I Risked My Life To Save The Cheeky Girl, And As A Result, I Lost My Right Arm.

The Love Stories of Young Girls. —2

“…Are you okay, Nakamura-kun? Can you walk?”

When I asked, he answered with a soft “Yeah” and slowly stood up. I rose to my feet as well, matching his movements.

“…”

Nakamura-kun lowered his eyes and breathed quietly.

There was something strangely alluring about him. His body was wet from the rain, and droplets were gathering in his bangs, falling one by one to the ground.

The sorrowful expression on Nakamura-kun’s face seemed to be heightened by the falling droplets, and I found myself staring at him with a strange sense of excitement.

Ah, maybe this is how I’m seeing him because I’ve realized that I’ve fallen for him.

“…I’m sorry, Kurasaki-san.”

Nakamura-kun spoke in a faint voice. I quickly replied, “No, don’t worry about it,” as I picked up the umbrella I had discarded on the ground and held it over both our heads.

“I’ll do anything for you, Nakamura-kun. You can rely on me anytime.”

“…”

“Hey, why don’t we walk home together? I’ll walk you all the way to your place. I’ll keep holding the umbrella for you.”

“…”

“How about we get something warm to drink? If you tell me what you like, I’ll run and buy it for you.”

“…”

At this point, I finally realized that I had been talking too much.

Just seeing him made my heart heat up. I wanted him to think I was a kind person, and I wanted him to like me too. My desire to raise his opinion of me took over, and I found myself talking rapidly without thinking.

(No, no. Calm down, calm down… I shouldn’t do anything that would make Nakamura-kun uncomfortable.)

With a small, somewhat embarrassed smile, I said, “Sorry, Nakamura-kun.”

“I said too many things at once, didn’t I? Anyway, let’s head home, okay?”

“…But my house is… quite far from here.”

“That’s fine. I’m totally okay with it.”

“…”

Nakamura-kun had remained silent for a long time, but suddenly, he looked at me with a puzzled expression and pulled out his phone from his pocket.

“Ah… Kurasaki-san, sorry, would it be okay if I take this call?”

“Oh, yeah, of course.”

“Thanks.”

Nakamura-kun placed the phone to his ear and said, “Hello?”

“Sorry, I just realized you were calling me all this time. I only just noticed,”

“…”

“Oh… I-I just… got off at the wrong bus stop.”

“…”

“Yeah, I made a dumb mistake. That’s why I’m late.”

“…”

“By the way, Hasegawa, are you already home?”

“…!”

“Alright. I’m almost back, so wait for me just a little longer, okay?”

Nakamura-kun ended the call.

“Was that Hasegawa-chan?”

“…Yeah.”

“She was worried because I was late, so she called me.”

“Hey, Nakamura-kun. Hasegawa-chan is usually always by your side, so why is she the only one who went home before you today?”

“Oh, well, Hasegawa forgot her commuter pass at school, so she missed the bus at her usual time. And then I… I fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop.”

Saying that, Nakamura-kun scratched behind his ear.

“……”

For some reason, at that moment, I felt like Nakamura-kun was lying.

The part about Hasegawa forgetting her pass was probably true, but the rest… it felt a little suspicious. His words seemed a bit hesitant, and more than anything…

‘What would someone with two arms understand about my feelings!?’

There must have been something troubling him earlier, something that made his heart ache… Perhaps something happened on the bus, and he had no choice but to get off early.

“Hey, Nakamura-kun…”

Unable to ignore my curiosity, I decided to ask him directly.

“Did something… happen?”

“……”

“If you want to talk about it… I’ll listen.”

“…No, it’s fine.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“……Okay. But if something really bothers you, don’t hesitate to ask for help, okay?”

“…Yeah, thank you.”

Nakamura-kun smiled slightly, his lips curving just a little.

Perhaps because traces of his earlier tears still remained, there was an unspeakable sorrow in his smile.

Looking at his face, I couldn’t help but feel a strange flutter in my chest, and my body became restless.

Sssshhhhh…

Nakamura-kun accepted entering under my umbrella.

Now, in the rain, we were walking together towards Nakamura-kun’s house.

“I’m sorry, Kurasaki-san. For making you walk me all the way home.”

For what felt like the umpteenth time, Nakamura-kun apologized. I smiled gently at him, who seemed so apologetic, and replied, “No, don’t worry about it.”

Walking side by side with someone you like. I never knew that such a simple thing could make me so happy.

The reality of our shoulders nearly touching made my heart swell with joy.

The more I realized I liked Nakamura-kun, the more my heart fluttered and wavered.

I wanted to see Nakamura-kun’s profile, so I couldn’t help but glance at him out of the corner of my eye.

I wanted to smell his scent, so I tried to inhale deeply without him noticing, pretending it was nothing.

Even the sound of his footsteps felt special, and I listened intently to the splashing of the rainwater on the road beneath our feet.

(Ah, I love him. I love Nakamura-kun.)

I repeated those words over and over in my head. Each time, my body grew warmer, and I couldn’t contain the feeling.

“We should be close now, I think we’re almost at my house.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we should be able to see it in about a minute.”

His house… Ah, I feel nervous. Heading towards the house of the person I like feels strange. It’s like I’m doing something wrong, yet I also want to know everything about it.

“Ah, here it is. This is my house.”

Nakamura-kun pointed to a two-story house in the residential area.

“Wow… so this is Nakamura-kun’s house.”

“Ah, it’s a bit embarrassing. It’s strange to be looked at so closely.”

“Hehe, sorry.”

Nakamura-kun stood in front of the door and opened it with a jingle.

Then, someone suddenly leaped towards him from inside. Nakamura-kun exclaimed, “Whoa!?” in surprise.

It was Hasegawa-chan.

“Senpai! I’m so glad! I’m so glad! Welcome back!”

Hasegawa-chan hugged Nakamura-kun with genuine joy, pressing her face hard against his chest and hugging him tightly.

Nakamura-kun, though slightly troubled, looked at her with a gentle gaze.

“…”

Ah, I see now.

I’ve seen it on the news occasionally—how tangled emotions can escalate into something tragic.

There are horrific incidents where someone, in a fit of rage, kills the person their partner was cheating with, shouting, “You stole my boyfriend!”

Until now, I had always thought that no matter the situation, even if it was a love-related issue, killing someone was never justified. And I always believed that kindness and empathy should be present in every moment.

But now, I clearly understand that I didn’t really know anything about love.

Seeing Hasegawa-chan clinging to Nakamura-kun… is unbearably painful.

If I let my guard down for even a second, I feel like I might scream, “Stop!” because the pain is too much to bear.

Watching the person I love interact with another girl feels like this is the worst kind of hell.

Without realizing, my brows furrow, and my hands ball into fists.

“…Ah.”

It seemed like Hasegawa-chan finally noticed me, and she quickly pulled away from Nakamura-kun.

Her cheeks were flushed, probably embarrassed from being caught clinging to him.

“Well then, Kurasaki-san. Thanks for walking me this far. You’ve really been a big help,” Nakamura-kun said, thanking me.

Hasegawa-chan, hearing that, hurriedly lowered her head to apologize.

“Sen… Senpai, I’m sorry. You walked Nakamura-senpai all the way here, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, we ran into each other along the way. Since Nakamura-kun didn’t have an umbrella, I decided to walk him home.”