My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 58-59 END

Chapter 58: Thank You

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Haneda Airport – Terminal 3, Arrivals Lobby

I finished immigration and picked up my suitcase. This time, I owed a lot to Senpai and Honoka. So I bought souvenirs for Senpai, Honoka, and… Mahiru as well.

Maybe that was why my suitcase felt absurdly heavy. Though, the bulk of the weight was probably from all the brandy Senpai asked me to bring. Something about how the stuff sold in Hawaii tasted different or whatever.

Dragging this all the way home felt like unpaid overtime. I pushed through the crowd and stepped outside the terminal. Overhead, the sky was covered in thick, heavy clouds. Maybe it felt darker than usual because I’d gotten used to the constant sunshine over there.

Around the entrance, there were lots of people waiting for arrivals. Families, couples, friends. All of them reunited, happy to go home together now.

And me… A part of me had hoped…Hoped that Mahiru would be there waiting for me.

But… She’s not here.

Yeah, I figured as much.

I started walking again, dragging the punishingly heavy suitcase behind me. The Honolulu training had been pretty fulfilling. Apparently, my real assignment would be in New York, but at least I’d started getting used to English.

Still, the return trip was a disaster. Originally, I was supposed to stop over in Guam and catch an early morning flight back, but that got changed at the last minute to a direct return from Honolulu. Because of that, I couldn’t get an early flight and now it was already late afternoon. And I was still expected to show up for work tomorrow like nothing happened.

This company is insane.

I turned on my phone. Amid the flood of work emails, one message caught my eye.

『I’d really like to see you one more time. You said you’d be arriving on the 8 AM flight, so I’ll be waiting at the airport.

—Mahiru』

Wait. Morning?

I checked my watch. It was already 4 PM. Eight hours had passed. I dropped my suitcase right then and there and ran around the terminal searching for Mahiru. Maybe she was sitting on one of the benches among the young women.

…But she was nowhere to be seen. Of course not.

I tried calling her. No signal. The call didn’t go through. Maybe she forgot her phone? Or maybe, being stood up again finally made her give up on me for good.

No… I couldn’t give up. This had to be my last chance. Maybe she’d gone back home. I jumped in a taxi.

“Driver, please take me to Tokyo, ◯◯ Ward, ◯◯ Town… As fast as possible.”

Mahiru had gone out of her way to reach out to me. There was no way I could stand her up again like before.

Clunk!

(The sound of the taxi door closing)

I ran up to Mahiru’s front door. Pressed the intercom.

…No response. I couldn’t stand still, so I paced anxiously in front of the entrance.

After a while, the door opened. It was Mahiru’s mother.

“She left early this morning and hasn’t come back yet.”

I barely managed a quick goodbye before dashing away from Mahiru’s house.

Where the hell did she go? Out in this heat, for hours… What if she collapsed from heatstroke or something? I contacted Honoka and Senpai, but neither had any idea where Mahiru might be. I tried calling her again several times, but my call still couldn’t get through.

Could she be at my place? I rushed home—but she wasn’t there either. Seriously, where could she be? I came down the exterior stairs of my apartment.

Right then, an elderly woman in front of me tripped and fell hard, her shopping bags scattering. Fruit rolled out across the ground.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

I bent down to pick up the fruit. One of them caught my eye.

“Mandarin, huh? That’s pretty rare for this season…”

Mandarin? Wait…

I didn’t know why. There was no real reason to think so, but… I had a feeling—if I went there, I’d find Mahiru. The place where we first met. In front of the bank by the rotary at Shinjuku Station.

It’d be faster by train from here. I jumped on the subway. The train rocked gently as I sat, restless. The tunnel’s dull scenery slid by from left to right.

Mahiru.

I’d looked away, just because I thought I’d gotten a bit better-looking. I was always a bundle of insecurities. But Mahiru… Mahiru had always stayed with me, even when I couldn’t stand myself. I’d been so caught up in myself, but she’d always watched over me. She laughed, she cried, she kept supporting me.

And yet… I trampled all over the bond she held on to. Maybe I didn’t deserve to hope anymore. Still—no matter how selfish it was—I wanted to be with her. I couldn’t imagine a life without Mahiru.

As soon as the train doors opened, I sprinted up the station stairs. The step was slick—maybe from old rainwater. I slipped hard and fell. The knee of my pants tore, and my shoe tumbled down the stairs. But I picked up the shoe and bolted for the surface anyway.

Mahiru. Mahiru…

I reached the bank in front of the rotary and scanned the area, but Mahiru wasn’t there. Of course not. Even if she had come here… She’d left the house early this morning. There was no way she was still waiting.

Haa…

I looked down and saw my filthy, torn pants. I remembered the first time we met. Back then, I was also here, waiting for Mahiru, feeling miserable when she didn’t show up.

It had been nearly a year and a half… And here I was, right back again.

Then.. Through the thick clouds above, the full moon, hidden until now, broke through and cast its light. It felt like a single beam of light was shining down just on me. I lifted my downcast face and looked up at the night sky.

And then… A voice called out from behind me.

“Um…”

I turned around. There stood a beautiful woman. She wasn’t especially tall or short, with long, bright hair. Her chest wasn’t exactly eye-catching, but she had a gentle, graceful curve from waist to hips.

She wore a large, white lace blouse and a short, distressed denim skirt. Her youthful thighs peeked out from beneath the hem, and on her feet were black short boots with a bit of a heel. Sapphire-colored earrings swayed from both ears—tasteful, elegant.

Her skin was pure white, flushed slightly pink. Her lips were parted just a little as she gazed at me with wide, round eyes.

…Just like back then.

Under the streetlight, it was as if the moonlight shone on her alone. She blinked slowly, her long, glistening lashes catching the light. Her eyes, wet with emotion, stared at me.

And then she smiled—the smile that had brought me happiness so many times before.

“…Will you go out with me?”

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Chapter 59: Mahiru and Father

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I didn’t have a father. It wasn’t like Nagi-kun’s father, who had passed away. My parents divorced when I was very young and ever since then, I was never allowed to see him. So I had no memories of my father.

Nagi-kun’s father was big and kind. He had thick fingers and warm hands.

This was a story about Nagi-kun’s father and me.

When I was in my second year of middle school, I did something awful to Nagi-kun. Even though I really liked him, I was afraid of being bullied by that girl, and ended up saying something terrible. After that, Nagi-kun started avoiding me. Even when I tried to apologize, he wouldn’t listen to me. In fact, he wouldn’t even make eye contact with me at school.

So I started thinking… Maybe, just maybe, if I waited for him in the morning, we could go to school together like we used to. I went to his house and rang the doorbell.

“Nagi-kun…”

I knew he wouldn’t come out. But still, I couldn’t help but hope—what if, this time… But still, I was the one at fault. I felt sad and walked to school alone.

But sometimes, his father would come to the door. …Maybe he had the day off from work? He didn’t seem very good at talking and didn’t say much. But he’d always scratch his head awkwardly and say the same thing:

“Sorry. Nagi is not ready yet. You go on ahead, okay?”

And then, he’d hand me a mandarin. With his thick, warm hands, he gently placed the mandarin in mine. Every time, I’d think…

Is this what everyone’s dad is like? Was my dad like this too?

I couldn’t help but let my imagination wander.

That day, it was hot from the morning. The cicadas were buzzing loudly. But still, I went to Nagi-kun’s house again.

“Nagi-kun…”

I waited in front of the door, just like always. It had been so long since we’d talked. While waiting, I started crying. Then, the door opened. His father came out. He looked apologetic.

“Sorry. I think he’ll understand someday. So… Please don’t hate him.”

That day, he was even kinder than usual. When I couldn’t stop crying, he handed me a towel. It was a plain tenugui towel, but it smelled like sunshine. And then, as always, he gave me a mandarin.

Huh? Isn’t it summer? Do they even have mandarins in store in the summer?

Then he explained.

“This is a summer mandarin. Normal mandarin comes out in winter, right? Those ones soak up the summer sun and are harvested in winter. But these… These push through the harsh cold of winter and are picked in the summer. Still, look how bright orange it is, right? Just as sweet as any winter mandarin. I know it’s tough right now, but Maya-chan, you stay bright and orange too, okay? Nagi will understand, I promise.”

It was the first time he’d ever spoken to me that much.

On the way home from school, I ate that summer mandarin. It was incredibly sweet. And I cried again.

When I got to see Nagi-kun again, I thought I might get to see his father again too. So when I heard he had passed away, it really shocked me. He had been the kind of father I always dreamed of. So when I heard we were going to visit his grave, I decided right then—my gift would be mandarin. No question about it.

Nagi-kun looked a little lonely. Maybe talking with his mother earlier brought back some memories? He said he felt like he’d been a bad son, but… That was not true at all. His father believed in him.

From the way his father used to look when apologizing to me, I could feel how much he cared about Nagi-kun. And that little head-scratching gesture he always did…

You look just like him, Nagi-kun.

But I couldn’t say that yet. But maybe, if it were the Nagi-kun of now, he might forgive me.

But… What if I never see him again afterward?

That thought terrified me.

I’m sorry. Just a little longer like this…Please. So, at the very least…

 I rummaged through my bag and handed a mandarin to Nagi-kun. The mandarin that his father gave me… The mandarin that gave me strength…. I hoped it would reach him too.

And one more thing. There was something I needed to apologize to you for.

I’m sorry I always called out “Nagi-kun” from your front door.

You always looked a little annoyed, but I didn’t want to stop. After all… 

Right now… Unlike back in middle school…  When I called out, “Nagi-kun,” you would actually come out to see me.

And that makes me so happy, I just can’t stop.

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