Introverts Impressions' Interlude; Sato to Yamada no Yume

Volume 1; Chapter 1; Every Bookworm Must Switch Apples Once In A While

''What have I gotten myself into..?'' Said Raichi, as he woke up to the end of the long-lasting summer break, now into school. His family had only just moved to a new part of the city, where he would go to a different school. The cool dude himself, Hiroshi Kimura managed to convince Raichi's family to move there, knowing he would drag Raichi to places he knew he didn't want to. With his alarm by his side, Raichi reflexively smacked to his left, hitting the desk but not his alarm.
Ouch..
Then he got up to manually close it. A mother's voice could be heard in the distance.
"C'mon dear, come get your breakfast."
"Coming!" He shouted. He always liked to dress up before he ate breakfast, so he quickly got in his new school uniform. As usual, he had worn his neutral expression. But he still had found the energy to spit out a greeting.
"Good morning."
"Good morning dear." Said Emiko Sato, Raichi's mother. Emiko knew something that Raichi didn't. How they came to choose this house as their option to move, and who was the influence on the decision. While munching on his food, Raichi thought about his upcoming days in the new school. Would it be any different? And how so? After eating, he didn't have much time to waste, so he had to take his leave. He got to the door and put on his shoes.
''I sadly gotta go so soon, Mom.''
''Seems you set your alarm a little too late dear.''
''That's because I knew school was the same as always.''
''Oh no, it isn't.''
''Hmm?'' Raichi looked back in confusion. He wondered what could his mother possibly mean. After a silent second or two, his mother looked at him, saying
''Just open the door. You'll find that someone's waiting for you.'' Emiko points at the door.
''Okay..?''
Lo and behold, Raichi opens the door to find the man, the myth, the legend; Hiroshi Kimura. The cool dude he had been friends with for years. His blond hair and athletic charm exuded confidence. Raichi had always considered himself lucky to be friends with this..honestly a man at this point. It felt weird that this guy was the same age as him. The cool dude in front of him was almost like a dear friend to Raichi's father, Kaito. Whenever he had come over, before they went to hang out in Raichi's room, his father would ''borrow'' the kid for thirty minutes and talk on for a while. He was like family to both parents. He was on his bike.
''Hey there dude! Hi Sato-san!''
''Oh, Kimura-kun. I see you accepted my offer to pick him up.'' Said Emiko.
''Of course, I did. Mind I park the bike here?''
''Sure.'' While Hiroshi was parking his bike, Raichi thought to himself with a smirk. He was kinda happy to have such a friend.
''Good morning Hiroshi-kun.''
''Morning Raichi-kun.''
While chatting, something about Hiroshi caught his attention, he hadn't realized it at first and thought how similar their school uniforms were. And then it hit him. It wasn't even similar, they were the exact same. The school his parents decided to sign him up for was none other than the same school as his only two friends. His eyes widened in surprise.

No way...
''Mother, you didn't tell me I'd be going to the same school as Hiroshi-kun.''
''Oh, well you see, it was Hiroshi-kun himself that convinced us to move here to this very apartment. So you could be in the same school as him.''
''What?!'' He reacted out. He was flabbergasted. Why would they not tell him he thought. The reason wasn't because he was going to be in the same school or anything, but it was definitely one of them.
''Yup! I thought it'd be great for you to be with the two friends you knew.''
''I never told you about Hara-chan.''
''Again, I learned about it from your mother. I reckon we will cross her path too.''
''..Sure.''
At that point, Emiko had already closed the door, so Raichi had no choice but to follow his buddy. So he tagged along. As they kept walking through the sorta unknown streets, Raichi could see many of the other students also making their way to the school. He knew he already had two friends, but he felt conflicted, aware of the fact that he wanted more. Was he really that proud of his alone time? His envious stare was on the front and row, and Hiroshi could see it. His cool dude reflexes knew that the best thing to do in this situation was to grin like a crescent. He knew his best friend more than anyone else. His summer plans had all led up to this moment. The moment he'd turn Raichi's life around. He aimed to take down the walls he'd set up around himself. These walls wouldn't take it down themselves. And until he showed the person inside how good the outside is, the person inside wouldn't be willing to leave. He was thinking to himself quite clearly because Raichi had found himself staring at Hiroshi instead. Realizing he was being stared at, he let his guard down. And then, out of nowhere, a black-haired girl had jumped to their path. The petite girl had shouted
"Hey, bookworm!"She said.
"Good morning Hara-chan." Raichi replied. In front of them stood Hara Suzuki. Another one of Raichi's friends. She was preferably closer than Hiroshi was. Mostly because Hiroshi seemed closer to Raichi's parents than he was to Raichi himself. He actually had a lot of alone time spent with Hara, as gamer buddies, they spent the majority of summer together. They both were self-proclaimed introverts. How accurate that statement was is still up for debate. Hara immediately looked at Hiroshi. Perhaps she had questions.
"I know you from somewhere.. aren't you Kimura-kun?"
"Bingo. And you must be Suzuki-chan."
"H-How do you know my name? I believe I don't stand out too much."
"From this dude of course."
"Whoa. Raichi-kun you were best buds with Kimura-kun and you didn't even bother telling me?"
"Why should I talk about my other best friend with my best friend?"
"Well, considering we're the only friends you have, you've made quite the choice."
"And why do you say that Suzuki-chan?"
"Well duh, you're probably the best friend he could have."
"Oh no, he could very well make friends on his own. I'm just here to be the kicker. Because otherwise he isn't inclined to do it himself." Said Hiroshi. He hadn't meant it as an insult, but Raichi's face clearly says otherwise. He looked away in discomfort.
"Aww don't be so sad, Raichi-kun. I'm sorry for talking about you like that in front of you. But I didn't mean bad with it." Hiroshi said reassuringly with his hand on Raichi's shoulder. Raichi smiled back.
"It is true though. That's why I took it to heart."
"Don't take it to heart too much. Although Raichi-kun, you look like the type to look out the window the entire time on the bus ride to school." Hara's words had hit like an arrow. Hiroshi wanted to add a little too.
"I think you're also the type to never take your earphones off during that entire process."
"Please stop..the way you guys accurately read me makes me really afraid." Said Raichi while turning away in discomfort.
"If you want us to, sure dude."
Then something hit Raichi. He should probably know whether he was approachable or unapproachable. Even though the answer was rather clear, he felt like asking.
"Do I..really act and look that unapproachable?" Raichi said. He was being a hundred percent honest with his wording. He looked at the two with expectance. Hiroshi and Hara seemed rather nervous coming up with an answer.
"Be honest with me please."
"Um, back when we used to be in the same class, yeah," Hara said. She looked like she had even more to say.
"You always were just busy with your books. So of course, people didn't want to disturb you, and your stance quite literally used to say 'Please don't approach me.'."
Raichi couldn't think of what to say about what Hara thought of his appearance. He knew he should have considered himself lucky that Hara and Hiroshi insisted on disturbing him enough that he let them in his friend zone. Having to try to be someone's friend must have made it really hard to be friends with him, and people could tell just from his appearance that they would have to do that to approach him. But seemingly, Raichi didn't care too much. He always had a motto going for himself. It was that; Stranger's opinions didn't personally matter to him. He couldn't care what the people around him thought of him. After all, he doesn't know them, right?
"That is..good to know. Although I wouldn't care what they think."
"What do you mean? Do you not care about what they think of you?"
"Yeah. Stranger's opinions don't matter to me. I learned it the hard way."
"T-The hard way..?"
"I wouldn't want to burden you with this topic, so drop it."
"If you are uncomfortable with it, that's fine Raichi-kun. But is there a bad reason as to why you ignore gossip to that degree?" She said. Hara knew her best friend better than anyone else. And yet, she was never told about how he has come to be so socially distant.
"A reason that I'd rather not go into detail about, yes."
"O-Okay.."
Silence fell over the conversation. Realizing that, Hiroshi decided to change the subject quickly. He knew it was a sensitive topic.
"Soo, Raichi-kun, what do you think about coming to our school?" Hiroshi added.
"I had never been notified, so finding out now could only have me flabbergasted." He said rather bluntly.
''I guess that's to be expected."
"I do..have a question though."
"Go ahead."
"How..judging are the students there?"
''Judging?"
Raichi hadn't realized how bluntly he had said what he said. Such a question to think about asked in only less than 3 seconds. Hiroshi knew exactly what he had meant with the question. He kinda knew about Raichi's experience with gossip, and how much of a victim of it he was.
"They are..how you expect a school to be. Some yap, some don't. They judge you for what they don't have." Hara responded. "Gossip flows like water, realistically."
"I...I see." Raichi said shyly. "You really wanna ignore gossip, and yet you have to follow it.. so you don't become gossiptalk yourself. My previous classmates were quite a big fan. They didn't have anything worthwhile in their lives, so anything worth talking about got talked about."
"And..what did the topics include?"
"Things such as who is going out with whom. Any topic realistically did not leave people's mouths for weeks, because the heads of it all kept talking, and won't let the topic die."
When Raichi had suddenly spoken so deeply, the only thing Hiroshi and Hara could do was watch and listen. Hiroshi was thinking of something to say. But before he could, Raichi kept talking.
"Well, and that's why I try to not stand out."
"Raichi-kun..why not just be yourself?"
"No. I've tried to be myself before. But they wouldn't accept me, so I refused them back. And I have tried to fit in, too."
"But you're with us. So there isn't anything to worry about."
"Good to know." The silence kept the three walking. They were almost at the school, and Hiroshi's plan had worked, but yet..the conversation had taken a deep turn.
I think I brought the mood down...
"I... I'm sorry for suddenly changing the mood." Raichi said, his arm being held by the other, shyly turned away.
"No no, I think it's pretty sweet how honest you were just now." Said Hara. She giggled after finishing her sentence. It seemed she saw it as kinda sweet. She always saw Raichi as the neutral kid, so hearing something so serious out of his mouth, she found it kinda cute. Hiroshi couldn't help but blush at the sight.
"Wow. I wasn't informed on how close you two were." Said the cool dude, grinning as he always does.
"Oh shut up." They responded at the same time. Although Raichi was more nonchalant.
"And why do you need to be informed?"
"Isn't it obvious? I can't guide your parents on why you should move here if I don't get to the ins and outs of your social circle. It adds on as another reason."
Another reason huh?
Raichi wondered why Hiroshi wanted him to be here so much. After all, he went through the trouble of convincing his parents, which probably didn't cost too much effort. Whether he had selfish intentions or not, he seemed to be doing it in goodwill. So for now, he would let go of his suspicions. What he had been on the lookout for, was Hiroshi's shenanigans. He knew Hiroshi had a liking for making him do things that he necessarily didn't want to. But even he had to admit that, in the end, most of the things he is forced into doing actually end up being enjoyable. But of course, his intuition told him to ask anyway.
"Hey Hiroshi-kun."
"What is it Raichi-kun?"
"Why exactly were you so intent on making us move here of all places?"
"I...I'd say the answer is simple. You already heard it at your door."
"I did?" Raichi looked back in confusion.
"Your mother said it. I convinced your family to move here so you would go to the same school as the two of us and be with the only two people you are comfortable around."
"..It seems my mother told you a lot of things about me."
"There already was..a lot I knew myself. She just confirmed them for me." Hiroshi said with his arm on Raichi's shoulder as they walked alongside. Raichi couldn't help but smile. He really was grateful. He had always kept to himself, but not around his friends. It was about time to show gratitude.
"Y'know what Hiroshi-kun..thank you."
"No need to thank me. But I have a suggestion."
"A suggestion?"
"You will listen to my advice, and I shall help you socialize."
"Oh.. it's about this again."
"That's right," Hiroshi said with a confident pose and expression. Raichi knew exactly where this was going. And he had to admit that it sounded enticing.
"Look, we both know you want more friends, right? Friends like us, who respect you more than you respect yourself."
"Hey, don't put it like that. But it is true."
"And..you are also scared of being judged for who you are."
"Yes, it is true. You read me like a book."
"Well, the answer is easy, don't you think?"
"Is it?" Hara added.
"It is. You just gotta find someone that's similar to you. And the answer lies within that building over there." Hiroshi knew that with his guidance, Raichi would be just fine. Hiroshi pointed at the building they had left the house for; school.