[A/N: Latest rewrite on Aug 24, 2022 ]
Exams were rough on students. But she supposed it ran teachers into their own share of troublesome things to deal with.
The thought flitted through Rifuta's mind as she took a moment to readjust her grip on the stack of notebooks in her hands. The pile went roughly up to her chin, and had threatened to topple as she stepped over the staff-room threshold.
Her lovely twin-tails bouncing in step with the light tip-tap of her shoes, Rifuta Imu kept a leisurely pace behind her homeroom teacher, who carried in her hands a similar sized stack, though not nearly as gracefully as her student did.
Homura-sensei was a woman with many good qualities, but elegance was not one of them. And neither was timeliness, apparently. The woman had finished grading their essays, the ones they had submitted three weeks prior, mind you, only this morning, and was in haste to return them before winter break.
For her purposes, she'd entreated an additional pair of hands to carry the load back from the staffroom. The boys were suddenly feeling very charitable towards sensei when Rifuta had volunteered, offering to go together, if not in Rifuta's stead. But the girl had declined their help. It was nice to go out and do things on your own every now and then, for appearance sake if nothing else. And it seemed a good note to wrap the semester on.
And so, with a firm grip in her dainty little hands, here she was, watching the third years slowly pour into the hallway as she idly followed after her teacher.
Some of the boys paused when they noticed her (as they should), on occasion even offering a hand, but enough just stopped at a cursory glance in her direction and that was it.
The lackluster reactions were as vexing as the fact that she might actually be getting used to them. In any other school, she'd be turning heads to the point of neck injury. In any other school, she'd have them worshiping the very ground she walked on.
Of course, that wasn't going to happen here. Or, at least, not to the same extent.
This wasn't just any other school. This was PK.
For an otherwise completely unremarkable school, in a completely unremarkable corner of Japan, it was her abode.
The Ethereal. The Illustrious. High Queen of PK. Its Resident Angel.
Teruhashi Kokomi.
Rifuta had known pretty girls before coming to PK. Models, Idols, the occasional pretty upperclassmen or classmate. None had measured upto Rifuta herself, but she had acknowledged their looks.
At one point, Rifuta wouldn't have put herself past being the prettiest girl in the entire Japanese Archipelago.
And then she'd come to PK.
Rifuta did not know what otherworldly forces were at work but she simply could not comprehend how the girl had managed to keep under the nose of the general public for all these years.
She made career actresses and glamor models look like wrinkled old ladies. It was like comparing a platypus to a crane.
You couldn't help but dreamily sigh the moment you caught sight of her. Boys especially, but girls didn't fare much better.
Teruhashi Kokomi had an incredible presence. It reminded Rifuta of a winter bonfire. It just washed over you, making you feel all warm and comfy.
She had a soft, melodic voice that wrapped around your heart like a cozy blanket. And try as she might, no perfume could ever quite replicate that delicate fragrance that followed the girl around; an inebriating scent that made you think of endless flower-fields in some exotic fairy-tale garden.
If you were around her enough, which you certainly were if you happened to be in the same grade, it just desensitized you to anything 'ordinary' pretty.
…Not, not that Rifuta would ever consider herself that.
But you get the point.
"-man, it's just not fair."
"I swear he left it behind on purpose."
"God, I'd kill to have Teruhashi-san pick up after me like that…"
Speaking her angel-descended-from-heaven of a senpai, she was, as she so often was, the talk of the town at the moment.
"Dude, at least you're in the same class as her!"
"Well, at least you were in the same class in your first-year!"
"Dude, I'm telling you. You gotta swap seats with me! I've never even been in the same class as her. I don't want to graduate like that!"
"Oh, cry me river."
"-Takahashi was telling me something the other day. Is it true Metori had bought off half your class for the seating lottery? So that he could get the seat beside her? How did he not get the seat?"
"Punisheth is he who looketh at fair lady with foul gaze."
"Shut up, Romeo."
What morons…
Rifuta resisted the urge to sigh. Fawning over another girl while the fantabulous Rifuta Imu stood right in front of their eyes…
She adored her senpai, but… Rifuta always did her best to doll up too, you know?
On the bright side, at least it was her own beloved senpai stealing the spotlight from her. It used to only be her senpai. As in, past tense. But that was a story for another time.
She couldn't quite help herself as she let out a little sigh.
Loosely minding the pieces of gossip being tossed around, Rifuta gave her teacher a quick glance before getting back to her ruminations.
From her vantage point, she could spot students beginning to pour into the courtyard. It'd been rather chilly outside this morning, but it'd gotten better over the day. Nevertheless, people clutched onto their mufflers for dear life.
Rifuta's eyes lingered for a moment at a specific place…
The exam had just finished, and she had just been putting away her stationery when she heard a very familiar voice shout from the courtyard. Naturally, she'd been one of the first to rush to the window. Kokomi-senpai never shouted. And certainly not loud enough to be heard from halfway across the school.
The rest of the class had soon joined her, and wondered out loud what might have been going on. They'd been too far for anyone to really hear what they were talking about, but for the most part, everyone chalked it up to Kokomi-senpai being her usual angelic self, and watching out for yet another PK denizen, fetching him something he'd left behind.
Rifuta knew better.
She knew what her senpai's relationship with the pink-haired boy was. What the pink-haired boy's relationship with the gyaru was.(Or at least Rifuta thought she did.) Even if she didn't have all the pieces, Rifuta knew enough to cast her verdict.
Kokomi-senpai should not be hanging around that guy.
…Rifuta did not like Saiki Kusuo. Not one bit.
Him. That dumb blonde. And that spirit-medium something guy always hanging around them. They were the total pervert trio. The complete lust incarnate package.
Rifuta had heard from the blonde (in explicit detail) about all the lewd things she was always upto with glasses. Up to that point, even if she had had a low opinion of Saiki Kusuo, she'd at least thought of him as harmless. No. More. She wasn't as well acquainted with the third member of their trio, but if even one-tenth of the rumors flying round school about him were true, she'd never let the boy within smelling distance of herself or her belongings.
God only knew how much perversion they'd subject her senpai to if she left them to their devices. The pink scumbag's galls to flaunt the lewd blonde in his arms in front of Kokomi-senpai like that…
*Internal Grrr noises*
If Rifuta had any say in the matter, she'd sooner let her senpai handle a cockroach than let her spend a moment in that boy's company. It'd be way too soon if she never saw the boy again in her life.
But, then again, that was just Rifuta's opinion. Despite all of her misgivings, Kokomi-senpai had feelings for Saiki Kusuo…
What did she even see in the guy? He was just so plain and boring and unpleasant, so uninteresting and unsociable. And her lovely senpai was just so bright and cheerful. It was a match made in hell.
And her senpai could do so much better. She could only pray that her senpai would come around in time.
On that cheery note, Rifuta raised a brow as she saw her sensei nearly collide with a bunch of students as she made round the corner. Frantically apologizing, the woman took a second to make sure she hadn't dropped anything before plowing onward. The boys glanced back at her for a moment, before getting back to whatever banal thing they must have been discussing prior-
Despite herself, she felt her eyes instinctively narrow. She recognized these boys.
"-You shouldn't hold it in like that, man. It's not healthy," the second tallest of the trio spoke in his usual rough baritone.
"I get it, I get it." The short one waved him off. "It's embarrassing. Let's just drop it, okay?"
"Heh-Heh!"
Geh. What a gross laugh.
Imperceptibly, though it was, Rifuta's eyes narrowed even further.
Kuboyashu Aren and Kaidou Shun were both notorious throughout PK in their own right. And yet somehow Nendou Riki's infamy still managed to eclipse the both of theirs combined.
Always had his fingers shoved into one orifice or another. Picked his nose like his life depended on it. Was always making weird gross faces. Calling him unappealing would be like calling Kokomi-senpai pretty. On the mark, but grossly, grossly underselling the fact.
It wasn't, however, his looks that actually bothered Rifuta. It did in part, but relative to herself, almost everyone was ugly by mere comparison. Being somewhat uglier than the rest wasn't enough of a reason for Rifuta to hold the boy in contempt.
No. She had a far more personal reason for that.
You see, while nowadays everyone and their mother liked to run their mouths about all the ways Rifuta fell short of her beloved senpai, prattle on (in freaking earshot) about how many light-years behind her she was in the looks department - even members of her own fanclub - it hadn't always been the case.
Believe it or not, there had once been a time Rifuta had actually commanded some dignity here at PK. She'd yet to encounter Teruhashi Kokomi, and the boys did nothing but sing praises of Rifuta, nevermind bring up another girl in front of her.
It had been none other that the insufferable twit that had burst Rifuta's bubble.
There had never been any buts when it came to describing Rifuta's looks before. She looked gorgeous, the end. Maybe the choice in adjectives were different, but the underlying meaning was always the same - she was dazzling, stunning, smashing, pretty beyond belief.
"-But she's got nothing on Teruhashi-san."
Looking back now, maybe that was the point when things had started to go downhill for Rifuta. All of a sudden, everyone had nothing but buts to say about Rifuta's appearance. Yes, she was pretty, but not as pretty as Teruhashi Kokomi. Yes she was cute, but not as cute as Teruhashi Kokomi. Yes she was absolutely angelic, but not as absolutely angelic as Teruhashi Kokomi.
…It had been a long road to coming to terms with that fact. Too long, even.
But she had. Eventually. That was just life. Just part-and-parcel to the blessing that was her wonderful senpai. That's how she'd eventually come to look at it.
What she hadn't come to terms with was the absolute disgrace she had met from Nendou Riki on that day.
Kokomi-senpai, she'd already forgiven long ago. How could she have not?
Even the other boys had at least had some tact, and Rifuta could forgive fools when they sometimes didn't.
Nendou Riki had all the tact of an ostrich trying to lay an egg on your head and Rifuta certainly couldn't forgive the smugness with which he had talked down to her.
While himself looking like that!
*Grrrrrrrrrr*
Saiki Kusuo was not winning any points from her for his choice of company.
Flicking her twin-tails over her shoulder in an exaggerated motion, Rifuta gave the three a wide berth.
"Chibi's only got book-smarts. You gotta take a dump before the exam so you won't needa go again," Nendou said way too smugly if he meant what she thought he did.
He did.
Rifuta tried not to let her grimace show.
Uncouth twit.
The pale-blue haired one seemed to have at least some sensibility. Reddening, "Where'd that even come from?" he whispered/shouted at the other two. "I just need to go pee, okay? You two, stop making such a big deal out of it! And Nendou, don't talk about gross stuff when we're in public!" he finished, his head looking around nervously, like he was worried someone might have overheard them.
Rifuta obviously pretended that she hadn't. As she had passed them, she had been just a teeny tiny bit miffed that the none of them had even bothered to notice her, but it seemed for the best-
"Ooh, it's that Teruhashi-san wannabe that hangs around Teruhashi-san."
She spoke too soon. And of course, it had to be Nendou.
"Yoo, whaz ya doing? Need any help?" he said, pointing to the stack in her hand.
"I'll be fine," she said just a little more testily than she had intended. Shrugging it off, Nendou continued graciously elaborating to the boys his toilet smarts.
Rifuta shook her head.
As she turned the corner, she took one final glance back at the courtyard, before tearing away her gaze, and picking up her pace.
"I hope you're doing alright, senpai..."
A faucet closed outside.
In front of her, rosy red lips softly arced into an effulgent smile. A dainty nose was perched above it, framed by expressive cheeks and a beautifully chiseled jawline. The light crinkle of her eyes were as resplendent as the infinite ocean blues of her eyes half-squinting back at her. The drape of her hair reflected colors of a glassy night sky.
Teruhashi Kokomi looked utterly perfect. Almost.
Her smile faltered a second later. Her posture slackened just a bit as she sighed.
Slowly inhaling, then exhaling, she clamped her eyes shut in concentration for a moment. Before snapping them back onto the delicate pocket mirror in her hand.
If you were paying enough attention, you might notice her softening the arc of her eyebrows, making the crinkles framing her eyes appear just a touch more relaxed and authentic. You'd notice her lace the curl of lips with a most subtle new playfulness. And you'd certainly notice the minor adjustment to the tilt of her neck that brought out the smile to its full destructive capacity.
Teruhashi Kokomi was presently in the second stall of the 2nd floor's girl's washroom, making faces to herself. Stowing away her little mirror, she leaned back into her makeshift chair.
...What was she doing?
Resisting the urge to sigh, she took her time reaching into her school bag, emerging with a memo-book in hand a few seconds later. She might as well get to what she'd originally come to do.
Kokomi, Focus.
Turning the memo-book the right side up, she flipped through the pages till she found the one she was looking for.
Inked at the topmost corner was the date. The 18th of December.
A grid was set on one side. 3-5. 3-4. 3-3. It counted down to 3-2. 3-1. 2-5. Going all the way to 1-1. Classroom numbers, surely. Pulling out her pen, she began adding tally marks next to 2-2 and 2-1. Two and three lettered words ran down the next column. Initials, you'd realize if you were somehow privy to the inner machinations of her mind.
Making quick work of the tallies, she began adding entries to the final column. Occasionally she circled one and jumped to the next page.
`-kun was sick yesterday too. Maybe follow up with his upperclassmen at his club? Ref #21B.2-` she jotted down idly.
It was after about five or so more lines were jotted down that her pen finally came to a halt, and she tucked it away into her breast pocket.
And she resisted another urge to sigh. She had been doing that a lot lately.
Was this… alright? Was it okay for her to be doing this right now?
…
…Why.
Why had Saiki Kusuo been in such a hurry?
It's not as if she couldn't understand the excitement that came with the end of school. But… was that all there was to it?
Where had he been going? Home? To a Cafe? To the arcades? Did he have plans for the break?
What was- What was Aiura-san doing there?
Why did he not wait for Nendou and the others?
What did he think of Kokomi calling him out in front of the whole school? That had been careless of her.
Did he not have anything he wanted to say or ask? About the manga he'd lent her? Did he not want to hear what she thought about it?
He'd been so indifferent the whole time.
…Why.
Why had she frozen up?
…Squeezing her eyes shut for a second, she reined in her face. She had started to grimace without realizing.
Resisting the urge to pull out her pocket mirror, she opted for a deep breath.
She traced the cool air as it traveled through her nostrils, pressing against her lungs and diaphragm. And after a short moment she softly let it out, along with her afflicting thoughts.
She still had business to tend to.
The first-years. Right. It was the main reason she'd sneaked away to the washroom in the first place. She'd dropped by all of the third-year class already, and all of the second-year classes save for one (which had yet to disperse for some reason). It was a sort of end-of-semester tradition for her, and the students obviously appreciated it.
Though in the case of the first years, there were still a couple whose names she had yet to fully memorize, and she could very much use a refresher before she paid them a visit.
Having reminded herself of her goal, she stowed away current memo-book, before reaching for the one she used for the first-years. Organized as she was, she found it easily enough. She also found a single stray piece of paper that fell out from her bag as she extracted the memo-book. Surprised, she nonetheless managed to pick it by the corners a few inches before it landed on the floor.
Huh. This piece of paper. It looked very familiar. It was the scented paper that she'd used to write to Saiki. Had she packed spares? She idly turned it over. She couldn't recall putting any-
Her eyes grew wide as she quickly scanned over the text.
There was no way…
Her letter to Saiki. This was the letter to Saiki. Everything, down to the little smudges she'd accidentally made on the bottom right-hand corner, were exactly the same.
Then, wait… She hadn't given it to him?
…How? Had it slipped out somehow? When? When she was running in the halls? When she was handing the manga back to Saiki?
Her mind raced.
*Aughhhhhh.*
Teruhashi Kokomi wasn't one to usually panic, but occasionally made exceptions.
*Aughhhhhhhhh!*
She had half a mind to jump out of the stall that very moment, and chase down the boy to wherever he might be, decorum be damned. She squashed the thought as quickly as it came. Of course she wouldn't do that. That was just the panic talking...
Still… She pinched the bridge of her nose.
What terrible luck.
Just when she thought she'd blundered enough already. Things always found new ways to go South whenever Saiki Kusuo was involved, didn't they? She almost felt as if she should have anticipated this.
Of course things wouldn't be that easy. It was never that easy when it came to Saiki Kusuo.
She gave a particularly long tired sigh.
Maybe it was the mood because of the end of the semester, but she felt all of her past frustrations with the boy bubbling to the forefront of her mind.
…The first time she'd really ever paid attention to Saiki Kusuo, it was when she'd run into him in the streets by accident during their summer break all those years ago.
She still remembered the whole thing rather clearly. He'd had in his hand a plastic bag filled to the brim with barley tea cans. He's probably wasting his entire break just watching TV, and drinking barley tea by himself, she'd thought. And she thought she might just make his day, maybe his entire summer, by giving him a bit of her time. She didn't even remember his first name back then, thought it was Kunio or something, but thought he'd be elated that she at least remembered him.
She remembered trying to talk to him, and when it looked like he was ignoring her, she remembered trying to figure out whether he thought she was an illusion, or if he was the illusion.
She remembered taking note whenever he was around since then. The times she'd run into him in the school hallway. The times she'd run into him in class. The people he interacted with.
She remembered being just a bit embarrassed when she realized she'd gotten his first name wrong, and remembered brushing up on all the details she could find on the boy going onwards. She remembered that time she'd met him on the street alongside Nendou and Kaidou, and it dawned on her that, yes, he was in fact not an illusion, and yes, she could not get him to Offu.
Everything after that… Well.
She remembered the one time she had followed the guys to that terrible Ramen shop. A perfect pretty girl wouldn't whine over food, she'd thought. She'd thought she'd show Saiki her adventurous side. And then she couldn't bring herself to eat Ramen again for another three whole months.
She remembered that time with their horrible mall date. He'd been the one to invite her, and she remembered thinking to herself, yes, she'd finally snared him. Only for him to be such a douche the whole time. One-sidedly pummeling her in arcade games. Dragging her through Otaku-wares of scantily clad figurines. And generally not giving a hoot about what she was feeling or where she might want to go. She'd almost completely given up on him by the end of it, only for him to suddenly drag her into the photo booth. For a second she'd almost thought that he was trying to feel her up. But no, he'd gone completely stiff after pulling her inside.
…Was he nervous, she had thought. Was he actually nervous the whole date?
Was it perhaps all a misunderstanding? Out of some poor, misguided attempt at a 'bad-boy' impression? Because he thought it would get girls to like him more? She wasn't sure what exactly had been up with Saiki Kusuo that day, but she'd gotten a glimpse into a side of him she'd never seen before, or since.
Then there was that time at the clothing store. She'd run into Saiki, Nendou and Kaidou while she'd been out shopping for clothes, and somehow it ended up in a game of dress-up. She'd played along, of course, and she'd even had some fun over it, but Saiki Kusuo had bailed right as his turn came along.
There was the time Chiyo had mistakenly assumed that Kokomi had a crush on Nendou-kun. (Why? Chiyo? Just Why?) The time her brother had gone over to Saiki's house to threaten him without her knowledge. (Makoto-nii! Augh!) The time she'd come to the Saiki household for cooking lessons, only to have to deal with the pesky neighbor's kid, Yuuta.
There was the time Saiko Metori had started harassing Saiki and his friends when she'd accidentally confessed that she liked him. That had been pretty careless of her.
That one time she'd gotten paired with Saiki for art-class, and she had had such a blast. Only to learn that Saiki'd drawn nothing of her.
The time she'd gotten jealous of Aiura and tried out all sorts of makeovers to get Saiki's attention. She'd gone gyaru, dyed her hair, changed her mannerisms. And she'd gotten nothing out of the boy at all.
Honestly, her life had been turned upside down ever since Saiki Kusuo became a part of it…
There was that one time she'd even tried asking him out to the amusement park herself, only to get mobbed by half the school. That one… it almost reminded her of today.
It had been the last day of the semester then too, hadn't it? She had somehow found Saiki Kusuo dangling off a window...
Despite her previous uneasiness, she found herself almost chuckling when she remembered that.
*...Fufu.*
It'd been so strange. The face he'd made when she caught him. And the way he had tried to play it off...
*Fufufu.!*
In the end, she'd never got to ask him what that had been all about, did she? Yet it stuck with her. Like a little secret, between just the two of them.
Her unease from moments prior seeped away just remembering it. Well, it almost did.
She'd... She'd failed to ask him out back then too, hadn't she? She had inadvertently let out a scream. And a whole crowd had shown up to check on her.
Things had worked out in the end, if only because of Kurumi-san. The woman had been so helpful over the phone, and they had somehow gotten the date to work. And though it'd been odd in the moment, she could definitely look back and laugh at the whole Cider-man mess that unfolded as a result.
Would Kokomi have to rely on Kurumi-san again?
Something… Something about that prospect made Kokomi feel just a little squeamish.
Despite herself, she couldn't completely keep the grimace off her face this time.
It was just that…
Had… had things really worked out, back then?
Yes, she'd gotten the date she wanted and all, but…
Did it really count as a win?
It was a thought that had reared itself from time to time.
...Everyone loved Kokomi. Everyone vied for her attention. People would kill to have just a second of her time. To just have her briefly acknowledge them.
Of course Saiki Kusuo would have been over the moon over a chance to go on a date with her.
Is what she would have thought. She wasn't so sure anymore.
Saiki Kusuo was a hard boy to read. Even when the rest of the class was up in fits over some funny joke, Saiki would be that one person who never cracked a smile. Even when the mood was festive as could be, and everyone was caught up in the moment, Saiki Kusuo never wavered. Not once.
There was a question bubbling inside of her. A ludicrous thought any other day. And yet.
How… How much of her company had Saiki Kusuo ever truly enjoyed? No, really. Was he really just bad at expressing himself, like she had originally figured?
Or...
He had shown up to their amusement park date with Yuuta, the neighbor's kid.
Why?
Was he just nervous about spending time alone with her?
Did it turn out like that just by chance?
What had been going on in his mind? He was fiddling with the camera the whole time, completely ignoring her. At least until she got dragged onto the stage.
Did he like taking pictures that much? She'd never seen him interested in photography before. Or since.
Would he prefer company if she asked him out on a date in the future? Like a double date?
Or would it be better to just ditch dates in favor of group outings? It'd still count as progress, wouldn't it?
And, most importantly.
Did Saiki Kusuo really enjoy himself on that date? Really? At all?
If it hadn't been for Kurumi-san that had compelled him to go, would Saiki Kusuo actually have accepted? Would he have wanted to go?
As kind and angelic as she knew the woman to be, Kokomi also knew Saiki dared not go against his mother in her more... forceful moods.
It had worked out in the end...
Had it?
What- What would it take for Saiki Kusuo to enjoy himself? What was a good date for Saiki Kusuo? Manga Cafes? Libraries? Arcades? Maybe, movies? Camping? Counting stars through a Telescope Lens?
...The past her would have scoffed at the idea of a dinner-table date. Hosting a Mangaka? Making someone else the star of her own date? That wasn't even a date.
And yet, she'd thought it was a good idea.
Had that been the best date idea she could come up with...?
And even it had fallen apart…
She would never admit to it, but there was a part of her that was scared at the prospect of relying on Kurumi-san again.
It would, after all, be the same as admitting that nothing had changed.
She'd already failed to ask him out in person. Again.
…After all those years of trying and failing, and trying again, and again, what did she have to show for it?
Why had she frozen up today?
Her. Of all people.
In front of him.
Of all people.
It wasn't as if the rest of the school would have overheard her... For all their rapt attention, they had been far enough.
Was it because of Aiura?
Was it because of Saiki?
Or was it something wrong with herself?
...Why couldn't she just come out and say it?
Her eyes clamped shut...
She wasn't sure what expression she was making at the moment. But, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to stay inside the stall anymore. Her hands made for the latch with an uncharacteristic urgency.
Bathroom latches were cold little things in winter, and it sapped the heat from her fingertips as she pried it off-
"Coward."
A cold jolt ran through her body. Her breath hitched.
For just a fraction of a second, an impossibly ludicrous thought popped into her head.
It vanished just as quickly as it had come, her rational side taking over.
Footsteps. She could hear footsteps. Shoes going tip-tap on the tiled floor, and that odd echo that you only ever get inside a washroom.
Four - no five - pairs of feet, she counted on instinct.
"It doesn't have to be today...," a voice, different from the first one, whined.
Kokomi stayed her hand. Slowly, soundlessly, she found herself settling back onto her seat.
"Maybe he's not even going to practice today?" another voice offered.
"No, no. I know that guy. He's definitely going. Doesn't matter that exams just ended. Baseball freak, that guy."
"Hey!" It was the second voice, the whiny one. "That's mean!"
Out of habit, Kokomi found herself trying to match the voices to names. The ones to use this particular washroom were mostly the second years. So…
"She has a point though," another voice interjected.
"Chizu," she said, and Kokomi got the impression that Chizu was the one who had been whining. While she mentally ran through all the Chizu's that she knew of, the girl continued.
"I know it's not exactly my business.. but I don't want you to keep hesitating and end up regretting it."
From the light rustling of clothes, Kokomi guessed the girl was giving Chizu either a hug or squeeze on the shoulders. "It's Taniyama-senpai's last year. He's only got one more Christmas left here, you know? You have to make the most of it."
"Exactly," another girl followed up. "Keep dilly-dallying and someone else will confess to him before you know it. Or worse... He'll confess to someone else!"
"That..." Chizu trailed off.
…Shinozaki Chizu liked Taniyama Hiroto from the baseball club. The girl was from 2-1, if she remembered correctly. Her friends seemed to support her, at least.
Kokomi filed the information away for later.
"Even if he doesn't, it's not like you'll be able to see each other much after he graduates..." It was the girl that had called Chizu a coward.
"It might be hard now... but believe me, once he graduates, it'll be just that much harder."
"She's speaking from experie-"
Kokomi heard what sounded like a whack, followed by a muted "Ow!".
"...That-That might be, but…"
Chizu seemed to struggle to find the words, but it was obvious enough that she wasn't keen on confessing.
It'll work out.
Would it?
All you can do is try your best.
Whatever that means.
Better to try and fail, than to wonder what could have been.
Or maybe that was too preachy?
Out of habit, Kokomi found herself imagining what she might say to someone in Chizu's spot if prompted…
Kokomi had seen girls in Chizu's position before. Second year students crushing on third years. The clock counting down on their affections.
What could she say?
"I don't want to confess..." She paused in her ruminations when the girl spoke up again.
"You don't have to force yourself, Chi."
A brief silence.
"But I don't want to regret not confessing even more..."
A sniff.
What sounded like a shake of the head.
The conversation came to a soft lull. A single pair of footsteps dispersed into the adjacent stall. Then another into the one on her other side. Some towards the faucets. Maybe everyone got the cue to back off a bit. Kokomi imagined the girls were reflecting on their words. They had good intentions, but she'd have tried a gentler approach in their shoes.
On a side note, it was a bit of a weird thing, but, Kokomi noticed that a lot of people made up their minds to confess over exam season. Maybe it was the stress and heightened emotions, or maybe it was the way that free time became scarce that got people to reflect about how they put their time to use. All the things you could have done, but just never bothered to, only for them to become things you could now never find the time to do, things whose circumstances would never again quite line up the way it once had for you, no matter how much you wanted it to.
Exams were hectic, yeah? Getting you to slave away at your desk was bad enough. It even made people meditate about life and the things they needed to do…
Kokomi found something tugging at her heart, her eyes wandering over to the letter she had meant to give to Saiki.
She wasn't sure what to do about it.
…But she sure wasn't just going to sit and do nothing. No way in hell.
A certain conviction re-ignited within her.
"I… forgot to ask, but how did you guys do the second to last problem by the way?" someone asked from outside. A decent enough way to smooth over the slightly awkward mood in the air. Kokomi approved.
A faucet closed outside. And she could hear a new conversation bud as the girls waited for the last of their numbers to join back. In time, the stall door next to hers opened. And then the one to the other side. More faucets opened and closed.
And in a minute they were leaving.
"-Y-you guys!" A girl burst into the washroom, panting and out of breath. "I thought I'd find you here!" There was an odd excitement in her voice.
"What's up, Rii? You look like you just finished a lap around school." Someone from the group replied.
"I-it's the fi-first-", she gasped for breath, "it's the first-years! A fight broke out!"
[Author's Notes:
I apologize for taking down and re-uploading chapters over and over but I finally got some Betas onboard, so hopefully I won't be subjecting readers to draft versions going forward.
Four more chapters to go before Teruhashi Kokomi's world falls apart.
And as always, thanks for reading. ]