Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093087122434729/episodes/16818622175646617783
“Hayami-kun. Please do this for me.”
“Sure.”
I sorted through the empty cans and cigarette butts that had been discarded on the side of the road and put them in a bag.
Since I had to pick up trash while moving around, I carried the bag and walked along the sidewalk.
“Senpai. Please do this for me too.”
“Sure.”
“Fufu, what should we have for dinner? How about omelet rice for a change?”
As I spread out the trash bag, Shiramine whispered in my ear.
I felt a chill run down my spine. No, it wasn’t excitement or anything like that. Definitely not.
“Hey, Hayami. This.”
“Oh, okay.”
Nishimiya picked up a plastic bottle… Um, that thing, like tongs for garbage
“Hmm, thanks.”
“Yeah, good job.”
When I looked up, I noticed a piece of paper stuck to a telephone pole.
“…Lost cat?”
On it was a photo of a calico cat and the words “Looking for!” written in large letters.
The paper looked new, so it must have been posted recently.
“What are you looking at, Senpai?”
Shiramine must have been curious about what I was looking at, because he turned his face toward the telephone pole.
“A lost cat, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you like cats?”
“Well, I like them more than dogs.”
They’re fluffy and cute, at least to look at.
“I get it. They’re nice. Cat ears.”
Nishimiya seems to be a cat person too. I feel like the reason might be a little different, though.
“Is that so? I prefer dogs, though.”
“E-everyone! Wait a minute!”
“Huh?”
Kazekawa, who was walking a little ahead, called out in a rare panic and beckoned us over.
“What’s going on?”
Nishimiya, Shiramine, and I all headed toward Kazekawa.
“Um… there’s a cat on the wall. I think it’s a stray.”
Kazekawa pointed to the top of a house wall, where a cat that looked exactly like the one in the photo was lying down.
“Should we catch it?”
“…Wait, Shiramine-san.”
“What’s wrong?”
There was a very simple reason for me.
Yes, it was one of my weaknesses.
Cats, dogs, insects… Whatever it was…
“I can’t touch animals.”
“Really?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
I don’t really understand it myself, but I’m just not good with them. I’m sure something happened in a past life.
“Then let me do it!”
Kazekawa slowly approached the cat.
“It’s okay, don’t be afraid.”
Surprisingly, the cat seemed to be used to people and sniffed the hand that was offered to it.
“Here we go.”
Just as Kazekawa was about to slowly pick it up,
“Huh!?”
Suddenly, the cat let out a shrill warning cry and jumped off the wall.
And there, waiting for it, was…
“Guh!”
Collision. The cat’s forehead and Nishimiya’s forehead collided like they were drawn together by magnetism.
It was no longer the kind of sound a beautiful girl would make. It was more like the sound of a frog being strangled.
“Are you okay!? Nishimiya-san!”
The cat ran off swiftly, and Nishimiya fell on her butt. It was a fall so perfect it could only be described as “impressive.”
“…Damn, this is why I hate the third dimension…”
“Um, are you hurt?”
Hey, you’re leaking, your otaku side is showing.
“…You’re a strange person, Nishimiya-senpai.”
Shiramine looked a little troubled at Nishimiya’s reaction.
However, her response after that was impressive.
“Nishimiya-senpai. Are you hurt? If you’re okay, give me your hand.”
“…”
Shiramine held out her hand. Nishimiya, who had fallen on her butt, looked surprised, her eyes darting back and forth between Shiramine’s outstretched hand and her face.
Huh? Something… strange is going on?
That was the moment when that question popped into my head.
After Nishimiya looked up at Shiramine in a daze, she muttered softly.
“I… I like you.”
“Eh?”
Her gaze was, how should I put it… unusual.
“Eh, eh, um. You’re Shiramine, right?”
“Eh, yes, that’s right…”
“L-Let’s go out sometime!”
“Eh? Sure…”
It was an unexpected turn of events. Kazekawa and I were completely left out.
“Hayami-kun, Nishimiya-san is… quite unusual, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
What is this? To be honest, I didn’t even expect this.
“Um, well…”
Shiramine kept glancing at me, and I could almost hear her saying, “Hey, help me out here.”
“What do you like, Shiramine-tan!”
“Tan?”
“Oh, that’s good.”
Oh no, this is getting out of hand. Yeah.
I quietly shook my head to indicate that I couldn’t help her in this situation.
Shiramine Hisui was beyond confused and completely repulsed.
She didn’t understand why this had happened, and she didn’t know much about Nishimiya Aira to begin with.
“W-What do you think? Is it no good?”
Despite that, there was no trace of any impure emotion in the eyes turned toward her, and there was no reason to refuse.
“Um, it’s not no, but… um…”
Those eyes turned toward her were so anxious that she couldn’t refuse.
“It’s okay, though.”
She didn’t say it; she was made to say it. It seemed she was just bad at refusing when people asked her for favors. That’s what it is
“Yes! Then, can you give me your contact information?”
“Well, um…”
Please help me.
I sent a pleading glance to senpai next to me, but it seemed that even he was at a loss in this situation, and he just gave me an awkward look.
＊＊＊
It was the first time someone had reached out to me.
I had no siblings and had never made any friends. Even my parents had never reached out to me.
[I’m sorry.]
[Haa, Never mind]
[Why can’t you even do something this simple?]
I couldn’t. That meant my father and mother would sigh.
It wasn’t that they blamed me. They didn’t get angry.
It was just a look of disappointment that didn’t even require words.
My parents were outstanding people.
My father was a great man who had developed my grandfather’s company into one of the leading companies in Japan.
My mother was born into a prestigious family, was gentle and beautiful, and was a capable person.
For such people, the fact that I couldn’t do anything must have been difficult to understand and worthy of disappointment.
I was bad at studying. I wasn’t good at sports either. Unlike my parents, who could do anything, I couldn’t do anything.
Why can’t that child do it? What’s wrong with her?
They often talked about such things when I wasn’t around.
So, I hated it and it was painful.
That’s why I ran away from home.
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