What Do You Think About Her?

 Mika and Saya were looking at each other. Saya, surprised, said:

"Mika?" she said.

Rin and Eirin were also looking at Saya and Mika in surprise. Rin broke the silence and said:

"Do you two know each other?" Rin asked.

Mika couldn't comprehend it.

                                   Why was Saya here?

Some time passed, Saya and Mika tried to explain how they met superficially.

"Well, I see. But since you know each other's names, I guess you've become closer?" Rin said, taking the last sip of her coffee.

"C-closer?" Eirin looked at them with curiosity and embarrassment.

"C-Closer? No way, we just met," Saya stumbled over her second sentence.

"Well... Mr. Mika, what do you think about this?" Rin grinned.

        What should I say? The situation explained it pretty well.

"Yes, it was just an introduction. That's all," his voice sounded lifeless.

"Hmm, okay then." Rin's enthusiasm seemed to fade. Eirin took a deep breath.

"Anyway, let's get to the main point. How did you manage to bring Mika closer to you and have coffee together?" Saya asked angrily and curiously.

"Manage? Was it difficult?" Rin said.

"Of course, it was difficult, even I..." Saya suddenly stopped, realizing that what she was about to say would reveal things left unsaid.

"'Even I?' Well, we saw him while riding our bikes and took the opportunity to talk. Did we do something wrong?"

"No, but it's wrong to forcefully invite someone to talk about their personality out of curiosity."

"Forcefully? He didn't resist at all." Rin defended herself.

"What? Is that true, Mika?" Saya looked at Mika with surprise and a hint of anger.

                          What have I gotten myself into? 

Now all three girls were looking at him.

"Well, I can say partially, they held my hand. If I had tried to withdraw, they could have gotten hurt, so I didn't do anything to harm them," he said.

Astonished, the three girls fixed their gaze upon Mika, their eyes reflecting a mix of surprise and curiosity.

"I-I didn't know, th-thank you," Rin felt even ashamed of her irritable personality in response.

"W-Well! I need to go to the bath-bathroom!" Eirin started running to the restroom without being able to hide her embarrassment any longer.

"Wait, Eirin..." Saya tried to stop her, but she knew she wouldn't listen, so she cut her words short.

"Ugh, Mika, sometimes you can be really cool, you know?" Saya supported her head with her elbow and looked at Mika. Suddenly, she took Rin's coffee.

"HEY, THAT'S MY COFFEE!" Rin tried to stop her, but Saya had already taken the last sip.

Mika looked at the clock. He was really running late now.

                               It wouldn't be rude to get up

"W-Well, I have to go now..."

"Oh right, Eirin didn't come, but I'll tell her. By the way, what answer are you thinking to give?" Rin asked curiously.

"What? What answer was I supposed to give?" Mika looked at Rin as he stood up from the table.

"What's going on?" Saya asked, looking at the two of them.

"What else? A confession." Rin said quite naturally.

"A CONF... CONFESSION?" Saya stood up in astonishment, raising her voice. The other people around them were looking at them.

"W-Well, why are you so surprised? Eirin has been curious about Mika every time she sees him outside. Even when she just looks at you, her facial expression changes a lot."

"Even if she doesn't know me?"

"Yes, once when you were helping an old lady with her groceries, she was impressed, I guess."

"W-What? D-Did she falls in love with him when he crossed the street that time?" said Saya.

"Of course, dummy. Didn't we even make fun of her facial expression back then?" Rin blushed while answering Saya.

"Well, what do you think? Or do you want to answer Eirin? Although she definitely doesn't want that, but..."

Saya looked at them with a mix of curiosity.

Mika's mind wrestled with conflicting thoughts before he eventually uttered his response, his voice devoid of any discernible emotion:

 "I understand. Rin, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but I can't accept that. It's not about Eirin, she's a beautiful girl, and I'm sure she could make me happy if I had felt-." 

Mika suddenly stopped. Saya's eyes widened, catching Rin's questioning gaze as they both tried to decipher the meaning behind Mika's unfinished sentence. As Saya entered into the conversation:

"So, you don't feel anything about her, is that right? Heh, you missed your chance, it's going to be a pity," she said, fake smiling. Mika understood that Saya was trying to help.

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry. And also, thank you to her too, for being interested in someone like me."

"Well, fine then. Crazy guy, I don't know who you're in love with or interested in, but if you think that way about Eirin, I have nothing else to say," Rin said unintentionally, looking at her phone.

"Oh, by the way, thanks for the coffee," Mika said.

Saya inhaled deeply, a tingling sensation coursing through her body as if an electric current had awakened her senses.

"I'm leaving then," Mika said, looking at Rin and Saya.

"Goodbye," Rin waved her hand.

"G-Goodbye," Saya, lost in thought, started to think. Rin was looking at Saya's state.

***

Mika had reached his bicycle and he was about to unlocking it.

"Mika!" Saya called out, out of breath.

Mika turned on his heels, and there stood Saya before him, her presence both familiar and unexpected.

"W-What's up, Saya?"

"W-Well... I wanted to apologize on behalf of my friends."

"True, you did warn me that there were people interested in me, but I didn't know they were your close friends."

"At that time, I didn't want them to have the wrong idea about me, so I portrayed them as distant friends. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, but you could have told me the truth," Mika said without showing any emotion.

"I'm sorry, really sorry. They also took up your time."

"You don't need to apologize; it's not your fault. Besides, they seem like good people. At first, I had trouble understanding their behavior, but they don't seem like bad individuals."

"Y-Yes, they're actually really good people. They're my only close friends."

"By the way, you met up with them yesterday too, right?"

"W-What? Oh, yes. They came after school today as well, but I had to go somewhere right after school, so..."

"I see."

"You're speaking nonchalantly again."

"What? I didn't realize, sorry," Mika said, holding his bicycle.

Saya burst into laughter.

"Anyway, thanks for not revealing our little secret. If you had, they would have forced me to say a lot."

"What secret? Oh, about the meeting... Yes, I cut it short to avoid further questioning."

"Would you die if you said, 'I'm glad I helped or no problem'?"

"Sorry, anyway, I should be on my way." Mika took his bicycle out of the parking area, facing away from Saya. But Saya called out to him:

"Hey, Mika."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for not accepting Eirin's confession."

"W-What? Why are you thanking me?"

A sudden realization washed over Saya, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she became acutely aware of her slip of the tongue.

"W-What am I saying?!" She quickly covered her mouth, turning beet red.

"Anyway, still, be careful. Falling in love with strangers so quickly can sometimes put her in danger."

"You and your protective nature... Anyway, I won't keep you and the girls waiting any longer. Goodbye." Saya waved her hand and walked away.

Mika swung himself onto the bicycle saddle, his mind drifting amidst a sea of unanswered questions:

 "Is Saya the friend Eirin mentioned would come from the hospital?"