Chapter Fifty-Three
Hello again everyone! Ok, so, explanation time. SO. So. I'm done with school. I've graduated. YAY! How was the eclipse for everybody? I was in Casper, Wyoming, in the eclipse's path, so I got to see totality. It was cool.
Three months had gone by since Natsuki's return to Ekoda High. The only problem, without the excuse of being Ruri, he had no contact with Kaito, Aoko, or even Hakuba. Akako made her appearance every once in a while, but once Natsuki showered her with enough affection, she was satisfied. Put simply, for three months, Natsuki had been bored and lonely. The upside to this, was that he had lots of time to think. Like how Ruri seemed to be universally liked by every plot important character. It was almost like things were being written out. Or how everything seemed to revolve around her, a self-centered thought perhaps, but it was hard not to notice how many times she had gotten tangled up in Kaito's or Conan's issues. It was almost scary.
Natsuki sighed just as the bell rang and school let out for the day. He debated whether or not he should go to KID's heist tonight, but eventually decided against it. He'd just have to settle for hearing about tomorrow. It was lonely, not having friends to talk to. It even brought up painful memories of school. Eating alone at lunch, sitting in the library to read and get some peace, even coming home to a (most of the time) quiet house. Natsuki hated dwelling on those memories. They only brought pain, sadness, and an indescribable tightness in his chest.
As he walked back to the little apartment he shared with his roommate, Tetsu Izumi, he couldn't help but notice how blue the sky seemed. Romantic fantasizing behind, it was starting to make him depressed. He sped up, angrily wiping his nose before it could run, bruising it. The brunet reached the apartment in no time. He fumbled with the single key he had, barely getting inside the small place he temporarily called home before his tears started to leak. Tetsu was home and started to greet his younger roommate before stopping midway to watch the teen's shoulders heave.
Tetsu sighed and went back into the kitchen to start up a new pot of tea. It sort of broke his heart to hear someone that young crying. Natsuki probably didn't even realise he was there. It was at times like these he wished he was less of a grump. The tea kettle went off, whistling at a high pitched shriek to notify him that the water was boiling. Tetsu pulled out the chamomile tea the kid had brought with him, and placed the little packet in an empty mug. He emptied half of the kettle into the mug and the other half into a previously opened cup ramen. The older man walked over to the genkan where Natsuki still sat, hiding his head in his knees and sobbing. Tetsu nudged Natsuki with his foot, making the teen look up in shock and start to stammer.
"I-I'm so sorry!" he managed to get out through the snot and tears.
Tetsu almost grimaced. It was really gross.
"Wipe your face," the man mumbled, handing the brunet the mug and nodding his head towards the table where a tissue box and some messy papers lay.
Natsuki whispered a meek thank you and stood up, shrugging off the backpack and placing it next to the couch. He gently sat down next to where Tetsu had been moments prior to this whole fiasco. He nursed his mug up until Tetsu demanded he take a drink or it would get cold. Natsuki nodded and apologized (as he was prone to do, Tetsu learned). The teen sipped the tea and began to visibly calm down. What the hell was in that stuff? Nothing was said as Natsuki sipped his tea occasionally and wandered off into his own mind.
"Are you getting bullied?" Tetsu finally asked.
He had been meaning to ask the first time he caught the kid crying, which was about a month ago. It was confusing to come home to a sobbing teen and not know the reason why, or be able to do anything about it.
Natsuki looked horrified at the query, shaking his head vigorously.
"No! Nothing like that!" He protested.
If he was getting bullied, the bullies sure scared him good.
Tetsu shrugged. Despite the fact that they were roommates, it was hard to say whether or not there was much interest in each other's lives.
"You're a boy, you shouldn't cry," Tetsu told him, maybe a little harsher than he intended. "Crying should be left for the girls."
Natsuki opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, then closed it again, apparently rethinking whatever he was going to say. The teen seemed to do that whenever Tetsu commented on his gender. He secretly hoped Natsuki wasn't one of the okama. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but he just didn't really care for them, with their effeminate ways. Not that he'd ever admit it, but he had mistaken Natsuki for a girl the first time they met. Petite, with brown hair and blue eyes, and a soft voice to match. He'd even been skeptical up until he accidently walked in on Natsuki taking a shower in the morning after he pulled an all nighter. It wasn't anything to write home about, but it was there.
By the time Tetsu pulled himself out of his thoughts, Natsuki was in the kitchen washing his mug. Before he could react, the teen had scooped up his bag, wished him a good night, and disappeared into his room.
"Night," Tetsu mumbled before turning back to the editorial work he had been finishing up.
ohhhh boi
boi
have I got a story for you
so I got an xbox and was finally able to buy Fabel II as well as Borderlands 2 (I played and finished the 1st for each game at a cousin's house) and I have sunk like 10s of hours within a few days (for fable since I suck at 1st person shooters but boy do I try)
anyway how was that chapter huh
I tried (emphasis on tried) to stay away from dialogue this time to give more context for Natsuki/Ruri's emotions. She's going through a tough time right now. And I wanted to be able to convey that. Also how meta was that 1st paragraph huh? did I do good
also I tweaked chapter 3 to be a little better so if you're interested in spotting the changes, go ahead and check it out
VOCAB LESSON!
genkan: the little area/entryway where the front door is (it's before the step going into the house) and is where you place your shoes (you take off your outdoor shoes and leave them there and put on some indoor slippers)
okama: generally used for either gays, drag queens, or transgenders (or you know, the really hairy dudes with lots of make up and full lips that wear dresses and talk super effeminately that have the stereotype of working in gay bars that you see in manga; a fairly well-known example of this stereotype is from One Piece on Kamabakka Kingdom) fun fact, this term apparently originated during the Edo period (1603-1868) as slang for "anus"
NEXT TIME: A MAN'S TRIAL
DFTBA! :)