She's imperfect, you hear?! But why does she look so perfect?!
Minoru Rayuki. First year and 16 years old. Born with dark blue hair paired with eyes of the same color. I'm not that tall -I'm about 5"7'-, so I can't boast about it. My build isn't that good, so I can't be proud of it either.
In terms of physical abilities and academics... well, I get average grades with contrasting stamina. I'm quite frail with just a two-kilometer run. Lame, isn't it? I was never the perfect student. That's why I was always not proud of who I was.
Until I met her.
Nishikino Maki. A girl so rich that she studies in a top-rate all-girls school. Near-perfect grades, amazing athletic ability, perfect body. Everything was almost in her.
Thing was, she's a really rude woman. She's mostly an anti-social, so she doesn't quite hang out with people. She gives people these cold gazes and comments rude things about everything she sees. I was one of her victims. She avoids me like I was something lower than a cockroach. Not just that, she also picks on me as if I was a clueless child. You could say it was hate at first sight.
Yes, I admit all of my flaws, but I am certainly not an animal. I have my rights to be treated like a human, just like I've always treated her. It's just that she doesn't return the honor, and it irritates me right to the core.
She's rude, she's an anti-social, she's a show-off, she's irritating, she's a critic, she's mean, she's never my type, she's amazing, she's down-to-earth pretty, she's irresistably cute, she's all-around perfect. Imperfectly perfect, to be precise. This is why I hate her.
I don't remember much, but this is my story; a story of how the cool and rude Nishikino Maki played into the hands of love.
Secretly enough, I was once, and am in the Light Music Club, and I've spent my time in instruments long enough to play them all with ease. I play the flute, violin, piano, trumpet, acoustic guitar, and many others. I was just the average person everybody in school knew, so I decided I find something I could be special in, thus my love for music.
To be honest, we at the Light Music Club don't hold concerts. I figured the other members were too shy to do it. But we still held other activities as a club.
We remained the same until our last year in middle school. Members left the club one by one until two of us were left. Hair so scarlet, purple slanted eyes, lips so perfect, and her fingers were skilled at the piano. We were friends playing classical music together until I heard she quit because her parents told her to take up more on medicine.
Since then, I played music on my own. I composed my own songs until I got the courage to hold my own classical concert on the last day of middle school. Not many students came, but I managed to filled up half of the seats with my skill in the piano.
I was passionately playing the piano even in summer vacation. I somehow performed my own songs at guerilla concerts with the modern keyboard, and I attracted lots of passers-by. Well, it was definitely entertaining, but those guerilla concerts were my way calling that crimson-haired girl back in my presence.
In the end, I failed.
So I waited instead. In complete certainty that she would return, I waited. But her return didn't even pass, so I graduated middle school without her.
I was walking blindly to school when I bumped into someone; a girl, most probably. I fell easily to the ground, while the girl just tripped but her balance with remarkable. I looked up to see the girl whom I bumped into. Just then did I notice the peculiar crimson, shoulder-length hair. Along with purple slanted eyes and teenage features, I could think of the most probable name of the girl.
"Nishikino Maki..." I muttered, with all anger in my voice.
Maki snickered and placed a hand on her hips, adjusting her bag right after. "If it isn't Rayuki. You know, my name shouldn't be the only thing you should burn in your head. Think about studying from time to time. Your grades are worse than the dumbest girl in your class."
"I'm sorry, but could you please move out of the way? If I'm that low to you, then talking to me makes you just as low, right?" I shot. Maki grimaced at my comeback, and I gotta say I should have taken a picture. I mean, she was utterly speechless. I smirked to this and stood up. I dusted my clothes and walked past her without glancing back. That felt awesome. My very first comeback ever since that girl came around.
"Oi, Minoru-kun! Right here!" some of my fellow club members called. I ran to them and talked with them as we walked our way to our own classrooms. All of them were different classes as me, so I didn't have anyone with me in class.
I walked inside mine and sat on my seat, which was in the middle of the front row. I then rested my head on my crossed arms on the table while waiting for our homeroom teacher walked in.
"We have a tranferee joining with us today," our teacher, Fukawa-sensei, announced with a bright face. "She's from Otonokizaka Academy, so I expect all girls get along with her. As for the boys, you can do it." Her cheer has put the boys in a darker mood, unfortunately. "Moving on, here she is! Come on now!" she urged, and the student followed. She walked in, and all the students' spirits were lifted so high. The girls marveled, and the boys went crazy as their moods were lifted all so suddenly. Except me of course, who did the opposite reaction when the girl entered the room. Well, she did the same thing in turn.
Who can blame me? I mean, it's Nishikino Maki!
"What the hell?!" I yelled as I pointed an index finger. "Sensei, is this snobby rich kid really the transferee?!"
"What the hell?!" she yelled after. "Sensei, is this hissy fitty virgin really in this class?!"
"Shut up!" we both yelled at each other after having found out that we've ranted in unison.
"Ah, I believe I can't find any more seats besides the one beside Minoru-kun..."
"Sensei, are you listening?!" me and Maki shouted in unison. "Is this- WHAT?! I'M SITTING BESIDE HIM / SHE'S SITTING BESIDE ME?! No way!"
"... Then there's no helping it. Why don't we have a draw on a new sitting position?" Fukawa-sensei suggested, and the whole class agreed. Must be because everyone wants to have a move on Maki. Gross.
We each took a paper from a shaken box, and it would decide the seat we were in. We were told in advance that we weren't allowed to trade seats or it would be a violation on rules.
We began the raffle, and the results were: Maki in the back-right corner, and...
Me beside her.
Guess what? I got the following items: a frustrated Maki, daggers from the guys' glares, and... a death threat.
This day can't get any worse.
Bad atmosphere, check. Almost everybody holding grudges against me, check. An annoyingly annoying seatmate, check. My head more focused on the whole class than the lesson, check. That was certainly enough to put me in a bad mood.
Well, class has already ended, so I managed to calm myself down and left the room. Thinking my clubmates would be able to calm me down, I rushed to the Light Music Club to meet with them, but my mood became much worse when I entered the room.
Nishikino Maki was present and sitting on a chair like a lady.
"Ah, Minoru-san! Meet our newest member!" presented the president of the club. "Her name is-"
"No need to mention, president," I interrupted, my voice as deep as possible. "I know who she is."
"Then we wouldn't have to worry about the introductions," the president laughed. "How about we show her what we have as the Light Music Club through a performance? Let's start it off with [START:DASH!] by μ's."
All of a sudden, Maki gasped, but regained her posture before we grabbed our instruments. I was the lead vocalist and guitarist for no real reason at all, except for the fact that everyone thinks I was fit for the role. Another held the bass, another for the piano, and another for the drums. We also played background instruments like trumpets and lyres to make the music a bit classical.
The drummer held the signal and hit both brumsticks three times before all of us hit on our instruments. Seconds passed before I took my part.
I say
Hey, hey, hey START:DASH!
Hey, hey, hey START:DASH!
Ubuge no kotoritachi mo
Itsuka sora ni habataku
Ookina tsuyoi tsubasa de tobu
Akirameccha dame na nda
Sono higa zettai kuru
Kimi mo kanjiteru yo ne
Hajimari no kodo
Ashita yo kaware
Kibou ni kaware
Mabushii hikari ni terasarete kaware
START!
Kanashimi ni tozasarete
Naku dakedo kimi ja nai
Atsui mune kitto mirai wo
Kirihiraku hazu sa
Kanashimi ni tozasarete
Naku dake ja tsumara nai
Kitto (kitto) kimi no (yume wo)
Chikara (ima wo) ugosaku chikara
Shinjitteru yo, dakara start
Hey, hey, hey START:DASH!
Hey, hey, hey START:DASH!
We sang the other parts of the song before we finished. The way we ended the song was pretty impressive, if I must say. Maki herself clapped, to which I myself didn't know why.
"You all did a good job on the song," Maki started commenting. "I myself am surprised on how you managed to find μ's despite it being 999th in the list."
"It was Minoru-kun who discovered them," a member admitted for me.
"Minoru, huh..?" Maki looked at me suspiciously, her slanted eyes thinning even more. She immediately recovered from that and continued. "Anyways, the syncing of the trumpet was a bit off, but all in all, I was amazed."
The member -a second year, to be honest- who was holding the trumpet nodded and smiled at Maki. "Thank you, Nishikino-san," the president said. "That might be all for our activities. We might hold a concert for songs soon, you know."
"Oh? What song will you be playing?" Maki asked while resring her cheek on her hand.
"We will choose original compositions within Minoru-kun's list," the president answered. "As a composer and professional songwriter, he's fit to be our lead."
"Ha?!" Maki reacted and slammed her hands on the table before standing up. "Rayuki, a composer and songwriter at the same time?! Obviously a lie! Since when?!"
All of my clubmates were speechless. I'd bet on the fact that she didn't believe what the president said.
"Blowing off steam just because I'm lead?" I confronted. "Nishi-aho Maki, I've been writing songs and lyrics since middle school."
"Ni-Ni-Nishi... aho?!" Maki shouted, grimacing at my nickname for her. "Tch. Whatever." She grabbed her bag and started to leave the room. "If you'll excuse me." She forced the door open and slammed it shut.
My clubmates were staring at me as I looked at each of them, one by one. They were speechless. None of us talked until all of them looked at each other and laughed.
"What..?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"Not a single one of us has seen you this rebellious before," our drummer, still holding his drumsticks, spoke up while his arms were crossed. "I mean, there was not a single one of us could trigger even a bit of anger in you."
"Yeah, I must agree," the president followed while wiping a tear from too much laughing. "This is the first time we've seen you angry, in general. In all times we've seen you, you were calm yet positive."
This Minoru Rayuki? Angry? I won't say it's anger. I'm pretty much pissed.
I was left alone after a few minutes so that I could focus on composing more songs. I opened the club's piano and removed the cloth covering the keys. I sat down and stretched my hands before wriggling them. I then pressed some keys to test out some possible implicable to the song. If that note was acceptable, I wrote it to my notebook and continued. I had some ideas coming to me, and I somehow finished half of the song, though it took my thirty minutes, so I called it a day and packed up.
As I stood up, I heard the door open and entered Nishikino Maki. I glanced at her, but continued packing.
"Is there anything you might have forgotten?" I asked, my voice as calm as I can force it to.
"N-No, I've never forgotten anything. I just... I... I..." Maki stuttered, and sighed to calm herself. "I want to apologize. Well, it's not like I want to do so, but it's... you know... your clubmates told me to."
"... Hmmm..." I sounded, thinking deeply on how I should react to it. "To be honest, I do think I want you to make up for it."
"... If that's what you want, whatever," Maki answered. "So? What is it?"
"Play the piano with me as we talk," I said. "Maybe that'll make me forgive you."
"... That's all? If so, then I wouldn't mind," Maki gave in and picked up a chair to sit beside me. I sat down myself and told her that we'd play the first six etudes on Chopin.
I played the melody as she did the assist. While we were playing through the song, Maki asked me, "So what did you want to talk about? I'm quite in a hurry, so I'll leave once the song is over."
I asked Maki, "Could it be that you composed the melody of [START:DASH!]?"
Maki paused from playing and faced me before continuing in a rushed pace. "... How did you know?"
"You gasped when Prez told you we were playing the song. And to think you'd tell me that μ's was 999th place first before my clubmates would, told me that you've had connections with them before coming here."
"Oh, so that's what it was," Maki sighed. "You sure are analytical for someone stupid."
"Oh, stop it, will you?" I whined while my fingers were tickling the keys. "But why did you transfer here? You could've been their composer."
"Don't even think of elaborating it," Maki warned. "I'm not into idol-related things. And besides, composing is a pain. Spending hours creating a four-minute song gives me headaches, so I'd rather not sacrifice it for something worthless."
Suddenly, I was laughing. Laughing so hard that my fingers were barely touching the keys.
"That it?" I teased, and stopped playing. "I don't think it's spending too much on a whistle. With songs like [START:DASH!], performing with them could've made you famous."
Maki seemed engorssed. "Wha-?! No way! I won't be acting cute in front of millions. It's too embarrassing. Even if I want to, I can't do it. It's impossible."
"Oh, I have an idea!" I bursted. "Why don't you do a Nico Nico Nii?"
"What on earth is that?!"
"Look at this," I suggested and brought out my phone. I tapped on a video and showed someone with black hair tied into pigtails, along with red eyes. The video started playing and the girl did the phrase "Nico Nico Nii~".
After the video finished, Maki stood up and stepped back. "Wh-what on earth...?!" she stuttered.
"Do it," I dared. "You want to do it, right? Being an idol, I mean."
"Even if I do, I can't do that," she denied.
"Come on," I insisted. "It's training in the least."
"... Fine," Maki gave in and did the pose. "Ni-Nico... Nico Nii-ii~"
"Again," I commanded.
"Whaaat?! Once is already enough!" Maki confronted.
"I mean, your embarrassed face is already cute, but don't you think the person who did went through that same face before getting used to it?" I shot.
Maki didn't speak for a few minutes until she said "... I'll practice, at least... Thank you..." while blushing.
"Ah, you're welcome..." I muttered and looked away as I looked at my wristwatch. "An hour has passed. Aren't you supposed to go home?"
"?! A-ah, I won't mind if you'll insist on letting me stay..." Maki said.
"Will I, now..?" I muttered sneering at Maki before coming up with another decision. "Well, I wouldn't mind if you decide to stay."
"This is why I don't get you sometimes," Maki complained. "... A-Anyways, if you need help on the song you're composing, I wouldn't mind helping..."
"And I wouldn't mind if you decide to help," I shot back, in a teasing manner this time.
"So you don't need my help?!" Maki shouted.
"And you won't be honest with yourself and help?" I was fully teasing Maki by contrasting her sentences. We spent all afternoon arguing, but I had fun teasing her.
Maki does have a flaw. Seeing that flaw made her look cuter.
"... This is a waste of time," Maki whined. "But before I leave... I wanna ask a question..."
"... What could it be?" I asked.
"I-If I do become an idol... will you be my fan..? I mean, you're just singular, so you're not the only one I'll ask this, got it?!"
"Oh..." I sounded, utterly surprised by her question. She was blushing while asking, so I couldn't help but look away and blush myself. "I mean, I can be a fan of yours, if you insisted..." I muttered, trying to hide a little smile.
And it started yet another argument between us.
From that day onward, I went to school in a normal mood, as if the incident yesterday was a product of my imaginative mind. About a week later, I met up with my fellow club members and planned our activities.
"Oh, Minoru-kun," one of my clubmates called. "How was yesterday with Nishikino-san?"
"Eh?! You knew about that?!" I raised my voice, in utter surprise.
"Of course we do!" President said as if I should've expected this one coming. "Walls have ears too, you know?"
"Though in the end, they never get along, huh..? Almost like an imperfect perfection," another member added.
"I know, right?! They're like strawberry and cheese, aren't they?" another agreed.
"Nope. More like tomato and lettuce," yet another one argued.
"Maybe like fire and water," President concluded. "But let's keep it to the point that they don't mix that well, but when mixed together, they make the perfect pair."
"Stop it guys... seriously..." I grumbled as my mood got destroyed by my own comrades.
When I got to enter my room, the first thing I looked at was Maki's empty seat. No one can possibly ignore the fact that the punctual Nishikino Maki was this late in the morning.
Our homeroom teacher came in and told us to sit down so that she can make her important announcement. "Well, Nishikino-san is absent today because she has to attend to something very important. She says she'll be back tomorrow, but for now, let's excuse her and continue with today."
Me and my clubmates had another meeting at our clubroom so that we can view on what to perform at our upcoming concert.
"So it's gonna happen anytime soon, huh..." I muttered and smiled as I skimmed through the compositions I made, then realized something while doing so. "What? I know I prepared seven compositions, but somehow six are here."
"Hmmm, that's strange... And as my memory serves, I think the title of the stolen piece was [Korekara no Someday] or something like that," a member guessed. I widened my eyes as I looked again.
"It's not just what your memory serves... It really is [Korekara no Someday] that was stolen," I concluded. "But who on earth would-?! ..." Then I lowered my head as I've come to an answer.
"Who? I mean, only club members can- ... I think I'm getting your drift, Minoru-kun," a member agreed, and seemed to follow my expression.
"What's the meaning of all this? You don't mean..." the President said in reluctance.
"Yes, she's the only probable person," I confirmed.
"How could she...?!"
"How dare she...?!"
"Well, we can't put all suspicions on her if she- Wait... it all adds up..!" I slowly raised my head along with my voice.
"What do you mean?" President asked.
"You see," I started, "Maki was absent from school today, because she had something important to attend to. Following the stolen piece, she must be using the composition in the next song of μ's."
"What...?! You mean, she literally stole your piece for her own good? She can't be..." President denied as he fell to his knees. Tears started flowing out of his eyes as he fell deeper into misery.
I couldn't blame him. Not only did Maki betray his trust, but she also took important club material.
"Now it's strictly put into copyright, and we can't do that song anymore," I traced the path this result has led us. "Let's just put that song aside and-"
"How dare she?!" a member interrupted. "Such an amazing song in which Minoru-kun put so much effort in, taken that easily?! I... I can't and won't forgive her!"
"Yeah! If they were to do such things, they should've given Mino-san credit for being songwriter and composer! This is stealing original copyright!"
"C-Calm down, guys..!" I attempted. "It's just one song! I can-"
"Even so, you spent hours on it! The song was epic, and now it's thrown into another person's hands!"
"... There's no need to dwell on despair," President chided. "We'll report this to the student council president. That way, she can't get materials from us anymore." So they left together and went for the office. I was left behind staring at the pieces left in the list.
I didn't know what to feel by then, because all was happening while I was helplessly looking at something long lost.
The next morning did I know that Maki already knew about the stolen piece, which was shown in her actions. Homeroom, she didn't even take a glance. During classes, she never bothered picking up her materials which fell on my seat. Lunch, she passed by my table but walked away immediately. Up until dismissal did she not notice me looking at her. I couldn't take it.
Right when she left the classroom, I picked up my materials and chased after her. I ran with all my might just to catch up with Maki. She ran after realizing that I was chasing her. We chased each other until we were almost past the school gates, where Maki tripped on a broken tile. My momentum never decreased, so I bumped into her, and we fell with Maki below me.
Maki was flustered about this as tears started flowing out of her eyes. I on the other hand, was wheezing so hard from all that running. I soon fainted in front of her. Not that much romantic, huh?
I woke up looking at a white ceiling. I looked around and saw five people looking at me, white curtains as their background. I came to realize that this was the infirmary. I focused on the five people, who were suprisingly my clubmates.
"Ah, Minoru-kun, you're awake," President noticed.
"What happened..?" I asked them as I rose from the bed. From dizziness, I was forced to press my forehead.
"... You should ask Nishikino-san," a member, pointing at the infirmary door, indirectly answered. "She brought you here. But you shouldn't-"
"Thank you," I said before finally rising from the bed and stumbling outside. "I'll talk to her."
"Minoru-kun! You can't-!" a member tried to stop me, but someone stopped her. President did.
"Minoru-kun, go for it," President permitted. "I don't understand what kind of relationship you have with her -which has kept us arguing about for hours-, but if you really have the passion to maintain such a relationship, then do whatever the hell you want. You're the leader, after all." He smiled at me and nodded once. "We'll stay here. A member has had overstreched fingers."
"Thank you," I said again and opened the doors.
Waiting for me beside the door was none other than Maki. She was leaning on the wall and her legs were folded on her stomach. She sobbed while clenching her teeth. Something must've happened while I was unconscious, because it wasn't like her to cry for so long.
"... Can't be helped, right..?" I could hear her mutter. "I... It was for the best, right..? I did what I could, right..? But... why...?! What should I do now..?"
"Maki..." I called out and reached a hand out. Maki flinched and looked at me. Her tears were marked on her cheeks as new one kept flowing. "What's wrong?" I added after.
"Rayuki..." Maki called back, but then wiped her tears quickly as she stood up and ran away. This time, I got her wrist just in time to catch her.
"What's wrong, Maki?" I asked again, in a more serious tone. "You aren't yourself."
"I don't know what part I play in everybody else's lives," Maki said out of the blue. "But when I assisted you to the infirmary, your friends called me an idiot for making you run."
"Even though it was my choice to run after you..." I muttered. "I'll go back inside and tell that person to apologize-!"
"No!" Maki screamed and grabbed hold of my wrist. I turned around and saw Maki about to cry. "You don't need to. Even though you chose to run after me, I was still at fault for making you choose to run... It's my fault everyone's mad at me. It's my fault for the trouble caused in the club. It's-"
"Not your fault!" I confronted. Maki's teary eyes widened in surprise and looked at me.
"O-Of course it's mine!" she shouted, sobbed, and fell on her knees. "I never wanted to exit this school without making any friends. I never wanted this to happen in the first place. But... the friends I just found are... I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have chosen to be an idol. I shouldn't have done anything in this school. By then, your club shall be at peace, and no one should've gotten hurt. No should've been-"
"Hush!" I cut her off and hugged her out of impulse. She fought, but I tried my best not to let her go. "You talk like you're against the whole world. You talk as if the world doesn't like what you do. But not when I'm around!"
"Eh?" Maki stopped struggling and looked up at me.
"Didn't I promise? I'll be your fan, no matter what happens. Your number one fan is right here, ready to accept you with open arms. Even if the whole world is against you, I'll always be cheering you on."
I hugged her tight as we stayed in the same position for seconds. Maki reacted first by wiping her tears.
"What was that just now?" she whined through hiccups. "Those was the corniest words of support I've ever heard of. And promising to be by my side is... hard to believe. In that state of yours, will you really be able to-?!"
"I'll surpass my limits just for that!" I insisted. "I might be angry right now because you stole something dear to the club, and I might be harsh, but in the end, I couldn't stay angry at you. After all, I'm your fan, and will always be." I smiled at her.
"... Gross," Maki grumbled and looked away.
"Eh? After all that air I breathed in just to tell my true feelings, and you call that gross? What's with you?" I grimaced and pulled away from the hug.
"Of course! And we're in the open halls, for pete's sake! Couldn't you have done your confession somewhere a wee bit better?"
"You were going to reject me, even if I invited you! Where else can I take an opportunity except seeing you off guard in front of the infirmary door?!"
"You have the weirdest timings ever! And here I thought you were amazing in pleasing girls just like how you were with the piano back in middle school..."
"Huh? You mean, you were there?"
"Who wouldn't know about you? You were called Guerilla Keyboard back in the days. You would pop out anywhere near Akiba. Don't tell me you also forgot middle school itself...?!"
"Wait... you mean, you remember who I was?"
"Of course. I was amazed with your piano skills back then. I couldn't forget your concert back then."
I widened my eyes as I came to realization that Maki was actually the same middle school girl whom I had admired for her piano compositions.
"Macchan... MACCHAN?!"
"Took you weeks to remember me, Rayuki," Maki complained, but hugged me after. "Too late to take back your words, right? And I can still use the composition, right?"
"O-Of course! I-If it's Macchan..." I muttered as I hugged back, and we were passionately trapped in each other's embrace.
"Yo, Minoru-kun!" President called. "I heard μ's rose their ranking by a hundred. And I must say... Their version of [Korekara no Someday] was not half-bad, and-"
"Sorry, Prez!" I interrupted as I rushed to change to casual clothes. "I'll send regards to Maki, and will report to her your comment, but I'm rushing here! Oh, and I'll be back in time for the concert, so don't worry!"
"Huh, so you really are the imperfect perfection," President commented sneering at me before I left the room.
Yeah, I was rushing for a meeting. Yes, a "meeting", not a "date". It's been weeks since that argument. Maki kept the song [Korekara no Someday] which earned the group another million views and good feedbacks, though she was never in it. She decided to never join the group for reasons she couldn't tell. μ's has also raised a rank from 999 to 501 ever since their recent video. You could say the increase of members also increased their popularity. Maki also gave me the credit of writing all of the song, which gave me a mini heart attack.
Regarding her current school, it was still in my school. My classmates threw a party at this, but were about to kill me when Maki announced that we were going out.
Oh, about the Light Music Club's upcoming concert, we were going to continue it. I compensated for the lost song by composing a new one, and assured that no one will be able to take it next time. It was entitled [Takaramonozu], which we will be preforming a few hours later after the said meeting.
I ran towards the monument near the school, where Maki and I were supposed to meet at, before eating at a café. Maki was there in her long, light blue dress and a cream-colored cardigan over it and white flats to coordiate with the cardigan. She was also wearing stockings to go with the season, along with a white scarf.
Without me taking my gaze off her, Maki said, "You're late, Rayuki. That's a fail on punctuality, you know."
I was surprised hearing about it, and denied her statement with, "Wait, Maki! I-"
"What's done is done, Rayuki," she cut me off. "Out of ten ideal personalities in my standards, you should pass at least eight. One is a fail. Let's see what else you can fail at~" she teased.
I grumbled, but gave in. "Fine," I said.
"Oh, you immediately pass the general test," Maki gasped on purpose and placed a hand in front of her gaped mouth.
"Wait. I passed?" I confirmed.
"Well, I guess you do," Maki agreed and kissed me on the cheek. "I'd go with any guy who can take a harsh girl like me." She giggled and continued. "How about you treat me to crepes? I might just give you something better than a kiss on the cheek." She smirked and looked at me with sassy eyes. "Or do you not have the guts to do so?"
I agreed, and she ran off laughing like a child. I followed behind, a hand in my pocket, the other touching the cheek which Maki kissed. She was sneaky to have done that. It was pretty much like her, though.
I mean, she's sassy. She had high standards. She's demanding. She's easily bored. She was never my type in the first place. But she's pretty. Cute. Beautiful. Delicate.
All those imperfections made Maki perfect. All those imperfections made the Maki that played into the hands of love.