21 Chapter 21: Storm

I wonder what she meant by 'not losing to Hiroisora again'? Does Koujou know her? She did say that they were classmates again, but why does she seem so unfriendly to Hiroisora? I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask her, but she already went home after confessing to me. I headed to our clubroom to continue our practice.

When I got inside, I noticed that Hiroisora was not around. I went over to Nariyuki to look for her.

"Where's Hiroisora? I thought you came here together."

"We were headed here. But when she saw Koujou-san talking to you, she just ran off."

"What happened between those two? They seem to be avoiding each other. And it's just the first day they meet again."

"I'm pretty sure it's just about you." I was surprised by what Nariyuki said, although I shouldn't take her too seriously.

"Who can blame them?" I couldn't resist the chance to brag to Nariyuki.

"Yeah. I certainly don't blame them for having poor taste in men." She always has the final retort, doesn't she? I just can't beat her.

"I don't know if Hiroisora already told you or not, but we're doing this relationship act because we want to help you and the club."

"She already told me, and I'm really grateful to the both of you." This is maybe the first time I heard Nariyuki so sincere. "But you two are stupid in your own ways." Ok, I take that back.

"Here I thought you were her friend."

"I am. Which is why I'm so frustrated."

"About what?"

"About how dense you two are."

"Huh?"

"It's obvious that you both—" She stopped speaking and shook her head in disappointment. "Never mind. I shouldn't be the one saying these things to you. Figure it out yourself." She then went back to work and walked away while talking with other club members."

I waited for Hiroisora in the club room, so that we could get some practice done. Although, the real reason was that I wanted to talk to her as well. She didn't show up in the end, and we all decided to finish for the day and go home.

As I was walking home from school, my mind was wandering off. Even though I have finally realized my true feelings for Hiroisora, something new happens. I didn't know I'd affect Koujou like that; she even followed me to my school. This will surely complicate things...

---

The next day at class, our classmates were still swarming over at Koujou. It still does feel weird to see her as our classmate.

I glanced over to Hiroisora. She seems to be down. I guess it has something to do with our new classmate.

"Why don't you talk to her? Instead of glaring like a stalker." Nariyuki suggested something I already was planning to do.

"I was thinking of doing that. Though I don't know if it's okay to just approach her with how she is right now..."

"Stop worrying about every little detail. No wonder you're not making any progress with her."

"On the contrary, we are already a couple."

"A fake one, that is."

"Yeah..." I let out a weak laugh.

I decided to approach her during lunch break. Nothing will happen if I just look from afar. I'm worried about her.

"Hey, Hiroisora." I stood next to her before she could leave her seat. "I brought some yakisoba bread with me. Want to eat it together?" I tried to act casual about it, but I was nervous for some reason.

"I brought a bento today. Eli made one this morning." She was neither happy nor angry when she answered me. It was more like she didn't care. I can't give up just yet.

"Well, we can eat the bread and the bento. You do seem to be getting pretty thin yourself." She let out a sigh.

"You shouldn't comment on a girl's weight, you know." She took out her bento from her bag and stood up. She went straight to the door without saying another word. But before going out, she looked at me and pointed upwards. It took me some time to realize what she meant.

"Oh, the rooftop." I followed her outside.

When we got to the rooftop, we sat down near the fence. She prepared her bento and took out chopsticks. She hasn't said a word since we were in the classroom. I decided I had to start the conversation again.

"Um..."

"Sorry for worrying you." She was the one who talked first, which surprised me.

"Oh. Was it obvious?" I tried to pass it off as a joke. But she was still serious.

"Kosui-san talked to me earlier. I'm sorry for not showing up yesterday. But I'm fine now." She still wasn't looking at me.

"It's alright as long as you are okay. But if there is anything you want to talk about, you know I'll listen, right?" She finally smiled, even if just a little.

"Thanks." I didn't pry any further. I let her talk when she wanted to. We just ate in silence afterwards.

We finished eating quickly since we weren't talking. When I thought lunch break would end without us really talking, she asked me a question.

"So, um, did you really save her? I mean Koujou-san." She was looking down at her empty bento, trying hard to avoid eye contact.

"Well, yeah. It's kind of a long story, really. I'm not even sure how or why I did it."

"So what happened?" Her voice sounded like she was a bit curious. She still wasn't looking at me.

"Long story short, I met her accidentally while she was in disguise. Her disguise made her stand out even more, so I just told her that. After accusing me of being a stalker, she asked for my help to catch the real one."

"Oh, how did you do it?" Her interest went higher. I could feel a little bit of excitement in her voice.

"Surprisingly, by acting like the real stalker." At this point I was practically bragging how I saved her. She didn't seem to mind. "When the real stalker showed up, he charged at me with a knife."

"What?!" Her voice rose, combining both anger and worry. "You were in danger, then? Don't do anything like that again..." I could see some tears welling up in her eyes.

"There were police watching us so nothing would have happened to me—"

"You don't know that!"

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch break.

After an awkward silence, we stood up and went back to our classroom.

---

When classes ended, I went to the clubroom. I was hoping that Hiroisora went there as well. Instead of making her feel better, I think I made it worse. And I still don't know what's bothering her. I reached our clubroom and opened the door. I saw Hiroisora inside. When I was about to call out to her, someone grabbed my arm.

"Hey Takaiyama-san! I haven't been able to talk to you the whole day. Would you like to go out with me?" Koujou was playfully asking me to go with her.

Everyone inside looked at us and some even reacted with protest. Some were against it because I was already with Hiroisora, while some boys feel I'm stealing her from them or I'm hogging all the girls.

I made eye contact with Hiroisora. She broke off our gaze with each other.

"I'm sorry Koujou. I can't go out with you. I... Already have Hiroisora." Jeering turned into cheering.

I glanced at Hiroisora's reaction, and her face was red. I guess what I said was a bit embarrassing. Actually, I'm feeling really embarrassed myself. I can feel my face turning red as well. It feels like I just confessed to Hiroisora in front of everyone.

"Why does she always get to have the guy I like? It's so unfair!" Koujou started shouting but it wasn't directed at anyone. It was like her frustrations just started to pour out. Everyone was shocked. Hiroisora stood up from her seat and ran outside the classroom. I turned around and tried to run after her, but Koujou grabbed my hand. Without saying a word, she looked at me with her eyes begging me to stay.

"I'm sorry." I took my hand from her grasp and ran after Hiroisora.

I didn't know where Hiroisora went. My instinct just told me to go to the rooftop. Luckily, as I opened the door, she was there standing near the railing. I walked towards her and then stood quietly beside her. I was waiting for her to talk. If she didn't want to, that was fine as well. As I rested my arms on the railing, she started to talk.

"What was that back there?" I didn't understand her question.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go out with you. I already have Hiroisora." She was mockingly copying what I said earlier. Then a slight laugh came afterwards. "If that was a confession, it was kind of lame, just so you know." I could see a weak smile from her.

"Well, it's true. Doesn't matter how you take it." I didn't want to impose on her, so I just went along with her joke.

"It matters to me…" She suddenly became serious. "I'm sorry you got involved… between me and Koujou-san."

"To be honest, I don't know what happened between you and Koujou, and I don't want to force you to tell me." I really don't want Hiroisora to tell me something she is not comfortable with. I can wait until she is ready to tell me. I just want to be around her when she is feeling down, so that she knows I'm here for her.

"I can tell she really likes you." Hiroisora said while slumping towards the railing now. "Ever since yesterday, she's been looking at your direction every chance she gets. She hasn't changed a bit. You can always tell when she likes someone." She laughed after seemingly remembering something. "You know what, Takaiyama-kun? Koujou-san was my best friend back in elementary."

"Oh…" I was surprised.

"Due to my problems, I hurt her. Ever since then we lost contact with each other. I didn't even know she became an idol. I didn't recognize her until she said her name in front of the class." Her expression turned to sadness and regret. Now a painful memory seems to run inside her mind. "I don't think she recognized me immediately as well. But when she knew I was her classmate again, I saw how angry she was. She still hates me, I guess…"

"Take your time. No need to rush. I'm sure you'll be able to talk about it with her. I can help you if you want." I may have crossed my bounds but I wanted her to be able to move forward, and this was the only thing I can think of saying.

"Thanks..." She smiled for a bit. "I'll try my best to try and talk to her. But…"

"But?"

"I don't plan on letting her have you." She said that while smiling at me. I think my heart skipped a beat. But before jumping to any conclusions, I managed to compose myself. This may be a joke or tease, as she usually does.

"Of course! We're the 'I'm Sorry-couple'. We still need to help Nariyuki and the club." I forced out a laugh. She seemed disappointed at what I said for some reason.

We didn't go back to the clubroom after that. We decided to practice our lines on the rooftop instead. We haven't been able to practice lately, and if we came back we will just be interrupted again. When it was getting dark, we decided to call it a day.

---

A few days have passed since that day Hiroisora and I talked at the rooftop. During that span, Koujou hasn't been to school. There were even rumors that it was because I rejected her, she decided to quit school. I could feel the wrath of the male student population through their gaze.

One afternoon while we were in the clubroom, a female underclassman approached me about it.

"Takaiyama-senpai, did Kei-chan really quit school because of you?

"I don't think so. I hope."

"But she clearly said in your class that she went to this school because of you, right?" The girl was really curious. And she made a good point. "Also, she hasn't updated her website in quite some time as well. At this point, we can assume that something bad has happened to her, correct?" That seems absurd, but it may be true to some degree. I'm feeling guilty from this interrogation.

While I was suffering internally, the clubroom door slammed open. Somebody was standing there.

"President Nariyuki! I would like to submit my membership form for the Theater Club!"

"Koujou-san…?" Nariyuki went to her in surprise.

"Reporting for duty!" Everyone was shocked to see Koujou.

"We thought that you quit school already." Nariyuki asked her the question that is on everyone's mind.

"Me? Quit? No way. I wouldn't be an Idol if I was that weak. Besides, my knight is still here. And I'm still waiting to be swept off my feet." She then looked at me and smiled.