Lunch break the following day.
Managing to force my trembling legs to obey, I headed toward Class 4, where Sako should be.
I stopped once before reaching the Class 4 classroom.
"Phew..."
Entering another class's classroom is actually a really nerve-wracking thing... I never knew that since I've never visited other classes before.
While I was catching my breath in front of the open door, my eyes met with Azuma-san, who was inside.
Azuma-san seemed to be talking with Sako just now. Maybe she was acting that way specifically to help me make up with her. The consideration power of a normie is truly amazing...
The considerate normie gave me a small nod after we made eye contact, said something to Sako, and then the two of them came over here together.
The two of them were about to leave the classroom.
Sako gave me a single glance and then quickly looked away. Azuma-san was pretending not to notice me.
The moment they were about to pass by my side, Azuma-san gave my foot a tiny kick.
It was probably a signal saying, 'It’s now or never.'
"U-Um!"
A loud voice suddenly came out. It was high-pitched and incredibly uncool.
I'm uncool, but I probably won't be able to do this well anyway. I know that. Because I'm barely even able to stand here as it is.
"...What?"
Sako and Azuma-san, who had passed by for a second, turned back.
"Ah, Konuma-kun, was it? What's up? Do you have some business with Sakohasu?"
Azuma-san guided me with acting that I couldn't tell was good or bad.
"A-Ah. Sa... Hasu-san, do you have a little time right now?"
When I asked, Sako frowned slightly.
"No, I'm going to the shop now..."
"I'll go buy it for you! Sakohasu, you want the usual salmon and tuna mayo onigiri and a big jasmine tea, right?"
"Well, yeah, but... no, I'll go too."
"It's fine, it's fine! Well then, I'm off!"
Saying that, Azuma-san ran off toward the shop.
As she left, it looked like she winked at me for a split second.
So that's what a wink is... Normies really are incredible... I wonder if I'll ever wink in my entire life...
"Sigh, she's gone..."
Sako turned back to me after watching the direction Azuma-san went.
"So, what is it?"
She glared at me with intimidating eyes.
But strangely, I didn't find that expression scary itself.
That's probably because I know that this kind of expression is just a bluff Sako put up when she was anxious.
"I wanted to talk for a bit. Um... can we go over here?"
Since it would be too conspicuous right in front of the classroom, I decided to move to a different spot.
Though she looked sullen, Sako followed me.
The staircase landing.
Since there are almost no people using these stairs at this time, it should be fine to talk here.
"So, what is it? Did you come to apologize for yesterday?"
Sako asked me in a flat, monotone voice.
By 'yesterday,' she probably meant the incident in the Multipurpose Room storage.
"No, it's not that..."
"Then what?"
What should I say today? How should I convey it? I'd been thinking about that ever since yesterday.
After thinking and thinking, this is what I realized.
I don't have much of a vocabulary. Azuma-san was just appalled by the lyrics I wrote, too.
So, I decided to convey what I wanted to say as simply as possible.
Roundabout metaphors are Azuma-san's territory.
"Sako, I want to make up with you."
"...What are you saying?"
Sako's eyes wavered by 0.something millimeters.
"We haven't been able to talk for a long time. So, I want to make up with you, Sako."
I clearly repeated the thing I wanted to convey most, even though the amount of information hadn't increased much.
Then, receiving my words, Sako looked down.
Her shoulders looked like they were trembling.
...Eh, is she crying?
"...Fault."
"Eh?"
The moment I asked back because I couldn't hear her.
Sako jerked her bright red face up.
To jump to the conclusion, she wasn't crying.
...She was just extremely ticked off.
"It's your fault! It's not like we 'haven't been able to talk'! You just started avoiding me on your own and acted like a stranger, like nothing ever happened between us until now!"
"O-Oh..."
I was overwhelmed and flinched at Sako's momentum.
I might be seeing Sako, who is usually somewhat quiet and monotone, raise her voice like this for the first time.
In about ten years of knowing each other, it was the first time.
"Breaking after being rejected just once! How many times do you think I've regretted it...! That I said something in the heat of the moment that couldn't be taken back...! And then what, suddenly Takuto says 'I want to make up'! What's with that all of a sudden!"
"I-I'm sorry..."
While feeling my chest get warm at the fact that Sako called me 'Takuto' for the first time in a while, I apologized reflexively.
Then, Sako continued while trembling.
"Even I... even I... I wanted to make up with Takuto more than anything!"
"Sako...!"
I gasped.
The fact that Sako felt that way gripped my heart tight.
"What is it, were you incited by that woman too?"
Leaping past my sentimental feelings, Sako continued her words with a strong tone like a broken dam.
"...That woman?"
"Takuto's beloved, Ichikawa Amane!"
"Wait, Sako, that's a misleading way of putting it...!"
I hurriedly tried to calm her down. Even if people don't pass by much, this is still technically inside the school. ...Wait, no one heard that just now, right?
"What, were you finally able to start dating your idol amane-san? You guys were on a school date yesterday, weren't you? So, did she say something like 'Childhood friends are important so you should make up with her'?"
"N-No, it's nothing like that."
Well, Azuma-san did say something similar, but...
"Then why so sudden? Why now?"
While feeling like I was about to be swallowed by the torrent of questions, I somehow held my ground and answered head-on.
"That's because,"
I've decided to convey things as simply as possible today.
"I felt that way after hearing the lyrics of amane's song."
Then,
"~~~~~~!!!!"
Sako let out a groan that wasn't even words.
"Her again! It's always her! How much do you like her! Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! Crap Takuto!"
"Crap!?"
No, why are you so ticked off!?
"I bet it's that, right? You probably listened to the part about 'If you walk while avoiding pain and wounds' again, didn't you!?"
"Sako, you remember those lyrics...?"
"Shut up! I've listened to it many times too! Idiot!"
"Eh, really?"
"Shut up!"
No, Sako is definitely the loud one right now.
Since I was told to shut up, I stayed quiet for a bit. She crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and...
"I mean, seriously, what's with this. What should I do at a time like this... to begin with..."
Sako was muttering and worrying about something at a volume that was barely audible to me.
After a while.
"But... desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess."
She muttered as if telling herself, and then,
"Here."
She held out her hand.
"Huh? What?"
"We're making up, right? Then, a handshake..."
With a red face, she said that while looking slightly away.
"O-Oh..."
Well, this is kind of embarrassing.
We held hands many times for things like school plays back in the day, but when it comes to doing it properly like this, it seems I still get nervous.
Even so, it's likely an important ritual.
I also gently reached out and exchanged a handshake. The sensation of Sako's hand, which was surprisingly soft, was transmitted to me.
"...Don't ignore me anymore, okay?"
Sako said while glaring at me.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry."
When I said that.
Finally, Sako smiled at me like she used to.
With a blunt smile that only raised the corners of her mouth by a millimeter, one that no one else would understand.
"Ah, and about that, Sako."
"Hm, is there something else?"
Having successfully reconciled, I eagerly moved on to the 'main subject.'
"Won't you play in a band with me? On bass."
Then, Sako froze at my words.
"You, could it be that..."
She muttered something in a low voice like, 'Eh, but there's no way he could be that dense...' and then asked a question.
"The person who's going to sing in that band... who is it?"
The moment I said,
"Eh, it's Ichikawa Amane though."
"~~~~~~~~!!!!!!"
Sako let out another wordless strange cry.
"Huh? Eh?"
To the bewildered me,
"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!!"
Sako showered me with quite childish insults and ran off toward the classroom.
"Excuse me...?"
I was left standing there in a daze.
When I followed the direction Sako ran with my eyes, I saw Azuma-san, who had apparently returned from the shop at some point, with her palm against her forehead, looking incredibly exasperated as if saying, 'This guy is hopeless...'
...What? Am I the one in the wrong?