The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
“Come on, I can’t just be told out of the blue that I don’t have a say in this.”
Even though I was told I had no say, I decided to protest anyway.
“I have plans of my own, too. …It’s hard to just be told out of the blue to clear my schedule for the day after tomorrow.”
“Oh, really? So what kind of plans do you have?”
“Studying.”
“That doesn’t count as a plan. You can do that anytime, can’t you?”
“I can’t do it anytime.”
I felt a bit annoyed.
“During summer break, I’ve set a rule for myself to study seven hours every day. Ten hours of sleep. Seven hours of studying. Two hours for three meals. Two hours for things like taking a bath and brushing my teeth. I don’t have any time to hang out at the beach.”
“Wait a minute. You’ve still got three hours left, don’t you?”
“That’s the time I spend chatting with Kanade.”
“At least call it ‘hobby time’!”
Takagaki retorted with a flustered look on her face.
“Huh? Wait, do you two really chat for three hours every day?”
“Nope.”
Huh.
Kanade shook her head.
“……R-right, I guess.”
“Yesterday it was four hours and twenty-six minutes.”
“That’s even longer than I thought!!!”
Takagaki-san slammed her fist on the table and stood up.
The moment she did, all the customers in the shop turned to look at her at once.
…After apologizing with a “I’m sorry,” Takagaki-san sat back down, looking sheepish.
“Ayaka, what’s with the sudden outburst?”
“…Ugh. You useless idiot…”
“Huh? Isn’t that a bit harsh all of a sudden?”
Kadowara-san looked down, looking a little lonely.
“……Anyway, if you had plans like that, you should’ve given us a day’s notice. Let’s all go to the beach together.”
“Eh? ……But, you know…”
“It’s no big deal to skip studying for a day, right? You, the top student in the class, you idiot……”
There it was.
Takagaki-san always gets so mouthy when it comes to studying.
“Atsushi. I’m not inviting you to the beach just to get in the way of your studying. Going to the beach will actually benefit you, too.”
“Benefit…?”
“First of all… if you want to study, you can just do it on the train on the way there.”
“But I get motion sickness easily.”
“…I’ll bring some motion sickness medicine, so just take that.”
“Oh, right. If I take motion sickness medicine, I can study the whole time we’re traveling…!”
I never thought of that.
It was a real eye-opener.
…From now on, I’ll take motion sickness medicine and study on my way to school too (genius).
“And here’s the biggest perk of you coming to the beach. …You’ll get to see swimsuits.”
“Huh?”
“The group going to the beach this time. Me aside, the other two girls are definitely top-notch. You’ll get to legally see them in swimsuits. It’s the ultimate reward for a guy—it’s nothing short of a perk.”
“That’s a pretty bold, sleazy approach out of the blue…”
“What are you talking about, Ayaka? You’re super cute too, aren’t you?”
“Just shut up for a second.”
“That’s mean.”
“…I’m trying to negotiate here with my life on the line. I can’t deal with you right now…!”
…It’s true—Takagaki-san has been really desperate this whole time.
Does she really want to go to the beach with everyone that badly?
“…But still.”
“What now?”
“Some people might think my situation is a perk of the job… but personally, I don’t really see it that way.”
“Why not?”
“…Because it’s embarrassing, isn’t it?”
“…Ugh. This guy is such a pain.”
She’s so mouthy…
“…Atsushi, are you really going to go on like this without ever building up your tolerance for girls?”
“Hm?”
“I know that in your entire life so far… you’ve had absolutely no experience with women other than the girl sitting next to you right now.”
“You don’t have to make it sound so dramatic, calling it ‘experience with women’…”
“Shut up! …Anyway, if you keep going around without getting used to being around women, you’re going to have a hard time later on.”
“A hard time…?”
“Because someday, even you… well, the day will come when you’re with the one you love.”
Takagaki blushed shyly and looked down.
“…When that time comes, it’ll be a problem if you’re not used to seeing the soft skin of the opposite s*x, won’t it?”
“Ayaka, you’re surprisingly naughty, aren’t you?”
“~~~! Shut up, shut up, shut up~!”
…Takagaki’s face was as red as a boiled octopus.
“A-anyway. Take advantage of this beach trip to build up your immunity to women! You, of all people!”
“……Yeah.”
“……Don’t you want to see Kanade-chan in her swimsuit that much?”
“Huh?”
Kanade’s swimsuit……
……
………….
“……O-okay, fine. I guess I have no choice.”
“It really pisses me off when you act all high and mighty…”
Takagaki glared at me, then let out an exhausted sigh.
“……Sigh. Finally got this troublesome guy to agree.”
“You’ve been relentless, Takagaki.”
“Well, it’s settled then. I’ll find a beach and let you know by tomorrow. …Atsushi, you have to come, okay?”
“O-okay…”
“Kanade, is that okay with you too?”
“Hehe. That sounds like so much fun!”
Kanade replied with a smile.
“Sorry. I have something I can’t miss on Wednesday, so you three go have fun!”
And, still wearing that cheerful smile… Kanade said.
“……Huh?”
Takagaki-san’s eyes widened in surprise—perhaps she hadn’t expected Kanade to turn her down.
“Oh, sorry. I actually have somewhere I need to go for a bit.”
Kanade stood up.
“Thanks for the meal. As for the bill… sorry. A-kun, could you cover it for me? I’ll pay you back later?”
“Sure. Got it.”
“Hehe. Thanks as always.”
Kanade waved at us.
“Well then, thanks for today.”
“Bye-bye.”
“Bye-bye, Kanade-chan.”
Kanade left the restaurant.
“Whaaaaaaat!???”
After Kanade left the restaurant, Takagaki’s scream echoed through the dining room.
Maiasa