CH 290

I looked up at the sky and saw the sun peeking out.

It seemed that the rain had stopped after we had talked for so long.

“Shiho, it’s time for us to go home.”

I’m done talking about the past.

I didn’t want to keep her company any longer with my silly stories of the past.

Because … Shiho looks so bitter when I talk about my hurtful story.

But I still respect her positive attitude for facing me and listening to my story.

However, her attitude seems … like she is protecting me and hurting me instead, and I wanted her to stop doing that.

Like when I get hurt, she gets hurt.

When she gets hurt, I get hurt too.

So I decided that it would be better to end the conversation early.

But that may just be “running away” after all.

Turning away from pain is not necessarily a good thing.

I believe that if it’s painful, you should run away from it. But there are times when you have to face it.

Shiho told me that this is the time.

“Wait. There is one last thing I want to tell you.”

Saying this, Shiho clutched her chest tightly.

Her expression seems to be slightly tense, probably because she is … nervous.

But she won’t run away.

She stared at me, determined to understand me.

Her eyes were glowing with a strong will that was … dazzling and blinding.

“If those girls who were so important to Kotaro-kun had remained the same in high school, if they were still next to you as they were in … middle school… I wonder if I could have been something for Kotaro-kun. Would I have been special?”

–That’s a ‘what if’ story.

To put it simply,… suppose that Ryoma Ryuzaki was the only one who was not at this school, and Azusa and the others were still close to me, unchanged.

Beyond that possibility, would Shiho and I have had the relationship that we have now?

“Answer me honestly. Do you think you and I could have been alone like this?”

…Again, I thought about it.

If Azusa had remained the same as she once was, still seeing me as an alternative to the ‘real Onii-chan’.

If Kirari had remained the same as before, remaining a ‘friend’ without being disappointed in me.

If Yuzuki had remained the same as before, still being a ‘childhood friend’ who depended on me.

Beyond that story – there was no Shiho.

“…We probably wouldn’t have even talked.”

I tell her how I honestly feel.

Lies don’t mean anything in front of Shiho.

Because she has a keen sense of hearing,… and she is a sensitive girl who can read my emotions from my every move.

So, I said what I was thinking exactly.

Would I hurt her?

Would she feel pain?

Would I have said something that was not what she expected?

I would be lying if I said I didn’t have such fears.

I was so afraid of seeing Shiho’s reaction that I almost turned my head down…

But she smiled happily, as if to relieve me of my timidity.

“Ufufu♪ Yes, that’s exactly right… Maybe if it weren’t for Ryuzaki-kun, you and I wouldn’t be able to have such a special relationship.”

That was not a bad statement for Shiho, apparently.

“I think it’s a miracle that we have this. Kotaro-kun has been hurt a lot, but … I can give you much more happiness than that.”

Not fate, but a miracle.

That was a very… lovely way to put it…