Classtime, Monday
Oka's POV
Class was almost over and Oka glanced at the clock, nervous. Once the bell would ring, she would go to the plaza with Taro. Even though the thought of spending time with him excited her, it was something new and refreshing, she still felt really bad about leaving her clubmates alone. 'They are going to be fine' she kept repeating to herself. She knew they could take care of themselves, but she was actually more worried about herself at that moment. What was going on with her? How could she do something so reckless, so... stupid, choose Taro over everything she cared about? But then she remembered that her club wasn't the only thing that she cared about. Not anymore, at least. One day without going to her clubroom was surely worth it. He was worth it. After all, she would go to her clubroom after classes, for the club meeting. It's not like anyone cared if she was there or not. So it was perfectly fine if she gave herself a bit of freedom.
She looked at Taro, who was sitting next to her. He looked back and she smiled softly. She quickly looked away, pretending to focus on her notebook, which, to be honest, was just a bunch of creepy looking drawings and very few actual notes, just enough to pass all the exams.
The sound of the bell interrupted Oka's thoughts. She quickly gathered her belongings and left the classroom. Once outside, she was approached by Taro.
''Hey, Oka'' he greeted her cheerfully. She still wasn't used to talking with him like that, so she was a bit startled. ''Um, sorry" he scratched the back of his neck, seeing her reaction. ''I didn't want to scare you" Oka smiled, feeling a bit more confident. He was so considerate. Most people wouldn't even notice that she was uncomfortable.
''I-I'm fine, thank you. Let's go" she said, wanting to change the subject. They walked down the stairs, side by side. She was always weirdely aware of where he was, either slightly behind her, or next to her, and she felt slightly... uneasy in his presence, yet she had no idea why. No, that wasn't the right word. Nervous, and thrilled were more accurate.
Once they reached the first floor, Oka froze suddenly, and stared blankly at the far wall, like she was completely unaware of the world around her. Taro stopped when he saw this and looked at her, slightly concerned. He had no idea why she reacted that way, but she didn't want him to know.
''Is something wrong?'' he asked. Oka shook her head quickly, trying to regain her composure. Just like she usually did, she failed miserably.
''No, it's nothing..." she told him, and he could probably see right through her as she said this, but he didn't ask her anything else. She was trying to convince herself that it was alright, too. ''Let's just keep going" she focused on Taro's face, almost pleading him to forget it and just keep going. He didn't quite understand what was going through her head, but he didn't question it and they continued to walk towards the plaza.
She froze, seeing the door of her clubroom. The place where she was supposed to be, but she wasn't. She failed her duties, she failed her friends... She tried not to think about it too much, but it all came back once she realized where they were, so the only thing she could do was repeating to herself: 'Just don't stop, keep going, don't even think about it..' But she got completely paralyzed then. She shook her head, trying to regain focus. She had to live with whatever choices she'd made. And hopefully, she wouldn't regret them.
Shin's POV
Taro wasn't the only one to notice Oka's strange behaviour. Shin was sitting in the occult club in his usual spot, reading a book, when he heard two students walking down the stairs right outside of the room. He got up and stood next to Chojo Tekina's chair. The underclassman looked at him, confused, but didn't say anything and got back to reading his book. All of the clubmates were used to him. Shin focused on the sounds coming from the other side of the wall. He heard the sound of footsteps stop.
''Is something wrong?'' He heard Taro Yamada's voice. Strange, how they kept running into eachother today, unknowingly to Taro. Then he remembered Oka was going to spend lunchtime with her classmate. Which meant they had to be together right now. He listened ever closer, way more intrigued than before.
''No, it's... it's nothing" Oka's voice sounded even weaker and quieter than usual. She seemed nervous, even terrified. Did seeing her clubroom make her question her own choice to go wih Taro? Maybe she regretted it. Maybe she didn't want to betray them like that. But then again, it was her choice. And there was no-one to blame for it but her. Either way, she was going to spend lunchtime with Taro, so it didn't really matter if she regretted it or not.
''Let's just keep going" he heard her say, hesitantly. Taro was quiet for a moment, but then he heard the two walk away. When he heard a door open, he made a choice. He would surely regret it later, but he had to know what was going on beetween Oka and Taro. He wouldn't let go so easily.
Before he left, he looked back at Supana Churu, who was staring at him this entire time. He threw his book to her, and she cought it quickly. He nodded slightly and then he opened the door and headed to the plaza.
He reached the nearest door leading to the courtyard. It was open, so he concluded that Oka and Yamada-san went through it. He started listening carefully to the sounds coming from the plaza, but they were too far away for him to hear anything they said. So he closed the door slowly, just to make sure nobody would see him. After closing the door, he passed it and walked to the next one. It was closed, so he leaned against a wall and listened closely.
Oka's POV
Taro Yamada looked so bautyful with his dark hair flowing in the breeze. They were alone, sitting on the fountain with nobody to disturb them. Oka watched him carefully, studying every detail of his face, as they sat toghether in the center of the plaza. The girl realized they were sitting very close to one another. She felt a strange feeling in her stormach when she realized it. Before she could think more about it, she turned her head to the right,and saw something that cought her attention. One of the doors was slowly closing, most likely because of the wind. After all, the pink petals of the cherry trees around them were flying everywhere, so it was no surprise that the wind could move one of the doors. When the door closed, however, it was opened again by the wind, just enough for Oka to catch a glimpse of a person quickly walking through the corridor. It was a dark blueish-haired student, so an occult club member. Judging by his height, it was Shin Higaku, her clubmate.
Although the Occult Club's members weren't very talkative, Oka had quite a few chances to speak to Shin. He was the first one to join her club, over a year ago when Oka founded it. He helped her convince a few first year students to join the new club, which, to be honest, wasn't an easy task. But he was so dedicated to the club, and it was mainly because of him anyone even wanted to join it. That's when the Occult Club was officially started. She would never forget the headmaster's expression when they showed him a list of students who signed up to join it. And he had no choice but to accept it.
Oka usually talked to Shin a few times per week, after school before the club meetings, but most of the time their conversations weren't very long. During their limited interactions, she managed to get to know him just a little bit. But it was quite hard, since he wasn't very social, and most people couldn't really figure him out. His thoughts and emotions were a mystery even for Oka, and she was almost sure none of the students spent nearly as much time with him as her. He had a pretty bad reputation, just like almost everyone in the Occult Club. Most of the students preferred to stay as far away from him as possible. It was... understandable. Shin was way more impulsive than Oka, and nobody could predict how he would react to certain things. And while she didn't talk much to other students because of her shyness and fear of denial, Oka felt like he didn't talk to other people because he didn't want to.
But Oka knew him well enough to trust him to be the temporary club leader in case she was gone, So he shouldn't be walking around the school during lunchtime. It was... strange, he was always so devoted to their research. What made him ditch a meeting? On the other hand, she was also not present on the meeting, so she shouldn't complain about his.. unusual activities. It still troubled her, though, and decided to ask him about it after school would end.
She felt someone poke her arm gently, and she nearly jumped in surprise. She turned her head to see Taro sitting next to her. She completely forgot about him.
''Oh, sorry..." she muttered. Taro shrugged and smiled at her, like he knew extacly what she was feeling. At least he wasn't bothered by her spacing out and forgetting about everyone around her. He was almost too good to be true...
''So, Oka..." he started, and she knew extacly what he was about to ask. ''You're the president of the Occult Club, right?" Of course. Everyone asked that question sooner or later. It was everything most people knew about her at school. It was the first thing they learned when they came here. To stay away from her because she was 'creepy'. She still decided to try to be honest with Taro, hoping for the best.
''Yes" she nodded. "We are devoted to the research of supernatural and paranormal phenomena" she cleared her throat. ''I founded this club"
Taro smiled. "That's cool" he simply said.
Oka blinked a few times before realizing what he just said. He was okay with her being intrested in the paranormal? Most people would have freaked out by now, but not him. ''And you?'' she asked Taro. "Are you a member of one of the clubs?"
Taro shook his head.
"I'm not" he answered. "I just... I don't know, I haven't found my place yet. So I'm still going through life, trying everything and discovering the world around me. I think it's better that way. It's kind of a freedom. Not being bound to anything just yet. We're still in highschool, after all".
Oka looked at the sky as she contemplated his words. She never thought about life like that. She liked being in the Occult Club, belonging somewhere. But what he said, the freedom he talked about... it was tempting beyond belief.
"I never thought about that" she said. "But... maybe you're right"
Taro was quiet. So she continued talking.
"You know, when I first came to this school two years ago, I was hoping to find friends, people who would understand me, or at least 'be normal' how my parents call it. I tried so hard to make people like me... when I think about it now, it seems like they weren't trying at all... I was pretending to be someone I'm not, just to make friends, but... I failed.."
She paused to see his reaction. He smiled reassuringly, encouraging her to continue talking.
Shin's POV
Shin was still standing on the other side of the wall, just outside the courtyard, so he heard everything they said. And, more importantly what Oka just said. She never told him about her feelings, they barely even talked to eachother. But Taro Yamada...? That was just ridicolous. They had a first real conversation a few hours ago, and she was so honest... He couldn't deny it now, he was jelous. Jelous of Taro. Particularly of how he seemed to have twisted Oka around his little finger in just one day. He hated him so much. Somehow, he knew Taro didn't deserve to spend time with her. Or maybe it was all because he wanted to be like him. But this could never happen. Taro took Oka away from him. And as far as he could tell, as Oka was getting closer with Taro, she was drifting away from him. And it hurt, knowing she chose a boy she spoke to for the first time today over both him and her club.
He looked down, listening to what Oka was saying now.
"But, as time passed, they realized what I'm really like. They saw me as a freak"
They were all freaks, for most of the students. Shin got used to it, he was pretending not to care, scaring everyone off by avoiding them and always hiding what he was really like. But Oka was way more fragile and sensitive. She cared what people thought about her and it hurt her deeply. Shin never realized she felt like that. He should've figured it out, he should've helped her when she needed it. And now she was telling Taro about her problems, because she had no one else to talk to. It was a perfect opprotunity for him to gain her trust by comforting her.
''So I stopped pretending when I knew they all thought so low of me. I was lonely for the rest of my first year of highschool. But then, when I came to school for the second year, I decided to be myself and created the Occult Club. I was able to gather enough students to found it pretty quickly..."
Shin remembered how their club was created. He met Oka a year ago, and when she told him about the idea of founding a club dedicated to the paranormal, he immidiately decided to help her. He convinced Supana and Chojo to join them, and they stayed. There were also two underclassmans who left the club at the end of the previous school year. During the last but one club meeting, they informed Oka they didn't want to stay in the club for the next year. He still remembered it like it was yesterday...
The next day he came to the Occult Club's room a bit earlier than usual. When he opened the door, he saw Oka sitting in the middle of the room, sobbing. He couldn't see her face, but she was most likely crying. It was the first and last time he'd seen her cry. She was hiding it well, but he knew she was extremely sensitive. He didn't have the courage to come in and help her then. He would have now. He closed the door and walked away, without Oka noticing he ever saw her, feeling like the worst person alive.
He managed focus on the reality again, and kept listening to what Oka was saying.
"I finally I had somewhere I could come back to. I had people who I trusted. I was so happy, Taro..."
Shin felt his lips curve into an almost invisible smile. It was weird. He never smiled. He rarely showed any sign of emotion, exspecially joy. But it made him happy, knowing that creating the Occult Club made Oka feel better about her life. Honestly, he was sure all of their clubmates were happy to be in the club. And it made everything easier, having people you can call "friends". Even he was accepted among them, as horrible as he was.
"But... even when I'm spending a lot of time with the rest of the Occult Club, I still..." she paused, and Shin listened closely. "I can't bear the look many student give me when they see me at school. They're disgusted. They look at me like I'm an intruder in the school, like I just don't fit in. Then they just whisper to one another and I know they are talking about me. It hurts... I-I can't..."
She stopped. Shin heard her trying to hold back a sob. He could imagine her eyes right now, full of tears. She was trying to calm her breathing, but she just couldn't and he heard a muffled sob.
There. He's never seen Oka in such a vulnerable state. Exspecially not in front of somebody else. Taro had so much power over her in that moment. He could break her heart, or he could help her and move their relationship forward. Shin wasn't sure what he would be more happy about.
He felt so sorry for Oka. But most of all he hated himself for not helping her in any way, nor realizing how she felt this entire time. Was he this ignorant? This stupid? He was wondering what Taro would do now. Well, he would probably just stare at her in the most awkward way possible until she'd calm down. He never understood people's feelings, so it was almost impossible for him to comfort someone.
"That's funny" he heard Taro say. 'What?!' Did he really consider Oka's problems funny? Was he really such an idiot? Or did he just have a very sick and cruel sense of humor? Oka was silent. He would also be silent in the situation she was in at that moment. "I think we may have a lot in common"
Oh. Well, at least he wasted a perfect opprotunity to get closer to Oka. And... he didn't make her very upset.
"Really?" she asked, and he heard her sniff. Any traces of tears should be gone before class'd begin. Good. At least Oka didn't have to worry about being known as a crybaby.
"I don't really like spending time with other people" he said. Oh, for God's sake... Taro thought he was so special, so interesting. And all Shin saw in him was a completely average and boring schoolboy who was pretending to be intelligent and complex. He hated people who hid their true nature. Who pretended to be better than they really were. And him...? He didn't even bother to make a good impression on people. Plus, Taro had no right to compare himself to Oka. She was regularly bullied by nearly everyone at school. And, from what Shin'd heard, her parents weren't much better. "I prefer sitting here, on the fountain. It's so quiet here. It's good to come here beetween classes. Inside of the school, it's noisy and crowded. Here, I always have some time to think. I love the peaceful silence and the cherry trees".
Even if Taro was really lame and average, he couldn't blame Oka for spending time with him. Apparently, nobody in the club could help her...
"Well..." Oka cleared her throat, preparing to say something. But before she could continue, the bell rang, meaning the end of lunchtime. Shin decided to stay by the door until they let the plaza. A moment after that, he heard footsteps.
"Thanks for the talk. It was very nice of you, spending lunchtime with me" Oka said. Taro chuckled quietly.
"You don't have anything to thank me for. Spending lunchtime with you is a pleasure. I'd love to do it again sometime" he heard Taro's response, but before he could think more about how stupid was Taro Yamada, he remembered that he had left the rest of the Occult Club's members alone for most of the lunchtime. 'Shit!' He failed in his responsibilities just to spy on Oka. He felt like the worst person ever. Oka was at least DOING something, while he just acted like a complete creep. His life was just a series of pathetic failures. Oh well, he already got used to it.
Anyway, Oka was awfully silent for quite some time now. Taro Yamada just complimented her. 'She must be pretty shocked, considering the fact that no-one ever tells her anything nice' he noted.
"Oh... thanks..." she said, barely audible.
"I almost forgot" Shin couldn't really hear anything for a few seconds. "Here's my phone number. That way we can talk anytime you want"
Another minute of silence from Oka. Of course, Shin never gained Oka's phone number.
"Okay, we should be heading ot class now" Taro said and Shin heard footsteps yet again. He realized he should be going to his own classroom, so he chose the nearest staircase and rushed to the third floor, over a minute late.
