Introduction (20 Sept 2021)

Well, there you have it. ;-)

This short story was written for a 500 members event contest on "Chizuru's Fanclub" Discord server. Initially I wasn't going to make an entry at all, but while chatting with a Discord buddy, the idea for a scene came to mind and this idea got turned into what you are about to read.

Note: If you want to comment on this story, or any of my other stories, you're welcome to leave a review, preferably as registered member, as this allows much more interaction between writer and reviewer. If there are parts you felt lacking, or disliked, please let me know this as well. Things can appear amazing in my perception, while others might think very differently. I'm eager to hear such feedback as well, since praise is always nice, and can confirm being on the right track, criticism is often what helps more to improve.

Story Intro:

College life can be boring at times. But all this was about to change for Nerima University student Kazuya Kinoshita…

Close Encounter

"See you in an hour then, Kazu-chin!" Kibe shouted to his childhood buddy, after hearing the teacher for their next class had reported sick today.

"Right on, dude!" Kazuya replied, as he made a greeting gesture in return.

"Though I wonder, can you really manage a full hour without me?" Kibe mocked him.

"Anything is better than having to look at your ugly face all the time, bro!" Kazuya said, jokingly.

"Sure, that's what you say now…" Kibe replied, trying to look angry, then changed to a smug expression, "… just wait till you forgot to write down what the next assignment was. Again…"

"Okay, you got me there…" Kazuya reluctantly admitted, as both guys parted ways, laughing.

Lost in thought, Kazuya slowly walked through the now empty hallways. He was moving mostly upon instinct, as he had navigated the university building often enough, to know the way, even if he would have been wearing a blindfold. For a while, his eyes remained fixed at the floor, looking at the scuffs it's surface layer had suffered over the years from the hordes of college students passing through on a daily basis. 'Kibe is right, I should pay more attention to my studies. Like coming up with a thesis for my graduation…' While Kazuya did feel college life had its benefits, ending up being an "eternal student" was something he'd rather avoid, if possible.

"Hey! Watch where you are going!" Kazuya heard a girl's voice say, the sound giving him chills.

Barely avoiding bumping into the other person, he looked up and his eyes confirmed what he had been thinking, when hearing that voice…

"M-Mizuhara?" Kazuya stuttered, just a little too loud.

"Sssshhh," the somewhat nerdy looking girl hissed back at him, while nudging her head to one side a few times, as if to tell Kazuya that he should move aside, and mind his own business, pretending not to know her.

Somehow though, Kazuya found himself paralyzed. 'Even in this college disguise, Mizuhara looks totally amazing,' was all that he could think of. Chizuru noticed his lack of response and raised her eyebrows, as if to draw his attention and to emphasize her silent "orders", but even this had no effect. She sighed briefly, quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching them, then grabbed his arm and dragged him into an empty classroom nearby!

"Seriously, what was that all about!?" Chizuru immediately started scolding Kazuya, after shutting the door behind them; "You are not supposed to show that we know each other when we are in college, remember!? Good thing there was nobody around to see you gazing at me like that!"

'She is right, suppose Kibe had come back. Or someone else we know would have popped up…' Kazuya thought, as he started to feel quite uneasy about how this situation could have ended for the both of them. But before Kazuya could start to apologize, they heard the sound of footsteps getting closer! 'Now what!?' Kazuya panicked!

This panic was justified, as it turned out the sound stopped near the classroom door, someone grabbed the door handle and an elderly male teacher entered the classroom.

Meanwhile, close to this unexpected guest, Kazuya was trying really hard to keep it together. As Chizuru, upon hearing someone was apparently coming their way, had reacted by quickly pushing Kazuya into a storage closet located at the wall of the classroom, then had entered the cramped space right after him!

"Ah, there you are!" the teacher said, as both Kazuya and Chizuru felt their muscles tensioning even further now.

But instead of going towards the place where the two students were hiding, the intruder had walked up to a desk nearby, and after searching through a pile of sheets on this desk, had then uncovered a smartphone, which he had apparently been looking for. They could hear some tapping sound, as if someone was typing a message. So far everything seemed to indicate that the fact that they were also present in the classroom had yet been unnoticed.

'That was too close…' Kazuya thought. But instead of relaxing, he began to realize how close he was to this beautiful girl right in this crazy situation. 'Stay calm, Kazuya! Don't you think about how nice Mizuhara smells right now!" it kept racing through his head, as he looked into Chizuru's eyes, which showed a mix of fear of getting discovered, as well as a hint of "don't you dare make any wrong move, mister!". But despite all Kazuya's efforts to remain composed, he could feel his heart beating so loud, that he was afraid the unexpected visitor might be able to hear it pounding through the closed closet doors.

"Huh? Is anybody there?" Kazuya heard the teacher say, causing Kazuya to panic even more.

Kazuya held his breath, and a few even more intense moments followed, as both were expecting the closet doors to be pulled open any second now. But then they heard the teacher slowly walking away again, followed by the sound of the classroom door opening and closing. They waited a little longer, just to be sure, then Chizuru swung the closet door open, so both could get out of their hiding place again.

While Kazuya felt much relieved, he was also afraid of any consequences of this little "adventure". Looking at Chizuru's face, he tried to read her state of mind. Oddly enough, she seemed just as flustered as he was, with her face looking quite flushed.

"Here we go again…" Kazuya thought out loud, thinking back about the time when Ruka had come to visit him in college, to check up on something.

"Huh, what do you mean, again?" Chizuru wondered, after she had quickly managed to regain her cool again.

"Oh, eeh… it's a long story…" Kazuya started.

"Look, I don't care a single bit about what you may or may not be trying to do with girls in a deserted classroom…" Chizuru continued, with her face showing some signs of disgust, "… but really, we have to make some extra rules to avoid meeting each other in college. Or else, you should change to a different university, if you can't even follow these simple instructions…"

The thought of that instantly made Kazuya sad. Even though they already rarely met within the college building, he had often caught himself staring at Mizuhara when she was outside, chatting with her classmates. Sure, they were neighbours, so it's not like they would never see each other ever again, except for during their rental dates, but Kazuya wanted to savour every moment, every glimpse he could get of her. 'Whatever she suggests, I'll do it! Anything is better than changing college' he thought, with new resolve.

"Hey, did you even listen to what I just said!?" Chizuru yelled, when she noticed him giving her a rather sheepish look, because he was still a bit lost in thought.

"Eeh, sorry…" Kazuya apologized, fidgeting nervously with his feet.

"Ugh, I don't have time for this now. I'll just make a note and then put it in your mailbox!" Chizuru added; "I'll put in some alternate college suggestions as well, just in case you also happen to have forgotten how to read and follow simple instructions."

"O-okay…" was all Kazuya could say.

Chizuru turned around resolutely, and paced towards the classroom door, to open it.

"Cya!" Kazuya said, without thinking that this might not have been the smartest thing to do right now, after the scolding she had just given him.

Chizuru threw her head back, thus clearly showing she was not amused, and stepped outside, then closed the classroom door with a bit more force than was really needed. 'Sheesh, stop acting like you know me, you dummy!' it flashed through her mind. But despite her harsh thoughts about Kazuya's behavior, somehow, she could not stop a little smile forming on her face…

'Mizuhara must be really mad at me right now…' Kazuya thought, as he opened the classroom door and looked down the hallway. 'No sign of her anywhere, as was to be expected after what I did…' he pondered, while closing the door behind him. 'Still, being so close to her, it felt really amazing!'

"Ah, there you are…" Kibe's voice startled Kazuya, catching him still daydreaming about what had just happened.

"Huh, Kibe? What are you doing here?" Kazuya responded, still a bit baffled.

"Well, I suddenly remembered I had a coupon for that new ramen restaurant a few blocks away and thought, knowing how much you like to spend time cooking (not), you might want to give that place a try in between classes and grab some early dinner," Kibe explained. "And when I didn't see you outside, I assumed you would still be stuck in her somewhere. And I was right, wasn't I?"

"Ah, yes…" Kazuya replied, feeling much relieved that Kibe apparently had not witnessed his close encounter with Chizuru.

"By the way, what were you still doing in that classroom? And I thought I heard a door slam? Was that you?" Kibe wondered.

"Does it really matter?" Kazuya dodged the question; "Let's go grab some chow at that ramen place you mentioned, I've suddenly worked up an appetite."

"You are a real weirdo, Kazu-chin…" Kibe sighed; "But I guess you are right for once, the sooner we get there, the more we can eat."

"Oh, who's the weirdo now, huh?" Kazuya smiled, as he gave his buddy a playful punch on the arm.

Both friends walked to the college building entrance while laughing, but Kibe could not see that Kazuya was also smiling deep inside his heart.

(The End?)

Story Afterthoughts (21 September 2021)

Win or lose, it doesn't matter much, as it was fun to write this, and hopefully for you to read. Good luck to all the others competing in this contest!

Disclaimer

Please let me know what you think of this story and leave some feedback in the form of a review. If you are logged in on this fanfiction website, and post a review as registered member, I can even reply to your comments. I'd be happy to have some more interaction with the people who read my stories!

Btw, since I am not a native speaker, there will likely be some silly mistakes in this story. And in punctuation, maybe I made the same mistakes as in previous stories, or even made new mistakes. Hope you can bear with me and see through that. Helpful tips and suggestions are welcome.

Stay safe, and maybe until soon!