𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗫 ; ᴍɪᴛꜱᴜᴋᴏᴜ

𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙨𝙝𝙞-𝙨𝙖𝙣

[ Minamoto-kun,

Your eyes light up my world, your smile gives me warmth, your words feel me with hope—perhaps it is love?

I've seen classmates of mine give letters to the boy they like, with a bar of chocolate and something small that they bought off a gift shop. I wish I have given you one, too, but I was afraid it might've been a bit too much, and I never intended to overwhelm you.

May we meet tomorrow after school? Under the giant tree—or as they call it, the Confession tree. I hope you understand what I'm writing here.

— Yamomoto Satoshi ]

Kou couldn't hold in the gasp that left his mouth after seeing the signature. Yamomoto Satoshi was a girl next to their class. Kou vaguely remembered her, short, dark hair that didn't go past her shoulders, smaller than everyone else in the classroom—even smaller than Mitsuba. She's deemed the most adorable third year in the middle school department and Kou could see why.

He's flattered that someone like her took an interest in him.

"Satoshi, huh?" Kou muttered. Could it be that Satoshi was the S he was looking for? Hopefully, so, it would make things easier for Kou. And Satoshi is a nice girl, but . . . "The letter seems different, though. It's too . . . formal and cheesy," Kou mumbled to himself with furrowed brows.

Kou sighed. Since when did he become so picky?

Satoshi asked if she could meet up with Kou and of course, he's going to go! Not only would it be rude to be absent without a word, but Kou is also curious about Satoshi's intentions. If she is his older brother's admirer . . . then same old, same old, Kou thought with his bottom lip jutted out. But . . .

He felt a smile creep up his face at the thought of finally getting an admirer that liked him for who he truly is. And even if that wouldn't be the case, Kou had time, he's still young and he'll find someone. Love is a weird thing Kou will never understand. He gave up his big crush on Nene because he saw how happy she is with Amane, it felt right to do it and Kou didn't even feel hurt in the process. Did Kou even like Nene? Or was he just so intent on giving his friends happiness that he'd go as far as to do that?

As Kou opened his locker, he noticed a piece of paper sticking out from the side. Slowly, he plucked it out and brightened at the familiar packaging—

It's the same letter as he received before Satoshi's one!

Kou couldn't stop the grin that stuck on his face as if it was automatically taped there for everyone to see whenever Kou would receive a letter from S. Was it possible to fall in love with words? Maybe Kou was becoming crazy.

[ Kou,

This is strange.

I thought after the letters, I would feel different, but it's the exact opposite. Knowing that you read my letter ( despite the embarrassment ) made me feel nice. Knowing you like my letter made me want to write more and more.

I never even meant to send the first letter, but I guess I was just so frustrated I forgot to take it out of your locker and you— well, you read it.

I'm nobody you should know. I'm no one worthy.

There's no need to go to the trouble of looking for me because I'll never admit it even though I'm right in front of you.

Just know me as some admirer who is content from seeing you from afar.

— S ]

Kou didn't like the sound of that. He noticed the smudges and the wrinkles of the paper as if this S person never even meant to send it to him. It's messy, it felt like Kou is looking at a sketchbook of an artist—Kou liked it, he felt closer to this ( obviously not nobody to him ) admirer.

He liked it more than the one from Satoshi-san.

It's unlikely that they're the same person, Kou didn't have proof, but he had his gut instinct to trust. Satoshi-san is formal and sweet, the kind of girl that can have thousands of admirers with her charming personality, while S was more friendly and funny, the kind of person ( girl or boy didn't even matter anymore ) that Kou can easily fall in love with.

Oh, dear.

He's whipped for a person he's pretty sure he doesn't even know yet.

Just how pathetic can Kou be? There's Satoshi-san who is more open to him, she revealed herself and is bold enough to personally meet up with Kou. Meanwhile, S is determined to hide, leaving no traces nor hints and clues. What can Kou say, he likes the fun in the chase.

And S is a good chase.

A hand whacked Kou on the head, making the blond yelp and almost drop the two letters. Kou glared at Mitsuba, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "What the heck was that for?" Kou angrily mumbled.

Mitsuba scoffed, crossing his arms. "You were standing in the middle of the hallway like a creep. Everyone was looking at you." Kou glanced around and no one was looking at him, and when he turned back he scowled at Mitsuba's smug smile. "What are you even reading, huh? That love letter I gave to you the other day?"

Somehow, despite how wrong that sounded, Mitsuba said it with ease, and for some reason, Kou felt as if it there was a hidden meaning; like an inside joke. Kou forced a chuckle. "Yeah, I actually got two today. I don't know why, though?" Kou didn't know when he became like his big brother, and Kou is going to be honest and say he wasn't fond of the sudden attention.

Mitsuba paled. "Two?" He snatched the letter from S away from Kou's grasp, hurriedly reading the letter, eyes swiftly moving side to side. "Um, Kou, by any chance, did you forget to tell me to check my locker yesterday?" He asked out of nowhere, his words making Kou blink.

"Huh? Since when did you tell me to do that?" Kou blurted, frowning when Mitsuba stared at him in horror. "Why? What's wrong? Did you leave food in there or something?"

Mitsuba waved his words away. "No, you weirdo! It's— it's nothing! Just, uh, this letter is ugly, don't you think so? Can you give it to me?"

"What?" Kou grabbed the paper away from him and placed it on his chest protectively. "No?" The letter was far from ugly, Kou didn't understand what Mitsuba was implying. "Mitsuba, you're acting weirder and weirder, is there something you're hiding from me?"

Mitsuba visibly gulped.