Chapter 263: The Love That Cannot Be Reached
"Saki-kun~ Ai-chan's gaze at me is too scary." Fujiwara Chika clung tightly to him, her mouth complaining.
Hayasaka: ʰᵘʰ (ꐦ○_○）✧
Chika: (,,>﹏<,,)
Chika inside: (≖⩊≖)
"If you let go now, then she won't look at you anymore." Sakurai Saki held a lightstick in his right hand, cheering for his girlfriend.
"Not letting go! Yesterday at the café, she even dared to show off in front of me, so annoying, isn't it just confessing a few days earlier? The one who cheats by running ahead deserves to be penalized and kicked off the field!"
Sakurai Saki showed a helpless expression.
Don't treat the battle over me like a game, Chika.
But what she said wasn't wrong either, half a year ago Sakurai Saki indeed had the thought that whoever confessed, he would date that person, simply never considering who came first or later.
He wasn't even planning to be a playboy, if it hadn't been for Shirogane Miyuki saying those words, perhaps Sakurai Saki would have only regarded Chika as a friend, not even advancing to "base one."
But Shirogane Miyuki had said, compared to hesitating and making a girl suffer, it would be better to "gotta catch 'em all."
As for Sakurai Saki's current relationship with the two girls… stuck in between. Chika didn't agree to share with Hayasaka Ai, and Hayasaka Ai also didn't accept letting Sakurai Saki "two-time." As for Nino, sorry, that was only an unexpected accident, her thoughts were something even Sakurai Saki himself didn't fully grasp, only her body was something he knew very clearly.
"Sakurai-san!! Why are you here too?!"
Speak of someone, and they appear.
This was the sports field of Shuchiin, with a large stage set up beside it, the crowd was not small either, many cultural clubs came here to perform, like the Magic Club, Breakdance Club, Light Music Club.
"Nino? And Yotsuba too?" Sakurai Saki turned his head, looking at the two girls squeezing in.
The green bunny-ear headband on Yotsuba's head was very eye-catching, her body nearly hidden in the crowd, but the decorative bow could still be seen.
"Haa, finally made it." Yotsuba panted.
"…Chika-chan?" Nino greeted Fujiwara Chika: "Good morning."
"Good morning, Nakano-san."
After greeting, Chika realized both were "Nakano-san," so she tried to differentiate, recalling the day she visited Sakurai's house when he was sick, and Nino's butterfly bow decoration.
Thinking of that, Chika imitated Sakurai Saki's way of addressing them, greeting one by one: "Nino-san, Yotsuba-san, good morning."
Yotsuba and Nino were both surprised she could tell them apart.
"Secretary-chan, good morning." Yotsuba was about to bow, but realized it was too crowded around.
Now the four of them were packed together into one clump.
Nino and Yotsuba had no other way, one held Sakurai Saki's right arm, the other stood right in front of him.
This scene, Hayasaka Ai on stage could see it all.
Hayasaka: <(ꐦㅍ _ㅍ)>
The number of girls had actually increased, something she had not expected at all.
The sight was far too bizarre already, her boyfriend was cheering for her, but beside him was a whole crowd of girls? The most important thing is! She was singing, unable to stop it!
"The next song is! Todokanai Koi~" Ai-chan's voice quietly announced.
Below the stage, Sakurai Saki suddenly felt a chill run down his back.
Christmas was coming soon, singing this song… not very appropriate, was it?
A few seconds later.
The melodious singing voice echoed across the stage.
"She really sings fluently." Chika sighed.
Especially when she sang the line 'Even though my love cannot reach you'.
'…The one dating Saki-kun is clearly you!' Chika felt it should have been her singing this song, not Hayasaka Ai.
"Saki-kun, do you know how to play guitar?"
"Yes, why?" Sakurai Saki didn't understand why she asked that.
"I can play piano, Ai-chan can sing."
The sudden elements all came together.
So the first one to confess, Ai-chan, was Setsuna, and she herself was Touma?
In the end, who was the one that won again? Chika wondered.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Who is the heroine that wins in White Album."
Chika: ( •̀ ᴖ •́ )
Sakurai: ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
Sakurai Saki couldn't make sense of her thoughts, Fujiwara the secretary always said strange things, her way of thinking was truly incomprehensible.
Just like that, Sakurai Saki was surrounded by three girls as he watched the concert.
The right hand that was supposed to wave the lightstick for Ai-chan was tightly held by Nino, he felt like a prisoner chained up, unable to do anything.
He could only open his eyes wide and watch Ai-chan sing and dance.
Then Ai-chan would also look at him, with eyes like Yuno Gaisa.
The winter wind was very cold, blowing so that even half of Sakurai Saki's heart turned cold.
...
The dance performance ended, the two of them were in the preparation room behind the stage.
"When did you start getting close with the students?" Hayasaka Ai asked.
"No way." Sakurai Saki felt a little guilty.
"Suspicious." Ai-chan stared straight at his face, speaking doubtfully: "When you lie you always avoid eye contact, I already noticed that a long time ago."
Are you using a microscope to be in love with me? Ai-chan Leeuwenhoek?
"My relationship with the students is just fairly good, both teacher and friend. After all, teaching too much in a Sparta style isn't good, it easily makes students develop a rebellious mentality, not beneficial to studying." Sakurai Saki added silently in his heart, "Nino is the exception."
That was something unavoidable, moreover she was the one who took the initiative to act and touch first.
"Uh-huh~"
(≖⌣≖)
Ai-chan knew he was feeling guilty, but only thought that was a normal reaction, a guy being interrogated by his girlfriend would probably react more or less the same. Hayasaka Ai had asked many friends before, and regardless of whether the boyfriend had actually done wrong or not, as long as the girlfriend asked a single question, "Do you know you were wrong?", then ninety percent of boys would answer, "I know."
Instead of answering, "I wasn't wrong! What exactly was I wrong about?"
"Normally I only think about how to help their grades improve, I really don't have the energy to think about anything else."
"Don't explain anymore, I trust you."
"…Really?"
"For the rest of today, don't leave my sight." Hayasaka Ai stared straight into Sakurai Saki's eyes, saying word by word.
Sakurai Saki swallowed and nodded.
The two went to the changing room, waiting for Ai-chan to finish changing clothes, preparing to go to the campfire party tonight, right beside the schoolyard.
"The grades of the Nakano quintuplets, seems like they've already risen into the top 110 of the year… Sakurai-chan, do you still want to continue?"
"If this year ends, I'll probably resign. That should be enough." Sakurai Saki looked at the large pile of firewood stacked in front of them, not yet lit at the moment, but there were already students around.
Tonight's campfire party would of course include a customary dance segment, where boys and girls hold hands and dance together. Of course, dancing alone wasn't impossible either, just that it looked very pitiful.
(Note: I suddenly remembered the campfire scene in School Days...)
"They probably won't agree, right?"
"Probably not. Next year is already the final year, after graduation they'll be in university, I won't be able to keep teaching them either, right? A baby always wrapped in diapers will one day learn how to walk, I should let go." Sakurai Saki said gently.
"You've changed a lot, Sakurai General Affairs~"
"Why suddenly call me by that title?"
"Didn't you say before, that Sakurai General Affairs and Sakurai Saki aren't the same person."
"Back then I was also pretty childish, but Herthaka-kun, honestly you were also very childish."
Sakurai: (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
Hayasaka: ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!
"…Eh! You found out already?"
"The pronunciation is similar, and the timing of your appearance back then was way too coincidental."
"So embarrassing! Please forget it for me!" Ai-chan's face flushed bright red.
"In a lifetime I could never forget it, so it turns out those words you said back then, were actually confessing to me? I didn't even react."
"Stop it! I'm begging you!"
Hayasaka: (⸝⸝⸝>﹏<⸝⸝⸝)
"Alright, alright." Sakurai comforted her with a line.
"..."
Hayasaka Ai realized she was wrong, her boyfriend was still the same as before, still that evil teasing style.