Students overflowed through the school doors as they made their way home. I was a little worried about finding Ichinose, but my anxieties quickly disappeared. She stood out even in this sea of students. Although her cuteness could have been one reason why, she also had the type of presence that dominated wherever she was.
To be honest, I didn't really know how to describe it. I could only describe it as an intoxicating, gentle power. A power that was amplified by how many of the first-year students recognized her. It was similar to Kushida, but even more so. Ichinose was popular with boys and girls alike. They greeted her one after another. Because of that, I wasted about five minutes just trying to find the right time to call to her myself.
"Ah. Ayanokouji-kun. Over here, over here!"
Ichinose eventually noticed me and called me over. Pretending like I'd only just arrived, I casually raised my hand.
"So, what should I do next?" I asked.
"I plan to finish this as soon as possible. Follow me."
I put on my shoes and followed Ichinose to the other side of the building. We arrived at a spot right behind the gymnasium. This did seem like the kind of place where someone would confess their feelings.
"Now then…"
Ichinose took a deep breath, and faced me. No way… Did Ichinose plan to confess to me?!
"I think…"
No way, there was no way this could—
"I think someone will confess their feelings to me here," she said.
"Huh?"
With that, Ichinose took out a letter and showed it to me. It was a cute love letter adorned with a heart sticker. Although she wanted me to read it, it felt rude to look. The handwriting was pretty, much like the letter's exterior. The handwriting was cute, definitely not like a boy's.
I noticed something that concerned me. The meeting time and location were written in the letter. It was set for Friday evening at 4:00 PM, behind the gymnasium. That was about 10 minutes from now.
"Wouldn't it be better if I weren't here?" I asked.
"Love is kind of alien to me. I don't how to respond without hurting her feelings. I also don't know if we can stay good friends afterwards. I want you to help me."
"I don't really think I'm the person to ask for this. I don't have any experience with romantic confessions. There are probably other people in Class B who could help."
"The person confessing her feelings to me…is from Class B."
Ah, that's what it was. I now understood why she'd asked me to come.
"I'd like for you to keep this secret. If not, things will probably get unpleasant. Knowing you, Ayanokouji-kun, I doubt you'll go around telling people."
"But Ichinose, aren't you used to people confessing their feelings to you?"
"Huh?! N-no way. Not at all! I've never experienced this before."
If she hadn't told me herself, I absolutely would not have believed it.
"I really don't understand why this is happening."
I didn't think this confession was surprising, because Ichinose was so cute. Furthermore, judging how she'd interacted with the other students, she had a great personality.
"So…will you please pretend to be my boyfriend?"
Whoa! Had this situation seriously devolved into such a cliché?
"I did a bit of research, and discovered that the rejected person hurts less if the object of their affection is already in a relationship…"
"I understand that you don't want to hurt anyone, but won't it be worse if they find out you lied?"
"I could say that you and I broke up, or that you left me or something."
I didn't think that was the solution here…
"Honestly, I think it would be much better for you to talk with this person one-on-one. Truthfully."
"But— Ah!"
Ichinose seemed to have noticed something, and awkwardly raised her hand. Apparently the person in question had arrived earlier than expected. What in the world kind of visual kei guy was this person? The new arrival had a boyish, androgynous face. He was even wearing a skirt.
No, no. First impressions aside, she was a girl. I'd suspected as much after seeing her handwriting. Unlike when a boy revealed romantic feelings for another boy, this confession would probably be smooth. I might've thought that because I was a guy myself, though.
"Um, Ichinose-san… Who is this person?"
The new girl seemed a bit unnerved by the unexpected appearance of a male student.
"This is Ayanokouji-kun, from Class D. I'm sorry for bringing someone that you don't know, Chihiro-chan."
"Is he by any chance…your boyfriend, Ichinose-san?"
"Ah… Well…"
Ichinose probably meant to say that yes, yes I was. But guilt over lying seemed to stopper her answer. The words got stuck in her throat.
"So why is this Ayanokouji-kun person here?"
Confused by this unexpected situation, Chihiro began to cry. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Is he her boyfriend? Why would he be here if he wasn't? Chihiro was probably struggling to understand what was going on. Ichinose, seeing Chihiro's tears, grew flustered. Uncertain of what to do, she started panicking. I'd expected Ichinose to be a stalwart, reliable person, but apparently she had an unexpected weak point.
"Um, do you mind going somewhere else, please? I have something important that I need to talk with Ichinose-san about," Chihiro said.
"P-please wait a minute, Chihiro-san. That's, um… Well, to tell you the truth, Ayanokouji-kun is…"
Ichinose was trying to make the first move and turn her down. She probably thought it would be harder if Chihiro directly said, I like you.
"What is it?" Chihiro asked.
"So, Ayanokouji-kun, he's… Well, he's my—"
There was nothing I could do in this situation. Well, nothing except…
"I'm just a friend."
I cut Ichinose off before she could finish.
"Ichinose. I didn't think this was something I should say, considering no one's ever confessed to me before. But I think it was a mistake for you to call me here."
I spoke honestly, for both their sakes.
"It's true that confessing your feelings isn't easy to do. You spend every day in complete anguish, as you create the experience in your head over and over. And yet, you still can't confess your feelings. Even when you think the time has come to actually do it, you can't say the words 'I like you'. They get stuck in your throat. That's what I think. Don't you think you should answer someone when they desperately long to express their feelings? If you make the situation unclear, both of you may regret it later."
"Uh…"
Ichinose had probably never experienced seriously falling in love with someone before. Therefore, she didn't really know what to do, or if she were doing something wrong. Trying to prevent someone's pain was useless. If you turned someone down, their feelings would inevitably be hurt.
Well, if you managed to come up with a suitable excuse, you probably could make things a little easier. An excuse like "I want to concentrate on my studies" or "There's someone else that I like." Or, like what Ichinose had attempted here: "I'm already dating someone." But no matter what answer you gave, the other person would definitely be hurt.
Even more hurt if the excuse were built on a lie.
I left without waiting for Ichinose's reply. I headed back, but didn't return to the dormitory right away. Instead I stopped by the tree-lined pathway, leaned against the handrail, and sighed as I looked up at green leaves.
About five minutes later, a girl ran past me. There were tears in her eyes. Despite that shocking image, I loitered there a while longer to kill time. Around sundown, Ichinose trudged back from the gym and walked over to me.
"Ah…"
Upon seeing me, she looked a little awkward and hung her head. But then she immediately glanced back up at me.
"I was wrong. I didn't respect Chihiro-chan's feelings. I just wanted to avoid hurting her, and to run away. That was my mistake. Love is really tough, huh?" Ichinose muttered as she leaned against the handrail next to me. "I asked her if we could carry on like usual, but… I don't know if we can go back to how things were."
"That depends on you both."
"Yeah… Thanks for today. For coming along with me for such an odd request."
"It's okay. Days like this happen, anyway."
"I guess our positions got reversed, huh? I planned on helping you, but then you ended up helping me."
"I'm sorry for acting so full of myself back there," I said.
Ichinose blinked a couple of times, as if I'd said something odd.
"There's no need for you to apologize, Ayanokouji-kun. None at all."
She stretched her arms towards the sky, and hopped off the railing.
"Now it's my turn to help you. If there's anything I can do, I will."
I wondered how Class B's Ichinose Honami planned to resolve this difficult situation. I had to admit, I was looking forward to seeing it.