- Rihona -

 

After my little stunt back there, I didn't waste any time heading inside the house. I should have said something after doing something like that, but I doubted my heart would be able to take so much in a single day.

For a brief moment, I put my fingers over my lips, thinking about what I had just done. 

It was just on the cheek, but still...

Now, what had led me to make such a brash move? After all, wasn't this plan meant to make me get used to being alone with him and nothing else? 

 

 

It all could be traced back to the message while I was at the arcade. In it, Mari said something along the lines of: "This may come off as sudden, but you should try to live without regrets."

After thanking her for the piece of advice, I pondered over the implications of her words.

I had heard somewhere that most regrets were caused not by what one did but rather, by what one didn't do. Therefore, I had to consider what was the thing I wanted to do at that moment. 

And so, just before parting ways with Ryu, I got closer and closer. The uproar in my chest almost made me reconsider, but somehow I had managed to push forward. However, that could only take me so far. Like an elastic band, I snapped back to my natural state after stretching myself.

 

 

Taking off my shoes, I made my way past the entrance hallway and greeted my mom, who was in the middle of rearranging some framed pictures hanging on the wall.

"Good timing," Mom said, looking over her shoulder before turning around to properly face me, "What do you think? I have been thinking about moving some stuff around, but..."

"Wasn't it already fine before? You know what they say, 'Don't fix what is not broken'."

"Fair enough, but you never know what you will find when you experiment. And, being in your comfort zone all the time can get boring."

"Perhaps."

"You don't seem convinced," Mom said. She got closer and examined my face, "Did something happen? You said you were going to hang out with your friends, right?"

"Huh? No, no. I had lots of fun. I'm just... tired. I'll be in my room."

Just as I had told my mom, I headed to my bedroom, hoping to get my thoughts in order while lying on my bed.

I decided to contact Mari, thinking that she may have more advice for me. But that wasn't all, I was also curious as to what had prompted her to send me that text. 

She did mention an ex-boyfriend, but I can't just bluntly ask her about that, can I?

I sent her a message thanking her for the advice. I also asked her if there was a story behind that piece of wisdom.

"Oh, that? I was just thinking about the past. Things I should have said, things I shouldn't have said, that kind of stuff."

Is this about her ex-boyfriend, after all?

"Anyway, I'm glad I was of help," she said.

After staring at the ceiling for a while, I told the rest of my friends about what happened with Ryu.

 

 

The next day arrived, and with it, the time to face Ryu.

I should have waited until Friday to do that sort of thing...

It went without saying that I was hesitant to see him again so soon after what I did but thinking back to Mari's words, I decided to get this over with.

However, there was a change of plans. Ryu sent me a text, saying he couldn't go jogging with me today because something came up, and that he would see me at school. But before I was able to do that, I had to deal with someone else.

A short girl with black and blue hair grumbled after passing through the school's front gate. She turned around, most likely because she felt my gaze on her.

"Ah, Senpai. Good morning," she said with a deadpan voice.

"Good morning, Inuzuka-chan. Is everything okay?"

I didn't need to use my gift to know that something was troubling her.

"So you can feel concerned for me when you are not the instigator of my troubles, huh?" she said with a frown.

"I'm sorry for what I did the other day, it's just that..."

"Sure, whatever. I don't care anymore, you are a saint compared to Kimura."

"So, this is about him?" 

A sigh escaped from her lips. "Even if my identity is still safe from him, yesterday he learned that I can sing, so he pestered me about it until I went home. Seriously, dealing with that guy can be a pain... I would rather have to deal with a sore throat than be near him."

"Is that how you should think about your biggest fan?"

She glared at me, only to drop her gaze and sigh once more.

"I would rather have Akaishi-senpai as my #1 fan. He seems like a decent guy, compared to Kimura."

"Um..."

"Maybe I should reveal my identity to him. Then, we can date and he will keep Kimura away from me. A great plan, wouldn't you agree?"

I couldn't say anything in return due to the shock. She wanted to date Ryu... just for that reason?

Inuzuka stared at me for a while, until her lips twisted into a grin. After that, she started laughing.

"Hahaha, look at your face!" she said, then she took a deep breath to regain her composure. "That was a joke. Now we're even."

"..."

"Now is your turn. What's bothering you today?"

A heavy sigh escaped my mouth, after which I gave her a summary of the events that transpired the day before. Once I finished, she smiled. Unlike the mischievous expression she made moments ago, this one was gentle.

"How nice! So, what did you do after that?"

"I ran away."

Her gentle expression vanished in an instant. 

"Why. Why?!"

She looked ready to explode, but she managed to calm down by inhaling and exhaling.

"I guess that was as far as your guts could take you, even though you were brave enough to attempt blackmail..."

"Eh?"

"In any case, I will be rooting for you, senpai. Now, if you could stop bullying me in return..."

"What are you saying? Me, a bully? No way!"

Inuzuka grumbled, but before she could say anything, a set of footsteps caught her attention. The source was a boy with ash brown hair, who seemed to be standing behind us until a couple of seconds ago.

"Kimura? Were you... listening?"

This is bad. We talked about her identity as Orbeat:71 just a few moments ago.

Well, I didn't actually say her online handle aloud, but there were enough hints to put her identity in jeopardy.

He walked past us, not bothering to reply to her question.

"Wait! How much did you hear?"

"Hear what?" he said, glancing aside for a brief moment, "I was minding my own business."

In the end, Kimura kept walking, so she chased after him.

"How long was he standing there?" I thought as those two left, their figures shrinking with each step.

Although I wasn't sure, I felt that he had been there for a while.

Should I read his mind to find out how much he heard? I'm not keen on using my gift, but if this could be of help to her...

"Good morning! Rihona-chan? Why are you spacing out?"

That voice reached my ears at the same time someone waved their hand in front of my eyes. That person was none other than Hikaru.

As was to be expected, she was with Michiru, who sighed at her girlfriend's behavior. 

"She is probably still worried about yesterday."

As I greeted Michiru, Hikaru stared at me.

"So, you haven't talked with him yet? What are we waiting for, then? Let's hurry!"

 

 

- Ryu -

 

I was walking through the hallway, my heart pounding faster and faster with each step I took. As my classroom came into view, I braced myself for what would follow, only to be both relieved and disappointed.

"She isn't here yet..."

Uttering those words while combing through the classroom, I headed to my seat and greeted my friends Daisuke and Nicole.

"Mornin'!"

"...Good morning."

"Did something happen?" Daisuke asked.

Of course, he wasn't aware of what occurred after I headed home with Rihona, because I was in too much of a shock to remember to tell him. However, even as my cousin struggled to keep her eyes open at that moment, they indicated that she knew something.

Well, I suppose this is the kind of thing that a girl would tell her friends.

Once I thought of that, I realized that those lovebirds were nowhere to be found.

If she told Nicole, then surely she told Miyazawa and Nakajima, too.

To be honest, I would have preferred to settle this with Rihona before class, but something had come up at home, leaving me with no choice but to skip our jogging routine.

I slumped on my seat before replying to my friend by asking a related question. 

"Do you think Rihona likes me?"

Daisuke snorted, "You are not seriously asking that at this point, are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, do I really have to spell it out for you?"

"Yeah, I would like to actually hear it from someone."

"Fine. I'm pretty sure she likes you."

"I figured... Why else would she kiss my cheek?"

Daisuke nodded until the meaning of my words hit him, and then he opened his mouth in shock. On the other hand, my cousin didn't react, most likely because she had already heard about this from the other party involved in this.

Opening her eyes with great difficulty, Nicole looked at me.

"Have you talked with her since then?"

"No, I ran into some trouble this morning so I didn't go jogging with her today. I don't know if I should consider that bad luck or not.

Between yawns, she asked, "What will you do now?"

"I... I don't know. To tell the truth, I'm still not over Mari."

"I figured. In that case, maybe..."

"Guys?"

Daisuke called out to us and pointed to the classroom's door. Rihona was about to enter with Miyazawa and Nakajima in tow.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning!"

After returning everyone's greetings, I glanced at Rihona.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it this morning. I... uh, I kinda broke something at home and I just couldn't leave Mom to deal with it."

"Is that so? Sounds rough."

With that, she sat down without a word about what happened the day before.

Maybe she is still thinking about what to say. In that case, I should wait for her to bring it up.

Just as I was thinking that, the homeroom teacher walked in through the door.

For a brief moment, I pushed my thoughts aside to focus on Ms. Shimoyama's voice.

 

 

I expected Rihona to say something during lunchtime, but to my surprise, she said she was going to eat lunch with someone from another class and left.

That was a good opportunity to continue talking with Daisuke and Nicole about this, and maybe figure out what my next step should be.

On the other hand, this feels like something I should be able to figure out on my own. What to do...

"It's that face again," said Daisuke, "you are overthinking something, aren't you?"

I took a deep breath, "It's nothing."

He was right. I was once again falling into that same old pattern of getting caught up in my thoughts. Even though the answer was obvious.

I have to talk with her. There's no way around it.

 

 

With the last class over, everyone rushed to get their things in order and leave the classroom. Rihona, too, hurried to put her books away.

I called out to her. She slowly turned her head until our eyes met. After a couple of seconds, she raised her eyebrows as if remembering something.

"You can go on ahead, I'm not leaving yet. I have... some stuff to do."

"It's okay, I will wait. I wanna talk with you."

She forced a smile and left the classroom without saying anything. I didn't know what business she had at school, but I was willing to wait however long it took for her so that we could settle this at last.

 

 

- Rihona -

 

It wasn't evading Ryu on purpose, I truly had something important to do before heading home. 

 

 

Back at lunchtime, I headed to class 1-B. After all, someone from that class had offered her help earlier that day.

That person, Inuzuka Nanai, groaned for some reason as soon as she saw me. But her tune changed when I reminded her of her words that morning.

"You said you would support me, didn't you?"

"But only if you stop bothering me. But, unless you need a new pair of glasses, it should be obvious that right now, you are being a..."

"I managed to kiss him on the cheek, so why am I afraid of taking the next step?"

"So that's what this is about," she said before taking a sip of her apple juice. "Listen, you have to build up your confidence bit by bit. Why not start with your art?"

"My art?"

"Yeah. I thought that sketch you did was pretty cool. Why not join the art club?"

 

 

And so, I followed her advice and headed to where the art club usually gathered. After a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

If I want the confidence to date Ryu, I have to take this step first.