Words Better Left Unsaid

The cool air whipped past her, fluttering her streaked ponytail like a banner under the burgeoning warmth of the sun. Feet pounded the pavement in a steady rhythm as the waking sounds of Nagashiro filled her ears. The morning sky was awash with color, and the city's many buildings glistened like jewels as dawn's first light touched their glassy surfaces.

But Hinoka Amahara was not having a good morning.

In fact, she was probably having one of the worst mornings of her life. The events of the previous day were slowly but surely creeping up on her, and the headache that'd been brewing for hours was finally starting to hit its peak as she jogged her way toward work.

She hadn't slept a wink last night.

Not after sending the world's stupidest messages to her angel of a coworker.

Shuttering pants of air came out as her usual method of commute felt so much more difficult than usual. Her legs were numb from exertion, and her chest heaved in a desperate attempt at catching her breath.

'…eat you for lunch there.' 'EAT YOU FOR LUNCH THERE?!' WHO THE HELL SAYS THAT IN A TEXT MESSAGE?!

Hinoka shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts that'd haunted her the entire night, but even her brisk pace wasn't enough to outrun them. They clung back to her mind like the way Miyami had done to her arm when she'd helped her up.

God, that poor girl.

Miyami was probably going to quit today. And that meant she was going to have to tell the boss why his niece had fled. Oh you know, nothing major—just potential sexual harassment!!!

She could see it clearly in her head now, playing out like some terrible nightmare that couldn't possibly get any worse—

Oh wait. No, it WAS worse. She'd almost forgotten her follow up message.

'Quick question. Are you a lesbian?' What was she? A high schooler? A perverted creep? Some sort of hormone-ridden idiot?!

She wasn't even sure why she'd sent it, aside from a desperate desire to clarify whether or not the cute, shy, and soft-spoken girl was interested in other girls.

Why was she so obsessed with her to begin with? Was it the fact that Miyami had said Hinoka was cool, or how she had a cute voice, or how she'd looked at her with those shaky, teary doe-eyes and—

SHIT! Stop thinking of her like that!!!

Hinoka gritted her teeth as her legs pumped harder, and she forced her focus to the path ahead. There were a few people out and about at this early hour, and she had to dodge a pair of chatting friends as she passed them.

She'd never wanted to unsend a message more than that last one in her entire life, but that was impossible—she'd checked. The fact that Miiyami's response had just been an emoticon of some kind of confused cat made it even worse.

Like, that was so freaking cute! Despite not really knowing what it entailed, Hinoka wanted to see her reenact that in person! She wanted to hold her, stroke her long black hair, and pinch those soft, pale cheeks like a—

*SLAP!*

The pain of her own palm against her face stung, but it brought with it some semblance of clarity. She needed to stop herself, ensure she didn't repeat the same stupid mistakes that she'd made throughout middle school and into university.

Her hands clenched as she ran.

Those mistakes were what brought this all on. She'd lost herself in her feelings again.

Hinoka had spent two years of her post-graduate life trying to correct that flaw. To be better and NOT be the type of person who chased after someone without really knowing them or even knowing if they liked girls.

She'd failed every time, always ending up hurting herself and others with her stupid abrasive personality. The fact that she hadn't had a girlfriend since she was eighteen was proof enough.

And so here she was, running along the streets of Nagashiro like a fool, having already ruined any chances of getting to know the sweet girl who'd shared her lunch and complimented her.

She was an idiot!

Her pace slowed down as the shop finally came into view, and she stopped to catch her breath. Her legs were burning, her chest felt tight, and her lungs were on fire. Great. Now she was sweaty and tired on top of being an idiot.

*inhale* *exhale*

She was going to have to apologize to Miyami today if she was still here—grovel on her hands and knees if she had to. Maybe then, after she apologized for being the hastiest, most tactless fool in the universe, she'd have a chance at redemption. Maybe they could still be friends, or maybe—

Hinoka shook her head. No, no. She'd already screwed that last part up. She'd have to settle for friendship, or even just a working relationship if Miyami was going to stay. Anything was better than her leaving because of her stupid mistake.

She just hoped Miyami wasn't the type to hold grudges.

*ring-a-ling*

The chime of the already unlocked door opened as Hinoka entered the store, and a familiar, stocky man greeted her from the front as he worked on moving aside some of the shelves to the walls.

"Ah, morning. You're early," her boss commented, wiping his hands on a cloth, his short greying hair visible from behind some of the boxes.

Hinoka let out a sigh and nodded, setting her bag by the counter. "Morning. How's it been going so far?" she asked, glancing around at the shop.

Kaitoji Nozari was a middle-aged man who'd always reminded Hinoka of a teddy bear, albeit one with a fair amount of wit despite his spotty memory at times. His long-sleeved shirts hid a surprising strength as he lifted the boxes of merchandise with ease.

"Pretty well, though I'll probably need some help moving some of the bigger things," Kaitoji chuckled, then paused, looking over at her as he tilted his head. "Hm, that's a new one. You seem out of breath. Also, have your eyes always had such big bags under them?"

Hinoka rubbed her temples. "No. Just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh? Anything on your mind?" Kaitoji raised an eyebrow. "I don't blame you if the incident with the rock and note scared you. But don't worry; the police say they're on the lookout for any suspicious characters. The front door should be replaced by the end of the day too if all goes well."

"Yeah, that's not it…" Hinoka trailed off, her mind only briefly flickering to the short note that'd been left.

It hadn't been much, just a poorly scribbled 'I SEE YOU.' And sure, while it might've been frightening to some, its vagueness was little more than gaudy to Hinoka—especially given her familiarity with real threats.

The edge of Kaitoji's lip curled in speculation. "Oh. Well, if it isn't that, then is something else bothering you?"

Hinoka hesitated, absentmindedly tapping her fingers on the counter as she looked away. "Yeah, but I don't think you'd want to hear about all of it. Erm, anyway. Miyami hasn't arrived yet, has she?"

"…"

Kaitoji's eyebrows momentarily rose at the sound of his niece's name before his lips curved upward. "Ah. I see. I think I understand now."

"W-what?! Okay, hell no. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just really concerned that I might've scared her off and made her want to quit and—" Hinoka cut her ramble short, her cheeks growing redder by the second. This was not the way she'd wanted this to go! She'd just wanted to ask if the sweet, cute, and charming girl had come yet.

Ugh, no wonder she'd messed up the text. She was struggling to even mentally name her.

"Hm? Well you don't have to worry about her quitting. She actually came in even earlier than you," Kaitoji said, gesturing towards the storage room door. "She's been back there working on sorting out inventory for me for the past hour or so. She's a very diligent worker."

"…" Hinoka blinked. "Wait, she did? She didn't say anything about me, did she—?"

*click*

The sound of the door to the stockroom creaking open drew her attention away from the conversation.

Miyami stood there, looking a bit disheveled as she held a stack of papers in her arms and peeked out. However, upon locking eyes with Hinoka, she stiffened, and her pale cheeks turned a strawberry hue.

"…" After several seconds of awkward eye contact, she quickly turned her head away and stepped back into the storeroom, shutting the door behind her and almost dropping some of the papers in the process.

*click*

Hinoka's shoulders sank along with her heart. Great, that was confirmation enough. Miyami hated her.

She stood there in silence for a moment as she stared at the closed door.

"Ah. Um," her boss began, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry about that. She can be a little shy at times—I'm sure you probably already picked up on that from yesterday though."

Hinoka didn't respond. She didn't have the energy to. Her mind had shut down completely. All that remained was the dull ache in her chest and the knowledge that she was the worst.

Well, at least Miyami hadn't quit. Everything else she could deal with. She'd just have to add another failure to her ever-growing tallies.

"…No worries, boss. Just uh, what do you need me to do though? I noticed the sign's turned to closed, so I'm guessing there's something else besides running the shop on your mind?"

"Hm? Oh. Right. Well, I'd appreciate some help moving the larger equipment to the walls and clearing some space near the front. It'll make it easier for the contractors to install the new door if they have some room to work with."

"Alright. Sure thing," Hinoka replied, doing her best to keep her tone level as she rolled her shoulder. "I'll… get started on that, then. Don't wanna keep you waiting."

With that, she walked toward one of the boxes and knelt down to grab it, her shoes scuffing slightly against the linoleum floor.

Time to get started.

***

The rest of the morning had passed in relative silence, and Hinoka and her boss had worked together to clear out a good amount of space around the entrance.

It was now around lunchtime, and the sounds of the busy streets outside filled the air as a glistening new door was being installed by several contractors. Miyami was still nowhere to be seen though, having remained in the storeroom the whole morning.

Hinoka let out a sigh as she leaned back against the wall and took a swig from her water bottle, trying to look on the bright side of things. At least she'd still get paid a full day's wage for the half day of labor.

Kaitoji glanced over at her as he wrote something in his ledger, then set his pen down and looked at the closed storage room.

"Hey, Hinoka. Do you mind checking in on the young lady? You can tell her that we'll be wrapping up soon."

Hinoka's hand almost crushed her water bottle at the suggestion. Was her boss asking her to talk to the girl she'd sent that embarrassing message to?! Was he crazy?

Ah, wait. No, there she was, getting illogically defensive—she needed to stop doing that. She'd never even told him what happened. How would he know she really didn't want to bug the poor girl?

"I guess," Hinoka said, forcing herself to sound casual when no valid excuse came to mind. She stood up, stretched her arms, and then headed towards the door, her heart racing as she reached for the knob.

She gripped it tightly, took a deep breath, and then pushed it open.

*click* *creeeeeeeeeaaak*

The door opened slowly, and the dim light of the storage room greeted her. Her eyes scanned the space, searching for any sign of the timid girl.

Her gaze landed on a small, curled-up figure huddled in the corner of the room, sorting through several extremely outdated phone cases that would likely need to be tossed. The dim lighting of the single bulb above her cast a warm glow on her dark hair, and her pale, porcelain-like skin seemed even more delicate in the shadows.

"W-Weird Lady?" she asked hesitantly.

Miyami's head snapped up at the sound of her voice, and her eyes met hers.

"…" And she averted her gaze just as quickly, pulling out her phone to type a message.

*ping!*

Hinoka's chest tightened as the device buzzed, and she reluctantly pulled it out of her pocket to read the message.

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

>> Sorry, Amahara-san. I have to finish this work for my uncle. Can you leave me alone for now?

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

Hinoka's stomach felt like lead. Miyami had just sent a message that sounded like it was from a robot. Where were the adorable emoticons? The silly phrases and the soft, gentle words?

She leaned against the doorframe on instinct, trying to mask the heartache. "Ah, no problem. Just wanted to let you know that we're wrapping up here. We'll be locking up in a few minutes. So um…"

Hinoka's mind raced as she trailed off, struggling to reign in her words.

Crap, she'd almost asked if she was still up for lunch. Of course Miyami wouldn't!

"…" Speaking of, the girl was looking at her again, as if thinking about something.

Hinoka shook her head. Well, that was that. Since she'd told her what she needed to, she'd just go ahead and leave now—

*ping!*

"…?" She glanced at her phone again, seeing a new message from the girl.

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

>> Did you, um, still want to have lunch then?

>> ヾ(・ω・)メ(・ω・)ノ

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

"H-huh—?!" The words died in her throat. She stared at the screen for a moment, blinking once, then twice. Was this some kind of joke?

"Y-yes! Hell yes!" she blurted without thinking, her voice coming out way too loud. Hinoka immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, and Miyami's wide, startled eyes looked up at her in surprise.

"I-I mean, sure. Yeah, if you're still fine after my insensitive and completely inappropriate message last night," Hinoka amended, her face heating up.

Why did she always have to make such a fool of herself in front of her?! She was NEVER like this usually.

Miyami bit her lip, and her cheeks grew redder.

*tap-tap, tap-tap*

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

>> Oh no! It's fine!

>> That was all just auto-correct, right? (^_^;

>> Not that there's anything wrong with liking girls, of course. I'm fine with that!

>> I mean, I think I do too. But it's not like that matters! Plus, I'm sort of a separate case anyway.

>> Ah, I'm sorry! I'm rambling again! (´;ω;`)

>> I'm just a little nervous.

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

Hinoka just felt like someone had taken a bag of bricks directly to her heart. She didn't think she'd ever recover from how unbelievably adorable and sweet Miyami was. Had she just answered her stupidly tactless question from last night, all while reassuring her?

She wanted to hug her so badly now, to hold her, and tell her that—

Hinoka bit her tongue, and the pain reined her back to reality. This wasn't the time to get lost in fantasies and giddiness. This was the time to be serious and apologize for her idiocy.

"Erm, anyway, I'm still really sorry about my message last night. We barely even know each other yet, and I made things super weird. So please, forgive me," Hinoka said, bowing deeply in apology.

"…!" She heard a sharp inhale from the girl, and then the rustling of clothes as Miyami stood to shuffle closer to her.

Hm, what was she doing?

"…p-please don't apologize," Miyami squeaked out once she was close enough, her voice barely more than ambient noise despite the lack of distance.

Hinoka snapped up from her bow at the sound. Holy crap, that voice again. It was so cute. It was like tiny bells jingling, or a songbird's peep.

She held up her hands, gesturing for her to listen. "Uh, but I really want to though. Seriously, I was super rude. Please, let me treat you to lunch for the rest of the month if that's fine. O-or, if that's not enough, I can find something else that might—"

*creak* *step*

The soft shift of weight on the linoleum floor brought Miyami nearly right up to her face, and their eyes locked.

"I-it's fine!" she squeaked again, brushing back her long, black hair. "Let's just go to the cafe together, okay?"

"…" Hinoka just stared up at the girl in awe, unable to form a single coherent word.

Miyami had to be the most forgiving person she'd ever known. She'd sent her the most cringey message in the history of messages, and now, the angel was not just brushing aside her efforts to atone, but still offering to have lunch with her on top of it all?!

She might end up dying from cuteness at this rate.

"A-Amahara-san?" Miyami asked, tilting her head to the side. Her long dark hair shifted with it, swaying with an almost hypnotic presence.

The room was beginning to blur a little, but Hinoka braced herself. This was fine. This was more than fine. She needed to respond.

"I-I…"

*THUD*

The heavy sound of a box hitting the floor sounded from the main room.

"Whoops, sorry about that. Erm, we all ready to go? The contractors just finished up."

Kaitoji's voice came from right next to where the box had landed, and Hinoka snapped back to reality. She looked over her shoulder to see him leaning against one of the nearby stands, his face a little red from exertion.

"Ah, r-right," she said, clearing her throat. "We're good. Just uh, waiting for you."

"Great, well, thanks again for your help today," Kaitoji replied as he straightened up. He turned to the doorway where Miyami stood and gave her a small wave. "And thanks again to you too, Michi—Crap, Miyami. I um, know I still have a lot to work on when it comes to addressing you and all, but I really appreciate everything you've done here."

Hinoka saw Miyami tense a little as she nodded to her uncle, her eyes darting back to meet hers for a moment before looking away, as if she'd just been caught staring.

God, she really was adorable.

"Anyway, I'll be heading off now, but you two feel free to take the rest of the day off after locking up. I have a meeting with the contractors now, but after it's done, I'll be able to start the process of installing security cameras."

Hinoka watched as he walked over to the door and opened it, pausing in the entryway. "The new keys are here on the counter by the way. There should be one for each of you. Hinoka, you mind getting her a keyring for it too later?"

"Y-yeah. No problem," she replied, looking at the keys on the countertop. She glanced over at Miyami, who had her phone out again, tapping away furiously at its screen for some reason.

The man just nodded. "Thanks, alright, well I'll be off. See ya Hinoka. See ya Michio—"

Miyami's head snapped up, her face suddenly nothing but fear.

Kaitoji's face paled, and he quickly bowed his head. "I-I meant, Miyami. S-sorry."

*ring-a-ling*

"…" The door shut behind him as he awkwardly retreated, leaving the two of them alone in the shop. Hinoka stared at it for a few moments, her mind still trying to process what she'd just heard the old man say.

She looked at the girl next to her. She was staring at the ground and nearly tearing up now, clutching her sleeve.

The air felt like lead, and the silence was suffocating. Hinoka didn't want to press, didn't want to intrude, but…

Her hand half-stretched out toward the girl.

"Miyami…? Did he just call you… Michio?"

"…"

She nodded.