Ignorance 2

My talk with Kazama didn’t really put the strange feeling to rest.

Sure, I now have more questions. But the day to day still feels… Familiar.

Classes come and go, teachers drone on and on, but there are moments where I feel a weird sense of déjà vu. Moments when I can almost tell what someone’s going to say next or what kind of strange thing I’ll encounter.

“Hey, hey. What’s going on here?”

“S-Senpai?!”

That’s why, seeing that the guy at the center of this weirdness is talking to a cute girl, I’ve decided to check things out a bit!

“Ah, monkey-senpai!”

For a lot of students, this girl’s appearance screamed ‘dangerous!’ even from afar. With bleached hair and colorful highlights done in twin tails, a sailor school uniform that somehow managed to show cleavage… This is one of the popular girls that other girls disapprove of! And she has a vibe to match.

“Hey, hey Urara-chan~ Don’t shorten your dear senpai’s name like that. It’ll make me sad.” It’s not like it hurt or anything, not when there’s no one to make fun of it. But making fun of someone’s name is seriously no good. It can make people turn from the straight and narrow path due to bullying!

Not me though. I’m fine.

“Haha, sorryyyy! I’m a bit clumsy, you see.” She laughs it off, but has now managed to distract me from picking on the guy she’s been talking with.

Man… First Akamine, and now Urara-chan? Is this ‘Touya-kun’ perhaps actually good with women?

“Nah, nah. I get it. I’d get mad if someone interrupted me while I’m flirting with a hottie too.”

Nah. Seeing how he’s too embarrassed to even be vaguely afraid, this guy is a complete doormat. But then, why is Urara-chan meeting with such a guy behind the main school building?

Does she want her homework done? Is she asking for money? They looked like they’d been talking for a couple of minutes at least, no signs of wallets or notebooks being pulled out. So what gives?

I can’t help think about how Kazama seems to be pulled toward this guy… It’s weird is all I’m saying.

“Oh, if Senpai gets it, could he perhaps leave~? I almost had Yacchan in the palm of my hand, you see.”

“E-Eika-san?!” Oh, so now he reacts? It’d be funny if Urara-chan’s straightforward answer didn’t sting.

“Tsss, agh… I see! But I’m sorry, Urara-chan. I kinda need to borrow ‘Touya-kun’ for a minute.” It’s not like I hate her or anything. She’s one of the few people that can vibe in spite of Kazama, after all. But being told to piss off in such a straightforward way… It hurts, okay?

Her expression changes. Of course it does. She’s pretty clever.

“Huh? Touya-kun?” She turns to look at the guy she had been teasing, a question already forming in her mind. “Is monkey-senpai close with Yacchan?”

“E-Eh?! No… Not really! It’s just—”

“See, Urara-chan. We dodn’t know each other. We bumped into each other when he was having a date with a pretty high-profile chick.” I wink at the guy. Not because I’m pissed off or anything, but for a better effect. “Man, I really do wanna know his secret!”

“Date…?” Urara-chan’s mood dampens. I’ve never seen her look so down; much less see the transformation occur so quickly.

“I-It wasn’t a date! Akamine-san just asked me to help her out buy some materials for the student council!”

“Tamayo-chan… Is it?” Urara-chan’s expression darkens. It seems like there is more going on between these three than expected.

My, oh my. Have I stumbled upon a classic love triangle? This will surely be a riot!

“Surprised? I was too! This guy’s got game, don’t you think?”

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!” ‘Touya-kun’ yells. It’s so loud that both Urara-chan and I flinch away from him. And it’s sudden enough that even the girl’s negative feelings are mostly dispelled from her face.

“Man, don’t go around screaming like that!”

“It’s not like that.” The guy lets his words trail off, but there’s a fire in his eyes now.

Tch. Now he grows a pair because there’s a cute girl watching? Talk about annoying!

“Whatever man. Just don’t scream. I’ll get mad.”

“To begin with, it was Senpai’s group who were harassing Akamine-san. Senpai doesn’t even know what we did after we parted ways!”

“Huh?! The hell you said, you bastard?” Serious! Where was this intensity back in the mall? “Don’t go around talking shit about people like that. That’s how rumors start!”

“It’s the truth though!” ‘Touya-kun’ grits his teeth even though I’ve pulled him closer by the neck of his uniform. “And now Senpai’s here trying to mess with Eika-san too!”

“Like hell I am!” Too close, too close! I released him before my fist found his face. But this guy really has a way to saying things that piss people off, huh. “Didn’t Touya-kun hear? I didn’t come to talk to Urara-chan. But I guess that doesn’t matter now. Way to spoil the mood.”

I hide my hands in my pockets and kick some dirt. There really is no point talking to someone this dense. He won’t understand the world around him, and so he’ll just bring problems to everyone else.

Whatever he might think about our group… I can see a pattern form here. Urara-chan’s not the only girl I’ve glimpsed around him, after all. And with that attitude… If Kazama liked any of those girls, I guess now I can understand his problem with this idiot.

“T-That’s…”

“Hey, Urara-chan.” There’s no reason to talk to the guy. But Urara-chan has a good head on her shoulders. So, as her Senpai, I should at least throw her a bone here. “Be careful with who you tease, okay? Some people aren’t worth the trouble.”

She’s already pissed with me, so I don’t wait for her to answer. Whether she takes the hint or not will depend entirely on how she took this event.

I can’t do more without ending up like the guys at the mall. I hate to admit it, but the idiot does have a point there.

“Saruya-senpai.” Oh? Although I’ve already put some distance between us, Urara-chan managed to catch up.

“Hey there! No hard feelings, right?” I have to ask because she doesn’t look like her usual self yet. So I guess she’s still somewhat angry for having her fun spoiled.

Again, I get it. So I won’t take whatever she says too personal.

“Is it true that you saw Yacchan with that girl?” Hmmm? That’s quite the worried expression on her face…

“Yeah.” I neither make light of things or play around. This is just a senpai looking out for his kouhai. “She’s… Quite scary, ya kno’.”

I don’t like it; I have no proof. However, it's true that girl's glare left a lasting impression on me.

“I see…” Urara-chan is fiddling with her fingers. It seems like she has something to say but can’t quite get it out. “Yeah, I got that impression too.”

Oh?

“Really?”

Now that’s strange. Akamine Tamayo is the school’s role model. The envy of girls and the girl of guys’ dreams. Sometimes the other way around. But I’ve never heard someone badmouth her this… Sincerely.

“Y-Yeah… It’s probably nothing but it feels like she has a nasty side sometimes.” Urara-chan doesn’t look scared, but she does seem to hold some reservation about this.

“I see. Well, if something happens let me know. Okay? I’m your senpai after all.”

“Haha. Sure! I’ll let you kno—” Urara-chan’s mood almost got to its usual high energy standard. But something made her flinch.

I turn around, see the entrance to the school proper I was going for.

There is no one there.

“Something wrong?” Hey, hey. Don’t scare me like that! The topic is already heavy!

“N-No…” Urara-chan laughs it off. We don’t know each other that well, but it’s still weird to see her this shaken. “It’s probably nothing.”

Or so she said. But I still felt some reservation as I saw her off that day.