Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330668330007208/episodes/16818023212423783029
Together with Arata, we now go to the Ferris wheel.
We sit opposite each other and breathe a sigh of relief.
It takes about 15 minutes for the Ferris wheel to go round.
I don’t know what I can do with just this much time, but if I’m going to …… do it, I’m ready to do it.
“Kurusu.”
“Hiya!”
“……, W-what’s wrong? Are you all right?”
I shouldn’t have done that. I was too energetic and behaved suspiciously.
Let’s calm down. First, take a deep breath. Then I reply in my usual tone of voice “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Anyway, what do you want from me?”
“I mean, you’ve been quiet ever since we got on ……, so I thought you might be afraid of heights.”
“Eh? No, it’s not that…”
Instantly, an electric current runs through me.
I see. That’s what it’s about. Fufufu…. I’ll give you a ride, that plan.
“….. Yeah, I’m a bit scared. Can I go next to Arata?”
“Y-yeah. Okay.”
You couldn’t figure out how to touch me, so your strategy was to get me to say I’m scared and sit next to you, wasn’t it? I know that much, don’t I?
Look, look, the lovely Kurusu-chan came to sit next to you!
Go on! Put your arm around my shoulder and do it with a bang!
“Oh ……, we can see so much better when we are this high up. ……”
“……”
Somehow, Arata looked at the window opposite me and was glued to the view.
What is this guy? Are you trying to pick a fight, ……?
“I-it’s getting a bit hot in here.”
I make a statement by pinching my open chest.
Arata looked at me for a moment, but for some reason, his gaze immediately went outside the window.
…..W-Wait a minute.
I didn’t invite you to the Ferris wheel with the intention of doing that! I mean, my breasts are less than a night view!?
“Ha…….”
Dropping one big sigh, I too looked out the window.
I was a fool for expecting any of this.
I was dumbfounded. Ridiculous. In the end, what is it that you can’t do unless the two of us are alone? ……
◆
Five minutes had already passed since we boarded the Ferris wheel.
But this mouth has still not been able to spit out the desired words.
If I say …… it out of the blue, it’s the same as before after all. That doesn’t mean I don’t know the right preface or anything.
The more I think about it, the more I don’t know the timing. It would be easier if she asked me to say cute from the other side. ……
“Ah.”
Suddenly, Kurusu raised her voice.
I took my gaze away from the window and turned towards her, “What’s wrong?”
“No, I just remembered something from the past. When we were in primary school, we used to come here to play together.”
“Me, Kurusu and Kurusu’s mother came here together, didn’t we?”
“Yes, yes. Mom is not good in high places. Arata and I rode the Ferris wheel together.”
“Ah, ……, yes, that’s right. …….”
I understood what she was trying to say, I felt bad and looked away.
When she saw this, the corners of her mouth turned up in a sly smile and she looked into my face.
“There was something wrong with the Ferris wheel on the way, and it stopped at the top. Then Arata started crying and said, ‘I’m falling!'”
“I’m just a kid, it can’t be helped, can it? You were half crying too.”
“I cried because you cried. It’s your fault.”
“It’s my fault? Then is it also my fault that you wet your pants?”
“I-I didn’t leak! Don’t make up your own memories!”
“I’m sorry. I peed too when we went to the camp to test our courage.”
“….I know that you wet the bed that day.”
“!? How did you know that ……?!”
The uninteresting conversation coloured the small secret room.
Finally, the gondola reached its apex and a starry night view spread out below us.
Kurusu leans forward with her hands on my lap, entranced by the view outside.
Grey eyes reflecting the light.
Her lips open thinly and she lets out a small exclamation, ‘Waaa……’.
Even though time has passed and her body has grown, her reaction is exactly the same as when she was a child.
Innocent joy overflows from her profile, as if she has found her own personal gem, and I squint at her everlasting beauty. I am unbearably happy to be by her side, just as I was back then.
“–…… Cute.”
And then.
My mouth spun those words unconsciously.
◆
“Eh?”
“Ah.”
Cute.
I was suddenly told that by Arata, and I involuntarily asked her back.
“No, well, it’s not …… different, but……! I’m sorry, my mouth is …… on its own!”
Arata turns her head away from me and gets flustered.
After a few seconds, he sighs and scratches the back of his head, cheeks tinted.
“….. before, a guy in my class warned me that I say ‘cute’ too much. So I was going to say it when I was about to say it, but my mouth moved unconsciously,…….”
…….Eh
Suddenly, he stopped praising me, was that what it was about?
Surely you were too inconsiderate that day, so it’s no wonder someone warned you about it?
I myself shouted out of character.
“So, then …… maybe you’ve always thought I was cute ……?”
“That’s umm……”
He swept his gaze shyly and took a small, deep breath.
He stares at me intently and opens his thin lips.
“….. I always thought you are cute. Kurusu at school, Kurusu at work and today’s Kurusu are all cute,…… but I didn’t know when and how to say it, so I was in a lot of trouble,…….”
He finished and dropped his gaze with a deep breath.
A silence fills the gondola as I don’t know how to say anything to him.
Suddenly, my left hand touched Arata’s right hand.
We exchanged glances for a moment, then closed the distance and touched each other in a jittery, aggressive way. Finally, we connect and exchange body heat with each other.
Just this act makes my heart race inexplicably, and I fear that it will be transmitted to him through my fingertips.
“…… Well, it’s true that I’m a little embarrassed to be told that every time we see each other without any context …….”
“I-I see. I’ll be careful from now on.”
“Ah! But you have to say everything now! I mean… maybe you should tell me…”
The hands we hold are hot.
Both my own hands and Arata’s hands.
We looked at each other and laughed a little.
His hand grabs mine tightly.
“I’ve been admiring Kurusu all day today. She’s so cute and …… honestly, my heart is in trouble.”
Saying this, he smiled a fresh, innocent smile, like a boy who has grown as tall as he can.
I replied, “I see”, and my cheeks relaxed in the same way.
The overlapping gazes drew together, and he suddenly pulled me into a hug.
“…… S-Sorry.”
“It’s weird that you give princess carry in front of people, but when it’s just the two of us, you apologise with a hug.”
“Then …..t-thank you?”
“Not that.”
“Not that?”
“Guess , you idiot …….”
“….Cute.”
He whispered and hugged me even tighter.
I also put my arms around Arata’s back and nuzzled my face into his shoulder.
Now I know how he feels.
It’s just a prediction, but I’m confident that I’m not wrong.
I am confident that I can risk my life.
Arata……,
-likes me
◆
We got off the Ferris wheel, had dinner in the park and headed home.
The train was full of people who were also enjoying their holiday and hurrying home.
I put Kurusu in the corner and blocked the other passengers as much as possible so that they wouldn’t push her.
“If this is the case, we should have taken a taxi or something.”
“I don’t mind. I rarely take the train, and I feel safer with Arata”
Kurusu relies on professional drivers for most of her transportation.
A crowded train that would be a nuisance to a commoner like me seems to be an activity for her.
“……Thanks for inviting me out today. It was a lot of fun.”
“It was fun for me too. The next time you go to school, thank Inukai too. He’s the one who gave me the invitation tickets.”
“Eh? Why did Inukai…?”
As I was about to say this, the train shook violently.
The train shook with a clatter.
Kurusu’s body leans too, but she puts her arm around my waist and straightens up.
“A-are you okay? Make sure you grab it properly.”
“……Yes.”
She murmured a little and looked up.
Her usual downer expression seemed like a lie as she created an innocent smile that showed off her white teeth.
“Don’t worry. I’ll never …… let you go for the rest of your life.”
The voice is so thin that no one else can reach it.
It’s so glamorous, so cute, so heartbreaking.
I swallowed and averted my gaze.
–
–
If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate, Thank you in advance !