Vol. 1 Chapter 16 – Sorry

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As soon as July began, the final exams started, and thanks to her constant studying, Ayano managed to achieve results that were above average in every subject. Kyousuke also saw improvement overall in his scores but his ranking didn’t rise; just like in the midterms, he remained in fourth place.

Incidentally, as expected, Sayo kept her first-place position.

Kotarou also avoided failing marks in every subject and was overjoyed that he wouldn’t have to take supplementary classes during summer vacation.

Right after the final exams, the ball game tournament was held, but since Kyousuke wasn’t good at sports, it had nothing to do with him.

He quietly sat in the corner so as not to get in the way, and before he knew it, the event was over. He clearly remembered being approached by Ayano, but he couldn’t recall which class won or lost.

The first semester was nearing its end. All that remained was the closing ceremony.

The rainy season, using the last of its strength, kept striking the ground with rain day after day. A restless, somewhat drowsy, indescribably fluffy atmosphere enveloped the entire school.

Everyone, without exception, seemed absent-minded.

Kyousuke was no exception either; before he realized it, while listening to the sound of the rain, all of the day’s classes had already ended.

“You’re kidding me…”

At the entrance, Kyousuke switched to his outdoor shoes and, just as he was about to head home, murmured with a wry smile in front of the umbrella stand.

“What’s wrong?” Ayano asked, peeking up at him. Kyousuke drooped his head in disappointment and let out a sigh.

“My umbrella got stolen.”

“What? But it’s been raining since morning, hasn’t it?”

“They probably mistook mine for theirs. It was just a normal vinyl umbrella anyway.”

“Hmm. Well, it’s fine, isn’t it?”

『I’ve got mine』Ayano said, opening her umbrella to show him.

Sharing one umbrella. He felt a slight resistance to the idea, but since walking home soaked wasn’t an option, and stealing someone else’s umbrella was out of the question, he had no choice.

“This kind of thing happened before too, didn’t it?”

As they began walking, Ayano murmured while keeping her gaze forward, eyes reflecting the scenery of April.

He hadn’t forgotten that day. The day after school when her umbrella had been stolen, and she’d stood there helplessly.

The scar from when she slipped on the cherry blossom petals and fell still hadn’t faded.

“Back then, why did you go out of your way to buy a folding umbrella? A regular one’s cheaper, right?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I just happened to have it in my bag.”

“That’s a lie. It was brand new. The tag was still on it.”

“I bought it and just never used it.”

Déjà vu. He felt like they’d had a similar exchange before.

Apparently wanting to know the truth badly, Ayano said 『Hey, hey』while swinging the umbrella from side to side. Each time, part of her body slipped out from under it and got wet. At this rate, it was no different from not using an umbrella at all.

“Buying a brand-new umbrella and giving it to someone who’s stuck without one… it kind of feels like you’re saying『You should be grateful』doesn’t it? But if it’s a folding umbrella, it’s not strange to have one on hand, so I figured it wouldn’t be weird if I gave it to you…”

He felt embarrassed saying it out loud.

“…Sorry, for doing things in such a roundabout way.”

“Don’t apologize. I like that about you, Fujimura.”

He understood she was referring to his personality, but those words still made his heart skip a beat. The heat on his face was probably just because of summer, he told himself, scratching his cheek.

“Summer vacation’s just around the corner, huh.”

She looked up as she said that, and above her gaze, the sun peeked faintly through a break in the clouds.

The temperature had been climbing higher day after day; the world was steadily moving toward summer. The rainy season would soon end, and before long, the cicadas would start singing.

“Do you have any plans, Fujimura?”

“I guess I’ll go back home for a bit. Other than that, I’ll probably just laze around at home.”

“Ehh, come on, let’s go somewhere! Like the pool or camping or something.”

For a split second, an image of Ayano in a swimsuit flashed through his mind.

Her supple figure, the kind that would make even other girls turn to look. She’d definitely look amazing in a mature swimsuit… He stopped his improper imagination there, clearing his throat to shake it off.

“Putting the pool aside, camping’s impossible. I don’t know the first thing about outdoor stuff.”

“That’s fine, we can invite Sayo-chan too. If we do, that childhood friend of hers will probably come along too, so we’ll manage somehow.”

“You mean her childhood friend, Toujou?”

“She gives off that kind of vibe, doesn’t she? The kind of person who knows all about that stuff.”

“True” Kyousuke nodded.

That guy was, in all likelihood, the type who chased cicadas, went to the pool, ran around in the mountains, and jumped into rivers from bridges. Things like starting a fire or pitching a tent were probably second nature to him. Even if those were nothing but assumptions, at the very least, he was clearly more physically fit than Kyousuke, giving off the impression that he could handle anything on the spot.

“But I’ve got work, so I don’t have much free time” Ayano said.

“You’re that busy?”

“Yeah. I’m grateful, though.”

Her narrowed eyes and faint smile carried a trace of complicated feelings.

Kyousuke recalled their conversation in her room before. She had said she’d started doing it without much thought, and just kept at it. It probably gave her some sense of purpose, but there was no denying it was mostly out of habit.

“…I’m always free anyway. So, if you ever feel like it, invite me out. I’ll tag along for anything.”

“Even if it means cross-dressing?”

“Never again.”

“Boo” she pouted exaggeratedly, lips sticking out.

That incident had been an unexpected『gift』. The end result had been undeniably cute, and he couldn’t say it had been an unpleasant day—but if asked whether he wanted to do it again, he would definitely say no. It had been too embarrassing, plain and simple.

“I want to make shaved ice. With proper ice, strawberry flavor.”

“Sounds like summer. Nice idea.”

“I want to go to a festival. I’ve always wanted to wear a yukata.”

“I bet it’d look great on you.”

“I also want to go stargazing. I’ve only ever seen the stars properly in a planetarium.”

“I’ve got a telescope at home.”

“And, um, let’s see, also…”

Her side profile looked like a child faced with a plate of kids’ meal, unsure of which part to eat first.

The faintly sweaty smile on her lips was strangely alluring—it made him want to keep looking at her forever. As he watched, her cheeks flushed softly, and her eyes turned toward him.

“Just like before, teach me when we have time, okay? I’ll make something delicious for you.”

Saying that, she stopped and smiled—her lips blooming like a sunflower.

It was so beautiful that neither『yeah』nor『okay』 could make it out of his throat; he could only nod deeply in silence.

“When you come over tomorrow, I’ll make you my special omelette rice.”

“Special?”

“Yup! I finally mastered the fluffy kind!”

She exhaled proudly through her nose and started walking again.

To avoid getting wet, he followed after her, turning his face away to hide the lips that had unconsciously curved into a smile—soft with anticipation for tomorrow.

“Ah, wait.”

Ayano hurriedly pulled out her phone, apparently getting a call.

“……”

She froze, staring at the screen.

Her damp side hair slid down gently, hiding her expression from his view.

“…Sorry, I need to take this call.”

Saying that, Ayano pushed her umbrella into Kyousuke’s hands and walked a few meters away, stopping under the eaves of a nearby building.

At that distance, with the sound of rain added in, he couldn’t make out what she was saying. But from her tense, anger-tinged expression, it was clear it wasn’t casual conversation.

‘Sasagawa-san’s… father…’

When she stepped out from under the umbrella, the brief glimpse of her face had been marked by visible negative emotion.

He remembered the call she’d received from her father on her birthday—the look she had now was strikingly similar to the one from that time.

The last call had ended in less than ten seconds, but this time seemed more serious; even after five minutes, she still hadn’t come back.

Then Ayano suddenly raised her voice and hung up the phone roughly.

Kyousuke opened his mouth to ask what had happened, but before he could, she returned, muttering a cold 『Let’s go』took the umbrella, and started walking.

He followed a step behind.

Her distorted profile seemed to say she didn’t want to talk about it, and Kyousuke lowered the lips he’d half-opened.

◇◇◇

The next day, Ayano didn’t come to school.

Thinking she must have had something urgent, he sent her a message, but got no reply. The following day she was absent again, without notice. That night, his message was marked as read—but there was still no response.

The same the next day, and the next after that…

Her seat in the classroom stayed empty as the rainy season ended and the closing ceremony drew near. Their homeroom teacher, worried, tried calling her but couldn’t get through, then even visited her home, only to find no one there.

Including Sayo-san, everyone in class seemed to think she was simply swamped with work but Kyousuke alone harbored a different suspicion.

That phone call. Those mere five minutes had decisively changed something.

At the very least, it wasn’t a health issue, nor was it about work. Whether it had to do with her father, as he suspected, or something else entirely, he didn’t know—only a creeping sense of dread crawled down his spine.

Kyousuke hesitated.

The fact that she ignored his messages meant she didn’t want anyone prying.

Calling or visiting her home would be easy, but she might find it annoying.

…Yet, he couldn’t possibly pretend not to care about her.

‘This happened before too…’

Even past four in the afternoon, the sun’s intensity showed no sign of waning, and the deafening cries of cicadas refused to stop.

Walking home through heat that felt like an ascetic trial, he recalled the time in middle school—when, even knowing it was the worst possible choice, he’d gone along with her will because she’d asked him to.

Once tomorrow passed, summer vacation would begin.

Setting shaved ice aside, if they were going to the festival, some planning would be needed.

For stargazing or camping, they’d have to figure out how to get to a remote location.

If they were going to a pool, they’d need swimsuits.

If she didn’t want to come to school, that was fine.

But if she wanted to have a fun summer vacation, preparation was necessary.

They needed to talk.

‘…It might be a bother, but…’

He stopped walking and took his smartphone out of his pocket.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve ever called Sasagawa-san myself…’

He forced his trembling fingers to move and tapped the screen.

He hadn’t decided what to say. He didn’t even know if she would answer. If she didn’t, he could always go straight to her house.

He wanted to hear her voice. That was all he wanted right now. Just that.

『…What’s up』

A crushed, weak voice came through the phone.

His eyes flew wide open, and a wave of self-loathing immediately hit him.

He hadn’t heard her sound this lifeless since the time she lost her earring. Why hadn’t he called her sooner? Why hadn’t he been braver?

“Are you feeling sick?”

『No. I’m fine.』

Even Kyousuke could tell that she wasn’t fine at all.

Then he noticed something. The noises around her were clearly not from her room.

“Where are you right now?”

『That’s none of your business, Fujimura.』

“It is my business. Because I’m your friend.”

It wasn’t a strong reason. For something as trivial as that, she might not want him prying into her life.

Even so, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out.

『……The station.』

After a long silence, she muttered softly.

“Are you going somewhere?”

『I don’t know. Probably… somewhere far.』

“Somewhere far? Where?”

『The sea… or something like that.』

Without realizing it, his feet had already begun to move toward the station.

He could hear the self-destructive tone in her voice.

“I’m coming to you right now.”

『And what are you going to do when you get here?』

“I don’t know. But I’ll go with you.”

『You won’t be able to go home tonight, you know.』

“I don’t care.”

『That’s not okay.』

“It’s fine. I don’t care about that.”

At some point, both his legs had broken into a run.

The sleeves of his shirt clung to his sweaty arms.

“You remember that right to make you do whatever I say? I still haven’t used mine.”

『Huh?』

When they watched a horror movie once, they’d made a deal — whoever screamed first had to obey one command from the other.

Kyousuke had never used his turn. Apparently remembering that, Ayano let out a faint『Ah…』on the other end of the call.

“I’m using it now.”

『B-but…』

“Until I get there, don’t move from where you are.”

It was selfish. Self-righteous. Purely for his own satisfaction. Was this really for her sake?

‘Don’t think about it!’

With every step forward, doubt surged up inside him.

She might hate me for this. She might end up crying.

‘Don’t think about it…!’

Kicking forward with all his strength down the path littered with reasons to stop, he forced himself onward.

When was the last time he had run this hard?

Sweat poured from every part of his body, his breath came ragged, and he felt as though he might collapse at any moment.

People around him turned to look, wondering what was going on, but he ignored them, passed through the ticket gate, and rushed toward the platform. Each step up the staircase made his body creak; the few dozen steps ahead looked impossibly far away.

At the top of the stairs, she was standing there.

Jeans, a white blouse, a flax-colored stole. Perhaps she hadn’t taken care of herself lately — the shine had vanished from her hair, leaving it messy, like she’d just woken up. There wasn’t a trace of makeup on her face, not even lip color. He had never seen her so completely switched off before.

“…You really came.”

“I—I said I’d come, so o—of course I did.”

Still panting, he bought two bottles of sports drink from a nearby vending machine. Pressing one cold bottle to his neck to release the trapped heat, he handed the other to Ayano.

“Drink.”

“I don’t need it.”

“I can tell just by your face that you haven’t been eating properly. If you don’t at least drink something, you’ll collapse before we even reach the sea.”

When he glanced briefly at the blazing sun as he said that, Ayano, looking unconvinced, twisted off the cap and took a sip. She must have been parched—nearly half the bottle disappeared into her stomach in moments.

“…Sorry.”

Capping the bottle and letting out a small breath, she murmured those words, her eyes regaining just a little of their vitality.

With an expression that looked as though she might cry at any moment, Kyousuke lowered his gaze and replied quietly,『Don’t apologize』. He bit his lip in silence, thinking that he was the one who should be apologizing instead. If only he hadn’t hesitated over pointless thoughts and had acted sooner, maybe he wouldn’t have made her wear such an expression.

With a sharp screech, the train came to a stop.

Taking her hand, he pulled her along as they boarded — heading toward the sea breeze.