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Kou Minamoto deduces that some deity out there has finally decided to grant him a wish.
Perhaps it's because he's been good, because he's put up with more bullshit than usual in the past couple of weeks or because he's that lucky — one way or another, supernatural influence is the only explanation he has for his current circumstances.
Those circumstances being him knocking on Nene's door. Who'd think that Nene would end up inviting him to her house?
Granted, it's not for a date, and they're not even hanging out as friends, as she has specifically requested his help for cooking-related matters; those are minor details, though, in the overall once-in-a-lifetime experience of being allowed to spend time with her alone and outside of a school environment. ( The crazy, wacky boundaries where he can't tell left from right don't count. )
Yeah. This is some good progress for a friendship.
Nene doesn't take long to open the door for him. With her hair nicely tied up in a ponytail, matching her cozy look, she guides him inside, making brief detours to show where the living room and bathrooms are.
"And here is the kitchen," she says at last, with a welcoming smile. "Go ahead."
Upon walking into the room, the first thing Kou does is take a quick glance around.
There are colorful sticky notes placed on the fridge door, papers covered by daily reminders and some cartoonish doodles; he also finds a handy collection of hairpins, safely stored on a box near the sink, and a cute, pink apron loosely falling off of one of the chairs.
A soft smile comes to his lips. The room’s ambient feels very much Nene-like, full of tiny details that make it endearing. Though the subtle, almost non-existent decoration and the unnatural tidiness of all the marble countertops also make it look sort of sad and deserted.
When Kou’d walked in, he’d expected it to be… messier. Maybe he’s too used to the chaotic buzzing of his own household, and that’s why such an empty room leaves him with a bad aftertaste — but for all he knows, Nene’s parents could happen to be extremely strict and force her to keep every space in the house immaculately clean. The world has all sorts of people in it.
He’ll ask Nene about her organization habits when he finds a good opening, he decides. She hasn’t shared much about her home life, now that Kou thinks about it, and this might be a good chance to finally get to know her a bit better outside school grounds.
He notices Nene standing idly by his side as he scans the room; with arms folded behind her back and a slightly apprehensive face, she seems nervous about his possible reaction.
"Sorry, it doesn't have as much space as the school kitchen," she says, looking down and biting her lip. "Ahh, maybe we should have requested to use it after all…"
Kou pats her shoulder amicably. "Nothing to be sorry about. Hanako might've seen us if we stayed back at school," he reminds her in a teasy tone. "We wouldn't want that, right?"
"R-Right," Nene nods, a subtle blush creeping on her cheeks. "I really want this to be a surprise for everyone. I can't risk Hanako-kun being nosy."
"Well, there you've got it," the boy grins. "It's not like you need a lot of space to make a couple of chocolates, anyway. We'll be done before you notice."
At this, Nene raises her head, a hint of childish curiosity and admiration plaguing her eyes.
"Oh, you've made chocolates before? You sound like you have experience," she observes gleefully. "Waah, now I'm even happier that you agreed to help me! Thank you, Kou-kun!"
Kou-kun. The magic word that throws his whole nervous system off. Ah, there he goes.
His stomach pulls a swaying flip-flop, and Kou suddenly feels about as solid as a tower made of strawberry jelly, because god he could spend all day long just watching her adorable expressions, doing nothing else, and he'd still feel like the most self-realised person on Earth.
Then again, who wouldn't feel like that?
Yashiro-senpai is so kind and brave, and she has an impeccable sense of humour, and her smile is so bright that it could probably produce more light than the sun itself, and…
"...Um, Kou-kun?" she asks, gently concerned after a few seconds of radio silence. "Are you alright?"
And they're making chocolates for Hanako. Get real, Kou. Nevermind what Nene says, he's definitely the person she has on mind for this gift. He needs to stop spacing out, damn it.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I have," Kou finally answers, wincing at how awkward his voice sounds. "I've made chocolates before, I mean… Just for my family, though."
"So you are a good cook," Nene says, with a light giggle.
"I don't know if I'd go that far."
"Don't sell yourself short! Being able to cook is such an admirable skill," she sighs dreamily. "Any girl would love to receive chocolates made by a boy."
"You think so? Wouldn't it be a bit weird…?"
"Mmm, maybe most people wouldn’t expect you to do it," Nene concedes. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't. The best way to show someone you like them is to use your talents to do something cute. So if there's anyone you like, you should give them a chocolate this year… I think," she ends her prep talk with a rather shy tone. "Ah, only if you want to, of course! I mean, I’m the weird one here, making chocolates on White Day…”
Kou blinks, wordlessly staring at Nene, until his lips finally curl upwards again.
"You're rambling, Senpai," he points out, suppressing a laugh at the back of his throat. How cute.
As if she's been caught red-handed in the middle of a robbery, the blush covering Nene's face deepens, spreading all the way to her ears. "Waa, I didn't mean to rant—"
"Hey, it's cool," he swiftly brushes it off, still beaming. "You're right, you know? I could give her one… I'll think about it."
"...Good. That's great," Nene nods softly. "Let's both do our best, Kou-kun."
“You already did your best on Valentine’s Day,” Kou reminds her. “It’s really nice of you to make a second batch of chocolates, honestly. That Hanako better appreciate it…”
“Heehee. Any day is a good day to make some chocolates,” she winks. "They make everyone happy."
"Then we better stop slacking off and get something done."
"You've got a point."
Getting past the initial awkwardness of being allowed into his crush's house, Kou starts rummaging through the cupboards, gathering the ingredients that he knows they'll need. Nene puts her apron on and gives Kou a spare one, so they both can freely tackle the task at hand.
"Cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and milk and cream powder," Kou makes a quick check. "We've got everything, alright. You weren't kidding when you said you got your research done."
"Yep! I also bought some vanilla beans. I checked my mom's old recipe book," Nene admits.
"Does she like cooking?" Kou asks as casually as possible, keeping his head low as he sets the heat of the stove.
He feels dumb for asking the question when Nene wordlessly hands over a double boiler for the cocoa and the extract. Yep, that's good enough confirmation, only people who cook these sort of recipes often bother to get one.
"Mhm. We used to bake together a lot, though she's busy with work now," Nene shrugs. "What about yours, Kou-kun? Does anyone else in your family cook?"
Naturally, Kou uses this chance to drag Teru's terrible domestic skills through the floor, complaining about the boy's unwillingness to help with any house chores while he heatedly works on the mixture.
Nene's too nice to try to calm him down, choosing to listen to his whining with a sort of contemplative stare. Not that this dynamic has a chance to go on for long; when all's said and done, the actual prepping time needed to make chocolate is quite brief, and soon enough, Kou decides that their mixture is ready to be used, after several cycles of whisking and a final heating.
Trusting his judgement to be accurate, Nene kneels down, opens one of her drawers and pulls out a set of mold trays, with an adorable six-point star shape.
"Oh. These are cute…"
"Aren't they?" Nene agrees. "...I want to go stargazing with everyone again. There are so many things we could do."
Kou's mouth tightens.
"We'll find a way, Senpai. When school's all over, we'll all get together, and go somewhere where we can see all the stars you want."
"Don't worry about it," she dismisses the gloomy atmosphere by waving her hand. "I'm happy with these stars too, Kou-kun. Come on, bring them to life!"
"That's a funny way of begging me to fill all the molds up," he laughs, watching with delight as Nene's face becomes red one more time. "I think we may have overdone it, though… If we only fill these trays up, we'll still have chocolate left."
"You can tell by eye?"
"More or less," Kou nods.
"Hmm… The more the merrier, I guess!" she clasps her hands together. "I have other molds we can use for the rest of the chocolate. Though I liked this shape the best…"
"People won't care that much about the shape, I'm sure. As long as the chocolate's good, they'll eat it."
"True enough," Nene muses. "Oh, and if we still have some left, you should take it! Since you helped me and all… Your sister will love it."
Kou glances over at the bowl, observing the mixture. He seems to be thinking about something. Whatever it is, he's eventually satisfied with his conclusion, for he nods and agrees to take part of the chocolate, shining with joy.
They meet up the next morning, to sort the chocolates into small bags, the mixture now completely solid after being left to cool down overnight.
Their little chocolate exchange is even more of a success than Nene could have hoped for. Nobody minds the extra chocolates and, in fact, most of them agreed that Kou and Nene's were the best ones out of them all.
Though, after running around throughout the school all day, offering chocolates and giving the leftovers to teachers and any Mokke that wanted something sweet, Nene just wants to go home and rest.
"Phew. Thanks for staying with me to hand these out, Kou-kun. You're a lifesaver! We really did make too many."
"No big deal. It was fun for me too," Kou brushes her gratitude off, as usual. "I've gotta say, I didn't think Tsuchigomori-sensei would take any chocolates. He surprised us all by eating so many."
"I guess even scary apparitions enjoy getting gifts, after all," Nene laughs tiredly. "I'm glad everyone had fun."
"You talk like the day is over already."
"Well, because it is. Everyone got their chocolates now…"
"...Not everyone. There's still one more chocolate to be handed out today," Kou says, which picks up Nene's curiosity in a mere second.
"What do you mean? Did we forget someone?"
"Yep."
Kou gulps, sticking his hand into his right pocket, carefully pulling out an item that Nene easily recognises: one of the little bags of chocolate that they'd prepared prior. She hadn't even noticed that Kou took one of them.
"Aww! You mean you're giving chocolates to someone special after all? That's great, Kou-kun!" she congratulates him. "You should hurry up and look for them…!"
By all response, Kou smiles apologetically and takes a step forward, arm outstretched in her direction.
"About that… T-These are for you."
Nene stares at the bag that Kou's holding out for her, eyes wide and unblinking. And a few moments later, she realises an important fact: the shape of these chocolates is different from the ones they'd made together.
The transparent plastic, held together by a nicely tied purple ribbon, reveals the unmistakable silhouette of heart chocolates. The oh-so-typical ones, the ones people give to… the person they like.
She feels a rush of warmth on her skin.
"For… me?"
The girl holds her breath back as she awaits for this illusion to crack down, somehow.
Back when Hanako seemingly confessed to her, it turned out to be an act to crack the barriers of the Tree of Confessions… and that other upperclassman, Natsuhiko, had also tricked her with his flirty mannerisms. So this wouldn't be any different, no matter how much her heart may wish otherwise. Even if he doesn’t fit into her ideal type — because he doesn’t, she swears she only has eyes for the ikemen — how can she not be happy at receiving her first real confession?
It’s too good to be true, isn’t it? Any moment now, Kou'll start laughing and say that it's actually friend chocolate, though White Day isn't supposed to have those… Maybe he just wanted to see her dumbfounded reaction so he could laugh at it. Or take a picture with that camera of his that he carries everywhere now.
No, no, Kou might seem harsh but he's actually really considerate of people's feelings and he wouldn't do anything to upset her. He knows how sensitive she is about these things!
But then what is it?
"For you," Kou confirms again, voice strangely quiet and timid.
"...Kou-kun—"
"I just followed your advice. You told me to give chocolates to the girl I like, so I'm- doing that. Yeah," he pauses, pointedly glancing to the side.
“...Oh,” Nene says dumbly, taking a second to fully process the situation. “W-Wait — so you liked me?!”
Kou gives a faint nod, and it is only then that Nene takes notice of the cherry red shade highlighting his cheeks and the faint quiver of his fingers, sweaty palm struggling to keep the fabric from dropping to the ground.
Oh, indeed. That's what.
There isn’t any underlying motive or hidden reason for him to do this. He isn’t trying to make a fool out of her, either… Kou means it wholeheartedly. It’s just a normal boy… making a normal love confession… on a normal day for making love confessions.
The normal thing to do when you get confessed to is give an answer, right? Right. Nene has imagined thousands of times the replies that her crushes would tell her if she ever tried to confess, herself — but she’s never pictured herself being the one doing the replying in this sort of scenario. ‘Cause, you know, nobody would ever confess to a clumsy girl that talks to the empty air and has radish legs, on top of being weird and not smart at all…
Except someone just did.
Nene's sure she's about to pass out. Is this what true bliss feels like? Such a suffocating, mind-blowing feeling that she can't focus or think of anything else, her mind repeating Kou's statement over and over as if his words are that of a priest and she's a faithful follower—
"H-Hey, Senpai," Kou calls out, concern etched into his eyebrows. "You're not breathing…?"
Nene blinks, and inhales sharply, and the dizziness that had been clouding her senses fades away a little. ...Okay, so maybe she'd forgotten to stop holding her breath in, but still! Still…!
"...You don't have to take the chocolates if you don't want to," Kou adds with a resigned tone, although there's a light grin playing on his countenance. "It's just a dumb crush, so I hope we can... stay friends at least?"
"N-No!" Nene startles herself with the abrupt high pitch to her voice. At the sad frown in Kou's face, she rushedly clarifies, "No, I mean, why are you saying that? Calling it 'a dumb crush'..."
"Oh, uh. Well, you weren't saying anything, so I figured that was a silent rejection…" he admits, scratching his chin apologetically. "And I don't want you to feel— uncomfortable over this, I guess?"
The girl shakes her head passionately and, in what is probably an impulsive gesture that she hasn't thought out well, disregards the boundary of personal space and takes Kou's hands in hers, almost crushing the poor chocolates bag that he was holding onto.
"Of course I'm not uncomfortable,” she quickly denies the possibility. “I’m really proud of you for gathering up the courage to tell me. And… honestly, I’m very happy too. This is the first time someone’s actually… Liked me that way…” she shyly declares.
The tension finally leaves Kou's shoulders. "I'm glad it doesn't bother you, then."
"Mhm, mhm, it doesn't bother me at all," Nene singsongs. "I accept your confession."
"You accept it," Kou repeats with quiet disbelief, as if he's unsure of the meaning that affirmation holds.
Nene knows what she's supposed to do here. She can practically hear Aoi's thoughtful voice musing in her head, urging her to go on give the whole dating thing a try, self-confidence issues be damned. And it's not like she's against it; she enjoys spending time with Kou, he's sweet and reliable and they're already pretty affectionate with each other, so easing themselves into a romantic relationship wouldn't pose a problem.
Is it just her or are they really compatible, when she looks at it?
Even then...
"Yes, I accept your feelings," Nene confirms. "...I don't think we should date, though," she mumbles afterwards, unable to meet his eyes. "That'd just be unfair…"
"...Unfair?" Kou tilts his head, confused.
How ironic. She'd always imagined herself gladly returning the affections of anyone who told her their feelings. She'd begged to be accepted… And now she's the one refusing.
Nene gives him a smile that is so clearly, painfully forced. But masks aren't made for people like Nene, who wear their heart in their sleeves, and so, this smile does nothing to mask the hurt that her next words carry.
"I don't have much more time to live, Kou-kun," she says, too calmly for someone who's trying to face her fears head-on. "I want to change my fate, of course, but I don't know if I can. I could die... anytime now, you know?" her fists clench.
"Senpai—"
"But you? You have a future," she continues, not allowing his plea to cause an interruption. "You'll grow up into a handsome adult, and I… I'm not supposed to live past this year. This doesn't mean I'm giving up, just— being with me would only be painful in the end… It'd make you sad, and I don't want that."
"You're wrong, Senpai," Kou protests softly, yet with conviction.
Nene also tries to object; however, the words die down at the back of her throat as a pair of lithe, strong arms wrap around her back.
Kou's warm, is the first thought that crosses her mind when her head comes to rest on his shoulder.
She's no longer surprised by Hanako's clingy tendencies, with him constantly pulling her close without prior warning, icy and lifeless uniform pressed to her body. While she wouldn't call it an entirely unpleasant sensation, it did feel strange, at times. She liked the warmth people had.
And there she is, being held in the arms of the other boy she has grown fond of, being allowed to bask in that precious warmth, even though her fate is closer to that of a ghost than a human.
Even though getting closer will make things harder to bear if they have to say goodbye.
"Why?" Nene mutters, like she wants to be proven wrong, hands unwillingly clutching onto Kou's shirt.
She should complain that they're having such an intimate moment in the middle of a school hallway, where anybody can walk in and see them, yet she can't find the strength to push his feeble touch away. Because she doesn't mind it at all, she realises, not really.
"I did tell you that I'd be on your side no matter what, didn't I?" Kou gently rests his head against Nene's. "That if there was anything getting you down, I'd be there for you. I want to save you, Senpai."
"Aren't you afraid?" she can't stop herself from asking. "Of trying hard and still… failing?"
"Yeah," he answers without hesitation. "I am. It doesn't matter, though."
"Huh…? But…"
Kou lets her go, and before Nene has time to tell him stay, she finds his face inches away from hers.
He… suddenly looks a lot more mesmerizing than she remembers.
Electric blue eyes stare at her fondly, the clear adoration reflected in them making her skin tingle; his toothy grin is both sharp and soft, white jarringly contrasting with the tomato shade that seems to be permanently colouring his tan.
"If I can't help you in the end, then… Well, I'd still just want to make you happy for as long as I can," Kou insists. "Simple as that."
Simple as that, huh?
He doesn't care if it can't last long...
"Don't cry because it's over… Smile because it happened," Nene says, recalling the quote. "Like that?"
Kou nods, beaming, and Nene effortlessly smiles back, feeling as if some sort of weight has been lifted off her shoulders.
It's funny, how a brief conversation with Kou has managed to ease the worry crushing her. It's not gone entirely, and she's sure it'll hurt again… But maybe she can finally rely on someone to fight with her, rather than helplessly wait around to be saved.
"Thank you, Kou-kun," Nene states. "I think you made me see something important."
"No problem," Kou waves it off, laughing awkwardly. "You looked like you needed a hug."
Ack. How can she properly reject him when he's the closest she's found to an ikemen personality? She wants to be with him.
She may be giving up too easily, and she knows it. However, being with Kou… She can't imagine it as a bad thing for either of them, not after he's made it obvious that he wants to enjoy whatever time they have left together.
...That's all she wants. To live her life to the fullest, without regrets. If she pushed Kou away now, she'd regret it.
"Are you completely sure you want to date me?"
"You kinda sound like you're asking out of pity," Kou pouts. "Look, Senpai, I only wanted you to remember that I'm here for you, and… Your advice seemed a good method. We don't need to date if you don't want to, and..."
"Don't avoid my question. Tell me directly."
"I thought I'd made it clear enough already," Kou shrugs sheepishly.
"Fine, fine," she sighs endearingly. "I'll let you have this win. I guess we can try dating."
"Wh— Really?!" his whole face lights up. "Did I manage to convince you?"
"Yeah. It can't be all that bad. You're ready to fight and accept my fate head-on, and I'll do the same. I feel like I'm ready for that, if I'm with you, so…" she closes her eyes, feeling all the nervousness pile up within her stomach. "Would you please share your courage with me?"
She awaits for Kou’s reaction with her heart ramming erratically within her. The momentary silence eats up her insides — what kind of dumb dialogue was that, really, Nene, what are you doing, has he understood what she was trying to say?
Kou starts laughing, the loud snicker startling her enough to look at him again.
“W-What?”
“Nothing, nothing,” he keeps cackling madly, like whatever Nene has said is the funniest joke he’s ever heard. “That’s such a… unique way of asking someone out, is all. I wasn’t expecting it."
“Hmph,” Nene huffs, crossing her arms in a futile attempt to appear less flustered than she is. “Well, sorry I don’t have a good speech ready...”
“What are you apologizing for? I never said I didn’t like it,” Kou whispers, voice low and teasy, making Nene overly aware of the negligible distance separating them. His eyes look rounder than ever, taking over her field of view, the poor girl not capable of focusing on anything else as he overwhelms her senses—
Oh, wait. This isn’t her mind playing a trick on her with her newfound infatuation. He’s getting, like, physically closer. Even though there’s already barely any space left between them, which means— oh god.
Her eyelids flutter closed faster than light, guided by an uncontrollable instinct, just in time for her to not see Kou’s head tilting and closing what little gap remained.
It feels more like a kiss that’s… asking for permission. If that makes any sense. It’s surprisingly tame and caring for someone like Kou, so loud and brash with his emotions… But somehow, it fits that kind side of his, too.
Or that’s what Nene figures out, anyhow; the peck is too brief for her to make up her mind, Kou pulling away in a matter of seconds. She hears a hushed whisper and footsteps, and when she decides to open her eyes again, the boy is completely gone from sight. How shy.
And there she stays, unmoving, until a different voice brings her back to her senses.
"Nene-chan! There you are!! I'd been looking for you..." Aoi trails off when she sees how unnaturally still her friend is. "Nene-chan?"
The girl hesitantly raises her hand to her lips, tender fingertips caressing the spot where Kou had kissed her minutes ago. They're warm and mushy. ...That kiss definitely wasn't her imagination.
"Aoi-chan," Nene slowly turns around, unaware of her mouth turning into a giddy beam, going from ear to ear.
"Yes?"
"...I think I have a boyfriend now."
( Acts of true love always end up lifting the curses in fairy tales, don't they?
Maybe the Little Mermaid can afford to keep herself afloat for a little longer. )