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"Stay behind me," the girl said confidently, her tousled red hair fluttering in the wind. Her confident smile and bloodied fists inspired a strange trust in the boy sitting on the grass, hugging her long legs and watching as this fragile-looking girl with strong fists knocked out one guy after another, simply because they bothered him.
He knew her. Shinju Hoshiaki, a grade below him at the same middle school. He often saw her in the hallways, at various events, and just on the street, because he liked her. He remembered her from kindergarten, where they went together, and she was also constantly throwing herself at everyone to fight. She probably didn't even remember him, after all these years.
- You... Shinju, - the boy said, taking a deep breath, finally rising from the grass to his full height and overcoming his fear to approach her. Meanwhile, Shinju was searching through their pockets and bags, taking money and declaring that they no longer needed it. The boys muttered something, clearly displeased with the girl's beating on them, and with the fact that she was now collecting money, earning them a couple more blows.
A couple of minutes later, having stuffed the bills into her school bag and finally turning her attention to the tall boy, she raised her head, her green eyes staring at his makeup-covered face. Shinju stared for a long moment, then sighed and turned away, preparing to leave.
The boy named Junichi Inukurai clutched his dirty school bag tighter, the one the boys had tugged at, intending to bully him.
- Shinju, thank you! - he said louder and bowed, his back straight, his arms folded at his sides. Hoshiaki looked at him skeptically, then chuckled and smiled.
- Be careful, Jun.
After these words, she left, muttering under her breath. Junichi stood there for a long time, simply watching her, until she disappeared around the corner. Even the bullies had already left, not wanting to mess with him again.
She no longer paid attention to him, but he continued to spot red hair in the crowd and take photos from around the corner, afraid to approach. This went on for a while, until he felt pathetic for smoking at night with a printed photo of her in a nice frame instead of her.
But everything was about to change tomorrow. He would finally pluck up the courage and approach her, hand her the envelope, and...
Run away. He had failed again. Well, at least he had slipped the envelope into her locker.
The envelope said to meet at the back of the schoolyard after school. He knew the schedule by heart, opting to skip his last class. Junichi sat in the shade, leaning against the wall and fiddling with the sleeves of his cardigan, which he wore every day, self-consciously. For the same reason, half his face was hidden by the unruly bangs he straightened every morning.
He had to wait the entire class. During that time, he considered leaving several times, but at the very last moment, as he was turning the corner, a head hit him in the chest. He looked down and saw familiar tousled red hair that looked as if it had never seen a comb.
- Tsk, watch where you're going, - she grumbled, her face scowling as always. Her teeth were bared, as if someone had already managed to upset her.
- Sorry... - the guy replied hesitantly, lowering his head and preparing to leave, but felt a firm grip on his sleeve. He turned, raising his pink eyes to the woman's palm, and then to her.
- You called me, why are you running away?
Really, why? He'd been trying so hard to at least talk to her, and now he's going to run away? He had to be a man.
There they stood, facing each other. She with her hands stuffed into the pockets of her long, floor-length skirt, and he in a baggy cardigan that always concealed his thin frame.
Speech was impossible. Even when he was writing a letter asking her to come to the courtyard, his hands were shaking like a seasoned addict's.
- Hey, how long are you going to keep quiet?
- Uh... I just... I wanted to say thank you again for last time, - the guy replied after a brief pause, choosing his words carefully to avoid angering her, the lump in his throat refusing to go away. He fiddled with his fingers to calm the trembling, though it was difficult. He was never alone with her.
- Is that all? - Hoshiaki yawned, revealing sharp teeth that could probably chew through steel. Inukurai had watched her often, so he'd learned all her habits. Now she was just tired and would probably stop by that store around the corner to get her favorite chocolate-flavored milk.
- Yes... - he lied. Actually, Junichi wanted to ask her out, but he'd done too much today. She'd come here and listen to his stupid words anyway; that would be enough to make him happy.
He didn't write to her anymore or say anything.
For some reason, bullies avoided him, although in the past, someone would definitely say something about his makeup or jewelry. He didn't like to stand out, which kept him quiet, but he liked the way he dressed, even though he was often bullied for it.
It was March. Soon it would be March 14th, called White Day in Japan. Boys are supposed to give girls white chocolate, marshmallows, or something like that. In February, he received three gifts from classmates and a girl from another class.
But not from her.
As expected, when March 14th arrived, she bought four gifts. Two for her friends, one for that girl, explaining to her that she wasn't interesting, and the last one for... her.
Yes, she didn't give him chocolate. He hadn't seen her give it to anyone, so maybe she didn't like anyone at all?
After finishing all his chores, he picked up a small heart-shaped box and walked down the hallway to stop by the room where she had just finished her lesson to catch her, but the room was already empty.
- You're going to see Hoshiaki-chan, right? - a thin female voice asked. Junichi nodded, and her classmate relayed that the girl had left before the last period, making him late.
Junichi thanked the girl and wandered home. He was such an idiot to think she'd even listen to him and accept his feelings. Nonsense. Pathetic.
As he left school, he noticed her sitting with her classmates on a bench near the school stadium. They seemed engrossed in something, as he could hear laughter from 20 meters away.
He decided to pass by, not wanting to attract attention. Despite his tall stature, he always managed to remain inconspicuous, preferring to remain silent most of the time and sit in a corner, drawing in a notebook or listening to music.
He didn't know why he liked her. She was always so much—aggressive, self-assured, and plenty of other qualities that made one dislike her, even hate her—but somehow none of them made him do so.
Although others spoke ill of her, she was smart, brave, and so beautiful when she laughed at guys twice her size and was ready to fight. He always wanted to help her with the bruises she later hid under bandages and plasters, but that was just a dream.
On the way home, Junichi kicked a small stone that fell onto the roadway and stopped, hearing a rustling sound. He turned his head to see a cat jumping off a trash can, holding something in its mouth, and running deeper into a dead end. Out of curiosity, the boy followed her and saw a cute scene of a cat laying this piece of garbage down for her kittens, who meowed loudly as they ran toward their mother. Next to the box where they most likely lived were small bowls of water. He stood there for a few seconds, watching them, and then looked around and saw the store.
A couple of minutes later, he was pouring food into a bowl, surrounded by screaming kittens, their tiny paws clinging to his school pants. Even the cat, who had initially been aggressive toward him and hissed when he approached their small house, was already eating with her children, not recognizing the boy as a threat.
This involuntarily brought a smile to Inukurai's face. It was good when a mother cared so much for her children. His family wasn't so close-knit, so he constantly hid from the screams in music, which helped keep him from going crazy in such a toxic home environment.
Footsteps were heard behind him, and the rustling stopped abruptly. He glanced around and was speechless. Normally, he would have simply ignored it and turned away, but now Shinju was looking at him.
Her green eyes, with their predatory pupils, fixed on him, then on the cats behind her.
- Do you feed them too? - the girl asked calmly, and Junichi wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question or if he should respond. They were alone again. He was bigger than her, but for some reason he always wanted to shrink and disappear into the shadows, so she wouldn't see him and forget him completely. Well, no, not forgotten. Let her remember him, at least a little.
- No, I just... ran into them by chance.
Shinju didn't answer, but reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. The girl stepped around Junichi, who immediately leaned against the brick wall to let Shinju pass. She crouched down and poured water into a saucer, quietly watching the kittens jostle each other. Laughing, she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of them. A camera clicked nearby, and Hoshiaki turned her head to see Inukurai also pulling out his phone. The boy blushed slightly, immediately putting his phone away, and tried to justify himself by claiming that only animals were in the picture, but this didn't convince the girl, whose face grew tense again, her small eyebrows furrowed.
She stood up to her full height, a full 158 cm, but even so, she exuded an aura that made many people try to keep their distance. Junichi was prepared for her to hit him, as she had done to everyone else who had somehow managed to cross her path, but she walked right up to him and...
- If you like me, tell me straight out, and don't run away from me like a coward.