❝ Is that Kirishima Eijirou?❞
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Chapter 8
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The variety of flavors in various foods was refreshing, but what was much more pleasant was you, standing in front of Fudou's door. It's a welcome sight to see you visiting, however, it's more like you barged into his house with a container of cooked chicken in your hand.
You knocked three times while subconsciously focusing on the environment, the bird's melody, the flow of the wind, the temperature, the three laws of physics that define motion, and finally, the vibration of the speed of light and sound.
You waited about thirty seconds for him to unlock the door, and to his surprise, you had the audacity to return to his house, which was not your home in the beginning.
"Good afternoon, Fudou-san."
His eyebrow twitch in annoyance, "What are you doing here?"
You shoved the plastic bag you were holding in front of him, which was coated in pastel pink and cute designs, unlike the others who were anticipating a standard design; like duh, the maid café is basically the definition of cute.
"Huh?" Fudou gives you a bewildered look as he carries what you have given him.
With a bow and a thank you, you proceeded to go, leaving the poor man befuddled.
"What in the actual fck," he thought.
Maintaining your neutral expression, you began to believe that, as far as you know, you were living in an anime, surviving and enduring it.
As soon as you walked back on the pavement to the café where you were working, you halted when you saw the red light.
"Why does that light irritate me?"
Your attention is drawn to the sun as if it were blinding and causing eye problems. With your eyelids closed, you feel better than you did yesterday, as the cool summer breeze embraces your body, relieving your fatigue.
However, this did not prevent you from crossing the street because only an idiotic protagonist would stop in the middle of the road where a red light is about to turn on.
You were ready to leave the bus stop, but before you got on the bus, you cast one last glance at the spot where you felt something familiar. Even so, you did not wish to feel that familiarity again, so you sighed as you boarded the bus.
Since you already had a small amount of money from your employment, you were able to pay the bus driver, however you still needed to earn more.
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In the classroom where the brown-haired girl with honey brown-colored eyes was presently seated and listening to the teacher, pupils' murmurs were the typical background noise.
Two weeks have passed since Nozomi's disappearance, but no sign of the young girl has been found.
The irony is that Haruna is restless every day and night, wondering about what happened to Nozomi; no one imagined that instead of her enjoying what happened, she was drowning in her nightmares.
She was now receiving the unending nightmares she had previously given to you.
"How naive of you, Haruna-san."
Haruna's fearful thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the bell; her previously stunning face was now covered by eyebags, giving her the appearance of being stressed while studying at university.
But the fact that she was still in high school makes everything amusing. Yes, high school education is difficult, and some say that universities are much more difficult.
Well to sum it up, it's true.
It's like a game, kindergarten is the easy level, middle school is the medium level, high school is the difficult level, and finally, college where it hits different, all learning should be compiled into one because that last stage is getting a job, how your future will work, that's why stress and learnings are put on students by levels.
Because being an adult is tough, once Haruna becomes an adult, she will realize how stupid she is and how everything was a mistake.
What's the reason? She blames Nozomi for whatever that has now happened.
The brunette gathered her belongings, including books, ballpoint pens, wallets, perfumes, and some needless items, and placed them in her bag.
She rose up and put on a phony expression, "[Friend's name]!" She calls and approaches her friend with enthusiasm, eager to hang out with her.
Haruna's two classmates began chatting as they left school with a bag slung over their shoulder, leaving the brunette in silence.
Walking on crowded streets with people who didn't give a fck about glancing at others or apologizing if they bumped into them was a typical occurrence; the two, including Haruna, stopped for a moment before crossing the street.
When Haruna catches a glimpse of Nozomi walking past her, it seems as if time has slowed down. As she turned back and did not see Nozomi, she froze in place, her eyes widening.
The young woman in her uniform began to mumble and consider the possibility that they only resembled one another because you had disappeared and no longer exists.
How delusional she is to believe that your existence has vanished.
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"Could you maybe explain why we are here, Hajime-san? Moreover, why is Hakariri-san also here?"
You were currently standing with dotted eyes between Hikkiri Yume and Hajime Mira.
Who knew the violet-haired woman would kidnap the young girls-wait, let me rephrase that: Who knew the violet-haired woman would practically drag both mysterious people?
"Yes, teacher, why did you drag us to a soccer game?" Hikkiri asked as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.
"Oh, and Nozomi-san, my name isn't Hakariri, it's Hikkiri," she stated it shyly, but confidently.
"Eh, whatever you say, Hakariri-san."
Hajime then wiggled and spotted the former raimon player wandering on the field "Oho~? Is this "the Kidou" that I see?"
You candidly remarked, "Ma'am, you look like a creep."
"More like a pedo-" Hikkiri waited and noticed her teacher's disgusted expression "What? I am merely telling the truth."
"Why are two so mean?"
You and Hikkiri exchange blinks before returning their attention to Hajime, who was whining like a child.
"Would you like us to list it for you, teacher?"
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Raimon Vs Seisho Academy
Six Game of A-block Preliminaries
Due to Raimon's opponent's withdrawal from the competition, Seisho and Raimon will face each other.
Because of Asuto and, well, the anime, you were already aware of the forfeiting.
"I'm going to put an end to your pretend soccer today, once and for all," Haizaki declared.
Asuto turned to face Haizaki and exclaimed confidently, "We'll be playing our soccer, and we'll win."
You began to believe that it is a sin to be seated here and to be knowledgeable of what will happen. But on the bright side, you can watch their cool games in person. You've even wondered if your athletic abilities are now rusty, since you wanted to try any sport, including soccer, but you know you can't because it requires too much effort.
How come, if you are lazy, you possess athletic skills? The answer is obvious because you were living in a situation in which you could only rely on yourself. As a result, you gained skills such as agility, if you were in a rush to grab groceries or were late to school, physical strength, to carry a large amount of items, or if you needed to smack someone in the face, and probably many more.
The next thing you knew, the match had begun, with Haizaki scoring the opening goal to everyone's surprise. Raimon, with the exception of you, Hikkiri, and Hajime, were startled and had yet to make a single move.
"See that, Inamori, this is our devastating difference in power," The demon of the field smirked, but was surprised to see Asuto smiling.
"Sorry everyone! I let him make that shoot easily."
You're now bored because of Asuto's monologue; it's amazing and motivating, but the fact that you couldn't hear it from afar made you sleepy.
"They're taking too much time..." Hikkiri commented as her brows twitched in anticipation of the long-awaited match.
"I'm sure it'll be exciting, so don't be impatient, guys!"
"Exciting? Nah, I'm going to sleep."
"Where are you going, Yume-chan?" Hajime calls as her gaze follows Hikirri to the exit.
"I'm leaving."
"Wait-" Hikkiri didn't respond, as the violet haired woman shrieked, "I'll buy you books!"
The girl came to a halt and carefully turned around, "Harry Potter?"
Hajime nodded as she repeated the title of the book that the girl wanted, "Harry Potter."
You silently sat there like an extra, watching the two before your eyes wandered to the blue pretty man named Mizukamiya Seiryuu and the spiky red haired guy whose name you forgot.
"What exactly was his name? Kirishima Eijirou? No.. that's from Bhna, Sasotsuka Eijirou? That's not it; what was his name again?"
Sasotsuka Eiji feels like someone is watching his every move, as he shivers at the thought of someone stalking him from afar, but who knows, considering they're technically having a match where almost everyone in Japan is watching.
And with that, you unknowingly shifted to your subconscious, where white walls exist, "..."
Oh no, you're back again! The entire place greeted you with, "Welcome back, you bitc-"
Anyway, you sat cross-legged on the ground and dozed off the entire time while waiting for whatever might occur.
From outside the walls, you appeared to be blissfully sleeping on Hikkiri's shoulder, who was frozen in place and embarrassed.
"I'm bored; what can I do to get out of here?" You deadpanned as water drops echoed off the walls.
Knowing you couldn't leave because you had no idea what this place was, you opted to take a nap on the floor.
Sleeping on the outside, sleeping on the inside, how nice.
The passing of seconds felt like an eternity to you, but you didn't mind because you were literally just sleeping.
However, the nap did not last as long as you had anticipated; upon opening your eyes and presumably staring at a white ceiling, you began counting.
"1...2...3...4...5...6...7..."
"Block it, Shaggy!"
"97...98...99..."
"Goal!"
"100..."
Your eyes fluttered open before you sat down properly, you lifted your head from Hikkiri who appeared to be lost in thought, as you glanced at the pitch to see Haizaki yelling something to his teammates, and the blue-haired pretty boy made a remark, which the audience couldn't hear.
Mizukamiya placed both hands on his hips and exclaimed, "I still can't believe he called me captain."
As expected, even with the remaining seconds, Seisho was still unable to win.
You rise from your seat as your two companions do, and you bow, thanking Hajime despite the fact that she dragged you here with a Hikirri and apologizing and even thanking Hikirri for sleeping on her shoulder.
She simply nodded in response and turned away, hoping no one would notice how embarrassed she feels right now.
"See you at work, Nozomi-chan~"
"Bye, Nozomi-san."
You nodded and waved monotonously.
Tucking your hands into your hood pocket, which Hajime gave you because it is a cafe giveaway and signifies that you are a member of the staff; the hood was simple, with pastel blue that faded into white,which was a good hue in my opinion and the best of the kind which it calls "the pocket."
Only a few minutes after the game ended, the crowds had already left the stadium, leaving only a few people, including you and the two characters.
This is also the scene in which Mikado plays a crucial role by seeing that Nosaka is feeling dizzy.
As the idiot that you are, you didn't give a fck or couldn't care less; you watch them from a distance so they won't notice you.
You left Raimon's stadium and were met by the filthy rats you had seen before.
"Oh? Found me already?" You mentioned adjusting and rolling the fabric wrapped over your arms while ignoring the small vermin.
The girl in the middle, whom you presume to be the leader, smirked at you.
"It's not hard to find someone like you,"
"I mean, certainly, it's not because the world was crawling with germs."
They processed what you said, but you believe they didn't, so you said it yourself, "I'm calling you germs, you vermins."
Eh, you're not the type to resort to violence, but it appears they wanted to do more violence, and how come they found you easily, plus why are they finding you, are you some type of criminal with a bounty on your head; gosh, you just wanted to find an apartment to sleep in tonight, but the world was against you.
"There is just too much drama and brutality," you said, lowering your head and brushing your pants.
"And even I couldn't get away from it."
"So tell me, boys and girls, why are you looking for me?"
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Details
—The way Lady Pudding refers to the characters' names when narrating the story is based on how Nozomi Kamui addresses them. For example, if she refers to the characters by their last names, the narrative will likewise be last names, and if she refers to them by their first names, the narrative will be first names. When narrating "Nozomi," or "Hikkiri," however, either the initial name, last name, or nickname will be narrated.
—Hikkiri likes "Harry Potter."
—Fudou ate the food you brought for him and thought it wasn't so bad.
—Nozomi was just intimidating, even if she was simply stating her opinions and being frank with those who were looking to confront her.
Do you wish to continue?
—Yes
—No