Chapter 22

All throughout the day, starting with their walk to school, Izumi kept sneaking glances at Kuruma, thinking about how close they were in the nurse's office.

Shiori nudged her chair from behind and mouthed, 'Quit staring,' to her.

I know, I know!

Class ended, and they got to cleaning. Izumi worked on wiping the blackboard.

Why did I choose to do this part? I can't reach! She stood on her toes, stretching as far as she could.

"That can't be good for your ankle." Yanagi reached past her and took the eraser, resting his hand on her shoulder as he wiped the top with ease.

"Oh!" Izumi gasped. When did he get there? She froze, feeling the heat radiating off him as he leaned over her.

"Oops, did I startle you?" He backed away when he finished. "Sorry about that. But you should learn to ask for help from either Kuruma or myself, Miss. Shortstuff." He handed the eraser back.

"T-thanks." She fiddled with the eraser, wondering if there was anything else to do.

Shiori watched from off to the side, her gaze sliding over to Kuruma next to her. "I know you saw her struggling before Yanagi did. Why did you point it out to him instead of helping yourself?"

Kuruma shrugged, clearing his throat as he wiped down the side table. "No real reason, but he's taller and can help more easily."

"By two centimetres." Shiori rolled her eyes.

"But..." He sighed, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. He went over to help, didn't he?"

She stared at him blankly. "It's Yanagi. He'll do that for anyone who needs help."

Kuruma stopped and stared at Shiori. "Since when do you care about this type of thing?"

"I... I don't." She looked away, frowning. "But you've been staring at her today. Almost taking turns with her, and it's infuriating."

"Taking turns?"

"Never mind that."

"What are you talking about? Has Izumi—"

"They're coming back over."

"Oh."

"Ready to head to the computer lab?" Yanagi asked.

"Yeah, we're done here," Kuruma mumbled, grabbing his things.

Yanagi's eyes narrowed, following him. "What's wrong with him?"

"Shouldn't you ask him that? You're best friends, right?" Shiori grabbed her bag and walked out with Izumi.

"Of course... I'm totally missing something here."

"You finished all the main sprites in one night?" Kuruma looked at them on the computer in their club file.

"Don't tell me I need to keep an eye on you, too?" Yanagi sat down at the computer beside her.

"Tch, sit somewhere else. I like having space. And no, you don't need to; I haven't done the animations, just the base for each of them." Shiori got up to switch, and Yanagi stood.

"It's better if we're close and don't need to yell down the aisle." He pressed on her shoulders, pushing her back into her seat beside Izumi. "I'll be over here."

"Want this seat?" Kuruma offered his spot on the other side of Izumi.

Yanagi raised an eyebrow. "No, I'll be okay right here." He sat at the end, beside Kuruma. "I mean, I know everyone thinks I like to be the centre of attention."

"Because you do," Shiori said.

"But that's not true. Kuruma, it's your club; you take the lead."

"Uh... Well, other than Shiori, you've tried out what I have so far..."

"I can try it later when there's more to it," Shiori said. "I'll just work on the art for the animations... and the meteor dropping onto the baseball field if I have time."

"I will finally refine the background music I recorded at home, pick out some sounds, and make sure we have a nice explosion." Yanagi logged into the computer and put headphones on to get to work.

"I wasn't sure what all we wanted, but I wrote the beginning story to go before the game itself as an introduction." She pulled up a document on the computer.

"Ah, I was wondering what it was, but hadn't looked into it yet," Kuruma said, remembering the file as he went to work on it again despite warnings from Yanagi. "B-by the way, are you okay? How are you feeling today?"

"I'm back to normal, thanks. Takumi kinda limited my time working on the game by forcibly taking the tablet away... along with my phone and laptop, and then tucked me into bed hours before I'd usually go to sleep." He shook his head, wishing he had the time back to get more done.

Izumi sighed, tension releasing from her shoulders. Took me all day just to ask that directly. "Oh, and I also thought up some phrases for thought bubbles for the baseball players during the game, depending on how they do, kinda thing... though I don't know how hard it would be to implement." Am I making more work for him?

"Hmm." Kuruma rubbed his chin. "I think I can work it in. If it's a hit, one of these phrases. If it's a strike, use these other ones?" He leaned in close to look at her document.

Her heart rate spiked. Not again! Stay calm, Izumi. He's just looking at the screen, not at you. She couldn't help but remember the look in his eyes the other day. What did that mean? He totally leaned in, didn't he?

Kuruma opened his file to work on the game and hesitated, glancing at her.

She immediately looked away, back at her screen.

"Might be best for us to work together on this part. Real-time feedback while I implement your ideas. By the way, what are those?" He leaned over again, pointing at her screen.

"Oh, I was thinking if I were there as the manager, I would yell out in encouragement in between throws." He's so close again...

"Could even show your character off to the side. Cool. Let's try to work it in." He noticed how close he was to her again and pulled away, clearing his throat. "You've got some great ideas."

Izumi smiled, biting her lip as she held back a giggle. I should be made for this with how many games I've played.

Shiori shifted her hand on the table closer to Izumi with a thumbs-up.

Wait... this is a good thing, right? But how am I supposed to focus when we're working so close?

Yanagi pulled his headphones off and stretched his arms out. "Made some good progress. So..." He turned to Kuruma. "Can we make plans for Golden Week coming up before my parents sign me up for more schooling... all week? At least then there's a chance they'll back off."

"I can't believe they're still like that," Shiori grumbled.

"I doubt they'll ever change. Kuruma...?" Yanagi tilted his head to the side as he looked at Kuruma and Izumi still working together. "Well, well, aren't you two getting cozy?"

"What?" Kuruma sat back, pulling away from Izumi and the screen.

"Oh..." She blinked. Time flew.

Yanagi chuckled. "Always so absorbed in your work."

"Well, we're making quite a bit of progress, especially having input right away and fresh ideas."

"Oh, you're open to ideas?"

"Of course I am," Kuruma huffed, giving his shoulder a light shove. "You can tell me directly or create a document. All of us can make suggestions."

"Cool." Yanagi glanced over at Shiori, still working. "So, Golden Week plans?"

Kuruma pointed at the monitor. "I'll be working on this."

"Geez, you really are obsessed. I don't think they actually expect us to have a full game by the cultural festival unless it's short, so I don't think you need to use all your spare time on it."

"But I want to."

"Please, let's do something else as well; I need an excuse to get away from whatever extra studying they have in store for me."

Poor Yanagi... What could we even do? I'm sure Mom would want to see him again; she seems to love him. I could invite them to play games... but then the boys would know about it, too. Wait, he's just asking Kuruma, not me.

"And please don't think I have anything against working on the game; I don't mind, but I'll get burned out if we work on it too much. What about you, Izu? Any plans? Anything I can join in on?"

Her shoulders jumped. "I haven't made any plans." Never do.

"Whatever you try to plan, make sure she doesn't have to walk too much on that injured ankle of hers," Shiori said as she continued with one more piece of pixel art.

"Hmm, you're right. I guess that means no amusement park, zoo, or beach." Yanagi tapped his chin as he thought. "I'd say another gaming session, like usual, but my parents complained last time about gaming all week. But it would've been nice to go to some food stalls at the shrine festival and see the girls in yukatas." He winked at them.

"Oh!" Izumi's eyes lit up. I've never been to one before.

"Did I catch your interest with that one?"

Izumi nodded slowly.

Shiori glared at them. "What did I just say?"

Yanagi rested his hands on Izumi's shoulders. "But our girl here wants to go. We can make sure to rest often—"

Our? Her heart skipped a beat.

"That would still only be one day. What about the rest of your week?"

"That's true, but it's something fun to do with friends. Maybe I should try to use working on the game as an excuse the rest of the week," he mumbled. "Hey, can I come over?" he asked Kuruma.

"You can work on it at home, and since when do you bother to ask?"

"True! I can come over whenever I want and ignore my phone."

"And then hear about it when you get back."

"I've been learning to tune them out, so it might not be so bad. Or I'll just stay out late and avoid them as much as possible."

"Do you not get along with your parents?" Izumi asked, frowning. My mom's like my best friend... I guess I'm lucky that way.

"They're... a bit much sometimes and focused on trying to make me the best at everything. Something about being better for my future or whatever, but it's suffocating."

"Oh, I see."

"Hey, how about we go to Izumi's for her mother's snacks and watch TV?" Yanagi suggested, winking at her.

Shiori raised an eyebrow. "Every day?"

"I wouldn't mind." He rubbed his belly. "But I'd rather not burden her that much. Seems I'll have to make a bunch of plans." He sighed. "Oh well, as long as I can relax and have fun, I'll survive what they dump on me this time."

I'm not sure my mom would mind the company and mouths to feed, either.