Chapter 12:
Mind Reader's
I slowly opened the door to her room and Upon doing so, I couldn't help but notice just how clean the room was. Comparing it to mine simply made it show just how men didn't really care about they're rooms, or at least the few I knew.
"Take a seat"
At those words, I glanced over at the space she was pointing at and without skipping a beat, I proceeded to sit down on one of the cushions that she had.
Upon doing so, I couldn't help but notice that she was a bit of a minimalist, but even then, she did have her fair share of things around the room.
"Never been in a girls rooms or what?"
"No... Not really"
"Wouldn't you go to Katabuchi-san's house from time to time?"
"Yeah, but after spending time with her like that, it really wasn't something that made me nervous any more"
"I see..."
"Apart from her, I don't really socialize with any of the other girls from our class or around the neighborhood"
"Does that mean that you didn't socialize with Ichikawa-san?"
"N-No... It was more like a crush then anything..."
I scratched the back of my head and sighed "To be honest, It's kind of stupid for me to have fallen for someone like her without really getting to know her like I did with Chitose"
"I guess you only looked at her looks and personality more then actually trying to get to know her, right?"
"As much as I don't want to admit it... Yeah, I didn't"
She let out a sigh and proceeded to lean back a bit "Well, Ichikawa-san has always been the girl who boys fawn over..."
"Y-You knew her before?"
"Yeah, I did. You could say that we spoke with one another from time to time, but even then, it wasn't a friendship like the one you have with Katabuchi-san and Muratagi-san"
"I see..." I glanced over at her and asked the question that lingered in my mind "Did you know about that hidden personality of hers?"
"..." She stared into my eyes for a good ten seconds before looking away with a sigh "I'd be lying to you if I said that it wasn't true, but yeah, she's always been like that"
"She doesn't show it, but she always gives hints to her true personality. You could say that I had noticed it but never did anything to stop it"
"..."
"I know that it hurts, but-"
"It doesn't hurt me anymore"
"..."
I could tell that Hatomi was surprised at my words and I couldn't blame her. I was devastated at the fact that I was simply being used by her for her own convenience, but at the same time, it was because of me not noticing that I allowed such a thing to happen.
"Sure, I was used but at the end of the day, I managed to escape her grasp and am now living my life in peace without having fallen for something that wouldn't have happened ever"
"Does that mean that you're not going to chase her anymore?"
"I stopped trying to do so ever since I heard her voice" "I'm just going to follow what I want"
"..." She stared into my eyes for a bit and simply proceeded to let out an unexpected chuckle on her part "That's surprising~"
"H-Huh?"
"I never would have expected someone to decide not to chase her any longer... If she heard of this, it would come like a big shock for her"
"Y-You think?"
"Of course, no boy has ever decided to stop chasing her, on the contrary, she's the one who decides to stop using them for the fact that they are no longer needed"
She slowly reached over towards me and before I knew it, her finger was pressing up against the center of my chest "You, on the other hand are still useful to her"
"..."
"She'll be surprised and angry at the fact that you're not looking for anything else to do for her and to top it off, since she's seen that you and me are getting along, she'll think that I'm the one taking you away from me"
"I don't think that's the case..."
"Who knows, but at the end of the day, she'll no longer have you wrapped around her finger. Aren't you happy about that?"
I stared at Hatomi for a bit and even though she sounded so passionate as she spoke those words, I could still see the deadpan expression that she wore most of the time.
"I'm happy that I didn't end up like a lot of the other people she would interact with, but at the same time... Will it really end a that?"
She understood what I meant by those words, but even then, she didn't seem to think about it "I know that it will stop. She won't chase someone who won't look at her any longer"
"I hope you're right"
"I am, I'm 99% sure about it"
"What about that 1%?"
"That percent is how much she values you or if you're someone who she likes more then a mere slave under her grasp, she won't stop chasing you"
She let out a sigh and proceeded to play around with her hair "But I hope that isn't the case..."
"Huh?"
"It's nothing" She stood up from her seat and proceeded to make her way out of the room.
"I'll be back. I'm going to grab you a futon, a blanket and a pillow"
"You really don't have to do all of that"
"You're the first person I've ever invited. Let me at least do this much for you"
Hearing her say those words, I let out a sigh and chuckled to myself "Thank you, Hatomi"
"..." She immediately cut off the connection and I was simply sitting there waiting for her to come back.
"I wonder why she cut it off? Does she not want me to hear something or what?"
I shook my head and simply proceeded to glance around the room for a bit. As I did so, I noticed a picture of her with her parents.
Upon getting a bit closer at the picture, I couldn't help but notice that Hatomi was just the same as she was back then. She wasn't smiling. She seemed to be jus as serious as now.
"She was pretty cute when she was little"
"I still am"
I immediately looked back and noticed Hatomi standing there with everything she had told me that she was going to get me.
"Y-Y-You didn't hear anything..."
"You sure about that?" She laid down the futon alongside the other things and simply proceeded to poke my sides with a grin on her face.
Seeing her acting like this, I couldn't help but wonder why she wouldn't smile and act like this all the time "Hatomi?"
"Yes?"
"Why don't you smile like this all the time?"
At these words, she stopped poking my sides and simply looked away from me "It's something that I can't do without actually feeling like that..."
"Does that mean that...?"
"Yes. Whenever I'm in school and what not, I'm always feeling nothing but..." She looked back at me and continued playing around with her hair "For some reason... Being around you makes these emotions manifest themselves without me even trying"
Those words alone were more then enough to make me start blushing a bit "Does that mean that she only feels like this with me?"
"It's weird, but at the same time... I don't mind smiling and acting like this from time to time"
"I-I see..."
"Natsuo?"
"Yes...?"
"Let's be careful from the things that can happen to us in the future because of our abilities"
"I know... I don't need you telling me that"
"Good"
After talking for a bit more, we did our homework that we were given which was a simple resume of what we learnt and what not. Once we did so, it was time for us to head to sleep, but even then, I couldn't feel too comfortable sleeping in the same room as a girl my age.
"Good night, Natsuo"
"G-Good night"
With those last words, she turned off her desk lamp and before I knew it, she had fallen asleep. I let out a sigh and turned around "I wonder... What was that all about?"
The words replayed in my mind, but even then, I needed to let them be and simply sleep as much as I could.
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