Wakatoshi Ushijima in My Cousin's Emails

In the spring of 2014, I received an email from my cousin Maki.

"Rina, I met a strange person in America."

"His name is Wakatoshi Ushijima, and he's a year younger than me."

"We'd only just met, but he said to me, 'If you don't feel like smiling, then don't smile.'"

"How incredibly rude, right?!"

At the time, I had just filled out the marriage registration papers with Atsumu Miya and was designing our future home in Koyoen.

When he saw me pick up my phone, he gave me a concerned look.

I smiled at him, then lowered my head to reply.

"Maki, what do that person's eyes look like?"

Everyone's eyes are different, just as Atsumu's are like the warm winter sun and Osamu's are like the deep sea.

I wondered what Ushijima's eyes looked like to my cousin Maki.

Her reply came quickly.

"...They're so clear, like a lake."

Like a lake?

I couldn't help smiling. Maybe this time Maki would truly fall in love.

A short story about Maki and Ushijima, as seen through Rina's eyes.

First-person narration.

The main story of Rina × Atsumu Miya is Inarizaki's Setter Has Something to Say.

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (with a slightly adjusted timeline), Haikyuu!!

Crossover pairing: Maki Shijo × Wakatoshi Ushijima

Theme: Keep a positive attitude no matter what.