Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139838626691253/episodes/822139838627440727
“Um… Kurose-kun. If you’re free this weekend… would you like to go out… just the two of us?”
“Huh…?”
After school.
As usual, Nanase and I were walking home together when she suddenly blurted that out.
“Well… you see… we’ve been dating for almost a month now, but we haven’t really gone on a proper date yet…”
“…”
“Is that… bad…?”
“…”
Honestly, it’s a hassle.
But rejecting her bluntly might hurt Nanase.
“Come to think of it, Nanase, haven’t you been talking to the girls during breaks lately?”
“Huh… Oh, yeah… You mean about Todou-san and Mishima-san…?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“What about those two…?”
“Well, I just thought you might have more fun with them than with someone like me. For your sake too.”
“Eh…”
Nanase stared at me blankly.
Huh? Did I say something wrong…?
“Does that mean…”
“Nanase…?”
“Y-you don’t want to go on a date with me…?”
“Huh…?”
“You mean it’s a bother, so go with someone else… Is that… what you mean…?”
“N-no…? That’s not it!”
Nanase’s expression turned despairing.
“I-I don’t want that… Don’t abandon me…”
“Huh…?”
“Don’t abandon me… Kurose-kun… I’ll apologize… I’ll fix my bad points…”
“H-hold on, Nanase? Let’s calm down for a sec…?”
“I’ll fix my bad habits… I won’t talk to Todou-san or Mishima-san anymore… Please… don’t abandon me… please…”
“…!?”
Beyond the entrance, the figure of the Grim Reaper came into view.
This is bad.
Nanase’s mental state is rapidly deteriorating.
Ugh, look at that.
He’s making a girl cry.
What a jerk…
Female students passing by shot me cold stares.
It’s not like that.
I didn’t mean for it to be like this…
“Nanase… calm down. I won’t abandon you.”
“Ku… Kurose-kun…?”
Looking into Nanase’s tearful eyes, I said it as if to convince her.
“There’s absolutely no way I’d ever abandon Nanase. I just want you to understand that.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
When I said that, Nanase wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Then, she smiled.
“I’m so relieved.”
I glanced toward the entrance. The grim reaper was slowly
walking away.
“Phew…”
I exhaled in relief.
“I thought you hated me, Kurose-kun…”
“Why would I hate Nanase? Next holiday, let’s go on a date, okay?”
“Yeah…!”
Nanase seemed to have pulled herself out of her emotional crisis.
“I’m sorry, Kurose-kun. If I did something wrong, please tell me?”
“Nanase, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Oh, okay. Anyway, I think I’ll stop talking to those two, okay?”
“Nah, you don’t have to go that far. I’m actually happy you’re making friends, Nanase.”
Why does it always come down to this?
I found myself holding my head in frustration at Nanase, who was so easily ready to cut ties with the two who were just starting to become friends.
“Ah, Kurose-kun, Kurose-kun! Wait a sec!”
“Hm? Hoshikawa?”
“Hoshikawa…-san…?”
As I walked toward the school gate with Nanase, someone called out to me from behind.
Hoshikawa was running toward us from the school building.
“What is it?”
“Yeah, just a moment.”
Hoshikawa caught her breath and held something out to me.
“What’s this…?”
“Tickets for our next live show. I got two. Please come.”
Hoshikawa handed a piece of paper to both me and Nanase.
“Live show tickets?”
“Yeah. I really wanted Kurose-kun to come. And Nanase-san too.”
Hoshikawa smiled brightly as she said this.
Apparently, it was for a live show by the idol group she belonged to.
An idol live show, huh.
I’d never been to one before, so I hesitated a little.
“These are actually pretty valuable, you know? See, you helped me out the other day, right? I felt like I hadn’t properly thanked you for that. So, I’m giving these to you? If it’s a bother, you can just throw them away… but will you come?”
Hoshikawa looked up at me with those eyes.
“O-okay… I’ll go if I can.”
“Ehh, you’re really coming? I want you to say you’ll definitely go.”
“O-okay… I’ll go… I’ll make it work.”
“Yay! Thank you!”
Hoshikawa beamed.
“Alright, I’ll be waiting.”
She waved and ran off toward the school building.
I couldn’t bring myself to refuse and ended up agreeing.
I stared intently at the ticket in my hand.
“Ku, Kurose-kun…? Did something happen with Hoshikawa-san…?”
“Huh…?”
“About that thank-you from the other day…”
Nanase asked me that with a worried look.
“Ah, no. It’s nothing big. Nanase was having a bit of trouble, so I helped her out. Really, that’s all. It’s nothing.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Anyway… what do you say? Are you interested in going to an idol concert, Nanase?”
“Um…”
Nanase said, looking at the ticket in her hand.
“I-if I can go with Kurose-kun… I might want to go…”
“I see. Then let’s go together.”
“Y-yeah.”
Well, since I said that, it’d be rude not to go.
Thus, my first date with Nanase became Hoshikawa Rino’s idol live.
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