Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622176550308690/episodes/16818792435499956446
The final whistle echoed through the gymnasium.
In the end—Akito and his team had lost.
The score was 28-140. The comeback that started with Akito’s three-pointer…quickly lost momentum, and from there on, Class A dominated the game.
“Ahhh! Akito kun’s lost.”
Sena messed up her hair with a sigh. Next to her, Hideki was saying something comforting to Sena.
But. My mind was only on him.
“……………Akito—”
I want to see Akito soon.
I want to hear Akito’s voice. I want to see Akito’s smile. I want to tell him he did great. I want to praise him a lot and tell him he did a great job.
“Well, it can’t be helped. Come on, Renka, let’s head to the locker room.”
“Uh, okay…”
Come to think of it, we were still wearing our uniforms.
Watching Sena head downstairs, I thought.
(…Akito. I’ll definitely see you, right…?)
Suddenly feeling uneasy, I glanced toward the basketball court.
There—Akito was already gone.
(…He just went to change, right?)
The gym, which had been filled with cheers and shouts just moments ago, now echoed only with the murmurs of chatting classmates.
For some reason, that atmosphere felt incredibly uncomfortable.
“Renka? Aren’t you going to change?”
Sena asked, looking puzzled.
Ah…what am I doing?
I couldn’t suppress this feeling. Sena’s voice, everyone else’s voices. They just wouldn’t register in my head. My mind was completely filled with thoughts of Akito, and I couldn’t help it.
—I have to see him right now.
If I don’t, I feel like something will be too late.
Like it has to be now. So I—
“Sorry, Sena…!”
“Huh? Wait, Renka!?”
My body moved on its own.
Still in my uniform, I raced down the stairs.
The boys…they should be heading to the classroom, right?
I sprinted through the connecting corridor. I didn’t care about the stares from the boys around me. This wasn’t the time to care.
I entered the school building. I hurried up the stairs and kept running down the hallway.
The familiar classroom, 2-B. Without knocking, I flung the door open forcefully and called out,
“Akito……!”
But.
The classroom was still empty.
Maybe Akito went back ahead of everyone else—I thought that, but it seemed different.
“Huh…then where did you go…?”
He wasn’t at the gym. I definitely didn’t see him on my way here either.
…Hey, Akito. Where did you go?
…If I wait here, will I see him?
I bite my lip. I touched the friendship bracelet on my left hand once more.
Just waiting still? I didn’t think I could do that right now.
Maybe he went to buy a drink—if so, he should be on the first-floor connecting corridor.
I turned on my heel. Retracing the path I’d just come, I kept running.
My breath came in gasps. But I didn’t have time to catch my breath. If I had time to rest, I wanted to see his face even one second sooner.
And…I wanted to talk to Akito so much.
“——Akito!”
I shouted his name.
But he wasn’t there either.
In a few dozen minutes, there would be the closing ceremony for the entire grade. If I waited until then, I should be able to see him, but—somehow, I had a feeling it wouldn’t happen. I had a premonition that I’d pass him by.
…Where are you, Akito?
…I want to see you soon.
I headed back toward the gym. I was still wearing my basketball shoes, but I didn’t care and went outside. The shaded stairs behind the gym—I thought he might be cooling off there. But,
“Why…Akito, where did you go…?”
He wasn’t there.
Akito wasn’t anywhere.
Maybe he went back to the classroom? Did we just miss each other?
Or…is he avoiding me again?
Does he really not want to talk to someone like me anymore…?
Hey, please…Akito, tell me.
What does Akito think of me…?
“No…no, Akito…”
I just kept chasing after his elusive figure, nowhere to be seen.
The bench behind the school building. The terrace seats at the cafeteria. The off-limits rooftop.
No matter where I looked around the entire school, I couldn’t find him.
“Where…hey, Akito. Where are you…?”
No matter how much I searched, Akito was nowhere to be seen.
Oh right, my phone—I left it in the locker room.
If I go back and get it, maybe I can contact him and meet up?
But what if that causes us to miss each other again?
…No. I don’t know what to do…
“…I…I want to see you…I…I…”
I ran back down from the rooftop into the school building and started sprinting down the hallway again.
I almost tripped several times along the way. But I didn’t care about that from the start.
“I…I want to tell Akito…that I love him…!”
And then, it happened.
I passed a familiar male student.
“A-Akito—”
“Hey, Fujisaki chan. Heh, what a coincidence.”
“Ah…Machida kun…”
…Oh. It wasn’t Akito.
Shaking his flashy blonde hair, Machida-kun continued talking.
“You saw the match earlier, right? What do you think, Fujisaki chan? You still think I’m—”
“Hey! Have you seen Akito?”
Sorry, Machida kun, I know you were about to say something…but I can’t deal with that right now.
Machida kun clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“…Dunno. Anyway, after this—”
“If you don’t know, move!”
“Huh? Oh, okay. Sorry…”
Passing by Machida kun, I started running again.
Towards Akito. To see my beloved childhood friend.
…It’ll be okay. I did it yesterday, so I can do it today too.
If I can meet Akito, I want to be honest with him.
And this feeling—my true feelings—this time, I’ll tell Akito.
–
–
If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate, Thank you in advance !