Senpai Never Was, Part II

The day started unlike any other.

I lied. It started as a huge freaking mess. Not of my routine or anything that followed. Everything I had to do I did, to the point where even my own father didn’t bat an eye as much as he was figuring out how the oven worked.

I could’ve snarkily given tips. I was like that anyway, especially after hearing it from my neighbors.

Today, however, wasn’t quite like I had intended.

In fact, it was so close to being normal, I felt mildly frustrated.

Ok maybe a little more than mild.

I was actually frustrated.

Why? I had no clue.

Part of me wished it would go away, but it kept ringing and throbbing on my head, so much so that as I walked to school, I paced in a manner that I don’t usually pace like.

Yeah, it was that bad. Am I exaggerating? Probably.

I put my hand on my head and sighed, closing my eyes as I walked the familiar road.

My head ached. It was throbbing after all.

After a moment of disbelief in which I hadn’t heard dogs barking in my direction, I came to a conclusion why I was feeling like shit.

It was her. Nishikawa.

And no it wasn’t her fault. Why should I blame her?

She didn’t do anything wrong.

She was just frightened. Scared, not at me, but she seemed like she couldn’t turn away.

Through the convenience store I passed, the school grounds peeking from there, I paced myself quicker.

I just wanted to sit down and be done with the day.

If only I hadn’t collided with trouble. I wouldn’t have been entangled with trouble.

As it turned out though, trouble had ulterior motives. One was royally messing with me.

And that came as I turned towards the school grounds and—

Oof!

I bumped into someone. A tiny frame. A small statured person. A familiar one.

Nishikawa.

Ah shit. I should have known. I wasn’t paying attention. My fault.

“Sorry—”

“No..! N-No…” she quickly caught her breath. God, this is awkward.

“I… I should be sorry…”

“I was the one who bumped into you, I should apologi—”

She gasped. She waved her hands up like she got caught and was going to juvie or something. “N-No…! You d-d-don’t have to apologize, Tsukiyono-san..!”

Jesus Christ. I knew she was shy, but I hadn’t thought she’d be this shy.

“Huh? But I’m the one who—”

“Nishikawa.”

A voice interrupted our conversation. On one hand, I was relieved I could relieve myself of the never ending apology deadlock I was about to be subject to.

On the other hand, something was off about how the voice addressed Nishikawa. It was commanding, almost domineering. The distance of the voice was clear enough to make Nishikawa hear, and it was loud enough to make her flinch.

I don’t mean her flinching like she normally would, as I had seen yesterday.

She flinched harder. I trembled more. This time, I could see it more clearly.

Something was definitely wrong.

I stared as she moseyed slowly towards the voice. Her eyes went wide. She looked at me. Her eyes confirmed what I felt. Then she looked away.

I couldn’t make out what the person looked like. He was covered under the shadows that formed when the building blocked the sun.

Only a shape.

I gulped.

I didn’t know what to do.

So I just watched.

And just like that she disappeared with the voice.

…what the hell was that…?

~~~

I pretty much already got over what the hell happened early in the morning as soon as noon came around.

The eeriness of it all had been plastered with pastel once Yui started talking.

“Hey, hey!” she started. “So get this: didja know that Touken Band is gonna disband?!”

Aoi was on her phone. She perked up though. I saw that coming; she was a huge fan of Touken Band. Not that I knew anything about them.

“Really…?” Aoi perked up, feeling sad but still her usual sheepish self. Typical. “Aw, but they were awesome though!”

“I know right?! I’m gonna miss them… they’re like totes cool with the chains and stuff y'know?"

Rina shrugged. “Sounds like a lotta bands from Osaka are retirin’ recently. But I heard, this one, they’re graduatin’ seniors, so they sorta need ta focus n’ all that.”

A rock band. Maybe Dad would have heard something about them. He never said anything.

The day continued just like any other day. For real this time.

Except I wasn’t expecting what would happen after the talk about some high school band disbanding.

I had seen her across as I sprawled on my desk. She was approaching me slightly.

Nishikawa.

I adjusted my position as soon as I saw her approach me. It was gradual. She had been walking towards my way, and I would have been the only one who would have noticed.

I had forgotten how perceptive Rina was.

“Oh? Someone’s approachin’ us.”

Nishikawa paused in her tracks. She was shaking, not quite as violently as I had seen her this morning.

She was trying. Trying to reach out to me. She opened her mouth and her hand to do so.

Anticipating this, I sat fully upright, still staring at her. I meant to invite her to say something. Clearly she had something to say.

Yui had seen it too.

“Maya-chan, she’s the girl from the rumors I’d heard and told ya!”

Yui pointed at her. None of my friends were malicious. They were just honest to God knows what.

This honesty might have scared Nishikawa. She was now trembling further.

She had been approaching us, but now she backed away. Slowly. As slow as she had approached first.

Her eyes went wide. She was still looking at me. Then all of a sudden she jerked her head towards the floor.

Aoi and Rina turned.

And the attention of the three of them proved possibly too much for her.

She looked back at me, as she turned left and right towards the gazes of my friends. I prepared to stand. She was freaking out.

Then she ran away.

I watched her go. Aoi, Rina, and Yui traced her clumsy run. All she had passed by looked at her as she nearly collided with them.

Once again, I just watched.

And that feeling I thought I’d whisked away with the yapping of my friends came back to haunt me.

Once again, I didn’t know what to do.

And once again, something felt horribly wrong.

“She… ran?”

“Yeah, she ran. You scared her.”

“Maya-chan, you’re so mean!”

I don’t lie to Yui. I actually thought she had scared her.

But I couldn’t tell Yui what I saw yesterday.

~~~

On some days, I had to stay in the school working on an assignment. I couldn’t afford to waste sleepless nights. Especially when I could just finish it on the day.

And today was one of those days.

“Maya-chan is so smart, I wish I was like you!”

“I’m not holding your hand, Yui.”

“BUT CAN I HOLD YOURS?”

“Pfff bahaha! Yui-chan, ya really need ta let go of Maya-chan, ya soundin’ like a lost puppy.”

“CAN’T I BE A LOST PUPPY???”

“Not right now, Yuikko, Mayacchi needs to do something.”

“Thanks guys.”

“It’s a’ight. Ya should let loose sometime, ‘kay Maya-chan?”

“Yeah, yeah, you tell me that everytime…”

“Hehe, just consider it. Yui-chan misses ya.”

“I will. Thank you.”

They had been very considerate of me. Yui, too, even if she looked like a lost golden retriever of the household I reside in.

It was about 6:45pm. The sun had finally set. I wasn’t particularly bothered by the dark. It was soothing almost. I fixed my stuff and went out of the room.

The hallway was normally bustling, but in the early hours of the night, it seemed more quiet and endless.

Not that I care. I had told Dad to cook for himself. I realized later that it was a mistake.

I was walking down the corridor with my hands tucked to the pockets of the blazer. Honestly, I wasn’t really thinking of anything.

And then a thought hit me.

The subject of the thought was actually running towards my direction.

Initially, I couldn’t see it. I could only hear some girl gasping for air and a clumsy running form. Whoever she was, she ought to do more cardio.

As the running figure came into frame, I stopped walking. My eyes widened.

Nishikawa. She was running from something.

Her eyes locked onto mine and she looked like she was gonna launch herself towards me. I caught her anyway.

She panted and gasped, heavily breathing. Her uniform was slightly tattered. Her hair was still disheveled, but now I could see more features that gave a wrong look: face filled with grime, hands calloused as I touched them, and she was nearly as light as a feather.

“…help…”

“…!”

I gasped, not audibly… I hope so.

Holy shit.

She had been running from someone.

But as I would see later. It wasn’t someone. It was something.

It had reached where we were. I couldn’t make out what the hell that thing was. Nishikawa held me as she panicked.

I didn’t have time to think.

I just moved.

Pulling her arm with mine, I bolted down the hallway.

Away from… whatever the fuck that thing was. What was that thing?

I shrugged those thoughts as I ran, Nishikawa in tow. She was also panicking, clumsily stumbling along the corridor. Gradually though she started matching my pace.

I didn't know what the hell I was doing.

All I knew is that I had to get Nishikawa out.

Away from that thing.

Whatever it was.