Witness

Hoshino looked at the girl beside him with a hint of surprise. Sakura, who had always been too afraid to meet his eyes, stubbornly refused to look away now. Hoshino found it secretly amusing. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I'm not a hero."

He suddenly reached out and, amid Sakura's startled cry, pulled her into his arms again. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "I'm just a hopelessly wholesome high school boy with nothing but lewd thoughts in my head, who only wants to get close to pretty girls."

"Is someone like me okay too?"

"...Hoshino," Sakura slowly began, her voice already thick with tears. "Would you rather put yourself down like this than respond to my feelings?"

"Of course not, Sakura!" Hoshino hurriedly cut her off. Tears welled in the girl's azure eyes as she looked at him with utter resentment.

A sudden impulse surged through Hoshino. He lowered his head and gently kissed away Sakura's tears, then held her tightly against him.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. No matter the reason, I've hurt you."

He cupped Sakura's cheeks and met her eyes.

"Hoshino encouraged me before. You told me to face difficulties bravely and work hard to do what I wanted to do."

Those were words Hoshino had used to encourage her while tutoring her before. He had not expected her to remember them and bring them up now.

"It took me a great deal of courage to say this. Confessing to you also carries an important meaning for me," Sakura said in a low voice. "I couldn't even worry anymore about whether you would accept me or whether it would trouble you..."

"You really have grown so much," Hoshino said with emotion. "Given time, maybe I'll get to see a Sakura who shines as brightly as Shizuku."

He raised a hand and stroked Sakura's hair. "I'm nowhere near as wonderful as you imagine..."

Sakura gently shook her head.

"I'll bully you, you know."

Sakura still said nothing, only gripping Hoshino's hand tightly.

"Besides, once I get something, I never let it go." Hoshino slowly opened his hand and laced his fingers with Sakura's. "Are you prepared to be bullied by me forever?"

Sakura nodded, then asked somewhat foolishly, "But Hoshino promised before that you would protect me from being bullied."

"What I meant was that only I'm allowed to bully you. No one else can."

"Then... I'll only let you bully me too."

Sakura forced herself to finish speaking, then shyly closed her eyes. Her little face tilted up slightly, her long lashes trembling softly. Her rosy lips parted to reveal a sliver of pearly white teeth, as if issuing a silent invitation.

Hoshino bent down and finally tasted the girl's sweet lips.

Sakura's large eyes suddenly flew open. She blinked once, then again, before slowly closing them once more.

That was, of course, her consent.

The girl who had fallen in love obediently leaned against the boy she loved, her soft, curvy body yielding to his touch. Sakura felt as though Hoshino's hands possessed some strange magic; every place he touched became burning hot, while goosebumps rose across her skin.

At that moment, Sakura's mind was completely blank. She had no idea what to do, and could only follow her body's instincts in an unconscious, clumsy response.

Yet that was precisely the most effective fuel. Before long, Hoshino's movements had become too much for Sakura to bear.

"Mm..."

A strained sigh slipped from the girl's lips.

Only after quite a while did Sakura emerge from that strange state. She opened her hazy eyes and found herself looking directly into Hoshino's.

After freezing for a second, Sakura's cheeks turned bright red at a visible speed.

"Does this mean... we're dating now?"

"Of course."

"Then am I Hoshino's girlfriend now?"

"Why do you look so incredulous?"

"Um..." Sakura frowned and thought for a while. "I think I'd better not be your girlfriend after all."

"Huh?" Hoshino's eyes widened. "Was I... dumped at light speed?"

"No!" Sakura shook her head, speaking with a trace of gloom. "Hoshino, I know very well that I'm nowhere near worthy of you yet. If I stayed by your side, I would only cause you trouble."

As if anticipating what Hoshino would do, she quickly raised a hand to cover his mouth. "Please listen to me first, okay? I'm not saying this because I want to leave you. It's just that, in public, I still can't be too close to you for now... You know that would definitely cause a lot of trouble, right?"

Hoshino sighed softly. Naturally, he understood Sakura's concerns, but seeing her like this only made his heart ache more.

"I promise you, I'll work hard and become... someone bright and dazzling like Shizuku. Then I'll be able to become your girlfriend properly."

There was no confusion in Sakura's eyes.

Hoshino kissed her forehead, then said seriously, "Then I'll be your personal photographer. Let me use my camera to witness your growth. Whenever you want photos taken, you have to come find me, okay, Shizuku?"

An overwhelming sense of happiness struck Sakura again. She hurriedly nodded, then cautiously asked, "Um, I have one more request... Can I call you... Akira?"

"Of course." Hoshino smiled faintly. "Then I'll call you Airi too. Please take care of me from now on, Airi."

"N-no, I should be the one saying that! I'm inexperienced, so please take care of me, Akira."

"Ahem."

The sudden sound of someone clearing her throat startled them both.

When they turned around, they saw a girl standing awkwardly some distance away. She carried a school bag in one hand while casually smoothing down the messy strands of hair that had escaped from her hair clip with the other, as though trying to hide her embarrassment.

"K-Kushida!"

Sakura sprang up as though she had a spring inside her. In an instant, she broke free from Hoshino's arms, swiftly turned her back to straighten her rumpled clothes, then darted past Kushida like a gust of wind.

"Um, Sakura..."

"N-no! You've got the wrong person!"

Holding back a laugh, Kushida kindly reminded her, "You forgot your school bag."

Sakura did not say a word, but nearly tripped over herself as she turned around. She ran back to Hoshino, grabbed her school bag from the ground, and ran off again, keeping her head lowered the entire time and not daring to look at anyone.

"See you tomorrow, Airi."

"See you tomorrow, Sakura."

Hoshino and Kushida spoke almost at the same time, and that completely finished Sakura off. She let out a miserable "Wah," staggered, then, after steadying herself, still remembered to turn back and bow to them both. This time, she finally managed to leave smoothly.