Chapter 31: Chapter 31 - Late Night Confessions

Kyoto was much more peaceful on the second night.

This was not a result of the students quieting down...

That would be impossible.

Exhaustion had finally had an effect on everyone after they’d spent the day sight-seeing, shopping, and experiencing emotional overloads.

Kuro Kurogane was sitting alone at the vending machines located outside of the inn, nursing a canned coffee while the cool air drifted gently through the courtyard.

Then there was the familiar voice behind him.

"Kuro-kun~"

An instant destruction to Kuro’s peace!

Without turning around, he whispered, "What now?"

Akari had happily sat down next to him on the wooden bench.

"You went missing again."

"I escaped."

"Same thing."

Moments later, Aoi appeared next to them, carrying a warm cup of tea.

Naturally, she had also found him.

"You missed dessert."

"Too busy."

Without any hesitation, Aoi handed Kuro the cup of tea.

Kuro received the cup of tea without any hesitation.

And yet somehow, this natural act had become dangerous to him lately.

Akari seemed to notice right away and narrowed her eyes as she watched him, not angrily, but just in a somewhat observant manner.

Mina showed up shortly thereafter.

And behind her Rika seemed to regret participating in the conversation.

"...Why does everyone have such easy access to my emotional tracking?" Kuro muttered to himself.

Mina smiled back. "You are emotionally traceable these days."

"Sounds awful."

"It is."

The conversation eventually flowed quite naturally.

Kyoto sights. School gossip. The amount of pain each teacher has been going through.

The atmosphere changed to an unexpectedly relaxed one underneath an incredibly soft night sky.

Then Mina casually dropped a bomb on them.

"So."

They all looked her way.

"Who has the biggest crush on Kuro-kun?"

Rika inhaled tea at an abnormal rate.

Kuro stared blankly.

"Why do you do this to me?"

"Cause it’s fun."

Akari pointed to Mina so hard she nearly fell off the bench.

"You can’t just ask that!"

"But nobody said ’no’."

Because Mina was right.

Nobody said ’no’.

Akari didn’t say ’no’. Aoi didn’t say ’no’. Even Rika didn’t say ’no’.

That’s when Kuro realized the atmosphere had changed since he last noticed.

A few months prior everything just felt like teasing.

Now, it felt like there were real feelings involved beneath all of the teasing.

How could that be possible?

Mina casually leaned back against the bench.

"Well?"

"Seriously!" Akari crossed her arms in a dramatic way. "I liked Kuro-kun first."

"That’s kindergarten logic," Kuro muttered.

"It counts!"

Aoi continued to silently sip on her tea beside him.

"Length of time being interested in someone does not equate to how emotionally attached you are."

Akari quickly shot her a look.

"WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO LIKE A FINAL BOSS?"

"Objective statement."

Mina suddenly burst out laughing again.

"Your family is scary."

"We are not scary," Akari retorted.

Everyone just stared at her silently.

"Uh...okay...maybe a little bit."

Then, unexpectedly Rika spoke up in a soft voice.

"Um...being around Kurogane-kun is comfortable."

Everyone looked over at Rika.

She immediately turned five shades of red.

"Um...I-I mean—"

Mina instantly had a smirk on her face.

"Oh? The President stepping up to the mic."

"I DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING INAPPROPRIATE!"

Akari narrowed her eyes at Rika suspiciously.Aoi sat with a very passive expression watching in silence.

Meanwhile, Kuro sat feeling emotionally drained.

"Why am I being discussed?"

"Because you are the issue," Mina stated matter of factly.

"That’s not a fair statement to make."

"Completely true."

Unfortunate but true.

The conversation continued but gradually decreased in volume.

Less teasing. More being honest to each other.

The cool air in Kyoto blew gently throughout the courtyard, while students could be heard laughing from other rooms in the distance.

Then Akari turned her head slightly and stared at the night sky.

"You know, when we became a family again..."

The group quieted down, naturally.

Akari smiled slightly.

"Finishing out my day today, I was happy."

Kuro casually glanced over at Akari.

"I thought possibly things would turn back into what they once were."

She then made a weak laugh.

Kuro could remember when he wished for everyone in his life to be like Akaki.

He could also recall having the same wish about Aoi.

"But now, I don’t want either of you to be identical to me," he fell almost stumbled over his words trying to explain so that she could understand what he was trying to say.

Akari focused her gaze directly toward Kuro.

"I want something more selfish."

The atmosphere changed went from romantic and openly romantic, to an entirely new level of intimacy between all three of them.

The fact that nobody was saying or doing any type of joking to relieve tension made it absolutely clear.

Aoi carefully sets down her cup of tea next to Kuro.

She said softly, "Same."

Just one single word — nothing complicated at all; it worked better than anything else from tonight.

Kuro looked at Aoi, and she looked back calmly even though he could see the underlying vulnerability that existed beneath her normal calm exterior.

A first for him to see an emotion from Aoi that would be considered to be real.

"I don’t want to hide it anymore" broke out in the silence.

Kuro’s heart started to ache when he heard this from Aoi for the first time tonight at that moment everything about their lives as too sisters or romantic interest was cleared up.

Then at that moment, he began to see he had already been starting to understand this new way of thinking.

All of a sudden, Mina had a gentle smile on her face.

A warm smile compared to her usual expression.

"You are very much loved, Kuro-kun."

"Please do not say it that way."

"But, it is true."

Rika had been looking at her tea quietly.

"You make for a very pleasant environment for everyone."

Kuro’s eyes slightly widened.

Then, he turned his head away from them because of the embarrassment.

"You guys are all saying embarrassing stuff tonight."

Akari started laughing softly.

"You’re ears are red."

"It is just due to an increase in temperature."

"Liar."

She’s right again.

The girls were all leaving together from the room one by one, but something changed.

Before Mina left she gave a dramatic stretch.

"Sleep well, my false love."

"We’ve been broken up mentally for over a month now."

"Not legally."

"There was never any legal standing."

Rika bowed her head slightly.

"Goodnight, Kurogane-kun."

After that, all that was left, under the quiet night sky of Kyoto, was Kuro and the twins.

Akari was the first to stand up.

"Kuro-kun."

"What?"

"Don’t dwell on this too much."

That’s easy for her to say

Then she also gave him a warm smile, getting up and walking away ahead of him.

This left him with only Aoi next to him.

Silence had fallen around the two of them; however, it felt strangely intimate between them.

Intimate to the point of being dangerous to the both of them.

After a few moments of silence Aoi broke it.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

Kuro turned his head in her direction.

Aoi’s face did not show any emotion, though her voice felt more silent than she is accustomed to; how can that be honest? How can that be full of emotion? And he’s so awkward right now.

Then Kuro looked at her as a result of what just came from her mouth. No.

As Aoi blinked a little, Kuro turned away and calmly replied just confused.

A moment later Aoi’s expression suddenly changed; she smiled small, very small, beautiful, relieved enough of that for now.

And somehow what Kuro heard Aoi say that night kept echoing through his heart long after she had gone walking away into the Kyoto night sky.