Brooding Guy, Quiet Girl

Chapter 21

Chapter 21: "A girl will always find solace within the arms of her stuffed toys."

As I stand before a zebra crossing, waiting for the traffic light across to turn green, one fact hits me. Narukami-san seems much more... mellow. While this is merely a jurisdiction I've come up with on the spot, she just exerts a calmer atmosphere, contrasting the boisterousness she usually presents herself with.

Is she upset regarding the state of the kendo club? I was disappointed in what I saw, but I don't believe I'd understand how she'd feel about the situation, being its leader. If she had continuously joined said club throughout her school years, then she must have witnessed its degradation along with the flow of time.

To watch a club you personally dignified crumble to its knees. It's awful. But to attempt to raise it back up all on your own... and then to fail to even make a semblance of a change... I can only imagine what's going through her mind.

The green light flashes. She takes my hand, looking over her shoulder with a smile. Yet... It feels so distinct compared to the smile I'm used to. This smile is... It's... It just seems so strained.

A single question arises as my foot taps against the black pavement.

What can I do to help her?

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Tigress bitch is invading my territory! Screw this 'Noblabla Whatever'! I don't want her to be the first girl in my room!

"This is it, right?" She callously eyes the door, shouldering my sore body.

"No, no it isn't."

"Don't lie, the warden said so." Yukino twists the doorknob and pushes forward.

NOOOOO! STOP! DON'T!

I lack the energy to scream...!

Is this what it feels like to have your virginity taken away from you without your consent? Absolute terror. This is the closest I have been to it.

"Huh, I expected a pigsty." She raises an eyebrow, gazing upon my bland and boring room. "It's... much neater than I thought. You're always full of surprises."

"Just put me down and get out...!"

She helps me over to my bed and releases her hold on me, letting me down by the bedside. Afterwards, she takes a few steps back, pressing her back against the corner of my room.

"Honestly, Reiji..." She seemed bemused. "You can keep your room clean but not your self-image? What kind of teenager are you?"

I take off my jacket and toss it at my wheeled-chair, letting the armrests hang it. "I just don't have stuff I to throw around all over the floor. You need things to make clutter. I don't like to spend my money." Lying down, turning my back toward her.

She replies with a tone of mockery. "So, you're cheap."

"I prefer the term 'resourceful'." Reaching out to the covers, I wrap myself within it, trying to hide away from her conniving presence. "Look, you've done your nonono thingie, just leave me alone now."

And just as I utter those words, I feel a slender hand pressing against my chest. My bed creaks as an added weight rests upon it. "Neh, Reiji... Why must you always be so mean to me?"

T-That voice. It's hers but... Why is she speaking in a higher pitch?!

The blankets come down, my body pulled to rest on my back, and immediately, I find her straddling me, her uh... her milky-ways pushed squarely against my chest. Purple eyes sheepishly gazing into mine, her cheeks tint red.