The scene instantly froze. Kikukawa Kyo had fully expected either Mana or Uika—at least one of them—to react and pick up her act, but instead, both just stood there dumbfounded.
Kyo, still deep in character, continued to play her part—a girl anxiously waiting after mustering the courage to confess her feelings.
This role wasn't too hard for Kyo to portray. After all, she'd witnessed similar scenes back in middle school when a few particularly outgoing classmates dared to confess in public.
Of course, those types rarely showed the shy, bashful hesitation Kyo was now performing. This timid sincerity was something drawn from Kyo's personal experience.
After all, considering someone like Kikukawa Kyo—it would have been stranger if nobody had confessed to her before, right?
Unfortunately, back then, though Kyo had already been a bit "strange in the head," her emotional intelligence and ability to empathize romantically were still catastrophically poor. She'd accepted the confession from a girl one year younger without much thought, but it fizzled out soon enough, never truly blossoming into anything worth mentioning.
Yet here Kyo was, still earnestly holding out the imaginary love letter, while the other two just stared back and forth at each other.
Though Mana and Uika knew Kyo's sudden confession was only acting, they couldn't help but feel shaken by how incredibly…unreal her performance seemed.
This "unrealness" wasn't because Kyo's performance wasn't good enough, but rather because real-life confessions never looked this dreamily perfect.
The shy expression, nervous gestures, and breathlessly spoken words—every detail was impeccably executed, natural yet utterly fantastical.
Yet precisely because of this, the two being "confessed" to—Uika and Mana—felt their hearts flutter uncontrollably.
Mana, who earlier had jokingly said something like, "It'd be great if either Uika or Kyo-chan became my lover," now suddenly found herself truly receiving a confession from Kyo. Her face turned bright red, and she hastily covered her mouth, making incoherent sounds.
Uika managed to appear calmer, but considering she was still blankly staring at Kyo, it was obvious she'd been deeply affected too.
I almost said yes right away… Uika swallowed, deliberately recalling Sakiko's face in her mind to suppress the sudden urge.
Yet even so, Kyo's appearance lingered vividly in Uika's mind, refusing to fade. More astonishingly, Kyo's current expression had begun to merge in her memory with the blurred smile left by that mysterious girl she'd met on the island before leaving.
Uika desperately wanted to study Kyo's face more closely—to confirm whether Kyo really was that same girl.
But Kyo's head was slightly lowered, revealing only the upper half of her face, eyes still shut.
Am I supposed to ask her to repeat the performance again? Would she have to say something like, "I feel like I've seen you like this somewhere before?"
Before Uika could finish struggling with her inner debate, Kyo finally dropped the act with a sigh and stared at the two of them. "You two really lack teamwork, huh? I was hoping at least one of you would naturally step into the second role, and then I could've smoothly performed a third character myself."
"It was way too sudden and overwhelming! I actually thought Kyo-chan was genuinely confessing to me," Mana admitted, cheeks still flushed. "I almost instinctively said yes."
Missing the perfect chance to ask Kyo to perform again, Uika had no choice but to temporarily suppress the growing confusion and curiosity within her.
"Kyo-chan, you mentioned a third character. Who would that be?"
One was clearly the person confessing; another was the recipient. Both roles were obvious enough—but what about the third?
"Hehe," Kyo raised her head proudly, instantly switching to a smug, self-satisfied expression so seamlessly it deserved applause. "My idea for the third character is someone who doesn't truly understand love but wants to learn what it is through watching the romance between the other two. Doesn't that sound interesting?"
Indeed, this idea was something Kyo drew from her own experiences. After being emotionally attacked—intentionally by the little cat and unintentionally by Sakiko—she now cared even less about her deficiency in matters of the heart.
She'd reached the point where she could openly laugh at and draw creative inspiration from her own shortcomings.
"I feel like I've seen a similar character in some book before," Mana mused thoughtfully. "I think it's a great idea. Uika, what do you think?"
Uika quickly envisioned a few lines in her mind before nodding slowly. "It's definitely interesting. The only tricky part would be how exactly to integrate this character with the other two. Would they be purely an observer?"
"Sure, that works too. After all, I'm just offering a suggestion. Uika-senpai, you can handle the actual lyrics however you see fit. As for me, no matter what role you give me, I can handle it perfectly—feel free to use me however you wish."
The blurred memories surged again in Uika's mind. The way Kyo casually said, "It's just a suggestion," coupled with that casual, effortless confidence she exuded afterward, triggered something deep within Uika. The déjà vu intensified, becoming harder to ignore.
Apparently, Kyo's earlier performance hadn't fully satisfied her enthusiasm yet, as she eagerly turned to Uika. "Should I perform it again? It might help you better understand and inspire you for writing the lyrics."
Uika nodded immediately.
The second performance began. But this time, Kyo needed no disguise. On the contrary, she shed all pretenses, pulling back the watery curtain that usually concealed her true nature—
No exaggerated movements, nothing unnecessary. Kyo's eyes lowered slightly, now dull and lifeless, devoid of interest as if nothing could catch her attention. Her normally vibrant, watery eyes had frozen into icy indifference.
—!
Uika knew this look all too well. If earlier the overlapping smile had slight discrepancies, now the resemblance was utterly flawless.
Is Kikukawa Kyo really that girl?
Uika suddenly realized something else. The vaguely inhuman feeling she'd occasionally sensed around Kyo wasn't unique; she'd experienced a similarly cold, mechanical feeling around that mysterious girl before.
In that instant, countless thoughts rushed into Uika's head.
I want to thank you for helping me back then. Without you, I'd surely have struggled in Tokyo, ending up empty-handed.
But most importantly…
I want to know if you still remember me.
---
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