Last year’s bestseller, “The Goat and the Watermelon,” told the story of the main character, a high school boy devoted to books, who met and parted with a girl who came to town for the summer.
The protagonist saw the girl walking into the river late at night and tried to stop her, thinking she was committing suicide, but the girl said that she was not trying to kill herself, but ‘because the moon was reflected in the river.’
The protagonist later met the girl again at a library in the city where he casually visited. The girl then mentioned the hero’s nickname from his childhood – This was where the time for club activities came to a close.
“Sorry I borrowed it first, I’ll read it as soon as I can.”
Takane-san and I sat next to each other and read a book. The rule naturally came about that I was responsible for turning the pages, and when Takane-san finished reading the current page, she would poke me on the elbow.
“Take your time. I’ve borrowed other books too, and I have a stack of books.”
“I have several books that I haven’t gotten around to reading too. I just can’t bring myself to read them all at once.”
“Yes, that happens. That’s how I feel when things get too interesting. Especially when I’m nearing the end of a series, I stop at the last book.”
“I would love to read a book that Nagito-san is that crazy about.”
“I think you’ll probably like it. Well, I only read the mainstream ones.”
I mentioned the title of a book I have that Takane-san might be interested in, and we talked about her borrowing it next time – Since we were now in the same club, I was glad we could share our time together in this activity, and even just talking about books was fun.
As we talked, we got to the entrance of the building and changed shoes, and I went out the front door first and waited for Takane-san to come out.
When we left the library, Nakano-san and Sakai-san went their separate ways, perhaps out of consideration for us.
In other words, the only reason we were together now was because Takane-san said that she was my ‘current-girlfriend.’
“I wish I could proudly say that I’m your boyfriend too…”
“Nagito-san, I think you’re good just the way you are.”
“…T-Takane-san…”
I mumbled to myself, but it was just a standard banter he had with himself. But Takane-san came out from behind me suddenly – looking a little embarrassed.
“If Nagito-san said that I was his girlfriend, that… I think that would make me very happy. But keeping it a secret makes it seem that much more important for us to spend time together…”
“I guess. Sakai-san also said she’d like it more if it was kept a secret.”
“Yes. I wanted to keep it a secret, but I felt like I had to tell Sakai-san… That was my selfishness.”
“N-No… That’s not true. I was happy when Takane-san said that.”
“…Nagito-san.”
Even just calling my name like that is enough to make my heart move.
When it was just the two of us like this, it seemed as if no matter how much time we had, it was never enough.
The sky had already begun to change color. The meaning of sunset had changed so much before I knew it.
Arriving at the bicycle parking lot, I took out my bike.
I’ll drop you off at the station again today, I wondered if I could say that. Knowing that Sakai-san was watching me, and going home with Takane-san again today, I wondered if I was not nervous enough.
Before I could say what I was thinking, we started to walk. As we were leaving the school gate, Takane-san raised a small hand towards me and said,
“See you tomorrow, Nagito-san.”
“Y-Yeah. See you tomorrow…”
Neither of us could turn around to face our way back. Takane-san, who was standing exactly covered in shadow, was smiling – and maybe I should too.
Loneliness or anything like that shouldn’t be so easily put on one’s face. Even Takane-san was like that – and yet.
‘As much as possible with Nagito-san… I always think so too.’
As she was about to walk towards the station, Takane-san was without a smile on her face.
I pushed my bicycle and caught up with Takane-san. Takane-san’s eyes widened a little when she saw me standing next to her.
“…I’m sorry. It seems like I want to spend a little more time with you after all.”
“……”
What a way to put it in words, saying ‘it seems like.’
I wanted to stay with Takane-san for as long as possible. I knew I had to return home to help Ruru-nee prepare dinner – even so, I wanted just a little more time.
We continued walking slowly, down the gently sloping road to the station – Eventually stopped at a traffic light.
Takane-san went behind me. And when I tried to turn around – she squeezed the hem of my uniform and said.
“…Together until the station… Is that okay?”
Takane-san thought so, too. I was so happy that she was able to smile much more naturally than the fake smile she had when we parted earlier.
“Yes, by all means. Takane-san, do you have any lessons today?”
“Even if I take my time to go home today, I can still make it.”
“I see. If you were in a hurry, we could ride the bike together… But that’s probably not a good idea.”
If we were seen riding together, that would be a problem. Though I didn’t think Takane-san would think that.
She looked at the back of my bike and said with an amused look on her face,
“To be honest, I’ve always longed to ride a bike like that… I’d even ride in the front.”
“…It’s pretty hard to row with me on it, you know?”
“That’s fine. I am confident in my physical strength.”
Although I’d be in trouble if I said this – But more than whether or not she would actually do it, Takane-san who said that so earnestly is just…
“…So cute.”
“…U…u-um, Nagito-san. I can hear you.”
“…S-Sorry…!”
I was careless. I said what I thought, but this wasn’t a manga.
This made me wonder about how Takane-san was reacting – What a surprise!
She was covering her mouth and was laughing happily. But she seemed embarrassed to show that she was laughing, and immediately, she blushed as if in a huff.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s rude, isn’t it? Laughing like this…”
“I don’t think so. Seeing Takane-san laugh makes me–”
–Just as I was about to finish what I was saying, the traffic light changed. Someone from the back came alongside us, noticed us, and we started to walk away.
“Nagito-san.”
Takane-san, who was walking behind me while pulling the hem of my clothes, came next to me.
“…I haven’t laughed like this in a very long time. It’s all thanks to you, Nagito-san.”
I just said what I was thinking, even though I thought to myself that I was being clownish.
If Takane-san said so, and if she laughed, that made me happy.
“I want to see you laugh too, Nagito-san. When do you have fun?”
“…Just doing this right now is pretty fun… Rather…”
“…Rather?”
As much as she said at school, I should be able to say this much honestly at least.
“I enjoy just being with Takane-san. Like in the classroom, at club activities, and now.”
“…I see.”
Takane-san answered, like she was being nonchalant. No, she wanted to ask me more specifically when I laugh or something – so I thought.
“…Me too. Just by sitting next to you… But, I can’t talk to you easily, so I’m trying to figure out various methods.”
“That’s… Me too. I’ve been wondering if there’s a way to instill a sense of normalcy around our relationship, even the kind of relationship where we talk normally in the classroom.”
I wanted to keep it a secret, but I wanted to change the situation where I couldn’t talk to her even though she was sitting right next to me – it was like chasing two rabbits.
“I’m glad… I thought I was the only one in a hurry.”
But if both of us were thinking the same thing, it was a different story.
“I’ll try to speak as naturally as possible. If I’m conscious or anything, that will make it stand out more.”
“Yes. But it’s hard not to be conscious of it.”
“I-I see… I don’t think it’s going to be easy either.”
“…But I am happy to be next to you. I can watch Nagito-san from up close.”
Up close – Did this mean that Takane-san was looking at me when I was unaware of it? This was going to make it more and more impossible for me not to be conscious.
Entering the promenade in front of the station, we passed by the bookstore and café we entered before. While looking at them, Takane-san took out her smartphone.
“…I’ve been thinking about taking pictures of some of the places I’ve been to recently with Nagito-san.”
Pictures of the place were nice, but I’d like to take a picture with Takane-san.
“Nagito-san, may I ask you to stop for a moment?”
“Hmm? …!?”
When I stopped, I felt Takane-san gently snuggle up to me from behind. The feeling that was hitting my back was… – No, no, no, definitely not.
Click. A clicking sound could be heard. It was the sound of the camera on the phone that Takane-san was holding with her hand outstretched and pointing at us.
A selfie — by Takane-san.
It was my assumption that it was unlikely of her to do such a thing. But maybe it didn’t work the first time, since Takane-san was holding her phone with both hands and looking troubled.
“…Do you want to give it a shot until we get it right?”
“……”
No more worrying about people passing by on the street. It didn’t help that I was nervous every time I saw a uniform.
What was important was that Takane-san smiled. I wanted to think only about what I could do during our time together.
“…May I try again?”
It was difficult to tell her that she could take it as many times as she wanted, not just once. Even though she just approached me and reached out her hand, my whole body was shaking a little.
Takane-san said she would send the selfie later, and it arrived just as I was relaxing in the living room after dinner.
And Ruru-nee was sneaking up on me like a ninja from behind, unbeknownst to me – The moment I displayed the selfie, she went over the back of the couch and sat down next to me.
“Uwaa…! Wait, Ruru-nee!”
“Could this be, Nozomi-chan? How do I say this, she’s cute like an angel…”
“…If you waited, I would have just shown it to you normally.”
“Ah, Nakkun is being mean. Onee-chan wants to know about Nozo-chan too. If I have spare time on my day off, I would like to call her up and have tea with her.”
How much interest do you have in your brother’s girlfriend? Not bad by any means. Or maybe it is.
“Well, if Takane-san says it’s okay, that’s fine, but I’d prefer if I join in at first.”
“Nakkun is very kind, isn’t he? Even when I ask him something a little crazy, he takes it seriously.”
“It’s not ‘a little.’ Still, it’s not an absolute no, and I just thought I’d better keep an eye on you anyway.”
“You’re going to be the luggage carrier, right? Nozo-chan will love you for it, that’s for sure.”
“I wonder about that. Ah, Ruru-nee, about the lunch box, there were some circumstances today, and Takane-san was not able to eat it–“
Before I could finish, Ruru-nee started to move, and I thought she was going to fluffily spread her arms – but at once, she put me in a headlock.
“I wanted Nozo-chan to eat it! But if Nakkun ate all of it, that’s also fine.”
“It’s not fine at all… It’s time for you to graduate from playing tricks on your brother…!”
“Exercise is good for stress relief, you know?”
“There’s got to be other ways… I-I can’t escape…”
–In the end, the technique was performed on me until Ruru-nee said she was going to take a bath and left the living room.
Shouldn’t I have been disciplined about the lunch box? Thinking on this subtly, I headed upstairs to my room with my phone to thank Takane-san for the photo.