Lloyd Snow wrote:
Whatever. I turn to leave. I can’t just leave her here, can I? If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about Rin, it’s that she can take of herself. Oh, God damn it.
Shit, how am I meant to get her inside? This just keeps getting better and better. I should have left her on the roof, and let become a Rinsicle.
Was the -can- meant to be -can't- or just sarcasm? Missing a -her- between let and become.
Great chapter Lloyd!
I'm just a rusty old goat and a poor writer by anyone's standards, so no need to take my advice to heart, and when you do, take a handful of salt with it.
TheGoatman wrote:
Was the -can- meant to be -can't- or just sarcasm? Missing a -her- between let and become.
Great chapter Lloyd!
Neither. I think I failed to convey a pause between his conclusion that Rin is a capable human being, and his decision to help her.
Ah, alright then. Very good story Lloyd, love the OC x Rin, can't say I've seen too many of those -or any- it's nice to see Rin getting some love for once.
I'm just a rusty old goat and a poor writer by anyone's standards, so no need to take my advice to heart, and when you do, take a handful of salt with it.
I can't bring myself to like this chapter. After a fair bit of a delay, I've decided to keep it. Sorry for the wait.
---
Losing sleep is commonplace. For most people, there’s just too much on their minds for them to switch off. However, that’s not the case for me right now.
After the light sprint back from Rin’s room, I realized just how dire my situation was. I’d slept away my Saturday afternoon atop Yamaku. Now, at four in the morning, I’m dealing with the consequences. After a long struggle to fall asleep that ended in failure, I decided to cut my losses and take a walk. With nothing particularly capturing my interests this early, I figured it might be nice to watch the sunrise from the roof of Yamaku.
I open the door with an audible creak, which only barely illuminates the dark stairwell, forcing me to squint slightly. The air comes flooding in, relieving the feeling of confinement. Moving through the doorway, the first thing that I notice is that I’m not alone. Leaning with both arms atop the fence is the form of a male student, wearing the unmistakable green Yamaku uniform. He’s completely still, except for his messy brown hair rustling in the light breeze. The chorus of morning birds in the distance resounds through the silence of the roof. Despite the loud creaking of the door, the boy seems to be completely unaware of my presence. Many questions pass through my head.
Who is this boy? Why is he here on the roof this early in the morning?
My silent pondering is brought to a halt when the boy speaks.
“Good morning.”
His tone is distinctly wistful.
“Morning.” I reply.
“What brings you up here this early in the morning?” He continues to stare off into the horizon. “Can’t say I’ve ever run into anyone here before.”
“With lack of anything better to do, I decided to watch the sun rise.” I pause. “Do you always wake up this early?”
“Never went to sleep. Watabout you?”
“I didn’t sleep either.”
He strips his focus away from the horizon, turning his head slowly to me. He repositions himself so that he is now leaning with his back against the fence and his hands in his pockets. His reason for being at Yamaku becomes abundantly clear now. The sleeves of his jacket are rolled up, exposing his bandaged left arm. The entire left side of his face is heavily discolored, and his left eye is covered by a medical eye patch. The slight, red discoloration also travels down his neck and past his collar. The scarring isn’t severe, nowhere near as severe as the dark haired girl’s from my class, and certainly not severe enough to illicit a negative reaction from me. The only part of the scarring that even comes close to rivaling the girls is a small, rough patch that has forced back his hairline on the left side. I wonder what would cause such strange burns.
I’m not dense enough to ask, however.
“Insomnia is a heartless mistress.” He gives me a slight smile.
His smile feels out of place when compared to the rest of his body language. His exposed light-blue eye is surrounded by dark bags, he’s slouching, the top button of his shirt is undone with his tie loosened, and light stubble has accumulated around his jawline. In my life I’ve only come across one group of people who carried themselves in this way. Men, usually offers workers, in their late-twenties to mid-thirties who had given up on achieving anything important in this life. Hell, if he was smoking a cigarette, the similarities would be uncanny.
He looks over his left shoulder.
“Sun still isn’t up, want to grab an early breakfast? Nothing fancy, just some trash from one of the vending machines.”
“Sure, why not.”
He pushes himself off the fence, walking towards the door hands still in pockets. He pauses for a moment.
“Oh, I’m Kurosawa by the way.”
“Nakata.”
I pass back through the doorway reluctantly, towing behind Kurosawa I’m pulled once again into the dank stairwell. He moves at an agreeably slow pace, still slouching slightly. Now that our proximity is closer, I’ve noticed he’s one of the few Japanese people I’ve met who’s as tall as I am.
After exiting one stairwell and entering another, we descend the stairs to the first floor. We travel through a couple of corridors that I wasn’t aware existed, leading us to a set of vending machines and a pair of doors leading to the rear of the school. Kurosawa makes his purchase before I’m even done taking in the area, leading me to believe that early morning vending machine breakfasts are a common occurrence for him.
I hesitate slightly, wary to buy anything I’m not familiar with what happened last time still clearly burnt into my mind, and throat.
“Don’t worry, none of the stuff will kill ya. Some if it might leave you wishing it had though.”
“That’s certainly a position I can sympathize with.” I say under my breath.
Not feeling particularly adventurous, or like having a visit with the nurse for that matter, I choose a couple of the ‘safer’ options. Food cradled less than gracefully against my chest I turn back to Kurosawa, who at some point it seems took off out the door. I follow behind him with a fair bit of distance between us before he finally decides on a place to stop, a patch of grass next to a tall tree.
At this time of day it is by no means light out. The sun is still yet to rear its beautiful face out over the horizon. I dig into my food, none of it is spectacular, but it’s all edible. Kurosawa’s attention is once again firmly fixed on the horizon. There’s something about the guy, either his casual look or his casual personality, which adds a very comfortable and familiar atmosphere. I search for a ‘safe’ question to get a conversation going.
“How long have you been at Yamaku?” I ask.
He hastens his chewing, and swallows.
‘‘Bout half a year,” he takes a long swig of his drink, “you?”
“A week.”
“Ahhh, a newbie. What’ya think of the place?”
That dense sense of familiarity surrounding us compels me to answer honestly.
“The facilities are nice, still trying to get used to the place.” I take a long drink in an attempt to wash down what I want to say next. “Can’t say I’ll ever get used to the people though.”
It clearly doesn’t work.
“Really? I’ve always felt the people were the most appealing part of this place, ya know?”
“How so?”
“There aren’t many boring people here.” He folds his arms behind his head and lays back. “Everyone’s more valuable.”
He’s not wrong.
“I, never really thought about it that way.”
“It’s a helluvalot better than the students at my older schools.”
I’m not sure which is stranger, his opinion, or the fact that I agree completely with it. To be honest, before Yamaku, the sum of people I called “friend” could be counted on less than a hand. Not because I was particularly outcast or anything, I just found it easier. Everyone seemed too willing to waste their time on the most pointless conversations, and start the most ridiculous dramas. It didn’t take too long before I began to resent a lot of the people around me.
But in the week I’ve been here, I’ve met and befriended more people than I did at my previous school. I think the best way to explain it is exactly how he did. There aren’t many boring people, and they’re all far more valuable. His unique opinions, his strange injuries, they all leave me fairly curious about ‘Kurosawa the enigma’.
Kurosawa heaves a heavy sigh, pushing himself to his feet. Standing, he reaches around his ears and starts removing his eye patch. He looks away from the approaching light, blinking a couple of times to adjust his eye. After one final blink, he looks at me, squinting his left eye. The skin around his eye is a much darker red than the rest. He slowly opens his eye slightly wider, revealing an iris much lighter in color than his left. Considering is attempts to adjust to the lighting, I’d guess he wasn’t completely blind in that eye, but from the looks of the damage he’d have to at least be partially.
After moving is finger in front of his eye a couple times, the uneasy expression on his face returns to that out of place smile. He gives me a thumb up and a cheesy grin.
“Still works.”
He turns back to the rising sun. It’s now peeping over the horizon, reaching its orange tendrils into the sky. The wind picks up, causing his hair and eye patch to flutter in the breeze. Despite the persistence of the sunrise, the sky remains dark, sheathed in clouds. Kurosawa and I spend a good deal of time watching in silence, every once in a while striking up a conversation about this and that. It’s not until the distant roaring of thunder comes that our little picnic is broken up.
Kurosawa was the first to stand up. “I’m going back to my room, lightning and I don’t agree.”
“Yeah, think I’ll do the same.”
“I’ll catch ya around Nakata.” He says, already walking away.
“Yeah, maybe. I’m not going to make a habit of being awake at five.”
“Oh please, you’ll miss this pretty face and charming personality and you’ll come crawling back.”
And on that note he waves without turning around, and goes back into the school. I think I know now why I was so comfortable around him, everything about him reminds me of how my father used to be. I snap out of thought when a couple of rain drops hit my shoulders. Time to go, I guess.
There very well may be a Rin shaped hole in your hearts, and I'm here to fill it.
---
Abysmal.
I let the door to my room swing open further. The place it reveals is bare, save for a few purely utilitarian objects.
I’ve been here for a whole week, and this could still just as well be anybody’s room. Guess it’s my fault more than anything; I have a bag full of my personal effects that I can’t bring myself to unpack. I guess deep down, I’m still waiting to leave this place.
Outside my window, the rain picks up speed. People hate this kind of weather, but I don’t. The smell and sound of rain relaxes me, and the air feels pleasantly cool.
I turn my CD player on, one of the more “personal” items I have laying around. Conscious of the people around me, I keep the music volume low. The kettle I absentmindedly switched on when I entered the room whistles, indicating it’s finished its job. I pour myself a cup of tea, two sugars as usual.
I take a seat on the windowsill, watching the heavy rain crash to the earth. Its speed has really picked up now, making the ground below barely visible.
Minutes pass and the rain still refuses to let up, like a child throwing a temper tantrum, only gaining more and more speed. In the distance, the low rumbling of thunder echoes through the opaque abyss.
“Everyone’s more valuable.”
How do I really feel about Yamaku?
My initial impressions of this place were completely wrong. I was sure this place would be like a prison. So why do I feel so free here?
I take a long sip from my tea.
The people are strange, no argument about that. Somehow, that’s become a good thing. Akio, Naomi, Natsume, Emi, and of course, Rin.
I’ve spent more time with Rin than anyone else. Despite our time spent together, I still don’t really understand Rin. It’s hard to figure out how much of how Rin acts is actual absentmindedness, and how much is simply her deadpan humor. I think what attracts me to Rin, is that she doesn’t expect people to understand her, and in return, she’s completely blunt. From the moment I met Rin, she’s spoken to me the same way she speaks to Emi. That tells me that Rin is equally familiar with everyone. That fact alone makes her easier to talk to.
A sudden commotion outside my door disrupts my peaceful monologue. I move swiftly to the door and open it to see what the hell is going on.
Sticking my head out, my eyes come upon the most disastrous situation humanly imaginable.
Christ.
The scene makes me wish I’d seen a gun toting maniac, hell, the building on fire would have even been less dangerous than this.
And like a bomb waiting to explode, the situation is only worsening, the timer ticking away until detonation. As I valiantly but hesitantly take steps towards the epicenter, I feel like one of the bomb disposal units in Afghanistan. Though I know, if I fail to defuse this bomb, no amount of body armor could protect me.
“K-Kenji, what’s going on mate?” I try to remain casual. “Hey, and Rin’s here to, I didn’t know you two knew each other, haha, what a coincidence.”
“Kohta, thank God you got here man! What’d I tell you, what’d I tell you! They’re sending in spies now, dressed as us!”
Kenji is delirious, and the reason is clear. Rin, seemingly unaffected by the gravity of the situation, is wearing the male’s jacket over her uniform. She could definitely be mistaken for a male student, especially if you were a bespectacled shut in. The illusion of course would fade as soon as she spoke, which, in this case, was the worst thing that could have possibly happened. But it did happen. Murphy’s Law, aye?
“What the fuck do we do, man!?”
Kenji slams his fist against the wall, hard enough that I’m surprised nothing broke; the wall or his hand.
“Shit. First things first, I’m going to have to evacuate the boy’s dorm before this goes critical.”
Wait, what the hell am I saying? Damage done, all I need to do is get Rin away from Kenji, before things get really out of hand.
“And you, what were you planning on doing!?” Kenji shouts as he points at Rin. “Wanted to wait until my defenses were down, so you could hit me with a surprise attack? Trying to infiltrate my meetings? WELL?!”
Rin, please don’t…
“You’ve caught me red handed.” Rin, without a hint of emotion, raises her “arms”, allowing the long jacket sleeves to hang limply out to the side. “So to speak, that is.”
No. Oh God no.
I slap my hand against my face.
“UH-HUH! You heard her Kohta, she CON~FESSED!?” Kenji’s face is red, the veins in his neck protruding in a way that would put pro wrestlers to shame.
Oh Christ. Before Rin can speak again, I reach out and grab her by the loose sleeve.
“You’re right Kenji. You were right all along. Look, you keep watch; make sure no more of them can infiltrate the building. I’ll interrogate this one; see what I can find out.” As I say this, I’m already dragging her to my room.
Kenji regains his composure, pushing his glasses back into place with one hand, while planting the other firmly in his pocket.
“Good idea, dude. Hey, you need any help, just call me.”
“Won’t be necessary.
I’m about to close my door when he calls out again.
“Okay, if you need anything, I’ve got some screwdrivers, and jumper cables, and pliers…”
I try to cut him off, before he can say anything I really don’t want to hear.
“Kenji, that sho –“
“…and nipple cla –“
I slam the door before he can finish his list, trying my hardest to pretend that I didn’t hear that.
Yeah, I don’t think any amount of repression will make me forget that.
I turn my attention now to the rain soaked girl dripping on my floor.
“Rin.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Why are you here?”
She still seems completely unaffected by Kenji’s antics.
“I wanted to return your jacket. It’s warm and all, but not really my style.”
That’s the second time a girl has hand delivered me my jacket, hope I don’t get a reputation. Come to think of it, that’s the second time that it’s led to an encounter with Kenji as well. I’m not sure if I should call this jacket lucky or not.
Rin is still dripping all over my floor.
“Hey, Rin. Did you get drenched walking in the rain to return my jacket?”
Now I feel a little bad.
“Yes. It’s alright though, your jacket’s pretty much all that got wet.”
And now I don’t.
“Well, that’s a…relief. Here, let me unbutton it.”
I put my cup of tea down on the counter, unbutton the jacket, and hang it on the window sill I was previously sitting against.
“What’s that?” Rin asks.
“What’s what?”
“The song.”
I’d completely forgotten that I’d left the music playing.
“All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix.”
Rin repeats his name under her breath, completely butchering it with her Japanese accent. It’s rather adorable really. Now aware of the music, I go to turn it off.
“Kohta.”
Rin’s abrupt words and slight urgency in her voice stop my hand.
“Could you leave it on?”
Slightly taken aback by Rin’s assertiveness, I shrug and go back to drinking my tea.
“Thanks for bringing my jacket back.”
“Thank you for lending it to me.”
“It was the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“That’s my line.”
“Right.”
After that small exchange, Rin and I fall silent. We sit there for a couple of minutes, listening to music. With Rin here, I’m actually slightly self-conscious about my taste in music, though she seems to not mind it.
“What about this one?”
“Go it Alone by Beck.”
Rin once again repeats the musicians name under her breath. I take another long sip of my now lukewarm tea.
“Your room’s really boring.” Rin says, scanning my around my room.
“Gee, thanks. “ I sigh. “Yeah, I know.”
Rin’s eyes affix to my desktop.
“You kept it?”
The object she is referring to is a small, flattened, desiccated flower. Its once vibrant colors now faded.
“Oh – Uh, yeah.” I scratch the back of my head. “Guess I did.”
I can’t say there’s any deep reason to why I kept the flower; I guess I just simply forgot about it. At least, that’s the excuse I’m going to stick with.
“People don’t like me much.” Rin says.
“Huh?”
Lightning crashes in the distance. I drink a mouthful of my tea. And the silence Rin has created is instantly filled with the novel pitter-patter of rain.
“You asked me why I act disconnected.”
Silence fills the room again, however this time; it’s my turn to break it.
“Oh.”
Rin never struck me as the sort to particularly care what people thought about her. Maybe that is just an act she uses to defend herself from people’s opinions? I can see how that vicious cycle would be self-perpetuating; people don’t like how she is, so she defends herself with her flippant attitude and snide sense of humor, which in turn drives away more people, the process then repeats on end, ad nauseam. I’m probably more like Rin than I’d like to believe.
“Well, if it’s any consolation, I like you Rin.”
A cheesy but honest comment on my part, how much good it will do is questionable though. A silence ensues, one that is pretty awkward for me, but doesn’t seem to faze Rin.
“This one?”
“Hmm?” I respond, awkwardly.
She nods towards the music device on my table top.
“Oh… I’m slowly Turning Into You, White Stripes.”
The words come out of my mouth in a distorted yawn as I stretch my back, reaching my arms towards the sky. The sudden exhaustion hits me like a train. The relaxing atmosphere of my bedroom and the sudden twist in my sleeping pattern has taken its toll. I take a seat on my bed, opposite to Rin who is now sitting at my desk. I take one final swig of what’s left of my tea. It’s unpleasantly cold, and all the sugar that didn’t dissolve has settled to the bottom. The sensation is similar to that of drinking sandy seawater.
I place my mug on the table top next to my bed, still grimacing, stretch out my spine again, and fall backwards. I sink slowly into the comfortable mattress and begin to drift off, until a small nagging feeling enters my mind. This feeling quickly grows into realization. Rin’s still here.
It’s still raining buckets outside, so sending her off would be rude. I could offer her my umbrella, but, well, the problem with that idea is pretty clear. I guess there’s nothing I can do about it, I’m going to have to get up.
“Rin, I’ma sleep for a bit. Want me to walk you back to the girl’s dorm?”
The selfish portion of my personality desperately wants her to say no, so that I don’t have to get up. Not that I’d let her walk out by herself in the pouring rain, probably.
“Is it okay if I stay here?”
A strange request and one I know I should refuse. While I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about with Rin, a sense of unease is created by the whole situation. An unease that is quickly overwhelmed by my laziness that screams for me to take the easy option.
“Sure. Make yourself at home. I shouldn’t be out for too long.”
Ignoring my better judgment in favor of my laziness, I shift my legs up into my bed and let The Strokes rock me out of consciousness.
Emi and Rin are talking to each other, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. Maybe they’re not talking at all, probably just flapping their mouths around.
This fucking sky though, I tell you what. I’ve been trying to work out what’s wrong with it for a couple of minutes now. Something about the color, the sun maybe? It fucking irks me. I just don’t want to be up here anymore. Can’t hear the wind, or Emi, or Rin, or anything for that matter. The sky looks like shit today too. I’m about ready to call an end to this farce. That is until Emi gets my attention with a stiff nudge to the shoulder.
I look over to her. I can hear her now.
“Something wrong?”
I scratch at my abdomen.
“Nothing. Just… Do you think the sky looks weird today?”
She ignores my words.
“I know, you must be hungry. Forget ya lunch?”
Before I can answer her question, she cuts me off.
“Good thing I always bring a spare for you just in case.”
Emi produces a boxed lunch, I’d equate it to the sort you’d find in a pricey restaurant in terms of presentation. Very appetizing, there’s only one problem.
“Emi,” I start, “I’m going to have to turn you down. I only eat food I prepare myself.”
I attempt to avoid offending her by adding.
“It’s not anything to do with you, I just, uhh…I mean, what you’ve…”
She begins to unpack the food, placing it onto my lap. Seems as though everything I’m saying is falling completely onto deaf ears.
“Look, Emi, stop.”
There’s audible frustration in my voice, and so there should be. Not that this stops our perky, young ray of sunshine from pushing her food onto me. I scratch again. She’s blatantly ignoring me, all part of that Emi knows best attitude I guess.
“Just this once then.”
My resignation doesn’t make me any less comfortable with this food. Though, it does look undeniably good. Hell, smells good too. Still, this fucking sky.
The persistent itching in my abdomen doesn’t let up. It’s getting worse, and I’m responding in kind with rougher scratching. All the while I’m warily digging around in the food, still cautious of it. Like I’m prodding it to see if it’s dead. And Emi just has this horrid look of anticipation on her face.
Guess there’s no reason to let her down.
I take in a mouthful of food quickly, but chew it slowly. Unsurprisingly, it tastes good. And since nothings exploded, and my jaw hasn’t caught fire, I’m going to assume it’s safe.
I’m having a weird fucking day.
In defiance of my earlier actions, I shovel the food into my mouth. Rin and Emi go back to their soundless chattering, and I go back to scrutinizing this stupid fucking sky. All the while, the incessant itching in abdomen continues its assault.
Foods good though. I should probably apologize.
“Hey Emi, sorry about being stubborn. Thanks for the food, it’s really good.”
She doesn’t flinch at my words; she just continues to give me the silent treatment. Not sure what I’ve done to her, but I’m really tired of being ignored.
Earth to Emi.
That’s what I’d meant to say, though the words come out in more of an inarticulate wheeze.
Something’s wrong, my throat feels dry, very dry, dryer than the fucking Sahara. My vocal cords feel rough. Like they’ve all been cut at once, and left to dangle. I reach a hand to my neck.
The commotion seems to have caught Emi’s attention.
“Kohta, are you okay?”
I’m clearly not. My throat feels like a desert full of razorblades. I can’t breathe properly anymore. My lungs feel like sandbags. The itching in my abdomen is growing still.
“You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”
I shake my head furiously, trying to get my point across. This has to be some sort of attack; maybe my liver fucking up.
“Nah, I don’t think that’s it.”
Get someone, Emi, for Christ sake. Why the hell are you just standing there, looking smug?
“Might have been the herbicide I put in ya lunch?” She throws up the victory sign and pokes her tongue out at me. “Wasn’t sure if I could get enough in to kill you without you noticing the taste.”
You did what!?
I try to stand up. To run, to attack Emi, I don’t know which. I can’t, I fall to the ground. Blood pouring from my nose, acid burning the back of my throat. I need to throw up, desperately, but my throat is closed to too tightly. My left hand is still scratching at my abdomen, through my shirt. I can feel the skin being torn away. The pain causes temporary relief – temporary.
Emi moves towards me, leaning in close to my ear.
“Herbicide really is good for getting rid of unwanted plants, don’tcha reckon? Truth is, I’ve never felt anything for you. You’ve been nothing but a burden. Stolen all of the attention.”
My eyes shoot open in shock.
I turn to Rin. I desperately want to speak. I need to tell her something, to get help. Maybe I just want her to hear my final words. I can’t speak. I want to tell Emi, and my mother, and God, just how much I despise them. But I can’t fucking speak. I want to curse the sky. Rin is looking at me. She’s speaking to Emi, she has a look of concern on her face, but I can’t hear her words. She seems so clueless.
I lean back and take one final look at the sky. I know I’m about to die. It’s a shame, though. Isn’t it? That I had to die on a day like this, if only I could have died on a day when the sky wasn’t so disgusting. With the last of the energy in my body exhausted, my muscles finally give out. I fall back hard onto the ground below. But it’s soft. I close my eyes. Everything becomes enclosed in a shroud of darkness.
Then, voices. I open my eyes again and see the familiar sky. Only, now I know why it irked me. What lies above me isn’t the sky; it’s the familiar dull grey hospital roof. The sun, nothing more than a bright white light bulb. I’m here again. The hospital. Being rushed around by doctors and nurses, who’s faces are obscured by the lighting. I try to tell them, that I was poisoned; I want to ask them if I’ll be okay. But I can’t speak. Just like with Rin, they’re oblivious. I can’t take it anymore. I just want to be heard.
The itching feeling is still growing, and I can’t remember the last time I took a breath.
Something, however, is comforting me. There’s a soft object in my hand. I’m not sure what it is, it isn’t familiar, but something about it sooths me.
I’ve had some pretty bad nightmares before, but fuck that…
I exhale in relief, causing discomfort. My left hand has slipped through the buttons in my shirt at the site of the discomfort. I know enough to know that my fingertips and my shirt are going to be coated in blood. This isn’t the first time I’ve torn into my biopsy scar during my sleep.
My right hand, stretched across the bed, can still feel the soft object from my dream. I squeeze it gingerly, what the hell is this? I ease my eyes open, allowing my vision to adjust. In my groggy state, it takes sometime before I realize what I’m looking at is Rin lying in the bed beside me. There are so many things wrong with this situation, that I don’t even know where to start. I’m about ready to just accept it, let it be and just go back to sleep, until I realize something. If Rin is lying there, then my hand is…
Shit! I remove my hand from Rin’s breast, jumping into a sitting up position. I crawl out of the bed. I need a drink, a very stiff drink. Unfortunately, my liver is about as useful as tits on a bull, so I’m going to settle for tea.
I start the laborious task of making some tea, avoiding thinking about anything that’s happened in the last hour. It really isn’t worth worrying about. I need to just accept it, and avoid the headache.
My peaceful tea stirring is interrupted by a shuffling behind me. I turn to see a misty eyed Rin, sitting up in my bed, looking about as confused as I do. Guess it’s interrogation time.
“Good morning sleepy head.” My voice is very gentle. “So, why the hell are you in my bed?”
Rin yawns silently. “You said to make myself at home.”
An infuriating answer, I take a long drink from my tea, trying to calm myself down a little.
“Any particular reason you thought it’d be a good idea?”
“I was cold.”
You know what; I’m just going to drop it - just going to leave it the hell alone.
“You’re bleeding,” she says.
I look down at the front of my shirt. Crap, I forgot about that. I put down my tea and button up the front of my jacket to cover up the blood stain.
“Yes I am.”
I sound just a little bit more frustrated than I had intended to.
“Are you angry that I slept in your bed?”
Rin actually looks fairly apologetic. I really didn’t mean to make her feel bad, I’m not even that angry about it. It’s just, how do you even react to all of this?
“Because if I did I’m sorry I really didn’t mean to make you angry I sometimes do things and I really don’t know why I do them but I didn’t think it’d be a big problem I just really hope you don’t hate me now because I don’t have many friends besides you and Emi and It’d be bad if I made you hate me and because…”
I place my right hand on top of Rin’s head and ruffle her hair, hoping to reassure her.
“I’m not mad at you Rin. I was just a bit ticked that I got blood on my shirt is all.”
Rin remains silent while I pet her head. Where the hell did all of that come from? I remove my hand and sip my tea again. Guess I better go see the nurse about the bleeding, I can probably get my checkup out of the way while I’m there. I put my cup onto the counter, switch my CD player off, and grab my umbrella.
“Come on Rin, I’ll walk you to your building, I gotta go see the nurse about this anyway.”
Rin nods in agreement, and we leave the building. The trip to her dorm is awkward, and when we arrive she leaves still remaining completely silent. I brush off recent events and drag myself to the Nurse’s office. The trip is pretty damn relaxing, so I intentionally take an indirect route.
I knock firmly on his door. He answers by inviting me in.
“What brings you here?” He asks in his usual cheery tone.
“I need a patch for a scratch, and figured I’d get my checkup out of the way while I was here. Kill two Nurses with one stone.”
He laughs sarcastically at me.
“Well, let me see it then.”
I unbutton my blood stained shirt, revealing my battle wound.
“Hmmm, that’s pretty deep for a scratch; whoever you’ve been rolling around with must be a real scratcher.”
Taken off-guard by his accusation and remembering I just had a nice little nap with Rin, I blurt out the truth.
“Uhh – no, that’s not it. I have this habit of scratching when I sleep is all.”
I scratch the back of my head as he stares at me suspiciously, analyzing my reaction.
“Well, on the upside, you’re not going to need stitches. I’ll just clean it and slap a bandage on it.”
He grabs some equipment and gets to work.
“So, your liver still hasn’t been giving you too much trouble then?”
I grimace as he swabs antiseptic into my scratch.
“Nope, it’s been feeling just dandy.”
He puts on the adhesive bandage and leans back.
“Well, that’s good. How’s student life treating you?”
“Just as fine, I’ve been making friends like a well-adjusted young boy.”
“Hey, Nakata, one more thing, make sure you’re using protection with your lady friend.”
“Hilarious, you’re not jealous, are you?”
“No, just killing two students with one stone.”
I close the door behind me as I leave, smiling all the while. The Nurse has a surprisingly dark sense of humor. Think I’ll take a walk before I go back to my dorms. I need to just reset everything and begin anew. Try to forget everything that happened on this turbulent first week. That’s probably the best thing I can do.
That rounds off Act 1. I want to spend a fair bit of time working on Act 2 before I post it, to avoid making similar mistakes, and to increase chapter length.
The first time he mentions it, it's just a joke. However, Kohta gives himself away by his defensive reaction. That's why Nurse brings it up again, because he knows it will press Kohta's buttons.
