Well, I certainly did not expect that many „Hanako & Lilly" responses... ^^; Guess I'll have to resort to killing two birds with one stone.
Well. I'm genuinely interested as to how Lilly's doing. Hanako's probably going to be around too, so I might as well check on her. Hopefully everything goes all good.
The question is, where they might be? It's probably after lessons already, but for certain reasons I don't feel like going back to girls' dorm. Hm. Perhaps the library? If I can catch Hanako in there, perhaps she will be able to tell me where can I find Lilly. I can also chat with her too. Maybe.
That being said, it's also some time since I last saw Rin. What might she be up to? I guess she might be around her mural, putting the finishing touches and all. Haven't seen much of Emi as well.
Now that I think of it... Nah. No point in thinking too much for now. Finding someone will be the first priority.
So... the library then.
While entering the possible location of Hanako, I can't help but wonder that I had no time to even read the books borrowed. Shame on me. I used to be an avid reader in the past, then I discovered Internet and, well... let's just say I found myself without much of really free time. Thankfully, it was not the net that kept me occupied during the last week. At least there's that.
Today there's no Yuuko in the library. Guess she's working at Shanghai today. Her place is taken by some bespectacled young man, probably some sort of colleague of hers. He's got blue eyes and is currently reading through a book, curiously, in English. "To kill a mockingbird", that's how it's called. He flips page after page, apparently mighty bored. He seems familiar for some reason...
"Can I help you?" He asks me, breaking my train of thought. He's got a serious, no-nonsense voice and yet he continues to look awfully familiar. He reminds me of someone, but I can't quite put a finger on it.
"Oh, I'm looking for someone." I respond rather absentmindedly. "Was a girl named Hanako here?"
"Not today, from what I recall." The familiar-looking librarian shakes his head. "Lilly's not here either."
"How did you know I'm going to ask about her?" I think I did a pretty good job masking my initial surprise.
"It's always like that." The librarian puts down the book. "On Saturdays, both Hanako and Lilly happen to visit this place together. There were four occasions where an exception from this rule was made.
"...Seriously. Do I know you?" He chuckles, giving me an amused glance and a rather big, shit-eating gr-wait a minute here.
"Lots of new people wonder that." The librarian responds. "I'm Yoshimitsu Miura, probably known as "Best Big Bro Ever", as certain other Miura can assure."
How could I be so blind? It all makes sense. Similar hair color, similarly tanned, a mischievous glint in eyes despite him being infinitely more composed than Miki...
That being said, for all I know her, she didn't mention a word about Yoshimitsu. Perhaps I'm not considered pal enough. Eh.
"Casper Stratoavis. Pleasure to meet you." I respond, this time giving up on the bow. Those people do not learn, ever.
"Can I help you then, Mister Stratoavis?"
"Not really, I'm afraid. I was just looking for those two. Thank you for explaining the situation to me." As I am about to leave, Yoshimitsu suddenly snaps his fingers.
"Oh right, before I forget that!" He says, clasping hands together. "There was that girl from track and field here. She asked if I can give you this letter." The librarian hands me a small sheet of paper, folded in two.
"Huh. Thanks." With a slight nod, I exit the library.
I'm pretty certain Yoshimitsu would not talk about his sister "that girl", so I assume this must be from Emi. What does she want from me though? I must say, it's... pretty unexpected.
The letter – more like a note really – says as it follows: rooftop at 3 PM. Nothing more, nothing less. It's not even signed. Then again, I don't know any other girl from track club sans Miki, so...
Makes me wonder, actually. I guess I can consider her a friend, or at least a good pal. Perhaps she wants to hang out with me on that tomorrow festival? Makes sense. Then again, there's Rin, but on the other hand she doesn't seem like someone very, huh, sociable.
Eh. We'll see.
As I appear on the rooftop, the twintails-haired girl is in her own "civvies", looking down from the rooftop. She's wearing a lemon yellow tank top, denim shorts ending just past her rear – which is rather shamelessly emphasized by them with a positive effect – and long striped socks, likely to cover up the prosthesis.
"Ask of me and I shall be." I say, giving a small smile. Emi turns to face me and, for some reason, for that brief split second I'm afraid that I will see something like worry or sadness. Thankfully, this is not the case. I'm glad.
"You took your time." She responds lightly.
"A bit, I guess. Well, now that you have me here, what can I do for you?" The girl before me seems to be thinking about the answer. Huh? Are you trying to tell me she's improvising?
"Oh, you see, I was just wondering if you're free the next day."
"Have no one to hang out on the festival, eh?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Rin's busy." The way she accents the last word almost makes me think that the armless artist is going to be doing things most forbidden. World domination perhaps?
"Huh. I, uh, I don't really know." I respond with some hesitation, scratching the back of my head.
There's Emi's offer, but I'm pretty sure Saki's going to come up with her own, same for Lilly and Hanako. Heck, I've even heard Kenji, of all people, saying something about a "manly picnic". Sounds dreadful to whoever's invited.
"What do you mean? Don't you find a prospect of spending a day with a cute little lady interesting?" She asks me, playfully grinning.
"Haha, Miss Ibarazaki." I reply with the most deadpan tone I can come up with. "But no, the idea seems captivating enough to consider it. It's just that... I might have another options and it might be hard to pick one."
"Huh. Miki was right, the rumors are true." The way she says it almost instantly reminds me of my chatter with The Power Trio earlier today. Hopefully names of girls I apparently spin between are not known to the public.
"...rumors?" Might as well play fool.
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe." Emi grins in a way I really don't like. It reminds me of the stupidest things Miura mentioned.
Hah. I, the descendant of Toht. I hate that scene.
"Care to enlighten me?"
"Eh. Some people say you're quite a player."
"Do you believe them?"
"Not really. You seem too goodhearted for that." Huh. I must say, that statement genuinely surprised me. "Huh? Something wrong?"
"...I, uh, I'm surprised by that sincerity, is all." I respond a bit hastily. Emi raises an eyebrow.
"...I see." She responds, nodding with a brief frown. Well played, Casper, for the umpteenth time you're screwing something up."Well then, how about you give me a call about your decision?" She asks, back with her smile, taking out a small cellphone. "Let me write down your number, eh?"
"Sure thing." I nod in response, letting her do the thing as I dictate it to her. "Do you have anything particular in mind about that festival?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, you know, the places you're going to visit."
"Nothing really." She responds, shrugging. "I'm just going with the flow. Do you have any?"
"Considering this is my first festival in here, not really." Emi rolls eyes at my poorly-hidden snark.
"Well excuse me that you didn't do your research." She responds, playfully scoffing. "Anyway, thanks. Give me a call tomorrow morning, will ya?"
As we part ways, I do a mental check list. Well, seems my meeting with twintails-haired girl takes care of both her and Rin. Now, Lilly and Hanako. Funny how I was looking for them in the first place and got sidetracked in the meantime. Hopefully I can find them too. That being said, for some reason I think they're not the type to have fun on the festival. I guess Lilly might, but Hanako seems bit panicky when surrounded by too many people. If I'll get an invitation from them, we'll probably wander to somewhere quiet, like Shanghai.
There are also Shizune and Misha. Can't forget about Hisao either, although he seems like he'll tag along those two. So, who else? There's Saki, of course, but for some reason I think I could also hang around with The Power Trio and Mikhail, or with Misaki or with Rika... there are a few options.
For reasons I cannot only describe as "preserving my sanity", Kenji is not an option.
My flow of thought gets interrupted with a crash. Someone has just bumped right next into me. This certain someone falls down to the ground with a sudden yelp. I, thankfully, manage to keep my balance.
Hanako. How very convenient.
"Are you okay?" I ask her, giving a worried look. There's still that ankle of hers. Even if treated, it might start acting up again. Lilly's not around with her, noted.
"Y-yeah..." She responds, not looking me in the eye. Eh. Shy again, I guess. I offer her a hand to stand up which she hesitantly accepts.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I w-was looking for Lilly..." Purple-haired girl again looks the other way. "H-have you seen her?"
"Not really. In fact, I'm looking for her as well."
"...Y-you do?" She seems surprised.
"Yeah. I was wondering if she has any plans for tomorrow. This festival is apparently a big thing."
"Oh... I-I think she has some p-plans already." Hm. I have no reason to accuse her of lying, so...
"Oh. I see." I nod in response. Hanako seems uncomfortable for some reason.
"Y-yeah." There's a longer moment of silence between us.
"Do you want me to help you find her?" I ask, giving her a cautious glance. She nods after a longer while.
"S-sure..."
And with that, we begin our search around Yamaku. For some reason it reminds me of what happened between me and Rika not so long ago. This time, however, the mysterious aura combined with a taste of risk of being caught at night is replaced by certain degree of awkwardness... Gah. I don't think I can describe that.
"Do you have any idea where she might be?" I ask at some point.
"S-she's not in the library, t-that's for sure." She responds, thinking. She must have visited it earlier while I was on the rooftop.
"Any other ideas?"
"W-well, there's the t-tea room..." Right. How did I not think of this? I nod in response.
Without further ado, we head there. She's not in here either.
"Hm. Troubling..." I murmur, seeing as Hanako's getting increasingly worried. "Do you happen to have a number to her?"
"I, uh, I d-don't have a phone..." Yeah. Thought so. "B-but I think I remem-mber it... you know, j-just in case..."
"Sweet. I'll dial her then." I pick up my own cellphone, the trusty, rock-solid Nokia 3310. The model might be old, but it's still hideously hard to damage and because of that highly functional. I don't really use that phone for anything other than texting and phoning, to be honest. After all, that's what the phones are for.
"Hello?" I can hear Lilly's slightly distorted voice.
"Good morning, Lilly. Casper speaking."
"Oh. Good morning." I can feel her smiling, somehow. "Did Hanako give you my phone number?"
"Precisely. May I ask where you are? We're a bit worried, can't find you anywhere."
"Oh, I'm sorry for that, I should have told Hanako where I'm going." There's some worry in her voice, I can see why. No offense to the fringe girl, but leaving her on her own somewhere can end bad very quick, if only because of her social awkwardness. "I'm having tea with Saki at the moment, we're in her room."
...Cold shivers down my spine. Seems I just can't seem to be allowed to forget what happened.
"I see. Do you mind if we pay you a visit?"
"Not at all."
"Well, we'll see you around then." And with that, I hang off the phone. "Would you happen to know Saki Enomoto, Hanako?" I ask the fringe girl, giving her a cautious look. She nods, but the nod seems more nervous than usual.
"Y-yeah... why do you ask?"
"Lilly's in her room." I respond, trying to give my voice a casual note. She doesn't seem to like it too much though.
"...oh." She murmurs.
"Shall I assist you on your way there?"
"A-aren't you invited too?" Yeah, I am.
Should I go though? I don't know if Saki's the one to spill the beans about things like the ones from yesterday evening. Hopefully she does have some basic understanding of tact. Question number two, is there a possibility that Lilly knows? Probably not, but she might have heard the rumors, dismissed them as silly... and then saw us in-oh wait. Still, she can hear, probably better than others. She might catch undertones, if there will be any... though I'm sure she wouldn't go and reveal it to the public. She's not this kind of person, hopefully.
Eh. Shizune and Misha are not around anyway. Might be busy with Hisao.
"Yeah, I am." I respond after a longer while of internal monologue.
"...you d-don't seem eager to c-come."
"It's that noticeable?" I allow myself a small, bitter chuckle. "Don't worry. I'm fine."
Am I?
Hopefully I won't be acting too nervous.
I knock to the door. Saki's room is yet again before me.
"Come in." I can hear her chirping voice. Makes me even more nervous.
I slowly open the door, letting Hanako get in there first. She seems a bit anxious as well, though unlike for me for her it seems to be a standard course of action. I, on the other hand, have little excuse, if any.
"Hey! You keep us waiting." She says, giving us an inviting gesture and smiling. Such a beautiful smile she has. I can see Lilly smiling too, though obviously she does not see us. "Come in, come in." She adds, encouraging us to go further inside. I give her a slightly nervous glance which she repays with a mischievous smirk.
Bugger.
What to make of it? Are we a couple? Was it a one-night stand or did something really kick out back then? Does she love me? Do I love her?
Are we really a couple?
"Hey, Saki... can I ask you for a four-eyes chat outside?" I try not to look her in the eye. She's still smiling. Still keeping the damn smile.
"Sure thing. Help yourself, Hanako, tea's over there." She responds, pointing at the small teapot before she leaves with me.
Okay. Now to think this through and reconsider what I want to say. Carefully with all of that. Care-ful-ly.
"How can I help you?" She asks, supporting herself with her cane.
"There's a matter I'd like to discuss with you, Saki. An important matter. " I respond after a while of hesitation. Now or never, I guess...
"Hm? Regarding what happened yesterday, I take?"
"Yeah." Long moment of silence. Too long. I can see her chuckling. Why is she chuckling? Is she laughing at me now? Finds it funny?
She approaches me slowly, standing just inches from me now. The hallway's deserted, how very convenient.
"I guess both of us don't know for sure." She murmurs, tracing fingers around my chest. "I like you, but do you like me?"
"I surely do, but... I..." Gah. I've no idea what to say. Her mere presence is enough to send me into incoherent stuttering. "I don't know if it's like a friend or... like something more. I, uh... I don't think I would make a good boyfriend." She seems to slowly weigh my words.
"We know each other rather shortly..." Saki starts, staring at me cautiously. "but despite that we got physical so fast as on day three of our meetings." I'm about to make a comment it's her who started it in the first place, but I don't think it would help my case. "I guess it's my fault." That catches me off guard. Huh? "I made a move... probably too fast for you. I understand you might be having trouble with relationships..." She hesitates for a while.
"...I..." I'm completely torn apart. What do I say to her? Do I love her? Do I just long for her physically?
What do I do?
"Your choice, Mister Stratoavis... your choice." Don't do it to me right now, Nega. Don't you dare interrupt me now! "Aw, you're upset. You really do like her. More than a friend, even if you refuse to admit it." Shut up. I don't need to listen to this. "You will, and for a long time, my friend. Long, long time. You must win your game of chess after all..."
...what? No, this can't be happening right now. Not now!
I'm back in the blackened room with two armchairs and a table with a chessboard on it. Nega smiles mockingly.
"You're not paying enough attention, my friend." He says, chuckling. "Bishop beats Queen." A figure of the demon cloaked in shadows pierces with its finger through Agusu's miniature sculpture, making it explode in a shower of blood. He's doing this on purpose, just to spite me more.
"...Pawn beats Bishop." I respond, giving him a challenging glare. A figurine of Suzu whacks Mephisto with a procured newspaper like a fly, sending it away flying. Nega seems bemused. "Taking down my Queen that easily? I do believe you said you're going easy on me."
"Changed my mind. I like to spice things up without any warning." He sips his wine, savoring the taste. "We had games like that back in the past, when you were thinking more about me and less about other things. You might not have been aware of it, but you've been winning all of those."
"Must be some crazy skill if I keep besting you even when unconscious."
"That's why I'm loosening the restraints. It's not my full potential, not just yet. Consider this however a real match rather than a warm-up."
"Hmph." ...Very well, Nega. I'll play that little game of yours. "Knight beats Pawn." A figurine of Saki impales a Scarecrow with its cane, making it explode into cream-colored goo. My other self frowns.
"Not bad."
Blink. I'm back in the real life... am I being shaken? What the-
I jerk back, seeing again. Saki's just before me, holding my arms, looking pretty mortified. Her cane's around her left hand, but it's not on the ground. She's using me as a support now.
"...I must have spaced out." It's all I can come up with as an explanation. It sounds silly. Stupid. "I'm sorry." It's all spontaneous, but I pull her into an awkward hug. She's surprised, but hugs back a moment later.
"Saki. I'd like to tell you something."
[]I respect you as a person and I really like you... but I don't think I'm ready for this.
[]You were right yesterday. I do like you more than a friend.
Mwahaha! I kept you all waiting, didn't I? There you go then, choose wisely... :3 Other than that, review with passion.