And so his day continued until the final school bell rang. Kai was called out behind the gym by Reina. Specifically, they were at the landing on the half-turn staircase by the entrance where Reina demanded he sit on his knees. The landing was made of solid concrete, which put a lot of pain on Kai’s shins.
“Why do I have to sit like this?”
“What better position for someone who needs to reflect on his mistakes?”
Reina answered immediately. Her position of choice was to stand firm with her arms crossed. Having this ice queen intimidate him from above already struck fear into his heart.
On the other hand, Kai wasn’t quite sure where to rest his eyes. Reina, as an exemplar of the modern high school girl, wore her skirts short. And when you factored in the long, slender legs of her supermodel body, her hips were pretty high off the ground. As such, if she were to stand in front of Kai while he were on his knees, he might see a glimpse of something inside her skirt that he absolutely should not see.
But I’ll probably get kicked if I point it out to her, so I’ll just keep quiet.
If something happened to enter his line of sight, it would be completely unintentional. Good enough, right? Well, at least latching his mind onto this unexpected turn of events made him only half as terrified.
“What, exactly, are these mistakes that I need to reflect on?” Kai may have been forced to his knees, but he still showed a bit of resistance in his voice.
“The mistake of daring to two-time Jun when she’s a better lover than you could ever ask for.”
“Two-time, you say.”
“Ashie boy, might I ask for your excuse?”
“Sure, it’s the same thing I’ve been telling you this whoooooooooooooooole time. Jun and I aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. We’re friends. I had a test date with Kotobuki. That’s not being unfaithful.”
“My, you’re a stubborn one. Do you really think such a thinly veiled lie will get you out of this?”
“I swear to you that it’s the truth.” Kai sighed at how they were once again talking past each other.
“Well, I’ll have you know that you should choose Jun. Forget about that other girl. Swear to me right here, right now, that you will never see her again.”
Reina commanded him with force. Kai slumped his shoulders. Here we go again, he thought.
“Except Kotobuki’s a friend from work, meaning I’ll see her whether you want me to or not.”
“Simple. Just quit your job.”
“You can’t just tell me to ruin my life, you know!”
Kai barked back, but Reina just turned away with a scoff as though such concerns were beneath her. But two could play at that game; Kai turned his face the other way in a huff. They continued to dig their heels in for a bit.
“Look, no matter what you tell me, I’m not gonna start avoiding her.”
“...You mean to say that I’m not the one to decide that, but you, Ashie boy?”
“Yeah. Glad you’re getting the picture.”
“I don’t have an excuse not to. It’s the same thing you said when you snapped at Matsuda’s gang. I won’t forget that any time soon.”
Reina sighed in acquiescence as though to accept that Kai was sticking to his story. She turned to face him as Kai did the same. Perhaps it was his imagination, but Reina’s expression seemed softer and her eyes kinder. He took it as a sign that he could afford to lighten up too.
“Well, it’s the same thing here.”
“Fine, I understand. Feel free to cavort with that girl of yours, Ashie boy.”
“Wait wait wait, you’re jumping to the wrong conclusion here!”
Did Reina’s brain just have no room for the concept of moderation?
“Oh, am I now?”
“I haven’t even decided to go out with her yet! And besides...”
“Besides what, may I ask?”
“It’s hard, but honestly, I’ve been doing some thinking. About yesterday.”
“Was your date less of a thrill than you hoped?”
“No, it was fun. For real. But, you know, there was more to it than that.”
Unlike hanging out with friends, there were a lot of things Kai had to be careful of while on a date. He had to strictly avoid doing the sort of things that would give his partner the wrong idea. He even had to tag along with her to shop for clothes, an activity he didn’t enjoy one bit.
“I met Kotobuki at work. She’s a ton of fun to chat with. We’ve got the same hobbies too.”
Even just yesterday, they got into such a spirited discussion about their thoughts on the anime film that they saw that they lost track of time. And he loved every moment of it.
“But we can probably do that without dating... Heck, we could probably focus more on the fun parts if we weren’t...”
“Ashie boy...I can’t tell if you’re being mature or childish.”
“Oh no, I’m a brat, honestly. I think so too.”
“And yet you still have such an innocent side to you... It’s no wonder you get along with Jun so well.”
It was a cringey line, but it felt like it had weight when it came from this queen. Unfortunately, Kai was far from used to being thought of as a love interest, so he still found the comparison pretty embarrassing.
“Ashie boy, would you allow me to give you one final word of advice, as a friend?”
“S-Sure,” said Kai. This last request lacked Reina’s typical threatening tone, so he listened with an open mind.
“If you continue cavorting with that girl, you won’t be able to meet with Jun so freely anymore.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Is it not obvious? Whichever one is your girlfriend, you’re still two-timing.”
“Even though Jun has never been more than a friend?”
“Perhaps to you, but will that girl see it that way?”
“I’ve told Kotobuki about Jun, that I have a friend who’s a girl who I hang out with almost every day. She should be well aware of her, so I doubt she’d tell me to never see her again. Unlike you.”
“Have you ever heard of the phrase, ‘love is blind’? She might have her misgivings and simply pretend that everything’s fine to avoid causing trouble.”
“Does...it work like that?”
“If I found out that my boyfriend was hanging out with another woman almost every day, rest assured that I would not be pleased.”
“...I see.” Kai had to sigh. It was the biggest, deepest one he let out that day.
“This girlfriend-boyfriend stuff really is all a pain in the neck...”
Kai let a familiar gripe slip out. Even if he were laughed at for being childish, he couldn’t deny that that was where his true feelings lay.
“Well, Ashie boy,” laughed Reina with no hesitation, “will you go through with that pain in the neck?”
“I won’t. I can’t.”
Kai gave a dispirited answer. If a romantic relationship meant he’d need to distance himself from Jun, then he was fine without a girlfriend. To Kai, Jun was far beyond someone he could consider to be optional. It would be no exaggeration to say that she was a part of his life.
“It pains me to do it, but that’s what I’ll tell Kotobuki.” Kai sounded almost like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.
“That’s a relief to hear,” said Reina as she uncrossed her arms. “Apologies for the detention, by the way. See you tomorrow.”
Reina was on her way as though she considered her business to be done. Now that Kai was free, he finally got off his knees and let his legs breathe. The blood rushing to his numbed limbs made him want to scream! But he stuck through it to say one last thing to Reina before she disappeared from view.
“Thanks, Ms. Reina!”
“...Excuse me?” Reina stopped in her tracks and swung around as her long eyelashes blinked in confusion.
“...Huh?” All Kai did was thank her, so he was pretty baffled as to why she was giving him such a bewildered look.
Reina asked further out of honest curiosity. “Ashie boy, why exactly are you thanking someone who called you out to a secluded staircase and forced you to sit on your knees?”
“Uh...I mean, you gave me advice. Like...as a friend.”
It was a part of life that Kai was both innocent and ignorant of, so he found it helpful to have it pointed out to him. As such, he said something in return that he assumed was only natural. And yet, Reina’s eyes told him that she couldn’t believe this idiot. Why?
“...Fine, fine, you’re very welcome.” Reina accepted Kai’s gratitude even if she had to shrug in exasperation while doing it. She now left for real, but not before leaving him with these parting words:
“Ashie boy...I really can’t tell if you’re being mature or childish.”