Osaka Rain || N. Yuta [Completed (✓)]

三十四

The Chance
切掛け

"Just to be sure," Yuta spoke, preventing Sei to step any further by stretching out his arm on her way, "What is our relationship?"

He finally mustered up the courage to ask the question that he had been meaning to ask the entire way to her house. The brunette's face flushed red, matching her swollen eyes.

"Uh—" She faltered before saying anything. The kiss from earlier and the amount of emotions she had put into it was enough to prove her feelings about him.

"I—" Sei stuttered numerous times before hesitantly saying it at last, "I like you." She could not meet her eyes, resulting her running away from him again.

But this time, Yuta did not hold her back. A pinkish hue crept up on his cheeks as he could not help smiling. "Geez! Stop blushing like a little girl!" He scolded himself, waking back to his own house.

"I am ho—" Sei's words got cut off when she saw the living room lightened up. "Where were you for so long and why are you still in these clothes. Go and get changed before catching cold," Ms. Miura started nagging at her.

The brunette's heart filled up. It had been a long time since her mother had talked to her like that. The aroma of freshly cooked sukiyaki entered her nostrils. Mom cooked?

Since they had shifted to Osaka, Sei  never got the chance to have homemade food. Ms. Miura would buy lunchboxes from convenience store for her daughter and herself.

But that day, she wanted to cook for Sei. That was why, she took a leave from her office and did grocery shopping on her own but she had lost it once she saw her with Yuta.

Yuta oddly reminded her of her own husband. They had started dating since high school too. The thought of Sei getting heartbroken like her mother, made her whole existence shake. So she ended up reacting the opposite of what she had wanted.

That night Sei and her mother had dinner together.

"Uh—" Yuta rubbed the back of his nape, not knowing what to say upon seeing Sei in the morning. "Hi," he greeted her with a shy smile.

But after a few days, Yuta started to tag along with Sei everywhere even within their school grounds—clinging to her.

"Just tell me one thing," he asked, looking up at her while resting his head on the desk. Ryo and Yashiro were extremely annoyed at his presence in their practice room.

"When did you first started to like me?" Sei took a second before answering, "I am not sure myself. But when you confessed to me during the first snowfall of the year, I knew that I liked you."

"Right?" Yuta put on a smug expression as he boasted, "I knew it was impossible for a girl to not like me." Sei rolled her eyes at his arrogance. "Okay, I am sorry." He let out a laugh before questioning again, "Why did you lie to me then?"

Sei turned gloomy, remembering how she felt at that moment. "I was afraid that you would leave me once you get to know about Takahashi."

"But it's not your fault. You said so yourself, remember?"

"I thought you would not believe me—none of my other friends did and I could not afford to see that kind of hate in your eyes for me." Sei kept looking down the entire time.

Yuta cupped her face, making her look into his eyes. "Sei, you did nothing wrong by protecting her from Sato and others. I am sure Takahashi was grateful to you as well. She just did not get the chance to express it."

The rest of the band members focused on their individual practices, leaving them on their own. Yuta smiled at Sei, causing her to mirror his expression as well.