ACT II - Saccharine Saturday II

As my childhood friend dragged my hand along the streets in the opposite direction of my usual running route, I gasped at how much things had changed around that direction too. So many new shops had opened and houses were restored…! I didn't know whether to be astonished at that fact, or that my friend was dressed so adorably, with her fluffy skirt and oversized sweater. The silhouette wasn't too different from her usual uniform look, but the mix of various pastel colors were most fitting for a visit to a sweets shop.

I felt my stomach churn at the thought of the amount of sugar that the shop’s products contained. Well, surely they had something like plain black tea available…

Just like I had thought, the front of the donuts shop was colorful and pastel, just like her clothes, to the point I wondered if she had chosen the design to fit the place.

I felt her pull my hand. "Come on, Yuujin-chan. What are you staring at the entrance for? There's a surprise for you inside, so why not come in~"

"S-surprise…?"

Before I could question what it was about, I found myself inside the shop. I couldn't even hear the waiters' greeting, as my eyes were immediately stuck on one person: Ria was sitting inside, also staring back at me with wide eyes!

Even with Michiru dragging me to sit in front of her, I still couldn't believe my eyes. Ria, our school president, had her hair up in twintails style, decorated with colorful hair clips. I had an idea that she was into these kinds of things from her past Reveal, but even then, it was too surreal that she was sitting here, right at this moment…!

She cleared her throat and spoke up, turning to Michiru.

"Michiru Sayonaka, what does this mean? Didn't you say this was going to be a… 'Date between girls'? Why is he here."

She glanced at me and then immediately looked back at my childhood friend. I was as confused as she was…! I shot a questioning look at Michiru. What was going on?!

Michiru just giggled in response. "Come on, Ria-chan! Yuujin-chan is already your friend, right? No need to be so cold~ I just wanted to spend time with you two so, sooo much~ Come on, let's place our orders and enjoy a sweet time together!!"

Ah, that. While I had only intended to get some black tea, I supposed it would make me feel awkward against the waiter's eyes. Who would come to a donut shop for just black tea, right?!

I looked down at the menu, overflowing with pictures of bright, sugar filled treats. I gulped. Come on, I thought. You used to love sweets, yeah? This shouldn't be impossible. Nothing will happen from one donut…

The nice green color of the matcha donut caught my eye. The Wagashi-Western mix made me think of Reo. I wondered if he'd be happy visiting this place as a sweets-enjoyer.

I wished he was here with me… As it was kind of awkward being a boy, sitting with two cute girls…!

Michiru noticed me eyeing the matcha donut. "Ehehe, are you a tea type of guy? I might as well as call you Chajin*, hehe~"

Ria snorted at her pun, immediately apologizing afterwards. Proud about making Ria laugh, Michiru happily placed our orders to the waitress, who was wearing a cute frilly apron. Everything about this place was so… Saccharine. I felt like such an odd one out with my all-black clothes…!

"That'll be one Spring Special box, two strawberry donuts and one matcha donut. As for the drinks, one Chocolate Festival milkshake, one cup of black tea and one cup of iced black coffee; am I correct?"

After the waitress left, Michiru clapped her hands. "Okaaaay, I guess with that—I shall announce my reason for calling you two here, which I'm sure you're both curious about…?"

She examined our reactions with eyes shining with curiosity, meanwhile me and Ria just glanced at each other; both of us not having any idea about this situation. Heck, I personally didn't even know the two knew each other…!

"Alright, well… This actually means a lot to me, you two. Ria," she turned to the school president first. "Yuujin is my childhood friend. Actually, I say that, but I was very… Quiet and reserved back then, so we never got to be close. I wanted that to change! He's just the kindest guy. I'm sure you're aware~?"

Ria grumbled a "Yes, I guess," in response. And then her eyes widened. "Ah…! Don't tell me, you saw…?"

Michiru nodded, giggling happily.

"Ehehe~ Listen, I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I was on my way to my locker and it was too sweet not to watch~ Yuujin," this time she turned to me. "At that moment, I was sure that it was my dear childhood hero, because only Yuujin Seira is kind enough to find out what a person loves the most. I remember how you gifted my favorite chocolate bar when some kids bullied me. You dropped it on my desk, thinking I didn't see it~"

The memory flashed over my eyes in an instant. It was third grade or something—wanting to cheer her up after the tasteless bullying incident, I had asked her classmates about what food she liked the most, and after obtaining that information, I had tried to sneakily put it on her desk, but…

"I got caught, huh?"

She proudly smirked. "My eyes are sharp~ Anyway, I guess I never got to thank you for that day too, so… You two are people I always wanted to get close with, just didn't have the chance to. So, forgive my little mischief, but let's get along well today~"

At that moment, our sweets arrived. I'm sure that me and Ria appreciated that, as we needed a moment to recollect our feelings about Micchan being an absolute sweetheart, going as far as to arrange such a thing for us!

Wasn't something like this what I always wished for? A friendly outing—the ideal opportunity for me to have close friends?! I had no intention to mess it up!

Michiru opened her box of donuts; she had ordered six donuts of various flavors, all inspired by different motifs of spring. Ria seemed terrified as I was, tightly holding on to her drink.

"Ehehe, what's with the scared looks? Unlike what my small body might make you think, I sure can hold my sweets~ Though," she took two from the box, excitedly transferring them to her plate. "The rest are for home. I want to focus on chatting after all! Which reminds me…"

She took a bite from her pink glazed donut. After marveling at its taste, she continued.

"...how did you learn about Ria-chan and her love for Harmony-chan?"

Crap!!! It had completely slipped from my mind that I could be questioned for such a thing—as my intention was to simply drop the plushie to Ria's side, pretending to be not involved at all! I had never thought of an excuse on this topic…!

Ria took a sip from her iced coffee, eyes clouded with thoughts. "Um… I think anyone in my first class could reveal such info, if asked…" She seemed to be reliving the memories of her troubled first year… How much I wanted to reveal the truth right that moment and give her all my support!

Michiru nodded, also taking a sip from her drink. "That's true, I guess we all saw you back then…"

Seeing me gaze at her outrageously sugary drink, she offered me to taste it. When I politely refused, she shook the glass in front of me. "Come ooon, you know you wanna~"

Ria held my playful childhood friend's arm, stopping her invitation. "Michiru, that won't do… You just drank from it, wouldn't it make it an indirect… K-kiss?"

Me and Micchan exchanged looks and then burst laughing. Ria's expression was too adorable! She really had an unexpectedly pure side to her. Thanking her for the concern, I reassured that it wasn't the issue here.

"I'm just not a big fan of sweets, plus I kinda follow a special diet for my training. So I think I'll just stick to my donut here, as even that's an exception for today."

I finally took a bite from my poor donut who was waiting to be eaten by me for a while now. I was surprised—it wasn't half bad! It must have been made for people like me who weren't into sweets, because it really didn't have the suffocating sweetness of the usual donut, especially compared to what the girls were having.

We all took a few moments, happily enjoying our treats of the evening. As we were reaching the bittersweet finale of plates and glasses being emptied, Michiru spoke up.

"Y'know, Ria-chan… I was absent 'that day', so I never truly got to learn what happened, only hearing bits and pieces of people's gossip. I always thought they were being unfair, as I believed that you were such a sweet girl, and I never could bring myself to delete your phone number… But you just shut yourself off from people, so I didn't know how to approach…"

Her purple eyes were filled with sad compassion, I felt like our feelings were the same. We just wanted Ria to feel happy and be comfortable being her true self…

"So, I'd like to hear it from you. All the things that happened that day, all the pain you've been keeping inside all this time. Is that okay?"

Ria just looked down for a while, trying to decide if the gamble of being vulnerable and open would be worth it. I truly understand how she felt, so I gently put my hand on hers.

"I'd love to know, too. We want the best of you, Azuma-senpai. Please, know that we won't judge you, no matter what."

Her lips quivered, already holding back the tears forming in her eyes. Michiru held her other hand, while gently patting her back. We were ready to support her, no matter what. Even though I had an idea of how that day went, I truly wanted to hear it from her own words…

—

*Cha for tea, Jin for person.