Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter Four:
Reflection
Classes had finished and Ryuzaki was asked by their homeroom teacher to go to the university's institute of liberal arts to borrow some materials.
She still feels down about her attempt of confessing to Echizen. I like the Tomoka when I'm with him. She recalls Osakada telling her during P.E. class.
And he says he feels the same way. Ryuzaki has always been sure of liking Echizen, she is just not sure of what kind and to what extent. And now that her friend made her realize that liking someone is not only about how you feel for the other person, but also how you make them feel about themselves, she is now afraid of two things: first, what Echizen Ryoma feels about her; two, how does she make Echizen Ryoma feel about himself.
In the middle of contemplating, she bumps into someone, "I-I'm so sorry!" she looks up to see that it is Yamato Yudai, who is currently a philosophy student at their college division and happens to be going the same direction, so they decide to accompany each other.
"I'm surprised Captain Yamato still remembers me. Even my first name," honored, Ryuzaki smiles in awe.
"It's hard not to remember Coach Ryuzaki's beautiful granddaughter," Yamato announces and simply smiles as he sees Ryuzaki's blushing face.
"Well, uhm…I'm not …I'm not really…" she murmurs in embarrassment.
Yamato once again declares, "A lot of beautiful things tend to forget and fail to see how wonderful they truly are. Not realizing that if they can only see themselves through the eyes of those around them, they will simply be astonished by their own magnificence."
Ryuzaki, looking surprised, blinks at the unexpected deep words of the captain. Confused as to where they suddenly came from and for what reason, her jaw drops a little, enough for Yamato to see her evidently overwhelmed, perhaps, due to his profound and vast vocabulary.
"It's very simple, my dear," Yamato brevities, "all one truly ever needs to do is to look from within."
"From within?"
"Yes. One must always remember, 'We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are,' that is why it is only when we look from within ourselves that we are able to know the answers to our deepest and greatest questions, and be able to really find what we are looking for."
"Capt—"
"Well it seems like I found what I was looking for," Yamato and Ryuzaki stopped in front of a book with a face of an obviously western woman on its cover, it read: The Diary of Anaïs Nin, "how about you?"
"Me?" Ryuzaki comes back to reality. She realizes that they are inside the college library. "Eh? The materials!" she gasps.
Yamato smiles, "You should be able to find what you are looking for by the next two shelves."
"O-Of course! Thank you, Captain Yamato, for accompanying me," Ryuzaki bows.
"Oh no. Thank you. Say hi to him for me, okay?"
"Huh?" Ryuzaki raises her head and sees Yamato's back leaving the scene.
She continues looking for the materials that her homeroom teacher asked her to fetch; after passing by the second bookshelf, she turns right and is mesmerized by what she sees – a half-covered dusty old Victorian framed body mirror, shining from the afternoon sunbeams.
Ryuzaki takes off the cover completely and wipes the dust with it, revealing her reflection. A lot of beautiful things tend to forget and fail to see how wonderful they truly are. She recalls the captain's non-fazing figure and sure words.
If they can only see themselves through the eyes of those around them, they will simply be astonished by their own magnificence. Ryuzaki gazes upon her reflection; for the first time in a long while, she not only feels beautiful about herself but also sees it. 'We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.'
While sliding her fingertips on the mirror's old but still majestic frame, she sees someone else reflected a few meters behind her. She turns to the person and calls their attention.
"Ryoma-kun!"
Echizen looks up at her and simultaneously closes the book he was reading.
You should be able to find what you are looking for…
"You shouldn't really shout. We're in a library."
"R-Right. I'm sorry! I-I mean I'm sorry…" She is too excited. She is just too excited.
'Say hi to him for me, okay?'
Captain Yamato couldn't mean… She thinks to herself and still spills out, "Captain Yamato says hi!"
"Huh?" Echizen looks at her with confusion.
That must have came out too weird. She continues to talk to herself. "N-nothing…"
"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Echizen plainly asks as he returns back the book he was reading and looks for another one.
"Mr. Sato asked me to get some materials for literature class. How about you?"
"Same. Let's go."
"Huh?"
"I'll help you fetch the materials, they're a handful."
"T-thank you."
"Hn."
She watches his back as she follows him.
…when we look from within ourselves…we are able to know the answers to our deepest and greatest questions, and be able to truly find what we are looking for.