Eiji and Endo
Endo’s PoV
Yumi and I came to an arcade in front of the station. This is a memorable place where the three of us used to go together. I played crane games with Eri and fighting games with Yumi. …
There are only happy memories here. Those happy days are long gone, and I had stopped coming here, but now I can finally come back.
Even when I followed Kondo and his friends to another unsafe arcade they used to go to, I felt disgusted. …
“Hey, Kazuki! Let’s play that game.”
She points to the game I remember from those days and laughs.
“It’s been a while, but I wonder if I can play. I’ve forgotten all my combos.”
“I know, I know. It’s been a long time for me too. Because I had decided that the next time I would come here, I would come with Kazuki.”
Receiving these words, I think Yumi felt the same. I should’ve made up for that time earlier. Only regret remains in my heart.
“I’d like to get all nostalgic, but we’ll settle this with a punch and a kick. We both hurt each other. This is a duel to make up!”
With that, we had a kind of reconciliation ceremony.
“Kazuki is a liar. You didn’t forget your combos!!”
“I can’t help it. My body remembered.”
Our reconciliation duel was full of smiles. Yumi was still playing with the levers and got into a melee without really understanding and became my prey.
This was fun.
“Thanks, Yumi.”
“It’s been a while since we played, and I had fun too. Let’s play air hockey next.”
Yumi starts to run towards air hockey. She runs, ignoring my warning.
Just as I’m about to run after her, my body makes contact with someone. …
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
It’s a girl’s voice.
“No, it’s me too. …”
There was a familiar face.
Ichijo Ai, famous as a school idol, and Aono Eiji.
They were my dear friends.
“Aono and Ichijo? …”
My voice unintentionally rises in confusion and embarrassment due to the chance encounter.
I had no contact with Aono-kun after the incident.
If I did something wrong, there was a risk that the bullying would get worse, so I did everything in secret so that Eiji wouldn’t notice.
He was my last connection to society since I had even rejected Yumi. Soon I was connected to Imai and my classmates through him, which gave me hope for my high school life.
That’s why I didn’t want to involve him in my revenge. Considering his kind nature, there was no way he would take revenge as an option. So I would be the one to do the dirty work. I was the one who had to stop Kondo.
But I couldn’t resist, so I sent him a message on the first night of the first day of school.
[I believe in you, Aono-kun.]
It didn’t get read that day. Maybe he had turned off his phone to get away from the abusive comments on SNS. I think it was buried there. …
“Endo! What a coincidence!”
Eiji spoke to me with the same voice as usual. That made me very happy.
“Kazuki, are they friends?”
Yumi asks curiously.
“My name is Eiji Aono. Endo and I were in the same class in the first grade.”
Eiji didn’t wait for my answer and replied with a smile. Then he whispered in my ear.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
Yumi seemed to have heard his whisper and smiled a little.
“No, no, we are childhood friends. Kazuki and me!” Yumi, who didn’t know what was going on, replied.
He laughed and said “That’s nice” despite my confusion. It even looked like he was completely over Amada-san.
“Aono-san, is that cute girl over there your girlfriend?”
Even though they are from different schools, she is still interested in the pretty girl next to him.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I am Eiji-senpai’s junior and my name is Ichijo Ai. We’re not in a relationship yet.”
Her answer was a witty response to Yumi’s answer. We laughed at each other.
“I see, so you’re not in a relationship either. Hey, since we met, let’s play double air hockey.”
Yumi’s reply was immediately answered by both of them.
““That’s nice.””
I was dizzy from the unexpected turn of events.
“Oh, you two, save us a spot first. Endo and I are going to talk a bit.”
And then Eiji accelerated the unexpected flow even more.
“So what’s the story?”
I asked carefully. Despite my concern, Eiji had a broad smile on his face.
“Thank you, Endo. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your message. It took me a while to open my phone. But thanks to your message, I was saved a lot. I was happy that not only Ichijo-san, my family, my teacher, and Imai believed in me, but also Endo, whom I had just met in high school. I should’ve contacted you earlier, but I had a lot of things going on. I didn’t want to bother you. But I’m glad we met today. Thank you.”
When I saw him bowing to me with such sincerity, I was convinced that I had not made a mistake. I felt that it had all been worth it.