Vol 1 Chapter 15 – (Volume 1 Finale): Lovers【Volume 1: The Road to Romance】

From the day they made sweets together, every single thought was about Shino.

He couldn’t focus on studying. The late-night anime he watched as part of his daily routine played on without a single frame registering in his head.

He knew perfectly well that something had changed in him.

I don’t understand.

I don’t understand any of it — no. No, that wasn’t true. “Not understanding” was just an excuse he’d been hiding behind to avoid facing his own feelings. Deep down, he’d known all along.

He was simply, without realizing it, afraid of getting hurt.

Using “I don’t know” as a shield. Unconscious self-defense.

But anyone could see it. Shino had been showing him, plainly and openly, that she liked him. He didn’t know the reason or what had sparked it — but she’d been telling him through her actions, again and again, that she’d come to care for him.

“…”

Midway through his shower, he let himself slide down until his back was against the wall and he was sitting on the floor of the bath.

The warm droplets hitting his skin felt oddly soothing.

For just this moment, the tight ache deep in his chest seemed to ease.

“What… should I do?”

The words came out barely above a murmur — but inside, the answer was already there. His heart had been this shaken, this thoroughly upended. That was the answer.

And yet he kept asking himself the same question, over and over.

It was instinct — the instinct to close off every exit. No matter how many times he circled back, there was only ever one place to arrive. By driving himself into that corner, he was trying to find the courage to commit.

“…”

Gradually, as the minutes passed, something in him settled. The smoldering feeling that had been building for days dropped quietly into place, like a key finally turning in a lock.

“Alright…”

His mind was made up.

Sandai turned off the shower, draped a towel over his head, and walked out to the living room. He picked up his phone from the table.

— Just say what I feel. Honestly.

That was what he decided. He couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

☆

“Hm? Hold on a second, Fujiwara. You… something’s different about you.”

He was going about his usual school day when Nakaoaka called out to him as they passed in the hall.

“…Is it that obvious?”

“There’s a kind of… composure to you. Steadiness. Like something settled.” She studied him for a moment, then seemed to put it together. She figured it out, Sandai thought, rubbing the back of his neck lightly.

“When I gave you that advice before, you pushed back on every single thing I said. I was honestly starting to think you were a lost cause.” A pause. Then she clapped him firmly on the back, twice. “But look at you.”

Sandai winced at the impact — and smiled, just a little. “…Thank you, sensei.”

☆

He came home. He studied. Before bed, he watched his late-night anime.

The daily routine he’d been unable to get through for days was finally moving again, smooth and uninterrupted.

And tucked between the studying and the anime — one new ritual had been added to his evenings.

“…Almost nine o’clock.”

He checked the time, cleared away his study materials, and reached for his phone.

A message from Shino was waiting: Almost there ♡

The new ritual was this: every night after her shift, Shino had started coming over. They’d talk about whatever, play games, just spend the time together.

She’d been catching the 9 PM train home until recently — but she’d started shifting it an hour later, spending that extra hour at Sandai’s place instead.

He was still fidgeting restlessly when the intercom buzzed. He nearly tripped getting to the door. He opened it, and there she was.

“Hey~”

“I’ve been waiting. Shino.”

“I couldn’t wait either. Here I come!”

She flung herself at him. He caught her on reflex — and naturally, inevitably, she ended up cradled in his arms in a princess carry as he brought her inside.

“…Come to think of it — now that we’re together, are you still as bad with other guys as before?”

“Yep. Still completely hopeless with anyone except you.”

“Sounds rough.”

“It’s not rough at all. …Because you’re going to keep me, right?”

“I’m well past the point of brushing things off with jokes, so I’m not going to. Of course I am.”

“Then if I’m going to be a homebody, it doesn’t matter one bit that I can’t deal with other men. …Besides — wouldn’t it bother you if I was chatting away all friendly with other guys?”

“That… yeah, it would bother me.”

“See! …By the way. There’s something I haven’t heard from you yet today.”

“…I love you. More than anything. Shino.”

“Heh. Me too.”

Click. The front door swung shut behind them.

Slipping through the last narrow gap before it closed — just barely — was the unmistakably sweet warmth that belongs only to two people in love.