Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Episode 11: Farewell

There was no mistaking it. The long, sleek black hair that reached her waist, her pure white skin as if rejecting sunlight, and her sharp, cold eyes.

Standing at the entrance was none other than the “Princess with the cold attitude,” Saori Sakaki.

「Why is Sakaki-san… coming to my house? And at this time…」

I might have mentioned my house’s location in passing during some conversation before. But there shouldn’t be any reason for Sakaki-san to visit me.

「I’m sorry for visiting so late. There’s something… I want to talk about…」

Sakaki-san spoke. I tried to suppress my heart, which was pounding for different reasons than before, and responded in as flat a voice as possible.

「I’m sorry, but I have a guest right now, so could you come back another time…?」

「I apologize for interrupting, but I need to talk to you about your smartphone.」

「My… smartphone?」

How did Sakaki-san know about that? I hadn’t even mentioned losing my smartphone to her… but, it wouldn’t be surprising if she noticed since I was searching for it right next to her in class.

Moreover, Sakaki-san had come all the way to my house, so it must be something important.

「…」

Honestly, I was curious about what she wanted to say. But I wanted to avoid having her meet Kokone-san here… right now.

I had no reason to be accused of cheating or anything, but I didn’t want to have an argument in front of Kokone-san.

「I’m sorry, but it’s still not possible right now.」

I tried to tell Sakaki-san to go home, but she seemed to point something toward the camera, as if to interrupt me.

It was…

「…Huh? My… smartphone」

…No, it’s different. What Sakaki-san was holding was my smartphone cover. There was no one else who used such a flashy, bright red smartphone cover but me.

「…You went out of your way to bring that for me?」

「Yes. I just wanted to make sure you received at least this…」

Why did Sakaki-san have my smartphone cover? …Could it be something related to Sakaki-san?

「…」

After having it delivered to my house, I couldn’t just tell her to leave it in the mailbox and go. But right now, Kokone-san is here. In this situation, letting Sakaki-san into the house…

「You’ve been talking for quite a while, do you have a guest?」

Kokone-san, who had come closer at some point, peeked at the monitor over my shoulder.

「…Huh? A girl…」

And upon seeing Sakaki-san on the camera, her eyes widened. I turned my back to the monitor to cover up and spoke.

「This person is more of a friend… or rather, a classmate. She came to deliver the smartphone cover I dropped… or so it seems.」

「Oh, is that so? Then why not invite her in? I don’t mind, really.」

「Really?… Hey, Kokone-san, stop pinching my back… It hurts.」

「Ah, sorry. It was unconscious… It was unconscious.」

Kokone-san quickly released her hand from my back and returned to the sofa. After telling Sakaki-san to wait a moment, I went to open the front door.

「Seriously, what am I doing?」

I swallowed a sigh and opened the front door. As expected, there was… Sakaki-san.

「I’m sorry for intruding so suddenly. But… I thought it would be best to deliver this as soon as possible…」

「Thanks for bringing it. …I appreciate it.」

I took the smartphone cover from Sakaki-san. …Was this why Sakaki-san tried to talk to me today? If I had listened to her more carefully, it wouldn’t have turned into such a hassle.

…I need to reflect a bit.

「I could at least make some tea; would you like to come in? Or since it’s late, should I thank you another day?」

「No, you don’t need to thank me. I just came to deliver the smartphone cover.」

Sakaki-san averted her gaze as if she were avoiding it. …An unexpectedly meek attitude compared to before. Perhaps something happened to her, like how I reunited with Kokone-san?

「Anyway, thank you. …You really helped me out.」

「No, it was my fault to begin with. I’ll be leaving now.」

It seemed Sakaki-san intended to leave like this. While that was convenient for me, it felt rude to send her away after having her deliver it.

…Though perhaps it’s not something I need to be concerned about anymore. I’m curious why Sakaki-san had my smartphone cover, but it’s late now, and it would be troublesome to keep her.

As I was mulling over these thoughts, a voice called out from behind me.

「Nice to meet you, I’m Kokone Koga. I’m Ochiba-kun’s childhood friend, and I’m just visiting right now, but are you Ochiba-kun’s friend?」

Dressed lightly, Kokone-san approached and looked at Sakaki-san. Sakaki-san seemed momentarily surprised but quickly returned to her usual cold expression.

「Nice to meet you. I’m Sakashima-kun’s classmate, Saori Sakaki. I’m sorry for interrupting your fun… I’ll be leaving soon…」

「Is that so? …Then Ochiba-kun, why don’t you walk her home? It’s late, and it might be dangerous for a girl alone.」

「No, I should─」

「I’ll be fine. I’ll wait here properly. So when you come back… let’s continue from earlier, okay? I’d like you to… touch me a little more, Ochiba-kun.」

Kokone-san clung to my arm, as if to show off. Her soft chest pressed against me, conveying her warm body temperature.

「…You two seem to be quite close.」

Sakaki-san whispered softly. After hesitating for a moment, I opened my mouth.

「Yeah, we’re close. …But that’s none of your business, Sakaki-san, is it?」

「I suppose… so.」

Sakaki-san lowered her gaze as if hurt.

…Why is she making such an expression now? She should have only seen me as a convenient backup, so why now…

「…No, never mind. More importantly, Sakaki-san’s house is quite far from here, isn’t it?」

「It’s about three stations away.」

「Alright, I’ll walk you to the station.」

「No, you really don’t have to…」

「It’s fine. If something happens on your way back, it would trouble me. …Besides, there are things we didn’t get to talk about yesterday.」

After a moment of hesitation, Sakaki-san quietly said, 「Then… please.」

「Sorry, Kokone-san, could you wait for a bit? I’ll bring back some pudding or ice cream as a souvenir.」

「Got it. …But if you take too long, I might start rummaging through your room, Ochiba-kun.」

Kokone-san gave a small laugh and returned to the living room. …I thought about how I’d have to talk to Kokone-san about Sakaki-san when I got back, as I put on my shoes and left the house.

Outside, it was already completely dark, with streetlights illuminating the night path. The familiar night city. Sakaki-san and I started walking, maintaining a slight distance.

「You remembered where my place was well, huh?」

I spoke without looking at Sakaki-san.

「…I remembered from when you told me before.」

Sakaki-san replied in her usual calm voice and then looked at me and bowed her head.

「I’m sorry for standing you up yesterday.」

「…It’s fine. It’s in the past, and it’s over.」

「Even so… it can’t be undone.」

「If that’s the case, then I’m also sorry for saying harsh things today… I got a bit emotional.」

「No, Sakashima-kun isn’t at fault.」

「…」

「…」

Silence followed. The cold night wind brushed against my cheeks. I shoved my hands into my pockets and glanced at Sakaki-san.

「So, why did you have my smartphone cover, Sakaki-san?」

「That’s… I picked it up after school yesterday.」

「Picked it up?」

「Yes. …After school, I went to the nurse’s office to check on Sakashima-kun. But you were sleeping soundly… so I thought of going back to the classroom, but on the way, I heard voices from an empty classroom.」

「…」

I remained silent, prompting her to continue.

「Thinking it was suspicious, I eavesdropped and found out they were arguing about whether to return your smartphone…」

So it was stolen by someone after all. No wonder I couldn’t find it despite searching.

「It seems those people were fans of mine… and they were talking about finding evidence of Sakashima-kun cheating on me with your smartphone.」

「Evidence of cheating, huh. How ridiculous.」

「…Yes. When I called out to them, they got scared and ran away. I tried chasing them, but I couldn’t catch up…」

「…」

Maybe during that time, I woke up and returned to the classroom, misunderstanding that I was stood up and lashed out.

「…What am I even doing?」

I let out a small breath. Sakaki-san continued.

「In the end, I couldn’t catch them, so I gave up and returned to the empty classroom. There, only the smartphone cover was left… I thought at least I could deliver that to you, so I visited your house… I hesitated a bit, though.」

「Sorry for the trouble, thank you.」

「No, I didn’t do much. If I knew their names, I could have done more… like taking photos or telling the teachers, but I didn’t think of that…」

「No, it’s fine. Thank you. It seems I’ve caused you quite a bit of trouble.」

I should consider how to deal with those guys a bit more. I’ve had conflicts before, but having my smartphone stolen was a first. …I can’t stay silent after being pushed that far.

「…Um, may I ask you something?」

Sakaki-san looked at me. It was an unusual, anxious expression for her. …I hid my true feelings with my usual smile.

「Yeah, what is it? Ask me anything.」

「That… that person earlier… she was very cute. You seemed very close. What kind of… relationship do you have?」

「Oh, you mean Kokone-san. Kokone-san is… my childhood friend. But we hadn’t seen each other for over five years until we coincidentally met recently…」

And then, what about now? I still consider us friends, but I can’t say I’m not aware of her as the opposite sex. If Sakaki-san hadn’t come to visit, I might have been with Kokone-san…

「Are you perhaps… dating her?」

「No, we’re not dating. We just reunited recently.」

「I see…」

Sakaki-san exhaled in relief. A reaction that might have confused the old me. But the result of getting caught up in those reactions was being kept around as a convenient fallback.

「Really, what am I doing?」

I looked up at the sky. The fractured moon gazed down at us… No, the moon, which seemed fractured, was looking down at us. The moon remains unchanged, always facing the same way, just watching us.

I spoke while still gazing up at the sky.

「Hey, I used to like you, Sakaki-san.」

「…What?」

At my sudden words, Sakaki-san stopped and looked at me in surprise. I also stopped and looked at her.

「Well, since I was the one who confessed, and I’ve said similar things before, it might not be surprising for you, Sakaki-san. But I really… liked you.」

「…」

Sakaki-san remained silent. The sound of a car horn echoed from afar. In the quiet night with few sounds, the voice of a self-deprecating man simply resonated.

「I wanted to see your smile. Just once, I wanted to touch you. I promised I’d protect you, and it felt like I became the protagonist of a story, which made me happy.」

But in the end, Sakaki-san never looked at me. Being called a convenient backup hurt me deeply, and seeing her getting along with someone I didn’t know… made me want to cry.

Thinking I was the protagonist, I was nothing more than an extra from her perspective.

「But I was only thinking about my convenience. I was only thinking about myself and not considering how you felt. It wouldn’t be surprising if you were scared and couldn’t refuse a flashy blonde guy like me.」

「That’s not…」

Sakaki-san’s words trailed off again. I… laughed.

「Honestly, to me, Miwa-kun is just an annoying and troublesome guy. But to Sakaki-san, he must be an important childhood friend. I thought Sakaki-san treated me terribly, but from her perspective, she might think I’ve always treated her terribly.」

Thinking something was missing wasn’t just me.

「So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for lashing out at you.」

「You don’t need to apologize… You really don’t need to apologize. If anything, I should…」

Sakaki-san reached out towards me. For the first time, she tried to touch me from her side. It was different from when she hugged me before. To me, it seemed like Sakaki-san’s… affection.

「…Ah」

…But I shook my head.

「I think it’s my fault for not considering your feelings, Sakaki-san. But I’m sorry, I don’t want to be your ‘convenient backup’ anymore. I’m honestly… tired of it. So… Sakaki-san」

I exhaled. My chest hurt. It hurt, hurt, and my weaker self was rampaging inside my chest. …But it’s okay, it hurts. It hurts, and I want to cry, but that’s why there’s meaning in putting it into words.

I smiled slightly and said.

「──Let’s break up already.」