Chapter Text
"Oi, watch where you're going. You're not the only one trying to get somewhere," a raspy voice hissed from directly ahead.
Hange winced, looking up into a very annoyed, but also very tired-looking face. She had just barely managed to avoid a collision with a student coming towards her, whom she recognised as the dark-haired one from the parallel class who always seemed to be in a sour mood. She mumbled an apology under her breath, but the boy only shook his head, making an extra-wide detour around her, as if he were afraid she'd run straight into him again.
To give him some credit, this was actually the third time this had happened in the span of two weeks, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he'd already labelled her as dangerous in his mental catalogue. And it was as much his fault as it was hers, for not noticing a student who was clearly distracted.
It probably still wasn't the wisest decision to make her way to the gymnasium with her eyes fixed on the novel she'd gotten barely two days ago. On a Monday morning, no less, ten minutes before school assembly would start, when the corridors were packed with teenagers arriving or chatting in front of the gym. It had been those things, among many others, that had caused her former classmates to make fun of her, and had cost her many hours locked in the school bathroom, asking herself why no one liked her, and why she wasn't allowed to have friends like everyone else.
But she simply couldn't help it. The story was too interesting, and stopping in the middle of the chapter would have been a crime—she knew anyone as obsessed with books as she was would agree. Besides, it had been a gift she'd received for her sixteenth birthday, which that year had fallen on a Saturday, giving her the chance to celebrate with her few but very dear friends for the first time after quite a while.
Hange had been relieved about the fresh start she was getting in Hida, a little town nestled in the mountains, far away from her old school and the people who had made her life absolutely miserable. Five months had passed since her first day, and once the initial anxiety had settled—for most of the other kids already knew each other from middle school, and being thrown into a new group as a fifteen-year-old was no small matter, especially after her previous experiences—she had begun to find her place. She had made two good friends already, who had taken her under their wing and shown her around town, and she could say with absolute certainty that thanks to them, she was slowly but surely getting used to her new life.
Nanaba and Miche were already waiting for her at the gymnasium doors, and they quickly headed inside together, where half of the student body was already sitting in neat rows on the floor. The low murmur of voices and the screeching of sneakers of arriving students on the polished floor soon faded into the background, for Hange had sneaked in her book and opened it as soon as the opportunity arose. She was instantly pulled back into the story, barely noticing the principal stepping onto the raised stage a few moments later.
Nanaba dug her elbow into Hange's side in a well-meaning warning, and Miche was throwing worried glances her way. Hange knew she was being impatient and maybe even a little childish—she could have simply waited until the next break. But she couldn't stop herself; the temptation was too strong. Besides, this wasn't the first time she had pulled this move. It had worked before, and it would work again.
After barely five minutes, however, the brief moment of joy was over. "Miss Azumabito is glaring at you," Nanaba whispered, pulling Hange out of her little world. With a wince, she looked up, her head snapping to the left where her homeroom teacher had her eyes fixed on the troublemaker. Her thin eyebrows were raised in a way that promised nothing good.
As soon as the assembly was over, Hange was pulled aside for a brief conversation about her lack of discipline, missing out on the headmaster's inspirational words, and the importance of following school rules. Hange endured her teacher's lecture without protest, (hopefully) nodding at all the right moments, and promising not to make the same mistake again. Unfortunately, it didn't save her from having to stay after lessons to do some cleaning around the school, and she returned to her classroom in a slightly dampened mood.
"Was it at least worth it?" Nanaba asked some time later during their Japanese lesson, as they were doing partner work on the current text they had to read and analyse.
Hange nodded, a grin sneaking onto her lips. "It was. The submarine sank, but the crew managed to safe themselves!"
After the last lesson ended at around 3:30 p.m., most students headed off to some extra-curricular activities. Hange had enrolled in table tennis—mainly because her two friends attended the same club, but also because she didn't dare join the crafts or astronomy club just yet. At her old school, she had been picked on for admitting that one of her hobbies was knitting or that she wanted to become an astrophysicist, and she wasn't keen on reliving that experience.
"We're going to miss you, Hange," Miche said, patting her on the shoulder in farewell. "You're a worthy opponent; practice will be boring without you."
"Oh, and I'm not a worthy opponent?" Nanaba chimed in, quirking an accusatory eyebrow at her friend.
"You have a bit of an… odd playing style," Miche replied, shrugging apologetically. "And I hate having to bend down and pick up the ball all the time. I'm tall, Nana—it's suuuch a long way down."
"I've won more matches than you have," Nanaba protested with a pout. "And it's not my fault you can't block my shots. Guess you need more practice if you want to be part of the team for this year's tournament." Turning to Hange—who loved watching her friends' bickering—she added, "Though Miche's right, we're going to miss you today."
"It'll be just for one day, and then I'll be back to kick both of your butts," Hange replied with a chuckle, quickly hugging her friends goodbye before hurrying to the caretaker's room. She didn't want to get into more trouble for being late.
To her surprise, someone was already waiting in front of the door. The figure looked strangely familiar, and she narrowed her eyes as she studied them. In an instant, she froze in the middle of the corridor, blinking several times as she slowly recognised the boy she had bumped into earlier that day. He had his back against the wall, staring blankly out the window, his expression just as sour as it had been seven hours ago.
Upon hearing her sharp inhale, his head turned. When he, too, realised who was standing in front of him, she could practically see his expression darken before her eyes. "Oh no," he mumbled, lifting a hand to rub at his brow in an almost agitated manner.
"Nice to see you too," Hange said with a put-on smile, dropping her backpack on the floor next to him. "What are you doing here? Are you stuck doing cleaning duty because you snapped at someone for existing?"
"I was in a hurry, and you were in the way," the boy replied, scowling. "Of course, you had to show up here. Doesn't surprise me. You probably think you can get away with anything, sticking your nose into silly books when you shouldn't, like on the hallway."
"You saw me at the assembly?" Hange asked, surprised by the accuracy of his words.
"No?" the boy replied, frowning. "Huh, so you're being punished for reading during the assembly?" When Hange nodded, he let out a frustrated huff. "That's so stupid. Why would you do that? Don't you know it's against the school rules? You should read them."
"I've read them, thank you very much," Hange replied, lifting her chin, feeling a little hurt at his choice of words. "Besides, if you're here, you must've done something bad too. Or are you here because you love cleaning so much?"
The boy shook his head but didn't reply. She looked at him challengingly and deliberately stepped into his line of sight when he tried to ignore her.
"I fell asleep during class," he finally admitted, glaring at her when she let out an amused chuckle.
"You fell asleep? Now that's really funny. You must've been bored out of your mind—hold on, that's exactly why I was reading during the assembly. Doesn't that make us… partners in crime?" She waved her hands back and forth between them to emphasise her point. Doing her best to mimic his earlier tone, she couldn't help herself and added, "And by the way, don't you know that's against school rules? You should read them. Sleep is usually reserved for nighttime."
"It's not that easy," the boy replied, clearly annoyed by her words. For a moment, it looked as if he wanted to add something, but then decided against it, turning to look down the corridor, his shoulder pressed against the wall.
Something in his demeanour made her bite back any further remark—she didn't want any enemies, nor did she want to hurt him. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall next to him, crossing her arms, her foot tapping impatiently on the floor as they waited for the caretaker.
About ten minutes later, he finally arrived, greeting them with a warm smile as he unlocked the door. "I know you're both not here willingly, but I really appreciate your help. Levi, you'll be in charge of sweeping the corridors on the ground floor. Hange, you'll take the ones on the first floor. The classrooms have already been taken care of, so you needn't worry about them. Once you're done, it'd be great if you could give the two science rooms on the second floor a quick scrub, including the tables and teacher's desk. When that's finished, you're free to leave."
Cleaning was definitely not among Hange's favourite activities—her own bedroom was living proof—but she knew there was no chance to talk herself out of this session. To make the work somewhat more tolerable, she hummed her favourite songs along with the sound of the wet mop slushing over the floor, cheering herself on as she moved from room to room. Before she even realised it, she was done with her floor.
Levi seemed already at work in the laboratory and barely acknowledged her presence when she stepped through the door, other than briefly meeting her eyes and quickly looking away again. Since he was already tackling the floor, she snatched one of the rags he had brought along and started cleaning the tables.
Her humming seemed to unnerve Levi, who didn't say anything but shot her the most annoyed glances whenever she came near him, so eventually, she fell silent again. An awkward tension hung in the air, making her feel anxious in the worst possible way—so much so that she couldn't suppress the urge to speak anymore.
"What's your favourite song?" she asked, her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for him to answer.
"What?" Levi looked genuinely confused, furrowing his brow as he stopped in his tracks for a moment.
"Your favourite song," Hange repeated, feeling a little overwhelmed by the fierceness in his grey-blue eyes that were staring intensely at her. If they weren't overshadowed by the deep crease between his brows, she might have almost called them beautiful. There was something sharp in their colour, like one of those waves that looks serene at first, but whose full force only becomes clear when it crashes against the cliffs. "I wanted to know… if you had one."
"My preferences change. So, no, I don't have one," Levi replied with a shrug, returning to his work. He didn't ask if she had one, which in Hange's eyes would have been the proper thing to do in a mutual conversation. It was clear he didn't want to talk to her, so she pressed her lips together, a little annoyed by his reservedness, and took out her frustration on the table right in front of her.
When she was finished, she moved on to the teacher's desk, letting her eyes wander over the shelves and display cases that held all kinds of science models, insect specimens, and mineral collections. She spent a long time admiring a realistic replica of a human eye, and couldn't help but poke one of the preserved butterflies, feeling the soft texture of its wing against her fingertip. This was the science room usually reserved for the final-year students; she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.
"Don't touch anything—you'll break it," Levi hissed from the back of the room, noticing that her attention had drifted from cleaning. Hange simply ignored him, moving to the next display case and pressing her nose against it.
"I'm talking to you, four-eyes. Stop touching stuff you aren't supposed to. You're going to get us into trouble, and I don't want to be part of it."
"Relax, I'm not going to break anything," she replied, barely suppressing a gasp when her eyes were drawn to a colourful, shimmering scarab beetle pinned in the display case. "Oooh, Leviii, check this out! This scarab is huge, I didn't know they could get this big! That's so cool!"
Something in her tone must've piqued his curiosity, for he didn't just put down his mop, but after a few moments, he actually joined her in front of the display case. Or maybe he just wanted to be ready to prevent any disasters he was she she would cause any second. His reaction upon seeing the insect, however, was the exact opposite of hers.
"Tsk, you probably meant disgusting," Levi said, wrinkling his nose as he stared at the scarab. "Come on, I want to go home. We're only wasting our time here."
"We're not wasting our time—we're educating ourselves," Hange retorted, fumbling with the display case's latch. "Did you know that beetles can actually chew their food, instead of slurping it through a straw-like mouthpart like other insects do? Others have mandibles too, but theirs are particularly strong, which makes them unique among all insects. That's also likely where their name comes from! The Old English word bitela means little biter."
"Why do you know such things?" Levi asked, a little less hostile than before. "That's so… unnecessary."
"There's no such thing as unnecessary knowledge," Hange declared, prompting him to roll his eyes. "You're laughing now, but one day you'll be asked where the word beetle comes from, and you won't know the answer and lose all your money."
"You're silly, you know that?" Levi said, clicking his tongue at her anew attempts to open the display case.
"You don't know how many times I've heard that already," Hange said, a sharper edge in her voice than she had intended. "Ugh, why isn't this thing opening? There's no lock or anything, so I should be able to…"
"It doesn't open because you are not supposed to open it." Levi tried tugging at her sleeve, but she shrugged him off easily, her fingers eagerly tugging at the latch.
After a few more fruitless attempts, a loud click sounded and the mechanism finally gave way. With her heart pounding, Hange opened the door, instantly taking out the scarab she'd been admiring and holding it out to Levi, who instinctively took a step back.
"If someone finds you with that thing in your hand, we're going to get into real trouble," he said, his eyes flitting nervously towards the door. "Why did I have to fall asleep and get punished the same day you'd be here?" He held the display door open, waiting for Hange to put the specimen back. But she was having too much fun irking him and decided she wasn't quite done yet.
"Would you hold this for me? I'd also like to take a look at this beautiful caterpillar," she said, shoving the scarab into Levi's hands. He let out a frustrated groan but had no choice but to hold it, otherwise it would have ended up on the floor.
While Hange was busy taking out all kinds of insects from the display, Levi seized the opportunity and put the scarab back into the case. He continued nagging her, begging her to stop messing around, and threatening to call a teacher. She returned the items one by one, as slowly as possible, but kept the last one in her hand, silently amused by Levi's annoyance.
Eventually, though, even he lost his patience and reached for the wooden container she was holding, which displayed all kinds of grasshoppers. "Hange, for crying out loud, stop it!" he snapped, pulling firmly at the box.
It was the first time he'd called her by her name, and the sound of it was so unexpected that her heart suddenly skipped a beat. The way it rolled off his tongue—low and deliberate, as if granting each letter the attention it deserved, despite the anger flashing in his eyes—made something flutter in her chest. So much so that she stared at him for a few seconds, mouth slightly agape, fingers loosening their grip around the box.
Apparently, Levi took her silence as her finally giving in and thought it was fine to let go as well. Two people easing their hold, however, meant the container wasn't being supported anymore, which they only realised the moment the preserved grasshoppers hit the floor with a loud crash. The glass shattered into thousands of pieces, and the attached lid popped off, sliding along the floor until it collided with the wall… barely a few meters away from their science teacher's feet.
The angry expression on Mrs Brzenska's face made it more than clear that the two students were in trouble.
After explaining what they had been doing in the science room after school hours, their teacher learned all about their unwilling cleaning duty and the accident caused by Hange's curiosity. She shook her head at the two teens, clearly disappointed, and picked up the grasshoppers that were still intact and brought them to safety. Then, she made them clean up the shards and sentenced them to daily cleaning duty in both science rooms for the rest of the week. The culprits accepted their punishment quietly, and once Mrs Brzenska had left, quickly went into the science room next door to finish their work.
Until the moment they were done, Levi didn't spare Hange a single glance, his expression darker than she had ever seen it. His only words were a curt "Bye" once he was done with his part, and then he was out of the room, leaving a slightly guilty-looking Hange behind.
The following day, when she showed up at Mrs Brzenska's classroom during lunch break, it turned out that Levi had expressed the wish to work separately from her, voluntarily taking on the after-school cleaning under the pretense that splitting up their duties would be more efficient. To Hange, it was obvious that he wanted to avoid being around her under any circumstances, and she felt a pang of… disappointment, or maybe rather hurt, in her chest.
Part of her could understand his decision; each of their encounters had only gotten him into trouble, or at least held him up in some way. But he was still behaving like a jerk, and she didn't like people who acted if they could say and do whatever they wanted. Even if their eyes were pretty or they had a nice voice—which, in Levi's case, unfortunately, was true. But still, what good were looks if you drove everyone away the moment you started speaking? She had even taken a detour the evening before to get him a bag of little strawberry pies as an apology. Well, she was definitely going to eat them herself now.
Maybe it was better to stay away from him anyway.
Throughout the following two days, Hange didn't run into Levi at school—neither during breaks, nor during the cleaning sessions. Part of her was relieved, though she was also a little irked at being ignored like that. Bickering with Levi had been a lot more fun than being given the cold shoulder, even if they barely knew each other.
After saying goodbye to Miche and Nanaba on Friday afternoon, she decided to head into the town centre, craving something sweet. She followed the little stream that began right behind the high school, walking straight ahead until it took a turn to the right and she had to continue along the street without its gentle gurgle beside her. Soon, the train tracks came into view, and once she crossed them, she finally reached the main street of the old town. One shop lined up after another, a mix of takeout restaurants you could already smell from afar, stores selling sweets and clothes, and even a few souvenir shops.
Despite having lived there for half a year already, she always took her time admiring the old, traditional houses, well preserved and giving the town its own unique charm. Another of her favourite activities was walking along the river that ran through the city, where cherry drifted across the water in summer, and orange leaves in autumn.
The shop she was heading to was on her left, right at the corner where the main street branched off into a smaller one. Its main focus was tea blends and coffee beans, but after visiting for the first time, Hange had discovered it sold much more than that. Several shelves held all kinds of biscuits and cookies, both local varieties and ones from all over the world. Besides that, you could also buy chocolates, bonbons, and ready-made tea drinks. Several times, she had also seen the owner—a kind woman who seemed to be in her late thirties—sell dorayaki and other kinds of pastries she had prepared herself.
The moment the white building with black trim came into view, Hange quickened her pace, already looking forward to her snack and the soda she planned to grab from one of the nearby vending machines. The smell of tea and coffee wafted towards her as soon as she pushed open the door. As always, she watched the little metal fish hanging from the bell, swinging back and forth as it chimed cheerfully.
Since she already knew what she wanted, she headed straight for the shelves holding all sorts of cookies, briefly nodding at the owner, who had peeked out from the back area upon hearing the bell. She sifted through the packages until she found the one she was looking for, and grabbed another with mixed flavours as well. The owner added a small package of candy she kept at the counter, and soon Hange had paid and was on her way out again.
Struggling to stuff everything into her backpack, she paused between two shelves to organise her haul. In hindsight, she couldn't deny it would've been wiser to step a little further back, so that anyone quickly turning the corner would have time to notice her. Of course, she hadn't thought about that when she had knelt down—which she was about to pay for.
Someone suddenly turned the aisle, and she didn't even have time to warn them. They walked straight into her, unable to see what was on the floor because of the boxes they were carrying. The person stumbled with a loud, "Oh shit," and the packages tumbled to the ground, barely missing her.
When she looked up to see whose day she had probably just made a little more miserable, her mouth fell open, and she let out a gasp.
"Levi?" she exclaimed, feeling a wave of burning embarrassment wash over her. Of all the people who could be at the same store at the same time… how was this even possible?
"Of course, it had to be you," Levi grumbled, kneeling down to start picking up the boxes. Hange's gaze fell on the black-and-white shirt with the small circular logo he was wearing, and realised it was the same one the owner had been wearing.
"You work here?" she asked in surprise, reaching behind her to help him gather the packages.
Levi nodded, quietly stacking the boxes she handed him. "My mum owns this place. Are you stalking me or something?"
"What—no, of course not!" Hange exclaimed, a little annoyed. "You're not that pretty. I've been coming here for several months now, if you didn't know."
Levi's eyes widened at the exact moment her words sank in, and she mentally kicked herself for being such a blabbermouth, feeling her face flush with deep embarrassment. "Good," he said curtly, avoiding her gaze for a moment.
"Why did you tell Mrs Brzenska you didn't want to be on cleaning duty with me?" Hange asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Do I really need to tell you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and gesturing towards the stack of boxes now standing neatly on the floor. Despite the slight irritation in his words, he still held out a hand to help her up, which she skillfully ignored, standing up on her own.
"You're judging me as a person only because of a few minor mishaps that happened when I was around?" Hange huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Minor mishaps?" Levi repeated, letting out a dry laugh. "Touching stuff in the science rooms—which you know is clearly forbidden—and breaking one of the displays is not a minor thing. Especially not when you end up dragging me into your stupid mess. You're just flaunting and drawing attention, just like when you decide reading is better than being quiet, because doing something forbidden makes you feel excited. Or whatever shit is going on in your head when you make rash decisions—I honestly don't get it."
"That's not fair," Hange said, her shoulders drooping. She hadn't expected his words to hit so deep, especially not since she had just recently declared that she didn't care what he thought of her. A burning anger, mixed with disappointment, started to coil in the pit of her stomach. "This is exactly what my entire junior high school experience looked like, and I'm not keen on repeating it. I didn't mean to pull you into any trouble, and I'm truly sorry it happened. But can't you just believe that I'm genuinely curious about the things I see? Sure, I might be a bit overzealous from time to time, but I didn't mean any harm. I just have a hard time ignoring things that interest me. And you did let go of the box, too, so it's just as much your fault as mine.
"Besides, I don't think your entire personality is made up of gloomy darkness and sour attitude either. Though maybe—" She reached down into her backpack and opened the zipper, pulling out the bag of strawberry pies she hadn't eaten yet. "Maybe you truly are just a stupid jerk. I had bought these as an apology, and wanted to give them to you the next time I saw you—which, of course, didn't happen thanks to your skilful avoidance. Then I had thought about eating them myself, even though I like the chocolate version much more than this. But now I don't want to see them anymore. Here, you can have them. I hope you like them."
She took a deep breath, halting when a minor detail suddenly popped into her head. "Well, this might be a bit awkward, though, since I bought them here and only just found out your mum owns this place. But you know what?" She yanked her backpack over her shoulder, turning on her heels. "I don't care."
Levi stared at her, genuinely surprised by her outburst, his eyes showing a mix of worry and guilt. He clutched the package she had shoved against his chest, watching silently as she stormed past him and out of the shop, the little bell chiming almost aggressively.
Once outside, Hange took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as an all-too-familiar feeling washing over her, one she absolutely despised and that instantly made her anxious. She gasped for air as her chest tightened ever so slightly, and her hands clenched into fists. He isn't worth it… pull yourself together. Don't freak out.
She slowed her pace, slipping into an alleyway and leaning against the wall, forcing herself to calm down. A few sips of water helped settle her nerves, and soon she was feeling better again. She rested her head against the cool stone, thinking back to the argument she had just had with Levi, which had unsettled her more than expected.
They had been running into each other for several weeks now, and even though she had initially found it almost a little funny, the situation now seemed to have turned against her. "How can your mum be so kind, and you be such an idiot?" she mumbled to herself, remembering the brief yet lovely conversations she'd already had with the owner whenever she had stopped by.
… Oh no.
Her last visit to the shop came back to her—in particular the deeply embarrassing things she had said while paying for the strawberry pies she'd bought for Levi, completely unaware of the woman's connection to him.
"I think I want to die, right here and now," Hange groaned, burying her face in her hands, feeling it burn for the second time that day.
Her only hope—which, considering the small size of the shop, was very slim—was that Levi's mother hadn't noticed their little scene and therefore didn't know Hange had been talking about her own son back then.
Why did things like this always happen to her?
A few days earlier.
"Ah, no. As much as I'd love to eat them myself, this time, I'm getting them for someone else." Hange fiddles with the straps of her backpack, the admission somehow making her a little nervous.
"Oh? They're for someone special?" the owner asks, a curious glint in her eyes. "An admirer, perhaps?"
Hange grimaces. "Not exactly. Quite the opposite, actually. I think he doesn't ever want to see me again. I got him into trouble, so I want to make it up to him somehow. Even though he wasn't very kind about it and is now deliberately avoiding me. He's such a little kid."
"I see, so you've had a bit of a rough start," the owner replies, pulling the bag over the scanner. Leaning forward, she grabs one of the small chocolate bars lying on display and slips it into the bag. "What you just told me reminds me of my high school crush. We started out just like the two of you, thinking we hated each other. But it was actually the opposite—we just didn't know how to deal with the… attraction. Who knows? The same might be true for you two."
"I don't know," Hange mumbles, accepting the bag the owner is handing her. The word attraction makes her skin tingle, and she quickly brushes it off. "I highly doubt he's into girls like me."
"Who do you think he's into, then?" the owner asks, an encouraging smile playing on her lips.
"I… don't know," Hange repeats, sighing as she rambles on. "Not me. Which I don't care about at all, by the way. He's kind of… pretty, I have to admit, and his eyes are the most beautiful I've ever seen. Oh, and his hair is so dark—pitch-black, like the night—but in a good way, you know? Though he seems to get irritated pretty easily, especially by loud, chatty people like me. And he did behave like a jerk, so I don't really want to be around him. Ah, I'm sorry—you probably didn't want to hear all of that."
"Don't worry, I like hearing you talk," the owner reaches out to pat Hange's arm. "Don't discredit yourself—I think you're a wonderful person. And what you said about that boy doesn't sound that bad. Some people have a hard time expressing what they mean, and when they do, it comes out awkwardly, maybe even a little unfriendly. I know someone who's just like that, and he genuinely doesn't mean everything he says. It might be worth giving that boy a second chance." She winks at Hange, pausing for a moment. "Sometimes, there's more to someone than meets the eye. All of this only counts if he's willing to take a step towards you as well, of course. Any kins of relationship always has to be a two-way street."
"I'll think about it," Hange replies after a moment's hesitation, feeling deeply embarrassed for having talked about such things with practically a stranger, but also a little calmer thanks to the owner's words.
Maybe, just maybe, she might give it some thought.
