The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
After returning from the changing room, I showed Kanade the hair dryer, then sat down next to her on the sofa.
“So, can you turn around for me?”
“Sure!”
Kanade turned her back to me, looking absolutely delighted.
Then I turned on the hair dryer and started drying her hair.
The hair dryer we’d just replaced the other day was a quick-dry model. It ran quietly, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how advanced technology has become these days.
“Hehe. I never imagined the day would come when A-kun would dry my hair for me.”
“You never imagined it?”
“Yep!”
Kanade’s voice was full of excitement.
“And from you, Akkun! I never would’ve thought you’d be the one to suggest drying my hair!”
“Haha.”
“From you, Akkun! I never would’ve thought you’d be the one to suggest drying my hair!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! From you, Akkun! I never would’ve thought you’d be the one to suggest drying my hair! I never would’ve thought it!”
……
………….
I never imagined she’d be this happy.
That makes me happy, too.
“Akkun. My hair’s shiny, isn’t it?”
“Hm?”
“I always take really good care of it! Just in case you ever want to touch my hair.”
“Is that so?”
Kanade was right—her hair was fine-textured and lustrous.
“……It’s a huge difference from how I used to be, isn’t it?”
Kanade’s tone, which had been so cheerful just a moment ago, dropped slightly.
“Hey, Akkun.”
I dried her hair while listening silently to her words.
“……Akkun, do you know why I turned down the beach trip with Ayaka and the others?”
…That was exactly what I’d been wanting to ask.
“I figured you’d have noticed, Akkun. I don’t have any plans for next Wednesday.”
“Yeah. Of course.”
Of course I’d noticed.
After all, Takagaki had just told me that a moment ago.
“I was a bit skeptical, though.”
I wasn’t sure if I should take everything Takagaki said at face value.
“…Just as I expected, Akkun. You really do see right through me.”
“……”
“Hehe. …Seriously, you know everything about me.”
“…………”
“Akkun, you really… love me way too much.”
……Kanade lowered her head.
“Akkun. I… you see, I don’t want to show you me in a swimsuit.”
Kanade said this while rubbing her stomach.
She didn’t want to wear a swimsuit.
Kanade is… even within my own class… no, she’s the most beautiful girl in this entire country.
It’s clear that her figure is outstanding, even through her clothes.
However, she suddenly said she didn’t want to show her soft skin in a swimsuit.
Why on earth… would she say that?
I had a hunch.
Above all, I could guess from the fact that Kanade was rubbing her stomach right now.
“…Is it because you don’t want anyone to see your surgical scars?”
Kanade didn’t respond to my words.
Kanade once had a near-death experience. After that, she was forced to endure a long and painful battle with illness.
It wouldn’t be strange if she’d undergone surgery once or twice.
…And it wouldn’t be surprising at all if those surgical scars remained on her body.
Scars on the body of a young girl.
That certainly… might be a reason to hesitate about going to the beach, even with a close friend.
“No.”
Kanade denied it.
“…It’s not that.”
“Yeah. It’s not.”
With her back still turned to me, Kanade shook her head several times.
“……It’s not that I don’t want people to see my surgical scar.”
“……”
“Because this—this scar—is proof that I’m still alive in this world. If it weren’t for this scar, I wouldn’t be here today. The flame of my life would have gone out long ago. …So, it’s fine if most other people in this world see it.”
“……”
“That’s right. It’s fine if it’s just other people.”
…As long as they’re strangers, huh.
“But… there’s one person I absolutely don’t want to show this scar to.”
…Is that her irreplaceable friend?
“That person… I’ve known since I was little.”
…It doesn’t seem to be Takagaki or Kadokura, whom she met in high school.
“And… the person who looked so heartbroken when he saw me in such a weakened state.”
……What came to mind was the scene I’d witnessed when I went to visit her after she’d been hospitalized and stopped coming to school.
Kanade, her beautiful black hair falling out, emaciated and utterly weakened.
“……I don’t want to make that person look so pained again.”
“Kanade. That person—could it be……”
“No. It’s not.”
Kanade shook her head.
“I’m just… scared.”
Kanade looked up at me.
“That you might not… accept me the way I am right now.”
After a few seconds of silence…
“Akkun. Even if you see me—this damaged version of myself—won’t you be disappointed?”
Kanade asked that in a trembling voice.
I couldn’t bring myself to answer Kanade’s question for a while.
It wasn’t that I was reluctant to give an answer.
It wasn’t that I was hesitating.
…It’s just… how should I put this?
I was at a loss for how to express it.
But… I realized something right away.
…I’ve been at a loss for how to express myself countless times before.
But in the end, hadn’t I always… just been honest with her about how I really felt?
All I had to do this time was the same thing.
“Kanade”
I called out to her.
“…What?”
Perhaps because she’d been made to wait a while, Kanade’s voice sounded subdued.
“…I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it, A-kun?”
I took a deep breath…
“Could you show me your stomach right here, right now?”
“Wha—!?”
Kanade’s voice was clearly shaken.
“Kanade, could you show me your stomach right here, right now?”
“T-that’s a bit much…”
“Could you show me your stomach right here, right now?”
“U-um…”
“Could you show me your stomach right here, right now?”
“U, uuuu…”
I felt like Kanade’s back had hunched over.
“Okay. I get it…”
Kanade let out a deep sigh.
“Seriously… Akkun, you’re being way too pushy.”
Come to think of it, hearing Kanade let out such a deep sigh… feels kind of rare.
Maiasa