My Online Friends Turned Out To Be the Ultra-Beautiful Girls in My Class and They Were Yandere - 67-68

Chapter 67: Misaki Hanado and Nonoa Tsurumaki

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【Side: Misaki Hanado】

After Haa-chan collapsed. Muna-san went with Rin-san to visit Haa-chan in the hospital. Only Nonoa-san and I remained. The two of us walked home along a path cast in shadows. Once upon a time, this had been my dream. It had come true so easily, yet to my younger self, it was my one and only dream. And yet, I wondered why. Why was it that I couldn’t feel happy? Why did I feel as if I were about to suffocate?

“Misaki, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Are you okay, Non-chan?”

“Yes, I’m alright. You’re worried, aren’t you? About Haa-sama and… about Haruna.”

“Can you tell?”

“Yes. I’m worried too. Right now, that girl has the same look in her eyes as you did when we first met.”

“The same look as when we met?”

“Shall we talk over there for a bit?”

A tiny, tiny park where no one else was around. Nonoa-san and I sat on a bench there. The cawing of the crows gradually made my chest feel heavy. It was as if they were driving swords into my heart, one by one.

“Before that… May I ask something? Tell me, Misaki. What kind of girl is Haruna?”

“I think you might already have an idea. Haru-chan is the most emotionally expressive of us. She worries about those around her the most. And she is the most delicate. She’s very easily hurt, and very easily gladdened. People call her the Ice Queen, but in truth, she’s just like a little girl who looks up to heroes.”

“I see. Thank you.”

I was the last to join the group. So, of course, my understanding of Haruna-san paled in comparison to Muna-san and the others. But I knew for certain. That person was truly a delicate soul. That was likely because I had interacted with Haruna-san more than anyone else.

With a small smile, Nonoa-san began to speak. It was about me, back in the past.

“So, about what I said earlier. About her having the same eyes as you when we first met. Tell me, Misaki. Can you remember? Back when you had just entered the facility. Back when you dreamed of your parents almost every day.”

“Yes… I can remember it clearly. The guilt that grew day by day, and the self-loathing I couldn’t suppress no matter how hard I tried. And the anger with nowhere to go.”

I had never forgotten it, not even once. Even if I was buried in ninety percent happiness, that ten percent certainly existed. An anger powerful enough to burn everything. A misplaced anger with no target. And an unbearable self-loathing. The feeling of hating myself so much I couldn’t stand it. I wished for it many times. I cursed myself. “Die, just die. Someone like me should just die,” I thought.

“The current Haruna is exactly like that. A person wrapped in a hopeless despair.”

“Then… Why didn’t she rely on us?”

“She must have been threatened during that time this morning. Told not to associate with us—hm?”

The power of my smartphone, which was supposed to be off, turned on by itself, and two notifications appeared on the screen.

【Izakaya: Haru-kun has left the group.】

【The Kamitsuru Household: Haruna Kamitsuru has left the group.】

“Eh…”

“…It seems to be quite serious. We are probably being rejected too. No, I suppose she feels she has no choice but to reject us. Should I say she was driven by her guilt?”

Against my will to understand, this broken piece of junk I called a brain understood it perfectly in an instant and accepted it. My breathing grew ragged. I felt sick. I felt like I was going to throw up. I couldn’t breathe. I hated this. I didn’t want her to disappear. Because she was my… my precious friend. Because she was a person I loved so dearly. Don’t leave, please don’t leave.

Was I… once again unable to do anything for a precious person while they were suffering? Even though I couldn’t save the person I loved, was I unable to save my dear friend as well?

“It’s okay, Misaki. It’s okay, so just calm down.”

“Non-cha…”

As I hyperventilated, Nonoa-san gently and kindly embraced me. Why… Why was she rejecting us? I… I hadn’t done anything. Why… Why?

“I’m sorry. Just one minute. Wait for me for just one minute.”

After saying only that, Nonoa-san stepped away, made a phone call, and returned immediately.

“I canceled today’s lesson. Misaki, let me stay over at your house. It’s okay. I’ll stay by your side. I’ll listen to everything you have to say.”

“…Yes. Thank you, Non-chan. Thank you for going to all this trouble for me.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve been wanting a chance for us to talk a lot, too. Well then, shall we go? Let’s talk until your heart is at ease.”

Standing up from the bench, the two of us headed toward my house, holding hands. Nonoa-san’s grip on my hand was so firm that I couldn’t have let go even if I wanted to. Once she finally let go, clear nail marks remained on my skin. …Was Nonoa-san afraid as well, I wondered.

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Chapter 68: I Had a Slightly Strange Dream

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A gentle breeze blew softly through the deserted park. After crying as much as she possibly could, she pulled away from my chest.

“I’m sorry. I’m pathetic, aren’t I? Getting your shirt so wet like this.”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you for telling me everything. And look, I’m sorry to ruin the mood, but… I want you to have a fight right now.”

“Eh? A… a fight!? With who!?”

“With her.”

With ragged breaths, my swaying pink hair definitely brushed against her as I pushed her down. I was straddling her. Without a word, she gave my cheek a sharp slap.

“Why… why didn’t you tell me anything!! Do you have any idea how worried I was!! I hate this!! Please don’t leave me!!”

“I… I wanted to tell you too!! I wanted to rely on you!!”

The sounds began to warp and distort. The images started fast-forwarding.

“This is a curse. I’m never letting you go again. You’re going to date me.”

“──”

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“Kun… kkun… Hakkun!!”

“Where am I?”

“The infirmary. You collapsed, so we hurried and carried you here. Hakkun, are you okay now?”

When I woke up, there was a pure white ceiling above me. There were the faces of Rin-nee and Muna, peering down at me anxiously. Ah, right, I had collapsed.

…Even so, I had a pretty strange dream. What was that? I’ve had dreams about being confessed to maybe twice before, but that wasn’t it.

Wait, no, that’s not the point.

“What about Haruna!?”

“She went home without ever interacting with us. She had a look on her face that I didn’t want to see.”

“I see…”

Why did Haruna suddenly start rejecting us like that? That was the first thing I needed to solve. I had to look into that. If I didn’t, Haruna would just keep suffering forever.

“Hakkun, are you okay? Do you think you can get home by yourself?”

“…Can I walk home with you two?”

“Yes, of course. That goes without saying.”

“Hakkun, you’re being a bit of a pampered baby, aren’t you? But the answer is yes, of course.”

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