Episode 32 – Two worried people

I, Kurase Nanami, have been worrying recently.
How can I get to know Ito-kun better?

I have thought Ito-kun was a mysterious person ever since I met him. Perhaps, the most obvious feeling I had was a sense of nostalgia.
I am not sure what this nostalgic feeling is. It may be that he looks like my cousin onii chan who used to take care of me in the past,…… but I felt it was more than that.

It started when he saved me from drowning in the river.
He also found me when I got lost while climbing a mountain.
I had never been conscious of men in that way, but I think I had to be conscious of this.

Because he saved my life.

But I don’t know how I can get to know him better on my own. If I were my usual self, I wouldn’t care who the other person was, I could just talk to them. ……

Suddenly I feel embarrassed.

“Haa ……”
“What’s wrong with you, you sighed?”

Before I left home in the morning, a man with a stubble beard sitting across from me at the table – my father – expressed concern about me.
Dad, who is a detective, seems to have the appearance of a seasoned detective these days. He is strict with his subordinates, but I think this is because of his love for them, and he often brings them home to drink with him. But sometimes he lets them drink too much, and I am worried that he will be sued for alcohol harassment.

“Haha, is it love troubles?”
“Muu……, that’s none of dad’s business!”
“Whaa! R-Really!?!”

I am sure he meant it as a joke. Putting aside love and all that, it was definitely not funny to be teased about something that was troubling me.

So I said it a little stronger….

“S-Since when…?”
“Eh?”

For some reason, his expression turned serious, as it always does when pursuing a case.

“Since when do you have a boyfriend?”
“B-Boyfr ……! I-It’s not like that!!”
“……………………”

For some reason, Dad suddenly became silent. At the same time, I felt some pressure.

“If he’s not your boyfriend, then what is he?”
“I-I told you, Ito-kun is just a friend!”
“…… I see. So he’s called Ito-kun. The one who is seducing my daughter”
“Ah, ……”

My father stuffed me up and I ended up mentioning Ito-kun’s name. It is true that I really have nothing to do with Ito-kun, we are just friends.
…… just one-sidedly curious from me.

“A-Anyway! We’re really just friends!”
“Here…….”
“……Eh?”
“If he’s really your friend, then bring him here next time!”
“Eh …………?!!”

My face instantly became hot as if it had boiled over.
Seeing my reaction, my father turned around and looked as if he was about to cry.

“That reaction ……, you don’t really …… mean that, do you ……?”
“I-I’m not!!! I’m leaving!”
“Wait! Nanamiiiiii!!!”

Embarrassed, I got up from my seat, grabbed my bag, and hurried out of the house.

“Mouu, Dad, you’re overreacting.”

Even after I got to school, I never stopped complaining to my father.
For a moment then, I imagined bringing Ito-kun home. Then I imagined the wedding greeting. Ito-kun would be wearing a suit, and he would bow to my father.

[Please give me your daughter!]

“Ehe. Ehehe. ……”
“Umm, Kurase. I’m sorry to interrupt your morning mood, but would you mind moving out of the way?　you are right in front of my shoe box. ……”
“I-Ito-kun!?”

I jumped back in surprise at Ito-kun’s appearance in front of me, lost in my fantasy.

“G-Good morning. Ito-kun. You’re not wearing a suit, are you?”
“Suit ……? No, I’m not though….”
“Eh? Ah, no. I’m talking about other things!”
“That’s fine then. ……”

Watch out. I was about to let my imagination run away with me.
Thanks to that, Ito-kun got suspicious of me.

“You didn’t come with Asagiri today, did you?”
“Yes. I’m not always together with her. She’s running a little late today because of something she has to do at home.”
“Is that so?”

Usually, I meet up with Yuri-chan and we head to school. But not if it’s an occasional day shift or I have to run an errand. I wondered if there was something wrong with her grandmother when it came to errands at home.
I was a little worried.

Huh…… reminds me, me and Ito-kun are alone right now, right ……?

We were the only ones in front of this shoe box.
I wonder if I can ask him for his contact information now? Okay,…… now is my chance,…….

I bravely spoke to Ito-kun.

“B-by the way, Ito-kun. C-Contact—..”

That’s when I opened the shoe box.

“……Eh?”

The slippers I had picked up were wet and soggy.
I don’t know why they were wet, but they smelled a little strange.

“Kurase? W-What the heck is this?”

Ito-kun saw this and frowned.

“What should I do? …………”
“I’ll tell the teacher and ask him to lend you something to wear. Kurase, you wait here.”
“Eh, Yeah……”

Ito kun immediately went to the staff room after saying that.

I couldn’t ………… ask him for his contact information again. …………

◆

What happened to Kurase when she arrived at school in the morning became a bit of a problem. Some suspected bullying, but so far nothing like that had happened. Kurase was friendly with everyone, and she did not remember doing anything to provoke a grudge.

And to confirm this, I followed Kurase’s movements in class with my eyes.
I was curious about that, too, because I had met her there in the morning.

The result was that Kurase was a nice girl who treated everyone kindly and lived up to her reputation.
That’s not getting me anything, is it ……? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.

And the fact that she blatantly looked away when our eyes met by accident was a bit gut-wrenching.

Anyway, Kurase is not the kind of person who would be resented by anyone. I know that very well, having been in contact with her ever since I transferred to this school.

Kurase sometimes shows her naturalness, but it is probably because of her usual behavior that she is accepted by her classmates.

“Kurase must be depressed, though.”
“Yeah, I guess.”

Then the conversation with Sosuke turns to this morning.
Kurase seems somewhat listless, although she seems to be acting as usual. She must be in shock, after all, even if she is acting stoutly.

“But, if Asagiri heard this, she’d get mad and kill the guy who did it half to death right”
“I’m sure she would. I hope we find the culprit, but if Asagiri finds him, he will probably die.”

Although he deserved it, I don’t know what Asagiri, who LOVE Kurase, would do.
Such Asagiri had not yet come to school.

She said she was going to be late for something at home, but she still hadn’t come to school even after …… second period was over.
As soon as I thought that. The door to the classroom rattled.

The one who came in was Asagiri. And then she slowly sat down in her seat – the seat next to mine.

“…what”

I think I looked at her too closely.

“No, nothing”
“I see…”

What’s wrong with her?

“Did you hear about that? about Kurase?”
“Hey, idiot!”

I pull Sosuke along and turn my back to Asagiri, whispering to him.

“You didn’t have to go to the trouble of saying that. She gets emotionally deranged when the subject of Kurase comes up. You should have put yourself in my shoes, having Asagiri next to you.”
“No, well, yes, but She will know anyway, won’t she? I’m sure she will know anyway, so I thought I’d better tell her first.”
“I know, but ……”

Sosuke has a point. The two are unquestionably best friends, and it would be great if we were the first inforom her

“Well, all I can say is, good luck with the one next to you.”
“Hey.”

Damn, you talk about it like it’s someone else’s business.

“What’s wrong with Nanami?”
“Oh, no, …… actually, Kurase’s inner shoes this morning.”

In the end, I had to explain.
As I expected, Asagiri was furious when she heard the explanation, but her reaction was different from what I had imagined.

“…… I see. Something like that.”

She said quietly, got up and went to look for Kurase.

“Something was wrong with her.”
“Is that so?”

I said so, and Sosuke tilted his head.

“That was the harbinger before the storm. Maybe it’s a pattern of being too angry to be calm. I’m thinking tomorrow the culprits will be bleeding out!”
“Well, maybe so. ……”

There is something to what Sosuke said, but I somehow had the feeling that it wasn’t so.

…… I knew she is not feeling well

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