「...I'm
sorry. I'm happy with your feelings, but I'm not interested in going out with
you」
She's
already prepared to be rejected once.
But
this is where it all starts.
「...Yeah.
I still like her. So I can't think about going out with another girl」
「But,
Takatsuki-san is dating Izumi-kun, right? Are you going to wait until they
break up?」
「That's..」
Before
he says anything, Kanako jumps into Kamishiro's chest.
Then
while smelling his sweat and feeling the thickness of his chest plate, she
desperately tells him.
「Can't
I do it? I may not be able to replace Takatsuki-san, but I need Kamishiro-kun.
I'll do my best to make Kamishiro-kun like me」
Half
of her words are true.
Having
broken up with Riko, Kanako needed someone to turn to. It could be anyone, but
it should be someone with high specs or a strong will.
And
Kamishiro Yuuki is the perfect person in terms of both situation and ability.
「So,
Kamishiro-kun, please go out with me」
「Sorry」
Kanako
looked up at him with moist eyes, but Kamishiro pushed her back.
He
looked like he was holding something back.
Is
he resisting [Beautiful Voice]? No, not at all. ....
Kamishiro's
eyes twisted sadly as he looked at Kanako.
「Even
if it wasn't for Takatsuki-san, I wouldn't go out with Sashiro-san. ...Also,
you haven't apologized for laughing at Izumi-kun alongside Nishizaki-san, have
you?」
「Eh――」
He
said something she didn't expect.
Kanako
stood there with her mouth hanging open.
...but
the person who hurt Chihiro were Riko, and she didn't do anything to him.
No.
Kamishiro doesn't care about that, he's talking about "laughing".
But
then Riko must be worse.
No.
Riko was also mentioned by another classmate during the commotion in class.
『Yeah.
I feel bad for Izumi. ...I don't hate Izumi now, and I apologized to him and he
forgave me. I'm really sorry for making him feel bad too』
Chihiro
himself affirmed this.
But
still... She had to say something.
Otherwise,
it'll be her fault.
Kamishiro
took an apologetic glance at Kanako, who didn't open her mouth, and then left
without looking back.
The
empty corridor made Kanako feel not "special" but "lonely".
☆ ☆ ☆
Before
she knew it, there is nothing left for Kanako.
After
failing to confess her feelings to Kamishiro, Kanako tried to lower his image
by spreading rumors.
――Kamishiro
is toying with Aika, even though Kamishiro's true love is the Lolita girl from
Class A.
――Aika
is two-timing Kamishiro and Chihiro.
――Chihiro
is a bit of a peckerhead, and demands that Aika play with him in a perverted
way.
However,
the rumors disappeared without any success, partly because it was not taken
seriously.
In
fact, Kanako, the one who spread the rumor, is looked upon with suspicion.
「...Why?」
She
didn't know how it happened.
It
became hard for her to stay in class, and she muttered to herself as she ate
her lunch alone in a corner of the cafeteria.
Moreover
because of that, the shrimp pilaf she ordered was dry and unappetizing.
There
are many happy voices around her. But there is no one by Kanako's side.
No
one.
「Here,
can I sit?」
"Sure",
she said.
A
tray is placed in front of the table.
At
the same time, a sweet scent drifted into the air and she looked up to see
Reina sitting down on the seat across from her.
「...Why?」
「I
came looking for you. Kanako, you've been down lately」
...Really?
For that reason alone?
Kanako
asked again as Reina started to eat the shrimp pilaf.
「But
that doesn't mean why?」
「Because
we're friends, right?」
「...Friends」
Reina
smiled smugly.
Rear-eyed
and elusive, this friend - or was it still a friend - had the same attitude as
before.
「I
don't like to be bothered. I want to be relaxed at school, so I came to stop my
friends from doing troublesome things」
*fluffy*
For
some reason, Kanako saw Reina as a kind of holy mother.
「It's
natural that things won't work out if you try to force things to go your way.
I'll stay by your side, Kanako, so why don't you just be quiet for a while?」
Without
realizing it, a tear falls on her own portion of shrimp pilaf.
「...Yes」
Kanako
felt that the pilaf they ate together tasted better than before.
Henceforth,
she would stop abusing her abilities.
She
decided this out of the trauma of the series of events and out of gratitude to
Reina.
Uno
Reina.
Rank
E, ability to emit a reassuring scent, [Fragrance].
She
has an ability similar to her, [Beautiful Voice], and Kanako suddenly recalls
that she initially brought her into the group out of caution, lest their goals
repel each other and they end up fighting.
...But
now, she's really glad she's on her side.
Kanako
smiles, both heartbroken and grateful for the way she was saved by a friend she
made for extremely selfish reasons.
*fluffy*
As
Reina's delicious smell tickled Kanako's nostrils again, herloneliness
disappeared from her heart.
Thanks for reading...
