Another Promise

"Stupid or not, it's a mistake alright. So better come here and eat it up."

Takuya sighed in his heart, he doesn't know why he always listens to her. Although he doesn't talk to anyone often, he still had made some friendly relationships over the years. She was one of them — they got closer when he was in the football club.

"You better listen to her, or she's gonna pull some other stunt like 'heartless jerk,' which is quite famous right now."

He heard another voice, one he was quite familiar with — it was the brother of Aoi, Kuge Daiki. This guy was quite buffed up and handsome. He doesn't know why, but all the rich people he had seen till now were beautiful and handsome — is it really the aura of richness?

"Fine, just give me the lunch box. I'll eat it at my seat."

"No can do, let's go to the cafeteria and eat together."

In the end, he still had to go to the cafeteria.

"Aisawa-san, you will come, right? Please don't say no, even th—"

"Sure."

"Hm... really? Let's go then."

Takuya sighed again. This was even more awkward for him, and why did she even agree? The last two days, he had seen her eating her lunch here. Even when Aoi invited her before, she declined. Well, she even agreed to invite Aoi to her home, so it would seem rude if she said no to this simple request. Yup, that must be it.

"You guys won't mind me if I tag along, do you?"

This was the voice of the most diligent student in the class — class president, Tenka Haruto. Takuya had very minimal interaction with him, so he didn't even know him well. But others had a good relationship with him — after all, he was the class president and also had quite an outgoing personality. In fact, he could be considered Daiki's best friend, so it wasn't surprising if he wanted to tag along.

Takuya thought of something else — just like many others, even Tenka had tried talking to Yukina on her first day, but even he got the cold shoulder treatment just like everyone else. It might have seemed like Tenka wanted to talk as the class president, but Takuya thought that wasn't the case. Yukina was just too beautiful, and there was no doubt even Tenka wanted to approach her in a romantic way — and the funny part was, this guy already had a girlfriend. She studied in a different school though.

"Tenka-san, although I wouldn't mind, if Aisawa-san doesn't want to, then sorry to disappoint you."

"I don't care."

A simple yet cold answer. Tenka smiled awkwardly when he heard that. Well, Takuya had to admit it — the answer was perfect. She discarded the whole issue like it was thin air. Even Aoi felt sorry for Tenka.

They all went to the cafeteria and sat at a single table. As expected, everyone — even the girls — glanced at them like they were some stars. Well, technically they were. No matter how much of a loner he had become now, he used to be the top player of the soccer club in this school. Daiki was still in the soccer club and was also the captain of the team — not to mention filthy rich and handsome. Tenka was the most intelligent of them, quite reputable even among the teachers, who had high hopes for him.

There's no need to even talk about the other two. One was the second most beautiful girl in the school, and the other was the topmost. Forget the school — they might not find her match in the whole of Japan. If Takuya thought about it that way, then he might be the most unnoticeable of the group.

Takuya, Daiki, and Tenka sat in one row, while Yukina and Aoi sat in front of them. Aoi wanted to sit in front of Takuya, but Yukina took the spot first, so Aoi sat in front of her brother. Takuya felt even more awkward. He wanted to look at her, but at the same time, he didn't want to do that out of his own guilt.

"Here. From now on, you're eating whatever I bring for you, and you better not complain about it."

Takuya looked at the lunch box passed to him. It looked damn expensive. He didn't know what kind of wood it was made of, but there was a fucking ruby in the middle of the box, and it was quite big. He really wanted to ask her if she mistakenly bought a jewelry box instead of a lunch box, but he kept himself quiet since her lunch box was of a similar type. She had already opened it, and there was definitely food inside.

He sighed and opened the box. There were a lot of unique dishes inside, and he was sure everything was prepared by some of Japan's top master chefs. His eyes unconsciously drifted to Yukina's lunch box. Well, he couldn't help it — she was sitting in front of him. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, unconsciously, he still wanted to see her. Quite the contradiction indeed.

"Let's eat."

As usual, Aoi was talkative, so it was impossible for it to be quiet while eating, and her main attention was none other than Takuya.

"So, you're really not gonna come back to the soccer club?"

"Nope."

"Why? Don't tell me you really lost your skills."

"Yup, I did."

Takuya didn't want to say that he just got bored — could he?

"Really huh… what if I pay you 1,000,000 yen per month?"

Takuya paused for a moment and couldn't help thinking how many novels he could buy with that, but he still declined.

"Nope, I'm not joining back."

"Aghhh… as boring as ever."

"Whatever. It's got nothing to do with you."

"What do you mean by that? I fucking liked seeing you play, you moron."

"Whatever. Just watch recordings and don't pester me now — let me eat."

"Ya ya, dumbass. I'm going to bring something to drink for everyone."

"Thank you."

Finally, she left him alone. Before he could relax, he felt a nudge on his arm from Daiki. Daiki beckoned him to come closer and spoke in a hushed tone.

"You do know why she's acting like that, right?"

Takuya couldn't help thinking about what mistake he'd made recently. He thought for a while, but nothing came to mind. There was only one possibility left — maybe she was on her period? He couldn't ask Daiki though.

"As expected, you don't know. I thought as much. Remember what you did last week?"

What he did last week? There wasn't anything particularly noticeable. If he had to point out one thing, it would be the love letter he got after many months. Nobody sends him love letters anymore — they all know it's pointless — but he still got one. It was surprising, but he still threw it away without even reading the sender's name, as usual.

When he thought about Aoi's recent behavior, he couldn't help but guess — was it from her? No way, right? She's the second most beautiful girl in school. The number of guys trying to ask her out is way more than he can imagine. Forget this school — people from all over Japan might be trying to get in her good graces. After all, she's the only daughter of the Kuge family. Even if she were ugly, people would still die to marry her.

If he really thought carefully, then yes, she did show some interest in him when he was in the soccer club, but he always thought that was normal.

Fuck, did he lose his chance at living a golden life, living happily without doing anything? All the novels he could've bought — forget novels, he could've bought the authors themselves exclusively.

Takuya really felt a little regret now, but only a little. Even if he got another chance, he wouldn't take it. The reason was the girl in front of him. No matter how much he denied it, he would never be able to forget her.

It's true that they don't talk nowadays, and it's his fault, but he still wanted to ask her for forgiveness. He wasn't able to do so because he thought she didn't want to talk to him, but even if she didn't want to talk, all he had to do was say sorry in front of her.

She could ignore it if she wanted, but at least she would have already heard it.

There was another reason for it, though. He had already broken one promise to her by leaving her alone. Well, since his father got transferred, he had to move — but he was happy about it and made that stupid remark which he couldn't take back, so there was no doubt it was his fault.

But there was another promise they had made to each other. Well, technically, it was her who made it first and asked him to accept it — or she would beat him up. She was really quite feisty when she was little. He was going to promise her anyway, so when he heard her threat, he just nodded like a pecking duck and promised her back with the same words.

He couldn't help but feel a little happy while thinking about what she had said.

...

"Hey, Takuya."

"What is it?"

"When we grow up, I'm going to marry you."

"Huh? Where did that come from? We're still kids, and don't married people always fight? Didn't you say your father left your mother? Weren't they married?"

"Shut up, you big dummy! Weren't your father and mother still together? Not everyone's a jerk like my father! And we're talking about you here — do you think you're a jerk like him?"

"No way."

"Then you better promise me right now, or—" she raised her fist.

"Okay okay, I promise I'll marry you."

.....

There was not a single day boring for him, when he was with her, no matter how many repetitive things they had done.