Kindred Souls

“As expected from a musician, you really had to pick a dramatically beautiful scene for an honest talk, didn't you?”

“As expected from an overly confident guy, you surely had to comment on that, hadn’t you?”

Both chuckled in unison as Atsushi slowly made his way to sit right next to the pianist.

“Listen, I know it’s about the thing you said back in the ramen place. That’s why I just wanted to say that I don’t mind pretending I didn’t hear anything and just forgetting about it so—”

“No,” Nami quickly cut the blonde off, “I need to clear everything up. I just can’t pretend or avoid it anymore,” she looked straight into the man’s eyes.

“Well then, go ahead,” he encouraged her.

Taking a deep breath, the nervous woman broke eye contact by looking at the scene before her instead and started unsurely, “I… I honestly believe that at some point I just developed a crush on you. It’s hard even for me to pinpoint when it was… I can easily tell when my approach towards you shifted, but I have no clue when it became something more.”

She looked back at Atsushi to check his reaction, but he remained calm—melancholic, even. Just like her a few seconds before, he was looking at the landscape, so she took it as a sign to continue.

“I was glad to have a friend like you who thinks similarly and shares my perspective on the system and music, but at some point, I wanted more. I was always looking forward to your replies to my messages, and I always hoped that, for once, you would be the one to send something first. And when we bumped into each other at the festival, I thought I was lucky to have a chance to spend time with you, just like we used to before the concert.”

The pianist bit her lip as she felt her voice starting to tremble, knowing that the easiest part to admit was already behind her, and now she had to face all her fears.

“I know my feelings are genuine.”

“And that’s where the ‘but’ part comes in, huh?”

He was, as always, right. But still, Nami couldn’t find the strength in her to continue, so she sat silently, trying to muster up the courage to speak again. Seeing her struggle, the freckled man decided to take the reins.

“I have had a crush on you since I saw your first performance.”

“What?” That confession brought enough of a surprise to overpower her nervousness immediately.

“Yeah, I know. Weird, right?” he chuckled. “I never even spoke to you, but I just had that feeling that we would match so well. And at every other performance of yours, I tried to approach you.”

“Why didn’t you? I mean, I definitely never saw you in the crowd.”

“Hah, I guess I got cold feet every single opportunity I had. You were always surrounded by a crowd of friends and family; it felt wrong to disturb such an intimate moment. Well, at least that was my excuse back then.”

Atsushi tucked one knee up toward his chest, the other leg stretching lazily out before him. His fingers brushed over the knee as he leaned slightly to one side, his elbow finding support on the firm curve of his bent leg.

“As you know, I am not the biggest fan of how the Soullet system works right now, but… Ugh, it’s going to be embarrassing to admit…” He covered his flushed face with one of his hands, only to take it away seconds later to tousle his messy blonde locks. “I might have checked your birth date in the system and gone to your ceremony,” after saying that, he quickly turned his head to look her in the eyes again. “I know what you think! But I swear I am not a stalker, okay? That was one moment of weakness!”

“I didn’t think that…”

“You don’t have to lie to make me feel better; I can see it on your face.”

“Okay,” Nami admitted, “I think it was a bit stalkerish.”

“Well, anyways!” the man quickly moved on. “It was the only time I decided to wear Soullet. I thought that maybe, just maybe, it would match us and then I would have the chance.”

“But it didn’t…”

“No, it didn’t… I saw you and your boyfriend celebrating, so I didn’t want to be a homewrecker, so I just left.”

“But you decided to sponsor the concert. You had to know you would work with me,” the pianist pried further, curious about the reasoning behind his actions.

“Believe it or not, I was able to put my feelings aside and still support your creativity. I could give up on you, but not on what you could create if only you were given enough freedom. I don’t regret doing it, but not going to lie—it was sometimes hard, like when you hugged me at the after-party—Man, was I fighting myself not to cross the line! Same with messaging. As much as I wanted to type more, I knew I would be moving into dangerous territory of crushing on you again.”

“Aah, I really made a mess for everyone, didn’t I?”

“Don’t blame yourself too much. No matter how much we upgrade technology, even the Soullet system can’t control our feelings, and I don’t really regret having feelings for you, so… I don’t know what the situation with your boyfriend looks like right now, but I wouldn’t mind returning your feelings.”

Nami looked at him, even more conflicted than she previously was, now knowing his side of the story—his feelings. It wasn’t any easier to decide what would be the best thing to do, while out of nowhere Atsushi decided to gently pat her head.

“But if that’s not what you want, I can still be there as your friend. My adventures with you helped me realize that I am a part of a problem in the system as well. Instead of complaining about how it is, I should do more to change it so no one, nor their feelings, would ever suffer from it.”

“Thank you, Atsushi,” Nami finally said. “I honestly don’t deserve your or Tsukasa’s kindness. He… He still believes that if my feelings for him still exist, then they will win against my recent feelings towards you. I just don’t want to hurt either of you, but it’s just impossible…”

“Nah, don’t worry about me. I will whine for a bit, but I’ll get better,” he tried to ease up the mood. “I am filthy rich anyway, so I’m gonna buy myself something overly expensive and useless to cheer up.”

Nami couldn’t help but chuckle, even though she didn’t find his joking that funny. It was the thoughtfulness of trying to make her feel comfortable that made her smile more than the joke itself.

“Or I have a better idea! I will go and seduce your boyfriend. He’s not that bad-looking actually, and we will have our happily ever after.”

“You trying not to be a homewrecker didn’t last that long, I see,” she decided to play along to humor him.

“What can I say? I am a terrible human being!”

The pianist chuckled, but full of gratitude and honesty, she retorted, “Don’t say that, you’re a good person. Both of you are. That’s why it’s so hard.”

“Thanks, Nami,” he smiled at her in return. “No matter what you decide, just let me know so I can reprogram my approach towards you appropriately. Just take some time.”

The brunette got up, taking one last look at the view of the city.

“I sure will be taking some time soon.”