“Ak-kun. I found you~”
Kanade said with her usual smile.
Judging from her tone, it seemed she had finished her meal with Kadokura-san and the others and had been looking for me.
I wonder why?
“……I found you~”
Apparently, there was no particular reason.
“More importantly, what are you two doing here?”
“Oh, we’re studying.”
Come to think of it, Kanade somehow knew yesterday that I was studying in the library. Since she knows this is my study spot and can see the reference books spread out on the desk, it should be obvious we were studying without her having to ask… I wonder why she went out of her way to ask what we were doing?
“I see. Studying. Hmm. Hmm. I see~”
Kanade seemed to understand that we were studying.
“……Umm, Takagaki-san? Right?”
Kanade spoke to Takagaki-san without letting her smile fade, as if trying to lower the other girl's guard.
“……N-No it'sh not.”
“Eh, it’s not?”
“Why are you lying……?”
To me, who was bewildered…
“T-This guy is……!”
Takagaki-san, looking like she was about to cry, tried to swing at me.
“Hmm—?”
Kanade tilted her head slightly while smiling. Takagaki-san noticed a third party was present and showed the thoughtfulness to stop our usual playfulness.
……As expected of Takagaki-san. Unlike a certain Kadokura-san, she is an intelligent person.
“……Uu. Why do I have to go through this?”
Takagaki-san muttered.
“Takagaki-san. I’ve been wanting to talk to you at least once~”
“I don't really care to go that far……”
“Eeh? That’s mean~”
Kanade pulled out a chair and moved it right between us, forcing her way in before sitting down.
“Hey. Since we’re here, let's talk for the rest of the break to deepen our friendship, okay?”
“……Umm.”
Takagaki-san was clearly troubled.
“……You can't, Kanade.”
“……Why?”
I felt like the tone of Kanade's voice was lower than usual.
“Takagaki-san is in the middle of studying right now. Let her concentrate on her studies.”
“……Hmm. Ak-kun, you're so kind, aren't you? To Takagaki-san.”
“……Sorry.”
I looked down.
“It’s true that I…… haven’t been able to be kind to Kanade. In the past, in the end, I wasn't able to save you.”
I felt a bit like I was going to throw up. A heavy atmosphere enveloped the library.
“Noo— Ak-kun, I’m joking. I’m just joking, okay?”
Kanade's voice was bright.
“Good grief. Honestly, Ak-kun. I’ve told you many times, haven’t I? You really did save me. Because the fact that I’m alive now, the fact that I’m here…… it’s all thanks to Ak-kun.”
“……Kanade?”
“Ak-kun. Just as I have Ak-kun, you have me, okay?”
……Kanade's words sounded very sweet. For a moment, I almost felt like going along with her sweet words and accepting everything.
I shook my head.
“Sorry, Takagaki-san. For disturbing your studies.”
“……Yeah. You really are a nuisance.”
“……Sorry.”
“……”
“S-Sorry. I’m joking.”
Takagaki-san looked like she was about to cry again.
“Kanade, it’s bad to disturb her any more than this, so let’s go.”
“……Yeah. If Ak-kun says so, then okay.”
“Take your time~”
Takagaki-san waved her hand weakly at us. We walked through the hallway where other students were being noisy. We weren't walking side-by-side.
Kanade was walking exactly one step behind me, stuck close to my back.
“Ak-kun.”
“……”
“Ak-kun.”
“……Ah, sorry.”
“Are you feeling unwell?”
Her voice was gentle.
“I’m fine.”
“Want to go to the nurse's office?”
“I’m okay.”
“……You know. I hate seeing Ak-kun looking like he’s in pain. So, don’t push yourself.”
“Pushing myself is……”
“……Ak-kun.”
I turned around toward Kanade, who was behind me.
“Is school…… fun?”
Unlike before, Kanade's eyes were wavering with a sense of distress. ……I didn't feel a hint of the ominousness I had been sensing from her lately. Her eyes looked as if she were truly worried about me from the bottom of her heart.
“……School isn't a place for fun; it's a place to devote oneself to studies.”
“……Ak-kun. Is it possible, I wonder.”
For a moment, Kanade's face distorted with great distress.
“Is the reason Ak-kun looks like he’s in pain…… because of me……?”
She asked me in a voice that sounded like it might vanish at any moment. It was the third day since our reunion. Up until today, unlike the time when she was suffering from illness and had become timid, she had grown into a lady who gave off a unique atmosphere. Without showing any timid side, she always smiled, and the presence she had acquired after crossing the line between life and death…… even made me feel a sense of greatness from her.
This was the first weakness she had shown since our reunion.
‘To someone like me who has almost died once, being bullied by a mere high schooler is nothing.’
This was the first weakness shown by the Kanade who had said such things.
……To think that it would be something related to me.
“……Sorry.”
“Just as I thought…… it is, isn't it.”
Kanade looked like she was about to cry at any moment.
“No. That’s not it.”
At my words, Kanade looked up. Her face…… was written with the expression of ‘there’s no way it’s not’. It was a little scary.
“……Kanade, do you have time after school today?”
I asked.
“There’s a place I want to go.”
Wanting to put her at ease, I forced a clumsy smile onto my face.
“……There’s a place I want to go with just the two of us.”