Episode 38: Observations Between Friends

「This one is cute too…」

Senpai murmurs while looking at the bento boxes.

By the way, the one she’s looking at right now has a cat illustration on it.

…Honestly, I was imagining something simple for guys, but… no, if Senpai likes it, then I’m fine with it.

「Sara doesn’t care about it being for a guy. She’ll definitely pick something cute.」

「…I can’t imagine Kazunari eating out of a cute bento box…」

It looks like it’ll take them a while to choose, so I should probably sync up with him while I can.

「Let’s introduce ourselves for now. Once again, I’m Yuzuki Natsumi. I’m a second-year, and I’m a friend and classmate of that girl… Satsukawa Sara.」

「I’m Tachibana Yuji. I’ve known Kazunari since elementary school.」

「Nice to meet you, Tachibana-kun. To get straight to the point, the fact that you’re here means you’re worried about something, right?」

「Nice to meet you, Yuzuki-san. Yes, Kazunari has some baggage he’s carrying… plus, this should be the first time in a long time that he’s gone out with anyone but me, so I was extra curious.」

Baggage he’s carrying, huh.

I’m curious, but it would be rude to ask so bluntly out of nowhere.

「I came along because Sara’s first date was interest… I mean, worrying.」

「…I see. By the way, I have a fundamental question: is it true that Satsukawa-san publicly claims to be just friends with Kazunari? Is that correct?」

I figured he’d ask that.

Which means Takanashi-kun is also taking Sara’s words at face value…

「Yeah, it’s true. Sara says Takanashi-kun is a precious friend. Hey, Tachibana-kun? Can I consider you an ally? There are some things I’d like to keep secret from Takanashi-kun himself…」

「To be honest, I just want Kazunari to be saved already. He’s a kind guy, but he’s been through hell because of the people around him. So, if he can be happy, I’ll cooperate.」

Yeah… this should be fine.

I’m curious about that「through hell」part, but I wonder if it’s connected to the「baggage」he mentioned earlier.

Birds of a feather really do flock together, I guess. Tachibana-kun is a kind person too.

「Got it. This is a secret from those two, but first off, Sara doesn’t really recognize her own feelings. Part of it is probably because she’s never been in love before, so even if she feels things like possessiveness or jealousy, she mistakenly thinks it’s just because they’re close opposite-sex friends. Well, I haven’t gone out of my way to correct her on that, though.」

「I figured. From what I’ve heard, I thought it was a bit much for people who consider themselves just friends.」

「Her priority for Takanashi-kun far exceeds that of a general friend, but she doesn’t notice it, or rather, she doesn’t care. Even with things that would make anyone else realize she has feelings just by hearing about them, she seems to think it’s normal.」

「Is she the type to be a bit intense with her assumptions?」

「Sara has been avoiding men for a reason until now. He’s the first man she’s become close with, and love is likely a brand new emotion for her, so her feelings are overflowing. It feels like she’s overreacting to things because she can’t control them.」

「I see. So that’s why it feels like her actions go too far even while she’s claiming they’re friends.」

「What about Takanashi-kun? What is he thinking?」

That’s the real question.

At the very least, I assume he has feelings beyond just being a best friend…

「He… plans to match whatever Satsukawa-san wants.」

「Match her?」

「He thinks it’s fine as long as he can be in the position she seeks. So, if Satsukawa-san wants a friend, he’s okay with being a friend. He said himself that his feeling of treasuring her won’t change regardless…」

Ah… that sounds like Takanashi-kun, in a way…

In other words, because Sara is precious to him, he doesn’t care what his position is.

…Damn it, now I’m determined to get those two together.

「…Since this is something he should say himself, I can’t say much, but because of what happened in middle school, he was looking for someone who wasn’t an existing friend like me, but someone who would get to know the current him and still accept him. So, he’s become somewhat blind when it comes to the person who finally appeared. Even when I ask, he’s never said he wants to be her boyfriend or that he likes her as a woman.」

「…I see. But if that’s the case, is he just prioritizing Sara over himself while his true feelings are elsewhere?」

「…I think the feeling of ‘liking’ her is there. But as long as he’s being told directly that they’re friends, he probably intends to keep being friends from here on out.」

「…Got it. In that case, Sara needs to be the one to realize what her feelings are first. Although, this is just my personal feeling, but I want her to realize it on her own.」

That’s my honest opinion.

Since that Sara finally has feelings for a man, I want to watch over her slowly.

「I agree. Regardless of the psychology behind it, if Kazunari is finding happiness in the current situation, I don’t think we need to rush and stir things up. We should just watch over them to make sure things don’t go in a bad direction.」

Agreed.

Wow, Tachibana-kun is quite the guy to care about his friend this much.

It looks like we can keep cooperating.

「Well then, now that we support characters have finished our info-sharing and decided on a direction, shall we get back to watching over today’s date for the time being?」

「Sounds like a plan.」