Chikasugiru Karera no, Juunanasai no Tooi Kankei [LN] V2 Chapter 4.9

Chapter 4 - Something That Lingers In Them

It had been several days since Rina returned to her home. The sense of Rina's absence in the house was still thick in the air.

When I woke up in the morning and went down to the living room. At dinner time. The amount of laundry. The number of shoes in the hallway when I come home after going out. The atmosphere of the house that I can feel through the walls when I am in my room at night.

Those same ones from six months ago now convey a sense of discomfort. However, as time goes by, I am sure that these feelings will fade away.

Even though the atmosphere and life at home had changed, nothing had changed in my life at school or in club activities. After the end of the winter holiday, club activities started again.

That day, I saw Yuriko for the first time in a week. When I walked out onto the field, Yuriko was sitting on the bench, wearing a jersey and her hair tied in a ponytail. Somehow, I was relieved to see that her figure had not changed.

"Yuriko."

When I called out to her, she looked back at me with a pouty expression on her face. I was worried that she would ignore me, so I was relieved when she looked back at me, even if her expression was stiff.

"Long time no see."

When I said that, she responded with a short, "Yeah,". Her attitude was still a little unfriendly. However, I felt that she was a little easier to talk to than she had been at the end of the year. I decided to talk to Yuriko again after club activities were over, and was about to go into the court to get up. Then, a voice called out to me from behind, "Senpai, wait a minute," I looked back and saw Tachibana standing there.

"What?"

"I have to talk to you for a minute. I'll probably be done soon, so please follow me," she said shortly. 

I had a hunch that it might be about Yuriko, judging from her serious expression. Looking at the clock on the school building, there were fifteen minutes left until the start of practice. Tachibana started walking quickly. I followed behind her.

She left the field and went around to the back of the gymnasium. Nearby is an old incinerator, no longer in use, and a fence enclosing the high school grounds with evergreen trees planted along it, apparently as a blindfold. The area was shaded by the gymnasium, dimly lit even in the daytime, and completely deserted.

Tachibana stopped. Then she stared at me and said with an angry expression on her face.

"I was told to pretend I didn't know about it, but I couldn't take it anymore."

"......This is about Yuriko?"

When I asked her that, Tachibana nodded.

"Yes. I heard that she had a fight with Sakamoto-senpai at the end of the year. So I know the general situation. About how the two of you had a kiss, and so on and so forth."

I had been listening seriously, but when she added the last word, I involuntarily choked up. Then Tachibana, perhaps thinking that I was laughing at her, said angrily, "I didn't come here to make a joke."

"---I know. Sorry."

When I said that, Tachibana continued to speak slowly.

"Have you ever thought about how worried Mori-senpai was? It was really hard for me too, waiting for Keita-kun's answer. I regretted so much, thinking that I shouldn't have said anything, or that I had ruined the whole relationship by saying those things. It was only for a few days, but it was really hard. And Mori-senpai kept doing that for months."

So Tachibana's voice trembled slightly at the end. 

"You are so cold, senpai."

I thought back about myself up to this point. Then I said, half to myself. 

"......Indeed, maybe I have been like that all this time."

"Is there someone else you like? Is Mori-senpai no good for you?"

"It's not like that. But it took me a long time to get things right, including that part. I made Yuriko wait too long."

"Then, please tell her that right away. I'll cooperate with you, so please go get Mori-senpai and talk to her about it."

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After the practice was over, I waited for her by the entrance. Yuriko and Tachibana, both wearing uniforms and scarves, came down together. 

"Yuriko, hey," I said to her.

Yuriko stopped and turned around. Yuriko was looking at me with a mixed look of confusion.

"I need to talk to you. Let's go home together."

"......No."

After a short pause, she turned away and said in a voice like a pouting child.

"No, you say........I'll buy you croquettes from that restaurant we ate at in the summer."

I said as soon as I thought of it, Yuriko said, sounding even more puzzled.

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

It might have had the opposite effect. She sounded a little angry. Then, perhaps thinking this was bad, Tachibana reacted in an exaggerated manner, as if to rouse the atmosphere of the place.

"Wow, croquette! Senpai, that's great! Well, I'm meeting Keita-kun at the station, so I'll go now! You have to get along with him!"

Tachibana glanced at me and then scuttled off toward the school gate. It was overly bad acting......probably, Yuriko knew that intention.

"A-Akari!"

Yuriko, who was left alone with me, called out to Tachibana in a weak tone and then glared at me, saying, "You set me up, didn't you?"

Yuriko seemed to have come to the conclusion that she was going to go home with me, although she was quite sullen. Yuriko walked with me to the bicycle parking lot about three people away from me.

On the way home, I bought two croquettes at the butcher store where Yuriko had stopped on that summer day, and gave one of them to Yuriko as promised. There was a small park nearby, so I sat down on a bench there.

At first, Yuriko was hesitant, but eventually, she started munching on them and soon had them in her stomach. I still had about two-thirds of it left.

"......Want a half of mine?"

"It's not like I'm lured by the food, okay? When I get pissed off, I get hungry." 

While saying that, Yuriko reached out her hand to me. I divided the remaining portion with my hand and handed the untouched one to Yuriko.

Yuriko ate it, exhaled, and put her hand on her stomach. 

"You know. About the other day......" I began.

"Sorry. I'm sorry for the way I explained it to you and the way I behaved up until then."

Yuriko turned to me. She took a small breath. Then she said,

"I'm sorry, too. At that time, I was pissed off so quickly that I didn't know what was going on......Once I got stubborn, I couldn't back down..."

"No," I shook my head.

"It's my fault for being so indecisive. If it's all right with you, Yuriko, listen to my answer for that time."

When I said that, Yuriko's body shook with a jolt. Then she looked me in the eye and asked me.

"Kenichi, I think a girl like Izumi-san would be better for you. I'm nothing like her and I can't be cute like that.......And I don't want things to go back to the way they were before."

"Not like that."

I shook my head again. Then I took one breath and said,

"I like Yuriko more."

Yuriko looked at me in surprise and was silent for a moment. But then removed her gaze and mumbled, 

"......I can't believe it."

Suddenly, I remembered that day of the thunderstorm. I wonder if Yuriko was so anxious, embarrassed, or scared at that time. I'm sure she was. I had been making her feel that way for so long. Impatience and regret ran through my head, and all the words I had been thinking about blew away, and my mind went blank. Anyway, I knew I had to express my feelings in words now, so I opened my mouth.

"If you don't believe me, then I will go to Yuriko's house now and tell the people in the house that I like Yuriko and I want to date her."

When I said that, Yuriko mumbled, "Eh?" in a small voice, as if taken aback. Then, after a moment of silence, she blew out a small puff of air and then,

"Hey, stop it, it's just so embarrassing. Why is my family showing up there?"

She looked at me with scornful eyes and said that.

"Ugh."

I mumbled unintentionally. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn. I said it without having time to feel even a hint of embarrassment, but it seemed I was being absent-minded, and as soon as I became aware of that, my face got hot.

"I did it," I looked down and heard Yuriko giggle. 

I looked at Yuriko, who was laughing at me, and said again, "......I'm serious," though a little weakly, and Yuriko said, "God, it's so strange," she said, her voice laced with laughter.

Yuriko then adjusted the hem of her skirt, repositioned herself on the bench, turned to me and said,

"If you ever make a move on another girl again, you will be publicly executed in front of Mama and the other in no time, you know."

At these words, I looked up. I look at her. Yuriko looked angry, but when our eyes met, she nodded slightly. I nodded back.

"Yeah. You can boil me, grill me, whatever you want."

"Then I'll grill you well."

Saying that, Yuriko wrapped her arms around my left arm, a little reservedly. Our faces got closer, and our temples bumped against each other. I could feel Yuriko's breathing.

There was no one in the park, and there was no sign of anyone on the nearby street.

Yuriko shifted her face down. Her breath brushed against my mouth, and soon our lips were lightly touching. The warm, soft, smooth sensation instantly turned my consciousness white. It was a sensation I knew. But it was a different, gentler touch than the one during the thunderstorm.

Then, from either side, we quickly pulled our faces apart and returned to our original positions. She untied her arms and put her hands in her lap.

For a while, we didn't talk. I didn't know what to say. We both kept looking straight ahead. We didn't say anything, and time just kept passing.

A few headlights drifted by as cars drove down the street in front of the park. Right after our lips met, my heart was pulsing like an alarm bell, but little by little, it began to calm down. Then Yuriko said a few words to me.

"In the past six months. Kenichi, you have become much softer."

"......What does that mean?"

"The way you interact with people, that kind of thing. You've always been a strangely cold, brusque, and annoying guy, but lately, you seem to be doing a lot of things honestly and trying your best, which is much better than before."

Yuriko said that and looked at me observantly once before continuing.

"If you hadn't, maybe I wouldn't have waited so long. Maybe I would have truly hated you. That's why I'm kind of grateful to Izumi-san for that."

Saying that, she ended by muttering in a small voice.

"I'm sorry."

After apologizing, Yuriko returned to her usual strong spirit.

"......You'll pay it back for all the time I've spent waiting for you, right? I've been thinking about what I want to do when we dating, and there are so many places I want to go, and things I want to do."

"Yeah......but don't we have to study for the exams this year?"

"Don't be so realistic all of a sudden....... I'm in trouble. I had to take a practice exam soon.......Because of someone, I haven't been able to study lately, so I'm depressed......"

"......My bad."

"Haa," Yuriko said.

The area was becoming completely dark. The white light from the street lamps looked like a ball of light. We had been sitting there so long that our body was getting cold.

"Kinda cold," Yuriko said.

"Yes. I think it's time for us to go home."

Yuriko nodded and stood up.

"Give me your hand."

Yuriko held out her hand. It was only a short distance from where we had parked our bicycles, but I took her hand. It was already quite cold. We walked together holding hands until we left the park.

We had been together for so long, but today might have been the first time we held hands, I thought, after I escorted Yuriko to her house, on my way home.

End of Chapter 4