Episode 10

"Fujita-kun, seriously..."

　As I walked, I tried desperately to calm my pounding heart.

　However, the noise never stopped and my face began to feel hot.

"...Huh. I wanted to keep it a secret from Fujita-kun... but it's all Aika's fault."

　This time, I begins to feel anger for Aika.

"And Asahi was clearly making fun of me..."

　I suddenly felt uneasy, my heart was beating fast, and my face was hot...

　I didn't know what to do, and I even began to feel like there was nothing I could do.

"Oh man, this is just a case of desperation!"

　Like a carnivore, I dive into a paradise lined with sweets.

　Sweets save the world.

　If that's true, please save me, a weirdo, before you save the world.

"...Haa."

　Even when I see sweets that sparkle like jewels, I can't really lift my spirits because of the fuzzy feeling in my heart.

　The amount of emotions exceeds my tolerance level, and I feel frustrated, as if I can't see the true nature of each one.

　Once again, I found myself sighing in front of the Sweets God.

"Y-Tohsaka?"

"Whoa!!"

　When I turned around after being called, Fujita was standing there with an apologetic look on his face.

　He sits right in front of me, small and tiny, like a boy coming to apologize to his angry mother.

"W-what's up with you? What's wrong?"

"Well, I mean... I made Tohsaka angry, so I wanted to apologize."

"I'm not angry, not at all."

"You're angry, aren't you?"

"I'm not angry!"

"...You're still angry, aren't you?"

"I'm angry!"

"He was angry!"

　Fujita-kun gave a wry smile and scratched his head in a troubled expression.

　Right now I have no idea what I want to say.

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　I wasn't really angry just now. But now I am.

　Fujita paused for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully, then timidly opened his mouth.

“Well, I was trying to follow up on Tohsaka, or rather, I wanted to say that what Tohsaka herself thinks is different from what the people around her think. But I think I expressed it in the wrong way, or how should I put it… I’m sorry.”

　His words make it clear that it was good intentions that clouded my heart.

　To begin with, Fujita-kun is always kind.

　In this case, it is my fault for feeling embarrassed about accepting the kindness directly.

"It's not something you should apologize for, Fujita-kun. After all, you said it for my sake, right?"

"……Yeah"

"Then don't worry about it? If I were to apologize for doing something kind, your kindness would just wear off."

"Tohsaka..."

　The violent waves in my heart slowly calm down.

　I still have no idea what the swirling emotions are, or what their names are.

　But even if I was angry at Fujita, I knew I was wrong.　

　If you're not angry, that's fine.

　I don't know everything about myself.

　If you think about it that way, you can just hope that you will understand it eventually.

"Well, now that things have come to this, it'd be a shame if we didn't try some sweets. Now that we've been found out, if Fujita-kun says it's okay, we can enjoy it without worrying."

　I finally felt like I could face sweets.

　Okay, I was about to enjoy some sweets -- but then...

"No, maybe I'm just different after all."

"……yes?"

　Fujita-kun looks at me with his straight eyes.

　I have a bad feeling.

　Fujita-kun has this strange attitude of not being able to lie to anyone.

　I have an incredibly bad feeling about this.

"I probably said it for my own sake. I just couldn't forgive her, and I felt like Tohsaka was losing out."

"What do you mean?"

"Because I honestly think Tohsaka is cute. So it's weird that I think it's weird for me to go into a girly store!"

"Huh?!?! You just apologized a moment ago, didn't you?! You're making the same mistake again?! Even a chicken can take three steps, but you did it on the spot?!"

"Then you will repeat your mistakes! That's just how humans are!"

"That's a broad topic!"

　Seriously, what is this guy?

　What is this!

"--Ha! I understand now. As someone who knows how cute Tohsaka is, I was sad that she thought I didn't suit Sweets Paradise! That's why I said that! So it was for my own good!"

「What have you been saying all this time?! The way you empathize with me to that extent makes it seem like you gave birth to my...cuteness!」

"Giving birth...that's a good idea. I'll hire you!"

"Immediately rejected!!!"

　Fujita's words get my engine started.

　I've never been a quiet type to begin with.

　At this point, Fujita-kun doesn't need any sympathy.

　I'm going to open the lid to my emotions and not know what's going to come out!

"I'll take this opportunity to say it clearly, Fujita-kun, you call me cute too much! And you always say it without considering the time, place and occasion!"

"Ugh! It's cute, but is that no good?"

"No! ...No, but..."

　...Ah, that's right.

　It's not a bad thing if Fujita-kun tells me I'm cute.

　In fact, it should be something to be happy about.

　But I'm not used to the word "cute" so I have an allergic reaction to it.

"Is it no good? I'll probably keep saying that in the future, but is that okay?"

"it is……"

　Do I want him to tell me I'm cute?

　The answer is without a doubt -

　But I'm not ready yet.

　I'm not in the mood to accept Fujita-kun's cuteness head-on.

　So that means I--

　If I could honestly say "thank you" in response to Fujita-kun saying "you're cute," would that mean I had become a "girl"?

　As that idea emerged clearly from the chaos, I was overcome with a sense of freedom, like a brand new, sun-kissed item.

"Tohsaka?"

　I was startled when Fujita called out to me.

"...I don't mind if you know the time, place and occasion. But if you say too much I'll die."

"Okay, I'll do that from now on."

　Fujita answers.

　The conversation calmed down.

　The argument with Fujita ended well.

　...But still.

　--Thump.

　……Why.

　I wonder why this is happening.

　My mind should have calmed down and the confusion cleared away.

　Only the beating of my heart was louder and hotter than before.

　Seriously, what on earth has happened to me?

　Mystery leads to new mysteries.

　At that moment, I strongly felt that perhaps the day would never come when I would be able to fully understand myself.

　　　　　♦ ♦ ♦

"I don't want to see any more sweet things..."

"M-me too... I feel like the whipped cream has melted into one lump in my stomach."

"I honestly thought I could do a food fight on TV, but now I've lost all confidence..."

　Usami, Reo, and I each took turns leaving the store and putting our hands on our knees.

　While everyone was making distorted faces as they commented (with increasingly negative feelings), only one person was smiling like a satisfied elementary school student who had just slid down the slide to his heart's content.

"It was delicious. It's a shame we ran out of time, but I was able to eat seven-tenths of it so I'm satisfied."

"Seventh of a percent..."

　--It was the moment when everyone thought that a successor to a certain gal food fighter who had been active in the industry for a long time had finally been found.

"But Kaori. You always eat a lot, but today you ate even more than usual."

"Eh, really?"

"Yeah! It's like she's releasing stress by eating something..."

"Oh, that's not true. I guess I've just leveled up a bit."

"There's something about growing through fighting, that's what happened in food fights..."

"Well, it is a fight after all."

"No, it's just a hobby."

　Tohsaka's calm remark left us all in silence.

　Reo stretched his body and let out a big breath.

"It's still three o'clock. This day feels so long."

"That's right. Oh, why don't we go to karaoke after this? Since we're here !"

　Usami suggested excitedly.

"Oh, sorry. I have something to do later today. So I'll be go from here."

　When I said that, Usami dropped his shoulders in disappointment.

"I see. Well then, there's nothing we can do. We'll just have to wait for another chance!"

"Yeah. See you later."

　I turn on my heels and start walking quickly.

　I looked at the clock on my smartphone. It showed the time: 3pm.

"...I guess I stayed a bit too long."

　I turned the corner, slid my bag back onto my shoulder, and took off running.