“...So, why is Konuma crying?”
“I’m not crying... and don’t read my mind...”
“No, anyone could tell with your eyes that red, not just me...”
After seeing off Sako and Erina-san as they headed toward the city bus stop together, I made my way toward the exit for Shin-Koganei. There, leaning against a pillar with peeling paint in the bicycle parking area behind the school building, Azuma was waiting for me with her hands thrust into her blazer pockets.
Back when we were leaving the studio, we had this conversation:
“Hey, if Erina and Sakohasu go home together, you’ll be heading back alone, right, Konuma?”
“That’s how it’ll turn out, yeah.”
“Then, can I wait for you? Around the school exit.”
“I mean, that’s fine, but... you don't have to worry about me, okay?”
“No, I’m just curious about how things go with those two. If you end up going home with Erina, just send me a LINE.”
It seems she had dutifully kept that promise.
“Well, given that you’re coming this way, does it mean things went well?”
Azuma smiled gently.
“I guess so...”
I deeply reflected on the conversation the two of them just had.
‘It can’t be helped that I love Erina so much.’
That’s what Sako had said.
“To think the word ‘love’ would actually come out of Sako’s mouth...”
“Heh, she said that? That’s a big deal.”
Azuma began to walk as she made that comment, so I lined up beside her.
“Well, Sakohasu and Erina are essentially birds of a feather.”
“Is that so? They seem like polar opposites to me.”
Sako is a girl of few words with little facial expression.
On the other hand, Erina-san talks a lot and is very expressive with her emotions.
They both have a somewhat flashy appearance, which is certainly a similarity, but even that stems from different reasons and natures.
“Hmm, on the surface, they might indeed be opposite enough to be extremes. How should I put it? I think you understand Sakohasu better than I do, but at the very least, she’s not the type to open up to just anyone, right?”
“That’s true...”
Far from not opening up to everyone, the number of people she actually trusts is incredibly small.
“Now, Erina serves as a homeroom chairperson and gives off the vibe that she can talk to anyone, but she’s not actually the type to be ‘friends’ with everyone, you know?”
“I see...”
“I think she’s the type where there’s a very strong difference in how she treats ‘precious people’ versus ‘everyone else.’”
I could sort of understand that.
Her attitude toward Ichikawa was one thing, but Erina-san could be surprisingly dry at times.
However, I suppose that makes sense.
Erina-san’s thoughts on things like love and affection are, for better or worse, heavier than most people’s. Even though she seems so selfish at first glance, she’s willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of the ‘love’ she’s chosen. When you peel back the layers, this whole situation with Sako was exactly that.
If you’re trying to make that kind of love or affection work, you can’t exactly be a philanthropist.
“I think Sakohasu and Erina are similar in that they only have a few people they ‘truly cherish.’ And it just so happens that they both found each other within that ‘few people.’ It’s pretty amazing.”
“I see...”
I nodded in admiration.
“The only people at Musashino International that Erina would say she ‘loves’ are probably Sakohasu and Kenji. Well, she probably doesn’t use that specific word with Kenji, though.”
“Is that so... hm?”
Just as I was about to agree, something Erina-san said to me in front of the shop during lunch break flashed through my mind.
‘Erina loves that about you, Takuto-kun~!’
What about that...?
“What’s with the ‘hm’?”
Reflexively, I quickly averted my eyes from Azuma, who had turned to face me.
“...Ah.”
...I was too late. Azuma-neesan’s cheek began to twitch.
“Konuma, don’t tell me...?”
“N-No, it’s not like I did anything wrong, right?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, but you’re a bad guy...”
Azuma let out an exasperated sigh, and I couldn't quite tell the subtle difference between her former and latter points.
However, hearing her talk just now, I thought once again.
“Azuma, you really observe people well...”
“...It’s just a habit of reading people's faces that I can’t get rid of.”
Azuma scratched her cheek with a bitter smile.
“No, that’s a fine strength.”
When I said that, she looked at me with her eyes rounded for a moment, before those large pupils turned into exasperated half-lidded eyes.
“That’s why I’m telling you to stop doing stuff like that...”
“I don’t remember being told that...”
“I didn't say it out loud, but... sigh...”
“Sorry for making you sigh so many times... I hear happiness escapes when you do that, you know?”
The moment I said that, she suddenly took a sharp, deep breath of the surrounding air!
“...I sucked it back in, so it’s fine.”
“Are you a kid...?”
“Ahaha,” Azuma laughed, looking a little happier than before.
“Hey, Konuma, let’s buy some ice cream on the way back.”
“Wait, isn't it cold?”
It’s already October, after all.
“Maybe, but you should press the ice cream against your eyes to bring down the swelling on your eyelids.”
“No way, are they that swollen?”
I pressed my fingers against the corners of my eyes.
“Yeah. At a level where if you went home like that and your little sister saw you, she’d ask, ‘Big bro, did you get mugged?’”
“Seriously...?”
I didn't have a mirror so I couldn't tell, but that was bad.
What was really bad was that if Yuzu started calling me ‘Aniki’ or something, Takkun would be devastated.
“Then, let’s buy some ice cream...”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
Azuma nodded repeatedly, and then, looking a little restless...
“Then, um... let’s head back from Higashi-Koganei.”
“Why?”
“Well, if we go from Shin-Koganei, the only convenience store is the Famima where I work. If I go to my workplace with a guy, the people there will definitely tease me...”
“Ah, I see...”
I’ve never had a part-time job so I wouldn't know, but I guess that kind of thing happens... If someone’s going to be teased, they’d probably prefer it to be with a cooler guy anyway...
“Oh, and just so you know, it’s not that I’m embarrassed to be with you or anything like that, okay? Don’t get the wrong idea!”
The moment I started slipping into the typical negative thinking of an average high school boy, she cut me off with a tsundere-like line that wasn't quite a tsundere line.
As expected of a former loner. Her understanding and follow-up in moments like this are incredible.
“Ah, thanks... But isn't Higashi-Koganei far? It takes about twice as long as Shin-Koganei.”
Thinking it would make our return home late, I asked her, and Azuma raised her voice again.
“T-That’s not the reason I chose Higashi-Koganei! Don’t get the wrong idea!”
“No, that actually makes it a perfect tsundere line...”
When I pointed that out, Azuma laughed once more.
“Ahaha, talking with you is really fun, Konuma.”