Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 71: "Yeah, I love them a lot!"

“Yeah, I love them a lot!”

“I-I… um… could you… please… look up?”

The boy, just rejected after confessing his feelings, trembled as he spoke to Sagiri.

His mind must be in turmoil right now. Yet, despite being rejected, his attempt to remain composed in front of Sagiri was commendable.

It was ironic that I had come here to see Sagiri being confessed to because I was worried about her accepting the nameless admirer’s confession, yet I found myself sympathizing with him, whose love had been unrequited. But perhaps it wasn’t so strange after all, considering the sincerity of his confession.

“Yeah. I’m sorry.”

“N-No, it’s…”

And surely, Sagiri must be feeling it more than us, who were merely hiding and observing. 

We were outsiders in this situation, and all we could do was silently watch.

“U-Um, Senpai…”

“Yeah, what is it?”

The confession ended in failure.

Time continued, and just because of a rejection didn’t mean it was over. The boy could have chosen to end it with farewell words, but he didn’t.

“Senpai… um…”

“Yeah.”

Desperately, the boy continued, and Sagiri nodded in response.

“What kind of person… is the one you like?”

“Huh?”

But that was an unexpected question, and the serious tone of Sagiri’s voice faltered.

“S-Sorry… f-for asking something weird even after being rejected…”

“N-No, it’s okay. Since I rejected you, you have the right to ask, right?”

Why ask that now?

“Uh, well, um… I guess…”

“Um, if it’s hard to say, it’s okay…”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Huh, okay…”

There was someone who responded with “okay” to “okay.” That was Sagiri.

She was back to her usual self.

As the boy who asked the question began to look troubled, a strange atmosphere arose. It was a loose atmosphere, completely different from the confession that had just taken place.

“It’s someone… important.”

But then, Sagiri changed what she had just created with one word. The boy, Kusakabe, and I all held our breaths.

“Happy times, sad times, fun times, and even angry or lonely times… he’s always been there for me. Even when I’m being selfish or saying terrible things, he prioritizes me over himself and smiles beside me. Just like you said it was because of me, the me now is also… because of him…”

It was a feeling that tightened my chest.

It wasn’t sympathy for the boy; it was my own feelings.

Sagiri and I are childhood friends.

We’ve been together for a long time, and our relationship is close. It’s so close that we can understand each other even without saying much, and we trust each other completely unless there’s something significant happening that we couldn’t talk about with each other.

So… to think that she had been thinking about such things about me. Before I knew it, I found myself biting my lower lip as if enduring something.

“Th-That person… you really… love him, huh…”

“Yeah, I love him a lot!”

It was a genuine smile without a trace of worry.

I hadn’t been with Sagiri all this time, probably because I wanted something in return for everything I’ve done for her. I was just with her because we were childhood friends, and I wanted to support her, to be there for her, to see her smile.

Yet, despite that… despite that… something snapped the moment I heard those words.

Suddenly, the usual summer sky I wanted to look up at from the bushes seemed so vividly blue and clear. It was a strange sensation, as if something had burst in my chest and then settled down softly.

“Oh…”

Interrupting my clear train of thought was a voice that sounded almost like a sigh.

“Oh, sorry? You called me, but I talked about whatever I wanted…”

“N-No, it’s okay… um, I realized that I… can’t compare to… someone else…”

“Huh?”

“…………Senpai! Thank you for your time!!”

The voice suddenly raised in pitch.

“I-I’ll… I’ll tell the other first-years too! That… um, Senpai has someone she’s liked for a long time, and there’s no room for anyone else because she likes him so much already!!”

“D-Don’t do something like that!? And… you didn’t say ‘like’ twice, did you!?”

“P-Please let me do this! I-I’ve been rejected and it’s painful and sad… but… I can be like this because of you!!”

“A-Are you even listening to me!?”

Sagiri, who didn’t listen to others, was being toyed with by a junior who also didn’t listen to others.

Feeling like I had dodged a bullet, I chuckled lightly as I continued to peer from the bushes.

“I’ll… do my best at basketball! So please, Senpai, do your best too!”

“You just casually dragged me into this, didn’t you!?”

“Thank you very much for your time! I’ll make sure to tell everyone!”

“H-Hey, wait a minute!?”

The end of the failed confession ended with a smile.

The boy waved as he walked away from behind the gym.

“T-That was quite something, huh?”

“…………”

“S-So, comrade?”

“……Ah, yeah, sorry.”

In the same thicket, I noticed Kusakabe looking up at me from below.

Yeah, that’s it. The confession is over. From the serious clash of feelings, we returned to our usual selves, and with the runaway emotions of a somewhat relieved boy, the curtain closed on what was a stormy event.

Left alone in the aftermath, Sagiri…

“Haaa…”

Exhaled heavily and squatted down on the spot. 

My face was downturned, and I didn’t even flinch.

“Um, comrade… about Yakumo-san, what happened?”

“…I guess the tension snapped.”

“…Um, is it okay if we don’t say anything?”

“Yeah. Let’s just leave her be.”

“…Is it really okay?”

“I promised I’d wait for her at the park.”

If I could, I’d run over and hug her right now. Not saying anything, just holding her to reassure her.

But I can’t. That’s the promise. I’ve already broken one promise by being here. Now that the confession is over, I shouldn’t see any more than this.

“…A promise, huh? Ah, but… Yakumo-san’s feelings, I think I understand…”

“…Really?”

“…Y-Yes. Um, yesterday… when I turned down the invitation to join the club, it was really painful… There was no malice, but rejecting someone’s kindness is… really, really… tough, isn’t it?”

“…Kusakabe.”

“W-What is it?”

“…Thank you.”

“Huh!?”

Thank you for understanding Sagiri’s feelings, for empathizing with her, for thinking of her as if it were your own situation.

Sagiri has been doing this all by herself all this time. Accepting the other person’s feelings without a frown, and then rejecting them… it’s been hard.

More than the childhood friend I thought of, far more than the best friend I knew, the Sagiri I wanted to protect… she’s grown stronger.