A Supporting Character’s Love Story - Chapter 58

POV Kanade Hagihara

“Haah… Does being in love really make you stupid like that?” I sighed as I remembered the idiotic expression on the two’s faces.

“Kanade san don’t stop moving your hands.” Just then Matsuzaki san, our manager walked out from the back and saw me slacking off.

F*ck. I only stopped for like a second and this happened.

After giving me a short lecture on work ethics the manager finally went away.

As he walked away I couldn’t help but make a face at his back which was seen by Arakawa who was standing in the same direction.

“Ah.”

Our eyes met for a second which he hurriedly averted.

Seeing him reminded me of something.

“Hey nerd. Those two are from our class you know.”

“I know.”

Hmm. So at least he knows that much about his class even if he doesn’t interact with anyone.

“But they didn’t even recognize you. How much of a loner are you?”

“I’d rather be alone than be with people like you.” Although he was mumbling I was able to make out his words from his expression.

“What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything. Your ears must be overly sensitive Kanade sama.”

The first time I noticed this weird characteristic about him was when he bumped into others way too many times. Only after observing for a long time did I realize that it was not his clumsiness that led to this but the lack of his presence. It was as if others didn’t even notice him before they touched him physically. This was why I was the one who had to do the waitress job here while he did the other stuff.

I had to work for another two hours before my shift was finally over and I could leave.

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The next morning I made my way to class as usual. As soon as I entered the class quietened by quite a bit. Instead of talking normally people started to whisper. Anyone could tell the atmosphere here was not normal. I just ignored all those looks and sat down in my seat.

Although the people around me were whispering could hear them somewhat.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t any talk of my part-time job. I thought that Nakano would have for sure exploited that fact and spread the news. I mean, at least I would have done so if I was in her place. Just then I remembered about Makoto’s actions yesterday. Could it me this is his way of warning me not to mess with Kaname? If I continue to attack her he will spread the news.

I looked around to check if he was here and sure enough he was sitting beside Nakano chatting with her friends. As I was turning my head back, a hunched-up figure caught my eye. It was Arakawa. As expected he had hands on his phone rapidly tapping the screen at regular intervals. Unlike how he looked at the part-time job, here he was wearing square rimmed glasses with the most normal hairstyle. Rather than sloppiness it was more like like he didn’t even bother to look good.

He was the very definition of a person in the background. If I didn’t know him already, I likely would have never noticed him either.

Maybe he felt me staring because he suddenly turned his face towards me. Our eyes met for a few seconds but then he turned back into his stupid game as if nothing had happened.

He could have at least nodded right?

I suddenly felt a burst of irritation in my heart when he didn’t respond to me.

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POV Makoto Shinji

Hoho. Would you look at that.

I was listening to the conversation between Akari, and the others when I noticed Kanade staring at Arakawa. I actually had been keeping an eye on him from the time he had entered the class. He really looked quite different to what he looked like yesterday. No wonder I almost didn’t recognize him. Not only the clothes and the getup but even his vibe was different compared to yesterday.

If the Arakawa from yesterday was at least noticeable, right now he was giving off a background character aura, that is, no aura at all. He completely lacked presence. It was to the degree that nobody even reacted when he had entered the class.

Something is a bit off here. His getup yesterday proves that he knows how he can look if he dresses up properly. Then what is the reason for looking lie a background character right now? Unless, he really doesn’t care about how he looks right now. That means he isn’t a loner by circumstance but by choice. You really can’t call him a protagonist.

But if that is true then there shouldn’t be anything going on between him and Kanade like I had hoped.

Just then Arakawa stopped playing the game on his phone and took out a sheet of paper out of his bag. It was the sports events selecting form. He was probably going to submit it to Kaname.

He walked up to her seat, “Kaname san.”

“Yes.” She replied with a blank look.

Compared to yesterday however it was much better. Seems like confronting Kanade has made her a little bit careful in dealing with her giving me more time to resolve the drama between her and Kanade.

“Here please take this.”

“Yes, thank you.” Kaname smiled as she answered him.

Just as that happened for an instant I felt bloodlust rising. I quickly looked around to identify it’s source and it turned out to be from Kanade.

So my instincts weren’t off afterall. Although there might be nothing going on between her and Arakawa at the moment, it was very much possible in the future.

This is the probably the best crack I am going to find in Kanade’s shield. But before I go further I need to confirm something about Arakawa.

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During lunch I saw Arakawa get up with his lunch box and walk away. Again, with the exception of Kanade glancing at him for a moment no one else noticed him leaving. Just as he left I also got up and went after him.

I exited the class and looked around but couldn’t find his figure anywhere.

I just saw him leave a few seconds ago and he had already merged with the background? I activated my trait to the fullest degree I could and instantly the information my brain was receiving multiplied sending it into overdrive. Or in layman’s terms you could say I simply got a headache from thinking too hard.

But it wasn’t with no results. I had found him.

My eyes were locked onto a head with slightly messy hair, as if he had just woken up.

Without wasting anytime, I walked quickly towards him.

As I was following him I thought for a moment and decided to not call him and instead keep following him. I wanted to know where he was going. After a few minutes I felt a little weird about his movement. It was as if he knew he was being followed and was trying to throw me off. But doing that was not an easy task when my mind was already locked onto him like a heat seeking missile. I increased my distance from him while still keeping him in my vision.

After a few steps of stairs and a couple of corridors he was standing in front of a… empty classroom. From the location it was probably the room for one of the clubs which had now been disbanded.

I waited for a few minutes after he entered before I walked up to the door and knocked on it.

“Knock knock!”

I could almost feel the surprise of Arakawa who was in the room.

I heard his footsteps approaching the door and the lock turning before the door sung open inwards.

“Hi.”

I greeted him with a smile.

“So it was you. You were looking at me since morning right?”

I nodded at his question.

I wasn’t wrong. He did notice somebody but just did not know it was me. So he is sensitive to being observed?

“You were the one who was on the register yesterday, right?”

“Ah.”

His reaction showed shock rather than fear.

“What have you come here for?” He asked me after a brief silence.

“I was curious. Yesterday, Akari couldn’t recognize you, and even I almost couldn’t. Even in class today, everyone ignored you. You have so little presence that it is almost as if you don’t exist. How can I not be curious.”

“Then how were you able to see me?”

I thought about what to reply for a while before saying, “The same way you are able to stay invisible, I guess.”

That explanation seems to have been enough for him.

“I see. But I don’t seem to know the answer to your question.” He invited me inside to sit before continuing, “I always seem to have been like this. Even when I was a child my parents lost me more times than I can count. This problem has only gotten worse over the time I grew up. Teachers miss me while taking attendance, people bump into me multiple times everyday, even my family doesn’t notice when I leave and enter the house.”

A trait that gives complete lack of presence and can’t be controlled. If I were to classify it, it would probably be an hypnosis type. Tricking the other’s mind into believing you aren’t present there.

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