*8/27/2021

Is the 27th my new thing? Find out next month! haha

Karaoke Neighbor

Chapter 27

Spinning the World

"The rise of the Daimyo started in the late 1300s as a result of Go-Daigo attempting to overthrow the shogunate, which then resulted in a long civil war. This…"

The girl with the freshly dyed burgundy hair took notes absentmindedly as her Japanese History teacher, Hayate Misa, taught on the daimyo coming to power. Ah, yes: the second semester had started. She looked to her left and half expected her seatmate to be sneakily reading a book, as he does, but to her astonishment, he was doodling instead. She leaned in closer to identify the drawing on Takahiro's notebook. It was a globe.

He caught her staring and just shrugged when they made eye contact. She smirked and went back to her notes. Notes that she honestly could scarcely comprehend herself. If anyone else saw them, they'd be perplexed.

The young woman continued about her day as usual, and when it was time for her study period, she quickly made her way to his office. School started up again a few weeks ago and it was now early September. The two had gone back to normal, although Estell did notice that he would look at her less often. It was progress, she guessed.

She quietly entered the room and was shocked to see that someone else was there with him. He wore the armband from the uniform that she normally saw in the display case. He was tall with an outdated hairstyle.

The two males were in conversation and when Hibari finally saw her, he slightly gestured with his head toward the couches, which is where she normally sat anyway. She nodded and went to go start on some of her homework from her earlier periods.

Or at least, that's what she wanted to do. She was so curious about the situation going on at Hibari's desk. She'd never seen anyone else in here before, but he did tell her countless times that the Student Discipline…thing had more members than just himself. The tall boy (or man?) in the room must have been part of the council. She had never seen him before, though.

After ten or so minutes, the conversation concluded and the member bowed and left, but not before looking in her direction and nodding. She briefly nodded as well and watched him leave.

Some shuffling of papers made her eyes return to the direction of the desk. Hibari had put his glasses on and was on the verge of starting paperwork when he met her eyes. Not long after, he looked away and started his work.

'Okay, I won't pry then…' She thought and went back to her work. A minute went by before she thought of something else. The manga that she would always pick up and read here; did it belong to that guy? Or another unknown member? It really wasn't any of her business. As long as she was still allowed to read them, she was content.

The period ended right when she was about to finish her short paper. She collected her belongings, waved to Hibari (who only looked at her for a split second), and exited gracefully. She sighed on the other side of the door. Were they going backward?

The girl said her goodbyes to Takahiro and the rest of the class and went down the hall, where she would begin another study session with Misa like always. Said teacher had been very proud of her as of late. Summer break had gone swimmingly in terms of updates and the work that Estell had completed. Truthfully, the woman didn't originally have high hopes for the younger one for the summer. She was an attractive young woman who could have spent her break any way she wanted, and yet she chose to get her work done. Hayate Misa had a newfound respect for Kiseki Estell.

Estell sat down and took out her Japanese Level 5 and 6 books. She was nearing the end of 5 and felt like she could possibly get to 6 today. If not, she could always skip ahead to 6 at work later in the day.

She had been very wrong. The end of the Level 5 textbook threw some new kanji and vocabulary that she would have to memorize for the next week or so. Once again, she was thankful that she could do these things at work during her downtime.

The foreigner bowed to her teacher at the end of their session and made her way to her locker. She would go home for a quick meal and change, and then make her way the few blocks to the konbini. Like clockwork.

But as she was putting her indoor shoes back inside, she saw a movement in her peripherals. A young man leaned against the lockers near hers. He looked down at her.

"If you're going straight home, might as well go together."

She just stared. Had she just gotten an offer to walk home together? With his initiation?

"Keep staring and I'll leave."

"No, wait! We can go together, Hibari-san…" She fidgeted.

"Stop doing that." He was disturbed by the dumb smile on her face and the way she moved her arms. Or so he told himself.

"Okay…"

The two set off together. Estell smiled to herself but said nothing. If she kept quiet as he liked, maybe this could be a daily occurrence. It only happened a few other times, and it was her who initiated it. She was excited for what the future would bring.

And yet…

They literally did not talk the whole way there. Estell was crying on the inside when they reached the elevators. Why wasn't this boy at least interested in small talk? He could have started something if he had started this. They exited the elevators and went to their apartments. Estell continued her silent act and waved at the boy, who looked at her oddly and curtly nodded. Then they entered their respective homes.

"Welcome!" She said cheerfully as customers came through the sliding doors. Her shift would be over in a few hours and it was starting to get busy. She set aside her textbook and continued her work.

A bit later, Gokudera Hayato walked in solo. Estell waited a few seconds for someone else to come in after him, but no one did.

"Hey, hun. You by yourself today?"

The boy flushed but nodded. "Yeah, my sister is back in town and she wanted me to buy her stuff…"

"Oh, you have a sister? She's older?"

"Yup. And an annoying psychopath."

"Aww, she sounds interesting. I wish I had a sibling."

"We can trade."

Estell laughed. "I hope to meet her someday."

"If she sticks around long enough, I'll send her your way. Senpai." He concluded the conversation and went on his way to buy what he was tasked to.

Estell smiled to herself. Hayato was half like her, so she wondered if his sister was as well. She learned that he was Italian from a random conversation with Tsuna. Where did his good looks come from? The Italian side? Or the Japanese? Was his sister just as good-looking?

The freshman came back with some beverages, then he shyly placed some feminine hygiene products down. "You saw nothing…" He said, face very red.

Estell smiled. "You're good. Don't worry. And aren't you a sweet little bro? I'm sure your sister is very grateful."

The boy looked down and scratched at his cheek. "I guess…"

"That will be 3,488. How will you be paying?"

"Goddammit!" he exclaimed and handed over his credit card. "Why are these things so expensive?"

She shrugged. "Capitalism. Or something."

He laughed.

After giving him his bag and receipt, she noticed that he seemed to have something on his mind, with the way he lingered in front of her. "You good?" she asked in English.

"Uh. Hey…senpai. What's your relationship with Hibari-san?" He didn't look her in the eye when he asked.

"Mmm… we're going to be that enemies to lovers trope. We just haven't gotten there yet, ahah. Why do you ask?" Estell could clearly tell that the freshman boy had become interested in her bit by bit. She just wanted to hear what he had to say.

He looked slightly dejected. "No, nothing. Just curious was all. Well, see ya, senpai!"

"Take care! Come again!"

And with that, her shift came to a close.

The month of September came and went like any other normal month. It had started to get chilly, and Estell was thankful that they had changed to their winter uniforms already. She had opted to wear the black tights and beige cardigan. They looked good on her.

It was a Friday and she was feeling giddy. Miles' birthday was coming up on Sunday the 3rd. They had all (minus Q, who was busy) planned to celebrate at a nice restaurant this time, unlike with Tsubaki's impromptu karaoke party at Taka's home. Speaking of Tsubaki, she had become even closer to the foreign girl lately. It was most likely due to Miles, though. In fact, it had to be. The topic of conversation would always end up on Miles. Tsubaki learned many of the boy's likes and dislikes from the burgundy-head.

Takahiro waited in the doorway with Tsubaki for Estell to finish up collecting her belongings.

"Hurry up, Kiseki. We don't have all day."

"I know, I know." Finished with what she was doing, she walked with her friends out the door and down the stairs.

"Now, you're sure he would be into a gift card from a sporting store?"

"Uh huh. Or you can get all personal and get him a charm bracelet with soccer balls on it. Or something anime-related. He likes anime."

"Do you think he'd be interested in a sports manga, Estell-san?"

"Yes, Takahiro-san."

"That…" Taka stopped walking. "That's weird. Don't do that."

"No, you first!"

The boy only laughed and continued walking. After they were done with the lockers, they set out to the bus stop where they then rode to the nearest mall. That way they could all buy a birthday present for Miles.

Takahiro set off for a bookstore to get a new sports manga that came out recently (and probably a new book for himself. Or 2.) Tsubaki was going to both the sports sections and jewelry.

Estell didn't have any real destination in mind. She wished she was talented enough to make him something handmade. He was her best friend here in Japan, so she wanted whatever she got him to be special. She kind of regretted mentioning the bracelet to Tsubaki. That would have been a good gift. But it was fine. Tsubaki and Miles seemed to have been heading towards a relationship, so the girl getting him something more special made sense. Something thoughtful and practical would have to work. First, a Japanese cookbook. Miles wasn't that great of a cook, but he loved Japanese food. That would help him a lot. Next, since he was a working man, he needed something that would take the stress from his body. A body shop should have some aromatherapy gift bags. The ones with the Eucalyptus scents.

With her gifts in mind, Estell set out to go shopping.

Estell stood in the hotel lobby and immediately felt underdressed. While she did make an effort to look prim and proper, clearly Tsubaki got a different memo. The girl was wearing a gorgeous dress that looked expensive, and her makeup was natural and not caked on for once. Her hair was in a perfect updo. All in all, she looked amazing. Estell would almost be jealous if it wasn't for the fact that super formal was not her style. Her pants suit was just fine for the weather. Besides, this was Miles' event. He wouldn't care. Although, a nice restaurant in a nice hotel… Maybe he was expecting more.

Takahiro entered in a long coat with a dress shirt and nicely fitted black jeans. He looked handsome, Estell noted.

They all had their presents wrapped and in gift bags. They were just waiting for the birthday boy himself to show up, though they were a little early themselves.

"You're very pretty today, Yamane-san."

"Thanks, Kim. You look pretty good too. Kiseki, you look…okay, I guess."

"Hey!"

"Yes, you look fine, Estell-san."

"I don't care what you guys say. I'm cute as hell!"

The three high schoolers heard a chuckle from behind them and turned to see Miles.

"Well if it isn't the birthday boy."

"I'm still calling you kid."

"Happy birthday, Hanes-san."

"Happy birthday!" the girls said. Tsubaki gave him a hug. Estell patted him on the back. He was dressed similar to Takahiro. He hadn't gotten a haircut yet and his hair was in a low ponytail. It was rather cute.

"Thanks, you guys. You all look nice. Should we go in?" He pointed to the restaurant a few meters away.

"You want presents now or later?" Tsubaki asked.

"Uh, I guess now is fine."

"Cool, mine first." She put the small bag in his hands. In it was a cloth box, and inside that was a charm bracelet with little shonen anime characters on it, as well as a necklace with a soccer ball."

Miles smiled. "Thanks, Tsubaki-chan." He gave her a side hug. "I love them."

Tsubaki beamed.

'I built this ship, you guys. It was me. I did it. With my own hands,' Estell thought and smiled at the two. They were precious together.

"Here, Hanes-san. You can look at mines next."

"Sure!" Miles unwrapped the manga volumes. Taka had bought him the first 3 volumes of the new baseball manga that had come out. "Oh, sweet! I heard about this one. Thanks, Takahiro."

The boy nodded.

"Hug! Hug!" Estell blurted out.

The two boys looked at her oddly, then at each other, and patted backs.

"Lame. Anyway, here." Estell was the last to go.

Miles smiled and unwrapped his gifts. "How thoughtful."

"That's what I was going for!"

He flipped through the cookbook, mumbling something about wanting to try this and that, then smelled the lotion and body wash. "Calming. Thanks, Estell."

"You got it, dude!"

He laughed and led them to the restaurant.

They ordered and talked about various topics. Miles was doing well at his job at a café, and would occasionally have English tutoring or conversation gigs that he did. While Miles was nowhere near fluent, just like Estell, he was learning a lot while being on the job and talking to many different people every day.

The food came and it was all very scrumptious. They continued their conversations, ending up on college plans. Graduation was a mere 5 months away. Tsubaki had no real plans, but she did have an interest in cosmetology. Taka already was accepted to a local college to major in literature and minor in creative writing. That part was surprising. Estell didn't ever see Taka try to write anything. But if it was what he wanted to do, then she was happy with his decision.

She was also undecided about college. She was thinking about taking a gap year once she got back to America and figuring things out then. She did have a slight interest in fashion design.

For some reason, no one was surprised by that one. They said it suited her.

Miles had a lovely birthday dinner, and the friends went off on their separate ways. Although, it looked like Tsubaki and Miles were heading in the same direction.

Estell ended up catching a taxi back home since she didn't feel like being on public transport. She paid and exited when they reached the Hana-Kura.

The girl was getting ready to check her mail when she spotted her neighbor with the same idea. He turned when he heard her pause in step.

Looking her up and down, he asked, "Aren't you supposed to be at work? Why are you dressed like that?"

Estell smirked. "I was on a date," she lied. She could see his eyes narrow briefly before he too smirked.

"In a pants suit? Those don't look like date clothes. Unless you've changed teams now. Was your date a woman?"

Estell laughed. "Ah. You're funny. Although… I may have kind of played for both teams the whole time!"

Hibari stared at her in shock.

"But alas, I have lied. I was not on a date as I have led you to believe, dear. It was Miles' birthday! We went to dinner. See, I would have invited you, but you would have said no anyway, plus you never even remember his name…"

"Who was that again?"

"See!"

Hibari chuckled. "No, I remember. That American friend of yours. And you are right; I wouldn't have gone. Crowding."

"Yeah, yeah. Crowding." Estell checked her mailbox, but nothing was in it. She shrugged and headed towards the elevator. Hibari followed. The doors shut.

"So when it's just us two, are we crowding?"

"No."

"Hmm…"

"Were you joking about liking girls?"

"Hmmm… Who knows? You better act fast; you have so much competition now."

Hibari opened his mouth to say something, but the elevator dinged and Estell walked out.

Play the Karaoke Neighbor dating sim and romance Hibari, Taka or Miles. 'Cause they're cool. Or no one. Or hang with girls. (Available for PC) Follow me on Twitter! Links in my profile.

Shout out to Dominican Revar! Thanks for reading.

Song:

Spinning the World - Clazziquai Project