Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 70: "I have someone I like."

“I have someone I like.”

Since deciding to go and peek at the scene where Sagiri will be confessed to… nothing eventful happened afterwards; only time passed.

Just like usual, we had homeroom, then a school-wide assembly in the gym, followed by the distribution of report cards by our homeroom teacher, some end-of-term notices, and then it was finally time for summer vacation.

I exchanged a few words with Yuzuru and Hasegawa, who said they had things to do today, and promised to meet up again for club activities next time. 

Then, after telling Sagiri I’ll be waiting, I left the classroom.

Meeting up with Kusakabe at the entrance hall, we made our way to the spot where Sagiri had been summoned, and we hid ourselves, waiting in advance for the upcoming confession.

“…Hey, are you sure this is the place?”

“…Well, there’s no mistaking it. I’m pretty sure he said to Sagiri to come to the back of the gym after school today…”

That’s right, we’re currently behind the gym.

Since it’s right after the closing ceremony, with no club activities going on, this quiet spot with no foot traffic is the perfect place for a confession.

In the bushes of this quintessential location, Kusakabe and I hid, speaking softly to each other even though no one else was around yet.

“…It’s nerve-wracking when it comes down to the actual moment, feels like we’re doing something bad, doesn’t it?”

“…Peeking is indeed a bad thing to do. Sorry for asking you to do it.”

“…Well, if I were in your shoes, I probably couldn’t refuse either, but, um…”

“…What is it?”

“…Showing your vulnerable side might be better given to Sagiri rather than me.”

“…Why’s that?”

“…Well, you know, girls tend to get all flustered when a guy they thought was reliable suddenly shows a weak side…”

“…Is that so?”

“…Yeah, it is. I mean, if you weren’t you, I might’ve been in danger of, you know, f-fall..”

What does it mean if I weren’t me?

Kusakabe is a friend, or rather a comrade. There’s absolutely no room for strange feelings to creep in there, but I didn’t feel bad about being liked for my vulnerable side.

But I don’t want to show weakness in front of Sagiri.

Because I made a resolution long ago to become strong for Sagiri’s sake…

“…Ah! Here comes Yakumo-san!”

“…What!?”

Kusakabe’s sudden shout brought me back to reality as I quickly peeked out from the bushes. There, slowly approaching, was Sagiri with her long white hair flowing freely.

“Oh, did she arrive early?”

Sagiri, unaware of us hiding in the bushes, stopped and looked around. She seemed just like her usual self, but seeing her without me felt surprisingly refreshing.

“…Calling me out and then making me wait, what’s that about?”

“…Comrade, in the future, you won’t let your  daughter go, will you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“…Th-that was just an example.”

When I directed my gaze towards Kusakabe in the bushes, she quickly averted her face with tremendous force.

There are so many things I want to say, but I’m really glad Kusakabe is here. If I were alone, I’d definitely be overwhelmed with anxiety and tension.

Being able to distract myself like this is only possible with someone to talk to, and I felt a little relieved.

“S-Senpai! S-Sorry for making you wait!!”

A male student came running towards Sagiri at full speed, and just seeing that made me feel tense inside, even though I’m not the one being confessed to. My heart was pounding.

“Oh, hey there. It’s been a while since yesterday.”

“Ha… ha… Sorry… I was helping the teacher and ended up being late…”

Whether he rushed here or not, the boy suddenly stopped in front of Sagiri and his shoulders were moving up and down vigorously.

He still had a childish innocence, probably from his middle school days, with a youthful face that hadn’t quite lost its innocence yet.

I doubted whether this quiet-looking boy, who seemed nervous, was really going to confess to Sagiri.

“It’s okay, really. Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes! Th-Thank you very much!”

When Sagiri peered at him, the boy straightened his back instantly. His face turned bright red, clearly showing his nervousness.

“He’s… uh, the one. Y-You met him yesterday!”

“I can tell just by looking.”

Kusakabe tried to add some explanation next to me, but it wasn’t really necessary.

It was obvious to anyone that the boy was smitten with Sagiri.

“Um, well… Thank you so much for coming!”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“I, I wanted to tell you yesterday, but, um…”

“Yesterday, you were busy with club activities and your friends, right? Don’t worry about it.”

“T-Thank you so much!”

The boy kept thanking and bowing repeatedly.

He doesn’t seem like a bad guy.

His mannerisms of gratitude and apology are similar to Kusakabe’s.

“Fr-friends… hehehe…”

I heard a pleased voice from beside me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the two companions anymore.

“S-Senpai!”

The boy straightened his back again and looked straight at Sagiri. It was clearly a prelude to what he was about to say, and even I, watching from hiding, felt nervous.

“Thank you so much for back then!!”

However, it wasn’t a confession.

What came out of the boy’s mouth was, once again, words of gratitude.

But this time, it was the deepest and longest expression of gratitude yet, and the boy bowed his head over and over again.

“No, I didn’t do anything?”

“No, that’s not true! Thanks to you pushing me forward, I found the courage to join the basketball club and made friends! Every day is fun now!”

“You’re exaggerating. You’re the one who put in the effort to it, right?”

“But still! Without your words, I’d probably still be all alone! I’m really grateful to you!!”

Saying that, the boy bowed his head repeatedly. His voice was bright, and even I, who knew nothing about what they are talking about, could feel his joy.

“That’s… quite a display of gratitude.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Do… do you know what happened?”

“I have no idea. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen him.”

That’s right, I don’t know anything. I don’t know what happened between Sagiri and the boy, where they met, and how she encouraged him.

This was a story from Sagiri’s daily life as a girl, not as my childhood friend.

“So, um, the reason I called you today is because… besides wanting to thank you, there’s, um, one more thing I wanted to tell you…!”

“Yeah.”

And then, the atmosphere changed dramatically from gratitude. The boy’s demeanor shifted from fluent words of thanks to stuttering, fragmented phrases.

It was clearly nervousness that anyone could see, and even I, hiding, couldn’t bear to watch.

Still, Sagiri quietly nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“I-I… I… about… you…”

The boy looked ahead with a bright red face.

“T-That…!”

Summoning his courage, despite stumbling over his words.

“I-I’ve been… not good at sports and shy… but thanks to you pushing me, I joined the basketball club and made friends! Since that day, I’ve liked you! W-Would you go out with me!!?”

He poured out all his feelings to Sagiri.

It was my first time witnessing someone’s sincere confession.

Even though I had seen intense confessions in zombie movies with Sagiri, those were staged.

But now, seeing this boy earnestly express his feelings which was undeniably genuine…

“…”

“…”

Silence filled the air between them.

The boy remained bowed after his confession, and Sagiri looked at him in silence.

It was probably the longest moment of silence in the boy’s life.

“Thank you.”

“Y-Yes!”

Breaking the silence, it was Sagiri’s turn to respond.

Upon receiving Sagiri’s words of gratitude for his confession, the boy raised his head with wide eyes.

“I’m really happy that you thanked me and said you liked me.”

“T-Thank you!”

His face lit up upon hearing those words.

“But I’m sorry.”

“Huh…”

But that moment passed quickly, and now it was Sagiri who bowed her head, causing the boy’s expression to cloud over.

Sagiri slowly raised her head, straightened her back like the boy, and spoke with a seriousness unlike her usual self.

“I’m really happy about your feelings. But I’m sorry.”

Just as the boy had thanked her multiple times, Sagiri apologized repeatedly.

It was about sincerely acknowledging someone’s feelings and respectfully declining them.

“I have someone I like.”

With sincere words, knowing she would hurt the boy in front of her, Sagiri responded to the person who had expressed their feelings to her with genuine sincerity.

“So I can’t respond to your feelings. I’m sorry.”

With that, Sagiri bowed deeply once again.

It was the moment that ended a boy’s one sided love.