Ayano Aishi, the Emotionless Lover

Special Chapter Again :3

    She should have noticed how close Kokona always stayed, sticking right beside her at any possible moment. In fact, the only time Kokona wasn’t practically glued to Ayano’s hip, one of them were auditioning for a play- one called Ivory Heart . 

    Ayano got the female lead. She wondered if this was especially interesting, because Kokona spent the rest of the day showering her with praise. She even walked Ayano home so that she could continue her non stop complimenting.

    The next day went by in a similar fashion, and so did the next after that. In fact, the first week passed with most of Ayano’s spare moments being taken over by Kokona Haruka, who was more than happy to include Ayano in her friend group, which consisted of five other girls. Ayano played her part in life, returning compliments to Kokona and exchanging stories among the group. She got a new routine, and was content.

    The next week brought change. And that change came in the form of Otohiko Meichi, who tripped on thin air and landed on the ground...with his head landing right where the gate was about to move.

    Ayano hadn’t thought about her actions, she had simply pulled the boy up and out of the way before he became, well, a stain on the pavement. This, in return, led to him knocking her onto the ground, landing on top of her. He had quickly blushed and gotten off. The blush hadn’t gone away when Ayano had, heading to class as he shouted his gratitude behind her.

    Soon after, Ayano began to see flashes of pink following her. If she was quick enough, she could see him as he ducked behind corners or snuck around a classmate, his eyes always shining and face as pink as his hair when he looked at her. Ayano brought up his behavior to Kokona, who brushed it off with a giggle.

    “He just sees that you’re wonderful, Yan. Just like I do!” The girl had pulled Ayano into a hug then, and proceeded to pour praise onto the noirette once more. 

    So then there were two. And Ayano grew used to it, to the fleeting glances from the younger boy and the constant embraces from the older girl. It was just life, plain and simple.

    Then the third came. 

    She’d been walking to the auditorium, Kokona latched onto her arm as per usual, when the Sport Club boys had been running on the track. One of them, Mantaro Sashimasu, was far behind the rest, and looked upset by how slow he was. 

    When he passed, all Ayano said was, “You’re doing great, keep it up.”

    Mantaro had looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes, and his face reddened even more. But then he beamed and nodded, and picked up his pace. 

    The next day, the boy ran up to her before class, and proceeded to grill her about her hobbies, excitedly telling her about his in return. Ayano took this in stride, just like she always did. Her routine became more excitable, with two underclassmen and an older girl constantly following her.

    So when she had a silent day, it was unusual. Of course, it didn’t last long.

    Kokona had been sick that day, and Mantaro was determined to become stronger- for her, he had said, but Ayano hadn’t paid it any mind. And with Otohiko still sticking to his habits of watching from afar, Ayano decided to just have lunch alone on the rooftop.

    And so she met Kyuji Konagawa. Kyuji was rather odd, and somewhat quiet, but he didn’t shy away from conversation. Instead, Kyuji had come up to Ayano, who’d been sitting in silence, and sat beside her. And as they ate, he occasionally filled the silence with whatever came to mind. He was a pleasant person, and when he admitted he used to be popular, Ayano wasn’t surprised.