Chapter 13: Unexpected Shift of Wind Direction (Chronicles of Time)
“Yuu, do you have a shirt that Tsukasa-kun can borrow?” Natsumi peeked into his room. Tsukasa peered in above her head.
“I do–” he paused. “No, I don’t.”
“Oh, come on!” Natsumi walked in and slapped him on the back. “It’s only this once.”
“That’s not–hey!”
She dug through his drawer and gasped. “Hey! This is the hoodie that I gave you when you first came! You still have it?”
“I-I don’t know how it got there.” He said, avoiding her eyes. “Sora must’ve left it there by accident.”
“...alright…well since it was left there by accident, it’s fine if Tsukasa-kun uses it, right?” She turned to face Tsukasa but was stopped. His hand gripped onto her arm and she gave him a bizarre look. But his expression was even more frightening. “Are you angry?”
“N-no,” he shook it off and snatched the clothing back. “I’m sure that won’t fit him. I’ll find something else for him.”
She nodded slowly, taken back. They waited outside of his room door, a bit bewildered by his sharp reaction. Tsukasa, feeling the urge to break the tension, spoke up, “Er…it seems like Yuu-kun really likes it, huh?”
“I-it’s a surprise, actually.” She said, pulling back a strand of her hair. “He hated it before and called it ugly. I wonder why he’s suddenly so protective of it now?”
They waited until Yuu stumbled out of his room and handed some clothes to Tsukasa. He turned to Natsumi with a growl. “Next time, don’t touch my stuff without permission.”
Natsumi pouted. “As if you don’t go into my room out of nowhere!”
“That’s different!”
“How?”
“H-how?” He thought about it to no avail. His mind drew a blank. “W-whatever! Just don’t go through my stuff and hand someone my belongings without permission!”
She was taken back and scoffed. “Your belongings? Okay, first of all, it was I who bought it. You didn’t appreciate it so why not give it to someone who actually needs it?”
“But…you gave it to me.” He said. His eyes drooped and he bit the inside of his lip and refused to look at her. His brows twitched and his gaze was stuck to the floor, forlorn. The other two froze at his puppy-like face.
‘I-is he pouting?’
They just stood there, confused on what to do. What should they even say? Why was he acting like this? He looked like those pitiful girlfriends in those dramas who sobbed as the gifts they received from their boyfriends were tossed to another girl. But to Natsumi, why did he look so–
“Adorable!” She grabbed his face, her heart melting. “W-who knew you could be so cute?”
“What?” He raised an eyebrow and hugged his arms. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on! Put that face back on again!”
“What face?”
“That puppy face! The one that makes someone melt from cuteness! Like - like this!” She did a demonstration and put her hands on the side of her face.
“I did not do that!” He pushed her away from him, disgusted.
“Yes, you did!” She insisted. “Tsukasa-kun saw, right…Tsukasa-kun?”
There was no one behind her. It seemed that he already left while they were bickering. She shrugged then turned back to Yuu. Her lips stretched into a mischievous grin.
“W-what?” He gulped.
***
She hummed while she fluffed up his pillow and spread out his blanket. Her whole body felt so light and it was as if the world turned bright and shiny. Tons of glitter could be seen everywhere she turned and best of all, he was staying over. It was a very fast progression, and unexpected, and totally not unwelcomed, but to think that luck was truly on her side? It was too good to be true–but it wasn’t a dream! Definitely not. And she was very sane. Very.
It did ticked her off whenever she bumped into Sora and he would point out that she was grinning like an idiot. And that was often. It was such a small world. Despite her brother’s annoying comments–the situation was perfect! All she had to do was land a hard punch for him to close his mouth. Tsukasa would also have to stay the night and that meant that they had plenty of opportunities to get to know each other well! But…
“Where is he at?” She said, sitting on the bed. “I even got his room ready too, so where could he have gone?”
Her hands flattened down the blanket. Her feet tapped against the floor and her eyes darted towards the door every few seconds. Then she sighed and got up. It was on her way back to Natsumi’s room that she saw him.
“Tsu–oh.” Her fingers curled back into her palms. She could feel her heart drop. All those sparkles that she had seen before were gone. Not knowing what she could even do in this situation, she stood still and watched like the idiot she was. She gnawed on the insides of her mouth then exhaled deeply.
‘I really thought…it would work out this time.’
Their smiles looked faded to her as she only focused on his eyes. They looked bright, but a bit dim as he looked at the two play fighting. He didn’t care about his damp red hair that dripped water onto his shoulders and soaked the top of his shirt. Even more did he not notice that she was watching him from afar with bitterness. At last, she couldn’t stand it anymore.
She gritted her teeth and mustered up her confidence. “T-Tsukasa-kun, your room is ready.”
“O-oh!” He jumped at the sound of her voice and quickly schooled himself. “Ah, thank you very much A-Aikawa.”
“...it’s all good.” She smiled shortly.
“Oh, right, A-Aikawa!” He said as she turned to leave. Her feet stopped and she peered over her shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“Um…t-thank you f-for today.” He bowed.
“No, it’s fine.” She said, curtly. “Have a good night.”
“G-good night to you too!”
“Yeah, sleep well!” She said back. He smiled back at her with a brightness equivalent to the sun. She really ought to purchase some sunglasses. Seeing his smile, who could stay mad at such a kind person? When she was in the clear, she clapped her cheeks then pumped her fists.
‘Who cares if he doesn’t like me back? It’s not as if I need him to! I can always find someone else! Besides…staying as friends isn’t so bad.’
Feeling much more energized and encouraged she headed to bed with a determined attitude.
“I can always go for him again!” She kicked her legs in the air and beamed. “It’s too early to give up!”
“What are you talking about?” Natsumi walked into the room, her fingers on the light switch. Akira stood behind her, hugging his pillow tightly. “It’s time to sleep.”
She swallowed her spit, forgetting that it was her best friend that he was interested in. It wasn’t just some rando, it was Natsumi. However, she shook off her mixed feelings and patted the bed. If any problem arises, they’ll make it through. After all, it has always been that way.
“Okay!”
***
That night, she had another strange dream. It felt familiar again but…peculiar.
A large meadow stretched before her, and she could feel the wind combing through her hair. Her hands were…paler? And her hair wasn’t purple, but instead, dark red! It was wavy too. ‘She’ bent down and breathed in the scent of the flowers then immersed herself in this light feeling. Her chest sank and her body relaxed.
“Thank you for bringing me here.” She said, sitting down on the grass. The ground felt soft, as if she could sink into it any moment but not care.
“You're welcome.” A voice behind her replied. She heard that voice somewhere before, but ‘she’ continued to speak.
“There’s been a lot on my mind lately.” Her fingers slid through the gaps in the grass and flew up to the sky as she fell onto her back. The sky never felt so large, and the air never felt so weightless. It was a moment that was to be kept in her mind forever.
“I heard that you’ve been busy with…preparations.” Someone sat beside her but her gaze remained towards the sky and its indolent clouds.
“Yeah…they want to make me crown princess.” She sighed. She quickly glanced for any reaction then drew her attention back. It was for a split second but she managed to get a blurry image of the man.
“...is that so?”
She nodded, the grass brushing against her hair as she did so. He stayed silent for a while then opened his mouth,
“Congratulations.”
“That’s it?”
“What else do you want me to say?”
She felt a twinge of annoyance and disappointment. “No. Forget it.”
“Did you even want to become crown princess either way?” He asked.
“Do you think I want to?”
“Well, do you?”
“Of course not!” She shouted in outrage. “Why would I–no, why are you so clueless?”
She turned away from him, plucking the blades of grass while glowering.
“Hey! What are you talking about?”
“Nothing that you would understand anyways.” She snapped. Time continued to pass with the two not speaking a word to each other after that. Not understanding why she was angry, he carefully stripped a delicate flower off of its lower stem and placed it in her hair.
“As long as you’re happy, I’m fine with anything you choose.” He said softly. More flowers were used to adorn the side of her hair and she smiled a little. But she couldn’t forgive him. Not when he could just easily find out her true thoughts and not choose to do so! Doesn’t he also–
“Natsumi?” She jolted awake at the touch of a cold hand. He stood before her with his hands retreating back to his side. “You alright?”
“Yeah…y-yeah I’m fine.” She breathed heavily and it was the same sensation as before. That cold feeling, like she was drenched in cold water and couldn’t stop shivering. But concurrently, her body also felt hot. Like something inside of her was about to burst and tear out of her. Her chest tightened and she had to keep swallowing back her saliva.
He glanced at her blanched face and the sweat protruding through her skin. “You sure? You don’t have to push yourself if you don’t want to. I’ll just tell–”
“Sora!” He paused. She gave him a look fraught with weariness and smiled. “I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
Natsumi waved him away. “Yes. Now get out. I have to change.”
She shuffled out of bed and her legs wobbled as she headed to her closet. As if taking out her uniform wasn’t troublesome enough, she had to rely on leaning against the door to slip on her clothing. Her bag was snatched from its place beside her desk and she hurried downstairs with slight trembles.
“I-I’ll be heading out!” Her feet were almost near the door but a figure blocked her.
“No. You won’t be heading out.” Hearing her voice was all that his intuition needed to signal him that something was not right.
“W-why?” She looked at him outrageously.
“...the weather is getting colder and you’re sick.”
“I told you, I’m not sick.” She said with a smile, slapping away his hand before it could even touch her forehead. She really didn’t want to see him right now out of all people.
“Don’t force my hand.” He growled, displeased at her retaliation and stubbornness.
“What?” Her brows wrinkled, disgruntled. “‘Force your hand’? Why are you so against it?”
“Because you’re not feeling well!” He shouted impatiently. “What do you not understand? You’re in a weak state right now, it’s best to nurse your health and rest instead of risking the possibility of making things worse for yourself!”
It just felt so weird to her, hearing these words from him. He sounded annoyed…and desperate. Just why was he so keen on her anyways? Last time when Sora got sick he didn’t care and ditched him at home with a laugh. So why was it when it came to her he wanted to interfere?
“I’ll be fine!” She assured him with a bit of aggressiveness. “I will be! Thanks for your concern, but I’ll be fine!”
With those words, she turned her back against him who glared at her fervently. “Well sorry that I was trying to look out for you!”
Maybe it was because of that realistic dream that she saw that caused her to be so moody. But it still doesn’t change the fact that Yuu was acting awfully strange. Yuu cares for her? Please! That was just as believable to her as Sora flunking a test. “...I don’t need you to look out for me.”
He gritted his teeth and swallowed. “Fine!”
The door slammed in front of his face, and he sneered at her rushed exit.
‘Ungrateful.’ That word rang through his mind every second. ‘Ungrateful! Ungrateful! Ungrateful! Ungrateful! Ungrateful!’
Why was it so hard for her to just suck up his generosity? It isn’t everyday that he would show such benevolence and spare kindness, okay?!
“Is…everything okay?” He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back.
“Yeah. Your best friend just swept up a storm and left me behind in the dust.” He scoffed and stormed back to the kitchen.