Chapter 16

(A/N Notes: In this chapter, we have the starring of a certain character from another story of mine that appeared a few chapters ago)

-

" "…" "

"… *Sniff*…" *Sipping juice with a straw with a dejected expression*

Yuriko, and her two childhood friends, Inoue Ayano and Takahashi Aki, were inside a cafe in the neighboring city, it was mostly empty with only a few people inside. The two were looking at Yuriko with warm eyes as they waited for her to calm down a little more

"… Are you feeling better, Yu-chan?"

"*Sniff* Yes…"

Aki was the first one to talk with Yuriko, managing to get a response from her

"Do you mind telling us what happened?"

"No…"

"Then can you tell us?"

"*Nods*…"

Aki was talking to Yuriko with a gentle voice, which looked very contradictory to her pretty "wild" appearance, from her long orange hair which was somewhat messy with a portion of her hair tied in a side tail by a red ribbon on her right side. Yuriko took a deep breath before she began speaking with a shaky and weak voice

"T-Ta… T-Take… Uuuuhh… T-Takeru… *Sniff* H-he… H-he… H-he's been i-ignoring m-me… Uuuuuuuhhh…"

And Yuriko again broke into tears as she began to cry silently. Then Ayano extended her hand to pat Yuriko's head

"There, there, Yu-chan. No need to hold back, we're your childhood friends, after all, got it?"

"*Sniff*… *Nods*…"

Ayano, who had dark green short straight hair and wore glasses that gave her a considerable nerdy look, and Aki, were both used to seeing Yuriko act like that since they knew how she had a tendency to become needy from time to time

" "…" "

They both stayed silent as they once again waited for Yuriko to calm herself, but they were still talking to each other with their eyes

<That Takeru person is definitely a boy>

<Yes, definitely. And it also appears that Yu-chan got really attached to him, for her to be this emotional from him ignoring her>

<Did they have a fight?>

<Possible, she might've gone overboard with something that made that Takeru person want to avoid her for some time>

<Makes sense, also… I think she might actually be in love with him>

<I think the same, but Yu-chan doesn't appear to be aware of her feelings towards him>

<Yu-chan… Dense as always, at least she's good at getting close to nice people so that Takeru person is definitely a nice person>

<Yeah, I also agree with that, Aki-chan>

<Thanks, Ayano-chan. Ah! Yuriko stopped crying>

The two noticed that Yuriko had stopped crying and was now fidgeting with her finger, stopped their secret talk and brought their attention back to Yuriko

"… Sorry for that…"

"It's fine"

"Yeah, so do you mind telling us about that Takeru person?"

"… No… So Takeru is… … … Cute… He's always willing to talk with me… And his embarrassed expressions are cute…"

Yuriko continue to praise Takeru, and then she began to talk about the time they spent together. Her expression had improved a little, she had a brighter expression but she still looked sad while her cheeks had turned a little red

" "…" " < <She's definitely in love with him> >

Ayano and Aki who just listened to Yuriko in silence with smiles on their faces, had their suspicions confirmed. Yuriko continued talking until she reached the last time she and Takeru spent time together, which made her expression turn back to being depressed and sad, and then she ended by what made both her and Takeru avoid each other for a week

"… And that's what happened…"

" "… *Sigh*" "

"Yu-chan…"

After hearing what happened, Ayano and Aki could only sigh as they pressed their temples, then Aki called Yuriko by her nickname

"… You need to apologize to Takeru-kun, now"

"I know…"

"Then why don't you call him?"

"… … … I forgot to ask for his number…"

" "Ah!" "

Ayano and Aki were slightly surprised at that because usually Yuriko always remembered asking for the phone number of close classmates and club members, and her forgetting to ask for a single person, to whom she was pretty close, was a first for them. But they continued forward, this Ayano was the one who asked Yuriko

"Then… Why don't you visit him in his apartment since he's your neighbor?"

"… Em-"

"What?"

"I-it's Embarrassing… And he has been returning pretty late this week…"

" "…" "

"What kind of bad luck is that, Yu-chan?"

"I don't know…"

Ayano couldn't help but say that to Yuriko, and when she hear Yuriko's response, all she could do was sigh in good grief

"Well, Yu-chan. Since tomorrow, you have school, then try to talk to him there after school"

"Yes… I'll try… … … Ah"

" "?" "

Ayano and Aki both tilted their heads when they saw Yuriko making the face of someone who just remembered that she needed to do something important

"What's wrong, Yu-chan?"

"… Tomorrow… I have a meeting with the student council president of Tani high…"

" "Ah!…" "

They both made surprised faces when they heard that, and the three stayed silent, with Yuriko slowly going back to being depressed as she realized that she wouldn't be seeing Takeru tomorrow either

"Well… I think we should end this talk and enjoy the rest of the afternoon doing something else"

"Yeah, I agree with you, Aki"

"Sure…"

"Great! Hey! Can you bring us the bill?"

"Sure"

Aki after receiving the green light from both Ayano and Yuriko called for one of the waiters, who was a boy with the same age as them. The boy shortly after came back with the bill with a business smile

"Here's your bill, please check to see if everything is correct"

"Thanks, now let's see…"

"…"

As the boy waited for Ayano to read the bill to see if everything was right in it, he noticed Yuriko, he looked at her for a short period before turning back on looking at Ayano who had the bill in hand

"Everything is correct, and here's the money"

"Thank you very much, please come again"

The girls got up from their seats and left the cafe. The boy watched them leave, as he cleaned the table they had just used

"…" <That grey-haired girl… Was she Nanami-san, that Takkun mentioned? Huh? She doesn't appear to be a delinquent, well better for him, I guess>

That boy was Ichiro, and he had just briefly met Yuriko as he helped his mother in the cafe. Yuriko, Ayano, and Aki meanwhile went on to enjoy their time together after a long while, and only returned to their homes at the start of the evening. Yuriko's mood got better from spending time with her childhood friends

-

The next day

-

It was after school, most of the students in the go-home club had already left, with only those on cleaning duty or with club activities staying, and Yuriko being the president of the student council, was also at school as she stood near the school gates waiting for a certain person

"… *Humming*… !… Hm? Himari-chan? Did you perhaps also become a president of a student council as well?"

"Huhuhuhu… Yes, I did. Now I'm definitely abo-… Wait, did you say as well?"

Yuriko had noticed a luxurious car stopping in front of the school gates, and from the vehicle, a short girl, only 150 cm in height, with long messy blonde hair moved out of the vehicle, that girl was Ishii Himari, and behind Himari another blonde girl, this one with straight side bangs and semi looped ponytail on her left side, also moved out of the car

Himari had walked towards Yuriko, instantly recognizing her, and with an air of superiority she bragged about herself before she noticed midway through her speech what Yuriko had just said

"Yes, currently I'm the president of the student council of Yama high"

"I-I see…"

Himari with a red face just acknowledged the fact without saying anything more

"And may I know who's this girl behind you?"

"Ah! This one? It's my cousin, and the vice president of the student council of Tani high, who was appointed by me, Kogane Sakurako"

"Hello, I believe that you might be Nanami Yuriko, correct?"

"Yes, you're right. Nice to see you, Kogane-san"

"Nice to meet you too, Nanami-san"

They both respectfully bowed to each other as Yuriko gently smiled to Sakurako, while Sakurako maintained her blank expression, but Yuriko just thought that was because Sakurako didn't really know how to smile properly, and her intuition was right

"Well, now that we introduced each other. How about we get going, Himari-chan, Kogane-san?"

"Yes, let's get go-… Chotto matte! Why are you calling me, Himari-chan!?"

"Hm? The previous stucco president of Tani high said I could call you Himari-chan"

"She did what!? Ah! *Cleans throat* Ahem… Please, call me with san"

Yuriko tilted her head at Himari's request with an innocent expression, but she still abided by her request

"Okay, Himari-san. Now, let me guide you two to the student council room"

" "Sure" "

Himari and Sakurako both agreed at the same time and began following Yuriko. After a few minutes, they arrived at the stucco room and entered to start their meeting

"…" <She doesn't appear to be a delinquent>

-

Some time later

-

"… And this is all that we have planned for the joint sports festival, it's still quite some time away, but we wanted to have it done as early as possible to avoid any problems with preparations or bad timing with your school schedule"

"I see, I see… Well, I don't have any problem with the schedule here, do you have a problem with it, Sacchan?"

"No, I don't, but we still need the opinion of the other members as well"

"You're right… Can we take a copy with us, Yuriko-san?"

"Of course, you can take those papers in your hands if you want to"

"Thanks"

"You're welcome, now with this, it should be everything that we needed to discuss. So you two can go home if you want to"

"I see… Yuriko-san, can I have a private talk with you?"

"? Sure, you can"

"Then, Sacchan can you leave us alone for now"

"Okay"

Sakurako without any problem or refusal got up from the sofa and left the room, then as she closed the door and when she turned and stepped forwards to go somewhere else to pass time, she happened to meet up with Takeru

" "Ah!" "

They both got surprised at seeing each other

"Kogane-san?"

"Tanaka-san?"

" "…" "

They both stared at each other in silence as neither of them knew what to say to start a conversation

"Erm… D-do you want a drink from the vending machine?"

"Hmm… Sure?"

With that Takeru then guided Sakurako to where the vending machines were located, with neither of them talking, as they didn't know what to talk about. All they knew, is that they should at least get along since Sakurako was Ichiro's fiancée, and Takeru was Ichiro's cousin

-

Meanwhile, inside the student council room

-

"So? What do you want to talk about with me, Himari-san?"

"Yuriko-san, we met quite a few times last year. And if there's one thing, I'm really proud of, is that I'm really good at seeing through people's masks…"

"Okay?" *Tilts head to the side*

"And today, from the very first moment I saw you, you have been keeping a mask and you're still keeping it right now. But you didn't have any mask on you last year, so… Did something happen?"

"…"

"…"

Yuriko stayed silent after hearing Himari hit the bullseye on her, to which Himari also stayed silent. Then Yuriko without any other choice began to…

"…" *Starts crying waterfalls of tears while smiling*

"!?"

Cry while still keeping her gentle and friendly smile as she was reminded of the fact that Takeru was ignoring her, seeing her cry like that Himari panicked as she didn't know what to do in that situation

While that happened, Takeru picked up a can of black coffee for Sakurako from the vending machine as he picked a can of green that was together with the can of coffee for himself

"Here"

"Thanks"

" "… … …" "

After handing her the can, they both fell silent again, as neither of them could think of a good topic to talk about, so they waited for the other to start a talk, which never happened. And that silence was making them feel somewhat nervous

-

Now back, to Yuriko and Himari

-

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes…"

Himari handed Yuriko a glass of water as she sat back down on the sofa, Yuriko who had stopped crying still kept a smile on her face

"Well… Whatever you're going through… Good luck, Yuriko-san"

"Thank you, Himari-chan"

"A-… No, forget it…"

Himari was about to complain about Yuriko calling her "Himari-chan", but seeing how she was, Himari brushed it aside

"Well, I will take my leave"

"Okay, take care, Himari-chan"

"Thanks… Sacchan, we're lea-… Huh? Where is she?"

"What's wrong, Himari-chan?"

"… Sacchan went somewhere else"

"Ah… Well, she probably went to the vending machines. I will go call, Kogane-san for you"

"Thanks"

"No worries"

With that said, Yuriko got up from the sofa and left the room, then she made her way to where the closest vending machine was located, and there she found Sakurako… Together with Takeru

"…"

Seeing that Yuriko stopped in her tracks and looked at the two appearing to start a conversation at the same time. And the more she looked at them, the more jealous she felt, and she didn't know why, but she definitely didn't like seeing Takeru interacting with another girl

"S-so what did you want to say, Kogane-san?"

"It was nothing important, you can say what wanted to ask me, Tanaka-san"

"Erm… I also don't have anything important to say

" "… … …" "

And the two once again returned to being silent as they both failed to start a proper conversation, but then Takeru felt a cold chill running down his spine

"!?" *Looks around in desperation*

"?" *Tilts head to the side*

Sakurako looked in confusion at Takeru as he looked in all directions as if he was desperate, then as Takeru searched for what was causing his goosebumps, his eyes met with Yuriko's eyes

"Ah!…"

And when he saw her making an angry and pouty face with small tears in the corner of both eyes right towards him, Takeru felt himself going cold as he feared that Yuriko would beat him down

"… … … Well, I have to go. Bye , Kogane-san"

"Hm? Bye, Tanaka-san"

And Takeru fled in a dash right after giving his farewells to Sakurako, with him having left, Yuriko left her hiding spot in the corner and walked toward Sakurako

"Hello, Kogane-san"

"Ah! Nanami-san, what brings you here?"

"I came to call you back since Himari-chan finished her talk with me and wants to go home"

"Ah! Got it"

"… By the way… Do you perhaps know that boy you were talking to earlier?"

"Tanaka-san? Yes, I do know him. I even got to eat dinner made by him"

"Huh!? Y-you had dinner with him!?"

"Yes, but that was because my fiancé had invited me to have dinner with him, his cousins, and aunt"

"So Takeru is your fiancé's cousin?"

"Yes"

"!… Whew!… Thank god…"

"?"

When Yuriko heard that, she felt a huge sense of relief as she patted her chest, Sakurako looked at her while tilting her head as she did not really understand why Yuriko acted like that. Shortly after, Yuriko brought Sakurako back to Himari, and they both went home in the same luxurious car that had brought them earlier

"… I guess, I will go home now… … …"

With her bag already in hand, Yuriko made her way back to the apartment, and as she walked she remembered the feeling she felt when she saw Takeru talking to Sakurako

"… Next time I see him, I'll make sure to catch him… And ask him not to talk to another girl… … … Huh? But why do I dislike him interacting with another girl?"

Yuriko wondered why she felt like that back then, but as she did so, it made her remember what was going on between her and Takeru

"… *Long sigh*… I really want to talk with Takeru…"

Yuriko with a dejected face made her way back home