One week has already passed after my day off with Yuno.
It was a week of trying to act normal with her, though it was really that weird for me. Like she said back then, nothing changed. She was friendly with me as ever. How could she act like nothing happened that day?
How can she act that she simply rejected me because of her infatuation with my saviour?
Oy, Toshiro. Stop with that inner monologue of yours and eat your damn breakfast.
I slowly lifted my head. In front of me, was Kazuto, who looked at me with an annoyed look on his face. Oh. That's right. Breakfast. "Sorry. I got lost in my thoughts." I stated as I began eating my breakfast, which were two slices of toast and a sunny side-up egg. "Geez. Don't act so broody in the morning. It might rub onto me." Kazuto annoyingly remarked as he drinks his coffee. "Cut your little brother some slack. He's probably drained out because of his studies, right, Toshiro?" Father asked me as he reads his newspaper. "Right. Studies. Homeworks. Yep. That one." I murmured as I continue to eat my breakfast.
Wait. Don't tell me. Someone rejected you?
I suddenly stopped eating my meal and looked at Kazuto, who had a big smirk on his face. I felt a sudden jolt of annoyance in my head as I saw that stupid smirk on his face. "Jackpot, right?" Kazuto asked as he glares at me. Ugh. This feels like an interrogation. "So what if it is?" I asked him as I adjusted my glasses. "Pft. I knew it. So, who's the girl broke your heart?" He asked once again. "It's none of your business." I replied as I shrugged off his glare and continued to eat my breakfast.
"Sheesh. Calm down. We all went through that stage. Heartbreak is pretty rough to deal with. Believe me. Sometimes, we have to move on and keep smiling. You never know. One heartbreak could bring you to your fated woman." Kazuto stated as he drinks his coffee. "Wow. Wise words, Kazuto. That aside, I'm still not paying for your marriage." Father commented with a blank look on his face. "Oh come on! At least chip in, dad!" Kazuto frantically said as Father let out a chuckle. Oh, right. Kazuto is already engaged. We still don't know when the ceremony is though. "By the way, Toshiro. Where do you plan to study after middle school? Any plans for the future?" Father asked me as he looks at me curiously. "I haven't thought about it yet, but I want to be an architect in the future. I want to create or design structures that could mark my existence in this world." I replied as I drink my coffee. "An architect, eh? That sounds good. Oh yeah. Tokyo Academy has a course on architecture. I'll be moving to Tokyo this coming winter, so if you're going to study there, you might as well live with me and Remi." Kazuto stated as he stands up and puts on his black blazer. "I'll think about it." I replied as I watched him walk towards the door. "Alright, alright. Hurry up. I don't want to be late for work." Kazuto stated as he exits the room. "Have a great day, you two." Father greeted us goodbye as I quickly follow Kazuto outside.
DING DONG!
Hm? It's already time for lunch? Geez. I'm getting to the good part of Steel Ball Run. I closed my manga and stretched my arms. Another class skipped, eh, Toshiro? You're a real slacker now. I adjusted my glasses and leaned my back onto the concrete balustrade of the stairwell. Should I eat lunch with Akise and the others? I could, but somehow, I don't feel like eating with Yuno. I don't even feel like hanging with her at the moment. I really don't get that girl.
Ah, crap. I forgot. I didn't bring any box lunches today. Tsh. I might as well go to the cafeteria to buy something. I sluggishly stood up with my manga in my hand. As I turned around, the next thing that I saw was really unexpected.
A black haired beauty stood before me. She was fairly tall. She's probably 5'4 tall. She has a slim, yet firm physique. Her front bangs partly covered her brown eyes. She was wearing a red cardigan, a white shirt, and black slim jeans. From the look of her face, she wasn't expecting someone to be here. For a moment, we stared at each other. Who is she? This is probably the first time to see someone like her. Her beauty could actually rival Yuno's. No. I could say it clearly that she is in fact, more beautiful than her. Wait. I stared at her for too long. She might think that I'm weird or something. I quickly averted my eyes from her beauty. "Excuse m-"
Wait! Is that the 22th volume of Steel Ball Run?!
Wait. What? I quickly stopped in my tracks. Did I hear that correctly? This beauty asked me about my manga, right? A beauty like her, asking about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure? Well, isn't this bizarre. "Uhm. That's the 22th volume right? Where Gyro di-" "Hey! No spoilers!" I frantically shouted as I took a step back. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to!" The girl frantically stated in embarrassment. "Wait. Wait a minute. You read Jojo?" I curiously asked her as I adjust my misaligned glasses. "Uhm. Yes. I'm not weird, okay?! I just love Araki-sensei's art style! Wait. I also love Jotaro, Joseph, Dio, Rohan, Gyro, Diego…"
Okay. She's really into Jojo.
"Okay, okay. I get it. You're a fan. Just like me." I stated as I stop her from listing down her husbandos. "Sorry! I got carried away!" The black haired girl frantically apologized. That's odd. I can't help but to admire her cuteness. I can feel my cheeks turning red! "Uh. Anyway, it's good to know that there's another Jojo fan in this campus. I felt like a total exile or something." I stated as I smiled at her. "Same here! Uhm. If it's okay, can I borrow that volume once you've finished reading it?" She curiously asked me as she approaches me. "Uh. Sure thing, uh.. Wait. What's your name? I haven't seen you around." I asked her as she stops a meter away from me.
"I'm Miyamoto, Shizuka. I'm a transfer student from Tokyo Academy! I'm from class 2-C!"
Wait. Tokyo Academy? "You're a transferee?" I curiously asked her. "Yes. I just transferred a week ago. Due to my parents' work, we had to move in here. Uh. And you are?" Shizuka curiously asked me. "Hiriyama, Toshiro, at your service. I'm from class 2-A." I introduced myself to her with another smile on my face.
Huh?
Hm? I heard something. Maybe that's just the wind. Shit. I can't wipe off this smile of mine. I hope she doesn't take it negatively. "Well then. Nice to meet you, Hiriyama-kun!" Shizuka happily stated as she shakes my hand. Wow. Isn't she friendly? "N-Nice to meet you too!" I frantically replied. As she shook my hand, I managed to catch a glimpse at my wrist watch. What?! Are you serious?! We only 15 minutes before our next class?!
"Uhm. What's wrong?" Shizuka asked me as she releases my hand. "Crud. We only have 15 minutes left before the bell. There's a huge possibility that the cafeteria is probably out of yakisoba bread, which is sucks." I replied with a disappointed tone in my voice. For the record, yakisoba bread is my favourite snack in the cafeteria. "I think we could make it if we make a dash for it!" Shizuka happily suggested. "You're being too optimistic, but I'll take your word for it. Shall we then?" I happily asked Shizuka with a smirk on my face. "Come on then, Hiriyama-kun!" Shizuka stated as she bolted down the stairs. I closely followed her.
As we reached the bottom of the stairs, a white plastic bag on the ground caught my attention. Wait a minute. There are two yakisoba breads, a bottle of black coffee, and a bottled iced tea inside the plastic bag. Odd. They're not even opened yet. "What's wrong? They'll be out of yakisoba bread if you don't hurry up!" Shizuka stated as she stops at her tracks. "Uh. I found these-"
As I looked at Shizuka, I saw a pink haired girl running away at a distance.
Wait.
Was that, Yuno?
A month passed after I met Shizuka.
Our common interests quickly got us closer. She was a fellow otaku and oddly, we shared the same taste. We loved the same genre, the same artists, and the same songs. I wasn't expecting that I would stumble onto her playlist in her mp3 player, which were filled British Rock songs. It's hard to believe, but we really have chemistry. Also, Father already met her when she dropped by in my house last week. We read some manga at the living as Father chatted with us.
Soon, I found myself getting interested with her. To my surprise, she was really interested in me too.
That's quite a smile on your face, Toshiro-kun.
I quickly tilted my head to see my silver-haired friend looking at me with a smile. "Yo, Akise. What's up?" I asked him as he sat down beside me. "Nothing much. How are things with Miyamoto-san? Is there any progress?" Akise curiously asked me as he looked around the classroom filled with our classmates. "Hm. I could say things are going well. Uh. I'm courting her right now." I happily replied as I looked at him. After hearing those words, the girl behind Akise stood up and went out of the room. "Courting, you say? So, chivalry's not dead." Akise commented as he lets out a chuckle. "Oh, come on. We're young. There's no point of rushing things." I remarked as I also let out a chuckle of my own. "I see, I see. That's great to hear. I have a question though." Akise stated as he looks at me curiously. "What is it? Don't worry. I haven't kissed or anything at all." I commented as I smiled at him.
What about the other one?
Huh? What is he talking about? "The other one?" I curiously asked Akise. "Come on. Don't act silly. You know who I'm talking about." Akise replied as he sheepishly smiled at me. "Oh. Her." I muttered as I remembered the girl who left earlier. Now that you mentioned it, I noticed that she had a dreadful look on her face earlier. "That's right. What about Gasai-san?" Akise asked me with worried tone on his voice.
For the past month, my friendship with Yuno suddenly turned sour and stagnant. I tried asking her about the plastic bag I found when I met Shizuka, I never got an answer from her. She always dodged the question. My time with her slowly became shorter, and shorter. Sad to say, there are times that I chose Shizuka over her. Whenever Shizuka ate lunch with us, she would suddenly throw a fit and be mean at Shizuka. Even Hinata and Mao were confused at first, but soon we all realized it.
She was jealous.
She was jealous of Shizuka.
"I'll deal with her, don't you worry. I'll try to fix our friendship of ours." I replied as I gave Akise a fake smile. Truth be told, I'm not sure how to handle this situation. I can't just suddenly back out from courting Shizuka because of Yuno. Also, my interest in Yuno slowly died down. Now, I just see her as popular, normal girl who almost excels at everything. "Are you sure about that? I could help." Akise asked as he worryingly looks at me. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Thanks for the offer, though." I replied as I averted my eyes from him.
Toshiro-kun!
Suddenly, Hinata rushed in the classroom and sprinted towards me. "Hm? What's wrong? Hey! No running in the halls! The hall monitor might apprehend you!" I curiously asked her as I stood up and approached her. "Come quick! Something happened to Shi-chan!" Hinata frantically stated as she tries to catch her breath. Shi-chan? My eyes widen as I recognized that nickname. Shizuka?! A sudden cloud of anxiety filled my heart. "Where?!" I frantically asked her as I quickly grabbed onto her shoulders. "Lockers!" Hinata replied. Without replying, I quickly dashed out of the room and ran towards the stairwell.
Within a few minutes, I arrived at the lockers with my cold sweat, dripping down from my face. I felt my heart ache as I saw Shizuka lying on the floor, unconscious. There were some teachers attending to her, and one of them was the school's nurse. "Shizuka!" I shouted as I quickly rushed towards her. I could see a bruise on her right temple. Her clothing was terribly folded, and her indoor shoes were slightly removed from her feet. "What happened?! Is she alright?!" I frantically asked the school nurse. "From what I've heard, she tripped in the stairwell. Though she lost consciousness, she's okay. No broken bones or anything. We only need to bring her to the infirmary for her rest. I'll apply some ice pack to her bruises there." The school nurse replied as she inspects Shizuka.
Without hesitating, I carefully picked her unconscious body up. "I'll carry her there." I stated as I heard the other students around gossiping with one another. "Alright. Please follow me." The nurse stated as she started walking towards the infirmary, which was located in the first floor. As I closely followed the nurse with Shizuka on my hands, a pink-haired girl got my attention. "Toshiro.." Yuno murmured as she closely followed me. "Did you saw what happened, Yuno?" I asked her as I continued walking. "Uhm. About that.. well, I was there.." Yuno replied as I managed to take a glance at her. Wait a minute. Why is she fidgeting? Why is there a frantic look on her face?
Yuno didn't respond, but she followed me to the infirmary. I carefully laid Shizuka down on one of the empty beds. "I'll take over here. Um. Could you step out for a minute? I have to make sure that she didn't sustain any more injuries than her bruises." The nurse stated as approached the unconscious black-haired girl. "Will do. Please, take care of her." I stated as I went out of the room with Yuno.
I leaned my back onto the wall. Shit. I'm so tense and worried about Shizuka. "Toshiro. She'll be fine. Don't worry about her." Yuno stated as she approached me. "That's odd. You're awfully positive about this. Back then, you used to call her names and be rude with her. What's with the sudden change of heart?" I asked Yuno as I adjusted my glasses. "I'm just trying to calm you down, okay? You don't have to be so mean about it." Yuno replied with an annoyed tone in her voice.
"So, you saw what happened?" I asked Yuno as she stood beside me. "I did. I was with her that time." Yuno replied as she stared at the floor. A sudden fear and anxiety filled my heart. Would Yuno actually do that? Would she actually push Shizuka down the stairs? No. It can't be. She's not that type of person. Damn it, Toshiro. What the hell are you thinking? "So, what happened?" I asked her as I shrugged off my sudden suspicion.
"I..I was talking to her when that happened. I was…congratulating her, since you started courting her…" Yuno nervously replied with a tense tone in her voice. Something's not right. Yuno's fidgeting. She's really nervous and tense. She's hiding something. "Yuno. Be honest with me. You know I don't like liars, right?" I stated as I looked at the pink haired girl beside me. There was a brief silence between us. I could feel the anxiety from earlier choke me. No. Trust Yuno, Toshiro. Of all the people in the campus, you're the only wh-
I pushed her.
My eyes widen as I heard those words from Yuno. I could feel my heart aching. My chest became tighter as I took a step back from Yuno, who was terribly shaking. "What..the hell did you say?" I frantically muttered. "I..It was an accident! After I heard your words, I quickly went out to remove it in my head! I was supposed to go to the infirmary when I saw by the stairwell. She had the carefree smile that normally ticks me off! I admit that I lashed out at her! That I called her a thieving cat! We exchanged words and insults as we went down the stairwell.. I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to push her when I tried to grab onto her cardigan! It was an accident!" Yuno frantically exclaimed with dread look on her face. The anxiety inside me was now mixed with anger and annoyance.
If Yuno didn't lash out at Shizuka, this wouldn't happen!
"Whaa…D-Damn it, Yuno! Why would you do that?!" I angrily shouted at Yuno. "It was an accident, okay?! I didn't mean to! How could you expect for me to act calm after hearing your words?! It's your fault, Toshiro! It's your damned fault!" Yuno angrily shouted back at me. "My fault?! Is it my fault that I'm proud to say that I'm courting her?!" I angrily snarled back at her. "Of all the places, why would you say it the classroom?!" She angrily snarled back at me. "Well, Akise asked me in the classroom, remember?! Damn it, Yuno! Why are you acting like this?! Why are you so jealous of Shizuka?! I mean, do you have the rights to be jealous of her?!" I snarled back at her.
Shit. I slipped.
SLAP!
As Yuno heard those words, she quickly slapped my face. The impact of her slap echoed throughout the hallway. The force from her sudden slap flung my glasses into the floor. Stunned, I slowly touched my red right cheek. This is actually the first time that me and Yuno went all out like this. Yes, we had arguments about Shizuka before, but it never escalated to this level. I slowly shifted my gaze onto Yuno, whose tears started flowing down from her eyes. "Why do you have to be so dense, Toshiro? Why? You know that I'm jealous of her, but you didn't do anything about it? Why don't you care about my feelings?" Yuno asked me as she tries to stop her tears from falling. The anger and annoyance inside of me suddenly disappeared. The girl that I once admired so much, the girl that always brightens my day back then, is now crying in front of me. To some point, I'm responsible for this, but, is it my fault that I don't feel that way any longer for her?
Is it my fault that we grew distant from another?
"Yuno. It's not that simple, okay? I can't simply walk away from Shizuka because of you. When you rejected me back then, you really made a mess out of me. I didn't get it. How could act like nothing happened between us? Did I fail to convey my feelings to you properly? I was really confused at that time. Hell, I was even brooding." I stated as I watched Yuno wiped away her own tears. My heart aches so much that I want to hug her, but I can't. I can't simply do that behind Shizuka's back. "Toshiro…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Yuno murmured as her tears continues to fall from her eyes. "When I met Shizuka back then, she managed to get me out from my grey state. Her cheerful attitude rubbed onto me. Slowly, she managed to fix this mess of mine. In time, I grew to care for her. She became someone special to me, Yuno. I can't simply walk away from her after that." I stated as I felt my sadness is pushing me into tears.
Toshiro. I like you.
No. I love you, Toshiro.
With those words, Yuno pushed her head onto my chest. I could see some students at the hallway staring at us. Hinata, Mao, Akise, and Kousaka watched us from afar with a worried look on their faces. I'm in a loss of words. To be honest, I really wanted to hear those words from Yuno, but that was back then. "Yuno…" I muttered as I felt Yuno's tears seeped through my white shirt. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry that I rejected you back then.. I was a fool. I..I was chasing for someone who I could never reach. In the same time, I was ignoring your feelings. I was hurting you…" Yuno tearfully muttered. Wait. She's talking about my saviour, right? "When I saw you with Shizuka that day… that was when I realized that I don't want another girl to be with you. I don't want anyone to take you away from me. I realized how much I took you for granted. I felt that Shizuka snatched you away from me… that's why I hated her. I didn't want that, Toshiro! I don't want that! Please! Stay by my side!" Yuno tearfully shouted as my clothing muffled her voice. At that point, I couldn't help myself from crying.
What should I do now?
What can I do now?
Should I just leave Shizuka behind? Should leave someone special to me for Yuno? Should I take Shizuka's feelings for granted and choose Yuno?
Or should I reject Yuno and be with Shizuka? Should I reject that girl that I once greatly admired before?
I…
I'm sorry.
"Yuno. I'm sorry." I tearfully murmured as I struggled to fight my own tears. "Huh? Toshiro…No! Don't do this! Don't say it!" Yuno frantically stated as she quickly grabbed onto my collar. Her tears kept falling down from her sad pink eyes. "I can't do it. I can't accept your feelings right now. I.. I'm sorry. I choose Shizuka." I murmured as I gently pushed away. Yuno's eyes widen as she heard those words. With a heavy heart, I turned my back from Yuno. If I enter the infirmary and leave Yuno behind, that would be the finisher to this mess. I can't stop blaming myself for putting her in this kind of scenario. Everyone in the school will talk about her. That Gasai, Yuno cried over a guy she once took for a granted. I'm sorry, Yuno. I'm sor-
Don't! Toshiiiii!
Toshii..
Huh?
"I'll protect you, Toshii!"
"I'll choose you, Yuno. I'll choose you and we'll get through this mess."
"I'll chase after you, Toshii!"
"I love you. I love you so much, Yuno."
"I love you, Toshii!"
"There is no life without you."
A sudden gush of memories filled my mind. They're memories with Yuno that I never experience. I suddenly fell flat on the floor. I can't move. What the hell happened to my body? "Toshiro? Toshiro!" Yuno frantically shouted as she rushed towards me. Yun-
Toshiro! What's wrong?! Answer me! Wake up! Please!
Yukki! We have a problem!
Hm? Yuno? What's wrong? Did something happen?
It's about the Third world copy! Somehow, Toshiro and my copy managed to unlock the memories inside Toshiro!
Wait. What?! Memories?! How? I made sure I locked that inside 3rd world's Toshiro's head!
I don't know, but when my copy called him by his previous nickname, their memories suddenly got unlocked! What should we do, Yukki?!
Calm down, Yuno! You're making me panic! It's pretty risky if we erase 2nd world Toshiro's memories! We might erase Toshiro by accident!
Then what should we do?! Should we just let him regain his memories?! Wouldn't his sanity crumble down if we let him regain them?!
Uh. I can try to lock it away again! Toshiro might think that it was a dream or something. It's the best we could do.
Are you sure it will work, Yukki?
We have to try, Yuno.