Something began to bother Tsubasa about Misuzu.
She was working so hard for him, to find this girl he'd never spoken to, whose face he's never seen, whose name he didn't know. Yet still he was enraptured by her image, by the sound of her voice, by everything she seemed to be.
And Misuzu had aided him, despite not benefitting from it. He recalled her actions from before, how she stuttered, and didn't speak much about herself. How she was uncomfortable with addressing him familiarly. Did she address anyone by their first name?
Tsubasa looked over at Misuzu to find her studying her notebook with furrowed eyebrows. He tried to remember if he'd seen her with anyone, but he couldn't recall there ever being a figure laughing beside her. Tsubasa definitely had too many people on him all the time. Perhaps he could help her open up as a thank you, maybe introduce her to some of his female friends.
He stopped his schoolwork momentarily to tap he girl's shoulder.
"Hey, Misuzu," Tsubasa whispered.
She started at the sound of her name and turned to him. She adjusted her glasses and looked at him nervously.
"Yes?"
"Do you...uh," Tsubasa turned his head to the side, only now realizing how strange and probably insulting his question would sound, "Do you have any friends...at this school?"
Misuzu blushed and looked to the side. Tsubasa scolded himself mentally for asking such a thing.
"Sorry," he said, before she got the chance to answer.
Misuzu shook her head, "No, it's alright. In truth, I don't. My childhood friend goes to a different school but we're still in touch, I guess."
The "I guess" made Tsubasa wonder if they even spoke anymore.
"Well, I can introduce you to some people later, as kind of, you know, a thank you for helping me find the girl. Maybe even help you get a boyfriend." Tsubasa winked at her cheesily before adding, "Some of my friends actually have a weak point for the geeky type."
Misuzu smiled awkwardly and looked away.
He sees me as the geeky type, she thought.
Tsubasa suddenly banged his head against his desk, causing heads to turn. He grinned wide and lied, "Sorry I was falling asleep," and earned a few chuckles from some of his classmates.
"I didn't mean to call you geeky. It's just the glasses and the hair make people assume you are because you look the part." He paused to mull over his words. He made a face at Misuzu. "I'm not making this any better am I?" he asked.
Misuzu giggled quitely, shaking her head once again. "It's fine. But sure, I'll take you up on your offer."
Tsubasa grinned. "Cool! Hey, Misuzu," he said to her again.
"Yes?"
"Congrats on making your first friend."
It took Misuzu a few seconds to realize Tsubasa was referring to himself, then she blushed.
"Thanks."
* * *
On the way home, Misuzu found herself feeling much happier than usual. Not that she was sad, normally. It was just that usually, the day was uneventful. Sometimes it left her feeling a little tired. But today, she felt like everything would be okay. That for today, she too, could feel as free as Tsubasa was.
"Misuzu, how are your grades?"
"They're good, Mother."
"Have you made any new friends?"
"Yes. I did." Misuzu smiled to herself, and her mother smiled back.
"That's nice, then."
The usual welcome home conversation ensued, and Misuzu felt grateful for her mom. She was always cheerful around Misuzu, trying her best for her.
Misuzu went up to her room, and started on her math homework. Unknowingly, she started humming to herself.
She was happy.
* * *
"Yukimura Tsubasa-kun!"
Tsubasa looked at the girl before him. Class 2-A's Tokugawa Kano was looking at him earnestly, a blush spread across her face. She had medium length black hair, and wore a little too much eyeliner. A lot of guys fawned over her. She was basically the female equivalent of Tsubasa, except she flaunted her beauty and loved the attention.
"I like you! I think you're really good looking, and...I..." The girl trailed off, seemingly forgetting what she liked about Tsubasa other than his looks.
Tsubasa frowned for a nanosecond, then put up his usual façade once again.
"I'm very honored that you feel this way about me, Tokugawa-san. But I...have feelings for someone else right now."
Kano's demeanor immediately changed.
"Someone else? Who is she? She can't be prettier than me. I'm well developed, too!"
Tsubasa ignored her self centered comments, and answered her question.
"The girl...the rumored girl that sings on the rooftops. I fell in love with her voice."
Kano stormed off, mumbling, "She might not even exist. I've never even heard this rumor."
* * *
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Misuzu had just bumped into an angry girl, who was very pretty.
"Watch where you're going next time, please," the girl offered Misuzu a hand, despite the smile on her face being obviously fake.
"Tsubasa-kun probably like nicer girls," Misuzu hears her mumble.
She must have confessed. Tsubasa is almost always rejecting dates and confessions. Misuzu awkwardly walked in on one, once, when she has gone up to sing. She'd heard him say he wanted to wait for the right person.
And then she decided that day not to confess, as she'd been planning to later that week.
Misuzu took the girls hand, and thanked her, but she was already gone. After dusting herself off, she found Tsubasa walking her way.
"Ah! Y-Yukimura-kun!"
He looked over to Misuzu and headed toward her.
"What's up?"
"We're planning for the spring festival. Everyone needs you."
"Okay, let's go."
Tsubasa grabbed Misuzu's wrist and started running. She blushed at the sudden contact and clutched her gathered items tightly.
"H-hey! Yukimura-kun, why are you running!?"
"Because I felt like it, and I only do what I want to!"
Misuzu was nervous, but she didn't have a free hand to push up her glasses with. Pink stained her cheeks, but she laughed, feeling invincible just by being able to borrow Tsubasa's will through a simple touch.
