Visit

(Kiyohito POV)

“…Kiyohito?”

Ryoma said as I entered the karaoke box room uninvited.

“Hey. Everyone, come back. The school festival is something we should all enjoy together.”

“Who told you where we were?” Ryoma glared at his friends.

“That doesn’t matter. Just come back already.”

“I’m not going back.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t like him. Aoi Yamaguchi. And what about you? You liked the Angel too, didn’t you? How do you feel about her being snatched away by some plain guy?”

“…You don’t know anything about Aoi. He’s an amazing person.”

“What’s so amazing about him? He’s completely ordinary. So ordinary it’s supposed to be impressive?”

“Okay, let me ask you this: do you think anyone would want to be with someone who’s trying to ruin a fun school festival out of spite?”

“This is because he married her. If I were dating the Angel, this wouldn’t be happening…”

“Whether you’re dating her or not, your actions are the answer. With your selfish, petty behavior, Marin-chan would never like you. You’re shallow.”

“Huh? Watch your mouth, Kiyohito.”

“Oh? Are you going to hit me? Come on, then. You’re just a monkey who can’t control his emotions.”

“You…”

The tension became palpable.

“Hey, you two, stop it!”

“Shut up! Stay out of this.” Ryoma’s punch landed squarely on my face.

He looked a bit surprised, perhaps expecting me to dodge. Blood dripped from my cut lip, dripping on the floor.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“…There’s no way I can be satisfied. Even if I hit you…”

“I figured. I don’t completely misunderstand where you’re coming from. But this isn’t the way. No one will be happy if you do this. Even if you try to forget, even if you say you’ve accepted it… deep down, there’s still…”

Tears started to flow naturally.

“Kiyohito…”

“We have to move forward. Both you and I.”

“…Yeah.”

Then I joined them, and we sang breakup songs until our voices were hoarse.

◇ Shiozaki Residence (Aoi POV)

“Yubi Suma… 2!” I shouted. (TL: I looked it up, it’s like a guessing game, where the other person guesses the number fingers you’ll take out, look it up if interested)

One finger was raised.

“Heh heh heh…”

“Damn… you’re pretty good.”

“Alright, it’s my turn. Yubi Suma 3.”

Three fingers were raised.

“I’m the first one out,” Kanade-san laughed.

“Yubi Suma… 0!”

And so, I ended up doing the dishes.

As usual, I was spending time with Marin-chan, and Kanade-san had come over to hang out, so the three of us were enjoying ourselves.

“Winning really feels great, doesn’t it, Marin?”

“Yeah, totally, Kanade,” both of them grinned as they watched me wash the dishes.

“…You guys won, so you can just sit and relax.”

“A loser giving orders to the winners? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Yeah, yeah!”

When these two get together, it’s always trouble…

After I finished washing the dishes, we watched TV together. Marin-chan, sitting next to me, discreetly intertwined her fingers with mine so Kanade-san couldn’t see.

When I looked at her, she smiled shyly, saying, “Hehehe,” and put her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture.

“Hmm? What’s going on?”

“Nothing at all!”

“Even though you two finally admitted your feelings for each other, can you at least not start getting all touchy-feely while I’m still here?”

“Wh-what are you talking about!?” I yelled, while Marin-chan added unnecessarily, “You don’t want to?”

As usual, it was chaotic, and about two hours later, Kanade-san left.

Once it was just the two of us, we continued watching TV until Marin-chan turned it off.

Now, the only sound in the living room was the faint ticking of the clock.

We sat on the sofa together, and she leaned her head on my shoulder, intertwining our fingers again.

“So Kiyohito contacted me just now… Kashiwazaki and the others are coming back tomorrow.”

“…I see. Kiyohito-kun is really amazing.”

“Yeah. He’s my… idol.”

“…Earlier, my heart was racing.”

“Y-yeah.”

“…I want to stay like this forever.”

“…Me too,” I said, squeezing her hand tighter than before. As we looked into each other’s eyes and our lips met, she playfully pushed me down saying, “Gotcha.”

She then leaned over me, resting her face on my chest.

“…Your heart is beating so fast.”

“…Well, yeah…”

“You know, I’m really happy right now. Being able to be with the person I love like this.”

“I’m happy too.”

“Yeah.”

“…Marin-chan.”

“Hmm?”

“…I want to kiss you.”

“…Okay,” she said, and we kissed again.

“I love you… Marin.”

“…I love you too, Aoi.”

With the mood set just right, we headed towards the bed…

(TL: Segs?)