Epilogue: All It Takes

After spending winter break visiting her dad and his family, Mihashi Chinatsu will be taking the bullet train back home to her mom. At least, that’s what her dad told me. (Come to think of it, now that her parents are divorced, she’s not really “Mihashi” anymore, is she? Oh well.)

If I hurry, I can still make it. I can still fix it.

So here I am, running like my life depends on it.

I know, I know. Took me long enough, right? Well, like, I don’t care. I can’t afford to get hung up on it anymore. No matter what happens, I need to stand on my own two feet, confront my problems, and move forward.

Will I make it?

I have to. Yeah, I’ll see to it that I do. “No” is not an option.

I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Run. Keep running. Don’t stop!

Then, finally—I catch sight of her as she’s about to leave.

“Mihashi-san!”

She flinches and turns to look, ponytail swaying. “Kiri...yama...?” Her angular face normally gives her this totally unapproachable vibe—but right now she’s just a normal girl who looks a little confused.

“I made it... Thank God...!”

Honestly, I maybe wasn’t super confident I’d actually make it...

“Wh-What do you want? You... you quit karate, and you’re not going to tell me why, so... I thought you wanted me to leave you alone...”

If I sincerely regret my actions, then I need to apologize. That way I can move on.

“I’m sorry for being such a bitch! And for breaking our promise! I’m just... I’m sorry for everything!”

“Uh... Look... You don’t have to apologize,” she mumbles as she glances around anxiously, looking conflicted. “I wasn’t exactly being considerate myself. See, uh... After my parents got divorced, I had to leave a lot behind... It’s hard to explain, but... that promise I made with you was sort of symbolic of that, in a way.”

Now that I was honest with her for once, she was willing to open up to me.

“Anyway, enough about that. What do you want?”

“Oh, um... There’s something I wanted to say to you.”

“Okay? What is it?”

“Well, you see...”

Mihashi looks annoyed... but on closer inspection, deep down, I can tell she’s interested.

“I’m... thinking about getting back into karate.”

“What?! Wh... Why?”

Aha! She smiled!

Then she turns away to hide it, but it’s too late! I saw that!

Well, well... She seems all scary on the outside, but she’s really just like any other girl, huh?

Turns out, when you take someone seriously and pay attention to their signals, it’s actually not that hard to figure out what they’re trying to tell you.

So, I guess I’d better signal back... Then maybe she’ll understand where I’m coming from.

And then maybe things can be different for us.

“Because I knew I was just being a coward... and I realized there’s something I can do about it.”

“So... you’re gonna quit your weird club and join a dojo or something?”

“I’m not going to quit the CRC.”

At this, Mihashi scowls slightly. “Why not? It’s so pointless!”

“Yeah, I know,” I reply with a self-deprecating smile. “But at the same time, it’s not.”

“...What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Um, well... It’s hard to explain, but like... To me, it’s worthwhile because it doesn’t have a point to it.”

Seriously, I don’t know how to describe the way the CRC makes me feel. I think it’s just one of those things where you’ll never understand unless you experience it for yourself.

Still, I gotta try to put it into words.

“When we’re hanging out in the clubroom, or when we accomplish something together... Everything just feels so right. And when I’m with them... I feel like I can really shine.”

There’s a warmth in the clubroom that I can’t explain. It’s just so... perfect. And maybe there’s no inherent value in that, but to me, it’s everything.

“So I’m going to stay in the club and do karate.”

“Just because you’re naturally gifted, you think you can catch up to the rest of us without even putting your full effort in?”

“I don’t know... but this is what I want, so I’ll just have to try.” I pause for a moment. “And just so you know, you aren’t going to beat me.”

I’ll make it happen—no ifs, ands, or buts.

“While we’re on the subject, um... About that sparring match we got into the other day...”

“L-Look, I’m sorry about that! I shouldn’t have challenged you on the street without even letting you warm up—”

“I know, right? That was totally unfair! S-So it doesn’t count, right?!”

“Huh?”

“That match was invalid, got it?! So it didn’t break my winning streak against you!” I declare, pointing at her firmly.

I can hear my competitive side shouting “Don’t let her have this! Don’t back down!”

She laughs. “Okay, fine.”

In all the time we’ve known each other, Mihashi’s never so much as smiled at me—and now here she is, grinning from ear to ear. But why? Is it because I’ve changed?

...No, wait. I do remember one time me and Mihashi smiled at each other...

—If I win, Kiriyama, I want you to start calling me by my first name.

—Sure. If you win, that is.

I forget when we had that conversation, but it definitely happened at some point. And I remember we were smiling for some reason...

Now I finally remember how I felt back then. I always wanted to—

...God, we’re such a couple of literal babies. Both of us.

We’re both stubborn mules who hate to lose, and our weird karate rivalry got in the way of what really matters. We were both dying to say it—but as much as our similarities drew us to each other, those same traits kept us apart.

Maybe it’s too late... No.

As long as we... care about each other... there’s still time.

You can’t get what you want if you just twiddle your thumbs. You have to really want it.

It doesn’t matter how much time has passed. I mean, obviously time does change things, but I’m sure you’ll still get the opportunity to try again.

And if all else fails, you can create that opportunity yourself. You can create anything if you try!

If you want someone to be your friend, then say so! If you want someone to do something for you, then ask! If you want permission to do something, then keep persisting until they let you!

The world we live in isn’t actually all that complex. It’s not hard to obtain the things that really matter. No need to rationalize it out—it’s all pretty straightforward.

Or maybe it’s just that the easiest things to obtain happen to be the things that really matter. If you look for them, you can find them. If you work for them, you can get your hands on them.

All it takes is a little courage.

Now it’s time for me to take the first step.

This is where I’ll start over... this time, as her friend.

“...G-Give me your email address, Chinatsu!”

“...G-Gimme your email address, Yui!”

Wait, what? Did Mi—I mean, Chinatsu—just say the same exact thing?

+ + +

Once again, the five of us put our heads together to escape a dire crisis. Pretty impressive, honestly. The CRC kicks a lot of ass these days. And I get the sense the others feel that way about me, too.

I’m not just being conceited. I sincerely think we all see each other as badass. It’s a pretty ideal friendship, I gotta say!

But... can I keep this up? And if so—

Nah, forget it.

They’re all a bunch of good eggs, and they’ve helped me a ton. Especially Taichi. I can’t help but feel both grateful and a little guilty.

Taichi’s a good guy. A really good guy.

But... lately I keep asking myself...

Do I, Nagase Iori, truly have feelings for him?

The End