The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
Leaving aside what happened in the library, why was Kanade eating dinner at my house?
That obvious question crossed my mind, but I didn’t ask her about it directly.
Come to think of it, when I was a kid, if one of my parents was busy and away from home, I’d often eat dinner at the other parent’s house.
In other words, Kanade’s parents must have been busy tonight.
“Is the food good?”
So, after mulling it over, the question I asked Kanade turned out to be a very simple one.
“Yup!”
“Oh, that makes me so happy!”
Seeing Kanade nod energetically, my mother looked absolutely delighted.
Watching the two of them looking so happy made me feel happy too.
“Oh my, I was so surprised today. Just when I thought I’d made it home early for the first time in ages, the doorbell rang out of the blue! When I went to answer it, there was Kanade!”
My mom, looking incredibly pleased, told me how Kanade had ended up at our house.
“Apparently, she went out of her way to come return something she borrowed from you.”
“Hmm?”
Huh…?
Did I lend Kanade something?
…Was it from when we were kids?
“Really. Being gentlemanly with a girl leaves a good impression. Especially when it comes to Kanade-chan! It’s not a bad thing, Atsushi.”
Mom was angry.
“Why didn’t you tell me Kanade was back in the country!”
…It was a perfectly justified anger.
“Haha. Auntie, I got held up with all sorts of paperwork. I only reunited with A-kun yesterday.”
“Oh?”
“So please don’t be too hard on A-kun. …Besides, considering how much he helped me back then, I think I should have come to say hello in person, rather than sending A-kun.”
“Hey, Atsu! Kanade-chan has turned into such a proper young lady without you even noticing! A proper young lady!”
…You’re a far cry from a lady, Mom.
“But Auntie, your food really is delicious.”
“Hehe, that makes me happy.”
“A kun. So, don’t just focus on studying—make sure you eat your meals properly, okay?”
“……Huh?”
“You skipped dinner yesterday, didn’t you?”
……Huh, did I even tell Kanade that I skipped dinner yesterday?
Well, I guess I mentioned it casually this morning when we were walking to school together……or did I?
“Atsushi. Did you skip dinner again?”
“……Sorry.”
At some point, Mom started becoming really concerned about her children’s health.
That’s why, whenever I skip a meal, she nags me relentlessly.
Since her lectures tend to go on forever, it’s better for my mental health to just apologize quickly.
But this time, with a silent plea for her not to say anything extra, I glared at Kanade.
“…D-don’t stare at me like that. It’s embarrassing.”
However, Kanade seemed completely unfazed by my glare.
After that, we gathered around the dining table and chatted for about an hour in the living room.
“…Well, I’m going to go study now.”
Thinking it was about time to study, I slowly stood up.
“Wait a minute, Atsushi. Kanade’s still here. You can study later.”
“It’s fine, Auntie. Don’t worry about it.”
“But…”
“I’m going to study in A-kun’s room too.”
……Huh?
“I’m going to study in A-kun’s room too.”
……Apparently, I hadn’t misheard her.
“Why?”
“A-kun, teaching others how to study seems to help you learn too.”
“Well, I guess that’s fine then.”
“Easy peasy.”
Mom’s being a pain.
“So, shall we go to your room?”
“Yeah.”
We headed to my room.
“…Come to think of it, was everything okay with Kadokura-san?”
The moment we entered the room, it suddenly occurred to me.
Come to think of it, Kanade was supposed to have been hanging out with Kadokura-san after school today.
“was everything okay?”
“……Well, um…”
With an awkward atmosphere hanging in the air, I scratched my cheek.
“……I think I went too far today.”
“You went too far?”
“I was just hoping there wasn’t any tension between you two, who are right in the middle of it all…”
“……”
Kanade fell silent.
After staring blankly for a moment,
“……Hehe.”
Kanade smiled.
“A kun. You should be worrying about yourself, you know?”
“Worrying about myself?”
“Like, whether you’ll get bullied for standing up to the feisty Kadokura-san.”
“……Ah, right.”
I saw her point.
“It’s not like it’s unusual for me to be an outsider in class.”
To be honest, I didn’t really mind if I ended up in the same position as before.
“……You’re something else, aren’t you?”
Kanade’s muttered voice was so soft I couldn’t make out what she was saying.
“Well, if it’s about Kadokura-san, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“……I see.”
It wasn’t really any of my business what happened, but… the fact that she went out of her way to say something like this meant Kanade had gone out of her way for me, I suppose.
“Thanks, Kanade.”
So, just to be polite, I offered my thanks.
“Nah, it’s fine. It’s you, A-kun, after all.”
“……I see.”
“Anyway, A-kun…”
……Was it just my imagination?
I felt like the tone of Kanade’s voice had dropped slightly.
“I still don’t know much about my classmates, so I was hoping you could tell me a bit about them?”
……If she wants to know about her classmates, it would probably be faster to ask someone else besides me.
“What?”
Well, I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge.
“What kind of person is Takagaki Ayaka san?”
……I couldn’t answer Kanade’s question.
She knew I’d been in the library, and then suddenly asked me right there and then about the person I’d been with in the library today…
……Am I overthinking this?
Our study session with Kanade ended after about an hour.
After seeing Kanade off at the station and returning home, for some reason I couldn’t fall asleep.
……I think I’m just overthinking it, but I feel like I’m being watched.
“A-kun, good morning.”
The next morning, I ran into Kanade at the station.
“What a coincidence.”
“Yeah.”
We boarded the train and headed to school.
After a few dozen minutes of swaying on the train, we walked along the path to school and entered the classroom.
“……Ah!”
The moment I opened the classroom door, I heard the sound of footsteps pattering toward me from inside.
“Kanade-chan! Good morning!”
The one who threw her arms around Kanade, who was standing next to me, was…
“Ahaha. Good morning. …Kadokura-san.”
It was Kadokura-san, who had been on the verge of a confrontation with Kanade yesterday.
“……Hehe, yesterday was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. It sure was.”
“……Will you play with me again?”
“Of course, Kadokura-san.”
……How on earth did Kanade manage to get this far in just a few hours after school?
“Kadokura-san, what about saying hello to A-kun?”
I felt a chill run down my spine.
“……G-good morning, Hagiwara-kun.”
Seeing Kadokura-san greet me with an embarrassed look—a complete turnaround from yesterday—I took a step back.
“……Kadokura-san.”
Kanade’s voice was cold.
“Akkun, you’re scared, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Hagiwara-kun……!”
The sight of Kadokura-san desperately apologizing to me was completely different from the girl I’d known until yesterday.
“…It’s okay. I’m not scared. Don’t worry about it.”
“Really? That’s a relief…”
To Kadokura-san, who seemed relieved…
“…I’m really glad, Kadokura-san.”
Kanade’s faint smile remained etched in my mind for quite some time.
Maiasa