Haru took the train back home, greeting his mother briefly before going up to his room. "Alright, I'll just wear something pretty casual. Tonight isn't anything super special. Just a dinner date with Kanan, nothing too crazy." He picked out a black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, put them on, and started to head back out.
"Dear? Where are you headed tonight?" His mother asked.
"Just going out to dinner with Kanan, Mom. I'll be back later."
"Oh, well, before you go!" She rushed over to the door to catch him on his way out. "I won't be home tonight until pretty late tonight, so make sure you have your house key."
"Yeah, I've got it with me. Is that all?"
"Well, I wanted to ask you how school was, but you seem to be in a hurry. We can talk about it tomorrow. Love you, sweetie."
"Love you, Mom!" He called out as he shut the front door closed. "Alright, time to go and see Kanan." Looking at the time, Haru smiled. "Still got 30 minutes. I'll call her and let her know, just in case." He pulled out his phone, dialing her number. "Hey, Kanan."
"Haru-kun? You're still coming, right?"
"Yeah. Just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving to come get you now. I'll be there soon. See you in a bit…" He thought about what Chika said earlier and decided to mess with Kanan. "...darling~!"
"W-what!? H-Haru-kun!? What did yo-" He hung up the phone, laughing. He left his house to head towards the train station. The train ride took about 15 minutes and about another 10 to walk towards Kanan's house.
He knocked on her door, waiting patiently outside. "Right on time…"
Kanan walked up to the door, mentally preparing herself. She moved a stray hair she saw in her vision. Checking the mirror real quick, she smiled. "Looking good, Kanan… just calm down…" She opened the door. "H-Haru-kun…"
"Hey, Kanan. Wow… you… look amazing." Haru looked up and down Kanan. She wore a royal blue mini dress and her hair was flowing down.
"I… I really wanted to look good for you, Haru-kun…" She whispered, blushing.
"Hey, can I ask you something, Kanan?"
"Hm? Yes, of course you can, Haru-kun."
"What is tonight for you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Tonight. You said that this would be a date, right?" She nodded. "How come? Cause like… Chika and You thought the same thing. And that's where I'm confused…"
"I was under the assumption that you had asked me out on a date… because you liked me…"
"I mean, yes, I do like you." She perked up instantly. "Actually, it would be fair to say I love you." She was almost hyperventilating at this point. "But that's because you're one of my closest friends ever."
"Idiot…" She whispered softly. "You just… are an idiot…"
"W-what? How come? I'm not the one who thought this was supposed to be a date… We're best friends, Kanan. That'll always be the case. I never want to lose you like I did before."
She took a deep breath, looked up at him, and smiled. "Fine. I'll accept that, Haru-kun. But only because I can tell you have someone in mind that you like."
"W-what!? What are you talking about? No I don't!" He lied.
Kanan shook her head. "You tell the stupidest of lies, Haru-kun. So, what's her name?"
"N-no, I'm not lying… I… don't know if I like her yet…" He whispered, averting his gaze from her eyes.
"So there is someone! I knew it. You were never good at hiding things from me, Haru-kun." Kanan giggled. "So… her name?"
"Ugh! You're relentless, Kanan!" He sighed. "Riko… Riko Sakurauchi… that's her name."
"She sounds cute. Is she cute?"
Haru's face burned up. "I-I… I would say so… I think she's quite cute…" He whispered, completely embarrassed. "Are we gonna go out or not!?"
"Well.. since this isn't a date, let me go change. Since you're a jerk and didn't make it clear." She teased him, smiling.
"You're the one who thought it was a date… Why would you think this was a date anyways?"
She walked inside, pulling him with her, closing the door behind them. "Isn't it obvious? I love you, Haru-kun." She said calmly. "Alright, you just sit tight. I'll be out in a few."
Haru was still trying to piece what she said. "You… love me…? Oh… Oh! Kanan!" He stood up instantly, running towards her room, opening the door. "Kanan I didn't know that you…" He looked at her, turned red, and quickly closed the door. "...were naked!? Why are you naked?!"
"I-I literally just told you I was changing my clothes! Idiot! Pervert! Idiotic pervert!" She shouted at him from behind the door. She quickly changed into a black skirt, a blue blouse, and put on a black jacket over it. She left her room, glaring at him as she walked past. "Idiot…"
"Kanan, wait!" He followed her back into the living room where he grabbed her hand. "Hey… I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to see you… like that… I'm being honest."
"Well, you know the truth now… I love you, Haru-kun. I always have… I first noticed when I lost you… not having you in my life was too much for me to bear…"
"Kanan… I…" He hugged her. "If I had known… I know for a fact I would have never left your side…"
She pulled away from the hug. "No. You left for your own reasons. I have to respect those reasons. Besides… I would never win."
"How...come?"
"Cause I never had the courage to come and see you these last couple years… But this girl… Sakurauchi-san… She was able to convince you to go back to school… to come back to see me. You deserve someone like her." Kanan gave a warm, sincere smile. "We'll always be friends, Haru-kun. Best friends."
"Even more than that…" He tried to hold back his tears. "I'm sorry, Kanan…"
"You don't have to apologize. It's okay. I'm okay being your friend. Alright?"
"Y-yeah… Kanan… I really am happy to have you back in my life… I was never able to feel any warmth the last two years… I endured everything by myself…"
"Hey, everything is okay now. Your big sis Kanan is here for you, Haru-kun."
That caused him to laugh. "N-never call yourself that again…"
"Hey! I was trying to be sweet!" She shouted, pushing him away. "Jerk…"
"Onee-chan… I love you." He smirked, poking her cheek.
"I'll bite you…" She threatened, laughing herself.
He wrapped his arm around hers. "Shall we go, Kanan?"
She felt her face turn red. "Y-yeah… you know you don't have to do this. I'm fine walking on my own."
He placed a finger over her lips. "Hey, you want this to be a date, so I'll treat it as such. Besides, I would be kidding myself if I didn't admit that I wanted to go out with you like this before everything happened." He smiled.
"What do you mean, Haru-kun?"
"I mean, when I was in middle school, I had the biggest crush on you ever." He laughed.
Kanan laughed. "You did? Idiot, why am I not surprised?" She pulled him along. "Well, if this is a date now, let's hurry up~!"
Haru nodded, and the two of them walked to the train station. They took the train to a fancy seafood restaurant, and enjoyed their time together. They talked about the past, and laughed a lot together. By the end of the meal, Haru told Kanan he would pay for everything, and she fought him on it. She inevitably gave up, but she said she would pay for them the next time they went out, no matter what. Haru laughed, paid for them, and they started making their way back to Kanan's place. They didn't want to take the train this time, so they just walked.
"Kanan, tonight was really fun. I wasn't really expecting to have as much fun as I did." Haru said, smiling.
"Oh, so you thought that because you were with me that it would be boring?"
"W-what!? N-no! That's not what I meant, Kanan!" She crossed her arms, looking away. "Oh come on… please don't be mad…" He put his hand on her shoulder.
She looked down. "Hey… Haru-kun…"
"Y-yeah?"
"Could we… end tonight off as any date would?" She asked, feeling her face burn up.
"Y-you mean…" He touched his lips, feeling embarrassed himself too. She nodded, not saying anything. "I…I don't see why not."
Her face perked up. "Y-you mean it?" He nodded, smiling at her. "H-Haru-kun… I-I…" He leaned in closer to her. She closed her eyes, waiting for him.
Haru wrapped his arms around Kanan, gently kissing her on the lips. Their height difference was very apparent, since he had to lift her chin up a bit to be able to kiss her. After a minute, they broke apart, both of their face's red from embarrassment. "Was that… what you thought it would be?"
She leaned against his chest, giggling. "Everything and so much more… I love you so much, Haru-kun."
"Kanan… I love you too, but you know not in the same way…" She nodded, smiling at him. "And you don't care…?"
"Of course not. You're still my best friend. No matter what, I'm happy as long as that is still true." She looked up at him, her emerald eyes glimmering in the light of the sunset. "Let's go home, Haru-kun."
He nodded. "Alright, let's go." He took her hand, and they continued walking on. They didn't talk much for the rest of the trip back, mainly out of the sheer embarrassment. They reached Kanan's home and walked up to her door. "Well, we're here. Have a good night, Kanan." He started to walk off before she grabbed his arm.
"W-wait…" Her face was bright red. "I… I had a really fun time tonight, Haru-kun…"
He turned around and smiled at her. "Yeah, I did too, Kanan. I hope we can do this again sometime."
She smiled back, nodding happily. "Yeah! Maybe next time, we can invite Chika and You, and maybe even that girl you like~"
Haru glared at her. "Kanan…. Stop teasing me about her…"
"Sorry, sorry~" She giggled, poking his cheek. "Well, I'll go inside now. I'll see you tomorrow before school?"
"Yeah, I can stop by the shop on my way. See you tomorrow, Kanan. Have a good night!" He walked away, as she waved to him. Haru made his way back home, thinking about the kiss with Kanan. "That… was my first kiss… Kanan, you sure are something else." He smiled to himself, arriving at his house. He saw a figure sitting on his doorstep as he approached the door. "S-Sakurauchi-san?!"
She looked up, smiling at him. "Finally, you're home. I've been waiting outside your home for 2 hours, Akashiya-kun."
"W-what for…?" He looked at her with a look of pure confusion. "It's freezing out here, so what were you thinking?!"
"I-I… was only trying to return the dress I borrowed…"
Haru sighed, trying his best to calm down. "Sakurauchi-san, come on, I'll let you inside." He walked past her, unlocking the door. "After you." Haru held the door open for her as she stood up and walked into the house.
"Where have you been this entire time anyways? I would have expected you to go straight home after leaving school." She said, sitting down on the couch in the living room.
He sat across from her, in a chair. "I was just out with a friend."
"You have those? Weren't you locked up for 2 years?" She asked, smirking.
"H-hey! For your information, I have 3 really close friends! I just...you know… abandoned them for all that time…"
Riko looked down, shaking her head. "Oh, Akashiya-kun…"
"D-don't sound like a mother who's disappointed in her child!" He exclaimed, blushing.
She giggled. "Did you at least talk to them today?"
"Yeah… one of them gave me the guilt trip of a lifetime… and the other two were initially upset, but were really happy to see me either way." He smiled lightly.
"Well, that's good." She smiled.
"Now what about you? Where were you today, Sakurauchi-san? You weren't at school."
"Oh, my transfer papers weren't finalized yet, so I was taking care of that. I officially start school tomorrow."
"I see…" He then noticed something about Riko. "Um… Sakurauchi-san…."
"Hm? What is it, Akashiya-kun?"
"Why is your hair soaking wet?" He pointed at her hair, starting to get worried.
"Oh this!? This was because some girl tried to stop me from jumping into the ocean, and instead we had both fallen in!" She huffed, remembering what happened.
"And why were you trying to jump in the ocean!? It's the beginning of April and it's still freezing!"
"I was just trying to clear my mind… and I thought that the ocean would have been the best way." She said, suddenly sneezing.
"Well, you need to go and take a warm shower before you get sick. I'll wait for you here, so go up to my mom's room…"
"A-Akashiya-kun… I can't take a shower in your house…" She blushed.
"I won't go and peek, if that's what you're afraid of…" He sighed.
She groaned, starting to head upstairs. "Fine… you come up here, and I'll throw you in the ocean."
Haru laughed, heading into the kitchen. "Yeah, yeah, hurry up now. I'll go make you some dinner, since I'm assuming you haven't eaten yet "
"Y-you don't have to do that!"
"Too late, now go take a shower." He shooed her away, now in the kitchen.
She sighed, walking into his mother's room. "He's treating this situation as if we're some married couple…" Saying that out loud caused her face to turn red and she then repeatedly hit her head. "No no no no! Don't think that! No! That's… too embarrassing…" She stripped out of her clothes, getting into the shower.
Haru was preparing a small meal for her. "That girl… I feel like if I leave her alone for five minutes, she goes and does something stupid… At least when she and I go to school together I'll be able to watch over her." He was silent for a moment. "Wait… no… that makes me sound like her boyfriend… Oh god… I can't make it THAT obvious… Snap out of it, Haru…" He scolded himself.
About 10 minutes later, Haru waited at the dining room table, taking a sip of water. "Akashiya-kun!" Riko said, coming down the stairs. "What am I supposed to wear? My clothes were all damp from when I was in the ocean…" She entered the kitchen in nothing but a towel.
Haru quickly spit out most of his water, choking a bit. "S-Sakurauchi-san!? W-why… go put some clothes on!!"
"That's why I just asked you that question! I don't know what to wear…"
"Oh my gosh…." He felt his face burn up as he saw her figure in nothing but a towel. He turned away to face away from her. "I-I don't care what you put on! Just put on something!"
"Alright.. I'll just go put the dress on again…"
"W-whatever! Just hurry!" A deep blush went across his face.
She went into the other room and put the dress on. "There we go~" Riko giggled to herself, coming back into the kitchen. "So, what's on the menu, Chef Akashiya~"
He placed the plate in front of her. "It's just ramen in a broth… nothing fancy, Sakurauchi-san…"
"Well, you made it either way, so I'm sure it's still tasty!" She took her first taste. "Mmm! So good.."
"Jeez, it's nothing special…" He sat down across from her. She continued eating as they sat in silence.
"So… Akashiya-kun… you've lived here your whole life, right?"
"Yeah, not many people live here, so everyone pretty much knows everyone."
"So… you know a Chika Takami." He fell silent. "Well…?"
"Yeah.. that's one of my best friends… one of the ones I abandoned before…"
"O-oh, I-I'm sorry!"
"No, it's okay. She and I talked today at school. Everything is okay now." He smiled at her. "Chika is pretty hard to get rid of once she's in your life. She has such a positive aura around her. How do you know her?"
"She's the one who stopped me from jumping into the ocean before we both fell in." Haru smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "A-Akashiya-kun..?"
"Of course she was the one… I'm honestly not surprised… you said you were trying to clear your mind, correct?" She nodded. "Tell me the real reason. Cause I can tell you're hiding it."
"I-I… alright, I'll tell you… I haven't told you yet, but I play the piano. Composing my own songs, and everything too. Though.. the current song I'm trying to write… I couldn't capture the sounds of the waves, so I decided to jump in and find out. So I stripped into a swimsuit I had under my clothes, and ran towards the edge of the pier. Before I made it though, I felt the arms of someone wrap around my waist holding me back and a voice screaming at me. Next thing I knew, we were both in the water."
Haru sighed. "So you're a composer?"
"Yes, and I also play the songs I make. I've just been struggling with writing songs currently."
"I see… well, maybe I could help you with that one of these days. I've never really seen anyone play the piano before, so that would be a cool experience."
"Really? You would want to do that?" He nodded. "Well, I wouldn't mind in the slightest." She smiled at him, finishing the ramen bowl.
A few minutes of silence go by. "Hey… so that uniform you were wearing… that was your old school's, right?"
"Yeah… Otonokizaka Girls' Academy in Tokyo. And before you ask… no, I didn't know about the school idols from there."
"Um… why would I ask you that?"
"I don't know, Takami-san asked that earlier. And then went on talking about wanting to do something with her life to make it less boring." Riko said.
"Yeah.. she wants to make a school idol club at school… She's gonna recruit you the next time she sees you, I can guarantee." Haru laughed. "She's a sweet girl, but she can be really persistent…"
"Well, I have to focus on my piano, so I'll just deny her every time she tries to ask." Riko said plainly. "So.. now it's my turn to ask you something." She moved her face closer to his. "You said you were out with a friend, correct?"
"Y-yeah, why..?" His face flushed as she was so close to him.
Riko placed a finger on his lips. "Must have been a really close friend to have your lips stained red with lipstick~ Unless you wear it yourself." She giggled.
"N-no.. I… My friend Kanan… she thought that when I asked her out to dinner that it was going to be a date. I only meant it as a thing for us to do as friends. Though, being gone for 2 years, I felt like I at least owed her one date… since she confessed her feelings for me…" He looked down.
"So you two kissed?" The expression on her face was a little sad as she spoke.
"At the end of our date, yeah.. She wanted to, so I was only trying to be a good friend for her. She understands I like someone else though, so she knows to not do that again." He smiled to himself.
"Oh, so you do like someone?" She smirked.
"I-I… that's so unfair, Sakurauchi-san…"
"Well, you don't need to tell me. I like someone too, so I'll tell you that much. I think I should be heading home now, Akashiya-kun. I promise, for real this time, the next time I see you, I'll bring you back your mom's dress…"
He laughed. "Don't worry so much about it, Sakurauchi-san."
"B-but… I feel bad that I'm keeping such a big part of your mom's past…"
"Really, it's okay… She doesn't mind one bit." He reassured her.
"Alright, alright… well, I'll see you tomorrow at school… Haru-kun." She said with a smile across her face. She stood up, walking towards the door.
"Yeah, you too, Sakura-" It just clicked in his mind. "W-wait, you just used my first name…"
She giggled, closing the door behind her, leaving Haru alone in his house now.
He went and locked the door, cleaned up the things he used in the kitchen, and went up to his bedroom. Laying down on his bed, he lost himself in thought. She… that girl. I swear, she sure is something else…
As Riko walked home, she was also lost in thought. That boy… He kissed another girl before I even had a chance… I need to step up my game now. With her newfound determination, she hurried home.