Sawako Mizuno (II.JuSa)

Sawako took notice of Juza rather early on. As a regular of her parent’s bakery, it was hard to ignore the male with his intimidating gaze and while Sawako felt slightly nervous at first it quickly settled into an afterthought as she figured that he wasn’t so bad due to how polite he was when he ordered. Feeling bad due to her original assumption, the female always made sure she greeted him kindly whenever he came by which wasn’t something that went unnoticed. While small, it was rather nice to have someone look him in the eye without hesitation and it caught his attention. Likewise, Sawako was quick to note that he never seemed to take notice of her appearance or comment on it like most of the other customers and it was something she focused on. From there, their routine was rather simple; Juza would stop by in order to buy something and Sawako would greet him kindly. Their conversations never went past simple pleasantries on Sawako’s part. Actual conversation only begins once the female takes note that Juza seemed stumped on what to get one day and she offered some of her own favorites to try. This leads to him asking her about recommendations during his visits and the female responding excitedly due to her love of food that was meant with an equal level of interest. These instances slowly led her to begin seeking him out and waiting for his patronage, often setting something new for him to try and get opinions on, since she found him to be quite good at giving feedback on their deserts, and it slowly led to a casual friendship between the two.

Sawako was genuinely surprised with how easy it was to get along with the male. With Juza, it was clear that there were no hidden motives in regards to hanging out with her like others and because of that she felt that there was no need to be on guard with him. She found that in comparison to his delinquent appearance, the male was rather well meaning and earnest which she found rather sweet. His company was refreshing and it was a new experience for Sawako that she wanted to hold onto. Likewise Sawako’s lack of judgement regarding his own appearance and the cheerful mood she brought with her whenever he stopped by was something he welcomed. Initially believing her to be reserved, the male was surprised that she was rather excitable and bubbly, the way she seemed to perk up at the sight of him strangely adorable. There was a comfortable feeling between the two and both were content with the extent of their relationship.

Of course, there was still some lingering doubt in Sawako’s mind on how long this friendship would last especially since she was beginning to like his company. Because of her reputation, the female’s friendships have always been sparse and short in nature. To her, it was simply a countdown until Juza got wind of everything and it made her nervous in trying to imagine how he would react. It helped that the two didn’t attend the same school and Juza seemed hard to approach from an outsider’s perspective, but it only added to the dread she was feeling. She did her best to hide her nervousness when they were together, bits of her unease still managed to slip out and it wasn’t hard for Juza to notice. He wasn’t sure it was his place to ask and the slightest mention seemed to put her on edge so Juza just decided to wait and see if she would get comfortable enough to speak on it, otherwise he would leave it alone. Sawako was thankful for this though it only made it worse as she was too scared to actually approach the subject. She wanted to be honest with her fears, the first one to tell him rather than hearing it from word of mouth. Sawako believed that if he heard it from the source then his judgement would be less severe.

It was rather hard for the female to bring it up despite her resolve and it led to a bunch of awkward short meetings where she tried and failed to start a more serious conversation. Juza was more than aware that she was struggling to tell him something, he knew she got nervous easily when it came to talking about herself, but wasn’t sure if asking her about it would only make her clamp up more. Sawako’s tendency to dance around the topic led to a sense of awkwardness for the two in their next couple of meetings, as it was increasingly obvious that she wanted to tell him something and it was becoming somewhat annoying watching her fall short every time. Eventually Juza found himself asking during one of his routine trips to the bakery. Taken by surprise though thankful that he helped her out in approaching the subject, Sawako simply asked for some of his time and the two ended up speaking during her break. It was rather refreshing for the female to be able to finally speak for herself without others doing it forward and it led her to talking about her more than Juza has ever heard her done before. Sawako admits that she has a fear of him not wanting to be her friend anymore after hearing all of this since she has been told that ‘being her friend was taxing’ with how much came with her. To her surprise and relief, Juza's response was both simple and short.

“...There’s nothing taxing about you.”

From there the two simply talked about their own experiences for the rest of her break, allowing them to grow closer. Now no longer stressed about his opinion of her, Sawako’s bubbly nature seemed to increase when they hung out and her genuine happiness that she displayed whenever he was around was something that Juza found himself getting slightly embarrassed by. Nevertheless he was satisfied with the fact that she was now fully relaxed around him. Because of her lack of experience in the field and her reluctance in believing so due to not wanting to ruin their friendship, Sawako refused to acknowledge her growing feelings as something other than platonic. In short, Sawako was scared once again and her behavior reflected that due to her becoming more restrained around him. Of course Juza noticed and Sawako knew he would but unlike the previous situation, the female actually addressed her issue right away rather than waiting.

Sawako actually admits to the fact that she liked him rather easily despite her anxiety as she had a tendency to get sweeped up into her emotions during stressful situations. It reassured her that he didn’t give her answer right away and both were left with much to think about. Juza did like being around her; she was unperturbed by his intimidating appearance and her friendliness towards him was both refreshing and infectious. There was a sense of comfort that came with hanging out with Sawako that he found himself enjoying. He did find her cute with how excitable she got with things she liked and the thought of dating her felt almost natural to him. Her happiness at his answer accepting her confession made him feel rather embarrassed that he had such a large effect on her but the two are currently taking slow, simply enjoying their time together.