The Beautiful Girl With a Kind Personality and Good Looks, Who Happens to Be My Childhood Friend, Seems to Have Eyes Only for Me
When break time came, I buried my face in my desk.
No headache. But this queasy feeling lingering deep in my chest just won’t go away.
Not even halfway through the day, and already I dread what lies ahead.
Fragmented images flash through my mind.
Memories that seem almost clear, yet remain just out of reach.
Overlaid by someone’s voice—I knew it was Haru’s, but the words themselves wouldn’t reach me.
My frustration grew.
Recess was over. I lifted my head, thinking I needed to prepare for the next class, and pulled out my textbook.
[…Why the hell was that woman at our middle school graduation?]
“…!”
I instinctively pressed my hand to my forehead.
That thought definitely wasn’t mine.
The classroom was noisy.
Still, someone noticed I wasn’t acting like myself.
“Hey, Yuma. Are you really okay?”
Fujiwara, sitting nearby, called out to me.
And then—
“Yuma-kun? What’s wrong…?”
It was Haru.
Until they called out, I hadn’t even noticed they were standing right in front of me.
When I looked up, Fujiwara’s expression was clearly worried, but Haru’s was distinctly stern.
“You look terrible.”
“Let’s go to the infirmary.”
They both reached for my arm at the same time.
I started to say I was fine, but swallowed the words.
Attending class in this state would only bother everyone around me.
“Fujiwara-kun. I’ll take Yuma-kun.”
“But alone, you might—”
“I can handle it… okay?”
“…Yes, please.”
Fujiwara reflexively straightened his back and bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.
…What kind of face was I making, Haru?
“Fujiwara-kun, I might be a little late, so please let the teacher know.”
“Got it!”
And so, supported by Haru, I headed for the infirmary.
I could actually walk on my own.
But Haru, in this state, wasn’t listening to my words.
“Haru, I can go alone.”
“No way. I’m coming with you.”
Her answer was immediate.
We ended up going to the infirmary together.
My temperature was normal. Told to rest a bit, I lay down on the bed.
It felt good.
The nausea gradually faded away.
“…Thanks, Haru. Sorry for the trouble.”
“No. Please don’t think that way.”
Haru looked at me with her usual gentle eyes.
That gentleness felt somehow precarious.
Before I knew it, I was staring at her.
“…Hey, Haru.”
“Yes?”
The words that came out were different from what I’d intended.
“…Did you know?”
“…Huh?”
Haru lost her words for just an instant.
“About my accident.”
“……”
“Who was responsible for it?”
I meant to speak quietly.
But Haru’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“I remembered.”
“……”
“What someone did in my accident.”
Haru said nothing.
She just stared at me, biting her lip.
My eyelids felt heavy.
As consciousness faded, the last thing I heard was Haru’s trembling breath.
What expression had she been wearing?
What answer had she been about to give?
I—fell asleep without knowing the rest.
“…You remembered it, didn’t you? That graduation ceremony two years ago.”
It was the moment Yuma-kun saw that woman’s face.
His breathing suddenly became ragged, he couldn’t stand anymore, and he collapsed right there… It was hyperventilation.
He was taken away by ambulance like that, and then—he didn’t wake up for three days.
There’s never been a day I felt so worried, so scared, so utterly helpless as that one.
Watching Yuma-kun sleeping in that bed, calling his name over and over, yet getting no response.
To be honest… there’s never been a day I resented that family more than that one.
When Yuma-kun woke up, the doctor said it was temporary memory loss caused by severe psychological shock.
He had forgotten.
That day.
What happened at the graduation ceremony.
When I learned this, I spoke with Miyo-san.
To spare Yuma-kun further suffering.
We decided not to force him to remember.
We resolved to keep it a secret.
But… I.
I never intended to simply hide it and leave it at that.
Reporting it? That’s too lenient.
It couldn’t possibly end with something like that.
So I thought.
How could I make those people suffer more,
without Yuma-kun ever finding out?
—For the sake of the one I love. That’s all.
As if urged by something, I woke up.
The white ceiling unique to the infirmary spread before my eyes. A scent like disinfectant tickled my nose.
Slowly sitting up, I glanced at the wall clock.
“…Wait, it’s already after school?”
Apparently, I’d slept much deeper than I’d realized.
Given how sick I looked, it was no wonder no one woke me.
As I got out of bed, the nurse just happened to return.
“Oh, you’re awake. …Hmm, your complexion looks much better.”
“I think I was just really tired. Thank you.”
“If you’re going to thank someone, thank Ayase-san. She came to check on you every break, you know?”
“…Is that so? Got it.”
I replied and left the infirmary.
Classmates I passed in the hallway called out to me. When I told them I was fine now, they all looked relieved.
My body felt surprisingly light.
Hurrying back to the classroom, I found—just one person still there.
“Ah, Yuma-kun!”
It was Haru.
The moment she spotted me, she came running over.
Just seeing her expression made a warm glow spread through my chest.
…So it was her after all.
Fragmented memories and sensations connected, giving me certainty now. The girl in that hospital was Haru—that fact emerged more clearly from the fog of my memory, its outline sharper than before.
“I’m fine now. And thank you. I heard you came every break?”
“Of course. But… I’m really glad. You seem fine now.”
“Yeah, totally fine.”
When I gave her a thumbs-up, Haru finally relaxed and showed her usual smile.
(…This. This smile.)
Not a mask. Not fake.
A genuine smile.
Whatever form the future ahead holds—
If I do nothing, it will be a miserable future. I don’t know why. But I was certain of that much.
—That hospital, two years ago.
The moment he regained consciousness and opened his eyes, Haru murmured to herself in a matter-of-fact tone.
‘The method to “dispose” of that trash is—’
Just hearing it made my chest tighten. Honestly, it was a plan so horrific I thought death would be preferable.
Back then, after the accident, my memory was fragmented. I only thought one thing.
Was it really necessary to go that far?
Could someone be this cruel to mere trash?
…But now I understand. The trash = the Kamiya family.
It wasn’t revenge or a sense of justice.
Haru was trying to shoulder everything to protect me—to make sure I never broke again.
As if she didn’t care if no one knew, if no one thanked her.
That’s precisely why I think it.
I want to protect this girl.
“Hey, Haru. Can I ask you to hang out after school?”
“Huh? Right now?”
“No… in about an hour. The basketball court near the hospital.”
“That place, right? Got it.”
Honestly, I haven’t decided what we’ll do yet.
But—I wanted to sort out what remained inside me.
“Well then, Yuma-kun. See you later.”
“Yeah, see you.”
After parting ways with Haru, I headed straight home.
Arriving home, I set down my bag and headed for the storage room.
Maybe Mom cleans it occasionally? The dust wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. Still, some swirled up and made me cough.
Coughing, I searched for something—and eventually found it.
“…Hey. Long time.”
What I picked up was a basketball.
The one I’d touched countless times before the accident.
Holding the ball, I pulled out my phone.
Then I called someone. They’d probably be changing, but they’d answer.
After a few rings, the call connected.
“…Sorry. I need to take back that promise from before.”
‘Huh…?’
“I—I like Haru. I’m not giving her up to someone like you!!”
I could sense the gasp over the phone.
Before they could ask anything, I hung up.
I turned off the phone, tucked it into my pocket, and stepped out the front door.
My destination: the place where Haru was waiting.
That basketball court near the hospital.
I didn’t know how things would turn out.
Still, I was going to do what I could.
Hey… if you can hear me, let’s move forward together. My past self.
To end this half-assed relationship and truly move toward the future.
“It’s strange… I’m not nervous at all.”
Maiasa