Chapter 3 Edit
AN: hikey mad doesn't save my stylistic paragraph spacing and multiple uses of the enter key, thus making this one long continuous thing that I had to separate using line breaks
Packing my bag a few minutes before the bell rang, I stood up before many of my other classmates and began to leave for third period. Before I could leave though, Hani-san approached me with one hand tucked into his pocket, and the other holding his bag which I had returned to him this morning slung over his shoulder. He stared up at me with sharp brown eyes.
"When do you want to meet for the project?" He asked me with a flat voice and minimal emotion on his face. Unprepared for his question I hastily scrambled my brain for an answer.
"Is tomorrow good?" I asked shifting my weight from one foot to the other. "Just to start that is." I added hastily looking through the thick lenses of my glasses.
"Place." Hani-san stated curtly. At least I believe it was meant to be a question, but the way in which Hani-san said it made it sound like a direct order.
"The library, here after registration?" I responded, though my voice left space for correction in case Hani-san had a different idea of where to go.
"Fine." He said, though I was not sure if he was agreeing to my idea because he wanted to or because he had to. Although I did not get a chance to ask his opinion on the matter because Hani-san had already begin walking away towards the door where his stoic companion stood waiting for him.
I followed suit heading towards my next class before I ended up being penalized for such a thing.
A time later I could be found roaming the halls instead of eating lunch. Around this time there was not many people in the hallway. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their time outside inn the courtyard or inside in the over lavish cafeteria.
Making my way to the library once again I passed a few different areas. Double doors, most of them, which held back any inside sound. I held no particular interest to any of these areas, except one. The doors were no different from any of the others, but for some reason I felt drawn towards them.
Slowly I walked towards the doors, straying from my original path to the library. I inched forward, straying from my original path to the Library. I pushed one of the double doors open, my movements slow and tentative.
Through the small crack in the door I peeked into the room. There was a relatively large group of students gathered in the center of the floor warming up for what look to be martial arts. Their white keikogi already wet with sweat as they followed the instructions of…Hani-san?
I was surprised to see Hani-san leading the class, his silent partner standing beside him. Hani-san continued out loud as the other students continued inside with him. First, second, and third years alike all following his command.
Quietly I backed away from the door, closing it with a slight creak which could not be heard over the resounding unanimous chanting, I walked back into the hall. This time I did not get distracted as I followed down the grey tile paved road to the library.
Similarly, to yesterday I ventured deep within the library, near the back in a dark corner. The light being just bright enough to read in, but dark enough to sleep, the dim area dodging rays of sunshine. Around the room, you could see the dust particles floating suspended in the air, Brownian motion.
I did not bother trying to search for a book, even though I know I should have tried to start gathering information for our project. Hani-san and I could look through the seemingly untouched shelves later during the time that we had agreed on. Instead I decided to slump over in my new favourite chair, in front of my new favourite table, in my new favourite area of the library. Obviously had no problems in forming attachments quickly.
Placing my arms on the desk in front of me I rested my head down for a brief nap. I would not sleep for too long, just for a brief second.
I woke up what seemed like seconds later, not realizing when I had fell asleep into such a deep slumber. I felt lethargic, tired more so than I was originally before going to sleep. My brain, thoughts, and vision were all in a familiar haze. Probably due to my recent resurrection.
Moving slowly, I collected my belongs before standing up to shuffle towards the wooden double doors and out of the library.
I had no plan nor intention of going anywhere in particular, though somehow, I ended back up in front of the double doors that lead to the training room, or maybe it was a makeshift dojo. I was not sure if Hani san was still there but I decided to check nonetheless.
This time when I opened the doors I was greeted to the sarcastic yet somehow organized arrangement of students sparing against each other. At first, I did not see Hani-san, the small blonde blob being hard to pinpoint in the vast see of taller people.
Somehow, I managed to find that familiar fluff of yellow, standing watch as he monitored the progress of different students. Calling out drill changes with a stern gaze while diligent pupils responded readily.
Quietly I entered the room, slipping past the ajar door and closing it behind me, trying not to make a sound. It seemed that everyone was too focused on their training to take notice of me, for which I was glad.
I shuffled soundlessly over to the bench, sitting in the corner as I took note of my surroundings. I had never seen Hani-san in this way before. His face as stern as always but there was a fiery passion burning in his eyes as he demonstrated on a few of the more experienced pupils. His hair and clothes, just like many others, were soaked. Matted down with sweat and clinging to his skin as he threw yet another boy over his shoulder.
I did not expect Hani-san to be this strong or skilled, but looks usually tend to be deceiving. His movements, despite being harsh were also swift and graceful. His 'punches' and swings were all deliberate with the intent to subdue instead of harm as he held back most of his strength.
I had never been so entranced by another, excluding my mother. In my daze I failed to realize as a fellow student, seemingly my senior, snuck away from his protocol drills and walked over towards me.
"Hey whatcha doing over here kid?" He none to quietly whispered successfully shocking me out of my stupor.
"Watching." I responded quietly under my breath, looking down as I twiddled with my fingers which peeked out from beneath the long sleeves of my jacket.
"Unless I am not allowed to do that, I can go if I am being a disturbance." I stuttered out scrambling to pick up my bag from the floor.
"No, no! You don't have to leave! I was just wonderin' why you were here is all." He said fumbling over his words as he tried to get me to sit back down again. His accent was thick as he spoke, slang sliding easily off his tongue like so many others in my generation.
"Alright then." I said with a slight nod as I allowed myself to be pushed back down to the bench.
"So who are you here ta see?" He asked with the smile placed back on his face, though it seemed more bashful than anything else.
"I was waiting on Hani-san." I responded looking through false thick lenses, messy black bangs which did well to hide my face.
"Hani-san?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing together as he wracked his brain for a face to match the name I had given him.
"Oh you mean Haninozuka-san!" He then exclaimed, a bit too loud and suddenly causing me to involuntarily flinch, seemingly having an 'ah-ha' moment. His confused expression morphing into one of recognition along with his perpetual smile.
"That's cool I guess, he always had a lot of fans. Though none of them really got this close. Know what I mean?"
"Actually, I am not a fan. I am just waiting for him so that we can start working on a project together." I responded quietly under my breath, lowering both my voice and my head having become like second nature to me.
Though this submissive side of me was usually seen as shyness, rather than an involuntary response engraved into my body through unethical means. Past experiences that I would rather not dwell on and try my best to avoid no matter the circumstance.
"Huh, that's fine I guess. Do you want me to tell him that you're here?" He asked whipping the sweat from his brow as he redid his obi, tightening it around his waist to prevent his uniform from slipping off of his form more-so than it already was.
"Anyway, it was nice chatin' with you but, I really guess I should be going before I get in trouble for skipping out on drill practice." He said as he scratched his cheek, trying to draw away from the bashful blush on his face. Along with a shy cheeky smile that was only slightly out of place.
I nodded watching curiously as he seemingly forced himself to leave and get back to drill. Slipping between students as he tried to make his way back while avoiding being caught by either of his instructors.
It seemed as though his efforts in stealth had paid off, but from the way Mori-san and Hani-san both gave him silent side eyed looks I could tell that his struggle was in vain. Yet for some reason neither of the two first years called him out, pretending that they did not see his exit and eventual re-entrance.
The two…companions were sharp, it put me slightly on edge but I forced myself to calm down before jumping to conclusions and distrusting two innocent people. Both of which are my classmates, and one being my long-term project partner.
I watched for what seemed to be a few minutes, but in actuality two hours had passed from when I had first come in. I only realized the time when I heard a soft rumble from my stomach, hunger getting the best of me.
Despite not wanting to leave I forced myself to get up, collecting my bag as I shuffled my way back to the door that I first came in from. Pushing open one of the polished wooden doors as I slipped back out of the room, not forgetting to close the door back behind me.
I planned to buy something from the cafeteria, a restaurant within the school, before heading back to the library. The area which was quickly becoming my favourite place to be. Though it would be best for me to act quickly, I would hate to faint and cause a ruckus on campus because I decided to skip a meal when my body was begging for food.
"Alright that's enough, everyone break for now. Go and eat, relax your muscles some of you need it."
I said raising my voice over the sound of maybe a hundred working students. Many of them had worked themselves to the bone and deserved a break. But there was always those who lazed around and slacked off during training.
Pushing my hair back out of my forehead and out of my eyes I looked over towards my cousin and closest friend.
"Takashi." I called out quietly, though it was just loud enough for him to be able to hear me.
My cousin had already been on the move, working to clean down the mats and head along to the shower area to shower and change back into a clean uniform.
Hearing me call out to him, Takashi looked towards me and nodded, a sign that he was listening to what I had to say- waiting for me to speak.
"Where's Shirahata-sempai?" I asked him before looking around for the cheerful brunette who was one year my senior.
He was unresponsive for a moment before turning his head in the general direction of where the wash room was. Distinctively I could see a mop of bright brown locks. A figure standing shorter than Takashi but taller than myself, like most people were.
"Shirahata-sempai." I called out to my senior, throwing my voice across the room. Still respectful to my upperclassman despite being his instructor.
"Shirahata turned around quickly to see who had called him out, smiling as his eyes landed on me.
"Oh, Haninozuka-san! Whatcha' need me for?" He asked jogging over to me, slang that I have long since grown familiar with casually weaving its way into his sentence.
"Where did you go today? During exercises." I asked before elaborating on the time when I noticed him slip his way back into the mass of white. Adjusting my obi once again as I spoke, tightening it for the second time this session.
"Oh, you saw that huh? Ha figures, nothin' gets by you Haninozuka-san." He commented, scratching his cheek bashfully as he admired the floor through the left corner of his eyes.
"Well there was this kid, snuck in during drills and sat on a bench watchin' you durin' practice."
What he said had come as a surprise to me, someone had managed to get both in and apparently out of the doors without either me or Takashi noticing. And had managed to watch me without alerting me to their presence. Though I didn't have much time to think about this because Shirahata-san pressed on without hesitation. Looking down, not at the floor but rather, at me as he managed to maintain eye contact.
"He said he was waitin' for you but, I guess he left before the two of you could talk." He concluded, quickly scanning the room for anyone who might still be here as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
That was another odd statement, because although it would not be uncommon for someone to come in wanting to speak to me, there were very few people that could do it without alerting my attention. My own family not included.
After taking a moment to think and gather all my thoughts I asked Shirahata another question.
"This person, what did they look like?" He responded after a few seconds in silence, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks before he began to speak.
Well, he uh, had black hair. Kinda short but the bangs were long enough ta hide his eyes. And thick black frames that covered his face." He concluded, though only momentarily because hastily he added another detail to his description.
"Oh, and he called you 'Hani-san'!" He exclaimed seeming proud that he remembered such a fact.
Nodding I sent Shirahata off before walking over to a bench to think over what he had said. The initial description he had given me was enough to narrow down the options of people who came to visit me, because in honesty Mizuri-san was the only one to dress in such a way.
But the name 'Hani-san' made my assumptions fact, because only Mizuri-san to this day had addressed me in such a way. And for some reason I still have yet to correct him.
It was still shocking though, that Mizuri-san was able to sneak both in and out of my room without me noticing. That took skill and spoke a lot about Mizuri-san. Although my partner's recently unknown stealth was not the only thing on my mind.
I also couldn't seem to stop thinking about how Shirahata was blushing a few minutes earlier, while he was thinking about Mizuri-san no less. I have no reason to feel this way, this strongly about someone I just met. Yet I feel like possessiveness is slowly eating away at me from the inside out.
I had to stop thinking like this as soon as possible. I also had to find Mizuri-san, seeing as there was something he was waiting to talk about. Definitely not because I had the urge to see him, and make sure he was looking at no one but me.