“…Takamori?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

…I knew Torigoe wasn’t the type to joke around about this subject.

“M-me?”

“…Yes.”

Now I’m confused.

I had never seen her in that way before. “Um, okay…”

“Yeah.”

Wh-what do you say in times like this? I was too panicked to think about what to say.

“Please don’t look so confused.” She smiled kindly, if awkwardly.

“S-sorry. I didn’t think that was where this was going.”

“I’m pretty sure anyone could guess exactly where this was going as soon as a girl says she wants to talk to youafter school.”

Sh-she’s right… She’s totally right, but I wasn’t expecting it.

“G-give me a sec,” I begged.

“Sure. Take however long you need,” she replied, staring at me.

Torigoe certainly is quite pretty. She’s quiet and a bit aloof, which makes some people think she’s boring, but that’s not the case, and I know it.

I bet we’d have a great time together if we did go out. It’d be comfy, like our time in the physics room. We can understand each other without saying too much—silence wouldn’t be a negative in our relationship.

“…”

Then Fushimi’s face crossed my mind.

I didn’t understand why it was her, but there had to be a reason it wasn’t Mana or any other girl.

The silence was broken with a clatter. I turned to the source and found the silhouette of a girl running in the hallway.

That’s…

“God…,” Torigoe whispered, then pointed outside. “Just run after her. It’s probably Fushimi.”

“Huh?”

“Go already!”

The way her voice suddenly rose stunned me for just an instant, then the distress in her words finally got through.

I hurried out of the classroom and into the hallway. I saw her black hair swaying as she ran, and I hurried after her per Torigoe’s advice.

She was moving as fast as ever, faster than I’d ever be able to run—but I followed her anyway.

“Fushimi!”

Why had she been outside the classroom? Was she curious about what Torigoe would tell me?

“Wait!”

But what will I tell her once I catch up?

I might’ve had nothing to say, but I knew I had to catch her.

“…!”

I could tell she was crying, even from behind.

I chased her until we got all the way to the stairway leading to the rooftop. She was cornered now. The door to the rooftop was locked, so she had no escape.

“…I told you to wait… How long were you planning on running…?” I had been expecting this game of tag to end quickly, but it took, like, ten minutes. “I doubt you’ve ever tried going up to the roof, Miss Model Student, but you can’t go up there.” It was all I could do just to catch my breath.

At the top of the stairs, she sniffled without turning around and feebly replied, “Why…did you follow me?”

“Because you ran away. After eavesdropping on us, too… Didn’t anyone teach you not to do that?”

“I’m…sorry about that. I was listening and got curious and…ended up going all the way to the classroom…”

You were listening?

Fushimi wiped her eyes with her hands. “So what are you telling her?”

“……Ah, yeah…” I scratched my head. “I feel bad about it, but I’m gonna say no.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“How can you not know…?”

“When I thought about what to answer, the first thing that came to mind was you.” And I had no idea why. “I felt like…if I accepted, we’d go back to being just classmates.”

“What’s wrong with that? We’ve been classmates for years.”

“There’s a lot wrong with it.” Even as I said the words, I didn’t quite understand what they meant. I just knew I couldn’t let her run away in tears. “I feel better with you next to me.”

She sniffled again, and her shoulders trembled.

“Not anyone else. It has to be you.”

Fushimi finally turned around to face me. Her face was a teary mess—the total opposite of the school’s princess.

“Right back at you!”

She ran and leaped from the top of the stairs all the way to where I was standing.

She fell right into my arms, and I embraced her…then fell backward, hitting my head hard on the floor.

“O-ouch!”

“S-sorry… I couldn’t contain myself.” Fushimi was on top of me, her long eyelashes wet with tears and her eyes red.

“You look awful,” I commented.

“And whose fault would that be?”

My phone chirped, and I took a look at the text that arrived. It was from Torigoe.

I’m going home. No need to answer back. I’m fine.

“Torigoe?”

“Ryou, truth be told…”

Shizuka Torigoe

I’m going home. No need to answer back. I’m fine.

Once I’d sent that message to Takamori, I buried my face in the desk.

“Those two are such a hassle…”

I was tired after dealing with Fushimi, who wasn’t doing anything she was supposed to, and Takamori, who simply never got anything when it was about himself.

After school, I called Fushimi, then left my phone in my pocket while I talked to Takamori so that she would hear everything.

And the end result was that I’d been rejected.

I grabbed my bag, stood up, and left the school.

“I knew this would happen.”

It was obvious that they were in love with each other—at least, to anyone paying attention. Many of the girls didn’t see it.

I liked Takamori, but I’d also started liking Fushimi after talking with her.

So I had to warn her that another girl could take him from her. I’d declared war on her to light a fire under her butt and get them together already.

…It’s for the best; Takamori should stay with someone as perfect as Fushimi. I wouldn’t be okay losing to anyone else.

I’d played with their feelings for my own satisfaction, and I did want to apologize for that.

“But it’s your own faults for being so wishy-washy.”

I’d tried to make Takamori realize his feelings for Fushimi, but her getting impatient and showing up herself had not been in my plans.

“She couldn’t wait for Takamori to come to a conclusion, I guess.”

…And it was the same for me.

Day after day, seeing them having fun during class was like getting stabbed by needles in my chest.

If they loved each other, I wanted them to make it clear already.

Personally, I did think I was the one closest to Takamori, and being with him helped me feel at peace. I’d hoped that maybe that feeling could be mutual… And if so, then maybe…

I found an empty park and sat on a bench.

“But I knew this was coming,” I told myself again. That very thought, that “then maybe,” was proof enough that I actually didn’t get it.

I was trying to pressure Fushimi, but I was the one under pressure.

“It happens to guys, too,” I’d said. “The boy who likes the protagonist of a girls’ manga from the beginning never ends up winning.”

That was totally right.

I’d liked Takamori from the beginning of high school—until another, more powerful heroine had suddenly appeared to take the seat beside him from me.

My own comment sneering at childhood friends had ended up hurting me deeply.

Something pricked at the back of my nose, while the inside of my mouth became hotter and hotter. My vision started turning blurry. The back of my throat tightened as I let out a weak breath.

My head was telling me over and over not to cry, but that voice was fading into silence.

“…I wish I’d realized I loved him sooner.”

Even if I’d known this would happen, it still hurt.