A/n: Ah, damn it. I'm not going to make it to my friend's birthday to finish this! But, um, oh well. I'm getting there, haha.

So, this chapter and the next will be in Rei's point of view! Woo, how exciting! This was actually pretty fun to write and even edit. I don't say that a lot. I just have a lack of time to do all of this. *chuckles nervously* 

But to all of you (hopefully not my friend, Kay, rn) I hope you like this part! Any kind of input would be great help and do vote this up! Chow for now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryugazaki Rei's POV

Exactly how did everything turn out the way it has? One moment, I was getting ready for the first class of the day, reviewing our previous notes so to be at my one hundred percent. Then suddenly, things made a 180 degree turn after the announcements for the second years who were nominated in that couples' contest.

            Before we go much into this, no, I do not hate the competition. In all honesty, it was a delight to watch at last year's festival and it emitted such beauty from the performances, some much more beautiful than others. It was a surprise to me when I found out that some of the couples were not official couples, but most would stay together as friends once the festivities are over.

           I wasn't expecting to be nominated by my peers. Maybe I should've seen it coming, seeing as a lot of my classmates would approach me for tutoring (much to which I had to decline all since I'm already busy tutoring Nagisa-kun) or to copy notes when they miss a day of school. I could've predicted this to happen. And it wasn't even a shock when they declared I was nominated for the Smartest Guy category. That itself was obvious.

            But this wasn't what turned my day around.

            It was the opportunity to see my junior high classmate, Tohsaka Akemi. The girl I was the same height of four years ago, but could now only reach to my collarbone today. My ex-rival who had challenged me in the number one spot after finishing every exam and either one of us being a point or two behind the other. The one who enjoyed decorating her wavy, pink hair with bows or headbands, to add a little more to our school uniforms. The Tohsaka-san who had always peaked my interest.

            Since we weren't in the same class when we graduated to be high school students, the times I get to see the short girl had lessened, and that bothered me. In junior high, I looked forward to going head to head with Akemi, constantly stimulating a friendly rivalry over who was the smartest in our grade. It brightened my day to see her so determined to crush me as odd as that sounds, but it urged me to work harder. In a way, she inspired me to be a better person, always striving to do my best in whatever I wanted to do, just like how I wanted to learn how to properly swim the other strokes besides my butterfly. I could easily say she was a friend.

            I expected Akemi to be nominated for the contest, in fact I voted for her as Cutest and Smartest, since there weren't a lot of girls I was acquainted with. She had a lot of positive points that made her a very likable person, an overall popular person, and so in conclusion, a very notable candidate. It also didn't surprise me when she was declared under the Cutest Girl category. Although, a little feeling in my gut wished she was under the smartest category along with me. She was definitely qualified and she might as well have been nominated in that too. There was more to the girl than just her "adorable" appearance.

            Tohsaka-san is just someone so...

            "Come on, Rei-chan! We need to find Akemi-chan now that it's lunchtime!"

            Nagisa pushed me through the crowd of classmates who went wherever they desired for the lunch period. At the moment, my teammate wanted to find his "couples" partner so to begin discussing what they should perform for the Couples' Contest. It rang to me as odd as to why he wanted me to tag along while I should be finding my own female counterpart, Michiko, and talking to her. Yet, the blond stayed persistent as he pushed me along with a brand new drive.

I haven't seen him so pumped up since our last swimming competition, and I knew Nagisa long enough to know that only such a few things excite him to such a level. Sure, he had his favorite sweets and new television shows that he would babble on about days on end, but it just doesn't compare to his current enthusiasm. It brought an uneasy feeling in my stomach that he was so excited to meet up with my ex-rival.

"Where's Gou-chan's classroom again? You said they were in the same class, right?" Nagisa asked me, now instead of pushing me, he pulled me along by the hem of my shirt sleeve so he lead the way, his fuchsia eyes darting to each sign to every classroom.

"It's just a couple more doors down," I informed him as I tried to keep up with his accelerating walk. The hallways were beginning to thin out, most students at where they wanted to be for lunch. Because of this, it was easier to hear the familiar girls' voices from the very classroom we were approaching.

"OH MY GOODNESS, AKEMI-CHAN!"

It didn't take another moment for me to rush into the classroom due to Gou's frantic shouting. My swim manager and her friend, Chigusa, held panicked expressions as their gazes turned towards me and Nagisa. Stooped at one desk, I see a red-faced Akemi with her hand to her throat. I sped over and wrapped my arms around her smaller body.

I quickly performed the Heimlich on Akemi. It only took two pumps under her ribcage for whatever she was choking on to dislodge from her throat. The moment I felt her relax in my arms, I knew she was safe.

My heart is racing. Was it because she was in danger and the panic overtook me?

I steadied my breathing as well, letting the previous situation be pushed aside. At least she's fine now.

"Thank goodness Rei-chan and I came when we did!" Nagisa cried out, his face filled with pure concern. "We heard Gou-chan's screaming outside your classroom and we had to rush in here!"

Akemi's gaze instantly lock with mine, and by the way her eyes widened, she probably didn't expect me to save her. She leapt out of my arms and covered her mouth. She looked incredibly red... Maybe she really isn't feeling good. "A-Are you ok, Tohsaka-san?" I asked her.

"I-I'm fine," she squeaked out, now avoiding my eyes. Huh? What's with her? She looked over to Nagisa instead and asked him, "So, what were you two doing here, anyway?"

"Uwa, that's right! Akemi-chan, we need to discuss what we should do for the contest!" Nagisa burst out, his prior excitement returned, like Akemi haven't been choking only minutes before. "I think it'd be good we talk about it as soon as possible and get right to it!" He took a seat in one desk and situated it next to her assigned one. "C'mon, Akemi-chan! Also, Rei-chan's here to help us brainstorm!" He then brought over another desk, glanced over at me and patted the chair for me to sit in. "Chigusa-chan, Gou-chan, you too! I want us to have everything planned out perfectly and win this."

"Why do you want to win this so badly, Nagisa-kun?" Gou questioned, her hand on her hip.

"I think it'd be cool to win that! Don't you think? It'd be an honor to win Cutest Boy in our year," he replied, glimpsing at Akemi. "Right, Akemi-chan? Just imagine us winning it together!"

I shot my friend a look. Together?

"Oh, I guess, it'd be nice," Akemi answered. She sat down in her desk and settled in. I couldn't do much else but take the desk right next to Nagisa, seeing that I might as well supervise the session. Chigusa and Gou did the same. We were all now seated in a cluster. "Alright, Nagisa-kun, I guess we should start. Anything you have in mind for us to do?"

Composed and kind, one aspect of Tohsaka Akemi I always admired. Not afraid to take matters into her own hands and lead the team to success. I felt myself drone out as everyone else talked, eating my lunch in peace while occasionally adding in some input and a couple eye rolls when Nagisa jabbered on with absurd ideas that neither he nor Akemi could possibly pull off. Some were so extreme that it can be easily shrugged off as jokes, but it seemed like Nagisa was serious on most of it.

I have to say something before another crazy idea slips out his mouth. "Well, Tohsaka-san, you still play the viola, don't you?" I asked the short girl. She looked taken aback by my question, like she didn't believe I would have remembered. Of course, I remembered. She had been playing the instrument since we were in junior high and I had the great opportunity to catch some of their orchestra concerts in the past. Akemi never fails to impress me. "You can play your viola. I'm sure we can figure out what Nagisa-kun can do along with it."

"You play the violin, Akemi-chan?!" the blond burst out in awe.

"Viola," she and I corrected him.

"Ooh, so in sync!" he chimed, his eyes darting back and forth between us. I turned my head away as the heat rushed to my cheeks. Jeez, why does he have to say such embarrassing things?

"That was cute, you know, what you did there," Chigusa chirped. The brunette girl was looking straight at Akemi with a smirk. I pursed my lips, confused to what the two girls were talking about silently before me. Judging by Akemi's surprisingly hard gaze, Chigusa must've said something wrong. "Maybe you and Nagisa-kun should try doing things more in sync to gain some votes!"

"That'll take a lot of practice, seeing that I only met him today," Akemi murmured before taking a bite of her lunch.

"I can play the piano with you!" Nagisa interjected, catching all of us off guard. "It'll be like a duet."

"You play the piano? Since when?" I scoffed at him before taking a sip of my bottled water.

He shot me a playful wink, which in return I cringed. "There's a lot more to me that you don't know about, Rei-chan."

"That's amazing, Nagisa-kun. I'm honestly impressed," Gou commented, earning a smile from him. I'm sure we all were. I didn't think he had the patience to learn something so elaborate, and that I'm not trying to bad-mouth him. It's just how Nagisa was. "I'm actually getting excited to see what you two will come up with."

"Well, maybe it should be a cover of a song a lot of people know," Chigusa input.

All five of us fell into silence as we thought of possible songs that Nagisa and Akemi could play and could pull off. Akemi was the first to break that silence. "Well, this was farther than I thought we would be able to plan in such a short time. A viola/piano duet would be fun to do. I've been wanting to try that, actually, so this is a perfect opportunity. Since lunch is about to end, we'll have to talk about what song we could do next time."

"Sounds good!" Nagisa stuffed the rest of his sweet crème sandwich into his mouth and swallowed it all down in one gulp. Once wiping his mouth with a napkin (and not the back of his hand, thank goodness), he asked, "Akemi-chan, mind if we exchange phone numbers so it'll be easier to meet up?"

"Yes, I'd much rather prefer not being surprised by a visit," she giggled out as she took out a notebook from her bag. She ripped a small strip of paper off from the back and scribbled down her number in purple ink. She handed the strip to Nagisa.

Above us, the bell rang for the end of lunch. "Perfect timing. You guys better go or else," Akemi told the two of us. Nagisa and I exchanged glances and nodded to each other. We gathered our belongings and began leaving the girls' classroom, until we heard a cough from behind us. The pink haired girl looked over at our direction, her hands folded in front of her. "Let's do our best, Nagisa-kun... and you do your best as well, Ryugazaki-san."

Ryugazaki-san...

Old habits die hard. I guess it would be a little weird to request for her to refer to me with my first name after so long.

"You too, Tohsaka-san," I mumbled out before turning my heel to return to my classroom.

~*~

            A few days have passed and the excitement for the school festival had heightened. Everything was running smoothly. Along with keeping up with my studies and practices for upcoming Regionals, I was able to figure out what I should do with Akamatsu-san for the Couples' Contest.

As well as being fairly smart, she was the school's best baker. She mentioned that we can host a shortly timed cooking show for the audience, which I was more than fine with. I can already tell that it will be a beautiful performance, with her baking skills and my eye for aesthetically pleasing things, this will surely wow the crowd. And we even managed to earn approval from Wakahisa-san and Ueno-san to allow it.

            Additionally, Nagisa and Akemi have been making progress for their performance. I will admit, seeing the two of them together brought an odd kind of discomfort. In those short few days, my teammate and my ex-rival would meet up with each other as much as possible. Whether it be before classes in the morning, during lunchtime, or even after our swim practice; the two of them would meet up for the competition. I didn't mind the determination to practice as much as possible... but isn't it a little too much? Are they even working on their routine at this point?

            Honestly, is there another reason to meet up with each other this many times?

            "Rei, hello?" I jolted back into consciousness and I glanced up. Above me standing at the edge of the pool was our captain, who only gave me a worried expression. I glanced around at my surroundings and saw I was the only one still in the pool with the exception of Haruka-senpai, but even he stopped swimming for my sake. "You've been staring at the exit for the longest time after Nagisa left to meet with his partner," Makoto-senpai told me.

            "Oh, have I?" I muttered. I pulled myself out of the pool along with his help. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." I walked over to my towel and began drying myself off.

            Gou reached my side to hand me a bottled water to drink. I silently thanked her before I took refreshing gulps from the bottle. "You've been a little distracted lately, Rei-kun. I know the year is almost over but we can't slack off one bit!"

            "Sorry... I didn't mean to." I cringed when I unintentionally repeated myself. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I recollected my thoughts. Seriously, what's wrong with me? Why am I thinking too much about them together? It's so foolish to dwell on. "Don't mind it."

            "Rei-kun, we're all concerned for you. You would think since that Regionals are around the corner, you wouldn't be so dazed!" The burgundy haired girl scolded me, pointing into my face for good measure.

            "Yeah, if you have anything on your mind, Rei, don't hesitate to tell us," Makoto-senpai reassured with a pat on my shoulder. "You're clearly thinking about something. Possibly about the school festival? Worried about the Couples' Contest?"

            That's part of it. "In a way," I answered.

            "What are you worried about?" Gou pressed on, her arms crossed over her chest.

            "It's just something unreasonable. You guys don't have to worry about it. I'll get over it," I told my teammates. "I'm going to go shower." I left them behind to walk over to the outside showers before they could bombard me with more unnecessary questions.

I set my towel, bottle, and red-rimmed glasses aside as I let the warm water drench my tired body. I stood there, letting the warmth calm my nerves. All of them were right, I've been acting so irrationally lately. But over the fact that just because Nagisa have been with Akemi these past few days? There has to be more to this agitation. It's also absurd that I couldn't bring myself to tell my team manager and my senpais about this, despite all we've been through together. It's not a problem that I could bother to tell them. What can they possibly do to help my situation anyway? But I could feel the embarrassment crawl along my skin every time I think about confessing it to them. 

            After the refreshing shower, I went to our storage room to change back into my school clothes. But as I stepped out of the room to leave for the day, I nearly jumped when I spot Gou just standing there in front of the doorway. "Gou-san?! What are you doing?" I screeched out, my hand clutching at my chest.

            "Come on, Rei-kun. Let's walk." She turned her heel and began walking away. I blinked a couple times flabbergasted before I sped right after her. I wasn't sure what I could say at the moment. Of course, I could ask her why she wanted us to walk together, but nothing left my lips.

            We managed to make it to the train station in complete silence, but the moment we sat down, Gou piped up, "You know, you're quite a readable person, Rei-kun, whether you believe it or not."

            I gave her an incredulous look. "Readable?" I scoffed.

            "That's right, or maybe I'm just a very observant person, who knows. But I noticed how irritated you become when Nagisa-kun is with Akemi-chan." I frowned deeply at her accusation. How could she have possibly figured that out while I can't even organize my own feelings?... "Look, I only met all of you my first year here but the way Akemi-chan have mentioned you in conversations, I'm sure you two must've been close back in junior high."

            This definitely caught my curiosity. "Akemi--I mean, Tohsaka-san had talked about me before?"

            Gou nodded her head. "That's right, and she always seems so enthusiastic recalling the past you two shared. I wouldn't have expected any less from either of you, going head to head to be ranked number one in your year, it is so like you," she laughed. "I remember you asking me before if I was in the same class as Akemi-chan. We barely knew each other at that time, I think it was just a two weeks of knowing you when you asked me that." 

Her expression suddenly hardened. "Do you remember the time we talked in the empty classroom about love and all?" I pursed my lips in confusion about where this was leading to but I nodded, nonetheless. "Well, what you said surprised me. Saying that love is illogical and all? I didn't want to believe that those were the words that left your mouth," she told me.

            "What does all this have to do with anything?" I asked, just wanting her to get to the point of her rant.

            "My goodness, Rei-kun, you really are clueless unless you're so keen to keeping it all a secret!" Her outburst was followed with a smack on my shoulder, which I couldn't help but let out a strained yelp at. "You have a crush on Akemi-chan, don't you?"

            I gawked at the girl next to me. "A crush on Tohsaka-san?" I sputtered out astonished. 

That couldn't possibly be why I'm...

Wait, is it? 

I let Gou's words sink in. "That's..." I wasn't sure what to say next. Did I have a crush on the pink-haired girl?

            Was my fascination with her mistaken this whole time? Was it because it was, in fact, a crush? A mere infatuation?

            I thought back on all the times I've been around her. Our junior high days, I will admit, I looked forward to seeing her every day but wasn't that because I was so eager to outsmarting her? No... it was because I was able to talk to her so freely and be casual, all while studying diligently and working hard to our goals. I deeply enjoyed those moments. The fact that we share the same objectives in life delighted me.

The way her face brightens up when she receives a high grade on either a project or an exam, whether she had beaten me or not, I just had to return the smile. Her grin was unbelievably contagious and it could lighten anybody's day, I am positive of that. On the times I would confess to her that I have gotten the higher grade, a disappointed pout would grace her face. My heart would pang from guilt. Straight afterwards, I would tell her that she could possibly beat me on our next exam, regardless of how much I wanted the higher score.

Her petite figure then came to mind. I remembered days when we would have assemblies and we would have to hurry to the gymnasium. Her short legs could only take her so far and so fast. I smiled at the pleasant memory, recalling how cute and undaunted she looked to catch up with the rest of the class. Also, the way her caramel eyes twinkle at everything she enjoys, like when she rants on about orchestra in class, was a spectacle all on its own. Anyone could figure out how passionate she was with her viola just by one glance at her. And what a mesmerizing experience to attend an orchestra concert! I could  remember how awestruck I was when I spotted Akemi within the others, her eyes closed so to let herself feel the music rather than looking at the conductor or her music sheets. She was that invested into her music.

And it was truly beautiful.

"Rei-kun, it's ok to admit it. I won't tell Akemi-chan," Gou murmured next to me, jolting me back to reality.

I had forgotten she was there. I was too up in the clouds with only one person occupying my mind. Gou's presence and reassurance was enough for me to finally come to my senses. "Maybe I do."

"Maybe?" she scoffed.

"Ok, I do," I breathed out.

All at once, I let my confession hit me.

I have a crush on Tohsaka Akemi.

No. I've had a crush on her all this time but I've blinded by my own beliefs. Weight I didn't know I carried lifted off my shoulders now that I have accepted my own feelings.

The train slowed to a halt at Gou's stop, and she stood up to leave. She gazed down at me and replied, "I'm glad you finally figured that out. Now that you do, please do something about it! I'll see you Monday, ok?" I gave her a nod before she exited the train.

I grinned to myself. I can't believe that this is what it was.

I like her. I really like her and it took me all these years to realize it.

What a beautiful feeling.

Ding!

I reached into my trouser pocket and took out my phone. I happened to have received a message from Nagisa.

When I opened the message and read it, all the color left my face. I looked at each word individually, just to make sure I've read it correctly, but it was there. It was all there in black and white. And I couldn't help the uneasy feeling from returning.

>From: Hazuki Nagisa

Rei-chan, omg, I think I like Akemi-chan.