Ch 44

POV Akari Nakano

When the door crashed open I almost shut my eyes to prevent myself from seeing what was inside but I never expected the people inside to actually be Shimabukuro chan and Shizuo.

Both of them hurriedly got up and brushed the dust off their clothes with embarrassed expression on their faces.

"I didn\'t know you swing that way Shimabukuro san." Hinata said after they got up.

"Th-that you are misunderstanding someth-" Shizuo stopped speaking right in the middle of her sentence and her eyes widened.

I could see the look of dread and shock in her face. Only after a moment I realized the thing she was staring at was not me but something behind me.

I turned my face and understood what was happening in a second.

"I only left for a couple of minutes and it feels like I missed a whole season. What happened?" Makoto said as he looked at me. He had taken off his hoodie for some reason.

But the reason for Shizuo\'s petrification was not Makoto but the blushing person standing right beside him.

"Nish-"

"Ha chan we just tripped and fell by mistake, alright? Don\'t think too much of it."

Before Shizuo could say anything Shimabukuro chan jumped in and defused the situation.

"Ok." Nishikawa only nodded slowly. Clearly he wasn\'t convinced.

At this moment none of us knew what to say.

"Alright, we need go call the staff to fix the door, the lock is busted right?" Makoto finally spoke up reminding everyone.

"Ah I will go do that." Saying that Shizuo hurriedly left.

I slowly shook my head. It seems the embarrassment is too much for her.

"We also got drinks for everyone." Nishikawa suddenly spoke up.

Only then my eyes turned towards what Makoto and Nishikawa were carrying.

"I met Nishikawa while he was buying drinks, so we got some for everyone." Makoto explained.

As he was handing the drink to me Makoto leaned towards my ears and whispered something. I was expecting another cheesy embarrassing line, but what came out of his mouth made me fall in deep contemplation.

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POV Shinji Makoto

While returning to the purikura I decided to take the longer route to take more time. It was because of this I met Nishikawa. It was then I learned of the result of their little competition. Since I knew Nakano and Tsukumo san were both heading towards there I bought some for everyone. Who knew that I would be greeted by a view of Hiwari san lying on top of Shimabukuro with her hands squeezing her chest.

Well, obviously this is an awkward situation for the three people involved, but secretly I am grateful as well. I mean they completely took the fire off my and Nakano\'s backs.

But this misunderstanding thing is really similar to that incident. As past thoughts were playing in my mind my eyes coincidentally met with Nakano\'s clear violet eyes. She had been taking glances at me ever since I had said that line to her.

In a few minutes Hiwari san returned with a person wearing the store\'s uniform behind her. Luckily he didn\'t charge us for this. I mean delinquency is kind of common in arcades. Especially the smaller ones at late in the night. A broken lock was nothing in comparision. Maybe the store clerk just couldn\'t be bothered with it and just let us go.

"That was lucky." Tsukumo san commented at the free pass we got.

The rest of us nodded and tacitly agreed to forget about the previous incident.

The rest of the evening passed in the same way. We played games at the arcade until something like 8 in the evening and then had dinner at a family restaurant.

By the time I was home it was already 10 pm. During the whole time I didn\'t try any more advancement towards Nakano. I had conveyed what I needed to and she probably understood that. All I could do now was wait for the results.

Anyways forget all that, after I came home, I was tired as hell. Imagine spending a whole evening after school not able to relax. Although my legs were not killing me like after the trip to the amusement park, my soul was really tired.

After coming home, I took a nice, relaxing bath before just going straight to my pc and starting [Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim]. If you have never tried playing Skyrim when you are tired, especially after a bath, you definitely need to. It just feels way more immersive. Maybe it just makes you ignore the small glitches since you just can\'t be arsed to. I had started playing it again after I don\'t even know how many years when the things with Nakano were downhill. It helped me keep my mind off pessimistic thoughts.

By the time I logged off after doing the Sheogorath quest, it was already half past midnight. Since I was really feeling the drowsiness at this point I gave up the plan of scrolling through my phone and just slept.

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POV Akari Nakano

As I lay on my bed looking at the moon half hidden by clouds outside the window the things that happened in the last few days played in my head.

"Doesn\'t this scene remind you of what happened to us?"

This is what Makoto had whispered into my ears. He was talking about the mall incident, right? I mean, no other similar incident had happened between us so that must be it. Does he want to say that it was a misunderstanding similar to this? That is the only thing I could think of.

The scene of Makoto and that girl hugging flashed in my mind. Surprisingly, this time, I didn\'t feel any pain in my chest. Is it because I have gotten over it? Or maybe I subconsciously trust his words. If you think about it though, it could be what he is saying Is true. But at the same time, he might just be using this incident as a way to cover up what happened before. I wouldn\'t put it past him to do such things.

Honestly, I don\'t remember the girl\'s face at that time. I mean that day, after I saw him there I left instantly. But I do remember that I didn\'t recognize her, and also the fact that she looked younger.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt inclined to believe him, but at the same time I was reminded by my past incidents and the results that came out of it.

I was not able to sleep properly at all that night.

.

The next day I woke up with great difficulty, owing to my lack of sleep the previous night. But regardless of my condition the day would go on and I would have to move along with it. On my way to school something cold splashed in my face. It took me a second to realize it drizzling slightly. I hurriedly made my way to school.

Luckily, I wasn\'t really wet by the time I reached my class, more like damp. Upon entering my eyes met with Makoto\'s who was chatting with Nishikawa kun at the time. He only nodded at me in greeting before returning to his talk with Nishikawa.

I understood what he wanted to do. He had told me his side of things as much as he could and he had left what I would think to myself. This behaviour made me release a sigh of relief. His recent behaviour with me was too close. So this felt relieving in a sense. But at the same time I felt as if there was a itch in my heart that couldn\'t be scratched.

And so the days flew by. Nothing really happened except for the regular things that happen to students. The classes went on and the teachers kept giving homework and assignments with due dates I can\'t be bothered to remember. I had always been someone who had never really cared or liked studying, so classes were always a bore to me. Of course I did attend school everyday and even tried to pay attention to the teachers\' lectures for the sake of it, but it was like using your hands to retain a cup of water. I could understand it then but forgot it in a few days which made understanding the next topic more difficult.

What I did notice during class though was the behaviour of the person beside me. I had never really noticed it before but was Makoto always so studious? Every time I turned towards him I would see him either scribbling something in his notebook or listening to the teacher with rapt attention. I never expected that sort of seriousness from his flimsy behaviour normally.

Only after asking about it one day did I know he was actually one of the toppers in our grade. This news left me a little disoriented. I never thought that this sort of idiot could actually be so smart.

.

A few days later I woke up to the sound of raindrops hitting my windows. God I hate the rainy season. Everything is so grey, humid and wet. But no matter how much I hated it I still I made my way to school as usual, except I had an umbrella in my hands.

When I entered the class I tried to find Makoto again like I did everyday but there was an empty seat instead.

"Where is Makoto?" I asked Nishikawa after I settled in my seat.

The reply really took me by surprise.

"Oh. He said he won\'t be coming today because he is sick."

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