As You Wish

The moon shone bright in the night sky. Besides the sounds of his classmates’ whispers, the only sound was the buzzing of cicadas. He waited in front of the forest for the test of courage to begin.

“Y-Yuta?”

He turned around to see Shiori fidgeting with her hands. He hadn’t seen her since lunch. “Yes?”

“C-Could you be my partner?”

“Wait, you’re participating in the test of courage?”

She nodded nervously.

“I thought you would want nothing to do with this. I didn’t think scary was your style.”

“I-It used to be… I haven’t done one of these s-since the accident, so… I-I want to give it another t-try…”

Her unease was written all over her. Yuta smiled. “Of course, I’ll be your partner.”

Just then, Ms. Sasaki emerged from the woods and stood on a log. “Welcome to the scariest test of courage you’ll ever witness! You’ll split into pairs and go in one pair at a time. Sorry not sorry to those of you who think of using this as an opportunity to get closer to that one person you find attractive, but boys cannot pair with girls.”

Yuta glanced apologetically at Shiori. ‘It looks like I won’t be there to comfort her…’

“There is a pile of white stones hidden somewhere in the forest. Your goal is to find it and get back here before time runs out and preferably without peeing your pants. There’re enough stones for every group. Now find a partner and get going. I’ll enjoy seeing those confident looks on your faces turn into absolute horror.” She stepped off the log and leaned against the starting sign with her arms folded.

Yuta partnered with Hitomura, and was glad to find Shiori and Kurosawa together.

Their group was the last to enter the forest. Shiori and Kurosawa were only a few groups ahead of them.

It was almost pitch-black underneath the canopy of the trees. Unnatural winds swirled around Yuta’s feet. “This is supposed to be scary?”

Hitomura, who was walking ahead of him, turned around. “Knowing Ms. Sasaki, it’s all about the suspense. It’ll feel like everything is fine, until… BOOM! Something scary pops out.” The second he faced forward again, a semi-realistic severed head dropped out of the tree in front of him and hung in the air a few inches in front of his face.

He leaped back and let out a startled scream.

Yuta rolled his eyes. “That’s not scary. It’s just plastic.”

“Y-Yeah… Not scary at all…” Hitomura coughed and pushed Yuta forward. “How about you take the lead?”

Shaking his head, Yuta agreed to let Hitomura trail behind him.

There were a few jump scares here and there, but creepy noises and sudden movements were the majority of Ms. Sasaki’s test of courage.

In the middle of the forest, Yuta heard sobbing. He stopped and listened closer. ‘Is that… Shiori?’

Hitomura placed a hand on Yuta’s shoulder to get his attention. “You go to her. I’ll find Kurosawa and tell her of the situation.”

“Thanks, Hitomura.” Yuta ran off in the direction of the crying. It was ahead of them, but somewhere off to the side.

He ran through several bushes until he glimpsed Shiori huddled against a tree through the thick bushes that were taller than Yuta. He burst through the bush, ignoring the branching scraping against his skin. “Shiori! Are you alright?” He knelt in front of her.

She was sobbing into her knees, but she looked up upon hearing Yuta’s voice. “Y-Yuta? W-What are you doing here?”

“I heard you crying. Come here.” He leaned over and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. “...You’re scared, aren’t you?”

She nodded, holding onto his side.

“Does Kurosawa know where you are?”

“N-No… I j-just r-ran off…”

Yuta looked above them. The tree Shiori leaned against was the only tree in the immediate area, so there was a fairly open view of the sky.

“We can stay here if you want.”

Shiori’s sobbing slowed, and her eyes met Yuta’s. Seeing the warmth replace the fright in her eyes, Yuta felt his heart swell. An understanding of what he had felt toward Shiori during the culture festival finally hit him. ‘That’s right. I’ve never felt it before, but… I think I might have fallen for Shiori…’

And he could tell by looking in her eyes that she felt the same way about him.

He hugged her tighter. “Don’t worry, Shiori. I’m here for you.”

“Y-Yuta…” Her cheeks turned bright red.

The first firework of the night launched into the sky and exploded into brilliant red and gold colors, lighting the forest floor for just a moment.

Shiori took a shaky deep breath. “Y-Yuta… I think I know what I want now…”

Another firework launched into the air, this time painting the night sky in purple and green.

“What is it?”

“C-Could we be… more than friends?”

“More than friends?”

“Y-Yes… Whenever I’m with you, I’m… happy… I-I don’t know… I haven’t felt like this before…” She looked away, embarrassed by her own words.

Yuta held her hands. “Shiori, I feel the same way.”

Her head turned back to Yuta. “Y-You do?”

“Yes.” He was positive that he was blushing. But definitely not as much as Shiori was.

“T-This feels like something out of a manga…” Her lips crept up into a smile. Yuta knew that she always wanted to experience a moment like this.

More fireworks shot into the air, exploding one after another. Greens, purples, reds, golds, blues, and oranges lit up the sky.

“U-Usually in my manga… a s-scene like this u-usaully ends with a k-kiss…” Her entire face was beet red.

Yuta felt his cheeks flush. “Is that so…?”

Shiori nodded. “I-If you don’t mind…”

He scratched his head, a little uncomfortable. “If that’s what you want…”

“T-Then…” She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared at him longingly.

Yuta’s arms moved his arms to embrace Shiori’s back. He closed his eyes and hesitantly leaned his head forward but stopped short. ‘What if I got the feeling wrong, and it’s not love? What if–’

His thoughts were interrupted by Shiori pressing her lips against his. Even knowing this is what she wanted, her taking the initiative left him frozen. He pushed his thoughts away. What mattered right now was Shiori.

The last of the fireworks was the biggest. It showered the sky in gold.

Shiori pulled away. “I-I’m sorry… I c-couldn’t help myself…”

Yuta opened his eyes. “N-No, it’s okay…” He turned his head away from her. “It wasn’t bad.”

“Y-Yuta…: A tear rolled down her cheek. “I like you…”

He smiled. “And so do I… Do you want to stay here for a little longer, or should we head back?”

“L-Let’s stay… Just a little longer…”

“As you wish… Shiori.”