More Than a Married Couple, Not Lovers: If - Shiori Sakurazaka's Unrequited Love
Jirou Yakuin has one goal: earn an A Rank in the school's Marriage Training program and use his partner-swap privilege to reunite with his childhood friend, Shiori Sakurazaka—the girl he's loved for years but never confessed to. There's just one problem. His partner is Akari Watanabe, the class's flashiest gyaru, and the closer they get to A Rank, the less certain Jirou becomes that Shiori is really the one he wants.
But Shiori has a secret of her own. The quiet, gentle girl everyone adores has
More Than a Married Couple, Not Lovers: If - Shiori Sakurazaka's Unrequited Love - The Day the Shell of Pretense Breaks: The Crying Gyaru and Her Clumsy True Feelings
The after-school chime was ringing in the distance.
Fifth floor of the school building. Yakuin Jirou came to a stop in front of the door leading to the rooftop, just past the connecting corridor. Short black hair. His bangs ran a little long, half-hiding dark brown eyes. Five foot eight. His navy blazer, as always, was just a touch sloppily worn.
*I told her I'd wait here.*
Last night, in the living room of the practice apartment, he'd said it to Akari.
*Tomorrow after school, there's something I need to tell you properly.*
*I won't run. I'll say it in my own words.*
She'd given a small nod. Her eyes red and swollen, but she'd looked at him—really looked at him.
*...Don't run, Jirou.*
He clenched his fist tight.
Sweat was seeping into his palm.
The words Minami had said to him last night at Café Poplar replayed in his head.
*That "do whatever you want" line you gave Akari—that was you running away.*
*I think Akari wanted you to face her for real.*
*Stop running. Enough.*
That was when Jirou had realized for the first time.
How badly he'd hurt her.
How cruel it was to push someone away with "do whatever you want."
*I have to tell her properly.*
*That I don't want the pair swap.*
*...My honest feelings.*
Jirou put his hand on the rusted iron door.
It creaked, a heavy sound.
When he pushed it open, the cold November wind rushed in all at once.
The rooftop.
Through the fence, the sky was a pale, pre-evening blue.
Far off, the city of Hakata spread out before him. The roofs of the Academia Street shopping arcade. Beyond that, Hakata Bay glimmered faintly.
And then—
Near the fence stood Watanabe Akari.
Pink long hair. Her inward-curled locks swayed in the wind. Big, bright brown eyes. Her flashy nails caught the afternoon light, sparkling. Her navy blazer wrapped softly around her five-foot-two frame.
She had her back to him.
Both hands gripping the fence, staring out at the city.
"...Akari."
When he called her name, her shoulders gave a small twitch.
But she didn't turn around.
"...What. You said you wanted to talk."
Her voice was stiff.
Not her usual bright, bubbly gyaru voice.
*...She's nervous.*
Jirou stared at her back.
The tips of her pink hair streamed in the wind.
"...I want you to face me."
He took one step closer.
"...I can hear you fine from here."
"Please. ...I want to say this looking at your face."
She was silent for a while.
Then, slowly, she turned around.
Her bright brown eyes looked straight at him.
They were a little red.
The traces of last night's crying were still there.
*...I'm the one who made her cry.*
Something twisted painfully in his chest.
"...Akari, I—"
His voice shook.
His throat felt stuck, the words wouldn't come out right.
*Calm down. Say it properly.*
He took one deep breath.
The cold air filled his lungs.
"I don't want the pair swap."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"...Huh?"
Her voice cracked.
"I want to keep doing the marriage training with you, just like this."
"...W-what are you saying?"
"If you're going to pair up with Tenjin, then I... I don't want it. I don't want to be apart from you."
He got it all out in one breath.
His heart was pounding so loud it was unbearable.
The sweat on his palms ran cold.
Akari stared at him, dumbfounded.
Her pink hair tossed wildly in the wind.
"...Jirou, you—that's—"
Her lips were trembling.
"Are you an idiot...? You can't just say that now..."
Her voice grew wet with tears.
"I said I wanted the right to a pair swap. And you—you were so cold, telling me to do whatever I want—!"
"...I'm sorry."
He bowed his head.
"That was my fault. I ignored your feelings. ...I'm really sorry."
"...Idiot."
Tears spilled from her eyes.
One streak down her cheek, dripping from her chin.
"Idiot... you're such an idiot..."
She covered her face with both hands.
Tears poured endlessly through the gaps between her fingers.
"I told you I hated you... so why now, of all times..."
"I didn't understand my own feelings for the longest time either. But yesterday, after I met with Tenjin... I finally got it. I have to face you properly."
He stopped just one step short of her.
"I'm done running. So, Akari. ...I want you to keep doing the marriage training with me, just like this."
She laughed while crying.
Her face was a mess with tears.
But her mouth was definitely smiling.
"...You idiot. Now, of all times."
Slowly, she lowered the hands covering her face.
Red, swollen eyes. Tear tracks.
But those eyes—unlike yesterday—looked straight at him.
"...I wanted to say it too. That I don't want to do any pair swap."
"...Akari."
"I always admired Minami. But... living with you, seeing how clumsy you are with stuff like this..."
She stopped there.
The wind blew through the space between them.
"...I want to stay like this with you."
Her voice was small and trembling.
But it reached him clearly.
Warmth spread slowly through his chest.
*...Thank god.*
*She feels the same way I do.*
He opened his mouth to say something.
That was when it happened.
Clank.
The rooftop door swung open with a sound.
Jirou and Akari both turned toward it at once.
From beyond the door, a male student walked slowly out.
Bright brown mushroom cut.
A small piercing in his left ear.
Clear gray eyes.
Tenjin Minami.
Jirou's classmate—the guy Akari had admired.
And the one who'd proposed the pair swap to her, asking her to team up with him.
In Minami's right hand was a single sheet of paper.
A pair swap form.
The official application to change partners in the marriage training.
"...Tenjin."
Jirou's voice dropped low.
Minami looked at Jirou, then at Akari.
His gray eyes were calm—impossible to read.
"Akari. Let me hear your answer."
His voice was composed.
But the words carried real weight.
"The thing about teaming up with me. ...Today's the deadline."
Akari's expression stiffened.
She'd been laughing through tears just moments ago.
Now her gaze darted between Minami and Jirou.
"...Minami, I..."
Just as she started to speak—
"Wait!"
This time, a different voice rang across the rooftop.
Another figure burst through the door.
Straight black hair falling long. A thin braid on the left side only. Gentle amber eyes. Her small frame wrapped in a blazer.
Sakurazaka Shiori.
Jirou's childhood friend—the girl who'd carried a torch for him for years.
She was out of breath.
Her shoulders heaved.
"Hah... hah... th-thank god, you're still here..."
Shiori looked at Jirou, Akari, and Minami in turn.
"...I'm sorry. There's something I absolutely had to say today, no matter what..."
Her voice was shaking.
Her small shoulders trembled.
"Shiori...?"
Alarmed by how unlike herself she was, Jirou took a step toward her.
She looked at him.
Her amber eyes were wet with tears.
"Jirou. I—"
She squeezed her eyes shut tight.
Then drew a deep breath.
And opened them.
"I'm in love with you, Jirou."
The air on the rooftop froze in an instant.
Only the sound of the wind seemed unnaturally loud.
Jirou was speechless.
His mind went blank.
*...Shiori likes me?*
*What did she just say?*
Akari was frozen too.
Her bright brown eyes stared fixedly at Shiori.
Her expression was rigid—she looked like the blood had drained from her face.
Only Minami watched Shiori quietly.
"For so long. ...Since we were kids, I've loved you, Jirou."
Her voice was close to sobbing.
But the words reached him clearly.
"When you got paired with Akari for the marriage training... I couldn't do anything. But I thought if I didn't say it now, I'd regret it forever."
Tears rolled down her cheeks, one after another.
"...I'm sorry, saying this now of all times. But I just—I had to tell you."
She looked straight at him.
Her eyes were wet, but incredibly strong.
*...Shiori liked me.*
*For all those years.*
Something huge shifted inside his chest.
The girl he'd known since childhood—who'd always liked him.
And now she was standing here, crying, telling him she loved him.
*...What am I supposed to do?*
He couldn't find the words.
"...Akari."
Shiori turned toward her.
"I'm sorry. I know you and Jirou are doing well together. ...But I didn't want to give up either."
Akari said nothing.
She just stared at Shiori.
Biting her lip hard.
"...I'm awful, aren't I? Saying this at a time like this."
Shiori laughed at herself.
Tears traced down her cheeks and fell.
"...Shiori."
Jirou finally forced out his voice.
But the words after that wouldn't come.
He didn't know what to say.
*How am I supposed to take Shiori's confession?*
*I just told Akari I want to stay with her.*
His head was a mess.
His feelings for Shiori.
His feelings for Akari.
The two emotions clashed violently in his chest.
"...Akari."
It was Minami who broke the silence.
He turned toward her.
His gray eyes rested on her quietly.
"Shiori's confession is Shiori's feelings. ...But I came here to hear your answer."
He held the pair swap form out in front of her.
"Akari. What do you want to do?"
She stared at the paper in his hand.
Then she looked at Jirou.
He looked back at her.
*Akari...*
*I want to stay like this with you.*
*But I can't just ignore Shiori's feelings either.*
He couldn't say anything.
Akari turned her gaze from him back to Minami.
"...Minami."
Her voice was trembling.
But her eyes looked straight at him.
"I've always admired you. ...That's the truth. You're kind, you're cool, you treat everyone the same."
She paused.
The wind tossed her pink hair.
"...But I can't team up with you."
Minami's expression shifted, just slightly.
"I'm sorry. I want to stay like this with Jirou."
She said it clearly, without faltering.
Tears were spilling again.
But her voice didn't shake.
"I don't mind that clumsy side of him. ...So I can't team up with you, Minami."
Silence fell over the rooftop.
Minami gazed at her for a while.
Then, slowly, his lips loosened.
"...I see."
His voice was gentle.
"That's just like you. ...Understood."
He gripped the pair swap form with both hands.
And then—
Rip.
He tore the paper clean in two.
Rip, rip, rip.
He tore it again and again into smaller pieces.
The fragments danced in the wind and scattered across the rooftop floor.
"There. This conversation never happened."
He stuffed the torn scraps into his pocket.
"...I think it's about time I stopped running too."
His gray eyes looked out at the distant sky.
"I'm going to put an end to these feelings for my sister-in-law. ...Watching you two, I finally felt like I could."
His voice was quiet.
But the words carried firm resolve.
"...Minami."
Akari looked up at him.
"Don't worry about it. ...If anything, I'm the one who should apologize, dragging you into something strange."
He said it with a refreshing smile.
The perfect smile he always wore at school.
But his eyes looked somehow clear, somehow free.
"Well, I'll be going. ...The rest is up to you two."
He glanced at Jirou.
"Yakuin. Don't make Akari cry."
"...Yeah."
Jirou nodded shortly.
Minami turned and walked toward the rooftop door.
The door closed.
The click echoed across the quiet rooftop.
Left behind were three people: Jirou, Akari, and Shiori.
Shiori had her head down the whole time.
Her black hair fell over her face, hiding her expression.
"...Akari."
She spoke softly.
"Take good care of Jirou, okay?"
She lifted her head.
Her face was a mess with tears.
But her mouth was smiling.
A forced smile.
"...I'll be cheering you two on."
"...Shiori."
He tried to call her back.
But she shook her head.
"I'm fine. I've made up my mind. ...I'm glad I got to say it."
She turned her back to him.
Her small back was trembling.
"See you, Jirou. ...Akari."
She started to run.
Straight for the rooftop door.
"Wait, Shiori!"
He tried to take a step after her.
But his feet wouldn't move.
*...And if I chase after her, what then?*
*What am I supposed
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.