𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍. ʜᴀɴᴀꜱʜɪʀᴏ

1 3 : 曖昧なアーティスト

The Ambiguous Artist

—

Nene scurried away as she sprang up from her place and hurried towards Hanako, shamelessly clinging to his arm as she quivers, her eyes wide and scared, "Go away!" She yells as she feels her heart beating faster and faster as the shadow slowly approaches them.

She froze as she sees the mysterious person kneeling down in front of her — and then, it suddenly grabbed her leg and she couldn't help but let out a loud shriek that made Hanako lose his fear and just cover up his ears in agony, "Ouch!"

Woah, Nene knew this. Whenever she reads a horror and mystery genre novel, this happens to the protagonist! And then, the wicked force will surely drag them to a very dark place where they will never see the light again—

"Wait, wait! That hurts!" She gasps as she stops kicking the person and peeks over at whoever has finally let go of her leg. "That was one heck of a reaction!"

There, sitting on the wooden floor of the steam train, was a girl with messy brown locks that flows past her shoulders. She had these crystal clear blue eyes that were similar to Kou and Teru's — but although they're the same kind of color, her eyes reflected something much more different from theirs.

Nene gasped sharply again as she finally takes a clear look on the girl — she was human and she was surely a new person here! How could she be so mean and judgemental?! She scrambles and immediately takes her hand, apologizing nonstop, "I'm very sorry, please forgive me, I didn't know you were someone who's really a human!"

Instead of being mad, the girl laughed at her, "That's okay! I guess that's what I deserve after scaring the both of you. Besides," her gaze wanders from her magenta eyes down to her legs; and when Nene realized that, she quickly covered them with her long skirt, blushing. "Your ankles are really great! How did you manage to have such healthy and fat ankles?!"

Nene deadpanned as Hanako bursted out laughing from beside her, which earned him a sharp jab on the side. The brown-haired girl sat on the opposite seats from them and smiles, "I'm Mei Shijima. Is this the afterlife?"

Nene glanced at Hanako, her lips completely sealed. Mei seemed cheerful and fine, although obvious about the fact that it may be the one she was asking about. It reminded her of Kou and Teru's peace and the way how they act like they were never from somewhere that resembled that of hell itself.

Hanako told her about the train and about the reason why she arrived there. It was a swift explanation, and Nene couldn't help but notice her eagerness to know everything about that place. She just looked comfortable, even. It stunned her about how relaxed she was; was everyone from even before she came acted that way too? The thought embarassed her again.

"This place is cool," Mei gushes as she puts her palms onto the window panes, staring outside with a big smile on her face. "I wish I could have my canvas and painting tools so I could paint this scenery."

Nene smiled at her, "You're an artist?"

"Yeah, kind of," she giggles as she looks at her. "I love painting a lot."

This piqued the cream-haired girl's interest as she inches a bit forward towards her, "What are your favourite colors when you paint? Do you use pastel colors?" Hanako thought she resembled that of an excited puppy; just a pair of dog ears and a waggling tail behind her were the only ones left to complete that thought.

Mei stared at her before pursing her lips and awkwardly replying, averting her gaze, "I... I don't really use pastel colors a lot, though. I like black and darker colors, more than light colors."

Nene — as if receiving a hint — covered her mouth as she apologized again, "I'm sorry for assuming something like that!"

"That's fine, don't worry," Mei pats her head as she giggles. "I'm used to it. But that doesn't really hurt my feelings though."

"I-If you say so."

She goes back to staring outside, a toothy grin plastered on her face. Somehow, Nene could feel something different from her; her fondness of dark colors, being one. It made her want to ask about what happened to her, but she figured out that maybe that would be already too impolite of her, adding to the list to the many awful things she never meant to do for just the first time they met.

"You know, everyone used to think like that about me too before," Mei says while still not glancing at them. "You thought that maybe I was some emotional kid, judging by my color preferences, didn't you?"

"I-I...!" Nene was about to counter with what she said, but she couldn't in the end, as she thought that maybe she was actually right. She slumps down on her seat, nodding shamefully.

"I'm not saying this to make you feel guilty, okay? No hard feelings involved, I want to be friends with the two of you here," Mei finally turns to them as she sits properly. She smiles at the both of them. "I'm just saying this because I want to clear some misunderstanding. I couldn't do it before because it seemed like no one would listen to me, but I feel like you two are willing to listen, so, may I?"

"Certainly!" Hanako and Nene both answered in unison, a smile adorning their faces. Nene giggles, "I really want to be friends with you, too."

"Thanks. Your words make me feel light!"

"We will listen, no matter what it may be," Hanako beamed at her. "Until you feel better, we'll always be here."

Mei nodded as she took a deep breath, as if collecting herself first before a presentation.

"My paintings earned me the title of being an ambiguous artist. They think about the meaning of them in a completely opposite way, and they were always mistaken. But even if I try to explain it all to them, they never listen."

They pity me because I'm physically weak.