𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍. ʜᴀɴᴀꜱʜɪʀᴏ

0 6 : 二人

Two People

—

"Hanako, to be honest, the things that you're saying and the things that are happening right now... I get them," Nene says as the boy's face lits up with what she said, until some next words came. "But I don't really get them either."

"Ugh," Hanako groans again. "Just wait and see till someone else comes, then."

"O-Okay, sorry," she bites the insides of her cheeks as she looks outside instead. "Anyway, how long have you been here?"

The dark-haired boy looks up for a moment, his lips pursed, and eyebrows furrowed, "I did say that time here is complicated, but if I'm going to tell the truth, I've been here for around... maybe three years already."

"Oh, really? Well, that's kinda—wait, what?!" Nene whips her head towards his direction with wide eyes, staring at him in disbelief. "T-Three years?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you've heard it right," he says nonchalantly as he peeks outside. "I've been here for that long. But it doesn't really make me lonely, though. Unlike in the living world, I don't get to see scenery like this that much."

"It really doesn't make you lonely?" Nene asks with a worried tone. "You sure?"

Hanako hums as he glances back at her with a grin, "I think it's even better here. I love it here, you know. This train has been my home ever since."

Nene fell silent as she watched him get at least almost the half of his body out the window, screaming and laughing like a kid. For some reason, his words felt genuine when he said them, although it felt unbelievable for someone who has been there for a long time.

"What's the reason you're here, anyway?" He asks after getting back inside again to sit. "What happened to you?"

"Ah, I got myself into an accident after I willingly ran away from home. It's kinda complicated to explain," she chuckles awkwardly as she scratches onto her cheek lightly. "But everything was too much and I wanted to get my mind at peace first before coming back."

"A rebel, huh?" Hanako gives her a lopsided smile with that. "That's really brave of you."

"No, not really," Nene shakes her head and shrugs. "I mean, we do so much for our dreams because we believe that we can reach it if we persevere, right?"

It took him a moment to answer, "I guess."

"I wanted to be an author of a book; it's my dream and it's also the reason why I want to go back fast," she says, a dust of pink on her cheeks as she looks at him with a big grin, her glassy magenta eyes, reflecting everything that is in front of her. "But everyone around me disapproves of it because the noble world believes that being both a noble and a writer are two different things. Writers, being inferior, of course."

"That's really harsh," he comments as he rests his elbow on the sill again, putting his palm on his cheek as he continues to look at her. "They write books that help people until the end of time, yet they're underrated."

"Right? Ugh, I hate nobles and their crazy beliefs," Nene groans, rolling her eyes. "Being a commoner is still the best."

"Wait, you mean you used to be a commoner?" Hanako raises an eyebrow at her, to which she answers with a nod. "Really? How?"

"My mother died long before. I only had my aunt as my family after that. She married a Baron and so, I also became a part of the House," she says while scratching her arm. "Her husband's really nice, unlike everyone."

"If he's nice, why did you have to be stopped for pursuing your dream?"

"My aunt didn't want me to be a writer like her. You know, my fascination towards writing actually started with her book," Nene kept her lips to a thin line as she continues. "She wrote it when she was around the same age as me. She fell in love and thus, wrote about it. The book was actually about her and the Baron."

"Wow, that sounds cool," Hanako unexpectedly says as he crosses his arms. "Your aunt must've put her heart and soul into that masterpiece."

"Yeah, she did. That's why it became popular. But Misaki's parents learned about the existence of that book and said that they will forever refuse to give their blessing to them if she continues to be a writer," Nene sighs heavily and looks outside again, gazing at the beauty of a simple meadow. "That's the price she had to pay for her fairytale."

"Well, the world has always been harsh," Hanako shrugs. "But we still wonder why we never get used to it, yeah?"

"Still, I don't really mind not marrying if I get to write my whole life," she huffs and also crosses her arms. "But it's bothering me as to why the publisher always says that I should fall in love. I mean, I am in love with books! Why does that not count?"

"Uh, you're slow," he rolls his eyes at her. "Have you ever been in love with a person?"

"No," Nene says honestly, shrinking a bit onto her seat as she averts her gaze in embarrassment. "But I'm seriously always doing my best to improve my grammar, writing structure, plots and all! W-Well, he might say that the way I describe things are rather stiff, but... it's already good for me!"

"That is not for you to say," he frowns at her. "You want to be a writer, right? Then mind what the readers think. You dream and dream, but all you do is a half-assed work. How can you ever be like your aunt if you're like that?"

His words irked her, but they were true. Yeah, she was still a mediocre. A novice for writing. She hated to admit that, but everything he said was right.

Nene furrows her eyebrows at him as she stands up, glaring at him, "Y-Yeah, I know that! But how about you? Do you even have a dream—"

The cream-haired was not able to finish her sentence as someone else's voice was heard through the place, "Look, brother! There are people here. Let's ask them."

Hanako and Nene looked up and saw two young men with their uniforms and gears, soaked with blood.

"Uh, excuse me? Where are we?"