Rin Ojino Part 2

Ojino-senpai bent her knees as she put her hands behind her back. This girl, even if she didn't understand the true extent of his admiration, was still willing to lend an ear. That was the admirable part. She could have cast his feelings aside, written them off as trivial, but no. She decided to understand where Haruto stood.

Stunned by her actions, Haruto failed to speak. No bone would move in his body. Frozen. "How could someone who's forgotten still be so kind? Over something so trivial to her?" He thought to himself as his cheeks flushed. He wasn't used to this sort of treatment; it didn't concern him. He had no way to measure his worthiness of it, nor by the gods he proudly looked up to, nor by himself. To him, it was above his expectations. 

"Nakamura-kun, would you tell me?" The angel he envisioned before him repeated those comforting words to him once more. In the face of such kindness, his eyes quivered. He had never felt as complete as he had in this moment; it was truly staggering. After all the bottled-up emotions he had hidden for so long,  were now allowed to be set free into the world.

Haruto placed his hand over where his heart lay. Not just anyone was willing to hear him out, so it was like a blessing from the heavens. "Thank you, Ojino-senpai. Truly, you have no idea how much you did for me." 

Ojino-senpai, in response to Haruto's vulnerable words, placed her hand over her chest as her gaze met the floor beneath her. "It's alright, whatever it is you need to tell me, I'm sure it's worth listening to. It's a Senpai's duty to listen to her Kouhai after all." The way she spoke was so kind and gentle. Even if she didn't understand, just having the reassurance allowed Haruto to push forward. 

"You remember... the fat kid last year? In the race?" Haruto's breath hitched between words as he scratched his head. This would have been embarrassing for anyone. Bringing up a past you fought tooth and nail to forget. It was quite ambitious, even for Haruto.  Haruto's gaze fixated on the angel that saved him- onto Ojino-senpai. He wouldn't look away, he wouldn't run. It would be a disservice to her tender kindness and his resolve. 

In response to that fixated gaze, Ojino-senpai cocked her head as she let a finger drift to her lip. "No, I don't. What event was it, do you remember?"   She responded to his heartfelt question with another question. Such a simple question, yet such a complex answer. Haruto started to shake, his eyes welled up with tears. If he answered this question. The end of his journey of love would be over. His feelings would be acknowledged. That's what he hoped for anyway. 

Haruto's cheeks flushed. Getting him to say it was a tall order, but he had wanted this moment for so long that nothing anyone said would stop him now. This was his future, he would grasp that light with his own hands- no, with his heart.

"I-it was...the class relay. Left and right, everyone judged me, every day they judged me, but you..." Haruto pointed a finger in her direction as he continued to let out what he wanted to most. He had done it; this new future was only a few words away. Would he live to tell the tale- or die of embarrassment? No one knew. No one. Not himself, Reina, or Futoshi. It was like he had staked every chip he owned on black. 

All in.

Ojino-senpai's gaze narrowed at Haruto's continued plea. What was he going to say? The pain must've been unbearable."But I..." Helping him continue his sentence, Ojino-senpai moved her face closer to Haruto's. Their breaths practically touched. Her dark eyes sparkled in the face of such emotions; whatever it was Haruto wanted to say, she would be willing to lend an ear. That's all he asked for. All he needed. 

Haruto closed his eyes before scrunching his face. He couldn't bear being so close to the angel that stood before him; maybe the gods really were on his side? His fists clenched before his voice softened. "...But you, you didn't laugh. In the face of the crowd, you chose the answer that I needed to hear most..."  Haruto reopened his eyes as they softened at the corners. 

But what were those words she spoke?

They were-

"I believe in You!"

 Haruto had done it; he had said what he wanted to say, those meaningless words for everyone else, were the guiding light at the end of the tunnel for Haruto. His own sacred treasure, his heirloom. These were the words he wanted to protect.   

 As if she had gotten whiplash, Ojino-senpai retracted her head in one fell swoop before she cocked her head. "Those words were merely just a bit of encouragement from Senpei to Kouhai, Nakamura-kun." Her gaze drifted to the floor beneath her. "...I'm sorry, but I fail to understand why those words would cause such emotions." Her voice still echoed with kindness, and her eyes still had a soft look to them. Haruto froze. 

Why? Why can't she understand what I'm trying to say? 

After all this and the angel- no, Ojino-senpai had no clue what he meant. That painstaking year of waiting, protecting, and repeating all for his feelings to be misunderstood. Whatever happened next, he didn't care. He just needed to spell it out. 

With that, Haruto inhaled. His lungs were filled with fresh air, air that was in his new future. When he had chosen this path, when he opened that door, a new world opened before him. The sports festival, before he entered this classroom, had all the old him. the one who ran from his feelings, the one who thought he wasn't worthy of love. She was the answer to it all. Haruto puffed out his chest. This was it...

"I love you."   

Not a peep was made in that room, not a single thought. Silence. 

Ojino-senpai let a smile touch her lips; her eyes, on the other hand, remained clouded. After all this for just that melancholy expression? Was there anything more to it? That wasn't an answer no one was willing to give. 

"Oh... so that's what you meant, huh, Nakamura-kun?" Her tone had lost its kindness-no, lost its edge. The remnants of it had been overshadowered. 

In that moment, Ojino-senpai fixed her gaze on the boy ahead of her as her brow furrowed. 

"Sorry, Nakamura...truth is, I'm inept in stuff like this. I don't really know what to say..." Ojino-senpai bent her knees before Haruto. She wasn't obligated to do this, yet she did. It was a testament to how kind she really was, and for that, Haruto couldn't complain about the outcome of the situation. In the face of something she wasn't meant to do, he couldn't testify against it. It wasn't right. 

He had his answer. 

"So that's your answer, huh?" Haruto grit his teeth before letting a wry smile tug at his lips. It wasn't easy coming face-to-face with your crush; everyone in love knows that feeling. The aching feeling in your chest when they're around, the sheer amount of effort it takes just to talk to them. Only people who dare to take the next step deserve to look on with a smile after being rejected. For Haruto It's all he could do. 

With that, Haruto turned to face the same door he came in from. It's funny. Before I came in here, this door held so much hope for me, and look where that hope got me; it's laughable, really. This was it. He had his heart torn to bits, cut into tiny bits. All the ways his heart could've gone, he felt it. 

Haruto walked to the doorframe before waving a hand in the air. "Later, Ojino-senpai." With those few parting words, Haruto-

"Nakamura-kun, wait!" There was a hand clinging to Haruto's Gakuren. The touch was desperate, pitiful even. The way it felt, it was like it was begging for forgiveness. Feeling this tug on his uniform, Haruto turned and met the girl who was responsible. Ojino-senpai. 

"I never said... no, you Idiot." With doubt still lingering in her voice. Ojino-senpai spoke a few parting words herself. Clinging to the hope he would hear what she had to say. Her voice, which was usually elegant and proper, coloured itself with a desperate hue.

Ojino-senpai caught Haruto's gaze as she lifted her head once more. He needed to hear this. 

"Nakamura-kun... I may not be a master at love or my own feelings at all. I'm a total airhead when it comes to my own feelings, but others... I'm like the sharpest tool in the shed- what I m-mean is this..." Ojino-senpai placed a hand over her chest as her lip curled. 

"If you feel so strongly about me, would you teach me about love? About my own feelings?"

 It was quite the selfish favour, even so, who else could do this but Haruto? After all, he knew more than anyone what it was like to not be sure about your own feelings-or actually, maybe too sure. Hearing this, all Haruto could let out was a sigh. After all he had said, he deserved the right to at least that much right?

He met the pleading girl's gaze with a soft, quiet grin. 

"You're in luck. I actually know a couple of people who might be able to help with that." Just then, Haruto placed both his hands over the door handle before sliding it to reveal the two people in front of them. There stood a short girl with hair the colour of sakura; next to her was a tall, blonde-haired boy. 

"Quite an unusual pairing. If I'm not mistaken, are you- "

Before she could finish her train of thought out loud, the petite girl puffed out her chest. 

"Sakura Reina, and over here's my dog. He doesn't have a name, though; everyone just calls him dog or helper. Isn't that right, dog? 

Reina bent her knees as she put her hands behind her back. Her gaze locked onto the boy who was next to her. With that, the boy sighed as he put his hand to his forehead.

"Akutami Futoshi. Nice to meet you." Futoshi glanced over at Haruto before letting a wry smile tug at his lips. Before Haruto knew anything, Futoshi nudged him. "Soo, Haruto, how'd it go?"  Seeing the pitiful attempt to get information out of him, Haruto scratched the back of his head. 

"Well, we have a new club member, so that's...ok. " As Haruto averted his gaze to Ojino-senpai, he looked down. 

"What? I didn't agree to this! Nakamura-" Hearing this, Ojino-senpai puffed out her cheeks. It wasn't easy, being roped into something any day of the week, but Ojino-senpai knew that feeling more than anyone in that moment. 

Reina's eyes sparkled; her hazelnut eyes bore a certain softness to them as she let a beaming smile spread across her face. This was a new side of Reina Futoshi, and Haruto was still trying to wrap their heads around it. After all, the way she acted in their class, compared to this, it was like night and day.

"New member? Welcome! Need some love advice from the vigilantes of romance?" 

There's no way that name's gonna stick, I swear

With that, Reina pushed Ojino-senpai and Haruto ahead in front. It was like she was trying to play matchmaker or something. To be honest, who could blame her? Her club had enough people to become official, so in the truest sense, the 'Vigilanties of romance' wouldn't apply anyway. That was wishful thinking on her part. 

As her gaze fixated on the two, maybe lovers in front of her. Reina turned her head to Futoshi before her cheeks flushed. Her arms folded. 

"I guess you've been promoted, be grateful...Futoshi."