Buying a Weeping Girl Under the Wintry Sky, and Making Her Too Happy. - Chapter 17: A Restart.

A Restart.

“…This is an Unfamiliar Ceiling.”

I never thought I’d wake up and experience the phenomenon of an unfamiliar ceiling. …I mean, really, where am I?

The ceiling in my room is much dirtier, but the ceiling I’m looking at right now is white and clean. …I think it’s been a while since I’ve seen a ceiling without dust on it.

“Kazuya-kun!?”

“Miyu? What’s this?”

Miyu looked at me as if she was peeking at me, and when I tried to get up, there was some stuff on my arm… What is this tube? I looked to the side and saw that it was connected to an IV drip. …Why?

“W-why am I in a hospital?”

“It’s because Kazuya-kun collapsed out of nowhere! I was really really worr.. mmhmm... worried abouy… mmmhhm... you!”

Miyu was crying, her face turning bright red. I’ve never seen Miyu this emotional before. I mean, did I just collapse? …Oh, that’s right. I was going to go to my part-time job. …I don’t remember anything from there, I guess? I looked to the side and there was a window and it was pitch black sky outside that I could see through the window. It was just before noon when I was going to go to work, so I must have slept for quite a while. This means that…

“I’ve taken leave from my part-time job without prior notice…. I hope it’ll be okay…”

“I WAS NOT TALKING ABOUT YOUR PART-TIME JOB! You need to worry about yourself right now!”

She was very angry…

“…Sorry.”

“I told you! I told you to take it easy! Why are you working until you collapse?! If Kazuya-kun collapsed because of me, why did you even care to buy me!?”

“…Sorry.”

Miyu must have been really worried about me. That’s why she’s so angry with me. That’s why all I could do was to apologize to Miyu….

“I really don’t know why. ….Why did you pick me up? Kazuya-kun, I really don’t understand why you don’t demand anything from me, don’t do anything terrible to me, and just let me stay free and die…”

Tell me, why? She asked me. This is probably what Miyu has been wanting to ask me. She was sure that if she were to ask me, I’d make a fool of myself, and even though we’ve known each other for a short time, Miyu knew that, which is why she didn’t ask me anything. That’s why she’s asking now. I’m not so stupid as to make a fool of myself here.

“…Because I’m the same.”

“…The same?”

“I don’t have parents either.”

“…After all, that’s the reason, is it?”

After all, you say. Did you guess that in various ways …Well, it would have been natural to think that there is a good reason for someone, living alone in the first year of high school, thinking normally.

“It’s not that my parents abandoned me or anything, but I only know their faces from pictures. That’s because my parents died in an accident when I was very young.”

Miyu listened to me in silence, looking me in the eyes the whole time, as if she’s trying to figure out the truth.

So when Miyu told me that her parents abandoned her, I couldn’t leave her alone. The situation was completely different, but I know how sad it is to lose your parents. I couldn’t leave her alone.

I don’t remember my parents’ faces, but I still remember crying when my grandmother told me that I would never see them again. I was a little boy at the time, but I think I instinctively understood the meaning of those words.

“…I finally understand now.”

“Ehh??”

“I’ve always thought you and I looked alike.”

“Me and Miyu?”

It’s true that I’ve thought the same thing, but I didn’t realize that Miyu had thought it too….

“And also the reason why Kazuya’s room is so relaxing. I’ve been thinking about it now, and Kazuya-kun’s room smells just like mine.”

“Same smell?”

What is Miyu talking about now? There are only books and textbooks in my room, and I don’t have anything that smells as good as a girl’s room. There’s no way they smell the same….

“The reason why Kazuya-kun and I look alike and the reason why our rooms smell the same is all the same.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been lonely for a long time too, haven’t you, Kazuya-kun?”

“!?”

There is no such thing as a smell in loneliness, so this is probably just a sensory thing, but I think I understand what Miyu is trying to say.

“I think the reason why Kazuya and I are so similar is because we share the same sense of loneliness. On the surface, we act as if everything is fine, but when something triggers us, our loneliness comes out. That loneliness that I sometimes show is the reason why Kazuya-kun and I are so similar.”

I feel like everything Miyu said was right. It was only after she said it that I became aware of it, but I definitely have that kind of tendency. And when I felt that I was similar to Miyu, I guess I naturally put myself and Miyu together.

“…Maybe Miyu’s right.”

“But not any more, now you and I’ll be on diff–.”

“No!”

“!?”

I’m not going to let her say anything beyond that. I know she’ s going to say that she can’t bother me or that she’s leaving, but I won’t let her do that. If she really wants to leave because she’s fed up, I won’t stop her, but if she wants to leave because she thinks she’s a nuisance to me, that’s outrageous.

“This may be selfish and hypocritical of me. But did you really think I would forgive you for saying that with a face that looks like it’s about to cry?”

“But! If Kazuya-kun is going to end up like this again…, I should have died without saying anything…”

“Don’t be silly!”

With that, I pull out all the needles that connect me to the IV that was stuck in my arm. Blood was dripping from my arm, probably because I had pulled it out forcibly, but that didn’t matter!

“!? What are you doing?!!”

“Shut up! I’m going to make this very clear! I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you can live a normal life! It’s my duty! I’d rather die than have you disappear in tears before me!”

“!?”

“So, you live! Don’t think you’re the only one who has control over your life, okay?! From this moment on, I’m entrusting you with my life as well!You have to live so that I don’t die! If you die, I’ll die too! So don’t ever say again that you wish you were dead!”

When I think about it later, I’m sure I’ll regret what I said at this moment. It might even become my black history. I dared a girl who was not my girlfriend to do something like this. But I don’t care about that. This is how I feel right now. Of course I’m ready to die, and I mean it. I guess Miyu could feel my seriousness.

“Wh-why… Kazuya-kun… why do you.. Think about … me… so… UWAAA!”

That was it. Miyu was crying. She was crying out loud, not caring about her shame or reputation. But that was enough. I’ve told her all my true feelings. I’ve done everything I can do. Now it’s up to Miyu to decide.

“That’s why, Miyu. Why don’t you come live with me in that house again?”

I asked Miyu as naturally as if I was asking her what she wanted for lunch today.

“…Kazuya-kun is an idiot …He has a very simple and kind soul,…”

“There’s nothing wrong with being simple and kind.”

“But …That’s why I want to be with Kazuya-kun.”

Miyu didn’t even wipe away her tears, but looked straight into my eyes and said she wanted to be with me. Then I have my answer.

“I see. Then I’ll see you when I get back.”

“…Yes. I’ll be looking forward to be with you again.”

This was the beginning of the two of us living together. From now on, the two of us will live together based on our own decisions. No more living together just because of my selfishness.

This is how Miyu and I started to live together in the true sense of the word.