Tum-tadada-daa! The story 'Typical' has levelled up. -gets shot for the dorky attempt at imitating Junpei.- o.x In layman's terms - I present to you Chapter 2... Enjoy! Like the first chapter, this one is still quite Akihiko-centric; I guess it makes sense since it's going to take him quite a while to jump from not wanting (or needing) a girlfriend to developing a crush on Kaori. x) Gosh, I really hope I'm not doing too badly with characterising Akihiko. I'm sorry that this chapter is also short. x.x I seem to be having trouble with making it lengthier. D:
I'd like to thank Meow Factory, Ryurieri and xFuckTheWindx for reviewing. :D
Disclaimer: I'd have to be filthy rich (which I'm not) to own Persona 3 (which I don't). (:
As soon as he opened the door to the shop, Akihiko smiled nostalgically when he was greeted by the appetising aroma of his most favourite dish. His smile grew wider after noticing that the place wasn't crowded like usual. There were a lot of empty seats and it was definitely quieter, more peaceful - admittedly, he liked it better that way. As someone who was usually the centre of attention, he could start getting used to finally hearing his own thoughts. After scanning the area, Akihiko spotted a familiar face sitting contemplatively on one of the stools.
"Yo." Akihiko gave a friendly smile as he quickly tapped the other person on the shoulder.
However, the boxer received no coherent response - merely a low, unenthusiastic grunt from the pea-coat wearing male.
"Hey, Sanada!" The elderly man behind the counter smiled delightfully. "It's good to see you again. What'll it be?"
"Just the usual, thanks." Akihiko politely smiled back, and grabbed a seat close to his friend who held a murderous look in his eye - looking ready to throw Akihiko out of the small restaurant at any given moment.
"Go to hell." Shinjiro seethed, whilst munching down a spoonful of his portion of beef bowl. "I don't have time for this shit."
Akihiko gave a meaningful shrug, wondering if Shinji was always going to be this hostile at every encounter. "Relax. I didn't come here to bother you. I'm only here to eat." Besides, he wasn't even in the mood to talk about anything SEES-related, anyway.
"Hmph." Shinjiro snorted. "You look ridiculous. Since when the hell did you sport that look?"
"... I-It's not a fashion statement!" Akihiko's silver eyes widened with embarrassment, his face then turned into seventeen shades of red after taking a quick glance at his clothes. His polo shirt and the usual blue shorts he wore during practice were an obvious mis-match. At the time, he kind of hoped it wasn't too noticeable. (Not to mention he had completely forgotten about it until Shinji had brought it up.) He had ignored the fixated, quizzical glances from random by-passers and a few giggling girls on his way to the beef bowl shop - but he hadn't even considered why they acted that way. He had been so used to the attention that he didn't even think anything of it.
Shamelessly, the boxing champ scratched his head. "I was in the middle of getting dressed but... I ran out of time... Don't ask why..."
Shinjiro gave an indifferent scowl. "Tch. Not like I was gonna. I could care less about your damn problems."
Problems... Well, he wasn't really sure if he could call it that. It was more of a... conundrum. For the whole afternoon in the boys' changing room, Akihiko had done fifty sit-ups to relieve his frustration - wondering about what was different with him. (He had spent so much time pondering, that the school bell which signalled Gekkoukan High's closing time was the only thing that brought him back to earth.) Normally, he didn't let meaningless words such as 'wierd' or 'too serious' affect him. Thinking back on it now, he felt utterly foolish for allowing himself to be defeated by words. He should have known better. The only thing that mattered most was his goal - he had to get stronger. Everyone else's thoughts and opinion of him had nothing to do with it.
However, because of his team mates' comments, there was something else that began to occupy his mind: Loosen up. You're only young once. Go out there and get yourself a girl! He knew it was such a useless thought, but he didn't understand why he couldn't stop obsessing over it.
A harsh tap on his shoulder brought him back to his senses. "Here you go, Sanada. Eat up while it's still hot."
"A-ah... Thanks." Akihiko smiled gratefully, reaching out for his order of beef bowl.
No, it's absolutely useless to think about it. I-I'm not missing out on anything. What would I even need a girl for, anyway? Akihiko shook his head violently, deciding to focus his energy on something else; to talk to Shinji about an entirely different problem - something which he had been trying to ignore for the last few weeks.
"Shinji..." Akihiko began.
The beanie-wearing male shrugged heavily, obviously annoyed. "...What?"
"Can I ask you something?"
Shinjiro cocked his head to one side and made a displeased sort of noise. It wasn't supposed to be an invitation to carry on with the conversation, but Akihiko went on with his speech anyway.
"Lately, I've been feeling confused. I... used to like training. I was always looking forward to practice every morning. That's cause whenever I didn't train, I'd get bored." Akihiko sighed. "But now... I'm always feeling bored - whether I'm training or not. I mean I still want to get stronger, but something feels... missing. It's as if training doesn't give me that... drive I usually get. It feels like... it's not enough to keep me satisfied anymore. Sure, my goal's important but then, every once in a while I think to myself: What am I supposed to do after I reach my goal? What's going to happen after that? What should I do next?"
It was quiet for a moment - but Akihiko, ever so persistent, had held onto his eye-contact with Shinjiro... hoping he could hear something useful out of the other person.
"You wanna know what I think...?" Shinjiro asked intuitively after a while, beckoning Akihiko closer with his pointer finger.
As if he had been controlled by a remote, the boxer did as he was asked.
"Yeah, I'm listening."
"You."
"Ow!" Akihiko yelped as the back of his head had met the full force of Shinjiro's rough hand.
"...are such a goddamn idiot!"
"What was that for? !" Akihiko asked indignantly while nursing the back of his bruised head.
"I was trying to fix that thick skull of yours, you moron. What the hell even brought this on? You usually charge at whatever comes your way, like a damn fool. Quit being such a baby. If you have a problem, then face it like a man. You really think bitching about it is going to change anything?"
Akihiko raised a hand defensively. "I know that! I just don't know what I'm supposed to do about it. I've tried to ignore it, but... I..." He sighed in defeat. "What do you think I should do, Shinji?"
"Hell if I know. Just figure it out for yourself, dumbass! Do I have to spell everything out for you?" Shinjiro barked, before he stood up and stormed out.
But... how am I supposed to do that? Sure, it was easy for Shinji to say that, but it wasn't as if he was the one who had to come up with the solution. It's like what they say: Easier said than done.
