After school ended, I headed home with only Shizu because Sakura had her extracurriculars. We typically talked about random things while we walked, but Shizu was acting a bit distant today and kept giving vague replies. At first, I wondered if it was my fault, but my interactions with her in school today have been nothing but pleasant.

 

Wow, this was some serious déjà vu.

 

After a short pause in conversation, Shizu broke the silence, determination etched onto her face. “Haru, I need to ask you a question.”

 

The atmosphere suddenly got serious. “What’s on your mind?”

 

Shizu opened her mouth, but quickly closed it again. Hesitation was evident on her face, but I didn’t push her to say anything. I planned on patiently waiting until she mustered the courage to tell me.

 

“…Home,” she muttered.

 

I found myself perplexed by her. “Home? What do you mean?”

 

“I’ll tell you about it when we get back to your house,” Shizu whispered, her face slightly darkening.

 

Judging by her reaction, I could tell her question was not something to be asked in public. Since she wanted to wait until we were back home, we continued the walk in silence, although it wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. After a few short minutes, Shizu and I arrived at my house.

 

“Let’s talk in your room,” Shizu said, while walking up the stairs.

 

I followed her, unsure of what to expect. 

 

We entered my room, then Shizu closed and locked the door behind us. Her eyes, unfocused and murky, stared into the window of my soul. From the expression on her face, Shizu didn’t seem all that pleased.

 

“Haru.”

 

The aura around her was seriously dangerous. “Y-Yes?”

 

“You’ve been flirting too much these days.”

 

For her to say this, she must’ve seen me hugging Sakura earlier during lunch. Although I wouldn’t classify it as flirting, since I was just consoling her, it definitely did look suspicious from an outsider’s point of view. I could only pray that my reassurance soothes Shizu’s temper.

 

“Please, wait. I can explain. Sakura was feeling insecure earlier so I had to console her and–”

 

“Ha. Ru. To. Will you please listen to me?” Shizu smiled, causing waves of pressure to crash down onto me.

 

It didn’t seem like there was any other option, so I meekly and obediently nodded. In my heart, I hoped Shizu wouldn’t be too rough with me. The last time she got this mad when we were children, Shizu slugged my arm enough for it to still be purple a few days later.

 

“Haru…”

 

Shizu slowly made her way towards me, who was sitting on the bed terrified of the looming future. She placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled.

 

“Let’s play some video games.”

 

***

 

-Shizuku POV-

“Let’s play some video games.”

 

Why did I say that? That wasn’t what I wanted to tell him, but my fear of our relationship changing scares me to no end. The thing I truly wanted to tell him was…

 

“Why aren’t you looking at me?”

 

Right now, Haru’s entire focus was on finding the dungeon we were planning to raid. He didn’t even flinch when I sat close to him, most likely due to our long years of friendship. Was I even a girl in his eyes?

 

Haru might not have noticed, but he’s been spending a lot of time with Sakura lately. They even had a passionate hug earlier. Seeing that, my heart ached with a pang of jealousy. I’ve known Haru for so long, and now, it feels like I’m losing him to someone else.

 

As we played the game, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of being on the sidelines. My attempt to divert the conversation to video games seemed like a feeble attempt to hide my true feelings. Haru, oblivious to the storm brewing within me, continued to enjoy the game.

 

Deep down, I wished he would look at me the way he looked at Sakura. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks—I wanted more than just friendship. I wanted him to see me, to understand the emotions I couldn’t put into words.

 

The room felt stifling, filled with unspoken tension. Every laugh, every shared moment in the game, only intensified the longing within me. I wanted something more than our current relationship, but fear held me back. What if it ruined everything?

 

Would our relationship be the same if…

 

…No. 

 

That train of thought is dangerous.

 

I have to be happy with what I have now. It was hard enough convincing my parents to move back here to be with Haru and my decision might just mess everything up.

 

“Hey.”

 

Suddenly, Haru spoke to me, his controller no longer in his hands. “You know we’ll always be close, right?”

 

Since we’ve been together for so long, there was no way Haru wouldn’t recognize my different facial expressions. It was likely he had seen my strained expression, prompting him to confront me. “Yeah, so?”

 

Haru wryly smiled. “Just wanted you to know that. No matter how much time passes, you’ll always be my best friend.”

 

*Snap*

 

I could feel my last strand of reasoning snapping in half. The blood rushed to my head, causing me to feel a mix of anger and joy. Haru’s words made me happy because he reassured our relationship, but that was also a problem in itself.

 

I wanted something more than our current relationship. Seeing Haru hug Sakura made my blood run cold, perhaps because of the feelings I have towards him. I’m not sure if I can put a label on these feelings yet, but I knew…

 

Haruto Renzaki belonged to me and no one else.

 

I knew him before Sakura. I knew him when we were still young kids in elementary school. I knew the angry side of him dealing with bullies. I knew the kind side of him that would protect me. I knew where he hid all his naughty magazines. I knew everything about him.

 

“S-Shizu?”

 

Without realizing it, I had pushed Haru down onto his bed. My cheeks felt warm and my heart ached for him. Any piece of reasoning left was gone, leaving me to act purely out of emotion.

 

“Haru…”

 

Consumed by my emotions, I leaned down and embraced him.

 

“This is… only fair, right?”

 

---

 

Let the waifu wars begin!