Chapter 19

Though it wasn’t a change visible to the eye, a definitive shift had taken place within Shizuna’s heart. She couldn’t deny that things had progressed with Ryuichi at a breakneck pace, but even so, she was happy. She had mentioned it to Ryuichi this morning, but she simply couldn’t put last night out of her mind. If she let her guard down for even a second, her cheeks would soften into a smile, repeatedly drawing worried questions from her friends about whether something was the matter.

(…Ryuichi-kun.)

Her head was filled with thoughts of Ryuichi and nothing else.
There was no doubt she had been held roughly, but he had constantly checked in on her and worried over her well-being. Once the initial pain had passed, she had been too busy desperately trying to muffle her voice against Ryuichi’s expert touch to think about anything else.

“……!?”

Thinking back on it made her jolt, knocking her desk with a sharp thud.
Not only her classmates, but even the teacher leading the lesson looked over with concern, though naturally, she couldn’t exactly tell them she had been thrown into disarray by those kinds of memories. All Shizuna could do was quietly bow her head.

“Shizuna? Are you really alright?”
“I’m fine… I’m sorry.”

It was embarrassing, but the joy that immediately rushed in to wash away the embarrassment filled her heart to the brim. Ryuichi’s desk was further back, meaning she had to turn around just to see his face. Since class was currently in session, that was out of the question, leaving Shizuna to spend an indescribably restless and agonizing amount of time.

Yet, amidst all that, what kept rising to the surface was that single expression Ryuichi had worn.

(…I wonder why Ryuichi-kun made a face like that.)

She was thinking back to the moment when she had pressed against him, wrapped in his arms after being thoroughly touched, receiving a second helping of bliss. He had let out an irritated click of his tongue as if recalling something unpleasant. At the time, she had worried she might have stepped on some landmine of his, but it turned out not to be the case, leaving her relieved.

(…Right. There’s no need to rush. I am who I am, and I’ll stay by Ryuichi-kun’s side cloaked in my own unblemished color.)

A color that would never be stained and would keep on shining brightly; those words had been planted deep in Shizuna’s heart ever since Ryuichi told them to her. Ryuichi wasn’t hiding his dark side, which was precisely why Shizuna figured it would be enough if she could simply illuminate even that darkness for him.

“Alright, class representative, lead the greeting.”
“Yup. Stand, bow.”

A gruff, unenthusiastic voice rang out.
The teacher looked less than thrilled, but Shizuna let out a soft chuckle. As that voice made abundantly clear, today’s duty student was none other than Ryuichi.
Once the class ended, Shizuna started to make her way over to Ryuichi, but one of her friends asked her to tag along to the restroom, so she agreed to go.

“Hey Shizuna, what’s actually going on with you today?”
“What do you mean?”

Her friend, Asakura Yuuhi, was a girl with a boyish appearance. She was one of Shizuna’s many friends, sitting right next to her and frequently chatting during breaks. It seemed Yuuhi had grown curious about Shizuna’s behavior today.

“I mean, are you really fine?”
“There’s nothing wrong at all, you know?”
“Even though you look like you’ve been entirely spaced out thinking about Shishido?”
“!? “

Shizuna flinched and stared at Yuuhi.
Catching that exact reaction, Yuuhi flashed a knowing grin and looped an arm around Shizuna’s shoulder. The two of them continued walking pressed closely together.

“I talked to Shishido once back then, and his vibe totally changed… Yep, yep, a wild, rugged ikemen like that isn’t a bad deal at all, right?”
“That’s right! Ryuichi-kun is a genuinely wonderful person! …Ah.”
“You’re really telling on yourself, Shizuna.”

Flushed with red, Shizuna realized she had spoken without thinking. Even so, she felt that letting a little bit of Ryuichi’s positive side show was a good thing. Well, whether she felt a tiny twinge of jealousy at the thought was another question entirely, but it was true that she wanted those around her to know what kind of person he really was.

“Still, I’m kinda surprised. I honestly thought you had a thing for Shinozaki.”
“Why’s that?”
“What do you mean why? You’ve always looked out for him a ton. I figured, well, childhood friends… the time they’ve built up over all these years ain’t just for show.”

Thinking back on it, she really had looked after Souhei quite a bit. They had genuinely been close, and their families shared a decent amount of interaction, too. Lately, however, she barely found herself thinking about him at all. She was far too busy thinking about Ryuichi.

“Souhei-kun is definitely a good childhood friend. But… I don’t think things would ever turn into that kind of relationship between us. Above all, I’ve never been able to see him as anything more than a childhood friend.”
“Makes sense. So Shishido’s got your attention instead.”
“That’s right. Exactly.”

Well, they had gone far beyond just “getting her attention,” but if she told Yuuhi that, her friend would undoubtedly lose her mind. Shizuna had zero intention of broadcasting the fact that they had crossed lines physically, though she did worry whether her grinning, constantly flushed face might give her away anyway.

After finishing up in the restroom and returning to the classroom, Shizuna’s eyes naturally drifted toward Ryuichi as usual. Today, not only Makoto, but two other guys she didn’t know well were crowding around Ryuichi’s desk. They were classmates known for running with rough crowds, but now that she knew Ryuichi, they no longer seemed intimidating in the least.

“What are you guys talking about?”

Shizuna casually chimed in with a question.

“Oh? Look who decided to grace us with her presence.”
“Man, I’ve been seeing you two together a lot lately.”

It seemed even those guys found Shizuna hanging around Ryuichi to be an unusual sight. One of the two newcomers reached out a hand toward Shizuna, but she swatted it aside before he could make contact.

“Whoa, tough crowd.”
“Friend of Ryuichi’s or not, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go around touching people so casually.”
“Hoh~? Heh, whatever, I’ll back off since Ryuichi looks like he’d murder me.”

It seemed they genuinely had no intention of picking a fight with Shizuna past that point.
Her gaze carried a sharp edge, leaving no doubt that her warning not to touch her was dead serious. The only ones she allowed to touch her, aside from family members and female friends, were Ryuichi alone.

“Well, humor me and don’t give her a hard time, alright?”
“Kay-kay.”
“Gotcha.”
“…Man, you’ve really changed, you know that?”

Shizuna’s face plainly lit up with happiness at Ryuichi’s small gesture of consideration.
After chatting idly among the five of them for a little longer, she caught Souhei’s gaze directed at her as she headed back to her seat, but… nothing came of it. To clear up any misunderstandings, Shizuna didn’t feel any cold animosity toward Souhei. She still valued him as a childhood friend; it was simply that their priority rankings had swapped.

Time passed until after school, and as a matter of course, Shizuna found herself right by Ryuichi’s side.
Acting as duty student once more, she watched his back as he changed the water in a flower vase just like before. That muscular, broad back of his, and the gentle care with which he handled the flowers, was a walking embodiment of pure gap moe.

“Alright, drop the flowers in.”
“Yes.”

Working together on the task, Shizuna secretly murmured to herself how wonderful this felt, savoring the time spent with just the two of them. Since they were at school, they couldn’t do anything bold, but simply sharing space with him made her heart race.

(I… have completely and utterly lost my heart to Ryuichi-kun.)

If this were a manga, she probably had little cartoon hearts floating in her eyes right now, Shizuna chuckled to herself.
As it turned out, Shizuna was planning to head over to his apartment with him right after. She had overheard him mutter something about wanting to eat nikujaga again, and there was no way she could let that request go unfulfilled.

Yet, waiting for her was an unexpected kind of reunion—a meeting with someone who would give Shizuna her very first taste of genuine emotional turbulence.
Chisa, the female college student, was also visiting Ryuichi’s home.

“Ryuichi~? Coming in… Oh my, look at that. Having a girl over is quite the rare sight.”

Chisa’s expression didn’t shift in the slightest when she laid eyes on Shizuna. She wore a look that suggested she couldn’t care less what kind of relationships Ryuichi maintained.

“Will you seriously give me a heads-up before you just drop by…?”
“Sorry, sorry. It’s fine, it’s not like this is the first time.”

Watching the two of them exchange familiar banter, Shizuna felt a sharp pinch of jealousy in her chest, but refusing to be outdone, she pressed close to Ryuichi and wrapped her arms around his arm. Ryuichi wore a troubled smile, yet reached out to gently pat her head to reassure her, while Chisa simply offered an amused aren’t you just precious.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yorimi Chisa. And you are?”
“I am…”

Thus, the two of them crossed paths.