Just don't make a habit out of it.

Eiji woke up feeling tired, like he actually ran all night. He got out of bed and changed, when he got to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, he could see the dark circles beneath his eyes.

– Who would’ve thought that the wolf could be this troublesome… – he looked like he aged a few years in just one night. – Whatever, I’ll just make up for the lost sleep tonight.

When he exited the bathroom he accidentally bumped into Masato.

– Look where you’re going, bazdmeg! – Masato said, slightly annoyed.

– Why are you even awake? – Eiji yawned while saying.

– I woke up naturally. A better question is why you’re looking like a zombie. Didn’t you tell me yesterday how you always get a good night’s sleep?

– Yeah well, things happened and I had to take care of that echo.

– So, what animal was it? – Masato quickly became interested.

– It was a Japanese wolf. – Eiji picked up his bag and picked up his jacket.

– Aren’t those, like, extinct? – Masato was confused.

– Yes they are. – Eiji was at the entrance and he put on his shoes. – I’m heading out.

– See you later. – Masato looked at Eiji as he left, sighing to himself. – Damn, we came to Japan for high school but I haven’t gone a single day yet…

As he walked through the forest absent-mindedly, all sorts of scents layered over each other in his mind, the damp moss, a squirrel’s musk, the faint trace of a deer.

– Damn, like usual, I still get some of the traits of the soul after I absorb it… – Eiji thought, sighing. – Guess there’s no way around it, let’s just hope that it passes by tomorrow. Echoes might be different from souls gathered through challenges, this is a great opportunity to see what those differences might be.

He felt all sorts of instincts, wanting to run after the squirrel, trying to track the deer. He suppressed all of them, a process that he was already quite used to.

After a while, he arrived at the school and while he changed into his inside shoes, he heard a familiar voice.

– Good morning, Takemura-kun!

Eiji turned around to see Yuuka with another girl, walking to their shoe lockers, near Eiji.

– Bazdmeg, what’s her name again? – he thought, quickly reading her name from her locker.

– Good morning, Araki-san. – he said. – And you are? – he turned to the girl with Yuuka.

– I’m Satou Shiori, we’re in the same class. – the girl introduced herself.

She was a bit taller than Yuuka, but still shorter than Eiji, her long, dark brown hair flowed down her shoulders to her waist. She had a steady gaze and a calm expression.

– Yeah, well, see you later. – Eiji said, closing his locker and walking towards his class.

Eiji could hear Yuuka’s clothes rustling as she fidgeted with her bag. Then, to Eiji’s surprise he felt a hand moving towards his sleeve.

– What could it be? – his thoughts moved at lightning speed. – Whatever, it would be weird if I reacted to something I can’t even see…

He almost reacted before he could think, but he let the hand close in on his sleeve and turned around to see who it was. He felt a sweet, warm scent before he could even see the person, then he even heard her voice.

– Takemura-kun, why don’t we all walk to class together?

He turned, finding Yuuka’s bright eyes just a step away, her face tinged pink. Behind her, Shiori stood still, calmly analyzing Eiji’s reaction.

– What could this mean? – Eiji thought, dumbfounded. – Why would she want to walk to class with me? Aren’t we going to see each other in class? – Eiji couldn’t make sense of this, but he agreed nonetheless. – Well, there’s no harm in it, I guess… – he said, arranging his collar.

The three of them started walking through the hallways, Eiji in front, with large strides.

– Takemura-kun, could you… slow down a bit? – Yuuka said in a kind voice.

Eiji now took shorter strides, slightly annoyed in his head.

– Walking this slow is really annoying… Why would anyone want this? – he thought, perplexed.

– So, Takemura-kun, have you joined any clubs yet? – Shiori asked, probing.

– No, I haven’t really found any that suit me. – he said. – Although I probably should get started with setting up the Baranta club… – he then thought. – Have you found a club you like? – Eiji asked.

– I’ve been thinking about joining the art club, but I’m still undecided. – Shiori said before glancing at Yuuka. – You also said something about a cooking club, are you going to join, Yuuka-chan?

– I still don’t know either, I like cooking but…

The voices of the girls got pushed to the back of Eiji’s mind as they talked. His face was in a slight grimace, now that he was in the hallways the scent of everybody around him was putting him in a daze.

– What am I even doing here… – Eiji thought.

– Takemura-kun, are you alright? – the voice of Araki cut through Eiji’s thoughts. – You seem a bit unwell.

– Oh, it’s nothing, I just… couldn’t really sleep at night. – Eiji responded, adjusting his collar.

– Yeah, I mean there are quite the dark circles under your eyes… – Shiori said.

While they were talking, they arrived in front of the classroom.

– Well, see you later. – Eiji said.

Eiji entered first and quickly sat down at his desk.

– Finally here… – he thought while looking out the window.

He was tapping with his fingers on the table.

Shiori and Yuuka were standing in another part of the class, talking.

– He’s not that friendly, is he? – Shiori asked in a low voice.

– He’s just… quiet. – Yuuka said while glancing at Eiji with a gentle smile.

Eiji was still looking out the window when the bell signaled the start of the class. The teacher came in and the class started.

In the middle of class, Eiji found himself dozing off and his eyes accidentally travelled to Yuuka.

She had a focused expression, her brown, round eyes looking forward. The sunlight from the windows was caught by her dark hair, which was subtly shifting as she was writing in her notebook.

Eiji was still looking at her when she noticed him and showed him a kind smile, slightly blushing. Eiji quickly retracted his gaze, thinking.

– Why did she smile at me? I was kinda staring at her, isn’t that supposed to be weird? – Eiji now looked at the teacher in front of the class. – I really don’t get her at all… – he sighed.

Before he could notice, Eiji heard the sound of the bell again, signaling the end of class.

He was tapping on his desk when Yuuka called out to him.

– Takemura-kun, I forgot to tell you something before class started. – she said.

– What is it? – Eiji asked.

– I just wanted to thank you for slowing down to walk with us even when you’re unwell. I hope I didn’t upset you that much. – she said with a gentle smile and a hint of red in her face.

– It’s fine… – Eiji looked away, scratching the back of his neck. – Just don’t make a habit out of it.

Author’s note:

As always, thank you for reading today’s chapter, it really means a lot to me.

I know this is a shorter chapter but I think it still turned out quite sweet.

I’d also love to hear your opinions on all the characters so far and I’d like to know which aspects of the story caught your attention the most.

With lots of passion,

𐲖𐲉 LE