Tangent | Soukoku; AU [✔]

05 ➳ beautiful hell // h.x

the sun has set, stars twinkle like stagnant fireflies. my eyelids are starting to drop as if a weight stands on it to keep it shut.

have i not felt this sleepy so early in the night; it was only 7:13 in the evening and i feel dead tired, as dead as my will to live.

i wanted to flop to my bed the moment i get back to the dormitory, but then i remembered that hawthorne called a while ago.

"come back here, i have something that may interest you."

ironic how a religious guy like hawthorne and an agnostic person like me are in the same room. well, as long as i don't bother him while 'talking to God' or that he says anything about my indulgence in violent games, we're good to go.

the only thing that interests me in this world -- these things that keep me alive -- are, of course, none other than art and games. nothing else. although i am open minded with other topics and listen to other people, nothing has added to my list of interests yet.

hawthorne would sometimes speak to me about the Word of God, in which i don't mind but my attention span for it is as small as a pea.

i cross my fingers that hopefully this 'something' that may 'interest' me is not another attempt to convert me back to any religion.

golden doorknob and expensive antique wood greets me in front of the most good-looking dormitories in Yokohama. it looked more of a hotel than a dorm, and weirdly enough, i wasn't even paying my share here.

shh, don't tell the landlord. that man has his mind set to hate on the poor.

either way, how am i going to pay... i don't have a proper job, and still i am waiting for my application to be accepted in the team of pro players so that i earn money simply by playing league as much as we want.

the key to our room was in my hand, unlocking it and freely welcoming myself. my roommate, as always, was sitting in his chair reading the bible.

"good evening." were all i had to say. i didn't want to say too much, for he might say that i'm interrupting his conversation with God.

hawthorne didn't look at me neither responded immediately after my greeting, so i continued ahead to my table to put down my stuff, get a change of clothes and take a quick shower.

finally fresh as a watered flower, i got out of the bathroom with hawthorne done reading. he was now standing up -- bible still at hand -- and gazing through the window.

"is anything wrong, mr. hawthorne?" i started; i know for a fact that he wouldn't start until he felt like doing so, or if he noticed me getting out of the shower.

he kept his bible inside who-knows-where in his holy cloak, turning around to face me with the usual serious face. "want to go back to school?"

"huh?"

of course, my initial response to that question would be a NO. i dropped school on purpose, so that nothing gets in the way for me to improve my skills in both gaming and art. meaning, if i quit school intentionally, then obviously i have no desires to go back there any longer.

even if given a full scholarship or if anyone pays for my needs, i would just reject the offer.

"uh, didn't i say bef--" i was about to reason out, to explain myself that i have told him before that i have no plans to study again.

hawthorne cut me off. "not even done yet, hayakawa. allow me to finish."

and so i sighed in defeat, nodding at him to gesture that he may proceed. his purple eyes pierced through my soul and additional points more for lifting the rim of his glasses a little high up to the bridge of his nose.

"it's a gaming university. twain was offered to it, he said. he might try for it, and i just said this to you just maybe it may get your attention and that you get to that pro team you've been blabbering."

never knew that gaming and university could fit as a combination! university is a torturous hell as i've experienced it before, but surely gaming was heaven for me.

gaming university sounded like... a beautiful hell.

so without further inquiry, i let out a smirk and confidently said, "count me in!"

"may getting in there atone your sins for making me pay the rent all the time."

  ☀️ 

risu here. i just got home from school when i started typing this chap, and my brain is dead af but here ya go anyway (it's 23:11 here as i type this) hahahahaHAPPY BIRTHDAY HAWTHORNE!!  070417 (and also happy 4th of july lol)