It was the next morning when Naoya noticed the mysterious item in his shoe shelf.
“Hm?” Naoya blurted out, perplexed.
“What?!” Koyuki shouted, equally as perplexed but much louder.
The object of their confusion was a letter that was sealed with a heart and addressed to Naoya. The handwriting on the envelope was quite rigid, but still unmistakably feminine. He opened the envelope and found a single page with only a few lines written on it.
To Naoya Sasahara,
I’ve liked you for a long time, and I’d like to hear your response. I’ll be waiting for you on the roof after school today.
Koyuki was wide eyed as she marveled, “I didn’t realize people still did this kinda thing, much less to someone like you. I guess it’s safe to assume they’re as much of a loser as you, whoever they are. Are you planning on going?”
“Yeah, probably. They took the time to deliver a letter, after all,” he replied.
“Oh... Okay, then,” Koyuki pouted and turned away from Naoya. She did a rather bad job of hiding her displeasure. “And here he was spouting all this crap about liking me. Hmph, I guess that’s just the kind of guy he is. Well, what do I care? It’s got nothing to do with me. I hope those two freaks have a long, happy life with all their little freak spawn...”
Koyuki’s eyes were pointed firmly at the ground, preventing Naoya from getting a good look at her face. But judging by the quiver in her voice, she was moments away from breaking into tears. He knew he had to intervene soon, so he quickly reassured her, “Whoa, whoa. Slow down. I am going—going to turn her down.”
“Hmph, so you do love he—wait, you’re going to reject her? Why?!”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Naoya said with a shrug. The look on Koyuki’s face seemed to say that it wasn’t obvious in the slightest. Naoya placed his hands firmly on her shoulders and spoke seriously, “You’re the one I like. You. So you don’t have to go worrying about any other girls, okay?”
“But what if she’s cute? And nice? And isn’t a burden like me?” she asked.
“What are you talking about? You’re cute and nice. And if there really was anyone like that, I don’t think I could go out with them anyways,” he replied earnestly.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re already so adorable that it basically gives me diabetes. If there really was someone cuter, chances are I’d die of a heart attack.”
“Hmph, you talk a big game,” Koyuki sniffed. She flicked her hair back and put on her best impression of a composed expression. She poked Naoya’s nose and added, “Still, I appreciate that. But if I ever see your eyes wander, then we’re done.”
“Of course, of course. I promise that won’t happen,” Naoya said with a nod to display his conviction.
He could tell she believed him in that moment, and a wave of relief washed over him. In a sense, he was almost happy—he was very aware of the tempest of emotions, both positive and negative, that abounded when you cared deeply about someone. Her little display had just shown him that she really did have such feelings toward him. I never knew jealousy could be so cute. Wow, he marveled to himself. He was so giddy, in fact, that he had totally forgotten that they were right at the school’s entrance, and that their exchange had drawn in a large audience.
“Jeez, they’re going at it this early in the morning?”
“Just don’t make any eye contact.”
Yui and Tatsumi were among the crowd, watching from a distance. They were both certain that the awkward lovebirds would soon be the talk of the school.
Koyuki, for her part, appeared oblivious to the attention they were receiving, as well. She plucked the letter from Naoya’s hands and examined it thoroughly. “Obviously you’re going to turn her down, but you need to go about this the right way. It sounds like she likes you a lot, so you’ve gotta let her down easy.”
“Yeah, even I know that much,” Naoya grumbled while he retrieved the letter and looked it over again. He was aware it must have taken the writer a great deal of courage to send this to him, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t quite right—the prevailing sensation he got from the letter was that of unease. “You know, I don’t think this is an actual love letter...”
“What? If that’s not a love letter, then what else could it be?” Koyuki asked as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.
Naoya didn’t reply—instead, he just gave her an enigmatic smile. Either way, he’d find out the truth of the matter once classes were over.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ootsuki High was a fairly easy-going school—there were innumerable clubs and societies, and rooms were exceedingly easy to borrow. After school, the grounds were filled with the jovial sounds of students talking and laughing well into the evening. The school roof, with its sprawling view of the scenic town, was a particularly popular spot. That was why Naoya was quite surprised when he opened the door to the roof and found only one other student there.
“Hey. Are you the one who sent the letter?” he greeted her.
“Ah, y-yes, that’s me,” the girl stuttered and gave Naoya a slight bow. She was quite petite in stature and appeared to be a first year student. Other than that, Naoya couldn’t make out many details—she was wearing a large parka over her uniform, the hood of which was pulled down to conceal her face. He didn’t recognize her voice either. He got the feeling that he might have passed her in the halls at some point, but this was definitely their first time meeting properly.
“Th-Thank you for coming. There’s, um, something I want to ask you...” the girl stuttered and folded her arms awkwardly across her chest as she spoke. She was the textbook definition of anxiety. Most would feel compelled to cut in, but Naoya patiently waited for her to continue. After a long moment, she managed to summon her courage. “I like you! I’ve liked you since the first time I saw you. If it’s all right with you... would you go out with me?!”
“Thank you, but I can’t go out with you. There’s already someone else I like,” Naoya explained with a kind smile and a shake of his head.
“No way! What kind of person are they?! I’m sure if I really tried, I could be better than them, so—!”
“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing you can do,” Naoya cut her off. The girl’s voice had sounded incredibly pained by his response, but something was off. Naoya had rejected several girls in the past, and he knew it was always a painful experience for both parties. This time, however, he hadn’t felt anything remotely like that despite what she was saying. “You don’t really like me, do you?”
“Wha?” she sputtered.
“You don’t like me. If anything, I’d say hating me would be closer to the truth. Right?” he asked.
The girl played with her hands while she stood there in silence. They remained that way for a while, with the jubilant voices of other students in the fields below rising to fill the hush. A cold gust blew through the roof.
Finally, the girl’s hands fell to her sides. “How could you tell?” she asked in a monotone. The lovesick girl who had been standing there just moments before had completely vanished.
Naoya wasn’t all that surprised, though. “Hmm, I guess it was the handwriting that gave it away,” he replied. Most people would be surprised by how much you can tell from someone's handwriting—such as the type of person who wrote the text, or what sort of mental state they were in. And as for the letter he’d received, all Naoya could glean from the handwriting was open hostility. “And now that I’ve met you, it’s obvious that you don’t actually like me. You were just testing me.”
“Correct,” the girl nodded calmly and put a hand to her chin. “You saw through my deception, and you dealt with a sudden love letter quickly and cleanly. You pass the test.”
“Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you something,” Naoya added.
“What?”
“You wouldn’t happen to be Shirogane—”
Just then, the door to the roof slammed open, and a loud voice cried out, “Sakuya?!” Koyuki rushed toward them, eyes agog as she stared at the girl standing across from Naoya.
Naoya smiled at her. “Ah, I knew you couldn’t resist coming to see who it was. I told her ‘no,’ like I said I would.”
“Wha?! I just came to make sure you weren’t about to upset a first year! More importantly—!” she cut herself off to point at the girl. “Sakuya was the mysterious sender?!”
“Guilty as charged,” the girl stated cleanly as she lifted her hood.
“I knew it. You are Shirogane’s little sister. You’re quite pretty, just like your big sister,” Naoya added.
“I get that a lot,” Sakuya answered in a disinterested tone. She had an expressionless face and a voice to match.