A Friend's Time 5

"Okay, that's all!" the teacher said. "If you've got any questions for me or your other teachers, don't hesitate to come to the faculty room. Dismissed!"

After the teacher said that, everyone started dispatching out of the classroom. I stayed there for a little while. It felt kinda of strange for me, to be honest. Normally, I'd be asleep by this time and get left behind by my classmates, but I was fully awake. Even more than that, I felt subtle glances from almost everyone. I wouldn't say it was uncomfortable, but it felt strange to say the least.

Even now, while some of my classmates stood up and walk past me, they didn't keep their actions to themselves and just kept looking at me. I could even hear a few people talk. I'm not going to assume that it's about me, but with the way things were earlier, I think it's safe to assume that.

As I slumped my entire body in my desk, thinking that everyone has finally left, a familiar voice spoke to me.

"I'm guessing you're gonna have it rough from now on."

When I looked beside me, I saw Morimoto-san reading a book. She didn't leave with the other students and stayed here for some reason.

"…Thanks for earlier, Morimoto-san."

"Don't mention it. Though, I gotta say, I didn't expect you to do something like that. You really are surprisingly kind, Hisakawa-kun."

"For the third time, you didn't need to say it like that…"

While I almost lost my temper just earlier, Morimoto-san managed to stop me. At the same time, some of the teachers went to the canteen to check in on us, and the guy was still stubbornly refusing to give up. Thankfully, some of the students from a martial arts club restrained him, and that'll probably stop him from doing anything more to Mari.

"But it is still strange, to say the least. I've never seen you talk to anyone that you never knew, so why would you suddenly go ahead and stand up to someone you don't even know? Is it because they're beautiful? After all, this is the Mari Shinkawa we're talking about."

"…Well, you're actually wrong with all of your assumptions."

"All of them?"

"Yeah. I didn't save Ma…Shinkawa-san because she was beautiful or something. I only saved her because I wanted to."

I almost accidentally said her name due to the fact that I got used to saying it back then. Even now, too.

"What about the part of me assuming that you don't know her?"

"I…don't really like talking about that. It's kind of complicated, to say the least."

"Oh. I won't pry any further then."

After that, we just stayed silent for a bit. She continued reading her book as I listened to the occasional flipping of the pages and the sounds coming front outside the window.

For some reason, what I said felt wrong. Sure, Mari and I both had a past with each other that I probably couldn't share well, but I don't need to take that into account, especially since Morimoto-san shared me her story. And besides, I never actually got to tell her what I thought about it since the teacher ended up interrupting our conversation when she started classes.

After gathering up my courage, I took a deep breath and then started talking.

"We both dated," I said.

"Really? Even though you barely have any friends?" she asked, unsurprised.

"You didn't need to word it like that… But yeah, we dated. That's all I can say."

There wasn't much to mention about us. Well, if it was Mari, then someone would be able to point out a lot of things about her. When it comes to me though, I'm pretty much just a wall that no one would mention, let alone even notice. That's why anyone barely knew of us dating even though we both went to this school last year.

"Huh. So you helped her out because she was your ex?" Morimoto-san asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say I helped her back then just because of the sole reason she was my ex. To be honest, I don't even know why I tried helping her. We've been ignoring each other ever since we broke up in our first-year, but something just compelled me to try and help her."

"Whatever it is, you still helped her. I'm not going to ask more about your past."

She closed her book, put it inside her bag, and stood up with the bag. She started walking out of the classroom, leaving me behind with a few words.

"It seems that you still hold hidden feelings for Shinkawa-san despite not dating anymore. I think it's better if you confront your feelings directly rather than trying to run away from the inevitable. If that doesn't work, then just try to seek someone out."

With the way she was speaking, it didn't sound like she was telling those words not only to me, but to herself as well. I could tell that she was speaking from her heart. And to be honest, it felt somewhat admirable.

"…Thanks, Morimoto-san. I felt like I really needed that."

As she turned around, she gave me a warm smile and then left the classroom. That was the first time I've ever seen her make that expression. It looked pretty suitable for her.

A few minutes passed of just silently sitting in my chair. For some reason, nothing was compelling me to get out of this school and just go home. I just blankly faced in front with no thoughts in mind.

Just then, my phone started vibrating, but only for a short amount of time; about half a second. When I grabbed it from my pocket, I saw Yumi messaging me. It read: "Is it a bad time to call you?" Instead of giving her a response, I decided to call her instead. After a few rings, she picked up.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Oh, Taku-chan? Sorry for that message earlier. I'm just wondering if you're going to be busy again today and leave school a little late like yesterday."

Come to think of it, I did have a single thing that I needed to do, which was to try and revise a plan to stop the guy that's stalking Mari. However, seeing that the teachers has taken care of that earlier, I can't think of anything else to do.

"I…don't know."

She let out a small giggle before answer.

"It's probably that, then."

"Why do you wanna ask about it, anyway?"

"Well, Yuu-kun kind of needs me at home right away to help him with a game. It seems like he's struggling from a boss or something?"

Yuu-kun, most likely Yuji Satou, is Yumi's younger brother by eight years. He likes playing games a lot and spending time with Yumi, especially if it's two at the same time. Yuji calling Yumi about game problems is already a pretty common event for Yumi.

"So, yeah, it's basically that!" Yumi said. "Are you going to be fine on your own?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll be fine by myself. You can use my bike if you want to go back home."

"Really?! I'd actually appreciate that, thanks!"

"Yeah. See you later."

After that, I hung up on her. We'd usually both go home together even if Yuji called his sister, but this time it was just Yumi going.

Despite what happened earlier, I couldn't let the words that I said to Mari yesterday go to waste. There's probably a small chance that she's not there, but nevertheless, I'll still try going.

And so, I stood up from my seat, picked up my bag, and got out of the classroom.

It was still pretty bright outside. As I walked through the hallway, I could hear a few clubs doing their businesses here and there. It's pretty much weird how every single one of these sounds are just spread around as if the school had no rule of where they could go and place the club rooms around.

Even though classes had already been finished, I could still see some people with their friends walking by. Sometimes, I saw one that had no friends at all. I was part of the latter one. I didn't mind it since I pushed that into myself.

Looking back, I had doubts about helping Mari once again. I know I once set my mindset into just forgetting our status of breaking up and just helping her out as a fellow schoolmate, but was that even worth it?

Even now, too. I've already mentioned this a couple of times, but I feel like I don't need to help Mari anymore with her problems. After all, since the teachers already handled that guy, I'm pretty sure I'm not needed anymore. But just like earlier, something strange was compelling me to go to that empty classroom in hopes that something was going to happen.

Without realizing how much time I've spent walking, I reached that empty classroom. I was standing at the front door, just meters away from entering it. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I tried lifting my hands up, but I couldn't.

Hesitation was still inside me. I tried to brush it off, but it felt impossible. No matter how much I tried, it just seemed as though anything I do would just be pointless. Two forces were at work here, and it was making me feel really uneasy. I was almost at my wit's end from this conflict going on in my mind. I wanted to end it all, to just disappear quietly.

Just when I was about to walk away from the inevitable, my body suddenly felt a strange sensation coming from my back. Actually, it was just pointed specifically at my back, just right in the middle of it. There wasn't anything surrounding it. All I could process and feel was a warm, pleasant sensation.

Suddenly, a memory suddenly rose up, giving me a nostalgic feeling. It was different from the ones I had when I was dreaming about it. It felt as if everything was getting a reenactment. What's worse, what she said made that feeling even stronger.

"…What are you doing here?" Mari asked.

"…For yesterday."

"That's already settled, though."

"Why are you here, then?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

The strange and familliar sensation I was feeling was leaning her head on my back, using it as if it was some sort of support. It felt warm and nostalgic. I remember her doing this to me every time she had a bad time going on for her. And each time, I'd be there to help her out, even if it's just a little bit.

Right now though, I wasn't sure if I could call it the same as before. While it did feel rather reminiscent, it felt as if something else was in work. My emotions were a bunch of strings tied together that was impossible to untie.

For some reason, we just stayed like this for a while. I couldn't see Mari's face because she was behind me but I could feel her warmth through my back. It was radiating behind me, sticking like some sort of hot glue.

I only had one question. Why was she doing this? After six months of no interaction, suddenly we became somewhat closer than we did during the span of those six months. We're not dating anymore, as I've already mentioned millions of times already.

What was she feeling? Every time I try to think about it, it just gets more and more confusing. I couldn't get any of my thoughts in order because of her. All I could think of was the warmth that she gave me, even if it's just a little bit. I didn't even realize that she was te only thing that I was feeling.

We just stayed like this. Time passed by as if mountains of hours was wasted by just standing here in front of the classroom where it all started. As if eternity had just passed by. Yet the time it took were just mere minutes. My sense of time is becoming distorted just from what Mari was doing.

"Hey," Mari called out. "Why did you do that earlier?"

"Do what?"

"You know, helped me out with Nakai-kun. You even went as far as grabbing him by his arms just for him to stop holding me down."

Please stop that. My thoughts were screaming out loud inside of my head, shouting in a high-pitched voice.

"Not just that, you also went as far as taking a punch in you face when you could've deflected it like you always did."

Please stop pointing out the obvious… I did nothing to deserve this… More and more, these thoughts kept filling and screaming in my head, threatening me to get out of here.

"You also didn't lose your temper despite getting knocked down on the floor with that punch. So I only have one question. Why did you do all that?"

"…I don't know…," I whispered.

"Hm?"

"I said I don't know, damn it!"

As if releasing the madness that was supposed to be released earlier at the canteen, I faced Mari and grabbed her by her shoulders. I faced down so I couldn't see her face.

"I only helped you out because I couldn't stand seeing him do that to you! No one was trying to even help you because they're only afraid! All this time, I just wanted to avoid you every single time, but something keeps telling me that I shouldn't!"

I kept shouting and shouting. We were nowhere anyone, so even if I screamed at the top of my lungs, I'm sure no one would notice.

"I only came here because I didn't know what to do! I'm a mess right now and nothing is going the way I want it to, so even if you ask me a simple question, don't expect to get a straight answer out of me!"

I kept venting my anger out. The feelings that was inside me were spilling out. The cup of water that was once full was starting to become empty more and more.

I wanted to run away. I wanted to get out of this place. I wanted to just leave and be forgotten by everyone. These feelings kept coming out of me. My anger, my happiness, my love, my hate, the list just keeps going on.

"Takuma-kun!!" Mari suddenly shouted.

I clicked, coming back to my senses. I looked at Mari, and saw her face that looked pained to the core. She was crying, tears flowing down from her cheeks as she looked me straight in the eye.

"Please, just stop for a bit…," she said, her voice sounding much more painful than before.

The grip that I held tight on her shoulders suddenly grew soft. After a bit, it just dropped. It felt limp and heavy.

"…I'm sorry…," I managed to say before breaking into a run out of this place.

I didn't look back. Even just casting a glance behind me felt too much. My feet kept running and running. The world felt colorless as I did so. I couldn't feel anything except the ground which I kept kicking.

As I got farther and farther from where I started, the more my feelings kept rushing out. At the same time, it also kept coming back as well. Like my sins were crawling in my back.

The scenery was unchanging, as well. Even though I kept running, it felt as if I was running on the same place repeatedly. As if time and space had looped itself, trapping me in the endless hallways of the school. That was changed the moment I entered the shoe lockers.

There was almost no one around. It was barren, much like my classroom back when lunch break occured. I immediately went to my shoe locker, switched out of my school shoes to my outdoor ones and continued running. And even though I was tired from all of it, I just continued to move until I was far away from the school, far away from where my mind kept colliding with one another.