Chapter 4 Part I

It took around 30 minutes for me to make contact with my target, Sakura. What feelings would she react with towards Kushida's invitation. That's something only the person in question would know, but she's unlikely to be in a calm state of mind. On the other hand, I was in standby mode at the location promised beforehand awaiting Sakura's arrival. 

As Yamauchi said, I cannot afford to keep her waiting, but having me wait in advance for 30 minutes is just too early. The phone I had kept on silent mode in my pocket vibrates. 

"Hello?".

"H-how is it? Can you see Sakura yet?".

"Not at all. She probably won't be here until at least around 10 minutes prior, won't she?".

"I-I see, Kuu---I'm getting nervous!".

From a slight distance while glancing towards me, Yamauchi waves his hands. Although he doesn't wish to be seen, he must have been curious from the look of things and came to see for himself. 

"Hey Yamauchi, is it really fine to give me the role of handing it over? I really think it would be better if you gave it to her yourself".

"I-it's impossible, I'm telling you. I've had a trauma ever since I was little and whenever I'm under extreme stress my hands tremble".

I think that a majority of people would likely tremble if placed under extreme stress though...

"I understand your desire to not mess up but why don't you think it over a little more? Does a love letter delivered indirectly really have value?".

"No but doesn't this happen quite often? A cute girl gets asked out after school but contrary to her expectations, she ends up getting confessed to by an ugly man. That sort of pattern. In that sense, this is the reverse pattern of that. I asked Kushida to keep it a secret that I called her out here. In other words, if she realizes it's Ayanokouji who's waiting for her she'll be disappointed. But if she realizes that it's in fact me who's doing the confession, through comparing the two of us my evaluation of her will inevitably improve, that sort of thing. That's why Ayanokouji, when you're handing that letter over to her, don't mention my existence. It's better to let her think she's being confessed to by someone like you instead" Yamauchi told me. 

He speaks of his strategy with loquaciousness but doesn't seem to mind that he's been badmouthing me the whole time. I'm not planning on criticising that goal of his, but it's an unmistakable fact that it's better to consider Sakura's feelings too. 

"No matter how much your feelings are conveyed through the letter, a confession from someone she can't even see might be scary for her".

"T-that's...".

There's still time. I might be able to get him to reconsider. A confession, basically, is a one-time event. Even Yamauchi would not want to do it in a way that would leave behind regrets. 

"There's still time. I think you should reconsider. That's why you wrote this letter right?".

"That's true but...uuuu---I wonder if I should confess in person.....".

At last, even inside Yamauchi, a single conclusion seems to be forming. 

"...Ayanokouji-kun?".

Just as I thought I could hear faint footsteps from behind me, a voice like that called out to me. 

"Sakura's here! I'll leave the rest to you!".

It seems Yamauchi was trying to drum up the courage, but since Sakura had arrived earlier than expected, he panicked and cut the call. As for me too, since I had already made contact with Sakura, there was nothing else I could do either. All that's left is to hand over the letter Yamauchi entrusted me with.

"It's a coincidence, right".

"Ahh, no. You were called out here by Kushida right?".

"Y-Yeah. She said she needed to talk to me about something...she said it was something important".

I looked around, but obviously, there was no one else but me. 

"The truth is, I asked Kushida for a favor and had her call you out here".

Strictly speaking, it wasn't me but it can't be helped even if it confuses her here. 

"Ayanokouji-kun did? I-I see. That's a relief. Normally I don't have much contact with Kushida-san so I was afraid I had done something to make her angry".

She patted her chest in relief. It seems that the Sakura that was called out by Kushida no longer feels uneasy. Towards that Sakura, I decided to confront her with a simple question.

"Even so you're quite early. There's still about 30 minutes until the promised time".

"That's...I was anxious that I needed to get here early".

Still flustered, she explains as such to me. 

"But I see, it was Ayanokouji-kun. The one who called me. I'm really relieved".

As she pats her chest after having felt relief from the bottom of her heart, the nervousness she had felt earlier unravelled and her expression returned to its usual calmness. 

"But why? If you wanted me for something you could've just directly called me out".

"Ahh, no, it's a bit. There's a bit of a complicated situation going on".

"A complicated situation?".

How do I explain this? In regards to this, I was also slightly troubled. Biologically speaking, I've already extensively studied the difference between men and women academically but when it comes to applying that knowledge in reality like this, I had not learnt any strategies. And here the problem isn't only the difference between our sexes but I will also need to factor in Sakura's individual personality and feelings as well. This is a complex and strange aspect of society that human beings with intellect had constructed.

Time had been passing while I had been considering that. The longer the silence, the more her caution would rise. 

"The thing is...I had Kushida call you out because I wanted to hand this over to you".

The letter Yamauchi entrusted me with, I offered it to Sakura. 

"This is...?".

"I'd like you to accept it without asking too much. If you read the contents I'm sure you'll understand" I told Sakura.

If the deliverer himself explains it, the meaning behind the letter will be diminished. I handed it over like that. 

"O-ok".

I felt something similar to guilt and so I averted my gaze. 

On the other hand Sakura kept looking back and forth between me and the letter to try and make sense of the situation. 

"L...etter....behind school building....a boy...".

The Sakura who received the letter, while staring at someplace far away, weakly whispered something to herself. Woah, but the way I just said it it could be taken to mean I'm the one who wrote that letter. 

That is bad. 

"I was entrusted with this from a guy who's in hiding. The sender says you'll understand if you read it. He seems to have bad handwriting, but it seems he's given it his all in writing this letter".

I properly followed up to make sure there would be no accidents. 

"A, Awawa.....this is...awawawa!?".

Perhaps this is a letter of confession from a boy, such a prediction had already grown inside of Sakura it seems. She had lost her calmness and her gaze seems to be staring out towards the day after tomorrow. Even if she opens the letter and reads it here, her reaction would be a problem for me so it's better for me to quickly leave this location. 

"And with that I've handed it over. All that's left is for you to properly make your decision. Then if you find it difficult to give me an answer directly, you can send it by chat or through a phone call, that's fine" I told her. 

In Sakura's case, there is a possibility that she would be unable to say either 'Yes' or 'No' after all. I should help her with at least that. 

"Ko, kokoko, kokoko".

"Are you a chicken?".

"N-no. That's not it. T-this is a l-lov.....".

"Yeah. It's a love letter" I said.

"Kyuuuu!?".

"Woah".

I quickly moved to support the girl who came dangerously close to falling over backwards. 

"Are you ok?".

Just by touching her back with my hand, I could tell her body was burning up. This must have been unexpected. And besides, she may be trying to figure out who the letter came from in her head. 

"Umm, umm umm!".

Suddenly opening her eyes, she moved her body with an incredible vigor. After I had confirmed she's now standing on her own feet, I released my hand from her back. 

"Horikita.....-san! Do you think she'll be angry!?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm? Horikita?".

There's no reason why she should get angry. If she happened to see me delivering the letter in place of Yamauchi she would probably exasperatedly sigh while saying something like "You're getting yourself involved in something pointless again. Haa". 

At the very least it's not something that would make her angry.

I thought for a moment she mistook me for the one confessing, but when I handed over the letter, I did properly say "I was entrusted with this from a guy who's in hiding". She shouldn't have misunderstood me. 

"U, uwa.....uwa.....".

But Sakura's face only got redder and redder and from the nervousness, it seemed as though she was about to lose consciousness. It's just, I don't think this is a reaction from just receiving the letter. 

This feels like a situation where the man handing over the confession letter is right in front of her.....

If so, regardless of the confession, it wouldn't be strange if Sakura panics. Even I could cause a panic if it becomes a situation like that. If so, I can also now understand the reason why Horikita's name came out. 

"Sakura. Just in case I'll repeat myself.....I was entrusted with that letter by another man, do you get that?". 

As I said that again, Sakura's shoulders trembled. 

"Ehh---ahh, it's not Ayanokouji-kun....?".

"I said so earlier, right? I was just asked to deliver it".

".....I see. Of course it's like that. There's no way something like that, is possible.....b-b-but, what should I do with this!?".

"There's nothing to do but read it and give your answer".

I tried to leave since I'd only be in the way but I was pulled by the cuffs on my clothes. 

"Ehh---! Impossible, impossible! I can't do...".

"Have you never been confessed to before?".

"Never!".

Sakura answers me quickly like that. It seemed like she'd be confessed to a number of times given that she's this cute. But that's just because I'm looking at the Sakura now, the story might have been different with the Sakura from before. 

"This letter.....won't you read it, together with me.....?".

Together...in the first place the contents are written as per my instructions. If Sakura doesn't have the necessary courage to read it alone, it's not like I can't cooperate with her but.....

That sort of scene, Yamauchi probably doesn't want something like that.

"For now won't you at least read the letter alone? That's also the responsibility of me who was entrusted with the letter. It might be a burden for you, but please understand". 

"Ok.....".

Since Sakura did not seem at all happy about this, I decided to follow up a bit.

"There's also the possibility that it's from someone you like" I told her. 

"That possibility no longer exists...".

"Hmm?".

"Ahh, umm! That's, because I don't have anyone I like. I-I'll try reading it!".

Nodding, Sakura slightly adjusts her gaze and lowers her head, and returns towards the dormitory. She'll probably return to her room to read the letter Yamauchi had written. 

"H-how did it go!? What's the feeling!? Did she seem happy!?".

Having confirmed from afar that Sakura had returned to the dormitory with the letter in hand, Yamauchi rushed over and asked me that nervously. I do understand his desire to ask various things, but if that's the case, he should've been the one to hand it over from the start. 

"She hasn't read the letter yet. Her judgement will come from now I think".

"J-judgement, don't use such a scary word. I believe it will be absolutely fine!".

"I'll ask just in case but what's your basis for that?".

"That's, judging from her mannerisms when she's talking with me, I guess".

"Mannerisms?".

"How should I put it, she shyly averts her gaze. Isn't it because she's conscious of me that she can't look directly at me?".

No.....I think that's simply because Sakura is bad at dealing with people face-to-face. 

"That's not all. Whenever she talks with me, after that she always sort of heavily sighs. Isn't that what you'd call a sigh of love? Doesn't that happen, thinking of someone you love and going "Haa~" and sighing. I can feel an omen like that" Yamauchi said. 

I think that's probably, because she's tired after dealing with someone like Yamauchi who talks to her with high tension.....

But even something that obvious, when it comes to a person you like, one would be blinded to such things.