AZUSA finished breakfast and returned to her room to get ready for school. She still had an hour before she needed to leave. With nothing better to do, she decided to clarify something she had been curious about for a while, and stared intently at her dictionary.
“To have…a yen for something...let’s see…”
“Is something wrong, Azusa? Why are you looking at a dictionary? Are you going to start on your homework now?”
“No, I was trying to look up something that’s been on my mind—Ichi?”
“I knocked. You did not respond, but I sensed you were inside, so I took the liberty of coming in without permission. Should I not have?”
“No, you did nothing wrong. No problem there. Actually, you came at a good time.” Despite being surprised by Ichi’s sudden appearance, Azusa held the dictionary out to her.
“Could you help me look for the saying, ‘to have a yen for something’?”
“…I’m sorry. I do not understand what you mean.”
“You see, one of my classmates once asked me, ‘I heard from my parents that the Akaoni has a yen for someone. Is that true?’ I didn’t know what the saying meant at the time, and then it was kind of pushed aside with Tsukiharu’s sudden appearance, leaving me stuck wondering what my classmate meant…
“I thought I should use my spare time right now to look up the word, but I don’t know how to use a physical dictionary to look up phrases. I’m having a hard time finding it. Akaoni refers to Kouya, right? I’d hate for bad rumors to spread because I can’t refute them… Actually, it would be faster if I ask you. Do you know what it means for someone to have a yen for someone else? Yen is not related to money, right?”
“I’m sorry. I am not well-read, so I do not know what the phrase means. I can help you look it up in the dictionary though.”
“Thank you! That would be a big help!”
Azusa and Ichi began flipping through the dictionary. They surprisingly found it without much hassle.
Yen: A noun. To have a craving; to yearn. To secretly long for something or someone.
“This is probably the one we want if we are discounting the monetary definition.”
“If he is secretly longing for someone, does that mean he’s in love?”
“What? Who is in love?”
“Kouya is?”
“Kouya is in love with someone?”
“……”
“……”
“WHAAAT?!” both girls cried out, dropping the dictionary as if it were infested with bugs. The dictionary thudded against the hardwood floor.
“This is not plausible. How could that Kouya fall in love with anyone? That man is the most unsuited for love and anything related to love. He is the number one least likely person in the world to get attached to someone.”
“You rag pretty hard on Kouya, don’t you, Ichi? This is a what-if situation, you know? Like what if he is in love? Oh my gosh! You’re right! I can’t imagine it either! What kind of person would he even fall for?”
“Don’t you think he would be in a mature relationship? Like they would both keep a proper distance from each other and never lose their heads over their love!”
“Totally! I get what you mean! I didn’t think you would be into love talk and relationship stuff!”
“Now that is very rude of you, Azusa. I may not look like it, but I am a proper woman! My favorite magazine to read is Shoujo Beets!”
“Oh my gosh! No way! We might have the same interests! Let me see your copy sometime! I haven’t read any manga or light novels since coming to this town! I didn’t even know we could get magazines here!”
“Of course we can! I will bring my copy over later! Oh, but, are you okay?”
“Okay with what?”
“Azusa, you like Kouya, don’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“You like Kouya, right? You seem happy Kouya has affection for someone, but are you all right with that?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“I like Kouya?”
“Am I wrong?”
“Uh…” Azusa froze as if she were turned to stone.
He has countlessly helped me and saved my life on several occasions, but I never once thought of him in that way. I won’t deny I feel safe with him and find myself feeling giddy when he smiles. But the same applies to Ichi and Subaru.
“Wh-Why do you think so?”
“You seem to have the most fun when you are with Kouya.”
“I have fun with you and Subaru too!”
“Do you want to deny it, Azusa? Please try thinking about it this way then. Say Kouya truly is in love with someone else and comes to you one day saying he wants to annul his contract with you to contract with her instead. How would you feel about that?”
“……”
“Furthermore, he tells you he can no longer be your bodyguard because he wants to protect her forever instead. How does that feel?”
“……”
“If you are still fine, my prior statement was a misunderstanding on my half. Well, if the look on your face is anything to go by, it was not a misunderstanding.”
“…What look do I have?”
“You look sad and lonely.”
“I see…”
Even Azusa was conscious of the terrible state her face was in after imagining the scenario for real. She felt a little like crying after picturing Kouya and some pretty woman walking away intimately holding hands, leaving her behind.
“Do you think I like Kouya?”
“I believe so.”
Azusa became aware of her feelings after having them pointed out. Her body grew hot, as if all her blood was boiling, and her ears turned bright-red. Realizing her feelings for him gave her the nagging hunch all her actions until then were grounded in those feelings.
The heat cooled the instant she remembered the conversation she had with Ichi—the rumors about him being in love with someone.
If Kouya is in love with someone, the day I realized I love him will be the day I find myself with an unrequited love. I could fight off anyone who’s in love with him, but there’s no beating the woman he loves. The most I can do is work hard to get him to notice me more than her.
“…Do you think Kouya is in love with someone?”
“Are you referring to the rumor, ‘the infamous Akaoni has a yen for someone’? I believe it is nothing more than a rumor. He is a magnet for weird rumors. The rumor this time is a tad unique, but why don’t you ask him directly if it bothers you?”
“What exactly do I ask him?”
“Isn’t it fine to take the simple approach and ask, ‘do you love anyone right now?’”
“…I can’t ask that.”
“Please try to!” Ichi encouraged with her fists clenched.
Azusa felt bad for Ichi, who was cheering for her, but she didn’t have the guts to ask such a bold question. And, at any rate, she had only just become aware of her feelings. She had a hunch it was all a misunderstanding. True, she had feelings for him, but she still didn’t know whether those were feelings for a friend or for someone of the opposite sex.
There was a light knock on the door.
“Oh? I wonder who it is.”
“Isn’t it Kouya? Speak of the devil and he comes.”
“It can’t be him. It’s still thirty minutes earlier than our usual time to leave. It’s not Kouya—”
“Did you call for me?”
Azusa froze the moment she opened the door and her eyes met Kouya’s—the very man she couldn’t stop thinking about. Her body temperature skyrocketed when he looked at her, his expression no different from usual.
“K-K-Ko-Kou-Kouya! What do you need?!”
“…Are you okay?”
“Yes! I’m okay! A-okay! Okay-dokey! As well as a whistle!” Azusa exclaimed, raising both fists in a fighting pose. Something cold suddenly touched her forehead. Her body temperature was on the rocket and ready to explode by the time she realized it was his hand.
Paying no heed to her reaction, Kouya caressed her cheeks between his hands and cocked his head.
“You feel a bit warm. Do you have a fever? I would prefer if you did. Want to stay home today?”
“You would prefer if I did?”
“Yeah. I can get through the day without wasting time worrying about Tsukiharu. You can stay with me all day today.”
“I’m hearing thingsssss!” Azusa shouted.
“Huh?”
“Pay no attention to me. Ahem. I apologize for losing my cool. I am in perfect health! Are we going to school already? Early today, huh?!”
Oh gosh, I can’t believe I thought I heard him say something like, “you can stay with me all day today.” A girl in love is scary! A brain in love is scary! A brain deluded by love is scary!
“It’s a bit early, but I thought it’d be nice to slowly walk there. I doubt many people are out at this time and I want to talk to you about some things.”
“HAHAHA! Sounds kinda like a date!”
What the heck did I just SAY?! DID I JUST SAY THAT?!
Azusa frantically swung her arms around to distract from what she blurted out due to the heat rising to her head, but Kouya showed no signs of being bothered by it. His eyes did widen slightly, followed by a look of thoughtful contemplation.
“Good idea. Will you go on a date with me?”