Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Voices In My Head Tell Me So ❯ SEVEN ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

SEVEN

 

My phone buzzed. Message. It buzzed again. And again. I picked it up. I was taking the morning off, playing a video game on my Vita-chan handheld game console. Popular in Japan and unpopular everywhere else.

The inverse of Cowboy Bebop, said my passenger.

Hello voice. Anything to say about my phone messages?

Answer. Its sensei. She wants you to go to summer camp and help out with the Service Club. You’ll be helping around 100 elementary kids. One is the daughter of the home economics teacher at Soubu. She’s like you. So if you ever wondered what you would be like as a small girl, she’s it.

Ugh. Seriously?

Look on the bright side. It’s Chiba Mountain Village, and you’ll spend a couple nights out of this heat.

That’s a bright side? No air conditioning!

Yuigahama in a swimsuit. Sensei in a swimsuit. Even drills in a swimsuit. Bring your swim trunks, by the way. And a your gym uniform because it is chilly at night and in the early mornings. Pack a bag. Sandals, extra socks. Toothbrush.

Fine, fine. I’ll pack a bag.

Answer the phone first. Sensei gets WEIRD when men ignore her. She’s got some trauma from ghosting.

Sensei is afraid of ghosts?

Ghosting is when a guy breaks off contact with a chick he’s dating, and refuses to answer her calls or messages. This is usually because she does something unforgiveable, and she never admits she did. Sensei is a woman with some problems.

Huh. I answered my phone, responding I was packing a bag and asked for a ride. Komachi showed up holding out her phone.

“I got this. I’m packing already.”

“Hurry up. We need to be at the station in an hour,” reminded Komachi.

“Bring sunscreen and bug repellant, and put them in a ziplock bag so they won’t leak into our clothes,” I reminded her.

“Good idea, brother,” she agreed. Komachi doesn’t camp much.

Soon enough we were at the station via bus and sensei arrived with sunglasses, leather driving gloves… and a van that would seat six. The service club and my sister climbed in, with Totsuka arriving to join us at the last minute.

“Hachiman, sit up front beside me. No funny business on this trip. I’m your chaperone,” she cautioned me. I sighed, but after I settled into the comfy seat and the good view I fiddled with the A/C controls and vent fans and let sensei choose the oldies radio station. Too be clear, oldies are from ten years ago. She was into it and I didn’t fuss. The girls and Totsuka were in good spirits talking to each other so I just let things be and enjoyed the ride. We entered the expressway and headed for Chiba Mountain, over an hour’s drive.

It’ll be fun. Stop being so pessimistic.

We arrived up a narrow road through an arched gate leading to the Chiba Mountain Village Educational Summer Camp. Sensei was cheerful from her drive, looking positively happy, an expression I wasn’t used to seeing on her face. Maybe I’m a bad influence? But she’s doing this face despite sitting next to me.

It’s not about you. She likes driving. Stop being such a narcisscist, Hachiman.

I humphed to my inner voice. Another vehicle pulled up and the popular kids from my class got out. Yui greeted them happily and sensei explained they were getting extra credit for being here and acting as counselors.

“Do I get extra credit for being here?” I asked her. She glared.

“No. This is Service Club activity,” Hiratsuka sensei explained. “Think of this as an opportunity to learn how to work with people you don’t necessarily like.”

Yukino was even more unhappy than I was, for different reasons. I am pretty sure that she and Hayama have history. We were directed to a stage where over a hundred grade school kids were gathered. I followed the others, observing the situation. The large dough-faced camp leader gave a speech about friendship and experiencing the outdoors and how this is important for students to grow. Then one of the senseis offered encouragement to form groups and that students would be graded on their participation. Then Hayama stepped up and tried to give a speech about fun and friendship and stuff like that. I was tired of him. There was no Max coffee here. And I am feeling a lack of my preferred stimulant.

The kids were assembled in small groups, then given directions to follow for an orienteering course, using a compass and counting their steps. Most kids don’t know how many steps in 100 meters so errors were bound to happen. They tried anyway. I was sent to a specific point to help kids find their waypoint and reminder on how to read the compass etc. Most of them took one look at my eyes and tried to do it themselves, afraid to approach me. All except a girl who was apart from her group, looking excluded.

That will be Rumiko, Tsurumi-sensei’s daughter. She is the girl version of you. She got into a bad crowd and found herself excluded from social connections. This is more important to a girl, since females of our species are socially dependent rather than independent, no matter what they may claim on selfie video blogs.

How bad a crowd? I asked the voice, curious.

Well, they’re girls. So pretty bad. Not even through puberty and already bitches.

So not like my sister, then.

Not even slightly. Still, for being depressed and sarcastic, Rumi is very observant and understands more about the world than most kids her age. She’s got the attitude of a Post-Wall 32 year old office lady, without the alcoholism.

That sounds really specific. Are you trying to say something?

Let’s just say that if you catch your sister speaking German be sure to hug her often and give her chocolates and good coffee. And if she goes off to join a mercenary group to fight in foreign wars, try and stay strong, the voice answered in a chilly way.

That is VERY specific. Well, at least she isn’t a magical girl. That would be worse. Back to Rumi. So she’s separated from people who used to be friends and is forced to continue school with them while adults think she should forgive them so they can do it again? Is that the size of it?

Pretty much. I rather respect her from the anime. Rumi is pretty tough. There are shippers that pair her with you when she’s graduating High School and you’re in graduate school for something or other. Once she’s grown up and you’ve had an influence on her at a critical time.

Isn’t that kinda gross? I asked the voice.

Lots of Japanese men get married when they’re thirty to twenty year old high school graduates. It is no different.

Rumi’s group moved on, her trailing behind unwillingly, and I didn’t see them again until early evening, when the kids began preparing dinner, a curry they would prep by hand and cook outside, one of the key features of the program. Strangely enough, none of the kids cut themselves with the cooking knives, or burned themselves on the pots or the open fire they made for each one to cook over.

Almost like they were responsible rather than idiots on drugs like American school kids. I have to say I’m impressed by this, Hachiman. Despite the bullying and cliques, this one thing you get right. It has been decades since American kids could be trusted to safely use cooking equipment.

Is that so? That’s pathetic.

Americans have just as many problems with autism as Japanese families. And lower infant and child mortality rates means the autistic kids live longer before they kill themselves.

Is that really true? That’s sad.

Its evolution. This is happening all over the world, not just Japan and America. But good job letting kids be kids and not hovering over them just because cooking is slightly dangerous.

“What should we put in the curry now?” asked Hayama loudly to the kids. They responded with various suggestions.

“Fruit? How about fruit!” answered Yuigahama.

Seriously?

There is a type of curry that uses mango. You never had it? Its kinda good.

Is this like putting chicken and pineapple and ham on pizza?

In the sense that it is savory then yes. Sometimes sweetness makes spicy things taste better. Kung Pao uses a spicy sweet sauce, after all.

That is a good point. Okay, I won’t sneer. But pineapple on pizza is still weird.

Maybe if you lived in the tropics it would be normal. Maybe everything is just different there.

No thank you. And just say no to making sushi with a slice of spam. Yuck.

I feel like I’ve heard of that. Back when I was alive. Compared to horse bread that would be a delicacy.

Your Earth was weird, voice.

I suppose. Maybe if the Zvezda Imperium hadn’t declared war over wild vegetables, my world could have been a better place.

Zvezda? What? Why does that sound familiar? Wait. I read that manga years ago. Tiny girl declares herself empress? Voice by Louise De La Blanc De La Valliere? You realize what this means. You are from an anime world.

“He’s making a weird smile. Don’t bother him,” warned Yukino.

You… no. Just no. I can’t be an anime mob. Some minor character that never turns up in the main story. I can see it in your head. No. NOooo!

I smiled wider at this, causing several children to shudder and edge away.

“Don’t make eye contact,” warned a small child to another.

“Yui, can you talk to Hikitani?” asked Miura, covering her face with disgust.

Okay, I can deal with this. It sort of makes sense that I’m an isekai from a fantasy world where nothing makes sense. Actual normal people don’t get isekaied. They just die and turn into worm food. Heads up. Boobs incoming.

I turned my head and let my grin change to my usual smirk, seeing Yuigahama bounce and jiggle over to me.

“Hikki? Are you okay?” she asked gently.

“Just thought of something funny,” I explained. “Are you having fun?”

“Oh… uh yeah. Lots of fun. Kids are pretty great, right?” she answered, brightening up.

“They can be. Did you talk to my sister on the drive up?” I asked her, knowing the answer to be yes.

“She’s really fun,” Yui agreed happily.

“Yeah, Komachi is really special. Sometimes she gets quiet and thinks pretty hard and then we talk about philosophy and the nature of reality,” I admitted. “I think she’s pretty smart. Even though she acts like an airhead sometimes.”

Sorta like Yui does. She had to pass tests to get in, same as everyone else. Even Tobe is probably smarter than he acts.

“Really? Wow. From the way she acts around people you’d never know she was like that too,” Yui said.

“She’s kinda like Yukino, or even Haruno,” I tried to explain.  

“Who?” Yui asked.

“Haruno is Yukino’s older sister. You just missed her at the mall a few weeks ago,” I explained.

You’ll get to see her right as this trip ends, back in Chiba. And the Toyota Century that hit you, too. Won’t that be a fine reunion. They managed to fix all the body damage! And they paid your hospital bill, and a settlement to your parents to cover some of your college expenses. It wasn’t just a hit and run. I think that Yukino is really embarrassed about this. And the more time you spend together, the more it eats at her that she hasn’t admitted anything. If you were mean, you could tease her about it, and traumatize her even worse. I would recommend against that.

I looked past Yui and stared at Yukino, helping several students to cook. Miura and Ooka were helping as well. Ebina was sketching and taking pictures as they went, probably documenting the event. I looked back to Yui and took her hand, making her blush.

“Come sit beside me, if you like. They look like they have this under control,” I pointed out. “Komachi and I trade off cooking. She’s slightly better at it than I am. We had to cook together since our parents work so much. Your parents work pretty hard too, right?”

Her mom might be a nurse. Her dad does indeed exist but the anime never said much about him, though he’s around and Yui isn’t getting raised by a single parent or anything.

I side hugged her at the idea of her loneliness. She returned it.

“Yeah, mom and dad both work long hours. Mom said if the economy had been better I might have been a big sister, but things are tough right now,” she admitted.

Damn. You know this means an abortion, right? Over money. Maybe more than one. That woman is a saint to raise her this well, even if Yui is such a lonely child.

Lonely? What do you mean, voice?

Why do you think she’s so desperate for approval from her peers? She’s like what you would have become if you’d been successful with your reinvention plan, or if you hadn’t been so brutally rejected by Orimura in Middle School. Spoiler alert: you’re going to meet her again in two or three months.

Why do I have a terrible sense of an angry school teacher in a severe black suit with a younger brother who wears joke power armor and is largely oblivious to his harem status? Nevermind. Do you mean Orimoto?

Yeah, her. She’s taken her cheerleader persona into full minion-hood. And its… really sad. She’s managed to be part of the student council at the minion high school.

Do you mean Kaihin Sougou High School? I asked the voice.

Oh, yeah. That one. None of the fans bother to memorize the name, since it is full of minion types and yes-men. They are doomed to lower management jobs.

“Earth to Hikki? Are you there, Hikki?” Yui said, breaking through my inner conversation. “You went away again.”

“Sorry. There’s a lot to consider and many things in life are starting to be funny now that I can see them properly. Do you ever feel that way?” I asked her seriously. Yui considered this, kissably cute in the process.

You could just kiss her, you know. This is why teenagers are so easily mocked by adults. Time is fleeting. You practically have a religion about that with your worship of sakura petals. As a Westerner, I can see how that makes sense, in a lot of ways. But Yui is right there. Kiss her, you fool!

I ignored the voice and its socially awkward advice, but kept my arm around Yui’s waist, which she snuggled into and did not shrug off. The kids had finished the rice and the simmering cauldrons of curry make by elementary school children were producing many good smells.

“Well, I guess. I mean, things are kinda different now that I hang out with you and Yukino after school, and you’re both so serious. It’s a really different atmosphere from Miura and Hayama,” she admitted, considering. I let her talk.

“Yukino was pretty hostile when I first met her at the service club. This was just a day before you joined us with the cookie request. She accused me of being scary and sensei had to make fun of us both to get her to calm down.”

“Did you really write a mean essay?” Yui asked.

“Do you want to read it? I mean, you were there to see the reason why,” I pointed out.

“What do you mean?” Yui asked, uncertain what I was getting at.

“The crash, and your dog. That was Yukino’s car that hit me,” I mentioned, spoiling a major event I wasn’t supposed to know about. Damn you, Voice.

“Really? I mean, really?” Yui asked, her eyes huge. She turned to regard Yukino, her friend, helping children serve food to each other.

“Yeah. I had a good doctor, at the hospital. Her family paid for it all. I don’t even have a limp. I didn’t know that when I first met her, either, but I found out later. But not from her. I think maybe Yukino is pretty embarrassed about the whole thing,” I said, continuing to hug Yui at my side, and she held me back. This is kinda comfortable.

She’ll make a good wife, you know.

“I think maybe she’s trying to make up for some lingering guilt. It isn’t like she was driving the car, after all,” I pointed out.

“Hm. It’s… it’s just… well, I don’t know. I mean, she’s Yukino. She’s always so serious,” decided Yui.

“Ah, then you haven’t seen her play with Pan San dolls. I have. I agree she’s very solemn most of the time. But not all of the time. Show her a cat and she’ll try and talk to it using Meows,” I reminded her of the Saki business. Speaking of, I got out my phone and found the video, playing it for Yui, who watched and giggled. I still had it in memory. There was very little signal, otherwise I would send it to Haruno… if I had her contact information. Maybe when I see her again.

Tell her about Orimoto, and how she is different. This is a good time.

“Umm. Can I tell you something?” I offered. Yui turned her head, very close to me considering. She nodded.

“I fell for a nice girl in Middle School and confessed to her. The thing is, she was nice to everybody, so she didn’t expect that and rejected me. I got bullied after that, so I worked extra hard to get into Soubou so I would never have to see those people again, and I’m usually very uncomfortable around girls since then.” Yui listened, then blinked, realizing she was leaning all over me.

“Ah, but I’m kind of comfortable around you, is what I mean,” I explained, not letting go of her as she tried to extricate herself. She stopped, looking at me carefully.

“Really?” she asked in a small voice only I could hear.

“Yeah,” I agreed. She leaned back into me again.

The voice in my head was carefully silent, not ruining this for me.

We ate dinner with the other students from Soubu and the three teachers, including Sensei.

They talked about the students, and the worries over the outcast. I still haven’t talked to her, and think I probably should, though I don’t know what I can say that will be remotely comforting. The others wanted to hold a courage test after dark, and while the thought of the various high school girls in sexy outfits is a natural win, I somehow doubt that will work with bitchy little girls who only just started puberty. And I still need to talk to Rumi myself.

“Do you honestly expect this plan to work?” I asked the table.

Leave it. If you do this your way, it will make things worse. You’d really scare them, there will be complaints to the principal, Sensei will get in trouble. It’s a whole thing.

That gave me pause. Seriously, I asked the voice.

Yeah. Your reasoning works with teenagers, but these are little kids. They’re fragile.

“I haven’t talked to her yet. Maybe just let me talk to her. From what people say she’s like me if I was a little girl. That’s right isn’t it?” I asked Miura, who looked uncomfortable but eventually nodded agreement.

“I didn’t want to phrase it that way, but kinda, yeah,” agreed Hayama.

“If you want to do a regular test of courage tomorrow evening, go for it, but let’s not actually scare anyone. I can see some consequences nobody would like if we go too far,” I answered thoughtfully. The table looked a little green.

I managed a shower in the dark after dinner and changed into my gym clothes to sleep. I found Yukino staring at the stars by herself and wondered what to do, or even if I should approach her.

3…2…1

I stepped on a twig making a loud snap. Dammit voice. You could have warned me.

“Who’s there?” Yukino asked.

“It’s me,” I said.

“Who’s there?” she repeated.

Bitch.

I walked into the moonlight.

“Oh, it’s you. I thought you’d be with Yui right now, being lovers under the moonlight,” she accused.

“That’s a very specific fantasy,” I answered. “You dream about that a lot?”

She glared at me, though it was hard to see under the moonlight.

She’s jealous.

Obviously, Voice. I think I can read that much into her. The question is WHY is she jealous? I’m not her type.

Eyes, Pan San.

“When this trip is over, are you going to be around?” I asked her.  

“My family wants me to attend various public functions. And Haruno needs a break for vacation.”

Except Obon, where she’s on duty and Yukino won’t be found.

“I don’t know what that’s like. I think Yui is planning vacation after this, with her folks. They sound like nice people who try really hard,” I said.

“What about you, Hachiman?” Yukino asked.

“My parents can’t afford to take vacation. They work long days and don’t come home until late. I’ll be looking after Komachi, probably.”

And Yui’s dog Sable. You should offer that soon. Offer to let her visit.

“You could come over and visit. If you need a break from social engagements. Or happen to feel like it.”

“Hmph. Maybe.”

“I recall you enjoy my cat. He’s there all the time,” I reminded her. She quit her pouting. I could see that much at least.

“Fine. When I have time,” she agreed.

“Are you out here because you and Miura are fighting?” I asked, realizing.

“I might have said some things that made her cry,” Yukino admitted.

“I always took you for someone who preferred not to engage with lower social status beings. Isn’t that unsporting? As unlikeable as she can be, she seems to be good with kids and actually wrangles Ebina Hina back under control, or out of sight of the normies, at least. You might cut her some slack.”

“I’ll cut her, all right. She’s lucky I just use words,” muttered Yukino.  

“I don’t know if Haruno would be proud or disgusted at you right now.”

“You… would you just go away already. I’m not having this conversation right now,” she complained under the moonlight.

I left. It was some time later, as I ignored the talk of girlfriends and crushes by the other guys in our cabin, that I realized Yukino was on her period and the menstrual cramps were probably bothering several of the other girls who’d been foul tempered lately, like Miura. And my sister. Such misfortune.

It doesn’t get better when you get married, either. You have to live with them even when they’re mean and spiteful and don’t like you. I notice that Yui isn’t mean, like the others. She’s clingy and nice. I don’t know if you wants you as a summer fling, or something more serious and long term.

Must you put things that way?

I managed to get to sleep after that.