The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
“To be honest, when you guys first started grilling me with all these questions… I was thinking I’d cut you off completely once this was over.”
“Huh…”
“Huh…”
“Anyone would get pissed off if someone they aren’t even that close to suddenly started prying into their personal life.”
…That’s true.
“Wait, hold on. You said we aren’t that close…”
“It’s the truth. The only time we really hung out was when we went to the airport the other day, right?”
……Hmm.
“Seriously… you guys are sticking your noses into my business way too much. Could you hold back from now on? You’re just going to make unnecessary enemies.”
“……Okay.”
“I’m sorry…”
“……Seriously, if you’re going to do something like this, just stick to me.”
Hm…?
“…Honestly, that really hit home. Especially what Hagiwara-kun said.”
“…Hmm.”
“Remember when I said I felt like I wasn’t even alive when I first got the call about him being in that car accident? That was true. But if you ask me why I felt that way… part of it was worry about whether he was okay, but mostly it was regret.”
“…Regret?”
“Yeah. I was worried that if I fought with him, I might never be able to apologize for that thing. That kind of regret.”
…I understood how she felt. I’d had a similar experience myself when I broke up with Kanade once—though it wasn’t a fight.
“Well, that’s probably why… I’m even more at a loss right now about what kind of face to put on when I see him.”
Takagaki-san hung her head.
“…I’ve decided,” she said.
“Decided what?”
“Just like you said, I won’t waver from my goal of being the kind of older sister he looks up to. No matter how much he hates me. No matter how much he shuns me.”
“…Yeah. I think that’s the right choice.”
“…But you know, Hagiwara-kun…”
Takagaki-san was smiling.
“Of course, I’ll get angry if he does something stupid… but deep down, I still feel that he’s cute to me, as a younger brother.”
That smile… seemed the most radiant of all the expressions Takagaki had shown today.
“So… I don’t think anything will change for me.”
…There was no longer any hesitation or worry in her smile.
“Well then, I’m going to go deliver this to him now.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks for today…”
Takagaki stood up.
“Ichi… Kanade chan………………… Atsushi kun.”
Takagaki-san said this with a bashful blush, placed the money for her order on the table, and hurriedly left the café.
And so, the only ones left in the café were Kanade and me, both looking dumbfounded.
“…Atsushi, huh?”
For me, who had never had anyone besides Kanade whom I could call a friend… being called by my first name felt sweet.
I felt like I’d managed to get a little closer to Takagaki-san than when we were just study buddies.
“……Hehe. I feel like I’ve finally gotten close to Ayaka-chan.”
Kanade was smiling.
“Yeah. It’s… kind of nice.”
“Hehe. Hehehehe.”
Kanade was still smiling.
“A-kun. Akun.”
“What?”
“Hehe. Hehehehe.”
Kanade was grinning like a broken machine.
“Akun. …Ayaka-chan was calling you by your first name, wasn’t she?”
“Hm? Yeah, I guess so.”
“She was calling you Atsushi-kun. She was calling you Atsushi-kun.”
“Yeah.”
“Hehe. Hehehehe.”
Kanade was still laughing.
“She called you Atsushi. She called you Atsushi…”
…Could it be… is Kanade angry?
“…Kanade?”
“A-kun. Akun.”
“…What?”
“Akkun… if I had a little brother, and we got into a fight that ended up hurting him, what would you do?”
“Huh…?”
It’s just like what happened with Takagaki-san earlier.
Why do I have to imagine that happening to Kanade—and to a little brother she doesn’t even have?
…Hmm.
Well, I don’t really get it, but I guess I’ll try to figure out what I’d do just to answer Kanade’s question.
……Let me think about it for a second.
“Probably…”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”
“…I’d say I think it’s my fault.”
If Kanade had a younger brother, I’m sure I would have built a decent friendship with him too.
If that were the case… I should have been able to stop the fight between Kanade and her younger brother.
But I couldn’t do that.
…Because I’m powerless.
…Damn it.
“…Hehehe.”
“…”
“Hehehe. I see. I see, I see. Hehehe. Hehehehe. Ehehe.”
Kanade was laughing.
“Don’t blame me. Don’t blame me.”
“…Kanade?”
“Akkun. You really, really love me too much!”
…It seems Kanade’s mood has improved.
Maiasa