Chapter 40: Something Changed
"What are you doing, mom?"
"Hm? Giving my son-in-law some love?", Sakura-san said nonchalantly.
"Let him go.", Naoki said.
Sakura-san finally loosened her clutches.
I gasped for air, "Puha!"
I thought I was going to die! Although... It ain't a bad way to die? Stop! Pervert thoughts, be gone!!
Naoki approached me worriedly, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah.", I said while still gasping for air.
"Go upstairs and change first.", Haru-san said.
"Geez, okay.", Sakura-san said went upstairs.
"Haa... Sorry about that. My wife is too childish.", Haru-san apologizes.
"I can hear that!", Sakura-san screamed from upstairs.
"Okay, let me give young ones some space, I'll go upstairs if you guys need anything just call me. Have you guy eaten dinner, yet?", Haru-san said.
"Yes, we ate dinner earlier, thank you Haru-san.", I said.
"Oh, that's good. Just call me okay?"
"Yes.", I replied while smiling.
Haru-san then went upstairs following Sakura-san.
Now, we're all left alone here in their living room.
Hina-senpai and I will apologize to Naoki after that, we will leave. I feel guilty at what happened earlier.
I turned my head to Naoki.
However, instead of staying away like what I expected her to do because of what my sister did, she immediately approached me with a hug while I'm still sitting on their sofa. Due to her sudden approach, Naoki made me fell flat on the sofa.
"Buha?!", I cried out.
Naoki rubbed her head in my chest cute fully while giggling, "Hehehe~"
Hm?!
There's something wrong with Naoki... My guts are telling me that.
"Hey, are you okay, Naoki?", I asked worriedly.
Instead of answering, she stared at my eyes for a few seconds without saying a word.
"Hm? Are you okay?", I asked her again.
However, instead of answering, she was only staring at me. But, that all changed because in an instant she forced her lips against mine.
"Mmph?", I exclaimed.
I feel like these girls are taking me for granted!! Why is she kissing me in front of them?! I looked at the three who's sitting on the other sofa. They have flushed faces while evading their eyes. At the back of my head, there's something's not right with how Naoki is acting, right now.
I quickly retracted my lips against her because I feel like there's something wrong with Naoki.
"Puha! Are you okay? What's wrong with you?", I stared at her eyes worriedly.
There's something wrong with her eyes. Naoki's eye pupils are dilating as she stares into mine.
"Hey hey!", I tried calling her.
"Hey, what's wrong, Okita-kohai?", Hina-senpai asked, looks at Naoki worriedly while her face is still red.
"Something's wrong with Naoki, s-she's not responding to me.", I replied as I'm trying to shake Naoki.
"Shit!", I cursed.
Ai-senpai spoke out worriedly, "Ah-ah, is she okay?"
"What happened to Ikeda-san?", Yokota said in a panic.
Naoki's embrace is too tight that she doesn't even flinch, she's just holding my body tightly. I even tried removing her arms but I can't. I feel very weak. I don't know. All the strengths that I have, all deflated for some unknown reason.
Instead of thinking, I held her face with both of my hands, and asked her worriedly, "H-Hey, Naoki, hey."
I was calling her with a quivering voice, I don't know. But, I felt like something inside me is crumbling down. I don't want to see her acting like this.
Like earlier, instead of answering, she was just staring into my eyes like a lifeless doll.
Then after I call her many times, I saw some signs that she's gonna respond. I felt relieved.
However, her response is the thing I will not forget in the whole entirety of my life.
...Naoki's mouth slowly smiled while looking at me, her whole facial expression turned into a gentle one as she looks at me.
Naoki's eyes are lifeless like her eyes were consumed by the void. But, something hits the hardest— her smile. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Naoki's smile is usually tender and full of gentleness, she will always let her feelings out on all of her smile towards me; however, the one that she showed was different. Even though she's showing gentleness and tenderness outside, there's more to it—She's suffering.
My chest, my heart, and my mind are all in shambles. My hands are shaking as I can't describe the inexplicable feeling that I'm experiencing, right now. The only thing I can do was hug her.
I want to do something for her. Even how small that is. I want to help her.
And a loud thump came from my heart.
*Thump*
*Thump*
"..."
I even forgot that Yokota, Ai-senpai, and Hina-senpai are here with us.
I decided to give Naoki a gentle smile which reciprocates my feelings for her. The feelings of tenderness and care.
This is what my guts and mind are screaming to me, it's telling me to just smile at her, nothing else. I complied with it and gave her the smile which contains the feelings I could muster inside my chest.
Naoki saw that and slowly loosened her embrace into me, and her hands started gradually crawling towards my face. When she reached my face, she slowly removed the hair that was blocking my eyes.
I was surprised.
When I saw her doing that, for some reason I didn't even care even when the three were near whether they could clearly see it or not. The only thing that was occupying my mind right now was only Naoki. I couldn't care less about others. As if my whole world got replaced by some unknown force.
After unblocking all the hair that was blocking my face, she stared into my amethyst crystal eyes.
Once again, I gave her a smile.
Naoki saw my crystal clear smile with my face in full view of others.
Her eye pupils are turning back into normal, the light in her eyes is showing now. But, after all of that, Naoki's eyelids started getting heavy as it gradually shuts themselves off, and finally, she went to sleep while her head is resting in my chest.
When I saw that, I sighed in relief, "Haa..."
Then Sakura-san and Haru-san immediately went downstairs upon hearing the panic voices of the three.
"What's going on!", Sakura-san exclaimed.
Haru-san didn't say anything as he was looking around if there something happened.
Then the two saw Naoki resting on top of me laying on their sofa.
"Haa... Sorry, Tatsuya.", Sakura-san said.
I was surprised because Sakura-san didn't tease me like usual, and she immediately took care of Naoki like she knew what happened to her.
Haru-san sighed in relief, "Oh thank god, I thought something happened, can you assist me in taking Naoki upstairs first, as you can see I'm not that physically that strong."
"Eh? Uhh, yeah.", I replied.
I removed myself from Naoki's clutches and stood up beside the sofa where Naoki was resting, right now.
I comb my hair to the back of my head with fingers and turned my head towards the three who are sitting there perplexed and dumbfounded at what happened.
When they saw me turning my head towards them, they all stared into my amethyst eyes. Like, they were all captivated as they can't turn their eyes away.
"Sorry, Naoki went to sleep, I guess the apology will be postponed, Hina-senpai.", I said to Hina-senpai whose staring at my face wide-eyed.
"Eh? Uh-uh-uh, I-It's okay. I can wait until tomorrow.", Hina-senpai responded while stuttering.
"Sorry, I'll just bring Naoki upstairs and I'll send you guys home.", I turned my head towards Yokota and her sister Ai-senpai.
Yokota who was the first one to see my face was flabbergasted, as her face screams shocked. She can't even take her eyes off me, and her sister on the other hand who saw my face earlier was just staring at me with a beet-red face.
"Sorry for real, hahaha.", I let out a laughing smile on them.
Haru-san and Sakura-san were looking at me stupefied and dumbfounded.
I ignored them and carried Naoki like a princess, and asked Haru-san, "Uh, Haru-san, where's her room?"
"Eh...? Oh yeah, follow me.", Haru-san said in surprise.
I looked at him confused.
Then followed him, Sakura-san snapped out of her confused state, and spoke, "Oh...! I'll just go grab something, just get Naoki in her room."
Sakura-san immediately went somewhere.
Haru-san started going upstairs and I followed him while carrying Naoki.
When I got on the upper floor, I saw a hallway that had 4 rooms on the left side and 1 room at the end of the hallway.
Haru-san started walking, we passed by the first door, and we stopped at 2nd door. Haru-san opened the door, and I saw a simple yet peaceful room that had a study desk. On top of it, there's a laptop that had a cute sticker on the top. The room is about 8 or 9 tatami mats which are pretty average for a single-person bedroom, there's a balcony in her room which had a sliding window door.
There's nothing unique in Naoki's room, like stuff dolls or those pinkish girly vibes, all of that cannot be seen here. Naoki's room is just simple without any stuff inside only the needed necessities for a student.
In other words, a lifeless room. Naoki's room is very like mine in Aunt's house though my original room in Tokyo got a ton of posters of some anime series that I ordered from online. I could say that my room in Tokyo is for otakus while my room here is standard.
There's been bothering inside my chest, or I would say suppressing, it's quite complicated.
I lay Naoki down on her bed.
"Thanks, Tatsuya.", Haru-san thanked me.
"No problem, Haru-san, I wish I could help more.", I said.
"You know already that she's related to that, right?", Haru-san asked.
"If you're talking about my incident, yes. Yuki and Naoki told me this morning.", I replied.
"Haa... Right, that Hatsumi girl is on that too."
"Why did you ask that, Haru-san?", I asked.
"As you can see, Naoki is not mentally stable...", Haru-san said with a sad tone.
"...oh, I noticed that earlier, though I don't know on what to an extent."
"Yeah, Naoki is the type of girl who got this cheerful and gentle persona type that she shows outside, but inside... We don't know. That's why even as her parents we don't even feel like we know our own daughter. She's a strong girl but I don't know what will happen or when she will start breaking down, she will keep all the pain on herself, no matter how painful it is or not..."
"...I've been trying to find some ways for her to be able to live a happy life. As her parent, I want to see her able to live like that.", Haru-san said with a wry smile while some tears are pouring down on his face.
"...Yes... Naoki was living in a persona, was it because of middle school?", I asked.
"You could say so, she doesn't have any friends when she transferred. Naoki was an honest girl, so when we asked her what's wrong, she only replied 'They hated me'. I was baffled when I heard her saying that, but we learned that most of the girls in her school are jealous of her that's why they made Naoki isolated. It got worsen, one day those girls tried bullying her with notes and bullying her verbally. Naoki's teacher reported it to us when she was about to finish her 2nd year of middle school."Haru-san said.
"Because of that, we told Naoki just to bear the last few weeks of school, and the girls who wrote the notes and verbally bullied her are all suspended for 2 weeks. We're thankful that no physical harassment happened or else we don't know what kind of Naoki you will meet Tatsuya. But, after her 2nd-year middle school, we decided to let her be home-schooled. We can't bear our only daughter suffer more, as we don't know when her mental fortitude will collapse. That's why we decided to drop her out of middle school.", Haru-san added.
Haru-san then turned his head towards me and stared into my eyes, and said, "You know why I am saying this to you, right?"
"Yeah...", I responded.
"Naoki is the same as you.", Haru-san said with a gentle smile on his face.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone