Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139844261747978/episodes/822139844323958911
After school.
Yui was about to head home when he realized he’d forgotten something and turned back toward the classroom.
The moment he approached the door—a figure burst out of the classroom with force.
Yui scrambled back in panic, but couldn’t quite dodge in time and bumped into them lightly.
“Whoa, sorry—”
“! Watch where you’re going!”
(Whoa)
It was clearly the other person who had burst out violently, yet they had the nerve to say that.
But getting worked up over it now was pointless. Thinking they must be pretty agitated, Yui took a closer look at the figure.
(…Himekami-kun?)
The person who ran off without even glancing back at Yui was Himekami Ryota, the same one she’d seen this morning.
Not that it really mattered either way. Tilting my head, I tried to enter the classroom—
“…Ugh… Sniff…”
Inside the classroom.
I spotted Tomoka crying alone.
(…This is awkward…!)
It was undeniably too uncomfortable.
What should I do? Just as I considered leaving—Yui’s indoor shoes shifted slightly, scraping against the floor and making a sound.
Reacting to the sound, Tomoka lifted her face… and locked eyes with Yui.
Staring for a moment at her tear-stained yet beautiful face, Yui said:
“…………I came to get something I forgot. Should I just pretend I didn’t see you and leave?”
“No, no, no! Sorry about that! Don’t worry about me!”
Since it was the kind of forgotten item he absolutely needed today, he took her up on the offer and entered the classroom.
From there, he returned to his own seat to search inside his desk for the forgotten item… but, to reiterate, Tomoka’s seat was next to Yui’s.
Which meant that even while searching, he naturally heard his sniffles coming from right beside him.
It was extremely uncomfortable. As if sensing this, Tomoka spoke up from next to hhim.
“…S-sorry? For making things awkward…”
“Sorry I can’t hide my awkward aura either!”
Apologizing like that, Yui thought.
Something about Tomoka’s behavior felt off.
If she was uncomfortable… the kind Tomoka I know in class would probably take the initiative to change seats.
The fact she didn’t… meant she was either too dejected to do so.
Or perhaps—she wanted someone to listen.
“…Um, well…”
After pondering, Yui tentatively opened her mouth.
“I know it’s weird for someone we barely talk to say this… but if it’s okay, could you tell me what happened?”
“…Huh?”
“Well, seeing someone sitting right next to me in such a state… I feel like if I don’t know anything, it’ll just make things awkward for me tomorrow and beyond. So, if it’s not too much trouble…”
he emphasized that he wanted to ask because he felt awkward, not to make Tomoka feel guilty.
When he turned to look at the person beside—
“…”
Tomoka looked surprised for a moment… then her face, still bearing traces of tears, softened into a delicate, floppy expression.
“…Hmm. Thanks. You’re kind.”
She must have seen through Yui’s concern too, because after thanking her, she said:
“Well then, I’ll take you up on that… Could you be my listener for just a little while?”
From there, Tomoka began to speak.
“Ryota… there’s this guy named Himekami Ryota, my childhood friend.”
From this morning’s conversation and such, it was mostly what Yui had predicted.
“He’s currently at Asahi‘searching for what he wants to do’. Things like my livestreams, Michan’s music, my big sister’s manga—things he can pour his energy into. What Ryota calls ‘something he can really put his heart into.’”
“……”
“But I guess it’s not going well. No matter what he tries, he says, ‘There must be something else out there.’ I want to help him figure it out, but… he seems annoyed.”
So that was the result of this morning’s exchange.
“We ended up fighting again this morning… and then after school—just now, he said it again.”
“…What did he say?”
“[Tomoka ‘s got it good, huh? With her livestreams. She’s got talent, so she just does a little and succeeds right away. She doesn’t know hardship, everything goes smoothly. I’m jealous.]”
“—Huh.”
…Well, that’s something.
It was hard to keep my voice from dropping.
Sensing that, Tomoka brightened her tone slightly.
“So, even I snapped at that point! I yelled all sorts of things and kicked Ryota out, but…”
But apparently, it was still too much for her now.
“…After that, the damage from what he said hit me later. That’s why I ended up crying.”
“…”
“Yeah… I guess that’s how he saw it. Did my childhood friend only see me that way? I wish he could have understood me… Thinking that made me so sad…”
Finishing her sentence, she began to sob softly again.
After waiting for her sobs to subside… this time, Yui spoke quietly.
“I don’t know what that childhood friend of yours is thinking. So, I’ll just give you my personal opinion.”
“…Okay.”
“I think you are working incredibly hard on your streams.”
Tomoka’s eyes widened.
“Huh?”
“You can tell just by looking at her stream content and how she comes up with ideas. She’s someone who thinks really hard about how to make it more enjoyable for her viewers, how to deliver a better stream. She challenges herself constantly. I think that’s why she’s growing so much—because it comes across to the people watching.”
“Wait, wait, wait…”
Yui shared his perspective, gained from doing streaming himself… but Tomoka responded with a flushed face and a voice full of confusion and surprise.
“Eh… Kozora-kun, you watch my streams?”
“…Well, if a classmate is a famous streamer, you’d watch, right?”
“And your perspective is… like… Wait, do you stream too?”
“…A friend does. That’s why I know a bit about it.”
Somehow, I had a bad feeling about that, so I glossed over it.
Trying to steer the conversation back, I raised my voice slightly.
“Anyway! I think you are someone who works incredibly hard. I don’t know about talent… but at the very least, she’s definitely not someone who ‘doesn’t struggle’.”
“Huh?”
“Even when things get tough, you keep pushing forward for what you want to do. I think you’re an amazing person!”
I felt a bit embarrassed and ended up using polite language at the end.
Tomoka seemed surprised by that… but by the end, she bloomed like a flower.
“…Yeah, yeah!… Thanks…!”
Yes, she gave me that adorable smile.
Then, looking a bit more cheerful, she asked me this.
“But really, Kozora-kun, you’re someone I can talk to normally! I was kinda disappointed we never got to talk even though we sit next to each other!”
“Sorry about that! But Minasumi-san was always talking to someone else!”
“Eh? You should’ve just come talk to me anyway! I was lonely!”
Good, it seemed like she was back to her usual cheerful self.
“You can’t be lonely. You’ve got plenty of people to talk to, right, Minasumi-san?”
“Hmm? Well, yeah, I guess…”
In response to Yui’s question… Tomoka tilted her head cutely, smiled, and looked up at her.
“I wanted to talk to Kozora-kun, you know”
She said something unexpected.
“Huh?”
“Because, whenever you had free time, you were always writing or typing something, right? All that stuff… it’s ideas for something creative you’re working on, isn’t it?”
“……”
“I was watching you do that the whole time… I thought it was so stoic and amazing, you know? Seeing someone work this hard made me think I should try harder too. I was secretly getting energy from it. So…”
Placing a hand over her heart, as if to convey her true feelings.
“Because it was you who said that, your encouragement earlier really hit home… it genuinely cheered me up, you know?”
“──”
“So, I’ll say it again. ──Thanks!”
Saying that, the smile she finally turned directly at me was so adorable and dazzling.
“W-well… you’re… welcome.”
“Aha, are you blushing?”
Then, with a mischievous grin, she leaned in close to peek at Yui.
“enough about me! What’s important now is about Minasumi-san!”
Then, as if escaping, Yui continued.
“Anyway, are you mentally okay? You probably have a stream today, right? Got any ways to bounce back when you’re down?”
“Hmm… Well, talking to you helped, so I think I’ll be fine for the stream… But to change my mood, I guess I still try to sing.”
Luckily, Tomoka who’d taken the bait, answered.
“Singing?”
“Yep. If you watch my streams, you know, right? I’m actually pretty good at singing! I’m working hard at this too, keeping up with my twin sister, Michan!”
As she spoke… looking like she was thinking of something, she pulled out her phone, opened a video site, and showed me a song page.
“This is the song I’m really into lately! Know it?”
“Ah, yeah.”
The song displayed was a famous composer’s masterpiece, seemingly crafted with refreshing vibes as its sole focus. It was a track often used in short videos, one Yui had also wanted to sing given the chance.
So—the moment the pre-chorus melody played, instinctively.
“♪~”
Yui lightly hummed along.
Tomoka’s eyes widened upon hearing it.
“…That kind of song, right? I know it.”
“—Yeah! …Kozora-kun, since we’re here, wanna do a duet?”
Then, unexpectedly, Tomoka made a proposal.
“I want to change my mood, let’s sing together!”
“Eh, no, I’m not really into singing…”
“You can sing, right? Pretty well, even.”
He tried to hide it on the spot, but Tomoka seemed to see right through him.
“I could tell just from that one phrase. You’re someone who actually sings, right? You’ve trained your voice like an instrument. It’s like… you just can’t sing badly.”
Her confident tone and expression made him think, Damn it.
“…………How did you know?”
“Hehe, not as good as Michan, but I’m pretty confident in my ears! I wanna sing with you—if you don’t sing, I won’t be able to fully switch gears and it might mess up today’s stream.”
Faced with her smug expression followed by cheerful urging, there was no way he could refuse.
Besides… Yui also found the idea of singing with her appealing.
“Then… I’d love to.”
“Mm! Can you do harmonies?”
“I can, and I’ll let you take the lead. It’s for your mood change, and your vocal range suits it better anyway.”
“Really!? I’m so happy! Then let’s start right away—”
Tomoka tapped the play button, delighted. Since it was a song without an intro, she took a deep breath on the fourth beat—
────
Her sweet, adorable voice filled the classroom after school.
Yui was so captivated he forgot to breathe for a moment.
he’d heard it on streams before… but Tomoka’s live singing was on a whole different level.
While retaining her naturally cute voice quality, she sang with a refreshing, well-projected tone that matched the song. It was a wonderful song, filled with a brightness that lifted your spirits just listening.
He’d have to match that—it’d be tough, Yui thought, yet he also felt himself getting excited.
Carried by that surge of excitement, Yui took a breath as his part approached—
“～～♪”
Two voices painted over the classroom world.
Not a spring evening scene, but a refreshing summer sky where sea breezes flowed.
Yui was surprised. he thought Tomoka was probably surprised too.
That’s how perfectly their breathing matched, unimaginable for a first time.
Surprised yet delighted, Yui immersed himself even deeper into the world of song. Carefully, as if pushing it ever higher, he sang to bring out the best in Tomoka’s wonderful voice.
From a quiet melody, it gradually built up—then exploded into the chorus.
They sang the relatively short song together, leaving nothing untouched…
“…That was amazing!”
After finishing, Tomoka was the first to let out an excited voice.
“Amazing, it was amazing! Like, how do I even describe it? It was so amazing it left me speechless!”
“We literally lost it! But honestly, I agree.”
They harmonized better than either expected. After exchanging that surge of excitement for a moment,
“Yeah, it felt so good and was so much fun! Thanks so much!”
“You’re welcome. I got to hear and sing a great song—it’s almost a shame we didn’t record it.”
They expressed their gratitude to each other.
Then—for some reason, Tomoka turned to face Yui again.
“Yeah. …Hey, Kozora-kun. Can I ask you one last thing?”
With a smile that held excitement, surprise… and somewhere, a strange certainty.
She asked him this.
“You… are you by any chance—‘Hiyui san’?”
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