ただの友達 | y. okkotsu

five

You woke up, the pain in your body no longer to be felt, and the fever that made your body go warm was seemingly gone. In all honesty, you felt the healthiest you've ever been in a long time.

"Awake now, are we? Here, eat breakfast then head to your dorm. You should be good now." Ieiri told you, to which you responded with a nod. Another meal, yet you didn't really have an appetite at the moment. To be fair, it wasn't like you've ever had an appetite for as much as you could remember.

But now that you were allegedly starting your school days in this peculiar place, they were sure to monitor your eating. After all, they needed your strength for some reason still unknown to you, and the doctor who was constantly overseeing you looked very certain about fattening you up to a healthy degree.

After eating the breakfast she gave you, you followed the directions she gave to reach the dorm. With the key Ieiri gave you, you unlocked and entered the silent room. To your surprise, boxes of your belongings already sat in the room, only waiting to be arranged. You explored the room, looking at every corner and observing the smallest details.

With aging comes the change of scenery. This was certainly a new change you never thought you'd encounter. The years of aging and growing older in the same environment over and over made you feel stuck in the past and unable to move forward. Because there was no change. And with no change, it felt like aging was only an indefinite number.

But this was certainly change. And you realize how old you've grown. You were young of course, only being the age of fifteen, but at that moment, you realized how much time has passed by. It felt like only yesterday you knelt beside Rika's crushed head, tainting your uniform with crimson red blood while ridiculously hoping she'd stay alive. Only now do you realize that so much more time has passed by since then.

This was certainly change. Was this change meant to free your heart from the past that chained you to despair? A part of you hoped. You hoped that someone out there would save you from drowning in the past—from drowning in guilt, sadness, and pain. Maybe it was here that you'd find your salvation. But after breaking yourself from the trance your thoughts spelled upon you, you cursed and told yourself that it was another selfish thought to be saved.

Perhaps being stuck in the past to wallow in pain was the way fate has bestowed penance upon you and your sins.

~

After changing into a uniform that was neatly placed on your bed with a note stuck to it, you headed outside the room in search of the classroom you've already been to yesterday.

After a long struggle of going in circles and taking paths that looked strikingly similar to each other, you finally found the classroom.

You slid the tatami doors open with a loud thud, entering the room that was washed with silence and an awkward atmosphere.

The panda you saw yesterday was not yet here, but the two others were, together with Yuta. As you entered, you bowed in respect and greeted them good morning before taking a seat beside Yuta. He looked nervous and bothered, and you understood why. The other people here probably didn't think we belonged yet. And it wasn't like you felt you belonged either. There was separation, and the separation was accentuated by the fact that only me and Yuta wore white uniforms while theirs is a dark shade of blue.

"B-by the way..." Yuta broke the silence, huffing out words in an airy voice. "Maki-san, Inumaki-kun, this is [y/n] [l/n]. [y/n], this is Inumaki Toge and Zenin Maki." You looked towards them, bowing a little in place before speaking as well. "Pleased to meet you, Inumaki-kun and Zenin-san."