When you regain consciousness, it's to a swaying sensation and the sounds of not so hushed whispering.

"It's been over ten minutes, it's my turn now!"

"What clock were you even looking at?! It's just barely past five on mine!"

You were moving, although not by your own volition, or at least you didn't think so. Last you checked, you don't have any cases of sleepwalking. Instead, whatever was carrying you on its back jolted in tune with the bickering. You yelped, arms reaching out to clutch onto anything to keep yourself from falling off. Which just so happens to be someone's neck.

"Ah! She's awake!"

"What?"

Lifting your head back a bit, the first thing you saw was the back of a classic white shirt. Trailing your gaze higher up, your vision was met with black hair slicked back, probably with hair gel. It was only upon looking down that you realized you were being carried; piggyback style.

"Are you alright?"

A voice came from your right, prompting you to turn your head. The one asking has plum colored hair, styled into an effortless pompadour with hair clips holding it up on the sides. There were far more things that you should be wondering about, but you couldn't stop your mind from fixating on one question. Was that his natural hair color? If you remember correctly, his future self had the same shade of purple hair even when shaved down to the tips.

"Hello...?"

Ah, you forgot you were being asked a question.

"Oh, um, yes... Thank you for asking."

That was one way to sound awkward. You mentally chastised yourself. But your social inadequacy was long forgotten when another voice joined in, this one more familiar.

"We met yesterday, right? At the park!" Takemichi jumped in, tufts of blond hair messed up just like the night you first met.

"Yeah, what a coincidence..." You gave an uneasy smile. What you wouldn't give to just blame the entire thing on coincidence. Giving advice to the main character of the story, being in the same school and even same class as the female lead, and watching with your very own eyes the monumental meeting that kickstarted the entire plot. You really can't just call it a coincidence anymore, can you?

He didn't seem to notice your worry, for better or worse.

"Oh man, I didn't know you were going to the same school as us!"

"Huh?"

"Those are the uniforms for Mizo Middle School, right? Hina- my girlfriend wears it."

Oh. You almost chuckled at the fact that the only reason he recognized your uniform was because Hinata wore it, and not because the other 99% of the girls at his school wore the same thing. How sweet.

You hummed in acknowledgment, "Hmm, I guess so. I just transferred today."

There wasn't any real reason for you to share that extra tidbit about yourself, but you found yourself doing it anyway. No wonder Takemichi was the main character of the story, it's hard not to like him. Platonically.

"That's cool."

"Mhm... I'm..." Should you open up more? You kinda wanted to, but at the same time not really. Take it as an act of rebellion, if you will, against the universe that shoved you into holes it carved out from the original plot.

"Oh right! I'm Takemichi Hanagaki." He was smiling through the bruises that littered his face. It reminds you of Hinata's smile when she extended her welcomes to you. They were different smiles, of course, but similar in the warmth it exudes. You smiled back. They really were two peas in a pod, a perfect match.

On cue, the others began introducing themselves.

"I'm Atsushi Sendo."

"Takuya Yamamoto."

"Makoto Suzuki!"

"You can call me Yamagishi Kazushi."

It seems you can't quite escape giving your name now, not after they all introduced themselves. With the smile that Takemichi lent you, you returned the greetings.

"My name is (Y/n) (L/n). It's nice to meet you all."

Yamagishi cleared his throat, making sure you were looking over before pulling on a smirk and pushing up his glasses. A wallop on his head caused him to stumble.

"Gah!"

Makoto held up a fist, giving him away as the perpetrator.

"You dumbass! What are you trying to look cool for?!"

"What?! You think we didn't saw you slicking your hair back earlier!?"

The black haired male sputtered at the accusation.

"N-no, I didn't!"

"You did!"

The other three, Takemichi, Atsushi and Takuya merely stared at their childish back and forth. A laugh bubbled up within you, escaping before you could hold it back. It was easy to forget they were all still middle schoolers in an anime about gang rivalries and fights to the death. Well, all except Takemichi.

You chuckled out of the blue, drawing their attention. Takemichi in particular stared intently, before speaking up.

"You're kinda weird for a girl," Then realizing that the words came out blunter than he meant, he tried to correct himself, "W-wait, what I mean is...! You're chill talking to us, but any other girls would have left as soon as they got up."

"Maybe after slapping us." Makoto added.

Because you guys are familiar to me.

You couldn't say that aloud, not without having to explain your entire circumstance and sounding like a lunatic who should be in a mental ward. Takemichi must be dealing with the same kind of situation, just less absurd. You simply can't imagine how anyone would react to being told that they're just fictional characters, made to serve out a purpose. That every step forward they take was for "character development". Whether or not their lives mattered depends on if they're a "main character" or a "side character". Or maybe none of that matters, since their deaths would make for good storytelling and propelling the plot forward. That's just... horrible. You really couldn't tell them that.

So instead, you settled for an awkward chuckle.

"Maybe I am a little weird..."

Your laugh died out, giving way to silence between the six of you. Your heart felt heavy in your chest, weighed down by sympathy, almost as if it'll fall out of the rib cage holding it up. But that's just a feeling, and all feelings pass if given time.

Then the solemnity was broken. This time Takemichi was the one to receive a wallop; to his face.

"Owww!!"

"You idiot! Don't call a girl weird!" Yamagishi scolded, taking a page out of Makoto's book.

"I already said I didn't mean it like that!!" Takemichi shouted back, joining Yamagishi and Makoto in a three way argument.

You let yourself laugh.

.

.

.

The sun had fully set by the time the six of you arrived in front of your house. Back on your own feet, you bowed at them.

"Thanks for accompanying me and carrying the groceries."

You flashed them a smile which was returned in full enthusiasm by two in particular.

"No worries, (Y/n)-chan!"

"Anytime!"

Sparks flew when their eyes darted to each other, causing your smile to turn awkward. The other three gave you an apologetic look.

You wished them a good night before stepping through the door and closing it behind you, oblivious to the conversation that continued without your presence.

____

Takemichi stares at the door long after you've closed it, unable to shake off the feeling that there's more to you than you're letting on. When he called you weird earlier, he had really meant it. Not in a bad way but as in you're shrouded in an air of mystery and something else. Something that makes him want to believe you're a good person.

"Oi, Takemichi! We're leaving you behind!"

"Huh?" Realizing the others had already begun to leave, he hurried to catch up. "Wait up!"

Once he did, Makoto swung an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey, Takemichi... you knew her before us, yeah?"

"Sort of?"

Getting an answer, the ravenette cleared his throat sheepishly and averted his eyes before asking another question.

"You think... she'll let me be her boyfriend?"

"..."

"I mean, I'm not half bad looking right?"

"..."

"And she didn't even slap me when she found out I was carrying her!"

"Uhh... I just remembered I promised to meet up with Hina! I'm going ahead!"

"What- Get back here, Takemichi!!"

____________________

____________________

In a world so unfamiliar, I found you.