Drop the Formalities

Edit: Minor grammatical fixes

Another edit: Changed a word


October 3, Friday

Thud! A bump in the night. Pain from my sides and forehead shot through my body. "Ow," I grimace as I held my head where it hurt, wincing in pain when my hand gently touched my head.

The cold wood floor froze my skin, sending chills down my spine. Outside, the wind howled as a thunderstorm raged on while I was sleeping, flashes of lightning brightening up the room for a split second, allowing me to take my surroundings.

I lifted my head, still clutching it with my hand, and looked around my dark room. Son of a bitch, I cursed silently as I felt a lump swelling up on my head. Letting my eyes adjust to the dark, I took in my surrounding.

Okay, I thought to myself, speculating as to what had happened just now, So I'm on the floor. I was just sleeping, probably rolling around in a dream. My head hurts, though I don't think I hit it against the floor. There's a nightstand right next to my bed with a lamp.

Well, shit, I came to the conclusion, I think I fell off my fucking bed.

Groaning as my head still throbbed with pain, I stood up, using the bed as support as I got to my feet. Feeling around in the dark, I patted on the nightstand. I felt for the lamp that stood on top of the short table, eventually finding the cord that turned on the light. I tugged on the cord lightly and my eyes were burned for a second as the light turned on. Fuck, I think I need some ice.

With one hand still clutching the lump on my head, I felt my way through the darkness all the way down to the stairway. I put my freehand on the handrail and guided myself down the stairs.

There was a light that was on in the living room, probably left on by one of the Kobayashi's as they came home from work late. I went to bed early, an hour or two from when they returned.

When I reached the bottom of the stairway, I found Ms. Kobayashi passed out on the couch, wearing her PJs. Alright, don't be loud, I said, Don't wanna wake Ms. Kobayashi.

I quietly crept to the kitchen island, careful as to not make a sound. I made my way to the pantry and grabbed a Ziploc bag and a paper towel. I made my way to the fridge and opened the bag, putting the bag over the mouth of the ice dispenser and hit the button to let the ice fall into the bag.

The fridge started making a noise as the ice dispenser dispensed cold ice, a noise loud enough to stir Ms. Kobayashi from her sleep.

"Sawyer?" she mumbled as she sat up from the sofa, "What are you doing?"

"I need some ice," I said, "I hit my head just now and it's swelling up."

Ms. Kobayashi slowly stood up from the sofa and shuffled to where I stood. "Here, let me check it out," she said as I leaned my head toward her to examine it. She felt around to where I held my hand and said "Yeah, it's swelling alright. What happened?"

I shrugged. "I guess I fell off the bed and hit the nightstand. Nothing too serious. I don't feel dizzy or anything."

"Yeah well," she said as she finished her examination, "I don't think it's a concussion. Just get some ice on it and go back to bed, alright?" From there, she yawned tiredly, as if she came off a long shift. And that she did.

"Sure thing," I said as the bag filled up with ice. I took the bag and wrapped it in the paper towel so that it's not too cold and held it to the lump on my head. I looked at the analog clock and read the time. 5:52 AM. I was going to wake up in a little less than an hour, but now that I'm up, there's no use in going back to sleep.

I made my way back to my room and looked out of the window. The rain was still pouring and thunder was still cracking outside. The winds howled, pushing and bending the windowpane inward, though it did not shatter. These window panes were meant to withstand strong winds by bending. If it were any more rigid, it could break.

They kind of reminded me of airplane wings. I read somewhere that wings were actually meant to bend up to 90 degrees if it had to in-flight, basically being more fluid with the strong forces outside, able to adapt to its situation.

You know, people are a little like that as well. Many people are able to adapt to their own environment, able to thrive in different situations. And then we got those people who aren't able to adapt to a situation. When they inevitably get into a unique situation, they are unable to get through that issue, resulting in them breaking down like a worn-down machine.

Wyatt, I thought to myself, Why couldn't you handle it? Why couldn't you handle life? Why did you have to leave?

My eyes drifted to the house in front of me. There, somewhere, lay Ono-chan, sleeping I assume. Ever since coming here, she, and, well, practically everyone else at the club had helped me I guess you could say. They helped me cope with the loss of my brother. Before I went to Japan, I've thought of actually just ending it all there as well. But when I arrived here, every day has been an adventure.

They helped me adapt to my situation.

Sawyer, you're a cheesy bastard, I insulted myself, half-joking. I half grinned, though it felt like a grim smile, a facade, if you will, and nodded my head before sitting down at my desk and cracking open my laptop.

Later that morning

I didn't get a wink of sleep since I fell off my bed. All morning, I basically just played on my computer with one of my buddies I play with online. He was another member of my brother's squadron, so we knew each other IRL.

After playing all morning, I got off my computer and made myself some breakfast and got ready for school as always. I slung my dog tags around my neck, hiding the tags under my shirt. I felt the cold metal touch my bare chest, but at least no one will see the tags.

Slinging the Army satchel bag that held my books over my shoulder, I walked out with a granola bar sticking out of my mouth. I was still early, but I decided to get out of the house early anyways.

My head's feeling better. The lump's gone now, so it can't be a concussion. It just hurts when I touch it. I guess it was just swelling that was the big issue.

I stood by the fence outside the Kobayashi household, chewing on a granola bar. The Kobayashi's were asleep. Ms. Kobayashi eventually moved back to the master bedroom with Mr. Kobayashi, so I didn't wake any of them in the morning. Today was their day off and it looks like they need the rest.

It was a little too early to try and wake Ono-chan up, but I didn't want to stay inside. I might as well get some fresh air outside. There were still puddles from last night's storm, but the clouds are pretty much gone now. It still felt a little moist in the air, but that's just 'cause of the rain from last night.

I stuck the bar in my mouth and held it in my teeth like a cigar so that I could pull out my phone from my pocket and browsed Reddit to pass the time.

Sooner or later, Ono-chan stepped out of her front door wearing her fall uniform already. I was also wearing the fall uniform, which was the blazer that I had at the beginning of the year. Because it was October, we were free to switch back to the fall uniform. Though oddly enough, her blazer wasn't buttoned up. In fact, I just noticed right that second that she doesn't button up that blazer. At the beginning of the year, all of the girls except Ono-chan buttoned up their blazer, whereas Ono-chan probably lazily put it on.

I myself was also wearing a blazer. It was getting chilly lately, so I'm glad that we're allowed to wear these now.

"Ohayou Lee-san!" exclaimed Ono-chan as she waved me down, "Morning!"

"Morning Ono-chan," I said, standing up straight as she bounded towards me, planting her feet right in front of me. "You're up early."

"Ehehe," Ono-chan giggled, a pleased grin growing on her face. "I tried to wake up early to wake you up myself instead, but you beat me to it!" She mock-pouted and I grinned.

"Nice try," I said, smirking, "But I know you know that I am always up and at 'em in the morning."

"Dang, I was really hoping to try and wake you up," she said, "I set an alarm and everything!"

"You're saying you don't use an alarm in the mornings?"

"Nope!" Ono-chan said, smiling innocently. "You're always the one waking me up in the morning, so I didn't bother to use it!" No wonder why she's always waking up late. She doesn't even use her goshdarned alarm.

I sighed, shaking my head in mock-disappointment. "Seriously? What if I'm not there anymore to wake you up? Then what?"

"On the contrary," she said, stepping closer with a really sweet smile on her face, "I think you'll be there with me in the future."

Her head was so close to my chest. I was tall enough where the top of her head would reach my chin. And she was close enough that I could smell the faint scent of cinnamon. A scent from my childhood. Mixed with the sound of trees swaying in the breeze after a storm.

I couldn't even manage to utter a single word. My dumbass couldn't put together a cohesive sentence to even respond to that. My mind just went blank and I couldn't think of a way to respond. Or rather, there was only one question in my mind. What is she implying? I thought to myself.

"Haha!" she laughed, "Your face is so red, it's almost cute!" I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult.

"Oh, not you too," I said, "First Takeuchi-san and now you. What next? Saito-san somehow brings herself to tease me or something?"

"Monika was right!" she said, still laughing, "You are easy to tease!" Aw hell, Takeuchi-san got to her.

"Alright, alright," I said, trying to switch the topic, "Let's just go to school before you become Takeuchi-san in another body."

When we got to the school grounds, we were still pretty early. Ono-chan, though, decided to stay with me until the bell rang, so we ended up sitting by the fountain in the courtyard, just talking and joking about nothing in particular. It felt like we were just old buds hanging out.

The bell rang about thirty minutes later and we went our separate ways. I went to my locker to switch out my shoes like I always do since we gotta wear uwabaki slippers inside.

Slamming the locker door shut, I dropped the uwabaki slippers down on the ground and slipped my feet into them. It's kinda weird that we gotta wear slippers at school, but it's also very frickin' comfortable. It also makes it easier for the janitors to clean the floors, so it ain't so bad.

Shouldering my canvas satchel pack filled with books, I made my way to class.

I plopped my stuff on my desk and lazily sat down in my chair, slumping down against the backrest. I let out an exasperated sigh and Takeuchi-san seemed to notice.

She was in her own desk, as usual, writing in some leather-bound book. It can't be a library book, that's for sure unless Takeuchi-san's the type of person to draw in public library books, which I highly doubt. Even here, I still manage to find dicks stenciled in library books. Weird how that "tradition" is prevalent even here.

"What's got you all huffing and puffing this morning?" asked Takeuchi-san as she set down her pen in the book and closed the book.

"Did you tell Ono-chan to try and mess with me this morning?" I asked Takeuchi-san.

"Pssh, no!" she exclaimed in her usual posh English accent, "I would never tell anyone to mess with anyone else, especially Sayori. All I really did was give her some encouragement."

"Encouragement?"

"Yeah! All I said was 'If you like him, just tease him!' and then let the magic happen," she smirked. Uh, what? I thought, for that was the only words that came to mind.

"Pffft! Hahaha!" she started cackling like the little devious witch that she was, "Your embarrassed face never fails to make me laugh!" Damnit! So she didn't actually tell Ono-chan to mess with me because of that.

"Well, it looks like we got you two times this morning!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," I groaned, "Takeuchi-san the Teasing Master strikes again. Whoop-de-freakin' woo."

I rolled my eyes and sat back even farther, eventually putting my feet up on the desk. Takeuchi-san opened her book and started writing again. Now, I've never seen this book before and it's probably not for school since it's leather, which would make it expensive. So it's probably a personal thing or something.

"What's that you got there?" I asked Takeuchi-san. She looked at me and I nodded to the book on her desk.

"Oh this?" she said, holding it up, "It's a, uh, journal or diary or whatever you wanna call it. I picked this thing up at an art store yesterday and I decided to use it for personal stuff."

"So what, you're putting down experiences and stuff in that thing? Like how your day went and your feelings and crap?"

"Sort of," she said, "And it's not crap, you moron. I just use this thing for whatever reason. Putting down thoughts, experiences, things I've learned, and the sort, making notes on things worth taking notes on, the list goes on and on. It's actually a good idea for a writer to get a personal notebook themselves. It helps them compartmentalize their thoughts and organize them. And that's coming from a good writer."

"Who said you're a good writer?" I jabbed jokingly.

"I did," she said, smiling back. I guess I should've seen that one coming.

"It's not just for writing too," she said, "If you're struggling with emotions, write them down so you can sort things out. Pour your heart out on the pages of a journal and you'll feel better, I promise."

"Whatever you say, doc," I joked, "Still don't see the point in keeping a journal or a diary."

"Well, I guess it isn't for everyone, then," said she before returning back to her journal/diary thing. "Really, anyone who uses journals for personal reasons is smarter than the average person. No wonder why you don't see the point. No offense."

"Alright, just because you say 'No offense' doesn't mean that it's offensive," I said, "And c'mon, I made it this far."

"'Kay," she said rather complacently, "Just sayin'."

"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes as the teacher walked in and I got ready to start the day.

Later, by the track

"What in the world are you two up to?" asked Nakano-san as she stood over me, wearing a pair of red shorts and her gym shirt that was a size too big for her.

"What does it look like we're doing?" I said through gritted teeth as my chest and abs flared up with pain, "We're having a push-up contest."

In front of me, CJ was also on the floor, doing push-ups himself. His ragged breathing mixed with our panting basically filled our ears. "Seventy-eight, seventy-nine, eighty," I heard him count under his breath.

We were on the grass in the middle of the track. Most of the students were either walking the track or kicking a soccer ball around by a goal in the middle of the track. It was just me and CJ doing our little pushup contest.

"Can I talk to you?" asked Nakano-san.

"Yeah, sure," I said as I kept doing reps, though due to my exhaustion, I didn't really know what she said. "After this."

"Remember, arms near your chest," I huffed between reps, "We're doing military push-ups, alright?"

"Goddamn, man, I know," he whined as he went up and down, "Let me focus on this shit, aight?"

"Don't you dare cheat, man," I said, slowing down because I was getting tired. I was on rep eighty-five, CJ's coming up close. C'mon, just fifteen left. C'mon, c'mon!

"Ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two," counted CJ, getting close to the hundred rep line. C'mon! I'm not outta shape yet!

I started counting myself since I was so close to the finish line. "Ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight" I muttered as I tried finishing up strong, "ninety-nine, one hundred! Ha, I beat you!"

"Rematch?" asked CJ, still trying to catch his breath.

"Aight," I said and down we went again. "One-o-one, one-o-two, one-o-three," I muttered, "One-o-four, one-o-fi-oof!" I was pushed down onto the ground because a foot planted itself on my back. My chest hit the ground and I lost all the air in my lungs.

I rolled onto my back and saw that it was Nakano-san who pushed me down. She had a little agitated look on her face. "What the-," I cried out, "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" she grumbled, "I wanted to talk to you and you said you will after your competition. And you just started again 'cause CJ called for a rematch."

"Oh," I said, dumbfounded, "Did I?"

Nakano-san let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and turning her back to me. I looked to CJ, who was in a plank position, looking at me. He snickered and laughed, dropping his head down to his chest.

"Ah fuck it, you win," I said and stood up to talk to Nakano-san. "What's up?" I asked her.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, "Alone?"

"Okay, sure," I said. I looked back at CJ, who stood up too. He nodded at me and I nodded back before he took off running on the track. "What's this about?"

Nakano-san's face twisted in a worried face, biting her lip as if she was nervous about something. "Anything yet?" she asked, "About Yuri?"

"Nakano-san, didn't we already had this talk a few days ago?" I said, keeping that innocent act going since I don't want anything going on, "I don't have anything on her, alright?"

"Are you kidding? Isn't it obvious?" she said, frustrated at my lie, "There's something wrong with her, I know it. Why can't you see it?"

"Woah, woah, calm down," I said in a comforting, quiet manner, "I'm sure she has it handled."

"Calm down? You're telling me to calm down?" she asked angrily, "There's something wrong with Yuri! Why can't you see that?"

I shot her a stern look and she froze up for a second, though her face seemed to glow red, as if it was about to explode. "Alright," she said as she took a deep breath, looking down at the ground sheepishly, "S-sorry. It's just that… I don't know."

"What is it?" I asked, stepping closer to my little kouhai who was getting angry, "You can tell me."

"I, uh, well," she stammered, at a loss of words now, "It's just that… she's my best friend. And I don't want her to feel bad, you know what I'm saying? I just don't want her to change. I don't anything to change. And I'm sorry that I lost control there for a second."

"Hey," I said, shutting her up for a second, "It's fine. I understand. You're just looking out for your friend, that's all." Nakano-san's expression loosened as she calmed down, which was great because I didn't want to make such a scene. "I'll, uh, I'll look out for anything odd, alright?"

"Th-thanks," she stuttered, "And again, I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it!" I said, grinning like the cheeky bastard I was. "I'll just forget about the whole thing, alright?"

Nakano-san nodded and cracked a little smile on her small lips. Well, thank God I didn't have to fight her or anything.

After school, clubroom

It was just any other day at the Literature Club. Really, nothing, in particular, was going on. Saito-san and Nakano-san were in the back, reading horror novels and slice of life mangas respectively. Ono-chan was doodling in a piece of paper that was supposed to be her poem. Meanwhile, Takeuchi-san and I were reading together.

She scooched her desk right next to mine and cracked open her own book. An English book mind you, one reading from left to right in English. For me, I was just reading another light novel I picked up at the library.

I was humming gently to the tune of a song that I heard on the radio a little while back. I didn't know what that song was, I don't pay attention to Japanese pop songs, but this one that I heard was a little catchy. Really, though, I usually just listen to my rock and roll. Or heavy metal. Or country, oddly enough.

"Hey, Lee-san," beckoned Takeuchi-san, who kept her eyes glued to her novel.

"Yeah?" I responded, looking right at her, "What's up?"

"You know, it's weird how we're both speaking English to each other right now, yet I still call you Lee-san and you call me Takeuchi-san," she said.

"Really?" I said with a confused squeal at the end, "I don't. I guess I just got used to people calling me by my last name."

"Aw c'mon, you sure it's not weird?" she asked, "I'm British, it feels weird every time I talk to you 'cause I have to call you by your last name. Like it's so formal or something."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, "So what? You wanna drop the honorific at the end or something? Just call me Lee?"

"Hmm, no," said Takeuchi-san. She looked at me and adjusted a lock of hair that was falling down into her eye. "I meant something like calling you by your first name. Both of us have English first names, right?"

"Sure, I follow," I nodded my head.

"Great!" she said, smiling happily, "So can I call you Sawyer?"

"Go ahead, be my guest," I said, "And I'll call you Monika-sa-"

"Just Monika," she interrupted. "No formalities, no honorifics."

"Just Monika," I said, nodding some more, "Alright. You know, you also look like a Monika."

"Really?" she said, "Never thought of that. I still look too Japanese to say that my name fits, you know? Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki all have Japanese names, whereas mine is more Latin, though it's spelled with a 'k' instead of a 'c', making me even more unique."

"I dunno. Monika with a 'k' looks sexy on paper, you know?"

"Haha!" she laughed, her eyes a devilish glare. "Did you know that it means 'I advise' in Latin?"

"Well, you're pretty much 'advising' me about your name," I grinned at my shitty pun. "But it's accurate, you know. You're the smartest one here and you're the Club President, soo…" my voice trailed off.

"I know I am smart," she said, twirling her hair. "It also means something in Ancient Greek. It means 'alone'..." Takeuchi- no, Monika's face turned from dreamy to frozen in embarrassment. She cracked a slight smile to hide her embarrassment, though I could tell she knew she made a mistake.

I snorted and broke out into laughter. "Ohoho," I laughed from my gut like an asshole, "Even more accurate!"

"Oh," she said, playfully jabbing my shoulder. By now, we were already making so much noise that stirred the rest of the club members from their own activities.

"What's going on here?" asked Ono-chan, who stood up and made her way to us.

"Oh, Ono-chan," I said, "Monika and I decided to call each other by our first names."

"What?" said Ono-chan dejectedly, looking at me with her blue puppy-dog eyes. She stepped closer to my desk with her sad looking face. "But you two aren't dating, are you?"

"Wha- no!" I exclaimed, "What makes you think that?"

"First names are usually reserved for those who are close to each other," she whined, stepping even closer to me, close enough that she was practically leaning over me. Well, probably in Japan, yeah. But Monika and I are native English speakers.

"Oh, fine, if you're so insistent, just call me Sawyer," I said, a little annoyed.

"Really?" she said, fidgeting nervously, "Okay… Sawyer."

She still said my name in a Japanese accent, so it didn't really sound like "Sawyer", but rather "Sah-ya", like a discombobulated Southern accent.

"Well, that wasn't so hard, was it Sayori?" I grinned and then noticed the two other club members approaching.

"What, we're calling each other by our first names now?" asked Nakano-san, "Because if that's the case, let me call you by your first name."

"Alright," I dared, "Call me by my first name… Natsuki. Or are you too scared for no real reason to call me Sawyer."

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, "I can totally say your first name."

"Oh yeah?" I pressed her.

"S...S-S," she stuttered, trying to say my name but obviously having trouble, with I don't really get.

Quite frankly, it might probably be due to how I was brought up. In the States, as you know, we go by our first names for the most part. Here in Japan, with all of the formalities and respect in daily life, calling people by first names are for those who are close as hell. Like friends. And that just puts a question in my mind. Are we truly friends? Or just club mates who are acquainted with each other? I've been here for months, but I don't know everything about these guys. It's weird though since we spend our time after school with each other.

"S-Senpai!" Nak- no, Natsuki exclaimed, obviously failing in calling me by my first name even though it's just two simple syllables. She looked down in embarrassment, her face red as a beet.

"Close enough," I sighed before turning to Saito-san. "What about you?" I asked, "Can you do it?"

"S-say your name?" asked Saito-san, who fidgeted with her hands and blushed. "Uuuu. I don't know."

"Aw c'mon," I urged her, "It's just as easy as me saying Yuri."

"F-fine," stammered Sai- er, Yuri. "Saw…"

"You got it," I said, nodding encouragingly, "Saw-yer."

Yuri got even redder and looked away. "Lee-san," she uttered in defeat. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

"Alright, don't force yourself," I comforted the poor nervous girl. "But can I call you Yuri?"

Still looking away, Yuri nodded yes and muttered something that I couldn't make out. Well, that was fun. For me at least. I got to watch these two squirm.

Really, it's not a big deal for me. It's just calling someone by their name. If anything, it's a nickname. But I dunno. I'm not Japanese. I didn't grow up here. I don't understand the culture. Maybe it's different. I don't know.

So maybe it's not a big deal for me, but it might be a big deal for these girls. Then again, it's not like they'll go so far as to date me, would they?


Honorifics: (Underlined honorifics are the ones used in current chapter)

-san: Most common, it is an all-purpose suffix that can be used in any situation where politeness is expected. Basically the titles Mr. Ms. etc.

-sama: This suffix is one level higher than "-san" and is used to confer great respect.

-kun: This suffix is commonly used at the end of boys' names to express endearment.

-chan: Feminine version of -kun.

Senpai: Superior/Upperclassmen.

Sensei: Master.


Translation notes:

1. Ohayou means "morning" in Japanese

2. Uwabaki slippers are slippers that are used indoors in public offices and schools so that it is easier for janitors to clean the floors.

3. No one goes by a first name basis in Japan unless they are close friends. Of course, if you didn't know that already, how the hell are you here?


A/N: Hey guys, how's it hanging? I recently found this one mod for DDLC called Blue Skies and it released a few weeks ago. I read that some of the writing and one of the side characters in the mod was based off of another game called Katawa Shoujo. If y'all know what it is, well, I got the Emi route and got the big sad even though I got the good ending. Now the Blue Skies mod is taking up my time. What else? Oh, I actually just ended up writing this chapter in a week, which was fast, though I decided to just upload it a day early. And, uh, yeah! See y'all next time. Peace.