Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622176550308690/episodes/16818792435506958388
“Akito! I’m so glad I finally found you!”
The girl before me—Fujisaki Renka—grinned happily.
Meanwhile, I could only blink, wide-eyed.
“Fujisaki? Why are you here…?”
“I came looking for you. I thought maybe you’d be here.”
Saying that, Fujisaki started walking towards me.
For some reason, she was still wearing her uniform, just like me. What the hell, I thought.
But thinking about it wouldn’t help.
Fujisaki was… looking for me?
“…I see. Since it’s before the closing ceremony, maybe a teacher told you to come find me…”
“No, not that. I already messaged Sena to tell them Akito and I were leaving early.”
“Huh? Wait, why…?”
“Because I wanted to be alone with Akito. Hehe. I’ve become a bad girl.”
She finally came right up in front of me.
Her lovely face looked up at me intently…
“Sweat. Let me wipe it off for you. Sit down?”
“…Huh?”
“Hey, it’s okay, right? …You’ll catch a cold.”
Fujisaki smiled happily.
Last night too, she’d seemed a bit off somehow. But now… it felt like she was even closer than yesterday.
Just as Fujisaki said, I plopped down onto the seat.
“Hehe, good boy. Alright then, I’ll start wiping your hair, okay?”
“O-okay…?”
Fujisaki took the towel draped around my neck and began patting my hair gently.
…It felt like she was stroking me. I felt so embarrassed I could have evaporated.
“Hey, Akito.”
“Huh!? Wh-what is it…?”
“I have something I want to tell you, Akito.”
Her stroking hands remained still.
In a voice much brighter than usual, Fujisaki said to me.
“You know, Akito today… you were really, really cool?”
—Huh? I thought.
It was words I never imagined hearing. My expression froze involuntarily.
“No, it’s not just today. You’ve always been really cool, Akihito. You always give your all for someone else, working harder than anyone else. Putting in tons of effort behind the scenes. I really respect that about you.”
Fujisaki’s gentle voice.
Slowly seeping into every part of my body.
“I felt the same way back then too. Akito, you stood up to that senpai for me, right? I really wish you’d stop doing dangerous things like that… But I thought it was incredibly cool.”
The feel of the towel wiping my hair.
Her hands moved in a soothing rhythm, saying “There, there.”
…Ah, I knew it. I couldn’t take any more.
“You see, I—I like that about you, Akito. I really do.”
Squeeze.
Her slender body wrapped around me in an embrace.
Her warm body gently enveloped me.
“Huh…!? Fujisaki, what are you—”
“You want to cry, don’t you, Akito? We’re childhood friends. I can tell.”
Squeeze. A hug, slightly tighter than before.
Thump, thump… I could feel the girl’s gentle heartbeat.
“See? It’s okay. I’ve seen plenty of your cool side already. So—”
Her voice was gentle and sweet.
I couldn’t resist her warmth.
“—This time, show me all your uncool sides. Okay?”
“…! Why would you…!”
My vision blurred.
My throat and the corners of my eyes burned hot.
My chest felt tight. Painful. It felt like it might burst open any second.
“But… Renka, you feel—”
“Ah. You called my name.”
A gentle girl’s voice whispered near my ear.
Tap, tap… Her hands touched my back. Delicate movements, like soothing a baby.
“Hehe. I’m happy. Akito, Akito…”
“…Hey, Renka…”
“Yeah. It’s okay. Say anything?”
“Why… Why are you being so gentle…?”
—I’m hopeless, I thought once more.
Held in her embrace, I wept like a small child.
I couldn’t hold back these feelings anymore.
“I’m… I’m exactly the person you say I am. Lazy, sloppy, irresponsible, not great at studying or sports…”
My throat moved.
Words swept up in passion spill out.
“So… I thought it was only natural that you’d hate me. But… why would you, ever…”
“…I’m sorry. I made you go through so much pain because of me, didn’t I?”
“No! It’s not that! I just… I just hate myself like this—”
“Hey, Akito. Will you listen to how I really feel?”
Thump, thump, thump.
Me and Renka. Our two heartbeats blend together.
Then. Renkagently brings her lips close to my ear—
“You know, the truth is—I actually like those flawed parts of you too?”
What the hell… What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Why are you saying something like that now?
“…Akito. I’m really sorry for everything up until now. I was just putting on a brave face. I was scared Akito would find out how I really felt… I thought if he did, we might not be able to stay the same as before. I think I kept running away from facing these feelings.”
That…
What… does that mean?
“But because of that, I hurt you so much, Akito… I’m sorry, Akito. I really am a terrible childhood friend, aren’t I…”
“T-That’s not—I—”
“I said—it’s not exactly an apology, but… This time, let me tell you properly?”
Renka’s voice.
Her pleasant soprano voice kept stealing my consciousness.
“I’ve loved you for a long time, Akito. The cool parts, the not-so-cool parts, everything. I love everything about you.”
“…………, Renka…”
Renka’s embrace was warm and soft. It smelled sweet.
Tap, tap. The hands patting my back were incredibly gentle.
Somehow… I started feeling peaceful.
“So, Akito. I want you to lean on me sometimes. Cry your heart out, show me all your pathetic, uncool sides?”
“…So, why…?”
“You’ve worked so hard until today, Akito. That’s why I, your childhood friend, have to tell you how great you are. Right?”
“…………Haha. What is that supposed to mean…?”
—Eventually, the sunset faded away.
The sky slowly dyed itself a deep, dark color.
What came back to me was that night, the silent riverbank.
I hate Akito—even now, I can still vividly recall Renka’s voice from that time.
And right here, I resolved to become independent from Renka. I slapped my own cheek hard.
I haven’t forgotten that pain. There’s no way I could forget it so easily.
But—the warmth of Renka in this very moment now.
I’m sure I’ll never forget it.
So, I…
“Um… Renka?”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“I want you to hold me a little tighter…”
“Okay. I understand—”
Well, just for today.
I figured it was okay to be my clumsy, uncool self.
I leaned gently against Renka. Guided by her hands, I buried my face in her chest.
Then, I kept crying in her arms.
Just like that day, more pathetically than anyone else.
…But unlike that day.
I felt like I was just a little bit proud of that pathetic version of myself.
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I hope they end up together despite the rough start.
Written as rough start, read as years of verbal abuse.
yeah people really don’t give a shit when a guy gets abused and expects you to forgive the girl because what a girl wants is always more important for some reason.
i hope everyone has more self respect than this mc