Chapter 83: Focused

“Uh…” Youna was reminded of the time when she had to give that opening speech. Compared to that, this felt like there were a lot more pressure being exerted on her from their eyes. All the girls seemed like they wanted to say something to her now that it was just them. “Is there something wrong?”

“What is up with you and Ishi?” Ryugi was the first one to break the silence among them.

“What?” That question caught her off guard. She was already sweating about the attention being brought on her, but now they wanted to know more about her relationship with the boy? Now this was really pushing her to the limit. “He’s, um…” She stammered trying to come up with a good explanation. “Me and Ishi are just, uh, good friends.”

“But, you two are awfully close, aren’t you?” Rinse continued the line of questions. There was a hint of something in her voice that Youna noticed. What was up with these girls, she wondered. Ryugi was one of the most popular girls in school. Of course, everyone knew who Rinse was. And then there was Chiana, who she had no clue why that girl would be so curious about her and Ishi. Perhaps it was due to her sister?

“Yeah, my sister told me that he seems to care a lot about you.” Said Chiana. That girl still had her upbeat attitude, but yet there was something in there that Youna was uncertain about. “Don’t you think that’s kind of weird though? He seems to act distant with other people.”

“I guess that’s kind of true.” Youna wasn’t blind to his attitude, but she did disagree about him being some major jerk. They might’ve had a decent reason to feel that way, but they never saw him the way she did. He was kind in his own way. Maybe it was harsh, but it certainly was tough love for those he felt were wasting their time with what he viewed to be meaningless reasoning. “But, that’s because we’re friends. Of course he’s nice to me.”

While Youna tried to reason to them that it meant nothing, it wasn’t good enough for them. The other three girls had been waiting for a good opportunity to get to the root of the issue here. Maybe he might not be trying to do it on purpose, but Ishi did seem to treat this girl differently than everyone else. They had to find what she felt about that, and if perhaps his actions could read deeper into his own feelings.

“So? I’m friends with him too.” Said Ryugi. “But, I’m not the one who he was all worried about being hurt.”

“Yeah, he seemed a lot more concerned than usual when you got cut.” Rinse brought back that memory. Chiana stayed quiet on that detail, since she had to remember that her current form wasn’t there to see that.

“That sounds very sweet of him.” She said instead. “A boy doting over a helpless girl could point to how much he cares about you.”

“Well… Um.” Youna placed a hand over her mouth to try in a futile effort to hide the growing glow of her cheeks. The idea that Ishi could possibly have feelings for her made her heart want to jump out of her chest, but she had long given up on the idea. He had once told her that he would confess to a girl the moment he fell for them without any hesitation. This meant he wasn’t in love with anyone, or else they’d all know about it now. “But, he obviously cares about you girls too.”

“Really? Do you even think it’s on par with you?” Replied Ryugi.

“Well, he did spend the night all alone with you…” It was still hard for her to envision that he had done something like that with a girl like her. Even after knowing that nothing was done between them, it reminded her of the time the pair were caught coming out of a bathroom together. “And Rinse, he’s the one who cheered you up when you were down at the beach.”

It was true he had done those things for those girls. She wasn’t sure what he could’ve done for Chiana, or even Chiane, so she didn’t bother mentioning anything to those girls.

“Maybe you’ve got a point.” Rinse relented on pushing for more. Even if some people noticed the odd changes he had with that girl, perhaps his other moments were ignored since he didn’t seem too emotional about it. Not only that, but perhaps their jealousy was getting the best of them, and they were all overthinking it.

“But why does everyone here care about how he feels about me?” Youna started to ask another question that they didn’t want to answer. Fortunately for them, someone came around to stop her.

“All right girls, I got everyone some drinks.” Otoya had finally returned, effectively ending their conversation since it was supposed to stay private away from the boys.

“Right, forgot about those.” Ishi and Chinae’s dad also came back with the food. Now that the boy who was the subject of their attention had came back, it was time for Ryugi to create some bait. “Well, time to eat up.” The boxes that carried their meal were spread across the table for them to pick out what they wanted from their seats.

“Oh Ishi.” Ryugi started her plan. “Who do you want to sit next to?” If none of them were aware of how he truly felt, then as he once told her. His actions would be the ones that spoke the loudest.

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“Well, I’d like to sit next to Chiana’s dad, if that’s okay with you.” He directed his question to the idol. “We were having a nice chat, so I don’t mind continuing our conversation.”

“It’s just like Ishi to get along with adults the most.” Said Otoya as he slid between Rinse and Youna. Just as Ryugi suspected, that boy really did make his intentions clear with his actions. Yet at the same time, maybe there was something hidden behind what he chose to do.

After all, he knew this was Chiana’s dad. Which also meant that was Chinae’s father he was getting buddy buddy with. Could that be a way for him to get closer to one of those girls without anyone noticing? No… That wouldn’t make any sense based on things he had told them.

“You know, boys.” Then she had to go a little more direct with her baiting to get something out of him. “Us ladies spent so much time getting ready for the festival. Which one of us looks the best in these yukatas?”

For comparisons sake, it should be noted what everyone was actually wearing. Rinse had on a darker blue yukata that complimented her hair. The waves of water was designed as its pattern, a reference to her name as well as style of flowing like a river on the dance stage.

Youna was wearing a yellow one, that was decorated with the branches of a fruit tree blooming right before providing ripe food. Ryugi had a reddish-orange yukata. It was adorned with the rays of the sun which demonstrated how brightly she stood out among her peers.

Finally, there was Chiana. Hers was of a verdant green, which was chosen to compliment the blonde wig she had on. Obviously, Chiane probably would’ve went with something different, but symbols of bird were still a sight to behold when adorned by this girl.

“Rinse is always a beauty no matter what she’s wearing.” Otoya was quick to answer. He really had no shame or hesitation when it came to trying to impress this girl. “Not that any of you look bad.”

“What about you, Ishi?” Ryugi asked the boy. He was the one whose opinion was the one that very single one of them cared about. “And don’t try to weasel out of this one and say that we all look equally good.”

“Teenage girls and them asking boys about their looks…” He muttered to himself, annoyed at being put in this situation once again. Though this time was different with the four girls instead of just Rinse and Youna.

He scanned among them for a little bit, taking the time to consider his answer on what he felt was the best. Then finally he was able to say something to them. “I’d say Chiana.”

“What?” They all said in unison. Rinse was the one most shocked about his answer. She figured that he’s say either her or Youna after the last time this question was asked. Though to be fair, they were the only two options back then.

“But, why?” Asked Ryugi. Chiana had grown rather silent in hearing him say that she was the best out of them.

“Well, she’s got birds on her yukata, and I really like birds.” He said, and that was it. Everyone waited for him to say more, but that was all Ishi had to say on the matter. “That’s pretty much it.” They all nearly fell off their seats hearing his reasoning. This might’ve… No, it definitely was the dumbest thing he had ever said during the entire time of knowing them.

“Well, uh, thanks.” Chiana still expressed her gratitude despite his odd reasons. “It’s nice that you like my outfit so much.”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t really have an opinion on yukatas.” Since he usually didn’t go to these festivals, Ishi hadn’t seen anyone wear these in person for years now. Even if he had, they certainly weren’t high school girls. “But why do you all care, is there a reason why you want to know my opinion so much?”

“My, look at the time.” Said Rinse, ready to get out of here so they could ignore the question. “It’s time for us to head over to the concert.”

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