Chapter 178 Tennis 66
“…Huh?”
In the gymnasium, Kurikawa Sana couldn't believe her eyes and was a little bit unbelievable about the score she saw at this moment.
Today is the match between Seigakuen and Shitenhoji. The match between Hyotei and Seigaku has come to an end a few days ago. After a fierce battle of hundreds of balls in the tie-break, Echizen Ryoma won the final victory, and Seigaku continued to move forward on the stage of the national competition.
After Hyotei, Seigaku's next opponent was Osaka's representative, Shitenhoji. Kurikawa Sana had originally wanted to come to the match, but upon waking up that morning, she was struck by heart pain. She lay huddled in bed for a long time, her face pale, and she had to use a home oxygen concentrator to breathe some oxygen before she finally felt better.
By the time we arrived at the scene, most of the match between Seigaku and Shitenhoji was already over, and the No. 2 singles match between Fuji Shusuke and Shiraishi Kuranosuke had reached 5-0.
That’s right, five to zero. Kurikawa Sana couldn’t believe it. Fuji was beaten 5 to 0 and didn’t win a single game.
Even in this crucial sixth game, the score was already 40-0. The game had reached the end of the match. Just one goal away, the genius of Qingxue would be defeated in an unprecedented shutout, almost to the point of being crushed.
How is this possible?
"Shiraishi has broken all three of Aogaku's genius Fuji's return techniques! It's incredible—"
"Sure enough, 'Tennis Bible' is still superior! Those cool tricks are too flashy and useless!"
"One more ball! One more ball! One more ball..."
Amid the constant cheers and applause from the players and students of Shitenhoji Temple, Fuji Shusuke rarely lay down on the ground. He fell heavily to the ground because he had just flown to save a ball.
Fuji Shusuke turned around to face the sky, raised his wrists to cover his eyes to block the glaring sunlight, and gasped heavily.
The talented young man who was always handsome and at ease rarely showed such an attitude.
Kurikawa Sana opened her eyes wide in surprise, and her hands holding the railing of the audience seats tightened unconsciously.
This is the first time I see Fuji-kun like this.
Rather than being "fragile" or "embarrassed", it would be better to say that it is "confused".
I always feel that Fuji-kun is very confused and doesn't know what he really wants.
Not only Fuji, but Kuranosuke's current posture was something Kurikawa Sana had never seen before.
Different from the usual gentle and refreshing Shiraishi Kuranosuke who exudes the fresh scent of plants, and also different from his humorous and funny personality in private, the Shiraishi Kuranosuke who is now standing on the court looking down at his opponent is the captain of Shitenhoji, a national-level player known as the "Tennis Bible", and a victory-chasing machine who scored 5 to 0 without losing a single point.
There was no expression on his face, and his whole body exuded an indifference that Kurikawa Sana had never seen before.
Kurikawa Sana was stunned for a moment.
Kuranosuke...
Just at this moment.
A figure jumped out from the main selection seat of Qingxue. The boy wearing the signature Fila cap walked into the competition area with his hands in his trouser pockets. He raised his chin at the person lying on the ground and said, "Fight seriously, senior."
"Wow...what is this guy doing?"
"He actually ran into the competition venue and told his senior to play more seriously. How arrogant!"
Ignoring the noisy voices around him, Echizen Ryoma lowered his hat and continued speaking.
"Sana-senpai is here. Do you want her to just watch you get shut out like this, Fuji-senpai?"
...Sana is here?!
After hearing this, Shiraishi Kuranosuke immediately looked towards the audience seats and saw Kurikawa Sana.
The girl's beauty is like a sparkling pearl, easily grabbing everyone's attention. Her presence can be easily locked at a glance.
Kurikawa Sana's gaze was clearly directed towards Fuji Shusuke who was lying on the ground, and her delicate, beautiful, and somewhat pale face was filled with obvious surprise.
“……!”
Fuji Shusuke's ice-blue eyes suddenly narrowed, and his whole body bounced up from the ground almost instantly, standing up again, completely different from his previous state.
Noticing the surprised expression on her face, Fuji Shusuke subconsciously tightened his grip on the racket.
…She saw my embarrassing side.
He was beaten 5-0, and the score in the sixth game was also 40-0. He was just one goal away from being shut out by Shiraishi in front of her.
It was rare to see such a shocked expression on her face.
Yes, she must be finding it incredible now.
Even Fuji Shusuke himself found it a little unbelievable.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke was certainly powerful, but not invincible. Fuji Shusuke himself knew clearly that compared to Tezuka and Echizen, he lacked that unparalleled persistence and fighting spirit.
——Desire to win.
Fuji Shusuke lacks the desire to win.
But just now, this missing desire to win appeared.
On the one hand, it was because of Echizen’s first words—“Fight seriously, senior.”
Coach Ryuzaki had actually said something similar to him. He'd noticed he wasn't obsessed with winning or losing; he could easily win ordinary matches. The few times he'd shown his prowess, like against Mitsuzuki and Kirihara Akaya, weren't driven by a desire to win, but rather by "anger" and "revenge."
Although Coach Ryuzaki saw through this, he did not force him to change himself for the sake of Seigaku's victory. He just said - "I really look forward to the day when I can arouse your true desire to win, Fuji."
This day has finally arrived.
The desire to win, which had already been aroused by Echizen's first words, burned even more fiercely after hearing Echizen's second words.
——She arrived at the scene.
Come watch his match with Shiraishi Kuranosuke.
Long before today's game, Fuji Shusuke knew about the existence of Shiraishi Kuranosuke.
On the day when the man disguised as "Bear" approached her in the commercial street, she had said in person that the man in Osaka was like "white moonlight" to her.
At that time, he was already silently wondering who was in Osaka?
It was not until later that Kan called and said that he had seen her dating Shiraishi Kuranosuke, the captain of Osaka Shitenhoji, in Tokyo that Fuji Shusuke finally confirmed that her "white moonlight" was Shiraishi Kuranosuke.
——The person who was standing in front of him now, separated from him by only a net, and who had used perfect biblical tennis to make the score 5-0.
When Sana was in the hospital, Fuji Shusuke had a brief exchange with Yukimura Seiichi of Rikkai University, and finally understood why Shiraishi Kuranosuke was special to her.
Because unlike him and Yukimura... Shiraishi treated her very well from the beginning, never hurting her with words, and was gentle and beautiful from beginning to end.
And now, it seems obvious that he is lagging behind Shiraishi Kuranosuke in tennis. His "disappearing serve" and the "three types of returns" that once amazed everyone have been completely blocked by Shiraishi Kuranosuke, and his opponent is only one ball away from victory.
Emotionally, he also lags behind the other party. Shiraishi Kuranosuke is as his name suggests, he is Sana's "white moonlight", but he...
Fuji Shusuke slowly lowered his eyes.
“………”
All of this combined has aroused his unprecedented desire to win.
Being behind is only temporary, whether in tennis or in relationships.
When he raised his head again, Fuji Shusuke's ice-blue eyes became brighter than ever before.
"Oh? Have you finally ignited some fighting spirit?" Shiraishi Kuranosuke raised an eyebrow, speaking with a distinctive Kansai accent. "It's a pity that you woke up too late. The outcome is a foregone conclusion, Fuji-kun."
Upon hearing this, Fuji Shusuke gripped the racket a little harder.
Although he knew that there was no other meaning in Shiraishi Kuranosuke's words, Shiraishi might not even regard him as an opponent when it came to Sana, he was simply discussing the game.
But in Fuji Shusuke's opinion, Shiraishi's words just now, "You woke up too late, Fuji-kun" - are so fitting for his current situation.
As for Sana... he also woke up too late, much later than others, and the result seemed to be a foregone conclusion.
But he won't give up.
There is still hope, both for this game and for her.
Fuji Shusuke twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, "How can you know if you don't try, Shiraishi-kun?"
…
"Bang", "Bang", "Bang"...
Inside the huge stadium, the sounds of hitting and returning balls continued to echo. The game, which everyone thought was about to end, became increasingly intense. The high-quality matches attracted many new spectators.
"Hey, come over to court number one. The match between Seigaku's genius Fuji Shusuke and Osaka team captain Shiraishi is really exciting!"
"I heard that they came all the way back from 5-0! After that, Fuji Shusuke never lost a point again!"
"So strong! Is this a competition between national-level players?!"
Kurikawa Sana was also stunned for a while.
So impressive…
After regaining his feet, Fuji upgraded all three of his returns. Kirin Falls to the Net, White Dragon, Phoenix Returns to the Nest... In a split second, he had overcome the flamboyant weaknesses of the original three returns. After their evolution, the three returns were flawless, scoring points one after another.
Not only that, he also created a new trick on the spot - the protection of the hundred-armed giant.
After that, every ball Fuji hit, no matter how Shiraishi returned it, whether it was a lob or a smash, could not cross the net.
Relying on this trick, Fuji quickly tied the originally huge score difference, and the game came to the tie-break deciding game.
Starting from scratch and catching up to the point where he has the same winning conditions as his opponent, what an amazing mentality, strength and willpower.
Kurikawa Sana couldn't help but look a little dazed.
She remembered the handwritten letter that Bu Er gave her when she was discharged from the hospital.
She read the letter for a long time, so much so that when she thinks of it now, she can still remember it word for word.
…
[From Kurikawa-san—]
For a long time, I've wanted to share many things with you, Kurikawa-san. After much deliberation, I couldn't seem to find the right time to say them in person. So, I decided to write them down and share my thoughts with you.
Although I have said it many times, as expected, at the beginning of this letter, I still want to say sorry to you again.
Kurikawa might have wondered why my initial attitude was so bad. It turned out that I was just too nervous about my younger brother.
At the time, Guanyue had used sweet talk to trick Yuta away from Seigaku, teaching him self-destructive techniques and using him as a tool to gain victory and provoke me. As a result, I was paranoid, and any out-of-school students who suddenly approached Yuta and then me developed a negative impression, mistakenly believing they all had ulterior motives like Guanyue...
This misunderstanding was finally resolved when I saw you stand up for Yuta. I say this not because I hope to be forgiven, but because I hope you won't be unhappy.
Kurikawa-san, you are a very good person. I hope you are happy every day and don’t feel confused or sad because of my childish attitude in the past.
I used to think that as a brother, I would be more mature and stable than Yuta, and that I could see through many things that Yuta could not see through or was easily deceived. But now it seems that my past thinking was perhaps a bit too confident.
I clearly remember that from the very beginning, Yuta told me that Senior Kurikawa was an angel - Yuta obviously saw it much more clearly than I did, and he discovered your beauty earlier than I did.
Oh, there’s one more thing. Maybe Kurikawa doesn’t think it’s something that needs to be mentioned specifically... but every minute and every second I spent with you is a very precious memory for me now, and I don’t want to hide anything from you anymore.
Kurikawa-san, do you remember that stuffed bear you met on the shopping street a while ago? You hugged it, and the person inside was actually me. You cried so hard, and you confided in me some things you might not have said if you'd known it was me. At the time, I wanted to comfort you as much as I could, so I kept quiet. I hope you don't mind.
Having written this, I actually have more things I want to say but dare not say out loud.
But compared to others, I seem to be less qualified to express these unfinished words. And this is the only thing I don't intend to express in the form of a letter.
so……
I will tell you in person when I become more qualified than I am now.
Sana.
May you always be happy, healthy and joyful.
【——To Fuji Shusuke. 】
…
…
After reading Fuji's letter from beginning to end in her mind again, Kurikawa Sana couldn't help but be lost in thought for a while.
As initially speculated, Fuji's negative favorability at the beginning was related to his younger brother Fuji Yuta. After the misunderstanding was resolved, everything returned to normal.
Fuji's favorability level is now 99.
Kurikawa Sana felt guilty.
In the letter, Fuji-kun kept apologizing, saying that he had misunderstood her at first, but his initial intuition was obviously correct, she did have bad intentions, and Fuji-kun was not wrong.
Although it was a system operation and it was indeed a mistake that Fuji Yuta fell in love with her, she did approach Fuji Shusuke with ulterior motives and confessed to him... In addition, Fuji was the only one who received her confession, so it was normal for her to be disliked at the beginning.
But times have changed, and Bu Er now says that she is a very good person.
Kurikawa Sana gently wiped the corners of her eyes, her eyes feeling a little moist and sore.
You are the very good person, Zhou Zhujun.
He loves his younger brother and protects his teammates. He is sincere to the extreme in his treatment of family and friendship. He is tenacious and courageous in the game. Even in a desperate situation where the game is only one goal away from being over, he never gives up and immediately creates a new trick to turn the tide. He is worthy of the title of genius and is admirable.
The two sides on the court were still in a fierce confrontation. The score of the seventh and final game was 37 to 36. Both sides were holding on to each other, and it had turned into a competition of physical strength and willpower.
"So, so strong..."
"I'm almost breathless just watching them, and they're still running!"
"I feel tired even counting over 70 seconds, and they actually played over 70 balls in a single tie-break! And there's no end in sight!"
"Help, who will win?!"
All the spectators were so nervous that their hearts were in their throats. Amidst the intense gaze, the final ball finally arrived.
With a "click".
It was the sound of the last ball hit by Fuji Shusuke falling to the ground after it went out of bounds.
"GAME AND THE MATCH!"
"The match is over, Shitenhoji Shiraishi wins!!"
Kurikawa Sana slowly opened her eyes.
The wind blew gently through the open-air gymnasium, ruffling the boy's soft brown hair. He raised his head to face the sky and closed his eyes, which were as blue as the sky.
…
*
Evening, commercial street.
Fuji Shusuke didn't know why he ended up here again, on this street where he met Kurikawa Sana when he was dressed as a bear doll.
The match between Seigaku and Shitenhoji has also come to an end, ending with Seigaku's victory.
Fuji Shusuke couldn't describe his feelings at this moment.
It is impossible to say that he felt nothing. As a famous genius of Seigaku, he had never lost a singles match. Shiraishi Kuranosuke made him taste defeat for the first time.
Frustrated? Not really.
It's just that something seems to have changed silently, and then reconstructed, rebuilding itself into a harder, stronger and more evolved self.
From now on, Fuji Shusuke will become even more powerful.
But the total score of today's games was 3 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw. Seigaku won three games, and the match between Echizen and the first-year student Toyama Kintaro from Shitenhoji ended in a draw. Seigaku's only defeat was against Shiraishi Kuranosuke.
Fuji Shusuke sighed silently.
It seems that in future competitions, we must ignite our fighting spirit from the very beginning.
However, almost at the same time he sighed.
A furry paw grasped his hand.
Fuji Shusuke was stunned for a moment, then immediately looked behind him, and what caught his eye was...
A rabbit?
Standing in front of him was a white rabbit in a doll costume. It was covered in fluffy fur, with cute pink and white ears standing high on its head. Its red rabbit eyes and round paws were all so adorable that people naturally liked it.
Especially the ears on the top of its head move. There must be a traction rope device in the doll costume. The person wearing it pulls it down, which is full of flattering feeling and shortens the distance in an instant.
It's so hot, and he's still working in such a heavy plush doll costume... Fuji Shusuke's heart softened, and he asked the other person softly: "Hello, what can I do for you?"
Is it to hand out flyers or recommend a store for him to visit?
The little rabbit shook her head quickly, and her ears twitched. She finally brought her other hand, which had been kept behind her back, to the front and carefully placed the thing she had been holding in her hand into Fujishu's assistant.
Fuji Shusuke looked down and saw that the other party had given him a small cactus-shaped cake made of green cream. It was lifelike, exquisite and cute.
It just happened to be his favorite cactus.
"Is this... for me?"
Miss Rabbit nodded and spun around in a circle, looking very happy.
Fuji Shusuke couldn't help but laugh, a little touched by the cuteness, "What flavor is it? Will it prick my mouth?"
Like Doraemon's treasure bag, Miss Rabbit took out a cardboard from behind her, placed it on the seat beside her, and struggled to grab a pen with her two rabbit paws, and wrote on it -
【WASABI (Wasabi Flavor)】
[It doesn’t prick my mouth, I’ll eat it if it pricks my mouth]
This time Fuji Shusuke almost laughed out loud.
Is this some TV variety show with a trick show? They randomly pick passersby on the street and give them wasabi-flavored cactus cakes or something like that?
What a coincidence! Not only does he like cactus, he also likes everything with mustard flavor.
Facing the little rabbit's bright and expectant gaze, Fuji Shusuke sat down on the bench and began to taste the food with the fork handed to him.
"Thank you. I'm starting."
After taking the first bite, Fuji Shusuke was amazed by the taste.
——It’s not bad at all, it can even be called delicious.
This is really not a dark dish, but rather a creative cake with an innovative flavor, a bit like the famous honey mustard sauce of Korean fried chicken.
The slight mustard flavor blends well with the sweetness of granulated sugar, cream, and honey. The slightly pungent aftertaste blends well with the cake body that is not too sweet. It is so delicious that he is willing to repurchase it.
【Is it tasty? 】
The little rabbit asked him while writing clumsily on the cardboard.
"It's delicious." Fuji Shusuke smiled and said, "Thank you."
Are you still unhappy now?
Looking at the new words written on the cardboard, Fuji Shusuke was slightly stunned, and then quickly realized something.
Same street location, same similar doll costume, same cardboard, similar problem.
Last time he asked her——【Why are you unhappy?】
And now the little rabbit in front of him asked him if he was still unhappy after eating the cake.
...Could it be Sana?
In the letter he sent to her, he said that the "Bear King" who comforted her was himself. Then, could the Miss Rabbit in front of him now be her?
Fuji Shusuke stood up suddenly. He had worn similar doll costumes before and knew that the people inside were breathing and observing the outside world through a hidden small window screen.
As soon as he stood up, he saw the small screen window on the top of the rabbit doll costume, and saw a pair of beautiful blue eyes passing through. As the rabbit turned around, the screen window brushed against the soft black hair.
“……!”
It's really her.
Suddenly, a warm current seemed to flow through Fuji Shusuke's heart.
Did she come here specifically to comfort him?
Because she knew that he might feel depressed after losing the game today, she specially gave him a cake and wore such a heavy doll costume in such a hot day... He had brought her comfort when he wore the teddy bear costume, so she also wanted to replicate it as much as possible.
Fuji Shusuke almost sighed.
Why is it so good?
I thought that in her eyes, he had been abandoned and let go long ago, and could not be compared with Shiraishi, Yukimura, Atobe and Tezuka... But she would secretly hide her identity just to comfort him and not let him be sad.
If I were to describe my feeling at this moment, perhaps it would be "touched".
Fuji Shusuke lowered his head and whispered beside the rabbit's pink and white ears—
"Thank you."
The brown-haired boy stretched out his hand and gently embraced the cute little rabbit like a snowball in his arms, his lips gently brushing across the rabbit's round cheeks.
With a "ding" sound.
【Fuji Shusuke, Favorability +1.】
[Fuji Shusuke's current total favorability: 100.]
“……!”
The little rabbit's ears stood up with a "click" sound!
The girl in the doll costume covered her mouth tightly to prevent herself from screaming after pulling the leash on her ears too excitedly.
Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!
Fuji-kun's favorability has reached 100! I never expected that the first person to reach the maximum favorability would be the one who initially had the lowest favorability towards her! How can this not be considered a form of call-back?!
Kurikawa Sana covered her mouth to hold back her screams, then covered her aching chest, feeling a mixture of emotions.
In fact, almost all other conquestable targets have a favorability of 99 points, which is only one step away from 100 points, but Kurikawa Sana really never thought that the first one to reach the maximum value would be Fuji Shusuke.
The system's voice rang in her mind: [Sana, your heart is not in good condition. Be careful not to stay in the doll costume for too long. It's too hot in here and you won't be able to breathe.]
Kurikawa Sana nodded: [I understand, system.]
The system was right. She was indeed feeling very uncomfortable, every minute and every second, but she still insisted on coming to find Fuji Shusuke.
After the match between Seigaku and Shitenhoji, everyone from Seigaku went to Kawamura Takashi's sushi restaurant for a celebration, but Fuji only stayed for a short while before leaving. She noticed that Fuji was in a bad mood, and after some thought, Kurikawa Sana got this bunny costume and cactus mustard cake and quietly followed him.
Perhaps it was because of the handwritten letter, or perhaps it was because of seeing Fuji's amazing performance in this match, Kurikawa Sana really wanted to make him happy.
Just like he wrote in the letter, Fuji hoped that she would always be happy, and she felt the same way.
She also hopes that Fuji-kun can be happy every day.
Kurikawa Sana just wanted to comfort the other person and had no intention of conquering her or revealing her identity, but Fujika's sudden increase in favorability clearly showed that he had recognized her, and she didn't know how he had discovered it.
She didn't say anything, and Fuji didn't have a favorability indicator like she did, but he still recognized her. Should I call her a genius? She's incredibly perceptive in every aspect.
In the thick and stuffy doll costume, Kurikawa Sana was breathing rapidly. She had gained full favorability before she even took it off. After the flattered joy, what followed was the anguish of trying hard to suppress the pain in her heart.
Hold on a little longer...
Please hold on a little longer.
At least, wait until she says goodbye to them in person.
…
Not far away.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke, carrying a tennis bag, quietly watched the brown-haired boy hugging the cute white rabbit doll.
The bustling commercial street was bustling with people coming and going, and many people were amazed and stopped to take a look at the fairy-tale-like scene before them.
As the lights came on and the bustling Tokyo night fell, a handsome, brown-haired boy cherished a fairytale-like bunny. The bunny, in turn, extended its furry paws and patted his back, its pink and white ears twitching in an adorable way.
The world seemed silent, with only the two of them left.
…Yes.
Qian also said that Fuji Shusuke, the genius of Seigaku, was also one of the people Sana had "confessed" to.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke tensed his arm muscles and felt the golden wristband on his left wrist become scorching hot.
*
Half an hour later.
Kurikawa Sana changed out of her doll costume in the mall's dressing room and took a shower. She returned the bunny doll costume to the mall's activity center and walked out with a pale face and panting.
It's really getting more and more difficult.
Even with such a small amount of activity, just changing into and out of her doll costume and taking a bath, her body was already so tired that it felt as if it was roaring all over.
Maybe there was really no air circulation in the doll costume, and I was stuffy for too long, which made my already difficult physical condition worse. I had to breathe oxygen again when I got home later.
Just hold on a little longer, the national competition is almost over... Kurikawa Sana thought.
"Sana."
…Um?
Is that Kuranosuke's voice?!
Kurikawa Sana looked up in surprise. Under a street light not far away, a young man with silver-gray hair was wearing the iconic uniform of Shitenhoji. His deep and handsome facial features cast vague shadows in the night, and his expression was obscure.
For a moment, she seemed to see the Shiraishi Kuranosuke on the court today, a Shiraishi Kuranosuke with a bit of indifference that she had never seen before.
Kurikawa Sana was stunned for a moment, "Eh...why is Kuranosuke here?"
"I saw it." Shiraishi Kuranosuke walked towards her with his long legs and took her hand. "I saw you comforting Fuji-kun from Seigaku."
Shiraishi Kuranosuke looked at her and held her hand in his palm, intertwining her fingers.
"Little bunny, right?"
“……!”
Kurikawa Sana opened her eyes wide in surprise.
It was a long time before she heard her own weak voice.
"…yes."
"Fuji-kun is a strong player. I don't think he'll be devastated by this setback... I don't understand why."
"Is it true that only the losers will receive your pity, Sana?" Shiraishi Kuranosuke stared at her steadily, "Or do you think Fuji-kun's performance today was far better than mine?"
“…That’s not the case.”
Shiraishi Kuranosuke sighed silently.
He guided the girl's hand up and placed it on his chest, letting her feel his heartbeat.
“……!”
A blush appeared on Kurikawa Sana's pale and pretty face.
This is the first time I've seen Kuranosuke being so aggressive.
"I'm a little sad, Sana," said Shiraishi Kuranosuke.
"Kurosuke..." Kurikawa Sana felt a little ashamed, "I'm sorry, how can I make Kuranosuke happy again?"
Shiraishi Kuranosuke: "Do you remember something we bought at USJ?"
"Hmm? What?"
Shiraishi Kuranosuke took out a small bottle of exquisite and beautiful "potion" from his bag. It was a refreshing emerald green and was a peripheral product in the Harry Potter park store at Universal Studios Japan.
——Veritaserum.
A magic potion that allows people to confess their inner secrets and truths. Just drink three drops and they will reveal everything.
Of course, this only exists in the wizarding world of the Harry Potter films.
In reality, this beautiful green bottle of truth serum is just an edible snack sugary drink with an expiration date sold in the park store.
"After drinking the truth serum, you will tell the truth." Shiraishi Kuranosuke opened the truth serum, and the fresh and sweet aroma of green apples wafted out of the bottle. "Sana, will you be willing to tell me the truth?"
Kurikawa Sana was stunned.
She couldn't say "no".
The girl nodded gently, indicating her willingness. Then, she took the "potion" from the other person's hand, raised her head, and drank it all in one gulp.
The aroma of green apple fills the throat and air, dazzling and captivating.
"Okay." Shiraishi Kuranosuke closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and asked directly, "Do you like Atobe?"
“……!”
Kurikawa Sana suddenly felt her throat tighten, as if it was locked by overly sweet syrup.
She had the illusion that the bottle of green apple-flavored green syrup she had just drunk was really the truth serum of the magical world, which prevented her from using sweet words and deceiving others this time.
Or maybe, at the end of the world, when she was about to leave... she didn't want to deceive the other person anymore.
So, Kurikawa Sana nodded slightly.
It means that she acknowledged the other party's question.
“……!!”
Shiraishi Kuranosuke was suddenly stunned, and a trace of hurt flashed across his handsome face.
His expression was complicated and kept changing - but there was still no anger or disappointment in her.
After a long while, Shiraishi Kuranosuke finally continued to ask questions.
"Do you like Yukimura?"
The black-haired girl continued to nod.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke closed his eyes, and the image of Yukimura Seiichi pushing the wheelchair she was sitting in in the garden corridor of the hospital flashed through his mind.
The scene flashed back and turned into what was seen just now, the scene of the brown-haired boy holding the rabbit that Sana transformed into, as dreamy as a fairy tale.
"Do you like Fuji?" Shiraishi Kuranosuke continued to ask, feeling that he was almost being self-abusive.
Kurikawa Sana still nodded honestly.
“………?”
As if he had discovered something, Shiraishi Kuranosuke already had an answer in his heart.
Could it be that she likes... everyone?
Shiraishi Kuranosuke continued, "Do you like Tezuka?"
His answer was still a standard nod.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke: “……!”
…really.
Should she be sad? She herself admitted that she has special feelings for everyone.
Maybe we should be thankful? At least no one is the most special one.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke clenched his fists, then slowly loosened them. Finally, he lowered his head and asked softly, "Then... do you like me?"
"like."
This time, Shiraishi Kuranosuke heard her voice clearly, not just a nod.
——suki.
Such standard two syllables, such a definitive tone.
Shiraishi Kuranosuke raised his head in surprise, his gaze meeting the other person's beautiful, jewel-like blue eyes. The girl's incredibly beautiful face was filled with seriousness.
"Do you think I'm terrible like this, Kuranosuke?" Kurikawa Sana asked softly, "Do you hate me?"
There was a "ding" sound.
The favorability prompt sound from the system has replaced the other party's answer and given the answer first.
[Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Favorability +1. ]
[Shiraishi Kuranosuke's current total favorability: 100.]
Kurikawa Sana: "...!!"
Her eyes were sore and she almost cried. She could hardly believe it. She almost unreasonably admitted that she liked everyone, but Kuranosuke's favorability did not decrease but increased - it directly reached the maximum value of 100.
The white moonlight at night sprinkled on the boy's silver-gray hair, making him more dazzling and sacred than the white moonlight in the sky, making it impossible to take your eyes off him.
"Hate? How could that be..." Shiraishi Kuranosuke reached out and hugged her, his voice hoarse, "Not now, not in the future."
"I like you, Sana."
"I like it very much. I like it now and I will like it forever."
The fresh plant scent emanating from Shiraishi Kuranosuke and the sweet green apple scent between the girl's lips and teeth intertwined, blended, and entangled together.
The boy's golden wristband and the girl's golden waistband collided gently in the gentle embrace, making a crisp sound.
"I'm glad, Sana."
Kurikawa Sana reached out and hugged the other person back, gently closed her eyes, and tears rolled down the corners of her eyes, wetting Shiraishi Kuranosuke's shoulders.
Enduring the pain in her chest, Kurikawa Sana gently stood on tiptoe and, in the boy's surprised gaze, gave him a kiss with the scent of green apple on the corner of his mouth.
A light touch and it's gone in an instant, like a butterfly fluttering by on a midsummer night.
"Thank you, Kuranosuke."
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