Comfort
On the walk to the station, I was wondering what I should do. Do I just knock on Yuri's door and try to persuade myself to be let in? What if she doesn't answer? What do I do? Sneak in? That's against the law, isn't it?
But what do I do if she does answer? It would just feel weird to say "Hey, I'm sorry for telling your best friend your deepest darkest secret in which you harm yourself on purpose, can I ask for forgiveness?" Like, who in their right mind would do that? Should I be gentle? Of course, right? She won't like it if I become aggressive or anything. Oh God, what do I do?
Questions swirled around my brain like a hurricane. I can't think of what to do when I get there. Should I think this through before I get to Yuri's apartment? Or do I just wing it? Oh, what do I do? What do I do?
You might think that I know what to do already since my sister was in the same situation, but this time it is different. We're not siblings, just two people who just happen to be in the same club. I'm not even from around here. I feel like I'm intruding on other people's business.
I'm just an outsider, I thought to myself, Just an outsider who doesn't belong.
The street that I was walking in was deserted, quite different from a few blocks back where a few students walked with me and the girls. There was no one here, not even residents of the houses on the street.
That's why it was so easy for me to hear a few voices almost arguing with each other.
"Where's your quiet friend?" taunted one guy, with his friends laughing, "Did she not go to school? You must've been so lonely, weren't you?"
"Oh fuck off," cried out the recipient of the guy's taunts, sounding rather feminine and familiar, "And get out of the way! I need to go somewhere, thank you very much!"
I turned the corner and lo and behold, there was the pink-haired Natsuki with her hands on her hips, four guys all blocking the path. There were those two guys (without Imai-san) who were making fun of Yuri last week, plus one more, whom I had recognized from gym class, who was more vocal in taunting Natsuki. The guy was shorter than Sakuma-san, so he was way shorter than me.
"Oh, she says that she has somewhere else to be," said the guy from her class, stepping closer to her as if he was ready to throw a punch, "Is it to your supposed 'best friend' freak that you're running off to?" Fuck, I think I have to stop this.
"What did you call Yuri?" seethed Natsuki, her hands balled tightly into fists, ready to fight. I walked forward and put a hand on Natsuki's shoulder, gently yet firm.
"What the hell is going on here?" I asked as I pushed Natsuki aside, putting myself between the guys and her. I nodded to the three guys in the back. "Heya fellas. How's it going?"
"Well, if it isn't the white knight himself," said Sakuma-san, his arms crossed casually as possible. "Coming in to save the day?"
"Yeah, you see me being a hero?" I said with a huff, "You're just in the way."
"Wait a minute, I've seen you with Nakano-san before," said the guy from gym class, "Are you two dating?"
"We're not dating!" exclaimed Natsuki, "And Senpai! Leave yourself out of this!"
"Chill, girl," I said with my hands up in surrender, "I'm just trying to help!"
"Looks like she doesn't want your help," said the guy with a smirk on his face, "As usual of her, she always wants to be a fucking loner."
"The hell did you just say?" Natsuki fumed, her face red as she steamed with anger as she stepped closer, threatening to hit the guy.
"Calm down, tiger," I said as I put a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. Natsuki glared at me harshly, in which I just shrugged off since I know she's a little… temperamental. "And as for you," I turned to the guy, "That was a little rude, don't you think?"
"Oh yeah?" taunted the guy with a shit-eating grin on his face, stretching his arms out to make himself look bigger, "What are you gonna do about it?"
"Don't expect that you could fight all of us at once, Lee-san," warned Tashiro-san, who stayed silent for the most part, "Your friend of yours isn't here to save you."
"Well, I don't have to be scared of you, man," I said to the guy in front of me, "You're shorter than me. If we were to get into a fistfight, I'd beat your ass any day~ AUGH!" My little rant was interrupted with my vision turning red as I stumbled backward, falling on my back, the taste of iron filling my mouth as a great pain took over my jaw.
"Senpai!" cried out Natsuki as she crouched down to help me. I lifted my head, groaning as I held my hurting jaw. I touched my lip with my finger, which felt tender to the touch. I examined my finger, finding that it had a few drops of blood. Turning my head to the side, I spit out the blood and mucus that had accumulated in my mouth due to me biting my tongue. I looked up and saw the guy standing over me as I finally understood what happened. The little fucker punched me in the jaw!
I struggled to get up back to my feet, still dazed from the blow. It took me by surprise, so I was pretty much in shock and confused as to what was going on. I put my right foot back and my left foot front at hip-distance apart and bent my knees a little, putting my hands up in loose fists. Through deep breaths, I was able to say "I can do this all day."
You would think that no one would be any more stupid than me. I mean, I didn't even know my best friend's deepest secret. Instead, only some exchange student who is not even from here knew what my friend was going through. I thought I was the stupidest person on the planet.
But I guess I was wrong.
Seeing Lee-senpai stand before me, protecting me from these assholes, seeing him take a punch for me, and still has the courage to stand back up. Why is he trying in the first place? Why does he want to help me? After what happened on Saturday, I thought he would hate me. After I lashed out at him, it looked like I had hurt him. But he had hurt me. So why does he still care about me?
Why? Why does he still do this despite everything that had happened? Why does he still try and help me, a bratty bitch with a temper?
Is it because… he thinks we're still friends?
"I can do this all day," I heard him say to the person who punched him. That boy was in my class since the start of high school. He made fun of me all this time and no one really cared about me. He made my high school experience a living hell. Not that I don't have experience with a living hell, I live in one myself. Now, Lee-senpai was willing to stand up for me, willing to protect me from this bully, whose name was Okano-san.
Without saying a word, Okano-san threw another punch. It looked like a straight cross punch headed right for Lee-senpai's jaw. But he was slow and off-balance. It seemed like Lee-senpai took that advantage, grabbing Okano-san's wrist with his left, pulled him closer while making a kink in the punching arm with his right. Lee-senpai put his back to Okano-san and, using the leverage from Okano-san's punch, threw Okano-san over his shoulder with a judo throw. Where the hell did he learn that?
Okano-san's body landed onto the pavement with a sickening thud. From there, Lee-senpai pounced, turning him over onto his stomach and twisted his arm behind his back. Okano-san cried out in pain as Lee-senpai got on top of him, pinning him down. The two other boys with Okano-san stepped forward to help.
"Get back, get back!" Lee-senpai exclaimed, stopping the two other guys in their tracks. He looked back at me to see if I was okay. He had this fire in his eyes that I've never seen in him before. A look in his eyes that made him look both fierce and vulnerable.
He looked back at Okano-san and grabbed his collar. He lifted Okano-san a little so that his chest was barely off the ground. He then slammed him down. "And stay down!" he exclaimed as he stood up and stepped back. Lee-senpai grabbed my hand to see if I was okay.
"Let's go," he said under his breath, his voice almost inaudible.
"Wh-what?" I stammered, trying to understand what had happened. It all happened in the blink of an eye. One second, Lee-senpai was on the ground, his busted lip all bloody from Okano-san's punch. Then the other second, it was Okano-san who was on the ground, his arm in pain after Lee-senpai had twisted it. All just to protect me.
He looked back at me and he now had a sort of cheeky grin on his face. "Let's go!" he exclaimed louder. He started running without letting go of my hand, so I trailed along. We ran away from those guys, away from anything that could harm me. He kept holding my hand until we got to the train station.
And the whole time we were running, I couldn't stop smiling.
"Did they follow us?" I asked Natsuki as I looked behind me to see if any of those guys had run after us. Natsuki turned around as well to watch our six.
"No," she said, shaking her head, "I don't think they ran after us. They probably lost interest."
"Good," I said as I looked around for a bathroom to freshen up. I spotted one a few yards away. "Do you mind if I use the restroom?" I asked.
"Sure," Natsuki said, shrugging, "I'll be right here. I'll get a water bottle from the vending machine for you if you want."
"Good idea. Thanks," I said as I headed to the restroom.
Running cold water along my busted lip, I felt a stinging pain as the water touched flesh. The water fell into the sink, pink in color as I washed off the blood from my lip. That… was fucking awesome, I thought to myself.
I looked at myself in the mirror. My busted lip was visible, but not too bad. I don't think I need to get help or anything. I smirked just to lift my spirits, which it did.
Turning off the faucet, I grabbed a few paper towels, gently dabbing my lip with them. I tossed the paper towels, which were a little bloody, into the trash and made my way outside.
Natsuki was standing by the door, two water bottles in her hands. "Here you are," she said, holding out one of the water bottles, "You look like you need it."
"Thanks," I said as I took the bottle from her, uncapping it and taking a swig of cold water. Recapping it, I looked around.
We were on a platform just waiting for a train. Many students were waiting for the train as well, along with many other people. The platform was covered but still open air. I could still feel the soft breeze of autumn blowing in the wind.
"Hey, senpai?" asked Natsuki as she took a swig from her water bottle, "Where did you learn that?" Hmm? Learn what?
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused as to what she was trying to say.
"You know," said Natsuki, trying to get me to understand with her words and gestures, "The thing. When you threw Okano-san over your shoulder."
"Oh, that?" I said, "My brother and his friends taught me. I somehow keep finding myself into fights, so they decided to teach me some self-defense moves that they learned in basic training. You know, when they were training for the Navy."
"You?" she asked, kinda laughing at that fact, "You get into fights?"
"Well, my sister keeps starting fights, so I always jump in to help her." Natsuki nodded in understanding, dropping her smirk.
"I see," she said. "Why does she start those fights in the first place?"
"She's, uh, well, she's like you," I said, "Bold and brash, speaks her mind without a filter."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?" Natsuki asked. "Need I remind you that my kicks hurt?"
"Bit of both?" I said, tempting fate. Natsuki just turned her head away with a "Hmph!", crossing her arms defiantly.
"Well, thanks for the save at least," she said quietly, "You really saved my ass."
"No problem," I said, taking another swig of water, "If you need help, you know who to ask."
The train arrived a few minutes later, on schedule as usual. Natsuki and I entered one of the cars. I let her sit down on the only open seat while I stood in front of her, holding onto the overhead handholds.
On the way there, Natsuki assumed that I was going to see Yuri. Obviously yeah, but I don't know about her. For all I know, Natsuki's just going back home. I was sort of surprised when she said that she was also going to see Yuri. She said that she wanted to apologize to Yuri about what she had said that night, that she was just being all riled up from our fight, saying things that she didn't mean in the heat of the moment.
The train ride there took us about ten minutes before we got off at our stop. It was at the stop that I had mentioned previously before. We hopped off and made our way to Yuri's apartment.
Going up the stairs, we walked up to Yuri's apartment, readying ourselves to anything that could happen. Yuri could either lash out at us (I doubt that but still) or start crying, so we had to be ready to console her.
Natsuki seems like she had forgiven me after what happened on Saturday. She agreed to help me out as well since both of us had said some things that had hurt Yuri's feelings. I feel sorry for her, to be honest. After all, I could relate to her a lot.
I let Natsuki knock on the door. "Yuri?" she beckoned through the door, "Are you in there?" No answer. She knocked again, rapping her knuckles against the white wooden door. "Yuri?" she beckoned again, "Please, let me in." Still no answer.
"I don't think she's going to answer," I said disappointingly, shrugging. "What are we gonna do? If she doesn't answer the door, there's no way we're getting in."
"Who said we can't?" Natsuki said, crossing her arms, "I got a trick up my sleeve." She walked over to a bunch of potted lavender flowers that was next to her door, bending over and picking up the one that was second to the right. Under the pot was a single key. She had a spare key?
"Don't tell anyone about this key, okay?" Natsuki made me promise, "You don't want Yuri getting robbed."
Natsuki gave me the key. I stuck the key into the keyhole and turned the key, opening the door slightly. The door creaked open, bringing light into the dark apartment. "Yuri?" I called out, "You there?" Still no answer.
I stepped into the dark hallway, the only light in the apartment being from the doorway and a little bit of light that streamed in through the cracks of the blinds of the window at the far end of the apartment. Feeling my way through the hallway, I got to the end to where the hallway opens up into the apartment.
The sound of a kettle whistling filled my ears. That was the only thing that I was able to hear. Other than the kettle and the tapping of my oxford shoes against the wooden floor, it was dead silent. Looking around in the dark room, I was able to see a figure curled up in a fetal position on the couch, facing away from the TV that was in front of it. Silent sniffles could barely be heard. A flash of dark purple made me figure out that it was Yuri on the couch.
Natsuki walked in behind me and saw Yuri there. Meanwhile, I went back to the door for I forgot to take off my shoes. In my socks, I went over to the stove and took off the kettle, turning off the heat. I grabbed a teacup and a saucer and a teabag to make some tea.
"What are you doing here?" said Yuri quietly, barely audible between her sobs.
"What do you think we're doing here?" said Natsuki as she crouched down to Yuri's level. "We're your friends and we got worried about you when you didn't come to school today."
I set the cup and saucer down onto the coffee table in front of the couch, smelling the scent of freshly steeped tea. I then went over to the windows and opened the blinds, letting the sunlight stream into the dark and lonely apartment. Jeez, I thought to myself, Has she been staying like this since the incident on Saturday?
Yuri sniffled as she tried to sit up, her long violet hair a jumbled mess. Kinda reminds me of a certain scatterbrained brat who lives next to me. She turned to face us, her face all red and puffy. How long was she like this?
"B-but I thought you said we should just stop being friends," Yuri stuttered through sniffles, "Didn't you say that to Sawyer on Saturday, Natsuki?"
"Yuri!" cried Natsuki, who threw her arms over Yuri's shoulders, burying her face into her collar in her embrace. "You think I mean that? You know how I am! I don't even know what the hell I'm saying half of the time!"
"Is this true, Sawyer?" she asked, looking up at me.
"Y-yeah," I stuttered, "We, um, we were arguing. You came around at the wrong time. I'm sorry, Yuri."
"O-oh no," stammered Yuri, "But you did tell Natsuki about… the thing, didn't you?"
"Yuri, she had to know," I explained, "I can't do anything to help you. Not by myself. I need help."
Natsuki released Yuri from her embrace and held out her hand. I stepped closer and crouched down next to Natsuki. "Yuri," said Natsuki, "give me your arm."
"Wh-what?" asked Yuri, "Why?"
"Just do it. Please. I want to see if Senpai was telling the truth."
Yuri thought about it for a second before caving, apprehensively stretching her arm towards Natsuki. She rolled up Yuri's sleeve, exposing her forearm, exposing the wounds that Yuri had inflicted upon herself. There were more cuts than when I last saw them last week, some of them still fresh. I should look for bandages.
"I-I wanted to keep it a secret," said Yuri, looking down in shame and embarrassment, "I didn't want anyone to worry. It was bad enough when Lee-san found out. I didn't want to hurt you, Natsuki."
"Why do you think that I would be hurt if you found out?" asked Natsuki, "I was worried sick about you!"
"It's because I didn't want to add to your plate," said Yuri a little louder, "I didn't want to give you more problems. You're going through enough as it is."
"Yuri, we're friends," said Natsuki, embracing Yuri tighter in her arms, "Your problems are my problems. I want to help you, Yuri. Me and Senpai. That's why we came over here."
"Really?" asked Yuri, "You want to help me? I don't wish to be a bother."
"Yuri, you're not a bother!" exclaimed Natsuki, "We're in this together, right?"
Yuri seemed to think about a response for a second, looking around the apartment trying to find an answer before she simply just said "Yes."
I let the two of them talk. I don't think I had spoken a lot since coming here. I had just left the two of them air things out. But I'm still happy. I'm happy that they're making up. I just left and went to the bathroom, opening up the cabinets to try and find a bandage. I eventually found one after rummaging under the sink, finding it in a first aid kit, along with some gauzes and a pair of violet examination gloves. I went over to Yuri and crouched right next to her.
"Hey, Lee-san?" asked Yuri. I looked up to see her looking down on me with a pleasant smile, Natsuki still holding on to her. "Thank you," she simply said.
"I didn't do anything," I said with a smirk, "I'm just here to help."
After I had put on my gloves, I gestured for her arm. Yuri, hesitant at first, stretched her arm out to me. I examined her forearm, which was marked with lines going across. None of them were particularly deep, just shallow topical cuts, but they're still cuts nonetheless. It could get infected if I don't treat it quickly.
"You know," I said as I got the gauzes and bandages ready, "The triplets? The ones who you went with on Saturday? They were looking for you."
"Th-they were?" asked Yuri.
"Yeah, they were asking where you were," I shrugged, "Looks like they had fun with you that night."
"R-really?" she asked, "Did they really thought I was fun?"
"Of course!" I said with a friendly grin, "You don't know that you're fun to be around!"
Yuri looked away, flushed from embarrassment. Though, I did spy a slight smile of her face. A very slight smile, but I have excellent eyes. At least that puts her at ease a little.
I laid some clean gauzes on her wounds before wrapping her arm up with the bandage, making sure not to make it too tight so that blood would be able to flow. I made a knot with the bandage and tucked the end into the bandage, sealing her arm. Let's hope I did that right, I said to myself.
"Lee-san," asked Yuri as I finished up, "What happened there?" She pointed to her lip, referencing my wound on my mouth.
"Oh, that?" I said before pausing. Well, I can't tell her that I got into a fight that was partly on her behalf. Maybe I could just bend the truth a little. That wouldn't hurt, would it?... What the fuck is wrong with me? Why would I lie again?
"I, uh, lost a fight," I lied, "A fight with gravity, mind you. I just tripped and fell. Nothing too bad."
"Yeah, you should've seen him," Natsuki added, "He tripped on his own two feet."
"Oh no, are you okay?" asked Yuri, worried about me as if I hadn't just wrapped her arm in bandages.
"I have a hard head," I joked, "If anything, I hurt the pavement more than the pavement hurt me."
Yuri giggled and smiled. The first time I've ever seen her smile since last week. I smiled to myself at the fact that I had helped with that.
A ringtone interrupted this little light moment as my phone buzzed, telling me someone was calling me. What now? I thought as I pulled out my phone and to no one's surprise, I saw Sayori's name pop up. "Hello," I said into the receiver as I held my phone to my ear.
"Sawyer?" said Sayori, "Are you there?"
"Yeah," I said, turning away from Natsuki and Yuri, "What's wrong?"
"Can you come home?" she asked. Why? Did she do something? Does she need my help?
"Is everything alright?" I asked.
"No!" I heard her sigh in exhaustion, "My math homework is too hard! Can you help me?" Seriously? Oh my God.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit," I said before hanging up and putting my phone in my pocket.
"Who was that, Lee-san?" asked Yuri, "Is something the matter?"
"That was Sayori," I said with a sheepish smile on my face, "She called because she needs help with her homework."
"Typical Sayori," chuckled Natsuki, "Always asking for help with school."
"Yeah, well, she kinda depends on me now," I said with a disappointing shake of my head. Well, at least I'm needed.
"Are you sure you guys aren't dating?" asked Natsuki.
"You are the second person to say that," I sighed, shaking my head with a smile
The pair laughed as I sheepishly smiled. Yuri then sat up straighter and asked "I take it you are going to leave?"
"Yep," I said, "I guess you guys are good now, right?"
"Yes," said Yuri, "Natsuki and I had aired out our differences. I will be alright."
I nodded and winked before turning around to the door. I was about to make my way out the door before Yuri called out. "Oh, and Lee-san?" she beckoned to me. I pivoted and turned back the way I came to see Yuri one more time. "Thank you. For everything."
I smiled with pride. To be honest, no one has ever said that to me before. No one has said thank you to me like that. It made me feel… nice, I guess. "See you at school, alright?" I simply said with a grin before leaving.
You know, with how much closer Natsuki and Yuri have gotten, I feel like Yuri will have fewer reasons to keep doing what she does. That's the goal, I figured. Help Yuri by helping her get friends and get closer to the friends she already has. I think that's why she self harms. So, if I can get her out of her shell, she can be less anxious around other people. That's why I had introduced her to Kaylee, Rose, and Zara.
But, after all, I'm just an exchange student from Hawaii. I won't be able to help Yuri when I eventually go back home. Especially if I have to help someone else in the meantime.
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.
A/N: Hey y'all. Here's the next chapter that I was talking about. I am a week early, but whatever. I already had it written and thought might as well. I have already started on the next chapter, so expect another one to go up either next week or the week after that. I really appreciate all of the reviews and follows. To be honest, this is my best story on this site so far. I will rewrite the other two stories that I have because I feel like those stories had good ideas, but bad delivery.
In other news, I finally started school again. Online school has its upsides and downsides in my opinion. I love how I could just mute myself and play a video game or an instrument in the middle of class. What sucks though is the glitches that interrupt the class, which is stupid but whatever. I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon, so might as well make the most of it.
Well, I hope you guys are doing alright, and I'll see you in the next one. Later!
