Yui left first. Not angry, but not convinced either...
Senkai remained by the window for a moment longer, watching the late afternoon sun stretch across the campus courtyard. Students passed in groups, laughter rising and fading like background noise.
He felt oddly calm, Not reckless or desperate, but certain.
———
"Across campus, Millenium hall building—"
Reze stood alone on the stage. The auditorium lights were dim, Only the stage lights were on, casting long shadows across the wooden floor.
She held the script for collage festival play loosely in her hand. "You're running away... What's love, I believe it's something to where you are willing to do the impossible for."
His voice replayed in her mind. She clicked her tongue softly, "Impossible," she muttered. Love wasn't impossible. But It was inconvenient least to her. Unstable and dangerous.
She had learned that the hard way.
———
"A Flashback went through her head..."
A younger Reze on the same stage two years ago: Laughing more openly. Speaking without measuring every word. Trusting without calculating the outcome.
And beside her—Lemon Kanawa.
Always Confident, sharp, charismatic in the way cool like the senior boys always were. But at the breath it all the him, the one and only I ever knew of, kind, Caring, and sweet gentle in a way that only was exclusive for me...
He had praised her acting, Told her she had the presence to caught the audience. Told her that she was different, she thought. and I had believed him because I had loved him, and when he rejected her—
I remember He didn't do it cruelly, That what almost made it worse. He said, "Reze. Let's... broke up." Hm... Did I done something again, she said. Come on lemon don't tell me today, it's April fool day or something?"
His face looked calm and his calm face means danger that it meant He is serious. "Let's break up Reze. He said, anyway we keep getting into fights, keep breaking up and than reconcile again and again, I'm tired of this relationship."
But. She said, "Why? You never had a problem with that before and to me, it sounds more like an excuse. "You're too intense. I can't give you what you want. If its a break up you want give a good enough reason for it."
"Too intense. He said, Fine. So, than you want honestly, I'm tired of this relationship, his voice cracked, I am getting tired of you, and I'm sick of us."
———
She remembered trying to reconcile through it. Pretending it didn't split something inside her. But somewhere inside always begging for him to take her back, doing everything possible just to make him agree. But It didn't work, it never did.
After that—
I learned to stay one step ahead. From lemon, As If he never invested fully into anyone—
I learned from him, that If I controlled the pace— I would never lose control of the ending, I could never be rejected fully. I learned from him, how to be Playful, Cool, charming, and mysterious and manipulative at the same time.
Using that I may have broken many hearts over years. I have used man's like a use and throw condoms. Than Kept a few good ones on a hook, I just thought, that I keep him like that as another one of my toy. But Present till now.
In front of Yoshimura Senkai all of the things, I learned from lemon are useless...
I hate to accept it, But somewhere my original dull gray personality had never left me, and it seems to like Yoshimura Senkai. But don't know in which way. She closed the script.
"Senkai Yoshimura…" she whispered to the empty seats. He wasn't chasing her, He wasn't begging her, wasn't reducing her to something convenient. And that—unsettled her more than lust has ever had.
Because control doesn't work on someone who is willing to walk away.
———
"Meanwhile, back at the College."
Senkai stepped into the business Department building. He found Kai in the lobby lounge scrolling through his phone.
Kai glanced up. "You look like someone who just signed a contract with fate." He sat down across from him, "I think I did." Kai narrowed his eyes. "That sounds expensive."
"It might be," who knows, He said.
Kai smirked. "So you're going after her?"
Senkai didn't answer immediately. "I don't want to go after her," he said finally. "I want her to walk toward me. "Why?" Kai asked. "Cuz I know she doesn't take me seriously enough.
"And now I know finally somewhere why. Kenji-San was right." Just than he remembers lost in the thoughts of that day, In the bar. "You know people like her, No people like us have a past."
A past." Hm... Kenji noded. "A past.
———
"Back at Present:
He sight...
Kai stared at him for a long second. "Damn." He muttered, "You're serious." He replied. "When am I not of course, I am." Kai leaned back. "You know Lemon the guy, You told me to find out about, he is not exactly a lightweight, alright?"
He eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?" Kai coughed and continued in a calm manner. "You know his rumor are bad, he is a rich kid, I heard who is pretty popular in our college he drinks around, gets into the brawls. It's pretty normal routine for him."
"I'm not trying to fight him, "He said.
Kai snorted. "Good. Because he hits very hard, anyway that's all I could find about him from the seniors mouth. There not much about him. It's simple you are fighting to someone damn out of your league."
Senkai looked at his own hands, "I'm not trying to fight him I told you. I don't need to replace him, he said quietly. I just need to be better for her than he was."
Kai raised a brow. "That's not how love works."
"Then how does it work?" He asked.
Kai shrugged. "You don't compete with the past. You build something that the past can't touch."
Hm... Than, "No. He said, I just be myself, and for her I might just have to become someone inreplaceable..." Kai continued. "Inreplaceable." Huh... "All though I'm more curious in, who told you that people like her have a past?"
Senkai looked up at him. "Why?
"Cuz it seems to me. Kai said, that he have another great one behind him."
———
Somewhere else...
"Back at the rehearsal hall."
Campus buzzed with rumors as always.
Hanabi's eyes followed Reze from across the hallway, Yui noticed too the slight quietness in Reze's steps, the absence of her usual effortless smile. "She looks tired," Rina whispered.
"She always looks perfect," Azusa corrected. But today, something was off, Reze didn't perform, didn't scolded them much for their bad acting she simply walked past them.
While she was walking in daze, Buzz buzz her phone vibrates, Message Senna— "Friday We be going to the theater together, I got the tickets from the professor."
"Friday," she whispers to herself. And than remembers his face, his gaze at her when he had rejected her.
She closes the screen of her handphone as she walked past the campus...
———
"Friday morning: Black Box Theatre..."
The banner outside read: "One Summer Night Dreams" — A Romance take in Two Acts.
A lot of college Students gathered in the small clusters beneath the warm yellow lights. Soft chatter filled the courtyard. Kazama stretched his arms dramatically. "Finally, something interesting." He said.
Senna she adjusted the printed tickets in her hand. "We'll go in pairs, right? That was the plan. He said. "Yes," Senkai confirmed it. "Two person per group. It's easier to immediately discuss about the play after."
Kazama grinned. "Sounds like a date. "I'll take whoever the most gorgeous here." He said. extending a hand thoughwards Reze.
She rolled her eyes.
Senkai glanced at Senna. "We'll go together. He said, let's go Senna. "It was simple. Logical. And balanced. Senna nodded. "Okay." she walked closer to him. As Reze looked at them, but her expression didn't change. "Not outwardly.
Kazama clapped once. "Great. I'll go with Reze then."
The doors opened, Ushers began scanning tickets. Kazama left to get Drinks and popcorns.
And then— "Excuse me," one of them said apologetically. "We're rearranging seating due to a lighting issue. Some seats are blocked."
Senna checked the numbers. "We're Row D and Row F? "Yes," the usher said. "Row D is unaffected. Row F seats have been shifted."
Senna squinted at kazama's ticket. "We're Row F." The usher hesitated. "There are only two available seats together in Row D the others are scattered."
A small pause.
Row D, Senkai and Senna, Reze looked at the seating chart. Without thinking too long, she spoke. "I'll switch."Senna blinked. "It's fine, I don't mind sitting separately."
Reze gave a light shrug. "It's easier if we don't split awkwardly. "Kazama He came back and raised an eyebrow, "Since when are you accommodating?"
She ignored him.
Senkai looked at her briefly, Just a second. Then He handed his ticket to Senna. "Take Row F with Kazama," he said calmly, Senna hesitated, But nodded, So it happened quietly. Without announcement. Without intention.
Senkai and Reze walked toward Row D together...
———
"Inside the theater."
The lights dimmed as the theatre fell silent.
Act I unfolded gently — with the light flirtation, mistaken encounters, and a warm humor. The leads circled each other in hesitant attraction.
Reze leaned back in her seat, arms crossed at first. Senkai sat straight, attentive. Halfway through Act I, she spoke softly. "They're both pretending not to care." He replied, "Yes."
"Why? She asked?
"Fear of imbalance maybe." He said quietly, she glanced sideways at him. "And who's more afraid?" She asked. "The one who falls first," He replied.
She didn't responded...
———
"Act II began: Tone shifted, as the lights cooled."
The female lead confronted the male lead under a dim summer lantern. "You don't get to kiss me like that and act unaffected," she said on stage.
A ripple went through the audience. Her posture shifted subtly.
Senkai didn't move. On stage, the male lead hesitated. Then admitted— You're just afraid of what happens next if you stop, just stop and say still "I was afraid at first if I loved you more, you would leave first but still I made a choice."
Silence in the theatre, Real silence.
Reze's fingers tightened slightly on the armrest. "That's the turning point," He whispered. She looked at him. "Because he admitted his own weakness?" He said, "Yes."
She studied the stage than, "No, she murmured, because he admitted his need."
The confession scene unfolded, Not dramatic, Nor loud, But Just raw. At the end of a Act II, the female lead stepped back and said: "If you're going to love me, do it without an rehearsal."
The lights cut back to the black.
Applause erupted. But neither of them clapped immediately.
———
"As the audience stood."
She remained seated. "What did you think?" He asked quietly.
She didn't look at him." He was stupid. "Why? Do you think that, He asked. She continued. "He waited too long to be honest." He asked,"And she?" Hm... "She kept testing him,"
A beat.
"They're both exhausting pretty much,"
She sighs...
"Yes," he agreed, Finally she turned to him. "And if we recreate that scene?" He said, "Then we have to recreate it faithfully." Her eyes searched for his face. "Without rehearsal?"
He held her gaze. "Without the rehearsal."
The crowd slowly began moving towards the exit. Kazama's voice called out from the behind. "Well? Did romance educate you two, cuz it did not to me?"
Reze stood first. "More than I expected."
He rose beside her.
Did it. kazama said, Let's go. "We were going on date remember Reze."
Kazama grinned as he stepped closer to her, casual — but watching. "Come on, Reze, he said lightly. We had a deal, One date. "Don't tell me the theatre play inside changed your mind."
She adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder. Her expression was composed again — that effortless, polished version of herself slipping back into place like a well-fitted mask.
"I keep my promises," she replied.
She didn't look at Senkai when she said it. But she was aware of him. Completely.
Kazama shot Senkai a playful salute. "Don't wait up than." The words were joking. But intention wasn't. For half a second, the hallway noise seemed to blur. Students moved around them, laughter bouncing off the theatre walls.
The warm night air carried the echo of applause still lingering from the play, "One Summer Night Dreams." Senkai didn't step forward. He Didn't interrupt, Didn't claim something either. But he simply looked at her, Not possessively, or wounded, But Just observant.
She felt it — that calm, blank gaze. It irritated her more than a jealousy would have. "Reze," He said quietly as only she could hear before she fully turned away, into her ears.
She paused. Kazama glanced between them, amused about what he said to her. "If you're going to test something do it without involving other's," He said, "And make sure you're actually curious about the result cuz to me, he seems useless if you are trying to make me jealous."
It wasn't a warning, It wasn't a plea. But It was a statement for sure. Her fingers tightened slightly around her phone.
Kazama smirked. "You two talk in a secret like you're already married and bored."
Hump, She scoffed. Than, exhaled through her nose. "Don't flatter yourself, Kazama." Then she finally looked at Senkai directly. For a moment, the playful surface cracked — just barely.
"I'm not testing you," she said. He tilted his head slightly, "then what are you doing?"
A beat.
"Living my life what else." And with that, she turned.
Kazama fell into step beside her, talking easily, something about a café off campus, something loud and exaggerated to fill the space. He slipped his hands into his pockets, leaning closer as they walked down the lit pathway toward the main gate.
She listened. Responded when appropriate. Laughed once — light, controlled, But her mind wasn't fully there. Instead she was measuring. Waiting, would he follow, would he call her back? Would he show the smallest crack of insecurity?
Just as they reached the gate, She glanced back
Just once.
He was still standing near the theatre entrance. Not frozen, Nor defeated. But Just watching them leave with his usual calm face. And then — He turned away first, Not toward them. Not toward the exit. But back toward the direction of his house, hands sliding back into his coat pockets. "Calm, and Certain.
Reze stopped walking for a fraction of a second.
Kazama noticed. "Any Problem? "No," she said immediately, resuming her pace. But something unfamiliar pressed against her ribs. He didn't chase. didn't compete.
He didn't even try to prove anything. And that unsettled her more than if he had grabbed her wrist and demanded an answer. Kazama nudged her shoulder playfully. "Relax. It's just coffee. I'm not proposing." She gave him a sideways look. "Good. Cuz I reject the dramatic confessions."
"Noted."He said.
They disappeared past the theater gates. Behind them, the lights of the theater dimmed one by one. And somewhere between the pride and curiosity—
Reze realized something dangerous: that She didn't want him to chase her, But she didn't want him to stop choosing her either.
And Senkai? He wasn't chasing, but he was just waiting. Thinking about what to do about this.
———
Night-time...
"Back at the Yoshimura house—"
Cella came back home as in the hall lights were dimmed sitting at the sofa alone Senkai was an watching TV, running the Baseball game, but his head rested on the back of the sofa.
He looked down at her hearing the sound of her footsteps. "You are late again," He said. "can you please mind your own business," She said while going to the fridge, as she took the water bottle out. "And why are you sat here like a bafoon with the TV on wasting the electricity."
"Can't, I just sit. He said, I just have a lot on my mind. Hm... She said, "Lot on your empty mind..." He scoffed at her as he remembers kai word's. "You really underestimate your sister."
"Hey, He said. Sis, do you know about someone called Lemon kannawa in our college. He in the business department, 5th year."
"Lemon, lemon, lemon kanawa. She said, what about him? He is just rich spoiled heir and someone everyone look's for to get loan for their business startups. Aside that he is pretty cool, charming and a man whore, wait there i'm getting confused drunk.
"Ah... as she force her brain to remember. "It's the wrong guy I'm telling about. Where were we "Ah... Yeah, Lemon he is a man vixen. but people like us the ones who knows the truth about him thinks he is a polite bastard."
"But why?" she said sitting at the dining table chair. "Just curious, he said, I heard he had a girlfriend, Amano Reze she the president of my club there are just some rumors around her, so I got curious..."
Hm... Her voice weirdly softer Cella continued. "She is in the same year as me, I remember she was a good girl, very beautiful, lovely, quiet, and shy. His eyes widened for second. "Shy," He asked. Hm.. She nodded.
"Don't believe do you that star of a girl who is shrouded in the lights used to be so simple, boring and quiet. she said, even I don't believe it till this day, how much she has changed over the years."
"Lemon he was a very big influence on her, and especially for her changes, I remember she was chasing him from the first year, and he that man vixen, was toying with her knowing that she'd liked him or should I say testing her waters that time around."
"Cuz I remember Reze, she was very pretty that the man's used to always talk about her in the dirty man's ways, like how she had a busty body and things. And lemon when he got to heard about it. He just Broke the jaw of the few damn bastards, I still remember it was quite a show."
"But after that the one thing was confirm that the Reze was his and even tho he never actually admitted it in front." Cella leaned back in her chair, fingers tapping lightly against the wood.
"He never said she was his girlfriend early. Nor accepted her in public. Never gave her a title," she continued. "But no one dared to approach her after that incident. It was understood. That she was untouchable." but after a few days they started getting seen together too often."
He stared at the blank flicker of the TV screen, though the baseball commentator kept shouting in the background. "So… they were together?" he asked quietly.
Cella shrugged. "In their own twisted way. Lemon doesn't do labels. He observes, tests, and pushes people until they either break or become something more stronger just as him. "And Reze?" Senkai asked.
Cella's expression shifted slightly, "She didn't break." instead she learned.
Silence settled between them.
"And changed, Cella continued. "Slowly, the shy girl stopped lowering her eyes, and she started becoming cool, dressing sharper. Speaking more bolder. Acting smarter than everyone in the room. She started becoming the lemons girl."
He swallowed don't know looking at the home run or her words. "She stopped chasing him after the second year, she said with a pause, that was when things flipped into something entirely new."
"Flipped how?" He asked.
Cella smirked faintly. "He started chasing after her. At first, it was subtle. Him showing up where she was. Backing her projects quietly, sometimes financially. Sitting in the front row during her presentations. Watching carefully. Always watching her."
Cella shook her head. "But by then Reze wasn't the same girl. She had learned from him and used it against him, his own tricks. but for sure she had give him her whole."
The TV crowd roared as someone hit a home run. But Neither of them looked this time.
"They started breaking up often, than getting back together like nothing had happened it's was a daily thing, sometimes he came chasing after her or it was the other way around her chasing after him. Rumors say they actually broke up in the third year," Cella added.
"But honestly? I don't think they ever properly broken up to begin with. It was more like a war. Two people's trying to outgrow each other fighting against each other than coming back home to each other."
She had a habit of making him jealous by dating other guys in front of him to annoy him, and vise versa it was same for him dating other girls in front of her but the both never used to get serious."
Senkai's jaw tightened. "And than?"
Cella looked at him carefully this time. "Than came the third year. He broke up with her again like always but something was different, he had started dating seriously the other girls."
"And when Reze tried again, chasing after him, begging him again, nothing ever worked, and when nothing worked." She started doing the same, dating the other guys in front of him."
"They both were something on there own if you ask me. In their relationship I don't know how many innocent people's they have ruined. Now she doesn't belong to anyone. Not to Lemon, Not to the past rumors. But just to herself.
"If you ask me, I pity her. Cella said, lemon was never a great guy to begin with. He was pretty messed up from the beginning, getting into the brawls, drinking, partying around, when he was at his highest he met her and involved her into his mess of a life."
"Than when came the winter of a third year. He actually dumped her, we all thought early that he was joking again like always, their tug and row was happening, but he never tried to pull this time, he just let go of her, of everything, even of Japan. He quietly went to the England to study abroad."
Than cella tilted her head. "Why are you asking about her, Senkai?"
He didn't answer immediately. Images flashed in his mind — Reze smiling lazily, she rejecting love, Reze's eyes when she looked at him like she was measuring, testing something. Her gray eyes that looked empty. "I just wanted to know what kind of person she used to be," he said finally.
Cella studied him for a long second.
"Careful," she said softly, "If you're thinking to go after her or something, don't make the damn mistake of underestimating her." she glanced at him quietly with one eye. "There are rumors that lemon used to Fool around in front of her with the other girls.
"So, she instead of chasing after him, they say in replie to make him jealous, she had done the same to him. And even after he had left for the England that bad habit of her has never left her. He had ruined such a good girl."
He remembered Kai's words again. "You really underestimate your own sister, she know a lot." But maybe… he had been underestimating someone else all along. The room felt heavier.
Cella stood up, taking her empty glass to the sink. "One more thing," she said without turning around. "Lemon doesn't fight over the things he doesn't value. The fact that he broke jaws for her? That wasn't just a pride."
Senkai's heartbeat thudded louder in his ears.
"Whatever is between them," she finished, "it's unfinished business."
The tap water ran. On the sofa, Senkai finally muted the TV. For the first time that night, the house felt too quiet. And maybe he know knew what choice to make...
———
To be continue...
———