Leave Me Alone

[Densetsu Karu]

The following takes place on May 8th, at 3:47 PM.

It was finally over. With school out, he was free to go home. There was not much to do at "home" these days, but on this particular date all he wanted to do was rest. He had been through a lot in the last two days (with a certain temperamental female acquaintance), and finally he had a free afternoon all to himself. The thought evoked a grin from him.

Ever so quietly, he navigated the halls, intending to take a walk around the school for a little while before leaving. This way he could avoid being sucked into the ocean of a crowd at the school's entrance. Plus, there was something he needed to do first.

Coming up to the second-year's floor, he glanced this way and that, making sure nobody was around. He didn't want to cast suspicion, or, worse, elicit questions from a fellow student.

He successfully located classroom 2-B. Casting his eyes over the empty room, Karu entered. He approached one of the desks and carefully tucked the note and placed it on the chair. "I hope she finds it," he muttered to himself. Not that it really mattered. For the umpteenth time, he almost crumpled up the letter, close to deciding it was pointless, but again he remembered he had nothing to lose by leaving it here.

Without another thought on it, Karu turned and left. Soundlessly, he closed the door, placing is finger between the door and the wall and slowly sliding it out. He was so concentrated on it that his perception of his surroundings for those few seconds became rather limited.

[Yasuda Erina]

“No more practice, practice~ What should Erina do todaaaay~?”

Erina wandered the hallway aimlessly, humming a tune under her breath. She looked forward to volleyball most days, so it was a little disappointing to have it canceled, but the break was still nice. Even so… What was there to do now? Suzume and her other homeroom friends had club activities. Would she have to become a temporary member of the “Go Home” club? Reaching the end of the hallway, she considered her options. She could go into town for a bit or try to make new friends. Or maybe…

Turning the corner, the first year stopped as she spotted a familiar face, a boy, dart up the stairs. She remembered him. He had given her sushi in the park. What was his name? The legendary hero…

“Densetsu-san!”

She called out as the name came back to her, but he had already disappeared. Instinctively, the first year followed, hurrying up the steps after him. He had left so suddenly the last time they had met, and she hadn’t seen him since. It would be nice to at least say hi. Now that she thought about it though, it was a bit strange… They were both first years, so their homerooms were on the same floor. Had they simply kept missing each other?

Reaching the second-year floor, she glanced about, but was unable to locate the boy. What business did he have here, anyhow? Were there any clubs that met on this floor? She continued down the hall while pondering this, though she knew little about after school activities other than her own. If he was busy with a club though, she could always try to find him another day.

The moment the thought crossed her mind, Densetsu emerged from one of the classrooms, closing the door quietly behind him. “Ah, Densetsu-san!” the girl exclaimed, waving energetically and smiling widely as she rushed toward him. “I was looking for you~ Yasuda Erina, remember?” She pointed to herself, as if it weren't already obvious who she was referring to. "You left so fast last time. Was everything okay? We should eat together again~!"

She had locked on to the boy. There was no escape.

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[Densetsu Karu]

"I was looking for you~ Yasuda Erina, remember?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin. There wasn't supposed to be anybody here! Two bushy pigtails, that high energy, and the familiar name... his mind went blank as he tried to recall when and where he had apparently met her.

"You left so fast last time. Was everything okay? We should eat together again~!"

Aha! Yasuda was the one he had shared his sushi with a few weeks ago. The girl with the impeccable appetite. Why was she worrying about him? They barely even knew each other. He himself had almost completely forgotten about her, as was evidenced by the amount of time it took to remember her.

"Everything was fine," he said quietly. Karu stared blankly at her, as if it would make fer flee from him. This was his day, for himself. No one would take it from him.

"If you were hinting at the two of sharing food again today of all days..." he muttered ever-so dully. "You were... mistaken." He would have dropped some snark into his words, but something about the girl weakened his disdain for the human race.

"As you can probably guess, I am intending to return home," he stated, maintaining his even-tone from before. "As such, I am unable to enterta- visit with anybody." Not to mention feed, he added silently.

Without another word, Karu spun around and continued down to the first-year floor. He had fortunately escaped from a bottomless pit with feet. Unless, she was unfazed by his words and decided to follow him... how bothersome.

Karu crept quickly and quietly into an abandoned classroom, intending to hide from Yasuda for a short time. Unfortunately for him, upon his quick and uncalculated entrance, he had bumped into a misplaced chair, creating a loud scraping noise.

"Why must I be so damn clumsy..."

There really was no escape.

[Yasuda Erina]

Everything was… fine?

Erina blinked, still smiling as she cocked her head to one side and listened. She was glad… But Densetsu sounded a little funny. Like he was really bored, maybe. And what was “today of all days”? Was he busy with a club like she had thought? It didn’t look like there was anyone in that classroom though.

The boy’s next sentence quickly dispelled this thought, and Erina brightened. “Ah, but I’m going home t-Eh?” She stopped mid-sentence as Densetsu turned away, and for a brief moment, she simply stared, mildly bewildered, as he hurried down to the lower floor. “Densetsu-san, wait!”

She followed after him, delayed a few seconds by her momentary surprise. Her fellow first year seemed to be fond of leaving quickly. Was that normal for heroes? Perhaps if they were very busy with many things to fight and protect… Ah, and he was a “legendary” hero. Of course he would be much busier than other heroes!

Stepping down onto the first-year floor once more, she looked down the hallway. A few students still loitered about, but none of them were the one she had been tailing. Where had he gone? He hadn’t been that far ahead of… Ah!

A sudden scraping sound made the girl’s head instinctively turn as she passed a classroom, and her eyes fixed onto the source of the noise. “Densetsu-san!” Smiling again, she poked her head into the room and glanced about. “Did you forget something in here?”

With a final cursory scan of the area, she invited herself into the unfamiliar classroom and approached her peer. “Volleyball got canceled today, so I’m going home too. We can walk together!” She was humming now, rocking back and forth on her feet as she considered her good luck. For a bit, it had seemed she would be alone for the remainder of the day, but she had found a friend. Perhaps it had been a while since their last meeting, but it didn’t matter. It was all the more reason to become reacquainted.

“You'll protect me, right, Legendary Warrior-san~?” she giggled, giving him a small bow.

[Densetsu Karu]

“Densetsu-san! Did you forget something in here?”

"What?" he pretended to play it clueless. How could she be so... nice? She never thought wrong of people. His almost snarky behavior would have irritated another female companion of his (then again, using his "other companion" in any hypothetical example always seemed to end up inaccurate), but Yasuda was unfazed, rather obliviously. What made her so naive?

“Volleyball got canceled today, so I’m going home too. We can walk together!”

"N..." he was going to decline flatly. Something in her manner stopped him, like before. He didn't want to disappoint her. The eager, expectant way she talked to him, her boundless energy (the source of her endless hunger no doubt). The unfaltering trust was impossible to betray. "Fine," he gave in.

“You'll protect me, right, Legendary Warrior-san~?” she said it with a playful giggle and cheerful bow.

Karu's eye twitched, his hand fidgeted. A shiver went down his spine. What was this? He suppressed an urge to react in equally joyful action to this cute, but deadly, creature. Stepping back with gritted teeth, his hand to his forehead and his eyes scanning the ceiling, he tried to deter incoming emotions. How could she be so... adorable? His instincts wanted to keep her from any sort of harm, despite the fact that he barely knew her. She cut through his defenses like a knife through butter. How was that possible?

"Gah," he grunted. "Don't do that again." He removed his hand from his face, readjusted his posture, and smiled. "That was deadly," he murmured.

At this point, the worst-case scenario would be for him to warm up to her. If they became friends, it would trigger a weakness in his antisocial wall. With such a weakness, he could end up talking about his past life. He did not want to burden anybody else with his own petty problems. Nobody deserved what he had to go through. It was best for both of them to get this to be over with as quickly as possible.

"Alright," Karu finally said, taking her hand. "We're going to escape. Let's move quickly." He gently lead her in the direction of the nearest exit, starting slowly but suggesting they move faster with the flick of his gaze and the tugging of her arm.

[Yasuda Erina]

The boy’s reaction was immediate and strange. Coming up from her bow, Erina caught sight of him as he fidgeted uncomfortably, looking upward with an expression she could not place. Was something wrong? She observed him curiously, awaiting an explanation, but his next words only puzzled her further. He had smiled as he spoke, though. That meant he was okay, right? She smiled back, pleased with the gesture though she still could not comprehend it.

“Ehh~? What did I-”

Densetsu’s movement caught her off guard, causing her to stagger a bit as he led her toward the door. She recovered swiftly though, chirping a happy “Okay~!” and quickening her steps to keep up with the speed he seemed to be suggesting. Her unfinished question was lost in the sudden change of pace. She was excited. Maybe because he had said “escape”? They were on a mission, then! “Do you live very far, Densetsu-san?”

Densetsu. She liked that name. It really did feel like they were on an adventure when she said it. When they became good friends in the future (She could see no other outcome), would she ever use his given name? Ah, what was his full name again? It had been over two weeks since he’d first introduced himself… No, no! Densetsu-san is a legendary warrior, so he should be called by his legendary name, of course!

Wait, what was it they were escaping from? Why were they walking so quickly?

“Oh~! If we’re going to move fast, then let's race!” The freshman blurted her enthusiastic suggestion without waiting for an answer to her previous inquiry and, using her free hand to grip the boy’s wrist, she tugged at his arm to indicate he should stop as they stepped out into the hallway. “I’m very, very fast, so I bet Densetsu-san can’t beat me~!” she grinned. The usual exuberance that danced in her eyes was now accompanied by the faint glimmer of friendly competition.

[Densetsu Karu]

“Oh~! If we’re going to move fast, then let's race! I’m very, very fast, so I bet Densetsu-san can’t beat me~!"

A... race? Why would she suggest something like that? This was a high school. Not only would it look silly, but it would create all sorts of strange gossip around the school, something he needed no more of after his... interesting lunch in the cafeteria a few days ago. Still, an instinct, the same that broke through his defenses so easily, didn't want to decline. Could he make a compromise, perhaps?

"If we're going to race, we have to do it without letting anyone see us run," he decided. "If anybody sees you, you have to walk, or else you automatically lose the race." He explained it without his true motives, as though he were speaking to a child. Which, in a way, he felt he was.

Karu posed himself as a runner on a track, facing in the direction that would eventually bring them to the school's crowded entrance, raised a hand and said, "3... 2... 1..." With each number, he let one of his fingers drop. "Go!" He started forward, but after at least ten seconds, he turned around, hoping she wouldn't notice.

Racing out of this school was an impossible feat without being seen, so instead of try and looking like a fool, he exited the building another way and headed for the entrance. No doubt, Yasuda would barely notice his absence at first, and meet him there. It would have been a lot simpler if he had just declined in the first place... it was things like this that he needed more foresight.

Finally, he arrived, and stood, waiting. After a few minutes, he started to wonder why the girl with so much energy was taking so long to meet him. Did she get sidetracked? Did she give up after his disappearance? Was she lost? Without hesitation, Karu dived into the crowd, eyes scanning for the pair of chocolate pigtails that was Yasuda's trademark. A trace of panic could be seen in the boy's frantic glancing about.

Why did he have to be so... vulnerable? He stayed around to talk to her, he agreed to a "race," and now he was searching for her, making sure everything was okay. They were near-strangers, were they not? And yet, the way she looked up at him, without any doubts, intrigued him. He had not seen it in anyone, since... his sister. Could there really be such a person at this school who wasn't so bland, so uninspiring?

"Yasuda-san," he said with relief, as he spotted her, like a lost lamb. He tapped her shoulder from behind. "Are you okay?"

[Yasuda Erina]

Race without anyone seeing them?

“Oh, I see~!” she nodded vigorously. “That’s a fun rule!” Following Densetsu further down the hall, she mimicked him as they posed at the imaginary starting line. Becoming friends with Densetsu had been lucky! They were making up games and having fun already! She bounced anxiously as he began the countdown, fixing her eyes on the wall at the end of the hallway. “Go!”

Her reaction was immediate. Fueled by a diet fit for two grown men, she shot down the “track,” a bullet in the gun of boundless, childlike energy. As the end of the hallway drew near, she began to skid, pushing her hand off the wall to keep from crashing into it as she turned into the stairwell. She couldn’t even hear her opponent behind her anymore.

I wonder if Densetsu-san is surprised… I told him I was very, very fast~!

Slowing down considerably so as not to trip, she began her descent, jumping the last two steps at the bottom of the stair case… Then she stopped. A few students still lingered in the halls.

If anybody sees you, you have to walk, or else you automatically lose the race.

Oh no! She froze, standing stiffly at the foot of the stairwell, arms plastered to her sides. Walk, she was allowed to walk… Eyes darting around the area, she began to take slow, rigid steps that looked completely unnatural. Almost to the exit…

“Yasuda-san, what are you doing?”

Erina let out a high-pitched squeak, twirling around to face her homeroom teacher’s questioning gaze. “I’m not running!” the girl exclaimed. “I mean… I’m just walking.” Her teacher appeared puzzled, but said nothing more. Erina was a quirky one, but had never given her reason to worry. She continued on down the hall past her while the first year breathed a sigh of relief, then resumed her walk out the door, this time slightly more relaxed though still unnatural.

Oh no.

“Uwaaaaa~! What am I supposed to doooo?” The front of the school was packed. How could she forget? For several moments, she stood immobilized, taking in the gravity of her predicament (For a race was certainly serious business!).

But she would get nowhere standing.

“Walk, walk, walk~!” she cheered herself on, zigzagging through the crowd. “I wonder what Densetsu-san-Ah!” The sound of her name pricked her ears, and she stopped to locate its source when a tap on her shoulder made her turn to meet her competitor. “Of course~!” she chirped when he asked if she was okay. “Ah, but… Does that mean you beat me?”

She frowned slightly, putting a finger to her chin as she contemplated her loss. “I‘m very, very fast, but Densetsu-san must be very, very sneaky then,” she concluded. “Wow, that’s amazing, I didn’t even see you~!” Her disappointment had dissolved quickly, replaced by admiration of her opponent’s unexpected victory. Had he slipped by somehow when she was stuck on the first floor? Had he shadowed her all along? Or… crawled past her on the ceiling?!

Her imagination began to carry her away.

[Densetsu Karu]

I'm overreacting. Nothing is wrong. Calm down. His thoughts were along this line as he took her warm hand, and lead her, out of the crowd of bustling students. His mind returned to old, painful memories, just like the last time he had met Yasuda. Why must he be plagued with this? Must things go wrong for him every time he tried to be social?

Oftentimes, he saw his sister, Sakuya, in Yasuda's behaviour. It wasn't fair to Yasuda; she deserved to be her own person, without his childhood interfering with his interactions with her. Admittedly, the two weren't extremely similar, but that is what made the things that they did have in common stab his heart like daggers. He hated himself, because he could not properly separate his life at home from his life here, in Japan. However, he did not want to pretend to forget either. It felt horribly confusing and self-contradicting. What must I do?

I must avoid people... that is what he used to tell himself. That was his escape. With feelings like this, was that so wrong? And yet he was fighting his own instinct, to be nice and make friends... there weren't many people he had met at this school who could do that to him. Most of them were, quite frankly, uninteresting. It was like the people around him were doomed to set thoughts and set behaviors, like machines. Was that really what people were supposed to be like? Machines? Is being truly alive, and inciting the feeling of life in others-- was that only within a select few, lucky human beings? Was he merely looking in the wrong place? Was he just uninteresting, too?

He struggled in his thoughts, the burden of the implications too much for him alone. It occurred to him that he needn't keep things to himself. He could talk to her. He needn't treat Yasuda like a child, or a machine. Then again, would she really notice the same things, and to the same degree, that he noticed them? She was always so cheerful. She saw the best in everything. I want to be like that.

"Yasuda-san, do you think people are dull?" Karu asked, his hand still interlocked with her's. Realizing this, he dropped his arm, a little embarrassed. He was accustomed to it, from his walks with Sakuya, and silently reprimanded himself for drawing the similarities between them yet again. Now in the courtyard, he looked ahead to the road, signifying their inevitable parting. "Doesn't it seem like they're all the same? Always thinking and doing the same things?" His pace slowed considerably as he fell into silence.

[Yasuda Erina]

Still entertaining herself with increasingly ridiculous theories about Densetsu’s victory, Erina was caught off guard when the boy grasped her hand and walked off for the second time that day.

“Ehh~?” Her feet shuffled along, quickening to catch up, and in her companion’s silence, it actually hit her this time: She was holding hands. With a boy.

It didn’t bother her. She had walked like this with many friends before. The first time Densetsu had done this a few minutes prior, it hadn’t even occurred to her that it was strange. Still, all of those friends back then had been girls… When boys and girls did this, it was usually a couple thing, right? But she didn’t like like Densetsu, so… Yes, that meant it was the same as holding a girl’s hand! They were good friends now! She smiled and nodded to herself, as if affirming her own conclusion, and was almost disappointed when he chose that moment to let go of her hand.

“Dull?” she repeated, raising a finger to her chin with a puzzled expression. “But I think everyone is lots of fun. I like people very, very much~!” She smiled, slowing her pace as he slowed his. What were these questions about? They didn’t really make any sense. “Umm… Maybe they’re only the same if you don’t talk to them. Once you talk to someone, they become different, don’t you think?”

Densetsu was kind of silly. Everyone was always different! Did he not notice? She glanced around the courtyard as fellow students bustled about. Maybe it was the uniforms…? Everyone did look kind of the same in their uniforms…

“There are lots and lots of first year boys in this school,” she began, counting off her fingers, as if she had enough of them to indicate the male population of Hikarizaka. “But there’s only one Legendary Warrior-san who gave me sushi and beat me in a race~”

There! Now he would understand, right?

[Densetsu Karu]

“Umm… Maybe they’re only the same if you don’t talk to them. Once you talk to someone, they become different, don’t you think?”

Could this really be true? All the people out there who seemed boring, or predictable: it wasn't real? Had he been deceived? But there were still those who didn't change when he met them. Were only certain people able to become real? Why would he spend his precious time making the crowd "different?" Why need friends? There was nothing he or they could do to make his life any better. Nothing.

“There are lots and lots of first year boys in this school, but there’s only one Legendary Warrior-san who gave me sushi and beat me in a race~”

My actions define my difference to her. Her actions define her difference to me. Is this what she means? What about the stale, the boring, the lifeless people out there? His experience in the cafeteria a few days earlier rose to his mind, and he had to suppress a shiver. What about then? The entire situation had been so predictable. How could something like that be predictable? What kind of sick being made people like that? Fate? Fate, once again, taking his like to hell?

Regret. Enough, enough regret. It was so confusing. If only everything made sense. If only it could all go away, forever. His heart ached for the long lost past, all the time. It was so easy back then. He had taken it for granted. With the on-flow of regret came the desire to be alone. He wanted to walk away, without stopping, until he reached a dark corner to collapse. Karu fought the urge to leave, the urge to abandon Yasuda once again.

"Yasuda-san," he began carefully, worried his voice would betray him. "...Nevermind." Was there even anything to say?

Silently, he continued down the path lined with cherry blossoms, with her by his side. Karu's thoughts moved in a tangled mess in his mind. Only one thing was certain at this time. If they had not met, they would be no different to each other in a crowd. Now they had an identity. They were... friends.

[End]