Chapter 36: Tears of a dreamer

Hana sat near the window, gazing upon the full moon shining brightly. The moon shines brightly tonight, but my wish hasn't come true yet. An image of Keima appeared inside her mind. Every time I think about what Amika had told me today, I'm starting to believe that he'll never come to me… She lifted her aging diary below her neck, opening it up carefully. Her eyes watered, wanting to shed some tears. I was a fool for believing that I can still make it happen… Even he never wanted any one else to go near him… She closed the book carefully, packing it away.

She walked away from the window, returning to her bed. She hugged her pillow tightly, gazing upon the ceiling. Maybe I should give up… I haven't really made any progress ever since I came here. She turned her body around, facing the wall near her. But… I can't give up… I'm far too close for me to reach my goals… I feel compelled to see my dreams coming true… Her heart ached, making her sigh. After spending some time with Keima, I can see his heart missing something… I… I'm not sure what it is just yet. I don't truly believe that he was made to hate real people…

An image of Kumuro appeared inside his mind. Otherwise, how could he simply befriend my childhood friend? It's not like it was hard for him to push Kumuro away… She closed her eyes, wiping the tears off her face. I don't want to be sad anymore… Please Keima… accept me for who I am and make my dreams come true…

Chihiro sighed, gazing upon her TV. That Hana-chan sure was serious about that Otamegane… She grabbed the remote, surfing through channels. I couldn't believe that she would simply stoop so low to ask him out… I guess rich people are crazy these days… She turned off the TV, covering her head with her pillow. Oh who am I kidding? I feel sad and pissed off about it! What's worse is that I'm being more and more drawn to that disgusting creep… Tears trickled from her eyes, making her grit her teeth. Why does love hurt so much? It never happened to me before…

She wiped the tears off her eyes, lifting herself upright. I guess this is what true love really is… After all, I've never been more drawn to a boy like that guy before… She pulled out her phone, dialling a number. She placed it near her head, tapping her finger on her leg.

"Chihiro-chan? I didn't think you would call me at this time of the night!"

Chihiro sighed.

"Amika, there's something you need to know."

"I'm always here for you! I'm listening…"

Chihiro's heart started thumping.

"I… I actually like someone…"

"Oh Chihiro! You've been saying that all the time!"

"Well… this guy is different from others…"

"Really? Well who is it then?"

Chihiro's cheeks reddened.

"His… his name is…"

She tilted her head down.

"Brock Lee."

Chihiro waited anxiously for a reply.

"Have you been watching that anime a lot lately? I swear to god! You really have bad taste for boys these days!"

Chihiro sighed.

"Yeah… I do… I guess you'll advise me to try not to like him anymore, right?"

"Of course! You're going to be a young lady next year! What would happen if people find out that you still have this addiction of yours?"

"I'll be labelled a loser. I got it."

"If there's something important you really need to tell me however, don't hesitate!"

The phone hung up, prompting Chihiro to put it away. She slammed her palm into her face.

"What am I thinking? I can't tell Amika-chan that I like that Otamegane! I need to think about my pride first before I do anything!"

She slammed her body against her bed, gazing upon the ceiling. I need to try harder in forgetting about him…

Ayumi and Miyako sat on a couch together, watching a movie. Miyako sighed, lying on Ayumi.

"It really is a bummer for me! I was looking forward to going to the bonfire with him too!"

Ayumi scratched her head, chuckling nervously.

"If you have told me sooner about this, I don't think I would be able to accept your choice of boys!"

Miyako shrugged.

"Too many girls always focus on appearance these days! I don't really see anything good about boys to be honest."

Ayumi lowered her eyelids.

"Then why do you say that girls need to take care of their appearance more often?"

"Well if you think about it, only girls need to worry about attracting men."

Ayumi sighed, picking up popcorn.

"I sometimes wonder if you really are a weird person or not… but maybe it's only from that cramming you've been doing at cram school…"

Miyako chuckled.

"I'm sure that Otamegane's not really a bad person. Maybe he could be a bit hard to interact with due to his different tastes… Who knows, maybe he'll become a huge hunk one day!"

Ayumi blinked at Miyako.

"Didn't you say that you don't care about boy's appearance ages ago?"

Miyako picked up some popcorn.

"I know what I said…"

Ayumi faced away from Miyako and sighed. I guess she is right about one thing: he's surprisingly nice when he comforted me… No boy has ever done that before…

"Now that I think about it, do you like Otamegane?"

Ayumi widened her eyes, feeling her cheeks red.

"WHA-WHA-WHA-WHAT MAKES YOU I DO?!"

Miyako grinned.

"You seemed to be a bit hesitant every time I talk about him."

She winked at Ayumi.

"If you really like him, I'll let you have him!"

Ayumi sighed. Is she being too modest, or is she just playing around with me?

"I don't get you sometimes…"

Keima sat on his couch, playing his PFP. Kumuro lifted the remote up, changing channels on TV.

"Don't worry man. Amika-chan and I will get back together soon… It's only a matter of getting used to her again."

"You already have been used to her months ago! You should stop being a wimp about it!"

Kumuro sighed, slouching back on the sofa.

"I can't help it man! And Amika-chan can't help it too! So how's this mission of yours going anyway?"

Keima sighed.

"By tomorrow, hopefully my next problem will be solved. As for Heihachi, he may need a bit more time before I'm done with him."

"Heihachi's quite a nice person. I'm glad you're helping him with his problems…"

"But I still feel that I didn't do enough to stop any remaining girl from getting close to me…"

Kumuro crossed his lips.

"Man, you need to start getting a girlfriend. Maybe you should eliminate some other girls first, and then date the last one s-"

"Did you forget that I prefer 2D girls over real girls?"

Kumuro groaned, turning his head to Keima.

"Again with that statement! I know that you've been like that a few years ago or more, but don't you think you need a little bit of growing up in you?"

"You're naïve as always. Of course I have grown up to see through reality's lies."

"I'm just helping you Keima buddy. I don't want you to be lonely when you grow up!"

"I have Yokkyun with me anyway! She'll never leave me, even if I decided not to like her… which I'll never do in a million years!"

Keima, Hana and Yutuka stood behind the wall, watching Tsukiyo peering through the telescope. Keima turned his head to Yutuka.

"You're almost done. If you're able to win her heart today, then you might become very lucky…"

Yutuka nodded his head nervously.

"But… what happens if I screw up? Then what?"

Hana slapped Yutuka on the head.

"Stop being so negative about it! You're the only one so far who can do this! You've come very far into this!"

Yutuka nodded his head.

"You're right… It's now or never…"

Yutuka moved away from Keima and Hana, having his eyes fixed on Tsukiyo. Keima leaned his head near Hana, holding his hands near his cheeks.

"He seems a lot more nervous than yesterday. I hope he doesn't fail today."

Hana shrugged.

"It would rather be a huge disappointment if things aren't going well as planned."

Yutuka stood near Tsukiyo, clearing his throat.

"I came, like you asked."

Tsukiyo turned her head to him.

"Good. Then you can start by moving the telescope."

Yutuka gritted his teeth.

"Are you suggesting that I should be your slave?"

Tsukiyo glared at him.

"You did insult me yesterday, and this should be a good time to atone for your disgusting sins…"

"Is that it…?"

Tsukiyo blinked at Yutuka clenching his fists.

"Is this what you see in me? Someone who supposedly doesn't give a shit about people like you? You think that you could use me as some toy of yours?"

His eyes became watery.

"I apologised to you. Hell, I even felt sorry for you… I thought you were different from other girls…"

He turned away from Tsukiyo, shedding a tear.

"I guess I was wrong…"

He strolled away from Tsukiyo, making her eyes watery. Keima grabbed Yutuka's arms, prompting him to turn his head.

"What are you doing? You can't just walk out like that!"

Yutuka wiped the tears off his face.

"I'm sorry. I have failed you…"

He jerked his arm out of Keima's grasp before walking away.

Hana tilted her head down, feeling her eyes watery.

Keima sighed, lying down on the bench.

"This is bad… I can't believe he lost his cool there… Perhaps I need him to regain his resolve and salvage whatever progress he made."

Hana faced away from Keima, gazing upon the sky.

"May I ask you something Keima?"

Keima turned his head to Hana.

"I suppose so."

Hana took a deep breath.

"Don't you feel any interests in such real girls?"

Keima cocked his eyebrows.

"Of course not. Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?"

Hana tilted her head down.

"Then what don't you like about real girls exactly?"

Keima pulled out his PFP.

"Obviously they aren't like those beloved 2D girls I know and love! Why are you interested in asking me that?"

"Well… you seemed to be pushing those girls away from without feeling any emotion from them…"

Keima rotated his body around.

"Real girls don't have the perfect personalities these 2D girls have. Real girls cause too much trouble these days!"

"Is… is this what you think about real girls? What about me? What do you see in me?"

Keima widened his eyes. Wait a minute…

"Are you still trying to win my heart?"

Hana sighed.

"It's okay… You don't need to worry about me anymore…"

Keima lifted his body up, watching Hana walk away. Keima's heart started aching. Dammit… what's this feeling inside me? Why doesn't it feel right all of a sudden? He turned his head away from her, gritting his teeth and placing his hand near his heart. I need to get a grip on myself. This must be one of reality's tricks to seduce me to the dark side! I know that very well… Keima sighed, tilting his head down. But… I somehow feel sorry for that Hana girl… He lifted himself off the bench, walking away. I need to clear my head, or I may fall into a trap unwittingly…

Hana sighed, sitting in a library desk. I was a fool to come here in the first place… Why would I be able to change my circumstances? Why would I think that I could change the way Keima thinks about me? She rested his head on the desk, drawing out tears. Maybe I should stop dreaming and face reality. Nothing will come good if I keep dreaming the impossible… Nothing will ever come true… Kumuro entered the library, carrying his laptop with him. He spotted Hana, widening his eyes. Hana-chan… Why are you feeling sad today?

He walked up to her placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Hana turned her head, wiping the tears off her face.

"Yeah… I'm okay…"

Kumuro closed his eyes and sighed.

"Please don't lie to me. You know how much I hate seeing you like this and lie…"

He placed his laptop on his desk, sitting near her.

"I need to know what's going on…"

Hana sighed.

"I guess you deserve the right to know… Do you know why I came to your school?"

Kumuro shook his head.

"I guess I was kinda wondering why you were here…"

Hana tilted her head.

"I'm sorry if I was being a bit harsh, but I only came for your friend…"

Kumuro widened his eyes.

"Wait… do you like Keima buddy?"

Hana nodded her head. Kumuro sighed, pushing his back against the chair.

"Keima buddy is always like that in front of girls. I don't understand him sometimes…"

He turned his head, gazing upon Hana's dreary face.

"Did he do something wrong to you? I'm getting worried about the two of you to tell you the truth…"

She shook his head.

"No… He just prefer girls from his video games…"

Kumuro lifted himself off his chair.

"He has gone too far… I need to set things right for him…"

He picked up his laptop and strolled away from Hana, forcing her to hold her hands out.

"Wait!"

Heihachi groaned, lying on the floor.

"This morning and afternoon session's taking toll on my body… I'm not sure how much more I can take… I also need to attend band practice for the festival too!"

Keima sighed, sitting near Heihachi.

"It's only been one day, and you're complaining too much about it."

Heihachi glared at Keima.

"Why don't you do it then? I bet you wouldn't even last a second in there!"

Keima shrugged.

"I know that my body's not fitted for these kinds of tasks. You on the other hand shouldn't be complaining too much…"

Heihachi gritted his teeth.

"You think you're so high and mighty when you talk like that, don't you?"

"Keima buddy, we need to talk."

Keima shifted his eyes to Kumuro.

"What is it about?"

Kumuro dragged Keima away from Heihachi, sending him far into a corner. Kumuro folded his arms.

"It's bad enough that you're still thinking about your video game characters, but I can't believe you treated Hana like shit."

Keima cocked his eyebrows.

"What did she told you exactly?"

"She didn't tell me anything. But I know that you've been pushing girls away. And you took it too far with Hana!"

Keima sighed, adjusting his glasses.

"She was helping me get rid of girls. I don't see how-"

Kumuro pulled Keima towards him, glaring at him.

"Dude. I don't like to see you becoming more of an asshole! Look at what your gaming addiction has gotten into you!"

Keima pushed Kumuro away from him.

"Do you know how much of a pain real girls are? Has reality tried using you to get to me?"

"I don't know why you're always personifying reality like this, but I'm not speaking for anyone else but for your welfare! Ever since I have met you, I didn't think that you would be the type to be very mean to any girls!"

Keima gritted his teeth.

"Why would I be mean to real girls when they're the ones being mean to me?"

"Has Hana-chan done anything mean to you? In fact, has anyone else have been mean to you? What about Kanon-chan? Or maybe that Yui girl? Now that I think about it, I don't really understand why you decided not to be with Kanon-chan. But then again, I don't understand why you don't see Kanon for her good qualities…"

Keima faced away from Kumuro, feeling his heart aching. Dammit! My heart's aching again!

"I…"

"Please don't think so negatively about those girls. I'm not asking you to be Hana's boyfriend, but at least make some amends with her and some other girls!"

Keima's heart started throbbing less. Now that I think about it, I used to think that 2D girls were superior in every way… I think I know what reality wants with me – he wanted to show me the error of my ways… of course his way is also shit! He lifted himself up from the ground, walking away from him.

"I'll go talk to Hana…"

Kumuro extended his hands outwards.

"Wait! You don't know where she is!"

Ayumi and Miyako sat inside the classroom. Miyako pulled out her notebook, opening it up.

"I took a few notes on him, but that's all I know about…"

Ayumi lowered her eyelids.

"You seriously took notes about him? I'm getting really worried about you…"

She flipped a few pages over.

"I've written notes about every student in this class. I find a few people more fascinating than the others…"

"Are you really obsessive with such people like that Otamegane?"

Miyako shrugged.

"I get bored sometimes during cram school. It's better to waste a bit of time in order to succeed in studies!"

Ayumi sighed.

"Let's get this done and over with. I don't think there's any point for me…"

"Sure there is…"

She flipped the pages back to Keima's section.

"There's only one thing I found interesting… apparently, some girls at our school do have a crush on him…"

Ayumi cocked her eyebrows.

"And how would you come up with that conclusion."

Miyako shrugged.

"It was more like eavesdropping more than anything…"

"You really need to take time off both study and your disturbing obsession…"

"Did you know that Mobuka has some interests in Otamegane?"

Ayumi leaned forward.

"Stop changing the subject!"

Miyako blinked at Ayumi.

"Do you really have a problem with me keeping this notebook? Some normal girls do have their own secrets…"

"Well… This book might make people think you're a stalker…"

Miyako shrugged again.

"Well it's not like I follow people around home…"

Ayumi placed her hands on her cheeks, gazing through the window.

"Well what are you trying to tell me anyway?"

Miyako turned over a page.

"If I'm not mistaken, you might have some competition with other girls… But the best way for you to win his hear is-"

Ayumi got off her chair

"I'm leaving."

Miyako held her hands out.

"Wait! "

Miyako raised her body off her chair.

"I know that it may damage your reputation at school, but if you really do like him, maybe you get some advantage of yours first!"

"I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but maybe it's better for me to leave things as they are. I don't exactly like him like him…"

Miyako snatched Ayumi's arm.

"Oh come on! You can at least try it for a while… I promise you that they're no regrets…"

Ayumi crossed her lips, gazing upon Miyako's puppy eyes. I guess there's no way I could refuse Miyako's crazy schemes now…

Keima and Kumuro entered the room, watching Hana sitting alone. Keima strolled towards Hana, sitting near her. Hana shifted her eyes to him and sighed.

"What do you want?"

Keima gave her a small grin.

"You lost hope about finding someone else besides me, didn't you?"

Hana slowly nodded her head.

"I guess I did after you left. No one else has matched my dream knight."

"It's not too late… There's still time to search for one…"

Hana shook her head.

"It's no use trying to mend my heart. You and I both know that-"

"You're wrong!"

Keima lifted himself up from his chair, placing his hands near his glasses.

"You are talking to the capturing god! The one who can help you find a boy of your dreams!"

Hana blinked at Keima in confusion. She then formed a small grin.

"I can't believe you're calling yourself that…"

She closed her eyes, facing away from her.

"If you believe you can mend my heart, then please… let me borrow your powers in order to find my dream boy…"

Kumuro smiled at Keima. I knew you're not that mean Keima-buddy!

Ayumi widened her eyes, gazing upon the PFP.

"You want me to do WWHHHHAAA-?"

Miyako held the instructions booklet in her hand.

"I assume that if you and Otamegane would have something in common, then he might start appreciating people like you more. I heard that he plays games where you get to date girls…"

Ayumi placed the PFP on the desk, walking away from her.

"I can't believe I've agreed to get involved with this… I'm leaving."

"Oh come on Ayumi-chan! You should at least give it a try!"

"Why don't you do it?"

Miyako blinked at her.

"Because I want you and Otamegane together… Isn't that what you want?"

Ayumi shrugged.

"I think you deserved to be with Keima more than I do. After all, you seemed to be more obsessed with his interests than anyone else…"

Ayumi walked away from her, making Miyako gaze upon her PFP. Well I guess if she insists…

Yutuka sat at his desk, typing on the computer. I was wrong to go over there in the first place… I was wrong to help my god in anyway… I was wrong to think that she's different… He sighed, moving his mouse around. It doesn't matter. I can't do what my god can do… I already had failed him…

"Hey brother, there's some girl called Tsukiyo wanting to talk to you."

Yutuka gritted his teeth. What does she want this time? He turned his head, shouting at Ryou.

"If it's about today, I don't want to see her…"

"But brother! She won't stop pestering me!"

"What are you, some pushover? It's a lot easier to-"

"I'm sorry."

Yutuka widened his eyes, turning around. He watched Tsukiyo standing in front of him. Tsukiyo turned around and walked away from him. Yutuka held his hand out.

"Wait."

Tsukiyo turned her head, gazing upon Yutuka's nervous face.

"Do… do you want to go somewhere?"

Yutuka and Tsukiyo stood near the bridge, gazing upon the sunset. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I've suddenly got lost in this… He turned his head, gazing upon her calm face. At one stage, I thought she was toying around with my feelings… and the next, she had the audacity to come over to my house and apologise to me… At this point, I'm not sure if my god would know where I'm heading off…

"I don't really understand you… At first you didn't want me… and now you came to me…"

Tsukiyo shrugged.

"I don't really get you either… At first you made fun of Luna… and then you apologised…"

"I guess we're really alike aren't we…? Going around in circles with each other…"

"It's just like the moon… Each passing moment the moon changes its appearance… yet it's still remains beautiful…"

Yutuka's heart pumped faster, making his head dizzy. He turned his head to Tsukiyo, smiling at her.

"I guess it doesn't matter what mood you're on… I think you really are beautiful…"

Yutuka walked away from her, holding his hands out.

"I guess I'll see you again some time…"

Tsukiyo held his hands, making him turn his head back. She leaned forward, pressing her lips against his. He widened his eyes, feeling his body numb.