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Mashimo Heisuke was the best marksman in the neighborhood. He could hit a ten-yen coin from three hundred meters away, with his eyes half-closed, in the wind. Yet, for the past three weeks, his success rate had dropped by half.
The cause? A delicate shadow with dark hair that regularly crossed the back room of the Sakamoto grocery store.
Akira.
That Tuesday afternoon, Heisuke was sitting on a wooden crate, mechanically cleaning the sights of his rifle. Akira approached with his usual kind smile and handed him a jar of homemade iced tea.
"You're working hard again today, Heisuke-kun!" she said softly. "Have a drink, you're going to catch a chill."
Heisuke froze. His heart skipped a beat, then began to race like a hare in a shooting range. A bright red instantly crept from his collar to the tips of his ears.
"A-Ah! Akira-chan! Thank you!" he stammered, grabbing the glass with trembling hands. "You... You're the kindest person in the whole world!"
Akira let out a light, spontaneous laugh, gently patting him on the shoulder before returning to the shelves.
"What a brave boy," she murmured to herself.
At the other end of the counter, Shin watched the scene. His blue eyes had shrunk to two small, menacing slits. He didn't even need to use his telepathy to read Heisuke's mind: the sniper's thoughts screamed out"AKIRA-CHAN IS AN ANGEL OF LIGHT"at a deafening volume.
Heisuke's problem was that he was incapable of being subtle.
The next day, to thank Akira for the tea, he decided to give her the most beautiful gift he could conceive: a sachet of ultra-rare birdseed that he had spent two days finding, carefully wrapped with a pink ribbon.
"Is this... for me?" asked Akira, surprised and amused as she opened the package in the break room.
— Yes! So that the sparrows will come to your window sill in the bathroom! Heisuke explained, very proud of his trick, arms crossed and chin raised.
— That's adorable, Heisuke! Thank you so much!
Shin, who had just come in to put away some boxes, almost dropped his load. He immediately stepped between them, placing a hot can of coffee on the table in front of Akira.
"Here you go, Akira. Your favorite coffee. Without sugar. Just the way you like it," Shin declared in a deliberately detached voice, while casting a sidelong glance at his best friend.
— Oh, thank you Shin-kun! She smiled, quickly kissing his cheek.
Shin instantly turned bright red—his usual reflex—but he gave Heisuke a small, victorious look. Heisuke lowered his head, fiddling with the edge of his vest. Shin was his best friend, the coolest guy on earth... and he was dating Akira. That was a fact. But that little pang in his heart refused to go away.
On the highly dubious advice of Lu — who found the situation hilarious —, Heisuke decided to step things up a notch during the lunch break: to write a poem.
Settled in the corner of the tatami, he was sweating profusely over a sheet of graph paper. Shin, sitting next to Akira sharing a bento, caught Heisuke's thoughts mid-flight:
"Akira, your eyes are like two .50 caliber sniper bullets... No, too aggressive. Akira, your hair shines like the barrel of a well-oiled rifle..."
Shin clapped a hand over his face to stifle a groan of annoyance and despair.
"Are you alright, Shin-kun?" Akira asked, handing him a piece of omelet.
"I'm perfectly fine," grumbled Shin, giving Heisuke a dark look. "Just a sudden headache caused by some really bad poetry."
"Poetry?" Akira asked, turning to Heisuke in surprise. "You write, Heisuke-kun?"
— N-No! Well, yes! Well, it's nothing! cried the poor boy, covering his sheet of paper with both arms as if it were a confidential defense document.
— Show me! Akira said kindly, approaching him.
Heisuke turned redder than an overripe tomato. Shin crossed his arms, ready to intervene if his friend's stupidity crossed the line of decency.
Akira carefully took the sheet of paper. She read the few scribbled lines about birds, warm smiles, and a "wonderful" caregiver who "heals even hearts."
For ten seconds, a deathly silence reigned in the room. Shin held his breath, torn between jealousy for a boyfriend and sorrow for his best friend.
Akira looked up from the paper. Her gaze was filled neither with mockery nor embarrassment, but with an infinite, maternal, and benevolent gentleness.
"That's the nicest poem anyone's ever written to me, Heisuke," she said in a calm, warm voice. "I'm so lucky to have such a thoughtful friend as you at the grocery store."
The word had been spoken.Which.
Not coldly, but with such sincere affection that it put everything in its proper place. Heisuke's eyes widened. He looked at Akira, then glanced at Shin, who was standing a little apart, looking anxious for him.
The tall boy let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumped, but a silly little smile quickly returned to his lips.
"Yeah... We're great friends, Akira-chan!" he replied, his heart a little heavy but his face free of a burden.
Later that evening, after Akira had returned home and the sun was setting over the grocery store roof, Shin joined Heisuke on the building's ledge. The sniper was giving Piisuke some seeds.
Shin sat down next to him in silence, throwing a can of soda in his direction. Heisuke caught it in mid-air.
"Sorry, Shin..." Heisuke murmured, popping open the can. "I didn't mean to cause trouble between you two. It's just... Akira is so nice to me. I've never met a girl like her."
Shin scratched the back of his neck, his usual blush reappearing on his cheeks as he confessed his own feelings.
"I know," Shin said in a low voice. "She's incredible. That's why I fell in love with her the first day. And... I can't blame you for having a crush on her. You have good taste."
Heisuke let out a loud, joyful laugh, giving Shin a hard slap on the back that almost made him spit out his soda.
— But if you ever make her sad, Shin, I'll aim at you from three hundred meters away with paintballs!
"Just try it and see," Shin chuckled, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder.
The next morning, the routine had resumed its course at the Sakamoto grocery store.
Akira arrived at precisely eight o'clock, greeting everyone with his usual cheerfulness.
— Good evening! Well, good morning! Heisuke recovered with his usual clumsiness, giving him a big wave.
— Hello Heisuke! she said, offering him a homemade muffin that she had brought especially for him.
Heisuke grabbed the cake as if it were a national treasure, his eyes shining with happiness. He knew Akira loved Shin, and he could see how his friend's eyes lit up whenever she was in the room. It was just right.
Shin approached Akira from behind, gently embracing her waist and placing a shy kiss on her cheek. Akira turned around and smiled at her with all the love in the world.
Heisuke, for his part, bit into his muffin, leaning against the counter with Piisuke on his shoulder. It was his very first unrequited crush, and even if it stung a little, he'd gained the best big sister... and kept the best friend.