Youthful Days (Book 1)

20. Backlash

After all was said and done, Ayuna sensed fundamental parts of herself changing. From that Saturday onwards, life altogether took on new gravity. Whenever Ayuna looked in the mirror, she saw hints of renewal: the vacancy she felt in early spring was slowly fading, fading.

Fuji and Ayuna established their little routine the following week. In the morning, they'd meet in the cherry blossom grove and Fuji would walk her to the first-year floor before going to his homeroom. After classes ended, they'd meet at the school's back gates and take the train together to Shibuya station before parting ways. From there, Ayuna would head west towards Setagaya while Fuji continued south to Meguro.

Ayuna never paid attention to the way others looked at Fuji until she became the one walking next to him. The word inevitably spread and they were now publicly recognized as a couple. Neither Fuji nor she felt comfortable with this label because it didn't seem like an apt description. To Ayuna, at least, being with Fuji felt like the missing arc of a half-drawn circle was finally rounded. His presence gave her an inexplicable peace and ease of being.

She also noticed a shift in her own classmates' demeanor, especially the girls. She felt their eyes nailed to her back when she walked down the hall and their overt appraisals when she entered the classroom. Every so often, she'd catch them whispering to each other whenever she passed by. Even Ryoma seemed more standoffish than usual, only giving one-word answers when spoken to.

All of this reached a climax at the end of the week. While Ayuna unpacked her bento box during Friday's lunch break, a normally sleepy Ryoma made a point to approach her.

Standing over Ayuna's desk with hands in his pockets, he said in an interrogative voice, "Word in the tennis club is that you're dating Fuji-senpai. Is it true?"

Ayuna froze. She could feel air congealing as an eerie hush fell over the classroom. Everyone stopped talking and directed their attention to them, their expressions a mixture of giddy anticipation and curiosity. A few girls, who were frequent visitors to the tennis club, started muttering to one another with disdainful looks.

Slowly, Ayuna raised her eyes to meet Ryoma's. "I'd prefer not to talk about that here."

"Why are you both trying to be so secretive?" he scoffed. "Isn't it obvious the whole world knows?"

"That's nice." Ayuna turned away with her half-open bento box. "It's still nobody's business."

Ryoma felt heat rushing to his forehead. Examining Ayuna's impassive side profile, he knew he'd gone too far, and this was her way of shutting down.

Instantly, he felt a pang of remorse for having taken a stab at her privacy. Following it was self-resentment for being petty: he didn't know why knowing she was with Fuji Shuusuke riled him up like this; he had no idea what got into him.

***

"Fuji's really popular, isn't he?" Ayuna asked Momoko as they changed into fresh clothes. Only in the safety of the girls' locker room did Ayuna dare to broach the topic. Practice had finished twenty minutes ago. Having been at the end of the shower line, Momoko and Ayuna were the last ones remaining.

Momoko released a sigh of exasperation. "You just noticed? I've been telling you this since day one!"

"And I remember. But..." Ayuna paused with a sheepish smile, "I didn't realize the degree of Fuji's popularity until now."

"I see you've dropped the honorifics," Momoko grinned slyly. "Too bad you aren't going to call him 'Fuji-kun' or 'Shuusuke' from now on. That would sound so sweet!"

Ayuna tried to hide her blushing with a towel.

Examining the younger girl thoughtfully, Momoko said, "In all seriousness, I never thought I'd say this, but I imagine it's not easy being Fuji Shuusuke's girlfriend. Every girl in the school would kill to be you right now. I would go as far as to say they'd kill you to be you."