“What’s your objective in all of this?” Her voice sounded serious, with a hint of dominance in her eyes. She wanted an answer, a good one at that.

Yasu blinked, confused, and a simple statement escaped from his lips. “I’m sorry… come again?”

He didn’t understand Hatsue’s question, maybe it was the wording… maybe he was taking it too literally. Objective? What is this, a light novel?

“I mean, from one day to another, you’re suddenly approaching us and sitting with us for a meal. Not only that, but you’re even dragging those two in this. I can’t help but think of something. What? You like me perhaps?” Hatsue said in great confidence, which just made Yasu all the more confused.

“…busted, huh?” His face turned apologetic for a second, like a child caught doing mischief. “There’s no hiding it, huh? You’re quite sharp, Hatsue…”

“So there really was something, go on.”
“Actually… I… I…” The more he delayed the reason, the more Hatsue’s heart pounded. He looked serious, in pain… and after a while… “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Yasu said with a smile, his eyes losing their shine for a second.

“…huh?”

“No, why are you so confused? Like I said, I have no idea what you are talking about… You are reading too much into this. If anything it’s nothing but a coincidence, don’t you think? I was merely looking for a way not to be made fun of.” He said dismissively.

“What do you mean by that?” Hatsue asked as she finally regained her composure.

“I’m quite paranoid, you know? That’s why if I were to eat at the same place without Souta or Hajime, I would feel as if the other people there were judging me. “He’s eating all alone, how pathetic” Typa shit, don’t you think?”

“…right…”

“Hm? What are you looking at me like that for? You asked a question and I answered… Well, it was mostly a misunderstanding, though.”

“What are you guys talking about?” As they continued on, Hajime approached them, covered in sweat and grabbing a water bottle from the bench beneath them.

“Just clearing some slight misunderstanding. Ain’t that right, Ms. Hatsue?”

“I guess?” She reluctantly said Hajime let the cold liquid pour down his throat, he felt refreshed and regained a little more energy, giving him the ability to play for the rest of the time they had for class. He turned back last time and went ahead to the middle of the field.

“…What? You like me perhaps?” Hatsue’s earlier words stuck to him for a while, he placed his arms around his knees, and as he gazed at the field where Hajime and his classmates were playing energetically.

“…what if I did…?”

“Hm? Said something?” Hatsue, who seemed to hear his murmur, asked him. “Nothing you should worry about.” Yasu dismissed her curiosity.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

“I’m bored…”

The sun was setting, and Yasu’s room was getting darker. Mind blank, body spread across his bed and gaze focused on his phone, a random video playing in it.

His eyelids felt heavy, if he were to close his eyes even for a moment, he had no doubt he’d fall asleep instantly. Which wasn’t exactly a bad thing, but he had to greet his parents after they came home from work, times when he failed to do so just ended in scolding, so he wanted to avoid any type of mood dampness if possible.

“Ugh… Why do I feel so tired…” He got up and headed down to the kitchen, where he brewed some coffee and took a cup, with two sugar spoons. He took the hot mug in his hand and went back to his room, where he set the mug on his desk and turned on his laptop.

“Thinking about it, I have to update a chapter today, don’t I?” As a pastime of sorts and as a way of self-gratification, Yasu has been updating a web novel for about a month now. With only eighteen chapters, Yasu told the story of an unrequited love, a situation he has never experienced.

If anything, it only came from his hate of losing heroines, warping the story into a losing male interest.

“Where’s my notepad…”

He looked through the drawers and found a black notebook, the site of a sixteenth of his desk. He took it from the drawer and placed it on the desk.

“Let’s see…”

He elaborated the chapter’s mental map, created the outline and proceeded to order it within the novel’s timeline, aligning it and giving him an easier time using a scene in it for a future part. This process took him about three hours at most when it came to his standard fifteen hundred-words chapter.

A long, yet enjoyable process.

For Yasu, this type of work gave him nothing in return. He kept it a secret, no one other than the people at the other side of the screen (and his childhood friend Ren) who did read his work knew about it. He wasn’t even making any money from it.

“So that’s what “Broken Arrow” means… I should probably abstain myself from having it as a title…” He finished up the chapter with a good seventeen hundred words, he looked around the whole chapter and revised it. After he posted it, he called it a day.

R E N

[ One Way Love Chapter 19 ]

[Managed to update it again in time,

do tell me what you think… pretty plz]

(Oh, nice. I’ll see if I can read

it once I get home from work)

(I’m looking forward to this chapter)

[The symbolisms were portrayed

perfectly if I do say so myself]

[This is nothing but peak writing,

as expected of me!]

There was no response from Ren after that, which Yasu understood because he had been told that he worked in a hardware store managed by his father.

That’s why unlike before, the moments when the three could play together decreased significantly, to the point where they were almost nonexistent.

However, the three remained in contact within their group chat, like always.

Two Idiots & Ren

Naoki
(She loves him?! – Anime

compilation)

Naoki

(Have you watched this one

@Yasu?)

[Why do you think I’ve watched

every single anime?!]

[How many times does this make?]

Naoki

(Yes or no? Have you watch it?)

[…I did]

Ren

(And to think a few years ago

you did everything to hide the 

fact that you got hooked into

anime… good old days)

[You shut up and continue your

shift, gambling addiction can’t

be satisfied without money.]

As Yasu looked at the corner of his phone, he noticed it was merely seven o’clock, there it was still a little too early to go to sleep, so instead of just lazing around, he chose to be productive and continue forward to another chapter.

He got the outline done, and about twenty percent of the actual chapter written. However, he has gotten burnt out, so the ideas and other things he got from the current process were noted on his notepad and tucked away into safety.

He slipped under the blankets and when the house got real quiet and he was sure that no one was up… he locked the door and watched videos on his phone until late at night.

Needless to say, he got no sleep and felt drowsy during the whole school schedule.