Tied Together [Book 2]

Chapter 69: I'll Be Waiting

Third Person View

"So, what made Senpai join Iyo for lunch today?" Iyo asks her senpai while wondering what they made for her lunch today, opening her bento.

The absence of Arisa and Chiyuki made her wonder what she's going to talk about. Iyo rarely eats with them and usually have lunch with her own friends, but when Nagisa went to her class and invited her for lunch, she had initially thought they would go to the rooftop like usual.

"Oh, I was wondering if there's something you would like to confide—" The bluenette stopped speaking as she saw the contents of Iyo's bento. Nagisa swore she saw light coming out of it. "W...wow... That's uh... a really great bento, Iyo-chan..."

"Oh, sushi!" Iyo beams, eyeing the—most likely—expensive sushi prepared by professional chefs.

Nagisa's mouth was watering. Unagi, sashimi, ebi, nigiri, hamachi, and ika! She was impressed with the wide variety of her favorite food in one bento.

"Yum!" The blonde seems happy. "Would you like some, Nagisa-senpai?"

"Can I really!?" Nagisa's eyes widened. She gulped, "Then, thanks for the food..." She took one of the sushi and into her mouth it goes.

"Delicious! The seaweed really compliments the fish, and the sauce... Wait, that's not what I'm here for."

Nagisa coughs as she sweat dropped. "Um, so... We've all been noticing your strange behavior lately, Iyo-chan..." She started, after swallowing the sushi.

"S-strange!?" Iyo jumped. "Has Iyo really...?"

"Is it something about... love?" Nagisa said.

"Love!? Um..." Iyo looked away. "Iyo is doing very well with it! After she gave up on Karma-senpai, she decided to move forward! N-no problems..."

Her bad acting was clearly getting her nowhere, especially with Nagisa around.

"Iyo-chan, I know Sasahara-kun confessed to you," The bluenette said.

Iyo flinched.

"Wait, or was it the other way around?"

The blondie shook her head furiously. "No, that's definitely not it! Iyo would never fall for someone as plain and common as him!" She suddenly stayed quiet, looking at the garden as they sat.

"Is that really true?" She heard her senpai say.

"Yes..."

"You don't sound so sure." Nagisa took a bite out of her own bento and chewed. "I know you're used to the more... high-class boys... But maybe you should take Sasahara-kun into account for once? He's a boy, too, you know."

Iyo pouted. "But..."

Nagisa glanced at her. Seeing her unnaccepting face, she spoke again. "Well, in the end, what matters most is your feelings, Iyo-chan."

"My... feelings?"

She nodded. "Yes, your feelings. What do you feel when you're around him? Does he appear in your mind a lot? Do you feel nervous?" Nagisa looked down. "Back in middle school, I was just like you. It took a while to realize, but in the end, I did indeed have feelings for Karma."

She closed her eyes and smiled. "There was someone special that sort of talked to me, like this right now. If it wasn't for his encouragement... Maybe me and Karma would have just stayed best friends until now, and our feelings would be locked away in the back of our minds. It really gave me a nice push back then. And, well... I guess I wanted to do the same for you," Nagisa admitted, memories of Korosensei filling her mind.