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*Yawn*
Lumbering, with such a drowsy face, dull and heavy
Lumbering, his footsteps were, as he traveled down the stairs
"Good morning, Onii-chan"
"Morning"
Lumbering, he was greeted, greeting back, he did so, as if routine
In his seat, he will partake in breakfast
"C'mon, Onii-chan, are you still in a bad mood?"
Even so, even with that appearance, this sister handed his food
"Be grateful, I gave that pest time"
"Again, he's not a pest, and also, please, just accept it"
"Never"
"Dad did, why won't you?"
(Him? He failed and he gave in)
"I won't accept anybody"
"Then, I won't accept it if you brought someone in too!"
Nonchalantly, as though expected, he answers
"Fine by me, I don't have any"
This discussion, made a halt, for a sip he took, from the Miso, such is a delicious soup
"Oh, this is some good Miso, Komachi"
He continued sipping, now going for the grilled fish, truly, he enjoyed his meal
"Why thank you, and also, stop deflecting the subject"
"Onii-chan, you punched him, you need to compensate~"
Her voice, the way she said it, almost playful, almost sly, almost threatening, this little sister is terrifying
"Hmm, it's been days, and Taishi-kun's left cheek is still....Onii-chan, the least you can do is apologize"
"He wanted a fight, I gave it to him"
This brother, stubborn as always
"Onii-chan, that's still unfair"
"My dear Komachi, I was only protecting you, your Onii-chan is here, so don't worry, and also, you don't need that pest"
As if a headache came, her hand skillfully rubbing her temple
"How can I convince you that I'm fine?"
Her rubbing continues, while a light bulb pops bright in her head, even though there shouldn't be any
A palm-fist-tap, lightly made as this light bulb continued shining
"I know! Why don't you come with me?"
"To where?"
Such intrigued this brother, 'where to?' In his head
"To Sobu"
"Huh?"
"Let's have you visit Sobu high school right now, you could see me work, and think to yourself "Ah, Komachi is now an adult!"
Brightly, she introduced her idea
"How about it?"
"No"
"Why not?"
"What am I even supposed to do over there?"
"Annoying", should be his real answer
"Uhhh, what about greeting your teachers? Some of them are still there"
"What about her?"
"Oh, she left 2 years after you"
From such realization, he thinks to himself, as before returns to his mind
(I see)
"But c'mon, there's still a lot to do there"
She pleads as to intice him
"I don't know, Komachi, am I even allowed?"
Yet, he is of doubt
"You're an alumni, I think they'll let you in"
His eyes twitch, as he considers such thought
(Komachi....)
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*Sigh*"Fine"
"Yay! Now let's get to eating, we're gonna be late"
Her excitement fell, as soon as she realized, time
(Sheesh, what a turn)
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Komachi: ready
Her standard teacher outfit, an aura of adult, with her natural cuteness
Hachiman: ready
Black pants, and a gray long sleeve polo, rolled up nearly to the elbow, an adult sense?
"Kamakura-san, see you later"
"See you, Kamakura-san"
*Meow*
Both sent their goodbyes at the cat
Whilst the door closes
"Is it locked?"
"Yeah"
"Ok, let's go!"
As her arms shoot up high
(That's a lot of enthusiasm)
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Walking and walking, their destination?
The station
"Haaah"
A sigh, yet thoroughly showing happiness, instead of annoyance? That happy sigh from Komachi
"Hmm? What is it?"
"You know, this is kinda nostalgic"
Walking and walking, they continued this little conversation
"What is?"
"Getting up early, walking to school together, it reminds me of those days"
"Hmm, I see"
"And it's all your fault! You just had to do that! You left Komachi to walk by herself, *Sniff* *Sniff* it was so lonely"
(Stop the fake crying)
"I'm here now...so don't worry"
Even with no effort, to console her, he still tried
Her eyes, surely, they saw something, enough for her eyes to show surprise
"Oh......"
Her only words, nearly silent with enough distance
"Nn, definitely! Though you're not the most reliable brother, and you only have a few good points, still......I can count on you"
A beaming smile, shining such in front of him
(Haaah, what a good way to start the day)
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8:07
"I don't want to be late~"
"Stop whining and keep walking, we're almost at the there"
"I want to go back home, eat some sweets, and lay in bed"
"Me too, but you have a job"
"Nnnn, Onii-chan, let me complain a little"
Komachi, annoyed with her brother's impudence, continued to whine
"Fine, after this, let's get some beer tonight"
"Yay! Tomorrow's a day off! Yay! I can drink as much as I want!"
To such statement, he retorts
"There is a limit"
And his warning, waved off
"Fine, fine, at least I can drink"
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Walking and walking
They've reached the station
"Finally, we made it, we beat the sun"
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In this station, they've went on, a simple wait
A quiet ride, simple etiquette
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After such a ride, they were almost there
Walking and walking
"Onii-chan"
"Hmm?"
"You never finished, right?"
"Yeah, and so?"
"Why not go back to Sobu, and finish?
"Hell no"
"Instant reply!?"
"I'm almost 30, and you want me to sit next to kids? Consider your brother's pride for once"
Quite disgusted at her idea, he said so with vigor
"And also, I am not planning on getting arrested"
His actual reason
"Hahaha, of course that's the first thing in your head"
"Well, obviously, I've thought about all that, but...even with all the demerits...."
Her voice, sounded rather meek, with a sense of care, kindness, all of that, hinted inside it
"I just.....want you to finish your high school days like everyone else, all those experiences...I want you to at least have a taste of it all.....from start to finish...you're allowed to have fun, y'know"
And in earnest, he looked at her...
Still, with a bland face, yet he continued in earnest
While her head is low, and her face almost hidden
What greeted her head, his hand
"Eh-w-wha-stop that!"
As he continued rubbing, slowly, it turned ever gentle
With a turn, a look above, she saw his face
A face rather happy, rather gentle, so subtle, yet it was there, it existed
"Thanks, Komachi, but really, I don't need it"
"I'm content right now, I don't need anything exciting like that"
"Onii-chan...."
Her mouth, slightly open
As her brother truly wished for none of that, she began thinking so too
"Besides, all I want right now is my little sister's cooking, and her taking care of me"
*Giggle*
"What's with that? That's kinda gross"
(Guh, let me off)
"But, I'll let you off for now"
She said, with her ever so wide smile
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"Oh, we're here"
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As they pass through the gate
"Good morning, Hikigaya-sensei"
"Good morning, Kaizaki-sensei"
In their view, a fit man guards the gates
"Late again? Hikigaya-sensei?"
A little annoyed, this man was, yet no true anger showed, as if it was routine
"Teehee"
(Did you just Teehee him? Don't do that! And also, I feel sorry for him!)
*Sigh*"Anyway, Komachi-sensei, who is he?"
"Oh, he's my brother, he's just here to visit"
"Brother?"
"He's an alumni of Sobu, he just misses this place"
(No I don't, you dragged me here)
"Oh is that so? Nice to meet you, I'm Kaizaki Satoshi"
A man, slightly younger than him, with a fit body and clothing fit for his profession, and a clean smile in front of him
Komachi's coworker, as her brother, it would only do well if:
"Nice to meet you as well, I'm Hikigaya Hachiman, thanks for the hard work, the hard work of dealing with my sister-
"Ugh!"
A sudden elbow, Komachi's sharp elbow
"Haha, no, actually, she's been a great help, the students admire her, she's a hard worker, basically, everyone loves her"
(Lo-what?)
This Kaizaki continued
"She's pretty popular, especially between the male students"
(Students...male?)
As his thoughts collide, he makes an action
Randomly, he leans, towards Kaizaki
"Um, would you mind giving me a list of names?"
Whispering as to keep it confidential
"Huh? Eh-ah come again? Names about what?"
"The names of those boys"
A pout, somewhere, Komachi makes
"Hrrmm, enough, let's go! We're already late"
Saying so, she drags him, her arm locked onto his, they move with haste
"See you later Kaizaki-sensei!"
A wave of goodbye, Komachi makes
"Ah, yeah!"
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"Names of who?"
Kaizaki-sensei will never know
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Lively, as was anywhere
The voices, young as they spill out through the halls
They converse and converse, the trends and such
Of yesterday and present, such was the content that echoed this in space
These youths as they walk through the halls, loud, echoing with life, echoing with immaturity, flowing through, fresh and new
The plans of summer they wish to unfold
To enjoy their time, such was their privilege
"We're here!"
And a turn as she faces him
With arms spead out, she yells:
"Onii-chan, welcome to Sobu!"
His twitched again
(I've already been here)
"I don't need the welcome"
A cute pout
"Hrrmm, don't ruin the mood"
*Sigh*"Okay, fine, yay, I made it"
Such a....."lively" tone
So much that her energy left
*Sigh*"That's good enough"
"So, Komachi, what am I supposed to do here?"
"Umm, I didn't think of that, Teehee"
(Don't Teehee me! You brought me here yet you didn't even plan on what to have me do?)
"Ahhh, what about visiting your old classrooms, or hanging out with some of the students here? Just tell them you're an alumni"
"What? You want me to hang out with kids?"
"Change of pace, isn't it?"
(Change of pace? Is it in a good way?)
"Walk around, visit some clubs, just do something, it's better than staying at home all day"
Visibly, his annoyance is slightly dripping
(No it's not, staying at home is staying at paradise)
"And also, here!"
Thrown, thrown was something
As he looks up in the air, something was moving, flying in the air until it dropped
Thrown to him and with one hand, he catches
As he looks below, what caught his sight, what was caught in his sight were
Keys
"Eh-What are these for-
"Well, I have to go to the staff room, see you later Onii-chan, you'll be okay, just don't go anywhere near the girls bathroom, have fun, bye!"
Saying so, as her figure shrinks, as her footsteps echo through the halls, she leaves
As he, now alone, he thinks
(What do I do?)
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Walking and walking
These halls, empty, void of sound
And from the walls, the sound of chatter
The sound of chalk as it flows through the board
Those sounds, simply floating in this entire space
That space itself, the only thing to come out, his own footsteps
(The walls were repainted a little, huh)
The corners he turns, every corner he turns to
No place he didn't go
Every floor, he stepped on
This somewhat quiet space that was once chaos, it was relaxing
(Oh)
In this room he stepped on
(Well, let's see if I can find something good)
In this room, this space, surrounded by knowledge
Covered by paper, and framed by books
The smell of ink, flowing through
The library
(The perfect place in my opinion)
(This place is haven)
(Now then, what to read, what to read)
Entering in and already, his peruse starts
(Dazai Osamu?)
(Natsume Soseki?)
His footsteps, quiet, to preserve this gentle space
His search continued
Literature
Culture
And now history
"Oh"
("ああ, 戦国時代か?")
Something, a certain memory
"Hehehehe"
A simple giggle, disturbing to many if seen
Yet right now, he is enjoying his time
(Here we go)
A pile landed, a thud at a table resounded
A pile of books lay in this table
For now, he will read
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"Unnnn"
His hands held high, a simple stretch
(That was fun)
All the books read
(Now, what to do)
(It's already 1?)
A look at the watch, located in his wrist
1: 23
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Books placed from originally
Out the room he goes
A repeat of morning he alone walks in this quiet space
He thinks and thinks
(Oh, should we go for it?)
In the windows, his sights set
A vending machine
Of color red
Surely, it exists over there
Surely, there is a can of it over there
His hands, instinctually they reach for his pockets
Instead of a wallet, what he felt was sharp
And so a clunk made in his pockets
A wallet could not make such sound
*Clunk* yet again, a sound made
Pulling it out
What appeared?
The keys
(What are these for?)
Recalling and recalling
The purpose of them unknown
A stare he gave to them
A stare so intense
Blankly, he continued staring until
(Wait...don't tell me)
A dash, a sprint
His steps light and powerful
Not loud at all
(Don't tell me it's still there?)
He only continued, to sprint
Until
A location, far from everyone else
A place removed from all the liveliness
A quiet place
A secret place
In front of him, a door
A look below
In his hands, tightly in place were those keys
A slow move, the key instantly placed into a hole
With the turn of the wrist, a door unlocked
His face, surely surprised, no movements for now
Only staring, only at the door he stared
Blankly, blankly he stared
*Huff*
A deep, deep breath he took
And finally
A slide of the door
*Slide*
And now opened
What met his eyes
A room
That room
A room of old
His eyes, carefully, thoroughly they look around
Slow, soft, and simple footsteps, he makes as he continued looking around
A room, dusty and quiet
Full of space, no longer, the back, filled with countless chairs, countless tables, some change had come indeed
Dust flying through the air
A room only lit by the sun
Only a single curtain in sight
The sun rained down its heat, yet for this room, it wasn't a suffering heat
Rather, a warm heat, a heat that removed all cold
Full of warmth even with no life, it felt, it felt as if this place was preserved, the air before, somehow, it was still the same
In the middle of it all, in the middle of this room, a table laid, long and dusty, this table stood only there
And...along with this table, three chairs beside it
Two glued right together, and distanced was one, one lone chair, the chair closest to him
"Ha...it didn't change at all"
"At least...not much"
Closer and closer, he approached the table, his hands, slowly coming closer
A contact, a contact made, a hand above the table, even if dusty, this hand touches
"Haaaa"
A flood in his mind, a flood of the old
Closed were his eyes
A deep inhale made, even if dusty, he did so
"Hehe"
(I don't really know why, but somehow...somehow...this place...really is...really, what a pain)
(I don't get why this place is still a wasteland or whatever, but...thinking about it....it was a wasteland from the beginning, and...home to a bunch of problem children)
A simple smile
The emotions inside it, just simple
*Yawn*
(Really, I need to fix my sleep schedule)
"Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind me sleeping here, she dragged me here after all"
Saying so, all the dust removed from the table
And so, his head, down, an act from young, arms hiding his face
And so
In this place
He sleeps