Chapter III: The First Move
Another day at school, surprised, the male students rush to review their books while some, where asking Kota if he reviewed and so he did. Akiko goes inside the classroom and thanks Kota very much and the others asks her about it and they are also worried since they also forgot homework. There, they blamed Kota however Akiko tells them that she requested Kota to take a picture of the homework and none of them did. The class rep then notifies the class that today is their exam which he also said good luck to them all. The teacher enters room and distributes the exam papers. Each student then carefully answer the questionnaires.
After a while, the results are in and Kota is hoping of being included in the top 10 but he didn't get in. He is only ranked 15th. He is disappointed and as Akiko feels bad for him, she wants to go but Asahi, Masashi, and Haru were there already cheering him up although Masashi got in ranked 7th. Akiko ranked 25th in the exams. Hanako and Himari is also there cheering up each other.
The next day, he bows to push through the limits and giving his all. Improving, again he reads each text book, cover to cover, analyzing every lines and words. Long ago, he was already a book worm. He can already map out the entire country and memorize each country's capital, flag, and map. He also indulged in self-studying about various languages and their accents. Though by doing this he has less time in playing games and the Brotubers.
It is Saturday, and since there is no class, Kota helps his parents in doing household chores. At the time of his break, Akiko texted him about his concern on English about noun and verb agreement and he explains it to her. He and Akiko chatted on messenger about memes. And at one point, one of them accidentally hit the call button and the other as well accepts it. The atmosphere is very awkward although feel free at home. She jokes about anime however, Kota doesn't understand but just smiles. Since both are seeing each other's face in the virtual realms, they appreciate each other's room. Kota then tours her around his house which is a traditional Japanese house complex, although it is very cringe and embarrassing. However at some point, she feels like the place is familiar. She tells Kota that his house seems familiar. He asks her if it was maybe in a dream but she claims that it's like she went there. He also shows him the piano and she is fascinated with it. So fascinated as she wants to have piano lessons this upcoming summer at his house. After a while, he thanks Kota for the notes in English and says goodbye. The call ended. He then approaches her mother and asks if a Chisai went there. His mother tells him that they haven't recorded or recall if a Chisai has ever inside the house however, they were popular since one of them owns a company in Tokyo.
Another week at school and Kota is improving. The day is Friday and in the afternoon, while the teacher is away, Satou again asks Akiko how much she loves Kota. She can't hold back her feelings anymore so she says in an embarrassed tune, as a friend and as a crush. Astonished, Satou rushes over to Kota to bring up the good news. On the other hand, Asahi also heard this and in his mind he says congrats to Akiko and says good job. Back to Kota's desk, he is also shocked of the news, so Satou pulls Akiko to his desk and says it directly to him.
Kota doesn't know what to say and to do but from his heart, he says a shy "I like you too" to her and she smiles back. However the teacher is back and dismisses them. Kota walks at the dike and suddenly, they bump to each other again and after a while, talk about class again. As she is about to be going, she tells Kota that she has something to tell him. Expecting a word, Kota unexpectedly receives a kiss on the cheeks from her. Flustered, he doesn't know what to do again while Akiko is smiling again. He then smiles back and waves goodbye.
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