I’ve Been Reincarnated as the Childhood Friend of a Doomed Heroine. Since I Don’t Want to Get Caught up in Her Bad Ending, I’ll Make Sure She Ends up Happy
After dinner.
It was fine that we’d all gone our separate ways, but there I was, walking through the nighttime streets alone with Yukimi.
“Just the two of us, huh?”
“It’s all because Hiiragi-san had some weird idea.”
As usual, she’s the type who loves setting people up with each other.
Normally she’s always going on about “Shinorin this” and “Shinorin that,” but at times like this, she slyly tries to pair me up with Yukimi.
It seems she just can’t rest until she’s stirred things up a bit.
Seeing my sour expression, Yukimi gave me a sly grin.
“Hehe, are you unhappy?”
“Hehe, I don’t know.”
Since I didn’t want to just keep getting teased, I mimicked her and gave her a sly grin right back. She let out a “Ugh” that sounded genuinely disgusted and backed away from me.
It seemed to work like a charm, which was great.
Even as we bantered back and forth like that, I didn’t really feel like goofing around.
The conversation we’d just had was just too heavy, and I was still feeling down.
“Do you feel responsible?”
“……Well, no, but I just wonder if I could’ve been a little more empathetic and supportive.”
“You really are such a softie.”
“Am I?”
“Of course you are. After all, you’re not an outsider. If anything, you’re a victim who’s been dragged into this, aren’t you?”
“……”
Apparently, I wasn’t cold-hearted enough to just cut things off with a remark like that.
Or rather, no, that’s not it.
I think I’d come to care about Kisa more than I realized.
She’s an important friend to me, so I can’t just treat this as someone else’s problem.
Given what happened, it’s strange even to me.
“Actually, thank you for going out of your way.”
I stopped in my tracks and bowed my head to Yukimi once more.
This meeting today wasn’t something I’d arranged myself.
I had certainly consulted her, but it was Yukimi who took the initiative and made things happen.
She turned her face away, scratching her cheek as if surprised.
“……You did save me once, after all. I’m not that ungrateful.”
“So when I mentioned Chagiri’s name the other day, you hesitated because you knew about him, right?”
“That’s right. I didn’t think it was something I should discuss there, so I dodged the question. Are you mad?”
“Not at all. I think it was the right call. …But I wonder what we should do now.”
In the end, we still haven’t settled on a solution.
We’ve found a breakthrough, but the fact remains that he still holds our weakness over us.
It’s not a good idea to get too close to someone like Kayaya Chagiri, and given his personality, there’s no telling what he might do if he loses control.
For now, we still don’t have a starting point.
Unless we create a catalyst, things won’t move forward.
“That’s right. Threats like, ‘If you tell the police about the rape, I’ll spread the video around,’ are basically just bluffs. And if she’d reported it from the start, he probably would’ve been arrested immediately for r*pe and drug use. …But since he was a troublesome person in a position of power, I feel like Hiiragi-san’s decision to endure it this time was the right move.”
“You mean it was just swept under the rug?”
“In the worst-case scenario, they could have silenced her on top of that.”
“So you’re saying it’s better to negotiate directly with the Sayama family than to go to the police?”
“That would be difficult, too. I get the feeling they’d just silence her anyway. If that happened, it might even make her life even harder.”
The conclusions are all the same.
If she reports it to the police, they’ll use money and power to sweep it under the rug and silence her.
If I try to negotiate with the main family, I’ll be silenced.
Even if I threaten Chagiri himself by saying I’ll make the family matter public, there’s no telling what he might do.
In the worst-case scenario, the video really will go viral.
Fortunately, so far, there’s no evidence that the video is circulating.
There’s also the theory that he might just be keeping it saved for himself.
If that’s the case, I can’t make any rash moves.
It’s a vicious cycle.
However, Yukimi broke through my agonizing thoughts with a light tone.
“But I could negotiate.”
“……What do you plan to do?”
“There’s also the matter of the arranged marriage, and I have strong connections with the Sayama family. If an ordinary high school girl like Hiiragi were to report s*xual assault, she might be ignored—but if I were the one to report it, that would change things. I’m the prospective bride for his grandson, and to Hiroyoshi Sayama, I’m currently both his granddaughter and a key business partner. Needless to say, that would take priority over keeping the evil entity known as Kayaya Chagiri a secret.”
That was nothing less than a plan for Yukimi to storm the Sayama household herself.
“If you do something like that… isn’t there a chance you’ll put yourself in danger, Senpai?”
It goes without saying.
Generally speaking, it’s better not to stick your neck out.
If it’s your own business, that’s one thing, but there’s no need to go out of your way to get dragged into someone else’s mess.
I know that all too well from personal experience.
And of course, the same goes for Yukimi.
“I feel bad saying this to her, but I don’t think Senpai needs to get involved in this matter to the point of putting herself in danger. As you said, we’re outsiders, and we’ve already suffered some harm from her.”
Whatever the reason, the fact remains that Kisa tried to frame Yukimi as part of her plan.
Given the circumstances, I’m not angry, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to forgive her either.
Furthermore, while it’s only natural for me, as her friend, to worry about Kisa, what about Yukimi?
I just couldn’t see the necessity of it.
At that moment, Yukimi smiled faintly.
“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“The scar on your left arm—it’s still there, isn’t it?”
“……”
I’m wearing my school uniform right now, but since we’ve switched to summer clothes, I’m wearing a short-sleeved shirt.
Because of that, my left arm is exposed, and sure enough, the scar from where I was stabbed before was still quite clearly visible.
It doesn’t hurt.
But it’s also true that every time I see it, I’m reminded of what happened.
“I don’t think you have any obligation to help her, do you?”
“That might be true… but I’m different. I have a reason why I can’t just leave her alone.”
She furrowed her brow in suspicion, so I let out a sigh and gave a wry smile.
“Look, Hiiragi-san, one of Shinori’s few friends, right? There’s no way I can just ignore the fact that someone like that is still hurt, especially when their relationship is already strained.”
What would happen if Shinori found out about this?
We don’t hang out as a group as much as we used to, but Shinori and Kisa still talk occasionally.
They’re on fairly good terms.
But what if she found out that Kisa had been assaulted in the past, or that she was involved on the opposing side in the incident where I was stabbed?
It would definitely cause a rift.
She’d be shocked, and the rapport we’ve worked so hard to build would likely be ruined.
Kisa hasn’t asked me to keep quiet about this, but I don’t know when I should bring it up either.
Honestly, I’m leaving it up to Kisa to decide the right time.
Because that’s the only thing I can do.
And then there’s this.
Above all, what if that confession causes Kisa to disappear from Shinori’s life as a friend?
How would that affect her mental state?
She’s the best friend I’ve ever had.
Our bond would be shattered in the worst possible way.
Suppose she were to fall into a deep depression because of it and lose all hope in life—
I’ve run through this scenario countless times—it’s Shinori’s “destruction ending.”
And that would also be the end of me.
I don’t want that to happen.
Even though the path I’m taking has changed, the goal remains the same.
I have to focus solely on avoiding my own death.
Hearing my words, Yukimi gave a troubled smile.
“If Hanesaki-san is that important to you, why don’t you just go ahead and reciprocate her feelings already?”
“……You want me to date her? No way.”
My voice came out colder than I expected, directed at Yukimi, who had clearly misunderstood.
Air welling up from the depths of my chest escaped through my nose along with a laugh.
“Even though I know that’s not the best solution, even though I know that’s not the True Route—there’s no way I can choose that.”
It was a soliloquy meant for no one in particular.
Even though I usually keep it bottled up, for some reason, the words just slipped out before I could stop them.
“……”
Yukimi stared intently at my profile.
For the rest of that day, she didn’t say a single unnecessary word.
Maiban