"Maya-chan... Can I ask you for a favour?" Given the way Suzune is peering at her so nervously through her curtain of bangs, Amaya thinks it must be yet another troublesome request again. But it is rare for her best friend (it is foolish, Amaya knows, but her heart still warms at the fact that she can utter these words and mean them again) to request anything of her. Which is why Amaya ends up agreeing - albeit somewhat cautiously - in the end.
"Sure. What is it?"
"I... I need you to pass something to Yuuki-kun." With that, Suzune withdraws something from her bag in an unusually coy manner.
Amaya stares at the decorative pink envelope in Suzune's hands. Pastel hearts have been stamped across each corner, and the words 'To Yuuki-kun' have been written across it in cursive handwriting. Amaya blinks. It can't be... Is that...?
"You want me to help you give him... a love letter?"
Rather than answer, Suzune gives a large grin. Amaya can only watch her, frozen, as she starts to gush over the apparent object of her affections.
"Yuuki-kun is so cool... He's a good leader, an amazing sportsman - plus, he's really kind too!" As Suzune continues to ramble, Amaya finds something within her agreeing. Yuuki is an impressive captain and batter. But the fact that these traits have attracted Suzune's attention makes her feel queasy for some reason.
"You'll help me, won't you, Amaya-chan?" Suzune stares at Amaya intently. The moment their eyes meet, the latter can feel herself caving in to her request. They're friends again. They have finally mended their strained and tattered relationship. Amaya never wants to go through the pain of losing it again. Even if it means doing something that makes her feel strangely uneasy.
"Yea, I will."
"Tetsu-kun..."
"Hm?" Yuuki looks over at Amaya across the shogi board. "What is it?"
Amaya tightens her grip on the letter in her pocket, hastily unfurling her fingers when she realises she is almost crushing it. She just has to pass Yuuki the letter and tell him that it is from Suzune. That is by no means an uphill task. Yet for some reason, Amaya finds herself hesitating. Every time she wants to pull the letter out, a voice in her head tells her not to.
Suzune is bright, cheerful and dedicated. Her lively personality, along with her silky dark hair - styled into its trademark pigtails since she was a first-year - has made her fairly popular with Seidou's male population. To add on, her bubbly nature might complement Yuuki's serious one. But every time Amaya tries to picture the two of them together, her heart aches fiercely. Something within her secretly hopes for an imminent rejection.
Amaya's eyes widen at the last thought. Why would she want Suzune to get rejected? She and Yuuki have come to form her two closest friends. So if the two of them started dating... Shouldn't it make her twice as happy?
As she struggles to come to terms with her messy thoughts, Yuuki abruptly stands from his seat. The sound of his chair scraping against the classroom floor snaps Amaya out of her silent pondering.
"I'm going to get a drink," Yuuki announces. As he leaves the classroom, Amaya wonders if he is annoyed at her inability to concentrate today. This can't do. She has to hand him the letter quick, or her sudden spaciness will ruin his day even further.
Yuuki is back in a few minutes, a melon pan and a carton of juice in his hands. Determined to commit fully to the game now, Amaya stares at the shogi board - though her mind still feels miles away - and patiently awaits Yuuki as he takes his seat again. She expects him to start on his meal after sitting. But instead, Yuuki places his purchases in front of her.
"You haven't eaten anything yet, you must be hungry. You look a little tired today." These are all minor observations, really. But the fact that he actually went to get her food because he had noticed... Amaya can't help a large smile from spreading across her face.
"... Thank you, Tetsu-kun." She pokes a hole in the juice box, sipping at it cheerfully as she focuses on the shogi match. When Yuuki finally takes his turn, Amaya's fingers unconsciously brush over the letter that is still in her pocket. Meanwhile, her heart hammers traitorously in her chest.
"I'm sorry, Suzune-chan."
"Hm? What's wrong, Maya-chan?" Back in class, the dark-haired girl appraises her best friend in puzzlement upon hearing her serious tone. When Suzune prompts Amaya once more worriedly, she withdraws the (slightly crumpled) love letter from her pocket in silence. Suzune's eyes grow large at the sight of it.
"That's... my letter? That means... you didn't pass it to Yuuki-kun?" Her voice takes on an accusatory tone. Amaya swallows nervously. She has finally regained Suzune's friendship. But what she is about to say next will only end up destroying it again.
"I'm sorry, Suzune-chan," Amaya repeats, her hands balled tightly into fists by her side. "I couldn't pass it to him. When I was playing shogi with him just now... I tried giving him the letter. But when I did... A part of me wanted... hoped that you would get rejected." Amaya looks up at Suzune, and their eyes meet.
Despite how conflicted and guilty she currently feels, she thinks it is at least fair for her to be honest now. A friendship built on words that have to be continually swallowed back will only crumble in the end.
"I could still pass Tetsu-kun the letter if you want to. But I don't think it is fair to you. If I were to help you pass a love letter to someone you like, I want to be able to do it sincerely and whole-heartedly as a friend. That's why..." Amaya finally falters when the stony look in Suzune's eyes does not recede.
"That's why I can't do it."
"Do you like Yuuki-kun, then?"
"H– Huh?" Amaya stares at Suzune in surprise. She looks calm, but that only makes it worse. Amaya cannot gauge how angry she is feeling right now.
"You didn't want me to be with him. That's why you hesitated to give him that letter. So tell me the truth now, Maya-chan. Do you like Yuuki-kun?"
Amaya blanches. When the question is posed so directly, her mind is an utter blank. Memories of the times she has spent with Yuuki start to fill her head, fogging her thoughts even further.
Their first shogi match. Him waking her up for karate practice; walking back home in the rain alone before she shared her umbrella with him; offering her advice on being a better captain; teaching her how to bat.
Him shielding her from the rain on that cold and lonely night after her loss; him with his head on her shoulder - utterly drained and defeated after that devestating loss against Inashiro. The realisation hits her so hard that Amaya closes her eyes.
Ah, I've been so blind.
"I... I'm sorry, Suzune-chan." Amaya's mouth is as dry as sandpaper. Her apologies feel pathetic and inadequate, but she has nothing else to offer besides that and her honesty. "I do."
Despite having been the one to raise the question, Suzune looks taken aback by her answer. She stares at her hands silently for a while as Amaya lowers her eyes in guilt.
"Ah, you finally admitted it...!" Suzune slumps in her seat in what looks to be utter exhaustion. The sudden change in tension is so disorienting that Amaya can only stare at her dumbly. "You were so slow that I thought we might actually graduate before you said anything..."
"You... you knew?" Suzune does not look all that upset or surprised by her reveal. Is she faking it? As Amaya regards her worriedly, Suzune gives her a look that is pathetically close to pity.
"You two are probably the only ones who don't know."
"But... don't... don't you like him?" Suzune's reaction is bewildering. Shouldn't she be angry? Or at the very least, hurt? The more Amaya tries to comprehend it, the more her head starts to hurt.
"Are you an idiot?" Suzune demands in exasperation, her hands poised on her hip. "Why would I like Yuuki-kun? I mean, he's cool and all. But you're the one who plays shogi with him daily and smiles every time you see him–" The second observation is dealt so forwardly that Amaya finds her face turning pink. Has she always been that obvious?
"Then... what was in that letter?" A part of Amaya is still a little suspicious as to whether Suzune is faking such a reaction so she will not feel bad. A sense of unease lingers within her.
"Hm?" On the other hand, Suzune appears quite relaxed in the whole matter. She sips at her juice box idly. "The truth. I wrote that since my best friend is incredibly dense–" The comment pierces through Amaya's heart like an arrow. "He's probably gonna have to make the first move. I don't think you'd admit to liking him if I asked you, so I decided on a more discrete technique." Suzune punctuates the end of the sentence with a self-satisfied nod.
Amaya, on the other hand, is speechless. She has been prepared for Suzune to break ties with her after she has admitted the truth. Yet in reality, it was planned all from the start. Amaya is torn between relief, mortification and confusion. Though when the realisation that Suzune will remain her friend finally starts to sink in, her heart slowly ceases its erratic beating.
"I'm glad you were honest, Maya-chan. But I want you to know that even if something like this were to really happen, I won't stop being friends with you. I..." For the first time, Suzune's confidence falters. Her eyes darken as she remembers how strained her friendship with Amaya had become over simple miscommunication. While things between them have reverted to what it once was, Suzune always feels troubled and guilty whenever it comes to her mind. She shakes her head, as if to clear the doubts away.
"I made that mistake once. I won't ever make it again." As Amaya digests these words in silence, Suzune grins suddenly. It is eerily close to a smile of a Chesire cat.
"So, now that you've finally admitted it... When are you planning on confessing to Yuuki-kun?"