CH 86

I was going to stay quiet and not take any noticeable action for a while. That was the policy I had adopted…….

“Wait a minute ! !”

If I was approached by a conspicuous person on my way home, would I be allowed to frown? I was changing my shoes at the door when I bumped into a blonde haired junior.

“Geez, don’t run away from me !”

“No, you stand out.”

“Eh, t-that’s not true～”

I was trying to be sarcastic, but Nanase was somewhat embarrassed and scratched her head. Since the sports festival the other day, we haven’t had any particular contact with each other, and the days have continued without interfering with each other, but today, she called out to me. I wonder if it’s because the distance between us has shortened. If so, it’s very unpleasant.

“So, what do you want?”

“Oh, I’m not allowed to talk to you unless I have something to say?”

“On the other hand, you followed me here even if you had no business with me.”

After walking slowly, I arrived at a place far away from the school. I never thought that I would be able to come this far with her, and since there weren’t any other students from the same school around, I thought I would stop by on a whim and have a little chat with her, but she didn’t seem to have anything special in mind.

“Because we’re on good terms with each other.”

“Do we have some kind of relationship?”

“Let’s see……senior and junior.”

“And that’s it.”

Having said that, I still don’t quite understand my relationship with her. If I’m not mistaken, I help her that time as a member of the disciplinary committee? Indeed she’s a junior, but she’s strangely familiar since the first time we’ve talked.

“Well, frankly speaking, I’ve been free since I saved up my work.”

“Then you should work.”

“I’m afraid that if I do, I won’t be able to stop myself. I’m taking time off to study.”

I had heard such a story, but since I was not really interested in it, I had put it to the back of my mind. But I have a habit of remembering even the most trivial of events, so even if I wanted to forget, I couldn’t.

It’s something unpleasant. I can’t forget what I want to forget. Not only in middle school, but I even remember bad memories from my childhood.

“Senpai, is everything all right?”

“It’s nothing.”

“I see. Please take care of yourself a little. Let’s talk.”

“What’s the reason?”

It seems that Nanase Natsume has become a free person since she stopped working. It doesn’t matter in itself, but it’s quite troublesome if you talk to me like this. I don’t want to stand out as much as possible, even without Shinya’s presence.

“Since we’re here, please listen to what I have to say about my friend.”

“If you think of your friend’s friend as your friend, you should change your perception now. They are strangers after all.”

“You’re so cold. No, but I’m going to push through here !”

Nanase seems to want to talk about that friend no matter what. Or rather, if she have a friend, I wish she could hang out with them.

I was pushed aside by Nanase and decided to listen to what she had to say as I walked away. Even if I run away, I’ll be chased anyway, and now that we’re out of sight, there’s no reason to shake her off.

“Recently, it seems like my friend is in trouble. Family problems or something.”

“So you want to help?”

“As expected, I wouldn’t do anything that intrusive. But if they ask me for help, I might be willing to lend a hand.”

“You should learn more Japanese.”

Apparently Nanase wants to talk to me about her friend’s family situation. But why me? I wished she would ask my sister…..

“So I talked to Haruka senpai about it.”

“So you did ask her after all.”

“It was just around the time when she was still the student council president. And then Haruka senpai said something to me.”

[Eh, why me?]

“Since we both became uncomfortable after hearing that, I thought I should ask another reliable senior to listen to me.”

“……Sounds like her.”

My sister actually has a communication disorder. At the very least, Nanase still sees her from the point of view of a junior, not a close friend. Or maybe she was too busy so she declined politely, but either way, it’s terrible. That’s my sister.

“I’ll use that word this time, then. Why me?”

“You’re so mean. Please at least listen to me.”

Saying that, Nanase shook my shoulder, so I urged her to talk while sighing. Today, I want to go home and have a relaxing time. Or rather, I plan to do so every day for a while.

“Then, I’ll talk.”

Nanase is in a good mood and suddenly starts to speak clearly. I know she’s just acting. Then Nanase began to talk about her recent friend.

“I’ll say it again, my friend seems to be having some family problems. I heard that he’s going to be forced to do something he doesn’t want to do.”

“Any mention of the unwanted thing?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t really care about it at the time, so I didn’t hear anything about it.”

You’re so heartless. Is it really your friend?

I don’t care about that now, so I urge her to continue the story for the time being.

“So, recently, my friend’s atmosphere turned dark. Moreover, he even pretended to keep himself away from me, so I couldn’t help but worry about him.”

“Maybe you just care too much?”

“I thought about that, too, but every time he becomes deadly, it’s when he’s involved in something dangerous. And this time, the reaction was too obvious. I’m worried if he’s okay or not.”

“That guy…….huh.”

The friend that she’s talking about must be ‘him’. Because Nanase calls her friend that way, I can somehow guess who that person is.

“Yukihana……Hisui.”

“Oh, Senpai, you know him?”

“No, I don’t know him at all. I’ve only heard the name.”

The other day at the sports festival, the name of Yukihana Hisui was well known throughout the school. I got more attention than him, but even so, it seems that all the students left a strong impression on me with feats such as pole topple. In fact, Kisaragi even asked Yukihana about Hisui in the classroom.

[Hey Ruri chan. That boy who goes on rampage during pole topple, perhaps, he’s your……]

[Little brother.]

[Ruri chan, you have a little brother !?]

The whole classroom was abuzz at that time.

I remember that Yukihana, who’s usually annoyed by such things, was a little proud of her brother. I guess she was genuinely happy that her sibling was getting praised.

(That Yukihana Hisui….no, there’s a problem within the Yukihana family.)

Apparently, what Miura had said was true. And it seems that the Yukihana family is not monolithic but internally divided. Yukihana will take her brother’s side, or perhaps they are having a fight with their parents?

Depending on the content, we can divide them as if they don’t seem to care deeply, but this time it may be different.

(That man, the chairman, might be involved in the Yukihana family’s matters.)

With this, Miura’s trust increased a little. But what we don’t know is what the chairman wants. What is he going to do next? I’ve been away from people for a while now, so I don’t really know what’s going on. It seems that I need to be proactive in finding out.

(I thought I just decided to refrain from acting inconspicuously.)

Either way, it’s the same for me and the other side. The lesson that if I don’t act, I will see the tragedy that has already burned into my mind. That’s why I decided to take action.

“Senpai, what’s wrong with your serious face?”

“No, it’s nothing. Anyway, I’ll ask Yukihana from my class.”

“……Are those two really siblings after all?”

“You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t interfere with her that much.”

It seems that there’s no doubt that they are friends, but it seems that they are drawing a line somewhere. What was it that made these two people who seem to live in different worlds become friends? I’m a little curious, but I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with me right now, so I’m just going to put it aside.

“I feel better now that I can talk to you. Then, Senpai, please ask a few questions on my behalf. Please let me know if you find anything out !”

“I understand.”

Then Nanase left me and walked towards the bus stop. Apparently she goes to school by bus. Apparently, she said she would let me know if she found out anything, but what should I do if I don’t know her contact information? Well, I should just ignore it.

“Well, sister and brother. Which one do I hit first?”

Well, that kind of thing seems to be decided. So I decided to take it easy at least for today and went back to the house where no one had returned yet.