✩★ The Headlines ★✩
Chapter 11: Following a trail of flowers.
POV:
Natsume
"Calm down for a sec Naomi, what happened?" I speak, still blinking the sleep from my eyes. Hisao makes his way over and relives her of her bag and the camera lens so she can stumble into the room and catch her breath.
"She gave me the camera to look at some photos, right?" She questions, making sure we're all following along. All three of us nod, prompting her to continue.
"So I decided to catch a photo of us together since she's in the newspaper club now." She blurts. "We took a look at it, it was a pretty good shot but it showed off a little bit of her neck, the right side, then she just flipped and grabbed at the camera and then phwoosh... sprinted away." She sighs, keeping her eyes locked on the camera lens now resting in Hisao's hands. It doesn't look broken, at least from what I can see, so our only problem is finding Hanako.
"Where have you looked?" Hisao asks while setting the lens down on the desk.
"Uhhh... That room she and Lilly always spend lunch in... and the dorms too."
"Right." Hisao immediately takes control of the situation. "I'll go check the library. Natsume, can you see if she's in her room? Jun, I'd appreciate it if you could check the track and surrounding area. Naomi, see if any of the teachers from other clubs have seen her?" He lies out his plan. It's incredible how he can just figure out a place for each of us to look.
"We all have each-others numbers, so send out a text if you find her, okay?" We each stare, shocked for a second, before we all agree and begin packing our respective items into our bags.
"I feel like I should say 'Synchronize your watches.' or something like that." Hisao chuckles and I lock the door with my only
slightly stolen key.
"You've been watching too many movies Hisao." I giggle as we begin to split up, Jun and I making our way outside while Hisao and Naomi move further into the building.
"That was crazy." Jun exclaims as soon as we're out of earshot.
"I know right? He was just like 'here is the plan guys.' I didn't know he was capable of that." I admit.
"At least someone had some Ideas." She grimaces, remembering why he had to make up a plan like that.
"I wouldn't know where to look, I guess he knows her a little better than us." I frown, I'm the top reporter in the club, I should be friends with everyone.
"She did only join the club today, don't be so hard on yourself." She pats me on the back before twisting her head to see the track, now bathed in orange light. We share a nod and split up. I step inside the dormitory and make my way to the common area. Only person in here is Molly, I may as well ask her.
"Hey Molly." I wave.
"Oh, hey Natsume." She puts her book down beside her after marking her page.
"Have you seen Hanako come through here? The girl with the awesome violet hair at the back of our class?" I clarify.
"Uhh... I've been stuck in this book for..." She checks her watch. "At least two hours, sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Can you text me if you see her?" Luckily we still have each others numbers from when I reported on her lost leg last year, turned out it was just under her bed. We decided not to publish that part.
"Sure, good luck." She offers as I make my way towards what I think is Hanako's room.
Knock, knock, knock. I attempt to tune out the natural sound of the room and focus on the sounds coming from behind the door. "Hey Hanako? It's Natsume." I raise my voice a tiny bit, hoping to to disturb anyone in the surrounding rooms. Silence. Either she's passed out in there or she's not in there at all. I pull my phone from my pocket and open the texting interface.
[Group Text] [Natsume] [I don't think she's in her room guys.]
---
POV:
Naomi.
As I reach the less traveled part of the school, the sounds of band practice rings through the halls. Sounds like rock, I can get down with that!
"Excuse me." I squeak the door open as slowly as possible, interrupting the practice. Everyone in the room grinds to a halt, making the silence super awkward.
"Yes?" The guy in the wheelchair spins around to face me, his lap occupied by a... guitar? it's a big guitar. 4 strings. I dunno, I'm useless.
"Have you guys seen Hanako wandering about?" I respond, and he turns to the drummer, who turns to the guitarist, who turns to the singer. "Naomi?" He asks.
"Yes?" I respond, and everyone looks to me, causing me to shrink slightly.
"Uhh... can't say we have, sorry." The singer responds, her microphone hanging idly from one hand. "Howcome?"
"She's a little bit missing right now." I reply sheepishly, and the bassist sighs, looking at his watch. Maybe I should have interrupted them, they must be pretty busy.
"We're about done here, I'll come with you!" She exclaims, jumping in the air and startling the pianist slightly.
"Are you sure?" I respond, hoping to to anger the rest of the band, who already seem to be resigned to their fate, placing their instruments down and messing with their... amplifiers? Bleh, I have no clue. The girl places her microphone on the table and skips over to me after gathering her lyrics and placing them in her bag, and we begin walking.
"So you're Naomi?" She ponders aloud.
"Yep, Naomi Inoue."
"I'm Naomi too." She grins.
"Awesome!" I exclaim. "I'm meant to be asking around for Hanako, she ran off and we can't find her."
"Shucks." She sighs. "Timid girl? Dark hair, right?"
"Yep. She's kinda got some scars... nobody minds them, of course, but she doesn't like anyone to look at them..." I trail off.
"That's alright, we'll find her." She grins and takes a huge step forward, causing me to jog slightly to catch up to her.
She's tall.
[Group Text] [Naomi] [I've cloned myself to search faster. No signs of her yet.]
---
POV:
Hisao
I push open the large wooden doors that guard the library from the outside world, the scent of old paper and ink fills my mind, but I quickly put it to once side; I've got work to do. I quickly make my way over to the front desk and look for Yuuko, she's not sat there. I quietly apologize under my breath and then smash my hand down onto the desk, resounding a dull thud from the desk, and a second later another. Yuuko materializes from below the desk, holding her head and swearing under her breath.
"Sorry Yuuko, have you seen Hanako anywhere?" I attempt to speak with a hushed tone, but ultimately fail, panic taking over my sentance.
"I uhh... I've been sorting out a new order. Sorry Hisao..." She trails off, I can imagine she's about to explode into a rant about how she's a failiure as a librarian, but don't give her the chance.
"Don't worry about it, if you see her then... can you text me or something?" I feel slightly awkward giving out my number to a member of staff through my own choice, but ultimately decide it's worth it if we manage to find Hanako. I quickly scrawl out my number on a scrap of paper and slide it to her, she takes it into her hand and gives a determined nod. With that, I set out to search the library. The non-fiction section is completely empty beside a sleeping Maeda, who I decided to let rest. I'll let Yuuko know about him on my way out.
The fiction section seems devoid of life, even Hanako's usual reading spot, the small corner behind a bookshelf filled with beanbags. I sigh, this isn't going well. The braile, large print and audiobook section is similarly abandonned. Maybe I should have gotten Lilly after all? I just don't want her to worry, I know Hanako means a lot to her, so pulling her out of her room on a wild manhunt might not be the best idea.
As I begin the walk of shame back out of the library, I open my phone and text the group before alerting Yuuko to Maeda and his unusual sleeping positions.
[Group Text] [Hisao] [Nothing in the library. Yuuko is on lookout.]
---
POV:
Jun
Well I didn't find Hanako running laps, but I could have guessed that. This is the most secluded part of the school thought, so I can see why Hisao reccomended I search here. I don't think she'd jump in a bush, but she might be behind the shed. I briefly imagine being scared of people, a horrible fate, and think what I'd do if I had to get away from everyone. It's hard to put yourself into a mindset like that, I wonder-
My thoughts are cut short as I catch some movement in my perihperal vision.
"Hello?" I call out, hoping that it's Hanako and not Emi running some late night track. "It's Jun." I call out again, hoping that she'll realize i'm not here to make fun of her. It makes me feel kind of ill thinking about everything that's happened to her, she must have had some serious shit happen just to get those, then even more when she got out of the hospital. We're in the future right? Why didn't they do anything about it? Bastard doctors.
"Hanako? It's Jun." I call out once more, now pacing my way behind the track shed.
Oh God. There she is, huddled up in a ball up against the back of the shed. I hope to god she doesn't lash out at me. I take a couple steps closer and crouch so I can be at eye level with her.
"Hey Hana. How are you feeling?" I ask.
Dead silence.
"It's cold out here, how about we go back to my room and have some pizza or something?" I offer, pizza can many anyone happy. She stays silent for a second before standing and giving one of the smallest nods I've ever seen, If I weren't paying attentention then I wouldn't have even noticed it. I begin walking back towards the dorms and she follows a couple of steps behind. I pull my phone and scan over the group chat.
[Group Text] [Jun] [Found her. She's safe, taking her to my room to cheer her up.]
[Group Text] [Hisao] [Great job Jun. I think all of us barging in would freak her out.]
[Group Text] [Jun] [That's what I was thinking. I'll play some mario kart with her or something.]
[Group Text] [Natsume] [Well done! We'll see you tomorrow Jun! Naomi says hi too.]
"W-who?" Hanako speaks up, noticing me on my phone.
"Oh, just the newspaper guys. We were all pretty worried about you."
"I'm... s-sorry." She replies.
"Don't say that, nobody minds."
"I m-m-made a lot of t-trouble for you..."
"Don't worry, I don't think i've ever actually seen the track at this school." I chuckle, hoping to difuse the atmosphere. She doesn't reply, but doesn't say sorry again either, so that's a step in the right direction.
---
POV:
Hanako
"You ever played mario kart?" Jun speaks as she fumbles her key into the lock. I don't know why I followed her. Maybe it's because I know i'd just be causing her more trouble if she had to try and carry me. I'm glad they didn't fetch the nurse though, he's a little freaky.
"N-no." I respond, hoping to close that topic.
"We should play." She retorts, and I sigh inwardly. I'm awful at videogames. Just another way to embarress myself I guess. Eventually her door is unlocked and we step into her room. Though the panic attack as run it's course, I'm still feeling jumpy, so much so that the light flicking on makes me jump.
"Help yourself to some pizza." She points over the her desk, and the large pizza box resting on it. I can't say I eat pizza very often, but classic cheese sounds pretty good right about now, I forgot to eat lunch since I was so worked up about asking to join the newspaper club. I wait until she's not looking and grab a slice, taking a small nibble determines that it's not rotten. A little cold, but i've been told cold pizza is better than just cooked.
She sits down on the edge of her bed and pulls her sheets aside and searches for a moment, before finding a second controller and placing it by the first on her night table. Her room is rather plain decoration wise, but almost every surface is covered by some peice of technology, phones, consoles and computers are everywhere I look. I guess that's why she prefers the tech side of newspaper production.
"You can sit, I don't mind." She giggles, and I realize that i've been stood by her desk staring at her room for far too long.
"S-sorry."
"Don't be, I have a lot of crap." She holds her arms out to the room, showing off the various flashing lights and screens. Naomi must
hate this room.
"Here." She holds out a controller to me, and I naturally reach out with my left hand to grab it. She gives me a very brief rundown of the controls and how to win, thought I doubt I'll be doing any of that tonight. We end up seated against her bed, with a small monitor hapazardly balanded on an upturned PC case. With the pizza moved closer and the floor padded with random pillows, we begin playing.
---
POV:
Natsume
"You're kidding." I exlaim.
"No, he totally tried to spin his guitar around and just threw it straight off the stage. It was incredible." Katsuro continues.
"Bullshit." Naomi chimes in, still sipping at her drink.
"Hold on." He reaches into his pocket and pull out his phone, taps for a few seconds and then presents it to us. On the screen is a picture of a guy stood on a stage, a look of complete shock over his face and his guitar majestically flying through the air behind him. Me and Naomi break into laughter as we examine the perfectly timed picture.
"That's gotta be a doctored photo." I retort as I slide his phone back over to him.
"I agree." Naomi chimes in. The other Naomi. The singer Naomi.
I need to make a nickname for one of them.
"I'm sure it'll be on his wikipedia page or something." He sighs, taking a moment to sip at his decaf coffee. Can't say I love the stuff, but drinking regular coffee at this time would be a death sentence for my sleep.
"Crap, look at the time." Singer Naomi exclaims while checking her watch, causing me to check mine too.
"We better get walking back, we might be able to make it before curfew."
"I need strings." Katsuro sighs. "I'll have to get them another time I suppose." He admits defeat.
"Nah, you can make it, the music shop isn't that far right?" Newspaper Naomi offers.
"Yeah, but I know I'll get distracted looking at guitars." He finishes his drink in one fluid motion.
"Then we'll have to make sure you don't" I stand, looking as triumphant as possible.
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to make you girls late." He retorts.
"Yep, now let's go while we still have time." Singer Naomi agrees and pulls him to his feet, shortly followed by Newspaper Naomi.
---
POV:
Hanako
"Almost there!" Jun squeals, beads of sweat rolling down her face.
"I... I..." I stutter uncontrollably as we reach the big finish, my body writing in anticipation. Each second drags on as my brain fumbles over all the words I want to shout out.
"Right there! Keep going!" She shouts and I briefly consider how thin these walls are, but the task at hand draws my attention back in a split second. Now i'm sweating, my hands are getting slippy.
Just keep a grip Hanako.
"1ST PLACE!" The virtual crowd bursts into applause as my character flies past the finish line, allowing me to release the breath I've been holding for the whole last lap.
"That was incredible Hana!" Jun exclaims, almost exploding from her seat. I feel a grin crossing my face and find myself unable to stop it monopolizing my face. "That was so close!" She continues bouncing around, most likely waking all the neighbors, but neither of us care. I manage to stay seated, but find myself clapping my hands together. Once Jun has exhausted herself of energy she leans back against the bed and releases a large sigh.
"That tired me out more than I thought." She yawns before lightly resting her head on my shoulder. Her head. On my shoulder. My right shoulder. I resist a shudder and turn my head slightly to find Jun sleeping peacefully, out like a light.
Guess I'm spending the night right here.
---
Author notes: So many POV's
Thanks to Sharp-O for letting me bounce some ideas off him!
Thanks to BlackWaltzTheThird for letting me use the characters from
Greater than the sum. It's a great fic, give it a read!
Didn't get this chapter out as fast as I'd have liked but I got sucked into watching
Oreimo and feeling strange once I finished it. I still have no clue what to think of it.
