Stepping Beyond the Pixels: Loves Intricate Game

Chapter Sixteen: Pull and Push

Somehow this situation felt familiar to you.

"So..." Ryōta finally decided to speak up after a brief awkward silence. "Are you feeling alright? I-I mean since you're in the nurse's office obviously you're not, but I figured I'd ask..." As usual, Ryōta is very awkward when dealing with women, it's why so many misunderstandings happened between him and Yuki in the original game. He means well though.

"It's alright, Matsumura-kun, I was just resting because I began to feel unwell during gym class," you replied reassuringly.

"If that's the case then I can leave."

"No, no! Please, if you're here then that means you need to see the nurse too, I was just going to take a nap anyways, so please don't feel like you have to leave," you assured, not wanting him to feel pressured to leave just because you were here. "Obara-sensei just stepped out for a moment, so feel free to wait here."

"A-Alright then, guess I'll just wait here..." Ryōta trailed off as he took a seat on one of the waiting chairs.

You sent one last reassuring smile his way before turning your back to him as you laid down. Normally I'd feel too cautious to let myself fall asleep, but for some reason I feel safe in Ryōta's presence. It's probably because I already know that he's a good guy from my experience playing the game...' This was your last clear thought before you slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep, leaving a flustered Ryōta to fidget quietly in his seat.

The delinquent boy did his best to avoid glancing over at your sleeping figure. Instead, he chose to observe every item that sat on the nurse's desk, but his eyes would subconsciously want to wander over to you. He swore he wasn't being a creep, but to him you were an enigma. 'What kind of girl just casually falls asleep in the presence of a stranger? Especially someone with my reputation...' Ryōta couldn't help but wonder to himself as he finally gave into his curiosity as his eyes trailed to the back of your head. 'Doesn't she realize that I could hurt her? I mean shouldn't she know about my reputation,' he continued to think, but then his mind wandered back to your encounter in the alley. The timid way you approached him. Your shaky, outstretched hands that held out a small first aid kit. The way you confidently said you didn't think he was a bad guy. Then he began to think back to when he saved you.

It was a shocking scene to witness, and if he hadn't heard your screaming then maybe he would have been too late to save you. The thought alone sends a pang through his heart. Yeah. He was glad he made it on time. And when all those teachers and students came across him holding back Makino as you sat tearfaced on the ground, he was already accepting the fact that they would misconstrued the situation and find a way to blame him. He could still see their accusatory eyes that pierced his body. One could say that it was you who also saved him. Stumbling to stand up, taking your place in front of him as if to shield him from their ire. It was the way that your unwavering voice yelled out his innocence that truly pulled him to you.

Maybe it was the fact that he was reminiscing back to your attack, but his eyes subconsciously drifted over to your neck and that's when he saw it. The faintest outline of a bruise. You've been doing your best to cover it with makeup each day so as to avoid further questioning from your classmates, so maybe you missed a spot or accidentally rubbed away some of the makeup, whatever the case, the bruise was now visible.

At the sight of it, a thought ran through Ryōta's head. 'She probably doesn't want it seen.' His body began to automatically move to stand up and began to walk over to your sleeping form. 'Should I wake her up and tell her?' It wasn't until his hand was already reaching towards you did he begin to second guess it, but by then someone already slid the door to the office open causing Ryōta to stumble away from you.