Sachi

It's been a week since my suspension started. Today's 8th April, I'm supposed to go to school today. But what will I do about her, Sakamoto Aoi, what If her seat is still in front of me? No, that's not the problem, the teachers can take care of that. What matters right now is, how will I act around her, what will she do when she sees me, should I apologise again today? I’ll ask her to listen to me one last time, and then I'll try to tell her about my stupid situation. Maybe she'll hear me out.

I decided to walk to school, since I woke up early today.

Ok... So, if she doesn't tell me, then I'll have to ask an old friend I'd have made last year, but then again, I don't want to ask classmates directly because that would be embarrassing and stupid. Man, I lost my only source of knowing about the first year me, what do I do now. Past week, I have been thinking about this situation I'm in. I'm 100% sure that I skipped a year. I have proof, there are many things I noticed in my house that have changed or have been completely replaced. Most importantly, my favourite jacket is gone, I could never throw it out, even if something happens to it. I should ask my mom when I get back home. For now, I have Aoi to deal with.

Just when I step foot into my class, a kid shout

"There's that bastard"

Ignore them, just go, and sit at your seat. Shit, there's someone sitting on my seat.. A girl, why ?

"Yo" (the girl)

"That's my seat"

"I know, this one's mine (pointing at the one in front)"

"Huh… that's Aoi's…."

"Haha... You didn't hear, she changed school"

"Changed school…?!"

YESSS, that solves my problem… but why… I mean what I did was THAT bad that she had to transfer? She must have really gone through hell. Whatever, now she's gone, and I can have my normal otaku life!

"You’re happy, aren't you? Now you don't have to deal with her… 'OTAKU' "

"Huh….?"

Huh… She knows? How? Do I know her? Does she know me? Did she tell anyone? I hope she didn't… what if she did____

"What's with the tense look? RELAX, I know what you're thinking, I didn't tell anyone. I'm an otaku myself, so I wouldn't go around telling others your secret"

PHEW… so she didn't tell anyone, why am I talking to myself, talk to her, ask her who she is, how does she know that I'm an otaku

"But man, I thought you would change in highschool but you are still the old mean Takahashi I remember"

"Have we met?"

Sachi thought to herself, even after all that… you forget about me… how stupid can you be… Idiot

"... HaHa, sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name's Sachi, I have seen you before in middle school, you have rejected two of my friends"(Says with a smile on her face)

"Oh… So… haha…"

Man, what should I do now, she's here for revenge or something? No, that type of shit happens only in anime. This must be coincidence. Yeah, it's a coincidence… it has to be a coincidence

"I know what you are thinking, So RELAXXXXX, I'm here just as a normal high school student, I won't say anything about your past"

Even though you just did… "But man, I thought you would change in highschool but you are still the old mean Takahashi I remember" Well, whatever!

"So… just Sachi?"

"Yeah, you can call me that, it's ok"

"Ok..."

"So, tell me, which anime are you watching lately?"

"Why do you care?"

"Come on, as fellow otakus, we should talk about this stuff, besides I just transferred here last week, I don't know many people here"

"Oh, so you weren't a first year?"

"No, I had to transfer because of dad's work, he changes jobs a lot so..."

"Oh… well the sort of situation I'm in, I'm a transferred second year too"

The hell… why am I telling her this? Well, she's easy to talk to and having someone else share your secret takes the burden off your chest a little, but NO, I shouldn't, don't want to fall for that ever again

"What situation?"

"No, it's nothing, just that..."

"Hmm…?"

"It's nothing, pretend I never said that"

"Ok, oh homeroom's about to start"

It's 08: 30 right now, I came to school early Today, so I had a lot of free time, all wasted while talking to her. Well, whatever, I have recess too, I'll go to my secret spot to eat lunch.

(Around 12: 05, recess time)

I should run away from here, she seems like she's interested in me, she tried talking to me twice after that long conversation in the morning.

Around 9: 35:
"Hey, have you watched that new anime that just released last week?"
"DON'T TALK TO ME"
Around 10: 25:
"Isn't our maths teacher cute?"
"Hell like I care!"

Come to think of it, this is probably the first time I have talked to a girl for this long without rejecting her. Since she wasn't confessing, I can't reject her.

(Takahashi goes to the roof of the school)

Aah, finally some time alone

"BU"(Sachi from behind)

"Aaa… what the hell is wrong with you, and how did you find me?"

"What does a loner protagonist of a slice of life anime do in recess?"

"Eats his lunch alone…?"

"Yeah, and where?"

"Roof…. damnit, but it's not always the roof, how did you find me in like 2 mins?

"When I saw you sneaking outside the classroom with lunch in hand, I thought you might be going somewhere to eat alone, so I followed you, AND brought my lunch too"

"You could have just said that, and no I'll not be eating with you, leave or I'll go someplace else"

"I'll follow you"

"Try"

After struggling for 15 minutes, running around school with my lunch in hand, I decided to stop and just eat with her, don't want to waste any more time.

"Told you" (Sachi)

"Whatever, don't talk to me"

This sucks, now she's going to do this every day. My free time alone is ruined, highschool sucks, wish I was stuck in middle school forever

Surprisingly, she didn't talk to me for the rest of the recess, now I'm heading back to class because recess is over.

I have been noticing it since morning, Shinichi stares at me with an angry look on his face from time to time. Wonder what's his problem. Meh, I'm not going to ask, he's a pretty weird kid anyway.

Ah… School ended; it was a pretty long day. I'll just go home now… why is she coming towards me...

"Want to walk home together?" (Sachi)

"NO"

"But whyyyy? It won't hurt you; you know..."

"Why do you act like we are in a relationship?"

"We are not, but as friends, walking home together is nothing"

"Huh… Friends? Shut up"

"But..."

As I open the shoe locker to grab my shoes…

"Huh… A piece of paper?"

"What's this?" (Sachi)

"It says 'meet me at the back of the gym… ASAP' "

"Oh… someone's calling you for a fight probably. Are you ready, you don't look like you can fight anyone"

"No, I don't, but there's a possibility that this isn't an invite for a fight but a love letter"

"WHAT? that's clearly a fight, why do you think this might be a love letter"

"I got one, at the graduation day of middle school, same type of letter, I thought it was a fight, but it turned out to be a confession"

"What was wrong with that girl Haha"

"I know, do you want to see something interesting?"

Sachi thought: oh, Takahashi's finally talking to me, YESSS

"I'll show you how I turn down girls"

"IF it's a confession. And I already know how"

Since you have turned down two of my friends

"You'll get to see it in action, come with me to the gym but hide somewhere"

Why am I asking her to tag along with me? This isn't like me... Well, whatever, it isn't like it's going to hurt having her around

"Ok"(Sachi)

Me and Sachi walked towards the back of the gym… just as we were about to take a turn, I saw a shadow… huh… Wait… It's a dude… SHIT, I didn't prepare for this, what am I going to do now… I'm shivering like a washing machine Dammit! Hope he hasn't seen me; I should hide with Sachi...

"What's this? I thought it would be a girl since it was supposed to be a confession?"

"Hahaha… Told you"

"This isn't a time to laugh, what do I do, I haven't been in a fight before..."

"Hey, takahashi?"

"Yeah?"

"What if he's gay? (Sachi said with a grin)"

"Shinichi?" (Shinichi is the guy who's standing behind the gym)

"Yeah, him"

"Don't tell me… are you…?"

"Yes! I'm shipping you two" (Sachi said with a grin)

"FUCK YOUUUUU, seriously at first you said it's a fight and now you are fantasizing a relationship, fuck you, what's wrong with you, I'm dying here..."

"Don't worry, it's Shinichi, he's as weak as you are, this will be a fair fight hehe..."

"You look like you’re enjoying yourself, I'm shitting my pants here…"

"Well, I have seen many confessions, but not a fight, this will be fun (smiling with excitement in her eyes)"

"Oh, fuck you, seriously… ok… I'm going…"

Got to breath, should I warm up first? Nah, I don't have much time, I have to watch anime when I get back home… ok… I'm going to act like I was just going to the back of the gym to meet him

"Hey, Shinichi! What's up? You wanted to meet me here?"

"Y O U M O T H E R F U C K E R…" (Shinichi, as he's slowly walking towards Takahashi)

"Huh…?"

(Shinichi punches Takahashi with all his might)

Takahashi: huh… why…? What did I do wrong this time, why's everyone doing this to me, ever since highschool started, I have been going through hell, what's the point of this, it hurts, I'm bleeding, FUCKING DAMNIT, I should just kill myself already, life isn't going to change for me, this type of shit won't stop coming into my life, I have to end it

"IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU AOI CHANGED SCHOOL, IF YOU WANTED TO DUMP HER, YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE IT POLITELY YOU DISGUSTING SON OF A BITCH, BECAUSE OF YOU… 'CAUSE OF YOU, I CAN'T CONFESS TO HER NOW, SHE'S GONE, YOU KILLED TWO PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ARROW, YOU SHOULD JUST DIE, PEOPLE LIKE YOU SHOULDN'T EXIST"

He's right, I shouldn't exist, I should just die, I have hurt so many people for my selfish reasons, I don't deserve to feel happiness anymore… just now for a minute, I was enjoying my conversation with Sachi… I don't deserve this… Thanks Shinichi, thanks for telling me that… huh… it hurts… my chest… HUH…… did I just… "Skip a Beat”?? When Sachi came to my mind, for some reason I didn't want to leave her, I was just having fun, for the first time in years, no, I can't leave her, I have to live… HAVE TO LIVVVVE…

(Takahashi gathers his courage, and punches back Shinichi)

"YEAH YOU ARE RIGHT, I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE, I HAVE HURT SO MANY PEOPLE, I SHOULD JUST DIE RIGHT? NO! (Takahashi kicks him this time), I'M A HUMAN BEING, JUST LIKE YOU, EVEN THOUGH I HAVE MADE MISTAKES, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I SHOULD JUST DIE LIKE THAT, AND YOU ARE JUST A COWARD, YOU COULD HAVE TOLD HER YOURSELF THAT DAY, YOU COULD HAVE CONSOLED HER WHEN SHE WAS CRYING, BUT NO, YOU SAID SHE ISN'T YOUR TYPE, SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU DONT DESERVE HER, YOU ARE BETTER OF BEING SINGLE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE THAN BEING WITH A GIRL WITH THAT FUCKING STUPID COWARD MIND OF YOURS"

"WHY YOU..."(Shinichi pulls out the knife he's been hiding behind his back and runs towards Takahashi with the intentions to kill him)

The FUCK… NO! There was something wrong with him, but I didn't think that he was a complete psycho… what do I do, I'm frozen in fear, I can't move… move legs MOVE… DAMNIT… I don't want to die like this… HUH… again… Sachi just came to my mind… what's happening to me… this is bad, I have to move or I'll seriously die, and I don't want to

Huh… Sachi…? What are you doing… go away, why are you protecting me? Why are you risking your life… you could die here, you know that Shinichi kid is a complete psycho… you finally seemed like someone I could talk to… you can't die like that… Move idiot… go back to safety… if only I had the courage to say this out loud…

"Huh… Sachi, move aside. This isn't about you; I have got some business with that stupid friend of yours" (Shinichi)

(Takahashi and Sachi both thought at the same time)

FRIEND???

(Sachi slaps Shinichi and grabs his knife from the tip and throws it away)

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You just couldn't confess your love in time and your taking that out on Takahashi, you were a weird kid, but I never thought you would be a psycho too, come Takahashi, lets go!"

Huh… what's this, she's angry... for the first time… and she's holding my hand. I am holding a girl's hand for the first time…

Sachi Grabs my hand with her right hand, the one she used to grab the knife and throw it away… it's cold… wait it's bleeding, I should tell her, I don't think she noticed that she's bleeding. she just risked her life to save mine, even though we just met…

"Sachi, we should hurry to the nurse's office… your hand..."

"Hmm…? AAAAAA my hand, my hand… it's bleeding… oh fuck this is a lot of blood"

Then Sachi and I rushed towards nurse's office

After nurse treated her hand

"Oh dear, what did you do to get this big cut?"

"Ah ha ha ha…. It was nothing, I just grabbed a knife from the tip, that's all. I'm from cooking club…(lie)"

"Oh… be careful next time ok? And who's he, your boyfriend ?"

"Huh… him? NO NO NO NO NO, we are just friends, nothing more, not even friends actually, just met each other today"

"Wait, Hey, aren't you the kid who topped every single term last year?"

"Yeah, that's me..."

"You are an amazing kid, keep up the good work!"

While they were talking, my mind couldn't get out of what just happened, I was still confused about everything

"Hey, takahashi lets go, I'm done here"

"Ok..."

(Outside of the nurse's office, going back to the shoe locker area)

"You are still stuck in what just happened?" (Sachi)

"Yeah… I mean, we just met and you're here, saving my life, how crazy can you be?"

"Haha, this was nothing. This is just what friends do you know"

"But we aren't even friends..."

"Well… do you want to be?"

"..... I don't know…"

Honestly, I'm confused, I don't think she'll do anything to hurt me, but I still fear something might happen, I shouldn't get too close to her, but I want to…

"Ammm…. Hey, do you… you know… want to walk home together?" (Takahashi)

"Of course!"

After this we are walking together, on the road, we haven't talked for five minutes, it's 16: 00 already. Man… this is awkward. I should talk about something… yeah anime

"Answering your question from this morning... yes"

"which question?"

"The one about if i have watched that anime, you are asking about the one with a really fat and lazy fighting protagonist, right ?"

"Yeah yeah, that one, isn't it funny?"

"It's ok, I like the art style and the animations, the monsters look so damn cool"

"I Know, right? OH... Takahashi, your face, it has a little cut on it, it's where Shinichi punched you"

"Oh that, it's nothing, I think he was wearing a ring or something, that scratched my face, but it's nothing it will heal soon"

"No, what if it gets infected, come into the park, we'll sit and I'll put a bandage on it"

(They are passing in front of a park right now)

"No, you don't have to do it, I can do it myself"

"No, I want to!"

"No! I'll do it myself, it's embarrassing if you do it"

"NO! Shut up, I'm doing it ok? You don't get to say anything..." (she's blushing a Little)

"Why are you so persistent?"

"Well… you know… in anime… when the main character's hurt, the girl always does this, so I wanted to do it once, and you watch anime too, don't you want to try something like this ?"

"Seriously…? I thought you had a better reason than this. Well, I'm going to be honest, yeah. But now that it's actually happening… it's embarrassing..."

Why do I want something like this when I wasn't even looking for relationships… I'm weird

"I know but it will be fun too... hehe..." (Sachi excited)

"You don't look embarrassed at all"

"Hehe"

(After sitting on a bench)

"Here, I'm going to put it… be ready..."

"I'm ready, wait, it's just a bandage, what do I have to be ready for"

"I don't know… here goes… "

(Both are extremely nervous)

".........."

(She did it)

"It wasn't that scary was it, ha ha ha"(Sachi)

".... Thanks"

"Hun… for what, the bandage? It was nothing"

"No, for everything. After spending a day with you I think I can give relationships a second try"

Yeah, I can do it, in middle school that was just that girl, not everyone's like that

"Hehe, could it be me? Is this a confession? The legendary rejecter is confessing for the first time"

"No, it's just a thought that I can give it a try, and not with you of course, you are crazy"

"Haha, I am… Oh yeah, you haven't told me yet about why you hate relationships so much"

"It was just something that happened to me in first year of middle school"

"Tell me"

"Do I really have to?"

"Please…"

"Ahh…. fine"

"Yayyy, story time"

“…”

It's 16: 15 right now, we are sitting on a bench in a park that was on our way home.
This is great, I'm enjoying this, life isn't so cruel after all.