Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's Story

Love. Confessions.

A romantic relationship usually began with a "confession."

Whether it was a shallow impulse driven by lust at first sight and complete obedience to the biological instinct to reproduce, or a supposedly rational choice made after peeling back one's heart layer by layer and repeatedly questioning oneself; whether it was an impulse ripened by hormones or a fluttering heart wrapped in reason; whether it was stiff, nervousness like following a human-machine procedure, or an emotional declaration made with one's true heart on the line.

All of it came from a powerful desire to connect, entangle, or become intimate with the other person... to take their relationship a step further.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at the patch of grass not far behind him, where rustling had begun. Judging that the people involved were already in position, he promptly gathered his thoughts.

He was about to face Ichinose Honami's confession, one that clearly carried none of those feelings...

"Wahahaha! It's already started."

In the bushes roughly ten meters away from the two of them, Bai Yu suddenly appeared behind two girls whose tense bodies made their nervousness obvious.

He held a hand flat against his forehead like a scout and craned his neck forward to watch.

"Bai... Suzumiya-san?!"

Shiina Hiyori instinctively cried out, then hurriedly gestured for him to stay hidden so the two people ahead would not notice them.

Bai Yu crouched down unhurriedly and said, "The audience's duty is to appreciate the play. If they don't offer applause and feedback, the actors—the author—will become quite discouraged."

"Because this scene was deliberately put on for us to see."

"Huh?"

Shiina Hiyori could not process that for a moment, while Shironami Chihiro beside her gave him a pair of pure, clear eyes.

Bai Yu did not explain further. Perhaps he could use this to complete the request as well.

After watching for a while, she slowly stood up, loosened her shoulders a little, then began swaying left and right in a far more conspicuous manner.

She gave the impression of warming up for something, suddenly becoming remarkably lively and flamboyant.

In the distance, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was still engaged in a profound interrogation and analysis of himself.

Ichinose Honami noticed the group in the distance from the corner of her eye. Amid her hesitation, she felt that the time had come. If she delayed any longer, she might ruin the plan.

Considering that she might never have such a proper solution again, she made a slight decision in her heart. Then, in a nervous and embarrassed voice, she slowly said, "Ayanokoji-kun... I..."

Was the curtain finally rising on this play? Now that the audience had taken their seats at the side.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's thoughts were drawn back by the girl's awkward line.

He looked ahead and saw Ichinose Honami with her eyes lowered, uneasy breaths escaping her lips.

She did look shy and nervous, but it was clearly not the look of a girl who had finally confirmed her feelings after endless inner conflict and gathered all her courage to confess to the person she loved.

Instead, she looked like a rookie actress who had just debuted and been assigned an important role, every inch of her radiating unnaturalness.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's feelings churned in complexity, and his stomach faintly ached.

Why? Why did facing a girl's confession at this very moment feel somewhat agonizing?

He thought. He questioned. He silently watched the girl pretend to be enamored with him, moving against a current of fragmented, dissonant thoughts as he recalled, explored, and sought proof.

What had caused the dissonance of this moment? What made him instinctively feel resistance when faced with a confession from a beautiful girl recognized by the entire school?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka no longer had the mind to pay attention to what Ichinose Honami was saying.

His gaze fell upon her slightly moving lips, and all he could feel was falsehood and pretense emerging from them.

And the desecration of confession itself.

In a daze, he turned his gaze toward the distance, where the two girls were still watching this side with tense expressions.

And beside them, through his haziness, he seemed to see a figure that was especially familiar, so lively and adorable that it could pull him free from his confusion...

At that moment, the entire world went silent for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

The girl beside him mouthed soundless murmurs. There was no need to care.

The two girls in the distance stood as motionless as wooden statues. No need to mind them either!

At this very moment.

In Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes, there seemed to be only that girl, pouting, twisting, kicking, swaying, and waving her arms and legs as though she were performing an enthusiastic Cheerleading Squad routine.

She wore a radiant smile.

Out of courtesy, her lips formed silent words that conveyed no sound, yet Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed to hear everything from them—

"Go, go, Ayanokoji-kun! Ayanokoji, Ayanokoji, you're the best!"

"..."

Heh heh.

So that was it.

It seemed I had forgotten something very important...

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly came to his senses.

His agitated heart gradually settled. His surging emotions cooled after violently colliding, transforming into fireworks that gave birth to reason and composure.

He lowered his head to look at the girl before him, who was still fidgeting uncertainly, and slowly said, "Ichinose, liking someone is not an easy thing. Gathering the courage to confess to someone is even harder."

"They often had to repeatedly clarify their feelings, becoming lost and troubled between maintaining the status quo and making progress. Only after building what they believed was a sufficiently sturdy psychological barrier, and preparing themselves for the possibility that a failed confession might cost them a precious friendship, could they gather the courage to take this difficult step."

"The deep feelings contained within it were often beyond the imagination of those of us being confessed to, and difficult for us to truly feel."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka slowly turned around, leaving his sincere advice behind in the wistful tone of someone who had been through it all. "So I suggest that you should not face someone else's feelings with such a half-hearted mindset."

...Huh?

What happened?

Watching the man's solemnly departing back, Ichinose Honami stood there blankly, her expression a confused and helpless mess.

Why had he changed his mind halfway through... Huh?! This was different from what they had agreed on.

But what he said made a lot of sense, and she really had been suffering...

Ichinose's gaze drifted before turning toward the audience area again.

At that moment, Shironami Chihiro stood up and walked toward her with a determined expression, as though she had already made every resolution.

After hesitating for a moment, Ichinose Honami decisively raised her eyes to meet hers.

This time, she would sincerely respond to the other person's feelings.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka walked with heavy steps as a lone figure emerged from another direction.

Like a masked rider walking toward the setting sun.

Before long, he silently sat down on a bench.

The dusk light shattered across the boy's body, causing his originally listless aura to transform into something slightly steady and deeply melancholy.

He lowered his head. Passersby found it difficult to see his expression, but through the gaps in his bangs lifted by the evening breeze, they could occasionally glimpse a wet streak glittering with specks of light...

Once, there had been a sincere confession before my eyes...

If Heaven could give me another chance, I would say to that girl,

Damn it

"Kuroko-san..."