Chapter 16 - Passive
"... I like you! Please go out with me!"
Wait... what?
I admit, my emotional state wasn't the best.
Seeing Kiyotaka so close with Horikita-san yesterday hurt. The worst part was that I thought about their relationship all night and couldn't get a single whiff of sleep.
In short, I was a mess.
My lack of rest led to an inevitable downfall of any reason I still had left in me, which is why I followed Kiyotaka after classes had ended for the day. He left the classroom without talking or saying goodbye to anyone, which meant that he was probably meeting up with someone who wasn't part of our class.
I knew that following him was wrong and a violation of his privacy, but... no — I had no excuses for my behavior.
Kiyotaka ambled down the stairs next to some other students neither of us knew or cared about. He continued towards the school building's entrance and glanced at the cluster of people in front of him. After staring at someone for a few seconds, he made a sharp turn left and vanished among the crowd.
I hurried outside the building after he was gone and looked around. Too many people crossed my line of sight during that time, so I had lost trace of Kiyotaka's figure in this mass of students.
"Uwaahhh!"
A loud scream rang through the area, whereupon every single person in the vicinity turned towards the source. Due to this sudden shift, I caught a glimpse of something I had never deemed possible.
The quiet and somewhat expressionless boy in my class had apparently sneaked around Ichinose-san from Class 1-B and scared her. Even though all these gazes were homing in on them, he didn't seem to mind this situation at all as he regarded the young woman in front of him with his usual stoic expression.
"Ayanokouji-kun no baka!"
A sharp pain pierced through my heart.
These words, the surprised yet gentle smile on her face, their familiar appearance, as if they had spent time with each other frequently, and the usual poker face that Kiyotaka wore...
It hurt.
It pained me that I wasn't the one receiving this scare.
That I wasn't the one smiling at him right now.
That I wasn't the one so close to him.
I knew little about Ichinose-san, but the bits and pieces I had gathered from the other girls in my class painted a clear picture about her as a person. During my time at this school, I had met her once, during our get-together with some of the Class B girls after Yamauchi-kun was expelled.
She gave off a kind and vibrant aura, which was unique to her alone. Even with the little knowledge I possessed about her and the other students at this school, I felt that she was even more popular than Kushida-san, which couldn't be an easy feat to accomplish.
The conflicting emotions that were swirling around inside me couldn't be explained with words.
The two of them looked cute together and I couldn't have felt more frustrated by this feeling.
Both him and I, I just wanted us to be happy.
Preferably together.
If it was Ichinose-san instead of me, I could at least rest assured that she would care for him as much as I would. She was a better alternative to Horikita-san, but I wanted to see neither of them with him.
I didn't want to give up like this...
It disheartened me that those two were standing there all chummy and comfortable with each other while I hid in a group of people and shadowed him like some obsessed stalker.
After exchanging a few more words, the two of them left the area together side by side. The other students, who had already turned away from the sudden commotion, continued on their ways. Instead of following their example like a thinking, stable human being, I pushed past them and began to follow Kiyotaka and Ichinose-san.
Their short stroll ended behind the gymnasium, which was a rather unusual spot for a normal meet-up between friends, so I peeked around the corner to get a better view of what they were doing.
The Class B girl faced Kiyotaka with a nervous expression and drew a deep breath.
"Now then..."
My sleep deprived brain, which was already primed towards them having a close relationship with each other, simulated every potential conversation that could happen due to the clues I had picked up on.
A deserted place behind the gymnasium.
Ichinose-san's crimson, somewhat uneasy complexion before facing Kiyotaka.
And the words she managed to elicit her lips after a long struggle.
"I think..."
My heart began to drum like crazy as I put together the pieces of this puzzle. The adrenaline my body released kept pumping the blood through my veins stronger than ever before. It was as if time had slowed down, or even came to a halt completely.
There was only so much a girl could say to a boy at an abandoned place like this.
It was obvious what she was about to do, right?
Why else would a kind and uplifting woman like Ichinose-san walk such a handsome and mature man like Kiyotaka all the way behind the sports facilities if she wouldn't confess her feelings to him?
There was no other possibility.
Even though I wanted Kiyotaka to be happy with the girl he felt the most comfortable and loved, I could never live with myself if I didn't at least try... If I didn't voice my lingering affections for him before someone else did.
Kiyotaka...
My turbulent thoughts were faster than my mouth and I didn't manage to formulate his name before the words I yearned to tell him slipped through my lips.
Time continued to pass as two voices overlapped into one.
"... I like you! Please go out with me!"
"I think someone will confess their feelings to me here."
...
...
...
WHAT?!
An eerie, unpenetrable silence ensued.
The trees rustling in the wind; the birds' playful chirping; even the usual sounds one would hear during school hours...
Everything vanished.
Everything, except eight words that kept reverberating through my ear canal like an echo would through a cave-system.
Ichinose's whole body had trembled in surprise as she glanced past me with widened eyes. Her lips had moved as well, but the words she uttered had been overshadowed by the person she had discovered behind me.
The person who had just voiced her feelings.
While the girl in front of me was taken aback, and trying to process the situation, I recognized my classmates voice.
Ichinose's confused and bewildered gaze alternated between Chiaki's face and my own. Her complexion, which had been a healthy pink, turned into a darker shade of red with every alternation.
As I turned around to the new arrival, she finished processing the situation as well. The charming lips on her blushing face parted once again before Ichinose or I could say or do anything and dispelled the ensued silence.
"I... I... I'm so sorry!"
She bowed, almost touching the ground in the process. Tears had gathered in her eyes as she raised her head and ran away with a deep crimson-colored face. Her soft steps, which should have crunched the grass beneath her shoes, didn't even register in my ears, as I was still occupied with working through her previous words.
Her echoes vanished, and the sounds returned.
The wind brushed past the trees and rustled through the leaves. Birds kept chirping and gathering branches and twigs to build their nest beneath the gymnasium's roof, and the familiar sounds on the school grounds returned as well.
"Umm... shouldn't you go after her, Ayanokouji-kun?"
The second girl with a beet-red complexion peeked at me, before she returned to stare a hole into the ground. Her fingers slid over a letter, which she had hidden behind her back as Chiaki jumped around the corner.
"I don't think that I should go after her right now. Chiaki's mind should be nothing but a mess after she realized that she misunderstood our meeting here. I believe that I should give her some time to cool down and gather her thoughts. If I run after her while she is this embarrassed and conscious about what she did, I would only make things worse." My words were slow but concise. "I will also need a few minutes to process what just happened, so I wouldn't mind finishing our business here first to put my mind off things. I'll look for Chiaki after we both had enough time to process."
Kushida was a great mask with an infinitely large amount of facets I could use.
This one was confusion, with a hint of anxiety and portrayed someone with a mind in shambles, someone who was struggling with the current situation. Even though my mind was still as sharp and unimpaired as always, I needed Ichinose to believe that I was affected by this sudden confession to a human degree.
I had seen Kushida's sentiments multiple times when I broke her apart, but I wasn't well versed in executing them myself just yet. In principle, I was nothing but a small child that tried to imitate a famous actor with years of experience.
"Are you sure...?"
Ichinose, who was also affected by this sudden change in atmosphere, tilted her head.
She seemed to be of the opinion that I should have run after her, but I was convinced that this would have been the wrong move in this situation. Chiaki must have misread this whole scene and wanted to cut off her 'rival' before she could 'confess' to me.
This was not only out of character for a gentle girl like her, but she would also feel horrible about what she had done. Even though Ichinose hadn't planned on declaring her feelings to me, Chiaki was ready to sabotage her in order to voice her own.
The right decision right now was to give her enough space and time to reflect on everything that had happened. We could still talk about her, me and us after she was in a stable state of mind.
"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry about it and please continue. You said that someone wanted to confess their feelings to you here. Is that right?"
Class B's leader was still hesitant. She became silent for a moment before choosing to trust my decision.
"Y-yeah. I found this letter..."
The strawberry-blonde handed me the folded paper, which she had concealed behind her back.
It felt morally wrong to read and analyze a message addressed to another person, but I had the recipients permission, so this ought to be fine. Since she was asking me for help, I should do my best to support her.
The letter itself was adorned with a small panda sticker that wore a shy expression and was holding onto a heart, a heart-shaped one, not an anatomically correct representation. The handwriting was almost artistic, because every single line and slope had been taken care of with utmost care and perfection.
Due to the light pink color of the letter, I assumed that the sender was a girl. A boy would have chosen another, more neutral shade for theirs.
Ichinose came to me for help, which she wouldn't have done if she could have asked someone in her own class, so it was safe to assume that the sender originated from Class B. Her admirer was artistic and paid close attention to Ichinose, since she was in possession of a complementary handkerchief to the sticker...
Shiranami Chihiro.
She was a sweet girl who exuded a soothing presence to the surrounding people. Whenever we hung out together, she tried to stay close to Ichinose. According to Kushida's intel, she was part of the Art club as well.
Taking such a big step forward must have been more than heart-wrenching for her, especially since we were living a society where not everyone was fine with same-sex relationships. They were more accepted than before, but still frowned upon by some people.
What concerned me more than her bravery, however, were the meeting time and location, which were behind the gym where we stood in about ten minutes.
I raised my head after finishing my preliminary examination.
"Wouldn't it be better if I weren't here?"
Ichinose had looked at me the whole time while I was reading the letter. As soon as our eyes met, she averted her gaze towards the ground and smoothed the surrounding grass with her foot.
"Love is kind of alien to me. I don't know how to respond without hurting her feelings. I also don't know if we can manage to stay friends afterwards... so I wanted to ask you to help me..."
At first, I couldn't believe that she didn't know how confessions worked, but after a few seconds of thinking it over, I reached a conceivable conclusion I could work with.
Ichinose was too perfect.
Few boys would have the guts to confess to someone unattainable like her, knowing that they would most likely be rejected. She was not only beautiful but also smart, kind and funny. Her positive charisma was off the charts, which is why most people wouldn't bother even trying to get together with her, because they deemed such a future impossible.
It was almost comedic how popular and beautiful girls like her wouldn't get confessed to, not because they weren't good enough, but because they were considered too unreachable by a potential admirer.
For most, gazing at her from afar and looking for someone attainable was the obvious course of action.
Being asked out by a girl would make this situation even more distressing for both parties, due to the additional hurdles that needed to be overcome. Yet this brave adolescent was ready to stand up for her wishes and feelings.
Shiranami's courage was impressive, and she had earned my utmost respect.
"Are you sure I'm the right person to ask? You saw what just happened. This was anything but smooth, and I still don't know if I made the right decision to allow her some time to calm down. Aren't there any people in Class B who could help you?"
I knew that Ichinose was outsourcing because it was the most sensible option in her opinion, but there was no need to reveal my conclusions at this stage.
"The person confessing to me... she is from Class B."
Still, what was I supposed to do?
Play her boyfriend?
"I doubt you'd be going around telling people... but I'd like for you to keep this a secret."
She peered at me and fumbled around with her fingers in order to calm down.
"Of course. My lips are sealed. But I still don't know what exactly I'm doing here."
"I really don't understand why this is happening."
Her surprise was genuine.
She didn't know why someone thought of her as a good partner, which confused me. No matter how dense someone was, it was hard, no — almost impossible, to think of her as someone who wouldn't deserve the best.
I'd like to tell her otherwise, but this would not only be awkward but also out of place after I was confessed to just a few moments ago. Ichinose undervalued herself in her own view, but I didn't know why. I couldn't think of anyone who, given the chance, wouldn't go out with her.
"My previous plan was to ask you if you could pretend to be my boyfriend... but after what just happened, there is no way that I could do something like this to Matsushita-san, who had just poured her heart out to you."
"Me pretending to be your boyfriend? May I ask how you came to that conclusion?"
"Upon receiving this letter, I did some research about this topic. I discovered that the rejected person wouldn't feel as bad if the object of their affection is already in a relationship, so..."
She fell silent since her plan had already blown up into her face before she could begin to execute it.
This time, it was my turn to heave a sigh.
After what she just said, she should have realized that her way of rejecting Shiranami was a mistake. Yet, Ichinose was still clueless and looked to me for help. She had noticed the subtle changes in my bearing and caressed her hand.
"I like you, Ichinose..." Ichinose's expression didn't change despite hearing these words, because she had realized that the voice I adopted differed to Chiaki's. "... but what you were planning on doing is nothing but plain cruel."
Her gentle, insecure expression broke as her eyes contorted in disbelief and confusion.
"W-what?"
"I'm sure that you had the best intentions. I really believe that, but you are going about this in an entirely wrong way. Do you see that? Or do I have to explain it to you?"
Ichinose Honami was a kind girl.
This was one of the reasons that she tried her best to create a situation to let her devotee get off easy. There was no need to shatter her heart, if she could just utter a white lie to protect her frail existence.
In her naïve mind, this would save both of them from heartbreak.
But in the end, it would only worsen the situation they were in.
Even if Chiaki hadn't confessed to me and I agreed to play her boyfriend for a while, her idea would have been unnecessarily cruel towards the other person who felt nothing but sincere love for her.
No — It would have been straight up disrespectful.
The receiver shouldn't lie under any circumstances after a person finally found the courage to confess their feelings towards another, no matter how pure or kindhearted their intentions were.
In the best-case scenario, she would never find out about the lie. Yet there would always be a small spark of hope in her heart, that Ichinose might have agreed had she not been in a relationship with me.
In the worst-case scenario, she might realize that the reason for her rejection was nothing but a hoax and would be devastated for the rest of her life.
Both paths were more painful than the truth, for either of them.
Ichinose's clumsy and naïve thoughts were enough evidence to prove that she had never been in love with someone. Otherwise, she should have realized how Shiranami must have felt.
Since her mind was set on rejecting the confession, there was bound to be pain.
At least one person would get hurt today, and Shiranami had prepared for this eventuality. Knowing Ichinose, she would hurt herself just as much in the process.
That was what love felt like, or so I believed.
"..."
Class B's leader was still thinking about my words, but we didn't have an unlimited amount of time at our disposal. Shiranami would soon arrive, which is why I had to bring an end to Ichinose's misguided thoughts.
"Confessing your feelings to someone isn't easy. Actually, it is incredibly hard. You spend every day in complete anguish as you create the experience in your head over and over. And yet, you still can't bring yourself to declare your feelings to this person. Even when you finally managed to make up your mind, the words, 'I like you', get stuck in your throat. You can't get them out, because you cannot stop worrying what the response will be." I paused for a moment to let these words sink in. "Take Chiaki, for example. She didn't wake up today and decided to confess to me. She acted out of impulse, out of fear that you would declare your affection to me before she had the chance. It must have been a horrible experience for her, which is why she deserves an honest answer for her courage, whether it's good or bad. If you don't make the situation clear for both parties, you are going to regret it later. At least that's what I think."
"Um, Ichinose-san... Ayanokouji-kun? What are you doing here?"
Shiranami Chihiro's smooth voice burst through the previously ensued silence. Her tone was shaky and unnerved since she had expected no one aside from Ichinose to wait at this location.
"Oh, hey Shiranami. Are you also joining us at karaoke tomorrow?"
The new arrival regarded me with a smile, realizing that my presence was nothing but a coincidence.
"Um, yeah, almost everyone is planning to join. It's a shame that we have lessons during the morning, though..."
Usually, a sick teacher would be substituted on that day, but if none were available, the lessons would be put on hold until enough absences due to illness had accumulated. The students would have free time during this period and had to make up for the lost lessons on a Saturday.
Tomorrow would be the first time that this occurrence took place in our year.
I was curious if lessons on a Saturday differed to the ones during the week. Not much would change for the teachers, but I wondered how the students would behave throughout the lessons, since it should have been a day off.
"Say, Ayanokouji-kun, is it alright if I talk to Honami-chan... alone?"
I glanced at both of them for a moment before nodding.
"Oh sorry, you guys were meeting up. I didn't plan on intruding, so I'll be going then. Bye Ichinose, Shiranami."
"See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."
The girl was relieved and waved me goodbye while hiding her nervousness behind a forced smile as I left. Ichinose wasn't in a good state either, since she had been mute ever since her devotee showed up.
I had no business in Shiranami's resolve and her inevitable downfall thereafter.
Because similar to Ichinose, I had my own confession to deal with.
After I left the area, I pulled out my phone and checked Chiaki's GPS location.
Unfortunately, she had turned the setting off, and her dot was nowhere to be seen. I had a few ideas where she might have gone, but most of them were shots in the dark.
My best guess was the rooftop where she had kissed me.
The effort I had to put into not opening my eyes at that moment was excruciating. Even though she had just kissed my cheek, I remembered every single detail, as if it had happened a few seconds ago.
Her warm and soft lips were far above everything I had ever felt before.
Chiaki had been hesitant, gentle and smooth, yet forceful and determined at the same time. I hadn't been aware that such opposing factors could coexist, but at that moment, they did.
Since she bravely yelled out her feelings, I had to respond properly to her confession.
A teary-eyed Shiranami ran past me as I typed out two messages and leaned against the railing over-viewing the sea.
Despite such a shocking image, all I could do was wonder whether she would come to our karaoke meet-up after this. It was an absurd, almost contemptuous thought process, but I was still interested.
With not much to do, I waited for a moment, both for a reply to my messages and for Ichinose to come this way. Rejecting Shiranami's confession must have been hard for her as well, so I wanted to see if she was okay.
"Ah..."
She looked awkward, uncomfortable even, and averted her gaze when she noticed my presence. Class B's leader trudged over with a lowered head and a wry, sorrowful smile on her face.
"I'm sorry, for before."
I shook my head and gazed over the ocean.
"There is no need to be. You had her best interest in mind, I know that. But you haven't thought far enough about the consequences and her feelings regarding that matter. I'm sure that, whatever the two of you talked about, it'll be fine. She deserved honesty for her courage and you gave it to her. That's all anyone could ask for."
Ichinose nodded with a solemn expression as she moved beside me.
"Yes, I failed to respect Chihiro-chan's feelings. But thanks to you, I won't make the same mistake again. I just hope that we can carry on as usual, somehow or some time." She stared up in the air and leaned against the fence right beside me. "Love is really tough, huh?"
"Sure is..."
A sigh escaped her lips before she turned her head towards me.
"But enough about me. What are you going to do?"
"The same as you. I will tell her the truth. That is what she deserves."
She kept staring at my eyes, which were focused on the ocean and inquired no more about this topic.
I was thankful that she deemed this none of her business and abstained from asking any further questions.
The two of us stood beside each other in silence, not knowing what to say. A lot was going on in both of our minds, so this brief pause was a welcome one.
Yet, I chose to break the silence after a few more seconds.
"Sorry about the lecture."
The wind was quite strong near the ocean, so she wiped a few strands of hair out of her face and let out a chuckle while her sapphire-blue eyes gazed straight into mine.
"No... rather than you apologizing, I have to thank you for it. At least my decision was half right. It was correct talking to you about my problem."
The smile she wore at that moment could have single-handedly started and stopped wars.
"Why me anyway?"
She turned her gaze towards the setting sun and rested it on her arms, which were folded over the railing.
"Over the past months, I've gotten to know you pretty well. Or so I think. I figured you would be good with this kind of stuff, even though I knew you were really uncomfortable with people in the beginning. You are also the maturest person I know so I liked the idea of having your support when I was struggling. 'It would end up fine with him there', or something like that went through my head."
"You are putting an awful lot of trust into an enemy."
Upon hearing this, her head shot up and turned in my direction. Just a few seconds ago, I had thought that her smile couldn't get any brighter. Yet when I glanced at her, I couldn't believe how much bliss she radiated.
"Is that a smile I'm spotting there? Enemy-kun?"
Her sunny expression turned into a teasing smirk.
"That's not at all possible."
"Ohhh, sure it is. It's right there. Want me to take a picture?" She was about to pull out her phone when she panicked. "Wait. Don't stop smiling! What are you doing?"
Ichinose reached out to me and grabbed my cheeks. She kept giggling and pulled them left and right to force a certain expression back on my face.
Even though I was denying it, I was pretty sure that I had indeed smiled.
Albeit a little.
After Ichinose and I separated, I walked up to the rooftop.
Chiaki herself still hadn't replied to my message, but Kushida's social net was unescapable. Since she wasn't in her room and couldn't be found anywhere else in the school, I had a good feeling that she would be here.
A location of happy memories, even though they were founded on a one-sided assault, so to speak.
My eyes caught sight of Chiaki's back as I entered the rooftop through the only door available. She just sat on the ground, approximately where she had slept, and stared away into the distance.
I sneaked closer with soft steps because I didn't want to alarm or scare her while she was going through so much. Before long, I arrived beside my precious classmate and sat down to stare at the birds with her.
Chiaki glanced at me for a moment, but soon turned back to face forward, observing the horizon. Her eyes were red, swollen and watery from the tears she must have shed during the time she remained here. She bit her lip to cope with the feelings that overcame her after looking at me and sniffled.
I didn't know the first thing about love, but I had to answer her proclamation.
For her sake.
Even though she had confessed out of a misdirected feeling of necessity, it was still a proper declaration, with all her bottled up feelings, her hopes and her dreams. She laid them bare in front of me, not knowing how I might react.
"You surprised me."
"I surprised myself..."
A long stretch of silence followed her meek voice. Chiaki leaned her head against her interlaced arms and faced away from me to escape the lingering pain.
This must have been a difficult situation for her.
She confessed and declared her feelings without planning to. Not only did she have to wait a long time to hear my answer, which wasn't a good sign to begin with, but someone else she didn't know very well had heard her proclamation, which must have been unnerving.
A spiteful person might say that it was her fault for running off, but I understood what must've been going through her head during the whole time. Chiaki must have been worried, embarrassed, and depressed.
She must have been a mess.
But I wasn't much different in that regard.
This confession came unexpectedly, which wasn't a surprise since even she was unaware that she would announce her feelings towards me today. Thanks to Ichinose and Shiranami, I had time to sort my thoughts as well.
"Sorry that it took so long to get back to you. I just thought that it would do both of us a favor if we had some time to calm down and gather our thoughts before we talk again."
"It's not your fault... I was the one who ran away..."
Her voice sounded like my own — monotone and emotionless.
I realized that I had made the wrong decision.
Waiting so long without receiving an answer, or even running after her... she must have been feeling dreadful.
"Do you want me to leave?"
Her body quivered as she shook her head.
"No..."
"Can I tell you my reply, then?"
Chiaki took a deep breath to steel herself.
She was prepared to receive a negative answer since it had taken me so long to go after her. If both of our feelings aligned, there would have been no reason to take time away from the inevitable bliss that would follow, since both parties in the relationship could share their happiness with each other that much sooner.
But this wasn't such a black and white decision for me.
In her view, I had already made up my mind before as she ran away. She was sure that I would decline her advances and hoped that we could somehow remain friends, even after I shattered her heart.
This was the reason she didn't manage to look into my eyes until that moment.
Chiaki turned towards me and raised her head. Her ocean-blue spheres trembled as our gazes entwined. After all this time to prepare herself, she was ready to face the consequences for her actions.
Even though it might be uncomfortable, it was a ritual two people had to go through to accomplish a confession. Whether it was a successful or a failed one didn't factor into the equation.
"I'm not very experienced with stuff like this..."
My classmate kept quiet and listened to the words that rolled off my lips.
This was her current part, something she could not interfere with.
After her heartfelt confession came my honest reply.
No matter how it would turn out, our relationship would change because of this single exchange. If even Ichinose wasn't sure whether she could continue like usual after this confession, then neither Chiaki nor I had any hope to even imagine what might become of us.
"...but I enjoy spending time with you. I like our talks, silly chats and sudden nightly shopping tours. I look forward to the days we meet up to eat ice cream, or do something different. It doesn't really matter what we do, because everything is fine as long as we are together."
My voice was as monotone and emotionless as always.
I could only hope that she would believe me despite these facts, since not a single lie was spoken. These were my true feelings, because she deserved as much after plucking up the courage to confess to me. It was only fair to answer honestly after she had made the first step towards a potential 'us'.
"I don't really know what it means to be boyfriend and girlfriend, or what it means to... be together with someone."
How did she look at that moment?
My eyes gazed into hers, but it was impossible to read her expression.
I was too occupied with the words that left my mouth as the seconds passed.
All of this could have been a buildup to the painful words that she didn't want to hear, a gentle refusal which would enable us to stay friends even after I hurt her. Or it could have been a preparation for my own confession of sorts.
"But I'd like to find that out with you. If you haven't reconsidered, that is."
Chiaki's reddened, swollen eyes widened. Her two orbs sparkled in joy before she bent forward and jumped me with the most beautiful, joyous smile I had ever witnessed.
No training in the White Room or anywhere else could have prepared me to dodge such an attack.
Due to the force she put into her embrace, we tumbled over backwards. A few small teardrops dripped onto my face as the remnants of her lingering doubts were swept away by feelings of delight and euphoria.
"I'd like that too... I also have no experience with this... but I don't care. Let's find out together what it means to be boyfriend and girlfriend. The two of us, from now on..."
Her voice shook with every syllable that left her enchanting lips.
The words she expressed were hard to understand, not because she was facing away from me or due to her frustration, but because of how happy and relieved she was now that I had accepted her proclamation. Her heart as well couldn't stop beating in a dangerous rhythm as she clung onto me.
With this, the confession scene ended.
The next chapters would be our first experiences in these new, unfamiliar roles.
Neither of us knew what the future would bring, but both of us were looking forward to everything that was to come.
It was at this moment of pure bliss and happiness...
Growl!
"Hyaaa~."
My girlfriend buried her head into my chest even deeper than before.
Rumble!
"Nhhhh~,"
No, it wasn't a thunderstorm, an earthquake or anything remotely close to that.
"Um, Chiaki? Are you perhaps hungry?"
"Kiyobmhh..."
The muffled sounds that escaped her mouth were hard to interpret since she kept burrowing into my chest while flailing around. I couldn't see her expression, but her ears had turned crimson.
Did she just call me Kiyobaka?
No, it must've been -taka.
Yes. Surely...
"Let's grab a bite?"
She shook her head — burrowed in my chest.
"Aren't you hungry?"
She nodded — still burrowed in my chest.
"Then shouldn't we get... something?"
Her mouth moved again, but it was impossible to understand even a single word because she had pressed herself against me in such a way that no sounds made it through.
"Chiaki. I can't hear you, you know?"
"I can't possibly leave this roof looking like that!"
She raised her tomato-colored head and looked into my eyes. Her pupils quivered as happy-tears dripped onto my uniform. My shy girlfriend averted her gaze and continued to hide in my embrace.
Thus, we kept sitting there, in that exact hugging position, for the next hour.
...
"Huuuuh. We can go now, Kiyotaka."
After quite some time and a deep, relaxing breath, Chiaki decided that she was ready to leave the rooftop. Her complexion was much better, as she had managed to regain a healthy color. Her heartbeat as well was only marginally elevated instead of through the roof like before.
"Okay then..."
I stood first and extended my hand towards her.
She wore the most fascinating smile as she grasped my fingers. Her grip was determined and smooth. My rough hands couldn't even be compared with the softness her own carried.
"My butt is all cold and sore..."
I made a mental note for a doctor's appointment, since my ears were failing me.
"What?"
"Huh?! Eh... n-nothing. Nothing at all."
As I thought, she said nothing...
With that conversation at the back of my mind, the two of us ambled down the stairs with slow steps.
We were kind of awkward at first, neither of us too sure on how to behave. Eventually, we found our rhythm. Walking side by side, our hands grazed past each other from time to time. They touched for a moment and separated just as quickly.
Every time this pleasant contact between us took place, she averted her gaze. Her ears, which had previously regained their normal color, turned into a deep shade of pink yet again.
Neither of us made the so-called first move.
We were still overwhelmed about today and unanimously decided that we would take things at our own pace. This wasn't bad at all, since neither she nor I had any idea how to behave as boyfriend and girlfriend. The two of us were a couple now and I couldn't even follow Hirata's example, because I knew that he and Karuizawa weren't in a genuine relationship.
This was an entirely new phenomenon for me.
I was glad that we were both struggling in our new roles. Due to this, we could lean on each other and experience this relationship as two equals. Two people who didn't know what they were doing most of the time.
One of the important prerequisites for a successful and long-lasting relationship were conversations, but this was not a problem for the two of us.
We both knew that the other was just as clumsy and inexperienced, which acted as a safety net of sorts.
"Kiyotaka? When are we going to tell people about u-us being a coup... in a relationship?"
The flustered and shy Chiaki was incredibly cute.
Every word that somehow labeled us was spoken with hesitance and in a quiet tone of voice. It was refreshing to see the level-headed class leader so defenseless and clumsy around me.
"Mh, I don't know. I wouldn't tell anyone, not directly at least, but that's just me. If someone asks or figures it out themselves, I wouldn't deny it, of course, but I'm not like Karuizawa and could proudly announce to the class that I'm in a relationship. It's not that I'm not proud of us being a couple, but it's just the way I am, I guess."
"I get what you mean. I couldn't do that either..." A cute chuckle rang through the stairwell. "Would it be okay if I told Karuizawa-san and Satou-san? They would probably spread it around to our classmates and it wouldn't be that much of a hassle for the two of us, I think..."
"Sure, I certainly won't stop my cute girlfriend."
Even though I had a bad feeling about this decision.
"Ummm..." She ducked away to hide her tomato-colored face before she turned around again with a pout. "Your poker face is too mean. I want one too!"
"Sorry about that."
Another giggle rang through the building as we made our way to the place we decided for dinner.
The next morning started like any other.
I freshened up, performed a few exercises to keep my physique in shape, and ate a light breakfast. Afterwards, I grabbed my schoolbag and strode to the classroom.
A friend of mine, Kushida Kikyou, greeted me as soon as I stepped into the room.
Her attitude was a given, since we were still working on our 'close friendship', which we would show our friends and the other students. Aside from me, she approached a few other close friends as well, which would elevate me onto a similar level in their eyes.
I sat down at my desk and turned towards my grumpy neighbor, the ice queen.
"Good morning, Horikita."
She raised her head after finishing the paragraph in her book.
"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun."
After a cold and concise acknowledgment, she refocused on her novel.
She was mad, wasn't she?
Sakura also entered the classroom a while later and sat down at her desk with minimal movements, as not to attract any unwanted attention. I made my way over and channeled my inner Kushida to ask about the camera, since I was sure that she would be too nervous to approach me herself.
"Good morning Sakura."
"G-good morning, Ayanokouji-kun."
The girl was surprised that I initiated a conversation with her, as if she had already forgotten that we had planned to meet up. That, or she wasn't prepared to be talked to this early in the morning.
"About the camera repair. Would tomorrow be good for you?"
"Ah, um... that would be okay, yes. Is that fine with you?"
Her voice was quiet and hesitant.
Since the squaller, Ike, wasn't here yet, I had no trouble understanding her. Some other guys, like Hondou and Okitani, who were already in a bad mood because this should have been our day off, eyed me with suspicious and malicious glares.
"Yeah sure. Say tomorrow afternoon around 2pm?"
"That would be good, yes... Thank you again for accompanying me."
Sakura bowed and averted her eyes.
"Please don't thank me for that. I still feel responsible for running into you. The least I could do is lend you my time."
A shy smile spread over her face before she buried herself in a reference book for a topic we wouldn't be talking about today. Since she had agreed to our meet-up, I figured that my business with her was done and trotted back to my desk.
My girlfriend entered the classroom about five minutes later.
Chiaki flushed the moment she laid her eyes on me, which was the second she had walked in. Upon noticing her own obvious behavior, she averted her gaze and clenched her bag.
"G-good morning, K-kiyotaka."
"Good morning, Chiaki."
She hurried towards her desk with a lowered and thoroughly crimson-colored head after this exchange, which had been no different from our usual greetings in the morning.
The guys once again eyed me with suspicion.
This time, even more of them had picked up on the weird occurrences between me and the opposite sex. Ike and Sudou, whose dark circles extended towards the ground, stumbled into the room as well. They exchanged greetings with their friends just seconds before the whispers began to outweigh their casual chats.
Even though it was Saturday, the classroom fell into a familiar chaos as more people arrived.
But this 'chaos' was nothing in face of what was yet to come.
I still didn't know how everything had started, but Chiaki had been far too self-aware.
Both Karuizawa and Satou weren't stupid, especially with gossip like this. Even the guys realized that something was different, so it wasn't weird that the other girls had also noticed that Chiaki's behavior differed from usual.
My poor girlfriend was swarmed from all sides before I knew it.
I felt sorry for her, as I peacefully sat at my desk, but what else was I supposed to do? She had decided to tell them, so as a good boyfriend, I shouldn't interfere...
... or should I?
Being a boyfriend was already shaping up to be one of the most difficult experiences I had undergone to date.
Like a flock of seagulls who had been waiting for a shoal of fish to swim into their domain, the girls turned towards me in an instant. Their movements were identical to each other, as they eyed me with a hint of excitement or hunger.
This was going to end up terribly, wasn't it?
""""""Ayanokouji-kun!""""""
The girls swarmed me like a torrent of starving piranhas and kept asking me questions, most of which I couldn't understand due to other people asking their own at the same time.
Why didn't something like this happen when Hirata and Karuizawa got together?
According to the sorry-glance our knight in shining armor threw me, I could infer that I had missed an important moment in his life that might have shaped his future.
I felt horrible.
He could have warned me... seriously.
The tomato-colored Chiaki peered at me from below her elbow and mouthed pitiful excuses before hiding away again. Some girls still pestered her for answers, but most of them had set their sights on me since they deemed me to be the weaker link in our relationship.
Horikita, who had been reading her book until now, was irritated by this sudden influx of people in her vicinity. She was about to complain and shoo them away, but once the words 'Chiaki's boyfriend' fell, she stared at me with wide, trembling eyes.
After this shock, she buried her head in her novel.
Of course, she was annoyed by all these people...
Most of the boys, except for Kouenji, who was still admiring himself in the mirror, Hirata and a few others who weren't interested in gossip like Yukimura, threw me dozens of death glares after the news reached their ears. The worst of them was Ike, who couldn't stop badmouthing me in front of his friends.
Sudou, who seemed genuinely happy for me, smacked his head while Sakura followed the sudden spectacle with a worried expression. The confused Professor also trudged into the classroom and was caught off-guard by the crowd that had formed around my desk.
The girls asked me a plethora of questions, most of them innocent ones that Chiaki could have answered as well. Since they were still curious, I decided to keep the answers to myself to honor my girlfriends decision.
Instead, I replied to the simple ones like, 'since when?' and 'did you kiss already?'.
I probably shouldn't throw my girlfriend in front of the dogs and tell them that she did, in fact, kiss me while I was pretending to be asleep, so I told them that we hadn't done so yet.
Kushida's feelings on this subject seemed to be torn.
She didn't stick around like the other girls, but talked to the new arrivals like the Professor and the other guys who were interested and shared the information she had about the situation. Even though she kept up enough of her mask for the other students in our class, she wouldn't be able to fool me with her act.
It was a given that she felt worry and insecurity because of Chiaki.
She knew what kind of person I was and wondered what this new development meant for our relationship. Kushida feared that I wanted to replace her with my girlfriend, but that wasn't at all the case.
My interrogation continued for a few more minutes until the bell rang and the teacher strode into the room. Everyone went back to their desks, and the morning began as usual.
After a few hours of boring classes, lunch break arrived.
"L-let's go to the c-cafeteria?"
Chiaki's face was once again going through the different shades of red, but she seemed to get better at handling herself. This wasn't the first time she had invited me to eat together, but since this was her first time as my girlfriend, she was nervous about asking me out.
"Yeah, I'll be right with you."
After grabbing my materials and stuffing them into the bag, I stood and walked towards her. Before I arrived, she jumped forward and latched onto my arm, with her whole body quivering.
While some girls were fawning, 'Kyaaa~ they are so cute,' others were doing their own thing and ignored us. A majority of the guys, however, wished me the most horrible death they could imagine, which I didn't really understand.
Due to her own stunt, Chiaki couldn't raise her head, but her flushed ears were enough proof to assume that the rest of her face wouldn't look that much different.
It was quite bizarre how different boys and girls acted amongst each other when a new couple emerged.
I had never noticed this before, for obvious reasons, but girls were a lot more welcoming than boys. They were happy for their friends and wished them the best in their new relationship, or at least most of them. The guys were a separate matter altogether, as they weren't even trying to suppress the envy they leaked through the classroom.
"Matsushita-san, why are you with that plain and boring guy, of all people? Tell me a single reason he's better than me!"
Ike's demand, after not being able to stomach that I got a girlfriend, was as twisted as one should have expected from him. He hadn't realized that his behavior was the reason that no girls aside from Kushida wanted to talk to him.
"A single reason is hard... there are so many to choose from..."
Chiaki's embarrassed complexion vanished as she put her finger onto her chin and began to contemplate Ike's question.
"Wha —"
The relaxed attitude with which she had answered confused him, but he wasn't able to answer as the other girls drowned him in laughter, dismissing him and his disrespectful opinion without even flinching. His reputation with the opposite sex had been bad before, but it got considerably worse because of this single remark.
Even if he decided to say something outrageous, he shouldn't have done this in front of the whole class.
He hadn't only messed with Chiaki, who acted as one of our leaders, but also infuriated Karuizawa and all the other girls who followed her, since I was close to her as well. Even though we never met up on our own, Karuizawa was someone I would consider a friend, as opposed to a friend of a friend.
We left him standing with his mouth agape and ignored his cheap provocation before we ambled towards the cafeteria. Just like yesterday, we kept walking side-by-side, closer to each other than before. Even though this had been something we had done multiple times, it felt different now that we were a couple.
"Choose a set. It's my treat." I grabbed one of the expensive meals and glanced at my girlfriend, who regarded me with a puzzled expression. "It's my turn this time, remember?"
It took only a moment before she broke out into a smile.
"Ah, right... Will you be alright though? Didn't you say you were in trouble with your points?"
"I wouldn't offer it to you now if I couldn't handle the price, right? It's true that we are all low on points at the moment, but it's definitely enough to have a nice first meal with my cute girlfriend."
Chiaki blushed and took one of the expensive meal sets as well before averting her gaze towards the ground.
After my payment, we scoured the cafeteria for an empty table. Unfortunately for us, there wasn't a single one that wasn't occupied. With no other choice, I decided to intrude on some familiar people.
"Is it alright with you if we sit with them?"
She glanced over at the table at which I pointed and peeked at my face.
"Yeah, sure. I'd like to meet your friends."
Since she didn't mind sitting with them, we strode over to the group that was already eating.
Kanzaki and Shibata waved me over as soon as they caught sight of me.
"Yo, Ayanokouji! Not finding a spot, huh? Wanna sit with us?"
Without waiting for my reply, Shibata moved closer to Kanzaki, who moved farther away in return. At the end of their little cat-and-mouse game, the two of them made enough space for two more people on their side of the bench.
"If you don't mind, thanks."
As we sat down, I caught sight of Ichinose's surprised and somewhat conflicted expression.
"I'm Matsushita Chiaki. It's nice to meet Kiyotaka's friends."
She bowed with a smile.
"Ohh, nice to meet you, Matsushita-san. A friend of Ayanokouji-kun is a friend of ours! I'm Amikura Mako."
My troublesome schoolmate patted her chest and grinned before stuffing her mouth with an apple slice.
"I'm Shibata So. Nice to meet you."
He waved with a friendly smile on his face.
"Kanzaki Ryuji."
"Oy, you ass-hat. Be more sociable, will ya?"
Shibata smacked Kanzaki's head and bowed it down to mirror Chiaki's behavior.
The whole table began to laugh since the two of them always bickered with each other like this. It took a few moments for everyone to calm down again and for the last person to introduce herself.
"I'm Ichinose Honami. We already met at the karaoke with a few of your classmates. I'd like to apologize for the misunderstanding I've caused yesterday, but it seems like everything worked out fine in the end."
Class B's leader bowed as well, while Amikura glanced at her with a dangerous expression.
"Ahh, no... Please, you don't have to apologize. I was the one jumping to conclusions and... well, I did something I shouldn't have done. My behavior towards you was cruel, and I felt horrible after I managed to calm down. Kiyotaka assured me that you wouldn't be mad, but I feel obligated to apologize for what I've done regardless."
Chiaki made a deep bow, demonstrating her feelings about this matter.
After everything was said and done, she had hated herself for crashing Ichinose's 'confession'. Nothing bad had happened because it hadn't been one, but neither of us had known this at that point in time. Despite this, Chiaki had voiced her feelings, which would have turned Ichinose's confession into a wreckage.
If she had done this with anyone else, she would have probably been hated for the rest of her three years.
"It's fine, really. I understand that it must have been difficult for you as well. Under such circumstances, a temporary lapse in judgement is excusable. Please don't feel bad anymore. I don't think any less of you just because you followed your passion."
Ichinose was merciful, as expected.
After my talk with her, she had enough information to understand how difficult a time the confessing person would have, which gave her a broader view of everything that had happened yesterday. Even if that hadn't been the case, I doubted that Ichinose would have been too mad at Chiaki.
This might have been different if she had really wanted to confess, though.
"Heh... What's going on here, hmm?"
My girlfriend would learn what an incredibly dangerous woman Amikura was sooner rather than later.
"Um..."
Ichinose fell silent, since it wasn't her place to tell this tale. Chiaki sighed, before a dry laugh escaped her lips.
"Well, Ichinose-san asked Kiyotaka for help yesterday and I somehow thought that she wanted to confess to him. So..." She stopped, realizing what she had done once again. "I... I wasn't in a very good state, so I... before she... could... Something like that..."
Her explanation was filled with confidence because she wanted to stand up for the mistake she had made. The closer she got towards the end, however, the less courage she had left, which is why she trailed off in embarrassment and sunk into silence.
Ichinose helped her out afterwards, proving that there was no bad blood between them. She filled a few holes without throwing her in front of the wolves and kept quiet about Shiranami's confession as well.
"Hoooo? Honami-chan, you little vixen. That's what I'd call a wing woman!"
"Wha — Mako-chan!"
While Amikura kept teasing Ichinose, Shibata leaned towards me.
"Congrats buddy!" He patted my bag. "Was she the one... you know? Back at the karaoke?"
I almost choked on the meat I had just swallowed and began to cough.
"Got it. We'll take your secret to our graves!"
He nodded after my reaction, which had been more than enough to assume the answer. While the two of us were whispering, Kanzaki was at a loss for words and shook his head before putting some vegetables into his mouth.
"How do you guys know each other? You are all from Class B, right?"
Chiaki grabbed her chopsticks after this long and uncomfortable introduction.
This was a fair question to ask, especially after considering my usual habits of socializing, which were, as she knew as well, non-existent. She must have been surprised that I was friends with all of them and not only Ichinose.
"Ichinose-san brought Mr. Pokerface over some day and we've been hanging out ever since. He seems to have gotten a lot better with people during that time, too."
"Still couldn't tickle a smile out of that one, though."
"But a lot of paling! Especially when he mmpff..."
Thank you Kanzaki, I owe you one.
Big time.
After this short bout to familiarize everyone with each other, we ate our meals and talked about what we were up to and other such trivial things. Unlike our classmates, neither of them asked questions about our relationship, for which I was quite thankful for.
I was also glad that Chiaki was doing alright with the Class B students, because I didn't know if she'd be fine with befriending them. It was possible that she saw them as enemies, just like Horikita, but at least she masked her thoughts and appreciated her time with them.
"That reminds me... Ichinose-san, I heard you are also looking for the witness. I'd like to thank you for that. With you on board, our chances at finding someone that might have seen something are much better."
The strawberry-haired beauty shook her head in denial.
"Please don't thank me. I don't know if we will find a witness, or what they will say in the end, but I really hope we can prove that your classmate is truly innocent. I wanted to help Ayanokouji-kun, but we might do the opposite depending on what really happened. Whoever the responsible party is, should be punished. That is what I believe."
"Still, your help is appreciated. I'm positive that Sudou-kun is innocent, so you don't need to worry about it. Let's both do our best, no matter the outcome."
The two of them hit it off pretty well after their rocky start yesterday.
Since I was spending a lot of time with both of them, it was important to me that they were on good terms, at least. If they had disliked each other, I would have done my best to mediate between them. According to their lively discussions, however, I didn't need to worry about anything.
Soon, lunch break was ending.
As we were about to part ways, Ichinose turned towards us again.
"Oh, before I forget. I know it's kind of sudden, but do you want to join us this evening, Matsushita-san? We were planning to go to the karaoke parlour. Ayanokouji-kun is still coming, right?"
I nodded and glanced over to Chiaki.
"I'd love to. Thanks for the invitation. See you all later."
The rest of the day passed by in a flash.
Even though not everyone had found the time for the whole evening, Chiaki got to meet some of the other Class B students. A few were busy and only around for a couple of minutes, but most of them showed up at some point. The heartbroken Shiranami was nowhere to be seen, but this wasn't unexpected.
People needed time to heal, but I was sure that Ichinose and she could make up in due time. She also had a great class who would surely support her if she were to tell them what happened.
It might have hurt in the beginning, but time healed all wounds.
Even if some took longer to soothe than others.
Sunday afternoon.
Since I didn't know how punctual Sakura would be, I arrived at the appointed location about ten minutes prior to the agreed upon time. This was enough time to not make her wait forever if she was already here, and still within a reasonable scope of, 'oh, I didn't wait long. I just got here.'
I looked around for a moment but didn't see her, so I sat down on a nearby bench and observed the students who ambled around with groups of friends or their significant others.
"Who am I?"
My view turned black, but the answer was easy, even if I hadn't heard her voice.
It wasn't the first time someone had played this kind of 'game' with me, but it was the first time this specific classmate of mine did. I was genuinely surprised, however, since her two smooth hands were steady the whole time.
"Your voice made this way too easy, Kushida."
"Wow, you cheat."
A soothing giggle escaped her lips as she let go.
"Also, your breasts are a dead giveaway."
"Huh?!"
She was so shocked that her masked slipped for a moment.
This remark seemed to have made Kushida uncomfortable as she backed away behind me.
"A-anyway. What are you doing here? A new-couple date with Matsushita-san?"
She walked around the bench to face me. Her casual clothes looked incredible on her and she was far too cute to not compliment her aloud. I stood and closed in on her, since many people began to walk around the area.
"You look really cute."
"Wha — you have a girlfriend! Don't say things like that to other girls!"
Was this some kind of rule I didn't know about?
I hadn't been informed that I couldn't say such things from now on.
Was thinking them forbidden as well?
This might be more trouble than expected.
Was this already considered two-timing? Or being unfaithful? Should I apologize to Chiaki?
I decided to think about these issues later and focused on the topic at hand.
"No, I'm waiting for Sakura. I was partly responsible that her camera broke, so I'm going to accompany her to the repair shop since she's likely too shy to go there herself."
"Aren't you a nice person, Ayanokouji-kun?"
The twisted smile she flashed didn't reach her eyes, but I understood her sentiments.
Calling me a good person bordered on blasphemy.
"I guess..."
"Well..." She stretched her arms and threw me a brilliant smile. "... I'll leave you to it then. I'm in the Palate with a few friends if you need me or want to come by. Get ready for lots of dessert pictures!"
Her words carried farther than before, due to her increased volume.
"Have a nice day, Kushida."
My precious queen waved me goodbye and vanished into the crowd.
I wondered how much work and dedication it took to hide the fear she harbored for me to such an impressive extent. Due to my actions, her psyche should have taken a devastating hit. She didn't show any concerning signs at the moment, which was reassuring.
Kushida would never betray me, that was a given, but she might be troubled depending on her mental state.
As I was thinking about such things, another person closed in on my position.
She was wearing a large hat, as well as a surgical face mask that covered most of her face. There were some other assets that weren't that well hidden, however, which is why I immediately recognized my apprehensive classmate.
"Did you catch a cold?"
Sakura jumped back in surprise, which drew the gazes of even more students.
"You recognized me?" She heaved an exasperated sigh. "I don't like to stand out so much... sorry for the weird getup."
"Don't you think that you are standing out because of your weird getup?"
The girl looked around the area with a crestfallen gaze. She noticed that the surrounding people threw her confused stares as they evaluated her strange choice of clothing.
"It seems you are right..." Sakura averted her gaze and took off her mask as a dismissive laugh escaped her pursed lips. "There's an electronics store in the mall. Is that one alright with you?"
"Of course. We better get going, though. Your camera is important to you, after all. The faster it's back in working condition, the better."
She nodded enthusiastically and followed beside me.
Sakura was a great piece to practice my social abilities with. Even if I failed a few times or made a fool of myself, she wouldn't mind, since she was at least as socially inept as I.
This situation was also a first for me, because I was the person who held the reins and had to carry the conversation. It differed to the times I messed with Sae or Hoshinomiya, since I wasn't playing a person in order to gain something, but in order to learn how a normal student would chat with his classmate.
"It's weird, right?"
She didn't specify what she meant by this question, but I had a pretty good idea what she was on about.
"Not at all. As long as you enjoy your hobby, everything is fine. There's a plethora of people, and it seems like there is a story behind that camera of yours. It's enviable that you can show your love for something so openly. There are lots of people who are ashamed of their hobbies or interests, so seeing someone like you openly expressing their love for it makes me somewhat happy. I think."
Instead of answering, she smiled and gazed towards the ground.
I knew that these words had connected with her, so that much was enough for me, but it was hard to carry a conversation all by myself at the moment. Someone social, like Hirata or even Karuizawa, would have followed up with another question or a sudden exclamation to draw her back into the discussion.
But I didn't know what to talk about or say when she just replied with silence and a gesture.
"I wonder if they'll fix it right away..."
Thank you, Sakura!
"Maybe there is some kind of express repair? It would be nice if you could have it back soon."
Once again, my classmate only nodded and hugged her broken camera.
While I was envious of her on some level, I also was irritated by her lack of engagement.
Those feelings she harbored for her passion, I truly yearned for them. I wondered if I could ever feel just a fraction of the emotions she must have been going through.
We ambled along the mall, which was close to our meeting spot, in silence.
Leading a conversation was difficult, and I didn't know how everyone else did it so effortlessly. Today's failure assured me that I still had a tremendous amount of knowledge to gain. But I wasn't worried, because I had three years to accomplish what I set out to do.
The two of us soon entered the electronics store and looked around for the repair counter.
"Ah..."
Turning towards this timid voice, I found my classmate wearing an expression of blatant fear and revulsion. After following her line of sight, I noticed the store clerk at the repair counter who was cleaning a tablet with a rather aggressive cleanser. The stench was quite intense, so I could somehow understand her disgust.
The moment I caught sight of this man, I remembered what the Professor had told me about an author he liked that drew most of his series with these kinds of people. They were called 'ugly bastards' or something.
I didn't really listen, since they were talking about weird things after Ike had joined us, but the two of them had pointed out that I should tell no one about this conversation, no matter what.
"Is everything alright?"
"Ah, umm. N-no. It's nothing."
Without realizing it herself, she had answered my question negatively, meaning that she had a problem with the store clerk. Despite this, she shook her head and took a deep breath before walking towards the employee. I could have interfered during that time, but I was interested to see where all of this was going.
"Ummm, excuse me? I would like to have this camera repaired."
This was a surprising first step, since I had resigned myself to handle the conversation for her, but it seemed like Sakura had made up her mind before coming here. During their exchange, there were a few times when Sakura wanted to hand over her camera, but the man ignored these obvious signs and kept blabbering on and on.
My classmate got meeker as time passed.
She wasn't good at conversing with people in the first place, and this man didn't help her anxiety with his constant advances and suggestive looks at her body.
"Sorry to interrupt..." I glanced at his nameplate. "Kusuda, but we'll be late to the movie we wanted to watch if this keeps going. Could we fill out the necessary documents now?"
Sakura glanced at me with a surprised expression after I mentioned plans she knew nothing about, while the store clerk seemed annoyed to be disturbed during his conversation with her.
She was quick on the uptake and handed over her camera.
The worker grudgingly examined the gadget and found a few parts that had been damaged through the fall. Fortunately, Sakura still had the warranty card, which meant the camera would be repaired for free.
Sakura was relieved that things were moving forward and nodded her head in thanks while the man turned around and gathered some documents she needed to fill out. After he returned, she skimmed over the paper and filled out the form until her movements halted near the bottom of the page.
It was a good thing that I came with her, because this man had openly bad intentions. Sakura must have realized this as well, which was why she had allowed me to accompany her. His nauseating eyes scanned over her entire body as she stared at the documents with a conflicted expression.
Even I felt disgusted by simply watching this man and decided to step in yet again.
"Sakura, may I have the pen?"
She turned towards me with a quizzical look but handed me the pen without thinking too much about it.
While filling out the rest of the form, I informed the store clerk about the change of plans.
"When the repairs are finished, please contact me."
"H-hey wait. Isn't she the owner? That would be —"
He tried to reject my proposal, but I stopped him without missing a beat.
"I don't see any legal problems since the warranty explicitly shows where and when the item was purchased. It should be perfectly fine if the user's name differs from the purchaser's."
After filling out the required documents, I handed them and the camera back to the store clerk.
He reluctantly accepted the papers and told us that the repair would take approximately two weeks. Sakura's shoulders slumped upon hearing this estimate, but there wasn't anything we could do to speed up the process.
After the two of us exited the shop, Sakura lowered her head and heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank you for that, Ayanokouji-kun. You really saved me."
"I assume that something similar happened when you bought the camera?"
A meek nod followed my question.
"I felt kind of disgusted, honestly."
"It's true that he gives off a rather ominous vibe. I'm just glad that you let me come with you. If I had known a guy like that worked in this store, I would have insisted on accompanying you."
"I get why Matsushita-san likes you, Ayanokouji-kun. You are a really kind person."
The rosy blush on her cheeks deepened as she regarded me with a light smile.
"Really? I don't think I'm exceptionally kind or anything. This was something any decent human being would have done. Don't you think?"
"I'm not really close to enough people to answer this..."
She let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Now would be an appropriate time to ask her for any information she might have, but I did not intend to force the issue. If I was asking now, she might read too much into it and think that I used this favor to get what I wanted from her.
Someone as insecure as Sakura might arrive at such a twisted conclusion.
"Well, since we are done, you likely want to go home, right? I'll text you as soon as the repairs are done."
I spoke up because I figured that this would make things easier for her. Sakura was way too nervous, so I wasn't sure if she would speak up when she wanted to leave or if she would just follow me around all day, not knowing what to do.
Despite my kind gesture, I had made the situation more difficult for her.
She fumbled around with her fingers and peeked into my eyes before averting her gaze again. This went on for about half a minute before she plucked up all her courage.
"A-about Sudou-kun... As my way of saying thanks, I... I might be able to help with the case..."
This was in the realm of potential reactions I had foreseen.
To keep our standing in this relationship similar, I needed her to know that I didn't care about the information she could supply me with. Rather than telling her to go ahead, it was more important to earn her trust.
"Let me stop you there, Sakura. You don't need to force yourself to reveal something you don't want to. Especially not for something like this. I'm sure Chiaki will find another way to help Sudou without your help."
"N-no, it's not that but... I think if I kept quiet, I would probably come to regret it. I don't want to cause trouble for my classmates, but I was afraid of standing out if I spoke up as a witness. I thought a lot about this, but I think telling the truth is the right decision."
At the beginning, she had trouble conveying her thoughts, but the more she spoke, the stronger her conviction became. She did not hastily make this decision, but determined that she wouldn't want to live her life like this. Such a decision required a lot of courage, especially for someone like Sakura.
"Okay. But let's keep this between us for now. I will inform you if we need your help with Sudou's case. This way, only I know about this until there is no other way than to reveal it. Even if you change your mind, our other classmates wouldn't blame you for not speaking out. Would this be alright with you?"
She nodded sheepishly, thankful yet sorry that I had to be so considerate of her circumstances.
We parted ways afterwards, and I spent my time in peace until evening came.
The door to my room swung open with an unprecedented speed.
My guest slammed the door shut and bolted towards me.
Before I knew it, I was lying on the bed while a certain platinum blonde-haired girl towered over me.
"Kiyotaka darling... I've been hearing really interesting things lately."
My lovely senpai, Kiryuin Fuka, glared at me with blazing eyes.
"Really? Interesting enough to pin me to the bed? Tell me more about it while I prepare dinner?"
I tried to stand up, but she didn't let me.
"Your classmates are quite chatty, you know? I coincidentally saw them in the cafeteria and they were discussing a certain topic pertaining you and a girl called Matsushita."
"Oh that. Yeah, she is my girlfriend now. So?"
"I was first."
Her pupils turned cold as she gazed straight into my darkness without flinching.
"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Fuka."
"I'm. Not. Jealous."
Fuka mounted me and began to put pressure on my chest by leaning forward. She aligned her thighs with mine and sat on my hip before moving around to find a comfortable position for herself.
"Fuka..."
I closed my eyes and began to meditate, since it was already too late to have clear thoughts anymore.
"Mhh...?"
She kept shifting her weight to arouse me, which was a clear indicator that she was jealous. The idea that she could have been possessive or playing some kind of power game had long since passed after evaluating her current actions.
"Don't worry, it's all part of the plan."
I doubted that I could get her off my back with a pretext of needing this relationship due to higher circumstances that were out of my control, but I chose to try.
"What plan?"
My far too attractive senpai wasn't assured in the slightest.
"The 10.000 year plan."
"What kind of idiotic plan is that?"
"I think the creator of said stroke of genius would be hurt if he heard you say something so cruel."
It was getting harder to stay calm, but I didn't want to throw her off, either. She had some kind of goal with her sudden attack, so all I had to do was figure out what exactly she wanted.
"Are you serious? About her?"
Since she kept digging, I figured that it was easier to answer her honestly. Coming up with more excuses would just enrage her further and informing her wouldn't hurt my plans, either.
"Yes. I'd like to know what it feels like to be in a relationship."
"Huh?"
This was the first time that she had lost her usual poker face completely. There was no smug grin, no slight change in expression or anything close to it. Instead, she stopped moving as her two orbs widened in surprise.
"Chiaki confessed to me, and since I appreciate spending time with her, I thought it would be a good idea to go out with her. She took a great risk in revealing her feelings without knowing mine, so being honest was the least I could do."
"Why did you answer her and ignored my advances?"
"What are you talking about? You never confessed. Weren't you just playing around?"
I tilted my head, confused by her angered reaction.
Fuka did whatever she wanted every time she was here, but I always thought that this was her way of messing with me and analyzing how I would react. The way she behaved differed to any other students, so I couldn't use my usual baseline to judge her actions.
If someone normal, like Karuizawa, had pulled those stunts, I wouldn't have doubted my conclusion.
But it was different for an anomaly like Fuka.
"Of course you'd think that." She shook her head. "Then let me make myself clear for you."
Her cheeks pressed down on my growing bulge as she bent forward. She must have noticed this physical reaction towards her previous actions, since a sly smile spread across her face.
"I like you, Kiyotaka."
Her warm, moist breath caressed my ear as her sweet words rang through the silent room.
Fuka shifted her head and stared into my two apathetic orbs. Instead of moving away, like she always did, she leaned further in and pressed her seductive lips onto mine.
At first, only our lips touched, but this wouldn't have been enough for her.
Fuka's tongue forced its way into my mouth, mere moments before it entwined with mine. Her lips still tasted like cherry from the milkshake she had before she came over. Even though her breath was warm, her tongue still exuded a cold feeling as it coiled around my own like a boa constrictor.
She kept the pressure up, just as ravenous as her animalistic counterpart when it hunted its prey and pushed me deeper into the mattress. Her aroused moans intensified as I began to assert dominance and reciprocated her zeal.
My hands began to move towards her hip on their own as the bulge in my trousers grew in size. Even during a kiss as passionate as this, I could tell that she began to smile upon sensing my fingers, which lifted her blazer and the black shirt beneath.
As I brushed past her soft, slender waist, she pulled back, revealing a steamy thread of saliva that stained my school uniform. "Go ahead. I'm all yours, Kiyotaka." She bend forward and bit into my neck while she kept grinding her cheeks against my ever-growing bulge.
I grabbed Fuka's waist and spun her around.
The mattress trembled under our shifting weight as I towered over her.
This was the exact moment when my simulation, which had started when she tried to kiss me, concluded.
Was this already considered adultery?
With my whole body weight pressing down on her, I grabbed onto her throat. My two golden spheres stared down into her constricted crimson orbs as I opened my mouth.
"Thank you for your honesty, but I have a girlfriend and can't return your feelings right now."
She nodded, and I let go of her neck.
Fuka rolled off the bed and glanced at the bulge in my pants with a sly smirk.
"What's for dinner?"
"I was thinking of —"
My words were cut short by the vibration and the corresponding ringtone. I pulled it out and confirmed the Caller-ID before answering the call.
"Um... Hello. This is Sakura..."
"Hey Sakura, what can I do for you?"
She fell silent for a moment. Since I could still hear her nervous breathing, I waited for her to continue.
"Thank you for coming with me today."
"No problem. It really wasn't a big deal."
"Okay... You're right..."
She hesitated again and went silent afterwards.
I got a lot more comfortable during conversation thanks to the different people I've been surrounding myself with. The biggest influence must have been Class B, without a doubt. If they had not included me into their gatherings, I wouldn't have learned as much as I did.
"What's the matter?"
"Umm..."
After this monotone sound, more silence followed.
I was sure that something weighed on her mind, but I couldn't force her to tell me anything if she didn't want to. All I could do was drive her into my direction in a gentle, modest manner.
Just like Ichinose would do.
"Sakura? Are you okay? Did something happen?"
I was one of the few people she talked to, which meant that if something had happened, I was the only one who could do something. If she left me in the dark, I needed to send an observer in her direction.
"I'm sorry. It's nothing. Goodnight."
Without waiting for an answer, she hung up on me.
Evidently, I had a lot to learn until I was as skillful as Ichinose and Kushida in these scenarios.
After the call ended, I texted Kushida and ordered her to monitor Sakura the next few days, and that she should call me as soon as something happened.
I did not know for certain what she wanted to talk about, but my gut told me that it wasn't anything good.
For her, at least.