Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330649941556887/episodes/16817330658780162905
“Wow…..! It feels like an amusement park !”
One week after the school trip. We were at an amusement park.
“I had a lot of fun over there as well ! But it still feels different from an amusement park !”
“Right. The size is the same, but the atmosphere is totally different.”
I talked with Nagi while waiting in line to enter the park. It was a fun time.
“Even so, I’m sorry it was so sudden. It hasn’t even been that long since our school trip.”
“No no ! I’ve already completely recovered from my fatigue !”
I was relieved to hear Nagi’s words. Although there was a substitute holiday after the school trip, it didn’t take that long.
I was prepared to be told no by my father and Soichiro san…..but it was all right.
When I was talking like that, we were able to enter.
“Wow…..! Once inside, the place is huge ! There are lots of attractions !”
Nagi was excited to see the map near the entrance. It was so relaxing to see.
“What do you want to do first?”
“Right……this one ! Can we go there !?”
The place Nagi pointed to was–
A maze.
◆◆◆
“Hmmm…..it’s difficult.”
“……I have no idea.”
Probably, it is a problem that can be solved even by elementary school students. There are no difficult expressions or kanji characters used.
It is a problem that can only be solved with a cool head.
“I think this is it. No, it’s not.”
Nagi put her hand on her chin and turned her head down. She stared at the paper. This is also Soichiro san’s habit. It must have been contagious while he was staring at it.
I like to spend time looking at Nagi. It’s because her expression is different from usual.
“Ah !”
Her face flashed. As if a flower had bloomed.
“I understand ! Souta kun !”
“There you are.”
I headed for the room pointed by Nagi. The locker there was locked with a password.
When Nagi entered the password…..clicked. It was opened.
“It opened ! It’s open ! Souta kun !”
“Yeah. Great job, Nagi.”
Nagi smiled with her cheeks torn open. I put my hand on her head and stroked it, she’s smiling happily.
After that, I continued to work with Nagi as we made our way through the maze.
◆◆◆
“It looks like we’re at a picnic.”
“I didn’t know there was space for this.”
After the maze. We had lunch a little early.
In this amusement park. Of course, there was a restaurant, but there was also a slightly larger park.
Nagi seemed to know this and prepared a lunch box and a rug for us.
“Here you go, Souta kun.”
“Thank you.”:
I received a navy blue lunch box from Nagi. Nagi took out her own white lunch box. It is a larger lunch box than usual.
“Then. Please open it !”
“Yeah.”
I took off the strip that closed the lid of the lunch box and opened the lid.
“……!”
“I made a special effort today to fill it with Souta kun’s favorite foods !”
White rice and grilled mackerel. Sausage and spinach salad. Hashed potatoes chopped into small pieces. And many more. A colorful array of dishes.
All of them were things I liked.
“I also have Souta kun’s favorite things in mine. Please let me know if there is anything you want to eat.”
“Oh…..seriously?
“Fufu. I’m serious.”
Nagi’s lunch box is very delicious. I always finish them soon.
However, Nagi laughed when I thought about getting Nagi’s things.
“I’ve made more than enough for mine, of course. Feel free to tell me.”
“……Really?”
Seriously.
“Yes.”
Nagi said with a serious face.
It was a little funny and I couldn’t help but smile.
“So with that. Please enjoy your meal.”
“Yeah. Thank you for the meal.”
After wiping my hands with a wet wipe, I put my hands on top of each other.
First of all, grilled mackerel.
Fish dishes, or rather, Japanese cuisine is Nagi’s specialty.
It might be said, “It’s just grilled fish,”. At first I was surprised that the person who made it could change it so much.
“…..Yeah ! Delicious !”
“I’m glad.”
The saltiness was perfect, and the meat was fluffy. Naturally, there was no fishy smell.
It was for a lunch box, so it might have been hardened or lost its taste. But it was surprisingly delicious.
“Very, very tasty.”
“Fufu. Please eat as much as you can.”
“Yeah !”
I eat side dishes and rice. Both are very tasty. My chopsticks go on and on and on.
Meanwhile, Nagi was staring at me.
When I looked up, her blue eyes met mine. She smiled at me softly.
Even if it is bad for my heart…somehow, I feel calm.
“Ah, Souta kun. I’ll give you half of my hamburg steak.”
“Thank you.”
Nagi split the hamburg steak in half…..and melted cheese overflowed from it.
“Here, ahhn.”
She grabs the hamburg steak with her chopsticks and brings it closer to me.
It’s not inside the house, but outside…..but it was too late. It was the same when I was on a school trip. I still feel embarrassed.
In any case. The couples around me were doing the same thing.
“Ahhn.”
I opened my mouth and Nagi brought it slowly to my mouth.
The cheese is melted and runs around in my mouth. It neutralized the spice of the hamburg steak that came later.
“It’s delicious. Seriously.”
“Fufu. I can tell by looking at it.
I can feel my cheeks loosening up because of the deliciousness. It can’t be helped that it’s delicious.
Nagi also smiled happily as she ate it herself.
◆◆◆
After lunch. Enjoying the attractions.
“Nagi. There’s something I want to ride at the end.”
“Fufu. What a coincidence. Me too.
Holding hands. We walked without telling each other where we were going.
There are few words. However, our gazes naturally met at the same time.
Each time, Nagi would gently approach me and put her shoulder to shoulder with me. Or hold my hand tighter.
And then we arrived at the place–
“This is the place.” “This is it.”
It was a Ferris wheel.
“I guess we were thinking the same thing.”
“Fufu. We’re the same.”
The warmth from the palm of her hand was running through my whole body. Winter is just around the corner, but my body is still warm and fuzzy.
The two of us stood in line at the front desk. Nagi looked up at the Ferris wheel.
“It’s my first time to ride a Ferris wheel.”
“…..I see.”
“Is this your first time too?”
“Right. I wanted to ride the Ferris wheel with my mother in the past, but I gave up because I was afraid of the part where we had to ride it.”
I was afraid to ride on a ride that doesn’t stop and keeps moving. I gave up.
“….M-me too. Will I be able to ride it properly?”
“You’ll be fine. It will be slow and I will hold your hand.”
“Yes ! Please !”
I’m a little nervous, too. I’ll probably be fine. …..I don’t want to show Nagi that I’m not cool.
No, it’s okay. I’m not going to be disliked for showing her something uncool.
But I do want to be cool. Let’s take it easy.
“Souta kun?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Is that so? You looked like you were thinking about something.”
I shake my head at Nagi in a small way and chuckle. She is really perceptive.
Look at the Ferris wheel, look at me. Nagi closes her eyes.
Her long white eyelashes looked like little snowflakes on them.
“Souta kun.”
“What is it?”
“I’m having fun.”
“I see. I’m glad.”
“Yeah, no. I mean that way, too.”
Nagi took a half step closer to me. Our shoulders touch.
“Since I met Souta kun, everything has changed. For the better.”
“Me too.”
“No, I have changed more than Souta kun.”
Once, her hand was removed. I wondered what happened.
“—“
Her Hands were laid on my hands. Our fingers were intertwined.
It’s called “lover’s connection”.
“My father…..no. Papa and Mama. I’ve solved the problem with my family.”
“No, I–“
“It’s thanks to Souta kun. Because you gave me a chance to talk to you at that time. …..I’m so grateful to you that I’m about to cry.”
Nagi said. There was a thin film over her eyes. I had to listen carefully to understand, but her voice also seemed to be shaking a little.
“……Nagi.”
I brought my finger close to the puddle of water created at the corner of her eye and gently wiped it so as not to damage its skin.
“Besides. Souta kun taught me English too.”
“I learned a lot more than that from you, Nagi.”
It is true that Nagi was not good at English. But I had learned far more than that from Nagi.
But. Nagi shook her head.
“No. Souta kun could have learned at least the basics without me. I’m really……bad at English. I was in a pitch-dark place, and it was Souta kun who illuminated me.”
“……You say too much.”
“Too much is just right. To express my gratitude.”
Nagi narrowed her eyes and smiled, and with that beat, the drops scattered.
“Ever since I met Souta kun. I got more compliments from my teachers.”
By “teacher,” I assume she means her Japanese dance teacher.
I shook my head and smiled at her words.
“That’s Nagi’s effort.”
“No. ……Sensei saw through it too. She said, since I met you, I’ve changed a lot. For the better.”
I was so surprised by her words that I almost gasped.
That teacher’s words… that is.
“Y-you were talking about me?”
“Yes. Of course.”
You mean you talked about me to a living national treasure? ……Seriously.
“Especially at the show. When I knew Souta kun was there. I was able to perform better than usual.”
The words of that time suddenly flashed through my mind.
–The environment is also prepared. Souta is included in that environment. Souta is the most important factor.
I heard you’re right. My best friend Eiji.
Suddenly. Nagi tilted her head slightly as a smile escaped her face.
“Souta kun?”
“Sorry. I was thinking for a moment.”
“I see.”
At that time, I was called by the staff. I got a numbered ticket. It would not take that long.
“Souta kun.”
Nagi called my name.
Her voice was cool like a wind chime hung on the window on a summer day.
The sound was very gentle and soothing.
“I was able to meet Souta kun. This is my greatest happiness.”
“It’s the same for me, Nagi.”
I smiled at Nagi. And held her hand tightly.
“After meeting Nagi, my life has changed. I never wanted to play with someone or talk to someone before.”
At that time. I used to talk to Nagi so often,
It wouldn’t surprise me if someone else spoke to her. No. Maybe they were all shy away from it.
“Oh, come to think of it. Souta kun, why did you talk to me at that time?”
I smiled at his words. It was nothing to hide now, I thought.
I was also attracted by the whiteness of her hair and skin. The most important thing is–
Because she was beautiful. Her eyes.
Blue.
Not blue, but blue.
Dark blue, like the bottom of the sea.
But when the light shines in her eyes, they change to a cool, soft color, like the shallows of the sea.
–Blue (蒼).
Like the kanji that was used in my name. I’m a little embarrassed.
“I guess I could say that it was fate.”
“…..I felt the same way.”
That eye of Nagi’s.
Blue, beautiful eyes reflected me.
“I was also watching Souta kun.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. At first, I was jealous of you getting along with your father.”
Nagi closed her eyes and shook her head.
“It wasn’t.”
A quarter step. Nagi came closer. Our bodies are already in close contact.
“Because it’s Souta kun, I was curious. ……I suddenly turned down the invitation of the person I was interested in, though.”
“That time. I was about to cry, to tell you the truth.”
“I’m sorry, it was out of the blue and I got confused.”
Nagi and I laughed. Small and soft.
[ [Fate.] ]
The words overlapped.
I don’t know if fate really exists. But.
But if there is.
I can say without a doubt that it was that moment when I met Nagi.
And at that moment. Finally, it was our turn to ride the Ferris wheel.
“I’ll ride first. Don’t let go of my hand.”
“Yes ! I’ll hold on tight.”
With a kick to the ground, I got on the Ferris wheel.
“Nagi.”
“Yes !”
Nagi got on the Ferris wheel in the same way. She didn’t fall down or get caught on something.
The door was closed by the staff.
I sat down and Nagi sat next to me.
The Ferris wheel was going up and up and up.
–I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Nagi.”
“Yes.”
Everything that was deep inside me was about to overflow.
There were so many things I wanted to say.
There was so much I wanted to apologize for.
There were so many things I wanted to say thank you for.
There were so many words I wanted to say.
But.
I don’t need to say anything else right now.
“From the first day we met. I’ve been in love with you, Nagi.”
Now, just for this moment. I want to be the same person I was back then.
“With me. I want you to go out with me on the premise of marriage.”
In her eyes. A thin film was again put on them.
Still, Nagi smiled and said–
“Yes !”
She nodded.
Nagi jumped into my chest. The Ferris wheel shook a little.
“……Nagi.”
“Souta kun.”
I was about to burst into tears. But I had to hold back a little more.
Blue eyes and slightly red cheeks.
And the pale pink lips were right in front of me.
“I love you.” “I love you so much.”
Quietly. Our lips were placed on top of each other.
–
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