[Vol. 1] Chapter-1: The Transfer Student (7)
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“Yes! Coming!”

Here it comes. I wonder who might be opening the door, would it be Aya? Or someone else? But the voice sounded like that of a female person though, neither young nor old, so, it might be her mom. Oh, it would be a good chance to know her mom’s personality, whether she treated Aya like everyone else or if she treated her like her own child. 

Right now, I was actually trembling, and gulped with nervousness. When the door opened, I saw a young lady inside. It was Aya's mom!

My guess was right.

"Oh, you must be Hisashi. Please come inside."

"Y-yes sure"

“Oh c'mon now, why are you nervous?”

Well, I would be getting nervous since it was my first time in someone else’s house.

I can’t possibly say out loud what I was thinking, since it would be kinda rude of me. She was giving out a gentle laugh and patted me on my shoulder. I also returned a smile, rather a troubled smile. But I changed my troubled smile to a bright smile and greeted while bowing down-

“It’s nice to meet you, auntie.”

“Ara, it’s nice to meet you too! Aya is in her room upstairs. It is the second room towards the right.”

“Okay.”

I think I managed to make a good first impression with her mom, haah. So anyways, as she said, Aya was in her room. I began heading upstairs and stopped in front of the door leading to the second room towards the right side from the stairs. I was pretty sure, but not entirely. So I tried calling her out to confirm it was the correct one.

“Aya! It's me, Hisashi. Can I come in?”

“...”

There was no reply. Was I in front of the wrong room? I was pretty sure though, that it was the room auntie mentioned. So I opened her door and took a step inside, only to be stunned by what I saw, and a troubled expression got built up on my face. It was something that I was strictly forbidden to see.

I saw a beautiful, half-naked body which was Aya! Ruby pupils on her goddess-like face opened wide at the sudden infiltrator in her room. Unblemished limbs as white as snow, clad in turquoise-blue lace.I was not able to think of other words to describe those features. Simply beautiful. Her beauty truly made her resemble a goddess, evoking a solemnity that left no room for wicked lust. It was not long that I found myself with my gaze stuck on her glorious face, trying my utmost, yet, not able to avert my eyes from her.

When she saw me staring at her like that, her face started to gleam red with embarrassment and her eyes were getting wet with tears.

“Eeee-”

She leaked a small shriek from her cramped throat, and I immediately snapped out of her beauty that caught my eyes and apologized.

“I'M SORRY, REALLY SOOORRRRYYY!!!”

After apologizing, I hurriedly went out of her room and closed the door behind me. Oh god, what have I done? It was so rude of me to walk inside her room without informing in the first place! And now, I am probably dead. What will auntie think of me?? And her? She’s definitely gonna start hating me from now on.

*pant* *pant*
As I was thinking to myself, I was also breathing heavily. My face gleamed red again and started to get a nosebleed as I remembered again what I just saw.

There was a brief moment of silence as we, me and Aya, both sat in her room with our faces glooming red due to embarrassment. I am sure she will start to hate me from now on.

“Y-you should have knocked on the door before entering…”

I flinched as I heard her voice breaking the silence that was following for a long time, and replied stutteringly-

“I-I did call you out, but there was no reply. So I came in. And your mom said that you were in your room and told me to head here directly.”

“So it was my mom's play...hmph.” 

Her face gave out an angry look in a cute way. Wait, she didn’t seem to develop anger towards me. It would make me feel guilty though, because I feel like I have broken a divine rule and got released without any punishment. I bowed down and apologized deeply in order to compensate for the sin that I have committed.

“I'm sorry! I’m really sorry that you had to go through the trouble of being seen naked. Please forgive me!”

She lightly gasped upon looking at me suddenly bowing down in front of her. It was the best I could do to compensate. But she truly didn’t seem to develop anger towards me as her face said it all.

“No no don't apologize, Hisashi. Mom knew I was getting changed, but she didn't mention any of it and sent you here directly...Besides, I wasn't completely naked…”

As we were talking, the door suddenly opened.

*Squeak*

“Aya, Hisashi, you two can come downstairs, dinner's almost ready.”

It was Aya's mom who came to inform us.

“okay!” 

Both of us replied and went down. So Aya says it was her mom’s play, huh. Wait, what? Does auntie really think that we have that kind of relationship? Uhm, I guess it’s intentional, and not any misunderstandings, not that I hate it though….Ahem, nevermind. By the way, Aya asked me to sit on the couch, with her sitting beside me. Our awkward silence continued until her mom joined us and Aya started a conversation.

“Mom, when is dad gonna reach home?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, he won't be coming today because he has taken the night shift.”

“Oh, Okay. And where is onii-san?”

“He said he went on a camping trip with his friends.”

“Okay.”

Aya and her mom were only talking, while I kept quiet, not knowing what to talk about. But auntie, after noticing me staying quiet, brought me inside the conversation.

“Hisashi-kun, do you know, she keeps talking about you. You just name a topic, your name will be mentioned by her countless number of times fufu.”

I gave troubled laughter, and was scratching the back of my head. I see…She keeps talking about me, okay.

“M-m-mom!! Wh-why do you have to bring that up now?!?.”

After that, we had our dinner while talking about numerous things. It felt really comfortable being with them, and I felt like I was a part of this family. It made me really happy.

“By the way, Hisashi, we have a futon. Aya will lay it on the floor in her room. I just wanted to ask if you find it hard to sleep on a futon.”

“I can, auntie. I used to sleep on a futon previously, so it won't be a problem.”

I humbly replied.

“Oh, okay. Good to know. Also really sorry that you have to sleep on the floor.”

“I-it's perfectly okay!”

“Also, Aya, can you please lay Hisashi’s futon? I want to have a little conversation with him.”

Aya agreed to her with a puzzled look, probably wondering what it was that she wanted to talk about with me. I was wondering the same thing. Aya went up the stairs and I watched her leave. And as I turned my gaze to look at Auntie, she was not there! But wait, she was standing just beside me, bowing down generously, with deep respect. Why was she bowing to me?!

“Hisashi-kun…Thank you! Thank you so so much!!”

I had a puzzled expression portrayed all over my face as she thanked me. But why did she? What did I do to make her bow down so generously and thank me?

“I-i-it’s okay, auntie! Please raise your head!”

She raised her head and a few tear drops rolled down her eyes and coursed down her cheeks. She wipes off the tears from her eyes and added with a faintly shaking voice-

“Thank you, Hisashi-kun. For being friends with Aya. I think she already told you that she was being bullied really harshly in her school. She used to come home after school sometimes with bruises and cuts, sometimes wet clothes, and sometimes her uniform dirtied with dust, every day. She would always come and cry on my lap and tell all the things her classmates had done with her. I was able to save her to some extent...until my  boss transferred me to the Osaka branch, which is pretty far away. I can’t drag our family to Osaka, so my husband and both my son and daughter stayed here. About those bullying students, I had informed the school, but those students still bully her after getting punishments one after another…”

Oh, I see…It must’ve really hurt her knowing that Aya was getting tormented like this but was not able to do anything to save her.

“...I also feel ashamed to say about my husband and my son. They also treat her the same way. I have argued with them so many times, but they still don’t listen. It is like everyone in this world hates her...in lieu of you. I couldn’t be any happier...”

She approached me and held my hands suddenly and I flinched in surprise, but she again began to cry softly.

“Not only that, but she also never opens up to people or behaves like how she is behaving with you, childish, happy, playful. In front of others, she would just be scared and shy. You are special to her, Hisashi-kun. Thank you. Thank you so much...”

I…I see. Special, huh. My face slightly turned red due to embarrassment. But her grip on my hands tightened a little, causing me to snap back to normal and she spoke-

“Hisashi-kun. I know this is a very big request...but please...look after my daughter. The thing she needs the most right now are trustable friends, like you. So, I plead with you. Please look after her. I feel shameful for asking others, when I should be the one doing the same. But my work stress doesn’t seem to get over… So, please...”

A tinge of sadness struck my heart. I didn’t know why I was feeling sad. But one thing I understood for sure, that at least Aya’s mom cared for her, very dearly. Without thinking any other thing, I replied-

“Yes, auntie. I promise to look after Aya. To be with her by her side, protecting her. I promise. So auntie, please stop crying.”

She gave a gentle smile at me, a smile of pure goodwill and slowly let go of my hand. Wiping off the tears from her dampened eyes, she reacted slightly as if she realized something.

“Oh, sorry Hisashi-kun, it got pretty late. You should head to Aya’s room, I suppose she has already laid down your futon.” 

“Okay, auntie. And it’s okay! I usually sleep a little late at night, so it is not that big a deal. Goodnight, auntie!”

“Goodnight, Hisashi-kun!”

I went back upstairs while processing in my mind what happened in the last few minutes. I had promised auntie to look after Aya, and I will. I think I already promised this to Aya though. I also got to know a vague story about what happened with Aya in the past, even though there were no answers as to why her father and brother were bullying her. The tinge of sadness that I felt was probably due to this.

I went into Aya’s room, and found Aya already asleep on my futon after laying it down. She had drifted into gentle slumber. The conversation didn’t take that long though, but she was already asleep.

I guess she was really tired.

I walked up to her and slid my one arm under her legs and put the other arm supporting her back and lifted her up. Her sleeping face got squished lightly, pressing against my chest, and it looked sooo kawaii. Little did I realize that I was doing the princess carrying pose. I was, of course, blushing a little, but her cute little face forced me to keep her in my arms. As I reached the bed, I gently placed her body on the bed and slid the blanket over her body, and went and lay down on my futon.

We slept in the same room. Aya was already in slumber, but now began snoring softly. I was in light sleep, however, so I had a little consciousness to tell what was happening around me. A few minutes passed and I was falling into a deep slumber slowly and steadily. It was a rather peaceful night. It was soon that I heard a scream, not very loud yet not very soft, somewhere in the middle that disrupted my sleep, waking me up.

“AAAAHH!!!”

I sprang up from the futon to see what happened, and I saw Aya sitting on her bed, breathing quite heavily. Her eyes showed as if her sight was transfixed on something horrifying as her eye's muscles were twitching.

“Aya! What happened?! Are you all right?!”

I rushed up to her, grabbing her by her shoulders upon reaching.

She took some time to react to my question. It looked like she got traumatized, but don’t know for sure though, because as soon as she saw me, she gave a slight smile as if feeling a sense of relief, then brought me into a tight embrace and hugged me, starting to lament.

“I-I had....a n-nightmare…*sob* I’m scared to sleep now…*sob*”

She whispered stutteringly in a soft voice. She had a nightmare, poor Aya. After all of that anxieties about her life, it is expected that she would be getting nightmares.

Nightmares usually occur due to stress and anxiety. She had been through so much stress, the bullies at school, verbal torture by her father (more like cold hearted behavior towards her) and physical torture by her brother. These stresses in her life triggered nightmares.

“What happened in the nightmare?”

I asked softly while still hugging and gently caressing her hair. It took her some time to describe what happened. Basically, this is what happened-

Suddenly, Aya was in a different place. That place was nothing but emptiness, which had only a single color that was blood-red. It was as if she was floating in interstellar space, but just was coloured blood-red instead of black As she tried to take a step forward, she heard a water splashing sound below her, and as she looked down, from a little below her knee to all the way down her foot, there was a blood pool surrounding her from every direction. She slowly perceived that this blood pool continued on for eternity, and that she was not floating. It was as if thousands and thousands of people were murdered and their blood was drained here.

Then, a large mass of some thick, heavy whitish liquid fell onto her shoulders and drenched her. Looking up to see from where this liquid fell, she saw a damp-green coloured menacing creature staring at her with soulless eyes, as its eyes were glowing white in color and making a light ‘grrr’ growling sound. It had bony limbs and had two long, clawed fingers at the end of its forelimbs. It opened its mouth and revealed rows and rows of sharp yellow teeth covered with blood. From its stomach grew two more arms, probably used for eating its prey.

Aya was horrified to see such a menacing creature who slowly came near her and bellowed at her, shaking her up. She was traumatized by the looks of it and was not able to move, and  with a flash, it grabbed her and tore off her left upper limb, and then her right one. She was crying out in pain and fear as blood spouted out and splattered all over the place. After that, the monster pointed one of its clawed fingers and sliced her head off.

-This was pretty much what happened, as explained by her. From hearing her story, it looks like she had a terrible one. Wow, not only in the real world, but in dreams also she can’t rest comfortably? What the hell.

I held her trembling hand firmly, and acknowledged-

“Don't worry. Everything will be fine.”

I am not good at it, but I was trying to comfort her. It was the lamest way possible, if not the worst way. However, she seemed to have calmed down a little, and her eyes slowly shut due to sleepiness. I gently held her shoulders and made her lie flat on the bed, and fixed her blankets, sliding it over her body.

I headed to my futon. Finally, she was asleep now...or not. As I peeked to take a final look before lying on the futon, she again woke up with a little terrified eyes.

I guess the fear from that nightmare is still hitting her...

“Hisashi...c-can you...please stay near me… and hold my hand till I fall asleep?”

 Her face was turning red as she spoke, and I blanked out for a few seconds, confused at what I just heard. Wait, aah. I guess I was right, the fear of her nightmare did strike back. I gave a gentle smile at her and got up from my bed. Aya had a puzzled expression, probably thinking where I was going, but she shouldn't worry, I am not going anywhere.

I got on her bed, went inside her covers and hugged her. This might calm her down a little, if not entirely. Okay, yes. I was truly blushing, but from what I told earlier, that I’d be looking after her, this was the least I could do. Along with the warm hug, I acknowledged to her-

“There, there. Forget about the nightmare. I am here right beside you, so It'll be all right.”

 I patted and gently caressed over her hair. Her face got visibly red like a fresh tomato when she heard me and was held, but soon the reddening faded as she saw a gentle smile on my face, hugging me back and tightened the embrace. And so, we slept like this for the rest of the night, with both of us clinging to each other, arms wrapped around.

 


 

NON-ENGLISH WORDS USED:

 

    • Fumu: ‘Hmm’ or ‘hmph’ or ‘uh-huh’. From the context of the story, it means ‘hmm’.
    • Yare yare: ‘Oh dear’ or ‘good grief’ or ‘thank god’. From the context of the story, it means ‘good grief’, conveying annoyance.
    • Kawaii: Probably a well known word among hardcore anime fans like me :3. For those of you who are not familiar with this word, it just means ‘cute’.

 

 

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