So... Hello readers. I am currently not dead and I am not on hiatus, so I'm finally back into writing properly with a fiction that I promised at hand!
I apologize in regard to my delays in updates and uploads with my fictions and their series. School and my hectic life was getting in the way, but alas, midterms is now over a couple days ago and Winter Break is here! Two weeks off from school, which should give me enough time to return back to writing... until I reach to my doom of returning back to school.
Ah, the tired life of a senior in high school.
Anyway, I present you the SayaYui OS! 25,000+ words! Not technically the longest I've written (30k) but this is one of those fictions that I spent a decent month thinking about and days typing it. I could tell you that it was fun but at the same time, feels like work, LOL. And I am sorry for not being able to write any sort of Christmas special involving multiple pairings (I knew I wasn't going to make it), so my Christmas gift to you all is this fiction. Consider this a present I suppose, haha.
I would like to thank both Yuki88 and sakura_drop_ for proofreading and giving me their opinions on the story. Especially Yuki88.
Giving me some ideas to how the fluff scenarios can go... Although I personally am unsure if I even played it right, I'm glad you helped me out. Many thanks to you both!
Enjoy it (or not), hope it sorta meets all of your expectations, Merry Christmas and do look forward to the update on Sanity (Chapter 2) soon this or next week! Many thanks for following my fictions both readers and writers!
My Girlfriend
There was this loud… obnoxious beeping sound that resonated in my dream. Just when I was meditating peacefully on top of a fluffy, white cloud high up in the clear blue sky, the entire mood was completely ruined by the noise. Snapping my eyes opened in my dream, I realize that I now had awaken from the dream.
Blinking a few times, it took a while for my two eyes to adjust the surrounding. Brightness from the nearby window of my bed cracked through; shining upon my body gently. Birds heard chirping loudly right outside of the barrier between the room and the outside world. Sitting up in a slow motion with my right arm, I squinted my eyes while examining the room. Dressers across my bed in the corner of the room along with my desk right next to it showed the tidiness of my organization skills. Clothing of my school’s uniform hung on the chair with its clothes hanger intact; white short sleeves buttoned shirt accompanied by the dark black skirt that extends down to ones knees. Near my bed was a coffee table containing my iPhone and reading glasses if needed. And of course, there’s that digital alarm clock that kept on beeping even though I’m wide awake.
I did not hesitate to extend my left hand out to click it to a stop. Retracting my hand after a completed action, I suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot up inside of my skull. Instinctively I brought the same hand to the side of my head; wincing at the throbbing ache.
‘A… A headache… Maybe I must’ve stayed up too late last night…’
Yeah. That might be the reason why I’m having a headache. I’ve always had a problem with headaches lately; forced to constantly take medication in order to keep my head from bothering me throughout the day. My parents would be worried, but I always reassured them that it must be from the stress. Though it was a bit more painful than the usual headache I’ve experienced in the past, at least it was still bearable. Maybe I’ll take some pain medications before I leave for school. Specifically Motrin for my headaches.
Shaking my head slowly to erase the daze, I glanced over at the digital clock once more. When my eyes actually zoomed and focused on the time did I realize something important. Something… that I should’ve known long ago. Eyes widening, I immediately threw myself off the bed; rushing through my morning activities two times faster than normal.
‘I can’t believe I’m going to be late to school!’
I’ve never had this happen to me before. Even if I was a bit late from sleeping in, it was only at the most ten minutes. But this time? This time I had slept in for a good thirty minutes. And I can only make it to school if I skip breakfast and hurry to school as fast as possible. Ah, and for my parents, they are probably too occupied with their personal morning chores and daily basis, so it’s understandable why they didn’t have time to run up and shake me awake. Bouncing off of the bed after tugging on my white socks through my feet, I snatched my black school’s bag on my way out of the door. Thankfully the door was opened so I was able to rush out and down the stairs with ease.
“Yui! You’re going to be late!”
The male voice that belonged to my father, who was in the dining room, warned me about the limited time I had at hand. Hopping down the stairs with both of my hands fumbling with my school’s black bag, I replied back that I got his message. It was a little strange that I had difficulty getting up this morning compared to the other morning, but I wasn’t concern about that. I was more concern about being late and getting a scolding from my teacher and peers. Finally getting all of the papers in the bag, I flicked my glance over to my dad.
He was sitting with a cup of coffee in one hand and another with the job of flipping the newspaper pages. Every flick of his wrist results in a fresh new page to glance upon. My father’s eyes tore itself from reading a certain article and raised his eyebrows. “Yui… You’re usually up early. Is something the matter?”
I shook my head. “Iie. Nothing’s wrong.” And truly there was nothing wrong this morning. Okay, aside from a minor headache, it wasn’t major. Then from the looks of the situation, I’ll have to… delay taking the medication. Maybe I’ll just ask one of my classmates or friends if they have any. At worse, I’ll just head over to the school’s clinic and request for one if I must.
“Make sure to at least take your bento box,” I heard my mother, who was too busy washing the dishes, told me without even sparing a glance at my direction. “You should hurry, Yui!”
“H-Hai!”
With that said, I dashed forward towards the table to grab the lunch for today. Swooping in to snag it off the table smoothly with one hand, I twisted the situation so I was now dashing out of the door with a quick ‘Sayonara!’ I quickly clicked the door close behind before running off to my high school.
Thankfully Akihabara High wasn’t very far from my home. It’ll only take me about a decent ten minutes to reach to the school’s building. Hopefully my fast feet allows me to reach to my classroom before the bell rings. Last thing I would want to experience is the uneasiness of that ‘walk of shame’ to my seat. Gulping, I sped up; sprinting as though my life was on the line. Left and right my legs extended in front of my body; boosting it even more when it traded position with the leg from behind. Another luck was in my system for I was a fast runner due to being an athlete in the past. That was something I needed for rare crucial ordeals like this.
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And… thank God I manage to skid right into my class before the bell rings. My entire body slid in with such a dramatic entrance that one would wonder if I was in an anime; smoke easily imagined from one’s viewpoint. I just flew right past the teacher, Shinoda Mariko, who was just about to close the door on my face. Brown school shoes below me came to a stop right in the middle of the back room. Panting from the weariness, I huffed and puffed from the amount of energy I had burnt. Sweat rolled down the side of my face from the excessive heat I was gathering from outside. Heart pounding against my chest with all of its might, the lack of oxygen in my lungs were affecting my headache; almost making me light-headed. I shook my head slightly in hopes of removing such state from my mental system.
At this very moment, I felt all eyes pointing at my direction; all stabbing at me with curiosity and wonders. A little embarrassed, my cheeks felt like they were increasing by a couple degrees in terms of temperature.
Sensei Shinoda was heard coughing on the side; almost startling me with fright from being taken by surprise. Straightening my entire worn out body, I twisted my head so I was facing her. The older 32 year old female crossed her arms across her cheeks. Dressed in her usual gray attire that contains a white shirt underneath the mini jacket, her skirt just went right below her knees; above the matching colored high heels. Tapping one of her foot on the white tiled floor, she titled her head to the side. A single eyebrow was raised up on her face with slight amusement.
“I see that you’re nearly late today, Yokoyama Yui. That’s quite rare for it to happen to you.”
I was known as the second year student that has never been late nor close to being late. Everyone around school knows that, so it’s not surprising that they were, well, shocked to see me in a crisis like now. At that same time, I pivoted my heels so I would be facing my body directly towards the teacher. Bowing, I then apologized, “G-Gomenasai, Sensei Shinoda!”
A soft sigh was heard from the taller girl’s direction. Then a few steps were clicking on the flooring. After a couple steps were made, it stopped.
Confused, I lifted my head only to be met with Sensei Shinoda ruffling the top of my head; messing up parts of my black hair. The soft hand that playfully reassured to me that I wasn’t going to get a scolding nor be in trouble. I could only gap at her when she flashed me a small, yet gentle smile. “Try to come to school early next time, okay?”
“H-Hai…” I wasn’t able to say much other than reply back in a tiny voice.
Satisfied with my answer, Sensei Shinoda retracted her hand from my direction. Walking in between the two rows of desks and to the front of the classroom, she then announced to everyone else in the room to prepare taking notes for math. Moans and groans replaced the awkward atmosphere created not too long ago. It was as though the entire situation never existed in the first place. And I sure was glad not to be in the spotlight anymore within the classroom. Exhaling loudly, I decided to head towards my desk; which was located on the far right and second desk to the wall.
When I came close to my desired destination, I saw my friends, Shimazaki Haruka, Sashihara Rino, Kitahara Rie and Oshima Yuko seated around my desk as usual. It’s not much of a shock when I became bombarded with their questions and comments.
“Whoa, never knew you would be so close to being late,” Rino whispered loudly over to me as she glanced over her shoulder. I shrugged my shoulders in response to her, which led to Rie adding her own statement. “Were you not getting enough sleep?”
“I-I guess…”
“Maybe from watching too much porn?”
“Yuko!” I harshly hushed her, which almost resulted me in gathering the attention of not only the other students around us but Sensei Shinoda herself. Especially hearing the key word ‘porn’ would gain one attention just as fast as the word exiting out of the person’s mouth, even though I technically didn’t say it. Realizing that I almost got myself into trouble once again, I lowered my head and used one hand to shield a side of my mouth. “You know I’m not like you!”
Yuko, who simply shook her head right next to Rino and in front of Haruka, lifted both of her palms into the air. “Oh Yuihan~ You know that’s one of the main reason why people tend to stay up late.”
“You know I actually had loads of homework compared to the other days…” I grumbled.
Yet I was completely ignored. That was common when it comes to the shorter girl sitting diagonally from where I was seated. Knowing for sure that I won’t be listened to, I rested the side of my face with one hand; elbow resting on the very top of the desk’s surface. A few mumbles left my barely parted lips in regards to the minor situation at hand. ‘There’s not much to do now other than focus in class right now…’ Pondering over what I should be doing, from the corner of my eyes I saw Haruka continue to take her notes.
Oh wait. Those weren’t notes. They were… personal notes?
I saw her tear a small portion of the page littered with math equations in one move. Haruka swiftly extended her left hand out to deliver it to me. Taken a little bit by surprised, I reluctantly retrieved the piece of torn college ruled notebook paper. Flipping it a few times so I was able to read the fine prints of her handwriting.
‘Yuihan, are you alright this morning? You’re never came into class like this.’ I flicked my view over to Haruka, who just coincidentally met with mine. There were worries deep within the dark eyes connecting with my own. Even though there were no words nor expression written, the eyes spoke for her. Smiling gently back at the younger girl, I nodded my head. Nodding my head to reassure her that I was completely fine. ‘I just slept in, that’s all,’ I mouthed to her.
It looks like she felt relieved for her tense muscles relaxed; shoulders slumping. Closing her eyes for a second, she reopened them the next. Haruka too returned a smile. Then she shifted her gaze away from my figure and at the blackboard. Returning her full attention back at the lesson at hand. Dropping my smile, I too geared my head at the board and math teacher. And upon turning my head did I feel the minor headache I’ve felt earlier return back. I squinted my eyes when the pain flashed across my head. But I didn’t do anything about it. Right now was not the right time to complain nor think about it. It was a small distraction, nothing more. Maybe during lunch I’ll ask someone for some pills if they carry them around…
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“Ano… Paruru? Do you have any pain meds with you?”
I must’ve taken the younger girl by surprise for she rapidly switched her focus from packing her items into her bag to me. Her eyes widen a bit with concern scrawled all over her face. “What happened?”
“Just a headache, nothing more.”
“‘Just a headache’ you say? Did you just have one right now or…?”
“I actually had one this morning, but I was going to ask you or someone later.”
“Why didn’t you take it this morning?”
“Because… I was going to be late for school if I did use the time to take it.”
“Then at least ask me during math class this morning!”
There goes that interrogator that I always feared from Haruka. Whenever I got sick or ended up doing something foolish, this friend of mine would surely nag me till the end of time. Even if the entire situation was long gone, Haruka would still remind me when a closely related situation occurs in the near future. A lecture immediately flew out of her mouth as I tried not be blown back by the words. Exaggeration intended, of course.
Yawning, I waved one of my hands in the air as the other came to cover my opened mouth. “Gomen gomen, Paruru. I’ll ask you next time for sure.”
She puffed her cheeks cutely in response to how laid back my reply was. The brows were still furrowed to express her displeasure of seeing how careless I was with my health. However she said nothing. Rather her actions had spoken for her. Extending out her left hand that now held two red and white colored pills, Haruka urged me to take it. While I gave my thanks, she then mumbled, “Please be more careful, Yuihan. You know I’m worried about you.”
I formed a twitchy smile on my face. After I had pulled my hands away and tossed the medication into my mouth, I gulped it down with one swallow of a water bottle at hand. Though the foreign object went down my trachea and soon into my stomach to be broken down, the headache was still lingering in my head. It had gotten a little better though. Not to mention… That I was a little… dizzy? Maybe it might be from the fatigue for today. I am getting a little tired after all from waking up so late and having to run for my life to school. Capping my bottle, I had my other hand reach out to grab my black bag.
“You going to student council?” I heard Rino from the corner of my vision speak out as she approached to my direction. Twisting my neck so I was able to see her, I saw her proclaimed girlfriend long ago and friend of mine, Rie, right by her side. I bobbed my head in silence to answer her question. This led to Rie also speaking up. “Don’t you also have work right afterschool?”
Another nod of my head. Which resulted in a loud sigh from Rino’s mouth. Hands on her hips, she shook her head. “Has the term ‘overworking’ ever run through your head?”
“Er…” She was right. I have been an overworking student. A student that not only excels in class but also excels in physical activities and relationship with almost everyone. Almost a ‘Mary Sue’ definition if one wants to be blunt. However, it wasn’t true. I’m not perfect. I still have flaws that are fatal. And that one flaw is working beyond my limits. Which annoys Haruka A LOT.
A twitch from the corner of my mouth was felt. Eyes shut, I could easily imagine an imaginary sweat drop running down the side of my face to express my nervousness. I mentally prepared myself for the scolding I’m just about to receive from one of my best friends. However, little was I bracing myself with the impact of her karate chop. Her hand landed smacked the top of my head without hesitation. As if my headache wasn’t giving me enough agony for the day, a burst of pain just exploded within my skull. Instinctively I snapped my eyelids open and brought both of my hands to the top of my head; dropping the black bag and water bottle down on the floor.
“ITAI!”
I glanced over my shoulder to see just in time Haruka retract her hand. A frown plastered on her face.
“You seriously are making me feel quite grumpy a lot right now, hm?” she raised a single eyebrow. Yet that hasn’t changed her piercing glare that would frighten just about anyone. I shakily formed another cheesy, forceful smile. “Hehe… G-Gomen…”
There was a loud, long sigh stretching out for a good five seconds from the other girl. Her left hand reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose; squeezing the pair of eyes shut tightly. Then reopening them with her fingers still in the same positioning, Haruka then said, “You should hurry up to your meeting.” I saw her other hand extend out and made a shooing motion.
I listened to her advice and took my hands off of my head. Bending down to retrieve the dropped items, I straightened to see from behind the other girls waving their farewells to me.
“We’ll stop by the restaurant and keep you in company today~” I heard Rino exclaim from behind me. A smile ran across my face when I’ve acknowledged their possible attendance to keep me entertained for a bit for the evening. Bobbing my head silently, I returned my focus back on to getting to the student council’s room. As I walked away from the four friends, I also managed to catch one more statement from Yuko.
“Don’t push yourself so hard!”
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I tried hard not to snap when one of the two customers before me bluntly expressed his dislike about the food and restaurant entirely. Especially the staffs. The two weren’t even older than I and had a rough exterior style. Right hand ruffling through his short, brown disheveled hair as more grumbles exited out of his mouth. Dark eyes piercing directly at the table; making me nearly brace myself for a hole to appear out of nowhere at the very spot he stared at. On the other hand, his friend, a fellow male, doesn’t seem to be enjoying his bad attitude about the place overall. Occasionally I would hear the black ponytailed boy shake his head to warn the other person. A hand ran down to his chin to brush upon the barely grown beard; eyes squinted. That sadly didn’t get his message through for the short haired male was deep into his own world filled with irritation and rage.
“God damn this fuckin’ place. Such crappy services for us customers,” he mumbled.
“Sir,” I felt my forced smile grow slightly wider. “Here is your check-“
“I’m leavin’.”
Well that escalated quickly. Before I knew it, he had gotten up from his seat, gave me an icy glare and stormed away. The front of the entrance’s door was heard roughly pulled open and slammed closed afterward. Hitching my shoulders from such reckless action, I squinted my eyes at the disappearing figure. It was not long until the other boy apologized to me and paid for the both of them on the table. Hastily he ran out of the door in order to catch up with his angry friend.
Now left with an empty table with two plates nearly empty and another pair barely touched upon, I sighed loudly while retrieving the money.
Honestly, when I wanted to work in hopes of helping my parents and myself earn a few more cash for future use, I had sometimes hoped that the job I had taken would treat their employees and employers a bit nicer.
“Well that escalated quickly,” Rino blurted out from the distant.
From the looks of my other friends, they had a worried expression scrawled all over their face like a little kid handling a permanent marker for the first time. “Yikes. Please don’t tell me you get these kind of services every day…” Yuko expressed her concern as I approached to her and my other friends at their table. Seated near the window, all of their eyes trained at my figure. The forced smile that I had been painting on my face for a good while dropped instantaneously. Slight anger burned behind the cool exterior I’ve shown off. Not to mention that the dull headache I’ve had isn’t making this night shift transitioning any better. For the nth time that day, I exhaled loudly and placed both of my hands on my hips.
“Not all of the time, but there are customers that aren’t satisfied with what they want.”
“You’re the best waitress out in this business! Can’t believe the guy just talked trash about you when you did absolutely nothing!” Rie didn’t hesitate to burst out her opinion on the matter. “Listen to me, Yuihan. He is just a bastard that has nothing better to do than pick on others.”
“You sound like my mother,” I rolled my eyes. And the instant I rolled my eyes did I catch from the corner of my view Haruka crossing her arms. A stern expression smacked right on her face and shown as clear as daylight. Unconsciously I hitched my shoulders up high in the air when she scolded me for the second time today.
“Kitarie here is not trying to sound like your mother, Yui. She’s trying to comfort you and…”
And… her words trailed right off as my eardrums automatically blocked off her voice. I’m not trying to be mean, but I don’t think I’m in the mood to be really be taking in her lectures. Considering that it’s the second time for today, that’s more than enough. Waving my left hand in the air, I backed away from the group and pointed at the empty table.
“As much as I want to stay and chat with you all, I don’t want to get into trouble by my manager,” I explained. With that said, I rushed over to the table and gathered up the plates.
I reached out to one of the four plates. Stretching my hands out in order to retrieve the object, I made a small pile with those dishes. While I’m reaching in to grab and stack the other two plates, my vision began fading on me. The table before my eyes was tilting a bit to the right at a strange angle; darkness somewhat crawling and darkening the outlines of my sight. Squinting my eyes, I found myself leaning in with the palm of my hands pressed roughly against the table’s edges. Plates that I held seconds ago were merely stacked and sitting patiently in one spot for me. My breathing became slightly ragged as fatigue was getting to my body’s system. It took most of my strength that I could muster in order to keep myself from collapsing. Exhaling quietly but in a long extent, I mentally noted that I should head home early.
‘I think I’m getting a little tired today… Maybe I really am overworking myself like Paruru said…’
Unable to obtain enough sleep, stress from both my studies and student government, plus working part time as a waitress in a restaurant almost every single day afterschool? Definitely in the range of overworking in any common man’s book.
Shaking my head left and right, the dizziness eased back and brought the crisp setting back to my eyes. I blinked a couple times in order to reassure myself that I’m not going to be placed into another round of a dizzying episode. Fatigue still hung onto me along with the annoying dull headache. Biting the bottom of my lip to resist a yawn, I straightened my entire body. Standing upright with the correct posture, my hands grabbed the plates that I intended to retrieve.
It didn’t take long before I rushed behind the counter and into the kitchen. The double doors pushed open; flipping in and out as though the wind was pushing it at both directions. I was instantly met with the cold rush of air due to the nearby freezer. Glancing over at the separated opened door from the one I had just entered in, there was another friend from school that I knew.
“Oh! Hello there again, Yuihan!” Kuramochi Asuka exclaimed as she barely glanced over her shoulder. From my view, I could see that she was busy grabbing all of the ingredients for preparation of the next meal for another chef, who was her older brother. I merely smiled back gently as I returned the same greetings to her. When I set down the four plates on the empty table filled with other dirty plates, I felt the older girl finally exit out of the cold cabinet. The temperature of the room easily returned back to normal when the metal door sealed the area off from anymore outside contact. A few packages of fresh meat from the market were heard to be thrown on top of the other table residing in the middle of the kitchen. Her older brother had his left hand ruffling through the short black hair cut before taking ahold of the package. It then only took a matter of seconds before I had to use the familiar skills of avoiding her fetish for people’s ears.
“Mou… You should just let me nibble the lobe just a little bit!” Asuka puffed her cheeks, pouting. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her direction while feeling a faint blush of embarrassment cross my face. “Please Mocchi. Now’s not the right time.”
“But you always say that!” the long haired female pouted even more.
Oh my manager. It’s a wonder how this girl here is considered or even promoted to be the manager of this place by the owner; let alone she still is a high school student. But then again, her father owns this independent restaurant. Not to mention her brother working alongside her. So that might be one reason why Asuka gained the position of a manager. She isn’t a bad person at all, of course. Just a little perverted at times and has a strange obsession over… ears.
Especially mine.
Anyhow, Asuka is a reliable person that I know I can count on when the time calls for it. And for sure, I know she’ll be there for me.
Once our little small playful argument cease to be thrown back and forth to each other, the older girl then asked me, “Hey, I heard that there was two unhappy customers outside.”
I sighed and raised both of my shoulders in the air.
“One, Mocchi, and he probably was just having a bad day.”
“A ‘bad day’, hm? I highly doubt so considering the amount of cursing and threats he’s thrown at you.” She frowned and had both of her hands resting on the sides of her body. There was the infamous look on her face that clearly expressed her displeasure. Since I was one of the better workers here in the restaurant, if anybody dares threaten or hurt me in any shape or form, Asuka will go all out on them. Even her onii-san will assist her if the situation gets out of hand for the female. I’ve seen it with my own eyes one time when a customer was in a foul mood and shoved Kimoto Kanon out of the way one time. Boy, did our manager here rush out of the kitchen and straight up at the grown man’s face; consistently scolding and warning him to stay out of the restaurant for good. Right now, nobody tries to even tamper with her raging flames that represents her anger. Luckily no one has dared seen her brother angry. That was the last thing anyone would want to see since rumors flew around that his anger would rival a tiger. Just imagining what Asuka’s onii-san would react is terrifying enough.
Shrugging off a shudder that ran down my spine for a split second, I waved my hands in the air with hopes that she won’t be soon barking orders to the government’s special military force to hunt down the poor guy.
“Mocchi, I’m alright and like I said, he’s probably just having a bad day. And I highly doubt he’s going to come back if he sticks to his words.”
A scoff was heard from her direction. Cocking her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowed deeply till creases formed on her foreheads. “I hope so. If he has the nerves to show up at the restaurant again just to talk trash, I’ll make sure he ends up in the trash instead.”
“Protective as always, aren’t you?” I can just imagine an imaginary sweat drop sliding down behind my head as I watched the older girl grumble under her breath. A few cursing words were faintly heard yet hard to grasp into my eardrums. Asuka glanced over to the side and sighed loudly. Closing her eyes for a couple seconds and still keeping them closed, she then said, “Yuihan, you can go home early. I’ll make sure my father pays you the usual full salary for today.”
There was this awkward silence that grew between the two of us. I’m not sure why it turned out like this, but I soon spoke up my opinion on the matter.
“B-But Mocchi… Why are you letting me out early?”
Reopening her eyes, the taller girl crossed her arms across her chest and stared straight into my direction. “I’ve been noticing that you aren’t feeling so well…”
Uh oh. How did she figure that out so fast? I’m only gaining headaches and some dizzying episodes yet nothing is going on. They shouldn’t be considered under the ‘not feeling well’ category. Though I had nearly considered going home earlier, right now the effects was beginning to weaken and the headache was barely resonating within the back of my skull. Was the manager watching over me as I performed my duty without my knowledge? It’s not surprising, but it wasn’t something major that would send me straight to a hospital. It probably will get better tomorrow anyway once I get some sleep and rest in general.
I merely stared at her with disbelief. And that action definitely caught her attention. Frowning once more, she did a shooing motion with one of her hands.
“Now don’t you dare play dumb with me. You have been working a little bit slower and less reactive than before. I know something is wrong yet I can’t pinpoint it…”
“I just have a headache, Mocchi-“
“There you go again. Just go home, take some Advil and get some rest.”
She didn’t allow me to argue back. There was nothing to argue back against her. No matter what words I throw out at her direction, Asuka would shoot them down just as fast as they came. Almost as if she was a fighter having already trained their honing missiles at my statements. Finally giving up, I sent out my farewells to both her and her brother.
“Feel better, Yuihan,” he stated as he waved the ladle in a circular motion mid-air. I merely formed a faint smile. “I will.”
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Off of work early… And having four of my other friends accompany me to my trip towards my home… I finally have the night to relax. Though not exactly since tomorrow I have school. But lucky for me, I don’t have any homework. Today must seriously be my lucky day.
Plopping my entire self onto the bed in a swift motion, I felt the mattress’s surface curve underneath my figure, allowing it to sink. Softness greeted me with open arms as I lazily crawled into a proper lying position. Vertically adjusting my spot, I did not hesitate to click the power of the nearby and only light source from the lamp off. My hand extended out, fingers wrapping around the metal button on its side. Pressing against the surface, there was a faint clicking sound. Which it was followed up with utter darkness of my bedroom, washing into my view as if they were the ocean’s waves. Unconsciously a small smile formed on my face as all of my muscles relaxed for once today.
‘Finally… Some time to sleep… So exhausted today…’
As I prepared myself by snuggling into my warm blanket that just came out of the dryer machine not too long ago from downstairs, I briefly shot a glance over to my digital alarm clock. I frowned instantly at the time.
‘Barely ten o’ clock yet here I am, sleeping…’
It was… unnatural for me to sleep this early. Unless I was either sick or staying up for more than 48 hours right before this day, there was no reason to hide underneath the cover at this time. Usually I would be downstairs and conversing with my parents. But alas, I was too tired from what I’ve heard with them. My mother even shooed me to take a quick shower, change into my comfortable pajamas and head to bed. I wonder if I really look that tired. I had checked the mirror and all the reflection had shown was me and my normal feature. Aside from the slight headache and sudden increase in dizziness possibly due to fatigue, there was absolutely nothing wrong with my body. Maybe I really do need some rest for tonight… And a rest that will be well worth and earned.
Slowly I allowed my eyelids to shut themselves. When faced with the other kind of darkness, I used this moment to travel back into the deepest depth of my brain. Swimming through all of the memories and plans for my current life. What was I to do tomorrow? There’s class and there’s no homework. Plus, there isn’t a meeting for the school’s student council, so technically I’m free. Just have work to look forward to, but my shift does allow me to head straight home a couple hours earlier compared to today… Yeah. Tomorrow’s going to be a good day hopefully.
Soon my thoughts traveled backward in time rather than forward to the future. My mind replayed the memories of hanging out with Yuko, Rie, Haruka and Rino. All four of them were laughing as they threw out jokes and comments in our conversation within my living room. Back when I didn’t receive such an annoying headache that followed me around for a while, I would always smile and throw in my own joke every once in a while. The Kyoto accent heard slipping out of my mouth as I waved my hands in the air to create a visualization support. Laughter filled the air and the atmosphere was lively in the living room. Occasionally my mother and father would pop in and ask if we needed anything. The content smile that crossed their face showed how joyful they’ve felt with the bright setting. I wish to relive those moments again in the near future… And surely I know for a fact I will.
I felt the corners of my lips curve upward as I allow the thoughts to process through my mind. Soon the drowsy state and entering stage one of my REM state threw my headache to the side as if it never existed. So for once this entire day, I’m now able to enjoy the state of having a clear head; free from any sort of pain for the night.
---------
It was a lie! A lie all last night! I swear my body is playing tricks on me!
The instant I fluttered my eyelids open, it was the WORSE idea ever. The familiar pounding in that constantly rhythm and pattern had only intensified. Such scrutinizing pain to sit through… It was so bad that I nearly wasn’t able to wake up in time to my alarm ringing. My hand flew up to the side of my head immediately while the other supported in the action of propping my upper body up. Scrunching my eyebrows together, I had the urge to find a solution to such agony. I wouldn’t mind to hit my head for the sake of ridding the throbbing sensation. I swear that death would most likely end such sensation.
Then crawling out of my bed in a slow motion, the dizziness had returned. But it wasn’t the only thing that decided to make a comeback: my vision had gotten much worse.
Usually I wasn’t one to wear glasses since it was meant for reading. Right now however was different. My entire surrounding was slightly blurry. No matter how many times I blink and squeeze my eyes shut, it would still remain the same state. When I had my left hand scramble to retrieve the glasses on the table nearby, I was given the opportunity to regain my comfortable sight once more. Without it though, my eyes would continuously stare at the unclear setting. And despite the state I was in, I knew that I would want to continue going to school. I had student council meeting today and work. At least in regard to work, I have an early evening shift and will be able to return home without trouble.
Simply put: I’m most likely going to be pushing past my limit again for god knows how many times. I know I would make others worry but this odd sensation and effect is going to wear away sooner or later.
It can’t linger on forever, right? It has to have an end.
Though I had earned a few questioning remarks from my parents when they realized I had started wearing my glasses for the day the instant I took a step into the kitchen, I reassured to them that I just needed them for the morning. Grabbing a bottle of water to down my pain meds for the start of the day, I did not hesitate to rush out of the house and head straight to school. It didn’t really help to know that the fall season has now drifted over to the winter season, bringing in warning signs of both exams and the cold weather that will be brought forth to us students. Mentally I had to remind myself that I should borrow a sweater from Haruka or Rie when I have a chance. Or even call one of my parents to bring it up to me if they’re able to. It is starting to get a little chilly and I still had the uniform of a summer clothing. (And I still wonder why our school is so late into changing our uniforms to match the current seasons.)
When I came to school early a good ten minutes or so, I was able to see my group of friends. Glad to be away from the cool winds blowing by from outside, I unconsciously formed a small smile. All four of them greeted me both informally and formally as I approached up to them. It was a little difficult to avoid Haruka’s interrogation and the usual questionings from my friends the instant they saw me. After shrugging them off and persuading them that no, I wasn’t going blind and no, I wasn’t going to get some sort of strange terminal illness that’ll make me grow feathers and become a bird (as strange as that sounds, that was what Yuko had assumed), we continued class onward as any other day.
Zipping through the day and especially at work, it was… difficult. Paying attention to class was growing harder and harder as my headache slammed against the inside of my skull despite the pills I’ve taken earlier. It’s like a sledgehammer was pounding on the surface of inside my head in a motion like a pendulum from a grandfather clock. And the more I input the medication into my digestive system in order to send the required needs to keep the throbbing to a bare minimum, the drowsier and dizzier I’ve earned in exchange. Even then my headache still hasn’t gotten much better than this morning. Oh if only tomorrow was the start of a weekend… Where I can be more than happy to spend my lazy morning under the warm blanket and free from the usual fatigue I’m faced with…
Now I had just finished my work shift for the evening. Only six in the evening and the restaurant decided to close early. (They had a strange schedule of closing early every Thursday. Maybe in preparation for the busy and hectic weekends with their customers?) Already out of my work uniform, both Kanon and I were waiting for Asuka and her older brother. The two of us chatted softly while waiting for them.
“Today hasn’t been quite as busy as yesterday,” the younger girl commented.
I nodded my head once in agreement. “I agree. Personally I’m glad for it.”
“That is true… That means less possible dissatisfied customers to deal with.”
There was a small pause after her statement before we both cracked up. Despite my skull almost cracking in half from laughing, I couldn’t help it.
Kimoto Kanon surely was a cute girl to work alongside with. A freshman in high school and a year before me, this short girl could charm just about anybody with her adorable features. The dimpled smile and cute, frantic panic moments displayed every once in a while is priceless. And honestly, whenever we’re working on the same day, I felt glad. She’s one of those individuals whom you can trust to look out for you when things get messy on the job. A true co-worker that I can rely on.
Our laughter finally died down to complete silence between us two.
As we patiently stood by the front glassed entrance of the building, I took in the scenario of the entire view before me. The restaurant’s setting almost looked as though it had come out of a movie or some sort of famous photograph in a photographer’s album. With the sun setting down from the distant, its gentle warm orange rays descended down and easily penetrated through the glassed windows. The light bounced gently off of the seats and tables, allowing the shadows to be warmly lit in certain areas. Including the atmosphere, this made the entire area seem like the safest haven anyone could’ve stepped foot into. Just knowing that I’m here with Kanon to witness such sight puts a small smile on my face. It even eased my worries about my headaches for a brief moment.
“Yuihan, Kanon-chan, we’re ready to go,” Asuka’s voice rang out nearby.
Kanon and I flickered out eyes over to the two figures. When we dragged out attention to them, they were also in the casual clothing that has replaced their uniforms. Asuka smiling at us, she twirled the keys with her index finger rapidly either from excitement or impatience. Urging us to go on ahead and outside of the restaurant, she and her older brother both locked the front entrance.
Within seconds, we both now stood in the now-cold weather. Inhaling and exhaling the soft mist formed from such atmospheric level due to the changing climate, I buried my lower face into the collar of the sweater that I had borrowed from Haruka. (That didn’t come cheap at all though. I earned myself an earful of lectures from the other girl.) Hands tucked deep into the pockets of the second layer, I felt my exposed skin becoming slightly numb from the coldness. Feet shuffling back and forth, mentally noting that I should wear khakis tomorrow in replacement of a skirt for the sake of not having my legs entrapped in newly formed ice. Exaggeration intended of course.
Kanon on the other hand seemed prepared. Her hands with gloves over it and earmuffs, this younger girl looked like she was ready for a battle against the dreaded fourth and last season from the cycle. When I shot a look at her direction, the cute girl at the same time looked over at me.
“Are you going to be walking home?” she asked me.
I gently smiled and slowly bobbed my head.
“How about you?” I threw in my own question.
“I have Kumi picking me up.”
That was right. Kanon here has Yagami Kumi picking her up. Though I’m unsure of their relationship nor do I know the person very well, I have seen Kumi once or twice. A few years older than Kanon, she definitely has the aura of a very dense, yet protective, older sibling vibe when she’s around the younger girl. The two of them seemed very close, but that could be because of their age? Maybe because Kumi has a sense of responsibility as a friend to care for Kanon like an imouto? Who knows? No one will know the answer until one of the two girls proclaim their reason why.
I almost sneezed into the sweater, nearly sure that I was going to blow my brain out of its position within my skull. Shaking my head and feeling the familiar symptoms of the dizziness and fatigue crawl back into my body, I tried my best to remain awake and paying attention to Kanon. The hands in my pockets formed and tightened its grip into fists. Mentally I scolded myself in order to snap myself back to reality and the situation that is called ‘I am not home yet so I should try not to fall asleep’ ordeal.
The female manager saw me from the corner of her eyes and sadden her expression.
“You don’t look well at all, Yui,” she spoke with great concern. “It looks like you’ve gotten even worse than yesterday…”
“Eh? What are you… talking about?”
It looks like the older girl is about to face palm herself. Oh wait. She did. And physically too. With both hands not to mention.
Two palm of her hands pressing against her face, she trailed them down till the lower portion of her face and reaching the bottom parts of her hands right on the chin. During that entire process, she was groaning with frustration. Eyes penetrated like daggers at my direction, causing me to nervously glance away with worry.
“Please Yui, don’t play dumb with me for how many times you’ve done it. I suggest that tomorrow, you take a day off.”
That statement alarmed me greatly. Nearly bulging my eyes out of its sockets, I was taken aback and did not hesitate to physically express it. Both arms retracted away from my body and spread out on both sides as though I had dramatically found a dead body, continued to stare at Asuka with great distress. I opened my jaw yet not a single word nor sound escaped from my trachea. Which merely left me to staring at my manager; speechless.
Coughing into her hand, the older girl pointed her index finger from the same hand she had covered her mouth just a second ago. Pointing directly at my direction, she then said, “If I see you tomorrow for work, I’m going to force you to be our customer instead!” To make this warning clear, Asuka rolled up one of her long sleeves and formed a fist. Sure enough, she had sent the message successfully towards me. I think the last thing I would want to face is the infamous wrath of dear Kuramochi Asuka and her older brother. And I’m willing to avoid that at all cost.
With a loud sigh, I silently admitted defeat and returned back to my normal stance. Then as if she had won the jackpot, the other girl flashed a wide smile and stood proudly (almost arrogantly) with both hands on her hips. Chin up high and eyelids closed, she chuckled and huffed and puffed for another exaggerating effect. This entire scenario honestly looks like it had come out of an anime show… Which looks really foolish and just plain ridiculous. I nearly wanted to look away from embarrassment. Even her onii-san mumbled quietly to himself as he scooted away from his younger sibling jokingly.
Luckily Kumi had entered into the picture to avoid this strange and awkward vibe that was emitting out of our manager. While all can imagine an imaginary sweat drop roll down the corner of our face, Kanon twisted her body around only to nearly bump into the older girl. Unconsciously we all saw a smile bloom on her face as she wrapped her arms around the tall figure; side of her face snuggling into her chest. It could’ve been my imagination but did Kumi here just… blush? Or was that because of the cold weather that made her cheeks look much pinker than usual? Whatever the reason was, the girl ruffled Kanon’s black hair in a playful manner.
“Time to head home, Kanon,” she smiled.
“Are you going to stay overnight in my house like you promised?” Kanon questioned.
The short haired girl did not hesitate to nod her head once with full confidence. Retracting herself from Kanon in the hug for a bit, she leaned her head down slightly in order to affectionately rub the tip of her nose against the younger girl’s. There were giggles heard from the two, making it either too romantic or too cute. It might be a combination of both though.
Kanon pulled herself away and glanced over her shoulder. Waving to the remainder of us behind, she then intertwined her mitten hand with Kumi’s. The two girls then trended off towards the direction where Kumi’s white car resided. It wasn’t located far and from where we stood, we could hear the car flickers turn on for a bit as the girl unlocked the vehicle.
As we watched, I could hear a long, almost-romantic sigh from Asuka. A little surprised, I shot a glance over at the girl. And boy did she look like one of those romantic comedy characters. Hands cupping her own cheeks, she sighed one more time as she watched the younger girl enter into the passenger seat with Kumi’s assistance. “They are soooooooo in love~” she happily chirped out.
If I weren’t too bothered by my headache, I would’ve jokingly slapped Asuka’s arm closest to my reach. I merely rolled my eyes and adjusted my glasses in a single motion.
“Are you already jumping to conclusion that they’re in love?”
I groaned when I heard the not-so-surprising response from the older girl. Oh, that includes a squeal from the figure. Sometimes I wonder how Kanon and Kumi could put up with Asuka whenever she was around them. Especially when Kumi is a customer herself. Boy would our manager force Kanon to serve Kumi as a waitress no matter what the circumstances are. This would most likely define her as… a ‘shipper’ of the so-called ‘Kuminon,’ or so she likes to call them that.
Rubbing the side of my head with brows furrowing together, I then announced to her that I was going to take my leave for the day. I didn’t want to be mean and of course, I don’t hate Asuka at all! It’s just… I think it’s time I go home.
“Oh, okay then! You take care!” she transitioned from being a fangirling shipper to the usual, cheerful manager that she was. “However, you better not coming tomorrow unless you want a meal!”
I waved the other hand in the air. “Hai hai… Wakarimasu.” Then waving farewell to her brother, I pivoted on my heels and took my leave from the front of the restaurant.
It didn’t take long until my figure walked through the quiet pavements of the sidewalk. At this time at such a busy city of Akihabara, I’m not so surprised since the path that I was walking through was not too popular with many. There was no dangers of crossing through it since there was no exposed alleyways for any gang members to hide in and grab an unexpected individual. Rather many students and citizens took the tram for a quicker ride home; reducing the time down from a fifteen minute walk to a few minutes of their life.
To be honest, I myself prefer to waddle through the peaceful area. I wasn’t quite fond of being in tight, condensed spaces packed with other civilians like sardines in a tin can. Such a scenario that would make any claustrophobia individual squeak with terror if they were placed in that situation.
With a single sigh escaping past my barely parted lips, I buried my lower face deeper into the collars of my clothing, hoping that it would warm up my almost-numb face thanks to the chilly gust of wind.
‘Hopefully I’ll be home before it gets too cold out.’
Left foot forward, right foot forward. Repeating the motion and cycle of my leg thrown in front of each other, I made my figure walk through the cool pavement. Not a single speck of snow floated from high up the sky. Quickly I came to a complete stop, rooting both of my feet on the ground. Then I lifted my face upward till I was able to see the warm colored atmosphere from up above.
Thanks to the sun’s rays and the clouds positioning, it looks more than beautiful this evening. The patterns of a darker shade of orange washed upon those fluffy atmospheric objects. A couple seconds passed by and I could spot a flock of black birds cawing at each other, passing over my head and into the distant to my right. My eyes kept watch on the group till they became smaller and smaller to the point it was impossible to see them anymore. It’s a sight that I would love to take a picture of and view it over and over without becoming bored. Warming my heart even from the setting before me.
A shudder ran down my spine to remind me that I needed to get home due to the coldness. Blinking a few times, I shook my head gently in order to knock the fantasy and peaceful state I had set my mind into. Then lowering my face to a reasonable level, I resumed trending forth to my destination.
Taking my first step forward, a sudden wave of nausea crept up to me. Coming from my stomach, I instinctively covered my mouth with one of my hands. I prayed for the unexpected and uncomfortable sensation to go away, but alas, it had only gotten worse. Each wave pounded into me like they forced my body to convulse and spit out whatever resided inside of my organ. Keeping my mouth shut, I stumbled to the left in order to lean myself against a wall for support. The surface of the bricked wall was felt roughly rubbing against the sweater upon accidentally slamming against it.
Rapid breathing came into my nose and out of the same area, forcing my respiratory system to work harder than usual. Squeezing my eyes shut, I reopened them only to see my vision fade away. The nauseating feeling still remained in my system, screaming at me that I was most likely going to vomit. Black walls narrowed my vision from all sides and spots were popping all over the place, causing my body to shudder violently once. An annoying ringing sound resonated in my eardrum; almost as if someone turned on the television screen nearby. Squinting my eyes, I felt my body weakening from all these effects.
‘Stay awake, Yui. Stay awake, Yui. Stay… awake…’
My eyes felt the darkness overtake my entire sight without warning. All of my limbs lost their strength as if someone had sucked it out in one move. As much as I tried to resist, I wasn’t able to do anything. But before I completely entered the dark realm, there was a motorcyclist that rumbled from the distant, sticking out from the rest of the few cars that manages to pass by. It was the only sound that managed to break through the constant ringing tone from within my eardrums.
“A-Ah…”
That was all I managed to utter before falling into the blackness.
---------
I immediately felt my throat parched as the familiar hammer slammed against the side of my head. It wasn’t as bad as before, so I was able to bear through it. Barely regaining my consciousness and not even lifting my eyelids… Yet here I’m suffering from such anguish. Oh if there was a way to end it…
“N-Nngh…”
Automatically I faintly heard a groan escape out of my mouth without warning. And upon producing a sound did I become more and more awake of my surroundings. When my senses were trickling back into my system, I came to a realization that it wasn’t cold anymore. Rather it was… warm and comfortable. Almost as if I was resting on top of a bed with the blankets on top of my figure. And luckily at least the nauseating and fatigue had hidden themselves for the time being.
It took a while for me to finally manage lifting my eyelids open. The moment I opened them, I was greeted with a gentle light from nearby. Wondering what exactly it was, I slowly dragged my eyes to the right. And… there I saw a lamp. Upon seeing that my sight is improving, I was able to tell that the lamp was shaped like a biker’s motorcycle. Right by it was my glasses and a digital clock. Shutting my eyes briefly in order to clear my vision, I saw what time it was and… nearly yelped out loud (only to be unable to due to my throat).
The green digital numbers shown brightly on the black background stated that it was almost ten o’ clock at night. It startled me to know how late it was. Reality had already came to hit me with a slap on the face as I tried to push myself up on the bed; both hands trying their very best to use the little energy I had regained back from falling unconscious. I can dreadfully admit that my body felt like lead; almost near impossible to shift my position even. Sweat was forming from the side of my face from attempting so hard and still pursuing my little goal.
Just able to lift my upper body with difficulty, there across from where I laid was the door opening. It swung forth gently, revealing another individual that I had never seen before in my life. I glanced upward at the female biker that had appeared.
The short, black hair that matched naturally with the black leather jacket. It was accompanied by the matching school uniform I myself have worn too. (Hinting that she came from the same school as I.) The sharp facial features she wears that could either scare or attract just about anyone before her. Now if one were to look quickly over her without much thought, I wouldn’t be surprised they’ll label her under a male category. (She does look ikemen after all.) I could tell that the other figure was holding a glass cup filled with water along with a bottle of pills. Her dark, brown eyes widened in surprise at seeing my awakened status.
There was this awfully long and awkward pause between the two of us; almost as if they had stopped time briefly. And during this time span, I swore my heart nearly froze in its place and caused me to temporarily ignore the headache I still received from my brain. She honestly looks… handsome. While having such lingering thought in my head, I finally had to crack the silence by stuttering out a greeting.
“H-Hi… um…” I wasn’t sure of who or what to call this female student. Staring at her blankly, it finally clicked into this girl’s mind of what she had to respond back to me. Straightening her body in a stiff and sudden motion, she robotically walked into the room in a jokingly matter. Placing down the cup and medication near the lamp, the short haired female flashed a smile that could charm my heart if I allowed it.
“Yamamoto Sayaka. But you can just call me Sayanee.”
“S-Sayanee…”
“Hai,” she bobbed her head. Then motioning one of her hands towards the direction of where I laid, she then added, “I would like to know your name too, miss, if that is not a problem?”
“R-Right! Yokoyama… Yui desu…”
“Yokoyama-san…”
“Er, since I’m calling you… Yama-I mean, Sayanee… You can just call me Yui…”
This other girl named Sayanee chuckled and closed her eyes for a short moment. It seemed that she is amused to how fast we’re becoming friendly and already dropping the honorifics. Personally I myself am too.
Reopening the pair of eyelids, she came a little closer to where I laid and had both of her hands resting on both of my shoulders. Then pushing me down to the point I was back resting properly on top of the bed, Sayanee gently smiled at me again. Retracting her hands away from my upper body, she then reached over to the medication. The biker popped out a single, white pill and twisted the lid back onto its original position.
Having the medication in hand now, she turned to me. Using her other hand, Sayanee smoothly slid it under my head and raised my head up without any problem. Gently and slowly raising my head in order to reduce the dizziness caused by lifting it too quickly, she propped me up properly. With ease she allowed the pill to enter into my mouth without making it seem awkward. Immediately it was followed up with a glass of water to down the medication into my throat and down towards my stomach without trouble.
The female shook her head slowly left and right with disapproval. “You need to rest. You’ve passed out and remained unconscious for a good couple hours.”
Not surprising considering what time it was right now. Compared from the time I had just gotten out of work to the time I landed myself here with this girl, I was knocked out cold from my own body’s system.
Now laying back down on the soft mattress, I began to take in more and more of my surroundings and myself. I figured that I was inside of her bedroom due to the multiple posters of rock bands ranging from Gackt and The Gazette to The Killers and DangerKids hung around on the wall. Then there was my clothing, which has been changed into a set of pajamas that I’ve never worn before. And this was all done without my knowledge. Even more confusion was raised up in mind. Did Sayanee really… do this for me?
Looking over at her, I then asked the most ridiculous question on earth. “I’m… My clothes…?”
Sayanee, who was now standing on the side of the bed, chuckled once again and pointed her finger towards the opened door of her bedroom. “It’s in the washing machine. It should be available to you tomorrow morning.”
“…So you… changed it for me…?”
“Of course. Is there a problem, Yui?”
Bluntly spoken without any sort of trace of embarrassment. Not even a single tint of pinkness to signify she was blushing. This girl here opened her mouth as though she had been doing this sort of thing for a good portion of her life.
I gulped and shook my head. “Not at all. Just wondering…”
‘And feeling embarrassed about it…’ I mentally added.
I swore my face heated up just a degree higher in regard to knowing for a fact that another person I had just known their name five minutes ago changed my clothing without consciousness nor choice. I’ve never had a problem with someone giving me a new set of shirts and pants to wear for the night, but… Even though Sayanee is a girl… I just can’t help but feel awkward about it. Maybe it’s because I was unconscious and wasn’t aware of it. Yeah, it probably might be that reason to why I’m feeling embarrassed about it. I’m just not used to having someone change without knowing who it was.
Shoving that thought aside, I then asked another question that I should’ve asked when we first exchanged to each other. “So where exactly… am I?”
“You’re in my room,” she smiled.
My eyes automatically widen when I heard her answer. I knew this was a bedroom, but if I’m in her room, then that means… I’m in her house and… resting on top of her bed! Nothing wrong with it, but it wasn’t right and polite! The trouble that Sayanee has to go through in order to bring me to a safe location after I had blacked out… She’s done more than enough for what I need.
Almost as if she had read my mind, the ikemen girl chuckled and had one of her hands reach out to gently smooth my black hair from the side of my face. Though such action from a person you have just met would freak just about anybody, for some reason… It was comforting and brought warmth instead. Watching her, Sayanee then mumbled, “It’s okay, Yui. I can sleep on the sofa outside in the living room.”
“You shouldn’t, Sayanee,” I objected. Then using both of my hands groggily, I tried my best to push myself back up from the bed. If moving my arms were difficult, imagine trying to sit up. Alas, there was a loud sigh coming from the other girl’s direction before those firm, yet comforting hands gently pushed my body back down onto the mattress. Glancing over at her, I saw Sayanee shake her head. “You’re not feeling well and I strongly recommend that you stay on my bed for tonight.”
“O-Okay…”
I admitted defeat. As much as I wanted to oppose against it, it would not only be useless but pointless also. Dropping my tensed shoulders and allowing the muscles to relax, I kept my view on the student. She wasn’t looking at my direction but I could tell that she was still paying attention if I had any more questions to throw out. Which I indeed did have a few.
“A-Ano… Sayanee?”
“Hai?” she still wasn’t peeking as she politely replied back. Her eyes were trained on the lamp; not bothering to make any attempt to turn it away. Gulping, I then asked her, “I-I need to call my mother, so if that’s okay-“
“I’ve already told her that you were at my house.”
“E-Eh?”
The short haired ikemen hummed under her breath for a bit, scratching the back of her head. Trying to figure out how to word her ideas and reasoning for me. “You see…” Sayanee began. “Your mother was calling your cell phone while you were knocked out cold. So I answered it and told her that you were going to stay over at my house.”
“Did you tell her I passed out?”
“Yes I did, but I reassured to her that you were alright.”
Well I’m glad to hear what Sayanee had told my mother about my conditions. Anymore information with a hint of a negative connotations and foreshadowing my parents would be nagging me every single living minute of my life from worries. Honestly, the passing out incident not too long ago is in regard to overworking. I’m sure tomorrow will be a much better day. I brought my hand up to my chest and exhaled softly.
“Arigatou, Sayanee,” I told her. I was replied with a chuckle under her breath. Shifting her position, she was now standing up. Her eyes finally connecting with my gaze, she gave me another one of her smiles. “I’m glad to help you. Please take the time to rest for tonight.”
The shorter haired girl backed away a few steps before turning her entire body towards the only exit out of this bedroom. But Sayanee paused for a bit before fully exiting out. Not bothering to shoot a glance over at my direction, she told me to call for her anytime I needed something no matter what it was and what time I needed her. With that finally said, the biker stepped out and had her presence disappear from the room after closing the door shut from behind.
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[Next Morning]
“E-Er… You don’t have to… you know…”
“Know…?”
“You don’t have to bring me to school.”
“It’s far from here.”
“No no, it’s okay. I… can walk from here, thanks.”
I forced a smile towards the other female student. And sure enough… Sayanee wasn’t listening. On purpose, that is. Tugging the black biker gloves on both of her hands, the tomboyish girl rolled her eyes as I was about to open my mouth for another round of the persuasive battle.
“Sayanee, please listen to me-“
“Yui, I don’t want you to push yourself and faint again.”
“…”
I didn’t have any words to say. There was nothing to say actually. No comeback nor witty words came to mind in order to get myself out of this situation. In the very end, it looks like I didn’t have much of a choice other than to hope on the motorcycle with Sayanee for school today. Even though I was feeling much better than last night thanks to some decent rest and the medication… My headache was, for once, not bothersome like the last couple of days; only becoming a minor nuisance. Sayanee returned my clothing back and in regard to schooling, I had texted Haruka to stop by my house and pick up my bags. Thankfully I wasn’t bombarded with assignments last night or that would seriously affect me and my education. Not to mention earn myself another reward from the nagging friend of mine.
I continued to stare at the short haired girl as she finished adjusting her gloves. Dressed in a black leather jacket from last night over her fresh uniform for today, she took ahold of one of the two helmets hanging inside of the closet right near the entranceway of the front door. While she had put on the biker’s helmet on herself first, I glanced over at the doorway that leads directly to the main rooms contained in this building.
There was her uncle, who was too busy drinking a beer despite how early it was and chuckled at a television show; statics of the technological machine brought to life with a single click of the remote controller. Other than that, there was no one else other than Sayanee herself. Which surprised me after she gave me a brief, short explanation the instant I asked about her parents’ whereabouts.
”They… were people that didn’t deserve the title of being parents,” Sayanee spoke to me in a tiny voice. Fidgeting around in her spot as I texted to Haruka about picking up my school bag, she continued to explain. “My dad was a drug addict and my mom always went out partying with her friends. They never really cared about my existence except for my uncle, who was my mom’s brother. Even so, despite being drunk every now and then with the obsession over beers, he had treated and raised me properly as a decent individual in this world.”
My fingers came to a stop on the touch screen. Eyes now tearing itself away from the bright part of the phone and towards Sayanee’s, I felt sympathetic to the girl. To have to face and deal with this ordeal silently while wearing the expression of a smile that could fool just about anyone outside… It’s a wonder really. And I really wanted to help her, but it was too soon for that. I had only known Yamamoto for barely a full day. It’s a little silly to throw my trust to her, but… There was just something about her that pulled me in. Something that made me feel like she was the kind of person that’s okay to trust and stand by their side.
While I remained silent, Sayanee shifted her pose so she was standing up with a straight back, ceasing to continue her fidgeting.
“I am who I am right now. No matter who or what my parents were, I can at the very least thank them for bringing me into this world and giving me a chance to live a life as a human being.” “Oi, Yui! You going to put on your helmet or…?”
Hearing my name had caught my attention. Snapping me back into reality and away from the short conversation from earlier this morning, I blinked a few times upon seeing a light blue helmet offered to me. I glanced up to see Sayanee urging for me to take ahold of the object. And so I did in a single reach of my hand. When I took ahold of it, the other girl took one step forward in order to close the distance between the both of us, helping me properly adjust and put on the protective equipment on my head. While I fumbled around with the positioning, Sayanee had adjusted the straps so I wouldn’t choke to death.
I could feel every single breath of hers exit out of that mouth. Barely parting her lips open unconsciously and unintentionally as Sayanee tried to click the strap into place under my lower jaw, I felt my heart pick up its pace. Most likely from being close to the girl it made me feel nervous… or was it something else? Whatever it was, my heart was beating wildly against my chest. And this had only happened when I see a cute couple in a movie or book that I fully support and agree or read an amazing story filled that fulfilled my emotional need. My breath was caught in my throat and halted for a couple seconds in my respiratory system, praying for Sayanee to hurry up.
“And… done!” she exclaimed. Now taking a step away from my figure and increasing the distance from between us. Finally able to release the held carbon dioxide out into the atmosphere, I gave a polite smile back in return. “Arigatou, Sayanee.”
“Un!” The biker flashed a grin at me before pointing her thumb from behind her. “Let’s go to school then!” With that quickly said, the girl turned around and unlocked the front door.
“Uncle!” she called out and paused in her spot for a brief moment. “I’m going to be going now!”
There was a faint ‘okay~!’ heard in the background accompanied by the static from the television. Upon hearing his voice, Sayanee then hurried out of the house. I followed suit after her and saw that she quickly returned back in order to lock the door with her keys. Then completing that action, the two of us were walking towards the vehicle she has driven.
The black motorcycle that would be found on any sort of professional sporting website shined with its clean, rust-free surface. Gathered from observation alone, it seems that the seat was long and wide enough for two individuals to sit. Coming up to it, Sayanee hopped on first. Securing herself and scooting upward for a bit, the biker glanced over at my direction. Then with a smile, her gloved hand pat the top of the other half of the seat from behind her.
“Come on, Yui!”
“H-Hai!”
With that said, I then got on the vehicle. As I took the time to become comfortable, Sayanee glanced over her shoulder, watching to make sure that I was secure. There was a soft chuckle when she saw how nervous I was. "First time riding on a motorcycle?"
I silently nodded my head, in which Sayanee then told me to put my arms around her waist after getting comfortable. She said something along the line, 'I don't want you falling off the bike while I drive.' My behind at a position that won’t cause me to slide all over the place once the motorcycle goes into action, I slid my arms around the girl’s waist.
I couldn’t help but take note that Sayanee’s body was warm in the current climate change. At first keeping a distant between the both of us, I gave her a nod in assurance that I was ready. Sayanee tearing her attention away from my figure and towards the road up above, she used her right foot to kick off the brakes. Then with a single twists from both of her leather gloved hands, the bike roared to life. Engine rumbling and faint traces of smoke emitting from the exhaust pipes behind. In one motion, the biker and I were now zipping through the road.
It was a little startling at first. Tires rolling on the flat surface, I felt the wind pushing against my face; hair flowing freely in the favored direction of the wind. Unintentionally out of fear, I pressed my front body against Sayanee’s back in order to keep a firm grasp on her body. Despite her wearing a leather jacket over her school uniform, the warmth emitting from her body slowly made its way into my own body, warming me up. The scent that marked her fresh scent wafted in my nose thanks to the close contact. Arms tightening, I could faintly hear a soft chuckle from the biker’s direction. Yet she remained in my grasp and only sped up through the path.
.
.
.
After a decent ten to fifteen minutes, we have finally arrived to the familiar school building. Though the ride was a little terrifying at first, it was pleasantly fun in the end. I gave her my thanks and focused on heading to class.
Now I knew that Sayanee had studied in my school and current attends it. But to be a student in my class! I never knew that fact till now. The girl has already known I was in her class, so she wasn’t surprised. Despite being popular with the other girls… I just haven’t noticed her existence in class. Maybe I should start paying more attention to my surroundings and away from my own group of friends?
Having sat down already in my assigned seats, I glanced over and saw that she was sitting a few desks away from me; merely a desk away from Haruka’s. She still had that tough exterior yet all of the girls frolicked around her as if she was some sort of heavenly prince from a faraway kingdom. That smile and priceless reaction of Yamamoto Sayaka. Though as I was staring at her, I saw the other girl make eye contact with mine. There was the smile again. Different from showing it off to the other girls but showed compassion and joy behind it. I blinked a few times before returning the same treatment towards her direction.
Then turning my view away from the girl, I smacked my nose right against a thin, but hardcover textbook by accident.
“Itai!” I yelped out as both of my hands flew up to touch my aching nose. Squinting my eyes and covering the injured tip a few times, I saw the guilty individual that had caused such pain. Yuko was grinning like a clown at my reaction. Resting the book on top of her shoulder with the hand still holding onto it, the shorter female flickered her eyesight towards Sayanee. Then it returned back to me. That foolish grin was still plastered on her face. “Heard you got a ride from the great prince Yamamoto this morning.”
“Yeah? So?”
“Don’t know exactly what happened, but I heard that she had to take you to her home and rest overnight.”
“!”
I didn’t know where she was getting these information. Rapidly getting up from my chair, the cheap furniture had been pushed backward with great force, causing disruption and produced a loud sound as a result. It caught a few of my classmates’ attention, but I didn’t bother to care. Rather I wanted to know how Yuko knew what happened with me last night. When I stared at Yuko, the squirrel gave me the expression that she wanted to face palm herself; whether physically or mentally, it’s a wonder.
Scrunching her eyebrows, the girl exhaled loudly and kept focus. “Your mother was calling me since you weren’t home at the time you told her.”
“E-Eh…”
“Yep. She called me since she was worried about where you were. Not to mention our other friends. But it looks like you’re safe with another one of our classmates, so it’s no biggie.”
“Wait a minute. Could that also mean she called...”
Shimazaki Haruka. Oh God. My assumption was proven true the instant Haruka smacked me across the head with a paper fan from who knows where. Now transitioning my hands from my nose to the top of my head, I exclaimed out an ‘ouch!’ from the contact. Rubbing my head, I peered over at the brown haired girl standing to the left of my side. And oh boy, this girl was giving me one of the scariest glare I had ever seen currently in my life. Eyes were sharper than daggers and looked like it wanted to tear me apart from a mere glance alone. A shudder ran down my spine as a single sweat drop rolled down from the side of my face. Nervously I gave a weak smile, feeling the corner of my lips twitch every five seconds.
Out of all the people, my mother had to call Haruka too. It was to be expected, but now I was going to face the wrath of this nagging girl. Trying to brace myself from her scolding upon opening her jaw, I prayed to kami-sama up above that I survive through her harsh words for this morning. As if my headache was somewhat a nuisance to deal with, now I got Haruka and the laughing Yuko from the side; not bothering to send any help to my direction whatsoever.
While I was being blown away by Haruka’s words, I was gladly rescued by both Rino and Rie. The two girls bounced into the one-sided conversation and were frantically interrogating me about my whereabouts and status. Though they had already known where I was, they were asking such ridiculous question that only I thought Yuko would ask. And yes, that involved ‘Do you think Yamamoto-san is cute?’, ‘Did you take advantage of the situation?’ and ‘How close did you both get?’
A sigh escaped past my parted lips and turned my head towards another direction; unsure if I should be happy to see my friends making such a racket from my presence or if I should be slightly annoyed. From the direction I was looking away, Sayanee’s eyes met with mine. For the second time in less than ten minutes, we made eye contact. And now I’m wondering if it’s more than just a coincidence or if we both were having some strange connection today. Whatever it was, I could see that Sayanee was chuckling about the predicament I had to deal with in front of me.
Automatically I stuck my tongue right out at her. She really is lucky only to have to deal with the other girls that were like pigeons; all frolicking and gathering around the sole biker within the classroom.
Yamamoto shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, throwing out some sympathy points. Which… was followed by more chuckling. Another sigh was released from my respiratory system, groaning when Haruka smacked me on top of my head and on the same area not too long ago. Attention was drawn away and back to the throbbing head I now possess.
This is seriously going to be a long day…
---------
I had dressed up in my best, yet casual, outfit for the day. The day that I get to hang out with my friends. Heading towards the amusement park today in a perfect weather outside despite it being a little chilly is great day to spend at. And along with bringing Yuko, her girlfriend, Kojima Haruna, Haruka, Rie and Rino, I also brought along Sayanee. After knowing her and speaking to her for a good couple weeks, it soon dawned upon me that we were more alike than I had expected. Same interest, same motivation, same mind. It almost as if we were destined to meet each other since that incident after my work.
Consisting of merely a long light blue skirt coupled with a white blouse and a black belt wrapped around my waist, I allowed the near-same color sweater to cover my upper body. It was a simple outfit that was good for the current season’s fashion despite the weather. Simple yet perfect for the event at hand. With a small smile, I posed in front of the mirror for a bit just to make sure that it was the clothing that I wouldn’t mind keeping on for the rest of today.
After I turned here and there, I had my right hand reach over to my desk. Quickly and instinctively it grabbed ahold of a few pills that I took out from the medication container. I did not hesitate to pop them into my mouth followed by a gulp of fresh water from a nearby water bottle. Though my head doesn’t seem to hurt as much as before, I’m glad it had reduced down to a considerable level. Not to mention I didn’t need my glasses for today, giving me hope that I’ll feel much better soon. It’s one of those rare days that I am more than content to having such minor nuisance. Today is a special day after all to spend time with my friends.
Prepared, I made my way out of my bedroom and down the stairs. Climbing down the flight of stairs, I heard my father from down below ready to leave for work. Since it was a Saturday, my father was going to his weekly meeting with his company for publishing selected novels. When I saw him by the front door putting on his shoes, I hurried my pace in order to give him a farewell. Quickly I approached up to him with a smile.
“You’re leaving for work, daddy?” I asked him in order to make sure he really was leaving for work. Upon hearing my voice, my father stood up straight after putting on the final pair of shoe on his socked feet. Glancing over at my direction, he gave me a gentle smile with a nod. “Yes I am, Yui. And I’m assuming you’re going out with your friends?”
“Hai.”
Father chuckled deeply as his fixed his red tie. Adjusting it inside of his black suit, his dark eyes brightened. “You look very beautiful today.”
A blush crept up on my cheeks and colored it with pink from his words. Feeling slightly embarrassed, I lowered my head level unconsciously as a reaction. This caused my father to laugh and wave one of his hands in the air. “You really do look pretty! You are my daughter, haha! Carrying on your mother’s genes within you… I’m so proud of my baby girl.”
Then throwing a look over towards the kitchen, he and I saw my mother come up to the two of us. Wearing her pink apron over her clothing, she grinned in happiness at the sight before her.
“You look cute, Yui! Picked the right pair of clothing… Good job,” my mother praised. Reaching out to touch my shoulder, she pat it as if she was giving me the assurance that I was doing a great job in terms of fashion. When her eyes were trained on me for a couple more seconds, there was a fake cough coming from my father in the background. Hearing it once, my mother ignored it. But she couldn’t after hearing it about three to four times. Giggling, she tore her attention away from me and towards her husband. He raised his eyebrows and flashed his teeth at my mother. “How about me, honey?”
My mother laughed and jokingly slapped his shoulder. “You look stunning in that suit, dear.”
“Arigatou, haha,” he leaned in to give her a quick peck on the lips. Retracting away, he tilted his head towards the door and grabbed the briefcase that rested on the ground. “I’m going to leave now.”
Right when he opened the door, I saw Sayanee in front of the house with the motorcycle. Standing right beside it without the helmet, she widen her eyes when she saw me and both of my parents. Dressed in dark green baggy pants and a long, white sleeved shirt underneath the usual leather jacket she always worn; the female looks ready to head out in those outdoor clothing. Quickly she waved and ran up to the front entrance. My father stopped in his track along with me when we saw the other female. I felt the ends of my lips curve upward in content with Sayanee’s presence.
The moment she finally stood in front of my father, she greeted and introduced herself formally.
“I’m Yamamoto Sayaka, sir and ma’am. Yokoyama Yui’s classmate and friend.” Giving a quick bow down, she straightened back up and gave a polite smile. “Yoroshiku oneigashimasu.”
“Hm… So this is the friend you were always talking about, dear?” my mother questioned as she turned to look at me. I looked back at her and raised both of my shoulders, flashing my teeth embarrassingly. “H-Hai, mommy…”
“Hm…” My father seems to be in deep thought about my friend. Hopefully he isn’t judging her… I think. Nah, he’s most likely doing that. This is the first time he has seen me befriend a biker. Especially if they are a girl. Looking up and down at her like he’s observing for the first time an entirely new creature on the planet so-called Earth, there was a few hums here and there. It’s not surprising considering the fact that my father is very overprotective of me just like to his wife. If anything or anyone poses as a danger to me, then he would most likely chase them away with his words and fists.
Gulping, I watched the entire tensed situation unfold before my eyes. From what I can see, Sayanee too doesn’t look too comfortable in the situation. But alas, she continue to keep her calm composure and smile at my father natural. In a matter of seconds though despite it feeling like minutes, my father relaxed his shoulders and chuckled. “You don’t seem like a bad person at all.” Then with a laugh, he then walked right on by and playfully smacked the back of Sayanee’s back; almost causing her to tumble forward from surprise.
He took a few more steps before stopping in his spot. And where he had stopped was directly in front of the motorcycle. Eyes scanning left and right once again, both Sayanee and I were nervously watching my father make another one of his judgment. Though it was much quicker than examining Sayanee, he stepped back once in a single move and nodded his head. I could see his lips moving rapidly followed by a few bobs of his head, but no one knows what he’s talking about. It took another full minute before he finally exclaimed something.
“You got a nice bike, Yamamoto-san!”
With that said, my father then turned around and laughed heartily. From hearing his laughter, both Sayanee and I couldn’t help but laugh along too. Now out of the house, I turned to my mother and gave her my farewell, in which she replied back in the same matter towards me and my friend.
When we got out of the house, I could tell that the cold weather was picking it up, making me thankful for wearing a cute sweater on top of my outfit today. I’ll be warm somewhat as long as snow doesn’t begin falling down on this land. As I followed Sayanee, from the corner of my eyes I saw my father starting to enter his car. Before he hopped in, he told us one more thing.
“Have fun you girls! Drive safely and be safe!”
---------
We had a lot of fun. My friends and I were goofing off in the amusement park today. Running around towards rides and playing games in the park… It was a lot of fun. Both Sayanee and I were laughing our heads off from such day. It truly was a remarkable day to spend the time with my friends. However, I began to notice that my heart began to beat against my chest loudly and roughly every single time I get near Sayanee. My mind starts to play fantasy of being in her embrace within a hug and giving a kiss on her cheek, replaying it endlessly the more I lingered around the girl. To cuddle and comfortably feel safe in her grasp… What exactly are these thoughts supposed to mean?
Whatever it was, I knew the answer would be given to me sooner or later. But at the moment, snow was beginning to, for once, fall upon the land. At first, my friends and I were joyfully expressing how nice the weather was. Snowflakes drifting downward gently and touching upon the moment, snow had slowly begun to build up the whiteness on the land. All of us continued to hop on the rides and eat cotton candies together. Over time though, it was getting dark outside and the wind wasn’t exactly helping for the rest of the day. Which we all decided to conclude our excited day right now.
Since Sayanee drove me to the amusement park, she was going to take me home. After waving farewells to my friends and getting on the back seat of the motorcycle, Sayanee drove the both of us on the path back home.
However… it doesn’t look like the snow was being very nice with us from outside, causing Sayanee to have difficulty driving through the road. Not to mention one of the two tires of Sayanee’s motorcycle had flatten due to the rough road’s exteriors. Maybe a nail or some sort of sharp object had probed the tire and created a hole. But whatever it was, it landed us in a tough predicament. The both of us were stuck inside of a nearby temple and thankfully we were able to get inside before having the weather from outside hit us.
No one was residing in the small, one story building so we both sat down inside of the main prayer’s room, hoping the weather outside clears up. Candles and gentle lights were automatically ignited and turned on from a monk or shrine maiden before taking their leave an hour or two ago, allowing the light to bring comfort into the atmosphere. There wasn’t any doors, so anyone was welcome to stay for the night or two if they had their own necessities. Of course, we both weren’t planning to stay overnight; just waiting for the storm to clear up and get some sort of help in order to fix the tire.
The two of us were sitting at the very back of the temple, leaning our back against the bottom block that is the base of a huge Buddha statue. Accompanying on the sides of the statue was a few smaller ones. All of them had incense that were freshly lit; the burning ends producing a gentle waft of smoke.
The night sky filled with lights from the Akihabara city in the distant could be seen from where we sat. It would be pretty if it weren’t for snowing so badly outside, having the idea that just the two of us close girls would glance out and peacefully enjoy the scenery. But sadly, we were stuck inside of the shrine.
There was silence between the two of us, not bothering to start up a conversation nor desiring to. The two of us were far too busy staring out into the distant. Sitting to my left when I glanced over, I saw a smile form on her face as she gazed at the city. Unconsciously I too felt my lips curve into a smile when I saw the other girl. Sayanee looks dashing and lovely in her leather jacket and clothing for today. Though they were meant for boys, she’s handsome in them. The proud face that could charm just about any male and female in her sight… It’s a wonder how she was born to have such beauty.
While I was watching her… I soon saw her eyes connecting with mine. And the instant it made eye connection, I felt my heart skip a beat. Eyes were slightly widening as we stared into each other. I barely parted my lips as I saw how beautiful Sayanee really is. How much I want to just lean in… and steal her lips with a single kiss. To tell her that she-AH. What was I thinking?! She’s my friend! I-I can’t love her since I don’t even think she loves me-W-Wait wait wait. She has to say something!
Sayanee began to open her mouth. The moment she opened it, I focused all of my attention towards what she has to say to me. And… she said…
“Yuihan? Is there something on my face?”
“…E-Er, n-nothing at all!”
Right. I was too shy to tell her how I really feel. My heart goes pounding every time I think of her… To tell her that maybe I was admiring her? Or maybe… I really was falling for her? Whatever it was, I’m too scared to tell her. What if she rejects me? What if she sees me as an awkward person for having such feelings towards her? Softly laughing off my thoughts and the answer I had automatically given to her, it only took a couple seconds before I sneezed.
“Ah, you’re going to catch a cold with that sort of sweater on you…”
“I-I’m really okay though-achoo!”
It doesn’t look like my nose will comply with what I wanted to say. Now starting a sneezing frenzy, I sniffled as I felt the need to sneeze once again come back. Mumbling a few incomprehensible words underneath my breath, I had both of my hands grasp opposite arms and hug myself, rubbing them up and down in order to warm myself up. The heat though created by friction isn’t exactly a long term solution in this case. After a split second, I was shivering from the cold. Mist exiting out of my mouth despite wearing a sweater, I grumbled a bit more to myself about the weather.
‘I really should wear something a bit heavier than this… It’s honestly still cold with this much layer… Brrr!’
As I continue to warm myself up, I had a thought flicker through my mind.
‘I wonder… if it’s okay to sit close to Sayanee… since body heat is nice enough-‘
“Here Yui. You can have my jacket.”
I ended up having Sayanee’s black leather jacket on top of my lap. Blinking a few times in confusion, it took a full minute to notice that she had given me her only source of warmth via clothing. Expressing my shock verbally, I shook my head.
“Sayanee, you can’t just give me this-“
“But you’re shivering and sneezing. You need to have another extra layer of clothing on you-“
“We can share!”
“…”
Ah, I probably had said a little too forcefully and too much there. Yet I remain firm on what I had just said and stared directly into her eyes. I wanted to give her the message that I was being serious and if she really wanted to help me, then I want to help her too. Besides, this jacket is actually big enough for two individuals if they huddle close enough.
Wait.
Huddle… close enough? ‘Huddle’? HUDDLE?
My cheeks felt heated despite how cold the environment was. Sayanee before me just stared at me like it wasn’t strange at all to huddle. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with huddling together but with Sayanee! I feel… really awkward and embarrassed for some reason… While I was contemplating on my actions, my friend ushered me over with a motion of her hand in order to bring me closer to her. When I saw her urge me to scoot closer, there was a slight hesitation in my action, but I followed her order. As I shifted my position to the left, I saw her take the jacket away from my lap and properly opened it in a way that the jacket would cover the two of us.
Soon the two of us were sitting close to each other. Breathing out visible mist that lasted for a mere second in the atmosphere, we both were warm thanks to both the jacket and our body heat. Hands together and held close to my chest, I continue to stare out into the scenario before us. Every once in a while I would sneak a glance over at Sayanee and see the ikemen eyes closed. She looks peaceful despite the predicament we are stuck with at the moment.
I flickered my view back to the setting. As I watched lazily, after a while I felt the girl beside me shift her position. I knew she was trying to get comfortable, so I wasn’t bothered by it at all. However, what I was clearly surprised was when Sayanee brought her right arm up and wrapped my body with it, pulling me closer to her. Her other arm came to securely keep me in her grasp. Like a child hugging a mother. Though not expecting this, I did not resist against it. Rather I welcomed it.
Carefully I made my action of resting the side of my head against her shoulder, letting it be my support. Sayanee doesn’t seem bothered by it from what I could tell. And if she isn’t bothered… Then there’s nothing wrong with it.
Resting against her warm body, I was getting comfortable and even felt sleepy. I could just take a nap in her arms like this… But I can’t sleep like this. I snapped myself awake and shook my head in hopes to clear such drowsiness. I can’t sleep now. Not in a place like this at least. We still have to wait for help from the dealer that’s going to replace the tire of Sayanee’s motorcycle.
I exhaled loudly to show that I was awake. Which probably made Sayanee open her eyes. Turning her head towards me as I retracted away from her shoulder, she raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay, Yui?” she asked.
“I’m okay.”
“Hm… Okay then.”
She gently smiled at me before adjusting the jacket over on my side. As she leaned over slightly in and reached out with her right arm in order to properly fix the positioning, her face unintentionally became close to mine. And it was so close that I was able to feel and smell her breath. Gulping, I stared at those pair of lovely lips before my eyes. They look irresistible and kissable… If only I could just lean in slightly and press my lips against it…
AH.
Wait.
I actually did give her… a kiss. Like an actual kiss. Lips on lips. I had performed it without even thinking about it. Sayanee in front of me halted in place, widening her eyes from such surprising move from me. I could only stare at shock into her eyes when my lips were pressed against her. Realizing what I had done, I separated from her just as fast as I had placed the kiss on her.
“I-I’m sorry… I-I shouldn’t have done that,” I stuttered out rapidly after such embarrassing move. Feeling my entire face heat up in such ridiculous level, my eyes were looking at anywhere but her face. Left, right, up, down, I tried to look away from her face. I was hoping that I was going to earn myself a slap on the face really from kissing her. Ahhhhh, what am I going to do!?
As I frantically formulated a plan in order to get myself out of this sticky situation, I saw from my sight… Sayanee… actually laughing? And it wasn’t laughing out of mockery or making fun of me. Rather… it was a laughter filled with silliness and joy?! I was unsure of how she reacted from what we had just done so far, but I felt her hands reach out to grab ahold of my own pair of hands. Tenderly she held onto it and lifted it up in a slow motion, forcing me to look down at our hands for a bit before glancing up at her face.
The eyes that I see showed emotions that I could never describe before. Emotions that were filled greatly and they were something I hadn’t seen before ever since I first met with her. With that smile still plastered on her face, Sayanee firmly then said, “Yokoyama Yui… Do you… love me?”
Such a blunt question to ask out of the blue-wait. It’s not technically out of the blue, but it was coming out of nowhere. Unsure of where this was going and feeling my heart race within my chest, I shyly nodded my head.
“H… Hai… I do love you…”
“I see… I…” Sayanee sucked in a deep breath before firmly finishing her sentence. “…do love you too.”
Hearing those words nearly made my heart stop beating. Widening my eyes, my ears were in the state of denial at the moment. Did I just… Did I really hear what Sayanee had just confessed to me? Did I really hear her reciprocate her feelings back to me?
Those rhetorical questions were flying all over the place in my head with no form of escape, almost to the point of driving me insane. But alas, Sayanee, seeing how flustered and shy I became compared to what I had just did with her a minute or two ago, squeezed my hands gently. Without saying a single word, she captured my lips with her eyes closed. I blanked out the instant our lips were connected. It was much longer than what I had in mind and what I had done earlier, but contained the same sweetness. Maybe even more. Not thinking twice about my actions, I closed my eyes too and kissed her back.
When we separated, our eyes opened yet never left each other. Staring into each other’s eyes, Sayanee still had her hands protectively holding onto mine. The familiar smile crossing her face despite blushing caused me to return the same treatment to her. Despite the situation we were in, this kiss had made our night. And the kiss that sealed our relationship to the next level.
--------
Ever since that day, both Sayanee and I had been closer than before. Though it was a little awkward to publicly show that we had indeed shared our love together, it progressed from merely holding hands and greeting each other to sending quick pecks on the cheek and hugs. And it looks like everyone in school didn’t mind about our relationship.
Shimazaki Haruka was beginning to scold at me as usual, but on a much different matter than I had expected. She’s been lecturing to me about how to maintain a relationship with another person. Backing her up is Yuko and her ridiculous stories with her ‘Nyan Nyan’ or also known as Kojima Haruna. Ugh. Even I have to admit it, her advice sometimes were… way beyond the limits and knowledge that I myself have mentally and physically. But anyway, my friends were supportive of our relationship and not so surprising, my entire school didn’t flip out about this relationship between Sayanee and I. Guess our school is flexible and not so anti-gay in general.
Now in regard to my parents and Sayanee’s uncle… It was a little hard to grasp at first. My parents were truly shocked that I had fallen in love with not only a close friend of mine but someone who was the same gender as I. But they soon came to terms that it was okay for me to love Sayanee. It was okay to love Yamamoto Sayaka no matter what gender she was. As long as she wasn’t causing any sort of pain that would make me suffer terribly, my mother and father welcomed her with open arms.
As for Sayanee’s uncle, he was… actually quite open compared to my parents. A little too open I must say. Nearly offering me his dozens of beers, having his arm over my shoulders and speaking to me like I was an old buddy of his… He not only spoke randomly of my girlfriend’s embarrassing aspects but also how good she was. He gave many pointers to show that Sayanee was the kind of person that would not only remain loyal to me but would do anything for the sake of my happiness.
Overall on both sides, they came to agreement that it was completely fine for the two of us to be girlfriends. And the two of us were more than grateful for such result to occur. (Since we know for a fact that there are those who have a much more unpleasant result about their relationships from others.)
Sayanee is truly the girlfriend that had the aspects that I wanted in somebody. The aspect of being loyal, loving, caring, gentle, honest and overall intelligent and funny is on the top of my list. Whenever I would complain about my headaches and feeling nauseous, the ikemen girl would always be there for me. Always run to grab the medication if I needed it. Even if my home or the pharmacy is a good distance away, she would hop onto her motorcycle and zip away just for me. Stopping by during my work almost all of the time to talk with me. (That includes saving me from Asuka's ear fetish attacks and scaring away the customers that dare talks trash of me.) This girl... truly is the girlfriend that I'm proud to have by my side, to know, and to love.
Sitting in lunch now, I took a bite from the small chunk of white rice I managed to pick up with my chopsticks. Chewing it and quickly taking in a piece of cooked seasoned beef made from my mother this morning, I stifled a laughter as Rino made one of her infamous jokes. Which… In the end, earned herself a smack on the head by Haruka due to including the poor girl into the joke. Never knew that Haruka would actually be salty to the famous Maeda Atsuko in school just because Atsuko had dozed while standing up during the girl’s lecture. I’m not surprised but at the same time… I felt bad. It’s hilarious though the way Rino had told the story. With her hands flying all over the place and priceless expression worn to exaggerate the effects, it is funny.
When I had the moment to laugh, Sayanee right beside me laughed along. She had just finished taking a bite into the onigiri that I had given to her earlier this morning. Taking another bite, the biker glanced over at my direction for a bit before nudging me playfully. Then sitting normally, she listened to what story Rino had to pull out of her pocket this time. It wasn’t long before I nudged her back jokingly.
I could see that she was enjoying this. So was I with our playful personality. The two of us were having a mini-nudge war as Rino was now talking about how she found a squirrel stealing her candies from Halloween. Yuko from the corner of my view was snickering the instant she saw both Sayanee and I joking with each other. There’s then both Rie and Haruka, who were quietly eating their lunch and laughing every once in a while.
The entire lunch period was peaceful overall. I was surprisingly feeling better today and didn’t even have to wear my glasses. Today honestly was one of the few days that I didn’t have to wear my glasses from having such blurry vision. I’m not sure what caused it but now that it’s gone, I don’t think a trip to the doctor is required.
As I took another chunk of white rice after eating the meat from my bento box, I felt that annoying ringing sound resonate in my ear. Slightly confused, I lowered my chopsticks down and laid it on my lunchbox. Having one hand come up to touch the side of my head, I squinted as the sound was only getting worse. Getting up from my seat, I saw my girlfriend sent me a questioning and alarmed look over at me.
“Are you okay, Yuihan?” she asked me.
I wasn’t able to answer her question properly. Rather I was far too focus on getting rid of this annoyance. Right when I was finally able to grasp my voice and tell her that it was nothing, that bursting headache came into play. And it came HARD. Not even a hammer could describe the impact of the blast of pain it sent towards my skull.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I blindly left the area I resided in. I shook my head when the questions of concern were being thrown at my direction. But nevermind that, I can barely even hear them at this point. Stumbling left and right, I had my hand tighten its hold from the corner of my head. The nauseating feeling was worse than ever before that I had experienced. Almost as if I could puke any second now yet unable to. Breathing in and out rapidly as my heart slammed against my chest, I came down onto my knees. And the instant my knees came into contact with the ground, immediate darkness flashed across my vision.
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(con. in next post)