As I was walking through the corridor, I could hear voices coming from my classroom. When I entered, I saw my friends—Kuroda Riku, Kinoshita Daiki, Mizuno Yuto and Takeda Keisuke — talking to each other. I dropped my bag on my desk and walked over to join them, curious about what they were discussing. As I approached, I realized they were talking about a girl.
When I got there, Keisuke, with a somewhat shy expression, asked,
"Hey Kiri-kun, can you give me some advice on how to confess to a girl?"
Before I could answer, Riku chimed in, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Ryugamine, what's the matter? You too scared to help this guy out? Or are you afraid he's gonna show you up with his guts?"
"Shut up, Riku! I'm not asking you!" Keisuke shot back, irritation clearly written on his face.
The truth was, I'd never had a girlfriend before, so I wasn't exactly the best person to offer advice. Trying to lighten the mood, I gave him a generic suggestion:
"You could give her a letter, asking her to meet you at the water fountain behind the gym after school."
"B-But do you think she'll come?" Keisuke asked nervously.
"I can't say for sure until you give her the letter," I replied.
"But… what if she comes to class and makes fun of me?" he stammered.
That was a possibility. To be honest, I wasn't sure how good this idea was. I'd read about something like this in a romance novel once, but I wasn't sure it would work in real life. Still, I felt like I had to convince him to go through with it since I had no better ideas.
"You won't know unless you try. Besides, it depends on her personality. If you can describe her, we might be able to plan better."
"Yeah, that's a good point," Yuto added, nodding.
"Hey, you wimp! Don't listen to that nerd," Daiki interrupted, crossing his arms and sneering. "He's just trying to play it safe. You need some real advice from the pros like us."
Keisuke, ignoring him, answered, "Her name is Kiryuin Shina. She doesn't have many friends, ranks at the top of her class, and spends most of her time alone."
"Then she's probably not the type to humiliate you in front of the class," I said, trying to reassure him.
"This nerd wants to confess to that chick? Man, she ain't gonna go for someone like him," Daiki scoffed, laughing to himself.
"Hahaha…" Riku chuckled darkly, his arms folded as he leaned against the desk. "You're a brave guy, Keisuke, but she's way out of your league."
I almost laughed too. Keisuke, shy as he was with girls, wanting to ask someone like Kiryuin Shina out was unexpected. But I held myself back, not wanting to make the situation worse.
"Hey, Riku, you bastard! Don't laugh! I'm not asking for your opinion!" Keisuke yelled, his face reddening with embarrassment.
When I glanced at Yuto, he blinked at me, signaling me to just go along with it. Personally, I didn't think this idea would work, but I didn't have anything better to offer.
"Alright, we'll go with this idea then. Is that okay with you, Keisuke?" I asked.
"... Y-Yeah," he replied, though it was clear he wasn't confident.
None of us had ever had a girlfriend, and Keisuke was the first one to try confessing. I couldn't help but feel a bit envious—not because I wanted a girlfriend, but because he was taking a step I hadn't dared to take.
"So, how are you gonna give the letter to her?" Yuto asked.
"I-I have no idea. I can't give it to her directly either. Do you have any suggestions, Yuto?"
"What, wimpy? You don't even know how to hand over a damn love letter? What the hell are you gonna do?" Daiki sneered, clearly enjoying this.
"Shut the hell up, Daiki!" Keisuke shot back angrily.
"Don't start a fight, you guys. I have an idea," Yuto said calmly, cutting through the tension.
"What is it? Tell me," Keisuke asked, eager for an answer.
"Give the letter to the class rep. She can deliver it to Kiryuin-san," Yuto suggested.
"That sounds like a solid plan," I agreed.
"Yeah, I'll do that," Keisuke said, his tone more determined now.
"Then you should give it to the class rep during the lunch break," I added.
"Okay," Keisuke nodded.
Just then, the bell rang. We all went back to our desks as our homeroom teacher, Sakamoto Ryuji, entered, and the class began.
---
During the lunch break, I headed to the cafeteria with Riku, Daiki, Yuto, and Kojima Renji—my friend from Class 2-A. We grabbed our meals from the counter and sat on a bench. Keisuke wasn't with us because he was busy handing the letter to our class representative, Sonoda Miyuki, asking her to deliver it to Kiryuin Shina.
As we started eating, Renji suddenly asked, "Why isn't that wimpy guy here?"
"He had something important to take care of, so he's busy right now," replied Yuto.
"Dude, that wimpy guy is gonna lose his mind," Daiki scoffed.
With a curious look, Renji asked, "What kind of mess has he gotten himself into now?"
"That wimpy guy has fallen head over heels for a chick from your class," Riku answered with a grin.
"Who is it?" Renji asked eagerly.
"It's Kiryuin Shina," Yuto replied.
"Huh?" Renji's face showed clear surprise. He sighed and said, "That wimpy guy's out of his mind. He doesn't stand a chance with that girl."
"Why do you think that?" I asked.
"That girl has already rejected plenty of love-struck wimps, even the ace of the soccer team."
"She even rejected Sakamoto Ryoji, who's received countless proposals from other girls. Man, I thought that guy could win over any girl in our school," I replied.
"Now Keisuke is probably going to get rejected too," Yuto said, shaking his head.
"Well, he's got nothing on Sakamoto Ryoji," I added.
"Hey, I've got an idea—we should watch that wimpy guy's confession! It'll be fun," Daiki suggested.
"Yeah, count me in," Riku said enthusiastically.
"I'm in too," Renji added.
I thought it was a bad idea to watch his confession, knowing these guys might mess things up for him.
"I don't think we should watch it," Yuto said, and I nodded in agreement.
"Then don't come with us. We're going to watch it anyway," Daiki said dismissively.
"Then count me in," I said reluctantly.
"What? You too, Ryugamine?" Yuto asked, surprised.
"But we'll only watch from afar and won't interfere. Besides, you should come along, Yuto, to stop them if they try anything stupid," I reasoned.
I glanced at Yuto, and when our eyes met, I blinked, signaling, We don't have a choice. Just join them.
"If you say so," Yuto replied, clearly dissatisfied.
"Then it's decided. We'll hide nearby," I concluded.
After that, Keisuke arrived with his meal. We exchanged glances as if silently agreeing not to mention anything about watching his confession. Keisuke looked nervous.
The bell rang, and we returned to class. After the lessons ended, Keisuke hurried to the gymnasium, while Daiki, Riku, Yuto, and I regrouped. We made our way to Class 2-A, where Renji was waiting in the corridor.
"Yo, gotta hurry, man. The wimpy guy's confession won't last long," Daiki said impatiently.
"Yeah," Renji replied.
Talking as we walked, we arrived at the back of the gymnasium, making sure Keisuke didn't notice us. We hid behind some bushes and trees.
Keisuke stood there alone, nervously rehearsing his confession over and over in his mind. Two minutes later, a girl with long black hair and crimson-red eyes arrived. She was none other than the girl I'd met at the roadside bank earlier this morning.
When she saw Keisuke, she seemed surprised, though only for a moment. From her expression, it was clear she didn't know who he was. But as she realized what was happening, her face turned serious.
Keisuke, shy as ever, stood frozen. The only girl he'd ever talked to besides his childhood friend, Sonoda Miyuki, was now in front of him. Judging by her sharp expression, I could tell this was going to be a disaster.
"Hehehe..." Riku chuckled softly.
"That wimpy guy's gonna piss himself if she keeps glaring at him like that," Daiki whispered.
"Be quiet, or they'll hear us," Yuto hissed.
"So, what business do you have with me?" Kiryuin asked in a calm but strong tone.
"A-A-Actually, I-I wanted to say something to you," Keisuke stammered.
"What is it?"
"...," he fell silent, struggling to gather his courage.
"Come on, wimpy. Don't chicken out now," Daiki whispered mockingly.
"Hey, shut up! They'll hear us," Yuto whispered back.
"Stop wasting my time. If you don't have anything to say, I'm leaving," Kiryuin said firmly.
"I... I like you," Keisuke finally managed to say, though his voice was barely audible.
"Huh? As I thought, this is about that," she replied.
Keisuke stood there, silent and trembling like a scared cat. Watching him was like watching someone show their bad report card to their father.
"What do you like about me?" Kiryuin asked, her expression unchanged.
"Y-You're pretty, smart, tall, and..." Keisuke trailed off, his mind going blank.
"And what? Do you have anything else to say?" she pressed.
Keisuke froze, overwhelmed by nerves and surprise. Then, in desperation, he blurted out, "Please go out with me!"
"No," she replied instantly, without a moment's hesitation.
Keisuke's heart must have shattered. I wondered why she had asked him what he liked about her if she was just going to reject him outright. It felt like she was testing him in some way, gauging his character or intentions.
"See? I told you he'd get rejected," Daiki whispered triumphantly.
"Yeah," Riku and Renji nodded in agreement.
Keisuke, shocked and heartbroken, managed to ask, "W-Why? Couldn't you at least give it some thought?"
"I don't think you're right for me," Kiryuin replied bluntly.
"...Uh."
"Then I think this conversation is over." With that, she turned and walked away.
Keisuke stood there, speechless, watching her retreating figure until she disappeared from sight.
Daiki and Riku immediately rushed toward him, ready to tease him, but Yuto, Renji, and I tried to hold them back.
When Keisuke saw us, his face turned red with anger.
"What the heck? Why are you all here?" he shouted.
"We came to watch the wimpy guy's rejection!" Daiki said smugly.
"You bastard!" Keisuke yelled.
"Hey, wimpy, how does it feel to get rejected?" Daiki teased, laughing.
"Shut the hell up!" Keisuke retorted.
"Why are you here, Yuto and Kiri-kun?" Keisuke asked, glaring at us.
Yuto looked at me, silently urging me to say something.
"We were here to watch over these three idiots," I explained. "They planned to watch your confession, and I didn't want them to disturb you or record anything, so I asked Yuto to come along."
"These jerks just wanted to make fun of me! I'm gonna beat them up!" Keisuke growled.
"Come at me with all you've got, wimpy!" Daiki taunted.
"Hey, guys, stop it. Let's go home," Yuto interjected, trying to calm everyone down.
"Yeah, let's call it a day," I agreed.
As we walked home, Daiki and Riku kept teasing Keisuke, who looked like he was ready to explode.
"Well then, see you guys tomorrow," I said, parting ways with them. My house was near the school, so I headed home.
"I'm home," I said, but there was no one to respond. The house was quiet, as usual. I changed into my home wear and went straight to my bed. Lying down, I found my thoughts drifting to Kiryuin. She had a strong, confident, and dominating personality, yet she didn't have many friends. Her character was so different from a typical middle school girl.
She reminded me of my first crush, Hoshino Natsumi. Natsumi was a fifteen-year-old third-year middle schooler. I used to admire her from afar. We were neighbors back when I lived in Kyoto. I was close friends with her brother, Hoshino Akira, who was my age—ten years old at the time. Natsumi was elegant, beautiful, and strong-willed, qualities that left a lasting impression on me. Seeing Kiryuin today brought back those memories.
I moved to Tokyo last year and enrolled in Minamigawa Middle School along with my younger sister. We now live in our old family house, a decision made due to certain family circumstances. Life here has been different, yet those memories from Kyoto remain vivid, as if they happened just yesterday.
Then I slept until my big sister came.