Chapter Two Of Sour Droplets!

Chapter Two of Sour Droplets!

[Chapter 2 - A Helpful Friend?]

When An woke up, she wasn’t laying sprawled out on the cold hard sidewalk like she thought she would be. Instead, she was laying on top of a blanket that was covering the mattress under her. Her head was delicately placed on a pillow near the back of the bed, and the room she was in was immersed in darkness. 

However two sounds continually rang through the room. The click of a mouse and the clack-clack of a keyboard.  

An craned her kneck upwards to look towards the sound, her eyes straining through the darkness. There, in front of her, was a girl with blueish-white hair that went a bit past of her waist, seemingly composing a song at her computer.

The bright screen reflected in her blue eyes, and her fringe was tucked to both sides, save for a long section in the middle. However a few seconds after An caught a glimpse of the anonymous girl, she turned to face An, her blue eyes softening.

“Ah, you’re awake.” She said, her soft and sweet voice flowing together like honey. “How are you feeling?”

The girls voice was full of concern, but An couldn’t help but feel embarrassed that a completely stranger had found her in one of her most vulnerable moments, even if she was unconscious.

“Yeah I’m fine.” An rushed, wanting to leave as soon as possible. “Sorry for troubling you, I’ll just-.” An stood up off the bed and found herself crumpling to the ground in pain, causing the girl to quickly jump out of her seat and rush over, helping An into the bed again.

“Are you alright?” The girl asked again, the worry evident in her eyes. “When I found you, you looked like you were in a lot of pain, so you should probably take it easy.” The girl stood up after An was back to laying on the sheets. “I’m going to go grab you a glass of water, I’ll be back in a second.”

An just watched her go, unable to move herself as she hugged her legs to her chest and buried her face in her knees. Now that she was awake thanks to her fall to the floor, she could roughly feel the pain she was in. Of course she was still feeling sleepy and a bit disoriented from waking up in a new place after passing out, so that was likely numbing some of the pain as a result. 

Speaking of passing out, how long did she really sleep? The curtains in the room were closed, ensuring that no light would get in, which An was thankful for. She felt like she wanted to cry as her throat became scratchy and raw with tears pricking at her eyes. After all, she was in so much mental pain, why’d she have to suffer phyiscal pain too? She was a good person, it wasn’t fair!

And she hated being a burden to others. Having people pick up her slack like the anonymous girl that was taking care of her just wasnt something she wanted others to do. She wanted to get good on her own, and it wasn’t fair to make others deal with her excess.

She hugged her legs closer to her, her heart aching.

It was a marvel that the girl had heard An move at all. After all, An had only moved her head slightly and somehow the girl had heard her, which took An by surprise. To have your ears be that sensitive to sound… An just couldn’t fathom it. And the girl seemed to gracefully move throughout her room like she memorized the layout, which likely meant she spent most of her time in her room.

The thought alone made An shiver. She couldn’t imagine sitting in her room alone for that along in the dark, much less the strain on her eyes. At this point An couldn’t tell if she was amazed by the girls situation, or if she was scared of her stay-in-her-room talents.

Soon though, the girl re-appeared, a glass of cold water in her hands. An couldn’t lie, the cup looked enticing. After all, she had sweated most of the fluid out of her body by sweating on her aimless run, and it was clear her body was demanding to be replenished.

“Here, take this.” The girl handed An the clear glass of water which she accepted greatfully. “You lost a lot of fluid while you were asleep, and I wasn’t able to replenish any of it. So I thought I’d hydrate you while you’re awake.”

An just nodded, wanting to ask so many questions. Where was she? How long had she slept? But all she could manage from her parched chapped lips and dry scratchy throat was…

“What’s your name?”

The girl smiled as An drank the cold water, the liquid sliding down her grateful throat.

“I’m Kanade.”

Chapter 5 of Sour Droplets!

[Chapter 5 - Unamed Melody X]

An wasn’t sure if she could classify her dream as a “dream”, or an unpleasant nightmare. She was awake enough to remember part of it, and even though it wasn’t Kanade’s song, her was still as emotion-stirring as the heart-gripping melody that made her cry. For An had dreamt of being hugged by Nagi in her sleep, something she really missed her doing.

And when An woke up she felt more rested than before, but her heart was throbbing with pain that seemed to be vying for her attention. However she ignored it, instead pulling out her phone to text her dad that she was alright, while the faint clicking of a mouse could be heard in the background. 

Yet as she glanced at the screen in her hand, she could see that it was riddled with cracks, making her inwardly curse at herself. It had probably gotten damaged when she fell, meaning that not only could she not text anyone, but that her dad would have to buy her a new phone. She felt her frustration boil inside of her. Why did she have to continue causing trouble for other people? 

An exhaled a deep breath out of her nose, her anger feeling like it was gripping her heart. 

However, this attracted Kanade’s attention, which was evident when she turned her head to look at An.

“Oh you’re awake again? How do you feel?” Kanade asked, the ends of her hair resting in the seat of her chair.

“Mmgh.. how long have I slept?” An asked, putting her phone away and rubbing her eyes.

“Well its August 27 2024…” Kanade started, her hands in her lap now.

“…!” An sucked in a breath. 

She had visited Aunt Nagis grave on the 25th before passing out, which likely means when she woke up again that it was the 26th. Then, she fell asleep again and woke up on the 27th, which meant she had been away from home for three days!

An opened her mouth, about to apologize and head home when her stomach spoke for her, letting out a growl that demanded sustenance. 

“I apologize An. I was so concerned about how you felt I didn’t get an opportunity to grab something for you to eat.” Kanade apologized, her gaze softening. “I don’t have much, but would you like to eat some minute ramen? I apologize I don’t have something else to offer you, but that’s all I have.”

An didn’t have ramen a lot, but the idea of eating something warm was too tempting to resist, even though she’d been sleeping on a warm bed for all this time.

“Yes please…” Was all An could manage and Kanade just grabbed one of her many unopened cups of ramen around the room and left, closing the door behind her as she went to heat up the ramen.

As bad as An felt for making Kanade do all of this, her heart warmed at the girls kindness. She knew that after this, she was definitely indebted to Kanade now, especially since An had cried infront of her. She new she had been a bother it Kanade, but she couldn’t help but find a part of her wanting to be friends with the introverted girl. She didn’t just want to leave someone who had done this much for her behind and forget about her, she wanted to keep in touch and somehow repay Kanade with the same generosity she showed her.

It didn’t take long for Kanade to come back in with the ramen, containing a shiny silver fork. She handed it to An who accepted it with a grateful smile before she sat down at her desk chair again, continuing to work on her song.

An was surprised that Kanade hadn’t asked about her mental breakdown, or why she seemed so mopey. But at the same time she was glad that Kanade hadn’t pushed it, as that would likely only have made things worse. Still, a part of An felt compelled to tell her. Even though she was basically a complete stranger An met barely three days ago. 

An wrapped her hands around the cup and stared into the murky water as it warmed her hands. Finally, after a moment, she had gained enough courage and broke the silence.

“Hey Kanade… can I tell you something?”

“Hm?”

And that was all it took for An to start confessing. She was surprised that a part of her had stirred her onwards to this moment. After all she had Kohane and everyone to support her right? So why did she feel so… so… so hopeless and alone?

But Kanade listened to her story quietly, managing eye contact with An the whole time to show that she was listening. 

“I think I understand the pain you’re going through.” Kanade said after An finished, surprising her.

The final game [Part 4] 🌸

I just like posting all my stories :)

After being shoved in the police car the heartbroken screen appeared in front of her. She saw the reset week button and she decided, to try again. But when she pressed reset, everything was new except the demon behind the tree. No one remembered her at all. Of course the world was still identical to the original, but it felt a bit off.

She saw Osana talking to Sempai and Ayano wanted to get Osana away from sempai so bad. But, there were to many witnesses around. It turns out, that there were way to many witnesses around Osana that’s Ayano couldn’t do anything! As the days went by and the confession day finally arrived, Osana still was going to confess! She couldn’t lose her sempai to Osana! So she could only think of one way to eliminate her. Have the spider demon eliminate Osana.

When the spider demon successfully eliminated Osana, Ayanos was so relieved. And since all of the rivals never could be eliminated because of the witnesses Ayano had the spider demon help her. When Ayanos confession day came Ayano was overjoyed. SHE finally got to stand under the cherry blossom tree with sempai. SHE finally got to confess. And she wouldn’t let anybody. or. anything. ruin. it. Finally when the time came, Ayano left the note in her sempais locker and rushed to the cherry blossom tree.

When Ayanos sempai arrived Ayano came out from behind the cherry blossom tree and confessed her love. When Ayanos sempai said that he loved her too and embraced her in his warm, welcoming, arms Ayano was overwhelmed with happiness and love. She had finally got her happy ending.

The end

The Bright Orange Sun 🍊

A short Osana getting rejected by Taro story :/

“Did you oversleep again!? UGH! You ALWAYS keep me waiting!”

“D-don't get the wrong idea!”

“Geez stop pushing yourself. You're going to get yourself hurt one day you idiot.”

“I don't even NEED a Senpai!”

“Ugh! You can be such a pain!”

Those lines make me wonder if Osana does, truly, like me.

On Monday Osana was arguing about my waking habits then shoving a disgusting bento in my face.

On Tuesday I gave Osana my book which when she returned it to me it was soaked.

On Wednesday she showed me a picture of a girls panties when she said she would find me a better, more soothing, spot then the plaza.

On Thursday Osana promised me we would go to the movies, but she didn’t show. Later I found out that she had fallen asleep and missed the movie.

And on Friday Osana made a playlist of what she calls J-pop and J-rock. But it ended up being an audio clip of her insulting me.

And that’s why I rejected her when she confessed to me underneath the

cherry blossom tree on Friday.

Chapter 6 of Sour Droplets!

[Chapter 6 - Coming To Terms]

“Huh?” An asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Kanade just smiled softly in reply, however this time with a twinge of pain on her face. “My mom died from an illness when I was young, and my dad is still in care at the hospital, slowly recovering from his memory problems.” 

An’s eyes dilated in surprise as she listened, not quite believing what she was hearing. How could a girl that looked like she was 17 go through so much pain? An couldn’t imagine being in her shoes and going through all that pain, even if she had all of her supports she did now.

“But what matters is the fact you can go beyond.”

“Go.. beyond?” An echoed, confused.

“Even though they’re not here right now, you can still carry on their dream.” Kanade stated, smiling softly even though the pain in her eyes were more visible now. “To carry on their will and go to places that would make them proud.”

Despite the darkness in the room, the feelings being conveyed were crisp and clear. Slicing into An’s feelings like a sharp knife. And before she knew, tears were falling from here eyes once again.

“Sometimes when I think about my parents, I feel a sharp pain stabbing my heart. Like someone’s ringing out a soggy cloth.” Kanade continued as An’s tears continued to make trails down her cheek as one after the other continued to fall. “And it makes me want to break down and cry. To hide under the covers and never climb out again, but that’s ok. It’s ok to feel these emotions and to express them to people you know. For the only way to grow with pain is to experience it, or to go through it, growing with it as it grows with you.”

This advice was none like An had ever heard before. Sure if you googled “how to come to terms with death” you’d get something like “Accept it and live knowing that it's coming and there is absolutely NOTHING you can do to stop it.” Which was a piece of advice that could help some people, but wasn’t what An wanted to hear. Yet the maturity reflected in Kanade’s voice… the honesty… It seemed to envelop An’s heart in a warm blanket, despite the aching topic they were talking about.

Despite the subtle throb of An’s heart, she managed a weak smile as she let her tears drip down her face. “Thank you Kanade.”

“No there’s no need to thank me Mrs. An.” Kanade responded, making An laugh inside at how quickly she returned to formalities. “You’ve braved through the pain and came to a decision yourself, I played no part in that.”

An just continued to smile, knowing that if she continued to be kind that Kanade would just deflect somehow, and give An more credit than due. So instead, An tried a different approach.

“Hey Kanade.”

“Hm?”

“What’s your phone number?”

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