As the two start to unstrap, Akira says with an unsure look, “By the way, I should really share something with you.”

“Hm?”

Akira pauses. This is a safe space. Say it. It’s okay. “You know I’ve gone to the gym before, and I went too far and burnt out.”

“No worries,” Akari replies, as softly as she can. “We can go however slow you need.”

“The thing is,” he trembles slightly, “it’s very easy for me to overdo it. After all, five years ago, I got seriously ill with COVID.”

Akari gasps, left completely speechless.

Hasn’t this man already gone through enough?

Akira twiddles his fingers. With hesitance, he continues, “Ultimately, I survived, but it left me in an even weaker state that persists to this day. It took a particular toll on my muscles and breathing. This whole thing is… probably a lost cause. At the very least, progress will be slow.”

Akira reckons that, had he emphasized his brush with death, Akari would have lost herself in sorrow. To say that he survived—rather than that he almost died—felt ideal.

“That’s okay,” Akari says, gentle with sympathy. “This isn’t a burden for me at all. I’m… really sorry you got so sick.”

Looking away from her, Akira mutters, “Thank you for being so understanding.” It was not an apathetic remark, but instead one of resignation and doubt. Akari stares at him, at this beautiful man who has endured so much.

And she says…

“Akira, I’ll tell you something in return.”

That proposal moves Akira’s heart. He gazes at her with his full attention.

I can’t just spill my entire life story to him, not now. But… “I got into a lot of fights in my adolescence. My school had a big fighting culture, with a lot of nasty people, not unlike here. And I…”

She trembles.

“I indulged in it as catharsis.”

Akira’s gaze softens even more. “You were angry?” he asks, with all the kindness he can give her.

“Very,” Akari admits, full of shame. “I calmed down about a year ago. The only leverage I can give myself is that I was not a bully. I never went after the weak, but only the deserving and the willing. Still, it was senseless. It brought a lot of heartache to… my family.”

That pause about her family concerns Akira the most. After all, he already figured Akari had a history like this.

This delinquent past shan’t bother him. Her suffering, on the other hand…

“I understand,” Akira replies. “I’m glad you’re out of that spiral.”

Akari, though touched by his comment, frowns further. “To be completely honest, I don’t consider myself to be a good person.”

Akira gasps. For her to go that far…

Akari hunches down, attempting to shrink that towering body of hers, that body she’s used to commit violence time and time again.

Akira, so gentle and kind, is completely honest with her. “Akari, I won’t judge you for your past. I know that something bad must have happened. Something that put you into a self-destructive mindset. You weren’t a bully; in terms of morality, I’d say that’s all to be concerned about.”

“S-Something did happen,” she cries, letting out a sudden burst of tears.

Akari’s tears…

Akira always thought that he would cry in front of this tough girl before she would before him. But no. Akari Hirose does not hide her emotions.

More and more, Akira sees her heart. He witnesses it beating at the same rhythm as his.

“I’m sorry,” Akira murmurs. The two pause once more.

It takes a moment for Akira to think of something else to say.

He has to say more. For this precious girl… 

For her, he finds it. “You’re somewhere new now,” he remarks. “You’re at the next stage of your life. There’s no need to hold yourself back.”

Akari takes in his beautiful words. And thus, a smile overtakes her sadness. She says with a tender fondness, “I’ll try.”

Akira grins back at her. She has such a cute smile.

After wiping her eyes, Akari continues with her explanation. “The point I did want to get to is… I’m a massive germaphobe.”

“Hm?” Akira utters innocently.

“Well, the backdrop was necessary,” she explains, scratching her head. “Even though I stopped mindlessly getting into fights, I couldn’t stop fighting entirely. I had people out to get me, and I tried to protect others when I could. But, before I knew it, I became terrified of other peoples’ germs. Spit, blood, mucus, sweat, anything… It all gave me massive discomfort, in and out of fights. I was always obsessive-compulsive, but once I changed my ways, I lost whatever tolerance I had for germs. After I skirmished with that man at the interview, I washed my hands. I changed my clothes when I got home, too. I’m a fighter who hates germs… It’s paradoxical, but protecting others is what I’ve decided to do. After all I’ve done, if I’m going to a college like this, I won’t be complicit. I've worked hard to face my germaphobia. It’s one reason I go to the gym; of course, another reason is to maintain my strength. So, well, you have physical difficulties at the gym. I-I guess take comfort in me having mental difficulties? That’s… kinda where I wanted to go, but to even make that point I had to divulge a lot of things… Maybe I shouldn’t have…”

Akira’s response is quick.

“The more I learn about you, the stronger you seem to me,” he says, smiling gracefully.

Akari blushes once more. “You talk about me as if I’m not violent and scary.”

“You’re not scary.”

Akari almost jumps in her seat. “I-I’m not? How? How am I not…?”

“Because you're kind and accepting. You’re strong, but I don’t see you ever using that against me.”

Akari looks at him in awe.

“I think,” Akira continues, “I can trust you. Of course, I’ve not known you for long, but my gut believes in you.”

“B-Because I use my strength to protect?”

Akira nods. “Precisely.”

Akari reciprocates his warmth with a smile of her own.

Finished with their conversation, they leave the car and walk to the gym. Side by side, they almost want to hold hands.

However, as they get closer to the building, Akira’s happiness fades. I can’t do it, he thinks with a hidden anguish. I can’t tell her about my family. I can’t give her… even more sadness.