Heavy Metal Rival

I woke up the next morning with a huge smile on my face. The concert was a success! When I came home last night, Saiki messaged me about the positive reception the concert received from everyone there. And my role in filling in for their lead guitarist was also praised too! I have to tell you though, that entire experience felt otherworldly. Most of the time, my heart was beating loudly in my chest and I was on edge and afraid that I would mess up. The only things running through my mind was ‘Am I playing this right?’, ‘Was this the correct part?’, ‘Did I come in too early/late?’, ‘Are these the right notes?’. Sure, my fears slowly disappeared as the night went on and that feeling of being on edge gradually turned into thrilling adrenaline and excitement. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was exciting and joyful all the same.

I got dressed in my casual clothes and went downstairs to eat some breakfast. I walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboards to take out a cup of instant ramen. I opened it and poured hot water into the cup and set it down on the dining table. I sat down to wait for the noodles to cook. All the while, my mind was still caught up in yesterday’s memories and my awareness of the current world around me became distorted; I was still in “La-La Land”. I’m embarrassed to say that such a normie thing came over me, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

With that being said, I was so out of it that I didn’t hear at all the following words that was alleged to have been spoken to me while I was in my stupor: “Good morning, Yoshi-kun!”

I absentmindedly took a pair of chopsticks and began stirring my noodles before slurping down the first bite. There was nothing else in the world right now that could tear me away from this dream. Absolutely nothing!

I ate my breakfast in peace and silence. In fact, it was so peaceful that the food just literally enters my mouth without me having to move my own hands!… Wait—what was that? I glanced at my right hand and saw that I was still holding a pair of chopsticks. But if the chopsticks are in my hand, and I’m not moving them at all right now…, then how is the food entering my mouth? I felt warmness near my lips again and the scent of the noodles entered my nostrils. I quickly looked over to my right and fell off my chair in surprise.

“Good morning, Yoshi-kun,” said my new visitor.

“W-W-What are you doing here?!” I stammered back. Standing right in front me with a cheerful grin on her face was a girl whom I thought I would never see again for the rest of my life. Her name was Nitta Ai. And she’s…in love with me.

“I just came over to say hi,” she answered back innocently. “You’re mom let me in when she left for work this morning.”

“Alright, you said hi, now leave,” I told her fiercely.

“You’re not excited about my return?” she asked glumly. “And to think that I returned back for you.”

“Returned back? What do you mean by that?” I asked with fearful eyes.

“I’m back for good!” she told me with a huge grin. She quickly snaked her way close to me and grabbed my right arm. “Now, we can be together again like old times!”

I pushed her off and quickly shouted, “Go home!” Now, I know what you must be thinking: I’m being a big ass for bullying a girl. But this is not me bullying in the slightest! And I also have a reason! I promise! Just let me say my peace.

I first met Nitta Ai back in middle school around the same time I met Ikki. Ai was fairly popular among the crowd and had a lot of girlfriends. But her aggressive nature and, dare I say, crude behavior often pitted her against the boys. But even though she fought with boys and looked down on males in general, she was still a popular object of affection (albeit secretively) by most of them.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t that different to how I am now. I was the kid who went about his day alone, the guy whom everyone avoids because of the "dark aura" around me, the notorious “Yakuza Boss” boy that people shouldn’t mess with. I didn’t care about the normies then, and I don’t care about them now.

Anyway, let me get on with my story. One school day, when school was over and everyone were getting ready to leave, Ai had gotten into an argument with one of the boys in my class. Of course, being the stupid kids they were, the boy tried to assert his dominance by pushing Ai back. She took it without so much as a cry and responded back with a push of her own. The boy, who by now was really pissed with getting pushed around (literally) by a girl, lunged forward and swiped at her skirt. This caused Ai to clutch her skirt with both hands to prevent, well, you-know-what. Satisfied that he had “won” by humiliating her, the boy and his friends quickly left the room with huge smiles and snickering to themselves. Once it was all over, everyone promptly exited the room.

I was at the very back of the line, which was normal for me. When it was my turn to exit the room, I noticed a little trinket near the doorway and picked it up. Suddenly, the sound of thundering footsteps caught my ears and I was surprised to see Nitta Ai skidding to a stop right in front of me. She saw the trinket in my hand and had accused me of stealing it. Being accused of thievery peeved me and I harshly told her about how it ended in my hands, while also reprimanding her about accusing me of such a heinous act. I then forcefully presented it to her and she took it. It seemed like my words and action really shook her because she became really quiet and took the trinket without a single peep. This was only the beginning.

The next day, she came to my desk and apologized. I didn’t really care much for an apology. But this one act suddenly drew the attention of the same boy as before and he began to make some really mean comments about her and me. Ai, as I have said before, was crude and fierce, so she was immediately ready to give that boy a piece of her mind. But the boy’s words also made me the center of attention and I could feel their eyes on me. I don’t like being the center of attention at all—it was hell for me! Normally, I would avoid eye contact and do everything I can to remain silent and still, hoping that my uninteresting character would divert their attention away. But this time, it was different. The boy’s words got on my nerves and made me grit my teeth. Instead of feeling scared and shy on the inside, I felt furious. And the emotion had really gotten a strong hold on me. I suddenly stood up from my seat and walked over to the boy’s desk. I had never done anything like this before in my entire life!

Once I got to the boy, he slowly turned his head to me with sweat forming on his brows. I looked at him directly in the eye and he immediately flinched with a yelp. “Apologize now,” I told him in a furious whispery voice. The boy quickly nodded and apologized to me and Ai for his actions and words. If there was one good thing that I had to say about my eyes, it would be that they are really useful in situations like these where I don’t have to worry about getting into a physical confrontation with other people. Just one look, and people shy away from me without any trouble at all.

After this incident, Ai would constantly hang around with me. At this point, I was the only guy that she would treat as a friend. She tolerated Ikki simply because he was my best friend, but it was only me that she really opened to. At first, I didn’t really care much about her at all. I mean, we talked and walked home together, but I didn’t really have anything in common with her that really cemented our friendship. It wasn’t until I found out that she also liked rock music that our friendship really took a huge jump. This happened when Ikki and I were attending a concert together and we saw Ai amongst the crowd with some friends.

And then, second-year of middle school arrived. I had hung out with Ikki and Ai over the break and we did some cool stuff together as friends. But it wasn’t until the first day of school that I noticed something different about Ai. She would walk really close to me while walking in the hallways, scare away any nearby girls with a glare, and provide me with things like pencils and erasers as if she was my personal helper or something. I knew that something was up with her. My suspicions were confirmed when, during school dismissal time, she boldly declared her love to me for the entire school to hear. I was dumbfounded. But more than that, I was terrified of being made the center of attention of this premeditated spectacle! That night, I gave her my answer through email. But despite my rejection, she continued to shower her love onto me. It got crazier and crazier until one day during our third-year of middle school, she had to move away with her parents. I was relieved when that day came. Since then, I didn’t talk to Ai anymore and our relationship became stale. Until now.

I looked at her and could tell that she had changed a bit while she was away. Before, she had long honey-brown hair in braided ponytails and her skin was lighter. She was also shorter and hadn’t yet had a developed figure. But now, her hair was a little darker and she wore it in a long ponytail. Her skin was tanned and her body was more mature. To be honest, this new look of hers really meshed well with her honey-amber eyes than her previous one. She looked cooler and more grown-up.

“I came by to say hello after a long time and the first you say to me is to go home?” she asked me disappointedly.

I let out a sigh and sat back down in my seat. I looked up at her and said, “You’ve changed.”

“Do you like it?” she asked me, twirling around like a little girl. “Okayama doesn’t really have much to do unlike Shinjuku, but the weather over there is really nice. No wonder they call it the ‘Land of Sunshine’!”

“You can say that again,” I muttered in a low voice, referring to her tanned skin.

“Anyway, Yoshi-kun, aren’t you happy to see me?” she asked me cheerfully.

“I don’t know how to respond to that,” I told her honestly.

“Geez,” she groaned with a pout, “just admit that you’re happy to see me already.”

“If that’s what you already think, then why ask the question in the first place?” I groaned back in reply. “Now, can you please go—?” I started to say.

“Yoshi-kun, can you tell me about your latest video?” she asked me in a sinister voice.

I immediately froze and snapped my mouth shut. I may not have told you all of this already, but I’ve been posting videos for a long time now. In fact, it all started since my early middle-school days. I have kept this a secret from everyone ever since that first day. The only people who knew about it were my parents and a few close family members. There was also two other people who weren’t part of my family that knew of this secret. You already know that Ikki is one of them, since I had asked him to perform drums for my videos before. But the other person, whom I didn’t really want to know but they found out anyway from spending a lot time very close to me, was Nitta Ai.

“You know, if you wanted a female singer for your video, you could’ve asked me,” she said in a scary voice. I gulped. “I could do way better than that girl you hired. I would’ve done it for you in a heartbeat!”

“A-Ai, l-l-listen,” I tried to say.

“Who was she?” she asked me with a scowl.

“Sh-Sh-Sh-Sh-Sh…,” I stammered uncontrollably. I could see Ai getting a crazy look in her eyes. It was the same look she would wear whenever she saw girls getting close to me for whatever reason. And it terrified me. But I couldn’t let her get away with insulting Haruto Saiki. This was something that I couldn’t let her do and get away with. Saiki was the perfect girl for the job and I would pick her over Ai any day of the week! With determination now coursing through my bones, I gulped and said with confidence, “She’s just a friend I know from school!”

“A friend?!” yelled Ai furiously. I don’t want to have to lie to make myself look tough, so I’ll just tell you now that her reaction elicited an embarrassing squeal out of me. So much for the one they all call ‘Yakuza Boss’, right?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and I quickly scrambled to answer it. I opened the door and had hoped that it was my parents. I would’ve even been glad if it was Ikki! But all of that was just wishful thinking once I revealed who it was.

“Hey, Aiomi!” greeted Haruto Saiki. At that moment, I became frozen like petrified wood. I truly believed that if I moved a muscle right then and there, I would get struck by lightning. That was how terrified I was about how this situation just got from terrible, to ‘just freaking kill me now!’ Saiki was confused by my reaction, a fact I could draw by the way she tilted her head.

Suddenly, Ai called out from the living room, “Who’s there?”

“Who’s that?” Saiki asked me.

“Uh-Uh-Uh-Uh-Uh…,” I stuttered like a broken record.

Ai appeared right next to me and, upon seeing Saiki, shouted out, “Who are you and what are you doing to my Yoshi-kun?”

“Huh?” came Saiki in confusion. “Who is this?” she asked me.

“S-She’s—,” I attempted unsuccessfully.

“Isn’t it obvious?” said Ai smugly. She wrapped her arm around mines and leaned in close to me. “Yoshi-kun is my sweetheart.”

What I saw next made my heart sank. Saiki’s expression transformed from one of cheerfulness and amity to one filled with dejection and melancholy. Her eyes became just like how they were back then whenever negative feelings consumed her. “I-I see,” she said with a small nod. It happened very quickly and I wasn’t sure that I really saw it, but I think I saw a tear drip down from the corner of her eye. She sniffled and shook her head. “I-I’ll see you at school then,” she said with a small smile. And then she left.

Saiki hadn’t even turned the corner yet when something inside of me suddenly possessed my body. I shrugged Ai off of me and immediately ran down the street to meet up with Haruto Saiki. “Wait!” I yelled to her. Saiki stopped and turned around.

Now, I’m no runner. I told you before that athletics were never my strong suit. As I approached her, I was breathing heavily and my legs were beginning to cramp. My lungs felt like they were on fire! But I didn’t care. I stopped right in front of her and had my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

“Yiomi?” she said.

“Listen,” I said once I finally settled down. “What she had said, about me being her sweetheart or whatever, that was all a lie. She’s not my sweetheart at all!” I wasn’t at all aware at first about what I was saying. I had just wanted to see the miserable expression disappear from her face and return back the happiness in her eyes. I think that at that moment, I was just saying whatever was on my mind that I thought would make her happy.

“So…she’s not your sweetheart?” Saiki asked me.

“No,” I told her with a shake of my head. I gave it a second before unconsciously adding, “I mean, she did confess to me back in middle school. But I rejected her confession.” I said that last part with confidence.

“I see,” she murmured to herself. And then her expression changed back to her usual happy self and she happily turned back around. “Thanks,” she said. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow!” And then she happily skipped down the road.

When the next day came, I opened my door to a really bad surprise. It started as a typical morning: I woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and then prepared myself for a normal school day. But when I opened the door to get the school day started, I was faced with a scare that almost gave me a heart attack that I didn’t need first thing in the morning!

Standing there dressed in my school’s uniform and with her bag swung over her shoulder was Nitta Ai. Why? Why was she dressed in my school’s uniform? What is she trying to pull? This couldn’t mean what I think it means, could it?!

“Good morning!” she greeted me cheerfully.

“This is a joke, right?” I asked aloud. “If it is, it’s not a good one.”

“No, silly,” she said with a giggle, “I forgot to tell you yesterday, but I transferred to your school when I came back. It’s the only school close to the neighborhood.”

I didn’t say a single word and simply dashed out of the door. This caught Ai by surprise and she tried to keep up with me. Luckily, by this time, the sea of students was already forming and so I did my best to hide among them. Surprisingly—it worked!

If there was one positive thing that has happened to me this entire day, it was finding out that Ai wasn’t in my class at all. She was actually in the one next door. I would rather have her next door than in the same room as me. At least my normal, quiet classroom life can still remain the same.

Lunchtime had arrived and I ate lunch with the gang (Saiki, Fumi, and Ikki). By his time, I had forgotten about Ai and was simply enjoying my time with my friends…which didn’t last longer than six minutes. Ai had rushed from her classroom into mines and loudly called out her nickname for me. At first, the entire class were confused by the name (figures that no one would know my first name). But once they saw that she meant me, everyone’s attention turned to me. I averted my eyes with my hands and silently prayed for the stares to go away.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her once the situation got settled.

“Why else?” she said with a grin.

“Um, would you mind introducing us to your friend?” asked Saiki.

I looked up at her and saw a very anxious expression plastered on her face. “Oh, um, sure,” I said. “This is Nitta Ai, a friend of mine from middle school. She moved to another city after graduating from middle school.”

“But I’m back now!” Ai happily announced.

“Long time no see,” said Ikki. Ai simply replied to his statement with a snort.

“Anyway,” I said, turning her attention to Saiki and Fumi, “Ai, meet Haruto Saiki and Koba Fumi.”

“Nice to meet you, Nitta-san,” greeted Saiki kindly.

Ai took one look at Saiki and quickly said, “You’re the girl from yesterday!” She then grabbed my arm and asked suspiciously, “What are you thinking about doing to my Yoshi-kun?”

“W-W-What?!” stuttered Saiki, her cheeks turning red. “W-What makes you say that?”

“You seem to be rather familiar with him,” accused Ai with squinted eyes.

“How rude!” objected Fumi, coming to Saiki’s aide. She turned to Saiki and said, “Come on, Haru, let’s leave this crazy gal alone. It’s disgusting how she’s insinuating that you like Shiomi, the class loner.” I saw Saiki blush hard in response to Fumi’s words. Fumi noticed this too and her own face became red. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Don’t think that it’s easy taking Yoshi-kun away from me!” declared Ai. Her shameless display of affection drew everyone’s attention once again and I was about ready to have a mental breakdown. Ai chuckled to herself and pointed a finger at Saiki. “If you think that you can win Yoshi-kun’s heart, then show me your determination! Haruto Saiki, I declare you my rival for Yoshi-kun’s affections!”

To be honest, I didn’t really pay attention to what was being said. As I watched the general conversation take place, I can feel the atmosphere becoming more uneasy. It was a foreboding feeling that sent chills down my spine. And when I saw the confident smiles that Ai and Saiki exchanged, I prepared myself for the worst to come. I mean, it’s never a good sign when two girls that you know meets for the first time and become enemies for whatever reason, right?