Would You Stand By Me? [On Break]

Chapter 9: A Day to Remember

As Kiyotaka opens the door, Arisu was smugly smiling while looking up into his eyes.

Without saying a word, Kiyotaka prepares a set of tea, while Arisu removes her shoes, closes the door, and sits at the living room.

"I'm surprised you decided to come and help." Kiyotaka said to try and lighten the silent mood.

"Help might be too strong of a word my friend. A proposal would be a better word." Arisu giggles as she looks over at the now approaching Kiyotaka.

Kiyotaka decides to humour her a little, he place the tea set gently on the table and leans closer to Arisu causing Arisu to blush.

She tries to distance herself to calm herself down but Kiyotaka wouldn't budge and closed the distance eventually stopping when Arisu was leaning against the wall.

"Kiyotaka... You shouldn't do this to a maiden you know...?" Arisu said in a smug tone which comes in stark contrast with her bright red cheeks and flustered smile.

Kiyotaka reached for Arisu's cheek, raising the tension for Arisu even more. As Arisu brace herself, Kiyotaka leans forward and whispers next to Arisu, "We're too young to get married, save your proposal to graduation."

Hearing this instantly broke all tension as Arisu giggled. "Fufufu~ you know I don't mean that kind of proposal~" It seems all the set up was worth it causing Kiyotaka to pat Arisu.

Kiyotaka couldn't explain it, but it felt like it was the right thing to do seeing Arisu smile and laugh like this. It felt like an abandoned rusty furnace in his heart had finally received a spark again.

After a while, Arisu calmed down and they shifted back to the table. "So I assume you have a plan?" Arisu asked.

Kiyotaka responded. "Well not necessarily. I laid out the foundations but nothing concrete.

Option 1: Refuse the offer, maintain a low profile. The worst option as Kushida is able to manipulate the press by using rumours. I could compensate by using Kei or Horikita to an extent to feed the press controlled information but by the time I do that it would be too late and Kushida would gain control of the narrative.

Option 2: I accept the request and simply run with the narrative of being childhood friends. People would lose interest, and there would be no long term connection with the press."

"You know there is a third option." Arisu smugly smiles.

"By stating the downsides of each option, it would subconsciously plant the benefits I want into Arisu's mind. Factoring in Arisu's observed feelings through her actions and words, I would say there is a strong chance she likes me. I wonder if she will be able to understand my intentions? This will be a good test for her actual capabilities." Kiyotaka thinks to himself while tilting his head.

Arisu smugly explains, "We could come out as a "couple" to the Journalist club. The story would be too juicy for them to skip out on considering as the school's "princess". This gives us leverage and allows us to establish a long term relationship with the club president. This way we can control the narrative in a long term manner without having the risk of someone like Kushida influencing the media in a negative fashion."

"Interesting. She understood my intentions and provided the solution I thought of. She's the real deal after all." Kiyotaka monologues. He puts his hand on his chin to keep up the appearance of considering Arisu's offer.

"You know, you don't have to keep up appearances. I can tell you manipulated me to that conclusion~ you shouldn't do that to your friend you know?" Arisu said in a cold yet smug manner as she leans closer to Kiyotaka.

"I apologize Arisu. You should know I grew up in a place devoid of social interaction and love. Rather it was filled with deception, and broken promises. I still don't understand social norms and I hope you can forgive me." Kiyotaka bows.

"It's okay I forgive you but promise me you won't do this between us again." Arisu relaxes and gives a genuine heart warming smile while hugging Kiyotaka.

There it was again, that weird spark. It caused Kiyotaka to hug Arisu back and asks, "So are you willing to go this route with me? And if you are, why?"

"I will and it's simple really. It gives us more of a reason to spend time together, to understand each other better, and more importantly, it will accelerate your learning process on being a human being." Arisu earnestly said causing Kiyotaka to pat her head.

Arisu and Kiyotaka stayed in that embrace until the sun began to set.
"This will certainly be a day for us to remember." The two of them thought as they slowly parted from the embrace.

Author Note:
Hey guys sorry it took so long. It's getting harder and harder to write these as I try to come up with satisfying ways to proceed with the story.

Anyway decided to focus hard on Arisu and Kiyotaka's relationship this chapter to compensate for the lack of it in the previous chapter.

To reaffirm, in the public eyes they will be seen as a "couple" once the interview chapter is written. However, in actuality they will still be friends and slowly build up to a genuine relationship.

Source link: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/108399940