Chapter 2- Third times a charm

"So… hey"

"Yeah… hi"

Well would you look at that, it is awkward after all.

Hisao and I stand a few feet apart, myself rooted to the spot by nerves, but I don't know what's keeping him so still. At least we have spoken to each other now and there is no longer an unbroken silence hanging between us. Now there are a few disjointed words dancing in our midst instead. This is stupid I can talk to boys normally, what's wrong with me? Never mind, just take a breath and dive in before the sound of crickets becomes deafening.

"Uhh Hisao, for me to start making the booth look pretty as Rika so eloquently put it I'm going to need the paint and decorations." The brown haired boy looks at me inquisitively for a second until a light bulb above his head burst into life and he fumbles for the box now sitting at his feet, a faint crimson emanating from his cheeks. Hisao sure does seem to get embarrassed easily but I cant say it's a trait that I don't like or understand. Transferring to a new school and meeting a whole new set of people is a pretty daunting experience, plus boys look kind of adorable when they blush.

"Oh sorry, I was a bit distracted by… never mind." Hisao cuts himself short and swiftly picks the box of festival goodies up before handing them to me, all the while refusing to make eye contact. That isn't an uncommon thing for new people to do when talking to me; people don't like to stare so instead go to extreme measures to avoid looking me in the eye. If anything that is worse. I wish they wouldn't, life would be a lot simpler if people just got over it and moved on. Feeling a little resentful after going down that particular train of thought I snatch the box from Hisao harder than I intended but it seems he would rather just ignore it and talk about something else which is fine by me.

"So Rika said you two are in the same class." He has turned away from me now and is busying himself with the bagged fish.

"Yeah we're both in class 2-3, although miss class representative is a much bigger part of it than I am." The box of festival decorations seems to mainly be from last Christmas, as do the paints that come in two varieties: red or green. This could make my task a little tougher.

"You don't normally do stuff like this then?" Hisao calls over his shoulder, still paying most of his attention to his aquatic friends.

"Nope, too many early mornings for my liking." Just the thought of getting out of bed at this time makes me yawn and I struggle in vain to mask it, which draws a flat chuckle from Hisao.

"I hear you there, I almost went back to sleep after my alarm got me up this morning but I don't think I know Rika well enough to test her mercy yet." I let out a brief giggle and lift my head up to respond to the back of his head but to my surprise I find him now facing me glancing between the box of decorations and myself. The corners of Hisao's mouth curl up into the slightest of smiles and he gestures at the box "Need a hand?"

I match his smile and brush the lawless strands of hair that have fallen in front of my face behind my ear before nodding at him. "If you wouldn't mind, I'm still not sure what she expects me to do but I'm sure between us we can make something work."

Ramping up his smile Hisao bends down and joins me in rummaging through the box, picking out the occasional decoration he thinks would look good.

"So how do you know Rika then?" I ask absentmindedly, still digging around for any lost treasure that I can find. There is a few seconds of silence before Hisao answers.

"We met in the nurses office." His words carry more weight than I think he meant as his tone has dropped to a more serious one. I know that Rika has a heart condition, she told me about it when we first met, and that she regularly has to see the nurse so it makes sense that she would eventually run into a new transfer student there. I wonder if Rika knows why Hisao is here then, if they did indeed meet in the nurse's office she may have overheard them talking. It doesn't look as if Hisao wants to go into the subject anymore though so instead I start back up my search for decorations.

I steal a glance at my companion's slowly growing pile of items and my eyebrows rise in trepidation, instead of gathering decorations fit for a fishing stall he appears to be amassing a small origami zoo at his feet. He must have noticed me looking as he picks up one of the cranes and holds it between us.

"I know they don't have much to do with fishing but none of the stuff in here does either so I thought we could just dot them around the stall so we at least have something." Hisao twirls the origami bird around with his fingers as he speaks, clearly entranced by the small folded creature. Origami doesn't hold the same appeal for me but his idea is better than any I have come up with so far.

"Yeah sure, go ahead. I haven't come up with anything yet so that sounds great. This sort of thing isn't really my forte." I retrieve a crumpled lantern from the bottom of the box that looks like it has seen better days and toss it to the side as I speak.

"Oh that's right, you said you did photography right?" Hisao questions, carefully placing the crane back with the rest.

"Uh-hu." I reply with a paintbrush between my teeth. I think the sign would look best in red… no wait green, or maybe-

"What sort of stuff do you take photos of?" Hisao asks interrupting my colour dilemma. I remove the wooden tool from my mouth to answer him this time and instead flick it through the air in time with the rhythm of my speech.

"Anything that catches my eye really; people, landscapes, animals. But I'd have to say people are my favourite subjects, when I can get a model that is. You can capture so much emotion in a split second of someone's expression that it makes everything else seem dull in comparison."

"Sounds like you're really into it, how come you have trouble finding models?" You sure are curious about my photography Hisao.

"Well I guess that isn't strictly true. I can ask Rika to be a model when I need her but sometimes she has student council work to do, and I don't think she is too keen on the idea after we did that naked shoot." Out of the corner of my eye I can see that my comment has had the desired effect on Hisao. The poor boy has frozen up completely; his face has taken on a deep red hue and his eyes have widened to the point where they look like they are trying to escape from his skull. His expression is priceless and I can't help but stare and laugh at the shock on his face, which only makes him look more confused.

"It's ok Hisao no need to have a heart attack, I was only kidding." I manage to say between giggles. "I've never done anything like that with Rika… not yet anyway"

Hisao's face begins to return to its normal colour and his eyes return to their regular size, if a little shaky. To my surprise he actually brings a hand up and gently rubs his chest but a smile creeps on to his face as he looks back at me. "You… you had me going for a second there."

Matching his smile I get back to painting the stall's sign, having decided that green will indeed look the best.

"So what do you like to do then?" I ask, not looking up from my work. "Photography is my hobby, what about yours?"

Hisao recalls slightly at my question and his face contorts into an odd expression, somewhere between sorrow and pain. Shit, Hisao is a transfer student, what if he is here because something happened to him and whatever brought him here stopped him doing his hobby. If that is the case having it brought up so casually in conversation was probably one of the worst things I could have said.

"I uhh… I guess I don't really have one." Hisao's quiet stuttering voice brings me back to earth with a thud. His shoulders are slumped and instead of looking at me his eyes are now pointed at his feet. "I used to play soccer with my friends but now… I guess reading would be my hobby."

The atmosphere between us has become awkward again and Hisao's glare remains stuck to his shoes. I want to know what happened to him, why he can no longer play soccer and he has had to come to Yamaku but I feel its curiosity that has me interested instead of a genuine want to understand the brown haired boy. So instead I hold my tongue, if he wants me to know I'm sure he will tell me.

"I guess you've visited the library then." I say in a hurried attempt to pull the conversation back into friendlier territory.

"Yeah." He replies, almost in a whisper. This is getting us nowhere, he is still transfixed with his feet but his eyes seemed to have glazed over like he is looking right through the earth itself. I dig into my pocket and get rewarded with my phone, flipping it open to glance at the time I find that it's only just pasted half ten. It's still a little early for lunch but the stall is looking decent and I'm more than certain Hisao could do with a break from his thoughts. A walk round the festival is needed I feel.

"Hisao I think we've done enough here, if you put the sign up I'll give one of my classmates a call and we can go look around the festival ok?" His eyes come back up to meet mine and I smile at him, hoping my plan will raise his spirits. It seems to work as a faint gleam returns to his brow eyes and a weary smile replaces his sullen expression.

"Yeah, that sounds good." His voice has regained a touch of its former strength and his smile grows as he nods and takes the sign from me. A warm feeling grows through me at seeing him smile again, it makes me doubly happy knowing I was the one to bring it back.

After a call to Akari, one of the other girls in my class, and a little bit of grovelling on my end I manage to convince her to turn up for her shift an hour early so that Hisao and I can have a walk around.

"Thanks Akari, I'll make it up to you at some point." I call over my shoulder as my new friend and I start towards the festivities. Can I call Hisao a friend yet? I mean he seems like a nice enough guy and we get along well if you ignore the odd spot of awkwardness so yeah, I think I'd like to be his friend. With this thought in my mind I turn to him to get his attention and he in turn looks back down at me, the height difference is more noticeable now we are standing next to each other.

"So what do you want to do first?" I ask holding my hands behind my back. I wait patiently for his response as the cogs and gears in his head get to work.

"Well Rika said she would give me the tour once the stall was set up but she isn't back yet so I don't really know." He looks contemplatively around at the many stalls and attractions before pointing at me and beaming. "I guess you're my guide now."

"Well it seems you drew the short straw then because I was counting on Rika guiding me around as well, things have shifted around since last year." I narrow my vision and quickly scan the stalls, trying to pick one that I recognise to start with. I settle on a candy apple stall and start heading towards it, noticing after a few steps that Hisao isn't following. I turn around and start walking backwards to see him stood perfectly still, apparently lost in thought.

"Hey Hisao wake up!" I call to him with a cheesy grin, snapping him out of his inner monologue and bringing his eyes back to me. He smiles back and trots after me, quickly catching up and falling into step beside me as I turn to walk forwards again.

"Sorry about that I-"

"Got distracted?" I interrupt with a wry grin, keeping my eye forward. "I've noticed you do it a couple of times now, is everything alright?" I glance up at him to gauge his response but luckily he doesn't seem as jolted as he did the last time.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just that Yamaku is so strange compared to my last school, everything here is so new to me and all the people are so… different." He cringes as his use of the word; this environment definitely is new to him. There are many students here, me included, that would take different as an insult, but he quickly tries to correct himself. "I don't mean different, that was a poor choice of words. I mean… unique?"

"You should probably stop digging a hole before you fall into it Hisao." I tease, which rewards me with a blush and a frustrated sigh from my brown haired companion. I nudge him gently with my elbow to bring his attention back to me and smile warmly. "Tip number one for life at Yamaku; try not to use words like different and unique when describing people. Kids here just want to be seen as normal, they don't want to be defined by their disability."

There is a short pause before Hisao speaks again; he looks deep in contemplation but eventually his focus returns back at me and he smiles apologetically. "Thanks Yumi, I guess I never thought of it that way. Sorry if I offended you."

"No worries, you can make it up to me by paying for my food for the day." It's a ridiculous thing to ask I know and I don't expect him to take me up on it but it makes him laugh and that's good enough.

"Ok, fair enough."

Wait what?

"You- you don't have to. I was only joking." I stammer.

"No it's ok I don't mind, you don't look like you eat that much and it's what friends do." He smiles broadly at me as he pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and counts out the correct change, swapping it for two candy apples with the student behind the desk. Maintaining his friendly grin he holds out one of the delicious sweets for me and I shyly accept it, offering a quiet thank you before taking my first bite.

The sweet toffee shell cracks beneath my teeth and the crisp flesh of the apple tears apart with a satisfying noise as I savour the delicacy. I can't help but sigh contentedly and close my eye as the sweet and sour tastes blend perfectly in my mouth. I think this is the most satisfied a person can be without slipping a hand into their pants. As I slowly open my eyes I'm greeted by a very puzzled looking Hisao who is eyeing me up quizzically.

"Are they really that good? It looks like that was almost orgasmic." I guess it's his turn to tease now, but it's ok. I wouldn't mock him if I couldn't take it myself.

"It's pretty damn close. Try it." I say, gesturing to his apple with my own. He looks at it suspiciously for a second before shrugging his shoulders and digging in. He looks un-impressed for the first few chews but then his eyes close shut and he too produces a guttural moan from his throat. He looks a bit silly actually; I guess that's why he was looking at me odd. I feel a brief heat in my cheeks but cover it up by turning towards the rest of the festival and taking another bite of my heavenly treat.

"Ok you were right, this thing is amazing." Hisao manages to say through a mouthful of apple as he appears beside me again. "What's next then, I remember seeing a ring toss game that looked pretty fun on my way here."

Ahh ring toss, not personally my favourite festival game, anything that takes a precise aim is usually something I try to avoid. I toy with the idea of taking Hisao in the wrong direction but walking around the festival was my idea to cheer him up so not doing what he wants would kind of defeat the object of it. I think the ring toss is in relatively the same place each year so I nod and start to head towards it.

"I'm not too sure but I think the ring toss will be this way. I don't normally go to it though so I could be wrong."

"Why's that?" Hisao asks innocently, looking around at the nearby stalls and nibbling on his apple.

"We are sorry Miss Goto but for the rest of your life you will experience problems with precision and depth perception." I recite what the doctors told me as I left hospital after the accident, their words still as clear as they were eight years ago. Hisao looks at me blankly for a second so instead of explaining further I simply point to my covered eye. Realisation dawns on his face and he looks away in embarrassment but I grab his arm and turn him back towards me.

"Hey it's ok Hisao, honestly you forgetting about it is a good thing. It's much better than tip-toeing around the subject." I put on my most sincere smile and I am delighted to see him reciprocate with one of his own.

"Ok now lets go find this ring toss stall so I can laugh at you when you loose." Hisao cracks into a laugh himself as I pull him by the arm towards the stall, now visible through a gap in the jostling crowd. I let go of his arm as we reach the stall and we stand in line behind a group of first years also waiting for a chance to win something. Although not lost in though, Hisao is wearing an odd expression and as he turns to me he opens his mouth but cant seem to find the words he is looking for, deciding instead to give up on his thought and face forward again.

"Something up?" I ask, his brow now furrowed as if he was frustrated.

"Well I was just wondering…" He hesitates as he fiddles with the ring toss money he holds in his palm before turning to look me in the eye. "What's it like? Only having one eye I mean. You said you can't judge depth well, does it ever stop you doing things?"

Now it's my turn to hesitate. I'm not the sort of person to shy away from talking about my disability if asked but I have only known Hisao for a few hours. I'm not sure I want to start delving into the specific pains of being blind in one eye. Luckily for me we appear to have reached the front of the line. I blink my eye quickly and look up at him smiling gently.

"Come on then Hisao, try and win a bear for me. No pressure but if you fail we can no longer be friends."

Hisao looks momentarily disheartened but a smile quickly returns to his face. He pays for three rings and readies himself, carefully eyeing up his target. As I watch him he raises and lowers his arm, I guess trying to judge how much force he needs, before letting fly with his first disk.

Miss.

"Close." I jest with a smirk, leaning up against the front of the stall with my arms crossed. He looks over to me and I swear I see his eyes travel over my body before he turns back to the rings with a look of fresh determination.

Miss.

"Ooh it's getting tense now." My smirk has evolved into a full on grin with bared teeth and all. Teasing Hisao is proving to be a very fun past time. "Don't forget, miss this one and you'll be spending the rest of the festival on your own."

"How exactly is that a bad thing?" Hisao asks. He keeps looking forward but I can see the edges of a smile on his lips.

"Well maybe I should just go then." I push myself off from the stall and make to walk away but Hisao's voice catches me before I can get very far. As I turn around I find him looking right at me and for some reason I cant seem to take another step. Something in the way he looks at me is keeping me held here.

"Wait. If you go how will I give you your bear?" Without missing a beat he tosses the final ring over his shoulder, never so much as glancing at his target. Apparently our charade attracted the attention of the surrounding students as the general din around us has died down. The wooden ring's flight is accompanied by a dozen sets of eyes as everyone holds their breath in case somehow exhaling would throw the ring off its course. With a dull thud that in the relative quiet surrounding us sounds like an earthquake the ring hits its target, Hisao managed to get it round a peg. The crowd remains eerily silent for a second before the realisation hits them and a cheer erupts from all around us. Before I know it people I've never spoken to are congratulating Hisao and me with pats on the back and thumbs up. The boy running the stall gets down a small brown furred bear and hands it to Hisao who himself looks a little dumbstruck that he was actually able to make the shot. Looking a little embarrassed at the sudden attention he has garnered he makes his way over to me and presents me with his prize.

"Thanks, that was one hell of a shot."

"Just lucky." He says with a brief shrug of his shoulders. I think he's just being modest. I open my mouth to respond but a male voice from the back of the crowd beats me to it.

"Just kiss her already!"

What?! Oh lord no; he's not my boyfriend!

I can't hide my face behind the bear quick enough and I can hear giggles coming from a group of girls at the front of the crowd. My face is bright red, and I mean bright red. I'm talking sunset red here. Hisao isn't much better than me but he chooses to try and brush the embarrassment off with a laugh as he runs his hand through the back of his hair.

"Shall we move on to another stall?" He asks but I find myself only able to nod in reply, my face still burning and hidden behind the bear he won for me. Accompanied by a few boos and disappointed groans we walk away from the ring toss game, making sure to stay further away from each other than we were before.