It should be obvious that I have been relying on the anime only for my sources. After episode nine, the very last scene where 8man met Yukinoshita again at school after not seeing each other after summer vacation, I assume that there's a time skip before episode ten, as in, several days, maybe even a week, have passed before episode ten started. That means this chapter along with the next few chapters, I won't be touching episode ten or even canon.
With that said, I'll use that window to bring about the change in this story. And as I've said before in the previous chapter, expect the drama from Orimoto, because she'll find a special place in this arc. What happens after these original events will affect the entire story greatly and I'm sure that it won't be a smooth transition from canon.
So, with that said, please enjoy,
Oh and yeah, the chapter title is a nod to the series with the same name.
There were times when I would notice the changes happening to me.
And when I said 'changes' I meant those that happened due to my status as an immortal.
Immortality is not a very common topic back then, even amongst scholars. You either have to be a pedophilic snake guy, a guy who likes piercings with a very huge god complex or just a mad psycho that wants to enslave the entire world under one huge illusion. Yeah, not the best kind of people, weren't they? What I'm trying to say is, even if the concept is there, the possibilities are there, there wasn't any studies done specifically to research this concept known as immortality, unless you're one of the people mentioned above.
The circumstances of my immortal status are as mysterious as a well written detective novel. Even I do not know why or how it works. I only know that Kaguya was the one that 'cursed' me with immortality, but not after killing everyone and taking away chakra from everyone other than me. Why did she do that? Why took chakra from everything else but me? I thought about this particular motive a long time ago and I assume that it's her way of saying 'fuck you' before dying. Even so, I still can't cling on to that assumption forever. But one thing is clear. That woman wanted to see me suffer, which was why she killed all of my friends, my people and family and then giving me immortality just so that I could live in eternity while wallowing in despair over my past failure.
Being an immortal is… not how you might think it would be.
When we talk about the word immortal, we assume things like living forever and not getting old. Well, those are true, I couldn't age anymore and I am doomed to live forever. But, let me tell you, being an immortal is more than that. It's not only about living for eternity, it's all about dealing with the constant changes that happen to you each day you live your life. I'm a shinobi, my physiology is different than that of a normal human, and not to mention, I'm also an Uzumaki and the former Jinchuriki of a fragment of a primordial god.
For me, personally, being immortal comes with a few negative side effects.
Aside from the crippling depression, cynic attitude and pessimism; my body had to suffer too. You see, chakra is not like water, it's not like honey either. Those two things will never expire and will taste the same even if you left them alone for a very long time. For the sake of convenience, I'll liken chakra to coffee. (1)
Coffee will taste bad and when it tastes bad, it's bad.
Just like chakra.
When coffee tastes bad, you replace it with a fresh batch, right? Well, chakra's like that too. Instead of brewing a fresh batch, you replenish them by siphoning them from your environment.
And remember what I said about what Kaguya did a looooooong time ago?
Yup, that bitch, she planned this out.
What a grandiose way of saying 'fuck you', eh?
Not only did she killed my friends, she took away chakra, knowing that the reserves that I had won't last forever and when the time comes when I need to restore them, there won't be any chakra for me to gather anymore. Wow, get rekt Naruto, that bitch got you real good.
This is one of the reasons why I abstain from using chakra as freely as I used to. And though chakra is not completely absent, it's not as… potent as it used to be. Whenever I would try to gather chakra, I'd only get something else entirely. As a result of living all this time without being able to replace the reserves I have in me, my body is paying the price for it.
Of course, I noticed this. I mean, wouldn't it be strange that a shinobi like me got hit by a car? Or a truck, for that matter? Ever since I lived in Japan, I got into two accidents, and despite the irony of the both of them being car related accidents, I can conclude that those accidents happened because of my inability to gather fresh chakra. My movement is not as fluid as it used to be. My strength is halved of what I used to have. But thankfully, it's not affecting me mentally. Again, ignoring the moments of crippling depression and pessimism that I now constantly experience.
What I'm saying is this: immortality is a curse and no one should try to achieve it.
So, when I fell down the stairs, I wasn't able to completely react in time and my body had to pay the price for it.
"UZUMAKI-KUN!"
I blacked out for a second, but awoke again a fraction of a second later. I stumbled backwards and I found myself falling down. Falling down the stairs, I managed to shift my position in mid-air in order to fall on the correct form. Not that there's anything correct when falling. If you fall, you fall. I just prevented the fall from giving me a nasty result, like a broken bone or something. Still, it was so sudden and in the current state that I'm in, I cannot not get injured.
People gasp and some nearby even let out small screams.
I landed on my back, the back of my head hitting the ceramic tiles with a loud and echoing CRACK.
God, I hope they won't make me replace that.
"Hey, you okay?!"
"God, what happened?"
People rushed towards me but before they could even come close, I'm already standing. I winced. Strange, this should be nothing to me… why am I feeling pain? Is this due to my condition? My hand reached for the place where I hit my head and I felt something warm, sticky and watery.
Blood.
Well now…
"U-Uzumaki-kun, are you okay?"
I looked down and noticed that Yukinoshita is panicked. Her eyes are erratic, pupils shifting back and forth from my blood stained hand and the place where I crash landed. "Oh my… you're bleeding! Are you okay? Does it hurt? Come on, let's get you to the school's infirmary."
"Yukinoshita, calm down." I grunted out when she pulled at my hand. She lets go of my hand, pursing her lips. "Anyway, I'm okay, but yeah, it hurts." And I don't know why. "Let me get my bag first…"
"No, I'll carry it for you. Let's go to the infirmary, now."
"A-Alright, sheesh."
So she dragged me all the way to the infirmary.
"Sit down."
"Yeah."
Huh, never thought that I'd visit the school's infirmary.
Take it from a guy who never gets sick, so you can't blame me for feeling different. I mean, I've been to hospitals a lot of time, but those were mostly due to accidents and whatnots. I suppose this could count as an accident too. Anyway, I sat down on one of the vacant beds, sitting on the edge. I waited patiently, seeing that Yukinoshita's currently retrieving all the necessary tools to get me patched up.
She returns shortly later with a roll of bandages, a bottle of betadine solution, a cold pack and a roll of surgical tapes.
"Oh, I won't need the betadine." I told Yukinoshita.
She gives me a worried look. "What are you saying? It will get infected if you don't treat it immediately."
"No, I'm fine with just the ice pack, really."
She hesitates, but sighs in defeat. She returns the betadine back to the cabinet and returns with alcohol. "Then at least let me clean the wound for you."
I shrugged.
Yukinoshita positions herself on the bed behind me, so that she could work with my head properly. I'm tall and even when I'm sitting down, she'll have a hard time treating the wound properly. She is sitting in a seiza position and the first aid tools are laid out on the free space on the bed for her to work with.
"Uzumaki-kun, I'll start applying the alcohol now, so be prepared."
"Right." I droned off.
She dabbed the bandage with alcohol, using it as a gauze and she starts to apply pressure on the bleeding area with it. I don't feel pain, maybe it's because I'm used to the feeling of getting alcohol pressed on an open wound on my body. But I could still feel the coldness of the alcohol as it touches my skin. Isopropyl alcohol, or normal rubbing alcohol, has a low boiling point to a point where it evaporates on room temperature, that's why it feels cold when coming in contact with my skin. Just like how sweat cools down your body, it will evaporate quickly.
She maintains pressure on the wound to make sure that no more blood is leaking from it. She keeps putting pressure on my wound for a good ten minutes and after that she lets go. Blood is no longer leaking and I suppose I have to thank my Uzumaki blood for that. Hehehe, get it?
"Should I wrap bandages around your head? There is no bump or whatsoever, which is strange since you were bleeding, but just to make sure that the wound will have pressure to keep it from getting opened again." She asks me.
"Sure." I would say no, but it'd be suspicious if my wound's completely healed after only a short period of time. Yukinoshita cuts a bandage of an appropriate length, so that she can wrap it around my head. The wrapping process is slow, looks like Yukinoshita knows when to be delicate after all. And the pressure is not too tight either, just enough to keep the wound from bleeding again. If Sakura-chan's the one doing this, she'd do it too tight.
I chuckled.
"What's wrong?" Oh shit, she caught me chuckling to myself.
"N-No, it's just that, I remembered the last time someone did this to me."
"Oh? Who was it?"
Er… "Er… it's a friend." I said, trying not to sound suspicious. "Yes, a friend. I fell and that person has to do the same thing as what you're doing right now. Looks like accidents keep on following me around, eh?"
"…"
God. Fucking. Dammit.
Why oh why did you say that Naruto?! Shit shit shit shit! Now it's gonna get awkward. Wow, I guess I really do need to think before I speak after all…
"U-Uh, Yukinoshita, what I meant to say was-"
"Don't." she whispers.
And since she's directly behind me, I can hear her loud and clear.
She places her hand on my scalp, adjusting the bandage she's wrapped around my head. Hm… it's getting kind of itchy already.
"I… know what you mean and I know it's only a joke." She says. Thank God she understands. "But… please don't joke about something like that. Ever."
…
I felt like a kid who got scolded by his mom for saying things like 'who cares, we'll all die anyway' or something along those lines. I can feel the quivering of her hands on my scalp, but I did nothing to stop it. I mean, I don't think I'm in any position to do it at the moment.
"Promise me, Uzumaki-kun."
…
…
It took me a while to reply.
"Y-Yeah. I… promise." Now I can't go and make suicidal jokes anymore, because I don't go back on my word. I felt a light tap on the top of my head, causing me to turn and look back.
"Good." I know Yukinoshita is pretty, but have she always been THIS pretty? I mean, the smile on her face, god, it suits her more than the scowl she always has whenever she's alone. It took me a second to realize of how close the distance between us is and I swore my face is as red as the stash of tomatoes that Sasuke keeps under his bed. (2)
"MAKI ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"
I almost jumped from my spot. Goddammit woman, I don't want to have another bandage wrapped around me anytime soon!
Looking at the door, both Yukinoshita and I saw Yui gasping, her body heaving, and sweating as her pupils dilated as they seem to be quivering with what I now realize as worry. She dashes over to my side, grabbing me by the collar, pulling me from Yukinoshita's hands that were on my scalp.
"Are you okay? What happened to you? God… there's blood…" before she could ramble and pester me with even more questions, Yukinoshita tries to dismiss my other clubmate's worry but not before getting off the bed.
"Yuigahama-san, everything's fine now. I treated the wound on the back of his head so-"
"How can this be fine, Yukinon!?"
…looks like even Yukinoshita is not expecting that kind of outburst.
All of Yui's emotion, whatever it is, is directed at Yukinoshita.
"Maki just fell and you said that everything's fine?! What if he get seriously injured, what if something happened to him, what if he fell and never woke up, what if he broke any of his bones, what if he had fallen from the third floor's stairs, what if he… what if he…"
…she… she's… she's crying.
Class hasn't even started yet and she's crying already.
I don't know what to say here. Yukinoshita too from the looks of it. My club president is speechless, her eyes wide.
The unspoken outcome of my fall said by Yui is obviously death.
The three of us are here in the infirmary and none of us is saying a thing. Yui's sobbing, Yukinoshita's speechless and I'm…
I'm…
What am I doing?
"Guys."
Their eyes landed on me.
Raising my hands, I rolled my eyes. "I'm fiiiiiine~ see?" I looked at Yui. "Yui, I'm thankful for the concern but I'm fine. Really. Yukinoshita did a great job in patching me up so I'm a-okay now." I gave her a thumbs up, pointing to the bandage wrapped around my head. Then I turned to Yukinoshita. "Yukinoshita thank you for patching me up and please, the both of you, wipe your face."
"E-Eh kyaaa!/U-Uzumaki-kun?!"
My hands swiftly grabbed onto theirs, my left taking Yukino's left hand while my right taking Yui's right hand. I pulled them closer to me, so that I could wipe the tears from their face. Especially Yui's, because, god, when she cries, she cries. After making sure that there are no more smudges left on their cheeks, I retracted my hands back, and used them to assist me off my bed.
"Don't get so worried, the both of you, sheesh… are you two my mom or something?" I chuckled. "Anyway, I'm fine, really." My smile dropped. "And I suggest we get to class quick, Yui, Hiratsuka-sensei's gonna scold us. I don't know about you, Yukinoshita, but I suggest you do the same."
"R-Right!"
"Y-Yeah…"
"Oh, Yukinoshita," she perks up, "thanks for carrying me bag for me."
"Muuu…"
Ugh…
"And thanks for worrying, Yui."
"Hehehe~"
Seriously, what am I supposed to do?
"Naruto… are you okay?"
Ah… looks like falling and injuring myself is not so bad after all? I mean, Saika's worried about me.
When we entered our class, me and Yui, everyone immediately looked at the blonde with the gauze wrapped around his stupid blonde hair. Hiratsuka-sensei asked about the medical accessory I have on my head, but Yui was the one who explained what happened to her. I'm not complaining, I mean, it saved me the trouble of speaking, after all.
Right now, we're waiting for first period to start, there's always this waiting period after homeroom if Hiratsuka-sensei isn't our teacher for the first subject.
The tennis club's captain's lower lip is quivering and I can definitely detect the concern on his, cool blue eyes. "Your head's bandaged and I heard from Yui-chan that you were bleeding, are you okay?"
God, I can't wipe this smile from my face. "I'm fine, Saika." But it's fine if you wanna worry more about me.
Unfortunately, Saika trusts my words just enough to make him calm down and stop worrying about the bandages wrapped around my head. "Oh, I see. Did you fell?" God, his voice is just so… urgggh….
"Yeah."
"Thank goodness that nothing really bad happened."
Aww, he's really concerned.
"Are you alright, Uzumaki-kun?"
And just like that, the smile that I had on my face disappears.
I can hear the footsteps that Hayama and his clique are making as they walk over to my table. Shoo, go away, having you realfags over here won't do my loner reputation any good.
"I'm fine, Hayama." I droned out in the most monotonous voice that I could muster. "Thanks for the concern." I added obvious sarcasm just for him to get message.
"I see, where did you fell?"
Goddammit, man, can't you like, read the mood or something? Take a hint, dude. I mean, just look at your girlfriend over there, it's obvious that she doesn't want to be here…
"W-What are you looking at, whiskers!?"
Geez, miss girlfriend, looks like they were right on naming you the Fire Queen, I mean, c'mon, I just glanced over at your direction and you reacted to it already? You're way more reactive than fluorine.
"Heeh… so you, like, fell and hit your head, Uzuki-kun?" Oh god, it's already ten chapters and you still haven't remembered my name? What the hell, Toto? "Bet that sucks, bro…"
"Maybe you should let Hayama-kun take care of you for the day, Uzuki-kun? I-It'll be a great doctor and patient play! Just imagine in: you with Hayama-kun following you all around, and-and as-assisting you with your… bathroom relief?! Guhehehehehe~!"
Ew. No. Just… no. I'd rather let Itachi-san put me into an Infinite Tsukuyomi rather than having him follow me around for a whole day.
But really, though, why are ya'll gathering around my table? Everyone else's staring, c'mon, mang…
Oh and, HAH, how do you feel having your question unanswered, Hayama?
"What are you all doing here?" it seems that I'm so annoyed to the point where I'm voicing out my annoyance. "Just Saika being here is enough, you don't have to crowd my damn table as if it's a soup kitchen in the ghettos…" but, instead of food, you're all just waiting for a bag of fucks that I won't even give.
Hayama, unfortunately, is the one who answers. "You came into the room with a bloodied bandage wrapped around your head, I mean, who wouldn't?"
…
…
SPLURT!
"E-E-E-EBINAAAAA?!"
"GYAAAAA, HINA, YOU'RE LETTING OUT SO MUCH BLOOD!"
Heh, looks like the infirmary will be having another patient so soon…
Ignoring the rotten girl who's currently bleeding and being carried to the infirmary by Toto and Hayama's girlfriend, I turned to Hayama. "Why don't you and those two side characters go and worry over that girl, huh?"
Hayama laughs. "I guess we should, come on, Oka, Yamato."
Hayama and the two unimportant characters exit the classroom and, just in time, Yui reappears carrying two canned drinks on her hands. She walks up to my table.
"H-Hey, I just saw them carrying Hina-chan just, now, what happened?"
"Her fantasy nearly turned to reality." Was my flat reply.
"Ah…" Yui's mouth opens in realization.
Yeah, scary, right?
"Anyway, Maki, here," she hands me a can of cold sour orange flavored vitamin-C water. "Don't know why you'd want that, because I don't think Vitamin-C does anything to stop bleeding…"
"Correction, they do help prevent you from getting scurvy, which is a disease that results in decreased hemoglobin, gum diseases, skin bleeding. Vitamin-C is essential." Just like the other vitamins out there. "But, yeah, it won't help my head directly."
"O-Oh then you better drink it." stop hurrying me, woman.
I opened the can and immediately chugs the content dry. I don't know why I wanted this drink in particular myself, but I was craving for something sour. Hmm…
"Here, let me throw it for you, Maki."
"Oh, thanks."
Saika watches our exchange, exhaling in awe. "Eeeeh… Naruto, you and Yui-chan sure are close…"
"Hm? We're in the same club after all, aren't you the same with the rest of your club members especially since you're the captain?" I'm raising an eyebrow as I returned his claim with a question of my own.
Saika laughs cutely, waving his cute little hand to dismiss my question which he's taken as a subtle compliment. "No, no, not really. We're close with each other, but they… don't really see me as the club's captain." He sighs in melancholy.
I chuckled whilst ruffling Saika's hair. "Well, can't blame them for that."
"N-N-Naruto…"
Unknown to the two of us, Yui's watching the little exchange intently.
"So nice, Sai-chan…"
"Hm, what's that?" I didn't hear you…
"N-Nothing! Anyway, sensei's almost here so-so let's return to our seats, Sai-chan!" no, Yui, how dare you whisk Saika away from me?!
Oh, looks like Yui's prediction is correct. As soon as she said that, the door slides open, revealing our middle aged Chemistry teacher. This old man looks like your generic middle aged school teacher, so don't even bother trying so hard to picture him in your mind. He walks up to the desk and is about to get the class ready for today's lesson.
"Alright class, let's begin lectures immediately." Then, he notices the empty seats. "Hm? Where are the people sitting on those chairs?"
Yui answers in our stead. "Ah, Ebina Hina-chan's sick so they're taking her to the infirmary, sensei!"
The sensei gives off a thoughtful look. "All five of them? Kids these days…"
If you keep on saying that you'll only feel older, sensei.
After school, Yui walks with me to the club room. And when I say 'walk with me' I meant dragging me by the hand to make sure that I get there in one piece. I can't believe this girl. Isn't she embarrassed? People are all looking at us with weird looks, some are even laughing and giggling to themselves. I swore I saw one or two of them taking pictures. Looks like the sight of the school's resident delinquent being dragged around is amusing to them.
"Yui…."
She's ignoring me.
"Yuiiiiii~"
Okay, she's not listening.
"Yui-Yui-gahama yahallo~?"
"Kyaaaa!" that got her attention alright. "MA-MA-MA-" aww look at her, she's so embarrassed she can't even say the nickname she's given me clearly.
"Oi, who am I, your mother." Since she's stopped dragging me, I readjust my sleeve which is slightly wrinkled of Yui's rough handling. "Anyway, we're almost there so you don't have to drag around, in fact, don't drag me around for no reason."
Yui looks up and sees the ever so familiar, sticker filled plaque of our humble club room.
"Let's get inside."
"Right!"
We entered the room and as expected and usual, Yukinoshita's already inside with a book on her hand. She takes her eyes off her books and acknowledges our presences.
"Yahallo Yukinon!"
"Sup."
Our club president gives us a small smile before standing up to greet us. "Hello, Yuigahama-san, Uzumaki-kun, take a seat while I prepare your tea for you."
We do as she suggests and sit on our respective seats. I sat on my spot, on the other end of the long table opposite to Yukinoshita's spot. Yui's supposed to sit in the middle, but she places her chair next to Yukinoshita so that they could have their girl talk and all that. I brought out my school bag and retrieved my laptop. I've finished writing the latest installment and it has just hit the shelves sometime in the middle of the summer break. I've seen the sales statistics and the results were not really surprising.
I turned on my laptop and immediately opened the data that I got from Tanaka-san via email a few days ago. It's in PDF format and it's not yet updated as in it's not the latest result.
The chart's showing some pretty good numbers. About four hundreds units were sold in the first week here in Japan and sales rate increases the week after. This means that large book stores like Kinokuniya are requesting for more copies in order to fill their shelves with more of my books. I hope the printing department won't get crazy from this… God, I can't even imagine how the international sales are doing.
"Watchu looking at there, Maki?"
Being the curious little lass she is, Yui peeks over my shoulder to peek at what's on my laptop's screen. I'd scold her if I was working, but I'm not so I won't. "I'm looking at how well my newest book is selling."
"Oh." Judging from her lackluster reaction, I conclude that she's incapable of reading a sales chart.
"Oh, so you were serious when you told us that you wrote books?" Our club president questions me legitimately, even if there's an intention of a jab right there.
"Oi, of course I was…" I muttered dryly. "Here, see."
Yukinoshita, with our tea in her hands, walks over to us and takes the empty spot on my other shoulder. She, like Yui, is inches away from perching her chin on my shoulder. Hey, scooch aside a little, now I can't see!
"…this is how much you make annually?" Yukinoshita-san, why is your voice so hollow?
"Um, yeah?"
"How… how is this even legal…?" her voice is of honest confusion. "This is… this is even more than what most good paying jobs pay you!"
Wait till you see the international revenue.
"Hey, don't get mad at the fact that my book actually sells!" I complained. "And you guys are so close to me, what is this, I 3 NARUTO day or something?"
"Urk/Urk!"
They jumped two feet away from where they were before, an identical shade of red donning their faces. I looked at each of their faces, before laughing like an idiot. "Hahaha! Your faces are so red!" then I took a minute to sniff myself. "But do I really smell that bad?"
"N-No, it's nothing like that, Maki…"
"…" why aren't you saying anything, Yukinoshita? And it's a good thing that you placed the mugs before you jumped like that, otherwise you'll have to buy a new set of mugs for me and Yui.
Hm… speaking of which…
"Since when did you get a new mug?" I pointed out the change of drinking tool that I'm supposed to drink from. "Wasn't mine just a paper cup before?"
"I-I took it as an initiative to purchase a more suitable mug for you and Yuigahama-san." Is Yukinoshita's answer. She coughs, the redness on her cheeks slowly receding. "Is there any problem with it, Uzumaki-kun? Is it not to your liking?" despite the obvious sarcasm and mockery in her tone, I can also detect the honest expectation.
I shook my head, grabbing the mug. By design, it's not really flashy. It's just your normal, ceramic mug that you could easily get from a 100 Yen store. But it's not the design that got me, it's the color. I flashed a smile as well as a thumb towards Yukinoshita. "I like the color, it's rad."
"It's red? But it's orange, Maki…?"
Haaah… Yui, I forgot that you're not literate. "It's an American slang word for cool, awesome or something like that."
"Heeeh… you're fluent in English, Maki?" she asks me, curious, like a child.
I nodded. I'm not lying here. "I am." English is one of the best subjects that I excel at anyway. You should know this, Yui… not to brag or anything but I always score first or second when it comes to English. English subject in Japan is, like, easy. "Want me to prove it to you?"
"Oh, how?" she asks me.
"I don't know, what do you want me to say in English?"
"Say… 'Yuigahama wa utsukushi onnanoko desu'!" she says rather excitedly.
"Uwaaah… even from you that's a little bit too much, Yui."
"Agreed, Yuigahama-san."
With Yukinoshita and me ganging up on her, Yui's in a tight spot. "S-S-Shut up! I just wanna know what it means in English, alright?" she takes out her phone. "Here, I'll use a translator so that I could check whether you're right or not!" she activates the mic button on the translation application on her phone.
Without hesitating, I spoke in English,
"Yuigahama is a beautiful girl." I grinned. "She's a bitch."
The microphone picks up my voice and immediately translates what I just said into Japanese. What she requested and what I said at the end are simple enough to be translated by the translation application, so I'm confident that this will be a success.
'Yuigahama wa utsukushi onnanoko desu. Kanojo kuso onna desu.'
"HEY! THAT LAST PART WAS NOT NECESSARY!"
"But, at least you know that I can speak English, right?"
Yui pouts, huffing with her arms crossed under her bust as she refuses to look at me. "I don't wanna talk to you Maki, you're mean."
"Well too bad." I'm talking to you whether you like it or not. "And Yukinoshita, please stop giggling, it's out of character for you." but, I suppose, no one cares anymore about out of character-ness at this point, eh?
"W-What are you talking about, Uzumaki-kun? I wasn't in the least laughing."
"Mooou! Not you too Yukinon! The two of you are so mean to me today!" Yui's stomping her foot on the floor, throwing a tantrum like a five year old. No, even five year olds are more mature than this. "Why are you guys starting to bully me anyway?"
I raised my hand, making a very polite gesture of permission. "Um, correction, I've always bullied you. It's Yukinoshita who you want to get that question answered from."
At least this is her first time openly bullying you with me.
"What does that mean, Maki?"
Instead of me who answered, it was Yukinoshita herself. "It means this is the very first time I'm openly bullying you like this, Yuigahama-san."
"And you admitted it so easily, Yukinon! Moou! Moou! You guys are, like, the worst today!"
Despite what happened earlier this morning, we're still laughing and talking as if nothing happened.
Thus, our club activities end for the day.
I ride my bike home, duh, just like I ride my bike to school. You see, I always hate how you have to unlock your padlocks in order to, well, unlock it. It might sound weird, but it's just bothersome. Especially if you have to fiddle with a key ring like I have to.
"Stupid… little… c'mon…"
After struggling for a few seconds with the padlock, I dumped the small chunk of metal inside my bag along with my keys. With minimal effort, I pulled my bike from the narrow bike parking rack. I stuff my bag inside the basket in front of the bike and positioned myself on it. I grasped the rubber steering handle of my bike, gripping them lightly. I adjusted the position of my bike, so that I'm facing the exit gates. I pedaled out of the school's compound, taking a right so that I could make my way home.
"Hey! Uzuzu!"
I gripped the breaks of my bike as if my life's on the line. I had to use my feet to stop myself and the bike from falling down. Thankfully, I was still on the side of the road, so I won't be disturbing any bigger vehicles that will have to drive past this road. Lifting up my bike slightly, I kicked down the kick stand in order to make it stand up right.
Orimoto?
What is she…?
"Going home already?" she asks me as soon as she's near. She's wearing her school uniform, something new for me to see. Yesterday, when she visited my place, she was just wearing normal clothing. She must've had time to change clothes after school but now, it seems that she's just returned. She's holding her phone and she quickly pockets it into her blazer when she walks to approach me.
Hm… I don't recognize the school emblem on her blazer… but it looks good on her. We don't wear blazers during middle school and I don't really remember if I have ever seen Orimoto wearing one before.
Her looks turned from cheerful to worry. Oh, she must've noticed the bandages wrapped around my head. "Oh my God, what happened to you…?!"
Funny, I almost heard genuine concern on her voice there for a second. She steps forward, completely ignoring my private space, and does the same thing what Yui did earlier in the infirmary. "It's bloodied, wait, you got hurt for real? Who did this to you? What happened?"
It's starting to get annoying for me how to get asked that a lot of times today.
"Owowowowo!" that's not me, by the way. I pushed her away from me, drawing distance again, by pushing her on the forehead with two of my fingers. "Hey, what gives?!" she demands, incredulous.
"I'm fine, so don't worry about it and I'm annoyed that people won't stop asking me the same question over and over again today." I told her with a level tone. Sighing, I placed my hands akimbo, glancing down at her. "Anyway, what are you doing here, Orimoto?"
She rubs the place where I just pushed her at, namely her forehead. Orimoto gives me a sour look, but that does not affect me in the slightest. "I was just gonna go and visit you at your school, I was curious."
This… this girl…
Sighing, I shook my head. "That's not the smartest thing, Orimoto."
Still rubbing her forehead, she asks, "Why?"
"Look around you."
And she does. She looks around and notices the looks that people are giving her… us. Now I don't have a problem with this… but…
Orimoto does. Don't you, Orimoto?
Orimoto's face twists into a brief moment of realization, before she lowers her head to hide it from people's view. "O-O-Oh… sorry…"
"…I'm fine with it." God, just when I thought things were going to get better. "Anyway, are you really here just to see me?" I asked her.
Looking up, she gives me a rather complicated look. She fidgets around, stretching her arms and legs. She's nervous… she'd always do this when she's nervous. "Uh… it's… um…" and she's struggling to find words, yup, she's nervous.
Looking around me, I can see that the looks we're getting are not getting better. This will be a mess if I don't do anything now.
"Hop on." I said.
"Eh?" is her intelligent reply.
I patted on the passenger's spot on my bike.
"Let's find a place to talk. How's coffee for you?" I offered with a tilt of my head.
"Yeah, sure… that'd be nice." She returns my suggestion with the smile she had earlier.
After getting ourselves on my bike, I made sure that I'm capable of balancing the both of our weight before kicking back the kick stand. Orimoto is sitting sideways, as in, she's sitting while facing to the side. It's logical, she is wearing a skirt after all. I was about to pedal until I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around my abdomen. I shivered and turned my head, giving my passenger a questioning look.
"What? You want me to fall from the bike?" she asks in a very, very cheeky tone.
"Well, no, but… you know what, never mind." I give up.
"I mean, I'm fine with some girl sitting on the back of my bike, wrapping her arms around me, when everyone else's looking at us or anything…" obvious sarcasm is obvious, Naruto.
"And it's not exactly legal to be riding like this anyway. If the cops see us, we're in trouble." Orimoto says, "So, maybe that could be the reason why they're looking at us?"
"Cheeky…"
She squeezed tighter. Whoa, her grip's kind of stronger than what I'd expected. "Then you just gotta have to pedal fast, yeah? Run like the wind, Uzuzu!"
"Oi, I'm not a horse." (3)
She just laughs. At my expense.
Anyway, I pedaled, ignoring the looks people are giving us. Let me say this: I don't actually plan on pedaling us all the way to our destination, because if they see us riding on the same bike together on the main road, they'll sic the popo on our ass and it'll be like GTA 5 all over again. We ride in silence, none of us speaking nor do we try to make conversation. It's common courtesy and safety procedure to not talk to a driver when he's on the wheels but I can't exactly use that reason, it's Orimoto's. I'm not talking because I prefer to have our conversation in a proper place, not in the middle of the road on my bike like this.
The wind rushes past us and we're going through it like a blade slicing through tatami mat rolls. The sky is a strange, yet wonderful mixture between orange and purple. Now that I'm thinking about it, isn't purple Orimoto's favorite color? I don't know, I have to ask her.
…but judging from the purple monkey plush key chain dangling from her phone which I saw earlier, I can go and take a wild guess that it is.
There's this feeling of strange content that I couldn't really describe in the air that's seemingly to make the busy, yet lighthearted environment around me even more immersive. Seeing the familiar crossroad intersection up ahead, I steadily and slowly gripped the breaks of my bike. This got me a reaction a reaction from Orimoto.
"What's wrong? Why are we stopping?" she asks me, sounding confused.
"We're about to enter the main road," it's just up ahead, actually. Left and right are just roads that leads to somewhere else in this residential area, "and I don't want to get into trouble with the police."
"Oh, alright." She unwraps her arms from my waist and gets off the bike. Now I can be an ass here and just speed off, pedaling away full speed and leaving her behind alone in the middle alone while screaming, 'See ya' and disappearing into the distance…
…but no, I'm not going to do that. Even if it would be funny.
I got off the bike too, sharing the walking experience with her. We walk side by side, my bike is the only thing that separates us, on the curb joined by other pedestrians. Suffice to say, it was the longest two minutes of my life. I parked my bike in a bike rack that they provide in front of the coffee shop's establishment; Orimoto waits quietly, which is kind of odd for her. Obviously, I took my bag with me, I mean, who wouldn't?
"Let's get inside."
"Yeah."
We enter the coffee shop, café or whatever, side by side, the automatic doors sliding open. I lead her to a spot far away on the corner of the café, obviously. I sat down and Orimoto took the spot opposite of mine. Immediately, a waitress wearing a uniform comes into scene holding two menu books for us to browse.
"Good evening, are you ready to order?"
I didn't bother opening the menu she offered me. "Hot chocolate. And cookies."
Apparently, what I ordered was funny. "Hot chocolate? Cookies? You're hilarious Uzuzu!" she laughs.
"Hey, don't judge me." what's wrong with ordering hot chocolate and cookies, huh?! I don't see people flipping out when Santa's drinking their milk and eating their cookies… I rolled my eyes at her obvious teasing. I wasn't exactly bothered with it, I guess associating myself with a person like Yukinoshita has made me desensitized over petty insults or it's just proof of how dead I am inside.
Wow, edgy.
Anyway, Orimoto, after browsing for a while, chooses what she wants to order. "I'll have one plate of hotcake and a cup of Caffe Americano."
The pink collared worker gives us her business smile as soon as she's finished jotting down our orders. "Alright, your orders will be ready in a few minutes." It better be, I mean, it's quick and easy to prepare them. Hot chocolate is just melted chocolate from the microwave mixed together with warm milk and Caffe Americano is basically just a shot or two shots of espresso mixed with hot water. Or was it a Long Black? Hm… I don't know.
And I apologize to all the hipsters in the world for my ignorance. And as for the cookies and hotcake, you have a fresh batch over there on the display on the counter.
The waitress takes the two menu book she lent us earlier and returns to prepare our orders.
Leaning my back on the soft, synthetic leather covered cushioned seat, I cut to the chase of why we're here.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
Orimoto frowns outwardly. She looks me straight in the eye and I can already feel desire radiating from her. Truly, she's different now. I guess I'm not only talking about her looks, here. Back then, she had straight black hair, different to hazelnut brown that she has now; it's wavier too. And her makeup is more obvious, but I can get that, everyone's wearing makeup in this day and age. Of course, she looks older, but it seems that whenever she'd smile, she still radiates the same effect. Her nails are painted, but nothing too flashy or vogue-y, just a light shade of pink with a little bit of glitter on them.
If she is smiling right now, which is not the case since she's frowning currently, and I'd just happen to pass by and see her, I'd definitely identify her as Orimoto. But now that she's frowning, she feels like a stranger to me. Someone who I have never met before, especially when I took her new looks into account. I can see and hear her steadying her breathing, like a child would normally do when the doctor's about to jam a needle into their blood vein. Then her breathing ceases, she looks at me with a determined look.
"Uzumaki, I…" she breathes out one more time, "I want to start over."
"No."
…
…
The music playing in the sound systems is Chet Baker's But Not for Me, by the way.
Orimoto's expression flicks over from one to another, like a chameleon changing color. Then, she settles on laughing it off. "Hahahaha! You actually said 'no' just like that? Hahahahaha! Gosh, Uzuzu, you're so funny!"
"Orimoto-"
"Honestly, I kind of expected a 'no' for an answer, but not as soon as that."
"Ori-"
"That's why I was preparing myself all night for this, you know, when I called you last night, I was actually going to ask you about somethi-"
"Orimoto."
"-ng, but I was very nervous. I was worried that I'll be interrupting your date with the girl on the festival, so it took me like, ten minutes to decide before calling you-"
"Kaori!"
My chakra flared along with my emotion in the form of an outburst. The lights in the café flickered off, the sound system malfunctions for a brief second. Everybody, customers and employees alike panics, felt the sudden disturbance and are wary, some are even taking cover under their table thinking that a tremor might have happened. Things returned to normal, left with an aftershock of my outburst, as if my chakra never flared. The lights are back on, the sound system is not screwed up anymore and the feeling of dread happened.
…people within two miles from where I'm at must've felt that.
Stupid Naruto! Dummy! Idiot!
"L-Look, O-Orimoto…" I said in a voice which is way more contained than before. She's shocked, afraid even. I need to redirect her. "Are you okay? I think a tremor happened there…"
"O-Oh, I'm f-fine. I'm fine." No she's totally not. But it seems that I managed to get the suspicion off from me. "Just shocked, that's all." She smiles, but it's more crooked than the one she was showing before.
Yeah, 'fine'.
Sighing, I leaned my back against the cushion again, calming my nerves. That's strange. Normally, I'm not this… explosive… is this another side effect of my condition? As things are settling down, the waitress from before approaches us with our orders.
"Are you okay dear customers?" the worry in her voice is not real concern. She's just worried that if one of us gets hurt, the establishment could get in trouble. She places the foods and drinks we ordered on the table, on their respective places.
"We're fine." I said quickly, hinting that we wished to be left alone.
"Very well." She bowed, before disappearing again. She's not important anyway.
I stirred my cup of warm chocolate, I said warm because it's not as hot as I would've liked it to be. Instead of drinking it, I placed it back on the table again. I want to resume our conversation, but it seems that Orimoto's distracting herself with her food. I'll wait for her. She took the first bite and she's chewing, she notices the stare that I'm giving her. Orimoto sighs, she must have figured out that she can't get out of this now.
"…I want to start over again." She starts, repeating what she just said to me before.
"…why?" I asked.
Her lips pursed, pressed against each other tightly to the point I'm afraid she'll break a blood vessel somewhere in it. "…because, I-I don't want to feel miserable like this." she looks me straight in the eye as she says this, all hints of playfulness gone. "B-Back then, after that person confessed to me, I-I talked to you and... and... I told you that..."
Ah, that's right. Now I fully remember.
She's no good explaining like this, let me do it.
Third Year of Middle School, Naruto
"Hey, Kaori, you know that Usami Naoto-kun from class 3-G has a crush on you, right?"
"Eeeeh? No way! But he's, like, the ace of the baseball club!"
"I know! Maaan… I so envy you, Kaori~ you even have someone as handsome and popular as Naoto-kun to have a crush on you!"
"Maa, maa, he's popular but I'm not sure if he's as handsome as you're telling me… ahaha…"
Normally, normal boyfriends would walk to their girlfriend and get jealous over this kind of topic if they're nearby to overhear it. But getting jealous is beyond me. I've lived a long life to learn that jealousy brings nothing more than misery, and misery loves company. So, am I jealous upon learning that my girlfriend's apparently attracting the attention of the school's baseball ace? No, no I'm not. Am I worried, though, I guess I am.
Kaori's relationship with me is a secret. We decided that it's for the best for us to act like strangers, despite her constant approaches, during school. The closest we get to almost being found out was when she casually talked to me during lunch and calling me by my first name. It was taken as a mere blunder by her friends and they eventually thought nothing of it. So, technically, I don't have to be worried about anything, right?
Then, why am I worrying right now?
I took sneaky looks at Kaori and her friends. She's talking over by one of her friends' seat, away from mine to avoid any form of suspicion about her unknown and private relationship with me. But they're so loud that I can even see them even if I'm, like, five seats away from them. Kaori is talking with them, making sheepish expressions that I'd normally find myself making when I'm discussing something embarrassing. With my English textbook opened, I'm using the guise of studying to look at her.
I was about to stop listening, then the conversation turns south. And by that I mean they start talking about me.
"By the way, Kaori. Haven't you been… you know, talking to Uzumaki lately?"
"E-Eh? What do you mean? No… no way."
"Yeah, yeah! I kind 'a noticed that too. Just the other day, you called out his first name right?"
"That was just a blunder! I was going to ask him to move away from the board because he's blocking some of the teacher's note, but his last name's too long! What was it again? Uzuzu…something?"
"Wow, yeah, and it's Uzumaki. Urgh… that guy gives me the creep…"
"Yeah, he's scary too. They said he beat up some juniors during his second year… scary, right?"
Kaori, don't look at me. She almost looked at me, thankfully, she resists at the very last second. "Y-Yeah! That's totes scary!"
I don't mind the insults or the baseless gossips they're throwing around, but for some reason, hearing Kaori saying them got me thinking.
Then school went on and I found out that Kaori's just received a letter. A confession letter. From that Naoto jerk and she's asking her to meet him on the roof, the only place where we could talk to in school. After school, I managed to hide myself as I watched the confession went on. It started typically. He was waiting there for Kaori, Kaori came up, he confessed… but she rejected him. He asked why and she came up with a reasonable reason of not wanting to date anyone right now. Good thing that he bought the reason and wasn't violent. He retreated downstairs, leaving Kaori alone.
I made myself known, but I had to wait and make it look like I only happen to stumble upon her on the roof.
"Kaori? What are you doing here?" I asked, acting my part as a clueless boyfriend.
I remember her giving me one of the saddest smiles she's ever shown me. "Uzuzu… I was… er…"
My eyebrows furrowed. Whenever I'd do this, Kaori will know that I'm not asking her on a whim.
"Someone… confessed to me." she reveals, her voice small.
"Oh." I said 'oh'. That's the only thing I could say right there. "And… how did it go?"
"I rejected him, duh, but he was Usami Naoto-kun from 3-G…" she tells me, as if I should know who he is.
"Who's he?"
"He's, like, the school's baseball ace. A really popular guy."
"…congrats, I guess?"
She rolls her eyes before sighing. "You really always try to be funny regardless of the situation, huh?"
"I blame my healthy pessimistic side for that." I said lamely, scratching the back of my head. "So, you rejected him. You know what's going to happen, right?"
She nods. "Yeah… my friends are beginning to suspect me already, heck, I think they're suspicious about me." she giggles humorlessly. "Skipping outings, not hanging out, ditching them at lunch… they're bound to get suspicious at some point."
"…you don't say…"
"Hm?"
"Nothing." I quickly said. I walked around, pacing myself around for no reason. "So, what are you gonna do now?"
"Nothing, duh." I looked at her and was greeted by her confident smile. She walks up to me and pokes my on the rib. That didn't feel like anything, so I didn't react. "Unless… you want something to be done?" she asks me.
I'm supposed to be the one who asks the questions, here, Kaori.
But I took her question seriously. Do I want something to be done? And if so, what is it?
Of course, I wanted Kaori to be safe and off the suspicion of associating with me. But what happened just now is just flashing signs about the troublesome shitstorm that might happen if this keeps on. We've been treading on thin ice, so what just happened now can be seen as the cracks starting to form one huge crevice. I want something done, but the only end result will result in her hurting. And…
Do I want her hurt?
I must have spent, like, a good thirty seconds to ponder that.
But I came up with an answer to that.
No, I don't want to hurt her.
I decided. I'm not going to hurt her so, I-
"I think it's best if we break up, Uzuzu."
…
"My friends are getting suspicious and it's almost our graduation day… we're gonna do our finals and after that, I-we won't have much time to spend with our classmates and, so, I think that, I kind'a want to spend the remaining days of my middle school year with them. And the thing with Usami Naoto-san, just now, I'm really not interested in him. And now that I think about it…"
"…"
"…it was… dull, after all."
…
I knew what 'it' refers to here. My experience with her. Our experience. It was dull. I can't blame her, I mean, what use is dating anyway if you're not supposed to let other people see it? It certainly beats the purpose of having a boyfriend or girlfriend, right? In today's standards, having a boyfriend or girlfriend means that you want to show your status. They're just signs. So, yeah, I guess that I was only a 'sign' to her, but what kind of sign was I when I wasn't even shown?
I'm not mad, really. Neither am I sad. I just… understood. I understood Kaori's reason for wanting to break up with me, I fully understand her.
Well now, that certainly saved me the trouble of leading the initiative.
I remember not reacting to her conclusion. I just nod, acted sad and complied.
After that, we stopped talking. We don't call each other anymore. We stopped seeing each other anymore. And the both of us actively tried to avoid the other. By then, we're already graduates.
We didn't see each other during the school's year end ceremony, I didn't attend the after party that my batch was throwing since I knew I didn't really belong with them or there at all, really. By then, I had already published Jiraiya's books and slowly making an income, I quickly forgot about her, more like I had to. I met Komachi who… is definitely someone I do not regret meeting and getting to know, I also got closer to her family.
Then… I got hit by a truck. It was before I started High School so it wasn't complicated, yet. Tanaka-san, being my editor and 'guardian' you could say, she dealt with the papers and I have to deal with a crying Komachi while staying in the hospital to heal. Thankfully, the accident was not bad. I even joked to the doctors about surviving another accident as soon as I was released.
Theeeeeen I got hit by Yukinoshita's limo.
Yeah, they were giving me weird looks when I was readmitted to the hospital. I swear, they must've chosen the same room because someone had a sick sense of humor. It was supposed to be my first day at high school too, so I started the semester late and was not able to make friends. When I started school, I was covered in bandages, I had a sling on my arm and I had to wear braces around my neck. Let's just say that I did not make a very good first impression.
My high school debut started with me getting hit by another student's limo, after getting hit by a truck months prior that accident, getting mistaken as a delinquent who fights a lot to the point where he's covered in bandages and, as a result, becoming a loner.
The number of records I've broken must've been equivalent to the number of bones I broke during both accidents combined.
So… yeah, that was my story. And the reason why Kao-Orimoto and I broke up.
The Present
"Sniff… Sniff…"
Girls… are unfair.
Yeah, they're unfair.
So… fucking unfair.
You know, the old me would've fussed over her, trying to make her stop crying. But the me now, now, he's just sitting there looking at a crying girl without even feeling the slightest tug on his chest. The me now does not know what to do and he stopped her only because he doesn't want everyone to look at them weirdly.
Why is she crying?
Wasn't she the one who suggested the break up? Though I was going to be the one to say it, Orimoto was the one who said it eventually instead of me. She also said why we should break up, her reasons being she didn't want to miss out on the chances of hanging out with her friends and how dull our 'relationship' was.
Then, why is she crying?
Her crying now is illogical. It does not make sense. I haven't done anything that warrants her crying and she most definitely didn't do anything to herself physically. So, why in the hell is she crying now? And I'm not talking about weeping crying, she's full on sobbing. We're getting weird looks from people nearby and I'd be lying if I said that I'm comfortable right now, because I'm not. People are whispering, giving us looks, some are even taking videos.
The nerve of them. I refocused my attention back at Orimoto and I can only come to three conclusion as to why she's crying.
Regret. Despair. Loss.
I scowled. I scowled harder than all Uchiha clan members combined.
Pulling out my wallet from my bag, I slipped out the necessary amount of money to cover up my food, even if I did not end up touching any of them.
Why the fuck am I here anyway? I went along with her selfish whim of going here because I thought she was actually going to talk to me. But if she's here for the reason I think she is, then I have no reason to be here. I turned around, but my first step was halted by none other than Orimoto herself.
"W-Wait…" she says with a teary tone.
"Let go."
"N-No, Uzuzu, w-wa-"
"Let go of my hand, Orimoto." That came out like a hot steam from a kettle. She lets go, gasping, as if she's just touched a hot surface.
I walked away, my stride heavy and loud, as I ignored the restrained cries of her wails from inside the café. I glared back at some of the customers around me who could not mind their own fucking business. I exited the café and walked to my bike.
"…tch!"
In a fit, I crushed the metal padlock, along with the chain that keeps my bike from getting stolen. The sound of metal crunching and breaking underneath my pressure is a sound that I have not heard in a very long time. What made me crush the padlock, you might ask? Well, how about the fact that I just fell, got injured and found out that the chakra inside of me is fucking my body up?
I need to release it. I need to vent out. I just did before, but it wasn't enough.
Pulling out my bike, I wasted no time pedaling back home.
I need a drink.
1: This is an Oregairu crossover, I cannot not just use this comparison.
2: Tomatoes is one of Sasuke's favorite food.
3: Toy Story reference.