❝ Brother.❞
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Chapter 13
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The purple-haired woman was completely baffled by the sight of you wiping the stain off the messy table worktop with a cleaning rug while sweat slid down your forehead. Her hazel eyes were watching you intently while she pouted.
These past few days of living as usual, her student and coworker, aka you, were acting differently. There wasn't much she could tell about you because you literally don't show any emotions other than your uninterested one, and both of you seemed very self-centered from Hajime's perspective.
While adjusting her name badge, she began to spy on you by glancing at you who did nothing but perform your duties.
You have just chosen to ignore the piercing gaze of your manager, and despite the fact that Hajime was watching you covertly behind your back, you can still feel her eyes upon you.
Then you'd have enough, "Hajime-san, what is it that you need?" You asked bluntly, not looking at your manager because you're too busy cleaning.
"SO BLUNT!"
"Nothing!" she coughed nervously.
"Are you sure?" you asked, peeking around your back and staring at Hajime's hazel eyes with a glint from light reflection.
"Actually, no! How about you go get Yume for me?"
"..."
"...no"
"Thank you- wait, why?!?" She wailed and cried in a comedic manner.
"I am not compensated adequately."
Hajime could only stare in disbelief at your reasoning, but it appears you have a valid point.
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"Secret Garden" is a humorous and distinctive name for a school. It is one of the most well-known schools in Tokyo, but not all of Japan. The school is renowned for its excellent educational system, which enables students to acquire knowledge by absorbing the school's guidance.
Since she met Hajime, Hikkiri Yume has been studying there.
All schools have the capacity to impart knowledge, but not all teachers pay attention to their students. If a teacher does pay attention to a student, this could be a good or bad thing, as not everyone thinks equally, including teachers.
Why is a bad thing included? Sometimes it's not just students who mistreat their classmates or teachers; sometimes it's the teachers themselves.
It is baffling that you and Yume shared a similar viewpoint on a school-related issue; this is a situation that could be described as "unfair."
Unfair, the word that leaves an indelible mark on your heart.
Smiling to yourself, "How can they be so selfish?"
Removing the disgusting mask, "What makes them so unjust?"
Asking, "What is it that's so great about being biased?"
It's like, "Why does everything have to be so unfair?"
As you put your hands in your pockets, you look around and see Hikkiri sitting by herself and reading a book.
You approached the girl in complete silence, acting as if you were a secret agent or a trained professional in the art of silent walking.
"Hikkiri-san," you say, as she flinches at your sudden presence.
The young lady who had only recently started reading the first book in the Harry Potter series was already halfway through "Pride and Prejudice," demonstrating how quickly time can pass.
The writer of this piece, aka me, claims to have never read any other novels besides those that are considered to be national literature in their home country.
Therefore, you should blame yourself whenever you discovered something peculiar and definitely odd.
"...Nozomi-san?"
"Yes?" You lean against the bench's back while she faces and stares at you from her upper left.
"How did you get it?" She asked in a whisper.
"I walk,"
She deadpanned at your response and did not go on to ask you a further question that you would answer without emphasizing the entire detail because she was afraid of making another mistake by simply asking.
"Makes sense," Hikkiri replied as she stuffed her belongings into her small bag, stood up, and dusted her skirt.
"Though, why are you here?"
"I'm here to get you out of here, or "fetch" you, so that I can earn more money."
"It's Teacher Hajime, isn't it?"
"Correct."
Hikkiri was unable to comprehend that she was speaking to you at this moment, but she was able to speak to you with a small amount of assurance, without someone who was holding her back.
The silence continues, and the two individuals who had no history of having a better conversation stand still and unintentionally engage in a staring competition.
You broke the silence by approaching her closely close to her face, never in your life you become so bold.
You broke the silence by approaching her face-to-face, never in your life having been so audacious.
She freezes in response to your action, then says, "I have some tickets. Hajime-san told me I could earn money by watching a soccer game with you, so I jumped at the opportunity because it was a good deal," You then look at her for confirmation, waiting for her approval to follow you.
"Okay."
You nodded and turned around to walk away, but stopped when you noticed Yume was not moving an inch.
You uttered only "Let's go" before embarking on your path to becoming a millionaire in no time.
Priorities, obviously.
"How does she know I have not yet followed her?" Hikkiri blinked in bewilderment.
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The match you've gotten tickets for from your manager or Yume's teacher is between Zeus and Inakuni, and you're not surprised that they're the ones you'll be watching after all, Zeus is famous, while Inakuni is a newcomer who made it to nationals.
"Are you certain this is a good idea?"
"..." You remained silent, either because you didn't know what to say or because you were too lazy to speak.
You and Yume sat as gracefully as a lady from thousands of years ago; the girl in her uniform was interested in etiquette, whereas you, the other girl, were performing etiquette unconsciously and without the proper knowledge.
Upon seeing the "Celestial saw" by Heruse, you began to watch intently, wondering how this hissatsu even functions.
The game was ordinarily less interesting, but it became more intriguing when Afuro proudly spread his "God knows" hissatsu-named wings.
In every other version of Inazuma besides Ares, Zeus was extremely difficult to defeat. Let's be frank, the team was more powerful in the first series than in the Ares version, so they were never weak to begin with.
Afuro smiled contentedly after Kozoumaru and Goujin fired a single normal shot.
On the opposite stadium, where Outei Tsukinomiya and Seishou Gakuen were playing, a shadow from the hallway's left side loomed over.
It had only been a few minutes since the game had begun, and yet Yume was still reading her book and paying no attention to the competition, while you were dazed and staring at the sky.
"What if I've been sleeping the whole time and soon wake up from the alarm?"
"Watch out!" A yelled across the field making everyone look at the sudden commotion.
"So listen here, you cute little shrimp-" a man in his early twenties said in a serious yet amusing tone as giggles erupted from the little girl's lips while watching his older brother do his thing.
Nozomi Yukio, the older brother of Nozomi Kamui, was a resolute individual.
Their appearance was not identical; unlike Kamui, whose hair is only slightly wavy at the ends, Yukio had wavy hair similar to their mother's. Furthermore, he inherited gray hair from his entire family; if Kamui has a unique hair color that naturally fades to gray and has gray hair strands, Yukio has natural gray hair throughout, as both siblings have gray-silver colored eyes.
Yukio's gaze became more gentle as it fell upon his sister, who was attempting to stifle her laughter by covering her mouth.
"When someone throws things at you like a knif- I mean bag or something like um.."
"Like the sun?" Kamui casually cocked her head to the side.
"..." He paused for a moment, staring at his younger sister's doe eyes "Ahh! So cute!!"
"Yes yes, like the sun," he said, clearing his throat.
He knows he shouldn't teach his six-year-old sister something like this, but he always justified it by saying it was for defense. But how could he teach such things to a six-year-old child who should be playing with toys?
He has his own ways, and he claims that his sister was smarter for a child, but she behaved like one.
"Kamui,"
"Yes?"
"If you can't avoid them, you must capture and resist them."
The game concluded with Inakuni's victory, but with an unexpected twist that never occurred in the anime.
It's where a player unintentionally fires a shot before the timer runs out.
What a beautiful day to be kissed by an absolutely gorgeous ball thrown by none other than Afuro.
"I've come to the conclusion that trusting Hajime-san was a bad idea," you said, looking at the ball as it approached your face.
Time appeared to have slowed, as it does in other anime, but not for you. You were just quick enough to extend your arms; ensure you possess sufficient strength to punch the ball.
Yes, you read that correctly.
You composed yourself in a balanced manner, then, like the wind, you went with the flow to punch it to avoid the ball colliding with your lovely face.
The force that you applied to that poor sphere object caused the ball to travel to the other place at an abnormally high rate of speed.
Yume's attention was drawn to you by the sudden harsh wind, and after that she started to blink and rub her eyes casually, setting down her book before looking at you and the ball that flew in the sky.
"..."
"Oh, I did that?"
"...yes."
"Wow," you said it monotonously.
Kazemaru gaped in his seat, unsure how to react. The girl he and Endou met yesterday who appears to have something special about her was here and made an unexpected appearance.
The boy with the spiky light-blonde hair raised an eyebrow, suspicious of his friend. He was wondering if Kazemaru knew the girl because of the way he looked at her.
Afuro stared at you in disbelief, both because you were able to stop it and because of what had happened, then bowed and mouthed "sorry," knowing it wasn't manly to do so and planning to apologize properly later.
You looked into his eyes and simply nodded, showing little concern for what he had done.
The only consideration you received is that the Inakuni will once again see you.
But that's not the point right now, as Ootani is enthusiastically waving. The girl was pleased to see that you were doing well and had already made friends.
"Did you happen to know her, Nozomi-san?" She asked, while you hummed in response. Yume already understood what you were saying.
The crowd's attention gradually faded as they celebrated the winner's victory and the good match they had.
"Did you enjoy the game?"
"Did you like the book?"
You both said it at the same time, effectively silencing each other.
"Yes."
"Yeah."
"Yes, punched them all like everything you had!"
"That's my younger sister!" He proudly stated before practicing again.
"Okay, I'm going to throw this ball at you. Maintain proper posture and breathing, and reduce your weight."
"What?" Kamui asked, her head tilted.
"Oh, you have to keep your cool ninja style and breathe like... the fish! Yes, fish breathe in time, second by second, and they are completely focused on swimming and reducing their weight in the water while breathing!"
"Ohh! Okay!"
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Details
-To avoid complications, the major original characters will be few and countable. That is, Nozomi Yukio, along with Hajime Mira, Haruna Ayaka, and others who remain unnamed, could be the last Oc I created.
-Endou went to the game and, just like in the anime, he hid in the shadows.
Do you wish to continue?
-Yes
-No