"Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, raw chocolate... So there are actually this many types of chocolate."
"Depending on the origin of the cocoa beans and the manufacturing process, there are even more subcategories beneath these major classifications..."
Mutsumi stopped in front of the dark chocolate counter and said:
"Didn't Anon explain them when she gave you chocolates?"
"She just repeatedly emphasized to that the ones she gave were all one-of-a-kind honi chocolates. As for the types of chocolate... she didn't actually go into detail."
(T/N: In valentine's day of japan, honi is the choco given by a girl who has genuine romantic feelings for soone. It's often high-quality and stuff. Opposite this is giri which is obligation chocolate. Like cheaper, store-bought chocolates given to male friends, coworkers, or bosses with absolutely zero romantic intent, just out of politeness.)
Tetsuya recalled for a mont before answering:
"This is probably also because she understands my personality very well. No matter what kind of chocolate it is, I would definitely like it."
"...Really?" Mutsumi said while looking at the dark chocolate labeled 99% in front of her.
"At least this one isn't sothing everyone can accept... Do you want to try it?"
"Sure." Tetsuya, who had absolutely no concept of dark chocolate purity, agreed very readily.
But imdiately after, when Mutsumi picked up the dark chocolate ant for tasting with a fork, her movent suddenly froze mid-air.
Because she shockingly realized that Tetsuya didn't seem prepared to take the fork from her hand, but instead leaned his face directly over, as if wanting her to feed him directly—
Eh? Is it really okay? Is it really fine for her to do this kind of thing to Chihaya-san? Wouldn't it seem a bit too ambiguous?
However, this behavior was also born out of complete trust in her, and was a display of their close relationship, right? It makes a little bit happy...
"...Ah." On the other side, seeing Mutsumi's suddenly stalled movent, Tetsuya imdiately realized that his behavior might have been a bit inappropriate. So he straightened his posture again and reached out his hand, wanting to take the fork. But at the sa ti, Mutsumi, who had already ntally prepared herself, had already extended the fork over.
"Huh?" "Huh?"
The two of them, whose movents completely failed to sync up, first looked at each other in unison, and then Tetsuya was the first to helplessly burst into laughter.
"I really don't know if we're in sync or out of sync."
"Mmm..." Missing the chance to feed him due to montary shyness made Mutsumi feel sowhat regretful. However, just as she was conflicted about what to do next, Tetsuya bent down once again and directly ate the chocolate off the fork in one bite while Mutsumi was distracted—
"Ah, this... is indeed a taste not everyone can accept." The overwhelming bitterness and the ensuing sourness made Tetsuya widen his eyes slightly. But right after, as he carefully chewed and savored the aftertaste, the llow flavor coming from the cocoa beans made him involuntarily nod.
"But it's not exactly terrible either..."
"..." As a result, unlike her own flustered state, Tetsuya's reaction from beginning to end was incredibly natural. But co to think of it, it was just tasting a little bit of chocolate. No matter what kind of posture was used, it wouldn't make much of a difference. On the contrary, because she cared too much, she ended up acting too suspiciously.
Keep calm, keep calm. It's just tasting chocolate, there's no need to appear so shaken—
"It's a rare opportunity, you should try a piece too, Wakaba-san." Before Mutsumi could completely banish her previous thought, Tetsuya's next action plunged her into a brainstorm once again.
She saw him first pick up another plastic fork next to the tasting counter, and then bring it directly to Mutsumi's lips.
"Here, Wakaba-san, say ah—"
"Eh..."
Ah, he said it! That important line that absolutely shouldn't be said, the one that would directly take up an entire panel in a shoujo manga!
Eh? According to Sakiko, this person should already be very clear about his own identity, position, and attractiveness to girls, right? Why is he still able to do this kind of thing so easily?
It's truly too outrageous! If Sakiko saw this, an inevitable lecture would definitely happen tonight... In this situation, just Sakiko isn't enough anymore. We need to have the more mature Uika teach him a lesson!
Mutsumi believed from the bottom of her heart that the cognitive reinforcent training Tetsuya was currently receiving was still far from enough.
Then, carrying these critical thoughts, Mutsumi didn't continue the back-and-forth "tango" with Tetsuya this ti. Instead, she slowly leaned forward and carefully bit the dark chocolate, which had been specially cut into a small cube, off the plastic fork with her teeth—
"!!!"
Unlike Tetsuya's mild reaction, the mont the dark chocolate touched the tip of her tongue, Mutsumi imdiately covered her mouth, and her originally calm expression was instantly replaced by bitterness.
"It's really so bitter..."
"Mhm, when it first enters your mouth, it's practically like Chinese herbal dicine." Tetsuya nodded in deep agreent.
"But if you chew it a little, the bitterness will gradually decrease, and then cos the original taste of the chocolate."
"..." Mutsumi tried hard to avoid the sour bitterness that had completely filled her mouth while looking back at Tetsuya's expression, which looked like his expectations had been satisfied...
In the end, the reason this person could do this kind of action so easily was simply because he genuinely wanted her to try the taste of this chocolate too. Just like at the instrunt store and the flower shop earlier... this person had logically started enjoying himself in his own way.
Still no humoring, and still no pretending.
For so reason, Mutsumi suddenly felt her mood beco unprecedentedly relaxed.
If she was with this person, no matter what she said or did, this person seed very happy to listen, understand, and invest enthusiasm into it.
The bitterness in her mouth finally receded sowhat, and the original taste of the chocolate that Tetsuya had described quietly erged along with it.
If it was this person, he would surely be willing to accept her flaws as well, and patiently wait for her to show her true self, right?
...
"But even so... 99% is indeed too much. Let's look at this 78% one instead." Mutsumi moved to the adjacent counter.
"It won't be too bitter, and the calories won't be too high. It's perfect to use as snacks for Uika and Ai."
"Heh, so you ca to the chocolate shop for their sake, Wakaba-san!" Tetsuya felt quite surprised by this.
And Mutsumi nodded and replied:
"Because they've been controlling their figures lately, their diets have been quite strict. So I figured... I'd buy a little bit of this kind of snack that can slightly satisfy their cravings without creating any psychological burden."
"...I see." Hearing this reason, Tetsuya imdiately smiled and nodded.
"You really are very good at caring for others, Wakaba-san."
Recalling the first ti he t Mutsumi, Tetsuya said:
"Whether it's buying a new guitar in advance for the band's new songs, buying the new variety of cucumber seeds because of my montary curiosity, or these chocolates, all of them are proof that you care about others. Thinking back carefully, initially, you also wanted to proactively get to know out of concern for Sakiko."
At this point, Tetsuya couldn't help but sigh in admiration:
"It's truly completely different from your cold exterior."
"That statent... is slightly problematic." Mutsumi said as she took the pre-packaged chocolates from the counter next to her.
"Rather than 'caring,' it's more accurate to say that I want to work hard to find a 'mistake-free' thod... Just like the reason I do these things; rather than wanting to be liked by everyone, it's mostly just to not be hated by everyone. Including when choosing a dress just now, I was only unable to make a choice because I didn't want Chihaya-san to lose face because of my taste."
Under Tetsuya's gaze, Mutsumi revealed for the first ti sothing she had never explained to anyone in the past.
"Anyway, let's talk while we walk." Mutsumi said, holding the chocolate packaging bag in her hands:
"If it's the current , I should already be able to make a choice."
...
Under her mother's coercion and strict control, ever since she was old enough to understand, Mutsumi had always been accustod to obeying orders rather than expressing her thoughts.
As long as her domineering and stubborn mother had set her mind on sothing, she would absolutely not listen to her thoughts, to the point that Mutsumi subconsciously developed the belief that "my own thoughts don't matter."
And after that, Sakiko's appearance deepened this belief once again.
On one hand, it was because of Sakiko's own assertiveness, and on the other hand, it was because of Sakiko's correctness.
eting new friends, forming a band, hanging out together, rehearsing together, trying all sorts of new things... Under Sakiko's leadership, she completely didn't need to do any thinking or make any decisions, and could still fully enjoy youth and school life. This joyful experience further convinced her that she simply didn't need to express herself or proactively make any decisions...
However, as Sakiko's family underwent unforeseen changes, the band disbanded, and everyone fell apart. She, who originally only needed to follow Sakiko, finally had to make her own choices.
To keep Sakiko's secret, she had to conceal Sakiko's actual situation and give the others incredibly indifferent answers.
To keep Soyo from falling into complete despair, she would maintain contact with Soyo within permissible limits, but she couldn't practically solve any of Soyo's problems.
Ultimately, in this dilemma, she failed to take care of either side.
In the end, she still couldn't completely keep Sakiko's secret, and she had absolutely no ability to calm Soyo's feelings.
She tried to take care of both of their emotions at the sa ti, but in the end, she took care of neither.
Just like that, under the combined influence of this series of factors, Mutsumi never again had the thought of wanting to proactively express her own ideas. In her view, wanting to correctly express her true thoughts without making any mistakes... was truly too difficult. To the point that, compared to achieving her goal, Mutsumi would prioritize thinking about how to "avoid failure"—
"Inviting Miss Yuutenji to join the band barely counts as my first proactive attempt... but that was also because of Uika's presence, and she herself wasn't so important that she couldn't be replaced, which gave the confidence to negotiate with her. If it were just alone, I definitely still wouldn't be able to do anything."
At this point, Mutsumi's expression was slightly crestfallen.
"After all, I'm not very good at expressing myself, and I'm very bad at talking... When everyone chats with , they often fall silent because of one of my answers, and originally heated discussions are often brought to an abrupt end because of my summaries."
"After all, you've always spoken very directly, Wakaba-san." Tetsuya said, chiming in with a sigh of his own:
"Just like ."
"Eh?" Hearing this, Mutsumi imdiately showed a highly puzzled expression.
"Your eloquence is clearly much better than mine, Chihaya-san, isn't it?"
"I also frequently get yelled at for saying things that are too direct or unthinking. Sakiko, Soyo, and Uika have all lectured about this." Tetsuya shook his head.
"But even so, the things that need to be said... must still be said out loud. Because only by doing so can others understand your thoughts and feelings. Even if those thoughts can't please the other party, and might even have the opposite effect, at least it can deepen mutual understanding and push things forward."
"..." Hearing this, Mutsumi first fell silent for a brief mont, then asked:
"Even if it's in a bad direction?"
"Mhm. After all, silence can't keep a problem stagnant forever. Instead, it will cause a situation that could originally be resolved to eventually evolve to an irreparable degree due to procrastination. Just like the matter with Sakiko. Although Soyo found it very hard to accept at first, after venting the anxiety and grievances in her heart, didn't they still properly accept reality and reach a reconciliation?"
"This..." Mutsumi instantly fell into deep thought upon hearing this.
Thinking about it now, when Tetsuya first intervened in the relationship between Soyo and Sakiko, Soyo's attitude towards him was completely one of being unable to understand or accept it.
If everyone had just maintained their silence then, the misunderstandings definitely wouldn't have been cleared up, and repairing their relationship would have been even more impossible to bring up. However, under Tetsuya's forceful guidance, as everyone voiced their thoughts, they indeed found an acceptable consensus and gathered together again in that direction. Although the disbandnt of [CRYCHIC] was already irreversible, everyone's relationships were still properly repaired...
So, even if it's an expression that leads to failure... is it still better than silence?
Even soone like her, who was bad with words and had a completely unlikable way of speaking, also had the right to proactively express her thoughts to everyone?
"Communicating with others is inherently a major subject that takes a lot of ti to study. It doesn't matter if you aren't good at it right now, just train it slowly."
As if he had seen through Mutsumi's wavering at this mont, Tetsuya continued:
"Besides, even if you really say the wrong thing in the future, you can completely say 'Chihaya Tetsuya told to say it'! Just like today's dress. If your mother isn't satisfied when the ti cos, it's entirely because I narrowed down the scope for you first."
"In short, whether you make a mistake or a slip of the tongue, no matter when, there will be soone to shoulder this responsibility together with you. With this, you should have the courage to take a step forward, right?"
"..." Hearing this sentence, Mutsumi first involuntarily stopped in her tracks and carefully looked at Tetsuya's expression.
And after seeing that sincere expression, which, as always, lacked any self-awareness, she finally let out a deep sigh.
"You... truly are the type who isn't very good at talking, just like , Chihaya-san."
"Right! Although I don't know what was wrong with what I just said..."
"Sigh..."
If she just agreed to it like this, wouldn't she never again be satisfied with their relationship where she could originally still maintain her silence?
"I think I'll... wait a little longer."
Wait until that seed, which had already germinated, officially broke through the soil and extended vines long enough to entwine him.
She would definitely take that step, just as Tetsuya said, and face the unavoidable future head-on.
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