Sudden confession.

Leonardo stood with his arms raised in a fighting stance, boxing gloves on. In front of him, Victoria held the sandbag in place and shouted orders.

“One two!”

Leo punched the bag, left first, then a quick right. Victoria kept it solidly in place.

“Hooks!”

Leo did as told. Left hook, right hook, left hook, right hook. His blows made nice, loud sounds against the bag.

“Now aim lower! Give me a liver blow!”

Leo imagined the spot on the sandbag where the liver would be in a person and aimed there. Using his left leg as a pivot, he rotated his waist and shoulders for his punch to carry maximum power. The blow connected… but it didn’t make the noise he expected, nor did it feel right.

Victoria let out a heavy sigh, dropped the bag and walked up to him to give him a hard flick on the forehead. “You’re still thinking too much!”

“It’s too much to keep track of,” Leo argued. “Left foot forward, rotate waist and shoulders in synch, aim the hook… It’s hard.”

“That’s what I mean. If you think about every step you only slow down. Angela, Valerie! Come here when you’re done with your sets!” Angela finished doing her pushups and Valerie finished her last set of rope jumping. The two walked over to Leo and Victoria with curious eyes. “Can you show this thick-skulled kid how to throw a proper liver blow?”

“Hm? But that’s easy,” Angela said. She and Valerie put on their gloves and the blonde was the first to step up to the sandbag. She got in position and hit the bag, sending flying with a sound that resonated throughout the entire gym and making him, Victoria and Valerie wince. If that ever hit a person…

“Good form, but you missed the right spot by about five centimeters,” Victoria told her. “That said, you don’t miss those when sparring against someone…”

“Of course! It’s hard to tell on a sandbag, but on a person I just know where the liver is,” Angela said, grinning confidently.

“I worry she’ll kill someone someday…” Valerie muttered, earning her a nod from Leo and Victoria. “Alright, my turn.”

Valerie was much more precise, but her movements were also harder to follow. The blow didn’t have nearly as big an impact as Angela’s, but it didn’t matter because the point of a blow to the liver was to strike an **** weak spot.

Victoria sighed and crossed her arms. “Are you two sure you don’t want to get your pro licenses already? You’re already at the level, which honestly pisses me off a little.”

“But to join the more serious tournaments you need to be 21, right?” Angela asked. “No point in doing it now, especially if I’ll be fighting fodder.”

“She’s a brute with her words, but she has a point,” Valerie said. “Besides, neither of us does great in school as it is. Add pro matches to that and we’ll probably fail the year.”

“And I don’t want to be a high school senior at 20. No thank you.” Angela shook her head.

“At least you’ve given it proper thought,” Victoria said. Her smile hid a hint of pride in it that was probably lost to the two younger girls. “Alright, that’s enough for today. I don’t want you overworking yourselves, especially in this damn heat.”

“Hey coach,” Angela started. “There’s something I wanted to ask you. Can we talk in private?”

“Hm? Sure. Go take a shower first, though.”

Leo went over to the men’s showers, taking the chance on his way to look around the gym. There were a lot more people than usual. It was probably because summer vacation gave them more time or because they were trying to get in shape for the beach at the last minute. Or it could just be that the gym had air conditioning.

After his shower, he waited outside for Valerie. He could guess what Angela wanted to talk to Victoria about, and he believed it wouldn’t be as short a conversation as Angela believed it would be.

“Hey,” Valerie called, walking out the gates. “Angela said to go ahead.”

Knew it.

The two began their walk back home together, and as they did, Leo looked at the sky and began to put his thoughts in order. He needed to stop by the store and get some eggs. He would make wraps for dinner today and had everything, but maybe he should buy some more chicken in case some of his housemates were hungrier than usual. Was there anything else to do after that? He could keep working on his homework, which would probably free time for Reiko and Kaede to work on their project instead of helping him. That said, tonight was Kaede’s turn with him, and she liked starting thing early. He had work at the fishery the next morning, so they couldn’t go at it all night. Leo still needed at least a few hours of sleep. Perhaps he could sneak some time with Lucia before he started on dinner? She’d hinted at having bought some new lingerie and the idea of casually unbuttoning her shirt to sneak a peek was hard to resist.

“Why so silent?” Valerie suddenly asked.

“Sorry,” he chuckled. “Just thinking of things I have to do. Which reminds me, Reiko told me the summer festival is coming up. Sounds interesting.”

“Summer festival?”

“Apparently a huge tradition all over Japan. They set up shops for games, selling food, and there’s even a fireworks show.”

“Are you serious? When’s that happening?”

“Three days, I think. Mrs. Wisler looked excited for it. She told me she had a surprise for us.”

“A small part of me is scared of what it might be.”

Leo laughed. “Come on, she’s not THAT bad. Manipulative, yes, but not of everything we do.” Then he blinked a couple of times as worrying idea popped into his head. “Unless she’s been… bothering you recently.”

“Actually, I’m surprised she hasn’t said anything to me about it,” Valerie sighed. “But that’s probably because she knows she doesn’t have to.”

“Hm?”

“Has… Reiko told you anything else? Like… how we’ve been talking a lot these past couple days?”

“Oh? No, she hasn’t told me a thing.” And it was surprising. Reiko was always excited to make new friends.

“I see.” Valerie took in a deep breath. “That’s good.”

“What? Are you two hiding something from me?” he asked jokingly.

“Not exactly. Leo… Remember what we talked about the other day? About… things between us?”

“Of course I do.”

“Can you forget that ever happened and go on a date with me?”

“…” Leo stopped walking, making Valerie stop with him. He narrowed his eyes and studied her face. There was a pink tint to her cheeks and her eyes were looking away from his at first, but then she decided to meet his gaze directly. She was being serious. He sighed. “What’s going on, Valerie?”

“You have me all wrong, that’s what,” she said, crossing her arms. “You think I’m not interested in you, right? Well, I am. There was just a lot I had to figure out first.”

“Oh yeah? And now you have?” There was an irritating feeling in the back of Leo’s mind that he was trying to hold back but it seemed to be seeping its way into his tone, making Valerie flinch.

“Alright, I get it. You’re annoyed at me. I don’t blame you…” Valerie sighed. “I thought us getting together was inevitable, you know? With the curse and all. I was trying to push it back as much as I could until I was comfortable with the idea that you were with other girls, too. I took you for granted, and then… you gave up on me.”

“…” Leo held back a groan. He wanted to complain, to tell her he’d never taken any of them for granted. From the beginning, Leo always felt he needed to put all his efforts into being a guy worthy of the position he’d been put in. To have so many girls to himself was a dream he didn’t know he yearned for, and thinking of how it was real made him feel inadequate. For that reason, he needed to be the best version of himself he could be if he wanted these girls to be attracted to him. But other than the occasional look, Valerie didn’t hint that whatever feelings she had for him were growing. "I never gave up on you.”

“I know. You were just trying to consider my feelings. It’s my damn fault for being indecisive and sending the wrong signals.”

“Yes,” Leo said bluntly. “Look, I understand if you don’t want anything to do with this messed up relationship, but this is my baggage now. This is what I have to do, and worse, this is what I want. Lucia, Seina, Angela… they want me to pick a single one of them by the end of all this, but I still haven’t given up. I want to try and stay with all of them. Reiko, Kaede, Victoria, too.”

“A little selfish, isn’t it?” Valerie said in a joking tone, but Leo answered seriously.

“I’m aware.”

“…You’re really serious about this, huh?”

“It’s the first time I’ve wanted something this bad. So… I’m sorry to be this blunt, this is who I am now.”

“So you’re saying I either learn to share you or forget about you, right?”

He didn’t like how she put it, but… it wasn’t entirely wrong, so he nodded silently.

“Then help me learn,” Valerie said, stepping closer to Leo. “Why do you think I’ve been talking to Reiko?”

That took him by surprise. “You mean… she told you about…?”

“Yes. Hearing her side of things has been… insightful. So? How about it? I’m willing to give this a chance if you’re willing to give me one too.”

“Are you really serious about this?”

“I am. Reiko… showed me some things that helped me make the decision.”

Leo raised a skeptic eyebrow. “What things?”

“Some drawings… and a video.”

Leo sighed. He might need to have a talk with his lovely girlfriend before he made a decision. “Give me a day. I’ll give you my answer tomorrow at the latest.”

“That’s fair.”

“Also, I’ll be dropping by Reiko’s house now.”

Valerie’s eyes widened. “W-Wait! I didn’t get her in trouble, did I?”

“No, but I’d be an idiot not to hear her take on this.”

“Oh, right.”

The two resumed their return back home in a now awkward silence, parting ways when Leo turned to go to Reiko’s house, texting her that he was on his way. He was allowed in with a warm welcome by her dad and he went up to her room.

She greeted him with a sweet, tender kiss on the lips and closed the door once he was inside. “You said you were coming over, but didn’t say why. Though I think I have an idea.”

“Which video did you show Valerie?” he asked with a resigned sigh.

“…One from last month. One of you and me. Are you angry?”

“No,” he said easily. “Why did you, though?”

“Because she’s seriously starting to consider being with you but she’s confused. I’m trying to help her understand what she’s feeling and what she’d be getting into. Poor girl had barely even questioned her own sexuality before this! Can you imagine?”

Leo tilted his head at that. “What?”

“Oh, she didn’t tell you that? She’s sure she likes you, but… it seems she might have a thing for the female figure, too.”

Leo blinked. “Are you saying she’s bi?”

“I’m saying she’s not even sure about that! It’s so unfair! Screw this damn curse, Leo! None of you should be going through crap like this! She can’t even explore her own sexuality on her own!”

So Valerie had far more on her mind than she let on, huh? Dammit. People really were extremely complicated. “Can you tell me more? Or did you promise to keep things secret?”

“I can tell you a few things.”

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