"The pleasures of poverty have defeated my mocked revolution"

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As soon as she saw the Okonomiyaki, she noticed his presence next to Kin-chan's stand.

"Ah, hello Naoki-kun!" She greeted him, waving her free arm. He tensed full body product of his nerves that threatened to be visible in front of her. "Is it your stand?" She pointed specifically to his stand, to which he nodded.

"From who else?" He gave her a sarcastic look.

"I'm coming in" She sat down at one of the empty tables in his stand, placing her food on the table and took out the chopsticks.

"Don't join the enemy, Kotoko!" Kin-chan exclaimed trying to hold her back.

"But I want to help my friends" She grumbled stubbornly, swallowing a piece of Okonomiyaki in her mouth with placidity. "There's nothing wrong with that"

Naoki approached to give her the menu of his stand that consisted of: 1 order of Okonomiyaki accompanied by a drink of your choice, or the Okonomiyaki combo, a dessert of those that were available and a free drink.

From desserts they had: Anmitsu, custard pudding, melon bread or melonpan, and Wagashi.

"Hm, they have desserts" She commented, watching the menu closely, in what he was waiting for with his order-taking notebook, feeling his heart beating like crazy.

"Yes" He said seriously. "You can ask for the combo, but as you asked for from another position, I don't think you consume anything else here." He pretended to bother what he laughed dry.

"I want custard pudding" She ordered, throwing the menu in his face, and then continue eating the Okonomiyaki Kin-chan made for her. "Please" She remarked, sticking out her tongue. Without realizing much, he knew that between them the barrier that prevented him from being together gradually decreased, and that gave him hopes of being together. He smiled sideways and left for the request.

Once he brought her dessert, she invited him to sit at the table to chat and catch up. Although at first he refused for his pride, seeing that she insisted on wanting to talk, he couldn't object to what he didn't flinch to sit down.

"What do you want to talk about so insistently?" He suppressed a smile that escaped his mouth.

"I want to keep up to date with what has happened to everyone in the family" She said, eating a spoonful of the pudding. "Like Oba-sama, Oji-san, Chibi and Yuuki-kun" And he what? He didn't count as a family member? He frowned. "Of course you too," She added mischievously.

"Were you going to get me out of the house?" He inquired jokingly, while crossing his arms in a haughty pose. "Or take my place?"

"None of that." He laughed at his question, so he couldn't help feeling full of himself. "Tell me, I'm all ears." She signaled to be prepared to listen, putting the part of her thumb behind her ear.

"Chibi has grown"

"And what else?"

"Mother misses you." He remained dry. "Yuuki is the same, dad working as usual"

"What about you?" She asked with a question mark. "What about 'you know'?" She emphasized lowering her voice, shaking her eyebrows sharply.

"What?"

"The medicine thing," She replied incredulously. "What about that?"

She was interested in his life, she hadn't forgotten that conversation they had in her apartment, where he confined her his deep thoughts that he kept for privacy or in any case, not to consider them relevant to walk by telling anyone who knew him.

"When will you take the transfer test?" She insisted.

"Don't push me." He grimaced.

"It's not pressure from me." She pretended to be impressed; he smiled wanting to laugh out loud at the expression she made. "It's your dream, Naoki-kun, not mine." She put her hands to her chest. "If it were mine, from the beginning I would have chosen to go to medicine even though my father thought I was insane." She raised her hands to her head, opening her eyes in surprise. "Don't think it more when you know that's what you want, and I'm interested in your being well."

"Why?" He interrupted, taken in curiosity to hear her say the comment with such force. Did her feelings about him begin to change? He wanted to smile with the same emotion he felt.

She stumbled as if she had not expected her early interruption, but recovered quickly.

"Because I appreciate you, and I don't know, I think that more than friendship I have begun to see you in another way" She raised her eyebrows as if trying to find out if what she was saying had a certain coherence, and for him, it was to have tried part of happiness in a brief moment. "I have grown fond of you with affection and respect, not like the one the rest of the school was afraid of you, but respect for your person, which is what counts." She nodded, agreeing with what she said. "And it's because I feel we get along very well! Yes!" She smiled pleased. "That's why I'm interested in seeing you well, knowing that you can grow as a person not because I or your parents tell you, but because you want that change in your life." She affirmed sure of herself "That change that defines your life"

He remained petrified before her foundations, but above all, rejoicing to learn that she appreciated him and her way of seeing him was changing just as he changed. Both were changing so that their ties were joining with the passage of time, until their feelings were reciprocated.

He knew that he must be patient, and that patience as such was a virtue.

So he would remain on the sidelines, close to her, so that her feelings changed and were inclined towards him and not another.

"I'll take the exam in winter to get in spring," he said clearly. "When I do the exam, I will tell my parents that I want to be a doctor, from there on out, I won't let it go any longer," he said.

"I think it's perfect!" She approved. She had just finished the cream pudding without leaving traces that before there was food on the plate, so she would not struggle to wash the dishes that were provided for the event.

He got up to grout the empty plate and then continue talking.

When he returned he saw that Ryo, her best friend, had arrived at the table. He rolled his eyes, thinking he came to ruin the moment they were going through. He grunted.

"Are you ready?" He said in a tone pressing him. She nodded, rubbing the fingers of her hands on top of the other, looking sideways and pouting doubtfully. "Don't be afraid, things will be perfect, you'll see," he said condescendingly.

"Are you sure?"

"Like, I'm your best friend." Naoki rolled his eyes, paying attention to what was happening. "Now let's go, it's time for the show!" He snorted, taking her hand. They disappeared from his sight.

Naoki without noticing what he was doing, threw a couple of chairs that were part of his stand, also folded the broom stick with which he swept the floor.

What will they be up to?

His response was not long in coming when Matsumoto came to tell him the news.

"Aihara will sing at the entrance of the campus" She announced awkwardly, shaking her head in disbelief and the ravages of annoyance that escaped her voice.

"What?" He questioned, without hiding the wonder of his voice.

"What you heard" She said annoyed. "Aihara will sing in front of everyone to promote herself in the contest"

"When will that be?" He was interested in going to her side than paying attention to Matsumoto's complaints.

"In less than five minutes"

He ran to the entrance to the campus where Kotoko was supposed to sing, although he hesitated at first, it didn't seem to be a lie since he had heard them talk about it for a while. However, he had no doubt that she regretted presenting herself to the students if she were known not for her voice, but for her talent in basketball and that which belonged to the men's team.

Upon arriving at the site, he saw that the news was indeed true.

They had installed a small stage with a microphone, drum set, Marshall speakers, a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and a Rickenbacker bass recharged over the speaker.

The smoke came from the lower corners of the stage produced by Jinko and Satomi; Ryo, on the other hand, welcomed with the microphone in hand with wide confidence and clarity of words.

"I introduced you to Aihara Kotoko!" He shouted, extending his right hand towards the direction of some stairs leading to the entire stage.

In that, she came out behind the barrier that protected the stage from the back in a black cloth.

Naoki almost dropped the jaw of the impression.

She wore her hair loose in light curls in the middle of her hair to give volume to the fall, black eyeliner placed under the eyes highlighting a dark and mysterious effect, black flared pants, short-sleeved linen black shirt with flowered details in the lower area of both sides that were deployed as roots of a flower connected to the beginning of the shirt, black Spanish heeled boots.

Anyway, she wore black from head to toe.

While she used them with great style, confidence and high bearing in his hands that were allowed to move in rhythm to the song that began to play being played by the group that accompanied it, and it was curious to mention that those boys were in the presentation if they weren't her friends, at least he thought so.

The song "Los placeres de la pobreza" de Héroes del Silencio rumbled and vibrated with intensity, adding the song that came out of her voice with infusion.

The public seemed to be perplexed at the beginning when the song began, but with the passage of the lyrics, the dry ice, the artistic movements that she exerted, motivated the public to be enchanted with the presentation and presence that the group presented.

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P.S. (Mention of the song "Los placeres de la pobreza" by Héroes del Silencio)