Chapter 48 - Confession

On the way to school.

This was the first time he used the bicycle bought by his father to go to school. Normally he would just walk because of the close distance of the school, but today was a special case.

Just this morning, after finishing his morning exercise and he was about to go home, he saw a dog that had a collar around its neck, looking at the dog's confused movements, he realized that it seemed to be lost and was looking for its master.

He approached the dog, petted it a little, and then took it to the park. In the center of the park, he waited with the dog for its master. Since the park was a fairly conspicuous place and it could also be seen from all directions.

Fortunately, the dog's owner found them. After calming down his excited dog, the dog owner thanked him and took the dog away. Problem solved.

But, when he returned home, he found out that he was too late. The water for bathing was already cold, so without taking a shower, he immediately put on his uniform. Eating only one slice of bread, he said goodbye to his mother in a hurry. Fortunately, he still remembered that he had a bicycle, so he still had hope.

Riding his bicycle quickly, he entered the gate and parked it in the bicycle parking lot on the right side of the school. Running in, changing his shoes, then finally entering the classroom.

*ding dong deng deng!

"fiuh... Still on time."

The entrance bell rang just as he entered the classroom. It was very thin, luckily he was still safe and not late. "Good morning", he greeted his classmates along the way. He walked to his seat, sat down and started setting up his study tools.

"You were almost late Toru-kun! Why did you come so late?", Juutaro who was on the bench in front of him asked. Looking both curious and relieved.

"There were a few things that happened, but luckily everything is over, and I also still managed to arrive on time"

"Something? Well, that's fine. As long as you're not late. I thought you might be sick or something because I still haven't seen you even when the entrance bell almost ringing"

Ame who was on his left side, hearing Juutaro's words also began to join in, "In the end, it's all about time too. I could just stop time for you and make you come here at your usual time, but that would be unfair to everyone else. Ugh, great power does come with great responsibility"

"..."

"..."

*zrrrrr!

"sit in your respective places. We will start our morning homeroom."

"""""ya sensei"""""

Takashi sensei entered the classroom, and morning homeroom began.

Ame seemed to have relapsed again, so he and Juutaro would just ignore him for now until he was back to normal. Ame's current mode was too complicated for them to understand.

----------

'hmm... I'm curious about what Midori wants to talk about'

While walking towards the library, Ryousuke thought to himself. As promised, after school dismissal time, he went to the library to meet with Midori.

With the book he borrowed from her already in his bag, he looked towards the library building that was already visible in front of him and was about to enter.

But, it turned out that the person he met was in front of the library. She was with her head bowed, leaning against the wall.

"Midori!", he called out to her.

"R-Ryousuke kun"

"Why are you standing in front of the library, not going in?"

"N-no, Umm... I was thinking of talking about what I want to tell you elsewhere"

"Is that so? Alright, where are we going?"

"Here."

He followed Midori walking. Walking behind her, they made their way to the back of the library building. An area where there was no one around.

The back of the library building had one medium-sized tree that was suitable for shade. He don't know what kind of tree it was, but other than the tree that looked the most conspicuous, what was seen around was only neatly arranged garden grass and also some small trees.

'hmm? Why are we going to a place like this? A quiet place like this... It looks like Midori is about to confess to me'

He curiously looked at Midori, who had stopped right under the tree. Turning around, Midori with a red face and also a hand holding something was seen.

Ryousuke began to feel that something was wrong. Seeing her quiet behavior without a hint of conversation between them, the quiet place, and also this atmosphere, no no. Calm down, calm down... Let's see what she really wants to talk about.

"Midori?"

"Ryousuke kun... "

"..huh? "

"Will... "

"W-will? "

"Will you be my lover?! "

"... "

"..."

"...Eh?! "

With a flushed face, sweating nervously, she pushed out a letter held in her hand and handed it to Ryousuke with both hands. While slightly bowing, she confessed to him.

'Wh-what-what is this?! Did Midori just confess to me?!'

Ryousuke stood still in place. His mouth was wide open, and he felt very surprised. Who would have thought that Midori, the innocent and shy girl he knew, would dare to make a move and confess to him?

'Fuhh... Hahh... Calm down, calm down. ' he tried to calm himself down. Right now in front of him was the girl who was waiting for an answer from him, depending on his answer, the relationship between them would change from just friends. Be it a good change, or a bad change. It all depended on his answer.

Heh...

He didn't need to think about it anymore right? Actually, he also knew that he liked the girl in front of him. He wanted to protect this fragile girl and make her happy. The feelings that were originally just casual started to change, and he found out that he liked her.

So obviously, he would accept it!

"?!"

Taking the love letter from Midori's hand, he nodded and said with a red face. "I accept. Please cooperate from now on, Midori"

"H-hh-Haaaaaaiii!!!"

Midori repeatedly nodded her head excitedly. Her face was completely red, and without any focus in her eyes, she just stood still with one thought in her head.

'He accepted it?! Ryousuke kun accepted my confession! That-that means the two of us are now dating!'

Her heartbeat was beating fast. She had prepared herself for any eventuality, and she had known the consequences of her actions. Surely, after her confession, their relationship would no longer be the same. Whether Ryosuke rejected her or accepted her, their friendship would never be the same again.

But he accepted it!

Now, facing a possibility that she actually thought had little chance of success, she was at a loss as to how to act.

Should she hug him? Or maybe kiss him? Aaaa! She had no idea!

"We're dating now, Midori"

While Midori was still standing with her mind still confused, Ryousuke began to continue his words.

"I'm surprised by this. I thought you wanted to talk about books, but apparently... You confessed to me. Hahaha, what a surprise! "

"I actually like you too. At first, I only saw you as an insecure girl, but after getting to know you better, I know that you're a good girl... A Very good girl. "

"At our meeting last week, when you told me about yourself and your parents at the city museum, I started thinking... Ahh, I should protect you. I want to protect this kind-hearted girl, and make her smile. Make her life better. At that moment... I started to realize that I liked you"

"It's a little embarrassing but... Thank you, Midori. I promise I'll make you smile from now on."

"....?!"

Utterly shocking words came out of his mouth. Midori looked at him with a look that was both surprised and radiant. Love, awe, happiness, all the feelings were mixed together and without thinking of anything else, she started to lunge towards him strongly and hugged him.

"Yes! Please cooperate too, Ryousuke kun! ♡"