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Shouta felt as if the world had stopped moving.
What had he been thinking for the last six months that he had been attending the same school as Sara? He hadn't believed what Sara had said.
Is it possible that he pretended to be a main character in a romance tale and was dense as a rock, missing all of the main heroine's signals of devotion, or that he pretended to be a main character in a romance story and was dense as a rock, missing all of the main heroine's signs of affection?
The first option is the most obvious. He was completely oblivious to Sara's revelation.
With all of the incidents he witnessed in junior high, he had a mountain of suspicion towards Sara. He had affections for her till he lost interest in her and just viewed her as a friend after several sightings.
He didn't feel quite right about it, but he battled it and smiled horribly at everyone.
Shouta's sadness was obvious to everyone, even Mia at the moment.
Shouta grimaced as he averted his gaze from Sara's crimson face.
Inside his head, a cyclone had developed, wreaking havoc on his emotions.
"—Sara"
"Y-yeah…"
It seemed as though someone else had entered the room.
Sara wasn't the Sara he remembered.
The Sara he knew was emotionless and capable of handling difficult or strange circumstances, such as the one he was in right now.
But the Sara he was seeing right now was someone quite different.
Her face was a kaleidoscope of emotions. Shouta could only imagine her cheeks were sweltering and becoming crimson at that very moment.
Before uttering his remarks, Shouta smiled:
"I love you too"
He felt as if the smile wasn't fake. His own smile wasn't fake. A genuine smile was formed by his own will.
Sara's face became even red.
She felt as if her whole body was burning, adrenaline running throughout her body. Her fingers quivered as it traveled from the lowest point of her body, and then to stop in front of her mouth.
Her once dead crimson eyes lit up.
"———H— appy"
"I'm glad that you are"
"—Y-yes… I, I am"
Sara collapsed on top of the Shouta who was sitting. Sara was sobbing, happy tears, before the tears from her eyes dropped on his shoulders. Shouta knew Sara was crying before the tears from her eyes fell on his shoulders. Shouta began to cry as a result of this.
He was remorseful for all he had done to Sara, from her failed confessions to the times he had turned her down.
Thinking about it now, Shouta felt fortunate that Sara stayed with him despite being discarded several times. Sara was so devoted to Shouta that she would stay even if she was raped or tormented. Sara was "in debt" to Shouta to that extent.
Shouta had rescued her from the depths of the abyss. Has Sara, on the other hand, protected him from anything?
Sara has been saved by Shouta on many occasions since she was six years old. Of course, Sara wanted to pay Shouta back with something. And now, after all these years, Shouta is the one who has been rescued by Sara.
If he wasn't, the route to lunacy would lead him away from his ambition.
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Being completely aware of what is going on might be a sensation from paradise or a feeling from hell.
When deciding whether or not to seek knowledge, a human can pause. And the instant they recognized what the knowledge was, it was either out of their hands or something they wanted to know.
However, once one realizes how warm true love can be, one's heart melts quickly.
Sara Fujiwara and Shouta Kazehaya both experienced this. Sara was eventually seen by Shouta, and Shouta's doubts were dispelled owing to Sara.
—However, there is still an unanswered question.
Who was the one who brought the underpants inside the house?
What is more important.
Whose underwear is it?
Even if they were in a loving relationship, hugging and sobbing with one another. That question lingered about them, both within and outside their heads.
Rustle, Rustle.
SLAM!!!
Without thinking twice, the two left the room and slammed the door shut. And with Sara's key, the door made a sound and it was hard to open.
The rustling sound was from under the comfortable and expensive bed.
"What was that?!"
"Rustling… a person?"
"I didn't feel the bed move or anything, just hearing that rustle make me jump!"
"I'll go in and check, you stay here"
"Wait—hold on! I'm the one who is supposed to protect you"
"Bu—"
"——what if you can't fight a stranger?!"
"I can probably fight a horde of men… I'm skilled at anything, remember"
"Ack… yeah, I remember"
The light was still on the last time they were inside, and when they both entered the room again, it was still lit.
Shouta carefully looked around him as the door behind him closed.
In the small room, the atmosphere was getting colder than before. But, maybe it was just Shouta being scared and worrying about Sara's safety, even after being told by herself that she could fight a horde of men.
But how?
She could never fight a horde of men all by herself. Even if those men weren't well built or aren't as buff like gangsters from movies, she would be defeated just by simply outnumbered. Could someone imagine a little girl fighting a group of adults, and the girl came out victorious?
Some could and some could not. And most couldn't imagine it.
It's just common sense. A girl fighting a horde of men is astronomically impossible.
"Shouta"
"Yeah?"
"Could you please…"
"Huh?"
As he looked below him, there was Sara's sleek behind, but it wasn't what Sara was trying to show. Below that sleek behind was her hand, trying to reach something from Shouta.
It was a sign of——
————please, hold my hand
In the next instant, Shouta placed his hand and felt a burst of warmth from it. But it didn't make any difference, Shouta was still kinda scared about the whole scenario.
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"—————so in conclusion… that was a ride of my life"
Shouta proudly finished his story before everyone clapped their hands. Shouta was just imagining a crowd, there was only Mia who was listening to him, sitting on top of a carpet.
"Then what happened next?"
Today was a Saturday, a week after the underwear incident.
When Sara held Shouta's hand, his sight was automatically looking down and then he caught a glare from under the bed. Immediately taking action, Shouta yanked Sara's arm and left the room in a dash.
"Call the police! Now!!"
"Okay"
Then the police arrived a minute later, using a bike to get there.
Shouta suspected someone under Sara's apartment room was stalking her from under the bed.
To make that suspicion more better, the resident that lived a floor below Sara was a fat shut in neet. Shouta's mind already made the conclusion that he was stalking Sara and did dirty things while she was either asleep or away.
And Shouta was also more pleased when he saw a giant hole under Sara's bed that led to the fat shut in neet's room.
—this guy must dedicate his whole life to this… Even though he's doing something wrong, I respect him for not even giving up.
Some kind of word of wisdom from Shouta. No one will understand what it means, only Shouta can understand it because it was made by him.
"Then? Then? What happened?"
"Listen, Mia…"
Shouta patted Mia on the head and pointed his other hand to the clock on his table.
"It's already past midnight, you should go to bed"
With a pouty face, Mia left her brother's room and ran downstairs to her room, slamming her door on the way.
Shouta could hear Tohru—his mother—shouting at Mia because of it.
"Oh my… so cute…."