For the past few nights, Mikoshiba has been dedicating his free time to a new dating sim that he had gotten in the mail about a week ago. This is fairly normal behavior for him. However, the reasons behind the purchase of the game are slightly different this time.
Mikoshiba saves the game before turning off the console. It's pretty late now, he thinks. Despite the fact that I finally triggered the first flag, I don't think I've learned that much tonight. He gets up and sits on the edge of his bed feeling dejected. For the past few weeks, he has been tormented by an internal conflict he can't quite bring himself to come to terms with. He runs his hand through his hair and noticing that he still hasn't taken out his piercings, he stands up and takes off his earrings in front of his mirror.
Mikoshiba tugs at his bright red hair in disdain.
"They just had to be red. Out of all the colors in the whole entire world… Red!"
His unusual hair color is becoming so familiar to him to the point that it now makes him uncomfortable (and he doesn't mean that because it's his actual hair color). Sighing, Mikoshiba picks up the cellphone sitting on the table.
Hey, you haven't been at Nozaki's place lately, Mikorin! Are you okay?
Um, I baked cookies the other day, and I wished that you were there to have some! I think you would've really liked them!
Oh, I know! I'll bring you a fresh, new batch later on this week! So look forward to it!
And if it's not too much trouble, can you please come and help out tomorrow afternoon? It's kind of lonely without you, Mikorin! And Nozaki really misses your beautiful flowers! (And another deadline is coming up soon.)But I'm just really used to you always being there, so it feels kinda weird without you there :(
Mikoshiba knows that if he looks up and into the mirror this very moment, his face will almost be the exact same shade of red as his hair, so he keeps his eyes focused on the bright screen. He feels his heart begin to race, and he begins to frantically respond to her texts with shaky hands and bated breath, typing a large wall of text before deleting it and starting all over.
PLEASE DON'T SAY SUCH EMBARRASSING THINGS! And I've just been kinda busy lately, but yeah I can come tomorrow I guess.
YAY! I can't wait!
He smiles at her enthusiastic reply and gives into temptation, closing his eyes and imaging her smiling face. He has her smile perfectly encoded in his memory— every subtle curve in her lips, the way the corners of her mouth pull back and up and the sound of her laughter that he can't quite get out of his mind no matter how hard it tries. It's quite haunting, really.
Mikoshiba lies down on his bed and blankly stares at the ceiling in deep thought.
"Sakura likes Nozaki," he reminds himself.
Mikoshiba attempts to find comfort in hugging his dakimakura, but that only ends up making things worse, so he tosses it off his bed and onto the ground. He doesn't think it's quite the worthwhile purchase he had initially thought it to be anymore. Sometimes he'll wrap his arms around the large pillow and ask himself, "This is how you're supposed to hold a girl, right?" And his thoughts slowly (but surely) always shift back to Sakura— bright red ribbons, strawberry shampoo and her sing-song voice calling for "Mikorin."
But no matter what he does, he can't seem to get Sakura out of his mind, and he thinks it's starting to drive him crazy.
"But Nozaki probably won't ever notice her that way, will he?"
Mikoshiba slaps himself in the face.
He smothers his face into the nearest pillow and begins to whine, his voice on the verge of cracking, "How could I say something like that?! I should be cheering her on! Not… C-c-crushing on her!"
When he's done knocking some sense into himself and ruining his hair for the night, Mikoshiba allows himself to relax and clear his mind for a moment. And deep down inside he knows that he will never be able to make his feelings for Sakura vanish. He thought that if he spent some time away from her, his feelings would gradually dwindle back to nothing but wanting to be acknowledged as a reliable friend, but, alas, here he is, pathetically trying to find an excuse to not pursue her, as usual.
But sometimes he dares to think about maybes and what ifs.
Maybe Nozaki will never notice her.
What if he has a chance?
When Mikoshiba arrives to class the following morning, he prays that Kashima doesn't decide to skip. After spotting her cobalt hair on the other side of the classroom, he lets out a sigh of relief and goes to sit down in his seat next to hers.
"Good morning, Kashima."
Kashima turns her head and gives him a friendly smile, "Ah, good morning, Mikoshiba! You seem to be in a good mood today!"
Mikoshiba nervously rubs his nape and feels his cheeks turning somewhat pink, much to his own dismay. "Well, I guess you could say that."
She gives him an inquiring look and stares him down before asking, "Hey, did something happen?"
"Kind of? Well, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about today. I need your advice about something. Okay, well, not really something. It's more like… someone."
He watches as her green eyes instantly light up with newfound fervor and he inwardly cringes.
"WHO IS IT?"
Mikoshiba frantically motions for her to keep her voice down and anxiously scans the room and turns his attention back to Kashima after checking that no one has bothered to pay any attention to them. He leans forward and rests his chin in his hands before reluctantly answering her question.
"I-I-It's Sakura," he says in a hushed whisper. "I recently realized that, well, I really like her, and I don't really know what to do about that because she likes Nozaki, y'know?"
"Ah, I see… Chiyo-chan, huh," Kashima says, lost in deep thought.
…
"WAIT, WHAT? SHE LIKES NOZAKI-SENPAI?"
"NOT SO LOUD, KASHIMA."
Suddenly, the bell rings, and their teacher walks in, closing the door behind him.
"I'll talk to you about this after school, I guess…"
Kashima simply nods and reaches into her bag to take out her notebook and pencil box.
She turns her head to cast her best friend a furtive glance, and feels guilty because she honestly does not know how to help him. Although she sounded really surprised when Mikoshiba let it slip that Sakura likes Nozaki, she's always known that, yes, Chiyo-chan loves Nozaki, and there's a chance that she always will. Kashima bites her lip and rhythmically taps her pencil on her notebook, blankly staring off into space.
Sakura's not going to give up on Nozaki-senpai anytime soon… But is he ever going to notice her? I guess I should tell him to just go ahead and make a move on her. I mean, it can't hurt if he's being kind of subtle about it, right? She begins to tap her pencil even harder. But why does he want my advice? Kashima looks up at the blackboard and jots down a few notes in order to look productive. I mean, he's the one who's always giving me advice when it comes to Hori-senpai. Oh, speaking of Hori-senpai— NO! NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HIM. NOT NOW.
Kashima is honestly at a loss as to what to do.
I guess I'll figure something out by the end of today—
Ah.
I'm supposed to read over some scripts with Hori-senpai today.
Kashima begins to feel uneasy, as if she were about to get a stomach ache, and when she looks down at her notes, she notices that her words have jumbled together, rendering her effort at being somewhat productive completely meaningless.
She feels a bead of sweat slide down her neck, and the room suddenly feels almost ten degrees warmer. If it weren't for Mikoshiba's problem, Kashima would probably try to jump out of the window and escape for the rest of the day. If it weren't for the fact that she was required to spend a whole afternoon with Hori in the club room, she would definitely not even be here right now. Just thinking about him makes her want to go to the nurse's office and leave early due to sudden illness.
But she doesn't want to leave. But she really, really wants to spend time with Hori-senpai today.
So why?
During lunch, Kashima finds herself seated next to Sakura on a bench, poking at her mostly uneaten food with her chopsticks.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. Kashima-kun, you feel weird when you think about Hori-senpai now?"
Kashima slowly nods. "I get stomach aches. Well, this has actually been happening for a while now but it's suddenly gotten worse."
"S-Stomach aches?" Sakura stops eating and incredulously looks up at Kashima. "Um, actually, can we just start all the way from the beginning? That might make this easier for me to understand." She nervously laughs and anxiously waits for Kashima's response.
"From the very beginning?"
"Yes, like when you first met him, I guess. Because, you two have known each other for a while now, right?"
"Hm…" Kashima lightly taps her chin. "Well, we first officially met at the entrance ceremony, but I've actually known him for a while before that."
"Really?"
"Well, you see, when I was in my last year of middle school, I actually saw a play that he was in. He was a supporting character. I just remember his acting being so amazing that I thought, I'm going to Roman Academy if it's the last thing I do!" Kashima's eyes soften, and she places her bento beside her and laces her fingers together. Twiddling her thumbs, Kashima redirects her gaze to Sakura and sighs. "I just really wanted to see him act again. I mean, I did plan on joining the drama club and really wanted the lead role, but the main reason I'm here is because of him. And well, I've always admired and respected him, but now… I'm not really sure. I feel like something has changed."
Sakura hums in deep thought and swings her legs back and forth. "Say, Kashima-kun, do you remember what you told me earlier this year? About how you wanted to perform at his wedding? Do you still feel that way?"
Kashima, puzzled by her question, blankly stares at her. "Well, yeah, of course I still feel that way… I think? I don't think my current feelings will affect that."
Sakura groans in frustration and wants to pull her bright red ribbons from her hair and throw them at Kashima's face. "Okay, so you told me earlier that Hori-senpai slept over at your place, right?"
"Yeah."
"And it made you feel really happy, right?"
"Yes, very happy! He was really nice, and I finally got to hold his hand. And let me tell you, I was right all along! He has princess hands."
"Princess… hands?"
"Yep! They were really soft. Callouses and all."
"Callouses? Soft?"
"Just how I imagined they'd feel like."
"Okay, we're getting off track here. Kashima-kun. Back to the question!" Frowning, Sakura turns away from Kashima and buries her face in her hands in frustration, "Do you really have no idea what I'm trying to suggest?"
Kashima falters. "I don't know anymore, Chiyo-chan… I'm really confused. I'm sorry."
"You should try aiming a little higher. Be more ambitious, Kashima-kun!" Sakura faces Kashima once again with a sense of vigor and aggressiveness which she had never thought to be possible from someone of her stature. (But then again, Hori does have an aptitude for crowd control).
(And by crowd control, Kashima means the riot he effectively ended within a matter of seconds after the fifth time she tried to skip a club meeting, which is when Hori finally realized that this was not a matter of coincidence and gave her the most splendid drop kick she has ever had the privilege of witnessing).
"You mean performing at his wedding isn't ambitious enough? But I more than anything want to be at his wedding, and I don't think that my desires have changed." She pauses. "And what does that have to do with my current problem again?"
Sakura involuntarily grinds her teeth together, aggressively grabs ahold of Kashima's shoulders, and lowers her until she's almost eyelevel. Kashima feels Sakura's piercing gaze and swears that she felt something sharp go straight through her chest just now.
If looks could kill, this would be it. An angry Sakura is a scary Sakura.
"Kashima-kun, look me in the eye and listen to what I'm about to say very carefully!"
Kashima instinctively nods.
"This is not a 'I want to perform at his wedding' kind of thing anymore!"
Sakura feels a blush begin to creep up her neck and feels her cheeks begin to grow warm because, wow, it's been a while since she's seen Kashima's face so up close and wow! Hori does not joke around when he says that Kashima's the most handsome person in the world, which he says every. single. day. Almost as handsome as Nozaki! Almost. She fights back the urge to back away and bravely continues on.
"This is a 'I want to stand next to him at his wedding' kind of thing! Do you understand?"
The Prince of the School, Kashima Yuu, who is also number one in their class, hums in acknowledgement. "You mean like… Be his best man? You're absolutely right, Chiyo-chan! I should— "
"NO!"
"What?"
"I meant 'next to him' like…" She sighs in exasperation, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The other person."
"Oh."
…
"OH."
Sakura watches as Kashima allows her words to slowly sink in. Kashima suddenly stands up hysterically, her mouth agape, completely perplexed.
"OH MY GOD."
…
"So the stomach aches weren't due to stress?"
"Huh?!" Sakura looks at Kashima, who is now sitting on the bench again, incredulously. "Who told you something as ridiculous as that? Mikorin? I highly doubt that even he would— "
"Yeah, he did."
Sakura buries her face in her hands and suddenly remembers her cookie-filled bag lying around in her book bag.
"Ah! Speaking of Mikorin, I just remembered something! Sorry, Kashima-kun, I have to leave now!"
Kashima smiles and nods, "Okay. Thanks for helping me! Bye, Chiyo-chan!"
Watching Sakura's red hair bounce as she heads to the school building, Kashima closes her bento box and decides that she's not really in the mood for lunch anymore. Not after the shocking revelation she just had thanks to Sakura.
"I can see why he likes her so much."
Sakura sprints to Mikoshiba's classroom, hoping that she'll make it before lunch is over. When she sees him, Sakura begins to grin uncontrollably.
"Mikorin!" she sings, happily waving. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Mikoshiba turns around when he hears her high pitched voice and gives her an awkward wave before getting up. He approaches Sakura and longingly gazes into her eyes.
"It's been far too long. I see that you have been unable to resist my charming face, but if you're not careful, I may just have to eat you up— "
"Okay, Mikorin, that's enough for today!" Sakura retracts her hand and attempts to awkwardly laugh it off because she knows that he's just going to get embarrassed and run away. She digs through her bag for a tiny blue polka dotted bag and is about to hand it to Mikorin when she notices that he has, as expected, retreated to the corner of the classroom, sulking in embarrassment. Sighing, she cautiously approaches him and plops down next to him. She stretches out her legs before affectionately ruffling and patting his hair.
"There, there. It'll be okay, Mikorin."
"Don't treat me like a kid!" he cries, hugging his knees.
"Then don't act like one!" Sakura snaps before holding out the drawstring bag in front of his face, shaking it to catch his attention, much like an owner would do to their dog when giving them a treat. When he finally looks up, Sakura gives him a soft smile.
"Here are the cookies I promised," she says, gently dropping it into his shaking hands. "I spent a lot of time on these, so you better eat them all, 'kay?"
He meekly nods before slowly opening the bag and cautiously putting a small cookie into his mouth. Sakura anxiously watches him as his facial expression gradually changes to one of content. He soon plops another cookie into his mouth, and he's beaming like a kid whose parents had just taken him to the candy store.
Mikoshiba carefully holds the bag and grins, "These are seriously good, Sakura!"
Sakura bashfully laughs, "Thank you, Mikorin, I'm glad you like them." She scoots closer to the redhead until their shoulders are touching, and if her eyes aren't deceiving her, his cheeks begin to turn a little red.
If it were anyone but her, Mikoshiba probably would've treated to the opposite side of the room when their shoulders touched, but it is her. She's Sakura Chiyo. This is okay because Sakura is familiar. Sakura is familiar and comfortable.
"I actually brought some over to Nozaki-kun's place the other day! Nozaki-kun really liked them! He looked so happy eating them while drinking his tea! You should've been there, Mikorin!"
Mikoshiba frowns she goes on and on about Nozaki and watches in disdain as she plays with her play with her hair, twirling it over and over again. (Just how many times has she wrapped her hair around that finger? Twelve?) He feigns interest and somehow brings himself to nod his head every once in a while.
"Mikorin, you should really go to Nozaki-kun's place with me today! He needs all the help that he can get, and we all know that you're the only one who can draw such beautiful flowers."
"R-Really?! Do you mean that?" Mikorin feels his heart begin to race and a newfound sense of purpose as his displeasure subsides.
Sakura watches as he practically radiates with joy and can't help but chuckle at how easy it is to get him to lighten up. "And it's so much quieter without you around. Everyone really misses your presence."
"For real? I never knew!"
"Yeah, Mikorin, I can tell that even Nozaki-kun feels on edge without you there as often as you used to be. You're like an important family member!" Sakura says sincerely, flashing Mikoshiba a small smile and softly giggling.
Mikoshiba crosses his arms and hangs his head because the last thing he'd ever wanted her to say just came out of her mouth a good five seconds ago.
'You're like an important family member!'
He inwardly cringes at her words because just a few months ago, he himself thought to himself that Sakura was like a younger sister to him.
"Sure, I'll come over today. I was planning on it anyways," he manages to force out and fakes a smile.
And, damn, the smile that followed was worth it.
A/N: THIS TOOK FAR TOO LONG! I think I wrote this chapter during some really late night writing sprint back in November, and when I opened up the word document, it was basically an incoherent mess. But now it's tolerable. Anyways, have some borderline angsty Mikorin, a slight dose of one-sided Mikochiyo and KashiChiyo friendship. It looks like I'm building up to a stereotypical love triangle (BUT THANKFULLY THAT IS NOT THE DIRECTION THIS IS GOING), but I'm so excited now that I've gotten this chapter out of the way because this is just one huge transition tbh.
