I'm Not Giving Up!

"Whoa! Mako, why are you so worked up? Gojo-kun is definitely good-looking, but it's not like he's that amazing."

Kobashi Yume was startled and asked Amikura Mako in confusion.

Realizing she'd gotten a little carried away, Amikura Mako hurried to explain.

"S-sorry, I'm just so happy!"

But Shiranami Chihiro, who liked Ichinose, was confused. She asked outright,

"Mako, didn't you say you've liked a guy for six years? Why are you so excited to see a handsome guy now? Have you fallen for someone else?"

"N-no! I haven't fallen for someone else!"

Stung by Shiranami Chihiro's words, Amikura Mako shouted her explanation.

The students in the classroom turned their puzzled gazes toward her again.

Meanwhile, her friend Kobashi Yume had already figured something out. She gestured to Shiranami Chihiro with her eyes, then said to Amikura Mako,

"Wait, didn't you say he'd gone overseas?"

"I wouldn't mistake him! His name hasn't changed, and there's no way I'd mistake his eyes!

Even if he went overseas, he'd come back someday, right?"

She finished speaking and was about to go to Class 1-D to find Gojo Satoru.

But Shiranami Chihiro reached out and stopped her.

"Wait! Even if you want to find him, shouldn't you wait until after school? Class is about to start!"

"But..."

Amikura Mako still wanted to say something, but Kobashi Yume reminded her,

"She's right. Class is about to start. You can go after school, can't you?

He can't leave campus, anyway. And I heard he hasn't been going to class for weeks.

You might not even find him if you go now."

But I don't want to wait!

Amikura Mako thought, and the standoff continued.

"Did something happen? Why do you all look so serious?"

At last, Ichinose Honami came in from outside. She looked at the solemn atmosphere, puzzled.

"Honami!"

Shiranami Chihiro immediately threw her arms around her, then complained,

"Mako wants to go find the person she likes right now, but class is about to start, and she won't listen!"

"I just want to hurry—!"

Before Amikura Mako could finish, Ichinose cut in,

"I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but class is about to start. Amikura, you can go after class or after school.

Besides, the day after tomorrow is May first, and we're still trying to figure out the issue with the Class Points."

"O-okay..."

Amikura Mako returned to her seat dejectedly, but the joy and excitement inside her kept stirring her up.

Just then, Ichinose noticed the phone Kobashi Yume was holding out. Seeing Gojo Satoru on the screen, Ichinose seemed to lose herself for a moment.

It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?!

After school,

Amikura Mako went to Class 1-D with Kobashi Yume.

They looked around, but couldn't find Gojo Satoru anywhere.

"Are you two here to see Gojo-kun too?"

Matsushita Chiaki came out of the classroom and asked the two girls, who were hovering outside.

"How did you know?"

Kobashi Yume was confused that someone had guessed why they were there before she'd even asked.

"Ah, because you're already the fifth group."

After Matsushita Chiaki said this, she still felt a little shocked.

Who would've thought that guy would be so good-looking!

Hearing her answer, Amikura Mako grew anxious.

"Then could you tell me where Gojo-kun is now? I heard he hasn't been coming to class for a long time. Do you have his contact information?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. It seems no one in class has his contact information. He's always kept to himself, and he seems to only come out during regular class hours. You never see him outside otherwise."

As if she'd thought of something, she added,

"But you could ask his girlfriend, Kamuro Masumi from Class 1-A. His picture was taken when he went to see her."

"What?! He already has a girlfriend?!"

Kobashi Yume was startled, then looked at Amikura Mako beside her.

Amikura Mako's face had gone pale. The words "girlfriend" kept repeating in her mind.

It seemed she couldn't accept it at all. She silently walked away.

Seeing her friend like this, Kobashi Yume thanked Matsushita Chiaki and hurried after her.

Watching the two suddenly leave, Matsushita Chiaki could only wonder what that was all about.

"Well? Well? Did they come to see Gojo-kun?"

As soon as Matsushita returned to her seat, Sato Maya asked eagerly.

"Yeah, you guessed right again."

"I knew it! My intuition is usually spot-on!

But Chiaki, you sure have good taste. You fell for Gojo Satoru so early!"

Delighted that she'd guessed correctly, Sato Maya immediately grew smug, then praised her friend's taste.

She'd taken a liking to him without ever seeing him take off his blindfold. What a shame—he already had a girlfriend.

"Uh-huh, sure!"

Matsushita Chiaki was already at a loss over the whole thing, and now Sato Maya had brought it up again.

Her taste was great? She should try looking the other way next time!

Just thinking back to that moment made Matsushita Chiaki break out in goosebumps.

"Mako! Wait for me!"

Amikura Mako kept her head down, silent, and quickened her pace. Kobashi Yume was at a loss.

She felt terrible for her friend, but she had no idea how to comfort her. She'd never faced anything like this before.

She'd never even been in love herself, yet now she'd been forced to experience heartbreak up close.

Amikura Mako kept walking until she reached the seaside by the dormitory. Standing in front of the railing, she raised her tear-streaked face toward the sea.

"Ah!!!!"

Her anguished cry rang through the sky.

Following behind her, Kobashi Yume thought her friend might do something reckless in a moment of despair. She was about to stop her when she heard the other girl's heart-wrenching scream.

She seemed to have screamed herself hoarse.

Amikura Mako suddenly turned around and clung tightly to Kobashi Yume, crying as she poured out her frustration.

"I can't accept this!

I can't accept it!

I really can't accept it!

It's been so long since we last saw each other!

We promised we'd be together the next time we met!

If only I'd found out sooner! If only I'd known sooner that he was at this school! If only I'd kept chasing after him back then!

Would things... would everything have turned out differently?!

Waaah!!!

..."

But Kobashi Yume was completely stunned. She hadn't realized Amikura had such deep feelings for him; she'd thought he was just a childhood friend.

She wanted to say something comforting but didn't know what to say. When it came to love, she was clueless.

This was way beyond her. She couldn't even understand what was going on, so all she could do was gently pat her friend's back again and again.

After a long time,

They'd calmed down a little, and the two of them sat on a nearby bench.

Amikura Mako's eyes were already red and swollen.

Watching her dejected best friend, Kobashi Yume finally spoke up to comfort her.

"Mako, try to look on the bright side.

Even if you can't be a couple, you can still be good friends!"

She casually said something completely inappropriate.

But Amikura Mako didn't respond. Instead, she spoke her mind.

"Hey, Yume-chan, do you think I'm useless?

I like him so much!

I came to this school so I could go overseas to find him!

But!

But I already ran into him two weeks ago, and I didn't dare believe it!

Even though!

Even though my intuition had already told me who he was, and my body had already chased after him!

In the end, I thought it was an illusion and gave up!

If only I'd tried a little harder back then! If I'd kept chasing him, would everything have turned out differently?!"

Meeting those swollen eyes, now wide open with emotion, Kobashi Yume was so stunned she couldn't say a thing.

When she got no response, Amikura Mako stood up and headed toward the dormitory.