Chapter 9: Volume 1 - CH 2.3

Chapter 2: The embarrassment goes both ways

Part 2

Work mode: on.

Voice changer: on, camera: off. Call quality: decent.

“Yusuki isn’t dating anyone right now. I’ve been searching around, I’m pretty certain,” I announced.

–“Really!” On the other side of the call, I could hear Makino sigh in relief.

But not just pure relief, impatience, nervousness, and foreboding mixed, I suspected.

Well, of course, this means that he has no excuse left.

“But whether she likes anyone…” The events of the last few days played at the back of my mind. “I couldn’t tell. Sorry”

–“Uu…I see…” Makino grunted, but didn’t say anything else.

He’s probably waiting for my response, undecided, stuck in the pre-confession predicament. The most common prelude to a confession.

That’s where the Angel brings them to resolution.

“Makino”

–“Hm?”

“I’ve said this before. No matter how Yuzuki is, you should confess. Even if it doesn’t seem to go well,” I concluded.

–“It’s not that… easy.”

“It’s not that easy. No one wants to be rejected. That’s natural. I know exactly how you feel.”

–“I-if that’s so!”

“Even so, telling her how you feel is the right call. Definitely.” I said firmly.

On the other side, Makino inhaled sharply.

The Angel’s words were probably more forceful than ever.

“Being rejected is painful. Being told that they don’t share your feelings by someone you like is scary. But if you don’t, you will regret it for the rest of your life. ‘If only I confessed back then’ the possibility that would never come true will haunt you forever.”

Just like how it haunted me.

–“Uu…”

“But that doesn’t mean I want you to just charge in and get rejected. To minimize the possibility of that, you have done your best until now. That, I know the best.”

[TN: Io slipped a 俺, manly version of “I”, while until now Io used “私”, gender neutral “I” (Although a bit inclined to femaline) when being the Angel]

–“sh…hss” Soft static voices accompanied his silence.

“But there’s no such confession that guarantees success in this world. No matter how confident you are, no matter how promising things seem, the possibility of being rejected is still there. That’s why you need to overcome that fear in the end. That’s what confession is all about.”

–“Angel…”

“I’m not saying that we need to do this right away. Let’s conquer your fear slowly, until then, I’ll accompany you.”

–“Yeah…Yeah.”

“And in some cases, getting rejected isn’t the end of the line, you know? You can confess again. There’s a limit to that, of course.”

–“Haha. Yeah… You’re right. Yeah.” His voice had brightened up completely.

I let out a long breath and tried to relax.

My heart was thumping, my throat was parched. Before I knew it, I got too intense. From my trusty cup, I drank the coke. Prickling pain and chilling cold made my calmness resurface.

–“Thanks, Angel. Somehow… I feel better.”

“No, sorry I rattled on.”

–“It’s nothing. But, that. After all, Angel’s a man,” beamed Makino.

“Eh?”

What was that now?

And why did he know?

–“Just a moment ago, you called yourself ‘I’. Usually It would be ‘I’”

[TN: The previously stated 俺, manly version of “I”, and “私”, gender neutral “I”]

[TN: Yeah, it sounds strange, but there’s no equivalent in English. Well, not that I know of. If you have any idea just comment and I’ll fix]

“Is that so…”

Aah, what an idiot!

It’s been one year already, arghh…

“Please forget that…”

–“Ahaha. Your identity is a secret and all, I know. But I’m happy I know something more about you, I know practically nothing about you before.” He laughed innocently.

“…I’m hanging up”

–“Oh. Then, I’m in your care.”

“Aah. If there’s anything I’ll call you.” With that, I ended the call myself.

Rousing consultant is good, but don’t ever lose your cool, Akashi Io.

You’re the Angel, don’t forget that.

“…”

I lied to Makino about one thing.

Yuzuki likes someone, a lot of them. And one of them is Makino, I confirmed that from the session at the café today.

But I won’t stop his confession. Even though I know full well she can’t return his feelings.

“Forgive me, Makino…”

From now on too, forgive me, Yuzuki.

But a feeling that should be kept in, there’s no such thing.

“Ayaha…”

A name I unintentionally whispered.

Her face came to my mind.

Forcing myself to choke those memories down, I sloshed down the now fizzless cola.