Hanako's POV

I lost the morning class just sitting on the library, reading about the first thing I found. I got here pretty early, but I wasn't in the mood for classes. That's just it

So, right now I'm heading to the classroom to see if I can find a teacher that tells me what they did. Or whoever is kind enough, but I doubt it since it's a bit late and everyone thinks I'm worthless

Well, there is one person. And he is walking towards me, but not paying attention as usual; he is looking at a brochure for the festival.

"H-hi" I greet him as discreetly as possible and he lifts his head up to see me

"Oh, hi, Hanako. Umm, Lilly was looking for you this morning, so you should go see her"

Maybe it's now when I really notice what he does when he talks to me. He is probably way too careful around me, his gaze darting around the place and never looking at me. Probably because he thinks I'm made of paper.

"Yeah. Thanks"

I try to focus on walking away, but there's something my mind wants to tell him. It's the first time it happens with someone I barely know. I look up at him, and see he just continued reading, taking small steps.

"Ehm… Hayato"

"Hmm?" He doesn't look up, sometimes it's annoying

"Do you mind… coming with me to the… c-classroom?" Now he looks up to me with an indifferent expression

"Is there anything you need from there?"

"Just the… schoolwork"

I look at him, and he just nods. Hayato hands me his schoolbag with a tiny smile that is strangely comforting. I take it from his grip, touching for half a second his burnt right hand; it seems he doesn't mind, but it's fascinating for me

"Here, everything's in my bag in it's respective notebooks. Please take care of them"

I nod and he goes to wherever he has to go. After hesitating for a moment, I decide to follow him after I'm sure he can't see me.

Down the stairs, into the hallway and some doors ahead. Is that the music club's room? He knocks the door twice and a redhead girl comes out of the room. I see how she starts teasing him in a weird way, did she just licked his healthy hand?

In the end, Hayato enters the room with the other girl, and I can hear how she starts lecturing him about how she wants the festival's show, doing his job correctly, and how his hair was silky.

Not worth my time, so I'll just go to the library and get the schoolwork done

…

I sigh deeply as I close my notebook, finally concluding the copying. Wonder what kinds of things he keeps in his schoolbag…

Tools, hardware, some drawings and… blue and green books? They are not from the school, wonder what's in here.

Oh, it's a manga

Hayato's POV

Again, I have nothing to so, so I decided to pay a visit to the music club's president, Kagurazaka-san. She started teasing me a bit, nothing I can't handle. But once she began licking my left hand, I pretty much froze and changed the subject to the festival. It has it's advantages, I guess.

So we came in and I began fixing the sound system of pretty much everything thanks to the tools she gave me that mysteriously look just like mines. After Aika lectured me about the quality of their show, I just remembered something that could probably be my bane.

I forgot to take out my yuri and romance mangas. They have blue and green covers, respectively. And knowing Hanako likes reading so much, I can only pray for her reading the green ones first, at least I can have enough time to look for her after this other woman lets me go.

"Kagurazaka-san, can I go now?" I turn my head and ask her

"Nope, you still have to give me a hug after you're done" she says in a sing song tone that makes me growl

"Alright, but keep your word"

And I keep fixing the cables and it's entries for about five minutes, then I stand up and walk to Aika, who was just looking at me sitting in her piano in a… cute way?

"Stand up" I say emotionless

"Don't you feel tired after a whole day of study?" she says in a pout that makes me sigh

"I still have things to do. Everything's set for Sunday and you just need to get it in place. Here's your hug"

She claps cheerfully and hugs me tightly, so I just place a hand on her head until I separate her with a light push

"See you, Aika-san"

"Goodbye, Hayato"

As soon as I get out of the music club's room, I bolt to class 3-2. If there's someone who may know where Hanako is, it's Lilly. I scan the classroom looking for her between the sea of people, a flash of yellow appearing near the center

"Satou-san! Satou-san!" I call out for her, who turns to my direction

"Hayato-san?"

"Yeah… Do you know where Hanako is?" I'm panting lightly

"I'm afraid not. Was there anything you need?"

"Well, she borrowed my schoolbag because of the notes she needed for the classes she missed. And now I need it"

"I'm sorry, but I think there's nothing I can do to help you. You can try looking for her in the library, she is usually there"

"Good idea. See you!"

I run down the stairs and head to the library, searching for her in every inch, until I spot her in a lonely corner, reading… the green one

Thank God

"Hanako" I go to her trying to steady my breathing

She looks up with a face of worry and surprise, why?

It's just then when I start feeling my heart very accelerated, giving me a bad time headache because of the overflowing blood

My tachycardia. I completely forgot

At least it's a minor case

I sit down in a poof next to her to steady my breathing, the nervous reactions of the human body fading away. I take a deep sigh and look at her.

She looks pale, probably speechless. I smile and nod, trying to tell her that I'm fine.

"I'm fine Hanako, don't worry"

She calms herself down, but still looks worried

"Are y-you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now"

Hanako nods and puts away my book, into the schoolbag and she handles it to me.

"Here… thank you very m-much"

I get a chance to touch her burnt hand for a very brief moment. Interesting

"Thanks. Hanako… I want to ask you something, for your own good"

It's not what you think it is

"Hanako, can you please stop skipping class? I know it gets pretty overwhelming at times, but you can't just get out of your work place whenever you want to, don't you think?"

She nods lightly, I can barely see her reaction

"So, if there's anything you need help with, even the slightest thing, you can count on me, for anything. Alright?"

Hanako's POV

I'm speechless

He wants to be my friend, a real friend; someone who offers you his blood, sweat and tears for my own good. I don't know what to answer, so I hope he can continue. I look down and answer

"A-alright" he smiles

"I have to go, remember that Lilly was looking for you" he stands up and starts walking

"OK"

When he is no longer in sight, I look down and sigh deeply; not knowing what to do.

Doing nothing makes me get up and grab a random book from the non-fiction section, a random book about science. It's mostly basic stuff, but as I read it, I feel like I suddenly remember everything I've been taught about that subject in particular.

And it doesn't leave my mind.

I kinda know how this guy feels, and why he likes it so much. It's pretty interesting, though I don't want to end up like him.

I read the book until it's night time, then I go to my room and call this a day.

I get out of the bed with a very big yawn, and act like a zombie through my entire morning routine. Before I know it, I'm standing in the door of my classroom; taking a glance back, Lilly enters her own

"Hi" a voice is heard nearby

I look around to find the owner, and realize he is already in his seat, taking out stuff from his schoolbag. I head to my own and set up for classes, Hayato talks in the mean while

"Good to see you keeping your promise" he doesn't look to me, still busy

"Thanks"

I take his distraction as a chance to look at him, his hair has a weird look, reminding me of a guy from an anime. Makoto, was his last name? Never mind

…

Back to the classroom after spending lunchtime with Lilly, a well-known figure is reading a blue book, the same one I found on his schoolbag probably. If the green one was a manga, then the blue one should be as well. Without a single sound, I go to my desk and try to look at what he's reading.

Useless, it's almost glued to his face.

When the bell rings, he sighs then gets it back to his schoolbag, getting ready for the next classes. Hmm, I have the feeling I'm missing something

SCIENCE HOMEWORK!

I knew it, I knew it! I forgot about it yesterday. Oops, I let go a little yell; grah, that is not important
The sound of my tense handwriting is the only thing heard until the other students return, I think.

"Hey, teacher's here. Hurry up!" a voice I don't bother answering warns me

A minute of more writing and I have it completely done. Phew, that science book I read yesterday really paid off.

I close my notebook and look at Hayato, he looks pretty impressed and gives me a thumbs up with a smile. I instantly turn my head, but soon take a deep sigh and face him again, this time with my own little smile

"Just in…time" I suppress a little giggle, I can feel his smile from here

"Hirosawa-kun, can you come with me please? It's just a moment"

Oh no, what did you blow up? His nervous expression says it all. It's pretty funny actually, and I have to suppress myself once again.

Hayato's POV

This is bad

Did they found out I modified the vending machine? I don't think they'd ditch me for something like that, so maybe it's about that smoke bomb I blew up in the forest yesterday evening. What? I was bored

I simply stand up quietly and follow him to wherever we're going, then I realize he stood in the hallway, thinking about whatever he has to say.

"So, how are things?" I expected him to be vague, but this is too much

"Things?"

"Well, you had one week to adapt to the school and settle in, so, how are things?"

"Oh, err, pretty… normal I think. Just a couple of stuff I did and got something to do for the festival, nothing too important"

"Good, that's good, then how is your hand and your heart?"

"I'd say… fine, haven't had any problems with any of those two. Death chance is almost nothing"

A smile of relief passes on his face, briefly, but noticeable enough.

"Okay, you see, I hope you don't plan on doing anything too risky for your health. Our goal is to make you know where your limits are and how to maximize your potential within them, do you follow me?"

"I understand, I don't plan anything anyways"

"That's a start. Next question: how are your studies? I noticed you spend a while in the hospital. Do you have any problems?"

"Nah, spent a good part of the time studying once I left the burn ward thanks to the books my parents gave me. No problem at all"

"Hmm, I guess there are students that still realize the importance of education, you never want to be left behind" well, you say that because you are older

"Not at all, one miscalculation can lead to a whole equation failure, that's how it is. Irrelevant progress takes to a big discovery once you get it right"

"Just like an arrow can only be pushed forward if you pull it backwards, you sure do follow the world's laws"

"I do not only follow them, but I want to decide them"

"And I trust you will. That's all I had to say, so shall we head back to the classroom?"

"Sure"

With that, we return to the place made for study. I head to my seat and take a deep sigh, knowing that my secrets are still safe.

"Everything…okay?" a voice I recognize now asks me, I turn towards Hanako

"Yeah, just a small talk about my school experience and such"

"That's nice"

I nod and look forward, focusing on Mutou that has now started to ask for homeworks. I hope this isn't a long day.

…

Well, school time's over and I find myself pretty impressed with the fact that Hanako started to talk to me about… stuff. Just random things, books, school, places, hobbies, even science stuff, but nothing too important.

I get out of the classroom and head to miss Aika's clubroom, just because I have nothing to do. When I get there, I knock the door until a cheery voice answers

"Come in, Hayato!"

I enter and greet her, keeping my calmness since she unbuttoned her blouse a couple of buttons, revealing a part of her breasts. Suddenly, I feel my tie being a bit too tight, must be because of the nerves; I loosen it a bit.

It's not like I haven't seen anything similar (in real life at least), it's just that I barely know her and also I'm not too used to see people of my age like that. It takes me a lot of will to not look down to her…

"How did you know it was me?"

"I know you can't resist me!" she is sitting on her piano like the last time

"That's a quite rude response, Aika-sama" she giggles in an unknown way to me, I can feel my initial analysis of her personality being wrong

I gulp and turn around, looking through the window. Did I really came here because of her company? Nah, I was just bored and with nothing to do. Then, I think of something to lighten up the atmosphere.

"There must be more people in the club, where are they?"

"We usually have our meetings around six, because we won't bother anyone since this place is pretty much abandoned"

"Makes sense. But why do I always find you here?"

"Do you want the truth?" she asks completely serious

"It can't be that important" I answer sarcastically, and regret it when I see her coming close with a face I know pretty well from manga and anime.

A perv.

"The truth is, I went to the nurse's office once just because and saw him reading something. After a bit of talking, he excused and left to the bathroom, leaving the papers on his desk. It was your profile. When I saw your image, you awakened something in me I've never felt before"

That was… unexpected, and made me feel a high heat on my face. She leans on my ear and whispers something

"Let's just say I left to change my panties before he came back"

I retire my thought, as well as my body's physical reactions. Stupid anatomy, my brain just thought of that scene and lifted something up.

Now, she just smiled out of nowhere and laughed off.

"Did you seriously thought it was for real?!" she says

"D-dumbass, how dare you?" I'm just pissed off

"Now I hope you're not in love with me right now"

"I'll fall in love with you when I see a zombie apocalypse"

Which has a low possibility of happening, almost none

"Never mind, let's just get ready for the festival"

"About that, all of the stuff you need to use is ready, you just need to install it. You said you needed help with that too right?"

"Yeah, you can tell us how to and we'll do it"

"Nice. Now… I have to go. See you, Kagurazaka!"

"Bye bye!"

I take my stuff and leave. Man, she got me there; good thing I didn't run away or else it would be a complete misunderstanding. Now that I think of it, why did she even do that?

I sigh as I head to my room, but then remember I need to buy supplies. More than food, I mean materials and such.

Hanako's POV

As I sit under the shadow of a tree, a small light breeze passes. I wish I had a sweater or something right now. Lately, nights have been pretty cold. To avoid catching a cold, I walk throughout the school heading to my room, there may not be many things to do there, but I just have nowhere else to go right now.

While walking past the boys' dorm, I have an idea to make my boringness cease. That manga Hayato had was pretty interesting, wonder if he can lend it to me.

I open the dorm's main door as silently as possible and take advantage that nobody is behind the desk to slip away to the stairs. I avoid every sign of humans and try to be a ninja.

After looking for what it seemed years, I find his name plate on the first floor. I knock it very lightly, hoping he is doing an invention or something. This is obviously useless. When I take a step back, I almost trip and fall; what is this thing anyway?

There's a plastic box with a paper next to it

'Sorry, Hirosawa. I borrowed your tools a couple of days ago without asking, here they are.
Aika'

Aika? Who is that girl? And why do I care so much? Never mind

I try to look something useful in the bag, to find a small wire. I remember reading about a guy that forced open a door using this. My mind tells me no, but my curiosity is too much. I hope curiosity doesn't kill he cat this time. I force it open and enter.

His desk has lots of cables, chips and scrap parts over it, not to mention some chemicals as well. What does this guy actually do on his free time? I place the plastic bag on it and keep the note. I start looking around, there must be something to do here. Oh, the mangas are over there, on a night table. Unfortunately, the one I'm looking for is not there, there is only a red covered one, wonder what is it about? I take it and read it on his bed.

…

Oh, so there's this guy that just returned to his home city and found his childhood sweetheart? But it seems like she hates him, well, it turns out that he didn't called her at all, so she has her reasons. I got to a part where they are on the school's roof and they're talking about it. Now, she forgave him and they are friends again.

Step Step

What was that?