Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093094101424177/episodes/16818622176153034974
I couldn’t resist.
My momentum-driven body soared through the air, heading straight down. …How far would I fall?
A split second with no margin for error. The world flipped upside down.
My vision spun completely, and only vast, blooming flowers spread across the night sky. You think you’ve got me beat?
“Seriously…what the hell!”
My body was thrown out slowly.
Behind me, Orimoto stared wide-eyed. I told her to wait, but that impatient idiot couldn’t hold back.
At least the towel I clutched tightly.
“Orimoto, I’m throwing it!”
My strained voice was muffled by noise.
It was drowned out by the wind, the festival music, and the fireworks.
Still, Orimoto seemed to hear me.
“K-Kasugai kun—!?”
“Pick it up!!”
I flung the towel toward the temple grounds.
A large piece of cloth. High air resistance.
It fluttered down…landing on the ground within the grounds. Paved gravel. Just a bit of soot, that should be all.
Oritomo’s stunned expression.
The brilliant fireworks blooming behind me lit up Oritomo’s face…that was all I could see.
“──Gah!”
A tearing pain.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
A steep slope. The cliff’s incline. From my back.
Branches rip my arms, sharp stones or something pierce my clothes in places, causing a groaning pain.
I fall without even uttering a word.
I rolled down the cliff as if drawn by gravity. The nauseating speed of rotation blurred my consciousness.
“Gah—!”
Cold sweat, lukewarm blood, and the friction against the ground ran down my back. —The sound vanished for an instant. Instead, the sensation of organs bouncing deep within my body echoed.
(What the hell am I doing?)
It’s just a towel. A mere scrap of cloth.
I don’t particularly like Orimoto.
No deep meaning. Just a whimsical impulse.
A feeling like I’m not myself.
My head feels like it’s going to explode from the pain, the fear, and the sheer stupidity of it all.
(Who’s the real idiot here…)
Why did I do something so out of character?
Why did I even come to this festival?
(Dammit, how long am I going to keep falling…?)
The world kept flipping upside down. The line between sky and ground blurred. Wind whistled past my ears.
My body rolled through the air.
Each spin brought that sickening feeling of being pulled back into the sky only to be slammed back down to earth.
The warmth I’d held in my hands just moments ago.
The temple grounds I’d been standing on.
Everything drifted further and further away.
Time slowed. Each second stretched unbearably long. An endless, endless second.
No flashback of memories played before my eyes.
I had no memories worth seeing.
But the only thing weighing on my mind was Orimoto.
(…Nothing’s been resolved yet.)
My foot hit something, bouncing off and changing my direction. Darkness surrounded me; I could see nothing.
Yet I kept falling.
My body wouldn’t stop.
The air felt thin. My throat constricted. There was no resolve, only fear swelling.
“──”
The impact came instantly.
────
“──────You!”
Someone’s voice. Someone’s voice.
The sensation of being called lifted me slightly.
Being conscious meant I was alive. It was hard to believe, but…was I alive?
I was falling. To the bottom.
If I kept falling like this, I’d die, I thought, as an invisible monster dragged me down.
My whole body felt crushed, as if torn apart.
Someone was shaking me. Ow, that hurts.
“──i kun!”
Pain seeped through my entire body. Several spots throbbed with excruciating pain, demanding attention. But I was alive.
What was happening to my body?
That voice grew clearer. It called my name over and over, as if trying to shape me.
I recognized that voice. Too well.
…I have to get up. No matter what.
“──i kun!”
I had to open my heavy, sticky eyelids.
Then I had to sit up.
After all…I still…
(…I thought I was dead)
Toward the light. Toward the voice calling me.
I desperately fought through the pleasant swaying, clinging to consciousness that felt like it would vanish if I let my guard down.
I felt like I couldn’t faint.
I felt like I wouldn’t be able to come back.
“Damn it. I can hear you.”
“──Kasugai kun!!”
The moonlight was blinding, and I almost reflexively closed the eyelids I’d forced open.
“Kasugai kun! Kasugai kun!!”
Orimoto’s face filled my vision.
Her tears wet my cheek. At the same time, a soft sensation touched me. —This is…
“…Hey, Orimoto.”
“Y-you recognize!? You know who I am!?”
“Well, I wouldn’t call your name otherwise…”
It was a towel.
The towel meant as a gift for Sera was now a mangled mess, its original shape completely ruined.
“Kasugai kun is alive. …I’m so relieved.”
“…Using the towel defeats the whole purpose.”
“You idiot!! You’re such an idiot!”
Orimoto rubbed me down vigorously.
“I can make another towel! If Kasugai kun died, I, I…!!”
“…I just did it on impulse.”
“Idiot! Idiot, you’re such an idiot!”
I hadn’t meant to make her cry.
Trying to escape a vague sense of guilt, I sat up. …Or at least, I tried to.
“Hey, why are you holding me down?”
“…Not yet. Your wound hasn’t dried.”
“…Wait, was that a lap pillow?”
My head shouldn’t have hurt since I was supposed to be lying on the ground, but it was because Orimoto’s thigh was my pillow.
Still, I didn’t consider it a perk.
That’s not the kind of person I am.
“You should be grateful for a beautiful girl’s thigh.”
“Ah, you’ve got snot running.”
“This is the worst.”
Held down so I couldn’t escape, I reluctantly accepted my situation.
Struggling would only make the pain worse.
Her supple thighs peeking out from her uniform.
I felt a slight discomfort.
But honestly, I didn’t have the confidence to move properly either. At least out of stubborn pride, I didn’t say that.
“It’s gotten so dirty…”
Orimoto sniffled, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, her face pale.
A sticky, humid summer night.
“Call an ambulance after this, okay? Even if I’m conscious, I might have hit my head or something…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, I’ll be fine.”
“No, call one.”
Orimoto leaned her face close to mine.
I couldn’t escape the distance where our breaths touched. My reflection was caught in her eyes.
My face looked terrible. It was covered in wounds.
“……Fine.”
“Promise. I’m coming with you.”
“You plan to ride in the ambulance…?”
“I’ll just sit quietly in the corner.”
Orimoto smiled as she pressed a towel to her wound. It felt strangely soothing, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
Her touch was as gentle as handling glassware.
I closed my eyes without thinking, and the river’s murmur blended seamlessly into the night’s silence.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my head. It was damp.
My body felt chilled to the bone, or perhaps it was just my imagination. The damp clothes clinging to my skin were uncomfortable.
(…Right. I fell into the river.)
Orimoto murmured softly.
“When I got here, Kasugai-kun was washed up on the riverbank, you know? …You were lucky.”
Without saying why, Orimoto gently moved my hand aside and began stroking my cheek with his own.
I felt a faint, subtle warmth.
Now that he mentioned it, the point where the cliff fell below the temple grounds was right in the middle of the wide river flowing through the city.
It seemed luck had been on my side after all.
If it had been concrete or a mountain path, I would have been dead for sure. …That was close.
“I called out to you so many times, you know?”
Orimoto pinched my cheek hard.
“Ow! What the hell are you doing?!”
“I think Kasugai kun is at fault~”
She glared at me, and I lost my words. I knew I’d gone too far, so I couldn’t argue back.
As I inwardly screamed from the pain in my cheek, Orimoto gently began stroking my head again. But this time, her touch was stronger, almost clinging.
“…I thought you were dead. …No, then I’d really be all alone, right?”
Tears that had been welling up spilled over.
The droplets slowly tracing my cheek were hot. Much hotter than the hand stroking my head.
“I…I was more afraid of you dying than anything else. More than me staying like this.”
“That’s a bit much, don’t you think…”
“No, I really meant it.”
I had no grounds to deny it.
No reason to reject Orimoto’s words.
“So, please don’t do anything dangerous anymore.”
Orimoto pinched my cheeks tightly with both hands.
I couldn’t read the emotion deep in her eyes. But I could sense the resolve in her voice.
“I was being weak, you know. Worrying I might disappear, or what if things stayed like this…”
Orimoto nodded repeatedly.
“But you know? In a way, it’s because Kasugai kun was here that I was able to push myself this far, right?”
“…I didn’t do anything.”
“I knew you’d say that~!”
She poked my cheek with her finger.
It was annoyingly perfect, making me want to snap.
Suddenly, she scooped up a tear running down my cheek.
“Because my crying face isn’t cute.”
“Nobody told me not to look.”
“………You’re mean.”
Inside the temple grounds, Orimoto had asked me if it was okay to cry. Back then, she’d been desperately holding back her tears.
But now she was crying.
She was a deft woman, smiling even as tears fell.
I couldn’t fathom the intent behind it, but surprisingly, there was no heavy resentment.
Maybe I’m just mistaken.
“──I’ll support you. Can you stand?”
“Yeah…pathetic as it is, looks like I’ll have to ask for help.”
How many minutes passed from there?
We exchanged trivial conversation.
Nothing particularly deep.
Just surface words. In the distant sky, the faint echoes of the festival closing ceremony announcements drifted over.
“…The festival’s over, huh~”
“I’m not feeling sentimental or anything. Didn’t do a damn thing.”
“Kasugai kun, that’s just like you.”
She gave my back a light, sharp pat.
I grimaced at the slow, seeping pain. This woman… ‘ll get her back someday, for sure.
“Also, saying you didn’t do anything is a lie.”
Hearing that, I tilted my head.
“Because I made memories with you, Kasugai kun.”
“Memories with me are worthless. Just throw them away.”
“No way. I took lots of photos too.”
The smartphone she thrust out at me had several pictures saved of my gruff face. So creepy.
But maybe only I can see these photos too.
…Fine, let her do as she pleases. I’ll play along.
“…. I’m sorry about your towel.”
“It’s really okay. I can just knit another one. Things are meant to be used. …Besides, you know?”
Orimoto’s face fell.
“It’s my fault for inviting Kasugai-kun in the first place, to give that guy a present. I ended up hurting him.”
“I see. Yeah, that is your fault.”
“……..Ugh.”
A heavier shadow fell over him.
A negative aura emanated from his entire body, threatening to envelop even me as I walked, supported by others.
“Well, I’m joking. About 70% serious, though.”
“Kasugai kun…Kasugai kun!!”
“…Well, it was refreshing, I suppose.”
I gave a wry smile. Refreshing. That was spot on.
Since childhood, opportunities to play with anyone were few and far between. I don’t even have memories of my parents.
Festivals meant hearing the festival music and the flutes of the mikoshi at best.
Watching them vaguely from home was my festival experience. It wasn’t just festivals; even more mundane things were the same. Like choosing birthday presents.
Everything was fresh and full of surprises.
I’m bitter and twisted, but I couldn’t possibly think it’s okay for someone like Orimoto, who’s practically a bundle of goodwill, to disappear.
“…Fresh? What?”
“Well, it’s like something unusual is happening. It’s annoying and a hassle, but at least I won’t be bored.”
“Just now! Definitely! You mocked me!”
“Yeah, totally mocked you.”
I still can’t figure out how to gauge the distance with the extroverted Orimoto to keep things running smoothly.
But I want to make it work somehow.
If Sera, Michikusa, or Kanzashi senpai can’t move, maybe it’s my job to do it.
─────
“…Thanks. Kasugai kun.”
We walked along the riverbank and reached the riverbed.
Then on to the nearby residential area.
Earlier, when I tried to call an ambulance from the riverbank, my phone was out of service. No signal.
The fact my waterlogged phone still worked can only be described as a miracle of modern technology.
On the way here, I got plenty of strange looks. To outsiders, I was just a battered man walking alone.
…Which was only natural.
“What the—”
Pressing it to my ear—a ringing sound. All I feel is pain. Doesn’t seem like any bones are broken.
Pressing it to my ear—a ringing sound. All I feel is pain. Doesn’t seem like any bones are broken.
But Orimoto won’t be satisfied with that.
For appearances’ sake, I suppose I should get checked out.
“Watch over me!”
“…You’re the one who keeps following me around.”
“Heheh, I guess you could say that?”
The call connected. I leaned my body against a nearby utility pole and explained the situation to the other end.
There was no way I could say I’d jumped off the cliff myself, so I blamed it on slipping.
A few routine questions and answers.
It seemed an ambulance might be sent for me.
I exhaled the pent-up air in my chest.
—Then, suddenly, I noticed something off.
“Orimoto, what the hell are you doing??”
I looked over and saw her farther away than where she’d been standing before. She seemed to be staring at something.
I couldn’t see it from where I was.
Moving my body felt like too much effort.
The fact that I couldn’t move properly without support made me wonder if, as Orimoto suspected, my injuries were actually worse than they seemed.
I leaned against a utility pole and looked up at the night sky.
A cloudless, clear sky stretched out above. It was during that time, while I was enduring the pain and waiting for the ambulance.
“──Kasugai kun!! Kasugai kun!!”
“Whoa! …What the hell? Don’t scare me like that.”
“I-Inori confessed! To Keiichi!”
The traffic drowned out her footsteps. Looking flustered, Orimoto shook my hand up and down.
Drawn in by the serious atmosphere, I raised one eyebrow.
“Calm down. Who? What did she say?”
“Inori! To Keiichi! She confessed!”
“Well, if it’s Sera, getting confessed to isn’t exactly surprising.”
After all, the festival was the perfect opportunity.
Girls wanting to be his girlfriend would come out in droves. It wasn’t particularly shocking.
“Ah, they said the ambulance should be here soon.”
“Really? That’s a relief then…”
Orimoto looked relieved and patted her chest.
But the next moment, her mouth fell open.
“No, wait! I mean, Kasugai kun is important too, but it was that Inori who confessed!?”
She really should let go of my arm. It hurts.
“…Seems like she got rejected, though. I thought he might actually end up dating Inori…”
“Was that girl close with Sera?”
“Huh? Inori? I-no-ri!”
Couples in yukata passed by.
Families chatting about the fireworks.
“Hold on, Orimoto.”
Amidst the ordinary sights, the all-too-ordinary sights, I asked an ordinary question.
“──Who is Inori?”
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