Irikumu Tsukisan

True Strike

The hum of the program boots up. It was what he had been waiting for. An entire week since she told him and he had noticed things, like the extended periods of time she was gone and he could feel her absence. Things started to pop into place, knowledge revealed to him as if she opened up an entirely new world to him. The only things that never once made sense was her ramblings about how she took his attraction to her. It was still firmly embedded into his heart. The other was what exactly he was. A program, a character, a human. No matter what he was just himself but to ignore the missing time of the others would be foolish. They didn't exist like he existed anymore. It was often lonely, but then she came around. Every night, like clockwork, to share a bit of herself with him, bringing his world back in the process.

She showed him the full strength of herself in spars. He was no slouch when it came to hand to hand, though apparently neither was she, he always just edged her out. He considered her hiding her true self for a while, but that thought simply vanished when she told him fighting against someone better always makes you better. His consciousness was pulled back into his own world, just as she explained at dinner, at the exact moment she left. Everything she said came true, making it hard for him to deny it all but she did tell him today she will offer him undeniable proof in that of her best friend.

Kosuke was heavy this last week. He longed to believe her. She was right on almost all accounts, except for his feelings about her. He was in the training yard, where she left him last time. Often wondering about the passage of time between the two worlds. He looked at her, feeling his heart grow, his mouth dry and his body was a little clammy. "Hi... Again." She spoke and he just nodded. "It feels nice to greet you like I would normally. It used to be so jarring to have to pick up on a conversation I left off on the day before."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I like when you greet me, too." He hesitated for a minute, clearly nervous and even that was picked up in by her. "I... Uh... So how does this work? Will your friend just pop into existence on the grounds somewhere?"

"Kosuke..." She had gotten better at confidently saying his name. He loved the ring of just his name on her lips. "No. He will meet us in Kyoto in a few hours."

"He?" Kosuke looked to her, nervous as he could be. "I thought this was your best friend?"

She nodded. "And he is." She was so obtuse she didn't realize she gave him anything to be jealous of. In truth, Kosuke didn't know he could be more jealous of someone other than Ren right now, but here was a guy that was close to her, so close she considered him her best friend. He got to spend time with her in her world, when she was her full self. "I'm sorry, did I not mention anything about him? I suppose I was just so excited."

When she put it like that, with her excited face, he couldn't bring himself to hold onto those feelings. "No, you didn't mention anything. I suppose I assumed it was a girl."

"I... Would like a girlfriend." She spoke somberly. "But those aren't always the way things pan out. I don't... Really have friends at all, Kosuke. He's unique. You'll understand when you meet him." She felt apprehensive about it all now, wondering if she really was getting this all wrong. She wanted to be wrong.

He saw that face, it broke his heart, Kosuke took a deep breath as they stared at one another. He took her hand, then started to walk. She was trailing behind him for a few moments, her attention on their hands. He looked over his shoulder and she immediately looked up as if he caught her doing something horrible. After that she walked a little faster to catch up to him. He looked forward, still on the property just before they set out onto the road. He took his chance, lacing her fingers with his.

She did her best to continue on with her head straight but her eyes moved down to their hands. Her heart could burst. She's had her hand held like this more than once from the novels she had experienced but something about him holding her hand made it that much more special. He chose to hold her hand like they were a couple. She tested the waters a little and squeezed, sure enough the man squeezed back, comforting her with his touch. "Are you scared... To go back down this road, I mean."