CH-10 (HER NOT-SO-AVERAGE CONFESSION)

“Emi-senpai! I have some bad news for you!

It looks like we’ve lost Akeno!”

“HOW...... DID YOU EVEN LOSE HER?” she snapped, grabbing my collar.

"Emi-senpai, I'm sorry, but-"

"Sigh… I need to calm down first. Let’s take a moment and think. She has to be around here somewhere! We should look carefully,” she said, though the tension in her voice was unmistakable.

But even after searching the area repeatedly, we found no trace of her.

“Where did she even go, senpai?”

“Looks like she’s not here. This must mean, she has wandered off to someplace else.”

“But that would mean-“

“Yes! We need to split up and widen our search area.

Let’s do this. You go in that direction, and I’ll go in this. Got it, Kouhai-kun?”, said she, with urgency in her voice.

I wasn’t in favour of splitting up. Not after something like this has taken place. But I had no other choice. Senpai was right. We needed to widen the search area.

“Got it senpai! I’ll call you once I manage to find her.”, said I while running in the eastward direction. But in the midst of chaos, I had failed to notice Emi-senpai’s lonesome expression, as I made my departure.

It’s about time you move on, Kouhai-kun.

Go on, make her yours!

___________________________________________________________________________

I kept dialing Akeno’s phone number, yet there was no response from her. For the first time in my life, I was scared, wondering about how I could find her. Either she had lost her phone, or she was not in a condition to pick up my calls. My mind kept running different possibilities, each one much worse than the other. What if something bad has happened to her? What if she was gravely injured? What if she has been kidnapped? I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead as I continued my search for her.

I needed to calm down and think. I needed to narrow down the possible areas that she could’ve gone to. She couldn’t have gone very far, judging by her pace.

But just as I was about my wit’s end, my phone rang.

It was Akeno.

“Sniff… Sniff….”

I could hear sobbing sounds from the other side.

“Akeno, is that you? Are you all right? Tell me where you are, right now. I’m coming to get you.”

“I’m not really sure, Rei-chan.”

“Okay then…., what do you see nearby? Describe the area for me.”

“There are a couple of benches over her, and I can spot a lot of couples nearby.”

“And? What else?”

“Oh, I can see the beach from here! The one that we had visited today!”

“Sit tight, Akeno! I’m coming for you!”

From the descriptions that Akeno provided, I could guess exactly where she was right now. She wasn’t very far, just as we had predicted.

For now, I focused on pushing forward, weaving through the sea of people while trying to get in touch with Emi-senpai.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

My adrenaline peaked as I reached the riverbank, sprinting without a second thought. I was hyperventilating, clearly from my lack of exercise, but it didn’t matter. Catching up to her was my only goal.

It always had been, even before we drifted apart.

I wanted to protect that precious smile of hers, yet I had always ended up making her cry without meaning to. But today, I wanted to make things right.

*Bzzzz*

*Bzzzz*

*Bzzzz*

“Yes, Kouhai-kun? Did you manage to find her?”

“Yes… she’s right here. Standing in front of me,” I said, completely out of breath, as I looked up and met Akeno’s tear-streaked face.

She looked like she had been crying for quite a while. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she was busy wiping her nose with the tissues I had just pulled from my pocket. Her Yukata was clearly disheveled, and one of her sandals had its strap torn loose.

Tonight, she was not the superstar actress,

nor was she the confident girl the world adored, 

but a deeply lonely soul.

This was the real Tachibana Akeno. Just standing, in front of me.

“Where are you right now?”

“At the fireworks viewing spot, near the riverbank. Emi-senpai, I-“

But before I could speak any farther, Akeno grabbed my face, and looked me in the eyes, to grab my attention.

Her cheeks were flushed bright red.

Her long blonde silky hair was a mess, but she smelled really nice, of jasmine.

Her lips, covered in red with the lipstick she usually wears, which complimented the colour of her Yukata.

She was wearing the earrings that I had gifted her previously.

“I didn’t have the chance to say this before, Akeno,

but…..,

the earrings really suit you.

You look really gorgeous!”

She widened her eyes, in response to my compliment.

“Stay right there, Kouhai-kun, I’m coming!”

“Emi-senpai, I-“

“Shhhhh.......!”

Akeno silenced me, without uttering a word, just placing her fingertips on my lips.

“A…keno?

What do yo-”

But my sentence trailed off as I met her gaze. Her eyes were filled with longing, attachment, affection and adoration.

She was smiling. 

And this time, it wasn’t fake.

Tonight, she wasn’t the actress the world knew as “Tachibana Akeno.” 

She was simply Akeno-chan, my childhood friend, and the same lonely girl to whom I had once made a promise. 

A promise to never abandon her.

My right hand moved on its own, gently caressing her cheek, while my left held up the cellphone. She looked irresistible, just like an angel.

“Rei-chan… I-”

But my concentration shattered as the sound of fireworks cut through the air.

Fssssshhh…!

*BOOM!*

“…ove you!”

*BEEP*

Before my mind could fully comprehend what she had just said, Akeno leaned closer and sealed my lips with hers.

We kissed on the night of the fireworks festival, beneath a sky engulfed in light.

For that brief moment, it felt as though only the two of us existed in this world, gazing into each other’s eyes, feeling each other’s warmth, being closer than ever before.

And yet, my heart remained uncertain.

___________________________________________________________________________

While commuting back to Tokyo via the train, we were busy doing our own little things. Akeno was already asleep, drooling all over with her head on my shoulders, having finished a box full of chocolates that we were supposed to gift to Ayako-san as a souvenir.

Emi-senpai was going through the photos that she had taken throughout the trip. 

Meanwhile, I was staring outside the window of the train, with my gaze fixated on the scenery of the lush green landscape surrounding us.

“I see, you are wearing the hairpin today as well.”, said I, focusing my gaze towards Emi-senpai.

“W-Well, it’s a gift from my precious Kouhai-kun. Of course I’ll wear it every day! Hmph!”

“Chill out, senpai! It’s just a hairpin.”

“Maybe for you, it is.

But for me, it was something much more precious.”, said she, while making rectangular frame with her fingers, as if lining up a photograph, keeping me an Akeno inside it.

An awkward silence followed. And why would it not? I didn’t know what to say to her. Moreover, my mind was still occupied with thoughts of the kiss I had shared with Akeno the night before. I could feel my heartbeat racing, thinking about it.

“May I ask a personal question, Kouhai-kun?”

“Go ahead, Emi-senpai!”

She looked straight into my eyes and asked,

“Tell me, Kouhai-kun… are you happy with your life right now?”

I could sense that she was trying to pry into my heart. What I didn’t understand was why.

But I had to give her a concrete answer.

“Honestly, I do not know. I mean, are we truly ever happy?”

“I know you are trying to avoid my question entirely, but this is serious, Kouhai-kun! It’s really important that you share your honest opinion with me!”

What she asked of me, might’ve sounded simple to others, but to me, it was nothing sort of a Herculean task. I was still not ready to face my feelings, but I knew that sooner or later, I had to. I couldn’t keep avoiding her forever. I turned my head around, to find Akeno sleeping peacefully beside me, lost in her own dreams. Who could’ve guessed that the same Tachibana Akeno, who was the face of the Japanese showbiz industry, had decided to quit, leaving everything else behind, simply because of my own selfishness. This girl could be so stubborn sometimes, for her own good.

Perhaps, this was my divine punishment.

I faced Emi-senpai yet again, this time, with determination.

“Never have been happier, Emi-senpai.”