Episode 127: Anxiety Factors

Hah… calm down… calm down, me.

It’s only okay, she isn’t following.

Once I’m home, I’m safe; our neighborhoods and schools are different, after all.

「Kazunari, is that annoying shiro-gyaru really your childhood friend?」

Hayato asks while easily keeping pace with my hurried steps.

I guess that’s the difference between a sports club member and a member of the go-home club.

「I’ll tell you the details once we’re on the train.」

「Got it.」

Still,「annoying,」huh.

Too bad for you, Yuzuha; Hayato’s senses are different from the flashy guys you’ve been around until now.

But what should I do? How much should I explain?

Since it’s come to this, there’s a high chance Hayato will come into contact with Yuzuha in the future.

If that’s the case, if I don’t explain, it could cause trouble later.

Yuzuha seemed to think I was satisfied with that, but I wonder if she thinks I’m that easy, or if she just doesn’t understand what she did… both are likely.

Anyway, it was a help that she stayed an idiot.

But there’s a problem.

Will Hayato believe 100% of my explanation?

In middle school, even the guys I’d hung out with for years as friends wouldn’t listen to a word I said.

Hayato and I have only been friends for about two months.

I already think of him as a best friend, though…

Once we hit the station, we head straight through the gate toward the platform.

Looking at the board, the next train is coming soon.

The train enters the platform just as we’re heading down the stairs.

We board, and it departs immediately.

Finally, I’ve calmed down…

「Hah… sorry, Hayato.」

「Nah, I could tell there was some history there right away.」

Well, it’d be weirder not to notice in that atmosphere.

「It’s true that she’s my childhood friend. But a lot happened in middle school, and as far as I’m concerned, I’ve cut ties with her…」

「If you’re going as far as to say you’ve cut ties, then something major must have happened. She looks like the typical self-centered type, after all.」

Apparently, Hayato saw through Yuzuha being self-centered just from that interaction and conversation.

If so, I wish he’d noticed my signal…

Hayato saw my sign but exchanged contact info anyway.

Well, it was a split-second thing, so it can’t be helped now…

「…You gave her your contact info, though. I thought I signaled you to turn her down.」

I ended up sounding a bit like I was complaining, but Hayato just smirked.

「I had my own thoughts about that. Don’t worry about it. I have zero intention of hanging out with a girl that annoying in the first place.」

It looks like whether I say anything or not, Yuzuha is already finished.

In that case, maybe I don’t need to worry.

Thank goodness. Since meeting Yuzuha made me consider even the worst-case scenarios, it looks like this might end without a problem.

「Kazunari, tell me what happened sometime, okay? I want to hear it for the sake of future stuff, too.」

「…Yeah, I will.」

I should probably tell him a certain amount just in case.

The train I wanted to catch was pulling in just as we got to the station.

We board and arrive at my home station.

Up until this point, there was almost no actual conversation with Hayato.

I should be relieved, but Yuzuha’s voice and face kept flickering in my head…

Anger? Anxiety? An unpleasant feeling, like all sorts of emotions had been tossed together, wouldn’t leave me.

And before I knew it, I was in front of my own room.

I didn’t really remember when I got back, how I got back, or when I parted ways with Hayato.

I open the door and enter my empty home.

Today, more than ever, my room feels sterile.

Was my house always like this? I don’t feel like doing anything anymore.

Without even changing, I lie down on the bed as if collapsing.

…It’ll be fine.

Hayato hates Yuzuha without me even having to say anything. Yuzuha’s words about apologizing aren’t very trustworthy, so I’ll just have Hayato be careful and have her ignore me… and if I don’t go to cheer for Hayato directly, we won’t even meet…

Then I can return to the same daily life as before.

Having fun with my best friends Yuji and Hayato, spending happy times with Sara-san, getting scolded by Natsumi-senpai…

I open the photo folder on my phone, and there’s the photo of us dancing in the flowerbed.

It’s from the sports festival, the one Natsumi-senpai gave me before.

Apparently it was taken without us noticing, and she teased us a lot for it… but she sent it to me after.

The second photo is a close-up of Sara-san dancing while looking at me with a happy smile.

It’s my favorite.

Looking at Sara-san’s smile, I felt the unpleasant feelings start to vanish, and I fell asleep before I knew it…

Sara-san…