Episode 15

As Takeru was walking up the stairs to the second floor, Akari was sitting on the top step of the stairs, waiting for him.

From the anxious look on her face, it was clear that Akariwas also worried.

When Akari noticed Takeru’s arrival, she immediately asked him a question.

“How did it go?”

“The three of them were talking happily as if the fighting earlier was a lie.”

At Takeru’s words, Akari’s mouth quirked up and she laughed.

“That’s great ! As expected of Ken’s cooking !”

“…Thanks to you, Akari. Without Akari’s words, I wouldn’t have been able to recreate Grandma’s taste.”

“No, I didn’t do much. It’s just that Ken’s cooking skills are amazing !”

“That’s, well, true.”

When Takeru said this in a joking manner, Akari poked Takeru’s head.

“Hey, be humble.”

“Ahaha.”

He smiled at Akari and asked her what she thought of it, and then she opened her fist and put her hand on Takeru’s head.

“I kind of miss this perspective, you know. …..Ah, Ken used to be this small and cute.”

Certainly it was deja vu to see Akari’s face from this angle at the bottom of the stairs.

Akari was a foot taller than Takeru when she was in the upper grades of elementary school.

He felt like he was being treated like a child, so he climbed up on the same step as Akari and patted her on the head.

“Right now, Akari is the one who is small and cute.”

Akari let out a short, startled squeal and tried to back away, but her legs tangled and she lost her balance.

Takeru immediately placed his hands on her waist and the back of her head to support her. It was like he was holding her bodies and were close to each other, but she was able to avoid falling over.

“Akari, are you okay?”

Takeru asked her, but she did not answer him. She looks surprised and stares into Takeru’s eyes from a few centimeters away.

“If it’s all right, I can let go of my hand now…..”

He tries asking again, and suddenly Akari goes [Unyoo—!]. Then she crawled away from Takeru.

Even though Takeru was just trying to help her, Akari was alarmed and he was seriously hurt.

“You don’t have to be that surprised, I didn’t do anything. I just took care of Akari because your leg got tangled.”

Don’t say it like I’m an old person ! That was…uh…yes, I was just hungry and dizzy !”

Akari raised her voice angrily.

Come to think of it, Akari had been so engrossed in preparing the restaurant all morning today that she must have forgotten to have lunch. Poor Akari, even though she had helped with the preparations.　

“I’m sorry, I forgot to prepare lunch. Do you want to eat?”

I had thought that she would be in a better mood if I offered her some food, but she turned her head down with an unhappy expression on her face.

Then, as if conflicted, she held her head in her hands and groaned, [U~~! !] then he looked up vigorously and glares at Takeru.

“……I do.”

You’re going to eat it after all.

Takeru chuckled and reached out his hand to Akari, but she hesitated to reach out and take Takeru’s hand, then stood up under her own power without taking it and trotted off toward the living room.

Takeru went to the kitchen to prepare the meal, wondering about Akari’s strange attitude.

As he heated the food he had prepared in the microwave, he heard Akari’s voice as she sat down at the living room table.

“Ken, why did you decide you wanted to help Chisato chan?”

Takeru looks out from the counter in the dining room and kitchen, sees Akari over the counter, and answers.

“Because we’re friends, I guess?”

Akari gives a quizzical look at Takeru’s random response.

“Eh, are you really going this far for someone who’s just a friend? Then would you do the same for Sako kun?”

“No, I would never do that.”

That’s not entirely wrong. If Sako had told me a heavy story like the conflict with his parents, I would have just sympathized with him and that would have been the end of it.

Takeru sighed and confided the truth.

“Chisato san has been with me through some tough times, and I wanted to thank her for that.”

“……Stayed with you…..and that’s it? Not like she solved it or anything?”

“Yeah, that’s all. Well, it ended up being a solution.”

Chisato san being with me helped me forget about my broken heart with Akari and get back on my feet. If she had not been there, I might not have been able to have a conversation with Akari like this now. When I think about it, I really can’t stop thinking about Chisato san.

Akari, perhaps dissatisfied with Takeru’s answer, continued her words in a sulky manner with pursed lips.

“……Wasn’t that supposed to be me? If you had asked me for advice, I could have helped you…!”

There was no way he could consult with the person who had broken his heart. But since Akari did not know what was troubling Takeru, she could not help but think that way.

“……Yeah, it wasn’t Akari, it was Chisato san who saved me.”

When Akari heard Takeru’s words, she turned her head down with her eyes downcast.

Seeing that reaction, Takeru realized that the way he said it now might be taken to mean that Akari wasn’t strong enough, so he hastily added another word.

“T-that’s not what I meant. There are things you can’t discuss with someone just because you’re close to them, right? That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about.”

Akari did not show any reaction to Takeru’s follow-up.

If Takeru could reveal what he discussed with Chisato, Akari would understand why he couldn’t talk to her about it, but he couldn’t tell  that to the person who broke his heart.

In the heavy silence, only the sound of the microwave oven’s operation echoes through the room.

After a while, the microwave set off an alarm telling that it had finished warming up the food.

“Here you go, Akari, I’ve finished heating up the food.”

Takeru puts a warmed dish and a bowl of rice with more rice in it in front of Akari.

Akari says, [Thanks] and takes a bite of the omelet.

Then she began to cry with sobs.　

“What’s wrong, Akari !? Why are you crying all of a sudden !?”

“It’s nothing, nothing……”

Akari wiped her eyes with her sleeve, but she could not stop the tears that kept flowing one after another.

Takeru hands Akari a handkerchief and speaks to her in as gentle a tone as possible.

“You don’t have to worry about me now. If you have any concerns, please tell me.”

[It’s really nothing…..,] Akari said, forcing a smile as she cried. Then she continued her words as if muttering. [I just thought……that this is……the magic of……love.]

Akari popped the omelet into her mouth along with so many tears that the taste almost became salty.

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