CH 7

Akizuki Sakuya Does Not Dream, and Kujou Shizuki Can’t Decline.

Golden Week ended, and school restarted. The morning sky was clear blue, radiating almost. However, the inside of my heart was the exact opposite. The breeze was gentle, and more green colors appeared on the trees now that April had passed. Honestly, there’s nothing more bothersome than school. Since I had no other choice but to attend it however, I left the train station closest to the school—

“Shizuki-kun, morning!”

“Ah, morning Kasuga. Were you waiting for me?”

“Yup!”

Waaah, look at her smile. I think that the term ‘cute’ only exists to describe Kasuga’s existence.

“Hey, Kasuga, do you have some time before we head to school?”

“! Yup! I’ll follow you wherever.”

“I-I see…”

Knowing her, she probably would, yeah…I just hope she doesn’t say that sort of thing in front of other people. Well, Kasuga surely knows how to keep her mouth shut, so I now started walking with her, reaching a park located on the diagonally opposite side of the school. I guess we might as well sit down—I thought to myself, but the second I did, Kasuga followed suit, and clung to my arm.

“Kasuga, I need to talk about something important.” I spoke up with a calm tone.

“Marriage?” Kasuga responded nonchalantly.

“No.”

“Ehhhh~”

Why are you sulking like that now…Anyway, I need to say it. Clearly, without beating around the bush.

“Kasuga.”

“Yup?”

“—Could you maybe give me some space?”

“Eh…?”

“I don’t think…you should hang around me that much anymore.”

As a lover, and in terms of our relationship as two people. I don’t think that we should spend as much time together as we did before. We shouldn’t restrain each other too much. We’ve been living in different worlds as normie and loner, so we should avoid any unnecessary conversation between those two types of people. After all, that would make Kasuga much happier than she could be with me.

“W-Where did that come from?”

Kasuga showed me the same expression she had ‘back then’. The day she confessed to me, and I tried to reject her in the beginning, she showed me this sad, defeated, and painful expression, like she was close to breaking out in tears, which still lingers in the back of my head. It was a painful smile she forced out to not make me feel bad. And, I myself am showing that very expression right now—

“Urk…That face means you’re serious, right?”

“Sorry…”

I guess even Kasuga was at a loss for words this time around. She showed a complicated expression. She’s a normal person with friends and people around her, and yet I created this shadow on her expression. But, today’s request was different from before, meaning the day we started dating. Back then, she kissed me in the middle of the train station, leaving me embarrassed. The proposal back then was for my own sake, but this time around, this is for Kasuga herself…

“Alright. But…”

“Yeah.”

“I definitely will become your ideal girl, Shizuki-kun.”

……! Why is she still saying that? My ideal type of girl couldn’t be further away from the girl I actually like, namely Kasuga. If she started working towards being my ideal girl, she would distance herself from being the Kasuga I fell in love with…

“I don’t really know why, I just thought I needed to say that right now.”

“I see.”

“Yup.”

“……”

“Should we go to school now?”

“Yeah…”

I’m genuinely happy about Kasuga’s feelings.The girl I like wants to become my ideal type of girl. There’s no boy who wouldn’t be happy about that, nor resist that. But, that would mean that Kasuga would become more like me, and that she would stop being herself…And as proof of that—

Ever since that day, Kasuga had been acting off, like she was just going in circles. I know that she’s just trying to follow up with her declaration of wanting to become my ideal girl, but…If Kasuga Hina suddenly started a loner lunch, what would the people around her think? If Kasuga Hina forgot her workbook, and didn’t ask the person next to her to share it, or borrow it from a classmate, what would the people around her think? If Kasuga Hina started going home alone, even though she was invited by her friends, what would the people around her think?

If Kasuga Hina…if Kasuga Hina…if Kasuga Hina…Although it wasn’t completely going out of control, these kinds of actions grew in number. Worst of all, I know what she’s trying to do with that, but there’s no way the people around them would know that ‘Kasuga Hina is working hard in order to become Kujou Shizuki’s ideal girl!’. Also…this short period of us keeping a bit of space between us…we actually didn’t specify the length of that. If Kasuga continued acting like this for even a bit longer, she probably will not be able to stay a normie like she was before.

To be perfectly honest, if I were to change my expression a bit, the people around her might start giving her dubious and resentful gazes. A negative gaze, filled with negative emotions. Surely, she’d be ostracized shortly after.

****

How do I say this…the atmosphere here felt so gloomy, so dead inside, like someone got a failing grade in an exam, or like the entrance exams were right around the corner. As I am a club member of the peculiar future course support club, I came to the club room after classes ended, but…as expected you could say, that would mean that I would run into Kasuga…But compared to before, she just sat at the window side, reading a book. If I had to guess, that was probably because I like reading books. As for Aramiya, Chisaka-senpai, and me…

“Um…Harupai, what are we doing today?”

“R-Right…since Golden Week has finished, we should prepare for the tests, and form a study meeting ASAP, so that we get the win-win from teaching and being taught…”

Aramiya was clearly unsure of what to do in this situation, and Chisaka-senpai equally seemed restless, as she said something along the lines of [Um, um, listen? Since Golden Week has ended, we should prepare for the upcoming exams, and maybe form groups in which we can study, because if we all offer something, we all get something back…Ahh, so awkward…~] . On a side note, ASAP means ‘As Soon As Possible’.

“Hey, Shizupai, did you do something to Hinapai?”

There, Aramiya called out to me with a quiet voice so that Kasuga wouldn’t be able to hear us, as she pushed her chair closer to the one I was sitting on. Well, I guess that they would catch on to something being off with Kasuga, but to think she’d make it sound like I did something…I feel like my stomach is going to burst from the tension here.

“Rather than doing something, I feel like the problem is that I have been trying to not do anything…”

“I’ve never seen someone lead a club with such a dark face…”

This time, Chisaka-senpai brought her chair closer to me from the opposite side of the room…Ahh, being sandwiched by two girls, I feel like that gloomy atmosphere around Kasuga has only gotten worse.

“Hinapai, what are you reading?”

“…She’s not reading anything, she’s just holding the book, not flipping the pages.”

““……””

“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Shizupai, you’re actually looking at Hinapai a lot, huh? I didn’t expect you to be this worried about her.”

“— Twitch .”

“You’re quite sensitive when it comes to Kasuga-san, I see. Maybe your priority for her might be quite high?”

“— Twitch twitch .”

Basically, Chisaka-senpai was saying that [You’re paying a lot of attention to Hina-chan, huh! Maybe you actually care about her that much?] , but if you actually thought about it, I’m the reason she ended up this way…Naturally I care about it, and keep an eye out for her. But right then—

“Actually, I need to go home early today.” Kasuga said while standing up, but when I looked over at the time, barely ten minutes had even passed.

Well, I can guess as much. Since I taught her the loner road home before, she probably wants to try that out as quickly as possible. If she went home at the same time as us, she’d end up in the same railroad, not allowing her to act out a loner road home.

“H-Hinapai, see you tomorrow.”

“F-Farewell.”

Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai somewhat managed to give their farewells, but before I could speak up, Kasuga already closed the door behind her. She might not have wanted to hear me say anything.

“Man, Hinapai sure seemed sad. Remi couldn’t handle the atmosphere at all~”

“It appears as if there is a necessity of forcefully committing to this.”

No, even if you say [Alright, I know! We need to assertively approach her!] , as long as you don’t know what’s going on, that won’t do you any good.

“What should we do, Harupai? If Hinapai keeps up that depressing mood, it’ll ruin the atmosphere inside the club.”

“What do you think, Secretary?”

“Why are you turning towards me now?”

“Shizupai, do you really think we haven’t realized? Things have clearly turned awkward between you and Hinapai.”

“Agreed. It’s awkward, it’s hard to watch, and you’re trying desperately not to look at each other, unable to properly communicate.”

“Also, it’s practically an emergency situation that Hinapai is down like this, you know? She’s always cheerful, always energetic, so this difference…gap…anyway, because of this, the mood of the club as a whole is dropping severely.”

“…Is there any particular reason?”

“Reason…I think Aramiya said something similar just now, but it’s not that I thought of doing something, but rather that I decided against doing something, which led to this situation.”

“There it is! The part where human relationships are a chore!”

“So basically, by deciding against something, you raised awareness to an issue between the two of you?”

“Became aware of a problem…Yeah, that did happen, yup.”

“Harupai, isn’t this pretty bad? Because of what Shizupai said, after becoming aware of this problem and him acting, things ended up this troublesome. So, the more he tries to do, the worse it will get, right?”

“So it’s a minus spiral, I see.”

Like that, three of us—

“““Haaaaaa…”””

We all let out a synchronized sigh, when suddenly.

“—Kujou-kun, can I have a moment?”

“Woaheh!? That surprised me…!”

The door of the clubroom suddenly opened, and somebody randomly called out my name. Reflexively, my gaze short towards the source of the voice, spotting—Eh, Akizuki? She is a shared acquaintance of Kasuga and I, but she’s not a club member. It’s not that she wasn’t allowed here, but I can’t imagine her stumbling in here without a reason.

“Who might you be?”

“Ah, Remi knows her! She is the second of the two most famous beauties of the school next to Hinapai, and her name is—”

“Nice to meet you, my name is Akizuki Sakuya.” Akizuki gently lowered her head.

At the same time, Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai looked at each other, confused about what they should do. Well, since she has business with me, I need to be the one to react.

“What’s up, Akizuki? Kasuga already left, you know?”

“I didn’t come here for Kasuga. I wanted to talk with you, Kujou-kun. That’s why I said your name first, right?”

“With me?”

What is this about? I don’t remember doing anything bad in the library room before.

“I didn’t mean to go all out, but I went ahead and sta—observed the relationship between the two of you a bit.”

“Right, and?”

I feel like she was about to say stalking just now, but thinking about it rationally, there’s no way, right? There’s also the chance of me simply having misunderstood that, and since this would not bring the conversation forward, I ignored it.

“I do feel bad, but would you mind joining me for a bit?” Akizuki asked me with a dignified voice, almost sounding like a soothing bell.

As she did, her long and glossy black hair swayed through the air.

“Huh? Join you?”

Join her? For what reason? Where to? Me? That Akizuki Sakuya? Although my head was filled with doubts, not a single answer followed.

“Yes, let’s go on an afterschool date.”

Or so Akizuki said, but…Huh? Date? The same stuff Kasuga and I did? I feel like I’m going on way too many dates lately…Kasuga or Akizuki fans might stab me sometime soon.

****

“I was wondering where you’d take me for this so-called date, but…”

“Ridiculous. There is only one place worthy of us, and that is the library room.”

Yeah, you’re not wrong about that. The only place where Akizuki and I could be by ourselves is at this library room, or maybe when we pass each other in the hallway, maybe ending up together when we move classrooms at best. So, the two of us sat at the usual seats, one between us of course.

“What do you want?”

The library room was quiet as expected, giving me a somewhat nostalgic feeling. This school has several self-study rooms besides this one, so the students who really wanted to study, they’d probably head over there. That being the case, it was just me and Akizuki here. From somewhere outside, I heard the voices of other students. They must belong to the baseball club. Even the sounds of the cars sounded like they were driving by quite close. However, to me personally, it all sounded like background noise. It’s like only Akizuki and I exist in this world.

“My, you’re in quite the rush, huh?”

“No, I’m just curious. This is the first time you actually came to search for me.”

As a matter of fact, Akizuki never invited me to read together in the library room. Yet, since she did so today, it must be something important at least.

“I simply thought of hearing you out and maybe giving you advice.”

“Huh…”

“Something happened between you and Kasuga-san, right?”

“……”

“As I told you just now, I was inspecting you two for a while, but I couldn’t figure out why. That’s why I wanted to ask you directly.”

“Yeah, something may have happened, or I may have caused something to happen…”

“Sounds even worse than I had imagined.” Akizuki let out a faint sigh.

Even with such a gesture, Akizuki looked like a painted picture as she sat there. In response to that, I simply…

“…Will you hear me out?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve said since the very beginning. Not to mention, you don’t have any friends right, so who else will?”

“Urk…I can’t even argue against that.”

“Yet you’re still speaking.”

“…It’s gonna sound like I’m boasting about my love life, but are you sure about that?”

“I don’t mind. I figured it would be about that either way.”

That being the case, I explained the reason why things ended up this way in great detail. About how Kasuga and I went on a date, how we ran into our classmates at the end, and although it was awfully embarrassing, I also told her about how I had fallen in love with Kasuga. I even told her about how I felt like Kasuga would fit better into her friend group than if she spent time with me. I hesitated at first, but in the end I spilled the beans about everything. So, after Akizuki heard out everything, she spoke up with a tone like she was exhausted from the bottom of her heart…

“How pathetic…You’re a pathetic man.”

“I know that myself…”

I’ve known that the entire time. So, after explaining everything, three minutes of silence passed…What am I supposed to say now?

“There’s two things I’d like to ask you, Kujou-kun, do you mind?”

“W-What is it?”

It seems like she’s been thinking this entire time. I really wish I would have stayed quiet after all.

“Hypothetically. Just hypothetically, okay.”

There, Akizuki suddenly looked at me with dampened eyes, and her voice was quivering to a point it didn’t sound like her anymore. I don’t know if I’m glad or not that nobody but us was here. Compared to usual, Akizuki’s voice lacked her usual confidence.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“If I were to confess to you, would you go out with me?”

For a moment, I grew silent. My answer was already decided, but there was one thing I couldn’t help but be curious about.

“Why are you asking me that? Even if it’s just hypothetical.”

“I mean, I can’t just not ask, you know? If you said yes, then, well, I’ll think about it, but that would mean that your past relationship with Kasuga Hina over the past few weeks was nothing but a fake relationship, right?”

“……”

“So, what is it?”

This is pretty rare for Akizuki. She seemed anxious, fragile, and uncertain as she looked up at me. But, that still doesn’t change my answer.

“I probably would say no.”

“……”

For a second, it looked like Akizuki was grinding her back teeth. But, that was probably just my imagination, so I continued. After all, this is something very important to me.

“Also, no matter how cute or beautiful the other person is, as this involves my own free time, there’s no way I would just nod along.”

“Quite the contradiction. Why are you fine with Kasuga-san then?”

“It might sound like I’m insulting her, but she is actually a pretty pushy girl.”

“…”

“More positively, she’s a girl that can assertively approach others.”

During Golden Week, in the train car, I said it myself. A girl as cute as her fell for a gloomy guy like me. She’s pulling me along no matter what. How could I not fall in love with her? How could I not develop feelings for her?

“I…see. Yeah, I can’t do the same.”

“I’m pretty sure that only Kasuga could actively approach the person she likes and do it with marriage in mind.”

“Right. Most people would just think ‘Getting married in high school?’.”

“Exactly.”

In the end, that’s what this is, probably. Even if it wasn’t me, if a beauty like Kasuga Hina aggressively approached you, trying to win you over, there’s no way any boy could withstand that.

“So, Akizuki, what’s your second question?” I asked her.

Just now, she mentioned that there were two questions she had for me. If our exchange just now answered that first question, then now it’s time for the second one. That’s why Akizuki Sakuya slowly opened her rose-colored lips—

“Do you know the reason why Kasuga Hina fell in love with Kujou Shizuki?”

“…What?”

The reason why Kasuga Hina likes Kujou Shizuki? She’s right, I never heard about that. Normally, that would probably be the first thing you’d ask immediately after you’d start dating, but it completely slipped my mind. I guess the fact that someone likes me still hasn’t fully set in. That’s probably why I never asked.

“Judging from that reaction, you seemingly don’t.”

“So you do?”

“Indeed.”

Much like Akizuki, she gave me a dignified and confident response. As I stayed silent, Akizuki continued nonchalantly.

“While you weren’t around, I cornered—Excuse me, confirmed that with Kasuga-san.”

“So, what did she say?”

Why did she even ask Kasuga about that? What would she do with that information? These questions popped up in my mind as well, but right now, the only important factor is Kasuga’s answer, so everything else I’ll just ignore.

“After the entrance ceremony last year, in the class, you supposedly did a mini game with an added self-introduction, right?”

“Yeah, though I forgot the details.”

“Through the orders of the teacher, four people formed one group, but yours ended up with five. But, since that game was only meant to be played by four people, it meant that one person couldn’t participate.”

“Ahh, I remember. That’s when I said I’d be fine with sitting out.”

“That’s exactly it.”

“Eh, what?”

“You probably don’t remember, but according to what Kasuga-san said, you two were in the same group.”

This might be a bit rude, but I legit have no memory of that whatsoever. Well, since I skipped out, I guess I wouldn’t remember much.

“Kasuga-san first thought of leaving the group for the others to play, as long as they had fun. But, she felt a bit lonely, and unable to muster up her courage, so while she was hesitating, you left the group first.”

“And then?”

“Kasuga-san thought to herself. ‘He’s such a kind person who would skip out on having fun so that others could be happy’, see.”

So that was the reason…why Kasuga developed feelings for me? But…

“No, hold on a second…I mean, I know you can’t help it, but I didn’t leave the group for such a noble reason, you know? I just didn’t want to get swallowed up in the pressure of that place, so I decided to leave early and spare myself the trouble…that’s why.”

I decided to clear up this misunderstanding. After all, it was deeply rooted in the problem.

“Dummy, that’s not what’s important here, right?”

“Huh?”

“Kasuga-san has a gentle personality, has good looks, is athletic, and has grades on my level—That’s why she couldn’t help but admire somebody who managed to do something she couldn’t, you know.”

“……”

“Since you did something she couldn’t do, not to mention so nonchalantly, she developed feelings for you, right?”

“……”

“That’s everything I could get out of—I mean, that’s what she told me.”

For that reason, Kasuga fell in love with me? That’s why she confessed to me? I just acted like a loner to protect myself, and yet—

“………Thank you, Akizuki, I have to get going.”

I only had my bag with me, right. Not like I took out something from my bag. That’s why I stood up in one smooth motion.

“Can I just ask one last thing?”

“What is it?”

“RIght now, you stood up, but why did you think that you wanted to get up and meet Kasuga-san right now?” Akizuki asked, still seated on the chair.

Even now, she possessed a calm, but overwhelming beauty.

“…I’m a loner, and Kasuga is a normie. Our thought process is the exact opposite of each other, and so our values. But, there is one exception where being loner or being normie doesn’t matter at all, like a common ground that strongly connects us.”

“Which is?” Akizuki asked briefly, but with determination.

In the face of that, I simply continued, with as much confidence in my voice as I could muster.

“The feelings when loving someone.”

“—Hmpf, you’ll probably agonize all night for saying that, you know?”

“It’s a fact, so I can’t help it.”

“So? Why did that common ground make you stand up right there?”

“You made me realize, Akizuki.”

“Me?”

“You taught me the reason why Kasuga Hina has fallen in love with Kujou Shizuki. That’s what made me realize. I wanted Kasuga to be happy, which is why I’ve kept my distance from her. But the fact that normies are generally happier than loners is just a stereotype. So, if Kasuga really likes me that much, then if our happiness is different from normal, as long as she’s happy with me, that’s all that matters.”

“…You’re getting quite excited about this.”

“I know that. I’m taking advantage of her feelings for me. How blinded by love am I? Am I not way too self-absorbed? Greedy? But…”

For some reason, a faint shadow appeared on Akizuki’s face. However, I still continued like I was a normie myself.

“—In the end, I just have to confirm it for myself. It’s at least much better than putting some weird template on what it means to be happy.”

****

“Hmm…I meant to push his back, and cheer him up if things didn’t work out, but…this clearly is going to end well, right…”

****

This exchange over LINE happened.

[Shizuki: Kasuga, where are you right now?]

[HINA: ? Sendai, why? I checked out a CD shop alone, but now I’m on my way home.]

[Shizuki: Did you already pass the ticket gate?]

[HINA: Eh, no, not yet…]

[Shizuki: Perfect. Can you wait for me in front of the stained glass?]

[HINA: …… ]

[Shizuki: Kasuga?]

[HINA: I’m going to get my hopes up, okay?]

After this, I hurried to the train station, and arrived at the destination, spotting Kasuga immediately. She was looking around her surroundings, confused. The second she spotted me, her face lit up like a blooming flower, smiling happily, only for that expression to vanish again. However, her cheeks were still red despite that.

“Kasuga, sorry for suddenly calling you over here.”

“…It’s fine.”

“So, there’s a lot of things I should be saying right now, but…”

“…? Shizuki-kun?” Kasuga tilted her head, confused.

I took a deep breath, and breathed out again.

“Kasuga!”

“Y-Yes!”

“This time, I’m inviting you! Please go on an afterschool date with me!”

“…………Eh?”

That being the case, since neither of us had passed the ticket gate already, we left the building, and headed to SweePara.

“Kujou-sama, your turn please.”

“Ah, they called for us, Kasuga.”

“…Shizuki-kun, what is this…”

“Sorry, could you just tag along for a bit? This is a necessary ritual for the things I want to tell you.”

“Heh, a ritual needs SweePara?”

Finally, Kasuga’s cold expression shattered, but this isn’t enough. For today, I need to—

“Wait, Shizuki-kun!? Aren’t those tickets for the ‘Lovey-dovey Sweety-sweet Couple Course’!?”

“I can read, you know?”

“That’s not what I was trying to say…!”

“Are you talking about the picture we have to show to the employee?”

“Yup! That!”

“We can take another picture, you know? I doubt that we’re allowed to use the same picture from last time.”

“……Eh?”

Oh crap, my heart is beating so fast, I’m worried it might just rupture…My body feels hot. Everything feels warm. I can’t even fully explain what I’m feeling, that’s how mushy of a mess my head was. All my tension mixed together, you could say. Uneasiness, impatience, I was trying my hardest so that Kasuga wouldn’t find out. After all—

“Shizuki-kun!?”

“What? Before, you clung to my arm, so now I can hug you, right?”

~~~! Ahhhhh~~~! My voice is shaking so badly! The normal Kujou Shizuki would never say something like that!? But, I need to hold back now. This is all so that I can say what I want to say. Say what I need to say. Apologize for what I need to apologize for. This is all so that I can convey my feelings.

“Come on, Kasuga, I’m embarrassed myself, but look at the camera, okay.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Alright, that’s the first hurdle cleared. So, we were guided to our seats, sitting down. Now comes the second hurdle…

“Thank you for waiting~ This is your special lovey-dovey sweety-sweet couple course strawberry au lait.”

Yeah, that’s it. It’s the strawberry au lait with the intertwined straws.

“Um…Shizuki-kun? I apologized for lying that if we didn’t drink this together, it would raise the price, right? That was just a lie I made up so that we could flirt around some more, yeah?”

“Yup, I’m fully aware. But…”

“But?”

“I want to drink this with you today, Kasuga.”

“~~~!”

Ohhh! For the first time since we started dating, Kasuga is the one being embarrassed! She even averted her face! Her shoulders are shaking! I can’t even describe it. Isn’t Kasuga the cutest girl in the entire world?

“W-Well, if you insist, then I wouldn’t mind…”

“I want to drink this with you no matter what, Kasuga.”

“Uuuu…W-What happened to you, Shizuki-kun!? Why did you change this drastically after I left the clubroom!?”

“Don’t worry about that. We both have drinks and food here, so let’s enjoy it.”

“I feel like that was more my own thought than yours before…” Or so she said, but she still joined me in drinking the strawberry au lait.

So embarrassing! Kasuga’s face is barely 10cm away from mine! Her eyes are so big! Her eyelashes are so long! Her skin is so white! Not to mention that she gives off such a feminine scent! It’s about as bad as before, but the circumstances are different. I can put up with my embarrassment. Kasuga looked much more adorable than before.

—With this, the second hurdle has been cleared. All that’s left is the final trial.

****

Roughly an hour later, we both had passed through the ticket gate at the train station, basically reaching the location Kasuga kissed me on our first date…

“Kasuga, thanks a lot for today. I truly, from the bottom of my heart, had a lot of fun.”

“…Yeah. I was a bit bewildered at times, but I was having the time of my life. Not to mention…”

“Not to mention that, although you don’t know the reason, I invited you out on a date for the first time?”

“I was surprised, but I also felt like crying out of pure joy.”

“I see.”

Kasuga showed a bashful expression. How do I say this, she’s grinning to herself, but she’s still looking down at the ground. She’s like…a small animal.

“But, Shizuki-kun.”

“…Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. I still don’t really understand why you were doing all of this.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.” I said, and no response came back.

That must mean that I can continue.

“I wanted to apologize.”

“…About…?”

“I’m sorry for suddenly saying we could stay away from each other.”

“Okay…okay…”

“Even though you never once said you weren’t happy with me around, I just selfishly decided that on my own…”

“Yeah…that hurt the most…”

“Let me please explain why I thought about that in the first place.”

“Explain?”

“Honestly speaking, I was pretty bad at dealing with you in the beginning. The only reason I agreed to going out with you is because I didn’t want to deal with you crying in front of me.”

“Hmpf…Okay.”

“But…”

“?” Kasuga looked at me with a question mark above her head.

Sorry, Kasuga, but today, I have to be the one to scream something awfully embarrassing with a loud voice!

“Right now! Without a doubt! I like you, Kasuga Hina!”

“Ehhh!? Wah, Shizuki-kun! We’re in the middle of the train station, you know!?”

Kasuga’s first turned as red as a tomato, the reddest I’ve ever seen her before, but I don’t care about that. If anything, I wanted her to blush even more, so I continued.

“At first, I just thought of you as a chore…Some American partygoer who doesn’t care about personal boundaries, but…Because of your straightforward feelings, I eventually fell in love with you as well!”

“Eh? Eh? W-Wait a second! I’m so happy, my head can’t keep up…!”

“No, I won’t wait!”

“Ehhh…!?” Kasuga must have been bewildered, because she was already tearing up.

“Honestly, there’s still a lot of times where I’m confused by your actions, but knowing about your feelings, I found myself forgiving all of that!”

“~~~!”

“I mean! You were working hard so that the boy you like will like you back! There’s no way I wouldn’t think of you as cute!”

“Urk…Please…”

“You were okay with the loner lunch, the loner road home, and even though I realized that nothing about that was loner at all, the way you put up with my selfishness made me really happy…I think!”

“You think!?”

“Well, I was still bewildered, you know. But, with this daily life changing, I was having fun.”

Kasuga looked at me in bewilderment, waiting for my next words.

“So, yeah. During our last date, we ran into your friends, yeah?”

“Urk…Y-Yeah.”

“Back then, I saw you being much more energetic and happy with them than with me, which made me feel anxious. But, since I couldn’t even act like your proper lover, I didn’t have the right to feel that way.”

“Shizuki-kun—”

“That’s why I thought about it, and decided to keep my distance from you, if that allowed you to smile more. Thinking about it now, it was absolutely ridiculous, and idiotic.”

“Hmpf, I don’t want you to sacrifice your own feelings like that.”

“I don’t want to either. I want to always be with you, Kasuga!”

“~~~!”

“And just now, Akizuki heard my problems, and told me the reason why you developed feelings for me in the first place. I was really happy about that. Also, that’s the reason I’m even standing here.”

“Sakuya-chan told you!?”

“That’s when I realized! My heart wanted to spend more time with you, with Kasuga Hina!”

“Shizuki-kun wants to…with me…”

“Not to mention! Since I just selfishly pushed my ideals and thoughts onto you, I want to try harder so that we can both understand each other! I don’t want to decide on your happiness, so I’ll be careful from now on!”

“Awawawawa…!”

“Should I keep my distance from you because you can smile when you’re with your friends? Right now, I would have easily decided against that. If I’m that bothered by it, then I just have to work hard so you smile even more when you’re with me!”

“S-Shizuki-kun…T-This is embarrassing…”

The students and salary men around, even the employees, were giving us dubious gazes, but I went through this before, so now Kasuga should know what I felt like. But, even then…

“So—”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Just as you, I’m so embarrassed I could die.”

“Then why did you do all of this…?” Kasuga pouted, as she gave me a sharp gaze.

Yeah, the reason I’m going out of my way to do this is to show my dedication. I might have told her about this somewhere else, but I figured this would be the best. I’m aware that this isn’t like my character. But, my feelings don’t deserve to be held back by my character.

“Listen, Kasuga.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“My legs are probably shaking right now…”

“Yup.”

“My body feels like it’s on fire, and I’m worried I might just get a heatstroke from this. I know that I must be blushing furiously, and although last time I didn’t want anybody to think of us as acquaintances, I’m feeling super embarrassed despite that…”

“Yeah.”

“I figured that…this would be the best way to get my feelings across.”

“Feelings?”

“The fact that I took you to SweePara, bought the course with the embarrassing name, took a selfie with you, and drank the strawberry au lait together with you, it was…it was all to show my feelings to you!”

“……”

“I’m different from before! The selfie I really didn’t want to take, the heart-shaped straw of the strawberry au lait, it’s not that I made excessive progress, but…I was satisfied! And, I wanted to show you that!”

“…Really? Really really?”

“Of course…So, when we started dating, right here, you kissed me, and I complained…which made you cry, but I want to take that back, and give you my new response.”

“Eh? Hm?”

“Today, I want to be the one to do it.”

“…?”

“With my actions, not just words.”

“Hm? Hmmm…? …Ah! W-Wait, Shizuki-kun! I-I…I haven’t mentally prepared myself yet…!”

“Did you wait for me last time?”

“B-But, this is embarrassing…!”

Ahhhh, for crying out loud! You’re totally fine approaching me with it, but having the same thing done to you is too much!? I grabbed both her shoulders, and looked closely at her face. Her eyes were dampened with anticipation, betraying her previous words. Her face was even more red than before, her lips rosy-colored. Kasuga’s shoulders…are shaking. Is she nervous?

Even though she never had any problems with showing me her affection, once she ends up as the one receiving it, she seems so innocent, so flustered, a bit bewildered, but still happy to the point it makes your own heart race, and it gives her this feeling like she’s not really used to boys.

“Kasuga, close your eyes.”

“~~~!”

Kasuga did as I told her, and gently closed her eyes. Even now, her eyes were quivering in uncertainty. Her silky smooth cheeks were beet red, and her lips were gently pushed towards me. As Kasuga waited for me, I—

…………

………………

……………………

“S-Shizuki-kun…how long is this going to take?”

Kasuga opened her mouth like we had reached a game limit…As for the pathetic me…

“S-Sorry, I know it’s lame to say this after I brought it up, but I still don’t think I can do this…”

Hearing my words, Kasuga pouted aggressively. That expression was adorable as well.

“Hey, Shizuki-kun.”

“Y-Yes, my lady.”

Ahh…for the first time since I started dating Kasuga, I used polite language…I mean, I can’t help but feel guilty for not being able to pull through with the kiss…

“Just like you don’t understand much about normies, I’m still confused about a lot of things that loners do.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“But, learning more about that was fun, right? Learning new things is interesting, don’t you think?”

“Yeah…At first, I was just confused, but now I feel the same way as you, Kasuga.”

“Don’t you mean you just have misunderstandings all on your own?”

“I’m really sorry about that.”

“But…” Kasuga stepped towards me, closing the distance between us, and…

“~~~!?!?!”

“Mmm…Nnn…Nn!”

—She kissed me. Her lips feel so soft. We were still in public, in the middle of the train station, but I honestly don’t even care anymore. The gazes of the people around us, my own embarrassment, I couldn’t care less. I just want to always do this with Kasuga.

“———!”

“——Puwah!”

Well, eventually we both would have to breathe again, I guess. Even now, my heart was racing. At the same time, Kasuga was right in front of me, her eyes drowsy, a bewitched expression decorating her face. Even so…She was the one to break the silence first.

“But…that still doesn’t change that I love you~ Just by being next to you, I’m happy.”

Ahhh, damn it! My girlfriend can’t be this cute! I may have been wrong about Kasuga as a normie, but when it comes to the girl herself—She’s an angel that allows boys to have dreams, but a devil at the same time that could invite grave misunderstandings just because of one weird phrasing from her end—I think I was pretty close.

“Listen, Kasuga.”

“Hmmm?”

“I did tell you about my feelings, but there’s one more thing”.

“One more thing?”

“I’ll apologize for everything until now. Even if you don’t forgive me, I still need to begin with that, or nothing else will happen. So…” I took a deep breath, and looked at Kasuga. “If you’re fine with a no-good, dense, and loner guy like me, then…please let’s continue our relationship as we have before.”

Basically, I was asking her to officially go out with me. Honestly speaking, after that kiss, I was somewhat feeling a bit terrified that she might just reject me. But even so, I mustered up the courage to say this. If I stayed quiet now because I was afraid, nothing would happen. If I at least try my luck, there’s always the chance of a miracle. And then, Kasuga showed a beaming smile, while seeming a bit bashful at the same time.

“Yes. If you’re okay with me, then please go out with me.” She said, and immediately clung to me.

…However! Right now…like literally right this second, I actually got a look at our surroundings, and we’re not just standing out. We are the center of attention. Stop! Don’t look at me like this! I know I asked for this, but your gazes hurt me!

“Um………you two?”

““……!?””

Oh crap, the train station employee called out to us. Well, I’m actually surprised it took this long for them to say something.

“I’m sorry to ruin the mood, but you are troubling the other visitors, so maybe…could you take this elsewhere?”

“S-Sorry…!”

“Apologies!”

****

The following day, after classes ended—

““………””

“Hm hm hmm~.”

“Listen, Kasuga…Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai are glaring at us, so could you maybe move away a bit?”

“Ehhhhh…”

“No no, Shizupai, please don’t mind us~”

“I’ve heard the circumstances, so I bet we were just background characters in your love story, right~”

—The atmosphere inside the club room turned awkward for a different reason compared to yesterday. Well, it’s at least not as unbearable as yesterday. I sat down on my usual chair, when Kasuga brought her chair over next to mine, immediately clinging to me. That entire time, she gave off a feminine scent. Naturally, Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai had their own two cents about this situation.

“But…I’m sorry, Remi-chan, Haruka-senpai, you got wrapped up in our lover’s quarrel.”

“If you say so, Hinapai…”

“Well, I’m glad you managed to make up with a win-win situation. Being friendly is the best after all.”

“Why did you not forgive me, but you immediately accepted Kasuga’s apology?”

— Rattle .

“It’s a difference of the offender apologizing or the offended forgiving, right?”

“Sakuya-chan?”

“It seems like you’ve managed to recover, Kasuga-san.”

“Oh yeah, Akizuki.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I thought you’d come, but you sure took your time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Thanks for hearing me out before. If you hadn’t told me the reason why Kasuga fell in love with me, I doubt I would have made up with her like this…”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Even so, thank you.”

“Are you even listening to me…Also, I told you that I’d be hearing you out. If you happen to crash into a wall again, don’t hesitate to ask me for advice.”

“Wah, if this continues, then Shizupai will be unable to live without Sakupai’s advice anymore~!”

“Who might you be talking about with Sakupai?”

“You’re Akizuki Sakuya-senpai, right? That’s why Sakupai.”

“I was an idiot for asking, but I’ll ignore that for now. You best be careful Kasuga-san.”

“Me?”

“Judging from what he told me, Kujou-kun was the ultimate reason why things turned awkward, but you also invited him to eat lunch with the others, invited someone else to walk home with you together, so naturally Kujou-kun would dislike that.”

“Y-Yeah, I’m aware of that, so it’s fine!”

“So, what brings you here without any appointment? Do you have some business here?”

“Yes, indeed. By the way, who is the club president here?”

“Ah, that would be me, Sakuya-chan.”

“Huh, so it’s not Chisaka-senpai, but you, Kasuga-san?”

“Last year, I was the club leader, but now that I’ve become a third-year, I thought it was time for a generation change.”

“…Kujou-kun, what is this person saying?”

“Club leader just means president, and generation change means a switch in generation…I think.”

“No, that’s not what I was talking about.”

“So, Sakuya-chan, did you want something from me?”

“This.” Akizuki said, and took out a single document from her student bag.

…Wait, hold on…!? Is this what I think it is?!

“A club registration form!? Sakuya-chan, you’re going to join the peculiar future course support club!?”

“Yes, that is the right deduction from this.”

“Good job, Hinapai! So, what’s your future plans about then, Sakai?”

“I knew about the goals of this club, and although it pains me to admit it, I haven’t actually fully decided yet.”

“You haven’t decided yet?” Chisaka-senpai tilted her head like a small animal.

“Yes. But, I figured that if I stayed with people who actively work hard for their future, I might be able to figure out my own wish for the future eventually.”

“What should we do, club leader?”

“I think that sounds good! The more people the better, and we can help Sakuya-chan with her future course as well!”

“If that’s the case, then…Nice to meet you~ Standing, I’m cute. Sitting, I’m pretty. Walking, I’m charming~ Remi’s smile is always a full 100 percent, and she’s the most beautiful high school girl in the entire world, future citizen idol Aramiya Remi~”

“My name is Chisaka Haruka. I technically am a high school student, but I am the CEO of a certain company, and I figured that while watching people work towards their grand design, I would get some positive stimulus, which is why I am part of this club.”

“I’ll be in your care from now on then. My name is Akizuki Sakuya, in class 2-4. Compared to all of you…I may not have any great aspirations yet, but I will try my best to catch up with you soon.”

After they finished their greetings, Akizuki for some reason walked over towards me and Kasuga. She brought her lips closer to my right ear, the one that wasn’t next to Kasuga, and spoke with a faint voice.

“—Like this, you can always rely on me, okay?”

****

“So, what will the two of you be doing from now on?”

After Kasuga took care of the organistory stuff in regards to Akizuki’s club registration, she asked us that. Naturally, we had a chair prepared for her, so we were all sitting down.

“Although it was for a short while, you still ended up in a quarrel, so seeing you this close now, I’m quite curious about how you managed to make up.”

“Yesterday, Shizuki-kun and I talked with each other, and we arrived at an answer.”

“…An answer, I see.” Akizuki sasid with a profound tone.

“Yeah, it’s true that we only managed to make up, but if I approached Shizuki-kun too much, it’ll tire him out again, and I would force myself trying to adjust to him, so that entire problem is still on hold.”

“We’re also leaving the problem of Kasuga turning into someone else if she keeps trying to become my ideal girl as it is too.”

“So, what is that answer you came up with?”

“That we’d be even more lovey-dovey, and fall in love with the other person more than we already have.”

“Huh?”

“Wah…Harupai, did you hear that?”

“What kind of idiotic couple am I looking at here…”

“Tell that to Kasuga. The person who brought it up, and the person who started crying when I disagreed—is all Kasuga.”

“Eh!? I don’t think that answer is that off the mark!”

“““How?””” Akizuki, Aramiya, and Chisaka-senpai all spoke up at the same time.

“This time, Shizuki-kun and I love each other, and with these feelings, we made up! That’s why, no matter how dangerous the hurdle is, if we keep our love flourishing, we can overcome it like we did yesterday.”

“Is your head made out of flowers?”

“Hinapai, even Remi can’t follow that…”

“The sunlight character is going through a limit break, I see.”

Weird…Kasuga was the one who brought it up, and yet I feel like I was the one who got hurt…What should I do about this? The longer the topic is about us, the more the other three will glare at us. Alright, time to switch the topic.

“O-Oh yeah, Kasuga?”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Why did you never confess to me during our entire first year? Judging from your personality, you’d probably confess the day later…” There, Kasuga faintly averted her face.

…Something ain’t right.

“I won’t get angry, so tell me.”

“Um…well…I…”

“I?”

“…I couldn’t find you.”

“What?”

Couldn’t find me? I’m not invisible, nor am I a ghost, though. I looked over at Akizuki and the others, but they shook their heads as well. What is this about?

“I knew you were in the same year, but…when I asked for Kujou Shizuki-kun, the entire class just gave me a ‘Who that’ reaction. For the day duty, I constantly changed, and even when I walked around on patrol during lunch break, I could never find you.”

“That must be because he was in the library room every time.”

“Even when I asked the head of the student year, they only knew your name, but couldn’t remember your face. Asking all the clubs at the school, nobody knew about you.”

“Well, Shizupai was in the go-home club after all.”

“At the sports festival, the choir contest, at any kind of event I tried looking for you, but to no avail.”

“Did you think that the secretary would participate in these kinds of events?”

“Besides that—”

“Alright, I get it already, that’s enough.”

If I hear any more about this, I’ll just go crazy. I bet that Kasuga didn’t have any bad intentions with that, but this just makes it hurt more.

“Huh? Wait a second.”

“What is it now?”

“Just to confirm something, but you fell in love with me on the day of the entrance ceremony, right?”

“Yup yup.”

“So, you became pretty famous after that, and yet whoever confessed to you, you never said yes, yeah?”

“Yup! Since I only liked you, there’s no way I would say yes to someone else, you know?” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, showing me an expression as a prime example of a maiden in love.

I see, so that’s what it was. She declined all those confessions because of me……Also, now Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai are grinning at me again. Alright, time to change the topic one more time.

“A-Anyway, do you know what we’ll do for today’s club activities?”

“Ah, right, look at this everyone.” Kasuga took out a sheet of paper from her student bag.

Written on there, it said ‘Outdoors School Ideas’…Ehhhh?

“Why don’t we talk about this today?” Kasuga said with a cute tone of voice.

I guess this shows how much of a loner she is, being able to see something exciting in something that would otherwise be seen as a chore.

“Can’t the people who want to just go individually? Why is this part of our club activities?”

Naturally, I wasn’t feeling it…like at all. I’d rather read books at home, or play games.

“Ehhhh~”

“Don’t ‘Ehhh~’ me. Do you have a problem with that?”

“I mean, it’s already a settled deal.”

“What?” I let out a dumbfounded voice.

“Eh?” Aramiya did the same.

“Oh my.” Chisaka-senpai did the same.

“Kasuga-san, what exactly do you mean by that?” Akizuki was the first one to recover.

“Eh? I already handed it in, you know? Saying that we’d all participate! Ah, don’t worry, Sakuya-chan. I made it sound like all club members will participate, so even if you’re late to the party, you can still come with us.” Kasuga stuck out her tongue with a grin.

“Kasuga.”

“Hm?”

“Far too irrational.”

“Eh, when I made reservations for karaoke or bowling, everybody was happy about that though?”

“Eh, are normies like that? To us, it just feels like you made up plans without asking for our consent…”

This again? I thought that we brought an end to this after we started dating, but I guess there’s no ending to this. But even so, with all of this change…

“Well, you already handed it in, so it can’t be helped. We should first work on fixing that bad habit of yours.”

“Ehehe, sorry about this, Shizuki-kun. Please take care of me from now on as well.”

“See that, Harupai, we’ve already turned into outsiders.”

“So that’s the result of the solution, I see. They are perfectly in their own world.”

“As I thought…I really should have attacked first.”