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It's a peaceful February afternoon, late in Yuria's second year at Tokisadame High.
Classes just finished, and almost everyone is here in the Igo Soccer clubroom. The President isn't here yet, though. Minakami isn't either, but she only shows up occasionally. Until everyone arrives, Yuria is passing the time by reading some manga.
And then, Daiku stumbles into the clubroom, an exhausted look on his face.
Everyone turns to look at him.
"Damn," he says, his head dropping on the table. "So, apparently I have a fiancée now."
All the blood freezes in Yuria's body. "What," she says.
"I haven't even met her!" says Daiku, raising his arms in dismay. "My parents arranged it. Apparently it's a strategic marriage to bring another large family business into the fold. But how am I supposed to marry someone I don't even know? What if I don't like her?"
Meanwhile, Yuria feels the walls closing in on her, her heart pounding loudly in her ears.
What.
He's going to marry someone?
Oh no.
Oh no.
Her eyes flicker anxiously around the room. She's barely managing to keep the inner turmoil and panic hidden underneath a stoic exterior.
Makoto looks shocked.
Ogi just has an eyebrow raised.
Takasaki-sensei just has a sympathetic expression on his face.
"Hm," says Ogi, crossing his arms. "A worldwide renowned name comprising hundreds of constituent companies; at its heart, Daiku zaibatsu is still a family-run business. I presume Daiku here is next in line."
"For the president of the company?" asks Makoto.
Ogi nods.
"Arranged marriages are a bit antiquated in this day in age," says Takasaki-sensei, crossing his arms, "but it looks like it still happens, huh."
"Yeah, my folks can be really old-fashioned sometimes," says Daiku. "Kind of a pain, really."
Yuria is currently struggling not to lose her composure under the pressure of the world crashing down around her, so all she has to offer is a stiff "mm", while not looking away from her manga.
Takasaki-sensei, Ogi, and Makoto all shoot her a quick, sympathetic glance.
…
…
…
Is she really that obvious?
Fortunately, Daiku doesn't seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary with her response.
"Sekiguchi, what should I do?" groans Daiku.
"If you don't want it, then don't do it," says Yuria, because even if she didn't have a crush on the adorkable dumbass that is the Igo Soccer Club president, that's what she would have said regardless.
"I can't really go against my parents," says Daiku.
"Can't you?"
"…"
"Is it happening immediately?" asks Ogi, his gaze flickering over to Yuria again. "What about university?"
"Oh no, we're not to be married for another few years," says Daiku. "It's all preliminary stuff. I'm still going to university. Just for the experience, you know."
"The fiancée's family has to agree too, is that not correct?" asks Ogi. He crosses his arms. "Perhaps you could simply affect such an insufferable personality that she would have no choice but to break off the engagement."
"Would her family really break it off in that case?" says Takasaki-sensei, looking pensive. "I wonder. A connection to the famous Daiku zaibatsu would be too big of a deal to pass up."
Ogi rolls up his sleeves. "Perhaps we shall have to help our President here commit some crimes so that he ends up being so much trouble that there is no other option but to cut ties with his family."
"That's… not a good idea," says Yuria, frowning. Sullying a perfectly clean criminal record just to get out of a marriage? That's kind of dumb.
Makoto shoots her a sharp look. "Well, it doesn't have to be that extreme. Maybe you could just be really rude to the fiancée. Like. Ignore her. Arrive late to any of your dates. That sort of thing."
"That's not really fair to the fiancée, ya know?" Daiku says, frowning.
Yuria nods. Daiku is way too nice to ever be able to pull some kind of act like that off. And it indeed wouldn't be fair to the fiancée. And it'd ruin Daiku's reputation, too. She doesn't think it's worth it.
"Hmm," says Takasaki-sensei, crossing his arms again. "You have to remember, us adults aren't mind readers. Maybe your parents don't even know you have any reservations about this. It's worth letting them know now, rather than later, when it's too late to change things."
"Well, yeah." Daiku makes a face. "Er." He smiles sheepishly. "It's kinda scary going against my parents, though!"
"Damn," says Makoto. "Really?"
"I mean," says Daiku. "They're always so serious and work so hard for the business! They'll probably be like 'oh, why can't you even do this one little thing when it's for the good of the family'?"
"It's not really one little thing," says Makoto. "It's a BIG thing."
Ogi nods. "Quite big."
Takasaki-sensei nods. "Huge."
Yuria just nods.
"By the way, what's the fiancée's name?" asks Makoto. "If we're allowed to know, that is."
Daiku tells them.
Makoto blinks. "Oh, that name sounds familiar."
"I've seen her on television, before," says Ogi, nodding. "She's quite a big name in the business world, even though she's so young."
Takasaki-sensei nods as well. "I've about as disconnected from that world as you can be, but even I've heard that name before."
Yuria… has also seen that person mentioned before, in some of the discussion panels and articles in the magazines she reads.
That person…
Is a pretty respectable person.
That person does a lot of charity events, too.
Not to mention, she's quite pretty.
Yuria's grip on her book tightens very slightly. "Maybe you should give her a chance," she says. "Maybe the two of you can find some common interests, and bond over time."
Makoto, Ogi, and Takasaki-sensei shoot her an alarmed look.
Daiku is currently slumped on the table, so he doesn't see Yuria's expression. "Hm. I don't know…"
"If you aren't willing to go against your parents," says Yuria, her words coming out a bit clipped, "you might as well make the most of the situation. Better to find some happiness where you can, rather than just wallowing in misery for the sake of it."
"Maybe…" says Daiku, sounding slightly disappointed. "I guess. I still don't know about this… But I'll think about it. Thanks, Sekiguchi."
The mood in the clubroom is kind of sullen after that.
Daiku bows out early to go home and do whatever rich company heir sons are supposed to do on weekday afternoons.
Everyone waves him goodbye.
And then, as soon as his helicopter takes off and recedes into the distance…
Makoto grabs Yuria's shoulders. "Sekiguchi," he says. "What are you doing."
Yuria blinks innocently. She hopes the others can't hear the pounding pulse in her ears. "It seems that the President has the chance of having a happy marriage with a wonderful person. I'm simply wishing him luck with that."
"That's not what I…" Makoto has a really strained look on his face. "Damn it, you know what I mean! Don't you have a crush on that guy?"
Takasaki-sensei nods, as if he's agreeing with Makoto's line of questioning.
DOES EVERYONE KNOW??? What the heck.
"When have I ever said that?" asks Yuria, somehow managing to keep her voice calm and collected.
"It's really obvious," says Makoto.
Takasaki-sensei nods.
Even Ogi nods.
"I'm just shy," says Yuria. "And I get nervous around people." Technically not a lie.
Ogi glances at his watch. "I have cram school in one hour. Can we please not waste time on this nonsense. Just tell the truth."
Yuria shrinks in on herself. "Sorry," she meeps sheepishly, hiding her face behind her book.
"You seem rather intent on sabotaging yourself," says Ogi. "Why is that?"
"It's just…" Yuria turns to the page in her book where Daiku's fiancée is mentioned. "Look!!! She's so pretty. And cool. And actually a good person! And she has a big, important family, too. She's perfect for the President! Why would he be interested in someone plain and ordinary like me?"
Takasaki-sensei just closes his eyes, making a "Hrrmrmrm" sound.
"I mean," says Yuria, the words tumbling out of her mouth. "He's going to be the president of his company, right? I… I'm nobody. How am I supposed to compare to someone like that?"
"Didn't you win the last Igo Soccer Inter-High?" asks Makoto.
Yuria smiles wryly. "Like a bunch of business people are going to care about some silly sport! I like, I know nothing about business, and economics, and how companies work. I don't think I would be a good match for him."
"That's up to him decide, you know?" says Ogi.
"Yeah, it couldn't hurt to just ask, right?" says Makoto. "What's the worst that could happen? Maybe he does like you, and would return your feelings!"
"Or maybe he doesn't like me," Yuria points out, "and doesn't return my feelings."
"That too!" says Makoto. "But still! You won't know until you ask!"
"That guy," says Ogi, "is really dense."
Makoto nods eagerly. "If you're flirting with him, you need to hold up a sign that says 'I am flirting with you', otherwise he'll just think you're being really nice!"
"Hmm," says Yuria, frowning. That is true. "But if he doesn't like me in that way and just sees me as a friend or kouhai? Then it'll make things really awkward. I don't want that." She makes a face.
The others exchange a glance with each other.
"And… what if… what if he thinks I'm cringe?" Yuria stammers. "Like, what if he thinks 'Ohhh, this girl is probably after my money, huh.' Or 'Ohhh, HA, like this girl thinks she has a chance with ME, the future president of Daiku Corporation. Not a chance. Maybe I don't want to be friends with like that anymore lol. So cringe and sus and not poggers amogus.'" She buries her face in her sleeves and lets out a muffled scream.
Makoto stares at her. "Do you really think he'd say that?"
"No," Yuria says, muffled. "But he might think it."
Ogi crosses his arms. "I think your mind is imagining scenarios that are not very likely."
"It's like with igo soccer," says Yuria, staring blankly at Ogi. "You always have to consider the worst-case scenario."
Ogi nods slowly. "Well. Fair enough."
"Sometimes it's just not worth it," mutters Yuria.
"Oh come on," says Makoto. "I know you're crazy about the guy. You even knitted him a scarf last Christmas! And he still wears it! That has to mean something."
"He could just be being nice," says Yuria. "It's important to not read too into things, or else you'll end up being embarrassed." She pauses. "And I knitted everyone else in the club something too, just for cover."
Takasaki-sensei snaps his fingers. "I knew it."
"The scarf was the largest thing you knitted, though," Makoto points out.
"That doesn't mean anything," says Yuria. "Sometimes the smaller ones take more time to make, and are more complicated to make. Size doesn't mean everything."
"Was the President's scarf the gift the one you spent the most time on?"
Yuria pauses for a moment. "…Not saying."
"Hm…"
There's a long pause.
"But don't any of you dare go telling the President about any of this," Yuria says hotly. "I'll k—" She pauses for a moment. "Well, I won't kill you, but I'll be very angry. And you may face retribution at some point in the near future, when you least expect it."
Makoto shakes his head. "No, I wouldn't want to interfere. It's better if it comes from you." He smiles. "And I wouldn't want to make you angry."
Takasaki-sensei nods, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's always the quiet ones…"
Yuria shoots her club advisor a sharp look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, nothing," Takasaki-sensei says quickly.
"Hmm." Yuria decides to let that slide. She turns to Ogi. "No telling the President about anything we talked about here, okay?"
Ogi just crosses his arms. "No promises. I will take the course of action that results in the least amount of inconvenience in the long run."
Yuria glares at the boy. "Ogi," she says.
Ogi lets out a sigh. "Fine. If I do choose to do anything, I will try my best to warn you ahead of time so that you have forewarning. However, no guarantees."
Yuria abruptly stands up. "I think… I think I'm done for today." She hurriedly grabs her coat. "I… I need to walk and clear my mind a bit."
"Sekiguchi—" says Makoto, reaching out, as if to stop her.
Takasaki-sensei sets a hand on Makoto's shoulder, holding him back.
After a brief pause, Makoto grudgingly lets Yuria leave.
The air outside is cold and windy today.
It's an uncomfortable walk.
The thoughts keep swirling in Yuria's head, and the feelings of dread and stress and worry churning in her gut.
Sometimes she really wishes that the dork who created a meme club she somehow (she has no idea how) fell in love with wasn't such a… rich… intimidating person.
Ogi said it in the clubroom many times before: In Igo Soccer, all pointless things like social status and economic standing and wealth fall away, and the only thing that matters is the game. They're all on level playing ground.
And in the clubroom, Yuria often forgets that Daiku is like… ludicrously rich.
He's just a dumb weirdo who created a random club just for fun and then it just coincidentally turned out to be an actual serious sport that's been in the Olympics for the past decade or two.
She exhales, her breath condensing in the air.
She wonders if she'd feel less apprehensive about confessing her feelings if he hadn't had all this… like, status attached to him.
Because if he was just some random dork… the stakes would have been lower.
Though…
To be completely honest with herself.
Even if he had been some random dork, she probably still would've been reluctant to let slip any of these… annoying… feelings of hers. It feels much safer just keeping them locked within the hidden depths of her mind.
Because that's just the sort of person she is.
She needs an impartial point of view (she loves her friends at the Igo Soccer club, but they can be a bit… tunnel-visioned, sometimes).
So, she decides to meet up with the two acquaintances from Tokisadame Tech she first met at the last Igo Soccer Inter-High. She's not sure if they're close enough to be considered friends, but they've exchanged LINE ids, in any case.
The club has met up with them before to play practice Igo Soccer matches, but today's meeting is going to be a personal call.
Yuria picks one of the hip and trendy cafes with the various sweets that she knows Vera likes.
"Yo!" says Vera, flashing a grin as she walks into the booth where Yuria is waiting. "Can I get a rematch today?"
Yuria smiles slightly. "Maybe later."
Oota is a lot taller than both of them, and awkwardly shuffles into the booth next to Vera. He looks a bit timid, but Yuria knows he has quite the sharp mind when it comes to Igo Soccer. And he's very good at explaining complicated concepts in a simple way.
Yuria dances around the topic for about 20 minutes before Vera finally drags the reason out of her.
"Love advice?" repeats Vera.
Oota glances up from his homework, his interest piqued.
"Ohhh, you mean your president?" says Vera, grinning. "Puppy dog eyes? Kinda a doofus? I've seen you two sitting next to each other a lot. I think you're good together."
Yuria feels her face heat up. "Geez. Does everyone know?"
"I mean, it's kind of obvious," says Vera.
Yuria turns to Oota.
The boy just shrugs. "I mean. I'm not surprised."
"So," says Vera, leaning in close. "You two already together? Or do you want help on how to get together?"
"Erm." Yuria fidgets. "It's kind of a long story."
It doesn't take long for her to get them caught up.
Vera leans back in her seat. "Daaaaaamn," she says. "That's rough."
"Such a large conglomerate is a pretty intimidating opponent to go up against with," mutters Oota, nodding.
"And your competition!" says Vera. "She's so good!" She reads through the news article that Yuria passed her. "Damn, they're even writing about the engagement in news articles now. That's kinda hard to back out from."
Yuria sinks back into her seat. Yeah. That's about as much as she feared.
"Probably trash at igo soccer though," says Vera, clicking her tongue. "Probably doesn't even play it! I could probably pwn her even after giving her 9 stones. She doesn't deserve him." She shakes her head.
"I… I don't really like it when you say it like that," says Yuria.
Vera blinks. "Like what?"
"Like…" Yuria frowns, struggling to find the words. "It makes it feel like the President is some kind of trophy prize. But he's his own person. It's really up to him to decide his own happiness. I wouldn't want to get in the way of that for selfish reasons." She fidgets with her fingers. "And it's kind of silly to judge the worth of a person just by their Igo Soccer skill, isn't it?"
Vera sinks back into her seat, letting out a long sigh. "You're too kind-hearted."
Yuria looks up. "Help. What should I do?"
"That's a tough situation, to be honest," mutters Vera.
Oota nods.
"You know what I think," says Vera.
Oota nods. "Sometimes it's better to do and regret than regret never doing in the first place. The constant wondering about 'what if' will eat away at you. You're still young, and if it doesn't go well, you'll recover. It's all part of the life experience."
"Sometimes it's better to do nothing at all if you're not sure," says Vera, grinning. "I mean, look at us. We're in high school. Our notions of romance and love or whatever are probably super immature. So if you do something now and it doesn't go well, it might be so awkward and embarrassing that the memory will torture you for the rest of your life. There are plenty of fish in the sea, so sometimes it's better to just do nothing and save yourself from the embarrassment."
Yuria blinks. "Uh. Those two viewpoints are… actually really opposites of each other."
Vera laughs. "It's true. We kind of disagree like that."
"How… um…" Yuria fidgets. "If I may ask, how did you two get together?"
Vera and Oota both abruptly look at each other, alarmed. "Huh?" Then, they laugh.
"Oh, no no no noooo," says Vera, shaking her head rapidly. "The two of us are not together."
"Not at all," says Oota, shaking his head.
The tips of Yuria's ears flare with heat. "Oh… I'm so sorry. I assumed…"
Vera grins. "Nah, don't worry. A lot of people think that way. For some reason."
Oota shrugs.
Vera puts a hand on Oota's shoulders. "The two of us bonded under mutual pain."
Yuria blinks. "…Oh."
"We have disagreements about what the best course of action should've been," says Vera, nodding at Oota. "This dolt over here still wants to confess to her, while I've already committed to keeping these feelings locked away for the rest of my life, or at least until I outgrow them."
Yuria blinks. "…Oh."
"You've said too much," says Oota, batting away Vera's hand. He turns to Yuria. "Ignore what we just said."
Yuria nods. "…Okay?"
"Don't listen to him, he's still holding onto the teru teru boozu that her sister gave him," says Vera, leaning on his shoulder. "Even though they haven't talked since middle school!"
"Well, you haven't either," says Oota.
"Don't remind me," says Vera, grinning, her eyebrow twitching.
"Uhhhh," says Yuria. She has no idea what they're talking about.
"But anyway," says Vera, lifting a finger. "Think of us like the angel and devil on your shoulder. Option A or option B. It's up to you to choose."
Yuria frowns. So she's back to square one again, huh. "Hm."
Vera pulls a soccer ball out of her school bag. "Ya know, it doesn't do any good just moping and brooding over it. Maybe some exercise will clear up your mind!" She grins. "I lost to you last time, but I won't lose this time. Maybe I even have a small advantage, since you're so distracted?"
Oota just rolls his eyes. He glances at Yuria. "If you want to play, I can be the referee," he says.
Yuria lets out a sigh. "Fine…"
The igo soccer match is a good workout and a decent distraction (Yuria barely manages to win by 0.5 points), but once it's over, it's back to the same dilemma.
She doesn't have much time.
The President… is going to graduate soon.
If she doesn't do anything now, they'll…
They'll drift apart.
And then, they're in the clubroom again.
Valentine's…
That's soon.
Maybe she could do something with that.
…
Or she could just chicken out and give everyone in the club the same chocolates again.
That's a possibility, too.
…
Or that's the initial plan, at least.
When class ends, and Yuria shows up to the clubroom, only Daiku is there. He greets her with an easygoing smile, as always.
But as the minutes pass and the crowds of people outside the clubroom gradually thins as everyone leaves the school grounds, Yuria starts getting more nervous.
If it's just the two of them in the club room…
Yuria got store-bought chocolates for everyone, including the President in case she chickened out.
But also, weighing heavily on her mind, is a certain, weighty home-made heart-shaped chocolate box she made. She spent a lot of time last night getting it right. (And she taste-tested it, of course. The last thing she'd want to do is accidentally give her crush food poisoning.)
"Huh, everyone else is a bit late, huh," says Daiku, glancing around, looking slightly jittery. "Huh, how strange."
Yuria frowns. "We had practice today. It was on the schedule." She points at the whiteboard.
"That's true…"
And then, Yuria's cell phone buzzes. She checks it.
It looks like all at once, the others have sent a text message to the group chat.
Makocchi: gotta go home early today, sorry. yall gotta enjoy practice without me!
Takasaki-sensei: have a date with Sakurai-sensei, wont be there today
Ogi: busy
Minakami: ^
Yuria smiles, gripping her phone tightly. And after she told them not to interfere!
"Oh wow, looks like everyone's busy!" says Daiku, laughing. He scratches his head. "What a coincidence." He fidgets slightly.
Yuria squints at the President.
Because Daiku is terrible at lying.
He expected this.
…
…
…
What does this mean.
Yuria shakes her head. Actually, it'll end up embarrassing for herself if she assumes the wrong things and makes a fool of herself. She should try not to overthink things.
Yuria grabs a soccer ball. She… she's not ready for this yet. She needs time to prepare herself. Her heart beats loudly in her chest. "P-practice," she says, holding up the ball.
Daiku rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "You'd destroy me."
"I'll give you 4 handicap stones."
"Even then…"
"5."
Daiku grins, narrowing his eyes. "Well, even that will be hard, but sure!"
It is possible to play igo soccer without a referee, it's just more inconvenient because you have to keep track of the score while also having to focus on playing.
It's a pretty quick game.
About half an hour later, Yuria is convincingly ahead by over 60 points, so Daiku just throws up his arms and says, "you got me."
Yuria nods, accepting the resignation.
"You've improved so much!" says Daiku, beaming. "I used to think I was improving pretty fast, but I can't even keep up! Man," he says, rubbing the back of his head. "Sekiguchi-kun is seriously impressive."
Yuria just sets down the ball. "That's not true. There are pros out there who could sweep me with their eyes closed."
"You're the most impressive person I know personally, then."
Yuria flushes, still wanting to refute that as well, but… It's probably not too much of a good look if she argues with him too much over something meaningless like this.
"Well," says Yuria, taking a seat at the table.
Daiku sits down beside her.
Yuria glances at the clock. Still 4:30pm. Still pretty early. "What should we do now?"
"Hmm…" says Daiku, frowning.
"Since everyone else isn't here…" says Yuria. She frowns. She's about to say, 'why don't we call it a day'. But what is she doing? She's alone with her crush on Valentine's Day. She should do something with this, right?
She's… 85% sure the other club members conspired to purposefully give them this opportunity. And she's… 35% sure that the President may have been involved in some way, too. Why would the President want to be alone with her?
…
…
…
Nah. He probably overheard the other members plotting to ditch club today and they swore him to secrecy. It's probably something like that. She shouldn't embarrass herself by making assumptions.
"Um!" says Yuria. Well, this much at least is social convention, so it's not too unexpected. "Valentine's Day," she says, her voice a bit more high-pitched than usual.
"Oh yes!" says Daiku, sitting up straight. "That's right! I almost forgot!"
That's obviously a lie. He said that way too stiffly.
Yuria reaches into her bag. "I have something for you…" And here, she hesitates. The typical store-bought giri chocolate, or the obvious honmei chocolate?
She needs to make a decision.
She closes her eyes.
"Sekiguchi-kun?"
Damn. She's hesitating too long.
"Ooh, is it chocolate?"
"…"
"Did you lose the chocolate?"
"…"
"Did it melt and ruin all your notebooks?"
"…"
"Oh no!" says Daiku, looking really concerned. "Did it? That's okay! I can buy you a new bag and notebooks if you need."
Yuria just laughs nervously. She shakes her head. "No, no, it's nothing like that. I…" She reaches into her bag, and then the really beautifully wrapped heart-shaped package shuffles into view for a brief instant.
She turns sharply to Daiku and the way his eyes zero in on the bag. She knows he saw it.
She lets out a sigh. Well, relieved that the decision was already made for her, she reaches into the bag and hands the chocolate to him. "For you," she says, carefully not making eye contact, her face burning with embarrassment.
Oh god, she overdid the wrapping didn't she.
She's so cringe. Oh no. Oh no.
She peeks at the President's face out of the corner of her eye, with some trepidation. His face just lights up with delight. "Oh, Sekiguchi-kun! Thank you!" He accepts the gift with both hands, and smiles. "It looks really nice!"
"Ah…" says Yuria, in a small voice. "…Mm."
"Actually," says Daiku, reaching into his bag. "I got something for you, too. It's not much, but…"
Holy heck that is a freaking huge chocolate container. It looks super expensive and fancy and gourmet, too! And it's in the shape of a heart!
Yuria just stares at the chocolate container, speechless. It's bigger than hers by like… 10 times.
"Oh!" she says. "Um…" She glances up at Daiku. "Thank you?" Okay, she needs to stop staring blankly at him like a paralyzed dummy and accept it already! Her body moves like a stiff animatronic, but she somehow manages to robotically reach out and accept the chocolate container.
She stares at the chocolate box, and then gives Daiku a wry look. "You know, usually only girls give chocolates on Valentines. The guys are supposed to give the chocolates on March 14."
"Well," says Daiku, looking slightly sheepish, rubbing the back of his head. "I wanted to act as quickly as possible." And then he pouts, crossing his arms. "And besides, in America, it's perfectly normal for both guys and girls to give chocolates on February 14! So there!"
"Huh," says Yuria, blinking. "Okay."
"I kinda wanted to do something flashier," says Daiku, grinning. He spreads his arms. "Like, a huge banner across the school! Happy Valentine's, Sekiguchi Yuria! With huge bouquets of flowers everywhere! And cherry blossoms! And a chocolate fountain! And an airshow drawing your name with vapour clouds in the sky!"
"Well, I'm glad you didn't," says Yuria. "Because that would have really stressed me out."
Daiku blinks. "Oh?"
"I… I really don't like that kind of attention." She closes her eyes. "Surprise flashmobs or any kind of thing that attracts huge public attention like that. It's not comfortable."
"Ah," says Daiku. He lets out a sigh of relief, wiping his brow. "Oh, phewww… I really almost made the wrong decision."
Yuria nods. "Good call."
Daiku smiles. "This is like in igo soccer where you're in a life and death situation and you need to make the correct move! Phew."
Yuria nods. "We're really deep in this igo soccer game rabbithole huh. We keep making these igo soccer analogies." And it actually makes perfect sense to her, too. God help her.
"Yeah!" exclaims Daiku. "When I created this club, I had no idea it was an actual sport! I just wanted to have fun, and a bunch of people even joined at first! But eventually they got bored and left, and you're the only one who stuck around, Sekiguchi." He smiles, rubbing the back of his head.
"I'm kind of dumb like that," says Yuria, nodding.
"Hey!" Daiku pouts. He spreads his arms. "You're not dumb at all! I mean, look at us, now. An actually competitive team in a national tournament!"
Yuria nods. She glances at the chocolate. She lets out a breath. "So this chocolate." She knows Daiku is dense, but surely he's not that dense, right? It has to mean what she thinks it means. Hopefully?
"…Yeah," says Daiku, rubbing the back of his head. "The others made me realize I should be the one to make a move first." He laughs. "So I did. But you beat me to the punch, Sekiguchi."
"You're not just doing this to get out of your arranged marriage, are you?" asks Yuria. She bites her lip.
"Huh?" Daiku blinks in surprise. "Oh no! Wait, I just realized you could see it like that." He shakes his head rapidly. "No, I would never do that!" He scratches his head. "I mean, yeah, that whole thing with my parents was part of the reason I did this. But I would have done this regardless. It's just a bit sooner than I would have otherwise. But I do like spending time with you, Sekiguchi-kun. The others helped me realize that."
And after she told them not to interfere!!!!
(She doesn't know whether to be thankful to them or to be angry at them.)
But still.
Yuria frowns. She still has a hard time believing that someone as rich and influential would pick her over literally anyone else. But at the same time, she doesn't believe Daiku has the mental shrewdness to do something as calculated as using her to get out of an arranged marriage on purpose.
Though.
Didn't Daiku try to bribe the Vice Principal that one time?
Hm…
Okay but if this was really money-buys-the-solutions-to-your-problem Daiku speaking, he would be trying to bribe her to be her pretend-girlfriend. And that's not what's happening here.
This is dumbass doofus Daiku she's talking to here, not rich influential heir Daiku.
That's probably the case, but…
"Sekiguchi?" asks Daiku, looking slightly worried.
Yuria closes her eyes. "Well," she says. "I guess I'll believe you. For now." She's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Daiku's face lights up like a puppy. "Yay!" he says, throwing his arms in the air.
A giggle escapes her mouth. This dumbass. Her adorkable dumbass.
"So, uh…" says Daiku. He closes his eyes. "To make it formal…"
Yuria's heart pounds loudly. Honestly she still thinks there's like a 50% chance that this is all a misunderstanding and Daiku was just asking if she wanted to eat rice or something.
Like, her crush, returning her feelings?
This has to be a dream, right?
"You're saying… you wanna go out?" says Yuria, hiding her face behind her manga.
"Yes!" Daiku says quickly. "I mean, if you're okay with it."
"Going out romantic holding hands going out, right?" asks Yuria, because if this turns out to be a huge misunderstanding she's going to die from embarrassment.
Daiku nods quickly. "Y-yes," he says. He actually looks pretty nervous too.
Yuria makes eye contact with Daiku for a quick moment and smiles. Then, she ducks back down behind her manga.
OKAY OKAY OKAY THIS IS NOT A DRILL THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING.
STAY CALM STAY CALM PLAY IT COOL PLAY IT COOL.
Yuria takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. (She's used to keeping these feelings of hers under wraps, so it's really not that hard.)
"Okay," Yuria says, her voice coming out way more shaky than she would have liked. She raises an eyebrow. "But is this okay? Don't you have a fiancée?"
"I haven't even met her yet," says Daiku, waving a hand dismissively. "I realize now. I would much rather spend more time with you."
"Won't you upset your parents?"
"Ehh, I'm sure they'll understand!" says Daiku, grinning. "After all, true love conquers all!"
Yuria closes her eyes. How… very naïve. But his heart is in the right place, at least. "I'm kind of scared of meeting your parents now, to be honest," murmurs Yuria, glancing out the window.
"Oh no," says Daiku. "They're kinda strict and way too serious, but they mean well. I'm sure they'll understand."
Yuria isn't sure if they will.
But that's okay.
Yuria's crush just confirmed that he wants to date her, so she wants to enjoy this moment for now.
She'll worry about the rest, later.
"…Cool," says Yuria.
"Awesome!" says Daiku.
They sit there in silence for a while.
"So, what do dating people do exactly?" asks Yuria.
"I dunno!" says Daiku. He laughs, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not too clear on the specifics. It's not like I have any experience."
"All I have to go on are shoujo manga."
"Saaaame… wait actually I haven't read any shoujo manga."
"Do you want some recs?"
"Sure! Like, the one you always talk about? Should I read that one?"
"Yes, that one's good."
And then the conversation turns to manga, and tropes in manga, and specific character interactions in some of the manga that the two of them have read before, and igo soccer, and all sorts of other things.
Yuria's still feeling a bit shaky, but the atmosphere is more relaxed now.
It's almost as if nothing even changed.
Except, when it's time for them to go home, Daiku holds her hand and walks her back.
Wow, Daiku's hand is huge. And very warm. And comfy.
This is nice.
Yuria is glad she made this decision.
It almost feels like a dream.
…It'd better not be a dream.
Fortunately, Yuria slips on some ice and very painfully scrapes her knee. That makes it very clear that it's not a dream.
Daiku calls in a helicopter and they patch up her knee (it's really a small cut, it's barely even bleeding anymore, it's not a big deal), and they fly her the rest of the way back.
"Maybe next time," says Yuria. She glances shyly at Daiku, her right hand still burning with the warmth from Daiku's hand. "Skip on the helicopter. I want to spend more time with you. Also walking burns calories."
She very pointedly looks at the giant container of chocolates that is sticking out of her school bag (it's too big to fit completely in without the zipper closing).
"Oh!" says Daiku. He flashes a thumbs up. "Yeah! Of course!"
Yuria's inner war with herself is whether she wants to brag about this to all her friends and family as soon as possible, or whether to keep it to herself.
(Because as good as this is, if it does end up falling apart because of Daiku's family situation, it'll be less awkward if less people knew about it in the first place.)
Well.
The next day, after school.
Daiku, at the very least, makes part of the decision for her by loudly announcing to the rest of the club that he and Yuria are now dating.
Ogi flashes a thumbs up, Makoto whoops and cheers, Takasaki-sensei just smiles and crosses his arms with a satisfied huff, and Minakami… just glances up for a brief moment before glancing down at her book again.
A few seconds later, a thumbs up emote is sent by Minakami in the group chat.
"I… kinda don't want to make a big deal of it," murmurs Yuria, shying away at the attention. "You know, there's the whole thing with the arranged marriage and all. It might attract attention."
"Oh!" says Daiku, blinking. "Okay! Yeah, of course! I'll try to keep it on the down low." He rubs the back of his head.
"If you need anyone to beat some sense into your parents for you, we've got your back," says Makoto, punching his fist into his palm.
"If you need to hack into any systems for internal documents, let me know," says Ogi, flashing a thumbs up. "I know a guy who knows a guy."
Yuria smiles nervously. "You don't have to go that far…"
Takasaki-sensei crosses his arms. "Perhaps the word of an esteemed teacher would lend more weight," he says. He nods. "I'll help out in any way I can."
Daiku smiles, his eyes… what the heck, is his eyes actually starting to water up slightly? "Thank you so much!" He gently takes a hold of Yuria's hand and holds it tightly.
Yuria nods. "Thank you." She glances at Makoto. "Please don't punch anyone, though. It would escalate things and is unnecessary."
"No promises," says Makoto, flashing a thumbs up.
"Also, don't do anything illegal," says Yuria, glancing at Ogi.
Ogi lets out a sigh and then crosses his arms. "If you insist."
Daiku smiles. "You guys are the best club members I could've ever asked for."
And honestly.
They're all very dumb (affectionate), but Yuria would still agree with Daiku on that.
"By the way, you two still calling each other by your last names?" asks Makoto, tilting his head quizzically.
Yuria and Daiku glance at each other.
"Uhhh," says Daiku. He beams. "Then, Yuria-chan!"
Yuria's face heats up. "K-Kenzaburou-kun." She hides her face behind her manga.
This is a good day, Yuria decides. One of her most favourite days, in fact.