Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093094101424177/episodes/16818622176151397897
It seems that only I can see a girl named Orimoto Ryoka. …Probably.
Her seat in class had disappeared, and when Orimoto touched them, everyone looked at her strangely.
It was too much if it was bullying.
“…Why can I see her?”
I muttered to myself.
I muttered and pondered.
Orimoto and I are complete strangers.
At best, we’re classmates with a subtle relationship..iIf I had to say, it’s like we’re almost strangers who happened to witness a failed confession.
We’re strangers to the extreme.
I had no idea why I was the only one who could see Orimoto Ryoka.
The phenomenon happening to Orimoto was getting worse and worse. Since the day she exploded her emotions on the blackboard, the situation has remained unchanged.
“Even so, there’s nothing I can do about it. …Well, whatever will be will be.”
On Saturday, I left home to run errands for my parents. It had rained heavily that morning, and even now, in the sunny afternoon, there were puddles scattered across the asphalt. As I walked, avoiding them, I couldn’t help but think about Orimoto.
(…But she’s starting to look pretty pitiful.)
Even though I was just caught up in a mysterious event, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Orimoto.
Rejected by the man she loved, ignored by everyone else, she was walking alone. The cause was still unknown, but she was definitely a tragic heroine.
“…That girl.”
Heroine is not an exaggeration.
Orimoto Ryoka is a beautiful girl who deserves to be called a heroine. Her face, her birth.
That’s why—she naturally stands out no matter where she is.
—On the way home from shopping, she was there.
It was a coincidence, a chance encounter.
Orimoto Ryoka was wandering around with her usual gloomy expression.
Her stride was short, and she had a fragile aura about her.
For some reason, she was wearing her school uniform even though it was Saturday.
Her shoes were loafers, making her look like she had been left behind on a weekday.
Orimoto walked. Walked. Collided.
The salaryman turned around once, tilted his head, then continued walking.
“What the hell did I bump into?”
He muttered those words.
“…Haha, of course. No one even notices me. …This is rough.”
Orimoto didn’t mind bumping into people, occasionally laughing self-deprecatingly, then lowering her eyes and exhaling with a tearful expression.
“…Seriously? We’re going in the same direction?”
I muttered. We were going the same direction.
I could have passed her, but I didn’t want to get into a conversation.
However, if I walked behind her the whole time, she might think I was following her, which would be troublesome.
Standing still would also be strange.
Above all, it looked like it was going to rain again.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have an umbrella, and buying one at a convenience store would be a waste of money.
After thinking for a while, I decided to keep an eye on Orimoto from a distance.
It wasn’t just at school.
Orimoto wasn’t recognized by anyone. When she bumped into people, they either tilted their heads or complained about someone else who wasn’t Orimoto.
If a man collided with such a beautiful girl, it wouldn’t be strange for him to try to build a relationship with her, but Orimoto was still being ignored.
Orimoto’s purpose for walking was unclear.
Before I knew it, my main purpose was no longer to go home, but to follow her without being noticed.
Out of curiosity, I had a strong feeling that I shouldn’t ignore her here. Maybe I wanted to make an excuse to someone.
The first place she went was a pet shop.
“So cute ! ! There, there ! “
Unexpectedly, she used baby talk.
She spoke at a volume that she didn’t think anyone could hear.
Oriben’s voice carried well even in the noise. She spoke to the puppy in a gentle, cute voice.
“Daddy ! There’s a puppy !”
“Hey, don’t pull me.”
But when a family with children appeared, she moved aside.
Rather, the family pushed their way in to look at the puppy.
Orimoto left the scene looking lonely.
The puppy seemed more energetic when faced with the family than with Orimoto, running around energetically. It was helpless, utterly helpless.
“—Ah, this book ”
At the bookstore, she picked up a book that caught her eye.
A love story that was all the rage among women. A newly released book. As someone who serves on the library committee, I know these things.
When the clerk muttered, “Huh? It’s not here.” Orimoto gently returned the book to its original spot.
The clerk immediately resumed arranging the shelves with a relieved expression.
I couldn’t help but stare at her every move.
(Where is she going now…?)
After visiting a few stores, it was naturally evening.
The sunset illuminated her chestnut-colored hair. The weather forecast was wrong. The water on the asphalt had evaporated, exposing the hard ground.
The sound of loafers reached my ears. Stairs, stairs. I grimaced.
A bad feeling gnawed at my mind.
“Hey, hey !”
I stared. I held my breath.
She was walking upward. I gasped in surprise. It was the wrong place.
No. That’s not right.
Orimoto quietly continued climbing the stairs, one step at a time, but steadily. She held onto the railing of the pedestrian bridge. I hesitated, unsure of what to do.
Objectively speaking, it was clear that she was cornered. From my perspective, it was definitely empty.
Looking back on the past, I had no memory of a girl named Orimoto Ryoka who had fallen so far.
The Orimoto standing there was nothing like the cheerful, central figure of the class who had contented herself with being a member of the Sera harem.
She wasn’t a different person, but if someone introduced her as a different person, I couldn’t help but agree.
“What should I do? No, it’s not decided yet. …But should I stop her?”
I don’t know. But from my perspective as someone who has been walking the path of loneliness, I can’t fully understand the feelings of a celebrity or a popular person, but I can somehow understand what it’s like when a person is at the bottom of the barrel.
That’s a bold statement, but it’s dangerous either way.
Suicide? Is that what Orimoto would choose?
It’s a bit extreme to make such a choice based on the shock of being ignored for just a few days. But maybe she’s surprisingly sensitive and easily influenced.
If I want to stop her, I need to talk to her.
I can’t pretend it’s a coincidence to prevent her from committing suicide. But if I speak to her, it means getting involved with her, who feels disconnected from the world.
What does that mean…it could get pretty complicated.
Help her, and that’s it.
It won’t be that simple.
“…Ah, damn it. What can I do…!”
If Orimoto, weighed down by sorrow, were to jump off the pedestrian bridge, I wouldn’t know how to deal with that fact in the future.
Moreover, if her traces of life were to disappear after her death, the only one who would know the truth might end up being me.
Being constantly tormented by the guilt implanted in me, and that cycle continuing without anyone else knowing.
The time to speak had come.
That was all there was to it, and today was the day.
I searched for an excuse to convince myself.
Whatever happens, that was what I had to do. What should I do? What should I say?
“Should I start with ‘Hey’ or is it better to say ‘Excuse me’ instead of being pushy?”
As I hurried up the pedestrian bridge, Orimoto was leaning against the railing, shielding his face from the setting sun with his hand. His crimson profile was too bright to see clearly, but he was definitely standing there.
Chestnut-colored hair. Slender limbs.
Her face was far above the cheap word “celebrity” and didn’t look like that of an ordinary high school student. When I tried to open my mouth, a lump of air stuck in my throat. Orimoto just narrowed her eyes and quietly gazed at the city.
There was a flow of people. Students passed by my side.
An elderly man passed behind Orimoto.
In a place filled with definite bustle and noise, she alone, or even I, was in silence.
I couldn’t think of what to say, overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
“…Why? Why did it turn out like this? Huh, what happened to me?”
Her tone was flat.
There was no emotion in it.
It was the opposite of the lively voice she had used just a moment ago.
It wasn’t a statement directed at me, and I had no reason to think about it, but I didn’t know what had happened to her.
Or rather, if there were someone who had the answer, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
The silver lining was that it didn’t seem like she was in the mood to commit suicide. I hurriedly chased after her, but it wasn’t that moment.
However, turning back at this point would be strange. Climbing the pedestrian bridge and then descending without crossing it is an action that can only be described as eccentric.
She probably doesn’t know yet, but she will eventually. Orimoto continued to go to school every morning without giving up, so it’s likely that she will continue to do so next week as well. It’s a matter of time.
(… Hey, you might bump into someone.)
Suddenly, a large man stepped onto the pedestrian bridge. He was the kind of guy who walked with his shoulders hunched.
You shouldn’t judge by appearance, but his rough demeanor was obvious at a glance. The man walked forward without caring about his surroundings, with a brazen expression.
His brow was furrowed, his lips were pursed, and he was the kind of person no one wanted to get involved with.
When I bumped into an elderly man along the way, he glared at me threateningly. There was not a single word of apology.
“—Damn, you’re in the way, you idiot.”
As I approached Orimoto, the man spoke in a rough tone. His hoarse, crushed voice was domineering.
“Huh, I’m sorry ! Me?! …Oh, no, it’s not me…”
I was startled for a moment, thinking he was talking to Orimoto, but it seemed he was picking a fight with another salaryman. The startled salaryman quickly moved aside—and collided with Orimoto.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
Orimoto and I were both stunned.
It was an unlikely collision. Something that shouldn’t have happened. But now, it was an abnormal situation.
Therefore, it was beyond the realm of calm.
A slight lapse in concentration. Or perhaps a slight shift in center of gravity.
Either way, Orimoto Ryoko’s body lost its balance, succumbing to gravity, and swayed obediently to the laws of physics.
And then she tilted. Over the railing.
That side was the ground. Yes, the ground. Asphalt. The worst possible option for a fall from a high place. There was only the ground. No matter how many times I said it, there was only the ground. It was an unforeseeable collision.
“—Hold on !”
The time between the scream and rushing over was only a few seconds.
When I called out his name, Orimoto collapsed over the railing with an expression that was impossible to describe, filled with fear of falling, shock at being called, and confusion that the person calling him was a stranger. Those few seconds felt long, too long.
“Make it in time !
I cursed the situation, thinking, “Don’t force me, a member of the after-school club, to do something so cruel” but surprisingly, I could almost reach him.
Don’t underestimate the after-school club.
From the outside, it looked like a boy suddenly screaming and reaching out his arm.
This was sure to attract curious stares.
“I’ve got you. Don’t struggle !”
I shouted reflexively.
I thought that acting before thinking was something that only happened in ridiculous manga, but—I never thought it would happen to me.
“Wait, what?! What’s going on !?”
Orimoto blinked in surprise. Of course she would.
She was about to fall, and the person who grabbed her was a classmate she barely knew.
It’s no wonder she was surprised, and if she wasn’t surprised, that would be scary in itself.
“Don’t let go !”
I shouted, but it was what I really felt.
I didn’t have the luxury of pretending.
My outstretched right hand was firmly grasping Orimoto’s thin arm. If I had been a split second slower, she would have been slammed to the ground, her misery fully exposed.
Along with relief came a sense of responsibility to pull her up.
There was no room to spare for the surroundings, let alone the time to think calmly. But I did hear someone mutter, “What’s wrong with him?”
Shut up. Shut up.
That can wait.
I didn’t care about the crowd’s reaction.
If I let go, there was a high probability that Orimoto would die, and the numbness in my hand was proof that I was holding on, so it was imperative that I pull her closer.
My shoulder cracked. I was used to being alone, but I wasn’t used to physical labor.
“I’ll listen to your complaints later ! Pull with all your strength ! Put up with a few scratches !”
“Can you see me? You can see me?!”
“If I couldn’t see you, I wouldn’t be talking to you like this, or grabbing your arm ! And you have the nerve to talk in a crisis like this?!”
“But you’re talking more than me?!”
I always thought of myself as a quiet person, but apparently that’s not the case in an emergency.
Empty words flowed out of me like water from a broken faucet.
Resisting the gravity and energy pulling me toward the other side of the railing, I clenched my teeth and focused on my lower body.
“Can you really see me?! No one else could see me, so why? Why?!”
“Put that aside for now ! You’re about to die !”
With a sigh, I pulled her arm like pulling a rope. I won’t accept any complaints even if there are marks left. I’m doing my best.
“What the hell is he doing?”
“Ew, creep. Should I record it?”
Stop it.
I’m screaming, talking, and stretching my arms while sweating cold sweat, but at least spare me from the video recording.
More than that, people these days record everything too much. What the hell? Most people don’t care about others, but they pretend to care—!!
After some internal rationalization, the smartphone was pointed at me several times. The lens was impossible to dodge.
“Be grateful, you bastard ! I’m the one who got dragged into this !”
If you want to call it a silver lining.
The upper half of Orimoto’s body, thrown over the railing, was slightly bent and being pulled down by gravity.
But she could still be pulled up.
“Everyone was ignoring me ! Do you think I’m the one who’s crazy, or are they all crazy?!”
“I don’t know ! ! Don’t ask me !”
—And so.
After that exchange, I managed to pull Orimoto back safely, and Orimoto stared intently at my face.
A few seconds of contemplation. Then, she blinked.
“………………Ah, Kasugai kun…?”
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Trash mc he ignored her for a couple of days even though he knows he can see her