Best Friends...

8th April 2019. I started to change. After meeting with Sachi, I wanted to change myself. I will change myself. After all, my hatred towards women is slowly fading since I'm sitting with a girl right now, alone.

"Oh yeah, you haven't told me yet about why you hate relationships so much" (Sachi)

"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"

"…"

(1st April 2015, Wednesday, Takahashi is 12 years old, A first year middle school student)

Yes! As always, the first name in the list, Class 1 - C. This is great, if I can also maintain Top scores in middle school too. Maybe I'll get some kind of reward or something. It's 08: 30, I should hurry, or I'll be late for homeroom.

(While sitting in the class, after homeroom ended)

Huh… A girl just came in class running… She can't seem to catch her breath, for how long has she been running? Oh, the teacher just came in too.

(After school ended, Takahashi just went home)

(The next day, 2nd April, after homeroom)

It's that girl from yesterday, she's coming towards me… does she want to talk to me? Wonder what's it about…

"You are Takahashi Tanjiro right?" (the girl)

"Yes… you are?"

"I'm Aiko Sakata, nice to meet you"

"N..Nice to Meet… you too..."

Man, I'm shivering, can't even speak right. What should I do? She's so pretty, talking to me… why?... I should ask her that

"Haha, why are you so nervous, I'm not going to eat you!" (Aiko)

She's so cheerful, get your shit together Takahashi or she'll think you are weird and leave…

"Ha..ha..ha.. You know… you are so pretty; I can't seem to control my excitement that someone like you is talking to me"

Shiiiit, what did I just say… now she's going to think I'm a weirdo

"Haha, I like you; you are so honest… want to be friends?"

The hell… just like that?

"Ha..ha… ok, I would love to be your friend, so… what did you come to talk about ?"

"Oh, yeah, I wanted to tell you that I'm right below you, in scores. I wanted to see what that person is like, the top-class student"

"Now you know… haha…."

"Yeah!" (smiling)

(After school)

"Hey takahashi! want to walk home together?" (Aiko)

"But I don't know if your home’s in the same direction as mine"

"Me neither, but we'll find out if we just start walking together, when one of us takes a different turn, we'll say goodbye"

"Yeah… Ok, that's great!"

(They both start walking together and when they step outside the school gate)

"Huh… My home's this way (Takahashi pointing left)"

"And mine's this way (Aiko Pointing right) "

"haha…" (Both Chuckled)

"I see, so our little experiment ends here. Well, that's unfortunate, but that's that" (Aiko)

"Yeah, well then, I'll see you tomorrow, Goodbye!"

"Even though I wanted to walk a little bit more… but Goodbye!"

"Me too!" (Takahashi smiling)

(Present, 16: 25)

"That's a lovely story, and you sound like a totally different person from now" (Sachi)

"This was my first interaction with that Bitch!"

"Oh… So that's the person that changed you?"

"Yeah..."

"She sounds like a nice person, what did she do? "

"It's not just what she did, it's also how and when…"

"Continue… I'm listening"

(13th May 2015, Takahashi's birthday)

It's been a month since I have been friends with Aiko. Today's my birthday and I invited Aiko to my party. I wonder if she'll come. If not, then there are other friends I invited to my party too… What if she thinks it's weird to have birthday parties at this age…? Well, nothing can be done if she does think like that. Because I invited her already. Ah! someone's at the door...

"You came!" (Takahashi to Aiko)

"Of course, I would have"

"I thought I was a boring person..."

"If you were, I wouldn't have stayed friends with you"

"Right!... Everyone, my room's upstairs, let's go up to my room "

(Now, everyone's in Takahashi's Room, the party lasted 5 hours, it's 20: 00 right now, everyone's leaving)

Man, this was great. Sad that it has to end… huh… what's Aiko doing to my bag?...

"What are you doing?" (Takahashi from outside the room)

"Nothing, just… I'm coming"

"Ok… what's in that paper bag you are holding?"

"Nothing, just some DVDs I have to deliver to a friend on the way home"

"Of what?"

"Anime"

"Oh… so you watch anime"

"Yeah, do you?"

"No, I only read novels when I have some free time"

"It's Soul for a Soul, it's really good, I'm sure you'll like it. Give anime a try too sometime, ok?"

"Ok… maybe… sometime"

(After this, Aiko left)

Now I have to study for the maths test for tomorrow, it's easy but I should study anyway, it's not like I have anything to do. (Takahashi opens his school bag). Huh… what's this? A DVD… "Soul for a Soul"...

"It's Soul for a Soul, it's really good, I'm sure you'll like it. Give anime a try too sometime, ok?"

So… it's that "Anime" Aiko was talking about…The cover looks so cool. This must be my gift, maybe I should give it a try

(Puts in the first CD)

(After this, Takahashi forgot that he had a test tomorrow. Instead, binged the whole anime. This was his first-time watching anime and staying up all night)

Wow… that was amazing… Now what...? What was I doing before starting Soul for a Soul…? Oh yeah, I have a math test tomorrow… wait… what time it is … OH SHIT! It's 08: 15, school starts in 15 mins, I have to get ready, or I'll be late… and the maths test is TODAY not tomorrow, I stayed up all night, didn't even know that it was the next day already…

I'm late so I should take my bike to school, don't want to be late...

Yes! It's 08: 30, I somehow made it in time, didn’t even have time to eat breakfast. I feel so sleepy and tired…

"Hey Takahashi!"

"Oh… Hi, Aiko..."

"Did you get the gift I left for you last night?"

"Huh…? The anime ? Yeah…. I watched it… last night… complete... it was amazing"

Aiko thought to herself: Yes! He's completely sleep deprived now. I knew it, Soul for a Soul would work. Now… let's see how you perform on your maths test now Takahashi… heh...

"I know! right? That's why I told you to watch it, I knew you would like it"

"Yeah..."

(During maths test)

Aaaah…. My head hurts… what's this? I have to use the Pythagoras theorem? What was it? I can't remember the formula… dang it! Now what? I should have prepared for the test instead of watching anime… now I can't get full marks on this___

(Takahashi collapses from the lack of sleep)

"Sir look, Takahashi just collapsed all of a sudden" (classmate)

"He seems unconscious, take him to the nurse's office immediately" (teacher)

"Yes Sir!"

Aiko: huh… I didn't think he would lose consciousness because of lack of sleep. I guess he was just too weak to pull an all nighter.

(Present, 16: 40)

"Oh, now I get it… she was just jealous of you, getting 1st position every time" (Sachi)

"Yeah, she never intended to be friends with me, she just wanted to fuck up my life so that she could get the 1st position"

"Why was she so obsessed with 1st position anyway?"

"Apparently, in her elementary school, she was always first. But in middle school, I came in her life and took that position for myself, because of which she always came second in every test we took"

"That's her problem, I mean work hard Bitch!"

"Yeah..."

"But aren't you a little bit glad that she introduced you to Anime?"

"Well… you could say that, but what she did is unforgivable"

"So… what did she do?"

(14th May 2015, After Takahashi collapsed)

(It's been 5 hours since Takahashi collapsed. He's sleeping on a bed in the nurse's office right now. It's 14: 10)

Nurse: it's been 5 hours and he's still sleeping, he must have tried too hard to study for the test today, he looks like such a good boy but careless, when he wakes up, I'll tell him to take care of himself too, not just the studies

(Takahashi wakes up at around 15: 00, Aiko is there too.)

"For how long have I been sleeping?"

"Almost 6 hours..." (Aiko)

"Oh… so the maths test?"

"You Didn't complete it, you collapsed midway… geez, who told you to binge it in one night, you should have slept too, you know how weak you are, don't try crazy stuff on your own, I was worried sick you know"

"I'm sorry, I won't do that again, now I have to retake Maths’s test, this is the first time I'm going to retake a test"

Aiko: shit, what if he doesn't watch any anime after this, but I can't just say that don't stop watching anime, I want him to ask me more about Anime, that way I know that he's actually interested, and it won't affect my plan

"There's a first time for everything!"

"Yeah"

(After School)

Man, today was a disaster. But Soul for a Soul was Worth it. I should ask her if she can recommend me some new Anime

"Hey Aiko, do you have the DVDs of some other anime that I could watch? I really liked Soul for a Soul"

Aiko: Yes! He hasn't given up on anime

"Yeah, I'll bring them tomorrow if you want"

"Great, what's their title?"

"I have 2 anime that I want you to watch, one's My Dream and the other one's Days Well Spent"

Thank God I asked my friend in advance, any anime to tell him in case he asks about my favourite ones. I don't watch anime anyway

"They sound interesting"

"They are!"

Days went by like this and first term exams came near

(13th July 2015, A week before exams)

I guess I should go back home, exams are near, and unlike previous times, I haven't studied much this term because of Anime. But I'm not that stupid to pull another full nighter now… for the studies of course.

"Hey, Takahashi! You are going home? " (Aiko)

"Yeah"

"Do you want to study with me? "

"Ok… but where? Some Café outside or library here? "

"At your place!"

"What?? No way, that's not good, having a girl alone in a boy's room"

"Nah, it's ok. If it's Takahashi, it's ok. Because I know he won't try to pull anything funny on a girl even if alone, right?"

"Yeah, I won't but..."

"But…? "

"Fine…"

Aiko: Ok… everything's going according to the plan, I have emptied my bag, put my belongings in the gym locker. I'll get them back tomorrow. For now, I only have maths stuff, which I'll suggest that we study so that he won't find out that my bag's actually empty…

"We should study maths today; I have a lot of stuff I want to discuss together"

"Yeah, I wanted to start with mathematics too"

"Great!"

After this we walked home together, first time, yay!

"I'm home" (Takahashi)

"Welcome Back! Oh, you have brought a friend, what's your name?"

"My name's Aiko Sakata"

"You guys are going to study for the first term exams? "

"Yeah"

"Ok, I'll bring snacks later"

"Thanks Aunt!" (Aiko)

"Ok, let's go upstairs, Aiko"

Takahashi's Mom thought: oh, he calls her by her first name, they must be really close, maybe even girlfriend… sigh*... children… they grow up so fast!

"Ok"

As I'm walking upstairs to my room, my heart won't stop pounding, because this is my first time having a girl over, I Don't want to screw it up. I wonder how she's feeling about this…

Aiko: Ok… revise my plan… Now I'm going into his room, after this we'll study, and I'll insist on studying till late because I want him to fall asleep for my plan to work

(After sitting in the room)

Takahashi: This is awkward, she isn't saying anything. I have to start talking, I have to break the ice...

"So… let's start!" (Takahashi)

"Yeah, so just as planned, mathematics"

"Time's around 16: 00 right now, we'll study till 20: 00 and then watch a movie maybe or you can go if you have something to do"

"This is fine, let's go with this"

It's 17: 10 right now, we just had the snacks mom brought for us. Aiko's actually really good at maths. Well, I'm too but I started watching anime this term, So I haven't studied much. She watches anime too Right? How does she do it? Anime and studies.

"Hey how do you watch anime but still get time to study? Ever since I started watching anime, I haven't been able to study properly."

"You have to organize your schedule; do you make a schedule?"

"No, I don't. I have only done nothing but study in my life, so a schedule seemed pointless to me"

"Well, if you want to get a number of things done in time, make a schedule, that's the rule. Also, you don't have to binge every single anime you watch, you can get up and do your homework when necessary, you know"

I didn't think that he would get so addicted to watching anime, this is great!

"I know, it's just that it bothers me 'what will happen next', when I get up to do something, so I have to complete the series before doing anything else"

"Start watching those normal highschool anime, that way you can watch anime and it won't bother you if you get up to study"

Aiko: I have otaku friends too, so I have heard some things about anime

"But those are no fun, I like mystery and action"

"Yeah, but you have to study for the exams, you don't want to fail, do you?"

"I have an idea! I'll just stop watching anime for now until exams end. Man, why didn't I think of that in the first place"

"Try if you can"

"I think I can, No I will"

"We haven't studied much, let's continue"

"Yeah"

It's 22: 20 now, and we are still studying. I told her that I'm feeling sleepy and that you should go home too. It's really late Now, but she said that just this exercise, the last one… for the 4th time. I don't know, what is she trying to do, maybe she doesn't want me to fail? Well, that's obvious because she seemed worried about me… I can't stay awake anymore… I'm at my limits…

Finally! He's going to sleep. I'll act like I didn't notice and wait till he's completely sleeping. Then I'll execute my plan.

It's 23: 00 right now, weird that his mom didn't come upstairs, asking that I have stayed too long or something. Well, not my problem, gotta focus on what to do now, Takahashi looks like he's asleep now. Ok, I grab his bag, put every single book from his bag to mine. Ok. This is actually scarier than I thought, what if he wakes up.

Whatever, my plan is complete, now I just have to walk away from here quietly____

"Aiko, you are leaving? You should have woken me up"

"You were sleeping so soundly; I didn't want to wake you up"

"Oh ok, wait, I'll come down with you. Wait how are you going to go home now, it's really late"

"I called home; someone has come to pick me up"

"Oh, ok. Great! I'm still sleepy, so don't mind me… haha"

He went to sleep again. What a weak kid. Guess I'll just go home. Thank God he didn't wake up earlier or I would have been busted. Now there's still some time till my dad comes, what should I do… maybe I should complete my plan here. No, he'll find out, I have to do the rest at my home. Goodbye, Takahashi Tanjiro. The time I spent with you… SUCKED!