Chapter 2 – That One Friend
Shinohara High School. Not sure why I decided to come here. Maybe because it's close to Nanamori? But with everyone here now, I can't really use that excuse anymore, can I?
This has been my school for the past two years. And now, it's time to start my third and final year. They say high school's the best three years of your school life. I can't really disagree with those people. There were some fun times. Like the past two Cultural Festivals. And last year's class trip to Hawaii was really fun.
It was like a tropical paradise in a completely different world. I hope I could take Akari there someday. It was kinda lonely without her.
"Hey, Rise. Thinking of her again?"
"Gah!"
I came out of my own thoughts to realize that someone was standing over my desk. A girl with ice-blue hair. In such a style where the back is a long ponytail and the front is made to where it purposely covers her right eye. And crystal-like eyes that tend to shine in direct sunlight.
And I just happen to know this girl rather well.
"Iyo. How long were you standing there?"
"Hmm…depends. How long were you thinking of her?"
"For like a few seconds."
"Then that's how long I was standing here. Pretty neat, right?"
"No. That's called being nosey."
Iyo Mitsui. A girl I've met during my first year of high school and has been my friend since. It kinda happened on a "random stroke of good/bad luck" kind of thing.
…
I-I'll explain.
*BEGIN FLASHBACK*
"O-Ow."
"S-Sorry!"
I was lying on the hard floors of the gym after getting hit in the head with a ball of some sorts. I didn't know what the ball was. But it packed such a force that, no matter if it was a basketball or a tennis ball, it got me good.
"Hey, are you okay?" This girl asked me as I was being helped up from the floor and onto the bleachers.
…
…
"Uh…hello? You okay?"
Crap! This girl's actually talking to me! I wish could answer her normally, but…*sigh* I guess I'll just have to stick with nodding.
I simply nodded to the girl's question.
"Oh. That's good. I thought I knocked you out for good with that softball."
A-A softball?! Sh-She threw a softball at me?! Geez, this girl must be a beast or something!
"So, you're fine and everything? You don't need to go to the nurse?"
I shook my head "no" at the girl.
"I see. Hey, you don't talk much, do you?"
I shook my head "no".
"Huh. That's a shame. You have a really cute voice."
…
…
W-Wait…what?! Wh-What did she just say?! I-I have a cute voice?!
"Granted, it was when you were yelping in pain. But it was cute, nonetheless."
Sh-Should I…Should I try talking to her?
"C-Can…Can you hear me?"
"Yeah."
"Wh-What?! H-How?!"
"Why, is that a bad thing?"
…
…
"W-Well, no. But…y-you don't find my voice creepy?"
"Creepy? I said it was cute. Why would it be creepy?"
"W-Well…th-that's what everyone said when I was younger."
"People said that?"
"Y-Yeah. It happened back in kindergarten. I spoke out and people were laughing at and teasing me. Calling me names like "freak" and "creep". Some even compared me to that creepy possessed doll that kills people for its enjoyment."
"You mean Annabelle? Geez, a bunch of kindergarteners knew what that thing was? Good parenting, my ass."
"*giggle* Yeah."
"Ooh. Demented-like giggle. Now I like it even more."
"What? You like that? It's weird."
"Not to me. I like creepy and scary things. I often watch scary movies and stuff with blood and gore as a favorite pass time."
"W-Wow. Y-You brave soul. I just can't do such a thing."
"Ha. You wanna know what's funny? People often call me Soul because of my love for everything horror. It kinda fits, when you think about it."
"Does it really? I would hate that name, to be completely honest."
"*sigh* That's what they all say. Hey, by the way. What's your name?"
"M-My name?!"
"Yeah, you know. The label that your parents gave you when you were born."
"I know what a name is. And did you just call it a label?"
"Well, it technically is one. So, what's your label?"
What's your label? This girl…
"I-It's Rise. Rise Matsumoto."
"Rise Matsumoto…that's a pretty nice label you got there."
"Will you please stop calling it a label!"
"Okay, okay. Well, my name is Iyo Mitsui. Nice to meet you, Rise."
"It's nice to meet you too, Iyo." I said. With probably the first smile I've had since I started coming here.
*END FLASHBACK*
Since that day, Iyo and I have become great friends. I often ask her for help when it comes to stuff like translating my words when talking to other people and, uh…sports stuff. She's really athletic. I'm not.
At one point, I did tell Iyo about my relationship with Akari. And what happened to her on that day in which I really hate. She's always there to calm me down whenever it comes to mind. Which happens more often than you think.
"So. Ready and excited for our third and final year of high school?" Iyo asked me.
"Ready, yes. Excited…no, not really."
"What? Aw, come on. What's to not be excited about? We've got that class trip in the fall coming up. Where are we going again?"
"Uh…I think we're going to Paris."
"Ooh. Wee-Wee."
"What does that even mean?"
"I don't know. I hear French people say it a lot. Must be a standard or something."
Pretty sure that's a stereotype. But, being Japanese, I can't really question it.
"And then I've heard rumors that this year's Cultural Festival is going to be HUGE!"
"Huge? What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know. These are just rumors that started this morning. But if it is true, I hope that the whole thing is horror-themed. With blood and guts and rotting flesh all over the place and people would dress up as undead zombies."
I was dead shocked by what this girl had described her dream festival.
"Iyo. You know good and well that the school will NEVER allow that."
"*sigh* I know. One girl nicknamed Soul could dream, right?"
This girl. Her love for horror can be too much sometimes. But other than those moments, she's a really good friend and I'm glad that I have her around.
"You do you, Iyo. You do you." I said as a response to her dream.
It was around this time that the homeroom teacher came into the room. And class began like normal for us veterans of this school.
But I'm pretty sure it's completely different for the first-years.
Akari's POV
"Gaaah! That speech was so damn long! I'm already tired!"
This was yelled out by Sakurako as she plumped herself into her seat back in class.
"Yeah, well. That's what happens when you stay up all night playing video games." Himawari said.
"It wasn't all night! We were only up until 3 in the morning."
"That's not the point!"
"You know, Sakurako." Chinastu said. "This is going to be rather interesting for me to watch. I mean, I'm still shocked that you managed to pass all of your finals AND the entrance exam."
"*confident giggle* Never underestimate my genius, Chinastu. Those tests were no match for me."
"Congratulations." Was all Chinastu had to say to that.
We had just finished with the first-year ceremony and now we were chatting with each other until the teacher showed up.
You could call it lucky that myself, Chinastu, Himawari, Sakurako, and Kyouko ended up in the same class together. But I think it's a well-played out cliché that's a part of this story.
Not that I'm complaining.
…
But then again…something is on my mind at the moment.
"H-Hey. Chinastu. I-I'm starting to get nervous." I whispered to her.
"Nervous? Why are you getting nerv…Oh. It's because of your missing eye, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It is." Then I noticed something. "And looking at Kyouko, I think she's doing worse than me."
The two of us then looked at Kyouko, who was desperately looking for a way to cover up her giant neck scar. She looked panicked. Scared for her life that someone was going to view her negatively for it.
I honestly don't blame her for thinking that. I went through very similar situations last year.
"Kyouko, what's wrong?" Chinastu asked.
"What's wrong? Look at me! My scar is exposed and I'm nervous as all hell. People nowadays always judge you based on how you look. One look at this and people will think I'm some kind of wanna-be thug."
"Wanna-be thug?" Chinastu, Himawari, and Sakurako asked.
"Where'd you get that idea?"
"Uh…it's actually Would-be thug. But I know what she's talking about." I said.
*ONE EXPLANATION LATER…*
"Damn. That's fucked up." Sakurako said.
"It really is." Himawari added. "Who did that guy think he was talking to a group of customers like that? Let alone, the fact that they were female customers."
"Yeah, it was rough. For all three of us." I said.
"And that was the one day I didn't wear my scarf, too. Just shows how cruel the world is nowadays." Kyouko added.
That's when Chinastu stood up from her desk and held Kyouko's hand as tight as she possibly could.
"Listen, Kyouko. You know good and well that I'm here to protect you. If any of these jerks even try to treat you like that, I'll kick them so damn high into the sky that all the cows will moo them like they're God."
"The hell does that mean?" Himawari asked me.
"I don't know." I said with a facepalm.
"*sniff* Wow. Thanks, Chinastu. You're the best."
"She understood that?!" Himawari, Sakurako, and I were dumbfounded.
"You're welcome, Kyouko. After all, I am your girlfriend."
"*giggle* Yeah!"
The two then hugged and kissed each other as girlfriends would normally.
"Well, that went absolutely nowhere."
*SLAP*
"Ow!"
"Shut it." Himawari said after hitting Sakurako in the head.
"Alright, class. Sit down and shut up. Let's get this over with." The teacher said as she walked inside the classroom and stood in front of us.
While the rest of the class were rather insulted by the way she greeted us, the five of us were rather shocked to see this person here at all.
"Hey, Kyouko. Isn't that…" Chinastu asked.
"Holy crap, that's Ana!" Kyouko whispered.
"Ana? Isn't she Nishigaki's twin sister?" I asked.
"Is she really a teacher here?" Himawari asked.
"Ooh. This is going to be easy." Sakurako said with a confident grin.
"Sakurako, you're WAY off." Kyouko retorted with a sweatdrop.
"Hey! Who's talking over there?!"
"Gah!" We all jumped up and looked up front when everyone looking at us. That's when Ana was able to recognize us. And she let out a big long sigh.
"Aw, geez. It's you girls."
"H…Hi, Ana." We all said with a nervous wave.
This just got interesting…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I thought I was going to leave this alone for a bit. But I already updated my other stories for the week. So I figured why not and come back to this.
Much like how Haruka was important to Ayano and Ana was (somewhat) important to Kyouko, Iyo will be important to Rise in this story. I now want to have at least one supporting character (OC or not) for the main character to rely on the most in their story. So expect at least one new character in each story. For as however long this series goes on for.
Thanks for reading. Later.
