Chapter 37 – Lessons in Love
Himeko's POV
"Hirasawa-san…Hirasawa-san…"
"*moan* Huh? Hime-chan? What are you *yawn*…in my room?"
"Wh-What? No. Hirasawa-san, this is our classroom. We're at school."
"Huh?" Hirasawa-san sat up and looked around the area. Eventually realizing that she is in fact at school. "Oh~. I see…I guess I was so relaxed that I started believing that I was home." She rubbed the back of her head. "Kinda crazy huh, Hime-chan?"
"Yeah…that is kinda crazy."
And only something you would do, Hirasawa-san…
"So. What's happening right now?"
"Right now, it's lunchtime. The others left without you. So, I've been here trying to wake you up."
"Aw! Thanks, Hime-chan!" Hirasawa-san cheered as she hugged me greatly. Causing me to react with the fullest blush on my face.
Oh, my God! She's hugging me! Holy crap, she's hugging me! *internal squeal* This is both heaven and hell!
"You truly are a good friend for doing that! I totally appreciate it!"
"Y-Yeah…s-sure thing, Hirasawa-san. J-Just uh…y-you know…d-don't keep the others waiting, okay?"
"Okie-doki, Hime-chan!" Hirasawa-san did a salute. "See you later!" She then ran out of the classroom with full spirits to meet up with the others. Giving me a chance to relax.
"*sigh* Sweet torturous bliss…" I said as I slumped down in my chair.
"You're pathetic, you know that?"
"As if you can do any better." I then retorted to one of our classmates. Her name being Yoko Sasaki.
"Please. After watching you crash and bomb with Hirasawa-san AGAIN, I know I can do better. I have it within me."
"This is coming from the girl who's had an obsessive crush on Akiyama-san since day freaking one and STILL hasn't had the guts to confess to her."
"H-Hey, it is NOT obsessive!" Yoko yelled at me with a full blush on her own. "You just don't appreciate the sheer beauty and amazement that is Mio Akiyama. Her smarts, her cuteness, her serious tone whenever she beats Tainaka-san in the head…"
How is that last one admirable?
"…taking that all into account is the perfect strategy to confess to her. I mean, I didn't join the Mio Akiyama Fan Club for nothing, you know."
"Isn't that club filled with stalkers?"
"NO!" Yoko then went silent for a bit. "W-Well, okay, yes. B-But I don't do it as much as the others. I don't wanna look like a creep to Akiyama-san."
"But you are a creep."
"Sh-Shut up!"
"Honestly, you're both pathetic." Said another one of our classmates as she walked up to us. Her name being Mika Saeki.
"What's it to you, Mika?" I said to her. "We're only two teenage girls in love."
"Yeah, as if you know what we're dealing with." Yoko added.
"I may not relate to what you're dealing with, but even I know that the way that you two are handling your crushes is sad and, in Yoko's case, often questionable."
"Wh-What's wrong with admiring your crush from a distance with people who share your love interest for that same person?"
"Everything!" Mika and I gained huge sweatdrops.
"Hmph. You two just don't get it."
So, to go back on details a little bit…Yoko, Mika, and I have been friends since childhood. And have dealt with each other's antics for just as long.
For one, Yoko is often known as a gentle and quiet girl. But whenever she becomes fixated on something, the world around her disappears. Making it nearly impossible for anyone to get her to come back to reality.
She's also one of only two girls in the class to be a member of that Mio Akiyama Fan Club mentioned earlier (the other being Manabe-san, for…some reason). And she takes that club to heart. Sometimes a bit too much.
Mika, on the other hand, is as "down-to-earth" as you can get. And she's often admired for it. She's on the Volleyball team and, like me with softball, often competes in games and tournaments and goes on training camps and stuff like that. Often leaving Yoko on her own at times.
Also, she's into princesses. A lot. And because of that, she can easily be referred to as the girly one between the three of us. Despite her denying it to the grave.
Like I said, the three of us have been friends for a very long time. And are pretty happy that we've been getting to spend our high school days together. Especially since we have no idea where college will take us.
But as for right now, two of us are struggling to confess to our secret crushes and the other one is ridiculing us for it. Just as normal friends do…
…
…K-Kinda.
"Weren't you getting advice from Kotobuki-san about how to confess to someone?" Mika asked me.
"I am. But with Kotobuki-san dealing with her…personal problems these past six months, I never got to ask her for any more advice. So, I've been in a runt for a good long while."
"I see."
"Hey, Himeko. Did that advice actually work?" Yoko asked. "Maybe I could try them out."
"What happened to taking into account her smarts, her cuteness, and her serious tone whenever she beats Tainaka-san in the head?"
"That's taking too long. I wanna confess to Akiyama-san already and we've only got 8 months of high school left."
"That's true…" I gained a sweatdrop. Realizing that it's the same time limit I got for confessing to Hirasawa-san.
"Ugh. Bon putain de chagrin...even though it's been 8 months since coming here, I still haven't resisted Mugi's sweets. Just what the hell does she put in those things?"
"Hmm…I think I got an idea." Mika said after we watched Miharu-san walk into the classroom with a look of shame on her face. "Hey, Miharu-san. Come here for a second."
Mika, what are you planning?
"Hey, guys. What's up?" Miharu-san asked as she walked up to us.
"So, with you being from France, you know a lot about romance, right?"
"Well, they don't call Paris the Love Capital of the World for nothing. Why the sudden question, though?"
"I was wondering if you could give some advice to these two lovestruck loons over here. They could really use it."
"Huh? Himeko and Yoko? You two are in love with someone?"
"U-Uh…" I stuttered.
"W-Well…" Then Yoko stuttered.
"Come on. Just say it, you two." Mika said to us. "If you don't say it to Miharu-san, then how are you gonna do it for real down the road?"
She does have a point…
Yoko and I looked at each other with nervous looks on our faces. Then, after taking a deep breath, we finally did it.
"H-Hirasawa-san…" I said.
"A-Akiyama-san…" Yoko said.
"S-Seriously?! You two have crushes on Yui and Mio?!"
We both slowly nodded with light blushes on our faces.
"It's been this way since day 1 of high school." Mika explained. "And now, 2 years later, they still haven't done it."
"I see…Well, sure. I could help you guys. What do you wanna know?"
"Well…" I thought for a moment. "…Is there a way to be straight-forward and serious with the confession while still being truly honest about your feelings?"
"Like an emotional feel?" Yoko added.
"Straight-forward…serious…honest…emotional…well first, you could get them to a more private setting. Then once you do that, you grab them close your face, lock eye-to-eye with them, and tell them how you truly feel."
"I-Isn't that a bit…a-assertive?" I asked.
Well, maybe. But trust me, that works all the time."
"W-Well, what does it look like?" Yoko asked. "Give us an example."
"An example?" Miharu-san went silent for a bit. "Well, alright. Pay attention. It's like this." She then turned to Mika and lightly grabbed her by the chin to bring her close to her eyes.
"M-Miharu-san! Wh-What are you…" And with the sudden move, Mika began to blush like crazy.
"Écoute, mon amour. Je t'adore de tout mon cœur qui bat toujours. Tes cheveux en queue de cheval orange foncé sentant le shampoing à la mangue le plus frais, tes yeux brun rougeâtre qui me rappellent les belles couleurs de Mercure, ton admirable personnalité terre-à-terre...Je ne peux pas en avoir assez. Je souhaite être à vos côtés pour toute l'éternité. Prendre soin de vous...répondre à vos besoins éternels...aimer et chérir les moments les plus merveilleux de notre vie. Me permettez-vous de le faire? Mon cher? Mon âme sœur? Mon seul vrai amour? *giggle*"
"I-I have no idea what you just said…but I'm in freaking love."
"W-Woah…" Was all I could say to such a performance.
"H-Holy crap! Miharu-san totally made Mika lovestruck!" Yoko whispered to me.
"I know. The French really are experts on love."
"And…that's how you do it." Miharu-san said while letting go of Mika's chin. Causing the latter to almost lose her balance from being in that state of trance.
"W-Wait, what did you say to her? That was all in French." I said.
"Oh, right. Here, I'll write it down for you." Miharu-san then wrote down what she said to Mika and gave each of us a copy. When we both read what was on there…
"Listen, my love. I adore you with all my ever beating heart. Your dark orange ponytailed hair smelling like the freshest mango shampoo, your reddish-brown eyes that remind me of the beautiful colors of Mercury, your admirable down-to-earth personality...I just can't get enough of it all. I wish to be by your side for all eternity. To care for you...to cater to your everlasting needs...to love and cherish the most wonderful moments of our lives. Won't you allow me to do so? My dear? My soulmate? My one true love?"
…We can easily see why Mika was blushing like crazy.
"N-No way…"
"M-Miharu-san…"
"W-WE CAN'T SAY THIS!" We both yelled with the fullest amount of blushes we could possibly have.
"What? It doesn't have to be exact. Just take out Mika's descriptions and replace them with Yui and Mio's."
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
"Miharu-senpai."
"Oh hey, Azusa. What's up?" Miharu-san asked her girlfriend as she walked up to us.
"W-Well, I…s-since it's lunchtime, I was wondering if…y-you know…i-if we could eat lunch together? J-Just the two of us."
"Oh, I get it. You wanna spend time with your girlfriend. How sweet~."
"D-Don't tease me for it!"
"*giggle* Come on, I'm only joking." Miharu-san then gave Nakano-san a kiss on the lips. "I'll join you on this lunch date once I finish helping Himeko here."
"Help? Is something wrong, Tachibana-senpai?" The junior asked me.
"Well…"
Wait a second…this is the girlfriend of a French native! I could ask her how she got together with Miharu-san! And use that as reference! It's genius!
"…Actually, Nakano-san. I was wondering how you and Miharu-san became a couple."
"Y-You were?" Nakao-san began to blush.
"We were hoping to use your experience to help us confess to our own crushes." Yoko said.
"Get this. They're in love with Yui and Mio." Miharu-san whispered to her.
"S-Seriously?" Nakano-san then went silent for a bit. "W-Well…to be honest, I was the one who confessed to Miharu-san. I was struggling with my own feelings for a while. Wondering if I truly was a lesbian. Then once I finally accepted it, I just stayed honest and told her how I felt. Though, I was extremely lucky that she's bisexual, or else I would've been a huge nervous wreck."
"You're bisexual?" The three of us asked Miharu-san.
"Yep. And proud of it, too."
"Huh…"
"So, in your cases, I suggest mentally preparing for your confession. Then when the time comes, just give it all you got. With no regrets left in your mind. It definitely worked for me."
"Wow…" Was all the three of us said.
I can't believe I got solid advice from a kōhai…and it sounds reasonable, too.
"Now, if that's all you need…come on, Senpai. We still got 30 minutes for lunch."
"Alright, I'm coming." Miharu-san said as she was being pulled on her arm by her kōhai girlfriend. "See you later, you guys."
"See ya." Was all we had time to say.
…
"Well…that was an interesting experience." I said.
"Sure was." Yoko said. "But at least we got some good advice out of it."
"True."
"Well, then. I hope you two put said advice to actual use." Mika said. "Instead of just panicking from a single touch and spying from a distance."
"Yeah, yeah. We get it." We both retorted.
…
"You know, Mika. You're always ridiculing us for our love struggles, but you never talk about your own."
"That's because I don't have any love struggles, Himeko. I can confess to anyone with no problem whatsoever."
"Oh, really?" Yoko asked. "So, who is it, then? Tainaka-san, perhaps?"
"N-No! I'm not even gay!" Mika began to blush. "And even if I was, why would it be Tainaka-san of all people?!"
"Well, Tainaka-san's got this tomboyish personality." I said. "And with your down-to-earth girly personality, you could probably balance it out to some degree."
"Plus, it'll greaten my chances with Akiyama-san since the two are childhood friends." Yoko added.
"O-Okay, one…stop calling me girly! And two, none of that actually proves why it should be Tainaka-san. I mean…what if, hypothetically speaking, I had a crush on Kotobuki-san?"
"Give it up." We both said.
"What? Why?"
"Because every single person in this whole entire school is out of Kotobuki-san's league." I said.
"It'll just look like we're after her money." Yoko added.
…
…
…
"Well, when you put it like that, it does sound impossible." Mika said with the biggest look of defeat in her eyes.
Which soon passed on to the two of us. Partially regretting bringing up that topic in the first place.
Love truly does make you do stupid things…
Author's Note: The story continues with a more relaxed chapter to balance out all the drama from the long-as-all-hell Golden Week arc. It took me a while to figure out what to do from there. Plus, work's been keeping me busy. So, sorry for the long wait.
Yoko Sasaki and Mika Saeki are, like Himeko, classmates of the main four girls. Everything about them listed here is about the same as on the wiki. The only difference is that I made it to where the trio are childhood friends. Just to give them more character. And, of course, they will appear in future chapters.
Also, we're now in June in this story. Nothing exciting happens in May and it makes it quicker to get to the Summer Break arc. Hopefully, that won't be as long (or longer than) the Golden Week arc. But we'll see when we get there.
Thanks for reading. Later.