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Arashi wasn’t sure what compelled her to do this. Perhaps it was seeing Aira be so unabashed with his idol merchandise, or maybe it was seeing Sora have no problem cuddling plushies of his unit mates. Whatever the case, she stood in her dorm, alone, now the proud owner of one of Leo Tsukinaga’s latest nui plushies. It was rather small, standing at only 15 centimeters and he sported his Coruscate Breeze outfit which had always been Arashi’s favorite of Leo’s. He looked so handsome in those colors…and the skin that showed was…Arashi shook herself out of her musings as she could feel her face getting red. She looked at the Leo nui’s smiling face and couldn’t help but smile back. She walked over to her bed and gracefully fell back on it, holding the Leo nui above her face. As she stared at him, her mind couldn’t help but wander.
She’d known Leo for so long now, he was an integral part of her life. He made her feel similar to how she felt towards Kunugi-sensei, but it was different this time. It felt more intense and more…pure. She truly loved Leo and wanted to see him happy and be successful in life. There was a time she was jealous of Izumi, but over time she felt her bond with Leo become different as well. He confided in her and had shown her some of his most vulnerable moments and, though it was hard to watch him go through such states, she felt honored he would be comfortable enough to share with her. In turn, she did as well though it wasn’t easy…
Not wanting to think too hard about things, Arashi sat up on her bed and stared at the Leo nui intently. Though her love for him was rather evident in her eyes, she had yet to confess and Leo never said anything. There was a very high chance Leo genuinely couldn’t tell. As intuitive as he could be, he was dense when it came to other’s feelings for him. Though he’s gotten better about it, Leo used to assume people thought the worst about him. Arashi hoped that someday he would see himself how she sees him.
Arashi set the Leo nui down in front of her and began to twiddle her thumbs in thought. Though she hadn’t confessed, she had been thinking about it for a while. She wasn’t fully sure that Leo would return her feelings in that way, but it was worth a shot. Maybe this nui could be the perfect practice partner with his eternal smile! She could just wing a confession, but maybe putting some thought behind it would make it more coherent. Arashi took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Even though it was just practicing with a stuffed toy, she was still anxious.
“Leo-kun, we’ve known each other for a while now. We’ve seen each other at our worst and have been trying to get better…”
Arashi internally cringed. That sounded weird, didn’t it? Shaking it off, she continued with her little impromptu speech.
“I really care deeply about you…more than a friend should. Or maybe that’s not the right thing to say. A friend should care deeply about their friends. What I’m trying to say is I feel more than friendship for you! I don’t know if you can tell, but I love everything about you.”
Arashi felt like she was on a roll, but her face was heating up. How embarrassing! Nonetheless, she continued with her confession. Unfortunately, she didn’t hear the door to her dorm opening from how flustered she was with her speech.
“I love how passionate you are about the things and people you love. I love how silly you get and how you always know what to say to make me feel better. I love your music and what you can do with it. I love that you’re always there for me, no matter what. I miss you when you aren’t here, but I want you to live your best life. You deserve so much happiness and goodness in your life, even if you don’t feel like you do. Even when you’re in the darkest recesses of your mind, I’ll be here to pull you back. Leo Tsukinaga, I love you!” Right after those words left her mouth, Arashi covered her red face with her hands. Oh she was so hot.
“Naru?”
At that moment, Arashi could feel her world crumbling around her. No way that the object of her affection was in her room. The real one and not the nui sitting on her bed. Did he hear everything she just said? Arashi spread the fingers covering her eyes so she could look at Leo, who was standing there with a dumbfounded expression. When she spoke, her voice came out as a squeak. “L-Leo-kun?!”
Somehow, Leo had the sense to close the door behind him before taking a step closer to Arashi’s bed. Now that he was closer, she could see that he was blushing as well just a bit. “Naru…did you mean all that?”
Arashi could attempt to lie to get out of this embarrassing situation, but she doubted that would actually work. Clearly, Leo heard everything and there was no way to explain it a different way when there was literally a nui of him sitting right in front of her. It would be unlady-like of her to not own up to it anyway. With another deep breath, she dropped her hands from her face and stared directly at Leo. “Yes, yes I did mean all that.”
There was a beat of silence where neither of them spoke or moved. A million thoughts were running through Arashi’s head. Was this it? Is this how Knights breaks up? Because she was doing something silly like confessing to a nui of her best friend? Would she get kicked out of the dorms? Would she have to move to a different city? Suddenly Leo was hugging her and all those spiraling thoughts vanished in an instant.
“Naru…I didn’t know you felt like that! I’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner, but I feel the same way. I love you so much, Naru. More than a friend.”
Arashi could feel Leo shaking a bit, which let her know that he actually was nervous and not saying things to make her feel better. She let the hug go on a little longer before pulling away slightly to get a better look at him. His cheeks were red and eyes watery, but she was sure she didn’t look any better. Arashi let out a relieved laugh before leaning in to place a gentle kiss on his lips which Leo quickly reciprocated.
Once the pair pulled away. Leo also let out a relieved laugh. “By the way Naru, where did you get a doll of me?”
Oh dear, he had a lot to learn.