Chapter 8: Using Her Words

“Either way, Yaegashi-kun, what you did was needlessly reckless,” the president of Class 1-C, Fujishima Maiko, remarked as she sat on the bench beside Taichi, who lay with his head next to her. “I mean, think about it: you saw a kitten stuck in a tree and decided to climb up to save it, and when the kitten nearly fell, you jumped to catch it in your arms in midair, only to land squarely on your back in order to protect it from harm? It’s like something out of a movie!”

“I know... I just couldn’t help it...”

It was the truth. Even a martyr like him ordinarily wouldn’t have gone that far... if it hadn’t been for the Liberation, of course.

“In any case, I’m glad to see you’re unharmed. You fell from quite a considerable height, after all. And if I let someone get hurt on a school field trip, I would be unworthy of my title as class president.” She sighed and shook her head.

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“At least now I think I have a better understanding of what makes you so popular with the girls. I swear, you’re the dumbest man alive, but... there’s something about seeing you in action... Oh, but just so we’re clear, I haven’t fallen for you or anything like that.” She smirked. “I’m not that easy.”

Taichi wasn’t sure how to react to that.

“Anyway... Wait, is that Inaba-san? Yikes...”

Apparently Inaba had returned from wherever she’d disappeared off to. Taichi turned his head to try to look, but found he couldn’t see past Fujishima. What was the “yikes” for, anyway?

“Hmmm... As an apostle of love, I can tell that she’s not here for me. I’d better make myself scarce, then. Talk to you later, Yaegashi-kun.” With that mysterious comment, she rose to her feet and walked off.

“Fujishima? What are you talking about?” Taichi called after her, but she didn’t look back. “What was that...?” he muttered to himself, staring up at the sky.

Suddenly, Inaba’s face popped into his line of vision.

“Oh, hey, Ina—” he began, but quickly faltered.

She was breathing hard, her face drenched with sweat. Her hair was a disheveled mess, and a few strands clung to her cheek—no, in fact, she was a mess from head to toe. There were pieces of dead leaves stuck to her black sweater, suggesting she’d fallen to the ground, as well as a few frayed threads on her sleeve that implied she’d gotten it caught on something.

But above all, there were tears streaming from her eyes.

In all their time together, Taichi had never seen her cry—well, not the real her, anyway. She’d come close back when they believed Nagase was going to die, but she’d held back for the sake of keeping everyone else together.

And now here she was, puffy-eyed and sniffling. He must have worried her half to death.

Hastily, Taichi sat up to apologize.

“I’m so sorry, Inaba! P-Please don’t cry, okay?! I’m totally fine, I pr—UGK?!”

She promptly elbowed him in the solar plexus—harder than ever before.

“Hggggghhhh...! Ghhcckk! That was... so uncalled for... So much for being fine...” He felt the curry threatening to come back up, but he managed to hold it down. “Gah... haah... Holy crap, I thought that was gonna kill me... What’s your problem?!”

“Don’t scare me like that, you asshole!” With that, Inaba collapsed on the spot, seemingly uncaring if she got her clothes muddy. Her slender shoulders shook as she sobbed.

She was so delicate, so weak, so fragile—so sweet.

Gently, carefully, Taichi placed a hand on her shoulder.

After a long moment, Inaba wiped away her tears and whispered, “Once we get back to school... there’s something I want to talk to you about. Meet me behind the East Wing.”

■□■□■

And so the time came. The students all piled on the rental bus, and together we headed back to the school.

I still looked like a total wreck, of course, and multiple people asked me what had happened, but I dodged the question.

Once we were formally dismissed, I pulled Iori aside and told her what I was planning to do.

“Good luck,” Iori said softly.

“You sure you’re cool with this?” I asked.

“Why not? I’m already way ahead of you as it is,” she smirked. This little punk, I swear.

“Thanks,” I replied, and I meant it from the bottom of my heart. “You know, I’m really proud to consider myself your friend,” I added.

“I-Inaban... Oh my gosh... This is so out of character for you! I’m blushing! AAAAAHHH!” Iori screamed as she dashed away.

...Hopefully she wasn’t Liberated.

Just like that, the time flew by before I knew it. Poor Taichi. Knowing him, he’d wait for me as long as it took.

And so I headed out behind the East Wing. It felt a little weird to wander around campus in my regular clothes.

I turned the corner to reach my destination—and there he was, standing with his back turned.

Reflexively, I slowed my pace. A bit too much, actually. I was practically tiptoeing. God, what was I even doing? There was no point in concealing my presence when we were about to have a conversation! Now it was even more awkward!

Meanwhile, the distance between us began to shrink.

He still hadn’t noticed.

I got closer.

He still hadn’t noticed.

Just then, a loud SNAP. I carelessly stepped on a twig.

My heart nearly stopped.

Then, finally, Yaegashi Taichi turned.

“Oh... Hey, Inaba,” he called out stiffly, then started jogging over.

A series of meaningless demands flickered through my mind—Stop! Don’t run over here! Just stay where you are!—but naturally, Taichi hurried over regardless.

We were now standing approximately one meter apart—a metaphor for the distance between our hearts.

...Gee, how poetic. God, I’m so stupid.

“You said you wanted to talk about something?” Taichi asked.

Wait, damn it! I’m not ready!

I looked into his eyes, took a deep breath, and—

The words didn’t come.

I looked away again. What is my problem? Am I seriously getting cold feet at the last possible second?

Still, I knew I needed to say it if I wanted to move forward. I needed to use my words if I wanted other people to understand me. It was utterly ridiculous to expect them to read my mind, much more so to get mad at them when they couldn’t.

That said... the thing I was about to say was guaranteed to destroy the existing context of our friendship. And once I said it, there would be no way to undo it. Not only that, but there was a chance someone would get hurt, be it myself or someone else.

Worst of all, I would have to face the possibility of rejection—and frankly, I wasn’t sure I would be able to recover from that.

It was risky, and the stakes were high... but I had already made up my mind.

All I have to do is tell him how I feel. That’s it. I can’t chicken out. I have to say it. I have to be true to myself. I won’t run, nor will I hide. Nor will I give in to my fears.

So, how do I say it? Wait... Oh god, I didn’t plan for this at all! Where do I begin? How much do I tell him? How do I get him to understand? Do I launch into an entire spiel, or do I just leave it at one sentence? How do I explain it? What excuses can I give? How do I express these feelings? What am I supposed to do? Ugh, I’m so confused!

My mind reeled. My pulse quickened. I couldn’t tell up from down. I couldn’t think straight. Nothing made any logical sense anymore. But I needed to say something, fast.

I started to panic. There was no time to think of a long, eloquent speech. Even if I could, I wasn’t confident I could get the words out.

Forget it. I’ll just cut to the chase. I’ll just say the most important part. Five words? Yeah, just five words. That’s enough. Now please, mouth, just say five more words—!

“I’m in love with you.”

There... I finally said it.

■□■□■

As Taichi received this short yet heartfelt confession, doubts began to crop up in the back of his mind.

You’re kidding, right? Where did this come from? Why now? What about Nagase? Weren’t you trying to play Cupid with me and her? What’ll happen to the club?

Admittedly, there were times he’d faintly suspected this might be the case, but ultimately he’d decided his inflated ego was probably misinterpreting her intentions. After all, Inaba would never fall for a guy like him. Compared to her, he was practically incompetent... No, they all were. Not to put anyone down, of course; Inaba was just very clearly the most mature of the bunch—thus he’d convinced himself it simply wasn’t possible.

In a way, Inaba was an authority figure of sorts. Obviously she wasn’t perfect; he knew she had her flaws like anyone else. Still, he had nothing but respect for her. She was always guiding the rest of them, but there wasn’t much they could do for her in return—or so he’d believed.

Once again, he’d only ever been thinking about himself. Was there ever a point in his life when he’d actually considered the feelings of another person?

He’d done nothing but force his ideals, desires, and morals on everyone around him.

Meanwhile, Inaba was silently shaking, eyes averted, like she was scared stiff. Obviously it had taken all she had just to get those five words out. One look at her and Taichi realized just how dense he must’ve been to fail to notice how deeply she cared for him. Granted, he wasn’t a mind reader, so he couldn’t have known for sure without her telling him, but that was no excuse. If he wanted to be a decent human being, then he needed to start paying attention to the people around him.

No man is an island.

Taichi snapped back to reality, where Inaba stood trembling, her face red as a tomato. Crap. He couldn’t just leave her hanging forever. He needed to say something, but the shock of her confession had broken his brain.

He began to panic.

Images floated through his head—Nagase, the CRC, Class 1-C—

So many choices, each with infinite outcomes, all with devastating effects—

And then, Inaba looked up. Her almond-shaped eyes were brimming with tears, but nonetheless, her gaze locked firmly onto his. And just like that, nothing else mattered. She had put her feelings into words, and now it was time for him to return the favor.

“I... I’m really flattered that you feel that way about me, Inaba. Honored, really. From the bottom of my heart.” Pause. “But as of right now... my heart belongs to Nagase.”

He wanted that bright, sunny smile in his life.

There was a brief pause, just long enough for Taichi to wonder how she would react—and then Inaba laughed. Her face was still stiff, but regardless, she grinned from ear to ear.

“Gotcha... I figured as much. That said... if that’s how you feel ‘right now,’ then does that mean there’s a chance I can change your mind?” Her grin shifted into a smug smirk.

“Th-That’s not what I meant!”

“I mean, let’s be real. You two aren’t official yet, and I can’t imagine you’re ready to commit the rest of your life to her. We’re in high school, after all. Pretty sure I’ve still got time.” She paused, the world’s most mischievous smile on her face, then continued, “Oh, but don’t worry. I already told Iori my intentions, so it’ll be a fair fight. You can follow your heart or whatever, no need to walk on eggshells. This is between me and her.”

“W-Wait! Slow down! Wh... What are you talking about?! You make it sound like you and Nagase have agreed to fight over me or someth—”

“Precisely. Now suck it up, Yaegashi Taichi. This is what you get for making two incredible women fall for you.” She stuck her tongue out and grinned devilishly.

“W-Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Uhh... You can’t! You just can’t, okay?! I can’t handle this!”

Inaba took two steps forward. “Not my problem, dumbass.”

They were now merely inches apart. Then she put her hand on his shoulder and drew her lips to his ear.

He could feel her hot breath envelop his earlobe.

“Just you wait. I’ll make your knees go weak.” Her voice penetrated his brain and reverberated inside his skull. “Consider this payback for what you did to [me] at the hospital.”

She cupped his chin and leaned in. He caught a glimpse of her glossy dark hair—her large, almond-shaped eyes—her long eyelashes—and the next thing he knew, her lips were on his, warm and soft.

Then, just like that, it was gone again.

“That was my pre-emptive strike. Anyway I’ll be back at the clubroom starting next week. See you then.” She shot him a seductive smile and licked her lips.

Full disclosure: it nearly made his heart stop.

■□■□■

As Taichi stood there, utterly stupefied, I turned and strode away—calmly, with my head held high, hoping to mask the fact that my heart was practically threatening to explode. Then again, I was walking way too fast to appear “calm” in the first place, so it was probably an exercise in futility anyway.

Regardless, I somehow managed to suppress the urge to run—right until I had rounded the corner. Then I took off like a bullet, running like my life depended on it, faster than I’d ever run before.

Why did I run so much today? I’m supposed to be the indoorsy type! God, I can already tell my legs are gonna hurt for days. Oh well.

I ran around to the back of the North Wing, made sure no one was around, then plopped down right there on the ground.

“AAAAAAAHHHHH! Oh my GOD! I KISSED HIM! I’m gonna DIE!” I screamed down at the ground.

Then I burst out laughing.

“Haha... HahaHAAAhahahahahaha!”

I could still feel him on my lips.

What do I do? Wipe it off? Lick it? Spit?

My body was boiling, boiling, boiling, boiling, boiling hot. My chest was tight, tight, tight, tight like it was in a vice.

Oh god, I’m gonna puke... Is this how love is supposed to feel?

My emotions were now in full control, overriding my rational thoughts and reducing me to braindead mush.

...Turns out, it’s not so bad.