Part-2 Ch-07 Ep-04

 When I opened my eyes, I was in the infirmary.

Wow. It has been a long time since I last felt like this. 

The white ceiling, the fluorescent lighting, and the faint scent of disinfectant made it immediately clear where I was. This was definitely the infirmary.

As I shifted slightly to check the time, I felt someone gripping my hand. At the same time, a familiar voice called out my name.

“Mari.”

Only then did I realize that Maki was sitting right beside me.

“…Maki, what about the sports festival?”

“That’s less important than this.”

That response, too, felt like something I had heard from her before.

“I was really worried, you know?”

As she spoke, the hand stroking my head was gentle and comforting. Still, her expression looked somewhat clouded.

When I asked, “Did you carry me here?” the hand holding mine tightened just a little.

“Yeah… sorry. That it was me.”

The lack of energy in her voice worried me, but for the moment I replied, “No, I kind of assumed from the start that you would be the one to bring me here anyway… thank you.”

“Eh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…You didn’t ask Todoroki-kun to do it?”

At that moment, I heard a faint clattering sound from somewhere nearby and noticed the presence of someone beyond the curtain drawn around my bed.

“No, I probably thought that if I pushed myself too hard and collapsed, nine times out of ten you would take care of it somehow. But since it was during the event and you might not be able to come right away, I asked Todoroki-kun just in case… he didn’t tell you?”

As I tilted my head while speaking, Maki’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“…Hey, Todoroki. What is the meaning of this?”

She called out quietly toward the other side of the curtain.

“Eh, why are you calling him without honorifics?”

“Ah, sorry, I still have some cleanup left to do, so I’ll head back now. I’m really glad Nagase woke up, truly glad. I’ll inform the teachers, so please take it easy. Bye!”

The voice beyond the curtain rattled off everything in one breath. Immediately after, there were several clattering sounds, as if someone were bumping into various things, followed by hurried footsteps running down the hallway.

“Ah, so Todoroki-kun really was here after all.”

“He ran away.”

Maki clicked her tongue softly.

“Mari, from now on, try not to be alone with that guy whenever possible.”

“Ehh, that’s impossible. We’re on the same committee. Besides, he’s a good person, even if he was kind of mean today. You know that too, right, Maki?”

“Then the only option left is for me to crush him…!”

“No, stop saying such dangerous things!”

Complaining about how she always resorted to brute force so quickly, I tried to sit up on the bed. Immediately, a hand reached out from the side and pressed me back down.

“Ma-Maki…?”

With both shoulders pinned, I looked up at her in confusion. She gazed down at me with a serious expression.

“Why did you push yourself so hard to run in the relay?”

“Why, you ask…”

Because I did not want you to be taken by Godaiin-kun. The words surfaced in my mind, but they stuck in my throat and refused to come out.

“Uh, well, that is.”

“That is?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Opened it again, then closed it. I repeated that several times, but every time I tried to form the words properly, my emotions surged uncontrollably.

I did not want you to be taken.

The thought that you might become someone else’s was unbearable. That was why I deliberately ruined the event with Godaiin-kun.

It was not for your sake. It was something I did for myself.

As those emotions swelled, they turned into tears. My vision gradually blurred, and I desperately tried to hold them back.

After struggling like that for a while, Maki spoke again.

“…Is it another secret?”

Her face crumpled slightly, and her eyes wavered. Seeing that, the words spilled out before I could stop them.

“It’s not a secret.”

No one wants to make the person they love most feel sad.

“I ran because I like you, Maki.”

“Ah… eh… eh?”

Maki’s eyes widened dramatically.

“You know, Maki, you didn’t notice at all until today that Godaiin-kun was getting closer to you, right?”

“…That’s true, but… well.”

“There are going to be many people who come to like you from now on. And someday, you’ll probably end up liking one of them too. The moment I thought that person might not be me, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want you to be taken by anyone else. I didn’t want to regret staying silent.”

“….”

I noticed then that the hands pressing against my shoulders were trembling. What is Maki thinking right now?

Even as that thought crossed my mind, I could no longer stop myself.

“I ended up falling in love with you, Maki.”

As soon as I said it, I shook off her hands, hid my face, and tried to stop the tears that had begun to fall.

Crying just from confessing made me feel like such a crybaby. I didn’t want her to see me like this.

“Snff… kuh… kuh…”

Even though I knew it was pointless, I wiped at the tears that kept overflowing. I clenched my teeth and pressed my face into the sheets to suppress the sounds, but the tears would not stop.

I said it.

I really said it.

How long did I stay like that?

It probably only felt long to me. In reality, it might have been just a brief moment.

I rolled onto my side and curled up.

Then the bed creaked and dipped slightly. Long hair brushed gently across my face. Feeling the warmth and weight against me, I realized that Maki was hugging me.

“I like you too. I’ve liked you for a very, very long time.”

Her voice, slightly nasal, reached my ears as she hugged me even tighter.

“L-liar… you should have said it sooner.”

“I thought I’d been showing it through my actions this whole time. And I thought I had said it.”

“I couldn’t tell at all…”

I was so happy that I started crying again. Maki laughed softly, her nose red.

“Mari, show me your face.”

Her voice was gentle and sweet. But showing her such a messy, tear-soaked face felt embarrassing.

After waiting a bit, perhaps losing patience, she began showering soft kisses on my arms and hands that covered my face, then on my forehead and cheeks.

“Mari, show me your face. I want to see it.”

“…Why?”

“Because I like you.”

“…That doesn’t make sense.”

When I replied in a tearful voice, Maki answered in a similarly shaky one.

“Then smile. Show me your smile.”

“Hey, isn’t that asking too much? I’m crying right now.”

“Oh my. But you’re already smiling a little, aren’t you?”

Then she added softly.

“You want the person you like to always be smiling, right?”

Maki, laughing and crying at the same time as she said that, looked incredibly beautiful.

Seeing her like that, I truly thought that yes, the smile of the person you love is something precious.

[T/N- It's truly Peak & I have my suspicion that todoroki has crush on mari]

End of Chapter 7