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Juro Kurabe had been in a fine mood when he woke up that morning, so it stood to reason he’d still be fine now. Which he was, he was absolutely 100% calm, collected and ready to pay attention in class.
That lie got a little harder to sell when Iori took one look at him and suddenly rushed off to find her friends.
So without even Shiba-kun around at the moment, he had all the free time to think long and hard about what had transpired at the gate with Megumi Yakushiji and Shu Amiguchi.
Yakushiji-san had been staring at something at the top of the school gate when Juro passed her, his heart did that weird skipping thing it tended to do around her. Ignoring the sensation he stopped to speak with her.
“Juro!” The troubled look on Yakushiji-san’s face switched to an expression of pure warmth and joy so quickly he almost forgot he wanted to tell her off. Nevertheless, he steeled himself and simply asked. “You were waiting for me on purpose, weren’t you?”
Her surprised sound and lack of any other response was all the confirmation he needed.
“I keep telling you,” he pressed on. “If they find out… We’ll get expelled.”
“We’ll be expelled.” She finished at the same time as him, her tone and expression was angrier than he had ever seen it. Momentarily catching him off guard, long enough for her to continue speaking. “Yeah, I know.” She stated, sounding clearly annoyed.
“Right…” Juro responded awkwardly before promptly turning away and continuing to the school.
Cowardly? Sure, but in his defence he wasn’t used to Yakushiji-san being so…cold. He knew that it was mostly his fault, and yet he couldn't help but feel like there was something else bugging her. Nevertheless, he would have to figure out a way to make it up to her later.
Why he cared about making her feel better was perhaps the biggest mystery on his list at the moment.
He had barely taken a step when he heard someone say, “Yo.” And then spotted Amiguchi-kun.
They barely had time to say good morning to each other before Amiguchi-kun’s attention slid from him to someone right behind him, and he had a pretty good idea of who that was.
“What’s up?” Amiguchi-kun asked in his signature breezy tone to Yakushiji-san. Juro however, was not as relaxed as him, after all, the last thing he needed was for Amiguchi-kun to crack their secret.
So, with all the stress Yakushij-san was causing him all coalescing into the height of his annoyance, Juro had asked, “What do you want?”
Unfortunately all that did was flare the same angry expression back on her face, before she said with a haughty expression, “I’m not here to talk to you, Kurabe-kun.” His surprise at her sudden use of formalities and cold tone had barely registered in Juro’s head before Yakushiji-san opened her eyes again and looked right past him, “It’s you I’d like to see Amiguchi-kun.” She finished with a much warmer tone, which Juro couldn’t help but notice.
Whilst still reeling from this he noted that Yakushiji-san and Amiguchi-kun continued speaking in the background, they exchanged greetings and introductions before Shu had asked what she wanted.
That’s when the bombshell had dropped.
“Well, I don’t really want to talk about it here… Could we meet somewhere later? Just the two of us.” Yakushiji-san had said while looking away, seeming almost bashful.
That was when-
-sunny skies from a different era, heart pounding harder than it ever had for battle, beauty incarnate standing before him.
He heard her voice as if it was coming through a broadcast heavy with static, but even so, he remembered what she said with perfect clarity, as if the words had been carved on his soul.
“Well, I don’t really want to talk about it here… Could we meet somewhere later? Just the two of us.”
How did he remember it so clearly? Why wouldn’t he remember it? After all, that was the day he and Megumi got-
He and Megumi got-
[Megumi- I’m sor()*&%^#$@#!%%&*
Just what I need, Juro thought. A headache on top of everything else.
He shook his head, as if that could shake the weird dreams and “memories” that had been plaguing him shortly after Megumi had begun living with him, or the tangled emotions of grief, regret, disappointment and guilt that he still didn’t understand, it was like his brain wasn’t entirely his own…
Man Kyuta and Shu were right, he needed to stop watching so many sci-fi movies.
Anyway there wasn’t much left to remember about the whole interaction, Megumi’s invitation had angered Juro for some reason, [“Ignorance, thy name is Juro Kurabe”] they decided to meet on the roof, [“Remind me to compliment Yakushiji on picking a good spot for once”] Shu had given him a knowing look while saying something about being popular, [“Ouch, dick move”] and Juro had expertly played it all off by stammering that he didn’t care and running in the opposite direction as fast as his legs would take him. [“The sad part is that she probably bought it…shit did I forget to switch to-”]
“Hey Juro!” Kyuta said with a sudden appearance in Juro’s line of sight.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Juro screamed out as he fell out of his chair.
“Jeez Juro scream a tad louder will ya?” Kyuta quipped as he sat on top of his desk. “I think there were a few pedestrians outside who didn’t quite hear you.”
“Seriously man, how many times have I asked you to knock that off?” Juro asked as he pulled himself off the floor and back on to his desk. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anyone had a big reaction to his sudden outburst, already getting back to what they were doing, which Juro was grateful for. He didn’t need people heckling him about screaming randomly on top of everything else.
“Anyways, is something up man? You look bummed about something.” Juro had decided to sit in his seat straight away so he’d have a good excuse not to make eye contact with Kyuta, a choice he was very glad for as he could just hear Kyuta’s grin.
“I’ll…tell you later.” Juro settled for. If he told Kyuta he didn’t want to talk about it, Kyuta would definitely start trying to guess and he was too tired to deal with that right now.
“Fiiiiiiine, but you’re telling me all about it at lunch got it?!”
“Sure.“ He won’t care long enough to hold it against me, surely?
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Kyuta had not forgotten, and he was absolutely holding it against him.
“Come on just tell me man!” He said for the fiftieth time on their way to the cafeteria.
“There’s nothing TO talk about, Shiba-kun, I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Juro replied with increasing exasperation and desperation to find something to distract Shiba with.
“Yeah no, not buying that for a second Juro, you definitely were moping about something this morning. What’s up? Tape not working? Homework too difficult? Or maybe…”
Suddenly Kyuta jumped in front of him with a wide innocent smile on his face, “You’re having girl troubles?”
“GAH I- uh, what? No no no no no no you got it completely wrong Shiba-kun.” Juro stammered out, before attempting to sidestep his friend.
Kyuta wasn’t having any of that and he stepped to block him “Oh no no no Juro, you can’t run from me. We’re talking about this whether you want to or not.”
A million escape routes, excuses and general methods of evasion ran through his head all at once before they all triangulated on one voluptuous nurse, Juro’s one and only hope.
“Hey Shiba-kun, it's Ms. Morimura!” Juro informed him while pointing in her direction, and while Shiba-kun was distracted Juro made a break for the cafeteria.
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By the time Juro got to the cafeteria he was breathing heavily, even though he knew Kyuta wouldn't bother him for the rest of lunch thanks to Ms. Morimura, he couldn’t help but sprint at top speed the whole way to the cafeteria, just to be safe.
As he tried to catch his breath a part of Juro’s mind wandered over to his best friend’s obvious feelings for their school nurse, even though he never said it, Juro was pretty damn confident that Kyuta had a crush on her, though to what degree he still wasn't sure.
Well whatever, so long as she keeps him away for a bit I’ll be able to think about it all I want as I eat alone. That last word seemed to bounce around in Juro’s head and, almost instinctively, he began scanning the crowds for Megumi, even though he had never once had lunch with her. And likely never would if her confession goes well. He thought bitterly.
Damn it, speaking of her confession.
"Hey Kurabe-kun!" Shu yelled in greeting as they made eye contact.
Normally, Juro would walk over to chat with him, but after what happened that morning Shu was the last person he wanted to talk to, other than Kyuta maybe. Juro had every intention of walking away until he heard Shu make an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“You want my other yakisoba-pan?” He shouted as he waved said food above his head.
Damnit. Free food, a chance to skip the line and some actual yakisoba-pan, which had practically vanished from the cafeteria’s menu for some reason over the past few weeks.
So with a sigh Juro walked over to Shu’s table where he found him sitting with a girl in a ponytail who seemed to be lost in thought drinking what looked to be… Hey-C apple juice?
And for a brief moment, Juro thought it was Megumi sitting next to him, before the similarities were quickly overtaken by all the differences between the two girls, the aforementioned ponytail and Hey-C for one thing, but also the school uniform, posture, expression, complete difference in aura and in general having no similarities to Yakushiji-san other than having dark hair…so why had he been so sure it was Megumi?
Maybe it’s because of how close they’re sitting. Whispered some small part of his brain that clearly only existed to throw wrenches into all the other perfectly functioning parts of his brain.
“Ah where are my manners? Kurabe-kun, this is Yuki-chan. Yuki-chan, Kurabe-kun.” Shu said while he waved his own yakisoba-pan at the both of them in turn.
Juro held out his hand. “Nice to meet you…”
Juro awkwardly trailed off, not wanting to use such an informal name with someone he knew without a shadow of a doubt could beat him into a pulp for doing anything she didn’t like, plus he wasn’t even sure if she had been paying attention, that was until she put the Hey-C down and responded with “Nice to meet you Juro Kurabe, as playboy over here just said, I’m Yuki Takamiya, call me Yuki-chan and I will hurt you.”
“Understood ma’am.” Juro quickly said as he sat down to eat, unaware of what he and Yuki had inadvertently unleashed.
“Aw Yuki-chan you do care, I’m honoured to be the only person allowed to call you Yuki-chan without receiving extreme bodily harm.”
“Pfft, that’s cause it’s more fun to hurt you emotionally, dumbass.”
“Is that what you think you’re doing? Because let me tell you, seeing you everyday far outweighs any kind of emotional trauma you could inflict on me.”
“Don’t play coy with me Amiguchi, I see that heartbroken look you get on your face whenever I turn down one of your dates.”
“And yet I distinctly remember a beautiful lady who looked, sounded and kicked just as much ass as you do gripping on to me for dear life yesterday during my bike ride to the countryside, you have a twin I don’t know about? Please tell me you do. That'd literally be a dream come true for me.”
“First of all, never repeat what you just said to me or anyone else ever again. Second of all, what we did was hardly a date, all we did was drive on the highway and-”
Suddenly Yuki cut herself off, before she and Shu glanced at Juro and then both turned their heads to look at nothing in particular, both faces looking incredibly troubled. Juro had just enough time to muse about how only teenagers would be able to argue and bicker while also going all the way on only the first date when Yuki finally found her words to continue their fight-flirting.
“And- and besides I never agreed it was a date.”
Shu’s troubled look was quickly replaced with his signature cocky smirk. “Well I seem to remember making it pretty clear that it was a date, and I didn’t hear you complaining.”
“I didn't!”
“Did too.”
“Did not!”
“Did too.”
“Did not!”
“Did too.”
“Did not!”
“Did too.”
“Did not!”
“Did too.”
[“Good lord, get a room already.”]
Juro looked around him in surprise, only to see Kyuta was nowhere nearby, odd, he could have sworn he heard someone say the same thing he thought a moment ago.
Regardless, Juro had completely run out of patience, so in a bid to redirect this conversation and to get some petty vengeance on Shu (why do I care about getting revenge?) He decided to drop a bombshell of his own.
“Amiguchi-kun, if you’re already dating someone, why have you agreed to meet Yakushiji-san on the roof later?”
Boom, those expressions were perfect. Two faces with a shared look of surprise, before one morphed into a bashful expression, and the other morphed into an accusatory look.
Yuki rested her cheek on her fist and made an expression of mock curiosity at Shu. “Well, well, well Casanova. Got something you wanna tell me?”
“It’s not a big deal Yuki-chan, she just said she wanted to talk. It’s just as likely that she wants tutoring, or advice, or hell maybe she’s just isolating me so she can shoot me.” Shu chuckled at that before continuing on. “Point is it could literally be anything.”
“Oh don’t be stupid,” She slammed her fist down on the table and leaned towards him. “You know damn well what the most likely outcome is here. What do you plan to say to her?” Odd, was it just Juro’s imagination or did she look…concerned?
Shu looked off at nothing. “Well, usually when someone confesses to me, I agree to go on at least one date with them, timid or confident, smart or simple, guy or girl, it doesn’t matter to me. After all, it takes a lot of courage to confess, and who knows? Maybe I’ll end up lo- liking them the same way they like me.”
Juro was about to ask if he heard the guy thing correctly, when Yuki did something incredibly surprising, she actually looked despondent. “I- I see.”
“In this case however…” And now Shu made direct eye contact with Yuki. “I’m just going to have to break her heart, after all…” He somehow managed to weave his fingers into Yuki’s clenched fist. “I already had mine stolen by an amazing woman.”
Yuki’s face went nearly entirely red. “Amiguchi…”
For a gloriously quiet moment, the two just gazed into each other’s eyes, until suddenly Shu’s small more genuine smile and kind eyes transformed back into his usual smirk and wink. “I was talking about you Yuki-chan, just so you know.”
Yuki’s face was now entirely red “God you’re such a moron!” she yelled as she ripped her hand away, turned away from him and began drinking her Hey-C again, although Juro couldn’t help but notice that they were now practically sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, with Yuki making no sign that she was going to move away from Shu.
“Well that was…something.” Juro finally spoke as he finished his yakisoba-pan. Shu and Yuki’s heads snapped over to look at him, unsurprisingly they seemed to have forgotten he was there.
“Ah jeez I’m sorry Kurabe-kun.” Shu apologised with an embarrassed expression. “I invited you here to talk and instead ended up in a lover’s quarrel, (“It was NOT a-”) I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine, I got free food out of it so who am I to complain?” Juro chuckled at his own joke, before something Shu said sunk in with dread. So, already knowing the answer he asked: “What did you want to talk about?”
He really needs to learn new facial expressions. Juro thought ruefully to himself as Shu’s smirk made a reappearance. “I thought we could talk about Yakushiji-san.”
“Who?” Juro asked, far too quickly to be convincing.
“C’mon man don’t play dumb. I’ve seen the two of you together enough times to know what’s going on…”
Oh god he’s figured out that me and Megumi are living together. What do I do?
“Uh Amiguchi-kun wait I can explain-”
“You’re clearly into her.”
Juro’s face went redder than Yuki’s did a moment ago and he began stuttering out: “What?! No! It’s not that it’s more like-”
Suddenly Yuki chimed in. “Wait, I thought you said Yakushiji approached Kurabe, not the other way around.”
“Well I mean there’s a perfectly good reason for-”
“Ah excellent point Yuki-chan, and may I say I’m glad to see you were actually listening during the Pre-Confrontation Planning Meeting after all!”
“You guys planned for this?”
“Listen Kurabe-kun. Just be honest ok?” Shu looked Juro in the eyes as he said this.
“I AM being honest! I don’t have a crush on Yakushiji-san I swear!”
“Kurabe.” Yuki’s firm voice cut through his mounting panic. “Calm down and actually listen. We’re not asking you to tell us what you think is true right now…”
“We’re asking you to calm down and think about it, be honest with yourself.” Shu finished.
Juro was about to fire back, but he hesitated, why was he being so adamant? If he just stopped and thought about it, it’d prove his point for him, wouldn’t it?
So, he thought about Megumi Yakushiji.
He thought about how she had dropped into his life out of nowhere, completely throwing off his normal, quiet highschool life.
He thought about how she was so overly sentimental, despite the two knowing little to nothing about each other.
He thought about how she kept ignoring his request for the two to remain separate at school.
He thought about his nightmare about her.
He thought about how…how kind she was to always cook for him, despite his consistent habit to eat out.
He thought about how she treated his own guest, Keitaro Miura, with more grace and hospitality then he did.
He thought about how, despite how he treated her, she continually made sure he was okay after having a nightmare or falling asleep prematurely.
He thought about how beautiful she was, and how unaware of it she seemed to be.
He thought about [“Your nightmare where you killed Yakushiji in cold blood, and the fact she loves Izumi, not you.”]
He thought about their first café date, how she had tried to order a black coffee to seem more mature, only to break halfway through and had the extra drink Juro bought for her.
Juro pinched the bridge of his nose to stop the oncoming headache. Those aren’t my thoughts. He understood on some level. Those are my dreams and half memories, I don’t need their input, I need my own. How do I feel about Yakushiji-san?
He thought about all their time together, limited as it may have been. Thought about it as hard as he could to find something, anything that could clear up his own emotions.
And… he found nothing.
And yet… he couldn’t deny the nerves he always had when he tried to talk to her, or the way he felt the need to lash out at her kindness just to compensate. Couldn’t deny the disappointment and self-loathing he had felt over realising that she was in love with Izumi rather than him. The disbelief he had had over her own lack of confidence in her looks. His worry over whether or not she saw him as a child. The remarkable peace he felt while eating with her and Miura-kun, despite his nightmares of killing her and trying to kill him.
He wondered, would he feel the same way if he didn’t have these weird dreams and thoughts? Would he really feel the same way about her as much, or at all, if it had just been the two of them?
Then again, did it matter? Whether his feelings started from himself or somewhere else, the end result was the same, he loved Megumi Yakushiji.
Wait…
“Crap.” Juro muttered as his head hit the table with a dull thud. “I’m in love with her.”
There was no concrete moment, no singular memory he could draw on to find how it started, but the moment he spoke the words, he knew in his heart of hearts that it was true.
“He did it!” Shu cheered and clapped like the curtains had just closed on a fantastic theatre performance.
“Congrats Kurabe, now can you hurry up and confess? It might make her less damn mopey all the time.” Yuki asked while also clapping (though her clapping felt like it was more to mock Shu than congratulate Juro).
“Now don’t you worry Kurabe-kun,” Shu said as he slapped Juro’s shoulder. “As your new wingman I solemnly swear to do everything in my power to bring you two together. I'm sure Yuki-chan will help as well, correct?” He asked while looking in her direction.
“Sorry pretty boy, but I gotta bounce, I’m not sticking around for the last few classes.” Takamiya-san stated as she got up and slung her bag over her shoulder.
“Where to? I’ll meet you there after I finish Operation Turnabout Confession.”
“You wanna know something funny Amiguchi? If you hadn’t acted like such an ass earlier maybe I’d tell you. But unfortunately you did, so I won’t.”
“Ah you wound me Yuki-chan, but very well, I will simply get on my bike and allow my soul to guide me to its partner, my soulmate.” Shu replied with a wink.
Takamiya-san turned her head away “God do you hear yourself?” She asked, attempting to sound annoyed despite the pink dusting her cheeks. “A-anyway, good luck Kurabe, give Yakushiji my well-wishes or whatever.” She said as she began to walk away.
“Goodbye my darling!” Shu yelled at her retreating backside, waving with his usual over-exuberant attitude. “Wait for me! I’ll find you Yuki-chan!”
In response “Yuki-chan” flipped him off without stopping or turning around, though from the stars in Shu’s eyes you’d think he wasn’t able to see it.
“Ahhhh, love.” Shu turned to Juro with the same grin on his face.
“You and I have very different ideas of love, Amiguchi-kun. I mean no offence, I can hardly tell if she likes you, much less loves you.”
“Really? So you didn’t see those moments of sweetness? Have I seriously been deluding myself?” Juro was shocked to see that, for once, Shu actually looked despondent.
“Well, no. I noticed them too, but they were so few and far inbetween, how do you, I don’t know, stay so positive? You act like your romance is inevitable.”
“Who said that I think it’s inevitable?” Shu asked while scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “There’s no way to know for certain that me and Yuki-chan will get together, but she’s absolutely incredible, so I'm willing to do this dance with her for as long as she wants.” Suddenly Shu’s face lit up the same way it did when he was telling Juro about a movie or game he loved. “I mean have you seen the way she beats dudes up? Or how smart she is? Or the fact that, just to reiterate, she’s a freakin’ sukeban? Or how-”
Smart huh? Juro thought distractedly. I wonder…is that how…she knew my first name was Juro?
Had the following events played out differently, perhaps he would have found out.
“Ahhhh, love.” Shu said again, evidently done with his rant. “It makes us do some stupid things eh Kurabe-kun?”
On that, Juro would have to agree.
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This is such a bad idea. Juro thought to himself yet again.
He had just finished his last class and was watching the door to Megumi’s own class, where he had spotted her still inside packing up her stuff, which meant he was now hiding behind a lip in the wall waiting for her while simultaneously trying to be inconspicuous and not feel foolish.
He was failing at both.
Their plan was truly stupid, Shu would be waiting on the roof, Megumi would join him, they’d talk (and he’d turn her down if she really was confessing), he’d leave and immediately Juro would switch with him to do his own confession.
Foolproof, truly foolproof.
At least it might’ve been if Shu hadn’t forgotten the entire thing.
He had run into him earlier and Juro could tell he had forgotten the entire conversation they had, Juro knew Amiguchi-kun could be kinda flighty sometimes but this was just ridiculous.
Then again, he couldn’t put all the blame on Shu, it wasn’t like he had reminded him about the plan, instead the words had died in his throat because it was too stupid and awkward and he was too much of a goddamn coward to try and remind him.
Stay focused. He mentally chastised. I gotta stay focused, I can’t let her get the drop on me or else the entire “plan” will-
Someone tapped his shoulder. “Hey Kurabe-kun!”
Juro nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around quickly, screeching all the while. If this is Yakushiji-san I might as well scrap the plan and leave the country because I am never recovering from that.
Thankfully, it wasn’t Megumi, but rather a very surprised looking Iori.
“Erm, hello Kurabe-kun, are you…okay? Nightmares getting to you again?”
“Oh, hello Fuyusaka-san. Um, no to both questions.” Juro replied with an embarrassed smile.
Iori giggled at his response, before suddenly looking serious again. “So, what are you doing Kurabe-kun?”
“Well…it’s kinda complicated. To put it simply, I’m waiting on someone in class 1-C.”
“Oh! I’m waiting on someone too! You wanna wait together?”
Juro nodded and Iori leaned against the wall next to him, staring at the door for class 1-C along with as well, until eventually asking the question Juro could tell she’d been dying to ask from the beginning:
“Who are you waiting for Kurabe-kun?”
Well he had already told one friend and a stranger, what was the harm in telling another friend?
“I’m uh, waiting on a girl, you might know her, it’s-”
Before he could finish the doors to 1-C practically flew open. Causing Juro and Iori to throw themselves back to the wall and peek around the lip to see who it was.
It was just Natsuno Minami.
Juro breathed a sigh of relief and almost laughed at his own panic, before Iori grabbed his sleeve with stars in her eyes.
“Are you in love with Nat-chan Kurabe-kun?” Damn she didn’t hesitate for even a second. “I won’t lie to you, Nat-chan was who I wanted to talk to, but if you’re going to confess I’d be more than willing to wait. Heck, I’d be willing to help out if you need it, give me ten minutes and some yen and I’ll buy you some flowers you could give her, maybe not roses though, trust me when I say they are extremely expensive.”
“Um, Fuyusaka-san-”
“Ooh, or maybe I could find out what kind of date she’d like to go on, although that one is kinda obvious, date at the cinemas watching whatever sci-fi movie is in this month. OOH, but you actually like those kinds of movies don’t you Kurabe-kun? So it’d be perfect for a first date!”
“Fuyusaka-san please-”
“Or I could find Ei-kun and we can have a double date, it might take some of the nerves off! Although that might be an awkward first date, for us I mean we haven’t had a date yet, I don’t even know where I’d find him to be honest.” She finished with a hint of melancholy.
“Fuyusaka-san can you please just-”
“Wait I just had another-”
“IORI PLEASE LISTEN!” Juro yelled as he grabbed her by the arms and spun her face to face with him.
In the sudden silence of the hallway, the door closing sounded like a gunshot, causing both Juro and Iori to whip their heads around to see one Megumi Yakushiji, evidently finally done packing all her belongings, stood there staring at the two of them, while they were standing incredibly closely, half behind a lip, right after he yelled her first name.
Juro practically whipped the two of them behind said lip, which will definitely convince Yakushiji-san that nothing is going on between us I’m sure, and pressed himself up against the wall, ignoring the yelp and staring Iori was doing, silently praying that Megumi would go the other way.
Thankfully, a minute or two after talking had resumed in the hallway, he heard her footsteps receding. Which gave him just enough time to get halfway through a sigh of relief when Iori let out an revelatory “Ohhhhhh.”
“My gosh I’m such an idiot.” She slapped her own face. “It wasn’t Nat-chan you were waiting for was it? Was it…that girl just now?”
“Unfortunately yes.”
“Why unfortunate- ohhhhhhh.”
The blush lighting up her face told Juro she suddenly realised the situation they were in and she backed away from him. “Geez, I’m so sorry, I got completely caught up there and now things are probably going to be awkward between you two.”
Juro let out a sigh “It’s fine, things were awkward before now, it’s not like you made it that much worse.” Juro glanced down the hallway to where the stairs to the roof were, no doubt that’s where she was heading to, where she’d meet up with Shu.
He clenched his fist. Now or never, too late to back out now.
“I’m sorry Fuyusaka-san, but I need to go now, or else I don’t think I’ll be able to go at all.”
Iori looked in the same direction he did and nodded. “Believe me I get it. Go after her Kurabe-kun, I believe in you!” She pumped her fist in the air with such genuine excitement that, despite the embarrassment he felt over the awkward situation, he couldn’t help but feel a shot of courage, power, and motivation.
“Thank you Fuyusaka-san, I’ll let you know how it all plays out.”
And with Iori’s cheers at his back, he ran after Megumi.
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Well here goes nothing.
Juro stood at the bottom of the stairs for only a moment before beginning to climb it, despite the dread that filled him.
What am I even going to say to her? I haven’t exactly been the warmest to her, so confessing now is going to seem very weird.
Juro sighed as he continued up the stairs. Only one thing for it then, I’ll have to tell her the truth about why I was avoiding her. Even if that reason is-
A sudden flash of memory, her dead body curled up on the destroyed road, his gun still pointed at where she was running only a moment ago.
Juro stopped and leaned against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose to stop the upcoming headache. Get a grip, it’s just a nightmare, you aren’t crazy, you aren’t going to kill her, just like you won’t kill Amiguchi-kun or Fuyusaka-san or anyone else.
“Kurabe?”
Juro opened his eyes to see one Nenji Ogata staring down at him with an uncharacteristic look of concern.
“Oh, hey Ogata-kun, weird meeting you here.”
“I mean not really, I spend more time on the roof then I do in class.” His eyes narrowed and he bent down to look closer at Juro. “You okay man? You look like your head is splitting in two.”
Juro let out a dry chuckle. “Yeah kinda feels that way, I’ll be fine though.”
Nenji nodded. “Right, well, I wouldn't go up there if I was you. Amiguchi is up there with some girl, probably about to become mushy up there. Trust me you don't want to see it."
So that means our forgotten operation is already ago. I gotta get up there now.
"Thanks Ogata-kun, but I have important business up there. I have to get up there."
Nenji stared at him before nodding. "Right well, you're clearly not going to back down from it, good luck with whatever that is man, see ya."
As soon as Nenji was behind him Juro ran up the rest of the stairs.
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There they were, the doors to the roof.
Juro stared at the doors as his thoughts and heartbeat began running wilder than they had been all day.
[“Not too late to back out Juro, I highly recommend we do so.”]
Juro didn't understand why his own thoughts enraged him so, maybe it was the reminder of how weak he truly was, the very fact his own mind couldn’t back him up when he needed it most infuriated him to no end.
So, his resolve crystalized, Juro kneeled near the door, and tried to pick up on the conversation happening outside.
He couldn’t hear them, no doubt they were having their conversation closer to the chain fence than to the door, it didn’t really matter, he’d switch out with Shu once he came to the door either way. Regardless, Juro strained himself to hear something, anything.
What he heard was a whoosh of air and somebody collapsing on their knees. Which sounded suspiciously similar to his nightmare where he died after his murder spree.
Juro chanced a look through the window of the door, just in time to see Megumi pocket a small gun while standing over Shu, kneeling in pain in the exact same way he did in his dream of shooting him.
Juro’s blood went cold as he wondered what to do. Break the door down? Get help? But before he could decide, he heard something that made his newly icey blood turn electric.
Sentinel No. 20, transmitting.
He heard thunder and lightning striking in the distance as he swung the door wide open and ran outside. He saw Megumi staring at something in the skies with shock and he turned his head to see…
“A robot…no way…”
He heard Megumi call his name from somewhere far away, but he didn't look away from the behemoth in the skies until she grabbed his arm.
He turned to look her in the eyes, her face still alight from shock as she stuttered. "What did you… Um…"
"You…" He clenched his fists and looked at her dead on. "You shot Amiguchi-kun with a gun. And then a giant robot appeared."
He had meant it as a question, but it came out as more of an accusation. Which surprisingly paid off when Megumi's already shocked self physically took a step back. "You saw everything?"
"But why did you…" Before Juro could ask his question he glanced back at the sky to realise that there was another issue to deal with. "Where did it fly off to?"
As Juro scanned the skies, his thoughts became a maelstrom. Where was Amiguchi-kun? What happened to the robot? Was he in the robot? What the hell was going on?
And yet for all these questions his mind kept wandering back to her, about how exactly he was supposed to even look her in the eyes, about his completely botched plans, and presently, who the hell was she talking to back there?
He heard the door creak and looked over in its direction, there stood Megumi, looking over at him with an unreadable expression, before she made a sad noise, looked away, and ran down the stairs.
Stop her! Talk to her! Confess! Do literally anything man! His thoughts begged his non-responsive body as he watched her run, finally destroying any last vestiges of hope he might have had of somehow salvaging the situation.
Thankfully though, that's when his good friend Shiba-kun came to get his head on straight.
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[“Well I gotta hand it to you Kurabe, I’m impressed you got this close to confessing, I thought you were a complete coward, maybe you do have a spine after all.”]
Juro wanted to move, wanted to stand up, wanted to scream, wanted to do anything. But his mind felt disconnected from his body, every command being met only with silence, he couldn’t even open his eyes.
[“Still, that does mean I’ll have to quarantine today’s memories, all of them. If you confess to Yakushiji before the work is done… Well, let’s avoid that scenario just to be safe.”]
He swore he could feel the tatami mat of his living room under him, but wasn’t he just on the school roof a moment ago? Or had that just been another dream?
[“Though… I suppose if I’m going to do this to Yakushiji, the least I can do is try to restore one of your memories, there must be something salvageable, I know I was onto something when I checked earlier today…”]
If he could just open his eyes, he would be able to tell if it was a dream. If he could just open his mouth, he’d be able to tell off the stupid voice in his head. If his brain would just work, he could have the answers he was so desperate for.
If he just had an ounce of strength in his stupid, pathetic, worthless body, maybe he’d be able to do something other than wish for others to bail his pathetic ass out of everything.
[“Ah this memory will do nicely, few gaps to fill in, and I doubt it’ll stick, but I need to at least try, let me just finish quarantining today’s memories, and then you’ll finally be able to finish what you started Kurabe.”]
I just want to be stronger, for her sake at the very least...
[Memories of the past twelve hours: Successfully quarantined.]
And with that, Juro fell into another dream of the past.
Juro could never quite get over how beautiful the skyline was from the school’s roof, no matter if it was 2104, 2064 or 2024.
Though he would admit, and definitely not just to himself, that 2024 had his favourite view of all, thanks in no small part to the beautiful girl watching the very same view.
Megumi Yakushiji had asked to meet him up on the roof earlier that day, and Juro wasn't the type of guy to let a request fall on deaf ears, especially a request from Megumi.
So there he stood, not far behind her on the rooftop, waiting to hear what she had to say.
"Juro-kun I-" Megumi started before taking a deep breath and turning to face him. "We've known each other for a few months now. And in that time we've done a lot together, both with and without Tomi."
"Yeah, and it's been some of the greatest times I've had since becoming a pilot, heck, some of the greatest times I've had in my entire life." Juro replied, noting how they were standing much closer now, only a metre apart.
"O-oh, I'm glad to hear that, I feel the same way." Megumi's blush was only growing bigger as she began to fiddle with her collar. "Well I've realised that, despite what you've told us about the kaiju, and the future, and well, basically everything, I’m happier than I’ve ever been before, and I wondered why that is…”
They were standing a few centimetres apart now, staring into each other’s eyes like there was no world beyond them.
“I think I know why now, it’s because of you, Juro-kun. You make me so incredibly happy, and every day I look forward to seeing what we’ll do that day, whether it's reading romance novels together, playing video games, watching movies, going to new places together, or just talking with you about whatever we have on our minds.”
There was no room between them now as they held each other’s hands, her confession dropping to a whisper.
“I realised that I wanted us to keep doing that for the rest of my life, and the idea of you spending that much of your time with anyone else made me feel so, so angry.”
Her breath and heartbeat were beginning to speed up, same as Juro’s.
“So, the only conclusion I could really draw was that I l-l-l, that I lo- that I lo-”
She was stuttering badly now, her blush was reaching critical mass and if she shook anymore the building would likely collapse. It was clear she was struggling, and if there was one thing Juro Izumi hated to see, it was an innocent suffering.
So he did what he did best, and came to her rescue.
“I love you too, Megumi-san.”
Megumi’s stuttering stopped dead as she stared at him, her mouth opening and closing in shock.
“R-right,” She said after a long period of silence. “I- I love you too.”
Their lips were a hair apart now, were they about to…?
Suddenly Megumi made an embarrassed noise and buried her face in Juro’s chest. “Nooo you just said that!”
Ok not what I expected. “Megumi-san what’s the matter?”
“Mmmph.” She mumbled into his uniform, muffling her reply. “You already said “I love you too,” I’ve completely botched my confession.”
She removed her face from his chest and looked into Juro’s eyes with a positively distressed look. “I wanted it to be perfect, I practised over and over so it’d sound like a confession from a love story and I just mucked it up.” She looked despondently downwards.
With a soft chuckle, Juro gently placed his hand on her cheek and tilted her gloomy face to meet his own overjoyed expression.
“Megumi, your confession was perfect in every way.”
Megumi’s face lit up red yet again. “Wh-what do you mean? Perfect how?”
Juro brushed some of her hair out of her face with his other hand. “It was perfect, because…” He paused meaningfully as he cupped her face in his hands. “We did it together, and that’s how I hope we stay, from now until the edge of the future.”
All the clouds in Megumi’s expression vanished in an instant, replaced by the dazzling smile that he hoped he could provide for her everyday from now on.
“Thank you… Juro. I want that for us too. So please…”
She leaned forward, same as Juro, and they rested their heads against each other’s, which made it all the easier for Juro to hear her whispered request.
“Please don’t die, don’t leave me behind for the Sentinels and Deimos. Stay alive, if not for your sake, then for mine.”
And despite it all, despite the overwhelming odds, past failures and poison literally coursing through his brain at that very moment, Juro didn’t hesitate to respond with: “Of course.”
After all, Juro wasn't the type of guy to let a request fall on deaf ears, especially a request from his loved one.
So there they stood, two people of destiny, never fated to meet this way, enjoying their oft dreamed about confession, both terrified by an uncertain future, finding sudden comfort in knowing they’d face it all together.
Nothing would ever tear the two apart.