By the time they returned to school, Kichi felt like a ton of things had happened to already exhaust him going into the first day of the week. His stress was not helped due to Aoi’s cryptic message for him before they separated that day. The boy couldn’t tell why someone like her would want to meet up on the roof, presumably alone. Even without her own sister with them.

As he sat in class, waiting for their lunch break. He found himself constantly glancing on over towards her desk. It was unfortunate that they didn’t sit besides each other, despite him having the luxury when it came to Airi. During these short moments of him sneaking a peek, Kichi would see her simply living her life as normal. It almost seemed like a fantasy of what he heard her request of him. As if he was the one who hoped something special might happen up there.

Again those feelings of guilt flooded into his mind. He knew where it came from, but his previous actions as a sign of some personal issues of his own. There was no way to deny what he did with her in mind. Kichi really did pleasure himself thinking of those cute panties she wore that day. For a moment, he even just pondered if she wore them again today.

If was moments like these that only aided in the self hatred of himself. Having these kinds of thoughts were inappropriate inside of a classroom, surrounded by dozens of his peers. Which also included the girl running through his mind.

Kichi thought maybe this was what Kougi felt for him. That this was what being in love with someone was all about. Though it also felt a bit anticlimactic as well. Like there was no major meaningful moment between them. They had only started to get to know each other, so he wasn’t sure if it was that gradual either. It was entirely possible he could be mistaken on what he felt for the girl too.

Finally, after a long wait for their lunch. He was able to excuse himself from his desk and leave Chuuya and Airi behind as he went for the school’s roof. When he talked to the two before leaving, the boy did spy Aoi immediately getting up from her seat and leaving the room without telling anyone. So she would be the one first up there in their meeting. Which made sense, as she was the one who set it up in the first place.

As he walked up the steps, Kichi felt the dread building inside of him. There were many different reasons for her to want to see him up here. One of which made his heart race. The idea of a confession.

She didn’t seem the type to confess her feelings for someone. Mostly because he was unaware on if she had ever crushed on a boy before. Even he didn’t look like the type of guy who she would be into, if he had any idea of her type. So the scenario came across as wishful thinking on his part. Which only added more fuel to the fire on him wondering if he had begun to fall for her instead.

He reached the roof and there Aoi stood, staring out onto the view from behind the fence.

“Hey…” More meekly than he planned, Kichi greeted her. This prompted the girl to turn around. Her rosy cheeks were bright red. A sign of her growing anxiety. “So you still want to continue what we were talking about yesterday?” It seemed strange to him to do something in this manner. That they should’ve finished their business that day, but were unable to due to circumstances.

“Yep.” She replied, turning her face downwards to not look him in the eye. The girl had spent the last few hours steeling herself for what she wanted to do. But now that they were standing before one another, she had lost whatever little nerve she had now. “It’s just something I need to tell you.”

“Okay.” He responded, then proceeded to wait for her to speak her mind on what she wanted to. He ended up waiting an uncomfortably long time for it as they awkwardly stood still, looking at one another. “What is it?”

“…” Aoi had frozen on the spot as words couldn’t form in her mouth. She already knew what she was going to do. The girl had planned on telling him the truth about her feelings. In a sense, this was a confession. Though she hadn’t planned on asking him to accept her feelings or even ask him for a proper date.

This wasn’t something she was experienced in. To be fair, not many people could say they had too much experience in confessing to someone else. If they were, then perhaps they might’ve been confessing too often. That said, she had done this exactly zero times before. So it was a first time for her, at least in real life.

It seemed so easy in those visual novels she played. Granted it wasn’t a direct confession that she as a player had to do. But it felt much easier and safer to be confident that the other game character requited any feelings. Right now, she had no idea in knowing what went through that boy’s thick skull. She knew deep down in her heart that there was little keeping him from rejecting her. Was she even ready for a result such as that?

“Go ahead, take your time.” He told her in an attempt to get her calm her nerves. While he was fair enough to understand to wait. Kichi was also aware they didn’t have infinite time as lunch would end eventually.

“Well, you see…” Finally, she was able to begin trying to say something. “We’ve been hanging out a lot lately, right?”

“Yeah, I’d agree with that.” He couldn’t tell where she was going with this statement. Her constant hesitation and slow speaking manner kept him from being able to understand her meaning. It was a challenging to predict what would happen next.

“Yeah… And even though I’ve always been a poor sport. I actually like that.” She continued on. While it came off as a surprise to him. It was also something he took positively.

“I’m glad you feel that way.” He chuckled. “Honestly, I was worried you actually hated me or something.” Kichi laughed at his joke. It was only partially the truth because he also believed he must have something for her to continue to put up with the antics surrounding them.

“Yeah…” She stepped towards him, which nearly caused him to take some steps backwards in concern. The way she moved was deliberate and careful. Like a predator sneaking up on its prey. “It’s been… Fun getting to know you.”

“I can say the same for you.” He responded, his voice quivered a bit in anticipation on what she planned on. “Where are you going with this?”

“…” Aoi took a deep breath. This should be the moment she had been waiting for. The moment she created and prepared a whole day on. The girl was to confess her feelings for him and hope he returned those feelings. Yet now confronted with it right in her face. Her tongue got tied. Words couldn’t form in her mouth as sweat dropped down her forehead.

“Is everything all right?” He took a hold of her with his hands on both arms. Kichi could see her sweating, which only served to embarrass her more. Surely a boy wouldn’t be attracted to something so unfeminine coming from her.

“Of course it is.” She spoke, her breathing got heavy and hard as she looked him in the eye. Despite all her insulting, he was much better looking than she gave him credit for. Now that they were mere inches apart, all she could think about was appearances. The way she appeared to him became scrutinized and picked apart within her brain.

“You don’t look so good.” He commented. Her face appeared to be getting paler despite them being under the direct sunlight. Her stance weakened enough that his hands felt like they had to support her weight. If Kichi didn’t know any better, then he would assume she had fallen ill.

“I am.” She was out of breath like she had just run a marathon. Aoi knew she needed to speak what had been eating away in his mind. All she had to do was say the words and let things run their course. Yet at the same time, she wished she could do something special and memorable. That’s how confessions went, right? “Kichi I…” Finally, she made the attempt, but that was all it could be called. “I lo… I really li… Kichi… I…”

She stumbled over her words her the world around her became dizzy. Aoi couldn’t tell what was going on around her as her legs gave out from underneath her. Light disappeared in her view, replaced with only darkness as she fainted from stress. Were it not for his hands around her, the girl would’ve collapsed onto the hard ground.

“Aoi? Aoi!?” Kichi called her name in an attempt to wake her, but it failed.