Capítulo 186: Otaku 2
For once, Arata didn't walk with someone when they had an arranged location to hang out at. Hifumi told him they would meet there instead, which he thought was strange. But he accepted it since it wasn't a major deal either way.
So the boy headed on down to his favorite store, which was a lot more crowded than usual. Not a surprise given the event about to begin soon. Though he did feel out of his element. The reason being that everyone here were fans of the light novel series this author wrote, but Arata was not among that crowd of fans.
Another thing to note was that a lot of the people here were not lookers to say the least. Now, don't get him twisted as some arrogant person. He knew that he wasn't much of a looker, though some girls did view him as 'cute' because of his small stature. It was more that the people around him were what some people would call ugly. So that would pretty much describe the gist of the people in this room.
It appeared that the star of the show had yet to arrive. Or perhaps they were waiting just a little longer for more people to pile up before they came out. Either way, this left Arata alone to sit around and wait for the girl who invited him get here. He was waiting rather impatiently seeing as she was the one who wanted him to come.
As he sat there, arms crossed. The door to the store opened up, and all of a suddenly people started chattering among themselves over who arrived. At first, he thought it was the author who was finally going to get this event started. If that were the case, then he was sorry for Hifumi since she was super excited. Though it would confuse him as to what could've possibly made her late to this event.
However, it clearly wasn't the author of the light novel series who walked in through that door. Instead, it was a girl his age, and wow was she a looker. Could've it been because of the contrast with the other guest? No, in any light, any context, she appeared to be one of the most beautiful girls he had even laid eyes on.
Her black hair flowed behind as she walked. Those wonderful bright blue eyes as clear as a river. No wonder everyone around him got to talking, even he was feeling enamored with this sight. There was no way this girl was an otaku.
As people stared at her shamelessly, it seemed there was only one destination in her mind. That would be right where he was sitting. Quietly, she sat down as everyone glared at the boy in jealousy. He couldn't believe what was going on, who was just person?
"So, Arata…" How the heck did she know his name!? "Has he come up yet?"
"Uhh…" He was slow to reply, still too shocked about everything that had happened in the past 30 seconds. "No…" Her voice, why did it sound so familiar?
"Oh good, I'm not late." She breathed a sigh of relief. Then the girl looked at him bewildered as to why he was staring so strangely. That was when she realized the issue. "I guess I look a little weird, but I'm Hifumi."
"Ohh." He said, now it made sense considering that she wanted to be here in the first place. "Wait a second… What!?" Though that did little to explain to him why she looked like this then. Not to be mean about her regular appearance, but the girl wasn't exactly known for being drop dead gorgeous. More like, plain would be the more accurate word to describe her. Where was she hiding this?
"Sorry, I'm not used to wearing a short sun dress like this." She replied nervously. "Do you think I'm exposing too much of myself." That was hardly the only thing about her he would say would be something she 'wasn't used to'. "I just wanted to go out in proper fashion with you… Even if you did say this wasn't a date."
"I'm… Happy that you wanted to try and impress me." Arata really was. Though as he side eyed the onlookers, she also succeeded on getting people to hate him for being close with such a petty girl. "But you don't have to push yourself too hard for my sake."
"Don't worry, I'm not really pushing all that hard." She put a hand on his to lay a move. While he was assured of that fact, he could've lived with less of the flirting when all these people could see them. At this rate, he was going to be hated by this entire store. "Anyway, he should be here by now."
Indeed, it was time for the main event to begin. From the backrooms, the author emerged from the shadows to applause from the crowd. It seemed Hifumi was the one most excited judging from her cheering. She certainly was overpowering compared to the rest of the crowd.
"A shame you picked out a spot in the back." She complained as they stood at the back of the line. "Now we have to wait so long just to shake his hand." That still didn't put much of a damper on her energy though.
"It almost looks like you like him more than me." He chuckled, though the boy was doing his best not to look at her. She was just too pretty. The difference between the two looks was so large that he still was in disbelief over it. There was no way this was Hifumi, but everything else seemed to be pointing towards that being true. "And it looks like everyone else here likes you more than I do."
Another things that was hard to not take note of was everyone's reaction to her presence. Of course the other boys would be interested in soaking in her beauty. Arata was already trying his best not to do so himself. Why did she pull a stunt like this now of all times? Well, one could easily assume it was to catch his attention when he least expected it.
"They do? I can't tell." As it would turn out, her lack of glasses were not replaced by contact. This girl was really going around blind and only going along with sounds and the shapes of people. Apparently she knew him well enough that she was able to discern him despite the boy being a blur to her.
So the pair continued chatting as they waited in line. There were a few dozen people here, so it took a while before their turn had finally come up. The man was kind to all of his fans, but after following a strict schedule, the two only had to wait about half an hour. "Sir, I love your books so much." She said, putting back on her glasses to see the man she adored so much. It would appear that she at least kept them around for when they matter the most.
"That's wonderful, and it's neat that you brought your boyfriend on a trip like this." He expressed his gratitude and signed her book as well.
"Oh, we're not dating." Arata corrected as the man handed her book back. "Sorry, I'm really a fan. I'm just here because she asked."
"So a date then?" The boy internally sighed at the thought that everyone always thought he wasn't single. But realistically, he was the one who kept putting himself in these situations.
"No."
"Shame then." He left them with these words right as they were finished with their short session with him. "She's a real beauty… On the inside." That was an odd statement to make. How could that man know for certain? All he had ever seen out of the girl was her looks and the short little time spent talking to him. Arata doubted he was shallow, so there had to be something to his words.
As they departed from the table, there were still a lot of people still hanging around. Of course they'd stick around and wait for Hifumi to be done so they could talk to her.
"Hey, are you going to be hanging around here?" Someone asked as they went by.
"Yeah, we should all have a get together." Arata could only roll his eyes to all these people who hopeless thought they had a chance. Not only did she appear to be well out of their leagues, she was also already in love with him. Kind of a weird thought to have though, thinking that he already had someone wrapped around his finger. In reality, if he didn't want to choose Hifumi, then he shouldn't care if she found a date with someone else here.
"I'm not really sure about that." She replied nervously to the people crowding around her. There were a lot more than she was used to, as the girl mainly only dealt with one person at max most of the time. "You all seem nice, but I'm already here with someone else."
"Please?" Some of the people looked rather pathetic to him as they begged. "We don't have to go anywhere special."
"Well, I guess we can stay here at the store a little longer." He was awestruck when she decided to entertain the people here. Worst of all, she had put him in a tough spot. At this point, Arata didn't need to stay here anymore. The boy was only here for the author's event and that was pretty much done. Even if that man was going to be staying here for a while longer to answer some questions.
But should he leave? Arata kind of wanted to since he thought that was what they were about to do. But at the same time, leaving her alone here with all these strangers made him anxious with the thoughts running in his mind.
"Sure, I'll stay too." He said, though no one seemed to care when he said it. Well, one person did.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder