Kazusa had not told anyone since the guy named Chisato broke into her life.
The world that she once thought was bleak and dull became vivid again.
Although she continued to show the same lack of interest as before, which was consistent with her demeanor, there was no denying that everything happened so naturally that it made her happy.
She wanted to be close to him, to listen to him, and to know more about him.
Ever since her mother had denied her, left her, and abandoned her in this huge, empty house, this was the first time someone had entered her life who made her feel warm and who she wanted to talk to and act playfully with.
By now, they should be considered friends, right?
But could she really be satisfied with this kind of relationship?
Kazusa tossed and turned in bed for many nights, unable to sleep.
Over and over, she clicked on her mobile phone, which had only a few contacts, and checked the message exchanges between her and Chisato.
Every chat started and ended with the other party's messages.
She reflected on her hopeless temperament many times, but each time she found herself unable to change the unfriendly character that had been ingrained in her since childhood.
She had not inherited her mother's smooth and well-connected demeanor.
The places where she had spent the most time since childhood were the practice room and her bedroom.
She practiced relentlessly every day.
She gained superb piano skills, but she also lost something extremely important.
Aside from basic communication, she didn't know how to interact with others.
This character trait made her feel desperate, but she couldn't change it.
She had originally thought that she would continue to live in a world filled with hostility toward everything, choosing a lonely life.
But after that guy appeared, she realized just how lonely that lifestyle truly was.
"You! You...!"
Looking back, upon realizing that her wrist was being grabbed by the other party, Kazusa was stunned for a long time.
Then she panicked in a rare way, displaying an expression she would never normally show.
Chisato looked at her and sighed, realizing that when people are extremely panicked, they tend to open their mouths and widen their eyes unconsciously.
For a moment, it reminded him of Hitori.
However, when Hitori exhibited similar reactions, they were often accompanied by exaggerated body movements that made people laugh.
In contrast, Kazusa presented a sense of contrast and cuteness.
Whether it was her cold, indifferent eyes or her elegant, delicate lips, they all exhibited a new charm that was different from her usual demeanor.
Chisato recalled the amazing feeling he had when he first saw her, but now was not the time to dwell on the past.
"You haven't finished the exercises yet. Where are you going?"
"Relax... let go!"
There was panic in Kazusa's tone, but she was completely unaware of how lightly Chisato held her wrist.
She only needed to gently withdraw her arm to separate them, but she didn't do that—or couldn't do that.
Just standing there had exhausted all her strength.
Chisato let go of her hand as he spoke, but Kazusa immediately backed up and pressed against the wall of the stairway.
After staring at him with a flushed face, her first instinct was still to turn and run upstairs.
"Wait, Touma, we need to talk."
Kazusa stopped moving up the stairs but did not look back. She replied in a low voice, "...what do we need to talk about?"
"I'll tell you the real answer to the question you just asked—the true reason why I want to spend my time with you."
After Chisato said this, Kazusa fell silent. After waiting for a moment, she slowly turned back and peeked at him.
"You... say it."
"Here?"
Chisato raised his eyebrows slightly and looked left and right.
What he was about to say next was relatively formal and important.
Therefore, he hoped to sit down and talk in a slightly more formal setting rather than standing in the corridor and stairway.
In a place like this, their eyes were not on the same plane, and it lacked the warmth he expected.
Chisato wished Kazusa would just say, "Follow me," and take him upstairs to her room.
However, this time, his luck-enhanced talent did not work.
Kazusa did not intend to invite him to the second floor but instead walked down obediently, being particularly careful as she passed him.
There was no further physical contact between them.
Clearly, their fingers had touched the piano keys countless times while practicing, yet they had never reacted so strongly.
Chisato sighed silently and followed her back to the living room.
It was still raining outside, and Kazusa sat back in her original position.
Chisato took a seat a short distance away, exhaled slowly, and gently rubbed his eyebrows with his fingers.
Even he felt quite embarrassed to say the next words, but since he had already made up his mind, there was no need to continue being secretive.
The atmosphere of silence before the formal conversation did not calm Kazusa; rather, it made her increasingly restless.
She began to regret what she had said earlier.
Wasn't it better to keep things as they were? She didn't want to give in.
As long as she maintained this relationship, she could always be happy.
There were still nearly two years until graduation, and she could enjoy being happy and longing for it. It was obviously better than this.
But because of the inexplicable emotions that had suddenly emerged, she had said something that embarrassed both herself and him.
There was no doubt that she, who had struggled with interpersonal communication since childhood, had made another irreparable mistake today.
But was it too late to apologize now?
If she took back those previous words, could their relationship return to the natural, relaxed feeling it once had?
"Cold..."
"Touma Kazusa."
Chisato interrupted Kazusa, who was about to say something.
"Anyway, I want to apologize in advance. I'm sorry for telling you those lies I didn't mean before."
"..."
Kazusa quickly became nervous, and this nervousness rapidly morphed into fear.
The way the other person spoke at that moment was reminiscent of her memory of her mother rejecting her, and the two gradually overlapped.
Was she going to experience the maddening loneliness of being left behind again?
"I used to sneer at love at first sight, but that changed when I met you."
"..."
"..."
"!"
Huh? ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The pained expression that briefly appeared on Kazusa's delicate face vanished in an instant, replaced by a new one as she raised her head and met Chisato's gaze.
The raw and undisguised expression within her eyes revealed a sweetness that made her feel most physically comfortable.
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