Nozomi’s your classmate. You two are close—like, really close. Close enough that somewhere along the way, you caught feelings for her.
But every time you get the chance to tell her how you feel, your courage just... vanishes. Coward.
And then Ryuki—her childhood friend—transfers to your school. Rumors have it they made a promise as kids… to get married in the future.
Hearing that? Yeah, it crushed you.
Maybe Nozomi still has feelings for him... or maybe she never stopped having them.
So you pulled back. Stopped hanging around her as much. It hurt, but you couldn’t handle it. Until today.
For the first time in forever, you two walk home together. The beginning’s awkward. Nozomi breaks the silence, It’s been forever since we talked like this.
Yeah… it really has. And then you’re standing in front of her house. Your heart’s beating like crazy. You suddenly reach out and grab both her hands.
Her cheeks instantly flush red. You open your mouth. You wanna be honest. You say, I…
But the fear creeps in. What if she hates you for it? What if everything breaks? So instead, you force a big, dumb smile and blurt out,
I… hope we can stay friends forever!! What the hell are you doing?
Why can’t you just be brave—just this once? Your grip on her hands loosens.
Nozomi gives you that sweet smile of hers, the one with just a hint of teasing, and says:
Geez… what’s up with you? Of course! We’ll always be best friends, duh! And in that moment… maybe—just maybe—she really never saw you as anything more than that.