Vol. 2 Chapter 27 – Love, Lust, and an Invitation

—The following Monday, during lunch break.

“…Ogata-san, what happened?” (Reiya)

When I entered our usual classroom to eat lunch, I found Ogata-san face-down on her desk, looking dead to the world.

“She says she got totally chewed out during rehearsals for her starring stage role over the weekend,” Yuuma answered for the still-deceased Ogata-san.

“Ah… I see. Sorry about that, contacting you out of the blue when you were dealing with something so tough.” (Reiya)
“Well, that part’s fine… I was the one who offered to help in the first place…” (Akane)

Oh, she’s alive.

“What are you talking about?” (Yuuma)

As I sat down and took out the lunch I’d bought, Yuuma asked.

“On Saturday, I ended up going out with Hikaru unexpectedly, so I asked Ogata-san for recommendations on places to go.” (Reiya)
“Hoh~… So you were on a date. Where’d you go?” (Yuuma)
“We went shopping at XX Mall, visited a fortune-telling place… and ate donuts, stuff like that.” (Reiya)
“While we were sadly spending our time alone, you two were happily on a date. How enviable,” Hayato, who had arrived earlier, chimed in resentfully.

I thought about retorting, but swallowed my words, figuring anything I said might be taken as bragging.

“So, did the date go well?” (Akane)
“Well, thanks to you, I think it went well.” (Reiya)
“Hmm… Yeah, now that you mention it, you kinda look like it. Like you’ve become more manly, or gained some confidence?” (Akane)
“You think? I can’t really tell myself…” (Reiya)
“Could it be… Did you… Do it?” (Hayato)

As I tilted my head at Ogata-san’s words, Hayato suddenly cut in with that question.

“Do…? N-No, no, no, there’s no way…” (Reiya)
“Liar! When a guy you haven’t seen for a few days suddenly shows up looking all confident, there’s no explanation other than losing his virginity! Tell the truth! You did it, didn’t you!? With Asahi Hikaru! You made an enemy of half of humanity, didn’t you!?” (Hayato)
“Reiya! How was it!? What did it feel like!?” (Yuuma)

Hayato was spouting nonsense excitedly, and even Yuuma jumped on the bandwagon.

“No, I told you, we didn’t…” (Reiya)

I said, exasperated with the two of them.

I might have gotten a few steps short of that point, but what didn’t happen, didn’t happen.

“Then what’s with that suggestive bandage on your neck?” (Hayato)
“I-It’s just a scratch…” (Reiya)

Regarding that, he wasn’t entirely wrong, so I flinched slightly.

“Besides, don’t talk about stuff like that in front of a girl…” (Reiya)
“Oh, I don’t mind at all. If anything, I hear girls talking amongst themselves about way raunchier stuff all the time.” (Akane)

I thought I was being considerate, but she said it so nonchalantly.

Way raunchier stuff girls talk about…

It’d be a lie to say I’m not curious, but it sounds scary, so I’d rather not hear it.

But does Hikaru talk about things like that too…?

“Haaah… Still, I’m jealous things are going so well for you, Kageyama-kun…” (Akane)

Saying that, Ogata-san flopped back down onto her desk.

“Are things that stuck for you, Ogata-san?” (Reiya)
“Yeah… This weekend was the first time rehearsing with other people, and the director and producer just ripped into me nonstop. My confidence is totally shot…” (Akane)

She drooped, looking like she might melt under the summer sun at any moment. Gudee…

It was the first time I’d seen her, usually so bright, this down.

“If the lead actress messes up, the whole production grinds to a halt, so it causes trouble for everyone else… I just feel so bad about it, so incredibly bad…” (Akane)
“That sounds rough…” (Reiya)
“Aaargh, enough! What even is love!? I seriously don’t get it at all!” (Akane)

Just when I thought she was depressed, she started raging.

Yeah, she’s really going through it…

“Hey, Kageyama-kun… Since things are going so well for you, teach me about love…” (Akane)
“If anyone heard you say that, it could lead to a huge misunderstanding, so please stop…” (Reiya)
“But I really, really don’t get it… What is ‘like’? Is it different from sex drive?” (Akane)

Perhaps feeling she had nothing left to lose, she asked bluntly, without choosing her words.

“Sex drive…” (Reiya)
“But didn’t a famous writer once say, ‘Love is merely the poetic expression received by the sex drive’?” (Yuuma)

As I hesitated, unsure how to answer, Yuuma chimed in.

“Hae~… Is that right? Well then, based on that, what do you think? From your perspective, Kageyama-kun.” (Akane)
“Why me… And isn’t that question a bit too sensitive…?” (Reiya)
“Come on, come on, don’t say that, just tell me. I helped you out too, didn’t I?” (Akane)
“Urk… Well, that’s true, but…” (Reiya)

She had me there.

It was true that thanks to the fortune-telling place Ogata-san recommended, the distance between Hikaru and me had certainly shrunk.

“I need to logically unravel ‘like’!” (Akane)
“Logically…? I don’t think it really works like that…” (Reiya)
“Anyway, just tell me what you think, Kageyama-kun! What’s the difference between love and sex drive!?” (Akane)

Ogata-san slammed her hand on the desk with a bang.

“Okay… This is just what I think, but…” (Reiya)

Overwhelmed by her sheer desperation, I gave in and stated my opinion after that preface.

“First off, sex drive is instinctual, right?” (Reiya)
“Well, I don’t really get that either, but probably? Ultimately, it’s an emotion rooted in the reproductive instinct, right?” (Akane)

Perhaps because she herself didn’t feel such emotions strongly, her phrasing was direct and raw.

“And… I think romantic feelings are what you get when human, rational affection combines with that instinctual emotion. So it’s not like there’s a clear difference, it’s more like… really ambiguous, or patchily mixed together…” (Reiya)
“Hmm… So, what parts of Hikaru does your rational side feel affection for?” (Akane)
“What parts… that’s actually pretty difficult…” (Reiya)

Now that she mentioned it, I don’t think I’d ever really considered that.

It was love at first sight initially, and from then on, as we spent time together, I just vaguely started wanting to be with her.

Maybe actually verbalizing it properly is important, I thought, considering it seriously.

“I guess… the fact that it’s fun being with her…?” (Reiya)
“Fun being with her… Could you be more specific?” (Akane)
“For example… well, our hobbies align… and when we play games together, she’s really expressive and fun? Especially when she’s laughing next to me, it makes me happy too, somehow…” (Reiya)
“I see… But isn’t that an emotion that could apply to friends too?” (Akane)
“That’s true, but… like I said, when the… instinctual feelings between a man and a woman get patchily mixed in, it becomes an emotion similar to friendship but distinctly different…” (Reiya)
“Hmm, hmm… I don’t get that part, but using friendship as a baseline seems possible… What other parts do you like?” (Akane)

As Ogata-san asked that, beside her, Yuuma and Hayato—

“…You know, we’re basically being subjected to some serious lovey-dovey talk here, aren’t we?” (Yuuma)
“Mm… Yeah, you’re right…” (Hayato)

—I heard them whispering.

Yuuma aside, I expected Hayato to tease me more, but he was surprisingly quiet, listening to our conversation.

It made me feel inexplicably embarrassed, but I continued talking to repay my debt.

“Other things… She’s cool, maybe?” (Reiya)
“Cool? Hikaru?” (Akane)
“The first time I really noticed her was when she was playing tennis.” (Reiya)
“Ah, I get that. Normally she’s kinda spacey, but when she steps onto the court, she’s like a completely different person. The gap is amazing.” (Akane)

She nodded emphatically, showing strong agreement.

Hikaru when she’s having fun playing games, Hikaru when she’s clingy when we’re alone.

Each has its own distinct charm, but when she’s playing tennis, she possesses a higher-level charm different from the others.

It’s frustrating that my vocabulary can only express it as ‘cool.’

“Okay, next, let’s talk about the instinctual side. What kind of sexual attraction do you feel towards Hikaru, Kageyama-kun?” (Akane)

Just as I was reminiscing about Hikaru on the court, she asked without any hesitation.

“…No comment.” (Reiya)
“What!? Why not! You’ve said this much, you might as well tell me!” (Akane)
“That’s just too sensitive, impossible.” (Reiya)

Even though I owed her, there were lines I could cross and lines I couldn’t.

“Is it that even though she’s slim, her boobs are actually quite big?” (Akane)
“No comment.” (Reiya)
“Then, that tightly toned waist? Or maybe her beautifully lifted hipline?” (Akane)
“…No comment.” (Reiya)
“Ah, I got it! It’s the nape of her neck, pure white, that occasionally peeks out from under her short hair, right!?” (Akane)
“I told you, I’m not saying…” (Reiya)

Against Ogata-san’s persistent questioning, I somehow managed to protect the freedom of thought guaranteed by the constitution.

“Stingy…” (Akane)

She pouted, but there was no way I could admit she was pretty much right about everything.

“Anyway, about that kind of stuff… Wouldn’t you understand better if you asked the people you’re working with on the stage play?” (Reiya)

Stage actors must surely have more experience than a relationship novice like me.

Shouldn’t she have just asked them from the start?

That’s what I thought when I asked, but…

“Relationships between men and women in the theater world… are so rotten and twisted, they’re completely broken…” (Akane)

Ogata-san looked out the window with distant eyes and said sadly.

＊＊＊＊＊

And so, the long, long week ended, and Saturday arrived.

The time was early afternoon, the sun just past its peak.

Up until now, this was the time I’d wait at home for Hikaru to arrive, but today was the opposite.

It was the day I would visit her house for the first time to assemble the computer we bought last week.

I took the train, got off at a station I’d never been to before, and headed towards my destination while looking at the map on my phone.

A walk of just under ten minutes from the station brought me to a quiet residential area.

“Probably… around here… This is number three, so that way should be four…” (Reiya)

After walking for a bit through the neatly organized district—

“Found it…!” (Reiya)

I spotted a house with the name ‘Asahi’ written on the nameplate.

It was quite an impressive, modern two-story building, with a large garage in front that looked like it could fit two cars.

Unlike my place, it felt like a family lived there, but I’d heard beforehand that her parents were out.

I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to face the ‘epic fail greeting’ scenario, but I was still nervous.

I opened the gate and rang the doorbell next to the front door.

Without even a few seconds’ delay, the hurried clatter-clatter of footsteps echoed from inside.

The sound approached and stopped just on the other side of the door.

The clack-clack sound of a lock being undone, and—

“Welcome~!” (Hikaru)

A thin tank top, and shorts that revealed glimpses of her white thighs.

Hikaru greeted me with her usual beaming smile, looking even more unguarded than usual.