The Story Of A Girl Who Can Read People’s Minds (It's you who saved me) - 14 - Chapter 3 - Toru Hasumi ①
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- 14 - Chapter 3 - Toru Hasumi ①
Chapter 3
Toru Hasumi ①
On the last day of school before summer vacation, I spent the day with a smile glued to my face while everyone around me was basking in a sense of freedom.
My head hurts. But I’m almost there. If I hang on just for a little bit longer, I’ll be released from these hard times.
“It’s finally done. That’s right! Let’s stop by for karaoke and then go home.” (I can’t handle it anymore. But it’s summer vacation starting tomorrow! Let’s play and go home today.)
As usual, the people gathered around and started complaining about the test.
Then, in the seat next to me, Chika Kiriya shouted that in a cheerful voice, followed strongly by many voices in agreement.
“Toru-chan wanna come with us?” (Toru-chan is not a very social person. She hardly ever talks about herself.)
I racked my brains to keep a safe distance from them while suffering from a headache.
Perhaps this level of dissatisfaction wouldn’t be a problem if I left them alone.
Besides, I wanted to be alone as soon as possible today, so the only option I could think of was to refuse.
“I’m sorry, but I have other plans for today.”
“Aw, that’s sad. I’ll see you another time then. Bye-bye.” (Well, that’s alright. Toru-chan is serious and doesn’t talk that much anyways.)
“Yes, see you later.”
The students seemed to want to have fun as soon as possible, so they left the classroom without any hesitation.
“Hah, I’m tired.”
I looked around and saw that most of the people had already disappeared from the classroom. Naturally, he’s not there either.
Frankly, I don’t feel like I can mend things with him right now. So, let’s just take a little rest here.
That is, until there’s no one left in the school building anymore.
◆◆◆◆◆
As I stared at the clouds flowing in the sky, I heard the classroom door open.
Who could it be at this hour? I was a little concerned, but I didn’t want to talk to anyone, so I didn’t turn my head to look at the person who arrived.
“Huh, Hasumi-san?”
But suddenly, I heard his voice, and I turned around with surprise.
“Himuro-kun? What’s wrong?”
I wondered why he was here when he should have left a long time ago. I’m sure he went to his house already judging from his clothes.
“I forgot my phone, so I came to get it back. What are you doing here? Are you waiting for someone?”
“No, I’m not.”
I see. Certainly, if it was before a long vacation, you’d have to come back for it.
“Then, what are you doing here?”
It had been a long time since I had talked to him, but I honestly didn’t have a clear answer to that question right now.
“I’m just doing nothing, I guess.”
I can’t get my head around it. Usually I’d have something come to my mind instantly, but I have no idea what to say to him currently.
But I couldn’t keep quiet, so I gave him an answer that I didn’t understand myself.
“That’s a stupid answer.”
“Fufu. I guess you’re right.”
I felt a little better after I heard some clear and unmistakable words coming from him.
“You’re acting like my little sister right now. That’s not very typical of you, Hasumi-san.”
Those casual words of his begin to spin around in my head in a way I can’t process, and I fall into a whirlpool of thoughts.
What does he mean ‘typical of me’?
Everyone has a different image of me. And most of them are put up by those around me on their own, and they are often disappointed when I deviate from their ideals even by
just a little.
Especially for me, someone who can read people’s minds, I am painfully aware of how much everyone else thinks I am like. The ‘me’ in their heads is too vague and shifty.
“What’s ‘typical’ of me?”
I asked him. What arbitrary image does he impose on me?
My weakened heart was filled with some dark emotions, and I hurled my words at him as if I were thrusting a sharp sword at him.
Then, after a silence that felt like an eternity, yet was only a moment, he slowly opened his mouth.
“In a word, I guess I’m like a… tsukkomi.”
His words, which were so unexpected, caught me off guard.
“I say something stupid, and then you make fun of it. That’s what you’ve been doing for an entire month. So I don’t like it when you suddenly turn into a jerk.”
The more those words seeped into my head, the more the darkness in my heart disappeared, and finally, I couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud.
When was the last time I had laughed like that? His answer tugged at my heartstrings so much.
It was not something that he had forced upon me on his own ideals, but it was something that was a result of the relationship that we had formed whilst sharing our time
together.
“I knew it. Himuro-kun, you’re funny. You’re the best.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I was worried that Hasumi-san might have eaten something strange to be that way.”
I was worried. That word, which I’m usually not happy to hear from others so much, turns into a magic word when he says it.
“You were worried about me?”
Just by saying that, I was so filled with a feeling that I couldn’t help but ask what he meant.
“That’s because we used to have a relationship where we were sitting next to each other.”
“Fufu. What’s with the “relationship?” couldn’t you have expressed it in a better way?”
“I’m sorry, but we don’t carry that kind of correlation here.”
It wasn’t a very witty line. But he understood me and used unpretentious words when talking with me.
It was so clear to me that it would be absurd to compare the value of the two, the one who embellished me without really understanding me and the other who understood me and didn’t add any embellishment themselves. [EDN: my brain broke trying to understand this sentence.] (TLN: Uhhh same?)
“I see. Then I have no choice.”
“Indeed. You don’t.”
He can’t read my mind. However, I feel a sense of security that’s unmatched in our mysterious relationship, it’s something that is conveyed even without us talking
“Speaking of which, are you feeling alright?”
I wonder if we had been doing so for a while. It was as if I had been immersed in the comfort of lukewarm water, when he suddenly asked me a question.
“What? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
I felt a little doubtful at the question, which did not follow the flow of the conversation so far.
“No, you haven’t been feeling well lately. That’s exactly why you haven’t been sleeping as much.”
But what he said next hit me with a shock that could not have been any greater.
I was not mistaken. He seemed to care about me much more than anyone else, even though I had thought he no longer cared about me.
“……You’re really looking at me properly, aren’t you, Himuro-kun?”
He’s really unfair. He shakes my heart and captivates me in the blink of an eye.
“Maybe. If you want, I can walk you home.”
I don’t need to read his mind to know that there’s no ulterior motive in his kind words.
“Can I ask you to do so for me then…?”
I manage to answer that while holding back the urge to cry a little. I want to spend more time with him, that’s all I want.
“Sure. I actually came here on my motorcycle, so it won’t take long.”
He looks cute, and my heart throbs at him even more.
We exchange a few words, but it’s a lot of fun, and before I know it, I’m looking at the bike that seems to belong to him.
I put on the helmet he offered me, but I was not sure how I should ride the bike. As I was struggling with this, he held out his hand in front of me.
I put my hand on his hand.
My heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was going to explode. But I had never done anything like this before, and I didn’t know what to do.
The bike starts to move and the scenery flows by quickly.
Not that I was scared, but I wanted to feel him even closer, so I hugged his waist tighter than I should have. I was worried that he might hear the sound of my heartbeat.
◆◆◆◆◆
I chose a slightly more roundabout route, but I thought I couldn’t make him take any longer and lead him home.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I don’t want to leave yet. I started to stall for time with this thought.
“You’re amazing, Himuro-kun. While I’m frozen in my thoughts, you’re already shaping what you really want to do.”
Still, there are no lies in our conversations. Before I could even take a step forward, he had already made it happen.
“I told you before, didn’t I? I’m not saying I’m great. I’m just doing what I want to do. Speaking of which, have you found what you want to do yet, Hasumi-san?
I didn’t before. But now I have found what I want to do. That is exactly what I want to do no matter what.
“…Yes. I do.”
“I’m glad to hear that. So, what do you want to do? I’ll help you out if I can.”
He asked me that without any hesitation. His face is as expressionless as ever, which makes me want to shake his heart too.
I embrace him as if to catch him off guard. The heat that I felt from his close body made me feel euphoric like never ever before.
Then, looking at his stunned face, I whispered to him with a sense of joy that filled me up.
“I want to get to know you, Himuro-kun and… no, I want to get to know you, Makoto-kun. I want to be with Makoto-kun more than ever before. More than anyone else.”
He said I should be happy. He said I should do what I want to do.
That’s why I won’t let him go anymore.
—————
Author’s Afterword:
The original plot consisted of this much.
I am wondering if I should make the pattern a little longer.
TL: “”
ED: Spynine01