Chapter 7: Returning Home
Classes end, and it’s time to go home.
I cram all of my books and notebooks into my desk and heave out a tired sigh. I stand up, ready to leave the classroom. Everyone's been eyeing me curiously ever since Touka made a scene during lunchtime. There's nothing I can do about that, so it's better to just suck it up and move on.
I made sure to have some fun while it was happening, though. Whenever I returned someone's stare, they'd let out a small shriek and quickly avert their eyes without fail. It was pretty amusing.
Anyway, I’m so tired. I just want to go straight home so I can be a potato. Unfortunately, I'd already made plans with Touka. We decided to go home together, even though she never mentioned where we should meet for that.
If I wait for her at the school gate, I’d only scare the other students who're trying to leave. Maybe I should just ask Touka. I’ll just take out my phone, and… huh? There’s a message from her.
"Busy atm w/ppl in my class. Can u wait for me at urs?"
"Sure, I’ll be here," I answer.
I sit down again and lean over the desk—there's not much I can do now but wait.
“Hey Yuuji, you got a moment?” Ike asks, suddenly materializing in front of my desk.
I can tell that whatever he wants to talk to me about isn't just normal small talk.
“Um...! D-Do you mind if we talk to you for a bit, Tomoki-kun?! I swear it won’t t-take long!”
Hasaki Kana is with him. She struggles to talk to me, stuttering over her words and just generally acting strangely. I think this is the first time in my two years of high school that I've been approached by anyone of their own volition… at least, apart from Ike.
“Uh, yeah, sure. What’s wrong?” I ask.
Hasaki freezes in place, and her eyes tear up—she’s too scared to even speak. Good thing Ike’s with her. He notices what’s going on, smiles at me, and asks in her place.
“Oh, it's nothing, really. I just came to ask about you and Touka. Hasaki was pretty interested in hearing the details too, so here she is.”
Oh, right. I should've known that's what it was going to be about, considering the scene Touka made earlier and all. I almost forgot that Hasaki's been their friend for ages, so she's been a part of their childhood. Like I told Touka earlier, I bet Hasaki thinks of her as her own sister, in a way. I wouldn’t be surprised if she's worried about Touka going out with the school's supposed bad guy. If I were in her shoes, I’d be worried too.
“Uh, sure. I’ll explain it to you guys. I don’t want others to listen in, though, so if you guys don't mind moving somewhere else. Maybe somewhere less crowded...”
“Sure. Let’s go somewhere else, then.”
Hasaki nods frantically without saying a peep. I can definitely sympathize with her. She must be struggling with a lot of emotions right now, on top of fighting that fight or flight instinct. She’s willing to face her fears just for Touka, though.
I take a good look at her. Deep down, she’s a nice person. Unfortunately, the moment I lay eyes on her, her face goes beet red, and she hides behind Ike.
I didn't mean to scare her. Man, I feel terrible now...
☆
Hasaki, Ike, and I head to a place near the emergency stairs. It's the perfect spot for solitude since most people don't walk by.
“I tried asking Touka through text, but she wouldn’t even open it. I just wanna be sure of a couple of things; hopefully you understand. Like, for starters—how long have you been going out now?”
Touka has to be the only girl on this planet who'd totally ignore Ike's messages. But that's beside the point—I see he's not wasting any time jumping straight into the questions. Hasaki frantically nods to his question while hiding behind him. Well, if he’s going to be frank, I might as well be, too.
“Uhhh, well... Yesterday, she basically told me to meet her on the roof during lunch, and she just confessed to me. After that, I guess we were official.”
Touka might think it best to ignore him, but I don't see the harm in telling him about our relationship... just as long as I take out the part where we’re just faking everything.
“So the day after you two met, right? Um, so you’re actually going out? No joke? I mean, why would you go out with Touka of all people? I'm guessing you barely even know her.”
He's not wrong; I really don't know a thing about her. The only thing I know, based on our exchange that day, is that her personality leaves much to be desired.
I’ll just tell them about all the things I like about her that made me want to date her… then again, I kinda have to rack my brain for any good traits…
“I mean, she’s cute, so…”
Both Ike and Hasaki are surprised by my answer. Actually, Hasaki seems more angry than surprised.
“Wait, does that mean-! D-Does that mean that as long as she's cute, anyone's good enough?! Like, it could’ve been anyone other than Touka, right?!”
Hasaki jumps out from her hiding spot and starts shouting at me. I can only stare at her, utterly perplexed. Her shoulders are visibly trembling despite her shouting.
“So you’re saying you just went out with her because of her looks, not because you actually like her?” she asks. The two of them wait for an answer.
They wouldn’t be wrong, in a way. I mean, I don’t really particularly feel anything for Touka. There's no love or anything sappy like that. Then again, it’s not like I hate her, either. If I really had to pick, I'd say she's on the neutral scale for now. But, putting that aside...
“No, it's not just 'anyone.’ What I like about her is… that my looks didn’t scare her at all.”
I'm not thrilled about saying that, and Hasaki doesn't seem too pleased, either. She's visibly frustrated, with clenched teeth, and... wait a second, is she about to cry?
“I… I’ve always…!”
She’s about to say something, but she can’t find the courage to continue.
“It's better not to say anything else right now, Hasaki,” Ike tells her.
His calm demeanor is a stark contrast to her hysterics. She looks at him helplessly and desperately tries to say what's on her mind. Finally, choking out a sob, she cries, “Waah! Haruma, you idiiiooot!”
She runs off toward our classroom. Ike turns and looks at her retreating figure.
Well, I get what she was trying to tell me, even if she didn't say it. Yep, I've got it all figured out—Hasaki likes Touka and really cares about her. I bet my totally bullshit excuse for dating her made Hasaki so upset that she ran off like that, unable to accept the situation.
“Uh, sorry about that, Ike. You saved my ass there.”
I’m pretty relieved, to be honest. I wasn't really expecting her to call me out like she just did.
“Huh? What do you mean?” he asks, confused.
I guess he just doesn’t consider this a favor. Seriously, he's such a great guy.
“In any case, I’m just relieved that it’s you. Here I thought that Touka had hatched some kinda scheme or something, and was just forcing you to go out with her... but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”
His words make me freeze. Spot on. I mean, I was the one who decided to go along with her plan, but it wouldn't be much of a stretch to say she was forcing me to go through with it.
“G-Good to know.”
Ike nods and smiles.
“Touka's can be a pretty big handful sometimes, but deep down, she’s a good girl. Hopefully you treat her well,” he says as he taps my shoulder kindly.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about all this. I mean, Touka was probably hoping he'd be jealous of us. She probably didn't expect him to accept our relationship as easily as he just did.
Plus, there’s no need for him to tell me to treat her well. Isn’t that obvious?
“Sure thing. Leave it to me, dude,” I reply with a slight smile. That's weird—I rarely ever smile.
Suddenly, my smartphone buzzes. I take it out and see Touka’s number displayed on the screen. Wow, good timing.
“Is it Touka? Take it, dude.”
I tap the green phone symbol, only to be greeted with her angry voice.
"Senpai, why are you not in your classroom?" she snaps in a harsh tone.
“Sorry, Ike and I went somewhere to talk. I’ll be there in a bit.”
"You were with my brother?"
Looks like that didn't help improve her mood.
"Anyways, I’ll be waiting in front of your class."
“Got it,” I say as I hang up.
“...She’s mad, isn’t she?” Ike asks.
“Definitely not in the best mood right now.”
“It’s my fault for having you come here.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
He smiles.
“I knew you'd be the best choice for her boyfriend,” he says. He turns around and starts heading down the stairs. He explains, “If I go with you and see Touka, she’ll just look for a reason to argue with me. I’ll just leave now and avoid the hassle.”
He bids farewell, and I do the same.
I return to my class and spot Touka standing in front. She looks bored as hell.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
She starts in surprise and turns around, but then looks up at me and says, “Hope you had a great day, Senpai!”
She peeks behind me.
“Ike's not with me. He already left.”
“Oh, really? Then how about we go home too, then?” she says cheerfully. She immediately follows it up with a large sigh, though, and says, “Actually, I just wanted to apologize for that call just now. I'm the one who's been making you wait, so that was mean of me.” She clasps her hands together, looking at me apologetically.
“It’s okay, I’m already used to it,” I reply as we walk toward our lockers.
“Are you implying that I’m always mean to you?” she retorts.
“You always get pissed whenever I talk to Ike in any way, shape, or form, so… yeah.”
“...Okay, that might be true, but still!” she cries out with puffed-out cheeks.
We arrive at the lockers, change out of our slippers, and leave the school.
“By the way, Senpai…” Touka says, breaking the silence.
“Isn’t this the first time you've ever gone home alone with a girl?”
Okay, that’s a tough one. There are a few ways I can approach this. Depending on how I react, she might get what she wants and roast me. Then again, I can’t come up with a “correct” way to answer her, either.
In the end, I do what I do best: I ignore the question and continue walking straight ahead without saying a single word. Touka stays behind a bit and watches me wordlessly, but soon starts grinning impishly.
“Oh my god, Senpai. Don’t tell me you’re so embarrassed that you're totally speechless. You’re sooo cute!”
“Yeah, I’m just so moved that I'm finally able to go home with a cutie like you. I’m at a loss for words over here. Ain’t I totes the cutest thing ever?”
“There you go with your silver tongue again,” she laughs and starts jovially slapping my back.
She’s slapping it so hard, it even hurts a bit. So annoying.
“Oh, right—I just remembered something. D'you mind if we stop somewhere else before we actually go home?” she asks.
“Sure. Just let me go home first, and then you can go wherever you want before going to yours.”
“Oh, c'mon, Senpai! Don’t be like that,” she says lightly between chuckles.
I look around us. We’re already past the school gate, but there's still a good amount of other students here on their way home. Like us, they're also heading toward the train station. Anyone we come across just stops and stares at us with mouths agape.
I never thought I’d ever experience being on the receiving end of jealousy. The other students can't believe someone as plain and boring as me gets to go home together with one of the school’s idols, just like that. Life is weird. Honestly, the whole thing just makes me really nervous. I'm relieved they can't tell I'm sweating bullets over here…
“Am I imagining things…?”
Maybe I am, but I swear I can hear them whispering something. Nope, I’m definitely not imagining things. I’m kinda shocked they'd act like that, but I guess all I can do is take it in stride and move on.
“Oh, right, Senpai—which way do you go once we get to the train station?”
“I think I take the southbound train; and, if I remember correctly, you take the northbound one, right?”
She gives a flippant and disinterested, "Oh, okay,” at first. Then, she suddenly screams out, “What?!” and stops dead in her tracks.
Puzzled by her reaction, I turn to stare at her, only to see her looking frightened. She's hugging herself tightly while her whole body trembles like a fawn's.
“H-How do you even know I go that way?! Don’t tell me you followed me when I went home yesterday, you… you stalker!”
She's clearly shocked by my response, but that makes two of us. I can't believe that's the brilliant conclusion she’s reached so quickly.
“I’ve gone home with Ike before, so isn't it obvious that I know where you'd go?”
Her face immediately flushes red when I defend my case. She coughs to clear her throat and bluntly says, “Okay, I didn’t think of that.”
There’s no escaping now, Touka. Now that I’ve found a crack in your defenses, you bet I'm gonna unleash a full-on assault.
“You’re the type who's super self-conscious about everything, aren’t you?”
“What the…?! You sure have some nerve, saying that! You're a total jerk, Senpai!” she puffs up angrily at my response.
In spite of myself, I find myself smiling and laughing at the whole situation.
She stares at me blankly.
“Is it really that funny? Plus, you look scary when you smile like that, dude…”
Ouch. If her voice could materialize, her ice-cold words would be piercing like icicles right now.
“My bad. I’m just surprised that I’m able to have a normal conversation with someone who isn’t Ike, for once.”
Not my proudest moment, I'll admit. I’m actually pretty embarrassed to tell her that.
She's a little shocked at first, but she soon looks me in the eyes and smiles.
“I’m actually having fun too. I mean, we’re already at the station. I totally didn’t even notice 'till now.”
Now that she mentions it… Wow, we’re at the station already? It feels like we got here in no time at all compared to how long it usually takes me to get here.
“Well then, see you tomorrow!”
“Sure, see you.”
We bid each other farewell inside the station and go our own ways.
As I wait for the train, I think back to the conversation we just had. It was just friendly banter in the end, and we both had fun.
Maybe we even looked like a couple walking home? Personally, I don't think we did. It felt more like a normal conversation between friends, you know?
…And I don’t know why, but for some reason, that kinda puts me off.
☆
