Story of a Rhythm Game Couple

Chapter 26. The past

The park was eerily quiet, so much so that Asahi could audibly hear Sana's breathing and vice versa.

"Let's start with a bit about myself." Sana let out a heavy sigh and continued. "How much have you heard about me at school?"

"I think you are pretty well-known within your faculties and those neighboring ones, no? I doubt many people in building A or C know much about you, but pretty much everyone I see in building B knows you to an extent."

"I see."

A few weeks earlier, Sana told Asahi how she had tried her best to make herself a popular figure in her local high school, simply to compensate for the lack of attention she got from her folks many years ago. She probably managed to gain some popularity for herself around Kourin too, given how well-known she appeared to students studying in Building B.

"So... what does that have anything to do with Fuyuta?"

Still, Asahi was confused. How was this connected to Fuyuta Aihara? Why did he want to see Sana at school? Why did he choose to physically assault Sana? Does that have anything to do with the deal they struck? There were so many questions in Asahi's head that he hoped to get an answer.

"That guy..." Sana gulped down her saliva, her whole body quivering. "Would you believe me if I told you we had been dating at one point?"

"..."

That was the last thing that Asahi expected to hear from Sana. Because of her apparent discomfort around guys, no one in their right mind would think she had ever had a boyfriend at any given point in time. Even Asahi, who was considered to be a very close friend to Sana, had found her rather distant when they first met, gradually opening up after discovering their mutual interest and becoming comfortable talking to each other.

"What? Are you seriously thinking that I'm so hopeless that I couldn't get a boyfriend?"

Seeing how puzzled Asahi looked, Sana felt a twinge of irritation.

"I didn't say anything yet, though? But saying you're "hopeless" is a little..."

By "hopeless", Sana meant she couldn't cook and had to rely on Asahi for meals every day, and Asahi knew it. It was an established deal between them, after all.

While it was true that he thought she could in no way make a boyfriend, it wasn't because she was "hopeless," but rather due to her aloof demeanor towards guys. Asahi didn't attempt to say anything to her because of the intimidating glare she directed at him, but he found it almost amusing that she was overly insecure about her inability to cook sometimes.

"Even if you meant that, I suppose you are not wrong either." Sana let out an audible sigh of self-disappointment. "We only dated for around seven days, after all."

"Seven days..."

That was an absurdly short period for a relationship to last, no matter how one looked at it.

"Forget about how we ended up together; it isn't something worth mentioning anyway. It was more of a trial run than anything, I guess..." Seeing the bewilderment on Asahi's face, Sana waved her hand and proceeded to elaborate. "It was during the preparation for the college entrance exams. He was too intrusive, a distraction from my studies, and generally a pain to be around, so I broke up with him. Good riddance!"

"..."

Taking a breather, Sana added, "It was seven days of hell. Since school participation was no longer required, I stopped going and decided to stay home so that I wouldn't have to see him. But even then, staying at home was hard, given how much negative impact he had given me in just a week. It was really draining me out mentally."