"Great. Cleaning duty. Totally forgot that we had to clean today." Mikoto said with a sarcastic sigh.
Class 2-C were volunteered by Hanai to clean the classroom without our consent. So, the girls and I each had a broom in hand and swept the floor while conversing.
"Well, I think this is fun." I said, enjoying the cleaning activity.
Eri stopped sweeping and raised an eyebrow towards me. "You call this fun? I call this slave work." She said, feeling agitated by this. I guess she's not use to cleaning since she is rich...
"Lighten up Eri. I think it's fun because we can to clean as a group. Plus, it gives us more time to chat with each other." I said with a slight chuckle.
"I guess you're right Sai. It beats going straight home with nothing to do." Mikoto said as she held the broom in place and leaned on it.
"Let's go to the cafe for cake and tea after we're done cleaning." Akira suggested, not taking her eyes off the floor she's sweeping.
"Oh! Sounds like a perfect plan!" I said with excitement.
"Yeah. The five of us definitely deserve some tea time." Eri added.
Mikoto didn't say anything but instead, examined the classroom. "You guys..." she started speaking. "Where's Tenma?"
Akira, Eri and I stopped sweeping and followed Mikoto's gaze around the classroom. We could see all our other classmates but Tenma was nowhere to be seen. "Did she ditch us and went straight home?" Eri asked, feeling annoyed.
"Hm? If I recall, I did hear Tenma mentioning something about a re-run special on Three for the Kill." Akira said, placing a finger to her chin.
Mikoto let out a sigh and shook her head. "Of course. It's her favorite show. She'll do anything to watch it. Even if it means skipping out on cleaning duty."
I shrugged my shoulders and continued sweeping. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about the silly girl anymore." I said with a smile.
Everyone else nodded their heads and continued cleaning. After a few minutes of silence, Eri stopped her actions and pointed at a person on the opposite side of the classroom. "Look at that girls." We eyed at the person and noticed she was pointing at Harima. "What is that Hige doing here?"
I let out a slight blush at the sight of him. What is he doing? I know he has a reason to stay in school, but I didn't expect him to stay for cleaning duty. Did something made him want to stay?
"Woah. I can't believe Harima is here cleaning." Mikoto said in amazement.
"Never expected that." Akira said cooly.
Most of the students eyed Harima as well. Harima on the other was oblivious to the stares, he seemed to be spaced out as usual. It really feels as if anything coming from him would be like a rare exhibit to see. It's really strange...
"You know, maybe Harima doesn't have anything better to do." I said, trying not to make it obvious that I was trying to defend for the delinquent's decision to stay.
"It's funny how Hige stayed and Tenma ditched us." Eri said as she looked away and continued sweeping the floor.
Everyone else looked away and continued their cleaning duty. I was the only person still looking at Harima. He seemed to snap out of his daze and quickly made eye contact with me.
With my face flushed, I quickly turned my gaze away and stared at the ground. I then gripped on my broom stick tightly and swept the floor viciously. Oh crap. He caught me staring at him. Does he think I'm weird now?
After a few more minutes of utter silence, except for the orchestra sounds of brooms sweeping the floor, I heard footsteaps approaching us. Akira was the first one to notice the figure stopping in front of us. "Hm?" was the only thing that escaped her mouth.
Eri and Mikoto stopped what they were doing and tried their best not to make their jaws drop. I looked at them in confusion and then turned around. There, Harima was standing in front of me.
"Hey, New Girl." Harima spoke up. He still calling me 'New Girl' huh? I kind of like the nickname he's given me.
Ignoring the weird stares I'm receiving from my friends and classmates, I smiled towards Harima. "Hey there Harima. What's up?"
He reached into his pocket and took something out. "Here." My umbrella was on his hand and he tossed it to me. I was caught off guard from this and had it jumbled around before I finally caught it. "Thanks for letting me borrow it the other day. Sorry I couldn't have given it back sooner."
I could feel my face flushing once again. I felt a tingle in my chest. I don't know why but it's nice of Harima to return my umbrella. Even if it took a few days for him to do it though. "Don't worry about that Harima." was the only thing I said as my response.
"Well, see you later." He said, putting his broom down and walked out of the classroom.
Eyes were still staring at me. I could feel some sort of tension behind me as I slowly turned around to see the girls eyeing me with curious looks. I smiled nervously, trying to think about what to say. What do I say? What do I say? What do I say!? Will they even believe me if I told them that I only want to be friends with Harima? I know they're going to tease me for sure! "I-I...I can explain ladies."
Eri was the first to close her jaw and speak up. "What were-"
"GIRLS! BOY AM I GLAD TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN!" Tenma screamed into the classroom, cutting off Eri. She ran towards us and gathered us in a bear hug. Confusion swarmed all over my face as we stared at the now crazy girl.
"Did something happen to you Tenma?" I questioned her.
"Yeah. We thought you went home." Mikoto added.
Tenma let go of us and looked at us with watery eyes. "Yeah! I was trapped in the equipment room!"
"The equipment room?" Akira questioned.
"What were you doing there?" Eri asked, still giving Tenma an odd look.
"I was putting the gym equipment away in the room until I heard someone closed the door and locked it! I spent the past however long trying to reopen that door! I thought I was going to die in there!" Tenma yelled out.
I was shocked to hear that from Tenma." What? You got locked in?"
"Yes!" She yelped. "I was thirsty and hungry! I really thought I would spend the rest of my life in there!" She then grabbed Mikoto's shoulders and started shaking her as she kept talking. "It was dark and scary in there! Really felt like forever! Thank goodness somebody actually heard me screaming and opened the door for me! How many years went by girls!?"
The four of us continued to look at Tenma as if she's completely gone crazy. "Tenma, you were only gone for an hour." Mikoto said, lightly patting the crying girl.
"What!? An hour!?" Tenma screamed in shock. "But it felt longer..."
Eri shook her head and crossed her arms. "Honestly, I don't know what kind of weird situations you've been getting yourself into." She then let out a sigh. "No matter, at least you're safe now."
Tenma took some deep breaths to calm herself. "Yeah. I'm so relieved now."
"Now that the five of us are here, let's go to the cafe." Akira said.
I smiled and nodded my head. "Yes, let's go."
The girls and I put the brooms away and grabbed our bags, we changed our shoes at the show locker and made our way towards the Cafe. We each sat down at a booth and ordered our drinks and desserts. After a couple minutes of laughter and chatter, Mikoto's face lit up as if she thought of something interesting.
"You know, that reminds me, we didn't get to interrogate Sai since Tenma interrupted us." Mikoto said, turning her attention towards me.
My body tensed up as I put a spoonful of pudding in my mouth. My cheeks turned rosy again as I took the spoon out and swallowed hard. Oh man. I was hoping they'd forget. I guess this was eventually going to happen. No use on wishing they're forget the events during cleaning duty ever happened.
Tenma looked back and forth between Mikoto and I. "Hm? I interrupted something? What happened?" She asked curiously.
Eri set down her cup of tea and smirked towards Tenma. "It seems our 'New Girl' shared an umbrella with Hige the other day." She said teasingly, eyeing my nervous self.
I held my hands together as my face started to feel warm. My heart was pumping where it felt like it would rip out of my chest and run away.
"WHAAAT!?" Tenma screamed in disbelief. Akira covered her mouth and 'shushed' her since we were in a public area. "When did you share your umbrella with him!? How come we didn't know?" She whispered loudly.
"I would like to know as well." Mikoto asked, crossing her arms.
I grabbed my spoon and started playing with my pudding. I scooped up a small chunk and stuffed it in my mouth. "Hm...well..." I started speaking. "It was the day of our softball game." I swallowed my pudding. "Instead of seeing Mr. Tani, I actually went to the infirmary to check on Harima." I fessed up the truth. "He didn't have an umbrella on him so I offered to share mine with him. That's all."
"Hm. How interesting." Akira said, sipping her cup of tea.
"Woah! I'd never expect that." Mikoto winked at me.
"Never knew Hige would do something like that. Let alone do something like this with a girl." Eri said, eyes closed and arms crossed.
"Do you like Harima!?" Tenma blurted out with joy and excitement.
I froze and felt my eyes widened. "W-What?" I panicked. Why would she ask a question like that!? "N-No!" My face flushed slightly. I don't even know if I'm telling the truth!
"She's blushing." Akira said, pointing out the redness on my cheeks.
"Seems to me you do." Eri said, eyeing me cautiously.
"You must like him Sai!" Tenma shouted. "There is no way anyone would do something like that with Harima and NOT like him!"
I held my hands up to defend myself. "I-I don't!" I semi-lied. I'm still unsure of my feelings. "I was just being kind and offered to help him. I wouldn't want him to go home drenched in the heavy rain. Wouldn't you ladies do the same for him?"
My friends looked at each other and then back at me. "No." Was all they said in unison. My eyes widened from their response. "Why no?" I questioned.
Eri moved closer to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Hon. That Hige is not the type of person anyone wants to be friends with. He's like a lone wolf. He doesn't really let anyone talk to me. I myself am surprised that Hige would let you do such a thing."
I was pretty shocked to hear that from Eri. Am I the first person to actually show acts of kindness towards Harima?
"You know.." Tenma spoke up, placing a finger to her chin, "I really think Sai is the only person who actually talks to Harima. I don't think we've ever seen anyone else in class trying to talk to him. We usually leave him alone."
"Eh? Really?" I questioned. I guess what Tenma just said answered my question...
"Yeah. Especially since you walked home with him and shared an umbrella with him!" She teased, making kissing, lovely dovey noises towards me.
I started blushing from embarrassment and groaned. Why...
"Who knows, maybe Harima might have a crush on the "New Girl.'" Mikoto said, emphasizing on the nickname Harima gave me.
WHY!?...
Eri chuckled from this and gave me a mischievous look. "Who would've thought Hige, the lone wolf, would know how love feels."
"Argh." I sighed in defeat and placed my hands on my forehead to hide more embarrassment. "I just wanted to be friends with Harima. Is that a problem?" I said to them with a frown.
"Of course it's not a problem. We were just teasing you Hun." Eri said with a reassuring smile, probably feeling slightly guilty about the teasing.
Mikoto gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry Eri. It was fun teasing you about Suga but maybe we've probably gone too far about Harima." She then gave me a reassuring smile. "Lighten up though. We don't see a problem in being friends with him. Heck, its actually nice to see Harima being friendly with someone."
"Yeah Sai!" Tenma said, walking behind me and patting my back. "I approve of your friendship with Harima!" She then gave me a thumbs up as she walked back to her seat.
Akira stayed silent but nodded her head in agreement with the ladies.
Letting out another heavy sigh, I then looked at the ladies with a pout on my face. "Okay."
We finished up the rest of our snacks and paid for the bill. After that was over, Mikoto, Eri and Akira went home one way while Tenma and I headed the other way.
The two of us were roaming down the crowded streets in silence until Tenma broke the ice. "So Sai." She began speaking. I turned to my right and looked at my friend. "Hm?"
She turned left to make eye contact with me. "What made you want to be friends with Harima?" She questioned.
"Huh?" I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well...I mean...I know you're a really nice person and you'd like to be friends with everyone...but...was there something about him that caught your interest?" She asked, not joking around.
I stared at her dumbfounded. Tenma can be a gullible person, but she sure does that smart questions when it comes to a situation like this. "You can say something like that." I placed my hands behind my back and held my hands. "I do find Harima to be an interesting character but I don't know what it is about him that catches me."
"I see! How cute Sai!" She said with a bright smile and her tiny pigtails perked up. "I wish I have the same hospitality as you!"
I couldn't help but to laugh at her statement. Such a silly girl she is...I appreciate being friends with her.
We stepped at the street threshold, waiting for the red light to turn. Tenma and I stood there, watching each car passing by until we noticed something from a far distance that caught our attention.
"Hey look!" Tenma raised her voice as she pointed at a figure from a distance. "It's Harima!"
The thing that caught our attention was Harima, riding his motorbike, driving down the steep road at rapid speed. Along with that, I noticed that a truck pulled up onto the road from the intersection just up ahead. With the amount of speed Harima is driving, he'll eventually clash into that truck and hurt himself!
"He's going to T-bone that truck!" I shouted, pointing at the truck. I could feel my hand shaking in fear of Harima's possible outcome.
Tenma gasped at the sudden realization. The both of us could see Harima shouting something towards us but he was too far for us to hear. "Harima!" Tenma shouted his name. "Look out for that tru-"
She didn't get a chance to finish her warning because Harima noticed the incoming truck at the last second. Instead of crashing into it, Harima swerved a hard left and his motorbike slid a couple feet. Losing the momentum, Harima let go of the bike and landed on the ground.
My hand covered my mouth the entire time. I was in utter shock at what we just witnessed. Harima just avoided a possible terrible accident! "H-Harima!" I shouted his name. Tenma and I looked both ways before rushing to his aid. I kneel next to him and cautiously remove his helmet to check for injuries. So far, I only noticed scratches on his face and arms. The only serious thing I see is a bump on his forehead.
"Is Harima alright!?" Tenma asked. I didn't respond to her question as I whipped out my cellular phone and called an ambulance. I told the operator the events that happened and our location. The medics arrived and carried him away. We were then told that Harima would be taken to Yagami Hospital. Luckily, he wasn't seriously hurt so the medics mentioned that he should be awake within an hour or so.
Tenma and I were in disbelief at what just happened. Feeling worried, we both agreed to buy some flowers and visit him immediately to check up on him. I really do hope he's alright. This is the second time I see Harima get hurt and the first time was an accident but this is just crazy! I could feel my heart beating rapidly at the thought of Harima. Maybe I'm just worried about him. I'm relieved that he managed to avoid an even worse accident. Or else that would've been really, really bad.
I phone my parents to notify them that I'd be home a bit later. With the flowers in my hand, Tenma and I reached Yagami Hospital and was led to one of the rooms Harima was in. Tenma knocked on the door and slowly opened it when we heard a voice. There, we see Harima sitting up on the bed and Ms. Itoko sitting on a chair, reading a book.
Why is Ms. Itoko visiting Harima? Was she his emergency contact? How strange...
"Hey Harima! Sai and I were worried and we came straight here to see you!" Tenma shouted in joy to see Harima doing well.
"How nice of you girls to come here and see him." Ms. Itoko said, closing her book and getting up from her seat.
I looked at Ms. Itoko, still confused as to why she's here visiting Harima. Not that I have a problem with it, I just find it weird and out of random. "Hello Ms. Itoko. I didn't know you were coming in to visit Harima."
She looked at me blankly but then gave a smile. "Well, I guess you can say something like that."
I cocked my head in confusion but I let it go. There might've been a reason as to why Ms. Itoko is here but I'll just leave that alone.
"How are you feeling Harima?" Tenma asked as the both of us approached the bed.
Harima still had those shades of his on, in which I have no clue how or why they're still on his face. His facial expression was a bit weird but he seemed nervous towards the two of us. "Uh..I-I'm fine..." He spoke quietly.
I let out a sigh of relief. I'm still glad he's okay. "We were worried about you when we saw you skid across the ground. You're lucky I didn't find anything critical from the aftermath." I said, looking at him with concern.
He didn't bother to look at me. His eyes were lowered, transfixed on his bed. "Yeah. Thanks for taking care of me before the ambulance arrived. I guess I am lucky. The only thing I have is a headache from this."
"You should be more careful Harima." Tenma said, scolding him slightly. He still seemed a bit nervous since he didn't respond and only nod his head.
"Oh? I see you ladies brought some flowers." Ms. Itoko spoke, noticed the bouquet with me.
I held them out and smiled, "Yes. We brought it as a 'Get Well' gift for Harima."
Harima finally looked up and made eye contact with me. "T-Thanks..." I could feel my cheeks feeling hot as I looked away nervously. "N-No problem..." I said quietly.
"Here, why don't I take them off your hands and place them in a vase." Ms. Itoko said as she grabbed the bouquet from me and left the room to tend the flowers.
"Oh! That reminds me..." Tenma said as she reached for something in her bag. "I brought some tea bags. Would you like some tea Harima?" She asked him.
He gave Tenma a blank stare but then nodded his head. "What about you Sai? Want some tea?" Tenma asked. I raised an eyebrow towards Harima but then nod my as well towards Tenma. "Sure, I'd like some. Thanks."
Tenma picked up the kettle and looked inside it. "Oh. There's no more water in this pot. I'll go refill it. I'll be back." She said as she stepped out of the room. Now, it was just me and Harima alone.
I could hear my own heart beat since it was silent here. I fiddled my fingers from nervousness. Should I try and make small talk with him? I'm starting to feel awkward with the two of us staying silent...
"How are you feeling Harima?" I asked him, sitting on the chair Ms. Itoko was seated before.
"I'm feeling better. Still have a headache though." He responded.
"Oh. Well, I'm still relieved you had no serious injury. I was really worried about you, you know." I said giving him a small smile.
He raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "You sure are one heck of a friend. I wouldn't think you'd come visit." He said nonchalantly. I don't know why, but I felt sad hearing that from him.
"Of course I'd come and visit. Tenma and I witnessed you go through that! Plus, It would be extremely rude if we didn't come visit you. We wanted to make sure that you're alright. That's what friends are for." I said, giving him another smile.
"I see..." Harima said. "Thank you for caring..."
I felt my cheeks getting flushed. My heart skipped a beat. Palms began to sweat. What is with these feelings? It's definitely different from when I first met Suga. These weird feelings feels a lot stronger.
"Okay you two, I'm back!" Tenma said cheerfully as she entered the room. She held the kettle of hot water and set it on the table next to me. There was a tray of cups and she poured the tea in each cup. I had a scarf on the entire time and took it off so tea wouldn't spill on it. I placed my scarf behind me on the chair so I wouldn't forget.
"Here's your tea Harima." Tenma said as she handed him a cup.
"Oh...Thanks...I...Uh...I love black tea..." Harima said, stuttering his words.
I raised an eyebrow towards him. What's with this sudden change of attitude? He's all jumpy and nervous all of a sudden. Did he hit his head really hard that caused him to act this weird?
The three of us spent the next couple minutes drinking tea and listening to Tenma blabber her mouth about random things. After I took my last sip of tea, I looked at the clock and checked the time. It was close to 5pm.
"Tenma, it's almost five." I told her.
She looked at the clock and widened her eyes. "Oh gosh! Look at the time! It's getting late!" She yelled.
Harima eyed the clock as well and then put his cup of tea down. "I guess it already is. You two should head home before it gets dark."
I placed the empty cup back on the tray and picked up my bag. "Yeah, you're right. We should get going Tenma." I spoke to my friend.
"Okay. Well, it was nice to know you're okay Harima. We'll see you at school on Monday." Tenma said.
"Yeah. Feel better and rest up for the weekend." I said, waving at Harima.
He still had a weird look on his face when he spoke, "Uh...Yeah...b-bye."
With that, Tenma and I made our way out of the hospital. As soon as we passed through the entrance gate, I realized that I left my scarf on the chair in Harima's room. "Oh no!" I shrieked.
"Eh? Something wrong Sai?" Tenma asked, looking at me in confusion.
I touched the void area around my neck. "I left my scarf in Harima's room. I need to head back and retrieve it."
"Want me to accompany you?" She offered. I shook my head. "No it's fine. You just go home without me. It's getting late and Yakumo must be getting worried."
"Oh, you're probably right Sai. I haven't told Yakumo where I would be." She said, worried about how Yakumo is feeling. "Alright. I'll see you later Sai." Tenma waved and walked away while I turned around and ran back into the hospital.
I hoped into one of the elevators and bumped into Ms. Itoko. "Oh Hello Sai. I thought you left. Did you need something?" She asked.
"Yeah..I left my scarf in Harima's room. I came back to get it." I told her.
Ms. Itoko was holding onto a medium sized vase with the flowers Tenma and I bought. "I see. Let's head back together than. I finally found a vase for the flowers. This hospital didn't have a good size so I had to run out and buy one."
We reached our floor and exited out of the elevator. Ms. Itoko and I walked down the hallway and reached to his room. "You can go in first." Ms. Itoko said, moving aside to let me in first.
"Oh. Thank you Ms. Itoko." I said, smiling at her as I slowly opened the door. I stepped into Harima's room and spoke without paying any attention to my surroundings. "Sorry Harima! I left my scarf here and I came back to get it!"
Instead of getting a response from the injured boy, I was surprised with a sudden hug from Harima. He jumped on me and wrapped his arms around my body. I immediately blushed from this sudden action. I could feel his body heat. He was extremely warm.
Harima then whispered something in my ear. "I love you." He said softly yet meaningful.
I love you...
My face flushed even more at those words.
Harima let go of me and we made eye contact. His facial expression changed drastically as I could suddenly see him freaking out. We were both speechless.
Did Harima just confess to me? He loves me? Did I hear that right? He really told me he loves me. Were the girls correct? Did Harima actually fall in love with me!?
My thoughts were swarmed with questions and I could feel my heart beating rapidly. It literally felt like it was going to jump out of my chest! My face was probably even more flushed and I could tell I was showing obvious signs of blushing!
"Uh..." "Um..." We both stayed speechless.
Ms. Itoko was the only one to break off the awkwardness. "Now, now Harima." She stepped in and grabbed Harima's shoulders. "I think that bump on your head has made you crazy." She then began to lightly push him back onto the bed. "I'm so sorry about this Sai. Go on and grab your scarf. I'll call the doctor to give Harima some medicine. He's just being delusional. That's all." She said, giving me an apologetic smile.
I snapped back and shook my head. I quickly ran towards the chair and picked up my scarf. My cheeks were still red and I could still feel my heart beating rapidly. "O-okay." I stuttered. "I-I'll see you in s-school on Monday H-Harima! B-Bye! Feel b-better!"
I ran straight home and went to my room. I flopped on my bed and held a hand over my chest. My heart was still skipping beats non-stop.
Just what the heck happened!? First, Harima jumped me and hugs me, then he goes on and confess his love for me!? Is this what happens from wanting to be friends with him!? What did I do that caused him to fall in love with me!? Why do I feel so shy and embarrassed? My heart seriously won't stop it's rapid beats...
I sat up on my bed and hugged my pillow tightly. The tingly feeling wouldn't leave my chest and cheeks. This is seriously something different and I've experienced this feeling before.
Could it possibly be, that I myself am falling in love with Harima as well? Could that be the answer to the mixed feelings I've been having?