Everyone knows about the stories of prince charming saving the damsel in distress. The classic love story scenario that every girl wishes for in their love life.
If only there was such a thing, right? There's no way such a convenient person would exist.
As I was thinking this, a certain black haired boy came to mind.
A completely inconspicuous person that decided to blend in with his surroundings. He was a shining example of letting the atmosphere take over.
The boy's name was Takei Tanaka.
I don't even know what made me interested in him so much… Was it his casual disinterest in everything?
In everyday life, he looked like he was just strolling through the daily motions that were habit, instead of acting by his will.
It felt like he was conforming to the atmosphere around him, rather than resisting it.
This was not a way of living that I deemed acceptable. It looked like pain and anguish to me.
Even though I disliked it, I turned a blind eye. What could I do? A person he wasn't even acquainted with, was trying to interfere with his life.
Meddling with someone else's affairs wasn't something I liked to do.
Indeed, I wasn't the goddess or pure saint that was spoken of. That was just a nickname that was forced on me to fit everyone's agenda.
They wanted a saint that they could worship for their selfish reasons. As a result, I never made any friends because there was always a sense of distance between us that couldn't be closed.
It was also partially my fault. I never corrected my behavior of being obsessively polite with everyone. That resulted in everyone thinking I was a good girl who could do no wrong.
I was the cause of my current predicament, which left me with little options to take. A painful couple years of high school is what I thought would've happened.
Instead, nothing short of a miracle happened.
One day, I ignored the weather forecasts and went to school without bringing an umbrella.
Then during the day, it started pouring heavily without stopping. I was especially troubled on how to return home at the end of the day.
Prepared to be drenched since I didn't have an umbrella, I was about to go home from school while it was raining.
As I began to depart from the place I so heavily despised, a gentle voice spoke out from beside me.
"Here, you can use my umbrella."
I turned around to face the boy that had managed to grasp my interest several times in the past, Takei Tanaka.
He was holding out an umbrella and urging me to take it, but how could I?
It was painstakingly obvious that he had no other umbrella to use.
Even then, he still urged me to take it.
The boy forced the umbrella into my hand and ran off without asking for anything in return.
This was…truly a selfless act.
Piquing my curiosity even more, I decided to visit him the next day.
Of course, he got sick from running home in the rain so I decided to stay with him.
While I stayed there, I was welcomed with so much warmth and care. Although he didn't show it, Takei cared a lot about my opinions and adjusted accordingly to them. He even invited me to partake in video games with him.
As this was happening, a voice inside of me was telling me to stay with him. It was telling me that I would find true happiness if I stayed close to him.
That's why I decided to pester him the next day. I asked him to keep abiding to my selfish whims. I knew it was unreasonable, but I still asked.
To my surprise, he agreed. Takei said he had nothing better to do, so he was willing to accommodate me.
Little did I know at the time, there would be many fun future events that would happen.
Hanging out, dates, video games, celebrations, so many enjoyable things happened.
As time went on, we grew closer and closer together. He learned more about me and I learned more about him.
Of course, we hadn't told each other everything about ourselves yet. Both of us had some things that were just not ready to be shared yet. We both respected each other's feelings, so the subject was never addressed.
One thing I did notice however, was Takei's grim face that appeared every so often.
Whenever a certain topic would come up, he would start grinding his teeth unconsciously, as if holding back the pain.
At first, I thought it wasn't anything serious so I decided not to approach the topic since he didn't want to talk about it. I truly hoped the problem would resolve itself, but that was a foolish wish.
Last night over the phone, Takei started to have a breakdown of some sorts. His breathing became ragged and he started to sound very hoarse.
There was nothing I could do at that time, but to yell his name in hopes of him waking up from his nightmare.
Somehow, it ended up working.
Takei managed to control himself and answered me back with a smile.
It was then that I realized.
I wanted him to keep on smiling.
I wanted him to keep seeing this colorful world around him.
I wanted him to be happy.
I wanted him…to keep only looking at me.
I wanted him to be mine.
I was sure my love for him was not inferior to anyone else's.
No longer did I want him to suffer alone, I wanted to be there to share his burden together.
Even if he isn't ready to let me know about his past yet, I'll be here patiently waiting.
I'll always be by his side, no matter what.
---
Akari's Affection Meter: 35 -> 60%
A whopping 25% increase for best girl. Akari's realization that she actually loves Takei has increased her affection meter into the realm of seeing him as a romantic interest as well as not wanting anyone else to have him.
If romantic interest is at 60%, I can't even imagine what 100% is going to look like.