Chapter 109: Heart’s Beauty

Today, Kokomi Teruhashi seemed to have given up on Tsukasa Aoki, no longer bothering him. This brought Aoki a rare sense of tranquility, though deep down he felt somewhat troubled. It wasn’t just Kokomi; even the classmates who had grown somewhat familiar with him had reverted to their initial distant demeanor from when he first transferred—fear and anxiety as if he were some kind of threat. It was truly disheartening.

During lunch break, Aoki went up to the rooftop and lounged on his favorite large sofa, leisurely holding a medical book while enjoying the gentle autumn breeze. It was utterly refreshing.

Meanwhile, Maeda Tora, Fujiwara Miyo, and Matsuzaka Daisuke were playing poker at the coffee table, laughing and joking, bringing Aoki a rare feeling of peacefulness in life.

“How wonderful these days are...” Aoki murmured to himself.

“Click!” The rooftop door suddenly opened again.

Wait, why did I say “again”? Aoki looked up in surprise to see Kokomi Teruhashi clenching her fists, her face tense as she approached him.

Maeda and the others exchanged glances, chuckled, and quickly tidied up the poker cards. Then, clutching their stomachs and supporting each other, they exclaimed, “Ah, stomachache! Chief, let’s go to the restroom together first.”

Are you girls? Going to the restroom while linked arm-in-arm?

Aoki rolled his eyes silently, sat up, put his book aside, and asked curiously, “Teruhashi, is there something you need?”

Kokomi glanced up at him. Each time their eyes met, she immediately looked down again, only to raise her gaze once more. This repeated three or four times before she suddenly exclaimed loudly, “I don’t believe Tsukasa is the bad person they say he is!”

Why bring this up all of a sudden?

Aoki nodded blankly. “Oh...”

Seeing his dazed expression, Kokomi’s heart surged with emotion.

Yesterday, she had gone home and thought long and hard, lying in bed for two whole hours. No matter how she thought about it, she felt she must have misunderstood Tsukasa. The fact that those girls who usually played with her had taken photos and spread rumors about Aoki made her determined not to just sit by idly. If Aoki thought she was behind the false gossip, that would be a grave injustice.

Moreover, the entire school was misunderstanding Aoki, but only she, Kokomi Teruhashi, truly knew the kindness and sincerity in his heart. Surely, he would be moved by her belief in him and come to appreciate her because of it!

Kokomi scrutinized Aoki’s face. Seeing him nodding absentmindedly, seemingly too moved for words, she beamed brightly and said, “No matter how others misunderstand or slander you, I firmly believe you’re not the kind of person they say you are—no gang member! Tsukasa Aoki, keep fighting!”

“Uh...” Aoki had no idea why she was suddenly acting this way, so he awkwardly raised his hand in return. “Oh... thanks. You too.”

Kokomi smiled softly at him. He must be overwhelmed with emotions, unable to respond. His favorability toward her must have risen significantly! Should she press the advantage now? Taking two steps forward, she stood before Aoki, who awkwardly stepped back. Kokomi bowed apologetically.

“Sorry. Yesterday, I saw you being taken away by the police with my friends and saw them take photos of you. I was so confused at the time that I forgot to tell them not to spread rumors... If this caused you trouble, please allow me to apologize on their behalf.”

Aoki looked at her and suddenly felt she wasn’t as complicated as he’d imagined. From a purely friendship standpoint, saying something like that showed she had no ill intentions.

With this thought, Aoki smiled faintly and gently stopped her from bowing further. “It’s okay. Honestly, I don’t really care how others see me, as long as they don’t bother me about it. Besides, it wasn’t you who did those things, so you shouldn’t feel guilty.”

“Call me Kokomi!” she suddenly looked up and gave him a bright, cheerful smile. “Except for Maeda Tora, you don’t have many friends in class. If you don’t mind, can we be friends?”

Kokomi’s heart pounded wildly. Though she spoke casually, being able to address each other by first names thrilled her beyond words.

Aoki blinked, watching her, but somehow thought of Saeko Busujima—the way she looked melancholically out the window the day she left the kendo club.

“Kokomi... huh.” He lowered his head and smiled with complicated emotions before looking up. “Sure, you can call me whatever you like, Kokomi.”

“Tsukasa-kun...” Kokomi’s face flushed scarlet. She hurriedly waved goodbye, stammering, “Well then! Tsukasa, I’m going back now!”

With that, she ran down the stairs, cheeks burning.

Watching her joyful retreat, Aoki looked up at the sky, unchanged from any other day, and sighed softly. “Is changing a name really such a big deal?”

He took out his phone and, for some reason, began searching for “The Swordsman’s Tale.”

“Live-action ‘The Swordsman’s Tale’ breaks box office records again, poised to win Best Adapted Film.”

“The finest manga adaptation of the year, ‘The Swordsman’s Tale,’ a romantic saga of a swordsman!”

Aoki looked at the news on his phone. The leading actress looked valiant and spirited in the photos, but he couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly.

“This actress is nowhere near as fitting as Senior Saeko Busujima. If she were the lead, it would be so much better.” He closed the news, leaned back on the sofa with hands behind his head, and stared absentmindedly at the sky.

But if you were a fan of the original manga, you’d probably look forward to the movie no matter how it turned out, right? Whether good or bad, you’d still want to see it.

“The live-action movie... is really terrible!” The cold voice of Saeko Busujima seemed to echo in his ears once more.

Aoki picked up the medical book again, trying to read, but no matter how hard he tried, not a single word sank in.