Chapter Forty-Six: Ichinose Around the Corner / Chapter Forty-Seven: The Soft-Spoken Shiranami Chihiro

Chapter Forty-Six: Ichinose Around the Corner

Whenever their eyes met, she would shyly turn away.

Whenever he moved a little closer, her body would visibly stiffen.

Ever since Aoyama had said he was interested in her body too, Yamamura hadn't spoken to him properly for two days.

"What stupid thing did you do this time?"

After the Student Council meeting ended, Kamuro asked with a hint of distaste.

They'd known each other for over two months. There was no way she hadn't noticed Yamamura acting strangely.

"I might've done something stupid, but it should be fine in a few days." Aoyama scratched his head.

Yamamura didn't look angry, and he didn't want to pressure her too much, so he hadn't gone out of his way to cling to her.

"Let's hope so."

After her cool reply, Kamuro flipped her long hair and left the Student Council room.

Seeing this, Aoyama picked up his schoolbag and set off for the gym.

At the corner of the first-year floor, he saw Ichinose, who looked troubled, unlike her usual self.

"Aoyama?"

"What's wrong? Why the long face?"

Ichinose greeted him with a hint of delight, and Aoyama stopped in front of her.

Her beautiful pink hair fell to the hem of her pleated school skirt. Her breasts were so well-developed that they nearly pushed the bow at her collar into an L shape.

Her ears were hidden beneath her hair, and her bright ice-blue eyes sparkled.

Ichinose Honami was beautiful.

"Um... Could I have a little of your time, Aoyama?" No longer her usual capable self, Ichinose's gaze wandered.

"Sure, but if it's something private, come with me."

Seeing Ichinose fidget, Aoyama had a pretty good idea what she wanted to talk about.

If he remembered correctly, Class 1-B had a soft-spoken, cute girl named Shiranami Chihiro, who had sent Ichinose a confession letter not long after the school year began.

Ichinose had never been confessed to before, and she was troubled, unsure how to turn Chihiro down.

She wasn't interested in romance right now and didn't want to hurt Shiranami too much.

"Do you come to this gym often, Aoyama?"

After taking Ichinose to the gym, Aoyama had collected a key from the front desk and led her into a private room with practiced ease. Ichinose asked curiously.

"I've started coming regularly lately, but I head back before dinner, so I'm not here for long."

"Komako and I come here a lot too, though we usually come in the evening."

"I see."

Aoyama sat down in a chair, ending the subject.

Ichinose sat down too. After hesitating for a while, she parted her pink lips. "Aoyama, you've probably had lots of girls confess to you, right? Is there... a way to turn a girl down without hurting her?"

"There's no such way. If you desperately want something and can't have it, how could you not be sad?"

Hearing the question he'd expected, Aoyama answered without hesitation.

Unfulfilled desire was one of Buddhism's seven forms of suffering.

"I suppose that's true... Is there a way to hurt her as little as possible, then?" Ichinose twirled the pink hair hanging down in front of her. "I want to get along with her for a long time."

"If we became strangers just because her confession was rejected, I'd be very, very sad."

Ichinose's voice was full of worry. It was clear she meant every word.

They'd only known each other for a little over two months.

Aoyama couldn't quite understand why Ichinose felt they were closer than that, but he respected her feelings.

If it were him, he wouldn't feel any guilt if someone he rejected stopped talking to him. That was their choice.

"I want to know what you think of the person who confessed to you," Aoyama said, probing for information.

It wouldn't be hard to solve Ichinose's problem.

If Ichinose was afraid she and Shiranami would become strangers after the rejection, all he had to do was greatly reduce the chance of that happening.

"I think Chihiro's a really cute girl. She's composed and graceful, and she gets along well with the other students. Her somewhat timid nature also makes you want to protect her."

"But even though I don't have anyone I like, I'm sure I don't have romantic feelings for her."

Ichinose gazed up at the snow-white ceiling, her voice gentle.

Although she was troubled by Shiranami's confession, she wasn't annoyed by it at all.

"I looked it up online, and apparently saying 'I'm already seeing someone' is the way to turn someone down without hurting them. You've tried that before, right, Aoyama?"

"No. I went to an all-boys' middle school because it offered a better scholarship, and I don't lie about matters of the heart."

Looking back on his middle school days, Aoyama felt no nostalgia.

He'd been called antisocial because he didn't go along with the crowd. His school life had been much like Horikita Suzune's.

He'd gone to school alone and gone home alone.

"...That's true. Lying isn't good."

"People do talk about white lies, though. Don't be too hard on yourself, Ichinose. I think your intentions are good. It made me think, 'That's just like Ichinose.'"

Ichinose gave a somewhat forced smile. "Just like me? That's a little embarrassing. I'm not as wonderful as you think, Aoyama."

"I see, but I'm sticking with my original judgment." Aoyama's expression turned teasing. "As a bad person, I can't just take a good person's word for it."

He'd swaggered around Class A, sold information to help rival classes, and sold Student Council positions.

Since enrolling at Kouiku, Aoyama had hardly done anything good.

His reputation among the first-years was mostly a bad one.

"I don't think you're a bad person, Aoyama."

"I don't want your opinion. I want mine."

Faced with Ichinose's earnest gaze, Aoyama didn't know what to say, so he resorted to a line he remembered from a domineering CEO character.

By his own judgment, he wasn't exactly a good person, but he wasn't completely bad, either.

"You're funny, Aoyama."

"If I can cheer you up, Ichinose, it's my pleasure."

"That's such an exaggeration!"

Ichinose stretched, raising both arms high, then straightened her legs and sprang to her feet. She was back to her energetic self.

"I'm still scared things won't turn out the way I want, but I understand now that avoiding her would hurt Chihiro even more."

"That's just like Ichinose."

"I told you, saying that makes me embarrassed." Ichinose replied with a helpless look at Aoyama's teasing smile.

"But embarrassed or not, you still have to pay my consultation fee. Ten thousand private points will do."

Aoyama stood up and smiled as he held out his hand to Ichinose, who sat there dumbfounded.

She'd come to him for help. Whether he did anything or not, she had to pay.

Besides, this time he wasn't planning to do nothing. It would only take a few words to keep Shiranami from being too heartbroken.

Simple, easy, and he might even earn Ichinose Honami's favor.

It was a risk-free, high-return deal. Why not take it?

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Soft-Spoken Shiranami Chihiro

After giving Sakura Airi a day off, Aoyama found the soon-to-confess Shiranami Chihiro with help from Kushida, the timely rain who had friends all over Kouiku.

She didn't seem very confident about confessing; at that moment, her face showed more worry than anticipation.

"Good evening, Shiranami."

Beneath the darkening sky, Aoyama sat down across from Shiranami, who was alone in a dessert shop.

Ichinose had told him that there was still an hour before the time she and Shiranami had arranged to meet, which was plenty of time for a proper talk.

"Good evening, Aoyama." A trace of confusion flickered across Shiranami's face before she replied politely.

She didn't understand why Aoyama had come to see her. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't see what they had to do with each other.

Could he be confessing to her?

No, no way. Aoyama might have a bad reputation, but he was the Student Council Vice President. He was tall and handsome, too.

She was still immature-looking and a little childish, and her figure was just as underdeveloped.

Since she was about to confess to someone, Shiranami Chihiro had entertained an unlikely thought, then quickly dismissed it.

"You're very brave, Shiranami."

Aoyama sincerely praised her.

Her short brown hair was neatly styled, and a cute cherry-blossom hair clip adorned it. Her face looked a little like a middle schooler's, and her deep blue eyes held an innocent quality.

Confessing to someone of the same sex without knowing their orientation took courage, and it didn't fit her soft, sweet appearance at all.

"What do you mean, Aoyama?" Shiranami asked cautiously, rubbing the cup with her little hands on the table.

"I mean that you're going to confess to Ichinose later. She asked me how to respond without making you sad at all."

"..."

Shiranami froze in her seat, as if under a spell. A few seconds later, her eyes suddenly widened, and crystalline tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks.

The peaceful atmosphere was instantly swallowed by sadness.

Aoyama held out the tissues he'd prepared. "Don't cry out loud. People will think I'm dumping you. You don't want anyone getting the wrong idea that someone like me dumped you, do you?"

"..."

Shiranami still didn't answer. Her face crumpled as she silently took the tissues and covered her eyes.

Whenever the tissues seemed ready to give out, Aoyama quietly handed her another.

She cried silently for nearly ten minutes before she finally stopped.

"Did Honami send you?" Shiranami's eyes were red, and her face was full of unmistakable disappointment.

"I don't think Ichinose would do something like that. She planned to explain things to you in person." Aoyama kept his tone gentle. "But I thought you deserved a chance, so I came to find you on my own."

Although he admired Shiranami's courage, he thought confessing so soon was just asking for trouble.

To use a metaphor, Shiranami's move was like charging into a one-versus-five fight right at the start of a MOBA game. She was basically giving herself away for free.

"A chance? What do you mean?"

"First, let's hear what Ichinose thinks of you."

Aoyama smiled at Shiranami, whose disappointment had eased considerably, then took out his phone and played a file.

Ichinose's gentle, melodious voice came from the speaker.

Soon, the recording played Ichinose's impressions of Shiranami from earlier, along with her words that she had no romantic feelings for her.

Aoyama hadn't recorded their conversation at the gym. After all, he'd recently gained a Voice Mimicry skill.

Judging by Shiranami's expression, she had no idea it wasn't Ichinose's real voice.

"Ichinose likes you. After all, I think you're cute too, Shiranami. It's just..." Aoyama paused. "Ichinose only likes you as a friend."

"You have no chance of succeeding if you confess now, and you've already gotten the answer you've been longing for. So unless you want Ichinose to reject you in person, there's no need to go through with it."

"And I think you know that you can't avoid things becoming awkward after a failed confession. It'll be hard to get close to Ichinose after that."

Aoyama gave Shiranami a long, detailed analysis of all the downsides of stubbornly going through with her confession.

From a purely practical standpoint, if Shiranami still couldn't let go, confessing now would only get in the way.

"What do you think of me? Could you be my boyfriend?"