"A transfer student from overseas is joining us today, so I would like you to give him a warm welcome. He hasn't been in Japan for a long time, so he may feel unsure and uncomfortable in the new environment. So I'd like to ask you to help him get accustomed to our school." Announced our homeroom teacher, Tani-sensei, with a serious tone, expecting to be listened to in earnest.
It started with single curious whispers, then their increased number turned into a whole-class discussion.
"Silence, please be quiet." Tani-sensei said exasperatedly.
Despite the request for silence, whispers regarding the new transfer student had already begun, with some saying they had seen him enter the principal's office in the morning, and some saying they had seen an unknown boy talking to the president of the archery club.
Natsumi half-heartedly listened, closing her eyes her thoughts were already fleeing to the end of today's activities, when she would be able to go home and enjoy some games on the computer she planned on playinh today. A feeling of excitement swept over her and she smiled slightly at the thought of playing her favorite FPS.
There was a knock on the door, Tani-sensei only sighed seeing that it was only when directly confronted by the student the class was about to meet they quieted down.
"Please come in Emiya-kun." The teacher called out politely, the door opened with a slight creak, presenting the new student.
"Excuse me, then." A calm male voice answered and Natsumi forced herself to look at the boy who joined her class in the 3 grade of education.
The youth walked out to the middle of the classroom and introduced himself with a warm smile, it was bright. His amber eyes scanned the class in a flash, as if analyzing everything to their very core, and paused for a moment on Natsumi, who held her breath for a moment seeing their intensity, then looked elsewhere.
"Hello, my name is Emiya Shirou and I recently moved here from London, I hope we can get along. I like cooking, I'm good at sports and archery, and my hobby is helping others, so if you need help, don't hesitate to approach." He smiled brilliantly, his eyes closed in a smile.
Wow, he was good. Damn Ikemen, his hair was of an auburn, with the odd streak of white at the beginning. Maybe dyed over? There aren't many people in Japan with such a natural color, she thought.
His figure also attracted attention, in the school uniform he seemed slim, but there was no denying that he had outlines of muscles under his shirt, she could only imagine how some girls blushed at the thought.
However, the most unique thing was his gaze, the look in his eyes seemed somewhat worn, but nevertheless they still sparkled, added with the effect of the rays of light coming through the window. The way they made her straighten previously continues to be in her memory, as if they could see through a person.
Since when did she become so poetic? Dumb Ikemen and his aura, with his arrival he is sure to become one of the more popular boys in the class.
And anyway, what kind of person says his hobby is helping others? She had never heard such a introduction, after all, usually hobbies are about what you like to do for yourself, and he was saying that he helps people for himself out of pure enjoyment? How someone can live like this, she couldn't understand a person named Emiya Shirou. Everything she has done so far has been focused on herself and getting others to notice her.
Not like it worked...
"Alright everyone, we are continuing the class, calm down already and let Emiya-kun breathe, he will answer your questions during the break after the class. Emiya-kun please take your place at the window in front of Natsuki-san." Said Tani-sensei and turned to face the whiteboard. Her sentence made Natsumi's eyes widen in shock at the blow dealt to her by the teacher.
What!
Why the only seat free was right in front of her! She wanted to be alone, so why is Tani-sensei doing this to her, after all, she knows that my reputation is unpleasant to say at least. Maybe she should have stayed home, now everyone was looking at her with that disliking gaze and grimace. Her classmates already treated her enough as if she didn't exist, she was worthless to them, so what does it mean that now a presumably popular new class member will sit in front of her.
Said person, as if oblivious to the atmosphere, approached with a casual step and turned to her before sitting down.
"It looks like we are neighbors now, so I hope I can count on you for any missing material, it's been a long time since I went to a Japanese school." He commented with a smile, didn't he realize what he was causing by striking up a conversation with her!
"...Likewise." Natsumi replied briefly with a weak smile; she was not a master of long words with strangers.
"Natsuki-san right? You can also count on me if you need anything, my English has improved recently since I was out of the country and I think I will master the material quite quickly." His words seemed so sincere, but it made her feel so awkward, Natsumi hadn't talked to people for a long time, her school day consisted only of going in and out.
After a moment of silence, she realized that she had not answered, making her recover.
"Thanks, I guess." Seeing her confirmation, the new student nodded and took his seat but not before giving her one last look.
The rest of the class fell deaf on her ears ears, she wondered how the presence of a new person would change her school life.
No one said anything until the end of class, she was only wating for the final bell.
Natsumi's next encounter with a person named Emiya Shirou was in a school corridor, passing an open classroom the black-haired girl noticed how a boy named Emiya from her perspective was busily doing something around the teacher's desk.
She squinted her eyes suspiciously and approached him trying to like shinobi, as if sensing her presence, he turned at the perfect moment to see her sneaking up behind him.
"Hi Natsuki-san, I didn't expect to see you yet, lessons ended a while ago, and the exit is in the other direction, so I wonder what you're doing here." Smiling playfully, Natsumi realized how silly she must have looked in front of him, with a suspicious look on her face and creeping on tiptoe.
"Ah-I-" What was she supposed to say here? Wasn't he the suspicious one?
"By the way, if you want to sneak up on someone, I recommend not walking on your toes because then you force your body weight to focus all your weight on your toes, which makes it difficult to level a silent step."
Was this some way of saying that she is fat? Sorry but not sorry because she is not, she is doing basic exercises at home!
She purposely ignored what he said at the end.
"What are you doing here Emiya?" She asked the red-haired boy, making him analyze her expression for a moment.
He sighed softly seeing her suspicion, "Shimada-sensei asked me to check what's wrong with his computer, apparently it doesn't interact with the projector from the whiteboard, so I fixed it and I have to install new drivers, but judging by the old hardware it will take a while."
He was good at computers it seemed, why Shimada-sensei would ask a new student to do such an activity was beyond her understanding though.
She wondered if he could read her mind or maybe he noticed something in her expression, "Shimada-sensei helped me a few times when I had trouble getting accommodated here, it's been a long time since I've been in Japan as I said and my passport expired when I tried to cross over here haha." He laughed at the thought, scratching the back of his head, "I also lost my ID card and most of my stuff." The very premise made Natsumi gasp.
"How could you lose basically all your documents! How did you not get arrested by the police?" Natsumi didn't even notice, but through her curiosity she started talking normally and asked rather awkward questions, but Emiya apparently didn't care about her inquisitiveness and just brushed it off with a smile and rested his hand on the desk before explaining.
"Shimada-sensei found a way, he had a police officer's brother in his family who helped speed up the process. Because of that, I got citizenship, and pretty soon they wanted to put me back in school."
They talked for even longer, her asking how it was in London, and him answering her questions. She learned that after his time in London his knowledge on foreign languages had improved greatly, he said how during his last stay in Japan his sister had taught him English, and he had terrible fluency in many words back then.
Minutes passed, and Natsumi sat next to him, having forgotten her previous plans, while he looked on as her enthusiasm grew and finished the latest adjustments.
"And it's done." He announced, while finishing up the last of the computer stuff, "It's working now, it looks like the projector will already be usable, please don't tell the other students this because they won't be happy when they find out that I fixed Shimada-sensei's lesson capability."
It was difficult to hold in her giggles, seeing the pleading face of Emiya, who had apparently experienced something similar in the past.
She could see that outside, the sky had begun to take on a darker shade of blue, even turning into a midnight painting already, and her shadow along with her surroundings had become more pronounced.
"Ah, it looks like we got a little carried away." He spoke with that silly smile of his.
"Huh." That was the moment she realized he was right. It was already quite late and this was usually the moment when she was already in her house, she panicked seeing that it had been more than half an hour since classes ended.
He laughed wholeheartedly, seeing her so stupefied, completely different from her usual frown or stoic expression.
She crossed her arms and begun flowing down the chair.
It wasn't funny! She also didn't begin to laugh with him, not at all.
It meant she had to wait longer at the bus stop now tho'.
"I have to go now, I have another bus soon and I can't be late. By the time I get there it will be dark." She stood up, straightening up and doing some gymnastic movements, "Ah, my muscles hurt from sitting already!"
"Okay, see you around. Be safe, I hope to see you tomorrow."
After keeping her here and chatting her up, he still had the nerve to say something like that!
Before she had time to think about it, the words flew out of her mouth on their own.
"You stupid Ikemen. You're throwing around lines like you're an anime character! How can you say that with such a serious face." She muttered, hoping he didn't hear her true thoughts. It would be embaressing.
He heard! And he smirked at that!
Her cheeks flushed slightly and she left the classroom in a hurry.
Damn it, how could he look her straight in the eyes when she has them so scary looking.