Chapter Eight

A Present

The very next morning, Yui walked into the classroom to find Yuuki already seated at his desk. It was a bit unusual, to say the least. Yui had once again opted to walk to school today, but she’d still expected to arrive earlier than him.

She hesitantly approached her seat and propped her umbrella up against her desk, since the umbrella stand by the entrance had been full. That wasn’t unexpected, seeing as the typhoon was drawing near and was probably going to arrive in full sometime between the late hours of the evening and the early hours of tomorrow morning. Of course, that also meant that Yui couldn’t afford to pull any more of her antics with the umbrella like “forgetting” it. That would only make her look silly, after all.

“Good morning,” Yuuki greeted her while she finished setting her bag down on her desk. Yui was understandably alarmed, because this was the first time he’d ever said hello first.

“Morning,” she replied, feigning composure.

“You look sleepy.”

“Same goes for you.”

By default, Yuuki always looked like he could’ve used more sleep, but that was rarely the case for Yui. She couldn’t get any shut-eye yesterday, not after what happened. Besides, the rattling of the wind against her windows was far from a soothing lullaby, and that might’ve been the reason why she looked out of sorts compared to her usual self.

“Here, I got this for you,” he said and extended his arm just as Yui was sitting down.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“A present.”

In his hand, Yuuki held some kind of accessory. It was a small stone on a string the size of a bean, and its color was a mixture of milky-white and a hint of yellow. The stone was luminescent and shone brightly enough that Yui could tell that it wasn’t some cheap knick-knack that could be found around any corner. Needless to say, she was bewildered. She timidly stared at it as she gently took it from Yuuki.

“Wow, it’s so... pretty.”

“They say these crystals have healing powers, too. It’s all yours.”

“Wha—? Are you sure?”

“Of course. My dad is really into these things, so we have tons of them lying around the house.”

“I see. W-Well, thanks a bunch,” she managed to say, still baffled at his sudden change in behavior. The day was full of yet more surprises, though, as Yui was in for another shocker when Yuuki busted out a smile of all things.

That’s not the kind of smile that’d get the heart racing by any means, but... he just really surprised me, that’s all, Yui used such thoughts to try to justify her confusion to herself. “B-But why’re you giving me this all of a sudden? What’s the catch here?” she continued, trying her best to act natural.

“Well, I heard it also helps with stress and soothes your worries, apparently.”

“R-Really now? Well, I guess stress is common enough for this to be super handy.”

At first, she’d been suspicious as to why Yuuki would get her a present for seemingly no reason, but felt reassured when he explained the purpose the stone served. Ironically, the fact that he was the reason she was getting so stressed lately would remain unknown to him.

“Must be especially hard for you.”

“Why are you acting like I’ve got some kind of mental disorder?” she asked. He must think I’m some weirdo after yesterday. Just some girl with a few screws loose trying to get her seatmate to fall in love with her, she reflected on the situation before proceeding to clear up his misunderstanding. “Whatever you think I’m suffering from, I’m not. Capiche?”

“Please don’t worry, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“No seriously, you’ve clearly misread the situation...”

“Quick! Use the stone!”

“Zip it already!”

Yuuki was as persistent as a tutorial NPC refusing to let the player proceed further into the game without wasting a healing item first. So Yui finally gave in and squeezed the crystal so hard that, for a moment, she was afraid she was going to crush it in her hands. Strangely enough, she felt her anger melt away as she continued to clutch the stone.

Guess that’s how it’s used?

“Give me your hand,” Yuuki requested as he extended his arm out to her once she had calmed down.

Yuuki was acting seriously strange today. This pushy attitude was entirely unlike him. Yui was again very doubtful of him, but she slowly reached her hand out to him and said, “Now what?”

“Trust me,” he said and plopped something round in her hand.

“And this is?”

“Candy.”

“I’m not a child.”

“I know. Try it anyway. I promise it’s not a marble or whatever.”

“I know candy when I see it, thank you very much,” she continued after tossing the candy in her mouth, “What’s the deal with you today?”

“Have some chocolate too, if you want.”

“I asked you a question,” Yui said impatiently. Yuuki was seemingly unaffected, since he ignored her and rifled around inside his backpack. Eventually, her annoyed gaze got his attention, and he cracked yet another smile as he faced her once more.

“I think there’s a reason we ended up next to one another.”

“And what does that have to do with you acting weird?”

“I just want to help you however I can. I’ll listen if you want to talk about anything,” he responded with a calm and gentle voice.

His voice had actually been on Yui’s mind for a while; it was awfully soothing for a boy who doesn’t speak much. She dreaded to think what would become of her if he ever whispered like that in her ears.

“Th-That’s nice of you, but what exactly does that mean?” she asked, having pulled herself out of her musings.

“Hmm. How about you tell me about your dreams, for example.”

Maybe I should just bite the bullet and tell him that I want a boyfriend? The way he’s acting’s got me thinking that he’d actually volunteer, she pondered. Actually, while I’m already at it, I might as well come clean all the way and tell him that I want him to love me for real. No games, no messing around. Maybe it’ll work better if I asked with puppy-dog eyes? Ugh! As if!

Yui ultimately scrapped the idea altogether. The whole thing reeked of a setup. Even if Yuuki wasn’t some devious trap master, she couldn’t possibly blurt out something that embarrassing. The thought alone made her teeth chatter.

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Huh? You’re the one messing with me, considering what you’ve been up to lately,” came his rebuttal.

He had a point, but Yui still wasn’t buying it. Certainly this was some ploy to get her back for all of the mischief she’d caused.

“Ohhh, I get it,” she said. “So this is your idea of payback, huh? I see.”

“I’m being sincere here. You’re just as guarded as ever.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” she protested, hurling a hostile gaze at him. It was to no avail, however, as his response came in the form of a faint smile.

Why does it feel like he’s playing the role of an understanding older brother placating his upset sister? I mean, he did mention—wait, could that be it? Could he have figured out how I actually feel about him after yesterday’s kerfuffle? That’d explain this drastic change in his personality...

The situation between them was growing increasingly complicated with layers upon layers of what ifs and doubts that it threw any and all of Yui’s plans into complete disarray.

I’ll look way too desperate if I surrender now. Even if everything turned out great, she did not like the sort of power balance that giving in would establish. She felt she would never be able to challenge that dynamic going forward.

Now determined, she pulled herself together and concluded that the best course of action was to instead work toward making him be the one to confess rather than just keep doing whatever it was he was doing now. Her mind was now set; she would achieve a crushing victory in this titillating game they found themselves engaged in.

“J-Just what has gotten into you, Yuuki? You’re being so nice today... Have you finally realized just how cute I am?”

“Pretty much. I thought about it, and I think I really misunderstood you before.”

What does he mean by that? Is the jig actually up? Why do I feel like he’s still missing something dreadfully important? I can’t read him at all, she thought before exhaling harshly, upset.

“Hm? Anything wrong?”

He’s a formidable opponent to be sure. How can I ever hope to beat someone who’s got a poker face literally all the time?! Think Yui, think! There has to be a way to one up him once and for all!

“I’m glad you like my present.”

“Yeah, I think it’ll come in handy,” she said with a smile. Her hand trembled as it gripped the stone.

It looked like Yuuki’s present was already being put to good use.