Day 4 - Confiding (mixed with Friends & Confidence): Rupture
Koushiro stomped his feet nervously as he waited to Mimi and Hikari to arrive at the cafeteria. He still wasn't sure about opening up to them – since his first choice would be Sora, but she didn't answer his call -, but he had to talk to someone or he'd go crazy.
"Hey, we're sorry for taking so long." Mimi apologized. "Have you waited long?"
"No, I arrived a little earlier."
"You sounded worried and anxious in your voice message. What happened?"
"I need advice." He couldn't help but blush heavily.
"You need advice?" The older brunette repeated in shock. "On what?"
"Love." Koushiro faked a cough, so the word wouldn't be too loud.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard it quite well." Mimi said with a grin. "What is it again?"
"Mimi, we're supposed to help him, not make fun."
"You know what? This was a mistake."
"No, no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was just surprised you'd ask for love advice."
"What do you need help with?"
"How do you know you have feelings for someone?"
"Well, you feel extra happy seeing or talking to this person; you want to be around them all the time and feel sad when you don't; and you get butterflies on your stomach as well."
"Does wanting to walk a woman home everyday and looking forward to seeing her on Monday again count as being in love?"
"Probably." Hikari confirmed. "Why don't you tell us the whole story, so we help you in a better way?"
"Alright." He took a deep breath. "I met this girl in college and have been walking her to her house since day one."
"That was two months ago."
"I know."
"You've been in love with her since then?"
"No, absolutely not. I realized something was different about two weeks ago."
"So what did you do?"
"Nothing. What was I supposed to do?"
"Tell her you have feelings for her."
"Are you kidding me? I don't even know if she feels the same as me."
"That's why you should tell her. It's the only way you can know how she feels."
"Mimi, I don't think it's something Koushiro would do. We need to be sure first."
"Exactly. So you're going try to find out."
"How?"
"By asking her."
"He is too shy to do that, Mimi. It will hardly work for him."
"You have a point." Mimi thought for some seconds. "Does she have a friend or something in college that can help you?"
"Yes, Natsuki. She's in my class and is Akemi's best friend."
"So her name is Akemi, huh?" The older brunette teased and nudged him in the forearm.
"Eh… yeah." He blushed and refused to look at them. "That's her name."
"So maybe you can get Natsuki to help you. She probably knows Akemi very well."
"I might do that. She'd help me."
"Oh and you might want to change your clothes a little. You know, dress a little better."
"What's wrong with my clothes?" Koushiro stared at them.
"Nothing really. But you're trying to impress a woman here."
"I agree with Mimi in this one."
"Well, I guess it's time to go back to my fashion app."

.

Koushiro looked at the window of the store with a confused and unsure expression. "Isn't it better if I just stick to my app?"
"This is much better, trust me." Sora placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, I promise I won't choose any clothes that won't make you look bad. Besides, Takeru and Yamato can give you better advice on what to wear."
"That's right." Takeru spoke. "You're going to get her heart."
"This is so cheesy, oh God."
"I'm sorry." She laughed. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, though. We will all fall in love eventually."
"I know. I just wasn't expecting it."
"No one is, to be honest." Yamato said casually. "It happens when you least expect. And that's what makes it so great."
"Did any of them feel anxious and excessively happy because of it?"
"Of course. It comes in the package. It's part of being in love."
"Damn it." Koushiro rubbed his face. "Alright, let's get this over with."

Sora headed to the fitting room carrying two pairs of trousers – a black one and a caramel one – and about five shirts from many different colors.
"How are we going over here?" She approached Yamato and Takeru.
"There were some good combinations from the last pile you brought, but he didn't seem to like half of them."
"Really?"
"He's just nervous about his feelings. He doesn't fall in love that often."
"Unlike you." Yamato joked.
"Go on, have fun all you want. But I like thinking my person is still out there somewhere. The one will make my heart skip a beat for a very brief moment."
"That's very sweet, Takeru." Sora smiled before knocking on the door. "Koushiro, how are you doing there? Found anything you liked?"
"I suppose. The ones from the pile you brought were much better than the app offered me. I think it's time to make some adjustments on it."
"Or maybe you changed. You're older than you were when you first made it. I bought you some more clothes you might want to check out."
"Alright." Koushiro opened the door and grabbed the pile from her hands before closing it again.
"Is there anything you didn't like and I can take back?"
"There is, but everything here is a mess. I still need to separate it."
"Okay."

"I think I found one." Koushiro walked out of the fitting room he was using wearing a white shirt and black trousers. He looked at all of the three faces across him, looking for an opinion. "So?"
"Uh… how do I put this?" Takeru scratched the back of his neck. "It's too traditional."
"What's wrong with it?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. Don't listen to him." Sora said and leaned forward. "I personally think you can't go wrong with traditional."
"But?" Yamato leaned against the wall with his hands behind his head.
"There's no but." She rolled her eyes. "I actually think he looks great."
"Sure there is. You only use the word personally when you have something else to say."
"Ugh, I hate you sometimes." She shot him a death glare before returning her attention to Koushiro again. "Fine. I think you could expand your horizons a little, you know? Try other color combinations."
"Like yellow pants." Takeru suggested.
"Hell no."
"We don't want to traumatize him. Let's take small steps here. Yellow is too shocking at the moment, but you can try the terracotta tone. Yes, I think this shirt with terracotta pants is a good combination. Why don't you try it?"
"Hmmm." The red haired man turned to the mirror across the room and placed the pants above the black ones in his body. He raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "I'm not sure it pleases me."
"Don't base your opinion on this. Try them on first. I guarantee you'll have a different one then."
"Alright."
"You two could be a little more understanding and empathetic with him, you know?" Sora complained in a whisper. "I brought you here because you have a great fashion sense and could help him in a way I might not. The last thing he needs is to feel bad for trying to dress better and try to impress a woman."
"You're right."
"We're sorry."
"That's okay." She smiled.
Koushiro opened the door seconds later, looking down at his body. "That actually looked really good."
"I told you." Sora stood up and walked to him. "It's okay if you loose your shirt a little. That way it won't stick to your body."
"Doesn't that make me look messy?"
"Not if you know when to wear it. In this case, it's a rather informal situation, so it's okay."
"And if you want and it's too hot, you can roll up your sleeve like I used to do in high school."
"I found a tie you can wear if you want to." Takeru put it around Koushiro's neck and looked at the mirror.
"Great idea, Takeru." Sora commented happily. "And it's the same color as his pants."
"Hmmm."
"But you don't have to wear it if you don't want to. Like I said, it's an information occasion, so it's not necessary to wear tie. It's up to you, really."
"I will take it."
"Okay. I think we're done here, so you can change into your clothes and then we'll head to the check-out section."
"I think so too. I'll be right back." Koushiro went back to his cabin and closed the door for the last time that day.

.

When Koushiro arrived at college next Monday, Natsuki was picking up some books for their first period.
"Hey. Good morning."
"Good morning, Koushiro." She looked down at him. "You look different."
"You think so?" He looked back at her with a grin on his lips.
"You're up to something."
"What would I be up to, Natsuki?"
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." She narrowed her eyes and examined him carefully. "I get this strong impression you are trying to impress a woman."
He tried his very best not to blush in front of her. Instead, he took a deep breath to keep his cool. "I might be."
"I knew my intuition wouldn't fool me!" Natsuki cheered. "Is it someone from our class?"
"No, not necessarily."
"Is it someone I know?"
"Yes." The word came out of his practically inaudible because he pretended to cough at the same time, but for his – bad – luck, Natsuki was an expert at understanding such things.
"It's not necessarily from our class, so it's Akemi. Right?" This time, he couldn't hide his blushing from his friend. "It's her!"
"Shhh!" He tried to silence her. "Please keep it down. Okay, so I may have feelings for her."
"Did you tell her?"
"Not yet. I don't know if she feels the same."
"That's why you should tell her."
"That's funny, my friend said the same thing."
"I can tell she's wise, like me." Natsuki bragged. "Okay, so here it goes. There's a very big chance your feelings aren't one-sided."
"Why? Did she tell you something?"
"She might have."
"What did she tell you?" Koushiro desperately asked her. "You have to help me."
"As in talking to her?"
"Please."
"Well, I can give her some hints, but I think you should be the one to tell her."
"I don't think I can."
"Of course you can. You already changed your style a little and that's a big step. You can do this."
"You know what? You're right. I can do this."
"That's the spirit! By the way, she said you're sweet, kind, lovely, among other things. She also said she misses when you two don't go home together. She never said it before, just so you know."
Koushiro simply bit his lower lip, processing everything he had just been told and couldn't believe his luck.

.

Koushiro was making his way out of school when he heard Akemi calling his name. He looked over his shoulder and blushed heavily when he saw her running towards him.
"I was afraid I wouldn't catch you before you left." She placed her hands on her knees to breathe, but looked at him right in the eyes with a big smile.
"What happened? I thought you were going to hang out at Natsuki's dorm after class."
"I was, but she said something came up and couldn't make it anymore. So I guess I'm going home. You don't mind us going together today, do you?"
"No, of course not!" He flashed her a smile and made a mental note to thank his classmate the next day. "Let's go then."

Koushiro was happily chatting about college with Akemi, but deep down he was getting more and more upset with each step he took because it meant they would arrive at her building within second and he didn't want to say bye to her at all that day.
"Thank you so much for walking me home." She gave him a smile. "I'm so glad we got to spend some time together. Things are really busy at college lately, with assignments and tests coming up."
"Tell me about it." He sighed. "I'm sure you're gonna do great though."
"Thanks. So are you."
"Thank you."
"Well, I should probably go up. I would invite you in, but the apartment is a mess. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, everything is fine." He assured her. "I have to go as well. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Of course."
Akemi walked to the front gate of her building and Koushiro turned to leave. She looked at him and the words came out of her mouth before she could even hold them.
"Koushiro!" And to her surprise, she wasn't the only one who had the that idea. "What is it?"
"You first."
"Together?"
"Okay. 1, 2, 3."
"Do you want to go eat ice-cream some time?"
"Do you want to go somewhere some time?"
The two friends started laughing for some seconds. Akemi released her grasp around the gate and walked to him. "I would love to."
"Great. It's a date then."
"It's a date." She kissed him on the cheek before walking to the gate again. "See you tomorrow."
"See you."

Koushiro touched his cheek after Akemi walked inside her building and smiled. Then he reached for his phone on his pocket and dialed Mimi's number. After the second ring, she answered to it in her usual cheerful tone.
"Hey there! Is everything okay?"
He could barely contain his grin. "You wouldn't believe what just happened."
"Tell me! Tell me!" She sat on her bed and crossed her legs, eager to know what he had to say.