Chapter 13:

Iku had another stroke of luck. The next day was Saturday, so she didn't have to go to work. Although she would've liked to take a jog in the morning to clear her head, she decided against it. What if she bumped into Dojo?

She got down and tried to do push-ups. After a couple of tries, she gave up, not wanted to injure her already wounded arm any further.

She sat down after grabbing a book off her table, intending to read to pass the time. But after three minutes, she tossed it on her bed, completely unable to concentrate.

Shibasaki watched her while enjoying a fresh cup of tea. "How long are you planning to stray cooped up in this room? For the rest of your life?"

Iku sat down in front of the table and poured herself a cup. "Shut up, I can do what I want."

Her roommate laughed. "Fine, you can do what you want. It's such a waste of youth though."

Iku groaned, and put her head down on the table, looking miserable and bored out of her mind.

"If you keep acting this way, even Instructor Dojo will start worrying about you. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?" Shibasaki looked at her intently.

"B-But Instructor Dojo would only worry because I'm him s-subordinate." Iku struggled to keep her voice sounding normal. "T-to him, I'm nothing more than that."

"And why would you think that?"

Iku looked up at her in surprise. "Why do you even need to ask that?! From Day 1, I've always caused trouble for him! And I argue with him all the time! A-and…"

As she continued on, Shibasaki decided it was time to interfere and put her plan into action. She grabbed a tissue and stuffed it in Iku's face.

"Kasahara, since you're bored, why don't you go somewhere? Didn't you say a few weeks ago that a book you wanted would be released today?"

"Oh… did I?" Iku sounded completely dead. "I don't really recall…"

"You did." Shibasaki insisted. "Go to the bookstore or wherever you want. Do something."

Sighing, Iku lazily got up and muttered, "Fine. The bookstore, right?"

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She picked up a book, glanced at it, and put it down less than five seconds later. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't concentrate on anything; her mind always going back to Dojo.

On the way to the store, she had reflected on her thoughts and actions. She avoided Dojo because she believed he'd reject her. And getting rejected just after realizing her feelings for him had been too much for her to deal with. She didn't get the chance to accept reality.

Iku nearly started crying again. She quickly headed towards the exit of the bookstore, intending to leave as soon as possible. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her sunglasses so her red and swollen eyes wouldn't be seen.

In front of the door, Iku suddenly bumped into someone. Great, just when I was about to leave. Her head was down, so she didn't see who it was. Not in the mood to apologize, she tried to walk past him.

But an arm suddenly wrapped around her waist. "Kasahara!"

She looked up, and through her shades, she saw the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

"I-instructor D-Dojo-! Ah-ahhh!" Iku yelled, and without thinking, forcefully pushed away his arm and ran outside as fast as possible.

What is he doing here?! What horrible timing, too! She could hear him running after her this time.

"Kasahara, wait!"

She didn't slow down.

He kept yelling at her. "You know I can't catch up if you run away that quickly!"

Iku blinked back tears as she turned a corner, hoping to get rid of him.

"Do you plan on avoiding me for the rest of your life?!"

Hearing that sentence, Iku subconsciously slowed down. Didn't Shibasaki say something like that earlier? He caught up, and grabbed her arm, making sure she wouldn't run away again.

Iku winced. Dojo had grabbed onto her injured arm, but he didn't seem to notice though. His mind was on something else.

With no other way out, Iku decided to just face him. "I'm very sorry, Instructor Dojo!"

Dojo looked surprised. Why is she apologizing?

"A-About that day at the hospital," Iku stuttered. "U-um…you can j-just forget about what I said!"

He stared at her, dumbfounded. Whatever he was expecting her to say, that was definitely not it. But he needed her to answer his question.

"Is it true, though? What you said at the hospital."

She didn't answer, and stared at the ground instead. She didn't have the energy left to run away. Her eyes were completely filled with tears now, but she knew he couldn't see since she was wearing sunglasses.

Seeing her completely silent, Dojo asked again, desperate to know how she feels about him. "Kasahara, answer me." It sounded a bit like a command.

Still looking away from him, she nodded once, slowly.

Dojo relaxed a little, but he wasn't done with the questions. "Then why are you running away from me?"

She blinked. Is he seriously asking that?

He gritted his teeth. "I didn't even reply to you yet. So stop avoiding me." His grip on her arm tightened, as if he was afraid she would do the opposite of what he just asked.

Iku's face started getting red. "You don't need to reply! Really." Her voice started shaking, and her attempts to hide it were futile. "I-it's f-fine."

Dojo's eyes narrowed. "You blockhead! You're not supposed to say those things to someone, then tell them you don't want a reply. It doesn't work that way, idiot!"

"B-but I don't wanna hear a reply." Iku mumbled incoherently, but he heard every word.

"Kasahara," Dojo's hands reached up towards her sunglasses. "A-are you crying?"

Iku's hand flew up, trying to stop him from taking off her glasses, but she was too late. Seeing her tears, he whispered, "Idiot." Before she could react, he pulled her into a hug and laughed humorlessly. "You're pretty difficult to deal with, you know?"

She frowned, trying to understand what he was thinking. His words and actions don't really seemed to be conveying the same messages. "…I don't understand."

Iku heard him sigh in disappointment. "As usual, you need me to explain everything."

She bit her lip, not sure of what to think. He hesitated a little before speaking.

"You…you don't have to run away; I'm not going to reject you if that's what you're afraid of." Sighing, he hugged her tighter. "You blockhead. Ever heard of the term 'mutual feelings'?"

Iku froze. Is he saying…

As she was thinking that, he mumbled three words into her ears. But just then, a minivan playing music at full blast drove right by, making Iku blink in surprise.

She blushed, finally realizing what he was trying to tell her, but-

"I didn't hear the second part."

Dojo let her go, stepping back and glaring at her. "Blockhead! I'm not saying it again!" He turned around, but Iku could see a tiny blush on his cheeks.

"But-"

He scowled. "No means no! Don't even think about asking!"

Dojo grabbed her hand, and started walking in a random direction. Behind him, Iku smiled, then laughed.

"What's so funny?!"

She tightened her grip on his hand. "Nothing."

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Standing further away from where they are, Shibasaki grinned as she watched. She turned around to look at Komaki, who was on the other side of the street, and gave him a thumbs up.

She smiled again in satisfaction.

Took them long enough.

Komaki, who wasn't able to see the scene, sighed in disappointment. But he quickly became cheerful again, knowing his plan worked.

Tezuka, who was dragged there by Shibasaki, stared at him in shock. "Instructor Komaki, is this what you wanted to happen when you asked the Major to-"

Komaki smiled mysteriously. "Maybe."