𝙰𝙽𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚂𝙸𝙰

Chapter 5

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I..." Osamu started to say, recalling his past memories. "Had noticed that Y/N would hide himself away...or try and force himself to act happy even when he wasn't."

"Do you know how long he's done that?"

"I didn't really notice it in the beginning, as we weren't really that close to each other. But...I started noticing it about six months later."

"Did he ever make an attempt to talk to you about it?"

Osamu slowly shook his head. "No... I tried asking him about it multiple times, but he'd always say everything was fine. He never let me pry too deep..."

The gray-haired male swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling guilt swell up inside him. "I regret taking his word for it..."

The woman gave him a sympathetic look. "We can't change the past...but we can change the present. I want him to be himself again and I know you want that for him too."

Osamu nodded. After he answered a few more questions, the therapist ended their little session, letting Osamu spend some more time with the (h/c)-haired male.

–

Dr. Yamazaki exhaled in relief, content now that she had taken a bath. But her peace only lasted momentarily. She began thinking back to her conversation with Osamu. Her gaze then drifted toward the notebook that lay on her desk just a few feet away from her. 

She had felt bad about having it in her possession, but the doctor had insisted that she keep it safe. There was something about the notebook, though, that kept her both curious and anxious. 

Whatever that notebook meant... Whatever was written inside... It all seemed to terrify the (h/c)-ette. Yet it was something that he had to accept and come to terms with. She got up off her bed and walked over to her desk. 

She reached out, reluctant about reading it. But something told her she'd be able to do something more if she could learn more about the situation. She picked it up gently as though it were fragile glass. She then took a seat on the edge of her bed and opened it to the first page.

xx/xx/xx

      I don't know what to write in this notebook. It was a gift from a good friend of mine. Y/N knows me so well! I was happy to get a notebook like this one. He said he got it for me because he knows that I like to write.

      Well, it's only really a hobby and I didn't really expect to go anywhere with this. I looked online for ideas for what to make out of this notebook. But since I couldn't really find anything else, I just decided to write down my feelings.

      I'm not good at expressing myself verbally. I get overwhelmed with emotions to the point that I can't speak. It's a whole lot easier for me to express how I feel with written words. So, I'll express them here.

      Since I don't really have much else to say and I'm probably the only one who will ever know about what's written here, I'll leave it here for today.

      To future me, I guess. I hope you're not cringing too hard!

A girl with black hair finished writing the last sentence before she heard her name get called. She closed her notebook and placed it underneath her desk before getting up. She walked downstairs, her eyes shining when she saw a certain (h/c)-ette standing a few feet away from her, already wearing his uniform.

"Hey," he said.

"N/N!"

She greeted him with a hug before they both headed to the kitchen. "Good morning," she said to her mother, looking over to see what she was cooking.

"I hope you've got everything," her mother said as she cooked.

"Ma, it's all good. I've got it all, I double-checked."

Her mother arched an eyebrow, not quite believing it. But she shook it off and turned to set out plates. Y/N offered to help, receiving a word of thanks. "What about you, Y/N? Got everything?"

Y/N nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm good," he said, turning to his friend. "Are you ready for school, Naomi?"

She sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "No, not really. I really wish I could just stay home."

He smiled at her response and sat down beside her. "Come on. You can't stay in the 7th grade forever."

She slumped down on the table. "I don't want to..."

"I bet she'll hate going to high school then," said another voice.

Y/N looked up to see Naomi's older brother, Azuma. He was also wearing his uniform, his bag in hand. "Hey, Azuma."

"Morning."

The older male walked over to the table and sat down across from them. He reached out and started poking his sister's head. "Naomi, stop whining about it already. You'll be fine."

Naomi lifted her head. "Azuma-nii, please don't make me go," she pleaded.

"No, no, no," her mother said. "As if I'd let you stay home. School is your responsibility, alright?"

"But, Ma–"

"No buts or I'll send you out without breakfast."

"Fine..."

–

Naomi clutched the straps of her bag tightly, anxiously looking over the list to see which class she'd been assigned to. Y/N was the first to spot his name. When he found Naomi's, he excitedly tapped her shoulder. 

"Hey. Good news."

Her eyes widened in anticipation. "Please tell me we're in the same class...!"

He smiled and nodded, watching as her eyes shone brightly. She put her hands together, thanking whoever put them in the same class. "Let's go before we get counted late."

"Okay," she responded, walking beside him toward their classroom.

Once they got to their classroom, they saw some familiar faces as well as some new ones. Y/N took a seat next to Naomi, happy to see that she was in a better mood compared to earlier.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah..." She replied softly. "To be honest, I was just anxious about being alone... I thought we'd be in different classes, so..."

Just then, their teacher walked in. She smiled at everyone and instructed them to take a seat. 

"Good morning. It's nice to see so many smiling faces here today. My name is Mrs. A and I'll be your homeroom teacher."

There was a chorus of greetings from the students before the teacher began talking again. "Why don't we start off by introducing ourselves? We'll start from the back corner."

At that, Naomi jolted. That's when she felt all eyes on her. She glanced toward Y/N as she hesitantly got up. "It's okay," he mouthed to her.

"My name is Naomi Hattori..." she said, feeling as though she were losing her voice with every word spoken. "Please take care of me..."

She immediately sat down, feeling shaky. The teacher as well as a few others responded with a "nice to meet you" before Y/N was motioned to go next. He got up from his seat, doing his best to ignore the stares.

"I'm Y/N L/N. Nice to meet you."

From there, all the other students took turns introducing themselves. Once the task was over and done with, the teacher began explaining any new changes and answering any questions.

The (h/c)-ette glanced over at Naomi. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

She nodded. "Yeah... I think I just need some water..."

Y/N raised his hand and asked Mrs. A in place of Naomi. The teacher nodded. "Go ahead, Naomi."

The girl got up, looking straight ahead to avoid the stares she was getting. She made sure to close the classroom door behind her quietly before heading down the hall.