~ Third Person Pov ~
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"Uhm... What?" Ayano asked, more than a bit taken aback by the question.
"I'm sure you've heard me... What's your relationship with Sekai-san?" Setsuna added.
"Excuse me...?" Ayano asked again, slower this time, as though hearing it twice might soften the blow... "That's kind of… a loaded question, don't you think?"
Setsuna didn't blink. Her posture was immaculate — hands folded in her lap, back straight like a ruler. But there was something guarded about her eyes, a sharpness dulled just barely by politeness. It wasn't curiosity that motivated her question. It was something else. Tension. Concern?
"I don't ask questions I don't need the answer to." she said.
He stared at her. "So this is, what? An interrogation of some kind?"
"...If you want to call it that," she replied flatly, "Then yes."
A beat passed for a moment...
The clink of ceramic and the hiss of the espresso machine filled the space between them. A couple laughed in the corner. Somewhere behind the counter, a glass was dropped. Ayano leaned back slowly, arms crossing, eyes narrowing slightly. "Alright..." He rubbed the ridge of his nose before asking. "Then answer this — why does her life matter to you, ?"
Setsuna looked away — as if she were watching the street outside for approaching cars, or enemies. "Because if you're going to keep hanging around Sekai, then I need to know if I should be worried..."
Hearing that made something in Ayano twitch.
"?Worried about what exactly?" he said, voice much quieter now.
She looked back at him, this time at a level-eyed. "About her heart."
He blinked a few times... "What?"
Clearly hesitant, Setsuna spoke up again, "We spoke about what had happened recently. We are... close friends, and we've gotten back into contact recently... Regardless of any of that; push came to shove, we spoke about her, and then about you. As her friend, I naturally came over to see her, and when I got there, she was a complete mess."
Hearing all that made Ayano shift a bit. Still, what this Setsuna girl was doing, wasn't exactly normal, but... a small part of him greatly admired those kind of traits in people, it was quite rare to find.
'I think I see what's going on. This girl, it's pretty clear she cares about Sekai to do this, despite how tiny she is, she's got a fairly big heart...' Ayano thought, closing his eyes while smiling to himself. However, Setsuna saw this, and had gotten flustered by it, but she quickly regained her composure...
"Well, it seems that Sekai has one solid friend by her side... Though, Before I answer your question... What exactly did you guys talk about?" Ayano asked.
Setsuna, caught off guard a little, reluctantly agreed... But first, she thought it'd be best if he heard the whole story. She thought she owed him at least that much.
...
Setsuna began explaining her relations with Sekai to Ayano, and all the events he's heard small rumors of during school. She told him about Sekai being in love with Makoto Itou, and how Sekai had developed feelings for him after some time, with her and him eventually going out...
Setsuna briefly mentioned that she had helped played matchmaker for the two, and helped them to get together...
However, he also noticed Sekai's micro expressions when saying Itou's name for some reason. But, he placed it at the back of his mind for later, and continued listening. Eventually, Setsuna had told him they had stopped spoken after a while when Sekai found out about his serial cheating behavior, and tried to stop it, alluding to the fact that Sekai quickly went into depression because of the whole thing with Itou; speaking to absolutely no one, whilst also somewhat distancing herself from all her close friends at school too... Then eventually, Setsuna said Sekai had reached out to her, and they started speaking again a few weeks, nearing an entire month ago.
She even mentioned that Sekai told her how Ayano had helped her by talking her out of what she was about to do on a particular day, with Sekai apparently not really getting into details with even Setsuna about to do on that day either... Setsuna also said that Sekai started to slowly heal from her past wounds sustained from Makoto, and tried to get back on her feet, until she fell in love again, with him, Ayano specifically. Which led them both to today's talk.
...
"Well, that's a, lot..." He said. Hearing the entire story so far felt a bit, unreal. He had a inkling that Sekai had actually liked him, but he wanted to be sure, even if there were signs of it being the case. She could have been an over friendly type of person, and most often get that mixed up, but Setsuna cleared that up, which makes his situation even more complicated...
He looked right back at her. "Still, I am a bit curious about something here... When you spoke about Makoto, it sounded as if you two had something going on, or at least, youwanted something to go on... Of course, you don't need to answer it if you don't want to."
Unbeknownst to Ayano, Setsuna had silently clutched the hem of her dress before she responded...
"I... At the time, I was also in love with Makoto as well."
'Huh...' This had put things into perspective for him.
"I think, I've gotten the picture now... So if I'm getting this correctly, you knew of Makoto before his ways," he said, trying his best to frame the young boy's escapades, as lightly as he possible could, "however, you said you were also in love with him too... By any chance, does Sekai know about that part?"
"..."
He sighed; "I'll take your silence as a no then..." He responded. However, Setsuna quickly bit back.
"Why does thateven matter? This isn't even about me... It's about Sekai, and how you feel about her." She quickly finished. However, Ayano simply sighed.
"...Don't be stupid."
...
"Wh-What...?" Setsuna said, confused.
"I think I've gotten the full picture of what kind of person you are. Spoiler alert kid, it's not a path that ends well." He said, seriously.
He then continued; "Throughout this entire scenario, I'm not sure if you've even you realized it, but, you've essentially put Sekai's entire well being, and feelings above your own without any question, when I doubt anyone has even asked you to... From what I understand, you're trying to play the pacifist by not impeding on her goals, likes and interests, even at the cost of your own, right?" He asked, but how he phrased made it sound as if it was a fact, he didn't even sound a bit unsure about any of it.
This stupefied her... "What do you know!?" She said, her voice getting a bit more audible.
Ayano shrugged, "You may, or may not want to heed my advice on this, but I think you should... Like I said minute ago; This does not end how you think it does. You may think that as long as she's happy, you'll be happy, but eventually, that would only leave you bitter in the end..."
Setsuna's lips parted like she was going to argue again. But nothing came out. Her fingers, still curled at the edge of the tablecloth, twitched slightly before stilling.
Ayano leaned forward, elbows on the table now, voice lower — not cruel, but deliberate. "You don't have to tell me what you're feeling, Setsuna. But you know damn well I'm not wrong. You've tied so much of yourself to Sekai's peace of mind, you forgot you're allowed to exist outside of her orbit."
She looked away again. This time, not at the street. Just... away.
Ayano sighed again, softer now. Less frustrated. "And I get it. I do. Wanting to be there for someone so badly, you'll tear yourself in half just to fill whatever they're missing. But eventually, you'll look in the mirror and not recognize what's left of you."
Setsuna flinched at that. Just barely. But he caught it...
"...It's not like that," she finally murmured. But her voice cracked a little, betraying her own words...
Ayano raised a brow. "Then, how is it exactly?"
Her hands tightened in her lap. "I just... want her to be okay."
"And does being okay means she also falls for someone you also fell in love with...? Someone who might not even stay, which we both knew in the end didn't?"
"...Th-Then I'll be there to pick up the pieces again... That's, enough for me." She said that like it was gospel. Like she'd already accepted her place in Sekai's shadow long ago.
Ayano stared at her for a long moment.
"You say that like it doesn't hurt."
"It doesn't." She said too quickly.
He smiled, dryly. "Liar." Setsuna glared at him now, that soft, composed facade of hers cracking under the weight of his honesty. "What do you even know about it?"
"More than you'd think," he said calmly, eyes not leaving hers. "More than I'd ever like to admit..." he trailed off. "Listen to me... I can tell, you're a half-decent person; but this road your walking on? Yeah, it leads to nothing but shit on the other end for you. Hell, you might even end up hating Sekai because of your own decisions, I've seen it happen."
Setsuna looked a bit downtrodden from the conversation, but Ayano hoped it would at least fix her over abundant level of selflessness.
Eventually, Ayano leaned back, resting one arm over the back of the chair. "Listen... I don't know what kind of idea you've got of me, but I'm not here to wreck Sekai. I never was. I didn't ask for her feelings either... I'm not some guy looking for pity affection from a girl on the rebound. And believe it or not, I've been doing everything in my power not to lead her on."
Setsuna's gaze dropped, somewhere between skepticism, and curiosity. "...But, do you like her?"
Ayano was quiet for a long time. Then he said, very carefully, "I care about her. Enough to not rush into anything. Enough to step back, if that's what it takes... Sekai's hurt Setsuna, and I'm in no position to love anyone... At least, not now."
"Even if it means hurting her?" she asked.
He nodded once. "That, depends... I'll always be truthful between the things between us, as friends. Lying to her won't help her, lying never did help either..."
That, oddly, seemed to give Setsuna pause. She studied him, like she was seeing something new and something she definitely didn't expect. Finally, she looked down at her lap, and whispered, "She really did fall for you, huh..."
Ayano didn't respond to that. What could he really say?
Setsuna looked away again, this time slower — like her own thoughts had surprised her. "…You're not the type of guy I expected you to be..." She added after a long while, voice smaller.
The words circled in her mind, unsettling. She had expected arrogance, indifference, maybe even selfishness. A boy caught up in his own image, too immature to realize how easily someone like Sekai could get hurt again. But this... This wasn't that.
The way he spoke — calm, measured, even a little cold — it wasn't cruelty. It was clarity. He wasn't sugar-coating anything. He wasn't bending to her emotions, or trying to perform. He saw her, and Sekai, and the mess between them, and still didn't flinch.
'He's, dangerous...' she thought, and surmised suddenly — not in the way Makoto or others had been, with their recklessness, and hunger — but in a quieter, far more difficult way. Ayano wasn't careless with hearts. But, it was the complete opposite.
He knew exactly what to do with them. Even if he didn't know he was doing it.
That realization tightened something in her chest, sharp and unwelcomed. A part of her hated that he could effortlessly speak so plainly about the things she took much effort in burying — that he'd read her like a book she hadn't given him permission to even open.
And worse — far worse — was the flicker of something else she caught herself feeling: Respect.
A bitter kind. Unwanted. 'He sees too much... That's wasn't supposed to happen.' To her, this was supposed to be her way of knowing him, but only the opposite has happened here. She clenched her hands under the table. She knew that this situation wasn't about her. It never was. It was about Sekai. But for the first time in a very long while, Setsuna realized, she was finally thinking about herself.
And that... That scared her.
...
Setsuna stood up abruptly, brushing imaginary crumbs from her skirt. "I've said what I needed to... I'm, sorry for even dragging you out here."
He looked up at her. "Well, you didn't exactly drag me. I know you cared... Plus, that's rare enough to be worth the walk I guess." He said, smiling gently.
She paused at that, cheeks coloring ever so slightly. She looked away, then back, just once. "S-Still... If you hurt her..."
"I won't." Ayano cut in instantly, then added more quietly, "But even if, I do... It sure as hell won't be on purpose."
She gave him a stiff nod, then turned, leaving the table with her usual, too-perfect posture. For some reason, she felt as if this person would keep their end of the bargain... With that, she quickly left, with Ayano leaving right after her.
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Ayano made his way back home to deal with his situation with Yukari. He felt as if he stood her up, but his mind has been packed with two confession today; one being direct, and the other being indirect.
He sighed... 'Just how much more complicated will things get from here on?' He asked himself tiredly.
...
"Hey! Wait!" A voice called out, Ayano turned around, since he was alone in an alleyway, having more than a hunch that the call was directed at him himself. However, when he saw who it actually was, and his expression darkened, considerably.
"You?" Ayano said, instantly identifying who this person was...
The person in question seeing this, quickly spoke up. "L-Listen... I know this looks bad, but I can explain-GAUH!"
But before he could even finish uttering his last set of words, Ayano disappeared from his vision completely, and before he knew it, his felt his body being suspended in the air, with his neck being held, like a dough that could be crushed at any second.
...
The guy's sneakers scraped uselessly against the alley wall as Ayano slammed him into the brick with a solid thud — one arm pinning him up by the throat, the other clenched at his side like it was just barely keeping the rest of him in check.
"I don't think you canexplain..." Ayano added, in a dangerously low tone... "But go on. Surprise me... Cat."
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END