Chapter Text
Saki, the cutest girl in the world, cocked her head to the side. Her pink hair swayed with her movement, and her eyes glinted with the fluorescent lights overhead. Classes had finished for the day, which meant that Saki needed to head to the gym for basketball practice. “I know you’ll be lonely, but you better not cheat on me while I’m gone,” she teased.
Naoya’s reaction was immediate, his entire body stiffening with tension. “What? Saki-chan!” He could not believe that he had failed so miserably to express his devotion. His voice was thick with remorse as he bowed his head. “Do you really think I would do such a thing?”
“Na—Naoya?” Saki’s voice was hesitant, caught off-guard by his seriousness.
“I’m sorry that I made you anxious…” Naoya threw his arms around his shocked girlfriend. “To make sure you’ll never feel that way again, I’ll love you even more!”
Saki was acutely aware of the attention their fellow students were giving them and pushed against Naoya’s hold on her. “Hey…Hey, let go!”
Ignoring her, he continued spouting nonsense. “Saki-chan, I love you!”
“Do that when we’re alone!” she demanded, finally getting him to let her go.
“Geez.” She sighed with agitation. “You’re so…You’re way too serious about stuff like that. It’s pretty weird, you know? And you don’t even get my jokes.”
Naoya was perplexed how anyone could make a joke about something as serious as cheating. Obviously, it would be far too easy for a guy to fall for another girl. Right? He had to hold onto his conviction and put all of her concerns to rest. “I’m weird?” he asked.
“Annoyingly so!”
“Which part?”
Saki could feel her irritation growing. How could Naoya be so oblivious to the situation? “That thing you did just now for instance!”
“Is that so?” He held his head as he tried to figure out what was upsetting her. “Even so, I can’t lie about how I feel. So, I always have to tell the person I love that I love them.”
“That’s pretty inconvenient.” She appreciated the sentiment, but there was a time and place for that sort of thing.
Inconvenient? Was she belittling the depth of his feelings again? His blood boiled with passion. “But I’ve loved you ever since our first year in grade school! And you finally accepted my feelings when we got into high school! I want to hold onto you forever!”
Now there were audible murmurs from their classmates.
Saki’s chest fluttered, but she pushed it down. “I’ve been telling you, that kinda stuff was way too heavy for a grade schooler!” It was too much for her, even now.
Naoya leaned in closer. “Which means you can accept it now?”
She wasn’t about to show him how much his words affected her. Not now, not ever. “Yesh, sure. Come right at me!” She declared despite her turmoil. She pounded her chest before immediately spinning around with an excuse to leave. “Anyway, I’m going to my club!”
“Then, I’ll wait until you’re done. You were the cutest girl ever today!” Naoya clenched his fist with conviction.
“Thanks,” Saki replied with forced cheeriness, literally sprinting out the door before he could say something even more embarrassing.
Naoya waited atop the school’s roof, thoughts of Saki playing in his head. The peaceful quiet of the afternoon was broken by a timid voice.
“Uh, um…”
He turned to see an adorable girl with short blue hair tied to the side with a cute blue ribbon.
“You’re Mukai Naoya-kun, right?”
What could she want, he wondered. “Yes, that’s right.”
The girl lowered her head just enough so that her hair obscured her eyes. “Uh, um…I…”
Was it just his imagination or was she blushing? As soon as the thought crossed his mind, she blurted loud enough for the entire school to hear.
“I love you!”
Naoya’s heart stopped in his chest. It started again a split second later, but it resumed at a breakneck speed. “Wait. Huh?” His mind was a blur as he tried to piece together what was happening. For nine years he had fruitlessly sought after Saki’s love for it to only now be returned, and yet somehow, by the grace of whatever god was looking out for him, this adorable girl had somehow fallen for him without him having to do a thing. It was inconceivable.
The girl knelt. “Ah, sorry. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Minase Nagisa, a first year. Nice to meet you.” Rising back to her feet, she took a step closer. “Um…Do you think I’m cute?”
“Eh?” Girlfriend or no, it wasn’t as if he could lie. Honesty was a virtue, after all. “Well, to be honest…Yeah, I think you’re super cute.”
Delighted, Nagisa clasped her hands in front of her chest. “Ah! Thank you! I’ve been preparing for this day for the last three months. Doing four hours of muscle training and jogging every day.”
Naoya’s eyes bulged at the extent of her diligence. “You really did work super hard!”
“I wanted to do the best I could to prepare myself for confessing to you today.”
“You’re so honest.”
“I’ve heard the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so…I also tried my best at cooking for eight hours a day.” Nagisa pulled out two bento boxes she had prepared, full of delicious, but also nutritious, dishes.
The food sparkled with the love, care, and work she had put into making it. Eight hours a day? Plus four hours of physical exercise? At that rate, she couldn’t possibly have been resting enough. Concern crashed over him like an unavoidable tidal wave, and before he knew it, he was gripping her shoulders tightly. “Is your body alright? Life is precious, you know?”
“I’m fine, really.”
“Really?” he pressed.
“Yes!” she replied with more force. “Eat up, please.”
Was eating another girl’s home-cooked meal a form of cheating? Yet, he couldn’t ignore this dish that she had spent so many hours preparing specifically for him, so he sat down and dug in. The omelet melted in his mouth.
“It’s delicious, but don’t you think you’re going too far?”
Nagisa gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “Not at all. I’ve done all this for your sake, so it was actually quite fun. And besides, I got a part-time job for this. I wanted to use ingredients on the level of matsusaka beef. It cost me around 50,000 yen.”
Overwhelmed by her dedication, Naoya felt tears welling in his eyes. “You really went way too far!” He clutched the bento box, feeling his resolve wavering. “You’re so brave.”
“So, um, do you think I’m attractive?”
“Of course you are! You’re as attractive as it gets!” The words exploded out of him.
“I’m so glad.” Nagisa knew she should be happy with that much, but still… “Th-then…” Her voice wavered as she prepared herself for rejection. “Do you want to go out with me?”
Sweat poured down Naoya’s face. His pupils dilated, and his heart felt ready to pound out of his chest.
He had to turn her down, right? That’s what any decent guy with a girlfriend would do. But how was he supposed to turn her down when she was so amazingly cute, sincere, and hardworking?
Nagisa waited, but he didn’t say anything. “Am I not good enough?” she asked.
Naoya gripped her shoulders, meeting her eyes without hesitation. “That’s not it at all! Minase-san, if I were to date you, that’d make me so happy! But, I’m already dating someone else.”
“I see…Of course…” Despite her disappointment, Nagisa resolved to maintain her spirit with a smile. “But, I’m not going to give up just because I was rejected. I’ll come confess again.”
Naoya sucked in a huge breath, demanding his heart to stop its incessant beating.
“See you later!”
Nagisa turned to leave, but Naoya grabbed her hand, stopping her.
His mind was wheeling trying to figure out what he could do in this situation. “Yeah, it’s like I said, I’m already dating someone else. I love her. I want to hold on to her for the rest of my life!”
“Naoya-kun?”
“But the fact that I think you’re attractive, Minase-san, is also true! I want to spend my life with you! I don’t want to reject you! But still, I can’t just betray my girlfriend! So, if you’re okay with it…Do you want to come ask my girlfriend if I can cheat on her with you?”
He held his hand out for her to take, but Nagisa didn’t take it. She was too confused. Cheat?
“I’m sorry,” he added quickly, realizing how absurd he sounded. “This is the only solution that I could come up with.”
Nagisa processed what he said. He would continue dating his girlfriend, but he would date her as well. She supposed that was better than being rejected, right? Who was she to be picky in this situation? She nodded her head and took his hand. “Let’s give it a shot!”
Naoya smiled, enjoying the softness of her hand in his. Somehow, he felt hopeful that this would work out. “Thanks! Let’s go!”