Second to None

33. lucky

Ryoma started texting Mayu intermittently after that run-in, asking how her summer was and whether she'd like to have dinner again. Mayu read all of them—some more than once— then deleted them resolutely, feeling that even reading was a crime.

To keep herself out of trouble and her thoughts away from Ryoma, Mayu decided that she needed a summer project. Through Fuji, Mayu learned that Keio University was renovating the arts/literature library and had designed a mural with famous literary references and figures. Hearing Mayu volunteered as a painter, Tezuka was again worried about her taking on extra work. 

Many of the volunteers were arts or classics students. Each day, they'd show up in old t-shirts and baggy jeans, happy to dedicate a good portion of their summer vacation to the mural. While they added colors to the literary greats, they chatted about books they read or historical sights they'd like to see. At lunch, they ate set meals at cheap eateries with paint on their cheeks. None of them seemed to mind that Mayu was a few years older, and Mayu, too, felt she belonged since her return to Tokyo.

When Tezuka noticed the bounce in Mayu's strides, he relaxed. He stopped working on the weekends and they took extended trips to see old temples, resurrected castles and the deep blue sea.

Unsurprisingly, Hirose and Fuji started dating shortly after they met. Mayu occasionally saw them together on campus. From the way they walked side-by-side, Mayu thought for certain that this could be the relationship her friend sought.

Two weeks later, Hirose rang Mayu's apartment just as she finished washing up from a day of painting.

"Are you free to walk with me?" she asked through the intercom. 

In late summer, the sun hung high in the sky even though it was past six p.m. A gentle breeze swept over the treetops yet did nothing to lighten the humidity. 

"I'm not seeing your friend anymore," said Hirose out of the blue.

"You mean, Fuji?"

"Who else?"

"Isn't he your ideal type? He's handsome, well-mannered and has an established career."

"Yeah," Hirose sighed, "but he doesn't want to see me anymore."

"How come?"

"How should I know how come?" she replied crossly. "Maybe I'm not up to his standards —not smart, pretty or rich enough..."

Mayu raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like Fuji to me. He's picky, but not petty."

"Exactly."

When they stopped by the bridge, Mayu said, "I feel like I'm only hearing part of the story."

Sighing again, Hirose continued, "We had a wonderful first date—he took me to see ballet and later for a fancy dinner at Roppongi. On the second date, we had brunch and took a long walk around Meiji Jingu..."

"Wow. Sounds perfect."

"Right, except... he wouldn't kiss me."

"Maybe he's slow to warm up."

"Maybe. In any case, I kissed him."

Mayu stared.

"Don't give me that look—it feels worse to get that look from a foreigner. Aren't you Europeans super open about this kind of stuff?"

"Sure, but I imagine Japanese dating etiquettes are different. As in, guys usually don't expect girls to be too forward, right?"

"It wasn't like that with the other men I dated," she muttered.