Capítulo 34: Worlds Apart
Arata sat comfortably on his seat as the school bell rang for lunch time that Friday. The people in the class started seeping away to get food, while Attori and Keiko seemed to have vanished without him noticing. With only a few people around him, his mind battled to fly.
It was easy to get distracted when classes were in session; but now that nothing was being forced into his ears, it got harder. Last night was a peculiar night. Not because of Attori, but the fact that the game did not react when he told Attori about his situation. Perhaps it was because it was converted into some sort of mystical existence rather than a scientific breakthrough.
"A scientific breakthrough? I wonder if Sayaka thinks of me like that..." he muttered under his breath.
"Eh, there's another girl?" Yukari startled the player. She continued to pout in her seat, uninterested to eat... just like Arata. "Seriously, how many women are you trying to fit inside your hands?"
"N-No, Sayaka is... well, not going to be like that to me." He gave a nervous chuckle. He then remembered hat Tohru said yesterday. "Yukari, I was supposed to talk to you yesterday, but it rained so hard I thought you wouldn't want to get disturbed."
"Huh? You can phone me, though?" She hummed. "What is it about anyway?"
"The Basketball Club..."
The best friend averted her gaze the moment she figured what he was going to say. She kept her gaze at the empty seats around them. "It cannot be helped. Those sluts managed to convince the team to drop me. I don't really mind; it's my fault that I kept on missing practice." She began to murmur, "it's just sad that... I suddenly had dreams and..."
Arata got up and went before Yukari. He squatted before her desk, so he could see her face that was lowered and hidden. "I'm sorry this has to happen to you, Yukari. I'm pretty sure you'll find a better dream soon, and you'll be okay. You know I'm here for you." He gazed at his pocket to see his JPY deposits before turning to her again. "Do you want to go karaoke later? It's raining so it's best to sing!"
"I have practice."
"I have a meeting." He reached out to ruffle her hair. "Come on, it'll work out."
"Arata," -she caught his hand and fiddled with his fingers using hers- "ugh, I wish I can live like you. No restraints, no regrets..."
"Being me isn't easy." He held onto her fingers lightly.
The backdoor of the classroom opened, and whoever came in grabbed Yukari's attention. However, she only stared at her, and not had the urge to straighten and greet her. The intense look in Yukari's eyes made Arata wonder, and so he turned behind him and saw Ruby approaching them. Likewise his best friend, he stayed where he was, only smiling at the Council President.
"Hi, Ruby-sempai!" Arata panned his vision high up, uncaring if he was seen as trying to get an up skirt view of the president. He was still holding onto Yukari's fingers after all. "What brings you here?"
"I was just going to say I won't be able to attend the meeting today. I have some business to attend to." She hummed in a sad tone, seeing Arata's face so far away. If only she could pull him up and leave a kiss, it would be nice. "I just came to see you personally. You were helping out Attei's mother in the weekends, and so I can't visit you."
The player felt Yukari taking her fingers out of his hold, shaking it off. However, he held on them firmly. "Do you need me?"
Ruby froze at a simple question. She ravaged the back of her mind for all the possible context he was pertaining to, which were all mudded thanks to her little problem. The president hesitated for a while, before sitting down on the floor, joining Arata. "I don't know. Perhaps I do, but I wished to go through it without any support."
"Why?" Yukari entered the conversation. "Wouldn't it be easier?"
"I don't want to indulge in something that isn't mine to use at my disposal." Ruby huffed a bit before reaching out to stroke at Arata's head. "I'll see you on Monday." She got up and walked out of the room.
"Arata!" Yukari kicked Arata so hard he dove to the floor. She gasped at the action; it was not her intention to hurt him at all. Agitation got the best of her, making her send force to her kick. She slipped down the chair and helped the man sit up again. The best friend took a deep breath. "I don't care much about her, but I can't leave her alone. I think you should go with her. Don't mind me." Yukari looked at the doorway where she last saw Ruby. "Actually, I think I know why she was feeling that bad...
"She ran into Hamada-sempai last Tuesday. They looked like they got into a fight." Yukari hummed as she gossiped with her indoor voice. "I didn't hear what they were talking about. There were far away from the club members..."
"I see," Arata whispered. He scratched his head and sighed at the thought. He had a hint yesterday, and yet he did not expect for Ruby to yield like this. Perhaps it was connected to her father; her route was about her father after all. He twitched and hummed aloud. "Maybe I'll get to know why this patch..."
"What?" Yukari frowned at him as she stood. She just waved her hand in dismissal. "Err, just ignore that. Man, she got me hungry. Let's get something from the cafeteria!"
The man only nodded and went with Yukari to get food.
Soon enough, the after-classes came, and Arata sat through the Student Council meeting that Ruby did not presided today. Even though the meeting went well, the other members could not help but to chatter at the end. One of the members went to Arata and asked him to deliver the submitted appeals to the gym custodian for the rejected proposals. He grabbed his bag and walked towards the gym.
Like the last time, the men in the Basketball Club were in high spirits as they trained, while the women's team reserves somewhat slacked off. He saw Tohru and Yukari playing against each other as they practiced stances and fakes, based from what he could see. He went to the gym custodian's office and talk to her for a while.
It was already time to go home when Arata finished helping the custodian with discussing and separating the approved and still-not-approved papers. He sighed at the extra work that Friday, but he noticed Tohru talking to some other third year students just outside the court. They did not seem to be friendlies, and so Arata decided to intervene.
"Is everything alright?" The player walked into their earshot, and he placed a hand on his waist, enough to let the women see his Student Council band. He noticed Tohru huffing to the side, away from him, while the women averted their gazes. "What is going on?"
"Nothing really." One of the girl flashed a fake smile before leaving, tugging on both of her friends.
"You didn't have to interfere." Tohru almost snapped at him. However, she remembered it was Arata who she was talking to. It was easy to be rude like always, but she felt indebted to him so she had to talk. She sighed in dismay and turned to look at him. "It's not really part of your business. They are just talking to me..."
"But you are part of my business." He almost snuffed. "Were they trying to hurt you?"
"Huh? No." Tohru waved her hand and grinned. "They think I was the one who hurt Ruby actually." The she-jerk shook her head as she shrugged. "Poor girl must have run to daddy for help. Suddenly leaving school around lunch time."
Arata frowned at her and her unusual smug smirk. "And you're involved how?"
"We got into a fight, and her friends thought I was hurting her. She didn't go to school the next day, and then she was very silent yesterday." Tohru shrugged again, spinning on her heel to fetch her things. "I'm not saying what we fought about, because it's really personal." She then eyed at the man following her to the benches. "Is it becoming more of a surprise to you? That I'm related to another person around you?"
"Well, you chose this school for a reason that isn't me."
Tohru remained silent... only to sigh. She murmured, "I don't know if this is going to help, but she normally meets the sea when she's really sad. Her mom was taken by it so..."
"Ruby?"
There was only one beach in their fictional city, and it was the Magazine Bay. Arata had run to the place as soon as Tohru mentioned about it. The rain had come again in the evening, making Arata continue to thread his path with soaked clothes. His magic bag remained dry inside. He got to the unguarded beach side and saw a silhouette at the distance.
Her maroon hair sprawled in the air as the angry sea breeze blew against the city. She was standing under the rain, soaking her uniform in cold water. Her auburn eyes stared far into the horizon.
"Ruby!?" Arata came to her side, startling the woman next to her. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be somewhere... less dangerous!" He took a hold on her arm to take her away from the beach front. However, he was met with a refusal.
"I don't remember telling you about this place." Ruby only looked at him with determined eyes. "Leave me."
"Leave you? Why?" The player covered his face with his hand. He could hear alien noises in his head like broken words coming from a familiar voice. However, he did not care about it. "Come on, let's get out of here!"
"Didn't I tell you not to come?" The woman frowned at him, fighting his tugging on her arm. "It would be better if you go!"
"No, it's better if WE go!"
He continued to tug until the woman started walking with him to the metal tents next to the cemented elevation leading to the streets. They took shelter under the roof, still having the wild winds on their faces. Arata reached out to clear Ruby's face from her unruly hair and kept the strands behind her with his hand. His free hand started clearing her face from sand.
"What's wrong, Ruby? Tohru said you come here when you're really sad." He snuffed as if lecturing her. "The water could have pulled you into the ocean. Can't you see the waves are getting bigger?"
"She told you I am here?" Ruby pulled back in surprise. She then looked away, biting into her lower lip as if in shame. "How insolent. So shameless."
There went another broken voice. The player would have cared, but he was scared of the weather. The waves in the far side of the beach were rising, and the winds were making it hard to call for help. He found her things next to an unused table, and so he decided to use it as a makeshift wall. He let go of Ruby and pulled the table just enough for it to have a space they can fit themselves. He beckoned her to come with him, but it took her seconds staring at his hand before hiding behind the table.
Arata sighed as he was free from the wind and the rain. He turned to Ruby who was still looking down. He reached out to comb his fingers through her sticky hair. "I heard you bickered with Tohru. What is it about? I know it's not my business, but I can't help but to want to know. Especially with a face like that."
"It's embarrassing. I don't wish to tell you." Ruby averted her gaze from the wall before her, her gaze straying out in the open. She looked at the dark sky that showed nothing but the terrifying dark clouds. It was the blooming season, and yet there were rogue rains in the city. She noticed Arata's silence, only to find him trying to get a signal. "Who are you calling for?"
"A cab? We can't stay here." Arata glared at his phone, raising it around as if trying to get more of what was not there. However, he stopped and looked at her. "...I, uhh, heard your mother was taken by the sea. Are you going here because you're mad?"
"Mad?" She raised a brow. "Is that what she said?"
"N-No. You two don't really say anything so I thought I had to speculate and then ask." Arata sighed as he pocketed his phone along with his hopes. He sat comfortably against the heavy table behind them. "So you're not mad?"
"If anything, it was the rascal who was mad..." Ruby sighed, coiling like a small child next to him. She then turned to him with a small smile. "It seems that you're really interested to know. Not to mention I trust you more than anyone." She closed her eyes and combed through her sticky hair. "Can I trust you not to judge me?"
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
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