Newfound Determination

“Say something…”

“But what?”

“Preferably that you like me too and want to be my boyfriend.”

“That would be a lie, though.”

“Sometimes lies turn true if you give them enough time.”

“You know it won’t work like that in this case.”

“...Yeah, I know.”

Two childhood friends sat on a bench—next to each other, yet with a significant gap between them. No one spoke for a long while; only the noises of kids running around and people talking in a foreign language disturbed the quietness.

“Why do you like her so much, anyway?” Madoka was the first to break the silence.

“Uh… You’re gonna laugh…”

“Try me.”

“I think, at first, it was just me realizing that I probably like blondes—” At that moment, Satoru regretted looking at Madoka, as her face of disbelief spoke louder than any words. “Okay, before you judge me completely! That was only the first trigger, okay? At that point, I just thought she looked cute. Heck, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t even interact with her for the entire summer, but then…”

The brown-haired girl tilted her head, intrigued.

“Then it all felt like destiny—she loved the same game as I did, and it may sound stupid, but thanks to that, we kind of… started to understand each other without words. And that just… it just felt special.”

“So you like her because she likes the same game as you. Wow.”

“Hey, don’t simplify it like that!”

And then they both went quiet again.

Though in Satoru’s mind, there were so many thoughts at once that it felt as if the noise had never gone away. He really wished he could return Madoka’s feelings, but it was impossible. He saw her only as a sister. But this situation also made him realize some things about his own feelings.

“You know, I need to thank you.”

Madoka suddenly snapped her head toward her childhood friend. “Huh? For what?”

“Thanks to you, I realized that I don’t want to keep things as they are. No matter how everything turns out, I won’t just sit back and let things be. I’m going to face my feelings for real this time.”

“So you’re going to confess?”

“That’s the plan.”

“You’re so cruel, you know? Telling a girl who just confessed to you that you want to confess your feelings to another…”

“Sorry.”

“If I hadn’t confessed… would you still do that? Or would you have just gone back and forgotten about her?”

“That’s not really something I can be sure of, but I want to believe that if not you, something or someone else would have pushed me to do it.”

“I see… Ah, all this time, I thought I had the upper hand over all those girls at school because at least you talked with me, and here you were going all mushy over a German girl. I would’ve never imagined it happening.”

“What girls from school? No way any of them were ever interested in me,” the black-haired boy chuckled. “All I did was study. I’m probably the most boring guy in our entire school.”

Madoka groaned. “Right, I forgot how oblivious you can be… Ugh, I guess as your friend, I’ll be kind enough to make you aware of that… even after you rejected me. I really am too kind for my own good.”

“No, for real, what are you talking about?”

“It’s because all you do is study and play games—you’re so stupidly clueless. You really think girls aren’t interested in you when you’re at the top of our school in grades, do well in sports, and can cook on top of that?”

“You’re not pulling my leg?”

“At this point, I feel like you wouldn’t even believe me if I said you’re quite attractive. You’d probably look a bit better if you put more effort into your appearance, but still, people see the potential.”

“Huh.”

“Huh, indeed.” Then the girl smacked the back of Satoru’s head. “Don’t let it get to your head, though! Now, come on,” she said as she got up from the bench, “it’s getting late—I should be heading back to the hotel.”

“I’ll walk you back.”

This time, their walk consisted of conversations about their daily lives rather than Satoru’s adventures in Germany. He was mindful not to mention Silke as well. Even if Madoka took the rejection well, he still wanted to respect her feelings. He was sure she would move on quickly—she was strong when it came to her emotions.

“Well, this is me,” the Japanese girl announced as they stood in front of the biggest hotel Satoru had ever seen in his life.

“Miss Comfortable,” he teased.

“You’re just jealous I get to have a huge suite all to myself~”

“Yeah, totally. Anyway, today wasn’t perfect, so I thought I could make it up to you. We can hang out—just the two of us this time.”

Madoka gave him a small smile. “Thanks, but tomorrow we’re actually heading to another city. I was only here for one day.”

"Crap, really? Now that makes me even more of an asshole… Guess I’ll have to make it up to you somehow when we get back home."

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Then…” Both of them stood awkwardly. “See you in Tokyo?”

“See you in Tokyo.” She waved goodbye as he slowly turned around to walk back to the apartment, but before he could take more than two steps, he heard Madoka call out to him.

“Hey, Satoru!”

He turned his head back toward her.

“Good luck with your confession!”

Satoru smiled and waved at her once again.

He was truly blessed to have a friend like her. Madoka was annoying at times, he was tired of her constant nagging here and there, and when she teamed up with Miho, they were a living nightmare. But he always knew she genuinely cared about him. He had never realized her feelings were that deep.

He really wished it were that easy—if he could just accept her confession, they could be together. He wouldn’t have to worry about not understanding what she was saying. They lived next to each other instead of miles apart. Everything would have been so much easier.

But Satoru had decided not to take the easy way out—not anymore. He had fallen in love with a girl he had known for only a few weeks, and he would no longer run from his feelings.

The real question was… how and when was he going to confess to Silke?