The girls' dorm. The night had already grown deep, and Mei-Yu Wang lay in bed with her phone cupped in both hands, her whole body curled up under the covers, only a pair of violet-red eyes showing as they stared hard at the small screen in front of her.
The glow of the screen lit up her face. Her expression right now could only be described as tense, because on the other side of that chat window was Shikime Natsu.
Her finger hovered above the screen and refused to come down, as though she were weighing something. Still, in the end she tapped out a few characters.
[Mei-Yu Wang: Natsu]
Yes. All she had managed to type was Shikime Natsu's name. And even that felt too abrupt somehow, so she deleted it and set about rearranging her words.
[Mei-Yu Wang: Natsu, do you have any free time tomorrow?]
She looked at the line, hesitated, then took it back.
Wasn't that far too direct?
If Shikime Natsu already had plans tomorrow, asking him like that would leave him with no good way to answer, wouldn't it?
And if Shikime Natsu turned her down, she'd be mortified...
The thought left her expression troubled.
She bit her lip, brows drawing together, finger sliding aimlessly back and forth across the screen. She simply didn't know how to start.
What she wanted was to invite Shikime Natsu to go pick up the pieces from their pottery session.
The cup they had made at the pottery workshop last time should be out of the kiln by now.
She wanted the two of them to go collect it together. Of course, the real point was seeing Shikime Natsu — she just wasn't sure whether he had the time.
After all, Shikime Natsu had so many girlfriends. If she went and helped herself to his time without asking, wouldn't those girlfriends of his be upset?
The thought put a small knot of unease in her chest.
Even though she'd already become the cat sneaking a bite of fish...
Well, in a certain sense, going out alone with Shikime Natsu before probably already counted as sneaking a bite, didn't it?
But... but even so, she couldn't go stealing time away from his girlfriends, could she?
Her expression grew more complicated the longer she thought about it.
And if she did end up dating Shikime Natsu later on, wouldn't she be the one paying for it?
After all, if she stole their time now, they'd definitely steal hers later.
Heat crept into her cheeks at that. She shook her head quickly, chasing the improper thoughts out of her mind.
How had she even gotten that far ahead of herself?
She and Shikime Natsu weren't anywhere near that kind of relationship yet!
They were ordinary friends. Nothing more.
Yes, she harbored certain improper hopes where Shikime Natsu was concerned — but she had no idea whether he felt anything for her at all.
Even if... even if the air between them had started to feel a little ambiguous.
Last time at the pottery workshop, Shikime Natsu had held her hands from behind and guided her through shaping the clay.
That feeling... that warm feeling... Remembering it, her heartbeat quickened a few beats more.
But she couldn't be sure what Shikime Natsu actually thought of her.
If it turned out she'd been flattering herself this whole time, the blow would be devastating. Her feelings tangled up all over again.
She'd heard that Hasebe Haruka from their class had become one of Shikime Natsu's girlfriends too.
Honestly, she envied her. Mei-Yu Wang had heard about it from Sakura Airi — Hasebe Haruka had apparently been remarkably bold. If only she'd been there at the time.
Maybe, caught up in an atmosphere like that, she'd have found the nerve to ask too?
Of course, any other moment would do just as well. Either way it took courage — it was only that the right atmosphere made a person braver.
Like confessing after a few drinks?
Though a drunken confession wouldn't suit her either. A confession was the sort of thing best done sober.
Leaning on alcohol felt wrong somehow. And she couldn't keep stalling forever. Mei-Yu Wang stared at the screen, then typed out a line.
[Mei-Yu Wang: Natsu, the pottery should be fired by now. When are you free? Let's go pick it up together.]
She read the message over carefully, checked it once more, and once she was sure nothing was wrong with it, drew a deep breath and hit send.
There. Sent successfully — no spinning icon.
Now all that was left was waiting for Shikime Natsu's answer. Would he even see it?
If there weren't any other girls in his dorm tonight, he probably would.
And if there were, she might not hear back until tomorrow. It was late, after all.
Fortunately, Shikime Natsu didn't leave her waiting long. A reply came through almost at once.
[Shikime Natsu: Sure. If you don't mind, how about this Saturday?]
A brilliant smile spread across her face as she read it, her eyes curving, happiness practically radiating off her.
She hurried to tap out a response.
[Mei-Yu Wang: Mm! Okay! See you Saturday then!]
[Shikime Natsu: Sure. See you Saturday.]
Warmth welled up in her as she looked at the words. She hugged the phone, curled deeper into the covers, the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile she couldn't pull back down no matter how she tried.
Tomorrow was Saturday. Tomorrow she'd get to see Shikime Natsu again...
Anticipation filled her up until she was rolling from one side of the bed to the other, completely unable to sleep.
Her mind started sketching out how tomorrow's meeting would go.
The pottery session itself was over. Once they'd picked up the pieces together, what else could she invite him to do?
She began working through the possibilities.
Nothing good came to mind, though.
There wasn't exactly an amusement park inside this school, after all.
The list of things to do felt awfully short.
What the campus had amounted to karaoke, the movie theater, that sort of thing.
The movie theater... was anything good playing lately?
She thought about it and realized she'd never paid attention to that kind of information.
She rarely went to see films, so she had no idea.
Besides the movie theater there was the dessert shop, the coffee shop, places like that.
But wouldn't a dessert shop or a coffee shop come off as too ordinary?
The thought pulled her mouth into a troubled line.
This was a school in the end. There really weren't that many ways to have fun.
And another worry occurred to her: if she monopolized too much of Shikime Natsu's time, would that inconvenience everyone else?
No — the real question was how much time Shikime Natsu could spare for her at all.
What if they picked up the pottery and simply went their separate ways?
Her mood soured at once. Then she shook her head and flung the whole messy tangle of thoughts out of her mind.
Forget it! Tomorrow's problems could wait for tomorrow!
There was no use turning it over now.
With that settled, she shut her eyes and made an effort to fall asleep.
The moment her eyes closed, Shikime Natsu surfaced in her mind again. Remembering how gentle he'd looked, a faint flush spread across her cheeks once more.
She rolled over, buried her face in the pillow, and let out a small muffled whimper.
And so, drifting through sweet, scattered daydreams, she slipped into sleep.
…
The next morning Mei-Yu Wang opened her eyes ahead of her own alarm. Today was a special day — the thought alone curved her lips upward. She was thoroughly happy.
She climbed out of bed, went to the wardrobe, pulled the doors open, and started picking out what to wear.
What would be best?
Her gaze swept along the rail before she took out a pale yellow sundress.
She held it up in front of herself and studied the mirror.
After a moment she put the dress back and took out a white blouse and a light blue skirt instead.
She checked the mirror again.
This one seemed nice too...
She wavered for a good long while, and in the end went with the pale yellow sundress.
It looked cuter. A woman dresses for the one who delights her — naturally she was going to look her best in front of Shikime Natsu.
With that decided, she changed into the dress and stood in front of the mirror, examining herself carefully.
The hem fell right at her knees, leaving her slender, pale calves bare, and a thin white belt at her waist traced her figure exactly right.
Then she picked up her comb and worked through her hair with care.
Her deep blue twintails came out perfectly neat. She fished two pale yellow ribbons out of a drawer and tied them around the tails.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she gave a small nod and a private word of encouragement. Like this, there shouldn't be any problem, right?
By the time she reached the Keyaki Mall, Shikime Natsu was already there.
He stood at the entrance to the pottery workshop, hands in his pockets, watching the passing crowd with a calm expression.
Today he wore a light gray shirt with dark trousers — simple, clean, and still good-looking.
After a little while a small figure appeared in his line of sight.
Mei-Yu Wang came jogging toward him, the pale yellow dress swaying gently in the breeze. The instant she spotted him, embarrassment washed over her face. She'd made him wait again.
"Natsu, sorry. I kept you waiting."
"It's fine. I just got here myself," Shikime Natsu said with a smile.
She knew perfectly well he was only saying that to make her feel better. He was the one who arrived first every single time.
But now wasn't the moment to fuss over it. If she picked at a detail like that too much, he might start to dislike her.
"Shall we go in, then?"
"Sure."
Shikime Natsu nodded, pushed open the door of the pottery workshop, and the two of them stepped inside together.
Pottery of every shape and kind lined the wooden shelves, each piece looking exquisitely made.
A young female shop clerk recognized them and came over with a smile.
"You two are here to collect the pieces you made, right?"
"That's right," Shikime Natsu said with a nod.
"Certainly. One moment, please."
With that, the female shop clerk turned and disappeared into the workroom at the back. A short while later she came out carrying two boxes.
"Here are your pieces. Please have a look."
She set the two boxes on the counter and lifted the lids.
Both cups inside had turned out beautifully. One was hers, one was Shikime Natsu's — which made them meaningful, and that counted for a lot in her book.
"Natsu, do you remember? What we said last time."
She badly wanted Shikime Natsu's cup, and the fear that he might have forgotten had her watching him with open expectation.
"Mm, of course. Let's trade cups," Shikime Natsu said with a smile.
Delight bloomed through her at his answer. She cradled his cup in both hands, happiness written all over her mouth.
And with that thought, her cheeks warmed faintly.
"Thank you, Natsu..."
"Thank you too, Mei-chan." He looked down at the cup in his hands, the corners of his lips lifting. "I'll take good care of this one."
Warmth surged through her at those words. Her pulse picked up, and the smile on her face refused to be pressed down.
"I... I'll take good care of mine too!"
Soon they had their things and stepped back outside. It was still early, and the sunlight fell at just the right temperature, leaving a lazy warmth on the skin.
Mei-Yu Wang stood in front of Shikime Natsu, hesitating over whether to speak. Parting ways here would be such a waste — but wouldn't it be presumptuous to invite him somewhere else?
After all, what they'd agreed on was collecting the pottery. Nothing beyond that had been arranged.
And it was right then that Shikime Natsu noticed the words she was swallowing back.
"Mei-chan, what's wrong?"
She drew a deep breath, gathered her courage, and spoke in a small voice.
"Um... Natsu..."
"Do... do you have anything else planned after this?"
Shikime Natsu looked at her like that and let out a soft laugh.
"Nope. I'm completely free until noon."
Relief loosened her chest at the answer — and then the hesitation came right back.
Since he was free, what should she invite him to do?
If she'd known, she wouldn't have gone to sleep so early last night. She should have thought this through properly, and then today's date would have flowed along on its own.
Distress worked its way onto her face.
Watching her like that, Shikime Natsu couldn't hold back a quiet laugh.
"Mei-chan, if you don't mind, I do have a suggestion."
Her eyes lit up all at once. She raised her head, those violet-red eyes fixed on him, brimming with expectation.
"What suggestion?"
Whatever Shikime Natsu wanted to do, she was more than glad to go along with.
He smiled, then spoke slowly.
"How about... we try a little roleplay."
"Role... play?"
She blinked, not quite following what he meant.
"Mm." Shikime Natsu nodded. "Roleplay where we only talk in English. Weren't you planning to become an interpreter, Mei-chan? It should be good practice for you."
"Mm!"
Whether it would actually help, Mei-Yu Wang had no idea — but Shikime Natsu had suggested it, so of course she was going to say yes.
____
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