Betting on Love

Ch. 7: Opened Doors, Closed Hearts


She never returned with more brushes and it became apparent to Satoshi that she didn't expect to in the first place.

The boy watched Nene from his lab seat across the room, chuckling a bit as he watched the stern girl reprimand Yanai for not following the experimental protocols, again. The two were unusually behind schedule Satoshi noticed; spilled chemicals here, wrong measurements there. The normally elegant and precise Nene was — to what he would describe as — off.

He could sense her frustrations as she tried her best to keep her cool. Running a hand through her celadon locks, she revisited every equation and calculation of her lab notes; sighing deeply as she discovers error upon error on the sheet, setting the pair back even further. It surprised him as much as it did Mea when even Nene began giving the pink-haired girl tasks to do to make up for the time lost.

Something was wrong.

His eyes followed her as she retrieved another breaker from the back for the umpteenth time, observing the tautness in her posture and balling of her fists.

"What's going on with Kinokuni-san?" Isshiki's head jolted slightly at the question as his attention shifted back to his own experiment. "Hand me a 250 mil beaker."

Following his partner's command, he searched the assortment of glassware on the table, running his index finger along the lip of each beaker and flask. "Maybe titration isn't her thing," he laughed. "Ah, here."

A disappointed sigh left Shoko as she focused her attention back to her lab notebook. "Unlikely," she replied brusquely.

His partner's curiosity sparked something within himself as Kaburagi wasn't one to waste her words on small talk, let alone to butt into others business. "What makes you say that?" Satoshi asked, handing her the next piece of glassware in sequence.

Taking the beaker without a word, she inspected it against the light for a careful examination of any cracks or fissures, taking a minute to deem it acceptable for use. Raising an eyebrow in wait of his answer, it seemed his partner was doing the exact same evaluation of his question.

"We're in the same calculus class together. She's been getting the proofs wrong all week." Shoko started. Satoshi shifted uncomfortably at the announcement. Other than chemistry, he didn't have any other classes with Nene, but hearing of the girl's recent struggle in other subjects confirmed his instincts.

"It isn't just in math either. I heard Chapelle-sensei was trying to send her to the health room because she was getting so many easy things wrong." The brunette's eyes widened, looking back to the lab table where he found Nene and Mea now arguing.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about that. You two are close, aren't you?"


As soon as the bell rang, she was out the door. Her eyes were cold and hard from what he saw, filled with annoyance at the events that transpired in the lab that day. Gathering his things, Satoshi sighed in defeat. It was of no use to try and catch up with Nene that week as he had learned. It felt as if he was right at the beginning with her, finding it difficult to even get her attention, let alone her time to talk.

All attempts to talk with her were a bust — if he could even get the chance. He often found the council room empty after school with the exceptions of Rindou and Tsukasa-senpai on occasions, who would simply shrug at the brunette's questions regarding Nene's location. Whenever he checked the library afterward, her presence was absent there as well.

It was almost as if Nene became a myth that week; he knew of her, but could never find her alone. Whenever glimpses of her would pass in the hall, by the time he rounded the corner in pursuit, she was gone. He had even called her name but it fell on deaf ears.

When conversations were necessary, they were short and straight to the point; her eye contact would be everywhere but his face, further indication that it was him she was avoiding. During council or debate meetings, she sat at opposite ends of the room despite the obviously saved seat next to him.

But even after this wild chase she's been sending him on, what stung the most was how coldly she interacted with him; as if the two were total strangers. It wasn't something new to Satoshi, but he really thought they had begun to make progress.

He wanted to make things right again.


By the time his debate prep meeting had gotten out, the sun had already turned a golden hue on the horizon. With their upcoming match in a couple of days, the first years were full of energy and youth as always; determined to come out on top once more. But with that came loads of documents that required revising, editing and delivery practice, making the meeting run longer than anyone had expected.

Satoshi was honestly a bit disappointed: he had wanted to check by the council room before he left to the dorms but the time was too late to even warrant a check. Walking down the path of the familiar courtyard, he let his mind remember what it was like to walk home alone. It surprised him how quickly he got set in the pattern of walking with Nene. Granted, their walks weren't very long together since their dorms were located on opposite ends of the campus, but the short stints were something he always looked forward to.

And now they hardly even talked.

He didn't really know why she was avoiding him or acting weird, but he wasn't stupid enough to believe it didn't have anything to do with what he did. Pausing his movements, he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, taking in the fresh air and tall white buildings around him as he let the wind tousle his curls. A slight ache resounded within his chest, hurt by his unrequited love, by the fact that he was the reason for this mess, but even more so by the idea that his thoughtless action might have hurt Nene. He didn't want to ruin whatever it was they had, even if it meant putting his feelings on the back burner once more.

Maybe I can catch her on her way to calculus? Or maybe I can ask Rindou where she is during lunch if we have—

"Woah! It's six already!" Satoshi heard a girl's voice exclaim, followed by the rough push of one of the building doors; the art building to be exact.

Turning around, Isshiki's eyes fell on a group of first-year girls exiting the building, talking feverishly with phones and school bags in hand.

"Wait!" He immediately called, grabbing the group's attention. "Hold the door!"

One of the perks about being in the council was that he had access to all of the club's quarterly activities and logistics, meaning he knew when and where most of the extracurriculars met. Satoshi knew the calligraphy club was meeting that day, but he had never expected their meeting to have been extended this late. Furthermore, it was incredibly difficult to enter the art building after school since all the staff leaves before noon. Only certain members of the calligraphy and drawing club have the pin code to the doors and permission to use the classrooms. This was his chance.

Running quickly towards the confused set of girls, he waved crazily to ensure they saw him.

"Iss— Isshiki-senpai?" one of the girls stuttered in awe of his entrance (and looks).

"Did the calligraphy club just end?"

"Uh, yeah…" she answered, "about ten minutes ago. We are the last to leave, only Kinok—"

"Ah, thanks!" he took the handle of the ajar door, offering a smile towards the girls before disappearing inside the building in a rush.


His shadows hung long against the tiled floors of the empty and dark building. The large glass panes that lit the halls lined his path up the stairwell and towards the Japanese Arts classrooms. His footfalls were heavy with each of his steps but grew even more rapid as he heard the ever so slight rattle of a door pushed along it's rail to a close.

Reaching the top of the fourth floor, he rounded the corner of the hall, meeting his expected target in a breathless huff as she had just finished locking the classroom with a turn of a key.

"Yo," Satoshi smiled. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he rested his palms on his knees before straightening again to her surprised face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, although it sounded less like a question and more of a scolding to him. "This building is supposed to be locked!"

"I caught one of your club members on their way out. They were nice enough to let me in."

Her breath drew sharp as her ruby eyes flared at the sight of him. He noticed her draw her arms and straps of her school bag closer to her body, bowing her eyesight away from his face. "I— I have stuff to do, you can see yourself out then!" Nene snapped, moving hurriedly past his figure in the middle of the hallway.

Reacting to her quick movements, he caught her shoulder turned away from him. "Hey! I came here to talk to you."

"What are yo— Let me go!" she yelled over her shoulder, before shrugging off his hand and continuing forward.

"Look," he started again, grabbing onto her wrist this time to twist her around. "I'm sorry I tried to kiss you. I didn't mean to upset you."

At the mere mention of the four lettered word, Nene froze. She attempted to look away but not before Satoshi could notice the red beginning to creep up to her ears. "I'm not upset about that!"

"Then why are you mad at me? Why are you avoiding me?" he pressed, much to her displeasure.

"I never said I was mad at you! Now let me—"

"Something is obviously upsetting you! If you just tell me I can fix—"

It was a battle of cut off sentences just as much as it was against his grip. "I need to go," Nene interrupted, finally managing to shake his hand off of her arm and escape his grasp. The moment she was free, she ran.

Wait, Kinokuni-kun!" he followed, determined to not let her out of his sight. "I'm sorry I tried to make a move on you! I wasn't thinking! Can we just forget about what I did?" he yelled towards her back since the distance was growing significantly. However, it seemed like he had no need to yell anymore as he found her paused in movement.

"Kinokuni-kun?" he asked wary, approaching her taut stance.

"...How can you say that?" she whispered, barely strong enough for Satoshi to hear.

"What?"

"How… How can you say that!" she turned around, furious. "How can you almost kiss me and then say that! Is forgetting something like that easy for you? Because it's been bothering me this entire week and I can't freaking focus on anything! How is that supposed to make me feel, you idiot!"

"No that's not what I—" Satoshi faltered as he understood her words. Her fist clenched tightly just as her jaw did the same. Nene's knotted brows framed her glaring eyes, but it was the glassiness within them that struck his soul.

Her distraction.

Her avoiding him.

Her pushing him away.

Her frustrations.

"Kinokuni…" Satoshi began, feeling as if everything was finally beginning to make sense. "Do you like me?"

Her blush flared up at his question. "What! No way!" she stammered. Turning her sights away from him, she adjusted her glasses stiffly, fidgeting with the frames.

"Be honest," his voice called in the crystal clearness of the silence between them.

Reddening, she paused to cross her arms around herself, as if a child pouting for being caught in a lie. "Fine," she whispered, biting her lip from what Satoshi could see. "Yes."

It took a while for Satoshi to process her words, unsure if he had actually heard correctly. He had spent the entire week dealing with the prospects of his rejection that it had never occurred to him what he should do in the opposite case. He never believed the opposite case was possible.

"But this isn't a stupid confession or love letter, okay!" Nene's voice raised, bringing him out from his thoughts. "You weren't thinking that day. I know that whatever happened was just an impulse or something. We've known each other for a while," pausing, she winced at her words, "there's no way you feel the same way especially when practically all the girls at this school like you too and since I've been so mean—"

He had heard all he needed to hear. Approaching her quickly, he lifted her chin, and to her surprise, he cut off her words with his lips on hers. A yelp escaped from her while her bag fell to the floor between them, but Satoshi didn't seem to notice as he got lost in electricity; the pleasurable current that seemed to rush through the both of them as he felt her goosebumps and his own hair begin to stand on end. As her mouth relaxed, he could begin to feel the smooth waxiness of the peppermint chapstick she had applied recently; taste its sweetness, and smell the slight hints of peonies from her silken tresses. He could feel the rushing pulses of her heart as his palm held her delicate face, and it made him all the more aware of his own that beat on like butterfly wings.

Slowly and hazily, his eyes opened as they parted. "Does that answer your doubts?" he whispered.

Continuing to hold her face close to his, the rapidness of her breathes reached his skin while her ruby eyes searched unsurely into his blue ones.

"I…" she hesitated, "still have some."

He smiled slightly at her confession, endeared by the stubbornness in her answer.

"We can't have that, can we?" he asked, not allowing her the time to answer before he kissed her once again.


Satoshi stood at the front of the bustling crowd, tapping his finger proudly on the names that rested in spots one and two of the laminated display. As shouts of glee and gasps of disappointment filled the air, Satoshi made this way through the ocean of second-year students all pushing to see their ranks on the latest semester exams.

Making his way back to the instructional classrooms, he found himself preoccupied with ways to congratulate his girlfriend on maintaining her top spot on the leaderboard, although he knew she would be preparing her accusations on how he could have tried harder to surpass her.

The thought of that conversation entertained him, so much so, he hadn't noticed that he had almost run into the third years.

"Yo, Isshiki!" Rindou called, catching his attention. "Something on your mind?" she teased.

"Hah, sorry Rindou-senpai, Tsukasa-senpai. I guess something is." He smiled sheepishly in admittance.

"Hoho, going to see Nene?"

"Yeah."

"Well, tell her we said hi!" Waving off, he continued passed the two council members.

"Ah, wait, Isshiki!" Rindou yelled. "Congrats on the new gym schedule! With all that time your stealing from my team, you guys better win at nationals!"


AN: Dedicated to the most awesome, kindest and sweetest graduate there is! Congrats Kana (kana . viola . stars)! I hope you enjoy this :)

Also, thank you to everyone for being patient! I'm finally free again and ready to write! I'm a bit rusty (if you can't tell) but I really appreciated all the comments and reviews I received when I was gone! Love you!