The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
……I thought I heard someone calling my name, but “Atsushi” is such a common name that it was probably just someone else being called.
If I turned around here and it turned out they were calling someone else… it wouldn’t just be awkward—I might even end up making a fool of myself.
To begin with, I don’t have many friends… and I don’t really have the kind of connections where people would spot me out and about and call out to me.
In other words, even if it were someone I knew, turning around here would offer virtually no benefits and carry a high risk of causing problems.
After weighing my options, I decided to ignore the voice I’d heard from behind.
That decision was, from the perspective of my survival strategy, a perfectly rational one.
“Hey, Atsushi?”
The reason my rational decision came to nothing was… because the person behind me was actually calling me.
And the person who spoke… was someone I knew, and she had gone out of her way to run right up to me, as if delighted to see me again.
“Come on, I’m calling you, so at least answer me, okay?”
As she said that, the girl who was frowning at me… looked familiar.
A figure that could easily rival Kanade’s.
Permed hair.
Well-defined features that looked great with a smile.
And a gentle, soft-spoken tone.
“Kawashima-san…? Isn’t that Kawashima-san?”
“Long time no see, Atsushi. It’s been since we graduated from middle school, hasn’t it?”
Her name was Kawashima Kaho.
She was one of the few people I could actually call a friend.
“Wow, it’s been a while.”
“Yeah. Since our middle school graduation ceremony, I think?”
“…A-kun.”
As we rejoiced at our reunion…
“And who is that over there…?”
Kanade’s cold voice rang out.
“…Ah. You don’t remember her, do you?”
Of course, I paid no attention to Kanade’s unusual behavior and gave her a wry smile.
“Remember…?”
“Her name is Kawashima. Her full name is Kawashima Kaho.”
“…Kawashima. Kaho…?”
“Wait… could it be…”
It was Kawashima who noticed first.
“Could it be… Ichinose ?an”
“Huh?”
“We were in the same class in elementary school… but you got sick partway through… Ichinose san?”
Kanade, whose eyes had widened, finally seemed to remember Kawashima.
“…Could it be Kaho-chan?”
Her eyes glistening, she asked in a trembling voice.
“Yes. It’s Kaho-chan.”
Kawashima-san and I went on to the same school for both elementary and middle school.
Since we went to the same elementary school… that meant Kanade, who had once studied hard in the same school building, had also known Kawashima-san.
And the two of them used to be pretty close friends.
“Long time no see, Ichinose-san. …You’re feeling better now, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. …Yeah. Long time no see. I’m completely back to normal now.”
The school Kanade and I attend is one of the top academic institutions in Tokyo.
As a result, I was forced to take a different path from everyone else from elementary and middle school—except for Kanade.
So… this is probably the first time Kanade has reunited with any of my friends from elementary school other than me.
A reunion after more than a decade.
The atmosphere between the two of them feels somewhat distant, considering it’s such an emotional reunion.
Probably… it’s been so long since they last saw each other that they don’t know what to talk about.
“…Hey, Kaho-chan.”
Kanade continued, trying to show her joy at seeing her old friend again.
“Akkun and Kaho-chan… were you two close in middle school?”
……Huh?
“Hey, is that true?”
……An emotional reunion.
After congratulating each other on their current lives… that’s the next question you ask?
“…Ah. I see.”
At first, Kawashima-san’s eyes widened… but then, as if she’d realized something, she smiled defiantly.
“Could it be that the two of you are… dating?”
“D-dating…!?”
Kanade’s face turned bright red.
“N-no way! We’re not that kind of relationship! Not yet!”
“I see. So that’s not the case. …Not yet.”
Kanade’s desperate denial must have looked pretty ridiculous.
Even I almost started laughing.
Just because someone misunderstood that she might be dating me, Kanade was getting way too worked up (lol).
“Ichinose-san, please relax. Atsushi and I aren’t that kind of relationship. To put it simply, we’re just business partners.”
“…That sounds pretty suggestive.”
“Back in middle school, we were the student council president and vice president. …And back in elementary school, we were the president and vice president of the student council.”
“Huh!?”
Kanade looked back and forth between my face and Kawashima-san’s.
“A-kun was the student council vice president!?”
…Well, considering I always acting so sneaky, it’s no wonder Kanade’s surprised.
“No, Ichinose-san. That’s not it.”
“…?”
“Atsushi was the president of both the Student Council and the Children’s Council.”
“Whaaaat!?”
“He was really talented, you know. …Honestly, he was a thorn in my side.”
Kawashima’s eyes, filled with resentment, were painful to look at.
She’s always been like this. Whenever the opportunity arises, she’d voice complaints laced with jealousy toward me, using that sarcastic tone typical of Kyoto people.
“…That was a long time ago. I didn’t want to fail my entrance exams, so I was desperate to boost my grades. Most students find both the Student Council and the Children’s Council a hassle and don’t want to join. On top of that, being president comes with a lot of responsibility and cuts into your free time, so they hate it even more. That’s why I was the perfect person to use.”
“Oh my, I actually wanted to be president.”
…Could you please not say anything unnecessary?
“Actually, I ran for president myself… but I lost both times to Atsushi.”
“Huh? A kun, you actually won the election?”
From the way Kanade phrased it, I could tell she thought there was no way I could win an election where personal popularity was so important.
“…Atsushi was unbeatable in elections, wasn’t he?”
“Ugh… that’s kind of surprising.”
“It wasn’t until after the election was over that I found out he’d been doing all this behind the scenes: researching social networks within the school, understanding the size of each group’s voter base, calculating the projected vote count for his opponents, and deciding which voter bases he absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.”
“If it’s to win, I’d go that far.”
Kanade didn’t say anything, but her eyes seemed to ask, “Why don’t you apply that to real life, too…?”
“Haha. your practical skills are just too good for your own good… you even managed to fulfill all your campaign promises, after all.”
“…Since I earned the trust of the students and became president, keeping my promises is only natural.”
If you win the election, you don’t have to keep your promises.
It’s just weird that there are people who actually think that way.
“Enough about me, okay?”
“Huh?”
Kanade pouted, looking displeased.
“I’d like to hear more about what you were up to while I was away…”
…Huh.
Looking closely, there was no sparkle in Kanade’s eyes…?
“Fufu.”
Kanade gave a faint smile.
“…Still, to bump into Ichinose san in a place like this…”
Kawashima-san changed the subject.
Actually, from Kawashima-san’s perspective, her reunion with Kanade must have felt like quite a miracle.
In that sense, the reunion of these two…
“Well… it’s only about a thirty-minute train ride away.”
……Huh?
I was sure Kanade would describe her reunion with Kawashima-san as “fate.”
“Is that so? …What brings you to the electronics district?”
“I’m buying a present for a friend.”
“Oh, that’s nice. When did you come back to Japan?”
“This week. …What brings you here, Kawashima-san?”
Come to think of it…
“I have a favorite restaurant in the electronics district. I came here for lunch.”
The only person Kanade emphasizes “fate” to… is me, isn’t it?
“Huh, is that so?”
It’s only been a week since I reunited with Kanade, so maybe I just haven’t seen any other examples yet…?
“Yeah. …Since we’re here, why don’t the two of you join us?”
But… if she’s only saying this to me, I can kind of understand why she—someone who hates spiritual ideas—would emphasize “destiny.”
“Really? Is that okay?”
…Then why does Kanade only emphasize “destiny” when she’s talking to me?
“Akkun!”
Kanade’s dazzling eyes locked onto mine.
“We’re going to that restaurant Kawashima-san recommended, right?”
……
“……Yeah. Let’s do that.”
……I decided to put this thought aside for now.
“I’m so excited!”
……But then.
“It’s really delicious, so please look forward to it.”
“Hehe. Yeah!”
If I think about it any more… I feel like I’ll get sucked into a deep hole and won’t be able to get out.
Maiasa