I Hope You’re Still Alive When Tomorrow Comes - 23

Chapter 23: Because I Like You

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

The train was almost empty today, even though it was usually filled with students. We got to pick our seats and so, we sat facing each other in a four-person booth near the door.

“You know…Are you really okay with this?”

“What do you mean?”

Suddenly feeling concerned, I asked Kiho and in return, she stared at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

“If we go to Yuzushima now, it’ll be quite late by the time we’re home.”

“Hm? It’s fine. Even if we’re not going to Yuzushima, I was already planning on staying by your side all day anyway, Tsuchiya-kun.”

“….Ah, right.”

Thinking about it now, I guess she did say something like that. She said she would keep watch in front of my house when I got home. By now, I knew Kiho meant everything she said. She was dead serious. 

“And so, this is perfect actually. I’d rather go out with you than be alone in front of your house. Have you ever been to Yuzushima, Tsuchiya-kun?”

“No… I haven’t… I think. Probably?”

“Probably?”

“I might have gone there when I was really young, but I don’t know. I don’t really remember.”

“If you live around here, you’ve probably been there at least once. You had a school field trip in elementary school, right? Maybe you went to Yuzushima then.”

“Oh… Yeah. I think we did…?”

Field trip.

For some reason, that word got stuck in the back of my mind when Kiho said it. 

“I went to Yuzushima for a field trip in elementary school. I haven’t been back to Yuzushima ever since then though.”

“Ooh…”

I replied half-heartedly and the conversation naturally faded into silence. I turned my head to look out the window, watching the unfamiliar scenery pass by.  Gradually, I started to worry about trivial things, like whether I had enough money in hand, or when was I last charged my transit card. 

“Tsuchiya-kun.”

Kiho suddenly said, her voice sounded really serious.

“Don’t make a face like you want to die.”

I turned my gaze back to Kiho. Caught off guard, I blinked several times.

“….My face looked like that?”

“Yes. There’s despair written all over on your face. Tsuchiya-kun, you don’t need to feel down. Sure, what happened earlier must be rough on you, but… I have a plan already. My plan is already in motion even.”

“….Plan? Oh, you mean stealing Hiwatari?”

Right. This girl said she was going to steal Hiwatari… For my sake.

“That’s right. If my plan goes well, those two will break up anyway. When that happens, Tsuchiya-kun can slide in and have Nanami-san for yourself.”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to do that anymore.”

Even if her plan somehow worked out and Nanami broke up with Hiwatari, I knew Nanami would never come back to me.

….No. Nanami was never mine to begin with. I wasn’t even a “normal childhood friend” to her. 

“Just stop it. It’s useless anyway.”

“Why? You still have a chance. You just need to approach her at the right time when she’s heartbroken.”

“You know, that plan of yours is not going to work anyway. I don’t think Hiwatari sees you in that way. Nanami also said she’s not worried about you.”

“Yeah, I can kind of sense that too, but it’s okay. I still have a secret trick up my sleeve. I will use it when things are not working out.”

“Secret trick?”

Kiho narrowed her eyes with a smug expression and leaned towards me slightly.

“—Seduction.”

“….Huh?”

“I read online that seduction is the most effective method to catch high school boys. And so, I just need to pin him down and make him unable to escape. Hiwatari-kun is thin, I think I can push him down with my strength alone. I just need to find the right opportunity, get him alone after school or something….”

“….No, I don’t think that’s going to work.”

For some reason, I felt so lost when I saw the proud look on Kiho’s face as she said that to me. 

Why… Just why she’s…

“It’s fine. Really. It’s fine already. You don’t need to do that.”

Kiho was dead serious. She would seriously go that far just for me. She wouldn’t even hesitate or waver. I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand why she would go that far for me. However, realizing this made me feel like crying for some reason. It didn’t make any sense. Nothing she did made any sense from the start. 

“I mean, what about your feelings?”

“My feelings?”

“Why would you do that with a guy you don’t even like… Only to get that guy to break up so I can snatch his girlfriend… Besides, even if your plan somehow works, what are you going to do after that?”

When Kiho first told me that she would steal Hiwatari from Nanami, I felt a flicker of hope. If she could steal Hiwatari… That’d be great. I didn’t even care if Nanami would get hurt in the process. In fact, I wanted Nanami to get hurt. I wanted Nanami to realize how wrong she was, how she never realized who had been protecting her all this time, who had been making sure she never got hurt… I seriously considered that, even though it was wrong of me to even dare thinking like that.

“I don’t mind. As long as Tsuchiya-kun is happy… That’s already enough for me. I just want you to stop feeling like you want to die.”

Kiho’s eyes narrowed gently, she said all that without hesitation. There was no hint of deceit in her words and her smile was genuine, which in turn made me feel lost even more. 

“Why…?”

I muttered weakly. I couldn’t understand it. Everything she said sounded foreign to me. 

“Kiho… When you like someone, don’t you want to be by their side? Don’t you have the desire to monopolize them all for yourself? I don’t get it. I don’t understand you. Why… Why do you only think about me?”

My voice was laced with desperation and Kiho, she only tilted her head to the side slightly. She looked genuinely confused even. 

“Probably because my motivation isn’t because I like you.”

“….Huh?”

“I told you already, right? Revenge. This is my revenge on you, Tsuchiya-kun.”

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

T/N: Girls are easy to understand, they said. Then here comes Kiho