Cute and Psycho

Chapter 1: An Accidental Encounter

After a rough morning yesterday, I got dressed up and headed to the nearest supermarket. I had failed to notice that I was running low on milk for my flakes, to the point that, by this morning, I didn't have any left at all. I'll say this once: I don't like dry flakes. At all. Do not get between me and my milky flakes.

Fortunately for me, the nearest supermarket also happened to be the biggest one in the area. They always had whatever you needed at all times, be it groceries, tools, weapons and, in my case, milk. The best part wasn't its products' availability, but the fact that it was just a few minutes away from my apartment complex!

No matter how you look at it, not having the need to rev up the car just to get a carton of milk is nothing short of a blessing...

Ahem. Continuing...

As I went through the aisle where the milk usually is, I found out there was not a single carton in sight. After asking a clerk, he told me this was because a pink-haired girl came and bought all the milk she could get. She said it was for a party or something, but I could only wonder about what someone would need that much milk for.

I let out a depressed sigh. Where will I get milk now? There are a few small stores around, so maybe I can get some cheap cartons there... Or at least, that's what I thought I would do.

As I was heading towards the exit, I spotted it, right atop a stack of toilet paper: A single carton of my oh-so-beloved milk. Of course, upon seeing the carton, I immediately trotted towards it, in the hopes of getting my milk here to then return home. As if life would be that easy.

As I got nearer to the stack of toilet paper, I saw a young woman stretching her hand in order to reach the carton of milk. She seemed to be intent on getting it, although no one but me was around to actually desire to have it, and I had just arrived.

"Ngggh... A-almost… T-there..."

She had light blue hair, wore a pair of square-framed glasses and her clothing was all black and white and very formal. She also had a horn-like accessory on the side of her head. I don't know what it was, but it really fits her.

Honestly, I could have helped her immediately, since I was a little bit taller than she was and thus, I would have gotten the carton with ease. Instead, though, I stood still, staring at the very visage of cuteness that was giving her all, just for a carton of milk.

"J-just... J-just a l-little b-bit... More!" the woman's effort were strangely inspiring, if anything... Yet, I couldn't help but feel like something was about to—

"Eep!"

Go wrong. Goddess, I hate when my gut feelings are right.

It seems she began leaning towards the stack, so much that it was enough for her to actually push her way into it, immediately breaking its balance. You don't get to see something like this often, if ever at all, so I was slightly startled and amazed at what just happened there.

The muffled cries of the woman reached out from under the stack of paper and snapped me out of my dazzle, though.

"D-don't worry, I'll get you out of there in a second" I exclaimed, as I began to dig into the mess of papers. I kept going at it for several seconds, until I finally got a hold of what I think was her leg. I began to pull her out from there.

Admittedly, it didn't take me much effort to pull the woman out. She was buried in a mess of toilet paper, of all the things, after all. Still, I did my best to not cause her any harm while pulling, because just like the paper, she seemed to be quite light and fragile, or at least, her hand and her arm felt and looked like they were...

"P-puahh..." The first thing the woman did upon getting out was to take a breath, just before I helped her to sit down. "T-thank g-goodness... I-I was saved..."

"D-don't say it like if you were going to die there..." I replied, scratching my cheek while also smiling sheepishly. "You got something... Stuck... In that accessory on your head, by the way..."

And by that, I was referring to the unfortunate roll of paper that had been pierced by the horn-like accessory. I even pointed towards it after letting her know.

"E-eh...?" The woman brought her hand to the area I was pointing to, only to feel the roll and immediately pull it out. She stared at me, the roll still in her hand, while her cheeks became slightly red, probably out of embarrassment. "T-thanks..." She quietly whispered, quickly discarding the toilet paper as she turned to look away.

After that little interaction, the woman seemed ready to stand on her feet again, so I lent her a hand. She doubted for a second, but ultimately decided to take me up on my offer.

However, as she once again placed her feet on the floor, the woman stepped on a roll of paper that made her stumble forward. I acted immediately and moved even closer to her, using my body to prevent her from falling face-first to the floor—instead, the only thing her face met was my chest, since, again, I taller than her.

Given that her hair was covering her face from my point of view, I couldn't see what kind of expression she was making. But, if I were to guess, she probably made one of shock, as I'd feel her body tensing up quite rapidly.

"A-are you okay?" I asked, looking nervous, concerned and a little bit embarrassed, even though my mouth had curved into a small smile.

But no matter how much I waited, she didn't back off. In fact, I think she pushed even further towards my chest with every second that passed...

"D-don't you worry...?" I say, softly rubbing her back. I didn't know what was going on with her, but my guess was that she felt like she did something wrong. This situation got rather weird pretty quickly.

After a few more seconds, the woman backs off and closes her eyes, only to start spouting apology after apology. "S-Sorry. I'm—... I'm—... Sorry! I'm really sorry about that!"

It seems that, if I was wrong before, it might have been quite close.

"I—..." I was still taken aback by this sudden outburst. This woman was something else, alright. "I-I'm not mad at all," I managed to bring out, smiling nervously.

Regaining my composure, I finally realized something. "U-uhh... I must ask, though," as I said this, I began to look around and then back to the woman. "Where's the milk?"

She flinched. It was almost as if a bolt of lightning had passed through her heart.

"T-t-the milk!" she exclaimed in shock, looking around hastily. She seemed way too desperate for someone that just lost a carton of milk... Did she need it that badly?

"Where it is, where?" Not long after she began looking, the woman realized that there was only one place where the milk could be.

I realized almost at the same time as she did, as I had followed her stare, which was directed towards the mess of paper right next to us.

Without saying anything, the woman kneeled right before the pile, and frantically took away roll after roll of paper, in the search of the oh-so-precious item... Well, at least for her it was that precious.

"You sure are a weird one..." I muttered under my breath, staring at the living image of desperation and, given what happened before, clumsiness, as well.

Without missing a single beat, I kneeled next to the woman and started to take away rolls of paper alongside her, just to lend her a helping hand. Fortunately enough, it didn't take much time to reveal the unscratched carton, especially because now it was a joint effort.

"Well, that was easy..." I brought my hand towards the carton, intending on grabbing it and then hand it to the lady.

What I didn't notice, however, was that the woman also took a sight of the milk and had brought her hand to take it as well. Sum one plus one, and you'll get what happened next— our hands touched.

"Ah—" I wanted to say something, really, but I simply couldn't. I didn't know what to say, after all.

The woman, however, had other plans. She retracted her hand out of a sudden... Only to get back on her feet, place her hands on her lap and then began bowing repeatedly and in quick succession. "Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!"

If this was your average woman, I'd have been slapped across the face, probably. However, this woman isn't. She pushed herself against my chest after tripping and also had her hand touch mine, yet instead of doing what anyone would, she decides to say sorry...

I tried to reassure her, of course, but to no avail. In fact, after a while of doing that same thing—bowing repeatedly—the woman simply stopped, bowing to me with her hands glued to her lap.

"I—... U-uhh..."

Unsure of what to do, I took the carton of milk and offered it to her with my best smile, albeit still displaying some nervousness. "H-here, y-your milk..." But, she didn't react, like, at all.

"L-lady...?" I waved the milk right in front of her eyes, or at least, at the area her eyes should be staring at. Still no response. This could only mean something: The woman froze out of sheer embarrassment... Either that or she died.

I shuddered at the latter guess. Better stick to my former guess, definitely.

Anyway, while hoping that she'll snap out of that weird state, I got back on my feet and left the carton of milk inside of her shopping cart. I then waited for a minute or so, before finally taking my leave.

I keep looking back every few steps and that, but she continued to stay frozen like that.

Once out of the store, I began to ponder a lot of different things. Who was that cute lady, why was she so shy, and, more importantly, why did the announcement about cleaning the disaster on the aisle never came? This was one weird morning, and the day was just beginning...

I guess I'll head to Wall-Nep now. It's far, but I guess that I can get decent milk there.

When I came to myself, I realized I was in quite the uncomfortable position, first of all. Also, the man that had just helped me was nowhere to be seen... The carton of milk was sitting on the bottom of the shopping cart, though.

"H-huh...?"

For a moment, I felt confused as to what had happened, but it quickly dawned on me. Yeah, the last thing I remember... "R-right, w-we—o-our hands... T-they touched..." And, as just as that memory came to mind, I definitely felt my cheeks getting a little bit hot.

"B-but..." The sudden disappearance of the man still threw me off for another moment, until I finally realized what in fact had happened afterward. Said realization had me make a depressed sigh, just as I muttered under my breath, "I-I f-froze again, d-didn't I-I...?"

I felt quite disappointed, but not with the man. I was disappointed with myself, for letting that helpful person go without even a word of thanks. I really am the worst.

"Good job, Rei... You blew it… Again."

The moment I regained all of my senses, I took hold of my cart and began packing the rest of the groceries. Of course, I still couldn't keep the thought of touching hands with another man out of my mind...The carton of milk sitting now on top of whatever I got into the cart served as a reminder of sorts, too.

Really, this is going to be a weird day, isn't it?

A/N: Hello there. Last time I couldn't do this properly, but thank you very much for giving this fanfic a read. It means a lot. It would mean a lot if you leave a review, no matter how short. Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank my beta, Porpol (writer of HDN: Ruination) for helping me with the proofreading—if it wasn't for him, this wouldn't look as good as it does.

See you on the next chapter, dear readers.