—-Ryu—-
I slid the classroom door open just as I arrived on campus, greeted by the usual low murmur of students chatting, chairs scraping against the floor, and the occasional yawn echoing through the room. The early morning light streamed through the windows, casting a soft glow across the desks.
My eyes drifted toward my seat, and sure enough, there they were. Taishi and Emilia were already deep in conversation. Emilia's familiar brightness filled the air around her like usual, but there was something different about her today. Her smile seemed a little more vibrant than normal, her laughter more playful.
She caught sight of me and waved with an energy that felt almost blinding in contrast to the drowsy classroom atmosphere. She really is like the morning sun.
Taishi, as expected, remained unfazed. He met my gaze with his usual blank expression, unreadable as always. Typical Taishi.
I walked over, setting my bag down beside my chair and sliding into my seat as I joined them.
Taishi adjusted his glasses, resting his elbow on the desk and propping his chin in his hand. Emilia leaned against the window sill beside us, the light catching in her blonde hair.
"So…" Taishi began, his tone calm and uninterested as always, "Emilia told me something interesting."
I looked over at her, puzzled. "Huh? What's that?"
"You know… that you finally found your Cinderella."
He said it so casually that I almost didn't catch the weight behind his words. But as they settled in, I stiffened.
Before I could reply, Emilia reached out and touched my shoulder. She leaned in closer, that playful glint in her eye sharp as ever, her face just inches from mine as she turned to Taishi with a grin.
"You should've seen his face when he told me! He said it was Miss Yui—that she was the one he's been looking for all this time!"
Her teasing smile was unmistakable, but there was a certain thrill in her tone, like she was genuinely happy for me.
"So?" Taishi cut in, still leaning on his hand, his dark eyes meeting mine. "Ryu…" he said slowly, deliberately. "Now that you've found her… what are you going to do?"
I froze.
The question wasn't dramatic, nor was it loud, but it hit me harder than I expected. For weeks I'd been chasing after a memory. For an entire month, I'd searched all over campus. And now… now that I finally knew who she was, Yui Yamazaki, what was I supposed to do?
My thoughts spiraled as uncertainty washed over me. I had no idea.
Emilia tilted her head, clearly curious. Her expression was expectant, as if she were waiting for something profound or romantic. Taishi, on the other hand, watched quietly. Calm, focused, and definitely not about to let me avoid the topic.
I scratched the back of my neck and looked away. "I… don't know."
"You don't know?" Emilia echoed, raising a brow. "But didn't you go through all that trouble just to find her?"
I sighed.
Honestly, I wasn't sure of anything anymore. Should I really try talking to her? She's basically a campus celebrity; quiet, graceful, elegant. The kind of girl everyone admires from afar. Me, approaching her out of nowhere? That sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. What if rumors started? What if she hated the attention and ended up resenting me?
Emilia's teasing faded, and her gaze softened. "You really are overthinking it, aren't you?"
I shifted in my seat, embarrassed. "I guess so…"
Taishi leaned back, arms crossed. "You spent all that time searching for her, and now that she's in front of you, you're frozen?"
"It's not that simple, Taishi." I muttered. "It's not like I can just walk up to her and—"
"Why not?" Emilia said, her voice cutting in, gentle, but firm. "If she really means that much to you, why are you hesitating?"
I didn't have an answer.
The more I thought about it, the more tangled my feelings became. My chest felt tight with doubt, like something was holding me back.
"You'll never know unless you try.." Taishi said plainly. "Life isn't perfect. Sometimes it's messy. But if you don't take a step, you'll stay in the same place forever."
I stared at my desk, my mood growing heavier by the second. "I just... I don't know what to do." I murmured, barely above a whisper. "Maybe I should just leave a love letter in her locker or something?"
Taishi looked over at me with the driest expression imaginable. "Ryu, you might want to rethink your life choices if that's the first thing you came up with."
"Eh?" I blinked, caught off guard.
He sighed, resting his elbow back on the desk. "From what I've heard, a few guys already confessed to Miss Yamazaki this year. All got turned down. Know how they did it? Love letters in her locker. Cliché and ineffective."
His tone wasn't mean, it was blunt, but honest.
Emilia nodded beside him. "Yeah. Miss Kana also told me someone confessed to her just last week. He got turned down flat."
That news hit me like a punch in the gut. So… someone else had already confessed? And she said no? Part of me felt relieved, but another part of me panicked. What if I tried… and she rejected me too? My fingers curled slightly, and I felt my brows furrow.
Taishi gave a long sigh, glancing sideways. "It's painfully obvious you've got zero experience with girls."
"Huh?! That's not true!" I shot back, offended.
"Yes, it is." he said without hesitation.
"…Okay, fine. You're right."
Emilia let out a soft laugh, turning her head and trying to hide her smile behind her hand.
I groaned, feeling my face heat up with embarrassment. My hand instinctively went up to cover it. After a beat, Emilia looked at me again and gave a small sigh, her expression gentle.
"It's alright, Ryu. I can help you out!" she said with a light giggle.
Taishi, still calm as ever, nodded slightly. "Why don't you two go hang out, just the two of you? Consider it practice. Ryu needs to figure out how to treat a girl properly on a date." His tone was totally serious, like he was giving me a math problem to solve.
Emilia blinked in surprise at his suggestion. Her face turned slightly pink, and she glanced down, fingers fidgeting with her skirt.
"Th-that's not what I had in mind, but… sure, yeah… I'll be happy to do it." Her voice was soft, the usual playful tone gone, replaced by something more sincere.
The silence that followed felt deafening.
I could hear the ticking of the classroom clock. The distant chatter of other students filtered in faintly from the hall. But all I could focus on was what had just been said, and Emilia's sudden shift in demeanor.
I glanced at her.
She wasn't teasing. Her expression was warm and a little shy. Her hands played with the hem of her skirt, and she wasn't looking at me. My chest tightened. Why was I… nervous?
I'd never thought of Emilia that way. We always joked, laughed, teased each other. She was a close friend, someone who lit up a room, who could always make me feel at ease.
But now…
Now she was agreeing to go on a "practice date" with me. And somehow, that made my brain stop working.
"I-I mean, only if you want to!" I stammered, hands waving as panic rose. "You don't have to if it's weird or anything. I get it if—"
Emilia laughed softly, a gentle, genuine sound that stopped me mid-sentence.
"Relax, Ryu. I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't like the idea in the first place." Her smile was comforting, warm, and totally sincere.
She paused, her gaze dropping as her fingers toyed with her sleeve.
"Or… is it because you don't think I'm cute enough?" she asked, barely above a whisper, her voice carrying an unfamiliar vulnerability.
I froze.
"Huh—?!"
Her words echoed in my mind, scrambling every thought I had. What… What did she just say? Why would she say that? My heart raced, and I could feel my face go red all over again. My brain was tripping over itself, trying to form a coherent response. I couldn't think straight.
Is it hot in here?
I mean, of course Emilia's cute. She's always been cute. When she smiles like that, she looks… kind of beautiful, actually. But wait, what am I thinking?! This is Emilia! My head is a mess.
And the day's just getting started.