Chapitre 13: Surprise Visitor

Compared to the past few days, the next day welcomed Hajime in a novel manner, as if foreboding the fact that something bad might happen later on. The usual quiet of the neighborhood in the early hours didn't go by as usual. Somehow, there was a commotion outside, which has never happened before. The only commotion that happens from time to time in their unusually hushed neighborhood was the debt collectors who would sometimes chase Hajime on end.

Right now, however, murmurs could be heard outside, disturbing Hajime's peaceful morning and waking him up. His eyes immediately shot wide open as his patience ran thin. He was annoyed, first thing in the morning and he was already annoyed.

'What's going on here?!; Hajime screamed inwardly, his impatience almost getting the better of him. Fortunately, the cautious side of him still warned him of the likelihood of danger so he slowly approached the door to take a peek outside.

Bang!

Hajime almost fell on his rear side when his door suddenly rattled, followed by a muffled 'hmph', drowned by a couple of growls and low voices of men talking. Hajime braced himself, then took a peek outside for the second time. There were quite a few holes in the door and the walls of his house so it was quite convenient to take a peek from them without having to pop his head outside.

Three burly men were standing by the front door, cornering a high schooler and interrogating her about why she was in the squatter side of town. They wore mischievous smiles and Hajime could've sworn they were licking their lips. Hajime estimated that they were in their early twenties despite their heavy builds. 'College students? Wait... that girl... '

He was about to ignore the commotion when the girl slightly turned her face and he got a good glimpse of her. How could he not recognize her in an instant? Had it been any other scenario, he would've been able to recognize her from a mile away. After all, she's one of a few people he didn't want to meet in public.

'Megumi?!'

'What is she doing here?!'

Questions upon questions filled Hajime's head and he felt as if he short-circuited since he froze in place for a few seconds. Without thinking, he opened the door, and in came Megumi, falling on her butt since she was leaning on the door. She turned around, only to see Hajime glaring at her. 'Does she live nearby? No, that's impossible, I've never seen her go through this direction in my whole life. Then what is she doing here?' Hajime didn't voice out his question, however, he just stared at her before addressing the three men outside his door.

"Hey, if you're going to disturb someone, do it somewhere else. You're disturbing my peace and sleep here. I'm trying to rest here, you know". Hajime scratched his head as if he couldn't care less.

A fist suddenly flew towards Hajime as the nearest man shouted something. He didn't hear what it was since he was busy dodging the upcoming jab. However, since he still felt sleepy, his reaction time was a bit slow and the punch grazed him on the cheek. Out of impulse, he extended his hand and grabbed the guy's forearm, slipping behind him while twisting his arm in a process. One knee to the back and Hajime pinned the man down. 'All those heavy-lifting in the construction site wasn't just for show, you know.' Hajime said to himself.

The guy hit the floor with a thud, his chin perfectly digging to the floor. He lost consciousness in an instant, much to Hajime's surprise.

Seeing Hajime's movements, the other two didn't bother attacking him. Hajime assumed that the one he knocked out was the boss, and that's why the other two froze in place. "J-just, go away," Hajime shooed them by waving his hands, prompting the other two to drag their unconscious boss out of the way. They nodded in silence, making a mental note that they shouldn't mess with the guy in front of them.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Megumi didn't move a millimeter from where she was. When Hajime already closed the door, that's when she got back to her senses, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She tried to suppress her fear but it all came bearing down on her when it was all over. Embarrassed, she attempted to cover her whole face with both her hands while trying to hold back her sniffles. She began hiccuping because of that though, which was more embarrassing.

"It's all your fault, Hajime. It's all your fault!" She sniffled, her voice muffled since she was covering her face.

'Wait?!'

'How did it become my fault?' Hajime was about to answer back when Megumi continued her monologue.

"You won't open your door even though I've been knocking for ages, why?" She still kept crying.

'Oh, so that's why she's blaming me. The audacity.' Hajime sighed but he still didn't say anything. It was obvious that Megumi was more than scared because of what happened. He didn't want to add up to her pile of stress so he chose his words carefully. After clearing his throat and thinking twice about what to answer, he finally spoke. "Sorry, I was out the whole day so I woke up a little later than normal. What are you doing here anyway?"

It didn't take long before Megumi calmed down a little bit. Hajime extended his hand to help Megumi stand up, to which she promptly obliged. For the first time ever since she got in, she finally got a good look at the place. It would be an understatement to say that she wasn't in the least bit curious about the state of Hajime's house.

"Akamine-sensei told me to bring you the handouts from yesterda— "

A pause, and then her jaw dropped in shock. Megumi couldn't believe what her eyes have laid upon. This isn't a house, it's a pigsty!

Meanwhile, Hajime felt like he was forgetting something. Just when he was about to grab the handouts so he could drive Megumi out of his house, he realized what he had overlooked. 'Ah right, this place— '

'— I haven't cleaned this place in ages!'