...
Following the battle against Binah, I spent a day or so short of a week in the hospital, tended to by two incredibly nice girls from Trinity, Sumi Serina and Asagao Hanae. Both of them were fantastic nurses, due to being a part of the Remedial Knights, whose job is literally to heal people.
I've seldom met such nice and bubbly girls.
Regardless of that, I talked with lots of girls during my stay, especially Hoshino, who decided on a day for our aquarium 'date'.
Thus, the day I was able to leave the hospital, around two or three hours before noon, I went to the aquarium to meet up with Hoshino about a block away from the aquarium itself.
"Yo." I call out, eliciting her to turn around toward me.
I wore a simple white t-shirt with a black overshirt, blue jeans and some sneakers, along with my watch. Additionally, I left Arona at home. Hope she won't be too lonely.
Hoshino, strangely enough, wore her usual school uniform, including the straps around her shoulders.
"Hey, Sensei! Huh..." Hoshino hums.
"What?" I ask.
"You look nice out of that suit you're always in." She says with a smile.
"Well... thanks." I say, not expecting the compliment. "You look nice too, but... really? The uniform again?"
"Why not? It's comfy." She defends, with a smile.
"Fair enough. Shall we?" I ask, motioning forward.
She nods and boldly takes my hand in hers as we walk forward. Not long after, we stand in front of the aquarium. It's a massive metal colosseum-looking building with most of the walls being glass.
"Wow! So this is the aquarium..." Hoshino says in awe of the building's size. "A place like this is completely foreign to an old-fashioned country bumpkin like me." She jokes, before pulling a paper from her pocket. "Look here, I got the pamphlet." She lets go of my hand to hold the pamphlet with both hands before reading it excitedly. "There's a tropical fish exhibit, deep sea fish exhibit, and even a live feeding experience! Hmm... there's also a dolphin show... and a penguin exhibit. They must keep that one cold, don't you think?"
"Probably." I shrug.
"Look, Sensei!" She says, holding the paper in my face. "A sea tunnel! They have a whale shark too! Wait, is it technically a whale or a shark?" She asks, looking down at the paper again.
"Sharks, but they eat via filtration, like a whale." I explain, remembering things about the animal.
"Huh... Do you think we'll have time to see everything today?" She asks, hopeful.
"Maybe, but I don't see why we can't at least try." I say with a smile, eliciting her to pocket the pamphelt again.
"So..." She starts, as she suddenly holds my arm against her body. "Where should we go first?" She asks, looking up at me with a beautiful smile.
"How about we go see those tropical fish, then?" I ask, as we begin to make our way inside.
—————
We visited the tropical fish exhibit, then the deep sea fish one. The sea tunnel was nearby, so we decided to go there next.
Hoshino and I looked around in awe as we walked through the tunnel. The world around us is water, making it feel as though we've stepped into an alien world.
Various fish swim around in harmony with one another, even...
"Is that a whale?!" Hoshino yells in awe as she all but presses her face against the glass. "Wow... Amazing... I've never been to a place like this before."
"Same here." I say, staring at the various fish. "I mean, I've been to an aquarium, but... nothing like this..."
"Look at that fish! It's so cute! Hahaha!" The pink haired girl all but squeals.
"Meh, I've seen cuter." I say.
"What? No way anything could be cuter than that." She defends the fish.
"I dunno, there's something far cuter next to me right now." I say with a smile, causing the short girl's heterochromatic eyes to widen in surprise as a blush grows on her face.
She averts her gaze as she turns her head away with a small smile on her face, before having a melancholic look. "Is it okay that I'm the only one who's having so much fun...?"
"Don't worry about stuff like that. Life is to be enjoyed, y'know?" I say, hoping to reassure the short girl.
"Hm. All right, then." She says as her beautiful smile reappears.
The two of us stayed in the sea tunnel for a while. Afterwards, we explored the entire aquarium. And I mean the ENTIRE place. The live feeding, the jellyfish exhibit, penguin exhibit, sea turtle exhibit, whale shark exhibit, and even the gift shop.
It was a super fun day, all in all. Well worth the wait, and then some.
—————
As we left the aquarium, the world was bathed in gold as the sun began to set.
"Phew. That was so much fun." Hoshino says with a content expression on her face. In one of her hands was a blue whale plush I bought her at the gift shop. "The anglerfish were so much fun to feed, Heehee. Their mouths are so big. It was really cool how the jellyfish glow in the dark, too. Keeping up with their neon lights made me kind of dizzy Oh, oh! And then there was the sea tunnel! It was just so...!" She rambles off happily, stopping to let out a relieved sigh.
"It was fun, huh?" I ask with a smile.
"Of course! I even bought a bunch of souvenirs too! Heeheehee." She said with a chuckle. I idly look down at the fish themed backpack she bought, and promptly filled it to the brim with more fish-related stuff she bought. The only thing I bought, aside from a fish-themed t-shirt and pair of sweatpants, was the whale plush which caused to her literally squeal in delight when I handed it to her.
"I'm completely exhausted after all that. I might just pass out the second I get home." She whines.
"I wouldn't blame ya. We did a lot of walking today." I say, agreeing with her. My shins are a bit sore, though that might be due to me having been immobile the past few days.
"Though, I wouldn't mind coming back here." The pink haired girl says.
"I agree, we'll definitely come back." I say.
"Heehee, I'll be the one to invite you next time, Sensei! Just you wait and see!" She declares with a big smile.
"I'll be lookin' forward to it." I say with a smile. "Do you, uh... want me to walk ya home?" I ask, nervously.
"Oh?" She asks, surprised.
"I mean, I haven't done this kinda thing in a long time, so..." I trail off.
Hoshino just giggles cutely in response, before hugging my arm once again. "It's a long walk..."
"I know. I'm fine with that." I say as she hugs my arm tighter.
Thus, the two of us walk back to Abydos.
I haven't been on a date or anything for so long...
I wonder... have I gotten over Jane these past five years...?
Only time will tell, I guess.
—————
Hours later, after the sun had set, we arrived at Hoshino's apartment. Before she went inside, she stopped. "Hey, Sensei?"
"Yeah?" I ask.
"There's something I want to tell you, so... would you mind coming inside for a bit?" She asks.
She seems seriously worried about this... "Alright, then."
Seeming to perk up a bit, but still quite nervous, Hoshino unlocks the door to her home and opens it. I step inside behind her and close the door. I'm treated with the sight of a rather simple, yet small apartment. The living and dining rooms are one, big room with a small kitchen connected to the dining room. There are three doors on one side of the wall, two of them likely being her bedroom and bathroom. No idea what the third one is.
"I'm gonna get some water, you thirsty?" Hoshino asks after sitting her recently bought items on the dining table, as I stand around, a bit awkward.
"A little." I say, as she walks into the kitchen. I sit down on the couch, my mind racing, trying to figure out what she wants to tell me. In front of the couch is a small, flatscreen tv on a cabinet. Next to it is another cabinet with a few framed pictures, some of the Abydos girls, some of fish. One of them catches my eye, it's a younger Hoshino. Her hair is cut short and she has on a tactical vest with her shotgun strapped to her chest. She honestly looks kinda cute with that hair, despite her grumpy expression on display here.
Next to her is a taller girl with long, pale blue hair and closed eyes, a bright smile on her face. The taller girl is hugging the shorter Hoshino happily while throwing up a peace sign with her other hand. Her rather large chest is pressed right against the side of Hoshino's head, causing the shorter girl to be quite annoyed, judging by her expression.
That must be...
My thoughts are interrupted by Hoshino returning. She walks around the couch and hand me a glass of water. "Thanks." I say, as I take a sip while she sits down next to me.
"I, uh..." She begins, drawing my attention to her. "I don't think I ever asked, but... are you okay? You know, after all of..."
"Well, I'm still a bit sore, but mostly fine. A cracked rib normally would've taken a long time to heal, but medicine in Kivotos is in another league compared to the stuff back home." I explain.
"That's good." She says, taking a sip of her water.
Fuck, this is all kinds of awkward...
"So, um... What did you want to tell me?" I ask.
Her heterochromatic eyes widen for a brief moment, before averting them away from me. "W-Well..."
It's so weird seeing nervous Hoshino.
"Was today a good... date?" She asks, eventually.
I'm a bit surprised by the question, partially because I wasn't sure she thought of this as a date. "Yeah..." I say quietly, causing her hopeful gaze to snap towards me. "Yeah, it was a good date." She smiles at this. "I wasn't quite sure this was a date, truth be told. I haven't been on one in a long time..."
"Oh. Right... The other girls told me about... y'know." She says.
"About Jane and that asshole?" I ask.
"...Yeah." She says simply. "You're a nice guy, Sensei. You shouldn't have gone through that."
I sigh. "Yeah... but... sometimes, bad stuff just happens. When it does, you've gotta keep goin'."
"Yeah." She says. Looking at her, I see empathy in her expression. She's been through a lot too, huh?
"But you're wrong about one thing. I'm not a nice guy, Hoshino." I say, seriously.
"What? Of course you are." She protests.
"...No, I'm really not. I've done horrible shit. Especially after..." I stop, unable to continue. Dammit, I shouldn't've said anything.
"Sensei." Hoshino says, seriously, staring right into my eyes. "What happened?"
I still, remaining silent as I am suddenly unable to meet her gaze. "I..." She continues. "I told you what happened to Abydos before, so..."
I sigh, realizing I oughta bite the bullet. "Fine. Fine." I say, shifting in my seat. "I mentioned Rick before, but I don't think I told the girls that he was the son of a multi-billionaire who ran the biggest company in the world, having connections to every country across the globe." Her eyes sparkle with intrigue and surprise at this. "Some people estimated that Galveston Enterprises would make it's CEO a trillionaire within a few years. That never happened, though."
"Why not?" She asks, the story clearly having captured her curiosity.
"Because he died about a week after Rick and I fought." I say, causing the girl's eyes to widen. "While I was home, recuperating from my injuries, the news was showing Rick on a podium, covered in bandages to the point he was basically a mummy, talking about how his father 'tragically' died that night. He spoke about how I, his best friend, assaulted my girlfriend Jane, placing her into a coma-" Hoshino lets out a soft gasp at that. "-, about how he tried to protect her from me and got beaten brutally, and... about how I was the one who killed his dad."
"But... you said you were at home!" She argues.
"He lied. Hell, it was probably him who killed his old man." I say, angrily. "Then the first thing he did as CEO of the company, with 'great sadness' in his heart, was place a massive dead-or-alive bounty on my head."
"...A bounty?" She asks, confused at the turn of events.
"Yup. A bounty of ten-billion dollars." As I say that, her eyes widen as her pupils dilate in shock. "Or a little less than one-point-four trillion yen, if I remember the exchange right."
"One-point...?! He would spend that much just to...?" She begins to ask.
"Oh, please. Galveston senior was almost a trillionaire, but the company was worth seven hundred-trillion alone. That's not mentioning other stuff, which would've easily made it a quintillion dollar company." I explain. "But, like I said..." I let out a sigh. "The company had connections everywhere in the world. When I saw the news, I ran. And ran..."
I stop my shaky hands by taking a sip of water to calm down. "For the past five years, I ran around the world, doing anything to survive." I pause to stare her in the eyes. "Anything, Hoshino. All the shit that Kaiser guy and Black Suit did was equivalent to a child throwing a tantrum compared to the shit I've done, all just to live another day." I sigh once more. "Ten-billion dollars in incredibly enticing. As if it wasn't bad enough having to run from the police, everywhere, I had to hide from everyone... Sure, some people helped me hide, but... greed is a powerful motivator..."
We both remain quiet for a long while. "I still don't think you're a bad person." She says, causing me to look at her from the corner of my eyes. "A bit stupid and suicidal, but not bad."
"Suicidal...?" I ask. "I suppose so. You girl's lives are worth much more than mine." I say, looking away from her. "I'm just a guy who's got the biggest bounty in existence on his head... A guy who's committed God-knows how many atrocities just to survive... If I died to keep y'all safe... I'd die happy, I suppose. You girls have you lives ahead of you, unlike me-"
My speaking is interrupted as I suddenly find myself on the ground. My glass of water lays on the ground next to me, it's contents spilled all over the carpet. The side of my face stings, for some reason.
Looking back towards the couch, while holding my hand to my stinging cheek, I see Hoshino.
The girl's arm is stretched outwards as she's partially standing. Her glass has fallen to the ground as spilled like mine.
Her eyes are wide, pupils dilated as her face portrays an expression I've yet to see on her...
Rage.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!" She shouts, shouts at me as she stands to her feet, staring down at me. "DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK DYING TO SAVE US WOULD BE A GOOD THING?!"
I wilt under her loud voice. "Y-Y'all would be fine."
"FINE?!" She shouts, causing me to flinch. "HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING SO STUPID?! DO YOU KNOW HOW TERRIBLE I FELT AFTER BINAH ATTACKED?! WHEN I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD?!" I weakly shake my head negatively. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS TO THINK YOU WERE THE REASON YOU GOT SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU KILLED?! AGAIN?!"
Again...? My thoughts turn to the picture of the girl hugging an upset Hoshino.
"I WAS THE REASON YUME DIED! DO YOU THINK I COULD HANDLE THAT AGAIN?! DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I OR ANYONE ELSE COULD HANDLE YOU DYING BECAUSE OF US?!" She continues her tirade.
"No..." I say, quietly. "No, you couldn't handle that." She stops shouting to stare at me in confusion. "I... I made friends while I was on the run. They..." I swallow forcefully, despite my horribly dry throat. "I got them all killed. Anyone who ever helped me for the past five years is dead... I guess... I guess I just didn't want to get anymore people I care for killed. I..." I pause, gathering my thoughts. "I just thought it'd be better for you girls to live instead of me... I... I'm sorry, Hoshino." I say, tears beginning to fall from my eyes from the memories.
Hoshino says nothing. She just crouches down and hugs me tightly. "...I'm sorry too."
"For what?"
"Yelling."
"No, it-it's fine." I say. "I suppose I've been stuck in the 'survive or die' mentality for a long time and needed someone to smack me out of it. You pack a mean punch, you know that?" I say, eliciting a laugh from the pink haired girl.
She breaks the hug and moves her hands to grasp my shoulders while staring directly into my eyes. "Sensei. I love you."
My thoughts freeze at the words she says as her eyes bore into mine.
"That's what I wanted to tell you." She continues. "When Binah attacked and I thought you died, I realized that I had fallen for you. I..." she chokes, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I can't stand the thought of you being dead, so... please stop trying to get yourself killed, and... stop thinking your life is so worthless." She says, as the dam breaks, letting tears spill from her eyes.
We remain silent, staring into each other's eyes for a long while. "I... I loved Jane all those years ago, but..." I sigh. "Maybe I got over her while on the run... without realizing it. I've been... stuck in hell for a long time. Maybe... Maybe this is just a wake up call."
"A wake up call?" She asks.
"Yeah. A call telling me to stop agonizing about the past, and... and be happy." I say with a smile, causing he to look confused once more. "I... I haven't been in a relationship for a long time, but... you've certain worked your way into my heart. I dunno if it's love or what, but... I care a great deal for you, Hoshino."
The short, pink haired, heterochromatic eyed girl smiles the brightest smile I've seen in a long, long time.
And ordinary smile wouldn't be as beautiful. Hell, to other people, this smile would be fairly normal.
Why is it so beautiful to me? It's simple.
It's the smile of one you love.
The next thing I know, the both of us are entranced by one another as our tear-stained eyes bore into those of the other. Her eyes shine bright like the sun and the moon. After a seemingly eternal moment, we both move our heads forwards and collide with a kiss.
We both melt into one another's embrace as our arms wrap around each other while we kiss.
After a long time, or perhaps moments, we separate. The smile on her face afterwards is somehow even brighter than before.
I gently wipe the tears from her face and return her smile. He returns to favor by wiping my tears away as well.
"So, uh..." I begin awkwardly. "Guess this makes us a couple, huh?"
The pink haired girl giggles. "I guess it does... Do you... wanna watch a movie while you're here?"
"I'd love to. I'll clean up the water if you set the movie up." I say.
"Deal." She says, as we both stand up, our legs stiff from being on the floor.
Huh. My face still stings.
That'll teach me to not piss her off.
—————
By the time we finished watching the movie, she asked me to (read: insisted that I) sleep at her place.
After taking a shower, I changed into the t-shirt and sweatpants I bought from the aquarium. Glad I bought 'em.
I sit on Hoshino's rather fluffy, pink bed cover as I wait for her to finish showering, or rather drying, as the water cut off some time ago.
As I wait, I observe her bedroom. Next to her bed is an alarm clock and another copy of that picture of her and Yume on a small nightstand. Her bed is covered in a thick, fluffy pink bed cover with two pillows, one green and one blue, pressed against the wooden headboard. Above the headboard is a small, wooden shelf with a toy whale strapped to one of the shelve's supports and a dreamcatcher of sorts tied to the other.
The strangest thing in her room is on the wall next to the window on the side of her bed.
It's a poster, depicting an oasis in the desert with the silhouette of a pyramid behind it.
The poster looks like it was torn to pieces, then stuck back together with some tape. A lot of tape, at that.
The door then opens. As I turn around, I see my new girlfriend wearing a pair of pajama pants and matching collared, button-up shirt. Both are blue with white polka dots. She has a white t-shirt on underneath, peeking out from her slightly unbuttoned shirt. "Sorry I took so long."
"It's fine." I say, waving her off. "That hair of yours must take forever to wash and dry."
"Heehee. It does. It was definitely a lot easier a few years ago." She agrees, before looking me over for a moment. "Those look good on you, Sensei."
I chuckle. "I could say the same about you." A blush appears on her cheeks as she chuckles awkwardly.
She motions for me to move. Getting up, she pulls the covers of the bed back. "You first." She says, motioning me forward. Relenting, I slip into the far side of her bed, against the wall with the torn poster. She slips in afterwards, pulling the covers over us both afterwards.
The small lamp on her nightstand is the only thing illuminating the room until she clicks it off. The only light now is from the moon, peeking in from behind her curtains. The fish stickers she placed on her ceiling now glow a faint, yet brilliant green.
Hoshino snuggles her small frame against mine while snuggling her head against my shoulder. "Heehee. You're like a big teddy bear." She says with a smile. I lay my hand onto hers that now rests on my chest. She stiffens at the contact, but relaxes eventually.
"Sensei." She says.
"Josh." I correct.
"Huh?" She asks, opening her eyes to look at me.
"You don't hafta call me Sensei all the time. When it's just us, call me Josh or somethin'." I say seriously.
"All right, then. Hey, Josh?" She says, causing me to stiffen. It's weird hearing her call me that.
"Yeah?"
"Just know I don't mind sharing."
My mind blanks in confusion at that. "Huh...?" I ask.
She looks up at me with a serious face. "You... You're an amazing guy, Josh. I know lots of other girls here will end up the same as me, if they haven't already. So... I don't mind sharing."
"...Are... Are you sure?" I ask.
"So long as I can be with you, I don't mind sharing." She continues.
I'm stunned by her words. Where's this coming from?
I mean, it's not like she's wrong. I know Chinatsu's into me. But...
I sigh, relenting. "Fine. But if a girl wants to be with me and I like her back, I'm gonna get her to talk to you or somethin'."
"Oh? You want my approval, huh?" She teases, a sly smile on her face.
"If I had a harem of girls, I'd want them to get along. Simple as that."
My serious words elicit cute laughter from the small girl snuggling against me. "Fair enough."
"Still, what makes you think I'll get a harem?" I ask.
"You're really asking me that?" She asks, deadpan. "Have you seen any guys here that AREN'T robots or animals? Or any guys that aren't adults? On top of that, how have you NOT seen all of the romance novels with human men in them?"
"...You raise a fair point. Why aren't there any male students, or adults, or anything??" I ask.
"Don't ask me." She half-shrugs while snuggled against me. "Until recently, human men were just a myth."
I just chuckle. "All right, then."
We hold each other a little tighter in silence.
A long, silent moment passes.
"Hey, Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"Sweet dreams."
"Sweet dreams, Hoshino."
This certainly wasn't where I saw my day going, but...
I can't say I'm upset by this development.
I just hold my new girlfriend a little tighter as we drift off to sleep.
—————
AN
Angry Hoshino is a scary Hoshino.
This was my first time writing mushy and emotional stuff like this. Please, tell me how I did in the comments/reviews.
Next time is a little bit of Down Time.
Edit: December 6, 2022: Added mention of the fish stickers.
Edit: April 8, 2023: Fixed some stuff.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!