“Ahhh…” I quietly scream, burying my blushing face in my arms. Even now, exactly a week after that horrid date night, I still can’t forget everything that has happened.
I mean, if I’m that thick-skinned to be able to wipe it off my memory, I’d not have to do all of that in the first place. But in the end, this is the fate I have to suffer - constantly feeling like putting my face in the oven whenever I close my eyes and go to sleep.
“... I really screwed up big time, didn’t I?”
Everything was a complete bust. The rides I took so much effort to fix… Well, okay, I didn’t “fix” anything, but that’s perfectly understandable for a rollercoaster. And the whole fireworks display, too… I betted everything I had on that, but the end result…
“Damn it! What does “I lose you” even mean?”
I throw myself on the bed once more, tired and defeated. Well, if there’s any bright side, it’s that Natsume didn’t seem disappointed on the date night… But whether or not she’d reciprocate my feelings…
Ugh, I can’t even use the “only time could tell” cliche. Because the time is supposed to be today, and I still haven’t received any message at all! Even I have my limits, you know! I get that a week is a week, and it’s not going any faster if I think, or stop thinking, about it, but I can’t help it, okay?
Another knock on the window interrupts my train of thought. At least at this point, I’m already used to the owner of this seemingly impossible situation.
Pulling open the curtains, I complain:
“Can’t you use the door like a normal person, Yoichi?”
“It’s faster this way,” the genius magician, once again in his upside-down state like some kind of urban vampire, answers without a hitch.
“... Come in,” I let out a sigh of defeat. There’s no use arguing with him, after all.
Surprisingly, the first thing I receive from the surprise visit is a question:
“Have you seen Mangetsu?”
“Who’s Mangetsu?”
“He’s the crow that delivered our messages when I was still fixing my phone,” Yoichi answers while his eyes glance around for any signs of a black bird.
“But why my room?”
“I don’t know. Your room looks like a good hiding spot.”
“Gee, thanks,” I scoff at the backhanded comment. Look, it’s not my fault that it’s filled with empty cup noodles and unwashed laundry… okay, maybe it is my fault, but still.
“Well, anyway, I don’t remember housing any birds here,” I continue. “Are you sure you didn’t miscount your crows?”
“Of course not,” Yoichi quickly denies with a shake of the head. “I remember all of them. There’s Hougetsu, Suigetsu, Shingetsu…”
“Why is every one of them named ‘moon’?”
“It’s easier to remember, but I digress. Mangetsu in particular is the most intelligent of the bunch. I can’t think of a reason why he’d just fly off without my directions like that.”
“... You said he was used to deliver our messages, right? Then how about checking with Natsume?” I ask.
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“Can’t,” shrugs Yoichi. “Don’t you remember? Today’s the award ceremony, and the venue bans outsiders except the media.”
“Of her competition?”
“Yeah,” replying to me is a pair of weirded eyes. “I thought you already knew, considering she left you hanging for another week.”
“Don’t remind me…” I let out a sigh.
But thanks to the added emotional damage, an idea comes to my mind.
“Wait… If there’s the media, then there should be TV cameras or something at the ceremony, right? Maybe if she’s there, the crow is there too.”
“And we can see him through our TV!” Yoichi quickly nods in joy. “Good idea, Hakuen! …”
As the words leave our mouths, both of us realize a fatal mistake that we’ve made.
I don’t have a TV in my room. And from the looks of Yoichi’s pale expression, it doesn’t seem like he has one, either.
“Let’s… go to the electronics store.”
“... Yeah.”
Of course, we’re not buying a TV. We’re just high school students without a penny in our pockets, after all. The only reason we come to the place is to “use” their display TVs - that is, we’re about to attempt the face-losing act of watching TV through the store’s glass door.
But even so, it seems like luck hasn’t left our side just yet. As we arrive at the electronics store, the ceremony has only just begun, as shown on the rows of TVs on display. And as luck would have it, Natsume is right on the frame too.
“Okay, let’s check to see if there are any crows nearby,” I say. But before Yoichi can answer, the reporter on TV has already jumped in to interrupt us:
“Congratulations, Miss Fukuzawa Natsume, on winning this year’s Golden Page Award. How does it feel after finally achieving the top prize after four years of entering?”
“Oh, wow! She won?” I exclaim.
“It seems so,” Yoichi answers with a lightly shivering voice. “I thought they were interviewing all the prize winners, but I didn’t expect Natsume to be first.”
Meanwhile, on the TV, the main character answers:
“It’s a great pleasure to finally stand here on this stage. As you said, this is my fourth entry, and it still feels very surreal that I’ve won… it’s an indescribable feeling.”
“Well, I’m sure you must be very happy,” the reporter continues. “And, if I’m not mistaken, you submitted one novel about two weeks before the competition’s deadline but then canceled it to write a new one in a week. Is that true?”
“... Yes, that is true,” Natsume nods in return. “To be honest, when I submitted my first work, I wasn’t sure about it myself. But after some… circumstances, another inspiration struck, which led to the story that helped me win today.”
At the point when she stutters, I can vaguely see Natsume’s cheeks being slightly flushed. Is that the TVs acting up, or are they so good that they can show accurate images of the scene?
“I see,” the reporter lets out a cunning smile. “Seeing that your winning entry is a romance novel, do I take it that the ‘circumstance’ you mentioned was related to a certain person, perhaps? Maybe someone… you have feelings for?”
Natsume is slightly taken aback by the question, but only for a brief second. With a smile on her face, she takes a step forward and looks directly at the camera:
“As a matter of fact, it is. I was wondering what would be a good way to reply to him, but now that we’re here already, I can’t find a better moment than this.”
Taking a deep breath, Natsume shouts at the mic as loud as she can:
“Fuutsuno Hakuen! Can you hear me? I love you too!”
I turn to Yoichi, who turns to me at the same time. Both of us turn to the TV, then to each other. This sequence of action repeats about ten more times before a sudden flapping sound interrupts our trance.
Pointing to his shoulder, Yoichi awkwardly says:
“I, uh… found Mangetsu.”
The crow, as if following a cue, flies off his shoulder to peck my head. The pain is sudden and fleeting, but it’s there. Which can only mean one thing.
“It… hurts.”
“So…”
“It’s… not a dream…”
“Which means…”
“I think… I did it…”
“You did it…”
Awkward silence soon erupts into elation.
“I did it!”
Yoichi quickly jumps on my shoulders to celebrate as well:
“You did it!”
Damn, he’s heavy! But who cares at this point?
“I did it!”
“You did it!”
“Uh… what are you two doing?”
While we’re twirling around outside the electronics store like a pair of monkeys, a dastardly voice calls out from behind us.
“N-Natsume!” Quickly flipping Yoichi away, I turn around. “What brings you here so early? I thought…”
“That was a rerun,” the girl gestures at the row of TV screens. “It’s 3 PM in the afternoon, while the award ceremony was in the morning.”
Yoichiiii…
As I turn to the prodigy on the ground, all I receive is an equally clueless face, along with the question “How should I know?” written all over him. And before I can say anything else, the guy has already stood up, thrown a smoke bomb, and disappeared without another word.
“Well, anyway…” a light cough from Natsume, and I can see her face lightly blushing as she purposely looks away from me. “Seeing that you know about the show, then I take it that you’ve heard my answer?”
I can say nothing more than a nod.
“Then… please take care of me from now on… Hakuen.”
“... Likewise, Natsume.”