Chapter 225 - Rumours Aren't Always Lies

It was early in the morning and I was still feeling a bit sleepy. I was sitting with my head resting on the table, but the sound of Kizhashi talking with her friends was annoying the heck out of me.

I wasn't even in the mood to tell her to shut up. It felt like a waste of energy at that point.

I was still as water from outside, the amount of thoughts going on inside me was immense. And being stressed under surroundings where people talking in your ear was just irritating. I just happened to have unlimited patience. That's why I didn't mind it.

I said yes to her and started dating her. Even though it felt quite weird and vague compared to how I felt when Naoto asked me out. Her words felt rather empty, but she was definitely hiding something.

I was a bit skeptical about this whole ordeal. There are rumours going on about her, which I slowly got to know after she mentioned it yesterday. Her image was definitely not the best.

The rumours about her were, of course, not pleasant. And looking at the way she acts, I doubted whether or not the rumours were true. But being rumours, there was always a chance that the thing was exaggerated or inaccurate, since it passed through a lot of mouths.

When she was crying yesterday, it felt like she might have some sort of emotional problems because the rate at which she was changing was unreal. She was being bashful, but the very next moment; she was crying out loud.

Though it wasn't like I was doing abnormal things, I still couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. Every time I looked at her or talked with her, a weird heaviness would weigh me down.

Was Shiraishi even attracted to me?

Considering the type of girl she was, it wasn't stupid to think of that possibility. She knows a lot of things about me and is kind of obsessed with me, but it all felt rather strange.

I could not make sense of anything that happened to me in the past few weeks. It was the first time a target made me completely clueless.

"Oi, Saishi." I was pulled out of my thoughts by a really familiar voice, as I raised my head from the desk and turned towards the person. Standing next to me was Tsūmen with a rather agitated look on his face as I greeted him, "Huh... Tsūmen?"

"What the heck did you do?" He asked me out of the blue, as I looked at him in confusion. Still a bit sleepy, I asked him, narrowing my eyes, "What?"

"Don't play dumb…" He replied instantly with a frown on his face. I didn't reply to him, as he added, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"About what?" I asked again, to which he clicked his tongue and let out a sigh of annoyance. With tensed eyebrows, he asked, "That you're going out with that girl!?"

"Oh… Shiraishi." I replied a bit hesitantly. I thought it was something serious, judging by his look. I was also surprised by how fast news spread in highschool. It was only yesterday that we started going out.

"What the heck, man?" He commented in an uncertain tone. Looking at me with a confused look in his eyes, he asked, "Out of all the girls, you chose her?"

Judging by his expression, it appeared that he wasn't pleased by my decision at all. But I was still confused as to why he would be pissed off at me for dating someone. He was rather delighted when I was dating Naoto.

"What's the problem?" I asked, as he narrowed his eyes and said in a sarcastic tone, "Oi… you know exactly what the problem is."

I was still unsure about how I should reply to him, so I kept quiet and stared at him. He slammed his hand on the desk, which made a slight noise, as he asked, "Why would you date a girl like her?"

"He is dating Shiraishi?" I heard the voice of Kizhashi joining in, as Tsūmen's eyes shifted towards her. With a subtle nod, he replied in an irritated tone, "Yes… and I can't believe it."

Kizhashi had a weird smile on her face as I could tell that she found this matter rather funny, but was trying her best to not burst out laughing. She looked at me as she was about to say something. Her smile faded away as our eyes met and shaking her head, she said, "When did… actually nevermind."

"Wait… why are you acting like it's a big deal?" I turned towards Tsūmen and asked, as he chuckled and asked, "Dude… are you high or something?"

"Listen, man… I started dating her. What's the big deal?" I asked him with a stern look on my face. My irritation was clearly audible in my tone, as he narrowed his eyes and said out loud, "Bruh! She's a hoe!"

It made a few eyes turn towards him. Kizhashi and her friends also stopped talking and stared at us intently. I shifted my gaze towards him and replied, "Yeah, you're saying it based on what?"

"Rumours?" Looking at his silence, I added as he replied instantly with a huge nod, "Of course."

I could see how the rumours were affecting her at that moment. When she thought that I was judging her because of the rumours, her voice sounded really hurt. Even though I was a bit dubious about the ordeal.

"I don't mind rumours. As long as she's good with me." I replied, as that was my honest perspective. I thought judging someone based on an image which was formed by rumours was wrong.

"That's the thing man!" Tsūmen clicked his tongue again, as he started his rant about her, "She won't be. She's not the type of girl to settle for one."

I didn't say anything. My eyes are fixated on him as I could see the agitation in his jade eyes.. He let out a breath of annoyance, as he added, "And rumours aren't always lies."