This is a Pilot!
None of the information is canon here!
For some context, this used to chapter 1 until I decided to remake and do it better!
So, this pilot chapter is just a worse version of chapter 1 that I decided to archive, be mindful of that!
I would've never expected for my day to end up like this, carrying someone all the way to the nurse's office.
"Hey, careful taking steps, that bruise looks bad." I said, really concerned.
"It-It-It's fine I can walk… " she replies in a very quiet suppressed voice, it's almost impossible to hear, even if you're paying attention.
"Be careful please, I'm responsible for taking you safely to the nurse's office."
Why did this even happen?
Oh, right.
Today was just another boring day, sitting at the same old desk, hearing the lessons that take forever to end and occasionally writing down if asked to. Actually they have been the majority of days, ever since I was transferred to this school earlier this year.
These days leave me no choice but to think of my previous school. How I was best at running on the track and field. I was so fast that my old friends nicknamed me "Red Cheetah Seiko".
But all changed when I moved out to somewhere very far from my previous school.
Now here I am at the new school, no one knows me and I even lose motivation to continue running some days.
At days like this I would turn to my only friend always beside me, the windows of the classroom, looking outside to cleanse some of those thoughts. But it seems even they were gloomy today, the usually shiny sunny rays are now filtered by dark clouds, consuming the once bright blue sky.
The sudden ring of the school bell takes me out of the trance-like state, reminding me that there's still some classes I have to attend before going home.
Next class was PE. A class I used to love, but now it has turned into my dread. It's not that I hate sports, I enjoy them a lot. The track and field is the one thing I don't look forward to.
Last place again…
I got last place again in today's race. Way below average again. The track seems to get longer and longer, how do they manage such speed for such a long time… I feel so tired, it's like I did a loop around the globe.
"Group 1, you all can rest now. Group 2 please get yourselves ready."
Picking the spot to sit down a little further from everyone, I continue to think on how.
How does the rest of the class maintain this speed, am I missing something? Is there something I don't know? I'm gonna pay attention to the next group, maybe I can learn something from them.
"Group 2, on your marks…"
Seems like everyone is preparing the same way. That girl with light pink hair on the back though, She doesn't seem very well. It feels like any little gust of wind would knock her over or send her flying.
"Get set…GO!"
Everyone jumps forward as soon as the go was released, from this start alone, it was possible to dictate the ones faster than the others. They would jump forward with such strength that it would create such a massive gap between them and the rest. They seem clear minded as well, nothing but maintaining their pace courses through their minds. It's truly a spectacle… Hm?
The pink girl, she's struggling a lot, if she keeps running like she will forsure tri-
THUMP
Aaaand she falls as expected. That looked like it hurt, a pretty bad fall, I hope she's alright. I was not the only one that thought that, seems the whole class is discussing that.
"Everyone, please stop the race!" The teacher says with desperation.
"Chie, is everything okay? Can you still get up?"
"I-I'm fine miss-"
"I'll Get someone to guide you to the nurses office, don't force yourself too much."
"Everything is oka-"
The teacher quickly and efficiently looked around, at all the students to pick one to bring her there.
"Seiko!"
As luck would have it, I was picked between all of them. I guess sitting away from everyone else wasn't good camouflage either.
"Seiko, can you help her get to the nurse's office?"
"Yes miss!"
Augh, why am I thinking of all these things now? Wait, why is the infirmary so far away from the gymnasium!? That makes no sense!
Mumble mumble
What's this noise? Is it uh… what's the name the teacher said again?
"Your name is Chie right?"
She nods
"Sorry Chie I wasn't listening, what did you say?"
"I'm so-sorry for all the trouble I caused you." she says in a low tone looking down. I think she was looking at all the expressions I was making before.
"Don't worry about it Chie, it's not the first time I gave someone a piggyback ride and you are very light. Everything's A-Okay." I say to her with a much friendlier expression.
Chie doesn't react any differently and still has a very low expression. I need to do something about this, think Seiko, think!
"Hey Chie, uh… how was your day?" WHAT!? HOW WAS YOUR DAY!? THAT'S THE BEST YOU COULD DO SEIKO??
"You are not doing so good thinking about it now hehe…" I give an awkward laugh to move on.
Chie lowers her head more. I made things even worse. Come on, think brain!
"Hey, look at this wonderful weather we are having…" I say while directing my attention to the windows of the hallway. Only for dread to set in seeing the very cloudy I forgot about. I can't back down now, I'm too far deep in the sentence!
"O-o-of a lot of dark clo-clouds and with a high chance of rain! Guess the sun was too lazy to show up for work today huh?"
An very awkward silence sets in, this was a complete disaster. 'Mission Cheer up Chie was a complete failure' I thought to myself while lowering my head.
Chuckle
Hm? I hear something. Looking back I see her chuckling from this disaster of attempts. The mission wasn't a failure!
You got it Seiko, now think of something else to continue.
"Hey Chie, do you play video games?" I say as her expression starts to light up. "I played this game called Phoenix Quest a few days ago."
"Yo-you played Phoenix Quest too!? What did you think of it!?" She says speaking then I ever heard speaking anticipating my next answer.
Silence was broken with success!
With the infirmary just a few steps away I say:
"I'll tell you once we get to our destination, brave magician of the west." I say referencing one of the quotes from the game.
"Forward Knight of Fire! We shall visit his lair!" Chie quotes.
"That was a pretty bad fall, but you will be fine Chie. There's nothing I can't cure!" said the "cool" looking nurse while striking a pose…?
"You should stay here until the bell rings though, you still need to heal missy."
"Th-thank you Mis-"
Chie is interrupted by sounds of birds chirping.
"Oh sorry, it's my phone, I can't let any notification go by unseen. Someone can always be in need of medical assistance!" says the nurse and starts staring very intensively at the phone. The case she has around it is surprisingly cute compared to her outfit of sunglasses indoors and a black jacket that acts like a cloak over her lab coat.
"Well, everything ended up okay Chie!"
"I-I guess it did." She says with a feeling of relief from the bed she is resting at.
"I should get going, I need to tell the teacher that you are A-Okay before she gets to-"
"You! Student whose name I don't know!" yells the nurse.
"Ye-Yes sir! I mean, Miss!" Wait, why does she have a traveling backpack stuffed with medical equipment now? She was just looking at her phone a minute ago, how fast is she!?
"You will be watching her now, make sure she doesn't leave before the bell rings!"
"I must leave now to save a life, and I can't have another nurse office escapee." says the nurse while leaving, striking a cool pose before the doors closes in front of her.
After this, we heard her running down the hallway.
That happened a little too fast… Guess I'm on guard duty now.
I grabbed one of the chairs and sat next to Chie's nursing bed.
"Chie, Hey Chie."
"Hmm?"
"Don't you think it's funny that the nurse wears sunglasses inside and acts so cool around others?"
"I like her, despite her appearance, she is super kind. It's a bit scary sometimes but still very kind."
"She kind of reminds me of the barbarian from Phoenix Quest, scary appearance but kind heart, you know?"
"That is so true! They have almost the same aura!" She continues with sparks in her eyes "Do you remember the scene where the phoenix warrior first meets the barbarian, how they felt indifferent towards each other?"
"Yeah, and then they had to put their differences aside to help someone running from a monster and after that they grew respect for one another!"
"They began to have a friendly rivalry before the barbarian officially joined the team, then in the nex-" Chie suddenly stops and has a very surprised face.
"Chie? Is something wrong? Is your wound hurting? I can go find the nurse if you need!"
"Oh. No, no." She says looking down a bit "It's just that… It has been a long time since I talked like this with someone."
"Hmm?"
"I used to talk with a lot of people with no problem, but ever since I was transferred to this school two years ago, everything began to feel so distant…"
"I slowly became more and more anxious of people around me, feeling like they were judging me for not talking too much."
"But talking to you makes me feel anxious at all now, I wish I could talk to anyone like this…"
"You know Chie, I guess we are not too different after all.
"Huh?"
"We are in the same boat traversing wavy waters!"
"Oh, right, you were transferred here this year."
Some weird noises began to come from the windows. Something is happening outside, so I got up to look. It was the nurse discussing with someone.
"I'm here Mr. Principal, what's the medical emergencyyy."
"Right on time Miss. Oshare, you see, I called you here to assist our janitor! He's at the top of those stairs but he has a fear of heights."
"He has a what?"
"Fear of heights! He's very much afraid up there. You seemed like the most fearless staff member, so could you help him overcome his fear?"
"WHY HIRE A JANITOR THAT HAS A FEAR OF HEIGHTS IN THE FIRST PLACE!?"
"He had such a passionate speech about janitoring on his job int-"
What in the world is happening there…
"Is everything okay there? I heard Miss Nurse scream…"
"Oh uh… The Principal is being scolded by the nurse…?"
"I-I see…" Says Chie, lowering her head.
Chie still looks a little bit down. Oh I know the perfect plan! Hastily, I hopped back to my seat.
"Hey Chie, can I be your friend? Maybe working together will help overcome your social anxiety!"
Chie had a very surprised face from the thing I said.
"Of course, you can be my friend!"
"Hehe, name's Seiko, glad to be friends with you!"
The noises from outside became louder again and I ran back to check it out.
"Fine, fine, fine. I'll help him out!"
"Thank you Miss. Oshare, good luck!"
"Alright, pipsqueak!"
"Ye-ye-yes!"
"Take a deep breath, I'm here to help you overcome that fear of yours. One step at a time, come down here!"
I turned back and Chie had a very curious face, wondering about the outside.
"Everything will be A-Okay now." I said while giving a big smile, she smiled back at me.
The very first friend I made in this school, maybe things will look up from now and on!
We have been talking to each other a lot waiting for the nurse.
"Have you ever done the secret to unlock the hidden 4th party member in Phoenix Quest?"
"I haven't yet. It seemed very difficult to do…" I said while scratching my head "The quest to unlock them happens by chance doesn't it?"
"Yes, but there's a way to manipulate the odds through th-"
Chie is unexpectedly cut-off by the loud bang of the door and as the nurse comes back to the office.
"I have returned!" She said as she proceeded to do a dramatic pause.
…
She rapidly turns her gaze at me.
"Seiko!"
"Ye-yes miss! I mean sir! No, I mean miss." I said, quickly getting up from my chair and doing a pose similar to a soldier who just got up from bed.
"I would like to give my thanks for staying vigilant during my decamp, you may return to your class now."
"Yes, miss!"
I head for the door, but before leaving, I look back at Chie and say "See you later in class Chie!" While doing a little wave motion.
She waves back at me and we both share a smile.
I close the door to the nurse's office and… Wait, what was my class again? Oh right it was-
DING DONG
Before I could finish that thought the loud ringing of the school bells echoed through the hallway. Students from all classes began to move around and populate the halls.
And so I began walking to the second floor, deep in thought. Thinking of many things right now, my next class, Phoenix Quest and Chie. So many things happened so fast I can't eve-
BONK
"Ow, ow, ow, sorry!" I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and hit my head against someone, it hurts!
"Tch… next time pay more attention, bird brain."
Huh!? "What did you call me!?" I said glaring at him.
"I called you bird brain, are you having problems hearing too?" He said, staring back.
This punk looking guy with a single green strand of hair is making fun of me!? I'm not taking this lying down from someone like him!
"You got a lot of courage to say that, green banana! Is that some kind of fashion statement?" I retorted back.
The tension between us continues to rise, some people in the hallway begin to notice but I don't care about them, he picked this fight first.
But this uneasiness was broken by him, he saw something behind me that caught his attention.
I look back and see nothing too out of the ordinary, the only thing to note was Chie leaving the nurse office.
"It's you! Hey you with the blue glasses!" Yelled the punk as he began to run towards Chie. Do these two know each other!?
She looks at him and instantly begins to panic and run from him.
"Hey, wait! Don't run from me!" He says while chasing her.
No, they don't know each other, he's trying to pick on Chie! I can't just stand here and do nothing about it! I'll go after him, I won't let him do anything to her!
I began to go after him not too far behind.
After a turn, another student catches me running.
"Hey! No running in the hallways! Geez, it's the third person already." They said, with an annoyed face.
"So-sorry, sorry for running!" I said, quickly stopping.
"At least you stopped unlike the other two. You know, we from the student council, put these rule to avo-"
Huh… they have a blue hat on, with a strange symbol as a print, it's not what I expected for a council member to wear… Wait, what am I thinking!? Chie is in danger, I need to hurry! I can't listen to them talk any longer!
"I-I-I'm really, really sorry, student council member! My friend is in danger!" I began to run again, cutting off their speech and breaking the rule.
"Danger!? What do you mean!? Hey wait!"
I will not let that punk do anything to Chie, I swear it on my life!
I will protect Chie no matter what!
But, thanks to that interruption earlier by that student council member, I'm far behind them. Only knowing where I should go by catching a quick glimpse of that punk turning around the corner. I need to speed up!
Turning another corner, I see him at the end of this long corridor with all the science classrooms.
He was headed to the garden area outside on the right side. Geez, this school is way too big for its own good, why do they need so many labs, or any of these long hallways anyway!?
I took a deep breath and then prepared for another run. But right when I was about to begin my impulse, I was completely halted by one of the doors opening.
A tall woman with swith short pinkish hair that covers her right eye, wearing her lab coat comes out of that door…
Wait, that's the science teacher, Miss Yuka! She just left her lab!? She never leaves it, why now of all times!?
I had to downgrade my running to a fast walk, hoping she wouldn't notice me at the opposite side of the hallway, but it was all for naught. She almost instantly noticed me after closing the door, and I just froze up.
Miss Yuka had a confused look on her face, is it because she knew classes had already started? Does she think I'm skipping classes? Am I going to be detained!?
As these questions floated in my head, her expression turned into a very gentle, almost creepy, smile. I began to shake and sweat profusely seeing this, "It's all over, I'm done for!" I thought.
Wait!
No, no, no! There's still a chance, I can still salvage this, maybe she thinks I was just passing by and going to my class! Yeah, play with this narrative Seiko! I just need to act friendly and continue walking, and as soon as she breaks line of sight, I make a run for it!
And so, I put my plan into action, walking forward while making a waving motion and forcing a friendly smile back to her. She waves back at me and prolonged this nerve wracking moment.
The brief second she turned and broke line of sight, I took the opportunity and ran as fast as humanly possible out that hallway, I was gone in a flash. Hopefully it was fast enough that she didn't see me.
Finally at the garden, after passing through all the obstacles that were in my way, I can finally see them clearly.
That punk, standing right in front Chie's face, casting a heavy shadow over her. "It was you, wasn't it?" he asks in a threatening tone. Chie, against the wall, terrified and shaking, unable to answer that question. Did she do something? No, that can't be it, she probably did nothing and he just wants a reason to pick on her. I'm not gonna let him bully Chie!
I took a deep breath and began to walk towards both of them.
"Hey, stop picking on her you bully! Can't you see she's terrified!?"
"Huh!? Who- Wh-what are YOU doing here!?"
"I'm here to protect her from YOU."
"Protect!? What do you mean protect, is your bird brain acting up again?"
"I can tell by your attitude, you're up to no good."
"I'm not gonna let you mess with her!"
"Bully!?"
"P-please stop…"
"I'm not trying to pick on her! I just wanted to tha-" He suddenly stops and gets a little flustered, "No! Wh-why should I tell you!?"
We continued the back and forth, raising the tension further.
"I won't let you do anything to her!"
"I'm not going to hurt her! Why do you keep bothering me!?"
"ENOUGH!"
Her scream echoed through the garden, shortly fading to the silence of the wind colliding with the fauna around us… She broke our arguing and left us speechless…
Chie crumbles to the ground, making a thump sound during the landing.
"Ch-Chie, are you okay?"
"I-Im fine…"
"Seiko… Ple-please don't fight over this, I don't want to see anyone hurt over something I did…"
"Seiko… Ple-please don't fight over this, I don't want to see anyone hurt from something I did…"
She… she did do something…? to make him angry…!?
"Wh-what is happening here Chie?"
"You see… he has every right to be angry at me…" why is she lowering her head!? Is she actually guilty of something!?
"Huh!? What did you do!?"
"Wait, angry?" The punk says with a very puzzled look in his face looking at her.
"Eh?" She says, raising her head with an equally as confused look as him. "Yo-you're not angry at me…?"
"N-no, why would I be?" He responds back, looking a little to the side.
This really awkward silence fills the air, I have no idea what is happening now, I need to say something.
"Wha-what is going on here, I'm so super confused!"
"Uh, well… I thought he was upset at me because of the pink button in his blazer…"
Pink button? Oh, he does have a very bright pink button, completely different from the other black buttons on the uniform. On closer inspection, his uniform has a bunch of stitches as well… Wait, what does that even have to do with her!?
"I'm sorry Chie, I'm lost on all this. What does that have to do with you?"
"Ah, right, you don't know the entire story. I'll tell you everything."
"Wait, everything!?" He objected to her, a little agitated.
"Ye-yes… sh-she's my friend, it-it's no problem if she knows it." She said, albeit, feeling a little scared.
He turns to me and we exchange stares before he says "Fine! I guess you can know, since she trusts YOU."
"Well, thank YOU for allowing it."
"We-well, this all started last week. During lunch break, I was searching for a place to sit, away from the crowded places at the school. I ended up sitting down right beside the door to the garden, no one ever visits the labs, or the garden during lunch break after all, and the nice breeze from the garden made it the perfect place to relax."
That's true actually, the wind here is very calming and peaceful. Maybe I should sit around here, instead of the cafeteria.
"While enjoying my time, I noticed some voices coming from the garden, so I decided to secretly take a look at what was happening. It was two students stomping on the poor defenseless flowers, making a huge mess, and destroying the garden as whole."
"I really wanted to stop them, but I couldn't find the courage to say or do anything… so I could only watch…" She says lowering her head a bit.
"But then, he appeared, I was so focused on what was happening that I didn't even notice him in the hallway. When he saw what was happening, he instantly ran to the scene and scared those two students by yelling at them, he looked really angry."
"Oh, he protected the flowers?" I said, staring at him.
"Stop staring at me!" He said, turning his head opposite to me after getting a little red.
Huh…
"Yes, he did! After he scared them off, he took care of the flowers, and cleaned the mess they left in the garden, even after the bell rang. But, while taking care of some bushes with prickly flowers, he ended up losing his balance and falling inside one."
"He quickly got out, but it felt like it hurt a lot, and his uniform was torn in many places, even one of the buttons was taken by the bush. Despite being hurt, he continued to take care of the flowers in the garden. It was then that I gathered enough strength to run to the nurse's office and call Miss Oshare. She's the only one that can treat his wounds."
"So it was you who called her, I was so confused as to why she appeared out of nowhere yelling."
"Well, she has a tendency to appear out of nowhere, yell, and strike poses. It's normal behavior for her."
"It's… normal…?"
"I-in any case, I still wanted to help in some way, but I couldn't find the courage to ask him…"
"Can't blame you, the way he speaks, and his appearance aren't the most friendly out there." I said while crossing my arms, staring at him.
"I don't want to hear that from you, bird brain." He said after doing the exact same, is he copying me to make fun of me!?
"Uhm…" Chie said, a little nervous from the fizzle our staring caused.
"Lu-luckily for me, the opportunity came later when he left his blazer on his desk after being called to the nurse for another check-up after-school. I made the decision right then and there to take it home-"
"YOU STOLE!?"
"I didn't have any other chance! But it wasn't for a bad reason! Let me continue the story!"
"Oh, right, sorry for overreacting. Continue on with the story"
"Once I got home, I asked my mother to help me fix up the blazer and figure out the missing button issue, she's really good at that stuff. We spent the entire night doing so. Both us stitched all the holes shut, but problems arrived when I realized we didn't have a black button, only pink ones. I didn't want to keep his uniform for more than a day, so we did what we could."
"I see…"
"Wait, your mom didn't question why you brought home a boy's uniform?"
"Well… She did. I said to her that I was doing this to help someone, after that she didn't question anything, and had a smile all the way through. I think she was happy that I was doing a noble deed for a friend…" She said, as her face got a little red.
"An-any way, the next day, I got up very early and ran to directly school-"
"And after that, you went to my classroom and left the blazer at the same place you found it."
"Ah… Ye-yes… that's what happened after…"
An awkward moment of silence lingers in the air for a bit after that reply. I really should say something, but I don't know wh-
"I-I'm sorry, for taking your uniform without asking, and I apologize for the pink button." Chie said looking down from the guilt she felt.
"Huh!? Yo-you… don't need to apologize…" he said, a little flustered. "I wanted to thank you for fixing up my uniform, and apologize for scaring you, I have… trouble expressing myself... I also don't mind the button at all."
"Oh, so the punk is a good guy after all, huh~" I said, teasingly while looking at him.
"Hmph." He expressed, looking away from me.
"I also apologize for barging in to all of this, and from fighting you earlier. I had the wrong impression of the situation."
"Actually, what is your name? We've been this long here, and still don't know your name."
"...It's Hiroshi, my name is Hiroshi."
"Oh, that's an… interesting name." I guess it does fit him, deep down.
Extending my hand, I say "So, Hiroshi, I'm sorry for thinking wrong of you. I don't want any bad blood between the both of us, so how about we put our fight behind us."
Hiroshi, although a little reluctantly, likely from his big ol' red face, still shook my hand, and I gave a smile back to him.
Hm? I'm hearing someone snuffl-
Chie is crying!?
"Wha-what happened to you?"
"Is everything okay Chie!? Wait, is it your wound from earlier acting up!?"
"No, no, no…" She replied, still crying with a smile "I'm just happy that both of you made peace with each other and became friends."
"Fri-friends!?"
"Oh, come on, you are our friend now, you don't need to get all red like that~"
"Sh-shut up."
Both of us extended our hands to help Chie get up from the ground.
DING DONG
"Oh, that's the sound of the school bells. Wait, we have been skipping class this entire time!?"
"Well, there's not much we can do about that now."
"Yeah, he's right. It's better for us to head back to class, and act like we didn't skip the previous one."
"I guess so… Oh well, come on, let’s go! If we run we can still make it in time!"
“Alright, alright.”
“Yeah!”
“Go, go ,go, Forward!”
Hehe, I made not one, but two friends today, and they are good and funny people too!
I thought today was going to be another boring and sad day, but, just like the weather right now, the gloomy dark clouds of the sky are gone, and the shiny sunny rays fill the blue sky. I can finally look forward to the future!