Chapter 5: A Day of Girl Troubles and Disaster: A Devil Smiles Like an Angel

Chapter 5:
A Day of Girl
Troubles and Disaster:
A Devil Smiles Like an Angel

 

“You’re gonna do what I say today, Ayanokouji!”

Woken by the doorbell, I sighed when I saw my visitor. “What’re you yammering about this early? You sure are energetic, Yamauchi.”

“Sorry for the bother!” he shouted.

Thankfully, Ike and Sudou weren’t with him. But what in the world did he want with me?

“What, were you sleeping or something? Dude, you’re acting pretty chill, even though summer vacation is over in a couple days,” Yamauchi said. “Anyway, I decided that today’s gonna be special. Let me in.”

I was being chill precisely because we only had a couple days of vacation left. Still sleepy, I didn’t exactly follow Yamauchi’s train of thought, but I let him in anyway. I prepared a cup of barley tea for him and set it down.

“So, am I involved in this special day of yours?” I asked.

“I’m not gonna let you weasel out of this, Ayanokouji.

Remember when I wanted to know Sakura’s phone number?” he pressed.

Yamauchi’s determination was obvious. His eyes were slightly bloodshot.

“I see.”

I couldn’t just turn him down. The whole situation was kind of my fault, after all. Some time ago, I’d gotten Yamauchi to make a fool of himself by promising him Sakura’s number. That had damaged his perceived market value, especially in Horikita’s eyes. I definitely owed him one. Still, since I’d made that bargain without Sakura’s consent, I wasn’t about to give Yamauchi her number.

I did need to repay my debt to him, though.

“Well, if you’ve come to ask about Sakura’s number, I think that might be kinda difficult.”

“Oh no. That’s not it. I’ve given up on that.” Yamauchi produced a letter. “I’ve written down all my feelings for Sakura on this paper!”

“Written down… Wait, this is a love letter?”

“Right! I’ve written about just how much I love Sakura! Here, read it!”

Yamauchi showed me the note in the unsealed envelope.

Dearest Sakura Airi-sama, you’ve been on my mind for a long time now. Please go out with me.

“It’s really…simple. And overly formal at the beginning,” I said.

Yamauchi looked pained. “Even if I write something long, that doesn’t mean it’ll be good, right?”

That was probably true. Still, this was too little to go on. I could honestly picture the letter’s recipient—especially Sakura—being uncomfortable.

“Wait. Why is it printed, instead of handwritten?” I asked.

“I’m not really proud of this, but my handwriting sucks. I printed the letter to make it easier to read. I was kind of worried she might not be able to understand it, you know?”

Yamauchi scratched his nose with his index finger, looking a bit proud. I didn’t think that pride was merited.

“Besides, even resumes are printed nowadays, right?” he added.

“If you really want to convey your feelings, handwritten is better. Also, why’d you use such a scary-looking font?”

It was the kind of font you’d choose for something like “A strange demon appears!” It looked as though it was made for casting curses.

“It’s got impact, right? The letter’s got this whole ‘I’ve been thinking of you for a long time’ vibe.”

“For the sake of argument, I’ll let that go. The problem’s the last part,” I replied, pointing out what he’d written to add to his appeal.

If you go out with me, I’ll give you all my points every month as tribute!

“That’s no good.”

“Whaddya mean? Don’t they say that cute girls like men who can support them? If going out with Sakura means I gotta hand over all my points, I’ll do it. That’s how I’ll communicate my passion.”

I couldn’t deny that girls loved financial stability, but it kind of seemed as though Yamauchi was offering to pay Sakura to date him.

“It’s fine, dude. Even if she was only after the money, it’d be all right. I want to date her. Is that bad?”

When I affirmed that it was indeed bad, Yamauchi began to grasp just what I was getting at. “Are you seriously planning on confessing your love to her?” I asked.

“Yeah. Starting with the second semester, I’m aiming for my dream school life! I’ve already asked Kikyou-chan to help. I got her to call Sakura.”

This was all perfectly normal to Yamauchi, and I found I couldn’t bring myself to rebuke him. I should probably have stopped him, for Sakura’s sake, but at least his methods were direct and honest. I considered offering him a helping hand.

“So, what should I do? Proofread the letter?” I asked.

“Well, yeah, but I have one more really important role for you. I want you to deliver the letter to Sakura.”

“What?” I thought I’d misheard him.

“I want you to deliver the letter. Look, I’ve been feeling super nervous all morning, all right? The last time I felt this nervous, I won the final match at the Ryougoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall. That’s why I don’t have the confidence to give the letter to Sakura myself,” he explained.

Wait, what final game had he participated in at Kokugikan? I wanted to interrogate that probable lie further. It was honestly a weak statement, and uncharacteristic for Yamauchi.

“If you say the letter’s the problem, then I’ll rewrite it. Please!” Yamauchi clapped his hands, bowed his head, and begged me to help. “Any past problems between us will all be water under the bridge! If you’re ever in trouble, Ayanokouji, I’ll help you!”

“If you insist, I guess I’ll help,” I replied.

“Really?!”

“But what matters is how Sakura feels. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I’m not an idiot. I know my chances aren’t that high.”

At least Yamauchi understood that his chances of success were low. In fact, Sakura actively shied away from men, which made his chances despairingly low. Even so, he was determined to try.

“I understand. I’ll deliver your letter. Okay?”

“Ayanokouji! You’re a lifesaver!”

Yamauchi grabbed my hand and lowered his head in reverence, as if worshipping a god.

First, I’d need to review the letter carefully. Considering that it was for Sakura, it needed to be gentler if it was going to work. Honestly, this was still rather premature. Confessing his love, when he and Sakura hadn’t even exchanged contact information, was just risky. If Yamauchi wanted to increase his chances of success, he needed to actually talk to her.

Then again, maybe Yamauchi had a point. Romance happened spontaneously. People often went from zero to sixty very quickly.

Like Yamauchi, I had zero romantic experience, but I thought that I should at least do something to help.

“Ah, that reminds me. I want to add one more thing to the letter. I want to hear Sakura’s response to my confession behind the school building,” added Yamauchi.

“Behind the school building? After Gym Number Two?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s like, there’s this rumor, y’know? If you confess your feelings there, it’s sure to go well.”

Sounded similar to the legendary “under the tree” confession. Urban legends seemed to spring up everywhere.

“So, that’s the stage you’ve chosen for this whole production?”

“I mean, it’s not just a rumor. They say, if a student confesses their love, it’s gotta be behind the school. That’s like the golden rule.”

I couldn’t see any connection between telling someone how you felt and the back of the school building. However, I understood his thinking.

5.1

 

It took just under half an hour for me to contact Sakura. How would she react to Kushida’s invitation, I wondered? She probably wouldn’t take this with equanimity. I, on the other hand, was on standby at the agreed-upon spot, waiting for Sakura to arrive.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I answered it.

“Hello?”

“H-how’s it going? Can you see Sakura yet?” Yamauchi asked.

“Nope. I mean, she’s probably not going to show up until about ten minutes beforehand, right?”

“I-I see. Damn, I’m so nervous!”

Yamauchi waved from where he stood, some distance away. Even though he didn’t want to be seen, he’d probably gotten curious, and come closer to have a look.

“Hey, Yamauchi. Should I really hand the letter over for you? I think it would be better if you gave Sakura this yourself.”

“Th-that’s impossible, dude. Whenever I’m really nervous, my hands start to shake. I’ve carried that trauma ever since I was a little kid.”

Most people probably shook under extreme stress, though.

“I understand that you don’t want to mess up, but think about it. Does an indirect love letter really have any value?”

“You know when a cute girl asks you to meet her after school, but when you go, a completely different girl from the one you expected shows up, and it’s this plain Jane confessing to you instead? This plan is sort of the reverse. I asked Kushida not to tell Sakura that I’m the one asking her to meet. In other words, when Sakura realizes you’re waiting for her, she’ll be disappointed. But once she learns that it’s really me confessing, my chances will be a lot better when she compares us, you know? So, when you hand over the letter, don’t mention me at all. It’s better for Sakura to think you’re the one confessing,” he said.

Yamauchi didn’t seem to care that he was completely trash-talking me. I had no room to criticize his goals, but he really needed to consider Sakura’s feelings.

“Look, I just think getting a confession of love from someone you can’t see is scary,” I replied.

“Th-that’s—”

I wanted to get him to change his mind. With a confession of love, you had one shot. I figured that even Yamauchi shouldn’t do it in a way that might leave him with regrets.

“There’s still time. I think you should reconsider. That’s why you wrote this letter, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose, but… Ugh, should I confess to Sakura in person?” Finally, the proper conclusion seemed to form inside Yamauchi’s head.

“Ayanokouji-kun?” Just then, I heard the faint sound of footsteps, and a voice called out to me.

“It’s Sakura! I’m leaving the rest to you!” whispered Yamauchi. Panicked, he hung up.

Well, there probably wasn’t much else I could do at this point. All that was left was to hand over Yamauchi’s letter.

“This is a coincidence, right?” Sakura asked.

“Kushida called you here, right?”

“Y-yes. She said that she needed to talk to me about something. She said it was important,” Sakura replied meekly. She looked around, but of course, she could see no one but me.

“To tell you the truth, I asked Kushida for a favor. She called you out here for me,” I said. Strictly speaking, that wasn’t true, but I couldn’t help it if Sakura got confused.

“You, Ayanokouji-kun? I-I see. That’s a relief. I don’t normally talk to Kushida-san, so I was worried I did something to make her angry.” Sakura put her hand to her chest and sighed in relief. She no longer seemed anxious. I decided to be direct.

“Even so, you’re pretty early. It’s still about half an hour before we were supposed to meet,” I said.

“I was feeling anxious, so I came early.” Sakura still looked flustered. “But it was you, after all, Ayanokouji-kun. I’m really relieved.”

When she patted her chest, her expression became calmer.

“But why get Kushida’s help, Ayanokouji-kun? If you want something, you could just ask me directly.”

“Oh, um. About that. It’s a complicated situation.”

“A complicated situation?”

How would I explain? I knew quite enough about the biological differences between men and women through my studies, but I had no practical knowledge whatsoever of romance. Also, the issue wasn’t just our different genders. I had to factor in Sakura’s personality and feelings, too. Even in our modern, effective, intelligent society, this little dance remained a complicated mystery.

Time passed while I considered what to do. The longer I stayed silent, the more guarded Sakura would become.

“The truth is, I had Kushida call you here because I wanted to give you this.” I offered her Yamauchi’s letter.

“What’s this?”

“If you read the contents, you’ll understand well enough,” I said.

“O-okay.”

Feeling something akin to guilt, I averted my eyes. Sakura looked back and forth between me and the letter, as if trying to grasp the situation.

“A l-letter…behind the school… A boy…” she whispered. Whoa! She thought that I was confessing my love. This was bad.

“Someone who wants to stay anonymous asked me to give you this. He said that, if you read it, you’d understand. He has bad handwriting, but he really poured his heart and soul into this letter,” I said.

“Ah, ahhh. Th-this is… Oh my. Oh my. Ahhh!”

Sakura’s composure was gone. She stared into space as if looking into the future. I was apprehensive about her reaction if she opened the envelope and read the letter, so I decided it was best that I skedaddled.

“Okay, well. I’ve handed the letter over. All that’s left is for you to decide how to respond. You can text or call me if answering directly is too hard,” I said.

This being Sakura, she might have trouble saying yes or no. I should help her if I could.

“I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I—!” she stammered. “I-I just, well…I can’t! I mean, th-this is a l-love—”

“Yeah, a love letter.”

“Eek!”

“Whoa!” I rushed to support Sakura as she came dangerously close to toppling over. “Are you all right?”

I could tell she was too warm just by touching her back. This must’ve been really unexpected for her. She was probably trying to figure out who sent the letter.

“Um, um, um!”

Sakura’s eyes shot open. She stiffened and stood up straight. Once I was sure she was steady, I let go of her.

“What about…Horikita-san?! Do you think she’ll be angry?!”

“Huh? Horikita?”

Why should Horikita get angry? If she saw me deliver a letter in Yamauchi’s place, she’d probably just sigh in exasperation, and say something like, “Oh my, how difficult it must be for you not to get involved in something idiotic.” It certainly wouldn’t make her angry.

Did Sakura still think I was confessing? I had made sure to say that I was only the messenger.

“Umm.. Ahh…” Sakura’s face continued to redden. She looked as though she might pass out. I couldn’t imagine that the letter was the only thing making her react that way.

If she did still think I wrote the letter, I understood why she’d brought up Horikita.

“Sakura. Just to repeat myself, this letter is from another guy. Do you understand?”

Sakura’s shoulders trembled.

“Eh? I-It’s not from you, Ayanokouji-kun?” she stammered.

“I already told you that I’m the messenger, didn’t I?”

“I-I see. Of course that’s what… B-b-b-but, what do I do with this letter?!” she cried.

“Just read it and answer.”

I tried to walk away, but Sakura grabbed my sleeve. “But I can’t…I can’t do it! I can’t…”

“Has no one ever confessed their feelings to you before?”

“Never!” Sakura replied instantly.

HHuh. I would’ve thought she’d been confessed to countless times, given how cute she was. Then again, that was how she was now. It might not always have been that way.

“This letter… Will you read it with me? Together?”

Together? Well, Yamauchi had actually written the thing with my help. However, if Sakura didn’t have the courage to read the letter alone, I couldn’t really help her. Yamauchi probably wouldn’t like that.

“Can you try to read it by yourself? As the messenger, it’s my job to ask you that. I hope you understand.”

“Okay…”

Sakura didn’t seem even slightly happy about that.

“Maybe the letter’s from someone you like,” I said.

“That’s not possible now,” she said sadly.

“Huh?”

“Ah, no! That’s just, well, that’s because I don’t like anyone! I mean, I-I’ll try reading it!” she stammered.

Sakura hung her head, looking a little depressed as she turned and headed back to the dorms. She would probably read Yamauchi’s letter in her room.

Yamauchi rushed over as soon as Sakura had safely left the area. “H-how’d it go?! How’d she react?! Did she look happy?!” he asked nervously. I understood his sense of urgency, but really, it indicated that he should have been the one to deliver the letter.

“She hasn’t read it yet. We’ll just wait for judgment,” I replied.

“D-don’t use a scary word like ‘judgment’! I believe it’ll absolutely be fine!” Yamauchi responded, frantic.

“Out of curiosity, what’s your basis for that belief?”

“How she acts when she talks to me, I guess,” he answered sheepishly.

“How she acts?”

“You know, how she looks away, all embarrassed. She can’t look me in the face because she’s really aware of me, don’t you think?”

Actually, I thought that was probably because Sakura lacked people skills.

“That’s not all. Whenever she talks to me, she always kind of sighs heavily afterward. Isn’t that a sigh of love? You know, when you think about the person you like, and then you sigh, like ‘Ahh!’ It’s like a sign, dude,” said Yamauchi.

Sakura probably sighed from exhaustion after dealing with someone as high-energy as Yamauchi. People were naturally oblivious to reality and logic when it came to the girls they liked, though.

5.2

 

It was the middle of the night, and I was settling in for bed when my phone vibrated.

Are you awake? It was a rather short message from Sakura.

I looked at my phone for some time without touching it, but saw no indication that there’d be more messages. Sakura probably thought I was sleeping. I opened the chat window, marking the message as read. Soon, I received another message.

Did I wake you? it said.

Sorry, I was doing some laundry. It’s okay. A small lie.

She must have felt relieved, because the next message was slightly longer.

I have to meet with Yamauchi-kun at five tomorrow, but…can I meet you before that? I could’ve refused. However, Sakura didn’t have anyone else.

Where are you meeting him?

The same place as yesterday: behind the school building.

I already knew that, but I’d wanted to confirm. Not wanting to inconvenience her, I promised Sakura that I would meet her at the same location behind the school. Then it was time to sleep.

I turned my phone’s screen off and set it down. It vibrated again, though.

Um. I’m sorry for bothering you over and over. Is it okay if I call you?

Her anxiety radiated from her message. It would probably be better if I didn’t leave her hanging. When I called her, Sakura answered quietly.

“You can’t sleep?” I asked.

“No. When I think about tomorrow, I get so nervous. Ahh…” Sakura sighed over the phone.

She sounded depressed. She was probably considering how she’d answer the confession.

“I-I don’t know anything about Yamauchi-kun. That’s a bit scary,” she said.

“I see.”

“I just realized that liking someone, or hating someone, actually comes with a ton of responsibility.”

I supposed that to Sakura, who had distanced herself from those around her until now, that must have come as a shock. In this case, though, my ability to help was rather limited. Sakura would have to make this decision. Yamauchi would live with the consequences. Even someone like me, a complete novice when it came to romance, understood that.

I couldn’t advise Sakura on whether to reject or accept Yamauchi. I could only listen quietly to what she had to say.

“Yamauchi-kun hasn’t done anything wrong, but this… I think I just don’t want this. Still, I do feel sorry for him, since he likes someone like me…”

Love was a rather complicated matter.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, but I just don’t know what to do.” That was understandable. Even over the phone, Sakura’s confusion was palpable. “Why me? That’s what I’m wondering. Why do I have to suffer like this?”

As I’d expected, she sounded troubled about the situation, rather than happy.

“Ayanokouji-kun, this… Well, this might be something you don’t need to hear, but…”

“Ask me anything. If I can answer, I will.”

“Well… I’m sorry to bother you, but are you perhaps dating anyone at the…present time?” For some reason, Sakura was being rather formal.

“No, definitely not. I’ve never dated anyone, and I’m not dating anyone currently.”

“R-really?!”

“You sound happy about that, which makes me feel like you’re being sarcastic.” It stung a little to hear her so delighted about a man never having dated anyone before.

“O-oh, no, that’s not… I didn’t mean to make fun of you! I was happy because you’re like me, that’s all.”

“I was just teasing,” I replied.

“Oh, you!” It was only a little joke, but it seemed to lighten Sakura’s spirits. “Well, has anyone ever confessed their feelings to you? Or have you ever confessed your feelings to someone else?”

She was really grilling me. Well, I had nothing to hide.

“I have zero experience, same as you.”

“Okay, I see!”

Sakura sounded happy again. We chatted for a while about this and that. After some time passed, she seemed to get drowsy, and we ended the call. I hoped she could sleep soundly. Speaking of which, I thought it was about time for me to get to sleep as well.

5.3

 

Our meeting time was four in the afternoon. I showed up ten minutes early to find Sakura already waiting, with a pained, complicated look on her face. She was probably juggling several preoccupations, since her expression kept shifting. She looked crestfallen, then nervous, then worried. I wondered what she was thinking about.

“Did I keep you waiting?” I asked.

“Oh!”

Sakura approached me hesitantly. I hoped I could ease her burdens a bit.

“Thank you for coming here, Ayanokouji-kun.”

“Nah, it’s nothing. So, what’s the matter?”

“Well, it’s about the letter you gave me yesterday.”.

“Did something happen?”

Maybe Sakura was still hesitant to talk about it. She didn’t seem able to get the words out. I was about to tell her not to hold back when I saw several people walking our way down the path. They must’ve been doing club activities, since they wore jerseys.

“Sorry. How about we walk around a little?” I asked Sakura.

“Huh? Oh, okay,” she replied.

It wasn’t a good idea to let someone see us right then. We headed toward the tree-lined spot at the back of the school building. This was a hidden spot where most people didn’t come, but it looked well-kept.

It’d be a huge pain in the butt if Yamauchi happened to come early and spot us there, so I knew we should wrap things up quickly. Sakura tilted her head, extended her right arm, and looked toward the sky.

“What’s the—”

A single water droplet landed on my cheek. If it didn’t come from a sprinkler, then—

“It’s raining,” said Sakura.

The skies had been clear just a moment ago, but now, it was pouring rain. It would probably pass soon, but the downpour was intense. Our clothes were soaking wet in minutes.

“Let’s head back to the path!” I shouted.

Sakura nodded. I led her back the way we came, and we took shelter behind the school building. We were only in the rain for a bit, but it came down so hard that it completely soaked Sakura’s clothes. Even her hair was drenched.

“Man, talk about unlucky. Are you okay, Sakura?”

“I-I’m fine. What about you, Ayanokouji-kun?”

“I’m all right.”

I let out a little sigh while I watched the rain, which grew even more intense. What bad timing.

“Here, you can use this.” Sakura meekly handed me a handkerchief. It was the same one I’d borrowed back on the island.

“I’m fine. Use that yourself. You’ll catch a cold,” I replied.

I couldn’t dry myself off when a girl was absolutely soaked. Even so, Sakura stood on her tiptoes and wiped the excess water from my hair. Her scent, carried by the rain, tickled my nose.

“I’m surprisingly tough, you know,” she said. She mopped the water from my face, then my cheeks and neck.

“…………”

I looked over at Sakura, who stood beside me in silence. I felt as though I could understand what Yamauchi was after now. Sudden rain. The two of us panicked, sheltering under the roof. It would have been even more magical if Sakura and I had been in our school uniforms, rather than casual clothes, since it was the middle of summer vacation.

There’d be nothing to hide from each other. We’d talk until we ran out of things to say. Then, our eyes would meet. We’d each hear the other person breathing deeply. It was the kind of scenario boys dreamed about. For some reason, I could picture it very clearly. Maybe what Yamauchi desired was something like this.

“I wonder if it’ll pass?”

“I looked up the weather on my phone just now. Sounds like this is just a passing shower. It should stop soon,” I told her.

“I see.”

“Sorry. I let you get soaked, even though you had something important to do after this,” I said.

“Oh no, it’s fine. It’s really not important,” Sakura replied.

In other words, that meant…

“I…I wonder what I should do…” she continued.

“Just answer based on how you feel. You can accept Yamauchi, or reject him, or you can start by being friends,” I said. What she wanted was up to her, not me. “Of course, you can always hold off on answering, too. And if it’s too embarrassing, I can tell Yamauchi for you.”

Yamauchi wouldn’t want that, but if Sakura asked, I’d do it.

“No, I’ll do it myself. I think I probably have to,” she replied.

“I see. I suppose you should, for Yamauchi’s sake.”

“Yes. I know. I’m going to turn him down.”

“I see.” I’d already guessed as much. It was important that she tell him herself, though.

“It’s just… Well, I don’t think I’m qualified to reject someone. I think it might be presumptuous of me, but…but…”

Sakura appeared overwhelmed by guilt, for some reason.

“You have nothing to apologize for. When you get down to it, this crush is one-sided. There’s nothing strange about turning someone down if you don’t feel the same way. In this situation, there’s no such thing as being unqualified.” I spoke with some force, not wanting her to misunderstand.

The rain was still coming down hard. I thought it should stop soon, but there was no telling when Yamauchi would show up.

“It’s best if I head back now, I think,” I said.

“N-no! If you’re not here, Ayanokouji-kun, I won’t be able to say anything. So, please…”

Sakura grabbed my sleeve tight.

“Please don’t leave me alone,” she pleaded.

“If that’s your preference,” I replied. Sakura had helped me many times before, after all. I decided I should return the favor.

About fifteen minutes later, Yamauchi arrived, his expression much stiffer than I had ever seen.

“Wh-why are you here, Ayanokouji?” he asked.

“Sorry. Sakura said she didn’t have the courage to talk to you alone, so she asked me to stay. Don’t mind me.”

I’m sure Yamauchi didn’t feel comfortable having me there. However, he had no choice except to deal with it. He looked suspicious, but then, focused his attention on Sakura.

“S-sorry to have kept you waiting. So, did you read my letter?”

“Yes. Um. Please, let me ask you one thing.”

“Sure, anything.”

Sakura grabbed her skirt and spoke as though she was squeezing her voice out of her throat. “Wh-why do you like…me? Plenty of people are cuter than me.”

“I like you, Sakura!” Yamauchi shouted. Sakura flinched in response. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. S-so, what’s your answer?”

Listening in, I could see a number of potential ways to handle the situation. But Yamauchi was so incredibly nervous, his heart about to leap out of his chest, that he probably couldn’t think of any of them, let alone pick the best option.

“I…I’m sorry!” sputtered Sakura, bowing deeply, her eyes slightly red. An awkward answer for an awkward confession. Yamauchi’s last spark of hope crumbled to dust and blew away.

“I, it’s just, w-well, I can’t, um, return your feelings,” Sakura added. It must have taken her a lot of courage to unleash those words. I was witnessing a form of romance for the very first time, albeit from uncomfortably close up. Yamauchi probably didn’t want to be rejected in front of a third-party, either.

“I see,” Yamauchi replied.

It sounded as though he was desperately trying to digest what had happened. His voice shook, just like Sakura’s. I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at him.

“Thank you, Sakura. For coming all the way here, um, to tell me in person,” he added.

“G-goodbye!” Sakura, no longer able to bear the situation, bowed and ran away.

“Ah,” sighed Yamauchi.

He extended his arm weakly, as if to try to catch Sakura as she left. I couldn’t do anything but stand there quietly, watching the first romance I ever saw in person break down. Yamauchi endured the frustration in silence for a few minutes, but eventually, he lifted his head and looked at me. Maybe he was about to shout at me, shower me with abuse, just because I was there and in his way? Take his anger out on me, instead?

“M-man, talk about embarrassing. Getting rejected by a girl in front of your buddy. I feel like my face is on fire.” Yamauchi sighed, not blaming me at all. I still saw the shock of rejection on his face, but that wasn’t all. “Whew. It’s like… How do I even put it? I almost feel relieved, you know?”

Yamauchi sounded nearly cheerful now.

“Like, I was a real idiot. I was just causing Sakura trouble. She tried so carefully not to hurt me, a guy she didn’t like. I feel incredibly guilty. I mean, I’m free to like her and all, but I’ve learned that conveying your feelings to someone comes with responsibility.”

I realized that Yamauchi’s clothes were wet. Clearly, he’d been standing outside well before he and Sakura had arranged to meet. Perhaps he’d been contemplating the confession nervously.

“You’re not as upset as I thought you’d be,” I said.

“Well, it’s a shock, but it’s not all that bad. Sakura’s cute, and I wanted her to be my girlfriend. But I was just looking at her face and her body, you know? That’s a cheap thing to do. I think, like, I didn’t really love her. If I really liked her, I would’ve felt worse when she rejected me.”

I didn’t dare say anything. I just listened quietly.

“That’s why I’m moving on. I’ll find a girl that I really like.” Apparently, Yamauchi had matured a bit after Sakura rejected him. In record time, too. “I’m grateful to you, Ayanokouji. Sorry for involving you in something so weird.”

“It’s okay, because…we’re friends,” I replied.

“Here, I’ll lend you this. You said you wanted to borrow a phone, right?”

“Didn’t you say it depended on your confession being successful?”

“I’m making an exception. But you better return it right away,” he added.

With that, Yamauchi ran off after Sakura. That was when I noticed rays of sunlight shining down through the spaces between the rainclouds.