Glass Coffin (an Inazuma Eleven f.f.)

Red Pill, Blue Pill

Don't tell me...!

I tried to quickly swallow my food, but ended up choking on it. After washing it down with a large gulp from the cup of water, I picked up the envelopes. The one on top was sealed traditionally with stamped wax, while the other... Upon seeing it, I completely forgot about the whimsical delight I had found earlier in a simple bowl of rice and promptly tore it open.

"No, the other-"

"Yes!" I shouted as I scanned the contents of the letter inside and felt my mood skyrocket.

Dear Suishou Hakuchou-san,

Yokato Junior High welcomes you back with warm regards. Please make arrangements of the day you would like to start two days in advance so that we would have everything prepared...

I paused, and my eyes widened as I realized for the first time how close I actually was to finally go back home.

"C-can I?" I asked Hiraga timidly.

She furrowed her brows and sighed "I really think you should reconsider, or at least wait after you send in those papers and get acceptance letters back from a few other schools, but if that's what you really want then I'm not going to stop you."

Her response, how she made no effort to put up a fight despite the weight of the sacrifice, surprised me. Pathetic, I thought instantly, but then realized that those were not my true feelings towards her noble behavior at all. Rather, I was confused. And that made me turn towards misdirected anger at how her maturity contrasted the selfishness I had tried so hard to justify.

"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.

My outburst seemed to catch her off guard. She thought over it as a few tense seconds passed between us, then finally replied, "It's your life, and if this really makes you happy, then I shouldn't be one to stop you even if I don't agree with your choice."

At this point I knew that I should just thank her and drop the topic, but I found my mouth to be quite disobedient. "You'll be leaving behind your home, just so that I can go back to mine. Doesn't that make you want to stop me from making this choice even a little?!"

I gasped and quickly shut my mouth, but it was too late, for my words clearly impacted her as much as I had unintentionally wanted them to. An expression of shock, disbelief, and even a little shame floated in her tangerine orange eyes, or was that of disappointment? I could not tell, for I was breathing heavily, scared of the consequences now that I had finally voiced aloud my true thoughts.

Why hadn't I just accepted her answer earlier? Now she'll be even more against the idea of me returning to Yokato Junior High. As I sat in mourning of my wasted good luck, I did not notice the gentle hand approach me until it laid on my shoulder. Hesitantly, I looked up thinking that I'd be faced with- actually, I didn't really know what to expect. I had completely been out of line earlier, and now I feared that she, too, would not hold back anymore.

But on the contrary, she smiled softly. When I met her eyes, I noticed the crinkle of sadness in her eyes. "I'm so-," Hiraga cut off my apology by holding a finger to my lips.

"I know. And I understand your frustration. But me and Gouenji-sensei are here for you, and we only want you to be happy after all that you've been through. We don't mind moving, if you really do decide to return to Yokato Junior High."

I sat, stunned for a moment. Then I promptly tackled her with a hug.

Time Skip

"Ah, good morning, Suishou-san. I didn't know you were coming today," Tsurugi Yuuichi smiled from his bed over a soccer magazine as he saw me open the door.