Looking For The Right One

Kurosawa Akane was pacing her room.

It was an hour before she had to get ready for school and she was feeling a little apprehensive. She had little sleep and woke up much earlier than was normal for her. So, she got ready for school just as early and tried to get her thoughts in order.

Right now, she was pacing in front of her bed with its soft blue covers, trying to run through the possible outcomes of what was going to happen today. The room was big enough to accommodate her pacing as it was roughly seven steps across. And that was including her desk and wardrobe. Her home was more western than a lot of homes. However, it still had sliding doors and closets built into the bedrooms.

Akane took full advantage of the closet and wardrobe combo to keep her... "hobbies" a secret. Somewhere in her closet was the reason she felt a bit more than apprehensive about going through with today.

I've thought it through. I've thought about it as much as anyone could think about it. She thought to herself. But... but... This is still very nerve wrecking.

Akane sat down on the edge of her bed and sighed. She stayed like that and stared at her closet door. She thought about Maeda Hiroshi and the first time she saw him. She thought about how calm and open-minded he proved to be. Even in their first year of high school he had impressed her.

---

Akane was walking down the hall on her years floor, chatting with some other first-year girls. They were walking past one of the classrooms when she heard angry voices. Her group all looked through the open door to see a group of girls berating a boy about something.

"--entirely inappropriate. Did anyone ever teach you how to treat girls? Imagine how we feel having to share a class with a perv?" One of the angry girls was saying. The boy just stood there glaring at her with an embarrassed blush.

He seemed to be alone as the other boys in the class had distanced themselves from the situation.

"Why are boys such pervs?" One girl in Akane's group said before sighing dramatically. The other two with her made small sounds of agreement.

While Akane agreed that some people could be insufferable in their perversions, she knew that she couldn't really say anything. And besides, she had yet to find out what that boy had done to earn the ire of the girls in his class.

And, now that she thought about it, the boy wasn't that bad looking. Maybe he did something, thinking he could get away with it? Akane knew that those types existed. God knows that she met a lot of girls like that.

"Excuse me?" A new voice said, interrupting her thoughts.

Akane looked to see another boy sitting at his desk to the side with his arm raised as if a teacher was present. He was looking at the girl that was chewing the other boy out with an almost bored expression. Akane didn't really notice him until now.

"Y-Yes? What is it?" The girl demanded, having been caught a little off guard. Every one's attention was now on this other boy. The one that was in trouble looked at the other boy with confusion.

"I just have a few questions," He said calmly. As if what was happening was of little consequence.

The group of girls looked a little annoyed that their disciplinary actions were cut short. The lead girl grated out, "What questions?"

"What did he do?" He asked without preamble after lowering his arm and rested his chin in his palm, elbow on the desk.

"Haven't you been listening?!" The girl asked angrily. The other girls looked just as angry.

"Yes. But say it again, please." Was all he said, still just as calm as before.

"Fukuda-kun was staring at Ami-chan's chest!" She shrilled in slight disbelief at this boy's audacity.

"I see. So, in other words, Fukuda-san was talking with Hirano-san, noticed her unbuttoned cleavage and stared for a bit. Is that correct?" He asked. At this point Akane was shaking her head in mild awe at this boy's ability to stay calm under the combined glares of around six girls. Either this boy didn't know any fear or he's dealt with angry women before.

"Yes! That's what we've been saying. What part of the last five minutes have you not understood?" The girl was getting red faced now with how angry she was getting.

Akane was wondering at what point she would finally explode, and felt guilty in admitting that she would probably find it a little amusing.

"I have another question." The boy said, completely ignoring her question. He raised his arm again.

The angry girl now looked like she was trying to hold back a scream of frustration as she responded with gritted teeth. "What, Maeda-kun?"

"Who's your favorite male idol?"

There was silence in the room as the group of girls combined anger seemed to deflate. Their glares replaced with wide-eyed confusion. Even the boy in trouble seemed to look lost at what Maeda-kun asked.

Even the other boys in the room were looking baffled and shocked that this situation had taken a strange turn. Akane herself didn't know how to react to this strange boy.

"Haah?! Wh-What's that got anything to do with this?!" Angry girl finally stuttered.

"It's relevant. Please answer the question." He said in a no-nonsense kind of tone that made Akane snort. "It doesn't even have to be an idol. It can be a male actor or a model. Or even just a really attractive man that you've seen"

Complicated expressions crossed the girl's face, embarrassment being one of them, before she finally asked, "...why?"

The other girls, both in the classroom and outside it, were baffled and a little embarrassed themselves as they were reminded of various handsome boys and men they've seen in media and in person.

"If one of those really attractive men walked through that door," He said, pointing to the door that Akane was looking through. Everyone turned to see her group outside and realized that their audience was much larger than they thought. The girls inside the room got a little bit more embarrassed. But before they could think any more about it, Maeda-kun brought them back. "If a really attractive man walked in and stood in front of you to say hi, while wearing a button-up shirt with the buttons undone almost halfway down..."

The girls all blushed a little more at the thought but looked really uncertain where Maeda-kun was going with this.

"...with chiseled pectorals and a perfectly sculpted set of six-pack abs..."

The girls all blushed much harder at his description while he had also played on their imaginations, having made them think of men they liked earlier. Even Akane was thinking of various men she had seen.

"If he walked in and started talking to you... YOU! Kobayashi Kiyoko!" He suddenly shouted.

"Eep!" The now named angry girl squeaked. Kobayashi-san looked at Maeda-kun with wide eyes.

"Would you be able to look me in the eyes and say with any confidence, that you wouldn't stare at his chest or abs?" Maeda-kun asked, his voice echoing around the room.

Kobayashi-san just stood there, her mouth flapping but with nothing coming out, and her friends weren't much different. Even the girls with Akane were speechless. Each and every one of them was questioning themselves in that moment.

"...t-that's differ--" Kobayashi was about to say.

"It's the same." Maeda-kun said, shocking Akane with the barely covered steel in his voice and making Kobayashi-san cringe.

The girls in the room all looked confused and conflicted, unable to truly separate that situation from Fukuda-san's.

"It's the same... and you all know it. So, don't, for even a second, try to tell me that you wouldn't be tempted to look or even glance at someone attractive." He said, that steel whispering across silk. There was another stretch of awkward silence, all the girls looking like they were being chastised, until he spoke again. "And if this attractive man found your staring to be offensive? What would you say, Kobayashi-san?"

This new question had all the girls frowning in worry, wondering where this was going now.

"...Um, well... If he didn't like me staring... Then he could always button up hi--" Kobayashi-san was about to finish before she saw Maeda-kun arch an eyebrow. Now she looked worried about her answer. Maeda-kun then looked over to a girl next to her who was standing a little behind her.

This other girl looked rather cute with a decently sized chest, the top few buttons of her shirt undone.

Ah. This must be Ami-chan-san. Akane thought.

Kobayashi-san followed his gaze to Ami-san's rather eye-catching cleavage. Then it dawned on her and she cringed again, her eyes closing in shame. Ami-san realized a second later and blushed while uncertainly fiddling with one of her buttons.

At this point all the girls realized where Maeda-kun had been driving this argument all along. They all looked extremely uncomfortable standing there. Some of the boys in the back seemed to be grinning triumphantly, like they had won something. Fukuda-san, though, was looking more shell-shocked than anything.

Akane sighed, thinking that this was probably going to drive a wedge between the boys and girls in this class. Making for a very uncomfortable year.

But before anyone could take advantage of the girls' weakness Maeda-kun spoke up again. "Now, having said all that," The girls all looked up. Kobayashi-san reluctantly opened her eyes, not really wanting to hear more. "I do understand that having people stare at you all the time can be annoying. Especially when you know for certain that all they see is just your body." His tone turned gentle and understanding, making all the girls visibly relax from their looks of discomfort. "It can be really tiring to always feel that itch of many eyes watching you all the time, right?"

Some of the girls nodded despite themselves. And Akane could see that the boys that were smiling before now looked uncomfortable themselves.

"You might be able to handle it happening if it were once or twice, but all day? That really must feel demeaning right?" Some more nodded to that.

Urgh, that kindness in his voice jabs real close to home, Akane thought, wanting to clutch at her heart.

"Men seeing you as just a body, without caring about your feelings must feel really bad. I understand." He said sincerely. All of the girls looked down, not quite holding tears back, but close. In his calm and kind voice it really felt like he understood them. Even the boys were looking regretful at the sight of the girls looking sad.

Akane looked on, feeling amazed at what was happening. One moment the class was divided with the girls coming down hard on one of the boys. The next moment this Maeda-kun jumps in with odd questions and flips their anger into confusion, then into shame. Then he shows understanding for their plight and unwittingly makes the boys feel shameful instead.

She had never seen anyone her age do something like this before.

"And I'm sure Fukuda-san here also understands," Maeda-kun said, breaking into her thoughts. The girls all looked to Fukuda-kun while he himself stood a little more stiffly now that the attention was back on him. His eyes were wide but he nodded to say that Maeda-kun was right. "If he offered you an honest apology, would you accept it, Hirano-san?"

This time he was talking to Ami-san. She looked up from fiddling with her buttons, still wondering if she should do them up or not. "Ah... Um..." She tried to find the right words to say but settled for just a nod.

"Hirano-san, I'm sorry for staring at your chest." And with that he even bowed at the waist, making it as sincere as possible.

"I'm sorry too, Daiki-kun. For getting as angry as I did." Hirano-san bowed a little herself. Akane noticed that some of the boys averted their eyes when Hirano-san bowed. Most likely because of that cleavage. Akane couldn't help but grin ruefully at that.

"I'm sorry, too." Everyone looked at Maeda-kun in surprise. Both the girls and the boys wondered what he had to be sorry about. "Kobayashi-san, everyone, I'm sorry for butting in and for being forceful with my words. My only intention was for all of us to understand each other."

He also bowed.

The girls got a little flustered at the show of sincerity and tried to get Maeda-kun to raise his head, but before he could the rest of the boys stepped forward in groups to bow and apologize for some of their thoughtless behavior. Some stragglers were left but they too said their apologies.

"Ehhh?!"

All the girls were shocked at the development. None of them were sure what to do. Akane and her friends all shared looks of incredulity.

And then the bell rang, making everyone jump (except for Maeda-kun).

The students of this classroom looked uncertain for a moment before taking their seats. They all looked as shell-shocked as Fukuda-kun from earlier.

Reluctantly, Akane pulled away from the entrance to class C. "We should probably get going."

Akane's friends pulled away too, their expressions just as confused and in awe as hers must have been.

"What... what did we just watch?" One of her friends asked.

No one knew quite how to answer that so they all shook their heads.

All Akane knew was that what she witnessed made her just a little warm in several places.

---

Akane smiled at the memory. It was her first indication of just what kind of person Maeda Hiroshi was. Ever since then she couldn't help but feel curious about him. Even a day after what happened had her smiling.

Rumors spread pretty quickly after what he did. The next day everyone was abuzz with stories before classes even started. He hadn't even arrived at school yet but everyone was talking about how class 1-C had a revelation and that all the boys and girls in that class were getting along better than anyone.

Apparently, when he finally waltzed in close to the bell, all he did was slump tiredly in his seat and resume his usual pose of resting his chin in his hand, elbow on the desk. He also talked with people normally like the previous day never happened. He even had a friendly chat with Kobayashi-san, according to a friend of Akane's.

Since then, the relations between the boys and girls in the first year had seemed friendlier. A difference that was made possible by Hiroshi-kun, and he didn't even seem to care!

Oh, and apparently, he had a penchant for dirty jokes. That no one seemed to mind at all.

Hiroshi-kun was just so bizarre.

And so, for that first year Akane tried to find time to talk to him in an attempt to see how he ticked. Despite them having a whole year she only ever managed to talk with him a handful of times about school related things and a couple times about other things.

She even befriended Fukuda Daiki in their second year, seeing as they ended up in the same class, so that she could glean some extra things from him. Of course, it wasn't just for that. She wasn't that cold that she would just use people like that. Daiki-kun turned out to be a rather funny person. Not really her type, but she could definitely be good friends with him.

With her conversing with Daiki-kun, it sort of naturally led to her to talking with Hiroshi-kun himself a lot more. Well...it might have been a little on her part, but no one needed to know that. With her somewhat weak connection to him through Daiki-kun she managed to "accidentally" meet him when she had "business" with the Track club member, or with the class representative in 2-B. And after many interesting conversations, he, almost naturally, began to factor into her plans. Plans that she would try to implement today.

If only she could get over her slight nervousness.

Akane sighed. After all the years of coming across as someone confident, someone independent, someone who had no reason to be ashamed of any weird secrets... It could all be broken and tossed aside if she told the wrong person.

And that's why she tried so hard to find the right person.

Maeda Hiroshi. I really hope you are the right person.

---

Classes were finishing up just as the bell tolled. The teacher packed up her things and left, but not before letting the class know what parts of the text book to study tonight.

Those with club meetings headed out while others like her who had no obligations packed up their things to leave. Akane put her books away and took a moment to compose herself.

"Akane-chan, did you want to go somewhere on the way home?" A girl asked her, walking up to her side. She had a nice set of breasts on her for a high schooler and was only slightly shorter than herself. And Akane was fairly tall for a girl.

"Ami-chan. Sorry, but I had something I needed to do after school. Maybe tomorrow?" Akane apologized. She found it a little difficult to look Ami-chan in the face since her shirt was working double time to keep her assets contained.

Akane could certainly relate to Daiki-kun a year ago. Those weapons were dangerous.

"Oh? What did you need to do?" Ami-chan asked, tilting her head. Her long ponytail waving from the motion behind her.

"Ah... Well, I imagine you'll be finding out tomorrow." Akane said cryptically with a small cheeky grin.

Hirano Ami tilted her head the other way in confusion. When Akane didn't elaborate she just shrugged. "Well, then, I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Ami-chan walked on by her desk towards the door. "Bye bye, Akane-chan. Good luck with... whatever you're doing."

"Bye, and thanks!" Akane replied.

She sighed. One friend down, a few others to go.

It was around four people later when everyone realized that Akane had something to do. She had another moment to order her thoughts and got up to leave the room. 2-B was right next door to her class, 2-A. She should be able to catch him before he leaves.

Akane held onto a little bit of her hair for some mild comfort as she slowly walked over to 2-B's door. A few people walked out, none of them Hiroshi-kun. She got closer and a couple more walked out. Still no Hiroshi-kun.

Once the doorway was clear she peeked in.

There he was, putting his books away.

Okay Akane. You'll be fine. He's the right one. You've worked up a good base relationship with him. This is only the first step. He doesn't really have a reason to refuse... hopefully. She thought, trying to steel her nerves. Nerves that she's never had to deal with like this before.

Being asked out by others and refusing them? She could handle that. But asking someone out? Especially with her... interests?

Not good. My stomach feels a little weird.

She looked into the classroom again to see that Hiroshi was just staring out of the window. She looked to see what he was looking at but couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary.

Shaking herself she took a step into the classroom before she had to think anymore.

"Hiroshi-kun."