The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
“Hehe. So you want to know everything about me, don’t you, Akun?”
A little while later, Kanade started talking, looking incredibly happy.
“You want to know everything about me. You want to know everything about me.”
“Hahaha. Yeah. I do.”
I smiled along with her, but… to be honest, I had absolutely no idea why Kanade was so giddy.
“Well then, Akkun. Just like you asked, I’ll show you my stomach.”
“Yeah.”
Just a moment ago, Kanade had been incredibly hesitant to show her stomach, but perhaps my persuasion paid off. Now she was totally into the idea of showing it off.
…I guess my negotiation skills really shone through.
“Hehe. That smug look on your face, Akkun, is so cute.”
Kanade complimented my expression.
Even though I think my own face looks kind of annoying and wouldn’t call it cute myself… hearing it from Kanade of all people makes me genuinely happy.
“All right then, Akkun. I’m going to show you my stomach.”
“Okay.”
With a smile still on her face, Kanade grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and was about to roll it up in one swift motion… when she stopped.
“Kanade?”
Suddenly, she froze completely, and worried, I called out to her.
Kanade… didn’t have that serious look on her face like before.
“……”
“……”
“…………Mufufu”
If anything, she had—how should I put it…—a mischievous look on her face.
“Akkun. Akkun.”
“What?”
“You roll it up, Akkun. My T-shirt.”
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at Kanade’s sudden suggestion.
“Can’t you do it?”
“…It’s not that I can’t…”
“You said you wanted to know everything about me, but you can’t even roll up the hem of my T-shirt?”
“…It’s not that I can’t…”
“…So it was a lie. That part about wanting to know everything about me—it was a lie.”
There was no light in Kanade’s eyes.
“…It’s not a lie.”
I shook my head.
“……It’s just… when I think about it rationally, isn’t it a crime for me—as a member of the opposite sex—to lift up your T-shirt?”
“It’s not a crime.”
“But isn’t non-consensual contact a crime?”
“I’ve given my consent.”
“……But in this day and age, isn’t it possible for someone to claim afterward that they never actually consented?”
“Okay. Then, Akkun. Record a video on your phone.”
“Of what?”
“I’m going to say something into my phone right now. I consent to Akkun rolling up the hem of my T-shirt.”
“…And?”
“That way, if it ever goes to court, it’ll work in Akkun’s favor, right?”
“…Kanade.”
Kanade was smiling mysteriously.
“Are you a genius?”
Facing Kanade like that, I couldn’t help but groan.
Damn it. My best friend is way too smart…!
“…But, Kanade, I’m sorry. I’m not going to film that.”
“…Why not?”
“…Because…”
I looked down.
“After doing something like rolling up someone else’s T-shirt hem, you’re not taking any responsibility for it. I don’t want to do that to you of all people.”
“Akkun…”
Kanade let out a dreamy sigh.
“Oh, come on. Come on! Akkun, you love me way too much!”
The corners of Kanade’s mouth remained turned up in a smile.
“…Well then, well then! Akkun, you’ve got to take responsibility for rolling up the hem of my T-shirt!”
“Of course.”
“You’re going to see the scar on my stomach, so you’d better take responsibility!”
“Of course.”
“For the rest of my life! You’d better take responsibility!”
“…Kanade.”
I grabbed her shoulders.
“…S-sorry. I got a little carried away…”
“Of course you did! That’s obvious!”
“Kyaa! Akkun!”
Seriously.
Why on earth is Kanade asking me something so obvious?
I mean… since I’m the one lifting up a member of the opposite sex’s clothes, I’m fully prepared to take on the responsibility that comes with it.
“…So, can I see your stomach now?”
“Yeah. I’d love to say ‘look all you want’… but can I take one deep breath first?”
“Huh?”
“……Is that okay?”
Kanade, who had been completely giddy just a moment ago, suddenly began to show signs of anxiety.
……Well, it’s not surprising.
It doesn’t seem like Kanade’s reluctance to show her stomach scar to others is something that just started in the last few days.
It must take a lot of courage to show someone else something she’s harbored for so long—something that’s almost like a complex.
“Sshhh… Haa…”
Kanade took a deep, slow breath.
Then she held her breath for a few seconds.
“……Akkun”
And then Kanade…
“It’s… okay to pull it up, okay”
She gave me a smile.
“…Okay, then, I’ll pull it up.”
“Yeah.”
I placed my hand on the hem of Kanade’s T-shirt.
Kanade didn’t… resist like she had earlier.
She closed her eyes… as if listening to my reaction as I tried to look at her stomach.
…It would be a shame to keep her waiting too long.
“……!”
I pulled Kanade’s T-shirt up as hard as I could.
……I pulled it up too hard, and for a split second, I thought I saw her pink bra peeking out from her cleavage—my heart skipped a beat.
But my heart calmed down right away.
The sight that met my eyes was enough to make my heart settle……
“……Kanade”
“……I’m sorry”
“……”
“…I-it was grotesque, wasn’t it?”
Kanade’s voice… was trembling so much she sounded like she was about to burst into tears.
I… couldn’t comfort her. I couldn’t even encourage her.
“…Kanade, um…”
“……”
“…It’s really… sexy.”
“Huh?”
“…It’s sexy.”
Beneath her rolled-up T-shirt, I could see her plump, healthy, soft skin. Her belly button was too stimulating for a minor like me, and I didn’t have the composure to comfort her right then.
“…Uh, let’s put the ‘sexy’ part aside for now. …How’s wound?”
“…W-well, about that…”
“Ow!”
When I touched Kanade’s stomach without warning, she let out a strange sound.
“…Where exactly is the scar?”
“D-don’t just touch me out of the blue…”
“Sorry…”
“The scar… it’s right around where you’re touching me now, isn’t it?”
“It is, but…”
The scar where I’d touched was so small that you wouldn’t even notice it unless you were specifically looking for one.
Honestly, it was much smaller than I’d expected, and—to put it bluntly—I felt a little let down.
“Yeah. …It doesn’t bother me at all.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Really, really?”
“Really, really.”
…I guess Kanade’s awareness that she was different from others—that she’d hovered between life and death and had her abdomen cut open—had taken precedence.
That’s why she viewed the surgical scar on her own stomach through a biased lens, perceiving it as something serious and harboring it as a complex.
…But with a scar this small, unless someone was really looking closely, there’s no way anyone else would even notice it.
“…I see. So that’s how it was.”
“Yeah. You really don’t need to worry about it at all.”
…And it was precisely because Kanade’s scar was so small that I’d started to overthink things.
“…I’m sorry.”
What on earth am I doing?
Calm down.
Calm down, Atsushi.
What on earth am I doing to Kanade right now?
Even though it was consensual, I’d pulled up Kanade’s T-shirt to look at her stomach… and it was so risqué I couldn’t even meet her eyes.
What if.
……What if one of our parents happened to see this?
“I’m home… Huh? You two—when did you two become that kind of couple?”
……Just as I was thinking that, my mom came home.
“Huh? Huh…? Are you telling me to go buy some red rice for me when I’m exhausted from work?”
“I didn’t say that!”
After that, I explained in great detail to my mom exactly what we’d been doing… but she just listened with a smirk on her face, and honestly, I didn’t feel like I’d cleared up the misunderstanding one bit.
Damn it.
Why couldn’t I clear up Mom’s misunderstanding?
It was so impossible to clear it up that I even started to wonder if there had ever been a misunderstanding to begin with.
“A-kun, I’m looking forward to going to the beach on Wednesday!”
…Well, anyway.
Since Kanade’s in the mood to go to the beach, I guess I’ll just let this slide for now.
Maiasa