"Do you want to date me?"
Yuno felt her jaws drop. She whipped her head to Tooru and moved back a meter away. Tooru sighed and stepped towards her. Yuno points at the older student and glares at him.
"Stop walking! Get close and I'll break your neck!" she exclaims as she gestures a neck slice with her hands. Tooru smirks and crosses his arms. "Why? Is this your first time being asked out?" he questions.
"Yeah. I heard from my friends that some likes me but I never got confessed to." Yuno mutters. "Come closer and I'll make sure that you never conceive a child in your life." She threatens. Tooru gulps and backs away. Yuno nods in satisfaction and glances at her sister. Once she did, Yuno's eyes widens.
Hajime and Shiori stared at the two stalkers, both had a look of disappointment. Tooru turned to them and when he noticed that the two were looking at him and Yuno, he covers his mouth to stop himself from cussing.
"Tch, tch, tch!" Shiori shook her head. She motioned for the stalkers to come closer but instead of approaching the crossdresser, they simply smiled sheepishly.
"Come here." Shiori repeats. "No, we're good. We'll just stay here." Yuno replies as she makes sure that Tooru doesn't walk near her. "Come. Here." Shiori lowered her hand as she gave a pointed stare at the two. Tooru faked a laugh and avoided Hajime's gaze. "Ha, Ha, Ha. I didn't know Iwa-chan and Seijunnie is here as well, right Yuno-chan?" Tooru forced a smile in his face. Yuno glowered at him.
"Don't call me that." Yuno whispered. "Just play along." Tooru responded in a hushed tone. "I will kill you." Yuno replied. "Kill me later." Tooru spoke as he approached Yuno who walked away from him.
"Are you two performing a comedy skit in front of us? Come here now!" Hajime yelled as he ordered the two to approach him. Hesitantly, the two stalkers stepped towards them and when they were a meter away, the four decided to go find a bench to sit on.
After discovering a table with chairs beside it, the four sat and the interrogation began.
"How much did you see?" Hajime probed the two as he crossed his arms. "Everything." Tooru replied making Hajime scoff and glare at him. Hajime then glanced at Shiori and spotted her wearing her mask and her hood.
"What are you doing?" Hajime questioned as Shiori refused to look his direction. Then it hit him, Shiori is acting like this because his childhood friend is beside him.
After the four sat down, Shiori had a late realization that Tooru was here as well and this made her nervous for some unknown reason. Shiori tried to calm herself but when she glanced at Tooru, intrusive thoughts entered her mind.
Hajime groans and accidentally glances at Yuno who was glaring at Tooru as well.
"Why are you looking at Oikawa like that?" Hajime asks. Yuno huffs and looks at Hajime. "Tell your childhood friend to quit messing around with girls or better yet, tell him to just stay away from me!" Yuno slams the table before looking away.
"What did you do?" Hajime asks Tooru. "Did you ask her out or something?" he adds. Once Tooru hears that, he gasps and shakes his head. "Me? Ask her out?" Tooru scoffs before speaking again. "Listen Iwa-chan, I want a girl who looks cute and has a good figure and she has none of that!" he tells Hajime.
"Wow! You're the one who asked me out earlier!" Yuno says angrily.
"I said it as a joke, you're the one who took it seriously!" Tooru replies.
"Joke? Where? Which part of it is a joke? Tell me because I don't see it!"
"You want to know where the joke is? Go look at the mirror then!"
"Guess what? I found the joke and it was right in front of me this whole time!"
"Guys... stop... fighting."
The three hears Shiori speak exhaustedly. Yuno quickly approaches her sister and looks at her. She then groans as she grabs the mask. "Remove the mask, Shiori." Yuno orders but Shiori doesn't comply and glances at Tooru before looking away.
"Damn it, Hashimoto! You're hyper-ventilating!" Hajime says as he walks towards his friend before pushing him away. "Why? Why are you pushing me away?" Tooru questions as he is being pushed by Hajime.
"Shiori doesn't appreciate you being here so get out." Hajime answers and ignores Tooru's whines. "Get him away now!" Yuno shouts as she helps her sister calm down. Tooru gets irked so he shouts at her as well. "Yeah! I'll definitely get away because I'm sure I don't want to see your face!" he says as he angrily walks away.
Hajime watches his best friend leave.
"Am I the only normal one here?" he asks himself as he groans and makes sure that he doesn't cry out of stress.
A few days have passed after the whole incident and Hajime is still stressed. College entrance exams, Hashimoto Shiori and Yuno, Oikawa Tooru, high grades, projects, and many more. Those are the names of things that troubles him.
But in all problematic things that he thought he'll encounter, he didn't expect a crossdresser who would make him feel all sort of things that doesn't make sense, would appear before him and stress him while making him feel sort of happy.
Hajime sighed as he took note of what the teacher said. Will the lesson end early? What will he do after? Should he visit Hashimoto? Maybe not, he has a life outside her so he shouldn't go to her. Hajime groans and curses under his breath.
"Damn it, she's making me feel all sort of things." Hajime spoke out loud. He notices his classmates stare at him so he raises an eyebrow.
"Seems like a lady's troubling you, Iwaizumi?" The teacher suddenly asks making Hajime cover his mouth. Did he say that out loud? He asked himself. He hears his classmates laugh and immediately, Hajime glances at Tooru to see if he's laughing as well. When he stared at his childhood friend, he spots Tooru looking at him in surprise.
After what seemed like eternity, the class finally ended and Hajime is approached by Tooru.
"So... Iwa-chan." Tooru starts their conversation. "Who's the girl?" he adds. Hajime glares at Tooru and ignores him. Tooru makes a face before standing up to grab his bag when someone suddenly called out to him.
"Oikawa-san!"
Tooru checked the person who called him and saw Hashimoto Shiori waving at him and entering the classroom but not before bowing to the other older students. Hajime side-eyed Shiori who was conversing care-freely with Tooru. The same emotions arrived again but when Shiori looked at him and waved happily as she smiled at his way, the feeling becomes even more intense and he looks away to make the weird sensation stop.
Tooru notices his friend's actions and peers at Shiori. He smiles and decides to tease Shiori. "So, Seijunnie, do you have someone in mind?" he asks Shiori, making her look at him. "Why?" the crossdresser responds with a question. "Just curious since you're crossdressing and all. So... do you have one?"
Hajime secretly listens and keeps his eyes on the book he's studying.
"None, for the moment."
Hajime sighs in relief when he hears Shiori's answer.
"Okay then... Oh! How about a type? You have a type, right?"
Hajime groans when he catches what Tooru is asking. What the hell is he planning? Hajime thought. Then an unwelcome thought enters as he remembers who his best friend is. A flirt. Hajime scoffs as he tries to ignore the thought of Tooru flirting with the crossdresser.
"A type? Then maybe... someone like Iwaizumi-san? I don't know, I don't really care. Anyone's fine as long as they love me honestly and loyally."
Hajime instantly covers his mouth. He tried to avoid smiling and when he successfully stops grinning, he faces Shiori and points at her.
"You. Get out. Now." He shushes her out and Shiori starts to feel confused. "Why?" she questions. "You're interrupting me with your voice. Get out, I'm trying to study." Hajime says but Shiori glances at Tooru and asks him with her eyes. Tooru shrugs his shoulders and crosses his arms.
"Ask him." Tooru encourages as he gently pushes Shiori towards his best friend. Hajime gives a sharp stare at Tooru and signals for him to stop pushing Shiori so Tooru stops and apologizes to Shiori.
"Why are you acting like this? It's confusing and oddly offending. Am I really that annoying?" Shiori says as she sighs and shakes her head. Hajime feels guilty and inhales before explaining. "Sorry, I'm just stressed." He lies but Shiori doesn't buy it and simply gives a look of disbelief.
"No, don't apologize. I'll be going then. Bye, Oikawa-san!" Shiori waves as she goes to leave the room without even saying bye to Hajime. "Look at her. She doesn't even say bye to me." Hajime mutters before he continues studying yet the intruding guilt still remains.
"Iwa-chan, it's time to apologize to her. She's still a girl and you forgot how she can be hurt by your words." Tooru sits down beside Hajime and leans forward to put his elbows on Hajime's desk. "Go away. I'm studying." Hajime pushes Tooru but the latter stays seated on his chair.
"Let me guess what you're feeling. You're guilty, aren't you?" Tooru speaks as if he's an expert or a psychologist. Hajime gives a curious stare making Tooru smirk. "Listen, Iwa-chan. Girls are confusing but with Hashimoto Seijun or should I say, Hashimoto Shiori... it's even more..." Tooru spots Hajime slightly leaning forward. "She's more... simple to please." Tooru says.
"Why? Do you think she's easy to get?" Hajime asks curiously. Tooru shakes his head as he clicks his tongue thrice. "No, no, no. Seijunnie is hard to get but she's easy to please. There's a difference between those two Iwa-chan." Tooru tells expertly as Hajime nods in understanding.
"Iwa-chan, Seijunnie would stop sulking if you apologize to her sincerely. That's all it takes. But with courting her and making her your girlfriend... that's a different topic." Tooru said. "Girls are more attracted to Seijunnie and that's a fact. Seijunnie is a girl and therefore, knows what all girls would want to experience and feel so if, somehow, you date Seijunnie, what you'll be facing against isn't men but women which are more vicious." Tooru reminds Hajime.
Hajime hums in understanding and takes a note of that. He takes a look at his best friend and when he realizes what he's doing, he frowns and hits Tooru with his notebook.
"Why are you telling me these? Do you think I'm interested in her?" Hajime voices out before reading his book.
"Iwa-chan, it's obvious to me that you like her! You think, I didn't hear your statement a while ago? I did! And guess what? I observed how you stared at Seijunnie and it wasn't in a friendly way! You like her but you don't want to admit it!"
The classroom pipes down as every student inside the class eyes Hajime. At the attention he gets, Hajime covers his face and groans before lowering his hands and glowering at Tooru. He stands up and clenches his fist. Tooru hurriedly stands up and waves bye before running away. Hajime rushed after him in an attempt to make him regret saying that.
When the classes ended, Hajime didn't waste time to go to Shiori's classroom. He headed to her classroom and when he was finally in front of the class's door, he peered inside and saw her cleaning the room. Students were dispersing and soon, the classroom was emptied out. Hajime waited for the crossdresser to finish and since it took Shiori a long time to clean the entire classroom, it was as if the whole campus was now empty.
"Hey, you're taking too long." Hajime speaks up making Shiori jump up. She turns to him and smiles for a while before cleaning again.
"Iwaizumi-san, stay there and don't enter the room." Shiori reminds. She then looks at Hajime and raises her palm. "Stay there. Just stay there and don't come close, understand?" Shiori points at Hajime as if he was a dog. Hajime nods then gestures her to continue cleaning.
The two kept quiet and the atmosphere between them was tranquil. Hajime observed the crossdresser when he recalled what Tooru told him.
"Uh... Hashimoto?" he mumbles.
"Just call me by my name. It's confusing, especially when Yuno's here, when you say that." Shiori advises as she fixed the positions of the tables.
"Okay then, Shiori."
Once Hajime says that, Shiori stops and drops the chair that she's carrying. She beams cheerily and approaches her senior. A desk was blocking the doorway so Shiori stops when she's a meter away from Hajime.
"You actually said that. I thought you wouldn't allow yourself to call me so familiarly." Shiori teases. "Current mission, call Hashimoto Seijun by her real name. Finished!" Shiori gives two thumbs up as she spoke energetically. "Next mission, love Shiori!"
Hajime drops his small smile when he hears that. He gazes at the crossdresser with shock.
"Like a sister, that is!" Shiori adds as she winks at Hajime. She then continues cleaning as if she didn't say anything heart attack-inducing.
Hajime starts to refresh his mind and Tooru's words kept repeating again and again. Does he actually like Shiori?
The senior student eyes Shiori who's humming a happy song as she cleaned the whole room. Hajime placed a hand over his heart and felt its beat. He then lowered his hands and sighed.
Why?
Why does he like Shiori? It just doesn't add up. Shiori is pretty but more girls are prettier than her. She's smart but Hajime is sure that Tooru is smarter than the crossdresser. Shiori is also strong but surely, Yuno can beat her own sister if she wanted to. So, honestly, what made Hajime fall for her?
Shiori sighed contently as she stretched her arms. She finished cleaning and now, it's time to go home. The crossdresser then tried to fix her hair but suddenly, her hair tie snapped and her hair went down. Shiori groaned and cussed under her breath at the unfortunate time her hair tie had to break.
The younger student then turns to Hajime with her hair down. She gives a small laugh as she explained how her hair tie broke suddenly but Hajime just stared at her and watched her explain brightly. Maybe this was the reason? Hajime thought.
"Iwaizumi-san, are you alright?" Shiori questions worriedly.
Hajime inhales before he finally decides to tell it to Shiori straight-forwardly. "Hashi – Shiori, don't be shocked by what I'll say, okay?" he says calmly. Instead of asking why, Shiori nods and listens.
"I like you." Hajime blurts out.
Shiori drops the broom she held onto but quickly grabs it again. She stared at her senior with shock and backed away. She then tried to process the situation and after a lot of thinking, Shiori smiled.
"Nice joke. Who's the girl you like?" Shiori teases.
"You." Hajime responds without hesitating.
Shiori feels her knees weaken so she instantly puts the broom back to the cabinet and sighs to calm herself. She hesitates on facing her senior and thinks of a way to make sure that she doesn't misunderstand but what's there to misunderstand? That sentence was what it meant.
"Iwaizumi-san like me? He likes me? That doesn't make sense? Why? I mean... I'm not good or anything!" Shiori mumbles as she faces her senior. "You like me but even I don't like myself. What's up with that?" she tries to get a clarification. "Do you mean, as a friend or something else?" Shiori asks.
Hajime heaves a sigh and shakes his head. He walks forward but the desk in front of him makes him halt. Shiori stares at the desk and realizes that it was the teacher's desk so she instantly heads towards it and tries to carry it but when she tries to move back, Hajime yanks her necktie making her stop in her tracks.
The crossdresser stared at her senior's eyes and noticed that it had a shade of green in it. Shiori realizes what she's doing and looks away.
"Do you want a proof that I like you?" Hajime asks and out of shock at how close she is to her senior, Shiori nods impulsively. Hajime eyes her for a while before pulling her closer making Shiori lean her head on Hajime's shoulder.
"I wanted to kiss you but I don't have your permission and I don't want to force anything so... I hope this would do." Hajime says as he pushes his nervousness away.
Meanwhile, Shiori feels out of breath. Not in a bad way but in a good way. The kind of speechless reaction where you stop to figure out why the sudden situation makes you feel jumpy and happy. Shiori doesn't move and stays leaning on Hajime's shoulders.
The two keeps quiet. Shiori starts to question herself and her friendship with her senior. Why, in all layers of pizza, does she have to feel like this for Hajime out of all the man in the galaxy?
A/N:
I marathoned this story just because!
I'm currently in chapter 16 and I can say... I'm cringing hard right now! I'll update the other chapters a week after this so please wait! This story is grilling me and forcing me to work my ass off. There's one thing that's making me question myself though.
Am I going out of characters with Iwaizumi or Oikawa?
Please check if I'm doing good with the characters.
As for this chapter's content, I dropped the bomb. Do you see how excited I am to write Yuno's chapters and things that involve her? Shiori's answer in the next chapter is why I live to write by the way and of course, a new character will be introduced next chapter as well so please wait for the next chapter next week! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoy writing them~~~