Strawberry Season [Karushuu]

Chapter 9

(P.O.V : Asano)

I opened my eyes and got directly out of bed to prevent me from falling asleep again.
As I took a look outside the windows, I could tell that it was between 6 or 7 am.
I picked up my clothes, which seemed to were pushed down the bed by some certain redhead.
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After I got myself dressed I went to the bathroom to take care of the upper part of my body.
My hair and face looked terrible.
I sighed at my reflection and started to fix this mess.
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When I finished, I noticed a phone on the sink cabinet.
'What's this doing here?'
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"If I remember correctly, Akabane went in here this morning."
I whispered to myself and grabbed it to hand it back to him later in order to keep it safe.
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Suddenly the screen turned itself on by being picked up and revealed a message from a friend of him.
'The girl who placed 3rd at the finals.'
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»Good night, sweetheart!~«
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A confused expression appeared on my face.
'Is he dating this girl?'
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'Well, it's none of my business.'
I checked myself in the mirror again and decided to buy some tickets for later at the train station nearby.
I placed a note on the nightstand, left the room and closed the door quietly.
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As I walked down the streets I felt the freezing morning breeze on my face.
It was colder than I expected for this season.
After buying two tickets I decided to buy a coffee-to-go on the way back to the hotel.
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Somehow I kept thinking about the message on his phone.
It was completely normal for boys of his age to get into their first serious relationship but I never thought about getting a girlfriend myself.
'There are much more important things to do.'
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I couldn't afford to get distracted by some damsel I might find attractive.
It's important to be financially independent before you can allow yourself to take care of someone else.
My future career was my only and most important priority.
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I found myself back at the door and unlocked it and trotted inside once again.
After the door was closed, I took off my coat and placed it on the bureau next to me.
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"Hey, have you seen my phone?"
Karma asked as he rushed out of the bathroom.
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"Yeah, I found it in the bathroom. I wanted to give it to you as soon as you'd wake up."
I said and handed it back to him.
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"I thought I lost it- Thanks a lot!"
He smiled and put it inside his pocket.
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"Did you get the tickets?"
He continued to ask as he dressed himself.
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I nodded.
"Let's get going - before we miss it."
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Both of us made our ways downstairs and paced to the train station - together - until Karma spotted a vending machine that offered his favorite drink.
"Don't tell me you w-"
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I couldn't even finish my sentence before he ran off to get his drink.
A slight smile spread across my lips.
'So predictable-'
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The red devil returned while guzzling on his signature drink - strawberry milk.
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"Come on, I don't want you to catch a cold-"
I complained and sounded rather annoyed.
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"Aw, does that mean you do care about me too?~"
He teased and lead me to blush a little.
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"Never."
I grunted.
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"Never say never!~"
His smile transformed into a smirk.
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I sighed.
"You're the worst."
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He just stuck out his tongue as response.
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"You know, my mother once told me that sticking out your tongue means that you're in love with the person who receives your little message!~"
I grinned.
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I could tell by his blushing face that he regretted his recent statement.
'I guess I won!~'
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'If it only were that easy to beat him in math.'
I chuckled a little as we finally arrived.
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On the ride home he didn't even say a single word.
He was struggling somehow as I was able to tell by examining him.
I had to admit that I was /a little/ worried about him.
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As we detrained I decided to break the silence - I didn't know why but this silence was simply unbearable.
"What do you want to do next?"
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"I don't know..."
He mumbled into his scarf.
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"It's driving me insane-"
He continued to mutter, probably thinking out loud without noticing it.
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'Maybe this feeling called love was new to him.'
I wondered.
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"Feel free to talk to me about your problems."
I then offered.
Even I couldn't help but to notice how much his behavior changed within a few weeks.
If his new relationship troubled him, I wouldn't have minded to give him some advice.
I knew a lot about love and many people confessed their love to me but I never really experienced it myself- So you could say I knew all psychological aspects of love.
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He looked at me with a slim smile on his lips.
"Thanks- I appreciate it."
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Somehow I wanted to comfort him but I couldn't find the right words to do so.
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As he was about to enter his house, I called out to him and smiled.
"Akab- I mean Karma, thank you for showing me the true colors of my hometown."
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He turned around again and seemed a bit surprised by my words but after a few seconds he smiled back at me.
"Thank you for accompany me."
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I nodded as he went inside.
'Well- what now?'
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As I realized that it was about to rain, I stopped thinking and headed home right away.
Shortly after entering my house, my father crossed my way.
Of course no one said anything.
We didn't talk at all if it wasn't for school matters.
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As I was about to enter my room, my phone rang.
After I checked the number I could tell it was Sakakibara.
He was the first person who asked me to refer them by their first name.
Even tho I agreed, I never really felt comfortable using it - I mostly did it to keep him as my minio- /friend/.
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I accepted the call and went inside my room.
"Hey Ren, why'd you call me?"
I asked politely.
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"Hey, good to hear your voice again, bud!"
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"..."
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"How's going?"
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"I can't complain."
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"Congrats - My school is rather lame."
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"I see, but you should have known by the standards of your school."
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"I know... but I just miss Kunugigaoka."
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"Just keep doing your best and show those people why you were part of the big 5. You are capable of making your school less boring on your own."
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"I will - and thanks I guess."
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"You're welcome. Something else you wanted to talk about?"
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"Yeah, I was thinking about visiting you..."
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"This won't be necessary. You should rather focus on your studies."
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"You sure? Isn't it-"
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"I said it's fine. Concentrate on yourself."
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"Okay- But if you need anything just call me, alright?"
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"Will do, but I should be studying by now-"
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"I see, bud- Bye!"
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"Bye."
I hung up.
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'It's hard being popular.'
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Never have I allowed myself to misbehave.
Always followed all the rules.
Never thought of losing.
Always straightforward.
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Trying to approach the state of perfection.
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I took about 6 Book out of my bookshelf and started to memorize every phase, word, number and letter.
For years I learned almost everything about all kind of stuff, making me perfect in every subject, all kinds of sports and much more.
I speak about 5 languages fluently and won dozen of prizes in all kinds of competition - worldwide.
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I grew up with the knowledge of being the best.
People, who were inferior to me, had to be treated like some little kids, knowing they might have a lot of power but a small brain-set.
It was important to befriend them and use that power without letting them know.
You'd be surprised how easy it is to manipulate people, especially students.
That's how I managed to stay the student council president even though I knew none of these new students, except for karma.
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'This prick again-'
He kept appearing in my thoughts without my approval.
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'Besides, he really is an interesting guy.'
Being smart, but not really trying to be - and somehow he beat me by using a solution path that was way more simple than I imagined.
I kept concentrating on the much more difficult way to solve this problem which lead me to lose eventually.
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I wasn't mad at him, nor was I /sad/.
I was frustrated with myself, questioning why I didn't realize that the time was nearly up.
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He beat me by 3 points, scoring a perfect 500.
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I didn't understand why this made me smile.
'I guess having someone, who's equal to you for the first time isn't as bad as I imagined.'