Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622172789075625/episodes/16818792437026810891
Kako just stared at me without saying a word.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since the school festival.
It’s only been about two weeks, but with everything that’s been going on lately, it feels like a long time ago.
That’s to be expected, considering how stressed out I’ve been.
But what is she really thinking?
Does she still have something to say about the previous incident?
The misunderstanding that Yamayoshi and I were dating should have been cleared up, but she’s my childhood friend, so I don’t even know how she’s interpreting that.
I can’t stop worrying.
Then I remembered what happened earlier.
Nagisa had said it.
Apparently, during the test results announcement, Takagi made a remark suggesting I had cheated, but it was Kako who quickly poured cold water on that.
I was half-skeptical, but seeing Kako acting so oddly only made me more confused.
Just as I was thinking that, Hana took out a printout from her bag and handed it to me.
“What is this…the test results?”
“Just look at it.”
“…Huh?”
I looked at it reluctantly, as she told me to.
But I was immediately shocked.
I grabbed my childhood friend’s shoulder, who was watching my face.
“102nd place!? You…that’s amazing ! You worked hard !”
“!”
“Oh, sorry.”
I forgot about our relationship and got carried away.
But it was understandable.
No matter how much I taught her, she never listened properly and just drifted along at the average level for her grade, and recently she had even dropped to the bottom of the class.
No matter how I felt, I couldn’t help but be moved and happy.
Feeling awkward, I returned the results, and Kako glared at me.
My instincts told me this was bad.
If I let this continue, I’ll end up letting her get carried away and saying something rude again.
Before that happened, I tried to say something.
Tears fell from Kako’s eyes.
“…..I’m sorry.”
“No, what’s wrong?”
“I’m really sorry.”
“For what?”
I didn’t understand why she was suddenly apologizing.
I tilted my head, and Kako started talking while crying.
“I’m sorry for being so cruel to you.”
“…What’s gotten into you?”
“It doesn’t matter. But I’ve been misunderstanding you all this time.”
“……”
“And I took it out on you. I hurt you, and then…”
I wanted to say, “What’s the point now?”
As I had thought earlier about Takagi, apologizing doesn’t erase past memories.
Laughing it off and turning it into an amusing anecdote years later…that might be possible with someone unrelated, but the disgust I feel toward these people involved will never fade.
Honestly, it’s annoying.
It’s all too late now, and I’m troubled by the feeling that I’m being threatened into forgiving her.
But it had been a long time.
It had been so long since Kako had spoken to me so directly that I couldn’t help but listen.
“I’m sorry for calling you incompetent. I’m sorry for calling you a loser.”
“It’s fine. You’re naturally so harsh with your words, it’s almost like a habit by now.”
“Feeeen. ….Ugh, that’s still annoying. But also, I’m sorry for mocking your family. I even got to play with uncle.”
“Stop it. It’ll just bring back memories.”
“I won’t be mean anymore. I’m really sorry…”
I know Kako well.
That’s why I couldn’t decide whether to accept her apology.
The thing is, Kako secretly looks down on me.
You might think she’s apologizing so much, but she’s proud and basically never apologizes sincerely to someone like me—maybe once every five years.
…That’s why I’m at a loss for how to respond.
This is probably an apology she came to after a lot of thought.
Rejecting it outright felt somehow wrong.
I felt I had to listen to her to draw a line under things.
“I wasn’t seeing the bigger picture either.”
After getting involved with Reisa and Nagisa, I realized what I was lacking.
Communication skills and tact.
I’m the kind of person who lacks those basic skills.
I might have unconsciously said or done things that made Kako feel uncomfortable.
That misunderstanding gradually grew into a bigger gap, leading to our current relationship.
“…We were both young.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Yeah.”
It’s not about forgiving or not forgiving.
That’s something I’ll decide on my own after seeing how Kako acts in the future.
For now, it’s important for us to share our feelings.
Sighing at my childhood friend who was crying, I handed her a handkerchief.
As she took it, I hurriedly added,
“Don’t blow your nose. It’ll get dirty.”
“…I still hate you.”
“Eh?”
“Don’t ‘eh’ me. Haa…I don’t know if you’re kind or insensitive. Make up your mind.”
“I’m sorry.”
It always ends up like this.
Every time, I end up apologizing.
But well, today isn’t unpleasant.
Unlike usual, there’s no hostile atmosphere, and we’re just bantering back and forth.
After all, it’s true that my first words were insensitive, and I don’t intend to play the victim over something like this.
Kako is laughing, and seeing that, I burst out laughing too.
It really feels like the first time in a long time that Kako and I have laughed together from the bottom of our hearts.
Then, I felt someone’s gaze on my back.
When I turned around, there was a slender middle-aged woman in a suit.
She was none other than my mother.
“Oh, Kako, it’s been a while.”
“Ah, um, Auntie.”
“What are you looking so scared for? I’m not going to hit you. …Do you remember when you ruined our flower bed at our old house and I yelled at you?”
“I’m sorry about that.”
Kako apologized with an embarrassed expression, and my mother looked puzzled.
Well, knowing her usual self, it’s no wonder she found this submissive attitude strange.
Kako had always run wild at our house, and my mother had scolded her every time.
“It’s almost evening, so why don’t you stay for dinner? Today, we can eat freshly made food together instead of leftovers.”
“No, that’s okay. But…”
“Hm?”
“I want to apologize to you too.”
Kako said that and bowed her head to my mother again.
“I lied and said your cooking was bad to make fun of Tsukushi. Actually, I love your cooking…I’m sorry for hurting your feelings.”
“Huh?”
I reacted before my mother did.
What? What’s going on?
Is she just mocking me and enjoying my reaction by deliberately insulting our cooking?
I did think it was strange.
I couldn’t understand why she would come to eat food she said was bad.
But even after learning the truth, it only made it more bizarre.
Is she really that crazy?
The mood had shifted from reconciliation to a new sense of fear toward my childhood friend.
Then my mother started laughing.
“Ahaha ! I kind of knew it. I was waiting for you to apologize, but you finally said it.”
“Ugh.”
“I’ve known all along. Kako was always teasing you to get your attention.”
“No, that’s not it ! Don’t misunderstand ! Kyahaha, Auntie, I know you love your son, but…”
“Really? Well, either way, it had escalated too much, and I was about to get seriously angry.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I was watching the situation for Tsukushi’s sake. If I had gotten angry, it wouldn’t have been good for you, and even more so for Tsukushi. If you don’t work things out between yourselves, you’ll grow up to be adults who can’t communicate with each other. But well, I guess we both grew up a little thanks to this.”
“…Yeah.”
The two of them are talking, but I can’t understand most of what they’re saying.
She was teasing me to get my attention?
Then why…there are too many questions in my head to make sense of it all.
As I’m confused, Kaho looks at me.
There were no tears left on her face.
“Well, I’m going now.”
“Ah, yeah.”
“…One last thing.”
“Hm?”
“You have to become a doctor. If you give up before your dream comes true, I’ll call you a loser then !”
“…Yeah, yeah.”
She is still the same.
Kako runs off, waving her hand with a refreshed expression.
She’s still as stormy as ever.
“Everyone’s growing up, aren’t they?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You too, and Kako too.”
“Hmm.”
Come to think of it, my mother said something a little while ago.
She said that everyone should accept my decision.
That “everyone” probably included him too.
We’ve been at odds for a long time, but it seems that he’s still supporting me in his own way.
It’s not that everything is fine now, but some of the past resentment has been resolved.
After she apologized, I finally felt like my feelings had been conveyed, and I felt relieved.
“Still, that girl really gets carried away easily, doesn’t she?”
“Exactly.”
Even when the atmosphere relaxes a bit, she should be reflecting, but her tone of voice breaks down.
That might be her charm, but honestly, I can’t say it’s cute.
I sighed and let out a wry smile.
She’s still the same careless person.
◇
[Test results in the afterword]
Edano Tsukushi: Modern Japanese 84, Classical Japanese 87, Math I 100, Math A 100, Communication 93, Presentation 100, Biology 100, Physics 100, History 91, Civics 89, Total 944/1000 points, Rank 1/400
Takagi Rio: Modern Japanese 81, Classical Japanese 90, Math I 96, Math A 98, Communication 92, Presentation 97, Biology 97, Physics 94, History 96, Civics 86, Total 927/1000 points, Rank 2/400
Amakusa Nagisa: Modern Japanese 94, Classical Japanese 98, Math I 100, Math A 71, Communication 96, Presentation 97, Biology 89, Physics 90, History 93, Civics 96, Total 924/1000 points, Rank 3/400
Nanamura F. Reisa: Modern Japanese 82, Classical Japanese 78, Math I 90, Math A 74, Communication 98, Presentation 81, Biology 83, Physics 73, History 69, Civics 58, Total 786/1000 points, Rank 11/400
Kako: Modern Japanese 59, Classical Japanese 43, Math I 68, Math A 82, Communication 49, Presentation 76, Biology 61, Physics 41, History 68, Civics 59, Total 606/1000 points, Rank 102/400
*Takagi Rio’s civics score was incorrectly listed as 89 points. The correct score is 86 points for civics, for a total of 927 points.
(Please consider this my mistake. I apologize.)
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