Part-2 Ch-01 Ep-04

When I told Maki that I was bothered by why I had ended up being the one chosen for the committee, she suddenly cupped my face with both hands.

She turned me so that I was facing her directly. One of her hands held the lower half of my face. My cheeks were squeezed, naturally forcing my lips to pucker like a duck’s, leaving me with a truly pathetic expression.

“Um… Maki-san?”

“Hm?”

I shook my head slightly in protest, but her grip was firm, and I could not break free.

More than that, Maki did not seem to have any ill intent. She was simply peering into my face with pure curiosity, which made it hard for me to reject her outright.

Her eyes were wide and innocent, like a child watching where a line of ants is going.

“I thought the same thing the other day too, but for some reason, Mari, you really place me on a pedestal, don’t you? It’s a bit late to say this now, though.”

The topic shifted abruptly. Not understanding what she meant, I asked, “The other day?”

“When we went to see that movie. When we talked about which characters we resembled, you said you were like the heroine’s friend, right? That probably means you see me as the heroine, doesn’t it?”

Unless I was being overly self-conscious, she added this calmly, without any hint of tension.

“Ahhh, so you noticed after all?”

“Yeah. Mari, you treat me like a princess in everyday life, too. Other girls tell me that a lot.”

“Eh…”

I see.

It seems that part of the reason people misunderstand my relationship with Maki comes from seeds I have been sowing myself, little by little, every day.

“It’s true that at the time, I was thinking of you as the heroine and defined my own role based on that assumption. But so what?”

“As I thought. And you know, Mari, the expression you had back then was a little strange. I wondered why you were making that face. It felt somewhat mysterious.”

“Eh, strange?”

“Yeah. Kind of like a bitter smile, or like you had already resigned yourself to something.”

“I wonder if I really made a face like that,” I said, tilting my head.

Maki tilted hers as well and replied, “That’s how it looked to me.”

As we mirrored each other, she finally released my face. I rubbed the cheek she had been holding. For some reason, a faint warmth seemed to linger there, and it bothered me. I was also worried that she might have left marks. Such ridiculous strength.

“That actress played the heroine’s best friend, the one who stayed closest to her and remained by her side the entire time, right? Mari, do you dislike being in that position?”

“I don’t dislike it.”

Maki’s best friend is me. I cannot become the hero, but even so, I intend to stay by her side forever. Those thoughts naturally surfaced.

I do not particularly want to become the protagonist of the story or its hero. But a little while ago, something more than that, a vague and indistinct feeling, began to well up in my chest.

“So, in the end, did you feel lonely when the heroine was taken by the person in the hero role or something like that?”

Maki asked this with a mischievous, teasing smile.

“………………………………………”

The words “That’s not true,” which I would normally have returned without hesitation, caught in my throat. I was startled by my own reaction. Too surprised to speak, I found myself at a loss for words.

“…Ah, eh, maybe you really thought that, or…?”

“Wah! No, no! That’s absolutely not it! I don’t feel lonely at all!”

“Really~~?”

My face burned with embarrassment. This made me look like nothing more than a child. To hide my reddened face, I lifted my bag and held it up in front of me.

“Hey, Mari, do you know what my type is?”

“Eh, I don’t.”

“That was a quick answer.”

She smiled awkwardly, and in the next moment, as if flipping a switch, she wore a mischievous grin.

“You see, I’m not interested in a perfect, cool hero at all.”

“Yeah, I heard that the other day, too.”

“There’s more. And you know, I like someone like that friend from the movie. Someone who’s always by my side, but the moment I take my eyes off them, they jump straight into danger. Someone a little reckless. I like the kind of person who makes me feel that I have to be strong myself for their sake.”

It was the first time I had ever heard Maki talk about her preferred type. But that description sounded like—

“That sounds like…”

“Do you… get it?”

“…You should give up on a guy like that.”

“Eh?”

If possible, I really do not want someone so troublesome by Maki’s side.

Absolutely not.

“Eh, but that means you never know what they’ll do the moment you look away, right? Isn’t it strange that Maki would have to worry every single day and make an effort to stay with someone that reckless? Or… is there already someone like that close to you?”

“W-Wait, Mari, um…”

“Hah! …Could it be Ranjishi-kun? Hau!”

A sharp knee strike hit me with considerable force. It was close-range and made me flinch from the seriousness of Maki’s kick. Violence against a childhood friend is not good. If my defense had been any lower, I might have actually been injured.

“Moooo, you idiot!!”

Maki stormed ahead at a brisk pace. I hurried after her and caught up, walking beside her as I saw her unusually flushed and clearly angry face.

No, her face had already been red even before she got angry.

“Sorry, okay?”

I apologized desperately, matching her quick steps so I would not be left behind, and walked earnestly at her side. As we walked, I thought that talking with Maki had somehow lightened my mood.

In other words, she must have been trying to cheer me up, telling me that I was fine just the way I am, that I did not need to become a hero or anything like that.

The fact that Maki’s words alone could ease my feelings this much made me realize once again that my world revolves around Maki at its center.

Right now, it even made me a little happy that this seemingly capable but actually clumsy childhood friend had been thinking about me in her own indirect way and tried to encourage me.

…Even if her preferred type is a bit unacceptable.

“Maki.”

“What…? W-What, what, what!”

Lately, she has been initiating a lot of physical contact, so I thought it would be fine if I took her hand. Gently, I pinched the sleeve of her uniform, slid my fingers along it, and touched her hand.

When I held her hand, she became surprisingly docile.

“…I’m not angry or anything.”

She said that, even though she had so obviously been angry just moments before. Glancing sideways at my cute childhood friend, I renewed my determination.

Even if my outstretched hand never quite reaches, I will still do my best for Maki in this second year as well.