"Good morning~"
"Morning."
Bai Xian panted as he entered the classroom, greeted his classmates, and returned to his seat by the window in the back row. What puzzled him, however, was that Takamatsu Tomori, sitting in the row ahead of him, kept turning around to steal glances at him, as if she wanted to say something.
Noticing the girl's strange behavior, Bai Xian figured it was better to clear the air, so he asked, "Tomori, is something wrong?"
Realizing she had been caught, Tomori nervously twisted her cuffs, then resolutely turned back around, gazing at Bai Xian with big, pleading eyes. Being stared at like that made Bai Xian's skin crawl; even though the object of his attention was Tomori, who was as cute as a little animal, he still felt quite awkward.
"Um... Tomori?"
Hearing his puzzled voice, Tomori finally dropped her pitiful expression, reached into her desk drawer, and pulled out a box of bandages printed with various cute designs. Holding the box in both hands, she said cautiously, "Bai Xian-kun, these..."
"Ah, are these for me?" Catching onto Tomori's mysterious wavelength at last, Bai Xian felt a bit flattered.
On his bicycle ride to school that morning, Bai Xian had been speeding to get there on time, resulting in an inevitable crash. Although he had worn full protective gear, his arm still got a few scrapes.
To avoid disappointing the girl's kind intentions, Bai Xian carefully inspected the box before picking out a bandage printed with a penguin.
"This penguin is cute, I'll take this one."
"That's a gentoo penguin..."
"Gentoo?"
"It has a black stripe under its neck like a naval officer's cap strap, see?"
"I see."
Seeing that Bai Xian was interested in penguins, Tomori took several more bandages out of the box and introduced them one by one: "This is an emperor penguin, this is an Adélie penguin, and here are the other penguin series..."
Tomori introduced them excitedly, a cheerful smile blooming on her cute face.
Seeing the girl looking so happy, Bai Xian propped his head up with one hand and asked with keen interest, "Tomori, do you really like penguins?"
Hearing the question, Tomori stopped what she was doing. Thinking he had lost interest in penguins, she hesitated and said, "I think... they're... cute... I guess?"
"Why so unconfident?"
Bai Xian chuckled softly, finding the girl rather amusing. She clearly loved penguins dearly, yet acted so unsure of herself.
"Because I'm just collecting them... I guess I simply like hunting for new species..." Tomori said in a low voice, looking somewhat withdrawn.
"..."
"I see. Actually, I can totally understand~"
"When I see cute keyboards and guitars, I can't help wanting to buy them all up, too~"
Bai Xian gestured wildly, as if a pile of musical instruments had materialized right in front of him. He stretched both hands out into empty air, trying to pull them all out, but found he couldn't grasp a thing, leaving the boy looking quite distressed.
*(Idiot, because there aren't any there at all!)*
Seeing this silly boy performing to empty air, Tomori laughed. She snapped out of her withdrawn mood, mustered up her courage, and shoved her selected handful of bandages straight at Bai Xian. "There are African penguins and macaroni penguins here, and king penguins, and rockhopper penguins..."
"Wait a second, I can't use this many..." Bai Xian waved his hands, trying to refuse the girl's overwhelming kindness.
Faced with his rejection, Tomori once again put on that pitiful expression, looking as though she had been abandoned, and plunged right back into a gloomy state.
...Oh, jeez!
Unable to bear seeing the girl look sad, Bai Xian let out a heavy sigh in his heart, completely defeated by Tomori, and said helplessly, "Fine, I'll take all of them..."
*Hehe~*
Tomori nodded with satisfaction, tore open a bandage, and insisted on applying it to Bai Xian herself. Terrified that the girl might retreat into her shell again, Bai Xian had no choice but to extend his injured arm and let her do as she pleased.
Tomori carefully brought the bandage to the wound on Bai Xian's arm and gently pressed it into place.
And she wasn't done yet...
Seeming to feel that wasn't enough, Tomori grabbed Bai Xian's arm, leaned her small face in close, and gently blew on the wound~
*Hah~ hoo~ hah~ hoo~*
...What kind of magical folk remedy is this?
Amused, Bai Xian couldn't resist gently rubbing the cute girl's head. Ah, her hair was smooth and fluffy~ Could it be that little penguins felt this soft when you touched them too?
...
"Ah, everyone, morning~"
Anon Chihaya walked through the classroom door carrying a giant guitar case. Before she could even sit down, she was intercepted by the trio.
"It's a guitar!"
"Haha, you guys listen to me, I found a bandmate~" Anon announced smugly to the trio.
*Xiao Huang:* That's amazing.
*Anon Chihaya:* Even though we only have a bass player so far, she's actually a student at Tsukinomori!
*Xiao Hong:* That's so cool.
*Xiao Green:* Totally~
*Anon Chihaya:* I was determined to ask her, and she agreed right away. She's such a gentle person~
Hearing the commotion, Tomori turned her head, freezing slightly upon catching the word "Tsukinomori."
Bai Xian also noticed the girl's trance-like state. Although he could barely tune into Tomori's wavelength, he still couldn't fully comprehend the little penguin's inner world.
Having finished chatting with the trio, Anon returned to her seat and greeted Bai Xian and Tomori sitting nearby. "Shiro-chan, Tomori, morning~"
"Morning." X2
Bai Xian lowered the hand he had raised in greeting, noticing that Anon seemed particularly excited today. Had something good happened? But now wasn't the time to ask, as class was about to start...
After school, Bai Xian and Tomori packed their bags to go home.
"Please wait a moment."
Cupping her cheeks, Anon first shot a cheerful glance at Bai Xian, then turned her gaze to Tomori as an idea struck her.
...Ah! Right!
...Why don't I invite Shiro-chan and Tomori to join my band too?
Genius! Absolute genius!
Anon suddenly realized she had been overlooking something very important: since she was planning to form a band, why not invite Bai Xian, a former world-class band member? Combined with Tomori, the class's popular campus pet and mascot, her band was guaranteed to be the talk of the town! As the leader, all she had to do was take the role of guitarist and vocalist, and she'd definitely steal the spotlight!
I am an absolute genius, hahaha...
As she thought this, Anon couldn't help wearing a goofy expression. Wiping away a trickle of drool, she excitedly said to the two beside her, "Tomori, Shiro-chan, join my band!"
"If we combine our strengths, we're bound to blow up!"
*Huh?*
Bai Xian was startled by the sudden invitation. He had only just left his previous band a short while ago; joining a new one now would only get people talking. But that wasn't even the main issue—Bai Xian felt that joining a half-baked band just like that would be an insult to his former teammates. After all, it would be equivalent to telling a world-class rock band: "You guys aren't good enough, you can't compare to this rookie band I just joined."
After a moment's thought, deciding he couldn't be so irresponsible, Bai Xian refused, "Sorry, I have no plans to join a band right now."
On the other side, Tomori looked even more dejected, lost deep within some memory, unable to process anything around her while she muttered incessantly to herself: *It's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault...*
*...You're the one who needs to practice the most!*
*...You're the one who needs to practice the most!*
*...You're the one who needs to practice the most!*
After a long while, Tomori finally cracked completely. She grabbed her bag, bolted from her seat, and sprinted out of the classroom.
...What just happened?
There was no time to be confused. Realizing she had said something she shouldn't have, Anon exchanged a look with Bai Xian and bolted out of the classroom as well, rushing off to chase after the fleeing Tomori.
Sighing, Bai Xian didn't even bother packing his books properly as he took off after them.
*(Today's Match: Anon Chihaya loses!)*
*Red Sun Trivia:* The term "radio-wave type" (Denpa-kei) is usually used to describe girls who are hard to communicate with and march to the beat of their own drum. It signifies that these characters have unusual thinking patterns or behavioral modes, as if broadcasting a unique "wavelength" that sets them apart from ordinary people. Catching someone's wavelength means two people can communicate normally and share emotional resonance.
………………
Mountains and rivers open and level, the mist lingers through all four seasons.
Inviting all things to dwell together, alongside loneliness like wild fire.
*(How am I supposed to become... a human...?)*