Caught

Slowly, Hakuta opened his eyes to the sunlight flooding into his room. This was a feeling he had felt the morning before, but it still wasn’t something he could say he was used to. The boy’s old room was darker, due to their poor living circumstances. So something like this gave him a mix of vexation and joy. That it was nice to have a better home, but there was bitterness in knowing this was only temporary.

And not only that, but also being aware of who he had to share this with as the boy got out of bed and dressed for the day. On his way to the stairs, he walked past Shiuka’s room. The door was closed, and he assumed she was still asleep.

“Yo, I’m going to eat some breakfast.” He spoke out loud, hoping this would wake her. “If you want anything, I’m not making it for you.” Then he waited for a response, but nothing seemed to stir inside. Perhaps she wouldn’t wake to his noises. While he had gone to bed before she got back, that girl must’ve gotten back late into the night considering when he went to sleep. So she was most likely going to sleep in for the day. No big deal, seeing as it was Sunday so they didn’t have school today.

Taking no mind to it, Hakuta continued on his way downstairs. This was where he was hit with the biggest shock of the day, and things had only just begun. Since he assumed she was asleep in her room, the sight of her body as it laid out on the ground by the front door caused him to scream in fright. From the way she was laying, the girl wasn’t even fully inside the house. The door was left ajar as she didn’t seem to be moving. “Hey, what happened?”

“Hmm?” He rushed down the steps to see her in such a sad state. Did something bad happen while he was sleeping such as… “Oh, it’s just you Yama…” Shiuka was unable to even say his name as her head drifted back onto the ground.

“Hey, don’t go out on me now.” He cupped his hands under her head. His body was moving on pure instinct as he lifted her up and inside. There, her body was placed down on the couch as he rushed to grab some water. “Did you get attacked? Did somebody…” When Hakuta returned, he was filled with a million questions.

“Attacked?” She repeated his words slowly as she thought about what had happened the night before. “Ohhhh no, we had so much fun last night.” As it would turn out, he was worried over nothing. She had hung out with her friends as she usually did at the karaoke bar. They wanted to make up for lost time, so they ended up staying a bit later than usual. This resulted in her getting back to the house well past midnight. Where after being exhausted from all the joy they had in public, she ended up passing out just as she had opened the door.

“That was incredibly dangerous.” He responded to her wild tale. Hakuta inched closer to her and gave a sniff. There didn’t seem to be any scent of alcohol. She was a gyaru, right? That seemed like something they would do without care of the legality. “You could’ve gotten seriously hurt.” Not to mention leaving the door open left them vulnerable to intruders.

“But everything’s fine now… Achoo!” She sneezed loudly, and partially into his face. “Owie, my head hurts.”

“You’ve probably caught cold from sleeping halfway outside.” He replied, wiping the spittle from his face. Hopefully she didn’t just give him what she had. “You should get some rest in your room.”

“Mmhmm.” She didn’t say much when attempting to get up. However, her body wasn’t willing to listen. “Carry me up?”

“No.” There was no way he’d consider doing that for her.

“Then I guess I’ll just lay down here.” Shiuka decided the couch was good enough and laid down, taking up all the space. This was bad for him, since he was hoping to play some games and she just took up the best spot for enjoying said hobby.

“Fine, I’ll carry you.” So there was one way to get him to carry her. All it took was getting in the way of his precious video games to do it. Hakuta picked her up in a princess carry. Despite not being known for having a strong build, it was easier than expected to hold her in this manner.

This was a new experience for him. They had never been this closer to each other before. Her skin was fair and soft. The girl’s long and luscious pink hair rested all around his arms. And her outfit was real pretty, a sparkling dress that glittered in the morning light.

“Isn’t this fun.” She spoke in a tired voice as the girl grabbed onto his neck to support herself. “It’s like I’m a princess and you’re my prince.”

“You’re definitely sick.” It was clear to him she was delusional in this state. Hopefully he wouldn’t catch whatever it was she came down with. “So just get some rest for now.” With that, he gently opened the door to her room so that he could set her onto her own bed. That was when he got the sight as to the pure chaos of her room.

It was unlike every other room in this house. The place itself was mostly well kept given the circumstance. However, to call this room messy would be an understatement. There were clothes strewn about on the floor, along with tons of trash from cans of soda and bags of chips. When was the last time anyone cleaned this room? How did she manage to sleep in a place like this.

The challenge to get from the door to her bed was torture for the boy. It was like trying to hike across a volcano with how many dangerous steps there were, ready to end his life. Finally, after contending with her mess, Hakuta was able to set her down on her bed. “This place is a mess, how do you live with yourself?”

“I guess you make a good point.” She barely moved her head to scan her room. “Maybe there’s a boy here who’s good at cleaning for a gal?”

“No.” He rejected her suggestion and began to make his exit. “I’m a gamer, you know.” His kind weren’t known for being aware of amazing cleaning tips that could be taught to normal people. Though he’d certainly never let his space get this bad. “Anyway, just get some rest.” And so, he left then spent the rest of the day gaming in the living room.

By the time the next day rolled around, it seemed she was still sick. If anything, it was worse than before. “Does she have a weak constitution or something?” he wondered aloud as the boy peered into her room. Shiuka had barely moved other than to use the bathroom. In fact, he remembered she didn’t even get anything to eat. Considering her state, he decided not to bother her about going to school for the day. Though this left him with one major problem.

If she couldn’t make it, then surely the school would call and ask for her father. However, he wasn’t here, which made the boy worry that someone might be sent over to check on her well being. There was a risk he couldn’t ignore about their secret being found out. So Hakuta did the only thing he knew to do.

“Hello, I just wanted to say my little girl can’t make it to school today.” That being to pretend to be her dad and inform them she was sick. The boy did his best impression of the man, which was unnecessary seeing as the people he called had probably never met Kankichi before to know what his voice sounded like. “So don’t worry about her attendance for today.” It seemed to work as the worker marked it down and told him not to worry about it.

Finally, with that out of the way, he was able to breath a sigh of relief and head out for the day. Funny that with their conversation of leaving at the same time didn’t matter on the first day. Though he wasn’t looking forward to what after school was going to be like with someone ill like her. Hopefully it wasn’t something serious that would require going to a hospital, seeing as her real dad wasn’t around at the moment.

So he went to school as he normally did. It was a lot quieter than usual, seeing as Shiuka wasn’t around to cause a ruckus with her friends. A nice change of pace in his view, at least he’d finally be able to relax after what had been a hectic weekend. However, his troubles were not going to stay away forever. His life always seemed to find a way to irritate him more than any hard video game could ever do.

“It appears Otari was unable to make it to class today due to illness.” The teacher announced. “So I’d like to ask for a volunteer to bring her the coursework for today.” Hakuta’s eyes widen in realization of one important fact. He had to be the one to bring her homework for her. If someone else came along, then their secret was in jeopardy.

Sure, he could find for when they came over. However, it was unlikely she’d be able to answer the door in her current state. If she was, then even something like that could be problematic given her mental state. It was possible the girl could spill out the secret on accident would she talk to anyone that wasn’t him.

“Well, then we’ll-” At the same time, there was also the concern that a couple of certain people would volunteer.

“I’ll do it.” Hakuta cut off Shiuka’s friends before they could answer. His sudden outburst caused a few eyes to stare at him for doing something so out of character.

“That’s kind of you.” The teacher was not like the students. He didn’t think much of the boy’s offer other than believing it to simply be a kind gesture. The man didn’t even think of it as potential for romance as did half the boys in the classroom were thinking of at this moment. Their glares cut into Hakuta’s body like daggers. “Thank you for lending your time for her.”

“It’s not a problem.” He said, picking up the homework as the bell signaling the end of school rang. Quickly, Hakuta rushed out into the hallway and to his locker to get his things before leaving for the day. There was no time to waste, for the only thing running through his mind was getting away before a certain couple of people caught up to him.

Unfortunately, he was too slow. Already there, waiting for him at his own locker, were the two close friends of Shiuka. The looks on their faces struck more fear into his soul than any horror game had ever done.