A Favor

"Why does this keep happening to me...?”

Although it had been a few days since the start of the new year, the teachers were now full-on lecturing. He still managed to forget his Math textbook. He had been gaming all night and woke up late, so he had to rush to school. Especially since this was Math, he had trouble keeping up with the lecture without a textbook.

“Can you see the textbook, Shiraishi?” Ayako quietly asked.

So, he was forced to share a textbook with Ayako. Since he couldn’t move his table next to her, he moved his seat instead. Right now, they were literally sitting right next to each other, their shoulders barely touching.

“You must be having trouble sharing a textbook, no? I think I’ll just go back to my table…” he stood up, only for his arm to be grabbed by her.

“No,” She wagged her finger. “I told you before I’ll be sure to return the favor, right?”

He reluctantly gave up. Further talk with her would lead to nowhere. While he did appreciate her doing this, he could no longer understand what the teacher was discussing. It was hard for Haru to focus when a beautiful girl sat next to him. Besides, the stares he’d been getting from the boys…he was pretty sure someone already killed him in their eyes.

“Well, that’s all class. Go take your lunch break.”

Haru looked like he had undergone the hardest ordeal in his life. That ordeal earlier was a torture he wouldn’t bestow even on his worst enemy.

The saving grace today was he could finally eat in peace. Ayako had been disrupting (really just eating with him) his peace for the past couple of days but Ayako’s friends had returned to school after their long vacation, so she no longer needed to eat with him. Unbeknownst to him, the smile on his face crept out his classmates a little bit.

Haru’s lunch today consisted of a Hamburg steak and a piping hot Miso Soup. He didn’t get to eat breakfast or else he’d be extremely late, so he had been looking forward to this.

Suddenly, though, it started to get a bit dimmer. As he looked to his side, he noticed a tall man standing. Looking up, he saw a familiar face.

“Anything I can do for you, Iwamoto?”

Takeshi Iwamoto. He was the man who grabbed Haru’s collar before. A tall man with an incredibly robust body. He was also a first-year starter in the Basketball Club—a true testament to his skills. 

This made him a bit nervous, though. Haru had never talked to him before. Haru had no compatibility with him at all as if they lived in different countries, different worlds even.

“You got a minute?” Iwamoto, with a lunch box in his right hand and a huge container in his left hand, fidgeted, looking like someone moments away from confessing.

Something was definitely up. Haru wasn’t certain, maybe it was his physique or maybe he wasn’t used to talking to him, but he was afraid.

“Y-Yeah, sure, what’s up?”

Since Ayako wasn’t around, he pulled up her seat and sat on it. With a droopy look on his face, he said, “Well, I wanted to apologize for what I did before.”

“What you did before?”

Iwamoto nodded. “Yeah, I grabbed you by the collar and almost punched you, remember?”

Haru certainly remembered it. “I remember...”

“I let my emotion get the best of me. I’m sorry.” He bowed his head. “Fuyuki is like the little sister of our group, and we don’t like it when she gets hurt, you know.” Although he was apologizing, his deadpan face and slow talk made it hard to take his apology seriously.

But Haru understood what he was saying. When Iwamoto grabbed his collar before, his face was furious. He'd also have the same face if his little sister were to be ever hurt. 

“Well, don't worry about it. That was like three weeks ago, my grudges don’t live that long.”

“Thanks. Good thing Fuyuki stopped me. They say I throw a mean punch.” he said as he clenched his hand into a fist.

“Hahaha...”

Iwamoto was a robust man. If he was there during the night of Christmas Eve, Haru was certain that those men wouldn’t even think of doing something to Ayako.

“Hey, is that a Hamburg Steak?” Iwamoto’s eyes landed on Haru’s lunch box.

“Yeah, uh, you want some?” Haru had noticed a faint curiosity in Iwamoto’s eyes when he saw the Hamburg Steak.

“Seriously? I can trade some of my food for yours. My mother is a great cook, you know.”

Haru’s mother often overstuffed his lunch box, calling it a “mother’s love” but more often than not, he wasn’t able to finish the food. So, he thought it was better to share than throw it away.

With his chopsticks, Iwamoto grabbed and took a bite. “Oh, this is very delicious.” His face contrasted with his words as he showed a neutral face.

Hearing those words, Haru couldn’t help but smile and be proud of her mother’s cooking. Even Ayako had complimented her when she tried his food. “You can take some more.” He said.

“Don’t mind if I do. You can also take some of mine.”

“Don’t mind if I do, too.”

Haru grabbed an egg roll and took a bite. He wouldn’t say it tasted better than his mother’s cooking but nevertheless, it tasted great.

“Aren’t you going to eat with your friends?” Haru thought he wouldn’t stay for long but now it looked like he was dining in a restaurant.

“No? I’m just going to eat here.”

The two shared their food while talking about their class today.

Now that Haru had talked to him, he was a lot like their homeroom teacher. Iwamoto and Tachibana-sensei looked like they would fall asleep anytime anywhere, but the former was probably tired from practicing basketball everyday while the latter was probably just lazy.

Well, maybe not lazy. He is still a teacher after all.

Out of nowhere, a plastic bag joined the fray of lunch boxes.

“Takeshi!” the plastic bag owner shouted. “I thought we’re supposed to eat together at the cafeteria!”

Iwamoto’s eyelids raised a little bit. “Oh, I forgot.”

“Damn it, again? Don’t you know how long I’ve held out a table before a bunch of girls came in and take it!?”

“I’m really sorry, Fumio.” Not even a hint of remorse on Iwamoto’s face. Actually, not even a hint of anything.

That looks like a superpower.

Haru looked at the newcomer at his table. Fumio Adachi. Brown hair touching his round glasses. Currently regarded as one of the smartest people in the entire first-year.

“Sorry for the ruckus, Shiraishi.” He scratched the back of his head. “I’m guessing this blockhead over here saw your food?”

Haru nodded. “It seems like he wanted it, so I offered some to him.”

Adachi’s eyes widened. “You fed him!? Don’t you know the rules in the classroom!?” He looked towards the poster beside the blackboard. Pasted on the wall was a list of rules on what to do in the classroom. They were just basic rules like keeping the classroom clean or being quiet during lecture.

“Y-Yeah, what about them?”

“Do you know about the ‘Do not feed the bear’ rule?”

Haru vaguely remembered something like that. The rule was handwritten below the paper as if it was added lately, and wasn’t printed like the rest, so he figured that it was just his classmates messing around.

“It’s specifically a rule for Takeshi here. He is the bear. When you feed him something he finds delicious, he will come back for more later. If you don’t give him some, he will just stand there until you give him some.”

“I-I didn’t know about that...”

Haru looked at Iwamoto. With his big and plump body, he did seem like a bear. Not only that but the amount of food he consumed was probably the same amount to feed a bear.

“Well, what’s done is done.” Adachi shrugged, he then grabbed a nearby empty chair and dragged it to Haru’s table. “Guess I’ll eat here, too.”

Well, I guess it won’t hurt to add one more person. If he forced them out of his table, he’d probably have a bad reputation for kicking out this two. And that would be detrimental to the peace and quiet school life he wanted.

Adachi started to remove the food inside the plastic bag. He unwrapped a sandwich and bit on it. “Oh yeah, you were there during Christmas Eve, right? Thanks for helping Fuyuki out.”

“You guys really adore Ayako, huh?”

“Of course, she’s our friend.” Adachi shrugged. “By the way, what do you think of Fuyuki?”

Haru thought for a moment and he could only think one thing to describe her. “Well…she’s annoying.”

Adachi paused for a second then burst out laughing. He even looked like he was going to choke. He drank some water, cleared his throat and continued, “Damn, that caught me off-guard. I never thought someone would describe her as annoying. Usually, they'd say she's really pretty, you know? But hey, I like that response! It's not boring. But what I’m talking about is her sex appeal, man.”

“S-Sex appeal...?” Haru was taken aback by what Adachi said.

“I know what you’re thinking. ‘Why are you talking about her like that? Isn’t she your friend?’” He then slammed the table. “This isn’t about friendship! This is about finding out the hottest woman there is!" He then pointed at him. "Go on, Shiraishi. Tell me what you think about her!”

The girls nearby overheard his speech and looked at him with disgust in their eyes. Adachi didn’t seem to mind the disgusted looks, though. Haru never interacted with Adachi but it only took one look from the girls to know that he wasn't popular with them. 

“I’d rather not…”

“Huh!? Why? Maybe the rumors are true…” a grave look on his face. 

“R-Rumors? What rumors?” This was the first time Haru had heard there was a rumor about him.

“That you’re gay!” Adachi sharply pointed.

“Wha— I am not!”

“Then prove it! Tell me what you think of Fuyuki.” He smiled sinisterly as he let him danced on his palm. 

Haru gritted his teeth. If telling him what she thought of Ayako would discredit the rumors, then that was a deal he would take. “I think she’s –“

Darkness. Everything went black. At the same time, the smell of strawberries filled his nose as he felt fingers blocking his sight.

“Adachi,” A familiar voice rang out. “What are you teaching to Shiraishi?” The tone of voice was flat, and the cold voice made Haru shiver. There was only one girl with that kind of authority...

“I-I’m teaching him nothing, Fuyu. We’re just having some men’s talk…”

Haru’s head was gently snapped upward. And as he slowly regained his vision, for a moment, everything was blurry. But then, his eyes focused on Ayako. “Is that true?” she asked, her mouth pouting.

“Y-Yeah, we were just goofing around.” Technically, he didn’t lie. They were really just goofing around. Or were they? He really hoped there was no rumor about him.

“That’s good, then. Don’t listen much to Fumio, he’s a good person but a bit of a cuckoo.” She then let go of Haru’s head. Her eyes then wandered to Iwamoto. “Wait, did you feed the bear!?”

“Yup, Shiraishi did. Listen to this, he doesn’t know about the bear rule!”

Ayako gasped. At this point, Haru felt like he was just being pranked. “Is it really that bad to feed him?”

The bear in question had been quiet this entire time. He had taken about half of Haru’s food, and the huge container filled with rice was almost depleted.

Ayako gravely nodded. “I once gave him some food but then he kept coming back. I didn’t have the strength to say no to him.”

“And where you waver, the bear gets stronger.” Adachi's voice went sharp, like a horror storyteller reaching the climax of the story. 

“But you should be fine,” Ayako shrugged, as if the intimidating story she just told was nothing. “Once he tasted Yume’s food again, I’m sure he’ll return back to her.”

“Why is that?”

“He likes Yume’s food the most. It’s even in the classroom rules. ‘If you feed the bear, go ask Yume for help.’”

“Speaking of which, where’s the other two girls?” Adachi asked.

Ayako shifted her body uncomfortably and looked away. She was many things, but a liar seemed to be not one of them. “T-They were still eating, so I went ahead of them…”

Adachi paused for a second before replying, “Hmm, I see. Well, lunch is about to be over, anyway.”

Adachi then grabbed Iwamoto, who was finished eating his meal. Haru found it really incredible how he could eat so much. “Let’s go, Takeshi. I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Alright, let me just put this in my bag.” Iwamoto fixed his belongings and even cleaned Haru’s table. Afterwards, he faced Haru. “Thanks for the food. I’ll come back again tomorrow.”

They really weren’t lying. All Haru could do was give him a smile. He figured he’d just deal when it becomes a nuisance based on what they said.

Ayako then sat on her seat and faced Haru’s table. She then plopped down her lunch box and sighed heavily.

“Wait, you haven’t eaten? Lunch break is almost over, you know.”

Ayako flinched. “I was planning to eat with Umi and Yume but when I saw Sora was with them, I ended up running away…”

“And now you’re here to eat with me again.” Haru said, a look of annoyance on his face.

“It can’t be helped. I don’t want to eat by myself. I’m already feeling down on what I saw earlier.” She sighed again and took a bite of her food.

“Alright, just stop sighing, you’re making me not enjoy my food.”

“Hehe, sorry about that. By the way, do you have time after class?”

“Depends. If it’s a bother, no, I do not have time.”

“Well, it is a bit nuisance but it’s something I have to do.” Ayako furrowed her brows and looked at him intensely.

“Then why not ask your friends?”

“I already did and they're busy with their own things and I can't really ask for Sora's help this time...Please, you’re the only one who I could ask for help.” She put her hands together as she plead.

"What's in it for me? I'd rather spend the time with my little sister than helping you." The first thing Haru would do when he came home was to play with Hiroko. For him, it was one of the highlights of his day, and it would take something big for him to miss out on. 

"Well, I am planning to treat you out after this as a way my thanks for you helping me out that night..." 

Haru thought about it, and something immediately came to his mind. "Well, can it be cakes?" 

***

In this school, most people had a club they attended to. It wasn’t really mandatory to join a club but most people joined because even the most niche interest could start a club. It was the school’s way to enrich student’s engagement with other student while also having fun learning more about their interests. I once contemplated on joining the Game Club but seeing all they did was just really play games, I figured I could do that to the comfort of my home.

The most prominent clubs were the sports clubs as usual. Mainly, the Basketball and Volleyball. A lot of student went to this school because they have a lot of good facilities for their sports clubs. And it was because this school was one of the best during tournaments. So, you could see how being a starter in a team would make you really popular.

Incidentally, the club Haru attended to was the “Go Home Club”. The members were him and students who went straight to their home after class ended. No additional work, no pressure, no stress. The best club there was.

I went to the rooftop as instructed and already saw Ayako gazing to the view down below. The rooftop was accessible to students and was a great place to eat and hangout but during winter, the only ones up here were masochist who loved the cold. 

Since most people either had clubs or were going home, we were the only ones here which really worked out for them. If they had been seen together on the rooftop...It was no exaggeration that he would be hurt badly. 

“It’s so cold up here…”

“Yeah, I’ll make it quick.” Ayako said as she rubbed her hands. “Okay, you know what to do, right?”

Haru nodded. “I don’t know why you have to do this but should be easy enough.”

“It’s not like I want to do this too…But I have to.” She said with a smile.

Suddenly, the door to the rooftop clanked and opened. He quickly hid behind a corner and watched the scenery unfold before him.

“Please go out with me!”

Yes, he was witnessing one of her confessions. Usually, she had a friend watching over her but for some reasons, they were unavailable, so she asked him to watch over her. Normally, she'd just reject them and then went their way but she wanted precaution as something unpredictable could happen.

Well, that's reasonable. Considering her popularity, there's bound to be a weirdo amongst them. But why would she ask me, anyway? It's not like I'm someone who can protect her. 

Ayako’s eyes bore into him as if she was evaluating him. “I am sorry but I have absolutely no interest in forming a romantic relationship with you. Quite frankly, you’re not my type. You only probably like me because of my looks and body.” Ayako answered, her monotone voice was the complete contrast of the cloudy sky above.

The guy hopeful expression had taken a cold blow and froze but it seemed like he wasn’t done. “T-Then can I at least be friends with you?”

“No. You only want to be friends with because you want to get closer and date me, right? I do not want a friendship like that.”

“Is that so? Then to hell with you! You’re not that pretty, anyway.” Although the guy angrily stormed off the rooftop, he looked like he was about to cry.

“Sorry for the wait.” Ayako sighed. It looked like that took a hit on her. 

“As expected of someone who has rejected hundreds of boys." 

Ayako pouted. “I was just telling the truth. If you don’t give it the full truth to them, they will cling to some false hope and come back.”

She probably knew what she was talking about as she’d been confessed a lot of times by now.

“Still though, you could have maybe said it a bit gently if you don’t want some nasty rumors to come around.”

“I’ll keep that in mind…Well then, let's go to the cafe!" She started walking off with a smile on her face. 

I just hope this doesn't cause me any trouble...