infirmary just in case," she obliged.
"No, I'm alright... besides I can walk there if I needed to go," I insisted and shrugged her off.
"Hey, listen to the cute girl, you looked pretty hurt after that fight!" a random voice spoke up. It was a tall guy, but he was still shorter than me. He had long hair, its length stops right under the ears. His bangs are very loose and almost covered his whole forehead. It's brunette in colour and his eyes matched the colour of his hair.
I swear I just heard my sister hiss at him, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Well, looks like you transferred here as well. Though, I honestly don't want to get close to you since those unexpected events happened three years ago," I said back and he squints.
"Onii-chan..." my sister trailed off.
"Wait, you're siblings!? I didn't realise it was you Kaede, you've changed a lot and look hotter!" the guy exclaimed. He then tightly lifted my right arm around his neck and helped me stand up.
"Shut up, your twin brother is just like you, perverted and two kinds of idiocy," Kaede, my sister, shot back harshly.
"You people never cease to let things go..." I trailed off as he walked me towards the main building and waved back at Kaede. What made people care for me all of a sudden? Is this what we turn into when we reach adult age? Maybe I should start maturing, but how will I know that I've matured? I guess the answer lies within someone else's experience.
"I'm only doing this to favour your sister, that's all!" he exclaimed followed by a chuckle.
"She's going to kick down your door and murder you if she heard you saying that..." I frankly told him. He scoffed.
"Heh, I know you're just saying that to scare me away!" he blurted out.
"Alright, I guess I can tell her what you said then!" Nakagomi's voice came out of nowhere. He jumped in shock and tripped over his own foot. I wasn't sure if it was pure luck that I didn't fall down with him, but I stood up straight and continued limping towards building.
"Nakagomi-chan, you idiot!" he yelled. Nakagomi ran over to me, put my left arm around and over her shoulders to help me walk.
"Sorry if Morimoto-chan was trash talking about that girl who helped you," she said in an annoyed tone.
"You… came in contact with him..." I trailed off while secretly feeling jaw-dropped.
"Yeah, but he's the typical guy that you want to run over with a truck," she replied with a giggle. For some reason, what she said sounded familiar and I felt hurt...
"Why are you sorry...?" I asked, then Nakagomi sighed.
"It's because he's a happy-go-lucky insensitive ass and he tends to get on other people's nerves!" she raised her voice.
"Oh, he wasn't really annoying me to be honest..." I asserted, bluntly. I actually felt annoyed though, I just wanted to hide it from Nakagomi.
"Gak," she outright expressed. "But, I thought... well never mind then."
"Mhm." It's like a whole different life here, everyone acts so strange and so different. Did I die and come back to a different world or am I just over exaggerating?
"Well, do you know that girl with the pink hair and two long locks going down the side her face, back there?" Nakagomi questioned me with a surprised look.
"Well yeah, of course," I answered.
"Ahh! I mean... really?" she exclaimed like a shocked little girl.
"She's my sister." Nakagomi slowed down and started laughing. "What's funny?"
"Oh! It's nothing, there was just a small misunderstanding that's all!" she responded light-heartedly and stuck her tongue out at me.
"Right."
"I'm not sure if you're telling the truth but she's too good and cute to be your sister, and you never told me you had a sister!" she yelled excitedly. We entered the building and took a left. We reached halfway through the hall that leads to the infirmary.
"Thanks."
"Wait, did that offend you?" she worriedly asked.
"No. I meant thanks for helping me... first of all, her hair is actually red with pink dyed on it and second of all, someone has been following us since we've entered the hallway," I said straight to the point. Nakagomi sighed.
"Hey, how'd you find me out Shun-kun!?" Morimoto asked followed by a sarcastic laugh.
"Your footsteps sounded like elephants walking in a hallway... mind you, why are you following me?" I enquired while looking straight ahead of me.
"What's with the serious tone all the time Shun-kun? You've also changed since that thing three years ago" he asked, then asserted. Nakagomi looked really pissed from what I picked up in the corner of my left eye. I didn't bother responding to that question as it seemed like a really unnecessary thing to ask. "Shun-kun! Are you ignoring me again?" he raised his voice.
"Will you shut up!" Nakagomi snapped. This is the first time I ever saw her get this angry, is he really that annoying to her? "All you do is-!" I put my finger – using my right hand – on her lips, she hitched and gulped then looked at me. I looked at her and shook my head. This isn't really like her though, if he's that annoying to her then maybe I could try talk to both of them about their situation. At least this has calmed her down.
"You know each other?" Nakagomi asked.
"It's a long story, and I prefer not to talk about it now… maybe another time," I instantly replied as I produced a little bit of sweat.
We finally reached the infirmary and I opened the door. Morimoto walked away after that happened and Nakagomi has calmed down pretty easily. A handful people are these days. I was greeted by the school nurse who had short black hair in a small ponytail and brown eyes. I gently nodded back and then Nakagomi greeted her formally.
"Good afternoon Nakagomi-chan, it's been a while since we met. Oh what happened here?" the school nurse asked with a concerned look on her face.
"I think I damaged something just behind my left knee..." I answered her concerning question, I couldn't think of any other way of explaining it.
"Oh dear, you can lie down or sit on that bed over there," she said as she pointed to the bed in the very back-left corner of the room. "How come I've never seen you before?" she asked out of the blue.
"He transferred here two week, and I was his first friend here!" Nakagomi exclaimed to her and stuck out her tongue with both hands behind her back. It makes me wonder, is it natural for her to act like that?
"Ah, that explains it... that means I should introduce myself to you," she said. "I'm Suzukita, Hina Suzukita."
"I'm Shun, Yuuma Shun," I introduced back.
"That's a nice name, nice to meet you." She bowed and walked over to her laptop on her desk.
"That's what I thought as well!" Nakagomi exclaimed with a giggle.
"I see..." I trailed off.
"Could you wait a moment Shun-san, take care of him Nakagomi-chan. I gotta go run a quick errand for someone. Sorry," she declared and brought with her a stack of sheets of paper as she left the room.
"Will do!" Nakagomi replied loudly. "Mind if I sit down?" she asked me. I shook my head, she then smiled and sat next to me to my right.
"Any reason why I was targeted by those guys back there?" I asked with curiosity.
"Well, they pretty much go by their own code. Which is; tame every student in this school," she answered.
"I see..."
"Since you were new to this school, they thought it would be a good chance to get you to be their dog. As you can see, they failed miserably at that today because of you."
"Have you ever got into that situation with them?" I accidentally inconsiderately asked. I wish I haven't said that, it was pretty much silence for the longest ten seconds of my life. It looked like as if she blanked out or something. She leaned against me and sighed, leaning her head against my shoulder. This was probably the most uncomfortable thing that's ever happened to me, yet so sweet.
"Pretty much," she started, "but it wasn't very pleasant... can we leave it at that?" she asked. Though, I could tell that she was worried from the sound of her voice.
"Not trying to sound awkward or anything... but your hair smells like apples," I quietly blurt out.
"Is that so?" she replied and blushed. She closed her eyes and pulled out the sweetest smile...
...
Morimoto-kun, I wish you had never transferred to this school…