That's it. I somehow managed to write the 6th chapter. Someone said that the 5th chapter was bad. Tbh I wasn't fully content with it either. The last part was somehow... 'artificial'. Either way. I wanted to post it asap, because I might be unavailable in the following 10 days. Thus this chapter is not fully revised. I will do it ASAP and change whatever I find bad. (but in terms of plot I won't change anything) This chapter is the longest so far. I hope it will be both quality and quantity, but lel you never know. So, here you go :) Read it/Hate it/Love it/Flame it/Preach it! You choose.
A (not) so small change in one's life.
Chapter 6
"Hachiman…" says a voice in a total darkness.
I can see a girl's back. Standing a few meters away from me. I try to turn my head around, yet there is only darkness surrounding us. Though there are no sounds I can feel harmonie in this silence. It's hypnotizing. It's pulling me in.
"Hachiman…" I can hear her voice again. Sad, low voice. I can't recognize it. I try my hardest, but to no avail.
She turns around. She is naked, though I can't really see anything out of it. I try to focus on her face, but as soon as I do so, my vision distorts and I can't distinguish any features. She slowly walks in my direction. Her hand stretched towards me. She says once again, this time she starts much more sturdily, almost imperiously.
"Don't…" the moment she starts her sentence everything disappears as if preventing me from hearing the whole message. Everything is gone. Now instead of blackness I am surrounded by an absolute brightness. It's excruciating. I can't stand it. I am suffocating. I try to scream, but I can't.
*Ring*
*Ring*
I wake up with my whole back wet from sweat. Luckily I haven't screamed while waking up, so it seems I am not just another character of a stupid american movie. That would be embarrassing for sure. Still, the nightmare I had was rather frightening. I can't help, but shiver whenever I try to remember it.
I stand up and go the bathroom. This time I was successfully woken up by my waker, so there is still some time before classes. This way I can do everything in a calm manner. I don't like it rushed, it's always nerve-wrecking.
I go to the bathroom and take a shower. The hot water seems to bring bliss to my run-down mind. I now try to recall the events of the day before today. Should I say yesterday, I wonder. Anyways, it all felt unreal to me. Had I been a little less cautious and I would have already fallen victim to countless delusions created by my very own mind. Misunderstanding or rather seeing something totally different than it in reality is, is in my opinion one of the greatest mistakes one can possibly do.
The thoughts are still occupying my mind. Kawasaki one thing, but I can't comprehend Iroha's actions. The way she talked to me yesterday, her playing with me. Could it be?
I shake my head vehemently. Komachi who is sitting right in front of me, enjoying her scrambled eggs, cocks her head.
"Gomichan, what are you doing?" She asks. My sweet sister is now looking at me with a disgusted look on her face.
"Just having some stupid thoughts. That's all." I answer briefly. She rests her hand on her palm, looking at me carefully. Though, the disgust is no longer there I can see a visible hint of concern in her eyes.
"You know, you should talk with me if something bothers you. Your problems are mine after all. Especially if they are connected with your love-life." This time she winks while having a thousand-watt smile fixed to her face.
"That sure scored me a lot of points!" She added even more vividly.
"Yeah, yeah. Though I assure you my love life is as nonexistent as ever. I doubt it will change in the nearest future. So, focus on your exams instead." My mentioning her exams has but one purpose. Diversion.
"Hai, hai." Komachi answers half-heartedly and continues eating her breakfast.
We finished our breakfast without any particularly interesting conversation and then we went to school.
…
…
I am sitting in the classroom. Class is coming to its end and everyone is just eagerly waiting for the bell to ring. I on the other hand am just resting my chin on my palm while being deeply lost in thoughts.
No matter how I look at it, Iroha was behaving differently. I can't really guess what was her underlying motive, but there had to be one. Maybe it is just the fact that she… Argh. This train of thoughts is heading straight into the realm of self-deception. I can't read too much into others action, can I?
Everyone stands up. It seems the lesson has eventually ended. It's lunch break so many of them are heading for the canteen to buy something. I find myself looking at Kawasaki. Today is not an exception. She is just like me, sitting alone without any greater interaction with anybody. I can't help but recall the lunch we had yesterday. It wasn't bad I guess. Somehow, to my dismay I realize that I am hoping for her to come to me and eat lunch like yesterday. Somehow, I want to share the short amount of time with her. I can't find the root of it. Maybe it's just the free food that she served me yesterday? I don't know. Eh…
Kawasaki notices my stare, wait I wasn't staring. I was just looking at her absentmindedly. Well… Maybe not absentmindedly, but not staring for sure.
Her cheeks suddenly take the colour of slight pink and she stands up gustily. I sigh disappointedly after she goes out of the classroom.
I shake my head. Why would I sigh? I can't believe it how many pointless thoughts I have had today. It's not like me. Could I be sick perhaps?
My mind is clouded. These thoughts should have never even existed in it. It seems I must be sick after all. I close my eyes and sigh again.
"Hachiman, you don't look good." Is this an angel calling me?
"Hachiman, I am talking to you!" This really is a splendid music. This must be heaven's compensation for all my suffering. Come to me my angel.
"Hachiman!" I can feel my cheek being pulled by someone.
I look up only to see an annoyed look on Totsuka's face. Even when mad he is so cute.
"My bad, sorry." I utter with a low voice.
"So, is something bothering you, Hachiman? You were looking intensively at Kawasaki for a moment." Huh, so it seems I was staring after all.
"It's nothing, I only had some things to think about. Don't worry, my dear." Oops. Did I just say it aloud. I blush instantly.
"Hachiman, stop teasing me." Aww… So cute. Totsuka is best after all…
"Sorry." I say apologetically..
"You'd better be." He says with a stern voice.
"Anyways." He starts.
"I think I'm gonna get something to eat. Would you mind going to the canteen with me?" This angelic smile. You know that this was more like an order than a question if you smile like this...
"Sure, whatever you want…" I reply instantly.
So I stood up and we both went to buy us something. He bought a traditional bento, whilst I chose a classic of mine. Yakisoba bread. Not only is it on a par with the best dishes, but also it is the cheapest one. Well… It might be that it's cheap and thus tasty.
We sat in a corner and then we took delight in our a-minute-ago bought meals.
Obviously we were talking about many things. Now that I think about it we've grown attached to each other. One could call us buddies or even friends. I do not care for all these names as I see them as nothing but pointless crap that is meant to make people feel better for an unknown reason, but I really enjoy the way things are now.
We finished our lunches and then we decided to head back to our classroom.
Now we're just taking the last steps of the stairway and then just to turn left and…
*bump*
It seems I've bumped into someone. It seems that was a girl. I don't know how I noticed it, but I knew it for sure. It might have been due to the soft sensation that I've registered. Well. It seems nothing bad happened, as I had my eyes fixed to the ground I could see her standing, so it seems she didn't fall down. Still, these long legs sure look nice. Wait it's not time for these stupid thoughts. I need to apologize and to retreat.
"I am sorry" I said apologetically while bowing my head.
I am certainly not in a RomCom world and this kind of things do not lead to anything… I mean… anything. That's what I've learned due to my limitless experiences. So, instead of deceiving myself and hoping that this situation is just a 'little help' from the RomCom gods that's meant to make someone fall for me, which is absurd, I simply decided to go away, after of course giving my apologies.
But then I took a glimpse of something else than just her legs. Bluish hair. Blue eyes with a hint of green inside of them.
"You should be more careful while walking." Her tone was a bit too sharp, though her face didn't seem to be one of a mad person.
"Yeah, I will be more careful from now on." I replied.
"She's right, Hachiman. You're always going with your eyes fixed to the floor, so it's not a surprise for you to bump into someone." I forgot about Totsuka. She.. I mean he's still with me.
"Yeah, yeah I am sorry. Won't happen again." Here goes my half-assed promise. But, seriously I acknowledged my mistake, so please give me a break.
"So, you two were having lunch?" It seems Kawasaki was more like her usual self, in comparison to yesterday. At least her tone was much more indifferent. There was also no trace of embarrassment on her face.
As I was looking at her I realized something. She may not be as beautiful as Yukinoshita. That's a fact. However her eyes are somehow… Interesting? Woaw. It seems I was staring for too long as she looked straight into my eyes. I looked away.
"Yes. We were…"
The bell interrupted Totsuka in the mid of a sentence.
"It seems we should hurry up." I said non-enthusiastically.
They both agreed. Just as I made the first step forward I caught a glimpse of Iroha looking at us from afar. What was she doing? It looked creepy as hell. Our eyes met. She looked away and rushed somewhere. What was with that?
…
…
I take a breath. I can't think of a reason for my being nervous. Well, the atmosphere was quite tense yesterday. But…
I open the door.
"Yo." The best greeting that was ever invented by the human race. I don't know why there are people not using it.
"Yahallo, Hikki!" It seems Yuigahama is as cheerful as ever. Somehow I can't contain something resembling a smile. Well, it must have looked like a creepy grimace. That's how my face works.
"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita was holding a book with her left hand. Her eyes focused entirely on the book, for one short second focused on me instead. Somehow, it felt as if she was acknowledging my right for existence. It seems she doesn't hold it for yesterday.
I slowly walk towards my place. My hands in my pockets. I pull out the chair and sit down on it. I take out a light novel. This time it's not boring as the one I had yesterday. I don't know why. But somehow I found myself speaking.
"So, how was the day?" I asked gingerly.
Both Yuigahama and Yukinoshita looked at me. Woaw. I guess that was a bit OOC for me. I think my cheeks are turning red right in this second. I feel a little bit dizzy and hot. This is embarrassing…
"I think it was quite a normal, yet a good day, but to be exact it hasn't ended yet. It might still become a bad one." Yukinoshita replied after a few seconds of being deep in thoughts. She then pulled her finger to her mouth. It certainly didn't look cute. Not cute at all. So uncute that I had to look away. Not because otherwise I would have blushed. Of course not.
"It might become a terrible one, it's quite possible when I am sitting in a class with a rotten person like you." Although her words were harsh I could sense a difficult to describe warmth in her words. It wasn't as if she was insulting me, more like just trying to have a conversation that we both were only capable of.
"And my day, my day was totally like a… you know how to say it? It was a day like everyday. But then I was with Yumiko and [..]" My god. Yuigahama sure can talk a lot.
But it seems the atmosphere really has changed since yesterday.
And just like it our club session had come to an end without any requests to fulfill.
Iroha didn't show up, probably due to her work or something. Either way I can't say I didn't enjoy the afternoon there. I guess I wouldn't want to lose this place...
…
"Hachiman…"
I think I know this scene.
I can see a girl standing a few meters away from me. This time she is wearing something. A gown? I can't say for sure. It's all blurred. I walk towards her. However each step doesn't bring her closer. In fact as I move towards her she seems to be distancing herself from me.
"What are you?" I try to ask. Yet my lips are sealed.
I try to run towards her. What is this girl?
"Hachiman…" A voice full of longing and hankering. A sad voice.
Somehow I caught her up. She's just one meter away from me. She stretches her arm and moves her hand to my cheeks. She hugs me then. She sighs, but in this sigh there is a lot of suffering. I can tell it. I don't know how, but I am certain that there is a great sorrow hidden in her voice.
"Hachiman, please don't fall…"
Everything disappears and I wake up with sweat running down my spine.
These dreams are weird. But to be honest, dreams are dreams. I shouldn't attach importance to these things. They're irrelevant.
It's saturday. The whole week is over and I am now lying on my bed. My little sister has somehow forced me to go to the gym once more. I wasn't very reluctant to be honest. I mean it's not that bad and there is MaxCoffee there too. I don't know. I somehow found myself not very opposed to that idea yesterday. So I messaged Reiji and here I am half an hour before the set hour lying in my bed without any will to go out of it. It sure is easy to make plans the day before, but it's so hard to go out of bed. Especially on Mondays and weekends.
I guess two more minutes of sleep won't do any harm. I close my eyes and indulge in sleep. So good. So good…
*bam*
Something landed on my belly. I gasped.
"Oniichan! Time for some workout. Tehe!" There she was. The cutest devil the humanity has ever seen.
"Komachi. That's not cute. Your big brother needs a lot of sleep after a week of hard work." I said and then tried to shake her off. To no avail. She was holding on me firmly.
"Oniichan!" She hit me with a pillow that she just stole from me. Ouch Komachi. Not nice!
"Stop it. Please stop." I begged.
…
I eventually got out of my bed and did everything as Komachi told me to do. Just as I was opening the door she said
"Oniichan! I almost forgot about something important. Go shopping after your workout! I count on you." And gave me a list of non-important things to buy.
Now that I think about it I believe it was some kind of scheming. Unfortunately I couldn't really figure the motive so I just agreed on it. I guess it won't harm, will it?
I think I've been lost in thoughts for too long. Reiji was looking at me impatiently.
"Fine, fine. Now is my turn."
I laid down and prepared for the bunch press.
"So, try to make 6 reps. You can do it." He said reassuringly.
"I guess at least." That sound less supportive.
I somehow managed to do all six reps and truth be told this time I felt a weird sensation.
I guess it might not be as bad as I thought it would be. I mean such an excessive exertion brings you euphory after you've done it. You also feel less stressed and more focused.
After an hour of workout we've finally finished. It really was a whole body workout. I mean I felt every single of my muscles. Just like the last time Reiji wanted to stay a bit longer, so I took a shower and then headed to the exit. As soon as I was near the reception I remembered about an important detail.
Hinami looked at me strangely as I rushed back to the vending machine. 200 yen where are you? After a few seconds I found a 200 yen coin and inserted it. The magical sound of MaxCoffee falling down made me shiver. Some things never change. I took it out closed my eyes and took the first sip. Ah… Heaven.
"You really seem to like it, don't you?" Totally focused on the delight of this superb drink I didn't notice Hinami showing up.
"Well, yeah. It's only natural. It's the best choice if you want to drink something…" I couldn't think of anything.
"Something good. I mean I guess I love it." I blushed because of my stuttering.
She laughed heartily.
"If you say it like it, then it really must taste heavenly." Her black eyes lit up. It's strange, isn't it? Black shouldn't be light.
"You haven't tried it yet?" I asked totally bewildered.
"How come? You're working here and the vending machine is selling this delicious, this perfect piece of art. And you haven't tried it yet? That's a crime as I see it."
Ooops. I didn't want to say it loud. It was meant to be my inner monologue. I must have sounded stupidly.
Hinami just laughed.
"I thought you were just a another boring person, but it seems you're quite amusing. If you worry so much about my not knowing the taste then let me take a sip." She said and then without any hesitation took the can out of my hand. She then neared the lid of it and took one sip. I gulped.
"It really is good. Thanks, Hikigaya-kun." Why does she know my name?
Ah.. I guess Reiji told her.
I was bewildered and dumbfounded. I mean if it was me from my middle school I would have already fallen head over heels with her.
"Yeah, it is." I said shyly. She was still having a warm smile. This is a trap. I need to run. I need to run!
"Time for me. I guess." My god, could I make it in a more awkward way? I am pathetic.
"Yeah, see you!" She said as I reached the exit.
Here I am standing in the market near the gym. "Monkey" was its name. I quite like it, but that's not the case. I've got a deja vu. I also think I figured out the plot of my little sister. A few meters away from me is standing a girl. She is quite tall and her legs are… nice. Really nice. She is not dressed like your typical girl. No gaudy accents, just a track-suit and a blouse. Long blue hair falling down on her back.
I guess I will be the first one to talk.
"Yo."
"Hachiman?" She looked at me, clearly surprised. I could see hints of happiness on her face? She then saw my bag.
"Having workout again?" She asked mockingly. That's too cruel of you laughing so loud.
"Yeah, I've just finished." I said with a low voice.
"Were you just pouting?" She blurted. My face covered immediately in a red paint.
It seems she did the same. Why were you saying something like this if you know what would happen? Are you stupid? And was I really pouting? C'mon I am not like Yuigahama.
"Ahem. Are you done flirting young birds? It's your turn young lady." An older cashier asked us to our even greater embarrassment.
"We were not flirting." We answered both instantly in unison.
"Yeah, sure. That's what they all say." The old lady winked to me. Why would you do that? It's really not something like that.
I ended up again walking her home. This time we were talking a bit. Mostly about school, exams and stuff like this. Small talk not worth mentioning. Now we're standing in front of her home.
"Hachiman, thanks for your help." Ah… right I was helping her carry her shopping. I still don't get it how much she bought.
"Don't mention it Kawasaki" I replied.
She looked down and then looked at me.
"Weren't we supposed to call each other by our given names?" She asked shyly. Somehow I found her really cute. Her blue eyes looking gently at me. Her moist lips. I stopped myself. Calm down Hachiman. Self-control. Remember. Self-control.
"Yeah, sorry Saki." I said quietly and looked away out of embarrassment. It seems I am still not used to calling her like this.
"Anyways, I'd like to ask you something next week." She was stuttering. She held her right arm with her left hand.
"I'll be shopping the same time as today. Will you be there?" She looked at me. Intensively. Her blue eyes were mesmerizing. If she was to emphasize her beauty more I am sure she would be the number one in our class. Though I think I find her natural like this better.
"Well. Yes." I replied. Truth be told I was thinking rapidly about it being a confession. You know, a girl asking a boy a question. What could it be? Obviously not a confession! I won't let myself commit the same errors over again. I know that it must be something casual. No reason to think about it.
"So, I guess I'll be going now." She said and then run towards the door of her house.
"Bye"
...
...
There are things more or less expected. But there are things I would consider impossible.
And among them are things not possible at all. One of these things has just happened. The world may as well come to its end.
"Senpai… Will you go out with me?" A cute, yet sly underclassmen asked me with a sweet voice. Her eyes beaming with excitement and faked embarrassment. Her lips moist and arranged in a thousand watt smile.
"What?"
So, what's your reaction? :) Don't worry it shall get only better(or worse, it depends on your perspective :D)
