Chapter 45 Yuya Is... No, Never Mind

Yuya Is… No, Never Mind

“Mom!! Just go already!!”

“Ehh~ But I want to talk with Kyogoku-kun some more~!”

“Kyogoku-kun is talking to me! So, Mom, get out! Go, go!!”

“…Is this what they call possessiveness? Ufufufu~”

“Mooom!!!”

Irara’s face flushes bright red as Akiko-san smiles smugly.

Their argument shows no signs of stopping. Not at all.

While they go back and forth, I can only force a strained smile. Then—

—Ding-dong

The doorbell rings.

“You heard that? Someone’s here! Mom, go check!”

“I suppose I have no choice… Oh, but that means I have to put Kyogoku-kun on hold~”

“No, you don’t! Just go already!!”

“Moo~. Well then, see you later, Kyogoku-kun~”

“Ahaha…”

Pushed along by Irara, Akiko-san leaves the room.

As soon as the door shuts with a bang, Irara lets out a deep breath.

“S-Sorry, okay? Mom got a little too excited about meeting you, Kyogoku-kun.”

“O-Oh, uh, yeah.”

“And, um…”

Irara mumbles hesitantly, looking down.

“Just… don’t believe anything Mom said, okay?”

“Eh?”

“I-I mean, don’t take any of it seriously… A-All of it.”

“O-Okay…?”

I have no idea what she means, but I nod anyway. Seeing that, Irara gives a sheepish smile.

“Good! W-Well then, let’s get back to studying! We still have a lot to do…”

“Araraa! Isn’t that Yuya-kun~!”

“…Eh?”

Akiko-san’s voice drifts up from downstairs.

And then—

“Akari~! Come down here for a bit~!”

“…!!”

Nakano… at Irara’s house?

No, but they’re childhood friends.

He’s probably been here tons of times. Maybe their families are even close.

So him coming over isn’t weird.

But Nakano cheated on her, and they broke up.

And right now, they’re practically estranged.

So for him to just waltz in like this—it doesn’t make sense.

But… if it’s Nakano, I can see it happening.

If it’s Nakano—well, that guy’s always been delusional.

“Kyogoku-kun…”

Irara looks at me.

Her eyes waver with uncertainty, silently pleading for help.

“I’ll go with you.”

“…! O-Okay!”

I stand up and follow Irara out of the room.

When we reach the entrance, we find Nakano standing there, drenched from head to toe.

“Akari! I-It’s been a while! Well, maybe not that long. Ahaha, I feel like I say it’s been a while every time we meet. Oh, right! This—this is an assortment I bought from your favorite sweets shop. If you’d like—huh?”

Nakano, who had been rattling on, suddenly freezes when he sees me.

His expression darkens in an instant.

“W-Why the hell is Kyogoku at Akari’s house…?”

Yuya’s PoV

Impossible.

It’s so shocking, so completely unexpected, that I nearly drop the box of sweets.

But—no, I mean, come on.

“W-Why the hell is Kyogoku at Akari’s house…?”

When I ask, Akari forces a smile, as if trying to brush it off.

“Uh… Kyogoku-kun and I were studying for our exams together. In my room.”

“…!!”

Kyogoku… in Akari’s room? Studying?

No way. I can’t believe it.

It looks like it’s just the two of them, aside from Akari’s mom. Which means… they were studying alone.

…What? Just the two of them!?

“O-Oh, I see. H-Hehh…”

My hands start trembling.

Could it be…? Is there actually something going on between them?

I mean, even I wasn’t allowed into Akari’s room that much.

And yet, she lets Kyogoku in…? No way.

Am I on the same level as Kyogoku? That Kyogoku?

“So, why are you here?”

“Oh, I, uh… I brought some sweets for you…”

“Why are you giving me sweets? Did you go out of your way to buy them?”

“Uh… y-yeah. I just… I wanted to see you happy, Akari…”

“That feeling itself makes me happy. Thank you. But we’re not together anymore, so you don’t owe me that kind of thing.”

“I-It’s not about owing anything! I mean, we’re childhood friends! I’m not just some random guy—”

I can’t find the words.

It’s obvious—Akari is rejecting me.

Akari, who’s always been the kind of person to accept anyone with open arms, is pushing me away.

B-But… I have a duty.

A duty to protect Akari and make her happy…!

“I’ll say it clearly! I want to get close to you again, Akari! Like before—as childhood friends who spent years together…!!”

As I say this, Akari lowers her gaze.

“Like before? …I don’t really get what you mean.”

“M-Maybe you’re right. I was the one who hurt you. And I’ll apologize with everything I’ve got! That’s why, to make up for it, from now on—”

But then, Akari lifts her head. And with the kind of cold stare you’d give to someone you don’t care about, she says—

“Even if you do that, it won’t make me happy. I don’t want that, Yuya.”

“…!!!!!”

A single, unmistakable rejection.

“W-Wait, Akari! Think it over! Oh, I know! You guys are having a study session, right? Let me join in! I actually really need to study for the test too—”

“I want to study with Kyogoku-kun. Just the two of us. Yuya is… no, never mind.”

“Wha—…”

Why… Why would she say that…?!!!