Time Flies

Following the incident involving Chihara's ex-boyfriend, the next day felt... strange, to say the least.

My first class was as slow as ever, my second class was as boring as ever, and my third class... That one, I died. Or I might as well have, because I forgot we had a quiz. Given what went down yesterday, I didn't necessarily have any time to study.

That's all normal stuff. Classic, everyday shenanigans. What makes it strange for me is how life just keeps moving on without a word.

Maybe I'm the weird one for thinking it should be any different.

When I walked into my next class, however, the normalcy was shattered. Usually, Haruto would turn around and put that hideous grin on full display.

He didn't do that this time. Instead, his eyes were fixed on his phone. As I approached him from behind, I noticed his brows were furrowed.

"Haruto?"

Finally, he turned around, revealing a concerned scowl, which was a rare expression for someone like him. He quickly stood up, turning left and right as if he were studying my face.

"Yo, dude," he said. "You... Are you good?"

"What? Why wouldn't I—"

The puzzle pieces connected way too fast.

"...How did you know?" I muttered.

"Hah... Fuck me. So it's all true, huh? First, sit down."

I pulled my chair out and sat, placing my school bag under the desk.

"Alright," I said. "First of all, do you know what happened last night?"

"Roughly."

"How did you find out?"

"From Kanon."

"Kanon? How the hell did she find out?"

"Did you already forget? Chihara is Kanon's beloved kohai. They've been close ever since the start of the Fall term."

Now that he mentions it, I vaguely recall Kanon referring to Chihara as her 'lovable kohai'. I guess it had completely slipped past me.

Haruto leaned back, crossing his arms while chuckling.

"I gotta hand it to you, Kazuha. I didn't think you had it in you."

"What are you on about...?"

"No need to be so humble, my guy. You... You, Kinoshita Kazuha, the man, the myth, the troglodyte himself, saved Chihara from her psychotic ex-boyfriend!"

"D-dude! Keep it down! Someone's gonna hear you!"

"The hell if I care, and you certainly shouldn't either. Serves that guy right, and people ought to know of a good man's deed when he does a good thing. Likewise, that guy needs to be exposed for trying to do something so cruel to Chihara."

"Just leave it alone. Neither of us wants to make this a big deal."

"But it is a big deal!"

"I'm serious, Haruto."

He seemed reluctant at first. Being the collector of drama he is, I imagine it'll be difficult for him to keep his mouth shut. 

"Ah, fine. Since you're so against it, I'll hold back. But in return... Spill the tea. All of it. How did you know that Chihara needed rescuing? How did you even know where to find her? And what happened afterward?! Oh god... I think I'm gonna have a heart attack. I... need... to know..."

As he sank further and further into his seat, I sighed.

"It's not as epic as you think. Chihara and I live in the same dormitory unit. I decided to go for a walk, and that's when I saw her ex-boyfriend trying to assault her."

He blinked. Once, then twice.

"...Huh? Wait. Wait, wait... Pause. You... You live in the same dorm as Chihara?"

"Yeah."

"And you never told me?!"

"Why the hell do I need to tell you something like that?"

"Oh, Kazuha... You wound this delicate heart of mine with your sharp words..."

"Quit being weird."

I jabbed my elbow onto the desk and leaned my head on my palm.

Of course, I'm leaving out a lot. My encounter with Junko, my crumbling state of mine, and... how we both slept in her room. That last one can never get out, or else I'll never hear the end of it.

"But you're fine, right?" Haruto asked. "You're not hurt anywhere?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Compared to me, the guy was scrawny, but... that doesn't mean he wasn't capable of harming Chihara."

"That's not what I meant."

I peered over to see that same expression from before. This time, he was genuinely concerned.

"Honestly? No. I'm not fine at all. If you could see what I saw, Haruto... What he tried to do to her..."—my fists clenched—"I wanted to make it so that he would never have the opportunity to hurt Chihara again. If that meant breaking every bone in his body... I didn't care. I was gonna do it."

"And what stopped you?"

"What do you think?"

"...Hah. Even after going through something like that, she's still got a heart, huh?"

He tilted his head back with a heavy breath.

"Well, I can't blame you for wanting to take it to the next level. Like you said, if I saw something like that... I don't even know what I would've done, but it wouldn't have been pleasant. So, don't worry too much about it, man. You're in the right on this one."

"Yeah. Thanks, Haruto."

"For sure— Oh."

I turned to see him looking behind me. Curious, I followed his gaze, only to almost fall right out of my seat. Standing there while holding a textbook at her chest...

Without hesitation, I shot up to my legs.

"C-Chihara."

"Good afternoon, Kinoshita," she smiled. "And Yoshida-Senpai."

"Yo," Haruto said, throwing up a peace sign. "How's it going?"

"I've been fine. Today's been unusually slow, but I'm hanging in there. And you?"

"Can't complain. Hopefully, this lecture goes by quicker. There's only a week left till the Fall Festival. I need to do some last-minute checks."

"Oh! Is the festival that close?"

"I know, right? Time flies, I guess."

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm gonna head to my seat now. See you later, Yoshida-Senpai."

"Yep!"

Chihara took one step down the stairs before turning back to meet my eyes with a gentle smile.

"And there she goes," Haruto scoffed. "It almost seems like nothing happened, don't you think? Hmm...? Kazuha?"

I didn't reply. Although I could hear him, I couldn't look away from her as she descended the aisle. And from the corner of my eye, I could see Haruto staring at me with a smug smile.

"Hah... Looks like she isn't the only one who's gone."

After the lecture, Haruto and I made our way out to the campus courtyard.

"Phew~ What a day," Haruto said. "Anyway, time for me to head out."

"Yeah. See you, man—"

"Kinoshita!"

We both turned to see Chihara quickly skipping down the staircase behind us. She jumped from the third step with a hop before rushing over to me.

"Hey, Chihara," I smiled. "Hope you had a good day."

"Mhm! It was slow and quiet like any other day, but... For some reason, I'm appreciating it more."

"Pfft... For some reason, huh? Anyway, did you decide where you wanted to go today?"

"Me? I thought you were picking."

"What the...? When have I ever been the decision maker? You know I don't go out much."

"Just thought I'd be nice and let you have a chance this time. So I guess we're pretty much stuck until we can figure out what to do."

"Daylight's burning, Chihara."

Flustered, she shot back with, "W-wha—?! Why am I the one deciding?! You have a say, too, you know!"

Just when I was about to laugh, Haruto beat me to it. We turned to meet him, pinching his chin with an obvious smirk.

"Two peas in a pod, the two of you," he scoffed. "Couldn't help but eavesdrop since, ya know, I'm standing right here. And it just so happens that I might have something for you guys to do. With the Fall Festival coming up, we're gonna need to hang up some posters. Here, there, everywhere. What do you think? A pretty chill way to spend the rest of your afternoon, no?"

Chihara looked at me, and I looked at her. But, she was the first to smile, so there's that.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "Let's go."