Day Three was eventful.
'Day Three' was Akane's shortened version for 'Day Three of when I met this white-haired stranger who turned out not to be a homeless old man but a really weird not-so-old man.'
Though at that morning, Akane thought it was going to be a 'Day One of not being with that white-haired stranger who turned out not to be a homeless old man but a really weird not-so-old man.' It was a little awkward for her first thought waking up being 'am I going to see that stranger again?'
Then again, he made a strong first impression.
It was Monday, she woke up early, ate a French breakfast and was out of the apartment with plenty of time before the first period of training school.
She sort of forgot about Makishima during the journey- but then the moment she stepped into the school building, Yuki and Kaori linked arms with her securely as they began a spitfire interview.
"So, about that new flatmate of yours," Yuki began. "You promised you would explain today. Does your parents know? Or did they set you up with him?"
"He looks quite a bit older than you," Kaori noted. "How did you meet him?"
Akane thought about slipping away but the tightening grasp around her elbows reminded her she was trapped. Which meant a Plan B. Yes, Akane prepared a Plan B. And a Plan C and a Plan CII if those wouldn't work.
She forced a smile on her face- a smile which she hoped looked casual and not ready to crash a helmet onto Makishima's head for causing such a commotion in the first place.
"He's not my flatmate. Makishima-san's one of the apartment residents, which somehow equal to me technically being a 'flatmate.'" she exasperated. "He's leaving quite soon though."
She hoped.
"He seemed quite close to you. How come you were on a date with him yesterday?" Kaori prodded.
"We met by coincidence. He insisted on buying me some tea and walk me back since we lived in the same place," Akane explained. "He began teasing me so I got a bit irritated at him by the time we were back."
"Someone who is able to get on Akane's bad side?" Yuki whistled. "He must be quite a handful."
It wasn't as if either of her friends would search up all the apartment residents just to find Makishima's name, so she hoped it would be enough to satisfy them. They continued to ask questions about him, but didn't appear suspicious with her story.
In fact, by lunch-time he was a past topic since a new movie with Kaori's favourite actress was starring. Yuki then began to complain about her noisy neighbours who were apparently some 'third-rate wannabe musicians.'
By the time lessons finished, Akane's head was crammed with her studies and a long list of homework she had to complete by the end of the week. She closed her eBook and carefully packed it in her bag. There was a lot to get through but it wouldn't be particularly difficult, considering the pace she usually worked at, she decided to finish all of it by the night.
Well, that was the plan anyway before a classmate caught her attention by tapping her on the shoulder.
"Tsunemori," Shouko addressed her. "There's someone waiting for you outside."
Akane's eyebrows knitted together. "For me? Who?" Surely her parents were far too busy to come check on her at school and her grandmother hasn't been able to leave the home on her own for years. Who else would-
Oh no.
Oh no.
"What did this person look like?" Akane demanded, snapping out of her calm stupor the school had known her for.
A little surprised at Akane's reaction, Shouko's face began to mirror hers. "Pretty strange. He was tall, white hair, gold eyes, kinda handsome-"
Oh no.
Akane slammed her head against her desk. She wondered if this was what her psychology classes referred to as a 'stalker.'
"How did he find me?" she groaned against the wooden surface.
"You know, Tsunemori. He is sort of bringing in lots of attention just standing there," Shouko added. "And hey, is it true he's your new flatma-?"
That very word was the trigger to send Akane flying out of her seat and down the stairs. In hunt of a certain person who was most definitely not her flatmate.
She couldn't believe Makishima still at it. She wondered if there was something wrong with Makishima Shougo. All because cymatic scan didn't pick anything wrong with his Hue didn't mean he was perfectly normal, right?
Right?!
She sprinted out the doors and across the field, spotting the white-haired stranger like a glaring light in the midst of her curious classmates, passing by on their way home. Makishima was in the middle of a conversation with two girls before he spotted her running.
"Ah, Akane-chan," he greeted, raising a hand to make a short wave.
The temptation to smack his skull with a helmet was increasing at an alarming rate.
But, of course, there had to be street scanners and an ongoing crowd moving past them to witness the forthcoming criminal act. She forced herself to calm.
"Makishima-san," she said bitterly. "What are you doing here?"
"To take you home, it must be difficult finding your way to school all the way from your new apartment," Makishima said sympathetically. "Two bus transfers and a winding walk, isn't it? Fortunately, I know a shortcut and since I was in the area, I thought I could come pick you up."
Akane mouthed 'liar' in English which only made Makishima's smile stretch a little wider. She wanted to reject his thoughtful offer but-
"Tsu-chan!"
Akane froze.
Day Three was officially the worst day of her life.
"Tsu-chan! Over here!"
"Who would that be, Akane-chan?" Makishima asked harmlessly.
"Just a classmate," she replied hastily. "Now please leave!"
"Could that boy possible be... Shoichi-kun?"
Damn it. He found out.
Shoichi nearly crashed into Akane with excitement, pushing an online game magazine in front of her face. He was so absorbed by what he wanted to tell her that he had completely ignored the presence of the white-haired young man standing behind her.
"Tsu-chan! You will never guess what!" he blubbered enthusiastically. "There's a third game of the Alice series being released! It's finally here!"
She hadn't seen him look this happy since he won a VIP pass in Talisman's Commufield. In fact, he looked so overjoyed that Akane thought he was going to hug her. Apparently, Makishima thought the same thing since he gently placed his hands on her shoulders, and slipped into their conversation.
Shoichi blinked at the new face.
"Eh, Tsu-chan, who's this?"
With all honesty, Tsu-chan had no idea.
"A close friend," Makishima replied for her, the smile on his face was too smooth and too perfect- which wasn't a good sign at all. "You must be Shoichi-kun. Akane-chan has talked about you."
Shoichi's blinked. "She does? Well, erm, I don't think I've heard or seen you before..."
"Makishima Shogo. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Makishima-san, huh? Well, I'm Takahama Shoichi. It's always nice to meet a friend of Tsu-chan's!"
The two of them shook hands, ignoring how Akane's face had paled by several tones. The conversation was of course completely innocent, but she knew better than to trust the perfect smile gracing Makishima's face.
Hastily, Akane took hold of Shoichi's arm and began drag him back into the school. Back to safety. And away from Makishima Shogo of course.
"Sho-kun, you and Yuki were going to do your maths homework today, right?" she urged. "Hurry up, Yuki is really impatient."
"Eh, but we do homework together on Thurs-" Shoichi began to correct.
"Yuki is really impatient," Akane cut in sharply.
She eagerly yanked on Shoichi's arm until he got the message and carried walking on his own. Akane waved him off until he disappeared into the school building. Next to her, Makishima was politely doing the same.
"So, are you ready to go home, Akane-chan?" he inquired.
Akane's eye twitched. "Makishima-san, if you keep stalking me your Hue will cloud."
He looked quite amused at her warning. "Thank-you for worrying about me, but I assure you that won't happen."
"I-I wasn't worrying about you!"
Where was a helmet when you needed one.
She glared at a public cymatic scan which stared at Makishima for a second, and then turned away. So, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Makishima Shogo's Psycho Pass was normal, no criminal intent had been read.
Hmm.
Yeah...
She deduced that Makishima hacked her school security system.
"Well, good-bye, Makishima-san," she said curtly. "I'm going home- on my own."
Her harsh tone barely fazed him. He continued to smile and follow her past the gate. "Now Akane-chan, you don't see me cruel enough to send you home alone in the rain?"
Akane responded with a frown. "What rai-?"
As if nature itself was against her, a sudden shower sprinkled against the pavement. She craned her neck up and groaned at the greying canopy. The weather quickly dimmed with her mood, painting sluggish blue-black clouds over the skyscrapers. She wondered if Makishima knew how to hack the weather- she wouldn't be too surprised.
Her view of the buildings was then blocked by a plastic yellow cover.
"Even if your morning looks sunny, you should still check the forecast," Makishima advised. "Fortunately, I brought my umbrella."
"You couldn't have brought two?" she mumbled.
"Would you believe me if I said I only own one?"
"No, that's definitely a lie."
"You think so low of me that I would lie to you?" he sounded unconvincingly appalled.
She let out a long, dragging sigh. "Makishima-san, how long are you going to keep this up for?"
When Akane turned round to see his face, she was not surprised to see that she was responded with a feigned look of confusion. A poorly feigned look. If she had learnt anything about Makishima Shogo in the past couple of days, it would be that he was surprisingly bad at masking his amusement or enjoyment. He was like an impatient child who couldn't contain his excitement to play.
"Keep what up for?" he echoed, the corners of his lips curling.
Akane's eye twitched. "Stalking a stranger who had only fed you breakfast on the off-chance."
"I'm sure I've already told you that you are far too interesting to leave alone," Makishima reminded her.
She took a step away from him but Makishima moved with her so the umbrella could stay over their heads. So she took another, and so did he. Akane had half a thought of running out in the rain but couldn't risk getting her eBook and Commu Device wet.
Another option would be to deck Makishima and steal his umbrella but in the end, Tsunemori Akane lived by her morals. (And the likelihood of her actually being able to land a hit on Makishima seemed pretty minute.)
"My life doesn't revolve around your amusement," she retorted.
There was a pause. Akane couldn't believe that Makishima had to actually consider whether or not she was just a piece of entertainment.
Still, the smile never faltered. "Of course not," he said finally. "I enjoy watching people bring out the splendour of their souls through their own passions. The game of life is something I love, and seeing how others play it even more-so."
His answer only made Akane raise an eyebrow. "I don't see how I'm playing my life in any spectacular way." She was one of the hundreds of training school students just getting through day by day, preparing for Sibyl career tests. There was nothing at all exceptional about her lifestyle.
Makishima took half a step closer. Akane moved back one.
"Well, of course you wouldn't need to, Akane-chan," he explained. "A lot of people have to express themselves in such an ornate way to be free, but you can have a sense of self even in the arms of Sibyl. That itself is spectacular."
Akane folded her arms. "That's unfortunate, Makishima-san. I don't have any plans on being different."
"I figured so, you're after all a busy training school student," he reasoned.
Her bus was going to arrive soon. She would like to settle things with Makishima quickly as possible and just go home and do her homework.
"Makishima-san, have you realized you hadn't actually given me many reasons to like you?" she inquired.
The steady drum of rain filled in the silence in which Makishima was trying to formulate an answer without changing his facial expression. After what seemed like half a minute, the lack of response was getting quite awkward. She really hoped his silence didn't mean that he hadn't realized.
"...you must have amazing friends, Makishima-san," Akane said flatly. "Because frankly, your method of building personal relationships is quite… unique."
Makishima almost looked surprised. "I don't have any friends."
Usually if someone said they didn't have any friends, it was polite to correct them and say that they were being too pessimistic about themselves. However, Akane weighed the options and figured that it actually made a lot of sense.
That didn't mean she had any idea how to respond to that fact so decided it would be best not to comment on it.
"Then you should know, I have no reason to want to have you as my flatmate or friend," she said firmly. "You're still a stranger to me."
This was when Makishima's smile finally wavered. "You need to know more about me?"
"I'm saying, if you are trying to become friends with someone, there has to be a sense of trust," she explained briefly. "Until you can give me any reason why I can trust you then I refuse to be familiar with you."
She then turned round, only to see her bus already parked next to the stop with all the awaiting students filing inside, in cover of the rain.
Oh no.
Without another word to Makishima, she launched into a full sprint down the school steps. An endless wall of rain seemed to crash through her, but her eyes were fixed on the bus, which was already rumbling to a start. When she was down to the last ten steps, she picked up speed, but the puddles under her feet oiled over the next step and she slipped. The bus drove away just as she skidded gracefully to the floor.
Next time she was late for the bus, Akane reminded herself to just wait for the next one.
Rain still pounded against her back as she slowly tried to crawl into a sitting position. Fortunately, she didn't feel as if anything was broken except for her dignity and evening schedule. Her arm though, was a different matter. She managed to scrape the skin against the pavement, chewing up the limb into a rough patch of bleeding red.
A pair of warm hands grasped her shoulders and a soft mutter drowned out by the pittering water. A yellow umbrella was discarded next to her.
"That's quite a graze," a painfully familiar voice ebbed into her jumbled thoughts. "You need to put some pressure on it. Do you have a handkerchief in your bag?"
"Yes," she mumbled, just a little disorientated from her short free-fall.
A flower-printed cloth was pressed tightly on top of the wound. "Hold it like this. We should go back to your school clinic," he prompted.
"The nurse has gone home," she argued.
"I know first-aid."
Akane gave him a horrified look.
"A good way to build trust, is it not?" he reasoned.
"I'd much rather go to a hospital."
Makishima nodded without much protest and helped her stand up. He picked up the umbrella again and held it over them, whilst arranging a taxi through a Commu Device he had in his pocket.
During then, Akane stared vacantly at the blood dribbling down her elbow. She remembered she once grazed her knee before, her assigned doctor at the hospital told her mother-
No wait. Akane remembered she had a problem. She was still only 17 years old.
Sibyl had a long protocol when it came to hospital visits. Forms to sign including when and where did her injuries take place, more forms concerning medicine, all which had be completed by the patient or a guardian if s/he was a minor. Akane was a minor.
She was going to have to call her parents. In which her mother will scream, her dad will go into a cardiac rest and she was going to be forced back into her parent's home even if the accident didn't happen in her apartment.
Day Three was going to be her last Day.
Unless…
"Cancel the taxi!" she blurted.
Makishima stopped talking on his Commu Device. "Excuse me?"
"I'll… I'll just clean it up my arm by myself," she said. "Sorry for the trouble, but please cancel the taxi."
He nodded, concluding his call with just a few more words. "Fine, I cancelled it. Shall we go?"
Akane wiped her damp fringe out of her face. "We?"
She didn't receive any elaboration. Makishima's just leaned closer to her face as if about to share a secret. "If you refuse," he began in a gentle voice. "I can always pick you up and carry you back to school for everyone to see."
Day Three and Akane was sure she had just got blackmailed by a homeless man.
Makishima dutifully followed her into the school building, through the winding corridors that lead to the nurse's clinic. He of course had never been there before, but moved around the room with such confidence, he could have fooled the school into thinking he had worked there for years.
He let Akane wash her arm in the sink whilst fishing out a gauze and a roll of bandages from a drawer. He then beckoned her to sit opposite him whilst he dressed her wound with ease.
"You run quite fast," Makishima abruptly commented. "I nearly lost you."
"That was somewhat the point," she deadpanned.
"Well, I don't have any intention of losing sight of you. You're going to need to try harder than that, Tsunemori Akane," he informed. "Though… throwing yourself down a staircase may be overdoing it."
She exasperated. "You know, what you're doing right now doesn't change anything between us, Makishima-san."
He looked up from his work. "I know. I'm still a stranger. But if you want, you can ask me a personal question."
"Just one question?"
"Two, if you must."
Akane rolled her eyes, it was not like she was going anywhere with Makishima still wrapping up her arm. "Okay... are you unemployed?"
His bandaging steered to a halt.
"I'm sorry?" For the first time, he looked quite taken back.
"Most adults your age would be completely swallowed up by work, seven days a week, from early morning to late evenings. The fact that you had wandered aimlessly and fell asleep outside my door, that you'd spontaneously decide to spend time with a girl you barely knew, and that you'd even go meet me outside my school is some indication that your work schedule is pretty much non-existent," she grounded out.
For a second there, Makishima looked as if he was about to laugh. The smile was growing impossibly wider with his eyes lighting up a bright gold.
He managed to stay calm by resuming focus on her arm.
"I'm… currently working at a school," he replied calmly. "As a librarian."
"Well, you do seem to enjoy literature," she admitted. "Sorry if that came out quite rudely."
"There's nothing to apologize for," he said, and grinned- not smiled, but a toothy grin which looked less graceful but more kiddish. He still looked as if he wanted to laugh.
Akane noticed that he had finished dressing her graze, but his hands were still holding her arm and he wasn't announcing that he was done. He stroked a thumb over the bandaging and slowly pulled away, resting his hands on his knees.
Admittedly, he did quite a good job wrapping her arm up- much better than Akane would have done by herself. Though she was no professional medic, she could not help think that he performed a bit too well, as if he was experienced with taking care of wounds. He did say he knew first aid.
What kind of school librarian knows first aid?
She frowned at him.
"Is there a problem, Akane-chan?"
"No, nothing," she said and stood up. "Thank-you for helping me, Makishima-san. You can go home now… wherever that is."
Just as Akane climbed out of her seat, another call of "Akane-chan" stopped her. Makishima reached into his pocket and placed some neatly folded bank notes on her palm.
"Use this to get a ride home. I need to go think for a bit."
"Wha-?"
"I'll see you shortly, Akane-chan."
Makishima left first, and disappeared at the next corridor. Seriously. She followed the trail which he vanished from but was only welcomed by an empty passageway.
Day Three and Akane pretty much robbed a homele- no wait, he wasn't homeless anymore, he was a school librarian. That didn't make her feel any better.
She went home by taxi instead of a bus since she was still a little damp and didn't feel like squeezing into a bus already threatening to spill out its passengers. She ended up being in conflict with whether or not to use Makishima's money, whilst she didn't like borrowing from others, not using it would mean she was giving him an excuse to come back for it. After a fifteen minute mental battle with herself, she ended up paying the taxi driver by card, Makishima's money weighing rocks in her pocket. Even when he wasn't with her he was still giving her a headache.
She practically flew up to her apartment, ordering Candy to turn on the heating at full blast. Her bandaged arm stopped her from taking a shower, so she opted for a hot bath. After she changed into some dry clothes, she felt considerably revived enough to make progress on her homework.
Not long later, Akane decided to have dinner, but before she could make an order from Candy, the Avatar abruptly bounced in front of her on its own.
"Makishima Shogo is at the door!" Candy sang. "But oh dear, it's raining outside! Should I let him in?"
That was faster than expected.
"Open the door, but don't let him into the hallway," she sighed, finding the money he gave her. She was going to settle things between them maturely, without involving more falling down staircases.
Day Three and she was breaking up with her seriously-not-real-don't-believe-him flatmate.
From the two hours that he had went to 'think for a while,' he returned with his more polite smile, rather than his slightly more cheerful expressions. Akane wondered if Makishima categorized his different smiles on purpose or if he didn't really realize that they were all different in the first place.
He folded up his yellow umbrella but made no move to put it away or take off his soaked shoes.
"Akane-chan," he greeted her. "I thought it would take longer to convince you to see me again."
"Makishima-san, thank-you for the money and for taking care of my arm," she said, returning the bank notes an outstretched arm. "That's all I wanted to see you for. At this point, I'd quite like to say good-bye."
"Well, that would be a little disappointing," he confessed, accepting the money from her. "I had hoped I could talk with you again."
"Makishima-san," she repeated again more firmly. "I thought I made it clear I wasn't interested in making friends with you. Please, I stuck to your promise and even went out to have coffee with you yesterday."
Makishima's polite smile didn't as much twitch. "Yes, I understand that my approach wasn't the best," he agreed. "I'd like to… apologize. I may have been a bit too eager to speak with you again."
An apology, it was a start.
"That's why I'd like to start over again; Tsunemori Akane, please give me a few minutes of your time a day," he proposed.
"...eh?"
"Even if it is just a short conversation, I'd like to meet you, and hopefully become friends. It can be wherever you like, at a bus stop, on your way to school, a library, anywhere and anytime your schedule could spare."
It took a while for the words to sink in. "You… want to see me for a few minutes a day, literally a few minutes."
"That wouldn't be too disruptive, would it?" he inquired.
Before Akane could respond, Candy materialized in between them. "Ehh you two are still standing here? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to sit inside?"
Akane slapped a hand over the hologram in a flustered motion, turning the pink octopus into nothing but a shower of pixels. She reminded herself to tweak her AI's social mechanics later.
"Well, it's not exactly disruptive," she said distractedly. "Did you… was this the reason you had to 'go think for a bit?'"
For some reason, Akane was feeling more sheepish for pointing it out than Makishima nodding at her.
She awkwardly broke eye-contact from him. "Is this how you normally socialize, Makishima-san?"
"No, this is a first," he said. "I approach my acquaintances quite differently- and that approach I felt was not suitable with you."
Nothing he had just said there made any sense to Akane. She was about to ask about his 'acquaintances' but he quickly changed subject.
"I hope you can understand that I'm not keen on talking about myself, but putting it that way, I have no right to ask about you then," he rationalized. "Still, I'm quite happy to start with small talk, books even. I'd love to discuss more with you, maybe even start with Steinbeck if you've read any of his work."
Akane had read Steinbeck. She didn't say though.
"If you're only looking to make a friend…" she hesitated for a moment, Makishima's suggested places to meet were all public areas, where there would be dozens of security cameras and police drones being available to her comfort. "...well, I can at least think about it."
The polite smile switched over and his eyes brightened up.
Without warning, Akane was enveloped into a crushing hug. As well as his lack of experience with friends, Akane assumed that hugging wasn't something he did often because the life was getting squeezed out of her and her feet were dangling off the ground.
"Makishima-san, I can't breathe!" she rasped.
He loosened his hold a bit. "Hugging people is such delicate work, isn't it?"
"I didn't say we're friends yet! So please let go!"
She also didn't get how he could be so strong and look so slim at the same time.
Makishima gently set her on the ground, looking quite content despite her not giving him a straightforward answer. He stood there patiently whilst she tried to compose herself. When Akane opened her mouth to say something but a deep growl interrupted her. This time, it came from her stomach. Scarlet flooded her cheeks and she turned away.
"I'll… meet you next week after school, at the café you showed me," she said briskly. "I'll tell you then."
"You seem hungry, Akane-chan," Makishima pointed out lightly. "Since I'm not as homeless as you thought, shall I take you out for dinner?"
"Please leave, before I reconsider meeting you again," she warned.
Day Three and she was organizing dates with guys already. Her dad would probably faint.
Makishima opened the door, but before he stepped out, he reached over and ruffled her hair. It was so unexpecting that Akane stood there numbly without much response.
"I'll see you in a week, Tsunemori Akane," he said, beaming grin, bright gold eyes and all.
Akane's own eyes widened a little.
"Hm, is there something wrong?"
She instantly shook her head. "Good-bye, Makishima-san," she said briskly.
Makishima didn't look quite satisfied with his lack of answer, but brushed it off and smoothed down her hair. He gave her a backward wave and hopped out of the apartment, the bright yellow umbrella blossoming over his head. Akane didn't watch him leave the floor, she shut the door and moved away from it as quickly as possible.
There was no need for Makishima to know what she just saw.
Day Three and Akane just realized that... Makishima-san had nice eyes.
THIS ONE IS FOR YOU, WRATH.
Whilst this was a lot of fun, I think this will be the last Day I write of Makishima's shenanigans. Akane will have to deal with the rest of his trolol off-screen. BUT, I DO PROMISE AN EPILOGUE. AND THIS ONE WON'T TAKE FOREVER.
THANK-YOU FOR READING, GUYS.
Pie