Chapter 27: Epilogue… Tachibana Ayane (3)
Epilogue… Tachibana Ayane (3)
“Yoshioka, Tachibana, sorry to call you during lunch break, but I need both class representatives for a quick task. Come to the staff room before you eat.”
“Yes, Kobayashi-sensei.”
No one had volunteered to be class representative for so long that when Minato-kun, who sat in front of me, suggested we do it together, I couldn’t refuse and ended up agreeing.
I didn’t expect our first task to come during lunch break. When I went to tell Ryou-chan that we couldn’t eat together, he smiled and said it couldn’t be helped.
All Kobayashi-sensei asked us to do was hand out some materials during homeroom and attend a short meeting. It hardly felt worth losing lunch with Ryou-chan, and I couldn’t help feeling a little irritated.
Since we couldn’t eat together, I waved to him from the hallway before heading to club activities, while he went to his part-time job. The time we could spend together kept shrinking, and my loneliness only grew.
“Tachibana-san, you don’t seem like yourself lately.”
“…Yeah. I’ve been seeing Ryou-chan less and less, even at school. Maybe I should quit the club.”
“Quit? But the regional tournament’s coming up. If you leave now, your senpai will have a hard time. Everyone’s working hard, right? Ryouta’s busy with his part-time job, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. Everyone’s giving their best before the match, so I can’t just stop. I really want to see Ryou-chan. Talking on the phone isn’t enough anymore.”
“No wonder you’ve been feeling down.”
“Yeah…”
Even though I barely had time to see Ryou-chan, Minato-kun still managed to meet his girlfriend, Seta-san, like always. I couldn’t help but envy that.
For some reason, every time I might have had a chance to see Ryou-chan, something for class rep work came up. I thought it was just bad timing, not realizing those “coincidences” were actually Minato-kun’s doing.
“…Where did Minato-kun go?”
During break, I wanted to discuss something about our duties, but when he wasn’t in the classroom, I went next door to ask Ryou-chan.
“Ryou-chan, Ryou-chan.”
Lately, I’d been calling him twice out of sheer happiness whenever I saw him.
“Ayane, what’s up?”
“Have you seen Minato-kun?”
“Minato? He’s absent again today.”
“I see… Thanks, Ryou-chan.”
“Hey, Ayane?”
“What is it?”
“You’ve been looking for Minato a lot lately.”
“…Have I?”
The sad look in Ryou-chan’s eyes made my chest ache.
“…Well, whatever. He’s not here anyway.”
“Okay. See you later, Ryou-chan.”
I waved to him and went back to my classroom, only to find Minato-kun sitting there at his desk.
“Ah, Minato-kun, where were you?”
“Me? I just went to the clubroom to grab something I forgot.”
“I see… so that’s why you weren’t here.”
“Did something happen?”
“Yeah, I wanted to ask you something about class rep work, so I was looking for you.”
“Got it. Sorry, Tachibana-san. Oh, right, since we both have club after school, we can’t really get much done. Want to finish it at my place after practice?”
“At your place? Won’t it be late?”
“It’ll be the same either way. My place is closer to yours, so it’s more convenient.”
“Hmm, you’re right. I’ll wait by the school gate after practice.”
“Alright, it’s settled.”
Of all days, today’s training focused on lower-body workouts, and I was exhausted by the end. My legs trembled even when I stretched. When I reached the school gate, Minato-kun was already waiting.
“Sorry I’m late, Minato-kun.”
“It’s fine, I just got here too.”
“Now that I think about it, wouldn’t it have been better if you went home with Seta-san and I came over afterward?”
“Ah, well, Honami-chan had errands, so she went home first.”
“I see…”
“Let’s go, Tachibana-san. Otherwise, it’ll get late.”
“…Yeah.”
While walking, I started typing a message to tell Ryou-chan that I’d be working on class duties at Minato-kun’s house, but he leaned over and peeked at my phone.
“You’re messaging Ryouta?”
“Yeah.”
“You shouldn’t tell him. He might misunderstand.”
“Really?”
“He’s at work now, right? He’s been giving me some sharp looks lately. Let’s just not mention it for now.”
“…I guess so.”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t think too deeply about his words. If Ryou-chan heard about it from Seta-san, it might cause unnecessary worry, so I stopped typing and put my phone away.
“Anyway, I’ll grab you some citric acid juice for the fatigue. Wait in my room, okay? But don’t look under the bed, no matter what.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You sound just like Ryou-chan.”
While waiting alone in his room, I found myself remembering when Ryou-chan and I had come here back in middle school. Soon the door opened, and Minato-kun returned.
“Tachibana-san, how about using this metal box as the container for the class lottery? We can use it for the class match draw.”
“That’s perfect. Isn’t that the box that used to have rice crackers in it?”
“Yeah. My mom said I could use it since she doesn’t need it anymore. I also brought some paper for the slips.”
“You’re right. We can make enough for the whole class.”
“Exactly. I’ll cut the paper, and you can write what’s on them, alright?”
“Sure, leave it to me.”
As I kept writing “win” and “lose” slips for each event, the monotony and exhaustion from practice finally caught up with me. Without even realizing it, I drifted off to sleep. When I faintly began to wake, I felt my body moving and, sensing something strange, I slowly opened my eyes to see Minato-kun right in front of me.
“…Minato-kun?”
“Ah, you’re awake… Ayane-chan, you feel so good.”
“Huh?”
The strange sensation in my lower body and the sight of Minato-kun without his clothes made me realize what was happening. Overcome by nausea and fear, I struggled to resist, but he touched me over my uniform, and even as I tried to cover my mouth and fight back, it did not end until he was finished.
“Ha… Ayane-chan, that was great.”
“You’re horrible! How could you do this?”
“Sorry, sorry… So, Ryouta was first, huh?”
“…”
I ignored his words and tried to run, but before I could reach the door, he grabbed me again.
“You’re disgusting! Let me go!”
“Answer me. Was Ryouta first?”
“No!”
Of course he was. After Ryou-chan confessed, we became truly connected, and I had given him everything. That memory was mine alone, something that had made me feel alive.
“Then maybe I should show this to Ryouta and ask him myself.”
He held up his phone, showing a video of what he had done to me while I was unconscious.
“That’s awful… Delete it now!”
“No chance. Unless you agree to stay with me. Honami-chan never lets me have any fun.”
“No… please delete it. I don’t want Ryou-chan to find out…”
He laughed as he reached toward me again.
“If you don’t want him to know, then you’ll do what I say. From now on, you’ll meet me in the boys’ basketball clubroom during lunch.”
“…”
“Understand?”
“If it’s during lunch, I won’t be able to see Ryou-chan.”
“What? Are you refusing me?”
“…Fine. I understand.”
My heart screamed in rejection, but my fear froze me. Tears blurred my vision as I gathered my strength, slammed my forehead into him, and stomped on his foot. In that brief moment, I managed to break free and run from the room.