CH 15

Haruno, with her rough steps, took me to an unpopular hallway in an adjacent school building.

As far as the eye could see, there was no one but us.

The sound of students’ voices echoed through the corridor from the school building.

“Riku-chan!”

“Yes!?”

Haruno turns around and says my name in a loud voice.

This is the mood of an angry person, no matter how you look at it.

“You and Ayana-chan have been getting well lately, right!? What’s that about!?”

“Eh, ah…”

“And you haven’t been home lately, right!? I go to your house to pick you up every morning, but you’re not there!”

“I’m sorry…… I was staying somewhere else.”

“Where else? I didn’t hear anything about that!?”

I was confronted with a terrible situation.

It’s certainly my fault, but there’s something different about the way she gets angry.

Normally Haruno would not be this emotionally exposed and angry.

Or rather, she wouldn’t raise her voice.

Haruno must have seen that I was upset because she opened her eyes as if in a panic.

“Sorry, I wasn’t calm… Where are you staying?”

It’s kind of hard to tell Haruno right now.

Staying at Hoshimiya’s house……

But I don’t want to lie to Haruno as much as possible.

I shut my mouth and fell silent.

“You won’t tell me? Even though we’ve known each other since childhood?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“I see…Well, I guess I don’t have a choice.”

Still not looking convinced, Haruno sighed as if in resignation.

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to talk to Haruno right now.

I want to keep as much distance as possible.

Deciding that this is the end of the conversation, I begin to walk away.

“Wait, Riku-chan.”

“Eh?”

“You were on a date with Ayana the other day, right?”

“What are you——”

“I didn’t know~. That the two of you were dating~.”

Although she said it in a manner that feigned indifference, a sarcasm that could not be concealed leaked out.

“Haruno. Me and Hoshimiya———”

“I haven’t heard anything though? Shouldn’t you report this to your childhood friend? Aren’t you being a little cold?”

“…I’m sorry. But we’re not dating.”

“But you were hanging out together, right? Just the two of you.”

“……”‘

I don’t know how to explain it anymore.

I am rather confused.

Where should I start thinking?

My mind and body had atrophied after being subjected to a confusing interrogation from Haruno.

I had never had such hostility directed at me before.

“Riku-chan never talked to any other girl but me. You were always following me around.”

…I wasn’t interested in any other girls except Haruno.

That’s how much I love Haruno.

——I’ll be there for you no matter what. Because we’ve known each other since childhood! We’ll always be together———

I was stunned by the loss of my family, but Haruno gently told me.

Without Haruno, I definitely wouldn’t exist today.

The existence of a childhood friend filled the empty space in my heart.

“What is your relationship with Ayana? Can’t you at least tell me that?”

“I’m not dating Hoshimiya. That is true.”

“Then why were you hanging out with her!? No, that’s not all! You’ve been acting like you’ve been getting along great lately!?”

“……”

How much can I talk about it?

…That I’m staying at Hoshimiya’s house?

But if I’m going to say that, I will need to say what triggered it.

The trigger for this was when I was confronted with a convenience store robbery.

More to the point, I went to the mountains to kill myself because Haruno rejected me.

If I were to explain my relationship with Hoshimiya, I would have to confide in these things.

No, I can’t tell you.

I wonder how Haruno would react………If she knew I was contemplating suicide.

Even just now Haruno is in a bad mood for some reason, I can never tell why.

“……”

“You shut up again.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Haruno becomes pouty.

“You won’t tell me. You’ve never kept anything from me before.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine already! You’ve been apologizing for a while now!”

“What are you mad at me for, Haruno…?”

“I’m not mad at you!”

Haruno’s spitting voice crawls across the hard floor of the corridor.

The anger on her face was obvious.

She was also teary-eyed from the anger.

“Haruno…”

“I don’t even know Riku-chan anymore!”

“———!”

With her back to me, Haruno walks away.

I quickly tried to speak to her and stopped. My heart hurts so much that I feel like crying.

It is too painful to reject Haruno or to be rejected.

“………What is this? I don’t get it, Haruno……”

◯

After school. I was still worrying about what Haruno had yelled at me and was unable to recover.

If I relaxed even a little, I would cry. When I saw Haruno walk out of the classroom without looking at me, I felt a pain in my heart that blurred my vision.

I wonder if the bill for being so absorbed in life with Hoshimiya over the past few days has come due.

I regret that I could not have faced Haruno better.

I should have been honest and said I was staying at Hoshimiya’s house.

I guess Haruno didn’t understand what I meant and got angry because I was strangely silent.

It’s my fault no matter how you look at it.

I’m sorry you had to worry about me……

“Kuromine-kun? What’s wrong?”

“…Hoshimiya?”

She was apparently approaching while I was looking up at the ceiling.

There was Hoshimiya, looking at me with concern.

“What happened?”

“No…I heard a sign from God. That’s why I was looking at the ceiling.”

“……”

“……”

Hoshimiya stares at me with a blank expression.

It’s really uncomfortable!

The silent pressure is the most heartbreaking.

“Kuromine-kun.”

“What…!”

Hoshimiya suddenly grabbed me by both cheeks.

Then, she pinched my cheeks to the point that it didn’t hurt.

“Ho, Horimiya…?”

“Didn’t you promise not to overdo it?”

She smiled softly and gently removed her hand from my cheek.

…So you can tell how I’m feeling.

“I’m sorry.”

“Un, very well.”

Hoshimiya nodded in satisfaction.

It was kind of cute.

“With that out of the way, Kuromine-kun. Wanna go home together? We’ll take a little detour.”

“I understand.”

There is no reason to refuse.

I stand up from my chair.

“Ayana, do your best!!”

“Hey, shut up!”

Hoshimiya’s gal friend, standing near the classroom doorway, gave her a mischievous smile.

“Kuromine~, take care of my Ayana~”

“Hey, Kana! Since when do I belong to you!? Besides, me and Kuromine-kun——”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll take care of Hoshimiya.”

“Hey, Kuromine-kun too!?”

Hoshimiya is caught in the middle of us.

I wonder what it is……Looking at Hoshimiya, I feel at peace.

The dim feeling that had filled my chest earlier had somehow been swept away cleanly.

◇

“…Riku-chan and Ayaka-chan, are going home together today…”

Hiding in the shadows of the school building, I catch sight of them coming out of the entrance.

Under my breath, I stared at their backs as they passed the school gate.

They had been together for the past few days. The intimacy between them seemed to be growing with each passing day, and an inexplicable impatience was violently disturbing me. Perhaps this is the reason why I have been unable to sleep at night.

I dared to stay away from Riku-chan to know their relationship and kept an eye on her but…I was at my limit.

“Okay, let’s go.”

I followed them stealthily to make sure of everything.