Rejection

It’s so cold.

Such were Haru’s thoughts as he breathed out a cloud of smoke. He tightened the scarf around his neck that had been wrapped loosely around him by his little sister. That act alone had been enough to keep him walking through the gentle falling snow.

The hustle and bustle of the nearby building interweaved loudly against the sound of jubilant music. People leisurely walked as vibrant lights flickered, lighting their paths as they chatted in bliss, not even noticing the moonless sky above them.

Why did they have to sell the cake on Christmas Eve?

Yes, Christmas Eve. The day before Christmas. What was he thinking? He barely went out on a normal day and here he was on a day when people would most likely be out. Not only that but it was freezing. Even bears hardly go out in the winter.

But there was a special reason for doing such an arduous undertaking. Yes, that special reason was none other than her beloved little sister wanting the ultra-deluxe once in a year cake that they were selling at the nearby cake store. She had heard it from the local news and as a fan of cakes, she just had to have one. And when she asked her big brother, there was no way he could ever say no to his sister’s puppy eyes.

He sighed in relief as he saw the cake store from a distance. Anything for a respite in this cold weather. As he entered, the automatic doors opened, and the air curtain blasted at him as if removing all the cold from his body. 

“This cake is really famous, huh?” 

Even though the shop had many staffs, there was still a long line of customers. But luckily, he didn't have to wait that long as the staffs were fast and efficient. There were a lot to choose from, but he’d already know what he wanted. While it was indeed an ultra-deluxe something, something whatever that means, it wasn’t limited and there were a lot of cakes prepared beforehand.

“Can I have one of this, please?”

“Here you go.”

His ordering went off without a hitch. He was anti-social but that didn’t mean he couldn’t talk to people properly. Well, at least to store clerks...

Mission accomplished. Well, time to go home.

The walk from the store to his house was at least a thirty-minute walk. He could have taken the bus, but the cake was more expensive than he thought. This was his first time buying it, so he came unprepared.

As his luck started to get even worse, the crowd started to grow even more. Families left and right, couples smiling here and there, friends walking side by side. He heard there was a firework show happening later. If he was going to survive the onslaught of people, he had to take a detour in the park. While it would at least add ten more minutes of walking, he'd rather take that than this hellish path.

Compared to the scene he was in earlier, the park was almost devoid of any humans. The remaining trees with leaves swayed ever so slightly as if rejoicing that the park was so serene. Well, the feeling was mutual.

“Meow.”

“Woah! You scared me.”

Haru flinched as a cat appeared and brushed its head against his shoes. For a second there, he thought he was in danger.

“Hmm? A white cat...? Wait, no, that’s a black cat.”

A black cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Although the cat was black, no one would blame it for mistaking it to be white. The cat was almost entirely covered in snow. It must have been freezing in this temperature.

“What are you doing here?” Haru asked the cat.

He decided to pick the cat up. He might not be fond of people, but animals were different. Just from the touch alone, he could feel the coldness. Now that he had known, he wasn’t going to leave a freezing cat out here. The guilt would not make him sleep. And in the most important things in his life, sleeping came in third. First was his little sister.

Before he could pick the cat up, it ran away back to the shelter of the bushes. Again, he wasn’t going to leave a cat out in the snow, so he chased it.

“Meow.” the cat purred lightly.

After chasing it for a while, he managed to successfully trap the cat by the tree. This one was nimble, and it even made him slightly sweat in the cold weather. He crouched down and slowly reached for the cat. Surprisingly, it didn’t move. He patted it and removed a bit of the snow on it. The cat’s eyes, a striking heterochromia—blue and brown, added a mysterious charm to the black cat. He picked it up and the cat let out a relaxed purr.

“Meow.”

“’Now you’re worthy to hold me’ is what it feels like you’re telling me.” he chuckled.

“Meow.”

“Well, time to go home. Mom doesn’t like animals in the house but outside should be fine. It’s not like I’m going to keep you.”

“Meow.” the cat hissed lightly.

“What, you don’t like outside? We have a little house just —”

“I’m in love with you!”

As he started to walk away, in the distance, the passionate shout of someone, most likely a girl, brought him back to his senses. He was so focused on catching the cat that he hadn’t really considered the place he ended up in.

As he turned around, he could see a boy and a girl under the streetlight, beside a fountain. 

Boom! At the same time of the confession, a bright light consumed the dark sky. It started as a single streak of light and then blossomed into beautiful fireworks, exploding into various shapes and sizes. The firework show was already taking place. 

“You know, it didn’t start out like this. Even with the teasing of my dad and your parents, all I could see in you was a friend. I mean, who would fall in love with a kid who can’t even wear their pants the right way.” She laughed as she reminiscence a scene in her mind. 

Hey, hey, wait a minute. Am I witnessing a confession? And it’s the girl confessing to boot! What a lucky guy. I do hope he gets home safe and not suddenly be hit by a truck. Yes, I hope he gets home safe.

Taking a closer look, the girl looked familiar. Her long blue hair fluttered against the strong wind with her face reddened as a cloud of white air blew out of her mouth as she confessed her love. Her sharp eyes were like knives to whoever unfortunate it landed upon. There was only one girl he knew who exuded such unapproachable beauty.

Fuyuki Ayako. A classmate of his.

The lucky boy getting confessed also looked familiar. A face a lot of women, even their seniors, would find themselves drowning in. The way he carried himself as if he was cosplaying Superman.

Sora Takata. Another classmate of his.

So, it’s finally happening, huh?

“But it all changed when you helped me, no, when you saved me during middle school. Even though everyone was against me, you were there for me. When I can only give pain to those around me, you didn’t care and stayed by my side. If it weren’t for you, I might have changed for the worse. You were my hero. And I knew, albeit I didn’t understand them at first, I started to develop feelings for you.”

Fuyuki Ayako was one of the most beautiful girls in the school. If this was a romcom Light Novel or Manga, she would have easily been the heroine of the story. Simultaneously, she was also infamous for rejecting all of those who confessed to her. Being one of the most beautiful girls in the school, she was born with a curse of being confessed to by a lot of guys. And she turned down every single one of them with, as the rumor said, words so cold their love turned to hate. 

Oh, how the tables have turned.

“Thank you, Fuyuki…” Takata let out a gentle smile. He placed his hand on her head and patted it. “But I can’t reciprocate your feelings...While I do see you as someone very, very precious to me, it is not equivalent to that feeling of yours.”

Well, that’s to be expected. Although he expected her to be rejected, seeing it happened in front of him still left him surprised. That was her role, she was supposed to be the rejecter.

“No...?”

He nodded. “I’m truly sorry...but I hope we can still be friends.” Takata said. There was no hesitation in his voice. Every word that came out was the pure, unfiltered truth. The words “I hope we can still be friends,” looked like it was the final nail in the coffin.

Haru noticed the moment Ayako inhaled sharply, her eyes glimmering slightly as she bit her lip to keep herself from crying. “Then…then is there someone you like right now…?” Fuyuki’s voice cracked. Anymore and the dam would soon collapse.

Takata nodded. “I think you might have an idea who she is…”

Just like the people she rejected, all she could do was nod and accept that she wasn’t going to be the main heroine of their story. This was probably the thing that he wouldn’t forget. It was like saying he would get a girlfriend tomorrow. It was just downright impossible, well it should have been, but seeing the impossible right in front of him was very surreal.

“Let’s get back to the others, Fuyuki.” Takata beckoned. Although he sounded calm, his face betrayed his emotion. The solemn look he had clearly shown rejecting her had taken a toll on him. But the girl in front of him wouldn’t know as her head hung low.

“…Go ahead without me.”

“You know, I can’t leave you here all alone.”

“It’s fine...I can take care of myself.”

With nothing more to say, the boy turned around and left. It would probably have been awkward if he just stayed there.

And Ayako probably wouldn’t be able to do that.

Just like the snow unstoppably fell to the ground, so were her tears. The usually beautiful face turned into a rumbling mess of snot and tears as she vainly tried to wipe her tears away. The cold breeze carried her silent cries to nowhere and no matter how she tried, her usually icy gaze melted into an unstoppable flow of water. The fireworks show continued to bloom in the background as if mockingly congratulating her for being rejected.

He sighed. He had no idea how it felt to be rejected as he’d never confessed to someone before. But considering how she cried so much, she probably deeply loved him. It was the same with Light Novels and Manga. The losing heroine often cried when she got rejected.

Man, if you have more than one heroine, at least make a route for all the rejected heroines! Haru cursed a non-existent author in his mind as if their whole life was written by someone.

But this was an inevitable outcome. It wouldn’t be weird to say that Takata practiced that scene. Haru didn’t care about the affairs of what happened in the classroom but even he could see what was happening. She was bound to be rejected. And it wasn’t a matter of if but when, and Haru had just seen the unfortunate result of that.

Well, this is troublesome. What kind of guy just leaves a girl alone in the middle of the night?

“Well, time to go.” Haru picked up the cat and tried to put it on his mostly empty bag.

“Meow.” The cat growled. The cat was also another witness to that impossible scene.

“Hey, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Meow.”

“There is no one around here. She’ll be safe.” He’d only seen a few people wandering around.

“Meow! Meow! Meow!” The cat started to hiss as he started to pick it up.

He shut the cat’s mouth quickly. He sighed in relief as it didn’t bite him. If Ayako found out he was eavesdropping to her confession…there was no way he would continue having a peaceful life in school.

“Alright, alright. I’ll watch over her until she leaves. After that we’re out of here.” It had been around ten minutes since he entered the park, and apart from the two, he hadn’t seen a single soul wandering. Pretty sure everyone was enjoying the firework show.

“Meooow.” The cat sat as it watched over her crying. For some reason the cat wanted to stay here and watch over her.

Or maybe that’s what I want? Looking at Ayako, the rejected confession did a lot of damage to her, and she might do something unnecessary. Just like what would happen if he didn’t find any shelter for this cat, he wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly if something were to happen to her.

Half an hour had passed, and she continued to sit on the bench near the lamppost. She stopped crying about ten minutes ago and she stayed still for so long, her body had become covered in snow. One wouldn’t be surprised if someone mistook her for a snowman.

Is she trying to kill herself? Meanwhile, Haru’s body also started to shiver from the unforgiving weather.

“Hey, want to hang out with us?”

Suddenly, two drunk people appeared. The park was too dark, making them look like they appeared out of thin air.

One of them even put their arm on Ayako’s shoulder. No matter how you looked at it, two drunk men getting closer to a vulnerable girl was not a good look.

What should I do?

He could go right now and turn a blind eye. He wasn’t even supposed to be here, anyway. His business was supposed to be buy the cake, go home and watch his beloved sister eat the cake with a huge smile on her face. It shouldn’t be watch over the rejected girl and protect her from those people. That was her crush’s job!

But in reality, I just can’t really leave her, can I?

“Ah, screw it.” He looked towards the cat. “Hey, you want to help me?”

“Meow.” 

~~~~

“Hey, you’re pretty cute. How about it? We’ll pay you good.”

“Come on, it’s just one night.”

The two fat men surrounded Ayako like animals cornering their prey. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their eyes had already lusted on her body.

The two men appeared with the collar of their long sleeves already unbuttoned and their body wobbled like it was in a middle of an earthquake. They looked like the typical salesman who got drank after their work.

“N-No, I need to go home…Please let go of me…” One of the men held her wrist strongly as to not prevent her from escaping.

Haru was a bit surprised. Usually, Ayako was harsh to men, especially men who confessed to her. Rumor had it she even punched a guy once. Maybe the shock of being rejected was still messing her head.

Seeing the scene quickly turning into something dangerous, Haru hurriedly stepped out of the branches and made his way beside Ayako. He didn’t really care anymore if she’d find out he was eavesdropping. His consciousness to be able to sleep properly came first.

“Hey, let go of her!” he shouted loudly as he created a partition with his arms between the two men and Ayako.

“Huh? Who are you?” All their gazes were directed at Haru. Ayako looked the most shocked.

“I’m her classmate! But that doesn’t matter. What do you think you’re doing here? Didn’t she tell you to let go of her!?” His voice rang so loud as he wanted to get attention from the people nearby. But alas, the park devoid of humans that he enjoyed so much earlier turned against him.

One of the drunk men seemed as scared as their prey was when Haru showed up. The other man didn’t chicken out, though. “Oh, you’re her classmate? Why don’t you take off a round on her, too? I'm sure you’ve fantasized a beauty like her.”

“I’m not as scum as you guys are. Now, go scram before I report you to the police!”

He grabbed Haru’s innocent collar, raised his fist and said, “The police won’t know anything if I knocked you out first.”

“Well, try that and this cat just might scratch you.” The cat was on the palm of his hands. With a menacing stare, the cat hissed at them aggressively. “Just so you know, this cat is a stray.”

“Do you think I’m scared of a measly cat?” The man let out a condescending chuckle.

The cat, as if understanding human emotions, jumped at the man’s face. His condescending grin quickly turned into shriek as the cat bore its claws on the man’s soft flesh. It got a good two scratches before the man was able to throw the cat off his face.

As the cat distracted them, Haru grabbed Ayako’s hand and then ran as quickly as they could with the cat trailing behind them. While he wasn’t confident he could take on two grown men on a fight, there was no doubt in his mind he could outran them.

Maybe she was scared or maybe it was from the cold, but her hands were trembling. He continued to hold her hand as they got out of the park. She held his hand so tightly and even when he tried to let go, she just held it more. This girl looked stronger than she looked. That, or maybe Haru could use some exercising.

They ran a bit until they saw a group of people. He sighed in relief as the problem seemed to be over. “A-Are you okay, Ayako? Nevermind, considering what just happened, you should be far from fine.”

Ayako didn’t respond.  Instead, she fiddled with her phone with one hand, looking like she texted someone. As she used her phone, droplets of tears fell down. She had just been rejected, and then she almost got in a dangerous situation. Crying was a natural response at this point.

“Let’s wait for my friends there...”

They went inside a 7-11 store. As they entered, a hot air curtain blasted at them, and it felt good.. They sat at the nearby table as they waited for her friends to come pick her up. As they sat, she still held his hands with her head hung low and her shoulder close to his. He looked at the couple at the nearby table, He was pretty sure they were calling the cops on him. I swear, it might look different, but it was not my fault!

She must have been pretty shaken, huh? Getting rejected was one thing but getting hit by older drunk men? That’s literally the most common fear of women. She may be in shock right now. Best to just hold her hand.

As he looked around, he started to become hungry because of the steaming meat buns that clearly looked like delicious bait. Normally, it was really easy to resist the bait, but the ordeal earlier had taken a lot on him, even more for the girl besides him.

“Hey, do you have any money with you?” All he saw was her phone in her hand. She didn't even have a bag with her.

“I left my bag with my friends…I can’t go home without it...” she said, weakly.

So that’s why she couldn’t go home right now.

Apparently, they got separated in their group because of the big crowd. They were on their way to a landmark to meet up with them when that confession happened.

“We’ll I’ll just buy some food there, if you would please let go of my hand…” he said gently. “I’ll be back, I promise.” Slowly but surely, she let go of his hand.

Damn, she really held that tight.

He brought out his wallet and checked his money. That’s all? Well, that was to be expected. Haru spared no money when it came to her little sister’s happiness. After all, making her happy was his life’s purpose.

That being said, he did have enough for one person. He wasn’t particularly hungry, and he couldn’t really just eat food in front of her after what happened. It would be the most insensitive thing he’d do if he did that.

“Here, it’s not much but it’ll warm you up.” he put down the steamed meat buns and a hot drink on the table.

“Isn’t that yours...?”

“I’ll give it to you. You must be freezing right now, waiting on that bench for almost an hour. And considering what happened to you.”

“Wait a minute…” She glared at him with furrowed brows. “You were listening?”

“Yeah, I didn’t mean to.” He showed her the cat that was inside his backpack which was somehow soundly sleeping. “I was chasing this cat not focusing on my surrounding when I suddenly heard your confession. So, take this as my apology. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone at school. It’s not like anyone talk to me, anyway.”

She kept staring at him. Even if they weren’t at full power, those eyes of hers were scary. Haru hadn't talk to her before but she had seen countless times how her friendly face turned to cold gaze whenever a boy she wasn't familiar with talked to her. 

“Well, then…” She seemed understandably hesitant to take the food. But, as if protesting, her stomach growled, so she took the food and drinks. She lifted her head and revealed her swollen eyes and wrinkled mouth. If any of the students in their school saw her,  they'd probably wouldn't recognize her. As she took a mouthful on the fluffy steamed buns, her reddened cheeks noticeably glowed as if she was being energized. She brushed away her blue hair as she took another bite, her weary face slowly but surely turning into delight. Her brown eyes fixated on the steamed buns as if she was a lioness hunting a deer but her fragile body would do no good in the weather she was in let alone hunt a deer.

It’s really no wonder how they fall for her.

Her actions looked so pure and feminine that it even brought out a feeling of wanting to protect her. Haru just wanted to crumple her up and keep her beside him forever. It was like looking at an adult version of his little sister. 

Suddenly, the automatic slide door opened, and a bunch of people came in. They scanned the area for a few seconds and came running to their table.

There were two girls and three boys that came in, including the boy Ayako confessed to. The two girls went straight for Ayako, hugging her first then making sure she was okay. The three boys, though, went straight for him.

“What did you do to Fuyuki, huh!?” His poor jacket was grabbed again. It really was the victim in all of this, well, after Ayako.

Since Ayako was famous, so was her circle. The one who grabbed him was Takeshi Iwamoto, a first-year starter in the school’s basketball club, the boy with the glasses was Fumio Adachi, one of the smartest people in their year. More importantly, the reason he knew them by just looking at them was because they were also his classmates.

Haru wasn’t surprised by this reaction, though. The boys saw Ayako just like he saw his little sister. In need of dire protection. If a man, especially a stranger, was a breath’s away from her little sister, Haru would have done the same thing as Iwamoto had done to him, no doubt even worse.

"Hey, if you're gonna fight, take it outside!" One of the staff said. 

Iwamoto balled his hand into a fist and Haru closed his eyes, ready to receive the first punch in his face. But before that could happened, Ayako intervened. “Stop, Takeshi! He’s the one that actually saved me.”

Ayako told them everything except for the confession part, replacing it by saying that she wanted some time alone. Why did she omit it, though? Well, Haru had no idea. But if she kept her mouth shut, Haru decided to keep his, too. Looking at Takata, it seemed he also intended to hide the fact Ayako confessed to him. 

“Well, this wouldn’t have happened if there was someone with Ayako. You people should know it’s not the right thing to leave girls alone in the middle of the night.” He said as he observed Takata with a look of regret on his face. Haru nodded internally, satisfied with what he had seen as payback for making him watch Ayako in the freezing weather.

Ayako stepped forward. “Don’t blame them, Shiraishi. I was the one who decided to be alone.” She then turned around, facing her friends. “It’s not your fault, guys. All’s well that ends well.”

“I’m just saying,” Haru shrugged. “Well then since you’re fine now, I'm gonna go ahead and leave.”

He turned around and started to walk towards the exit.

“Ah, wait, Shiraishi!” He stood still and turned his head around a bit. “Thanks for helping me tonight. I’ll be sure to return the favor someday.” She bowed towards him.

“It’s not like I did it because you were in danger, Ayako. I did it for myself. I wouldn’t be able to sleep had I not help you there.”

“But…”

“You don’t owe me anything. I have already apologized for what I did earlier, and you accepted it. So, it would be nice if we just forget about what happened. Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret.”

“Is that so…?”

He nodded and hurriedly went outside of the store. His house was a bit close here, so it would be just an easy walk. He checked the cat’s condition, and it was somehow still sleeping peacefully.

It’s better this way. Interacting with her is just going to be a painful headache.  

Ayako was a harbinger of chaos. Interacting with her would destroy the second most important thing in his life—the peace and quiet.