“Where’s Kotono-chan today?”
“Studying at the library. She kicked me out, saying she couldn’t concentrate with me around.”
“Kotono-chan can be quite strict with you sometimes, Akito,” Riran said with a wry smile.
I found myself captivated by that expression. It seemed I had been even lonelier during those four days of not seeing her than I’d imagined. Just having Riran in front of me made me incredibly happy. My spirits were soaring.
“Akito?”
“Ah. I-I’ll go get some drinks. Barley tea is fine, right?”
“Thank you.”
I asked Riran to wait on the sofa and went to the kitchen to pour the barley tea. Calm down. Just calm down. Stay composed, stay cool. I looked at Riran as I handed her the glass.
From what I could see, she didn’t seem angry. On the contrary, she seemed quite relaxed.
That only made it harder to understand. Why did Riran choose this timing to come to my house?
“Oh, right, this. The clothes from the other day. Thanks for that.”
“O-Oh, sure.”
I took the paper bag from Riran. …Was she really just here to return them? So, the kind of things written in those articles aren’t happening… right?
“…You’re acting a bit suspicious, Akito. You were doing that dogeza earlier, too… Don’t tell me you’re hiding something from me? Like cheating?”
“As if I’d do that.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Ah, this girl is definitely teasing me. …I can never tell her that even this teasing feels comforting right now.
“Then what is it?”
“No, well… I thought you were angry about what happened the other day.”
“The other day… Oh, that? Goodness, I’m not angry.”
…She’s not angry?
“Then, that message was…?”
“The one about leaving me alone for a bit? Ahaha… Well, we haven’t had a proper fight lately, have we? So, I just… ended up dragging it out a little. Tehe☆”
Don’t ‘Tehe☆’ me! Do you have any idea how much my heart has been racing because of this!? To be honest, there were nights I couldn’t even sleep!
…Well, I guess it’s fine.
“I-I’m just glad I wasn’t killed…”
“Eh? You want to be killed?”
“Of course not!”
I didn’t really think Riran would kill me over something like this, but there’s always a one-in-a-million chance. Risk management is important.
“I was talking to Ryūya earlier. I read an article with this kind of content.”
“Uh-huh. …Whoa, this is…”
When I showed her the articles and the site from earlier, Riran looked genuinely repulsed. I’m glad she didn’t empathize with it.
“True, I did make you think I was angry the whole time, so I can understand why looking at articles like these would make you feel anxious… I’m sorry.”
“N-No, I’m also… sorry. Even though you gathered your courage the other day, Riran…”
“D-Don’t talk about the other day anymore!”
It seemed Riran was still embarrassed about that time, as she turned her head away.
“Riran.”
“What?”
“Weren’t you lonely?”
“……………………I was lonely.”
Riran, who was sitting next to me, softly placed her hand on my leg. When I gripped her hand as if to envelop it, she turned her moist eyes toward me.
“Actually, I wanted to apologize right away. I wanted to say I was sorry.”
“Me too. I made you feel embarrassed.”
“I told you not to say that. …But, that flustered feeling, it was nostalgic.”
“From when you had a one-sided crush on me?”
“Yeah. From middle school until before we started dating… On the days we argued, I was always troubled by self-loathing and frustration. It felt just like that.”
I feel like we argued almost every day back then, though. Wait, what? Was she feeling self-loathing almost every day? I’m surprised her heart didn’t break.
“As for me, I’d prefer not to fight as much as possible.”
“They say the better you get along, the more you fight.”
“…Did we get along well in middle school?”
“Pui.”
Hey, don’t look away.
“But, I’m done with fighting for a while. We did plenty of that in middle school. Now…”
“Now?”
“…I want to be with Akito.”
“…Me too.”
We did a lifetime’s worth of fighting in middle school. So from now on, I want to be with Riran forever. I’ll marry Riran, have children with Riran, and stay with Riran until I die.
“Riran… is it okay?”
“…Yes, come here.”
I placed my hand on Riran’s face and slowly went for a kiss—
“I’m hoーーーーーーーーーーーーーme! …Ah.”
“”Ah.””
The living room door was suddenly flung open. Riran and I froze. Kotono’s eyes widened, and her face gradually turned bright red.
An indescribable silence filled the air.
“Uh, well… that… it’s already lunchtime, so I thought I’d come back for a bit… S-S-Sorry for the intrusion! I’m leaving nowーーーーーーーーーーーーー!!”
…And she was gone. It seems it was too much stimulation for a middle schooler. I happened to lock eyes with Riran. Without either of us starting it, laughter began to well up.
“…Pfft, hehe.”
“Heh… haha. …Maybe next time.”
“Yes, you’re right. Shall we go out for lunch? Akito’s treat.”
“Yes, yes.”
I left my things in my room and started walking while holding Riran’s hand. I could feel Riran’s presence through her hand.
It felt as though she was filling the hollow gap in my heart.