loveedition | starsand // starnet DM / open post

Only sometimes. Joking again.

I don't think I ever asked, but when you two first became friends... was it like this?

[Yuuto doesn’t reply immediately. That question is strange. It forces him to think about a past year, which has never happened to him before.]

No, not quite. I definitely always felt more at ease around Inaba than anyone else.

But I’ve changed a lot. I can even love the ‘me’ that isn’t enough more than the ‘Yuuto’ who would have made her happy. I don’t think I would be able to do that before.

And I can talk about kissing and other stuff* with someone without combusting, so that’s different. I don’t think I’ve ever read as much of this adult romancey novel stuff as I have while doing research for Inaba.

Spending a lot of time with Inaba sure makes you different! Be careful! ☆

[ ..............................

She. Really wanted to believe that Taiga was just exaggerating. So all of the wholesome stuff just gets pushed aside so she can say: ]

I sure hope you're researching that in your own room.

No, I get the books from the library.

I don’t have a room anyway.

[ ...If she keeps going down this road, she's going to get upset, so she'd better just. Focus. ]

I'm kind of envious of that, though.

I don't know how much I've changed in the last couple of years, but being able to find someone that I can be comfortable with just all out... keeps my feet on the ground. Sometimes, that's all I need.

As long as they're comfortable around me too.

[ Which...

... A thought creeps into her head, but she tries to bat it away. It's not important, and it's dumb to begin with. ]

Isn’t Aisaka-san like that for you, though? You seemed brighter during Christmas when you worked together.

[ ...... ]

She is, yeah. I'm happier around her, though... I don't think we're at the point where we can talk about any of that stuff, honestly.

Do you want to be?

I've already asked a lot of her to begin with. I don't mind going at her pace for a little while.

Mm well

I wouldn’t suggest you become envious of whatever Inaba and I are doing.

we aren’t exactly goals.

You two do have a lot of time together for figuring it out. Your pace is probably the better one, right?

Mm. Maybe. I mean, all things considered, I wouldn't want to go through half of what you two have.

Still... I don't know what it really is, but when I see the two of you together, I just think... you're close, and you don't have to be in a romantic relationship to be that way. It's really nice.

It might seem closer than it should be, but you both know where the line is, and you're being careful not to step over it. You're doing a good job, Yuuto. Really.

It’s because I have you as a best friend, Ryoko!

If I didn’t have you, I wouldn’t know what to do. I’ve never had friends before or people who want me around. I would probably have removed myself from her life and disappeared like always, if it weren’t for you.

So if you can teach someone like me to have this kind of relationship with Inaba, then I know you can find this for yourself too.

Just listen to my friend Ryoko and don’t beat yourself up too much. I believe in you!

Of course. Thank you for believing in me.

I'm almost done here, so I should focus a little bit more. I'll do what I can to help her out with this.

Right. Then while you have her distracted, I'll do my best to fix this!

Have a fun visit, Ryoko.

I love you!

starsand // starnet DM / open post

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