Cousins Clash

Nakamura wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, but at some point Tachibana and Iwasaki had disappeared. She hoped that they were at least still together, wherever they had ended up. This situation was kinda ideal. You couldn't ask for a better setting to be spending alone with your crush.

Good going, Tachibana-kun, she smiled to herself, you'd better make the most of this!

Nakamura looked back towards Shinohara and Inaba. They were still a little ways ahead of her, but she had decided to give them some space too. Everyone seemed happy. Things couldn't have been going any better. She decided it was best if she slipped away herself and just let the two couples enjoy each other's company. Maybe she'd circle back around and check out the stalls again. Those candied apples she had spotted earlier were practically calling out to her.

“Hmm?”

She paused. She thought she had just seen something out the corner of her eye. A figure was sitting on the stone steps, slumped over with their head resting on their knees. Their face was obscured, but whoever it was, there was something oddly familiar about them that Nakamura couldn't put her finger on. Something about their clothes, maybe?

Wasn't that the same outfit Tachibana was wearing tonight?

Nakamura suddenly went white as a sheet.

Oh no, this is bad.

“Um, hey there,” she called out.

They didn't look up. Maybe she had been too quiet? Admittedly, she had been hesitating in case she had been mistaken.

“Tachibana-kun?” She called out again, a little louder this time.

The figure twitched at the mention, it was Tachibana alright.

She cautiously lowered herself down next to him, and gently placed her hand on his back.

“Hey, you alright?”

“Iwasaki's left,” he managed to force out.

“Hold on, what do you mean she's left?”

“I don't understand what I did wrong. I thought things were going well. She seemed like she was having a good time and…”

“Woah, slow down. Start from the beginning, what exactly happened?”

“I confessed to her, and… and…”

He finally looked up to face her. His eyes were all red and puffy. Had he been crying?

“...she turned me down.”

Nakamura wrapped her arm around him and pulled him into a hug. The two of them stayed like that for a while, Tachibana silently leaning on her shoulder while she gently stroked his hair. She hoped that she was able to comfort him, if even only a little. But there was something better that she could do for him, something only she could do. She needed to confront her cousin, she needed answers.

“It'll be ok, I'll sort this,” she jumped up sharply.

Nakamura hopped down the steps without looking back at Tachibana. She couldn't bare to see him like this anymore. After how much he had grown since she had first met him, seeing him right back where he had started tore her up inside. She prayed that it wouldn't cause him to relapse and start to shut himself off from the world again. She broke out into a run, bitter tears starting to stain her cheeks.

Nakamura was fuming.

How could Iwasaki do this? True, it had been a shock to hear that Tachibana had suddenly confessed, but she thought things had been progressing well between them. She was certain that Iwasaki liked him too. Why the hell had she turned him down?

"Dammit," she cursed as she almost tripped.

It was hard running in a kimono. It was her fault for wearing the stupid thing in the first place, but then again, she hadn't thought she would be chasing after anyone tonight. How could she have? It was supposed to have just been a fun evening, why did it have to turn into something so complicated?

“Excuse me,” she grunted, doing her best to squeeze through the crowds gathered around the stalls.

Nakamura reached the entrance to the shrine. She could feel a thin layer of sweat starting to form over her face. Just up ahead she could spot Iwasaki, who was just about to leave the area.

"Chizuru, wait," she panted.

Iwasaki halted in her tracks, but didn't turn around towards her.

"What is it?"

"Why the hell did you turn Tachibana-kun down?"

Iwasaki remained where she was, but didn't say a word.

"Tachibana-kun confessed to you, so why?"

"You know why, Aya-chan," she answered quietly, and resumed walking.

Nakamura stopped her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "No, I don't! I don't understand any of this! How can you be so cruel?"

She could feel Iwasaki's small body shaking as her grip tightened.

"Don't you understand, he's hurting?"

"I... I can't..."

"What do you mean, you can't?" Nakamura pressed.

“...you.”

Iwasaki's voice was low and strained, Nakamura could barely make out what she had just said.

"... Because of you,” Iwasaki repeated herself.

Nakamura's eyes grew wide, "huh?"

"I've seen the way you look at him. Whenever you see him, you always smile and your eyes always follow him around. Whenever he's talking, it's like there's no-one else around you.”

Nakamura released her grip, letting her arms fall limply to her sides.

"That's… that's not…" she stammered.

"I know you better than anyone, Aya-chan. You're in love with him,” Iwasaki said, finally turning towards her.

“No, you've got it all wrong!” Nakamura shouted, desperately trying to make her understand.

“The time you've spent together with him in the library, the gift you got him on Christmas. Can you really stand there and say you feel nothing towards him?”

“I…”

I've been doing all this for you, she had wanted to say. But something caused her to hesitate. She wasn't even sure why, but she couldn't bring herself to continue further.

“I like him too,” Iwasaki admitted, “I like him a lot. But if I had accepted his confession, it would have been the same as hurting you."

"That's not fair, Chizuru..."

"It's the truth. It doesn't matter what I feel, I could never do that to you."

Nakamura bit her lip as Iwasaki turned to leave again. She didn't try to stop her. She could only watch on, helpless, as Iwasaki disappeared into the night.

“Damn it!” Nakamura yelled out once she had gone, wiping her stinging eyes on the sleeve of her kimono.

How could things have gotten so far out of hand? Why couldn't Iwasaki see what was actually going on here? Nakamura took one step forward, then another, until she was leaving the shrine grounds herself. She didn't even care which direction she was headed in. All she knew was that she didn't want to stay here for a single second longer.