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“Found them yet?” Asahi asked.
“Nope, no such luck.”
It had been a little over 10 minutes since Fuyuka and Hinami had disappeared when the guys hadn’t been paying attention.
While reason dictated that they couldn’t have possibly gone far, they were still nowhere to be seen. Asahi attempted to make use of modern technology and pulled out his phone to call them, but to no avail; the signal was simply too weak. They wouldn’t pick up no matter the times he tried.
I could always see if the people at the help desk can help us find them, but... I’m not sure Fuyuka or Hinami would appreciate being treated like lost children, Asahi thought. “Damn, you should just hold Hinami’s hand next time.”
“Dude, d’you think anything on this earth can keep my Hina in one place when she’s excited like that? Hell no.”
“Whatever. Let’s keep looking.”
“What’s the big rush, anyways? We’ll join up with them in front of the worship hall.”
“Oh yeah? Could I get a quick source check for that claim?”
“Hina and I are telepathic. Trust me.”
Yup, so telepathic that you definitely didn’t lose sight of her. Guess there isn’t much point in crying over spilled milk, though.
Wacky quirks aside, Chiaki’s argument was sensible. They were all visiting the shrine as part of the New Year’s celebrations, so there was a high possibility they’d rendezvous by the worship hall.
Not sure if Hinami’ll follow that line of thought, though. All I can do is trust Fuyuka here.
“How about we chill and have a little chitchat while we’re here?” Chiaki abruptly suggested. His mouth curled into a smirk, as if he’d been waiting for this chance all day long.
“Chitchat about what?”
“What else but Himuro?! Duh! Everyone’s sleeping on you, but not me—I could just smell it in the air.”
“What’re you talking about? I can’t smell anything. Guess I’m coming down with a cold—I mean, it is winter.”
“Ha ha. Nice one, wise guy. Playing dumb with your buddy, huh? Real impressive.”
“I’m being serious over here. Stop it with the weird similes, Shakespeare.”
“Fiiine. Remember when you told me you and Himuro were just, ahem, and I quote: ‘friiiends’?”
Why’d he pronounce it like it’s a big reveal in some dating game show or something? I don’t recall saying it like that. Still, he’s not wrong. Explaining the whole deal to him multiple times through text was worth every second.
Asahi had informed Chiaki about how the relationship had all kicked off. It had started when he’d nursed Fuyuka after she’d fallen ill. Later, it had just so happened that their interests aligned. Asahi taught her how to cook; in exchange, Fuyuka helped him with his studies. Although they’d begun by essentially scratching each other’s backs, it turned out that they get along well with one another.
Obviously I omitted some of the finer details here and there, but I didn’t lie, Asahi thought to himself. I’d already done the same thing with my parents by the time Chiaki got to hear of it, so I knew what I was gonna say.
Nevertheless, Chiaki Kikkawa was anything but credulous; he had a knack of picking up on the most subtle of cues around him. He was so perceptive at times, in fact, that Asahi felt he could never let his guard down around him.
Chiaki wasn’t all that fazed when I told him Fuyuka was coming. It almost felt like he was expecting it.
“I’m just gonna ask, Asahi—what do you think of Himuro?”
“Don’t ask me questions I can’t follow.”
“Like...do you fancy her? Maybe there’s something going on between you guys, and—dude! Mind the psycho eyes!” he cried.
Chiaki’s question hadn’t even merited a reply, so Asahi glared at his friend in silence until he’d dialed it down a bit.
Why does everything always have to be about the two of us being in a relationship? My parents did it, and now my friends are doing it, too, he complained to himself. “Like I’ve said a hundred times: Fuyuka and I are friends. Nothing more.”
“I get that, I really do. But like, bearing in mind that she’s just a friend, how do you feel about her? Do you like her? Hate her?”
“Obviously I don’t hate her.”
“Hmm, I see,” Chiaki replied in a provocative tone.
Asahi began to stride hastily across the shrine grounds in an attempt to leave his friend behind.
If you present me with the two options, then yes—I like Fuyuka, and she’ll always fall under that category. You can even give me a third “neutral” option, and I’d still stick to my choice, no hesitation.
Still, the affection he harbored for Fuyuka was purely platonic... or so he thought. The delightful sensation which surfaced when Fuyuka’s innocent expression leaped to mind for a mere moment begged to differ.
“But, yeah—I guess you were the one who melted ‘The Ice Queen’s’ heart, huh?”
“And what’re you basing this on?”
“It’s obvious, man. No matter which way you twist it, Himuro has changed, and it’s all because of you. It’s obvious just looking at you two,” Chiaki said with a chuckle.
Asahi, for the life of him, couldn’t think of a single instance where he’d done anything special for Fuyuka.
There’s only one thing I can say for sure—I stuck my nose in Fuyuka’s business. That’s about it, he thought. “I don’t think I’ve done anything, honestly.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s what you see, but she might think otherwise. You catch my drift?”
Sure enough, before long, Fuyuka had begun to smile more often. She’d even taken a huge first step toward changing the way she interacted with other people.
Actually... Didn’t something similar to this happen during Christmas? Fuyuka gave me a mechanical pencil? I haven’t really given her anything, but I still got a present anyway, he recollected as he walked down the long, stone-paved path. What does Chiaki mean? And what was Fuyuka referring to when she said I gave her more than I could imagine? I don’t get it.
“Why’d you even pick a day like this to have us meet her? You knew you were signing up for a headache, right?” Chiaki asked, interrupting Asahi’s thoughts.
“Glad we’re both on the same page there.”
“You’re not doing much to hide it. It’s written all over your face.”
Then why don’t you settle down and zip it?! That was what Asahi wanted to say, but he knew it would’ve been a waste of breath.
Besides, Chiaki had made a good point—Asahi could’ve easily sidestepped all the hassle by sticking to the story that he and Fuyuka were just neighbors. Instead, he’d gone and created trouble for himself.
They’ve sure lived up to the whole “obnoxious” part of “The Obnoxious couple.” They’ve been rowdy and annoying to deal with. Plus, they won’t shut up about love or whatever. Regardless, Asahi still thought that they were great people, which was why he’d never cut them off. “Hey, man... I just thought that if anyone was going to become friends with Fuyuka, it’d most likely be you guys.”
“If you say so. You’re probably not wrong, anyways,” Chiaki noted with a grin, pointing at the large torii—the iconic red gates found at shrines—ahead.
“Guuuys, over here! You sure took your sweet time!” Hinami shouted, casually waving at the boys.
Fuyuka was next to her, wearing a forced smile.
“They lost us in the crowd. They were looking for us, Aoba,” Fuyuka said.
“Wait, for real?! You should’ve told me! Now I look like a total airhead!”
“I couldn’t bring myself to do it when I saw you were having so much fun...”
“Fuyu-Fuyu, I wuv you!”
“Wh-Why are you clinging to me out of the blue?!”
“Because you’re such a sweet cutie-pie!”
Fuyuka and Hinami had evidently gotten considerably closer in the short period the guys hadn’t been there with them. Or perhaps it’d be more accurate to say that Hinami was aggressively friendly, whereas Fuyuka—bewildered as she was—simply accepted it.
Warms my soul to see those two hit it off, Asahi thought. “We can say that they’re basically friends at this point, right?”
“Yup,” Chiaki agreed.
Hinami’s approach was a straightforward one; she established a friendship with Fuyuka without following a tortuous detour to get there like Asahi had. Her method was valid, and Asahi was convinced it would melt the ice around Fuyuka’s frosty heart. And, as if to substantiate the claim, a distinct change was apparent on her trademark apathetic face when she was joking around with Hinami.
“Man, I’ve never seen Himuro doing that before,” Chiaki commented.
A quiet, gentle smile radiated from under layers of ice. Fuyuka’s grin was so lovely, so angelic, that it mesmerized not only Asahi and Chiaki, but any oncoming passersbys.