Chapter 39

Thursday. I spent the morning listening to Mashiro-chan enthusiastically claim with a straight face that she had discovered the deliciousness of oshiruko (sweet red-bean soup), then listened to class while fighting sleepiness, and finally it was time for lunch.

While I was sitting around the desk with my friends in the classroom enjoying snacks after lunch, I saw Suzuki-senpai glancing at me from behind the classroom door and stood up after calling out to my friends.

Suzuki-senpai, what's wrong?”

I asked Suzuki-senpai, whose face was bright red and her eyes were gazing back and forth from embarrassment, “Mariko-chan, is Ichika-chan here? I blinked as I heard the name of someone I didn't expect to hear.

I think Ichika is in the next classroom. Shall I go get her?

I'm sure she's in the classroom next door. I'm sorry. Sorry.

It's all right. Please wait a moment.”

I made a short run to the next classroom and peeked in to see Ichika talking with Ichinose-kun side by side on the balcony.

As I was moving my body from side to side to appeal my presence to Ichika, she noticed me and came toward me.

When I told her that Suzuki-senpai seemed to have something to do, she looked satisfied and went to Suzuki-senpai who was waiting for her in the hallway.

I was surprised that Suzuki-senpai and Ichika were connected, and when I asked Ichika about her and Suzuki-senpai when she came back to the classroom before class started, she was also surprised that Suzuki-senpai and I were connected.

Suzuki-senpai is the manager of the soccer club.

Oh, I think I heard her say something like that before.”

When I first met Suzuki-senpai, he must have told me that.

When I heard that, I wondered if Natsuki became the manager of the soccer club because he is a member of the soccer club. That's what I thought.

I heard that Suzuki-senpai is the only manager of the soccer club now, so it seems to be very difficult for him to manage the club. That's why I wanted to become a manager too. I think he went out of his way to deliver the manager's admission form to the club.

I didn't realize that!

Well,……, that's what I mean.”

I see.

The first thing that comes to mind is the conversation I had with Ichika before the summer break.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to have a new one, but I'm sure it's a good idea to have a new one.

What can I say, the world is a small place, and I can only be surprised that there was such a connection here.

So Suzuki-senpai was the cupid of Ichika and Ichinose-kun's love. ……

I'm going to email Suzuki Senpai later while listening to the chime for the start of the class. I thought to myself, “I'm going to text Suzuki Senpai later.

–That night, I received a phone call from Toramasa. I received a phone call from Toramasa.

It's about Saturday. …….”

I wondered if he might not be able to go out with me. With a sinking heart, I listened to the rest of his words and rolled my eyes in surprise and upset.

'Are you Rei's brother and his wife ……? I'm fine.”

'You don't have to force me to go along with you. If you don't like it, just tell me properly.”

No, I'd be happy to join you if you're someone who has helped Toraga-san.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up suddenly.

I'm sorry, I'm not sorry. I'm relieved to hear that you're not going out anymore.

To summarize, it seems that Rei's brother and his wife suddenly wanted to go with them on this Saturday's outing.

The way he spoke and the way his voice sounded told me that he was having a hard time refusing their offer.

Rei's brother ……. I remember a scary-looking guy with a lot of tattoos I saw in RED.

To be honest, he looks scary. But as I told Toramasa, I really wanted to meet him because he was the one who took care of Toramasa for me. I might be able to learn something about him that I don't know, and I might be able to hear what he has to say about Rei-chan.

I also felt that since Toramasa was there, I would be fine.

I'm looking forward to Saturday.”

……I'm relieved to hear you say that.”

I was so relieved to hear you say that.

—.

The highlight of school on Friday was Mashiro-chan's imitation of a spirit removal as I muttered a curse about how I wanted school to be tomorrow as soon as possible.

I was looking forward to Saturday so much that I couldn't fall asleep and went to bed late, but I woke up earlier than I usually wake up.

Today's outfit was a black lace cardigan and a one-piece dress with monochrome flowers scattered on the white fabric that I had bought the other day.

Every time I buy an outfit, my mother asks, “Are you wearing black again? but I just can't leave out black. Every outfit I've bought since I became a second grader has black in it, and my closet is being invaded by black.

I can't help it. Black is Tora Masa's color. I want to be covered in the color of the person I love.

I put a colored lipstick on my lips and check my face in the mirror.

I can't do enough makeup to change a person's face like Rei does, but I put on mascara and eye shadow and it gives me a different look, I think. ……

After confirming on my cell phone that it was 9:30, I called out to my parents in the living room and headed to Toraga's apartment.

Toraga-san!”

I called out in delight as Toraga appeared through the open door, and he let me in with a smile on his face.

I sit down on the sofa and with the corners of my mouth rising, I fearfully take Toraga's hand and hold it.

I can't talk or touch him at school, so I'm very happy to be able to touch Toraga like this on my day off.

I shake my body from side to side and call out his name, “Toraga-san, Toraga-san,” and he squeezes my hand back and laughs, saying, “You're a child.

What time is Rei-chan's brother coming over here?”

I think he should be here by now. ……

To my surprise, today we were going to a shaved ice shop in Rei-chan's brother's car.

When it was decided that the two of us would go together, we had talked about taking the train and bus, so to be honest, it was helpful that Ree-chan's brother was going to give us a ride in his car.

I wonder what kind of person Rei-chan's brother is though: …….

What if he says she's plain for a girlfriend of Toraga's or that Toraga has bad taste …….

My heart aches with such anxiety, which has often attacked me since I got the call on Thursday.

It was a sign of such anxious mind that I checked my watch again and again.

He noticed me and said to me, “Mr. Ren looks scary, but he is not a bad person. His words lightened my heart a little.

Are you with Toraga-san?”

I said jokingly, and Toramasa replied in a joking manner, “You look scarier than me, don't you?

It was a few minutes after that conversation that I received a call from Rei's brother that he had arrived at Toramasa's apartment.

When we both went to the parking lot of the condo after receiving a call on Toraga's cell phone, we found a black sports car with a smoke screen, and in front of the car stood Rei-chan's brother, whom we had seen in the RED, and a woman with a big belly standing next to him.

The two men, who even from a distance gave off an atmosphere that made it difficult to get close to them, almost made me want to run away, but I managed to get close to them by walking behind Toramasa's back.

I'm a little late getting here,” he said.

I was in a lot of trouble when Ren made a fuss about the car keys being missing.

The two men, one wearing a supporter to hide his tattoos, apologized to Reichan's brother, and the other a woman with dark hair and well-defined makeup poked him in the face.

After these two exchanged a few words with Toraga, they turned their gazes in my direction.

My body froze and I felt like I had to say hello, but I couldn't speak. My head was in turmoil, wondering what to do. At that moment, Toramasa put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me toward him lightly, then opened his mouth.

It's her Mariko.

Something inside me burst out at those words.

I had never imagined that Toramasa would introduce me in this way, much less that he would tell me that she was his girlfriend. I don't need to see it.

The word “girlfriend” kept repeating in my head, and my whole face became hot as if it was boiling.

If I were allowed to do so, I would go insane here. I want to go crazy and run around and jump into the water and dive into the water.

Oh, God, no. My HP is already red.

I'm vulnerable to this kind of surprise …… heart …… face ……. I die.

My heart pulses faster with a thud, and a tension different from the tension of meeting Reika's brothers strikes me.

I want to go home now. But I can't.

I manage to pull my hands away from my face, feel the warmth and touch of Toraga's hands on my shoulders, and with my body now able to move, I look at Reika's brothers and open my mouth, dry with nervousness.

I said, “It's nice to meet you, I'm Mariko Takahashi. It's nice to meet you today.

I saw Rei-chan's brother at RED, but I didn't say hello to him, so it should be nice to meet you. ……

When he bowed his head and greeted her, Rei-chan's brother punched Toraga's shoulder with a smile on his mouth, and the woman next to him bashed his chest with her hand over her mouth.

At the sight of this, “Toraga-san!” I called out in a panic, and Toramasa said to me, “It's okay,” and then said, “Ouch,” and punched Rei-chan's brother in the shoulder.

But Rei-chan's brother didn't seem to mind and returned his gaze to me with a laugh.

He said, “Nice to meet you, Mariko. I'm Reika's brother, Ren. This is my wife, Aimi, and this is the fruit of our love, Chibisuke.

I'm Aimi and Chibisuke. Nice to meet you!

Reiko's brother smiles at her and Ai rubs her belly and bows her head, and I bow my head again.

The one called “Chibisuke” was the baby.

After I said, “Congratulations,” to Aimi and asked her about the baby's expected birth date and gender, Rei-chan's brother said, “Let's get in the car and talk about the rest,” so the four of us got in the car and headed for the shaved ice shop that was our destination for the day.

The unfamiliar smell of the car and the seats. The up-tempo music playing at a low volume.

I was nervous about the car, which was completely different from my father's car that I usually drive, and I sat down, shrinking my body as much as possible so as not to touch any unnecessary parts of the car.

Sorry about today,” he said. I just wanted to try your shaved ice. Well, the main reason was that I wanted to see Toramasa's girlfriend at first sight.

Toramasa himself called her his girlfriend. The actuality is, it's not something that I'm interested in.

Hey, it's not a spectacle.

I didn't mean it like that! I was just curious.”

As soon as we got in the car, a conversation started, and while listening to the conversation, I saw them sitting in the driver's seat and the passenger seat.

On the other hand, Aimi's manner of speaking and her atmosphere were similar to Rei-chan's. If anything, I thought it would be more convincing if they said that Aimi was related to Rei-chan.

The first thing you need to do is to look at the …… appearance of the person you are talking to.

'What do you like about Toraga, Mariko?'

My heart jumped loudly with a thump because he was suddenly speaking to me and because of the question he was asking.

What, how should I answer this ……?

I like everything about Toraga, so I like everything. How should I answer? Is it okay if I tell him what I like about him in detail, instead of giving a vague answer like “everything”? Or, is it the kindness or the ……? But I like her kindness, but not only that, I like her smile, her voice, her gestures, and of course her appearance. …… There's no end to what I like about him…it's really everything. ……

As I let my thoughts spin around in my head, the inside of the car became a space where no one spoke anything, just the music playing as they waited for my response.

The air felt like pressure, and I felt a strange sense of urgency to answer quickly. However, after saying this, I felt that it was not enough, so I continued again without waiting for Rei-chan's brother to say something else.

I'm sorry for being so vague, but if you ask me what I fell in love with, all I can really say is that I fell in love with everything. ……

I looked at Toraya who was sitting next to me with uneasiness.

I thought to myself, “Oh, I see. I see. So you like everything about Toramasa. I'm happy for you, Toramasa.

I was so happy to hear that he loved me so much. Toramasa is smiling!

What? I'm not sure what to expect. I'm not sure if it's going to rain spears tomorrow!

The topic of conversation veered away from me to Toraga, who was teased by both of them from beginning to end.

The air in the car, which had been somewhat awkward at first, became lighter, and I relaxed a little from my tension.

We stopped at a convenience store to buy some drinks on the way, and after driving again, we arrived at a shaved ice shop a little further into the mountains.

It had been about an hour since we got in the car.

After thanking Rei-chan's brother for driving us, the four of us headed for the store and got in line behind a long line of customers stretching from the entrance.

The line didn't go very fast, and we couldn't leave Aimi standing with her big belly all the time, so we decided to split into two groups: Aimi and I in the car, and Toraga and Rei-chan's brother standing in the line.

I went to the car with Aimi and tried to sit in the back seat as we had come, but Aimi asked me to sit in the passenger seat. Aimi sat in the driver's seat.

She asked me, “Are you feeling sick?”

I'm fine. I'm sorry I left you alone with Toramasa.

No, no, no, I'm fine.

Mariko is so sweet.

Aimi looked at me with her long bangs hanging over her ears, dimples on her cheeks, and started talking, saying, “I just wanted to have a little girl talk.

The conversation was about what was popular among high school girls these days, what kind of school life was like, and other such trivial matters.

The conversation turned to Rei-chan, and the reason why Aimi and Rei-chan are somewhat similar was revealed.

Apparently, Rei-chan met Aimi when she was in elementary school, and she adores her like an older sister.

She was so cute when she imitated us,” he said. We loved her a lot, too.

That's why she was so happy when she married Ren.

Aimi looked far away and smiled deeply, as if remembering that time.

I see, that's why Rei-chan and Aimi are somewhat similar. ……

After talking about Rei-chan for a while, we talked about Toramasa and I. I met Rei-chan's brother and Toramasa.

She said that she has been watching Toramasa since Rei-chan's brother and Toramasa first met, and she was glad to hear that Toramasa was enjoying his life. She thanked me.

Thank you too.”

Tears of joy came to my eyes as I was told by someone who knew the old Toramasa that he was having a good time.

Tears of joy came to my eyes as I was told by someone who knew Toramasa in the past that he was having a good time. If I can feel that from other people's eyes, and if my presence is even a little part of that enjoyable time, I am strongly glad that I was born just for that.

Of course, it is not only me. Aimi and Ren are also thinking about Toraga. I know from the game that Ki-kun doesn't think badly of Toraga either, despite what he says. Even though his family didn't love him, Toramasa was blessed with good people. …… I think Toraga stopped being a delinquent because he was blessed with good people.

Besides, I thought that the reason he looked like that when he was having a good time was because Toraga himself wanted to change.

If he hadn't wanted to change, he would still be in fights all the time.

Really, Toramasa is great …….

He is so full of himself, but he cares so much about me. He is kind to me.

He understands other people's pain and can't be that terrible of a person. Because he is a kind person to begin with. ……

I love Toraga like that.

I can see Toraga that I couldn't see in the game, and I can know various Toraga, so I can love Toraga as much as I know him.

The fact that there is still more of Toraga that I don't know yet means that I will love Toraga even more than I do now.

I was unaware of the gentle smile on Aimi's face when she saw me sitting next to her, and as I looked at Toramasa talking with Ren-san behind the windshield, I muttered to myself, “I love him. I whispered in my heart, “I love him.