Introverts Impressions' Interlude; Sato to Yamada no Yume

Volume 1; Chapter 3; The ''Wingman'' Has A Thing To Say

Interesting...Yamada-san is sitting right next to me..? And why does Hiroshi-kun think I should know this?

Truth be told, Raichi didn't care about who sat where. He may have gotten information about Yaori even without asking for it, but even so, that just means he knew it was best not to approach her. He knew how much he didn't like talking to people himself, so if the two of them were as similar as they say, then an awkward conversation was bound to take place.
And the future self-proclaimed wingman wanted to mess with his buddy a little, trying to get some words out of him. And so, Hiroshi was expectantly looking at Raichi. After staring for a solid three seconds, he had enough.
''Are you waiting for something..?''
''Of course, I am. That should be obvious.''
''Then what?''
''Your opinion, that is.''
''I see..'' Raichi paused. He quickly took a deep breath and let go of his book. He was ready to declare something that Hiroshi should have expected.
''I'll be honest...I don't care too much. You know me.''
''Wh-What?'' said Hiroshi. "He had assumed that Raichi was the type of person who would obediently follow orders without question. However, he failed to realize that someone who always felt like they didn't belong would eventually become accustomed to feeling that way. Raichi's past experiences had molded him into the distant and unemotional person he is today.
"B-But aren't you at least a little bit curious?"
"Maybe I am, maybe I am not. But even if I were to have such curiosity, I wouldn't need to act upon it." Raichi stated. "Why do you want to rope me along so much anyway?"
"Well, because I want you to have an actual social life here now that you've finally transferred!"
"I will socialize if I feel like it."
"Seriously..?" Hiroshi said, exasperated.
After a few minutes had passed, Raichi felt a strong presence. Though he didn't bother batting an eye, a certain bookworm had entered the classroom. She was ignoring the eyes on her, wanting to sit down. She quickly looked around to where she was assigned to sit, grabbing her seat and putting it where it was supposed to be. Standing where was, it was that easy to tell who the entire room had their attention on.
Raichi couldn't help but feel bad for this person he hadn't even met. Even without knowing her, the information he had gotten from gossip alone had already explained what kind of person she was, and that's what was so scary about it. But even he couldn't help but also look. The truth was that it was more of a glance of concern.
But knowing the truth was more than enough. He didn't need to act upon it. And so he ignored everything going around.
''Good morning Yamada-san!'' said Hara once she had sat down.
''Morning, Suzuki-chan.'' She replied in a monotone voice. She quickly settled down and pulled out a book from her book bag. Despite saying he would ignore everything, Raichi couldn't help but eavesdrop. However in the end he decided to just plop his head into his arms, and sleep through the day. When he lifted his head, to his disappointment he would find himself awoken from the bell ringing before noon.
After looking around, Raichi could see someone approaching him. It was Haruki, his most recent 'friend'. His level-headed and calm expression was easy to recognize even amid a crowd.
''Hey, Sato-kun.'' Haruki greeted him.
''Um, hello.''
''You slept through three breaks and four lessons. Impressive sleep-schedule.''
''Heh, it is the only way to get through the day quickly.''
''Is..your whole aim to get the day done?'' He questioned.
''Well, yeah...I've never really liked being in school all that much.''
''Y'know..some people are afraid of the passage of time, while you're over here sleeping so that it gets by for you. Won't you regret it?'' Haruki said in a concerned tone. He was worried about how Raichi was. In all honesty, his sleepy state was looking miserable.
''I don't...know.''
''Also judging by all this, I hope you don't oversleep.''
''The only extra rest I get is at school. My sleep schedule is fine, okay?''
''Okay...What else do you do to spend the time during school?'' Haruki asked. Though confused, Raichi smiled back.
''I read books mostly. Just felt exhausted today..*yawn* ''
''Did something happen?''
''A lot of things happened. Not that they're anything to be concerned of, so don't worry.'' Raichi reassured him. ''For short, turns out my family's reason for moving here was none other than Hiroshi-kun standing right there,'' Raichi said while looking over at Hiroshi.
''Hey, don't bring me into this..!''
''Oh?'' Haruki was impressed. ''I didn't know you had a thing for talking with your friends' parents, Kimura-kun.'' He said jokingly.
''I did it for him, okay? I wanted to get him out of that hellhole that was his class.''
''You both seem to think that way about Sato-kun's past school life. Is this something I shouldn't pry?''
Calling his class a hellhole was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was accurate to say he didn't enjoy it. Raichi felt he should not burden anybody with the story, so he wanted to hide it. Being forced into a position he never wanted wasn't all that enjoyable.
It wasn't bullying per se, but all his efforts to fit in had failed, and he felt cold and distant. And unintentionally, he had become the nobody guy. But he found two friends from the other classes before the school year ended, Hiroshi and Hara.
But sadly, they ended up separated in different schools for a year. However, this transfer brought them back together. And especially Hiroshi knew of these past events. Raichi felt that the best decision was to not say anything further about it.
''I don't want to do anything that'll ruin the mood, so if it is okay with you, I'd rather have this topic closed.''
''Fine, fine. Although, you need a breather.'' Haruki said. It was true. All of that chat and sleep probably exhausted him, since this rest he had wasn't technically resting.
''Y'know what, you're right.''
''So Kimura-kun... You coming along?''
''Uh, sure, why not.''
While walking through the garden, the three had drinks on their hands, sipping them at different times, and having a chat. Raichi had put on a smile for once. If he were, to be honest, he was very much enjoying the chat. And Hiroshi could see everything through and through. From his perspective, witnessing this guy finally make another friend made him very happy. But in Hiroshi fashion, he had started grinning again. Haruki, who didn't know his antics, was a little spooked. He let out a worried chuckle.
Raichi, who had finally taken notice of what his buddy was doing, intervened.
"Hiroshi-kun...!" Raichi threw a soft punch on his shoulder. As a reaction, Haruki made a slightly concerned whimper. But it seemed like Hiroshi didn't react.
"Y-You okay??"
"I-I'll be fine. He threw a soft punch on purpose."
"I did. This is sometimes the only way to get you out of this phase." Raichi said confidently.
Raichi felt a sense of gratitude for Haruki's genuine concern for him. Despite his initial reservations about opening up to others, he couldn't deny that having someone like Haruki around made him feel a little less alone. Sadly, their break had quickly come to a halt as they had to get back to class. Raichi was visibly disappointed by the turn of events.
As the day went by, Raichi continued his habit of zoning in and out. Mostly, he had been reading books. However, during classes such as Math, he couldn't focus on his book, so sleeping was a preferred option. The end of the day slowly reared its head. But even so, Raichi could not help his curiosity and occasionally looked over at Yaori's desk, wondering what she thought of everything. After all, he knew a lot of things already. But again, he had no desire to approach, as disappointing as it is for his buddy old pal Hiroshi.