The Beautiful Girl With a Kind Personality and Good Looks, Who Happens to Be My Childhood Friend, Seems to Have Eyes Only for Me
Side: Ayase Haru
[โฆYuma, why do you watch so many basketball videos?]
Suddenly curious, I asked him that.
Even after entering ninth grade, Yuma often watches basketball game footage and highlight reels on his phone. Even now, unable to step onto the court due to his injury, he watches intently.
He looked like he was enjoying it, so I figured he just liked it.
But Iโฆ I wanted to know what kind of feelings Yuma had as he kept watching them. I wanted to know more about him.
[Why I watch them? โฆBecause I like them, I guess.]
[โฆI see.]
The answer was so simple I couldn’t help but mentally tease him.
I found myself agreeing, thinking, โYeah, that makes sense.โ But Yuma’s gaze drifted away for a moment. He seemed to check that no one was around before lowering his voice.
[โฆHey, thisโฆ it’s about my momโฆ]
[โฆYour mom?]
I’d met Yuma’s mother a few times.
She was kind, always smiling gentlyโbut she had this air about her, like she was holding onto some cherished past.
[Mom, you knowโฆ she watches videos of my games from when I was in elementary schoolโฆ almost every day.]
[..Every day?]
I couldn’t help but ask again.
[Yeah. Old tournament footage, practice match videosโฆ me running my hardest, chasing the ball, scoring shotsโฆ stuff like that.]
[.. ]
Yuma continued, sounding a little embarrassed, yet with the tone of someone speaking of something precious.
[At first, I wondered why she kept watching such old footageโฆ but then one day, I asked her why.]
[โฆ ]
[She said, โBecause the time when Yuma was giving it his all is my treasure.โ]
โฆDeep inside my chest, a warmth slowly spread.
[Mom, ever since I got injuredโฆ she really doesn’t laugh like she used to. She says she’s โfine,โ butโฆ I think she’s probably holding back a lot.]
[โฆ]
[So, you see. If watching videos of me playing basketball makes you feel even a little betterโฆ then I guess I have no choice but to watch them with her right?]
I seeโฆ So that’s what it was.
[I thought, if it makes Mom smile, then that’s enough. And then, while we were watching togetherโฆ I started thinking again that basketball really is great.]
Saying that, Yuma smiled softly.
[..So I’m watching the videos. To play basketball again someday.]
โฆHonestly, the idea of continuing something for my family’s sake hadn’t really occurred to me.
But Yuma’s feeling of โdoing it for someone elseโ was so pure and warm.
I thought thatโฆ it was truly cool.
[โฆI see.]
A warmth spread through the depths of my chest.
That lonely look on Yuma’s face back in the hospital. Since then, I felt like I’d been slowly touching his worldโฆ and it made me happy.
[โฆHuh? Haru, isn’t your face red?]
[Hehe, maybe it is. Becauseโฆ I realized Yuma is a much nicer person than I ever thought.]
Ahโฆ How embarrassing.
But I don’t need to hide it anymore.
IโI like Yuma.
It must have started back then.
The moment I saw him in the hospital room, smiling more sadly than anyone else.
But I’ll keep this feeling tucked away deep inside my heart for now.
Because this is an important time for Yuma, and I want him to remember me.
[โฆOh, right, Haru. Hey, wanna come over sometime and watch some old game footage together?]
[โฆIs that okay?]
[Yeah. I think Mom would be happy too.]
And it really did happen.
Yuma, looking a little embarrassed, showed me footage of his games from elementary school.
Yuma, running desperately with his small body. Falling down, getting back up, chasing after the ball.
I realized each of those moments was his origin.
โฆAnd then.
Yuma started going once a week for wrist rehab.
I tried to accompany him whenever possible. Preparing equipment, handing him a towel, giving him water afterwardโjust little things.
[..Are you pushing yourself too hard?]
[No, I’m not. I just want to be by your side.]
When I said that, Yuma smiled a little awkwardly, but accepted it without saying anything.
A time when he couldn’t play basketball.
With no guarantee he’d ever be able to play again.
He must be filled with so much frustration and impatience.
Even soโI wanted to support Yuma as he tried to move forward for someone else.
โฆThat’s why I’m here.
This person freed me from my chains back then. Now it’s my turn to support him.
Butโฆ
It was an ordinary day.
My mother handed me an envelope containing documents, saying, โGive this to Kamiya-san.โ As usual, I opened the door to the Kamiya residence.
It had become second nature to walk in without waiting for a โPlease come in.โ
I took off my shoes, walked down the hallway, and as I approached the living roomโI heard voices inside.
[Did you find that boy from back then? โฆIs he okay now?]
[Yeah. Turns out he went to the same middle school. In the end, that accident case closed without any evidence.]
A chill ran through my chest.
[Honestlyโฆ who would’ve thought a kid would just run out like that? If only Yamato hadn’t messed around in the first place.]
[But we got lucky. Nobody saw us.]
[That boyโฆ Yuma, was it? Poor thing, butโฆ it’s far better than having our lives ruined.]
โMy breath caught.
โฆWhat did she just say?
โThat child,โ โYuma,โ โaccident,โ โnobody sawโโ
The words connected in my mind.
โฆNo way.
[Running away back then was the right call.]
[Absolutely. If we’d been caught, our whole life would’ve ended.]
[โฆYamato, you haven’t told anyone, right?]
[Yeah. I know. I won’t say anything unnecessary.]
โThe one who hit Yuma and fled.
This familyโฆ did it.
My vision warped.
Feeling as if the floor tilted, I instinctively braced myself against the wall.
โฆThis can’t be true.
Yuma in the hospital room, a fifth grader with eyes so filled with despair and lifelessness.
Yuma, unable to play basketball anymore, his wrist immobilized, yet still pushing forward with rehab, trying to look ahead.
โAnd the beginning of all that was this family’s choice to โrun away.โ
And then.
[..But you knowโฆ]
[Hm?]
[Yamato, lately that girlโฆ with Yuma, she’s been acting really close with him, hasn’t she?]
[Yeah. They hang out together at school too.]
[โฆYou know about it, don’t you?]
[Of course. I know. It was four years ago.]
โฆYou know.
And yetโ.
Standing beside Yuma, smilingโฆ?
The back of my head throbbed like it was burning.
How much time do you think Yuma has lost since that day?
Years of effort, dreams, prideโeverythingโshattered in an instant.
And yet.
[Poor thing, but it can’t be helped.]
[Our lives are more important.]
[Running away was the right choice.]
โฆWhat kind of words are those?
Filth, spouting nonsense.
[Onii chan should just be friends with Haru-nee. No need to get involved with someone like that.]
[Right. It’s just trouble if you do.]
ใโโShut up.
ใShut up, trash.
How can you laugh like that?
Because of you, Yuma can’t even stand on the court anymore.
โฆAnd what’s more.
Knowing that fact, โYamatoโ walks beside Yuma with a face that shows he knows nothing.
โฆLike a friend.
โฆLike a best friend.
โฆIt made me sick.
I stood frozen in front of the living room, clutching my chest.
He loved basketball.
For his Mom, for her smile, he’d pushed himself for years.
Even so, he kept going to rehab, trying to look forward, even when he felt like breaking.
Yuma’s feelingsโthat it was โjust luck,โ โunavoidable,โ โour lives matter moreโโ
โฆHow dare they trample them with words like that.
In that instant, something inside me snapped.
Foreign objects merely shaped like people.
Even speaking the same words, laughing the same wayโthey no longer looked like โpeopleโ to me.
That’s when it started.
Every time I saw Yuma’s pained profile during rehab, my chest would tighten.
Even though he should’ve been consumed with his own struggles, his kindness in still worrying about my expression made me happyโฆ and at the same time, made me feel terribly shallow for feeling that way.
โฆAnd then, the decisive moment came.
[..Yuma, listen.]
[..Yeah? What is it?]
[โฆI like Haru.]
โI heard Yamato say those words.
[Soโฆ I want to date Haru. She’s important to me.]
[Will you support me?]
My heart, which had tried to remain indifferent, turned to disgust, to hatred.
Maiasa