HKZ 166

Chapter 166

As we begin, Tarou is at the sea with Ririsu Ibusuki. All pretenses are finally gone, and there are no longer any secrets between them, except for one. We continue from last week, as Tarou says "I came here to change your mind."

Ririsu and Tarou both look nervous.

Ririsu: "Tarou, you can't change my mind."

Awkward silence follows, with only the sound of running water and the sea filling the air. Ririsu gets up and starts to walk away.

Ririsu: "Because, you don't like me."

She continues on past him, shuffling her feet in the sand.

Tarou: "I said I wouldn't hold anything back anymore from you. So, I am just going to honestly tell you how I feel right now. I'm not all that sure what I think about you in this moment."

Ririsu is unimpressed as she continues to walk away form him. Tarou continues talking to her as he follows.

Tarou: "When we met again, for a while I really thought you were guy, and I became aware of the fact that you always resented me. Even as I came to realize more and more, my feelings of guilt became stronger. I tried not to think about whether it was okay to have those kinds of feelings."

Ririsu: "And that's because Eve was always next to you, huh? She was cuter than the real thing, so pure and earnest. I only look like her, and nothing else."

Tarou thinks back to when he told Ririsu not to dress like a girl because she looks like Eve and it messes with him. Tarou tries to explain, but Ririsu interjects.

Ririsu: "I guess I won't hold back anything, either. I can't get close to you, because you fell in love with Eve. I simply can't compete with your perfect fantasy. When I think about how I would always be compared to her forever, I get scared."

Tarou and Ririsu stand, averting their eyes to the ground in silence. Tarou seems to show yet those same feelings of guilt. Just then, a big gust of wind comes and blows away Tarou's coat, exposing Ririsu's stunningly gorgeous and feminine figure. Tarou thinks to himself "That dress... it's the same dress from that party..."

Ririsu walks to get her coat off the sand.

RIrisu: "Harisuri said that he wanted me to wear this dress during our lunch together. Thinking back on it, he had planned for this to happen."

Tarou: "As I thought, that day in the tree, it was you all along."

Ririsu is a bit tongue-tied, unable to think of the right thing to say. Tarou thinks back on that night.

Tarou: "Ever since I met Eve, I thought she never seemed as beautiful as she did that night. Yeah, Eve is the girl of my dreams. But, my fantasies can't hold a candle to the real thing, which is something I never could have dreamed on my own. So, it's no wonder which one has me utterly captivated. I don't know how I should feel about you... Even though i tried not to think about it and kept it closed off in my heart, there are times when I couldn't keep it tucked away. Whenever you'd show me a rare smile, whenever you would get angry, whenever I would absent-mindedly touch you..."

Tarou thinks back to all these moments that made his heart tremble. Moments when Ririto Ibusuki would let the real person shine through the facade.

Tarou: "At times like those, I wanted to longingly stare at that face, say all the right things and make things better. I wanted to touch you just a little more, and see how you'd react. Before I could think, my body would start do move on it's own and... AH! Sorry! I'm saying some pretty revolting things, huh?"

Ririsu keeps hugging Tarou's coat tight as she looks down. She's blushing with an expression we've never seen her have before.

Ririsu: "N-no, it's just, when you say at there were times like that..."

Tarou: "Right there, that's the expression I want to see."

Tarou and Ririsu lock eyes as the sea shimmers in the sunlight before them.

Tarou: "No wait, more... I want you to smile more. That's what I want to see lots and lots of, from here on out."

Tarou envisions Eve's loving hands coming down and sparkling as they reach to embrace him, this time as a metaphor.

Tarou: "That's right... I've always wanted to love you so badly that I could hardly stand it."

Ririsu: "And... these are your real feelings, with no holding back?"

Tarou: "...yeah."

Ririsu takes a bit of a breath, and she bends over forward without being able to hold it back as she busts out laughing.

Ririsu: "So instead of saying 'I like you' or 'I'm in love with you,' you say 'from now on,  let me love you' as a confession? I've never heard THAT one before!"

She turned the tables on Tarou, who looks so dejected and embarrassed he could die, and perhaps a bit flustered by seeing Ririsu so seemingly happy and free for once.

Tarou: "Well if that's how it is, I guess there's only one thing to do. We gotta start everything over from the top..."

Tarou is looking downward in embarrassment, but to his surprise, Ririsu breaks the silence.

Ririsu: "That's not a bad idea, huh? I wonder if it would be okay to wish to start over from here? Would that girl forgive us?"

Ririsu has tears flowing from her eyes as she whimsically looks toward the sky, while blushing. Tarou walks to her and takes her hands.

Tarou: "Forget about whether she'll forgive us... Eve will be happy for us."

Ririsu pauses for a second, but shakes it off and shows Tarou a rare earnest smile, as she tells him. "Yeah!"

Tarou: "Let's start over from the beginning."

As the hold hands, we are shown a shot of Tarou and Ririsu as kids, just like the day Ririsu left him, right before they kissed when Eve was born.

"From that day we parted, full of misunderstandings, let's give it another go."

End of Chapter!