-Chapter 3 - Timing Is Everything-
*stops mid-sentence* Damn, what's the word I want?
*spends 25 minutes on google trying to figure out the right vocab word*
Y'all already know I don't own anything by Bisco Hatori and Sasaki is my baby.
I couldn't sleep. Something about the bed bothered me. I tried shifting onto my side and closed my eyes again. When that didn't work, I sat down at the foot of the bed. The wood was cool and smooth underneath me. It was comforting, in only a way the floor could be. I spread myself out in the center of the room, staring at the blank ceiling above me. This was better.
My eyes fluttered open as light flooded in through my bedroom window. I had curled up in a ball on the floor to keep warm with no blanket. I sat up, slowly stretching the muscles in this body. Birds sang in the tree outside. It was too beautiful. Out of nowhere, a searing pain struck my neck and stomach, stemming from the scars. I clutched at my chest and stumbled to the bathroom, blind with pain. That was more like it. I fell to my knees on the soft rug, bent over. My hair lightly touched the towel, as I clutched myself. After a few minutes, the pain subsided, my stomach unclenching and the throbbing in my neck only barely an ache. The kind of ache you get when you get a bruise and apply pressure to it. I slowly relaxed, ending up sitting on the floor. I stood up and took a look at my stomach. My nails had left slight grooves in the skin, making those areas a little pinker than the rest of my skin.
Days passed like this. I slept, ate, and slept again. I left the house dark, only letting in sunlight in from between the curtains. Sometimes I would wake up to the pain, breaking out in a cold sweat. When I had to wash, I would stare dumbfounded at my new body. It was so weird having a male body. It was really difficult to deal with the package down there. And so, I slept. And slept. And ate. And then slept some more.
I had no idea how many days had passed. A week? Two weeks? Five? But in that time, I had learned how to adapt to all the new stuff in the house. For example, the cold closet with the food in it. And how to use the stove. I remembered times my mother would sneak into restaurants after they had closed and cook me a meal with whatever was lying around. And I would sit there, eyes gleaming with delight as I saw her laugh while cooking. She looked so happy. But that was long ago.
As I stepped out of the shower with nothing on, I heard a chiming noise from downstairs. The chime rang three times. Then repeated. I poked my head around the corner, seeing the outline of a person through the door.
"Hello? I'm going to come in now." said the figure, and my body relaxed as she stepped inside.
"Hi again." Haruhi started, seeing me peek around the corner. I kept staring at her, not moving from my spot.
"Did you eat yet? I brought food. Thought you might be hungry." She gestured to the bag slung over her shoulder. I'm pretty sure she heard my stomach growl because she let out a light laugh and told me to come eat. I watched as she headed into the kitchen, then, once she was out of sight I dashed back over to the bedroom. I grabbed some pants and a shirt, both were black.
I stepped out of the room, closing the room behind me. Then I turned and slung myself over the upstairs railing with ease. I leapt down and landed on the first floor within a light crouch. Haruhi turned from the kitchen to see me land nearly on the ground.
"Jeez! You scared me for a second!" Her eyes were wide as she held a pan in one hand. I simply blinked at her. She stared at me for a moment, before turning back around to finish setting up the kitchen. I quietly sat down at the table and began to focus my eyes. The wood began to swirl and swim across the table.
I was broken out of my thoughtless trance by the sound of a bowl being placed in front of me. I gave Haruhi a nod of thanks and she smiled as she sat down across from me with her own bowl. Looking down, I saw what looked like a colorful mix of foods.
"It's just fried rice. I hope you like it. I usually whip it up at home if we have leftover rice." She started, as I picked up my chopsticks… Realisation hit my brain and I immediately dropped the sticks. They clattered against the table as I stated at my hand.
"What's wrong?" The brunette had passed in-between bites. I simply stated at my hand. It shook a little.
"Is your hand okay? Does it hurt?" She asked. I shook my head a little. A long pause echoed throughout the room. I slowly put my hand down and looked up at the girl across from me. Her face showed concern. Willing myself to eat, I watched as my hand instinctively held the chopsticks properly and picked up a small amount of the food. I turned it a little, fascinated. Curiously, I brought the food up to my lips. Chewing it and swallowing, I felt the saltiness and flavors touch my taste buds. It was so... Refreshing. Haruhi gave a small smile when my eyes widened and I began scarfing down the meal. I had been living off of uncooked foods and junk. This was a whole new world.
"I'm glad you like it," she started. "I was a little worried about you. Your lights are never on and I haven't seen you outside."
"That's because I don't go outside," I stated matter-of-factly.
"It's terrifying." The girl's eyes seemed to widen.
"This is amazing," I said, finishing up the food. I gulped down the tea next to me and sighed, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"Can you make this again, sometime?"
She gave me a big smile and said, "If you want, I can even teach you how to make it." I nodded, holding her to it. Maybe I could trust this person...
"Do you..." Haruhi trailed off. I cocked my head at her. "You're talking to me now." She stated.
I shrugged.
"Can you at least tell me your name?" It wasn't a question.
"Junzo. Sasaki Junzo." The name felt as foreign as the body I had woken up in. The girl nodded at me with satisfaction.
"Nice to formally meet you, Junzo-san. I'm Fujioka. Harubi Fujioka." She gathered up the dishes.
We finished up and I stared as Haruhi washed the dishes, putting them on the drying rack.
"Haruhi, where do you live?" I asked bluntly, and she turned to look at me.
"I'm right next door. In the apartment complex upstairs."
"Oh." She looked at me funny as I nodded to myself. As she wiped her hands on the towel, she turned back to me.
"You're around my age, I'm guessing. Where do you go to school?"
I paused. The walls closed in again.
"Why do you care?" She stared at me. I looked down, hair covering my eyes.
"Ouran." She seemed to ignore my snark.
"Really? I'm going to be going there too!" She seemed to light up, stars bouncing off her skin.
Haruhi mused, "I wonder if we're going to be in the same class." I shrugged and brushed my hair away from my face. A silence fell between the two of us, lost in our own thoughts. School. I had never gone in my past life. What use was school when you lived on the streets? Plus, I had been a girl. Girls never even went to school to begin with. So we stole. We picked locks with no light to see what we were doing. We ran through the streets, barefoot. Laughing at our latest treasure. A small smile made its way onto my face, reminiscing.
"Well," Haruhi pulled me out of my thoughts. "School starts in a few weeks, since summer break is ending."
I nodded.
It took me a moment to process this information.
"Wait what?!" I cried, standing up suddenly. The brunette looked a little surprised at my reaction, but then giggled.
"Do you need any help getting ready? You have your books, right?" She brushed back her long hair, showing her eyes more. I nodded slowly, mouth agape.
"Here," she started. "I'll help you get your stuff ready."
I followed her up the stairs, watching her movements. She entered my room, heading straight over to the desk. I watched her from the doorway, noting the damp towel on the floor. She picked up some of the books I hadn't touched, examining them. She shuffled her way through my papers. I peeked over her shoulder. She was looking at a list of things I didn't recognize. Physics? English? What were these? I gulped, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.
"Oh, I think we'll be in the same class. Who knew there was a scholarship for two people? I mean, it makes sense that they'd want a girl and a boy… but I never would've thought…" She trailed off, lost in her own thoughts. I let out a shaky sigh. Stepping around her, I picked up the first heavy book. Books… something I had only dared to dream of was now in my hands.
"Woah," I whispered, eyes sparkling. "It's so heavy." I blushed after hearing Haruhi giggle.
"They are pretty heavy, aren't they," she said, watching me flip through the different textbooks. Once I was done, I put them down, satisfied.
Haruhi glanced at the clock, eyes widening.
"Oh, it's gotten so late!" She cried out, standing.
"I have to go now, but I'll see you later?" I nodded, watching her leave in a hurry.
Haruhi stopped in every day, giving me advice on things that seemed common knowledge to her. What time we had to be at school, how to take the train over then walk a few blocks to the academy. Things like that. She looked ecstatic to go. I was terrified. Although I had been making progress with my new environment, I would jump at sounds and feel the color drain from my face when something new arrived. I had also discovered something called "gum", which Haruhi gave me once to calm my jittery body. Now, I tossed back packs of the stuff like they were glasses of water. I would pop a piece in my mouth whenever something made my hands start to twitch and my foot start to tap.
"Hey Sasaki, I'm here." I closed the door behind me, jumping slightly at the voice inside the house. I put down my groceries and slipped off my shoes. Quickly, I pulled out another piece of gum, my third one today. Social interactions were the worst by far. Having to be near more than one person was a nightmare. Unfortunately, the brunette had sent me out grocery shopping saying she had to clean the house and that it would be good to get me used to those environments. Lord knows what kind of things would occur once school began.
Haruhi came out of the living room with a mop, her long hair tied up in a messy bun. My fingers relaxed as I chewed the fruity gum.
"I just finished the living room. You can go wash up and then we'll make dinner." I nodded, handing her the groceries and she carried them off to the kitchen. Haruhi knew I wasn't normal. But she didn't leave. Like everyone else. She cared for me, which was a foreign concept. Sure, my mother had cared for me. But this… this was different. Uncharted waters that my mind was only beginning to explore. I kept thinking along this path as I went through the motions of showering Haruhi had had to teach me. Shampoo, rinse, scrub, rinse, dry. The mirror was fogged up and I wiped away some of the condensation that had gathered on it.
I looked at the person in the mirror. Squinting my eyes a bit, they squinted back. Looking downs at what my damp hand had landed on, I plucked the glasses off of the counter, slowly placing them on my nose. Instantly, the world became much clearer. My eyes grew wide as I took a step back, looking at everything that had been blurry for the past few months. Did I really look like that? My skin was very pale, and my eyes were a pale green. Like the color of… I couldn't think of anything that was similar. My gradient-colored hair stuck to my neck and dripped water down my back. Black on the top, and a bright green on the bottom. I turned, craning my neck to take a look at my back. The silver lines seemed more prominent now, running down my skin and dipping to stop around my hips. I guess some things made their way from my old body into here. Vanity is not something we can afford, my mother's voice rang in my ears. A dull ache rose up from my back. Ignoring it, I proceeded to dry my hair and change for supper.
I sat down, inhaling the steam that wafted off the food. My body visibly relaxed. Haruhi's hair had been let down and she sat down, smiling at me from across the table. A small smile made its way onto my face.
"Oh, I forgot chopsticks!" Haruhi abruptly stood up. My mouth dropped open in horror. As Haruhi had stood up and turned to get chopsticks for us, I hadn't looked where I threw my gum across the room. She landed in-between the crossfire of my gum and the trash can. My chewed gum was nestled nicely in her long hair.
Oh god.
"Oh dear god," I said aloud, rushing towards the girl. The brunette looked down at the light pink gum now planted neatly in her hair.
"Aw jeez," she sighed.
"I- I'm- Ah-" I stuttered, fumbling around with her hair, trying to pull out the gum.
"It's a lost cause, Sasaki. Once gum gets stuck inside hair, it's in there for good." Haruhi said, resigned. My eyes bugged out as I tried to pull out the gum, making her hair stick up awkwardly even more. Haruhi put the chopsticks down on the table, thinking.
"It's alright, Sasaki. Really." The brunette gently placed her hands on my fumbling ones. She looked me directly in the eyes. My pale green eyes were wide with fear.
"Can you help me with something?" she said calmly. I nodded. Grabbing my hand, we made our way into the bathroom. She paused in front of it, turning around to face me.
"Wait right here, I'll be back to get something." I nodded slowly, eyes still wide and staring at the tangled mess in the girls' hair. She made her way into my room and five minutes later, came back with a pair of scissors and some newspaper. She put the newspaper on the floor and handed me the scissors.
"Since my dad will be home late tonight, you get to cut my hair." Haruhi said bluntly.
"What?" I blurted, scissors still in hand. She let out a little laugh.
"It's not that hard. Plus, I don't care what it looks like anyways. Long hair can be pretty annoying." She smiled and turned back around as I stared at the gummy mess. Swallowing a bit, I began to cut.
- ANOTHER TIME SKIP OHOHOHOHOHOH -
Haruhi and I stood in front of my closet, our heads tilted in thought.
"If this came with you, then…" Haruhi trailed off, staring at the rubbery fake boobs hanging on the closet.
"I have no idea." I said, half naked next to the brunette. She ran a hand through her short, choppy hair and tilted her head the other way.
"What do you look like in it?" Haruhi asked, turning to look at me. I widened my eyes and started shaking my head. Her big brown eyes stared at me, burning a hole in my conscience. Her face wore an evil smirk.
Shit.
Five minutes later, I was standing in front of the brunette, awkwardly looking down at the two rubbery mounds on my chest. I poked one. My hands began fondling them, my eye twitched at the strange feeling on my chest. They hugged tightly against me and matched my skin almost perfectly. Haruhi was looking at me, her head tilted again. I began putting on a collared shirt. It was a real switch, after wearing nothing but sweaters and large t-shirts for a few months, adjusting. Adjusting to this place, this body… I buttoned up the shirt as Haruhi started some more.
"You know…" she began. "It's not bad. You really look like a girl." A small hint of surprise on her face.
"Really?" I asked, doubt clinging to me. She nodded and dragged me into the bathroom. I stared at the foreign face looking in the mirror. It was terribly androgenyous. Haruhi let out a little chuckle, standing behind me.
"It's amazing," she sighed. "You look so…" she trailed off. I knit my eyebrows in confusion. We shrugged on our clothes, as formal as we could find. Haruhi had explained to me that they were a uniformed school but neither of us had the money to afford them.
"How fancy is this place we're going to be again?" I asked.