Chapter 28: CH 28

Her And Friends

“Nagisen, I’m sorry…”

There was still some time before the club activities started. After school, in the library, with no one else around, I was being apologized to by Nakano-san.

“By ‘sorry’… Do you mean the ticket for the opec recording?”

“…I, Yui Nakano, am sorry for putting you through that. Thinking of my friends and all that was just an excuse. I’m an airhead, a horrible woman who tried to destroy people’s happiness…”

“No, no, you’re going too far… I don’t mean to blame Nakano-san at all.”

“You have to blame me, otherwise I won’t be able to forgive myself. Tie me up with a rope or something, and you can be as aggressive as you want…!”

Nakano-san put her arm behind her back to show no resistance – Just confronting her in this state could make it look like we were doing something suspicious.

“I’m not even thinking about the rope or anything like that… Nakano-san, your wording is back to the way it was when you were in your rough phase.”

“Ah! …I-I’m sorry. It’s time like this that my gal speech comes out.”

She seemed more like a yankee than a gal, but I wouldn’t say more than that.

“So… You knew if you gave me a ticket, I would go. Is that right?”

“…I also noticed that you and Takane-san were suddenly getting along. But I thought Nagisen had always had an one-sided crush on Kiri-chan, so I went off on my own.”

One-sided crush – Indeed, Nakano-san was right. It was not that Asatani-san ever told me that she liked me.

Even so, as long as Asatani-san said that she was my ‘ex-girlfriend’, I knew for a fact that she took my confession as a confession.

“…I confessed my feelings to Asatani-san and was dumped. Right after I started high school.”

“…Nagisen did that? My seniors used to tease me about my lack of sensitivity, so… what do you mean by… ‘confessed’…?”

Nakano-san was seriously confused – It was no wonder for I didn’t think of confessing on graduation day beforehand either.

I wished I hadn’t told her then. It was because I was afraid that Asatani-san and I would be estranged in high school – I was hoping that we would be in the same class, but it was not a certainty.

“…So… Did I do something I could never be forgiven for…?”

“…No. I’m grateful to Nakano-san. I had my own reasons for wanting to go to the open recording.”

“Are you referring to the rumors that fans might be waiting for her?”

I nodded. Then I told her that I was able to meet Asatani-san and that we stayed together until the car came to pick her up.

“…Nagisen does things when he has to, doesn’t he? Sometimes he’s even daring.”

“Because she’s a celebrity from my class, and people seemed really excited to see her…”

“You’re being modest again. Nagisen is not like other people for Kiri-chan, right? And it’s not just because you’re in the same group.”

“Haha… Not really. That’s why I think she dumped me.”

I didn’t think my voice had any power, but it took a lot of courage to say it, even though it was the truth. Although Nakano-san didn’t say it directly, she must have been supporting me and Asatani-san.

There was absolutely nothing for Nakano-san to be concerned about. It was my fault that I didn’t tell her about my relationship with Asatani-san.

“…Nagisen, it’s not like you switched from Kiri-chan to Takane-san right away or anything, right?”

“Well… It might appear that way, but that’s not true.”

“There’s so much going on, isn’t it? Like how you and Takane-san became so close, while I was trying to find the right time to talk to Nagisen… Hah~~”

Nakano-san sighed deeply – She seemed to have a lot on her mind.

“So… U-Um, did you tell Takane-san that you went to Kiri-chan’s recording…?”

“I told her. And I promised to go home with her…”

“…If she gets angry, you can blame it all on me. You can say that you were set up by this despicable Yui Nakano.”

“I won’t say that. More importantly, please take care of me once club activities start.”

“O-Oh… That’s what I should say too, I am new here too…”

At first, Nakano-san felt responsible, but there was nothing for her to feel bad about. It seemed that she was more worried about me than about setting me up.

The only thing left for me to do was to find out if Takane-san had forgiven me. After school yesterday, she seemed to have something to do, and we only talked a little at night.

“Nagisen.”

“Hmm?”

As I was about to leave the library, I was stopped. When I turned around, I saw Nakano-san rushing towards me in a small run.

“It’s good to talk to you again. I won’t bother you with weird stuff anymore, so will you be friends with me?”

“There’s nothing weird going on. I think Nakano-san did what she did because she thought it was the right thing to do, and I didn’t feel like I was being set up.”

When I once again emphasized this, Nakano-san’s eyes moistened a little, and then she looked in the other direction, wiped her face with her sleeve, and looked at me.

“You’re like that, aren’t you, Nagito-kun? You never say anything bad about anyone.”

“…I wonder if you respect me more when you don’t call me Nagisen?”

“Haha, I’ve been found out. But,that’s not true at all, you know? I really call you Nagisen with all my respect. Well, I’m a bit of a fool, but I look forward to working with you anyway.”

“Fool is a bit… Oh, well.”

It was the same in junior high school. We didn’t always spend time together, but when we saw each other, we would talk for a long time.

When I walked out of the library, Nakano-san waved me off with a flutter of her hands. I thought we’d drift apart, but we were in the same club in high school, and it looked like we were going to have a lingering relationship.

Takane-san said she would wait for me at the bicycle parking lot. So I hurried over, not wanting to keep her waiting for too long–

As usual, Takane-san was standing with a good posture. And next to her, there was Asatani-san.

This – Could it possibly be my time of execution?

I went to observe Asatani-san’s public recording while I was dating Takane-san. And even though Asatani-san might not be conscious of it, she kissed me indirectly with a can of coffee – No, if Asatani-san didn’t care, she wouldn’t tell that to Takane-san.

“Ah, he stiffened. Nagi-kun’s cute like that, isn’t he?”

“…Asatani-san, even though we’ve talked about it, that’s…”

Takane-san tried to stop her, but Asatani-san was coming towards me – Her steps seemed to be lively.

“I’m sorry, Nagi-kun. I borrowed Takane-san after school yesterday.”

“…You were together with Takane-san…?”

“Yeah. Takane-san understands me better than I thought she would… We decided to get along from now on. We’re officially friends now.”

“I wonder if it’s weird to call it ‘official’,” Asatani-san said as she looked back at Takane-san.

‘Friends’ – I realised that was not the same as ‘friends’ with me, but the conversation was too rapid for me to comprehend.

The two of them, who had always seemed to be in restraint with each other, certainly seemed to be getting along well. But I wondered if it was possible for a friendship to be formed between a ‘current girlfriend’ and an ‘ex-girlfriend’.

“I just wanted to tell you that I was waiting for you. I was thinking that I haven’t thanked Nagi-kun enough for coming to the recording… I’d like to thank you again next time, and Takane-san said I could at least have tea with you.”

Even though I was going out with Takane-san, it was not a good idea for me to go to a café alone with Asatani-san – This thought hadn’t changed, but if she gave her permission, I wouldn’t be able to say no the next time she asked me out.

“…Are you annoyed, Nagi-kun? If I were to be around the two of you like this?”

It was said that men and women who have broken up in the world could continue to be friends even after distancing themselves from each other. But I didn’t think it was realistic, and I thought that people who could do that must have special circumstances.

Now, Asatani-san was asking me to do the same thing. But if it meant that we were going to be friends in the future, as she said, then she hadn’t changed her opinion.

Takane-san also walked over here, looked at Asatani-san, and then smiled at me. She didn’t seem to be overwhelmed or anything.

“That’s fine with me. No matter how attractive Asatani-san is, I will definitely not lose.” (T/N: Life’s so unfair…)

Asatani-san was my friend, and Takane-san was my girlfriend – There should be no need for her to declare that she wouldn’t ‘lose’.

I felt like there was a piece missing. But the two of them seemed to be moving forward despite that. It seemed unwise to interfere.

“Then… Have a nice day you two. Next time, I’m going shopping with Takane-san and Yui-chan, could Nagi-kun come too? We’re also going to karaoke.”

“Eh… I-Isn’t that a girls only gathering…?”

“No, not at all, I’d rather have Nagito-san come too… But before that, if possible…”

Seeing Takane-san’s grogginess, I belatedly realize. I thought she was trying to tell me that she’d like to meet up only with the two of us. I couldn’t imagine how great it would be, but it would be a great honor – This was no good, there’s too much information to sort through.

“Oh, that’s right. It’s not like I care about your first date or anything. If possible, let’s hang out together during Golden Week.”

The conversation had progressed, but I wondered why Asatani-san was acting so differently.

As if she knew I was going to ask that, Asatani-san took a step back and pushed Takane-san in front of me.

“I support you both, Nagi-kun and Takane-san.”

“…Thank you, Asatani-san.”

“I said that before, but now it’s a little bit different. It won’t be just supporting.”

Before I could ask what she meant, Asatani-san approached me and left the sound of her cool voice in my ear.

“I told her about the indirect kiss.”

“……”

She didn’t say anything more. She waved and ran on – Her side-tails drifted in the wind, and even the mere sight of her running turned into a very impressive scene.

“…I’m sorry, I didn’t tell Nagito-san that I was talking to Asatani-san.”

“N-No… I was just a little surprised. If that’s what Takane-san wanted to do, I… I think it’s good that you two seem to get to know each other.”

“We had a little bit of a heart-to-heart, since we disliked each other… We’re rivals after all.”

“Rivals… With Asatani-san?”

“For now, you don’t need to worry about that. I too had something to think about Asatani-san…. And it wasn’t all kindness.”

That’s not true – Takane-san was an incomparably kind person.

“…Nagito-san. Do you have anything to apologize to me for?”

“Apologize… Oh, yeah. When I sent Asatani-san home…”

“Yes. That’s very terrible. I haven’t done anything like that yet. Even though I’m your ‘current-girlfriend’.” (T/N: So unfair…)

The words were very soft, even though she was berating me. If being gently accused would become a habit – I’d be totally addicted to it.

I already knew that.

I love Takane-san. Even in the presence of Asatani-san, I couldn’t shake that feeling.

“That’s why… For a moment, why don’t we play a game?”

Takane-san took out a small box of sweets from her school bag. It was one of those popular ones that you could find in any store.

“Takane-san, that’s…”

“Let’s just say a friend gave it to me. I really need to keep a low profile in school, but… Just for today, I’ll make an exception…”

Strawberry chocolate pretzels. Takane-san pulled out one of those and offered it to me.

My intuition, which didn’t usually work, told me that the ‘friend’ Takane-san mentioned was Asatani-san, who was here just now.

“…Ahn…”

Someone might be watching us, but there was no sign of anyone in the bicycle parking lot where we were now.

“…Then, I’ll take you up on the offer…”

I willed myself to eat the pretzel that Takane-san offered me.

“…Caught you.”

Suddenly, the pretzel turned to the side. And instead, I felt a soft touch on my cheek.

A kiss – Takane put her hand, the one not holding the pretzel, on my shoulder and tiptoed a little. She then put her lips on my cheek.

“…Takane-san.”

“……”

Without saying a word, Takane-san stared at me and once again held out the pretzel to me.

Despite my confusion, I opened my mouth to see what was being asked of me, and she slowly put a pretzel in my mouth.

After letting me eat more than half of it, Takane-san ate the other half. Then she said cheekily, which I didn’t think was possible from her always cool personality,

“Indirect kiss alone is not enough to make it even…”

Most of the time I thought she was like an angel.

She said she loved me like this, and in this way, she gave me happiness that I couldn’t even describe.

She was so embarrassed that she turned red in the face, but she wanted to do something like that just now.

She didn’t want to lose to Asatani-san, and that’s not because she was forcing herself. If that’s what she wanted to do, then that’s what she would do.

“When it comes to my love for Nagito-san, no one else can match it.” (T/N: SO UNFAIR!!!)

I still couldn’t hear everything about what Takane-san talked about with Asatani-san.

Asatani-san said that she supported Takane-san and me. However, she also said that it wouldn’t be just that. I still couldn’t imagine what that meant – I still didn’t understand Asatani-san.

But I couldn’t help but think there’s more to it than that. If there was a reason for Asatani-san dumping me, I might be able to ask her about it someday. It might be something we could talk about as ‘friends’.

“…Can I walk home with you halfway today?”

“Yeah. I’ve been wanting to do that, too.”

“……”

I thought it would be lonely if we just went to the school gate together. I couldn’t put it all into words, but I hoped that my feelings were conveyed.

“Is there any place you want to stop by along the way, Takane-san?”

“…I heard that we can buy books to read for our book club activities. Would you like to go to the bookstore?”

“That’s a good idea. If we find a good book, we can exchange it with each other… Or is that too brazen?”

“N-No. That’s what I was thinking, too. I’d like to read any book you’ve read, Nagito-san.”

We walked up to the school gate in perfect sync, not caring if anyone would see us. She told me what kind of authors she liked, and for some reason, she also told me what books Nakano-san and Asatani-san liked – Sometimes I was amazed, and sometimes I was blinded by her smile.