I don't see any other way out of this. If I reject Izumi-kun, our friendship might break, as everyone will pick sides to validate their own emotion. Should I just accept? Let his feelings die down, then break up? But that's more cruel, for both me, Izumi-kun, and Momozono-san, only to draw out the inevitable.
As Izumi-kun was about to open his mouth, "I-"
"Hitomi-san!!" A voice shouted and interrupted the silence, coming from a distance, outside the torii gates.
**[Yukiya's POV]**
"Hm. It seems that I'm lost." I muttered to myself, inside the thick forest, thinking it's more exciting to climb the mountain off track, like a true hunter of the shadows.
It took me some time, but I finally see the main footpath. A line of bright orange torii gates erected to the ground.
"Finally," A sigh of relief escaped my mouth, thinking I'm saved, as only a few more moments before it gets dark.
*There's still some people hiking? Oh, they suddenly stopped.* Seeing their tracksuits, a majority of red with black lines, I became more relieved as those are designated sports uniforms from my school.
Coming closer, I noticed a familiar face, "That's Hitomi-san, right?" I muttered to myself, recognizing our class rep.
I walked towards the people. "Hitomi-san!" I called out in joy, meeting someone I know after getting lost for so long. *Splat* I felt something mushy stuck on my shoes. My body froze, and I slowly looked down and hoped it wasn't what I thought it was. To my horror, "SH!!!!!!!!!T" I stepped on some poop, anyone's worst nightmare.
Looking at my ragged appearance, "Are you alright?!" Hitomi-san and the others got worried, concerned about my seemingly exhausted state.
"No, don't come closer. Just stay there!!" I exclaimed, thinking about how I would get myself out of this situation.
If they saw me having crap in my shoes, with this many people, I would be known as the guy who stepped on crap on the field trip! Everyone's gonna laugh at me, and it will destroy my mysterious shadow hero appearance!!
I then recalled something Hitomi-san said, "Y-Yeah. I receive one of these letters every now and then. But I don't have any plans for dating. At least, not yet."
*Yes!! This is the answer!!* Bowing my head at a ninety-degree angle, I shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear, "H-HITOMI-SAN!!! I LIKE YOU! W-W-WOULD YOU GO OUT WITH ME!!!?"
Hitomi-san said she receives *those* kinds of letters. Relating to having no plans of dating. Decoding what she said, this means she must have been confessed to a lot. If my calculations are right, then this would be enough to mask the crap on my shoes and solely focus on my one of the many confessions that Hitomi-san receives. Saving my shadow hero's dignity.
Yes. Even though I'm losing, this is my perfect victory.
**[Hitomi's POV]**
"I-" Confused by what was going on, I found myself too stunned to speak.
*What is he doing!?* I pondered for a second before recalling, *I'll come save you in your time of need,* is what Saito-kun said earlier this morning.
*I see. Yes, this is the answer.*
Bowing my head apologetically, I answered. "Sorry! I don't have any plans to go out right now. Sorry!!"
This is the answer: Never let Izumi-kun confess in the first place.
*So Saito-kun wasn't lying about what he said. *I know a lot more things than I look. Just know, I'm always watching.*
He decided that sacrificing himself was to optimal solution in saving our friendship. He must have known Izumi-kun's plans, and that he rushed over here, causing him to look so haggard, all to stop his confession.
Saito-kun uttered with a hint of fake sadness in his tone, "I see. I understand," before turning his back and running away in full force, gone in a matter of seconds.
"What was that all about?" Haru-san commented, confused by the randomness of the scene that unfolded before our eyes.
"Beats me," Satoru-kun added, equally puzzled.
I then turned towards Izumi-kun. "So, what is it that you want to say? Izumi-kun?" I flashed a bright smile, acting normal despite everything that happened.
"Ah. No. It's nothing. I just thought the view was amazing," Izumi-kun answered, deciding to back off, as if getting the hint from my answer towards Saito-kun's confession
I then replied with a wide smile, "I know, right?"
**[Back to the present]**
"And so that is how I became the president of the Yukiya Saito Fan Club," I told Mocha-san, wrapping up my back story of how my admiration for Yukiya-kun started.
"Wait, wait, wait! Aren't you skipping a lot of details!?" Mocha-san exclaimed, thinking to herself *Sure. That was a long backstory, but this is the first time I heard Master Yukiya-kun having a fan club.*
"There aren't really that many members, only a few people I could trust with this secret side of him, too. Ah, yeah. As the founder and president, the closest member to Yukiya-kun, I'm in charge of sneaking in pictures of his progress to stand out as our one true idol from the shadows."
"I, I see... That explains a lot..." Mocha-san said, thinking in the back of her mind *Not really. Also, that's kind of creepy* she thought, but tried understanding my part as a genuine friend who you can console with.
Mocha-san then proceeded to ask, "So what happened to Izumi-kun's confession? There's no way he'd move on that easily. Right?" She questioned, thinking my story can't be resolved that easily.
"Well, actually..."
On the way down after visiting the shrine, Momozono-san said to Izumi-kun. "Hey, you were about to confess to Hitomi-san earlier. Don't you?"
Izumi-kun blushed, getting a little flustered. "Wh-where did that come from?" He asked, looking really flustered.
"You've been acting strange since yesterday. Anyone could tell..." Momozono-san replied, pointing out the obvious.
Izumi-kun's blushed face soon faded, "She would probably reject me anyway. At the very least, I don't want to make it awkward between us," he told Momozono-san with hints of sadness to his tone, sounding so defeated.
Momozono-san then said to Izumi-kun. "Don't get too hung up about it. There's at least one girl out there willing to go out with someone as stupid as you.
Izumi-kun came to a halt and frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Momozono-san then stared at Izumi-kun. She then told him, "Figure it out yourself, dumb ass.. Bleh." She stuck her tongue, mockingly, which annoyed Izumi-kun.
Ever since then, Momozono-san made the conscious effort to make Izumi-kun notice her, but Izumi-kun is too dense to notice her effort, or so he pretends not to notice before figuring out what it is he truly feels.
Mocha-san, hearing the conclusion of the story, "So all this was because of Yukiya-kun?"
"Yes!" I cheerfully replied, confirming my gratitude.
**[Meanwhile, the person himself lounging at the student council room]**
"Now that I think about it, I did confess to someone before." Yukiya-kun brought up this random topic after some girls jokingly teased and confessed to him in the halls, and Shiori-sanpai scolded him for it.
Hearing Yukiya-kun's random confession, Aria-san and Shiori senpai stood up from their seats, asking him, "WHO!?" and even grabbing his collar to get the information out of him.
He then explained his dark past about that moment, which relieved Aria-san and Shiori-senpai, thinking it didn't count as it was not a genuine confession.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/n: [Additional details.]
Satoru-kun and Haru-san actually tried to stop Izumi-kun from confessing to Hitomi-san, the reason being they know he's only gonna get rejected, and it will only make it awkward between their friend group. However, Izumi-kun resolves to confess his feelings on this trip, as he can't keep this secret to himself any longer.
Momozono-san is actually awake during Haru-san and Hitomi-san's midnight talk. Overhearing Haru-san's decision, she came to understand that it was not Hitomi-san's fault, and maybe they could still be friends even after the confession.
The reason why Izumi-kun and Momozono-san aren't dating yet: Izumi-kun is just being mindful of Momozono-san's feelings. He's not fully sure his feelings for Hitomi-san is gone, so he wants to make sure what he is feeling right now is genuine and not just using Momozona-san as a rebound.