7
The entrance to the school was overflowing with the wave of students going home.
What does Ichinose want with me? I was a little worried on coming here. I guess I’ll find out soon.
Although she’s cute, she has a presence that dominates this place.
Honestly, I don’t know how to describe it. I can only express it as being vaguely soft but powerful. I also noticed all the attention she gets from the first-year students.
She’s Kushida’s equal, or even more. She’s popular with both men and women, after school everyone came after her wanting to talk, one after another.
As a result, I had to find a way to waste about 5 minutes while she finished talking.
“Buddy, Ayanokouji, over here!”
Finally, Ichinose remembers me and calls me over.
She raises her hand for me to come join her.
“So what am I supposed to do now?"
“I’m going to finish this right away. Follow me.”
I put on my shoes, and I head to the back of the school while being led by Ichinose.
I arrived at the back of the building. It’s a perfect place to confess.
“Let’s see…”
She took a quick breath and looked up at me. No way, Ichinose to me?!
“Confession—–“
Woah, just like that…
“I’m going to be confessed to here.”
“…Huh?”
With that said, Ichinose showed me a letter.
It was a lovely letter with a cute seal on it.
Although it also looked fine when I peeked inside, I noticed something unusual.
The inside was just as cute as the outside, the writing was very girly.
Since I first entered this school, I’ve had a desire. I just realized what it is.
It was written that she wanted to meet at the back of the gym at 4 o’clock on Friday evening after it closed. That would be in 10 minutes.
“Wouldn’t it be better for me not to be here?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel the same way . . . . How can I turn the person down without hurting them? I’m not sure how to stay good friends. So I wanted you to help me.”
“I don’t think it’s best asking me, I have no experience with confessions. There are many useful people in B Class.”
“The one who confessed….is in B Class.”
I see. Somehow I understood why I was picked out.
“I want to keep what happens today as secret as possible. If not, things will be awkward in the future. Ayanokoji, I know you’re not going to tell anyone.”
“But Ichinose, aren’t you used to being confessed to?”
“Eh! What? Not at all. Even so. I don’t know anything about dating!”
I would have never believed her if I had not been asked to help that day.
“So, I just, I feel…”
Really it can’t be helped, Ichinose is cute, but I don’t think it’s only looks. Judging by the responses of other students to Ichinose this morning, her personality also seems really nice.
“So… Can you pretend to be my boyfriend?”
Wow, this has been an interesting evening!
“After looking at all the options, saying that there is someone you are going out with seems to hurt the least. . . .”
“I know the feeling of not wanting to hurt someone, but won’t the lie hurt more later?”
“I decided we should break up right away. I want us to say that I was dumped.”
You don’t think there’s a problem, but…
“It’d be better to talk one on one, absolutely. It would also be the honest thing to do.”
“But—hey!”
Ichinose saw something, she raised her hand awkwardly.
It seems that the other party came earlier than we thought. What kind of boy is this?
When you look at the face, it looks like a man and woman. You have to look carefully.
No, no matter how it looks it is a girl. I thought so when I was looking at the letter, but it really was a girl. Unlike men confessing to men, it is because I am a man that this seems to be okay even if a little against the established way of doing things.
“Ichinose, who is that person?”
The girl who came here was wary of me, an unknown boy.
“He is Ayanokoji of D class. I’m sorry, Chihiro-chan, I brought someone you don't know.”
“Is this perhaps your boyfriend…or?”
“Ah. . . Uh. . ..”
I thought Ichinose would probably answer "Yeah." However, it seems the answer got stuck in the back of her throat, probably from the guilt of lying.
“Why is this Ayanokouji person here?”
The girl, Chihiro-chan, was confused by the unexpected situation and became teary-eyed. Is he your boyfriend? Why is another person here if he's not your boyfriend? I don't understand.
Then I noticed Ichinose, she looked panicked, as if she had no idea what to do. She appears to be a reliable girl, but has unexpected weaknesses.
"Well, could you go somewhere else? I have an important matter to discuss with Ichinose."
"Wait a minute, Chihiro-san. Well, um…? Actually, Ayanokouji-kun…."
Ichinose made the first move somehow and seemed intent on declining.
Perhaps she thought that she would have a hard time if she said “girls” in direct language.
"．．． What is it?"
"Ayanokouji-kun? That’s my—"
There is basically nothing I can do at this point. If only there was….
"I'm just a friend."
Before Ichinose could twist things, I spoke up.
"Ichinose. I don't think it's a good idea for me to be here, since I'm not being confessed to. It was a mistake to get me involved."
I answered clearly for both of us.
"Confessing to someone is not an easy thing. You simulate it in your mind over and over again, spending every day in anguish, yet still cannot confess. Even when you think you'll confess, the word ‘love’ hangs in your throat and does not come out. I think her earnest feelings deserve a proper answer, don't you? Being in such a situation and never speaking up only leaves regret."
"Umm…"
Perhaps Ichinose has never really liked someone. So, she didn’t know what to do, and didn’t know what was wrong. The feeling that I do not want to hurt my friend has produced no results. When refusing a confession, hurting the other person is a path that cannot be avoided. It might make it a little better if you think of a good reason. Now I want to focus on my schoolwork, or someone else I like. There are people like this now. However, the other party is still hurt. The rejection hurts more if it's painted with lies.
I did not wait for Ichinose's response, I left. I stopped on a tree-lined street leading to the dormitory.
I sat on the handrail and took a deep breath while looking up at the green leaves. After about 5 minutes of this, a girl rushed past me. She had tears in her eyes. Even so, I continued killing time without moving from that spot. As the sun sank, Ichinose quietly returned.
"Ah…"
When she came into sight she looked uncomfortable and was looking down, but immediately lifted her head as she approached.
"I was wrong. I tried desperately, thinking only how to not hurt her without trying to understand Chihiro’s feelings. I only thought of escaping, that was a mistake."
"Love is difficult" muttered Ichinose as she sat next to me on the railing.
"Tomorrow we're supposed to act normal, I wonder if we can get back to where we were."
"It depends on you two."
"Yeah…"
"Thank you for today. I made an interesting memory."
"Good, sometimes there are days like this."
"Our positions were reversed. Although I intended to lend a hand, I ended up being helped."
"I'm sorry that I was insolent."
Ichinose looked ahead and it seemed like something was wrong.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you have nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all."
She stretched her hands out to the sky and leaped to the ground.
"Now it’s my turn to cooperate. I’ll try to do just that."
How is Class B student Ichinose going to handle this difficult situation?
I look forward to watching.