恋の勝利

“You don’t need—” She cuts him off so quickly he is just rendered speechless after that. His distressed expression changed into something tamer and concerned. 

Perhaps he’s still little rough around the edges when it comes to this relationship, but he tries. He has never been ill-natured, but he only desires to keep her worries to a minimum level. He dislikes seeing her upset for his sake, he can’t just bear it.

But.

That’s how it is when you have someone else that desires to protect you. It’s just like him at the end. He just can’t understand that so easily. It’s really hard for something like him.

“Ow.” A single huff of protest as she keeps cleaning his wound. “…Sorry, I just…” He leaves the silence to envelop the room for a bit as she tenders him. 

He’s really grateful, it’s just weird to express it in words. Sometimes, his actions speak what he’s unable to.

They’ve made mistakes, hell, everyone does. He isn’t proud of his past behavior, but he can’t help but keep striding towards the shiny future. It’s unknown, but only time will tell what’s going to happen next. He can’t be worried about things he doesn’t know, so he has to live his days brilliantly as ever. Especially now that he’s with Chidori Takashiro.

Her voice resounds inside her head, making his heart clutch. It’s all in a good way, but he needs to get accustomed to this. By the looks of it, it won’t take much time.

“Wahaha. I guess I’ll shut up about it. No need to make things more embarrassing, right? Right?” A teasing nature that was missed for a while is now back. Tenga starts ruffling her hair affectionately, not letting go just yet.

But… with the lips pressing, he has come back to his embarrassing facade once again. He gets red-hot. Akin to Chidori’s hair, even if it’s just a moment. “Hehehehe…,” And damn it is so awkward, but he goes for another on his own. Quick and firm.

She’s comfortable with Tenga and their personalities somehow always meshed.

“Sleep? After this!? B-but...” She assumes in their respective rooms and right now, being away of him isn’t quite tempting. Clingy as it can appear, could anyone blame her? Proving again their little experience and knowledge in dating -- she ends laughing, endeared by his demeanour. It’s fantastic, having a chance of learning together how to become a decent couple. 

If she’s selfish for feeling like that, then he is, too. It’s complex and certainly he has never tried to give it much tought because he’s afraid of getting hurt. He didn’t want to get hurt and he certainly wanted to hurt Katsuhira, or Chidori. Perhaps it is selfish, but ultimately the best outcome for him is something he thought correct. 

Unfortunately, the way he expressed his feelings back then was wrong, and he needs to live with that for the rest of his life. That haunted Tenga, and still does. Though, right now, he feels blessed. The negative thoughts dispel and are casted away from his mind when she repeated herself. 

“Chidori…”

“I—” One arm holds her frame as the other rubs his cheek, embarrassed by her words. A faint, almost visible blush paints his face with deep tonalities of crimson. “I like you, Chidori.” Tenga repeats her words to show his care. He’d give it his own spin, but it would be dumb so he tossed the idea away.

“…I ain’t! It’s just… embarrassing?” Tenga is honest, but he means no harm with those words. “I wanna be your boyfriend!” There, said it. Nailed it, hopefully.

Past events taught them plenty, albeit in a bitter way. Learning and forgiving is the key, one she hopes denoting with every word and action -- fingertips brushed his back, a soft caress. She won’t deny the embarrassing side, her heart about to burst with every romantic expression of his part. It’s a joyful sentiment, seeing herself and loved and capable of loving in return. Maybe difficult to process, so sweet that digesting is no simple task and it’ll take time to understand. 

But they will be together from now and on, hopefully as long as possible. 

“I get it! I get it! We like each other!” And she is tempted to repeat it over and over, till her voice turns dry. Se won’t, she can’t muster the strength but what she does is stand at the tip of her toes, trying to hug him by the shoulders. Pulling him close, the excitement numbs doubts for a second -- Chidori kissed him on the lips, fast as possible in a way to celebrate. 

alternatively send ‘ + ‘ after the symbol for the roles to be reversed where possible !

Right now, his desire to defend her is undebatable. His attraction, albeit confusing, is still genuine. He can’t fully defend himself because he knows he’s dumb, he knows he’s stupid, but that won’t change any of his feelings. He may have acted like a jealous toddler in the past, and he isn’t going to excuse that. But he is focused in the greater, broader future that awaits them.

He is afraid, and not because he thinks he’s just her last resort, but because he doesn’t think he’d be enough for her. “Yeah, I’m the dumbest…” A faint laugh resonates the room, in unison with hers. 

Feeling her warm face on his chest is new, unexpected. A surprised face comes first before getting accustomed to the feeling. He musters the guts to wrap her thin frame with his arms before saying something stupid. Maybe that way he can get some points.

He simply is not good with this, but he tries his best. “O-oy.” He chokes, too. It’s dumb yet satisfying, how they struggle with words. Tenga knows he needs to take the next step, he just needs a little bit more of … time to recollect his thoughts.

Spending time in silence like this is not so bad after all. “I wanna be your boyf… Will you be my girlfff?” He tries to make it funny, for her sake. Hopefully, it will work. 

I hate you because you are always close to me.

It makes no sense, what he sees on her. She’s heavy and has no place, fearing she may sink his heart along her own. But risks must be taken, that’s what she has learned of him and embrace pain, like many of their peers. 

“Of course I do. I like you. I’ll say it a thousand times...!”

“I like you, Hajime Tenga.”

She feigns irritation, eyebrows furrowed and although weak, her stare pierced through. It’s brief, looking at him as if in search of an answer -- one he already must be aware of and she has yet to find the courage of mustering. 

Lips parted gently and a smile blossoms at the corners once saying, “Don’t make fun of my stuttering, it’s natural I get nervous.” And it’s then, she leans against his chest once more, eyelids shutting tight. The bittersweet taste of rejection long forgotten, now all she awaited for are brighter days -- he’s not a second choice, he’s the first to ever see her. First to make her realize, love isn’t something to be ashamed of. 

A gruesome sight -- a place she assumed vaguely peaceful now offered a visage accredited to nightmares alone. Fear crept quick, she did not want to believe it part of their new reality. Rushing to his side comes as fast as possible, groceries being dropped to the side. Running near Katsuhira, Chidori didn’t hesitate grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him over her lap. “KACCHON!” 

Her erratic heartbeat only soothed once noticing he was at best, out of the loop and not in a more concerning shape. 

» kiznaiver ending song english translation