Her worries!
It was Friday, the same day when the inter-section competition concluded and 1(C) got selected as the representative for their school in the Trinity cup. Hundreds of congratulations flew in the air and within a day the winning trio became the most popular first year's.
Of course, the selection of the captain was still anticipated among the students but for now, the attention was directed only toward these three.
Yuuta on the other hand wasnt concerned about competition nor the trio or the upcoming substitute test. He was only focused on the girl walking beside him. The short-haired blond girl had a blank look on her face devoid of any foreign expression for some reason.
After post match celebration both Yuuta and Mio didn't wait for the party to end and left the school side by side.
"Hey, Mio. Wanna take a detour?"
Yuuta asked on which the girl looked at him finally before shaking her head in denial.
"It's already late. Let's leave it for some other time." Yuuta wasnt convinced to let her go yet at any cost. He wanted to know what was happening inside her mind. How can he help her.
He wanted to know all this and for that, he had to take the forceful way.
"No, we are talking right now." He snatched her hand and took her to the shrine on the way. He didn't wait for her to reject or say anything and took her inside.
Since it was almost dark very less people were inside the shrine. Yuuta took her toward a resting bench which was just beside the entrance and made her sit beside him. The weather was a little cold so in the process he draped his jacket over her as she settled down.
"Now tell me what is going inside your mind. I won't take anything other than truth Mio." The rigid tone of Yuuta shook Mio down the core. She didn't expect him to be so direct about it and ask so abruptly.
"But why should I..." She narrowed her gaze but didn't let go of the hand which was grasped by Yuuta.
"Because I am the only person who understands you. Even if you don't believe me or treat me like nobody, I want to help you with all mean Mio. So tell me." His eyes were sincere so does his words. Mio was touched seeing all this and she didn't remember whether anyone before had concerned themselves with her or not.
She didn't know what to do and how to dodge the talk after this much persuasion, so with a sigh, she started speaking.
"You remember I told you about my cousin who is studying in the school which is our archrival. " As Yuuta nodded she continued, " She got selected for the main event from her school." Now Yuuta realized what it all was about but he didn't interrupt her.
"Her parents, my uncle, and aunt came to brag about it yesterday. My parents as innocent as ever never realized that my relatives were shaming them. Making them feel how worthless of a daughter I am." There was a tinge of remorse in her eyes as she said while facing down.
Yuuta's heart clenched as he saw her in such pain. He held her hand in a more rigid grip as he spoke.
"Did they tell you that you are worthless?" Mio without looking at him scoffed.
"Even they dont...isn't it obvious any parent will think like that. I mean I had only one shot and yet I failed." Looking at her expression it was obvious how guilty she was feeling for not being able to make her parents proud.
But from Yuuta's perspective what he heard seemed different from how Mio was portraying it.
"So your parents didn't say nor showed any sign of disappointment but you still think they are having regrets about having you as a daughter huh?" Mio's eyes went wide as she turned her head toward the boy in shock.
"I won't go that far..."
"From what you are saying...I just told you in a straight way but aren't you feeling the same?" Mio didn't speak as she agreed in her heart what Yuuta was saying.
Yuuta looked at her with a complicated look not sure what to think of her childish thoughts. He was a little annoyed with her too.
"You know since I was a child, I was a stubborn brat. Not knowing what the word restraint mean, I did what I wanted. Played with a toy only until I dont get used to its design or color before throwing it away. Wishing whatever wanted, asking whatever desired...in short I had a luxurious life that I didn't deserve. In the way, I also shamed my parents by various acts of mine which you are also aware of."
"Yeah. You ar-..were the most perverted first year after all." Yuuta nodded without hesitation as his past self did various things that Ryouta couldn't even think of doing.
"Yeah. But even with all that...even after doing every single thing which could make a parent dislike their child or at least reprimand them, my father and mother never said anything. They sure tried to educate me but they never lost hope. They always smiled at my misgivings and kept their hopes that one day I will understand them. Neither do they regret having me as their child nor do I think something like that? And you Mio...." By the time Mio was fully focused on his words with their hands connected like it was an unbreakable bond."...you are far better than me. You are gentle, caring, competitive, and have a determination to do something about your life. If someone moreover your parents think you as useless, then whether they are blind or you are misunderstanding them."
"And in the case of your parents Mio I think..." He looked directly into her blue eyes completely not letting go," I think you are just taking your parents in the wrong way. They can't feel the shame of having you as their child, and I can bet on it."
He stopped talking but didn't let go and stared at her for the next few minutes, ensuring her that whatever he said was all his honest thoughts. Mio on the other side took time to fully register his words and as she did drops of tears formed in her big eyes. She deeply felt the emotion that Yuuta conveyed through his words. The image which she had made of her parents hating her, started melting in an instant.
It was surprising how Yuuta's words could make her worries disappear like it never existed. She felt the shame of thinking of her parents like that and that shame built more moisture around her eyes.
*Sniff*"Ca-can I borrow your chest for some minutes Yuu?" Hearing such a weak voice with such an adorable face moreover calling him by his nickname......
It was more than to destroy his reasoning.
"It's all yours." He opened his arms before Mio landed her face with her hands over his broad well-toned chest.
She seemed silently in the cold breeze with the support she ever wanted. The warmth which Yuuta was emitting directly to her was more than she have ever felt under any quilt or warmer.
It was the warmth of love...
At that moment she believed that this person on whome she was getting more and more depend passing each day, was genuine to her. His words could be deceiving but his actions and the profound emotions he had expressed were more than enough to make anyone believe him.
And Mio wasnt any different...
Slowly yet surely she was falling for him but the dilemma was that she wasnt able to comprehend why her heart was getting like this.
After all, it was the first time for both of them to fall in love.....
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*Sniff*Sniff*
At the top stair of the shrine, another person specifically a high school girl with raven hair could be seen weeping in a low tone.
From her position, it was obvious that she was hiding herself from Yuuta and Mio while listening to their talk.
To know who this person was, the story needs to rewind half an hour ago...
{Rewind }
The sun was about to disappear from the horizon with birds returning to their nests. The shouts of the students of Kasigami High also died down by that time. Kurumi and Shio were still busy because of their fans but what they missed was the absence of their third member.
Niharia Chihiro.
In the middle of her chat, she suddenly found that Mio wasnt in the gym anymore. In a fluster she texted her but the text never got delivered and upon calling it notified her that Mio's phone was off.
Chihiro had seen how sad Mio was, since morning but Chihiro never got the opportunity to ask her and when she decided to talk with her best friend, she vanished.
Anxiously, she went out toward the school building where she spotted a group of boys coming toward the gym with lots of drinks in their hands. Since she knew one of them she halted in front to ask him.
"Noburo-kun." The brown-haired boy got elated upon being called by Chihiro as he replied enthusiastically.
"Chihiro-san. You needed me for something?" He asked with his best smile but when Chihiro asked straightforwardly about Mio without bothering about anything else, his shoulder slumped in disappointment.
"Yeah, I saw her getting out of the school a minute ago with Kiriya." Chihiro thanked him before darting away.
Since Chihiro had seen the changes in Yuuta she had built a healthy relationship with him where she could trust him to some extent.
But at the moment she wanted to talk with Mio and Yuuta being alone with her....gave her some weird vibe she didn't know why.
Her fast-paced steps made her reach the couple she was expecting far away. She halted her steps and was about to call for them when she saw Yuuta grabbing Mio and pulling her inside the shrine.
The way he held Mio was rough and looking at Mio's expression it seemed she was just following his lead which made Chihiro tense and worried. She ran toward them and despite confronting Yuuta, she first eavesdropped on them.
And after listening to the whole conversation she thanked the shrine god that she ended up only eavesdropping on them.
The state of mind from which Mio was going through, Chihiro highly doubted whether she could ever have said something that Yuuta told her. His tone seemed to scold yet it was comforting to hear.
Chihiro felt bad how she ignored Mio's feelings and focused only on the competition and Shio. She was hating herself for this as for Chihiro, her friendship with Mio holds her top priority. She apologized countless times silently as she heard their conversation and by the time Mio got calm after weeping for a long time, Chihiro also collected herself.
During the time she heard Yuuta's concerned tone and caring words, she didn't realize it but after she calmed down one thing kept on ringing inside her mind which made her quite conflicted...
'Was Yuuta kun...always this sweet and caring.....
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A/N: No comments for this chapter. I will keep myself shut ?