Walking back home with Angela.

Leonardo said goodbye to Maeda-san at the school gates and watched her walk away. It was awkward, because she knew he was waiting for Angela. But looking at it from another perspective, wasn’t it good that she was being a little awkward? It meant she was interested in him, right?

Dammit. He’d never had to worry about stuff like this before. Whether a woman flirted with him or not wasn't something he needed to notice or follow up on because he knew it wouldn’t lead anywhere. He supposed it was true what they said. You only worry about something when it’s important to you.

It didn’t take long for Angela to come out of the school building. They shared a silent nod and started walking home. Yet they felt the eyes of their schoolmates on them as they left.

“People are gonna think we’re dating now,” he told her, sighing.

“Ah? Why would they think that?” she asked with an incredulous tone.

“I guess because we’re walking home together? Maeda-san seemed to think so until she asked.”

“…” Angela’s expression twisted for a moment. She then let out a rough sigh as she shook her head. “Sorry about what I said after lunch.”

“So you do know what you did,” he said, more surprised than upset.

“I told you, seeing you with her and knowing what you’re trying to do makes me jealous,” she admitted, pouting and looking away from him as they kept walking.

She looked cute.

But that didn’t distract him from the fact that her words stung in a weird way. They both knew and accepted that, if they wanted a solution to their problem, Leonardo needed to get a girlfriend. To recover his sensations, he needed to make a woman orgasm, and to let Angela feel something, he needed to maintain that relationship for a month. Only when that was done, the two of them would be able to have something. But how was that fair? Leonardo had a luxury that Angela didn’t. He had options. In theory, he could choose to go for Maeda-san or any other girl, while Angela’s only option to feel something was to wait for him and hope he’d be interested.

As he thought that, his face involuntarily twisted into a grimace, and Angela noticed.

“What are you thinking?” she asked quietly.

“That it’s not fair I get to choose and you don’t. You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely unfair” she nodded, then grinned. “Good thing I like you.”

Leonardo blinked, and his jaw dropped slightly. “Are you serious?”

“I told you, you’re better looking than you think. You’re lean, have nice arms and a cute face.”

Leonardo couldn’t help but laugh. “And here I thought you were gonna say I had such a charming personality.”

“We don’t know each other much, yeah, but I already know that if I talk to you honestly, you’ll be honest with me. It’s the only reason I’m saying all this stuff. It’s become easier to talk to you after I realized that. Also…” she gave him a small, self-conscious smile. “You didn’t judge when you saw me beat up a guy this morning.”

“Oh? And why is that special?” he asked. “I think you were pretty justified, especially after he took a swing at you.”

“Most guys that have an interest in me lose it after they find out I’m stronger than them, or that I could beat them up if I got mad, or they think I’m not feminine enough,” she said, shrugging. Leonardo believed there was a hint of pain in those words, but he might be overthinking it.

“Thinking about it now, I actually think it makes me a little jealous of you,” he admitted with a chuckle.

“Jealous?” she asked.

He nodded. “Supposedly, the upside of having the Curse is that we have a Gift that lets us do things normal people couldn’t, right? Well, all mine does is make it so I don’t feel tired or don’t feel much pain. I guess it’s useful, but… it’s not like I enjoy using it.” His voice took on a more melancholic tone despite of himself. “My dad used to say that there’s no one in the world who isn’t talented at something, and that truly smart people are those that know how to use that talent to achieve their goals and find happiness in life. He went out early, but despite all, I know he was happy.”

Angela stared at him in silence. He started feeling a little self-conscious, but it didn’t feel good to leave an idea unfinished, so he continued.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, despite me having a talent most people would kill for, I haven’t found anything I want to do with it. I’m not smart enough to use it to find happiness. All I’ve done is use it to work hard, like my dad taught me. Hard work for hard work’s sake and all that. But you?” He looked at Angela with a clearly envious smile. “You know what you want to do, and I think that’s amazing. So yeah, it makes me a little jealous to see you excited about something you enjoy.”

She quickly turned her face away from him, mutter quietly. “I like fighting. How is that a good thing?”

“I bet plenty of people are like you. It’s why there are so many full contact martial arts sports, like boxing and MMA,” he replied. “I don’t think any talent by itself is good or bad. All that matters is how you use it. If you like fighting, find a way to channel that into something that makes you happy. At least, that’s what I think. I haven’t found what I want to do, so it’s not like I’m speaking from experience.”

He caught Angela looking down at her feet as she walked, with a small smile and red cheeks. She then suddenly punched him on the shoulder without looking, pushing him away and nearly making him lose his balance.

She put some strength into it, but he barely felt it, so he just laughed. “What was that for?”

“For peeking,” she said.

“Well, if that’s the price for seeing you blush, then I’ll take it.”

She hit him on the shoulder again, and this one hurt a slight more.

“Ow!” he just kept on laughing.

They continued walking home, now in a comfortable silence. After they arrived at the Tensai Residence and changed clothes, Leonardo started working on dinner, with Angela patiently waiting by the table as she watched TV.