After rebirth, I confessed to the losing heroine - Chapter 104- I can help

Hanabi reached the cafe where Hiroto had invited her half an hour ago. She was sipping coffee with a dazed look while thinking back on the conversation she had with her father.

She has never yearned for something more than Yuichi. He has been with her ever since they didn’t know anything about romance or anything around it. She has grown with him. She has been with him at his high and low points. And now her father was asking her to stay away from that person.

‘But…why am I being so desperate? What would I achieve by going against my father? Yuichi already has people whom he cares for….why would he need me by his side?’ A lump in her throat made her feel stuffy as she barely held herself from letting out tears of grief and regret.

Maybe if she had been more aggressive with her approach or had been bold enough to confess her feelings earlier…Yuichi might have given her the same attention which he gives to Kaori.

However, there was no point in contemplating that. She was his friend and might always be.

‘Then why am I even here?’

“Quite emotional you are today.”

“Ah!” The cup from her hand nearly dropped upon hearing that voice as she realized that Hiroto had already seated in front of her without her noticing.

“W-When did you arrive?”

“Just when you were pondering over your life decisions.” His answer was blunt and held no pity for how miserable she looked.

Hanabi appreciated that.

She used tissue paper to wipe the slight moisture accumulated at the corner of her eyes as she said, “Thanks for coming here. I didn’t want to trouble you but there is no one as close to Yuichi as you.”

Hiroto casually nodded before he raised his hand and gestured to the waiter.

“Yes, sir?” The waiter asked with a polite smile.

“One black coffee for me and one hot chocolate with three big marshmallows to that table.” He said while pointing toward three tables ahead of them.

The waiter looked confused, but under Hiroto’s firm gaze, he scratched his head and wrote it down before leaving.

Hanabi turned to look at the person for whom Hiroto ordered the hot chocolate and found a person sitting there in a hoodie and facing the other side.

Redirecting her gaze to Hiroto, Hanabi couldn’t help but say, “Hiroto-kun…you just got engaged to Shirogane-san yesterday and now you are flirting with a random girl?”

Hiroto chuckled hearing that before he cleared the misunderstanding, “That person over there is my fiancée.”

Hanabi’s eyes widened as she turned once again to look at the girl and indeed found those silver hair quite familiar.

‘But why would she…’

“Shall we get on the topic?” Hearing Hiroto’s words, Hanabi inwardly scolded herself for focusing on an entirely different subject and wasting Hiroto’s time.

She took a moment to calm herself down before asking, “Hiroto-kun…do you know about Yuichi’s past? What happened after his parents’ death, and where had he been all this time before suddenly becoming a high school student?”

Hiroto leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms on his chest before casually uttering, “An underground fighter with a great reputation. Someone who used to work for your father and left the gang when he remembered his parents’ dream…yeah, I know everything.”

There was nothing that Hiroto added based on the knowledge he gained in his previous life.

In this world, Yuichi trusts only a few people and when talking about his past, he doesn’t even trust Kaori as much as he does Hiroto.

Hanabi was monetarily left speechless. She didn’t know that Hiroto knew such details. Although she knew that Yuichi trusted Hiroto and both were quite good friends, sharing about that dark past of being involved with the underworld was still quite an extreme decision.

However, Hanabi wasn’t here to question the friendship between them. After all, she respects the bond which Yuichi and Hiroto share.

‘If Yuichi trusts him, then I shouldn’t hesitate…’ With such thoughts, Hanabi decided to tell him the whole story.

“Hiroto-kun, when Yuichi decided to leave the gang, my father told him to never show his face again or he wouldn’t be able to leave again. And recently, my frequent involvement with Yuichi, especially the incident that happened some days ago, didn’t sit well with Otou-san.”

She paused as the waiter came to deliver the beverage.

Once he was gone, Hiroto said, “Continue.”

Hanabi nodded before she said, “That’s why he has told me to stop meeting with Yuichi…or he might take some steps to bring Yuichi back into the gang.”

“Which Yuichi surely would disagree to,” Hiroto added, and with her lips slightly agape she hesitantly nodded.

Hiroto sipped on his coffee with an indifferent look.

He glanced at Miyuki and found her enjoying the hot chocolate while swaying slightly left to right. That softened his gaze.

“So…can I ask you to tell him to no longer contact me?”

Hiroto placed the cup back on the saucer calmly before asking, “You could have done that by yourself, no? Your father wouldn’t have minded. In fact, he would have appreciated that you listened to his words and created distance with Yuichi, no?”

His question stunned her. There was no denying what he said. Indeed her father would have allowed her to contact Yuichi if she really intended to break off all the connections with him.

However, what she herself didn’t realise was narrated by Hiroto,

“You want me to tell Yuichi to stay away from you…but do you really want that?”

Hearing his question, she immediately wanted to say ‘Yes’; after all, she desired nothing more than Yuichi’s safety.

However, when she parted her lips to voice her response…nothing came out.

She was left speechless.

The duration of the silence extended until Hiroto hadn’t finished his coffee and told her, “Hanabi-san, I don’t want to be rude here but you cannot remain indecisive about things like these. You have to make your decision about what you want.”

Leaning forward, he added, “If you really don’t want to have any contact with Yuichi, then I will somehow convince him to stay away from you. However, if you want to remain by his side….” Her eyes widened and there was a sudden spark in her eyes when she heard him continuing, “…then I can help in that case as well.”

Hanabi clenched her fist with a blend of emotions swirling inside her. She knew Hiroto was just a high school teenager but when he said that he could help her to maintain her relationship with Yuichi, she felt an ember of hope igniting inside her.

In a very timid voice, like she feared to hear the answer, she asked, “Hiroto-kun, is there any way I can stay by his side with my father’s permission?”

With a smirk dancing on his lips, Hiroto assured her,

“If that’s what you want, then I think I can help you.”

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A/N:- The plot hasn’t slowed down, right? Like I think developing characters is necessary so I took my time writing their conversation. Will add more scenes from now on.

Thanks for reading.