Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139843121925685/episodes/822139844267580629
Several days passed.
My injury seemed to be healing… I’d been doing rehab exercises like walking practice a few times.
“…Here goes…”
Holding onto the handrail, I managed to step forward with my injured right foot.
The next instant—
“…Guh…”
The strength drained from my leg, and I nearly fell.
Somehow, the rehab assistant caught me, preventing the fall…
“…I never imagined… walking would be this difficult…”
I never thought the simple act of walking, which I’d always done effortlessly, would one day feel this hard.
As I stood there, biting my lower lip… multiple figures reflected in the glass wall.
I couldn’t believe it and shifted my gaze—
“—Y-you guys?!”
There were Yukina, Tsukino, and Karen.
They all stared intently at my rehab, their expressions pained.
…Th-this is awkward…
Please stop, don’t look so miserable…
Still… I couldn’t stop rehab, so I stepped forward again with my right foot.
—I failed again.
Their expressions darkened even more.
…Seriously, this is awkward as hell?!
So, surrounded by their watchful eyes, I repeated the walking exercises over and over.
My strength kept fading, pain shot through my leg—there was plenty of suffering.
—But none of it was nearly as bad as dying ten thousand times over.
Having experienced that agony… if anything, the real hardship wasn’t the rehab itself, but the way their expressions darkened every time I failed.
Since it was winter break, they visited every day… Even if I tried rehab early in the morning or late at night, somehow they’d show up.
So, it was impossible to do rehab when the three of them weren’t around.
Seriously, what should I do…?
But thanks to the rehab, my leg injury gradually improved… I could even go out somewhere in my wheelchair.
――◇――◇――◇――
One such day.
“…Hey, Yu. Want to go somewhere today?”
Night.
Yukina, who had come to visit my hospital room, made the suggestion.
“That’s unusual, Yukina inviting someone somewhere…”
“Really? I’ve wanted to go all sorts of places with Yuu, you know? That’s why I asked now that we got permission to go out.”
Yukina flushed a little.
“So… what do you say? Going? Not going?”
Hmm… Tomorrow, rehab’s in the evening… I could go in the morning.
“Alright…! Let’s go then! …By the way, where are we going?”
“Hmm… Anywhere you want to go, Yu?”
“Nah… Not really…”
“Oh? Then, is it okay if we go somewhere I want to go?”
Yukina tilted her head.
“Of course! I want to see the places you want to go too.”
“Yay!… Then… Let’s go right away.”
“…Right away? But… it’s already night now, you know…?”
I pointed at the clock.
There… the hour hand was already between 8 and 9.
“Hehe, it’s fine because it’s night…! Come on, let’s go?”
Yukina happily lifted the corners of her mouth… and started getting ready.
Where… on earth are we going?
――◇――◇――◇――
“Hey, Yukina… So, where are we going?”
After that, we took the bus… and then walked for a while.
Ah, of course, I was in my wheelchair, and Yukina was pushing it.
“Hehe, it should be coming into view soon.”
“…?”
Then, as we rounded the corner… it truly came into view.
A massive rectangular building constructed along the coast… with a large dolphin painted on it—it was an aquarium.
“Whoa… an aquarium…!”
“Yep! An aquarium at night sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it?”
“True…”
At least, I’d never been to an aquarium at night.
It sounded incredibly interesting…
“But… do aquariums even stay open at night?”
“Nope, they usually don’t.”
“Huh…? Then we can’t get in…”
Then, Yukina puffed out her chest confidently and declared.
“――It’s fine. I rented it out today and forced them to open…!”
“Huh…”
Rented out…?
The entire aquarium?!
Ah… come to think of it… weren’t Yukina and the others a CEO’s daughters…?
I’d completely forgotten…
Seeing my confusion, Yukina said—
“Come on, Yu. Let’s go…!”
She happily pushed the wheelchair forward.
The aquarium was already closed, so there were almost no visitors inside.
In fact, there was only one staff member at the front desk… We truly had the entire place to ourselves.
As we made our way through the aquarium—
“Whoa…!”
What greeted us was a massive tank so huge it couldn’t be taken in at a glance.
Giant fish swimming majestically alongside smaller ones.
The lights installed within the tank illuminated the pitch-black room, creating an otherworldly glow like an illumination display.
And—this space, with only us in it.
“It’s beautiful.”
The words I’d been thinking slipped out involuntarily.
But… Yukina must have been thinking the same thing.
We were simply mesmerized by the fantastical scene, the two of us together.
There was no conversation between us, only silence flowing.
But… that silence felt warm, somehow reassuring.
“…Yukina, thank you for inviting me.”
“Hehe, what’s up? All of a sudden?”
“No… it’s nothing really… but… it’s been a while since I saw such a beautiful view…”
The last time I saw one… must have been in my past life.
Counting the time I spent dying and returning… it really had been a long time.
“I see… I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
Yukina flashed a gentle smile, like a dandelion.
“Yu… wanna stay here a little longer? Or should we move on?”
“Hmm… Can I just look around here a bit more?”
“Of course. I’ll wait for you forever, Yu.”
“Thanks.”
I liked this place too… but more than anything, I loved this feeling of warmth with Yukina.
I loved the atmosphere, like a springtime midday drowsiness… warm and reassuring.
And so, for a while, I just watched the swimming fish, soaking in this atmosphere.
Next, we headed to the jellyfish swimming area.
“This place… is really beautiful too.”
Yukina murmured softly.
I gave a small nod at her words.
To cut to the chase, jellyfish and nighttime were a perfect match.
The jellyfish emitted colorful hues—blue, green, purple—illuminating the pitch-black room.
Their light was gentle and mysterious, like rays piercing the deep sea.
“You know… jellyfish don’t move much at night, huh?”
I said, pointing at the jellyfish.
They barely moved, just drifting in the water.
“True… looks like they’re sleeping.”
“Yeah…”
In the silence… we stared at the drifting jellyfish.
It felt like we were the only humans left in this world.
“Yuu… when you were looping back to death, did it feel like this?”
Yukina asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
A hint of sorrow could be heard in her tone.
“Back then… I think it was probably more painful. Now, Yukina’s here beside me. I feel so much more at ease than I did back then.”
“… You feel safe with someone like me?”
Yukina said, looking puzzled.
“Of course I feel safe. Look, Yukina, you’re my friend, aren’t you? There’s no one in this world who wouldn’t feel safe with their friend beside them.”
“F-Friend…”
Yukina’s eyes widened.
“Huh…? D-did I… think we were friends alone? Is this super embarrassing or something?”
“N-no, no…! I just… I never thought Yuu would consider me a friend… I was surprised.”
Yukina flashed a soft smile—
“…But I’m really happy you called me your friend.”
She said.
“You see… I did something terrible to Yuu, didn’t I? Yuu’s so kind, he doesn’t hold it against me, but normally, it’s the kind of thing that would get you disowned or resented… I did it. So… I absolutely thought I had no right to be Yuu’s friend.”
“Yukina…”
“But just now, when Yuu called me a friend… I realized… even someone like me… can be Yuu’s friend. …Thank you.”
Yukina wore a fragile smile that looked like it could break into tears at any moment.
I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at her expression.
“I see,”
was all I managed to say.
After that, we went to see various creatures—turtles, dolphins, and more, following the jellyfish.
Each one revealed a different scene than what we’d seen during the day… It felt like we were in another world.
And so… having seen everything, we returned to the giant tank we’d started at.
“Yukina, thanks for today. Coming to the aquarium at night with you was the best fun ever…!”
“…I had a really great time too.”
Yukina seemed troubled by something… After a brief silence, she spoke.
“Well, it’s getting late, so let’s head home.”
But—instead of answering my words, Yukina fell silent.
Instead, after a moment of quiet… Yukina murmured softly.
“Hey, Yu… Can I say the same thing Karen did?”
“Huh…?”
Yukina let go of the wheelchair and stood before me.
Then, fixing her determined gaze squarely on me, she slowly opened her mouth.
“—I… I’ve fallen for you.”
She said.
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