Next, I’ll try holding that hand
I volunteered to go buy paint, but I never expected Shu to come along. It didn’t seem like Shu had volunteered himself, but rather he was nominated by the art club member. I couldn’t help but smile wryly, thinking it was somehow typical of Shu.
“This and this… and then maybe this one.”
“Yeah. The rest should be over there.”
It’s strange to be shopping together with Shu… It used to be a common sight, but now I no longer talked to Shu. Even if something like that had happened, there was an awkward feeling that the gap between us had deepened. If we graduated from high school, we might… or maybe not meet again. I can’t help but feel a bit lonely about that.
We got everything we needed. Well then, let’s head back.
We walked with few words, and suddenly Shu spoke up.
“Hey Towa, can we talk for a bit?”
“Talk?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded in response to his question.
On our way to the school, we stopped at a park and sat together on a bench. We bought drinks, quenched our dry throats, and Shu took a deep breath before starting to speak.
“I’ve had a lot of thoughts since I stopped talking to you guys. In the end, I realized that I was only looking at myself, and I never really tried to see you or Ayana in any real sense.”
As I watched Shu’s profile, he seemed to be looking into the distance. But there was something refreshing about his profile, as if a weight had been lifted off. Maybe it was just my imagination.
“I didn’t understand your words back then, but now I do. It’s too late, but I understand now.”
Shu paused there, then looked me straight in the eyes, tightened his expression, and bowed his head.
“Towa, I have to apologize to you. I cried and apologized back then, but I didn’t think that was enough. So, I’m sorry.”
As Shu deeply bowed, I quickly spoke up in a fluster.
“So, it’s not your fault, so don’t worry about it. So–“
Yes. That accident was truly a product of chance. It’s true that Shuu might have been absent-minded, but I still jumped in to help him. Back then, I did harbor some resentment, but on the day I confessed to Ayana, I truly shook off the past. So, Shuu doesn’t need to worry about that, that’s what I conveyed, but it seems Shuu apologized for reasons beyond mere simplicity.
“Towa, you were someone I looked up to. Good at studying, good at sports, cool, but never arrogant or boastful… Yet at the same time, I envied you fiercely for those very qualities.”
Shuu seemed on the verge of tears, but held them back. Enduring, he continued to speak.
“At that time, when the teacher told you that you couldn’t participate in the soccer tournament anymore… I sneered. Seeing you, who could do anything, looking sad, I… I sneered at that…”
“…………”
…Was that so? Could it be that Ayana clenched her hands as if holding something back at that moment… No, strangely, my heart was calm. I’ll say it as many times as needed, I don’t care anymore. Even if what Shuu said is true, including the words I heard from Hatsune-san back then, it won’t be a burden on me anymore.
“It’s not just me, even Mom and the others said things to you… I only found out recently, but it doesn’t change the fact that they caused you pain.”
Perhaps Shuu suffered too. By reassessing his self-centeredness, he began to see things around him more clearly. And so, Shuu, in his own way, pondered, and now he was apologizing to me, including for what happened back then.
Tears that had been held back now overflowed, and Shuu cried uncontrollably.
“It’s okay if you can’t forgive me… but I really wanted to tell you. I don’t mean to go back to being just friends. Still, I wanted to talk to you once more. I wanted to apologize… and I wanted to be happy with Ayana… I wanted to convey that.”
It’s painful when a friend you’ve always been with starts to drift away, even if you think you don’t mind anymore, it lingers in your heart to some extent. So maybe I was worried about you. Was there a better way, a different way to make you notice? I passed him a handkerchief from my pocket.
There are many things I want to say… but for now, these simple words should suffice.
“…Thank you. I accept your apology.”
“…Yeah! …Yeah!”
It won’t be easy for things to return exactly to how they were before, as our relationship, Ayana’s and mine, has changed. Nevertheless, if Shuu says he’s moving forward, I’ll welcome that and support him… Well, looking into Shuu’s eyes now, I can tell he’ll be fine.
“Oh, I forgot to respond to one more thing.”
“Huh?”
I extended my fist forward and made a declaration.
“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure you and Ayana will be happy together. More than anyone else.”
“…Yeah. If it’s Towa and Ayana, it’ll surely be fine. I’m rooting for you.”
Our fists lightly bumped.
It’s natural for our smiles to be a bit awkward, but Shuu’s words were received well. We both shared a wry smile at the cheesy things we were doing, realizing we had talked quite a lot and needed to return soon. However, a small incident occurred on the way back.
While waiting for the traffic light to turn green at the intersection, a little girl was walking. Behind her were two women, probably one her mother and the other an acquaintance. Away from the two women who were chatting happily, the girl, still holding a toy in her hand, stepped onto the pedestrian crossing.
“Hey!!”
“Towa!?”
Before I knew it, my body was moving.
The signal was still red for pedestrians, meaning the cars had the green light to continue straight. One car honked, finally alerting the girl, but it was too late. The woman’s face turned pale as she reached out her hand, but she wouldn’t reach… I embraced the bewildered girl… and then, my arm was unexpectedly pulled from an unexpected direction.
“Ouch!?”
While holding the girl, I stumbled, but thankfully, the girl was unharmed, and I let out a sigh of relief. The girl, in tears, headed towards her mother, who embraced her, her face now relaxed with relief.
“…Phew, saved, huh?”
The one who pulled my arm, Shuu, was holding onto my arm as he took deep breaths.
“…It’s not a laughing matter. But… I’m glad.”
Saying so, Shuu kneeled down and, like me, let out a deep sigh. The girl’s mother came over, bowing profusely, but since nothing serious happened, I gestured for her not to worry. However, if Ayana had been there, a big storm would have surely brewed in this situation.
“Big brother, I’m sorry. Thank you…!!”
“I’m glad you’re safe. Now, say thank you to this big brother too.”
“Yeah! Thank you, big brother!”
“…You’re welcome.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Hey, don’t give such an awkward smile to the little girl.
Feeling apologetic towards the still worried mother, Shuu and I had to hurry back, so we quickly left the scene.
“Ha… It might sound strange coming from me, but if I witnessed you getting into another accident, I might not be able to recover this time.”
“I’m sorry… for making you worry.”
“I mean it!”
I was slightly surprised by the intensity I hadn’t heard before. But, realizing I had caused that much worry, I felt sorry. Yeah… no matter the reason for helping a girl, I might have ended up making many others sad again. I need to reflect on that as well.
“Hey, Towa, I think I’ll wait a bit before talking to Ayana again.”
“Is that okay? I can make time if you need.”
“It’s fine. Just like Ayana, I want to be able to move forward confidently when the time comes.”
“I see.”
“Yeah.”
It really seems like everything is going to be okay now.
After chatting for a while on our way back to school for the first time in a while, and then—
“Hey, some of these are squished in. What happened?”
“Ah…”
“Oh…”
Well, it’s unavoidable after what happened.
Shu and I were scolded by a member of the art club together.
“Eh… a Yakuza?”
“Is that so…”
After talking with Shu and relaying that to Ayana, she slowly lowered her face. Naturally, it seemed difficult for Ayana to accept it easily. They say time resolves things, but maybe that’s truly the only way to put it in this case.
“Well, we have our own pace. We just need to think things through from now on.”
“I see. hahahaha, but I was surprised and thought it was amazing at the same time.”
“What do you mean?”
Towa’s connections are truly unbreakable, I thought.
I wonder… I have things I like and things I dislike. It’s not like I don’t get along with everyone or there aren’t people I don’t want to be involved with. I’m no saint; I just cherish spending time with important people in my daily life.
“…It’s so hot, though.”
“Yeah. Just standing here makes me sweat a bit.”
Since it’s summer vacation, it’s naturally hot. The temperature is high, causing us to sweat. Even though the air conditioning works indoors, our work with Ayana is done, so there’s no need. It was a conversation on the way back from throwing away the trash behind the school building.
“The baseball team and the track team are really working hard, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. I respect them, working hard in this scorching heat.”
As we crossed the schoolyard, we saw members of clubs practicing. Mariko was running in the track team, and Aisaka was sweating profusely while practicing with the baseball team. When we noticed Aisaka waving at us, he got scolded by the coach for not focusing and the people around laughed.
“Aisaka is like the mood maker, isn’t he?”
“He’s well-liked by the juniors. He has a good personality and is hardworking.”
Watching Aisaka like that, I felt like I should work hard on the sports festival preparations. Of course, as long as there’s work assigned to me, I intend to do it properly, without slacking off or cutting corners.
…But no matter what, it’s just too hot!!
“Ayana, shall we head back?”
“Yes. Towa, when we get home, would you like to take a bath?”
“Sure…? Together?”
“?”
“Yes.”
Ayana tilted her head, and it seems like it’s decided that we’ll take a bath together. I wonder if it’s just me overthinking that it might lead to sweating in different ways.
Our uniforms stick to our skin due to the sweat. It’s definitely not a time to be embracing each other in this state, but we do hold hands, mainly on cooler mornings or evenings.
“I want to relax after getting out of the bath.”
“I want to turn on the air conditioning, eat some ice cream… and just laze around.”
“hehehe, sounds nice.”
It was at that moment when the two of them, chatting happily, were about to leave the schoolyard.
“Hey, Otomu-san, Yukishiro-kun.”
“？ Ah, Tachibana-san.”
“…………”
The one who called out was Tachibana. The moment his voice was heard, Ayana’s expression turned blank, and she hid behind my back, as if trying to avoid his gaze. Come to think of it, I mentioned earlier that there are people I don’t want to get involved with, and he might be one of them. It might just be my own assumption, but for some reason, I find it hard to trust this guy instinctively.
“Were you observing something?”
“Yes, since the preparations for the sports festival are almost done. We’re about to head back.”
“I see. Good job on your hard work.”
“…Towakun.”
I was trying to wrap up the conversation quickly and leave the scene, but it seemed like Ayana felt the same way. Even as I tried to take Ayana away from the scene, Tachibana kept calling out to us.
“As a matter of fact, the track team is also on lunch break now. I have some free time, so how about having a meal together? I know a nice place, and especially the lovely Otomu-san might like it.”
“That’s fine.”
With a brief response, Ayana took my hand.
“Don’t say that—”
Tachibana was still insisting, but then an accident occurred. A ball came flying from the baseball team’s direction and hit Tachibana in the back. In high school baseball, they should be using hard balls, but the one that flew towards us was a soft one, which made me tilt my head in confusion.
Tachibana winced as the ball hit his back, and coming over to apologize from the baseball team was Aisaka.
“Sorry, the ball flew off, are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah, I’m fine. It could have been dangerous if it was a hardball…”
Aisaka, with a somewhat suspicious smile, signaled from a position invisible to Tachibana, as if telling us to go ahead. Ayana and I continued walking towards the school gate, diverting our gaze away from Tachibana.
“…Creepy, creepy, creepy!”
Ayana felt uncomfortable under Tachibana’s gaze and rubbed her skin. Watching Ayana’s reaction, I confirmed my suspicions about Tachibana. Not only towards Ayana but also towards other girls, it was clear that he saw them as objects of desire.
While I could feel reassured with Ayana by my side for now, I couldn’t afford to divert my attention to other girls. Not even to Mahori… However, my thoughts about Tachibana were just my own assumptions. If I were wrong, it would be mere prejudice, and even if I were to talk to the teachers, it would only cause trouble.
“…Frustrating.”
With that, I took Ayana back home, and we took a bath together. I focused on being the one to distract Ayana from the gaze she received from Tachibana, and we both cleaned ourselves thoroughly before spending time in the cool room. By the time we were eating ice cream, Ayana’s mood had improved, but it seemed that both Ayana and I had things on our minds.
“Towakun, I also feel there’s something about that person. It’s frustrating, but there are similarities.”
“Similarities?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Yes. Hiding your true feelings behind a smile, pretending with a mask of happiness… it’s just like how I used to be not long ago.”
…Ayana’s words seemed to carry a strong conviction. Having hidden her true feelings of revenge under the name of Ayana since childhood and having interacted with Shu and his family, she seemed to have a strong sense of conviction.
“I’m also worried about Mahorichan and the others.”
I nodded at those words too.
Having settled things concerning Ayana and Hoshina-san, as well as with Shu, I now found myself sighing over having to deal with external coaches. The fact that this world had so many men who seemed to come straight out of a game left me feeling a bit disheartened.
“…Sigh.”
“…Troublesome, isn’t it?”
As we both sighed again, the intercom rang. Ayana stopped me from getting up, and instead, she walked to the front door… Which was odd, considering this was technically my house.
After a while, Ayana returned—accompanied by Kamisaki-san.
“Kamisaki-san?”
“Hey, Towabo. It’s hot today too, huh?”
Kanzaki-san suddenly visited, which surprised me, but this kind of thing has happened before after we had a meal together. It seems that he’s just finished some work and will be staying in this town for about a year.
As we enjoyed the ice cream Kanzaki-san brought, it seemed like he noticed our worries and asked.
“Well, actually—”
If he’s asking, maybe it’s okay to talk about it as part of a consultation. So, I tried explaining the situation with Ayana, and Kanzaki-san crossed his arms and began to ponder.
“I see… Well, hold on a moment.”
“Huh?”
“…Hmm.”
Suddenly, Kanzaki-san took out his smartphone and started contacting someone. Ayana and I exchanged glances, puzzled.
“Hello, Morita? I have something I’d like you to look into. It’s about our sister’s child and their lover’s personal worries.”
Kanzaki-san winked at us and continued the conversation.
After a while, Kanzaki-san hung up the phone, ate his ice cream, and shared the information with us.
“I think we’ll have the information by evening. Just be patient.”
As he said that, he started to focus on eating his ice cream again… Ayana and I couldn’t help but be curious about Kanzaki-san in various ways. We’ve heard that he’s our mother’s underling, but that’s all we know… Ayana and I nodded at each other, and I decided to ask.
“Hey, who is Kanzaki-san?”
“He’s just a normal older sister, you know? …What, are you trying to call a woman in her thirties an old hag?”
“I didn’t mean it like that, but…”
“Just kidding. Well… I guess she’s from a family with some connections to the underworld. When I was being stupid and picked a fight with our sister, I got beaten up, and in the end, I fell for her.”
…Mother, did you maybe cross a dangerous line?
While laughing lightly, Kanzaki-san talked to us, but by “a family with connections to the underworld,” does she mean yakuza or something like that? I was too scared to ask.
“I depicted Ayana’s revenge in the fandisc, but she couldn’t achieve everything on her own. Although there are collaborators in the setting, they didn’t appear in the main story. The staff cut some corners there…”
A nostalgic memory resurfaced.
Ayana couldn’t accomplish revenge on her own… There were collaborators… huh. I looked at Kanzaki-san and couldn’t help but smile wryly, thinking, “No way.”
“By the way, Ayana-chan.”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t that outfit a bit… s*xy? Touwabo might turn into a wolf, you know?”
Since I’m often the only one around, and it’s hot in the summer, Ayana’s outfit is quite revealing. I’m used to Ayana, so it seems normal to me, but indeed, her outfit might be considered s*xy.
“It’s okay. We took a bath together earlier, and he turned into a wolf for me.”
“Oh… Wait, what!?” *cough, cough!*
Ah, Kanzaki-san choked on Ayana’s words.
Blushing furiously, she scolded Ayana for saying something strange… I couldn’t help but chuckle at the contrast between her previous words and her reaction.
“hahahaha, Kanzaki-san, you have a cute side too, huh.”
“What!?! Hey, Touwabo! Don’t mock adults!!”
“Eeshi is just normally cute… no, beautiful, right?”
“…Why does it sound sarcastic when Ayana-chan says it?”
And so, time passed, and evening arrived.