Yagyu IF Route: Perfect Partners, Zero-Point Lovers

02 ■Are you in a relationship right now?

After that, some time passed, and not long after I sent over the personal materials needed for the internship, my thesis proposal finally passed the opening defense very smoothly before the end of December. I was one step closer to graduating.

Although winter vacation was just a few days away, I spent that afternoon in the lab as usual.

Sensing a slightly puzzled look from Niitsu Tomoya, I looked up and followed his gaze. There stood Yagyu, wearing a perfectly tailored suit, outside the laboratory, waving at me.

"Boyfriend?" Xinjin's voice sounded muffled inside his mask, as if he had a cold.

"A high school classmate." I shook my head, then took off my gloves and goggles and went outside.

Shinjin, who was working on a project with me, put down his dropper and looked at me, who was talking to Liusheng, with surprising seriousness. I don't know if he was very skeptical of my answer as his "high school classmate," but the emotion hidden in his single-eyelid eyes was definitely not friendly.

Why did they come at this time?

Thinking this to myself, I walked with him to the break room. As I turned on the coffee machine, I looked down and noticed a corner of the wrapper sticking out of his pocket. The transparent green wrapper clearly contained my beloved mentor's favorite handmade mints. He also had the Yagyu Pharmaceutical Group's badge pinned to his collar. Just now, when I went out, I saw someone who looked like an assistant carrying a pile of documents at the bottom of the stairs.

So before he could speak, I raised an eyebrow and said, "President Yagyu came to discuss business with me, yet he has the leisure to inspect my work?"

"People in front of you are probably invisible," Yagyu said, taking the coffee from my hand. "Your observation skills are still as annoying as ever."

"This is the kind of observation skill you and Niou honed... Ah, hot." I wasn't paying attention when pouring the second cup, and the coffee spilled and burned my fingers. My brows furrowed involuntarily, and I immediately put the cup on the table, pinching my earlobe with my fingers. "It's all your fault."

"Hey, hey, I'm completely innocent here." Yagyu raised his hands above his head in a gesture of surrender.

Seeing his expression, I couldn't help but smile, then looked up at him and asked, "So... what brings you here?"

"Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong?" Yagyu looked down at me, no longer just joking with his glasses as usual. Through the thin glass, I saw myself in those eyes again, this time as an eighteen-year-old me holding a bouquet of flowers and wearing Rikkai University uniform.

This is the story of the second button.

Rikkai University Affiliated High School, March 9th, Reiwa era - Graduation Ceremony for Third-Year Students

The tree-lined path leading to the auditorium was completely covered with cherry blossoms. If you ran any faster, the petals on the ground would flutter up as if they were about to envelop you. Because I chatted with the next generation of students in the student council office for a while, I realized that I was almost late for the graduate representative's speech. Yagyu called twice to urge me, but I couldn't spare the time to answer, so I could only speed up.

I turned a corner from the main entrance and took a shortcut to the backstage area, where Liu Sheng was waiting for me at the entrance with his speech manuscript.

"Okada, hurry up!" He bent down slightly and lifted the curtain, the rolled-up manuscript landing steadily in my palm like a relay baton. I took a couple of deep breaths, and he brushed the cherry blossom petals off my head and shoulders. As he turned to walk onto the stage, I clenched my right fist in nervousness. His warm palm gently patted the back of my hand twice. I looked back—

It was the same trusting look in Yagyu's eyes as always.

I combed my slightly longer bangs to one side, stood in the very center of the stage, took a deep breath, then placed my hands on either side of my body and bowed to all the graduating seniors.

"This is the last time I'll see you all here. I'm the graduating class representative, Sanae Okada from Class 3-A..."

The sound seemed to float above my head as it passed through the microphone, wires, and air. I could hear my own voice coming from all directions. I had been giving speeches on stage many times over the years and had become accustomed to such a roaring sound, but I still couldn't stop the fact that my hands were about to start trembling.

"...I understand this is an occasion to discuss the future, but I'd like to talk more about the 'present.' Every present moment will become the past in the next instant, and the next future will become the present at this moment. The 'present' is always the best moment. So, before saying our final goodbye, let's at least have one more 'present'..."

By this point, I had already put down my speech notes.

"...I am truly grateful to everyone for these past three years."

The last "ありがとうございました" almost consumed all my energy.

When I returned backstage, Yagyu wasn't waiting there. As I was thinking of going to find him, I discovered that the junior members of the judo club were all standing at the auditorium entrance. A junior who had just taken over as club president handed me a large bouquet of flowers, saying it was a token of the club members' appreciation. Then, more and more classmates and juniors surrounded me. I've lost count of how many graduation yearbooks I signed, and how many people I took photos with. The only thing I remember is that the pollen from that bouquet made me want to sneeze.

I tried to catch my breath amidst the crowd. Yagyu, who was in a similar situation, was also standing in the crowd. I looked up, and he turned around, and we made eye contact.

Run away.

I frowned slightly, gestured with my eyes, and then stood on tiptoe and shouted, "Look, Yukimura is over there!"

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was drawn to the Son of God, I used my excellent athletic ability to find an opening and retreat. However, as soon as I got to the outer layer, the others reacted, and I instinctively chose to run away.

"Yagyu, over here!"

Holding the flowers in my left hand, I stretched out my right hand and grabbed Liu Sheng's arm, successfully rescuing him from the group of enthusiastic female students.

As we ran through the tree-lined path, I was leading the way, but as soon as we reached the swimming pool, he grabbed my hand and ran ahead. The wind blew through his hair, revealing his profile, and I realized that I rarely saw his back; most of the time, he was behind me. Niou told me that their teamwork was honed through doubles practice, but in everyday life, it seemed like Yagyu and I were the perfect partners.

Tacit understanding is a mysterious thing; I can't explain it to myself.

We didn't stop until we could no longer hear each other's footsteps. Looking at the bouquet in my arms, which had been shaken and was slightly deformed, Liu Sheng first held back for a moment and then laughed, "Your junior's good intentions have all been lost."

"It was all to save you," I replied, trying to steady my breathing.

If I had paid a little more attention then, I would have noticed that he never let go of my hand until we both calmed down from running and were panting heavily.

Sitting down on the bench by the flower bed, I quickly noticed the second button of his shirt, which was almost completely unbuttoned, so I asked, "Liu Sheng, you've been keeping this a secret! I didn't even know you had a girlfriend."

He glanced down at his clothes, then, while saying no, took the small shell button out of his pocket. "No, no, no, I took it off beforehand for my personal safety."

"Ugh—this is boring." I shook my head helplessly, feeling utterly disappointed at not getting any gossip.

"Your eyes are still so sharp," Yagyu added. "Being your boyfriend must be really difficult."

"What's there to be afraid of as long as they don't betray me?" I rolled my eyes to show my dissatisfaction.

"So, hold out your hand," Yagyu turned slightly to look at me, placing the button in my palm. "Until you meet that brave person, I'm entrusting this to you for safekeeping. Consider it a talisman the first mate gave to the captain."

The buttons were so small they were almost weightless, but the farewell hug was tight. I still remember his hand on the back of my head and the suffocating feeling of my cheek pressed against his shoulder because of the height difference. Finally, I patted his back, and he gently rubbed my head.

--Take care of yourself.

Since then, we've been separated by more than 10,000 kilometers and a nine-hour time difference, which is nothing special compared to any ordinary graduation.

But what happened next was quite different from any ordinary reunion.

→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→

Being bombarded with blessings before Christmas and the end of the year makes filtering out the useful information a time-consuming and meaningless task that has to be done.

Just a few hours ago, my date from when I was studying in the UK changed his Facebook status to "Being in a relationship now," and he immediately sent me a very enthusiastic greeting that read—

-------------------------------

:Are you dating someone recently?

Well, it's Christmas.

:Nobody wants to be alone, sweetie.

-------------------------------

If one were to respond in the typical Japanese style, it would be "Don't bother," but what one truly means is "Mind your own business." Regardless of his inner thoughts, Yagyu Hiroshi himself always maintained a gentlemanly demeanor. After all, it would be far less respectful to give someone who could still call him "sweetie" at this moment.

-------------------------------

Thanks for asking.

: Actually I am about to see her.

Take care.

-------------------------------

The "her" in his seemingly defiant reply was currently clutching her earlobes, her hands burning from a cup of coffee, and blinking her brown eyes at him. Actually, Yagyu Hiroshi hadn't referred to anyone in his reply, but somehow Okada's face popped into his mind, and it didn't seem so bad if that were the case.

"Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong?" He leaned down to look at her more closely. Okada unconsciously took a small step back, and a rare look of panic appeared in her eyes. Yagyu straightened up with a smug look on his face and continued, "I was just about to ask if you're free on Saturday. Niou is back from his holiday and said he wants to have dinner together."

"Of course I'm free. I've already told my parents I'll be home after Christmas." Okada gave an OK sign. "But don't you have anyone else to spend Christmas Eve with?"

"I'm sorry, I'm all alone." He shook his head.

"What a coincidence, me too." She smiled.

However, the two of them forgot that Niou Masaharu was not.

Niou, who conveniently stood up his old friend to be with his girlfriend, only sent Yagyu a text message that read, "Anyway, you two always have a lot to talk about." Of course, Yagyu actually felt grateful to Niou for being stood up, otherwise, the story might not have unfolded the way it did.

The turning point probably started with a rose.

Ah, no, it should be a basket of roses.

After a relaxed and enjoyable dinner filled with laughter and conversation, Yagyu offered to take Okada home. As they walked towards the parking lot, it started snowing. Snow in Tokyo on Christmas Eve always seemed like a perfect setting for a love story. Walking beside her, she smiled and looked up. Snowflakes fell one after another, landing on her eyelashes, twinkling like stars in the streetlights when she blinked.

At this time, the streets were crowded, or more accurately, there were many couples. As Okada walked with him, Yagyu couldn't help but wonder if the two of them looked like they were in love in other people's eyes. To prevent themselves from getting separated in the hustle and bustle, Okada instinctively reached out and grabbed his sleeve when someone accidentally bumped into him while passing by.

The moment Okada turned his head to meet her eyes, he let go of her hand again. The next second, Yagyu took her hand and made her hold his arm. Feeling her suddenly stiffen, he couldn't help but smile slightly.

"There are many people, don't get separated," he said.

A young man's shouting voice came from not far ahead, "Hey kid, don't bother me! Who wants to buy your worthless flowers? Get lost!"

The little girl, holding a flower basket, bent down to pick up a rose that the man had thrown on the ground. As she softly apologized, she accidentally spilled water from her basket onto his shoes.

The man who had just been shooing the girl away immediately grabbed her coat hood and yelled, "You did this on purpose! Don't go, you'll have to pay for my shoes first!"

Seeing the bullied little girl, Okada immediately quickened her pace and stepped forward, blocking the two men before Yagyu could react. It was a long-lost sight of Okada Sanae showing her chivalry. She grabbed the man's wrist, forcing him to release her, and said, "Who do you think you are, bullying a girl!"

"Mind your own business! She was trying to sell me flowers and got my shoes dirty. What's it to you?" The man struggled to break free from Okada and then snatched the basket from the girl's hand.

"Hey, give it back to her." Okada stepped forward to snatch the flower basket, and in the struggle, the basket was thrown into the air, and the roses slowly fell from mid-air, along with the white snow.

"Heh, that's good now." The man clapped his hands. "Alright, my anger has subsided." He turned around and pulled the flamboyantly dressed woman next to him away.

"Sister," Okada was stopped by the girl as he was about to catch up, "there's another rose here, it didn't fall on the ground, let your brother give it to you." She pointed to Yagyu who was walking over.

"Okay," Liu Sheng bent down, "Brother will also buy the flowers in the basket, because the rose rain just now was very beautiful."

The little girl, overjoyed, wiped away her tears and whispered in his ear, "Brother's girlfriend is very cool!"

Upon hearing this address, Yagyu smiled, patted her head, and took the flower. The girl waved to Okada and disappeared into the crowd, soon vanishing from sight.

Standing there, Okada frowned and asked him, "What did the little one just say to you?"

Yagyu gave Okada a "want to know?" look, then leaned forward slightly and, in a gentlemanly gesture, presented the rose to him, saying, "It's a secret."

"Eh—" Okada took the flower. "What is it?"

The snow was falling even heavier than before. Perhaps because of the cold, Okada had half his face tucked into his turtleneck sweater, leaving only his eyes showing. His unguarded gaze didn't resemble that of someone who would rush forward as a champion of justice.

"Was it a snowy day like this the day Ryoji died?" she asked abruptly.

Yagyu was left speechless by Okada's remark. She thought that a snowy Christmas Eve should be a romantic occasion, but instead, she only thought of mystery novels. Honestly, wouldn't a family-friendly story like "Love Actually" be more suitable for this kind of situation?

"I thought you didn't like Keigo Higashino." He brushed the snow off her shoulders and then opened the car door.

"I don't really like it, but I still watch Journey Under the Midnight Sun." Okada said seriously, "I also consider all sorts of messy thoughts, like whether the psychology of an accomplice counts as love."

"So what do you think love is?" He turned the car key and asked casually.

"Standing side by side?" Okada looked up at himself. "I can't really explain it. I feel like I've never thought about what this is since I was born. I think you might never live to see the day I return the button to you."

He remembered the school uniform in the cardboard box, missing its second button, and the image of him handing the button to her. He hesitated slightly before asking, "You still have it?"

"Yeah, it's been sitting in the box untouched." Okada nodded. "After all, it's not something you can just throw away."

"Okada," he suddenly called to her, "do you want to know what the little girl just said?"

"Of course I want to, why are you keeping me in suspense?" She looked at me expectantly.

"She said," he paused, "that my girlfriend is very handsome."

"Girlfriend?" she immediately retorted. "No way, how did I suddenly find myself in a relationship?"

"Are you that unwilling?" He pulled the car over to the side of the road at the intersection.

"I mean I don't like being 'in love'," Okada emphasized. "Yagyu, you're focusing on the wrong thing. I should go back now that we're at the door."

There was a near minute of silence. He had prepared a whole string of words in his mind but didn't know how to begin. Then, a second before she opened the car door, he reached out and took her left hand: "What would you think if I said you didn't need to return the button?"

Okada gave him a confused look.

"It wasn't the first mate's talisman for the captain, it was the second button Yagyu gave Okada, the button closest to his heart," he felt his heart pounding faster and faster, and the car, with the heater on, was getting increasingly stuffy. "How about I be the brave one to stand shoulder to shoulder with him?"

"Yagyu..." Touching her left hand, he could clearly feel her quickening pulse. Adult love doesn't begin with falling in love, but with realizing that you've fallen in love.

She pulled her hand out of the car and ran out, but then suddenly stopped and looked back at herself. "Don't regret it, warrior."

So, Mr. Yagyu Hiroshi, are you in love right now?

Yes, I'm in love with my perfect partner.