Authoress' Notes: This will be the last update for a few days to a week. I have projects that I've procrastinated on... oop.


Todoroki-kun to Koi no Yamai

[5]

[ "Todoroki-kun is so aloof that you'll get nowhere if you let him set the pace!" ]

Mina was right. Shouto Todoroki had zero interest in her as a romantic partner so Kagome had to try if she wanted to be the one by his side. A high schooler trying to get noticed by her crush might be trite but Kagome wouldn't let her pride stop her anymore.

And she definitely wouldn't let Shouto get away with just saying her name.

No.

Kagome quickly slipped into her school shoes before jogging to catch up to her crush. "Todoroki-kun, wait up!" She called as she neared him.

To her surprise, for just a moment, he did.

Shouto paused to regard her again with an inscrutable expression.

He halted in his stride for a few seconds, just long enough for her to be in range of his inquiry, "You have business with me?"

Shouto couldn't determine why Kagome's smile dipped. It was reminiscent of his mother's lonely smiles from back then.

"Not really," Kagome admitted as her usual brilliant cadence returned. "I just wanted to talk to you." There was something freeing in being able to say such things openly.

One positive outcome of her confession was that she didn't have to disguise her actions.

"I see... Just don't get in my way," Despite the harsh nature of his words, the delivery was surprisingly systematic and lacked malice. It was as if those words were a default phrase.

Shouto's gaze clouded over as his expression became thoughtful. This was the first time that someone said something like that to him. He wasn't sure how to feel about it—or if he felt anything about it all. Amid his thoughts, he continued his trek towards their classroom with Kagome following suit.

With how much longer Shouto's strides were, Kagome had to put considerable effort to match his pace. From his peripheral, he noted how she clumsily tried to find the right pace to remain by his side until the growing crowd of students forced her to fall in place directly behind him.

The high from being acknowledged by ebbing as Kagome was reduced to trailing behind Shouto. The downward curve of her lips straightened before pursing in a suppressed pout. 'Oh, great... I definitely can't talk to him like this,' She thought as her eyes remained on the back of his head.

In this position, she felt more like a fangirl than a romantic interest.

Still, it wasn't all bad.

Today was still the first time that Shouto responded to her greeting so that was definitely a victory.

And while Shouto didn't shirk her advance, he also didn't make it easy for her, so that felt like a loss.

She would call it even and consider it a draw.