Chapter 90: To Each Other

It was supposed to be a sunny day, but the clouds looked gloomy as if it was about to start raining.

A chime rang in the sky where the clouds were drifting.

“Fuyuka.”

The guy was so nervous just letting out a single word.

The girl who stopped must have guessed who it was by the voice.

She stopped in her tracks and stood there without looking back.

After school, at the school gate.

Fuyuka was the first one to leave the classroom, and Asahi followed her.

“Let’s go home together.”

 

Fuyuka turned her head and turned silent for a while.

Eventually, she shook her head just slightly and opened her mouth slightly.

“I’m sorry, but I have urgent business to attend to today.”

The trembling tone of her voice did not sound very normal.

Fuyuka looked frail as she trudged off, her long black hair swaying dejectedly.

Without any notice, the sky was completely dark and the air felt cold, even though it was summer.

‘I’m tired of this dreary weather, and I’m trying to look at everything negatively.’

‘I hated myself for that the most.’

“I have something to tell you.”

 

Fuyuka walked along the empty school path, and Asahi followed behind her at a certain distance.

“I’m sorry if I’m upsetting or annoying you. I don’t blame you for avoiding me…”

Fuyuka’s steps became heavier, and Asahi picked up his pace.

“I don’t want to continue this any longer, please talk to me.”

The distance between them approached another step, and then another, and the sound of footsteps stopped.

“Because I want to be you, Fuyuka.”

 

The true feelings that overflowed from the bottom of his heart were sure to reach her with warmth.

Small droplets of water dropped on the ground, and Fuyuka slowly turned around.

Her moist eyes caught him straight on.

Asahi looked at her eyes, he couldn’t read the emotions buried within her eyes.

“Even I…!!”

The trembling sound of her voice was masked by the sound of rain.

The rain, pouring down with a violent force, attacked Asahi and Fuyuka mercilessly.

“…Do you have an umbrella?”

 

“…I don’t.”

 

The two of them ran into a nearby park, soaking wet.

They sat down on a covered bench and decided to take shelter from the rain for a while.

“W-what are you doing?!”

 

“What? I was just trying to squeeze my uniform dry.”

As Asahi took off his shirt, disgusted by the uniform that was soaked to the inside, he saw Fuyuka in a panic.

The slim but muscular skin was apparently a little too stimulating for Fuyuka.

“Fuyuka, you do…”

Asahi’s voice started to fade away as he realized what he was about to say.

The shirt was wet from the rain, sticking up as it was turning transparent, and he felt like he saw something he shouldn’t have.

“….!!”

Fuyuka must have noticed the situation.

She quickly crossed her arms and shrunk down to hug herself.

 

On a dimly lit park bench, it could be seen clearly that even her ears were stained red.

“Please don’t look this way!”

 

“My bad, I really didn’t see anything.”

 

“…Are you telling the truth?”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

“Why are you turning your head away?”

With Fuyuka filled with embarrassment at his side, Asahi tried to calm down by erasing his memories.

“Do you have a towel of some sort?”

“I do have a handkerchief…”

“Wipe your hair and body with it. You’ll catch a cold if you stay wet.”

What came out of his mouth, as he struggled to turn his head to change the subject, was his usual meddling.

Fuyuka looked puzzled and dumbfounded, and then started laughing as if she were blubbering.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time but, you’re like a mom, Asahi-kun.”

 

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“It is. You should be pleased.”

Fuyuka laughed, and Asahi looked at her disapprovingly.

 

“…Fufu”

“How long are you gonna laugh at me?”

“I mean, it was kind of weird.”

“…I guess.”

 

After being so far apart, they found themselves back to normal.

‘The fact that I was naturally smiling was probably because I had been looking forward to this day so much.’

“I feel like a fool for having bothered with it.”

It was Fuyuka who started the conversation again.

“I’m not mad nor do I hate you, Asahi-kun. That’s one thing that is just impossible.”

 

“But you’ve been avoiding me.”

“That’s… I’m sorry. I was having trouble organizing my thoughts.”

Fuyuka, who turned her head to the side, apologized in a small voice.

After a short pause, Asahi listened quietly to the inner thoughts that were spoken.

“I really love romance works.”

 

It was an abrupt start to the conversation.

“In the world of stories, men and women fall in love, have many happy dates, and come to a romantic ending. I used to dream and yearn for that kind of love. But reality is not a story. When I found out that the love I thought was happy and joyful could also be sad, lonely, and painful… I didn’t know how to deal with the thought that the ending of my love story would not be fulfilled.”

Taking a breath, Fuyuka continued her words again.

“I’m comfortable with the distance we have now. I don’t want this relationship to break down. I want to get closer to you, but I’ve been putting myself off…”

 

After listening to Fuyuka’s story, Asahi arrived at a conclusion.

‘This is unsettling.’

‘If we go any further, we can’t go back to being friends, for better or worse.’

‘No matter how small the change is.’

‘At the very least, there would be a crack in the relationship we had.’

‘That’s why I can’t act.’

‘I’ll think about it more than I should.’

The more you start to think about the other person, the more you would want something more than the present, but also it would make you fear even more for the present.

‘I guess that’s why it takes courage to say just one word.’

“It’s my first love, that’s why I want to keep it that way.”

Because Asahi had been standing still all this time, he could understand Fuyuka’s words painfully.

“Do you have someone you like?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“It’s not fair to ask who it is, right?”

“…Not right now.”

Asahi’s eyes met Fuyuka’s for a moment, but she quickly looked away.

Seeing her expression, Asahi was not completely clueless.

“Is there someone you like, Asahi-kun?”

The question she asked him in return made him tremble and nervous.

“…Yeah.”

 

When Fuyuka heard Asahi’s answer, she gave him a complicated look.

“You know, I’ve recently realized that I don’t know anything about you, Fuyuka.”

Fuyuka was a little surprised by the sudden start of the story, but she listened to it.

“Maybe we don’t know each other that well. We’re together like this, but somewhere we put on some kind of wall and try to keep going in the present…”

‘I felt strangely at ease.’

‘What I wanted to say was easily verbalized.’

“I want to be with you. I want to get to know you better, Fuyuka.”

Fuyuka nodded her head again and again as Asahi expressed his true feelings.

“I want to be with you too, Asahi-kun… I want to get to know you better. So―”

Fuyuka was about to say something, however –

“Hold on.”

 

Asahi briefly stopped her.

“I’ll tell you. I’m going to tell you how I feel, that’s why until that time comes… I want you to wait.”

‘Now’s not the time.’

‘This is not a story, this is reality.’

‘There were things that made us feel happy and joyful, and things that made us feel sad and lonely.’

‘Still, everyone should be allowed to at least hope for a romantic ending.’

“…Who are you talking to?”

“I’m just talking to myself.”

All the vague words that blurred the subject matter seemed to have been received without remainder.

As proof of this, Fuyuka had a warm smile on her face, as bright as the sun shining through the clouds.

“Okay, I’ll talk to myself as well.”

 

Without any notice, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining on the ground.

“My reply is already decided.”

The feelings Asahi had for her, turned his gray days into a gradient of seven different colors.

Looking up to the sky, there was a rainbow bridge anchoring on the horizon.