Two days later.

Today was the day of the opening ceremony. And I was called out to by my girlfriend, Azuki-chan, for after school today.

I went to school earlier than normal and spotted someone in the schoolyard I was used to seeing. That is…someone I haven’t seen for about two weeks, Hasegawa. She had been watering the flowerbed in the schoolyard. I hesitated for a moment to speak with her. That’s because the last time I talked with her was last month; that was when I had helped her with the notes, but since then I feel like Hasegawa has been avoiding me. Of course, I have no real confirmation of this, and it could simply be my imagination, but…even so, we never again spoke about a meet-up of her, Yamamoto-san, and I, and for some reason I worry she never has had such a conversation with Yamamoto-san. Oh yeah, what ever did happen about that? If I speak with her in a carefree manner about having such a meet-up, like anytime to meet is fine with me~ or such..that would be fine, right? For some reason, in my heart at the time, I felt that if I didn’t speak to her like this, somehow it would be like I’m neglecting her…just a tinge of that kind of uneasiness surged forward in my mind. Finally, a chance to speak with Hasegawa, just the two of us, so…

I resolved to speak to Hasegawa.

“Hasegawa…good morning.”

“…! Ka-Kashiwada-kun…”

Hasegawa saw me moving forward and talked to me with a surprised expression. She stopped what she had been doing.

“Happy New Year.”

“…Eh, eeh…happy new Year.”

For some reason, Hasegawa seemed a bit down and didn’t look at my face.

“Ah..eh, umm…You said something about meeting with Yamamoto-san, all three of us, and about that…I’m open any time, so if that conversation ever goes somewhere, just tell me.”

“…! Eh, eeh…”

At my words, Hasegawa looked with a shocked expression at my face, and nodded her head in agreement.

…Yup, Hasegawa is…a little odd right now.

“…”

“W-well…it feels like we haven’t spoken to each other in a long time…no, we spoke just last month, so it’s nothing like that…”

The silence felt awkward, so I begrudgingly wrung out some words. Well, they were how I truly feel now, but still.

“..I’m sorry…”

“Eh!?”

Suddenly, Hasegawa shot out an apology, so I, shocked, looked at her face.

“That is, I was avoiding you, Kashiwada-kun…”

“Ha-Hasegawa…”

I was surprised by her words. Sure enough, it wasn’t just my imagination; she really had been avoiding me. But…why?

“…Umm…Kashiwada-kun…”

Casting her eyes down, she faced her body towards me.

“When I…said to you, ‘don’t talk about that again’…I was…in shock…”

“…Eh?”

Unable to grasp what Hasegawa was saying, I gathered my thoughts.

The “that” from “don’t talk about that again” is about my confession to Hasegawa. I won’t say I like you or such anymore, I want you to be at ease…yes, that’s what I said to Hasegawa.

“When I…rejected your confession…I really thought I was being selfish.”

“…Eh…?”

Ha-Hasegawa…?

“…Those days when you were avoiding me, Kashiwada-kun, were very painful. The one at fault was me, and though I understand that such was my just desserts…thinking that you wouldn’t talk to me like before made me extremely…sad.”

“Ha-Hase…gawa…”

Hasegawa looked straight at me, dead in the eye, and…seriously told me her feelings. When she rejected me, and I was avoiding her, this is what she was thinking about…?

“You, Kashiwada-kun…kindly spoke to me despite my not fitting in class, you would help me with my class representative work…what a nice person, why is he so nice, stuff like that is what was always odd. When you told me you wanted to be friends with me, I was so very happy. That’s not all…you got along with big brother, and for your help…no matter how much I thank you, it is not enough….Since entering high school, I was able to open my heart…for the first time. I was terrible at making friends, but because you were there, Kashiwada-kun,…I was able to think to work hard at it.”
“…”

I didn’t open my mouth and listened to what she was saying. Because of my shock, I wasn’t able to say anything.

“When you confessed…I was incredibly surprised, and I still am perplexed, not understanding my own feelings….But, though it may be too late…now, I have realized my true feelings…”

“…Eh…!?”
Hasegawa looked up at me with eyes moist with tears.

“…Kashiwada-kun, I…like you. As a person, as a friend…and as a member of the opposite sex…”

To this fairly sudden event, my awareness went somewhere far away. Hasegawa…likes…me…?

I couldn’t believe it. The one I have always yearned for since the entrance ceremony, to the culture festival, until I confessed, Hasegawa Midori…how many times have I dreamed of this, the one I couldn’t help being in love with, Hasegawa….

At the same time as being so surprised I could die, of course, I was incredibly happy. We aren’t a good fit for each other, how many times did I tell myself that…this oh-so-beautiful and kind-hearted no matter what Hasegawa…feels like this about someone like me…?

Sort of shaken, for a short while I could not say anything.

“…Ha-Hasegawa…thank you…this doesn’t seem real, I can’t believe it…”

Finally, Hasegawa told me how she feels.

…From there I organize my feelings.

“…But…I-I…”

Feeling like my heart was tearing apart, I opened my mouth. I couldn’t look at Hasegawa; I looked down. My chest hurt. But, I have to say it. Precisely, from my own mouth…

“Eh, I understand.”

“…Eh…?”
Surprised by Hasegawa’s line, I raised my head and looked at her face. Hasegawa was looking at me with a pained smile.

“Kashiwada-kun, I came to like you….I realized I had come to watch you…getting close to you, I made detailed observations…I noticed. While you were the same kind person as ever…the eyes with which you looked at me changed a bit compared to before…”

“Eh…!?”
At Hasegawa’s words, my chest grew tighter. Hasegawa noticed…even that…? She was watching me like that…?

“I was able to become friends with you, I was able to like you…up to now you have let me come to know so many things I did not know before. Sad feelings, lonely feelings, happy feelings….So…thank you, Kashiwada-kun.”

“Hasegawa…th-that’s…that’s my line! From me as well…thank you. I think it was truly good that I was able to come to like you…”

If I weren’t careful, it seemed I would cry.

Because of Hasegawa, I was able to have hope for my high school life.

Because of Hasegawa, school was fun.

Because of Hasegawa, I could think of trying hard from here on out.

Hasegawa was, to me, hope itself.

Hasegawa, to my line, softly smiled.

“Kashiwada…I, from here on out…to not cause you to worry, I’ll try my best.”

“Eh…?”
“You have someone else who is important, and I can’t go making you worry about me needlessly. O give you peace of mind, I’ll properly…try my best to make other friends aside from you.”

She said such and gently laughed. That smile was…almost like that of an angel. The same level as that smile on the day I met her and fell in love—the day of the high school entrance ceremony…no, this was an even more charming smile than that.

Sure enough, Hasegawa was an angel. When I first saw her and thought that, I was not wrong.

“H-hey…Hasegawa…from here on out, can we really, truly…be friends…?”

She was a tad shocked at my proposal.

“Yes, of course.”

She gave a somewhat pained laugh, and gave her ready consent.

Thank you.

For accepting me…for saying you wanted to be friends…for saying I was an irreplaceable, important person.

For coming to like me.

Thank you, Hasegawa.

While I was blanking out at too much to think about, at some time the opening ceremony was ending. I return tot he classroom from the gym, say some trivial thing to Kiritani, whom I have not seen in about two weeks, homeroom ends, and it’s after school. I prepare to go home, leave the classroom, and…

“…Ah…”

In the hallway, at the usual spot…my girlfriend stood. We met on New Year’s Eve, so it shouldn’t even have been a week since we last met, but…it really feels like it has been a while.

“Naoki-kun…I have something very important to talk with you about, is that OK?”

With her usual smile she said such.

But…I noticed that her voice was shaking.

We gradually searched out a place we could talk just the two of us alone, and ended up going to the roof.

“Naoki-kun…you listened…to the CD ROM files…right?”

Azuki-chan timidly asked me.

“…Yeah, I listened to them…”

Azuki-chan closed her eyes, took a deep, deep breath, and, as if she had prepared herself, began talking.

“I…I…”

“I like you, Naoki-kun! The one I love most in the world…! O-once again, please go out with me!”
That simple confession of love pierced into my chest. I confirm my answer in my mind.

I said nothing for a bit…took in a small breath, and spit out my next words.

*End of Chapter 3*