Yearning to Know

The first store she led me towards was a nearby department store, as we made our way inside, she simply started looking through the merchandise.

"Is there anything specific that you're looking for?"

"No, I just wanted to see. That's all"

"I see..."

Even though she had smiled at me from time to time, most of the time she would always be serious, it left me wondering if she was always like that or if she had become like that because of something.

"But I'm not that close to her... I can't ask something without first getting to know her a bit more"

In that moment, I glanced over at Hatomi and noticed that she was still focusing on the merchandise that the store was selling "Did she cancel her power?"

I stayed silent for a bit and sure enough, it seemed as though she had canceled the connection between the both of us. I let out a sigh ands imply continued following her through the store without a care in the world.

"Natsuo?"

"Yeah?"

"What do people who go on dates do exactly?"

"H-Huh?" "You've never been on one?"

"No, I haven't gone out with friends either, so I really don't know what we should do..."

Even though she had spoke with the same serious tone, I couldn't help but catch a bit of sadness mingled in between it. I scratched my cheek and simply said what I would do with Chitose and Tetsuya.

"Normally, you just go around enjoying being in the presence of the other person. You could go shopping, to the arcade, aquarium and what not" "Is there anything specific that you would like to do?"

"Can we go to the aquarium?"

"If that's what you want to do, I don't mind"

"But can we look around the mall a bit more?"

As she looked over at me, I couldn't help but notice a subtle glint in her eyes "Sure, let's go around then"

She nodded at my words and as we continued looking through a few of the stores that caught her eye, I couldn't help but notice that her expression was changing slowly but surely... She had started looking just like a girl her age.

After around an hour or so of going through the mall, we decided to stop at a nearby fast food joint to grab something quick to eat. Once we placed out order, we sat down in a two seater and simply waited for our order to be ready.

But even then, there was something I needed to know "Hatomi?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me exactly why no one talks to you or why you don't have any friends?"

"..."

For the first time, she stayed silent. It didn't seem like it was something she wanted me to know, but at the same time, a sudden wave of emotions washed over me, one of someone who was desperate to speak her mind.

"If it's something that's too difficult for you to say, you don't have to tell me right now"

"It's not that..." She glanced over at me and started playing with her hair "D-Do you mind if I connect?"

"You want to tell me like that?"

She gave me a single nod and with that, the sound of static flooded my mind and immediately after, I could hear her voice start speaking to me.

"The reason is because I was never popular because of how I acted with others... I was always cold, I said whatever was on my mind without a care in the world... Because of that, I didn't have anyone who wanted to talk to me in middle school"

"Once I reached high school, I tried to get along with our classmates, but it was then that my power activated... Whenever I told the few friends I had made about what was happening to me, I was simply told that I was crazy and before I knew it... They had stopped talking to me altogether"

"That's why you're always alone..."

"Yes... It's not an interesting story, nothing bad happened to me like many others whoa re always alone, but... I never expected people to be so mean towards another person"

"That's why I preferred to be alone, so that I wouldn't have to go through the same thing once more"

Hearing her say that, I couldn't help but feel like I got lucky by telling Chitose about the fact that I was hearing other peoples voices since she hadn't stopped talking to me.

Before I could say anything, our order number was called out and as I stood up, I picked up her ticket and smiled at her "I'll pick our food up"

"Thank you..."

I headed over towards the register, picked up our trays and made my way back towards Hatomi who thanked me for picking up her food as well.

Once we gave thanks, we proceeded to eat without speaking to one another. I wanted to say more, but I didn't want to say something that could possibly be heard by others.

"Hatomi?"

"Yes?"

"In regards to what you told me... I'll be there for you if you allow me to"

"What are you saying?"

"I'll spend time with you at school. If you want to eat with someone or just do something with someone, I'll be there for you"

"What about Katabuchi-san and Muratagi-san?"

"I'll still hang out with them and if it's possible, I'll have you eat with us if you want to from time to time"

"You really don't have to go through the trouble of doing that"

"It won't be any trouble at all. It's something that I want to do"

"I see..."  Before I knew it, the connection cut out and she simply continued eating "I guess she doesn't like that idea..." I let out a sigh and as I was about to take another bite from my food, she suddenly spoke up.

"Thank you... Natsuo"

"Y-You're welcome"

She was smiling. But this time around, it was different. It felt warmer then all the others I had seen from her part.

"Let's finish our food and then head over towards the aquarium like you promised me~"

She way she smiled was more then enough to make my heart skip a beat. I didn't know if it was something that she genuinely wanted to show me or if it was something she did unconscious, but even then, I was glad to see that she was able to smile in such a way.

Once we had finished having our food, we started making our way towards the nearby aquarium. Even though it was around a 10 to 15 minute train ride, it was the fastest way to get there.

As we stepped off the station, she followed close by me as we made our way towards the aquarium.

"It isn't as packed as I was expecting it to be"

"Is it normally packed?"

"The last time I came, it was, but I guess since it's a weekday there simply heading on over towards their houses to rest"

"I see"

I proceeded to pay the fee for the both of us and thus the both of us started making our way through the exhibits of the multitude of fishes that the world had to offer.

Ranging from small colorful fishes all the way to bigger fishes with variety of forms.

Even though I had already visited this aquarium a lot of times, it was something that I liked doing from time to time on my own.

Just when I was about to call out to Hatomi, I couldn't help but notice that her gaze was fixated on the fishes swimming around the tank.

In one of those moments, she looked just like a little girl who had stepped into a completely new world from the one she knew. It was nice to see, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad about it.

"Hatomi?"

"..."

Just like I had anticipated, she was simply focused on the animals swimming in the tank. I lightly placed my hand on her shoulder and called out to her once more just in case she hadn't heard me "Hatomi?"

"... Huh?"

"Let's see the other animals"

"Ok"

Just when I was about to start making my way towards the other side of the aquarium, I suddenly felt her hand grasp my own and when I glanced over at her, I couldn't help but notice a slight blush across her face.

"I wonder why she's getting embarrassed... I-Is it because of us holding hands?"

I activated the Sub-power and tried to read her thoughts, but upon doing so, she glanced over at me and smirked "Why are you trying to read my thoughts, Natsuo?"

"H-Huh?"

"You do know that I can tell when you connect with me, right?"

"Y-Yeah... I know. I just thought I would practice doing it in secret to see if I could make it more of a stealth thing"

"I see, but please try to refrain from doing so. I won't be thinking anything that you'd like to hear"

She let out a giggle and with those words, I canceled the Sub-power and simply decided to let her enjoy this day just like she had wanted all these years.

"Yeah, I guess I'll continue practicing so that you won't notice"

"Good luck with that"

She beamed me a smile and the both of us simply continued enjoying everything that the aquarium had to offer us "I hope that I can make this one of her most exciting and fun days"