Embarrassing in public? …Just what did she intend to do?

Sorry to say, but that phrase only made me think of something utterly raunchy. Of course, no way those could happen, right? Nevertheless, this situation made my heart thump a bit.

With this impure thought in mind, I walked down the corridor and entered the literature club room.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been here.” Yuzu remarked with a little pensive look as she entered the room.

“Yes, I suppose so. We haven’t been here since we started helping out with the basketball team.”

Thanks to this, I felt even more nervous about being alone with her here after so long.

“Alright. So, Yamato-kun, sit here.” Yuzu set a pipe chair in front of the table and asked me to sit down.

“Okay, but what is it…?” I did as I was told and sat down in the pipe chair.

“And me as well.”

And then Yuzu just sat on my lap.

“H-hey!”

I stiffened at the abrupt contact. But without any regard, Yuzu placed a pen and balloons we needed to work on.

“Oh, don’t move. We will continue to work like this until I am satisfied. And then I’ll consider you’ve taken responsibility.”

“Is this good enough…?”



I had mixed feelings, both relieved and disappointed that things didn’t turn out as raunchy as I’d imagined. But when I thought about it again, This is raunchy enough, isn’t it?

From the parts where there was no gap between our bodies, I could clearly feel Yuzu’s body warmth and softness; my heart pounded ever so fast.

Oh no.

I felt my sense of reason loosening up a bit.

“Um… How can I work this way?” I uncomfortably protested in order to get out of this close contact situation.

""

“I have a job for you: whispering love in my ear.”

She had a very serious face when she said that. If I did that, my reason would be knocked out because of the embarrassment and this close contact.

“…I’ll read the script then.” I had no choice but to look at the data of the script that I had saved on my phone.

Also, I decided to contact Hina about Kotani’s matter. So I sent her a message with a brief explanation of the situation… Or it was something along the lines of ‘Someone is a little stressed out due to social relationships, so I’d like you to help her vent a bit’.

“Hey, Yamato-kun,” Yuzu suddenly called out to me as she worked on the balloons.

“What is it?”

Wondering what kind of outrageous demands she might come up with this time, I complied, and she looked up at me with a slightly sulky expression on her face.

“You keep talking about me, but Yamato-kun, what do you want to do with Hiiragi-san?”

“…What’s this out of the blue?”

When I was suddenly confronted, I couldn’t help but to swerve my eyes.

“How can I not be bothered? Or should I say, that’s the root reason for my insecurity, you know? Until that is resolved, my jealousy mode will not dissipate.”

“Well, that’s a serious matter.”

If this pace of jealousy were to continue, it would be unbearable for me in many ways. Nonetheless… it was not like I had an answer to this.

“Even if you ask me that… In the first place, I hadn’t even thought about seeing her before this festival came up. There’s nothing I want from her now.”

That was the difference between me and Yuzu—a crucial difference. Yuzu was troubled by the fact that she was trying to keep her friends together, but I had no such motivation.

“…Don’t you want to be friends with her again, like you used to be?”

“No, I don’t. It’s a relationship I’ve severed by myself after all.”

Yuzu opened her eyes lightly, probably surprised by my prompt answer.

In response, I elaborated further, “It’s not that I don’t care about her anymore or anything. It’s just that… What do you call it, I don’t think it’s a bad thing when a friendship ends.”

“What’s that?” Seeming not to understand my words, Yuzu tilted her head.

“For example, hmm… you have a lot of friends that you stopped seeing after graduating from middle school, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“But that’s not a bad thing, you know. Both parties decided on their own new places to stay and left, and you found new friends there. So we no longer see our old friends.”

It was not that there was a falling out or that both parties were unhappy with each other in any way. Their paths just didn’t cross as a result of their respective choices.

“I think that’s how the relationship between me and Hina ended.”

I took off my mask of the smile that had been eating me inside for so long and chose to be the most authentic and natural person I could be. Hina also changed her shy self and became a person with many friends. As a result, our paths no longer crossed.

“Yamato-kun, you have a strange way of thinking. Normally you would want to stay friends for as long as possible.”

“That’s basically what I think, too. But if we can make each other happier by being apart, then I think it’s better that way.”

Friendships don’t necessarily have to last forever, and just because it was over doesn’t mean it was fake. For me, the times I had spent with Hina were enjoyable and I cherished them greatly. Their value would remain the same no matter what I chose to do with my life.

But that was it.

“So, Yamato-kun, do you really think that your present situation with Hiiragi-san is a good one?”

The eyes of Yuzu were pure and upright, not allowing any lie. As I witnessed that, I faced my heart once again.

“Of course. But at the same time, there is a kind of bad aftertaste. I don’t have any regrets or second thoughts, but… I don’t know, I have this iffy feeling.”

I definitely got this weird feeling, but I didn’t know what it was. Not that I wanted to go back to the past, or that I regretted making the decision and became embittered. It was as if there was a thorn in my heart that hadn’t been removed yet.

“That’s…” For a moment, Yuzu almost said something, and then closed her mouth as if hesitating.

“Yuzu?”

When I called her name, she let out one small sigh and then proceeded to speak slowly.

“…Isn’t that because Yamato-kun still has some loose ends to tie up?”

“Loose ends?”

I asked her back, and she answered, “Yes, loose ends. On your side, and also Hiiragi-san’s.” After saying that, Yuzhu changed the angle of her body and rested her head on my chest and murmured, “…Well, to be honest, I would rather you not notice.”

“What the hell is that?”

I was bewildered by the contradictory words of Yuzu, but when she raised her face from my chest, she had already returned to her normal expression, and I could not read her inner thoughts.

“I have no further comment. Think for yourself. Now, let’s get to work.”

“O-okay.” I was so taken aback by how fast she could revert to her normal self that I reflexively nodded my head.

I went back to check the script, but I also ruminated on what Yuzu had said.

Loose ends.

Indeed, those words fell right into my heart. In that case, it was probably up to me to properly face that since I was the one who had ended my relationship with Hina; that thought ran in my mind after my talk with Yuzu.

chocolala: oh my, this part is sugary sweet yet the content is quite impactful