Traveling With a Beautiful Girl

Shizuoka Prefecture, Lake Hamana.

By the time I returned to Bentenjima Station, the nearest station to the hotel where I stayed last night, the clock had already ticked past 5 p.m.

I had spent a significant amount of time because I couldn’t catch a taxi at the foot of Tenjo mountain and had to return by bus. The sky was gradually gaining more red hues.

Somewhere, a crow was cawing. The moment I left the station, I started to run. The destination was within walking distance, but every minute and every second counts when I think about searching for Nanase there.

I moved my arms and legs with all my strength. My after-school club stamina hit rock bottom after a few minutes of running. My breath, my heartbeat, started to beat out an irregular rhythm.

It’s tough, my legs hurt. My entire body is hot, my lungs hurt. Why am I putting myself through this pain?

“Nanase”

Because I want to see her.

“Nanase…”

Because I genuinely want to see her.

“Nanase…”

I realized it after she was gone.

I don’t want to lose Nanase so much. I want her to be by my side. Regardless of what happens to me, I want Nanase to live.

I spent only five days with Nanase. During those mere five days, Nanase had become irreplaceable to me. Her perfectly arranged, doll-like facial features.

Her sharp eyes that could shoot down others.

Her perpetually discontented mouth.

Her tall and slender height.

Her long, shiny, black hair.

Her prideful nature, always looking down on others.

Her cool, emotionless demeanor, always seeming to have clarity.

Her annoying habit of always starting to refute others whenever she opened her mouth.

But also, her underlying kindness and dedication. Her ability to always make cool and correct decisions. Her stubbornness and difficulty in admitting defeat.

Her exceptional ability and remarkable achievements. Her incredible diligence, facing any adversity head-on. Her seeming disinterest in others, yet actually paying great attention to her surroundings.

Her outward toughness, yet surprisingly being a lonely soul. Her cute reactions when she lets her emotions show for small things. The way her expression blooms when she eats something delicious. Her generally expressionless face, but the occasional cute smile she shows.

I love them.

I love all of them.

“…Ah, I see.”

I love Nanase.

That’s why I don’t want her to die. It’s a simple story. A very straightforward and absolute reason. I don’t remember what the final straw was. My heart pounded when I saw Nanase smiling against the backdrop of Mount Fuji and the setting sun.

I felt a strong urge to protect Nanase, who always seems so resolute but shivers like a child on an airplane. My chest felt warm when I saw Nanase treating a wounded boy. Looking back, there were several times when I recognized Nanase as a woman.

In fact, I was interested in Nanase even before we started this trip. She was always alone at school. As I kept seeing Nanase facing textbooks or notebooks whenever she had spare time, I became somewhat conscious of her.

Unlike me, who couldn’t fit in and naturally became a loner in class, she was always working on her own improvement, always being true to herself. I was somehow attracted to that attitude. I don’t know if it was romantic feelings or mere admiration.

I thought I was too different from her and that she wouldn’t consider me. But one thing I can say for sure is that my feelings for Nanase have deepened through this journey.

The fact that I fell in love with her because she is completely different from me – in status, personality, way of thinking, and tastes – and has many things I don’t have.

That was absolute. Realizing my first-ever emotions, a warm sensation arrived in my chest. Due to the somewhat fluffy feeling, my feet became neglectful and I tripped splendidly.

“Ouch…”

I fell face-first onto the ground, searing pain running through both my palms and knees. Without even checking the state of my injuries, I got up and ran again.

I just wanted to see Nanase. That was my sole intention. The destination was almost within reach.