AFTER MONTHS, HERE I AM AGAIN! AFTER STRUGGLING AND WRITHING AND NEARLY PASSING OUT A FEW TIMES, I AM FINALLY HERE!
Gomene for the wait minna-san ;;w;;)/
Since all of the work as well as all the drama in my life got to my head, it was a little challenging for me to write another chapter since 1.) It's been quite a long while since I last legit updated and I had to refresh myself on how these characters were like and 2.) I haven't been feeling myself lately and lastly 3.) I FORGOT HOW TO WRITE BECAUSE I LACKED INSPIRATION QwQ
So this may explain any OOCness that you may notice in this chapter (That doesn't mean I'm excused from it though 8") )
Seriously, I haven't even been watching anime since school was too busy for me to handle my time D8
So I do apologize if this chapter is quite nonsensical and a little too dragging at some points since I kind of lost my touch over the past problematic months 8"")
I assure you that I'm doing okay now though 8D I was able to work everything out somehow uwu
SO NOW I'M WRITING AGAIN YAYY!
Oh by the way, this chapter's been divided into two because it turned out pretty long again X""D BUT it's short compared to what I usually posted since I had no idea how to post this in two parts but posting it as one part would be way too long DX
I told myself I'd post this chapter no matter what, but then I realize I have school tomorrow so I couldn't really make time to finish the entire thing (BUT I'M ALMOST DONE HAHA), and I also have a number of things left to do so uwu)
HOWEVER, since I swore that I HAD to post something today, here you have it! Half of an extremely long chapter XD (Looks like this cultural festival arc will be longer than I thought with the rate I'm going ;;w;;)
Oh and I deleted the unneeded chapters for this story since well...they were unnecessary right now XD
I can't answer reviews right now since I'm barely hanging on, but surely I will try to do so in the next chapter which I will post tomorrow or the day after that! (Hopefully)
ALRIGHT WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, YET ANOTHER CHAPTER OF THIS VERY LONG ARC
**Retrace: Chapter 14
Chapter 21: What You Are To Me (TOMORROW IS THE CULTURAL FESTIVAL!)
"Omo-chan got really bad diarrhea today…"
"That thing can do that?"
'Pwi….'
It was after class hours when the club decided to meet-up like they usually did for their cultural fest preparations. By then, the sun had already neared its final moments as only small spots of orange rays were able to seep through for the remains of Kimii's student population to admire. White light reflected upon the polished, wood-toned floor of Kimii's gymnasium in this evening hour. Its corners were occupied by the finished products of the club's months' worth of hard work. The walls of their setting were folded in a neat and tidy fashion – ready to be used for the following day. Among the spaces near it, the props and traps prepared by each of them (especially by their infamous redhead) lay upon the floor organized. The entire room had been adorned with other designs befitting of their cultural festival attraction as curtains of black covered the walls from the edge of the ceiling down to the floor.
It was about quarter to 6PM when Isura Mai came into the gym with a worried countenance as she carried in her arms a peculiar creature that the combat club members were frankly getting accustomed to by now. Omo-chan had on a rather pitiful state of mind and body as his eyes basically resembled that of a high drunkard's.
Although Mai's distraught face was enough to make anyone want to comfort her, Chiba and Sugino couldn't find it in them to show pity on their faces and instead studied the creature in their senior's arms with question.
Grrchou
"What was that?"
"It's his stomach probably…"
"Probably?"
Over on the other side of the room, not even Rio could stop herself from joining in on this as she watched the scene – she had her thumb's nail squeezed in between her teeth and her other hand rested on her hip which signified that she was thinking about a number of things that may be similar to what the two other boys were thinking.
Yuzuki on the other hand (whom stood next to her) had busied herself with her cellphone – obviously troubled judging by how she bit down her lower lip and scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.
After a few more brief moments of watching, Rio turned her attention back to her coconut-headed friend carrying the same amount of concern and confusion she held "Did she reply yet?"
"Nope…" The brunette shook her head in an almost hopeless manner – she'd been trying to contact her for a while now.
The blonde heaved an exasperated sigh and scratched the back of her head as she said "Hmm…where on earth could she be this time?" she recalled all the other times wherein she would suddenly get lost or they'd simply lose sight of her; that has happened a lot more times than they found were needed. Though she should get used to it, this was a completely different story.
That's because Okuda Manami was known for being punctual.
"It's weird…she's never this late…" Yuzuki's worry was evident in her pink orbs and in her voice as she scrolled down to the previous messages she'd already sent her for about 10 minutes or so now. If she were to count, they'd probably reached up to 11 by now – that was how worried she was.
"Did you text Karma-kun?" Rio suggested casually; however, it took Yuzuki a few blinks before she got what she was saying and snapped her fingers once she did.
"Ah—oh yeah! They could be together right now." She mentally slapped herself for having not thought of that possibility as she proceeded to try to contact their well-known prankster – who was another member that was not present, but they didn't question that bit too much. Lately, the two of them being together is considered a norm for them;
After all…
Yuzuki's texting slowed for a brief, almost nonexistent moment.
Rio's not the only one who's noticed it…
While her friend pursued contacting their other club members, Rio – out of boredom – began to toy with some of the props and traps a little. She nodded with hums a few times in approval and because she was genuinely impressed; they were indeed well-done by Akabane Karma after all, she shouldn't expect less from their previous' class' top notch student.
"Ah, Karma." Both girls' shoulders jerked up slightly when they heard the name come from Chiba's mouth as they both sharply turned to the direction of the front door.
"Yo." Speaking of their top notch student, there he was casually entering the gym in that relaxed manner he always did – only, what put off both the blonde and the brunette was that…
He was alone.
"Where've you been?" the spiky-haired, sporty boy greeted him with a smile having averted his attention from his senior's ill pet.
The teenager in question shrugged at this blithely with a trademark smile that accompanied it "Just listened to some old hag talking."
Unbeknownst to the two girls, they had been staring at him for a while now in a mix of surprise and uneasiness – they had not moved an inch since they watched him enter. Sharp and sensitive as he was, it didn't take long before Karma sensed their eyes peering onto him (it was hard not to notice too).
"What's up?" he raised an eyebrow – inevitably having them gain the attention of everyone else in the room.
Both girls exchanged a look before Rio turned back and responded to him with a slightly troubled countenance – which was rare coming from her "Manami isn't with you?"
The boy in question raised his eyebrows immediately after he heard this. Of course, all of them were aware that she was supposed to be punctual – especially him. Therefore, to hear about how she had not yet showed up at his time took him aback; however, that wasn't the only thing that came to his mind after hearing that for he had begun to think about that time earlier when he found her new bracelet lying about upon the most unlikely of places. From there, he begins to wonder if there was some sort of connection with that and their current situation. "She's probabl—"
BANG!
He was interrupted by the sound of a body slamming upon the large doors of the School Gymnasium followed by the pants of a petite, high school girl – preferably one with glasses. It took a few moments for all members of the room to recover from their jolted state, but once most did, smiles of relief stretched on each of their faces as Chiba was the first to remark with a knowing look-
"There she is."
Since he was the one whose back was directly turned from the entrance, Karma was the last one to turn and face her properly – however…
He didn't know if he was imagining things, or if his mind was trying to provoke him, but what his eyes saw first the moment he let them reach that door was not what he anticipated one bit.
Mercury eyes wide with complete, utter shock, the sight he was first met with was the tearful face of the child form of Okuda Manami as she stood by the door of a dark room. Glossy, lavender eyes were filled with remorse, loneliness, suffering and the agony of loss as they seemed to be calling out to him – as if begging for someone to rescue her from the dark world she's been trapped in.
The image had not lasted for too long for in no time it had blurred and faded away into her real, present-time and agitated form as she mustered to say "S-s-so…s-sorry…I'm…late…" and stepped inside the facility.
"Hey, Okuda!" Sugino was the first to greet her with a wave.
Whilst all else were greeting her casually like so, Karma had to take a few seconds to realize he had a surprised expression stuck on his face and had not stopped staring at the girl. Briefly after, he breathed a sigh and looked away – whether it was out of exasperation or fatigue, he didn't know; maybe it was both, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that his own mind could probably be his enemy at the moment (which is honestly not a first). With his hands inserted into his pockets, these thoughts swam through his head as he made his way over to where all the others gathered.
"Sorry, I—" Manami had not answered any of them properly yet as she was still trying to catch her breath – hands resting upon her knees as her chest heaved up and down.
"Oh Manami-chan, what are we going to do with you?" Rio teased and approached her panting friend with Yuzuki – whom placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow before she asked "Well? What's gotten you so riled up? We were worried, you know?"
The raven-haired girl lightly giggled in a guilty fashion and fixed her glasses "S-Sorry…"
"So, what's the story now?" Rio crossed her arms and gave her the same knowing look her otaku friend was giving her – really, they both feel like her older sisters of some sorts after everything that's happened throughout the year.
"Story?" the braided girl tilted her head a tad at the inquiry only to be pinched on the cheek by her impudent (yet lovable), blonde haired friend – naturally allowing an adorable sound and reaction to come from her.
"I'm asking you why you're late." She replied to her in a mock lecture-like way as she released the short introvert's cheek from her hold and put her hand upon her waist – the sly look still plastered on her features.
"Well…" purple eyes drifted to the side with slight guilt present as she let her delicate fingers twiddle about – obviously it was something she was greatly troubled by, otherwise she wouldn't have sacrificed her always-on-time reputation.
"While I was heading back to the classroom after having lunch with you guys, something suddenly jumped out of nowhere and I fell down. After that, I wasn't able to realize soon enough that it took something very important from me until I saw it running away. I was about go and chase after it, but then the bell rang and Amamiya-sensei even ran into me telling me to go to class with him. After that, I didn't know what to do and just went with it." As she explained the scenario, it was as if the entire thing played above her in some kind of chibi-like flashback. Manami let out a tired, almost hopeless sigh and held her forearm timidly "I've been trying to look for it ever since class ended but I still have no idea where it could've gone…"
Whilst the bespectacled girl remained fidgety and perturbed, the two girls standing in front of her could only stare at her for seconds before they proceeded to exchange looks with all else in the room who listened to her story. Concluding that they all must have gotten the same idea from it, they let their stares drop upon the brown furball going through gastric pain.
"Wait a minute…"
"Could it be…?"
"Probably…"
While Manami shifted her head amongst her friends as they had this strange and vague conversation, the other six only continued to squint their eyes at the small animal (save for Karma who only attempted to whistle 'innocently' as a sly smile spread throughout his face as he folded his arms behind his head). It took a few more seconds of glancing at everyone for the poison-lover to be able to grasp what her clubmates could be talking about, but once she lowered her head and noticed the suffering animal-
"HEH?!"
"Anyway, I'll have to take him to the veterinarian before this gets worse." As eyeglasses were about to mist due to its owner welling up in tears of tribulation and disbelief, Isura Mai finally decided to do something about her pet's condition and picked up her school bag. It would seem that this second year had tunnel vision; she hadn't even greeted the newcomer and just now she failed to notice how the introvert standing behind her as she headed out was beginning to fall to (an adorable) despair as well as the fact that almost everyone's pejorative eyes followed her.
"B-but…" (Comical)Tears threatening to fall by the sides of her whitened eyes, Manami raised her trembling hand uneasily as she pathetically attempted to prevent her from leaving – still overwhelmed by the likely possibility they all had come up with.
'Pwi…'
"Omo-chan what on earth has gotten into you?"
"M-Mai-sen… –" Although the girl continued to make weak and futile efforts to stop her, no one else decided to lend a hand for her on this. Because they knew that if they were right, it'd be useless.
"Good luck everyone~! Have a wonderful evening!"
"S-Sen…–"
She saluted goodbye in the polite, happy-go-lucky fashion she was well-known for. And whilst the rest could only watch her depart with deadpan expressions that signified how disappointed (yet unsurprised) they were by her actions, all had come to the same inference that the older brunette didn't follow the flow of the conversation just now and just went off without a thought.
"As expected of the great Student Council Vice President of Kimii." Yuzuki commented dryly – putting everyone else' thoughts into words right then.
"B-but…Mai-sen…–"
"Okuda," Sugino put a hand on her shoulder "It's too late."
After the stunned Manami mumbled a cracked, helpless (and comedic) 'heh?', the sounds of a vibrating phone reached Rio and Karma's ears – turning around to find the source, Chiba already picked it up.
"Hello? Ah, Hayami. Is it done?" He gestured to excuse himself and walked a fair distance away from them as he pursued his conversation with his girlfriend (but not).
"Hm…" Defeated, Manami's shoulders slumped and head bowed down in utter disheartenment. Seeing this, Karma chuckled and brought out what he knows is most likely what she's looking for – letting it hover above her head from behind her just to get that adorable face from her as she turned her head up with inquisitive eyes. "Was it this you were looking for?"
A small sound of surprise came from her before she blinked up at him with realization and exclaimed "That's exactly it!"
Smiling with satisfaction, the redhead dropped it to her cupped arms and moved to properly face her while she asked "How did you find it?"
Karma shrugged "Well, let's just say coincidences brought me to it." – even though he doesn't believe in crap like fate, destiny or chance.
"I see…" Manami easily bought the explanation. Her expression remained painted with astonishment for her eyes had not left the spearmint-colored bracelet in her hands – she had almost lost all hope of ever finding it and disappointing her precious friend, so to know that one of her most valuable possessions hadn't been digested was more than relieving. And like always, the boy standing in front of her had given her that relief without fail.
Her expression softening and shoulders relaxing, she looked up at him with kindhearted eyes and a genuine smile "Thank you."
Karma smiled back at this – pleased at her reaction. However, the image he had of her when she first entered abruptly came to mind and replaced the radiant expression in front of him; ruining the lighthearted moment on his end. His smile faded away in a snap as he began to feel a slight discomfort somewhere in his chest. All of a sudden, he recalled-
"What matters most is the Manami of today. As long as things keep going the way they do now, she'll be more than fine."
And then he realized what that discomfort was.
But…isn't that the same as…
The same picture flashed once more, only this time it was like he could imagine that room she grew up in – all alone and with no one to talk to. She had nothing except lab equipment and science books as the world had fallen into chaos just outside of it.
Living in the dark?
"Karma-kun?"
The all-too-familiar, concerned voice of Okuda Manami had snapped him out and back to reality – the first sight he laid eyes upon being the bespectacled girl's fretful expression "Is everything okay?"
It took him a brief moment to recognize that she was troubled by how he had only been standing still with a resigned countenance after she thanked him. Unwilling to explain himself, he lied and ruffled her hair – faking a grin while he was at it "Why wouldn't it be?"
Unlike what he had hoped, that answer didn't satisfy her at all – it would have had she not gotten to know him very well this year. After everything they've been through, a blatant lie like that won't convince her. Refusing to accept that, she raised her head and clutched the hem of her blazer "Bu—"
"Yo, everyone." Manami sharply turned to the side to find Chiba pocketing his cellphone.
"Hayami says the tailor's done. She's waiting for us there right now."
It took them only about 2 train stops to get there.
"Here you go, just as you wanted them to be."
An old man – likely to be older than sixty – settled a few plastic bags upon the counter of the small shop for the pigtailed girl in front of him to take. His hair had already become grey, which matched the toothbrush mustache that nearly made his lips unseen. Aged as he is, his back was slouched and his eyes were narrow and comparable to mere horizontal lines on his face. He wore a green sweater over a white polo and a blue necktie which suited his brown pants; befitting of him for Rinka had to admit, her first impression of this man was someone approachable and pleasant to talk to – which he had marvelously fulfilled.
The sounds of ruffling plastic could be heard inside the slightly stuffy, small yet patently cozy shop; located on a rather steep hill that is likely to be dangerous for bikers to ride down on**. It wasn't the best looking workplace considering how old it must have been already – the wooden equipment, table and pillars holding up the ceiling were beginning to peel. Dust collected in some of the corners of the room and above the old shelves stationed on each side of the wall that carried rolled yards of cloth. Albeit all these, it had a pleasant atmosphere nevertheless. The scent of new cloth and sewing machine oil drifted through the warm air of the indoors decently gave the shop a homey mood due to the cold air of fall.
But of course, it was the people in charge of it that made this place all the more comfortable – what with the polite and gentle way the couple that owned this shop spoke and behaved, it was as if Rinka was speaking to people she had long since considered as family despite the fact she'd only met them today when she came over to deliver their costumes. Heck, they were even kind enough to serve her a delicious snack while she waited for them to finish all afternoon since class ended. But what she found most lovely about her stay here was when they had even given her advice about Chiba.
But she won't go into much detail for that.
"How much would they cost?" Rinka set the seven plastic bags onto the floor one by one as she asked in the typical, professional-like manner she always would when dealing with serious affairs.
"Let's see…" he said feebly as he flipped through the pages of a folder containing bills and order forms before he stopped and handed it to her with a smile "Here it is."
Sharp, emerald eyes skimmed through the expenses like she usually would quickly yet carefully – that's one of 3-E's top snipers for you. "Does this already count the loan one of us owes you, Okimura-san?"
"Sure does." The man named Okimura reassured her with a nod.
"Thank you very much. Excuse me while I go tell them."
"Alright."
Rinka bowed respectfully and kindly excused herself out of the lobby to enter the waiting room behind her.
What succeeded the creaking sound of the wooden door was the idle chatter of her clubmates as they made themselves comfortable on the couches – which surrounded a single coffee table decorated with old antiques, traditional good luck artifacts and a neat doily which suspended in air from the edges. Her entrance had caused them pause in whatever conversation they were having and give her attention; especially as she ordered them "Everyone, bring out your wallets."
"How much are they asking for?" what Chiba got as a response was the bill being sassily shoved in front of his face (but not exactly offending him in any manner) by Rinka with her hand rested on her hip in the same fashion.
"It's 16,100 yen – that means 2,300 per person." She said this in a matter-of-fact tone of voice that accompanied her cavalier-like expression. The dark-haired boy nodded at the bill and their list of expenditures before the girl in front of him let it rest on the table.
"I wonder if the others are doing just as well as we are." While everyone complied with the order, Sugino started up a conversation right after he had placed his share of cash above the receipt – gaining him the attention of all in the room (even Rinka who busied herself with recounting the money).
No one even needed to ask him what he meant by others; it was clear as day he was talking about the rest of the graduated 3-E.
"Hah, there's no denying that~" Yuzuki scoffed in a prideful manner at her classmate's remark with a buoyant grin as she rested her chin within her palms in her lean forward.
"Oh! Speaking of them," Rio perked up and enthusiastically leaned forward from her seat with a jolly smile on – looking to be eager to share some interesting news "Just today I heard from Nagisa, Akari and the others that they're class is planning on doing a play to reenact last year's big 'plot twist'." A single blue eye winked craftily as the last two words were said.
Of course, all of them immediately caught on with what she meant by 'plot twist' – sure there were a lot last year but if you were to put both Kayano/Akari and Nagisa together in the same sentence with 'plot twist' and 'play', that could only mean one thing.
Shiota Nagisa's famous 15 Hit Combo.
"Really?" Karma joined in the hype of the conversation after that – that was one heck of an experience from his most beloved days, after all (it's also needless to say that he was already thinking of ways to tease/harass/make fun of his best friend).
The golden-haired girl nodded and continued on with a smug look on her face as she sat properly and opened her palm as a hand gesture while she explained "Course, they said they had to change a lot of things so they wouldn't expose real people involved and the fact that it's a government secret, but it's all the same banana. Besides," Rio chose that time to wink at all of them again seeing how she successfully piqued their interests "He was able to get permission from Karasuma-sensei."
Sugino sing-songed a brief, upbeat hum after the last two words and leaned back in his seat in that childlike, carefree fashion he always had "It's been a while since I heard that name – feels a little nostalgic."
"I'm with you on that one" Chiba commented – voice laced with agreement and sentimentality. "But in any case, how did he get to contact Karasuma-sensei?"
"This is Nagisa we're talking about, right? That kid's a kiss-up." The pigtailed boy's best friend didn't hesitate to tease once more as he laid back in his seat without a care in the world with a smug look.
Rio had to fight to hold her laughter a bit at that remark and struggled to even say "Uh-huh, you can say that again."
After the rest got what she meant, even they had to keep from laughing too hard – even Rinka had to give a point to Rio for a wise joke like that. (Get it? Because it's Kayano and Nagisa they were talking about)
"But you know…" Yuzuki stepped in the conversation again – a reminiscent gloss in her pink eyes as she relaxed her shoulders and looked towards the light provided for them directly above the table. Leaning back and intertwining her fingers, she said "When you think about it, it's never going to beat the real deal."
A moment of comfortable, nostalgic silence passed them by – smiles of longing for bittersweet memories were evident upon each one's features as they gave respect to the heartfelt experiences they dearly missed. Especially the one that gave them all of those experiences…
"Look at the bright side," Rio, wanting to break the poignant mood and keep up their previous lighthearted one, brought out her phone and played with it in her hand "At least I can have a chance to have another copy of that in my phone." she impishly said and stuck a playful tongue out afterward.
Understanding that she tried cheering all of them up, smiles of appreciation came about on each one's faces before they were replaced with sighs – Nakamura Rio has never changed even since then.
"That's only your bright side; both of them are gonna flip when they see it on the internet again." Sugino folded his arms behind his head and relaxed in his seat as he jokingly commented.
"Aw shucks, I've been caught red-handed." Karma humorously added immediately; with no guilt present upon his face at all, to say the least – which broke out a laughter amongst all of them at last.
Not being one to join in conversations much, Manami only kept silent in her seat as this lighthearted moment went on – which they found no harm in. A warm fuzzy feeling filled her chest while she observed their smiling faces, their playful gestures and their friendly chatter. Lavender eyes brimming with delight, she watched her dear friends continue with a tender, loving and motherly smile as she relished in this moment of happiness.
I wish things would remain as they are right now…forever…
She fleetingly inhaled and exhaled as if it was a way to savor this time even more so – eyes fluttering shut as she let her ears listen to their pleasant talk. However, just as she had found bliss, a single thought had caused her to reveal her purple orbs once more as they fell slightly downcast
Our happy Cultural Fest Preparation Days end here…
All of our planning
All of our hard work
All of it…is going to pay off tomorrow
As these thoughts continued to occupy her, the sounds around her had somehow became hazy and indistinct just like how she perceived her surroundings now as well. At the time, all she was able to catch on was the blurred voices of Rinka and Yuzuki saying they were going to head out to the counter followed by the shut of the door. Afterwards, she couldn't really comprehend anything else as she clutched the hem of her skirt.
Strange isn't it…?
This feeling…
This feeling…in my chest right now…
What do you call it again?
Tomorrow…hm…
"Kind of anti-climactic, huh…"
Manami had been snapped back to reality after Rio had seemed to accidentally mumble that out loud. After she spared a glance to her direction, she had this strange feeling that she was going through something similar to what she was just thinking.
"Did you say something?" Chiba asked, not quite catching what she said – which appeared to be so for the rest of the boys.
"A-Ah, nothing…" she quickly dismissed it – and before anyone could attempt to pry, the door had been opened by none other than their eminent female sniper.
"We're all set."
THAT'S IT FOR NOW! Pretty uneventful for me, really uwu BUT I still hope you enjoyed nevertheless OuO)/
Think of this as somehow like the double treat I was able to give you for chapters 8 and 9 ;D (The Field Trip Arc). Only these two halves are much shorter compared to those two uwu
I'm most likely going to post the next half (I'M SO EXCITED FOR THAT ONE HONESTLY) tomorrow since I just finished finals and we're pretty much going to be free for the rest of the week...hopefully.
But honestly I am hyped for the next chapter. And to put your hopes up, here's a little sneak peek ;D
'...it took her less than five seconds to realize that she may have just fallen for him...'
That's it for now!
And it honestly just feels good to be back after all these months so a BIG THANK YOU TO YOU DEAR READERS FOR KEEPING ME GOING DESPITE EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN GOING ON ;;W;;
I could cry right now QwQ
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS UNEVENTFUL CHAPTER IF EVER YOU HAVE ANY!
With all the love in the world,
~TheFlowerWeSawThatDay