Third Person View

"So, what made Senpai join Iyo for lunch today?" Iyo asks her senpai while wondering what they made for her lunch today, opening her bento.

The absence of Arisa and Chiyuki made her wonder what she's going to talk about. Iyo rarely eats with them and usually have lunch with her own friends, but when Nagisa went to her class and invited her for lunch, she had initially thought they would go to the rooftop like usual.

"Oh, I was wondering if there's something you would like to confide—" The bluenette stopped speaking as she saw the contents of Iyo's bento. Nagisa swore she saw light coming out of it. "W...wow... That's uh... a really great bento, Iyo-chan..."

"Oh, sushi!" Iyo beams, eyeing the—most likely—expensive sushi prepared by professional chefs.

Nagisa's mouth was watering. Unagi, sashimi, ebi, nigiri, hamachi, and ika! She was impressed with the wide variety of her favorite food in one bento.

"Yum!" The blonde seems happy. "Would you like some, Nagisa-senpai?"

"Can I really!?" Nagisa's eyes widened. She gulped, "Then, thanks for the food..." She took one of the sushi and into her mouth it goes.

"Delicious! The seaweed really compliments the fish, and the sauce... Wait, that's not what I'm here for."

Nagisa coughs as she sweat dropped. "Um, so... We've all been noticing your strange behavior lately, Iyo-chan..." She started, after swallowing the sushi.

"S-strange!?" Iyo jumped. "Has Iyo really...?"

"Is it something about... love?" Nagisa said.

"Love!? Um..." Iyo looked away. "Iyo is doing very well with it! After she gave up on Karma-senpai, she decided to move forward! N-no problems..."

Her bad acting was clearly getting her nowhere, especially with Nagisa around.

"Iyo-chan, I know Sasahara-kun confessed to you," The bluenette said.

Iyo flinched.

"Wait, or was it the other way around?"

The blondie shook her head furiously. "No, that's definitely not it! Iyo would never fall for someone as plain and common as him!" She suddenly stayed quiet, looking at the garden as they sat.

"Is that really true?" She heard her senpai say.

"Yes..."

"You don't sound so sure." Nagisa took a bite out of her own bento and chewed. "I know you're used to the more... high-class boys... But maybe you should take Sasahara-kun into account for once? He's a boy, too, you know."

Iyo pouted. "But..."

Nagisa glanced at her. Seeing her unnaccepting face, she spoke again. "Well, in the end, what matters most is your feelings, Iyo-chan."

"My... feelings?"

She nodded. "Yes, your feelings. What do you feel when you're around him? Does he appear in your mind a lot? Do you feel nervous?" Nagisa looked down. "Back in middle school, I was just like you. It took a while to realize, but in the end, I did indeed have feelings for Karma."

She closed her eyes and smiled. "There was someone special that sort of talked to me, like this right now. If it wasn't for his encouragement... Maybe me and Karma would have just stayed best friends until now, and our feelings would be locked away in the back of our minds. It really gave me a nice push back then. And, well... I guess I wanted to do the same for you," Nagisa admitted, memories of Korosensei filling her mind.

Iyo stayed quiet and listened. She looked down. "But... I don't think... I have those sort of feelings."

"I know," Nagisa replied. "And I'm not trying to rush you or anything. I'm just trying to say that if one day, you do start to have feelings for someone special, and I'm not implying just Sasahara-kun... It's okay. It's okay, and you shouldn't deny its happening. Just embrace it, and maybe that one decision can change your whole life."

"...Then has the love I felt all this time for Karma-senpai and other boys not... true love?" Iyo clutched her chopsticks and smiled. "I've always wanted to find my true love... A perfect love that will make me happy. He'll be like Prince Charming, a perfect and amazing guy, and then we'll compliment each other in every way!"

"Well, I'm glad that you want to have someone special." Nagisa says. "But he doesn't have to be perfect, or handsome, or anything like that... His faults, his flaws, and his personality... They all make one wonderful person. And that's what makes them so charming, don't you think?"

She thought back to the moments she had with Karma. Such a unique, amazing person, yet as much as he gets perfect scores and dominate life itself...

He's still human.

And Nagisa loves him for that.

She loves how sometimes he sulks over getting a 95 for math. She loves how much he can get upset if she's with another guy. And she loves the fact that he texts her every night before they go to bed, saying "I love you" in every way possible.

"Yes... you are right," Iyo replied, breaking the sudden silence that enveloped the garden. "Out of all the boys I have met, Sasahara-senpai is the only one that gets me angry, yet I still somewhat want to hear his voice more..." She blushed.

"Then, that's the first out of many steps you have to take," Nagisa took another bite. "One step at a time, Iyo-chan. Don't trip and fall, though!"

Nagisa and Iyo laughed. "Nagisa-senpai is so kind... No wonder Brother likes her."

"Yeah... Thanks, Senpai."

Later

Iyo sat on one of the stair steps, looking at the calm river. Its color was somewhat orange, due to the sky. People passed by once in a while behind her, and some were on bicycles.

A sigh escaped her. "Just what am I going to do?"

"What are you doing here?"

She heard someone's voice, accompanied by a shadow that suddenly loomed beside her. The blonde flinched after she saw Sasahara behind her, eating a steamed bun.

She returned to her river sight-seeing, putting her head on her fist. "What a coincidence, Iyo was thinking the exact same thing before Senpai came." Her tone wasn't her usual cheerful one.

Sasahara eyed her. "Why the cold shoulder?"

"Well, it is going to be winter soon, so it's getting cold..." Iyo pouted, looking the other way.

"Oh."

She heard some ruffling noises beside her, and when she turned, there was a steamed bun in front of her. "Want some then? It'll warm you up."

Iyo jumped and quickly scooted away. "N-no! That was a joke, a joke!" She crossed her arms.

Sasahara hummed, retrieving back his bun and munching on it. "Have you tried one before?"

"No..." Iyo looked at the bun. "It does look pretty good, though..." She blushed, shuffling her feet.

The raven haired boy eyed her. "Hey, she's pretty cute like that."

"Here." Sasahara waved the bun. "Don't hold back now."

"..." Iyo stated at the bun before taking a small bite. "...It's good!" Her eyes lit up. "Maybe Iyo will buy it for herself tomorrow..."

"...She didn't get embarrassed that it may be an indirect kiss?" To Sasahara, that may be a sign that she likes him platonically.

He leaned closer to her face, "Geez, just hurry up and fall in love with me already!"

His comment made the girl go red. She scooted even more, seeing that he's closed the distance between them. "He was so close!!"

"S-so..." Iyo started awkwardly. "Nagisa-senpai talked to me today..."

He let her continue.

"And... she said a lot of things that helped me realize... stuff that you don't need to know." She looked away. The girl suddenly stood up and turned to face him. "Just to be clear, I don't have any feelings for you! I'm pretty sure..."

"Pretty sure? I know that's not really good for me, but it's enough to give me a little hope," Sasahara smiled and leaned on his hand. "So what Shiota said to you was enough to get you all worked up?"

"...I guess you can say that. So I've decided..." She looked at his dark brown eyes. "That I need more time." She rested her hand on her other arm and looked to the side. "Nagisa-senpai said to take my time... So that's what I'm gonna do. But you're not exactly my type, s-so... Don't get your hopes up!"

She continued, "I've always thought that I was the leader... That everyone was following behind me. But now..." She blushed. "I want someone to follow beside me. So..."

"Then..." Sasahara stood up. "How about I have the honor to be that someone?"

The girl's blush deepened. "Idiot... Why are you so stubborn? I already told you that you don't have much of a chance..."

Sasahara gave her a cheeky smile. "Even if it's a slim chance... I'll take it. Even if it takes you 1 month, or 1 year, or a decade... I'll be waiting."

Iyo's eyes widened at his words. He sounded so sincere. "H-huh...? What are you saying all of a sudden? Don't make promises you can't keep, Senpai!" She told him.

"But that's the first time someone has told me that..." She smiled at him, getting a bit teary.

"...So thank you."
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