one [sachio ueda]

f i f t e e n : t h i r d p e r s o n

"Eh, Sachi." Fujio shoved Sachio's elbow. "Let's play a game."

"Yeah, a game seems interesting right now." Shidaken added. The blond guy with an undercut crossed his legs and rested his back against the bench.

"I'm good." Sachio sighed, not meeting any of their eyes. He was biting his inner lips, something he rarely does. He's a guy who never shows his anxiety. Inside, he's always worried. What if he fucks up something and people start questions his position as the leader of Housen? Recently, he got used to it because of Mai. So why was he upset?

"Is everything alright?" Shoji asked. He had been observing Sachio the entire day. Sachio, a person who stuck to reality more than imagination, was wandering in his own thoughts.

"Yeah. Nothing happened."

Shidaken leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "That definitely means something happened."

Sachio looked up and glanced at everyone once or twice before he let out an exasperated groan. He started pulling his hair to relax his muscles. Don't know how much that helped though. He should go bald to relieve his stress.

"Mai has been pissing me off."

Fujio straightened his back as if his own name was called out and not Mai's.

"What did she do now?" Fujio shifted closer to Sachio, as if he was about to spill some secrets.

"Nothing. She's just annoying. I can't stand her." Sachio raised his voice.

"Sachi, quiet." Fujio whispered loudly. "She's literally right there." They all glanced at the figure who was playing with Coco near the stream.

"I don't care." He continued. "She's been ignoring me anyways."

A smile spread across Shoji's face. "You like her?"

This question made the other three gasp. Sachio was quick to change his shocked expression to that of disgust.

"No, ew." He spat.

"Then why do you care that she's ignoring you?" Shoji asked again.

"Sachi," Fujio made him turn around as he held his shoulders. "Your pretty face attracts girls and your attitude chases them away. This is your chance." Nah. That wasn't convincing enough. Fujio looked down for a second. "You know, Rao texts her everyday. If you don't shoot your shot right now, you'll lose it." Fujio's tone was serious but Sachio stared at him as if he was crazier than Mai.

"I don't like her though." Sachio tried to defend himself.

"Sachio," Shidaken butt in. "Just admit it. We know you too well for you to hide things from us."

Shidaken didn't actually know Sachio had someone he liked until now. He just went along with the play.

Sachio gulped. No matter how much he tried to suppress it, he knew he had developed small feelings for her. Even if it's a little bit. Okay, not just a little bit. The feeling grew every time he saw her starting from the first day. He was insolent towards her because he was confused about how he felt. He didn't even know why he liked her.

No, Sachio couldn't let his guard down yet.

"I really don't like her in that way-" He stood up but Fujio pulled him down on the bench.

"Have you ever seen Mai smile?" Fujio scowled. "Like a genuine smile? One which wasn't the result of a joke? No, right? Me neither. Not for the last ten years."

Sachio's eyes started shaking as they met Fujio's. "You're right. I haven't."

"Exactly." Fujio shook Sachio's shoulders. "Don't you want to be the reason she smiles?"

"Wow, that definitely didn't convince me." Sachio shook his head looking miffed. He could feel himself cringe internally.

"Fujio's just telling you to confess." Shidaken tapped Sachio's knee.

"Yeah. What's the worst that can happen? You're not going to propose. You're just gonna tell her what you feel. Rejection doesn't even apply here." Shoji assured him.

"Yes! Go talk to her!" Fujio shoved him off the bench.

"Yeah, nothing bad is going to happen." Shidaken cooed. "At least nothing that you can't handle."

"Right." Sachio gave a nod, straightening out his white shirt. "I'll talk to her."

Sachio, a man known for being the pluckiest asshole in Toaru, couldn't possibly be scared of something as trifling as confessing to someone.

The other three glanced at each other at the same time.