Volume 3, Chapter 2.5: Hoshizawa's POV 5

*****

"Hot spring is the best!"

I lied down after I got finished taking a bath, my father went ahead of me and slept throughout the night while I took a bath after him...

"I wonder if I'll bump into Amagasa kun tonight? *Chuckles*"

...

...As I passed down through the hallway, I could hear the staffs chatting and having fun in a room. They must've been having a feast or something. I didn't paid much attention to it and had gone straight to my room...

...meanwhile...I kept thinking of what I did when I was with Amagasa kun...

...

"Uuuu! Why did I do that?! Now he might think I'm weird or something...".

At that point...my body just moved on its on while I was so absorbed in our conversation that I didn't exactly noticed what I was doing

"Still...Amagasa kun in a yukata...he's so cute in it!"

I can't help but blushing whenever I recall it, and also can't help but get embarrassed as I remember that one scene that I just did

"It was even rude of me to leave abruptly too...I should apologize to him or otherwise...I might not be able to sleep tonight!"

I quickly made up my mind and stepped out of the room without making too much noise for my father who was sleeping soundly inside, making my way through the hallway once more to find Amagasa kun's room...

*****

"It'll be rude of me to suddenly just step in on someone's room if there's someone in the room, so I should just probably take a peek and see if Amagasa kun's in that room..."

I was making a plan in my mind as I was walking through the hallway when suddenly...

...!

...I saw Amagasa kun in the hallway

"Ah! Amagasa kun-"

"?!"

Before I was able to get his attention, I immediately saw that he was with Aya san

"A-Amagasa kun and A-Aya san?!"

I quickly hid myself in one of the corners instinctively

"...but...why are they-"

-Oh, that's right, earlier they were talking about doing it in Amagasa kun's room every night...

"So that's what she meant..."

...

I'm so glad it wasn't what I was thinking earlier!

...

...but...I don't like this feeling...

...my heart started to ache once I saw them happily chatting with each other...

...why is she so close to him? Why is Amagasa kun seem to be happy talking with her...

...why...am I thinking like this...?

...

...because I don't like it!

...what...was that...?

...

As my thoughts keep going deeper and going in many directions, Aya san asked something to Amagasa kun that got my attention

"So...Amagasa kun..."

"? Yeah?"

"What do you think of Hoshizawa senpai?"

"? What do I think of her?"

"Y-you know what I'm talking about!"

W-what?! How did I got caught up in their conversation?!

...wait...

...is she also...?

"To be frank, she isn't what you think she is, Aya"

"Huh? What I think she is?"

"You see, Hoshizawa san is a little bit shy around people that she doesn't know very well, so if you think that she hates you or something like what happened earlier, it really wasn't the case"

No...that's not it, Amagasa kun...I don't know why either, but I always get this weird feeling whenever I saw Aya san with you...

...I just...don't like you near her...

...

I got lost for a moment until Aya san's next question got my attention once again

"What I meant was, what do you think of her, as a girl, as a woman?"

...!

...

...I also wonder...what does Amagasa kun think of me...as a girl...as a woman...?

As I thought of that, it almost as it seems that Amagasa kun answered my question in a heartbeat

"I like that she's slowly being true to herself...she might be still finding her true self, but she's definitely one of a kind woman out there. Same thing may be said to other girls, but for me, I like Hoshizawa san for who she is, whether she'll choose to be the past Hoshizawa san, the present Hoshizawa san, or both"

"Amagasa kun..."

...

Everything what Amagasa kun said just now, every word, every line of it...I heard it clearly... everything that he just said sprung to my ears. It also kept replaying in my mind nonstop...

"So...he likes that about me...? He even likes the old me...?"

He likes me...

He said he likes me...right...?

...

Ever since I was little, people around me only liked me because I was helpful to them, because I was useful to them. The moment that I couldn't do the thing that they wanted me to do, the less they think of me as their friend...

...I hated being alone...I don't want them to leave me all alone...that's why I went along and help them as much as I could...

...

...yet...Amagasa kun never saw me that way...he never acted that way around me...

"...Amagasa kun..."

I couldn't suppress the smile that I'm having right now...I couldn't even hide my face that was turning redder and redder by the second...and I also can't stop my heart from beating too fast...

*pant*...*pant*...

...

"This is too much!...You're too much, Amagasa kun!...You're making me crazy!"

I said that in a soft voice, hoping that he wouldn't hear me...

...

...I know in myself that I love Amagasa kun ever since that day, but he's making me fall in love for him even deeper! 

Being flustered so much, I ran away from them without making too much noise on the way back to my room while calming myself down from Amagasa kun...

*****

...

"*Sigh* I finally calmed down..."

What Amagasa kun said about me just now is still fresh in my mind, up until now, I can still hear it perfectly everything that he said about me...

...my heart, although calmed down, was still making hard pounding noises whenever I think of him...

"...You're no fair...Amagasa kun...you don't know it yet, but I love you even more now...probably even too much..."

With my head all over the clouds, I was too happy to even control myself from what I've been blurting out this whole time...I just hope that my father wouldn't hear everything I said just now...

"...He also said that he likes about me slowly being true to myself..."

...

"...I wonder if that day will come...where I'll be able to show him my...true self...?"

...

...what even is my true self...?

...

It almost seem as its impossible to think of since I don't even know myself...

...but I know that someday, I'll eventually be able to do it...of what he meant by it...

"Now I really want to see him, chat with him, be with him, and much more!"

-But no, you must restrain yourself, Miu Hoshizawa! Remember? you said yourself that you'll take it slow, right? What if he rejects you because you made a move on him too fast? Patience is the key!

"Yes...Slow...and steady..."

I said as I looked at the ceiling...

"...Wait for me when that day comes, Amagasa kun *chuckles*"

Yes...when the time is right, when the day finally comes...

...for me to confess to you...

...

I took a deep breath again after recalling of what I had just witnessed earlier. I couldn't help but kept smiling as I tried to sleep through the night while repeatedly playing in my head about what Amagasa kun had said to me earlier...

"...Hope to see you in my dream tonight *chuckles*"

I then ended the day with me hoping to get that 'dream'...

*****

End of Chapter 2.5