Our First Meeting

While I was scribbling nonsensical notes about modern literature, I found my eyes wavering. Not blanking per usual, but shifting... to a head of dark brown at the first row closest to the professor.

"By the way, Haruto... That girl. Chihara Ouka, was it?"

"Hmm? What about her?"

"Has she always been in this class?"

"Pfft~ Seriously? Are you just now noticing? Yeah, she's been here since the Spring term. A ton of guys in our grade have been trying to get closer to her. Makes sense, though. Only a first-year student, but she's cute, smart, and kind. Just an overall chill person to be around."

"Looks like I completely missed her."

"Well, yeah. You were in a relationship, after all. Then again, so was she. 'Was' is the keyword. I imagine she'll be getting a lot of dating requests from here on out."

I glanced over to see him balancing the pen that I gave him on his upper lip.

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm? You didn't hear? Ah... You didn't even know she was in this class till now, so I guess not. But yeah, her boyfriend cheated on her recently. Huh. Is that the trend these days? First you, and now her. What's next? Minato's gonna..."

His voice faded out of my head, replaced by incoherent muffles.

So that's why she was out there last night, sitting alone in the rain, looking like she'd given up on something. And now, I know what that something is, but unfortunately, it's no different from my own situation.

And what's more, that comment I made yesterday...

"Did someone cheat on you, too?"

I leaned back, letting out the heaviest sigh of today.

So she did get cheated on. Even if that wasn't the case, I shouldn't have said that. Whenever I get the chance, I should apologize.

"Say... Why not shoot your shot?" Haruto said with a smirk.

"What the... What are you even saying right now?"

"Hear me out, bro. You two got cheated on, yeah? Within the same weekend, no less. I bet it'd make a real good conversation starter. Bing, bang, boom. Trauma bonding at its finest."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Eh?! Just give it a chance, dude. Who knows?"

"I don't, you don't, and she won't. So quit running your mouth before someone hears you and gets the wrong idea."

"Tch... Fine. My job is done anyway. Planted the seed. Now the possibility is in the back of your head."

"Shut up."

Never have I ever been so bored in a classroom. Granted, this is a modern literature course. It couldn't be anything else, no matter how it's taught.

I wouldn't have chosen this course if I didn't need to fill up some credits. Plus, Haruto is here. At least he makes it somewhat bearable. For the most part, anyway. It's a coin toss that determines whether he makes the next hour and a half fun or bothersome.

Eventually, I was free. The professor wrapped up today's lecture by giving us a reading assignment.

"Just my luck," Haruto groaned. "If there's one thing I hate more than Calculus, it's reading."

"You're the one who chose to take this course. Don't start backing down now, especially after you convinced me to take it with you."

Haruto stood, slinging his school bag onto his back.

"Man... I'm hungry now. You wanna go grab something to eat? It's on me."

"Sure. At the commons? Or are we going out?"

"Up to you. Come on."

Once the traffic died down, Haruto and I exited the lecture hall, making our way through a hallway by the windows on the second floor.

"By the way, how's it going with that girl you were talking to?" I asked.

"Oh, you mean Rei? It's going well, I think. She hasn't had many opportunities to go out lately cuz of clubs and whatnot. Especially with exams coming up next month, it's gonna get a little harder to invite her out."

I planted a hand on his shoulder.

"Hang in there. You got this."

"Hah. Yeah. You know... For having been cheated on recently, you seem kind of... fine? I expected you to be in a way worse mood coming into today."

"Really? Well... I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm fine. I guess I'm just... trying to keep myself distracted."

"Yeah, that's usually how it goes."

I stopped to look out the window.

"Hey, Haruto. Be straight up with me... Am I lacking in some kind of way?"

He turned around and met my eyes, but I couldn't do the same for him.

"...No, you're not."

"Then why did Junko—"

"Because she's a bitch. End of story. There's nothing wrong with you, what you say, or how you act. You're a decent guy, so don't start blaming yourself for something that was totally out of your control. You hear me?"

Haruto was always like this. Always so quick to shoot down every self-deprecating word I had to say, and I appreciate it. Really, I do.

Sometimes, though... I wish he could be a little bit more honest, because come on. A decent guy? That's not me at all.

"Yeah, I hear you. Anyway, let's—"

"Um..."

We stopped. I glanced at Haruto, and he glanced at me. At the same time, we realized... That voice was way too feminine to be either of ours.

And so, we turned around to see a girl — the same girl who stopped in the middle of the aisle to look at me. The same girl... that I stumbled upon in the rain last night.

"Oh. Chihara."

"Hello, Yoshida-Senpai," she said with a bow, before lifting herself to face me. "And... Kinoshita-Senpai, right?"

Haruto gave me a subtle smirk from the sideline, then patted me.

"Looks like you have a prior engagement, my friend. I'll wait for you outside."

He disappeared around the corner, leaving me along with this girl. Chihara Ouka. Seeing her up close made our height difference way too apparent. She had to look up quite a bit just to meet my eyes. And speaking of eyes... They seemed a lot brighter now compared to yesterday.

"This is our first time officially meeting, right?" I asked.

"Ah... Yes, it is."

"In that case, I guess we should introduce ourselves."

I bowed.

"I'm Kinoshita Kazuha. Third-year."

Then, it was her turn.

"It's nice to meet you, Senpai. I'm Chihara Ouka. First-year."

"It's nice to meet you, too. And before anything else, there's no need to refer to me as 'Senpai'. Just call me Kinoshita."

"Huh? But—"

"I don't really care for the formality, so I'd appreciate it if you could do that for me."

"...I see. In that case, I'll be in your care, Kinoshita."

"Likewise, Chihara."

An awkward silence ensued.

I've been told that I look intimidating. Is it my face? Or my height? Either way, I should consider Chihara's feelings and end this quickly.

"Did you need me for something?"

"Oh! That's right!"

Chihara pulled her school bag around, unstrapping the folded umbrella and handing it back to me.

"I'm returning this to you."

"Ah, that's right. Thanks."

"No. I should be the one thanking you. Last night was... a really tough night for me. You letting me borrow your umbrella made me feel a lot better, so..."—she bowed again—"Thank you, Kinoshita. Truly."

That caught me off guard. Not only was her appearance soft and gentle, but her voice was too. It was a stark contrast from Junko, who was pretty much the only girl I interacted with in the last two years.

"No need to thank me for something that anyone else would do. I'm glad I was able to help with whatever you were going through. And... Since we're here, I'm sorry for the comments I made yesterday. I... I didn't know until just recently."

"Huh? Ah! N-no, it's okay! Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about that, so please don't worry about it."

"Is that so? I'm relieved."

Yet another moment of silence came.

"Well... I'll leave you be now. Goodbye, Chihara."

"Oh! Yeah! Goodbye, Kinoshita."