4.1
"I can't believe we met again this soon, Ayanokouji-kun."
Kiyotaka was certainly surprised to see a certain silver-haired girl standing a few meters in front of him, just before he could head inside the library. From the looks of things, it seems like both students were planning to enter the place together.
A big smile formed on the girl's face as soon as she saw him, which was enough to show that she was very delighted to cross paths with her friend once again.
"Is it weird to say that I was actually looking forward to seeing you again, Shiina?" he asked rhetorically.
It was actually the reason why he was here.
Three days after their first meeting in this place, Kiyotaka remembered Hiyori's words about her being normally at the library after classes and if he ever wanted to read novela with her again, that's where he could find her.
Since he was free for the rest of the afternoon and he wasn't feeling tired, the young man thought of visiting the library to see if he could join her for another reading session.
And he was incredibly lucky to see the person he's looking for before even stepping inside of the library.
"Not at all. I was looking forward to seeing you too, Ayanokouji-kun. I thought I wouldn't be able to see you for at least a few weeks," she smiled.
"A few weeks? That's too much, don't you think?" he asked, finding it strange how she thought that they wouldn't even meet for several weeks. "After you told me that you're mostly at the library whenever classes are over, it was already in my mind to go here whenever I don't have anything to do."
"I'm glad you remembered me, then."
"You're speaking as if I would forget you so easily. Were you worried that I'd forget you, Shiina?"
"Maybe," she chuckled. "Come on then, there's no time to waste, Ayanokouji-kun!"
"Woah, Shiina, calm down..."
With a big smile on her face, Hiyori rushed over to hug her friend's arm, taking him by surprise. Without, Kiyotaka felt himself getting dragged by the girl as they entered the library together.
After setting down their bags at an empty table near the windows, the two teenagers headed towards the Mystery section to pick out several books for them to read.
Kiyotaka took the remaining books in the Lord Peter series that he hasn't read yet, while Hiyori picked out a few underrated titles that her friend recommended to her a few days ago. Some of them include 'The House We Grew Up In', 'Lightseekers', and 'The Wicked Sister'.
As the two walked back to their table while holding their chosen books, Ayanokouji took a glance at the girl with him, who has been smiling ever since she stepped into the library with him.
Was she seriously this happy just because he was here with her?
"The last time we saw each other was three days ago, and that was only our first meeting. Did you become attached to me in no time at all?" asked Kiyotaka in a teasing manner, or at least he tried to.
He didn't have a lot of options with his usual emotionless tone, after all.
Fortunately, it seemed like Hiyori understood what he was implying and simply covered her mouth to stifle her giggles.
They were in a library now, after all.
"Would it be wrong if I said yes?" Shiina teased back, a mischievous glint appearing in her eyes.
"Not really, but I'd like to know why."
"It's not that complicated," Hiyori shook her head in amusement. "Like I said to you before, no one else in my class shares the same interest in books as me. I had no one to talk to about the things I like the most until I met you, Ayanokouji-kun."
"That almost sounded like a confession," he said in his thoughts as he stared at his companion.
The young man couldn't say anything at first because he was still trying to process what she said in his mind, but was eventually able to come up with a response.
"I feel honored that you treat someone like me as a friend over your classmates in your own class. In fact, I'm now sure that you talk to me a lot more than your classmates even though this is only the second time we've met."
Having a hunch that she did something wrong, Shiina immediately turned to him with a look of worry, while unconsciously hugging her chosen books closer to her chest.
"I'm sorry, am I bothering you with my personality? I know that I can get carried away when I'm excited like this..."
"No, and don't apologize for it. Like I said, it only shows that you're passionate about your interests and that's not a bad thing at all."
"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun."
In a move that made Kiyotaka's eyes widen in total surprise, Hiyori leaned her body slightly against him, while letting her head rest against his arm. She didn't say anything about her current position and continued to walk with him as if nothing was wrong, but it was different for the young man beside her.
"Shiina is... certainly forward with her actions," Kiyotaka said in his thoughts as he could only stare at this girl in wonder.
He wondered if she was like this because he was her friend.
4.2
The two students spent the next two hours reading in peace at their table, with no one else around. Sometimes, they would break the silence to ask the other person a question about the book they're reading at that particular moment, and they would comply right away.
In other words, the atmosphere between them was quiet and comfortable for the two of them. It honestly felt like only the two of them were present in the library right now, which wasn't a bad thing at all.
This time, though, Hiyori would ask her companion something that would leave him puzzled and confused because of the nature of the question itself.
"Do you believe in fate, Ayanokouji-kun?"
Kiyotaka looked at the girl beside him as she asked that question, completely unable to take his eyes off her while she donned a curious expression on her face.
"What's this question about?" he couldn't help but ask himself in his thoughts, wondering what's the purpose of such a question.
This question can't be related to the books that Hiyori was reading, right? He knew all of the books that she was currently reading right now and there were none of them that involved the term 'fate'.
If so, then this must be a random question that she just thought of. There's no other way to explain it!
Eventually, Kiyotaka realized that he needed to answer his companion before she could get mad at him because he was taking too long, so he quickly came up with a quick and rational response to her question.
"No, but the concept of it does intrigue me. What about you?" he asked, throwing the question back at Hiyori.
Hiyori only smiled. "Logically speaking, there is no such thing as fate. I believe that we are the instrument of our own paths in life through our decisions. However, as someone who prefers the endless freedom of creativity in books, I want to believe in things like fate and destiny."
"That's a rather long way of saying yes," he commented. "I don't know, though. The idea of everything happening because it was already written is both scary but interesting to think about. However, I personally wouldn't waste endless hours trying to debate with myself if such a concept truly exists."
She chuckled for a bit. "I can't say I disagree but anyway, it's because I think it was fated for us to meet, Ayanokouji-kun."
He raised an eyebrow at that statement. "Is that so? Why do you think that is?"
"Well, think about it. Of all the places that we could meet for the first time, it would be in a library. A place that we both like to go to," Hiyori pointed out.
"Funny. The reason why I was at the library that day was because I was in a study group reviewing our lessons for the midterms. I wasn't actually planning to read books at first. You could say our meeting was more of a coincidence than fate," he explained.
"Oh, you were studying with your classmates for the midterms. And here I thought you weren't friends with many people in your classroom," she teased.
"The study group ended almost as soon as it started, Shiina. In the end, none of us were really able to review our lessons properly."
The girl blinked a few times, a look of confusion taking over her features.
"Why?"
Kiyotaks sighed. "Let's just say that most of us didn't get along with each other. Personality clashed with personality, and attitude clashed with attitude."
"I'm curious... what exactly happened?"
The young man paused for a moment, thinking about what he should do.
Is it wise for him to reveal information about his class to Hiyori? She's from another class, after all, and they are supposed to be competing against each other...
...hmm...
Kiyotaka shrugged to himself.
Well, in the end, it's not like he'll be revealing any sensitive information. The study group involving Horikita, Kushida, Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi failed to produce results, that's it.
Plus, he could tell that Hiyori was simply curious. It's not like she was actively seeking to learn about the blunder of other classes for her own amusement.
The young man closed his book for now. "Me and another classmate brought the whole group together because three students were in need of some serious tutoring. The person who was supposed to help them isn't someone who has a sense of humor, so she takes everything seriously. To put it simply, she wasn't impressed with our three classmates and thought they weren't worth her time."
Hiyori gave him her full attention, as she only listened to every word that came out of his mouth and remained quiet.
"Still, she gave them a chance to take their studies seriously. However, the three kept on complaining about studying instead. As a result, she made some insulting remarks about them and their unwillingness to take their studies seriously. From there, it all went downhill."
"I can only imagine how it went..." she whispered, a look of concern taking over her features.
"Because of that, the study group dissolved. The three of them left right away, and our other companion was the next to leave. It was only her and me in the end, but I left as well. There was no reason for me to stay there when there's no point in doing so."
"That's... quite the story, Ayanokouji-kun."
"I decided to distract myself from what happened by finding a book to read since I was at the library, and that's when I found you."
"I understand now..."
With that, Ayanokouji opened the book in his hands and was about to continue reading, only for Shiina to utter these next words...
"This might be selfish of me to say, but I'm glad that happened, Ayanokouji-kun."
That got him to stop for a moment, as he sent his companion a baffled look.
Did he even hear her right?
Selfish? What exactly is Shiina trying to say?
"What do you mean by that?"
"If that never happened, then we would have never met, don't you think?" she asked him with a smile. "Maybe we would have, eventually, as a result of the competition between classes. However, I am glad that I met you this early, Ayanokouji-kun."
He continued to stare at Hiyori in wonder, but was still able to respond to her words.
"I don't really think it's selfish for you to say such a thing, since the whole incident only happened by circumstance. However, I am surprised that you actually said that," he explained his stance, before raising an eyebrow at her. "From the moment we met, you were the paragon of kindness in my eyes. I never would have thought that you'd talk about feeling selfish so openly."
The smile on her face widened slightly, and Kiyotaka was unsure if the current look on her face meant mischief or amusement.
"Then you might be surprised at what I'm really like," she whispered, leaning close to him as if she didn't want anyone else to know.
"What are you saying?"
"It's a secret~"
...huh, it seems like he was completely wrong in his assessment of this girl.
4.3
It turns out that she is completely different from Kushida, which is a hidden side that she doesn't want other people to see.
Unlike his classmate who is a complete angel to everyone else and doesn't seem to have anything serious to hide from people, there's something about Shiina that she doesn't show others.
But on the other hand, it doesn't seem like she has a problem with him seeing this side of hers.
This 'hidden side' must be a harmless trait of hers that she's embarrassed about. Maybe she's picky about most things or she could be very critical about even the smallest of details.
At most, it may be something that's as significant as a complete switch in her personality.
Hmm, maybe there's a devilish side to this girl?
Needless to say, his curiosity was piqued and he was genuinely interested in knowing more about this sudden development. However, he wouldn't push his luck and ask about it. He'll just have to observe his friend closely and see what she's like for himself.
"Well, I'm not prying into what's supposed to be your business. But, I will say that you're more interesting than I thought, Shiina."
"You make it sound like you're someone who's hard to impress," she giggled.
"I don't think I am. I'm simply more interested in things that seem unrecognizable at first glance, but are actually there if you look hard enough."
The girl continued to giggle after hearing those words, forcing her to cover her mouth in order to stifle the noise.
"No wonder you like mystery novels, Ayanokouji-kun. You basically described the genre as a whole."
"I suppose. I believe I made my point, though," he shrugged, before resuming in his reading.
And then, in a move that managed to catch him off guard for the second time today, Hiyori leaned against his body and her head rested on his shoulder. It was exactly like what she did earlier while they were picking out books from the shelves of the Mystery section.
This time, Ayanokouji couldn't stop himself from looking on in bewilderment. His jaw even fell slightly as a result.
"Ayanokouji-kun, do you mind if I lean on you like this?"
It took a few seconds for Kiyotaka to respond properly, shaking his head as he told her his answer.
"I don't mind."
"Thank you," she smiled cutely at him, before continuing in her reading.
"This girl surprises me at every turn so far," the young man thought to himself as he did the same, but not before sneaking one more glance at his companion.
Getting surprised by Hiyori's demeanor and actions isn't a bad thing. As a matter of fact, this was an amusing sight for his eyes that it reached the point where it almost got a smile to appear on his face.
Plus, this wasn't a bad position to be in, either. Shiina is an attractive girl, probably one of the most beautiful females that he has encountered in this school so far, and only a fool would think this is not a favorable situation to end up in.
Yes, he was pleased that Shiina was acting this way while he's around.
Perhaps it's because of the innocent aura coming from Shiina, or perhaps it's because he knows that there's a hidden side to this girl that he was now aware of.
One thing was clear, though.
Shiina Hiyori was a completely different girl compared to any of his classmates and he had to admit, he was interested in seeing where this relationship of theirs would take them.
"I look forward to the next time we meet."