The Loveless Genius and the Scowling Diving Girl – Grand Blue IF – - The Thieving Cat's Love Letter

Monday, the start of a new week. The hallways of Misaki University had been buzzing with a strange restlessness since morning. A damp sea breeze drifted in through the open windows. The sky was veiled with thin clouds, casting a heavy, oppressive hue over everything. It had been one day since the weekend's diving training. The guilt still lodged in Sakurako's chest like a thorn. (*I'm in love with Iori.*) The fact she'd finally acknowledged squeezed her heart so tightly she couldn't sleep at night. What terrified her most of all was the thought of her best friend Konan finding out. Sakurako let out a deep sigh and fidgeted irritably with the pin holding back her bangs. That was when she saw it. A crowd had gathered in front of the bulletin board in the hallway. "What the hell? Seriously?" "Hamaoka's a first-year in the diving club, right?" "Doesn't she feel bad for Konan-chan?" Hearing her own last name, Sakurako's feet stopped. She pushed through the onlookers and stood before the board. In that instant, her mind went completely blank. A single sheet of A4 stationery was pinned there with a thumbtack. Handwritten characters. And—it was unmistakably her own handwriting. *To Imamura Iori-kun,* *I feel bad for Konan, but I like you. When we held hands in the ocean, I thought my heart was going to explode. I want to go to the sea again, just the two of us.* *Hamaoka Sakurako* No. No, no, no. A sensation of darkness closing in washed over Sakurako. She had no memory of writing a letter like this. But the handwriting was perfectly imitated. It even described what happened during training—the only people who knew about holding hands in the ocean were the ones who'd been there that day. "...What is this?" Her voice trembled. Photos of the letter were already spreading across the student portal. Students who'd pulled out their phones glanced back and forth between their screens and Sakurako, smirking and whispering to each other. "The handwriting's totally Hamaoka's." "So she really is a boyfriend-stealing cat." "Poor Konan-chan..." Sakurako clenched her fists. She wanted to tear the letter off the bulletin board. But doing that would be as good as admitting she'd written it. And more than anything— (*I can't honestly say I don't have feelings for Iori.*) That guilt clung to the back of her throat. That was when it happened. At the far end of the hallway, she saw glossy black hair swaying. Takanashi Shiho. Straight hair reaching all the way to her waist. Cool, narrow eyes with a sharp glint. Flanked by two of her hangers-on, she was looking this way. The moment their eyes met—the corner of her mouth twisted, just slightly. A nasty, insidious smirk, lifting only the edge of her lips. A chill ran down Sakurako's spine. (*It's this woman.*) She must have watched the training session from somewhere. Stole the handwriting. And then, this— "You..." The moment she tried to raise her voice, the stares around her pierced through, and the words died in her throat. If she made a scene here, the rumors would only get worse. (*More than anything—it's true that I'm conscious of Iori.*) That fact held Sakurako utterly paralyzed. Takanashi turned gracefully on her heel and walked away with her entourage. All Sakurako could do was stand there, rooted to the spot, staring at her retreating back. Her fingers trembled. Her head swam with rage. But she couldn't scream. Couldn't deny it. The feelings inside her had become the most effective lie detector of all. First period, "Marine Ecology," began. Classroom 301—the same lecture hall where Sakurako had overheard Takanashi badmouthing her the week before. Sakurako sat at the end of the third row from the back, desperately pretending to take notes. The hand holding her pen was shaking. The students around her ignored the lecture entirely, fiddling with their phones under their desks. The girl in the next seat giggled as she showed her screen to a friend. "Hey, did you see? That love letter." "Ugh, how shameless can you get? Sending this to your best friend's boyfriend?" "And they even put her handwriting on display." Voices deliberately loud enough to be heard. Sakurako ground her back teeth. (*It's not true. I didn't write that.*) But she couldn't say it out loud. The racing heartbeat she'd felt in the ocean. The helpless warmth that flooded her when she saw Iori's smile. All of it was real. She hated herself for being unable to lie. "Hey, hey, Hamaoka-san's best friends with Konan-chan, right?" A deliberately pointed voice came from the row behind her. "Going after your best friend's boyfriend? Total boyfriend-stealing cat." Laughter overlapped. Sakurako's vision blurred, just slightly. But she wouldn't cry. In front of people like this, tears were the one thing she'd never show. That was when it happened. "Hamaoka-san, you okay?" A quiet voice from the next row over. She looked up to find Imamura Iori watching her with concern. His slightly droopy brown eyes were uncharacteristically serious. (*Why, of all people, do you have to talk to me right now?*) Even someone as dense as Iori should have realized that talking to her in this situation was just pouring fuel on the rumor fire. "It's nothing. Go away." She snapped back at him in a lowered voice. But Iori didn't back down. "But you look seriously pale. You wanna go to the nurse's office?" Innocent concern. That kindness, right now, only hurt. "I said I'm fine! I told you to leave me alone!" Her voice grew louder. The students around them turned to look all at once. Shame and frustration burned Sakurako's face all the way to her ears. Iori was silent for a moment, but eventually he scribbled something on a sticky note and quietly pressed it onto her textbook. *Can we talk during lunch break?* Just a single line. At that moment, Sakurako's phone buzzed. She looked at the screen. A LINE notification. The sender—Konan. *Sakurako-chan, can you come to the courtyard during lunch? There's something I want to talk about.* Sakurako's breath caught. She shoved Iori's sticky note into her pocket and gripped her phone with trembling fingers. (*It's here. It's finally here.*) The remaining time in the lecture felt like an eternity. Lunch break. The courtyard was bathed in early summer sunlight, the lawn glowing a vivid green. But to Sakurako's eyes, the scenery looked gray. She spotted Konan sitting on a bench. Softly waved, light brown hair. Normally she'd come running the moment she spotted Sakurako, but today she didn't move. Sakurako approached on unsteady legs. "Sakurako-chan." Konan lifted her head. Sakurako could tell she was trying to make a smile. But deep within those lovely, large eyes was a shadow she'd never seen before. (*She's hurt. She's doubting me.*) The moment she saw those eyes, Sakurako's chest constricted painfully. "This." With a trembling hand, Konan turned her phone screen toward Sakurako. The image of the love letter. *I feel bad for Konan, but I like you.* Those words pierced through the screen. "Hey, Sakurako. Is this letter real?" Her voice was gentle. But her eyes were not. A complex mix of doubt, hurt, and a desperate prayer to believe. Sakurako tried to say "No" immediately. She opened her mouth. —But. (*That day, we held hands in the ocean.*) Iori's voice replayed in her head. *"It was incredibly beautiful!"* *"I'm looking forward to going to the sea with you, Hamaoka-san!"* Her heart had gone wild. She'd been happy. Her heart had pounded. —All of it was true. The letter was a fake. But her feelings for Iori were real. "..." No words came out. Sakurako's silence became her answer. The rims of Konan's eyes reddened, just slightly. "...I see." A small voice, barely audible, as if fading away. Konan bit her lip and slowly stood up. Her shoulders trembled faintly. "Just... leave me alone for a bit." Konan's voice, as she turned her back, was wet with tears. Sakurako stood frozen. She wanted to chase after her. But her legs wouldn't move. Because even if she chased her, what would she say? She couldn't say "It's not true." She didn't even have the right to say "I'm sorry." Unable to say anything, unable to do anything, she could only watch as Konan's figure grew smaller in the distance. She'd lost her best friend. That fact painted Sakurako's heart pitch black. Evening. Just before closing time at Café Rondo. Sakurako was silently polishing the counter. Today, she'd nearly dropped two glasses. She'd gotten orders wrong three times. She'd tried to make a latte and let the milk boil over. Even Saya, for all her usual sharpness, watched in silence without saying a word. After closing, Saya spoke quietly. "You can go home for today." "...I'm sorry." With barely a proper thanks, Sakurako took off her apron. Her steps back to her apartment were heavy; even the feel of the asphalt beneath her feet seemed distant. When she opened the door to her room, it was pitch black. Without turning on the lights, she sank down onto the floor. She pulled out her phone. One LINE message from Konan. It hadn't been read. *I want to believe you, Sakurako. But I'm scared.* A short message. Sakurako placed her phone face down. In the corner by the wall, a picture frame lay flipped over. The certificate for her old piano competition gold prize. (*I haven't changed at all since back then.*) Too scared to reach for the things that mattered, yet unable to erase her feelings, and in the end, she'd lost everything. She'd tried to lock away her feelings for Iori, and instead, she'd ruined it all. The clock's hands passed midnight. Sakurako stood up. No tank. No wetsuit. She took nothing. She slipped on her sandals and left the room. Her destination—Nagisa Beach. The sea at night was pitch black. There was no moon or stars in the sky; she couldn't even tell where the horizon ended and the sky began. Only the sound of the waves echoed through the darkness. *Swoosh.* Sakurako sat down on the beach, hugging her knees. No one was here. It was just her. And then—for the first time, she cried out loud. Sobs escaped her. The tears wouldn't stop. The genuine smile she could only show in the sea was utterly powerless on land. She'd hurt Konan. She'd fallen perfectly into Takanashi's trap. This was her punishment for failing to face her own feelings. The sound of the waves drowned out her crying. Sakurako lifted her head. Before her stretched the fathomless, dark ocean. Underwater, gravity and sound both disappeared. She could shed her armor and return to her true self. (*I want to go into the sea.*) But she had no tank now. No wetsuit. Alone, facing the ocean in the dead of night. Sakurako slowly rose to her feet. She took one step toward the water's edge. The cold water soaked her sandals. Her emotions still overflowing, Sakurako simply stared at the sea. She had nowhere to go. She couldn't tell anyone. Only this ocean—this was her place to belong. But tonight, even the sea itself seemed sunken deep and cold, as if rejecting her, swallowed in darkness.

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Episode 5

Name: The Loveless Genius and the Scowling Diving Girl – Grand Blue IF –
Author: Novelia

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