The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
“Here we go…”
It was quite a hassle to fulfill all of Kanade’s requests as I placed the teddy bear where she wanted it—adjusting its angle a bit, moving it a little closer, and so on.
A famous novel flashed through my mind.
It was the kind of story where you walk into a restaurant to eat, only to be bombarded with a barrage of orders from the waitstaff.
“Good work.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Kanade, who had already sat down on the bed to rest, offered me a word of thanks. It made me a little happy.
“By the way, you really keep your room clean, don’t you?”
“Don’t stare so much.”
Ignoring my words, Kanade stood up from the bed where she’d just sat down and started wandering around the room.
“…Do you have any dirty books or anything?”
“Nope.”
Even if I did, I’m not stupid enough to talk about it with the opposite sex.
What do you think would happen if I talked about something like that with a girl?
These days, people are super strict about sexual harassment.
I’d probably never be able to walk under the sun again.
“You don’t? Oh, okay.”
……She doesn’t really believe me, does she?
“What kind of dirty books do you like, A-kun?”
Just as I thought.
“Childhood friend stories? Or stories about the class beauty? Or maybe stories with a sickly heroine?”
“Those are some pretty niche genres.”
“Is that so? I don’t think so.”
Kanade didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping her search; she started rummaging through my desk.
…Just as she’d been reluctant to hand over her phone, I’d actually hate having my room searched through so thoroughly. But I felt that if I stubbornly demanded she stop right now, things would only get worse. So, praying that Kanade wouldn’t find anything strange, I reluctantly watched the situation unfold.
“This is…”
My hopes were in vain; Kanade found several books on the desk.
“……Akkun, have you already started studying for college entrance exams?”
What Kanade had found were several reference books.
Considering she was a first-year high school student, these were reference books for subjects she was still too early to tackle.
“They say it’s important to invest in the future, after all.”
“Ugh.”
Kanade looked thoroughly fed up.
She had never liked studying.
Come to think of it, I remember that whenever I studied with Kanade, we’d just end up chatting and never really made much progress.
“…Come to think of it, A-kun, you’re attending a pretty prestigious high school now, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah.”
That’s right. I currently attend one of the top academic high schools in Tokyo.
…Looking back now, I’m surprised Kanade managed to transfer into the school I attend, considering how much she hated studying.
“……Seriously, even though it was to get into the same school, you put me through a lot.”
“Did Kanade say something?”
“Not really?”
Is it just my imagination, or did the tone of Kanade’s voice drop just a little?
“Isn’t there a book more interesting than these reference books I don’t want to look at for a while?”
“No, there isn’t.”
……Seriously.
To begin with, she really should know that these days, erotic books are mainly read digitally, not on paper.
…No, actually, she’s better off never knowing.
“What about over here?”
Kanade had been eagerly rummaging through people’s desks, but she gave up and headed toward the bookshelves.
Then, she stared at the spines of the books, furrowing her brow.
“……Huh?”
While she was doing that, Kanade found a few more books.
“……Hmm?”
I was just thinking she should get tired of rummaging through the house by now…
“……Ugh.”
Seeing the book Kanade had found, I jumped to my feet without thinking.
“This.”
The book Kanade had found was…
“……Akkun?”
Of course, it wasn’t a dirty book.
“This…”
So what on earth was it?
“Why did you buy a French textbook?”
The textbook she found was a language book from France, where she had once gone for treatment.
“…I like studying languages.”
“But I don’t see any other languages besides French?”
“…It just happened to be cheap.”
“But there aren’t just one—there are about five of them?”
I shifted my gaze awkwardly.
“Akkun?”
“…I was planning to study abroad after graduating high school.”
However, with no excuse left, I resigned myself to it.
“……To France?”
“To France.”
“Why?”
“……Well…”
In France…
“B-because France has so many tourist spots.”
I played dumb.
“The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe… there are so many famous sights.”
After saying it, I realized.
Come to think of it, that line was… something I’d heard from the girl standing right in front of me.
“…I was planning to look for you.”
I continued, hanging my head.
“After such a tragic parting, in the end, I couldn’t do anything… Even if I went to see you, it might be pointless. You might already have settled into a new life over there. I thought that, but I still hoped… I hoped I could see you one more time.”
…Even I have to admit, that’s a pretty pathetic way of thinking.
Kanade must be cringing right now.
“…I never gave you my address over there, did I?”
“I was going to track you down.”
Given Kanade’s illness, I figured it would be possible to find her through the doctors treating her.
“……There was no guarantee I was even alive, was there? I never contacted you once while I was over there.”
“……That’s true.”
Of course, even without her saying it, that possibility had crossed my mind.
“……But no matter what outcome awaited me, I felt I had to see it with my own eyes.”
That was my way of atoning for the fact that I couldn’t do anything for her back then.
“…So, to be honest, I didn’t think you’d show up again on your own.”
I gave a playful laugh.
“…I guess so.”
Kanade smiled back.
“Now that we’ve met again, we can stay together for the rest of our lives, until we die.”
..Is that so?
Maiasa
If this was a horror novel we would soon learn she only had a short time to live.
Fortunately, it’s a comedy slice of life, so that’s not quite so foreboding.