Ships Sail and Sink

‘Kinryuji Kaien and Sakura Yume are alone together?! Finally!’

Seira hid in a corner in a hurry, but careful not to make any noise to avoid getting noticed. 

To others who would also happen to see this, it would appear they were simply talking. But to those with a keen eye, like herself, there definitely had to be more going on.

Seira viewed the scene to be full of romantic undertones.

‘The setting! The mood! The ambiance! And, oh! Is she getting closer to him?!’

Yume had stepped forward, nearly closing the gap between her and Kaien. Her cheeks were as pink as cherries, her eyes aglow like stars. She was, without a doubt, a maiden in love.

“Kinryuji,” Yume said in that sweet, soft voice of hers. “Do you really…l-like her?”

‘Oh, forget about me! Of course, he doesn’t! Go on and confess!’

“Do you mean Airin? Why are you asking?” Kaien replied, cool and casual.

‘You don’t answer a question with a question! Tell her you don’t!’

“Well, um… You don’t seem to get along, and… Ah, sorry! I don’t intend to pry…”

“It’s no big deal. We’ve always been like that since we’re kids. Don’t worry about it.”

“Right, you’ve known each other for so long, then how come you now…? Ermmm…”

“Sakura,” Kaien sighed, taking a step closer to her and staring her straight in the eye. “Be honest with me. What is this all about? Tell me, and I promise I'll listen."

Seira gasped from where she hid in the corner. ‘My, how bold! As expected of the main male lead!’

“I-I’m just worried about you, K-Kinryuji,” Yume stuttered, her head lowered and face flushed. “You’ve always been nice to me, so I… I wanted to ask how you’re doing.”

“Don’t you think Airin and I are perfect together, too?”

“What?” Both Yume and Seira were taken aback by the uncalled-for question. 

“Aren’t you happy about it, Sakura?”

“Um, I-I…”

“She doesn’t bother you anymore, does she? I thought she would finally stop if I gave her what she always wanted.”

“H-Huh? But that’s…”

“It’s alright now, I assure you. You don’t have to be on guard against her all the time. She won't do anything bad to you again. I'll make sure of that."

Yume was at a loss of words—so was Seira, but for an entirely different reason.

She was now squealing like a maniac in her head. She had never seen something so romantic before.

‘Woahhh!’ Seira grinned from ear to ear, all giddy. ‘Kinryuji Kaien, you’re the man! That’s like a line in an otome game! For sure, Sakura Yume will-’

“Miss Airin.”

“Gyah!” She spun around in surprise to find Nao peering at her with knitted brows. “P-P-President! Um, this is..! Wait, how long…?”

“Please keep quiet. I’ve been here for a while now, too.”

“Eh?! So, then…” Her gaze hurled back and forth to him and to where Yume was. ‘Isn't he also into her? This isn’t good. Did he hear everything?’

As far as Seira knew, only she and Kaien had figured out who Yume liked.

The other male leads may or may have not been aware. Regardless, Nao was one of them, and he was witnessing this. It never ended well when rivals in love were present in this kind of situation.

Seeing the girl they liked share such a heartfelt moment with another boy was bound to bring in drama.

‘That’s… Heh, I sorta want to watch that too, but… I also feel sorry for the other person…’

At the moment, Nao had a stern look on his face. 

It could be because he caught Seira eavesdropping on other students’ private conversations. The strait-laced president wouldn't account for that. But that should have been the least of his concerns when one of said students was Yume.

She wondered what he’s feeling. He seemed calm and composed. If he’s jealous, he did well not letting it show.

‘But she didn’t confess, right?’ Seira gulped quietly and turned back. ‘Okay, I guess he doesn’t know yet that she’s in love with Kinryuji Kaien-’

“But you didn’t have to do any of that for me!” Yume shouted suddenly, startling all three of them. “I…I like you, Kinryuji! I always have!”

‘CAPTAIN, CAPTAIN! GET BACK TO THE DOCKS!'

This ship was about to sail, but while Seira was on board from the beginning, she wasn’t ready to see the other ships sink.

She preferred to be alone in this, or at least, for Nao to not be around. That way, she could have enjoyed Yume’s declaration of love without feeling bad for her other admirers.

She even planned to stay around as she and Kaien became a full-fledged couple—with a kiss, of course. But alas, Nao was still here, and she had to do something about it.

“Um, hey-”

“No, don’t-”

Seira and Nao faced each other at the same time. His eyes were wide with urgency, and his arms were up in the air, as if preparing to neutralize a threat.

“Uh, were you about to beat me up or something, President?”

“...Weren’t you about to go there and fight Miss Sakura?”

It seemed Nao thought she would be angry at Yume for confessing to Kaien.

It made sense since everyone believed they were dating, but what didn’t was his reaction. Instead of being sad that his crush liked someone else, he’s more worried about her throwing a fit —

As though she's a bomb that would blow the whole school up whenever triggered.

“I am headed in your direction, as you see.”

“Very well.” Nao straightened up before taking the papers in her arms. “In that case, let’s be on our way. I only went out to bring you back. You took your time getting these.”

“Oh, um… My bad. I just got distracted.”

He turned around and started walking, uttering not another word. She used a moment to recollect her bearings, then followed in silence.

Regrettably, she wasn’t able to watch until the end. But at least, she knew that Yume had finally confessed. There had to be no more obstacles. From now on, she and Kaien would always be together.

‘I just hope that stubborn guy doesn’t screw it up again. Hearing her feelings loud and clear should make him realize his own, as how shoujo stories go. I'll be sure to get all the deets from lover boy later,’ Seira thought while smiling to herself, only to pause as she noticed Nao glancing at her. ‘Oh, no. Is he upset after all?’

“I must say I’m impressed, Miss Airin,” he said, much to her surprise. “You don’t look anywhere near displeased. Are you that confident that Kinryuji will still choose you? And you remained in place the whole time. Were you anticipating Miss Sakura to say all that?”

“No. I didn’t even expect to see them there,” she replied, tilting her head to the side. “And I already told everyone that we’re not really dating, so why would I be displeased? If they want to go out, they're free to do so. Though it's none of my business either, I do wonder what you think about this."

He gave no response. That in itself was an unspoken answer to the implied question, 'Are you okay with this?' She knew she hit a nerve. 

"How did you find out?"

Seira blinked, confused. "Hm?"

"That I like Miss Sakura."

Unlike with Kaien, she couldn't bring herself to tell Nao the truth—about them being in a world of shoujo, about her not being Airin Seira. 

The circumstances were different. First, he didn't look at her drawings without permission. Second, she didn't have to convince him she had no fetish. 

"President Shirakawa! There's an emergency!" A student council member came running to them out of nowhere, cutting off their conversation. "Those troublemakers are messing around again! I tried to stop them, but..."

"Who...?"

"I'll go."

Seira looked at Nao, right in time for his expression to change from dejected to impassive. 

So, Yume's love confession to Kaien did affect him. She only noticed now that he's in a sullen mood. He's just too good with controlling his emotions.

Seira supposed that was how calm and mature types like Nao simply were—a role model student, indeed. 

"PRESIDENT! THEY'RE HERE!"

"Heyyy! 'Ya think y'all escape?"

"Get 'ya bum back here!"

"Why, if it isn't the president!"

Seira flinched as a group of male students approached. She could tell by their unruly behavior and disheveled uniforms that they were delinquents.

The student council member they were chasing yelped in fear and scurried into a corner. Nao, however, stood where he was even as the boys drew nearer.

Then, in what seemed like the speed of lightning, the calm and mature president struck one student down. 

"Eh?"