The So-Called Happiness

"Best two out of three?"

"No. One game decides the winner."

"Fine. You said it."

Ten short minutes later...

"I lost."

Sakayanagi Arisu accepted her defeat with a calm expression. She'd been thoroughly outclassed, both in the speed of her moves and their finesse.

"After all, I'm a genius more talented than anyone else! It's only natural that you'd lose to me."

Miyano Makoto tried to comfort her.

"Makoto, honestly. Classmate Sakayanagi, please don't mind what he said."

Ichinose Honami felt a little sorry for her. She hadn't understood much of the game, but she knew that Miyano Makoto had just beaten Sakayanagi Arisu soundly.

"It's all right. What Miyano said just now was true. His talent in this field really is beyond my ability to match."

Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't bothered by this one loss.

He wasn't an artificially created genius, but a genuine, natural-born one. That alone was enough for her.

"There'll be plenty more things about me to surprise you with in the future."

Miyano Makoto's nose was already pointed at the ceiling.

"Makoto, don't be like that."

Ichinose Honami pulled Miyano Makoto's head back down. She didn't like seeing him act that way.

"Sorry, sorry. I won't do that again."

Miyano Makoto quickly calmed down.

Strangely enough, he'd stayed perfectly calm while challenging other people earlier, but the moment he was in front of Sakayanagi Arisu, he'd lost his composure.

As expected of Sakayanagi Arisu. She could easily make people want to get on the offensive.

She was practically a max-level brat.

"So, what do you think I'm lacking?"

Having lost the match, Sakayanagi Arisu decided to hear Miyano Makoto's opinion of her.

"Didn't I already tell you? You're an arrogant little brat."

"I see. I'll give that some serious thought."

Sakayanagi Arisu lowered her head in thought. She seemed to be genuinely reflecting on her shortcomings, which actually made Miyano Makoto feel a little awkward.

"Ahem... That's a unique kind of charm, too. Maybe you could attract people with a taste for something unusual."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Sakayanagi Arisu got up to leave.

"Should Honami and I walk you back?"

"No need."

Sakayanagi Arisu stubbornly prepared to walk back to the dorm on her own.

"Sometimes, learning to rely on others can make you seem cuter~"

As soon as he said it, Miyano Makoto sensed a dangerous aura coming from Ichinose Honami's direction.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you both."

Miyano Makoto nervously accompanied Ichinose Honami as they walked Sakayanagi Arisu back to her dorm.

"All right, Makoto. You can come clean now."

Back in Dorm Room 301, Ichinose Honami plopped down on Miyano Makoto's bed without a hint of courtesy.

"There's a lot. Could you give me a hint, Honami?"

Miyano Makoto spoke timidly. What was with this interrogation-like atmosphere?!

"Fine. First, what did you mean earlier when you talked about the classes? Something about Class A and Class B."

"This school assigns students to classes based on their abilities. Class A is the strongest, and Class D is the weakest. That's why I thought it was strange that Sakayanagi Arisu was in Class A while I was in Class B."

"If that's true, then I agree. It really is strange."

Ichinose Honami nodded. She also thought Miyano Makoto belonged in Class A, not Class B.

"How did you know, Makoto?"

"I guessed."

That was the only answer Miyano Makoto could give.

"All right. You really are much more impressive than I imagined, Makoto!"

Ichinose Honami had finally grasped just how impressive Miyano Makoto was, after he'd raked in 6.1 million private points on the very first day.

"Second question: why did Sakayanagi think our relationship might run into trouble at first?"

"The classes at this school compete with one another, so dating someone from another class is difficult."

"..."

"Makoto, you didn't really want me to question you like this, did you?"

After hearing his answer, Ichinose Honami didn't ask any more questions. She gazed into Miyano Makoto's eyes, focusing on every subtle change in his expression.

"If you want to know, Honami, I'll tell you."

"Do you dislike me doing this, Makoto?"

"How could I ever dislike you, Honami?"

"Because I'm cute?"

"Yes. And you have a great figure, too. You're curvy in all the right places—you're practically dancing on my turn-ons."

"So if another girl were just as cute as me, you'd be attracted to her, too?"

"Yes."

After a string of questions and answers that felt like a game, Ichinose Honami fell silent, as if lost in thought.

"...You won't leave me, will you?"

"Why would you think that, Honami?"

"Because I'm scared."

Ichinose Honami took a deep breath, as if steeling herself.

"Makoto, will you be my boyfriend?"

"Yes."

Though Ichinose Honami's confession had come out of nowhere, Miyano Makoto's voice remained calm. It was going to happen sooner or later.

"So we're a couple now?"

"Yeah."

"Can't you at least act a little happier?"

Ichinose Honami pouted her red lips.

"I'm actually really happy right now. My heart's pounding like crazy."

Miyano Makoto took Ichinose Honami's left hand and pressed it against the left side of his chest.

"Can you feel it?"

"Mm..."

A faint blush spread across Ichinose Honami's cheeks. Her free hand kept twirling a lock of her hair.

"Is there anything else you're worried about, Honami?"

"Will you kiss me, Makoto?"

"Next time, for sure."

"?"

"Think about it. Doesn't everything need to follow a process? I feel like we're moving too fast, skipping all the steps that are supposed to come first. It's like suddenly reaching the ending of a single-player game. It doesn't feel real."

"...Okay."

What counted as dating too young?

College was completely different from high school. If you hadn't learned how to interact with girls before then...

Your future would probably be pretty bleak, wouldn't it?

Miyano Makoto let his thoughts wander.

"Honami, you can be more confident in your own charm. I actually want to kiss you more than anything!"

"Thank you. That makes me really happy."

Ichinose Honami giggled, still wearing that sunny smile.

"I'll do my best to make you happy, Honami."

"I'm already very happy."

Ichinose Honami covered Miyano Makoto's mouth with her hand and suddenly pulled the two of them closer.

"Promise me, then. After we graduate, we'll get married."

"?"

"Mm—"

Miyano Makoto's eyes widened. Was this an illusion? When had she...

"I'm serious. I'm the only one who can be your wife, Makoto."

Ichinose Honami's expression was utterly serious. Miyano Makoto could feel that her heart was beating incredibly fast.

He nodded.

Ichinose Honami finally took her hand away from Miyano Makoto's mouth.

"Honami..."

"See you tomorrow, Makoto."

Ichinose Honami left.

I've actually written up to Chapter 19 by now, but after thinking about it, I came back and revised some of the earlier parts.

:-(

Writing solo...

I feel like this is what it's like for authors these days: before you hit 80,000 words, you have no idea whether your story's flopped.

And you don't know whether you've improved at all, either.

I couldn't help venting a little.

(´-ι_-｀)