It's Not My Fault We're Together!
Chapter 3: I'm Not Alone (When I'm With You)
The sounds of scraping chairs filled the room as the bell rang for lunch to begin. Stretching slightly as she gathered her things, Yuri turned to the pink-headed girl next to her and asked, "So, where did you want to eat, Hina?"
Hina smiled as she replied, "I don't care, really, but... Well, the courtyard's gonna seem kinda quiet without Yoshida there. How about we liven it up a bit?"
Tilting her head, Yuri considered this suggestion. While it would be quiet and relaxing, it was rather out of the way... on the other hand, without Kuroki around to draw everyone there or, as Hina pointed out, without Yoshida to fill it, the courtyard would be deserted. No one would be there but Hina and herself.
All alone with Hina. All alone...
Yuri silently shook away... whatever these thoughts were, giving her classmate a small nod. There shouldn't be anything awkward about being alone with Hina, so why did she feel-
Smiling, Hina cut into Yuri's thoughts as she answered, "Alright! Let's get going!" She gave Yuri a small wink as she added, "I'm really glad you decided to have lunch with me, Tamura-san!"
Yuri shrugged, struggling to hide the color slowly rising to her cheeks as she answered, "It's not like I had anything better to do."
...
"I'm sooooo sorry!" Hina said as she clasped her hands together, shame and embarrassment poorly hidden behind her smile.
Yuri waved it off, saying, "Well, I was the one who zoned out in the middle of class. I pretty much got what I deserved. So anyway, what'd you bring for lunch?"
Hina sighed, glad for the change of topic as she responded, "I have some rice and Tamagoyaki! How about you?"
Opening her bento, Yuri answered, "Just some rice and fried chicken. Nothing that great."
With a sly smile, Hina said, "If you brought it, I'm sure it's good! Do you mind if I try some?"
Shrugging, Yuri replied, "Yeah, sure. Just a bit, though; I don't have much." Then, picking up a smaller piece of the chicken with her chopsticks, she held it out to Hina.
Leaning forward and brushing a bit of hair out of her face, Hina took a healthy bite out of the offering. Her smile widened as Yuri tried and failed to hide the flustered blush rising to her cheeks at the rather provocative action. "Something wrong, Yuri?" She asked.
Yuri merely shook her head as she glanced away, saying, "N-nothing." She paused as if to continue, before she instead said, "Anyway, since you took some of mine, it's only fair if I get some of yours, r-right?"
Nodding in agreement, Hina offered a bit of her lunch to Yuri, who accepted with slightly less aplomb.
"How was it?" She asked, receiving a small nod and a simple "good." from Yuri.
Accepting the compliment with a smile, Hina turned to her food and the pair began their lunch. Not content to merely lounge about in silence, however, the pink haired girl eventually turned to Yuri and asked, "So, what do you do for fun, Tamura-san?"
Cocking your eyebrow, the introvert in question asked, "Where did this come from?"
Hina shrugged as she answered, "It's like I said before, y'know? I don't really know you, so I'm trying to figure out who you are at least a bit more."
Yuri considered this for a moment, before finally answering, "Well, wouldn't it be normal to say what you like first?"
Humming as she thought about this, Hina eventually replied, "Yeah, I guess you're right. So, erm..." Pausing for a moment to collect herself, she said, "It's kinda embarrassing, but I really like to watch anime and read manga, especially the slice-of-life stuff where everyone's just happy, without any of those crazy, awful plot twists wrecking everything." Noticing Yuri's unreadable expression, Hina asked the girl, "Is that weird?"
After a moment of silence, Hina was beginning to think Yuri had ignored her. Thus, it was a surprise when the introvert finally answered, "No, not really. I just never really thought about what you would like, and for some reason I'm not surprised even though I feel like I should be, I guess." Shrugging, she added, "It makes sense, though; you are a friend of Kuroki's, after all."
After Yuri had said this, however, Hina began to pout, and she wondered if she had done something wrong. "Um..." Yuri began, shifting uncomfortably in place, "Is something... wrong?"
Shaking her head, Hina answered, "Ah, no, it's just... whenever we talk, it always goes back to Kuro, and right now, I wanna know about you. And I guess I want you to be curious about me, even if it's only a little bit, so I got kinda mad when you brought her up again." Shaking her head, she continued, "Anyway, it's not fair to ask me what I like and then move on without telling me what you're into, y'know? So, what do you like, Tamura-san?"
Blinking, Yuri considered Hina's point. She knew that the pink-haired girl had been trying to get closer to her, but it hadn't occurred to Yuri how hard Hina had actually been trying. She supposed it made sense that after all this talk about Kuroki she'd get mad, but without that, she really wasn't sure how to act around Hina.
Well, no time like the present.
"I like reading, I guess." She began awkwardly. "And... well, I like darts too." Avoiding Hina's gaze, she finished, "Plus, I think puzzles are fun."
Glancing up, she noted that Hina had begun to smile again. "Really?" She asked. "What kind of books do you like?"
Yuri relaxed at this. For some reason, there was something in Hina's happy smile she found... deeply relieving. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, though.
...
Sitting in her next class, Yuri reflected on her lunch with Hina. Glancing out the corner of her eye at the girl humming quietly next to her as their teacher droned on about something or other-history? literature? she couldn't bother to remember-, she began to wonder how the girl truly felt about her.
She and Hina had been rivals since they properly met, all because of their mutual affection for Kuroki. Yet... why did they have to be rivals? It was like Hina said: they could be together without Kuroki. They could be together alone.
Now she just had to figure out what that meant.
***Chapter 3: Good End***
A/N: I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooory for missing last week's update! I don't want to make excuses, but a lot of shit happened and it was just too much. I'll try not to miss-I almost missed this week, and only got a short one out instead-but I'm sorry for the date I already have, everyone!