When I Was Rejected and Returned Home, My Childhood Friend, Who Should Have Been Distant, Was in My Room - Chapter 21: Making Up

Chapter 21: Making Up…?

“Wait a moment, I got confused…”

Mom placed one hand on her head and let out a thin voice. She struck a thinking pose for a while and then turned her eyes to Manaki.

“Um, the omelet Manaki made today had sugar and salt mixed up…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And the reason Manaki is angry is because Masamune got mad about it… or not?”

Manaki shook her head side to side while giving me a sharp glance.

“No, Masamune didn’t say a single complaint even though the taste was off! I wanted him to eat something delicious, so I wished he had told me if it was bad!”

“That’s why I said, why don’t you get it? I didn’t feel it was bad at all! I thought it was a bit salty, but I felt Manaki’s feelings more than that!”

“That’s why!”

“Stop, both of you, stop!”

Mom stopped us with her hand as we started to heat up again and almost stood up.

“It’s a fun meal, so don’t fight.”

I thought she was right, so we sat back down sheepishly. Mom crossed her arms and looked around at us.

“I understood the situation from watching your exchange.”

Mom first looked at me.

“Masamune didn’t want to complain about the lunch Manaki made specially for him, so he didn’t say anything even though the taste was a bit off… right?”

“Yeah, pretty much…”

Mom nodded once and then looked at Manaki.

“But Manaki wanted him to eat something delicious, so she couldn’t forgive Masamune for eating it reluctantly, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“I see, I understand well…”

Mom crossed her arms and nodded repeatedly. Then she muttered softly.

“When you’ve been together for nearly ten years, you fight like this…”

I couldn’t hear what Mom muttered softly. When I looked at Manaki, she tilted her head, as if she didn’t hear either. Mom let out a big sigh, put both elbows on the table, and started talking.

“It feels silly to say this, but… do you realize you’re fighting because you think too much about each other?”

“Huh?”

“Masamune stayed quiet about the odd taste because he didn’t want to hurt Manaki, who made it specially, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“And Manaki was angry at Masamune because she wanted him to eat a delicious lunch, but his silence shocked her, right?”

“…Yes.”

As Mom explained, my cooling head began to understand what we were doing. Wait? Could it be what we were doing was…

“…!?!”

When I looked at Manaki, she was looking at me. Her confused face silently dripped with cold sweat. Yeah, she got it too… Mom sighed deeply again while looking at us sweating coldly.

“Do you understand what you were doing?”

“Yes…”

“You’re thinking too much about each other, so you got upset and ended up fighting…”

“Sorry…”

Looking at each other’s faces felt too awkward, so we apologized to the void.

“Maybe it’s because of your youth and the length of time, but even Dad and I don’t fight like that…”

We could only stay silent. When I glanced at Manaki, her white skin clearly turned red like a pot.

“Well, if you both reflected, that’s fine… now, let’s continue eating.”

“Yes…”

We ate the rest of the meal as she said. I couldn’t look at Manaki’s face properly, but I clearly tasted the food. It was very delicious.

*****

“Anyway, shall I read some manga…?”

“Uh, yeah…”

After eating, I went back to my room right away, and Manaki followed me. I felt we couldn’t end it like this, so I let it be.

But I didn’t know what to do, so Manaki sat daintily on the bed, and I sat on a chair to read manga.

“Oh, I already read this volume. Where’s the next one?”

“Um, I think it’s probably on the bed…”

I stood up from the chair and hesitantly moved toward the bed. Maybe because of earlier, I couldn’t meet her eyes easily, and my steps became unsteady.

“Whoa!”

For some reason, my feet got tangled, and I tripped over nothing. My body got pulled to the bed by gravity. But because the bed was right there, I managed to catch myself with my hands and didn’t fall…

…except for one thing: my hand landed right beside her leg, putting me in a pose like a “floor kabedon.”

We stared at each other up close, and my eyes got fixed on Manaki’s gem-like eyes, fine skin, and silky hair, unable to look away… Then, her skin turned pink, and Manaki looked away.

“Staring like that makes me embarrassed…”

“Ah, s-sorry!”

I quickly jumped back and moved away. Manaki put her hand to her mouth and glanced at me sideways. The unusually demure Manaki had a cuteness or allure beyond her looks, giving me a shiver… Wait, no!

“Sorry, Manaki. It was an accident…”

“Oh, yeah, it’s okay…”

Right after responding normally, Manaki made a startled expression, as if she realized something. Then she struck a pose again…

“M-Masamune, so bold?”

“No, saying that now is too late…”

She tried to make a sexy pose, but it lacked her usual sharpness. It screamed effort.

But that became the trigger. Seeing her try so hard to break the ice made me feel foolish for staying awkward.

“Sorry, Manaki. I didn’t want to complain about what you made for me, so I got stubborn.”

The apology came out surprisingly easily. When I apologized, Manaki dropped her pose and sat back on the bedside, looking down apologetically.

“No, I’m sorry… I just wanted Masamune to eat something delicious, so I said weird things…”

We apologized to each other and bowed slightly. After a while, we slowly raised our heads, and Manaki was in the same pose. The funny pose made laughter bubble up.

“Ha!”

We burst out laughing at the same time. It wasn’t a big laugh, but we felt the issue was over.

“Alright, we’re made up now, right?”

“Yeah, made up.”

Saying those words to each other brought relief, and our bodies relaxed. Maybe because of that, words spilled from deep inside.

“Phew, thank goodness…”

I sighed deeply and slowly looked at Manaki…

“Hm?”

For some reason, she sat on the bed with both arms spread wide.

“Um, what’s that…?”

“Good job, a make-up hug.”

“No, that was a thing from the past, right?”

“Past or present, that’s what childhood friends do, right?”

“Is that how it works…?”

“Yeah, this manga says so too.”

Manaki tapped the cover of the manga she was reading.

“No, but we’re high schoolers now…”

We did it in the past, but doing it at this age feels… As I hesitated, Manaki narrowed her eyes unhappily, still holding her arms out.

“What, not making up?”

“No, I want to make up, but…”

That phrasing was unfair. It sounded like we couldn’t make up without a hug.

But we’re both high schoolers now, and hugging here felt like something we’d be embarrassed about later. However, this was Manaki Himuro. She’s always been stubborn in weird ways…

My bad feeling was right, and Manaki told me with determined eyes.

“If Masamune won’t hug me, I won’t move from here.”

When Manaki got like this, she wouldn’t budge. She was always like that, but growing older made her stubbornness even trickier.

Fine, it’s embarrassing, but I’ll do it… It started because I wasn’t honest, so I sighed once and stood up from the chair. Seeing that, Manaki looked happy.

“Yay…!”

I knelt in front of Manaki on the bed, spread my arms, and gently put them around her back. When my hands touched her, Manaki put her arms around me and pulled me close.

How many years had it been since we did this? Back then, whenever we fought, Manaki would ask for a hug like this, and…

“Hey, Masamune, I’m not crying.”

The gentle Manaki often ended up crying after fights. When we hugged, I would reach up and pat her head.

“S-sorry! It felt nostalgic, so…”

I apologized quickly and let go. But Manaki hugged me tighter.

“No, do it.”

Manaki’s sweet tone was exactly like before. I just kept patting her head as she said. She rested her head on my shoulder like old times. It felt like going back, and patting her made me feel at ease.

…I wondered what Manaki, who narrowed her eyes contentedly, was thinking about.

*****

“Yay, Snow Girl!”

“Touch her, and you’ll freeze!”

…While Masamune patted me, I suddenly remembered the past.