“Can’t. I like you too much,” Naoya declared confidently. “Okay, now let’s forget about all that. Come on, sit.”
“But that was a pretty important conversation...”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Koyuki sat down reluctantly and frowned as Naoya began to fill the cups on the table with juice. “I know I already asked, but what’s the point of all this?” she asked.
“Oh yeah—I wanted to throw a party. You know, for making up.”
“A party? I’m not a kid anymore,” Koyuki grumbled.
Naoya ignored her and started retrieving an assortment of items from the paper bags that lay at his feet. “We’ll start with orange juice,” he declared. “Then I have some of those animal biscuits you like. I made a photo album of cat pictures, and I even got Kirihiko to sign a book for you.”
Koyuki began to wonder what a passerby would think if they happened to spot the table and its eclectic assortment of items. “What kind of party is this even supposed to be?” she asked.
“A party for you and all the stuff you love.”
“Jeez...” Koyuki sighed more out of exasperation than anything. “These are all things I like, though. How did you know? I’ve never told you about them. Did you ask Sakuya?”
“Nah, I just put it all together from stuff you’ve talked about before.”
“I’ll never get over how creepy that ability of yours is...”
“It’s nice to hear you say stuff like this every once in a while,” Naoya added with a smile. He pulled a large object out from another paper bag.
Koyuki’s eyes went wide. “Wait, is that...”
“Yep—it’s that big plushie you wanted on our first date.”
It was a large smiling cat, so big that it could barely fit under one arm. Naoya had sacrificed many one hundred yen coins in his endeavor to win the massive plushie, and he regretted none of it.
“I won’t ever reject your feelings, Shirogane, especially if they're about liking me. I’ll accept everything about you,” he stated earnestly.
Koyuki let out a quiet gasp, then looked quickly between Naoya and the plushie. “So, do you think you could maybe start believing that I really like you now?” he asked.
After a long pause, Koyuki whispered, “Okay.” She accepted the plushie and crushed it in a violent hug.
Naoya was visibly relieved. “Awesome. Now, let’s have fun together today. We can start working together on moving forward tomorrow. I’ll wait for your reply for as long as it takes.”
“O-Okay,” Koyuki nodded, the plushie still caught in an amorous vice grip.
This is good. Still wish I could call her by her name, though, he grumbled to himself. It appeared as though he would have to wait a little while longer until he heard her reply to his confession. Still, Koyuki had, without a doubt, made progress. Naoya took a sip of his juice as he mulled things over.
“Thank you... Naoya,” Koyuki said timidly.
“Pfffttt!” Naoya spat out the orange juice in his mouth, coating the table in a fine orange-colored spray. He promptly fell over onto his back. No matter how good his intuition was, it hadn’t prepared him for that.