Although there wasn't any visible change in Shizuna, there was definitely an emotional one. She couldn't deny the fact that she'd rushed through her relationship with Ryuichi, but even so she was still happy. She mentioned it when she saw Ryuichi this morning, but she really could not forget what they'd done last night. If she let her mind wander a little, she would unconsciously break out into a grin and repeatedly cause her friends to worry about what was wrong.
…Ryuichi-kun.
For a long time now, all she could think about was him. It was true that he'd been rough with her in bed, but he had cared for Shizuna the entire time. Despite the initial pain she'd felt, she struggled to keep her voice down afterward because of how good he was.
"…?!"
Having the memory resurface in her mind all of a sudden flustered her, and she made a loud racket. Her classmates and even the teacher grew concerned, but of course there was no way she could say she'd been distraught over something like this, so all Shizuna could do was quietly bow her head and apologize.
"Shizuna? Are you really okay?"
"I am… Really, I'm sorry."
She was embarrassed, but joy quickly filled her heart, quickly replacing said embarrassment. Ryuichi's seat was in the back of the room, so she had to turn around if she wanted to see his face. Of course, since they were in the middle of class, she couldn't do that, so Shizuna spent an indescribable amount of time in agony.
However, during that time, she suddenly recalled the expression Ryuichi had had on his face.
…Why did Ryuichi-kun look like that?
It happened when she'd hugged Ryuichi and he'd hugged her back while rubbing her breasts and giving her another dose of happiness. He'd clicked his tongue in annoyance as if he was remembering something. At the time, Shizuna had been worried that something about her was bothering him, but that didn't seem to be the case, which was a huge relief to her.
"…Oh, sorry. Can't be making that sort of face when I have such a beautiful girl in my arms."
He quickly apologized to her, but… Shizuna was frustrated that she was still not close enough for him to let her in his heart. Even as they were having sex with each other last night, she'd suddenly seen a look in his eyes that completely wiped away the kindness she'd felt from him; she suspected that the two were probably connected somehow.
…That's right. There's no need for me to panic. I'm me, the one who will stand by Ryuichi's side as my own untainted color.
A color that shone brightly and remained untainted no matter what. Those were the words Ryuichi had told her, which she'd inscribed deep within her heart. After all, Ryuichi wasn't hiding his dark side, so she wished to be able to illuminate his darkness as well.
"Alright. Day duty, greetings please."
"Uh-huh. Stand. Bow."
The person on day duty was curt and sounded unmotivated. The teacher didn't seem too pleased, but Shizuna let out a giggle. As was clear from their voice and character, the person on day duty today was none other than Ryuichi. Since class was over, Shizuna was planning on heading straight to where Ryuichi was, but one of her friends invited her to the restroom, so she decided to go with her.
"Say, Shizuna. What's up with you today?"
"What do you mean?"
Her friend—Asakura Yuuhi—was a tomboyish-looking girl. She was one of Shizuna's many friends; she was also her seatmate, and somebody who Shizuna frequently chatted with. She seemed to have some doubts about Shizuna's behavior today.
"There's really nothing wrong with me, you know?"
"But my gut tells me you've been thinking about Shishido all day."
"?!"
Shocked, Shizuna stared at Yuuhi. Yuuhi could tell everything just from her reaction; she grinned and put her arm around Shizuna's shoulder. The two then began to walk together.
"Back then, even though it was my first time talking to him, I could tell he was different from what the rumors said of him… Yup, handsome, wild-types like him aren't too bad, huh?"
"Yes, yes! Ryuichi-kun is actually a very good person! …Ah."
"…You don't say."
Shizuna turned red in the face when she realized she'd gotten over excited. Still, she very much wanted to let others know at least a little bit about Ryuichi, like now. Of course, she couldn't say that she didn't feel the slightest bit jealous at all, but she really wanted people to know that he was a good person.
"But I was pretty surprised, y'know? I always thought you had a crush on Shinozaki."
"Why?"
"Well, you've been with each other for a pretty long time, right? I thought that the time you've spent with each other over the years as childhood friends would've sparked something."
Indeed, when Shizuna thought back to the past, she could recall having spent much of her life with Sohei. She was really good friends with him, and they got along with each others' families to a certain extent. However, Shizuna didn't think about him much these days. She thought about Ryuichi much more often.
"Yes, me and Soehi-kun are close childhood friends, but… I don't see our relationship moving forward in that direction. I just can't see him as anything more than a childhood friend."
"I see. So you're more interested in Shishido than him."
"Right, right."
Well, she'd actually gone beyond "being interested in him", but Yuuhi would probably be shocked if she'd told her that. Shizuna had no intention of telling anyone about her night with Ryuichi, but she was worried somebody would find out if they saw her grinning constantly.
Shizuna wrapped up her trip to the restroom and returned to the classroom, but as usual, her eyes naturally turned toward Ryuichi. Today, in addition to Makoto, there were two other people who were with Ryuichi. They were also classmates of Shizuna's and she had never heard good things about them, but now that she knew and was acquainted with Ryuichi, they were no longer something to fear for her.
"What are you talking about?"
Shizuna called out to him as usual.
"H-Holy crap, it's the princess!"
"Been seeing the both of ya together a lot these days."
Apparently, even these two found it unusual to see Shizuna with Ryuichi. One of the two tried to reach for her, but she stopped them from touching her body by slapping their hand.
"Oof, how mean."
"I don't care if you're a friend of Ryuichi's or whatever; do not try to touch me as you please, understand?"
"Oh? Heh, well, I wouldn't want to make Ryuichi angry, so I'll leave it at that."
It seemed he truly wasn't going to mess with Shizuna any more than that. Her gaze was very sharp, and she wasn't lying when she said not to touch her body. The only person she would touch or allow herself to be touched by was Ryuichi, save for her relatives and others of the same sex.
"Well, there you have it. If you don't want to piss me off, you better keep your hands off of her, got it?"
"'Kay~."
"Yep, yep."
"…Man, you've seriously changed."
Shizuna was evidently delighted by Ryuichi's act of consideration for her. After the five of them chatted for a while, they each returned to their own seats. Shizuna felt Sohei's gaze on her, and their eyes even met each others'…but that was it. Just to be clear, it wasn't like Shizuna didn't care about Sohei or anything. She still considered him her important childhood friend; she'd just found somebody new to replace his position.
Time passed and it was now after school. Shizuna was, of course, by Ryuichi's side. She was staring at his back as he changed the water in the vase, just as he'd done sometime in the past in place of somebody else. His large, muscular back and the way he gently tended to the flowers truly contrasted each other.
"Aight, put the flowers in now."
"Okay."
Shizuna enjoyed her time alone with Ryuichi, muttering to herself about how wonderful it was that they were working on something together. They were at school, however, which meant that they couldn't do anything too careless, but even so, just spending time with him made her heart leap for joy.
My heart…has been completely stolen by Ryuichi-kun.
Shizuna laughed, musing to herself that if this were a manga, she would have hearts in her eyes.
Once they'd finished their task, Shizuna followed Ryuichi along to his apartment. She'd heard him muttering that he wanted to eat her meat and potato stew again, so there was no way Shizuna could just leave his wish ungranted.
However, there was, in a certain sense, a new encounter waiting there for Shizuna. Chisa, the university student and also the person who'd first caused the hazy feeling in Shizuna a while back, had also come to visit Ryuichi's home.
"Ryuichi~? I'm comin' in… Oh? It's pretty rare for you to have a girl over."
She didn't show any change in expression when she looked at Shizuna. It was as if she did not care what kind of relationship Ryuichi had with her.
"I'm pretty sure I told you last time to tell me if you're coming over…"
"Sorry, sorry ♪! Too late for that now, though, so you'll just have to let it slide."
Seeing the two's intimate conversation made Shizuna's heart sting. She, too, leaned in to embrace Ryuichi's arm in an attempt to not lose out. Ryuichi smiled in exasperation while patting Shizuna on the head to reassure her. Seeing this, Chisa commented on how cute she was.
"Nice to meet you. My name's Yomi Chisa. What's yours?"
"I'm—"
And thus, this was how the two women met.