Episode 43: The Pride of a Preaching Girl
Early October, a weekday Friday.
Classes were over, and it should have been long past the time for club activities to begin in the evening.
Seki: "So, what's the deal with you two~?"
Haru: "...That's my line, actually?"
Yuu: "No, Seki, why did you even follow us here?"
Yuki: "Hey now~, let's all just calm down for a moment~"
...And yet, here I was, Ichigaya Haru (self-proclaimed ace of the track and field team), skipping club activities and embroiled in a massive, relationship-related showdown at a family restaurant far from school.
Note: Although there were four people present, only one of them was actually involved in the situation...
Seki "Ehh~? Well, I couldn’t just ignore the rumors about Yuu-senpai’s new fling, could I~?"
Haru(?): "I mean, calling it a fling... Well, maybe you’re not entirely wrong."
Yuki: "Anyway, you’re Seki-chan, right? So, what exactly are you to this Ta~kun here~?"
Seki: "Fufu~n, so you’re asking me that, are you~? Well, for your information, I, Seki Nadeshiko, am Yuu-senpai’s—"
Yuu: "Hey, Seki... Like I told you before, I already have someone else I like besides you..."
Seki: "...Senpai’s... failed ex who never even made it to girlfriend status..."
Yuu: "Sorry... Really, I’m sorry."
Seki: "Uwee, uweeeeh..."
Haru: "…………"
Yuki: "…………"
...Or so I thought, but it turned out that the second person involved, Ms. Seki, had just spectacularly self-destructed.
Well, how should I put it—sorry.
Not that any of this is our fault, though.
…………
…………
Early October, Friday, as dusk began to settle over the family restaurant...
From the four-seater booth where we had been sitting, across the aisle at a two-seater table.
Seki: "You know what? Honestly, I didn’t even care about Yuu-senpai that much anyway..."
Yuki: "Yeah, yeah, it must’ve been tough~, poor little Maderin Nadeko?"
Seki: "But still, but still—how do I put it? Being rejected that clearly makes me feel... frustrated, or maybe lonely!"
Yuki: "You can spill all of that to me, your big sis Yuki~. Let it all out~."
Seki: "Yuki-senpaaai...!"
There, the two girls who had left our table—Yuki and Seki—were now huddled together, holding a post-mortem reflection session on the freshly concluded case of heartbreak.
Before the intended showdown could even begin, another showdown had already ended.
What even is this...
Yuu: "...Uh, sorry about that. Thanks for mediating."
Haru: "Nah, it’s fine... I’ll let Yuki know later."
...And so, for some reason, I was now left alone at this table with this guy in front of me, Takamura Yuu, and the two of us were stuck talking—awkwardly, to say the least.
But well, no matter how awkward it felt, running away from the purpose wouldn’t get us anywhere.
Better to settle this quickly before any more unnecessary interruptions.
Haru: "So, about what we were discussing..."
Yuu: "Did you come here to yell at me?"
Haru: "That might be how it ends up. But for now, consider this just gathering information."
Yuu: "I see... So she hasn’t told you guys, Hikari."
Haru: "You think she’s the type of girl to blab about guys to everyone?"
Well, yeah, I do?
Normally, she’s totally leaky!
But if she suddenly clams up tight, not letting a single word slip, then that can only mean one thing: for Hikari, this is a serious emergency.
And there’s no way we nosy folks (not that I’d admit it) would just leave her alone.
Yuu: "See, that’s what’s so cool about Hikari..."
Haru: "...What are you smiling about?"
Yuu: "Sorry..."
And yet, this guy in front of me—Takamura Yuu, Hikari’s childhood friend—
Even though this is clearly an emergency for Hikari, he’s somehow...
Haru: "So, what's it gonna be? Talk or not talk?"
Yuu: "I might hide the parts I don't want to share. But I won't lie."
Haru: "...You're more honest than I expected. I totally thought you'd just make excuses."
Yuu: "But before that, there's something I want to confirm with you guys."
He's kinda lacking a sense of urgency, or maybe...
weirdly calm about it all...
Haru: "Something you want to confirm?"
Yuu: "Are you guys... friends with Yami-senpai... I mean, Ayami-senpai too?"
Haru: "...You're the one bringing up that name."
Yuu: "If you're worried about her too, I'll talk... If you're only friends with Hikari, then I can't say anything."
Anyway, he didn't look anything like what we expected or imagined—a high school boy panicking and flailing after being suddenly dumped by his girlfriend, whom things had been going well with.
…………
…………
Haru: "U-um... so, when you and Aya broke up, Hikari and Aya hadn't even met yet...?"
Yuu: "Yeah. Since we broke up during last year's summer break..."
Yuki: "well, you know, we didn't become friends with Ayamin until the second term, right?"
Seki: "Whoa, Yuu-senpai, you're a master of the accidental two-timing... I kinda like shady guys, you know~?"
Yuu: "Why are you still here, Seki...?"
The facts I managed to get out of Takamura Yuu...
were nothing short of shocking, piled high with one bombshell after another.
This guy, who's the same age as us, had liked Hikari since they were kids.
But he'd always "convinced himself" that Hikari wasn't interested in him at all.
Then one day, he met Aya by chance, and they became a couple, almost as if licking each other's wounds.
But due to Aya's "change of heart?" or something, they broke up in less than half a year.
And then, without realizing how these three things were connected, he caused that traffic accident during the school festival.
...At least, that's how it went with him and Hikari.
Yuki: "Hey, Harucchi, doesn't this totally make Ayamin the one at fault...?"
Haru: "It might not be that simple!"
The water droplets from the glass dripped onto the kitchen paper where I'd written down the facts he'd told us in chronological order, causing the pen ink to smudge.
That messiness felt eerily similar to our tangled-up emotions.
Haru: "But, you know, it's possible even Aya didn't know until the day of the school festival!"
Yuki: "Still, when I think back on it now, Ayamin had been acting weird since around June, right?"
Haru: "Don't say that! You're not supposed to say that~!"
Yeah...
Now that I think about it, Aya had been acting just a little off lately.
She'd suddenly gotten weirdly invested in Hikari's love life, something she'd never shown much interest in before.
And she'd never let us into her personal space before, but she started suggesting we have home parties and stuff.
Yuu: "No matter what the circumstances are, Yami-senpai didn't do anything wrong!"
Haru: "Everything gets complicated when you start talking, so just be quiet!"
Yuu: "Okay..."
So, in the end, did she choose friendship over romance?
Was she desperately trying to make that happen...?
Yuki: "Honestly, Ta~kun, it's your fault for not realizing how she felt about you~!"
Yuu: "That just stabs me right in the heart, and there's nothing I can do about it now!"
Seki: "But because of that, senpai and I were able to meet... Doesn't that mean it was fate after all~?"
Haru: "Ah~, Miss Seki, who just had her hopes completely crushed, maybe you should stay quiet for now?"
What is this...? My chest feels heavy, churning with frustration.
Everyone is at fault, yet no one is truly to blame.
Even if someone asked, "What should we have done differently?", I wouldn't know how to answer. It feels like flailing helplessly in the dark.
...Maybe this is the same sense of helplessness Aya had been feeling all along.
…………
…………
Haru: "…………"
Yuki: "…………"
Early October, Friday, inside a train as darkness had already fallen.
The determination we had on the way here was long gone—Yuki and I stood dazed, staring blankly into space.
Yuki: "He... was really worried about Ayamin, huh..."
Haru: "...Yeah, kinda."
Takamura Yuu, who saw us off to the station... right before we parted, he bowed deeply to us and said:
Yuu: "Please, continue to get along well with Yami-senpai."
Yuki: "So he's just like Hikarin, worried about Ayamin after all~"
Haru: "Well, that girl Aya is a mess who can't help herself~"
Yeah, someone who seems to carry so much darkness and feels so precarious...
If it weren't for Hikari, we'd never have gotten involved with someone like her.
But even so, after spending a year together, you can't help but develop some attachment.
Even if it was only half a year, for him, who was probably more deeply involved than any of us, the feelings must run far deeper and stronger than we could ever imagine.
But still...
Yuki: "Also, he didn't seem too worried about Hikarin, huh..."
Haru: "...He said he trusts her. They've known each other for so long."
Yuki: "But still, being trusted that much... isn't that basically the death knell for any romantic prospects?"
Haru: "Don't say that to Hikari herself!"
Early October, Friday, inside a train nearing its destination.
The two of us let out deep, heavy sighs, thinking about the future ahead—whether it would be bright or dark, we had no idea at all.
Insight:
Very interesting chapter… But it really rubs me the wrong way, just as it did for Haru and Yuki, that Yuu only expressed concern for Yami.
By only asking them to continue getting along with Yami, he is effectively ignoring the damage he has caused to Hikari.
His line about "trusting" her is a double-edged sword. While meant as a compliment, it’s also an excuse. He doesn’t feel the need to worry about her because he assumes she will always be okay, and maybe even that she will always be there for him.
His taken-for-granted view of Hikari exposes his emotional immaturity and perhaps even a fundamental failure to understand the full consequences of his actions.
