"I'm sorry! Please forgive me! You have to forgive me!"
Hachi was a blubbering mess first thing Tuesday morning. And the moment I'd entered the classroom, he swung his arms around me, squeezing me like a pancake.
"Ha-chi," I gasped.
"I appreciate you, Shiina. So, so, so much. You're amazing. And talented. And kind. And you hit amazing spikes and baskets. It's incredible how often you make my jaw drop."
I was flailing for oxygen at that point. "C-ca. . .n't—"
"What Rumi said was cruel and insensitive! Never listen to that jerk! He's a meanie to everyone, but that was especially uncalled for. You're not this class's hindrance—you're our important ally! And I love you so very much!"
As if questioning my silence, Hachi released my shoulders, innocently fluttering his eyelashes.
"Shiina?"
Collapsing stomach-first onto my desk, I inhaled, exhaled and wheezed to regain my respiration rate. Soon enough I'd forgotten how to properly breathe.
He straightened his posture, and after a pause, asked, "Did I kill her?"
"What are you so loud for this early? Nobody has no time for your idiocy."
Jin Narumi entered the scene. Glare cold as ice, skin, hair and attire quintessential to a class representative. He hovered over Hachi, sourly rubbing his ear.
"R-Rumi! I killed her! I killed Shiina!"
He hardly paid me a glance. "Who?"
"Don't kill me off," I puffed, hauling myself upright. Flattening my lips, I gingerly caressed my throat. "I'm still the protagonist of this story."
"Shiina!" Hachi exclaimed, slamming me into another embrace.
At least, he tried. I shoved his face before he could—at the exact same time as Narumi.
"Shut up!" Narumi snapped.
I didn't say it, but I was thinking it. In that regard, for the first time in history Narumi and I were on identical wavelengths.
It didn't last.
Upon releasing Hachi, and allowing him to crouch over in pain, Narumi faced me. Indifference seized every inch of his countenance. Then, recognition flashed behind his eyelids.
"Oh, it's you."
Whether it be the lack of witnesses in the classroom considering how early it was, or my bubbling dissatisfaction, I snapped, "I'm not happy to see you either."
I dropped my belongings into my seat. Sure I was a mess yesterday, but it seriously was embarrassing breaking down like that in front of everyone. Insults departed Narumi's mouth like clockwork—him calling me a hindrance to the class shouldn't have shocked me. It was a wonder how he completed his class rep duties or remained a teacher favourite across all subjects despite that.
He reminded me of a particular idiot. But unlike Igarashi, Narumi was impossible to unnerve—
"I apologize."
I blinked once.
Twice.
"Don't make me repeat myself." His scowl was rigid—a perfect complement to his 'Ice Prince' status. "I went a bit far yesterday. I hadn't anticipated tears, which is why I'll keep in mind you at least possess some human fragility in that beanstalk body of yours. I'll choose my words carefully from now on."
Did he admit to not seeing me as a human this entire time?
It was a superficial apology—undeniably—but what else was I expecting from Jin Narumi?
YOU ARE READING
Outsider Syndrome | ✓
Teen Fiction(A Reverse Harem) Due to her above-average height, Shiina Kisaragi lives as the constant object of ridicule by her high school peers. Not a day goes by where she isn't reminded of being an outcast. With her mother having passed away a year ago, she...
