Volume 6, Chapter 6.5: To Be Empathetically Open-Minded

*****

"...Ugh..."

"Well...that was one of a kind of interrogation..."

"Tell me about it..."

Few hours after my male classmates dragged me out from the scene, I got asked about many things about Miu and I. How we got that close, how did it come to that point, how our relationship started, and such...

...Well to be precise...they didn't 'asked' me

Rather, they forced me to say everything...

With all doors closed and all windows shut tight, covered in curtains, I was in a classroom with them, alongside Ryu. There was no place to go to and no chance of escaping

Even though they treat Ryu different from me, they still kept a close watch on him as well, in case of us, trying to do anything funny

Within that kind of scenario, I assume you can feel that it doesn't even feel like an interrogation...

Almost as if, we got ourselves into a trial that was running in secret, with one of our classmates acting as the judge, the others as a jury, and so on

You could even say that Ryu was my 'lawyer' at that time because he was the only one whom my classmates listened to. Everything I said earlier to them had a mix of reactions as well as some doubts on whether I was saying the truth or not...

...In a sense, they would think of something like that...

...I mean...its Miu we're talking about...she chose someone like me, despite there are a lot of guys that are better suited for her...

...Or at least that's what my negative mind tells me

At the end, they decided to let me go off, seeing that they can't get any more information out of me anymore. Although they feel somewhat unsatisfied with what information they have from me, they told us that they themselves would put pieces together to find out the 'truth'...

...I don't know what truth they're talking about, but Miu's fans sure is dedicated to her...

"But despite being our classmates, they really didn't hold back on saying whats on their mind huh Shun?"

"To them, it looked like I was taking or swaying their goddess. But in reality, I'm the one who's lucky here..."

"That kind of attitude again huh? You know Shun, You're not as average or unpopular as you think you are"

"No need to cheer me up Ryu, and I don't have that much money on me to get you a chocolate or two"

"How rude! I'm simply stating the fact! Look, girls just wasn't paying attention to you last time because they don't know what you're capable of, but because they've seen it now, they're starting to notice you little by little"

I looked at Ryu with my eyes widened at what he just said

"W-What?"

"Ryu...wait...are you even my best friend...?"

"Do you really think I'm that dumb?!"

"I mean, you do say a lot of stupid things, but I didn't expected that from you"

"That hurts to some extent man, now you really gotta treat me to some chocolate!"

"I might be willing to if you tell me why do you think so first"

"Hm? Isn't it obvious?"

"The what?"

"Eh?"

"...?"

...

"Shun...for instance, there is a girl, braided hairstyle with glasses on. You saw her walking with a book. Now tell me, based on that information, what do you think she likes to do on her free time?"

"I'd say she likes to read books and spends most of her time reading. Why are you even asking about it?"

"Well what if I told you that, that girl you just saw, loves to swim, and is a part of a swimming competitions around the world?"

"That would be surprising since she doesn't give off that kind of vibe from the start- wait, why are you even asking this?!"

"Because what I just asked you is whats happening to you right now!"

"Huh...?"

...

So...the girls in our class, sees me as a nobody at first...

...but then they saw me participated in the relay race, and won after...

...

Oh...

"So you're saying...that they are finally noticing me because of what happened at the relay race?"

"I knew you would get it!"

"Are you serious? There's no way girls in our class would take an interest in me just because of that! This isn't anime you know Ryu"

"That may be right, but that wasn't the case for a specific individual..."

"Specific individual...?"

...

I get it...its Miu...

"Could it be...that Miu decided to make our relationship public, is because...?"

"Probably because other girls would start trying to make a move on you"

"Seriously...?"

At first, I only thought that it was because she saw me getting along with them...or because of Kana senpai...

"No wonder she was acting different than usual..."

"Could you even blame Hoshizawa san? She just doesn't want them to take you away from her"

Just like what she said to me earlier...

("I...don't wanna lose you Shun...")

...

("I'm also proud to have you as my boyfriend, love. More than you know. I love you, I really do")

...She is proud as she says...

But I'm not...to myself...

...

...This time...I will make the right decisions this time...

("I want to be honest with you starting from now on love. I don't wanna lose you, I can't lose you, and I want you to be mine, and only mine. As how I am only yours. That's why I want them to know that you're mine, and nobody else's...")

Just like how you're starting to be honest with your feelings...I will also going to be more aware and understanding of your feelings...

...In order to be the 'proud boyfriend' that you think I am...

This time...

...

"*Sigh*..."

"What's with the long sigh?"

"Nothing, I just thought that maybe you are not that stupid as I thought you are over this past few years"

"You really don't hold back on your words huh?"

"You can tell that I'm kidding right?"

"You were kidding?!"

...

Moreover, I'm the stupid one. I wasn't able to read our situation, yet Ryu was able to...

...I should learn more from him to be honest...

"Alright, how many chocolates you want this time?"

"Huh? Didn't you said you don't have the money earlier?"

"I do, the money I have here goes to my savings, but I owe you one, so just this once"

"Owe me one? I didn't do anything, but hey I'll take it!"

"Anything for chocolates huh?"

"Fufu!"

He didn't do anything yes...

...but he said a lot of things that woke me up...

As we walked down the inside park of the school, we then went on to where the celebration would take place...

*End of Chapter 6.5*