Rin Ojino

Haruto gripped his shirt. His heart was beating so loud it would've burst any minute. Anyone in love could understand this feeling, the sheer dread and nervousness people get when they finally confront what they've been longing for so long; it's terrifying.  The sheer amount of willpower a person has to grasp what they want is admirable, to say the least. For Haruto, did he have this ambition? This willpower? Only he himself knew the answer to this roundabout way of asking someone out whom you have fixated on for so long.   

Reina, seeing how nervous Haruto was, cocked her head before raising a finger to her lip. "Nakamura-kun! What are you, chicken?" She moved her finger from her lip before pointing it in the air. 

"She's in class 2-C, right?" 

The whiplash Futoshi and Haruto had from her change in tune still lingered through the air. 

Why is Reina so pumped about this?

 As Futoshi pondered on this bewildering phenomenon that had shown itself to him, Haruto's cheeks flushed at Reina's bombardment of excited questions.

"-yeah... What of it?" 

Haruto softened his tone to a tone that even a mouse wouldn't be able to hear.

"It's not like you have any idea about love, Sakura-san!" 

The party that consisted of Reina, Futoshi, and Haruto finally made it to the bottom of the stairwell that may lead them to Haruto's new future. Reina, who had perched herself between the vending machines, wiped the onslaught of sweat that was dripping from her forehead. Futoshi flashed a wry smirk in Reina's direction. 

"I guess Ms. Bookworm isn't that athletic, huh? Reina averted his narrowed gaze. For once, it seemed like Futoshi had gotten the upper hand on Reina.

Her cheeks went red. The way he honed his attention on her like that must've made her smitten heart skip a beat. Reina stood up as she clenched her fists before she folded her arms. A wry smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Yeah, and I'm sure a dog that's only known for his pretty face has anything to say! Have some tact!" 

And... here we go again. Honestly, I'm all for a joke, but this dog/ master dynamic she has in her head is really throwing me for a loop. 

Futoshi bit his lip. Even if he was getting tired of it, he decided that if he stuck his nose where it didn't belong, it would only lead to more trouble that he didn't want to deal with. From an outsider's perspective, it was the right call. 

After all, he had dug his grave multiple times before, so he knew her breaking point. Futoshi sighed before stretching out his hand.

" Is Ms. Bookworm coming or not? Haruto's love life is on the line here, y'know."

 Reina bit her tongue before rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever, Mr. Popular, I'm coming." 

 As the trio walked down the deserted hall of the 2nd years,  Haruto scratched the back of his head. 

"Uh... I've been meaning to ask you two, but are you... Y'know, like an Item?" 

Haruto's breath hitched between words as his legs shook. He was nervous; anyone could tell that just by looking at the poor guy. Whether he was using this to feign confidence was still up in the air, but the shift in tone made Futoshi's brow furrow. 

"Dude, are you serious? Have you seen what she's like? She hates me!" 

Futoshi clenched his fists before pointing at Reina. To be fair, Haruto wasn't inherently wrong to ask; it's the most common assumption made when a boy and a girl start talking at school. Whether or not it's true, it makes no difference. People just say what they want to hear.

The vigilantes finally stood in front of the door- a door labelled-

2-C... We're finally here. What lies beyond this door-It's all up to you now, Haruto... 

As Futoshi pondered on his wise words of wisdom, as if it were something out of some anime. Haruto clapped his hands together. Haruto wasn't to blame for pulling out such a gesture from his arsenal.

 If it made even the slightest impact on what was about to occur, then it was a job well done; if it didn't? He at least could die happy knowing the gods were on his side till the very end. With that, he spoke only a few murmured words to himself. 

"Please, to whoever's out there, lend me your energy!" 

In response to that heartfelt plea, Futoshi winked before flashing a thumbs-up his way. 

"Quit your roleplaying and get to it."  

Haruto took one last deep breath before opening a new world before him. 

"I guess this is it, huh?" 

The classroom had no laughter, no banter, or cheer. All that echoed was silence. 

The sun bled through the beige-hued curtains, reflecting from the shadow that was created from the rays, and a girl stood. This girl looked as if she carried herself with so much pride; her posture was as straight as a ruler.

 Her hair glowed in the sunlight like she was an angel sent straight from heaven's beautiful golden gates. 

"Could this be...heaven?" 

The girl turned, and her aroma was enough to make Haruto take a knee. He had never seen anything as beautiful or as elegant as her. The way she carried herself, her scent, the way she dressed, it was all too much for Haruto to bear. Seeing him take a knightly knee, the girl cocked her head. 

"Nakamura-kun? That's your name, right?"

The girl retracted her head as she lifted a brow.

 "What are you doing on the floor? If there's anything you need, I'd be happy to oblige. But, if you're just going to act silly, could you take whatever business you have elsewhere?" 

The way the girl spoke, it was so prim, so proper. It was like she was in a whole different realm compared to Haruto; they were worlds apart, you could tell that with a glance. Even so, he wouldn't give up. These feelings, they wanted out. 

"Ojino-Senpai!... I have something to tell you!"

 The girl, or rather Ojino-senpai, turned and met Haruto's gaze. The way her eyes sparkled, it was like staring deeply at the starry night sky. There was a certain alluring factor that pulled people in, or rather, that's the impression they emitted. Ojino-Senpai's eyes widened before blinking. She tilted her head at Haruto's over-the-top exclamation.  

"Why are you shouting? It's only us here!" 

As if mimicking Haruto's tone, his resolve. Ojino-senpai shouted back at his desperate attempt to convey how he feels. 

Haruto raised his knee till he stood upright. He clenched his fist before letting out a sigh. His gaze met the floor beneath him. All these actions, these moving pieces, and he still had yet to convey what he wanted to truly say. 

"That's not how I do things, is it me?" 

Haruto spoke to himself a few bold, courageous words of encouragement. Whether this was a tactic to feign confidence again was up to the gods he had prayed so hard to a moment before. He left it in their hands. 

"...Remember last year? At the sports festival?" 

With his feelings left in the hands of a power higher than his own, Haruto had the willpower to tell her the truth. The truth he had waited so long to tell... 

"No, I can't. Sorry for getting your hopes up, Nakamura-kun." 

With that, the slender figure in front of him bent her knees and took a bow. The person he looked up to, who he loved, failed to remember him. It felt like his heart had been stabbed a million times, as if his heart had shattered. Even then, he didn't falter. 

"That girl...that day, she saved me. If not for her, I'd still be in that pit I had dug for myself..." 

A stern, serious expression spread across Haruto's face. His gaze, it wouldn't leave her. He was done running. 

"It was you, Ojino-senpai. You're the reason I can stand here proud of the man I've become. It was only a few meaningless words for you, but to me, to me it was like that last push forward."  

No one but Haruto knew the sheer extent of his feelings, not Futoshi, Reina, or anyone else. These feelings he had harbored for so long were his alone.

Ojino-senpai's eyes widened.  

This girl he was talking about, she had no clue how much she meant to him. Those words, whatever they might've been, resonated with Ojino-senpai.

 "I must be a very lucky girl.  But in all honesty, I forgot what I said that would cause you to harbor such strong emotions. " 

In the face of his desperate plea, Ojino-senpai shrugged. She had no idea what she had done for him to have such feelings as this. 

"Would you tell me?"