He opened his eyes and found himself in a room that was not his.He laid on a white bed. The walls were a mix of white and brown. His eyes wandered around the room as the unfamiliar setting made him uncomfortable. On his right was a girl, dressed in her silver silk pajamas, sitting calmly on the side of the bed. They were short pajamas and they complemented her soft skin and her blonde hair.
“Yato-kun, are you okay?”
“Brent…”
He nearly got up from the bed but she stopped him midway.
“What are you doing?Can’t you see you’re hurt?”
“Where am I?”
“You’re at my place. I brought you here after seeing you unconscious in the dumpster.”
“Really? That explains why I’m not in my school uniform.”
“I had it washed and dried so it’s all good now.”
“Wait, you removed my clothes??”
“N-No, of course not.”
“It’s no problem, though. How did you find me?”
”Love fever.”
“Huh?”
“I saw it on the floor then it clicked.I remembered you reading that book back on the roof. Also,I heard the vibration from your phone. You were quite lucky.”
---Lucky??
“I was really worried about you. At first I thought taking you to the hospital would be a better choice but it’s further and the ti--”
“Thank you.”
His subtle, warm smile left her puzzled.“His smile is so bright”, she thought to herself as she couldn’t stop staring at him. Upon realizing that, she turned away with her flushed cheeks.
“You look better when you smile.”
“This is your room, right?”
“Yeah.Don’t get the wrong idea. The other rooms were a bit stuffy so I used my room.”
---This room looks normal compared to that of Yuuki.It’s still cute in it’s own way and has a special kind of appeal.
”By the way, how long have I been here??”
“About 2 hours.”
“Where’s my phone?”
“Oh it’s here.Your sister called..”
“She did??”
“Don’t worry, I told her you were at an arcade.”
“Thanks for covering up for me.”
The vibration of his phone cut through the conversation in timely fashion.
“It’s your sister..”
“I’ll speak to her.”
He inhaled and exhaled calmly and picked up the phone.
“Hey…Yeah..Still out, I’ll be home in a bit, I think……I know it’s confusing but she doesn’t have to worry, I’m fine…Yeah…..Bye…..”
“Wow..”
“What??”
“Just your choice of words. They were so vague.”
“Oh….I try to avoid telling lies if I can.Lying breaks trust after all.”
“You’re right.”
“I think I should start leaving.Thanks for everything.”
“Don’t..You can barely walk right now.”
“You have a point but then what can I do??”
“You could always stay for the night…”
“For some reason I’m glad that although you know next to nothing about me, you are willing to trust me enough to offer me a place to stay for the night..I feel special.”
“That’s another way to look at it.It’s really not a big deal. My…My heart just told me that it was the right thing to do so I did it. Besides, we have lots of room so I could always stay in the guest room after tidying it up a bit.”
”Also…I’m sorry.”
“Huh??”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. When we met on the rooftop.The last time something like that happened to me, I ended up hating them and myself even more so I wanted to make things less confusing. I thought you wanted to get closer to me because I saved you. What you said.It made me think a lot. Despite me not caring about what the others thought of me, you were one of the reasons I didn’t join the Archery club.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.. It would have been too awkward.”
Her heart began racing and pounding, these were unusual palpitations that she just wasn’t used to.
“I couldn’t tell if I made the right choice or not but I probably hurt your feelings in the process. I didn’t think I would get the right chance to apologize but thanks to this situation, I did.”
“I wish it didn’t have to be due to something like this. Wait, that wasn’t what I meant by ‘Lucky’.”
“I know you didn’t mean it that way.”
“By the way, do you know who did this to you?”
“No, but the main question should be ‘who wouldn’t want to do this to me?’ ”
“You’re right. You’re hated by tons of people.”
“If I had to pick a main suspect, it would be Akate.”
“You think it’s Eric?”
He nodded his head and she jumped up and walked around the room in circles.
“I should have known.”
---What is she doing?
She remembered the words of Claudia….“Being inferior”.The words seemed to have a link to Shirou too.
“He seems like the illogical type, don’t you think?”
“This is not funny.You are being bullied…”
“I know that.But then occasionally I choose to look at the positive side of things. Is that out of character?”
“I don’t know yet.I don’t know anything about you, remember?”
“Well, that’s true..”
“But once I do, I’m going to answer your question.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You aren’t as complex as you think you are. When you said those things on the rooftop,I thought to myself ‘Isn’t he doing the same thing people are doing to him?’ but then later, I figured it was probably a defence mechanism.What you said earlier proved that. You act like you don’t want people around you but I know you would like to have people you can lower your guard around, people you can call friends.You’re just afraid of getting hurt. It’s not strange.Try trusting people more. Not everyone is who they claim to be so it’s not everyone that will think of you as a real friend.”
“So what are you trying to say? Your points are clashing.”
“That’s because they are meant to clash and bring forth a conclusion and it’s this. Don’t let your past determine the present.”
---She’s right.My past has been interfering with the present. Ryosei..Tadao..You guys really messed me up. I will never forgive you for that.
“Eric’s definitely going to pay for this.”
“Hold on, there’s no need for that.”
“But what he did to you…”
“I’m not 100% sure and even If I was, I’ll love to avoid as much trouble as possible. Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Do you live alone?”
“No. I just have a workaholic mother, that’s all.”
“You don’t like that??”
“Hmmphh..She can do anything she wants, I don’t care that much.”
---Liar.
“Oh, another thing I forgot to mention.”
“What’s that?”
“Never mind. Do you read books?”
“I read a few…Mainly romance.. Wait, I do delve into other genres too but--”
“The first thing that came to your mind was romance so you can’t convince me it’s not your main one.”
“Is that how it works?”
He dipped his hand in his bag and pulled out the one and only “Love fever”.
“There you go..It looks a bit messed up though..”
“That’s my fault.”
“Anyway, this is my sister’s book..I’m done with it so you can read it and give me back once you’re done with it.”
“Really?? Thanks a lot.”
“Since you love romance I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”
She opened up her wardrobe and searched endlessly till she finally struck gold.She turned back with a smug look.
---What the hell is she keeping in there?
“Wanna see something cool?”
He hesitatingly nodded his head.
“Too bad you’ll have to guess what it is..You only have 30 seconds..The countdown has begun..”
---You must be kidding me..Well,from all the posters everywhere, looks like she’s an…..Cut it out..You’re being creepy…But maybe that’s just the right answer..I’ll give it a try..
“Anime related stuff.”
“Wrong..”
“Non anime related stuff..”
“You’re being too vague.”
“So what was the right answer?”
“Wrong.”
“Huh?”
“You’re being a loser.”
“Time’s up. I lose. Now, tell me.”
“That’s quite the tone you have..Considering your loss but well, have a look and decide for yourself.”
She pulled the book out and slowly rubbed it.
“This is it.”
It was a rainbow coloured book with a clash of various drawings from the front and back. There were two knights trading blows, a princess spinning her purple Tiara, a magic wand at the center and some wings at the back.Without further ado, he opened the book and was left astonished.
“What do you think?”
“Wow..They’re so amazing..”
“Really?”
“You must be talented at this.”
He flipped each page slowly, admiring the art and special theme each one represented. He eventually got to the middle page and saw a “demon slasher” sword drawn in black and red.
“As a kid, I was really shy and didn’t talk much so I always had my book and pencil to kill the boredom.It was really fun and after a while, it just stuck.I couldn’t forget my technique even if I wanted to.”
“Must be nice…”
“What about you?”
“Apart from reading, I’ve got nothing.”
“I’m sure you do. You just don’t know yet.”
---What’s the value in something you don’t know you have. It’s hidden and will probably remain hidden. In other words, useless.
“After listening to what you said, maybe you’re right. Maybe it will be better to trust people more. I’ll try putting my trust in people worthy of it.”
“If that’s the case then let’s be friends, Yato.”
“I would love to.”
“Great.”
“It’s getting really late. I should probably be heading home now.”
“But you still look like a mess.”
“I’ll just have to act like nothing happened.I don’t want my mum to find out.You see, she’s really effusive.”
“How’s that like?”
“To be honest it feels nice but also very problematic.Well..”
“Since we are friends now, why don’t we exchange contact info?”
“Okay.”
“Done.”
He stood up and grabbed the phone, dragging his clothes neatly arranged on the bed.
“It’s not that bad.. Where’s the way to the bath---”
{thud!!!}
His wobbly legs gave way and he landed on the ground. To his surprise, he wasn’t the only one. His arms were there to stop him from getting too close but that wasn’t enough. In front of her, his body obstructed the light above them. Their faces both beet red; their eyes were locked on that of the other and as much as they considered this situation unlucky, they didn’t hate it either. Their lips were centimetres away from touching.
---What am I doing??? This is wrong of me..Although it’s an awkward situation, I want it to last a while longer.
Once again, the vibration of his phone cut through this unexpected awkwardness and he gathered all the strength he could muster and jumped off her.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.You didn’t do anything.So uhh I sent you a message..”
“R-Right..”
She picked up his phone and saw a notification with the name “Misaka” popping up.
“Something wrong?”
“N-No. Here’s your phone.”
After he got changed, she led him to the door and stopped at the front entrance.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home?”
“I’m not a child. Besides, who would do that in a pajamas?I’ll use a taxi. Well,bye.”
“Bye.”
She shut the door, ran to her room and jumped on the bed, burying herself in her pillow.That still didn’t stop the sound of her heart beating violently. She wasn’t a child but she didn’t believe in the concept of “love at first sight”. Infact, in this case, the reverse was more logical, so she was more than convinced that this rare occurrence wasn’t under the influence of love.
“What just happened? What if his hands slipped?? We would have...”
“I’m home.”
“Who is she?? Is she the black haired-flat one?? I’m sure she’s the black-haired flat one. Why didn’t you tell me it was the black-haired flat one??”
”Mum, I’m pretty tired so I’m going to bed early.”
“Oh, you’re not hungry??”
“Hey, you’re ignoring me!!!!!”
“I already ate..”
“Once you’re done with your bath, give me your dirty laundry.”
“Sure.”
“Your face looks a bit swollen, did something happen?”
“I tripped when I was walking up the stairs in school.”
---No helping it.
“Does it hurt?”
“Just a little.. I already took care of it so I’ll be going to bed.”
He turned to Yuuki and rubbed her head with the palm of his left hand.”
“She has a name and it’s Misaka.”
---Flat is justice.
He walked up the stairs, carefully dragging his feet to avoid suspicion.
“Two girls. Well Shirou isn’t a ladies’ man so a messy love triangle would be unlikely but the possibility is what makes it so exciting. Hey mum.”
Her playful tone vanished and was switched with a calm,flat one instead.
“He’s definitely hiding something.”
Lisara sighed sharply.
“I know.”
---Honestly…I’m so pathetic.. Why does my body keep acting up??If I decided to fight back, I have a strong feeling I would have sent the three of them to the hospital.From everything I picked up from that weird dream,it had a really weird environment..Colder than usual..Then the people I saw. It was a dream but it felt so real. Is there any hidden message I didn’t notice?
He tossed a pillow in the air and watched as it landed on his face.
---I know mum and Yuuki but who were the other people? Just because I can’t remember them doesn’t mean they don’t exist..After all, my memory is as reliable as a parachute in a car accident.What do I do??
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