Himawari for Midnight

(2) Chapter One

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He took a deep breath of the refreshing air, a far cry from the dull, stuffy aroma of the library. Here, everything was fresh and vivid. The sound of giddy chatter filled his ears and he took a moment to take in the delightful sight of the virtual school grounds. Plants, real and fictional, rare and common, surrounded the stone walkways. Massive oak trees arched overhead and colorful lanterns floated about. A big, beautiful sky from beyond the reach of the mystical flora mirrored the same bright blue as Haruyuki's eyes

But, as ethereal as this world was, Haru knew better than to linger in the open for too long. One look at his absurdly embarrassing avatar and the entire school would surely double over laughing at him, again. Haruyuki cringed at the unwelcome thought and began his walk briskly.

As more students came into view, he kept his gaze low, occasionally searching for his usual trail. Eventually, he found it; a small opening between two large shrubs, and he squeezed in. The foliage towered over him and he immediately relaxed under the restful gaze of the beloved forest. It was a bit sad, but he considered these virtual plants to be friends of his. They didn't point and laugh at him, they didn't mock his figure or his interests. They just lived and breathed, the same as him. Well, if they were real plants they would. One thing was sure, though; they hid him well.

He followed the opening loyally, treading over the path of tiny, cloven hoofprints he'd begun leaving since freshman year. Just as he had back then, his stubby arms spread out, brushing both hands, or, hoofs rather, over each flower and leaf that hung low enough for him to reach. It was a little claustrophobic but he felt fine taking up the space; the plants didn't seem to mind.

As he reached out to touch a blooming stalk of gladiolus flowers, a melody interrupted him. Haru paused, reluctantly pulling his arms back to his side. He scanned his surroundings, though he was met with nothing but ferns and shrubs. And yet, the intoxicating melody began again. This time he followed it.

He poked his head through the bush to his right, searching for the source of the enchanting song. He recognized the area, it was a courtyard of sorts. Avatars of all kinds peacefully roamed and lingered around the area, all murmuring about nothing that Haru found interesting.

"Ahahaha.." her voice sang, again reaching Haruyuki's ears and he nearly swooned.

There she was, sitting atop a boulder in the middle of the garden, chatting with some avatars. Naomi Kuroyukihime was well aware of her own angelic aura, seeming to have taken inspiration from it with her lavishly designed avatar.

A spitting image of herself, her avatar donned a beautiful baby blue ball gown, something a princess would wear. The dress was cut away at the middle, showing off her sleek, brown legs and dainty, winged heels. Her glossy raven hair had been curled at the ends and altered with long bangs, covering her eyes and parted in the middle. There was a platinum, halo-like crown affixed behind her head. From her shoulders sprouted two breathtakingly massive wings, with their many long, smokey brown feathers flowing in the faux breeze.

Haru's eyes followed intently as she leaned over to playfully pat someone on the shoulder and a sort of jealousy burned inside him. Truthfully, he didn't believe anyone was worthy of Naomi's touch, not her friends, not even a boyfriend; especially not himself. Yet, still, he felt envious of the boy she had just touched and laughed with. He'd grown so intensely upset with a scene he'd watched from the shrubbery that he hadn't even noticed the two pairs of legs which entered his peripherals and threatened to block his view.

"..And I looked at her like, 'Uhm, are you serious right now? We just did that yester-' W-what the..?" The discussion from above halted and snapped Haru out of his stubborn trance. He looked up warily to meet the disturbed glares of two girls. He wasn't sure who they were, or why they were looking at him, but he thought he'd seen them around Naomi's uppity student council clique a few times.

"O-oh, uhm..-" he froze. Girls; two girls who wore towered over him in their frilly skirts and glared down at a boy in a bush. There weren't enough excuses in the world to save him at that moment.

"What the //// is that thing?!"

"Agck! It's looking up our skirts!"

"N-no! I-"

"Get the //// away from us!" Haru looked from one girl to another, slowly sinking back from them. As he prepared himself to make a lengthy apology, he met the alarmed gaze of Naomi Kuroyukihime from across the courtyard. Or, her gaze from behind her bangs, at least.

"////," he tried to swear, but it just came out as a censor bleep. He ripped his head from the bush and bolted instead.

"What did it say?!" a girl called, "Get back here- creep!" but Haruyuki ran as fast as his virtual body would take him and, thankfully, the girls didn't follow him for long.

...

"Oh, Haru, there you are," Chiyu called, looking down at the piglet who trudged up from behind a bush. "What took you so long?"

"S-sorry, I kinda got caught up with..." Haru started but quickly brushed off the thought, not wanting to relive the encounter. "..Anyway, whatcha guys doing?"

"Dragging Chiyu through the mud," Taku gloated, holding up his glitchy machine gun.

Chiyuri delivered a loud smack against the back of Takumu's head, only to cross her arms and ignore him when he began whining about it.

Alas, match after match, Chiyu lost and the two boys took turns winning. It wasn't long before they switched off to another game, for the sake of the poor girl and eventually parted ways to join their next classes.

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