Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622176550308690/episodes/16818792438253655417
“Sakuma. What, you know this cute girl?”
“Yeah, I do. She was a junior in my club back in middle school.”
“Ah, she mentioned something. Wasn’t that why you got suspended?”
Something.
They… were staring at my face and body while talking about something.
“Seriously though—haha, you caught a big one! This girl is seriously gorgeous, right? Hey Sakuma, if you know a chick this level, you should’ve told me sooner.”
“Haha, sorry about that. But if I’d told Yagyu-senpai, he’d’ve snatched her up in a heartbeat, right?”
“I wouldn’t do something that shitty. Of course I’d lend her to Sakuma and Kirishita too, right?”
“Huh? Me too? Whoa, my excitement is going through the roof!”
It was a vulgar conversation. …I’m not a child who wouldn’t understand its meaning.
I have to escape—my whole body is pleading with me.
My heart pounds violently. It’s telling me to get away from here quickly.
“Ah, you two ugly bitches can go home now. You know this already, but if you call the cops, I’ll seriously kidnap you, got it?”
A sharp, piercing glare. The silver-haired guy who seemed to be the leader—Yagyu, I think?—waved his hand dismissively.
The two women who received that gesture… in the blink of an eye, they fled from here. They only glanced at me once.
I’m sorry—I felt like that’s what their eyes said.
“Alright, the nuisance’s gone. Renka-chan, right? Hey, wanna hang with us?”
“…………H-hii…”
The gazes of the three men fixed on me.
The guys right in front of me stared at my face, my chest, my waist, my legs… my whole body, as if appraising me. I don’t think they even tried to hide the kind of look they were giving me from the start.
“Whoa. This girl is seriously cute. Her face is perfect, and her skin is crazy white. Ah, sorry. I can’t hold back.”
“Hey, hey, don’t rush it. I go first, obviously. You just hold back with your mouth or something.”
“But Yagyu-senpai, that means I’ll have to stand guard again, right?”
Their conversation was mixed with laughter.
Quickly… I have to escape from here quickly.
If that’s impossible, I have to call for help. Shout loudly, someone, an adult—
“Um, Yagyu-senpai. Sorry, but could you leave this to me? It’s just… I’ve got some unfinished business with this one.”
“Fine, but don’t screw up, okay? You won’t get another shot at a prize like this.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.”
Rough breathing, a creepy stare.
—Scary. No, no, no…
“—Hey, Renka-chan. Been four years?”
“…………Ah, …”
Voices—how do you make a voice…?
I don’t know, I don’t know.
Please… please, someone, tell me.
“You didn’t forget, did you? I got suspended because of you, Renka-chan. Then I lost my guaranteed high school recommendation. All my entrance exams after that failed too—my whole life got ruined.”
His eyes.
…No, I don’t want to. Those eyes… I really, really don’t want to.
“Hey, how are you gonna take responsibility for this, Renka-chan? Not only did you ruin my life, but you scared off those girls earlier too. Ugh, what am I gonna do? Hey, hey?”
“…………I, ah…”
“Heh heh… Hahaha, you’re making a great face. Yeah, yeah, that’s the face. A beauty like you, Renka-chan, should just keep making faces that please men like that.”
—Someone.
――Please, someone…
“Hey, Renka-chan. Become my girl now. I’ll forget everything that happened before. So—hey, what do you say? Come play with us over there?”
“Ah… no, no…”
“Huh? Your voice—it’s too quiet, I can’t hear you!!”
A tree trunk was kicked.
The sound. The impact… It was terrifying.
“Hey, hey, don’t yell so loud, Sakuma. What if someone nearby hears?”
“Sorry…”
Footsteps. …Please. Don’t come any closer.
I… I don’t want this anymore. I’m scared, so scared…
“Listen, Renka-chan. We don’t really want to hurt you either. We’d rather not leave any marks on your super pretty skin, you know? So… could you just come with us quietly?”
There’s no way I can do that.
I’m scared… My legs are frozen stiff.
“Besides, we’re giving you a chance, right? Our cute junior seems to have some grudge against you. So, you know. Don’t you have some responsibility too?”
“…………Eh?”
“Responsibility for messing up someone else’s life, that’s what. But hey, our Sakuma’s kind, so depending on your attitude, he might forgive you. —How about it? See? It’s a perfect chance to atone for your sins, right?”
Atoning for sins.
I see… I guess I really have.
All this time, all along—I’ve just kept making someone else miserable.
“We’re getting annoyed because of you too, Renka-chan. Do you realize how beautiful you are? You’ve got such a perfect face, and then you go and dress up all fancy. I bet every guy besides us is getting irritated with you too, huh?”
“……………”
“Huh? What’s wrong, Renka-chan?”
“I’m sorry, I’m… sorry…”
Those words.
Were meant for one person.
My beloved childhood friend.
—Akito.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Because.
I ended up thinking it.
I ended up praying in my heart for Akito to save me.
If that happened, Akito would surely get hurt again. Just like back then… he’d be treated terribly by Sakuma-senpai.
And yet. Even knowing that, I couldn’t help but cling to Akito.
Ah, so… that’s it.
I… my very existence.
I’m nothing but a curse that only brings misfortune to Akito.
“Tch… Hey, Renka-chan. Our car’s over there. Wanna go together?”
He grabbed my left wrist.
Right where my precious friendship bracelet was.
“……Huh… Hey…!?
I tried to pull away.
But then—a sound.
Like something snapping.
“Huh? What the hell, this crappy string. Disgusting.”
That thing.
The friendship bracelet I got from Akito—my precious one.
It was thrown on the ground… trampled into a mess.
“Ah… stop… please…”
Just that.
Because it was the thing connecting me and Akito…
Please, just that. Please stop that—stop it, I beg you…!!
“Um… That girl’s with me.”
Simultaneously.
The sound of fireworks scattering reached my ears.
A thunderous boom echoed through the darkness.
“Could you just get lost for now? I don’t want your filthy hands touching Renka.”
Suddenly, I realized.
I had found him.
The fireworks blooming wildly across the night sky no longer even entered my field of vision.
Because far more than that—his profile was infinitely more precious to me.
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