Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622176550308690/episodes/16818792437748840568
“…What… what does this mean…?”
Her lips trembled.
Still, she managed to speak. My heart pounded painfully fast.
“Ah. Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like Miyuki-chan asked me to do this. This is purely a request from me personally.”
“…………, Maeda-san, you…?”
“Yeah, that’s right—Miyuki-chan is my benefactor.”
The night wind blew.
Maeda-san’s black hair swayed eerily.
“See? I look plain, right? That probably made me an easy target. …Back in middle school, I was bullied. This scar… it happened back then.”
Suddenly, she…
…showed me her left arm—dozens of painful, tragic old scars.
“…………”
“Well, I did these to myself, you know. But I guess that’s how desperate I was. And then—it was Miyuki-chan who saved me.”
I couldn’t get a word in.
…Because I couldn’t make a sound. So all I could do was stay silent.
“Thanks to Miyuki-chan, school went from being nothing but misery to being really fun. Not only did the bullying stop, but I made tons of friends too. And I even got a boyfriend, you know? He’s way too good for someone like me—a total hottie who’s amazing at sports, my proud boyfriend.”
Saying that, Maeda-san smiled shyly.
But. Her dark eyes weren’t smiling at all.
“His name is… Machida-kun. You know him well too, right, Renka-chan?”
“…………Ah—”
A sound, barely even a voice, escaped thinly from my throat.
Machida-kun—the boy from neighboring Class A who was good at basketball.
Back in first year… he confessed to me.
“He said he wanted to go to the same high school as me. So the three of us—Miyuki-chan, him, and me—took the entrance exam for the same school. And then, we all got accepted—I was so happy back then.”
But, she added.
Maeda-san’s tone grew just a little sharper.
“But right after we enrolled, Machida-kun dumped me. He said he’d fallen for someone else. He passionately told me it was love at first sight. …Seriously, what a tactless jerk.”
Splash.
Maeda sank her shoulders deeper into the hot spring than before.
“Ah—wait, Renka-chan. I’m not blaming you, okay?”
“…………Eh?”
“Well, it’s you, Renka-chan. If there’s a beautiful girl this cute around, any guy would fall for her, right? Even I thought it was totally unfair when I first saw you.”
Her expression still held a faint smile.
She continued speaking.
“What I can’t forgive is bullying. You know, I absolutely hate bullies.”
I couldn’t follow where this was going.
But.
Maeda-san’s dark eyes remained fixed on me, unmoving.
“So—of course, I hate you too, Renka-chan?”
Straightforward.
Maeda-san’s words—pierced my heart.
“…………Huh? Wh-why…?”
“Huh? No, no, it means exactly what it says. I hate bullies like Renka-chan from the bottom of my heart.”
“N-no, that’s not… I… I don’t… do that…?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly what I hate the most. Bullies always pretend they don’t realize it, don’t they?”
Bullies? Realize?
…Hey, what are you talking about?
What… do you want from me, Maeda-san?
“I know everything, you know? Ayata-kun and Renka-chan’s husband-and-wife comedy routine became something of a specialty in our grade. They called you ‘Renka Mama,’ didn’t they?”
“…Wh-what…?”
I forced out my voice.
I desperately kept moving my dry lips.
“You know… what… are you talking about…?”
“Renka-chan. You were saying horrible things to Ayata-kun almost every day, right? Calling him stupid Akito, a loser. Calling him a pervert if he looked at a girl, or berating him for being sloppy just because his tie was crooked. You know, stuff like that—did you really think Ayata-kun wouldn’t get hurt?”
…That…
…No. I didn’t want to hurt Akito—
“You just said whatever you wanted without considering his feelings. You tormented Ayata-kun, looked down on him, made fun of him—tell me, honestly. How exactly isn’t that bullying?”
“…I, I…”
“The worst part is the backbiting. You were saying behind his back that you hated him, right? And he overheard you. Poor Ayata-kun. Betrayed like that by his childhood friend, someone he thought was close. I bet he was hurt dozens of times more than you could ever imagine?”
…No, no, that’s not it.
I… I didn’t mean to…
“Then what do you think you’re doing now? You’re Renka-chan, the bully who kept hurting Ayata-kun all this time. How can you even say you like him now?”
“T-that’s… not… I…”
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong with what you said? Just because you’re childhood friends, you thought you could do anything? You never considered Ayata-kun’s feelings, saying horrible things over and over. You bullied him like that, and now you have the nerve to say you like him? What kind of twisted mind lets you be so selfish and spoiled? How can you not realize that talking behind someone’s back is the worst thing you could do? You’re a piece of trash, a bully, so how can you even think about being happy yourself? Hey—hey, tell me!!”
With all her might. She violently shook off my hand.
Hot water slammed forcefully against my face.
“…Ah…”
I…
Couldn’t… do anything anymore.
“I’m… s-sorry…”
It hurt.
It hurt so much, it was agonizing.
My head, my throat, my heart. Everything hurt terribly.
“…… I’m apologizing… so… please… please stop…”
“Ahaha. Getting so worked up over this little bit? Well, I guess your face is just that cute, and you’ve probably been spoiled rotten by everyone around you—”
But Maeda-san.
Her voice didn’t stop.
“…Like, Sena-chan, for example.”
Sena.
The name of my dearest best friend.
Why did Maeda-san… bring up Sena’s name?
“Hey, Renka-chan. You don’t know who Sena-chan likes?”
“…S-Sena…?”
“Sena-chan’s. Well, she hasn’t told anyone, so it’s natural you wouldn’t know. But—who likes who, you know? You can tell just by watching, right?”
After a while.
Maeda-san twisted her mouth into a cheerful smile…
“—Sena-chan, you see. She probably likes Ayata-kun, right?”
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