51
“Why are you so… obsessed with me?”
Why are you so fixed on me?
If I had been able to say that, perhaps I would have gotten an answer.
But before I could ask, Mio moved on to her next action.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing. Or rather, this is the main event. There’s something I want you to see.”
Mio took a step back from me and stood in the middle of the road.
My mind couldn’t keep up with her erratic behavior, and I couldn’t figure out what she was trying to do.
“Hey, watch me. Don’t look away.”
With that, Mio turned around.
A half-turn from facing me to facing away.
Her skirt fluttered in the wind, and her hair followed suit.
Her raven-black hair, like a crow’s wet feathers, drew an arc in the spring sky.
“Ah…”
It was a surprise attack.
To an outsider, it would have looked like she was just spinning in place.
It was just a moment of silliness that most people wouldn’t even notice.
But this dancer was different.
She was a special existence, known as the school idol.
Her dance captivated my eyes.
At the same time, a conversation we had once had suddenly came to mind.
—I wanted to try on that uniform because it’s so cute.
That’s right, when we were talking about where to go to school, Mio had said something like that.
I can even remember her being embarrassed, looking shy as she said it might not suit her.
That was a memory I had almost forgotten.
Just one of many trivial conversations with the girl who was my childhood friend and my girlfriend.
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Now, it has become a distant memory.
“D-damn…”
But the moment I remember, they overlap.
The image that was starting to drift apart is overwritten by the Mio of today.
Mio, now a high school student, looks a little more mature—and the uniform she had wanted to wear suits her very well, in my opinion.
(Damn it…)
But why is it?
Even though it suits her, for some reason it makes me incredibly frustrated. Sad.
Even though Mio is right there, I feel like crying because I’ve forgotten everything.
“So, what do you think, Beniya-kun? How do I look in my uniform? It looks pretty good on me, don’t you think? …Heh heh. I guess I don’t need to ask how you feel, judging by the look on your face. I’m glad you like it.”
Mio doesn’t miss my vulnerability.
She notices the change in me with her sharp eyes, and a playful smile spreads across her face.
With a smug expression, she seems to be saying that she’s delighted that things have gone her way.
“It was worth waiting for. But honestly, I was going to show you this morning. I wanted you to be the first one to see it. That’s why I went to your house so we could walk to school together, but I was surprised when they told me you had already left. Your aunt seemed apologetic, too.”
That made me frustrated.
Because I realized I was being toyed with.
That’s why, now.
“I don’t know what you told my aunt about us breaking up, Beniya-kun, but she told me that she wants me to be close to her again. It’s ironic how our parents are the ones who can’t let go, isn’t it? They don’t understand anything about their children. They pretend not to notice the changes in me, too. They just say that it’s good that I’ve become more cheerful. That was the moment I realized, once again , that you’re the only one who really sees me. And so, from now on, every morning…”
“Why are you doing this…?”
I had reached my limit.
“Hm?”
“Why are you doing this to me? I told you properly that I didn’t want this! That I didn’t want to be involved with you! And because of that, we’ve kept our distance from each other until now! It was fine the way it was during our third semester! I didn’t want to be involved with you, or even look at you! So why, all of a sudden, are you doing this now!?”
My heart is being played with, but I can’t help but understand.
It’s being stirred up. It’s becoming a mess, just like it was back then.
Watching me like this, Mio laughs softly, just like she did back then.
“That’s obvious, isn’t it? Because I like you.”
“W-what…?”
What are you saying…
“I’m doing this because I like you, Beniya-kun. Because if I do this, you’ll suffer. You’ll be troubled, won’t you?”
I hear a sharp sound.
The sound of loafers hitting the asphalt.
I don’t move.
“You won’t be able to forget me.”
I hear footsteps.
The sound of someone walking.
I can’t move. I’m frozen like a frog being stared at by a snake.
“I know you better than anyone else. You get discouraged easily. You always think negatively. You always become pessimistic. You fill your head with painful things more than enjoyable ones.”
Instead, I can’t take my eyes off you.
“Then,” with those short words, the sound stopped.
“If I do this, you won’t be able to think about anything but me. The more you suffer, the more I’ll fill your mind, Kouya-kun. The more you struggle, the deeper you’ll sink. more I hurt you, the more I’ll be etched into your heart as a scar.”
She stands before me.
Her face approaches and passes by.
“That’s why I’m doing this. You won’t be able to forget. I won’t let you forget. I won’t allow you to forget. Forever and ever. I’ll stay inside you, Misaka Mio.”
A lukewarm breath blows into my ear.
My skin prickles.
“If I keep doing this—only I, only I will be able to become special to you, right—Kou-kun?”
I can’t see her face.
But somehow, the tone of her voice—doesn’t sound off.