Night came, but I still couldn't stop thinking about Sakura.
I mean… at this point, I was basically allowed to think of her as my girlfriend.
Because seriously, what girl invites a guy into her dorm room unless she likes him?
Exactly.
No girl does that unless he's special.
And I was definitely special.
There was only one person I needed to talk to about this.
Yamamoto.
I grabbed my phone and called him. He picked up after a few rings.
"Hello?"
"Yamamoto."
"Yeah?"
"I have a date in two days. What should I do?"
There was a pause.
"A date?" he repeated. "With who?"
"With Sakura. From our class."
Another pause.
"What?"
"She invited me to her dorm."
"Kudo," he said slowly, "don't you think that's moving a little fast?"
"No, no, it makes sense."
"How does that make sense?"
"Because," I said, sitting up straighter, "what girl invites a male human into her private space unless she wants him?"
"A male human?" Yamamoto repeated. "What are you, a documentary narrator now?"
"Stop dodging the point. She invited me. Me."
"Why did she invite you?"
I hesitated for half a second.
"Well… we have to work on that assignment Ms. Takahashi gave us."
There was silence on the other end.
Then Yamamoto let out the kind of laugh that made me want to hang up immediately.
"Kudo," he said, still laughing, "you absolute idiot. She invited you over to work on an assignment. How did your brain turn that into dating?"
"Because you didn't see the way she looked at me."
"The way she looked at you?"
"Yeah."
"How did she look at you?"
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
"That's not important," I muttered.
"Kudo."
"She just did, alright? You had to be there. The vibe was different."
"The vibe," Yamamoto repeated flatly. "Amazing. Truly convincing evidence."
"I'm telling you, she wants me."
"Yeah," he said. "And I'm the emperor of Japan."
"You don't believe me?"
"Not even a little."
I narrowed my eyes at the wall like Yamamoto could somehow feel it through the phone.
"Bet on it."
That got his attention.
"Oh?" he said. "Alright then. If you're so confident, what do you want if you win?"
I grinned.
"You watch my favorite anime."
"No."
"Yes."
"How many episodes?"
"Twenty-four."
He groaned so loudly I had to hold the phone away from my ear.
"Twenty-four? Kudo, that's not a bet. That's psychological warfare."
"You scared?"
"I'm annoyed."
"So that's a yes?"
He sighed. "Fine. If your fantasy somehow turns out to be real, I'll watch your stupid anime."
"Every episode."
"I hate you."
"And if I lose?"
"If I win," Yamamoto said, "you owe me a favor."
I smirked.
"Deal."
He was silent for a second.
Then he said, "You're going to lose."
"We'll see."
"No," he said, dead serious now. "We really won't. I already know."
That actually made me laugh.
He could say whatever he wanted.
In two days, when Sakura made it obvious she liked me, I'd be the one laughing.
Yamamoto just didn't understand these things.
Not everyone could read people as well as I could.
Which was exactly why I was going to win.
Morning came way too fast.
I dragged myself out of bed, still half asleep, but one thought immediately hit me.
This was the second day of having a girlfriend.
Well… technically.
I grabbed my phone and checked it.
Nothing.
No message.
No "good morning."
I stared at the screen for a moment.
…Strange.
Because logically speaking, if Sakura was now my girlfriend, then a good morning text should be part of the daily routine. That's just how relationships work. I'd seen enough anime to know the rules.
Maybe she was just busy.
Or maybe… she was waiting for me to text first.
No.
No, that didn't make sense.
If anything, she should be the one texting me first. It's her responsibility as the human female in the relationship to show care and affection.
Yes.
That made perfect sense.
Feeling satisfied with this completely flawless logic, I got ready and headed to school.
By the time I walked into the classroom, most people were already there.
And then I saw her.
Sakura was sitting at her desk near the window, sunlight pouring in behind her like she was some kind of main character in a romance movie.
Her hair caught the light softly, and she looked completely calm as she flipped through her notebook.
I blinked.
How… how was this possible?
How could my girlfriend look this beautiful first thing in the morning?
Something about that felt unfair.
I should probably say good morning.
Maybe she really did just forget to text me.
Yeah, that had to be it.
I took a step toward her desk.
Before I could say anything…
"Good morning, Kudo."
Sakura said it first.
She looked up at me with a bright smile, her voice soft and warm.
My brain shut down instantly.
For a full second I just stood there.
Frozen.
"Uhhh—G-g-good morning!" I blurted out.
Then, in a completely calm and rational response, I turned around and speed-walked straight to the back of the classroom.
I dropped into my seat.
My heart was beating like I had just run a marathon.
My girlfriend…
Just said good morning to me.
"What are you on about…?"
Yamamoto's voice came from the desk next to mine.
He was staring at me like I had just escaped from a hospital.
"N-nothing," I muttered, trying to act normal.
He narrowed his eyes.
"You look like someone who just saw a ghost."
"You wouldn't understand," I said, crossing my arms. "This is the power of love."
Yamamoto rubbed his face.
"I'm telling you right now," he said flatly, "she invited you to work on the project. That's it."
I scoffed.
"You're just jealous."
"I'm concerned."
"You saw it, right?" I whispered. "She said good morning to me."
"Yes," Yamamoto said slowly. "Because that's a normal greeting between two human beings."
"No," I said confidently. "There was meaning behind it."
"There really wasn't."
"You didn't hear the tone."
"The tone?"
"Yes. It was soft."
"That's how Sakura talks to everyone."
"Wrong."
Yamamoto stared at me for a long moment.
Then he sighed the kind of sigh people make when they realize logic has officially left the conversation.
"You're going to embarrass yourself," he said.
"We'll see."
"No," he replied calmly. "We really won't."
"Did Sakura talk to you? Huh? Did she… invite you to her dorm? Hmm?"
Yamamoto blinked at me, he already knew the answer. "First off, she didn't talk to me. And second… why on earth would she invite me to her dorm?"
"Told ya, bro. She wants me. There's no way I'm wrong."
I thought about what Riku told me earlier.
"I have a plan." I said in deep voice.
Yamamoto's eyes widened. "What…?" His voice had that small, almost panicked edge, like I'd just told him I was about to jump off a cliff.
I smirked.
"Please… go out with me."