I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Re: Youth Alliance!

Just because I helped her, I don’t feel like being arrogant about being her benefactor.

More than anything, I want Aoba to live her own life.

At least, that’s what I thought I conveyed seriously.

However, the reaction I got was unexpected laughter. The stomach that had been burdened with overeating until a moment ago was now clutching due to laughter.

Passersby nearby recoiled in apparent disgust.

“What’s that supposed to mean? What kind of reaction is that?”

“Nogami-kun, did you think I was doing all this just to repay a favor? That’s way off. Wasn’t that why you got rejected?”

“Hey, don’t cut so deep so easily.”

“It’s payback. Hearing such lonely words would hurt anyone. After all, I’m with you because I enjoy it.”

Aoba’s voice suddenly turned into a whisper, barely audible amidst the noise of passing cars.

When I glanced at her, she was looking at her own feet. Her face, illuminated by the headlights, was difficult to see clearly against the backlight, but it seemed genuinely sad.

It was the opposite of the laughter from a moment ago.

As I was taken aback, she continued walking, slowing her pace.

“Sure, I did want to repay you. If you weren’t there yesterday, I wouldn’t know where I’d be by now, and I’m genuinely grateful. That’s why I waited for you today, to talk about class registration.”

“…So, it’s still…”

“No, it’s different. Well, I did want to repay you in a way. But last night and today were genuinely enjoyable. Besides, it’s selfish, but I’ve always known you, Nogami-kun, are funny and a good person. That’s why I invited you to join the club.”

“Was it to cheer me up because I was feeling down?”

“I can’t say it wasn’t, but… Even so, I want you to be happy. Isn’t it normal to want to cheer up a friend?”

Aoba glanced at me and let out a sigh.

Then she sighed again, as if forcing the air into the heavy atmosphere.

“Well, if you don’t want to, we can stop.”

Her voice sounded fragile, trembling. It almost sounded like she might burst into tears.

If it was only about repaying a favor, things wouldn’t have turned out like this. It probably wasn’t an act either. Hikari Aoba couldn’t fake it, not since I’ve known her.

Aoba wants to be with me.

The answer to that is obvious.

“…There’s no reason to refuse.”

I tried to muster as much strength as I could into my voice.

But it came out almost like a whisper, probably due to embarrassment.

“There’s no reason to refuse. I enjoy being with you, Aoba-san.”

So, I said it clearly again, straight from the heart.

I wondered what kind of reaction I would get.

As I nervously waited, all I got was a sigh. A long one, at that.

“I’m glad.”

Her voice was filled with relief to the point it sounded like the air was escaping from her.

“I’m glad, really. I was worried if only I had fun today!?”

“…Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I was happy to hear your words earlier. Thank you for being clear, it puts my mind at ease.”

Aoba said that much, then forced a bright voice into the quiet atmosphere to lift it.

“I want to enjoy my college life to the fullest. I want to have enough memories to fill albums. And I think it would be great if you were there with me, Nogami-kun. So, let’s do it together, Re: Youth Alliance!”

“Re…?”

“Yeah! Nogami-kun, you were hurt by your ex-girlfriend, right? I was saved in the end, but my life was almost ruined. So, let’s start over from here. Even if we stumbled at the worst start, if we end up having the most fun, then we win! Don’t you think so?”

Aoba extended her right fist toward me.

“…Tatsunori Hara (Japanese baseball manager)?”

“It’s supposed to be both hands. No, not like that, it’s a sign of alliance. A ceremony for the two of us to have a lot of fun together from now on.”

I see.

I understood her intention and lightly bumped my left fist against hers.

“All right, now the alliance is formed. Re: Youth Alliance!”

Aoba grinned widely, baring her teeth.

I found myself smiling in response.

“Yeah.”

Ultimately, maybe it was a good thing I said it.

It felt like a weight that had been pressing down on my heart had been lifted.

Our footsteps as we started walking again felt lighter than before.

It seemed Aoba felt the same way, as she practically skipped along the path.

“So, where are we going tomorrow? I’m interested in joining the baking club.”

“Then let’s go there. I’d like some cake if possible.”

“I understand. I want to eat at a buffet! One with huge cakes, like a wedding cake.”

“Stop it, you’ll definitely get sick. Besides, about half of those cakes are made from molds, in short, they’re inedible.”

“What?! I didn’t want to know that. Dreams shattered!”

As we exchanged conversation more lightly, our pace deliberately slowed down, and we aimed for Ochanomizu Station.

When we reached the ticket gate, Aoba held out her smartphone to me.

“Oh, right. Nogami-kun, let’s exchange contact information. I want to discuss tomorrow’s plans too.”

Indeed, I took out my smartphone, but then I remembered.

We didn’t just meet for the first time yesterday.

We hadn’t had many opportunities to interact, but we had spent three years in the same class lineup.

“…Aren’t we in the same junior high class lineup? I should be there too.”

“Wow, seriously! It’s been dormant all this time!”