It was later that evening, just before twilight.
Naoya reached the shoe rack near the entrance of the school. He leaned against a shelf, sighing to himself, “Thank God it’s finally over...”
“Hey, Naoya. Looks like we’re both doing just peachy,” a voice greeted him. It was Naoya’s friend, Tatsumi Kouno.
They’d both bombed a quiz and had to take supplementary lessons as a result. Tatsumi was reaching for his shoes when he paused, as if something occurred to him. He spoke up, “Come to think of it, it’s rare seeing you having to take supplementary lessons.”
“I’m awful at math, man. You know this,” Naoya replied.
“You’re never this awful, though.”
“Not usually, I guess,” Naoya admitted. Although he didn’t exactly want to toot his own horn or anything, he was quite skilled academically. It wasn’t that he was incredibly intelligent; it was just that he was able to predict what teachers were planning to put on tests and stuff like that. He simply needed to do some last-minute studying beforehand, and everything would usually turn out fine.
“You’ve been staring into space a lot recently, my man. It’s like you’ve got something on your mind. Mind me if I take a stab at what it is?” his friend asked.
“Be my guest.”
“It’s Shirogane, right?”
“You got me,” Naoya shrugged limply.
“I’ve been dying to ask you about it, dude. Everyone’s been talking about the gloomy-looking guy ‘The Queen of Thorns’ is falling all over,” Tatsumi joked. He gave Naoya a playful shove before his face became somewhat serious all of a sudden. “Still, I don’t really get it. What are you so worried about? What’s the big deal if you two are dating?”
“Well, she’s not really the problem,” Naoya answered hesitantly.
“And you are?”
Naoya heaved a heavy sigh in response. He was happy that Koyuki liked him—really. He was honored, even. The issue laid with him. “I don’t know, like, how I like her, if that makes sense,” he explained.
“It doesn’t really, to be honest,” his friend replied simply.
How exactly did he feel about her? How would he describe this affection—was it like family? A friend? Or possibly a lover? What did it really mean to “like” someone, anyway? Naoya knew that Koyuki held romantic feelings for him. So how did he feel? The question had occurred to him yesterday, and it only confounded him the more he thought on it.
“So yeah, that’s what’s been on my mind,” Naoya concluded. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“‘Cause I don’t get what the hell you’re saying. Even preschoolers can decide whether they like someone or not, man! You’re nearly a goddamn adult!” his friend cried incredulously.
“What d’you want me to do about it?! I’ve never been in a situation like this before!”
“Well yeah! You’ve always just shut that shit down in the past!”
“Uh, well... Yeah, I guess you’re right about that,” Naoya mumbled sheepishly.
Nothing could shake you to your core quite like the words of someone you’ve known your whole life. It was for a similar reason that he kept those who had approached him romantically in the past at arm’s length. And because he’d done that, he had never sorted out his own feelings toward such situations—in other words, the reason he was struggling was entirely his fault.
Tatsumi smiled broadly and slapped Naoya on the back again. This time, he did it rather roughly. “You’re so good at reading others, yet you don’t understand yourself at all! Haha. Man, I do not envy you!”
“Mind your damn business, okay?” Naoya grumbled.
“I’ve got a girlfriend, though. If I can’t give unsolicited love advice, then what can I do?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”
Although he often found it hard to believe, Tatsumi had a girlfriend he’d been seeing for over a year. It only made sense that he didn’t really relate to Naoya’s struggles.
“What does someone like Shirogane even see in you?” Tatsumi mused as he put his outdoor shoes on. He stepped toward the doors of the school before stopping. “Well, that aside, she does seem serious about this whole thing.”
“What d’you mean?” Naoya asked.
“Uh, that’s her over there, right?” Tatsumi asked as he pointed at the school’s main gate.
“What?!”
And sure enough, there she was. Most students had either gone home, or they were attending their various clubs. That left the main gate quite deserted, save for a lone girl who stood underneath the gate’s arch, staring quietly at her feet.
“Shirogane?!” Naoya shouted and began running in her direction before he knew what he was doing.
“Ah!” Koyuki gasped. When she saw him, her face lit up for the briefest of moments before her usual cool expression returned. “Fancy meeting you here, Sasahara. What a coincidence.”
She appeared tired, and there were scuff marks from her shoes on the ground where she’d been kicking pebbles around. She must have been waiting for him for quite a while.
“I told you my supplementary classes were gonna run long, didn’t I?” Naoya chided. “You should’ve gone home.”
“What? Did you seriously think I was waiting for you? Hah! Please. I was just studying in the library until now,” she scoffed, posing haughtily as usual.
Naoya didn’t point it out this time, though. “Oh, sorry, my mistake. Anyway, I’m sorry I’m so late. I’ll study extra hard, too, so I don’t have to take any more lessons like this.”
“Well, um, if you want to apologize that much... Whatever. I don’t care,” Koyuki answered in a quiet mumble. Her nose was slightly red, a telltale sign that she was embarrassed. Those little quirks—signs that were dead giveaways to what she really felt—were incredibly charming to him.
I really do like being with her. Normally, I get worn out from being around people, but she’s the exact opposite. Is that really love, though? Naoya pondered. There were a few exceptions, of course—there were his parents, his boss, and—
“Oh look, it’s Naoya,” a bright female voice called out from behind and snapped him out of his mental listing.
Naoya turned around to figure out who had been calling out to him. The girl had burgundy hair that was pulled into a functional ponytail and long, thin legs. Her large eyes were slightly almond shaped. All of these traits combined to give her a rather sporty appearance.
Naoya smiled when he recognized who it was. “Hey, Yui! Club stuff all finished?”
“Nah, there was no club today. So why’re you here so lat—Whoa, is that Shirogane?!” the girl exclaimed. Her speech had been casual until she noticed Koyuki. “Why are you two together?! What the hell happened?!”
“Didn’t I tell you? Some stuff happened, and we’ve been hanging out a lot recently,” Naoya explained.
“A weirdo like you with her, eh? Okay. Stranger things have happened, I guess. Oh yeah, is Shirogane also heading home now?”
“I-I am,” Koyuki nodded awkwardly. She seemed familiar with Yui, which made her even more awkward.
It suddenly occurred to Naoya why this may be. “Right, you guys are in the same class, aren’t you, Yui?” he asked.
“Yep. We haven’t talked much, though,” Yui replied.
“Indeed...” Koyuki threw a prickly glance at Naoya in spite of her polite smile. “So are you and Sasahara friends?”
“Mm-hm, we’ve known each other for years,” Naoya replied.
“Yeah, since kindergarten, actually. As much as I try and get rid of him, haha,” Yui joked. The way the two of them bounced off each other was a testament to the many years they had been friends. Naoya had known Yui Natsume for over 10 years—so long that their respective families were both friends, and Naoya even ate at Yui’s house every once in a while. She was one of the only people Naoya could easily get along with.
“Oh wow. That’s great...” Koyuki said as her face hardened. Naoya felt as if there was now a wall between him and Koyuki that hadn’t been there before.