IEGO: CS || Wavering Hearts

『 CHAPTER ?? 』

━━━━━━━ INTERMISSION ━━━━━━━

Hello. Past this intermission, and I the author say this with every fibre of my body, is the rushed and horrible conclusion of this fanfic, because of several factors (the main one being mental health) which would be explained in the author's [thank u and bye] note.

Also, WARNING! Self-hatred and body horror

If you wish to continue, there is no going back.

━━━━━━━ INTERMISSION ━━━━━━━

"Whatcha doing there, Kirino-senpai?" Kinako chirped, popping up from behind him.

"Gah!" Jumping, he twisted to face her. "U-uh, um, nothing!"

"Really?" She swung her body side to side, eyes narrowed ever so slightly, as if trying to take a look at what Kirino hid in his hands.

"I ⸺ I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing."

"Such big words!" Kinako gasped loudly. "You sounded kinda like a prophet there."

"A prophet?"

"Or a super wise king or wizard that speaks in riddles, going all ho–ho–ho!"

Kirino sweatdropped. "I'm not a king or a wizard, and I certainly don't go ho–ho."

"Not ho–ho. It's ho–ho–ho!" She giggled after. "Still, you did sound rather ... secretive, in a cryptic sort of way."

"I did?" Has [Name] rubbed off on me?

"Yep! By the way, what you're hiding there is candy right?"

Kirino flinched. How did she⸺ He looked at his hands, where his fingers had opened ever so slightly like a blossoming bud, enough to show the popping colours of [f/c] from the candy's wrapper. Oh.

"Did you get that from Jeanne-san?"

"Yeah."

"Can I have some?"

"No."

She pouted. "Aw."

Kirino smiled, amused. "Sorry Kinako-san, but these really aren't for you. They're for [Name]."

"[Name]?" Kinako fell silent, going through the information she's received in regards to your name. "Oh! Is it [Surname] [Name], Sangoku–senpai's childhood bestie?"

Kirino laughed. "That's one way to describe her. What else do you know about her?"

"Well, Midori-senpai did tell me that while [Name] can look scary at times, she's overall a sweet little goofball! Honestly, I can't wait to meet [Name]-chan after this!"

"I'll have to agree on that." Kirino smiled, gazing back to the candies in his hand. While they may not be cold to your liking, he still hoped you'll be able to enjoy them, assuming you're awake right now. You are, aren't you? He'll hold onto that thought for as long as necessary.

Kinako stared. "Hey, Kirino-kun."

"Hm?"

"Do you like like [Name]-chan?"

Caught off guard, Kirino's face bursted into shades of pink. Pinker than cotton candy, Kinako would like to say. Pinker than his hair.

"Like like?" he stuttered. "W–what do you mean by that? I ⸺ I mean, I do like her, as a friend⸺"