Vol. 1 Chapter 24 – Accomplice

Having achieved the double jackfruit, Asahi-san’s departure time arrived soon after.

She prepared to leave, and I prepared to see her off, both of us proceeding silently and matter-of-factly.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t still conscious of what happened, but escorting her to the station was still essential.

She had declined last week, but this time, she didn’t say anything.

“Alright… Shall we go?” (Reiya)
“Yeah.” (Hikaru)

I locked my apartment door, and we left the building.

Summer was gradually approaching, but it was still May, so by 7 PM, the sun had already set.

Watching our steps, we walked side-by-side down the night road.

“Ahh… Today was fun too~” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san said contentedly, stretching.

“I can’t believe we got to play that much for only 240 yen.” (Hikaru)
“Eh, it was that cheap!? That’s less than half the price of the daily special at the school cafeteria…” (Reiya)

Asahi-san gasped in surprise at the cost-performance of the low-priced game.

“But next time, I want to play a game we can cooperate on again.” (Hikaru)
“Actually, I thought so too, and found a few interesting ones.” (Reiya)
“Really!? What kind!?” (Hikaru)
“That’s a surprise for the day.” (Reiya)
“Ehh… I’m curious~…” (Hikaru)

We’d only been hanging out like this for about a month.

But perhaps the time spent just the two of us deepened our bond more than expected.

Our conversations, initially awkward, had now become quite normal.

And so, about halfway to the station—

“Hey, Kageyama-kun…” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san began, her voice small like a whisper.

“You probably… already know, right…? That I skipped afternoon practice again today…” (Hikaru)
“Eh? Ahh… Right, I see.” (Reiya)

I had suspected as much.

But… I didn’t know how to respond, so I gave a vague reply.

“Yeah, not just this time… Actually, for a while now…” (Hikaru)
“W-Well, isn’t it fine? Just rest when you want to rest. Like I said before, I skip out pretty often myself… Though if I say this, Hino-san might get mad again, saying you and I are different.” (Reiya)

She chuckled softly at my words, but her expression quickly returned to one of melancholy.

“I’m sorry…” (Hikaru)
“Eh? For what…?” (Reiya)

Now I was perplexed by the sudden apology.

“I feel like I’m depending on you, Kageyama-kun… or rather… using you very conveniently…” (Hikaru)
“U-Using…? I haven’t thought I was being used at all, though…” (Reiya)
“…I knew you’d say that. That you wouldn’t ask why I’m skipping, that you’d still accept me…” (Hikaru)

She murmured as if making a confession, her voice almost fading away.

The heavy, dark guilt, unimaginable coming from the Asahi Hikaru, was palpable.

“That’s why the other day, when Ayaka saw us in front of the arcade and everything came out… I actually thought I shouldn’t cause you any more trouble, that I should stop coming… but…” (Hikaru)
“…I see.” (Reiya)
“Yeah… I’m really such a bad kid… Not just you, Kageyama-kun, but I’m causing trouble for Ayaka and my mom too…” (Hikaru)
“Well, that might be true, but… actually, hearing that makes me feel relieved, maybe.” (Reiya)
“…Eh? Relieved?” (Hikaru)
“Because, when you think of Asahi Hikaru, you think of the most famous student at our school, popular with both boys and girls… plus, she has excellent grades and outstanding athletic ability—a perfect superhuman.” (Reiya)
“N-Not really that much…” (Hikaru)

Being praised excessively right in front of her, Asahi-san blushed shyly.

“To use a game analogy, the protagonist type with the Light Attribute. I thought you were someone from a completely different world than me, a Dark Attribute mob character type. Honestly, at first, I was thinking of keeping my distance before I caused you any trouble.” (Reiya)

I verbalized the feelings I had back then.

“Ehh… R-Really…?” (Hikaru)

Thinking she had been considered a nuisance, she showed a slightly sad face.

“Well, yeah, if someone like you suddenly appeared in the daily life of someone like me, that’s what would happen.” (Reiya)
“…Sorry.” (Hikaru)

She looked even more crestfallen.

“But, although I thought that at first… when we actually hung out together, it was genuinely fun, and I wanted to do it more. So, when I found out you were skipping practice to play games at my place, honestly, I was relieved. I thought, ‘Oh, she’s just like me’.” (Reiya)
“W-Well, yeah… I’m just a normal girl too…” (Hikaru)
“Yeah, so from now on, I plan to invite you normally… without hesitation. Of course, only if you don’t find it annoying…” (Reiya)
“N-Not annoying at all! Because, I… had a lot of fun too…” (Hikaru)
“In that case, I’d rather you didn’t feel bad towards me. And maybe, from now on, at least while you’re playing games at my place… you can put the hard stuff aside for a bit and prioritize having fun in the moment?” (Reiya)

That kind of momentary hedonistic thinking might not be praiseworthy.

But we’re still high school students, immature as can be.

If you’re about to be crushed by pressure or responsibility or something, it should be okay to run away before that happens.

By doing so, maybe you can store up power for when you eventually have to face it.

“That’s what I think, anyway… Of course, I can’t even begin to measure the pressure you’re under, Asahi-san, so maybe I’m saying something incredibly irresponsible.” (Reiya)
“No, hearing you say that actually made me feel really relieved too… Kageyama-kun, you’re really… um… kind…” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san looked at my face, swallowed some other words, and said that.

“Kind…? No, if anything, this is like trying to drag you down from the bottom of the earth, so it feels like the complete opposite of kindness…” (Reiya)
“That might be true… Okay, then let’s correct it to ‘terrible person’.” (Hikaru)

Saying that, Asahi-san giggled.

It felt like she had finally returned to her usual self.

“However… if Hino-san finds out, it would be helpful if you could make excuses with me as my accomplice.” (Reiya)
“Ahaha, what’s that?” (Hikaru)
“No, seriously, that’s the only thing I’m worried about…” (Reiya)
“Ehh… What should I do~… Ayaka’s scary when she’s angry~” (Hikaru)

This time, she grinned mockingly.

I might have rambled on for a while, but boiled down, it’s a simple matter.

This Light Attribute smile is simply my weak point attack.

This probably wouldn’t make all her pressure or guilt disappear, but if it lightened the load even a little, then saying something so out of character might have been worthwhile.

While doing so, we arrived at the station, and the two of us parted ways, conspiring for the next skip with a “See you.”

Watching her disappear beyond the ticket gates, I thought while bathing in the night breeze.

I haven’t studied for the exams at all…