Report 108

Plot
Speechless, Arata starts to withdraw his hand from Chizuru's head but lets it linger a while on her cheek. Incredulous but dimly aware of his heart beating faster due to being close to Chizuru, Arata admits he found her cute when she was trying her best to attain the high school life she wanted but thinks that it was not supposed to be the kind of a feeling he has now. Acting against his desires, he pulls himself away resolving to no longer be a part of Chizuru's life. As Arata suggests they go home Chizuru is confused by his behavior but agrees, however she stumbles when rising to her feet only for Arata to catch her in his arms. Uncomfortable with the sudden physical closeness with Chizuru that he is trying to stop himself from wanting, Arata pushes her away from him and on her own feet.

As they walk to the station in silence Arata struggles to deny what he told Kazuomi when he encouraged him to act on his feelings for Rena applying to himself as well. Wanting to act responsibly with a high school student Arata thinks that there is no way he can let Chizuru know how he feels, and painedly curses himself for having fallen in love with her.

Walking home with Ryō after having listened to Arata and Chizuru's conversation, An vents her frustration at Arata backing off from his intimate moment with Chizuru. However, she understands and calms down when Ryō notes that being an adult entails taking other things into consideration beside doing as they please, such as the high school girl's perspective in this case.

An asks Ryō if he may have gotten too close with Chizuru during the festival, and Ryō admits it is possible. However, he was happy that someone relied on him even if he was not expecting Chizuru to actually take his arm, and adds that what follows may be the critical point of the experiment. Ryō writes in his report that An came up with the plan to stir things up with the subject by her clinging to Arata and Ryō getting close to Chizuru. Though he writes that he agreed for the sake of the success of the experiment, he also feels guilty for his interference.

Trivia

 * The events in this chapter took place on August 10th, 2013.