Perhaps Miyabi Nagumo had glimpsed the edge of the truth through the fog, but faced with that thin layer of paper, he still hadn't reached out to pierce it.
Whether he didn't want to, or didn't dare, was hard to say.
But Shiraishi Makoto had no time to worry about that right now.
After reading the private message Ichinose Honami had sent him, he went alone to the small grove behind the school building. He spotted Ichinose Honami waiting there from a distance.
"Did something happen, Ichinose?" Shiraishi Makoto asked, puzzled. This was the first time Ichinose Honami had ever asked to speak with him in private.
"Oh, Shiraishi, you're here." Perhaps she was preoccupied with something else, because Ichinose Honami hadn't noticed him approaching. She only reacted when he spoke.
"There's something personal I'd like to ask you for help with." As she said this, an uncharacteristically embarrassed expression appeared on Ichinose Honami's face.
Then she took a pink letter from her handbag. It was even sealed with a red heart sticker.
"Is that... a love letter?" The moment Shiraishi Makoto saw the pink stationery, he understood what was going on.
Ichinose Honami was Class A's resident angel, so plenty of students in her class and the other classes liked her. In the two months since the school year began, several students had already tried confessing to Ichinose Honami, but she had gently turned them down.
With Ichinose's people skills, rejecting a confession without hurting someone wasn't difficult.
There was only one possibility: the sender was someone very close to her—Shiranami Chihiro.
"That's right... someone's going to confess to me here." Ichinose Honami raised the love letter in her hand, looking a little flustered.
"I found this in my locker yesterday, but... I really don't know much about romance. Besides, I don't think... I could have a normal romantic relationship with this person..." Ichinose Honami lightly gripped the letter, apparently trying to figure out how to explain the situation.
"So the person is a girl, and she's in our class." Shiraishi Makoto figured she'd had enough time to work up to it, so he interrupted Ichinose's hesitation.
"That's right. Shiraishi, did you already figure it out?" Ichinose Honami trusted Shiraishi Makoto's powers of observation. Perhaps he had already realized how Shiranami felt about her.
"So, Ichinose, what did you want to ask me?" By this point, Shiraishi Makoto had already worked out what Ichinose Honami wanted him to do.
"I don't know how to turn her down without hurting her..." Ichinose Honami said, troubled. "Then I remembered how Shiraishi helped Kushida from Class D deal with those rumors before."
She hesitated for a moment, then cautiously raised her eyes to Shiraishi Makoto. Her voice grew quieter and quieter. "If you could pretend to be my boyfriend..."
Pretending to be someone's boyfriend was a cliché, and it was easy to get caught. But, for the two of them, it was surprisingly fitting.
First, they were close. Since the start of the school year, Ichinose Honami had led the class openly, handling almost everything that involved giving orders and uniting the students. Shiraishi Makoto mainly came up with strategies and worked behind the scenes to secure benefits for the class. Their roles complemented each other, and they discussed class decisions together, so they knew each other well.
Second, they were both single. If Ichinose Honami wanted someone else to play along, she'd first have to ask whether he had a girlfriend or a crush, and worry about whether the charade might affect his personal life. She didn't need to ask Shiraishi Makoto, because he had just finished acting in a little charade with Kushida Kikyo.
Third, and most importantly, no one at school would find it surprising if Shiraishi Makoto and Ichinose Honami were really dating.
When Yamauchi Haruki claimed Kushida Kikyo was his girlfriend, everyone's first reaction would be disbelief. Their academic performance, contributions to the class, and standing in every other respect were worlds apart. But Shiraishi Makoto and Ichinose Honami had often been together since the start of the school year. They had joined the Student Council together and led Class A together, and both had made an equally strong impression at school.
Even so... Shiraishi Makoto was still weighing the pros and cons when a figure rushed into the grove.
"Honami? Shiraishi?" Shiranami Chihiro stood some distance away, staring blankly at the two of them facing each other. Her face instantly turned deathly pale, her eyes wide with disbelieving shock.
She had only asked Ichinose Honami to meet her alone. Why was Shiraishi Makoto here?
Could it be...?
A terrible thought came to her.
"S-sorry. I didn't know you were already dating..." Shiranami Chihiro lowered her head, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. She gave a slight bow, then turned to run.
"Wait, Shiranami." Shiraishi Makoto hurriedly called out to stop her.
"It's not what you think." Shiraishi Makoto spoke up, dispelling her misunderstanding. "Whatever you want to say, say it here. I'll step outside."
With that, Shiraishi Makoto walked toward Shiranami Chihiro. As he passed her, he quietly said, "I admire your courage to risk everything, but sometimes courage alone isn't enough."
Then Shiraishi Makoto walked out along the path between the school buildings.
Shiraishi Makoto found a bench and sat down. He hadn't waited long before Shiranami Chihiro came running out, covering her tear-streaked face.
"So it still came to this." Shiraishi Makoto watched Shiranami Chihiro run off, then turned to Ichinose, who looked just as dejected.
"So, Shiraishi, why didn't you want to pretend to be my boyfriend?" Ichinose Honami sat down beside Shiraishi Makoto. She wasn't blaming him.
Since the start of the school year, Shiraishi Makoto had almost always chosen the best course of action when handling important matters. Besides, Ichinose was too close to the situation to be completely objective, so she wanted Shiraishi Makoto to help her think it through.
"First, it takes a lot of courage to confess to someone, especially in your situation." Shiraishi Makoto sounded reflective. "Even if it was never going to work out, I didn't want to use an act to casually dismiss the feelings she'd summoned all her courage to express, leaving her with a lifelong regret."
Ichinose Honami was silent for a while, then gave a gentle nod.
"Second, you're so focused on not wanting to hurt her that you've chosen a solution that leaves no room for yourself." Shiraishi Makoto turned his head to look at Ichinose Honami. "One lie takes many more to cover up. If I agreed today, the whole school would know we were dating by tomorrow. What would you do then?"
"You'd definitely think that pretending to be my boyfriend had already put me through enough trouble, so you'd want to break up as soon as possible. But even a breakup needs a reason. By then, you'd choose to 'sully your own reputation' and take all the blame."
Before you continue