Strawberry Season [Karushuu]

Chapter 10

(P.O.V : Karma)

"Alright, now-"
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"Excuse me, Sensei!~"
I said with a slight grin on my lips as I entered the classroom.
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"Akabane-kun, you're 40 minutes late on your first day."
The teacher said coldly.
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"I know, but I had no choice- the vending machine wasn't working."
After telling her my extremely relatable excuse, I sat down on the only empty seat left.
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The teacher gave me a disbelieving glare before continuing the lesson.
I didn't even bother to take out my notes, nor was I pleased with spending my time in very first seat row in line.
I couldn't fall asleep with this teachers killing my ears with a somewhat way too annoying voice.
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'Well, I just gotta survive the first lesson-'
I thought to myself and leaned back.
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As soon as she had ended the lesson, I sighed in relief and placed my head on the table.
This is how school should be - some place to take a nap after being busy all night playing the latest games.
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I slept for the next few hours until lunchtime started.
While heading to the front gates, I thought about what I should eat.
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"Where do you think you're going?"
A familiar voice asked in a sound of pure annoyance.
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"Oh Asano-kun, nice to see that pretty face of yours once again!~"
I teased but he didn't seem to bother.
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"You haven't answered my question yet."
The strawberry-blond male snarled, seeming slightly on edge.
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"I'm sorry, but I think you should mind your own business!~"
I smirked while eyeing him closely.
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"/Everything/ here is my business."
He stated.
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"Oh I see- congratulations, Mr. Student council president!~"
I figured that he was elected once again.
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He gave me a certain - really questionable - smile.
"As you may know, I can not allow you to do whatever you want, Akabane."
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"I'm not asking for your permission-"
I said while turning my face to the gates.
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"Neither am I-"
I could feel a grip on my shoulder.
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"You're not leaving on my watch."
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"Then you better watch closely!~"
I spit, still not letting go of my smirk.
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"Don't worry, I will keep a /special/ eye on you!~"
He responded and /finally/ let go of my shoulder. His grip is rather strong I must admit.
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"-but for now, allow me to invite you for lunch."
As I turned around I found a gently smiling expression on his face - which looked deceptively real - but I knew something was up.
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"You're inviting /me/?"
I raised an eyebrow.
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"Indeed. It's a good opportunity to get to know each other, don't you think?"
He said in an almost perfectly deceiving kind of way.
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"Seems good to me!~"
I accepted his invitation, knowing this might be fun.

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I sighed after I shut the door behind me.
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'Why me-'
I whispered to myself while walking inside the kitchen.
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I could feel myself acting increasingly weird and stupid around him by every passing second I spent with him.
His whole being drove my crazy.
Just imagining him makes my heart skip a beat.
'Love is annoying.'
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I took the strawberry milk out of the fridge and made my way to the living room, trying to get his picture out of my mind - In vain.
After spending almost an hour pressing some buttons on the remote control without finding anything to watch that wouldn't include a love story, I gave up.
I laid back and faced the ceiling.
'I gotta do something about it-'
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I was able to find every solution in mathematics, but couldn't solve a well-known problem called love.
I kept wondering why it hit me so bad - me, out of all people.
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After spending the whole day thinking about this, I decided to go out for a walk.
Lost in my mind, I crossed all kinds of people.
Some mid-aged men, who seemed to be in a rush.
A mother with 3 kids.
An old lady sitting on a bench, feeding some pigeons on the sidewalk.
A couple who seemed to argue about something.
Some kids running past me.
A man who painted on a wall.
A father who played piano with his daughter.
A driver in hurry who /almost/ hit me.
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And another couple.
This time without any problems.
Just holding hands while talking about something funny I could tell by reading their expressions.
I noticed how different they were dressed.
One dressed in black and seemed to like goth-style, and the other one dressed in all kinds of colors and seemed rather bubbly.
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If even opposites like them could get along, why shouldn't I be able to be with Asano.
Somehow they gave me hope just by walking past me.
'But - /does/ he like me?'
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I stopped in the middle of the way, while asking me the same question once again.
He never really talked about his feelings towards others and seemed to avoid this topic.
'How should I know-'
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Suddenly, I could feel myself being almost knocked over by some guy.
"Sorry, dude! I didn't-...Wait, Akabane?"
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As I took a closer look I recognized this person.
"Sakakibara?"
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We looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
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"Well, are you alright?"
He asked awkwardly.
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"Yeah-"
I answered.
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"This might seem a bit strange, but do you know if Asano is doing fine?"
He continued.
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"He seemed fine this morning..."
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"This morning? Are you implying that you two spent time together outside of school?"
He asked confused, leading me to blush a little.
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"Y-Yeah, I guess..."
I muttered.
'What the heck is wrong with me?!'
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He seemed surprised by my answer and couldn't seem to understand.
"You two are friends?"
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"Well, it's complicated-"
I mumbled, trying to get rid of my blushing face.
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"What do you mean?"
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"He never really addressed me as his friend, but I would consider him one of mine."
I tried to explain while thinking about this fairly concerning matter.
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"Same here."
He laughed a bit.
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"I could only /assume/ that he considered me his friend."
He continued.
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'Does he think of me the way he thinks of Sakakibara?'
I thought without saying a thing - but this thought kinda pained my heart.
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"But I think this is completely different in your case - I /never/ would have thought that he might befriend someone like /you/."
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"Hm?"
I looked up to meet his eyes.
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"Well, don't get me wrong- but you're not the typ of guy he usually spends time with, so I guess he might see something deep inside of you that other people can't."
He explained.
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"Something inside of me that no one else sees?"
I thought out loud without noticing.
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"Yeah, he's only interested in people who are special or smart- And I guess you are both."
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"What kind of special?"
I asked, not paying attention to the compliment at all.
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"Well, not normal, y'know?-  Nobody knows exactly what he's thinking if we're being honest."
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I laughed a little, knowing how accurate this statement was.
"He really is a /special/ guy tho-"
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After a silence in awkwardness, he asked me a simple but serious question.
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"Do you like him?"
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My eyes widened as soon as he finished his sentence and I could feel that my cheeks began to heat up -- much to my annoyance.
"Wh-"
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"It's alright- I noticed it by the way you act."
Sakakibara stated with a small, yet still slightly confused smile on his lips.
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"Is it that obvious?"
I sighed and looked the other way.
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"I wonder how he hasn't notice it by now-"
He said, still wearing that awkward smile of his.
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"Fine by me. I don't even know if he likes me back-"
I said, sounding way more insecure than intended.
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"That's something only he can tell you- but seriously, good luck."
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"Thanks, I didn't expect you to-"
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"Yeah, I know -- but I think someone like you might be just right for him. Keep an eye on him for me, k? I need to hurry, see ya-"
He explained and it put a reassuring smile on my face.
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"Alright, bye-"
I said and he ran off.
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'Someone like me might be just right for him?'
With this thought on my mind, I was able to calm down.
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I began to continue my walk.
As I noticed how fast the time had flown by, I decided to head back home.
The sun was already setting and it seemed to get colder by every passing minute.
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"Just be quite, B*tch-"
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I turned my head in surprise, trying to find the source of those words.
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2 middle-aged men cornered a young woman and seemed rather aggressive towards her.
The woman tried to push them away when one of those men grabbed her wrist and was about to slam her against the wall -- but I stepped in.
I curled my hand into a fist and aimed for his nose.
The blood, which splattered all over the ground, lead the second man to be shell-shocked.
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"Get lost!-"
I demanded while planning another attack.
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One of them ran away and left the other behind, who was clearly struggling to get up.
I sighed and turned my head to the woman.
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"Are you alright?"
I asked, still keeping an eye on the man who was trying to crawl away.
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"I-It's fine... Thanks!"
She answered with a slight smile.
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"Are you hurt?"
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"No - And you're the reason for it."
The woman laughed a little and seemed relieved.
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"Let's get out of here-"
I said and lead her back to the sidewalk.
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Before I could say anything, she kissed my cheek and walked off.
"Call me if you need something!~"
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I looked at the calling card she put inside my pocket a few seconds ago.
She seemed to run some kind of business I guess.
As I put it back in, I sighed.
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'What a day-"
Without further interferences, I made my way home.