Time skip
Tanjiro' pov
Yesterday, Sol left for the Youth Festival. I won't see her for an entire week. It was harder than I had expected. When we were together, it felt like nothing special. But when we were apart, I was desperate to hear her voice, to get her calls, and to know how things were going for her. Karma started to put gasoline in my fire.
At the park
Karma: Tanjiro, listen to me; if you miss her so much, then it probably means that deep inside, without you even realizing it, you love her.
Tanjiro: What nonsense are you saying? She was with me all my life; it's just that this is my first time being away from her. That's the only reason I miss her.
Karma:C'mon, Tanjiro, are you blind? You never know how much you love someone until they are gone. This might be the first time you both are getting separated, but if you miss her to the extent that you can't do anything without her, then trust me, it is love. Think about it.
Saying that, Karma leaves. I sat alone on the bench, thinking of the entire conversation we just had. Could it really be that I have feelings for her? But I do miss her like hell. What if I am in love? I decided not to think much about it, so I just headed home.
Eomma: Oh! You finally came. Karma came by a while ago. He wanted to give you this.
She handed me a book. "The Infinity Sign," read the title. A page had already been marked. I turned to that page. "It is better to lock up your heart with a merciless padlock than to fall in love with someone who doesn't know what they mean to you." I laid on my bed and started to think.
Is this really what they call love? And what if it is? I can't just go up and tell her. What if she doesn't feel the same way about What would our parents think? Forget our parents; what if it ruined our years of friendship?
I'd rather drink poison than let that happen. I decided that it was better to have her as a friend who didn't know about my feelings than to lose her completely because of my stupidity.
A week later,
Today was the day she finally came back. I missed her so much that I couldn't wait to see her again. I couldn't wait any longer. I started to walk around the place while fidgeting with my fingers. Right then, I heard the bus. She was here!
The moment the bus stopped, she threw the door open and gave me a bone-crushing hug.
Sol: TANJIRO, I MISSED YOU SO BAD!" YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD IT WAS TO SURVIVE WITHOUT HEARING YOUR NONSENSE!
Tanjiro: If you scream anymore, I will go deaf!"
Sol: I DON'T CARE!"
Tanjiro: There is so much for you to catch up on. We will be having exams next month.
Sol: NEXT MONTH!! What exams!? Why are the midterm exams coming early this year?
Tanjiro: It's not a midterm exam. Every year, they host one Elite Completion for high school, so to select students, one exam will be conducted. English, math, and science are the core subjects. It will be thinking-type questions, so we can't memorize the material. We will just have to understand and know how to apply the concepts we have learned in high school. The teachers told the students to learn very well because winning the competition is important to maintaining the school's honor and prestige.
Sol: Wow! Since when do you like studying so much?
Tanjiro: I absolutely hate it, but this is important, and what I said just now was like a copy-pasted version of what the teachers said.
Sol: We should start preparing then...