Ch 30

POV Akari Nakano

*The same day*

No need to needlessly panic. Just act normal. Alright?

"Haah." I took a deep breath to calm myself before entering the classroom. Actually, I did see the LINE message Makoto sent this morning. But how can you just say it was a misunderstanding and try to write everything off? Is he really trying to become a playboy?

I entered the class and directly walked to my seat. Even if I have resolved myself to act less intimately with him the current situation is extremely awkward. Thankfully, it seemed that Makoto had not arrived yet.

"Akari? Hellooo, earth to Akari. Are you there?" Shizuo\'s voice broke me out of my reverie.

"huh?" It seems I was lost in my thoughts for a moment. How embarrassing.

Just at that moment my eyes met Makoto\'s. I hurriedly turned my face away from him. For some reason I wasn\'t able to look at him directly.

"Akari are you alright?" Shizuo asked me worriedly.

"Ah. Y-yeah. I am alright. Just feeling a little under the weather." I quickly explained.

"Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"No. No need for that much. I am just a little tired that\'s all."

"Let her be Shizuo. Everyone has days when they feel bad.

Hinata quickly came to my rescue and managed to divert the topic. Afterall, she more or less saw what transpired between me and Makoto. I just listened to Shizuo and Hinata and didn\'t input much to the conversation. My mind was lost in other thoughts.

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POV Shizuo Hiwari

"Let\'s talk about tomorrow instead," Hinata asked me, clearly trying to change the topic.

"What about tomorrow?" I questioned her, confused.

Did something happen to Akari? For now, let\'s just go with the conversation. I\'ll ask her later in private.

"It\'s your birthday afterall. Are you holding a big party again?"

"I am not a kid anymore to hold a huge party with balloons, and invite all the classmates over." I pouted and replied to Hinata. "You already know that I will be inviting close friends like you and Akari. Big parties are just a way to get headaches."

"Hmmm? Is that so? Fu fu fu"

Upon hearing my words Hinata stared at me and started giggling for some reason. Is she alright? Did she hit her head somewhere?

"W-What happened? Why are you laughing?"

"Will there be only us three there?"

"What do you mean?"

What does she want to say? Is there anybody else?

"What about Nishikawa kun?"

Oh. That. My ears turned red and I averted my face from Hinata\'s. Her words reminded me of today\'s conversation with him. To be honest, when Nishikawa kun greeted me this morning I was panicking internally. I had thought he would be somewhat angry at me. But not only he was not angry, he even apologized, even though it really wasn\'t his fault. I tried to respond normally and thankfully it worked without causing any awkwardness. As for the birthday, I didn\'t even think of inviting him until now, but I still do feel sorry for acting out of jealousy last week.

"Tch tch tch. Looking at your face you haven\'t invited him, have you?"

"…" I couldn\'t respond to her and she took the silence as a yes.

"Shizuo. Let me ask you one thing. You like Nishikawa kun, do you not?"

At this point my face was completely red. However, I managed to gather my courage.

"Y-Yes. I d-do." I said in a small voice and covered my face with my hands.

"I didn\'t think you would admit it."

It seems Hinata was also surprised, even though she was the one who asked me. Even Akari who was just listening to the conversation passively was in shock after hearing my confession.

"Are you going to confess to him?" This time it was Akari who asked me.

"I don\'t know what to do." I had no answer. If I confess will he agree to go out with me? I feel like he likes Shimabukuro chan more than me.

"Listen to me Shizuo. If you really like him then you should try to get closer with him before he gets snatched away."

"H-How?"

"What do you mean how? Go on dates or something."

For some reason there was anger in Akari\'s voice.

"But we aren\'t close enough to go on dates."

"Wasn\'t the Golden week thing almost a date? If you can do it once you can do it again."

"I don\'t think I can."

It wasn\'t only about confessing. What if he refuses me? Wouldn\'t that destroy my chances? On top of all that there was Shimabukuro chan.

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POV Akari Nakano

"She is right Akari. You should slowly build it up until you are comfortable with your chances before striking. Haste makes waste."

But wasn\'t that what I was tried to do? Go with the flow? Look where it got me.

Of course, these were only my thoughts and I didn\'t speak them out.

"Then you should at least invite him for a birthday, right?" Hinata said again, motioning me to agree to her.

"Th-that\'s right. Inviting a guy friend for a birthday is much easier than asking for a date."

Just as I felt we were able to convince her she looked at me and said, "But wouldn\'t inviting just one guy be awkward?"

"Oh that\'s easy. I will bring Suzuki, and Akari can invite Makoto kun."

Hinata stop!

I lightly kicked her with my leg from under the table to make her stop, but it seems my actions were futile. No. By the look she gave me it seems she expected this to happen. I can\'t even refuse to bring Makoto, afterall, Nishikawa kun and Makoto are friends, it is natural to invite them both. But why does it have to be me?

As we chatted about the next day\'s plans, the door opened and two people walked in. I glanced to see who it was, but my brain froze when I saw the happily smiling duo that just entered the class.

"Akari what happened?" My brain did register Shizuo asking the question, or maybe it was Hinata, but I didn\'t respond. My eyes were fixed on his expression. His smile was fake again. For some reason that brought me a sense of comfort.

Just then a boy shouted,

"Yo Makoto how did you suddenly get so close to Shimabukuro san? Did you both start dating by any chance?"

It wasn\'t only me who was curious, every single person in the room stopped talking and everybody\'s attention was fixed on Makoto.

"How can that be Tanaka? Do I look like a dating master to you?"

As expected of Makoto. He deflected the question while subtly denying it. However, upon listening to his answer a question formed in my heart. Why did they come to school together? Luckily, I didn\'t have to think about it for a long time. It seems the same question was in somebody else\'s mind as well.

"How come you guys came together then? It seems someone saw you both walk to school together as well."

Upon hearing that question and seeing Makoto and Shimabukuro san so close sprouted a feeling of uneasiness in my heart. The mood of the class became more and more strained.

"Now, now Tanaka. You shouldn\'t inquire about other people\'s personal life." Nakamoto kun also entered the conversation to calm down the mood.

Makoto turned to Shimabukuro san for a moment and she nodded at him. The uneasiness in my heart became stronger.

"It\'s fine Nakamoto. It\'s not like there is anything to hide." Then looking at Tanaka, he said "Did you not know? Me and Shimabukuro are neighbours. It isn\'t that out of place to walk to school together."

At that statement, the whole class broke into discussion, all of them whispering to each other, trying to confirm the facts and rumours. My attention all this time was fixed on Makoto. That is why I was able to notice. For a split second his face had turned into a really annoyed expression. Looks like he really was angry at Tanaka kun.

"Why are you asking me so much anyway Tanaka? Could it be that you have a crush on Shimabukuro san?"

Tanaka\'s face turned red, and he hurriedly sat down. However, Makoto was not done yet. He took out what seemed to be a 10 yen coin out of his pocket.

"Look here Tanaka. A coin. Let\'s play a game. Pick a side."

While saying that he tossed the coin in the air.

What is he doing? I wasn\'t the only one who was confused. Everyone in the class was in the same situation as I was.

"Come on choose fast. Pick a side. How hard is it?"

"T-tails." Tanaka blurted out right as the coin landed in Makoto\'s palm.

"What do you know. The result is tails. Congratulations you won. For your reward let me tell you some inside information." Makoto said while beckoning Tanaka closer.

However, before Tanaka could come close to him, Makoto started. His voice was loud enough for the whole class to hear.

"Unfortunately, you are out of luck. Did you use all your luck in winning this coin toss or something? Anyways, listen carefully, okay?"

All of us, even Shimabukuro san herself seemed to be curious as to what he would tell Tanaka. Makoto gave his final blow...

"Shimabukuro san already has someone she likes, and that person does not seem to be you."