Chapter 4

With her head in the clouds, Iyori walked down the long hallways of her school, nearing her classroom to be ready when the bell rang. As she continued onwards, she wondered to herself why she even bothered showing up at this point. Fuyoko knew she only came to school in the morning when she was taking attendance, and she knew very well that Iyori would leave school grounds during the lunch break. Even still, Fuyoko never said anything, but her entire face was crying in defeat when she looked at Iyori, as if she had given up on the young girl a long time ago. 

“Good morning, Yuki.” Iyori turned her head in horror when she heard the familiar voice calling out to her while using the familiar name. After eyeing the young boy standing in front of her with a mischievous smile on his face, Iyori didn’t hesitate for even a minute before she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him around the corner in the hallway. 

“What do you think you are doing? Didn’t we have an agreement?” whisper-yelled Iyori after pushing Shuya up against the wall, making sure no one was around to see or hear them. 

“Hey, calm down, I was only messing with you,” said Shuya and raised his hands in defeat, hoping it would be enough for Iyori to let him go. “Besides, nobody even notices you in school, why are you so scared?” Iyori relaxed her muscles a little, but she still glared intensely at Shuya, not sure if she wanted to let him go so easy. 

“Now, could you please let go of my shirt? I just ironed it,” said Shuya after a while and Iyori finally let go of him. 

“No way you ironed that shirt yourself,” said Iyori in a spiteful voice. “I bet your mom did that for you.” 

“Yeah whatever,” said Shuya while he straightened out the shirt, whereafter he looked at Iyori again, but she just stayed silent. Instead, she spun around on her heel and started walking away. Shuya decided to do the same, but just as he took a step forward, Iyori turned around again, pointing her finger directly at him. 

“If you make any trouble for me, I will make sure you regret it.” Shuya let out a huff of air, but before he managed to come up with a good comeback, Iyori was already out of his sight. 

After coming back to his senses, Shuya walked to his classroom and sat down at his desk, impatiently waiting for the school day to begin. The classroom had this kind of lighthearted feeling to it, with the sun shining brightly in the sky, lighting up the entire room, and the fresh summer breeze blowing through the half open window, playing with the hair of a female student sitting next to it. Everyone was wearing a smile on their face, something that always seemed to spread like a virus during the sunny days, but even still, it never made its way to Shuya’s face. 

At least not until the bell rang and the teacher walked through the door. When everyone else had a fallen look on their face, Shuya felt a sense of relief, hoping the teacher would help ease his boredom, just a little bit. 

Sadly, today wasn’t one of those days. Having studied way too far ahead in the material, Shuya found it hard to stay interested in the class, and in the end, his mind slowly started drifting away. Resting his chin in his hand and staring out of the window, he drifted further and further away from the classroom and the school building. The subjects started blending together, making it harder for Shuya to keep track of time. Occasionally, Shuya turned his head and looked at the board, trying to get an idea of what subject Fuyoko was teaching. At one point, Fuyoko seemed to make eye contact with Shuya, just as he raised his head, and she quickly noticed his lack of attention, but she just sent him a smile and moved on with the class. 

Shuya let out a sigh, trying to gather up the strength to actually pay attention, but just as he was about to look at his neighbor’s textbook, to see what page they were on, he noticed the empty desk in front of him. 

When did she sneak out? Did she even go to class today? Yes, yes she did, Shuya clearly remembered when Fuyoko called out her name and Iyori answered. 

Again, Shuya looked up and made eye contact with Fuyoko, who now also noticed the empty desk for the first time. She just shook her head slightly and let out a sigh, whereafter she turned around to continue what she was writing on the board. 

Why didn’t Fuyoko do anything? Did she simply not care? 

Shuya’s thoughts started running wild when suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, something that rarely happened during class, so he felt compelled to sneak a peak without anyone noticing. 

“Your preferred date, Yuki, has just checked in. Do you want to request a date with her?” Shuya felt a smile creeping up on his lips when he saw the dialog box on his home screen. 

There she goes again, thought Shuya to himself. 

*** 

“Thank you for today, Yuki, I had fun,” said the young man standing in front of Iyori. “I hope we can meet again soon.” 

“Me too,” replied Iyori. “And I hope your grandmother gets well soon.” The young man flashed Iyori one last smile before he went on his way. After he was out of sight, Iyori made her way to the nearest bench and sat down on it, so exhausted she could feel it in her bones. She couldn’t remember the last time she had so many dates right after each other, without any time for a short break. The requests just kept ticking in, maybe because she had checked in earlier than she usually did. 

While sitting on the bench, she lifted her right foot and put it on top of her left leg, carefully massaging the calf. After a few seconds like that, she changed it up and did the same thing with her left leg. 

Why did everyone absolutely have to ask if the date could be a walk in the park? Sure the weather was great, but didn’t they notice her beautiful but very impractical high heels? Why couldn’t they have asked her out to a restaurant or at least bought her a snack? Her stomach was screaming for food at this point. 

“Would you like to check in again?” Iyori read the text in the dialog box and while letting out a huge sigh, she clicked on “Yes” and quickly put away her phone. But she didn’t more than barely let go of it, when she felt the vibration from a notification. 

“Mr. Takahashi is requesting a date.” Iyori stared at her phone’s screen and her jaw dropped nearly all the way to the ground. 

You must be out of your mind, thought Iyori to herself whereafter she clicked on “Reject”, but it didn’t take more than a few seconds before she received the same request again. 

Seriously, don’t you have anything better to do with your time, thought Iyori, whereafter she clicked on “Reject” once again. 

“This is the second time you are rejecting mr. Takahashi, do you want to report him?” Iyori’s eyebrows shot up when she read the message on her phone and she quickly clicked on “no”, whereafter she put her phone away again. 

He isn’t a stalker, he is just a stupid boy with too much time on his hands, thought Iyori to herself. But after that, it suddenly turned quiet. No more requests popped up on her screen and Iyori wondered if he gave up. 

I should buy myself something to eat before another man requests me, thoughts Iyori, whereafter she put her phone in her pocket and got up from the bench, but in that same second, she felt her phone vibrate again. 

“Mr. Takahashi is requesting a date.” 

You have got to be kidding me, yelled Iyori internally while her finger instinctively moved towards the “Reject” button, but she didn’t click on it. Instead, her eyes lingered on the message attached to the request. 

“Buffet, all you can eat.” 

*** 

The atmosphere in the restaurant had the same happy, lighthearted feeling as every other place on such a warm and sunny day. The people seated all wore a smile on their face while they enjoyed the food served to them. Quiet music could be heard in the background, coming from the only speaker in the room, making for a calm atmosphere. 

But in the midst of all this, Iyori sat with her face covered in her hands, trying to make herself invisible, while Shuya’s laughter filled the entire restaurant, interrupting the peace and quiet. 

“Would you mind toning it down a little? People are looking!” said Iyori in a low, but firm voice. She could feel people’s eyes on them, but luckily, it seemed like Shuya was slowly calming down, still wiping away the tears from the corner of his eyes. 

“Sorry, I just can’t believe it was that easy to persuade you,” said Shuya and looked at Iyori, who quickly diverted her eyes, to hide her reddened cheeks. 

“I was hungry,” said Iyori in short. 

“Stop it, you are making me a laugh again,” said Shuya quickly and Iyori stayed quiet. 

“I didn’t think you would request me again, didn’t I tell you to request someone else?” asked Iyori, but Shuya simply shrugged his shoulders, showing no intent to explain himself. 

“Besides, shouldn’t you be at home doing your homework or something like that?” The change in subject seemed to finally grab Shuya’s attention. 

“Why would I do that when I would much rather be entertained by you?” said Shuya with a smirk on his face. “Besides, I already studied ahead in all the subjects, so I got plenty of time. That is more than what I can say about you.” 

“You are ahead in all of our subjects?” asked Iyori. “What do you even do besides studying?” 

“Annoy you,” said Shuya and Iyori quickly let out a fake laughter. 

“Very funny,” continued Iyori in the same tone as before. “I sure hope this won’t become a habit of yours, I have real customers, you know.” 

“I am real customer and you should be grateful that I took you out for dinner. I even paid for everything, again.” In the same second a waiter walked by and put down the many dishes Iyori had ordered, filling the table with all that the heart could want. Shuya stared at Iyori with a displeased look and she quickly lowered her head and looked away in embarrassment. 

“You are right... thank you...” said Iyori under her breath, making it only barely audible for Shuya to hear. 

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” asked Shuya with a smirk on his face, one that grew even bigger when he saw Iyori’s cheeks turn red. 

“I said thank you,” Iyori almost yelled and got the attention of the few other people seated around them. “As much as I hate it, I really was hungry when you requested me, so I guess I am a little thankful that you took me out for dinner.” 

After Iyori's little outburst, it suddenly turned silent at their table. She still had her head lowered, too embarrassed to look Shuya in the eyes, but when time kept passing and Shuya didn't say anything, Iyori felt compelled to lift her head again.

“Did you lose your voice?” asked Iyori and Shuya finally opened his mouth. 

“Sorry, I was too shocked about what just happened so I needed a few minutes to process everything,” said Shuya and waited in anticipation for Iyori’s reaction. To his disappointment, the reaction wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for. 

“For a smartass, you are pretty slow,” said Iyori and felt a rush of adrenaline run through her body when she saw the smirk leaving Shuya’s face immediately. 

“I am ordering another one of these,” said Iyori and got eye contact with the waiter, whereafter he wrote down her order and brought back the empty plates when he left. 

“Did you not eat anything at all today, or is this normal for you?” asked Shuya. 

“I didn’t have time to eat, I went on 4 different dates today before you requested me,” said Iyori while she impatiently tapped her finger on the table, constantly looking over her shoulder to see if the waiter was coming back with her food.

“I see,” said Shuya and nodded his head a few times. “I guess that makes me your savior in a way.” 

“Can we just move past that? I already said thank you,” said Iyori in a voice that quickly made Shuya realize he needed to let this go. Not daring to say another word about the matter, the atmosphere again turned quiet and nothing besides the sound of Iyori tabbing her finger on the table filled the air. A few more minutes passed by until Iyori's face suddenly lit up and another second later, her order was placed on the table. Shuya didn't say anything and simply watched Iyori devour her food, just like she always did. After swallowing the last piece of food on her plate and finishing off her glass of water, Iyori let out a satisfied sound, whereafter she leaned back in her chair. 

“Finally full?” asked Shuya and Iyori replied with a single nod, her eyes closed as she allowed herself a second to rest. 

“Do you usually have so many dates in one day?” asked Shuya and Iyori looked at him with one eye open. 

“You mean like I had today? No, it’s usually around 1, maybe 2 if I am lucky,” explained Iyori, “but today I left school a lot earlier, so that made room for more people to request me, and because the weather has been so good, I think people went a little crazy.” 

“Oh yeah, you disappeared in the middle of class,” said Shuya and thought back. “You should have seen the look on Fuyoko’s face when she noticed your seat was empty. She just looked so tired.” 

“Really? I thought she had given up on me a long time ago and simply stopped caring,” replied Iyori. “She should.” 

“You really hate school, don’t you?” said Shuya in a tone much more serious than their previous conversations. “Why do you do this to yourself? You really will end up failing senior year again.” 

“If so, then that is just how it is,” said Iyori rather unbothered, something that only made Shuya’s heart beat faster, and he clenched his fist under the table before speaking up again. 

“Don’t say that, you don’t mean it! What about your future? How will you ever go to University if you can’t graduate High School?” 

“University?” said Iyori in an almost laughable manner. “I have no intentions of going to University.” 

“W... What?” stuttered Shuya, his eyes wide open while he looked at the still unfazed Iyori. 

“I said, I have no inten–” 

“Yes I heard it the first time,” interrupted Shuya. “I just couldn’t believe those words left your mouth. 

“Why not?” 

“What about your future?” 

“My future?” said Iyori. “I don’t live in the future, I live in the present. I don’t want to have my entire future planned for me, going to school for years and years while my spirit slowly dies, whereafter I find some mediocre, boring job that will only serve as getting me food on the table. I want to really live. Besides, I don’t belong here. As soon as I have enough money saved up, I’m leaving.” 

“Leaving? What do you mean ‘leaving’?” asked Shuya, still trying to process everything Iyori was saying. 

“I don’t know yet, I just know I want to go somewhere else, outside of Japan,” explained Iyori. “There must be some place out there in the world where I belong, I just need to find it.” Shuya stayed quiet for a little while, getting swayed by the hint of sadness evident in Iyori’s voice, but he quickly snapped out of it and came back to earth. 

“But how can you work towards a future so unstable? What if you run out of money? Then you will have no education, no way to support yourself?” 

“If that happens, I will figure it out when the time comes,” said Iyori. 

“But...” said Shuya and paused for a few seconds before he continued. “You can’t do that. You can’t... live like that. Without any plan for the future, not even a backup plan, this is bound to go wrong at some point and by then, it will be too late for you to make up for anything.” Iyori looked at Shuya for a minute, looking like she was actually taking his words into consideration, but soon after, the same carefree smile appeared on her face again and she threw her hands up in the air and shrugged her shoulders. 

“That is the excitement of living in the now.” Shuya’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor and Iyori couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of satisfaction in her stomach when she saw it. 

“Alright, I am definitely not getting any more to eat, so why don’t we call it a day?” said Iyori and got up from her chair. 

“Wait, why are you doing this to me again?” said Shuya when he saw Iyori leaving the restaurant and he had to rush to the counter to pay for their meal, so he would be able to catch up to her. 

“Could you please stop doing that? It is really rude,” said Shuya after he finally caught up to Iyori and walked next to her. 

“Me? Rude? No that can’t be true,” said Iyori and grabbed Shuya’s hand. “Not when I'm on a date with such a sweet young man.” Shuya gulped when he felt her fingers intertwine with his, but his pride didn’t allow him to brush her off. 

“Stop it, I know you are just trying to change the subject.” 

“And why would I do that?” 

“Because, in fact, you are afraid of the future, you just don’t want to admit it to yourself.” Iyori suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around so she could look Shuya in the eyes.

“I am sorry to disappoint, but that is not the case. In fact, I think you are more scared about me not being scared. Why is that? It isn’t your life.” 

“What? No? That isn’t–” 

“Look, can’t you just accept that someone is living their life in a different way than you are. You don’t hear me lecturing you about your way of life?” 

“Well of course not, who would lecture me on that?” said Shuya. 

“Maybe because you are just living like an empty shell,” said Iyori and watched as the proud look on Shuya’s face disappeared completely. “You are just living your life the way everyone expects you to. I bet you are planning to ‘follow in your dad’s footsteps’, without thinking even slightly about what you want.” Shuya stood dumbfounded for a minute, until he finally pulled himself together to give his comeback. 

“Following in my dad’s footsteps is what I want to do,” said Shuya. 

“Sure, because you like the idea of your entire life being planned, but I don’t want that.” 

“That isn’t why I want to follow in my dad’s footsteps! You have no idea what you are talking about,” said Shuya, his eyes filled with rage. 

“Maybe not, but neither do you.” 

After that, there were no words left for Shuya to speak, no comeback to give and they both continued ahead in silence, trying to ignore the awkward atmosphere between them. They were only halfway towards the train station when Shuya couldn’t bear to stay quiet any longer. 

“Hey Iyori,” said Shuya all of a sudden, trying to sound as approachable as possible, in hope that they could bury the hatched for now. “Can I ask you a question?” 

“Sure...” said Iyori, although she was a bit hesitant. 

“When did you become a member for the Art Club?” The unproblematic question made Iyori let out a sigh of relief and she almost felt happy to respond to it. 

“I have been a member since I was a first year.” 

“When did you stop participating in club activities?” 

“At the end of last year. Most third years stopped participating because they were busy studying for their finals.” 

“Even you?” the words left Shuya’s mouth quicker than he could realize what he was saying. 

“You want to know if I am repeating a year because I was lazy or because I was dumb?” 

“No.. no that wasn’t what I meant,” said Shuya in panic. 

“Then what did you mean? Why are you even asking me about all this stuff?” 

“Because!” yelled Shuya and surprised both Iyori and himself in the process. “Because I thought it might have been hard for you, seeing all your friends graduate while you had to stay behind. I thought maybe that was the reason you stopped participating in club activities.” Iyori shut her mouth after hearing the bold and sincere statement from Shuya and she quickly diverted her eyes.

“Don’t worry,” said Iyori after a short while and looked up with a huge smile on her face, one that looked rather sad in Shuya’s eyes. “You don’t have to pity me, I don’t have the time to participate in anything because I am a busy person.” 

“But why are you so busy playing the part of a girlfriend for people you don’t even know, when you could be doing something you love?” asked Shuya. “The same goes for University. Nobody says you have to study law or economics. You could study art and spend your life doing what you love, while also having a stable future.” 

“Did we not drop this matter already?” said Iyori annoyed. “Just get the thought out of your head already. I am never going to University!” 

“But–” 

“Oh will you look at that, we are already at the train station. That means our date is officially over.” said Iyori and changed the subject. “Don’t forget to give me a good rating on the app.” 

“Didn’t I do that the last time?” asked Shuya with a raised eyebrow, referring to the 5 stars he gave her as she requested. 

“Yeah... you did...” said Iyori a little embarrassed. “But I thought that might have been out of pity.” 

“Or maybe I am just not as horrible of a person as you are making me out to be?” 

“W... Whatever... I should get going.” 

“Aren’t we taking the same train?” 

“I am not going home, I am going on another date.” 

“At such a late hour?” asked Shuya surprised, but Iyori just shrugged her shoulders before letting go of Shuya’s hand and taking a step back. 

“As I said, I am a busy person.”

Hello everyone!

We learned a little more about Iyori and Shuya in this chapter, especially about the things they DON'T have in common, but I wonder if they will find things they agree on as well.

I guess that all depends on whether they will continue to see more of each other in the future. To find out about that you will have to wait until the next chapter is out. I hope you're enjoying the story so far and will continue having fun reading it.

Take care of yourself and stay safe!

Love, Annalise~