(So he doesn't mind. What a relief.)
Kei held her warm milk in both hands and quietly allowed herself a small surge of happiness as she took a slow sip.
"Honestly, why did I even come here? Just to sit here and watch this?" Chiaki, observing from a distance, couldn't help but grumble. She was starting to feel she had no business being here at all.
She lifted her tea, took a small sip, then caught the eye of a passing server and gestured, pointing very deliberately in Ryunosuke's direction, indicating that her order should go on his tab.
The server approached him with a slightly uncertain expression and murmured something in his ear. Ryunosuke glanced over toward Chiaki.
Chiaki looked back at him with the flattest, most lifeless expression she could produce. Not a single word passed between them, but the meaning was perfectly clear: (I helped you out at considerable effort. Paying for one drink isn't asking much, is it?)
Ryunosuke gave her a small OK gesture.
"Who are you signaling to?" Kei had noticed him looking behind her and instinctively started to turn, but Ryunosuke stopped her.
He placed both hands on her shoulders, his voice dropping to something that sounded very serious. "There's someone behind you who looks exactly like you. If you turn around and see them, you might die."
(Note: Japanese legend holds that encountering one's own doppelganger is an omen of imminent death.)
Kei went pale. She didn't dare look, and her whole body had gone slightly rigid with fear. Ryunosuke glanced over her shoulder and gave Chiaki a quick look that said: we're fine, stay where you are.
Chiaki ignored the signal entirely. She raised her drink and drew on the straw, though the corner of her mouth had curved almost imperceptibly into a smile. She hadn't noticed that something small and quiet had begun to take root in her own chest.
Before long, Kei made her way to the point. "So, what do you think of me?"
She was fidgeting with her hair, unable to stop.
Ryunosuke set down his cup and let the silence sit for a moment. "Honestly, we don't know each other very well yet, do we? Between the two of us, we've only really talked twice."
Kei's expression dimmed. She thought she was being turned down. Then his next sentence pulled her right back.
"But you're a good person. I can say that much with certainty."
From the side, Chiaki let out a quiet click of her tongue. (You're this skilled at saying exactly the right thing to a woman, and you still dragged me here to listen to it. You did this on purpose, didn't you?)
She felt irritated, though she couldn't entirely explain why. Overall she was still glad for her friend's sake. He hadn't rejected her, which meant there was still a chance.
(It's just... why does something feel slightly off in my chest?)
Across the table, Kei's face had gone pink. She asked in a nervous voice, "In that case, would you want to try going out together? I should make it clear, there's absolutely nothing between me and Hirata. The most contact we've ever had is linking arms."
She was quick to explain. She didn't want him thinking she had done anything with Hirata. She had no such history, and she didn't want the person she cared about to get the wrong idea about her.
She watched him and waited. She had put herself out there; now all she could do was breathe through the tension and wait for his answer.
Ryunosuke set down his cup. After a pause, he agreed, but with a condition. He looked at her calmly. "You already know I'm in a relationship with Arisu, right?"
Kei nodded slowly. That was common knowledge throughout the school by now. Ryunosuke continued, "That relationship is real. Knowing that, are you still willing to go out with me?"
He was giving her fair warning. This was only what was visible. On the surface, Arisu was his girlfriend, but behind the scenes there were already others. He needed to test Kei first. If she accepted this much, he would ease her into the rest one step at a time.
Kei agreed to terms that sounded entirely unreasonable on their face. What choice did she have? She had come late to this. She was effectively a third party, so objecting felt out of place. What mattered was being with Ryunosuke. Whether she eventually outranked Arisu was a question for later.
What Kei didn't know was that Arisu sat in fifth place, with four people ahead of her, and several more entirely outside the school. Becoming first among them was likely impossible. And beyond all of them, somewhere out there, was Shiina Mahiru, who held an actual marriage certificate.
They were now officially together. Even so, to avoid unnecessary complications, Ryunosuke asked Kei not to spread news of their relationship freely. In exchange, he gave her a promise: whatever happened in the future, if she ever came looking for him, he would help. No matter what it was.
That was the security he offered her.
After a little while in the café, they prepared to leave. Ryunosuke offered to walk Kei back to her dormitory.
Chiaki put on her sunglasses and followed from a distance. She was worried that if left alone, the two of them might lose their better judgment and do something they shouldn't.
She wasn't entirely sure why she cared so much. But one thing she was certain of: she did not want Ryunosuke and Kei to sleep together.
When they reached the door to Kei's room, Kei made her offer.
"Do you want to come in for a bit?" She shifted slightly to open the way for him, her face faintly pink, her intentions not entirely subtle.
Ryunosuke raised his hand and gently touched her forehead. "Another time."
Kei covered the spot with both hands, murmuring with embarrassed warmth, "Why another time? What's wrong with right now?"
Ryunosuke ran his hand slowly over her hair. "It's moving too fast. I don't want you to regret it."
Without waiting for her response, he turned and walked away. Kei stood in the doorway for a moment, then the corner of her mouth slowly lifted.
"What is he thinking, honestly. Such a coward."
She went inside bouncing slightly with each step, her mood clearly better than it had been in quite some time.
Ryunosuke turned into a small alley. "You can come out now."
Chiaki appeared from around the corner. Ryunosuke smiled. "Can I walk you back?"
"You won't even let me go either, you absolute Casanova." She hit him once with her bag and headed off toward her own dormitory at a brisk pace, with no intention of letting him do any such thing.
Ryunosuke shrugged, unbothered, and headed home.