A forceful meeting

Rounding a corner of the staircase, someone called out to us loudly. “Hey, you!”
At least, I assumed, as no one else was nearby. Turning to the source of the voice, stood a second year student of our school. Something about her seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite remember where I had met her before.
After we had stopped from the call-out, she approached us. Or rather, me. Stopping only a few centimeters away, the newcomer announced in a slightly threatening voice. “We have to talk. Come to the rooftop after school.”
While it was a classic scenario for a confession sense, this seemed more like a challenge to a duel. The girl’s athletic build didn’t help in that equation. And as quickly as she had appeared, she walked away, vanishing into a corridor.

“Do you know that person?” Ayame asked me. There was concern on her face. She might have opted for a joking display of jealousy here. But as she didn’t, it added to the tenseness of situation.
“Maybe. I kind of get the feeling I have seen her before, but it doesn’t quite click.” Thinking it through for a moment, I came to a stop. Instead, I returned the question. “Do you happen to know her.”
“Ehm…” Ayame’s face twisted slightly. It probably meant a yes, but she couldn’t tell me. If there was one reason for that… Then it clicked.
“I met her before, at the festival. She is one of the oni, right?”
Quickly looking around that no one was nearby, I got the confirmation afterwards. “Yes.” In a more apologetic tone followed. “Sorry. But I couldn’t tell you.”
I smiled to ease her worries. “It’s fine. I know about it, so there is no need to apologize every single time. But still, that leaves the question, what does she want from me?”
I couldn’t think of something. Playing back my memories, there was the scene where she helped me with the drunkard. There was nothing of note. …Expect, “Does she want me to repay the favor?” I uttered quietly. Favors were seen as a pretty big deal, and more commonly used than money.
As I would get my answer soon enough, I put it aside. “I will find out later anyway.”
Ayame regarded me with concern. “Minoru.” She said my name, so I would focus on her. “Don’t do anything reckless or stupid. Okay?”
To my wish, the mood had changed. But not exactly for the better. “Got it.”
These may have been not the ideal parting words, but they were what they were. We split up, and ate our lunch.

The last ring of the bell signaled the end of the day. With that, it was time I went to take care of my business, and could finally get those annoying thoughts out of my head. I excused myself from the others, much to a certain someone’s chagrin. And I had to console Suzuki to meet another time. While that had my interest, I thought about the challenge as a higher priority matter.
Sweeping my gaze around the classroom, I saw Ayame had already vanished. I didn’t know what she was up to, but hoped she wouldn’t do anything that might put her in danger.

With some concerns swimming in the back of my mind, I opened the door to the rooftop. The wind was still warm, and going quite strong on this elevation. With parts of the setting sun dying her to me turned back in shadows, the female student had opted for a display usually only seen in manga and anime. Still, I had to give it to her, it was quite dramatic.
Hearing the door close behind me, she turned around to face me. Her face was set in a stern expression, showing not a hint of positivity. ‘Oh boy, let’s see what I have gotten myself into.’
Walking a few steps forward, I pondered upon what to call her. Cramming through my memories, I manged to remember what the big oni had called her. “Here I am, just as you had requested, Youko.” First name basis might have been too much, but it seemed to fit the atmosphere.
Upon my call-out, her face broke into a grin. “So I see, Minoru.” And somehow, she knew my name. Had I become famous without knowing?
Mirroring my approach, both of us walked ever closer, until we were only a few steps apart. While I didn’t know what to make of the situation, I could still feel the tension in the air.

Right before me, Youko drew air into her lungs in a deep breath, and straightened her body. In reflex, I tensed up, prepared for any action to come my way. But, I wasn’t prepared for what was to come.
“Please let me get along with you!!!” Her head shot straight down, making her body form a perfect 90 degree angle.
“…” The unexpectedness left me in a confused daze for several seconds, before I managed to even give a simple reply. “W-”
“What are you even talking about!” A familiar voice rang out from besides us. We turned to see the unassumed visitor, but were greeted by the empty rooftop around us. “Ah.” A startled exclamation of surprise came from nowhere.
“What the…” A voice without a speaker in sight. But, thinking about who it originated from, and who it was, an explanation started piecing itself together in my head. “Ayame? Are you hiding here?”
Silence followed. Then, a few seconds later, the air started to flicker, like on a very hot day. Moments later, the kitsune surfaced, her face showing discomfort at being found out.
“Ah! You are the girl from before!” The oni exclaimed, and, fitting to the accused, also changed into her original form. “What are you doing here?!”
But Ayame was not having it, answering with a question of her own. “Same to you! What are you trying to get out of Minoru by cozying up to him?”
“I-I am not doing anything of that sort!” The stammering and hints of embarrassment in her voice showed that there was something. A blush may have covered her face, but it was heard to see due to her crimson skin.
I heaved a sigh, knowing this would go nowhere. Looking at both of them, I suggested “How about we take a seat on one of the benches over there, and talk through all of this in order?” My idea was met with agreement.

After sitting down and composing themselves, the situation already seemed better between those two. Not great, but a lot calmer.
Acting as a mediator, I was standing opposite of them, and tried to regulate the conversation. To clear things up and have a starting point, introduction were in order. After my and Ayame’s turn, it fell to our last member.
“My name is Ishikawa Youko. A second year student, and proud oni.” She crossed her arms, as if it was obviously enough of an introduction.
“…” “…” ‘It is fairly basic, but better than nothing, I guess.’ Setbacks like this were to be expected, so not a major problem. And taking her personality seen so far into account, going straight to the matter at hand seemed like the best approach.
Clearing my throat, I went ahead with it. “So, Ishikawa-” “Youko is fine.” “Ehm, alright. Then, Youko. Could you tell me what exactly you meant when you asked me to get along with you before?” Hearing my question, Ayame perched forward on her seat, and looked directly at the oni.
Who herself didn’t seem fazed at all by the question. “Exactly what I meant. I would like to get along with you.” Again, crossing her arms, she gave a ‘this should be obvious’ look.
While I still had some patience remaining, someone else had precious little in this matter. “But, in which way exactly? Do you mean as friends, or…?” Nearing the latter part of her sentence, Ayame looked a bit uncomfortable.
With the same deadpan expression as before, Youko turned to her, and answered. “Obviously I want to be friends with him, what else?” Not a hint of conflicting emotion could be seen on her.
Ayame breathed a sigh of relief, and started smiling and giggling. “Of course. There couldn’t have been anything else.”
The oni raised an eyebrow in response, but chose not to pursue the matter.

However, there was one thing that seemed off to me. “Why would you suddenly ask me that?” Our interactions were so little, there was no reason to suddenly want to be friends, at least in my eyes. Perhaps she wanted help fitting into human society better, or some kind of wish to be friends with everyone involved with magic in this school? Owing to these curious thoughts, it seemed easiest to ask her upfront about it.
And now, for the first time, her tough outer facade started to crumble. “Uhm, oh… well…” Obviously embarrassed, Youko started fidgeting, and was unable to hold eye contact.
That served as a trigger for a certain someone’s interest. “I knew there was something off.” After that statement, she remained silent for several seconds, until a wide grin appeared on her face. “I see, so much for the valiant oni courage.” “What?!” “I thought there was no challenge that you wouldn’t tackle head on.” “You!”
Her taunting had an obvious effect, though I wasn’t sure whether or not that was a good thing. At least, it made the conversation continue. “It isn’t that easy!”
“Yes yes, we all heard those excuses.” Ayame acted nonchalant.
This seemed to have brought Youko to a boiling point. “Alright, fine! I admit it! I wanted to get closer to Minoru so he could help me with a certain problem!”
But Ayame wasn’t letting off. “And what exactly might that be?”
Having reached her limit, Youko spoke in a volume unlike the previous outbursts.. “I am in love with one of his friends!” Breathing loudly a few times, she managed to reign herself in afterwards. “There, happy?”
She turned to Ayame, who, despite her incessant teasing, had a blush in her face on top of her shocked expression. “Yes…”
And to be fair, I had a feeling I wasn’t looking any better. In fact, I was partly in awe of Youko. To be able to boldly and loudly announce the fact, it took a lot of courage and willpower. …Something I might want to learn from.

While this was already a great display for the two of us, Youko wasn’t done yet. Scratching her head, she followed up on it. “Arg, I may as well come out with the whole truth, in hopes you might help me out.” She eyed me.
Recovering from my shock, I responded. “I will try to do so, however, I can’t promise anything. I will not force one of my friends to play along if they truly do not want to.” This was a point I couldn’t move from. It would be akin to betrayal after they were open to me from the start.
With a rue smile, Youko accepted my motion. “Got it. Means you care for them.” Taking a deep breath, she continued. “The guy I like is…”
Both Ayame and me gulped. I knew whoever she was going to talk about, making this a bit nerve-wrecking. ‘Who of them would make a good pair in her eyes?’
Waiting with baited breath, the few seconds seemed to span minutes until her sentence concluded. “…Suzuki Akihito.”
“…” “…” ‘Whaaat?!’ It came as a surprise. Nothing against Suzuki, but he was the physically frailest among us. That an oni, who usually is the picture of brute strength, would opt for this route, was a surprise.
“How exactly did it happen?!” Shaking off her stun quicker than me, Ayame was leaning towards her, eyes sparkling. ‘I guess she likes love talks and romance stories. Probably most girls do, in fact…’ But these thoughts weren’t in my head for long, as I listened to Youko with great interest myself.
“Well…” she collected herself. “I have met him a few times before. In the beginning, we didn’t talk much, just passed each other in the neighborhood. Then, he called out to me. I know I look a bit intimidating, but he approached me so carefree, not a hint of fear or hesitation. …I guess, that was when I really became conscious of him.”
Youko spoke her mind. As she went it, it looked like her focus was entirely on her memories, letting her deliver her story without any bouts of embarrassment.
“We met up a few times and talked. Everything was going well. Until…”

“He collapsed.” Ayame interrupted her.
“Yes.” She gave a short nod. “I didn’t know much about it at the time, but later found out it may have been my meddling.” Sadness made itself apparent on her face.
To console her and show consideration, the kitsune put a hand on the oni’s shoulder. Considering the previous attitude between their kind, it was a large gesture.
It might have helped with Youko’s composure, as she continued more matter of factly. “I had been in the area at the time, and found him. At first, I was shocked, and felt my heart stop. I ran up to Aki-” ““Aki?”” Ayame and I both reacted the same way, making Youko blush. “Shut up! When we talked in the past, I told him to call me by my first name. And then he offered me to call him Aki, as Akihito was too old fashioned.”
Her short outburst settled our curiosity. A cough later, she resumed her story. “Anyway, I ran to him and checked up on his condition. It didn’t seem like he was hurt, but there wasn’t much I could do. So I carried him to the police station, so they could check him out.”

She stopped there, assuming we, or at least I, knew how the rest had played out. I did, and there was one thing that seemed a bit off. “Why would you hide yourself?”
“Hm? What are you talking about?” Youko looked at me with confusion, not knowing what I was referring to.
I wanted to be more specific, but Ayame signaled for me to stop. I guessed she would tell me about it later.
Not that there would have been time now. I was looking in front of me, and noticed the oni’s face change into a wide eyed stare, fixated on behind me. Turning to the point of focus, I was forced to share her surprise. Suzuki was here. ‘Talk of the devil…’
The first to recover was Youko. With a slight shriek in her voice, she asked “Since when have you been here?!”
The reaction was understandable. If Suzuki had been here since the beginning, he would know about her confession, a major fact for her.
“Well…” Everyone was nervous about his answer for their own reason. Waiting in stillness, for the reveal, it came, “around the time you started talking about meeting me.” And fell flat.
In an instance, the tension drained. Youko threw her back against the bench, and Ayame hunched over in her seat. I for one kept my eye on Suzuki. He had said around that part, which included earlier than it. Not only that, his smile seemed a bit iffy. It might have been due to the entire situation and the gazes on him, or him hiding being here longer. Either way, this was neither the time nor the place to talk about these unconfirmed suspicions of mine.

With peace of mind, Youko looked to her friend. “What are you even doing here?”
That was a valid question. Once more the point of general interest, Suzuki continued to talk in front of us. “Well, something seemed a bit off. Despite wanting to talk to me about… certain things, Yamazaki abruptly refused, and went away. Not only that, Fujiwara vanished too. As they are the two people I knew that knew about magic, it looked like something was going on. So I Yamazaki here. But, once I saw the rooftop door, I was uncertain whether I should pass through, or wait and turn around. It took me a bit, but I entered, which was when I heard you talking.”
Hearing him talk with a soothing voice, and having the immediate interest quelled, we all relaxed a bit. This gave Suzuki an opportunity to bring up his own point. Gathering his resolve, he stepped forward. “Youko.” Standing directly in front of her, he drew her attention on himself. With her eyes fixated on him, he gave a graceful bow. “Thank you very much for saving me that night.”

A moment passed. Ayame and I both realized it would be best to shut up and let the other two sort out their things.
After a flash of remorse passed her, the oni spoke up. “There is no need to thank me. Didn’t you hear clear enough before? I may be the cause for your collapse.”
“That does not matter.” Raising his body, Suzuki stood perfectly straight, exhuming self-assuredness. “You did not do it knowingly nor willingly. Not only that, you helped me without anything in it for you. It may have even reflected badly on you.” Breaking his serious facade, Suzuki gave her a kind smile. “So let’s leave that behind us. Instead, maybe you can show me a few things? And if you truly think it is on you, make up for it by hanging out with me.”
The last words he spoke were as much a hand stretched out to her as his physical one. Glancing up at him, she took it, and rose from the bank. Seeing once more how much they could get along, Youko let her positive feeling flood over whatever negative thinking there might have been. “Got it.” Just as him, she tossed the serious expression, and donned a wild grin. “Better strap in, I am about to show you a whole new world.”
The two looked at each-other, still holding hands.

“Ehem.” Ayame took it upon herself to draw them back into reality. While Suzuki reacted flustered, Youko glared at her for interrupting. But that didn’t mean much to the kitsune. “If I may make a suggestion, it might be a good idea to stop by Mori’s.” As a lack of comprehension was the only clear reaction, she continued. “I think this may be your first time guiding someone. In that case, Mori is a good start, as she can give you a few tips and pointers. Not only that.” For the last part, Ayame rose too, and whispered to her.
The oni’s stern expression turned to happiness, apparently liking whatever idea had been given to her. “Not bad. Guess your scheming is good for something.”
“I prefer to use the term cleverness.”
With their friendly rivalry? coming to a close, we gave our goodbyes to each-other. Ayame and I saw the other pair off on their way, waving once they vanished through the door leading downstairs.
I felt happy. Not only wasn’t there a fight, but I got to meet a new person. Also, it looked like there may be more happiness in between my friends. All was good.
So I was a bit perplexed as I head Ayame mutter quietly with a vexed voice. “I am not going to be outdone by some… I have courage too.” I only managed to catch because we were quite close.

Wanting to ask her what it is about, I turned to face her. This presented me with my biggest surprise yet. The distance between us had become zero. Pushing herself into my body, she leaned forward. Stretching herself, making sure our heads were level, that she wouldn’t miss. And she didn’t.
We shared our first kiss.
It was unlike any other experience I had before. …Well, not quite. It was similar to when I was laying in her help. But instead of feeling it spread through my entire body, the feelings were focused on one point. Her soft lips transfered their warmth to mine. Not only that, the slight breeze meant her sweet scent was carried to me.
While the kiss felt like it lasted an eternity, it passed by in the blink of an eye.
With an incredibly flushed face, it was the first time that I witnessed Ayame being unable to look me directly into the eye.
Almost as if in a daze, I let my arms wander around her to pull her into me again. However, I was denied. With a slight push to my chest, she made sure we would separate.
Turning around to face away from me, she spoke in an even voice. “I didn’t want to be outdone. If she can display her true feelings after such a short amount of time, who would I be if I wasn’t clear as well. So,” She twirled around, facing me with a bright smile. “Let this be part of my selfishness.”
Breathing deeply, she looked as if all those emotions had left her with that statement. As I was still a bit dumbfounded, she continued on her own. “So, I know giving an answer right now might be hard, but please think about it properly. I will be waiting.” Whispering her last words, she seemed to vanish. On the edge of my consciousness, I heard the door of the rooftop closing.

I stood there for a few minutes, my heart skipping a beat. And I liked the feeling of it. Touching my lips, I thought about what had happened. What I felt during it. And the confirmation it brought to me.
As my head cleared, I felt old memories resurface. And with this, it was clear to me what I had to do.