Volume 2 – Chapter 59 – Realizing the Decision
She turned to my direction, greeting me with a look that could only be described as ‘lost’.
“H-hi Takashi, what are you doing here?” asked Yurika.
“I just had a meeting about joining a club” I said.
“R-Really? But I thought that you wasn’t interested in that sort of thing” said Yurika, with just a small hint of interest in her voice.
“Yeah I wasn’t, but I learned that made me change my mind” I said.
“Really? What?” she asked.
“Nothing interesting for you, I’m sure. More importantly, what are you still doing here?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.
“H-huh?! W-Well, You s-see-” said Yurika, trying to come up with words to express her thoughts.
During the entire course of our conversation she hadn’t looked directly into my eyes not even once.
I could reason out that it was due to embarrassment, but didn’t looked like out of being concious of me as a man. It looked more like she was ashamed to admit something absolutely mortifying to her.
I didn’t wanted to make her more uncomfortable than she already was, so I decided to give her a little help.
“You want me to walk with you back home?” I offered.
“Huh?! You wouldn’t mind?” she asked, surprisingly surprised at my offer.
Her words caused me to release a small dry laugh.
“We are neighbors, remember? You path home is my path” I said.
“O-Oh hahaha” laughed Yurika, a little awkwardly”
I just smiled at her and took her hand, intending on guiding her.
The moment our fingers touched she turned red immediately. She still wasn’t used to be around a boy, much less be touched by one, so I guess it was natural for her to make that reaction.
“H-huh, T-Takashi, is t-t-this really-” she tried to protest a little.
“We don’t want you to get lost, don’t we?” I said.
She tried to come up with a come back, but it seemed that nothing came to her mind because she simple bit her lips and stayed quiet.
Just like that I guided her back to our house. I try to make her more comfortable, making her not think much about our hands linked together by engaging in small talk about her first day at school.
I indeed wanted to increase our intimacy by holding her hands. Since she was such a sheltered girl I figure that it would have a great effect on her, not to mention that it was one of the most common tropes that could ever exist in Japanese media, but I was also telling the truth about not wanting her to get lost.
During our time together over the past month Yurika had commented about her sense of direction, or rather her lack of one. Apparently the reason her parents wanted to contract a driving service to let her at school was less for the sake of appearances or what not but more out of fear that Yurika might get lost if she goes alone.
I’m not sure how bad her sense of direction can be, considering that our path to school and back is relatively simple, but I didn’t think that there was anything wrong in easing a bit her heart about that issue, especially considering how lost she looked when I saw her at the main gate at school.
I asked her about why she didn’t called for me or one of y sisters help, and she apparently just thought that we would go directly home. Sadly that didn’t occurred. Rina had already bolted to hang out with her friends while Anna-nee wen shopping for something. In her unrest due to the situation, Yurika forgot that she could just call them.
I could only sigh in exasperation to her behavior.
‘Sheltered is one thing, but this is already a little too much’
But despite all of this I kept my mouth shut about the issue. A man must always now when to not open their mouth.
As time passed Yurika slowly got more used to my presence and to he touch of my hand on hers. Her continued to be red from embarrassment, but she was getting used enough to me that she wasn’t stammering so much before.
Her day apparently went with any real complications. From how she described I could already imagine that she manage to get along well with the girls while the boys were probably already drooling after her.
I had to admit that, even though we were just friends at the moment, I was already getting jealous of the fact she was getting attention of other guys.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind I inadvertently released a small laugh in realization, causing Yurika to look at me in bewilderment.
“W-what happened Takashi?” asked Yurika, clearly curious from my sudden behavior.
“Oh nothing, just realized something obvious” I said.
She simple tilted her head in confusion to my words, but I didn’t tried to explain any further so she just dropped the subject as well.
I should have notice this earlier.
I should have realized that when I had stopped to think if I should help her but how I should help her. I don’t know when it happened, but at some point I had already decided that I would help her.
I had already made my decision regarding her situation and to have her in my life.
Despite her obvious clumsiness in how to deal with normal situations, Yurika was a honest and sincere girl that wore her heart on her sleeve. She was bright, pure and anyone could tell that she would only get more beautiful in the future.
Whether it was on the superficial or on a more deeper level, she was indeed a gem of a girl and the thought of her being degraded to a se slave infuriated me.
As we finally reached our home and said our good byes, any indecisiveness that I might have felt in regards to her were long gone.
I had already made my mind.
‘I want her’