Episode 25: And Now We’re Mutually In Love Too?! Surely That’s Just Too Convenient, Right?!
Finally, Makina opened her mouth.
“Yotsuka. Earlier, you said you didn’t have the right.”
“…Yeah.”
“Doesn’t that mean, if you flip it around — that you cared about me that much, this whole time…?”
She paused there, and gave my hand a small squeeze.
“We’re childhood friends, right? Honestly, I never thought twice about the distance between us. I always figured none of it meant anything special…”
“Y-yeah.”
“But.”
She peered into my face, pausing for just a beat.
“Kissing you, telling you I liked you… I think I really meant it. For real.”
“Huh…?”
“Because, the more I think back on it… wait, hold on.”
Her voice started climbing, unsteady.
“Back in elementary school, when I got hurt at the park — you were the very first one there. Asking ‘are you okay?’ with this desperate look on your face.”
I remember that. Makina fell off the playground equipment and was crying.
“Why do I remember that face so clearly… why…”
“I— it wasn’t really that big a deal…”
“And when that wasp came flying at us, you stepped in front of me and said, ‘I’ll handle it.’ We just ended up running away together in the end, but… your back, right then, looked so incredibly cool to me.”
“We just ran away together, that’s all that happened—”
“And sharing an umbrella too — you gave me the umbrella when I forgot mine, and got soaked yourself. You ran a fever afterward, and you still asked if I was okay, worried about me instead.”
Each memory came faster and faster, her words tumbling over each other.
“And that thunderstorm the other night, too.”
“…………”
“Even scared, the only person I wanted to be held and protected by was you, Yotsuka… wait.”
She stopped, suddenly.
“Come to think of it, I’ve been touching you like it was just normal, this whole time! Holding hands, staying close!”
“Wait, seriously, you didn’t even realize?!”
“Because I thought it was just normal…”
“No, that is definitely not normal…”
“And also, whenever I saw you talking happily with Ia-chan, I’d get this weird, nagging feeling…”
“…Huh?”
“Was I… jealous, this whole time…?”
“Y-you’re lying?! With that composed face of yours?!”
“I never meant to let it show on my face at all…”
She stopped, dead still.
“Wait, hold on.”
“Wh-what.”
“This, all of this…”
Her eyes went wide, wider.
“I don’t want to hand you over to Ia-chan, or anyone else, and I want you to keep being mine, only mine, forever…”
“Th-that’s some serious possessiveness right there…”
“Yeah, it is. Possessive. There’s no hiding it anymore.”
Her voice wavered, just slightly.
“If I don’t answer you here, right now — you might just give up and walk away. Just imagining that made my chest feel like it was tearing apart…”
I couldn’t say anything back. All I could do was stare at Makina’s face.
“This isn’t something I can just brush off as ‘because we’re childhood friends.’ Not anymore.”
That one line landed, strangely clear, in the quiet classroom.
“Wait, hold on, I…”
She sounded like she was still catching up to her own words.
“I’m completely, hopelessly in love with you, aren’t I?”
She froze right there.
“…N-no way.”
“It’s not a lie… I’m honestly shocked myself, right now.”
“I can’t believe it — I genuinely thought you’d be the one to walk away…”
“Why?”
“It just feels too convenient, or something…”
“Too convenient is exactly what we’re good at, isn’t it?”
“This could still just be some momentary mix-up on your part—”
She froze for a second, like something clicked, then her expression snapped serious again.
“Knew you’d say that. Words alone aren’t enough for you, are they, Yotsuka.”
Somewhere along the way, our joined hands had come apart.
“Want proof?”
Makina gently took my hand back.
“I think you’ll understand if I kiss you.”
“Wh— wha?!”
“You said kissing me made you happy. So if I kiss you again, and I’m happy too — that means we feel the same way, doesn’t it? Am I wrong?”
“N-no, that’s just, however you want to interpret it!”
“Honestly, it’s not fair. You’re the only one who got to feel happy about it.”
“You’re the one who did it in the first place!”
“…Say it again.”
“Huh?”
“Say it again. Properly, this time.”
Looking straight into Makina’s eyes, I opened my mouth.
“…I love you. I really, really love you, Makina.”
The moment I said it, her eyes welled up with tears.
She squeezed my hand, and leaned in over the desk.
“Wait, h-hold on, I need to mentally prepare—”
Softly, our lips met, and just as quickly, they parted with a look of lingering reluctance.
“……What should I do, Yotsuka?”
Up close, I met Makina’s gaze.
“I think I might be way happier than I ever imagined…”
As if not wanting to let go, her fingertips gently traced my cheek.
“Hey, Yotsuka, one more time.”
“Wait, didn’t that already prove…?”
“I don’t care about proof. I’m too happy, it’s still not enough.”
With that, she leaned in close again.
Our lips met once more.
“W-Wait…”
After our lips separated, Makina murmured in a daze.
“I want more.”
“Huh…?”
“I find myself thinking… I want more and more.”
Even Makina seemed flustered by her own words.
“It’s scary, Yotsuka. I feel like I won’t be able to stop…”
“Wait, are you joking…?”
“I’m serious. Because I’ve never felt this fulfilled before.”
Just like that, I squeezed her trembling fingertips back.
Maybe that alone was enough to convey it.
Without saying anything more, she quietly pressed her lips to mine once again.
No way, wait, is this real?
My brain still hasn’t caught up at all—just as I thought that, Makina stood up from her chair.
With the desk pushed aside, the distance that had separated us vanished in an instant.
Before I knew it, Makina had straddled my lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Hey, why are you sitting here?! Besides, you’re close, way too close!”
“It’s way too late for that now.”
Cupping my cheeks firmly with both hands, she leaned in to keep me from escaping.
“I love you, Yotsuka.”
The kisses that descended upon me were deeper and more passionate than anything before.
Against the gentle, yielding pressure, my thoughts short-circuited in a single second.
“So more… please.”
She pulled back, only to change the angle and press against me again immediately.
Chu—the wet sound echoed through the quiet classroom with startling vividness.
“M-Makina, hold on a second, how many times are you gonna…?!’
“……I don’t know.”
Without even being given a moment to breathe, over and over again.
Makina’s arms gently slipped around the back of my neck.
Hold on… God… is this really okay? Is everything allowed to be this convenient, for me?