Always Be There

4

Friendship.

That was difficult for Kaiya. For starters, Kaiya was a completely different person than the original Chieko, who probably had her own to treat Kanpekina. Second, Kaiya had never had a friend before, and she had no idea how one was supposed to treat their friends. Obviously with kindness and honesty, but what activities did friends do together? Kaiya looked through the old pictures to see what the two had done, but Chieko seemed to be a self centered sort of person because there wasn't anything but Chieko. Kaiya groaned as she remembered what kind of person Chieko had become, and Kaiya didn't want to work that hard to be an asshole. Kaiya decided that she would be herself, and maybe Kanpekina wouldn't hate her. If the main heroine disliked you, the otome game had ways of giving you repercussions.

Kaiya realized that after a week, her life wasn't all that bad. Sure, she still missed her sister with every fiber of her being, but it wasn't like she ended up in some sort of Hell. Kanpekina, as expected, was a very kind person that seemed so eager to please Kaiya. The other girl was more than happy to go along with any scheme that Kanpekina had created. As Kaiya learned, Kanpekina was her next door neighbor, which was convenient, to say the least. Kanpekina frequently came over with treats, and the two did their homework together. Kaiya liked hanging out with Kanpekina. The caring girl was fun to be around, and Kaiya had never laughed so much in her life. Furthermore, Kaiya's "parents" paid for the apartment and food, so Kaiya got to live in a fully stocked home with a comfortable bed. The school Kaiya went to was stimulating without being overly difficult, disregarding that Kanpekina was naturally the smartest person in the class. It wasn't a bad life all things considered.

Kaiya should have realized that if Kanpekina was going to naturally attract classmates, Kaiya might be sucked into that same vortex. After the first week, Kaiya was starting to get pushed aside. Not by Kanpekina, but by the fan club that had formed around her. Kaiya didn't mind that much, until those same fans started asking her a lot of questions about Kanpekina. Kaiya didn't like all the attention, and frequently fell into a mess of stuttering and blushing. Kanpekina didn't notice with all the people taking her attention. Because of this, Kaiya sat in the classroom while Kanpekina went to get her lunch, probably surrounded by her peers.

Kaiya sat down in a desk by the window, spreading out like a cat before letting her head hit the table, arms wrapping around to cushion her head. Kaiya soaked in the warmth, before it turned mildly hot. Kaiya groaned quietly as she sat up, looking around the classroom for a cooler spot. Instead, she saw a boy sitting in his desk with his headphones in. Kaiya recognized him as Kioshi Naoko, that male that got off the bus on their first day. While it was probably a bad idea, Kaiya scrounged up some tired courage to call out to him. "Hey, Naoko-san, come sit by me real quick!"

Naoko looked at Kaiya for a moment, hand holding the earphone he usually had in his ears. He sighed, coming to sit next to Kaiya without much hesitation, though he did leave all his stuff by his desk. Kaiya smiled as he slid into the seat. This was an otome game, so the quiet or often remarked as being cold hearted guy had an "icy aura" that made the air around him colder. With Naoko sitting next to Kaiya, the cold air balanced out with the warm sun. Kaiya continued, "Okay, just sit there and listen to music. I'll sleep right here, out of your way!"

Naoko blinked in surprise as his classmate didn't make a love confession, or even try to befriend him. That was all Naoko had seen so far at this cool, a bunch of socialites clinging to him because he was famous and rich. Naoko doubted this girl even knew who he was considering that she was treating him like an air conditioning unit. Naoko smiled a little, placing his earphone back in, his music blaring into his head. Naoko leaned back, eyes closing as he relaxed. He didn't sit on this side of the classroom, so Naoko didn't know the joys of sitting in the warmth of the sun. Looking down, Naoko observed the girl with curiosity. She wasn't sleeping yet, she was close, but was she... humming? Naoko paused his music, wanting to see what she was doing.