Episode 152: Sara-san and Yuzuha

Ding-dong…

「Yes…」

「It’s Tachibana. I’m here to pick you up.」

「……Please wait a moment.」

Click.

The door opened and a woman stepped out.

There was no smile on her face, just a look that was part awkwardness and part apology.

「Tachibana-kun… it’s been a long time. I’m sorry for making you come all this way to get me…」

We’d made the appointment beforehand, so she seemed ready to go.

I let her get into the car first, and once I was in, the car started moving. Our destination, of course, was the party venue.

「……I’m sorry for all the trouble.」

Hearing her mutter that apology, I couldn’t help but let a bit of a complaint slip out.

「Don’t say those things to me, say them to Kazunari. He never said a word about you, but from my perspective, I judged that you aren’t exactly irrelevant to this.」

At my words, the woman seemed to shrink even further into herself, looking down at the floor.

「It’s just like we talked about on the phone. You’re prepared to learn the truth, right?」

She gave a small nod at my question.

Having an adult woman act like this toward me made me feel like I was the one doing something wrong.

…Give me a break, seriously.

「Even after everything that’s happened, Kazunari is still hoping for Yuzuha to eventually regret and reflect on what she’s done. But as far as I’m concerned, that’s impossible at this rate. How long are you and Yuzuha planning to keep causing trouble for Kazunari? As a parent, don’t you feel sorry for him?」

The woman’s eyes welled with tears at my words.

But I’m not as soft as Kazunari. She brought this on herself.

Yuzuha’s mother… Sasagawa Kumiko.

Yuzuha’s house had been a single-mother household for as long as I could remember.

Apparently, her father died of an illness shortly after she was born… that’s what I heard over the phone, at least.

Since they had a connection with Kazunari’s parents, Yuzuha was often left in their care, and as a result, playing with Kazunari was just a daily routine.

That’s how it became a setup where they were together no matter what they did.

Spoiled and totally dependent on Kazunari, Yuzuha remained childish, and her sense of guilt toward him might be pretty thin.

「To Kazunari-kun… I truly…」

I’ve only told this person the broad strokes, so between now and when we reach the venue, I’m going to tell her everything. The past, the recent events, today… everything within the scope of what I know.

And if we’re going to fulfill Kazunari’s wish, discipline is a parent’s job. Kazunari shouldn’t have to go that far…

As I watched Yuzuha staring blankly at Yamazaki as he was dragged away with tears in her eyes, I hardened my resolve to deliver the final blow.

「Yuzuha… you’re next…」

「Kazunari-san! …Wait, your injury first.」

It seemed her anger toward Yamazaki had settled, because Sara-san, back to her usual self, noticed something.

?

She’s talking about me…

Sara-san hurried over to me, pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, and began to wipe my mouth.

「You’re bleeding…! I’m so sorry, it’s my fault…」

With tears in her eyes, Sara-san wiped my lip.

She seemed to be feeling responsible, but I jumped in because I wanted to, and since I was able to protect her, I didn’t care how many injuries I got…

「As long as you aren’t hurt, Sara-san, this is nothing…」

When I told her exactly what I was thinking, Sara-san’s face looked even sadder.

「Kazunari-san, I’m truly happy for your feelings. But I don’t want to see you getting hurt because of me…」

I get how she feels.

If the roles were reversed, I’d be thinking the exact same thing.

So I know this is just my own self-satisfaction.

But even so, I’m willing to throw myself into the fire for Sara-san’s sake, and I’ll do it again next time if something similar happens.

This is the one thing I won’t back down on.

「Look… I kind of get how you both feel, but this is just a man’s self-satisfaction because he wants to look good for the girl he likes. But it’s also a man’s pride.」

Hanako-san’s blunt way of putting it almost made my knees buckle.

I mean, she’s right… but could she word it a bit better…

「If a man feels that way, it’s a woman’s job to just accept it in silence. You can just make up for it by being extra kind to him.」

How do I put this…

Hanako-san is definitely the most… well, she has the youngest look out of everyone here, yet she sounds so enlightened, or maybe she’s just wise beyond her years.

「Ah, wait, if you say something like that now!」

Nishikawa-san let out a panicked voice for some reason, but I didn’t see anything in the current flow to be panicked about.

Then I saw Sara-san give a smile, though a hint of sadness still remained.

「I see… that’s how it is. Understood. In that case, as a woman, it’s my role to be kinder than ever and heal Kazunari-san since he got hurt for my sake… I’m more than happy to do that.」

Was it just my imagination that her declaration of「I’m more than happy to do that,」which was suddenly full of motivation, sounded strangely cheerful…?

Maybe she’d finished wiping the blood, because Sara-san told me「don’t move, okay?」while she touched the area where I’d been hit and checked the corner of my mouth where the blood had been with her fingertips.

「Kazunari-san… thank you. For protecting me… I was really happy.」

While saying her thanks in a whispering voice, Sara-san stared straight at me with a slightly red face… then she leaned in.

「I love you…」

Chu…

She kissed me right near where the blood had been.

It was a pretty close call, but since she’d said she wanted the first kiss to come from me, she seemed to be carefully avoiding it.

…Still, it was long… usually it’s just a split second…

Five seconds? Ten? I couldn’t tell.

Just as I thought it was getting long enough to make me feel anxious, Sara-san finally pulled her lips away.

Then, just like before, she gently pulled my head to her chest and rubbed the cheek where I’d been hit.

「Pain, pain, go away…」

She whispered it so softly only the people standing close by could hear.

「Ah… see, you said something you shouldn’t have.」

「Mistake…」

Hanako-san seemed to be apologizing in response to Nishikawa-san’s complaint… wait, was she apologizing?

Sara-san was still rubbing my cheek, and I was accepting it in silence when…

WHACK!!

The sound of someone slamming something with all their might echoed.

WHACK!! WHACK!!

Just as I heard the repeated slamming sounds.

「What… what, what, what!!! What is wrong with you people!!! Kazuma-kun told me I was just for fun and dumped me!!! Why are you two flirting right now!!!」

Yuzuha’s screaming voice rang through the venue.

Sara-san let go of me, so I turned around and saw Yuzuha slumped on the floor, crying and screaming while hitting the floor.

「What is wrong with you people!!! Do you want to show off that much!? Are you making fun of me!?」

The way she was shaking her head and causing a scene looked like a child having a tantrum because things weren’t going their way.

A child… Yuzuha probably still is a child. If I think of it that way, I can understand her short-sighted thinking and her childish behavior up until now.

「Making fun of you… just like that man, you say the most interesting things. We aren’t making fun of you, it’s just that you’re a genuine, certified idiot.」

Sara-san insulted Yuzuha in a slightly mocking tone, as if to provoke her.

「Sara-san, Yuzuha is…」

As if to cut off my words, Sara-san’s index finger gently silenced my mouth.

But contrary to her gentle movement, the eyes looking at me were incredibly serious, filled with an unwavering strength.

「Kazunari-san… please let me talk with Sasagawa Yuzuha alone for a while.」

After telling me that, she fixed Yuzuha with a gaze sharp enough to pierce through her.

…I’ll leave it to Sara-san.

「…The battle between the wife and the childhood friend…」

「Hanako-san, let’s just stay quiet for a bit.」

Todo-san covered Hanako-san’s mouth.

Tachikawa-san, Nishikawa-san, and Hayato were all watching with bated breath.

「Now then, should I say I’ve been waiting for this moment in a sense? I’ve been wanting to talk to you directly, since you’re always popping up like a nuisance in Kazunari-san’s painful past.」

「………W-what are you!? You’re like Kazunari’s girlfriend, but you suddenly start flirting and you hit Kazuma-kun!!!」

Yuzuha seemed willing to talk, because she didn’t run away and started the conversation.

She was being noisy to act tough, but it was obvious she was terrified.

She’d seen the moment Yamazaki was sent flying, and Sara-san was putting a massive amount of pressure on Yuzuha right this second.

「Right, I should introduce myself again. I am Satsukawa Sara. As you know, I am by Kazunari-san’s side as his lover.」

Sara-san began her introduction in a flat tone.

「…Right. I’m…」

「I don’t need your introduction, Sasagawa Yuzuha-san. Regrettably, I’m aware that you are Kazunari-san’s childhood friend, but any other information about you is irrelevant. There’s no need for us to get along, since we’ll be saying goodbye today anyway.」

「Ugh……」

The difference in caliber between Sara-san and Yuzuha was too great.

Already pushed back by Sara-san from the very first greeting and unable to say anything, Yuzuha grimaced in frustration.

「I don’t really want to put it this way, but to be honest, I was actually jealous of you.」

「……Ha? What are you talking about all of a sudden?」

Sara-san suddenly claimed she was jealous…

Yuzuha couldn’t fully process the suddenness of it and gave a blank expression.

「The position of Kazunari-san’s childhood friend is something I can never have, no matter how much I want it. Why does a woman like you get to hold such a wonderful position?」

「I-I don’t know!! It’s just how it was from the start, and besides, you’re his girlfriend, so what does it matter!?」

「What was Kazunari-san like when he was little? You saw the childhood Kazunari-san that I’ll never know, didn’t you? How much affection did he pour into a woman like you?」

「………Ha?」

Sara-san started mentioning our childhood.

Yuzuha still didn’t seem to understand why she was being asked these things, her gaze wandering in confusion.

Us back then… I only remember being with Yuzuha no matter what we were doing. Playing with Yuzuha was fun…

「What about kindergarten? What about elementary school?」

「……We were always together.」

Questioned in rapid succession, Yuzuha muttered a slightly off-point response as if squeezing it out.

「You were calling Kazunari-san a stalker, but my impression is that you were the one who wouldn’t leave his side, wasn’t it?」

「………….」

The atmosphere turned into something like an interrogation by Sara-san, and Yuzuha’s expression shifted from confusion to anxiety.

She was becoming more and more tight-lipped.

「What were you looking at when you looked at Kazunari-san? He stayed with you the whole time, didn’t he? Why was that?」

「…Because… nobody would be friends with us…」

Mumbling as if it were hard to say, Yuzuha finally started speaking her true feelings.

From my perspective, seeing the Yuzuha who’d talked so much and never listened to others finally do this was… surprising.

「…Kazunari-san couldn’t make friends because of you, you know?」

「……Eh?」

「You really didn’t realize? Because Kazunari-san is kind, he prioritized you and couldn’t make friends. Of course, that might have been Kazunari-san’s own choice… but you were only thinking of yourself, so you didn’t notice, did you? You probably looked at Kazunari-san’s kindness as if it were only natural, didn’t you? …And yet, you called him a stalker!!」

It seemed Sara-san’s anger was gradually welling up, as her tone grew stronger.

………

It’s true that I turned down invitations to play because I couldn’t leave Yuzuha alone…

As a result, it’s a fact that everyone stopped inviting me.

「Both then and now, you’ve only ever thought about yourself, and you trash-talked Kazunari-san just for your own sake, didn’t you!? Don’t you feel sorry for Kazunari-san, who’s been watching over you this whole time!!!」

「But! Kazunari said I could do whatever I wanted, that he’d forgive everything…」

「SHUT UP!!!」

「!?」

Sara-san’s anger finally reached its limit, and she silenced Yuzuha with a bark that felt like it was laced with killing intent.

「Stop interpreting things however they suit you!!! Even with that stupid head of yours, you should know that’s not what he meant!!!」

「………」

Sara-san was right.

She was likely using what I’d said as an indulgence, making the selfish assumption that no matter how much she did whatever she wanted, I’d forgive her in the end… no, it felt more like she was trying to force herself to believe that.

「I really feel like I’m dealing with a child. Are you really a high schooler? You’re just like a kindergartener who can’t tell right from wrong. That’s why that piece of trash was able to use you until the very end.」

As Sara-san brought up Yamazaki, Yuzuha seemed to remember what happened today.

With tears in her eyes, she glared at Sara-san and began to argue back through her sobs.

「I was tricked by him too!!! I was told that if it was my childhood friend, he’d forgive me if I apologized, and today he told me our relationship was just for fun…」

「I won’t let you say you’ve forgotten what you’ve done to Kazunari-san up until now!! Stop putting your own actions aside and acting like a victim, you’re shameless!!!!!!」

「Hic……!?」

Sara-san suddenly closed the distance to point-blank range and shouted at Yuzuha.

Yuzuha seemed terrified by it. She stopped arguing, retreated as if to shrink away, and curled her body up into a ball…